Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Technology overdose - time to take a step back.

Below is a post I did today on my Facebook page. Thought I would share it here, too. It refers to an article (link below) that I saw via the ever so popular - internet.

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This is so disturbing. We are in a full-blown technology epidemic (my opinion) & it's disgusting. Of course technology has it's pros - but what's disturbing to me is the 'unaware habit' everyone has developed. And I'm just as guilty as the next person. Or, I was. Honestly, I'm tired of the computer. I'm tired of my phone. I'm tired of telling my kids "hang on just one sec". I'm not tired. I'm actually exhausted from it all.

Life is so busy & I've taken a step back. I've said it a million times - life is to live! I'm still going to post & I'm still going to search recipes (way more than posting) but as I do many times, I'm simplifying. My kids have 5.5 days of school left & I'm ready for summer. I will be spending my summer with them, not technology. I already have a summer to-do list started & it contains things such as playing in the rain & making smores out back around a fire pit I've yet to build. But I'm going to. And I'm going to paint some bedrooms with them & shop at Goodwill to find fun treasures - I'm alive - why am I not purposely living?

Why are we not purposely living? What kind of message am I sending my children? If I can help you - take a look. Take a look at what you can do to live out loud. Take a look & see what you can step back from. Take a look into the future & visualize all the things you'll look back on one day. What do you see?

I encourage you to 'look' at this article. You don't need to read it, as the photos speak for themselves. Is this you? It was me. Maybe not to this extent, but enough for me to realize - why is my phone even at the dinner table? Someone will call me if there's an emergency.

Society Crumbling

Be inspired today.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

My 'forever' damaged fingernail - before & after.

First, this was a chore. My pinky fingernail on my right hand has been what I thought was 'permanently' damaged since age 16. I have always hid it or had my nails painted - so finding a photo that showed the damage was almost impossible. The quality of these photos is not good, but it's the best I could do.

Back story. At age 16 (THIRTY) years ago, when I was in high school, my pinky got slammed between two car doors. Oh it hurt, alright. Now I don't remember a lot about my teen years, but I remember that like it was yesterday. Basically, my nail turned green with blood (I should have had it drained, but refused), my nail died, fell off, grew back & was never the same.

From the top of my fingernail, down the middle section only (along the edges, it continued to grow fine), the nail never adhered to the skin underneath. Therefore, the middle section of my nail was always white, like the fresh part of my fingernail that grows out. It was never pink, or flesh, like normal. There were times it did try to adhere or grow together (I have no idea the technical terms), & part of it would, leaving quite a white 'point' (as you can see in at least one of these photos), but then it would break loose again. Grossly enough, I could stick some sort of object all the way down the middle part of my finger. It grew funky in the middle section, all the way to the middle of my nailbed. That's how far down it went. Sometimes it wouldn't go as far down, but again, it always broke loose & extended down to the middle of my nailbed. *In the second photo, if you look really closely, you'll see a beige color that finishes out the 'box' shape - that's one of the times it was trying to heal itself, but never was successful.





Enter Shaklee. Never did it even cross my mind that Shaklee supplements/products could remedy this (kind of like my armpit rash miracle!). I was so used to my nail being damaged, I don't even think about it anymore. Once you have something damaged for 30 years, it just becomes second nature. I did still hide it, because I was self-conscious about it, but I never even thought it would heal itself. It did.



I guess it was about 2 months ago I noticed my nail was healed. It's normal. Totally normal. The only visible abnormal part is that there is a tiny black speck on the edge of where the damage began. I think you can see that in the last photo. That's it. My nail is beautiful again which I so appreciate, because I have pretty nails & I like them. Shaklee is the absolute only thing that could have healed my nail.

Ridding toxins & filling our bodies with healthy products makes ALL the difference in the WORLD. Our bodies respond in a way we never could have imagined. It's truly remarkable.

Here's what I use:

All cleaning products.
All laundry products.
Vivix - cellular repair.
Vitalizer - best supplements on the market.

That's it! Another personal testimony of mine. Quick, simple & to the point. :)

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Monday, May 12, 2014

Shaklee's Basic H & Nature Bright to the rescue again!

