"Rawberry" Milk

Well...we've been trying to make a conscious effort around here to consume less processed foods and refined sugar and to eat more whole, raw foods.  Today I had an epiphany.  It probably will seem glaringly obvious to everybody else, but for some reason I hadn't thought of this yet.  Last month I made a whole bunch of strawberry freezer jam, but it turned out a lot more like strawberry syrup because I used WAY less sugar than the recipe called for.  I've been using it to blend into smoothies, on pancakes, things like that.  But today...I had the brilliant idea to blend it with milk and...voila!  Instant strawberry milk, made with real raw strawberries and no high fructose corn syrup!  If you want specifics...I used 1 quart of whole raw milk, 2/3 cup strawberry freezer "syrup", and blended for a few seconds in the blender.  So easy and so yummy!

Jesus is Loving Me

We all know the song..."yes, Jesus loves me..."  But tonight I just read such an inspiring article in the latest bulletin from Gospel For Asia, (the ministry through which our kids sponsor a child) that caused me to think a little more about that love of Jesus.  Here's an excerpt:

"Devanand had skin cancer that was eating away at his flesh.  Doctors gave him a slim hope for survival--and only if they amputated his affected leg and arm.  When Mary [a missionary] visited his home and saw his condition, she wept for him.

'This is possible with Jesus,' she encouraged Devanand.  'Do you believe?'

'I am believing,' he responded.

Mary prayed, and soon afterward, Devanand began to feel relief from his pain.  He was brought to Mary's prayer center, and she continued to visit him, praying for him and cleaning his open wounds.  Over a period of a few weeks, Devanand was completely healed and has been free of cancer ever since.

'I really understood that Jesus is loving me so much,' he muses.  'So I am thankful to Jesus for His healing.  The rest of my life I just want to live for Him.  And sister Mary really showed me the love of Jesus.'

What a difference just that slight change in wording makes.  It's really easy to say, "Jesus loves me."  It's on t-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers, you name it.  I don't want to downplay the significance of the phrase, because it is true, of course!  Jesus loves us.  But turn it into Jesus is loving me and suddenly that love comes alive.  Not only that once-for-all, unchanging kind of love, but the kind of love that is shared personally, moment by moment, with Someone who knows you intimately.   And this man, Devanand, appeared to understand that Jesus was loving him even before he was healed.  Jesus is loving us when we are sick and when we are well.  Jesus is loving me when I am being a great mom and when I utterly fail.  Jesus is loving me right at this very moment and waits for me to acknowledge that He's there, ready to comfort, heal, encourage; to satisfy every need if I would just open my heart to His right-this-minute love.

"And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."  Ephesians 3:17-19

If the Lord spoke to your heart like it did mine when you read that story, or if you have questions about Jesus, the Bible, or Christianity, please leave me a comment or contact me through google friend connect.  I would love to have a conversation with you about the love of my savior, Jesus Christ.  Blessings, everyone.

 

 

 

Around the New House, In Pictures

Flowers in the desperately overgrown (but well-planned) rock garden near the old barn.

Wildflowers...anybody know what they are?  Haven't gotten around to finding out.

Ripening wild blackberries growing in the roofless stone barn.

Young apples on old trees.  I think they might turn out to be Granny Smiths.

Somehow seeing my books on bookshelves (accompanied by Beanie cat) makes the house feel like home.

The boys did practically nothing except catch snakes for about 2 days straight.  Apparently that roofless stone barn is a regular pit of vipers...or garters, at least.

One half of the pole barn currently housing all our extra junk...er, things we are blessed to own, I mean.  Other half is just as full.  Planning on huge ol' sale in August!  This is the primary reason I haven't written any posts lately...

The boys found a crate of old electronics and spent a whole afternoon taking  apart ancient laptops with screwdrivers.  Seriously mamas, if you need a cheap activity to occupy young boys for a good long time, this is it.

My silhouette art in its new home on the wall!

View from behind the old barn...beautiful in every season so far!

Wild grapes, which grow all over the property.  I hear wild grapes are really easy to make into wine...I think I smell an experiment coming this fall:)

Fitness Friday! 30 Day Weight Loss Challenge Update...

