Saturday, November 6, 2010
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
Refreshing Almond Milk . . . Julie's Review
Recently my sister texted me asking if I'd ever tried Almond Milk. I asked "No, Why? Is it good? It sounds good." She responded, "I don't know. It does sound good. I've never tried it, That's why I'm asking you."
I went to my friend Ellen who does not drink dairy and asked her. She said she had tasted it, but didn't really remember what it tasted like. She said, something like, "it's like drinking soy milk. It's not milk."
So today I tried it myself. And here's my review:
Almond Breeze Vanilla flavored Almond Milk . . . A little nutty tasting. But in it's defense I think the name warns you of this. Not very sweet. But again the package does does say unsweetened. Can't really taste much vanilla. But I'm the one who loves scones due to their not being overly sweet. My final review. ... Oddly, I think I like it. Yes, I think I do.
I went to my friend Ellen who does not drink dairy and asked her. She said she had tasted it, but didn't really remember what it tasted like. She said, something like, "it's like drinking soy milk. It's not milk."
So today I tried it myself. And here's my review:
Almond Breeze Vanilla flavored Almond Milk . . . A little nutty tasting. But in it's defense I think the name warns you of this. Not very sweet. But again the package does does say unsweetened. Can't really taste much vanilla. But I'm the one who loves scones due to their not being overly sweet. My final review. ... Oddly, I think I like it. Yes, I think I do.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Edit Hoopla!!!!!!!!
Hi all,
The blogger in me is going to go on a little hiatus from writing the blog this month. In November I took part in an international program where I wrote 50,000 uneditted words in 30 days. In April the same organization does something they call Script Frenzy where they write a script in 30 days. In that I'm not a script writer and I've still not editted my book, I've decided in support of my friend doing Script Frenzy I will be dedicating this month to getting down and doing some serious editting of the book. I've named my project . . . Edit Hoopla!!!!! During Edit Hoopla I will edit 120 pages of written work in 30 days . . . you can do the math from there. I'll stop in from time to time, but for now, I must edit!!!!!! I promise I'll continue in my efforts to pray often, eat better always and workout more as all are important if I'm to do well during Edit Hoopla. Thanks in advance for your prayers!
Blessings,
Julie
The blogger in me is going to go on a little hiatus from writing the blog this month. In November I took part in an international program where I wrote 50,000 uneditted words in 30 days. In April the same organization does something they call Script Frenzy where they write a script in 30 days. In that I'm not a script writer and I've still not editted my book, I've decided in support of my friend doing Script Frenzy I will be dedicating this month to getting down and doing some serious editting of the book. I've named my project . . . Edit Hoopla!!!!! During Edit Hoopla I will edit 120 pages of written work in 30 days . . . you can do the math from there. I'll stop in from time to time, but for now, I must edit!!!!!! I promise I'll continue in my efforts to pray often, eat better always and workout more as all are important if I'm to do well during Edit Hoopla. Thanks in advance for your prayers!
Blessings,
Julie
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Is it OK to vacuum today?
Cleaning has never been my strong suit. Over the years I've gotten better at continually purging stuff to make it easier to clean, but still, cleaning itself is definitley not going to win me any awards.
I was watching Hoarding, Buried Alive, and I panicked. I thought, am I a hoarder? I mean, I step on toys all the time. Then I realized, no, I'm not a hoarder for I actually rejoice in both throwing stuff out and donating items. I am, however, a mom w/ toys and little socks found constantly around the house which I need to be better at getting picked up. Me, I'm simply messy.
Years ago I started to realize, too much unused stuff can overwhelm me, but my issue was I needed to not assign memories to every single item. This realization has made getting rid of stuff much easier for me. This and the fact if I have a perfectly good item I'm simply storing when someone else may actually need it, I ask myself, shouldn't I let it go of it. If I really struggle with items such as with the kids continal abundance of artwork, I take a picture of the piece which is much easier to keep. The amazing part to my great surprise is my kids are actually ok with this. It tells me fortunately I have made sure not to pass on attachment to stuff issues to my kids, so that does my heart good. When I catch myself about to question my kids giving something away, I stop myself now. For I am glad they have giving hearts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless. I don't get rid of everything. Far from it. I simply choose my favorites, often items the kids love, too, and those are the ones I keep and enjoy. My house is in fact a gallery for my kids artwork. It is their artwork I happily frame and place on my walls.
