Simple Chicken and Potatoes

4 pieces of chicken (I used all legs, but any cut would do.)
4 medium potatoes, cubed
salt, pepper, cumin and allspice to taste (an even sprinkling of all will do).
2-3 TBS olive oil
1/8-1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

Heat oven to 350F. Place chicken and potatoes (skinned or not) into a deep baking dish. Season and coat with oil and lemon juice. Stir potatoes and turn chicken to make sure all sides are well coated. Cover with foil and bake for 30min. Remove foil and increase temperature to 400F and bake another 30min or until potatoes and chicken are brown. Serve.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have enjoyed the holiday season and are looking forward to the new year. I can't believe it is almost here. I am not even used to writing 2007 yet! Yikes.

The Kids Love to Sing

My kids are starting to sing. Gabriel loves Jingle Bells and he sings it pretty well. He also likes Twinkle Little Star and sings along with his favorite cartoons. Andrew's favorite song is Old McDonald, which goes "Cow EIEIO, Cow EIEIO ...."

Fresh Tomato Salad

This is a very easy and yummy salad.

Tomatoes
Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Salt and Pepper
Feta Cheese
Fresh Parsley
Kalamata or Black Olives (chopped or sliced)

Slice tomatoes in thick slices and arrange on a plate. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinegar over them. Salt and pepper to taste. Allow to sit on counter top at least 1 hour for flavors to mingle. Add feta cheese, chopped olives and minced parsley. Serve. (If you don't have an hour for the salad to sit, just prepare everything and serve.)

Saag Recipe

Saag Recipe

This is a wonderful Indian dish that can be made with chicken or paneer cheese.

1 block paneer (cubed) or 3 lbs boneless chicken (skinned, cubed)
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 large onions, minced
1 can crushed tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes (skinned and cubed)
1 inch ginger (peeled, minced)
4 TBS milk, yogurt, sour cream or heavy cream
3-4 bunches fresh spinach or swiss chard
2 TBS butter or ghee
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
2 big cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
oil for frying
1 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Fry chicken in oil for 3-4 minutes and set aside. If using paneer, brown in oil and set aside. Boil spinach until soft, drain and set aside. Brown garlic, onions and ginger in oil. Add tomatoes, salt, cayenne, coriander, tumeric, cloves and cardamom pods. Cook for 10 min. on low. Add chicken or cheese and sour cream and cook for 10 min. Add spinach garam masala and cook for 15 min. Add butter and serve with rice or quinoa.

A variation is to add the spinach before the chicken or paneer to the other ingredients and then blend them into a thick sauce. Then add chicken or paneer and sour cream.

Merry Christmas, I love you

Gabriel loves the Diego videos, so I got him the 'Diego Saves Christmas' video yesterday. Somewhere during the video the characters say "Merry Christmas, I love you." Gabriel has heard me say "I love you," but he has never said it back until yesterday. Now he goes around telling everyone "Merry Christmas, I love you." It is pretty cute.

Papa's Pizza

I cut Todd's hair a few days ago and since the clipper set was out, I asked him to help me cut Gabriel's hair too. He truly hates having it cut. Usually, one person has to hold him down while the other person trims it. Todd didn't want to use the clippers, so he tried to trim the hair above Gabriel's ears with scissors. Bad idea. Gabriel was holding still and it was going really well, until Todd cut his ear. I'm sure you saw that coming. Anyway, it wasn't bad, but it bled a lot. So he still needs a hair cut and will probably really put up a fight the next time we try. Poor kid. To make amends, we took the kids to Papa's Pizza for lunch and to play. Well, Gabriel had a HUGE blowout. I had to strip off all of his clothes. There was poop everywhere. I didn't want him going outside in only a diaper because of the cold, so I took my sweater off and put it on him. Luckily I had my coat. So I walked out in only a bra and a zipped up coat and he had my sweater on. What a day!

"I'm So Happy"

Gabriel has started using the phrase "I'm so happy." His cousins, Ashley and Forest, came to visit a few weeks ago and in his glee and excitement he shouted "I'm so happy". Up until today, he has only said it a few times when he is really excited.

