▶ BREAK THE CHAIN – YouTube http://ow.ly/rffDS
Dance done November 25th Old Town Square Fort Collins
Zonta Club of Fort Collins/Zonta Says NO to Violence against women
Join Zonta Club of Fort Collins at 6PM November 25th on the Square in Old Town Fort Collins. Flash Dance to the song, Break the Chain, by Tena Clark/Tim Heintz. A Free education reception, featuring posters by local high school artists and speaker Beth Bruno MA, of the U COUNT Campaign, follows at The DownTown Artery, 252 Linden St Fort Collins. Zonta Says No to Violence against women http://ow.ly/qTwa1
Motivation is an inner drive to behave or act in a certain manner. (wikipedia)
Inner drive, what is it? where is it? How do I get more of it?
All questions we all have had at one time or another. As a mother of three kids, a ranch wife, working mom and all of the other things that women do I can tell you that sometimes motivation is gone right out the window. So, the search is on for some truths.
The basic questions I came up with are:
Where does motivation come from?
Why is it on and off during the day or during a period of time?
What can I do to get it back?
What am I doing that I can control?
Inner drive comes from self-talk. (insights link)
There are three major components to motivation according to Kendra Cherry psychology guide.
Activation – involves the decision to initiate a behavior.
Persistence – the continued effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist. Intensity – is seen in the concentration and vigor that goes into pursuing a goal.
With this information firmly in hand the process of motivation can begin.
Ok, so now what, you ask? Start with pen and paper. What needs to be done? Let’s start in the kitchen. Happy Kitchens/Happy Hearts my favorite place to start.
It starts right here in the kitchen. This is the activation part and is easy and simple. Write it down. The Kitchen Koach has the charts if you need help.
Set aside a small window of time each day to keep working on the plan. You can reward yourself later for being persistent. With your commitment to stick with your decision, ideas will begin popping up as if from nowhere. Build on this intensity and what ever tries to become an obstacle will be ignored and overcome.
You have finished your plan to a healthier eating style and you are just beginning. The next step is to set another goal to make your new healthier style work more productively by arranging your kitchen. Start again with paper and pen or use the charts we have designed. As your read magazines, research online and talk with friends you will get more ideas that you can add to your plan and the list will go on and on as you find a new purpose and now have skills to take action, persevere with an intensity you have uncovered.
Happy Cooking
I have been making bone broth for many years but just discovered the healing benefits of making it. Sally Fallon author of Nourishing Traditions describes in detail the benefits of making broth from chicken, beef, pork and vegetables. Our grandmothers knew that making broth from bones would relieve a cold and give us the precious minerals that help to fight off sickness and help us to stay healthy and fit. Bone broth is just what our bodies have requested.
While doing some more research on bone broth I found some detailed information about the benefits of bone broth on these sites:
Click here to see how Sean explains the nutritional value of the gelatin in the bones and the body building nutrients in the broth.
http://www.diynatural.com/bone-broth-quick-and-easy This site tells you how to use a pressure cooker.
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/recipe/2422683/2 This site is for those who like to see the stats of recipes. This one is for bone broth.
As I see more of the benefits of this super food I am getting hungry for some. I think I will go make a cup for my mid-afternoon snack.
To make your own you will need the following ingredients:
Large crockpot
3 lbs of bones
Water to cover
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Place bones in crockpot, cover with water, pour in vinegar and turn the pot on to low. Let sit all day and even over night. For the last 2 hours of cooking add any vegetables you would like. Garlic, onion, greens etc.
Pour the hot broth through a metal strainer and put into a flat pan to cool overnight. You will have a layer of fat on the top. This has lots of nutrients in it and makes up the flavor of the broth. Pour into freezer containers, label with name and date and freeze until needed.
This recipe will make a gallon of broth the first cooking; you can cook the bones again for another gallon.
Happy Cooking.
We love our super greens and have tried many different kinds of greens. Fresh were cumbersome and created a lot of waste since we don’t have garden space for compost. Some green powder was like eating hay out of the bale wagon on the ranch. Some were just not appetizing so was hard to swallow every morning. Then we visited our naturopath and was so excited to learn about adding blueberries to our smoothie. We added an appetizing color of purple, anti-oxidants, natural sweetener and help with our memory, because that is what blueberries can do. So now I have this tasty recipe to share with you.
