Happy Earth Day

I wanted to know when Earth Day was, since a friend mentioned it and was not sure if it was Friday or Saturday.  When I did a little research online, this is what I found:

When is Earth Day 2017? This observance always falls on April 22. On Earth Day, enjoy the tonic of fresh air, contact with the soil, and companionship with nature! Walk through the woods in search of emerging wildflowers and green moss. Go outside, no matter what the weather!

WHAT IS EARTH DAY?

Ever wondered how Earth Day started? This observance arose from an interest in gathering national support for environmental issues.

In 1970, San Francisco activist John McConnell and Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson separately asked Americans to join in a grassroots demonstration. McConnell chose the spring equinox (March 21, 1970) and Nelson chose April 22.

Millions of people participated, and today Earth Day continues to be widely celebrated with events on both dates.

The most common practice of celebration is to plant new trees for Earth Day.

EARTH DAY ACTIVITIES AND IDEAS

Celebrate Earth Day!

• Plant wildflowers! See our article, Wild About Wildflowers.
• Go native! Plants thrive when they’re natural to your area. See our article on natural landscaping.
• Bring nature into the garden with plants that attract butterflies.
• Try an organic vegetable garden. Here are tips on organic seed-starting.
• Conserve water. See our tips on a water-wise garden.

Old Farmer's Almanac: http://www.almanac.com/content/when-earth-day-2017


I had forgot all about the Farmer's Almanac, the only place I ever seen one was when I went to visit my grandparents.  My grandparents have a farm in Monticello, we used to visit and stay with them during summer and holiday vacations.   In celebration of Earth Day I  have decided to cook outside on the grill, and stay on my eating plan. Dinner will be BBQ chicken and roasted brussel sprouts.

Last week was Easter, there was a lot going on. Everything I made was low-carb, high protein.  We had ham, green bean casserole, cauliflower (potato) salad :

It was really good, I made it just like regular potato salad, except with Greek yogurt instead of mayo. I also made a carrot cake, without white flour or sugar.  I used coconut flour and fax seed as substitute:  

I wanted to try something I had never tried before, so I also made tri-color roasted carrots: 

These were all easy to make, were really good and didn't leave me with Holiday eating regret: 

We had a lot of fun on Easter, we were invited over to the Campbell's who always make us feel like family.  The Campbell's are family from our church.  I usually spend Christmas alone because my daughter is with her father, this past Christmas, they invited me to spend Christmas with them. It was a lot of fun, we played this card game called "BOB", so much fun. 

Today I visited Sam's to pick up groceries for the week.  As I was leaving, a lady heading out the door looked at my buggy and asked, how do you make brussel sprouts. I explained to her that I roast them in the oven with salt, pepper and drizzle with olive oil. They are so good this way, I told her I put them in my omelet in the morning or in a frittata, not to mention they are filling and really good for you.  She said she had bought some once and boiled them, since she didn't like them, she never tried  again. 

                                                     

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C).
2. Place trimmed Brussels sprouts, olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Seal tightly, and shake to coat. ...
3. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, shaking pan every 5 to 7 minutes for even browning.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts Recipe - Allrecipes.com

allrecipes.com/recipe/67952/roasted-brussels-sprouts/ 

                    Love this song and the video is pretty cool too. I wanna go back by David Dunn

Forgiveness

So my favorite radio station decides to launch a World's Biggest Small Group in the spring (Which reminds me I am behind on readings).  The theme is Forgiveness and this is my testimony.  I will admit when I heard forgiveness was the theme, I thought, eh this doesn't really apply to me. I decided to go along with the study, besides it could not hurt.

Today's  message was:  

So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sister[a] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”- Luke 17: 3-4

One of the Artist gave a testimony of when he was in college and had to exercise forgiveness.  This got me to thinking; I tend to let things go pretty easily. There isn't anyone that I need to give forgive.  Little did I realize, I still have to renew that forgiveness.
     For some reason my father came to mind, my earthly father, his name was Freddie.  Perhaps it was because he was the last and biggest forgiveness of my life. My father and I were estranged most of my life. I can count on both hands the times we spent together or the memories we shared.  I loved my grandfather like my father, but we didn't live with my grandparents.  One would think growing up without a father would not make that much of  difference. Fast forward 20 years and I am blogging about it instead of going to a Therapist. The only unforeseeable set back was a girl who would eventually turn into a lady that  didn't know how to be loved  or relate to a  man.
    Several months ago, it became evident, I had unresolved feels.  I was scrolling through social media (which may have been where I began to go wrong), and I came across a meme. I have looked and looked for the meme, but not been able to find it.  It said something to the effect of: Just because a guy is nice to you, does not mean he is interested in being in a relationship with you. The meme immediately made me feel I was lacking in tools and foundation.  I felt at a disadvantage.  It was then that I realized I had to forgive my father.
     You see at the time there was a guy that was being really nice to me and I found myself attracted to him and interested in getting to know him more. He was not doing anything overly nice or out of the ordinary (though, I wish he would). He was just being a good guy. I have always been attention deprived when it comes to men, which leaves me hyper sensitive and vulnerable.  To me, it felt like I was desperate and at a disadvantage. No one really wants to feel desperate, this really made me upset.

