Tea

It has become my morning routine (really since I've started my Anti-Inflammatory Diet/Lifestyle) to cook my self Old-Fashioned Oatmeal with a TBLS. of ground flax seed, an egg or omelet, and a slice of cantaloupe (or perhaps 1/2 berries instead) and I sit at my kitchen table with a clear view of my bird feeder where Cardinals frequent. To go with my wonderful and relaxing breakfast I make myself a cup of Tazo Green Tea to sip - knowing I'm filling my body full of antioxidants to fight off all the junk I've put in my body either by eating bad or stressing out. Not to mention I LOVE the flavor of it! I even order it at restaurants that have good green tea such as Shogun's. And to top it all off I always have a current book to read while I slowly eat my morning meal. Eating slow is good for digestion you know - so don't tease me for eating like a bird!

Now to the subject at hand - tea. I recently read a good post that had a recipe for truly the best Chai Tea you will ever drink! If you are a fan of Chai Tea you truly MUST try the recipe - it is claimed to be better than Starbucks! You can find it at the following blog, Tea Time. (it is linked directly to that post)

I also wanted to recommend a great website to find tea at - Teavana.com

It is ALL high grade quality tea and all comes loose leaf. If your mom is a fan of tea it would make a GREAT mother's day present too!

So check out Teavana.com and Tea Time for a great Chai Tea recipe!

A note from Joyce Meyer

"Even when we are in a place of obedience to God, we often have no natural way of knowing for sure whether we are right or wrong. We have nothing more than faith to help us take that first step. We may not be certain that what we are doing is the right thing until after we have done it and then look back to see if God's grace was there to cause our efforts to bear good fruit.

Sometimes we may be wrong. That thought seems frightening at, so we think I had better just stay here where it is safe. But if we do that, we will soon be miserable if God truly has told us to move forward.

If our hearts are right and we do our best when we hear from Him, God will redeem us and honor our steps of obedience. If we move with childlike trust to obey what we believe in our hearts He has told us to do, even if that decision is wrong, God will take that mistake and work it out for our good. I know this is true because Romans 8:28 says that all tings work together and fit into God's plan for good for those of us who are called according to His purpose.

Many people are afraid to move because they think that if they make a mistake, God will be angry with them. But this is where trusting His character is so vital to walking in faith. People who are too afraid to obey are so miserable anyways that they cannot get any worse off by stepping out and trying to do what God is telling them to do.

I once had a ministry position at our home church. I loved it, but felt God was leading me to step out into something new. I did leave, but not because I wanted to. I left because God's anointing and power for me to be there had lifted, and I became miserable until I obeyed Him. I realized I would find peace only if I left my "safety zone" and tested what I believed He told me to do. That was the only way to find out if I was right or wrong about hearing his voice. I had to step out to find out!

I exhort you with this truth: Do not spend all your life playing it safe! Safety is very comfortable, but it may keep you from God's perfect plan for your life. Trust His Word and keep your heart willing and ready to obey. You will find throughout your life that God regularly calls us out of our comfort zones and into new places of faith and growth in Him."

-TAKEN FROM JOYCE MEYER'S AMPLIFIED BIBLE COMMENTARY NOTE

P.S. My good friend over at Biskit's Blog has given me this sweet award!

And I would like to pass it on to my parents (becuz they BOTH just started blogging!!)

My mom at "Tea Time" and my dad at "Random Ramblings"

PLEASE CHECK THEM BOTH OUT!!

The Shack

This morning I finished my latest "good read", "The Shack" by WM. Paul Young. When I told my mom I was reading it she told me that people either love it or hate it. She was absolutely right and I personally was amongst the "love it" crowd! This book really makes you stop and go, "what?!" and often go back and reread a paragraph to try to understand what the heck the author just said! It is a very emotional and heart-changing book and I highly recommend it to ANYONE! It is a must read! You can click on the picture or the title to visit the website to learn more.

Back of the book reads:

" Mackenzie Allen Philip's youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his Great Sadness, mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgement he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant THE SHACK wrestles with the timeless question: Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain? Then answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!"

Happy Earth Day

Hey all! This is a lil late but the soonest that I had 5 minutes to sit down and do a post! However I wanted to do a post in honor of Earth Day!! So I am putting my top 3 tips of easy practical ways to be Earth-Friendly!! I do all 3 of these and if I can do it so can you! So here we go...

