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?