The Pumpkin Life

Happy Halloween!

Recipe of the day:  Appropriately fall.  This is a recipe I made for a house-warming party for my soon-to-be in-laws a couple weeks ago and it was quite a hit!  After all, who doesn't like to eat out of a pumpkin??

Props go to Ginger Snap Crafts for this great idea!  That link takes you straight to the recipe, so I will just add my pictures with explanations on how I changed it up.  The comments of people who had tried the recipe said it was a bit bland, so I added a couple of extra spices to jazz it up....yummy!

Turkey, corn, green beans, and rice mixture

This is the mixture of spiced ground turkey (instead of sausage...we have red meat allergies in the family) with the frozen veggies.  I want to make this again and really experiment with different veggies!  I added a little bit of nutmeg to the meat as it was cooking since there was nutmeg added to the inside of the pumpkin; it tasted great!  I also added quite a bit more pepper than the recipe called for.  I tried to keep it as simple as possible since kids were eating, but I think the use of more herbs would be even better!  We actually served it with a pumpkin soup piled on top, so we were not lacking in any flavor :)

This is the inside of the pumpkin after it has been scooped out and the salt, pepper, and nutmeg added.  I'm not sure why it looks like the remains of someone's sneeze, but I assure you it was all spices!

After the mixture was added :)

This is the part in the recipe that I felt could have used a little more explanation: the steam tent.  In order to get the water for the steam tent I filled the cookie sheet about halfway with water and then put another cookie sheet opposite way with the pumpkin on it so the pumpkin didn't get soggy.  I don't know if that's the way to go, but its the only way I could think of!  Hope the picture is clear enough.

And this is the pumpkin all wrapped up and ready to be baked!  Full disclosure: I picked too large of a pumpkin for my oven so I couldn't fit whole contraption in.  After spilling the water everywhere and slightly panicking for 5.2 seconds I realized I could just take the lid of the pumpkin since the foil would keep the steam in regardless (and no one was going to eat the lid anyway).  Crisis averted!  

I realized after the dinner that it might have been kind of funny to cut a hole in the side of the pumpkin that looked like a mouth and then drawn some eyes as well- it would have looked like it was puking haha!  Maybe not the most appetizing, but it would definitely be appropriate for Halloween :)  

No good?

Tissues and Tea

I was on high stress for so long this year that my immune system was weakened.  Now that my stress levels have been reduced my body felt the need to pay me back by totally taking me out of commission for the last couple of days.  I don't remember the last time I was so sick and even today, day 4, I am not feeling quite ready to get out of bed.  

Sweating or shaking with cold?  Decisions, decisions

I used this time as an opportunity to learn even more about my essential oils (when my eyes didn't hurt too badly to read a computer screen).  

I learned that peppermint brings down a fever when applied to your forehead and the back of your neck (note: do NOT let the peppermint drip into your eyes unless you want to feel the sensation of your eye trying to melt out of you head.  Should this happen, use coconut oil, preferably the one provided by doTerra since it is in liquid form, to rinse out your eye. NOT water).  You can apply the Peppermint as often as every 15 minutes to get high fevers down.

I learned that Oregano is a ROCKIN' oil to use when sick.  I added 1 drop of Oregano to my chicken soup when I felt like eating and used it in an oils shot: fill a small shot glass with water and add 1 drop Oregano, 2 drops On Guard, and 2 drops Lemon.  Gargle (they say for 5-10 minutes but seriously- that is pretty much impossible!  I go for as long as I can past 1 minute...which means I do it for about 1 minute and 5 seconds) and swallow.  You WILL gag, feel like your mouth is on fire, and think that no healing is worth this kind of discomfort but suck it up and just make sure you have some juice or something to quickly follow it with.  Discomfort only lasts maybe 2 minutes. Do this about 3 times a day.

Pretty much how I reacted after my first Oils shot

Another protocol with the oils was to apply Oregano, Peppermint, On Guard, and Melaleuca (an anti-viral oil) to the bottoms of my feet as often as every hour.  I applied Eucalyptus oil and Breathe blend to my chest to relieve my coughing and put Lemon in my water, which I drank as often as I could....the oils need water in order to move through your system effectively.  Lemon is excellent at removing toxins from the system.

