The last week or so I've implemented some new practices into our house and lives to make things flow a little smoother. Maybe most people have these practices hard-wired into them, but I clearly did not. Now that I'm disciplining myself to do them, I realize how sweet the fruits of training & discipline can truly be!
"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11
These changes are simple, but effective~
#1-- "Re-setting" the kitchen and living room areas each night after Malachi is in bed. For the last week, after putting the baby to bed, I have been "rolling up my shirt sleeves" & fully cleaning the kitchen (yes, often my husband offers to help!) -- washing any pots/pans from supper or earlier in the day, running a load in the dishwasher, wiping counters, sweeping floors (does anyone else experience a toddler discreetly dropping the stickiest, gooiest messes onto the floor after every single meal?!)--
Wow! What a difference it's made to wake up to a CLEAN kitchen! I have found that I am more inspired and less overwhelmed to cook all day long the following day. Clean, open spaces are so much more fun to cook in than the previous " leaning tower of Pisa" dishes piles that I used to glumly stare at all day long!
I also do a quick "sweep-though" of the toy-laden living room. It takes all of 5 minutes and looks so much better when it's done! Eventually (sooner than later) I'll have Malachi pitch in before bed to help clean his toys, but for now, it makes us all feel (subconsciously) more peaceful to wake up to the sun streaming through the slits of our living room blinds onto a spotless floor. I've found that Malachi is more excited to play with his toys again when they are all put away-- it's like he is discovering them for the first time by taking them off the shelves and out of the baskets...
#2-- Meal Planning-- I don't know what it is, but sometimes I get into a terrible FUNK, where I cannot think of ONE thing I want to make for dinner. Not one thing. LOL. Well, this week on a whim I decided to scratch out a rough outline of 4-5 meals to make this week BEFORE I went grocery shopping. It takes a little prior planning, but what a difference!!! Around 3:30 or 4pm I am no longer racking my brain or searching through my pantry to decide what in the world I could make. I am no longer stressed about meals. I am no longer embarrassed about what I set in front of my husband after a long day of work... ("Uhh, sorry honey.... this is what we had on hand....") It's just added a lot more peace and ENJOYMENT of delicious food in our household. I definitely plan on keeping it up! :)
This week's meal plan looked like this:
Monday: Spicy chicken and home-made guacamole on arepas (a Colombian tortilla-type food)
Tuesday: Indonesian Den Deng with Nasi Uduk
Wednesday: Honey Mustard Chicken & Vegetable stir fry with brown rice
Thursday: Chili w/ corn bread & honey
Friday: Leftovers!
Discipline... So painful, but so good! :)
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
a boy + a girl & some parasites
*I am not a doctor. If you have a serious or life-threatening health condition, please seek advice from your doctor, not me. *
This is not a love story, as the title may suggest. :) This is a true story from my life about an unfortunate turn of events that led to a natural solution. Maybe you'll never need the parasite-killing information found in this text-- but maybe you will. Perhaps just keep it in the back of your mind for future reference and for now, enjoy:
Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who traveled to the jungles of Mexico. This was no resort stay, this was an absolute adventure, and I (the girl in the story) unfortunately did not have the best attitude. It was roughing it to the extreme and I was feeling worn out. We were on a 2 month long missions trip and apparently my heart needed a little re-boot. Anyways, into the jungle we hiked, all of us in a long line, hiking up and down little hills to reach a village where we were to stay for a couple days.
I truly wish in retrospect that I'd had a better attitude. It was, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience: a remote village in the Chiapas jungle; a group of genuine people opening their village to us foreigners; a chance to witness life as I'd never seen it. No running water. No silverware. No beds to speak of. No chairs. No toilets. No doctors. No toothbrushes or toothpaste. No manicured lawns. No air conditioning. The list could go on.
BUT, they did have joy; laughter; family; animals to love; natural, gushing jungle beauty galore~ There were no shortages of these.
There was, however, a shortage of clean drinking water. The water we drank, came from a large river that was rushing down rock canyons not too far of a hike from the village. We hiked there one day after hot work in the sun to swim and relax. Village children were also there, playing and washing in the crystal clear, refreshing waters. These beautiful waters were laden with unseen passengers. Parasites. And after our trip they had found new homes. Deep within our very bellies.
Having a parasite is no picnic. Having a plethora of parasites, even worse. Some of us were hospitalized and treated in Mexico. I ended up <unknowingly> taking the little scavengers back with me to the States~ And in bathroom agony, realized that I had a serious problem on my hands. A parasite problem.
I got a culture and was told that the type of parasite I had was particularly strong and resistant to antibiotic treatments. For those inquiring minds, it is called Blastocystis Hominis. So, I dug around and did a little research with some help from family. What I found is what I'm sharing with you now-- 4 herbs that taken in combination, killed that parasite FOR GOOD within a month or so.
1) Tincture of clove
2) Black Walnut husk capsules
3) Oil of Oregano capsules
4) Tincture of Gentian
Please consult a naturopath to be certain that this would work for you. Some of these herbs are VERY strong and can be harmful if taken incorrectly. I alternated herbs so that the parasite never got a chance to become resistant to one.
So .... that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Feel free to message me with any questions you have. And, I have a lot more adventurous stories to share in the future, so stay tuned!!
This is not a love story, as the title may suggest. :) This is a true story from my life about an unfortunate turn of events that led to a natural solution. Maybe you'll never need the parasite-killing information found in this text-- but maybe you will. Perhaps just keep it in the back of your mind for future reference and for now, enjoy:
Once upon a time there was a boy and a girl who traveled to the jungles of Mexico. This was no resort stay, this was an absolute adventure, and I (the girl in the story) unfortunately did not have the best attitude. It was roughing it to the extreme and I was feeling worn out. We were on a 2 month long missions trip and apparently my heart needed a little re-boot. Anyways, into the jungle we hiked, all of us in a long line, hiking up and down little hills to reach a village where we were to stay for a couple days.
I truly wish in retrospect that I'd had a better attitude. It was, after all, a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience: a remote village in the Chiapas jungle; a group of genuine people opening their village to us foreigners; a chance to witness life as I'd never seen it. No running water. No silverware. No beds to speak of. No chairs. No toilets. No doctors. No toothbrushes or toothpaste. No manicured lawns. No air conditioning. The list could go on.
BUT, they did have joy; laughter; family; animals to love; natural, gushing jungle beauty galore~ There were no shortages of these.
There was, however, a shortage of clean drinking water. The water we drank, came from a large river that was rushing down rock canyons not too far of a hike from the village. We hiked there one day after hot work in the sun to swim and relax. Village children were also there, playing and washing in the crystal clear, refreshing waters. These beautiful waters were laden with unseen passengers. Parasites. And after our trip they had found new homes. Deep within our very bellies.
Having a parasite is no picnic. Having a plethora of parasites, even worse. Some of us were hospitalized and treated in Mexico. I ended up <unknowingly> taking the little scavengers back with me to the States~ And in bathroom agony, realized that I had a serious problem on my hands. A parasite problem.
I got a culture and was told that the type of parasite I had was particularly strong and resistant to antibiotic treatments. For those inquiring minds, it is called Blastocystis Hominis. So, I dug around and did a little research with some help from family. What I found is what I'm sharing with you now-- 4 herbs that taken in combination, killed that parasite FOR GOOD within a month or so.
1) Tincture of clove
2) Black Walnut husk capsules
3) Oil of Oregano capsules
4) Tincture of Gentian
Please consult a naturopath to be certain that this would work for you. Some of these herbs are VERY strong and can be harmful if taken incorrectly. I alternated herbs so that the parasite never got a chance to become resistant to one.
So .... that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Feel free to message me with any questions you have. And, I have a lot more adventurous stories to share in the future, so stay tuned!!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Money Saver #1
So, I thought I'd start sharing a little of what I've learned over the last few years of being a wife and now a mommy~ money saving tips, natural remedies for illness, healthy recipes, etc. Today, I'll start with a 2 in 1: a money saver + healthy recipe idea! :)
The (not so) novel idea: Dried Black Beans. Just a little over $2 for a 2 lb. bag at Walmart.
The How-To: There are a lot of STRANGE ideas of how to cook dried beans out there. I think a lot of people are just plain intimidated by the thought, hence all those slimy, cooked, canned beans out there. I was one of the intimidated ones and until I got married and was encouraged by my husband to give it a try. Then I discovered, it's actually easy.
1) On a plate or clean, dry surface, sift through the beans, searching for rocks or anything that doesn't resemble a bean. Remove.
2) Rinse beans with cold water in a strainer.
3) Put rinsed beans in a large stock pot and cover with water (cover them sufficiently, you don't want to run out of water). Cover and bring to a boil.
4) Once boiling, turn down and allow to simmer for an hour or so-- beans should be quite well cooked and even breaking apart a little before they are done.
5) Drain in strainer and rinse with cool water once again.
Voila! This will make A LOT of beans-- Several meals worth! Now, what to do with them?!?
Meal Ideas:
1) Black Beans & Rice~ Not a new idea, but very healthy. Season black beans with salt and eat with white or brown rice. You can garnish with salsa, guacamole, greens, etc. Or add some corn chips and/or a corn or flour tortilla and eat like Chipotle.
2) Chili~ Black beans are great for chili-- Brown up some beef or venison in our case, add beans, diced onion, canned tomato sauce/whole tomatoes and lots of chili powder. Done!
3) Refried Beans~ Put leftover beans in an oiled skillet and season with fresh lime juice, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook until well heated through. Delish!
* They also freeze very well, so freeze half and take them out when you need a meal in a pinch :)
Jackie
The (not so) novel idea: Dried Black Beans. Just a little over $2 for a 2 lb. bag at Walmart.
The How-To: There are a lot of STRANGE ideas of how to cook dried beans out there. I think a lot of people are just plain intimidated by the thought, hence all those slimy, cooked, canned beans out there. I was one of the intimidated ones and until I got married and was encouraged by my husband to give it a try. Then I discovered, it's actually easy.
1) On a plate or clean, dry surface, sift through the beans, searching for rocks or anything that doesn't resemble a bean. Remove.
2) Rinse beans with cold water in a strainer.
3) Put rinsed beans in a large stock pot and cover with water (cover them sufficiently, you don't want to run out of water). Cover and bring to a boil.
4) Once boiling, turn down and allow to simmer for an hour or so-- beans should be quite well cooked and even breaking apart a little before they are done.
5) Drain in strainer and rinse with cool water once again.
Voila! This will make A LOT of beans-- Several meals worth! Now, what to do with them?!?
Meal Ideas:
1) Black Beans & Rice~ Not a new idea, but very healthy. Season black beans with salt and eat with white or brown rice. You can garnish with salsa, guacamole, greens, etc. Or add some corn chips and/or a corn or flour tortilla and eat like Chipotle.
2) Chili~ Black beans are great for chili-- Brown up some beef or venison in our case, add beans, diced onion, canned tomato sauce/whole tomatoes and lots of chili powder. Done!
3) Refried Beans~ Put leftover beans in an oiled skillet and season with fresh lime juice, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook until well heated through. Delish!
* They also freeze very well, so freeze half and take them out when you need a meal in a pinch :)
Jackie
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