Three poems by Chef

Running Slow

I'll stop to smell the flowers sweet,
You'll run to not be late.
And I'll arrive at half-past-nine…
You arrived at eight.

An you will get the raise in pay,
And I will not;
But you will never slow,
And I will know the joys of life,
The beauty of the snow.

The softness of the moss
Or the swell smell of the rose.
And because you get the money,
I'll know things you'll never know.

Holy Friday, Orthodox Easter (Pascha) and Blessings

Perhaps you have seen this blog post by Rita Wilson (actress in her own right, Greek Orthodox and Tom Hanks' wife). It compares some of the differences between Eastern Orthodox Pascha and Easter as celebrated by western churches. I'll leave it to her to explain some of the differences and let you read her blog post there. 

For me, the weekend really begins the week before: Holy Week. It is about more than just Pascha and Christ rising from the Dead. Sort of. It is about the whole process moving from Christ in the Garden to being on the Cross. And we commemorate those events in various ways throughout the process of Lent. 

Last night was Holy Thursday. We read the story of Christ going to the garden to pray, His arrest, and all the way through to the tomb being empty, from each of the four Gospel accounts told of the story - so 12 gospel readings in all; many churches read them in a very dark room, while you kneel. 

Holy Friday, the service starts out by commemorating Christ in the tomb. We sing the Noble Joseph, at the beginning and it really is just a beautiful and moving song. 

 


This is not our church, nor even my favorite rendering of the song, but does give a pretty good view of what the service looks like for many churches. 

Book Review: Rejection Proof

As kids, we face rejection on a daily basis - every time we ask our parents for something that we know is going to be turned down, we are taking a risk. By the time we move into adulthood, we have repeated that course of action millions of times, moving away from our "safe place" of rejection (our families) and out into the wider world of friends, teachers, and strangers. As adults, many of us have experienced that "no" so many times that instead of being inoculated to hearing a negative answer to our requests, we are paralyzed to even ask any more.

A man named Jia Jang took this paralyzing fear by the horns when he found himself living a successful life, by society's standards, but miserable because he was not living up to his personal dreams and expectations. He started on a quest to get rejected 100 times in 100 days. The idea involved making requests in varying levels of outlandishness, and getting rejected. His requests ranged from asking a stranger for $100, to asking to slide down a pole at a fire station, to getting a free room at a hotel, being the worst salesman ever, and so on. Through the course of this project, he refined his technique and received better and better results at getting to "yes".

Opening up to the ultimate rejection: 

Saying Good Bye

This weekend I lost my first parent. I have been so blessed to make it 38 years before having this happen. I knew it would come eventually. It had to. We're on a path to death from the moment we are conceived. But… this was not expected. And what do you say when it comes to pass? 

Taken before the birth of the two great-grands, and three additional grands… This is family. This is love.

I am the "lucky" one. Of six children, I am the only one who lives more than about a four hour drive from my parents. So I have not been as close to the final days and hard moment-by-moment events. And I am the "unlucky" one too. Now that he is gone, I am hearing more and more about how many of my brothers and my sister went to sit and chat with him regularly; some of the even went daily. The grandkids, and new great-grands who were brought around, and how much they were loved. 

Recipe Day! Lemon Crepes with What??

Lemon Crepes with Lemongrass-Lemon Cream Cheese Filling and NingXia Red Drizzle

A friend of mine created this amazing-looking recipe and shared it on her Essentially Pampered FaceBook Page today. You really should check it out for more Yummy, oil-infused recipes! She plans to set up a blog soon too, but until she does, FaceBook is where it's at!

Enjoy! (I'm drooling here!)

Psssttt!! Head over to my shared Three Friends Fitness Blog to see the recipe itself, along with important notes about the essential oils used! Doesn't that look SOOOO good?? I can''t wait to make them myself!

Understanding and Asking Forgiveness

As children, we're never fully aware of the pressures the adults in our lives are facing. This is as it should be - our homes should be a safe haven, a place of trust, love and communion. The adults may not always act or react "just so", but often work to shield their kids and do their best to improve on what their parents did.

As a child, it is rare to consider who your parents were "before."