The last thing I did was put On Guard and Eucalyptus in my diffuser to keep the air cleansed and my lungs clear.  

I'll keep doing all of this today to get the last of this vile sickness out of my system!  I don't even want to think about how bad this sickness could have been or how long it would have lasted without using the oils!  Experiencing how quickly other sicknesses have been eradicated while others around me with the same sickness suffer much longer has proven to me that these oils work faster and more completely than the pharmaceuticals on the market can hope to do.  If you are interested in learning more about how to get these oils, please contact me!  

In the meantime, eat as healthy as you can (especially a variety of fresh veggies!), load up on the Vitamin C, and PLEASE do not get a flu shot...they do much more harm than good!  

These are 2 great articles that discuss the truth behind flu vaccines:

http://saveourbones.com/flu-shot/ This one also gives the top ways to make your immune system more healthy so it can fight off the viruses naturally.

http://vactruth.com/2013/02/01/8-damn-good-reasons/ This one discusses the top 8 reasons not to get a flu shot, one of which is for pregnant women.  Some shocking statistics discussed here folks!  

Weekend's End

I know you have all been just DYING to know what costume I chose so I will leave you in suspense no longer!  Thanks to my dear sister-in-law's idea I was....wait for it.... Little Red Riding Hood!  Quite the hit I might say, especially since I spent $5 and 10 minutes getting ready :)  Thanks to A Simple Nest for posting these wonderful instructions.

Rockin' the 'hood with my hood

What I like best about this outfit (and which is very hard to see in my terrible-quality picture) is that I got to wear red lipstick! Score!
What I like least about this outfit is that way too many people decided to sing "Little Red Riding Hood" to me.  Google it if you don't know it after these lyrics: "Little red riding hood, you sure are looking good...". These people then proceeded to tell me that they were watching out for the big bad wolf for me.  Thanks for the backup, random tipsy guys.  Feeling safer already.

Other than that I'm not feeling so hot again.  Clearly there is something fighting for attention in my body.  I'm loading up on Echinacea tea and oil, Flu Bombs, and On Guard blend.  Hopefully a good night's rest is all that's needed again to kick this sickness!  So off to bed I go :)

Costume Anxiety

Day 10/30 in my blog challenge

If you've read my blog before today (awww!  Thanks so much for your continued reading!) you might notice there has been a slight change to my blog's face.  A makeover, if you will.  Just moved a couple things around and made the title bright pink because pink is more joyful than light green.  Right?

I was procrastinating from finding a costume, if you want to know the truth.

The restaurant I work in is in the middle of a party zone.  Which means that for a big holiday like Halloween you better get prepared for some...errr....FESTIVE times!  I'm a little frightened honestly.

At any rate, if I don't dress up while working I will feel tremendously out of place and super boring.  I'm not a fan of either thing; hence the costume anxiety!

Usually I'm super prepared for Halloween and can't wait for it to get here.  I'm at least going over costume ideas in my head while the month of October slips by.  Not so for this year.  Moving houses and planning a wedding sort of got in the way.

My bad.

I at least thought I had until the actual holiday to figure something out but it turns out the major festivities are tonight.  My version of what should happen is never what the majority thinks.   I'm pretty sure this is why people think I'm....unique?  Naive?  Weird.  I prefer awesome, but whatever ;)

I'll never be as awesome as this kid though so that's enough about me

Anywho.  The whole point is I'm completely lacking in creative juices right now.  I was thinking of being Merida from Brave but I'm just not sure about working in Middle Ages Scottish wear.

Just found out this is a job at Disney.  Dream job: FOUND!  Who says procrastination doesn't pay?

I hope all of your costumes are going better than mine right now!  Just know that the best has already been done and you can't beat it, so don't stress too much if you're still working on ideas:

Stud.

Also, just because I'm still LOVING my doTerra essential oils, I'm going to end by sharing how they are still changing my life for the best!
I have ALWAYS had trouble going to sleep and staying asleep but now every night before bed I put some Ylang Ylang (ooo that's fun to say!) oil on the bottom of one foot and some Serenity oil blend on the other (the foot has the most pores of anywhere on the body so the oils are absorbed quicker) and I sleep like a zombie!  If zombies sleep that is.  Not sure.  Anyway the point is I sleep HARD and this has never happened before!
I also ordered one of their new products which is fondly nicknamed the Flu Bomb because it a softgel filled with every anti-sick oil there is!  I felt super terrible the other night so I took just one of those little beasts and went to bed thinking I was for sure going to have to call in sick in the morning.  I woke up feeling better than ever!

