Healthy Food Series: Kids Love Pasta Salad

About a year ago, I was going through a hard time in the kitchen where it didn't matter what I made, or how good it was, someone in the house complained about it. So, I made up this recipe in my efforts to get out of my cooking "slump". This is one of my all time favorite summer dishes to make because it is quick and easy, is loaded with a ton of great veggies, is hearty enough for my husband to eat it as a meal with a glass of milk, and everyone in my family likes it... a lot! My four year old has told me on more than one occasion, "This is my favorite food, better than pizza." Anyway, I hope you like it!

Keep it healthy!
Kristin

Salad:

1/2 package high-fiber whole wheat noodles any medium sized shape
2 cups frozen peas
1/2 a red, orange or yellow bell pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
(add more veggies that your kids like)
4 oz feta cheese well crumbled
20 (or so)kalamata olives chopped
chopped walnuts

Vinaigrette:
1/2 tsp each dried basil and oregano
pinch of garlic granules (or powder)
2 1/2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
5 Tbsp Olive oil*
plenty of salt and pepper to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and put back in the cooking pot. Meanwhile make the vinaigrette and set aside until the noodles are done then pour over noodles. Add the peas and mix until the noodles cool off a bit. Then chop and add the rest of your veggies, olives and cheese. You can serve it right away, but it does taste better after the flavors have a chance to meld for an hour or so in the fridge. Taste to check for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Dish it up and top with nuts right before serving. Complete your protiens with a glass of milk and enjoy. :) YUM!

*{I know this sounds like a lot of oil, but the salad needs it to keep the vinegar from destroying the pasta and it really doesn't taste greasy, I promise... and I could go on with the fat isn't bad thing, but you all watched Dr. Lustig's video... right?} ;)

Friday Fun!

I made a treasury this week:




and I was featured in two treasuries this week {Thank you Lisa of Leyton Smiles and Barb of Quilted Hugs Bibs!! } {Go EtsyKids Team!}:






Keep it fun!
Kristin

Bloom: Teacher! Teacher! Oh, You're Talking to Me!

Last week, I had the remarkable experience of teaching a classroom full of 4 year olds at our church's Vacation Bible School Program, A.K.A. Summer Blast.

What a wonderful, challenging {and tiring} time it was!  Since this was my first 'real' teaching experience and Mondays being what they are... the first day was a little sketchy. But by Tuesday, I had my sea-legs (so to speak) and thanks in large part to Linnea and Carol, things went great.  By Friday, 14 of my little ones prayed to Jesus and told him they were sorry for the things they had done wrong, and that they wanted to do what Jesus wanted them to do. {Humbling!!!}  {Wow!}

Only God knows how much of it will stick, but at least there were seeds planted in those precious little hearts.

 But Jesus said, "Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children." Matthew 19:14 NLT

Here's a video clip from our time in the worship center singing to Jesus:

I was really blessed to have all the helpers in my class that I did.  Gloria and Hannah had such dear quiet spirits about them that helped calm kids down when separation anxiety struck, Brandy just jumped right in and saw what needed to be done and did it, Grace had the awesome idea to quietly sing Jesus Loves Me when we were walking from one part of the church campus to another {It quieted those kids right down!}, Carol with her 20 years of teaching experience helped me through the logistics of classroom management, and Linnea made sure I had everything I needed.  The people you serve with, become your friends and you help each other out....

Keep on Bloomin'!
Kristin

Craft: New Bows Available Now at Love in Bloom Boutique

It has been a while since I added new items to my shop so I added a couple...
Keep it Crafty!

Kristin

Show Stopper

Show Stopper (Too)

Featured Artist: Little Sapling Toys

Good morning!  

I'd like to introduce to you Nick and Kimber of Little Sapling Toys on this fine day.  They make all kids of wonderful natural wood toys including those ASL blocks, I included in a post a couple of weeks back.   If you would like to purchase anything from their Etsy shop, use the code LUVBLO10 to get a 10% discount between now and August 15th.

On Etsy

What do you make and what was/is the inspiration for your shop? We make wood teethers, blocks and developmental toys for young children. Our beginning inspirations included the thrill of entrepreneurship, beautiful design and our own young son.

What instances helped give you the confidence/motivation to pursue this as a career?  In 2005-2006, Nick and I traveled around the country remodeling bathrooms as an install crew for AmBath, LLC. While living in hotels and eating in restaurants daily, we would constantly talk about the businesses; what we would keep, change and how we would run things. This experience was the foundation for running a smart business with consumers in mind.

