Project Curtain Part 2

So the curtains are finally done and up, with the help of Jeff's aunt and her lovely sewing machine (remind me to get me one of those). I taught myself to sew when I was younger, and started a few different sewing projects. I remember I cut off a pair of jeans and tried to make a plaid pattern by sewing squares of a darker jeans from yet another pair of cut up pants. I never finished them, sewing by hand is one long and arduous project, although quite relaxing I must admit.

Enough rambling, this is what the curtains look like now

Not very inspirational, I know. But they are white and have a quality about them that lets in light while conserving our privacym which is exactly what I was going for. That being said, I am in no way planning to leave them as is. Oh no, sir. Whiteness is an open canvas, daring me to do something... anything to put some life into them. So I think that I am going to try my hand at silk painting.

Well, more like fake-silk-white-cotton painting. Colours? Patterns? Design? Nothing is set yet, but I have a ton of ideas rifling through my head. As always. But I will strive to keep the simplicity in the white curtains that so attracted me in the first place, and focus on a simple design rather than an invasion of colour and/or pattern. Something along the lines of these:

I need to get me some fabric paint. Unless other types of paint work on fabric?

Reflections

Ive been sitting here listening to Yann Tiersen's compositions, most especially the ones from the movie Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, and his type of music has always brought me to reflection. I posted a blog a couple of weeks ago on how I feel torn between two different types of personalities, the rebellious vs the homemaker, and I have been thinking and thinking about what it is that I want from my life.

I couldn't put my head to rest on the subject, and the idea of one day being old and dying with tons of regret about things I should have done and didn't do was frankly tormenting me. I wanted two different things from life, and I simply couldn't have them both. I cannot raise my children myself while building houses in Africa, for example. I just couldn't settle on anything, and it was making me nervous and disatisfied with life in general, which is an awful combination.

So it was nice when my friend Amy pointed out that there is a time for everything. Those six words halted my whirwind, because they are so true. I cannot be everything at once, and to attempt to do so would end up with me having a burn-out and being hospitalized in a psyciatric unit, Im sure. There is a time for everything. And the more I meditate on that, the more I realize that my complete shift into homemaker will be coming very soon. This doesn't mean that I won't be rebellious, in my own way. But the time to participate in angry rallies and having my energy focused on bringing on a change in the world is coming to a close, for a time. I feel myself become closer to Him and to the traditional role of a woman within a home and family hierarchy, as much as that shocks so many people who know me.

I think a catalyst within my timeline is the fact that I am finishing school this June/July. My life in general has literally been at a standstill because of school, and the time and effort I have had to dedicate to finishing this part of my life. Two years and a half of my life monopolized by this, and for what? For a piece of paper that signifies that I was able to answer correctly a test. Yes, there is a fair bit of bitterness associated to school within my mind, I won't hide it. But with the coming of the end coupled with the summer months off from work (I work at a primary school), that more than anything makes me feel like the end of rebellious Cyn is coming.

So I have been thinking that those two months will be the time to do what I want to do, before moving on to other things. Two things have come out to me that I wish to do more than anything else. One would be an extended silent retreat within a cloistered place. There are a couple of options oppened for this but I haven't done extensive research on where and what is available for this. The next thing I would love to do is volunteer through the Red Cross or another charitable organization and go work and help out people in Haiti, or another devastated place. This is a little more iffy, primarily because of my health issues. Its no secret that I am in no great shape and I wont help anyone by dying down South. But everything is still in the air.

There is a time for everything. And soon it won't be time to be rebellious me. But it doesn't mean I will lose myself. Rather the opposite, I should think.

Product Review - Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers

I hate frozen meals. They are so tasteless and disgusting, and generally speaking don't do the job of filling you up. Especially those meals that are supposed to be healthy, or for people watching their/trying to lose weight. I mean, apart from convenience, why try mass-produced frozen meals when the lunches I can make are 10000000000% better without even trying?

That was how I thought prior to trying these frozen meals pictured below. Yummy. And believe me, if its me saying it you better believe it!


