Wednesday SayingZ | Happy Halloween

{ This week's quote }
HAPPY HALLOWEEN

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

Read More

Family History TuesdayZ | Life Hard

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

I think for the most part, the hardest thing in my life is dealing with my depression/anxiety order. Everything seems to affect me harder and more emotionally when I’m suffering through an episode - which lately is most of the time. It affects me physically and with my emotions and makes it really hard to connect with everyone, including my family.  It seems to just take a hold of everything in my life and makes it impossible.  Its something that I have to deal with everyday and just hope that I can get through it.

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Read More

High/Low + Freebie | October 26, 2012

My LOW this Week is

My HIGH for this Week is 

I have a freebie for you today - the next in my ChibiZ Collection - here is FLOUNDER! Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK

High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Read More

Recipe Thursday - Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

This week's Recipe:

Soooo good! I served it with rolls and rice pilaf and corn. Yum!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken

by Hilary Weeks in her book, "Bedtime and Naptime..."

3 large chicken breasts, sliced in half down the middle to make 6 pieces
6 tbsp chive-and-onion cream cheese
6 tbsp margarine
6 pieces of bacon, uncooked

Pound the six chicken halves to tenderize and flatten, being careful not to tear. On top of each flattened chicken breast, place a tablespoon of cream cheese and a tablespoon of margarine. Roll up each breast and wrap with a piece of bacon. Place bacon-wrapped chicken in baking dish. Cover and cook for 30 minutes at 375 degrees. When juices run clear and chicken is cooked through, uncover dish and turn oven to broil. Broil until bacon reaches desired crispness.

When serving, be sure to pour the yummy juices from the baking dish over the chicken.

______________________________

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

Read More

Wednesday SayingZ | More/Less

{ This week's quote }
Fear Less
Hope More
Whine Less
Breathe More
Talk Less
Say More
Hate Less
Love More
And all good things are yours

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

Read More

Family History TuesdayZ | Children Names

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

Joey and I have always felt it was important to give our kids names that we liked, but also that meant something to us.

Joseph Clark Smith Jr
JJ obviously is named after his dad and being members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - we also wanted to name him after the Prophet Joseph Smith.  JJ’s middle name is named after Joey’s childhood best friend.

Elizabeth Colleen Smith
We both loved the name Elizabeth and from the get-go knew we would shorten it to Beth. Her middle name is after my Grandma, who was very special to me - she died when I was a junior in high school, but I have so much in common with her.

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Read More

High/Low + Freebie | October 19, 2012

My LOW this Week is

My HIGH for this Week is

I have a freebie for you today - the next in my ChibiZ Collection - my daughter 's favorite princess in the whole wide world - here is BELLE!  Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK

High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Read More

Recipe Thursday - Cheesy Potato Fries

This week's Recipe:

I love cheesy fries and these are just over-the-top good! (I didn't get a good photo so this one is from Oh So Delicioso, but I'll try to remember to get one when I make it again).

Cheesy Potato Fries

by Oh So Delicioso

Fries:
4-6 Potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea Salt, Fresh ground pepper, your favorite seasoning salt

Sour Cream/Ranch Sauce:
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1/4 cup milk

Toppings:
1 cup (or as much as you like) Shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup real bacon bits
1/4 cup green onions

Cut potatoes into "steak french fries" size.

Place on foiled baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil and lightly toss with tongs.

Sprinkle salts and pepper over the potatoes.

Bake 400 for 40 minutes or until fork tender

in separate bowl mix: sour cream, Ranch dressing and milk. Whisk Together

On a separate platter smooth out 3/4 of the sour cream sauce.

Place hot potatoes on sour cream sauce.

Drizzle remaining sour cream sauce on potatoes

Sprinkle toppings.

Place under broiler for a few seconds to re-melt cheese. It's going to be messy and delicious.

______________________________

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

Read More

Wednesday SayingZ | Pray Big

{ This week's quote }
PRAY BIG

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

Read More

Family History TuesdayZ | School Transportation

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

I grew up in a small town and my schools weren’t very far away at all - so I walked.  We didn’t have a middle school/junior high - we just had the elementary school  (Grades K-6) and the high school (Grades 7-12). The elementary school was just across town - only took me probably 5-10 minutes to walk there and the high school was even closer than that - happened to be right next door from my house. I loved that I only had to get up 15 minutes before getting to school. It never took me long to get ready and that really worked for me - since I was (and still am) a night owl and not a morning person!

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Read More

High/Low + Freebie | October 12, 2012

My LOW this Week is that I have been focused on getting moved that everything else in my world has been left behind - which means so many things have not gotten done - but I suppose it can all wait!

