mommyblogger – The Wild Gems

Love Is A Choice – Choose To Love

November 6, 2024 The Wild GemsLeave a comment

Try this: whatever in your life brings up fear or anxiety, choose to love it. Anything that stirs anger? Choose love. Love isn’t just a feeling; it’s an action, and it’s a choice we have the power to make every day. The ability to love more deeply is a seed within us, and it’s one that needs nurturing.

When something frustrates or upsets you, pause, take a breath, and say, “I love you.” Don’t let stress or anger have power over you. Every person and every experience around us could use a little more love.

Instead of pushing away “it”, whatever it may be (we all have things, situations, or even people that we find challenging to love) because of the negative emotions it brings, challenge yourself to love it.

For example, imagine you just stubbed your toe on the door. (We all know how much that hurts!) Instead of cursing the door, acknowledge it with a twist: “That hurt, but I still love you, door, because you keep my family safe and give us privacy.” It may seem small, but this practice strengthens the habit of choosing love in frustrating moments. If you can learn to love something as simple as a door that caused you pain, think of how far that love can extend to the bigger challenges in life.

Some days, you’ll succeed; other days, you’ll struggle. But don’t give up, love really is the answer. I know, because I have my own struggles with this practice.

There have been moments when my children have sparked this kind of anger I didn’t even know I had, and I have to literally step back to figure out where it’s coming from.

I had to choose love.

Over time, we evolve and improve, and for that, we can be grateful for.

Love is more than a feeling, it’s a choice. Imagine a world of choose to love.

Dear Readers, I’m Sorry I Haven’t Posted In Awhile

April 11, 2024 The Wild Gems2 Comments

Good morning my beautiful readers, how are you all doing?

I’m still here, and I am sorry that I have not shared anything in quite some time. To be honest I’ve just been very busy and this blog hasn’t been a priority at the moment.

I have 4 kids in case you didn’t know. An 8 year old, a 7 year old, a 4 year old, and a 1 year old. I’m a busy mama. And no, we didn’t just boom boom and decide to have kids back to back. Two of them are biological and two are adopted.

I know I don’t have to share that at all but I want those who read this to really understand. I like to joke that I got the “have a baby get one free deal” because that’s exactly what happened.

We actually just adopted my son (the one year old) in January. So thankful that that has been finalized.

I like to consider myself an open book so if you ever read any of my posts and would like clarification on anything don’t ever hesitate to ask me. We are friends on here I like to think.

Anyways, I’ve been busy. But it’s been a good busy.

I’m going to make an effort to release all that I’ve been absorbing and share it with you all.

I’m getting back into reading and I’ve already gained so much new insight! I love it!

Thank you my readers for taking the time to read what I share.

There’s something so intimate and comforting about being in the blogging community.

Lots of love, always

– Marie

The Wild Gems

Ree Drummond’s Waffle Recipe Is The BEST EVER

January 30, 2023January 31, 2023 The Wild Gems2 Comments

I think I won some mom brownie points with these waffles this past weekend. They are scrumptious! And well, with a stick of butter of in there, of course they are!

Don’t you love when you try a new recipe and you are pleasantly surprised! Of course sometimes you try something new and you experience disappointment. But sometimes the recipe risk is the best thing ever!

I’ll be making these today and actually freezing them so my girls can eat them for the rest of the week. We topped our waffles with fresh strawberries, powdered sugar, and maple syrup. I hope you enjoy these as much as our family did!

For the direct link to the recipe CLICK HERE

Ree Drummond Waffle Recipe

What You Need:

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/4 cup of sugar

1 tablespoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 1/2 cups of milk (preferably whole milk)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 eggs plus 2 additional egg whites

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted (original calls for salted, I’m just not a fan of salted butter)

Steps:

1. Mix the dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt)

2. Mix the wet ingredients (milk, eggs, egg whites, vanilla extract, and melted butter)

3. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and mix well.

Enjoy!

Meat And Cheese Charcuterie Board Inspiration – Visual Layouts And Pairings

January 29, 2023March 14, 2023 The Wild Gems2 Comments

Get started! Charcuterie Boards short cut!

