Women's Conference

So this post is a bit different than the rest. But a quick update. I am currently in Interior, South Dakota for a women's conference. I have been invited here as the main speaker for the event and am very excited about it. It is a smaller group than last year but more intimate too - so very nice! The conference officially got underway tonight with intro session, some praise and worship and a surprise baby shower for Philip and Amy Kruse - a wonderful couple that own the Bed and Breakfast we are staying at!! I will be doing a post on JUST the B&B when I get home and have more time and can post pictures as well. But I simply posted tonight to ask you to pray for me as I speak tomorrow and that the Lord would be over this entire conference! Thanks and see you when I am done!!

Life Lessons From a Puppy #2

So this one will not be long and by the picture it is pretty self-explanatory but the story is as follows:
We had spent my husband's day off fishing at a friend's pond and after having a some-what frustrating day of tangling lines and losing lures we called it a day and came home. When we got home I began dinner and Nick let the puppies inside, since it was especially hot out that day. Within a few minutes sure enough the puppy, Dakota had pooped (almost diarrhea) on the living room carpet. Now we got this puppy because I wanted her and I made Nick a deal that I would deal with all house-training which yes meant I agreed to clean all messes. At the moment I was cooking though and Nick said, "It's OK I will get it" although you could tell he wasn't thrilled with the idea.

Now to set the scene my husband has an incredibly sensitive sense of smell and he will get queasy stomached very easily! So he naturally thought of an idea to make sure he could muster through the entire mess. See below.

My son of course wanted to help "spray" (the cleaner bottle) so Daddy quickly rigged him up a bandanna too! They looked so ridiculous to me cleaning up dog doodoo that I HAD to get my camera. And thus the double duo:

So very simply my life lesson learned is: Clean up your own dang stinkin' mess! It's twice as gross for someone to have to come behind and clean up the mess YOU made!

Lol, enjoy your day! And by the way the puppy is officially housebroke now so not sure where my life lessons will come from now - guess we will see!

Smoothie Recipe

It is mid-afternoon and my kiddos snack time. I am accustomed to eating snacks myself and since the weather has been warming up have been enjoying a variety of smoothies that I have just experimented with and come up with myself! Today I made up one of my favorites and here is the best part - it is completely HEALTHY! And not to mention anti-inflammatory! So I decided to share my recipe with you in case you want a cool refreshment too!

Juicy-Berry Smoothie

• 3/4 - 1 C. Frozen Mixed Berries (blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries is the mixture I use)
• 1/2 C. Plain Organic Yogurt
• 1-2 TBLS. PomWonderful Juice (100% pomegranate juice)
• 1/2-3/4C. orange juice
• 1/2 TBLS. ground flax seed

1. Throw all ingredients into a blender and grind it all up!
2. I just throw things together so measurements are estimates - play with the amount until you get the desired taste. Also the flax seed is added as a health benefit (great for your skin) and you won't taste it in your drink.
3. Makes 1 serving (about 10-12 oz.)

My Photography

I am so excited to let everyone know that I will now have some of my best photography available for purchase on Imagekind.com. If you look to the right side bar you will see a scrolling banner of my current photos that also includes a link straight to them.

You can get them any way you want - as cards, prints, framed artwork, canvas, anything!

This sight is a GREAT way to find unique artwork and greeting cards from ordinary artists such as myself. I encourage you to check it out for that perfect wall art or perhaps a great Mother's Day card (since it's in a couple days you know)!

I have only added one photo so far, as I just signed up, but keep checking back for more to come!

Thank you for your support!

Life lessons from a puppy

In case you don't know we have recently taken on a new puppy in our lives: Dakota, a black-tri full blood Australian Shepherd. She is an adorable lil brat that has brought lots of joy and playfulness into our home. But for those of you who have ever gotten a puppy you know it isn't all fun and games. So thus I will be doing a series called "Life lessons from a puppy" that will bring you insight into a world with a puppy and where my brain goes during these events.

Life lesson #1...

So the other day I'm walking to my bathroom to get some toilet paper to put into the spare bathroom and when I walk into my room I see this...

I go hmm...what kid got into the toilet paper to try and wipe their nose or clean their hands or whatever other reason they wanted it? So without much thought I continue into my bathroom to retrieve the toilet paper when I now realize who really got into my toilet paper. See if you can guess by what I saw:

So of course my blood starts to boil and I call out "DAKOTA!!!" in a deep harsh voice and go looking for my puppy. I do find her she gets her nose rubbed in it and put outside. When I turn back to my house and the mess of course my first thought is: "I need to blog this!" So I go get my camera and start clicking. And of course on my way to get my camera from the living room I spot yet one more mess.

Now I got it all cleaned up pretty quickly and life went on and you would think that is where the story ends but unfortunately it is not. For exactly one hour and 20 minutes later once again walking into my bathroom...

Oh yes the roll she had already shredded to half of it's size she had later returned to officially FINISH off. So one toilet paper roll, a small trash can full of shreddings, two messes, and a puppy outside I learned one of the many life lessons from a puppy:

"Be careful where you leave your 'stuff'."

(or better understood this way- "Be careful WHO you tell your troubles to")

Tea

It has become my morning routine (really since I've started my Anti-Inflammatory Diet/Lifestyle) to cook my self Old-Fashioned Oatmeal with a TBLS. of ground flax seed, an egg or omelet, and a slice of cantaloupe (or perhaps 1/2 berries instead) and I sit at my kitchen table with a clear view of my bird feeder where Cardinals frequent. To go with my wonderful and relaxing breakfast I make myself a cup of Tazo Green Tea to sip - knowing I'm filling my body full of antioxidants to fight off all the junk I've put in my body either by eating bad or stressing out. Not to mention I LOVE the flavor of it! I even order it at restaurants that have good green tea such as Shogun's. And to top it all off I always have a current book to read while I slowly eat my morning meal. Eating slow is good for digestion you know - so don't tease me for eating like a bird!

Now to the subject at hand - tea. I recently read a good post that had a recipe for truly the best Chai Tea you will ever drink! If you are a fan of Chai Tea you truly MUST try the recipe - it is claimed to be better than Starbucks! You can find it at the following blog, Tea Time. (it is linked directly to that post)

I also wanted to recommend a great website to find tea at - Teavana.com

It is ALL high grade quality tea and all comes loose leaf. If your mom is a fan of tea it would make a GREAT mother's day present too!

So check out Teavana.com and Tea Time for a great Chai Tea recipe!