Life update

 It has literally been years since I have made a post to this blog. I considered shutting it down, but then I remembered that I have a couple of people in my life who still use a few of the recipes that I have posted and ask for the link every once in a while, so I figured I would just make an update instead.

With that said, here's a little post to catch up on what has happened in the last FIVE years since I last posted!

Our little baby boy isn't quite a baby anymore. Oliver just turned 7 last month! He is currently in first grade and has roughly nine weeks left in the year. I cannot believe that time has gone by so fast! He is so smart and hilarious, always making us laugh. He is curious about everything and loves to tell us facts about lots of different things in life. He loves Fortnite and plays all the time with my nephew, Zander. I play with them a lot of the time too. He loves to travel with us to work, especially if our friend George (one of the best ring announcers) is going to be there and most especially if there is a belt because he knows that George will call him into the cage to present it! He has met a lot of cool people including Butterbean and his son. Also, the former wife of the one and ONLY Muhammad Ali, Khalilah Camacho Ali (aka Mama Ali). She was so sweet and loving to Oliver and gave him her autographed photo of her and Muhammad. 

Fortnite 7th Birthday!

Oliver with George and a Championship belt!

Oliver with Butterbean and his son. Butterbean was awarded a Presidential Recognition award from President Biden by Mama Ali at this event. 

Oliver and Mama Ali

Speaking of work... we have come a long way with the company since we started in 2020. We have traveled to so many different places all over the country, adding at least 15 states to my bucketlist and meeting some really cool people along the way. We are very fortunate to have such an amazing opportunity! We are also always on the lookout for new promotions, people to add to the team (producers and camera operators!). Combat Sports Now is headed in an exciting direction and I couldn't be prouder to be part of it!

I have also started doing a lot more with my own personal business, I have started doing a lot more graphic design stuff and posting to my Etsy shop - I haven't done much photography lately but I am starting to work on rebranding it. We are hoping to add some video into the mix, perhaps commercial work and event video. Check back for updates! 

Last September, on what would have been my Mamaw Sis and Papaw Lawrence's 69th Anniversary, Davey and I were married! Our friend Rachel was ordained and married us in a beautiful backyard ceremony. The day couldn't have been more perfect and my guys looked so handsome! I know my grandparents were watching over!

The Thomases, Established 2023

This past summer, on Memorial Day, I also recommited myself to God and was baptized with my baby boy in August. It was wonderful to share such a beautiful moment with him. I have since become the song leader at our church and just love all of our church family! It really is a wonderful church and I am so thankful! 

Lots of other things have happened since my last post and so many things that I can't really include in this one or it would be a novel! I will say that we've had lots of fun, laughs, good times, tears over losing loved ones and furbabies, moving to a new house, health scares and faced many challenges but it has definitely made us stronger as a family. I love and am so grateful for this little life!

Spring Forward VoxBox from Influenster

I was one of the lucky Influensters to receive the #SpringForwardVoxBox from Influenster. For those who aren't sure what it is, it is a great website with product reviews. Those who sign up as an influenenster submit product reviews for chances to participate inproduct campaigns. 

Every once in a while,  they will issue out what's called a VoxBox to certain qualifying users for product review. The boxes contain products and sometimes coupons for a product or products that you are sampling for review. The contents depend on what the box is for and based on the answers in your qualifying survey. 

My link will be included at the bottom of you'd like to give it a try!

In this VoxBox, I received a sample from and will review each here.

1. Smashmallow Cookie Dough by @Snackapade on Instagram.

It's snackable marshmallow made with organic cane sugar & other non-gmo, naturally gluten-free ingredients.

I have to say I was pretty disappointed. It didn't taste at all like cookie dough but like a marshmallow with a few mini semi-sweet chocolate chips on it, which is legit what it is 🤣 My son, Oliver really liked it and they gave me a coupon for a free bag so I may get them for him, but I don't think I'd buy them for myself.


2. Lemi Shine Dishwasher Cleaner by @lemishine on Instagram.

Lemi Shine Dishwasher cleaner is said to remove tough buildup to improve dishwasher performance and extend the life of the appliance. 

We've used several other Lemi Shine brand products and we love them! They are natural ingredient products that really do clean and smell great. They are definitely worth the price of the product.