#ad as an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases

Charcuterie boards are so much fun! They are kind of like snowflakes, they are each unique in their own way. And what a way to display your creativity! I love it! This blog is specifically meat and cheese but I see myself sharing a sweets charcuterie board blog too in the future. So many possibilities!

I went to a wine tasting last weekend to celebrate a friends 35th birthday. There was a total of 5 of us and we all met because of our daughters. Our girls all met last year in kindergarten and now our little beauties are in first grade. It’s been so much fun developing these types of friendships and I’m so grateful.

Back to the wine tasting, one of the girls brought a prepared charcuterie board that we all got to enjoy and indulge in. A friends of hers actually creates them as a business!

Just sitting with the girls drinking some wine in the vineyards while snacking was pure bliss. If you’re a mom you know how badly you have to take some time for yourself to recharge your batteries.

*The board we snacked on.* *My favorite is the spicy meat paired with a flavored goat cheese and crispy cracker. So yummy!*

We all get excited about having a charcuterie board party. Maybe the wine was kicking in or we were just really hungry which resulted in this charcuterie board being the best thing ever. But this charcuterie board inspired this blog.

I share some layouts to help you with your charcuterie board party that you may be planning and some common pairings. You don’t have to follow it exactly but use this more as a guide and have some fun with it!

Thank you for reading and have fun charcutering! (I just made that up)

Charcuterie Board Visuals

Charcuterie Board Pairings And Tips

Would love to see your board! Share it with us on instagram!

Click here 🙂

For additional pairings with wine specifically check out this blog!

Fall Wines And The Perfect Pairings That Go With Them

Chicken And Mushroom Pasta In A Heavy Cream Sauce

August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 The Wild GemsLeave a comment

Servings: 6-8

What You Need:

1 12oz bag of wide egg noodles

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1-2 teaspoons of garlic (fresh or jar)

1 small package of mushrooms

3/4 cup of chicken stock

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper for taste

2 cups of sharp white cheddar cheese shredded

2 cups chopped chicken or 1 rotisserie chicken shredded

Chopped fresh Italian parsley for garnish (optional)

Steps:

1. Boil a medium to large pot of water. When water is boiling add a few dashes of salt and then cook pasta according to directions. Reserving 3/4 cup of pasta water.Set aside when done.

2. In a large skillet melt butter and sauté onion and garlic until tender.

3. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté until cooked and tender.

4. Add chicken stock, heavy cream, cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Mix until smooth and cheese is completely melted.

5. Stir in the chicken and pasta in the sauce and add the pasta water. Turn off heat and mix well, allowing to sit for little for sauce to thicken.

6. Serve with a salad and garlic bread.

Enjoy!

**** This taste amazing the next day too! ****

Easy Alfredo Sauce

November 23, 2021April 25, 2022 The Wild GemsLeave a comment

This Alfredo sauce is so yummy! Enjoy!

What You Need:

2 cups of Parmesan Cheese

1 (8 tablespoons) stick of unsalted butter

1 cup of heavy cream (8oz)

A few dashes of salt and pepper

1 teaspoon of fresh parsley finely chopped and a little extra chopped for garnish

Steps:

1. Melt the butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat, once butter is melted add heavy cream. Allow to simmer while mixing for 2 minutes seasoning with salt and pepper.

2. Add Parmesan cheese and parsley. Add a few dashes of milk or pasta water to thin sauce out a little. Allow to cook and very low heat until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Soften The Heart: Devotional #10

October 19, 2021October 21, 2021 The Wild GemsLeave a comment

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content”

Philippians 4:11

If we define the word worry, it reads; “give way to anxiety or unease; allow one’s mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.” Think about that for just a moment. When we can’t control something, it causes us stress and anxiety. It leads us down the path of worrying where we end up in a field filled with fear.

How often do you worry? Many times I’m sure. About all sorts of things, right? We worry about the future, we worry about our children, we worry about bills being paid, we worry about our health, we worry about our family, we worry about many, many things.

