Love. Peace. Joy

This year was a simple year with simple but wonderful joys! Watching Keira grow and reach milestones has been so much fun! She's now an adorable curious toddler full of love and excitement. She's so much fun to play with, not to mention a great workout for me, along with my other workouts (she's a great tool for yoga/pilates!) It is the greatest feeling ever when she gives me hugs, especially big ones!!! And her smile always makes me melt, as does her daddy's! ;) Taylor and I are so blessed and grateful that the Lord has entrusted us to nurture and raise this beautiful girl. She made this year for me exciting everyday, as I anticipate what she'll learn next! The the only thing I had wanted to do this past year was go to the beach for my birthday with my family (but it didn't happen unfortunately!) But really, it doesn't matter, I have fun doing anything and being creative with where I am. I truly love just being a mom and wife. Just making dinners for them, playing with them, and simply being with them makes my life sweet. There's always going to be somewhere you hope go to or something you hope to do during the year, but just doesn't or can't happen. But really, for me, I just know that I enjoy this time I have now. I'm glad my life isn't too busy, I can focus on my roles as a mom & wife and how to keep them happy! (and hopefully prepare for when life gets busier when our family grows!). I'm grateful that I'm able to stay home and raise my daughter. The summer days are always long and gruesome. But also brings a challenge to find ways to stay active and have fun indoors and enjoy teaching my girl too. I strive to make the most of life. My life is so blessed, I'm grateful to the Lord for all he's given me in my life and to be where I am, I couldn't be happier than where I am or with what I have now. I'm so grateful to be alive!

Sweet-N-Simple Highlights for 2010

1. Keira learned to walk! (at 15 months)

2. Grandpa Murphy taught Keira how to do knuckles!

3. Taylor was home a lot during summer for the first time in 4 years!

4. Taylor still has A job. (I'm always thanking the Lord for that, as my parents are still struggling during this hard time in the economy)

5. Keira went on her first little ride in her Grandparents Rhino!

6. I conquered making cookies better! (just because I'm a mom and thought I should)

7. I lost 35 lbs!!!

I'm excited to see what 2011 brings and see what my darling Keira will do next!

Gotta love Christmas music!

One of my greatest memories growing up was listening to my dad play his violin and my mom play classical guitar. They both together cherished classical music and as a hobby together have always gone to classical concerts. So I'm very grateful to have gained a deep appreciation for classical music because of them. My mom's collection of Christmas music is (((HUGE))) as well as my dad's classical music collection. My mom would even start listening to Christmas music in October sometimes because she wanted to try to listen to as many of her CD's as possible! (yes...at times I had to beg my mom to take a break so I wouldn't go bonkers and hide her music! hah!) But it truly made our family get into the Christmas spirit indeed.

For as long as I can remember, my parents have always listened to George Frideric Handel's "Messiah" throughout December. My dad often holding the thick bound music book singing along to the music. I loved going with them to see the "Messiah" performed at the Oakland Temple and have seen other religions perform it as well. It never ceases to amaze me at how strong the spirit is when it is performed. It is astounding that Handel wrote it in a mere two-three weeks! He was truly inspired! (he always donated money from his concerts to a charity and a London Hospital to the orphans and the ill.) My parents have performed with various programs of the "Messiah" and currently sing in the LDS Glendale Phoenix Stake performance every year. I have sang the "Hallelujah" chorus song in my church choir a couple years ago and enjoyed it immensely! I look forward to doing again when I have the chance. My church stake performed it this year and I went with my parents to enjoy it. I'm always humbled with each word, each scripture, it takes my soul into a different realm of thinking. It makes me reflect on the Savior and His grand atonement and perfect life. His ability to conquer death and ressurect is truly unfathomable. I am so greatful to have a knowledge and testimony of my Savior Jesus Christ, and know that He loves me and knows me. And I know that it is up to me to seek and learn of Him and daily choose to be like Him in all that I do. I am grateful to live for Him and do as He did. Which is, to do the Lords will.

