Thirty-One Turkey Trot

Who wants to get all their Holiday shopping done?

Thirty-One November Specials

To Order: www.mythirtyone.com/kellybarnes

Brant's New Challenge

So my boy has started a new sport, wrestling. I always said this was the one sport my kid would never participate in because I cannot stand the singlets they have to wear!!!!

But, the hubby wanted him to at least try it. That way he could learn how to use your opponents weight against him. So, here we go, traveling to watch my son wrestle in that nasty singlet. lol.

I was honestly nervous. My son is all boy, don't get me wrong. He is just the kind-hearted, not super aggressive kind. So you can see why I was nervous. I wondered if he was going to get there and get his butt kicked.

Well, he has won 5 and lost 3. He honestly should be undefeated because he has dominated every match!! The ones that he has lost in, it was because he let himself get caught...pinned twice, lost by points one time. It is his first year ever wrestling and he is amazing!!!!

Look at that face! Aggression and Determination!!
My sister and brother-in-law came to watch one match and my SIL was tearing up. I asked what was wrong and she said she DID NOT like this sport because she had never seen Brant be so aggressive and it was not okay with her. I have to laugh because I love Shannon, but I love seeing this side of him.

Well, we will see how the season goes I guess. Pray for my sanity...some of those wrestling parents are psychotic and extremely rude!!

Oh well....Blessings!

Just a Reminder

Woke up to this on my coffee cup this morning. Nice reminder that I still have his heart after 13 1/2 years:)

A Corny Fun Time

 This weekend we decided to check out our new local attraction, The Green Acres Corn Maze.

I have to say it was not cheap, but it was fun.

My mom was in town for the weekend, so the 6 of us headed out to try and navigate our way through the maze (not so easy when you let the two year old lead).

I didn't care. I was just there to annoy my husband with all my picture taking...he,he,he.

(This is our sons attempt at a real smile)

 (My nephew)

Fun family afternoon.

I truly believe that God wants to bless us each and every day!

This is even more apparent when after a REALLY, LONG, DAY, our sunsets look like this...

Thank you Lord for helping me remember to stop and take the time to see all your miracles and the beauty you created for me!

Giveaways!

Awesome giveaways going on over at:
delightfulorder.blogspot.com

New Hair Mask

I have psoriasis. I have had it since I was 8. We tried everything when I was growing up. It stunk...literally! The coal tar shampoos and nasty lotions and potions. They are awful!!! I eventually learned to live with and how to treat my own psoriasis.

There are 18, I believe, different types of this skin disease. With mine, the sun is a life saver. It will clear up if I am out in the sun! Tanning beds are bad, but for me, they are wonderful! 10 minutes 1-2x every 2 weeks keep mine subsided.

For my skin, even if clear, is very dry. So, I make my own body butter using coconut oil, avocado, grapeseed, and almond oils. Wonderful! 

My scalp is a whole different story! I do not have short hair so getting sun exposure to my scalp is nearly impossible. I use DEEP, THICK, MOISTURIZING shampoos and conditioners. Biolage and Pureology are my faves. But lately, my scalp has been terribly dry and itching like mad. So, I decided to try a DIY hair mask.

Here it is:

Dry, Itchy, Flaky Scalp Mask
4 Tbsp coconut oil
4 Tbsp hot tap water
1 c warm honey
4 drops Tea Tree Oil

I mixed it all in a bowl, hung my head upside down over the side of the tub, and poured over head and massaged in as best I could. I really tried to get my scalp good. I then wrapped my bed in plastic and let it sit for an hour. Yes, an entire hour! (Disclaimer, the mixture does drip so have a towel wrapped around your neck and ready to catch the dripping).

Then, jumped in the shower and rinsed and washed my hair 3x! That honey is sticky and wanted to make sure I had all the oils out. 

I LOVED THE RESULT!!!!! Soft, moisturized, non-flaky scalp and hair! WOOHOO!!
I am now going to do this every 3 weeks. Especially in the winter. We are in a very dry, windy state, so this will be amazing for me.

Try it and let me know the results.

Blessings!

