We Made It!

It’s been a good week, mostly because we are now done with that detox.  It’s hard to believe a simple piece of bread could bring Kory so much joy.  Those last three days of the juice fasting left us both weak and hungry, but we made it and feel like we’ve done a good reboot on our bodies.  I think Kory is thinking twice about what he puts in his mouth now, which is good. 

I hate how much time it takes to eat healthy.  I gave Kaleb the book “Do Hard Things” which encourages teenagers to rebel against low expectations, and it was then that I realized I myself don’t do hard things.  I always want the easy way out – sitting down rather than exercising; reading the news and going on Facebook rather than diving into a Bible study; eating convenience food half prepared rather than making things from scratch.  Even making a salad takes more time than I’m willing to put in each day, but the last three weeks have certainly served to change that. 

For a few years now we’ve just had smoothies and nuts for our breakfast.  I put in all kinds of things in that smoothie so it’s filling and lasts us til lunch. That’s a habit I’ve already developed so at least that doesn’t take any additional effort.  Kory and I love the smoothies but Kaleb’s not real hip on them.  I put in a banana, apple, pineapple, blueberries, pomegranate seeds, pear or mango, papaya, carrots, kale or spinach, flax oil, coconut oil, protein fiber or tofu and Kombucha (a fermented drink).  It’s a good way to start the day.  We haven’t gotten a cold or the flu since we started that elixir so there must be something to it.

Lately I’ve been setting out a plate of cut up veggies on the table and they somehow disappear before dinner. It only takes a few minutes for that change, and it’s much easier than eating crackers or other processed foods, so that’s an easy habit to keep up.   Making a huge salad every other day is not so fun or quick, but it’s something I’m doing right after breakfast so it’s ready for lunch.  And I’ve been making my own dressings, which I must say are kinda fun to do now that I bought a Magic Bullet – this little blender thing I got at Costco.  Triple love it.  And the dressings really make a difference on how the salad tastes day after day.

I’ve been making a big pot of soup on Sundays that last us for the week for lunches and if there’s extra I’m putting them in large paper cups in the freezer for a quick cup of soup down the line.  We all love soup so that’s cheaper and healthier than buying canned soup, which is so high in sodium.  Simple changes really, but it sure helps with the whole “eating healthy” thing.  Dinners are the only real challenge.

Last night I made a few things I’ve never made before – eggplant for one.  When I was a kid my mom made an eggplant and all us kids wouldn’t touch it.  She made us stay at the table until we ate it, but we sat there for so long my parents were going to miss the nightly news.  They got up from the table to watch TV and left all five of us in the kitchen to finish our dinner.  It was in the 1960s and protests were on the news every night so we hatched a plan to sneak off into our bedrooms and make protest signs DOWN WITH EGGPLANT, WE HATE EGGPLANT, NO MORE EGGPLANT, and we all marched into the living room carrying our protest signs.  My parents cracked up so much over our demonstration that we actually didn’t have to finish the eggplant and I’ve never had eggplant since – until last night.

I didn’t say a word to Kaleb about the eggplant, and he didn’t know my history with it, but the minute he took a bite he said, “What’s this?” with his nose curled up.  I told him it was eggplant.  He said, “It’s gross.”  I told him then and there, he didn’t have to eat it if he didn’t want to.  That kid eats everything and I didn’t want to scar him for life over a vegetable, so that was that.  I was just proud of myself for taking on a vegetable with so much baggage, but I will say, I’m never cooking it again.  Kory was fine with it though.  I served it with Tempe – another thing I’ve never cooked before. It’s fermented soy that works as a chicken substitute.  It has a nice consistency and it soaks up whatever flavor it’s been marinated in, so that was a pleasant discovery and we’ll definitely be eating that again.  Life is such an adventure.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about vegetables and I just finished reading the book of Leviticus in the Bible and I think it’s no coincidence that the old Hebrew law required sacrifices of grain and meat and didn’t require them to bring any vegetables.  I’m sure it wouldn’t be a sacrifice!  I’m thinking they must have had vegetables as such a main part of their lives that only a real sacrifice would be things they didn’t eat so often…. 

