Peanut Butter Cookies

Happy Monday Friends!

Around my house, we opt for natural peanut butter.  They sell it in bulk at our Costco and it simply has WAY less sugar than the regular stuff.  Here's the catch to the natural peanut butter - it never comes in chunky/crunchy at our Costco.  So for years, this crunchy peanut butter lovin' family has been doing without.

Enter The Hubs.

Last week, he willingly took the kids to Costco and did our shopping to give me a break. {Sweet hubs, right?!}  Unfortunately in all my pre-outing, direction-giving my "only buy natural peanut butter, even though it doesn't come in crunchy, and if they are out buy the almond butter" request came across as "if they don't have the natural peanut butter buy crunchy".  Funny how that worked out, huh? :)  Needless to say, he came home with a double-pack of non-natural crunchy peanut butter.  And because I am a sweets addict who can't stand the thought of returning delicious, sugary, crunchy peanut butter to the store once it has already entered my home, we are now using said peanut butter for lunches, etc.

Since I've already mentioned peanut butter 8 times in the last couple of paragraphs {you went back and counted didn't you! I would too} you are probably already thinking about what I am going to share with you right now: Peanut Butter Cookies.  I simply can't think of anything better to do with crunchy peanut butter than to make delicious cookies.  Anyone with me?!

So here's what I did.  I looked up "peanut butter cookies with apple sauce" since things made with apple sauce are usually healthier than the version made without apple sauce.  Plus, I had to make myself feel better for using the sugar-filled variety of peanut butter - redeeming the situation, right?  Chocolate Covered Katie came through for me!

{via}

These are vegan cookies, coming in at a whopping 65 calories each! And they are so seriously good that I had to share them with you!  You need to make them now and at least double the recipe.  They are THAT good!

And since we are on the topic of peanut butter, I just want you to know that I am going to try these from the same blog soon.  Let me know if you get to them before I do!

Easy BBQ Chicken Salad, Tea Party & a Child's Thought

Recently the Hubs has taken on some extra stuff at work.  While I know it is only for a season, it is sometimes hard to remember that it won't last forever when the day seems like it will never end. (I know there are some of you who can really feel me on that one!)  In the last couple of days I've tried some different things to see if I can help our family experience a more peaceful evening.  Here's how it went down:

YESTERDAY - Strategy: give them something productive & calm to look forward to after nap.

I told the kids as they went down for nap that when they woke up we'd have a tea party.  This was actually motivation for them! They slept well and actually woke up well too.  I told them to wait on their beds until I called them upstairs to the balcony for tea. (Bonus points to me for thinking of a cool place to have a tea party on a rainy day!)

I made some caffeine free blueberry tea, put some berries and graham crackers on plastic plates and took it all upstairs on a silver tray.  When the kids saw the tray, they were beside themselves.  We sat and sipped tea and looked at the rain together.  I don't know about you, but my kids are usually starving when they wake up from nap - which makes for a miserable time between nap and dinner.  And who can cook anything under all that stress?! This little tea party made a great transition to play time and gave me some peace and actual quiet to get dinner ready.  Genius, right?!


TODAY - Strategy: get a simple, healthy dinner ready with minimal mess.

I've slacked off at working on my weight and realizing that the baby is going to be 2 in a couple of weeks has reminded me that I really want my body back.  Whatever that means.  Just not what it is now.  So I've been trying to make dishes with a lot more veggies and a lot less carbs.  I want to share with you a dish that I've made twice this week that meets my "healthy choices" standards and requires so little prep and clean up that I can actually enjoy a peaceful meal.  It's my BBQ Chicken Salad!

Not in the picture since it was already in my bowl when I
thought of taking a picture: lettuce, cilantro, avocado. 

Here's what you need:
- Lettuce (I use anywhere from a few leaves to a whole head of romaine - just depends on how many you feed)
- BBQ Sauce (I got my Sweet Baby Ray's for $0.99 a bottle before Super Bowl - stocked up!)
- Chicken (Earlier this week I shredded up Costco rotisserie leftovers, today was Costco canned chicken)
- Can of corn
- Can of black beans
- and whatever else sounds good from veggie drawer or pantry (cilantro, red onion, jicama, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, olives, avocados)


I shred (or open) the chicken into a bowl, squeeze a little bit of BBQ sauce in and mix it up.  I microwave it for about a minute.  I don't know why... something about it being hot before I eat it seems right, but I suppose if it is already cooked, you could just eat it?  Next, I chop/tear and wash the lettuce and throw it in a large bowl.  Rinse and drain the corn and black beans; throw them ontop of the lettuce.  Chop any veggies you might want to place in the salad; throw them on top.  Toss in the chicken and toss the whole thing together.  You can leave out the bottle of sauce for folks to add more to their liking. Just remember that it does contain sugar... so be careful not to indulge too much if you are trying to watch your weight ;)

Simple, right?

