Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Link it Up Wednesday #5

Last week was a super busy week.  We are still experiencing a Thanksgiving 'hangover' but want to thank you all for still linking up to our party last week.  You girls are on top of it. 
Remember our linky parties have no rules.  Link anything you have done no matter how old.  And remember you can link giveaways you might be doing as well. 

Now for our most viewed link from last week:
Magnetic Spice Rack by Just One More

And our personal favorites:
Charissa:
Country Farmtable by Loves All Things Vintage found here

Andrea:
Crocheted Hats by Adventures of a DIY Mom found here

Heidi:
Faux Finished Doors by Batchelor's Way

Marcy:
$1 Peppermint Wreath by Procraftination Station found here

 
Tenille:

Yarn Wrapped Wreath by The Creative Imperative found here

Kelly:
Burlap Memo Board by Twiggs Studios found here


Happy Linking and don't forget to enter our giveaway.  2 lucky winners will win a super cute Chic Headband.






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Monday, November 28, 2011

Giveaway: Chic Headband

Because we love you,
because Christmas is only 27 days away,
and because we found such a cute little business...
we are having a GIVEAWAY today!!


Chic Headband
A little about Eve -The owner of Chic Headband!!

I'm a wife of 6 years to my high school LOVER & best friend Tim DeLoach. I'm a stay at home mom of 16 month old boy/girl twins Zane & Skyler. I was the least crafty person I knew until I had my daughter Skyler...She inspired me to make things...not to mention all the spare time I had being a stay at home mama & not working! I wanted to find a way to keep myself busy, earn some extra money and make something Skyler and I could both wear! 

I am a busy bee, I love to work out, roll around on the floor with my hubby and twins and snuggle up next to them while watching some Yo Gabba Gabba!
I make headbands for all ages, one size fits newborn-adult. I love doing custom orders, I can trade out the flower and leaves for any color combination, anything you can think up I can make!

Eve was kind enough to send me 2 headbands of my choice to try out for this giveaway.
I picked Super Savvy and Sweet Spot.
Here I am posing with my new headband...and of course I used this tutorial for getting my soft sexy waves!  =)

Please excuse my daughters half wet/half dry hair...she had just been caught playing with the water in the bathroom!

And this girl LOVES her new headband!
And this is saying a LOT because she is VERY particular with what she will allow in her hair!

So, on to the GIVEAWAY!!
Eve is graciously giving away TWO headbands to TWO lucky winners!
You can pick ANY headband from her Etsy shop if you win!

Wanna win??
Here's what ya do!

1. Like Chic Headbands on Facebook

2. Go to Chic Headband Etsy store and tell us what you would choose if you were the winner.

3. Like {Junk in their Trunk} on Facebook

4. Follow {Junk in their Trunk} through Google Friend Connect (it's on the right sidebar down a little ways)

4 ways to enter!  Leave a SEPARATE comment for each thing you do!
Good luck!
Giveaway will end Thursday night at 10pm PST.

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Big Families

Sorry we have been M.I.A for the last few days.  We decided to take a break and enjoy the holidays and our time with our family.  We had an amazing Thanksgiving and hope that yours was great as well.  Pictures will come soon... we promise:)


So as you already know, us 6 sisters come from a big family.
6 girls, 3 boys.
9 kids.
And we all look back on our childhood with fondness.
Were we wealthy?
No.
Live in a big house?
No...we grew up in a 1500 sq ft house.
But we didn't even realize it at the time.
I know as I look back I don't remember our house feeling small.
We lived happily.

I was watching Cheaper By the Dozen tonight with my 5 kiddos.
And I must admit, I teared up 2 different times.
I can relate to that show in a lot of ways.

1 - I can relate to the chaos that lots of children brings,
the times where you feel left out and that no one cares,
the fighting and bickering,
and the love and unity you feel for each other,
and the love you feel from a parent who takes time out for you and you alone.

2 - And now I can relate from a parents stand point,
raising lots of children and sometimes feeling like you are going to seriously lose it,
how you feel like all you do all day is chase kids and change diapers,
chaos and messes everywhere you turn,
your identity suddenly buried 6 feet deep,
under homework, bills, toys, laundry and sippy cup spills.

