Easter

Well, this Easter was a little different. We usually have Turkey and Ham, but this year we had Lamb chops.  Steve and I liked them but they were too fat for the rest of the clan.  We did have some good Patty Pan squash and some Steamed Normandy mixed vegetables.  I didn't even make deviled eggs this year.  I hard boiled 2 dozen eggs but didn't get them colored either.  Dawn made some Croissants shaped like nests and baked colored eggs inside the nests.  They looked delicious, she didn't take many home so they must have been good.   They also brought a fruit salad that looked good.  I didn't get anything done that I wanted to, because I was out of town on Saturday.  But we did have Easter baskets for the grandchildren and they hunted eggs outside.  Grandpa even got in on the egg hunt.  Here are some pics.

 Grandpa picking up an egg that everyone else had passed right by.  Dawn is concerned that Grandpa may be reverting back to his childhood a little faster than we thought. I guess I'll have to buy him a basket of his own next year.

 Jordan found one close by too.

 Hailey saw one at a distance and took off running to get it before anyone else could.

 Mary was searching near the chicken fence, and still missed several.

 Jordan and Hailey trying to find the last few eggs that were missing.

 Zack finally found one.  I filled about 65 plastic eggs with candy and Dawn boiled 3 dozen so there were plenty eggs to find.

 Grandpa was helping Mary and Hailey find the eggs out by the garden beds.

 Zack and Mary still looking for eggs.

  Grandpa was also picking up toys so he could mow the grass right after the egg hunt.

Finally caught Jordan picking up an egg.  

I hope everyone enjoyed their Easter.  We certainly enjoyed ours.  

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

Spring Break was a busy week for me.

On Sunday, my Sister and Brother-in-law brought their granddaughters down to my house so that the older one could stay the week with me.  Amber is usually very quiet and shy, so I wasn't quite sure how this was going to work, since I usually spend a lot of time with my grandchildren and they are not so quiet and shy.  A few days before she came I sent a text to Amber asking what she wanted to do when she came down.  Now she is 15, and I live about 15 minutes from Clackamas Town Center.  I'm thinking a typical 15 year old would want to go to the mall, or go shopping or something along that line of activities.  Amber replied " Sew & Dye".  I replied " as in Tie Dye?" Amber replied as in Cos-play   Luckily I was sitting at my computer when I received the text, so I looked up Cos-play  ah ha, Costume Play.  I wasn't sure exactly sure what she wanted to do so I replied "OK, you might have to show me how".  So when Amber arrived, we visited for a bit and then Nanna, Poppa and Crysta headed back to The Dalles.

Amber had been working on a My Little Pony costume "Flutter-shy" and asked me to help her sew some wings and ears onto a hoodie that she also needed dyed.  I also sewed up a small backpack that Amber designed and cut out. I didn't get pics of the backpack.

Here are some pictures.

I almost forgot, it took us 4 days to get her hair from dark brown to this shade of pink.

 Amber cut out the ears and I sewed then up on the sewing machine, stuffed them, then stitched them onto the hood where she wanted them.

 I found a black and white pic of the wings for Flutter-shy and made a cut file then we cut out the pattern for the wings on the Cricut and hand cut the fabric.  I sewed them up and stuffed them, then cut a hole in the back of the hoodie and stitched the wings on making sure that I double stitched the edges of the hoodie.

 I also hand stitched the outer parts of the wings to the back of the hoodie to keep them standing out.

Amber hand painted all the cutie marks (Butterflies) on the hoodie and skirt.  I think she did a great job.  We had so much fun.  She was a hoot to be around.  Not shy like normal.  We visited late into the night most of the week.  She is such a sweet heart.  

On Thursday, I took my 4 grandchildren, Amber and my Daughter Dawn to see The Croods. What a funny movie.  We laughed our butts off.  Thursday night Amber and I were dying her hair again and while we were waiting for the 40 minutes to pass we were visiting at the dinning room table.  I have automatic sensors on my dining room light and if you don't move for about 8 minutes, the light shuts off. Well, we were sitting there visiting and apparently hadn't moved because the light shut off, both of us raised our arms to get the light to come back on and at that instance it hit me to blow on my hands as if I were trying to get the flame to flare up again. (as in the movie) we laughed so hard, we had tears running down our faces and we couldn't hardly breath.  We couldn't look at each other with out laughing again.  I am still shocked that my husband slept right through it.  