I want to be clear, I'm not making fun of hoarding as I know it is a very real issue for people, but I just wanted you to know this show helped set me into action mostly where cleaning is concerned. Knowing it bothered me so much not to be organized I knew I needed to get better at weekly cleaning and redding up instead of just worrying about it. Yes, I said redding up, I'm a Pennsylvanian through and through. Redding up, the act of picking stuff up and putting it in its place especially before you have company. :)
But back to the main point I want to make today. To hear me talk you'd think perhaps it's completely messy around here, which it is not, still the daily clutter around the house makes me a little this side of crazy. There's also the constant paper trail which follows the mail, school handouts, medical bills and on and on. This is what made me realize, it's time. Like all organized areas of life, I must get a plan. If you do deal w/ some of the having too much stuff areas I mentioned above, you might want to work on those areas of your life first because ultimately this will make the cleaning steps easier to do, but one step at a time. Start where you are. Me, I'm at the cleaning step.
With the help of my friend, April, who suggested she had a daily chore schedule she follows, I got myself organized in this area. For two weeks now I have followed the attached plan. This plan was adapted from April's personal family schedule. I changed it to meet the needs of my own family's schedule.
What does this have to do w/ getting healthier. Well, a lot. For one, there's less dust and dirt around here. That has to be healthier. But that's not all. When I am organized in any area of my life it seems to help the other areas as well. Makes more time for other things I enjoy which are also good for me. When I go out for a nice walk, I don't feel guilty. I'm not letting the house go, for I know what I have to get done and it's do-able. OK, you got me, I never feel guilty about going on a nice walk, but it does make me feel more relaxed as a whole. I feel relaxed knowing my house is in order and not going to overwhelm me when I return.
You see my biggest fear w/ feeling God is finally putting down some roots for our family is if you aren't moving often, things can get messy and fast. Now if only I could get Jesse and Lilly completely on board. Josh, he's amazing in this area and a role model for me. Scott, he's got a lot of books and has a "clirty" pile, clothes that aren't clean, but aren't quite dirty, yet either. Only Scott. He's also the one who came up w/ the term "De-Crap-ifying," getting rid of your crap. But all in all, Scott does ok. With the little ones I just want to try and model better cleaning behavior and teaching good lifelong habits and hope and pray for the best w/ them as they grow.
I will tell you as w/ all things Graubard, this, too, brought humor to our household. Josh loves to tease me about the list which is posted for all to see in the Kitchen. "Um, Julie, did you mop today? Today is mopping day. Ah, I'd take the trash out, but it's not trash day. Oh, I see Lilly cleaned up her toys today. Is that why they are still everywhere?" You get the point. This, however, has served as a motivating factor for me to prove to him that we can and will do it! Jesse is a little harder to motivate, but he likes lists and rules, so this is in my favor. Lilly, likes to clean, but also likes to drop things all over the house wherever she goes. But as I said, time and discipline on my part will help as Lilly does like to copy mommy and Jesse does ultimately like to please and dislikes being given other chores to make up for the ones he forgets to do. So pray for us. We're a work in progress, but all in all, we're doing it!
Yesterday, we had a close call, however. I had my back turned and Lilly picked up a bowl and promptly dropped it on the kitchen floor breaking it in pieces. But it was ok! It was Vacuum & Mop Day! So all is well in our world and nobody had to step on broken dish pieces.