Steeling Myself for Life's Transitions

I did not go to church today. It is not often that I miss Liturgy and those times (you know the ones) where you wake up and just. Don't. Feel. Like. Going. - I usually still go because it is the right thing to do. And I am always glad I did.

One of my favorite of the Skeptic's icons
St. Patrick

NingXia Red - a supplement every BODY could use!

I've finally finished a NingXia Red post over on the Three Friends Fitness blog I share with two of my nearest and dearest friends. They are more into the running scene than I am and so I stick with posts about food choices, essential oils, and other such wacky crunchy topics. I hope you'll head over, get some running love in there, get some longer-winded posts by me (you know I can't keep it short, no matter how much I try), and leave a note to show us that you dropped in!

I have a pretty Crunchy Life. There are degrees of crunchy and holistic, and my latest forays into the Crunchy world involve the supplement side of Young Living Essential Oils.I've been using Essential Oils for about 3 years now, and have stayed away from the supplements because I just don't. do. vitamins. But in 2014, the Crunchy Skeptic (AKA: my husband), was training for his first full marathon - the Air Force Marathon. Now, as you've seen with other posts done by me, I am not the runner of our trio. I leave all that to Slick and Spinster Beth, but the Crunchy Skeptic is on board with it. He needed something that wasn't chock full of all of the chemicals to train for the long endurance runs that a marathon requires. He tried several energy drinks on the market and found they all either tasted awful, were full of sugar and additives, or just didn't work for his needs.  So he asked me to see if there was something that Young Living might have to help. Enter NingXia Red and NingXia Nitro.

Click here to find out what NingXia Red is, why it works the way it does, and what happened to the Crunchy Skeptic on his first-ever marathon!

Stories from a Budding Writer: The Bear and the Bee

A note from the author: The yellow highlight is because it's the bee speaking and since bees make honey, their speech should be yellow. 

Enjoy!

Checking In - Big Changes Coming

I have been really really busy since Maestro's birthday - clearly - since I have not posted here about any of the other birthdays, any of the holiday events, none of my regular holiday reposts….

I don't mean to be quiet. I don't mean to be so busy, but life has been in the way!

One of the things coming up on the blog-go here is a series on Young Living Supplements.

I was doing these classes online through FaceBook, but I need to move them here so they're accessible to my team and to others who use Young Living and so I don't have to spend that time teaching the classes, and can instead be writing new ones, traveling to see and support my growing team, and travel to some of the free trips I've earned so far. It's going to be a busy year for all that!

So here is the quick update:

Maestro is 15 now. 6'1" tall, 180+ lbs, and really involved in gymnastics,
Chef is 12, nearly 13, 5'5"-ish, nearing 100 lbs, and loves doing long runs - the 5 and 10ks

Bruiser is 10, 5'2"-ish, around 85 lbs, and looking forward to getting back into baseball soon
Buttercup is 6, just lost her first TWO teeth, is sparky and spunky and ready to go
Mr. Magoo… the boy with the oh-so-expressive face, will be FOUR in April and is learning to count and to be one of the big kids,
and Marble-the-baby is 1, ONE!! and walking, four teeth in the front, two up, two down and climbing, running, following the big dogs,

and can someone please tell me: Where did my babies go???

The White Knight has decided that it is time to retire after 20 years 

and work from home on unfinished projects, and spend time doing what most dads never have the opportunity to do: spend time with, and really get to know his children before they start leaving home on bigger pursuits. And I'm ready for him to be home. June is the day. SOOO much to do in the meantime. 

Before that fateful June day, we have to find a place to move to, get moved, I have my regional and nation-wide trips to make, because the check I make will be what we live on (We'll be ready. I've found that Network Marketing really isn't a "pyramid Scheme" but in fact can create a viable, livable income) So for a little while, you'll see more Young Living/Essential Oil/Supplement/Health stuff on here mixed in with the family stuff and "deep thoughts." I'm so excited about the 2015 changes it isn't even funny. 

I'm so glad you're here with me. Whether you are friends and family or Young Living Oily friends, you'll see the family, recipes, homeschooling stuff alongside the essential oil, health, supplement stuff. See you next time!

I made Pina Colada muffins just this morning - so YUM and the recipe will come soon.