Everything Changes

It's so difficult to understand the depth of change. Everything in life changes. We as people naturally change, it's just part of life. The world changes by the second. Nothing will EVER stay exactly the same. Things just change. The years go by and we grow stronger & wiser. We learn more of who we are & who we want to be. We learn how to fine tune & realize our true goals. We learn and grow into the people we are mean to be and in doing so we more often than not without conscious knowledge change. It's hard when you love someone to convey that you've changed. That your wants & even possibly needs have changed. It's not that you've "grow apart" or stopped loving as the cliche often goes it's simply that you've changed. As time goes by  those "changes" become more and more apparent. Maybe at one time you thought life was perfect & then you learned what living truly was.  It's not that you don't love but you now know what it is to be in love. It's not that anyone has done anything wrong its just longing for something to be done perfectly right. There is a difference in being contently happy & in being intoxicatedly captivated by love.

You can't control the universe but you can control your Uni~verse.

Focus on the blessings in life! Learn to appreciate each day as it comes. Every breath you take is a gift. As long as you are breathing you have the ability to affect change & create the world you desire to live in. You may not be where you want to be now but you are here purposefully. Every step you take in life helps mold you into the person you are meant to become. Every victory and even more so every defeat. Victory is so wonderful. Everyone's cheering you own & your on top of the world. It easy to stand tall & hold your head high when you are winning. But when trials & tests come, when you stumble & fall, when you are at your weakest, who are you at that moment? It is that very moment that helps define you. Not the fall but the rise from the fall! Will YOU Rise?!? Will you pick yourself up & continue to fight? Will you continue to give life your all even when life seems to be saying your "ALL" is not enough? Determination, perseverance & faith will carry you to the dreams manifesting inside of you. You will face hardship & you will encounter defeat but life isn't about the cards you are dealt. It's what you do with those cards that mater. Things that happen in your life are simply things that happen to you. They are not who you are! They are only part of your journey.  You alone control your success in life. We are all given the exact same 24 hours in our day. What will you do with yours? You can't control the universe but you can control your Uni~verse.

What choices are you making?

I prayed for a good day & had a great day! A million things can go wrong daily 
but did one truly meaningful 
thing go right??? 
Everything in life is about 

perception & perspective. 

You choose your days! 

You choose to take the good 

or hold on to the bad. 

The choice is yours & yours alone!

Join me in the fight against breast cancer

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/2011/DallasFortWorthEvent2011?px=4828229&pg=personal&fr_id=1622 
I’m taking an incredible journey to help end breast cancer forever. I’ll walk 60 miles in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure® and raise funds for breast cancer research and community-based breast health and education programs.

So Much Happiness - Naomi Shihab Nye

It is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness.
With sadness there is something to rub against,
a wound to tend with lotion and cloth.
When the world falls in around you, you have pieces to pick up,
something to hold in your hands, like ticket stubs or change.

But happiness floats.
It doesn’t need you to hold it down.
It doesn’t need anything.
Happiness lands on the roof of the next house, singing,
and disappears when it wants to.
You are happy either way.
Even the fact that you once lived in a peaceful tree house
and now live over a quarry of noise and dust
cannot make you unhappy.
Everything has a life of its own,
it too could wake up filled with possibilities
of coffee cake and ripe peaches,
and love even the floor which needs to be swept,
the soiled linens and scratched records . . .

Since there is no place large enough
to contain so much happiness,
you shrug, you raise your hands, and it flows out of you
into everything you touch. You are not responsible.
You take no credit, as the night sky takes no credit
for the moon, but continues to hold it, and share it,
and in that way, be known.

Host a Party

Host a Party

Let’s get your Party started.

Celebrating Home is all about bringing families and friends together to celebrate life and the home. As a Celebrating Home Hostess you can decorate your home for FREE when you host a Celebrating Home Party with your family and friends!
Interested in a FREE shopping spree, more of your favorite merchandise at half off, plus signature gift items? Great! A Celebrating Home Designer is ready to help you with your Party, every step of the way. Ask her for details on our fun Party themes.
See the explanation of the generous Hostess Benefits Program for all you can receive!
It’s easy! Just invite some friends over and get ready to have a great time.

Keepin On Keepin On

Somehow today my work took me to a very sensitive place of my life. Not intentionally but I suppose purposefully.  It has me very much deep in thought. Compounded by the natural curiosities & worries of life today was at its best a day I learned patience, how to smile & just keep going no mater what.

