Just about 6 months ago, I was in excruciating pain with 4 compressed disks and pinched nerves. Today, I am still struggling to heal and keep the pain away, while still attempting to live life normally. For the past 5 years our life has been jam-packed; weekend to weekend we had parties, events, church, ministry, gatherings, chores, etc. etc. etc. And now, we plan NOTHING. Every day is different for me. Some weeks are amazing and I am able to get so much done and then the next week I am bed-ridden trying to bear the pain. So here I am, taking it one day at a time…

I thought now would be a great time to list out the blessings that have been revealed and even more amplified in my life during this time:

1. My amazing husband has stepped up in helping keep the house clean and take care of me when Im in pain. He loves me when I am defeated and encourages me when I am questioning if I will ever get better. All this while working pretty much two jobs.
2. My family who lifts me up in prayer and encourages me. Especially my mom who has helped deep clean my apartment and made it feel more like home again — priceless.
3. A workplace that while stressful is very flexible. If I need to come in late and make up hours, they are totally understanding.
4. My relationship with God has grown; I desperately need Him for strength and the reminder that He never gives me more than I can handle. He knows what is good for me and what the end result will be.
5. Control; I have had to give up complete control over my life to God and be humble in asking for help and allowing people to be a part of my life. I am a planner and I love helping others, but now I realize that I was never letting others help or bless me.
6. Sleep is huge! Some nights I just plain can not sleep due to lack of comfort or just enough pain to keep me awake. Every morning that I wake up from a full night’s rest I am praising God and feeling so great!
7. A more positive outlook; the last couple of years in my life I have been around a few people that are just plain negative and that can wear you down and even influence how you view life as well. I feel like I had gotten more negative and now I can say that God has shown me that I can be up even when I’m down. He has taught me to find blessing and greatfulness in even the smallest of things, holding on to those blessings throughout my day!
8. A praise-filled life! This sort of goes along with #7 but I can not stress more how much more praise I can give to God now that I have so little else to offer. God is the only One who gives me the strength and ability to offer anything of myself and now I see that all I can do is only because of Him. He is so praise-worthy.
9. Opportunity; God has placed ministry & learning opportunities in mine and G’s lives that have turned out to be a huge blessing to us during this time. Teaching Sunday school and actually learning more and loving God more because of it. Also studying the Word with our community has given us time to be in the Word together and grow closer together through that.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Thanks for letting me share. Thanks for those who have and continue to pray for and encourage me/us. Please let me know how I can help you and encourage you in turn.

Right now I am simply praying for direction on what may be next for me in this journey. What else can I do? I love and trust my doctors but still wonder if maybe this is more serious than they may think (I have only seen a chiropractor (2) and not a doctor) and possibly may be other solutions out there for me. I am already spending the money, so I want to know I am doing everything I can! After some reasearch, I am going to go get some Vitamin D supplements tomorrow and see if that will help. One day at a time…

Have a blessed day!

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But I am thankful….

• For the progress I have made
• For my handsome hubs who took care of me
• For ice packs and menthol wipes
• For my friends and family who have cared for me and prayed for me
• For finally being able to sleep through the night

Praying that this week will go smoothly and that my back continues to heal! Have a wonderful week! I will have a new CUPCAKE RECIPE up this week! So just for fun, here is a little showcase of some of my favorite, most requested cupcakes to make you smile :)

All recipes can be found here in my Recipes!

SAMOA DREAM CAKES

OREO STUFFED CUPCAKES

TIE DYE CUPCAKES

CHOCOLATE-CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE CUPCAKES

CHAMPAGNE CUPCAKES WITH RASPBERRY BUTTERCREAM

Blessings to you all!

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I read this article from Team Beach Body that shares some of the worst for you diet foods; things we believe are going to keep us healthy and losing weight, but really help us pack the lbs back on. It is mind blowing. A few I already recognized but now I wonder what America would be like if we had been educated about this stuff long ago?

Growing up I remember learning the food pyramid but not much more than why vegetables and fruits are healthy for me. They didn’t talk about calories or protein, fiber, good & bad fats, etc. Maybe they should? Another thing my family never had growing up was “portion control.” We all ate until we were full… but as a child, I never understood what being full meant (beside my tummy hurting, which was really being over-full). So for me, I ate because I enjoyed the flavor… and I ate it fast, which is why I never knew I was full until it was too late. I now know that you should eat a 1 serving meal and wait 20 minutes to allow my stomach to recognize that it is satisfied! YAY… something I can definitely teach my children.

Anyhow, I encourage you all to check out the article linked above; whether you are trying to lose weight or just want to be healthy, it is important information to know. Stop leaning on the so-called help from your frequented restaurants and fast food places, because all they really care about it getting your money – not your health!

I hope you all find the article as helpful as I did! And maybe motivating to eat healthier and pay attention to how and what you are eating.

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With the internet the recipe vault is endless! I love it! Each year, I do my best to try something new — this year it was butter toffee using a recipe from Pioneer Women (see post here). Now for some more fun recipes! I decided to make an array of goodies for the ladies in my office to say thanks for all they do and Merry Christmas. Since Martha Stewart provided such adorable treat boxes that I was unable to pas sup over at Joann’s, I needed 4 recipes. Ok, ok so one was store-bought! Sorry, ran out of time over here. The recipes used were Toffee Bars, Peanut Butter & Chocolate Fudge and Easy Turtles (recipe below)! Check it all out…

Want to see inside?! Of course, I wouldn’t leave you hanging!

Nope, couldn’t resist taking more photos! Food (especially sweets) are just way too fun to take photos of! Oh the memories of the delicious flavors!