This morning, he decided to throw a tantrum when I tried to dress him. He carried on for over 1/2 a hour, during which, I tried consoling him, reprimanding him, ignoring him, etc. Anyway, the culmination came when I finally had had enough and closed him out of the laundry room. I had clothes to fold and I was tired of listening to him. He went absolutely crazy. But I just left him out in the hall. I figured Todd could take care of it and he did. Todd came out, sat with him and cuddled him until he calmed down. I suppose it sounds like I wasn't being a good mom, but Gabriel was specifically mad at me and nothing I did could calm him down. Sometimes, Todd can calm him down when I can't. Anyway, after a little while Gabriel started to try to get my attention. He has never said "I'm sorry," but I could tell that he was trying to reconcile. So I went over and hugged him and kissed him and told him that I loved him. He stood back, looked me in the eyes and shyly said, "I'm so happy." I gave him another hug and kiss and told him "I'm so happy too." I didn't enjoy the tantrum, but it was wonderful to know that he knows I love him and that it makes him happy.

Gabriel's Blood Test Results

I had Gabriel's blood tested for parasites. I am pretty sure he had pinworms at one point (we treated him for it and they are gone now) and I thought that he might have gotten other worms from playing with our cat. Anyway, I was very surprised by the results. He has two types of flat worms, not nearly as bad as I was expecting. He also has 15 kinds of protozoa (bacteria in the gut), fungus and viruses. The most shocking to me was that he has very high amounts of vaccines and and some antibiotics in his blood. He has never been vaccinated or had any antibiotics. He most likely got them through me while I was pregnant. Anyway, the vaccines that showed up were DPT (no longer given, DTaP is currently on the market), Tetanus, Hepatitis B, Influenza from 1993-1999 and Influenzium toxicum. His numbers are so high that the Dr. said had I vaccinated him, it probably would have overloaded his system and pushed him into autism. Yikes! The test also showed that he has an acid pH, his thyroid, thymus and pituitary gland are affected and that his Serotonin is low. His serotonin level is probably causing his speech delay. She prescribed a treatment and in a few months we will retest and see what the outcome is. In the meantime, we are going to test Andrew's blood too and see what his toxic load is. I will keep you posted on both kids.

Sea Monsters

We went to the 3D movie Sea Monsters. It is about dinosaurs and fish that lived "millions" of years ago. It is intended for kids and is under an hour long. I have to say that the 3D was pretty cool and held our kids' attention. Some dinosaurs ate other dinosaurs, but the film makers did a good job of not making it graphic. There was little to no blood and no chewing or tearing of flesh, just a chomp and a gulp. Gabriel and Andrew were mesmerized by all the animals, (crustaceans, fish, dinosaurs, birds, etc.). However, the actual story was fiction passed off as fact. The movie starts with finding the fossil of a dolphin-like dinosaur. The story follows the life cycle of the female offspring of this creature by going back and forth between real fossils and a fictional story that links them all. This presents a problem because scientists cannot and will not ever be able to study these animals, so there is no way to accurately say how they interacted with one another or if they did at all. Since we don't believe in the old earth theory, that presented another problem. The writers had to come up with credible sounding explanations for why there are fossils within fossils. What I mean is, they had two examples of fossilized dinosaurs that had eaten either a fish or another smaller dinosaur and both sets of bones were fossilized. So their explanations were that one dinosaur ate a fish that was too big for it and it died of gluttony and the other died in a territorial fight with another dinosaur just like it right after eating. Both of those rationalizations seem ridiculous to me. First of all, most animals know what they are capable of eating and there is no way to know if an extinct animal was territorial by looking at a set of bones. Pure conjecture. I think there is a very easy explanation, they both died at the same time in a global flood. Rapid burial in large amounts of sediment would allow them to fossilize completely intact along with their lunch. Plus when an animal died in the movie, they showed it sinking. We know that as the carcass decays, sea animals bloat and rise to the surface, they don't sink. Also, as most people know, when an animal dies in the ocean or on land, for that matter, scavengers devour it immediately and scatter the bones. So it is highly unlikely that the fossils they found had died of natural causes and then sank to the bottom in tact and stayed that way for millions of years. So what is my point? Why am I tearing apart a seemingly neat movie? It is because children are not critical thinkers and when you tell them something happened and show them pictures of it happening, they believe it and it becomes ingrained in their minds. My kids are too young to really understand what I have described. Gabriel just knew he saw cool animals. But a slightly older child would get it. If your children are older, you could use this film as a discussion piece, I guess. For all of you out there who believe in evolution and millions of years, you'll probably love the movie. But really, even if I believed in evolution, I could not believe their scenarios.

