Dying...

Is blogging dying... or is it just mine?  I feel so sad about the fact that it has been a MONTH since I blogged. I'm so far behind and honestly, I feel like I should just quit... I pretty much have.  I want to get excited about it again!  I want to WANT to blog.  I want to have an experience and think, "I can't wait to blog about that!"  How do I get back there?  Do I even have ANY readers left?

One thing I AM excited about is the premiere of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire tonight at 8 p.m.

I won four tickets from a local radio station to see it at an IMAX theater!  SO EXCITED! Maybe I'll blog about it?!

In the meantime, follow me on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the exciting life of Shannon :-)

Shanterest: Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups

I've been a blogger for a while now... Gosh, at least 10 years?!  I've been holding up here, at Life On Purpose, for a good five years.  But, apparently I missed the memo on October blogging.  I guess I'm supposed to commit to blogging every single day in October on a single topic.  That pretty much seems impossible to me.  First of all, I rarely blog on weekends.  Second, when was the last time my blog was consistent when it comes to subject matter?  Oh, and one more little detail... I need a logo or badge of some sort to tell you all that I've pledged to show up and get stuff done for 31 straight days.  Now, normally this would totally be my thing!  But, like the rest of you, I am so busy!  I am definitely not complaining, just giving you my reason for absence.  With my photography and Scentsy businesses on top of everyday life, blogging has shamefully taken a back seat... the back seat... in my charter bus full of daily tasks.  BUT, because all the cool kids are doing it (her, her, and her), I'm gonna give it the 'ol college try!  

THE TOPIC
I have no freakin' clue.  Zdub is tackling the hot mess.  Megan is journaling her daily life.  Tia is sharing her favorite stories.  What do I have to give?  I could show you a bunch of pics of my kids.  I could go on and on and on about how awesome I am.  I could take you on a 30 day (because I'm already a day late) tour of my house.  OR, I could mash these all together and find a common theme to tie them together!  In today's world, we call that PINTEREST!  :o)  I present to you:

It may be a recipe I found on Pinterest. It may be an outfit inspired by Pinterest. It may be a craft of activity I did with the girls that I found on Pinterest.  See, once again Pinterest has made the world a better place by giving me a solid ground to bring together the mess that is this blog :o)  You're welcome!

Day 1: Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups

Source: plainchicken.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Tuesdays are dance class nights.  I need to have quick dinners planned because I have one hour to get home and unloaded, fix dinner, eat dinner, and get J ready for dance.  This recipe looks to be just the thing I need! The recipe was originally pinned from Steph at Plain Chicken.

Crescent Pepperoni Roll-Ups

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
40 slices turkey pepperoni
4 pieces of mozzarella string cheese, cut in half
garlic powder
pizza sauce

Preheat oven to 375.
Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles.  Place 5 slices of turkey pepperoni on each crescent roll.  Top pepperoni with string cheese half and roll up.  Sprinkle crescent rolls with garlic powder.  Place rolls on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve with a side of warm pizza sauce.

Photo by Steph at Plain Chicken

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

I have recently gotten tired of fixing the same meals every couple of weeks.  It seemed as though we had no variety and were always eating the same thing over and over.  Obviously I turned to Pinterest!  This week, almost every one of our meals has a recipe I found on Pinterest.  Last night, we had:

Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Chicken

photo from pin originating at CassieCraves.blogspot.com

The recipe was super easy and so good!  I did tweak it a teensy bit (my variations are in red) though to better fit our taste.  I served this with sweet corn on the cob and pineapple chunks.

Here is Cassie's recipe... with my variations.  Thanks, Cassie!!


Jalapeno Popper Stuffed ChickenSource: adapted from Allrecipes

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened  I used fat free whipped cream cheese spread.
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese  I used Habanero flavored cheese.
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
4 strips of bacon, diced  I left the bacon out.
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs (I used regular bread crumbs and seasoned them with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder)  I didn't season the bread crumbs.
1/4 cup vegetable oil  I left this out.

