Inspiration for 2014 – Topic 1 of Blogger Challenge

I can’t believe it is already 2014. My life changed so much in 2013. I gave my life to Christ, I started an amazing new job, I started singing again, I started a BLOG!!!!  There is just so much to be thankful for praise God!  God has really planted so many new seeds in my heart. I felt that 2013 was a year of preparation for me. I felt the whole year that God was telling me, “In order to do this….you have to do that..”  It was a year of really feeling God’s direction in my life.

When the subject for the first 2014 Blogger Challenge went live, I knew exactly the verse that would serve as my inspiration for 2014.

¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 

John 15:16

I declare that 2014 will be a year of implementing everything that God has showed me in 2013. That every struggle, trial, and triumph I went through be used to bear fruit in His name and to bring others to fruition.  That I might be a person of light for someone who is in darkness. I hope that I can be a person like the people I had encouraging me in 2013. I want to help people break chains. I  want to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that when people are around me they feel it too and are completely consumed. It’s my desire to help people know Jesus the way I came to know Him, to trust Him the way I came to trust Him, and to fall in love with Jesus the way I fell in love with Him.

I have always been indecisive when it comes to my life goals….I want to be a teacher, I want to do makeup, I want to move up in my office, I want to go back to school and then some days I just want to be a stay at home mom.  (See….INDECISIVE!) There is just so much that I want to do in my life. I used to feel like I never had enough time. It used to make me crazy. However, God really showed me last year that he has something so much better for me. Something that I don’t even realize I can do. Something that will not only fill me but fill others.  He has a Bluprint for my life.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

Jeremiah 29:11

I started reading Undaunted by Christine Caine and it really has been speaking to me. For once in my life I feel like I truly have a purpose.

2013 became the year of preparation and 2014 will be the year I live UNDAUNTED! 

Join me and live radically for Jesus!  He is the only one who can fill us up. He is the only one who will love even our imperfections. He is the one in which we find our salvation. He is where we find rest. He is the one…the only one!

This is my first post for the 2014 Blogger Challenge. I hope you were not disappointed! Let yourself be blessed this year! 😉 Love ya’ll and God bless! – Moni<3

My Best of 2013 – New Year’s Eve

Yay for ending 2013 on a good note!  I have never felt more accomplished at the end of the year as I do now! So many good things happened in 2013!

I love it when bloggers do their “best of” posts. It’s cool to see other beauter’s go to products….beauters…is that a word?

Anyway, I decided to share my go to products of 2013. I hope you enjoy!

I’ve become some what of a lipstick junkie this past year.  I love how I can put on a winged eyeliner and a red lip and look fabulous and completely made up….yay for being lazy.  These are my top four of 2013.

<a href="http://www.milanicosmetics.com/p-153-color-statement-lipstick.aspx#!prettyPhotoMilani in Uptown Mauve-$5.49 – I absolutely love this berry colored lipstick. It was great for fall this year. It lasts all day and is super creamy.  Kudos to Milani for this one!

MAC Cosmetics – Lady Danger – $15.00 – I got this beauty for free! Thanks to the MAC recycling program!  This is my go to red! It is gorgeous, creamy and helps whiten my teeth! lol. This photo doesn’t even do this color justice…it is almost a borderline orangey color. It’s perfect.  This has to be my favorite favorite of 2013. Go buy it!

Rimmel’s Lasting Finish Lipstick by Kate Moss – I think I paid about $5 for this. This is the third lipstick I’ve bought from this collection. They truly are long lasting with great pigmentation.  They don’t smell gross either!

Maybelline Color Sensational Vivids in Shocking Coral – $7.49 This has to be my favorite drugstore lipstick. I have about 4 from this collection and they are amazing!  This was my perfect summer color for 2013. Not only is the pigmentation great but it really moisturizes too. This is a winner winner chicken dinner for me!

The next thing on my list is the Naked Basics palette from Urban Decay – $27.00 I got this amazing piece of palette as a Christmas gift from my sister in law last year.  I have used the crap out of it. This is by far the best thing out of the Naked collection. It has all of the colors you need to create both a sultry sexy look or a sweet natural look on the fly.    This baby is with me at all times. If you don’t have this….you need it!  Buy it now!