Since it was sooooo easy, I decided to make a soothing ambience to see if that would make for a peaceful dinner.  I set the table and made the kids wait in the living room.  I turned off the majority of the lights and lit some floating candles in a bowl for the table.  And I turned on some peaceful worship music.  Can I tell you what a difference that made?!  I don't know if the kids were more calm because it was new or because these things actually worked, but I am willing to find out.  Dinner still had messes and sibling quabbles, but it was far more pleasant than usual.  I even had a pleasant conversation with kids about the candles.  I asked questions about what they looked like, what they did, how they would feel, etc. (Very educational of me!)  Here's where the biggest blessing of the night came in.  D$ said, "Dios hizo todo la luz. Y el nos dio todo la luz que tiene." [Translation: God made all the light. And he gave us all the light that he has.]

I don't think my son realized what he was saying (though I am impressed that looking at a candle made him think about God making light and giving it to us out of his goodness). What really struck a chord with me is the idea of God being creator of all light, all good, all hope and God giving us ALL that he has.  What a profound privilege it is that we are given his light, his goodness and his hope.  And what an awesome responsibility we have to give it to others - as freely as he gives it to us.  We were created for this.

How humbling is it to us that we are the bearers of HIS light?  I don't know about you, but I often feel like I am the worst vessel that God could choose to carry his light.  And what is more humbling is that somehow others can see how amazing his light, his hope, his goodness is - through my facades, through my messiness, through my humanity.  God is so good that his light, his goodness, his hope can be seen, even through someone like me.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
 2 Corinthians 4:7

Antique Mirror Project

On the day I made my daughter's Hair Clip Frame, I went ahead and spray painted a few more things that I had hoped to hang on my daughter's wall one day.  One of those things was a vintage/antique (Note: I still don't know what term to use.  Any help on that would be greatly appreciated!) mirror that I found in my grandparents' garage the last time I was there.  I am sad to say I don't know the story behind it, but figured since it would be hanging in my daughter's room rather than collecting dust in the garage that my Nonnie (Rest her soul) wouldn't mind me taking it and spray painting it.

It is one of those cool mirrors that has the mercury spots starting to show and the frame itself is very ornate.  I did a quick search to see if I was destroying some precious piece by layering on a couple coats of bright paint, but came up empty handed.  So I went with the idea that it was better off being used and bright than "antiquely" original and left to collect dust.

Since it had been professionally framed, I couldn't remove the mirror for the paint process.  I went ahead and slid some paper under the frame in a gap between it and the mirror and taped it down.  I did the process a couple times for good measure.  Then I took it outside and sprayed away.  After a couple of coats, it turned out beautifully!  I am so pleased.

Here is the mirror with tape removed alongside the other projects of the day.  I am only sorry that I didn't snap a before to show you.

I have a few more things I am working on for the wall above my daughter's bed.  When it all comes together I will post a picture.  She will be 2 in a couple of months and has lived in a room with her brother since she was born.  I really wanted to get something in the room that was special for her - something that let her know that she wasn't just an afterthought.  A surprise - YES - but an afterthought - NO!  I bought a reproduction of an art piece when she was just a baby that has kind of inspired this.  It has some words on it that are taken  from this passage of scripture:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:17-19

So I pray that for not only my daughter, but for you today - That you may know the depth of the love of the Savior and be filled to the point of overflowing with this amazing God!

Hair Clip Frame

I've always envied those crafty bloggers who can see an old piece of furniture at a garage sale or a thrift store, snag it for an unheard-of price, slap some spray paint on it and turn it into something beautiful.  I don't have the knack for seeing something for what it could be.  Shoot, I don't even have the knack for finding garage sales that would sell anything I'd be interested in buying!  So you have to understand how big it is that I have a post for you today about something I found at a garage sale, spray painted and turned into something that I actually hung in my daughter's room.

