Texas Tuesday-The Lone Star Jack

For today's Texas Tuesday, I wanted to do something different.  Usually I blog about some great place in Texas to visit.  In this blog, I wanted to bring two of my favorites together: Halloween and Texas!  So that brings us to this guy!  Yes, the sticker says it's Oklahoma grown!

              

It's been a few years since I carved a pumpkin.  The last time I carved a pumpkin, my daughter was 4, and accidentally called 911.  Cue the policemen at the door and mama answering with a pumpkin knife in her hand.  Yea, that was a fun afternoon!  Now that my kids are older (and we no longer have a house phone), I thought I would give it a try.  But I did not want a traditional jack-o- lantern.  I needed a simple design.  I needed a cool design.  I needed one that represented our family.

First, we cut the top off and cleaned out all the goop!!  We saved the pumpkin seeds to roast later!

              

              My lovely assistant for 2 handfuls of pumpkin guts.  Then he was done!

Once all the goop and seeds were out, I traced the face on the pumpkin.  I let the little guy help pick the design.  I had a few ideas that he could pick from.  When I finally got the design traced, it was time to start cutting. The lovely assistant did not want to touch the pumpkin anymore but he had PLENTY of opinions on how I should carve the pumpkin.  However, I blocked the 8 year old's opinions on how to carve and.... this is what we ended up with.

            

              

I still need to preserve our pumpkin.  He is staying inside since our dog loves pumpkins!  To preserve the pumpkin, you can find various ways online.  I am going to soak ours in bleach water for 1-2 hours.  I will add a teaspoon of bleach for each gallon of water.  You  can also put one of those silica packets (like those packets that come in new shoes!)to keep away mold. I used a votive since that was what I had but candle heat dries out the inside of the pumpkin.  Tomorrow I will be going to look for a battery operated one!

Hope you enjoyed my pumpkin carving journey.  This one inspired me to think of other ways to incorporate Texas into other pumpkin pojects!!  I think I might feel another blog coming on!l

Hugs y'all!

LSG

  

   

Meet the Blogger Monday!

I know...usually this is make up Monday.  But today, I thought I would introduce myself to the new followers to the blog, Facebook and Instagram.

I am Melissa.  I live in a small Texas town with my husband and two kiddos.  Actually, I live in the town I grew up in...and in the same house I was raised in.  The hubs and I are (SLOWLY) remodeling the house but everyone knows that's a process!  From time to time, I might show off a project or two on the blog (only if it's easy!!).  As for my kids, "Red" is 13 years old and "Chief" is 8 years old.  I had given them names in my first blog post but "little red" is now taller than me:( and "Pistol" asked for his to be changed to "Chief."  Red plays volleyball, basketball and runs track.  She is quirky and has a dry humor that I have never seen in a kid her age.  Chief plays basketball and baseball.  He runs his mouth literally 24 hours a day!! He thinks in order to breathe, he must talk!  Unfortunately, that gene came from my side of the family.  And me, I am a pediatric speech pathologist by day.  I own a small private practice that allows me to visit the children in their home or daycare.   I love working with the families!  It is an honor to work with them.

So in all of this, you are wondering "What is Lone Star Ginger?"  LSG is a side business that allows me to flex my creative muscle. I love making stuff...especially for others!  LSG has been open since April 2014 on Etsy, facebook and instagram.  I started out with handstamped jewelry and custom shirts.  I hope to add more products before Christmas like leather cuffs and metal cuffs.

My links are on the side so feel free to click on them.  Have a great Monday!!

Hugs y'all,

LSG

Wonder Woman Wednesday-Oh Snap! What's for Dinner?!

