Classic Macaroni Salad | Recipe

Have you been enjoying your summer? I can't believe that it's nearly coming to an end and that school will be starting in two weeks for us! 

Over the summertime we like to attend cookouts (or some of you may call them barbecue's), I mean, who doesn't!? When attending a cookout, family reunion or another fun summer event with food, I like to eat macaroni salad. Now, my husband is weird with cold salads-- he will only eat them if there is no veggies (besides carrot and celery) and fruit in them. I don't think he likes the texture of them with being mixed in with cold noodles. 

Overcoming Depression {Part 3}: Discovering/Remembering Your Identity

Welcome to part 3 of my mini blog series: Overcoming Depression. A couple weeks ago I shared with you my personal story on struggling with depression. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to jump over here and read it. Part 2 is all about Renewing Your Mind, have you had a chance to read it yet?
Today is Part 3, which I titled Discovering/Remembering Your Identity. I titled it this way because some of us have never really discovered our true identity, and some of us have, but lost sight of it along the way. I am one of those who had discovered my identity, but "lost it". I had to re-identitify myself.

Chicken Salisbury Steaks | Recipe

This recipe is so delicious and easy to make, plus it can be used with either ground beef, turkey or chicken. This is a family recipe, so you'll find it under my Family Recipes tab, where you'll find other great recipes! I grew up with my mom always making it with ground beef. I typically use a lean ground turkey when I make it, but one day I decided to use ground chicken because I had it on hand. It turned out great! This meal is great served with potatoes (we loved mashed) and a vegetable.

Overcoming Depression {Part 2}: Renewing Your Mind

Welcome to part 2 of my mini blog series: Overcoming Depression. Last week I shared with you my personal story on struggling with depression. If you haven't read it yet, feel free to jump over here and read it. 

So today I want to talk more in depth on how I personally overcame depression and how I am free from those chains. Part 2 is titled "Renewing Your Mind". Now to do this, it isn't a one-time decision and you automatically are free and have a new mind set. Instead, it's a daily decision that you have to choose to make-- in your life you have choices. You may not always get to choose what happens in your life, for instance tragedies, getting laid off your job or becoming ill, but you do have the choice on your outlook on those circumstances and life in general. Renewing your mind involves making daily decisions to think positive and hope-filled thoughts towards everything in life. How do you get to deciding that you even want to think positively when it's hard enough to get out of bed every morning and even have the drive to live?

 

Overcoming Depression {Part 1}: My Story

Thanks for stopping by and joining me in this journey of telling my story of how I have struggled with depression in the past, how I overcame it and how to live a joyful life. Since this is my first post in this "series", please bare with me as I get personal with my story. I hope to be open and honest and at the same time not all over the place so that you are able to follow along easily. I also hope to be a light and encouragement to anyone whom may be going through depression currently.

Short Update & Sneak Peak of Upcoming Blog Series

A lot has happened in my life since I last posted-- I wanted to be more consistent with blogging and had every intention to, but then it just didn't happen. This summer has been so full and busy, and I'm loving every minute of it. The most major event in my life was that I had a breast reduction done. I'm not quite sure if I want to blog about my experience with it (I haven't decided yet), but I will tell you that my life has majorly changed for the better and I am healing quite nicely. To be back pain free and be able to wear tops/dresses that I've never been able to wear before have been so great and I wish I could have done this surgery sooner.

Over the next few weeks I want to get real personal and talk about something you might not always feel open to talking about with others. I think a good amount of women struggle with depression or anxiety at different times in their life. Whether an event happened in their life that brought it on like a death in the family, postpartum depression after having a baby, or it just slowly happened over time because you are not where you want to be in life and you didn't even realize it was happening.

Learning to Hold Your Tongue {Part 2}

It's been a couple of months since I have last blogged. I guess I kinda felt like I needed a break from blogging, but now I feel refreshed and I am going to try to start being more consistent again!

Since I last blogged, I have been continuing to learn how to hold my tongue and to watch what I say. It's been hard, and I have failed many times these past couple of months. I'm a work in progress and thank goodness for God's grace and forgiveness (and my family's). Anyhow, this morning my husband and I watched Joel Osteen preach. I think you either like the guy or you don't, but in my opinion I really like listening to his sermons and believe in him and his ministry. Guess what he preached on? Yup! How to tame the tongue. He really got into it and made both my husband I really think even deeper with the meaning and importance of taming your tongue.

Learning to Hold Your Tongue

The saying is kind of silly isn't it? But in essence, it means to remain silent. Like me, do you find yourself in situations where if you spoke your mind it would just end up getting you into trouble? I'm an emotional person, I tend to react right away and sometimes it can be pretty intense. Not extreme, I don't think, but definitely a little over the top which I am and have been working on. As I have grown over the years, I have found that not reacting right away and taking the situation to prayer and council with my heavenly father and loved ones (usually my husband and my mom), it helps me to handle the situation much better. If not, I would end up saying something I either regretted or I would just get myself really worked up with anger or sometimes sadness.

