My Weight Loss Transformation Inside and Out

Gasp...cringe...gulp...oh boy, here it is, an old pic of me, before my weight loss! I have shared my weight loss story on the blog before, sharing my own personal struggles, in hopes of helping others along the way.  I however have never mustered up enough courage to share any pics of the "old me" as I call it, even though I was obviously younger 8 years ago, but let's not do the math ;)

Today I am finding the courage to share this dreaded pic, in hopes of bringing encouragement and words of advice to those making a New Year's resolution to lose weight. I think my story will surprise you.  You may be surprised to hear, I sometimes get hate mail, from folks thinking that I eat bacon all day.  One commenter even wished me a "heart attack".  I don't let it get me down, at least I do my best not to, because I know if they read and followed my blog, they would know it's not all bacon, and I don't live an unhealthy lifestyle.

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Anything Goes Linky #30, Sponsoring Our Valentine Contest, & A Winner



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First I hope you all have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. 

Before we jump into the linky, I wanted to let everyone know that on January 16th we will be starting a Valentine contest here at Bacon Time.  There will be two winners, one Valentine craft star and one Valentine cooking star!  If you would like to sponsor the contest, and provide a prize or two for the winners please contact me at my shop Here.  There will be one month of free advertising in it for you, as well as a feature in the contest post, and a preview prize post. We already have some great prizes lined up. I hope you will all be excited to link up your Valentine themed posts for a chance to win!

Starts January 16th!

Now for our winner of the necklace, counting comments and links, there were 270 entries when the contest ended, the random winning # was 129, that means our lucky linker was ...



Loopy Loop Creations! Please contact me via email mhilton05@yahoo.com to claim your prize within the next 72 hours.

Now onto the Anything Goes linky....

Are You Ready For A Valentine Contest? (There will be prizes!!!)

My Valentines Pinterest Pin Board

Well some of you may already know that I will be hosting a Valentines crafting and cooking contest here at Bacon Time starting on January 16th!

I know all you crafty and cooking blogging beauties are going to have special Valentine themed recipes and projects up your sleeve, so why not link them up at Bacon Time for a chance to win some great prizes, and of course some bragging rights.  To enter you will have to link up your projects in the
Valentine linky that will start on the 16th.  There will be no rules, except that it has to fall into our Valentine theme, so start cooking and crafting now, and have those posts ready to go. There will be a winner in crafts and cooking, so two chances to win! To get your hearts all a pitter patter, I have hot pics of Robert Pattinson, just teasing (actually I do have those pics), but no seriously I have started a Valentine themed Pin Board on Pinterest. 

Happy Crafting and Cooking. 

I can't wait to see what you all have to enter and share!

PS, Please feel free to follow me on Pinterest, I always return the follow!

If you would like to sponsor this event, and donate a prize or two for our winners, then contact me at mhilton05@yahoo.com. 

Fantastic Features!

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas.  It's that time of the week when I feature some of my favorite links from last weeks party. For starters, how cute are these DIY Funny Mugs by Simply Designing.  One of these mugs would make a cute New Year's Eve hostess gift.

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Mini BBQ Chicken Bacon Pizza Bites

Well this will be my last appetizer to share this week preparing you for those New Year's Eve parties.  Of course these would be good anytime, in fact we are calling them an early dinner tonight.  These BBQ Bacon Chicken Bites are like little mini deep dish pizzas.  They received a round of thumbs up from my picky bunch of eaters, which is no small task.  I hope you will give them a try, they are so easy to make.  Here is what you need for 16 appetizer servings:

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Winner!

We have a winner for the Angelnetinc Gift Card giveaway!  Out of 196 entries, the winning # is 8, that means congratulations to jc who said ..."Like on FB (jc loh)"! Please leave a message below if you won, and contact me via email at mhilton05@yahoo.com within the next 72 hours.

Thank you again to our sponsor

Angelnetinc Etsy shop.

Easy Homemade Granola With Out All The Guilt

Find My Recipe Here @ Taste of Home

This granola is lower in calories and fat then most store bought granola.  You can omit the chocolate candies if you like and enjoy it as a breakfast cereal.  This recipe would be easy to double.  You can use any color of chocolate candies to make it appropriate for the holiday or party you serve it at.  I store mine in the freezer and enjoy it as a cold snack.  If you like you can put it into mini muffin cups to serve as an easy appetizer for a party.  Since you can make it ahead of time and store it in a zip lock freezer bag in the freezer, it can be one of those things you have always on hand for last minute guests.  Your friends will be impressed with this  homemade granola but you and I will know just how easy it is.  This would also make a cute gift for the holidays if you package it nicely.  Perfect for someone that is health conscious and needs a good energizing snack.

