CELEBRATE IT SATURDAY!!!!

NSV = Non Scale Victory! Sand, Sun, Water and Tons of fun! I recently earned a trip to my Pampered Chef team retreat. I was so excited we were headed to Destin, Florida. THE BEACH?! I have avoided the beach for years well rather I enjoyed the beach from afar for a few reason's .... #1. Finding a swim suit for someone who weighs 365 lbs is not an easy task ... well it is downright nearly an impossible task and if I would have found one well lets just say you pay for the amount of fabric it takes to create it. #2. Walking on/in the sand was laborious. It was horrible and caused me to sound like I was going to keel over any second. At this point I should stop and tell you how very much I love the ocean. I love to hear it, I love to see it and I love to feel it. Growing up I spent a great deal of time around the ocean. Early on we enjoyed Galveston Beach in TX and my visits with my dad in California were some of my favorite memories. We rode our bikes to the beach daily and stayed for hours and hours until it was dark! My dad lived on a boat and so my summers were spent running around the marina barefoot on the hot docks. We lived on and in the ocean. So for about the last 16 years it was miserable to be miserable at the beach. Fast forward to June 9-11, 2014! Yes, I got in a bathing suit. Yes, I brought my beach towel, beach chair, sunscreen, magazines and with out so much as a "pant" we found our way to a spot by the ocean and for several hours soaked up the rays and I really really really enjoyed myself. Since then I have great plans to return with kids in tow. I am so excited by my new realized love! So very exicted! I am seeing the worth wile results of loosing 120lbs! I am living life. I mean really living life! Nothings gonna stop me now!

POTENTIAL IN A BASKET OF BUILDING BLOCKS

Recently I had the privilege of being in our church nursery, as I do each month during service. For the last couple of months ZC my 10 year old has come along to help. She loves to play with the babies and I feel like it gives her a sense of being a servant and an opportunity to be a blessing to the little ones and their mamas. She was exceptionally helpful this time and really really enjoyed playing with the babies. I had the joy of watching her and as she emptied the basket of building blocks the Lord reminded me that the basket of blocks held great potential in her hands. She could choose to take each block and build a tower tall in strength and stature or a strip mall long and stretched out across the floor. The builder has the power to create what he/she can use each block to create. Everyone of those blocks represents a life experience. 1 block may represent a family member leaving while another may represent graduation another may represent the birth of a child and still another the death of a parent. Each block separate and yet when they are placed together they offer one another strong support, a foundation on which the next one is built and supported. So much like our own lives, we don't choose the experiences. God gives us those. He builds, shapes and creates each block and it's up to each one of us to build the structure. We use the foundation, the strength of each previous block to build on to create the life we are meant to have. We can choose to build it tall, overlooking the many structures around us or we can choose to build it wide.

As ZC built her tower one of the younger children came by and with the swipe of a hand the tower tumbled to the ground and the blocks went everywhere and she rebuilt it over and over again. Quite honestly there are just going to be days when our tower gets knocked down, days when our blocks get scattered and again we are afforded an opportunity to rebuild or let them lay where they fell. There are times when we let them lay for a bit, catch our breath and begin to rebuild and more often than not we never rebuild quite the same. Many times our towers will never  look quite the same after its been knocked down but it is always OUR tower.

There are times in my life I have sat and thought how did I get here? When did my life take this turn or that turn and that is it. My life took that turn when someone knocked down my tower and I got here and there by how I chose to rebuild it. So often we take on a victim stance pouting because our tower has tumbled to the ground. We get caught up in the moment of what someone has done to us but knocking it down and neglect to see the opportunity that is before us. It is an opportunity to make things different. Rebuilding our tower is the chance to do something new, make a different turn, use a different set up in our life. The knocking down of our tower is really more of a gift than a set back. Rebuilding is a time to reevaluate how we have built the structure in the past and how we can make it better for the future. Rebuilding is a time to take that "safe" strip mall with a side foundational base and build a dangerously high tower or to add a shaded area or bridge. It is the opportunity to reshape what we once thought was permanent just by rearranging a few blocks here and there. So the next time your tower gets knocked down take a breath, take a minute to reevaluate and start rebuilding. You probably be pleasantly surprised by the next structure you erect!

Tool Tip Tuesday

TODAYS FEATURED TOOL IS THE MIX N CHOP ! THE MIX N CHOP IS LIKE BEING ABLE TO UTILIZE 5 SILICONE KNIVES AT ONE TIME WITH JUST A TWIST OF THE WRIST. HOW DO I USE MY MIX N CHOP? I USE IT TO BREAK UP HAMBURGER MEAT, MASH POTATOES, SCRAMBLED EGGS, CHOP/SHREAD CHICKEN BUT MY FAVORITE USE FOR THE MIX N CHOP IS TO MAKE A HOMEMADE MARBLE SLAB ICE CREAM TREAT BY TAKING 2 SCOOPS OF ICE CREAM AND MY DESIRED TOPPINGS MIXNCHOP, MIXNCHOP, MIXNCHOP AND VIOLA! YUMMY YUMMY! 

I WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOU WITH PAMPERING YOUR KITCHEN. LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO WWW.PAMPEREDCHEF.BIZ/SARASCHULTZ

Microwave Monday

It is time for one of my favorite days of the week .... Monday .... Microwave Monday to be precise. 

As a brief background before I met The Pampered Chef the only thing I used my microwave for was to heat leftovers, pop popcorn and heating the occasional hot chocolate. I thought a quick meal was a box of fishsticks in the oven and I called it good. Between processed freezer meals and drive through windows we managed to survive. In June of 2013 I had my RNY Gastric Bypass surgery and was constantly reminded that what I was feeding my children had little to no nutritional value and I needed to take charge and do something about it or risk them succumbing to the same fate as myself. I found The Pampered Chef as I researched Direct Sales Companies I might want to sign into and well TPC was tried and true. It had been around forever (PSA .... SORRY I REALLY DO HAVE A POINT THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE MICROWAVE IN ALL THIS! ) So I ordered my kit and held my open house. When my director came and we made a fresh healthy meal in less than 30 minutes using my Deep Covered Baker and the microwave I knew I was on to something life changing. Since that day it is rate that I even turn my oven on anymore but I cook a good dinner for my children 5/7 nights. 

Some of the things I make in my microwave using my Rock Crok or Deep Covered Baker. Spaghetti  - start to finish, pasta and all, Chicken Bruschetta Pasta, Chicken Fajitas, a whole chicken, ohhh and dare I mention the desserts like molten Chocolate lava cake ...just to name a few. So from now on for Microwave I will be including recipes cooked only in the microwave! My Microwave Monday tip for today is cooking pasta. So far I have made thin spaghetti, macaroni and Penni. I empty and entire package of pasta ... usually 1 lb in my RC or DCB and add 32 oz of chicken broth. I set the microwave for 9 minutes .... stir and cook 9 more minutes. DISCLAIMER .... every microwave is different. You may need to cook in 5 minute increments after the original 18.