We all worry. What you should know though is worrying is natural human survival instinct. Ultimately we worry to protect us from harm. Maybe you’re thinking, “how is worrying about my family protecting me? I’m worry about them.” Yes, that is true, however you worry to protect yourself from feeling pain. If something happens to someone in your family, you know you would suffer too. And who wants to suffer? Again, we worry to protect us. *Humans are pretty selfish, we think about ourselves a lot.*

Now worrying and living in fear is giving in to a very powerful force. Too many times we allow these emotions to completely control us and prevent us from truly living and feeling joy in our hearts. This also prevents our relationship with God from growing. Why? Because we aren’t trusting God. We aren’t trusting the creator of the entire universe. You’re not alone my friend, and you’re not on your own.

We have to lean in, we have to surrender, and we have to trust our Heavenly Father. He knows way more than we do. But, like a three year old, we are stubborn children. We want to do things on our own. Like children, we don’t want help. We don’t want to believe our Heavenly Father knows more than we do. Maybe we aren’t children, we kinda sound more like teenagers.

The spirit within us is like a muscle. As we strengthen our spirit muscle, it becomes stronger. The seed of love that God planted in all of us becomes stronger. God is love my friends. But we gotta water that seed! And we have to water others! As we continue to work on your relationship with God we become stronger than the flesh, we become stronger than those feelings and emotions that act like a wall preventing us from living in peace and harmony.

When we continue to seek God, the walls of fear and worry begin to crumble and dissolve like a soaked cookie in milk. We begin to feel peace within ourselves.

No matter what state we are in we aren’t worried or in fear because we know God loves us. We know no matter what, it’s going to be okay. We begin to understand God is in us, he surrounds us, he is reaching out and rescuing us.

But to be in that state, we have to reach our hand out. Gods hand is already present, we are the ones holding back. And once we grab ahold of the hand of God no matter what happens you’ll know in your heart God has got this. No matter what you know in the end Gods going to make everything right. God loves you. He loves you, He loves you, He loves you.

God bless

Cream Cheese Frosting

April 16, 2021September 3, 2022 The Wild GemsLeave a comment

Cream Cheese Frosting

This amount of frosting is good for 24 cupcakes or a 9×13 size cake. There may be a little extra just to eat! Yum!

What You Need:

1 8oz pack of cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup (1stick) of unsalted butter (softened)

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon of salt

A small squeeze of a lemon (optional)

Steps:

1. Combine all ingredients into a medium sized mixing bowl except for the lemon. Mix well until smooth and creamy.

2. Now take the lemon and squeeze just a little bit of lemon juice to give the frosting a sweet tangy taste. Mix well. Taste, and add more if needed.

3. Spread on cupcakes, muffins, breads, whatever your little heart desires.

Note: store any left over frosting in the fridge. Frosting is good for 3-5 days.

If it’s looking like this picture below the cream cheese or butter may not have been softened enough. No worries though! Just let the frosting sit out for a bit. Then mix again with an electric mixture.

A little lumpy, I knew the butter wasn’t soft enough!

I let it sit out and then we re-mixed it. Smooth and creamy, just what we wanted!

Enjoy my precious gems!

Maple And Brown Sugar Oatmeal Cookies

May 15, 2020 The Wild GemsLeave a comment

Makes between 20 to 25 cookies (depending on desired size)

Bake at 350 for 8 to 10mins (oven time may vary)

What You Need:

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 full stick of softened unsalted butter (8 tablespoons)

2 cups of rolled oats

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup chocolate chips (I used dark, but you can use semisweet too)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Steps:

1. In a medium size bowl mix together oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour.

2. In a large bowl beat with an electric mixer the brown sugar, the stick of butter, and granulated sugar until combined. Beat in egg. Then beat in maple syrup and vanilla extract. Once it’s all combined begin beating in the flour mixture. (Can use hands when it begins getting thicker)

4. Once mixture is set add chocolate chips and mix well. (If you have kids this is fun for them to mix with their hands)

5. Place generous dollops of oatmeal batter onto parchment paper. Bake at 350 for 8 to 10 mins.

Note: when taking the cookies out of the oven beat the tray on the counter a few times to enhance a chewy soft texture. So yummy. It needs to be done RIGHT AWAY once pulled out.

ALSO, I personally bake one tray at a time on the high rack. This recipe made about 3 trays for me.