Beach Body Challenge

Since I have been writing this blog you have often heard me whine about my weight. I have had countless "plans" to lose it because my baby is 15 months old now and I have failed miserably at getting back in shape like I told everyone I would.

I've talked to several people about my weight and they tell me what I need to hear to get motivated but in my mind I have not motivated myself... until now. Everything in life is that way. You can wish and want but until you absolutely set your mind to it and go for your goals, you will stay stagnate.

Why now? Now because I am tired, mentally and physically exhausted by everyday life. I come home, sit in my chair, have dinner, give Blaze his bath and then we all go to bed. I want to enjoy life with my family, not just endure it. I want to take Blaze to the zoo and not need a nap afterwards.

Now because I am embarassed that my once athletic and toned physique is now soft and uninspirable. 5 minutes of shooting hoops leaves me red-faced and gasping for air. Gross!

Now because my pathetic attempt at the Turkey Trot this year was deplorable! And because my cousin Carla thought it would be so funny to run ahead of me and act like we were running the 8 mile race as I screamed and flailed my arms to make sure they knew that we were running the 5k.

Now because I want my clothes to fit and actually look cute on me again.

Now because the thought of this upcoming summer makes me want to start shopping for ponchos.

Now because I have ADD and I need my body to keep up with my mind.

I took the Beach Body Challenge and I got my first shipment of Turbo Fire and Shakeology. I chose this system because I have done my research and I need the nutritional support along with a fitness program for me to get my best results. The great thing about Beach Body is that they have a full encompassing support system to help you succeed. This is not a fad diet, it's a lifestyle change.

I can go to the gym, I can go to exercise classes but I don't trust myself right now. I need something to kick me in high gear and make me follow through. After being in athletics my whole life, after high scool and college work outs, I didn't know where to go from there. I didn't know how to work out on my own to keep me in shape. I think I found it in Turbo Fire.

Shakeology is a top of the line meal replacement shake developed and created by Beachbody. The Shake is made up of over 70 high quality, all natural ingredients, and unlike most meal replacement shakes, its high in protein. I had my first shake this morning and it was great! I added ice, a cup of almond milk, a banana and a tablespoon of almond butter. Two of those things I have never had in my life. It was very filling. It took me about a good hour to sip on the whole thing so I didn't have morning cravings for a sausage biscuit.

For my fitness program, I chose "Turbo Fire". Beach Body has several different programs to choose from. I have done "P90X" before and personally it just wasn't for me. All the push ups, pull ups and holding your own body weight up was hard on my back. I thought it was more for guys but I know some freaks of nature (ahem, like my sister-in-law, Bobbie) that did it and passed it with flying colors and looked awesome afterwards. Color me green.

I also did a couple of workouts of "Insanity". I really liked this program but my ADD got the best of me and I got bored with the repeating exercises. For those of you that are normal, this might be the workout for you because Shaun T. (the head honcho for "Insanity") is a great motivator and makes you want to finish and get better. It doesn't hurt that he is usually shirtless during the workouts and you can see his rippling muscles.... if you're into that sort of thing.

The reasons I chose "Turbo Fire" are:

1. The instructor, Chalene Johnson is a female and what other female doesn't want to be inspired by another female that has a solid body?

2. I previewed the workouts and you stayed involved the whole time because you aren't repeating exercises for long periods of time. The Fire 30 class I did this morning was great. I did get lost in the choreography just a little but that will get better with time. There is a feature on the DVD that goes through all the steps to have you better prepared but I skipped that part.

3. The music on the workouts are great. Chalene Johnson mixes the music herself and choreographs your workout to the beat. She puts her heart and soul in to this program.

So, here I am, day 1 of a lifestyle change to get my life and my body back! I feel great this morning and I'm actually looking forward to another work out... weird.

I will do weekly updates on my progress!

Love ya!
Kaci

Cheers to Fresh Starts!

I hope this blog finds everyone happy and healthy after the wonderful Christmas holidays! Did Santa bring you what you wanted?

Don't worry about those few extra pounds you might have put on in the last month or so, that is what a new year is all about. Afterall, you did enjoy munching down on those candied carbs, didn't you? I know I savored every single ever lovin' calorie.

 I just love a new year. I love fresh starts. I love mulligans. I love new game plans. I love making my yearly "to-do list". It all just makes me want to go get a new hair do!

What are your plans for the glorious year of 2012? Are you going to get a gym membership? Are you going to diet? Are you going to promise yourself a vacation or a spa day for all of your hard work all year long? Are you going to make a career move? Add someone to your family? Send a child off to college? Send yourself to college? Are you going to make a "Things List" ? Are you tired of me asking you questions?

I just love this time of year. It makes me wish I had a couple more hours in the day and the energy of my 15 month old. I have tons of things on my "to do" list and I can't wait to get started.

Let's all celebrate in this time. We made it through another year!

Cheers for fresh starts!
-Kaci

Letting Go Of The Guilt

I have decided that I'm absolutely ready to do something to about my health. I have done my research and went with the Beach Body System beacuse I feel that I need nutrional support as well as a fitness regimine. I chose "Turbo Fire" along with "Shakeology".

Now let's remember that I rarely buy myself anything because I feel guilty. I think to myself, "Well with that money, I could pay our water bill." or "That will buy 4 cases of diapers." So for me to spend $218.50 to get started on my way to my "Beach Body" I felt a very large sense of guilt. As soon as I pressed "check out" and saw the money deducted from our bank account, I immediately looked for the return policy.

I did this the other day while Christmas shopping. I bought $30 worth of stuff at Bath & Body Works and felt so guilty, that I marched right back in to the store 20 minutes later and returned everything. Am I crazy? Probably. The people working in Bath & Body Works probably thought I was crazy. I can't help it though.

But then I reasoned with myself. Do I have a job? Yes. Do we get the bills paid? Yes. Do I do anything for myself or my health? No.

