How the Aftermath of the Election Made Me Want to Be a Better Mom

The aftermath of this presidential election has me shaken to my core about all the hate going on in the country and world, and I don't want hate in my home. I just want peace and love and joy. All of those things come directly from Jesus.

"Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor...Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting."

St. Teresa of Calcutta

She is the most difficult of my children to parent, my sweet Nora, because she whines about anything and everything. She's a middle child, a red-head, and a Scorpio; it's a perfect trifecta. Yet she is perfect, made in the image of God. How can I not see this clearly? I am letting Him down by not treating her how she needs to be treated; like a fun, sweet, smart, precious daughter. And she has such an infectious smile! I have felt it in my heart for quite some time, and am just realizing I need to do something more than just go to Confession. Yes, the Sacrament helps, but then as the weeks go on, it gets harder, and I fall back into the same rut.

"Pure love...knows that only one thing is needed to please God: to do even the smallest things out of great love - love, and always love."
St. Faustina

I am going to come up with a prayer plan to help combat this temper of mine. St. Anne, St. Gianna, and the Blessed Mother will be hearing from me a lot in the near future. If you are reading this, please offer a prayer for my heart, and for my sweet Nora Bear.

"Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."

St. Augustine

I love you Nora. I am sorry for the way I've treated you. You deserve nothing but the best.

Happy Mother's Day: A Giveaway!

I haven't blogged in quite some time, but with Mother's Day right around the corner, I feel like giving away something! A custom Swarovski pocket rosary, to be exact. Now through Saturday night, you have a chance to win one. The Rafflecopter is below, so enter away! Once the winner is chosen, we will then design the rosary.

Here is an example of what I have previously designed, and what prompted this giveaway

 

So, good luck, and Happy Mother's Day to all the mommas, mine included! <3

 

 



 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Holiday Pie Baking Hack

I love pie. A lot. The year I was married, I found a recipe for an apple cranberry pie with a pecan crumble topping. I can't remember where I found it, but I've made so many changes to it that I call it my own. It is by far my favorite pie, but it is a lot of work to prepare. Since I have two toddlers running around, and another bebe rolling around in my womb, topped with my ITP, I'm pretty exhausted. But I NEED THIS PIE! I have come up with a few little hacks to save some time in making this delicious pie.

First. I bought pre-chopped pecans. I know this sounds like a waste, but this also saves me from using the food processor to chop them and blend them in with the sugars. Since they're already small, I just toss them in the mixing bowl with the sugars, flour, salt, and small pieces of cold butter, and work it all together with my hands. It doesn't take long at all.

(Delicious crumbly topping)

The next tip is to buy a pre-made pie crust. Yes, your homemade one is going to taste a million times better, but I do not have the time it takes to prepare this delicious, buttery, flaky crust. So I bought a two-pack at the store, and I'll use the other one for Christmas.

(Pie ready to bake, in the pre-made pie crust)

Thirdly, for an apple pie, invest in an apple peeler/slicer/corer. Five seconds, and your apple is ready to go. Seriously. Get one.

(Amazon link)

Last, bake ahead of time. I'm sure a lot of you who prepare an entire Thanksgiving meal do this, but I have yet to do this, and I'm busy with prenatal and hematology appointments, so making the pie ahead of time is saving me from going insane!

Now for the recipe. I'm going to disregard the pie crust part, because we are saving time!

APPLE CRANBERRY PECAN CRUMBLE PIE

Filling:

3 medium apples (for this round, I used one Braeburn, one Honeycrisp, and one Gala)

1 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 granulated sugar (you could use turbinado as well)

Juice of 1/2 lemon (I use ReaLemon because it's quicker!)

1/2 t ground cinnamon

2 T flour

Topping:

1/2 c pecans (get the pre-chopped ones!)

1/3 c sugar (since I'm halving this recipe, I used approximately half each of brown sugar and granulated sugar)

1/4 c + 2 T flour (give or take, since, again, this is half the recipe)

1/2 t salt

1/4 c (half a stick) cold unsalted butter

Use your handy apple peeler/corer/slicer to take care of your three apples, cut those in half (for gorgeous, uniform slices), toss them in a large-ish mixing bowl with your cranberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Mix real well and set it aside for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400° with a dark baking sheet (lined with foil!) inside. Apparently this makes the bottom of the pie more crisp.