Just in case you want to get better organized, too, and want a starting schedule I've posted mine below:
Weekly Cleaning Goals:
Monday - Laundry, clean bathrooms, Josh take garbage out, Jesse pick up Jesse & Lilly laundry items in living room
Tuesday – Vacuum, Mop floors, Lilly pick up her toys
Wednesday – Dust, Clean kitchen counters and refrigerator door really well, Jesse pick up laundry in living room
Thursday - Laundry, Josh take out Garbage
Friday – Vaccum, Wash towels and bedding, Lilly pick up her toys
Saturday – Sort mail on counters, Sort school flyers
Sunday – Josh & Jesse all laundry in the laundry bin, Lilly pick up her toys
Here's a few other side notes. It may seem I went easy on the kids, but their rooms are still to be cleaned regularly and when I need to I say so or help. I also let Lilly or Jesse help whenever they want no matter how their performance is at a job. It's the only way they'll learn. This one is hard for me. Actually both of those areas I just spoke of are challenges for me.
It's also important to know dishes are a good one to schedule different kids for daily as April did, but this is one of my sanity jobs. I like doing them, so I didn't schedule kids here. Counters and dishes should be done daily, I simply decided I should do a more thorough cleaning once a week to get under the toaster, clean sticky hands off of refrigerator door handles and the like.
Another great tip came from my sister. She told me touch things once, meaning put papers where papers go as you get them as much as you can or hang coats up or whatever. Do not make it so you have to go back and move things due to laziness the first time. Still I felt I needed the paper trail to be on my schedule to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. You get the point.
Lastly, if you do in fact break a bowl on a day that is not Vacuum Day . . . You should still vacuum.
I was watching Hoarding, Buried Alive, and I panicked. I thought, am I a hoarder? I mean, I step on toys all the time. Then I realized, no, I'm not a hoarder for I actually rejoice in both throwing stuff out and donating items. I am, however, a mom w/ toys and little socks found constantly around the house which I need to be better at getting picked up. Me, I'm simply messy.
Years ago I started to realize, too much unused stuff can overwhelm me, but my issue was I needed to not assign memories to every single item. This realization has made getting rid of stuff much easier for me. This and the fact if I have a perfectly good item I'm simply storing when someone else may actually need it, I ask myself, shouldn't I let it go of it. If I really struggle with items such as with the kids continal abundance of artwork, I take a picture of the piece which is much easier to keep. The amazing part to my great surprise is my kids are actually ok with this. It tells me fortunately I have made sure not to pass on attachment to stuff issues to my kids, so that does my heart good. When I catch myself about to question my kids giving something away, I stop myself now. For I am glad they have giving hearts. Don't get me wrong, I'm not heartless. I don't get rid of everything. Far from it. I simply choose my favorites, often items the kids love, too, and those are the ones I keep and enjoy. My house is in fact a gallery for my kids artwork. It is their artwork I happily frame and place on my walls.
I want to be clear, I'm not making fun of hoarding as I know it is a very real issue for people, but I just wanted you to know this show helped set me into action mostly where cleaning is concerned. Knowing it bothered me so much not to be organized I knew I needed to get better at weekly cleaning and redding up instead of just worrying about it. Yes, I said redding up, I'm a Pennsylvanian through and through. Redding up, the act of picking stuff up and putting it in its place especially before you have company. :)
But back to the main point I want to make today. To hear me talk you'd think perhaps it's completely messy around here, which it is not, still the daily clutter around the house makes me a little this side of crazy. There's also the constant paper trail which follows the mail, school handouts, medical bills and on and on. This is what made me realize, it's time. Like all organized areas of life, I must get a plan. If you do deal w/ some of the having too much stuff areas I mentioned above, you might want to work on those areas of your life first because ultimately this will make the cleaning steps easier to do, but one step at a time. Start where you are. Me, I'm at the cleaning step.
With the help of my friend, April, who suggested she had a daily chore schedule she follows, I got myself organized in this area. For two weeks now I have followed the attached plan. This plan was adapted from April's personal family schedule. I changed it to meet the needs of my own family's schedule.
