Shoe Care

I found something that has been a big help in helping me care for my shoes. And today I would like to share this information with you so you too can have some help.

It all started out when I had a pair of dark jeans or two that ended up getting a blue stain on my white tennis shoes. So while I was at the store I was looking for the white shoe polish but noticed this product and bought it instead.

I think this is a great product to have on hand. They are great to use to clean your tennis shoes as well as your dress up shoes.

No - I have not been asked to write about this, nor and I getting paid to recommend it. I just wanted to share about this product for others to know about them so that they too can clean up their shoes and make them look nicer and therefore last longer.

Healthy Tidbits

Today's for our Healthy Tidbits post, I would like to share a link to a cool website that will give you a lot of great health information. Heartwise Ministries has a great website with a lot of great information. There are podcasts and videos to watch. So today instead of med giving you some information I am giving you a link to for you to check out information that may be helpful to you. Enjoy! :0)

We Can Learn a Thing Or Two From the Birds

With rain and stormy weather looming around our area, I ventured out to try to get a walk in for the day. Thankfully I was able to get a 2 mile walk in before my radar showed me of a possible rain shower headed my direction. As I walked I noticed something very interesting,.a lesson I think we all need to learn. 

I saw several different kinds of birds. And I spent a good amount of time observing them. I noticed the special beauty of each one. I noticed that each seem to be very content. They were not bothered by not being a different kind of bird - even though the other birds were around them, They were not stressing about not being as big, or as small, or as pretty as the other. They were content with being themselves. It's like they realized that the Creator had made them and that they were special just the way they were. 

Now people might prefer one bird over the other, or think one kind of bird is more special then the other. But God loves all the birds. Each and every one is special to Him. 

You and I tend to get caught up in the envy trap or the not good enough trap, but we don't need to. God made us all special in our own unique ways. And He loves each and every one of us as well. We need to learn to be content just like the birds are at who we are. There may be areas of our lives that need to be changed and that is fine- God will guide and direct us to who He wants us to be and what changes He wants from us. In the mean while we need to learn to accept ourselves and realize that we may be different from those around us but we are all special! God loves every single one of us - we can be sure of that! :O) 

Was Discouraged, Better Now

This morning I woke up discouraged. I knew exactly why. I don't like that it seems sometimes it's doesn't seem like much that can cause me to fall into discouragement.  I decided that maybe if I spent some time writing in my journal maybe, just maybe, I could work through the discouragement. My feelings got worse before they got better. Eventually I decided to pull a box of my favorite snug clothes out of the closet and spent some time trying the stuff one. I found that one top fit well enough to wear! And I realized that once I lose the last 10 pounds or so to reach my 50 by 50 goal that these favorites should fit well! That really helped me feel so much more positive about the progress I have made. It's been snail slow- that is the truth but it is progress.

As  I was looking at Facebook this morning and I scrolled through my memories  I realized that 5 years ago today I was having my last of 6 sessions of chemo. 5 years ago! I began thinking about him w far I have come since then in so many areas of my life. I thought back on the weight that I was at the beginning and then the weight I gained through chemo. It's so easy to gain weight through chemo- they gave me steroids before each of the 6 sessions of chemo. On one of the chemo sessions I had to take steroids for several day plu the dose before chemo . And of course more weight came on...At my very last check up with my oncologist I found that I weighed less than I had at the very first chemo. And I have lost weight since then. So although I am not at my goal yet and my prog ress seems so slow. I have to keep in mind that I have made progress~ I am headed in the right dir ection. And by the grace of God I will reach my goal.

I am so happy that I tried the clothes on and that I thought through the realistic facts of the past 5 years. I am feeling so much better now. Praise the Lord!!

Healthy Tidbits ~ Do You Want Strong Bones?

So in the post "What Causes Weak Bone?" we found out what causes weak bones. Today we want to look at a few things that will help us to have strong bones.

Weight bearing exercising - walking is good and works the big muscles of the legs, but you also need to include into your weekly schedule time to work out with hand weights. I have shared before but I will share again about a great resource - Rise Up Ministries has 7 - 30 minute workouts available- I believe 5 of which are with hand weights. Try to work out with weights at least 2 times a week for stronger bones.

Here is a great list of sources of calcium that you can get from a plant based diet.

Be sure and get sunshine so you can get ;your Vit. D and if you don't think you are getting enough - you may want to take a supplement 

Is it beneficial or just how it's always been done?

Sometimes we do things a certain way because that is how we have always done them. Not because it is the best way to do them or that they were beneficial for us to do.

Sometimes we have to step back and reevaluate how we do things - what is working and what isn't. Then make the appropriate changes.

Last week I went to Sprouts. For those of you who are not lucky enough to have a Sprouts store- it is like a farmers market with lots of great produce and health foods - this is where I get my tahini and my boxed fake milk. I love this store - they have awesome deals- last week I was able to get
Cucumbers, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, avocados - all for 3/$1.00!! I love this store, even though it is a good 30 plus minutes from my house - I am starting to do my best to get up there at least every other week!

