So I'm not an avid blogger, but here's my latest project completed, a kitchen facelift!  So fun.

Look at this cute hutch Alicia did! My sister Alicia is coming to stay for a month, maybe more!  She loves to redo old pieces of furniture.  More to come.  We are going to be busy this summer!

Here are a few more recipes I plan to use at Thanksgiving.

1 huge head of cauliflower 8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped 1/2 to 1 chopped onion 32 oz real sour cream – not the light stuff 10 oz shredded cheddar 1 sm can chopped green chilies, drained 2-3 tsp garlic salt (I use the California variety)
How To Prepare:	Break apart and steam the cauliflower for 18 minutes. Chop it into small pieces about the size of diced potatoes. Microwave the onion and mushrooms in a small covered dish for a minute. Combine all the ingredients and place in 9x13 pan. Microwave for 15 minutes. Probably 30 minutes in a 350º oven would do – or until it’s bubbly.
Number of Servings:	15
Carbs per serving - include all nutritional information if known:	7g carb, 1g fiber, 8g protein, 19g fat Can't seem to be able to post a pic, but it looks very similar to a regular pan of funeral potatoes! Now for sauces and dessert:        Sugar Free Cranberry Sauce 1 bag of fresh cranberries (12 oz) Sugar substitute equal to 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt Preparation: 1. Put cranberries in a pot on the stove, and pick through to remove soft and/or brown ones. 2. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil on medium-high heat. 3. Stir frequently. The cranberries will pop, and then release their "gel" -- and the sauce will come together like magic. Cook until the sauce is the consistency you want, about 5 to 10 minutes. Note: I used a liquid sweetener in this recipe, which added zero carbs. Powdered artificial sweeteners often use sugars as a base. For example, you could use one cup of Da Vinci's Simple Syrup instead of water. Makes 8 servings of cranberry sauce, each approximately 1/4 cup. Each serving has 3 grams ofeffective carbohydrate and almost 2 grams of fiber. http://www.alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2011/11/pumpkin-praline-parfaits-low-carb-and.html There are more that I might add later, but I look forward to a feast of food that is delicious and doesn't leave me feeling guilty or sick!  Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this time of year and the spirit of the season!  I also love the food this time of year.  With Thanksgiving coming up in a week, this is the first Thanksgiving ever that I will be attempting to alter recipes that go along with the way I am eating now, which is no refined flours or sugars.  I found some great recipes, and am actually so excited to try them!
Here are some of the things on the menu for Thanksgiving at my house this year.  Most of these were found at lowcarblluxury.com.

Traditional Sage Dressing 

18-20 slices of day old dry low carb bread 3 cups chopped celery 2 bunches scallions chopped including greens 2 tablespoons dry sage 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup butter 3 cups chicken stock Slice bread into 1 inch cubes and put into large slow cooker that has been prepared with spray oil. Sauté onions and celery in butter until softened. Add stock, sage, salt, pepper and garlic and bring to boil. Spoon mixture over bread cubes and toss lightly. Cook on low for 4-5 hours. Makes 10 servings.   9.75 grams net carbohydrate per serving.  Saucy Skillet Mushrooms  4 slices bacon, chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 pound large button mushrooms (about 1-1/2 to 2 inches in diameter) 2 tablespoons stone-ground mustard 2 tablespoons snipped Italian parsley In a large, heavy skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Transfer to paper towels; set aside. Add olive oil to the same skillet. Cook and stir mushrooms in hot oil over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes or until mushrooms just begin to brown. Cover and cook mushrooms for 8 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Stir in cooked bacon and mustard; heat through. To serve, sprinkle parsley over mushrooms. Makes 4 side-dish servings.   4 grams net carbohydrate per serving. Green Beans with Shallots  2 pounds fresh green beans, tips removed, cut into 3-inch pieces 1 tablespoon salt 4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick) 1 to 2 cups finely chopped shallots, according to taste salt, to taste black pepper, to taste 1/2 cup cup finely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley Bring 3 quarts water to a boil in a 4-quart pot; add salt. Meanwhile, trim beans, then cut into 3-inch pieces. Cook beans in boiling water 3 to 5 minutes just until crisp-tender. Drain well. Melt butter in a large skillet over Medium-High heat. Add shallots and sauté 1 minute. Add beans and parsley; toss until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot. Makes 8 servings.   6.5 grams net carbohydrate per serving. I can't decide if I will make this on thanksgiving or not yet, but if not, will definitely make it sometime during the holidays. Apple Walnut Bread Pudding  8 slices of dry low-carb bread 3 tablespoons butter 2 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 cup cream 1/2 cup DaVinci Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2/3 cup Splenda (or sweetener of choice) dash of salt Topping: 1 cup chopped walnuts 1 medium tart apple (Granny Smith works well) 1 cup sugarfree maple syrup Preheat oven to 350°F. Slice the bread into 3/4 inch cubes. Cream together the butter, eggs, vanilla syrup, cream, Splenda and salt and pour into a Pyrex or Corning baking dish sprayed with PAM. Place into a large metal roasting pan and fill with hot water 1/2 way up the side of the Pyrex dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean. Set aside to cool. To make topping: Pare and core the apple and dice into 1/4 inch pieces. Combine maple syrup and apples in a small sauce pan and bring to boil. Boil for 3 to 5 minutes or until syrup reduces down and apple is softened. Fold in walnuts. Spread this mixture over baked pudding. Serve warm or chilled with heavy cream or whipped cream. Makes 8 servings.   6 grams net carbohydrate per serving. More to come!