What does this have to do w/ getting healthier. Well, a lot. For one, there's less dust and dirt around here. That has to be healthier. But that's not all. When I am organized in any area of my life it seems to help the other areas as well. Makes more time for other things I enjoy which are also good for me. When I go out for a nice walk, I don't feel guilty. I'm not letting the house go, for I know what I have to get done and it's do-able. OK, you got me, I never feel guilty about going on a nice walk, but it does make me feel more relaxed as a whole. I feel relaxed knowing my house is in order and not going to overwhelm me when I return.
You see my biggest fear w/ feeling God is finally putting down some roots for our family is if you aren't moving often, things can get messy and fast. Now if only I could get Jesse and Lilly completely on board. Josh, he's amazing in this area and a role model for me. Scott, he's got a lot of books and has a "clirty" pile, clothes that aren't clean, but aren't quite dirty, yet either. Only Scott. He's also the one who came up w/ the term "De-Crap-ifying," getting rid of your crap. But all in all, Scott does ok. With the little ones I just want to try and model better cleaning behavior and teaching good lifelong habits and hope and pray for the best w/ them as they grow.
I will tell you as w/ all things Graubard, this, too, brought humor to our household. Josh loves to tease me about the list which is posted for all to see in the Kitchen. "Um, Julie, did you mop today? Today is mopping day. Ah, I'd take the trash out, but it's not trash day. Oh, I see Lilly cleaned up her toys today. Is that why they are still everywhere?" You get the point. This, however, has served as a motivating factor for me to prove to him that we can and will do it! Jesse is a little harder to motivate, but he likes lists and rules, so this is in my favor. Lilly, likes to clean, but also likes to drop things all over the house wherever she goes. But as I said, time and discipline on my part will help as Lilly does like to copy mommy and Jesse does ultimately like to please and dislikes being given other chores to make up for the ones he forgets to do. So pray for us. We're a work in progress, but all in all, we're doing it!
Yesterday, we had a close call, however. I had my back turned and Lilly picked up a bowl and promptly dropped it on the kitchen floor breaking it in pieces. But it was ok! It was Vacuum & Mop Day! So all is well in our world and nobody had to step on broken dish pieces.
Just in case you want to get better organized, too, and want a starting schedule I've posted mine below:
Weekly Cleaning Goals:
Monday - Laundry, clean bathrooms, Josh take garbage out, Jesse pick up Jesse & Lilly laundry items in living room
Tuesday – Vacuum, Mop floors, Lilly pick up her toys
Wednesday – Dust, Clean kitchen counters and refrigerator door really well, Jesse pick up laundry in living room
Thursday - Laundry, Josh take out Garbage
Friday – Vaccum, Wash towels and bedding, Lilly pick up her toys
Saturday – Sort mail on counters, Sort school flyers
Sunday – Josh & Jesse all laundry in the laundry bin, Lilly pick up her toys
Here's a few other side notes. It may seem I went easy on the kids, but their rooms are still to be cleaned regularly and when I need to I say so or help. I also let Lilly or Jesse help whenever they want no matter how their performance is at a job. It's the only way they'll learn. This one is hard for me. Actually both of those areas I just spoke of are challenges for me.
It's also important to know dishes are a good one to schedule different kids for daily as April did, but this is one of my sanity jobs. I like doing them, so I didn't schedule kids here. Counters and dishes should be done daily, I simply decided I should do a more thorough cleaning once a week to get under the toaster, clean sticky hands off of refrigerator door handles and the like.
Another great tip came from my sister. She told me touch things once, meaning put papers where papers go as you get them as much as you can or hang coats up or whatever. Do not make it so you have to go back and move things due to laziness the first time. Still I felt I needed the paper trail to be on my schedule to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. You get the point.
Lastly, if you do in fact break a bowl on a day that is not Vacuum Day . . . You should still vacuum.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
God Can Part Your Red Sea
Today I read a really great message from my daily devotional. I knew I needed to share it w/ you as it's full of great stuff, so here are a few excerpts from it. Keep this in mind when the seas seem too big to cross. He is in it w/ you:
Glady's Aylward, missionary to China more than fifty years ago, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yuncheng. With only one assistant, she lead a hundred orphans over the mountains toward free China. During the journey she grappled with fear. After passing a sleepless night she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A thirteen-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much-loved story of Moses and the Red Sea. "But I am not Moses," Glady's sighed in despair. "Of course you aren't," the girl said, "but God is still God!" When Glady's and the orphans made it through they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can still trust Him.
