Prayers would be appreciated!

I have been having pain in my hands, back and other areas for quiet a while now, since this is another symptom of Celiac disease I had not thought much of it. The pain seems to get worse all the time so recently I went to my doctor in hopes of him giving me something to help. While there we discussed my pains and my family history. Because Rheumatoid Arthritis runs in both sides of my family he is sending me to a specialist next week to have test run.

I am writing to tell you this first of all so you can pray for me and secondly so that you know that if I don't blog regularly it may be due to the pain. PLEASE don't stop visiting my blog. You are my friends and I want us to remain that way.

I have some VERY EXCITING news to share in the near future that you will not want to miss.

I just returned from having my hair cut so that it is easier for me to take care of. If I am having a bad day fixing my hair is torture.

By cutting my hair the way it grows it should make my life easier, thanks to Jessica at Legends.

My meals are very simple due to our diet and the pain in my hands. Last night I made my Classic Chili. Tonight I plan on grilling some chicken and making vegetables to go with it.

I have lost a total of 2 pounds and Honey is trying bless his heart I think he's cheating on the side but this week he should do better.

That's all for now, thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon.

I have given into temptation and man have I paid for it.

My company have all left the hills and I am now on the farm setting with Ash and Punkin while Honey helps out with the planting. Every thing is going well with the planting this year and I am soo thankful for that.

Just when I thought maybe we were going to get some landscaping done, the farm called and guess what friends, it wins EVERY TIME!

This time of year is sooo nice and sooo hard for me. I want to be out side with every fiber of my being and so a few times I have given in to temptation and man have I paid for it. I am sick now, I feel like my eyes are going to pop out of my head, my throat is extra sore, my ears and head hurts and as if that isn't enough I fell Wednesday and now my body feels like a truck has ran over it. So, for now I'm staying in as much as possible.

During the kids visit Punkin was sick so that kept all of us busy. It makes me sad when anyone I love is sick, doesn't it you?

Here are a few photos to share of our time together.

Playing the radio, watching a little tv and eating Gammy's biscuit!

Look mail for me....

Apple for a snack....

Gammy believes in everyone cleaning up even me!

I love my movies, my favorite is Alice in Wonderland, I'd watch it all day.
My favorite shoes rub blisters on my feet, see the band-aids?

This little bed was made by my Uncle in Virginia for Ash and given to her when she was 1-month old. Now I have given it to Austin and I think A is going to repaint it to match her room in the future.

I think we are doing well with our diet, we'll weigh again this weekend. I've been cooking a lot of meat and vegetables with select fruit for snacks, kind of following the Sugar Buster Plan. I did this years ago and lost thirty pounds and have kept most of it off. Now I only want to loose around ten pounds and it's easier if the whole family diets.  I had lost two pounds but I'll weigh this weekend after the Raspberry Roll I may have messed up. I made vegetable soup for supper last night and only had one bowl. Honey on the other hand had two bowls and a piece of french bread. We're still on the farm so when we get home we'll crack down. My man loves to eat and I love to cook and have spoiled him through the years with my very fattening southern dishes. 

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again!

Shabtai Gourmet Gluten Free Raspberry Roll Reviews

Wow, did I just eat that?

Ok, you may have realized by some of my previous post that I am not a big fan of Shabtai Gourmet now. Well, I was not until I found their Raspberry Roll but I LOVE it!!

I have company this week so I took my Shabtai Raspberry Roll out of the freezer to have after our meal on Sunday night. I felt that it was something Honey and I would only eat a small piece of due to our being on a diet, doctor induced, man was I sooo wrong. Shhh I haven't told Honey and he hasn't tried it yet.

The Shabtai gluten free raspberry roll is sooo delicious, it is soft, moist and creamy on the inside and has a slightly sweet coconut outside. I'm not a big fan of raspberry y'all but again I tell you I love it! Now this is a roll that I wouldn't mind putting a few of in my freezer just for that special occasion and I may do just that!


