April 29, 2011

Friday FarmGirls@Heart ... University FarmGirl Weekend!

What happens when you take a girl with a country-life-heart
and put her in the
uber-suburbs of Chicago? Read on!

Today I am not much of a FarmGirl, other than that I am in my favorite role of loving and devoted homeschooling Mama! Nathan, Dad and I are rolling down to the University of Illinois for the Illinois High School Math Team State Finals! Go team, go! Ours is a team comprised of homeschooled kids. They are defending State Champions...3 years running! The team split into 2 teams this year, so both are a little "thin," but more kids get a chance to go to State this way. We are enjoying it, whether they repeat again or not :-)

The competition is on Saturday, but this afternoon we are attending a University info day for the College of Engineering, which is what Nathan wants to go into once he graduates next May (2012). One of the young men from our church is an engineering student there, and we bribed him with the offer of a free dinner at Olive Garden if he'd show us around after the University's info session is over. You can get a lot by offering a college guy good food, LOL! So it's a full weekend.

Bryan, our TRUE and REAL LIFE FarmBoy, is holding down the fort at home. He's got a couple bags of mushroom compost in his trunk, which he'll be working into our vegetable beds over at Christine's house. It is supposed to be quite nice here in Chicagoland today...a welcome change from the still winter-like weather we've been experiencing. It's been so cold...the shrubs have little leaves on them, but the trees are just now beginning to show flowers, and even that only on the magnolias, mainly. I sure hope it'll be spring soon...it's discouraging to have nothing but cold and grey! (It's only been in the 40's daytime, 30's at night.)

Here's a picture of my garden in the summer...it gives me hope knowing it should be soon! How's the weather in your neck of the woods?

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April 28, 2011

And The Winner Is...


2 lovely ladies entered this contest...I thank them both! And the winner is...

Rashel, from "A Woman's Walk With God."

Congratulations, Rashel! You have until Saturday, April 28th, at 11:59pm to send me your mailing address (I contacted you in a comment form on your blog). If I don't hear from you by then, the giveaway will be awarded to the other entrant...so email me soon!

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Sharing A New Contest...Raw Organic Honey!


Joy from Graceful Words is hosting a giveaway contest for a jar of Tropical Traditions Raw Honey! Click HERE for details. (Contest ends May 4th.)

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April 15, 2011

Friday FarmGirls at Heart...Spring Cleaning

What happens when you take a girl with a country-life-heart
and put her in the
uber-suburbs of Chicago? Read on!

In March, I started a post for a meme I discovered at Leslie's blog, "Goodbye House, Hello Home." The Monday meme was called "Purge Party."

I wanted to participate, and had just the right project...my linen closet...but right after I took the "before" photos of my closet, life overtook me, and I didn't get to it.

Until now.

But now, Leslie's Purge Party has ended, so I'll just call it what Farm-Girls have called it for generations: Spring Cleaning! I was inspired by Leslie's photo-tour of her linen closet to do this project. Here are the before and afters:
BEFORE:


DURING:
Clear out the closet, vacuum out the dust bunnies:

Remove the particleboard shelves (they're HEAVY!)...

...and cover them in nice Contac Paper:
I moved Nathan's diabetes equipment/supplies into a small ratan cabinet in the upstairs guest bedroom (still a work in progress to get them all organized, but I'm letting him take the reins on this one, so he can quickly find everything he needs):

To the computer to make labels for the linen closet shelves:

AFTER:

This one is comical...it's my "medicines" basket; in the cleanout phase, I found EIGHT BOXES...all opened and partially used...of cold/flu medicine! It reminded me of that flu virus that went through our whole church, the one that started with a day of fever, then wicked sore throat, then the goopy stage, then a cough that lasted a month. We were constantly going out for Dayquil/Nyquil, whoever was healthiest-enough to drive! It got tossed into the mess of the linen closet, where it was not seen again...and thus replaced!

The "First Aid" Basket (wow, do we have a LOT of BandAids!):
"Mom, can you buy me a new toothbrush / bottle of shampoo / bar of soap?"  "No need to, dearest...check the Toiletry Basket, there are lots of them in there!"

Space left for Misc. Stuff, like tissues, hair dryers, curler sets, whatever...

Soooo...how's your spring cleaning coming? What are you working on this time of year? Even though the "Purge Party" meme is over, I do encourage you to visit Leslie's blog and dig into her ideas for cleaning up, cleaning out, and turning your house into a home. Another blog I love that inspires me greatly in this area is Mrs. White's "The Legacy of Home." I highly recommend both to get you geared up for spring cleaning and loving homemaking!

