Formula for a Perfect Salad

Start with a bed of mixed organic baby greens.

Add one or more items from each of the following categories:

Fresh Fruit (apples, strawberries, pears, pineapple, oranges)
Dried Fruit (raisins, cranberries)
Nuts & Seeds (Pine nuts, crumbled pecans, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
Cheese (Cheddar, Parmesan, Feta)
Vegetables (julienned carrots, chopped green onion, chopped celery, chopped cucumber)

Chopped meat or boiled eggs is also a nice additive on certain salads.

Toss with fresh homemade salad dressing of choice. Mmmm, heaven!

A few salad dressing recipes:

Sweet Cider Vinegar

1-2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (red wine vinegar may also be used)
3 cloves garlic, pressed
Snipped herbs, such as basil or parsley (opt.)
1-2 tbsp. raw honey

Mix together, then drizzle in 1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil while whipping with a whisk to emulsify it. Add 1-3 tbsp. flax oil, then add to salad and serve immediately.

Creamy Orange

Squeeze one orange. Whisk in 1-3 tbsp. homemade mayo. Drizzle in 1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil while emulsifying with a whisk. Add 1-3 tbsp. flax oil and serve immediately.

Garlic Herb

Mix:

1-3 tbsp. apple cider or red wine vinegar
3 tbsp. garlic
1/2 tsp. dijon-style mustard
1-3 tbsp. snipped herbs, such as basil or parsley
1/4 tsp. celtic sea salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Whisk in 1/2 to 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil to emulsify. Add 1-3 tbsp. flax oil and serve immediately.

Tip #1: Any dressing can be made creamy by adding mayo.

Tip #2: Always start with an acid (e.g. citrus juice or vinegar), and whisk your oil into it. Everything else is just for flavour. (Except the flax oil, which is for omega-3s.)

Fast Food Fact: Extra virgin olive oil is a rich source of anti-oxidants. Look for olive oil that is labelled "first cold pressed," and which comes in a dark green or brown opaque bottle. Nutrients are lost when exposed to light and heat. Do not refrigerate, as the oil will go solid. Just keep in a cool, dark place.

Bon appetit!

My New Baby

What is this? Some wonderful picture I found on the internet, with which to tease and torture myself? (No.) New desktop wallpaper for my computer? (Possibly.) Or could this be a photo I took with my VERY OWN CAMERA, of my brand spankin' new KEYBOARD?!

Ting! Ting! Ting! You have found the correct answer!

My mother and her husband arrived here late Sunday afternoon to visit for a few days. And they came bearing gifts. The most exciting (at least to me) was this new Yamaha Portable Grand.



I didn't realize until we got it set up to play, and I sat down to bring forth sweet music, how very much I had missed having a piano. It's like a piece of me was missing, and now I am whole again.

Let me give you a little background, for those of you who don't know the situation:

I grew up playing piano, and loved it so much that when I went to college in 1998 I decided to take Jazz Piano. I didn't actually know anything about Jazz, but they had labelled it "Jazz/Pop" piano in the catalogue, and the other option was Classical. I knew I didn't want to take only classical music, so I picked Jazz.

Am I ever glad I did. I have a total appreciation of jazz music, now. Not only that, jazz musicians have to learn classical techniques, then take it a step further to be able to improvise, etc.

From the time I was a little girl, I had always played a hundred-year-old Bell upright piano, bequeathed to me by my grandparents. Beautiful piano. Beautiful tone. Weighed about ten thousand pounds.

When I moved out to go to college, I had to pay a piano mover to get it out of my dad's basement and into the townhouse I was renting with my new roomies in the city. Cost: <$200. Then, when we all moved to a duplex for my second year, I had to pay to move it again--fortunately, it was only from the main floor (no steps) of the townhouse to the main floor (up three steps) of the split-level duplex, but it still cost almost $200. Then, when I got married after college (incidentally, the day of Jason's and my college grad--woulda been nice if they had announced that BEFORE we picked our date!), we lived in my dad's basement for a year while Jason went back to college for another program. So, I had to pay to move the piano back into my dad's basement. Another 250 bucks, I think! During all these moves, this beautiful antique of a piano had sustained a number of injuries and damages.

Not only that, Jason, and my father, said they would never move it again. So, as our year of free rent drew to a close, I sold it to my uncle--and made HIM move it. (Sorry, Uncle Arvin. All of my resources had been tapped.)

So, there I was, piano-less. It was hard. Really hard. However, probably not such a bad thing, as I don't know how we would have got it into the little 900-square-feet-over-three-levels condo that we lived in in Calgary. As it turns out, we were only there for six months before Jason got a job back in Sylvan at Sunnyside Camp, so bonus that we didn't have to move that beast in and out of there in such a short amount of time.

However, still piano-deprived was I. Then, thanks to assistance from both my mother and my grandmother, and a super-duper deal offered me by my friend and musical partner Candace's aunt, I got another ancient upright. This one was only about 50 years old, and though not as big as the previous one, it had to have been just as heavy. We moved it into the basement of our house at the camp. (My poor brother--he hardly ever gets up to visit, and I think that may have been his first trip up since moving to the States, and what do I do? Make him help move this piano. You're a good man, brother mine!)

Due to the weight of the new beast, and the awkward moving arrangement our split-level afforded, Jason again decided he was not going to be the one to move that piano out of the basement. However, it sat there quite happily for over two years.

During our whole time at the camp, we were always thinking that we would be "moving to India soon." During 2004, things seemed to be coming together enough that we thought we would be moving sometime that winter. Not wanting to make the students I had taken on switch teachers in the middle of the year, I decided not to teach that winter, and to sell my piano to the studio I had been teaching at. Again, they came and moved it as part of the deal.

Well, we ended up not moving to India, obviously. And I have been without a piano of my own since that time. Fortunately, I still directed the choir at church in the winter of 2004-05, so at least I got a few minutes before and after practices to get a little "fix" in. But other than that, my musical outlet has subsisted of the guitar that I am still struggling to learn, like an adult trying to wrap the same meanings in the new sounds and syllables of a foreign language. Needless to say, this has severely curbed my creative output, as far as composing has been concerned.

So, as I ran my no-longer-limber fingers through their paces last night, "sight-reading" a song that at one time I knew quite well, my emotions were a mass of excitement and release. It's difficult to describe. I had been missing my arm, and now that it's back, I truly appreciate its worth.

I just wanted to play for hours, although other responsibilites would not allow it. However, it's so good to have my "other voice" again. And this time, I won't ever have to sell my piano because my husband refuses to move it.

This baby is home to stay.

Lifemarks

Today was Jason's and my sixth anniversary. Marriage is awesome. I highly recommend it. (It helps when you marry your best friend.)

Jabin spent his first night in his own room last night. I now have to get up for feedings to give him a bottle, so I figured since I am getting up anyway, we may as well have our room to ourselves. I had intended to paint the nursery before moving him in there, but that will have to wait. However, there is currently very little furniture in that room, so it will not be hard to move everything when I DO get to painting.

Jabin's crib in its new location in the nursery.

This "Noah's Ark" ensemble (and the tapestry, below) were gifts from Jason's mom when Jude was born. However, Jabin is the first child to use the crib bumper, as the medical profession now think it has something to do with causing SIDS, and I believed them (until now. My personal theory is that most cases of SIDS are caused by vaccinations, but like any medical professional is going to admit to THAT! For more information about the dangers of vaccinations, click here.)



This isn't really a lifemark, just an incidental:

This is Ivy. She followed me home from the grocery store last night. Actually, she was so cute, I couldn't just leave her there and said she could stay on my desk for a little while. I love how she brings a little green to my workspace--a little more life and creativity to my office. I also love her shiny red dress.