When we took Amber home on Saturday, she asked if she could spend more time with me this summer. What a pleasure it will be to have her come back.  Crysta wants to spend some time with us too.  I am looking forward to spending time with both of them, getting to know them better and having them get to know my grandchildren better too.

I will have to make a mini scrapbook of our week.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

On my way to a Healthier me.

As you know, I started a Comprehensive Elimination Diet on November 4th 2010.  At first I didn't know what to expect, or what to eat for that matter.  After being on the diet for a week and a half, I felt so much better that I stopped taking my pain pills and muscle relaxers, they weren't working anyway.  I've not had to take them since.  I lost 42 lbs, which felt so good. I started sleeping all night again too.  I was able to do more than I was used to doing and everyone around me kept saying don't over do it, slow down, take it easy.  Do you have any idea how long it's been since someone told me to slow down?  Years.  Even my grandchildren were having a hard time keeping up with me because they were used to having to go slow for Grandma. Well not any more.  I felt free and alive again. 

It took me almost 2 years to add foods back into my diet as I was afraid the pain from my Fibromyalgia would come back.  I started adding foods back in sometime in September 2012, since then I have learned that I am VERY sensitive to peanuts, Soy, Gluten and Eggs.  I have found so many great recipes and created some of my own, however I have gained almost all of the weight back that I lost.  I found that all grains cause weight gain so take it easy on the grains.  You should also go Gluten free for at least 1 month before you try any of the gluten free grains, like Quinoa, Millet, Buckwheat and others, as you can develop sensitivities to the Gluten free grains as well.  Dr. David Clark suggests that you might have leaky gut syndrome and you should correct that before adding in the Gluten Free grains.  I am trying to loose the weight again and have found some very interesting books that I think will help me do just that.  If you know me, you know that I am not one who gets lost in books, however I have been trying to change our eating habits and trying to get both of us healthier, just because I want to keep Steve around a lot longer to torture him, and so he can enjoy the grandchildren as they grow.  Steve has Dementia on both sides of his family and I am hoping I can lessen the effects on Steve so that he can enjoy more of his life. Whether he wants to or not.

In reading the following books, I see how you can reverse most illnesses just by changing your eating habits.  The more fruits and vegetables we add back into our diets the healthier we will be.  Over the last 50 years we have been eating so many prepackaged foods that are literally killing us. So many grains have been Genetically modified to be a more dense, low growing crop to make it easier to harvest and make the harvest more bountiful and more disease resistant.  They didn't worry about long term effects on us.  I was watching a YouTube Video on how to make Gluten Free Baking powder biscuits the other day and they were talking about wheat originally had 14 

Chromosomes and now it has 42.

Dr. Daniel Amen has a book called Change your Brain Change your Body, which I am reading.

• The Craving Solution — Use Your Brain to Increase Your Willpower and Calm the Urges That Prevent You From Achieving Your Goals
• The Weight Solution — Use Your Brain to Achieve Your Optimal Weight
• The Nutrition Solution — Feed Your Brain to Look and Feel Younger
• The Focus and Energy Solution — Boost Your Energy to Stay on Track toward Your Goals
• The Stress Solution — Relax Your Brain to Reduce Your Wrinkles and Improve Your Immune System
• The Heart Solution — Use Your Brain to Strengthen and Soothe Your Heart

Dr. Amen also wrote Change your Brain Change your Age. 

• Boost your memory, mood, attention, and energy
• Decrease your risk for Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia
• Eat to live longer
• Reduce the outward signs of aging and make your skin more beautiful
• Promote the healing of brain damage due to injury, strokes, substance abuse, and toxic exposure
• Dramatically increase your chances of living longer and looking younger
• And much more.

Steve's cousin suggested a book by Dr. Fuhrman called Eat To Live. The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss.  

Dr. Fuhrman suggests that you eat; 

2-5 servings of raw & cooked vegetables a day, 

3-5 servings of fruit, 

1-2 servings of beans,

1-3 servings of nuts & seeds,

1-3 servings Whole grain products/Potatoes

Only 2-4 servings per week of Animal products, which includes white meat foul, fish, eggs and low fat dairy. Absolutely NO processed meats, cured meats, barbecued meat or full fat dairy.

