Kale

Kale

Many people talk about how bad kale is and how it's so hard to fix it and it taste good. Well I lucked out. I bought a large pound bag of kale from HEB and on the back it had a recipe for Healthy Kale. So that is what I tried. And guess what? I loved it! I loved it so much I do this about one a week. I make the following recipe and I eat on it for several days that week---till it is gone.

The great thing is that Kale is VERY good for you and a wonderful addition to anyone's diet. If you have not given Kale a chance before - I hope you will now. And even if you have tried it before - give it another chance- this recipe really is good.

Healthy Kale

1 3/4 c. chicken broth (I use McKay's Chicken Seasoning)
1 1/2 c. water
3 T. EVOO - that is Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper (I don't always use this much - maybe half this)

1/2 tsp. sugar
1 - 1 pound package of Kale

Add the first 5 ingredients into a large pot and bring to a boil. Then add the sugar and kale. Cover pot with lid and cook on medium heat for 20 minutes or until desired tenderness.

Drain excess water and serve hot.

Trust me - this is very good! I love it! Just one more way to bring more health to your life. :O)

I noticed what looks like a great recipe from Mother Earth Living for Onion and Kale Pizza.
I am hoping to try this soon! If you have tried it please let me know what you thought of it! :O)

My New Favorite Bread Recipe

Flaxseed Bread

 

2 T. active dry yeast

1 T. honey

 

3 1/4 c. warm water

1 T. sea salt

1 c. flaxseeds, ground

1 c. gluten flour

6 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. turbinado sugar

1/4 c. canola oil

 

Soften yeast and honey in warm water. Ground flaxseeds in the blender. Combine whole-wheat flour, gluten flour, gluten flour, ground flaxseeds, sea salt, and turbinado sugar in a large bowl. When yeast mixture rises, add oil. Stir in dry mixture. Knead until smooth about 10 minutes. Divide into 2 portions. Shape each into loaves. Let rise until double. Bake at 350* for 35 minutes. Delicious!

 

Ok - so I do a little bit different with this recipe. At this time I do not have any turbinado sugar - so I use brown sugar. And actually I usually only use 1/4 of a cup of brown sugar. The recipe in the book says that you will divide this dough into 3-4 loaves - well I changed that to 2 because if you divided it into 3-4 they would be little loaves- you choose what you want to do. This is really the best bread that I have tasted! I love the fact that it is high in omega-3 and in fiber!



 

This is the cookbook that this recipe came from. I have typed out the original recipe at the top - and in my writing have told of changes that I have made. I hope you will try this and will enjoy it as much as I have! :O)

 

Come to the Garden....series

 

Come to the Garden

An Invitation to Serenity

by JoAnna O'Keefe

 

 

 



Lord, I feel fragmented

Like a broken pot of clay.

I've lost my focus;

I've lost my way.

 

I've poured myself out.
I'm drained. I'm dry;

I sense a discontent

I can't identify.

I feel rootless

 

Like rolling tumbleweed,

Moving, moving, moving,

Dizzy, from the speed.

 

I feel like quitting.
I feel self-doubt.

I'm tired, Lord.

I'm worn out.

 

How can I integrate

My scattered thoughts,

My dreams?

How can I find balance,

Freedom from extremes?

 

How can I slow down?

How can I release?

There are so many pressures.
How can I find peace?

 

Quiet, quiet, quiet,

my child, be still.

Listen to your feelings.

Discipline your will.

 

Come to the Garden,

The secret place we share.

My essence is in the Garden;

Come to Me in Prayer.

 

Transcend worldly cares.

Seek the Kingdom first.
Peace lies within;

It is for Me you thirst.

 

Accept your limitations;
Embrace humility.
Here lies the path to wisdom

And to maturity.

Come to the Garden,

The soul's sweet bouquet.
The flowers of tomorrow

Are in the seeds of today.

 

Together we will weed.

Together we will sow.
Together we will water.
Together, you will grow.