Speaking of the grocery store, that reminds me: I am beginning to realize the full impact of our new northerly latitude. I can only imagine what you folks up there in the Knife are experiencing right now. I left to get groceries at around 10 p.m. last night (love our 24-hour grocery store), and the sun was just sitting above the horizon. When I made my way home at 11, there was still enough light out to read a book outside.

No wonder my body clock is all messed up and I am up typing at 1 a.m.!

Well, I better hit the hay. Tomorrow is going to be another long day.

Some Days It's Hard to be Radical

Yesterday, self-doubt kept wandering in and out of my mind with little regard to my attempts to block it. Just when I thought that I had put up enough signs, chains, and road-blocks that I could start focusing on something else, BAMMO! it was sneaking back in around the edges of my thoughts, interfering with my activities and making me question myself.

It all started at Jabin's six-month checkup. Dr. Strange, who has somehow magically morphed into Dr. Unger-the-not-so-strange-
since-I-see-him-every-week-to-get-my-warts-zapped-and-he-
goes-to-my church-to-boot, again politely addressed the topic of immunization. So nicely, though. He's really a very good doctor--methodical, wanting to make sure he doesn't forget to cover something, even though this is my third baby, and very gentle. Then, how he gently addressed the fact that "they" say you should not give your baby egg yolks until one year, but I could start cereals right away, after I told him that Jabin had been receiving an egg yolk a day for over a month now. (I lost my nerve and somehow "forgot" to mention that the formula he is now drinking is actually *gasp* home-made! From *whispers in case someone might be listening* raw milk!!)

He must think I'm pretty brazen--this young house-wife bucking the medical system and conventional knowledge and his advice based on 7 years of medical school to do this crazy, radical thing like feed my baby--and my family--traditional foods.

However, while most people would acknowledge that the changes we have made to our family's diet just seem to have a certain logic to them, even if they are not willing to make those changes themselves, there is such a stigma to what you CAN and CANNOT feed your baby. Also, as a good parent, who wants to mess up their precious baby's body in that vulnerable first year? So we do what the all-knowing "they" tells us is best--start feeding cereals between 4-6 months, then fruits and vegetables (but usually commercially-made ones, since that's just as good as home-made, right?), and using commercial baby formula, possibly even soy-based for the vegans among us. Meats and eggs, and other animal protein foods, are the last to be given.

Alas, I have discovered, like in so many other areas, the scientific evidence has been slanted by a media that does not get its facts straight, and food processing companies and baby food manufacturers that do not make any profit from moms who want to feed their babies healthful, whole foods that they make at home.

However, although I knew all this, my self-confidence was shaken yesterday in the face of all of my doctor's qualifications. If only I knew of other babies who had successfully followed this feeding program. If only I could tell him in cohesive but provable terms why we do not vaccinate our children.

So last night, long after I should have gone to bed, I started poking around on the internet, peeking into different things, especially the corners of the Weston A. Price Foundation site, which I have not had a huge amount of time to explore up until now. The WAPF was started by Sally Fallon, one of the co-authors of Nourishing Traditions, the nutritional cookbook I use every day. This is the cookbook I had taken my baby-feeding information from.

And I found exactly what I was looking for. A gallery of photos and testimonials of healthy, happy babies that had been raised using the same principles my family now adheres to. Not only that, I found two other articles that I intend to print off and present to my doctor as reading material about what the REAL scientific evidence says about what babies thrive on, and also the dangers of vaccination.

Even though I had not formed my naggling thoughts into any specific prayer for assistance, Father God looked down on His child and confirmed that just because I may be a radical, politically incorrect by the standards of the Enlightened era in which I live, that does not mean I am wrong.

He re-affirmed to me that He designed our bodies, and the food for us to eat, and neither of those things has changed in all the millenia we have been in existence on this planet. We have not evolved into creatures that subsist better on man-made cocktails than the whole foods He created for us to consume since the beginning of time.

He reminded me that more often than not, following His plan DOES label one as a radical. And I am in good company.

So although I am sure there will always be days when it's hard (explaining to my pre-schooler for the umpteenth time in the grocery store line that no I will NOT buy him any candy), I guess being radical is okay.

So then, I went to bed.

Pass The Honey (Previous Sidebar Post)

Raw honey is noteworthy for having considerable plant amylase. The amylase does not come from the bee but is a true plant enzyme, concentrated from the pollen of flowers....If you wish to predigest a starchy food, such as bread, spread some raw honey on it. The moment the honey and bread come into contact, the honey enzyme starts predigestion; and as you chew more digestion takes place. If the bread with its honey-enzyme coating is allowed to stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before you eat it, there will be less work for salivary amylase. Edward Howell, MD Enzyme Nutrition

A Day In Review

• My fingers are numb from playing steel guitar strings;
• My hair is filled with sawdust and drywall mud;
• My throat is sore from the smoke that filled our house after I lit the fireplace this afternoon;
• I had to apologize to Jude for yelling at him unnecessarily this morning;
• I got to give Noah a horse-back ride today while he giggled;
• My wonderful husband helped me cut wood panelling for my kitchen with the skill saw (a saw that makes me nervous, so I asked him to do that job for me);
• Jabin smiled at the doctor through his entire 6-month checkup (six months already! Where did the time go?);
• Jude did manage to annoy his brother a LOT, but it seemed slightly less than usual;
• Noah did a bang-up job of singing and doing the actions to "If You're Happy And You Know It..." while I was practicing guitar tonight (I'm sure he also knows all the words to every VeggieTales sing-along CD we own, even if I can't understand all of them when he sings them);
• I realized that I had made so many mistakes when cutting my baseboard, I now no longer have enough--then thought that I might be able to make it work if I bevel two edges and stick them on as one long straight section (in other words, make it work as is. What? It's behind the hutch--no one will ever see it, anyway! And yes, baseboard is cheap, but not that cheap.);
• I managed to take ten minutes and blog about it all.

Quote of the Day:

"It's all knowing what to start with. If you start in the right place and follow all the steps, you will get to the right end." -Elizabeth Moon, The Speed of Dark, 2003

Why Is Alphalpha toxic?

I have had many hits on my site because of my post about alphalpha sprouts (also spelled alfalfa), and my comment about them being toxic. Where did I get this information from? What is there out there to back it up?

Originally, I got my information from the nutritional cookbook Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary D. Enig, PhD. In their section on Sprouted Grains, Nuts, & Seeds, on page 113, it says this:

"There is only one seed we do not recommend in sprouted form (or in any form) and that is--surprisingly--alfalfa! After mung beans, alfalfa is the variety of sprout that has caught on in the health food world. Unfortunately, it seems that all the praise heaped on the alfalfa sprout is ill advised. Tests have shown that alfalfa sprouts inhibit the immune system and can contribute to inflammatory arthritis and lupus. Alfalfa seeds contain an amino acid called canavanine that can be toxic to man and animals when taken in quantity. (Canavanine is not found in mature alfalfa plants; it is apparently metabolized during growth.)"

On the site Nutrition and Metabolism, I found this page about Canavanine. From the page:

"L-canavanine is a common non-protein amino acid found naturally in alfalfa sprouts, broad beans, jack beans, and a number of other legume foods and animal feed ingredients [1] at up to 2.4% of food dry matter. This analog of arginine (Figure 1.) can also block NO synthesis [2-5], interfere with normal ammonia disposal [6,7], charge tRNAarg, cause the synthesis of canavanyl proteins [8], as well as prevent normal reproduction in arthropods [9] and rodents [10].

"Canavanine has also been reported to induce a condition that mimics systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in primates [11,12], to increase antibodies to nuclear components and promote SLE-like lesions in auto immune-susceptible (e.g., (NZB X NZW)F1) mice [13]."

My Google search also turned up this site. From the article:

"The jack bean, Canavalia ensiformis (L.) D.C., belongs to the agriculturally utilized legumes of the tropics. Both, the pods and seeds, as well as the other plant parts are often used as stockfeed. In the literature, several reports indicate that the seeds and other parts of this plant lead to the development of toxic effects in animals.

