Back in February, my daughter turned 18, my other daughter turned 5, and I turned 40.  We have a tradition that we decorate the marker board with a birthday message to the recipient.  Well this was the board this year. 

My children call me young even though I am 40.  40 hasn’t been something I dread.  I didn’t even blink.  My husband and I kind of joked about it, but I like that I am getting older.  I hope that my life is maturing and that I am learning new things and becoming a better person as I age.  I feel better physically at 40 then I did at 30.  Those were my baby bearing years and I had a lot of extra weight to carry around.  But now I can stay active and feel physically better than I did back then.   My favorite thing to do is get up in the morning and just when the sun is coming up I walk.  I walk down the mountain that we live on and walk back up it.  I did an elliptical machine for years as I lost my weight, but a few trips up and down that mountain are intense. A good workout.  When I do it consistently I may throw in a few jogs on my way up.  It is nice having that available right outside my house.  God knew before we moved that I would miss my exercise machine (because I couldn’t take it with me) but he still provided me with even a BETTER way to get my exercise in.

This past year through some routine blood work, I noticed that my iron level was low.  Yes, it was my own fault by not eating enough iron in my diet.   I wasn’t consciously noting what I ate as I was just busy and didn’t want to take the time.  I did an easy trick and had bought raw,organic, grass fed beef liver from our local co op.  I cut it into chunks and would swallow one like a pill everyday for a few months.  I know sounds disgusting, but it worked.  By the way you don’t even taste anything it was frozen and you just drink it down.

Then after a few months, I was like “okay I just need to consciously eat iron everyday.”  I threw out the liver pills and embarked on eating something each day.  In the morning, I would grab some oatmeal, or granola and eat it.  If I was busy and didn’t have time, I would grab a handful of cheerios and eat that.  Then I started just opening a can of garbanzo beans and leaving them on the counter to eat.  My youngest loves them and we grab a few as we walk by the bowl.  Then on my birthday we took the two girls out for dinner.  We love this good Chinese Buffet in Arden.  It is called Asiana.  It has something for everyone and is good.  Well there was another one in the town of Brevard called The Twin Dragon.  We decided to try that place out. I don’t mind new places, but when you have your heart set on enjoying certain foods for your birthday and then you don’t get it, it is disappointing.  At the Asiana restaurant they have little beef and chicken on a stick that they grill and it is delicious.  I love good steak bites when they are cooked almost burned.  It has good iron and I know I am eating something that my body needs.  At the Twin Dragon restaurant they had something similar where they cook it for you, but I sent my steak back two times because I tried to explain I wanted it well done, but it was still pink when I went to eat it.  So then that set me up for yuck!  Nothing tasted good after that.  The food was cold, things were overly deep fried, they had a huge selection but it did not compare to Asiana.  My advice to anyone living in this area…..stick to Asiana:)

Ok, now that I have made my restaurant review—not my intention……I am going to give them a positive.  They did have one thing that I went back and got a second plate of.  It was a Kale Asian Salad.  I had never had it before. I like to incorporate Kale into my diet as I know it is high in iron but it becomes blah when you just make plain salads.   This salad was delicious.  I knew I had to make it at home, so I did.

I had to go off memory when I made it at home.  This is what I put into my salad the first time:

• kale, chopped up into small pieces
• shredded cabbage
• sliced almonds
• green onions
• a handful of cranberries
• a bottle of sesame ginger Asian vinaigrette dressing from Walmart

It was my favorite salad of the week.  I made it on a Monday and would just eat bowls every night.  The salad stayed nice and I knew I was getting my daily iron in for the day.  Then I shared it with a friend and she recommended putting in some garbanzo beans for more iron.  Genius!!

Then I came up with this.  Same ingredients but with a can of Garbanzo beans.  I actual add more shredded cabbage, I just had a small bag at home this day, but I normally add equal amounts of Kale and coleslaw shredded cabbage.  It is my new favorite salad. I have it made each week and I just grab out a bowl for a meal.  I have tried various brands of dressing all Asian sesame ginger type and they were all good.  I decided instead of spending the $3 to make my own:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup vinegar
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 tsp garlic minced
• 2 T honey or brown sugar
• 2 T minced ginger
• 1 t sesame oil
• water –as much as you want for the concentration.  I add more to stretch it, you may want less if you just want to drizzle it on your salad as you serve it.