1. Keep plants in your house that are natural air filters! Certain plants naturally help clean your air - this will help out your air filters a lil bit!! And help any members of your family that may be prone to allergies!

Here's a list of house plants that are natural air-filters:
1. English Ivy (Hedera helix)
2. Spider plant (Chlorophytum comosum)
3. Golden pothos or Devil's ivy (Scindapsus aures or Epipremnum aureum)
4. Peace lily (Spathiphyllum 'Mauna Loa')
5. Chinese evergreen (Aglaonema modestum)
6. Bamboo palm or reed palm (Chamaedorea sefritzii)
7. Snake plant or mother-in-law's tongue (Sansevieria trifasciata 'Laurentii')
8. Heartleaf philodendron (Philodendron oxycardium, syn. Philodendron cordatum)
9. Selloum philodendron (Philodendron bipinnatifidum, syn. Philodendron selloum)
10. Elephant ear philodendron (Philodendron domesticum)
11. Red-edged dracaena (Dracaena marginata)
12. Cornstalk dracaena (Dracaena fragans 'Massangeana')
13. Janet Craig dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Janet Craig')
14. Warneck dracaena (Dracaena deremensis 'Warneckii')
15. Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina)
16. Gerbera Daisy or Barberton daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)
17. Pot Mum or Florist's Chrysanthemum (Chrysantheium morifolium)
18. Rubber Plant (Ficus elastica)

(Here are some pics of my kiddos planting some seeds for Earth Day - they are on our kitchen table right now and Tyler is learning that flowers take a LONG time to grow, hehe!)

Scooping out the potting soil...

Planting the seeds...

Givin' em a lil fresh water!

2. Use earth-friendly cleaning products! And you want a testimony? Cuz I have one!! My toilets were building up yellow stains right where the top of the water was and I kept trying to clean it, scrub it everything and nothing was working. I bought probably 4 different types of cleaners and finally even poured straight bleach into my toilet!! NONE of which did anything to this stain! My sister-in-law came for vacation and brought with her a bunch of her fave natural cleaning products for me to try and one was Ecover Toilet Bowl Cleaner. I thought well why not - what's one more? I put it in and left it for about 5 minutes and I'm not kidding - came back and TOTAL WHITE! The stain just went away!! And BLEACH couldn't even do that!! It is an INCREDIBLE product! A few other fave's of mine are: Mrs. Meyer's All-Purpose Cleaner (comes in handy spray bottle), Ecover Liquid Laundry Detergent, and Mrs. Meyer's Lavender Dryer Sheets. 7th Generation Bathroom cleaners are pretty good too!

My amazing toilet cleaner! If you are a woman -

you understand me being excited over toilet cleaner right?!

3. Use reusable shopping bags! At first I kept forgetting so I would buy a couple more on those trips so I could still use them and now have like 12-14 of them. I carry my bundle into Krogers every week now and usually have extra left over after ALL my groceries are in them. They are so nice to use! They are big and extra sturdy so a LOT more groceries, in one bag easier to handle = a lot less stress unloading groceries!

So what did you do for Earth Day?

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Part #4

So I just spent the time yesterday trying to sum up the diet and then I checked Dr. Perricone's blog (yes he has a blog too - click here if interested in it!)...And come to find out there had just been a post of the overview of the Acne Diet on there, and of course more professional sounding and easier to understand than me, so I decided to simply copy the entire post here for your reading! Enjoy!


TAKEN FROM DR. PERRICONE'S DAILY BLOG:

Acne Diet - More Than Skin Deep
Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 4:40:12 PM Editor

Think beautiful skin starts in a bottle? Think again. Beautiful skin starts in your kitchen and has everything to do with what you put into your body.
Your skin is a direct reflection of what’s happening digestively; I like to tell our clients to think of their skin as their intestines turned inside out. So when my clients come to me wanting clear skin yet are washing down their Doritos with Diet Coke, well…there’s work to be done in the education process.


A large part of our nutritional practice at the Flagship involves treating people with acne. And guess what? 90-95% of our clients with acne have either been on the Pill, on antibiotics, or some combination of both. This causes an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria, and depletes the good bacteria present. And acne is the residual after-effect of this imbalance. The work we do to correct the imbalance is with a yeast-free, sugar-free diet rich in essential fatty acids and protein. This in effect will rebuild the digestive system and restore luminous, clear skin.