In your set-aside bowl, add cinnamon and flour and mix lightly. Turn mixture into your frozen pie shell and place the pie in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes.

While the pie is baking, we can now prepare the mouth-watering topping! To save on dishes, I just rinsed out the bowl I used for the filling and dried it. Toss in your chopped pecans and your sugar and mix them together with your fingers. Add the flour and salt and mix again. I like to cut the cold butter into little squares for easier working. Toss the squares in with the mixture and cut in the butter with your fingers until they resemble the crumbs in the photo above. It only takes about 5 minutes to accomplish this.

When the pie is done baking, remove and place your topping on top and pat it a bit so it stays in place. REDUCE YOUR OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 375°! Put your pie back in the oven for about 20 minutes and bake. Then place a foil tent over your pie and bake another 15 minutes. This last part helps your topping to stay golden brown instead of burned!

Once it's finished baking, let it cool completely then you can cover it with foil again and get it ready for transport. Great, now I want to eat it and I have to wait 2 whole days!

Autumn Favorite Things

I was recently featured in Molly Make Do's Favorite Things post, and I thought I'd do my own Autumn take on it, since I've been fortunate enough to be featured in one! It'll be short and sweet, and lacking in words, but here goes...

My friend Jane makes beautiful knit scarves and other cold weather accessories. I am fortunate enough to own a few of her items, and just ordered this absolutely stunning scarf called Falling Autumn Leaves Scarf. I cannot wait to receive it! It utters Autumn over and over again and makes me want to cry because of its beauty. She has one available in her Etsy shop, but I'm sure when it sells out, she can create another one for you!

Jenna embroiders gorgeous necklaces! I purchased the Sacred Heart one during Lent of this year and wear it all the time! It's dainty, lightweight, and is full of detail. I am currently eyeing her Autumn Colors necklace that she just put in her Etsy shop this week, along with a hoard of other Autumn, Thanksgiving, and Christmas designs! Again, this one screams Autumn and makes me weepy. Gotta love pregnancy hormones!

Last year, right before Thanksgiving, I took a gander to Orange Thyme's Etsy shop because someone had favorited her 'Pumpkin Cheesecake' lip balm. Really? Pumpkin AND cheesecake? Sign me up! I received it, and loved it, and then it got washed and dryer with the laundry. I was so bummed. How could I have done that to my favorite flavored lip balm? I'll definitely be ordering another one soon to replace mine. It's delish!

A couple other random gorgeous Autumn items I ran into this week on Etsy are:

This wreath (and a few hundred others) from The Violette Bloom:

This centerpiece from TheCreativeQ:

These earrings from TRTL Jewelry:

And, of course, I have to put in a plug for my own small business! I crafted this Warm Autumn rosary today and it is now listed here, and it's CHEAP! It's made with Preciosa crystal bicones and pearls. I like it so much, I might just keep it, so snatch it before it's gone ;)

Thanks for hanging out with me again! I'll try to make it on here again before Baby is born ;)

I've Been a Small Business Owner for a Year -- A Giveaway!

Last August was a huge month for me, both good and bad. I received my fabulous ITP diagnosis and spent 2 nights in the hospital, and I also registered with the state for my business license! August has historically always been an eventful month for me, mainly for my accident-proneness! A few broken elbows, and an awesome "L" scar that I got at Mukilteo Beach when I was 9. Memories that will stick with me forever.

Since I've been in "the biz" for a year now, I wanted to do another giveaway to celebrate this momentous occasion! This time, instead of having a premade one ready to ship, I thought I'd make a custom Swarovski bicone and pearl pocket rosary! You can take a gander over at FusionBeads.com and find some lovely mixes! I typically make them with the 6mm ones, but you can browse any other sizes and just let me know which mix you prefer.

Here are some examples

You can have that be one of your entries for the Rafflecopter...commenting with your favorite Swarovski bicone mix! The contest will start today (August 1) and run through midnight on August 15. I hope to have the pocket rosary out to the winner by month end! Thank you to everyone who has shown love and support during this past year. I am truly blessed to have a successful business that I LOVE running, and I don't feel like it's a job!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rosaries by Allison - Mini Spotlight

Here are a few of my newest items, and newly renewed items in my Etsy shop. I still always accept custom requests, so send me a message on the Etsy messaging system and we can design your dream rosary!