Stila Make Me Blush Valentines Day Palette – $16.99 This is kind of a cheat. This is the valentines day blush Stila made a couple of years ago. I bought it when it originally came out but I dropped it and along with breaking it, it broke my heart.  This has been my favorite blush since then. I was so excited to find it on Ebay this year so I bought two!  If you can get your hands on it I recommend it 100%!

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Genius Kit – $25.00 THIS….THIS STUFF IS AMAZING!  Kudos to Anastasia Beverly Hills! You have officially won me 100% over!  This year I really got into my bushy eyebrows!  I have struggled with my eyebrows for as long as I can remember. They grow way to fast and way to thick. I have finally found the best waxer and the best product to help me maintain them!  I’m excited to try their other products.  I think this is my favorite product of 2013.

I’ve used Voluminous mascara for as long as I can remember; however, I discovered The Rocket Mascara from Maybelline this year and it is AHHHHMAZZZINGGG!  It gives me the volume and length I need and holds my curl without clumping. I think it runs about $7 or so.  I pair it with my Tarte Eyelash Curler and I get the perfect eyelashes! This is by far the best curler I have ever used. I bought this special edition one at Ulta for $19 but the original is only $16. Completely worth it.  My lashes are ridiculously straight and ridiculously long and usually don’t like to cooperate with anything!

The next thing on my list is my Mac Studio Fix Fluid Foundation -$27 This is a given. I’ve used it for years and I will always love it! I also started using Mac Mineralized Concealer-$20 It really helps with my baggage and dark circles. It really brightens my face up when I use it.  It’s a keeper for me!

The next thing on my list goes with the previous items. It’s Rimmel’s Stay Matte Pressed Powder and is about $5 or so. Once again, this is a given. I’ve used this for a while now! If you are oily then you will love this! It keeps me matte all day!

The final thing on my Best of 2013 post is Beyond the Zone Rock On Volumizing Powder.  $7.49 Although this isn’t a cosmetic item I thought it was important to add this to the best of list.  My hair is absolutely flat. I’ve never had any volume in it. This little magic wonder will do amazing things to my hair. You just sprinkle it in and tease with a comb or your finger and POOF lasting volume!  It’s my only way to get TEXAS sized hair. 😉

I can go on and on about products I love but these take the taco! What are some of your favorite products this year?

Well, I guess until next year! 😉
I hope ya’ll have a safe New Year’s Eve! Love y’all and may 2014 be full of blessings for you and your family! -Moni ❤

I decided to add some photos of some of my favorite moments of 2013 down below. Enjoy!

Hillsong United Concert in Oklahoma City!

Women of Faith Operation Tamales!

Bluprint Marriages!

Family and friends!

…and the biggest blessing…worshipping with my church family.

Goodbye 2013, you were so good to me!

Abundantly Blessed Giveway Winner!

It has been such a blessing hosting this giveaway! Thank you all for your comments, shares and tags! The winner of the leggings from Abundantly Blessed is Brandi E! I will email you with more information! Thank you so much to everyone who participated! Make sure and add Abundantly Blessed as a friend on Facebook!   I hope you all have a very merry CHRISTMAS!

God bless you all,
-Moni

I’m sorry this just posted! I’ve been in the middle of nowhere…aka Dimmitt, TX…visiting my family!  🙂

Abundantly Blessed Giveaway!

I love, love, love shopping at local boutiques. There is just something about them that makes my shopping experience….umm…enjoyable.

Abundantly Blessed is that kind of store.  I was so impressed by their hospitality…even on Black Friday!   They had tons of people in and they had a long line but instead of rushing people in and out they were inviting their customers to be apart of a prayer chain. That’s pretty amazing to me.

I’ve recently become addicted to the leggings I bought on Black Friday! I was nervous to slide on the one size fits all leggings over my fluffy tail! One size fits all usually means one size fits small! However, when I put them on, they fit amazingly and the print didn’t stretch all crazy! (Haha…you know what I’m talking about ;)!)
They had an amazing sale on them so I bought a couple of pairs!

For December’s giveaway Abundantly Blessed graciously donated a pair of these cute leggings!  How great are they! There are 2 ways to enter to win.

