Support local business

I try to buy bulk when we can and boy do I get excited when I can get a really good deal on 50 lbs of wheat.  Not just any wheat but Montana wheat berries or grain.  It is the best!  Well, today I visited a store (which by the way carries Montana wheat) that I had been meaning to stop in for awhile and what a little treasure.  The business I speak of is called Wishful Kneads.  I love the name!  They are a locally owned business that not only sell bulk foods, grains and storage containers.  They host several baking and cooking classes twice a week, every month.  I felt like a giddy school girl walking around and talking with the owner.  As I was walking around I got kind of clumsy in my excitement and jabbed a shelf into my fore arm.  Ouch! 

The owner was so helpful and very freindly.  I am always encouraged when I have experiences like this with local business owners because I really want to give them and not large chains, my business.  The classes are really what I was interested in and so I picked up a schedule.  I asked if my daughter could join me and he said yes at no extra charge.  Awesome.  They have a whole kitchen setup with several grain mills on the counter, very cool.

It seem kind of funny to me that I was so excited about this store and all the gadgets but my focus has shifted from cute outfits to wholesome nutrition for my family.  If we had the money I surely would do both and I would so look like Martha Stewart or maybe a younger hippie version.  So I hope to take some classess soon.  Learn how to make my own artisan breads, summer rolls & buns, bagels, etc.  I’m not much on cooking but boy do I love baking good bread, oh and chocolate cake…mmm.  So if you ever find a place like this in your home town, take advangtage of it and tell everyone about it!

Opened can of worms

Due to the nature of blogging and opening up my life via cyberspace, there have been repercussions.  Not to me personally, everyone is great to me but not to the hubby.  It’s sad really.  I know that he is such a great person yet some will never know it due to their own judgements, fears and disconnection.  I’m apart of a few online groups that meet up, the kids play and moms hang out.  Both of which know of my man’s past indiscretions and have requested he not attend or be apart of the group get togethers.  What makes this worse is that one group decided to go through my brother and not talk to me personally.  This really doesn’t sit well with me.  I am one to have face time with.  I don’t mind conflict and would appreciate one on one conversations with someone who feels an issue with me or any one of my family members.  In an effort to be discreet this person or people have only made me feel more suspicious and walls creep up as we speak.  How can I trust anyone in the group if they don’t talk openly and honestly to my face.  I’m tired of everyone dancing around me like I’m going to break.  It hurts and this is what I have to deal with on a daily basis.  In all this I hope that others will get passed their fears.  Life is about risk and none of knows completely what those closest to us are capable of.  We all have this false sense of security that we cling so desparately to.   Bleh…Dude, the hubby has no desire to be apart of these groups anyway but it totally took the wind out of my sails.   Not to sure what to do about it though.  Just fighting being dragged down by it I guess.  People are human, filled with faults and my human hubby has his dirty laundry hanging out for all to see.  This is the type of intro I’d like whenever I meet someone new.  “Hi I’m a liar, thief and murderer.”  Oh good, I’m glad we got that out of the way.  Or “I’m a glutton”.  I’m just ranting now.  I hate it that his junk is out there for all the world to see, yet no one else’s life is as transparent.  I want to know everyone’s junk, man and then I want to look them in the eyes, show God’s mercy and say, “It’s ok, I still love you and want to be apart of your life”.

Ode to hubby

I know my husband rocks.

 He can do anything he puts his mind to,

A walking atlas/dictionary/encyclopedia is he.

Cooks really good, need I say more?

He is my biggest encourager/supporter/fan.

Never once put me down, I can see in his eyes that he adores me.

He laughs at my jokes and I laugh at his.

Forgiving, gentle, kind, and always growing.

This is my beloved and He is mine.

Inspired by http://muchmorethanmommy.wordpress.com/   Valentines  giveaway.

False alarm

I’m not normally a hypochondriac but kind of went overboard a little with the sore throat thing.  I looked on line for some of my symptoms, well the one that concerned me the most-swollen uvula.  To be honest I misnamed the “piece of tissue” and was corrected by my beloved to its name.  I google swollen uvula and the causes there of.  Here’s the culprits of my ailment:  dry mouth, dehydration and could be viral or bacterial infection (because my lymph glands are like golf balls).  Since I detest going to the doctor this is the world I live in. 