Healthy Artichoke & Spinach Dip

This dip would be a nice light appetizer to serve this New Year's Eve.  The great thing about this dip is it is prepared in 5 minutes or less with only 5 ingredients.  You can make it fat free or regular.  It goes well with a variety of dippers such as carrot sticks, chips, bread, or crackers.  The left over dip I put on focaccia bread the next day with tomato slices and cheese and made myself a delicious vegetarian pizza.

Find My Recipe Here At Taste Of Home

Snow Much Funfetti Shortbread Cookies or Confetti Cookies

With only 4 ingredients, including a box of Funfetti cake mix, you can have an easy finger food dessert ready for your New Year's Eve party.  Here is what you need:

1 box of Funfetti Pillsbury Cake Mix

2 sticks of room temperature butter (I used unsalted)

1 Cup of All Purpose Flower ( Unsifted but Not Compacted)

Powdered Sugar (enough to toss cookies in after they are done)

Mix your soft butter, cake mix, and flower together until well incorporated (I used an electric stand mixer).

I did not sift flower, only leveled off with a butter knife in my measuring cup, making sure not to compact it down. Once you have your dough ready, form it into 32 round balls (about one inch in diameter), and place on your cookie sheet. I lined my cookie sheets with parchment paper to prevent sticking, and for easy clean up. Gently indent the center of your cook dough balls with your finger .  This will help them bake up evenly.  Bake in a preheated 325 F degree oven for 15 to 18 minutes, removing them when they are still soft to the touch, and just starting to turn a light brown on the bottom.  Let them cool for 2 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove them to a wire cooling rack.  When they are cool enough to touch,  gently toss them in powder sugar to coat. 

You could call these Confetti Cookies too, because you can see the sprinkles when you bite in to them, perfect for a New Year's Eve party where you often have confetti to toss at Midnight.  I hope you all have a great New Year's Eve!

Note: this recipe was written and tested in a high altitude.

To see where I party, check out my LINKY LOVE page.

What Will You Be Wearing New Year's Eve?

Well my sweet hubby gave me some new clothes for Christmas.

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Spicy Cider Martini

I have a super easy Spicy Cider Martini recipe for you that will be perfect for a New Year's Eve party. Here is what you will need:

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Easy Appetizers for New Year's Eve

 This week at Bacon Time is all about easy entertaining, and getting ready for that New Year's Eve party. Make sure to check out our Bacon Page here for some great easy appetizers.  Here are a few of the things you will find:

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Frugal Earth Friendly Center Piece Perfect for New Years Eve

Christmas is over, and if you are like me, you are feeling a bit sleep deprived.  Christmas can be crazy, even my littlest one (pictured below) found himself needing a nap (trust me, he doesn't take many).

So this week I am going to share ideas you can use for a stress free New Year's Eve party.  Starting with this wine bottle center piece.  I know I am pinching pennies over here after Christmas shopping.  The last thing I can do is purchase a costly floral arrangement for New Years Eve.  So what I have done is taken some branches from my Christmas tree and placed them in a green wine bottle.  I cleaned the wine bottle off first.  I used rubbing alcohol and hot water to get it clean and sticky free.  Then after it was dry, I hot glued some leftover plastic snowflakes to it.  You can find these flakes at Walmart for a dollar.  Then I decorated it with some tulle and some green floral wire.  You will want to fill it with water, so your tree branches don't dry out. 

So you see with items on hand, using Christmas tree branches, an empty wine bottle, and leftover holiday ribbon, you can have your center piece for New Years ready in minutes.

Stick with me this week, as I share how I am getting ready for New Year's Eve.  I will be sharing a festive Spicy Cider Martini!  You might even have all the ingredients on hand from Christmas to make it. Then I will be sharing an easy meatball appetizer recipe that will be ready in minutes,that can be prepared in your crock pot, and kept warm for your guests. Finally I will share a super easy festive dessert, that your guest can nibble on as they mingle.  The last thing I want to do on New Years eve is a bunch of dishes, so this week is all about easy entertaining.

I hope your Christmas was amazing!

Check out my Linky Love Page to see Where I party.

Merry Christmas

Cheesy Christmas Sweaters

&

Candy Cane Kisses

Your Bacon Time Mama

Sends You Holiday Wishes!