1.) Comment on this blog post. (+1 entry)
2.) Post the picture below on instagram with the hashtag #iliftmyvoicegiveaway and follow and tag me @Mdozal. (+2 Entries)

I will close the contest and announce a winner on Christmas Eve! (U.S. only)

Abundantly Blessed is located at 2411 S. Western St in Amarillo, TX 79109. You can add them as a friend on Facebook here to look through some of their merchandise. They do take phone orders to ship out as well! 🙂 The phone number to call is (806) 242-5377. So stock up on some leggings!

Here are some of the items they have right now:

Good Luck and may God ABUNDANTLY BLESS you! 😉 – Moni ❤

My Top 5 Gifts for the Cosmetic Freak in Your Life!

About three years ago was when my love for makeup really developed. I mean, I’ve always loved makeup but until three years ago I really had no clue what I was missing out on. I put together this list because I know sometimes people don’t know all there is to know about every cosmetic brand out there like those makeup freaks like me do.  Well, this will help steer you in the right direction…or steer SOMEONE in the right direction! I hope you enjoy!

5. Rare Gem Limited Edition Picture Perfect™ Eyelash Curler by Tarte

This gem is $19.00. I once had this eyelash curler but I lost it!  😦 I bought it again at the end of November and fell in love all over again. My lashes are so long and STRAIGHT! It’s so sad. I struggle so hard to keep them curled. This curler works wonders!   It will surely satisfy anyone on your list!  The regular sparkle-less curler is only $16…but hey the rhinestones add that extra touch! 🙂 You can find this at Ulta or order online.

4. Black Market by Urban Decay

This beauty is on sale right now for $24 dollars on the UD website. It is regularly $36.  I have had these eyeliners before and I absolutely love them; however, I don’t own this set yet. They are so smooth and glide on so well!  I recommend these to anyone who doesn’t have a favorite eyeliner!  These colors are fantastic too! Any makeup lover on your list will appreciate this.

3. Glamorous Blush Palette by Bh Cosmetics

This awesome blush palette is only $10.95 right now! It would make a great stocking stuffer! I love anything from BH Cosmetics. They have great pigmentation and the packaging is always space efficient. This is one on my personal wish list this year!  🙂

2. Anastasia Beverly Hills Catwalk Palette

This sultry palette is only $29. I have just recently become a fan of Anastasia Beverly Hills. I started with the Brow Genius Kit and now I just want all of their products! I’ve seen so many amazing tutorials with this palette. I would love to get this in my stocking and so would your daughter, sister, aunt or best friend!

1. Naked3 by Urban Decay (surprise, surprise!)

I am obsessed with all of UD’s Naked products. This phenomenon retails at $52. I have the first two palettes that I received as gifts and I use them daily and I think they are well worth the price! The best thing about this palette is that these are brand new, never before seen shades.  Both palettes prior have had some repeats from UD’s other palettes.  Naked3 has mattes, shimmers, darks and lights…it is amazing! I’ve tired to get my hands on this the past couple of days but have been unsuccessful. So if you find one some where snag it!!  Someone on your list will be very happy to get this!

Well, that’s it!  These are my top 5 gifts! I hope this helps when it comes to shopping for your loved ones! What products are you hoping to see in your stocking this year?

Be blessed – Moni ❤

The Season of Giving

It has been an amazing week so far and it’s only Wednesday! It was the idea of some of my co-workers to partner up with a local Spanish radio station here in Amarillo and host a toy drive to benefit the families we work with.  This took place this past Saturday, Sunday and Monday and I am absolutely floored by the response of Amarillo’s Hispanic community.

I was so blessed to see some of these families come and donate bags upon bags of brand new toys. I wasn’t sure I wanted to blog about it but I just had too.  I wanted to share some the special stories I heard while on location.

We had one mom bring all of her son’s birthday gifts. Harsh right? Lol that was my first thought but then she said that she told him if she could donate the 10 toys she knew he wouldn’t play with, she would buy him a toy he really wanted.  Of course he agreed and she brought us a huge bag full of brand new toys.  Not only is she helping our agency and the families out but she is showing her son the importance of giving things we really don’t need.  Although there was a definite reward for her son, maybe when he is a dad he will do the same thing with his kids and bless 10 more people!

We also had a the Army donate 32 pairs of pajamas for our families! What a blessing! Who wouldn’t love One Direction and Spiderman PJs!

A local horse track, Carril San Carlos, came and donated a couple of large remote control toys and some precious life-like baby dolls.

We had plenty of women go in and take their kids; however, I was amazed of the response of the men taking their families and explaining to them that these toys were going to bless someone.

