About a month ago we brought our son to a Pediatric Endocrinologist for some special testing due to his weight. Long story short our entire family has taken on the path to eating right and exercising even more. I'm very proud of my hubby and son for doing just that! They have lost a great amount of weight just this past month! And my son has added 500 calories to burn.. if not more.. to his exercise program. With in this first month people have already complimented him!

So I'm trying to be creative in our menu's.. trying to buy very LITTLE boxed items... and more fresh produce or frozen veggies... it's been hard.. my coupon days are pretty much over when it comes to food... BUT.. I'm okay with that.. if I have to sacrifice more for my food budget now.. than medical bills later... I'll be okay knowing that my family is maintaining a healthy life style.

I won't lie.. it hasn't been super easy.. but manageable enough that the three of us have become a great support system.. and it hasn't bothered me that I've lost 12lbs myself!! Ü

So.. here is a dish I made last night that was OUTSTANDING! And I thought I would share!




Triple Cheese-Spinach Manicotti

3/4 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup finely shredded fresh parmesan cheese, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and chopped --I omitted
3/4 tsp dried Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
2 garlic cloves,minced
1 ( 15-ounce) container fat-free ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained,and squeezed dry
1 large egg
12 manicotti shells, cooked without salt or fat
cooking spray
1 ( 26-ounce ) jar fire-roasted tomato and garlic pasta sauce ( such as Classico)-- I used what I had on hand

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and next 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well, and set aside
3. Spoon cheese mixture evenly into cooked manicotti, and arrange in a 13-X9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour pasta sauce over stuffed manicotti; sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts.
Yields 6 servings WW points 8 points/serving.. however I kept out the pine nuts and if you check all the points for your items.. I believe you'll find that the point value is less... A green salad would compliment this dish!

Hope everyone had an AMAZING 4th of JULY!! Happy Birthday U.S. of A!

I've been addicted to facebook!
Seriously!
But I sit here and wonder why? I mean.. I post little snippets daily and maybe one or two people respond... which is fine.. I understand.. but what am I really accomplishing? Am I liking the fact that I can be nosey in other peoples worlds? or am I looking for ways to find fault and annoyance in people?
I'm learning my time might just be more productive reading blogs and writing in my own!

So what have I been up to ... so much... still wondering when my tomorrow's became yesterdays... and how every days usually seems the same until one day out of the blue it doesn't!

So this past month...
My son graduated from 8th grade is going to be a freshman!
He joined BabeRuth Baseball
He's losing weight.. and doing a GREAT job at it..
My daughter Graduated highschool
Got scholarships that we didn't expect
is taking a trip solo for the first time
and is working hard
We also had a visit from my friends daughter... and I got to do some of her senior pics.. I was really excited to help out

Here are a bunch of pictures with her friends BEFORE graduation!!


Here she is with the Valedictorian.. they have been great friends since 3rd grade!


And here she is with the Salutatorian.. they have been friends since 1st grade and still going strong!

SHE GRADUATED!!!

After the graduation..and three hours of sitting!!!

It was a good night... we had some family here and around 10pm all the grads get together for one last night and celebrate...

Later on in the weeks.. we decided to go strawberry picking.. due to the TONS of amounts of rain that we are getting it was HARD to find ripe berries..

But we did find some amazing asparagus!!!


and because my time is running short already this morning.. I'll throw in a few pictures I did for my friends daughter... where they live there are no mountains or views like NH.. so she asked me to help her out.. and of course I said "sure"...

I tried to encourage her to wear other outfits... but she was dead set with these...

It's that time of year again.. PROM!!
This is my daughter this year.. her Senior year.. her last prom ever.... along with her boyfriend.. whom she went to the prom with last year!
This years theme was the 50's... hopelessly devoted... to me.. it seemed like a Grease theme more than anything...

She decided to kick it up a notch this year and go as "Barbie"..


This photo was touched up by my awesome photoshop friend Wendy... the first picture looked like a construction Cone sat on my daughters arm!!

ahhh a Kiss

this is what we call.. "Sassy Barbie" and "Laid back Ken"

This is... "in the box" Pose...

Them being goofy and moving around and making faces..


And a few pictures before "Ken" showed up..

I just can't believe that graduation is right around the corner... and college is sitting right there....
I look in the mirror and wonder if I look the age of a senior in highschool soon to be college student.... and I just wonder.... how many times I blinked while she grew up into a young woman.... This year has just flown by... much faster than I thought.... I'm trying to savor every moment....