Bugga Buggas

Gabriel loves bugs. One of the Dora the Explorer episodes features the Bugga Wugga family. Anyhow, we call them bugga buggas and he loves catching them. He is really good at it too and is getting better at catch-and-release vs. catch-and-mash. Now I have him remove the bugs from my house. He loves it and I don't have to touch them. Yeh!

Gabriel Rides

Gabriel asked to ride his bike for the first time today. It took me awhile to figure out what he was asking for because bicycle was coming out bikiscle. Anyway, he rode it for a few minutes and did not want any help. He has not figured out how to steer yet, but tends to lean right. So in true Zoolander style, he could only turn one direction and bumped into a lot of walls. I think he enjoyed it though.

Andrew Speaks

Andrew has started talking. He repeats sentences and has a few words. Right now his main vocabulary is: mama, dad or daddy, ball, more, down, what's that?, ready set go, uh oh, where did the turtle go? and no.

He fell asleep today while he was riding the spring horse. I wanted to take a picture, but I was afraid he might fall off. I caught him, just as he was starting to relax. It was really cute though.

He wants to do everything that Gabriel does. So now he uses a fork and drinks from a real cup (with help). He is quite a character.

The Dove Foundation

I just learned of www.dove.org. They provide great movie reviews for those of us who want to screen what we or our children watch. I think it is really important to keep our children as well as ourselves from watching filthy material, even if the premise of the movie seems harmless. God has been convicting me of this for quite some time now, but I have failed to listen, until now. I have decided that if a film uses the Lord's name in vain, I will not watch it, even if it is PG. It is the worst profanity that I can think of and yet I have been desensitized over years of hearing it on TV and in movies. I often hear Christians take His name in vain w/o even thinking twice; I've done it myself. The Lord is very clear that he will destroy those who profane him. Using this criteria as my filter eliminates most movies that also contain violence, drugs and sex. I don't want to give my money or my time to support this any longer. Yes, it means that I won't get to see many secular movies or TV shows. On the other hand, if more Christians stood up for what is right and refused to watch the garbage that Hollywood is pouring out, they would be forced to clean up their act. I think this is already happening a little. I have noticed a few movies have come out recently that are truly family friendly. By the way, just because a movie gets the Dove stamp of approval, doesn't mean I will watch it. They approve slight mild profanity (Hell, Damn, etc.) and the use of the Lord's name in vain as long as it is only done once or twice. Also, a good book to read on the subject is "Hollywood Be Thy Name: The Idol Makers" and a great film to see that deals with this topic is "Time Changer".

Update: See the comment by the Dove Foundation, it is good. Some of their 12+ approved movies contain OMG-oh my God, is what I think it stands for and For Go*'s Sake. Unless used in reverence to God (which they aren't because they would not need to be listed), I consider these exclamations using his name in vain. That is what I meant. Perhaps I am splitting hairs, but I don't want my kids getting in the habit of using these phrases.

Missing Knives

My kids were playing with my butter knives this morning. I didn't think much of it. I was busy doing laundry and tidying up the house because a real estate agent was bringing some buyers over. Anyway, I cannot find the knives anywhere! I have no idea where the kids put them, but I have one knife. There are 7 others stashed somewhere. I am sure I'll find them when I least expect it, but in the meantime ...