PRIMO PROTEINS
Protein helps repair the skin and supports liver detoxification and hormonal balance (another culprit of acne). The best choices include: wild Alaskan salmon and other cold-water fatty fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, Greek yogurt, whey protein, and grass-fed meats. Choose 2-4 ounces per meal.

SUITABLE STARCHES
Since carbohydrates have the greatest impact on blood sugar and inflammation, choose them wisely. Fruits and vegetables should be the base of your diet; you can incorporate ½ cup cooked of the following per day: barley, beans and legumes, brown rice, rolled or steel-cut oats, winter squash, sweet potato, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, and millet.


FABULOUS FATS
The right fats can literally make or break your health, and we all need them to survive. Go for avocados, raw nuts and seeds, nut butters and tahini, olives and olive oil, ground flaxseeds, raw coconut and coconut oil, and grape seed oil. They’ll correct dry chicken skin and regulate sebum production. Incorporate at least 2 tsp of fat per meal.


STEER CLEAR
…When you’re working hard to eat healthfully, the following can quickly undo all your efforts: white flour and sugar (pasta, bread, muffins, cake, and cookies—and no, whole wheat is not any better), fruit juices and dried fruits, aged cheeses, milk, soy, vinegar, alcohol, and mushrooms.
Cleaning up your act in the kitchen will ultimately help clear up your skin. Give your body 3-6 months for all the changes to take place. You’ll be glad you did!



Esther Blum,MS,RD,CDN,CNS
Registered Dietitian
NV Perricone, MD
Flagship791
Madison Avenue
New York, NY 10065
212.734.2537

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Part #3

Okay so I'm in the car, half spaced out on what the radio is saying but can still hear it none-the-less and I'm listening to our local Christian Station, KSBJ. They are in Nashville for the Gospel Music Awards and are interviewing different Christian artists. Big Daddy Weave had just come on and they started asking him about how his diet has been going, apparently knowing he had made a commitment to lose weight this year. They ask him how it is going and what he is doing to meet his goal.

He says that he made a goal to lose 90 pounds in '09 and it all came about from one of his songs about "what if I had given everything, instead of just going through the motions." I'm sure you may have heard this song playing on the radio it is a HUGE hit right now. Anyways his weight had always been an issue and he has struggled back and forth with it so he decided he was going to finally just do it and no more going through the motions.

So to my point...they ask him if the diet has a name that he is on and he says "Well it all about removing inflammation for your body" I cocked me head, jaw dropped and my hand immediately turned up the volume to listen INTENTLY now! He went on to tell a few things e wasn't allowed to have while on the diet and it was very similar to mine. He had even gone a step further however and was excluding most dairy products and also was trying to eat everything raw - or the closest to how God created it, in his exact words.

It was so cool and apparently he has this on his website where you can sign up to be a part of making a goal for this year to be a healthier you! Participants will have healthy recipes, wellness information and even exercise tips made available to them! There is TONS of people that have posted comments on the challenge page and I only read a few and was like WOW! You gotta check it out! And if you struggle with weight - maybe consider joining the adventure, you will never regret taking better care of your body! PROMISE!! Just click here to see Big Daddy Weave's 90 in '09 Challenge! (or click on the title)

Now to add a short blib on this post ABOUT the diet since it's been awhile I've decided to give the roughest overview possible of what the don'ts are in this way of eating! (I admit the reason it's been awhile since my last post on it is because I lent the book to one of my youth and I haven't gotten it back yet - so I feel a little lost!)

THE ANTI-INFLAMMATION DIET In a Nutshell:
- No sugar
- No starches
- No fried foods
- No breads, pastas or rice
- No potatoes, mangoes, bananas or peas
- Drink at LEAST six 8 oz. glasses f water a day! Calm down that's like 3 water bottles worth!

You may eat meats but eat mostly fish, shellfish, chicken, turkey, tofu and yes you can have a little red meat (just don't overdue it!)

Wild Atlantic Salmon is one of the BEST things you can eat for your skin!

Rules for Mealtime:
1. Eat Protein FIRST!
2. Follow with deep colored veggies or fruit
3. Make sure you have a fatty acid somewhere in your meal (avocados, nuts, flax seed, salmon, etc...)

EASY WAY TO FIGURE IF IT'S SAFE: Look it up on the Glycemic Index!! If it is under 50 it is safe. Above 50 will cause inflammation. If it causes a sugar-insulin response (hope I said that right!) then it will cause inflammation. Click Here for a GREAT site to check if something is inflammatory or not!!

