Elevation of the Holy Cross

Each year on September 14 the Orthodox Church celebrates the feast of “The Elevation of the Honorable and Life-giving Cross.” This is one of the great feasts of the Church year, and one which has an important historical background. To learn more about this important feast day visit here: http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=88

May you all have a blessed Feast Day.

My New Hobby

A lot of my Texas friends already know that I am very into my food! I love to eat, but not just any food, but good, full, rich, nutrient-dense foods. What a lot of my family and friends elsewhere may not know is that learning how to prepare these foods has become my newest hobby. It may be surprising to some who remember me as a picky eater, or remember my days of eating disorders, but I have found a way to connect with my food and feel good about the choices that I am making in my diet. Before I share one of my favorite snacks (and how to prepare it), I want to share some movie titles that are a must see and a blog everyone should visit.

First, you must watch The Future of Food and then King Corn, then visit www.foodrenegade.com. Just so you know, I was already changing our diet before watching the movies, so no, it wasn't a scare tactic that changed things.

Actually, what did change things was finding out in January that my daughter has Celiac disease. She can't have anything containing gluten and the funny thing is that before we knew what was wrong with her I kept feeding her wheat products believing that they were healthy. Well, for Celiacs it is horrible (and for many other people as well). Gluten can have an effect on many conditions, including endometriosis and Restless Legs Syndrome.


Now, back to one of my favorite snacks: Crispy Nuts
You should always properly prepare nuts before eating. By soaking nuts and seeds, you release toxic enzyme inhibitors AND increase the life and vitality contained within them! So, how to prepare them:

1.Soak almonds or walnuts in water with 1 TBS salt for 12 hours.

2. Drain and dehydrate on a baking sheet in a warm oven*
until crispy (about 12 hours).

You can do this with virtually any nut; cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, and pine nuts are all particularly good!

*To dehydrate in the oven, set oven at lowest setting and keep the door slightly ajar if over 110 degrees. You can also use a dehydrator or if it is warm enough set outside in the sun.

A New School Year has Begun

We have officially started our school year! FJ is in 9th grade, JC is in 4th/5th grade and JP is in 1st/2nd grade. Yes, only homeschoolers can give various grade levels. This year is different for many reasons. First with a high school student in the house, I am making sure that we don't veer from our schedule too much. FJ has a pretty big schedule. She is taking Early American Literature & Writing(Eng I), Algebra I, Physical Science (w/ labs), Church History, American History, Greek, PE, Art and Music. The boys have a lighter schedule but still pretty vigorous.
We have been blessed to have several friends that we school with. FJ has two other girls that we do Eng I and Physical Science with 2 days a week. She has a couple of friends that she does PE (horseback riding)with every week. The boys do science with their friends once a week and will be doing art with a couple of other friends. We do miss our friends who recently moved to Germany. They were an integral part of our schooling and it won't be the same without them this year. Some of the pictures that I have posted show all the kids having a good time schooling together.

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna

The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna is a child's treasure with 33 pages full of animal facts.The pages are large and colorful and full of information about really interesting animals, some you have heard of and some you may not know. Along with the book comes a DVD of Jack Hanna bloopers.
We were very excited to receive this book. My kids ages 14, 9 and 7 have always been animal enthusiasts. They were very interested in reading about animals such as the Naked Mole Rat, the Tasmanian Devil, the Lion and the Blue-Footed Booby. I found the book itself to be a great book and very worthwhile. The DVD was however not as impressive as the book. Overall this is a very good find. Kid's of all ages, including us adults, will love reading about these animals in this book.
For more information: http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=1400311403