But back to the major point: what is your costume this year, or what was your favorite from years' past?

Fall Around the World

In light of the fact that I have no pictures of changing leaves this year, I thought it would be fun to post pictures of all the places I have been in the past during this wonderful season.  Enjoy!

Kirksville, Missouri: my college town :)

A view from my home in O'Fallon, Missouri

The fruits of Polish soil!

I made so many things with that pumpkin!  And its 3 brothers....

I was shocked that there were different pumpkins than our orange ones in the States.  These, as you can see, are big and green and have quite a bit more meat than our Jack-O-Lantern counterparts!  I definitely got a work out cutting those pumpkins into small enough pieces to fit in pots to soften them up!

Polish Fall

Poland's Autumn was 99% golden.  The world was literally paved in gold!  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  The few bushes that were ruby red stood out like jewels in a crown.  I would go back in a heartbeat!

Polish Cemetery on November 1: All Saint's Day

Another Cemetery

All Saint's Day is a huge deal in Poland.  For weeks beforehand there are groups of people cleaning up the cemeteries to prepare for every citizen to come traipsing through.  Wherever there is family or close friends buried near you, you go to the grave with flowers, a special candle, and a broom/rake.  You clean up whatever leaves may have fallen on the grave since the massive clean-up, light the candle, place your flowers on the stone, and say a prayer for the soul's release from Purgatory.  My host family and I visited 3 different cemeteries in the Poznan area that day and the Autumn splendor mixed with this wonderfully strange tradition made for one of the most memorable days in my year abroad.  The best part was going back to a cemetery that night; all the candles were still burning and the effect was so lovely that its hard to explain.  Here's a picture to not do it justice at all:

Each candle represents a family/person who visited that day!

And then there is last Autumn...my one weekend of blissful escape from the heat to experience a little bit of New England fall for the first time!!  This is a Vermont Inn that just begs you to come inside and enjoy the fire with a cup of your favorite hot beverage!

Sorry if this took forever to load...hopefully the pictures were worth it :)  I have definitely been blessed in my ability to travel around.  Maybe next year I'll have some new pictures to add to my collection!

What is your favorite fall memory?

Dem Fall Days :)

Day 8/30.  Rockin' this challenge past the week mark!

Song: Sail, AWOLNATION.  I feel so chill and cool whenever I hear this song.  Love it!  Video is a little weird (but also kind of awesome...).

Weather: FREAKING AMAZING.  My windows are open and I have a blankie on to keep me nice and snug.  Just looked at the thermometer (i.e. my iphone) and saw that it is a brisk 70 degrees!  Oh my.  Florida has killed my internal cold monitor.

Confession:  Somewhere in this Land O' Hot there is a tree that has leaves that turn red.  I found evidence of this while at work and standing outside trying to convince people by my happy demeanor that my restaurant was where they wanted to eat.  I looked down and saw there a beautiful red leaf!  I picked it up and stared in rapturous wonder at it while passers-by looked at me strange and walked by with caution.  I then sniffed the leaf with glorious satisfaction; I closed my eyes and imagined walking through a forest saturated with that smell and color.  Needless to say, I was asked to go back indoors so that customers wouldn't be afraid to come eat.

Worth it.

"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"

I have a confession to make.  Ok, a couple of confessions.

Firstly, I missed a day in my blog challenge.  (Oh no!  Yet the world is still moving on...) Internet went kaput and I only just got it fixed this morning.  I still had internet on my phone but somehow writing a blog post on there just didn't seem too appealing!

My second confession leads into my ramblings for the day, which is the only reason I feel the need to share.  I have a very active imagination so when I am in a situation where I must sit and wait and there is no stimulation (music, tv, etc)...such as when I am hold with internet support....my mind wanders itself into some pretty weird situations.   Apparently I have a flair for the dramatic because most of these wanderings go into some heroic situation where I end up dying and I have to come up with my last words.

