I've Got Three Words For You:

Cherry. Banana. Smoothie.

Eat to Live

I found and tweaked new recipe:

I saw a casserole recipe on vegweb yesterday and loved the thought of the combination of flavors it could contain, so I made a soup along similar lines. This was the first time I have ever tasted or used dark miso (barley miso) and I absolutely loved it! It is a COOKED soup. It would not be too difficult to convert this to a raw recipe!

Let's see if I can remember how I did this:

vegetable broth

a couple tbsp dark miso

small amount of olive oil or grapeseed oil (I used olive this time)

1 onion (it was all I had! Next time I will use a couple of onions)

2 ribs celery

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 can organic red beans. drained and rinsed

about 1-1/2 cups raw cashews (these were halves.)

1 can petite cut tomatoes (I was out of fresh.)

Heat some water to boiling. Remove from heat, pour about 1 cup of it over the miso and stir gently until mixed well. Set aside.

Chop onion and celery; cook gently in olive oil until the onion begins to go transparent. Add crushed/minced garlic and heat, stirring, until onions and celery are tender. Stir in cashews, cook a couple of minutes. Add beans tomatoes and enough vegetable broth to make the soup (I used one quart this time. Next time I make MORE!) Cook over med heat until heated through.

Stir in miso and remove from heat. As I understand it, you don't want to boil miso.

This was amazingly delish! Jon said it was perfect :) Next time I will definitely add mushrooms and probably more garlic. I might also add some bell peppers and zucchini, some thyme... who knows! The kids really liked it, so I know they'll eat it when I make a larger batch.

I got some new toys:

I have new toys in my kitchen, thanks to our tax refund! They are used every day, and I feel they will pay for themselves in absolutely NO TIME whatsoever.

The first is a dehydrator. I got the Excalibur 9-tray dehydrator and I now feel like the opportunities for raw vegan deliciousness are totally unlimited! I have made sunflower seed burgers, nut loaf, eggplant and zucchini chips, dried apples, and KALE chips (which are out of this world!) so far. It would be very easy to keep it running 24x7. I am gearing up to make some raw bagels and some raw corn chips in it over the next few days. YES!!!

The second is a Blendtec blender. It is super-powerful; in fact, it is so powerful I was really afraid to use it at first. Oh, I love this machine! You can do so much with it, and it is much easier to use than I initially feared. I now use it every day, so I am creating a dedicated space for it on the counter. The kids have their own smoothie machine and cups, which they LOVE, but this thing outdoes it by far. I have no problem drinking green smoothies made with it, since there aren't leaf shreds left floating in it when the cycle is done. YES! It also seems to attack raspberry seeds with a vengeance, so I can throw berries in my drinks, too! I have always had a severe aversion to foods with bitty little seeds in it. My daughter loves my Blendtec blender so much she got one yesterday, too.

I guess I've gone on long enough... I guess this one's all about the eating. Maybe I'll dedicate the next one to knitting... or spinning... or weaving... or something crafty! Then again, maybe not...

Oh, and I am down 22 lbs now :)

I'm a new Me!

Feelin' Groovy, Baby!

I really need to get on here and write more often. So much happens every day, and even if no one ever reads it, it would be helpful for me to have a record for future reference.

Feelin' Groovy - Health

I * Feel * FANTASTIC!

I am so excited about how my body is responding to the raw vegan way of eating. Like, WOW!. I have been eating this way for 4 whole weeks now, which sounds like nothing, and in the grand scheme of things probably IS nothing. Still, in this 4 weeks I have not been hungry, nor have I been weak or in any pain (other than when I bump into things!) I have had no cravings other than for particular vegetables or fruits, which I find amazing. I am drinking much less coffee, although I haven't given it up completely. I am not missing the meat at all!

To top it all off with a sweet avocado and grape whipped "cream," I have lost 14 pounds so far. I am totally thrilled!!!

I had the most wonderful wraps for lunch today and want to make sure I don't forget about this combination:

• whole grain tortilla (raw is best)
• romaine lettuce leaf
• zucchini strips
• fresh guacamole (avocado, lemon juice, garlic sea salt, cilantro was all I had in it today)
• alfalfa sprouts
• tomatillo style taco sauce

Layer the ingredients in the romaine lettuce leaf and roll up in the tortilla for a totally DELISH treat! I ate two of them and Danny had one. YUM!

Another super yummy treat recently was "stir-fried" brussels sprouts. Yes, I know, they were cooked, but I can treat myself to some cooked foods once in a while. (I am aiming for 85% raw foods in my diet.) I used a green pan and carmelized some onions, added in the brussels sprouts, garlic, Tamari soy sauce, fresh ginger root, and a few drops of sesame oil, once the sprouts were crisp-tender. YES! A definite keeper. Even Jon loved them! He has referred to brussels sprouts as "elephant boogers" for as long as I've known him. Score!

Feelin' groovy - Textiles

I got my hands on some linen/rayon blend yarn (approximately dk gauge, but it is actually much lighter. This will have a lovely drape to it.) I got a tremendously fabulous deal on these cones and they are calling out to me, "Weave, Baby! Weave!" I think I will break out the loom this week and weave up a nice wrap (or two or five...) I will take some photos of the yarn and upload them into this post later. I also have a hankering to build a triangle loom and make a shawl. That will be fun!

I am still loving my spinning wheel. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to make yarn and fabric in so many ways! I don't remember the exact words, unfortunately, but I saw a quote by President George Washington on a placard at Mount Vernon that described the vitality of textiles and textile artisans within a country. A group of people who cannot make their own clothing must rely on other groups of peoples and will never be truly free. Now, I know that some folks would use this as an argument for national nudity, but we all know that would be the end of this civilization, wouldn't it! Anyway, I pray we don't forget the importance of textile skills!

I have really been thinking so much lately about the Scripture in Titus that says that older women should mentor the younger... I would love to put that into action. I wonder if there would be ANYONE who would be interested in learning? Apathy and an attitude of just depending on everyone else to give you what you think you deserve seems to be the reigning attitude of the times... I'd love to mentor young women - Not just the textiles, but cooking, relationship building, child-rearing, housecleaning (as soon as someone teaches me!!!) gardening, decorating, etc... God, can You use me in this area? I'm not old, but I'm oldER... I love to teach, I love to make, I love You... Let me know if this is what You have for me.

Feelin' groovy - Music

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE to worship God in song? Of course, I have! It is one of the greatest joys of my life! This house was far too silent for far too long, so the kids and I are putting an end to that! We've been turning the keyboard on each day now and I am starting to teach them how to play. Lydia and Stephen are learning keyboards, Danny is learning guitar, and I'm not sure what Zack is going to do. I've offered to teach him the bass guitar - or whatever he wants. Maybe viola? He strikes me more as a bass player. I don't think he strikes himself as a player of anything musical, yet, so I'll wait on him. Too bad I don't have a sax! I bet he'd really dig that! (Plus I'd have to learn how to play it to teach him! :D How's that for an angle!)

Feelin' groovy - Wrappin' it up...

Life is good. I am the healed, and it is SO WONDERFUL to finally be walking in the manifestation of that healing! I love taking walks each day with the kids. I love eating fresh fruits, veggies, grains and nuts and seeds... Lovely stuff! I love having music back in the house on a daily basis - thank You, LORD for that! I am rejoicing, because God's word of Victory in my life is being fulfilled on a daily basis now! I really do want to do a better job of documenting this, so I will try to write more often. I just have a feeling that if I do, it will become more of a recipe book than anything else, lol! That's okay, isn't it? Sure!

Lovin' life, feelin' groovy...

The times, they are a'different...

Greetings from someone who is feeling FANTASTIC! I have been doing very well ever since "meeting with God" while writing my New Years Eve blog post. Awesome stuff!

On the HEALTH front:

Who'd a thunk it! My husband and I have gone vegan. Yep, you read it right - vegan. Truthfully, my husband eats vegan at home and whatever he wants during the day at work, but his at-work eating has improved drastically!!! I, however, have dived in, face-first. I have not only cut out everything that came from something that either had a face or a mother, but most of what I am eating is raw.

What? Did you say that it sounds terribly BORING? Salads, day in and day out? Ah, not so! If you know me, you know I love to cook. Okay, it's mostly "Prepare Food" now. I am not about to get bored. There is so much I can do, and I am stoked. I am also juicing several times a day. My favorite blend so far is carrot, broccoli and apple. Totally delish!

The best thing I am going to do is get better!!! I truly believe that this will be my answer to kicking fibromyalgia and arthritis and depression and high blood pressure to the curb. You heard me - OUTTA THERE!

The sites I am visiting most so far are:

• http://www.hacres.com (Hallelujah Acres)
• http://vegweb.com
• http://goneraw.com

These are great sites which are all building up databases of vegan recipes. They are also inspiration for me to create recipes of my own to share. That will happen soon enough!

On the KNITTING front:

I've been a busy little beaver with my knitting and spinning. What a blast! I just finished knitting an Olympic Reindeer Hat. The pattern was on Ravelry (must get the link and post it here - oops). Here's a pic:

The hat took me just a few days. Thank God for that Fair Isle class I took last year!

I now have a favorite designer! :) Tabitha's Heart considers herself a novice designer, but she has come up with some of the most beautiful designs I've had the privelege to knit. I also get to test knit for her once in a while, which is totally bonus! Of late she has been designing items inspired by the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. I recently finished her pattern, "Aragorn Scarf," which I made for Patrick. I am working on another one for Jon. Here's a pic of it blocked:

You can see the beautiful pattern moving up the length of the scarf. Totally gorgeous. I am in the process of knitting what started out as a mystery knit-along (KAL) and has now been revealed as a Sargassum Scarf, patterned after some seaweed. (Told you she is talented...) Here's what I have so far, although I must admit I think I will frog it and start over with some more appropriate yarn:

It's the first time I've done any knitting with beads, and I am enjoying it!

There is a new sock book out, and the beautiful thing is that it is a book on CD - computer CD - called "50 Socks for 50 States." It has patterns of socks for each of the 50 states, plus Canada, Mexico, and US Territories. I recently finished a pair of "Two Season Boot Socks" (the sock for Michigan.) I wear them all the time and have started a second pair. Not a great pic, but here they are: (One day I will learn to use SOLID colored yarn for patterns with any motif in them...)

Last, but not least, did I mention here that I got a new spinning wheel? I got my settlement from my car accident, and what didn't go to my recovery went to paying bills and buying me this AMAZING spinning wheel. I haven't named her yet... any suggestions? She's a Mach II by SpinOlution. Love, love, love! Here she is:

and this is some of the yarn I've spun with her:

I passed my old wheel on to a precious friend, and she is spinning away! Now THAT woman spins some *beautiful* yarn!

So that's it for now! Blessings!!!

Write It on the Wall

I am beyond thrilled to be able to attend church more regularly now. I have to give God the glory for taking my pain away New Year's Eve!

Pastor Carlton has been preaching about changing our attitudes: developing a WINNING attitude. As I was writing my 'year in review' blog post, I sensed God telling me that this is going to be a year of Victory- I think I even wrote that in there! I love it when He tells me something that He is telling others at the same time. The confirmation is SO uplifting!

Okay - back to the sermon this past Sunday. It was awesome, as it usually is. I thought I would record the parts of it that really jumped out at me here so that I can find it readily for review.

First and foremost, the best way to change for the better is to spend time with God. Dwelling in His presence changes me! He renews my mind, through his Word and His Spirit.

Pastor talked about Caleb (Numbers 13 and 14, and Joshua 1,) and how he had a RIGHT attitude, a WINNING attitude. He saw the giants just like everyone else, but he also saw the milk and honey, so to speak - the amazing land and produce. He knew that with God, they could take the land. Forty years later, when Israel finally entered Canaan, Caleb spotted the land he wanted for his family and took it. He had a winning attitude! Caleb had a can-do attitude!

When God looks at me, He sees every potential He created me to fulfill. He sees Himself in me. In order for me to walk in that potential, to fulfill the purpose He has for me, I need to listen to and obey the Holy Spirit, and meditate on the Word day and night.

What vision has God given to me? How many of His visions have I let go of simply because I don't remember them, or don't set out to walk in them? What am I believing God for in my own life and that of my family? Pastor's message was this: WRITE THE VISION! Write it on the walls!!! Keep the Word in front of your eyes. Then it is up to you to go in and possess the land. You will make your way prosperous, you will have good success! (Joshua 1)

Here are the six steps to success:

1) Have goals. What are you asking God for? What has He told you He has for you or wants you to do?

2) Write them down!!! Put them in the open where you an see them regularly - keep them in front of you. Write the vision!

3) Spell out a plan of action. Include a timetable! Set cumulative goals... this week, this month, this year... Your plan will, if you use any wisdom, dictate your choices.

4) Surround yourself with the right people. Successful, wise - bigger than you! Then, be teachable.

5) List the benefits and rewards that you will get as you press forward. In 1 Cor 16:9, Paul said that a great door [of opportunity] was open, but that there would inevitably be many adversaries. Have a Caleb spirit!

6) Talk about it! Praise God for it!

The whole goal-setting and planning aspect of success has been absent in my life. THIS is something I will change. Thanks, Pastor, for this amazing insight!

Home Cookin'

I love it when I have dinner ready for my honey when he gets home from work, and even better, so does he. No matter how hard a day he has had, the smell always cheers him up, and he heaps praises on me for the rest of the night. What a great way to end a day!

Lookin' back....

I make a point of not writing about bad things, bad times, bad attitudes. Those are easy enough to remember without having a permanent written record. This year has been...

Okay, so in order to leave any kind of review of my year I will have to write some things I wouldn't normally write. I feel it is important, for my own sake, to do so - this time. I am extremely grateful, though, that there were at least a few events of this year that have totally blessed my socks off! While this year has been truly horrible in so many ways, between physical pain, depression, and certain individuals who have sought to try to destroy our family, it has had some sweet moments. I think for my own healing I need to reflect on this year, including its horrors - partly to move beyond it, and partly to NEVER allow it to happen again.

I came into this year wounded from a car accident that I had just before the previous Thanksgiving. Yes, Lord, I thank You that You guarded my life in that accident! I don't really understand why the pain, but we do rise above when we have to, right? Right. I began physical therapy in January. My spine was twisted, I had ribs severely out of place, my neck was locked up and still had the after-effects of whiplash. I could barely walk. I found out I had scoliosis. Fibromyalgia was making things worse, and for the first time in my life, it began to affect my upper back and neck. All this because a man who wasn't licensed to drive and had had few drinks was driving a company van, and decided to drive across my side of the road even though I was there. It was awful. I thank God for my physical therapist, Rachel. She worked and worked and worked for 8 months this year to get me beyond the effects of that accident, and taught me much about how to care for my back.

One of the most precious events of this year was the birth of my granddaughter, Isabella Rose, in March. She is truly precious to me and makes me so happy. What a great girl she is! Very quick to learn, very agile, very happy. Truly a precious baby! I believe she is a gift, and I do cherish her, and I thank her precious mommy for letting me have so much time with her. She is good for my soul! :)

One of the horrors of this year has been an inability to get out to church. I think I have only been able to make it about 7 times and that is devastating. Now if you really know me, you know that I believe God is my Healer, my Strong Tower, my Refuge. My trust - and my HOPE - is entirely in Him. Still, something happens when you can't fellowship with His people... it's like you have to work harder and harder to remind yourself of His promises. Then you begin to doubt yourself and your ability to shine with His light and love. You get lonely, even though you are never alone, and it is horrible. You become convinced that everyone else thinks you have turned your back on Him, and when you feel like you are clinging to His neck with every ounce of strength you have, it cuts you to the core. Very few people call to see how you are anymore, and those who actually do call tend to say things like "you don't have to be sick, you know..." Yes, I know! I know, I know... I am the healed! I am the whole! Body, catch up with this Truth! Truth trumps facts!

The fact was that I was hurting and growing more tired and that is an awful place to be. I still had to run to others' rescue on a nearly regular basis, yet I found no rescue of my own. I guess you can tell I sunk pretty low.

Then something new came up, something exciting, something creative, something fun. My daughter has a photography business and she and I began to work together to photograph weddings. I had helped with a few weddings last year, but this year I became an integral part of the company. I cannot tell you how very much I LOVE it! I feel useful, and even though it can be exhausting, it is so rewarding. We have photographed some of the most beautiful weddings you can imagine. How refreshing to have this outlet! My sweet friend Yvette also sat as a model for me so I could learn how to work with Rachel's fancy camera. That was so much fun! I have a vision for down the road to run Naturally Captured Photography for Rachel, doing portraits, weddings, whatever! THAT will be FUN!

I spent much of the year knitting. It's one of those things that I can do to distract myself from whatever else is going on. I got so depressed because of the constant pain and my inability to get to church... Knitting truly helped me get past that! I have been truly blessed to make friends through the knitting experience. There is a local group of knitters whom I had the distinct pleasure of meeting through a website called Ravelry. They are such unique and wonderful women, and I loved the few opportunities I've had over the past year to get to meet and know them. There are also a couple of women in particular whom God has used to brighten my life significantly. I am so grateful! I call us "Evil Triplets." We are totally NOT evil, of course, but we sure do all think alike and enjoy similar things. It is so odd to forge friendships through the void of internet... You have to be so careful! I know, though, that these girls are a Godsend. And I thank Him for them!

In July, just as I was finally able to start using my TENS unit less (electrical pulses that help block pain signals) I had a huge setback. I went to pick up a cup of coffee off of the table and blew out two discs in my lower back. The pain was down both of my legs and was excruciating. Again. I had my physical therapist begin to concentrate on that instead of my upper back. I was sent to a pain center and took a series of shots in my back that were supposed to help the pain go away. After all these months I am glad to say that the pain has decreased a good deal, although I still feel it every day. I am looking forward to complete relief in that area!

In October I was in another car accident (not driving this time.) I ended up breaking several ribs. We were on our way to photograph a wedding when it happened, and I could not bear to ruin the bride's special day, so rather than go straight to the hospital, we went and took care of the wedding first. That was a unique experience! I praise God that my ribs have pretty much healed up.

I need to brag on my grown daughters for a minute. I am so proud of them both - they are amazing young women! Rebecca is the worship pastor in a church in Cincinnati, and she is the creative director at a Christian radio station up there. I am often stunned at how much she does, and how well she does it! God's hand is strong on her, and it is beautiful. Rachel, who had a baby and found it absolutely necessary to have to leave her husband this year, has continued to do very well in school. She has been accepted into the pre-med program at Shenandoah University and will be starting there in about 2 weeks. She is studying to become either a physician's assistant or a doctor, and I know she will succeed at either one. I am so proud of her!

I do have to say that Thanksgiving, my second favorite holiday of the year, was so nice. We had a peaceful day, I didn't go super-crazy cooking like I usually do (although it was still amazing!) We enjoyed each other's company so much. I loved that! Also, Christmas, my absolute favorite holiday, was wonderful. This is the very first year in a very long time that we were able to buy gifts for our children.I know, it's not about gifts, it's about the Giver of Life. We honor Him at Christmas before all else! It was still nice to be able to get the kids gifts. Also, we had a terrific two-foot snow storm that week, so our Christmas was white! We haven't had that in many, many years! It brought everyone in this house a great amount of joy!

There have been some very serious heartbreaks and betrayals this year that I cannot write about because they involve other people and their bad decisions, attitudes and actions. I can't bring myself to spread other folks' business, or gripe about their evil deeds in writing or in public... We'll just leave it that this year has not just been hard for me, but hard for all of us. Still, deep inside us we are convinced that God is greater - bigger - stronger - more loving... Nothing can take that from us!

I need to mention one other thing. I have the most wonderful children, like EVER. Oh yeah, they have their typical rotten moments (don't we all,) but I stand amazed at how dear they are, and how much (and how often!) they show me that they really love me. A game, a smile, a song, a picture they drew, a surprise breakfast in bed, a joke, a cleaned up room... these are some of the precious ways they try to cheer me up, and it works. Some of my favorite memories of this past year of horror have been those times that my kids have spontaneously come up to me and laid hands on me and prayed for my healing or for my heart to feel better.

I wish I had done a better job of blogging this year! It truly is easier to remember the negative stuff. I know there have been positive things, but I am still somewhat overwhelmed by all of the physical pain of this year that i am having a hard time pulling the good report together. That is so disheartening! Although, Rachel just stopped by, and I asked her to help me remember the good times of this year, and she drew as much of a blank as I have. It has been a horrible year for us.

*BUT*

We are determined that we are victorious (because Jesus causes us to walk in TRIUMPH according to His Word!!!) and that 2010 is going to be a whole lot different! How can we say that??? Here's how:

1. Ask, Believe, and you shall receive

2. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God - I bought myself a new Bible, since my dog decided that my old one made a better bed than book, and I am digging into it! My Bible says that I am more than a conqueror, I am FRIEND of God, I am healed, whole, prosperous, inspired by Him! It says that when praisers have led the way into battle, the battle was won! I AM A PRAISER! It says that when you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, you have all that you need! It says a whole lot more, and I believe it.

3. New beginnings. Each new day is a new beginning.

So, 2009 - you stunk. Royally. I'm glad to see you go away! 2010, I have high hopes for you. By the grace of God, you will be awesome!!! And, Lord, I know You will never, ever leave my side. I love You with all of me!