Welcome to Fitness Friday!  For the next month or so I'll be giving you an update every Friday on how my personal "Weight Loss Challenge" is going.  The last week and a half has been pretty good...I've done pretty well at sticking to my diet guidelines, and exercising consistently.  Blogging about it helps--I don't want to have to come back here and tell you I was lazy!  And thankfully, the numbers are starting to reflect the hard work!

Current weight: 150 lbs (halfway to goal #1 already!)
Waist: 30" (1 inch down)
Upper arm: 11 3/4"
Hips: 42" (this is my biggest problem area...takes REALLY hard work to see change there!)
Thigh: 24 1/2"

The first week of exercising was great.  I had tons of energy and was able to work out at a pretty high intensity level.  This week felt harder...like my muscles were in protest.  I don't know too much about sports nutrition, but I'm wondering if that first week my body was running on excess stored carbs.  With that "extra" depleted, I'd love to see some of those fat stores start to disappear too:)  Interesting thought.  The human body is amazing!  One of the best things about paying attention to your body and your nutrition is learning about how it works and how best to "feed" it.  It feels good to have some control in this area!

Skin Care Giveaway from The Farmstead Apothecary!

Time for my first giveaway here at Domestic Reformation!  I really can't wait for you to try these products--they are simply the best skin care products I have used.  Jennifer at The Farmstead Apothecary is giving away a Lavender and Organic Evening Primrose Oil Moisturizer (my favorite!) and a Natural Lip Balm (your choice of scent).  Here's the description of her moisturizer:

Moisturize, hydrate and pamper your dry skin with this lovely face cream, one of our best sellers! 

Lavender is soothing for all skin types and has a wonderful, old fashioned, flowery-herbal aroma. The cold pressed, organic evening primrose oil adds a skin rejuvenating, anti-aging, healing quality to this amazing cream with it's high amounts of fatty acids. But, the best part is, of course, our goat's milk, full of skin softening lipids and exfoliating lactic acid.

This is a wonderful, light-weight moisturizer.  I've never been a big moisturizer fan because my skin tends to be oily and everything always felt so heavy on my face, but this cream is great.  Plus, it smells lovely!  My skin care routine now includes just washing my face with one of her goats' milk soaps and applying the moisturizer.  So simple, and it works.  I can't say enough good things about her products--I have loved everything I have tried.  I  routinely use her shampoo, bar soap, body lotion, and am about to try her Sun Drench Body Butter. Check out her shop on etsy for all her wonderful products!

Now for the giveaway details...here's how to enter.  Please leave a comment to this post for each entry so I can keep track of how many entries you have!  The winner will be randomly selected on Tuesday, August 16.

1.  Mandatory entry: follow my blog and leave a comment telling me you're following.
2.  Become a fan of The Farmstead Apothecary on facebook: The Farmstead Apothecary
3.  Share this giveaway on facebook.
4.  Share this giveaway on your own blog (worth 2 entries!)
5.  Follow Jennifer's blog at www.farmsteadorganics.blogspot.com
6.  Make a purchase from The Farmstead Apothecary on etsy (4 entries!) www.farmsteadorganics.etsy.com

Don't forget to leave a comment for each separate entry.  Otherwise it's going to be really hard to track how many entries you have!

*Disclaimer: I am not getting paid in any way for this review or giveaway, and the opinions expressed are completely my own.  I think for some kind of legal reason I have to tell you that.  Also, sorry mom, but the giveaway is not open to my immediate family.  But I'll gladly share my moisturizer with you if you ever want some:)

Moving In...

It's finally here...move-in date is set for Saturday!  I probably won't be blogging much this week, but I really thought I should at least get some pics up of the house before (and in the midst of) the moving-in chaos.  Everything has been turning out really nice--very pleased!

My thrifty kitchen: purchased stove, fridge, washer and dryer on craigslist for $600 for the set!  And see that lovely, HUGE sink?  I found that at the Habitat for Humanity Restore for $30...so excited about that one!  Plywood makes cheap, natural-looking countertops.  Just kidding!  These are just temporary until we embark on our concrete countertop project.