These are my favorite scripture passages used in the "Messiah":

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

"Surely, He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:6

"Hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth, Hallelujah! The kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings and Lord of Lords." Revelation 19:6, 11:15, 19:16

"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth, and tho' worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God. For now is Christ risen from the dead, the first fruits of them that sleep." Job 19:25-26, 1 Corinthians 15:20

"Behold I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a twinkling of a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." 1 Corinthians 15:57

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His blood, to recieve power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour, glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever." Revelation 5:12-13

Indeed, Christmas music is part of the magic of Christmas. It's the only type of song that I can listen to in any genre of music, whether it's Celtic, Country, Hip-Hop... it's just all around fun. And my mom has a lot of really annoying ones, that our family all had fun laughing at. I played the Chimpmunks, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth," and Keira just looved it, so we played that all month. I have great memories of my Grandpa singing, "Yingle Bells," and boy, was he good at it. My sister and I wrote a song when we were young called, "I remember Christmas" and I still love singing it with her. Oh, how I love Christmas music! This Christmas we stayed home in Arizona. And Taylors parents came down from Utah and stayed with us. It was great to have them here and for Keira to spend time with them. They were so generous in their kind gifts to us (we are so grateful!) They gave Keira a tricycle and the adorable toy I had my eyes on, it's a little fairy boot house that has cute little lights/sounds. And I gave her a fairy toy to ride on, and lots of Megablok stuff. I think she's set with toys for the year!

We had a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at Aunt Kate & Uncle Matt's house. Grandpa taught Keira how to do knuckles and Aunt Kate taught Keira how to speak some chinese! Keira loved Aunt Kate's Keyboard/Piano, she was playing some fun circus-like music, it was so funny! We also visited my parents at their home and enjoyed some good food of course! I'm so grateful for the time we had with all of our families. We had a wonderful blessed Christmas.

Once there was a crappy cookie maker...but not anymore!

Growing up I loved watching my mom cook various things like bread, casseroles and of course cookies. I remember attempting to make a long tedious bread cake from one of her recipe books with a friend when we were 10 years old. We slaved in the kitchen, asking my mom for help when we needed it. The end result wasn't as tasty as I'd hoped, so I didn't know if it was us that sucked or if the recipe sucked. But it was still a neat remarkable thing that we accomplished. And so as I've grown up I've always loved trying and making new things, but for some reason I was always annoyed with making cookies. I made them a couple times, but would get bored with the list of ingredients and hated the taste of the end result. I hated crunchy hard cookies, such as hard gingerbread or chocolate chip cookies, which were how some of my moms cookies were, I wanted them soft. And believe it or not, I'm not a huge chocoholic like most women in the world, another reason why I didn't like chocolate chip cookies very much. But hey! I'm not dissing all of my sweet mothers cookies! She made some of the most amazing Christmas cookies EVER! And since I've been married, I've mastered most of my mother's wonderful family casseroles and dinners, (I've also invented some of my own dishes and discovered our own family favorite recipes). Like I said, I love to make new recipes ALL the time! Anyhow, I haven't tried making her cookies yet, and ever since I've become a mother, I've wanted to try various cookie recipes and find ones that I will make throughout the year and make every year for Christmas. I want my children to love my cookies and love making them with me. We all know that food are tied with memories. We all have a favorite dessert or cookie that makes us flashback to great times with our families.

My husband will ask me often, "What's for dessert?" (and they say women have the bigger sweet tooth, Humph! ~rolls eyes~) He knows we can't have dessert all the time. But of course, the hard working man that he is, deserves a treat! ;) So I've made brownies for him often. And he loves cookies, so I had to get over not wanting to make them. All year I tried several chocolate chip cookie recipes, until he told me he loved them (and I had to love them too!) So I will tell you, I now can Love a chocolate chip cookie. Why? because this recipe keeps them soft, the way I like it. And I had to change something else in order for me to like them... my little secret, (which my neighbor now loves) is using milk chocolate (Belgian especially) instead of semi-sweet chocolate! (am I the only one that thinks semi-sweet chocolate gets old and nasty after one or two bites?!?) So I conquered the chocolate chip cookie search! finally!

So I knew I could embark on the tougher cookie recipes....Christmas cookies! I have a ton of recipes so I went through them. I had to find something with cranberry. To me, Cranberry anything screams Christmas! I love the smell, the taste, the look, everything about it. They are beautiful & delicious in every way. I decorate with it, so I have to cook with it! :) So, I made Betty Crocker's Cranberry Orange Pinwheels. They were excellent! My mom and friends adored them! (my mom made a similar recipe to these that I'd forgotten about.) Even Taylor liked them, and he's not fond of most cranberry foods, I was surprised he even tried it, haha! And the other cookie I made are called Walnut Balls, but I call them Walnut Snowballs. They are so yummy, they melt in your mouth. So I'm thrilled that I've gone from crappy cookie-maker to cookie crackerjack...(so far! and I'm forever grateful to my mother-in-law for giving me a Kitchen Aid mixer, it makes it more easy & fun!) Because when it comes down to it, either I just suck at making the cookie or the cookie recipe simply just sucks!