Today is Mother's day.  My camera broke, so I have no pictures to post today.  But is has been a beautiful day.  My sister in law cam to visit last weekend, and she brought her journals to write in.  I don't do so well anymore with journals, but maybe I can at least come here and jot some thoughts down once in awhile.  I feel blessed today.  blessed to have my own Angel mother who loves me, and is so special to me.  My mom came from a very difficult situation when she was a child, where her birth mother was not fit, and my mom was taken out and put in to foster care.  She was in several different "homes", and eventually was placed in the home of Erma and Ray Bates, who loved her, and eventually adopted her.  I love my Grandparents so much, and am so grateful that they loved my mom and changed her life.  Despite the hard childhood my mother had, she has turned out to be the most amazing woman.  She has taught me so much, and I am forever grateful for her.
Now I am a mother of three beautiful, funny and amazing boys.  I always wanted to be a wife and mother, and today has been one of those precious days that has me feeling real joy.  My sweet husband got everyone ready for church, cleaned up the house, and spoke in church today.  I felt so proud to be his wife today.
Then after church, I was "sent to bed" to take a nap, which I loved!!  He went out in to the yard and filled up several vases with tulips and daffodils, then got the grill going and cooked me an amazing steak and chicken dinner.  He was pretty cute, trying to get everything done at the right time, but it was lovely.
My gift from Alexander and the boys today was a little box filled up with little notes from each of them, so I could read them if I ever felt like I needed a little boost.  I love this little family of mine that Heavenly Father has blessed me with.  I love my little house where we hang out and get to spend time as a family.  I love the happy sounds I hear right now from the basement of three boys and a daddy playing legos, and having fun.  I love my life, and I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who gives me trials to strengthen my spirit and make me strong and grateful.  And today I am grateful that I get to be a mom.

It's been awhile, but I finally completed a new project!  I have given my little kitchen a facelift!  I LOVE color, so I painted my backsplash a happy green.  I also found this fabulous product, called Reclaim, which  is a Caromal Colours product.  It is a primer, paint and sealer all in one!  I did my cabinets in off white, then finished with an antiquing glaze.  Loving it!

                         Oops!  I washed my curtains and they shrunk.  I'll make more tomorrow.

                              All my favorite colors together-  I find myself staring at the walls!

                                         

 Here's a close up of the finish-  I did just a  light coat of the antiquing glaze, and found some great oil rubbed bronze knobs and handles on Ebay.

It's been awhile, but I finally completed a new project!  I have given my little kitchen a facelift!  I LOVE color, so I painted my backsplash a happy green.  I also found this fabulous product, called Reclaim, which  is a Caromal Colours product.  It is a primer, paint and sealer all in one!  I did my cabinets in off white, then finished with an antiquing glaze.  Loving it!

So I finally made Mitchell some curtains to go in his Asian inspired room.  I think they turned out pretty cute. I still haven't figured this blog thing out, and how to insert text in the right place, so these photos are kind of random.  But I made the headboard out of an old table top that was brown.  The red mats were dollar store white photo mats that I painted red, and I got the Chinese words printed off the internet.  Pretty cheap project, but I love the final product.  I made the lamp shade from a thrift store shade, and covered it with Asian fabric and real Chinese coins for the tassel.  All in all I think it turned out fun, and I might finish his room by painting one wall sometime.  But not today.

For Halloween, I actually broke my own rule this year, and decorated a week before October!  My little Grayson was dying for October 1st, and he just freaks out with Joy for Halloween decorations.  So here's a photo of my little entryway display, and a little witch I made years ago but can't bring myself to get rid of her.  also for any Utah friends, check out the Crafter's corner in Orem-  so fun!  You go in and pick a craft to make, and for a $5 crafter's fee, you get to use all their materials and make your craft right there!  I made this cute Boo complete with eyeballs and spiders, and the mess stayed there!  Love it.

I'm back!  I'm feeling pretty proud of myself that I actually am posting something.  This is like a craft journal for me, or a project finisher reporter thingy.  :)  Anyway, my mom cam to visit for a couple of weeks, and we made lots of bead watches and bead kits.  So fun!  I also was able to sew another blanket for my friend, and started on the dress I am making for my neighbor girl friend Maddy.  My mom took the sleeves home to Washington to work on, because they are weirdo sleeves!  But the rest I will be able to claim that I actually did.