Yummy Broccoli Casserole!

    For as long as I can remember at holidays and family gatherings alike, my mom has made this recipe for a delish broccoli casserole! She acquired the recipe from my aunt, tweaked it a bit and passed the recipe on to me. So now I make broccoli casseroles for get togethers and holidays and they're still a big hit. Even my kids love this recipe for broccoli casserole. So why not share with the world this yummy recipe.


So here are the ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 small onion (minced)
1/3 c milk
4 oz velveeta cheese (or as much or little as you like)
6 crowns of broccoli (prepacked broccoli or frozen can be used.)
3 packs Ritz crakers (crushed, divided in half)
8 Tbsp butter (melted)


Spray one 13x9 casserole dish with a non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.


For crust and topping, mix half the butter in each part of crushed Ritz crackers. Spread one half of crackers in bottom of casserole dish for crust. 


Rinse and cut broccoli crowns. Steam or boil until fork tender (or whatever texture you like). Set aside.


Combine both soups, onion, and milk in a large sauce pan. bring to a boil, making sure to stir often so that you do not burn the mixture.  Once boiling add cheesed stirring constantly until cheese is melted.


Spread broccoli over crust then pour soup mixture evenly over the broccoli. Now sprinkle remaining cracker butter mix over the casserole. Bake the casserole uncovered until soup bubbles. Let cool ten minutes and serve.


  You can lighten the recipe by using low sodium, heart healthy soups, 2% velveeta, the lower fat crackers and skim milk. It tastes just as great.  
     This recipe usually goes fast at most of the places we bring it to. You can even tweak it to make it a one pan dinner. Add turkey or chicken and extra veggies and you have a full course! If you have a variation on this recipe let me know! I'd love to try some new things with it! Enjoy!

Useful Useless Item Edition 2

I missed a few Sundays and this Sunday is Christmas. So I'm going to give you my useful useless item tonight.
I love magazines of all sorts. They usually pack great articles with ideas, tips, information, etc. And most have gorgeous photography. I can, however, only read the same magazine so many times before I'm thoroughly done with it. I'll clip recipes and other tidbits I like that I know I'll use continuously.Then it's just another useless item in my home.
I hate to just throw them away and only so many places will take magazine donations (and mostwon't take ones I clip from). Sure I can recycle them but like I said they have such gorgeous photography in most that I feel like I'm destroying art.
A thought I've picked up along the way (yes probably from one of my magazines) is to find uses for the sheets in the magazines.
One idea is to take an interesting page from a magazine and frame it to make a beautiful piece of artwork.
Another very fun thing is to use multiple pages as wrapping paper. You can combine sheets of various colors, backgrounds, etc to create unique wrapping paper.
Or use it to background a cork board for messages. Take some of your favorite pages and paste them to you cork board. Gives you a place to organize plus a creative unique piece for your home. When doing this, my thought is to create a collage of pages in different shapes.
The possibilities can be endless if you just look around. Hey even use them to decorate the empty diaper boxes you're putting to other uses! Hope these have sparked some ideas for you and maybe cleared out some clutter in your home. Enjoy your weekend and have a very Merry Christmas!

Healthy Living Tips

  I thought I would share some tips I have gathered over the years to help you eat healthy & lose weight. I need a refresher myself to get re-motivated to improve my fitness & lose the excess pounds.
   For me a key to healthy eating, weight loss & weight control is learning what true portions are & look like. If you are new to true portions, its best to take a few weeks and actually measure out portions. After a while you should be able to look at amounts and know the true portions to a very close accuracy.  We eat more than we realize and this is a way to make us aware. This has been one of the biggest helpers for my family and I in getting fit, eating healthy, & reaching a healthy weight.
    Another healthy eating tip is being aware of ingredients. The first few ingredients are those that make up the biggest portion of the food/drink. Its required ingredients be listed at descending weight.  So if you have an item the has sugar & corn syrups in the first, let's say, five ingredients, then it has a high sugar/corn syrup content. Be aware of those first ingredients & you will be eating healthier before you know it. And this is a very simple step that is easy to make a habit.
     Get to know your body. What I mean by that is know what your health is & your fitness level. See your physician to check out health issues & questions. Pay attention to the cues of your body for things like when your full or actually thirsty. Speak with a trainer about how to see how fit you really are. You don't want to start out at a level that will injure you but you also want to challenge yourself.
    Another healthy you tip for now is to be active. Just get up and move as often as possible. Even if its for 3 minutes every ten. As long as you move your body as much as possible you'll feel some better. It stimulates circulation as well as burns calories. The minimum recommended amount of daily physical activity is thirty minutes daily. You can break these down into small increments to accommodate your lifestyle. I personally recommend at least two bouts that last ten minutes in a day. 
    One last healthy tip for those wanting to lose weight. In the beginning when you start tweaking your eating and fitness you will lose weight fairly quickly. As your body adjust to these new habits you will slow and even stall at losing weight. Don't give up or get discouraged, just take a look at your habits and adjust them. Add more activity or readjust your calories. 
  So there's my healthy living tips for today. I'm not an expert, these are just tips I've picked up that have helped me out. I wish everyone the best of luck on the healthy self journeys.