The “Easy Turtles” were just that! EASY! I laid some wax paper over a cookie sheet, spread out some mini pretzels and topped them with some caramel Hershey’s kisses. These were then placed in the preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 2 minutes; I immediately topped them with some whole pecans and pressed down gently. The best part about these, beside the fact that they really only take 10 minutes TOPS to make, they also settle (in the fridge) in about 5 minutes! Guess what that means…. you can eat them right away! This is a great one to have in your back pocket for any time of year or event!

And now for the cards that will go along with these little gifts…. using the pretty color palette from the The Color Throwdown Challenge!

Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you are enjoying all of your Christmas treats and baking fun this year! Have a blessed Christmas all!

P.S. if you have a favorite Christmas-time recipe that you would like to share, please do so in the comments! I LOVE RECIPES!

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This week has gone on long enough! I am so ready for it to be Christmas already! Before I hit the sack (wow, that makes me feel old, saying that), I wanted to share my latest card creation. Better get it in the mail soon! Hmmm…. who will the lucky recipient be! ;)

On another note, I also wanted to share a quick Whirley Pop recipe that we had tonight (given to me by my dear friend Jackie!).

Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn

• 2 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Tbsp. Sugar
• 1/4 Tsp. Salt

• 1/2 cup Popcorn Kernels
• 3 Tbsp. Sugar
• 3 Tbsp. Oil

Mix the first three ingredients in a small prep bowl; set aside. Pour remaining three ingredients into the Whirley Pop and stir over a light heat until popping stops. Immediately add the cinnamon mixture to the Whirley Pop (with popcorn still inside) and stir to distribute. Pour the popcorn onto a baking sheet and allow to cool for a couple of minutes before pouring in a bowl or bowls. ENJOY!

This is a sweet treat and it even creates a nice scent throughout the house! …I am thankful for my Whirley Pop…

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1. Keep a Food Journal — I agree. I have NEVER lost consistent amounts of weight without one.
2. Don’t weigh yourself more than once a week — you need to see your progress in larger portions, trust me, it is much more exciting that way!
3. Prep your food for the week — separate snacks and meals in baggies or tupperware, NO EXCUSES when you have food prepped for you already.

These may seem like some simple things but you really have to make the choice to take the time and do these things. It is worth it in the long run, I can testify because it has worked for me.

MY WISH LIST

Chef Curtis Stone’s Relaxed Cooking with Curtis Stone: Recipes to Put You in My Favorite Mood

Jillian Michael’s Ultimate Total-Body Kit

The Biggest Loser bodybugg ® — pretty much a long-shot for this Christmas, but what are wish lists for?!

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Definitely consider it a gem to my weight loss achievements. For only 5 calories per stick I can have my dessert without feeling like I was left out. Try it out!

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So from here on, I will be posting some of my favorite tips, motivations, successes, failures, etc. I have even considered weighing in on Wednesday and having a Weight Watcher’s Wednesday post each week. Hopefully my journey will encourage someone (even if only one person) and keep me moving forward.

So here is my first tip: If you are like me and enjoy eating out, look up all of your favorite dishes at your usual eating out joints and figure out the calories, fat, etc. For me, since I am doing WWs I will be pulling their Calories, Fat and Fiber to calculate the WW points. This exercise really motivates me to stay away from the most unhealthy dishes that I usually enjoy. Knowing how unhealthy something you once loved is could really change your feelings toward it!

Today, my husband and I are going to see a movie. We very rarely purchase popcorn or a soda there; purely because it is so dang expensive! But when you realize that even the small popcorn/soda combo is over 1000 calories, you will most likely (and hopefully) make a run for it! Bring your own snacks if you must have it. My favorite (healthy) movie snack is licorice! My hubby can enjoy it and I can have a couple of ropes guilt-free!

Okay, so I admit, today it is raining out and a perfect day for a mocha or hot chocolate (this is why I tend to fail so badly in the health department during the winter season!) and let’s face it, it is hard enough just to pass up a buy one get one free deal from Starbucks (conveniently located directly next to our movie theater). So what do I do before we head out?

I went here: Starbucks Nutrition Facts

And I looked up the exact drink that I wanted to have. Starbucks is awesome because they have made it easy to customize your drink with the type of milk you want, as well as whip or no whip! Now don’t worry about asking for non-fat milk… it is a-okay! I was scared and they proved me wrong… my mocha was still oh so delicious!

Interesting Fact: A tall white chocolate peppermint mocha is 110 calories more than a tall peppermint mocha! Craziness. (despite the jump in calories, I still wouldn’t recommend the white chocolate peppermint mocha, but that’s just me!)

Starbucks even has a Delicious Drinks Under 200 Calories menu! Check it out!

I hope this little tip will brighten your day and helop you realize that you do not by any means have to deprive yourself of all of your favorite things just to lose weight. Be wise and do your homework. Chances are, there is still a way to fit it in to your daily calorie intake, or in my case my WW points!

Happy Day!

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Happy World Card-Making Day!!

Oh, how I love my Cuttlebug! It is amazing how embossing can just add the “oomph” that takes your card to the next level! This card uses the Papertrey Ink giga guidelines embossing plate; it brings so much elegance.  Simple elegance was my goal with this card. Hope you like!

Yet another fun card using the Cuttlebug for embossing! I used the Love Birds stamp set from Close To My Heart for the focal point of this card and just a touch of bakers twine for embellishment. Don’t you just love the way the embossing bounces off of the white cardstock! WOW, this is my favorite!

Thanks for stopping by on World Card-Making Day! To see a list of links to other Card-Making bloggers that are also celebrating today RIGHT HERE!

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