Through these strangers acts of kindness God really spoke to me.  I realized that even something as small as donating a toy can bless so many more people than just those who receive the toy. I was absolutely blessed. I went home so emotional and amazed.  We always say we live in a horrible, cold world….but the fact is….there are still so many good people out there. People want to give…sometimes they just don’t know where their donations or time could be used. A big thanks to Viva Media and La Super Economica for helping us so much and giving their time!

I challenge you to look in your community to see if there are any shelters, non-profits or even just families that could use some help.  Some of the kids your child goes to school with may or may not have food to eat when they get home….they may or may not have heat….they may or may not have the warmth of love…ALL YEAR AROUND. You don’t have to do it by yourself! You can serve as a light for your community and just like fire that light will spread. You could get your place of employment to put together a small toy drive or maybe get food together.

My desire to be a light in my community has grown so much this year. It has filled me up so much more than any paycheck or materialistic thing could ever fill me. It’s a high! Who would like to get high with me!  Be blessed!  – Moni ❤

DIY Feathered Headband

Hi lovelies!  It has been a crazy busy couple of days. I spent all last week in Lubbock for training. By day 3 of waking up at 5:30, I was a zombie. On the final day we caught bad weather and had to come home early.

Along with training, our Bluprint class was preparing for our annual Bluprint banquet. This banquet is put together to fellowship, celebrate the past year and of course to celebrate the birth of Christ.

This years theme was the 1920s Gatsby.  The first thing I think of when I hear the 1920’s is prohibition and flapper dresses. I’m not going to lie, the first thing I said was, “ain’t no one putting this fluffy girl in a flapper dress!” Lol.

I decided to dress up in a black sparkly shirt, some black palazzo pants and gold and red accented jewelry. I still felt like something was missing though. I finally decided I needed some feathers in my life!

I decided to make this feathered headband to give my outfit that 1920’s pop!

(Yes I used my son as a model) 🙂

I got so many compliments on it! It was about 13 bucks to make with a lot of left over material. So I thought I would share how I made it. These are the supplies you need:

1 yard of black sequined elastic, a flower of your choice, black feathers, red feathers and a specialty feather, piece of black felt, scissors and hot glue gun. I bought all my supplies at Hobby Lobby.

I started by cutting a PERFECT circle the size of the back of the flower out of the felt.

Make sure it doesn’t exceed the size of the flower.  (Don’t glue it just yet!)

Measure the headband around you head and then tighten it a little so that it’s not too loose. Cut where you need to cut and then glue to the circle. The circle will go on the inside of the headband so be aware of how you glue it.  So it’ll be in between your head and the headband. 😉

Then just start gluing your feathers in the order you want! 🙂 I put my biggest feathers first then just worked the rest in.

This is what it looked like just before I added the flower.

The next thing I did was add my flower. My flower and a pin like this so instead of gluing it I just pinned it through the feathers, headband and the felt. I just felt it was more secure like that.

And it eliminated the bulge of excess glue.  Once it is pinned you are done! 🙂 It literally took me 10 minutes to make this cute headband. I think you can changed around the colors and minimize the feathers and you can make a cute casual headband.

Here are some more photos of our Bluprint Gatsby Banquet! (#BPGATSBY)

I hope ya’ll have an amazingly blessed week! – Moni ❤

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving like I did! I had a day full of food, family and football!  Yay for a Cowboy win! I wanted to share a couple of things that I am extremely thankful for this year!

I am thankful for Jesus Christ. He died so that I could be alive in Him. I don’t know where I would be without God’s word, his mercy and his grace!

I am thankful for my sweet husband. I’m so glad to say that I have a partner that truly has my back. It is not 50/50 in our marriage…it is 100/100. We have grown so much this year and I’m excited to see what 2014 brings!
 

I am thankful for my baby. He is the best thing that has ever happened to me. He keeps me motivated and on my toes. He makes me laugh with his funny stories and he melts my heart with the love he has for God.

I am thankful for my entire family…both my family and my husbands family. I’m so blessed to have so many people that love us! 

I am thankful for my church family, Amarillo for Christ. They have all been there for me this year. I love the things that God has done within our young adults ministry!

