Monthly Archives: January 2012

Greeting Cards

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My Mom’s Birthday was this past week.  I really enjoy making cards for people.  I feel that putting that much effort into making a card really shows how much I love them.  I have a lot of cards pinned on  pinterest.    http://pinterest.com/okoraf/cards/      My card is not a copy of any of them but they did inspire me to make my own design.

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Cards often express ourselves and  the relationships we have with the people we are giving them to.  If you make cards I would love to see your designs.  Leave me a comment and I will check them out.

 

Inspiration Abounds…
okoraf
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Grapefruit as a Snack

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In this house, half of us like grapefruit. We especially like pink grapefruit. Grapefruit falls in the low sugar fruit category so it is a good choice for someone trying to keep their carb count reduced. It has roughly 10 carbs(net) for one half of a pink grapefruit. I tried a new way of eating my grapefruit last week. This was my inspiration:

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247661417/

Now this did add more carbs but I am ok with doing that occasionally.  I changed it up a little because I didn’t have any cardamom and I used less honey than they did.  I still wanted to keep the carbs as low as I could and still have the flavor.
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The girls and I really enjoyed the grapefruit this way. It was a little sweeter and the cinnamon and vanilla added extra flavor. I would definitely do this again as a treat. The girls have already asked to do it again. I may try stevia with the cinnamon and vanilla next time. That will really help keep the carbs down.
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Inspiration Abounds…
okoraf

Linked to:Tasty Tuesday

Konad Nail Art

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247486467/

I have a wonderful sister-in-law.  She happens to love doing her nails and she is very good at it. Exhibit A:

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I rarely painted my nails before she came along but now I enjoy painting them.  She also got me started on stamping my nails.  I have only done it three times but I really enjoy the options it gives to the less talented artists.(me)  Now I wish my nails looked like my sister-in-law’s nails or my Pinterest inspiration’s nails.
http://polishhoarderdisorder.blogspot.com/2010/12/simple-snowflake.html
I guess I will have to keep practicing.
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It can be a lot of fun to step out of our comfort zones.  I never would have worn dark polish on my fingers before I was inspired.  Now I enjoy doing something different every once in a while.  I hope you will be inspired to step out of your comfort zone and try something new.  You just might really enjoy it.

 

Inspiration Abounds…
okoraf

 

Steak Tips

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In my family growing up, we got to pick what we would eat for dinner on our birthday.  This is what I would pick just about every year.  I did not love meat growing up but I sure did like these steak tips.  Now that I have a family of my own we rarely eat this because steak tips for a family of six can be pricey.  Well, two of my children were not home,  so I decided it was time to make this recipe.  (the last time I made it was for Valentine’s Day 2011)  I am so glad I did.  It is as delicious as I remember.  If you would like to make it here is the recipe:

Steak Tips

1 1/2 lbs steak tips (I cut mine into tips myself to save money)
2tbsp oil
1 clove garlic
1 cup Ketchup
3tbsp lemon juice
1/2tsp salt
1tsp pepper

Cut meat into 1 inch cubes. Saute garlic in hot oil. Add meat and brown on all sides over medium heat. Mix remaining ingredients and add to meat. Cover and simmer over low heat until meat is tender.
If desired serve over hot fluffy rice. We are eating lower carb so we skipped the rice and just had a salad with ours.

Inspiration Abounds…
okoraf
linked to: Tasty Tuesday

Tip Toe Through the Tulips

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I love tulips.  They are my favorite flower.  So when I spotted 7 stems for $2.64, I decided to pick some up.  I also picked some up for my mother-in-law.

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Now I could have just given her the flowers in the plastic from the store and she would have  been very pleased with them.  With just a bit of effort I was able to dress them up a little and make it extra special.  All I did was take the tulips and wrap them in two colors of tissue paper.  I then took some twine and tied a bow around the whole thing.  Easy peasy.  They really looked lovely when I gave them to her.

Do you wrap your flowers from the grocery store when you give them as a gift?  If not, next time try it.  It really adds that little extra to the gift.

Inspiration Abounds…
okoraf

The Power of Forgiveness

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Today my girls and I read the second chapter of Just Like Jesus by Max Lucado.

 

I was deeply humbled.  He talked about three ways to cope with being stuck with people.(any relationship really)  Flee. Fight. Forgive.

He talked about how Jesus knew all off his disciples faults.  Past. Present and Future.  Yet he didn’t trade them in or constantly harp on their faults.  In fact days before he died on the cross, he did a task for them that was typically saved for the lowest of the servants.  Jesus washed the feet of his disciples.  The creator of the universe, the one who we will all someday kneel before washed the feet of his disciples.  Not just the feet of those  who were closet to him.  He washed them all, including the one who would betray him so soon after. Max says, “He offered mercy before they even sought it.”