Why we fail New Years Resolutions...

On Glenn Beck's recent show, he made an awesome point about Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. He talked about Thanksgiving and how it's turned into just a day of gorging, napping and watching football. He then he asked his viewers to: "Change the tradition...to reflection, appreciation for what we have, and return back to the first Thanksgiving."

He then talked about what he calls the "Trilogy of Holidays" and made a profound conclusion: "The reason why we fail on New Years Resolutions, is because we haven't been grateful enough, and humble enough to get down on our knees and see the baby Jesus and realize, holy cow, HE is giving ME a second chance."

He then asks us to commit to praying on our knees on Thanksgiving and plan ways to give and help others. To remember the reason why it's called Thanksgiving. To give thanks and to give. And that Christmas is a symbol of redemption, a slate wiped clean, to start all over again, past is past, and to ask yourself where are you going today?

He concludes that, "New Years is what we think gives us a fresh start. The New Year is just the starting line. These two (Thanksgiving & Christmas) are the ones that give us the opportunity to start fresh."

I think he's absolutely right. Making resolutions are pretty much all about bettering ourselves. So, I feel, the ultimate way to become better, to succeed in our resolutions, is to condense them all into the one true endless life term resolution: become more like our Savior Jesus Christ. To really change, and by change, I mean have a change of heart and mind, resulting a change of action and living. Changing even in the smallest degree that we feel will bring us closer to His divinity. And promising not to ever revert back. Weakness and bad habits are rooted in pride. If pride can be un-rooted in every aspect of our way of living, we have the ability to have a deeper knowledge of who Christ is and just how vast His plan is for us. We decide how much we want to learn and know who Christ is. President Harold B. Lee said, "We learn the gospel (of Jesus Christ) by living it." Once we take out the distractions and things in our lives that keep us from truly living the gospel, we will be brought down with even more great humility of the glorious atonement of our Savior Jesus Christ. Un-rooted pride equals the pure love of Christ.

So instead of making a list of resolutions, my resolution is a question.

What can I change to be a better follower of Jesus Christ?


(Learn more about the gospel of Jesus Christ here)

a 'Blue' Christmas isn't so bad...

I actually enjoyed jean shopping for the first time in awhile. And getting a distressed, ripped pair with cute embellished back pockets for a killer deal made it that much more fun. I've always adored details on the back pockets and I'm excited that more jeans have them now. I love details and interest on just about everything whether it's on jeans, shirts, shoes, bedding or furniture. And the more vintage the better. Anyway, now I'm hungry for more fun denim. So this Christmas perhaps, maybe I'll just ask for a gift card, so I can enjoy finding another fun pair. Since I don't have weather to enjoy beanie's, I might as well enjoy jean weather! haha! I don't think I'd mind having a Blue Christmas, a Blue "Denim" Christmas that is! ;) Here's some of the denim I'm dreaming of...

just a mom spilling her heart out.

What is it about a letter? is it the crinkling sound it makes when unfolded, the smell of the paper? Letters are endearing, emotional, personal. I think most of all it's the writing of the words, the handwriting evokes a feeling, a mood, a personal mark from the soul, selfish ink said in it's own unique way. I have dozens of letters from old best friends, my penpal cousin, an old flame, left stagnant in a box, just remnants of little, yet important marks of their life in mine. My husband wrote me the most beautiful letter I've ever read, it's one of those letters that you read over and over, study every word, devour every word. His words are priceless and mean more than anything he could buy for me. I've also written 25 journals during my life ranging from 100-300 pages. Each of my journals look different and unique, with random thoughts, stuff from magazines cut-out and pasted to amuse unspoken thoughts. Though I'm sure some of it is boring, monotonous, and perhaps better left unrevealed. I'm grateful I can look back and read and feel what I've gone through in life and see what has led up to where I am. And it's something for my heritage to read, perhaps reflect on too. Since I've been married I write more on my blog, than my personal journal, but I strive to keep one, since there are things that I feel are best kept from the cyberworld and just belong to my little world. More than even my journals, my poetry are the roots of me. Writing from our hearts is not just good for others to read, but helps us individually sort out the ugly and beautiful insanity in our lives.

