Logan Morgan

My friends son is very sick. On Christmas day he fell ill with H1N1, pneumonia and an infection in his blood. He is at Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital, his family is having a hard time paying bills and traveling back and forth to visit with him. If you can donate to either of these fundraisers please do, if not please say a prayer and leave a positive note for them. Thank you!!

Story about Logan, written by his dad. 

Travel Fund

Family Fund [Food, Lodging, Bills]

Laora

Today is the 5th anniversary of my first daughters due date, so I thought I would make a post about her. 

She was a beautiful little 8 pound 8 ounce red headed bundle of joy! All I ever wanted out of life was to be a mom. Never really had the 'Dream Wedding' and Prince Charming to sweep me off my feet, dreams; my main goal in life since I was a babe myself was to have a bunch of kids and be a great mom. So, the day I found out I was pregnant was the happiest I had ever been.

Then about 4 months into my pregnancy we were sent to a specialist to have a closer look at a few things, while there we found out that we were having a girl, I was ecstatic! After the ultra sound we were sat down in a room where the specialist came in and told us our daughter had Anencephaly and that it is 'incompatible with life'. There was a blur of talking about our 'options' and other things. It was the absolute worst moment of my life.

We decided to carry to term, though it wasn't much of a 'decision', her dad and I dont believe in abortion so, there wan't much of a 'choice' to be made. We would carry her as long as possible. Which ended up being nearly 2 weeks passed the due date. I went in to be induced the first week of January and after 5 days of that not working, we finally had a c-section on January 9th.

She lived for 8 days.

Anencephaly is a neural tube defect [NTD], it happens in the first month after conception. No one knows why NTDs happen. It is believed that high amounts of folic acid will reduce the risk, but no one knows for sure how to prevent it and there is no cure. As the neural tube [basically your spine and skull] is forming it folds over on its self, over and over and over. At one point the ends close up and form both ends of your spine, one end being your skull and the other end being the end of  your spine. But, it is possible for one or both ends to not close. If one end doesnt close it causes Anencephaly, if the other end doesnt close it causes Spina Bifida. With Anencephaly the end doesnt close, therefore the skull doesnt form properly and because the skull doesnt form, the brain doesnt form properly. As with all things there are different degrees to this effect, some skulls form more than others, some not at all. Some babys pass away in utero and some live for hours/days/weeks/months and in one or 2 cases even years.

Statistically speaking, most babies die in utero or only live for a few minutes after birth, but I personally feel those 'findings' are a bit corrupt. Based on the fact that lost of people decide to end the pregnancy, either through abortion or inducing very early. If you google Anencephaly you will find that it says 'Most babies only live a few minutes after birth or die during labor', what most of those sites dont state is that most of those babies are being induced around 20 weeks. Im not saying that all babies carried to term will live 8 days or 8 months, I'm just saying its possible. Also, most women who get this diagnosis have never even heard of Anencephaly and are only going by their doctors orders or the crap they read on medical sites, I just want people to have a few more facts. I know of quite a few women who regret their decision to terminate or induce and were only doing it because their doctor told them the baby was in pain or that their own life was in danger and that they needed to end the pregnancy immediately. Then they find out months or years later that they could have carried to term and possibly held their baby alive. Its hard enough to live with the fact that your child died, but then having to deal with that extra regret later on is nearly unbearable.

I cant guarantee anything for anyone, but if you are pregnant with an Anencephalic baby and you dont know what to do I want you to know the facts about my daughter:

She cried when she was born.

She breastfed.

She wouldnt take a bottle or pacifier.

She peed.

She pooped.

When someone else was holding her and she heard me speaking she would turn to look for me.

She slept.

She was awake.

She had baths.

She knew she was loved.

She lived for 8 wonderful days.

I cant promise the same for your baby, I can only tell you my experience, I dont want anyone to get their hopes up or feel cheated if their baby passes away sooner, I just dont want anyone to make any misinformed decisions and regret it later on.

We ended up naming her after a song called Laura by one of our favorite bands Flogging Molly.

Im gonna post the lyrics and a video of the song below. This tattoo is in memory of my sweet Laora and also my uncle who was killed in a car wreck [the angel wings were drawn up by my aunt,his sister, and a few of our family members have them], I got the wings and the Anencephaly ribbon at the same time [my aunt did them] and I got the foot prints/name/dates as a birthday present to myself last year. Next I will be adding a few lyrics from her song.

