New Shadowbox Necklaces

These are my newest "For Luck" and "Peace" Necklaces. Loved the colors in these!
Took them over to my favorite boutique in Long Grove "Olivia's" the other day.
Just wanted to post them, because I loved the colors so much:)
Remind me of spring!

Spring is in the air a week of 60's here in the midwest, ahhhh! I am so ready.

For the love of Tofu

O.K. I never thought that Tofu would become my favorite food. I Love, Love, Love it and wanted to share this with everyone. The possibilities are endless with this remarkable, healthy food. I have been having my own Tofu scramblers for lunch every day. Here is one of my favorites.

My Italian scrambler...
Firm Tofu (mashed with a fork to the consistency of a scrambled egg)
garlic
onion (any kind will do, but do use fresh not dry)
chopped spinach
pesto about 1T
cut up grape tomatoes - plum would work too
a little tomato basil Mrs. Dash seasoning (you could use salt and pepper, but I try not to add any to keep my salt intake down)

Wasa cracker with cheese on the side:)

Try other combos... mexican with salsa and onion, ham & swiss with mushroom and onion, veggie...any combo works, tofu takes on the flavor of whatever you put with it. Keep track of any cheese for calorie content and cut on the salt and you have a great healthy meal. Sprinkle some walnuts or almonds on top for a little healthy fat.

Since cutting out salt and sugar in my diet I have dropped 8 lbs. in 4 weeks. It is remarkable what just that will do. I have started eating fresh fruits and veggies every meal and cutting out soda and drinking a lot of water! O.K. it took me a long time to actually except what I always knew, but never thought I would love the food so much more.

The girls love everything we have been eating to my surprise! Should of done this years ago. Seems like I was stuck in a rut of making the same things all the time. Experimenting with spices, fresh ingredients and whole grains has been a lot of fun and the benefits are great.

Rocking...School House Rock!

Kelsey was part of the cast of "School House Rock" this past week and Courtney and I were on the backstage crew. We had such a fun time being involved with this great cast & crew! Some parts of the show were broadcast on WGN news in the morning which was really exciting for the cast. By the end of the week all were exhausted along with being excited that it went so well! We are all a lot smarter then when it started we know our adjectives, verbs, nouns, the preamble etc. etc.

This picture has Kelsey in front after doing some flip flops across the stage:)

Bloomin Colors {crayons only}

colors bloom in the crayon box...how fun playing with crayons. I ended up doing wax drippings from crayons and tearing them apart to create the petals and used the ripped crayon wrappers for the middle.

I must admit I started with a crayon rendering of a shoe and my perspective was not so good, so in frustration started again with a whole different concept and wa-la...a bloomin' flower!
You never know when you start with something where you may end up :)

Next...{style of favorite artist}

winter dreams {altered photo}

{we escaped from reality...dancing in the snow}
lyrics from the song "winter dream"

I have been grumbly all month about our cold wintery weather. When I look out my kitchen window and see this sweet birdhouse every morning with snow surrounding it and the barren crab tree with dried up crabapples hanging over it. It makes me celebrate the season and see the beauty in it, with the promise of spring and the birds coming back to occupy this sweet house.



next challenge...crayon only!