Eleven things.

Everyone has lists of 10. I thought I would shake things up a little bit, upset the balance of the earth on it's axis, get a little crazy. Eleven things.  So, my first list of eleven will be about...me.
1. I am a natural born ginger head.  At 40 years old I must now pay for my ginger. It's all good.
2. I am a reader. I will read the same book five plus times.  Especially Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga. I learned to read at age three according to my mom.  She was pregnant with my sister and when she needed a bit of rest she would turn on Sesame Street. My teacher had yellow feathers. My great-grandmother "Little Grandma" told me at age 5 that when I could spell the word 'encyclopedia' and tell her the definition that she would buy me a set of them. I did, she did, they were white with gold lettering on the cover. What I wouldn't give to have them still.
3. I really like coffee. A whole lot. Seriously.
4. I have been on about 37 diets. None of them worked. I like to think it was because I refused to give up the creamer in my coffee. See number 3 for more details.
5. I love music about this much more than I love coffee.  My first love:  Bay City Rollers.  My second love: Journey. My third and final true love: Duran Duran.  My third and final true love blossomed me into multiple affairs littered with musical notes...none as deep and gratifying as D2...but some serious romps none-the-less.
6.  I could get lost in parent-teacher stores. The 200 colors of Sharpie, cutie patootie post-it notes and stationery with cheesy sayings and quotes, index cards and highlighters and board games and puzzles and bulletin board stuffies...oh my! Did the room just get about 20 degrees hotter all of a sudden?
7.  I have a dream of serving women and children who are victims of domestic abuse. I have this passion sweltering in my soul. I haven't gotten the nerve to put a plan into action. But...I want to. I am working on this.
8.  I am a nappper. I am a professional. I will put everything I have into it. The atmosphere is always just right from the temperature (cool) to the lighting (non-existent) to the ambiance (spa like music) and the texture (cool sheet, fluffy blanket, heavy blanket), leverage (two pillows, one firm and one soft). 
9.  Massage Therapy will cure almost anything....at least for 30, 55 or 90 minutes.
10. Tea is good for the tongue and the soul. My current flavor is Earl Gray.  When I hit SB I go for the London Fog. Yum.  I also enjoy peppermint, oolong, and kava.
11. I love Jesus. There, I said it. I am a Jesus follower. I love Him, really, I do.  He is my Papa, my Savior, my Redeemer, my Healer, my God, my Sanctuary, my Deliverer, my Provider, my Friend, my King. I could go on and on and on and on.

Garden of Eatin'

Witness a child, who will not eat much of anything except for chicken nuggets, french fries, and various sweets, pick and eat the broccoli we have grown.

She picked it and....

...ate it! and then she ate the leaf!

 Dad got in on the action!

Our lettuces are ready.  I picked spinach...

Iceburg

Romaine

and then I ate a big massive healthy salad. That my family and I grew. Nice.

Garden Part 1: Planning and Planting

John:  "I am ready to plant the garden."
Me:  "Let's do this thing!"
John:  "Who are you and what did you do with my wife?

Seriously. He is not kidding. We have only been discussing this garden since we moved into the house in 2001.  We can't even decide where to hang baby pictures of Olivia in the house. For. the. last. four. years.

We visited many places including Lowe's, Home Depot, and finally the Co-Op.  The Co-Op was Olivia's favorite. It had baby chicks for sale and a slide.

Get Ready....Get so.....GO!



Whhhheeeeeeeeeeeeee!



We bought a raised bed as we don't know how to 'cultivate' the crappy soil we have.  It was fairly easy and even I stepped in to help build it. Again, John:  "Who are you and what did you do with my wife?"

"Seriously. Where is my wife?"

We built the bed and then planted our veggies, herbs and flowers.  There is Rosemary, Lavender, Onions, Shallots, Garlic, Brocolli, Bell Peppers, Romaine Lettuce, Iceburg Lettuce, Spinach, Cucumbers and Tomatoes.  Then we watered it. Then we prayed. Then we waited. Water, pray, wait. Water, pray, wait. 

  

 water, pray, wait

 



 water, pray, wait




 water, pray, wait





While we watered, prayed and waited, Olivia got in on the action and planted some flowers. What a joy to see her get her pretty litty hands dirty.  Pretty cool stuff.

 And, after lots of watering, praying and waiting...something sprouted. Lots of things sprouted.



brokkoli. cavolo broccoli. brassica oleracea var. italica. broccoli.

Pretty, isn't it?

Raw Cleanse...done!