Laura by Flogging Molly

This next song is about a young lady called Laura
Who unfortunately isn't with us anymore
But she's still called Laura
...Here we go...

Feel the words from my lips
To your harsh finger tips
Then you know where I come from
Cause I know, yes I know
Everything there is to know
Cause I lost everything I had
You see I,
I could have danced on the sun
But my world came undone

(Laura)
Laura!!!!!!!!

There's no need for tears
Cause there's no need to cry
The love that you leave
Will never be left behind
This pain in my head comes straight from my heart
No woman alive could touch who you were
So bye, bye Laura
There's no one could take your place
Bye, bye Laura
Your beauty will never fade
The seed that you sewn
Now reaches for the sky
The song that you leave
Will never beat at night
And after this song, her spirit lives on
Though your not around you'll never be gone

So bye, bye Laura
Cause no one can take your place
Bye, bye Laura
Your beauty will never fade
But I... I could have danced on the sun
But my world came undone
Laura
Yeah, I... I could have danced on the sun
But my world came undone
So, bye bye Laura
Yeah, bye bye Laura

This pain in my head comes straight from my

heart
No woman alive could touch who you were

So bye, bye Laura
There's no one could take your place
Your beauty will never fade
So bye, bye Laura
There's no one could take your place
Bye, bye Laura
Your beauty will never fade
Fade!

Yeah!

                                             

    YouTube Laura by Flogging Molly

It Works! Distributor!!

On top of cooking/baking yummy eats, I am also a Distributor of Ultimate Body Applicators!

Have you heard of That Crazy Wrap Thing??

And yes, it REALLY does work! I promise, I have been using them for months and on different areas of my body and I have seen results each time.

The company [ It Works! ] is absolutely amazing. The compensation plan is like no other.

•      I get paid instantly with 'Wrap Cash' [ I earn cash for every individual wrap I sale, either at wrap party's or just to random people I meet. Side note: I've never made less than $100 at a wrap party!].
  
  •     They offer bonuses like CRAZY! Bonuses get paid out every Friday!! I'm Fast Start Qualified, meaning for every Distributor that I sign up who signs 2 Loyal Customers in their first 30 days I get $100!! And right now they are DOUBLING Fast Start Bonuses!! There's the $10,000 G.O.O.D. bonus that gets offered multiple times a year. And we just finished up the Christmas Cash Bonus

• 

  
  

   

  
  

  • And I get paid monthly Commissions. Not only do I make a 15% commission off every product I sale, but I also get a percentage of every sale my distributors make!!! Can you even wrap your mind around those possibilities??? Did you know that there are two amazing women in this company who are now MILLIONAIRES, just from being It Works! Distributors?!?!? 

  

   

   

  I love this business. I am amazed over and over again by this company and how generous they are to their Distributors. They dont just reward us with a discount on their products, they pay REAL MONEY and lots of it!! ;) Oh and there is also a $120 product credit you can earn in your first 60 days. Basically if you sign 4 Loyal Customers in your first 60 days [which is pretty easy to do] they give you a $120 shopping spree.  

   

   

  

   Just to give you an idea of what you could be making, either as extra income OR as a means to get out of a dead end job and make some real money!! Are you a stay at home mom? Or would you like to be?? Do you want to own you own business?? Because thats what this is!! YOU being in business FOR yourself, but not BY yourself!!!

  
  

  

  
  

  For just a $99 start up fee, you can own your own business!! When you sign up you will receive this Business Start up Kit, with one box of wraps [that you can sale for $25 each and make your money back], and one month of your It Works website and you will be qualified for commissions right from the start!!

   

  Does this sound like something you could do?? 

  If you are motivated and really want this, then you may be great for my team!! I only want go getters! I will work with you and teach you what I know about this Crazy Wrap Business and coach you on your Journey to Diamond!! 

  

  Does that look good to you?? Is that something you want in your life?? 

  If so message me and tell me so!! Im all about paying it forward, someone opened my eyes to this AMAZING company and I want to show it to YOU!!!

  
  

  You can leave a comment below or visit my website at Emerald Goddess Wraps and/or check out my Facebook Page .