Some Progress in My Sewing Room

Today I wanted to show you a little of what I am getting done in my sewing room lately. For many, many months I had these blocks sitting up on my design board. I just could not get the lay out right. I would change one thing and then another. Then I would just let it be and look at it ever so often trying to figure out what I needed to do. Well last week I decided to just move forward. I had tried many different combinations and if I had not found something that I thought would work the best then maybe I just needed to move forward...so I did. And I got the sashing sewn on and the blocks together.

 

 Here is the fabric that I have chosen for my border. I had picked out an even prettier border- but when I realized I would not only have to buy a lot more fabric, but I would also have many cut up roosters - I had to go pick out different fabric and this is what I found. I think it will be very nice.

I still need to get the border cut into strips and sew them together and then onto the quilt. And then I will have another quilt ready to quilt.

 

I do have a quilt that I have ready to quilt. I even bought the backing fabric. I have it cut out and will be ironing it and the quilt top and then putting them together to get ready to quilt. I am hoping to have some time next week.  We will see.

 

 I have a Christmas project that I would love to try out and hoping that I am able to do a good job because I think it is a great idea. I will share with you all if I am able to get to this project.

 

Hope you all are having a great day! :O)

So last week I went to see my oncologist for my six month check up. I finally got my blood results back. I was a bit shocked and disappointed to see that my CA125 number had risen. It was only by a little over two points- but it is the rising of that number that is not good. I put a call into my oncology nurse and got a call back today saying that yes it had risen but I was till in the normal range so not to worry about it. I kind of knew that, but it is just not something you want to see. I had thought with me making better choices and all that the number could have come down even more than it did last time. Apparently the number does fluctuates some so it is normal. I just have to prepare myself before each visit not to panic or stress out if it has went up a bit.

I think I have already shared this but just in case I did not - I was happy to find out that I weighed in one pound less than the first visit that I had with the oncologist. Yay!! I still have a ways to go to get to my goal of losing 50 by 50 but I am almost to the halfway point. Praising God for that for sure! It is a real struggle for me to lose weight.
Although the scales have not moved a whole lot this month - I have had improvements in the way of how clothes fit that has helped encourage me along the path of weight loss.

So this cute top is one example of that. I bought it the end of October at a Goodwill Midnight Maddness sale. I paid $2.50 for this cute top. It was a bit too snug to wear. Well I wore it Sunday and loved it!!

These cute bling jeans are another item that I was able to wear on Sunday. My mother bought these cute jeans for me for my birthday last year- well they had been a bit snug and I thought that I would be able to lose weight and wear them last winter- I was not. It was very disappointed. Well when I got them out Saturday night and tried them one - they fit!!! Yay!

 

So although I haven't seen a major lose on the scales - I am making strides in the right direction still - by the clothes I can now wear. It is nice to get these small reminders that I am making progress. And I can't wait till I can come back on here and tell you about things fitting me that used to not fit. :O)

 

Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving - This year my birthday will fall on Thanksgiving - not my favorite thing but I deal with it anyway.

I am looking forward to Friday because the Goodwill's in our area are having a 1/2 price sale on Black Friday - and my sister and I are planning to go shopping. It is fun to shop for the new wardrobe that I am working towards getting into. I have already found a few really cute pieces.

 

Like these:

 

Ok - I better close. Have a great rest of the week! :O)

 

 

Strength to Bear Whatever

 The Fruit of the Spirit ~ It's What You Are That Counts

by Richard W. Offill

"The joy that God's people experience throughout the centuries didn't make the pain or the suffering and hardship go away. But because joy is the result of faith and hope, it gave them strength to bear whatever happened to them."

The Special Light

 The Fruit of the Spirit ~ It's What You Are That Counts

by Richard W. Offill

"Like all the other fruit of the Spirit, joy shines best in the worst of times. I was in a jewelry store buying a new battery for my watch, and I couldn't help but notice the beautiful diamonds and other precious stones on display. What accentuated their beauty and sparkle was the special light that was shining directly on them, in contrast to the darkened background."

