And the winner is...

I had so much fun celebrating 300 followers on Facebook with this giveaway!! And in the process we already gained over 55 more followers. How cool!

Are you DYING to know who won all of this?

Me too! So without further ado.....Random.org, tell us who our winner is:

****Anonymous who commented: "I shared!! PRESTOREX1@yahoo.com****

Congratulations!!! Sometimes it does pay to be last:) Be looking for an email from me shortly that so I can get your information.
I am also putting together an envelope full of coupons (I am already at 60 and I'm not finished yet) for Liz Maraldo who was my 300th follower.

Thanks again for all the support. Keep it up - Before you know it we'll be at 500 and who knows what I will give away then!!

300 Followers on Facebook GIVEAWAY!!!

I can't believe that Chrystal's Corner on Facebook has reached 300 followers! So cool:) I originally started a page just to share my blog posts but it has morphed into a place where I share the deals, coupons, freebies and other great things I find throughout the day. I love connecting to you all through our mutual love of saving our family money and sharing what we love. In celebration of hitting this milestone I am giving away 8 toiletry items from my personal stockpile as well as a cute Origins tote:

Origins Tote, 2 Herbal Essences Shampoos, 2 Sure deodorants, 2 Brut deodorants, Colgate toothpaste and a package of cotton rounds

How do you get a chance at this? Well, since my site is all about sharing with all of you, I would love for all of you to share this giveaway with your friends. Update your Facebook status with "I share what I love and I love this giveaway over at Chrystal's Corner: http://chrystal-lewis.blogspot.com/2011/06/300-followers-on-facebook-giveaway.html" Then leave a comment on this post saying you did that (make sure to also leave your email so I can get a hold of you if you win). That's it! Only one entry per person.

I like to keep things short and sweet mostly because I am impatient and get too excited to drag this on for days!! That means you only have until Thursday 6/28 at 8pm PST to enter. At that time I will choose 1 winner using Random.org. Best of luck!

**I want to send a special shout-out to a couple bloggers who helped me get to 300 in the last few days. Go check them out on Facebook: Simple2Save, Stacy's Savings and Other Stuff, Newbiecouponing, and Saving Simple Cents with Cindi**

                      -----THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED-----

Roasting Vegetables

One of my favorite ways to prepare vegetables is to roast them. This creates such a unique flavor and can turn vegetables you and your kids aren't particularly fond of into your favorite healthy additions to any meal.

Some of the veggies I roast I do so for the purpose of pureeing and adding to other foods. We love roasted butternut squash in homemade mac n cheese and in turkey meatballs. Roasted beets along with shredded apples and ricotta cheese make for amazingly sweet and delicious pink pancakes. Roasted red peppers can be pureed to make this Roasted Red Pepper Macaroni with Smoked Gouda Cheese I created or can be sliced and used on everything from pizza to chicken sandwiches to pasta.

One of the veggies I have never liked before I roasted it was cauliflower. In roasting it a nutty flavor emerges and is so delicious. I often do this as a side but it is also amazing in this recipe by Rachel Ray, Roasted Cauliflower Penne with Rosemary Cream Sauce. Broccoli is another great roasted veggie that we eat as a side, sometimes along with the cauliflower.

Because I had such great results with the cauliflower, when I read about roasted radishes in a recent edition of Whole Living magazine, I was open-minded about it even though I don't particularly care for radishes. We hit up our local farmers market and got a great price on several bunches of radishes. I prepared these to go with our BBQ last night and even roasted the leaves. Both turned out great so I thought I would share the recipe with you all:

Roasted Radishes and Greens
1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Separate 1 bunch radishes (halved if large) and their greens and arrange on two rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle each with 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

3. Bake, until radishes are tender and caramelized and greens are crisp, 15-20 minutes. Let cool. (This was perfect for the leaves but I had to go quite a bit longer with the radishes..you really want them soft and browning to get the good roasted flavor:)

What is your favorite roasted vegetable and how do you use it in your meals?

The Love Dare Challenge - Days 6-10

I am not a quitter. I don't run for the hills when things get tough. I'm not scared of getting to the heart of my weaknesses and failures. Okay...I just lied. Big time! All of that is completely false. But, I want it to be true. I don't want to give what used to be truth power in my life any more. So I am not giving up on this challenge. I am not going to point the blame at my husband's lack of cooperation. It is about me. The going got tough because this challenge hit the nerve of my biggest shortcoming. I don't feel worthy. I don't find value in things that are just for me. If I am not getting approval from an external source, I don't invest in that action. Hence the reason I struggle with my weight, hence the reason I struggle to do kind things when they go unnoticed. I need somebody to tell me it means something to them.