There ya have it.  How does one get ride of swollen uvula you ask?  Lots of warm liquids to rehydrate, sleep on your side, don’t be a mouth breather while sleeping, suck on lots of cough drops (lemon/honey) and the ole stand bye ibuprofen!  So glad I didn’t go by a bunch of herbs this go round.  I did however, buy some teas and will make some yummy home made chicken soup.

What did we learn from this adventure?  When I sleep on my back I’m a mouth breather and don’t drink enough water.  Cotton mouth is got to be the worst on top of a swollen uvula!  I could hardly swallow!  Normally I sleep on my side but chose to lay backside in effort to alleviate shoulder pain from curling up in a ball!  I just can’t win!  Looks like I’ll have to deal with pain no matter what I do!

Natural remedies for sore throat

I’m going through my book: Natural Prescription for Health due to a recent battle with cold/sore throat.  I’m not one to run to the doctor or over the counter drug fairy, thus my thrust in to self treatment.  Okay, so the normal acidophilis to counteract antibiotics, vitamin C, echinachea & zinc lozenges, and steam inhalation with eucalyptus oil.  I’ve got all that so  I read on and the following is what I will try out to accomplish freedom from the sore throat hold.

Golden Seal extract ( alcohol free) – 20 drops in water and gargle, repeat every couple hours.  Don’t use golden seal extensively, like beyond a week.  Bad things, I guess.  I have used this before and its awesome.  Along with the above mentioned treatments.  I will also gargle with warm salt water its always a good back up.  No gross virus or bacteria can live in salt!

Mullein poultice- 4 parts dry or fresh mullein, 1 part hot vinegar, 1 part water.  Leave on for an hour at least or until signs of symptoms reside.  I’ve not tried this but from what it says its supposed to relieve pain, extract toxins,  and can be repeated till one feels better.  Really excited for this one.

Herbal teas- Raspberry leaf,  slippery elm (reduce inflammation)  Infusion: prepare by pouring 2 cups boiling water over 4 grams (roughly 2 tablespoons) of powdered bark and then steeping for 3 to 5 minutes. Drink three times per day and mint (just because I really like it).

Wish me luck and a throat free of pain.  Has anyone else tried these methods?  Did any of them work?

Hard knock life

When we celebrated the new year with the kiddos, we drank sparkling apple cider out of plastic wine goblets and made ginger bread cookies.  The kiddies went out around 10:30pm while we tried to find live coverage of the ball dropping in New York.  To our dismay we didn’t find it, darned Internet!  Oh well.  I go upstairs to hear a choir of snoring children all snuggled on the floor with our dogs, verycute. 

Fast forward a few weeks and I’ve noticed a few occasions where my oldest is chewing gum or the smell of sweet bubble gum.  I’m thinking to myself, I didn’t buy any gum and neither did anyone else…where did this gum come from?  One day I see all thee of my”angels” chewing away and leap into the abyss by asking what everyone wants to know.  Clearing throat.  Um..Denali, where did you get that gum?  Silas quickly pipes in.  She took it!  What?!  You mean she stole it?  Yup.

My daughter is a thief.  Dear Lord!  I was so not ready for this day, ever to come.  She took the gum I told her she couldn’t get because she had money at home and she could get the gum next time she remembered her $$.  I realize that I am a trusting and often not observant mom but she has always respected my decision when it came down to it.  I also (slightly)  understand that she really wanted the gum and doesn’t understand fully what she has done.

So the next time I go to this store I talk to the one of the clerks, in hushed tones because I am way embarrassed to ask the questions “Who do I talk to?  Should I bring her in and have her pay for it?”.  The clerk is really nice about it and tells me to bring her in to talk to the manager.  This should “teach” her a lesson.  I am dreading taking her there.  I’m not sure what I’ll do, cry or laugh?!  I am realizing more and more my children’s autonomy.  It’s kind of scary.

Has anyone else experienced this?  What did you do?