They are the first frozen meal that I ever try that actually fill me, and are tasty. And guess what? Yup, they're healthy too! As much as a frozen meal can be anyway! Most of the meals that I have seen have at least one portion of vegetables, have no artificial flavors, and are high in iron and have at least 4 gr of fibre. The protein featured (which is usually grilled chicken) is exactly one portion or 3 ounces, and it is actually there, not onvisible or cut up so tiny you wonder if that's really chicken your eating!

The concept is deceptively simple, its in a two part container that has the sauce on the bottom bowl, and the top bowl has the pasta/rice/veggies/protein. No perforation or lifting of the corner or anything like that, the top bowl is actually made to steam the food with the hot air from the microwave. The best part is maybe that the sauce and the rest are seperated so you can choose how much sauce you want to have in your lunch.



There are 12 different varieties (some of them are harder to find than others), including one vegetarian option. I have tried maybe 7 out of the 12 . As a rule I tend to stay away from fish and seafood that wasn't made by me or someone I trust, so I did the same with these frozen meals. But my coup-de-coeur is the Red Pepper Alfredo, Sweet Sesame Chicken, and Grilled Basil Chicken.

All in all, if you ever have to buy frozen meals, or you like frozen meals to start with, I highly reccomend these!

Here is the website, more info on there including the nutritional information on every single product, and tips on eating and living better.

On my mind today

this

this

and this

Monthly Meal Plan Review

I have been making a meal plan for about 6 months now, and I have experimented with different ways to do it, seeing which would be more applicable to my lifestyle, etc. One thing I can say even before we start discussing what types of meal plans are the best, is that I recommend making plans for everyone, no matter your financial situation or your daily schedule.

I go through full-time school and a full-time job, and I bring both at home with projects and exams, and lesson plans for work, so I understand what it is to have no time to do anything (believe me you, my social life has greatly suffered). So when I sat down for the first time to write a meal plan, I thought it was going to be a waste of my time that I could be spending doing a million other things. I mean, how hard can it be to look in the freezer and take out one thing to defrost? The problem came when I had forgotten to make groceries and there would be nothing to defrost, or when I had run out of the house without taking anything out, or when I has no spaghetti to go with the sauce I had taken out, etc etc. I could only picture the chaos when I would have little ones clamoring for their meal! So I said why not, and sat down for 20 mns and just wrote out meal ideas, then fitted them in our huge calendar. The result? Less time stressing over what the heck was for supper, less forgotten meals, less chaos.

Same thing for budget problems. God knows how many stupid things I have done with grocery shopping. Like spending too much on stupid food (i.e. brand name vs no name), or like buying food when I could have made it at a much better price (i.e. bread). I just bought when I went regardless of sales, and I went often because I had no plan. Now, I am much more budget friendly and with the help of this lovely tool plus fliers and lovely coupons (for all those who are laughing at me for cutting coupons, check this out) I save money instead of wasting it. I go grocery shopping once a week (sometimes), and I know what I have to get because of my meal plan (which helps me build my grocery list) and buy the fresh produce maybe twice a week.

Spending that 20 - 30 mns making my plan helped me save time and money, not to mention reduced stress.

So going on to the type of meal plans that one can do, Ive tried the weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly plans, and for myself, I have seen that its a mix between the weekly and monthly plans that work best for me. I love being able to sit down and fill out the entire month's squares on my calendar, however I am absolutely aware that that is counter-productive when it comes to saving money, considering that the flier specials are weekly. So what I do is that I have a list of the meals I can make off the top of my head. I add in 4x leftovers (once a week) to the list, Veggie Night, and Tryouts (where we try a new recipe). That gives me easily 30 meals, especially since I usually eat Sunday meals at my parents, a tradition which I love and will never give up. So I have my list of 30 meals, and then I look at the weekly specials and plug in the meals according to the specials. Then, in pencil, I fill in tentative meals for the next three weeks, and then I just have to check out the specials and switch it up according to the specials or what I already have. Simple and effective (for me anyways!)

There are tons of websites that help to plan a meal plan, if one finds it too difficult or complex. In all, there is really no reason why one cant make a meal plan. Its so worth the time and effort put into it!

Money

is the root of all my problems, and probably all evil too. Just sayin'.

Everyone else has a Wordless Wednesday, so I wanted one too

My shadow and I

I have lately been thinking of myself as two distinctive persons (or personalities). You have Cyn and Cynthia, and they have both been within me for ever, and Im suspecting it is the same case with many people wether or not they admit it.