SerenityintheSuburbs Be sure to enter my Spring Stampin' Up Stamps Giveaway! Click the button (at left) to learn how to enter!
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April 14, 2011

Thursday Tea Talk with Ruth (4/14/11)

Click the graphic above to join me and our lovely hostess, Ruth,
for Tea Talk each Thursday!


I'm having...Decaf Dunkin' Donuts coffee with blueberry flavor. I order it there, black, then bring it home and transfer it into my own mug with my own organic cream. (I no longer want to drink Dunkin' Donuts' "creamer.") My mug is the french pottery mug my sweet sister gave me for Christmas. It's the one I'm holding in my avatar!

I'm feeling...good! I accomplished a TON of work yesterday. (See my "Purge Party" post...click HERE*.)
*NOTE: If you're reading this on Thursday morning or around noon, the link is not yet operational...I'm still writing that post! Stop back later today!
On my mind...Planning, planning, planning for an upcoming trip to Florida!

"Listen to counsel and accept discipline,
That you may be wise the rest of your days.
Many plans are in a man's heart,
But the counsel of the LORD will stand.
What is desirable in a man is his kindness,
And it is better to be a poor man than a liar.
The fear of the LORD leads to life,
So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil
."
(Proverbs 19:20-23)

My silly dog, who always likes to come to Tea Talk.


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April 8, 2011

Friday FarmGirls@Heart...My Journey to Honest Food (Part 3)

What happens when you take a girl with a country-life-heart
and put her in the
uber-suburbs of Chicago? Read on!

When you discover lumps and bumps in places where they shouldn't be, it has a way of re-ordering your life. The last 3 weeks have been at times anxious, and at other times very peaceful and settled. In the end, after 3 weeks of eating mostly raw and 95% vegan, the lumps are completely gone, and the Dr. who examined me said she couldn't feel anything at all. Praise the Lord! This is the second time in my life that I have gone through this sort of thing, and both times, the "raw food fast" was present while the lumps disappeared.

I am using the Hallelujah Diet as the basis of my personal plan. I know that some of you like "The Maker's Diet." I have read it, and, simply put, I choose Hallelujah. To each her own! I do modify Hallelujah to include a meat protein once or twice a week. My entire family does not do this diet with me, and I find that I feel good doing this modification anyway. The meat that I do eat is organic, and in the case of beef, it is also 100% grass-fed AND grass-finished. (I will discuss grass-finishing next week.) If I could not get this kind of beef, I wouldn't eat it. Period.

For those who've never "juiced" before, I thought I'd do a photo tour of my morning! I drink fresh carrot juice, and then add another veggie to it for extra flavor and healing power. Lately that has been kale.

Organic veggies are rinsed and trimmed (no need to peel them if they're organic):


Then they're fed into the Champion Juicer:

Juice goes through a screen and drips into my container, and pulp is pushed out the other end into my bowl:

Somebody watches eagerly:

Carrot pulp tastes sweet, and is a favorite treat!

Now I add Kale to the juicer:

Once all the juicing is finished, I strain the juice to remove any remaining pulp, so there is nothing but easily absorbable juice which requires no "digestion." This is to allow all the healthy nourishment of the vitamins and compounds to be completely absorbed into the bloodstream (we're not looking for fiber here...that comes later in the day):

I drink an 8 oz. glass right away, then I pour the rest into 8 oz. jelly jars...all the way to the very top, so no oxygen will be in there when the cap goes on (thus no oxidation to break down the vitamins and nutrient compounds):

Capped juice is stored in the fridge, and becomes my mid-afternoon snack:

Next, the clean-up begins! First, take apart the machine:

Next, wash the parts in cool water:

Wipe down the Champion:

Last, lubricate the rotating blade assembly (I use pure coconut butter...it doesn't get sticky like olive or vegetable oil does, and it smells nice!):

If I am uninterrupted and my countertop is clean and the sink is empty and roomy for me to work quickly, the whole process takes about 20 minutes. If family is around or my sink space is minimized, it'll take me about 30 minutes.

This is my typical lunch...the fiber in my diet does NOT come from juice...it comes from raw fruits and veggies:


SerenityintheSuburbsDon't forget to check out and enter my FREE SPRINGTIME GIVEAWAY!!! You could win a set of four rubber stamps from Stampin' Up!


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