So there you have it. I have decided to let go of the guilt because I am doing something to better myself and my health. I'm going to write this blog and not feel guilty for one milisecond longer.

Does anybody else have an issue with feeling like this? How do you reason with yourself? Are you a freak of nature like me and return things because you have buyer's guilt?

Do something for yourself! You deserve it! And don't for one second feel guilty about it.

Peace & Merry Christmass Blessings!
-Kaci

'Tis The Season

Having a small child sparks all kinds of fun for the Christmas holidays. Have I mentioned before how much I love being able to relive my childhood over again through Blaze? Well, I love being able to relive my childhood over again through Blaze. I just can't get over the fun things to do with my little guy.

We have recently adopted our "Elf on the Shelf".

I didn't know what in the world this was until I saw several of my friends posting on their Facebook what their elves have been up to. There are some pretty mischievous elves out there! For those of you that don't know, Santa sends you an elf in which you are in charge of naming him. He sets up shop at your house right after the Thanksgiving holiday and makes sure that your children are being nice. Each night, the little booger flies back to the North Pole and reports to Santa the day's events. Santa then makes his determination on which list to put your chitlin' on: naughty or nice. When he flies back each morning before the children wake up, he is in a different spot doing all kinds of crazy things.

Here's our elf, Blaze named him Jake. You can find all cool kinds of info at Elf on the Shelf.

At our house, Blaze is in the "let me see how many buttons I can push before I get in trouble" stage, so this is perfect.

Here is an example of what stage we are in...

Is it absolutely necessary to get on TOP of the play table to particpate???

Oh but that's not all, we gotta take it one step farther....

I'm in utter awe at the balance of my child because he sure didn't get it from me! He stood there for a good 2 minutes and only got down to move on to the next toy.... maybe he gets his attention span from me.

Once I learn how to post a video on here, I will post the video of my dare devil son and a rocking chair. The kid knows no fear. Boy... we are in for quite the ride.

Another glorious thing about these holiday festivities is that I'm actually contributing to our Christmas Day meal! Boom!!!! I've been married for 3 years and for 3 years I have set back and let everyone else do the cooking because I couldn't survive around the kitchen if my life depended on it, but now I think I can contribute some. Thank you Pioneer Woman!

Speaking of, The Pioneer Woman is coming out with a new cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Food From My Frontier and I'm excited.

I swear I'm not obsessed with her.

Anyways, on my agenda to contribute:

-corn casserole

-creamy mashed potatoes

-sausage balls

-cheese ball

- cake balls.... I swear I'm not obsessed with making things into the shape of a ball. either

-chocolate covered mint Oreos

-chocolate covered pretzels

-mint chocolate pecan cookies

Whew! I'm just tired from typing all of those things.

I can't wait for all the fun festivities with the family. I also can't wait to take pictures and blog about everybody! So if you are reading this and you will be around me this Christmas..... I'm watching you. I'm taking notes and I will write about you to cyber space. I'm just joking... a little. I really am going to introduce the blogger community to the fam. All of them are wonderful, I promise.

On that note, I will leave you all (I didn't say y'all. I'm trying to work on my writing skills.) with this picture to boost your holiday happiness into overdrive!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Love each and every one of you!

Kaci

Southern Arkansas University Tragedy

It absolutely breaks my heart that I have to write this blog. If you know me personally or have read any of my blog, it's clear that animals are a great love of mine, especially horses.

I've spent most of my life around them, riding them, watching them compete, and of course loving on them. I just love a good horse nuzzling. Horses are such amazing creatures. Strong willed and intelligent but gentle and agile at the same time. Horses are loyal and have extensive personalities.

"He Man" was my Welsh pony when I was growing up and we went to every play day that would let us enter up. "He Man" took care of me and let me do whatever I wanted to him as a kid: crawl on him, lope, run as fast as we could, trail ride, although loading in a trailer wasn't exactly his favorite thing in the world. I used to have to load in the trailer myself and then he would follow me. "Billy Idol"  & "Buskin" were my Dad's horses for most of his rodeo career. A lot of bills were paid because of them two. Team roping was my Dad's career. 

I continue to be surrounded by horses. Clint trains team roping horses. Clay and Bobbie, my brother and sister in law, train cutting horses. D-Dad, my father-in-law still day works the ranches of west Texas. And my Dad still team ropes.

I was always taught that you take care of your animals first. Your horses eat before you do. You respect your horses because they do a job for you and they respect you back. You depend on your horses and they depend on you to care for them properly.  

When first hearing about the 5 horses stolen from the Southern Arkansas University's rodeo team members, my heart panged because I understand the desperation of having a beloved animal taken from you. We are still in search for our missing part of the family, Zipper. That is a feeling of such desperation you cannot explain. Not knowing their whereabouts makes you feel helpless and keeps you wondering.

For those of you that haven't heard of the tragic events that took place, I encourage you to check out Banner News to get all of the information and fill in the gaps that I leave out. Here is the short version.

On November 3, 2011 in Magnolia, Arkansas at the Southern Arkansas University stables, 5 horses including a trailer full of equipment was stolen in the middle of the night. Credit Card, Grey, Badger, Black and Lena were the 5 quarter horses stolen from the stables.







On November, 16, 2011 four of the five horses were recovered in a wooded area near Tom, Oklahoma tied to trees without food or water and were found emaciated. The one horse not with the group was Credit Card.

 Click here to watch the video of SAU Rodeo Coach, Rusty Hayes' amazing story on how they found 4 of the missing horses.

November 25, 2011, just more than 3 weeks after all the horses went missing, the remains of Credit Card were recovered. I will not go into details of the condition of Credit Card's remains but you have google, don't you? It is devastating and unbelievable what a person could do to a horse. It is mind boggling and stomach wrenching.