The first, Cyn, is the person that developed after high school. This Cyn wants to make a change in the world, wants to bring about radical and positive alternatives and solutions to world hunger, prostitution, and every other unjust social cause in our community and in the world. Easily inspired, this person will do everything to have attention brought to the cause that she is supporting, and in whatever means possible. Rallies, hunger strikes, shock ads, you name it, she's done it. She's the rebel who wants to be noticed and loved or hated, as long as she is noticed. She doesn't want children, marriage, a regular job. She wants to be like the hippies and bohemians of Rent (minus the STD's) She wants to spread the word out on love and peace, and strenght as people. She wants to be an actress, not the phony Hollywood types but the ones who do live theatres and imrov. She wants dreads, and radical clothing, and pursue vegetarianism just because she feels like it. This person strives most of all to be free, of everything and everyone. Confident in herself, she loves freely and without ties to any particular person. She stands up for women's rights and supports abortion rights, and polygamy, just because she goes by the philosophy that as long as it doesnt hurt anyone, who the heck cares what it is you do? She wants to travel the world with a backpack on her back and noone really knowing where she is. This person will change the world even if it takes her death.

And then there is this Cynthia, and she is slowly developing and has been so for the past couple of years. This person is re-dedicating herself slowly to the religion of her youth and of her father, and is feeling like she is home at last. She wants children, so many of them people look at her like she's crazy. She wants to stay home and raise them herself, and greet her husband home from work with a clean house and a supper on the table. She wants to have a garden in the back of her home with vegetables and a few fruit trees. She wants to quilt and sew, and be thrifty and proud of it. She wants to work with children for the rest of her life, and is so looking forward to the day she can announce that she is expecting. She wants to cook everything, make everything by hand, and dreams of a happy home full of loud children and clean laundry. She is re-assesing herself and her beliefs and is starting to admit to herself that deep inside, she believes abortion is murder. She daydreams about her future kitchen. This person will never be happy away from home and doesnt want to make waves other than the ones in the bathtub washing a lttle one.

So how the heck can I live with these two personalities, neither giving way? Who am I, really? How can I meld the two toguether without losing myself? Who am I going to be, in 5 years?

Promised Updates

So here is the promised picture of scones + jam I made a couple of nights ago. They were deeelish!

Is there anything better than barely-out-of-the-oven apple crumble with ice cream on top? I dont think so, my friends.



Along with my healthier eating resolution, I had said I wanted to eat vegetarian once a month, which believe me its not an easy thing to pull off when I have a carnivore fiancee that I have to convince into trying new things. So I try to sneak veggie meals past him, and see what he notices and what he doesnt. Here is my next challenge, from this awesome blog I follow called Hungry Spoon : http://ahungryspoon.blogspot.com/2011/01/its-bird-its-plane-its-chickpea.html

Its supposed to be better than fried chicken which I am admittedly a little skeptical about, but we shall see! I also updated my IPOD workout selections, and trying to motivate myself to take a class like Yoga. Good news though, school ends in five months!! HALLELUJAH!



Small Thoughts

School started again, and suddenly I am back to no time for anything, stress levels are high as the ceiling, and Im feeling overwhelmed already. Had to give in this giant project and I have a presentation Sunday morning, and honestly, I am finding class redundant. We are not learning anything that I have actually had to use in my work, the projects are stupid and dont help me do anything except stress and stress. To be fully honest, if I had gone through this class at the beginning of this process, I would probably have quit. However, we are in the last stretch (literally) of this whole school business, and this is my final semester, and I am looking forward to June/July with great anticipation. I cannot imagine my life with no other engagements other than work, to have weeknights and weekends free! To be able to go to Church with my grandmother on Sundays, and to go hang out with friends on Friday or Saturday nights without thinking about school the next day? Not to have projects to hand in? Seems like a fairy tale to me.