I know.  I'm weird.

Today's mind wandering led instead to me being the final comfort in someone's life and how I wanted to give them strength with God's word.  They responded with the understandable and oft-heard question, "How can there be a God who is good if He lets pain such as this happen?"

I have to say that this is one of those questions that I am kind of scared to get in real life.  How do I answer?  Its so hard when you are put on the spot!  What if you say something wrong and instead turn someone FURTHER from God?  I guess that is why God helps me by having me ask myself these questions when there is no pressure.  Practice makes perfect right?

Anyway, He shared with me a wonderful answer.

Since our God is a god who loves us so much He will not take away our free will, He cannot just come down and stop us from doing evil.  If He could, there wouldn't have been much need to send His Son to die for us, would there?

God shared with me how much He needs us.

Wait a second...did I just write that??  GOD needs US?  Sinful, prideful, ever-failing US?

Yes.  He NEEDS us to be a witness to His love in the world.  He NEEDS us to care for the poor, the suffering, the lonely.

The well-known verse popped into my head: "Am I my brother's keeper?" Cain says this to the Lord as though accusing Him of not caring for His own well enough.  God's response puts the blame where it really belongs though....back on Cain.  "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground!"  In re-reading all of this in Genesis:4 I realize that God warned Cain directly before he even raised a hand against his brother.

"If you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you but you must rule over it."

The very next thing Cain does is kill Abel.  *Sigh*

God gave us literally everything we could ever want or need- even a way out of our tangled messes.  He tries desperately to get us to hear Him so that we don't have to deal with the pains of sin but more and more His voice is drowned out by constant noise, constant media interruption, constant tv shows to catch up on.

We expect love and happiness and the popular mindset is that when you get more THINGS you will be loved.  When we are comfortable then we can happy.  If there is any discomfort or if anything happens to our things or money, we have every right to complain!

What do we do to ensure that someone else is getting happiness and love?

We see people being abused and used and we do nothing except shout about how wrong it is.  Someone else needs to take care of these wrongs!  I would, but I'm a little busy right now so someone else needs to do it!  Probably the government!  Someone should start a group or something!  We need funding!

How about just visiting those in prison?  Or the homebound?  What about simple acts of kindness to spread a little love?  Words of encouragement to the kid you know is probably considered weird at school?  Offering to babysit for the parents who haven't been on a date in way too long?

"Am I my brother's keeper?"

Yes!

Good little reminder as we go out to change the world ;)

Frugal Living

In an effort to make my life a little easier, healthier, and less wasteful of money I have come up with a few ideas to re-define "fast food."

Today I made up a big batch of taco meat with homemade seasoning.  Making homemade seasoning is extremely easy and much healthier due to the reduction in sodium and the lack of preservatives.

Easy, healthy, AND delicious?  Sign me up!

With this taco meat at the ready in the fridge (and half stored in the freezer so I don't get sick of it) I can easily and quickly make tacos, nachos, mexican eggs, and salads.  Yum!

I also picked up some english muffins, some pizza sauce, and cheese to make mini pizzas that are MUCH healthier than the within-my-budget frozen pizzas.  I can even put some of my taco meat on one or two pizzas!

The last thing I am pre-preparing this week is boiled eggs.  These are another extremely versatile and healthy food!

I feel good about this small change in my life.  Not having to cook EVERY day when there is hardly any time to do it anyway makes one less worry!   Besides, I know I can't be the only one who is sometimes very bored at the number of times I get hungry in a day.  Making food every time can be exhausting!  :)

Long Days Filled with Love

Day 4/30 in the blog challenge.

It was one of those days that you prepare for mentally for at least 2 days.  Every time you think about it you're like "Ooooo that day is gonna be no good...sigh."

And then....

The day arrives and you wake up to softly chirping birds.

Traffic is non-existent.

The meeting was better than anticipated.

The church sermon is about hearing God's voice in your life. (Doesn't that sound familiar?)  Or, since this is third person and in no way illustrative of MY specific day...the church sermon is about that thing that clicks just perfectly with your current life situation.  ;)

Work is slow but friends and laughter are abundant.