I've been keeping a simple journal for Keira about endearing moments about her and watching her grow. But I've been working a long time on this (handwritten) letter for her trying to spill my heart out in ink, which is hard at times for a first time mom to put a million feelings into words. I want her to know how much she has blessed my life. And know how I feel at this time of my life right now, because she means more than anything to me. She's my world.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Sweet Keira,

The joy that filled my heart when I held you for the first time was unlike any joy that I ever had or could have imagined. The empty void in heart was completely filled. I finally felt I was fulfilling my purpose in life and spiritual destiny, what I always wanted to be, a mother. I am so blessed and honored to be your mother. I have so many wishes and dreams for you. I can't wait to create sweet memories for you and be there for you in your life.

I wish you plenty of warm sunny days while running through sprinklers, riding your bike barefoot and finding little treasures from nature, just like I did. And when you lay in the grass and see animals form out of the clouds, I hope you see life is full of amazing possibilites. I wish you a childhood that leaves you bright memories to enhance and strengthen who you become. And the most important thing I want you to know is that you are a daughter of God. You are an important part of God's plan and one of His greatest creations. You are perfect the way the Lord made you, no matter how the world tells you to be. May your curiousity and interests spark your unique special talents. I can't wait to see them! Whether it's a talent made by your very hands or a song you wrote that only you can sing. I'll always be your biggest fan.

When you have bad days or disappointments, don't rely on money, possessions or people to make you happy. Remember that attitude is everything, only you can choose to be happy. And staying close to the Lord and striving to know and become like Him will bring you ultimate happiness more than anything. Remember that everyday you live and breathe is a blessing. When you feel alone, turn to the Savior, He's your brother and Eternal friend, He's always there to listen and wants to answer your prayers. I hope you also will see the good in everyone and be the one who seeks out those that are lonely and be their friend, they will be some of the greatest people you'll ever meet. Your love and friendship will make a great impact on them. And when you are placed in adversity or face peer pressure, remember your good choices will cause others to do so too. You will inspire others and be admired.

As you figure out love from having crushes, infatuations, to searching for real love. I wish you a broken heart. You will only discover genuine love through learning from a broken heart. But every broken heart will cause you to see what was missing, and in return you will find the one love that completes you and proves a love that is real. Love that makes you a better person and you make him better too. And most importantly, your fondest dreams and desires will be his too. Never settle for love. You should never have to question if his love is equal to yours. You deserve to find the other half of your heart. You deserve true love. True love is worth waiting for. Let it find you.

My greatest desire is to teach you to always have faith and trust in the Lord, relying on Lord, and also in me. I always want to be that comforting haven, that gives you instant peace and escape from your worries, a permanent place that feels like home. My mother gave that to me. She's influenced me greatly to be where I am and who I am. And I still have much more to fulfill to be like her. She has always demonstrated a true follower of Christ through her words and actions. Which is what I want to be for you.

As you make choices and may go down the wrong path. Don't ever think you can never find your way back. The Savior knows you and has suffered all that you will experience. Show your love to the Savior by using His atonement and prove your faith to Him through your works and He'll always show you the way. Study the scriptures, they will give you guidance and strength to endure all things. As you share your beliefs, you will never doubt in His great work and plan, your faith in it will grow stronger the more you share it. You will have less fear of the world, if you live for Lord. His spirit will calm your heart and fill you with His infinite love everytime you seek Him. You have a profound purpose in His plan.

Everytime I look at you, I know that nothing in this world could make me happier. I may never see London or the Eiffel Tower, it doesn't matter, because you are my greatest adventure. The things you will teach me about life could not be found even in the most foreign places I could travel. Your beautiful soul makes my life rich. Memories with you make me rich. I'm so blessed to start each day with your beautiful smile. It's such a gift to watch you change and grow. You'll always be my sweet angel. I love you Keira.