If you are new to the blog, Wonder Woman Wednesday is all about building you up.  It's midweek, I've "screwed up" countless times, forgotten something important, etc.  Whatever it was has messed up my week and I am bummed.  (Insert the Wonder Woman Wednesday blog!!)  Once I start writing this particular blog, I immediately start to feel better and realize the mistakes weren't that big of a deal.  For this blog I will change up the dynamics a little.  I will start to feature real life Wonder Women, organizing tips (that I have ACTUALLY tried), quick recipes (that I have ACTUALLY tried) and motivational "stuff" to get you through the week.

So for this week, I thought I would give you my tried and true tips for organizing a meal plan.  Don't you hate it when you get home late, and you are scrambling to make dinner from apple pie filling and a can of green beans? (Completely hypothetical!)  With school starting back up, most of us are going to be running on fumes by mid-September.  Kids' activities, homework, housework, work, etc all get in the way of you making a fabulous meal for your family at least 5 nights a week.  Last January, I decided I was going to make a meal plan for the entire month!  I found that my grocery bill was cheaper (on average $50 cheaper a week!) and my stress level was decreased.  Now before you start with the excuses of why you can't prepare a month's worth of meals, let me stop you.  Yes you can!  I have a husband, 2 kids in sports and run two small businesses so if I can do it, so can you.  Take one Fri or Saturday night, sit down with all your family's favorite recipes, your calender for the month (with the extra activities on it... ie, games, practices, etc), your Pinterest board of recipes and a piece of notebook paper.  Number your paper 1-31 (or however many days are in the month) and just start writing dinner plans on each line.  If you won't be home one night for dinner because of Johnny's football game, write "EAT OUT" or something like that.  I think my first meal plan took me around 45 minutes to plan.  The months after that were around 30 minutes or less.  Now that you have a meal plan, create a notebook with ALL those recipes in there. (SIDE NOTE:  I made my sister one for her birthday that was categorized: chicken, meat. pasta, sides, desserts...)  That way you have one spot to gather all your ingredients for the grocery list. I usually grocery shop on Fridays so I make sure to sit down Thursday night and make my list.  I get out my handy dandy recipe notebook with my month's meal plan and write out my list.  I double check the pantry and fridge to make sure I don't buy too many duplicates.  I pull out coupons that go with items on the list.  I also make a note beside the item on my list that I have a coupon for it.

Here was my March meal plan.  As you can see there are scratch out marks from changes that were made through the month.  If I try out a new recipe and we DO NOT like it, I scratch it off and it never comes back!  I try to keep easy quick meals during the week and more labor intensive ones on the weekends.  So there you have it!  How to prepare your meal plan for the entire month!!  You eat out less, less impulse buy at the grocery store and your family is healthier!!  Hope this helps you out as the kids start back to school and the schedules get busier!

Hugs y'all!

LSG

Make up Monday...Yep, I am in Heaven!!

The past few Mondays I have blogged about exercise and getting in shape.  This week I thought I would change it up.  I don't know about ya'll, but after being to the beach and suffering through the Texas heat, my skin gets dry.  I had blogged a month or so ago about making your own sugar scrub.  But let's say, you don't want to make it yourself for whatever reason...  I bought some of the best!!  I had been using a popular "lotion and soap chain store" sugar scrub ever since we got back.  Between the sun and ocean water, my skin was dry so I had been using the sugar scrub religiously (especially after shaving!) I am terrible about putting lotion on after a shower (in that I don't).  I was ok with the popular chain store's scrub until.... cue my favorite local lavender farm!!!

We happened to go out one night to our local lavender farm for an outdoor music concert  Of course, their gift shop was open...which I LOVE!!  It smells so good in there.  We have become friends with the owners so she was showing me around, talking about the new products added to the store.  I listened and nodded, taking the sweet aroma of peacefulness (is that word?)  Then she got to the sugar scrub!!! Oh my word...it smelled like heaven in a jar!!  Not only does it smell good, but it feels good too!!  Even better?  It is made from the lavender on their farm and you can pronounce ALL the ingredients on the jar!!!   You cannot go wrong with local grown lavender and all natural ingredients.  My husband said it had kind of a root beer smell...I don't know about that, but it does smell awesome.  It feels even better going on your skin.  My skin felt so smooth and re hydrated that there was no need for lotion.  I bought a jar twice the size as the popular chain for the same price (actually, I think it was cheaper!).  The link above will take you to their products which also includes lip balm, bug balm and lots of other great products!  If you are looking for great homegrown products that are great for your skin, this is the place to check out!!