COURAGE - Anne Sexton

It is in the small things we see it.
The child's first step,
as awesome as an earthquake.
The first time you rode a bike,
wallowing up the sidewalk.
The first spanking when your heart
went on a journey all alone.
When they called you crybaby
or poor or fatty or crazy
and made you into an alien,
you drank their acid
and concealed it.

Later,
if you faced the death of bombs and bullets
you did not do it with a banner,
you did it with only a hat to
cover your heart.
You did not fondle the weakness inside you
though it was there.
Your courage was a small coal
that you kept swallowing.
If your buddy saved you
and died himself in so doing,
then his courage was not courage,
it was love, love as simple as shaving soap.

Later,
if you have endured a great despair,
then you did it alone,
getting a transfusion from the fire,
picking the scabs off your heart,
then wringing it out like a sock.
Next, my kinsman, you powdered your sorrow,
you gave it a back rub
and then you covered it with a blanket
and after it had slept a while
it woke to the wings of the roses
and was transformed.

Later,
when you face old age and its natural conclusion
your courage will still be shown in the little ways,
each spring will be a sword you'll sharpen,
those you love will live in a fever of love,
and you'll bargain with the calendar
and at the last moment
when death opens the back door
you'll put on you carpet slippers
and stride out.

Just Me

I live to love, laugh, and be with the ones who help me to do just that.

I think for myself, but am willing to listen. 

I am stronger than you know, 

more wise than you can imagine,

I give unconditionally.... 

I learn my lessons & grow 

never losing sight of exactly who I am

Corned Beef and Cabbage

 Ingredients

• 3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
• 10 small red potatoes
• 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces
• 1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges

Directions

1. Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
2. Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.
3. Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.

100% Real

Lying is for the weak! It's the "easy" way out of a situation. Your either ashamed of who you are, what you've done or what you want to do. Why be ashamed?!?! Just be authentically you & be proud of it! All for now peace out ✌ღ☺

Happy St Patrick's day (a look at the holiday for the patron saint of Ireland)

Did you know St Patrick was not Irish are shamrocks really lucky? The real history of this little green plant is steeped in religion, heritage and Irish national pride. How did corned beef and cabbage become a st. Patrick's day staple? It didn't start in Ireland.

http://link.history.com/services/link/bcpid12040009001/bclid1675979350/bctid14362290001

The St. Patrick's day parade on fifth avenue is a new york city tradition, but did you know the first one was held even before the declaration of independence was signed?
Green was not the first color associated with St. Patrick, so just how did green come to represent this holiday? What was the org color? BLUE.......
He converted the Irish to Christianity, but there's quite a bit most people don't know about Ireland's patron saint.

FRIENDS VS. ITALIAN FRIENDS

FRIENDS VS. ITALIAN FRIENDS

  FRIENDS: Never ask for food 
ITALIAN FRIENDS: Are the reason you have 
no food.
FRIENDS: Will say "hello". 
ITALIAN FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug 
and a kiss.
FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.  ITALIAN FRIENDS: Call your parents 
mom and dad.
FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.  
 ITALIAN FRIENDS: Cry with you.
FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave.  ITALIAN FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing and just being together.
FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days 

then give it back. 

 ITALIAN FRIENDS: Keep your stuff so long
they forget it's yours.
FRIENDS: know a lot about you. 
ITALIAN FRIENDS: Could write a book
with direct quotes from you.
FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what
the crowd is doing.   
ITALIAN FRIENDS: Will kick the whole
crowds' ass that left you.
FRIENDS: Would knock on your door. 
ITALIAN FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, 
"I'm home!"
FRIENDS: Are for a while. 
ITALIAN FRIENDS: Are for life.

Lamb Folláin

 

Folláin Irish whiskey marmalade is one of the few Irish marmalades that are made in small batches from the finest natural ingredients-Seville and sweet oranges, lemons, and sugar-and is fortified with one of the finest local ingredients, Jameson Irish whiskey. Delicious on toast, biscuits, and scones and wonderful in combination with other ingredients in marinades and sauces, it's particularly tasty as a coating for leg of lamb. Folláin (from the Irish word meaning "wholesomeness") preserves, marmalades, jams, and chutneys are made by Peadar and Maureen Ó Lionáid in Cúil Aodha (Coolea), in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) of County Cork. Their products contain no artificial preservatives or colorings.