There have been several arrest in this case so far and investigation is still ongoing.

Since of hearing this news, I have not been able to get this off of my mind. My heart aches for the Smith family that has lost Credit Card and I am proud for the 4 owners that have found their horses.

I really don't even know what to say from here. This is such a tragedy for the entire horse industry and a tragedy of man-kind. I will never understand a person that could do this to any innocent animal.

The Smith family have asked instead of setting up a fund for Shaun Smith to be able to purchase another horse, that a scholarship fund be set up so others will have the chance to be a part of the Southern Arkansas University Rodeo Team.

My family has been incredibly blessed to have the help of all our friend's for so long and especially when Clint had to take time off of work to have shoulder surgery this past July, I feel that I am called to do something for any part of good to come out of this. I will be making these cross and horseshoe pendant necklaces and I will be selling them with 100% of the proceeds being donated to the scholarship fund to SAU in Credit Card's honor. They will be $20 and includes shipping to you.

I hope that I'm flooded with orders and we can all have a hand in raising money. You can email me at kacijohnson@live.com to order. I can accept Pay Pal or a check mailed to me. At the end of each month, I will donate the money to the scholarship fund and include your name that you were a part of this fund raising.

Let's band together and show the world that the horse industry, animal lovers, and good human beings are against animal abuse and the treatment that Credit Card recevied will not be tolerated.

Also let's all pray that justice is brought to the people responsible of this heinous crime.

Peace & Love,

Kaci

With any questions contact me by email, Facebook or by phone.

Email: kacijohnson@live.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kaciwrightjohnson

Phone: 682-936-9712  call or text

Three Years Ago Today...

Three years ago today, life as I knew it changed forever. Three years ago today, I could never have imagined that I would know the things I do now. Three years ago today, I never even dreamed that my life would be where it is now. Three years ago today, was one of the best days of my life.

Three years ago today I woke up in Las Vegas after only sleeping for about an hour. You know that feeling where you are anxious about the next day's events and you try so hard to will yourself to sleep eventhough you are running on fumes but your eyes won't close, your mind won't quit thinking, and that tingly feeling in your stomach won't go away? That was me. It probably didn't help that my best girlfriends and I stayed out late partying on the Strip. Unable to sleep anymore I walked down to the Mc Donalds in the MGM and got hashbrowns and sausage biscuits for my friends that were "over served".

Six months before this day, being here was the last place on Earth I thought I would be. After spending a couple of years in a couple difficult relationships that smothered the person I thought I was, left me wanting as far away from another relationship as I could get. It was my time to hit the reset button and get back to myself. My time to get back to the person that my friends knew me as, not this mind boggled, down on life, miserable and not to mention 20 pound heavier person that I had reluctantly become accustomed to. This was MY time. Period. And boy did I take advantage. I was back to enjoying life, living the single life with this new freedom. Freedom looked good on me and I was proud to wear it around everywhere. Life had a purpose again. A purpose other than the same old routine, same old arguments, same old jealousy, same old wondering why I had let it go this far.

When your life becomes your's again, it's like an awakening. Like you lived the last couple years inside a tunnel unaware of the world changing around you and finally you reach the end and actually feel the warmth of the sun on your skin. There are colors again. There is sound again. There is breath back in your lungs and you are no longer a lifeless shell just living. A sense of urgency usually follows you too after this awakening. The sense that you have so much catching up to do with life. You have to catch up on all the things that you missed out on while trying to make someone else happy to no avail. There are people to see, drinks to drink, concerts to soak in, traveling to be done.

In the midst of this awakening, I kept getting a tug on the brain from this strapping young cowboy that I wanted absolutely nothing to do with. Can't you see, I'm in the middle of an awakening here? I was having the time of my life and couldn't be bothered with attempts to win over my heart or even my brain for that matter. To be honest, I enjoyed the attempts and I enjoyed saying no even more. That was a very empowering feeling after finding myself again.

Soon after, he quite trying. Hey wait! Come back!

After a chance meeting at a roping we were both working, the local honky tonk seemed like the best option to hang out afterwards. That's when the cowboy name Clint finally piqued my interest. We two-stepped and sang along to every song that came through the speakers. Those are two of my favorite things in this world: singing and dancing. I can dance with the best of them but I can't carry a tune in a bucket but I sure did like trying. Maybe that's why I listen to music so loud, so it drowns out my own voice and I can pretend the singer's voice is mine. It was so nice to dance with someone that knew how to dance. I didn't have to lead and most importantly, I didn't have to teach him how to dance like I had done so many times before. That is probably one of the most awkward and embarassing things to do: teaching someone how to dance in front of God and everybody on a dance floor in a honky tonk, especially being a girl teaching the guy. Growing up traveling around the states with my Dad rodeoing, there are two things I knew how to do: ride a horse and two-step. I'm pretty sure those two things are in the "Cowboy Code of Conduct" if there is one. Thank goodness I found someone that knew that code. It was familiar and easy to me.

Spending time with Clint in the days following that fateful night, I quickly learned that he had gone through situations recently that had him in the same emotional boat with me. Rowing his oars as fast as he could going away to anything but where he had been. We shared the need to be accepted for the person that we each were without pasting a smile on the outside but dying a slow and painful death on the inside. We shared the same zest for life, for laughter, for fun, for music, and ultimately the same zest for love. We filled each others cracks in our hearts.

We quickly made the decision that it didn't matter where we were in life, where we were going or even where we had been but that together was where we needed to be... forever.

For different reasons we got mixed responses from our decision to get married so fast. Did we care? No. We took all the warnings, gossip and even the well wishes with a grain of salt. Nothing could knock us out of our cloud because we had love. The kind of raw love that loved no matter what. The kind of love that felt right. The kind of love where the world could crash down around us and we didn't notice or care. Most importantly, we had each other.

