Glitter Ornaments

So I have begun putting up Christmas decorations, I just couldn't wait until next week!  Anyways, a theme-ish thing we are doing with are tree is Harry Potter.  While making my snitch ornaments I was trying to find the best way to do it.  I knew that I wanted the glitter inside the ornament but all over.  I couldn't get it to stay just by it self, I tried modge podge, which only dried white on me and was a pain to try and get all over so I probably used more then I should have.

Today I had an Ah-ha moment.  For dance performances when I used glitter I would hairspray it to my face to make it stay, so why not inside the ornament.

All you do is take your ornament you want to sparkle (with the top of for the inside)  and point the hairspray nozzle inside and do a few short sprays.  Then sprinkle the glitter inside and give it a good shake with your finger over the opening! Let it dry and pour any glitter that did not stick in a cup or back in the container.

 Happy Holidays everyone and look out for more Christmas decorations this year!

Chicken Molé Enchiladas with Mango Black Beans and Quinoa

On Sunday I asked Sean what he wanted for dinner, he said my Enchiladas, but sadly we did not have all of the ingredients.  But that gave me an idea... MOLÈ Enchiladas!! These bad boys are my favorite thing, I know that they sound weird but trust me.  We also had some mango black beans when we went out to dinner recently and were hooked! So I recreated them... they were supposed to go on rice, but, we didn't have that either so quinoa was the next choice and worked out nicely!  Here is the recipe.

MOLÈ Enchiladas
Ingredients:

Sauce
1 jar of Dona Maria Mole Sauce
1 can chicken broth
1-2 cups water (you can also just use more chicken broth)
3 Tablespoons peanut butter (Optional, but delicious)
2 cloves garlic
dash of salt

Chicken
Flour tortillas (corn is ok too)
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Combine ingredients for the sauce and simmer until the jar of mole is melted.  Start with just one cup of water though, add more until it is a pancake consistency (that's at least my preference.) Save 1/3 of the sauce and set aside. Cook your chicken any way you would like.  Combine chicken with sauce (not the 1/3) and a cup of cheese.  Now you can either layer the enchiladas lasagna style or roll.  I am impatient so I tend to layer.  Cover with remaining sauce and cheese.  Bake at 350° until the cheese bubbles. 

Quinoa (or rice) and Beans
2 cans Black Beans
1/2 jar Mango Salsa (we had a habanero one)
Quinoa or rice

Combine beans and salsa, you can add salt to if you wish.  Let it heat and set aside.  Cook your quinoa or rice.  Serve the black beans over your quinoa or rice. 

Enjoy!  I am seriously addicted to the flavor of this meal!

That Endometriosis Life

I can vividly remember the day that my Endometriosis began.
I was 16, a soon to be junior in high school, and went to bed on a summer night after hanging out with my girls!  Suddenly, I found out that I was pregnant and I was not sure how that happened.  I accepted it though and went through all nine months of pregnancy.  Then it was time for me to have my baby and I felt every bit of pain that was involved in my labor and delivery.  I had a beautiful surprise that I had not one baby but two, oddly, one was black and the other white.  When I left the hospital and returned home I awoke in my bedroom at my parents.  Now no longer dreaming my body was still in as much pain as I had dreamt I was in.  So my logic told me it wasn't a dream and I walked around my parents house looking for my babies, don't judge me it was like 4 A.M. so I was not in a right state of mind.  When I realized that everything had been a dream I was so confused why my body hurt so badly, hunched over barely able to move pain.  From that day on I continued to get that pain.
What is Endometriosis?  Simply put its scar tissue that forms because of endometrial cells being where they should not.  Its such a weird disease (fitting since my body is known to be so weird)  they do not really know much about it, like exactly how it gets there or how to really treat it.  They do know a couple of things though which is helpful.  It can be extremely painful, though not for everyone, and it can cause infertility. 
When I got that news that I may never have a child I was heartbroken it was all I ever wanted, I mean come on I had that vivid dream and then at least one a month after that.  Luckily, I found a loving man who still thought I was worth something after hearing that news since not everyone would want to deal with that.  I am so blessed however that even with having Stage 4 Endo (after my diagnostic surgery, my doctor drew a picture of uterus and just started to dot all over it, even outside of it to show me how much scar tissue was there) that Sean and I were able to have our beautiful son Briggs so quickly into our marriage.  There are times though when I get sad seeing how easily friends and family are on to baby number two because I am not sure if we will get that opportunity.  But I know that The Lord has a plan for us and will accept any blessing or trial he sends my way.
I have dealt with this pain for so long that I can ignore the mild days!  But those days seem to be growing few and far between.  There are days when my body is particularly rude to me and I am physically and mentally exhausted, even nauseous from the pain that I am in.  I am still figuring out how to manage it on the really bad days, but here are some things that I have found helpful to take the edge off.

• Treat yo'self to an amazing bath with a Bath Bomb he seems to be magic with any pain.
• Get massaged from someone who love you!  (Sorry for the lush plugs) I love this Massage Bar
• Eat some chocolate, or your favorite caffeinated beverage (Dr. Pepper for me!)
• Watch your favorite movie with your handy heating pad on HIGH
• Most importantly relax your mind as well

Relaxing is very important.  When I am in pain and do not feel up to being out of bed, I tend to get down on myself about being a bad mother and wife.  Unfortunately Endo does affect my life, even though I wish it didn't,  sometimes I need help to watch my baby boy because I physically need that time to myself.  As a wife its hard knowing that I cannot be intimate with my husband when the pain is bad.  But I have to remind myself that there are still more good days then bad (even if those good days have pain) and that I am doing the most can with my situation.  I am so blessed in my life that I even hate to complain (I do though) when something is not ideal for me.  But again, my Heavenly Father has a plan for me and has a purpose for my life, this is something that I will always treasure!

Skinny Mac and Cheese

There is nothing like homemade Macaroni and Cheese, but lets get real do we even want to think about how many calories are in it?  No, that will just make us sad.  So here is a recipe that is about half the calories!

Ingredients:
2 cups multigrain elbow macaroni
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons  all-purpose flour
1 1/12 cups skim milk (warmed)
8 ounces shredded low-fat cheddar cheese (about 2 1/4 cups)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch of pepper
1/4 cup of panko crumbs or whole wheat bread crumbs
*Optional for the garlic lovers 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic

Instructions:
1. Preheat butter
2. Bring a large sauce pan of water (salted if you wish) to boil and cook pasta according to directions.
3. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the flour  and cook, whisking constantly until golden, about 2 minutes.  Continue whisking and add the milk in a slow and stead stream.  Bring the mixture to a stead simmer, whisking constantly, and whisk until thickened, about 2 minutes.
4. Drain the pasta in a colander.  Remove the sauce from the heat, add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Immediately add the hot, drained pasta and stir until well coated.  Stir in Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and garlic if you love it. 
5.  Place oven on broil.  Place your mac and cheese in an oven safe dish and sprinkle the bread crumbs over the top.  Broil until the crumbs are golden and crisp, about 1-2 minutes, be careful not to burn the top.

Enjoy that comfort food without the guilt!!