I’ve also been devouring books on heart healthy diets and it’s curious to me why the body heals itself so quickly on just vegetables and fruits.  The challenge for me remains to keep the bulk of our food intake in the plant-based realm and stay away from fats, dairy, meats and processed foods.  I’m in the learning curve so every night is an adventure.  I’m hoping to discover some good recipes that I can just repeat a few times a month and stop this non-stop search for something good and healthy to eat that everyone loves.  I’m sure it can be done. 

I told Kory his new theme song should be “Stayin’ Alive” (from the 1970s movie “Saturday Night Fever”) cuz that’s all I’m trying to do – is keep him alive, and it seems it’s more do-able based on what he eats for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and therein lies my challenge.

Life is good.  Dinner may not be, but life sure is.

(All the photos posted are of the same tree - as seen from our deck.)

The End is Near!

The end is near! We are just days away from ending this 21 day detox diet.  Kory couldn’t be happier.  I could continue it forever.  It feels good to just eat plants.  I’ve never been big on eating animals anyway, so this whole vegan thing works well for me, but Kory isn’t so sure.

This weekend we are kicking things up a notch and doing a 3-day juice fast just to top off the whole body cleanse with some umph, then slowly go back to the vegan lifestyle next week.  It will be interesting to see what my body does when I eat bread again.  Dairy already isn’t my friend, so I’m wondering if I’ll feel a difference when I start eating gluten.

Kory’s craving steaks, but I’m begging him to stick with the vegan thing at least another six weeks so we will have done it three months, anyway.  Since I do all the cooking, it’s easy for me to keep at the vegetable based diet, but it’s a lot more work and I get very discouraged doing extra things for his health when he otherwise doesn’t follow the program, so we’ll see how it goes.  I’m just trying to keep the guy alive and he fails to understand the strong correlation between what he eats and how quickly his arteries get clogged up.  Ugh.

I’ve lost a few pounds in the process, but not as many as you’d think if I’ve just been eating fruit and veggies everyday for three weeks.  We bought an elliptical exercise machine though and I’ve been using that everyday so maybe that will help.  We bought it for Kory’s cardio workout but it’s become a favorite family pastime.  Kaleb uses it non-stop since he sets his little Nook screen on the book holder and watches “America’s Funniest Home Videos” via Netflix.  I love the whole TV on demand thing so it works out well for me to click on an old episode of “Frasier” and get a 22 minute cardio workout while watching it in the privacy of my basement.  Of course, our internet is so slow, no one else can be using it on their devices when someone is on the machine, but we’re cooperating.  It’s a new toy in our house that we all love and I’m glad to have it.  Kaleb needs a place to burn off energy, Kory needs it for his heart and I’m hoping it does something for my behind.

Saturday we are invited to an 80^th birthday party for my old Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Faast.  In lieu of presents, she just wants everyone to write down a favorite memory of her, so this is what I wrote:

My Dear Mrs. Faast,

You will forever be MY Sunday school teacher.  I don’t remember anyone else stepping into that place from the time I was in kindergarten all the way through sixth grade.   You were it.  You were Jesus to me when I was growing up.  You shaped my world in ways you will never know this side of heaven.  I know there will be many jewels in your crown one day for all the time and love you poured into me and all the other kids at May Valley Alliance Church.

As a kid, I loved to go to church because I knew I would find love there, and that love was wrapped around me with your arms.  I always looked forward to your hugs and your stories about Jesus –displayed so artfully on that big blue felt board.  The stories you taught us are still pictures in my mind of Noah and the Ark, or Jesus and the empty tomb.  I would sit, hanging on your every word, anxiously awaiting the next character or background image you’d put up on the felt board at just the right time to keep all us squirming kids entertained.  The basement of May Valley Alliance Church is forever etched in my memory. 

I also remember the little white church bank you’d hold up each Sunday to see if anyone had a birthday that week.  Sometimes there would be a line-up of kids with coins jangling in their pockets waiting to drop them in the bank, one by one.  We’d all sit with great anticipation counting each penny as it plunked to the bottom of the bank so we’d know how old they now were.  Sometimes someone would drop in a nickel and we had to put our math skills to work right from the get-go to figure out their age.  I also remember every year you’d hand out the “perfect attendance” pins to those kids who didn’t miss a Sunday.  I still have mine.  They are among my most treasured possessions because they remind me of you.