I am thankful for my job at FSS. I had been searching for a job like mine for so long. I know God had this place for me. I have grown to love the families that we work with. It is so filling to know that we are doing something to help these families be successful. Pronews 7 covered our program tonight. Here is the link to the report:

I am hitting the sheets now. It has been such an amazing couple of weeks. I pray that you and your families are just as blessed this holiday season. Goodnight – Moni ❤

Last Minute Thanksgiving Dessert – Grape Salad

Happy Thanksgiving!  There is so much to be thankful for! I just got home from Wednesday night bluprint service at church and it was amazing. God is definitely moving within this ministry. I’m excited for the things to come in 2014. 🙂

Anyway, about an hour ago I was scrambling around trying to figure out what I was going to take to Mom’s house tomorrow. You see, we had planned on staying in town this year but last night we decided to go ahead and make the trip to good ol’Dimmitt! I hate showing up empty handed to family gatherings so I had to think fast. I’ve had plenty of pie this week so I decided to make this amazing grape salad! I have found various versions of this recipe and they are all divine.  It’s super easy and took me about 25 minutes to prepare.  Here is what you need:

2 lbs of seedless purple grapes, 2 lbs of green seedless grapes, 8 oz of cream cheese, 8 oz of sour cream, 1/2 cup of white sugar, brown sugar, pecans and 1 tspn vanilla extract (not shown).

Start out by please rinsing your grapes!  Lol no one likes grainy grapes! 😉

Then in a separate bowl you will combine the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, and vanilla and mix with a mixer until it’s smooth.

When the mixture is smooth fold in your grapes and add a handful (or more) of pecans.

Once it is all mixed well then you can sprinkle the brown sugar and top with more pecans. This time I added some marshmallows too!

You can eat it just like that but I really love it after it has been chilled for a couple of hours.

I hope you and your family are blessed this Thankgiving!  Enjoy! – Moni ❤

Overnight Turkey

I went grocery shopping the other day at my local United Supermarket and found a 23lb. turkey for $0.57 a pound! I brought it home and my husband was just as excited as I was! I was going to save it for Thanksgiving but my husband is a truck driver and had a long layover in Albuquerque so I decided to surprise him when he got home. We can eat turkey all day, every day…especially in November!

This is the recipe that I’ve used for about three years and I love it!  It’s a mix between Mom’s recipe and my mother in laws recipe. You will want to start the seasoned butter the day before to give it enough time to cool. This is what you need:

Lipton onion soup mix, a couple of lemons, celery, butter, pineapple juice, salt, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder,  poultry seasoning and of course a turkey! 

The day before melt two sticks of butter.

You are then going to add about a tablespoon of each of these ingredients plus one package of onion soup mix (not pictured) to the melted butter.

Once all the ingredients are added then your going to put the mixture in a ziplock bag and freeze it.

The next day you will start with your defrosted and rinsed turkey. Make sure and take the neck and giblets out. The first time I made a turkey I forgot to take out the giblets. Lol.

After your turkey is cleaned and patted dry, chop up the lemons and some celery and stuff them inside the turkey like so.

(I failed to get photos of the frozen butter but I’ll explain it.)
After your turkey is stuffed with the lemons and celery take your frozen herbed butter out of the freezer and chop it up into quarter size pieces. Take a knife and slide it under the skin of the turkey to loosen it up some. Once it is all separated a bit start sliding your butter quarters in between the skin. This will give the turkey a yummy buttery flavor. If you have butter left over like I did rub it over the top of the turkey.

Now you are ready to out the turkey in the oven bag. (Oven bags are heaven sent! 😉 Make sure and slit it at the top right before you put it in the oven!) Once it’s in there I added about two cups of pineapple juice. This gives it an amazing tangy flavor and helps with moisture.

Secure the bag and stick it in the roasting pan you are planning to use.

Then stick your turkey in a preheated 350 degree oven for an HOUR. I started mine at about 11:00 PM.

In one hour lower the temperature to 225 degrees and let it cook all night. I woke up at around 8:00 AM and the little pop up that came with the turkey had already popped up. I then raised the temperature back to 300 degrees and left it for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes are up, check the temperature and make sure it reads at least 165 degrees. Once it does then your done! Your turkey will have a crispy buttered skin and a juicy inside!

Excuse the chunk missing on the side…I couldn’t help myself. Haha. If you have any questions please let me know! 🙂

I hope this helps make your holiday season yumilicious! -Moni