I had so many questions for my father. I had no one to show me how a man is suppose to treat a woman.  I wondered why my father didn't come to visit me in the hospital when I had surgery at 12.  I wanted to know why he was in the lives of his other children, but not in my life.  Was there something I didn't have? Was there something wrong with me that my father didn't love me or tell me he loved me.   My father was said to have problems with substance abuse.
     I often times think I am unworthy of being loved, because the man that was to show me, never got around to it.  This is not to make me out to be the victim, but just me putting some of the things that cross my mind in writing.  I have also thought that a person from a home with both parents may not want to be with a person from a broken home.  I know it sounds crazy, but I have thought about it, trying to make it work may be more of a challenge.  Not everyone is up for taking this on, I know it is going to take a special man to love me.

My father died in 2013, I never got the answers to any of my questions. I never went to a Father- Daughter dance or know the bond or experiences of being a Daddy's girl.  Now, I could hold on to resentment and unresolve, letting  it consumed me.   Or I could forgive him, I could let it go, and hope again.  I can give the broken pieces of my heart over to my Savior, for Him to fix.  Which is what I did, that day I saw that meme, I cried and left the pieces of my broken heart at the feet of the King.  Only He could turn the broken pieces into something as beautiful as forgiveness.

                                          
                                       

New Season, New Goals.

Spring has sprung! March 21st marked the official start of Spring.  Things have been going non stop. The 24th of March was my birthday, then the Spring Fling Picnic in the park, this past weekend was the city's annual Springtime Tallahassee and this weekend coming up, I am attending another spring  birthday party for an awesome 6 yr old.  As I transition into this new season with all these events and activities, it is easy to forget things. I almost forgot to refresh my healthy lifestyle journey.  I thought about what I want to revamp and work or focus on.  I came up with two things; one for daily diet and the other for physical health.  The two things are no flour/ gluten-free and stronger core. I decided to try flour/ gluten free because I want to cut out processed foods. Flour and gluten are  major player when it comes to processed foods. I chose to work on my core because core engages the most muscles. Engaging the most muscle at time burns more calories, so it makes sense to me to work the core.  I have already revised my plan of eating, focusing on high protein. My biggest obstacle was going to be bread, you know sandwich bread.  It did not take long to switch to turkey bacon or whole wheat.  Bread was going to be a lot more challenging.  At the picnic in the park, a friend brought bread, which was flour free.  I took this as a great opportunity to try some of the breads out there. These are the two I have tried.
The Ezekiel 4:9 bread was the one I saw at the Picnic, this comes frozen in the frozen food section.  Of course, it takes getting used to.  The bread is made up of mostly grains so the texture is different. I will say I toasted it the first time and seem to like it better toasted.  The bread is more filling than regular white bread or whole wheat bread.

The second bread it Fitness Bread.  Less expensive than the Ezekiel bread, but even more dense. One thing different about this is that it comes as one long slice, which I kind of like. This bread has a taste like Rye bread, with a thick nutty texture.  I like to toast for breakfast.  

For my core, I went onto Pintrest, to look for more core engaging exercises.  To be honest, I go to Pintrest  for all kinds of ideas.  I have designed my dream walk-in closet, planned my wedding and handbag stalk.  I still have not gotten the Smith Florentine bag in natural by Dooney and Bourke. 

I am not going to lie, I have been cyber stalking this bag for years now.  I just can't see myself paying three to four hundred dollars for a bag. 

On Pintrest, I found some core workout, exercises and challenges. I have not done any yet, I want to develop a good rotation of core exercises to keep from getting bored.  I did make sure I worked on my core last time I went to the gym.  Today, I will do some sets on the stability ball.

I would like to focus on these new goals, but underneath it all, I am creating a diversion or distraction. From what? From thinking about this guy.  If I keep my focus on the goals at hand, I wont keep finding myself day dreaming about this guy.  To be honest, it isn't working; it is helping, but not keeping my mind from wondering, from dreaming.  What if? I find myself talking to God about it.



I heard this song while I was in Tampa, when I back I heard again and fell in love.