Mesothelioma Answers and Support

Mesothelioma is not only a big word but it is also a very scary one for someone or their family who are dealing with it. Fortunately they are not alone. There are others who are going through the same emotions, physical symptoms, financial scares and treatments. There are people you can talk to to get answers, share experiences and just relieve some stress if necessary. At Mesotheliomahelp.net, you can get answers to some of your hardest questions, support for your emotional ups and downs and you can find people just like you, going through the same struggles and the same fight. It's a wealth of knowledge and a wide support network for people battling mesothelioma and families supporting them.

Dieting Right

Diet pills are all the rage now. Everyone wants them, everyone has their own opinion on which one is the best. Leptovox does it all, Fastin is the safest or Lipo6 is the most effective. Everyone has their own opinions.

Personally, I prefer a healthy diet and plenty of exercise. Unprocessed foods, fresh fruits and veggies, plenty of rest and lots of invigorating exercise. I noticed that when I started eating better and spent more time moving and less time sitting I felt better, I looked better and I had a ton more energy. Not to mention, I knew that I was not taking anything that could possibly cause my body serious harm now or later in life.

It's Almost Here!

2 more days to go and Christmas will finally be here! Then I can relax in the spirit of Christmas, the spirit of my Lord and Savior and enjoy a peaceful day with my family after a hectic season of rushing and stressing.

I love the Christmas Season because there is no other time during the year that you put so much effort into showing the people you love that you care about them. And there is nothing I enjoy more than showing those I love that I care about them. However, sometimes in doing that it can cause me a lot of stress. I am on a limited budget and if given the opportunity I would buy the world for those I love just to see them happy. And then there are all the little things that I want to do with them, not just for them. The baking, the decorating, the parties. It all costs money and in today's world, a lot of money. So the stress for me is pretty real, but well worth it! However, when it is all over I want to get a room, at a vegas hotel, drop the kids off at my Mother's and enjoy a relaxing weekend with my husband, at the spa, in the warmth of Nevada.

But until then, I am really excited for Christmas to come. Excited to celebrate the birth and life of My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with the ones I love the most.

Mulling Spices

I am sure that all of you have heard of Mulled Cider, right? Well, I have been asked a lot lately about mulling spices, what they do and what they are good for. The answer is incredibly simply actually.

Mulling is a tradition that dates back many centuries where beverages are heated and mulling spices are added and infused throughout the drink. Common beverages in which to use mulling spices are Juices, Ciders, Brandies and even Hot Chocolate.

Mulling spices can be anything from your basic Cinnamon to Star Anise spices to Orange and Lemon Peel and just about anything in between. The most popular are Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Allspice, Cloves, Anise, Orange and Lemon Peel, Pineapple Fruit and Cherries.

Mulling can be achieved by grinding the spices or fruits into a powder and adding them directly to your beverage or you can use a tea bag or cheesecloth bag to add the whole leaves and berries and allowing them to sit in the bag, in the beverage and removed just before serving.

If you would like a wonderful new treat try this Recipe for Mulled Hot Cocoa:

1 Gallon Hot Cocoa
1 tsp. Cinnamon Powder
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg Powder
1/8 tsp. Cloves Powder
1/2 Dried Orange Peel

Add the Orange Peel to the Hot Cocoa and allow to simmer for 7-10 minutes. Add the powdered spices and simmer another 5 minute. Remove the Orange Peel and throw it away. Serve.

This is a wonderfully mellow Mulled Hot Cocoa. Enjoy!

Scary Economy

I can't believe the downturn our economy has taken! It all started with banks/credit card companies giving outrageous loans to people who could not afford them. Then when they were foreclosed on, the banks/credit card companies started struggling and jobs get lost. With the jobs lost, money gets tight and the economy gets worse. Then the smart people, the ones that took out reasonable loans for modest houses, begin to feel the strain. Then more jobs are lost and the unemployment rate hits the highest we have ever seen. Less and less money gets spent and more and more jobs are lost and suddenly the smart people are becoming less and less able to make the day to day bills like their mortgages and their auto insurance, they are struggling to pay for food and gas, they are losing their jobs and having trouble finding new ones. And yet the US government has decided to bailout the Banks/Credit Card Companies that caused all of this, to the tune of 700 BILLION dollars! And yet, those that are being affected, those that were smart and yet are paying the price, are the ones that are being left out, left to flounder and fend for themselves. Does this sound right to you?