A list I found this morning when I woke up... I thought it was too cute!


Psalm 139:13
You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

I became a mother two months after my 18 birthday. When most of my friends were going off to college and obtaining a degree for their future..I held my future in my arms.. I fed my future.. I bathed my future... I listened to my future cry... laugh... even sing... I even sang to my future...

The past 18 years plus.. I've had kids grace through my doorway... and even with Mother's Day yesterday.. I still had three boys here playing that were not "mine"...and that is ok.... because in a few years... those kiddos will have families of their own... and the house full of children will be gone.

For now.. I will continue to measure each child who walks through the door... for some reason.. all kids love to be measured to see who they are taller than.. or whose graced the doorway before them...



Someday when we sell our home... these two doorway moldings will have to come with us... I want to re-do my kitchen this summer.. but these have to stay.. until we move!!!

And just for some giggles.. these are the many children who have graced our doorway in the past 10 plus years.. here at this home....













I think sometimes my husband struggles with the fact that his older brother is now considered a part-time missionary and travels to Ecuador. He feels that his family has put him up on a pedestal and call him the "better" Christian... in truth there is NO GOOD Christian.... claiming to be a Christian means you recognize that you have faults... failure's... and you sin...
What my husband has to remember and I remind him ever so gently.. that we ARE missionary's.. we just don't have to leave our doorsteps and fly half way around the world.. to share God's love, mercy and grace... all we have to do is live by example...we don't have to ask for money.. and we don't have to post our goals on church bulletins or mail our pamphlets... We do this DAILY.. just not one week out of the year....

Even though these children didn't grow under our hearts... God has surely found many opportunities to have them grow in our hearts.. some of these children that have walked through my door have some sad stories to tell...but I'm hoping that each time they have or will walk through the door.. they can lay that sadness at the door and play and be a kid.. and enjoy a few hours of fun and laughter.. and most importantly... a loving home.

I have to keep looking up.. and hopefully I will catch my opportunity when God says it's the right time.

I realize that I haven't blogged for almost a MONTH... and today as I was cruising web-sites and other blogs.. I realized that I've been missing a lot of the blogs that I normally read... really missing them... !!
As most of you know I really try to keep my blog positive... but this past month I haven't felt that way at all.. it seems like one thing after another my heart has fallen into a deep black hole...
I set my eyes on a goal 6 months ago that I thought the Lord really really wanted me to follow... I got excited.. and not once did I ever DOUBT that I wouldn't make it... Until a couple weeks ago my reality was shattered and I didn't accomplish what I thought the Lord wanted me to do.. so I spent some time in anger and sadness and wondering WHY??? Yeah.. I was a plain brat.. and wallowing in my own self pity... I still hurt.. but I'm taking my time and slowly picking myself back up and wiping my pride off of my hurt....

Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.

I take this little bit of scripture and daily remind myself... that if you want to make God laugh.. tell Him YOUR plans.. and that's exactly what I did. Part of me truly thought they were HIS.. and they just might be.. but I was rushing something solely based on MY timing. I have NO doubt that God wants me to become something different.. but I KNOW in my heart and mind that I was rushing it because society was telling ME that I wasn't good enough at where I am today. My heart was PROUD.. but not in the PROUD that the Lord calls good.. but almost evil. It's taken a VERY VERY HARD FALL for me to realize this.. it doesn't mean my heart won't become prideful again.. but I will NOT take this kind of situation for granted again...
I acted like I was "owed" this opportunity... and I just might be... BUT.. I will get that opportunity when the Lord opens that door.. and hopefully.. prayerfully .. this time I will KNOW that it's the right time...

So this past month.. I acted like a spoiled brat... and I didn't want to come here and display that to you all.. YES.. I wanted people to feel BAD for me... but then again.. I was deathly sick of hearing... "I'll pray".. "God will let you know".. you see I KNOW all of this...but I wanted more.. and still do... BUT... now I have to sit quietly and wait...

I am happy to say that during this time I got a lot of reading done!! YAY!! And did a small amount of photography.. this being one of the Lily I bought at Easter time!

Hopefully I will come here more and post.. and to read more... I enjoy blogs..and because of my "tantrum".. I neglected myself in reading them...
Today is my 300th post... I hope to continue adding more!! and keeping it positive!!

I again have been slacking in the Blog Life... and I'm sorry...

