Happy New Year! What a joy and a blessing to have this pristine new year — 365 days– to rejoice and live well! I wish all the best to you and your loved ones.

I am a firm believer in the guidance from Proverb 27 where Solomon writes “as a (wo)man thinketh, so is (s)he.” Your thoughts– your attitude– really truly affects everything in your life from your health to your satisfaction with your job to the way you are treated by your family members. This is a good time of the year to have a “check up from the neck up” as motivator Zig Ziglar refers to the time we spend in inventorying our beliefs and values.

Like I have, do you ever state to yourself that you are committed to losing weight or getting more exercise, and the next thing you know you are making a sneak trip to the kitchen to procure another cookie and back to the couch to watch a second or third TV show? It’s a good time to examine those supposed commitments. I’ve put together a weekly, free ezine that will help you set your goals, strategize and overcome obstacles on the way to achieving what it is that you want to achieve during this coming year. (Oh, you don’t have to start the process in early January– it’s available for a year of weekly emails at any time you decide that you want to start).

I’m really excited about the process of achieving my dreams over this coming yearand I’d be thrilled to have you along! Just sign up below:

(to enlarge the font, press Ctrl ++ ; to reduce press Ctrl +-)
Last weekend we had the pleasure of hosting a young family at our home while the Dad (of 3+ children– the one-more to arrive on Christmas Day) did a Natural Health presentation at our Church.

One of the not-so-good-for-you “foods” he mentioned I had never heard of being a ‘toxin’. Can you guess what it is? Here are the symptoms if you should take in as little as a scant quarter teaspoon of this ’spice’:

“The symptoms generally come in the course of one to six hours, and consist in drowsiness passing into stupor, from which the patient sometimes can be aroused with difficulty, and then is unable to recognize his surroundings, sees double and gives other evidences of cerebral depression, although sometimes he may be able to answer questions. Delirium is frequently present before the stage of stupor, or the patient upon being aroused, may be delirious for a time….Sometimes the first symptom is burning pain in the stomach.”

Go here to read more.

My Excalibur food dehydrator is one of my prized tools. Yesterday we had some folks home for a meal after Church and they all raved about the carrot pulp-sunflower seed pizza crust that I had just taken out of my dehydrator after its twelve hours of drying.

If you are interested in trying some dehydrating but can’t quite spring for a good electric dehydrator just yet, a friend on Facebook posted some information that you might find useful on building a solar dehydrator for about a buck… who can beat that? Click on the image to learn more:

These are the top-sellers on Paul Nison’s site… you might want to check them out there and see what the attraction is! Paul’s prices are decent and he only offers ethical products that he would take or read (or write lol) himself:

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.”
Matthew 13:45 RSV

“Life” intervened and I have not been posting about the Challenge as I did before. In fact, I have not been keeping my manual up either. I have, though, still been rebounding for 20 minutes each day, going to bed by 11 pm and not eating anything after 7:30 pm These are becoming entrenched habits.

I have introduced a set of breathing exercises that really helps with my adult-onset asthma. There are some nights when I wake up at around 5 am unable to breathe in or exhale fully. I do the exercises and then have a nice little sleep.

I have been doing some reading and based on what I have observed over the past several years (and never done much about– except got Vega testing and confirmed my beliefs) I have an intolerance to gluten and that has increased with age. So, starting today, I am going to avoid gluten in my diet. Two of my Toastmasters friends don’t eat any gluten to maintain their health. I will see what the results will be. There is an interesting explanation here by Walter Last.

So, starting today, I am back to my binder (21-Day Challenge Manual) and implementing the following daily as habits:

DIET AND NUTRITION: I will not eat glutens

EXERCISE AND FITNESS: I will add 20 minutes of my breathing exercises to the 20 minutes of rebounding

OTHER LIFESTYLE FACTORS: I will do something to de-clutter my office.

Go here for Completely and Totally Useful Health Information and Products

Come and add me as a Friend on My Church social network by clicking here.