1200 mg or less of sodium per day.

1-2 Tablespoons Fats/Oils, olive oil or acceptable substitute. Includes;non dairy spreads without trans or hydrogenated fats. 

In his book he talks about the value of nutrient dense foods. And has created a ANDI food scoring guide.  So I purchased both, Eat to Live and the Nutritarian handbook.  I purchased all the books that I have mentioned on Amazon since they were less expensive than on both Dr's websites.

I am happy to say that I have finished the Nutritarian Handbook and am about half way through Eat to live.  They are very interesting to me and I am learning a lot.  I am planning on planting lots of green leafy vegetables in my garden soon, using what I have learned from these books. 

I've started eating a lot more green leafy vegetables and more fruit.  I know that I am not up to his minimums yet but hopefully soon and then to see the results.  I will try to keep up posting on the progress and hopefully I will start to see results very soon.  

If you are reading the same books or have found other great books on the subject and are trying to get healthier I would love to hear from you on your progress.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

Sign Up and Celebrate!

Join My Team for just $49 in April and get $220 of product!

Are you looking for a way to get great crafting products at a discount?
Are you looking for a way to build relationships with others who share your passion of papercrafting?
Are you looking for a rewarding business where you have the flexibility to set your schedule to fit your season of life?
Wouldn't you love to be paid for doing what you love... sharing the art of scrapbooking and stamping?

If you answered yes to any or all of these statements, then you owe it to yourself to find out more.  Contact me today (503-708-6889 or jwilson@bctonline.com) and I will gladly answer any questions, you might have about Close To My Heart.

If you know you are ready to sign up, I would love for you to join my team. Click here to fill out the application today!  I offer as much support as you need as you grow your business.  CTMH really is like a family and I look forward to sharing the experience with you.

This deal couldn't be any sweeter.   The kit has been modified to include everything you will need to get started without the large quantity of business supplies.  It is designed for the person who might just be looking for the discount and is not sure about pursuing it as a business.  The kit includes the Chantilly Workshop on the Go, Chantilly Compliments Dimensional Elements, 3 Idea Books, 5pks of order forms and hostess rewards forms, petite perks stamp set, Reflections Scrapbook Program, Originals Card Confidence Program, Buttercup Exclusive Ink Pad, Cotton Candy Exclusive Ink Pad, Wheel of Life Stamp set, spinner, For a Friend Stamp set, and a 4x5 block.  Total cost will be $49 plus $10 shipping.  Retail value is $155.

Now if you know you want to try your hand at the business end of this like me, then you want the Master Kit which inlcuded all of the above and additional tools and business materials.  Cost is $99.  Retail value is $335.

But wait for the month of April the deal gets even sweeter.  When you join my team in April you will also get the April, May, June, and July Stamp of the Month stamp sets for free! Now that’s a reason to celebrate!

These stamp sets are D - size and retail for $17.95 each.  That is $72.80 for all 4 stamp sets.

*No additional shipping/handling or tax will be applied for the free stamp sets. Only new Consultants who sign up during the month of April will qualify for the free stamp sets. Offer valid April 1–30, 2013.

Offer valid April 1–30, 2013.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

Making your own baking powder at home

Many of you might not know that it is so simple to make your own baking powder using common household kitchen ingredients. To keep it from clumping just add 1 teaspoon of corn starch or Potato starch if you can not have corn, to your mixture.

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon potato starch or corn starch

I found this information while searching food storage solutions and thought I would pass it on to those of you who can not use regular baking powder.

Why Do We Use Baking Powder?

Posted on December 21, 2012 by admin

What is Baking powder?

Many of us use baking powder all the time but never really consider what it is. All we know is that is needed in this recipe.

The dirty quick definition is that baking powder is a combination of an acid and an alkali
with starch added to keep the other two ingredients stable and dry. Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods.

How does baking powder work?

Baking powder works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid-base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. The powder reacts with liquid by foaming and the resulting bubbles of carbon dioxide can aerate and raise dough. Almost all baking powder now on the market is double acting, meaning it has one acid that bubbles at room temperature and another acid which only reacts at oven temperatures.

Single Acting

It is called single action because it only contains one acid. Single acting baking powder reacts when the acid reacts to a liquid at room temperature. This means the bulk of the leavening action occurs as soon as the batter is mixed. If there is a delay between mixing an baking, some of the gas may escape and cause deflation.

