Free Shipping at Lilla Rose!!
By · Apr 26, 2012 · CommentsI am very excited to share that Lilla Rose is offering FREE SHIPPING right now on all orders over $20, through April 29!! This is the best time to purchase a Flexi-Clip or any of their other wonderful accessories. With Mother’s Day coming up, I’d say this is the perfect time to make the purchases you need.
And speaking of Mother’s Day, take a look at the special clip they made to celebrate:
Nutiva Organic Coconut Oil – Two 15 Ounce Tubs for $13.52
By · Apr 26, 2012 · Comments
I would have waited until Friday night when I share my “Healthy Deals” post to tell you about this deal, but I often find that if I see a good coconut oil deal at Amazon, it doesn’t last long!
Right now, you can get two 15 ounce tubs of Nutiva Coconut Oil for just $13.52 at Amazon with subscribe and save. This makes each tub just $6.76 with free shipping.
This coconut oil is organic and very high quality. Since this is extra virgin coconut oil, it does have mild coconut flavor. Great stuff!
Is It Expensive to Start Working Out?
By · Apr 25, 2012 · Comments
I can’t tell you how excited I am to hear that several of you are involved in or have now started a workout routine of some kind!! Way to go!
I love how much energy I have now that I am exercising regularly, as well as how healthy I feel overall. If you’re still hesitating to do some sort of exercise, I really encourage you to give it a try. You won’t regret it. (Even if you are sore at first!) :)
I am also very excited to have Jen, from Getting Fit With Jen, on board here to help answer so many of our fitness questions. She has taught me so much while we’ve been working out the past few months. It would appear that I’m not just getting fit, I’m becoming a little bit smarter too. How ’bout that?
Several of you have already taken advantage of Jen’s personal online training services, which I know will be a blessing to you. Having someone tell you exactly what you need to do, having someone to be accountable to – I find it all so helpful.
Today, I was able to bend Jen’s ear for a little while and ask her some questions about fitness and finances. If money is holding you back from getting started in a workout program, I think you’ll like what Jen has to say.
My conversation with Jen…
Laura: How much would you say it costs to get started with a workout program?
Jen: I feel like you can actually get started without spending any extra money at all. Walking, for instance, doesn’t cost a thing. Resistance training can be done simply by using your own body weight, your little ones, and well, since we’re talking about this here at Heavenly Homemakers, I’d even throw out the idea of using your bags of wheat. :)
Laura: Ha! I’m pretty sure I could find a bag of wheat around here somewhere. :) So you really think a person can have an effective exercise routine without spending any money at all?
Jen: Absolutely!
Laura: If someone does have some money to invest in their fitness journey, what would you recommend they look at first?
Jen: The first thing that comes to mind is a good pair of shoes, if you don’t already have some. A set of resistance bands or dumbbells are also great to have. Resistance bands are very inexpensive, very versatile, and they don’t take up much space. Once you know you’re serious about exercising, some high quality workout DVDs can be a great investment because you’ll have them forever, and you can workout at home when it is convenient for you.
There are some other pieces of equipment that you may appreciate owning (like an elliptical machine or a tread mill), but be sure you’re serious about using them before you take the financial plunge.
Laura: Is there anything you would say is NOT worth spending the money on in order to get fit?
Jen: Watch out for any product that “guarantees results”. Some of them are legit, but not all of them are. I’ve seen some gimmicky workout equipment that simply isn’t necessary, such as “ab belts”, which promise to give you a six pack. If you want a six pack, you’re going to need to work for it! Save your money for some of the above mentioned gear and be ready to invest time and energy into achieving the results you’re looking for!
Watch for more of your questions to be answered in our “Ask the Trainer” feature next week. Have more fitness questions? Be sure to leave a comment here. And check out Jen’s site, Getting Fit With Jen for more great fitness information.
Heavenly Homemaker’s Guide to Gardening and Preserving eBook Sale!