And the worst part is these banks/credit card companies and other "big businesses" are having to "lay off" their corporate CEO's and other big wigs with pensions that most of us would have to work a lifetime or more to earn!

So now, here's my solution.... Let those that made bad business decisions go bankrupt (natural consequences, after all!) and take that 700 Billion dollar bailout, pay off the national debt and let the hard working Americans do what we always do, work hard and look towards a better future with lower taxes and less idiots to bailout!

Revisited: Keeping Kids Rooms Tidy

I just thought that with Christmas fast approaching, this would be a good post to revisit. As the Christmas presents start piling in, rather than just packing it in tighter, why not call in the moving trucks and get to work tiding up the kids rooms and getting rid of some of their older toys and clothes? Here is a great list that we personally use to help the kids keep their rooms clean and tidy daily but especially through the hectic Christmas Season.

"I have struggled, trying many different ideas to get my children to get their rooms cleaned and keep them that way. I finally found something that has worked! We made a bedroom cleaning chart that has worked so well. We had to tweak it a little the first time we went through it to accommodate everything in their individual rooms and their individual personalities as well as to not make any one step over whelming but the finished product has worked like a charm.

They start with their 30 minutes of cleaning every day and get as far through the list as they can. Then the next day they start at the top again so as not to get behind again and work as far as they can until eventually they finished the last thing on the list and the next day they started at the top and got through the whole list in a matter of minutes and were able to get on to other chores in the house.

Now their rooms have this quick checklist that they go through everyday to keep their rooms clean and they are much happier and so am I. Below are the two lists that I created. Feel free to use them and adapt them to your children's individual needs.

Boy’s Bedroom Cleaning
 Make Your Bed
 Pick Up All Blankets, Pillows & Stuffed Toys
 Pick Up All Dirty Clothes
 Take All Dirty Clothes To The Laundry Room
 Pick Up All Clean Clothes & Put Away
 Put All Shoes In The Closet
 Pick Up & Throw Away All Trash
 Pick Up Lego’s
 Pick Up All Other Toys And Put Them Away
 Put Away All Things That Belong Somewhere Else

Girl’s Bedroom Cleaning
 Make Your Bed
 Pick Up All Blankets, Pillows & Stuffed Toys
 Pick Up All Dirty Clothes
 Take All Dirty Clothes To The Laundry Room
 Pick Up All Clean Clothes & Put Away
 Put All Shoes In The Closet
 Pick Up & Throw Away All Trash
 Pick Up All Dolls And Put Them Away
 Pick Up All Other Toys And Put Them Away
 Put Away All Things That Belong Somewhere Else
I hope you can find this as helpful as it has been to me."

Baby Mama

This is a movie that caught my attention on a flight from Houston, Tx to Salt Lake City, Ut. It was playing on the flight and my headset did not work properly so I was not able to get much more than just enough to whet my appetite.

This weekend however, I finally found the time and energy to tackle the HUGE job of reclaiming my family room which had turned into the family dumping ground. There were boxes and toys and clothes, a set of mattresses laid out on the floor and one single pathway between the bottom of the stairs and my office which if the childrens computer was being used, I was required to walk on the mattresses to get to my office! But in less than 6 hours, with the help of my enlisted children, we got it done. We move the couch forward and opened up a place in the back of the family room for Lee's weight bench even. The couch is now close enough to the TV that you can actually see it and it is now a comfortable room in which for us to watch our movies and spend time. Eventually I want a flat screen TV to hang on the back wall and home theater seating along with a coxy fireplace in the corner, but for now what we have is much better than what we had.