I hope all you have a blessed Christmas with family and friends. My youngest has an ear infection but is still excited about Christmas.  He is 2 1/2, and this is his first year that he is really excited about Santa coming.  Crossing my fingers that all the bad guys in town play it cool, and my hubby is with us for the holiday weekend, and not called in for duty.  I want you all to know that I appreciate each and every comment, and follower her at Bacon Time.  It's been a great year, and I look forward to spending 2012 with you all.  I have something exciting up my sleeve for Bacon Time in the new year, so stay tuned.

Merry Christmas!

Anything Goes Linky #29 (up early) and Surprise Giveaway!

Before we start the linky, I wanted to surprise you all with a little holiday giveaway, to show my appreciation.

I made this necklace just for all of you.  It is one of a kind, and not in my shop.  It is a new bottle cap with a snowflake covered in diamond glaze.  It is on a soft green generously long sued cord, and adorned with one soft green pearl.  Since the green is a soft shade, you could wear this all Winter, and not feel like you are wearing Christmas jewelry.   One lucky linker or commenter will win this necklace.  I will announce the winner at next weeks linky.  This giveaway is open world wide, and will end on 12/29/2011 noon PST.

*

Here is how to enter:

Every link is one entry so link away!

For a 2nd entry like Bacon Time on Facebook HERE.

(leave comment below letting me know you did)

For a 3rd entry let me know what your favorite item in my SHOP is.

For an additional final entry, leave any comment below (well any nice comment below).

Now On with the Linky!!!

 
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Winner!

Time to announce our Green Giant Steamers gift pack winner!  Out of 151 entries the winning random # is 3 ( on our 4th redraw for this contest).


kia89 (original winner emailed twice no reply)
dvice12 (2nd winner from redraw, emailed no reply)
Cassandra #122 drawn on 1/7/2012 (no reply after emailing 2xs)
New Winner Mimi comment #3 on 1/11/2012!

Please Mimi leave a comment below so that I can verify you saw this post.  Then email me at mindiehilton@gmail.com.

 

Fantastic Featutres

Grab Featured Button Here

I hope you all know how much I appreciate you linking up at my parties each week.  I try to show my gratitude by doing a big feature post every Thursday.  This week it is coming a little early, since I know many of you will be busy traveling for Christmas.  So with out further ado, let's see those fantastic features:

We might not all have a fabulous old window to decorate, but I love the idea of using nostalgic holiday movie quotes in any frame.  Great Christmas Cheer Window Craft by A Creative Princess.

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DIY Frugal Gift Box Ornament

Well I am giving up getting every ornament craft shared this year, it will have to wait until next Winter.   However I am going to squeeze in one more post.  This ornament took about 60 seconds to make.  Using a package of mini gift boxes from the Dollar Store, foam stickers, ribbon, and twine.  

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DIY Candy Cane Earrings and Scarf

You might remember these from last weeks What I Wore post.  They were super easy to make.  Here is what you will need:

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DIY Candy Cane Ornaments

Here is another little pretty that has been sitting on our tree that I have been meaning to share.  We have candy canes on our tree every year, usually the real ones, that seem to be gobbled up by my kids before Christmas.  These ornaments will last tell Christmas and beyond.  Here is what you need:

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Glitter Leaf DIY Ornament

I actually made these leaves before Thanksgiving to decorate for Fall, then added red bows to them, to use as Christmas ornaments.  Double duty decor' is always a time and money saver.  Here is what you will need:

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DIY Melted Snowman Ornaments

Well I am furiously trying to type up posts for all of the Christmas Ornaments we made this year.  As always, Christmas seems to catch me by surprise with how quickly it comes.  This little guy has been patiently waiting on our tree for his debut at Bacon Time, as you can see there is not much left to him (LOL).  Here is what you will need:

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Winners!!!

I have two lucky random winners to announce today.  First up, lets announce the winner of the 3 Pure Integrity Soy Candles.  Out of 164 entries, the winning # is 113, that means congratulations to Holly S from Bitchen and Stitchin you won!


http://www.pureintegrity.com/

Now for our SenaBag Clutch winner, out of 301 comments, the winning # is 197, that means congratulations oksana you won!


SenaBag Etsy Shop

Thank you to our sponsors.  Please leave a comment below if you won, and contact me via email at mhilton05@yahoo.com to claim your prize.  I have been having issues with my email, so if you don't here from me, please message me at my shop TLC Creations.

 Make sure to enter our two other giveaways going on now, and I have a special giveaway planned for this weeks Linky Party so stay tuned!

