Artful Rising

Cooking with Paula Deen

Erika — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:05:05 +0000

I get to cook with Paula Deen every day.

My parents gave me the Paula Deen Signature Cookware Set for Christmas and I tell my husband that I get to cook with Paula every day. I don’t use as much cream cheese or butter as she does in her recipes but it is still fun. I don’t appear on tv with her which is good because I don’t have to worry about tv weight or fixing my hair.

Several of her recipes are our favorites and if eaten in moderation you can still eat a balanced meal.

I like this Paula Deen Cookbook Stand for holding my cookbooks and recipes — so much better than using my salt shaker to hold the book open!

Mom and I like to look through and pick out something to cook from Christmas with Paula Deen. I am not sure if this is the one we have — does she have more than one Christmas cookbook? But her holiday dishes surprisingly are not that difficult if you are willing try something new. I prefer the desserts (of course).

So, I cook with Paula every day while I lose weight and she announces she has diabetes. Maybe she ought to cook with me more often:)

QUESTION: What is your favorite recipe and ingredient?

Stealing From a Cat

Erika — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:30:04 +0000

I had already been feeding and watching over one outside cat when I took a male cat in for a TNR (trap-neuter-release). The male cat decided he rather enjoyed our front porch and my daughter named him Harry Potter. So, in celebration I went out and purchased two stainless steel food bowls. And they were stolen from our front porch.

The thief apparently terrified the cats because they went in hiding for two days and I finally found the elderly Cali in the backyard shed. And she refused to come back to the front yard for several days.

Harry Potter just wanted his food and claimed his basket once again.

His peeking his head over the basket is what inspired this design for a BeadedTail journal:

I want to know, who steals from kitties?

I went back to the store and this time I picked up ceramic bowls since the ceramic water bowl was left behind. Aren’t they cute?

Hopefully these will stay on the porch.

QUESTION: What special things do you get for your furry friends?

Why You Ought to Keep a Journal

Erika — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:05:55 +0000

journal by Artful Rising

Last year I began to research book making and journal ideas for the Artful Rising shop. I love to journal and I saw this as a necessary tool when working with troubled youth. Sharla, of BeadedTail, and I decided to work together to create journals that would touch on the hearts and minds of our target audiences.

What is a Journal & Why Should I Keep One?

A journal is a way for you to keep track of your thoughts and feelings of a certain situation or experience. For the purposes of this post, a journal is way to write out those thoughts — it does not have to be in anything particularly fancy or expensive to be effective. I like to write with a particular pen and on particular paper but these are just preferences.

There are no rules when writing in YOUR journal. I have one that is strictly for writing and others where I paint the pages and then write in them later. Both are viable and allow you to express yourself in the way that fits your needs.

personal photo of art journal page

I rarely use prompts for my journaling. Since I tend to blog and guest blog on heavy topics I see these as journaling to prompts and I use my home journals for the random things that pop into my head; discussions with my husband, something I saw or read, how I felt about an event. There is no right or wrong way.

If you need a journal with prompts, I will be adding some to the Artful Rising shop soon:)

*Tell Your Story — One of the themes you find in Artful Rising is the need to tell your story. We all have a story to share and as a listener I am enthralled by what people have to say once they open up. A journal allows you to share your story and you can keep it for yourself if you wish.

*Practice Writing — I have a friend that wants to be a published writer. She has been told that the act of writing every day is a great way to improve her writing and test out ideas. Journaling is a great way to do this activity.

*Gather Your Inspiration — Some of my favorite posts have come from my journal writing. I noticed a recurring theme or a moving statement and I brought it to my computer.

*Get in Touch with Self — Not to sound too woo-woo or anything but there is something wonderful about getting through all of the muck and mess in our lives. I tend to ask a question when I begin writing and find that by the time I put my pen down I have answered the question or had insight into why something happened. I was in high school when I wrote a published piece. The imagery from that poem came from my questions about self.

*Follow Jenny — Jenny Matlock has her own writing style and her link parties are great ways to spur imagination. Check out her site and follow along with the rest of us.

*Keep Track of Goals — If you are struggling with meeting your goals try writing down what you are doing, how you are feeling, and look back over the journal entries to find a recurring pattern.

If you are interested in art journaling you can check out this page for supplies.

QUESTION: Why do you write?

This is for Jenny Matlock’s alphabet series.

Yummy Easy Meatloaf — Transform It Tuesday

Erika — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:02:32 +0000

Tasty Meatloaf the Kids Ask For

I suffer from acid reflux and meat is not always my friend. I need it to not be too greasy or too big a portion (thank you My Fitness Pal for helping me with this!) and I always eat any meat dish with a ton of veggies to balance out the animal protein/fat. My honey likes his meat and meatloaf meets that need. Thankfully, this is tasty, fast, and even my kids eat it!

Easy Peasy and Yummy Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds ground beef

1 small can, 100% Natural Tomato Paste

Lipton Onion Soup Mix, one packet

3 TBSP, 100% Natural Ketchup

1/4 cup, plain bread crumbs

black pepper

How To:

Gather the ingredients. In a large bowl, add the room-temperature ground beef, breadcrumbs,

breadcrumbs make things taste better

add the Ketchup. Then add the KAPOW! (my description) Lipton Onion Soup Mix.

the kapow!

Mix the ingredients together. Form a loaf and pat into the loaf pan. Spread the all important tomato paste over the top.

the important topping

Sprinkle with a bit of black pepper. Cover with foil and back for about 35 minutes. Uncover and cook for 5-10 minutes.

ready for the oven

This will make six servings and each serving is:

calories: 372 carbs: 17 fat: 22 protein: 23

QUESTION: What have you transformed today?

It’s a Wrap Link Party — 1/23/2012

Erika — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:02:24 +0000

I like Mondays. They are like birthdays with the previous week’s activities freshly wrapped and gifted in our memory bank; ready to teach, inspire, and motivate us for the new week. So, I started It’s a Wrap Link Party as a way to share one of your posts from the past week. It does not have to be a tutorial or a recipe; simply something that you would like to share with others.

I teamed up with two people to transform different ideas into reality and created journals. This only happened once I decided that it was possible and unless I tried I would never know what people had to say about them. You know–you never know until you try! Sometimes it can be a challenge to let go of inhibitions.

To date I have lost six pounds following my weight loss goal. I exercise, monitor my calories, and REFUSE to restrict my food. That has never worked long-term for me in the past.

I am amazed by this crocheted piece of the Lord’s Prayer. Can you imagine how long it would take to do this? Check it out on Homemaker on a Dime.

I purchased turquoise colored organizing things for my new craft room and thought the organizing tips on A Mom Knows were great.

I don’t have much use for my china cabinet and thought about getting rid of it–I have only used the china twice but I like the transformation of this hutch by Cherished Treasures. I like how cozy the space seems.

Of course, you will be really cozy with these two cuties at Honey from the Bee. Aren’t they adorable?

And I may have discovered that donuts don’t make me feel that great but I will make these for tea parties with my kids. Karima’s Crafts has an easy tutorial for making non-caloric donuts! It is not my fault if you start craving donuts.

QUESTION: What have you done for yourself this week?

I know you are ready to party so here goes!
Etiquette for parties:
1. Link to the URL of the specific blog post not your blog, etsy shop, or other site in general
2. Link back to this blog somewhere on your blog or in the post.
3. Do not link to your link party. You don’t go to a wedding and pass out your invitations, do you?
4. Try to visit at least one other visitor and leave a comment. It is fun to visit and maybe you will be asked to stay for tea! I like mine sweet:)