By · Apr 25, 2012 · CommentsIt is an exciting time of year! Matt fired up our friend’s tiller today and got our garden all ready for planting. We have been busy making plans for which vegetables we will plant in which part of the garden. And now, it is time for us to start getting those seeds into the ground. Next time you see me, I will have soil under my fingernails…and probably a little bit smudged across my face as well.
To celebrate this fun time of year, we are knocking down the price of our Heavenly Homemaker’s Guide to Gardening and Preserving eBook almost in half! Click here to read more details about what you’ll find in this resource.
$7.95
$4.00 (limited time only!)
Healthier Cheesecake Brownies
By · Apr 24, 2012 · Comments
Warning: The following post is full of calories, sugar, and rich gooey chocolate. Reading this post will not result in any weight gain, neither will you have a sugar crash when you are finished looking at the pictures. However, baking and actually eating these Cheesecake Brownies in real life is a different story - especially if you struggle (like I do) with over-indulging in such things as cheesecake or brownies or a fantastically incredible combination of the two. These are made with healthier ingredients such as whole grain flour and unrefined sugar, but it’s not like these are made of green leafy vegetables. Oh how I wish. Therefore, I recommend that if you make these Cheesecake Brownies, you should plan to take them immediately to a potluck or otherwise heavily populated event where there are many servant-hearted people to help you consume them. Participating in a short time of “quality control” before taking them to an event is acceptable, as long as you don’t feel that you need to test the quality of the entire pan of goodies.
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Trust me, I am offering this warning from the botom of my sugar-loving heart. I am the girl who, when asked, “Which do you like best? Brownies…or Cheesecake?” I always answer with an definite and enthusiastic, “Yes!!!” I love them both, but put them together and that pan of Cheesecake Brownies and I could have a fine party, just the two of us. But I’m also working hard to get in shape and to eat a healthy diet. Cheescake Brownie binges and my running shoes just don’t go together.
In other words: Share the love, people.
Cheesecake Brownies
Brownie Layer
1 cup melted butter
2 cups sucanat
2/3 cup cocoa powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Cheesecake Layer
2 – 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1/2 cup sucanat
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix together melted butter, sucanat, and cocoa powder. Add eggs and vanilla, stirring well. Mix in flour and stir until thoroughly mixed. Spread the brownie batter into a 9×13 inch baking dish and set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, cream together all cheesecake layer ingredients: softened cream cheese, eggs, sucanat and vanilla. Once it is well mixed and creamy, spoon the mixure into about twelve “plops” over the top of the brownie batter.
Use a butter knife to “cut” and swirl the cheesecake mixture through the brownie batter.
Try not to hyperventilate while you anticipate how good these will taste once they are baked. Good luck.
Bake in a 350° oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow the Cheesecake Brownies to cool completely before slicing. Makes 24 servings.
I will say it again: This recipe makes twenty-four servings. These cheesecake brownies are not to be consumed by you alone – not even in 24 different settings. Not even if you first ate a good dinner. These are to be shared. Do not forget this important information.
Oh, but when you do indulge in your Cheesecake Brownie, I give you full permission to thoroughly enjoy yourself. Savor each rich, chocolaty, cream cheesy bite of gooey goodness. Put your feet up, turn on some music, and make it an event. And if you think of it, call me. I like events that include brownies and cheesecake.
What would you answer to the question of: “Which do you like best? Brownies…or cheesecake?” (“Yes” is an acceptable answer.)
Drink Bands Party Packs Are Available!
By · Apr 24, 2012 · CommentsWe continue to love and use our DrinkBands daily around here. What a great way to cut down on dirty dishes, especially when we have extra kids around.
Recently, DrinkBands has added a new set to their line - the Party Pack! They are fun, multicolored bands that my kids think are super cool.
What else is new at DrinkBands? They’ve added a red band to their regular set of bands. Because I am from Nebraska, I would say that Husker fans will really appreciate this addition. :)
As always, DrinkBands offers free shipping in the U.S. And, right now, you can get a $1.00 discount off the new Party Packs when you enter the code partypack. This offer is good through April 30, 2012.