Wyoming Women's Expo & Thirty-One

I AM EXHAUSTED!!!!!
It takes me several weeks to get ready for big events and this is one I do every year and I love it, and it is so worth it. But, it is exhausting!

Here are some pics from our booth this past weekend...

It took me about 3 hours to haul in (with my hubby's help) and set up. I LOVE the way it turned out! Brynn was my helper the entire weekend! She was such a huge help. I couldn't have done it without her!

I prayed that God would "draw" people to our booth and he did!!! I had 205 people sign up for my door prizes, got 110 new email contacts, and 26 people that wanted to either become a consultant or host a party!! WooHoo!! Praise God, but I am exhausted:)

Now to get ready for my party tomorrow night and then catering for 150 people at a wedding reception this weekend!!!!! My fun never ends:)

Blessings!

Pinteresting Food

So, I am a week late on this post, but better late then never, right?!?

Here is what my hubby made me for breakfast last Tuesday (not Pinterest). It was just a beautiful and delicious omelet so decided to add it:)

Then for dinner that night I made Beer bread from this pin, http://coffeecaramelandcream.blogspot.com/2012/09/whole-wheat-beer-bread.htm  
It was good but did have a very strong beer flavor!

 Because of the strong flavor, I will make it with soup or chili next time.

I also decided to try this recipe, Chicken Bacon Noodle Casserole, it is about half way down this page.

It was a hard recipe because, there is no recipe. It is a, add-what-you-want, recipe. I made it with chicken, bacon, noodles, broccoli, cheddar, and some diced onions. The summary does say add a cream of something (you will get this when you see the link) mix. This was also very tasty. My family loved it but I thought it was a little dry. So, for leftovers the 2nd day, I made homemade "skinny" alfredo sauce from my cookbook, "The Most Decadent Diet". I reheated my leftovers and poured a little sauce over the top. Oh My Gosh, so much better!!!! It was delicious! It is amazing what a little sauce can do:)

Eat, Enjoy, Be Blessed!!

It's the Weekend Review!

Wow! Is it Sunday already? I am NOT ready for the week to start!

Earlier this week I was heartbroken to hear that a good friend of mine and her husband are divorcing. It hit me especially hard when I think about that they got married exactly one week after my hubby and I. That is 13 1/2 years of marriage! Ugh, makes me sick to my stomach. Anyways, we had her and the three kiddos over for a Fall BBQ. It was sooo much fun, the food was amazing, and the Just Dance 3 was hilarious!

If I have not mentioned it before, I will now, my husband is an AMAZING cook!!! He actually taught me how. So, he made smoked ribs with a dry rub...so good. All I know is he puts cinnamon, cocoa, and coffee in his rubs. He also made a smoked (whole) chicken for the main course and I made a beautiful spinach and romaine salad with tons of fresh veggies and 2 Pinterest side dishes:)

Here they are:
Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Oh My Goodness! This was wonderful! I was very sad when it was gone. This is definitely a go to side dish now:)

And Cinnamon Chile Roasted Sweet Potatoes

This was much better then I anticipated. I actually liked them. (Not much of a sweet potato person, but still had some left from Bountiful Baskets).

These two recipes are definitely worth a try:)

Have a blessed week bloggy friends!

Mold Me

My prayer... I know my husband accepts and loves me for who I am, but I want to be who he needs!!!

Pins for the Day

So I have tried a couple different pins this week, so here are my reviews...

Here is Brynn's Pinterest inspired air for the day

First attempt at a fishtail french braid. Not too bad. Of course, she thought it was fabulous:)

This pin is on my "Hair & Makeup" board.

The other one I tried is from a website that is amazing. She has TONS of master mixes! So, in my attempt to be more frugal AND find great food, I made her brownie mix.

I made the brownies by following her instructions, but was making a HUGE pan for our football party so had to quadruple it! I was very nervous about the way it would turn out.

This is all that was left. Does that tell you how good they were! 

I had to bake them a little longer because the batch was so big. I just did it until the knife came out clean when inserted into the middle of the brownie pan. They were perfect! Warm and chewy in the middle with a crunchy outside! Sooooo yummmmmy!! This is definitely a keeper!