Italian Panini Recipe

1 red bell pepper
1 eggplant (sliced)
2-3 portobello mushrooms
1-3 cloves garlic (crushed, raw or roasted)
1 loaf focaccia bread
3 TBS vegenaise/mayo
2 TBS butter/oil
provolone or mozzarella cheese

Slice and oil eggplant. Roast eggplant on both sides until light brown and bell pepper until charred on all sides. Remove vegetables from oven, peel skins off when cooled, core and remove seeds from bell pepper and cut it into strips. Saute mushrooms in oil and butter until soft. Remove from heat and allow to cool a bit. Pat any excess water from mushrooms. Depending on your preference, either roast garlic and then add it to mayo or crush fresh garlic and add it to mayo. Dress the bread with the garlic mayo and layer peppers, eggplant and mushrooms onto bread. Wrap sandwiches in plastic and place under a cutting board weighted down with canned goods. Let sit for two hours. (If you use vegenaise, you don't have to worry about the mayo going bad.) Unwrap sandwiches and add cheese. You can broil them open faced to melt cheese and then close them up to eat or microwave them. Yum! They are even better the next day. If the edges are a little soggy, just toast the sandwich on both sides under the broiler.

River Fun

Gabriel had his first swim in the Umpqua River yesterday. The Bradford family all gathered to celebrate Todd's 38th birthday. There is a nice little beach on Granny's property. The water there is shallow and slow moving. He got to go out with Todd into the deeper water too. Todd floated down stream ahead of Gabriel and let the current carry Gabriel to him. Gabriel was a little worried for a few seconds, but relaxed when he saw Dad was getting closer. We played all afternoon. Andrew got to put his toes in too. They were worn out by the end of the day and we were too.

The Shredder Strikes Again!

I am absolutely amazed by the items Gabriel is able to shred. A few weeks ago he shredded a very thick cardboard tube. Today I could not believe my eyes, he tore up a laminated map of Alaska! I don't know how he did it, but he did. Todd will not be pleased when he gets home.

Something You Probably Didn't Know About Me

Something that most people don't know about me is that men with long fingernails freak me out! I can't even look at them. Yuk! Anyway, Todd brought home A Beautiful Mind with Russell Crowe. It would be a good movie, but he has long fingernails (I am literally shuddering and grimacing just typing this). It is so gross. You might say that it is necessary for some guys, like say guitarists. I say get a pick. Even one long nail gives me the heebie jeebies. Okay, I have to call it quits. I can't stand to stay on this subject any longer.

Turtles?

I was giving my kids a bath and Andrew was ready to get out. While I was dressing him Gabriel decided he had to go to the bathroom. I heard him call, "Mama" and when I got there, there were three poops on the bathroom floor and he was back in the tub. He smiled at me, pointed and said "turtles". Nice! It was both disgusting and hilarious. Todd had a good laugh when I told him.

Chocolate Cake (gluten free)

1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used the water and flesh from a fresh young thai coconut)
9 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar (I used maple sugar)
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
3/4 tsp baking powder

Melt butter in saucepan, add cocoa powder and coconut milk. Remove from heat and set aside. Mix eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in cocoa mixture. Combine flour with the baking powder and whisk into batter until there are no lumps. Pour into a greased 9x9x2 pan. Bake at 350F for 35 minutes. Cool completely and frost.

*This cake is great even without frosting!

*This is a great cupcake recipe too, but make sure you use cupcake papers.

The Shredder

Gabriel a.k.a. "The Shredder" just loves to shred paper, cardboard and plastic. He is not committing random acts of shredding, however. He is tearing the paper (or whatever medium it is) into animals. His most favorite are snakes, alligators, octopuses, lizards, crabs, turtles and fish. He is getting better at creating the various body shapes, but I still have to use my imagination often. Not a bad thing! :)

On a completely different note, I just learned (because of spell checking this post) that the plural for octopus is not actually octopi, which is what I was taught and have always used. So I looked up the plural on the web and it is octopodes; but no one uses it except to argue about what the true plural is. Interesting.... Octopuses is also correct and widely used. It is very surprising what you can learn in just a few minutes from spell checking and web dictionaries.