What Pin worms don’t like

Follow up from Pin Worms…What is their purpose?  blog. 

So after a long battle with the dreaded parasites..crossing fingers…we have no recurrences.  A friend of our suggested tea tree oil and I was like OMG!  Why didn’t I think of that?  We use tea tree all the time.  So, come the 2 month marker after treating everyone with Pin-X, I would apply tee tree oil to a q-tip and swab any ones cheerio that felt even the slightestt itch!  I confirmed this “therapy” in one of my essential oil handbooks and its written in black in white, so it must be right. We are going on month 3 and no creepy crawlies.  Supposedly the pin worms don’t like the smell from the oil and won’t lay their eggs.

It’s the little things in life that keep me going.  So if anyone out there is wondering and struggling as we did, TEA TREE OIL!  It’s awesome.  We use it for everything, or thought we did but now we use it for EVERYTHING!

Good luck to all!  Let me know if it works for ya!

A night with out kids

The hubby and I celebrated our 11th anniversary the beginning of the month, yippee!  Now, with a lay off the 4th of December and jobs being very sporadic in the construction biz, I’m just glad we arranged to have the kids out of the house!  We have $100.00 to our names and I’m just be happy to have the house to ourselves, snuggle up in front of the computer screen and scan hulu.com for something decent to watch.  To my surprise, the hubby tells me to get ready to go out while he drops the kids off at a friends for the night!  Now, part of me is thinking, “we so cannot afford to go out” and I will beat myself up the rest of the week for doing so.  The other, indulgent-want to have a night out on the town, side of me says yes!  Thank you! 

I gets my sexy black dress on and realize I have no shoes to go with it!  Night doomed!  Dearest gets home and agrees to get some new shoes.  Yes!  We get to payless and it takes me like 2 minutes to find the shoes of my dreams, not really but they were the best ones I could find and did I mention I don’t wear heels, ever?  They are border line abominable.  I also need some tights.  So the love of my life finds some ankle thingies that will absorb the sweat and are concealed in the heels themselves, neat.  They really have thought of everything.  We leave said store and head to the restaurant. 

Has anyone been to a bistro?  The name of the place we went to is the Bonsai Bistro.  We drive by it occasionally and dreamed of eating there one day.  Well, dream come true!  Aside from the fact that I am in heels, a knee length dress and its like 0 degrees out, I’m super.    I kid you not my toes were frozen!  Good thing the parking lot was full of snow and ice!  I didn’t mind.  I was looking hot, with my man and gonna eat some yummy Japanese food!  I felt a little silly all decked out, when we arrived and others were in jeans, sweaters and boots!  I felt like an amazon to boot, wearing 3 inch heels!  Oh well, I just focused on sitting down and enjoying the atmosphere.

On the table are three trays with spices in them and 3 bottles with sauces, the names of which I don’t recall at the moment even though Mr. man asked the waitress.  I know one of them had vinegar and I only remember that because I thought I may need that if something we ordered is too hot!  We share some kind of crab purse appetizer, slightly spicy but really yummy!  I ordered a shrimp entree, also slightly spicy but I can handle it and hubby gets *** star spicy szchuan beef.  I kid you not, I could feel fumes when I tried this mans entree!  I still cannot believe he ate the whole plate of this stuff!  It could literally fry the nose hairs off when inhaled!  I really wanted to share, more so for the veges but just could not “man up” to that challenge!

To add some irony to the evening, we get our fortune cookies and what does mine suggest?  “Be frugal with your finances, now is not the time to splurge”  Are you kidding me?  Oh and the  hubbies is “Enjoy the efforts of your hard work”  yadda yadda yadda or something like that…HA!  Hard work?!  What?  So glad we don’t take those cookies seriously, it could have really ruined my night, I tell ya what!

So with all this spice to kick off the evening we finished our meal, went home and enjoyed the freedoms of marriage..wink..wink!  Isn’t spicy food an aphrodisiac?  It was a wonderful night and if you are married, try some candlelight “bow chick -a wow wow”.  It’s awesome!