Gratituesday: Date Time
By · Apr 23, 2012 · Comments
Since it has been several months since I’ve taken any of my boys on a date, I decided it was time to start another round. When I mentioned it to Matt, he asked if he could please be included in the rotation. I can’t say I would mind that one little bit. Five dates for me with all five of my favorite men? Let me get my calendar!
Today, Malachi and I headed out for a little one-on-one.
We started our date at Pizza Hut – his choice. He’s been planning this for weeks actually. In his mind, there was no other option besides Pizza Hut for his time out with Mom. We headed there nice and early to beat the lunch crowd, which was a brilliant idea if I do say so myself. Or at least I thought it was brilliant until we got there and saw a huge chartered bus had arrived there ahead of us. And what do you suppose we found inside the restaurant? Table after table was full. And it wasn’t just any kind of full. It was the full of hungry college age boys kind of full.
I warned Malachi that the buffet might not have any pizza on it for quite a while since there were so many big eaters there. He was willing to wait. We got seated, got our water, talked about important subjects like Legos and ninjas, and we waited some more. Each time pizza would be delivered to the buffet, swarms of college boys would devour it within seconds. And so, we continued to wait. My little man was the picture of patience. Hey, when you’ve got Mom’s ear all to yourself, who needs pizza?
Well, would you believe that after about thirty minutes and the third round of pizza getting snatched up before we could even get out of our seats, one of those nice young college boys came over and introduced himself to Malachi? He told him that he’d noticed how long he’d been waiting for food and he said, “As soon as more pizza comes out, you and I will go up there and get you some.” Sure enough, as soon as some fresh cheesy bread sticks came out, the guy hoisted Malachi up, butted in line in front of this friends and said, “Hey, let’s let this fella get some of those bread sticks, okay?”
Malachi was in such shock, he almost forgot to say “thank you”. But wow, did he devour those bread sticks. He was even nice enough to share one of them with his hungry date. :)
I was able to take another moment to thank that young man for showing my boy such kindness. I hope Malachi remembers this and shows the same kind of love to someone else someday.
It wasn’t much longer until the place cleared out and we were able to enjoy the “all you can eat” part of the buffet. Malachi decided that posing for some pictures was a great idea:
I think that in the following picture, he’s trying to show us that he finally got enough pizza and he’s thoroughly stuffed. Four bread sticks and three pieces of pizza will do that to a seven year old boy.
Next, we headed out to Wal-mart where I promised that he could have several, unhurried minutes to gaze at Lego sets. You would have thought I had offered to take him to Legoland. No need to buy Legos. Just having the time to look at them for a long, long time was gift enough.
He’s been running up to me for hugs all day since we’ve been home. I’d say round one of five dates was a success, wouldn’t you? :)
Share how God is working in your life on your blog, then come link up with us here. If you don’t have a blog, be sure to leave a comment letting us know what you’re grateful for! Please read through the Gratituesday Guidelines so that you understand what kinds of posts you can link up to share here. Posts that are linked but do not fit our Gratituesday theme will be deleted.
If you are linking up a blog post for Gratituesday,
please copy and paste the following sentence into your post! Thanks!Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!
Last Week’s Giveaway Winners (EMAIL ME if your name is on this list!)
By · Apr 23, 2012 · CommentsWe had several fun giveaways last week. Here is our list of winners! Read through it carefully to see if your name was drawn. :)
The winner of the Tropical Traditions Coconut Oil is:
Beth F: catholicmumma@
The winner of the Nourishing Traditions from More Than Alive are:
1) Heidi: hhss28@
2) Benda J: smsteach@
3) Katrina Page: oneagainst@
4) Emily: emilytoates@
The winner of the Mushroom Box from Braga Farms is:
Jenifer Parker: JennieMaeW47@
Ladies, email me and I’ll forward your information on for your prize. Thank you!