My HIGH for this Week is that we got our keys to our new home! It's been so fun to start taking things over and dream of how I am going to decorate and where everything is going to go. So cool!

I have a freebie for you today - the next in my ChibiZ Collection - my son's favorite character in the whole wide world - here is PERRY THE PLATYPUS!  Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK

High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Read More

Recipe Thursday - Morning Glory Muffins

This week's Recipe:

When I went to make these, I was missing some ingredients. I decided to just make them anyway and they turned out great. I can't wait to try them again and use all the ingredients. Perfect breakfast or snack! We gobbled these up all weekend long!

Morning Glory Muffins

by The House of Nash

2 cups flour (I use half wheat and half white which I think actually makes these muffins better than using just white flour but just use whatever you've got)
1 ¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrot
1 peeled, grated apple (I use Granny Smith for baking)
½ cup chopped pecans
½ cup shredded coconut
3 eggs
½ cup applesauce
½ cup oil**
2 teaspoons vanilla
Optional: 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, soda, cinnamon and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in the grated zucchini, carrot, and apple, chopped pecans and coconut. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla, then add to the flour mixture until combined. I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into muffin tins lined with paper liners and they should be filled pretty much all the way to the top. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

**If you don't have applesauce on-hand, you could do one cup of oil, which was the original recipe, but I promise that using applesauce instead of oil doesn't hurt the flavor or texture of these muffins one bit and it makes them just a little bit healthier.

Makes about 2 dozen muffins and they freeze well for quick breakfasts on the go.

______________________________

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

Read More

Wednesday SayingZ | We Have it All

{ This week's quote }
This is my new favorite quote. It has become our family motto.  There are lots of things going on in my family's life right now and most of the time it just feels like a crazy mess, but it definitely makes me feel better to remember that the most important thing is that my family is together forever!

We may not have it all together
but together we have it all!

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

Read More

Family History TuesdayZ | Car in High School

Here is this week's journal prompt :

My Memories :

My brother-in-law had an old white Subaru car that he used for awhile to go to work in.  He sold it to my dad the summer before my senior year. My dad - the mechanic that he is - fixed it all up and then together we re-upholstered it. I LOVED that car. I used it until I was married and have so many memories with it.  Lots of those memories - involve it breaking down, but somehow it still has a very fond place in my heart.

Like the night of my graduation, my friend and I were driving to Duck Creek to our graduation party and the car completely quit on us - turns out that the oil plug had somehow dropped out and I completely burned all the oil up. I remember having to call my dad on the cell phone that he made me take (back then it was a big phone in a 8x11 case and he had to come and tow the car away. We hitched a ride with some of our other classmates, so we were still able to go to the party.

Another big memory is when I was dating Joey.  He was driving the car and we were taking him to work (he worked a nightshift at a Chevron). When we were almost to the station - a car in front of us made a complete sudden stop in the middle of the road and we completely rear-ended it.  Joey felt so bad about being the one driving the car and I think he was embarrassed about it for years when he would talk to my dad. The lady that we rear-ended tried to sue us YEARS later for that accident. Crazy thing.

I have lots of other fun memories of driving the car around at college with my roommates. I just loved my little car!

Each Tuesday, I am going to be offering prompts or ideas. If you don't write in your journal regularly - I am going to encourage you to write just ONCE A WEEK and answer the question/idea that I give on Tuesdays. These ideas hopefully will spark a memory and you will be able to capture that in what you write/record so that it can be left for your children/grandchildren/family/friends. Give as much detail as you can when answering.

Will you do this for me? Will you do this for your families? You can write it down in a journal, you can type it up on a computer or journaling software, you can take a recorder and talk, you can videotape your answers, you can even scrap a page with the journaling. It doesn't matter how you do this - it's just important that you do it. The memories, the dates, the information is the only real thing we can leave to our families when we are gone.

If I come up with other family history ideas - I will be sure to share it here too - and if you want to share with me your ideas - that would be wonderful and I'd be glad to share them here too. Just comment here or email me at dedesmith32@gmail.com.

Read More

I'm LDS - Faith & Jesus Christ

 

I'd love to share a few articles with you today that have inspired me this week!

Jesus the Christ by Andrea Pearson
A beautiful explanation of Jesus Christ and what we as the LDS Believe

General Conference by Lynn Parsons
This special conference happens twice a year and its a chance for all the members of the church (everyone is welcome) - to hear from our prophets and leaders. Its a time that we cherish, where we hear the words we need to hear to carry on and its a time of inspiration and of the spirit.

Quotes on Faith by Michael D. Young
Inspiring quotations about Faith to strengthen all of us.

