Thankful For Health

Today I...

Ate salmon cakes and grits for breakfast,

Lifted weights,

Showered,

Ate a peanut butter sandwich and banana for lunch,

Browsed the computer,

Cleaned the house,

and napped.

 

Why am I sharing such useless, normal, day to day activities? One word...

 

Influenza.

 

My dear friends, Justin and I are recovering from 4 days of...

 

Fever,

Debilitating body aches,

Eye Pain,

Dripping in sweat but freezing,

Hacking our lungs out,

Total loss of appetite,

and a headache.

 

Oh. We've drank more elderberry syrup, Echinacea tea, and bone broth than we ever care to drink again.

 

So, today I am more thankful than ever to be able to accomplish these normal, and seemingly mundane tasks. In fact, I am even more thankful for overall good health that the LORD has blessed us with.

What are you thankful for this Monday?

 

Have a wonderfully blessed day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Angel

An Anniversary, Grassfed Beef, and Herbs

April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go. ~Christopher Morley, John Mistletoe

 

How have you dear folks been of late? I pray that your days have been full of warming spring days, plenty of time soaking in some much needed Vitamin D while admiring the beauty of blooming flowers and budding leaves. :)

 

Life has been very well here in NC. There has not been anything too out of the ordinary. Just daily life, continuing it's ebb and flow. And this shy country gal, holding on and enjoying the blessings GOD has bestowed.

 

Like cooking breakfast for supper...

 

Celebrating our second wedding anniversary with a beach visit...

 



 

 

And stopping by our church on the way back, to continue last years tradition of recreating our first kiss.



 

I got to spend a day shopping with my mom...



 

And just about did a victory dance upon finding local grass fed beef at a local farmers market, for an AMAZING price. No joke, I had to use every bit of self control I have to keep from skipping and squealing... :D

 

Herbs were another purchase from the farmers market.



 

What a blessing it is, for it to FINALLY be warm enough to plant...



 

and spruce up the front porch.



 

 

We adopted five little Dominique chicks! :D

1 day old

2 weeks old

And words cannot express the excitement of owning chickens again!

“I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder

 

What sweet, simple things of everyday life are you enjoying this spring?

 

Have a wonderfully blessed day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Angel

I Made Soap!

I finally completed a project I have been wanting to do for years now. I made soap!

 

It's been on my bucket list since I was in high school, but I have never made it a priority. With my husbands encouragement, and an ever increasing desire to eliminate toxins, as much as possible from our daily lives (and be thrifty too), I set out two weeks ago to learn as much as I could about cold process soap making.

 

And discovered the basic process to be fairly simple. I think the most difficult part of the process was deciding which recipe to try first! :P

 

I decided on an "Oatmeal Lavender" recipe, from "The Simple Dollar" website. You can find the recipe here.

 

So, here are some pics from the process...

 

All the ingredients laid out...

 

 

Oils heating up...

 

 

Lavender buds and oatmeal added to oils...

 

 

No pics of the lye/water solution. I figured it would be a good idea to be TOTALLY focused while dealing with such a caustic substance. Neither did I get pics of it tracing. But here is the soap, poured into molds, ready to be covered and sit for 24 hours...

 

 

After what felt like almost the longest 24 hours of my life, I finally got to check it, and found it was ready to cut...

 

 

Yes, I did this in my P.J.s. (Sunday afternoons are meant for P.J.s, in my book...)...

 

 

 

All cut, and laid out to dry for 3-4 weeks...

 

This week, I hope to make a batch of Calendula infused soap. I think it is safe to say, I'm going to be addicted to this soap making thing. :D

Have you ever made soap? If so, do you have a favorite recipe?

Have a wonderfully blessed day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!
Angel

This post has been linked to...

Lifelong Commitment to Health

 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

I’ve been going through a transformation in my life over the past year. I have begun a journey that has led to a lifelong commitment to health. I have resolved to become more aware of the type of nutrition I am giving my body, as well as Justin’s.

Ever since high school I have been very self-conscious of my weight. I gained quite a bit between the ages of 15 and 17, and began to hate how I looked. The January after I turned 17, I said no more and put myself on a strict low calorie diet, and started exercising daily.

I lost the weight and loved how I felt. And ever since then, I have exercised off and on, and have not allowed myself to gain much weight.