Snowmen Donuts

Well it was the first day of school break for Christmas vacation, and I thought we should have a special treat to celebrate.  We  made these cute snowman donuts, that were super easy.  These are the ingredients we used, but use your imagination and what you have on hand, to make your own.  

Ingredients:

Powdered Donuts

Mini Powdered Donuts

Powdered Donut Holes 

(we could not find them, so we covered glazed donut holes with powdered sugar)

Blue Decorating Cookie Icing

Chocolate Sprinkles

Tootsie Rolls

Mini Reese's

Betty Crocker's Easy Writer Edible Markers

  They would have been cute with scarves, which you could do with more frosting.  We flattened a tootsie roll for the brim of the hat.  We used red and orange edible markers to make an orange carrot nose.  The sprinkles we pushed into the donuts to stay in place.  If you are going to be transporting these treats, you would want to secure them together with tooth picks or icing in between each donut.

Happy Christmas Vacation Kiddos!

Check out my LINKY LOVE page for where I party.

Christmas Card Photo Shoot, Christmas Sweater Craft, & Hair Reveal!

Well this is a fun What I Wore post.  This is the 4th year we have continued our tradition of sending photo Christmas cards to family and friends.  I will be sharing a digital card with all of you later this week.  I will also be sharing an easy no sew craft, for some cheesy keepsake family Christmas sweaters.  Plus, it's the big hair color reveal post.  Thank you all for your helpful advice.  You may have missed the post where I discussed my husbands desire for me to go burgundy, you can catch up here.

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Anything Goes Linky #28 and Felt Tree Ornament

Before we jump into the linky, I wanted to share another easy Christmas tree ornament we made for our tree this year.  This is a quick and frugal craft (like most of mine are).  Here is what you will need:

Felt

Ribbon

Plastic Foam Stars (we found them at the Dollar Store)

Twine

Hot Glue

Scissors

Paper

Directions:

Using your scissors and paper, make a cone the size you would like your tree to be.  This way you won't waste your felt, and you can use the paper cone as a pattern.  Remember to leave room for the cone to over lap, so you can glue it together in the back.  Now cut out your felt cone.  Then take a piece of twine, and make a loop, and knot.  Shape your felt into a cone, and have the loop of twine sticking out the top of your felt tree.  The knot should keep it from falling out (but you can add some glue  if needed).  Then glue your felt tree together in the back.  Then using a little more hot glue, add some ribbon and your star.  

I am so behind on sharing  the Christmas crafts I have been working on.  I am even more behind on our photo cards we send out each year.  We haven't even taken our family pics yet.  Good thing I am married to our photographer.  Amen to 1 hour photo printing, I am going to need it.  Well you see what I have been up to, now show me what you have been doing.

Let's get this Linky started!

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Fantastic Features and Some Pouting

Grab Button Here



Thank you everyone that linked up at last weeks linky party.  I had a hard time choosing my favorites (what's new).  I also have been having a hard time leaving comments on blogs that require you to sign in to google.  It's been going on for about 2 weeks now.  Is anyone else having issues?  Google will not let me stay signed in, and it redirects me 2, sometimes 3 times to enter my password, before it will let me leave a comment rrrrr...."Google why have you forsaken me"...... (in my most overly dramatic tone, cue lights, and drop down to my knees "why oh why Google" , end scene. LOL ok enough theatrics and me pouting, let's get on to the features.

Rice Crispy Treat Christmas Lights by Sweetology

Rolled Paper Christmas Tree Craft by Adventures of a DIY Mom


Ribbon Christmas Tree Shirt by Mom 4 Real


Oreo Snowmen Pops  by The Sweet Swiper


Stocking Holders by Southern Lovely


Photo Wine Charms by Crafting Rebellion


Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle by Simple Girl At Home


DIY Hair Headband Tutorial by Ruby Jean


Hand Painted Vintage Jello Mold Tree by Forever Decorating


Snowman Rice Hand Warmers by Green Acres Hobby Farm


Iced Butter Sweet Cookies by Stella B's Kitchen
(these look like one of my favorite cookies that I buy from the bakery, except these have coconut cream cheese under the chocolate, which sounds even better, a must try)



Duct Tape Christmas Ornaments by Crafty Soccer Mom



It's A Wonderful Life Centerpiece by Maiden D' Shade



Pottery Barn Knock Off Advent Calendar by Sew Rugged



Christmas 2x4 Decor' by Keeping it Simple
Happy Holidays (and wish me luck with Google)