Itsy Bitsy Spider?

My house has a variety of spiders, most of which I exterminate as soon as I see them. I don' t mind leaving a few VERY small ones in inconspicuous corners to catch flies. However, the big ones have to go. During the winter we usually see some REALLY big spiders. I think they are called Giant House Spiders. They are exactly what the name implies, giant. I refuse to touch them, even though they are not poisonous, so I use a wide mouth jar to catch them. Their leg span is as big around as the wide mouth jar! YUK! They give me the heebie-jeebies. Anyway, two showed up in the last two days and totally freaked me out. They are good though. Todd looked them up last night and they eat Hobo spiders. So I guess I will have to release them to the wild.

Old Mac Dondald

Gabriel loves to sing Old Mac Donald Had a Farm. He chooses that animals when we get to the "and on that farm he had a (fill in the blank)." It is really cute. He sings EIEIOOO (pronouncing it like ooh.) He also likes Itsy Bitsy Spider and helps Andrew with the motions. That is fun to watch. They have a great time. I have seen Andrew do the spider motion on his own too.

Also on a totally different note, Gabriel can do somersaults on his own now.

To Be or Not to Be?

It seems as though my hair cannot make up its mind. I have found several white hairs and being the vain person I am, I always pluck them out. I have found several that are white at the tip, but are dark brown at the root. Today I even found one that starting from the root went brown-white-brown-white. Very interesting! Is it nutrition or hormones or just a bad hair day? I don't know and neither does my hair. To be or not to be? That is the question.

Yummy Halibut Fillets

1 fresh halibut fillet
2 fresh tomatoes
1-2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/4 cup onion (chopped)
3 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
salt and pepper

Immerse whole tomatoes in boiling water until the skins crack. Remove and immerse in cold water. Remove skins and chop coarsely. Place chopped tomatoes and garlic in a sauce pan and simmer for 15min. Add onion and basil and cook until onions are slightly translucent. Lightly oil and heat a skillet or stovetop grill pan. Place halibut fillet in pan and lightly salt and pepper the top side. Laddle the tomatoe sauce over the halibut. Pour 1/2 cup water into skillet and cover. Allow to cook for 15min or until fish is cooked through. Serve with juices from the pan.

Mop From Hell

I have been using a Swiffer WetJet to mop our floors for quite some time now. As you know, Andrew has eczema and I have noticed that his skin becomes scaly and irritated every time I mop, so I decided to get a conventional mop and use vinegar and water.

I bought a "Mr. Clean Heavy Duty Roller Mop with Scrubber." The package says, "Mr. Clean makes it easier to keep things clean. And, with a complete line of easy-to-use tools, cleaning just got easier!" Well, that sounded pretty good, plus it was the only mop Fred Meyers had.

So, I get it home and put it together. Easy; there are only two parts, the mop head and the handle. Then the mopping nightmare began. I dipped the mop in my sink of water and vinegar and under the weight of the water the head popped off. Lame! Then, after reattaching it and dunking it again, I tried to wring it. The head popped off again. Good grief! I resorted to manually wringing the mop head. This was o.k. the first few times, while the water was still clean, but I was not too pleased about sticking my hand into the muddy water. (You should have seen my floors, they were a mess!). Anyway, I digress. I finally start mopping and as you have probably already guessed, the mop head popped off again. Now I am getting mad. In the time it would take me to finish the floors, I have only just begun.

At this point bad thoughts start popping into my head along with some not so nice words. I'll keep them to myself. By the time I was done mopping, a task that took me three times as long as it should have, I had decided that the engineer who designed my mop from hell was probably of the devil. He or she has probably sat in their little cubicle thinking up ways to torture poor souls as myself. They could have invented some complicated mop, but I am pretty sure that they knew the simplest design would achieve maximum pain. I mean, there are only two freaking parts, how hard could it be to make a mop that works?!!! I am sure they are sitting at their desk laughing it up. I don't know if the company knew they were hiring a "cleaning Nazi" at the time or not, but they sure got one. I have decided that the appropriate punishment for their crime is eternal damnation with extremely dirty floors and the the mop I bought. Let them clean for eternity and see how they like it!