Come to the Garden...series

 

 

Together

 

we will weed.

Together we will sow.

Together we will water.

Together, you will grow.

 

These things I have spoken to you,

that my joy may be in your,

and that your joy may be full.

John 15:11

 

Remain in me, and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself;

it must remain in the vine. Neither

can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

John 15:4

 

If you remain in me

and my words remain in you,

ask whatever you wish,

and it will be given to you.

John 15:7

 

 



"If I had have known I was gonna live this long....."

So yesterday was my mother in laws birthday. We went over to visit her and take her gifts to her. When we were fixing to leave she said to me, "If I had have known I was gonna live this long, I would have taken better care of myself." I responded by saying, "Yeah, that is why I have been making lifestyle changes lately- to take better care of myself." The expression on her face gave away the words she would speak next, "No, I don't think I would have done anything differently."
I was so surprised. I guess she realized that she could make some changes now and did not want to make any more changes. I have to give her credit - she did quit smoking and she quit drinking coffee. She still drinks diet coke - but she does at least drink water now some. So she has made a few changes.

Her statement really made me think. It encouraged me along my journey to a healthier me. We really do need to be taking better care of ourselves. We can not abuse ourselves by living life how ever our flesh wants to and expect to have good health. Of course, even those who have made good choices end up getting sicknesses and disease. But I am meaning over all. We really need to be wise and make good decisions. And those decisions are not just for today - but are for our future health. It encouraged me along the path.

Today was the 3rd anniversary since my hysterectomy. My pathology report has tomorrow's date on them- even though I did not find out until Dec 3rd. Today I have spent a little time thinking about what I had been thinking 3 years ago. How my big concerns were how I would deal with the side effects of a hysterectomy and being put into instant menopause. I had read the list of symptoms to expect and I was not at all looking forward to any of that stuff. Just weeks later I would realize how minor those things were considering I was then facing losing my hair altogether- no longer would my concern being that my hair would thin - although it is thinner now then it was before - and my hair is finer but Praise the Lord I have hair!!!

I went to my oncologist on Wednesday. I had hoped to get my lab results and be able to do a complete update about my appointment - but for now I can say that the Dr said everything looked/felt good. And that she did not see any problems. I always am more relieved once I see the blood work results. So hopefully I will get the results Monday or Tuesday.

So one more quick up date - this week I have been wearing my summer attire - it has been warm - like upper 70's and then mid to upper 80's. But a cold front blew in this morning and it has been in the 60's today. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining. We are expecting to go into the 30's tonight nd tomorrow night. We have winterized things around here - just in case we get a freeze. Since we live away from the big city - we very well could see a free on Saturday night. The highs are just going to be in the 50's or 60's. It looks like fall has finally arrived!! I am thankful. This is really my favorite time of year. Where I can open up windows if I get hot or close them if I get cold.

I hope you all are doing well. Take care and stay warm. :O)

The Petals Unfold Together

 The Fruit of the Spirit ~ It's What You Are That Counts

by Richard W. Offill

 

"A potato chip commercial famous in the past challenged, "I bet you can't eat just one." So it is with the fruit of the Spirit. A person can't have just one. It will help us to think of these spiritual qualities as petals on a flower. Although the blooming of the flowers is a process, the petals unfold together. We may not come to maturity in these qualities all at once, but they will develop in tandem with each other." Pg.14

It's THAT Time Again

So I will be postponing the next post about Benefits of...Nutrition till Friday. I have my appointment with my oncologist on this morning and can not wait to have it behind me. It has been a bit of a stressful week for me. Reminding me of my need to depend on Jesus Christ.

Yesterday morning we had our little Wallie fixed. We have an appointment to get our girl kittens fixed the first week of December but since we had to wait a while to get them fixed - we figured it would be smarter to get our little boy kitten fixed. He did very well. And I am glad he has been taken care of.