In a blender add the following: This recipe will serve 3 adults
2 cups of any flavor 100% juice – start with orange then try something different later
3 scoops of super greens – we have found Green Vibrance to be one of the best we have tried.
1 banana
1/2 cup of frozen blueberries
1 Tbsp honey
Blend until all is blended well. You may have to use a scraper to get everything to blend well. Make sure to keep the scraper high so as not to hit the blades of the blender.
Pour into glasses and enjoy.
Some additions or substitutions:
Apple juice, coconut milk, kombucha
frozen peaches, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges
We like honey the best for sweetener but have tried xylitol, sugar, and date sugar.
Quiet time is healthy time
A cup of coffee, yes I drink it and love it, I am Swedish you know, my devotions and the early morning dawn. I had been doing my devotions since 1982 when My Father and I started our walk together. My head is clear, my spirit at peace and am ready to hear Your voice. Guide my thoughts today Lord and give my life direction and purpose. I journal my prayers, thoughts, requests and gratitude, my day begins and I am ready to face the day.
I read a bumper sticker the other day, it said Be Still and hear the voice of God. I wonder, “Am I still enough?” “Am I really hearing Him for my purpose?” Then I go to the kitchen to make breakfast and now know; I am right where I am supposed to be. Make the coffee, cook the eggs, actually Justin fixes breakfast and I make the green smoothie. Life is just the way it is supposed to be. There are trials and there are blessings. I am learning to take each minute with gratitude for the moment it is.
As I make the Hot Cross Buns for this Easter Day, I am reminded why I am here. God uses my hands to prepare the food that shows His love. Do you know what the history of the Hot cross bun is? The tradition was started in England in the 14th century. A kind-hearted monk baked them on Good Friday to feed the poor as the legend goes. This action of love has grown into a tradition that the little buns contain sacred powers of protection. What a great story. My buns are in the oven and I will top them with a cross of lemon frosting. Some I will give to a neighbor. Some I will take to our early Easter dinner. Then I will have enough for Easter morning as we get ready for the Holiest of Days.
Happy Easter to you! Remember you are loved.
Are you overwhelmed with health information? What is the right food to eat or not to eat? What supplement do I take and what will affect my optimal health? What spices do I use? What recipe do I fix? What do I choose? Questions, confusion, chaos. I have felt this way on more than one occasion, but I am living proof that there is an answer.
The information that is available is amazing and unlimited. It can take so much time away from what is essential. The important thing is knowing what is important to you and your family. The world around you can do lots of shouting and hollering for your attention, they have the best idea, the best product, the next best thing. If you will allow me to come in, stay awhile, I have some ideas to share that will help.
1) The very first and most important thing you can do is breath. Take 3 deep breaths and forget all of the chaos around you. Let your breath out slow. That will help to calm your busy brain and bring you to a place of tranquility and transition to the next step.
2) Think about what is important to your family. Targeting your health objectives will get you thinking about what those needs are.
3) Make a plan. What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want to use? What don’t you want? Use our convenient forms to help you get it all together in one place.
4) Take action. Go shopping. Go for a walk. Do something. Your brain will engage and thoughts will come quickly and easily. Take a recorder of some sort, a pencil and paper, voice recorder or take notes on your phone. You will thank your-self for being so prepared.
5) Don’t give up. Take a step. Look around and check your list. What are you missing? What do you have left to do?
6) Most important of all, what makes your heart sing? What makes you want to dance in the aisle at the grocery store? In the aisle at the kitchen supply place? Go for it. You will never regret taking those first three breaths.
Now go, plant a garden, plan your meals, make a business plan. It is your life, it is your dance.
There is nothing like the fresh from the garden flavor that spices, herbs and produce brings to a meal. Last summer I planted a patio planter with basil, thyme and chives and used them all summer and well into the winter when I brought the planter inside. The sauces smelled of fresh basil and the pork made our mouths water when we put the fresh thyme on the roasting meat.