On the flip side, I love work! I love where I work, and the work that I do. Those children are a ray of sunshine in my life, and forever surprise me with what they know and think of. And I think that it is that, over anything else, that keeps me hooked. Prior to working with children, I never kept a job longer than a year. Not because I was fired, but because I just got bored and left. Sears, UPS, whatever it was, I just learned the job, did it, and left as soon as I felt confident and rised in the workplace. But these children will never be mundane, static, flat-line. Every day is different, every day brings at least one moment of 'I love these children, I love this job'.  We were talking the other day about a Mohawk tradition, where they hold a bit of tobacco and wish for something, then burn the tobacco to send the thoughts into the heavens. I was honestly expecting things like wishing for a game console or whatever. This is what I heard: 'I hope my baby sister never gets sick', 'I hope my mom quits smoking', and 'I wish that my mom and dad could be happy toguether and live in the same house again'. Wow. That one got me good. God forbid I ever become jaded, and I miss out on these wonderful moments!

On a side note, Im off to bake some scones (thanks Amy for the recipe!) to go with the jam I just made. Will post pictures if I am successful. And probably even if I am not. Ta-ta!

Project Curtain

So in my 1 1/2, I have 3 windows, 1 frontal that is large and is covered by a blue curtain with a green bottom, and two side windows, which are small, about 28 inches long and maybe 20 inches wide. When we moved in, we put in pillows in place of curtains as a temporary fix. That was 6 months ago. I think its high time I put real curtains in, and I have my design in my head!

I purchased sheer white curtains with an embroidered leaf like design on it. Width wise, perfect fit, but lenght wise, theyre about two and a half times as long as they should be (shoot me, they were on special). So I will be planning to sew them up half ways, which would have been fine, but the curtains are too... sheer. Yes, I know, I bought them that way, but I would have thought that the embroidery would ave fogged up the view more than it actually did, especially doubled! But since it is what it is, I will have to cut up an equal square of another sheer curtain (without embroidery this time) and sew it up between the doubled layers of the curtains. That way I can keep the light aspect of the semi-sheer curtain to 'open' up my small one room appartment! I hope this works out!



My inspiration picture

                    

Poem of the month

A Dream Within A Dream by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow--
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand--
How few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep--while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?

My love/hate relationship with raisins

You know, for someone who absolutely hates raisins except in their previous fresh form, I sure do bake a lot with them! For some reason, I love the smell of the baking raisins! Weird, I know. My recent addition to my raisin recipe collection is one I had an idea from when I baked cinnamon raisin bread for my kiddies (the lovable little things I hang with for 8 hours a day). You can really see the difference when they've had their breakfast, so I bring in breakfast for them from time to time (last year I discovered instant oatmeal boxes on sale for 1$ at Wal-Mart, and we had a whole lot of full tummys for awhile after that). Back to the bread, it was bulky to carry, and so many kids wanted to slather it with butter (ew!) that I knew I had to make some changes that would make it easier to carry and more attractive to the kids without any added spreadable fat. I am going to be making these:

                   

AREN'T THEY CUTE? Now I have to test them out on the kiddies and see if they like and want them. They're made with whole wheat flour shhhh!

I'm feeling tips-y today!

Here are some tips that I learnt (the hard way) that helped me keep my home clean and tidy, and running smoothly, with a minimum of effort. Please note that some of these were developed because I currently live in a very small apartment with almost no manoeuvring space!

1. Do the dishes as soon as possible, at least once a day. Seriously, this may sound silly, or even obvious, but whether you live alone or with more than just yourself, doing the dishes at least once a day will change your outlook on the kitchen. It’s easy to say,’ But there’s only a couple of cups and plates and some utensils and a pot in there, I’ll just do them tomorrow!’ but tomorrow the pile will have doubled, and your will to do them will have lessened. Looking at a pile of dirty dishes is very discouraging, and it can be very tempting to keep putting it off. If you do the dishes every night, after supper, it will become routine and will just take 10 mns or so to do! Nothing makes me feel more awkward in my home than a sink full of dirty dishes!

2. Outline the chores that have to be done around the house. I'm not talking about things that have to be done daily, like cooking and making the bed, but rather things like laundry and washing the bathtub and cleaning mirrors, etc. Make a weekly schedule that separates these chores evenly per day, doubling them up if you feel that it is needed, for example I do laundry and bathroom twice a week. To each their own, but separating the chores like this will not only ensure that you don’t forget any by oversight, but also that you don’t feel like you don’t know what has to be done, or feeling overwhelmed by trying to do everything in one day.