Hugs ya'll!
LSG

Thirsty Thursday-School's out for summer...almost

It is that time of year...the last week of school that drags for school teachers, students and parents alike.  Everyone is excited for different reasons.  Teachers are excited because they get rid of that one kid that just grates on their last nerve (yea, I know the spill..."I love all my students equally..."  I worked in schools for 7 years; I know the truth!).  Kids are excited about the freedom and sleeping late (if they are teens).  Parents are excited because the summer usually brings a more lax schedule.  Most of the school districts around us start their summer break tomorrow.  Not mine...Pistol has one more meaningless day.

So in celebration of summer break starting, I found a nice little peach flavored drink that reminded me of summer.  If you don't like peach, then this blog post may not be for you.

Here's a quick grocery list:
1.5 fl oz of peach flavored vodka
1.5 fl oz each of pineapple juice and cranberry juice cocktail
0.25 fl oz of fresh lime juice
2 fl oz of ginger ale

Combine the first 4 ingredients in an ice filled shaker.  Shake well and strain into an ice filled collins glass (one of those tall skinny glasses).  Top it of with the ginger ale and drink up.

Enjoy the night with a drink in one hand and a bowl of ice cream in another.

Hugs ya'll,
LSG

Thirsty Thursday-The Hippie Edition

Whoo hoo!!  I completed my first full week of blogging!!  So why not enjoy Thirsty Thursday?  I mean that's enough reason to celebrate, right?  This Thursday I am blogging about a drink that screams "SUMMER!"  It's called Hippie Juice.  I am pretty sure it's been floating all over Pinterest so I cannot take credit for it.  Although if you have a rockin' good time after consuming it, you can given me credit for that:)  You're welcome.  Here's what you need:
1 cup of Smirnoff Watermelon Vodka
1/3 cup of Triple Sec
1/3 cup of Malibu Coconut Rum
4 scoops of Country Time Pink Lemonade (because is there really any other lemonade mix?)
Add cold water until your pitcher is full

Mine will be going in my cute little "sunflower yellow" Fiesta pitcher:)

Boom!  There's a party in your cup!  This would also be a great drink to consume during your "me" time one night after the kids have gone to bed.  Sit outside on a porch swing with the nice summer breeze blowing and listen to the frogs croak and crickets chirp...and the coyotes howl.

I hope you have enjoyed my blogs over the past week.  They have been fun to write and I love seeing which posts bring the most readers.  Be sure to share and comment!!

Hugs ya'll,
LSG

Texas Tuesday- The Enchanted Edition

Each summer, we take a road trip with a "loose" agenda of places we want to see and eat at.  This past summer we took a trip to the beautiful hill country.  I mentioned the wineries in last Thirsty Thursday's blog.  Today's blog is all about one "enchanted" place right outside of Fredericksburg, Texas.   You feel like you can see the entire world from the summit.

 I am talking about Enchanted Rock. However, it is not for the faint of heart.  If you want to see those views, you are going to have to work for it!!  Be ready to climb straight up a steep mountain.  

Sure, it may not look that bad in the picture.  That's what I thought... boy was I wrong!  Make sure to take good walking/climbing shoes and plenty of water (especially if you are going in the summer).  We did the climb early one August morning.

So what is Enchanted Rock?  It is a GIANT pink granite rock formation between Fredericksburg and Llano.  It measures 500 feet tall, making it the second largest formation in North America.  It is estimated to be at least 1 billion years old, making it the oldest exposed rock in North America. The hike to the top is only 6/10 of a mile...but don't fool yourself...it's a tough 6/10!  The park does also offer 7 miles of hiking trails for those not interested in making the trip to the summit.