I snagged this frame without glass at a garage sale for a quarter.  I could take you down my thought process... but I know you wouldn't be interested... so I'll spare you the details....let's just say that I came to the realization that this could become a place for me to store the little clips that I put in my daughter's hair to keep her crazy hair at bay.  So I gave in and went to pick up a few bottles of spray paint for projects that I've been wanting do.  Since this is my first tutorial of sorts, you'll have to forgive me for not having a full supplies picture or even getting pictures on my real camera.  Nonetheless, here's how it all went down:

::Supplies::
Frame
Felted Wool (I think? Got it at the White Elephant Sale)
Turquoise Ribbon (Left over from my sister's bridal shower)
Spray Paint
Spray Glue
Heavy Paper (mine was from a  cereal box I got out of the recycling)
Not Pictured: Tape, scissors, brads & a paper piercing tool

So here are some tips for the rookie crafter/spray painter
- When you wisely choose to cover the driveway before you paint, be sure that the cardboard (or whatever you use as a covering) is large enough and doesn't have holes in it.
- Try not to paint on a day where the high temperature is at the lowest in the range of good spray painting temperatures. Oops!

Anyway, after spraying my first coat on the frame, I started on the rest of the project.  I cut a piece of heavy paper to the size of the frame.  This was important to keep the felt from being too flimsy inside the frame.  I then cut the felt to just a bit larger than the paper and attached the felt to the paper with spray glue. (Side note: Spray glue is one of those things that you never really thought to buy, but once you have it, you find ways to use it on everything.  Be warned!)

Next, I measured out where I would want the ribbons to go.  If I had this to do over again, I would have temporarily taped them in place to avoid flipping them back and forth during the next step to make sure the placement was right.

In the end, I did wind up putting more ribbon toward the outer corners, but this is how it started.  Next, I began taping the pieces in place.  It is important to have them well taped because this will help anchor the ribbons once you add the weight of the clips.  I used clear tape, but I suppose you could use anything.  It doesn't look pretty, but really, you won't have to look at it... and honestly, I wasn't really into putting that much time into this project.

I placed the felt-covered board in the frame and was pretty happy with the results.  You can tell by the picture where I did end up adding extra ribbon in the outer corners.  

Now the last step you won't see until the final product picture, and that is the addition of buttons/brads/grommets.  I realized that in order to add anything with weight to the ribbons, they would need to be secured to the board on the front for stability.  I chose to add some of my Stampin' Up! mini brads with my paper piercing tool, because that is what I had.  Feel free to use an ice pick or pen to punch the holes if you want... or to add buttons instead of brads.  The choice is really yours and what you have lying around at the time.  I simply pierced through the ribbon everywhere it made an "X" with another ribbon and then placed a brad through the hole. Done!

Here is the finished project, hanging on the wall with some clips on it.  If you look close enough, you can see why you should spray paint on warmer rather than cooler days... but no biggie here!  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out.

I'm Gonna Read This Year...Maybe

I read. Blogs. Magazines. Facebook statuses.

The Hubs reads.  N.T. Wright.  Open Theology.  Commentaries.

We are just different.  But recently, a good friend of mine gave me a book to read that I have not been able to put down.  The Hubs loves this!  I'm not sure if he loves it because it gives him the freedom to spend our time together reading.  Or maybe it is because reading is just sexy to him.  I mean, this is the man that seatbelts his books into the back seat of the car to protect them from falling.

While out on our most recent date, we each discussed what we had been reading and I have to admit - it made for some really great dinner conversation! (Don't tell him I said that!)  That night got me thinking about what I would like to be reading after my current read is finished.  WAIT!  Did I just say that?  Did I just plan to keep reading after this book is over?  

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not signing up for anyones book club.  And to be honest, I'm not actually committing to reading anything.  But I do want to put it out there that there are actually a couple of books I'm interested in and maybe... just MAYBE... I will work my way through them in 2013.  

Here is my current read:

A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans

Up next on my list:

Half The Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

And...

7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

And...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Yeah, I know - 4 books isn't a lot to tackle in a year.  But hey, you have to start somewhere, right?  And I'm gonna start with these.  Here's to hoping that I check back in with you in a year and ALL 4 of these are read!

What is on your reading list for 2013?