Yesterday my daughter got chocolate ALL over her shirt. I swear I think she rolled in it. That girl. This shirt is almost brand new & had no stains. Ugh.

Today, I took Basic H & saturated all of the areas. I let it sit for a couple of hours. Then, I filled the washer & added Shaklee's detergent & Nature Bright. I turned the machine on for just a minute or two & then shut it off. For about 2 hours. Then, I ran the cycle.

Tada! Brand new again! I can't tell you how often this combination saves our clothes. No more trashing clothes due to stains!



Thanks, Shaklee!

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Saturday, May 10, 2014

How I keep my lettuce fresh for days!

This is sooooo simple. I wish I had known this years ago. I love dark green lettuce, leaf lettuce being my favorite. When it's on sale, I stock up! I got all of this for $2.00. Even with making a huge, taco salad this week, there's so much remaining. But as of today, it's still crisp! I had a tuna wrap with it yesterday & we be eating more of it today.

Salad spinners are for the birds, in my opinion. I bought one & used it once. With all the emptying of the water, using such small amounts in the bucket, spinning & respinning, rinse & repeat - forget that! I can wash the lettuce & dry it faster that using that darn thing.

This is what I do to keep my lettuce yummy & crisp:

First, I lay it on a cutting board & cut off the stalk. Then, I wash it all. All of it. Under cold water. After, I put several pieces in my hand & 'shake' them in the sink, to help release some of the water. I then spread it out on towels or paper towels.



Then the monotony starts, especially when washing so much lettuce at once. I take dry paper towels, stretch out the leaves, & start patting. And patting & patting & patting. They don't have to be perfectly dry, but they need to be mostly dry.

Once that is complete, I start packing. In the beginning, I used zip lock baggies, then switched to produce bags (as seen in the photo), but discovered they are too thin & rip easily, so I'm back to zip lock baggies. They work awesome.



In the baggie, layer a paper towel, leaves of lettuce, paper towel, leaves of lettuce, paper towel. Zip it up & it will stay fresh, dry & crisp for a week or longer! Fresh, clean & ready to go. (If I have less lettuce, I only use one, or two at the most, paper towels.)

Happy leafing!

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Friday, May 9, 2014

I'm low-carbin'!


Today is day 5 for me! I love this. It's a little challenging & I'm still searching for new recipes. Haven't really made a 'low-carb' particular recipe yet, but I will! I crave no bread, no rice, no potatoes (which is surprising, because truly, I'm a carb junkie. I cut sugar, too. I'm hoping by tomorrow I'm down 6-7 lbs. If you are wondering, I am taking no supplements/vitamins/anything pertaining to low-carb or weight loss. I'm doing it solely with food alone & my Shaklee 180 protein smoothees. I got this. :)

Here are two great low-carb sites I found:

alldayidreamaboutfood.com

&

holisticallyengineered.com


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Happy Friday!

Monday, May 5, 2014

Taco Salad with Greek Yogurt.



This is so delish! Even my kids love it. I add crushed tortilla chips to theirs, but omit from mine. Recipe is so simple!

Ingredients:

1.5 lb. or so ground beef.
Chopped onion (to taste - I use about a cup).
Chopped garlic (to taste - I use just a few cloves).
1/3 cup water.
Homemade taco seasoning (to taste - I add about 2 tbsp.) Recipe here.
1 can black beans (rinsed).
1 can corn (rinsed).
Lettuce - I prefer leaf lettuce.
Shredded cheese.
Plain greek yogurt.
Dressing of choice: salsa/ranch/italian.
Tortilla chips.

Cook beef with onions/garlic. Add 1/3 cup water & homemade taco seasoning. Mix. Add black beans & corn & let flavors blend for a bit. Toss on top of leaf lettuce, add salsa/ranch/whatever dressing, add shredded cheese, top with tortillas (I omit them from mine for low-carb) & greek yogurt.

MMMMMM! My entire family gobbles it! This will become a staple here in our home.

Enjoy!

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