In December of 2012, Justin proposed to me. Knowing that I was going to be standing in front of A LOT of people in a few months for my wedding, made me very determined to be “slim and trim”.

While I did lose weight, and was quite pleased with how I looked on my wedding day, I look back now and realize I did not go about my weight loss the healthiest of ways. I exercised harder than ever before, and cut way back with meals, focusing on a very low calorie diet…

The first few months of marriage, I began to eat a little more. And unfortunately I cut back on exercise. With that decision, the scale started to creep up and I started feeling sluggish. So, I once again upped my exercise and cut back on calories, never once giving a thought to what my body truly needed.

When Justin and I were first engaged, I started charting my menstrual cycle. I have continued with that habit into our marriage. With that being said I knew very well how high and long my post ovulation basal body temp would be. In about our third month of marriage, that temperature stayed higher and longer than I had ever known it to. I began to suspect I was pregnant…

With that thought I knew that a healthy lifestyle was going to be critical in order for me to have the most natural pregnancy that I have always desired. I immediately began researching the best foods for pregnancy and decided to drastically change my diet. I wanted to provide my child with the best start to life as possible.

But within a few days, my temperature dropped, and I found out I was not pregnant.

More than likely, I will never know if I was pregnant until the day I reach heaven’s shores. But I do know one thing, I will NEVER be caught off guard again when it comes to taking care of my body, for my future children.

As I said at the start of this post, I have become so much more aware of what food I fuel mine and Justin’s bodies with. I now no longer see food as a “calorie” but as fuel for our days, and whether or not it will be helpful or harmful to our bodies.

I’ve switched to primarily organic fruits and veggies, as well as meat. I’ve done a ton of research into herbal remedies, and use them on a daily basis.

It’s not been the easiest thing in my life, beginning this journey of a lifelong commitment to health. But it has been a joy. Joyful and exciting, because it gives me a greater sense of awe and wonder at how the LORD has provided everything that we need to sustain our bodies in nature.

It’s also been exciting in the fact that no longer has exercise become a chore to lose weight, but a pleasant habit that makes me feel great! No, I don’t enjoy it every day, but I know that it is what is best not only for my body, but for the children I hope one day to bear.

I do realize that no matter what steps I may take to keep my body healthy, anything can happen when it comes to child bearing. I have just become more determined than ever to take care of this holy temple the LORD has blessed me with, and to do so for HIS honor and glory alone.

 

¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? ²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 

 

So what are your thoughts on health?

 

Have a wonderfully blessed day everyone! Thanks for stopping by!

Angel

This post has been linked to The Modest Mom Blog's Modest Monday's

 

"No, Just Learning"

I went to the library today. I've been wanting to check out some books on herbal remedies and child birth. I found fairly easily what I wanted, and checked them out. Well, while I was walking out the door the librarian asked me with a huge grin on her face "Who's expecting?". I politely told her no one, I am just interested in learning about child birth. With a big ole' smile she says "Oh, that's interesting...".

I guess to most it would seem odd that a young, single woman would be checking out books on childbirth practices. From what I can gather, most women really do not look into childbirth practices, child rearing, or anything pertaining to that subject until they are faced with it.

I've made a decision in my life. I am not going to wait until the last minute to cram for what will probably be the biggest test of my life. The test of parenthood.

No, I do not foresee myself getting married, and having children anytime soon. But I do believe with all of my heart the LORD does have that in store for my future. I believe this because of how HE has led me to stay at home daughter hood.

HE has blessed me with this very special season of life. Not just as a stay at home daughter, but as a single young woman. A season of serving HIM and learning for HIM. By researching these subjects now, (while I don't have the responsibilities of a house hold to run) I can use the extra time that has been given, to prepare for the future.

It's kind of like the English tests you had in school. You did not wait until the day of the test to start studying the terms, and rules. (that is if you were wise...) Why would I wait until I'm pregnant with raging hormones, and life to deal with, to learn about what is going on inside of me and what will go on? Wouldn't it be easier to learn now, while I don't have those issues to consider?

It reminds me of that verse in Proverbs 31:27-

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.

Wouldn't I be looking well to the ways of my future household, making it run as smoothly as possible, with the LORD's guidance, by learning all I can now?

I think so. What about you?

Have a wonderfully blessed day! Thanks for stopping by!
Angel