With all my heart,

your mother

Wing'in it on Elm Street

For Halloween my daughter and I were wing'in it in our costumes as a ladybug and a fairy. I've had fun thinking of costumes that we can be together that relate in some sort of way. I was going to call my costume a butterfly, but once I completed it I definitely looked like a fairy, a gothic fairy really. Keira loved holding her bucket and was amused with collecting rocks, but once I let her try the lollipop, she was more interested in the candy ~hee! hee!~ She was constantly wandering around exploring. She made the cutest ladybug ever! For many of my costumes I'd wear black and just do some fun makeup and hair, it's an easy way to put a costume together. And I always wear fake eyelashes with my costumes (I actually collect them). And these little pretties took me at least like 40 minutes to put on. But what a dazzling effect they had to complete my look. The long lashes are always extra work to get on, especially with bottom lashes, but so worth it! One year I had some similar ones that were long black 'spider-looking' lashes for my Medusa costume one year, and they looked soo awesome, so I just had to have these glittery ones when I saw them. Funny enough the wig looks so similar to my hair when I had it long (yes, my hair was very long for a very long time, it was fun to have it super short too!) Except my hair color was more of a violet-red than black (my hair was even longer than this wig). So it was crazy when I put it on, I felt like I was 19 again! hee hee! Anyway, in case y'all are interested, I used Urban Decay eyeshadow colors in "kiddie pool" and "fishnet" and I used Studio Gear black cake eyeliner to draw on the swirls with a liner brush, and blue irridescent gloss for the lips, and a sweep of plum rouge.

This year I didn't decorate my house for Halloween, I ended up putting up my fall/harvest decor instead. It seemed the last couple years we had less and less trick-or-treaters, so I just didn't feel like it, which is a pity, since Halloween is so fun! But my husband nagged me to still pass out candy (I made him do most of it, neener~neener!). Anyway, my mom collects old horror flicks which is so fun! we like to find new ones to watch. My all time favorite is Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, I love it, love it, love it! Anyhow thanks to Turner Classic Movies and my DVR, I got a dozen more spooktacular ones for us to watch! (even though October is over it's still just so fun!) This month Keira turned 18 months and started nursery! (I still can't believe it!). The weather is finally cooling down, the evenings are beautiful and I can wear my hats now, so life is good! Cheers! Happy Halloween!

Back from the dunes...

Well, I finally got to escape the desert for awhile after a long & boring summer! Last week we went up to Utah to visit my best friend Afton and her new baby Cash (named after Johnny Cash.) I gave her a sleek JJ Cole diaper bag, it is the coolest diaper bag ever!!! with adorable zippers, pockets, mini-wallet, pad, and nifty stroller attachments (I want it myself, even though I have a beautiful one my sis-in-law gave me that I want to keep nice and love to use it for church and I have the simple one I use daily, but we all know you can never have too many bags/purses!) Anyway, I gave her some adorable clothes and I even made her a onesie that says, "I crawl the line" with a sparkly guitar, she loved it! along with the little checkered slip-on baby Keds. We hung out the whole day talking, joking and laughing. We always bring out the extreme dorkiness in each other! I'm so grateful for her genuine friendship, she's always been there for me, even though we don't live close, she's always been a true friend, I love her so much. We also went out on their boat the next day at the lake by their house in Saratoga Springs, it's gorgeous. The weather was perfect and Keira loved the boat and we even let her take a dip in the water, she screamed when we took her out, she loves being in the water! I also enjoyed watching her baby mullet blowing in the breeze! We ended the day eating at Village Pizza... Mmm, sooo goood! We also visited Taylor's best friend, Zack, and met their miracle baby twins Easton and Libberty, 5 months younger than Keira & they're so adorable! We then headed to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes to do some camping & ATV/Rhino/Razr riding with Taylor's family. I look forward to it every year. As I went to out for my first ride of the day, I was stepping out of the camping trailer holding Keira and my left foot rolled, twisting my ankle, causing me to fall, it happened so quickly and I just remember holding Keira out and turning myself so she wouldn't hit the ground. I landed on my back and tailbone pretty bad :::just peachy::: Keira was okay but she was crying and startled. I was dazed and startled and of course in pain and felt faint. I took some Ibuprofen and rested. Luckily I was still able to enjoy riding the dunes, but regardless I wasn't going to let it ruin my fun. I'm still having pain in my ankle and tailbone, but I know it'll heal okay. So there's the highlight for me on the trip, hah. Keira had her first ride on the Rhino and she seemed to like it! And I'm getting better riding the dunes on the ATV, I ride on my bro-in-laws ATV so I have to review how to ride it (it's manual) and then get the hang of it. I bug Taylor a lot for not taking me out more so I can practice and get good at it (he wishes we had time to), but hopefully I'll have my own to practice on someday, since his Predator is too crazy & suped up for me to ride. Anyhow, Keira overall was a happy camper, the food was great and the weather was lovely. So besides bruisin' my tush and the leaves not quite turning, I had a dandy ol' time.