My greatest memory though is that every Sunday, while we all had our heads bowed and our eyes closed, you would ask if any of us kids wanted to accept Jesus into our hearts.  If we accepted that invitation, we were to raise our hands while no one was looking.  I raised my hand every week.  I knew I wanted whatever you were offering because it must be good.  I never felt any different, though, and I thought I should, if Jesus actually came and was living within me, so I’d begin to doubt my salvation all week long.  The next week I’d raised my hand again, and again and again, wanting to be sure I “got saved.”  I’m sure I got saved a couple hundred times over all those years.  When people ask me to share my testimony and when it was that I accepted Christ, I’m still puzzled as to which day it actually was.  But the good news is, I am, because of you, and I’m still living my life for Christ, nearly 50 years later.

There wasn’t a lot of love going around in the house where I grew up, but I always knew I’d find unconditional love and acceptance in you.  It’s safe to say without the foundation in Christ that you gave me, without that unconditional love that you showed me, without that dedicated servant’s heart you demonstrated week after week, I would not be who I am today.  I have thought about you non-stop my entire adult life, and thanked God for you many, many times.  I’m so happy to be able to say THANKS for all you did.  You are a wonderful woman of God.

My Pal Dani

My friend Dani came for a visit last weekend.  It was a direct answer to prayer from a couple months ago when I was feeling rather lonely and wishing I had a BFF (Best Friend Forever) here in Skagit County.  I told God I was sad I didn’t have any good friends to visit with and the next day, out of the blue, I got a call from my dear friend, who lives in California, telling me she was coming up for a visit in February. Being able to look forward to her visit has gotten me through these dark and somewhat isolated winter months, so it was perfect timing.  I so wish she lived closer.

Because I’ve moved around so much in my life, all my really good girlfriends live somewhere else, with the nearest ones at least an hour away.  Sometimes I just want to go have coffee with someone or have the kind of friend nearby I can talk to about nothing at all or tell them about some awesome thing my kid did.  I need the kind of friend that will just be happy for me and not feel threatened by my relentless bragging about Kaleb.

I used to call Dani up when I was feeling like my life was in the toilet, because no matter how bad I had it, she always seemed to have it worse.  She’s been through a lot in the thirty years of our friendship.

We both agree there’s absolutely nothing either one of us could ever say that would make the other mad.  Unconditional love is the foundation of our friendship.  It’s good to have a friend that doesn’t require me thinking before I speak, because I do a lot of that, and in the process, I seem to upset people with my words -  but Dani knows my heart and knows I never mean any harm and would never take offense.

We met at my first job out of college – I was her supervisor, but she was clearly smarter than me, she just lacked any formal education.  It took her years, but she worked full-time, raised her two boys (and a husband), had foster children and still managed to get her B.A. and finally her Masters degree.  She’s now a school psychologist, which is a job perfect for her giftings.

Whenever I’ve needed a “time-out,” I fly down to California and spend the weekend with her.  It’s like going home.  It was her turn for a time-out this weekend.  While she was here she told Kaleb that he “saved her life.”  He didn’t know what she meant until she explained that another time she flew up here to see me was right after he was born.  The week before she was to come, she felt a lump in her throat and thought she was coming down with something because her lymph node was swollen.  She was worried about bringing any kind of sickness into our home with a newborn baby, so she actually went to the doctor, which she wouldn’t have done otherwise.  As it turned out, she had cancer, which would have gone undetected for much longer, had she not come up here to meet him.  He was impressed. 

I so enjoyed just sitting for hours and doing nothing but yacking with My Dani.  She didn’t want me to plan a single thing while she was here because all we needed was uninterrupted time to talk.  Does it get any better than that?  And that’s pretty much all we did.  She’s a very wise woman who has a perspective on situations that I admire.  She’s able to see things from every angle and deals with life’s traumas with incredible grace.   Her children and husband adore her and she’s the rock that holds her extended family together.  I couldn’t deal with some of the things she’s experienced, yet you’d never know she’d been through any of them because she just carries on, looking better than ever, and always smiling.  Whatta woman.  I am blessed to call her my friend.