  
  

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  

Christmas Inspired Cupcakes!!

Every year since I was born, we spend Christmas Eve at my dads parents house. [Here's a shocker for ya, both sets of my grandparents are still married! Got married in their mid teens and are now in their 70's and still going strong!] And this year I made Apple Butter as gifts for everyone and I whipped these festive little fellers, also! 

Depending on whether or not my toddler allows I may throw together a few loaves of my brown bread to take as well [along with some homemade butter and that apple butter, YUM!]

Candy Cane inspired w/ green glitter

Christmas Tree Inspired!

Whadda yall think???

Hamemade Eclairs!!

I made home made Eclairs!!

 

How beautiful is that??

These are SO good and dont have that lardy taste like the ones you get from a doughnut store or super market. They are baked and made from scratch, so you know exactly whats going in them ;)

They are fairly easy to make, but it is a bit of a process. I managed to make them with my 20 month old daughter under foot, so its not to bad. For someone who is accustomed to baking and has all the 'right' equipment, this process will be a bit easier going, but these are definitely simple enough that someone who has very little baking experience can pull them off and totally impress!! 

So, here we go!!

• CHOUX PASTRY:

• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
  
  
• ¼ tsp salt
• 4 large eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.

In medium saucepan, combine ½ cup butter and water. Bring to a boil, stirring to melt butter.
Reduce heat to low and stir in flour and salt with a wooden spoon until the mixture begins to form a stiff ball of dough.

Remove from heat and add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition to ensure they are incorporated. Work quickly, especially with the first one, to prevent it from cooking into scrambled eggs on the bottom of your warm pan :)

 

This part really tested my stirring constitution!! It was also pretty funny, me trying to stir these eggs in and juggle the camera to get a picture before they scrambled!

With a spoon or pastry bag fitted with a large tip, spread/pipe the thick dough onto prepared cookie sheet into 10 strips approximately 1½ x 4″ each.

 

I went with a pipping bag. But you can use just a ziplock bag, but this dough is pretty thick, so it might bust a ziplock. You could always just spoon it out and try to keep it a bit uniform. Or just make balls and do Creme Puffs [thats what Im gonna do with the left over dough from this batch!]

 

I liked making them flat and wide, they are gonna poof up quite a bit. 

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 325 and bake another 20 minutes, until puffed and golden and hollow sounding when lightly tapped on the bottom [I have a gas stove and it cooks a bit quicker, so keep an eye on them! You really dont want them to over cook!]. 

When removed from oven, IMMEDIATELY pierce the ends almost through to the other side to let steam escape and prevent any sogginess in the middle. If you are doing creme puffs, you could just poke the top unless they are kinda flat, you just want to make sure they wont tip over and lose their filling. 

 I used the handle of my wooden spoon and it worked like a charm! This hole is also where you will be piping your filling into.

 Let cool completely before filling and icing (this will only take about half an hour).

• CUSTARD FILLING:
• 1 (4 serving size) package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups milk (or as called for on pudding package)
  
  
• 1 cup heavy cream
• ¼ cup icing sugar (aka powdered sugar/confectioner’s sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp salt

Combine pudding and milk in a bowl and mix according to package directions. In a separate bowl, beat the heavy cream with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Beat in ¼ cup icing sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and ¼ tsp salt. Fold whipped cream into pudding.

Scoop mixture into pastry bag [I didnt even bother putting a tip on, I just snipped the tip off the bag. But if you have a tip, go for it!!] and pipe mixture into centers of eclairs until full.Theres probably going to be 'filling' flying and plopping all over the place, but its fun.

 

You can top them with whatever your favorite chocolate ganache or icing is, but heres a quick n easy one!

• CHOCOLATE ICING:
• 2 oz semisweet chocolate (or ⅓ cup semisweet chocolate chips)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 cup icing sugar (aka confectioners sugar/powdered sugar)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp hot water

Melt the chocolate and 2 Tbsp butter over low heat in a saucepan (or in the microwave, stirring after 30 seconds and giving additional 10 second increments as needed until fully melted). Stir in 1 cup icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Stir in hot water, 1 Tbsp at a time, until icing is smooth and reaches desired consistency. Drizzle, pipe or spread over filled eclairs.

I just drizzled the chocolate over them. :)

They definitely got my daughters vote of approval!!!