Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving as I did. Thanks to Megan and Joanna for a beautifully decorated table! Thanks to Kevin and Wendi for hosting the party. Thanks to all who contributed to the food fest and congratulations to .....

the 2008 turkey king.... Mr. Eric Lee! Although, I have to say, they were all three delicious and very hard to choose just one. We had one BBQ'd, one smoked and one herb roasted. Great work boys! I had a great time just hanging out all day with my entire family. I have six very funny brothers and six beautiful sister in laws all made possible by some incredible grandparents and a set of the best parents possible. Thank you all for being my family! And, because I ate quite a large handful of candy corn and never once said my thank you's, here you go....

I am thankful for....

Of course, my family. My Sweet wonderful husband who has never said an unkind thing to me in his life even when I have deserved it. Who never talks about anyone in any unkind way. A husband who lets me be sassy and still somehow thinks I am "it." A husband who lets me stay home and be a mom and even with puffy eyes and chubby thighs still makes me feel like a super model. I am thankful for my children and their many, many talents. For their desire to please and succeed. For their good hearts and desire to choose the right. For the way that my children are patient and loving with our little Tate. I am especially thankful that this week Tate started to say "mom", or sometimes "om". Either way, the most beautiful music there is.

I am thankful for my home and the beautiful neighborhood that I live in. For such great neighbors and friends who support me in all I do. I am thankful for my health and my energy. For grocery stores on every corner and cars to get there. I am thankful that I can go to church and worship how I please. I am thankful that I have faith that there is a God in heaven who loves me and wants me to succeed in life. Who is there when I am sincerely "done".

I am thankful for the wonderful friends that I have made from this blog who have taught me so much. Who have inspired me to learn more and share. I am thankful for it all. I have had such a blessed life and can't wait to see what the next year has for us! We all talk about what hard times these are, economically, emotionally, politically. But, we can't look past what plentiful blessings we have daily. Our freedom, our family, our church our health. We are blessed. I am thankful!

For a little something now to share....
I made some delicious pumpkin pancakes Thanksgiving morning and thought I would pass the recipe along. This is a great time to stock up on canned pumpkin. I bought several for $1 per can. These are good until the end of 2011 so stock up! They would be a welcomed addition to the year supply for a bit of variety. Here you go....

Pumpkin Pancakes

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 T brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. allspice
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
2 T. vegetable oil
2 T. vinegar

Mix together milk, pumpkin, egg, oil and vinegar. Combine the flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Stir into pumpkin mixture just until combined. Add more milk if necessary. Cook on griddle.

Get Outside and Play....

My husband and I early on decided, much to the dismay of our children, that video games were something that we would not have in our home. We recognized the fact that many children, including the personality of some of ours, could play hours upon hours and would need our constant reminder and scolding to remove themselves from the hand controller. It would be a source of contention and we firmly believe that as we were brought up, a child's place should be in the beautiful outdoors soaking up the sun and exploring, playing and getting sweaty. You see, while I don't believe that a small monitored amount of video mania will hurt, (and I know my children get plenty of this at friends homes) there seems to be an epidemic of pale, shadowed eyed zombie kids that prefer nothing else. When these little ones are supposed to be learning skills, getting exercise and enjoying conversation, they are instead battling James Bond or trading real football games for electronic John Madden. I didn't want to have to constantly monitor how long they were playing and constantly remind them to get out of the house and play. My children have now made comments that they are glad now that we didn't succumb. It took years for this sort of thanks but even a few weeks ago my teenage boy commented about his appreciation. Sort of. He commented that he can't start a band because none of his friends play the guitar. He said that they are all caught up on Guitar Hero and think they can play. They have traded real skills for pretend ones. He was glad that he practiced his "real skills" even though at the time he really wanted the guitar hero. I know these games are fun, I don't knock anyone who has them, I just don't want them to enslave me as the XBOX patrol. There is more to this story besides real life skills. It is another aside to the video game mania. Vitamin D. We get Vitamin D from the sun. Yes, we do get it from a few other foods, ie. salmon, Tuna, Milk, Eggs , Beef and cheese, but not in the same way or dosage as the sun. Vitamin D plays and essential roll in cell growth. It boosts the body's immune system and strengthens bones. Hmmmm. Maybe this is another reason why the Goodman children are so healthy. We get our sunshine. It is also important to let the little ones get outside without sunblock. It takes at least 15 minutes of sun for the UV rays to trigger Vitamin D production in the skin. Tate's specialist even recommended that we take off his shirt and have him go out in the sun for 30 minutes at least a day with no sunscreen. Of course, this does not mean in the middle of the 115 degree day. Use sense. But, today so many of us are slathering our children in sunscreen the minute they hit the outdoors. This has a whole other source of issues with it which I won't get into, but just think about the amount of toxins you are putting on their biggest organ, the skin, which just drinks it up. Ick. The bottom line, get outside. Turn off the games and go play them. Feel the weather and life. As adults we are equally as guilty. I am trading my indoor gym days to the outdoor gym days. I need my D too. I feel so much better when I get outside. In AZ we have no excuse. You cold weather people have a little more challenge ahead of you.Let us all get our daily dose of D. What are you going to do with your recommended 15 minutes minimum of sun soaking today? I will be trimming our bushes.....but... I think I will keep my shirt on.

Fresh & Easy Coupon....

In trying to keep the coupon deals in the know, here is your deal of the day. Click on this like here for Fresh & Easy and print a $6 off coupon when you spend $30. It is good until the 23rd. I went the other morning and they just put out several still very pink roasts for half off the sale price giving me them for only $1.30 per pound! I used my coupon and practically stole them from them. What a deal of the day. Add that to all of my $.50 butter and $1.00 toothpaste deals. What a bargain shopper I am. Thanks for your tips. Does all that extra butter and pot roasts make my food storage look fat?

Sunday Dinner.....

My sister in law made this great lasagna one night we visited her in California. I made it this past week and just had to share. It fed us for a couple nights. I also made a little salad dressing with my homemade raspberry jam that I have included. My kids gobbled it up. Just in case you didn't have any plans for your Sunday dinner! Enjoy!

Lasagna

Sauce:

1 lb mild Italian sausage (jimmy dean)
½ c. Finley chopped onion
¼ c. olive oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 ½ quarts diced tomato
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp lawreys seasoning salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar

Other ingredients needed to make lasagna:

1 ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 ½ cup mozzarella cheese
¾ lbs noodles
1 lb cottage cheese

Directions:

Saute onion in olive oil. Add sausage and cook until brown. Drain oil. Add the spices and sugar and blend well. Add tomato paste and tomato sauce. Fill each can with water and add to meat. Add diced tomato’s (including the water).

Simmer 1 hour uncovered (there have been times when I haven’t had time to simmer for an hour and it still tasted great)

Cook noodles, drain and rinse in cold water.

In a 9x13 pan cover bottom with some sauce. Place noodles side by side, top with ½ cup Parmesan, ½ cup sauce and spread around, ½ cup mozzarella, ½ cup cottage cheese, ½ cup sauce. Repeat steps and end with a layer of noodles and put the remaining sauce and Parmesan cheese and garnish with mozzarella.

You can cover and chill for 2 hours or over night.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Yum. This is a runny lasagna! Mmmmm!

Raspberry Dressing:

1/2 cup grapeseed oil

1/4 cup sugar

2 T white wine vinegar

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1 T raspberry jam

I used baby greens and spinach, pears, strawberries, candied pecans, cucumbers, shredded carrots, feta and green onions.

Liver Cleanse FYI...

Just a quick note on the liver cleanse for those of you starting the journey.... make sure that if you are taking medication that you wait 2 hrs after you take the cleanse in the morning. I was reminded about this in our fabulous class tonight! It was wonderful. Thanks, Terri! I am making another order in the morning if you want anything without paying the shipping cost. Let me know.

Don't Forget......

Oils Class Tonight!! 7pm.

A Time for Thanksgiving....

(The glasses contain cranberry juice!)

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love to relax and enjoy family without all the stress of presents, costumes or other holiday mish mash. I have such fond memories as a child of gathering at grandma's yellow house with all the cousins. We would have nut cups at each plate and there were candy corns mixed with them. We would go around the table and say what we were thankful for when we ate a candy corn. I don't know why, it was just what we did. Now, we still have the tradition but instead of nut cups, my sister in law made some beautiful silk nut pouches filled with M&M's, candy corns and nuts for each plate. Because I have 6 very funny brothers, the beautiful nut pouches were affectionately called the "nut sacks" and you can only imagine how many jokes were made from that alone. ie...."Don't touch my nut sack, leave your brother's nut sack alone, why is Shari's nut sack bigger than mine, etc...... Maybe a tradition gone bad. Regardless, it is something that makes Thanksgiving fun and memorable. This year, all my family will be together which has been a while and I am really looking forward to it. My mother was a little concerned that we needed to have more than one turkey so she came up with a clever idea being the very clever lady that she is. She called my brother Jeff up and asked him if he wanted to have a Turkey Throwdown with my dad. My family is very competitive and he was in. Brother Eric heard what was going on and he had to jump in too with a BBQ version of a turkey. So, we will now be casting ballots upon entering the festivities for Turkey A, B or C. May the best man win. Way to con them, Mom! Anyways, I have stuffing, sweet potatoes and a couple pies. Here is my plea.... please share any fabulous Thanksgiving recipes you have. For any dish. Also, if you have a great tradition you would like to share, leave a comment. I would love to hear them all! May you all have a fabulous Thanksgiving and feel free to borrow the "nut sack" tradition!

Oils are Here...

I have your oils in my hot little hands. I will mail off the out-or-towners tomorrow. Any who are close are welcome to pick them up tonight or at the oil class on Thursday. If you need me to get them to you, please let me know. Also, I have one extra bottle of Spice of Life up for the taking.

The Liver Cleanse....

The liver is a massive organ that is the first line of defense against all the toxins and poisons that surround us. The liver produces vital digestive juices that help us to digest our food properly and clean our blood. As we know, our world is full of harsh and dangerous chemicals that we intake daily in our food, our air and in our water. The liver does its best to clean our systems of these toxins but it can only do so much before it is overloaded and needs to be cleaned out itself, much like our air conditioning filters. Can you imagine if you never cleaned your car air filter? The car would only work at a minimal level and the engine could suffer severe damage. So it is with our bodies. Our liver needs to be cleaned or the toxins are stored and our bodies react. We may be suffering such things as fatigue, rashes, depression, obesity, hormonal imbalances, PMS, allergies, jaundice , nausea, headaches, drowsiness after eating, weak muscles and difficulty loosing weight just to name a few. For my family, allergies are a big problem around here. I have been excited to start the liver cleanse to help clear us of these problems. If the liver can work properly, toxins are cleared and allergies are diminished. We shouldn't have allergies. They are a by product of an unhealthy body and environment. I have learned this with Tate as we have fixed his eczema by cleaning out his damaged body and stomach. Now , many foods that once triggered allergies do not pose that problem any longer. His body is much healthier and can get rid of the problems.

We all started the liver cleanse this week officially after starting and stopping a few times. It takes commitment. You need to stay on it for at least 28 days, resting a week and continuing again. Depending on how toxic your body is, you may want to stay on it for a year or more, perhaps even forever. As the liver begins to be cleansed, you feel pretty horrible for a little while. So far, Randi and I and are the ones with the worse side effects. Randi has a sore throat and swollen glands, I feel like I have the stomach flu and am extremely tired. I know it is worth it. Already I have noticed a decrease in allergies. I line up the cups every morning for their liver cleanse cocktail. You must drink it on an empty stomach, first thing.No one is very excited but they drink it down. We follow it with a lick of spice of life and a neti pot cleanse. It is our goal to have another sick free winter. I'll keep you posted.

Here's how you do it:

1 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 drop lemon oil

1 drop peppermint oil

a little purified water just to dilute it a bit.

Drink up! You can add some honey if you need to for the little ones. For those little ninos who have a hard time drinking the cocktail down, you can put the peppermint oil and lemon oil on their feet and putting some lemon juice in their smoothie. It isn't quite as effective but still helps. You need a good quality oil. If you don't buy the pure oil, you never know how the oil has been processed. Many are processed chemically and who wants to add more chemicals to your body when you are trying to get them out in the first place? That is why I support forever green products. I have 8 sets available this week if anyone is interested. It is $35 total for both oils combined, lemon and peppermint (the set will be $40 when I am out of these 8 extra oils, I was able to get a rebate for making such a big order this week so I used that to pay the shipping and tax, next order I won't have that luxury and will have to charge you) . Both of those oils are great to have on hand for other uses as well including:

Peppermint oil: relaxes and soothes; anti inflammatory, eases menstrual cramps, muscular aches and pains, sciatica, arthritis, toothache, sinusitis, mastitis, relieves itching with eczema. Stops pain from bites and injury. Cleanses and purifies. Helps with acne and gingivitis. Tightens capillaries, stimulates white blood cells to strengthen immune system infections, can relieve morning sickness and aid in labor an delivery.

Lemon Oil: Helps decongest the chest, anti-viral to work on colds and flus, assists in weight reduction, helps reduce cellulite and improves circulation. It is also great to clean with.

For me, I have personally had great effects with these oils. I love to add the lemon with some orange oil to clean with in a few cups water in a spray bottle. I also used the peppermint in some water to stop a stomach ache and on my temples to stop a head ache. They smell great and have great effects by just sniffing them alone. I love these oils. I am continually impressed by all the oils that I have used. I have hopes to have all medicines cleared out of my cabinets and having only oils for my first aide.

Let me know who wants some. I will have them in this week. Also, if any of you have certain symptoms and want to know what oils you should use, email me and I will let you know.

How to can butter.....

My friend, Tracey, told me that she had canned butter and honestly I had never heard of such a thing. What a wonderful idea! I happen to have lots of butter that is overflowing my freezer from the great Fry's sale. I would love to store it for long term use. I found this information on how to can butter properly on a blog called "End Times Report." This is so simple and better yet requires no special equipment. I have been trying to can items twice a month at least so this is my next project. I feel at peace to see all these cute filled jars in my pantry. My husband is adding a new shelf in my pantry just to hold my beautiful jars of nutrients. Thanks, Babe! So, if you too have some extra butter and want to put them into a proper resting place, here you go.

1. Use any butter that is on sale. Lesser quality butter requires more shaking (see #5 below), but the results are the same as with the expensive brands.
2. Heat pint jars in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, without rings or seals. One pound of butter slightly more than fills one pint jar, so if you melt 11 pounds of butter, heat 12 pint jars. A roasting pan works well for holding the pint jars while in the oven.
3. While the jars are heating, melt butter slowly until it comes to a slow boil. Using a large spatula, stir the bottom of the pot often to keep the butter from scorching. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes at least: a good simmer time will lessen the amount of shaking required (see #5 below). Place the lids in a small pot and bring to a boil, leaving the lids in simmering water until needed.
4. Stirring the melted butter from the bottom to the top with a soup ladle or small pot with a handle, pour the melted butter carefully into heated jars through a canning jar funnel. Leave 3/4" of head space in the jar, which allows room for the shaking process.
5. Carefully wipe off the top of the jars, then get a hot lid from the simmering water, add the lid and ring and tighten securely. Lids will seal as they cool. Once a few lids "ping," shake while the jars are still warm, but cool enough to handle easily, because the butter will separate and become foamy on top and white on the bottom. In a few minutes, shake again, and repeat until the butter retains the same consistency throughout the jar.
6. At this point, while still slightly warm, put the jars into a refrigerator. While cooling and hardening, shake again, and the melted butter will then look like butter and become firm. This final shaking is very important! Check every 5 minutes and give the jars a little shake until they are hardened in the jar! Leave in the refrigerator for an hour.
7. Canned butter should store for 3 years or longer on a cool, dark shelf. [It does last a long time. We have just used up the last of the butter we canned in 1999, and it was fine after 5 years.] Canned butter does not "melt" again when opened, so it does not need to be refrigerated upon opening, provided it is used within a reasonable length of time.

Yipee! The Spice of Life is In!!!

Finally, the Spice of Life is in and ordered. I should have it next week. Here is the list of those who ordered it from me, if I have missed you, email me asap. I did order 5 extra bottles if you still want some. You can also order anytime, just let me know. The total is $35 which includes shipping and tax. If you order online, the base price is $35.95 plus tax and $10 shipping. If you are out of state and you want some, it may be cheaper for me to order and ship it to you.

Tracey Simas
Tracey Adair
Mary Porter
Kelli Brown
Megan Lee
Rachel Robison
Paula Smith
Lindsey Wynia
JTribe
Brooke
Robin Hicks
Laurie Lee
Kristy
Deena
Raygon (2 bottles)

For those of you who ordered other oils, I placed that order also so I will get them all to you next week. If I don't know your number or address, please email them to me.

Stay tuned.....I will be blogging about a liver cleanse with oils and also about a cookbook.

Coupon Deals

My new best friend, Raygon from Idaho emailed me about a great deal here in AZ. At fry's this week you can get Land'O Lakes butter for $1.50 when you do the mi x and match thing of ten items. In addition to that, go to a website called youcancan.blogspot.com, link at the right, and she gave a post today about coupon sites where you can print coupon's for .$.55 off the butter which will then be doubled. Therefore, you are paying only .$.50 cents for the butter.(I can do math, they only double up to a dollar) This is a great way to stock up and can butter. I am going to blog about that later. I will also give you a link to the right for safely gathered in. These are two great blogsites to help us get our food in order. Thanks! For you gluten free chicks, Safely Gathered In also has GF recipes. Thanks for the info, Raygon! If you know of any great deals, give a shout out! Love to hear them all.

Sister Savings

Need to save a little of this? Or, want to start adding to your year supply? Check out the sister savings link to the right for weekly ad specials. For those of you who have not tapped into this great little website, take a peak. It is for AZ and UT gals who want to know where to go for the specials of the week. You can also take this with you to Walmart for Ad matching. For instance, for those of you wanting to stock up on Breyers ice cream for Thanksgiving.... You can get it for $1.50 at Fry's with a purchase of Ten mix and match items! Woo Hoo! I also bought 30 cans of evaporated milk for 50 cents each. This is a great way to find sale items and start stocking your shelves. We know that times are going to get even rougher so do not procrastinate getting your homes in order! It's not just the crazy Mormons talking about this anymore. Pick an item or two a week and buy a bunch. It feels good to see my pantry full. I am off to can pears today, hopefully it will go better than my apple canning went!

Essential Oils Class...

The date for the evening class is November 20th at 7pm. It will be at my home so email me if you want directions. I STILL cannot get the spice of life, everyone is waiting for it. I am checking daily and will stock up. A few of you are waiting for other oils and I am trying to place the oil order together. I will place them separately by the end of the week if the spice of life is not it. Sorry, it is just too popular and the company selects only the best ingredients. They too have to wait for the crops. It should be very soon. I will be blogging about more oils next week when I can place orders. I have been trying them out for you so I can confidently blog about why you all need them. Stay tuned....

LOYALTY

I have had the same bank account since I first opened it when I was 16, the same auto insurance company since I first started driving, I have the same red comb that I have had since I took it from my mom when I was 15 and I use the same brand of eye liner ever since I started wearing make up. I am a loyal person.... well, except for those few friends in High School that I may have betrayed for a boy or something frivolous like that, don't comment please. I like familiarity. I like knowing that people know me on a personal basis and can call me by name. I like knowing that when I walk into the Guadalupe Farmers Market in Gilbert, owners TJ and Julie will say "Hi Cutie!" They will call me at home to let me know that they just received a box of my favorite organic pears and will keep a case for me. I like the fact that Bret at my Fresh & Easy will let me know when I walk in that he has some New York strip steaks for half price in the back for me. I like knowing that our family dentist will wave fees that our insurance won't pay just because we are long time clients. Being loyal has its' perks. I don't really care if Geico can save me a few bucks, I will never change my auto insurance as long as my company has kept up their side of the loyalty bargain. And, they have. I am taken care of. I love that feeling. America has in general lost that small town feeling. It is about cost and convenience, not quality or customer care.

I went to a breakfast club meeting at Joe's farmhouse grill the other morning and we noticed that Joe himself was there. I had to go over and introduce myself to him. I had to let him know how much I love his restaurants and all that he stands for. He has worked hard to preserve the landmarks around here. He has restored some old buildings, kept up his farmland and uses his own produce in his restaurants. I wanted to thank him for that, for keeping things real and not selling out. He is the real deal. It just so happened that that day they were giving out 3000 free 1/2 pound burgers, fries and a drink for the locals. That is just how he is. I of course came back and got my free burger along with a coupon for a free breakfast and another talk with Joe. I shook his hand and with that I will be his new loyal friend. He has his farm stand now open for the public on Saturday mornings and Wednesdays at Agritopia for those who also want to be his loyal friend.
What is my point? We need to take care of each other. We need to support those businesses that go the extra effort and don't sell out to the "man". In return, we will be taken care of. It may take an extra buck here and there, but when you are in need, you have the loyal friends behind you. You will have a real person to deal with, not an automated system that never gives you a real person. I should have been a 50's housewife and lived in a small town but since I am not, I have made my own small town by getting to know those who I do business with and sticking with them. Thanks for all of the perks my loyal friends! Thanks for knowing my name! Thanks for the free burger ,Joe and for the pears, Julie and TJ! They were ever so sweet!

So, here is the deal. Since we all need to take care of each other, especially in these times, let me know on this blog if you have a business that you want some loyal friends to come to. Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you have to offer. You can let us know any great deals you have or offer a discount by mentioning this blog. Free advertising. One big happy blogging family. Thanks to all my loyal friends out there! Love ya.

Spice of life, delayed.....

So, the Spice of Life was not in on Friday. They are really hoping it will be in this next week. I have your orders down and will order as soon as I can. I will let you know when I get them and will collect the money then. Sorry for the mess. Also, I don't think they are letting you use my member number so I can order for you if you live close to me.

Thanks for being patient. I promise, it is worth it! I will be blogging weekly about other oils to use.

Spice of Life in today

I just called Forever green and they said the spice of life will be in sometime this afternoon. I will make a big order but email me asap if you want one. The price ordering from me will be $35. Also, the book called Nature's Pharmacy can be purchased by calling 1-801-794-2633.

Thanks!

P.S.

Another great use for Spice of Life is for cleaning. You can take 10 drops in 2 1/2 C. water in a spray bottle. Shake and spray. Shake to mix before use each time. It is a great disinfectant and can be used to clean floors, counters , tubs, etc. Did you know that 1 gallon of pinesol has enough phenol to kill and adult 3 times over! It is also very easily absored through the feet after mopping and any residual on the hands. I learned in the oil class that our feet have over 300 pores per square inch. Wow. Think of all the chemicals we soak in. That is another reason why putting essential oils on your feet work so well.

Stop, Listen, Breathe....

First off, I loved the oil class today. I learned so much and my love grew even more for the oils. I can't wait to order some more tomorrow. The word on the street is that the Spice of Life will be in tomorrow so I will try to order some extra. Let me know if you want some. If you get them from me, they will run $35.00. If you order them online, you will add on about $13 for shipping and tax. They will be out of stock quickly so order up. I am putting together a night class for the oils, tentatively 11/20 at 7pm. Also, for those of you wanting to dive into this, they have a great book that lists your ailments and what oils you need. This is my oil bible. They have a new shipment available for those of you at the class and wanted to buy one. More info to come on oils. Now on to tonight's topic: Stop, Listen, Breathe.....

I watch as my oldest sits at the table doing his homework, connected at all times to the cell phone ,interrupted every few minutes with the buzzing of a new text message. He is always at the phones beck and call. The I Pod is in his ear, always a sound in his head. I get in the car,quickly tune into Rush and Hannity, my stress level rises as I stress about our countries future. I go to they gym, quickly plug into the radio or TV filling my head with more noise and unbeneficial info. My phone rings, I run from hear to there, listen to children's complaints, get on the Internet, stuff my brain with too much info, etc.... So goes the day. I wonder, now with everything always at our fingertips, do we ever stop to just listen? Are we ever just still and think? Are we so filled with noise in our lives that we don't leave time for thoughts and inspiration? Do you remember the days before cell phones when the times that you left the house no one could call you? You were alone, no interruptions. You had time to think. The time before the internet when you didn't spend your time blogging or surfing. The time before I pods when you went for a run you were only left to your thoughts. My concern is that we are so filled with other peoples' thoughts that we don't think for ourselves. I have been pondering this idea and turned it off for a day. No noise in the car. No noise at the gym. No noise on my walk. I just listened. I thought. I enjoyed it. I thought about how much I love my family. How much I am blessed. What wonderful friends I have and how much I have learned in my life. I felt relaxed. My head was clear. I felt free.

I am grateful for the internet and cell phones. I can tap into such great information at my fingertips desires. I can call my children on my cell phone when I am not home to see how they are. Technology is wonderful. But, we need to be silent. We need to let our brains rest and let us be inspired. Inspiration does not come to those minds who are too busy to receive it. I remember an experience some years back as I was going about my daily chores, hurrying as usual to get them all done before I needed to leave for the day. I was hauling laundry furiously back and forth from the laundry room to the bedrooms. My little one year old was crying. I kept repeating, "one minute, let me finish." I was on a sprint, folding, dusting, wiping. I didn't want to stop. He was still crying. I didn't stop. He was finally silent. I kept going. Then, as I was still in my sprint with laundry in my hand, a voice almost audible said "stop!" I did. I was inspired. Go check on your baby! I listened. I found him. He was silent. He was blue. He wasn't breathing. I was too busy to check on him before. I gave him CPR and he started to breathe. I was so intent on getting the master list done. On working constantly, on always staying busy and "noisy" that I didn't listen until I was practically yelled at. Until it was almost too late.

So, I think... what are we missing by being so filled with noise in our lives? Whether it be noise from radios, cell phones, computers....noise from our busy lives and constant, unrelenting agendas. Always in a rat race to get things done and use every minute in our days if not more. We need to "Stop!" We need to just listen. We need to be inspired. Meditation works miracles to stress levels. We can become renewed. Ready for what comes our way. We can dump info that crowds our head before we fill it with more. Even the Lord took a day of rest after he created the world. We so need to give ourselves a rest. Turn off the radio. The election is over. Go for a run without the i pod. Turn off the cell phone for an hour. Just listen. Think. See what comes to YOUR mind before someone Else's voice blurts in. My two cents for the day.

Info you really don't want to know about....

My friend Terri Hirning and fellow Autism mommy has some great info on her blog about plastics and cooking pans and pots. See her link to the right if you dare. I have to say, tonight has been depressing for me. First, my candidate did not win and second, I found out that I can't cook with my Foreman anymore.(Thanks, Terri!) If I didn't have my little Tate to worry so much about what he is exposed to and how sensitive his little body is, I know I wouldn't be so concerned about every little thing. But, the truth is is that it does matter. He is full of toxins. I am learning why and I know that these are changes that I do need to make. It is so totally overwhelming to change everything at once and the more I learn, the more I am convinced that nothing is really safe. We can only do the best we can. Baby steps. So, tonight I threw out my teflon stock pot. I will keep my foreman and use it on occasions but not for my Tate. I will switch to using my cast iron skillet for pancakes and no more plastic at all in the microwave. Those are my commitments for now. Read Terri's last few blogs to get all the info......if you dare. She has just returned from a great conference in CA to get all the latest info on Autism and from incredible Dr.'s who have explored why our little ones have this disease. If you have little ones, you need to be concerned. Remember, I had a healthy little boy who was born without autism. The world gave it to him. I am going to give it back. Don't let your world give this to your little ones. It really does matter what we eat, what we cook with, what we live around. Unfortunately we have to worry about it all. Take the time to read.

Spice Of Life....

FYI, the Spice of Life should be in stock next week. They have a hard time keeping it on the shelf. Sorry it wasn't available for those of you trying to place an order. I will let you know when it is in!

Essential Oils Class.....

Just a reminder that the oils class is this Thursday at 11:30. I know many of you cannot make it at that time and want more info. I will probably have one more in the evening later on if you can let me know who is interested. Also, you can always click on the forever green link to the right and look at the essential oils category. You can order straight from there. I will be blogging about specific oils weekly so you can get more information about what oils you may want or need to keep on hand. You can also place an order directly from me if you live close so I can make a group order and save everyone shipping cost. I will be placing an order right after my class for those interested. Email me or comment on what oils you are interested in. For starters, I think everyone should have lemon, peppermint, orange, Defense, Guardian and Spice of Life. I will let you all know why in the upcoming weeks. Today, I'll start you off with my favorite:

Spice of Life

This blend of spices is nothing new to the world. These spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper, to name a few have been used for centuries. History also reveals that during the black plague, cities that were rich in trade of many of these spices using them as perfumes and medicines were virtually spared of the disease.Why? These spices and herbs have powerful disease-fighting properties. They stimulate the immune system and have anti-microbial properties that equal or are better than modern day antiseptic and antibiotic drugs.

This blend is helpful for such things as:
colds flu fevers coughs sinusitis sore throat bronchitis viral infections
immune stimulant minor infections Epstein Barr bacterial infections
clears airborne bacteria respiratory infections swollen glands


My personal experience? My daughters friends were coming down with strep, she came home with a sore throat . I put a drop on the back of her hand and had her lick it. The sore throat was gone in the morning. My son had a fever one night. I did the same "lick-trick" and he woke up without a symptom. Now, when I hear of my kids being around another sicky or they feel something coming on, they get a drop or two. You can also put this on a little piece of apple to get it down them. It tastes like cinnamon. It works. I swear by it. This is nothing new, they have used it for centuries. We Americans prefer to spend hundreds of dollars going to the Dr. and subjecting our children to harmful drugs. My children never miss school. If they get a bug, it is gone in less than an evening. I don't even remember when the last time was one had to stay home from school other than the little guy. I also don't remember the last time any of them saw a Doctor for an illness. It has been years, we're talking 3-5 years! Check it out! Remember, each little vial has about 300 drops in it so it will last for quite a while.

How to "Neti" and why?

I hope you all had a great Halloween. I already feel horrible from the bit of chocolate I consumed last night. My children came home with a year supply of candy much to my dismay. I have tried to convince them that we should just pitch it all but I am accused of being a kin to the dad on the new version of Willie Wonka ,sucking all the fun out of Halloween. I know I consumed loads of the Halloween loot as a child and I am still here alive and kicking but I know too much now and it disgusts me. I know they need their childhood so we will figure something out. Yuck.

Anyways, to the topic of discussion today: How to "Neti"

First, you will need a Neti Pot as pictured above. No, this is not for gravy, it is for your nose. I was first turned on to this ancient practice by my SIL, Laurie who used it for her sinus infection. I read more about it and decided that my family must become netists. We have, and we are converted. For those of you in the dark, let me explain. Neti is the practice of nasal irrigation. It has been used by Yoga Guru's for hundreds if not thousands of years. Yoga practitioners use it to cleanse the energy channels and to promote health and wellness. I am in it for the purpose of helping my little ones get those allergies under control and to ward off any sinus infections. It is a simple process, a form of a bath for those irritated and clogged nasal passages. My poor little ones suffer from allergies and I hear the constant sniffing or snorting all during the night from their irritated noses. After the first night, the sniffs were silent. Here is how it goes:

You fill the pot with 8 oz of warm water and 1/4 tsp salt. You tip your nose up to one side over the sink and tilt neti pot slightly. The water will go in through one side and out the other bringing with it mucous and irritating pollutants. It is a bit weird at first but after you get the hang of it, it feels very soothing. I did it and I felt like I could breath in better than ever. My nose felt cleansed and moist. My children are converts as well. We cleanse them nightly and have noticed a big difference. If you think about it, the nose is a filter to the body but so much gets trapped inside . We must cleanse the filter now and then to keep the germs and allergens from brewing. By doing this, we can ward off so many infections and illnesses. The pots are cheap and can be purchased at any health store. I bought mine through Azure Standard which I blogged about last month. It was about $1o. I love it and will be a Netist for life!