So as I go into this week I am choosing to focus on me. What I need to learn. What I need to overcome. Will you pray for me? Trying to overcome the shortcomings that have plagued you your entire life are hard! And I am going to need some borrowed strength. But I am going to stick with it. Are you with me?

Monday (day 6) - Love is not irritable. A loving wife is not overly sensitive or cranky but exercise emotional self-control. Okay...let's hit the road running with this one! Let's see what the challenge is: Choose today to react to tough circumstances in your marriage in loving ways instead of with irritation.  Begin by making a list of areas where you need to add margin to your schedule.  Then list any wrong motivations that you need to release from your life (click on the link I attached to day 6 so you can get the full understanding of this). 
I think that both stress and selfishness play a role in my negativity. I become cranky and snap when things have just gotten too overwhelming. Most of the time I do this to myself by either doing what feels right in the moment or by overstretching myself...both which lead to stress later on. If I would put work before play I could curb a lot of stress that creeps in when everything needs to be done all at once. If I asked for help and let myself off the hook for the unimportant stuff I would also be less stressed I'm sure. In turn I would be less irritable which I am sure would bless my husband immensely.

Tuesday (day 7) - Love believes the best. Today I am to take two separate pieces of paper and on one take a few minutes to list the positive things about my spouse, on the other I am to list the negative things. I then put them aside for another day. I am to then pick a positive attribute off the list and thank my husband for it at some point throughout the day.
One of my husband's positive attributes is that he is helpful. He really goes out of his way to help me get caught up around the house so that I can relax. I made sure to tell him that today. I actually am pretty good at thanking him on a regular basis for all he is and all he does. But what the book touched on about not spending time dwelling on what is negative about your spouse really spoke to me. While I would like to think I am a mostly positive person, I know all too well that damage that can be done in our relationship when I start going over and over the things I don't like. I honestly believe that a lot of divorces could be avoided if people just changed their thinking. Actions are important too but it starts with the way you think - about yourself, your spouse and your relationship.


Wednesday (day 8) - Love is not jealous. Now when I hear the word jealous and apply it to a relationship I think of a boyfriend being jealous of another man who might have his woman's attention or a wife who is jealous of her husband's sexy secretary. But there is actually another far more destructive form of jealousy that takes place in marriage. When husband and wife become jealous of each other's successes or the good things happening to them. I wish I could say that this doesn't apply to me but at times it does. Not as much as when we first had kids. I was so jealous of the freedom I perceived him having compared to what I felt I had. Every waking, and sleeping, moment of mine was devoted to the kids and they were rarely out of arms length while he got to often think of himself first in a situation and got to do accomplish tasks without munchkins attached at the hip. This ate at me to the point that when he spent two hours mowing the lawn I was fuming because he got to get out and I was stuck. How crazy is that?
This kind of plays off of yesterday's challenge and how important it is to change your thinking in a situation. It was when I stopped comparing what he got to do to what I got to do, when I started valuing my spot in our marriage and in our family instead of cursing it, and when I started focusing on how I could make things easier for him rather than myself that the burning jealousy began to dissipate. Sure, it creeps in once and awhile, but I am much better at curbing it before it gets out of hand. Today's challenge is to discreetly burn the negative list and to share with your spouse how glad you are about a recent success he or she had.

Thursday (day 9) - Love makes good impressions. Today talks a lot about showing greetings and how it is easy to be kind to those we like but they we are called to also be nice to those we find difficult to like. It goes on further to talk about greetings and how we greet our friends and even strangers kindly but don't always do so with our spouse. The challenge for today is to think of a specific way you want to greet your spouse today. Do so with a smile and enthusiasm. Then determine to change your greeting to reflect your love for them. 
For me, this is going to really apply when my husband is working day shift. He comes home after a 12 hour shift and I am almost always cooking dinner when he walks in. I usually glance up and say hi because I am busy and other times I am totally disheveled if the past hour, or the entire day, has been particularly rough and I barely greet him at all. I know I need to make an effort not only to stop what I am doing and physically acknowledge he is home, but I also need to put aside the craziness of the day to show him how glad I am he is home. When he walks in that door the boys squeal and through themselves at him and it makes my husband feel loved and glad to be home. I want to make him feel that way too!