"Investigations about these manifestations of poisoning, primarily observed in agricultural practice, are to date only isolated. Not in all cases could a toxic effect of the plant be shown. Addison [1] observed no toxic effects after feeding young oxen with Canavalia meal that was fed together with silage and maize straw. The same result came from experiments with Jersey cows (Addison [2]). In contrast, Orru & Cesaris Demel [10] observed a toxic effect of Canavalia meal with rats."

"These findings are of special importance because Canavalia ensiformis is not only used as stockfeed but also for human consumption. They confirm the observations of other authors that Canavalia can have toxic effects. The scattered reports about poisoning by this plant probably stand in no relation to actual number of incidences that are caused by it in agricultural practice, because the cause is difficult to recognize.

"Only in a few cases do poisonings end fatal, because the lethal dose (30 g seed flour/ kg body weight) is apparently only reached in exceptional cases. However, even small doses allow the recognition of clear effects. Shone [12] observed that milk production was markedly reduced after feeding Canavalia flour to dairy cows. The composition of the feed seems also to have had something to do with it. When Canavalia flour is given together with protein-rich fodder, then no or little effect is noted. Feed containing up to 30% Canavalia can, according to Shone[12], be given without danger. It is, however, to be expected that even thereby some detrimental effect on the animals occurs."

I also found this here:

"L-Canavanine is a potentially deleterious arginine antimetabolite whose toxicity is expressed in canavanine-sensitive organisms ranging from viruses to humans. Canavanine, a substrate for arginyl-tRNA synthetase, is incorporated into nascent polypeptide chains in place of arginine. This substitution results in the production of structurally aberrant, canavanyl proteins. Chemical, physical, and immunological studies of native and canavanine-containing vitellogenin obtained from female migratory locusts (Locusta migratoria migratorioides (Orthoptera] provide the first experimental evidence that canavanine can disrupt the tertiary and/or quaternary structure that yields the three-dimensional conformation unique to the protein. These findings enhance our understanding of the biochemical basis for canavanine's antimetabolic and potent insecticidal properties."

More can be found by Googling "Canavanine."

From this experiment, the conclusion was:

"Whether daily ingestion of canavanine exacerbated SLE in two patients consuming 15 and 8 alfalfa tablets (0.27 and 0.15 mg, respectively) is uncertain and warrants further investigation."

The same site posted results from this experiment. From the post:

"Bacillus cereus UW85 suppresses diseases of alfalfa seedlings, although alfalfa seed exudate inhibits the growth of UW85 in culture (J. L. Milner, S. J. Raffel, B. J. Lethbridge, and J. Handelsman, Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 43:685-691, 1995). In this study, we determined the chemical basis for and biological role of the inhibitory activity. All of the alfalfa germ plasm tested included seeds that released inhibitory material....These results indicate that canavanine exuded from alfalfa seeds affects the population biology of B. cereus."

Probably the most relevant (and easy-to-read) article I found was here. Although I don't agree that natural foods contain more toxic substances than man-made ones, we all know that there are both beneficial and toxic plants in nature. Alfalfa seeds and sprouts should definitely be avoided as being on the toxic side.

From the article:

"Canavanine: a toxic arginine analogue

Small-seeded legumes like alfalfa and broom have developed a protective chemical called canavanine. Alfalfa seeds are about 0.5% canavanine, compared with 13% in seeds of the tropical legume Dioclea megacarpa. Just 0.02% canavanine can harm insect larvae. Any animal that ingests canavanine makes incorrect proteins that malfunction as enzymes. The damage is non-specific and widespread, affecting RNA and DNA metabolism, as well as a key enzyme for destroying alcohol. Because it messes up so many aspects of metabolism, canavanine is a highly toxic chemical to animals. Pigs refuse to eat feed containing too much canavanine.Although we humans are not immune to canavanine, we don't seem to taste it."

Hopefully this will provide some answers to those of you who thought I was previously off my rocker.

Continue to eat sprouts of other seeds, however--these are extremely good for you! Perhaps in another post, I will provide instructions on how to sprout your own. Right now, I have to go make supper!

My son the punk rocker

Yesterday, we had a little adventure. The kids had been watching a movie, and Jason and I were in the office while they did so. We were aware that the movie had ended, and the kids were playing quietly. Too quietly. So I casually yell at Jude "Whatcha doin'?"

He runs down the hall and looks at me. "Playin' with toys."

"Okay," I say, taking him at his word. However, when we went out a few minutes later to check on them, Noah looked like this:



Jude had found my nail polish and decided Noah wasn't colourful enough, apparently. So, we got him all cleaned up and went out to watch the hockey game at friends'.

However, we were fairly unimpressed that Jude had lied. We were even more unimpressed when we got up this morning and found out that Jude had done it again!

This time, it was much worse, especially in Noah's hair, and Noah wasn't the only decorated item. Daddy's tools sitting on the counter got a new coat of paint, too. I guess I overestimated Jude's powers of understanding and self-discipline by not moving the nail polish to a higher location after yesterday's incident.

Thank goodness, we had to cut the boys' hair anyway. So, that's what we did this morning. Thanks to the nail polish though, I think this is Noah's shortest haircut ever! (We contemplated giving him a mohawk for a while, thinking that with his naturally spiky hair and the new blue and pink tones we could pass him off as a punkster, but I ended up just cutting out the nail polish and buzzing it.)

Jude trying to hide while I take the picture.

KIDS!!!

Prayer request: A couple of weeks ago, a local mom had her 10-month-old daughter climb/fall out of a shopping cart and sustain a minor concussion. While she seems to be recovering nicely, her one eye is still wandering around a bit, and they don't know what long-term damage may have been incurred. Please pray for a complete recovery for this precious little girl, and peace for her stressed-out mom.

Litmus test: This B.C. couple travelled half the globe together using only human-powered modes of transportation. Check out the story here. No wonder they called this a Litmus Test--if your relationship can survive 145 days in a rowboat together, I guess you could probably survive anything else life could throw at you!

Quote of the Day: "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving things undone.... The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials." Lin Yutang, O Magazine, October 2002

On Soup and the movie Rent

I love homemade soup. It is fast, easy, nutritious, and delicious, not to mention cheap.

I don't love how my children balk at being presented with any new food item, especially anything that contains the colour green. I WORK and I SLAVE, and for what?

Conversation with Jude at lunch today:

Jude: "What is this, Mommy?"
Me: "It's soup."
Jude: "What kind of soup?"
Me: "Cream of celery and potato soup."
Jude: "I don't like celery and potato soup anymore!"
Me: "How do you know? You haven't even tried it!"

Later, after he ate two bites of soup in order to earn half a piece of toast, and then sat and played with the soup for a while:

Jude: "I'm done. I want to get down."
Me: "Okay, Jude if you eat 5 more bites of soup, you can get down."
Jude: "Actually [this is a new word in his vocabulary, which sounds more like a nasally "ac-hee"] one, two, three bites" (holding up the appropriate number of fingers.)
Me: "No, Jude, actually five bites."
Jude: "Actually, four bites."
Me: "No, really, actually five bites."

He's quite the little negotiator. I don't know how he got onto that, since once we have set the bar, we rarely change it. Anyway. Things escalated, it turned into a not-so-pretty picture, but he did eventually eat the five bites and more.

Noah just needed to be convinced to eat the strange food by being force-fed (almost) a couple of bites, so he could decide it really wasn't that bad.

I, on the other hand, thought it was delicious. And a great way to use up the celery that was going brown in my crisper. I'll include the recipe at the end of this entry.