So with my reclaimed family room, I went out and rented 3 movies. One of which was Baby Mama. We were able to sit down and watch it, but after a period of time, I realized that this was by no means a children's movie and I had to kick the children out of the room. But Lee and I really enjoyed it. It is a very cute story about a lady that can not get pregnant, is not married and desperatly wants a baby. She finally decides on serrogacy and before long the plot is moving. As most movies it gets very predictable, but I do have to admit, there was one part that I did not expect. That was very refreshing. It will make you laugh and I would highly reccommend it to any pregnant women or mother's.

Stretch Your Laundry Detergent

I love this tip because it does SO much to stretch your budget. One of ht most expensive things I buy is Laundry Soap. I need something that will get the stains out and keep my kids clothes looking new and bright as long as possible. I can not afford to replace their clothes before they out grow them! I buy Tide, but it is expensive and with a family of 7 I got through it very, very quickly. But this little tip has helped to stretch the laundry soap just a little bit further and not break my budget.

Add 1/3 cup of baking soda to 2/3 cup Laundry Soap prior to adding to the wash. This will not only stretch your laundry soap but also helps to eliminate odors and keep them out of your clothes, as well. Baking soda is very inexpensive and easy to come by. But the biggest thing you have to remember with this trick is you need GOOD laundry soap to start with. This trick is not going to work with Purex or some of the other cheapish brands. Hopefully, this little trick will be as beneficial to you as it has been to me. Enjoy!

Pants for My Man

Lee came home the other day, after a company meeting and announced that I was right. Once I got over my initial shock, I was able to request the full story. I guess he felt rather out of place in his torn up jeans and Wahoo! T-shirt, sitting in an office with the "big man on campus". I guess he was dressed in a button up and tie. Even though the rest of the guys around him were in jeans and t-shirts, he felt out of place and my having said to him "dress for the job you want, not the job you currently have" struck him as not just the regular steam I blow. He suddenly saw some wisdom in it.

So he made the request for a couple new pairs of pants and some nice shirts. Not a difficult request. I would just run out to Smith and Edwards and pick up a couple pairs of nice Wranglers. Simple enough, right? WRONG! First I decide to stop at IFA and see if they have the right style and what the price is. I end up picking up a pair of jeans for him and two pairs of Croc's for Ladybug (they were on clearance for a buck!) and dragging Baby out of the store kicking and screaming because she wants a bunny! Yes, a real live bunny rabbit with long ears and soft fur that I made the mistake of letting her pet. (I won't do that again!). Then we work on making our way to Smith and Edwards. Something that should have been a very easy task as I visit this store very, very often. However, my wonderful mind has issues with directions so I end up getting on the wrong road and can't find it. After a desperate phone call to DDad and the best directions he can give over the phone, Baby and I end up at our destination. I thank my father and in we go with just under 40 minutes to get pants and get home. We grab two pairs of pants for Lee at $19.99 a pair, and I decide that the identical pair that I just bought from IFA for $31.99 are going back.... tomorrow. I buy the pants and head out the door and head for home. We make it just in time for Baby to get ready and go to Dance.

A couple days later I returned the third pair to IFA and got my money back. But now I am still looking for a couple more pants and some nice shirts for him. He is pretty hard on clothing so I need something sturdy yet with that business look. I found some pretty nice tactical pant, the kind the police and military wear, but I worry that they might not be "business" enough. They are definitely sturdy, with reinforced knees and seat and plenty of pockets, 10 to be exact! I really think he would like them, but I just can't decide on the "business appeal" of them?

Workout at Work

Do you sit at a desk all day? Are you worried about what it can do to your body? Flabby tummy? Love handles? Well, worry no more! Here are a few exercises that you can do in your office chair to tighten those buns, strengthen your abs and work out those arms.

Abs
Sit on the edge of chair, arms extending in front. Keeping back straight, contract the abs and slowly lower torso towards back of chair. Hold 2-3 seconds and repeat.
Curls: Cross arms over chest and sit up straight. Contract abs and curl shoulder towards hips, pulling abs in. Hold for 2 seconds. Relax. Repeat for 10 reps.

Buttocks
Sitting upright in your chair, tighten your butt muscles and hold to the count of 15. Relax. Repeat 10 reps.
Sitting upright in your chair, no leaning against the chair back, raise both legs and hold to the count of 10. Relax. Repeat for 10 Reps.