Sometimes God calms the storm, other times He lets the storm rage and calms us. Either way, He sustains us and brings us through. We always have a choice: either we give the burden to God or we try to carry it ourselves. "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you." - Psalm 55:22 (NLT)
I loved all of this for my family and I have crossed what has felt like our share of Red Seas. Anyone in their 40's, like myself, has most likely not only crossed their share of Red Seas, but has also watched many of their friends and family do it, too.
Sometimes I cross them w/ grace trusting Him most of the way. Other times I have in the midst of them hysterically cried out "I feel so alone, I want to know you're here in a very real way, because I know you're out there somewhere." And other times angrily I have pushed everyone including my husband away and said, "Look, I know this is my problem, for I don't feel anything. I'm not even letting myself feel. And I'm angry for I don't think God has forsaken me, it's me who has forsaken Him." During those times I pray desparately to get back in touch w/ Him.
All these emotions are called living life. It's a fallen world, we're a fallen people, so the emotions are real and they are strong, but He is out there and He will take care of you and me, too. Sometimes not in our timing. But as my husband said to Jesse, my little boy, once when he was praying to make a soccer goal, "God always hears your prayers. Sometimes He says, 'yes.' Sometimes he says,'no.' And sometimes he says, 'not yet.' But He always hears your prayers." So simple, yet so true my friends.
A really important message you need to take away from this is He is always there. Of course, we all love the times when we're walking through life and we feel His grace all over us. It's not quite as fun when we are crying out to Him and yet we can't feel Him. And it's definitely not fun to walk through times when we go into protective mode not letting anything or anyone, including God, in. But in all three instances, no matter how we feel. He is there. As my friend, Denise reminded me the other day during a conversation, the reason I know He's always there is because it's not about a feeling. It's about a truth. The Bible speaks the truth. I rest in that truth.
I want to leave you w/ this. I love Moses. When I was walking through breast cancer the first time in the midst of it I felt this annointing on me. I knew God wanted me to touch others on this journey. That others were watching to see how our family would go through it. Would we still hold God's hand. During that time, this scripture spoke to me:
11But Moses said, " Who am I to go to the king and lead your people out of Egypt?"
12God replied, " I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you, when you worship me on this mountain after you have led my people out of Egypt." - Exodus 3:11-12
You aren't parting the Red Sea yourselves, my friends. If He has a Red Sea for you to part. I assure you, He is there w/ you. All you have to do is let Him in. But remember it's not always about a feeling . . . it's about the truth.
Glady's Aylward, missionary to China more than fifty years ago, was forced to flee when the Japanese invaded Yuncheng. With only one assistant, she lead a hundred orphans over the mountains toward free China. During the journey she grappled with fear. After passing a sleepless night she faced the morning with no hope of reaching safety. A thirteen-year-old girl in the group reminded her of their much-loved story of Moses and the Red Sea. "But I am not Moses," Glady's sighed in despair. "Of course you aren't," the girl said, "but God is still God!" When Glady's and the orphans made it through they proved once again that no matter how inadequate we feel, God is still God, and we can still trust Him.
Sometimes God calms the storm, other times He lets the storm rage and calms us. Either way, He sustains us and brings us through. We always have a choice: either we give the burden to God or we try to carry it ourselves. "Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you." - Psalm 55:22 (NLT)
I loved all of this for my family and I have crossed what has felt like our share of Red Seas. Anyone in their 40's, like myself, has most likely not only crossed their share of Red Seas, but has also watched many of their friends and family do it, too.
Sometimes I cross them w/ grace trusting Him most of the way. Other times I have in the midst of them hysterically cried out "I feel so alone, I want to know you're here in a very real way, because I know you're out there somewhere." And other times angrily I have pushed everyone including my husband away and said, "Look, I know this is my problem, for I don't feel anything. I'm not even letting myself feel. And I'm angry for I don't think God has forsaken me, it's me who has forsaken Him." During those times I pray desparately to get back in touch w/ Him.