Winter is a great time to Plant an indoor herb garden, it is easier than you think. First you must find the sunniest spot in the house. Your herbs need lots of light. After you find that sunny spot and have a shelf or table to set your garden on you will need a container. There are ready made kits available if you want to purchase it all together, but remember I am a do it yourselfer and love to make things from scratch. I have chosen to use and old fish tank. It will have a green house effect with all of the glass for light and walls for holding in the moisture. Now add in some small rocks for drainage, 3 – 5 in of soil to plant your seeds in. Make rows for your favorite herbs and plant the seeds or small plants into the soil. Water lightly, don’t over-water you will drown your plants. Now sit back and watch them grow.
Your herbs will be getting leaves on them that you can use in a couple of weeks. Clip them off, wash them and chop for fresh tasting sauces and dishes.
Take the chance to grow something wonderfully tasty with very little effort. Mmmm, yummy.
It comes in like a lamb barely making an impression, then bam! Whap! There is a heavy blanket thrown over everything in life. Colors are less bright, crying is the only option and everything is piling up and things are bad, bad, bad. This was my week and I decided to let it run its course under the watchful eye of my family and friends.
It started with not eating properly or enough. Two bowls of soup and some crackers for the whole day is not an option. Three meals a day with snacks is what some people need to stay active, mentally, spiritually and physically. Now that is not giving us permission to over eat, eat foods full of sugar, fat and generally all around unhealthy. My body craves the natural health benefits of raw apples, carrots, lettuce and super foods. Protein is a must for each meal. Stop the sugar, it only adds to the problem and makes me mentally berate myself for indulging.
1) So step number one is to eat healthy and often.
Sunlight is another must for optimal health. 15 minutes a day out in the sunshine or in front of a sunny window will do wonders for mental health. I have opted to bask in the light of a tanning bed once a week to chase away the black hole of depression. It is less expensive than pharmaceuticals and less addictive. My bones get warmed all the way through and I am doing something to take care of myself.
2) Sept number two is to get out in the sunshine and feel the warmth of it on your skin and in your bones.
Music warms my aching heart when times are blackest. I have many genres that help to bring back the light into my dark spirit. What ever your favorite and brings back the memories of fun and laughter put them on your I- pod for times when you are wanting to remember better days.
3) Step number three make, an I-pod of heart lifting music.
Friends have surrounded me and let me cry and vent watching helplessly as I work through the depression. I have friends that are connected by our Christian walk that listen when God tells them to reach out to me. They are there for comfort and support and friendship. Family is the circle that surrounds me as I fight through. It is scary for them as they wonder how long it will last. Family members cook and comfort me, making sure I am eating the healthy foods that will do combat in the battle. 
4) Step number four, let your friends help, let your family in they can see things that you maybe don’t want to see, while holding your hand in love and friendship.
As I come out of the darkness to the light, I am finding that I am not spending enough quiet time with God, just taking care of my own self. I have a friend that call’s it filling my bucket. When giving to others, working, being a person in the world we sometimes forget to take the time to take care of self and our bucket gets depleted and needs to be refilled.
5) Step number five is to take care of yourself. By taking this step, you will be have a full bucket to give to others.
I am back in the dance. Live, Laugh, Love, in the Light.
So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you. Deut 31:6
Good food, good health, good life, good blessings. My take on cooking is that the heart of any home is the kitchen. The kitchen can bring joy from sorrow, peace from strife, hospitality from rejection. I find God in my kitchen; He meets me when I am kneading the dough for whole wheat French bread to take to a friend. He blesses my life when I cook a pot of soup to take each week to my volunteer work at church and share with whomever walks in the door. He brings joy to my family when we try new spices and healthy changes in an old recipe. My heart is full when I can teach my grown children new techniques that will help their busy lives to be more manageable.
In Genesis 18 Abraham tells Sarah “Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal: knead it and make cakes. Vs 7 Abraham ran to the heard, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man and he hastened to prepare it. Vs 8 so he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them: and he stood by them under the tree as they ate”. Hospitality has been a gift from God to bring us together in peace and harmony. I will make a commitment to bring more to my kitchen to show them how much they are loved and how to love one another.
Come dance in the kitchen