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Drain on paper towels.  I skipped this step because we didn't use bacon... Mike doesn't care for it much.

2. Stir together the cream cheese, cheddar  Habanero cheese, bacon, and jalapenos in a small bowl.

3. Cut a pocket horizontally through the thickest side of each chicken breast, and fill with 1/4 of the cheese mixture. Secure with toothpicks.  Because it was just the two of us eating this, I cut the recipe in half.  Also, Mike and I usually just split one chicken breast half.  I was still able to cut a pocket, but I didn't use toothpicks to secure it.  The pocket actually turned out being like a bowl for the cheese mixture.

4. Roll the chicken breasts in bread crumbs to coat. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook chicken breasts until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 8 minutes per side. If your chicken breasts are thick, like mine were, they can be finished in a 350-degree oven.  I didn't fry my chicken.  I just placed the stuffed chicken on a lightly greased baking sheet and baked at 375° for about 20-30 minutes, until done.

It was really good!  Mike and I both agreed that we will definitely be having this one again!  On a side note, Taylor tried corn on the cob for the first time and LOVED it!  she was super cute eating it, too :o)

Celebrating Mom: Meet Shawni

I'm celebrating Mother's Day all week by dedicating my blog to some extraordinary moms in the blog world!  So far, you have met Tia and her daughter Ellie, and Amanda and her daughter Rosie, Lora and her four children, and Abbey and her two kids.


I am finishing off the week with a mother that truly is an inspiration to not only me, but many, many others throughout the country!  Meet Shawni and her five incredible children.

Shawni and her husband, Dave, are the parents of Max (14), Elle (13), Grace (10), Claire (8), and Lucy (5).  Their youngest daughter was diagnosed with "Bardet-Biedl," a rare genetic syndrome that has caused many health issues, including and most recently, vision deterioration leading to blindness.

I want to know a little about your background.  Tell me how your mother influenced you.  What did she teach you that you hope to pass on to Max, Elle, Grace, Claire, and Lucy?  
My mother influenced me in every way imaginable.  From her love of babies and newborns to her adoration of the arts and music, and how she put motherhood on a pedestal.  But the most important thing she taught me is to always dwell on the good parts of people, to always put others first and to love others as God would.  She is an amazing role model and I strive to be more like her every day so I can pass on some of her amazing attributes to my own children. 

When you think of a beautiful woman, what images come to mind?  Have any of your daughters had any issues with self-confidence yet?  If so, how did you address them?  Do they ever talk about skinny/fat people?  Pretty/ugly people?  How do you react?  What sort of things do you tell them to help give them a positive self image? 
Our girls are all pretty confident so far, but they are still young.  How I hope I can shelter them from the onslaught of media images and worldly views of how women "should" look/be/act, etc.  I want so much for my girls to have confidence in their own uniqueness.  We strive really hard to help them figure out their talents and push them to be the best they can in their OWN way.  One way we do this while they are young is here: www.71toes.com/2010/04/talents.html.  

Since we have a range of "sizes" within our family (I worry so much about the heartache Lucy's weight in conjunction with her syndrome could cause), my husband and I try to concentrate on positive comments about how the kids think, and how compassionate they are rather than dwelling on looks.  I think that is so important!  It's what's on the inside that counts.  And we emphasize that on a daily basis.

As far as Max goes, what sort of thing do you and Dave teach him about the image of women?  Being a teenager, do you ever hear him or his friends talk about "cute girls"?  He seems like such a respectful young man. 
We have had numerous talks with Max about girls because he's so at that age right now where it's easy to give the "cutest" girls the attention.  We mostly talk about how every girl should be treated with respect and that the nicest girls are not directly correlated with who is the best looking.  I don't know how much of what we say is internalized because as a teenager his brain is wrapped up in a lot of other things right now, but hopefully most of it will sink in.  Because Max has so many sisters with different personalities hopefully they will prepare him to treat all women with the utmost respect.