Silent Sundays

Here are a few pics from my Easter in New Mexico with my parents!

Please join us for Silent Sundays!

Tummy Comfort Tea

This post idea came from a conversation with my mom. I was telling her that I bought this tea for my kids that is "tummy-ache" tea. Well I haven't needed it much for my kids, thankfully because they are very healthy and hardly ever sick - so I had a lot of this tea and one night my stomach turned in knots! I was bloated and feeling horrible. So I thought well I'll try this tea first before I take any meds. So I brewed me a cup and I am NOT exaggerating, by the end of the cup I was totally fine and felt better than ever! No stomach pain, bloating, nothing! It was awesome!! So whether for your kids or YOU I wanted to pass on my recommendation for this wonderful tea called "Tummy Comfort Tea"!

p.s. I found a website that has the tea for sale for only $4, the title of this post is linked to it!

AND....just to add a bit for my Anti-Inflammation Series: Green Tea is highly recommended on this diet. Pretty easy to know why - tons of antioxidants!! Which are of course anti-inflammatory. It is GREAT tea for your health and for anti-inflammation. And just as a tidbit, I was reading a magazine this last week that had facts on tea and apparently it is the most consumed beverage behind water! WOW! I surely thought this Starbucks world would have coffee as the second largest choice, but nope - tea has stood the test of time! So drink up everyone!!

Anti-Inflammatory Diet Part #1

I'm sorry it took me awhile to do another post on here about Dr. Perricone's Anti-Inflammatory Diet however my Internet went on the blink for a good part of last week and so I just had to wait! Today I wanted to share the idea of anti-inflammatory and just how easy it is to follow. I will do quite a few posts about the diet and then eventually move on to the supplements and topical treatments as well. And maybe throw in a yoga post - which I have recently started doing. Yoga is a funny thing to me - I have not taken a class just read how to do the positions, and so thus far this is my summary of Yoga: You feel like you are posing weird ways and stretching with others but afterwards you feel like you just had a major workout! My muscles are sore and I FEEL what its doing for me, very crazy. And I also found I probably SHOULD take a class or get a video or something because breathing is a big part of yoga and apparently I'm not good at breathing! lol, silly as it sounds it's true!

Okay anyways, this is NOT the yoga post so....

First I will start with the argument most have that diet doesn't effect acne. Where did this come from? Well a group of dermatologists got together 2 groups of teenagers. One group was given candy bars with high amounts of chocolate. The other group was given candy bars with high amounts of vegetable oils. Okay even for a non-scientist do you see the flaws in this study?

1. We have no clue what their diets consisted of before OR during the study besides these candy bars.
2. They were already suffering from acne - so it still isn't an accurate reading on how acne is CAUSED.

How in the world with JUST those two flaws can this be considered a controlled study?

Okay so apparently that saying isn't from the most reliable source. With that being said, "inflammation is at the basis of many diverse disease processes in the body, ranging from cancer to heart disease, acne to Alzheimer's, diabetes to the aging process in general." When Dr. Perricone is referring to inflammation he means it in the entire spectrum of it - such as not just the kind we can see with our eyes but cellular and molecular also. Although it can't be seen inflammation is working in our cells every day damaging our vital organs which results in things such as disease and aging. Perricone found this in school while looking through a microscope viewing cells with various forms of disease or age - yet young disease free skin had no inflammation present. He knew there had to be something there!

Perricone later became fascinated with nutrition and studying some nontraditional nutritionists and following their recommendations found he had incredible increase in energy, his general health improved as well as his athletic performance. The best part of nutritional therapies is it treats the entire body and not just the symptoms - which always results in a much healthier patient in ALL areas. So through all this he learned the best way to control cellular inflammation is through diet.

"Most old adages have stood the test of time because they hold more than a glimmer of truth - from "fish is brain food" (one of the truest aphorisms ever spoken) to "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." "

Keep reading for more on the anti-inflammatory diet: Post #2 = "The Sugar-Inflammation Connection"

Quotes taken from Dr. Perricone in "The Acne Prescription"

Picture Princess

My Picture Princess

My sister-in-law, Elizabeth, over at "Life as we live it" blog introduced me to Shabby Apple - a modest and feminine clothing line. I was looking through their new spring line the other day and noticed an ad for "Picture Princess" and had to check it out. They are seeking the next little girl to feature their summer line of Little Girls dresses and thus this post!