I Scored FIVE!!!! (and our Menu Plan for the Week)
By · Apr 22, 2012 · Comments
In case I haven’t mentioned it already, you should know that my entire family loves the game of soccer. Five out of six of us play, coach, and/or referee - leaving me to do what is safe and wise: 1) feed them all well 2) try to keep up with the practice/coaching/game/referee schedule as much as is humanly possible 3) cheer loudly from the sidelines and 4) for the love of everyone involved, stay far away from the soccer ball.
This system has worked well for years. But Saturday told a bit of a different story where Mom and soccer were involved. I had done my part that morning of feeding them all well before games, and then cheering loudly from the sidelines. (Although it was really cold, so instead of cheering very loudly, mostly I was focused on keeping my nose from dripping.)
Because an entire morning of soccer games is apparently just not enough, Matt and the boys decided to start a pick-up game on a small field with a few of their young friends. My kind husband then asked if I would like to join them out on the field.
I hesitated briefly, but given the fact that I am determined to get fit and thought that spending that time on the field with my family might actually be fun, I said yes. After all, I was cold. I figured that I could at least play for a couple of minutes so I could get warmed up a little bit.
One hour and fifteen minutes later, we decided to be finished. Yes, for one hour and fifteen minutes, I played soccer.
Perhaps I should clarify.
On-lookers may not call what I did “playing soccer”. It may have appeared to be more like a crazy 38 year old woman stumbling across a soccer field while occasionally making haphazard foot contact with a rolling ball.
But I’ll have you know – I scored five, yes…count them…FIVE goals. Why yes, I did.
I’m not entirely sure how it happened, because during the entire game, even though my brain often knew just what to do, that message usually didn’t quite make it to my feet. Generally, I felt like my feet were made of cast iron and wouldn’t budge or lift or turn the way I was trying to tell them to. But, since I was on my husband’s team, he obviously did a great job feeding the ball right to my foot so that I could force, flick, or otherwise, fling the ball into the net.
FIVE times!!!
Oh, had I told you that number already?
I should also mention that by the end of our game, I was so tired I could barely walk. And yes, today, I do have some bruises and sore muscles. Playing soccer definitely uses quite a different variety of muscles than does walking, jogging, lifting, and doing work-out videos. And the bruises. I definitely learned why shin guards are required for soccer.
But it doesn’t matter, because I scored five!
And now, while I sit here with ice on my knee, I will work on our menu plan for the week…
Sunday, April 22
Oatmeal, clementines
Bbq meatballs, baked potatoes, green beans, sweet corn
High school huddle – Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, chips, pickles, olives, carrot sticks, butterscotch bars (x3)
Monday, April 23
Whole wheat pancakes, blueberries
Leftovers
Tuna casserole, peas
Tuesday, April 24
Easy breakfast casserole, oranges
Beef and cheese burritos, pineapple
Taco potatoes, tossed salad
Wednesday, April 25
Chocolate chocolate chip muffins, applesauce
Easy noodle stir fry with carrots and broccoli
Barbeque brisket, cream scalloped potatoes, green beans
Thursday, April 26
Warm vanilla soother, cinnamon swirl toast
Tuna salad on crackers, tomatoes, olives
Baked three cheese chicken pasta, tossed salad
Friday, April 27
Whole wheat donuts, apples
Chicken nuggets, ranch potato wedges, peas
Tacos
Saturday, April 28
Applesauce bread, scrambled eggs
Leftovers
Turkey sausage and red bean stew, cornbread muffins
Save Money Online – Healthy Deals
By · Apr 21, 2012 · Comments
~ Did you see the great deal I shared for getting Enjoy Life Soy Free Chocolate Chips? Be sure to head over and take advantage!
~ Tropical Traditions is offering FREE SHIPPING on all of their frozen products, including grass-fed beef, pastured poultry, soy free eggs, and more. They have never offered this before on these products, so I was very excited to see this! Use the code FSF419 at check-out to receive free shipping.
~ I noticed that Saving Naturally shared that you can get 30 Mango Stretch Island Fruit Leather for $10.88 at Amazon with subscribe and save. This breaks down to just $0.36/snack – a great price. I’ve never tried the mango variety of these fruit leather, but they sound great!