You can read more about Shabtai here and here.

Planting has begun and Punkin is here visiting me for a few days so watch for photos of our visit coming up.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again!

Is it Spring time?

Spring is finally here, I thought I would freeze over winter so I am happy to see warmer weather.

Today Honey started planting the flat land, I can't wait to watch the crops grow. This is one of my favorite times of year.

I've been trying to clean up around the yard and this time of year it is impossible. I swept off the deck late yesterday and it looks like I haven't touched it. Why don't I just leave it alone? I garentee I'll be back out there sweeping today. Honey and I are trying to find someone reasonable to re-landscape our yard. We have bought a book and we're deciding exactly what we want. I may get inpatient and get out there and start on it myself. I just can't figure out how I can pull up all these old boxwoods. I woke up this morning with my body telling me to "leave the yard alone". I had a headache induced by my seasonal allergies. That's the hard part I can work in the yard all day or several days straight and I get sick every-time but then the pollen forecast is very high in the south right now.

Today’s Local and National Allergy Forecast

Click on your state to see the 4 Day Allergy Forecast in your area.

Can you see my tulip tree, it is behind the little magnolia. The yard is starting to green up and I'm excited every thing has looked dead long enough.

We spent several days on the farm and I was able to be with Punkin. She is growing up so fast and I savor each moment that I'm able to spend with her.

She is completely feeding herself now and doing a really good job at it. Good thing since she wants to eat all the time!

She does some of the funniest things, of course being grand-ma I think they're precious!

Oh, Honey has been put on a diet and is doing well so far. My problem is cooking gluten free and low fat and keeping the food interesting. I'm looking for creative ways to prepare good food and that can be a challenge when on a diet. And wouldn't you know just when we stop eating those fating foods my friends blog really fattening recipes. Like "Chicken and Dumpling Bake" which I will feature as one of my favorite recipes for March. It's not gluten free by the way but I know that when I can transpose it, it will be! That gives me something to look forward too as I need to loose a few pounds too so this diet isn't hurting me at all. Now I'm not sure how my company coming will react, we'll see.

Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Some of the old with some of the new.

Recently I have started to eat something that I use to eat when living in Guatemala. In Guate it was much better because I had fresh fruit all the time. Here I do not have as much access to fresh fruit so it's just not exactly the same. While I was in Colorado visiting my daughter I picked up a bag of my favorite granola, listed at the bottom of this page, just click on the photo or link to buy.

To make this I cut up whatever fruit I have on hand, add enough Vanilla Yogurt to cover and sprinkle it with granola. In Guate this was delicious mostly due to the fresh fruit. Here I don't know what makes it, maybe it's the granola I use but it is still as delicious as ever, even honey loves it.

So as a refreshing summer treat you can bet we'll be eating a lot of fruit with granola!

Some of Honey's cousins came to visit recently and we enjoyed reminiscing about old times. We use to spend a lot of time together but after moving we hardly ever see them anymore. We were able to take them on a tour of our home and then out for a wonderful dinner. We laughed until we hurt and it just felt good.

Of course I had to have a special treat, so I made GF brownies using the Betty Crocker mix and threw in a hand full of chocolate chips and caramel bits. OOOHHHH my they were delicious!

I'd like to introduce you to Don and Jan:

 MY favorite granola










My favorite brownie mix











Thanks for stopping by y'all and please come again soon!

Shabtai Chocolate Chip Cookies Review

Recently I went to the farm for a few days to be with my children and I took along the Chocolate Chip Cookies provided to me by Shabtai Gourmet.


Out of all the things I have tried this is my least favorite. They have a good taste but just not what I enjoy in a cookie. They are a small, crunchy shortbread type cookie with the top loaded with chocolate chips. If you enjoy crunchy cookies you would love the Shabtai Gourmet Chocolate Chip Cookies go ahead and buy a box to try for yourself.

Here's a little more about this great bakery!