Why my daughter is a Picture Princess:

My daughter has captured my heart from the moment she was born and inherited both Nick and I's love for the camera! She is always showing off giving us something to take a picture of! And of course she wants to see every single one you take of her! She has a great spirit about her and loves being outside and picking flowers or playing with her new puppy! She is an easy going baby and is ready for any new adventure! Since I had a handsome son for my 1st child, this is my first little girl to dress all up and do her hair! It is so much fun and I love some of Shabby Apple's new spring dresses that they offer for girls just like my Gracious! One in particular I have my eye on, that I think would look absolutely divine on my lil picture princess is "The CANARY Dress"

(just click picture for direct link)

picture taken from: Shabby Apple.com - check it out to see more of:

Little Girls and Girls Dresses from Shabby Baby

In case you would like to check out Shabby Apple for yourself just click on the title for the link to their home page!

Acne & Aging

If you currently struggle, or have ever struggled with, acne or signs of aging then you will WANT to read this!

When I was a Senior in High School I had already gone through a number of acne treatments and was running out of options! I had tried over-the-counter products, tried several topical treatments prescribed by my dermatologist and even gone through the UV-ray treatments driving an hour one way two times a week for them! I was exhausted and about to give up hope. My mom remembers praying to find a solution and when she was in a bookstore saw this book called the Anti-Acne Diet by Dr. Perricone.

Long story short she asked if I was willing to try a three-tiered program that included diet, supplements, and topical treatments. Now before you go whoa that's a lot of stuff - you can do it with the diet alone!! JUST by changing what you eat can drastically change the effects of acne AND aging. If you want overall better health and want to make sure it stays away the supplements (simply vitamins and minerals) and his specially formulated topical treatments which ensure it follows the guidelines of his study.

So what are the guidelines? NOTHING that is pro-inflammatory! Through his research he found that acne is actually a Systemic Inflammatory Disease. Now I will keep it in layman's terms that it simply means there are certain foods, creams, cosmetics, etc. that will cause inflammation at the cellular level. This is what actually starts the chain reaction that leads to that zit on your face. It's NOT oily skin although yes that will contribute to acne...it's NOT chocolate, lol...although yes the sugar IN chocolate is! Now yes stress, hormones, oily skin and all these things contribute to acne and aging but are not the root cause which means even when those other things still exist if you are on an Anti-Inflammatory Diet and using cosmetics that don't have pro-inflammatory components than you can keep your acne flare-ups away! Good news huh?

I wrote all that to say I went on the entire three-tiered system my senior year and by Senior Picture time was acne free and had more energy than I had ever had in my life! I felt the best I've ever felt and ever since going off of that diet have wished I could somehow get back on it! Well I was blessed that during pregnancy my hormones blessed me with acne free skin. Now with my daughter turning two a couple months ago suddenly here comes my acne again after almost four years of not dealing with it! As soon as I got a few really bad cases I asked my mom to mail me the book.

I have officially been on the Anti-Acne diet since Thursday, March 19th and my face is already almost completely clear - and may I add I am ONLY doing the diet and taking TWO of the seven supplements! I'm regaining energy that I had been depleted of lately and am starting to think more clearly and be more efficient in my work! I'm not kidding! I HAD to tell my readers about this because it is for aging too - and all the bad things that come with it (cancer, Alzheimer's, arthritis, WRINKLES, etc...)

I will be doing a series on this Anti-Inflammatory Diet and have also linked the title to Dr. Perricone's website if you would like more information right away!

Red Envelope Day Project

I recently received this challenge in an email and strongly encourage any PRO-LIFE supporters out there to join! This will be an easy yet strong message to our new President, that not ALL of us support abortion. Please read about it and consider joining the effort. (There are links included for you to research further, including the title is linked to the Red Envelope Day site.)

Red Envelope Day Project

Here's how it works:

Get a red envelope. You can buy them at party supply or office supply stores.

On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20500

On the back, write the following message:

"This envelope represents one child who died because of an abortion.It is empty because the life that was taken is now unable to be a part of our world. "

Put it in the mail, and send it on March 31st (so many arrive at the same time.)