I posted on Facebook how I loved Sprouts and I wished they would build one closer to where I live. Some people I know own a health food store that is about a 15 minute drive or so from my house. I enjoy going there for a few items but they do not have much in the way of produce. Under my post about Sprouts on Facebook - the wife posted that it would not be good for them if a Sprouts was in our area. I began to think of the differences of the stores and why I really like Sprouts. And I figured out one main difference. The nutrition store nearby - uses a weird way to price things - they have white tags- and orange tags. The orange ones are the actual price. The white tags mean that you are suppose to take 10% off. The orange tag means they already took the 10% off. I understand when they first started pricing things this way - it worked great and it might really inspire others to buy things based on this type pricing - but for me - I would rather they just price things what the price is and make it easier for us all to know how much we are really paying for the item. Anyway this is an example of how it might be a good idea for them to step back and reevaluate how they do things at their store.

In my own personal life I have to step back and reevaluate what I am doing. Figuring out what is working and what is not. If what I am doing beneficial or just how I have done things? Some things I am able to solve pretty easily - others - I am still struggling with. But I have faith that one day I will have figured out the best thing to do.

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So this post was actually written most of the way up several weeks ago. Yesterday I went to Sprouts again and will try to have a post about it to share with you soon. I found a great deal and tried something new - and I love it! See you soon. :O)

Good Deal That Turned Into A Great Deal

Do you remember this great deal I got? 

$3.00 for this almost new pair of shoes. 

So how did this good deal turn into a great deal you may be asking.
Well come to find out the soft foamy layer of the shoes tend to come apart from the rest of the shoes. I can understand since that stuff is so soft and weak.

I continue to use them - I have just had to get some gorilla glue and glue the portions that have come lose back to the shoes. Some of the glue has come out of the sides and so they don't look all that great but I basically use these shoes at home when I am going my cardio or weight workouts that I do with RiseUp Ministries anyway, so no big deal.

So this good deal turned into a great deal because I didn't have to pay big bucks to find out that the shoes could fall apart easily. Plus have the creativity in order to work with them to make them last me even longer!  

***By the way~ My aunt is having a pretty serious surgery done today. I would sure appreciate your prayers. Thank you so much!! *********

Eating From the Rainbow ....WHITE/TAN/BROWN)

So today we will be finishing up our Eating From the Rainbow series with our white/tan/brown foods. This is our largest group of foods. Sorry it has taken me so long to get this typed up and posted. First I wasn't feeling good and then the weather has been so gorgeous I have wanted to be out in it walking and working in the yard.

White/Tan/Brown:

Apples
Applesauce
Bean dips
Cauliflower
Coconut
Dates
Garlic
Ginger
Jicama
Legumes(chickpeas, dried beans or peas, hummus, lentils, peanuts, refried beans-low-fat or no fat preferred)
Mushrooms
Nuts(almonds, cashews, pecans, walnuts)
Onions
Pears
Seeds(flax, hemp, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower)
Shallots
Soy
Tahini
Whole Grains(barley, brown rice, oats, quinoa, rye, spelt, wheat)

Benefits:   
Anti-cancer
Anti-microbial
Cell protection
Gastrointestinal health
Heart health
Hormone health
Liver health

*Information from the 2015 The Institute for Functional Medicine handout.

I hope you are all doing well. I am hoping to go get another great walk in today. The sun is shining and it is quite nice out right now - mid-60's - highs will be in the upper 80's today and again tomorrow. Spring in Texas can be quite warm!

Just a quick pop in

So sorry I have been missing in action. It all started last Sunday evening when I had to take my husband to the ER- 5 hours later at almost midnight we were released. Thankfully he is feeling better. Only problem is that Wednesday I began to feel sick- as the day progressed I got to feeling worse and worse. Not sure what is going on - could be allergies or me trying to get a cold- just not sure. I am doing all the natural things I can think of to try to keep my immune system strong and fight off what ever this is. Anyway that explains why I have not been on a lot. And it looks like it will be Monday before I will be able to get posting again because my son has his daughter so tomorrow I will be taking care of her and we will be busy with the family this week end.
In the middle of all that has been going on around here we have gotten about 1/2 of our garden planted and hoping to get the rest planted soon. There is a chance of rain this week end so I am hoping to get the stuff planted tomorrow.

So interesting fact- while we were at Lowe's picking up some plants - as I was looking for my pepper plants - I saw something I have never seen before- Purple Pepper plants. Just like on the list for our Blue, Purple, Black foods to eat. I did not buy one - what I bought was Red, Orange and Yellow bell pepper plants - they are my favorites!! I am SO hoping they do well. I have heard they don't so great here in Texas. We shall see.

Well I better close. It is getting late and I am very tired and need to try to get to bed. The alarm will go off very early in the morning. I hope you all are doing well. Take care :O)

By the way - we do have one more color to look at - I just haven't had the chance to get it typed up yet. Hopefully I can get that posted Monday - be sure to come back and check.

Eating From the Rainbow...BLUE/PURPLE/BLACK

Today we are looking at naturally colored - BLUE/PURPLE/BLACK foods.

BLUE/PURPLE/BLACK: 

Bell peppers
Berries(blue, black, boysenberries. huckleberries, marionberries)
Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Eggplant
Figs
Grapes
Kale
Olives
Plums
Potatoes
Prunes
Raisins
Rice(black or purple)

Benefits:

Anti-Cancer
Anti-Inflammatory
Cell protection
Gastrointestinal health
Heart health
Hormone health
Liver health

*2015 The Institute for Functional Medicine handout

Next time we will be looking at naturally occurring White/Tan/Brown foods