Arcade Fire - Intervention

This musical element song is epic. It has a pipe organ! It reminds me of being in church. Anyway, here's a video from a performance on "Austin City Limits" in 2007.

Pumpkin Recipe #2: Pumpkin Apple Pancakes

Breakfast for dinner is one of my favorite things...brinner, as we call it in my house. I decided since I have canned pumpkin in my fridge, to have these delicious pancakes for dinner tonight, and post the recipe for my fellow pumpkin lovers to enjoy! I have previously posted this recipe on my blog, during the Lenten season, so some of you may have already seen this one, but it's definitely worth repeating.

This recipe I got from the TV show "The Chew." One of the viewers "won" with her Pumpkin Apple Pancake recipe. I couldn't wait to try them when I saw the episode, and I'm so glad I did because we have them often! So delish!

MIA ROGERS' PUMPKIN APPLE PANCAKES

Ingredients:

1c flour

1 1/2t baking powder

1/2t cinnamon

1/4t nutmeg

1/8t ginger

1T butter, melted

1/2c pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

1/4c brown sugar

1/4t salt

1 egg, lightly beaten

1c buttermilk*

1/3c peeled, diced apple (I usually use 1 apple)

Caramelized Apple Topping:

1 apple, thinly sliced

1T butter

2T brown sugar

(I usually double this recipe, because I love it so much! And really, who wants a scant amount of this apple-y goodness on their pancakes?!)

*If you don't have buttermilk, put 1T of lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup and fill with milk until it reaches 1c. Whisk it to combine, then let it sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes, until it's curdled. Mix it up and voila! You have your buttermilk substitute!

Directions:

In a medium bowl, toss in your flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a smaller bowl, place your egg, melted butter, diced apple, pumpkin puree, and buttermilk. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and let stand for about 5 minutes. At this point, you can now make your caramelized apple topping!

In a large-ish skillet, melt your butter (here's where I'd use 2T...okay maybe 3 or 4T of butter!) over medium-ish heat. Add your brown sugar and apples and stir until the apples are nice and soft, and slightly golden (8ish minutes). (I can tell you from experience, that using one of those apple peeler/corer/slicers will save you so much time...do it!)

(This is my husband, being an awesome assistant, caramelizing the apples. Don't you love the action shot?!)

To cook your pancakes, scoop up 1/3c of the batter and plop it onto your preheated griddle. Cook on one side until it's bubbly, then flip and cook another 1 1/2ish minutes. When they are done, top with your delicious caramelized apples, some warm maple syrup, and maybe...just maybe...some brown sugar!

(Here is an unnecessary photo of the pancakes almost finished cooking.)

(The plated goodness.)

The recipe says it serves 4 people, but I can easily eat 4 of these delicious suckers myself! Enjoy!

Arcade Fire - Next Week

The first Arcade Fire song I heard, back in 2005, was "Rebellion (Lies)," from their "Funeral" album, and I must say, I fell in love. I would listen to it on repeat for hours on end, and never get tired of listening to it. I eventually purchased the entire album and loved it. I purchased their subsequent albums, and my deep love for them increased immensely when "The Suburbs" hit stores. Every day to work. Every day from work. I spun that album. I knew (maybe still know) all the words by heart, and my absolute favorite song of theirs is on that album.

I will finally be getting the chance to see them live...NEXT WEEK! This will be my first concert at the Gorge, and I am so excited I can hardly stand it. It will be a great distraction from the one-year anniversary since my ITP diagnosis, and I already know I will love it.

I will be posting Arcade Videos for the next 2 weeks, until the show next Friday. For today, here's "Rebellion (Lies)."

Pumpkin Recipe #1: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Spread

This. Is absolutely one of my favorite pumpkin delights that we enjoy in my house. I could literally eat it with a spoon, but that's probably not the wisest thing...so many calories and all. I got this recipe from my good friend Haley, who is a self-proclaimed foodie, and I agree! She always has the most delicious recipes and I've never been disappointed...ever!

I have so many pumpkin recipes on my Pinterest boards, and I am hoping to make a dent in some of them this coming Autumn, and not just make my favorite ones like I usually do. Lots of treats, so hopefully I'll have the energy to try some of the new ones out!