Please forward this event to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died [in the U.S. ] before having a chance to live. It may seem that those who believe abortion is wrong are in a minority. It may seem like we have no voice and it's shameful to even bring it up. Let us show our President and the world that the voices of those of us who do not believe abortion is acceptable are not silent and must be heard. Let's pray that together we can change the heart of The President and save the lives of millions of children. Barak Obama spoke at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund event, uttering the now infamous line, "Well, the first thing I'd do as president is, is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. [Applause.] That's the first thing that I'd do." - And he did!

An empty red envelope will send a message to President Barack Obama that there is moral outrage in this country over this issue [The Freedom of Choice Act, which will essentially undo every law currently in place to limit abortion in the U.S. through parental consent laws, parental notification, waiting periods, prohibition of transporting a minor girl across state lines to obtain an abortion, etc.]. It will be quiet, but clear.

Please read more about The Freedom of Choice Act here: Red Envelope Day website

Obama's Speech to Planned Parenthood
Obama's Statement on Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade

In Christ,
Brian Larson, Senior Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Truckee

Silent Sundays

Please join us for Silent Sundays! Just click on post title to check it out.

These are pictures taken within the last week, all by my friend Jenna, who had been staying with us. BY the way FYI she is a freelance photographer and has a blog for her photography. Just click on the link and check it out!

Bod Squad Petition

Being a youth pastor's wife I keep up with christian organizations that put out product relating to teens. One of them is the Pure Freedom and Secret Keeper Girl. In an email I received this week they informed us of a petition that they will present to the fashion industry on making young girls clothes age-appropriate and modest! I have copied and pasted the next few paragraphs from their website for you. I encourage you if you want to try and see the clothing industry change then please go sign this petition!!

TAKEN FROM SECRET KEEPER GIRL WEBSITE:

In 2009, Dannah Gresh and The Bod Squad (that’s you) will present a petition to both the Council of Fashion Designers of America and the Apparel and Footwear Manufacturer's Association. We hope that as a result Women’s Wear Daily, the global “bible” of the fashion industry, will cover the petition and tell the entire fashion world. Dannah has been interviewed twice by the magazine to discuss the industries marketing of sensual clothing to tweens. She has their ear, but she needs your support to send them a clear message.Will you join The Bod Squad?

It has been endorsed by New York Times Best-selling author Donna VanLiere, founder of Virtuous Reality Ministries Vicki Courtney, internationally known speaker and book author Leslie Ludy, co-host of “The Messenger” TV program Lisa Bevere, bestselling author, speaker, and nationally-syndicated newspaper columnist Shaunti Feldhahn, co-founder of FamilyLife Barbara Rainey, President/Founder of Moms In Touch International Fern Nichols, and Christian recording artist Stephanie Smith.

The Bod Squad Petition: We believe that the fashion industry is pressuring little girls to grow up too fast! The findings of two years of study by an APA (American Psychological Association) task force state that clothing, which makes girls appear older, and the associated marketing efforts are linked to eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression. Ironically, this early sexualization presented to young girls also has “negative consequences on girls’ ability to develop healthy sexuality.” We would like to request that industry leaders send a message to the fashion industry that mothers want to purchase age-appropriate clothing for our little girls and would like the fashion industry to evaluate the clothing they design and the messages they send to our daughters through advertising.

View the Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualizationrep.pdf

Just click HERE, or the post title to sign the petition!

Bringing spring to you!

Are you feeling tired of winter? Got the winter blues and can't WAIT (literally) for spring to get here? Well I have a spectacular project for you that brings a little spring to you!

I know I've been gone for awhile - my in-laws are visiting and so I've been quite busy and distracted. But I will get back into regular blogging soon. Anyways, for Christmas my husband's grandma (and mine too of course), purchased me a subscription to Better Home and Gardens Magazine! I am pouring through my first copy and found a GREAT idea to freshen up your home while winter may continue outside.

I hoped to get pictures for you too however as many of you know I got a new camera for Christmas and went hog wild with it and so now my card is full with about 1,400 pictures on it, yes I'm not kidding, and so I need to empty my card before I can get any more pics on here. However is the idea:

Materials Needed:
- branches off a deciduous tree - cut about 1 or 2 feet long
- shallow container, dish, whatever
- fresh water
- floral foam
- Scissors (sharp)
- And decorative rocks (optional)

What to do:
- Place floral foam inside the shallow dish you have chosen
- Cut some tree branches about 1 to 2 feet long and place into floral foam in any arrangement you like
- Fill with fresh water
- Cover top with decorative rocks to cover foam and make it look nicer
- Every 2-3 days cut fresh ends off the branches and replace water
- This will "force" the branches to bud giving you some greenery and a little spring made at home!

