Life at Our Home

When I read other blogs my favorite post are those that give me a glimpse into the bloggers life. I love learning about other people. It's nice to know who is really behind the words and photos. Today, I thought that I'd give you a little insight into life at our house.

I'd like to tell you that things are going super, fantastic, and nothing is ever wrong or out of place. Maybe I wouldn't like to tell you that. It's never fun to hear that everything is "perfect." I've mentioned before that I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis just over 2 years ago. Most of the time things go well. I do well on my medication and other than a little soreness and tiredness I don't think much about it. For the last couple of years when Fall has come around things have changed quite a bit. (The cooler weather is the culprit). I get a lot more tired and a lot more achy, which makes me a lot more cranky (and it turns me into a poet too apparently, LOL). Things that usually run pretty well around our house start to run a little less smoothly.

The kids started school and I did well for a few days. Then, I got hit with a flair-up and I've really been struggling, we've all been struggling actually. I've been able to do the very basics...and I mean VERY basics. I take the kids to school and I pick them up. That's about it. I don't cook, I don't clean, and I don't do laundry. I spend my time either on the couch or in bed, some days are better than others. After my diagnosis my husband rearranged his work schedule so that he goes to work earlier and comes home when the kids get out of school. This schedule has saved our little family; especially lately. Lately when he gets home from work, I go to bed. Yes, it's only 3:30 or 4:00 in the afternoon when he gets home but that's when I've needed to get some extra sleep. When my A.S. flairs up I need lots of sleep sometimes 14 hours a day of sleep. For the most part I've been able to keep up with my scrapbooking committments. Most (actually all) of my recent projects have been done either in my bed or while I'm laying on the couch. I'm so grateful for a great husband that picks up the slack when I'm not well. He does amazingly well at keeping our home up and running. Even with his help it's not been a great 3 weeks for our little family.

Other than momma not feeling well the kids are doing really well. They LOVE school and are so excited about their new friends, classes, and teachers. The two older kiddos have started taking music classes at school. We're now a family with a flute, a violin, a guitar, and a piano. They're so excited to be playing their instruments and can't wait to share each new note or technique they learn. The little man started preschool. If you follow me on Instagram you'll see that I've had a hard time letting him go...he's my baby. I only cried on the first day I dropped him off, since then it's been all smiles at preschool drop-off and pick-up.

So, there's the long version of why things may seem a little different here on my blog. I'm trying my best to keep up and as of today I'm feeling better. Not completely better but enough better that things are starting to return to normal. I'm going to bed at 8:00 now instead of 4:00 (that's a pretty big deal). I started a new treatment on Friday that I hope will make things significantly better. It takes a long time before I will see any change in my symptoms but I'm hopeful that I will see a positive change.
 

I am working on a couple of projects behind the scenes that I'm excited to share with you in the coming weeks. There are some fun holiday projects, fabric projects, some DIY home projects, and videos that I know you'll love.
Thanks for hanging in here with me. There are better days ahead...have a great Monday!

Easy {Gluten Free} Almond Joy Rice Krispy Treats

Here's what you'll need. (these can also be made not "gluten free" by using plain ole' rice krispies. This is how I made them while photographing this recipe. They were for my kids, I decided to save the Gluten Free Rice Krispies for me...I'm selfish like that.)

Hello, I'm taking a little detour from my usual scrapbooking blogging to share a recipe with you.
First of all, I'll give you a little bit of background on how I came up with this recipe.

In October of 2013 I was frustrated because I was feeling awful all.the.time. It seemed like everything that I ate made me sick. I was venting my frustrations to a friend of mine and she suggested that a lot of people who have autoimmune diseases (you can read a little bit more about my diagnosis HERE) benefit from a gluten free diet. I quickly explained to her that my Dr. had already tested me for Celiac's Disease and the test came back negative. She said that it was worth a try..."try it for 30 days" was her comment. So, mostly out of desperation I tried it. It was a hard 30 days. I pretty much hated every minute of it! I tried lots of "gluten free" recipes with all sorts of weird flours.
After the 30 days I went back to my normal diet. After a few days I started to feel miserable again. Much to my dismay I went back onto my gluten free diet and have been that way ever since. Now, with that being said, I do cheat on my diet. Not very often but I do cheat. I always regret it but I do cheat once in a while.
Anyway, I'm always looking for a gluten free recipe that doesn't taste like it's gluten free and doesn't require ingredients that are impossible to find.
While I was playing around in the kitchen the other day I came up with this recipe for

Easy Gluten Free Almond Joy Rice Krispy Treats

• Rice Krispies (gluten free or regular)
• butter
• coconut
• coconut extract
• salt
• chopped almonds
• chocolate chips
• marshmallows

These are made about the same as traditional rice krispy treats

Step one: melt butter and marshmallows on LOW heat in a heavy dutch oven

When your marshmallows and butter are melted it's time to add a few little extras.

