My Newest Favorite Beauty "Find"

I'm a busy, busy mom like many of you, so when I find a product that gets me out the door faster by removing a few steps in my hectic day, I want to share it with everyone.

Here's a new beauty product I absolutely love. I use it to replace my primer, concealer, and makeup. No one is paying me to say this, but L'oreal's "BB Cream" [stands for Beauty Balm] is fantastic. One step equals three products I can "X" out of my morning routine (that is, on the days I decide to wear makeup). It's great to even out my complexion.

Another happy part is that you can buy it at your local drugstore.

Give it a try to speed up your routine in the a.m.

TCB

Puppy Love

I wrote a few months ago about our beloved golden retriever, Molly, who died. We still miss her, but I promised my son that by the end of the summer, he could have a new puppy. So here goes.

Hello, Happy.

Nothing like a little diversion in the form of a puppy.

We have always had American golden retrievers. They love to play outside, roll in the grass (and other undesirable things), fetch a ball, and generally run around like a good country dog should.

Happy is an English golden retriever. She has not wanted to go outside. The grass is too wet. The darkness is too dark. Why can't I pee inside instead? We have been pulling her along on the leash to force her to go outside. Inside is her heaven. So I have threatened to paint her toenails pink, like a frou-frou doggie.

All that changed on Labor Day. My son and Mr. Country Belle took Happy outside to the river, paddled away in the canoe, and let her see what her retriever roots were all about.

Yeah, baby. This is what it's all about.

I'm no longer threatening her with a girly manicure. She appears to be a full-blooded retriever at heart.

And I'll admit I love having a little-bitty baby puppy to give a bath post-rivertime (well, at least as little-bitty as a future big dog can ever be).

Hope your Labor Day was as fun as ours.

Love,
TCB

Crockpot Chicken, Rotisserie-Style

A few months back when I blogged about cooking whole Cornish hens in the crockpot, my sister, Brandy, mentioned that she has cooked a whole bird without water in the crockpot. I gave it a try, and the results were great. Here's how to do it:

Crockpot Chicken, Rotisserie-Style



Whole chicken
6-7 sheets of aluminum foil
olive oil or canola oil
fresh herbs - rosemary and thyme (or your choice)
sea salt, black pepper

Wash and pat the chicken dry. While still in the sink, sprinkle oil over the bird and rub in with your hands. (If you want clean hands, you can "paint" the oil onto the bird with a brush). Sprinkle it all over with salt and pepper.

Ball up six or seven sheets of aluminum foil and place them in the bottom of the crockpot, covering the entire surface. The chicken will rest on them and not touch the bottom of the cooker.

Place the chicken into the crockpot. I usually have to position it slightly sideways so the lid will fit on the crockpot. The chicken should be resting on top of the balls of aluminum foil.

Sprinkle the herbs over the top and sides of the bird.  I cut rosemary and thyme stems from my garden and leave them intact. That way, I can remove them when it's time to take out the chicken and cut it up.

Cook the chicken on low heat all day. Mine usually stays in about 8-9 hours, but a little less should be fine, too.

This is great as the main entree for the evening, and leftover chicken can be cut up and incorporated into a chicken casserole later in the week. Two meals in one - my favorite!

Happy eating,
TCB

P.S. This is a healthy way to cook chicken, too!

Snapshots of Summertime

Today is the first day of our homeschool year. (I am crying inside).

It's sad to see our summer break zipped by. Here are a few photos - we're reminiscing around here (and I'm learning how to be "smarter than a 5th grader.")

Happy School Year, everyone.

Love,
TCB

Life in the Country

I'm feeling a little sentimental today. My son is away for a few days, it's raining outside, and I'm pulling together the finishing touches on the homeschool curriculum and realizing there's only a few days left before the school year starts.

So I'm thinking about what I'm grateful for - and that includes living in the country with all the great opportunities and natural elements that affords me and my family. So today, you get a rural rendezvous of what I love most about summer in the Southern South (is that enough alliteration for you?).

Rare spider lilies grow in the river behind our house. Not many people in the world get to see these live!

Fishing.

No, I'm not thankful for copperheads. I'm thankful for weed-whackers that can get copperheads before they can get Mr. Country Belle.

Flower gardens.

Vegetable gardens.

Our chickens. First, because they give us fresh, organic eggs every day. Second, because they are such great stress relievers. Ever watch chickens take a dust bath or try to peck insects out of each other's mouths? Hilarious!

Blackberry Cobbler.

Make your own list of what you're thankful for - just for today.

Love,
TCB

Homeschooling 5th Grade

This time of year, I usually share my homeschool curriculum picks for the upcoming academic year. This year, my son will be in 5th grade. Here's what we're focused on:

Math - Saxon Math 6/5
Grammar - Shurley English 5
Bible - Precept Ministries, "Boy, Have I Got Problems" Book of James
Typing - Typing Instructor for Kids
History - The Story of the World, Vol 2: The Middle Ages
Science - Exploring Creation with Astronomy
Spanish - Outside class
Latin 2 - Outside class
Reading - King Arthur, Robin Hood, Adam of the Road
Writing - Medieval History-Based Writing Lessons, Institute for Excellence in Writing
Spelling - All About Spelling Level 1
Art History - Outside class

I always enjoy seeing others' curriculum because it gives me ideas and introduces me to books I may not know about.

Have a happy weekend,
TCB

Hemp Heart Cookies

I tried a new recipe this weekend - a healthy cookie! I found the original recipe in some material that was mailed to me when I purchased hemp heart seeds from hemphearts.com. You can also buy hemp hearts at almost all health food grocery stores now. As usual, I altered the recipe somewhat to suit my family's taste.

Hemp heart seeds are a great source of protein, so these cookies have the added  bonus of filling you up. You can't eat many of these!

Hemp Heart Cookies

2/3 cup brown sugar
one egg, beaten
1/2 cup melted, cooled butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
one cup hemp hearts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the first three ingredients, blending well. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, cinnamon, and hemp hearts together. Add the dry mix to the wet mixture, stirring just until mixed.

Spoon a tablespoon of dough at a time onto a greased cookie sheet, flattening slightly with the back of the spoon. Allow room between cookies because the dough will spread. Bake until the edges are crispy. For my batch, that took about 10 minutes. Just keep your eye on them.

Let cool slightly.

Delicious and a healthy treat!

Enjoy,
TCB