Six months before this day, being here was the last place on Earth I thought I would be. This would be the day that I would marry the love of my life and my best friend. This would be the day that I would walk down a Las Vegas chapel isle filled with our closest friends and family with my pre-arranged music and bouquet of flowers in my sweaty palms to say the vows of marriage to a man that had rescued my heart.

Three years ago today I never would have imagined I would still be deeply in love with the person I said those vows to. I never would have imagined that we would share our life with the sweetest little boy named Blaze. I never would have imagined life could be this good.

Happy 3rd Anniversary to the most amazing husband ever! You are my rock!

-Kaci

Then & Now

This is something that is very special to me. Partly because it is one the greatest accomplishments that a team roper can acheive and partly because my Dad is a very generous man and tends to give away his buckles and memorabilia from a time that represented most of my childhood. Lately, I've been spending time trying to round up all the things that he gave away. And lately I've discovered he gave away a heck of alot more than he kept.

Last year for Christmas, my grandparents gave this buckle to Blaze. It is one of the many NFR buckles that my Dad won and only 2 of many that I know their whereabouts. This is when he won the 4th go round in 1986 at the NFR. This is what it looked like.

I sent it off to Gist Silversmiths, the original buckle makers, to have it cleaned up and this is what I got back.

Isn't it beautiful? I can't help but be so proud of this buckle. I hope to find and retain the others that are out there somewhere.

Love,
Kaci

P.S. I apologize for not blogging as often these past couple of weeks. We have been extremely busy and on the road. Maybe it's time I get a laptop! (hint hint, nudge nudge)

Inspirational Quote

I'm starting my adventure on not being so fluffy, being healthier, and trying to work towards a couple of things on my "27 Things List" today and I found this quote and I thought it would be nice to share.

"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do."
-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Btw, how cool is that name? Enjoy your little inspirational quote.

Love,
Kaci

Resolutions Schmesolutions

Well people, it's that time of year again. We are peeking around the corner on a new year. As a new year approaches us, we often feel a sense of cleansing, a fresh start if you will. That's where those pesky New Year's Resolutions rear their ugly head to laugh in our faces with all the things we want desperately to accomplish but we find that life gets in the way and we wake up to the next new year with none of our resolutions crossed off and accomplished. 

Raise your hand if your New Year's Resolutions start out like this...

1. Lose 1,000 pounds
2. Exercise 7 days a week
3. Eat 500 calories a day
4. Don't cuss

All of those things last about half a day for me so I've decided to do something different this year. Instead of resolutions, I'm going to make a "27 Things List". I think 27 is a good number. It's enough to where I have to work hard to accomplish my things but not too much where I feel overwhelmed and give up on it... and because I will turn 27 in the year 2012. Here we go with my action list.

Kaci's 27 Things List

1. Buy myself a nice camera.

2. Save $200 for no good reason.

3. Take Blaze to the zoo at least 12 times. (We bought a Fort Worth Zoo Membership and it needs to be used.)

4. Take a vacation to a place I've never been before.

5. Make a dessert from scratch.

6. Complete a 5k. When I say complete, I mean run the entire inch of the way.

7. Take Blaze to a play.

8. Take a trip to San Antonio to see my roommate from college, Shawna. I miss her like crazy.

9. Read 5 books.

10. Create a birthday list and send every one of my peeps a birthday card.

11. Make 2 projects with my sewing machine.

12. Buy a bike and work my way up to ride it 5 miles.

13. Buy myself a cute shirt that I like and don't not get it because I'm cheap.

14. Take a painting class.

15. Take a cooking class.

16. Buy myself a pair of shoes that are not tennis shoes or cowboy boots and wear them often.

17. Go to the State Fair.

18. Host a party.

19. Make 2 projects from the 76,943 pins I have on Pinterest.

20. Make 10 dinners that I have never made before.

21. Volunteer at a charity.

22. Learn how to shoot a bow.

23. Go to a gun range.

24. Go to a concert. (I used to go to so many. I miss them.)

25. Get 200 Facebook followers on my blog's Facebook page. Also have enough followers that someone wants to host a giveaway on my blog.

26. Learn how to make all of my household cleaning items from scratch.

27. Make all homemade gifts for Christmas 2012.

There it is people. My 27 Things list. I figure I will add another item every year for my age. Wow. It just hit me how close to the big 3-0 I am. Maybe I should add, buy anti-wrinkle cream to my list, but then that would make my list 28 things and I'm not ready to go there yet.

Are you going to make a things list? Tell me about it.

Love ya!
Kaci

p.s. Everytime a new year rolls around I can't help but sing "It's The End of The World As We Know It" by REM. Haha! That's comforting, right?

Clean Out for Christmas

Since Christmas is peeking it's little gift giving head around the corner, I thought I would remind you that Christmas is peeking it's little gift giving head around the corner... but I guess we covered that.

Now would probably be a good time to get your house rid of your children's toys that they haven't played with in a couple of months to make room for more, new and cooler toys! You will thank yourself later when you trying to find room for all the new toys and having to store them in weird places like the laundry hamper or under the kitchen sink.

Also it's a good time to go through everyone's closets to make room for all the clothes you buy on Black Friday!

Just a little heads up! Get to cleaning!

-Kaci

DIY Gifts: Citrus Salt Body Scrub

Here I go with the scrubs. Not the kind of scrub that's "hanging out of the passenger side of his best friend's ride, trying to holler at me". Love you TLC. No no no. Not that kind of scrub. We are talking about good, lovely, body lovin, exfoliating scrub. This one is made from salt. I also love this scrub very much for its exfoliating factors. I like the citrus smell.

You Will Need:

1 cup of sea salt
3/4 cup of almond oil or light olive oil
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
5-10 drops of essential oils (I might need to be examined for my love of essential oils. I'm using these bad boys in everything. I chose lemongrass for this one and its lovely)
Jar that is air tight- you will want a 10 ounce jar for this recipe.

