FAMILY FLUSHIES

FAMILY FLUSHIES
In the summer of 2009 my family and I became addicted to the slushies at Seven Eleven. My 3 year old, who was 2 at the time never called them slushies, she always said flushies so the name stuck. After a while I think we all started going into sugar shock and although slushies are not that pricey a couple of slushies, over a couple of days over a couple of weeks adds up. We needed to make a change. Out of that came our flushies. The name is really appropriate too because they are all made up of things that are good for you and could potentially help to flush out your body while satisfying your craving for something ice cold and sweet. Just thought I would share a few of them with you so that you could enjoy too.

FAMILY FLUSHIE RECIPES (ALL OF THESE MAKE ABOUT 4 SERVINGS)

STRAWBERRY LEMON ALE
1 Cup Lemonade (I like the Simply Lemonade brand)
1 Cup Ginger Ale ( I guess any ginger ale would do, but if you want one without the high fructose stuff in it, Hains makes a good ginger ale. I’m sure Trader Joes or Whole Foods has it and more, but I have also found it at Stop and Shop.)
1 Cup Frozen Strawberries 6 – 8 cubes of ice
A Sprinkle of Turbinado Raw Sugar
Blend and Enjoy!!!

SUNRISE ORANGE JUICE SPECIAL
2 Cups of 100% Orange Juice (Not From Concentrate, I guess fresh pressed would be even better)
1 Banana
1 Cup Frozen Pineapples (In Unsweetened Juice or not)
6-8 cubes of ice
A Dabble of Agave Nectar
Blend and Enjoy!!!
(I like to add some shredded coconut, but the kids prefer it without)

BERRY BLAST
2 Cups of Raspberry Lemonade (I like the Simply Lemonade Brand)
1 Banana
1 Cup of Frozen Mixed Berries (Blueberries & Blackberries or whatever you like)
Blend and Enjoy!!!

APPLE PRUNE SURPISE
(The surprise is that this actually taste pretty good, and the kids like it they can drink it every morning)
1 Cup 100% Apple Juice (Fresh Pressed Apple Juice is really good)
1 Cup 100% Prune Juice (Not From Concentrate)
1 Banana
1 Cup Frozen Strawberries
Blend and Enjoy!!!
(You can even add a little frozen applesauce to make this more rich and tasty; you can actually add some frozen applesauce to any of these. I like the Totally Fruit or Healthy Picks Applesauce made by Musselmans-no high fructose and made from fruit juice. They have really cool flavors to like raspberry acai, strawberry, peach, blueberry, etc. Target sells a 4 pack for $1.55 and they frequently have a $1 off of two 4 packs coupon in them. So you can rack up and freeze away.)

PRINCESS POWER

This dress was inspired by two things, my 3 year old Niomi, who loves all things princess related and a kind gesture by a true princess and beautiful sister Andrea Patterson. This dress is actually not completed, it was meant to be a play princess dress for Niomi, but she refused to put it on for me to alter it (I think accidently sticking her with a pin when I was first draping the material really was the end of playing dress up with mommy.) I decided to post it anyway, because just like my beautiful Niomi, this dress is a work in progress.

Niomi at the tender age of 3 has several regal tendencies. The way she sits with her legs crossed in her car seat, how she needs to be escorted to the bathroom at home but then tells you to step outside or how she does not want her feet to touch the floor in the house so she wears slippers at all times. She insist on picking out what shoes she wears or even what pjs or house clothes she wears so that she can look like a pretty princess. I have made many efforts to tell her that she is a princess regardless of what she wears and that her royalty is based on who she is. That sort of fell on deaf ears until one night a few months ago we watched a movie together “The Princess Protection Program.” I liked this movie because what ended up making this princess so regal was the kindness in her heart and her ability to uplift others. This reminded me of how I lost one of my earrings at a friend’s house during a women’s fellowship sleep over. Not only did Andrea drop my earring in the mail to me, but she took the time to write a sweet note that put a smile on my face. As beautiful and special as Andrea is when you are in her presence she always has a kind word to say about you, and you leave feeling loved. Now that is true princess power. I think Niomi is coming into her true royalty too. She was the last one dropped off on her 3rd day of pre-school; most of the kids were on the far side of the room playing but there was one little girl in the middle of the room head down and teary eyed. Niomi walked right up to her, put her hand on her shoulders looked her in the eyes and asked her name. I thought aaaaaaah how sweet, then I thought, there it is, princess power. So I could have made a pink dress but that was to light weight for what I thought a true princess would exude. The earring returned was actually an ethnic looking gold earring and I wanted the dress to have that same feel.

RED CARPET

I made this bag using satin material that I cut out of my red dress. This is a birthday gift for my niece Sydney, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! This is from the red dress that I wore in the Ms. Black Teen Beauty Pageant during my last year of High School. Although I came in second place I felt like a winner. I actually won for Ms. Congeniality though. I remember all my friends cheering me on and I got to perform on stage and shine. When I look at my neice she reminds me of everything that was wonderful in that moment; she shines. She is sensitive and sweet, talented and already a super star in her own right. I am inspired by watching her shine in everything that she does. She turned 11 today and I know that her future is bright. I can already see her walking down the red carpet at the grammys or oscars, maybe she'll let me design her dress:-) But for now here is a bag and some matching earings that I made.

BORN AGAIN

I took my very first official sewing class years ago, not counting the times I experimented on my moms old sheets and curtains. My 1st project was a bag and I kept all the scraps of fabric that were left; I have held onto them over the years. For a while I put aside many of my creative passions; then along came Yadira Laguerre, the renowned photographer and graphic artist of YL Designs and founder of Point of Creation. Through Point of Creation Yadira reminded me that creativity still lived on the inside of me, I felt like I was born again. This is the new bag that was birthed out or that re-awakening. This bag was inspired by Yadira Laguerre and is a tribute to new beginnings, it is called BORN AGAIN. It's hand made, no machines, no patterns and it was put together from all the pieces that I thought were useless, it is a reminder that Yah is able to use everything in us to create something beautiful.