Did I mention the mop was made in China? I am sure that had something to do with it too.

Locked Out

Well, Gabriel decided to lock me out of the house today. Todd had just left for work and I went out to move the water hose. When I got back to the house both kids were crying hysterically and the door was locked. I tried to get Gabriel to let me back in. I had seen him just this morning unlock both the dead bolt and the door knob, so I knew he could do it. 10 minutes of trying was enough for me and I walked over to the fruit stand next door and called Todd. Thank goodness he was at his desk! By the time I got back to the house both kids were laughing and playing, but they still wouldn't let me in. Todd got there a few minutes later and the rest, as they say, is history.

IMAX Deep Sea

Gabriel just loves animals. So, Todd rented the IMAX movie Deep Sea and Gabriel just cannot get enough of it. He loves the colors and all of the sea animals. I think his favorite animal is the octopus. Anyway, I am going to order more IMAX movies for him so he can see other exotic animals. I often wonder if he will have a career based around animals or if this is just a phase.

Eden Foods

I have used Eden Food products for a while now and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that their organic foods exceed the USDA organic requirements. You will not find the USDA organic stamp on any of their food, however, because they feel it is a minimum standard and they strive for excellence. You can visit their web page to read the full article and explanation of their position. I think it is great that they want to preserve and improve the organic food standards; especially when there are so many companies that want to use the organic label only to gain customers while still using chemical additives (many of which do not appear on the label at all) and other non-organic ingredients.

Diving In

Well, both of my boys love Granny's pool, but Gabriel is an absolute water dog. In his 3rd pool session this summer he learned to jump off of the side and into the pool and to dog paddle. I was pretty impressed by this. He is very comfortable in the water and just loves jumping in. I could tell, however, that my little thrill daredevil wanted more. So I put him on the diving board and he hopped right in. He loved it! He is not even three years old yet. I think his next feat will be the water slide. Swim lessons, here we come.

Happy 4th

Happy 4th of July to all. I took the kids to our local farmers' market this morning and then we headed on down to the Red White and Blue festival. On the way we got stopped by the parade, which the kids loved. People on horseback, llamas, cars, bikes, walkers, you name it, all passed by.
At the festival we had lunch and then played in the water fountain. It was already hot by 11am! I bought a skirt and a dress and then we headed home just before 2pm. Tonight we will be able to see the fireworks from our house. I doubt the kids will be awake for that.

To Clean or To Paint

My kitchen walls were hideous, so I chose to paint them rather than clean them. It is a great way to get a new look and feel like an artist! So my kitchen is now light yellow instead of dirty white. I can't wait for my new counter tops.

River Trip

We took our kids to 'The River' with Todd's Mom, Dad, Granny and niece for a couple of days. It is a great family retreat. We all enjoy relaxing there.

We went for a couple of nature walks along the river and found a baby turtle, several salamanders and a crawdad, which Gabriel thought was an octopus because of its many legs. We also saw wild turkeys, geese, humming birds, a pigeon, and cows from the house. The kids were very excited about all of the critters.

Andrew found a ball cap at the house and put it on, but he couldn't see because it was so big. Then he crawled as fast as he could blind, giggling the whole way, until he was redirectioned, then he would start all over again. He thought this was the best game, until he bumped into a chair. We got it on video and it is pretty funny.

On the way home we stopped at Granny's house and swam in her pool and had lunch. This is only the 2nd time the kids have swam in the big pool this summer, but they had a blast. Gabriel was comfortable enough this time for me to let go of him and float or swim (with a life vest) all by himself. He's a water dog for sure.

Fennel Soup Recipe

Fennel Soup

1 quart chicken broth
2 cups water
1 can garbanzo beans
4 garlic cloves (minced)
1 TBS olive oil
1 pound tomatoes (chopped)
1 cup fresh basil (chopped)
1 bulb fresh fennel (chopped)
1-2 onions (chopped)
1 cup fresh peas (shelled) - frozen peas are ok too.
salt and pepper to taste.