The power of forgiveness and the blessings of being restored

This is a continuation from a prior blog “Infidelity”.  If someone were to ask me, “How did you do it?”  Or make a statement ” I don’t know if I could forgive.”  I would say to both, Its not you, its God who gives you the ability and power to do so.  I did not know I was going to be able or have this strength until put into the position that I was and I don’t think we will ever know the truth of this until just such an occassion comes.  I hope its not to my extreme but whatever the offense may be, we can either become bitter or better for it.

Forgiveness-

n.

The act of forgiving; pardon.

Noun	1.	forgiveness – compassionate feelings that support a willingness to forgive mercifulness, mercy – the feeling that motivates compassion
	2.	forgiveness – the act of excusing a mistake or offense pardon benignity, kindness – a kind act condonation – a pardon by treating the offender as if the offense had not occurred exculpation – the act of freeing from guilt or blame

noun pardon, mercy, absolution, exoneration, overlooking, amnesty, acquittal, remission, condonation

Restoration-The act of making new or as if new again, the act of restoring something or someone to a satisfactory state

Restore-

Verb

[-storing, -stored]

1. to return (something) to its original or former condition

2. to bring back to health or good spirits

3. to return (something lost or stolen) to its owner

4. to re-enforce or re-establish: he must restore confidence in himself and his government, they worked to restore the monarchy

5. to reconstruct (a ruin, extinct animal, etc.) [Latin restaurare to rebuild]

 

 When I looked at #3 for forgiveness- a pardon by treating the offender as if the offense had not occured, I wonder at that.  I mean who in all of humanity can do this?  I try  and sometimes fail but really want to take on this form of forgiveness.  Its so powerful when you are forgiven and can be life changing.  I believe this is the #1 reason why God told me to forgive, gave me the power to do so and continues to strengthen me daily as I live out this forgiveness with the man I promised my heart to.  #2 reason is to restore the man to God and to our marriage.  God created marriage to be holy.  The act of foregiveness made it possible for restoration and to return or renew our marriage to a holy state. 

 

It has been a long 4 years, with a lot of growing pains.  My husband is getting healthier and attending a support group.  He is making better choices and we are closer now than we have ever been.  There is more work to be done and we are willing to do it.  Without our faith we would have gave up long ago.  We hold onto hope that God is faithful and wants us to be whole.   Its not easy, its actually quite hard and overwhelming at times but know its worth it.

 

I would like to hear other stories from those that have experienced a great loss and have the opportunity to encourage or rejoice with you in your journey.

Surprising, I really enjoy dark chocolate!

Its gotta be as close as 85-100% dark, unadulturated chocolate as anyone can possibly make it!  For all you skeptics here’s some research on how chocolate is good for your health!

A Dark Chocolate a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

Here’s news that’s hard not to like. Eating a small, 1.6-ounce bar of dark chocolate every day is good for you. Very good for you, find Mary Engler, PhD, RN, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues.

Now here is a medical experiment you would love to volunteer for. Engler’s team divided 21 healthy adults into two groups. One group got a Dove Dark Chocolate bar every day for two weeks. Like other dark chocolate bars with high-cocoa content, this one is loaded with something called epicatechin. Epicatechin is a particularly active member of a group of compounds called plant flavoniods. Flavoniods keep cholesterol from gathering in blood vessels, reduce the risk of blood clots, and slow down the immune responses that lead to clogged arteries.

The rest of the article is found here:

http://www.webmd.com/news/20040601/dark-chocolate-day-keeps-doctor-away

Some of my fave are:

 We make a dark chocolate, egg less cake at least once a month, for the family and that thing is gone within a week!  The kids love the whole process because daddy lets them lick the bowl, spoons, and mixing apparatus.

 

 

We don’t have a Trader Joe’s here but tasted this delicious bar via a very giving friend who recently traveled to Seattle.  I am so appreciative, thank you my unselfish friend.

 

 

Slightly costly but really very yummy and little nibs of chocolate inside add some unexpected texture to what could be a hum drum bar.

Pretty much any chocolate from Endangered Species.  I had half a bar tonight right before dinner, I know naughty and I wasn’t really all that hungry come dinner time!

 

So what’s your favorite mini treat?