------------------

In college, one of my favourite classes was Jazz Choir. One of my favourite classmates was Kim Denis. (Kim, are you reading me? Did I send you my blog? I'll have to e-mail you and check.) Kim ADORED the play Rent, which I believe she had seen in New York before her year-long tour with Up With People. And I believe our Jazz Choir ended up singing "Seasons of Love" in no small part due to her exuberant recommendations of the song. If she wasn't part of the reason, she was definitely over-the-top excited when the instructor pulled it out. (A lot of things with Kim are over-the-top. It's why I love her so much.)

Well, I loved the song. I had no idea what the musical was about, but as a die-hard musical lover, I knew I wanted to see it. Especially since Kim loved it so much.

Last night, my wish was fulfilled. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but I will touch on a couple of points:

• I was surprised to discover that the lyrics "the way that she died" in the theme song (from all the trailers, "Seasons of Love") was actually referring to a he.
• The music was sensational. But they could have at least found someone who could sing for the movie, right? *sarcasm dripping.* Seriously, everyone in this movie was an amazing singer, and from a musical standpoint, I have no regrets in watching it.
• There was a little too much PDA between homosexual couples in it for my tastes. Okay, any would have been too much for me. I know that no matter what I say in the rest of this point, I am going to offend someone, or already have, so I'll just say it. I love homosexuals. I have friends that are homosexuals. I also have friends that pirate CDs, gossip, tell "little white lies", and can probably be condemned "guilty as charged" of many of these crimes and others at different points of my life. However, I don't have close friends who flagrantly flaunt (10 points for alliteration on "fl") their sins, demanding that they be considered as right, simply because someone is doing them. I know that it is only humans who rate sins ("What Suzy did when she cheated on her taxes is much worse than what I'm doing, so I am still doing okay"), and that God views them all the same. How could I ever condemn anyone else for what they are doing, when I commit so many blunders myself each and every day? I guess I just don't feel I need to have those things shoved in my face, marring an otherwise wonderful entertainment event.
  

While typing this last point, I felt convicted by the Holy Spirit: So, I found "Rent" distasteful because it involved same-sex kissing, but I still enjoy watching many other movies that include swindlers, con artists, murderers, and many other vices? Have I ever written a diatribe about these subjects? Yikes! Ouch! I get the point! Perhaps I have become more desensitized than I thought. Although, as I general rule, I try to avoid movies with excessive amounts of gore, and gore is still my least favourite part of any movie that includes this, I am rather fond of watching movies such as, say, "Ocean's 11" or other hi-larious con movies. So, wrong-doing portrayed in a humourous way is now okay? What kind of double standards do I have, anyway?

OUCH! I said. STOP IT ALREADY!

I am obviously going to have to re-think some of my other movie choices. Or, be more careful with what I say. Or, decide what kind of standard I am going to apply across the board. Hmm. Too much food for thought.

I didn't know when I started this post that I would start having to sweep out the dark, cobwebby corners of my mind and values. Grey areas can become so comfortable--you tend to lose focus on black and white in the soothing, warm fuzziness of the fog that obliterates them. Sometimes, grey is the real colour, but sometimes, grey is only black or white covered with apathy and neglect. The question is, which is which?

If I was smart, I would probably delete the whole second half of this post. But, in an effort to maintain this newly-discovered honesty with myself in this area, and at the risk of losing at least half of my readers, I will post it anyway. Please don't send TOO much hate mail my way.

Edit: I forgot to mention earlier: I did like the theme of the movie, which was "No Day But Today." Good reminder to live every day to it's fullest.

Now, for the recipe (you thought I forgot, didn't ya?)

Cream Of Celery and Potato Soup

2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2 med. onions, chopped
6 cups chicken stock (homemade is best)
3 cups whole milk
4-6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 to 1 head celery, chopped (depending how much you like celery)
few sprigs fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. green peppercorns, crushed
1 cup whipping cream

Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan until melted. Saute the onions until soft (about 10 minutes.) Add the stock, milk, potatoes, celery, and thyme. Cook gently until vegetables are soft (about 20 minutes.) Do not let the milk boil. Remove the thyme. Blend with a hand-held blender until partially smooth (you may leave chunks of celery, etc. This is just to thicken it up a little, and to make the kids have less trouble eating it!) Add the salt, peppercorns, and whipping cream. Re-heat gently, and serve.

Makes about 12 cups.

(Heating milk past a certain point kills enzymes that are needed for absorption of calcium, as well as other parts of the digestive process. This is why pasteurization is so bad.)

Check out Kelly Well

I just found this blog through egg in spoon (see below), and I'm already hooked. Check it out--ESPECIALLY, you, Colleen! She loves children's books and A.A. Milne, too!

Jill, I left it in the comments on Kelly's blog (which in retrospect, may have been a silly thing to do), but I'll say it again here in case you don't catch it there: You have the coolest blog links on your site. Thank you for sharing your friends!

Searching for a coffee addict...

I wasn't going to post today, but I feel strangely compelled, like my day wouldn't be complete without it. Does that mean I am developing an addiction?

To the coffee addict who was seriously skewing the results of my last mini-poll: I think you need help. Possibly from a professional. Either that, or you have the same problem as me--not able to get to bed before 1 a.m. Just kidding. I just couldn't help but laugh when I saw your IP address come up on the vote almost every day! (However, Chocolate still ran a close second!)

Results of my last mini-poll:

Edit: Bleepity-bleep Blogger! Now it's putting this great big gap before my neatly-coded table, and I can't figure out why! I might have to try and fix it tomorrow. It's just way too late right now.

Further edit: I don't know what the heck is wrong. Blogger doesn't like my html, I guess. It looks fine in the Preview! Please continue to scroll down through the Sahara Gap until you reach the table.

Nothing better than...
Answers	Votes	Percent
1.Chocolate	6	35%
2.Pretzels	0	0%
3.Coffee	10	59%
4.Apples	0	0%
5.Roast Beef & Potatoes	1	6%
6.Curry	0	0%
Total Votes: 17

Also, tonight I found this great site for digital scrapbook papers called Scrapgirls, LLC. I'm working on a new template for my blog, and needed some raw materials. My limited HTML skills are growing and expanding, I tell ya.

Jude's current favourite activity is playing outside with the water hose, and also watering all my planters (I am mainly doing container gardening this year, as I do not currently have the resources to give this yard the help it needs. I am just now getting the yard cleaned up to a decent level.) If he doesn't drown all my plants, I ought to have the lushest garden of my life--and a water bill to go with it!

Jason played baseball again tonight. He plays Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don't think they've won once. I sense he is somewhat disappointed in this, but he is still having fun. To me, that's the important part. (I wonder if he feels the same?)

Lastly--I CLEANED MY DESK TONIGHT!! I am sitting here with actual visible workspace in front of me! This has not happened for a while. I prefer to have it this way, but somehow since we moved it has been difficult to maintain, mostly because I am still trying to figure out where the "Its Place" part is for everything in Its Place. However, there were some definite Its Place's uncovered tonight, which therefore allowed me to uncover the cherrywood veneer of my desktop as well. (I still have one more pile to work through, but that can wait!)

I'm getting so organized now, I might just break out and do my taxes soon! (Oops--did I type that out loud?)

Things are looking up

Today, I:

• Finished potting my bedding plants
• Converted the vanity we ripped out of one of our bathrooms when we first moved in here into a planting counter on our patio, by replacing the countertop and sink with a couple of re-purposed, albeit warped, pieces of plywood I found in the back shed and stapling a $2.98 vinyl tablecloth to it.
• Finished a gift album I made for my friend Christa, who just had a baby in March
• Finished the layout I started the other night after receiving my new printer: (Blogger is not letting me upload it right now--I'll do an edit and add it later. Man, I just spent the last 45 minutes editing the silly thing, too!) Edit: To heck with blogger! It's still not cooperating! Oh, well, you can view the page here. It is the one called "Life Is Sweet." And as an aside, you can also reach this gallery at any time from the "My Scrapbook Brag Pages" link in my sidebar.
  
• Got the kids to play outside for most of the day. It's amazing what warm weather and a water hose can do to entertain!
• Cast off on this fast and snappy wrap-around shrug I've been working on--again. The first time, I could barely wrap it around my neck, let alone my body. I had to add a good 20 inches extra! Are my arms really that gorilla-like? Are my proportions that much more lanky than normal women? Apparently so. I made the "Regular" size, which said to knit until you reach 75 inches. The "XL" said to knit to 80. I must have at least a 95-inch length going on. Oh, well. It's long enough now, and that's the important thing. Should have it sewn up and fringed by the weekend. (Especially since we have the movie "Rent" sitting by the DVD player, and it has to be back by Saturday--so I thinkFriday night will be movie/knit night!

I still have a pile of laundry on my sofa, but at least it's from a whole new week. The plugged toilet has been unplugged, due to the rental of a plumbing snake. The bathtub has been fixed. So, although my ongoing renovation project is still leaving my house a bit topsy-turvy, at least my life is becoming a little less chaotic.

By Way of Introduction...

Tonight, my husband called me the Blog Queen.

We don't get TV. So sue me. At least when I'm reading someone's blog, it's about a real person's real, unscripted life, and maybe even relationship-enhancing between said person and myself (if I comment on their blog, they comment on mine, and we actually have some cyber-conversations going.)

At any rate, I have discovered the wonder of sharing my friends. It's so fun to know that my friends are making friends because I linked to them. Otherwise what the heck is the point of all those fun links down the side of the page? And who are these people, anyway? And why the heck should you care?

So, in case you were wondering any or all of the above questions, I shall enlighten you! :-)

Snowed Inn - This blog belongs to my friend Colleen (and supposedly Mark, although I think she has as yet to talk him into posting anything. At all.) Mark is my second-cousin and one of Jason's best buds from way back, and although I had only met Colleen a few times before their wedding (which was only months after ours, in 2000), it has been wonderful to get to know her. By the way, it was her quirky blog that inspired me to start a weblog of my very own. Thanks, Colleen! Just think of all the fun I would have missed out on if you hadn't been likewise inspired by your own friend!

Ang Winters - Ang is my favourite sister-in-law. (Okay, since my brother is as-yet unmarried, it's pretty safe to say that!) Ang wishes she could post more often, but she thinks she has nothing interesting to say. Okay, Ang, here's a few lines to get your muse's butt out of bed:

"My favourite thing that happened today was..."
"If I could do anything I wanted for a whole day, I would..."
"I met the most interesting person the other day..."
"My sister-in-law is so great, because she..." (Tee hee!)

If any of you have any other great writer's-block-breakers, feel free to leave them in my comments section. (Ang, make sure you check back there later!)

Amanda Magnusson - Amanda has been one of my closest friends since the first day of grade one, when we sat facing each other in the quirky desk formation the teacher started us in. (I just used the word "quirky" for the second time in one post! Yes, I noticed, but I'm not going to change it!) Her blog, which has been mournfully neglected, was actually the very first blog I ever read. Before that, I had never heard the word. Due to the frustrations of dial-up, (not to mention her busy life), she rarely posts, but when she does, it's a good read!

Following The Herd - Peggy Sue found me through Colleen's blogroll, and we have been reading each other ever since. It was only recently that I found out that Peggy Sue and I have actually met once, at a Pampered Chef show I did (when I was still selling for them) WAY back in 2002. That was a fun incidental. Anyway, this Yellowknifer is in the middle of moving to Prince Alberta, SK. No short haul! Good luck with the move, Mrs. Herd!

Kristin's Quiet Times - A school teacher (of junior-high age group, I think) with a gift for poetry, I found her blog one night while I was cruising, and just keep reading it. It often seems her posts are a "word in season" for me, and even when they are not, they are just a good read.

Mama Says So - I found Rohini's blog through another mutual blog we both read and comment on. She is a yearling mom of one little boy, and even though she lives in Mumbai, India, I found we have a lot we can relate on together. Rohini also has a knack with words, and a great sense of humour. (Having a kid will do that to ya'--either you find your sense of humour, and exercise those laugh muscles A LOT, or you go crazy. I hear the white jackets are very stylish, though!)

egg in spoon - A recent addition to blogs I read, thanks to Colleen. I love Jill's way with words! The mark of a good writer--to take the commonplace, everyday, and humdrum, and turn it into something interesting and humourous. (Come to think of it, that's also the mark of a good comedien(ne).) I look forward to reading her posts! (Might even get through the archives, if I ever have time.)

Crazy Hamlin Household - I have been reading Beth's blog almost as long as I've been a blogger--another one of my cruising finds. Even though this woman has four of her own children, and is also raising her niece and nephew, plus working full-time, she still finds time to post nearly every day. How do you do it, Beth? PLUS she scrapbooks! Guess you need that release after one of your crazy days, eh? [Aside to my American readers: Notice the judicious use of the word "eh." It is generally not used after a question, such as "How's the weather, eh?" Instead, it most often turns a sentence that would otherwise have been a statement into a question. End aside.]

Winters Distributing - Blog - This is total self-pimpage of my business blog. Still having a hard time figuring out what to do with it exactly. I am hoping that eventually this will be a great tool to enhance my eBay business. Any constructive suggestions would be appreciated.

So, that's my Blogroll. (Another word I had never heard until today!)

It is now 11:21 p.m. If I stop typing now, I can be sleeping before midnight. I think I better do it! My contacts are starting to dry out!

Two Keys To Optimal Health (Previous Sidebar Post)

Guidelines for optimal health and nutrition can be reduced to two vital keys:

1. Optimize the nutrition entering your body.
2. Reduce the toxins in your body.

Virtually every disease can be related to those two guidelines in some way--and it all starts in the large and small intestines.

-from The Maker's Diet by Jordan S. Rubin. 2005, Siloam--A Strang Company

Reading my Rights

When I became a mom, I gave up the right to:

• A full night's sleep
• An uninterrupted bathroom break
• Wear dresses for six or more months at a time
• Eat whatever I wanted, because I was eating for two
• Be selfish with my time
• Be selfish with my money
• Be selfish with my body
  
• Be selfish with my husband's time

However, I earned the privilege of:

• Getting to read bedtime stories to precious little minds
• Pudgy arms giving me hugs and kisses, childish voices whispering "I love you."
  
• Serving little boys by training them up into godly men
• Being called "Mommy"
• Worrying over every little thing that my little men might injure themselves on, in, or while doing, but
• Learning to let go anyway. Little boys will never be men unless they are allowed to be little men while still boys.

Thank you to my husband, who gave me the children that made me a mother. And thank you to my mother and Jason's mother, who gave up rights of their own when they had us so we may have the privilege of raising our family together.

Thank you to my friends who gave out Mother's Day greetings, and right back at ya! (Although a little belated.) Of my blogging friends, I would like to send the greetings out to Amanda, Rohini and Beth.

-----------------------

My kids, with a whole heckuvalota help from Jason, gave me the most amazing Mother's Day gift.

They let me sleep in.

It was absolutely DIVINE. (I guess there are perks to Jabin being on the bottle now.)

And then, as if that wasn't enough, they surprised me with a brand spankin' new Canon Pixma All-In-One, Borderless Printing, Photo-Lab Quality Printer/Scanner/Copier! No, it's not the most expensive printer out there, but the quality for photo printing is leaps and bounds over the Lexmark I've owned since 2001!

To flex my newly-empowered scrapbooking muscles, I started a layout of Jabin last night, the first layout I've done of him so far. I've been holding off, because my current project is technically our 2003 family album, which I am about half done. However, of late, I've been saying "To heck with scrapbooking chronologically!" and scrapping whatever photos inspire me. Now I have a wildly ranging time-period of photos that have been scrapped, which doesn't help the organization issue. So I really do need to finish 2003, then start on Baby Album #3 after that. (Not that I am going to give up my new non-chronological ways completely. I find there is something to be said about journaling a current or recent picture, because your thoughts can be so much more personal and revealing about the time-and-place in the photo.)

Back to the printer. I enlarged. I reduced. I printed colour. I printed black and white. I played around with the software. I felt an unexplainable force, a wild, irrepressible laughter, (maniacal, even!) welling up from somewhere deep in my gut, ready to erupt with the POWER that was now in my grasp! (Fortunately, I was able to contain it before I woke up the kids and Jason started wondering how long it would take those guys from Ponoka to respond to an emergency call from Peace River, anyway?)

Although this printer will replace my Lexmark Z53 completely, my trusty HP ScanJet still has a home on my desk, due to the small size of the scanner bed on the new Canon. It's not long enough to scan in a 12" long scrapbook layout, so the other one still has its niche.

I'm not usually the type of person to name inanimate objects, but I think the Canon shall henceforth be known as Dagmar, "day maid"--although she is going to be used at all hours, I can tell, she is going to be my workhorse. But still, somehow, so sleek and pretty.

I guess Jason is not as disinterested in my scrapbooking hobby as I had always taken him to be. (Either that, or he's just being super-supportive because he knows I love it!)

Remembering Robin Hood

Last night Jason and I watched "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", the 1991 blockbuster starring Kevin Costner, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Alan Rickman, and Christian Slater.

I'd forgotten how much I love that movie. I was fourteen when it came out, and it epitomized all that was romantic--the whole "she's worth dying for" bit. I think every girl dreams of a man that loves her with that much devotion, and at fourteen, fairy tales and "happily ever afters" were what true love was all about.

I wasn't the only one that loved it. (Obviously--it was one of the highest-, if not THE highest-grossing movie to that date.) It seems like EVERYONE had seen that movie. Many, like me, had seen it many many times. I remember watching it at my friend Kristy's house, and also pirating her copy of the soundtrack (a practice I no longer participate in or condone, by the way. But back then, I was fourteen, broke, and didn't know any better. And if I ever find a copy of that soundtrack for sale, I am SO buying it!) I wore that stinkin' tape out from listening to it so much.

My dad and my brother also enjoyed it. We owned it, and watched it as a family quite a bit. The romance, the honour, the Bryan Adams song, the great acting (except for on the part of Costner--more on that in a minute), the directing, the cinematography, the scenery, the excellent writing--we appreciated all of this and more. In fact, the only thing that seemed to mar it was the fact that the English hero the movie was named after sported an accent that wouldn't develop for another thousand years or so. I mean, couldn't Costner have at least tried for the accent? He did it when he was pretending to be the beggar! I'm sure he could have pulled it off in the rest of the movie. Slater and Freeman both did fantastic jobs of their accents.

I think it all comes back to the fact that Kevin Costner couldn't act if the lives of the entire population of Nicaragua depended on it. Why he ever got to be so popular, I'll never know. The only movie he ever seemed suited to his role in was Wyatt Erp, and that's because the character was supposed to be dead-pan and emotionless.

That aside, casting Rickman as the Sherriff--sheer genius! No one else could have done a better job. Honestly, he is my favourite character in the movie.

Many of the lines from this film made their way into our family's culture. "'Why a spoon, cousin?' 'Because it's dull, you twit, it'll hurt more!'" and "'...call off Christmas!'" were two favourites. (Also: "You! My room, 9:30! You, 9:45! And bring a friend!")

And the music--oh, the music! I could go on and on. Jason caught me getting right into the music last night, and I sheepishly reined myself in from my whole body conducting. The music in this film reminds me of how a musical is written--there are very few places in the movie where there isn't a background track playing, and it is like the story is told, and then told AGAIN in the music. Another film that is like that to some degree is The Last Of The Mohicans, but that's off topic. Unfortunately, I think the soundtrack for both of these films is on moratorium, so I don't know if I will ever have the chance to add these to my own collection. *sigh*

Our family's culture was not the only one influenced by this film. I don't know of anyone who didn't know every word to "Everything I Do (I Do It For You)." In grade 9 I went on a bus trip with the other kids in my class to a youth conference in B.C.. At the conference, there was a fairly good piano player (one of the other attendees) who played almost exclusively by ear, and this was one of his most requested pieces of the weekend. On the way home, I remember one kid had the song on tape on his Walkman (before CD's were popular) and sang it out and we all tried singing along--it didn't work very well, since there are such long pauses between phrases that those of us not listening through the headphones always wanted to start about a beat and a half too early, and the entire time it was a rhythmic tug-of-war between us and the kid with the phones. I think we eventually just started ignoring him and singing it through.

In other words, this movie could be called a "defining movie" of the times, especially of a certain time in my life. And it's still good, 15 years later. (Now, if only they could digitally replace Costner with someone else--Orlando Bloom, maybe? He's a bit young, but with eyes like that, who cares? Tee hee!)

The Wonders of Bee Pollen

I've long known the benefits of using raw, unprocessed, and unheated honey. I just didn't know why.

So, on a recent search for a new source of raw honey in my new locale of Peace River, I discovered that the local massage therapist also has her own apiary, so I went into her shop in search of this wonderful sugar substitute. While standing and waiting for her to be finished with her client, I picked up an information page she had sitting there from this website.

This is an excerpt from Envirobee's homepage:

"'The life-giving dust', as bee pollen was called long ago by the Greeks and the Romans, has been provided by the amazing honey bee. This beneficial natural food supplement was eaten to acquire eternal youth. In our modern times, science shows that bee pollen, that wondrous yet mysterious nectar, indeed has natural rejuvenating powers, and also aids beauty, boosts energy, extends life span, fights allergies (and possibly even cancer) and relieves digestive disorders. By increasing the body's healing power, the body can help build resistance to disease.'

Well, considering my years-long struggle with psoriasis, I figured it was worth a shot--not to mention I can use all the energy I can get to help me keep up with all the things I try to cram into my life.

Well, let me say--this stuff is FREAKIN' AWESOME!! The trick is to buy it from local bees, so that you get the enzymes you need to deal with your own environment. But I have noticed a SIGNIFICANT difference in my energy levels, from the day I first started taking it. You do get a certain amount of pollen in raw honey, but this just accentuates the effects, I guess.

Try it. You'll like it. And if you don't, um, well, I don't know what will happen--you'll be out a few bucks, I guess. Either way, I'd be interested in hearing your results.

Not an Ordinary Performance

I am a songwriter. Anyone who's read my profile has figured that out. Although not writing as prolifically as I once did, due to the daily ins and outs of raising a family, running a business, and the fact that I sold my piano a year and a half ago when I thought we were moving overseas, I still occasionally come out with a few gems. Unfortunately, due to said lack of piano, my playing skills are not currently up to my own standards for performing, so for this reason I have not shared my music with anyone for well over two years.

Until tonight.

It all started about two months ago. The Moms Time Out group in Grimshaw that I had attended a few times announced that they were going to be hosting a ladies' event in May, with the theme "Spring Cleanup", and they were looking for people to help out with preparation and to participate in the program.

Without consulting with my brain, my mouth opened and volunteered me to perform a song. In front of about 15 women. So my pride wouldn't let me take it back. As soon as my brain figured out what was going on, the red alert siren started wailing, and it desperately started flailing it's hands around in the air trying to gain the attention of my mouth. My brain was shouting, "You don't have a piano, and you haven't had a real practice in well over a year, and besides that you swore never to sing and play at the same time again!"

Which I did, after doing a concert with my friend Candace (the same afore-mentioned Candace that will still have to be the topic of a different blog entry) in 2001. The concert was videotaped, and we had many issues, not the least of which being that our entire band did not practice together until the day of the actual performance! The whole thing was a huge learning experience for me, and after watching the video and seeing how poorly I performed, both on the piano and vocally, I decided that I was not talented enough to do them together and should just focus on one or the other while performing. Besides that, I've never been fond of my voice, and have often bemoaned the fact that I have to rely on the whims of fickle vocalists (with apologies to all my vocalist friends) to get my music performed, instead of being blessed with the voice to just sing it myself.

Despite all of this, having committed myself to this performance, I bravely soldiered on towards fulfilling the commitment. I knew right away the song I wanted to perform was "Ordinary Days," which had been written in 2001, with a third verse added on my recent trip to Grande Prairie. Since this event was for young moms, I knew it would be perfect.

I ended up doing most of my practicing on the cheesy little 5-octave Yamaha keyboard I have had on semi-permanent loan from my uncle and aunt for some time now. It went better than I thought, although Jason was a little disturbed to be kept awake by my practicing on Saturday night, since the office (where my keyboard sits) is right above the guest room where he has been sleeping due to his cold. (However, the practicing even inspired me to get my recording setup put together again, and start experimenting a bit. I have a bunch of new songs I need to get on tape, so it was a good excuse to get ready for that.)

I didn't get the jitters until driving into the town of Grimshaw tonight, just before the performance, which is pretty typical of me. While I was performing the song, my mind was racing a million different directions, and I had to keep reminding myself to focus on where I was in the music, and not worry about all the other stuff (not the least of which being a strange sense of embarrassment that plagues me when performing my own music in public, probably because I don't want other people to think that the talents God gave me make me more special than them--which is how we so often view anyone who puts themself in the public eye, whether it be an actor, musician, politician, or other performer). When the song was finally over, I felt--pleased. This is not a feeling I have often had after a performance. I am usually super-critical of the job I did. But for once, I knew I had done a good job, and I was willing to let myself believe it.

After the event was over, I received the usual compliments for getting up and performing a song, but a few of the comments stuck out--I actually had several people complement my singing voice, which surprised me. That makes me wonder--would there ever be potential for me as a singer/songwriter? Even if it was just in a local setting? Hmmm...food for thought.

And now, for your reading pleasure, I will include the lyrics in full of the song I performed tonight. (This is a copyrighted work, in case anyone is thinking about ripping me off. However, if you are interested in hearing the music, let me know and I'll see if I can figure out how to post sound bites to the internet.)

Ordinary Days
by Talena Winters

Sun comes up, I roll out of bed--the beginning of an ordinary day.
Cup of coffee and Cheerios; The news has nothing new to say.
Children laughing down the street, and I begin to see
That even when I can't hear You, You are still talking to me.

And You are with me on ordinary days
Working in my life in extraordinary ways
I don't know how or why, it's a mystery to me.
But You are God of ordinary days
You are God of ordinary days.

In the morning I never do suspect all the things that You will send my way
And I know that sometimes I neglect to bow my head and pray
And thank You for all the things You've given me, Your mercy and Your grace
But now I know when You're walking by my side there's no such thing as ordinary days.

And You are with me on ordinary days
Working in my life in extraordinary ways
I don't know how or why, it's a mystery to me
But You are God of ordinary days,
You are God of ordinary days.

And today is just an ordinary day,
Just another ordinary day.

Every day I'm one day closer to the person You want me to be
Like a stone the river has worn smooth, that's how You're changing me
Even though the change may be slow, it still is taking place
It's You who brings me to Your perfect will through the course of ordinary days.

And You are with me on ordinary days
Working in my life in extraordinary ways
I don't know how or why, it's a mystery to me
But You are God of ordinary days,
You are God of ordinary days,
You are God of ordinary days.

Edit: Yay! I figured out how to embed music into a page! Click on the player to hear a version of this song, recorded by my friend Candace and I (plus a few friends) when we put on the concert in 2001. (Candace is the one with the lovely lead vocal voice. I am the one singing out of key in the background because I was playing the piano at the same time. Oh, well.)

Finding Peace in Chaos

If you were to walk into my house right now, this moment, this is what you'd see:

• Most of a week's worth of laundry waiting to be folded or partially folded on the couch
• Toys strewn randomly around the house
• One toilet taped shut with an "Out Of Order" sign across it. (We had to shut off the water to it because it was leaking)
• Another toilet that should be taped shut with an "Out of Order" sign across it. (Jude emptied the contents of the garbage into it--twice!--and now it is completely plugged. We will probably have to get a plumber in to fix it.)
• A half-completed scrapbook page on my desk.
• A half-completed slow-moving renovation project in my kitchen.
• Magazines, papers, and mail in random piles on coffee tables, high chairs, under hammers or paint supplies, thanks to the disorder of my kitchen.
• An office set up with my mic, mixer, and cheesy little 5-octave Yamaha keyboard for a half- (or less-than-half-) completed recording project.
• A rumpled guest bed where my husband has been sleeping for the last week so he doesn't keep me and Jabin up at night with his coughing.
• Bottles on the counter waiting to be washed, since my milk dried up this week and as of today the switch is total and complete to formula.
• Paperwork piling up on my desk from office work I have shunted until the kitchen is done.
• Sawdust on my basement floor.
• Freshly-planted geranium and pansies in planters on the patio.
• Three boys that know their mommy and daddy love them.
• A fridge full of nutritious and delicious food.
• A man and a woman that are still completely in love with each other after 6 years of marriage, five pregnancies, and three babies.
• A snapshot of lives-in-progress. Not everything is neat and tidy, but the important thing is this: it is being lived!

Some photos I took of the boys tonight:

Noah siting his "water pistol" (actually the spray attachment from the hose.)

Jude looking at me through his "binoculars."

Happy to be me!

And one I took of Noah and Jabin earlier in the week:

Boys will be boys!

(Jason said this was "not a picture-taking night" of him--since we had a stay-at-home Sunday, I think he was feeling a little mussy. Next time.)

Why Sprout? (Previous Sidebar Post)

Most people are aware that refined white flour is maybe not the best for you. Actually, consuming refined products should not be called "empty calories", as it is often referred to, but "negative calories", since they actually put a strain on your immune system while offering nothing in return. The bleaches and chemicals used to make white flour leave it skeletonized of nutrients, with residues of chemicals left in the flour that your body must then filter out.

However, many people are NOT aware that whole grains also present problems unless properly prepared.

Whole grains contain something called phytates. Phytates bind with calcium and other minerals in the digestive tract, and actually BLOCK your body from absorbing nutrients. However, in the sprouting process, phytates are neutralized.

Nearly all sprouts are beneficial, except alphalpha, which is toxic to humans.

To neutralize the phytates in whole wheat or other whole grain flour, soak it in kefir or a mixture of whey and water for at least 7 hours.

To make sprouted hot cereal for 4, place 2 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats in 2 cups of filtered water with 1 tbsp. of kefir, whey, or plain yogurt with active cultures for at least 7 hours or overnight. In the morning, add an additional 2 cups filtered water, and 1/2 tsp. of Celtic sea salt. (Why Celtic? It contains the minerals that otherwise get stripped out during the refining and packaging processes.) Boil to desired consistency, and serve with honey, maple syrup, crispy nuts, raisins, or toppers of your choice.

It is worth the effort and the price to seek out sprouted-grain bread and other flour products, or to learn to make your own.

Bon appetit!

Edit: For further explanation on why alphalpha (alfalfa) sprouts should be avoided, please see this post.

Tuckered Out

Sigh. That was a sigh of satisfaction, but utter exhaustion.

Have you been noticing a theme in my posts lately? Like the fact that I am completely fatigued most of the time?

All together now: "TALENA, GO TO BED!"

Yah, yah, I will, as soon as I get my day out in neat serif font.

Today I had lunch at Robin Berreth's house. I met Robin at the first Scrapbooking Day I attended at the Baptist Church here in town, and I see her occasionally at church. However, right from our first meeting I knew she was someone I wanted to get to know better. I actually had her in here for lunch sometime in early April-ish (the day I came down with strep throat, so I remember the day well, just not the exact date), but have barely seen her since, mostly due to the fact that we have only made it to that church one time since then, I think.

We both love scrapbooking, stamping (she's actually a Stampin' Up! consultant), cooking, and she is a country girl like me. Her two boys are both only slightly older than mine, and she has a third baby due in early July. When she had lunch here I gave her a copy of The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin--she called me the next day to tell me she had already read three chapters!

Today, when I went out to their farm, she showed me the milk cow they bought last night, as well as filled me in on their plans to raise meat birds this summer in a portable chicken coop so they can be truly grass-fed birds! In other words, she's converted. (Muwhahahaha! *evil cackling continues under my breath*) Bonus for me: I think she's going to let me buy some of the chickens after they butcher. I can fill up my freezer and be good for most of the winter, I think. That's really great, because I had found a source for organic beef, but not chickens.

Anyone wondering what the heck I'm on about really needs to check out The Maker's Diet and Weston A. Price Foundation links in my sidebar. It is the only diet I've ever seen that actually makes sense to me. Our family switched when I was at the end of my first trimester with Jabin, and we have been healthier, in general, than ever before. When we do get sick, it passes quickly. A nice perk for me: my body (not my baby) LOST weight while I was pregnant! I am now down to my high-school skinny size! I'm not saying this to brag, just to tell you--this diet really works. I wasn't dieting to lose weight, just to feel and be healthier, and to give my baby the best start possible. The weight loss was a nice side-bonus.

So, now I have joined Jordan Rubin on his mission to change the health of North America. (He doesn't know that, though. Maybe I should send him a postcard or something! :-) Seriously, I could probably become an affiliate somehow, just haven't checked it out in detail.) That is why I post all kinds of wacky recipes and health information on my blog. In case you were wondering.

The one part of the diet I really need to work on still: getting to sleep before midnight. Apparently (and I've heard it from more than just this book) every minute of sleep before midnight counts like 4 afterwards. So if I got to bed at 11 p.m. every night, it would be like getting an extra 4 hours sleep! I've also heard that your body heals itself best while you sleep between the hours of 10 p.m. and 2 or 3 a.m., and people who regularly stay awake during those hours (i.e. people who work the night shift, or who blog at crazy hours of the morning) develop all kinds of health problems. A phrase that runs through my head almost daily is "Sleep: The Essential Non-Nutrient", which is the title of the chapter on this subject in Dr. Rubin's book.

I'm working on it--sometimes I do better than others. Tonight is obviously hooped. But I'm going to bed RIGHT NOW! So GOODNIGHT! already.

My friend Colleen

Colleen is married to my second-cousin, Mark. Mark also happens to be one of Jason's best friends. So, from two ways, I was destined to know her.

And I couldn't be happier that destiny put us together. I only wish it had put us closer together! She lives in Yellowknife, NWT, a good 13 hour drive NORTH of here (that's right, all you Southies that think Peace River is "THE FAR NORTH", t'ain't no such thing!)

We share a love of many things, but mostly, I just treasure any time we actually get to spend hanging out together. By a strange twist of fate, she happened to be the first person, besides myself, to find out I was pregnant with Jude. I took the test in the bathroom at Chapters while she was perusing books and our husbands were out gallavanting at the golf store. It was very difficult to not blurt it out in the lunch we had with them afterwards, until I got to tell Jason alone. She did a fabulous job, however. Even when my friend Candace (who will have to be the subject of a different blog entry), who happened to be our waitress at said luncheon, made some comment about "ALL my friends getting pregnant--it must be something in the water!"

She is generally very upbeat and encouraging, and just delightful to hang out with. However, today she is sick, sneezy, and feeling a little blah. So please drop by her blog, and leave a cheerful, witty, or encouraging comment to help her perk up. Thanks.

Sleep is for the Weak

The above title was gleaned from a baby t-shirt phrase posted on Rohini's blog. It seems to be my motto in the last week. I know it can't last forever, though, so I am going to try and get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.

PRAISE THE LORD!! - We have our hot water back! It's been turned off for the last three days, due to a leak in the bathtub from a cracked seat on the hot water side of the faucet. Thanks, Dad, for all the long-distance plumbing tech work. Have you thought about starting up your own 1-800 number, by the way? Also, Jason was really sorry about your double doozie last night--the Oilers winning AND the Flames losing? OUCH!

So, we all got to get clean tonight. Actually, Jason took an Indian-style bath last night, with a bucket of warm water and a cup. His comment after: "Imagine how much water we'd save if we bathed like this all the time!" Probably true, but I think I'm too addicted to hot showers. I loved my time in India, but the first two things that I did when I got home were take a hot shower and sleep on my soft foam mattress. It felt like a little piece of heaven.

Nothing further to report on the home renovation project, though. Thanks to having to do dishes by hand last night (two days worth--took me and Jason over two hours), and the afore-mentioned lack of sleep, not much has happened for the last couple of days. Yesterday it felt like all I did was run errands--I made two trips to the plumbing supply store and two trips to the hardware store. Not what I intended to do with my day.

Oh! Tonight I made Stuffed Red Peppers for supper. The recipe came from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Tres delicieux! (I don't know how to make the proper fancy accents on those words--anyone who does is free to leave instructions in the Comments section.) I've never made stuffed peppers before, and it was surprisingly easy. And yummy. That, along with the boiled corn on the cob, was one of the yummiest meals we've had in a while.

Jason had his first baseball game tonight. He's playing slowpitch with a group out in Grimshaw. He says they have some weird rules, but he had fun. I'm hoping we can get out to watch him a few times, too. It's hard, though, because they don't start until 8, and the kids need to be in bed by about 9 or the next day is not pretty for anyone.

Today, I got to have lunch with Naomi Livingston, a gal from Grimshaw that I've been getting to know. I have to admit, this is the first time in my life that I have started to feel the isolationism that can be so common amongst stay-at-home moms. It's all fine and good to get together with people in group settings, but a woman needs friends that she can spend one-on-one time with, and be able to have good heart-to-hearts with, and just BE with. I can feel myself crying out for that on the inside whenever I am having a casual conversation with someone at church, or Mom's Time Out. "Ask me to tea! Ask me to lunch! Just ask me anything! Let us talk about something more than the weather or whether our kids are healthy or not!" It's a weird feeling. Thank goodness for Amanda--the one person up here who really knows me, and whom I know. If it weren't for her, I'd probably end up in a soft padded room, naming the buttons on the jacket they wrapped me with and singing snippets from old show tunes to communicate.

Do men understand this? I know they need "guy time", too, which is why I'm so glad that Jason has been able to get out and play sports, and get together with Wes Burdick and Darryl Magnusson semi-regularly as well. But I think he gets a degree of socialization all day with his co-workers and clients. I, on the other hand, get to spend my day repeating everything 8 times to the child who never listens to the answer when he asks a question, or cleaning up after the child who suffers from passive rebellion (If I pretend I don't hear her, she'll probably just do it herself.), or trying to console the child who is too little to communicate except by crying. By the time Jason gets home, I'm desperate for an adult conversation, and to share my thoughts with someone who will listen, but usually we are both too tired to exert that kind of effort by the time we have wrestled all the kids into bed. Not to mention, my real work begins after they are safely tucked into their rooms--doing dishes, laundry, office work, and if I'm lucky, taking a little personal time. (For instance, I should probably have been catching up on office work instead of typing this, but procrastination can be such a creative force, you know?)

So, it is now 10:17 p.m. Will I be a good girl and go have my shower and be in bed by 11? Or will I find about a hundred things that need to be done and once again crawl into bed beyond exhausted at around 1 a.m.? Statistics say the second is the more likely event. But perhaps, I am too weak to do anything BUT sleep--just for tonight.

Even God rested on the seventh day. Maybe I should let that sink in for a night.