Before the chaos.

Mild chaos.  That's my kitchen right there in those crates and boxes.

My bedroom.

My spiffy, shiny bathroom, thanks to the help of my Mom and Aunt who cleaned it up for us last week!  Still looking for the perfect mirror.

Boys' empty bedroom...

The car bed!  Boy #3 has been SO excited to sleep in this again!  And our beautiful bunk bed Dan built that probably won't fit in the bedroom. 

30 Day Weight Loss Challenge

I've had enough.  Enough of looking in the mirror and saying, "That's not my body".  Enough squeezing into jeans that barely fit because I refuse to buy new bigger ones.  And most importantly, enough filling my stomach with empty calories (at best) and harmful junk "food" at worst.  After boy #4 was born, I did pretty well losing the baby weight at first.  I managed to get down to somewhere around 147 lbs. just with the help of nursing, and I was good with that.  Keeping a few extra pounds on while nursing is a good thing.  Then he started weaning himself sooner than I expected, and by the time boy #4 was 11 months he was pretty much done nursing altogether.  And guess what...from about March until now, my weight steadily climbed up to 155 with no sign of slowing, putting me into the "overweight" category for my height.  It's time to do something.  My goal is to drop 10 pounds in the next 30 days.

In general, I believe in moderation.  A bowl of ice cream now and then isn't going to kill me.  Snacking on chips and salsa isn't all that bad.  But when it's a BIG bowl every night plus a whole bunch of chips and salsa right before bed...that's just getting out of control.  And one thing I've discovered since having kids is that, for whatever reason, I no longer have much self control when it comes to food.  I can't do moderation.  To really see any change I have to do something drastic.

Now, don't go and get nervous for me.  I'm not going to starve myself or anything (I'll show you what I ate for breakfast in a minute!)  My "diet" goes something like this:

1.  Aim for 1500-1600 calories a day
2.  Cut out pretty much all refined/added sugar
3.  Avoid excess carbs.  I know from experience that I have more lasting energy and feel much better when I get most of my calories from proteins and "good" fats, with a hearty dose of veggies to fill me up.
4.  Record what I eat in an online food diary, at least until things are a little more under control.  Having to write down every last thing makes me think twice!

I also plan on exercising daily.  I've been using The Biggest Loser: The Workout - Boot Camp (already on level 2!), plus doing pilates and fitness ball exercises for my abs and core.

I'll also be keeping you up to date once a week on my "stats".  I'm just as excited to see how these numbers change as my weight!  Here's my starting point:
Weight: 155
Waist: 31"
Hips: 42"
Thigh: 25"
Upper Arm: 12"

Anyone care to join me?  My total weight loss goal is 20 pounds, but I'm going to focus on tackling the first 10 right now.  If you want to make a similar decision, please leave me a comment and tell me your goals!  I'd love to have some extra help and support!  Also, here are a couple links you may find useful:

Online food diary/calorie counter
Free Nutrition Type Quiz --very informative, and was really accurate for me.

And, as promised, here's what I ate for breakfast!  I can't really take credit for the idea...I saw it on Food Network a few days ago.  And, by my calculations, it's only about 250 calories a serving!

"Deconstructed" Sweet Potato Hash
Serves 2

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet onion, sliced
1 T. butter
water
salt
tarragon
2 eggs

Melt 1/2 T. butter n a small frying pan, then arrange sweet potatoes in a single layer. Cover with water and bring to a simmer.  Cook gently until water has all evaporated and test doneness (about 20-30 minutes).  Near the end of the cooking time, sprinkle with tarragon.  If necessary, add a little extra water if they need a little more time. Remove to serving plates.

Meanwhile in a separate pan, heat remaining 1/2 T. butter over medium heat.  Add onion and cook slowly over medium heat while sweet potatoes cook.  Put on plate at the same time as potatoes.

Fry two eggs using whatever method you like and add one to each plate.  Season it all to taste and enjoy!

I like my eggs over medium.  Yum!