Category Archives: DIY

How to Celebrate a Golden Birthday!

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If you are under 31, you have celebrated your Golden Birthday whether you knew it or not. A Golden Birthday is when you turn the same age as your birth DATE; i.e., 17 on the 17th. Mine was a few years ago when I turned 20 on July 20th…okay it was 34 years ago but who is counting?

How to Celebrate a Golden Birthday!

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This week we celebrated big when my middle son, Kristopher, turned 29 on the 29th. I was aware of Golden Birthdays but wasn’t sure how to pull it off. With the help of my youngest son, who was in charge of the meal, we got busy and decorated. In Gold. Lots and lots of Gold.

Celebrating a Golden Birthday

Birthdays are made to be golden! 

This was our main focal point in the dining room. The party was at my son’s apartment so most of our decoration was right here in the center of the action. We also had golden streamers in the entryway of the townhouse, hanging from the open banister and also from the bar.

We went for the huge number balloons (a little expensive but worth it!), making trips to two different Party City stores to get the 2 and 9. When I finally arrived at their apartment, I was so proud to maneuver all of those balloons out of the car and up the stairs. Then I realized, to my horror, that #9 was not with us any longer. I ran outside to see where he had gone. That still makes me laugh, how did I think I would catch him, I couldn’t even see him as he had flown up and over Fishers, Indiana into the wild, blue yonder. Ten big ones down the drain.

We couldn’t have a 29th birthday party without a #9 so my wonderful chef paused what he was doing to run to Party City #3 to get a #9. My hero.

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We had gold plates, gold napkins, gold confetti, (I forgot the cups). Everything was coming together…

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I even bought gold Rolo’s, gold Reese Cups and gold Werther candies! Depending on what your theme is you could also go with Golden Oreos, Goldfish crackers, let your imagination wonder.

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unnamed (2)I thought this was a great idea but didn’t get an after photo. Found this chalkboard on clearance at Target…in gold! Grabbed some chalk and streamers for the cubby decor and presto! As they entered the room there was a place for them to wish Kris a Happy Birthday and leave their card or gift. (not required!)

Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the lasagna. It was not gold but it was certainly delicious. Korey makes some of the best lasagna I have ever eaten; it was a hit and disappeared quickly.

We saved Mandi’s amazing peanut butter pie until last. Pie for birthdays? Why not? Find out what the favorite dessert is of the birthday boy/girl and go for it. There are no rules! Mandi even had edible gold sprinkles for the pie which was already golden in color.

unnamed (1)And yes, if you are counting, there are only 20 candles on the pie. I was so excited to find gold candles I didn’t even think to see how many were in the pack. I don’t think he even knew it. Until now.

Korey and I spent the afternoon cutting out faces of all ages of Kristopher. I downloaded them, enlarged them all on my computer then went online to Office Depot and ordered just regular 8×10 copies of his face from infant to the present. I had them put on heavier card stock and then cut them out and glued them on over-sized popsicle sticks (Hobby Lobby).

After pie, we all picked a Kristopher that we wanted to be and posed for a group picture.The real Kristopher is in the red plaid shirt kneeling on the floor. Duh. It was great fun!

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Me with the Birthday Guy!

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Don’t forget, after age 31 there are no more Golden Birthdays but every birthday is special when you are surrounded by those that you love the most.

Holy Bathrobe! Happy Birthday Kristopher! (He was pretty excited about his Batman robe, he has great friends. What?! You’re jealous, right?)

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Have you celebrated a Golden Birthday for yourself or someone else? What kind of things did you do or how did you decorate? We would love to hear!

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Sharing with Wedded Wednesday, A Little R & R, Wake Up Wednesday, #RaRa Linkup, Home Matters Party

You don’t clean your Keurig? Come on, it’s easy!

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I love coffee. I love my Keurig. Life is good.

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My Keurig coffee maker is now three years old, purchased for me for Mother’s Day by My Three Sons in 2012. Every morning, rain or shine, 4:30, 5:30, 6:30 or 10 a.m., I am pushing that button and waiting for the blue lights to come on. In seconds I am smelling the most delicious brew and ready to settle down for a cup with my Bible study.

But I have discovered if I don’t keep it clean, it won’t be long before there is build-up, a not-so-full cup or a funny taste. I usually clean mine every six months, sometimes more often if it seems it needs it. If you have hard water then three months is probably better.

I said it was easy. Let’s get started.

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You need this. You must have it. You can’t clean your Keurig without it. Distilled White Vinegar; buy the gallon size. You won’t use it all this time but you will have it.

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Take the coffee maker apart beginning with the draining dish. Wash them in hot, soapy water and dry. Wipe down the entire unit and dry. Next, take out the K-cup holder, it pulls right out!