Sometimes I do feel like the dad from Cheaper By the Dozen,
standing on an empty football field, looking around and feeling like I am giving everything up.
Like I am swamped with all the daily grind of life that I forget what I am doing.
What is the ultimate goal?
Is it for ME to achieve what I want out of life?
Or is it for ME to follow HIS plan?
The day to day LITTLE stuff is what will lead me back to HIM.
Caring for HIS children,
teaching HIS children,
preparing HIS children,
loving HIS children.

I wouldn't want it any other way.

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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Cranberry Orange Relish

Need a quick and easy last minute Thanksgiving side? I have the perfect one! This is my first Thanksgiving away from home, and I knew I wanted to make something that has always been at our table at home. This is perfect with any turkey, takes about five minutes to prepare, and only has three ingredients!

1 rinsed 12 oz bag of cranberries
1 orange (including half its peel)
sugar (about 1 cup)


Cut the very top and bottom off your orange, cut into quarters, take the peel off two of the quarters.
Throw all the cranberries and orange (minus the part you cut off the top and bottom) into a food processor. I used my incredible Ninja blender I got as a wedding gift from a very kind aunt and uncle. If you're looking for a new blender and don't mind spending $100, I would highly recommend the Ninja! I use it for all my sauces, relishes, smoothies, salsas, you name it! Anyway, moving on!


I used the pulse option until I reached the desired consistency. You won't want to puree it, but you'll want everything finely chopped. If there are some stubborn bits of orange peel, you can cut them smaller after everything else is how you want it.


Stir in sugar. Start with half a cup, taste it, then add a bit more if needed. Let it sit together (I had overnight, but even just an hour will be fine). This will let all the flavors combine. Add more sugar if it's still too tart for your liking.


So easy and so classic! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!



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Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Link it up Wednesday #4

Wow!  That is all we can say about our last linky party.  We went from 54 links to 138.  We are all walking around with huge smiles because of you.  Thanks for making our linky party such a huge success.  And we had so many AMAZING links last week. 

Our most viewed link of the week:

The Braided Bun by The Small Things Blog   found here

Our personal picks:

Charissa:

Boys Trunk Redo! by  The Creative Imperative found here

Andrea:
How to Clean Oven Glass by DIY Home Sweet Home found here

Tiffany:
Hot Cocoa Ice Cubes by The V-Spot found here

Heidi:
Wasted Space to Reading Nook by These Moments of Mine found here

Marcy:
Stay Put Kitchen Towels by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom found here

Liesl:
Christmas Twig Vase by I Can't Stop Crafting found here

Tenille:
No Sew Braided Headband by We Like To Learn As We Go found here

Kelly:
Advent Calendar by Papervine found here

Now on to the party!!





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Juiciest Thanksgiving Turkey!

I came across this recipe last year when my husband and I got stranded in The Dalles, Oregon on our way back home from the Coast celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary.  We managed to get probably the last hotel room in the whole city because the freeway was closed due to slide-offs and accidents because of a freak winter snowstorm that blanketed the entire Northwest (the picture below is an awesome picture of snow on the beach - made it kind of hard to find shells and agates but it was pretty)

It was the day before the day before Thanksgiving and on their nightly news that night they showcased this recipe.  It made my mouth water so bad that as soon as we finally made it home which was late on Thanksgiving eve, I googled the news station in The Dalles and managed to find the recipe.  I used it the next day for our family's Thanksgiving turkey and it was the best turkey ever.  This turkey is so good that you will not want to waste so much as a precious morsel of it.  I even made my husband help me figure out how to pour every last drop of the drippings into containers which I froze and used many times throughout the next year.  Anything you make with that broth will turn out amazing.  There are no pictures to go with this post since I haven't made it yet this year but trust me that it is amazing turkey.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp ground dried rosemary
2 tbsp rubbed dried sage
2 tbsp dried thyme leaves
1 tbsp lemon pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 (15 lb) whole turkey, neck and giblets removed
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 orange, cut into wedges
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
1 bottle champagne (I substituted white grape juice - same difference)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line a turkey roaster with long sheets of aluminum foil that will be long enough to wrap over the turkey (or put it in one of those handy turkey bags - way easier).
2.  Stir together the parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, lemon pepper, and salt in a small bowl.  Rub the herb mixture into the cavity of the turkey, then stuff with the celery, orange, onion, and carrot.  Truss if desired, and place the turkey into the roasting pan.  Pour the chicken broth and champagne over the turkey, making sure to get some champagne in the cavity.  Bring the aluminum foil over the top of the turkey and seal.  Try to keep the foil from touching the skin of the turkey breast or legs.
3.  Bake the turkey in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear.  Uncover the turkey and continue baking until the skin turns golden brown, 30 minutes to 1 hour longer.  An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 F.  Remove the turkey from the oven, cover with a doubled sheet of aluminum foil, and allow to rest in a warm area 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.