Long Live Prince Poppycock!

I'm not an avid watcher of America's Got Talent, it drags on too long, but it can have some interesting stuff to see. I must admit this crazy Prince Poppycock is brilliantly entertaining. His voice, costumes, makeup, and voice are so fantasticly fun! I would totally pay to see him. Even though he didn't win. He's gotta make it big, his creative unique act is too good to waste. I'm just so fascinated with his makeup! I love how he's created such a fun character from his imaginary world and enriched it with his talent. I think that's why I love Halloween so much, because you can dress up to be whatever crazy character you want and let your childish or silly theatrical self come out and no one cares or questions how you look or act, because it's Halloween! But this guy can use his talent as an excuse to live his dreamworld for longer than a holiday. Hats off to Prince Poppycock!

My Snack Attack Favorites

What's the first thing my brother does when he comes to my house? of course, he looks in my fridge and cupboards to see what new snack or food I have. He's praised that I have a super nitch at creating & finding yummy healthy food (thanks bro! *wink*). My mom also gets hooked to my yummy discoveries. I love to try new foods, especially healthy ones. So I figured I'd share some of my favorite snacks and food I've discovered. And the best thing about them! They have no MSG, no high-fructose corn syrup, no trans-fat & no hydrogenated oils!!! Gluten/Wheat Free! Low-Calorie!

Snikiddy has the most fun variety of healthy snacks!

My favorite so far are the Pizza puffs and Cheddar or Ketchup fries! they are gluten-free and a great toddler snack! This clever company was created by a mom & her daughter! Go to the website to get a $1.oo off coupon! I found them at Sprouts Farmers Market. So check your local health food store/section!

Get your taste buds ready for a mega cheese fest with Michael Season's Baked Cheddar Cheese Puffs. If you're like me, Cheetos are a greasy, fake cheesy mess. You can practically finger paint with the neon orange residue left on your fingers. And the orange lip stain it leaves, is reason enough to pass on them. These heavenly cheese puffs are only only 130 calories for 2 cups! yes, you heard me! 2 cups!!! Made with real buttermilk, cheddar and blue cheese. These are spectacular! If you're a cheese freak like me, you've got to buy these now! These are also in the health food store/section. I also tried their potatoe chips! very good too! I can't wait to find more of their products.

I love all of the products I've tried from Annie's Homegrown natural foods. Made with organic ingredients too. My daughter loves the mac n' cheese White Cheddar & Shells and the Bunny Graham Friends cookies (chocolate, choc chip, graham flavors). The mac & cheese are a great price at Fry's Food Markets and the cookies are at Sprouts Farmers Market.
Annies products are eco-friendly and promote being green!

Besides loving only 40 calories per serving. Almond milk is packed with Vitamin E, iron, calcium, and fiber. It's great for diabetics and lowering cholesterol. I love it more than regular milk for my cereal. Great for losing and maintaining weight. I love Almond Breeze unsweetened Vanilla flavor and also Silk's New PureAlmond milk. All are lactose, dairy & gluten free. Almond milk is amazing in smoothies!!! (see recipes here!) You can even use it in pancakes!


Goodbye crazy high priced sugary cereals! Hello healthy affordable Mom's Best Naturals! They have your perfect healthy alternative of your favorites such as Raisin Bran, Frosted Shredded Wheat, Honey Nut Cheerios, Lucky Charms, Honey Grahams and more! Made with whole grain oat flour. Again, the best part is no high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils! More & more stores are carrying them! Check the health food section as usual!

I love baking these Alexia sweet potato fries to add as a side to our family lunch or dinner. All natural no artifical flavors or preservatives and USDA organic. There's also artisan breads, red potatoes, mashed potatoes, and other appetizers. (Check out the variety here!) I found these at Sprouts!

{{I DARE YOU}} to try these food discoveries of mine and enjoy adding these to your healthy food pantry/freezer. I'd love to hear what you think of them and ple-e-ease tell me if you've discovered an amazing
guilt-free snack!