Step 1:
In a medium bowl mix your oil, lemon zest, orange zest and essential oils together.

Step 2:
Slowly add your salt. It will be a different consistency that the sugar scrub. You will have to mix well before every use on the salt scrub.

Step 3:
Spoon in a cute jar. Remember to put on your label or tag that is might cause the shower surface to get slippery and to stir well before each use.

There you go ladies. If you are wondering why I am doing all of these bath products right at first and the reason is because they are a great alternative to spending a lot of money on the same thing and I personally LOVE all these products, plus you can customize your scent with your essential oils.

Enjoy! Don't forget to share your stories of what you made with me!

Love you!
-Kaci

DIY Gifts: Men's Meat Rub

My husband is awesome in the kitchen and he always puts his special blend of spices to marinate his meats. This gift is easy and you probably have all the ingredients in your spice rack. I got this stainless steel spice shaker because what says men more than stainless steel and meat rub? This is a great gift for the bar-b-queing man.

You Will Need:

1/3 cup of coarse salt
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons garlic salt (we use garlic salt on everything)

Step 1:
To make this easy, I just put all of the ingredients into the shaker.

Step 2:
Shake the spices together to get a good blend.

Whoa! How easy was that?? Almost too easy!

Enjoy!
-Kaci

Make Your Own: Vanilla Extract

I didn't know where to post this. Should I post it under the DIY Gifts? Should I post it in make your own? The reason I was thinking about posting it in the DIY Gifts is because I have a plan to order very cute bottles and put very cute labels on those bottles and give them as gifts. Since this project takes 6-8 weeks to age, I have missed the deadline as giving them as Christmas gifts. I decided to post them under Make Your Own so you can make the decision.

I will update you when I do get those cute bottles and make those cute labels and set them aside for gifts but I really wanted to do this project so I couldn't wait. This is a great gift because it is homemade and who doesn't love a homemade gift? And it is also a great gift because vanilla extract can get expensive. This is perfect to give to your kitchen friendly friends.

You Will Need:

- 1 5"-7" vanilla bean- HEB has vanilla beans but make sure they are moist and flexible because my first try at this, the bean was hard and it was a failure. Vanilla beans can be expensive. I got on eBay and found 25 beans from France for $10.50 and I think that is a very good deal seeing that 1 bean at HEB was $6.

-1 cup of Vodka- I used Monopolowa Vodka because it is of good quality and it's my personal favorite. Another brand of vodka that works well with making your own vanilla extract is Svedka.

- Small air tight jar- I went with an olive oil bottle at Wal-Mart because I am impatient and I really wanted to do this project and didn't want to wait for my cute bottles to ship.

Step 1:
Take your vanilla bean and cut it half

Step 2:
Take each halves and cut them down the middle lengthwise. The good stuff in the middle is called the "caviar". This caviar is what makes the extract.

Step 3:
Put all the vanilla bean pieces in your bottle.

Step 4:
Add 1 cup of vodka

Step 5:
Put your creation up on a window sill for about 6-8 weeks for it to age.

Step 6:
This is a gift that keeps on giving so when your bottle is half full, fill the bottle back up with vodka. You will want to change out your vanilla beans about every 3rd time.


I hope you like this post. I can't wait for mine to age so I can use my handmade vanilla extract in cookies or a cake!

Share the love!
-Kaci

DIY Gifts: Brown Sugar Scrub

I love a good exfoliating scrub. Did you know wrinkles are caused by layers and layers and layer and layers of skin just piled on your skin? And did you know that a good way to combat wrinkles to exfoliate regularly and moisturize? You didn't? Well now you do.

I have always worried about getting wrinkles. I'm not obsessed over it but I do believe that you are never too young to do a little damage control.

A couple things I love about this scrub:

1. It sloughs off the dead skin that the ever so changing Texas weather wrecks havoc on

2. It's moisturizing

3. This is wonderful to shave with (Your legs will be baby butt smooth)

4. You can make this with household ingredients

5. It doesn't cost a fortune to make

If you haven't noticed yet, I like making lists...

So here we go! Like I said before, my camera decided to freak out during these pictures so I will have to reshoot and update with pictures but I wanted to get these DIY gifts on here so y'all can work on them.

Brown Sugar Scrub

You will need:
-1 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
-3/4 cup of light olive oil or almond oil
-1 tablespoon of honey
-5-10 drops of your favorite essential oils (there we go again with those essential oils again. I love 'em. Of course these are optional. I chose eucalyptus.)
-Jar with an air tight lid. I got one at Wal Mart in the food canister isle. I am in the process of ordering cute jars from a company and I will let you know how that works out.

Step 1:
Mix your olive oil or almond oil with your tablespoon of honey and your essential oils.

Step2:
Steadily mix in your brown sugar for a good consistency

Step 3:
Spoon in your mixture in your lovely jar.

Step 4:
Create a cute label or hand write a label. Make sure to include cautions that the scrub can make shower surfaces slippery.

Enjoy!
-Kaci

Oh if you haven't noticed, all of the regularly scheduled posts (i.e. Tip Tuesday, Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner Wednesday and Blog Share Sunday) will be put on hold until I get these DIY Gifts out there in cyber space.

Enjoy!
-Kaci

I'm A Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner! WAHOO!

So I should be working on these blogs that I promsied you guys for the DIY Christmas Gifts but I have a problem... my tedious, step-by-step pictures are no bueno. I don't know what went wrong with my camera but they are all cut in half. Who knows how we got there. Geez! Story of my life I tell ya.

Which reminds me, if any of yall know my husband, please tell him that being surprised with presents on holidays is my absolute favorite thing and that I really really really really really want a Canon T2i camera. They have a really nice package at Sam's with 2 lenses. Not only will I get to capture the lovely moments in our life BUT my blog will look nicer. No more yucky pictures.