Anyway please be praying for me - for strength and for peace. It seems that every time that this appointment comes around I am reminded of the fact that I had cancer and a lot of those memories come through. It is getting easier between the appointment's to forget about it and put it out of my mind. Thanks so much for the prayers. :O)

Two Challenges of the Spiritual Life

 

 The Fruit of the Spirit ~ It's What You Are That Counts

by Richard W. Offill

 

"Like any garden, the spiritual life has two challenges. One is to fight the weeds, and the other is to nurture the fruit. We nurture the fruit of the Spirit through our devotional life. That's what keeps the fruit of the Spirit alive and well. Through prayer, we communicate with God, and through His Word, He communicates with us. Without the devotional life, the fruit of the Spirit becomes stunted, and then the cares of this life may simply choke it out."

Whensoever in Your Life and Mine....

Come to the Garden ....series

 

 

Come

to the Garden,

The soul's sweet bouquet.

The flowers of tomorrow

Are in the seeds of today.

Don't be anxious about tomorrow.

....Live one day at a time.

Matthew 6:34

 

Consider the lilies, how they grow;

they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you,

even Solomon in all his glory

was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12:27



"I know you too!"

"One of these days soon the heavens will open and we will see Jesus coming at the right hand of God. He will be surrounded by millions of angels among whom will be the one that has followed you from your earliest moments. As you look into the face of Jesus, won't it be wonderful to be able to say, "I know you!" ... but greater yet will be the thrill as He looks into your eyes and response, "I know you too!"
And this will only be possible if we have set aside time everyday for our relationship with Him. Make your time with Him a priority- you won't be sorry.

Just finished reading "Hard to be Lost" by Morris Venden.

I am so sorry if I have already posted this quote- but it is so good- it is worth posting even if I have already posted it. :O)

Strategies from Hello Healthy

So I got this excellent book and have started reading it.

It's called:

Hello Healthy ~ Strategies to reach your full health and wellness potential  

by Dr. Wes Youngberg

Here is just one tidbit from this book that I wanted to share with you all today:

"Ultimately, vitamin D unlocks the code, the template that is inside your DNA library, containing the instructions on how to destroy that very virus, that very bacteria, that very cancer, that is within your body. So if you want to enable your body to optimize it's fight against disease, one of the most important, but also most neglected, strategies is to take advantage of all the benefits that sunlight and vitamin D bring to health."
Pg. 71 of "Hello Healthy"

Above is a link to a YouTube showing of a program that Dr Youngberg has put on about detoxing your body. You might be surprised at how easy it can be to detox your body.
You will hear of the top 5 things to do to detox your body.
 You will find out what foods are the kings of food and also a very interesting fact about legumes and what they can do for your body.

 Also if you want to hear more from Dr Wes Youngberg- just search for him on youtube. 

Come to the Garden....series

Accept

 

your limitations;

 

Embrace Humility.

 

Here lies the path to wisdom

 

And to maturity.

 

 

The tree is known by its fruit.

Matthew 12:33

 

My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.

2 Corinthians 12:9

 

Whoever exalts himself will be humbled,

and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:12

 

Health

 

Health

They say that health

Is our greatest wealth.

So easy to lose,

If abused or misused. 

 

It slips away,

Maybe to stay,

Today it's here,

Tomorrow it's there.

 

You sign and cry,

Don't want to die,

You sowed in vain,

Now you reap the pain.

The careless years,

Now see the tears

HEALTH! You cry,
But it passes you by.

Oh wretched you,

What can you do.
To regain the wealth,

You spent on self?

 

To chase the ache,

What will it take?

Follow God's laws,

And stick to them all.

 

Duty calls.

To those who fall.

Healing will come,

When well done.

Make haste my friend,

Your sickness end,

On wings of health,

Your truest wealth.

 

by Jurea L. Dawson

Living a Truly Balanced Life....series....Sunlight

We have come to our last installment of this series.