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I wash that in hot, soapy water too, rinse well and let dry. Be sure to not stick your finger down in that K-cup! There is a needle inside that punctures the K-cups to let the water in and coffee out. With a wet paper towel or your wet dishcloth you can clean all around the K-cup area, coffee dust is usually plentiful and you need to clean that out. There is another needle in the top of the lift handle, carefully clean around that as well. (Yep, we are adults, we can do this!) If you feel as if your needle is clogged, mine was once, just open up a paper clip and use it to clean out the hollow needle. Super easy and it works!

Now you are ready to descale the unit.

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Fill the water reservoir with the distilled white vinegar, doesn’t have to be completely full, even 3/4 is good. Let the unit heat up and then just begin to run through cycles, without any coffee of course, just the vinegar will pour into your cup. I just put a large measuring cup there to hold several run-through’s. Do this until it is almost empty, it will stop with vinegar still in the reservoir because it isn’t enough to make a “cup”. Pour that out and rinse the reservoir well. Now fill it with clean water and start the process over again. I go through three full reservoirs of clean water, some only do it once. I just don’t want any vinegar laden coffee in the morning!

That’s it! The vinegar will take away any hard water deposits, the water will rinse away the vinegar and you are good to go. Be sure and do this every 3-6 months and your Keurig should stay in good shape for years to come!

Want to make your own creamer? Read my easy DIY posts here and here!

 

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The-Daniel-Fast-A-DevotionalThe Daniel Fast Devotional is still going strong! This week I was privileged to be a part of a podcast interview on the Apostolic Informer with Host Rob Barrow. He allowed me to talk about the book, how it came to be, what is a Daniel Fast, etc. and even give away a book or two. Folks, I don’t do well listening to my own voice, yikes. But Rob is doing a great job getting information on district happenings within the UPCI for Indiana and beyond. Take a listen here and get your copy of The Daniel Fast, A Devotional, today!

Sharing with Wake Up Wednesday, Wholehearted Wednesday, Happiness is homemade, Making your home sing, Dance with Jesus, Good Morning Mondays, Inspire Me Monday, Modest Monday, Homemaking Linkup, Happy and Blessed Home

Overnight Oatmeal in a Jar…I can make it!

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Overnight Oatmeal in a Jar…I can make it! I love oats. I love oatmeal. I can just eat it plain, when I am being really good. I also like it with a teaspoon of honey and almond milk. When I am on the road I will even fix me some quick and easy oatmeal with the instant packets. Not my favorite but when you are living in hotels it is better than most of the other things they offer and you know what is in it. I love oatmeal cookies, oatmeal granola bars, no bake chocolate oatmeal dropped cookies…get the idea? There are not too many things with oats that I do not like.

I’ve been meaning to share this great recipe with you for a while. You may have seen similar ones on Pinterest and wondered what all the fuss was about.

I did too.

So… this OVERNIGHT Oatmeal made me curious.

How did they do it?

Did they eat it hot or cold?

Did you have to cook it in the morning, add milk to it, warm it up…what?

I have actually modified a few recipes and came up with my very own and the result was simply amazing. And they look so cute!

Here is the recipe and modifications to follow:

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  • 3/4 Cup of Quick Oats

  • 2/3 Cup of Vanilla Almond Milk, unsweetened

  • 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

  • 1-2 teaspoons honey (unless you are on the Daniel Fast, most do not use honey, try a banana instead!)

  • Pinch of salt

  • Dash of cinnamon

  1. Place the oats, almond milk, vanilla, honey, cinnamon and salt in the jar and secure with the lid. Shake the ingredients in the jar for about one minute making sure everything is mixed well.  (Or, stir before applying the lid if you prefer.)
  2. Refrigerate overnight or until the oats have absorbed the liquid.
  3. Come breakfast time, just open the jar and eat! Yes, you eat it cold! The first bite is a surprise and the rest is a breakfast treat.
  4. You can top your oatmeal with blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, any fruit. Nuts are a great topping as well. Some recipes call for the fruit INSIDE the jar before it is refrigerated, that is good too. You can add 3/4 of a mashed banana to the mixture and then slice the rest of the banana and add it in. This is ah-maz-ing!
overnight oatmeal

Here are some other great overnight oatmeal variations.

Blueberry Banana Overnight Oats from an article at BuzzFeed.com

Breakfast Jar Parfait at Peanut Butter and Peppers

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Overnight Oatmeal at Organize Yourself Skinny

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DF cover side viewI sprung this recipe one morning on The Sweetheart during the Daniel Fast. Yes! It is DF friendly! He was skeptical but ate every bite. Be sure and pin this on your Daniel Fast board or follow me on mine. If you haven’t bought your copy of my new book, The Daniel Fast, A Devotional, it is available on Amazon in paperback AND Kindle! This devotional is great for ANY fast with 21 days of devotions about fasting in general and three days of preparation devotions. Check it out!