Shabtai Gourmet is a unique Gluten Free Bakery line specializing in Gluten Free, Lactose Free, Soy Free, Casein Free, Peanut Free and Dairy Free Cakes and Cookies. Shabtai has brought a fresh and exciting new approach to allergen free baking. Shabtai and his family owned bakery has grown over the years, yet has never lost its old world out of this world taste.

While many gluten free bakeries use the same available ingredients, very few bakers have the creativity, patience, and talent to turn an ordinary pound of ingredients into an exquisitely crafted pound of scrumptious cake.

Shabtai’s mission is to produce allergen free desserts that allow you to feel comfortable with your dietary restrictions. With products like our Swiss Chocolate Roll, Raspberry Rolls, Chocolate Chip Cookie and Florentine Lace Cookie – you can start enjoying cakes and cookies that you would never have thought were available as gluten free! Actually, we get numerous calls from excited customers asking if what they just ate was really gluten free! We encourage you and your friends and family to try what so many people are raving about-and don’t be surprised when they don’t believe it’s gluten free!
Thanks for stopping by y'all come again soon!!!

Mixes from the Heartland Sweet Potato Brownies Review

Oh MY let me tell you! YOU DON'T want to MISS THIS!

Recently we had been out of town and a few hours after we got home we were to go out to eat with some friends. We have been trying to get together with this couple for over a year ya'll. Bet, you're glad we're only blogger friends! ha  Since I had been gone I was really stressed about the house not being clean but told Honey let's invite them over for dessert and coffee after our meal. Now, I'm already stressed about the condition of the house so the last thing I need to to be stressed over a dessert. I went to my gluten free pantry to see what I could whip up real fast that would be really good and I chose a "Gluten Free Sweet Potato Brownie Mix". Honey asked did I really want to try this, something we had never tried before, on our friends who had never been in our home and I thought about it and decided to dive in. I did a little tidying up and then put the Sweet potato brownies on to bake while I jumped in the shower.

Our meal was great at the restaurant we met at although I did get glutened! :( The minute I saw that it was buffet and saw the way it was laid out I knew I was in trouble, but our friends had already paid for us to eat so I ate a little but before I left the restaurant I felt the effects.

Anyway, when we got to the house we took the tour, Lord don't let them see all this dust, and then I offered them a brownie and coffee. Everyone said yes they wanted one and I said, they're gluten free, I guess that way if they turned out bad it was the lack of gluten's fault and not mine.

OH MY WORD these things were great! I could have eaten the whole thing, it made a 9x9 pan and we ate very little I put them in an airtight container and I can't wait until I can justify it and have another one or two or three. They were a little creamy but had a great texture and held together wonderfully. They reminded me of a cross between a sweet potato pie, which I love, and sweet potato bread. All I can say is this is defiantly another winner from Mixes from the Heartland

So here's a little more info:

Sweet Potato Brownies are fat, cholesterol, and sodium free. A delicious treat spread with cream cheese!

View Nutrition Fact Sheet

Ingredients

Brown and white rice flour (organic), (Non GMO) corn starch, sugar, dehydrated sweet potato, tapioca flour, xanthan gum, cinnamon, natural vanilla powder (Non GMO corn starch, vanilla beans).

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°. Grease a 9 x 9 pan. In bowl, add 2 eggs, 1/2 cup softened butter, blend well and bake 25 minutes.

How easy is that?

Go ahead dive in like I did and order yourself some today.

Thanks for stopping by y'all, come again soon!

What's Punkin up too?

The last time I stayed with Punkin this is what she was doing!

A new toy? Not.

Begging for snacks constantly.

Being Miss Independent! Although she did feel bad.

 What happens when Sydney barks.

 What are you doing Punkin?

 Sydney shut up!

 Feeling too bad to walk?

 I love my grand-babies and wish I could see the others more. Me and PePaw are planning a trip as soon as possible to Indiana and that makes me smile!

Thanks for visiting ya'll, come again soon.