Recipe courtesy Kristin Garrett.
 

 This is all that was left of our turkey.  Even the drumstick was amazing!  Hope you enjoy a great Thanksgiving holiday with your family!
 
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Monday, November 21, 2011

Gratitude Journal

Last year, a good friend gave me a copy of the article below.  I don't know where she found it but I liked it so well, I used the idea in a lesson I gave in church about gratitude.  As part of the lesson, I gave each woman in the class a small spiral bound notebook with a pen so that they could try this in their own lives.  I am still surprised a year later that people will still bring up their gratitude journal and tell me different things that they have been writing down in it.

Gratitude is such an amazing principle and I know the world would be a better place if people would just be more grateful.  The downturn in the economy would simply not touch as many lives if people would spend more time pondering on their blessings rather than worrying about what they don't have.  You wouldn't have the so-called "99%" pitching tents and making a racket on the streets bellyaching that they don't have what the 1% have if they would simply take a few moments each day to be grateful instead of bitter (would anyone like to hear a rant about that movement?  I would love to share but that would be a blog in and of itself).  And on and on it goes.  Christ Himself accomplished many mighty miracles simply using the principle of gratitude (don't believe me? - it's in the Bible, read it again and watch for it).  In fact, Spencer W. Kimball once commented that the most important word in the dictionary is "Remember".  When we remember the blessings Heavenly Father has showered upon us, we will be amazed.  The process is a simple one:  Each night before you go to bed, write down five things that you can be grateful about that day.  Some days the list will be filled with amazing things, most days just simple joys.  Do it for at least a month and your life will change forever. 


How to Keep a Gratitude Journal
A gratitude journal is a way to consciously call attention to the things for which we are thankful each day. By focusing on gratitude, we become aware of those things and thus create a shift in our thinking to the positive. The following suggestions can help start a gratitude journal and a whole new outlook on life.

Instructions:
1.Choose a blank notebook or journal to write in every night. Consider a spiral-bound journal that opens flat for ease in writing. Select lined or unlined paper. Keep this notebook next to the bed with a pen readily available.

2.Look for things during the day for which you are grateful. Make mental notes throughout the day.  Notice how the gratitude journal shifts the focus to a more positive outlook.

3.Write five thing you're grateful for each night before bedtime. Review the day and include anything, however small or great, that was a source of gratitude that day, e.g., a baby's smile, a flower in bloom, or the smell of a newly cut lawn. Make the list personal. Write a few words about the five benefits or blessings. Be brief and increase the length as time progresses.  Some days you will write down amazing things.  Other days--rough ones--you might think that you don't have five things to be grateful for, so just write down the basics:  health, family, animals, home, friends, the comfortable bed that you're about to get into, or even just the fact that the day's over. That's okay. Real life isn't always going to be perfect or go our way, but the recurring acknowledgment of what is working in our lives can help us not only survive, but surmount our difficulties.
Source: here

4.Begin looking everyday for the positive angle in all things. View obstacles as opportunities to appreciate.

5.Focus on the wonderful things in life to attract similar encounters in the course of the day. Use positive energy as a magnet to draw even more positive energy. Note these attractions in the gratitude journal.

6.Personalize the gratitude journal. Expand it with clippings, photos, quotes or verses from magazines or other sources.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." 
-Melody Beattie
Source: here

The amazing part of this process is that the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given to you.  Heavenly Father is dying to provide us with blessings - He's just waiting for us to acknowledge the ones we already have so that He can then shower us with more.