Many of my readers have been asking me what I think of the whole raw cacao craze. For those who don’t know, raw cacao beans are now sold by different raw-food companies as the latest “superfood.” Cacao beans are traditionally roasted and used to make chocolate. Now, raw-foodists have found a raw version of the beloved bean and are apparently using it for its magical properties.First, let me start by explaining what my own personal use of cacao is. I’ve known for a long time that cacao is a stimulant. Not as strong as coffee, but its stimulating “qualities” are easy to spot when your body is not used to eating such foods. Because of this, I often used carob powder in my recipes. Carob powder is made from a fruit and has a taste that reminds of chocolate. It is naturally sweet. Instead of being a stimulant, carob is a mineral rich food and has a calming effect. So, like most raw-foodists, I used carob powder in my recipes. But, then one day, I decided to use cacao powder. I figured: if I’m going to make something that tastes like chocolate, why not use the real thing? I’ve noticed that cacao has a stimulating effect, but since I was using it occasionally (i.e. less than once a month) and just for fun in some recipes, I was not too bothered by that little indiscretion. However, I never considered it to be a health food.

Now, cacao beans are sold to us at an exorbitant price under the assumption that it’s one of the best things we could ever eat. I couldn’t disagree more.

First of all, cacao beans are not really food. If you found them in nature, you wouldn’t eat the seeds. You would eat the fruit, which is apparently delicious, and throw away the seeds. Even if you wanted to eat the seeds, they would not taste like chocolate. In order for the cacao seeds to taste like chocolate and become the cacao beans that we know, they have to be fermented first. They are fairly bitter, indicating the presence of a poison. And when I say a “poison,” I’m not making this up. Just do a little research and you’ll discover that cacao contains many chemicals with a stimulating effects, such as theobromine and caffeine.

Frederic Patenaude, is the author of the best-selling e-book “The Raw Secrets” and is known for his no-gimmick, BS-free approach to health and nutrition. You can get a free subscription to his “Outrageous Health & Success” ezine by visiting http://www.fredericpatenaude.com

Come and add me as a Friend on My Church social network by clicking here.

“Don’t compromise yourself– you are all you’ve got” ~Janis Joplin

A productive day…. talked with Clara in the a.m., did another page on my website, added to the Smoothie Moves newsletter, and did a GrannyX blog plus studied for tomorrow’s Raindrop Technique. Soon to bed!

Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon. ~Psalm 31:24 The Message

I connected with an old friend tonight… we hadn’t spoken on the phone for EIGHT MONTHS! So, we had lots to talk about. She is going to Holland in April, has been learning to use the computer, and will be taking Doula training in the fall.

I had a headache for a good portion of today but was able to do a page of my website, although not without glitches or gremlins, or whatever.

Off to bed pretty soon!

God bless,

Cynthia

As far as sunrise is from sunset, God has separated us from our sins. ~Psalm 103:12, The Message

I heard on VOAR Christian Radio this morning that that today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, 40 days from the day we generally celebrate the rising of Christ from the tomb–Easter. I had forgotten about Ash Wednesday, but it seems fitting that I had already decided to do another go at this 21-day challenge to develop new and better habits.

At this point I am (1)rebounding 20 minutes each day, (2)not eating after 7:30 pm and (3)in bed before 11 pm. I feel great about accomplishing these feats in my life. I know I’m still pretty far from goals to be slim and trim and glowing with health, but I’m on the way!

For this next set of 21 days I have the following habits that I wish to install:

(1) 2 raw vegan meals a day

(2) 10 minutes of breathing exercises (I’ll start with Yoga and carry on with the other program when my DVDs arrive)

Note: My husband just displaced something and I went into his office and found it. I began my own ten-minute clean-up and got distracted by finding the instructions about installing some software for my camera, so I’m taking time out to do that and still have 4 minutes of tidying left. Life is dynamic, what can I say?

Blessings!

(3) Spend 10 minutes tidying and putting order into my office each day– I am the Church clerk and the Secretary for my Toastmasters Club, as well as trying to build a website and run an internet business. I need ORDER in my life. 10 minutes a day is about 10 minutes a day more than I am doing right now… maybe I can get into the habit of filing things as I bring them into my office… hmm.

Blessings!

Cynthia

I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it all I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! ~1 Corinithians 9:26 - The Message