Our Dessert of Choice

Papa Bear and I have joined Weight Watchers. There! I said it! Yep, we're trying to get a lot healthier and lose weight too! Papa Bear craves fruits, which is good. I crave sweets, which is not so good. No, I don't crave sweet fruits...I crave SUGAR!!! But, we have found a great way to get around the sugar, and enjoy dessert for VERY few Weight Watchers points! One of my favorite desserts now, is Sugar Free Fudgsicles from Popsicle. I crave chocolate, so this is a GREAT choice for dessert! (I don't totally ban chocolate, but now I am learning to count the points, and watch my portion sizes.) A Sugar Free Fudgsicle only has 40 calories and less than 1 gram of fat! You can have two of these frozen delights for only 1 WW point, so I definitely choose to indulge in the yummy creaminess that Fudgsicles offer.

We also like the Tropical Sugar Free Popsicles, regular Sugar Free Popsicles, and Sugar Free Creamsicles (which can be found in the Healthy Pack).

Try one! Then, let me know what you think!

Mama Bear

Simple & Healthy Sauteed Zucchini

I told you that I would share my recipe for the sauteed zucchini that Papa Bear came up with. So here it is:

Start with one Tbsp. of Olive Oil; heat your pan to medium high.

Slice about 2-3 medium to large zucchini into thin slices, and add to hot pan.
You can also add however much minced garlic you like (um, yeah, we LOVE garlic!),
according to your own taste, as well as salt and freshly ground pepper.

Sautee lightly, until SOME of the zucchini turns a little transparent.
Be sure to "rotate" slices frequently, so they have equal cooking time.
You don't want to overcook, or you will have mush,
instead of crisp, yummy, sauteed zucchini.

Enjoy!

Mama Bear

Tomato Rice Pilaf -- Recipe

Last night for dinner, I made Spice Rubbed Pork Chops (a Weight Watchers recipe), Tomato Rice Pilaf, and Sauteed Garlicky Zucchini. My whole meal was only 10 Weight Watchers points! Here is my very own recipe for

Tomato Rice Pilaf

1Tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1-2 tsp. powdered chicken bouillon
2 cups jasmine rice

4 cups water (or just enough to cover the rice and veggies)

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. black pepper

In a saucepan (that comes with a lid), over medium high heat, saute the chopped onions in the butter, until caramelized and golden on the edges.

Then, add the chopped tomatoes....

along with the rice, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

Add enough water to just cover the rice and veggies; stir.

Bring to a boil, then cover and turn heat down to simmer.
Allow to cook for about 20 minutes.

Give the rice a bit of a fluff with a spoon or fork, and make sure it's cooked all the way, after the 20 minutes is up. May take a little longer.

Enjoy! I will post the recipe for the sauteed zucchini next.

Mama Bear

What I Did Over My Summer Vacation...

Right now, Papa Bear is home all day, every day, recovering from carpal tunnel surgery. He's been "off work" since early June pretty much, and I LOVE it! I know most couples wouldn't be able to stand being together that often, but we're pretty different from most couples. We have been really enjoying our kiddos, and our garden. We've even made it to the park every now and then, and to the library. Due to getting stitches out too soon, it appears that he will be out through September, so that will give us a lot of opportunity to spend MORE time together. Yahoo! Here are some photos of what we've been up to lately!

Taught our 16 year old some great photography tips, while we photographed Baby Girl.

Tasted some of our first produce from our garden, including this delicious tomato, some carrots, radish, garlic greens, onion greens, green beans, cherry tomatoes,
strawberries, and basil.

Played in the water park with friends from church.

Participated in a July "Easter Egg Hunt" and park play date with the same friends from church.

Photographed my youngest brother, Chris' wedding in New Mexico on June 26.

Got to see my little sister get baptized while in New Mexico for the wedding.

Took sunset photos in New Mexico (in my parents' back yard), while there for the wedding.

And that's not all! (Nor is it in chronological order) I will be sharing more of what we've been doing this summer as I get the chance. I stumbled upon a blog today, where the author mentioned how she wanted to try to keep up with her blog, so that she could "preserve" more of those very special family moments. That inspired me to do this post, and more posts to come. I hope you enjoy these posts!

God bless,
Mama Bear

It's All in the Post-Production

The original photo.

I have been having loads of fun with my new camera. I got a few "on the fly" lessons from our pastor, who is a GREAT photographer. With those lessons, and some from Digital Photography School's website, I'm learning new things all the time.


I've also been doing a lot of playing around with post-production editing. I save my originals, so that if I "mess something up", I'll still have the original, but I've tried out a few different filters and techniques in Microsoft Picture It 9, that have allowed for some totally different looks.

Check it out!

Have a great day!

Mama Bear

I'm Really a Digital Photography Newbie

I know it might sound weird, because I've been using a digital camera for at least 10 years now, but I am truly a newbie when it comes to digital photography. I used to just be a "point and shoot girl", but now with a brand new camera, and my youngest brother's wedding coming up (where I have been asked to be the photographer), I am really digging and delving into whatever I can find online that will help me learn how to take amazing photos.

DPS, or Digital Photography School, has quickly become one of my favorite places to learn. I'm no techie by any means. I STRUGGLE with technology! (I still have a Motorola Razr cell phone, even though Papa Bear asked me if I wanted to upgrade and update.) I'm not the kind of girl who can read through a manual and just "get it". I have to learn by doing, and by making mistakes, and by accidentally coming up with something fantastic!

Here are some of the photos I've taken recently, with the help of some great gems I've picked up from DPS, and from my friend Julie:





So, what do you think? I'm sure having fun, and I'll be posting more photos as I learn more!

Have a blessed day in Christ,

Mama Bear

I'm "Sew" Into Quilting Right Now

In February, a friend from church started a monthly quilting class for those who want to learn to quilt. In the group (The Soul Stitchers), there are first time sew-ers, experienced sew-ers (like me), and even an experienced quilter. We are putting together one block a month for 12 months. This has really inspired me to do some quilting. Mind you, it's baby quilts that I'm working on. I haven't quite gotten the nerve to do a large quilt, although, I have been working on a quilt for Papa Bear and myself since oh, about 2004!!! It's a simple work in progress. It will get done, but most likely, I will not try to take on the actual quilting of that one. I will gladly PAY to have someone else quilt it!

Well, since I've been so inspired, I wanted to show off my first "quilted and binded (bound???)" quilt (the captions go with the photos above each caption):

The fabric I used.

The front of the quilt, before adding the side strips.

Marking the quilt with lines for quilting (a very LONG process for me!)

A closeup of the "line-marking" process.

The quilted front.

The quilted back.

The finished product! I purchased the binding on Etsy.com from Shasta Creations. YAY! I truly believe that I will learn to make my own binding some day, but until then, I am glad to purchase it. I have no problem with that at all. In fact, I am working on a second quilt now, and I will be purchasing the binding from the same Etsy shop.

The finished back. OOPS! I forgot to rotate the photo. The stripe actually goes horizontally.

I will be back, to show you my next quilt, which is ready for the quilting right now.

Have a blessed day in Christ!

Mama Bear