NYC New York Color Liquid Lipshine

    I got another wonderful treat in my holiday voxbox. I received NYC New York Color's Liquid Lipshine in Nude. I was so ready to give it a try. I have & do currently use other NYC products. So my expectations for this lipgloss were high. 

    The packaging is sleek & simple which I like for lipgloss.  The color when looking at the tube seemed it would be a light brown but came out a wonderful shade of nude. It was just the right amount of color. Unlike other similar glosses I've tried, NYC New York Color LIQUID Lipshine isn't tacky or thick. It glides on with this pretty shimmer leaving just the right amount behind. The brush is soft and flexible making it great for following the curve of your mouth. 

     NYC New York Color Liquid lipshine also has a tasty smell however doesn't taste that good. It's rich with Vitamin E and pure pigments which give it a "3-D gloss effect". The shine from NYC lipgloss lasts for a very good amount of time. MIne still had some shine 1 meal & 4 hours later.

   What better way to top off a great gloss than with a great price! At $2.49 you can have these glosses (hey why not try all 10 trendy hues) without breaking the budget. With hues from neutral nudes, to berries & fuchsias its very simple to find a shade just right for you. This NYC lipgloss has quickly become one of my faves since getting it last week. Another thing I like is that I can find it at alot of local stores such as Wal-Mart, Family Dollar, Rite-Aid, and CVS.  Love that Influenster chose to send out this product. It's always nice to find good quality product at good prices. 

DISCLAIMER: I received this product to test by being an active member at Influenster.com. I received no compensation for my time, monetary or otherwise, from either company.

"PAC"king in the Good with A Montagne Jeunesse Kelp & Seaweed Mud Pac

     For quite some time I have enjoyed face masks. My mom and I have always used at home face masks as a way to bond and catch up. One brand we've loved is Montagne Jeunesse. The price is affordable and the product is great.
     When I opened my Influenster Holiday Voxbox, I was genuinely thrilled to see a trial of the Mud Pac Kelp & Seaweed face mask. I couldn't wait to use it. As kids get older & days go by, my mom & I have less time for facials. This reminded me of the need to make time for one another.
     This particular mask is a Dead Sea mask containing of course Dead Sea Salt, Seaweed extract, Lavender oil, Bergamot fruit oil, the natural clay Kaolin & much more. I love that their ingredients are natural & mostly plant based. They meet the vegetarian standard with their masks & don't test on animals.
     In four easy steps you have a relaxing at home facial. The whole process takes about 20 minutes. You wet your face then apply the mask. Take care to avoid your eyes & its best to avoid the hair line. Give it between 10 to 15 minutes to dry. The scent is light & refreshing so use those minutes to de-stress. Either meditate, read or do some other "me time" activity. When it comes time to rinse I recommend applying a warm damp cloth to your face first to further open pores. I also recommend you rinse with warm water then splash with cool water & pat dry. Your face will feel smooth and refreshed. 
      These are inexpensive wonderful facials and I recommend them to everyone. During these stressful days of family, travel, gifts and so on... Treat yourself to a quick, inexpensive, quality gift, Montagne Jeunesse facials! 
They also have an awesome site: http://www.montagnejeunesse.com/. They offer three newsletters, one of which is for the man in your life.  Check out the other great products they have and enjoy!






DISCLAIMER: I received this product to test by being an active member at Influenster.com. I received no compensation for my time, monetary or otherwise, from either company.

Time to imPRESS You with Broadway imPRESS Press-On Manicure

    So I got my Influentster Holiday Voxbox yesterday! I was very excited when I opened my box and saw the Broadway imPRESS Press-On Nails! I am a nail fanatic of sorts and truly love trying new nail products/color.

     I have to chat for a second about the site for this product. The above link will take you directly to the site. It has this neat app on it that allows you to try out different designs and colors on a model hand. This was a fun tool and it allowed me to pick a few future choices! The site is quick and user friendly with lots of great color and catchy music.