Double Acting

Baking powders that contain both fast and slow acting acids are called double acting. Double acting baking powders work in two phases; once at room temperature, and once when heat is added, like cooking the oven. By providing a second rise in the oven, double acting baking powders increase the reliability of baked goods by rendering the time elapsed between mixing and baking less critical, and this is the type most widely available to consumers today.

Why do we use baking powder?

We use baking powder as a yeast subsitute for end-products where fermentation flavors would be undesirable or where the batter lacks the elastic structure to hold gas bubbles for more than a few minutes. Because carbon dioxide is released at a faster rate through the acid-base reaction than through fermentation, breads made by chemical leavening are called quick breads.

What is baking powder made up of?

Most commercially available baking powders are made up of an alkaline component (typically sodium bicarbonate, also known as baking soda), one or more acid salts (like Tartaric Acid), and an inert starch; either cornstarch or potato starch are the most commonly used. Baking soda is the source of the carbon dioxide, and the acid-base reaction can be generically represented as NaHCO₃ + H⁺ → Na⁺ + CO₂ + H₂O, for us non scientific people all that looks like is a bunch of letters and numbers.

The inert starch serves several functions in baking powder. The main function is to absorb moisture, to prolong the shelf life by keeping the powder’s alkaline and acidic components from reacting prematurely. A dry powder also flows and mixes more easily and the bulkiness helps for accurate measurements.

What is the difference between fast acting & slow acting?

Fast Acting

A fast-acting acid reacts in a wet mixture with baking soda at room temperature, common low-temperature acid salts include cream of tartar and monocalcium phosphate (also called calcium acid phosphate).

Slow Acting

A slow acting acids will not react until heated in an oven. High-temperature acid salts include sodium aluminum sulfate, sodium aluminum phosphate and sodium acid pyrophosphate.

Dos and Don’ts for baking powder

Don’t expose baking powder to steam, humid air, wet spoons, or other moisture.

Do store your baking powder in a air tight container for no more than a year. Even when kept dry it will eventually loses its potency. To test its strength, measure 1 tsp powder into 1/3 cup hot water. The mixture should fizz and bubble furiously. If it doesn’t, throw it out.

Clearly The Best; Behind the Scenes.

This video shows how to use first generation and second generation stamping techniques to create a  beautiful background for your projects.

Hope you found this video helpful.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

20,000 hits!!!

Well my Blog finally has 20,000 hits.  That came a lot faster than I thought it would.  Only one problem, no comments.   I was giving away this new CTMH Surf's Up paper pack 

to someone who left me a comment, and no one left me a comment.  Now what should I do?  Who should I give this paper pack to?  Do I need to sweeten the deal, add some more stuff? 

Here are some ideas on how to use this beautiful paper pack.  Now go leave me some love.

 Happy Scrappin',


Janice

Squash Book Class on March 23rd.

Here is the Squash book that we will be making next Saturday.  I decided to use Close To My Heart's Buzz and Bumble paper pack X7164B and the stamp set from the Workshop On The Go kit G1054, Burlap ribbon Z1760 and Twill ribbon which is retired, sorry.  I used Heavy cardboard to start with and tore the corners to make that tattered vintage look. I added some Martha Stewart Microbeads - clear to the centers of the flowers.  I think I need to add some leaves and a little color to the word Seeds.

Here is a closeup of the embellishments.

 This is the inside, now I just have to add pictures.  If you enlarge the pic you can see that the yellow pieces are different, they are the newsprint paper front and back.  

 This is the back side of the book.  You can embellish this side if you are leaving it out for people to look at, or leave it blank, it is up to you.

I will post more pics later.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

Miss Teen Portland - March 24, 2013

I had a wonderful opportunity to spend some much need time with my Sister, my Niece and 3 Great Nieces on Sunday March 24, 2013.

My Niece Jennifer asked me to go with them to the Glencoe High School in Hillsboro, OR to be a helper for her 3 girls, who were all in the pageant.  They came down from The Dalles for part of the processing on Saturday and stayed the night with me.  We did their nails and got up early and got there on time for the pageant to start on Sunday morning.  This pageant started out with 400 girls and my Great Nieces were in the final 170 girls.  I think this in itself was quite an accomplishment.