The real reason for this post is to announce HOW EXCITED I AM!!!!!!!!!! I WON A KINDLE AT WORK TODAY!!!!! I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!!!!!!

Oh my gosh! My heart is racing just typing those words. I am so excited! I have been wanting a Kindle for a long time now but I'm cheap and I put my own wants on the back burner (I think that's part of being a wife and mother).

Now I guess I need to make myself a case for it since I'm obsessed with sewing and crafting at the moment.

Which reminds me, I have been crafting away at some really cute things for a baby shower and I will share those crafts after the baby shower this weekend. I actually made something cute! I surprised myself definitely!

Ok, back to the reason for this blog....I WON A KINDLE AT WORK TODAY!!!!! I NEVER WIN ANYTHING!!!!!!

So...... because I won a Kindle today, and because I'm so excited, and because I get to be the Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner, and because I need to do a little clean up around my house, and because I think books are things that need to be loved and shared, and because I know that this is probably the longest run on sentence in history, and most importantly because I love my peeps, I will be giving away my books!!!! Be looking forward to lots of books on Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner Wednesdays!

-Kaci

Car Accidents: 101

On November 19, 2010 Clint and I were going on our first dinner by ourselves after Blaze being born. We were excited to get out of the house and have some "adult" time. We got all dressed up, dropped Blaze off at my sister in law's and headed to town. We were sitting still at a red light for about a good minute, catching up on "adult talk" when BOOM!!!! A vehicle "didn't see us stopped", rear ended us and in result pushed us into a utility truck that was sitting in front of us.

The police came. I had to take a lovely ride to the hospital on the most comfortable stretcher with a neck brace on. I thought my whole body was broken. It really is amazing the impact of a vehicle has on your body. Your body aborbs so much energy during a wreck. After x-rays, I was sent home with muscle relaxers, pain killers and a headache that wouldn't quit. Clint didn't go to the hospital because he was trying to be the care taker and make sure I was ok. Men. The minute we walked out of that ER is when we started making mistakes. I had never been in a wreck before where there were injuries so I had no idea what to do next or really what to do at all.

We were told so many different things to do. All the information we got from the responsible party's insurance was, "Pay for all your medical bills and we will reimburse you when there is a settlement made." Ok, I don't know about y'all but we don't necessarily have a disposable income to spend thousands of dollars on medical bills for an accident that wasn't our fault! Sheesh! If that is not enough to make a person turn red then maybe you have blue blood or something. That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! It is MY responsibility to take time off of work, have tests done, go to doctor's visits, AND pay for them while I wait a year or more to get REIMBURSED!!!!! .... Ok, ok Ok, I'm over it.

I had medical insurance but Clint did not. Now try to go to a doctor without having insurance and not have to pay for the doctor's visit up front. So we went to the chiropractor because they deal with these situations all the time and they agreed to bill insurance and not require any money up front. To make a long story very short, we went to the chiropractor for about 3 months each. I was still having problems with my back so I decided to go to the spine specialist and have a MRI. I had 2 bulging discs this whole time and wasted 4 months of not doing anything about it. Clint also waited to have his shoulder looked at because we didn't have the funds. He ended up having shoulder surgery for his injured shoulder.

We do carry Personal Injury Protection and Underinsured Insurance on our personal policies. I would recommend that you make sure your insurance policies have both of these on them. These are VERY important

Here are a couple of tips from my experience should you ever be in a car accident with injuries although I pray that you never do. 

1. Make sure you get ALL of your injuries checked out by a doctor and get the appropriate testing and imaging.

2. Contact a lawyer. Should you have injuries, a lawyer can guide you through the process and handle your business with the other person's insurance. Also if you do not have medical insurance, a lawyer can give the doctor a letter of protection for your medical bill, if they will accept one. Having a lawyer on your side will ease some of your frustrations with the whole process. On most injury cases, the lawyer will just take a portion of your settlement. You shouldn't be out any money up front in legal costs.

3. Be patient. The process will take a long time and the other insurance company will try to get you frustrated with taking their sweet time and get  you to take a lesser offer.

Hope this helps should you be in this situation!

Love,
Kaci

Tip Tuesday: Cleaning A Shower Curtain Liner

If you have hard water like I do then your shower curtain tends to get that nasty hard water stain at the bottom.

Have you tried scrubbing it clean? Worked for hours trying to get all of that off?

Well I have a handy tip for you! Are you ready for this genius idea???? It's exciting!!

THROW IT AWAY!

Shower curtain liners are cheap, like $2 or $3 and it is not worth my time or effort to slave away trying to get that grossness off. I buy a couple of shower curtain liners at a time so I have a stash of them so when I need to replace it, I just toss and replace!

Isn't that helpful?

-Kaci

There Is No "I" In Team

Three things I remember about growing up: music, team roping and sports. Those three things are things that my Dad continues to be VERY passionate about. When I say passionate, I really mean borderline obsessed. It would only make sense that those things would be the things that I'm borderline obsessed with also.

Whatever my Dad did, he strived for perfection. Is strived the right sense of the word? Is it strove? Anyways... After practice in the roping pen, he would rope the dummy until all hours of the night.  We would come home from my sports practices and practice.When he would coach my little league teams and we would talk about the games and whatnot, I remember him always telling me how hard he worked and that "When I was in the 5th grade, I was on the 8th grade basketball team." Another one of my favorites, "Practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect." 

We are pretty hard core and competitive. My competitive nature was the reason I was asked not to play on a church softball league once. They said they were just playing for fun. Well, "just playing for fun" doesn't exactly exist in my vocabulary.

We always went to see the Dallas Mavericks and the Texas Rangers play at their stadiums even when they were both very, very bad teams but we would still root for them and yell at the refs and umps like we were playing right along with them. Clint is embarrassed to go to sporting events with me.