All these emotions are called living life. It's a fallen world, we're a fallen people, so the emotions are real and they are strong, but He is out there and He will take care of you and me, too. Sometimes not in our timing. But as my husband said to Jesse, my little boy, once when he was praying to make a soccer goal, "God always hears your prayers. Sometimes He says, 'yes.' Sometimes he says,'no.' And sometimes he says, 'not yet.' But He always hears your prayers." So simple, yet so true my friends.
A really important message you need to take away from this is He is always there. Of course, we all love the times when we're walking through life and we feel His grace all over us. It's not quite as fun when we are crying out to Him and yet we can't feel Him. And it's definitely not fun to walk through times when we go into protective mode not letting anything or anyone, including God, in. But in all three instances, no matter how we feel. He is there. As my friend, Denise reminded me the other day during a conversation, the reason I know He's always there is because it's not about a feeling. It's about a truth. The Bible speaks the truth. I rest in that truth.
I want to leave you w/ this. I love Moses. When I was walking through breast cancer the first time in the midst of it I felt this annointing on me. I knew God wanted me to touch others on this journey. That others were watching to see how our family would go through it. Would we still hold God's hand. During that time, this scripture spoke to me:
11But Moses said, " Who am I to go to the king and lead your people out of Egypt?"
12God replied, " I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you, when you worship me on this mountain after you have led my people out of Egypt." - Exodus 3:11-12
You aren't parting the Red Sea yourselves, my friends. If He has a Red Sea for you to part. I assure you, He is there w/ you. All you have to do is let Him in. But remember it's not always about a feeling . . . it's about the truth.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Can a Ho Ho curb your appetite?
Dinner conversation is always amusing at my house. I try to talk. Scott and Josh try not to take me seriously and point out my faulty thinking. Jesse laughs. Lilly steals my food while all this is going on. Last night was no different as I brought up the interesting topic of eating a piece of fruit before dinner.
Scott and I have been trying to eat healthier. Scott tends to eat few carbohydrates. I tend to cut calories as a whole. But either way this theory I learned from an article my friend shared with me seemed to be a win. She showed me an article which suggests if you eat a piece of fruit before each meal there is something that goes on in your body causing you to be full and thus eat less at the meal. Now I realize at this point my scientific reasons for this were vague and there in lies the problem when sharing the new found information. I guess you could say I went in unarmed w/ good information. My mistake.
I brought this information up as dinner conversation with Scott. I said, "Scott, I don't remember the reason why this works, but in an article, April, shared w/ me it stated if you eat a piece of fruit before each meal, you will then for some chemical reason eat less at the meal because you will feel satisfied sooner." At that point I should have just said, "Let the bantering begin!" for it did.
Josh, who never misses anything I say with flaws, instantly replied, "If you eat anything before your meal you'll be fuller and eat less!" Scott agreed, "He's got you there. Could you eat Ho Ho's before the meal? That would fill you up." The joking went on quite a bit from that point. I finally tried to end the conversation with an exasperated, "Fine, eat Ho Ho's!" still on it went. I think, however, my favorite moment in this conversation was when Lilly ran into her playroom and came running back in delight w/ her stuffed monkey saying "here's Hoho! Her Hoho is a little white monkey character on one of her favorite shows, Ni Hao, Kai-lan. Isn't it obvious, the fun never ends at our dinner table.
So it seems if you have a good tip to share w/ your family and your family likes to point out where there might be flaws in that tip, come prepared w/ the reasoning behind the tip as well. I'm not sure it would have mattered in this family where I, believe it or not, play the straight man to their humor, but it might help my credibility just a bit.
For now, I say eat a piece of fruit before your meal, because that sounds better for you than eat a HoHo or a Hoho before mealtime. But if it's snacktime, I suppose I say eat responsibly and don't over do it. I have no scientific backup information to go with this advice. It's just my theory.
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