Our honeymoon!!!

My uncle Jim and Aunt Marna just called to tell me that they have reserved and paid for 2 nights in the Pirate room at the Castlewood Cottages!! Here are some pics, the website is absolutely amazing! I'm so excited, I never thought we would be able to have a honeymoon!

I'm Getting Married!!

I have an event page on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=121940147840434

This is so exciting! It's a bit stressful too. Yesterday I didn't even have time to eat all day!

Cinnamon Almond Crusted French Toast Recipe

In the fall I like to make pecan crusted pumpkin french toast topped with a dollop of maple whipped cream. It's almost more of a dessert than a breakfast. I wanted something lighter for the summer months, so this morning I experimented with cinnamon almond crusted french toast. Please excuse my pic of breakfast, above, as I am certainly not a food photographer, haha. The little white lumps are powdered sugar. As an afterthought i'm sure breakfast could have done without it.


Here's what you need to make this:

*a sturdy skillet
*plastic ziplock/freezer bag
*rolling pin or other suitable almond smasher (for the fun part, you can even get the kids involved)
*spatula

*several slices of your favorite bread. (I use Milton's Whole Grain Plus bread-it has lots of fiber and a good supply of iron, which I need, because I struggle with chronic anemia.)
* eggs, I used about half a dozen for 7 slices of french toast
*a splash of milk to mix with your eggs to make them nice and fluffy
*cinnamon
*vanilla
*a handful of almonds
*Smart Balance margarine sub, or whatever type of butter/margarine you use

Now, here's what ya gotta do:

1. Put your almonds in a sturdy, sandwich sized freezer bag. Don't close it because then it will probably pop while you are trying to crush your almonds. Lay your freezer bag flat on the counter, try to lay the almonds in one flat layer. Now take your rolling pin and crush your almonds, still inside the bag. Beat them, roll over them, just make sure they are in small chunks with some that are almost powdered.

2. Pick up your bag of almonds and shake a little cinnamon in for flavor. As much or as little as you like. Shake the bag all around to mix the cinnamon and almonds together.

3. Get a small dinner plate and pour your almond/cinny mixture out in a flat layer on your plate.

**At this point you may want to turn the heat on under your skillet to medium-high. not too high, not too low. You want your skillet nice and warmed up for when you put your french toast in. If you have a good nonstick skillet, you may not need any butter or margarine. If not, throw a small dollop of Smart Balance margarine sub in there to add a nice buttery flavor and keep your french toast from sticking.

4.Take a small, shallow dish that is big enough to fit your bread slices in and crack some eggs into it. Add some milk, a bit of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon to your liking. Beat your eggs until they are light, fluffy and yellow.

5. Take your slice of bread, and immerse each side in your egg mixture. Make sure that you get the whole thing covered in egg.

6. Now, take your egg drenched slice of bread and press each side into the almond/cinnamon mixture. Make sure the bread is covered with yummy pieces of almond and flavorful cinnamon.

7. Lay your bread in the hot skillet. Keep an eye on it and flip it when it is a nice golden brown. I can't even tell you how long, you just have to practice a few times and get a feel for it. Cook on the second side until golden brown and crusty.

Note: This french toast is very rich, I only make one crusted piece per person. I pile their plate nice and high with regular french toast (same recipe sans almond mixture step) and then top it with 1 slice of crusted french toast.

You can serve this with butter/margarine/Smart Balance/whatever you use, and some maple syrup, or even a fresh berry reduction and a dollop of freshly whipped cream. If you use the bread and stuff that I did it has a good amount of iron and fiber, and it also has some added vitamins and minerals. It will have kind of a chewy, grainy texture. I love it this way but if you are a white bread kinda person it may take some getting used to.

I am eating this for breakfast this morning, even while I do my Biggest Loser contest. I love modifying recipes to make them healthier.

**If you have an aversion to egg yolks, just use egg whites (no yolks) in your egg mixture.

My Echo

never smiles for the camera. I had to take soooooo many shots to get this one! It was right before she busted up laughing. Isn't her smile beautiful?

Biggest Loser

About 4 weeks ago, I joined a Biggest Loser contest with a bunch of other HK ladies. It has been so much fun! I haven't lost a whole lot of weight-actually, less than 10 pounds-but I have started exercising consistently, eating much better than I was, and getting to bed at a decent hour each night.

I have noticed some awesome changes in my body from the exercise, and my energy levels have been so much higher. I had some health problems over the fall and ended up gaining about 20 pounds over fall and winter. My goal is to lose about 18 more pounds. The pic above was taken by my son before I started the competition. maybe i'll take some sort of "after" pic or something once I get to my goal weight.

I don't know if she even knows I have a blog, LOL, but I want to thank Tawna for putting on the contest. She is doing it all by herself and it must be such a big job! She has worked really hard to make sure everything is done fairly and she has put so much time and effort into it. I also want to say to my fellow contestants, GO BIG LOSERS GO!!!

Princess Gwennie

Pics taken December 23rd, 2009

(Haha, I put the wrong date at first and my friend emailed me and asked me how I could take a pic of the future.) Thank you, Leigh! LOL!

Happy Mother's Day!

I spent a good portion of the day scrapbooking with my kids. It was a lot of fun!

This is only the second time I have scrapbooked but I hope to do it more often. (Those of you who are pros, please forgive my novice scrapping, haha.) What a lovely way to relax and record memories with my children.

* An added bonus: Most of my scrapbooking supplies were bought at the 99 cent store. Frugal AND fun!

Sissies...

Echo and Autumn, my oldest and youngest.

Strawberries!

...in my backyard.

Tiny bought me these for Valentine's Day and they are finally producing fruit!

The girls wanted their room painted

PINK!

Who were we to argue?

I feel all happy inside every time I walk into their room and look at the cotton candy walls.


An added plus-the paint only cost $3.50. It was a custom color that the store mixed for someone. They weren't satisfied with it, so they didn't purchase it. At first I thought flat paint would look odd, but I really like it. It has a nice textural look to it when you see it up close.

National Day of Prayer

...is tomorrow-Thursday, May 6th.

You can go to the official NDOP webpage to find events in your area.

Also, make sure to read their mission statement here.

I plan on attending the prayer rally for my city at Upland Pacific Christian Center.

Let's all get together and pray for America and its leadership in the seven centers of power: Government, Military, Media, Business, Education, Church and Family.

God bless you and yours!

With Love,

Car