As the months pass and you fill your journal with blessings, an inner shift in your reality will occur. Soon you will be delighted to discover how content and hopeful you are feeling. As you focus on the abundance rather than on the lack in your life, you will be designing a wonderful new blueprint for the future. This sense of fulfillment is gratitude at work, transforming your dreams into reality.  A French proverb reminds us that "Gratitude is the heart's memory." Henry B. Eyring also encourages us to use a journal to remember blessings.  These are his thoughts on how to do it:  "As you start to write, you could ask yourself, “How did God bless me today?”  If you do that long enough and with faith, you will find yourself remembering blessings.  And sometimes you will have gifts brought to your mind which you failed to notice during the day, but which you will then know were a touch of God’s hand in your life.  Remembrance is the seed of gratitude, which is the seed of generosity."

Try the experiment.  This process has helped me not only remember my blessings but the One who is giving them to me.  I have better come to understand how God talks to me - He does it through the things He knows I love the most.  Pinpointing those things by writing them down and reflecting on them has opened my mind to the love God has for me and His constant watchful care and mindfulness of me.  He knows and loves me so much more than anyone else on earth.  Gratitude and simply being mindful of my many blessings has really improved the communication between us.  And it quite simply just makes life sweeter!
Source: here
 
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Friday, November 18, 2011

Judging

JUDGING. 
We do it all the time.  We judge a person by their appearance.  We judge a person by their decisions they make.  We judge them by where they came from.  We judge a lot more than we are probably willing to admit.  Most of the time we judge wrongly. 

While I wouldn't label myself an overly judgmental person, I will say that in the past I have been a pretty harsh judge.  In college I remember working one day and seeing a set of twins come in.  They had bleach blonde hair, tanned skin and dressed very preppy.  My first thought was that they must be from California and that they were probably really conceited.  I figured that they would never give an average girl like me a second glance. 

Well it turns out I had judged them so completely wrong.  They ended up being 2 of the nicest guys I had ever met.  They would also do little acts of service all the time without letting anyone know.  And guess what...they weren't from California.   They ended up being from Idaho of all places. 

Knowing them taught me a great lesson in judging.  I knew that I couldn't judge someone based solely off their appearance.  In this case I had judged off appearance and I couldn't of been farther from the truth. 

Flash forward about 10 years.  My husband, myself and my 3 little ones are driving on the interstate to go do some shopping.  Along the way we are run halfway into the median because another car had merged into our lane while we were right next to them.  My husband was able to keep control and avoid the accident but I was immediately brought to tears. 

 I am sure the car that had almost hit us was probably looking at me and wondering why in the world I was crying over this.  I mean nothing serious happened.  There was no accident.  Yes we were in their blind spot but we all have close calls all the time.  No biggie, right.  They must of thought I was the biggest drama queen ever.  Can we say OVER REACTING. 

Well maybe those people wouldn't have passed such a harsh judgement on me if they had known what I had just been through a short 3 weeks prior.  Maybe they would of been more sympathic if they had known how myself and my 3 little kids had been in a serious car crash that should of killed us but by many miracles, we had survived.  

Maybe those people who give me dirty looks as they speed past me while on the freeway would be more forgiving of my cautious driving while passing semi trucks if they knew how the one time I tried passing a semi myself and my kids had almost been killed. 

I am so guilty of being judgmental in the past.  I would get so annoyed at slow drivers and mumble about how they didn't deserve to be on the roads.  Since the accident I am much more understanding of 'slow' drivers. 

We all have a story.  We all have reasons for why we do the things we do.  Instead of passing judgments on people, who we don't know the stories of, we should instead just love them for who they are. 

Yes it is so much easier to judge than to accept.  For me it took a near death experience to teach me such a simple concept.  While I am not perfect at not judging, I have become more sympathetic to others.  I have now tried putting myself in their shoes. 

 The Pre-Accident Tenille would of seen the Post-Accident Tenille driving and would of been so annoyed with her.  She would of sped past her and given her the annoyed look and let her know what a terrible driver she was.   Thankfully Pre-Accident Tenille is long gone.  

Do I wish the accident had never happened?  Absolutely NOT.  I have learned too many valuable lessons in the last 4 months.  I have changed.  I am not the same Tenille I was before July 1, 2011.  Hopefully I have become a better, less judgmental Tenille.