3. When buying snacks to make lunches, you can do two things to save you space and time. One, empty all the snacks in one container in the pantry, thus taking out all the cardboard boxes that they are in (don’t forget to recycle!) and putting them all in one space so you can see all your choice in one go and they are easy of reach. Two, cut up the veggies and put them into individual snackie bags. I do this with carrots, celery, broccoli and cauliflower. It is much easier to do this all at once and spend 30 mns arranging your snacks than cut some a little every morning. I also tried with cucumber, but they tend to dry out fast, so I only do one cucumber at a time (fills about three baggies). I have also tried with fruits but they brown or dry out too fast, so I just take the entire fruit rather than cut it up to size. This can be applicable to nuts, cheese, whatever you take as snacks along your day!

4. Make a meal plan! My mother never made a meal plan, she had it all planned out in her head, and it worked perfectly for her. However, I found out that I cannot do that. I wasted money at the grocery store and on eating out (what a waste of money!) because I either didn’t know what to make for supper, hadn’t taken out anything to defrost, or was just too stressed to even bother trying to think about anything. I made a list of all my staple meals (those are the meals I regularly make) and added leftovers four times plus new dish twice. Then I separated everything according to grocery specials and just plugged in the dish to a day and voila! I have my monthly meal plan done. Took all of 20 mns maximum, saved so much money and stress, and before going to bed I just look at my calendar, see what is on the menu and take out whatever I need from the freezer. It also helped us empty the fridge of leftovers rather than letting it go to waste and made us discover new foods (I'm trying to plug in vegetarian meals at least once a month, wish me luck!)

5. Baskets, containers, and folders are your friends. I had clutter all the time until I discovered the beauty of containers. I now have a Christmas box with all my decorations in one spot, a folder for all my bills with paid/to be paid separation, a folder for all the receipts of everything separated in categories, a basket for unopened mail, etc etc. This took away so much of my clutter, especially papers just floating around that never seemed to have a permanent home! Organizing your space continuously and effortlessly because of having a space for everything rather than ‘Just leave it on the counter/bed/table’ will go a looong way in keeping a living space clutter free!

There is so much more, but I think that those 5 tips is what really helped me out the most over time! Hope it is helpful!

Courage

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

he leads me beside quiet waters,

he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell .

Fashionable and modest are not contradictory

As the time has gone on, and I have discovered (or should I say re-discovered) my faith in the Lord, and working towards understanding what it is to be a Christian, I have seen my wardrobe change drastically. Slowly at first, then more and more the clothes I choose to wear reflect a much more modest code. I remember wearing clothes that in all honesty I don’t know how I didn’t fall out of them. I guess it was my way of giving a big middle finger to the world, I wanted to cause outrage and shocked whisper, which is exactly what I did whether I walked in my street and neighbours saw me, or walked downtown in places that were more conservative. I apologize here and now to everyone for that, forgive the rashness of youth as they say.

Even before I started to read the Bible more often did I start to go through my wardrobe selecting my most outrageous pieces and throwing them out or giving them to friends and buying more serviceable pieces that hid more so that I did not have to move a certain way so that I didn’t flash anyone. And once I wore these clothes more often did I discover how really uncomfortable I was in shirts that had more cleavage than fabric. And I am not just speaking about physically uncomfortable, the awkwardness came from inside. I would be alone in my apartment and feel like I wanted to throw a sweater, cardigan, whatever it was over my shoulders for me to just sit and be. And when I finally admitted to myself that I just did not like cleavage tops anymore, I couldn’t believe I had eluded myself into portraying this I-dont-give-a-f#$% attitude believing to the core of me that it was OK if I disrespected my body and dressed the way I did. How does one go about pushing an instinct so far down that one doesn’t even realize it’s there anymore? I have no idea how I went about it.

So I redefined myself, my clothes and my view of what modest is. At first I researched it, read a few articles and a few books, talked to friends and family to try and see what their view of modest is. It varies so much from person to person, that I decided that if I wanted to define modest and buy clothing according to what it was, I just had to listen to myself and see what it was that made me uncomfortable vs comfortable. So it came down to this: cleavage is a no, sleeve-less is a no, shorts and skirts that are shorter than at the knee are a no, and pants that either fall down or show underwear (or shirts with bra straps) are a no. I read a few articles where they had it down pat to inches and centimetres and where the neckline should fall, etc. But I am not about to measure all my shirts and shorts. I seem to especially love shirts that have sleeves that fall to the elbow, but I don’t limit myself to those types of shirts.

