Normal Schedule? What is that?!

So....Nate and I have been married now for a 1 year and 10 months (today actually!), we have lived in the same city for 2 years and 4 months, and we have been together for 5 years and 2 months.... yet we have NEVER had a normal schedule....

Nate has always worked "nights" (meaning start time of 1am-3am) and I have always had a job that required evening work hours...basically "two ships passing in the night" until the weekend...when we would enjoy 1 day of "normal" and then Sundays would be spent preparing for an early bedtime for Nate so that the midnight alarm clock could signal the start of another work week.

Nate has been with UPS for 5 1/2 years, and has always wanted to stay with them....but we have both been praying lately that if God really wanted us as a family to be somewhere else he would shut the door...Nate put his full time letter in for promotion as soon as he graduated, right before we were married...and we have been waiting ever since..

UNTIL NOW! He goes to driving school starting tomorrow...which means at least one week of "normal" (whatever that means) 8-6ish... and then who knows...
but Nate is one step closer to exactly where he wants to be...I am only hoping that it is everything he wants!

We are so very thankful for the Lord's provision in the past two years...He has a plan that is bigger and better than anything we can plan for, and I know that he will always take care of us...and HIS timing is best! :)

What can BROWN do for YOU? Does this mean I have a man in uniform?? ha! :)

100-Calorie-Cupcakes

So, It has been almost a year since I blogged - and I miss it....so I am attempting to start again and figured this was a good post to start with. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to Bake, and thought these cupcakes might just be "The New Funfetti!"

100 Calorie Cupcakes (as seen on Biggest Loser)


http://www.examiner.com/weight-loss-in-national/curtis-stone-biggest-loser-raspberry-cupcake-recipe


I followed the cupcake recipe exactly.....

much to my dismay, they were really nothing to write home to mom about...
they are really light and fluffy - like a sponge cake - but half of the cupcake stuck to the wrapper (maybe try "pamming" your wrappers?) and the half I was able to eat lacked flavor and just tasted kinda funny all around.

THE ICING, however, was delish! (IF you like "texture"..Nate did not care for them at all...)
I didn't really follow the recipe (and I tried 2 different "spins") -- I added SPLENDA because it was really not sweet at all.....1 batch of icing makes more than enough icing for the 12 cupcakes that each recipe makes...but I saved the extra because it will be a great fruit dip with apples or bananas!

Strawberry Icing:
8 oz. fat free cream cheese
4 oz. regular cream cheese
1 -1 1/4 cup fresh strawberries
6 individual packets SPLENDA


Pineapple Icing:
8 oz. fat free cream cheese
1 cup fresh pineapple
3 packets SPLENDA

simply cream ingredients together

All in all, if you are really a sweet-a-holic like me, and trying to watch your weight, I would reccomend some fat-free sugar-free JELLO cheesecake pudding with fresh strawberrys....MUCH faster, less dishes to wash, and it just tastes better!

Happy Baking!