I've had a few things on my mind lately.. and bottom line is.. I've been pouting about a few things.
For the past six months I've been excited about a Journey I BELIEVED I would go on.. and take... I've been planning life around what I thought would be the perfect plan.. MY plan... always thinking that it was HIS plan as well.. I mean I planned the last six months on an 18 year wait.
This week I've come to face the fact that the past six months of planning has become useless.
I feel defeated
I feel embarrassed
I feel hopeless at some points
I know that MY God has NOT forsaken me... but.... I still wonder what HE has planned for me.
I don't know which direction to even go
I don't like having control of things..
It makes me MAD...

This is the human side of me coming out... I hate failure.. HATE IT! Even though some would say it's not failure.. it's just another turn in my "journey"... I have to wait to recognize this.

So there's my babble for the day..
What can I bring to this blog that is joyous?? Let me dig through my pictures to find something!

I took photos of the insert of what I believe were BHG magazine. I "won" a wicker set from freecycle last summer.. but towards the end of summer .. so I didn't do anything with them.. now that summer is approaching I can take them out of storage.. scrub them up and paint them.. and I found a couple pictures to "copy" and give me ideas...


I'm NOT an orange fan.. but I like the idea of the room and I do like the style of the cushions.. My MIL doesn't know it yet.. but she's going to be sewing with me for cushions for the wicker set!

I have an enclosed porch.. sometimes I like that.. and other times I like pictures like these..I wish the sun was out all the time.. and we could just sit out here drinking lemonade and reading books...

And here's another picture that I love.. my kids when they were around 6 and 1... They are still this close and this happy even though they are 18 and 13... I hope it continues on... for the rest of their lives!!
So what are some things that are making you happy lately?

Once Upon a Time there was a young mom who lived in a city who wanted to venture out to another city....
She went out with her debit card and check book.. and hit the thrift stores.. so everyone called her The FrugalFlipFlop Mom...

One day her husband asked her if he could go up into another city and buy an XBOX 360 for him and the son.. The FrugalFlipFlop Mom.. was thinking this is NOT so frugal but agreed anyway under the condition that she gets to hit the thrift stores.

Her husband thought this was a good idea..So they packed the kids in the car and went on a little trip. And she put on her flipflops for the first time in a long time...( yeah.. it's quite noticeable that she needs a pedicure.. but let's not embarrass her anymore in this story)

Once they were at The FrugalFlipFlop Mom's destination she reminded her hubby "Don't dawdle to long and don't spend unnecessary money.. and don't talk to strangers who want you to spend more money"..

"Don't worry hunny, I'll be careful" was the words that came out of her hubby's mouth...

But when The FrugalFlipFlop Mom walked into the Thrift stores she believed all bets were off to her...
My.. what wonderful items are here....
So she went out in search of great treasures..

SUDDENLY treasures came popping from everywhere... and her daughter breaks her train of thought and says "What are you looking for in here"...
The FrugaFlipFlopl Mom Replied "I'm on my way to a journey of finding treasures what ever jumps out at me"
She realized she only have a little bit of time so she excused herself and went straight to treasure hunting...

Other Patrons had no chance in getting items of greats like The Frugal FlipFlop Mom.. she gave them no time and gobbled up all the good deals...
The Frugal FlipFlop Mom gave out a sigh of excitement.. when she found these two pyrex bowls for half off...
"my what a wonderful deal I found".. she said..

She couldn't help but take a good close up look at one of the bowls she grabbed...

A few minutes later The Frugal FlipFlop Mom spied a doll from her childhood.. or.. was it a fake..?


Ahh is it true.. is it really you?
"Oh how lovely to see you... you're coming with me"...
Upon inspection she could scarcely remember if it was the true doll from her childhood...
"Let's see what happens when I flip you around"..

"Why Grandmother what a lovely face you have.. it's still in great condition"...

"Ahh what lovely eyes you have... "...


"What lovely ears you have"....


"ahhh ummm.. what lovely.. teeth you have??? ok.. well maybe they could use some work"?
The Frugal FlipFlop Mom was about to leave her and run to the other side of the thrift store.. but her lovely daughter came in and rescued her and the doll.. She encouraged her to bring it home and fix it up a bit...
She said "Frugal FlipFlop Mom haven't you learned an important lesson.. never leave something behind that you truly love and leave behind what you think you can do without"...

Her daughter was so right... The Frugal FlipFlop Mom was so excited that her daughter taught her an important lesson that day... "Those with the most coolest thrift store finds WINS"....

The End...


P.S. I.. umm I mean SHE bought these amazing milk white "dishes" for Easter decorations and she can't wait to use them and decorate with them...