I have to admit though, that I find it hard to find clothes that are feminine and chic while being modest. Just because I want to show less skin doesn’t mean I want to dress in a potato sack, much the contrary. Maybe it is because I am plus-size, and truthfully speaking I have a large bust which means many shirts that wouldn’t show inappropriately on other girls seem to demand that I put a camisole underneath. Choices seem to be limited, and what I often have to do is combine clothes that aren’t modest (like a tube top) with an open sweater or little top that would cover my shoulders. I also have a problem with swimming wear. I always wore the suits with shorts, but I find it very difficult to find a top that doesn’t create a huuuge bosom gap.

In the end, I am starting to live my belief that my body is a temple, and that I feel better about myself now that I respect myself and show it by being modest. Isn't it funny I have much better self-esteem now that I cover up than when I told the world I didn’t care and busted out from everywhere?

I am, sometimes, a hypocrite

By that I mean that I have always hated medication. I do believe the human body is mostly capable of fighting off diseases, infections, and the like (let us forgo for the moment diseases that are man-made) and what we need help with God in His great vision has seen fit to put in nature for us to use. I believe in the power of natural medicine and of the concept of good will = speedy recovery. Physical and emotional environment has much to do with how we get sick and how we get better, so what we surround ourselves with (like fast food vs healthy food, or exercise vs couch potato attitude, or harmful cleaning chemicals vs natural/homemade cleaners) has a huge impact on how we feel. Which is why I personally detest having to take medication. I don't refute their extraordinary ability to 'heal' us, and their use in our modern society. However, they are entirely man made, filled with things we created, and in my personal experience, lead to the vicious circle of

'get sick = take medication which kills our natural immune system =  prone to being sick easier = get sick'

That being said, I have asthma, and it has never been well controlled. Not for lack of trying, the doctors pushed on me all kinds of medication, pumps and pills, in an effort to regulate my breathing. But nothing worked long term, and over the years my asthma has deteriorated my quality of life. Most people try to push on me the idea that if I exercise more, asthma will go away. However, that statement being very true and one that I fully acknowledge and advocate, they do not understand my situation. My asthma had screwed up my lungs so bad that when I changed atmospheres (for example going from inside to outside) I had to take my emergency pump. That equaled about 9-12 shots of emergency pump per day, when you are only supposed to take it once a week. Now try to tell me that going for a brisk walk every morning, noon, and night was going to do me good. I simply could not do it, which in turn made my asthma worst. Another evil circle.

When I went to see my doctor two weeks ago, he listened to my breathing, and told me that I wheezed enough to be taken into emergency treatment at the hospital (wheezing results from the airways of the lungs narrowing as a result of inflammation, making it more difficult for air to flow through the lung). I told him that I had become so used to this that I didn't consider this breathing out of the ordinary at all. He then prescribed a new pump which I was basically going to test. It combined two medications, Flovent and Cortizone, and (GASP) used the natural powers of eucalyptus to strengthen the medication. Well Ill be.

Let me just tell you, whoever made that pump is an absolute genius. I have him or her to thank for being able to sleep at night without waking up gasping for breath. Before I started taking that pump, I had not slept a full night for maybe 6-8 months, because if I had it would have meant dying of suffocation halfway through. I have almost completely stopped all other medication except for this one new pump, and it feels so good. Best of all, I took a walk yesterday. And the day before that. And the day before that too. I can actually walk around my block without having to call 9-1-1. Its beautiful, and I feel so grateful! Now I can do exercise to eventually eradicate asthma from my life, and not to mention lose weight.

Truly, God is good!

This is how I welcomed New Year's first morning



Blueberry/Carrot/Zuchini/Walnut Whole Wheat Breakfast Loaf



Along with a very berry smoothie. And it tasted delicious and healthy. Here's to a year of radical changes in the care I give to myself so that I can in turn take better care of others!