Pondered Primed Perfected

3/17/13

Quick~change magnetic desktop photo display

Do you crave change?

Do you move your furniture around often just to give yourself a fresh perspective?

Do you like to switch out the decor and items displayed in your home often?

I do.
I've been referred to as a chronic re-arranger. Yep, that's me. And proud of it.

Plus you never know what you might find behind that tv cabinet (think arsenal of nerf darts at my house)...or under the couch (enough money for an ice cream bar ~ if you're not on a diet!)

I've moved some pretty hefty furniture by myself too. Scott has come home on occasion and questioned who may have helped me. No secret furniture moving boyfriends around here though. Promise ;)
I think I get 'super furniture rearranging powers' when the desire overtakes me. Maybe.

But on to the desk frame :)

This wooden piece is what remains of an inexpensive desk clock after I robbed it of it's clock-works.
(You can see what I did with all those clocks HERE.)
I couldn't bear the thought of chucking these little wooden frames. There had to be something useful for them. A few ideas have come to mind, so expect to see more of these cuties later...

This one has become a quick~change magnetic desk frame

I painted it with acrylic craft paint using a dry brush technique, which left some of the wood peaking through.

I bought this metal plate for .79 cents at the hardware store. My plan was to wrap it with this fabric and attach it to the front of the frame. I cut a piece of the fabric...

Folded it around the metal plate and taped the corners and edges down.

BUT

When I put it on the front of the wooden base it looked kinda like a quilt square...

not the look I was going for. Scratch that. I didn't even leave it there long enough to take a picture. Sorry.

I ended up painting the metal with a coat of white acrylic paint and glueing it to the front of the wooden base with E6000.

A couple strips of ribbon were then glued to the top and bottom of the metal.

I glued a scrapbook flower to a small round magnet with E6000 also.
This holds the photos in place.

Now all those darling photos can be swapped out regularly...giving all our lovely friends and family their day in the limelight.

Right where we can see them!

And if I want to go beachy I just swap out the flower for this starfish magnet. :)
(Isn't that Farmers' Market Basket cute? You can find that HERE too.)

Okay, that's one wooden clock base down and only...hmm...11 more to go!

What would you use these wooden bases for? I would love to hear your ideas.

And thanks for stopping by today.
Loved having you here!
Sherry

sharing with:
http://www.therusticpig.com
http://carolynshomework.blogspot.com
http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com
http://www.craftjunkietoo.com
http://thefrugalgirls.com

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3/13/13

Guilt Free Taco Salad ~ Part of a Low Calorie, Low Carb Lifestyle

Hmmm . . .Taco Salad . . . That doesn't sound so new, does it?

What's new about this taco salad is I've eliminated the parts that I don't need in my diet. Like the deep fried tortilla bowls or the corn chips that come loaded with fat, carbs and calories. Traditional taco salads aren't all that light with all those chips, tortilla bowls and refried beans, now are they? Well, you don't need to include those ingredients to enjoy a completely satisfying taco salad.

I am really trying to eat healthy and lose some weight. I don't want to call it a diet because my main focus is to actually change my habits and the way I look at food in general. What I'm hoping to do is break the cycle of filling up on processed carbohydrates that seem to leave me feeling lackluster and only wanting more. I would like to limit my overall carb intake to whole grains and unprocessed carbs. As much as possible anyway. Unfortunately removing carbs from your diet can leave you feeling deprived and limited in your choices. There goes all the yummy breads, noodles, chips, and tortillas that make up so many of our go to meals, right?

What's really challenging is creating meals that will satisfy a need for variety as well as a desire for savory, spicy, crunchy, cheesy, sweet and tasty meals.

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite salads with you:

Guilt-Free TACO SALAD

That's right...guilt-free. Here are the stats:

calories carbs fat protein

Cheddar Cheese, 1 oz

114

Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average, 1 wedge (1/4 of medium tomato)

Ground beef, lean, 3 oz

225

Del Monte Sweet Peas no salt added, 0.25 cup

Salad, Spring Mix Salad, 2 cup

Rosarita Salsa Verde (Green Salsa), 2 tbsp

Master's Touch Vine Sweet Mini Peppers (3 peppers), 1 serving

Knorr Tomato Bouillon with Chicken Flavor, 1 tsp/4g, 4 gram(s)

Baby Carrots, raw, 1 large

Cilantro, raw, 1 tbsp

TOTALS:

440

Preparation:

Start by cooking low-fat ground beef...then reducing the fat content even more by draining and rinsing the meat after cooking. (After draining the excess grease into my grease can, I rinse the ground beef with hot water and then drain again. This removes a lot of excess grease that we don't need to be putting into our bodies. You could prepare this with white meat ground chicken or turkey as well.)