I cannot for the life of me find where I pinned this darned recipe, and every new one I look at is not the one I have! I hate to not give credit where credit is due, but I might just have to call this recipe my own? Kidding! I'm just gonna grab one and adapt it. Here goes...

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Recipe (Adapted from LaLoosh)

Ingredients:
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2c pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/4c sugar
3/4t pumpkin pie spice
1/2t vanilla

Toss all ingredients into a medium-ish bowl and beat with an electric mixer until it's nice and smooth. Refrigeration is recommended, for an hour, then you can spread on bagels and the like. My favorite is to put it on cinnamon raisin bagels!

I hope you enjoy this as much as my family and I do!

Current Novenas

I like to be in the middle of a novena, and not have space in between them. It helps me keep a somewhat prayerful life. Sometimes it's hard for me to get motivated to pray, so this helps me get started, and then I can pray a rosary meaningfully right afterward.

I am currently in the middle of three novenas. Today is Day 8 of the one to St. Anne, and Day 8 for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Today is also the second day for St. Alphonsus, whom I had never heard of before. I typically wrote out the prayers in a journal, and have nearly filled my first one up in just over a year. Writing them out helps me to focus, and to be away from the distractions of the computer. Even though I get the reminders for most of them in one of my Facebook groups, it's still nice to step away and pray.

Do you have any novena recommendations for me? Would you like me to pray a novena for you for an important matter? Please feel free to comment below, or you can email me allisonnoelle@hotmail.com. I'm excited to start another journal, as the one I have has Celtic knots on it! It's so pretty! Mary has served me well for the past year, but I'm ready to be more Irish ;)

Back to 123, Annual Training, and an End to 100 Happy Days

I'm back on monthly CBCs for my hematologist, and I had another draw on Monday. I had a feeling they were going to be up, and I was right! They went from 116k to 123k! I didn't even have to email my hematologist to ask if they results were in yet, because the hospital system was working correctly, which seems to be rare ;) They were at exactly this number back in March, which is making me hopeful that they will continue to rise and hit 'normal' sometime soon.

Here is a graph of my entire ITP journey thus far.

Chris has been in or around Yakima (even 2 days in Redmond for inventory!) for his Annual Training for Army since July 12. It has been very hard him being away. A lot of the days, the girls misbehave (typical, not just when Daddy's gone) but when he didn't come home at night for me to have a little break, it was even harder. He did get to come home and sleep for the 2 days he was in Redmond, so that was a nice surprise. He still doesn't know for sure if he will be helping fight the wildfires going on in central Washington. His 2 weeks is up this coming Sunday, and still no official word, which is frustrating for more than just me. Praying for tons more rain where it's needed, and that he can come home on Sunday as planned. We have a friend who was activated to fight the fires, so please keep Dusten in your prayers, along with his wife Heidi. OH! I forgot to mention Chris was promoted to SSG while in AT, so that's a bonus!

I didn't mention this before, but I participated in the 100 Happy Days challenge, like a lot of people have. I successfully completed it, and got a ton of compliments and feedback that I should do it again! I've decided that I'm going to start it again on August 1st. For those of you that follow my Instagram (allisonnoelle), all of my photos were tagged with the #100happydays. There's probably a huge long list if you just search for that, though!

Here are a few of my favorites:

Day 3

Day 15

Day 38

Day 57

Day 79

Day 93

One more thing...I will probably be doing another giveaway in the month of August for my business! It'll to celebrate me being a small business owner for an entire year! I still have to think of what I'm going to do, so stay tuned!

P.S. Pumpkin is making its way back into my house already (in the form of pumpkin cream cheese)! Squee! (That means recipes coming!)

I'm Back...Sort of...and a Special Etsy Offer

I haven't blogged in nearly three months. I haven't had the desire to. The family has been busy with travel and National Guard and hematology appointments (116 was my last number! Woohoo!)

I do want to let everyone know about the smashing awesome sale going on over in my Etsy shop through Saturday, July 19. When you purchase a full 5-decade rosary, I will throw in a FREE pocket rosary, up to $7! That's right...FREE! Just let me know at checkout what your choice is between the ones I have for sale in my shop. I haven't ever done this before, and I hope people enjoy it and take advantage of this offer. Pocket rosaries are wonderful for keeping in your car (or pocket!) because they're so compact and barely take up any room.

 Thanks for stopping by!