This was the rehearsal part of the pageant, Miss Aurora was in the Miss Pre-Teen Division

Amber and Crysta were in the Miss Jr. Teen Dividision and wore number 108 & 109.  

Sorry my pics are kinda blurry.

This is the band room where we were getting dressed between rehearsal and Casual wear and Formal wear competitions.  Jennifer was putting on Crysta's and Aurora's makeup. I helped with their hair.

I think Amber should get an award for most talented at putting on her own makeup.  There were no places to put a mirror so that you could see what you were doing so Amber just used her toes to hold the mirror.
I had to sneak to get this picture.  

Nanna (my Sis) asking permission to take Amber's pic.

 Just look at these beautiful faces.

This was the Casual part of the competition.

Here is the Formal wear part of the competition.

They didn't get into the top 10, but they learned a lot.  What they learned will last them a life time. They were so patient with each other they helped each other and they made sure that none of them were late for their walk.  These girls tried their best to be themselves and do what was expected of them.  I am so proud of them and so glad I got the opportunity to spend the day with them and share something so very important to all of them.  I don't get to spend as much time with them as I would like so this was an opportunity I couldn't turn down.  

 I am so proud of all of you.

Yes, I'm sure there will be a scrapbook about this event. 

Happy Scrappin',

Jancie

Don't forget about the blog candy giveaway.

Once my blog gets 20,000 hits I will give away the new CTMH Surf's Up paper pack.

You will get:
6 - 12" X 12" B&T Duos (2 each of 3 double-sided designs)
6 - 12" X 12" Cardstock Sheets
2 - Sorbet
2- Surf's Up Teal
1 - Chocolate
1 Surf's Up Gold

So here are your options to enter the drawing for the Surf's Up paper pack.  

1. Follow my blog.
2. Follow me by E-mail.
3. Leave a comment for me on Facebook.
4. Re-pin on of my pins on Pinterest

And leave a comment on my blog to let me know what you did to enter the drawing.

Ok, never mind the stuff above, just leave me a comment.

Once my blog visitor counter hits 20,000 hits, I will draw the Winner's name and post it here and on Facebook.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

Squash Book

I had several people asking about a class to make a Squash Book like the one Jean made for Stacy. So I worked on one the other night and this is what I came up with.  I used the new Chantilly papers and cardboard.  I covered the cardboard unlike the one Jean made.

I used pics of Miss Hailey from 2008.  She was having a giggle attack.  She is still the happiest girl I know.

Front inside

Back side

Back cover

Opening before pics were added

Back side 

both ends open, center closed

This is the one Jean made for Stacy, I like it way better than the one I just made.  

I guess I'll have to make another one. lol

I will post a tutorial soon.

Happy Scrappin',

Janice

Jump For Joy!!!

Jump for Joy in March! Jump to the Next Level of Hostess Rewards During the month of March, hostesses “jump” to the next level of Hostess Rewards when a Gathering reaches $250 or more!* More discounts and free product for hostesses. Now that’s a reason to jump for joy! *Shipping/handling and tax applies. Only Gatherings with a total of $250 or more will qualify for the jump in Hostess Rewards or Hostess Rewards Plus! Qualifying hostesses will receive Hostess Rewards from one level only—the level that is one higher than their sales total. Offer valid March 1–31, 2013. There are many ways you can do this,   1.  You can have a home Gathering and invite all your friends to come.  Call me to set up a date and time 503-708-6889. 2.  You can have a Book Party, where you pass around a book to all your friends and gather their orders. Let them know that the Idea book is online so they can look even if you don't have a book to put in their hands.  Call me with your orders.  3.  You can host an Online Party and invite everyone you know, they don't even have to be local.  The idea book is online, so you don't even have to pass it around.  Call me to set up an Ez-invite online gathering, email me a list of email addresses of everyone you know and I will invite them to join your gathering and place orders online.  The orders will ship directly to them and you get the benefits of having a party.  Call me with your order and the items you would like to get for free and I will give you a total of you Online gathering and let you know if you qualify to Jump for Joy. Here is the link to the Idea Book Online; http://janicewilson.ctmh.com/CTMH/Content.aspx?id=%2fen%2fsitecore%2fcontent%2fOBA%2fProducts%2fOnline_Idea_Book.aspx Don't forget about my Open Club, all of your orders add to the open club totals. Happy Scrappin', Janice