 Step Two: remove pan from the heat and then add the coconut and coconut extract.

(Now, cue the handsome little man running around in ninja turtle/spider man pajamas to be your extra set of hands)
Step Three: Add the rice krispy cereal. Quickly, stir it all together

It should look something like this:

Step Four: Press rice krispy mixture into a 9x13 pan. *tip* when pressing rice krispy mixture into the pan run your hand under cold water before pressing to prevent the treats sticking to your hand.
Step Five: Pour chocolate chips into a microwave safe bowl and microwave until melted stirring every few seconds so they don't burn.

 Step Six: pour melted chocolate on top of treats and sprinkle with chopped almonds.

That's it, six easy steps! If you're like me and can't wait for the chocolate to set up you get really messy. Otherwise, you can put them in the fridge while the chocolate cools.
This is what I'm making to take to our Memorial Day BBQ's. I'm sure they'll be a big hit! Give this recipe a try! You'll become a pot luck hero!

Here's the full recipe:

6 cups Rice Krispies
4 tbs butter (please don't use margarine, you'll be sad if you do)

4 cups miniature marshmallows

2 tsp coconut extract

1 cup coconut

pinch of Kosher salt

1/4 cup chopped almonds

1 bag milk chocolate chips

Have a great holiday weekend! Thank you for stopping by my lil ole' blog.

True Scrap 5 is Coming Soon

True Scrap 5 is just around the corner on October 11-12. I just signed up and I'm so excited! October 11th & 12th can't come fast enough. Now, I've just got to find a babysitter and I'm all set!

My first experience with True Scrap was at True Scrap 3 in April 2012. I actually won my pass to True Scrap 3 on Jen Gallacher's blog. In order to tell you how inspired I was and how much of a blessing it was for me to be able to attend True Scrap 3 I must tell you the situation I was in when I attended True Scrap 3.

On February 27th 2012 at 2:47am I woke up from a dead sleep with horrible pain in my chest and my heart racing. I thought that I had really bad heartburn, so I tried a few over the counter medicines. The next few weeks are a blur and a mass of Dr.'s appointments, hospital stays and even a surgery to remove my gallbladder. At the end of March I was still very sick and had very little hope of a resolution to my illness anytime soon. I knew the Dr. I wanted to see and had the referral but it was a long LONG wait to get an appointment, a 6 month wait. I was exhausted, frustrated, and heartbroken. I learned very quickly to appreciate the small things in life. During those months all I wanted to do was the little things in life. I wanted to be a mom...cook, clean, dishes, laundry, take my kids to school, simply take care of myself, and I wanted to create again. I missed scrapbooking and documenting memories. Winning that spot in True Scrap 3 was a blessing in disguise. It was something that I could do with my laptop from my bed and still feel creative. To say that it was a great experience and exactly what I needed was an understatement! One class in particular stood out to me. That class is taught by Kelli Crowe. The name of the class is "Just Get It On the Page! Finally scrapbooking those photos and stories you’ve had lying around forever." (You can still take this class by clicking here) To be completely honest I thought that this wouldn't be a class that I was interested in. I wanted to create and design layouts not simply throw a photo on some cardstock and write the journaling with a black pen. I was wrong! Being able to add a photo onto some cardstock with a few stickers and journal with a black pen was exactly what I needed. I wasn't able to create like I usually do but "just getting it on the page" was something that I was able to do. After that class I took a few basic supplies and some photos and put them in a basket next to the couch and started creating again. I chose to create a few mini albums instead of layouts, for some reason it just felt better to me.

(These are some of the albums I created, nothing fancy but some of my most favorite memories are documented in these little albums)

So today, after 19 months of the onset of my illness, I'm facing a diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. I'm happy to have a diagnosis and excited about the treatment I recently started. I try not to take the small things for granted and love "just being a mom!" Obviously, I've also returned to creating and designing scrapbook pages. I feel truly blessed to have such an amazing hobby and work with such amazing people.

Back to today and True Scrap 5. I know that my circumstances were very unique and not everyone will have the same experience but I can tell you that True Scrap is worth every penny you spend. When you look at it as individual classes it's less than $14 per class and that doesn't even count the make and takes and the fact that you get to interact with all the instructors live at the event and you get permanent access to all the True Scrap 5 classes.

Whew, now that I've talked your ear off and let you inside a bit of my personal life, make sure you join me for True Scrap 5 by clicking here and registering. I promise you'll love it!!! Also, if you use the code LUCKY50 before 9/30 you can save $50. That would make each class less than $10!!!

Have a great day :)










I almost forgot, here are links to a few more classes at True Scrap 3 that I loved.
Jen Gallacher "Beyond the Box: Creative ways to add journaling"
Shimelle Lain "The Perfect Collection: Using your favorite collection pack to the very last scrap"
Nicole Magouirk "More Stamping on Scrapbook Layouts"