That's me after I climbed it with my kiddos and hubby!  After all the complaining about how hard it was, I would definitely do it again!!

PS-Pistol wants the readers to know if they get the summit and it smells less than fresh...that's because he broke wind up there!  That is his claim to fame.   (Welcome to my world!!)

Hugs ya'll
LSG

Lazy Southern Sunday means a Sunday bath!!!

I bet you thought by the title of this post that I only wash on Sunday!

Sunday is supposed to be the day of rest, right?  Why do we fill it with chores like laundry and grocery shopping then?  I know I filled my morning with dusting, steam mopping, vacuuming, dishes and laundry.  Little Ginger has kept us busy all week with track and basketball so to say my house was a mess is an EXTREME understatement.  Now it's the evening, and the hot hubs is grilling our dinner tonight.  That means instead of me prepping and cooking dinner, I gained some extra "me" time.  I found tons of detox bath recipes on Pinterest and they all sounded great... until I looked in my pantry to see that I was out of apple cider vinegar, ginger and baking soda.  Wonder what a detox bath of epsom salt, garlic salt and pepper would smell like?
But then I remembered I had some bath salts from one of our little trips this past summer that I have never used!!!  And it has lavender!   So after several early Saturday mornings of basketball and several consecutive weekends of having 2-3 extra teenage girls sleeping over, I might get some AWeSOme rest!! (cue the bells and a choir singing Hallelujah!)
So I mixed my epsom salt and bath salts and the result is...HEAVEN in a bathtub!  I will say the key to a great detox/stress reliever bath is HOT WATER.  Make that water as hot as you can stand it.  Once you get in with the mixture of  1 cup of epsom, 10 tsp of lavender oil, and 1/2 cup baking soda with the hot water, you almost instantly begin to feel sweat beads forming on your forehead.  Lie in the tub so that the water is up to your neck.  Soak for at least 20 minutes.  It is very important to drink plenty of water after you get out.  The detox bath will make you exhausted so it is best to take the bath before bed (or a much needed nap).    You don't have to add lavender oil.  You can add your favorite essential oil; I just like lavender.  Hope this helps relieve some stress and ease those aching muscles.  Another added bonus is you are ready to start the week!!
Hugs ya'll,
LSG

Fashion Friday-Baseball Moms!!!

Since Pistol plays baseball tonight, I decided I needed a cute baseball mom outfit-especially since it's warm today!  I have tons of shirts I have bought that I usually wear, but today I decided to go for my own custom gear.  First off, I love the look of maxi skirts.  But I am only 5 foot 4 so most of the time the maxi is way too long!  I had sworn off the maxi skirt/dress of any kind.  Then I found this tutorial on Pinterest and thought I could totally do this!  And guess what this NOVICE seamstress did??  TOTALLY ROCKED IT!!    DIY Maxi Skirt with Slit has easy directions with PICTURES!!!  I made mine with a grey cotton knit.  I will say that is not the easiest fabric to work with.  Plus I had never worked with elastic before.  So after having several disagreements with my machine, I finally got a super cute (and comfy) grey maxi skirt that is custom made to my measurements.  After I got the hard part out of the way, I made my tank with cute baseball fabric and whipped up a baseball mom necklace.  I like the small necklaces for baseball games because when I get hot and sunburnt (let's be honest: I am a ginger, I am going to burn), the lines aren't as noticeable.  Once I got my shirt and necklace done, I added my favorite flip flops in our team color.  I will try to add a picture to my Facebook of the skirt on once the hubby gets home.  Swing batter swing!!!

