I love to knit.. and I love cupcakes.. so...

Ok, so I admit, I am a lover of both knitting and cupcakes (although I don't eat very many anymore!). For those of you who don't know, I am an AVID knitter, if I'm doing nothing else... i am knitting! So when I saw this episode of Matha, I was floored! I ask you, how much more adorable can one get?

Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies!

As I prepared my meal plan about a month ago, i came a cross a chocolate chip recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Cheeseslaves! This blog has made my transition to eating the Nourishing Traditions way, so much easier with tips, recipes and general healthy eating knowledge. I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE! It's amazing the lies we've been told about what we eat by the food industry and the FDA, and this book clears the matter up! The book is actually:

oh, sorry.. got completely off track.. :) I came across the Best Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe (that I have modified since then, mostly because I didn't have everything I needed at the time!) Feel free to use the original recipe above, or my modified recipe below, they are both honestly very good, but my modifications made this already amazing recipe produce even more perfect cookies! I have never baked a more perfect cookie then these! Crisp on the outside, soft an chewy on the inside. enjoy!

The "Perfect" Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour (i used fresh ground, but regular whole wheat worked too!)

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

6 TBSP salted grass-fed butter (butter from grass-fed cows)

2 TBSP organic extra virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup plus 4 tablespoons organic evaporated cane juice (we got our Florida Crystals Organic Cane Sugar at walmart)

1 large pastured egg (or free-range if you can’t find pastured)

1/4 teaspoon water

(original recipe calls for) 6 ounces organic non-GMO chocolate chips (available at the health food store) BUT I ran out and used 2 oz Ghirardelli all natural 60% cacao bittersweet baking bar. NOTE: it's good with both! if you want the healthier version, use the chips. If you don't mind, use the bar. I will use the chips whenever i have them, they do not effect the taste of the cookie, but they do effect how health they are.. :)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. MELT the butter until just melted, pour into a bowl and add the coconut oil and sugar. Mix by hand until just blended. Add the egg and water and mix until just blended.

3. by hand, stir (or fold) in the flour and baking soda until just blended.

4. Add the chocolate chips and mix until evenly distributed. OR use a knife to cut your bar into slices, and then cut across he slices so you get small chunks about the size of a pinky nail. mix them in until evenly distributed.

4. pick up rounded Tablespoons of dough, and gently shape into a ball (don't handle to much!) and place onto baking sheets (I line my baking sheets with Silpat silicone baking mats). Bake 10-12 minutes.

5. Transfer cookies to wire rack. Store in airtight container.

Easy Peasy! perfect cookies! enjoy!

Home parties for... Nintendo DS? :)

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I have to give kudos to Nintendo for this marketing approach. I LOVE it! The marketing strategy is outstanding. Gives a new meaning to the Tupperware Party. "Product Parties," in essence, where each guest received their own DS to sit around, play and relax with friends! Not only did they get the word out to a market that could actually afford their product (and more then one at that - gifts for daughters, mothers, friends, etc.) , but they took on a new target audience that has not traditionally been a user of their product, professional women. They CREATED a new market, and it worked!!

Wish I could do the same thing with my Handcrafted Soap and Bath items... hmmmm.... ;)

Not Me! Monday: My ignorance, My bliss? :/

"Are you feeling guilty for not washing your child's swimsuit after they wear it? Feel greasy because you don't wash your hair every day? Overcome with embarrassment because your child was rude while out to dinner? We'll don't be! Not Me! Monday was born out of my desire to admit some of my imperfections and reveal a few moments I'd rather forget. You may find it therapeutic to join in and do the same thing!"

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else has not been doing this week.

When I read about Not Me! Monday, I figured I had better jump in with both feet and add it to my weekly blogging experience, since there are too many imperfections to count!!! LOL Talk about a leap in blog content! So, on to the denial! ... as for me? Here's what I have NOT been doing:

I have NOT been ignoring the HUGE laundry pile that mocks me.. YES!!! as if it isn't even there. total and complete ignorance, on my part. If i dont look at it, it wont be there, right? wrong... only works until everyone has nothing to wear.. and you have to start wearing your husbands undies.. haha! Ok, so, thankfully! HUBBY to the rescue! he saw me sinking and came to my rescue. My hero!!!

I have NOT been feeling completely overwhelmed lately, to the point of hiding behind my new favorite show, and burying my head in a book every chance I get. It's time to get back on top of it all, a day at a time.

and, here's a biggie! I have NOT been allowing my kids (and myself) to eat all manner of AWESOME things!!! {{pukey face}}.. we must cut that out now.. vacation is OVER! LOL

Cheap BG 2.0"s anyone!?

So, I've listed some used BG 2.0 in great used condition on Diaperswappers, and thought this would be the easiest way to share all of the photos. I'm selling them for $5, $4 and $3 a piece!

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"Hell Hole to Haven in One Week Flat!"

Ok so, as I moped around the house last week, asking the inevitable "Why Me?" questions, something came to me.. My home, my balance, my life is in the chaos it is in because of something I am doing. right? So I scoured the internet in search of answers.. hours upon hours, I spent, searching. (those of you who know me, KNOW that I can research the hell out of anything!). I looked high and low for answers, how do I bring it all back under control.. the house, the laundry, our schedule, my business.. It took DAYS of research and in the end, I came to no further of a conclusion then where I had began.. But the answer DID come! it was a light bulb moment that hit me days after the research and inquiries were far gone.

THERE ISN'T ONE.