Veggie Heaven

Life is still good.  I’m sure Kory tries to convince himself of that every morning, now that we’ve begun a detox program.  I’m hoping it erases all the bad food choices he made prior to landing himself in the ER a month ago.  As if going vegan wasn’t bad enough…

This program is run through the local chiropractor who is very much into natural healing techniques, so I’m all over that.  Kory isn’t nearly as enthusiast but he hasn’t complained once.  He said the best part is when I call out “Dinner’s Ready!”  I must admit, I’d like the whole process a whole lot more if someone else were making all the food, too.  But I’m trying to make it as easy on him as possible.  We’re eating vegetables every which way a person can.  We’re also drinking these protein/fiber shakes 2-3 times a day, which are supposed to keep us full, but Kory’s been hungry ever since we started this.  I guess I have more reserves to burn off, but I haven’t been able to drink the 3^rd shake, as dinner is filling enough. 

The rule of the detox is, eat more veggies than fruit; more raw than cooked.  So we’re going with fruit and veggie smoothies, salad for lunch, veggies for snacks and some kind of steamed veggies/veggie soup for dinner.  We are also allowed half a cup of brown rice and half a cup of lentils per day, so they work well in any soup base I’ve been making.  Tuesday I counted 30 different types of fruits and vegetables we consumed, so I think I’m doing the “variety” part pretty well.  We were also challenged to try new kinds of produce that we don’t normally eat, so that’s been fun (maybe not).  This detox lasts for three weeks, and we’re now on Day 4. 

This is a community thing so many people are doing it at the same time.  I noticed the local organic grocery store was out of many things we can eat – like lentils!  Good thing I’d stocked up before hand.  We are also attending weekly meetings for 4 weeks to talk about different aspects of toxins and ways to detox.  We found out last night how incredible versatile hydrogen peroxide is and the many ways it can clean not just our veggies, but the bathroom sink as well.  Who knew it cleans windows, laundry and whitens teeth? 

Our usual weekly routine is in full force with Kaleb.  He’s going somewhere every single day so he’ll never get cabin fever.  We’ve taken to doing a good share of school work in the car because of all the running around he does.  Kaleb and Kory finally went skiing for the first time this season last Saturday.

Kory’s been busy drawing his first commissioned piece of art!  I met a woman from Norway that works at a local potato barn and when she saw Kory’s drawings of Norway she asked if he would make one of her potato store.  Kinda boring building, but Kory was thrilled someone would actually pay him to sit and draw lines, and the woman was thrilled with how it turned out.  Woo hoo.

A few weeks ago I was judging a local speech tournament for our speech club that held an event in our county.  Kaleb couldn’t attend it because he had his science fair with his school on that day.  He came in 2^nd place overall, which is impressive when you consider he was up against 10^th graders and the judges said a first year student has NEVER placed at all.  He studied the affects of magnets on plant growth and discovered they do much better with a magnet in the soil. 

So, I was at this speech tournament and one guy gave a speech on how to solve the national debt crisis by imposing a “stupid tax.”  He outlined his proposal on what would get taxed, how much, and how it would be collected.  It was a pretty funny speech.  The very next morning, I was looking for something in the top of the closet and I put up a step-stool because I couldn’t reach it, but I was in such a hurry I didn’t extend the stool the whole way so when I stepped on it, it collapsed and gravity got the best of me.  I landed on my tailbone and smacked the back of my head and upper back against a dresser and I was in more pain than I’ve been in for along time.  I’m still in pain.  I had a pinched nerve, which a trip to the chiropractor fixed, but my muscles are still reeling and my butt hurts everytime I stand up or sit down.  My back is still terribly sore and one massage helped, and hopefully another one will, too.  All I could think about, as I was lying on the floor that morning, was how incredibly stupid I was and I wondered how much tax I should have to pay for that.  I guess I paid in other ways, more dear than money.

So that’s what’s happening in our world.  I have still been struggling with what to write each week in my Norway column, thus, no time to even think about what to write in a blog, but now that I’ve reached my two year anniversary, I might take a break for a while.  The editor offered to rerun my old columns, and if I don’t come up with more ideas soon, I might take her up on it.