3. Gold Bond Ultimate Neck & Chest Age Defense with SPF 20 by @goldbond_ultimate on Instagram.

This product says that it helps protect from visible signs of premature aging on the neck and chest.

I was excited to receive this in my spring forward voxbox (compliments of @influenster for testing)because I've been looking at getting a new moisturizer and I also have really fair skin so the sunscreen is a plus. It's a well trusted brand that I've used before so I was excited to try this. So far, I like it. It's got a pleasant scent, unlike most sunscreens and it doesn't leave my skin greasy.

Vegetable Cook Cheat Sheet

How to choose the best Watermelon

If you're like me, it's not officially summer for you until you can enjoy a nice, sweet, juicy slice of watermelon in the hot summer heat. I ran across this post on Facebook and thought it would be worth a share.

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks

Tonight, my husband wanted to make his awesome homemade pizza for dinner. It really impresses me how well he can cook some things. Pizza just happens to be one of my favs when it comes to things that he makes. He knows I love a thin, crispy crust and I don't care for a huge amount of sauce so his pizza is perfect!

I decided to try a new breadstick recipe that I found on Pinterest today, but like always, I tweak the recipes I find/use to make them into my own.

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks

Yield: 2-12 inch pizza crusts; about 1 lb. of dough

Dough Ingredients:

1 cup warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
3 cups bread flour {give or take 1/2 cup...depending on the heat & humidity}

Breadstick Ingredients:


1 batch of dough {from above}
3 tablespoons softened salted butter {room temperature}
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
2-3 cups grated mozzarella cheese
{salt & pepper, if desired}

Directions:

For the pizza dough--

In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, stir yeast and sugar into warm water. Sit for 5-10 minutes or until bubbles form and mixture starts to foam. This tells you that the yeast is alive and kicking.

Pour in salt, oil and half the flour and mix. Once that flour is incorporated, start adding flour in bit by bit until you get the pizza dough to the consistency you want: slightly tacky, but when you touch it it doesn't stick to your hands. Once you reach this stage, knead for 6 minutes.

Dough should be smooth and easy to work with and shouldn't stick to the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl & the dough so it doesn't dry out, cover with plastic wrap and let it rise 1-2 hours. Use as desired.

For the Cheesy Garlic Bread Sticks-

Preheat oven to highest temperature that you oven will reach. You want to preheat with pizza stone inside the oven also, so that the stone will be nice and hot. {If you don't have a pizza stone, use an upside down cookie sheet.}

Mix butter and garlic in a small bowl and set aside.

Spread pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle on parchment paper. {This makes it easier to transfer to the pizza stone.}

Spread the butter and garlic mixture over dough and sprinkle on cheese. Top with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper, if desired.

Bake for about 9-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden brown. Your dough should also bubble up nicely too!

Remove from oven and let cool for 1-2 minutes before slicing into strips.

Serve with marinara or butter garlic sauce.

I did a butter garlic sauce by melting a little butter and adding garlic powder to the desired taste.

Enjoy!!

Bacon Ranch Cheeseball

2 {8oz} package of cream cheese, room temp
1/2c shredded cheddar
1/4c green pepper, finely chopped
3 green onion, finely chopped
1c bacon crumbles, divided (I use a whole package of real bacon bits)
1 pkg of hidden valley ranch dip mix

Place cream cheese in a medium sized mixing bowl. Mix until both blocks are combined. Add in ranch dip mix and mix well. Mix in shredded cheddar, green onion, green pepper and 1/2 of the bacon crumbles.

Once mixed, using your hands, form into a ball. Roll the ball into the remaining 1/2 of bacon crumbles. Wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Serve with crackers.

Pineapple Crunch Cheeseball

Ingredients

2 {8 oz.} packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 {15.25 oz.} can crushed pineapple, drained
2 tsp. Seasoned salt
3 green onions, finely chopped {or more depending on your taste}              

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
Chopped pecans or walnut for coating

Directions

Mix cream cheese and pineapple together until blended well. Add seasoned salt, green pepper, cheese and green onions until well mixed. Form mixture into a ball and coat outside with chopped nuts. You can refrigerate for a while until the mix is a little more firm before you form into a ball if you are having trouble or the mixture is a little too runny. Once formed into ball, wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until you serve with crackers.