I'm putting mine together today so hopefully by the time they bloom I will have space on my camera to get a pic! Hope you enjoy the project!

Some favorite recent photos!

Ever since I got my camera I have been snapping pictures everywhere and of everything! So I decided to share a few of my favorites lately!

This first one is at my church - the church owns a working chuck wagon and I took this picture at like 6:50 p.m. which means it was almost pitch black - but I took it on a natural lighting setting and captured this amazing photo and NO IT HAS NOT BEEN ALTERED ONE BIT! This is exactly how it came out I have done nothing to the photo!

This second one was a gorgeous sunset the other evening that I enjoyed watching from my back door! I just saw the sunset through my window opened my back door and started snapping shots! I LOVE sunset pictures - can you tell?

This last one was taken the same time as the first wagon picture. I have to take the pastor staff pictures for our church website next week so I was experimenting set-ups and asked one of our youth to help me. She gladly posed for like 30 minutes in the cold while I looked at every angle possible! It was so fun and I ended up capturing a great shot of her!

Gluten free, dairy free and wheat free PIZZA!

Wow it has been too long since I have been on here! I still am not sure what to start my blogging about again so I chose to share a recipe from our dinner a few days ago!

I know many of you have come to my blog from my sister-in-law's blog, and she often shared gluten free recipes because she recently found out her body just does NOT do gluten! So here is our yummy whole grain pizza we made:

GLUTEN FREE WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA

1 pkg. Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix

1 1/2 Cups Warm Water

2 Eggs
2 TBSP. Olive Oil

Yeast Packet (which is enclosed in Bob's Red Mill Pizza Crust Mix)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, combine water and yeast. Let stand a few minutes. Add eggs and oil to mixture and blend briefly. Add GF Pizza Crust Mix and blend about a minute on medium speed, until combined. Leaving dough in bowl, split in half, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 20 minutes. Place dough on greased pizza pans (or Pampered Chef Round Stoneware). Using wet hands, spread out dough to cover the full pizza pan. Bake without toppings for 7-9 minutes.

Remove from oven, cover with favorite sauce and toppings. Bake for 15-18 minutes.

Makes two 12-inch or one 16 inch pizza crusts.

Dough can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and store in plastic bag. When ready to bake, take dough out of refrigerator and allow to rest 30 minutes. Spread dough onto greased pizza pan and bake as directed.

(This was taken from the back of the Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix Package)

I have included a couple pictures of our first pizza - we chose Canadian bacon and pineapple. If we want to stay on the healthy side you can easily do all veggies, chicken, maybe some fruit whatever you feel like! Hope you enjoy it!!

And I'm very curious if my sister-in-law has tried this recipe, hint hint, so if you read this let me know what you think!

My Card Garland!

I am so proud - this card garland idea I first saw on the Celebrating Christmas blog (see sidebar for link) and then went to the original blog it came from but anyhow I loved the idea and wanted to show you that I did it!! I wanted it done quickly so I bought already painted decorations for the ends of the clothespins instead of painting some myself! I got so many wonderful yummy new recipes and ideas for Christmastime this year and enjoyed trying all of them. My card garland was a favorite displaying all the Christmas Greetings we received from family and friends throughout the season. I posted some pics for you to see! (Our favorite recipe I found was the Wassail oh man was it delicious!!!)

Christmas Memories Monday

It is bittersweet as we finish up our last week of Christmas Memories Monday and say goodbye to the year of 2008. Bitter because the fun, food and family of the Christmas season are gone for a little while again and sweet because, sorry but if like me, this year was a little on the hard side. So with no further ado...

CHRISTMAS MEMORIES MONDAY: New Memories

1. If you open a gift on Christmas Eve what did you open this year?

Only our kids open a gift on Christmas Eve so my son opened a "Pablo" (from Backyardigans) stuffed animal and my daughter opened a Care Bear stuffed animal. We did however open our books for our book dinner and I got the next book in the O'Malley series by Dee Henderson a MUST READ!! the book I'm on right now is the 2nd book called, "The Guardian".

2. What time did you wake up on Christmas (or GET woken up)?

My kids are still too little to get up early. I truly thought this year would be the first for my son to wake earlier but I was wrong. They were up by about 8 AM and we slowly opened gifts until almost 11 AM! It was relaxing and fun - we played as we went!