 

3 tablespoons Folláin orange-whiskey marmalade or
   orange marmalade mixed with 1 teaspoon Irish whiskey
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
2 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 leg of lamb, 5 to 7 pounds

 

In a saucepan, combine the marmalade, orange zest, garlic, olive oil, orange juice, chives, salt, and pepper and cook over low heat until the marmalade melts and the sauce is smooth, 5 to 8 minutes.

Place the lamb in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over, reserving 1/4 cup for basting. Turn to coat, cover, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or up to 24 hours. Turn the lamb 2 to 3 times during marinating to coat evenly.

Remove the lamb from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 4 hour. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the lamb from the marinade and pat dry. Place the lamb in a shallow baking pan and roast until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the lamb registers 170 degrees F. (medium rare), 175 degrees F. (medium), or 180 degrees F. (well done), 2-1/2 to 3 hours, basting 2 or 3 times with the reserved marinade. Transfer the lamb to a serving platter and let rest for 15 minutes before carving.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE RECIPE

Ingredients: For the chocolate sponge cake: 4 egg whites, 2 egg yolks, 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar, 1 pinch salt, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup cocoa powder. For the chocolate mousse follow my chocolate mousse recipe. For decorating the chocolate mousse cake: 5 cubes semi-sweet baker's chocolate (about 5 oz.), 75 ml. whipping cream, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, white chocolate shavings.

Recipe: Start with the chocolate sponge cake. Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl until foamy. Add the sugar slowly and continue beating until stiff peaks. Fold in egg yolks and vanilla and continue beating until thoroughly mixed. Combine flour and cocoa and add them slowly through a sieve in the mixture while mixing. Line a 20-inch square baking pan with parchment paper and pour the batter in on a thin layer. Bake in a preheated oven at 325 F for 20 minutes. Let the sponge cake cool down and refrigerate. Cut the cold cake with a 3-inch pastry ring. You should get at least 20 rounds. Wrap the walls of ten 3-inch pastry rings with plastic wrap and arrange them on a tray lined with parchment paper. Place one slice of sponge cake on the bottom of each ring. Top with chocolate mousse and repeat one more time. Refrigerate for 2 hours. In the meantime, melt the semi-sweet chocolate with the cream and vanilla over double boiler and cool it down to 45 C. Pour the chocolate topping over each mousse cake, sprinkle with white chocolate shavings and refrigerate for 1 hour more. Before serving pull up gently the pastry rings from around the chocolate mousse cakes.

Bailey's Chocolate Mousse (Perfect for St. Patrick's Day)

 

Ingredients:

• ready-made pie crust
• 1 (1/4 ounce) envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup Bailey's irish cream
• 6 ounces chocolate chips (semisweet)
• 2 cups frozen whipped topping (thawed)

Directions:

Prep Time: 4 1/2 hrs
Total Time: 4 1/2 hrs

1. 1 Pour milk into a medium saucepan.
2. 2 Sprinkle gelatin over the milk and let it sit about 1 minute.
3. 3 Turn on low heat and stir until completely dissolved. About 5 minutes.
4. 4 Add chocolate chips and continue stirring until melted.
5. 5 Stir in vanilla.
6. 6 Remove from heat.
7. 7 Let sit about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. 8 Add Bailey's.
9. 9 Let cool until peaks form when mixture is dropped from a spoon.
10. 10 Fold in whipped topping.
11. 11 Turn into prepared crust or serving bowls.
12. 12 Chill at least 4 hours. I know it's hard to wait, but it's worth it!
13. 13 Garnish with fruit, chocolate, additional whipped topping. Enjoy!

St. Patrick's Day Roast Leg of Lamb

Ingredients:

• 3 -4 lbs leg of lamb
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
• 2 tablespoons black pepper
• 2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 2 large yukon gold potatoes
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped
• 12 cherry tomatoes

Directions:

Prep Time: 0 mins
Total Time: 3 hrs

1. 1 In a small bowl, mix Dijon, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Coat lamb evenly with this mixture. Roast in a 350F oven until an internal temperature is reached of 135°F.
2. 2 Boil potatoes until cooked. Let cool, then slice into coins. Sauté potatoes and onions until golden brown. Add salt and pepper.
3. 3 Melt butter add peas, mint, and tomatoes. Cook until heated through. Cut lamb into slices.
4. 4 Serve with peas tossed with fresh mint, blistered cherry tomatoes and Lyonnaise potatoes.