Friday (day 10) - Love is unconditional. This year God has hit me with this message over and over again. We live in a world where love is a feeling and as soon as that feeling is over we are encouraged to bail. God's word teaches us about agape love which is both selfless and unconditional. True love, the type that leads to lifetime marriages, is the kind that continues despite the feelings. There are always going to be periods of highs and lows and how you conduct yourself during the lows is what defines your love. 
Today's challenge is to do something out of the ordinary for your spouse. Something that proves to you and them that your love is based on your choice and nothing else. You know what I did that was out of the ordinary? Took the blame and apologized without being asked. Our day was a little chaotic because I hadn't planned any of our meals. It sounds simple but it is something that tends to add stress to our day when we have lots of running around to do and need to be in places at specific times. So as we drove to church Friday night I took the time to apologize to my husband for not doing my part. Meals are typically my responsibility and when I drop the ball it causes chaos in the house. I wanted him to know that I acknowledge my part and plan to do better. This is big for me because I have a hard time admitting my faults or shortcomings. He of course forgave me and insured me it wasn't my fault alone but it felt good to not only express this to him but to recognize it myself.


-Update: I went into this week wanting to quit because last week didn't go so well. But I stuck it out and had to tell you that this week was 10 times better. I think that my change of attitude about the whole thing really helped and in turn, my husband has responded in a totally different way as well. I am excited to see what next week brings!


Want to catch up?
The Love Dare Challenge - Days 1-5
Joining the Challenge

Want to join in? I am linking up with Moogie Mama and you can link up too:

Keeping up year round

I love that technology and social networking makes it possible to keep up with friends and family that you might normally lose touch with. At the same time I think there is nothing quiet like old fashioned correspondence through the mail. I love opening my mailbox to find an unexpected treasure! Sure beats bills.

That's why I am making an effort to reach out to those I love and I am excited that Shutterfly makes that possible. I often use them at Christmas time for our holiday cards and photo books but really there are things to take advantage of year round. Want to see what I am working on?

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

On the inside I was able to include another picture and write an update about all the boys. I am so excited to send these out!

First Day of Summer Magic

I just love that my kids are at an age where they believe anything is possible and they are able to find magic in even the small things. Around Easter time I saw this post over at See Jane Blog. I had bookmarked it knowing that it could easily be adapted to fit any time of year. So as the first day of summer started to draw near I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to share the magic with my kids.

I got all of my supplies at the dollar store. I started with these "magic gems" which I found with the other stones that you might put in the bottom of a vase or fish tank.

I wrapped a couple of them up and attached a note that said:

Summer Gems

On Summer's Day Eve, plant these gems in soil, cover them and add water.

Come back in the morning for a truly magical surprise!

My husband placed them in the yard while he was doing some stuff outside. He then came running in the house to tell the kids that he had discovered something amazing that they had to see:

I have to tell you that Nathan (our 4 year old) was really into all of this. He had grand dreams of a beanstalk growing overnight that he would climb to find a great surprise. As my husband was tucking him in at bedtime and telling him to sleep good he replied with, "I will try dad but I am just so excited about those magic gems!" 

The moment we got up in the morning Nathan informed us that something had grown from the gems (he had peaked out the back window). So we put on our shoes and rushed outside and what did we find?

It wasn't a beanstalk by any means but they were still plenty excited by their Tootsie Roll Blooms!

~Happy First Day of Summer everyone~

Happy Father's Day!

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.“- Jim Valvano

"Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed." (Psalms 112:1-2 ESV)

I feel as blessed as a girl could be today as I celebrate my own father and the father of my children. The two most special men in my life (for now anyway, there are three little boys who will one day join their ranks!) deserve honor and celebration for their very important roles in both my life and the life of my kids.

My dad is everything those quotes up above describe. He has always believed in me and I grew up thinking that anything was possible if I put my mind to it and worked hard. As an adult I find myself soaking up his words of wisdom when it comes to ministry, parenting, and marriage. He is so wise and I appreciate that he is willing to share what he knows, good and bad, to help make my journey through this life a little smoother. And you want to talk about a man who fears God and delights in his commandments? That is my dad, a man who gave up his passion for fighting fire for his calling to seek and save the lost through missionary work in Mexico. I truly believe his heart matches the heart of Christ himself in how he longs for each and every person to know our Savior. And because he has made that choice to live his life for the Lord, I am blessed. Like I said, I am one lucky girl!

Shortly after leaving the protection and guidance of my dad I was joined together with another amazing man through marriage. Let me tell you what, the longer we are married the more I see my dad in him. He is hard-working and supports his family but he also knows how to cut loose and play like he is a kid himself. Watching his eyes light up when one of the boys does something funny or sweet is enough to make me fall in love with him all over again. Becoming a dad has changed  him for the better and I get excited when I see him pour into them because I know that their lives will be richer for it. And even though my husband is a newer Christian, he already has an intense love for Christ and amazes me daily as he grows into the leader God is calling him to be both in ministry and in our home. I am undoubtedly blessed in having this man to spend the rest of my life with.

I hope on this Father's Day you are feeling equally blessed and that you are taking the time to let those important men in your life know just how special they are.