Creamy Cheesy Broccoli Soup | The Best Tasting & Easiest Recipe Ever!

Are you looking for the best broccoli cheese soup? Congratulations, you have found it! This soup is hands down the best broccoli cheese soup we have ever had-- my mom has been making this soup for as long as I can remember and is always requested by my husband quite often, year round. It's super easy to make and will for sure impress your family, friends and dinner guests!

I'm Going to Stop Stressing Over Daily Routines

Throughout my whole life, I feel that I always had a routine and a certain schedule. Whether it be a weekly routine (cleaning and doing laundry on certain days of the week, attending church on Sundays and Wednesday nights, going to softball practice and piano lessons), or it being a daily routine (gotta do x, y, z at certain times in a certain order). I think I just function better with a routine, and even pushed that onto my kids. I was so strict with my kids' schedules and routines when they were babies. For example, I wouldn't miss nap time and kept it the same each day. Over the past couple of years, I've noticed that if an activity is done out of order or at a different time in the day, my oldest child realizes it and says "It's not time," or "That's not how we do things".  Notice how before, I just said "I think I just function better with a routine".

Game Day Homemade Chicken Meatballs with a Sweet Hot BBQ Sauce

The Superbowl is quickly approaching, and if you're looking for game day foods to serve at your Superbowl party, your guests will love these homemade chicken meatballs! You can add any sauce you would like with them (prepared bbq sauce) or you can make the sauce we used. If you're not a fan of ketchup, you may want to use a different bbq sauce!

Olive Garden Chicken and Gnocchi Soup | Copycat Recipe

One of my favorite soups ever is Olive Garden's chicken and gnocchi soup. We don't get there quite as often, but when we do, I usually always end up with a bowl of their creamy and delicious chicen and gnocchi soup.  I recently decided to make this soup at home for the first time, and I cannot believe how easy it was to make, plus how much it tasted just like Olive Garden's. My husband was so pleased and impressed and agrees, it's just like Olive Garden's! Read below for the recipe and make sure you read on how you can make the creaminess thicker or thinner to your liking. 

How To Make Monkey Bread in a Spring Form (Cheesecake) Pan | + A Recipe

I recently wanted to make homemade monkey bread, but do not own a bundt pan and so I had to improvise. I decided that using my spring form pan was maybe an option and came up with a way to make it work! You'll need a spring form pan, tin foil, an oven proof ceramic coffee mug or glass mason jar or clean empty food can, and a cookie sheet to place the spring from pan on. 

The Pros and Cons of Cyber Schooling

As you may know, my oldest child is in second grade and since she started school (Kindergarten), our daughter has "attended" a cyber school at home. This being the third year of cyber schooling, I thought I would gather a list of pros and cons and share them with you. Keep in mind, this is from my personal experience and can only be based off of early elementary school. I can't say the same experience and pros and cons would be the same for intermediate school and high school.

Thank You God for Grandparents, They are So Special

Grandparents hold a special place in any grandchild's heart. I was blessed to have 4 wonderful grandparents growing up-- my family has always been close, and it helped that we all lived within 10 minutes of each other. My family saw my grandparents frequently growing up, and I loved it. I loved going over to their houses and spending time with them, making memories and also hearing stories of their childhood and family from when they were little. I think I asked to sleep over at their houses on the weekends quite often, and would be the happiest when they said yes and included me in their weekend plans. Whether it was to go grocery shopping, do Saturday cleanings of the house or even to go out to dinner or go play bingo, I loved sleeping over at my grandparents houses.

Flamingo Valentine's Day Craft for Kids

It's already mid-January, and before you know it, Valentine's Day will be here! My kids love doing crafts and recently received a huge art bin full of fun craft supplies for Christmas, so I wanted to come up with a fun craft to make that had a Valentine's Day theme.  This flamingo Valentine's Day crafts is so easy to make and doesn't require a ton of art supplies. Plus, your child will have fun making it!

Simple Hummus without Tahini

My family loves eating hummus! It's one of our go-to snacks, paired with carrots, pita or pita crackers. I started making my own hummus recently and quickly realized this was going to save us money compared to buying store bought hummus. Plus, it's fun for my 7 year old daughter to help me make (she actually made some all by herself with me observing).

Welcome to My Song, My Strength

Well, you may have noticed a few changes around here....like for instance the name change and new look! It's a new year and I'm ready to start a fresh new blog, with a whole new mission and purpose. While I was blessed to work with many great companies and clients on my previous blog Housewife on a Mission, I quickly realized it was becoming more of a business and chore and in my life. There were so many days I dreaded opening my computer because I wanted to avoid the "work" that needed to be done and the hundreds of emails that needed to be responded to. I lost the passion for writing, even though there were so many other topics and things I wanted to write about that motivate me, such as my Christian walk with God, food allergy awareness/education and providing more recipes-- all the things I love to talk about, but sadly just didn't have the extra time to write about them.