Bring broth, water, beans, 2 minced garlic cloves, fennel and onions to a simmer in a large pot. Cook about 15 minutes or until the fennel and onion are soft. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook tomatoes, basil and the rest of the garlic until the basil wilts (about 2 minutes). Add tomato mixture and peas to the soup pot. Cook about 5 minutes more or until the peas are cooked. Salt and pepper soup to taste. Serve.

Give Me Sun

It has been my contention for the past few years that the sun is not as damaging as many think. The more I read about the benefits of sun exposure, the more I am convinced that this is true.

Our bodies use the sun's rays to manufacture vitamin D. However, most people wear sun block when they are outdoors, which severely limits the amount of vitamin D production. This is why we have started seeing vitamin D fortified foods.

We know that some people suffer seasonal depression and that exposure to UV lamps or a nice vacation in a sunny place will help clear that up. But, new research shows that vitamin D can help prevent cancer too.

I have also heard of people who go on raw vegan diets who do not use sun screen and no longer get sun burned! There is new research that suggests the amount of antioxidants in your skin determine the skin's ability to resist sunburn. I think this is a wonderful revelation! I rarely use sun screen on myself or my kids. Gabriel and Andrew have never been sunburned, but they eat tons of fresh raw fruit (especially blueberries) that are high in antioxidants.

This is great news. It is time to lose our fear of the sun. I encourage you to enjoy the sun this summer!

By the way, use common sense when you are outside on a hot and sunny day. We go out during the morning and late afternoon to avoid the harshest and hottest part of the day. If we have to be out for more than an hour, especially during midday, we apply sun screen. Also, drink plenty of water. Hydrated skin is healthier skin.

Road Trip

My almost 3 year old son, Gabriel, asked to go on a road trip today. It was a great idea! He was feeling a little bored with the same old games and toys. He brought me his shoes, said 'car', gave me the diaper bag (he knows that I take it whenever we get in the car) and got his own bag packed with his favorite book, put it on his shoulder and we were ready to go. I decided a visit to our local Hewlett Packard duck pond would be a great surprise. Plus Daddy was at work there and could meet us for a little break. Gabriel was ecstatic when we got there. The ducks were already in the parking lot and started surrounding the car as soon as we parked. They are very used to handouts. I should have brought some old bread or crackers, but I forgot. Gabriel proceeded to chase the ducks everywhere and I was chasing him. Andrew was having a pretty good time too, bobbing along on my hip. (I am sure it was a hilarious sight to watch. Luckily no one was there to see). Daddy got there just in time to watch the last few ducks jump into the water to escape my son. Then Daddy surprised us with a quick trip to the local ice cream parlor. A real treat since my kids have only had ice cream a few times (actually, it was Andrew's first time). After dropping Daddy off at work we went home. About a half mile from our house I saw a coyote trying to cross the very busy highway we live on. It is a rare sight to see. So all-in-all, it was a great idea and a fun little excursion, all thanks to my son.

GMO and GE Foods

I had heard of GMO and GE foods, but I did not know what the genetic modifications were or how prevalent they are in our food supply. I am very concerned about this issue. About 70% of food in the supermarket has been genetically modified. The kinds of genetic modifications that I know of are pesticide/herbicide resistance, built-in vaccination and nutrient fortification. Pesticides and herbicides are inserted into the DNA of a plant, such as corn. The purpose is to make the plant resistant to the targeted insects or weeds. Vaccinations are injected into the DNA so that the consumer will become automatically resistant to the targeted disease. Hepatitis B is going into bananas. Yuk! I really have a problem with this. We are supposedly still allowed the freedom of choice concerning vaccination, but not if it is hidden in our food supply. Finally, vitamins are being injected into the DNA of plants to make them healthier, but it is questionable how beneficial this really is. There has been NO testing to verify the safety of GMO foods. There are many countries in the world including much of Europe that require GMO labeling. Other countries have banned GMO foods all together. The FDA does not require any labeling of GMO foods. Our government is doing a mass "experiment" on unknowing and in some cases unwilling participants. There is absolutely no way to know if a prepared food is GMO unless the box specifically says it is not. Furthermore, there is no way to know what the genetic modification is. Luckily, produce is labeled. Look on the sticker of any fruit or vegetable. A 4 digit number indicates standard produce, a 5 digit number starting with a 9 is organic and a 5 digit number starting with an 8 is GMO. My opinion is that the best way to avoid GMO foods (if you want to, that is) is to buy organic. By definition, organic foods cannot be genetically modified or engineered. There still is the issue of drift (GMO crops pollinating non-GMO and organic crops. But with organic your chances are much better of not getting a mutated food.