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Shawni blogs at 71 Toes.  Such an inspiration.  Thank you, Shawni!


To learn more about Lucy's story, visit The I Love Lucy Project.

Celebrating Mom: Meet Abbey

I'm celebrating Mother's Day all week by dedicating my blog to some extraordinary moms in the blog world!  So far, you have met Tia and her daughter Ellie, Amanda and her daughter Rosie, and Lora and her four children.  Today, I want to introduce you to domestic goddess and mommy extraordinaire, Abbey, and her kids, whom she refers to as "Sunbean" and "Little Dude."  So cute, right?

Tell my readers a little about yourself.
My name is Abbey, and I'm the momma of two cuties:  E, who is 3, and H, who will be 1 at the end of the month.  I get to stay at home with my kiddos, and we fill our days with lots of playing, a little Wonder Pets, and the occasional temper tantrum.  In those golden moments where E and H are both snoozing, I love to sew and craft.

I want to know a little about your background.  Tell me how your mother influenced you.  What did she teach you that you hope to pass on to your children?  
I'm an only child, and grew up in the midwest.  If I had to describe my parents' role in my childhood, I would say that they were very involved.  They never missed a field trip, play, assembly, or game.  They knew my friends, and knew where I was at all times.  I didn't always appreciate this growing up, but now I do!  The best thing about my parents is that they are still involved.  They care about what my husband and I are interested in, and they love to spend time with their grandchildren.  We recently moved a few hours away, and they've been willing to travel to visit us often.  My parents understand the importance of spending time with those they love:  both quality and quantity.

In what ways do you help your children develop positive self-esteem?
One of my top priorities as a parent is raising children with a strong sense of self and a high self-esteem.  In today's world, that's a pretty tall order.  My husband and I try our best to always give our children specific compliments.  For example, instead of 'you did a great job', we'll say 'i love the way you rode the bike!', or 'wow!  you cut the paper all by yourself!'.  Our hope is that our kiddos grow up hearing about the skill set they have, rather than hearing that they are 'good'.

We also try to give specific compliments regarding appearance.  We certainly tell our children how beautiful they are every single day, but we also say things like 'i love your eyes' and 'your little toes are so cute'.  I want my children to be able to stand tall and feel confident in who they are, and I firmly believe that begins with the relationship they have with us, their parents.

Your daughter is still very young. What sort of things do you show or tell her to help give her a positive self image? 
Having a daughter, I pray daily that she will spend her life with men {father, grandfathers, brothers, friends, boyfriends, and eventually a husband} that love and respect her.  I want every man in her life to validate her beauty and worth.  She is a daughter of God, and has eternal worth.  My hope is that she only allows men in her life who respect her as such.  My husband will be the best example of this, and will hopefully leave an impression on her as she grows.

In regards to your son, what sort of things do you and your husband hope he learns about how to treat girls?  
It's my job to make sure he leaves my house treating the women in his life properly.  I have the giant responsibility of teaching him to be a loving husband and father.  I think it starts with a healthy self-esteem and self-worth.  It starts with family dinners eaten together, and silly games before bed.  It starts with open conversation and even discipline.

This all sounds like a big responsibility, but the good news is that these babies only grow older a day at a time.  We have years to teach our children how to make good decisions.  We have years to make memories with our families that will stay with our children for years to come.  Those years certainly fly by, but it is the little moments that shape who our children become.

So today?  Today, get down on the floor with your kids for a few minutes.  Give them a specific compliment and a kiss.  Ask them to help you with dinner.  Be present and available.  None of us get it right every day, but even a little goes a long with our our kids.

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Abbey blogs at The Naptime Report.  Head on over and show her some love!  Thanks, Abbey!

Celebrating Mom: Meet Lora

I'm celebrating Mother's Day all week by dedicating my blog to some extraordinary moms in the blog world!  So far, you have met Tia and her daughter Ellie, and Amanda and her daughter Rosie.  Today we are traveling north to meet a mother of four! Meet Lora and her kiddos.

Can you introduce yourself to my readers?  
Hi I’m Lora, I am 39 years young.  I have been married to my sweetheart for 15 years. Together we have 4 beautiful children – Josie (10), Jarod (7), Jack (4) and Jason (7 1/2 months).   I really enjoy being their mom, it’s an honour to be a part of their lives, watching them grow and mature each day.  My children are blessed to part of a family that treats women with respect – no matter how they joined the family (marriage, birth, or adoption). 

Tell me a little about your mother. How did she influence you?  What did you learn from your mother that you hope to teach your children?  
I know how important words are, how important it is to encourage a child when they are young.   My mom didn’t get the love and encouragement she needed as a child and as a result she still doesn’t see the good in her.  She is a beautiful person but doesn’t realize it.  I want all my children to realize that they are loved, wanted and a blessing to our family.  I want them to know that they are smart, beautiful and loving people. 
  

I'm sure Josie is getting to the age where she is beginning to notice herself and other people, and how words or actions can hurt.  Tell me about her.  

Josie and her friends have started to notice boys; the boys in their classes have also started to notice girls.  It’s amazing how a careless word or action can hurt so much.  One of the boys that Josie liked told her that he thinks she is ugly.  One of the boys on her school bus read her journal, out loud, to the back of the bus.  These actions hurt Josie but we worked through them.  I told her that boys at this age can be mean to be mean or sometimes they can be mean just to bug her.   I also told her that sometimes if a person hurts others because they are hurting inside.  Her dad told her that friends already knew her secrets and were still her friends.  It was really hard for me to send her back on the bus, not knowing what she was going to face.   By the time the weekend was over and she was back on the bus, the whole thing was in the past. 

Does Josie ever talk about pretty vs. ugly; fat vs. skinny?  How do you address issues when it comes to that?

I asked Josie if she thought she was pretty –she said yes.  She likes her hair and her eyes.  She knows that she is skinny, always has been but is not focused on her weight. She is too busy having fun.  I like the fact she is herself – she is silly, dramatic and a creative dresser.

What about your boys?  I know they are still young, but do they ever comment on what they think is pretty?

My boys have not noticed girls; they are too busy with Lego, Star Wars and in Jason’s case, learning how to crawl. I will in time, remind Josie and her brothers that you can’t judge a book by its cover.

What are your goals as a mom?  What do you hope your kids learn about confidence and self-appreciation?  

My goal/desire for them is to have self confidence, to like themselves, to feel pretty/handsome and to feel special.   I want to realize that they may not be the best at everything but God has a plan for their lives and if they trust him he will fulfill it.  I want all my children to realize that they are special, beautiful and smart. They may not be the best at everything but they can do their best.  I want them to realize that happiness is a choice – nothing or no one can make them happy.  It’s up to them be happy whether life is good or not.  I want them to continue to be nice and kind to others, to be friendly to everyone.   I want to know that they are loved and accepted by their dad and me.

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Lora blogs at It's Always An Adventure.  Thanks, Lora!

Celebrating Mom: Meet Amanda

I'm celebrating Mother's Day all week by dedicating my blog to some extraordinary moms in the blog world!  Yesterday, you met Tia and her daughter Ellie.  Today, I want to introduce you to a very good friend of mine not only online, but in real life, too.  Meet Amanda and Rosie!

Tell my readers a little about yourself. I'm a 30 (jeesh, when did THAT happen?!?) year old stay-at-home mom/full-time nursing student. My amazing hubby and I have been married 6 years and are the parents to one super-wonderful 19 month old - Rosalie Pearl. We live in Nashville with our crazy cat Olive and a gimpy goldfish named Mr. Bates.

I want to know about your background.  How did your mother influence you?  What did she teach you that you hope to pass on to Rosie? Eh, my childhood was difficult. I didn't have it the worst, but did have to deal with verbal/emotional abuse and alcoholic family members. My parents were sort of different. We moved alot (just for the heck of it, not for any real reason) and so I ended up going to numerous schools and living in numerous states which was so hard. My mother was a hippy at heart. Like the milk our own goats, make our own fruit roll-ups, store enough canned goods to get us through the apocalypse sort of lady. I hated it. All I wanted to do was fit in and here was my mom buying our clothes at Walmart and selling pies out of our house. I don't think it's really been until recently that she and I have become so close. My dad died in 2009 and I had Rosie in 2010. Now that I'm a mom I see all the ways she was an amazing mother. It was all in her own way but I didn't appreciate it until I was a mommy myself. She's taught me how to be frugal, to grow gardens and can food and how to stretch a dollar farther than you think possible. As a family living on one income this has been invaluable. She's also been one of my biggest cheerleaders as I go back to school. What I want to pass on to Rosie is that it's quite alright to march to your own beat. My momma was always herself and though I didn't appreciate it then, I see now what a huge impact that had on me. I want Rosalie to be happy in her own skin and to chase after what she loves. 

Seeing that Rosie is still so young, how do you plan to show her, or to teach her what true beauty is? Oh heaven's ... what a question! How do I plan to teach my daughter what true beauty is? As cheesy as it sounds, there's a little line from a Dr. Suess book that says, "a person's a person no matter how small." and that silly little bit of wisdom has always stuck with me. my story isn't a new one - i was bullied, i had a difficult home-life... i could go on about how unhappy alot of things were for me. but, what good does that do? i think stories and experience are very important and i will share them with my daughter, but from them I want to teach her about love and compassion. That every single person is a person. Treat everyone with kindness - even if you don't see eye to eye, even if you bug the crud out of each other, even if you have nothing in common, even if they look different or sound different - a little kindness goes a very long way. And as the momma of a little lady, teaching her true beauty - what a daunting task. Can I just say I'll keep her in a bubble, away from tv, malls and boys??? no? that doesn't work? 

What role do you foresee your husband taking in helping to teach Rosie about self-confidence?  I'm lucky to be part of a great momma/daddy combo and i think my hubby will take a huge roll in teaching Rosie true beauty. A positive father/daughter relationship is vital for giving her a solid foundation of who she is and why she's truly beautiful. 

How do you plan to teach Rosie about seeing more to a person that what is on the outside?I'll let her know she is beautiful for all the things she is. Not just her pretty, sweet, wonderful little face - but her laugh, her humor, her amazing little personality. I want to tell her every.single.day that I love her - for ALL that she is, no matter what. I know alot of it probably won't stick and when she's about 13 she'll probably think I'm the dumbest person on the planet, but this isn't going to stop me. I love you my sweet Rosalie - I'll tell you that every day! The moment I became a mommy I understood - having a baby truly changes everything. If I can show to her that I love her and think she's perfect and really mean it, then maybe some of that will stick in her sweet little brain?


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Amanda blogs at Babbling Brooke. She's fun and hilarious, and totally worth checking out!  Thanks, Amanda!

Aside from my wedding and the births of my girls... BEST day(s) of my LIFE!

Story time!  Long, long ago, I started blogging.  I had no idea what I was doing or how to get a following... or even what a following was!  I didn't read other blogs and the only person that read my blog was my mom.  But then one day, I got a follower!  A random person all the way out in Seattle started reading MY blog!  I was so excited!  So, being the nice blogger I am, I started reading her blog, too!  She was quirky and funny and serious all in one. 

Then, something really weird and happy happened.  I was in the midst of Jaden's 2nd birthday party when I overheard some of my friends talking about one of their friends who was out in California and was the victim of a random attack.  I stopped what I was doing and interrupted their conversation because it sounded so familiar.  Then it clicked.  My new blog follower had posted that exact story.  The very next day (April 21, 2009) I left a comment on her blog, "Ok, this is SO strange... such a small world! I had my daughter's b-day party this weekend and I overheard my friend and sis-in-law (to-be) talking about a guy they knew that was in a hospital in CA. I had a complete feeling of de ja vu and asked who they were talking about... turns out, they both know you and your boyfriend! I remembered reading your blog about this same thing and told them about it. Are you originally from Ft. Wayne? Kalie K----- is my friend and Kelly H---- is my sis-in-law. She is engaged to my husband's brother, M--- M------, a FW fireman. Sound familiar? Small, small world!!"  Needless to say, we have been blog friends since then!

Life kept on moving for both of us but we still read each others' blogs and occasionally emailed each other.  We developed a sort of friendship that people would envy... even though we had never met in real life.  She sent J big sister presents when Taylor was born, and J and I made and sent her crafty gifts from time to time.  I don't know if it was the small town roots or what, but we clicked, my friend Lala and me :o)

Now, something I envy about Lala is that she is a traveler!  This girl bops around the world like it's no one's business.  Whenever she would blog about her next excursion, I would comment about how wonderful and exotic Fort Wayne, Indiana is!  Apparently Hawaii and New York and Germany and Iceland and California and all the rest are way better...

But then, I got a very vague email from her one day over the summer, saying that she couldn't tell me when, but she was going to come visit me!!!  I pictured her showing up at my doorstep, Ty Pennington style, and being all like, "How did I go through life before I met you?!"  Yeah, I pretty much had a dumb hopeful grin on my face every single day, in anticipation for the day Lala came to visit!  I talked to Mike about it all the time.  I just knew in my heart that she was going to come at the end of September for the Johnny Appleseed Festival.  September came and went.   

But then it happened.  The stars aligned and WE MET!!!

Painting pottery with my internet bestie

It was immediate smiles and hugs like we'd known each other forever!  We talked and painted and drank wine and talked and ate sushi and talked and talked and talked until late into the evening.  It was wonderful :o)

The next night, she and I got together with the two mutual friends we had and rocked. it. out!  We started with Mexican food and margs...

Kelly and Ang

Kalie and Me

Then, we showed FW what it was about!  We karaoke'd all freaking night and I can't even sing!

And nobody at all thought it was incredibly weird or awkward when I announced to the entire bar that I was there with my internet friend, Lala!  "We met on the internet!  This is the first time we are meeting in real life and she isn't even a stalker or a serial killer!"  cricket  cricket

That girl can sing, and sing, she did!

Rawr!

"Go Grease Lightning!"

Obviously there were more drinks...

*Ang, if you hate me for the pictures, just be thankful that the videos are still tucked safely away on my hard drive!*

It was the best night ever :o)

Thanks for such a fun night, Ang!  Skip Hawaii... the Fort's the place to be!  Love you!! xoxo

Dogs Can Dance?

Once upon a time...

In response to that, my wonderful friend made a video for Jaden.  She watched it last night...

If you want to see Lala's video, check it out here:

See you soon, friend!

Ready, Willing, and Able; A Poem for Skinny

Go visit Skinny!  Tell her that we should chat :o)

Friday Fun: Truth #1 and Blog #600.1

Last Friday, I gave you four statements about myself and asked you to comment and tell me which statement you thought was a lie.  The first statement was, "I took dance classes all through elementary school."  That is true!  I started tap class when I was a tiny pup and continued through fifth grade.  Then, I switched to jazz classes.  I stuck with that for a year and quit... tap was more fun :o)  I like to think I was pretty good!  I haven't taken a class in about 16 years..... until last week.  I got a refresher lesson from Kelly to fulfill all of Lala's wishes and dreams.  How did it go?  Well, you be the judge...



Happy birthday, Lala!  Have a wonderful weekend :o)

Post-it: 600.0