I hope it bless you. :O)

 

Sunlight

Finally, if we make one of the simple remedies - the study of His Word, prayer, Christian service in reaching out towards others, and receiving the fruits of the Spirit- Jesus, the Son of righteousness, is going to be central in our focus. Malachi 4:2, speaking of Jesus and sunlight, says, "Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." We all know the good that sunlight can do. Many of us try to make it to the beach or to the mountains at least once a ear to take in a little sun. At least we should. The doctors recommend it. The suntan lotion people love it. And we know the healing element of the sunshine. The sunshine that expels the darkness and melts the dew and the mist, and takes away the fog. Sunshine- that's what we think of when we think of Jesus.

"The Sun of righteousness." Why? Because His righteousness in glorious like the blazing sun. And His righteousness surrounds the earth with an atmosphere of grace that each one can choose to receive or not. I'm thankful for the "true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). I'm thankful that Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." I'm thankful that we can see Jesus through all of these remedies.

What great name but the name of Jesus can help men to live in peace? Oh, that our world could discover that. What great name but the name of Jesus helps men die in peace? Millions of persons have passed into the valley of the shadow of death with the name of Jesus on their parched lips, and for them the valley has been transformed with light and glory, and the shadows have fled away, as the "Sun of righteousness" has lighted up their last moments with resplendent color. Jesus is the supreme figure of the ages and is growing more mighty every day. Kings, potentates, and crowns are failing rapidly. Great names, one after the other, go out and are soon forgotten. But the name of Jesus is ever increasing in might and glory. Jesus, how wonderful and how precious is the name. He is the Prince of peace, the mighty God, and the coming King. When we think of Him who was born in a stable and died upon the cross, who divides the centuries in two, and about whose name all history revolves, who lifted empires off their hinges and tinged the stream of time with His own blood, and at the same time binds up the brokenhearted and speaks peace to the troubled breast, may we not exclaim, "All hail the power of Jesus' name! Let angels prostrate fall. Bring forth the royal diadem, and crowns Him Lord of all."
**********************************

Ok - so you may think that I may be done talking about the Eight Health Laws to better health - but you would be wrong. As I was looking through some of my cookbooks looking for healthy new recipes I came across a cookbook that actual talks about each health law along with a good list of benefits that you get when you follow that health law. I just could not pass up sharing this information with you all so it can benefit you as well. Come back on Friday when I start out with the many benefits of fresh air. See you then! :O)

Problem Solving

So last week we looked at how to set up an Action Plan. This week we are going to talk a little about how to Problem Solve with our Action Plans. Some time we end up having problems with the action plans that we put in place. We have to be willing to modify the plan if needed. This list of problem solving ideas are some of the ways to help with modifying your problems.

1. Identify the problem

2. List Ideas

3. Select one

4. Assess the results

5. Substitute another idea

6. Utilize other resources

7. Accept that the problem may not be solvable now.

A good example of how someone modified their action plan. A man had set up his action plan to dig at least 3 feet in his well. He was doing this to make sure that he was getting exercise. Well something came up and he was not able to get it dug, but he ended up cutting a tree down and splitting it into logs- so in the end he ended up getting his exercise after all. It may not have been the actual plan he had put in place but he modified it and it worked for him.

I have had to modify my plan. I had set up my schedule to exercise at 7:30 with Jennifer Webster on her Rise Up program. Well since I have hurt my knee/leg I have had to modify what I do- and now I am doing my rehab exercises and some chair exercises. I did not totally let go of trying to get exercise in - I have just modified it to work for me right now.

I have an appointment set up with an orthopedic Dr on Thursday am. Pray that we are able to get to the bottom of what is going on so that I can know what I can and cannot do. And if something needs to be done about it that I can do it this year - since I have meant our deductible this  year and it won't cost us an arm and a leg - maybe an arm - or maybe a leg- but not both! lol :O)