What do Cowboys, exotic animals, and artichokes have in Common?

I am so EXCITED! My brother called me tonight and has 2 extra box seat tickets to tomorrow's Dallas Cowboys game, and I get to go! For those of you who don't know I am a native Texan and therefore a natural born Cowboys fan. My husband, Wayne, is a HUGE Eagles fan. I am dragging him along "kicking and screaming." I actually think he is excited about going. He says, "It's worth it just to see the new stadium." Don't worry -- I will make a Cowboys fan out of him yet.

I am also excited because we booked Phillip's birthday party tonight. His birthday is not until October, but his party sounds so cool! It is going to be at our home, and a wildlife expert is going to come and show the kids some exotic animals (all of which have been rescued) and present a program on conservation. We are going to collect gifts for the Humane Society in lieu of gifts for Phillip. We can take them to the actual shelter here they will use the gifts and he can see where and how the things/money he collects will be used. This will be much better than having a rand new set of toys to clutter his room.

The other thing I did today was make roasted artichokes. I know, they are not raw, but I had never had one and was eager to try, and they are vegan, after all. It wasn't hard to make, just a little time consuming at first. When Wayne came home he looked puzzled and was not very excited about eating artichokes for dinner. However, they were delicious, and surprisingly very filling! Turns out they have tons of fiber (10.3 grams to be exact). When I told my brother (who is a chef) what I was making he called the heart the treasure and it really was the best part. Wayne can't wait to have them again. Overall it has been a very good day!

Mangolicious Green Smoothie Recipe

In order to start my green smoothie day off right this morning I decided to a little experimentation. I had a fresh bunch of Rainbow Chard that I was determined to use. Honestly, swiss chard is not my favorite green. I think it has a bit of a funky aftertaste. That being said, I believe in rotating my greens, and Rainbow Chard is so pretty it is hard to pass up. The smoothie I made this morning had absolutely no aftertaste, though, and I may find swiss chard a more regular part of my green smoothie regimen because this one was VERY YUMMY!

I cut up about 1 - 1 and a 1/2 cups of chard, a very ripe mango, a banana, a slice of lemon, and the brown stuff in the pic is tamarind. This is a fruit I discovered just this summer and to me, it tastes like a mix between an apricot and a prune with just a hint of sour. I put all of the fruit in the Vitamix with a cup of water and a cup of ice and blended it until smooth. Then I added the chopped chard and blended again.

Try it -- You will like it!

1st day of school

We started school today. One of the benefits of home schooling is that you can start whenever you want. It was definitely interesting having Phillip at home and we very quickly learned that we needed headphones for the computer. Jake and Emma will definitely learn how to work through distractions. Overall, Phillip was great. We did handwriting, worked on letters and phonics, counted to 100, did some addition, and began a health unit on the likenesses and differences between boys and girls, and sex (he has been asking where girl's pee comes out). I think the sex part was his favorite part, but he is a boy after all (ha! ha!).

I am exhausted! One thing I didn't mention in my summer update blog yesterday is that I also had a hysterectomy, less than two weeks ago actually. I am fine (no pathology), and I am healing nicely, but I get so tired and sore. Tomorrow I am taking it a little easy -- we may do reading in a big family pile in my bed. We started The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I had almost forgotten what a fun book it is to read. I get such a kick out of watching Emma and Jake roll their eyes when I tell them what we will be reading and then begging to read one more chapter.

Well, I took my pain medicine about 20 minutes ago so I better log off before I reach la-la land.

Tomorrow is a green smoothie day for me -- I'll be home all day so I'm going to have a love affair with my Vitamix and drink all the greens I can! I am looking forward to it!

Approaching the School Year with Reluctant Eagerness

Summer break is coming to a close all too quickly. While part of me longs for the return to routines and schedules and the busyness of all of the extra curricular school year activities, part of me is dragging my feet. I will miss lazy mornings, jumping in the pool just because it is hot outside, fresh tomatoes and peaches, reading good books, and just plain old playing with the kids.

Since I home school we have the flexibility to start school whenever we want and believe me, I have strongly considered not starting until after Labor day, but I have to admit there is something about "knowing what I am going to do each day" that is attractive to me. I also love the way newly sharpened pencils and fresh clean notebook paper smell. There is an excitement in putting together new notebooks and opening the boxes that contain all our school materials for the year. I always get a kick out of watching Emma's eyes grow big as she looks ahead toward the sentences she will be masterfully diagramming by the end of the year.

Planning ahead is not only for school work, though. The schedule of the school year also forces me to be very intentional about planning my meals and snacks throughout the day. This year it will be even more so as Jake and Emma are taking a couple of classes outside the home that I will have to be out and about during times I would normally be at home. We are planning fresh fruit and vegetable options, and it is time to get my dehydrator revved up again. If you know any good raw food dehydrator recipes, especially for bars and such, please pass them along to me.

To update you on other things That happened this summer: I finished my five month boot camp at the beginning of this month. It was quite the commitment -- 6 days a week for an hour a day at 5:30 in the morning. I learned lots of ways to get protein as a mostly raw vegan, and I have a little 4 pack to prove it. While I have enjoyed having most of August off I am considering doing it again. I gained such a sense of accomplishment by committing to the regimen, and I feel as though my body has responded amicably. It is hard for me to believe that it was just three years ago that I was was overweight, lethargic, and very sick. Today, I feel like a picture of health and energy thanks to a change in intake philosophy. A raw diet and exercise have indeed changed my life!

Jake, our 13 year old, went to Scotland and Northern Ireland and had the time of his life! He rally enjoyed it. It was interesting to me that he said tings such as, "Mom, you wouldn't believe how quiet it was there," or "My favorite time was the time I spent hiking the mountain alone." When his grandmother asked him what was the most important thing he learned after thoughtful consideration he said, "I learned that no matter where you live in the world all people build their own kinds of fences." I am so glad that we made some sacrifices so that he could have that opportunity.

Emma and Jake had an excellent swimming season! They both went to "A regionals" and Jake even qualified to swim in the state competition, doing better than he ever thought he could do. It was so much fun to watch them excel. Phillip also learned how to really swim this summer, in large part, due to his sister teaching him everything she knows. He has become quite the fish.

Wayne's work is going well and we have just enjoyed spending time with each other and our family this summer. His mother and my parents both came to visit at different times, and it was a nice to be with them. I did some itinerant preaching in mostly small, country churches this summer which was very refreshing. I also read several good books, including Infidel and Eat, Pray, Love, both of which I highly recommend. Unfortunately, my tomato plant only produced 2 tomatoes, but that is 2 more than last year. I will keep trying this thumb of mine, hopefully one day it may get a green tint. Until then thank God for the Farmer's Market and Whole Foods!

Alive and Kicking!

I can't believe it has been since April that I last wrote! I have had so many irons in the fire I lost track of time. If you are a parent, you know all about the end of the school year hustle and bustle. We had dance recitals, and dance pictures, T-ball games, and T-ball pictures, Kindergarten graduation performances, and kindergarten pictures, and Chorus concerts, and, you guessed it, chorus pictures. My parents visited. Wayne's mom visited. All of that was quickly followed by Jake's trip to Scotland which was much harder on me than I would like to admit. I stood in the airport waving goodbye and crying my eyes out (something I had promised myself I wouldn't do).

I don't think I slept by a couple hours a night the whole time he was gone. The good news is I was very productive! I have been working on editing 2 books for a very good friend of mine, and I was able to complete that (They are very good books and I will be talking it up as it gets closer to publish date). I was able to write a few sermons and I preached a few times. I carted Emma and Phillip back and forth to summer camps and swim practices. I went o the doctor and to the dentist. I dug in at boot camp and worked my butt off. The time went by quickly and Jake is back home now. He had the time of his life! I am so glad we let him go -- he seems to have grown up so much!

Speaking of boot camp -- I am in the home stretch -- only 1 month left. I feel so good! I will be posting pics soon. It has been very challenging, but very rewarding! I have even donned a bikini in public this summer, and I am down to a size 6. But boot camp is not all about the exercise; it is also about fueling your body. My mostly raw diet has provided me excellent fuel and results! The only problem is that I feel like I eat all day long! I eat enormous amounts of fruits and veggies all day long to ensure that I get the proper caloric intake. I am definitely not one to skip a meal!

I am enjoying the fruits (and veggies) of summer so very much! I think I have eaten the best watermelon I have ever put in my mouth this summer. The heirloom tomatoes are so delicious and I have even had a couple from my own backyard. My tomato plant is still alive -- that is quite an accomplishment for me! The cherries and blueberries have been so sweet and juicy! And I love the local peaches, squash, and green beans.

I hope you like the new look of the blog and will continue to follow me on my journey toward reclaiming my health and my life!

Physical health leads to Spiritual Health

Judging from all of the emails I have received about yesterday's entry, I am apparently not alone on the running thing. Thank you all for your responses -- I was beginning to think I was the only one who did not like to run. I really don't mind the exercise, in fact, once I finally make it to the gym, it makes me feel a lot better. I have found that when I feel good about my body, that good feeling translates to other areas of my life as well. I feel more confident, I sleep better, I feel more focused, I care more about what I eat, etc.

The first few weeks I was doing boot camp I felt like getting up at 4:45 was possibly the worst thing I had ever committed myself to do. However, the last few weeks (it is hard to believe I have been on this regimen for seven and a half weeks now) I have been waking up even before the alarm goes off, and I have been wide awake and ready for the day.

There are things I like about getting up early. For instance, 4:45 is the only time of day when my house is completely quiet and I can be totally alone. I like to sit in my favorite chair all by myself and read a devotion. No one is competing for my attention, putting their feet on me, or asking me to do something else. I also have a private time to pray. I feel as though waking up for boot camp has not only improved my physical health, but my spiritual health as well. Funny how that works.

Confessions of a wanna-be (not really) runner.

I have always admired those people who put on their dry-fit clothing and running shorts and step out of their front doors to "go for a run." Recently, my sister-in-law and her husband were visiting and he stepped out for a little over an hour one day so that he could run a measly ten miles. I must admit, I was jealous. In my mind I am a runner. I can picture myself training for a marathon. I can imagine getting that "runner's high." I can feel that need to finish the race somewhere deep down inside of me.

Running seems like it would be a great way to exercise, especially right now -- when the weather is so nice. I always think that I want to do it; that I want to be a runner... then I try it. I think some people are just not meant to be runners, and I must be one of those people. No matter how much I want to like it -- I simply don't. In fact, I might even say I don't like it at all. I can ride a bike, I can get on an elliptical machine, and heck, I can even row until the cows come home. BUT I CANNOT RUN! I DO NOT WANT TO RUN! I DO NOT LIKE TO RUN! There, I said it. It is all out in the open. I feel much better now.