3. What story or event will you remember from this Christmas in '08?

Honestly the one that sticks out was going to the Christmas Tree Farm. That is the first time we have ever done that and we had a BLAST! We went on a weekday because of Nick's work schedule and so we were the only ones there. It was a beautiful family outing! Not to mention the kids were SO excited and my son proudly declared after much searching - THIS is my tree I want this one. (Sadly we couldn't get that type of tree so we had to convince him otherwise but still so cute!)

4. What was the funniest thing that happened this Christmas?

This one is easy for me! I was SO excited to have my new book in this series that we all read almost all afternoon on Christmas Day. Well I got up to get something for my kids and while I was busy my mom took my book and hid it from me. I'm still distracted and she asks for a pen and paper. When I finally return to be once again engrossed by my book it is gone. When I ask my mom says I have a poem for you. A WHAT?! So she hands me this poem she had written about hiding my book with clues in the midst of the poem of course. Ah yes that's my mom - she said she hasn't been able to pester me in a LONG time and it just had built up! Oh it was NOT RIGHT!! So I searched all over until I finally found my book much to her disappointment that I did find it! Yep that's my mom and it was a good laugh for everyone that day.

5. What are you doing now - 4 days after Christmas?

We are getting ready to head to Brenham TX where we are going to take a tour of the Blue Bell Factory - and YES a sample is included at the end of the tour!! YUMMY!! We will head over, take the tour and then have some lunch and hit a few shops. On our way out there we are stopping by the church too to show my parents our new youth building. Then we will return for my mom and I to scrapbook for the third night in a row!! This has been SUCH a wonderful vacation!!

I hope yours has been too! Can't wait to hear about it and the NEW memories that were made!
Please copy and paste this into your own post, erase my answers and put your own in. And please leave a comment when you do so I may come read your memories!! Thank you to everyone who played this year!! I have so enjoyed it!

Christmas Memories Monday

Families are arriving, yummy foods are being baked, and last minute gifts are being bought, wrapped and shipped! Are you ready? Who cares! Just celebrate Jesus this week and everything else doesn't matter THAT much anyway!!

It is the final Monday BEFORE Christmas - and we will have one more "Memories Monday" on the 29th for "after-Christmas" questions but this is the last set before the big day so enjoy!


CHRISTMAS MEMORIES MONDAY: Food and Family

1. Do you have your big meal on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?

We have our big meal Christmas Eve. If you are a regular reader of my blog you now know this is our "Book Dinner"!

2. Is there a certain meal you always cook (with maybe changing a few sides now and then) or is it just a feast no matter what the menu?

We almost always have Cherry Glazed Ham. My mom cooked this for our meal one Christmas Eve when I was pretty little still and I loved it so much it was my young excitement that said, "THIS needs to be our Christmas meal every year!" And it has been ever since. We did make one exception last year because my sister-in-law was on a STRICT diet and exercise program and lost so much weight and was doing SO well so we didn't want to mess her up so we had Salmon for dinner - which was DELISH!! So no one minded that much!

3. Who will come, or you go see, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day?

My parents are arriving tomorrow sometime - they are driving as we speak and will stay throughout the Christmas holiday and New Year's. My brother was recently stationed to Fort Riley Kansas so no other family will be around. (Our family lives all over the darn U.S. continent!! lol...and none all that close to each other either!)

4. What time do your kids wake you up (or do YOU wake up if you do not have kids in the house with you)?

My kids aren't that old so they still wake up about normal time as they always do...7:30 am (or somewhere around there - it fluctuates a little) Although Tyler is finally understanding Christmas and everything so I'm nervous to see if he will wake up early for the first time...I'll let you know!

5. Do you do the Santa thing?

We really don't. We want our kids to focus on Christ - not Santa. However as they get older we will probably do similar to how my parents handled it: the first time we asked if Santa was real they told us the truth but added that is just a fun thing to do, so we still left cookies and would leave a note like: For Santa, hahaha mom and dad! And my parents always marked one package from Santa so we didn't have to ruin it for any other kids when they asked us what did you get from Santa? Lol...we could answer them but always with a grin behind our answer. We knew the truth but still had fun with it - which is how we will handle it with our kids. A fun lil thing but not to be focused on.


Okay time for you to copy this post delete my answers and add your own!! Please leave a comment if you post this on your blog so I can come visit and read your memories! Thanks for participating!!