While the meat is cooking, you can prepare your salad fix-ins in a bowl and set aside.

Today I used:

Spring Mix, Mini Sweet Peppers, Carrots, Sweet Peas, Diced Tomato, Diced Onion, Diced Cilantro

Next add some flavoring and seasonings to the cooked beef.

Knorr Tomato Bouillon (1 tsp),

Chili powder

Cayenne pepper

Cumin

Paprika

Garlic powder

Onion flakes

Oregano

Red Pepper Flakes

(I generally just guesstimate my spices since I've been making my own seasoned taco meat for years. If you want detailed measurements for the seasoned meat you can check out the recipe at allrecipes.com.)

There should still be a bit of excess water (from rinsing the meat) which will work well to mix and cook these seasonings into the meat. If you drained out all the water just add a splash back in. There is no need to add any additional salt because the tomato bouillon contains sodium and you probably won't want (or need) any more.

Add your seasoned ground beef on top of your salad fix-ins and sprinkle with a bit of grated cheese.

You could save yourself 114 calories by eliminating the cheese, but I appreciate this little splurge. I make up for it by using Green Taco Sauce as my dressing and skipping any sour cream or other dressings containing fat.

You could substitute seasoned black beans for the meat, saving yourself another 111 calories but upping your carbs by 25g. I'm not ready to give up my meat yet either. ;)

Here are a few other options you might consider adding or substituting for something above. I've included the approximate nutrition information for each so you can make good choices:

calories carbs fat protein

Jalapeno Peppers, 1 pepper

Olives, Black, Sliced - 1 Tablespoons, 1 serving

Light Sour Cream, 2 tbsp

Beans, black, 0.5 cup

114

Salsa, 0.25 cup

Cheddar Cheese Low Fat Shredded, 0.13 cup

Avocados, California (Haas), 0.5 cup, pureed

192

Salads don't have to be boring or plain . . . enjoy your salad!

Don't forget we are having a healthy eating, weight loss and fitness link party. So come link up . . . just click on the image below to be taken there:

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3/12/13

Caldo de Camarón ~ a.k.a. ~ Spicy Shrimp Soup

I promised you I would share one of my most favorite recipes and I meant it. I love to order shrimp cocktail or seafood soup at authentic Mexican restaurants. Their shrimp cocktail is totally different than what you would get if you ordered one at an American Restaurant. It's really more of a soup and it's De~licious!

This recipe is very similar to what you would get at a Mexican restaurant, but it's MY version. It's one of my most favorite light meals EVER. The only real difference I can tell is that I just don't serve mine in a big margarita glass like the Mexican Restaurants do. Sorry. :)

{ I need those margarita glasses for real margaritas . . . shhhh }

Saint Patrick's Giveaway Event

Hello Friends! Thanks for stopping by. This week I'm taking part in group giveaway. Hope you will join us:

Beating the "Blog Bulge" and a Link Party!

Did you know March is National Nutrition Month? It is. Perfect timing for taking a look at what we're feeding our bodies...

If you visit P3 often you've probably figured out that I am constantly working on being a healthy, happy person. Aren't we all? Remember my Scale In Front of the Fridge post? One of my biggest challenges in the battle to being healthy is my weight. It's not something that's easy for me to talk about. Well, maybe it's a little easier here on my blog with you than it is anywhere else. You are all so positive and supportive to me. Thank you for that.

Styling a Spring Shelf

This shelf came from our son's room when he got some new furniture.

It really wasn't appropriate for a boys room anyway with the scalloped edges.

But we had no other place for it.

I wasn't ready to part with it but I needed to find a place for it to go.

That's how it ended up here in my craft room and office.

Spring Inspiration

Are you ready for spring? I am so ready!
For the sunshine and all the beauty that comes with it.
These photos from the past couple of Spring seasons were a nice reminder to me..
So I thought I would share some.

I hope you enjoy them. :)

Smelling fresh flowers and herbs: