Simply Hil

Growing up, I was an avid journal writer. I wrote just about every day between 4th grade and 7th grade and at least once a week from then on. I am now so very grateful I did. It has provided great entertainment for my husband and I as we read about my 7th grade crush, the various arguments I got into with my siblings, or the first day I met my husband. I stopped writing in my journal about 2 years ago. As I started to blog more and more, my journal entries became less and less. I found my journal a week and a half ago and realized my last entry was when I was still pregnant with Little Guy. This means I never even wrote about my labor and delivery, or how I felt those first weeks we had Little Guy home. I didn't write about my grandpa passing away, how much I missed him and loved him, or his beautiful funeral where I was able to see all of my cousins and aunts and uncles. I didn't write about my family moving to a completely different state and how much I missed them. ...

When JC and I were first married, we started the tradition of playing card games every Sunday night. It was my favorite time of the week, and we always had such a blast. You would think that it would get old after a while, especially seeing how we only had two card games. Phase 10 and Skip-bo (classics). However, it never did and we always looked forward to Sunday Night Game Night. That was until major life changes started taking place. We graduated, we moved, we had Little Guy, Jer started grad school, etc. We still tried to do it occasionally, but it just wasn't our little tradition anymore. A few Sunday's ago we pulled out the good ol' Skip-bo cards from the closet, blew off the dust, popped some popcorn, sat cross legged on the couch and played like we had never stopped playing. It was fun. More than just fun actually. It was the highlight of my week (and not just because I happened to win all THREE games). We were able to talk and laugh and spend good ...

I know what you are thinking, "Hil, you have your sayings all mixed up". You're thinking, "Isn't it supposed to be 'busy as a bee' or 'hungry as a horse'?" Why, yes, it is. But I'm neither one of those so just get over it. I have had some fun blog design orders lately and decided to share them with you, just because I can. I really love designing. It gives me something to do while I wait for Little Guy to wake up from his snoozes. It also allows me to get rid of some of my creative energy without making a mess of my home. I just make a mess of my desktop instead. I have so many design documents on there that the other day my husband asked why I even have a picture for my desktop background. I try to get it under control, but usually fail. Oh well. Here are a few of my latest: "All That Is Good" wanted a new design for spring. Her previous blog design was pretty dark so we lightened it up and incorporated some fun spring...

I was first introduced to the Strong's when they contacted me wanting a new blog design. At that point I had no idea what sort of an impact this special family would have on my life.  I soon found out that their daughter, Gwendolyn, had been diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) at just 6 months. After doing some research on their blog, I found out that SMA is the #1 genetic infant killer. I also noticed that they had started a petition in support of the SMA Treatment Acceleration Act, which if passed will end SMA.  (Please sign it!) What made this story hit close to home was the fact that their little Gwendolyn was just 2 days younger than my Little Guy.  The strength that Victoria and Bill Strong have amazes me.  They are striving to find an end to this disease, with little hope that it will help their own daughter, but knowing it will prevent other parents from going through what they have. Gwendolyn is a sweetheart.  I love reading their blog each day, it is trul...

Happy Father's Day dad! Thank you for being the best dad a girl could ever ask for. You are not just my dad, but one of my best friends. Thank you for always pretending that your children's gifts were the greatest gifts you had ever received ...for the hours and hours spent driving the boat while we wakeboarded behind ...for your hard work to provide for our family ...for all of the little inside jokes we have (day-wha...?) ...for being a master griller (salmon jerky or not.. I always loved it) ...for having family scripture study and prayer faithfully all growing up ...for teaching me how to work ...for hours spent editing english papers and helping with math assignments ...for loving ice cream and cookie dough almost as much as I do ...for making sure we all made it out of the house on time for family vacations ...for blaming the red lights on the fact that we left 2 minutes later than we should have ...for teaching us how to properly load a dishwasher ...for always tel...

Remember the diet JC and I are on that was briefly mentioned here ? Well, I think I need to clarify. My version of the diet is drinking a Slim Fast shake for breakfast and lunch, sneaking cookie dough here and there throughout the day (which is stored as neat little balls in the freezer), eating whatever for dinner and finishing the day with another ball of cookie dough. Surprisingly, it has still (kind of) worked. But I feel like I shouldn't claim to be on a diet with all of the cookie dough I have consumed. I am happy to say that I ate the last of the cookie dough tonight and don't plan on making another batch... but I won't promise anything. So, let me rephrase that last post by saying "before my husband went on his diet..." By the way, is there a CDLA (Cookie Dough Lovers Anonymous)? If there is, don't tell me. At this point I know I have a problem, but I am not yet willing to fix it. I'll put it on hold for a while, but I refuse to ever let i...

The Print & Pattern blog is pure eye candy for me each morning. I love the patterns that she finds on fabric, gift wrap, stationery, etc. Thanks to Print & Pattern, I was introduced to this adorable fabric by Lizzie House this week.  Now if I can just think of something cute to do with it!  Maybe this cute quilt ?  HA!  Yeah, right.  Maybe I could get my mom to make it for me and I could stand off to the side and sew a straight line here or there and then claim I helped her make it. P.S.  I am also loving these cards , and this table setting.

Before going on our "prepare for Hawaii" diet, my husband (who requested to be referred to as "The Big JC" on this blog, but I'll use JC for short) and I made this french toast and I keep forgetting to post it. JC is a much better french toast maker than I, so he handled that part of the recipe. I tackled the strawberry topping, and together we made magic. Strawberry Shortcake French Toast French Toast: No set recipe... just make your favorite but whatever you do, be sure to sprinkle a layer of sugar on each side of the toast before placing it on the griddle to create a "crunch" for each bite. Trust us on this one. This is The Big JC's trick. Strawberry topping: 1 small package of fresh strawberries 2-4 tablespoons of brown sugar (to taste) a few drops of lemon juice Place strawberries in a bowl to mash, or take the easy way out and place it in your food chopper to liquify. Add brown sugar (SO much tastier than white..), tasting it after each ...

(Image from Getty Images) I'm a country girl.  At heart. Not in the literal form.  But I have always wanted to be a cowgirl.  Growing up, I loved visiting my cousin's farm in the summer where I could play cowgirl for a couple weeks out of the year.   I also love country music, much to my brother's dismay.  I have loved it ever since I was a little girl.  I have loved it even when it wasn't cool to like country music.   One of my absolute favorite things to do during the summer is go to the country music concert at the county fair.  Not only do I love dressing up in my "cowgirl" gear, but I love being able to pretend for one night that I am once again that cowgirl on my cousin's farm.  I can't wait for this year's concert! There is just something about country music that makes me happy.  I go through phases where I don't listen to it as often, but other phases when that's all I can handle listening to on the radio.  (Yes, I said radio.  I d...

My sister-in-law Landry sent me this link first thing this morning when I signed on. I am so glad she did! I immediately fell in love with this book and the beautiful message it has. I have pre-order it and can't wait for my own copy to read to Little Guy. Go to the link and read it, you will fall in love as well. Thanks Landry for the happy thought for the day!

Introducing... Five Minute Jell-o. The Jell-o that will save. your. life. We love this stuff. My husband and Little Guy love it because it is GOOD, I love it because it is easy. Five minutes and it's done. This stuff is such a life saver when I forget to make a Jell-o and don't have hours to wait for it to set up. This recipe is also no-fail. So simple and easy, you will love it! First, gather your ingredients: 1 small package Jell-o, 2/3 c. boiling water, 8-9 ice cubes, and Cool-whip*. Put Jell-o and water into a blender. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes. Add ice cubes one at a time. (Don't you love my ghetto lid? We lost our blender lid about 5 years ago and have had to be creative ever since.) If desired, add some Cool Whip or yogurt. Mix then pour into a bowl. Add fruit, if desired. Cool in refrigerator for 5 minutes. Not only is it yummy, but it looks pretty served up in a bowl, almost like a mousse! I would suggest using strawberry ...

This is what I got to drive home in last night: It was okay though, my husband was in the back entertaining Little Guy, I was blasting Taylor Swift singing my head off and eating Tootsie Fruit Rolls. It wasn't so bad. (I'm the designated driver because I get VERY car sick). We are back from a fun-filled (and exhausting) weekend and I am now ready to share my yummy strawberry recipes with you. First one will be tomorrow. Excited? You should be.

Hi everyone!  After THREE WHOLE DAYS of trying to figure out how to transfer my domain name from wordpress to blogger, I finally got it!  I wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of this google help groups guy.   I'm so excited to be back to blogger and can't wait to introduce some new features to you all in the future.   I am also very excited about my new tag line "finding joy", since that is one of my new years resolutions this year.  It really has reminded me to find joy every day, and I have been pleasantly surprised with the results. I have lots to post and catch up on, including some yummy new recipes that have to do with big red summer fresh strawberries, but for now I better get back to packing!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.