Arms
Hold your arms, parallel to the ground at shoulder height, out to your side. Slowly raise them until they are parallel with your body. Slowly lower them until they are parallel with the ground again. Repeat twice and rest. Repeat for 10 Reps.

Time to cut back?

With the economy in a downward spiral, every family finds themselves in the same situation. Money is tight and demands are tighter. How do you find yourself coping with the frightening and ever changing economy? I have found that I have had to cut back on a lot of the "niceties" in life. New clothes and eating out have been some of the first to go. Thoughtless spending and not taking the time to check prices, gone as well. But I worry that in time, the necessities are going to fall victim. What about our health care? Our gas and food? Our dental care?

I had a friend tune me into one company that will help us out when it comes to my families glasses. After all, Big C and I are both dependent on our glasses for daily life functions. What would we do if we were to break our glasses? My insurance only provides for one set of frames and lenses per year. But thanks to my good friend T, I was turned on to a company called Zenni Optical. Their prices on eyeglasses and frames are incredible, so affordable! Frames starting at just $8 with lens tinting available for less than $5! They have Men's and Women's frames and even Kids frames! It's good to know that I don't have to worry about my families glasses. Even with the downturn of the economy, I can afford to see, and look good doing it!

Movie Night

Are you sick of the same old movie nights? Popcorn, soda and chips? Well then maybe it's time to kick it up a notch? Here are some great, quick, easy and delicious treats for your movie night!

Spinach Artichoke Dip
1 Tbsp Butter or Margarine
1 Small Onion Chopped
1 8oz pkg. Cream Cheese
1 8oz tub Sour Cream
1 pkg frozen spinach
1 Jar Marinated Artichoke Hearts, chopped
1 Cup Kraft Shredded Italian Cheese Blend

Saute the onion in the butter until clear. Add the rest of the ingredients, in order and stir until well mixed over medium heat, adding the cheese blend just before serving. Dish into a serving container and sprinkle with a little more cheese for presentation.
*To add a little kick, you can add 1/4 cup jalapeno's, finely chopped before the spinach.

Serve with chips or toasted bread. Garlic bread is especially yummy with this!

Quick Fudge:
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 8oz package Semi-Sweet Baker's Chocolate squares
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Line an 8x8 baking dish with aluminum foil, leaving flaps on the edges to use to lift the fudge out of the dish. In a microwave safe bowl, pour the milk and add the squares of chocolate. Microwave on high for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is melted. Add Vanilla and pour into the baking dish. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

Now there are some things guaranteed to throw some life back into your movie nights!

Shopping for Fixtures

Wow! What an exciting adventure, huh? Actually, it was quite eye opening! My wonderful angel children informed me the other day that the naughty little entity that lives in our house, the one that goes by "Not Me" or "Nobody" had broken the faucet in the bathtub. So, since I could not find "Not Me" to drag it along on this boring little excursion, I decided, much to their dismay, to take the innocent little children who had had nothing at all to do with the faucet being ripped nearly out of the tile wall.

Amid the groans and moans, fussing and whining, we made it to the local Home Depot to start our search for a new tub faucet. After 3 stops at the drinking fountain, one detour to the lawn and garden section to retrieve the 5 year old of the riding lawn mowers and a stop at the restrooms, we found ourselves in the bathroom section.

To my surprise, their was a HUGE array of faucet selections! So large in fact that the children got caught up in a game we play called "I Spy" where someone describes a detail or two and the rest have to guess which one they are talking about. This turned into alot of fun, even for me, and before long we had moved from the bathroom faucets to the kitchen faucets and ultimately ended with trying to agree on how to redecorate our kitchen. Sorry Little Man, we will not be installing cabinets with the Batman symbol engraved. But the Corian counter top you found will be coming home soon, I'm sure!

As for the tub faucet, we settled on a plain silver one with ceramic handles, much like the one we already had. But the day turned out to be much more fun that I had prepared myself for.

Let's Move Up In The World, PLEASE!