This pin is on my Food Tips & Tricks Board.

Also excellent on this board, is the Hot Chocolate Mix:)

Enjoy and Blessings!

God's Callings

I have a lot to say about adoption! We are, of course, HUGE advocates!!! (Look at the tiny treasure that our awesome God brought our family!) So, I wanted to share this post from a sweet bloggy friend, Linny! If you have not read her story...you need to!!!

http://aplacecalledsimplicity.blogspot.com/2012/09/he-is-not-deadbeat-dad-part-1.html

Absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!!

New Every Morning!

With every sunrise comes new challenges and new blessings! Open up your hearts to what the Lord has for you today and what new opportunities he will bring, because we never know what will come from it!

One Dish Dinner

I was exhausted tonight and totally uninspired to do anything besides sit on my butt on the couch! I searched through my pins and found very little 'quick and easy'. I wanted something easy and with as few dishes as possible!

We had some Zataran's Red Beans N Rice and frozen shrimp (already peeled and deveined). I thought, why not. I had made this with pork and chicken and hamburger, why not shrimp?

I cooked the rice mix according to the package and when there was 5 minutes left cooking time, added the frozen shrimp. Cooked for about 10 more minutes and Voila...a one dish, very tasty meal that my whole family loved.

 

I also made some Sweet Potato fries to use up some I had left over from my Bountiful Baskets. Here is the pin link that I used: http://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/guaranteed-crispy-sweet-potato-fries-sriracha-mayo-dip/
I was skeptical when the title said "guaranteed" but they turned out AWESOME! My husband ate over half of the himself:)

Blessings!

Clean Frig Project

In my intent to become the wife and mom that I think I should be, cleaning and organizing is HIGH on the list of things that need to be done. So, I decided  to get started and the frig was cleaning destination #1.

When I started I was pretty disgusted with myself. I consider our house to be pretty clean, not always picked up, but clean enough. 

(Disclaimer: do not judge me on my frig. There are 5 of us and 4 are avid cooks)

Here are some before:

Then I took EVERYTHING out. Every part I could...food, shelves, baskets,etc. And this is what I found, YUK!!!! (Do not judge me, I have done enough of that by myself!)

I then took all the shelves and baskets and soaked them in HOT water, Dawn dish soap, and some vinegar. I let them soak for a good 30 minutes while I took a bucket and rag and wiped out the shell of the frig.

When it was all clean Teh decided that this was a great play spot:) And look how clean it is.

I then returned to the bathroom with my rag to scrub up my shelves. They came clean very quickly! I pulled them out one by one, rinsing with Hot water to remove all the suds, then put them on towels on the floor to dry. They took about 15 minutes. (I did take another dry towel to thoroughly dry the corners though.)  Then, back to the frig with each of them. I did end up lining each shelf with wipeable, removeable shelf paper.

Voila! The nice, clean, organized frig! WooHoo! Yippee! (Sorry, just a little excited)

I am a "Kept" woman!

I Am a ‘Kept ‘ Woman

You see, there were a few times when I thought I would lose my mind,

But GOD kept me sane. (Isa. 26:3)

There were times when I thought I could go no longer,

But the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15)

At times, I’ve wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong,

But the LORD kept my mouth shut.. (Psa. 13)

Sometimes, I think the money just isn’t enough,

But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34)

When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up.

When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30)

I could go on and on and on, but I’m sure you hear me!

I’m blessed to be ‘kept ‘

Do you know a ‘kept ‘ woman?

If so pass it on to her to let her know she is ‘Kept ‘

I’m “Kept” by the Love and Grace of God.

Blessings Today!!!

Baby Emery

I recently took some pictures for a dear friend of mine. She has taken pictures of my kids and actually got me interested in photography. Now, not only can I take quality pictures of my family (in Manual mode) but I don't have to spend $1000 for every session!! WooHoo!

This is the pic I took of her 4 days before she delivered...

And these are sweet Baby Emery, 10 days old (Pre-Photoshop)...

Blessings!