An excellently generous tip makes the night worth it.

The man has cleaned the house for you while you are at work. (Swoon!)

Homemade macaroni and cheese.

Looks like there were differently plans in the works for that "no-good"day.  What a humbling thing that fills my heart with love :)

Marriage Preparation

Day 3/30 in my blog challenge.

Today felt like an age and a half.

My man and I went to our county's Pre Cana course, which is a required marriage course for the Catholic church.

In general, I feel that this is an excellent thing.  They go over important topics that many wide-eyed couples who split their time between Cloud 9 and wedding planning tend not to think of.  Financial issues, communication, what to do when "the honeymoon is over" to keep the love alive, wills, etc.

Turns out, however, that my man and I have a pretty good talking relationship and we already talked about most of these issues.  Hearing them discussed in depth for 7 hours while a beautiful Saturday beckoned out the wall of windows was a little trying.

My brain feels squishy.

The Daily Question

Day 2/30 in my challenge!

My diffuser is gurgling happily in the kitchen (which connects to the living room....I live in a fairly cozy place) as I type and I can just feel the Balance blend and Wild Orange getting my mind ready for the day!  I added a bit of On Guard, which helps fight colds/flus, since I woke up feeling a little under the weather, and now any airborne pathogens are saying their last goodbyes. (Those are three of my essential oils, by the way).

Dang it feels good to be a hippie!  (Only a slight variation to the Office Space song...but said with the same gangster attitude.  Maybe a little extra excitement.)

I wake up today with a question on my mind that I ask myself, and my man, a lot.

"What is God trying to tell me today?"

I love this question!  It focuses my mind to be more God-centered while giving me a chance to really sift through all the superficial thoughts in my head to the real meat of my problems.

What IS God trying to tell me?

There are as many answers to this question as there are people in the world.  I find that if I keep the question in my mind all day I realize God is actually saying a lot to me!  It continues to amaze me that God has a personal interest in my life but I have had enough proof of this to convince me of its truth.

I hear Him speaking to me when I turn on the radio and someone is talking about an issue I am dealing with and ways to cope.

I hear Him speaking when something hurts me...why is it hurting me?  What wounds from my past still need to be healed?  After all, no words can hurt us unless we consider them to have some truth to them.  We should love and allow ourselves to be loved but we shouldn't let others' human-ness upset our happiness.  Realizing hurt is one of the best ways to hear God talking!

I hear Him speaking in nature.  He is begging us to see the beautiful gifts He has given us!  Imagine if you gave someone a bouquet of flowers and they didn't even notice!  He gave us an entire world and we can't even see it sometimes.

I hear Him when I do something wrong in the day (so I hear Him a LOT).  He shows me patterns in my negative behavior so I can work on it.

There are so many other ways to hear Him!  Start listening and you will be amazed at how much you have been missing :)

Its such a great way to start a conversation and really get to the heart of what is going on in someone's life.  It is an excellent dinner table question to rehash a day.  A bedtime question to aid in searching your conscience.

So.  What is He trying to tell YOU today?

Back to the Essentials

In the midst of my crazy life right now, I am taking a 30-day challenge to write in my blog every day.  Now that I have my internet up and running it should be a piece of cake!  Right??

I notice that my mind works better when I get my thoughts down, and even though I feel kind of ridiculous writing in a blog that I'm not positive anyone really reads, I keep feeling a call to write it.  Plus, if I'm only writing this so that other people read it then its kind of pointless. :)  Maybe God has some plan for this blog that I'm not privy to, so on with the challenge!

I wanted to start my challenge by writing about something that has transformed my life for the best....essential oils!  This is a topic I know will be coming up quite often in my future posts so I think an introduction is necessary.

Plus, I just want to gush about how amazing these are for a minute! Or ten...

These oils are from a company called DoTerra and they are so crazy cool they had to come up with a new category of oil since they didn't fit with any of the others: Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade.  They are 100% plant derived for some good old-fashioned healing from the sources God put on this earth to heal us with!

Surprisingly enough, pharmaceutical companies were not invented in those first 6 days.  I'm not convinced pill mills were in the cards for our ultimate well-being.

Ooooo pretty!