In the year of 2011 my heart cannot stand to swell an ounce more with pride for our Dallas Mavericks and Texas Rangers. Both teams have shown us how hard work and dedication pays dividends and they both did it in a very classy way. They have brought back pride to our Texas sports. While the opponents were trash talking, making jokes about players being sick or hurt and telling reporters the design of their future championship ring, our teams kept a tight lip and kept practicing and focusing on the next game.

Even though the Rangers didn't go all the way, they kept fighting until the very last pitch. The Dallas Mavericks reached the ultimate goal that everyone around them said was unattainable. Everyone but them and all their fans, of course.

Dallas Mavericks & Texas Rangers, thank you for keeping this competitive girl's spirit alive! You are true role models of American sports!

Peace, Love & Competitive Sports! Over and Out!
-Kaci

Blog Share Sunday: Farmer's Almanac

For this week's Blog Share Sunday I'm going to share with you Farmer's Almanac Blog. You can click that link and it takes you directly to it.

I cannot even begin to explain to you the resource that Farmer's Almanac is. Not only does it give you tips and explanations on how and when to grow your own garden but it also covers how to can and preserve fruits and vegetables, helpful tips around the house, organic recipes, the lunar calendar and so much more.

Check it out. You won't be disappointed.

Love you guys!
-Kaci

Make Your Own: All-Purpose Cleaner

I have had the ingredients to make this for a while now but never fit in the time to get it done. I was cleaning the other day and ran out of cleaner and figured there was no better time than now to pause for a blog break.

I love this all purpose cleaner because it doesn't smell like harsh chemicals and you can make it for a few cents. When I use this, my house smells wonderful. You can customize the smell of yours to your favorite essential oil smells.

Ready????

Cast of Characters:

• Castile Soap: This is an olive oil based soap so no harsh chemicals. It's organic, pure and natural. It's lovely. I found this at my local health food store. I believe HEB sells this also in their organic isle. I use the Dr. Bronner's brand. It comes in several different scents but I chose Tea Tree Oil because I like the clean smell. I have started keeping a bottle of this around too because I have found all the different things I can make with it. More tutorials on that stuff later.
• White Vinegar
• Arm & Hammer Washing Soda- I keep a box of this on hand at all times because I use this in my own washing detergent and dishwasher detergent.
• Water- I like water from a distilled jug or a water machine. I have a weird thing about not liking tap water, but you can use tap water if you don't have a weird phobia about it.
• Essential Oils- Personally I like clean smells like eucalyptus, tea tree, lemongrass, lavendar and things of that nature. This is your all-purpose cleaner so you can tailor the smells to your liking. I also bought these essential oils at my local health food store. They usually run about $8 a small bottle but remember they are pure oils and they only take a couple drops to make a big difference so a bottle goes an extremely long way. At a place that sells essential oils, they usually have testers so you can try out which is your favorite smell before you buy. I suggest you do a little research then look for ways to buy it cheaper online or through a catalog that specializes in essential oils.
• Spray Bottle- I used my empty bottle of cleaner. I just ran it through the dishwasher to make sure it was clean of the chemicals that were in it before. If you go buy a spray bottle, pay attention to the ounces. Most are 16 ounces. If that's the case, just cut all the ingredients in half.  

Ok ready! This is so simple and it smells great.

You will need:
-4 tablespoons of vinegar
-2 teaspoons of Arm & Hammer washing soda
-1/2 cup of Castile soap
-32 ounces of hot water
-5-10 drops of essential oils


Step 1:
I used a tea pitcher to mix all my ingredients in. I put my 4 tablespoons of vinegar in and then put my 2 teaspoons of Arm & Hammer washing soda and mixed them together until the washing soda was dissolved.

Adding the washing soda

In goes the vinegar

It fizzles when both are mixed together

Step 2:
To make my water hot, I ran it through my iced tea maker. Or you can use your coffee pot, boil your water on the stove or if your water from the faucet gets really hot you can use that. Just make sure there are no tea bags or coffee in your makers! That would be bad!

Step 3:
Measure out 32 ounces of your hot water.

Step 4:
Pour in the hot water.

Step 5:
Pour in your 1/2 cup of Castile Soap

Step 6:
Mix in your 5-10 drops of essential oils. Experiment with the mixture. Essential oils are a wonderful thing.

Step 7:
Give everything a good stir.

Step 8:
Pour the ingredients into your spray bottle.
(I must have deleted the picture for this step but I'm sure you know how to pour liquid into a bottle. :) )

So there you have it! Are you ready for your cleaning world to be turned upside down??? Are you excited??? Are you doing a dance? No? Is it just me? Yes? Dang!

Enjoy!
-Kaci

In Case You Missed It: October 2011

Here is a list of blogs from the month of October. Each title has a link to its position on the blog so you can find it easy peasy.

Posted on 10/4/11
Poor, Lonely Recipe Box

Posted on 10/7/11
And Now Introducing Characters of the Johnson Family

Posted on 10/11/11
Operation: Feed the Family

Posted on 10/13/11
Lucky You, Horseshoe! Giveaway

Posted on 10/17/11
Battle of the Bulge

Posted on 10/18/11
Tougher Than The Rest... Much Tougher

Posted on 10/19/11
New Member Of Our Family: Vegas

Posted on 10/20/11
Do It Yourself Gift Series

Posted on 10/21/11
Dutch Oven

Posted on 10/22/11
Blog About A Blog

Posted on 10/23/11
Blog Share Sunday: Bandster Momma

Posted on 10/25/11
Tip Tuesday: Bobby Pins

Posted on 10/26/11
Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner Wednesday: Be Kool Patches

Posted on 10/27/11
Boo At The Zoo

Posted on 10/30/11
Blog Share Sunday: The Pioneer Woman

Posted on 10/31/11
History of Halloween

There you have it! There is October 2011's In Case You Missed It!