Whew! I did it! I actually made the commitment and stuck to that commitment. For eight days I ate only fruits and vegetables. I drank plenty of water and herbal teas. I did not put one drop of dairy, sugar, high fructose syrup, chocolate, or diet cola into my body. My only deviation (and if you know me, this is an absolute line drawn in the sand) was my morning two cups of coffee with non-dairy creamer.  I am thrilled to say that I lost four pounds and a few inches. I gained energy and a new confidence that I really can do it if I set my mind to it.  I attended a birthday party, a special dinner banquet, McDonalds and Chick-fil-a and still stuck to my plan.  I have since decided to continue to eat this way with a few revisions. I am going to eat as little dairy as possible. I have discovered that it doesn't like me very much.  I will do my best to eat whole foods as much as possible.  And, I will try to eliminate as much processed foods as possible.  This is my plan for during the week.  On the weekends I will loosen the reins a bit. Not go crazy, just loosen up a bit.  I am borrowing this plan of attack from both Dr. Josh Axe (whole foods) and also from Chantel Hobbs (caloric and portion control along with fitness AKA 80-20 rule).

Raw Cleanse...eww.

I have finally made the committment to do a detox.  Over the last few months I have fought off the sluggish fatigue, headaches, nausea, low energy and more.  You see the words "cleanse" and "detox" so I don't need to list any more symptoms...kapish? 

I have been listening to Dr. Axe on SuperTalk 99.7 on Sundays and have heard enough testimonials to this particular cleanse. You can read more about it here:  http://www.draxe.com/the-best-way-to-detox/.

The Do's are simple

• Eat plenty of organic, raw fruits and vegetables
• Drink lots and lots of water
• Work in garlic flax seed, legums, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, herbal and green teas

Plus....a seven day cleanse kit called "Raw Cleanse"  yum.

The Dont's are pretty simple too:

• Avoid dairy, meat, processed foods, grains, sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

Not too difficult except:
I love dairy. Really, I do. I love real butter, cream, yogurt....ect.  But I will abstain for a week.  The other uh-oh for me is caffeine.  I have two cups of coffee faithfully every morning. And, I use CoffeeMate. Arrggghh! So, I will give up my dairy. I can follow all of the rules, but I will continue my coffee. I am curious how much of a monkey wrench that might throw into the mix. 

For breakfast I slowly ate 12 oz of blackberries. Yum!  For lunch I had a veggie burger, strawberries, oranges and watermelon and some cucumber.  Again, yum! 

Stay tuned!

Does this clutter make my home look fat?

Ever tried to lose those last 10 pounds? Ugh. Right??!!  That is how I feel about my clutter. And I have realized that it is dragging me down and wearing me out. My piles of paper are so "in your face" that my poor family has no idea that I actually spent a few hours and blood drops on an area. How's that for confession? Anyhoo. Tonight, I am taking a teleclass "Your Home Matters" by Kimberly Medlock.  The announcement of the teleclass arrived in my inbox like a light of hope:

"You will never truly experience all of the benefits and satisfaction that can come from a successful direct sales business if you are constantly nagged by the feeling that your home life is being neglected as a result.  If your home is lacking order and organization then don't miss this special session by professional organizer Kimberly Medlock!
 

This session will give you specific systems and strategies for addressing the key areas of your home - closets, kitchen, papers and kids!  It is packed with must-know information if you truly want less clutter and chaos in your environment."

WISH ME LUCK AND MOTIVATION!

Southern Fried Chicken Pasta Salad

In my recent endeavors to rid my home of clutter, I found about four different file folders filled with recipes printed off from websites and clippings from magazines.  The funny thing is, I don't really cook...alot. I used to. Once upon a time, I was an independent consutlant with The Pampered Chef and gained quite a reputation for cooking well and cooking creatively. I used to preach it to the choir at my kitchen shows...."do you find yourself in a dinner rut? Does your family know what day of the week it is just by simply taking a look at the dinner table? You know...Taco Tuesday, Sloppy Joe Saturday, Whatever-is-in-the-pantry Wednesday, etc." Then, I would throw myself and my guests into an fun cooking demonstration of how to kick up their menu and shoot that dinner rut out of the sky.  And all for pennies and in very little time. Ahhh...well, I stopped listening to myself.  I fell into a rut and pulled my family down in with me.  Poor things!  I received a bit of inspiration recently. My neighbor was in a difficult and physically painful situtation that deserved some serious TLC from us.  I offered to bring some meals over.  In going through all of my recipes I found a little clipping about the size of a coupon for Southern Fried Chicken Pasta Salad. 

Simple and easy. Mayo, mustard, salt & pepper, bell pepper, hard-boiled eggs, minced garlic and cold fried chicken.  Confession:  I purchased popcorn chicken from the Wal-Mart deli.

Olivia and Chloe helped.  They loooved the Food Chopper.

It turned out pretty well. My hubby and little one were pleasantly surprised by my "shake-up" and enjoyed it too.  My neighbor said it was delish. I feel the need to place a gold star on a chart for myself!