An easy–good for you–salad.  That takes minimal amounts of work to prepare.  I usually buy the chopped Kale in a bag but they were out so I got a stalk of it and that was easier to prepare.  I usually chop the bag stuff again to make it smaller and it is hard to handle the pieces.  But when it is a stalk you can chop right down as small as you would like it.

Hope you enjoy this!  Take a moment to feel the sunshine on your face today, even if it is for a few minutes.  Sit, have a cup of coffee, tea, or favorite drink and relax for just about 10 minutes during your chaotic day.  Take a fifteen minute break and do a pedicure. Whats a pedicure Amy?!?!?!? I know I have been there, who has time to do frivolous things?  We should be.  Take 15 minutes, trim your nails, and give them a coat of polish.  Even if your still in your pajamas  nursing a baby.  Taking those few extra moments for yourself is worth it.  It gives you a little step in your day and we ALL need that. Be blessed as you go about doing what it is God has called you to do.

Amy

 

I was talking recently with a Mother who had 2 children and worked away from the home and she complimented that I must be so busy with ten children and I said to her, “We are ALL BUSY.”  We are Mom’s and the life of a Mom is BUSY.  You may work away from home and have to deal with out side things that drive you crazy and then come home to deal with things still in the home, and my work is no different.  Even though I don’t have to go away from the home to an outside job, I still have busyness like she does, just different.

Thus my lack in blogging.  Life sometimes brings up different things to deal with and things that take up your “free time.”  But it is okay, I know I will come back eventually, hopefully after today it will be a regular thing, that is my plan.  But plans can change in an instance, you never know.

My children are at different stages in their lives, my youngest is now 3 1/2.    You would assume that since my children are more “self sufficient” that I would have more time for myself.  My goodness I used to change three cloth diapers a day, nurse a baby and still have time for blogging:)  But  I didn’t prepare as much food as I do now from scratch.  I didn’t have as many children doing school that needed me more.  I didn’t have older teens that needed to  spend time with to help cultivate heart relationships. It is different.  Just a different season of my life.

This is my first week, in a very long time that I have zero plans to go away from my home.  Do you know that it is the most productive week I have had in a long time and it is only Wednesday?!?!?  We are actively working on getting our schooling done for the year.  As the weather starts to warm up here in the Carolina’s who wants to do school?  Well I actually have it planned that my children still do “some” school to keep them busy–another blog post:)  But we are trying to finish up this year’s so that we can get tested and then put this year behind us.  We are down to just a few subjects so we are able to double them up and get them done quickly, and that helps when you stay home and can designate your time to that.

I have been enjoying working outside and doing spring clean up in the yard.  We have snakes and things here, so I am paranoid Mom to get into the woods and rake out leaves in the fall time–so we left them, but in the early spring we were able to clean them all out and get it ready for the season.  I dug up some ground and planted a “mini garden” for us to enjoy this summer.  I planted onions, sugar snap peas, kale, spinach, and a few types of lettuce leaves.  I started cucumber seeds indoors in egg cartons and will buy a few tomato plants here this next week.  Simple and easy but still something for the children and myself to enjoy picking out of.  I am waiting to see what is going to sprout up, as the dog thought it was a good idea to lay where I planted my seeds?!?!!? I don’t know how many got moved, so we will have to see this week what we need to replant.  Seeds take time to sprout and grow.  Planting them and not knowing whether they will sprout up and if I will have to plant some again, gives me anticipation to check everyday which ones are coming up and which ones I am waiting for.  I think it is like the seeds that we plant in other people’s lives.  We plant them and we wait.  Oh we want so much to go out and “force them” to start sprouting.  We wait and watch and hope that they will bring forth good fruit.  But it takes time. Just as my garden spot is going to take time.  Time to water it, cultivate it, and check in on it and see how it is doing.  But when those seeds have grown to strong sturdy plants and those big, red tomatoes are plump and ready to pick that is good fruit!!!  Yes, I may have to replant new seeds for those that did not sprout in hopes that  they will take root and begin again, but that will be something I look forward to doing.

Don’t ever give up in well doing for what God has called you to do. Even though you may plant little seeds in dead areas that need life desperately and you do not see things coming forth, don’t give up.  Keep on and plant again.  Water it, cultivate it, nurture it, and wait.  Until God tells you to stop, you continue doing what it is He has called you to do.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up

Galatians 6:9

As you go about your day…….make it a point to smile when you want to frown.  Speak positive words when you want to say something negatively.  Give a hug to someone just because.  Act on LOVE today.  Have a blessed day!

Amy