Love ya!
-Kaci

DIY Gifts: Felt Rosette

I will start off the DIY Christmas gift series with this felt rosette tutorial. It is so easy, a monkey could do it.

I have done my homework and we are starting with the felt rosettes to get you used to the concept. We will explore different shapes of the felt rosette and the fabric rosettes later but I think this is a good starting point. Felt is easy to use because it sticks to itself so you don't have to worry about constantly gluing like you do the fabric ones.

I liked using the felt so much that I have expanded the DIY Christmas Gifts to several other projects using the felt like: plush owls, owl credit card holders and several other things.

Not only will we be using this for other Christmas projects, this can be a stand alone project too. Here are some ideas:

- spruce up gift wrapping

- attach to a headband

- put on a safety pin to make a cute broach

- attach to a hair clip

- put it on a shirt

- put magnets on the back for refrigerator magnets

I could go on and on and your imagination is the limit.

Fabric Rosette Tutorial

Easy Factor: Easiest

Supplies Needed:
- 1 piece of felt in your fave color- usually 20 cents at Wal-Mart or craft stores
- scissors
- fabric glue or hot glue

Total cost of project: Under a dollar

Step 1:
Cut a circle out of the felt. This size is up to you on how big you want your rosette. You can find things all around your house as a guide to make your circle. For example: CD, canister, jar....

Step 2:
You will cut a swirly design into your felt. In the middle you will leave the circle for the back of your rosette.

Step 3:
This part depends on how you want your rosette to look. For a tall and skinny rose, start with the middle of your felt. For a short and wider rose, start with the outside. Whichever end you decide to start with, you will roll your felt.

Step 4:
Once you've reach the end, you will dab a little glue to secure your rosette.

Step 5:

Cut a small circle of felt for the back and place glue on it and attach to back.

Step 6:

Put these little rosettes wherever your heart desires!

Wasn't that easy peasy? Remember, you imagination is your limit and these little rosettes add a cute touch to almost anything.

Enjoy!
-Kaci

Pet Health: Making the Decision to Own An Animal

My pets are very important to me and I consider them members of our family. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for animals. I was the little girl bringing home strays all the time to give them a loving home. I've had dogs, cats, horses, cows, rabbits, hamsters, mice, fish... you name it, I had it. Except snakes. Snakes and I don't jive. Never have, never will.

Being that our domestic animals depend on us for all their needs, this series of blogs is going to be about pet health. I will break them down in segments for 2 reasons:

1. I don't want to bog you down with info.

2. Each segment is important enough to warrant it's own blog.

Upcoming blogs will be about: vaccinations, heart worm prevention, spay & neutering, oral health, grooming and anything else that I come up with in between. You just never know what I will come up with.
After working in a veterinary clinic for a couple years I found that people didn't take care of their animals. It wasn't because they didn't love their animals, there is an abundance of people that love their animals just as much and more than I do. It was just that they were ignorant to their needs. Remember, ignorance means uneducated. I'm not insulting anybody here. This is an insult-free bliggity blog.

I always thought that a seminar or a pamphlet with the information that you need to know about owning an animal would be beneficial to pet owners so here is my online seminar.

Many pet owners find themselves with a large vet bill and/or a dead animal when they could have easily prevented the illness or condition with a little maintenance. It's just like us going to the doctor except we can verbalize what hurts or what's wrong or what our needs are. Pets can't so they need us to pay attention to their needs.

There are many things to consider when thinking about owning an animal. You have to be realistic. I would have 1,000 animals if I could. I would pick up every single stray animal and save all the animals from the pound that are to be euthanized but that's just not possible for many reasons. Here are a few things that you will need to make sure that you can handle before deciding to take on the responsibility of owning an animal or adding an animal to your brood.

1. Can you afford the animal?
Take into consideration the money that it will take to care for the animal properly.

Can you afford the food it requires? Big dogs eat LOTS of food and they do need the nutritional benefits that the cheap dog foods don't offer. Believe it or not but cheap dog food can lead to other health issues in the future. Good dog food is very important.

Can you afford the vet expenses? Animals need yearly vaccinations, monthly heart worm prevention medication, they need to be spayed or neutered, flea and tick prevention, and they may need grooming.

Can you afford the grooming expenses? Long haired dogs and cats do need grooming. If you do not maintain their coat, they will develop mats which can create hot spots. Hot spots are painful for the animal and sometimes require the attention of a vet for medication to treat the hot spot.

2. Do you have time for the dog?
Without the proper love and attention that a domestic animal needs, several things can develop in the animals behavior. It might act out by tearing up things, it is less likely to become potty trained, it might learn an aggressive behavior, among many other things. Domestic animals are very different than animals such as cows, horses, pigs and so on. We have trained our domestic animals to be a part of our life and when we don't give them the proper attention, they revert to the basic animal instincts. Fight or flight is a basic animal instinct and all they know to do is react.

3. Does the animal work with your family dynamic?
Whatever your family dynamic might be, you need to make sure that your animal fits well into it. Would you adopt an abused, problem animal with a newborn baby in the house without the proper time or facilities for the animal? Probably not. Common sense is a wonderful thing and it being used while taking your new animal into consideration would be helpful for a happy family.

4. Do you have room for the animal?
Research the needs of your animal. A cat is pretty versatile in the ways that they can pretty much live anywhere because of their independence: in the house, outside, both. We just recently adopted a border collie that comes from a long line of working cow dogs. Border collies need a job, lots of attention, and lots of room to play. A person that cannot give the animal their social and developmental needs would probably need to consider another breed.

So, there is is part 1 of our Pet Health Series. Feel free to discuss this on the blog or email me with any questions. If I don't have an answer for you, I know plenty of people that do.

-Kaci