That's it. What had I been searching for? A magic pill.. a formula of some kind that I could mix in a bottle, sprinkle across my kitchen and watch the haven I have been looking for appear?! that wasn't happening. I had researched, and researched.. and the truth was, I knew it all already! I hadn't learned anything new. I read and re-read the same answers I had read 2 years ago, when the same boat capsized! I know about flylady, I know every group on yahoo, every homekeeping site on the web, every book, every method, I have been there.. done them all and failed at each and every one! :-) SO, what was the answer?

IT wasn't WHAT I was doing, it was what I WASN'T doing!

fatigue. kids. lack of sleep. over-scheduling. yada, yada, yada.. if there's an excuse out there, I've used it! well, clearly the problem is that NOTHING is getting done.. no, the problem is that I am DOING NOTHING! (don't fight me on that, I have plenty of proof!) Everything I read tells me to take it slow..15 minutes here, half an hour there, baby steps... Right? for me? Wrong! I'm no good at baby steps, so for the next week, I will be taking this hell hole I call my life, and making it into the haven I want to be a part of. With Gods guidance, this 1 week boot camp, will put me back on track and keep me there.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT NOW!?

I know, I asked the same thing? What will make this time any different then the other times. This time.. I have MY answer..

It wasn't WHAT I was doing, it was what I WASN'T doing!

I've learned that every bit of it boils down to discipline! Yep, DISCIPLINE! That's the difference! That's the one thing that not too many homemaking sites and methods talk about, and you know what? THATS what it takes. The discipline to get up when your body says no. The discipline to shut up when you wanna say what's on your mind. The discipline to keep on going when all you want to do is stop. The discipline to shut it down, when you want to keep on going. The discipline to Do what I say I will DO. The most successful people in the world, are that way because they have disciplined themselves beyond what the average joe cares to deal with (a very difficult place to be for a naturally un-disciplined person).

SO!

THIS week, I will get up off of my lazy butt, EVEN when I don't feel like it and do the things I have scheduled to do. THIS week, if I am too tired because I stayed up too late - SUCKS to be me! THIS week, NO excuse will be enough. THIS week - By the power of God, I will BE disciplined, i will commit to making it happen.. because frankly, that's ALL. IT. TAKES.

Starter Cultures for you!!

Ok, so stay tuned for quick updates on what's going on with me.. But first, I have an awesome contest to tell you about! Someone will win 3 starter cultures from Cultures for Health! If you're not familiar with cultures, they're the little starter buddies, you need for making your own healthy fermented foods like, yogurts, kefir, kombucha and cheeses.. Check out CheeseSlaves Blog, to find out ALL the ways you can enter to win! Good Luck!!

Stitches South Pic!

Well, I swear I'm making an earnest effort to keep up with blogging on this personal blog! I've got to get better at it, and I will be using it as an accountability point as well! (As you can see, I've already failed by missing 2 "tackle tuesdays" in a row!).

So, excuse me as I update, with a few pics of what we've been up to lately. The first pic being of my 2 pumpkin butts in front of our LYS's (local yarn shop's) vw bug! This was at Stitches south last wee, we had a Ball!!
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Fullearths is in full swing!

I've been uber busy trying to keep up with everything, I think mostly because I re-opened business. Yaay!

BUT its like adding kid number 3 ya know? The adjustment period? Well, same thing.. boy, this new "baby" has me running circles! However, I'm sure that, in time things will settle all in, and I dream of a home that runs like a well oiled business! ;-)

In the meantime, soap:
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Tackle it Tuesday!!!

.. begins again!  with.... CLUTTER.. oh, the big C word is my home's greatest downfall!!  So, I have NO choice but to take part in the big declutter.. I'll pick a spot later and DD and I will knock it out and post our before and after pics.  Wish my luck! I'm gonna need it! 

ps:  Thank You, 5 minutes for mom for motivating me to this end!  (can you tell where I spent time this morning? she has some awesome pics of her cluttered zone destroyed!) 

Moms! Win an HP mini 1000!

I know I've been gone for quit a bit!  Spending a lot of time at my other blog, re-opening Fullearths, etc. and getting my new etsy shop up and running - all in addition to being at home, homeschooling, housekeeping, meal making, wife being, soap making, order knitting - has taken up much of my time! LOL  BUT,  I rejoin you, oh momma bloggers with a awesome mom give away from 5 minutes for mom.com - a New HP Mini 1000 laptop computer.  Itty bitty tiny techy cutey ( I must admit for a mac girl, it's rather cute!)  So head on over (the computer link will take you right there) and sign up for the drawing! I am! 

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Throwing in the Towel..

Well, I'm considering gong back to work.. Why? I'm no good at what I do here. simple enough!   All the kid training, house cleaning, cooking, teaching etc. Is not what I'm "trained" for, so I've reached my last straw and decided it's time to hang it all up.  I did believe that it was my God given duty to be here, caring for my family and raising Godly children, but obviously that's not his plan for me, or my kids, so I know when to quit fighting.  I'll do much better bringing in enough income to send the kids somewhere, and pay someone to clean the house.  

Big dreams of a farm and living sustainably destroyed, I know.. but what else is there to do? Some are cut out for it, and others.. are not. I'm one of the others..  Do I think it's best for my kids? At this point, I think it's better.  Not sure how the whole thing will play out, not sure of the details, but I'll keep things updated as I go along. Who knows, maybe now, I can actually keep this blog up to date?! ;-)