I work for the sweetest, most wonderful people the world has ever been graced with. In that I mean that they would give you the shirt off their back and button it up for you. They thrive on service and ask nothing in return, ever. I love them to death. They own a little Kitchen shop in the downtown area and I can tell you that I would work there for free (if they would just hire men! Goodness I hate working with women! We have got to be the meanest, cattiest, most backstabbing gender. Wow!). However, one of the things that drive me crazy (other than the women), is the lack of technology. I guess that should help to foster the quaint feel of the store, but as an employee, it drives me crazy! We don't even have barcode scanners at the registers. We still enter the merchandise by hand. Some of the gals have gotten very, very quick at it. I on the other hand am still very slow (as they are also quick to point out). But give me a barcode scanner and I have been in retail long enough I could make their heads spin! Hee Hee Hee...

What is it with weight loss???

What is up with the world and it's weight loss craze??? I know I am not really one to talk, I am severely underweight and in all honestly, sick looking half the time, but that does not mean that I am oblivious to the weight loss craze going on around me. And I think that the one thing that bothers me the most about it is that everyone is stuck on pills! Gotta have pills to make you lose weight! What's up with that? I understand that over half of America is supposedly overweight, but rather than turning to pills, why not stop and take a good look at your life! Overstressed? No time? Can't find the time to eat right? Exercise? Let me just tell you, I don't care if it is NV diet pills endorsed by Carmen Electra or some strange plant from South Africa, it is not going to help you be healthy! You need to cut back on the unimportant things in your life, take time to relax and find the time to be healthy. I don't care how skinny you are, you are never going to look good until you are healthy! Exercise, eat right and care about your body. It's not easy, but it's worth it!

Save On Electronics

As our society progresses so does our dependence on electronics of all kinds. The average impoverished household still comes with the basics, a television, a personal computer and of course, a cellular phone. However, as our economy inches closer and closer to a depression disaster zone, we are finding ourselves needing to cut back, save money, be frugal. And as the money begins to ebb then the retailers find themselves backed into a corner. "Lower your prices or sell nothing at all." For a retailer, that is not a good place to be. It means laying off workers, cutting back on expenses and benefits for employees and paychecks dwindling. Which in turn sends our economy deeper and deeper into depression. However, to try and stay afloat, retailers will take the "Lower Prices" approach to try and stay in the black. That's where we, average Americans can cash in. Prices fall and the electronics that we need for our very existence, i.e. cell phones, personal computers, car stereos, etc start dropping in price and you start to see amazing deals to keep the money flowing in a positive direction. So keep your eyes open for those great deals. They are out there, and thy are going to continue to get better and better.

Football Sunday

Call in the Chicago accident attorney's, there has been an accident in Detroit! What a poor game. By that I mean that I am grateful that the Bears pulled it off, but come on! They are a MUCH better team than the one that showed up today. Of course, the Bears offense seemed to collapse a bit under the pressure of starting quarterback Kyle Orton leaving the game before halftime after suffering a right ankle injury, but what was the rest of the teams excuse? The defense kept slipping up and allowing the Lions to score on them before finally joining the game and shutting them out in the second half. Lets hope that they can pull it together before nexts weeks match-up against the Titans. Without their starting quarterback, they are really going to need the rest of the team to show up and pull their weight. The Titans are the only undefeated team in the NFL and it is about time they fell off their high horse and met up with their downfall at the hands of the amazing Chicago Bears!

Vogue Magazine

I just wanted to throw this out there. I am not a huge magazine reader and especially not a fashion magazine reader. If I have any magazines come to my home they are magazines like Sunset or Country Living. So I was shocked when I picked up a copy of Vogue at the airport.

I was excited about it because it was in German and I thought that my son would be excited to see it. However, as I was showing my husband the pages and how it was printed in German, being the wonderful Man that he is, he noticed not the words or the language at all. No, his attention was drawn immediately to the pictures of naked women that I had neglected to notice at all! Which just goes to show you the difference in a Man and a Woman!

However, upon noticing that, I started flipping through the rest of the magazine and it resembles a playboy magazine more closely than it does a fashion magazine. I was shocked and very disappointed! Not only can I not give this little treasure to my son to take to his German class, but it is also something that I will never, ever purchase. What a disappointment!