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Nov 17--Think a Hike Day

Today is TAKE A HIKE DAY. I don’t understand why whoever is in charge of thinking up hokey holidays put this day in the middle of November. Where I live, it’s COLD. But, I guess I can’t complain, since the job of thinking up hokey holidays isn’t mine. But I will make a slight tweak to this holiday...just one word. THINK (instead of Take) A HIKE DAY. Now that’s a lot more bearable.

With that one word change, you can now stay in the luxury of your home, wrapped in a quilt in front of a fire with a cup of hot chocolate and just THINK, instead of putting on those hiking boots. I’m thinking right now of a memorable hike we did just last month with three other families. It will be remembered by most of us (except a 4 year old who got carried) as the HIKE FROM HELL!

We’d done a 5 mile hike (or bike for some) to Loon Lake. It had been quite enjoyable. We’d hiked through a stunning burnt forest with white and black trees in red fall ground cover. We’d seen creeks and grassy areas, then traversed through shady evergreen forests. When we reached the lake we ate lunch and sat and thrilled to the view and some rest, knowing we had to go back those same 5 miles we’d come.

Someone in our group suggested hiking around the lake to where a crashed WWII plane lay in the forest beyond. The beginning of the trail going there should have given us a clue (or warning). The lake emptied there and some stones and precarious logs had been stacked across, still letting the water through to the creek, but giving hikers a chance to cross without getting wet (if you’re a tightrope walker). Everyone decided to go, except 3 of us (Yours truly among the three wimps who stayed).

I felt a little twinge of regret as I watched the others leave…but my friend didn’t want to take her 3 year old over that log jam, and I didn’t want to leave her alone (at least that’s what I said to be noble). Truthfully, my feet already hurt and I didn’t want to go one step further than I had to since I knew we still had several hours back to the trailhead.

The others had assured us they’d be quick. My friend’s husband said, “We’ll be back in 30 minutes. Ten minutes to get there, 10 minutes to let the kids look around, then 10 minutes to get back.”

My friend and I had a relaxing time sitting by the lake watching her 3 year old eat dirt and play with bugs. We kept glancing around, hoping to see a sign of the rest of our group, but to no avail.

TWO HOURS LATER…the first of them came straggling back, covered in mud and scratches and looking battle worn. The dirty kids went into the lake, not caring about shoes or socks (they were already caked in knee deep mud, which wouldn’t come off in the water). That easy 10 minute trail had turned into muddy swamp and fallen trees from a fire a few years ago. They had doggedly kept going, knowing that any second they would come upon the wrecked aviation carnage.

Beware the words: “We’re almost there!” They are NEVER true!

Those poor souls kept going forward, knowing they “were almost there.” Their 10 minute hike became a 2 hour ordeal that left several with bloody wounds…and all of them utterly exhausted. My friend and I were quite rested and ready to head back when they returned. But all of those who had gone on that SHORT hike, dragged the rest of the 5 miles back to the trailhead, grumbling and mumbling under their breath about that DANG PLANE.
Was it worth it? None of those who went thought so…but I must say, I love the pictures (don’t you, especially since we didn’t have to risk leeches and give blood to get there?) Thinking about it just makes me laugh, which is better than huffing and puffing right now through a muddy swamp or snowy forest. I like THINK A HIKE DAY!

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Link it Up Wednesday #3

Wow we had just a little over 50 links last week.  Thanks to all of you for helping our linky parties grow.  We absolutely love seeing all the amazing things you guys have been up to. 

Again we want to share with you a few of our favorites from last week, as well as the most viewed link. 

Without further adieu here is the most viewed link of the week:
Vintage Crate Stairs by Compulsive in Texas

And here are some of our favorites:

Charissa & Kelly:
Vintage Crate Stairs by Compulsive in Texas found here 

Tiffany:
Fall Jello by Crissy's Craft found here

Heidi:
Amazing Race Party by Shaped by Grace found here

Marcy:
Busy Bag Ideas by Babblin Brook found here


Liesl:
Oversized Ruler by Compulsive in Texas found here

Tenille:
Hot Glue Mason Jars by The Pinterest Project found here


Now on to the partay!!
We have a button to the right, feel free to use it to link back here.




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