      I received the design Wink Wink and loved it!  This is such an elegant design but still fun & flirty!  They're also super easy to apply with no mess!  

Loving them! Thanks to Influenster!

So sweet!

    There is no drying time, no long wait at the salon and yet you still get a look that has salon quality shine and color. In 3 easy steps you can have a quick look for any time. The adhesive can last for up to a week but is still gentle on your nails so that you can switch up your look as often as you like. I do reccomend however to not submerge your hands in water for a few hours after application. I took a shower about 45 minutes after applying and a couple came off. However I dried them and my nail & just reapplied. They have done very well to be press ons with my busy mom life. They have a combined 36 colors and patterns. 
     The price is very reasonable for these kits, $5.99 for solid colors & $7.99 for designs. They come with a variety of sizes to pick from in each kit. You can find them at your local CVS Pharmacy, Rite-Aid, Wal-Mart, or Target. Find a full listing at the imPRESS Nails site. 

   I plan on getting the design Over The Moon and solid Tweetheart! Give them a try, definitely worth the time!

Disclaimer: I received this product as an active member of Influenster.com to test. I received no payment for my time or opiniion, monetary or otherwise from either company. 

Just a Thought

So life right now is quite a plethra of things. I could fill pages and then some of what life is right now. But that's just how it is. A cycle that is continuous, the same patterns, just different colors.
And everyone has those few little vices or faves that gets us through the uglier patterns. You know, that one thing youcan turn to to find solace or peace of mind. Mine goes from prayer to writing to my kids to dancing to my husband & a few more. Those things give me comfort when I need, a smile when I'm down, & basically whatever else I need.
Tonight, right now in my life, I could not be happier or more thankful for my "vices". And I wish for everyone that you find or have something or someone to turn to when life gets ugly.

Jonathan Dirt... Let's get dirty

            Had the recent pleasure of sampling Jonathan Dirt texturizing paste over the last few days. This product is one I could see myself using regularly. 
      Dirt is a mineral-oil free, phthalate free, and gluten free water based paste. The team at Jonathan has infused this with Lemongrass Essential Water, sweet almont protein, white tea, almond, horsetail and nettle extracts to repair, nourish, stimulate, and condition all hair types. They incorporated "a potent antioxidant blend of natural plant botanicals combined with a UV filter" that "help protects hair and prevents color fading".
      I love that with a minimal amount I can have a textured, sassy yet healthy look.

   It has a lovely light scent. The hold lasts for a long time and it rinses from your hands fairly easily. You use it like all other texturizing pastes. Work it into your hair well because like other pastes it can leave clumps if not blended well. It's easy and quick to use.
    It is definitely a product worth the price and I see a purchase in my future.

Get ready.... I'm getting a holiday voxbox!!

So tomorrow from somewhere up in the great windy city of Chicago, Influenster will ship out my holiday voxbox!! Going to have lots of awesome goodies to give a try! I'll be letting you know about a face mask, fun nail product, breath freshener, snack bar and more.
From my last experience with a voxbox you will definitely want to check back in soon to get the scoop on the goodies! Influenster has great products for testing!

Useful Useless Item Edition 1

    It's easy to get a lot of useless things around the house. Especially with four small- well not so small but young boys. My husband & I can certainly attest to that.
So with that thought in mind, I've decided to start sharing my tips for making a seemingly useless item useful. I'll have one item every other Sunday (who knows may work it inwhatever day I can (: ) to give some possible uses for.
    My first has to be empty diaper boxes (as we have a 7 month old & these things seem to accumulate like rabbits here). Any empty box for that matter, can have many other uses. I'll give you my top three and any suggestions are welcome.
     Revitalising use number one: turn it into a mail pouch. We use one on the kitchen table to hold our mail and at the end of the day we sort through it. You could easily "upholster" the box to give it more of a decor item. Try collaging together some old envelopes with stamps, maybe some postcards as well.
     Use number two: a sock hold. Place the box at the spot where the socks of your household are taken off ona regular basis. If you have kids you could let them make sock puppets out of oldworn socks or mateless ones. Then adorn them to the box.
     Use number three: a makeshift bookshelf or shoe shelf. Take 2-4 boxes and place together. Use packing tape on the edges where they connect. Use at least two layers and one all along the outside of the boxes. Decorate or adorn however you please. Use as a shoe box, turn on its side to use as a bookshelf or slide under a bed to store bed linens.
      I could give a hundred more but I'll leave the rest up to your creativity. I'll bring you another useless item turned useful next Sunday! Enjoy the tips!