St. Patrick's Day Crispy Treats

Ingredients:

Servings:
24 24

24

Servings Size

• 
  

• 6 cups Rice Krispies
• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2-1 teaspoon green food coloring
• 1 (10 ounce) package mini marshmallows
• gold chocolate coins (wrapped in gold)
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 30 mins

1. 1 Line a 13x9x2 baking pan with foil, lighty spray with Pam cooking spray or butter.
2. 2 Melt margarine in a large pot on low heat.
3. 3 Add marshmallows and stir constantly until melted.
4. 4 Remove from heat.
5. 5 Add vanilla extract and food coloring stir until smooth.
6. 6 Add cereal quickly to the melted marshmallow mixture, stir until well coated.
7. 7 Press into the ready greased baking pan with a buttered spatula. Set aside and cool.
8. 8 Cut into bars or you can use a shamrock cookie cutter.
9. 9 Garnish top with gold wrapped candy coins.

The Gentle Goat

The Goat is the most easygoing of all the signs ... sensitive to other people's needs, kindhearted, flexible and social. Goats love life, and all forms of art will help them express their active energy and joie de vivre. When stressed, they can be moody and appear weak, but will stubbornly resist the opinions of others if they disagree. They are devoted to their loved ones, outgoing and quite outspoken about the world they live in.
Goats are both free-spirited and honest -- whatever they say about something or someone will not be far off the truth. They are well connected and loved because of their kind nature. It's common for their mothers to be their best friends. Goats are assertive but not dominant ... and tend to complete what others leave undone. They make great coworkers and superior friends ... as long as you allow them space to be creative.

Soul Searching

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations we don't know how to change. We get comfortable with the way things are & get scared to change even though in our heart we know change is needed. If our goal is success but we are settling for mediocrity then we really are not succeeding in life at all, are we? If we have a passion burning inside us but we are letting that fire slowly fade are we really living as we should?

Step into your greatness

"If you want a thing bad enough to go out and fight for it, to work day and night for it, to give up your time, your peace and your sleep for it; if all that you dream and scheme is about it and life seems useless with out it and if you gladly sweat for it and fret for it and plan for it and lose all your terror of the opposition for it and if you simply go after that thing that you want with all of your capacity, strength and sagacity, faith, hope and confidence and stern pertinacity; if neither co-poverty, famish or cold, sickness or pain or body and brain can keep you away from the thing that you want; if dogged and grim you besiege and beset it, with god’s help you will get it."- Les Brown - Step into your greatness

?!?!

I hate when I have to admit being wrong. I hate even more when I'm proven wrong by someones actions. It sucks when you look back & realize you've turned your back on the wrong person. It's crazy how we can all hurt each other without even trying. We trust people we barley know & believe anything they tell us. Yet the ones we love & should trust beyond measure we are often the hardest on. Most people just want to be loved so how do we all get it so wrong so often?! I'm so lucky & thankful I have been blessed with people who truly love me even on my worst days. They may not like what I do but they always love me.

What you give is what you get

Be Kind, Be Loving; Receive Kindness, Receive Love. See A Pattern? Sorry Doesn't Always Work So Think About What You Have Before You Throw It Away.

Happy Friday everyone!

It's Friday YAAY! Happy Friday everyone! Dream big SUPER SIZED BIG then work to MAKE it happen. No one is going to hand you your dreams but they are there for the taking if you truly want them. Today is going to be a great day I just know it! We Gonna Make It Great Baby ♥

 

Real friend are priceless

You may not like me or what I have to say but you'll know where I stand. If I'm your friend I'll be your friend always. People in my heart will always be in my heart & no-one can or ever will change that ever! Day by day it gets clearer who those meant to be in my life truly are. The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. There are few people who will be there when everything goes wrong when they have nothing to gain. Those are the ones we should hold on to but sometimes can't see till the dust has settled. Those people are our angles sent to watch after us. A real friend is always a friend and doesn't ever walk out on you. Especially when you need them, that's not what real friends do. They are there good and bad and understand when things aren't perfect. We don't loose friends, we just learn who our real ones are. You Always Find Out Who Your Real Friends Are In Bad Situations! I'm so thankful for my real friends. Real friend are priceless, its the family we choose. ♥

Just get up off the floor and try again

Took a very memorable face dive in the parking lot at work Luckily my teeth barely broke through the skin. It hurts but it will heal in time Im sure :)

It's Not How Far You Fall & It's not the Way You Land. It's if you get up dust yourself off & keep going that counts. It may hurt but just get up off the floor and try again. No-one is stopping you but you. Do you really want to be the reason you don't achieve your goals?!?!