How can we forgive wounds that go deep?  Sometimes so deep we can’t even put it into words.  It may be all we can do to keep from lashing out at the person.  How could we forgive?  We must put our focus on Jesus.  When we see him and we see what he has washed away in own lives, every wrong deed, every wicked thought, every selfish desire, we know that we can forgive others.  You see, Jesus was the person who was wronged.  He was in the right.  The one who was innocent made the first gesture.

Are there relationships in your’s and my life that need some forgiveness?  Are we holding back from these people because we haven’t fully forgiven them.  Maybe we have only washed one foot but that second foot still needs to be cleaned?  I pray that we will humble ourselves.  Look to Jesus and forgive.

Inspiration Abounds…

Okoraf
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Pinterest and Homeschool

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Today I have quite a few links to share regarding a homeschool project.  My eight year old daughter is learning the States and Capitals as part of her Social Studies this year.  I bought one of those books from the dollar section in Target to start her off.  Today I am going to show you a few links from Pinterest that I will also use to help her accomplish this task.

50 states and their capitals

http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247642710/

The first is a  fun video from You-Tube.  It is a song that has all fifty States and Capitals.

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247653805/

The second is a colorful map that has all the States listed and their postal  abbreviations.  Now my eight year old will really appreciate the colors on this map.  She loves things bright and colorful.

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247642701/

Third is this site which offers many different outline maps.  We will use two of them for this project.  We will use the United States: Capitals and the United States: Capitals (blank) maps.

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247653939/

Last but not least is this fun games site that I just pinned the other day.  The games have different levels and when you finish the game, you get a score.  So it will be easy to see your child’s progress as they have fun learning their States and Capitals.

If you know of any other great sites for learning the States and Capitals please leave me a comment.

Inspiration Abounds,

Okoraf

Impossibly Easy Taco Pie

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247499054/

Easy, why yes, thank you.  Some nights you just need easy.  That is why I am happy to say I have added another easy meal to our list of things we like.  Now, I did not follow this recipe exactly.  I was missing one of the ingredients and I have a large family so I often have to make recipes a little bigger.

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The changes I made were:  I cut two green peppers and laid them on the bottom of a 9×11 pan, then added the meat, which I seasoned with my own taco seasoning.  Next I added the bisquick, milk, and egg mixture.  I used 4 eggs, a rounded 1/2 cup of bisquick, and 1 cup milk. I added the Monterey Jack cheese after cooking.  I cooked it for the same amount of time.  I usually have to leave things in a little longer than normal so if you do use a 9×11 pan please check it a few minutes early.

This completes my first week of blogging.  I hope to continue to learn more about blogging, writing, and photography on this new journey.  If you have any tips or tricks please share.

Inspiration Abounds,

Okoraf

 

Hip, Flip, Zip: Zipper Flowers

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247579940/

 

My girls are really into headbands lately.  With four girls we have quite a few around this house.  I, however, couldn’t resist added one more to the mix.

I have seen quite a few projects on blogs and around Pinterest using zippers.  I had never attempted any of them though.  I thought it was time to give one a try.  This tutorial http://designbynight.blogspot.com/2011/03/in-zip-zipper-flower-tutorial.html  was very easy to follow.  I wish that I had ironed my zipper as it had been stored curled up  but if your zipper is stored flat you shouldn’t have any problem.  I would say this project took me about 10-15 minutes.  If you do this project I would love to see your results.

Inspiration Abounds…

Okoraf

Zuppa Toscana

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http://pinterest.com/pin/253468285247618502/

My family loves soup in the winter.  Well, we like soup even in the summer but we really like it when it is cold outside.   We occasionally enjoy going to Olive Garden and getting their soup, salad and bread sticks and I always get the Zuppa Toscana  soup.  So I decided it was time to try this delicious sounding recipe.  This recipe was originally posted here: http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2010/11/zuppa-toscana.html

I followed the recipe almost exactly.  I used cauliflower instead of potatoes.  We are trying to keep our carb count down so I will often substitute cauliflower for potatoes.  My children don’t necessarily love cauliflower by itself but they don’t seem to mind when I add it to soup.  This soup is definitely better than Olive Garden’s.  The hot Italian sausage gives it a nice spicy taste.  While the heavy cream and bacon make it feel indulgent.  I thought my girls would dislike the kale but I got no complaints and they all had seconds and thirds.  This soup was fantastic.  I will be making it again very soon.

Inspiration Abounds…

Okoraf