Home Spa Time

There is nothing like having a relaxing day/night in the comfort of your own home. It's even better if it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg! So I thought I would give you some great recipes and ideas to make your At Home Spa Night fantastic and inexpensive and make yourself feel Beautifeel!

Bath Salts:
Making your own bath salts is a quick, easy and inexpensive way to add an extra ounce of relaxation to your Spa Bath.

You will need: Epsom Salt, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Food Coloring and Essential Oil in your favorite fragrance. Start by mixing 3 cups of Epsom Salt, 1 cup of Sea Salt and 2 cups of Baking Soda. Mix well and slowly add your choice of food coloring. (Hint: to mix colors, mix in a separate container prior to mixing with the salts.) Add the food coloring a drop at a time until your desired color is reached. Then add the essential oil, remembering that the stronger the salts, the less you have to use but too strong will make it unpleasant. Once mixed, the salts can be kept in a Ziploc baggie or a Tupperware container until used up.

Quick and Easy Facial
The perfect way to Relax and Rejuvenate after a long day is a soothing, moisturizing mask and eye compress to moisturize and relax away the stress of the day, leaving your skin healthier and more toned than ever.
Ingredients
2 slices of cucumber
2 tablespoons of honey
2 teaspoons of milk
Method
Combine honey and milk, stirring until completely combined.
Apply to face and throat.
Take the cucumber and place one on each eye.
Lie down for 10 minutes.
Remove cucumber and rinse off mask with warm water.

Foot Spa
Treat your feet to a soak in this milk and water mixture and follow it with the sugar scrub for incredibly soft feet.

Ingredients
7 cups of water
2 cups of milk

1/2 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of lotion

Directions
Heat the water and milk and in a pot on the stove or microwave in a microwave safe bowl. Heat it as hot as your feet can handle. In a separate bowl mix the sugar and lotion.
Pour milk mixture into large bowl and soak your feet for at least 10 minutes. Then use the sugar and lotion mixture to massage your feet to exfoliate and moisturize. Rinse with clean water and pat dry. Massage additional lotion to soften your feet.

Oatmeal Hand Spa and Care Treatment
This is a wonderfully gentle hand scrub made from oatmeal, lemon juice and olive oil that leaves your hands nourished and soft.
1 cup + 2 tbsp oatmeal
1 ½ tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp olive oil
¼ cup Water
Directions
Add Water to 1 cup of oatmeal and let stand until oatmeal is softened, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add Lemon juice and Olive Oil to 2 tbsp Oatmeal and mix well.
Massage mixture into your hands and allow to stand 1 or 2 minutes. Rinse with cool, clean water and pat dry. Liberally apply moisturizer to your hands and let it soak in 10-15 minutes. Then dry with a clean cloth.

School Pictures?

Are school pictures really the way to go or are there less expensive alternatives out there? The answer is a resounding YES! There are many ways to get your children's yearly pictures much less expensively than school pictures and here's why.... School pictures usually start out with packages around $20 and go up from there. Now, with 5 children, as in my case, that's $100 minimum! Then if I want anything more than that, the price just keeps going up. You can end up at $200 before you know it! Not to mention, the pictures turn out looking a bit like mug shots.

Now here are some great alternatives; all of which I have used many times.

Take your own pictures.
As simple as that sounds, it has been the best option for me, over and over again. I started out with a 35mm camera and two rolls of film. I have since moved into using a digital camera. Both options have returned beautiful pictures. I will take my kids up into the mountains in the fall and take their pictures in the beautiful fall leaves. We will take a couple different shirts and a couple props from what ever was their activity of choice that year i.e. footballs, dance clothes and shoes, ice skates or cowboy hats and boots. It made the pictures very personal to each child. We pack a picnic lunch and make a fun day of it. By the time I am through, I have spent less than $50 for film, processing, enlargements, gas and lunch.