Organic Driving Toy

What is your vision for the future of your business?  We expect our retail growth to stay strong while we continue to develop new toy designs. We are currently scouting for locations within our beautiful city of Sheboygan, WI to set up our wood shop and have retail space available to the community.

What is your connection to the Deaf community? If none, how did you come up with the idea for your wonderful ASL blocks?  We have used basic sign language with our children and loved using the ASL alphabet as a teaching aid. Our ASL "I Love You" teether was an instant hit with our customers, we made our beautiful alphabet blocks, then Braille blocks and ASL alphabet blocks were a natural to follow.

Are you trained as an artist?  If yes, what degree(s) or certificates do you hold and where did you earn it/them? If no, how did you learn to make the items you offer in your shop?  I design the toys with no formal artistic training. I can just see the beauty and utility potential when I imagine the wood. Nick runs the shop and makes toys with a degree in Historic Preservation and Restoration Carpentry. He also worked as a cabinet maker at the time we started Little Sapling Toys. We are a brilliant team.

Personalized Camera

What is one thing you will be going out of your way to learn more about in the coming year to benefit your business?  Law (namely intellectual property and safety standards)

What steps are you taking to ensure your products follow applicable child safety laws?  We've had our toys XRF tested (by ESSCO Safety Check) and we are working on getting certified testing later this year. One of the reasons we invested in a laser engraver is so that we can label our toys in compliance with CPSIA standards.

Here are myriad of  places you can find Nick and Kimber on the web:

www.littlesaplingtoys.com                       

www.facebook.com/littlesaplingtoys

www.littlesaplingtoys.etsy.com

www.littlesaplingtoys.tumblr.com/

www.twitter.com/littlesaplings

www.littlesaplingtoys.blogspot.com
www.flickr.com/littlesaplingtoys
www.pandora.com/people/littlesaplingtoys
www.pinterest.com/saplingtoys

Friday Fun: Honorable Mention

Hi everyone!  We had a couple of surprises around here this week... First, I accidentally deleted my profile picture on my Facebook Page and now I get the white screen of death when I try to get it back... or add another one.  It left me with a big questionmark!  Oops!  Seriously, if anyone has run into this before and knows how I should hold my mouth when I click to update my photo please let me know.

Then, there was this treasury feature:




Lastly, there was the include on Believing Boldly, Summer Jo's blog in her post offering advice to brides to be.  Hooray!  There are a ton of other people's advice too, and all of it is very good advice the way I see it after  many years of dating and 9 years of marriage to my high-school sweetheart.   Pop over there and wish her a Happy Anniversary too if you have a chance.  :)

Overall, it was a wonderful week barring that Facebook thing.

Keepin' it Joyful!
Kristin

Bloom: Girls {Craft} Night Out!

Image Courtesy Just Dandy Creations

One of my best friends in life, Karlyn is a fellow craft junkie and mother of four wonderful children.  About five months ago the two of us started having a craft night once a month where we set up shop at one or the other's house and craft while the kids are asleep...  and yes, we stay up till ungodly hours of the morning. (I almost made it to 4 AM the last time).  That's not all we do, however... We talk about all sorts of things and bounce ideas off each other and teach each other new techniques we have learned and the list (and this sentence) could really go on and on.

She is the one who believed in me enough to suggest that I open up a shop and she is still the one who encourages me the most in this endeavor.  I am grateful to God for a friend like this and I hope all of you (especially you gals with kids) are taking the time to get out of the house (away from your kids) once in a while to connect with a really good friend you can craft with, and laugh with, and cry with, and pray for....  because it's one of those amazing things that's helping me to finally bloom.

Keepin' it Real!
Kristin

P.S. Karlyn is re-starting a ministry she ran before her house was so full called Solid Stage Footlights.  (Hey, I'm not the only one blooming here!)  A former Continentals and Jeremiah People Member, she is an immensely gifted singer, dancer, choreographer and director who will be bringing a message of love (through drama, dance, christian music and secular music that's been changed up a bit)  in her next season which promises to challenge the church and reach out to unbelievers as well. She has a passion for encouraging people with the love of Christ and is a really great leader. Please forward her information to anyone ages 15-25 residing in the United States, who you think would be interested in touring with her group in the Southern California area during the summer of 2012.  Or, if you live in Southern California, you can pass her information to your youth pastor as she is in the process of booking concerts at this time.