Small changes

Every day I lay out a plan of what I hope to accomplish that day. Somedays I get it all done but most of the time, not so much. Between work, kids, family, school, church....so much pulls at me and my time. BUT I know  that over time, step by step, we are making it. We are reaching our goals. Whether they be losing weight, getting out of debt, saving for a mission, taking a family vacation, or just making it to the next day, we get there one step at a time. That is why I loved this quote. A reminder of small steps.

"Small changes eventually ad up to Huge results"

This week I am hoping to add a few drops to each of my goal buckets. 

Download this wordart here:

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Homemade Wheat Bread

Several of my friends saw my post on FB about making bread and asked for the recipe. So here you are guys!  This is my go to recipe. I have tried several others but still go back to this.

Yummy Homemade Wheat Bread 

This recipe came from a Relief Society meeting on self reliance. I don't have the name of the lady and I don't remember the ward I was a guest speaker for. These are proportions for a Bosch mixer. If you have a Kitchenaid, just cut it in half and that will work.

Bake: 350
Yield: 4 large loaves
Time: about 2 hours including rise time

Ingredients
14-16 cups whole wheat flour
2 rounded Tbs yeast
1/2 cup high-gluten flour
1/4 cup dough enhancer (or 2Tbs lemon juice or 500 mg Vit C)
6 cups very warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup honey or brown sugar (honey is best)
1 1/2 Tbs salt

Directions: Place 9 cups fresh flour into mixer with kneading arm. Add dry yeast and gluten. Pulse to mix. Add water and mix for 1 minute. Turn off mixer, cover, and let dough sponge for 10 minutes. This makes the bread have a lighter texture. Add oil, honey, lemon juice, and salt. Turn on mixer, and quickly add remaining flour, 1 cup at a time until dough forms a mass and clean the sides of the bowl. I generally use a mix of wheat and white flour. Turn mixer to high and knead for 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead at least 12 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

Preheat oven to 150 during this time. Lightly oil hands and counter surface. Divide dough into equal portions. Shape into loaves and place in greased bread pans. Turn off oven. Place bread in oven, arranging pans with space to allow heat to circulate freely. Set kitchen timer and watch closely. Let rise until almost double in bulk, about 20-30 minutes. Leave bread in oven and turn heat to 350. Bread will continue to rise a little more. Bake for 30 minutes until light golden brown. Immediately remove from pans and let cool on wire rack. Beware of ravaging children. Use extreme caution if there is butter or jam nearby!
Enjoy all the Yumminess!

Never give up- Free wordart

It's a beautiful sunny Sunday. I thought it would be a great day to sit down and design a bit. I am hoping to get back to my blog. It's fun for me to look for a project but end up getting lost in memory lane. My projects have become a bookmark of what was going on with me and our family at the time. I am also hoping that a little digital wordart designing will help drive me back to my scrapbooking. So many other things have gotten in the way over the last couple of years that I am falling impossibly behind. Once upon a time I kept up on the memory books rather well. Reflecting back, I realized it was when I spent my Sundays scrapbooking. I want that again. So here is the first of (hopefully) many more wordarts. 

Last year I broke down and bought a new paper planner. I am such a list maker I fell in love with it. Each week allows for thoughts and inspiration to be jotted down. I find great thoughts and write a theme of sorts for the week. I've tried to fill my planner out in advance. It has been so helpful to keep me organized and on task with the goals I have set. Last weeks theme was "Focus".

This past week was a rough one for me. I have been fighting- literally- to lose weight with no success. I know I need to see an endocrinologist but until then I'm eating right and working out.I usually do well. I really do like going to the gym. I just feel better. I am healthy. But....

Last week though I broke.

Discouragement set in. I was tired of fighting and not seeing results. Most days I'm good but some are sooo hard. My body seems to fight me at every turn. Sacrifice is hard when there's no reward. I was in tears as I struggled to maintain my fitness level, let alone improve it. It seemed so unfair to work so hard and not reach my goals year and year. My good friend and trainer lifted my spirits to live for another day. "We have all been there. What I won't accept is not believing in yourself. You are an amazing resilient woman physically and mentally. Set backs humble us and are what makes our successes that much sweeter" she said. I love this lady! Sometimes it's hard to believe in ourselves but there is someone who does believe in us- Always!

 After a forgettable workout I sat down to plan the rest of my day. Trying to stay on track I opened my planner. It was the first time in the week I had been able to look at it. My quote for the week,

"No matter how you feel, Get up, Dress up, Show up & Never Give up!"

I wrote this quote on THIS week a couple of weeks ago. 

I stopped.

I thought.

I cried.

I said a little prayer of thanks for my Fathers inspiration;

 For knowing what I would need, when I would need it before I even knew I would need it.

The rest of the day and even the week that became my motto. I wish I could say the struggle was better, perhaps it was only a smidge but my resolve was renewed and I recommitted to continue the fight to a better me. One day I will get there. Until then I am never giving up!

Whatever YOUR challenge,

NEVER GIVE UP!

Fight for it and keep a strong support system nearby for those moments of weakness and discouragement. As Steph said, "we all have them"!

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Pinewood Derby Certificate Printable

It's that time of year again.

PINEWOOD DERBY!
The ultimate pack meeting that every cub scout looks forward to all year long. 

Okay! It's also got the dads all in a mess as well. 

It's always so fun to watch what the boys come up with and the creativity and personality that shows through in their cars. 

I also smirk at the dads. We have a couple who are wonderful dads and great examples to my own boys. They are also just a TAD BIT competetive. My dear husband noticed an ever so slight fist pump by the most reserved, quiet man I know. Yep, even THAT dad couldn't hold back his anticipation and excitment at seeing HIS boys car cross the line in first place. 

We are blessed to have healthy competition that doesn't get out of line. It's a great evening for everyone. 

For a scout leader.....it's also a TON of work! The payoff comes in the boys faces lighting up. I just LOVE it!!

This year I am not a cub scout leader *sniff* but I had a request for some of the certificates I have previously done. So I did a little editing so that you can print one for your little pack and hopefully save you a little time and headache. 

 Here is my original post when we used this certificate. It was a couple of years ago. So fun to look through those old pictures.

You can download it 2 ways. Just click on the link you want:

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And the pit pass. Just print it and make the copies you need. I laminated mine and made lanyards for all the boys. They absolutely LOVED it!

Here are the links for the pit pass:
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Have fun!!