I Know That He Lives by Kari Pike
An incredible testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ

 

___________________

I belong to The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter-Day Saints. In an effort to share my testimony of my Savior and share some of the beliefs of my church - I will be writing a post with references to articles about my church. I don't want to offend anyone, but I do want to carve out a little space on my blog, where I feel like I can share my beliefs and my soul, because this church is a huge part of who I am. Please feel free to email me or comment if you have any questions. Please note that the posts are personal and are in no way officially endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
 

Read More

VillainZ & Just Say Boo! - Letting Go - Life Update

You know - sometimes you just have to let go of things. It's something that I continually have to learn and re-learn.  I have a hard time with it.  And this pretty much exists in all facets of my life. But as I prepare to start a new chapter in my life and move my family to a new home, I am realizing that it really is okay to let things go. 

One of the things that I have to let go this month is some design plans. I have been working on a new halloween kit - Just Say Boo! and More VillainZ, an addition to my VillainZ Collection. But guess what? Life threw me a bit of a loop and I'm just not going to get it done right now. I wanted so much to finish it and get it in the store before Halloween - but now, I have to be out of my house by then and I just can't do both. So, I hope you all understand. I feel like I let you down sometimes, since I am just not consistent with getting my designs done - but I really am trying...

So, here's what I did do in the meantime - I did upload my other products in the VillainZ Collection and the Just Say Boo! Paper Pack to my blogstore. I did update the VillainZ Dollz with my newer shading. And my special Fall Madness Sale is still going on. So take advantage of it!

I will probably be a little M.I.A for the next few weeks - but I will pop in and out as I can. I will still be trying to participate in design contests - and I have lots of blog posts already lined up. So I hope you all have a great October! Thanks so much for your support!

Read More

High/Low + Freebie | October 5, 2012

My LOW this Week is that since we will be moving for the next little while, that I'm just going to have to let go of some things. I am not sure why that is so hard for me - but some of my design plans are going to have to be put on the backburner....

My HIGH for this Week is that we are signing a lease today to a new house. We aren't ready to buy yet, so we'll still be renting, but somehow it finally feels like I am on the right path.  It will be so great to get into a real house and my kids have their own bedrooms. Joey's brother will be living with us, so we'll have a live-in babysitter.  :)  I know that there will be new challenges and everything - but it just feels like a new start for us - a new chapter and I'm so excited to begin!

I have a freebie for you today - the next in my ChibiZ Collection - my son's favorite character in the whole wide world - here is AGENT P! Have a great weekend!

DOWNLOAD LINK

High/Low + Freebie Posts | Each Friday, I get a little personal and share my high and low points of the week and then I offer a digital scrapbook freebie for everyone to download for FREE.

Read More

Recipe Thursday - Pretzel Rolls

This week's Recipe:

These are BRILLIANT! Who doesn't love a good pretzel? These have the great texture and saltiness of a pretzel without all the work. Love them!

Pretzel Rolls

by Bless this Mess

1 ¼ cups warm water
1 ½ t. yeast
3 T. corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour
1 egg white
Kosher salt

Let the yeast, water, corn syrup, and salt sit in a medium bowl for 5 minutes. Add the flour to create a smooth and elastic dough, kneading on the counter to get desired results. Let the dough rise until doubled, 30 to 60 minutes. After it has risen, divide it into 8 to 10 pieces, form pieces into a ball and set them a few inches apart on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet. Cover and let the rolls rise for another 30-45 minutes. Gently cut slits in the top of the roll, brush the tops with egg white and then sprinkle generously with Kosher salt.  Bake at 425 for 10-14 minutes until golden brown.

______________________________

Each Thursday, I am going to be sharing a recipe with you! I will pick a recipe from my collection and I will be sharing where I got the recipe and everything. But I am going to include my own photo of the finished food, the original recipe, and try and share the things I changed when I made it!

I would love your help too! If you have a great recipe, especially week-night dinner recipes (but I would love all kinds of recipes) - please share it with me, by emailing me at dedesmith32@gmail.com. I will try it out and feature it on my blog! If you have cooking tips or anything else in regards to cooking and food - please email me!

Read More

Wednesday SayingZ | Laughter

{ This week's quote }
You can't deny laughter when it comes,
it plops down in your favorite chair
and stays as long as it wants.
- Stephen King -

DOWNLOAD LINK

Each Wednesday, I am going to be sharing a quote/saying with you! 

I am a collector of quotes/sayings/scrapbook titles, etc. and I love to hear new ones! So, each week, I will share a quote/saying with you that I hope will inspire you and make your day a little better! I also create pieces of wordart with these quotes each week and offering them to you as a freebie!!!  Feel free to use them in your scrapbook layouts or just print them out for great wall decor!

If you have any great quotes/sayings - feel free to send them in to me at dedesmith32@gmail.com - I would love to use them!

Read More