I was amazed to learn that in order for an essential oil to be categorized as "essential" the FDA says that it needs to contain 20% of the oil it claims to essentially be.

20%.

What is the other 80%??  I don't think I want to know. And this is in places that advertise organic and other health food stores!  I don't know what percentage other places have, but I want no part of them.

Now, the good news about this is that if the FDA is saying 20% is ok, it must mean the essential parts of these oils are pretty powerful.  This is the only conclusion I can come to as to why such a low percentage could be considered ok.  This is also the conclusion I have come to after trying these oils.

Since they are 100% of what they claim to be, just ONE drop is powerful enough to knock out most problems.  Topically applied they get into your blood stream in 30 SECONDS, and since they work on a cellular level they fight problems from the very source.  Pharmaceuticals cannot fight at that level.  Within 20 minutes of applying the oils they are in every single cell of your body.  I don't have a scientific enough mind to be able to understand this part, but there are websites filled with the research and proof.  I really only need the proof in my own life though.

 Since they are 100% plant based they are the only essential oil on the market to be able to be ingested.  You cannot overdose on them.  Not one oil has only one function; each oil can be used for so many different things!

Household cleaners, bug repellant, energizers, mood lifters, hormone balancing....the list goes on!

I just can't get over how awesome these are and how well they work.  I'm sorry for the seeming sales-shpeal (anyone know how to spell that word??) but this style of living is something I have wanted since I can remember.  I wanted a big garden from which I ate and made my medicines and household cleaners and lotions etc.  I still want a big garden but now I can just eat and cook the fruits of my labor instead of learning from scratch how to be all medicinal :)

I feel better than ever and I'm only a couple months in to exploring everything!  Its a beautiful world...and I feel more connected to it than I ever have!

If you're interested in learning more, check out this page and the links on it
http://www.doterra.com/us/essentialDefinition.php
Or contact me if you are done depending on dangerous chemicals in your life :)

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

The most wonderful time of the year isn't Christmas for me (though I do LOVE Christmas!).  It is and always has been FALL for me!

Yay Fall!!  I know I'm a little slow to jump on the celebration wagon but its only because I have been grieving over my first Autumn that includes no changing leaves.  Every other year of my life I have had at least a weekend of wonderful crisp days crunching through leaves while a kaleidoscope of colors swirl and thrill.

Not so for this year.  My heart aches knowin it is out there without me to revel in it.

But I carry on!  Not that its TOO too hard...life is pretty good right now :)

I'm just loving fixing up my new little house (hence the lack of posts in such a long time) and wedding plans for sure keep me busy.  I go to pick up my dress next week (Eeeeee!!!!) and even though it won't be hemmed and such until much closer to the wedding, it will be so exciting to know that I am in possession of THE DRESS!

God continues to teach me every day how my imperfect ways need work, and what a blessing that is!  Those days when its like "I've sooo got this whole being Christian thing!  I'm rocking it!  Look at me giving all these spiritual responses to things and look how I'm doing this or that like I should!  Sainthood is EASY!"  And in the back of my head I'm thinking "Oh dear.  I'm about to get a big lesson.  But I'm not gonna worry about that in the midst of my rockin' it right now!"

Not that those days come very often.  Thank Goodness!

Biggest lesson God is teaching me right now, in the midst of my missing the season that seems to make up a part of my very soul, is that there is always something to cry about.  There is always going to be something that is going to try and get you down.

But our God is, without a single doubt, a God with a sense of humor.  I mean just look at the platypus! And if God, who sees EVERY SINGLE misery that happens in this world, can have a sense of humor and playfulness and CALM in the midst of all of it, then so can I.

If I forget, all I have to do is take a moment to focus on what is going on outside of me- birds singing joyfully and playing tag in the air, flowers soaking up the sun in glorious colors, rain that makes music as it falls, strangers exchanging smiles, car dancing in traffic, a child's delight in what has become commonplace to the rest- I could go on forever!

In the end there will always be more good than bad in the world.  God is in the details people!  Don't get downhearted by the world shouting bad news at every opportunity so that they can get a sensational reaction!  Take a moment and find God in the quiet of your heart and you will see the world for what it is:

The Kingdom of a Mighty King who will not let evil and strife last forever.

Then allow yourself to laugh :)