My Divine Life

This week (July 2nd) marks 2 years since I was admitted to the hospital by ambulance and found out I was basically dying (it took me awhile to come to terms with that sentence...) by the time I was released the end of the week I had a diagnoses of Crohn’s disease.  Thankfully I was familiar Since I have a friend who’s had it over 20 years and one of my best friends has UC (not thankful they go through it though❤️). In a way I felt relieved and free because after 7+ years of sickness I FINALLY had a reason why I’ve been feeling so terrible for so long.  So July 2nd in a way is almost like a new birthday to me, of course, many of you that know me know I love extending my birthday festivities, so why not😉.  This is a different kind of birthday though, I know it’s only the second one but each year leading up to it I am filled with anxiety, fear, frustration, but also in a small way still that relief and freedom I felt 2 years ago.  To be perfectly honest I’m not where I...

Oven Roasted Asparagus I just used this frozen asparagus from Trader Joes, the package says to microwave but I roasted in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. I laid them out on the pan, drizzled with olive oil, and added all these spices and hot sauce. I can't eat asparagus with crohn's (Oh darn...😉😂) but Joe said they were really good! definitely spicy though, so if you don't do spicy leave out the hot sauce. Ingredients: One package Trader Joes Asparagus spears Olive oil Grated Parmesan Cheese Lawry's Season Salt Pepper Onion Powder Garlic Powder Hot Sauce  Directions  Preheat oven to 400 Spread Asparagus out on pan Drizzle with olive oil Sprinkle spices and cheese Drizzle hot sauce Bake for approximately 30 minutes or to your desired doneness

Favorites - Hair Products I'm starting a new little "series" Once a month I'm going to do a post on some of my favorite things, whether its hair and beauty products, clothes, cleaning products, foods, etc. To kick off this series I'm going to start with my favorite hair products. I decided to pair brands together to keep it a little more simple for you!  Now first things first...I'm sure you've been told this (probably by me) but DO NOT buy hair products from Walmart, target, TJ Max, etc....It is NOT the same thing you get from a salon!  My mom actually did it years ago when Walmart started carying "Paul Mitchell" products, and guess what...It wasn't the same as what she got from our stylist. Ulta, Sephora, Beauty Brands, places like that are fine, but I recommend buying from your stylist, they put the work into picking out the right products for you so I'm sure they'd appreciate your business😊. Morocca...

What's in my purse I thought it would be fun to do a little "Whats in my purse" post for you guys. I'm always curious about stuff like that and love reading post or magazine articles about it!  Alright we'll start with an overview of my purse and everything that goes in. I got my purse at the Michael Kors outlet last summer for my birthday and I'm still just as much in love with it as the first day I got it😍.  I've had this exact purse (or at least one similar😉) pinned on Pinterest for YEARS. But obviously spending $300-$500 on a purse just isn't an option for me. Which is why I was so excited when the Michael Kors outlet opened up in Altoona. I scored this one for only $100!  Now I realize to some people thats still alot of money to spend on a purse...but I spent around $150 on one at the Coach outlet in Georgia when we were on vacation about 7 years ago and I still have and use it! so to me, its worth the money rather than spendi...

Lifish update I’ll do a full “anniversary post” in July but I’ve just had a lot of thoughts lately about life, crohns, everything. To be honest I’ve had a lot of confusion and even discouragement which is not normally me. I’m coming up on two years and while I’m no where near how I was two years ago (I mean that was pretty bad...😳) I’m also nowhere near where I thought I would be, I remember thinking that on the year anniversary too and I kind of think that feeling has just progressed since then😕. I’m no better than I was 8 months ago to be completely honest with you and in some ways may or worse? I am so so thankful to have a diagnosis and know what’s wrong with me, but with that I thought would come answers and healing. I’ve had some answers and some healing of course, but there’s still really a lot of unknown! In the beginning I used to talk about finding my “new normal” well I’m here to tell you 2 years later I still haven’t found it😂. Learning to navigate something new ...

Smothered Burritos This is a recipe my moms made for years thats in an old church cookbook, I wish people got together more often and made cookbooks, I can still remember when all the ladies from the church got together and made them! I was probably 7 or 8? I remember my friends and I getting to help with little things. Thats a fun goal I have for this year is putting together all of our family favorite recipes and making a cookbook for us all to have, Now I should probably get on that...😉. I tweaked a few things from the original recipe but for the most part, its still the same. Heres everything you'll need. Dice your onions, sauce them and brown your meat. Mix the sour cream and soups.  Add water, taco seasoning, salsa, rice (or beans) and mix together.  Add 1/3 cup meat mixture to 12 taco shells.  Roll up the shells.  Place all the shells in a greased 9x13 pan  Spread sour cream and soup mixture ...

Cast Iron Skillet Cookie Cake  Ingredients: 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened  3/4 cup sugar 3/4 cup brown sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 2 eggs 2 1/4 cups flour  1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 2 cups (11 oz. package) semi sweet chocolate chips  Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until cream.  Add eggs; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt; Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Rub softened butter around the inside of the skillet (I like to get some butter on a paper towel and rub it around). Press into a 9 inch or larger cast iron skillet. Bake for 30-40 minutes ( I baked mine uncovered for about 20 minutes and then covered with tin foil for the remaining time, checking periodically, every oven is different so you'll want to watch it closely after about 20 minutes. If you like it a little more crispy...