Thirsty Thursday-the first edition

Ok, so let me start off by saying I am no wine expert.  I am relatively new to the wine game. I am partial to the sweet ones...no not partial, those are the only ones I like.  So of course I pair my sweet red or white with anything and everything.    I am also partial to Texas wineries.  Really, what does California have over Texas wineries?  In my opinion, wineries are better here just because they are in Texas!  So I got to thinking, where are the best wineries in Texas?    That's when I stumbled upon this little beauty of a blog called Texas Wine Lover.  This couple have been blogging about Texas wineries for 2 years!  Now obviously, the best wineries are down in hill country around Fredericksburg.  We passed a ton last summer on hwy 290 on the way to Luckenbach ( you know with Waylon, Willie and the boys) but we did not get to stop.  I think it's frowned upon to bring a 12 year old and a 7 year old into a winery.  But I did get to stop in a place in downtown Fredericksburg called the Fredericksburg Winery.  I bought a sweet rose wine called Balanced Rock.  The hubs picked a muscat canelli (he chose it mainly for the picture on the bottle).  

I will say when you pair the sweet rose wine with fudge, you will think you have died and gone to heaven!  I could seriously have that for dinner every night!

Now that we've established where to find good wine (cause there's only one place: the hill country), how do you pair your food with it?  First and foremost, you are going to drink what you like.  I pair my favorites with spaghetti, hamburgers, steak, chicken or a candy bar.  Beyond that, apparently there are "suggestions" of wines to drink that bring out flavors in food.  According to Food and Wine Pairing, there are things to think about when choosing a wine.

Is the food mild or have lots of flavor?

Is the meat fatty or lean?

Is it rich or acidic?

Match mild foods with mild wines.  Match rich foods with rich wines.  Let's say you are still totally clueless (because I still am).  Put wines with the foods they are grown with.  An example would be to match Italian food with Italian wines.

Like I said, I am no expert.  I can barely pronounce some of the wines on the list at restaurants.  Maybe that's why I stick to the sweet ones.  I am going to add some of the wineries from Texas Wine Lover to our next road trip...maybe a road trip without kids.

Make up Monday-Pretty Little Nails

Sorry, I have not been posting much lately!!  I hope everyone is enjoying the school shopping that comes with this time of year.  My manicure pins on Pinterest are getting repinned like crazy so I thought I would repost my very first Make Up Monday blog post!!

Ok so I am starting off easy with nail polish but... I LOVE nail polish!  I mostly paint my toe nails since I am a slowly recovering nail biter.  I am not super picky about brands. I mostly choose my nail polish by it's name (yea, I know...how immature but that's me!).   I mostly love OPI (especially the Texas edition that came out a few years ago!).

I love to get manicures but I seldom have the attention span to sit long enough at the salon.  So how do you get the perfect manicure at home?  

1.  Scrub your nails clean with nail brush.  I read somewhere that if you clean your nails with vinegar, the polish goes on smoother and lasts longer. For the sake of research purposes,I will give it a try tonight.  

2.  Clip, file, shape your nails to your liking.  If you have a buffer, buff those nails beautiful and smooth (but wash your nails again!).  I do not like messing with my cuticles so the most I do is moisturize them.  If they are crazy, then I go to the salon.

3.  Apply a basecoat.  This protects the nail.  I have a lime green nail polish that stains my nails if there is no basecoat.

4.  Now the fun part!  Apply the nail polish starting in the middle and working to the sides.

5.  Apply your topcoat.  I have one that dries that paint fast.  You could also dip your nails in super cold water for 3 minutes to dry them... but "ain't nobody got time for that!"

6.  Clean up your mess-ups.  Unless you are a professional, at least one of your hands looks like a toddler painted your nails.  So dip a ultra thin paintbrush or Q-tip into polish remover to clean the mistakes up.

Now that we have established 1.  there is no such thing as polish addiction  and 2.  how to do at home manicures GET BUSY DOING YOUR NAILS!! I would post a picture of mine but they are not painted at the moment.  I was going to do it last night after the detox bath but no...I went to bed!

Hugs ya'll,

LSG