The other option that I use often, especially for Football or Dance pictures are the discount retail stores like Wal-Mart and Target. I tend to prefer Target over Wal-Mart because I get to chose a package from a variety of poses. Wal-Mart makes you take the package from the first pose only and then the rest are very expensive. The other great thing about Target that I have not seen Wal-Mart offer is you can choose either the very inexpensive package, or you can choose to purchase by the sheet at a very low initial price. However, if you end up without enough pictures then any reprints are very expensive. On the other hand, Target has just the basic backgrounds... White, Black and Brown where as Wal-Mart's backgrounds are constantly changing and are usually very fun and bright. Either option is great for someone that is nervous about taking pictures themselves. You can usually get packages for around $7 per child.

Either of the above options are more time consuming than just doing your daughter's hair a little nicer and sending her off to school in the morning, but I can almost guarantee that you will get much better pictures and you will save LOTS of money!

Coconut Oil for Weight Loss?

This is something that I am just now hearing about. I love using pure, cold pressed, unprocessed Coconut oil as a lotion. It makes my skin so soft and moist while making it smell just scrumptious! I have always known that it is intended to be used in cooking and has an amazing array of health benefits, but it was just recently that I heard that Coconut Oil is actually a great way to kick start your metabolism and help you lose weight naturally! I had no idea! The biggest draw back is of course, the price. But they say that you only need 3 tablespoons a day to get all the wonderful health benefits and to kick start that lagging metabolism and start losing that weight!

Quick and Easy Holiday Appetizers

I love the holidays. The chill in the air, the sparkle of the snow covering the trees, the Christmas lights and the warm feeling all around. It's the one time of the year when we focus, not on ourselves, but on Christ and his love and sacrifice. We find ourselves drawn to helping others, thinking of our fellow man and spending more time with our families. My favorite part of the Holidays is the time I spend with my family. The dinners we share, the fun we have in the kitchen cooking up great meals and the "down time" spent playing cards or watching "A Christmas Carol". I am one however that loves the down time. I love snuggling up on the couch with my husband and all of our children, cups of hot cocoa and a big bowl of popcorn, watching the fire dance and reading one of our families favorite books.

That being said, I don't want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. A few pies, stuff the turkey and I am just about done. I want to get to that snuggling, or snuzzling as Baby calls it. So anything beyond that needs to be quick and simple. Things that I can outsource to the littlest of children. So over the years I have found great appetizers recipes that are both quick and easy as well as scrumptious! Here are some of my favorites:

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

1 Pkg. Bacon cut in to thirds
1 Can. Sliced Water Chestnuts

BBQ Sauce:
3/4 c. ketchup
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar

Toothpicks

Wrap each water chestnut slice with 1/3 slice of bacon. Push a toothpick all the way through to secure the bacon to the chestnut. Lay on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Mix BBQ sauce ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until sugars are dissolved. Remove bacon wrapped water chestnuts from oven the and drain off the grease. Dip each in the BBQ sauce and lay them back on the cookie sheet. Return them to the oven for 20 minutes. Serve Warm.

Another favorite is Mexican Seven Layer Bean Dip:
1 can refried beans
1 can Fritos Bean Dip
1 container Guacamole dip
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1 pkg taco seasoning
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
1 can sliced black olives
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/2 chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onion

Mix beans and spread in the bottom of a 13x9" baking dish. Cover with a layer of guacamole dip. Mix the Mayonnaise, sour cream and taco seasoning and cover the guacamole layer. Mix cheeses and sprinkle to completely cover the sour cream. Top with olives, tomatoes and onions.

For more great appetizer recipes and all your holiday cooking needs, take a minute and visit My Recipes.com. They have a huge database of holiday recipes to make any party absolutely fabulous!

Darling Fall Decorations

You will need:

1 Roll of Toilet Paper
1 Fall Patterned Fat Quarter
1 7" Strip of Green Patterned Fabric
1 4" x 4" Piece of Brown Paper Bag
1 Piece of brown string

Set the roll of Toilet paper in the center of the fat quarter, with the fabric print side down. Pull the fabric up around the toilet paper roll and tuck it into the center of the toilet paper roll, wrapping it completely. Roll the paper bag piece and tie a string around it. Lay the piece of green fabric across the hole in the toilet paper and stuff it down in the toilet paper hole with the rolled up paper bag piece to make it look like the leaves and stem.