An Eczema Treatment That Works (NAET)

My younger son, Andrew, has eczema. The breakouts started when he was about 6 months old. An itchy, oozing rash covered his whole body. It was very frustrating for me because the only options my doctor gave me where to isolate/eliminate the allergens and to apply steroid creams. I eliminated everything except for fruits and veggies and he still wasn't getting any better. I switched laundry detergents and went to all natural cleaners and soaps. Then my mother-in-law told me about NAET (Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Techniques). She worked for a doctor who did the treatments and had seen many people, including babies, be cleared of their allergies and eczema. So we tried it and it worked wonderfully. The doctor was able to tell me exactly what my son was allergic to; dairy, gluten, cotton, mold, mildew, yeast, and fungus. He was also deficient in calcium and trace minerals. I saw improvement from the first visit. Within 3 months his eczema cleared completely. Andrew is now 1 year old and is able to eat the foods he was allergic to and he is able to wear cotton clothing. He still has minor breakouts when he contacts harsh chemicals. For example, I painted two bathrooms two days ago and he is reacting to the paint fumes. I could have him treated for this as well, but I am waiting to see if he will clear up on his own as the rooms air out. More information on NAET and practitioners near you can be found at www.naet.com. There is a link to this website under my Favorite Health Links section.

No More IRS

If you hate paying taxes as much as I do, then you will be happy to know that one of the candidates for president does too. Ron Paul would love to see the IRS go away! Go to You Tube at http://www.youtube.com and do a search for Ron Paul. You can hear speeches he has made and see what he stands for.

Raw Almonds

As of Fall 2007 all almonds will be pasteurized (by a heat process), but will still be labeled raw. The is another stupid FDA regulation and it allows dishonest food labeling. Things like this really make me mad. Already there are hundreds if not thousands of ingredients that are not required to appear on the label. They are in there, but you will never know about them. If possible I buy brands that state on the label that there are no hidden ingredients.

Yogurt Cheese and Breakfast Crepe Recipes

Yogurt Cheese:
1-2 cups plain Nancy's Yogurt (or any live culture yogurt)

Place yogurt in a fine mesh strainer, cheese cloth or coffee filter over a bowl and allow to drain 4-24 hours in the refrigerator. Move yogurt cheese to a clean bowl and reserve the liquid for a fruit smoothie.

This is a great cream cheese replacement. You may sweeten it with honey or agave nectar or add spices like dill, garlic, salt and pepper.


Breakfast Crepes:

Favorite crepe mix or recipe
Favorite fresh fruit (sliced)
1-2 cups sweet yogurt cheese
Agave syrup, honey or maple syrup

Make crepes and fill with sweetened yogurt cheese and fresh fruit. Drizzle a little agave syrup over rolled crepe if desired. Serve warm. Yum!

Strangest Thing I have Seen Today

Today while I was at a doctor's appointment for Andrew, I saw an odd sight! Actually, I heard the sirens first; ambulance, fire truck and police. They all stopped right across the street from me at the WINCO parking lot. When I looked to see what the commotion was, I couldn't believe my eyes. A car was parked on top of another car and was wedged up against a tree. Apparently the driver had his parking break on and revved the engine so much that it launched the car up and on top of the other car when he released the parking break. I imagine he felt pretty stupid. I expect to see it in the newspaper tomorrow.