spirit,soul, heart,awaken, plan consciously

Another Sunday Service at SLC and a warm sense of peace and unity encompasses me. I read a quote from Byron, "All who joy would win must share it, Happiness was born a twin" I so get that".

Today's message was," No-one can hurt you without your permission". It resonates.

I am reading a book called "It Works", I've only read 2 pages and I like it already. It feels like a life lesson book. The fly page states " A concise, definite, resultful plan with rules, explanations and suggestions for bettering your condition in life".

FOOD FACTOID: Bell Peppers--all are loaded with antioxidants, especially Vitamin C. Red Peppers lead the pack with nearly three times the amount of Vit. C. found in fresh oranges. A single serving also has a full days worth of vision-protecting Vitamin A.

Think I'll go for a walk, maybe to Stanley Park, get some air and listen to my ocean.

I have already noticed the shorter days, my sleep is becoming more disturbed and harder to keep mood level, so will increase light therapy and get out into the sun.

Be Well Y'all. And So It Is.

Hazy weather, hazy brain, in sync with something ha!

Health factoid of the day, courtesy of "Eat This Not That"

The Bone Builder, ARUGULA, 1cup of these leaves has 10 percent of the bone building mineral found in a glass of whole milk and 100% less saturated fat. also some magnesium in every bite, more protection against osteoporosis.

How to Buy Arugula, Pick Emerald Green Leaves, not yellow or limp. the smaller the leaf the less pungent the peppery bite.

1)try to buy with the roots on, 2) enclose roots in damp paper towel 3) use green veg bags

THE PAYOFF- Vitamin K, which may improve insulin sensitivity, offering protection against Diabetes. Now that has to be a good thing.

As to Moi, When I feel physically challenged, pain, discomfort, it takes more energy to use coping strategies of survival, soooo, yesterday a washout, but today, managed to walk 5 km. and now ready to eat some watermelon, to rehydrate, and then some dinner.

Thinkin' I'll roast some new potatoes, green beans, and baby scallops, squeeze lemon over it all S+P and voila, dinner.

a tuff day' and so it begins

Only 3 hours sleep last nite, and nightmares galore. I spent all night running from people trying to kill me. Arghhh, writing is the last thing I feel like doing, so here I am fulfilling a pledge I have made to myself and the Universe.

My psyche that has buried these dark, difficult to express issues is not happy with my decision to excavate. That's my take on the nightmares, the bright side is I wasn't trying to kill myself in my dreams. So an emotionally heavy, low energy , tuff to slog thru brain to create coherent thought,day. I have the tears choking the back of my throat feeling every time I try to put words to the ick thoughts/feelings today.

Soooo gonna fall back on documenting a few recipes for B's cookbook and a few tips I've found in the book "eat this not that".

I mean who doesn't want to know which ice cream is the healthiest to buy,' Dreyers slow churned rich and creamy light', only 3 grams of saturated fat.

Romaine lettuce is called the cancer killer, b/c it's beta-carotene load is 712 micrograms per cup, and a university of Illinois study showed that high levels of beta carotene inhibited the growth of prostate cancer cells by 50%, oh ya!

I just had a marvellous brain strike, any and all who read this IF YOU HAVE ANY FOOD AND NUTRITION QUESTIONS OR RECIPE REQUESTS, ASK ME AND I WILL RESEARCH AND RESPOND TO THEM.

There, now I feel I have done something productive with my day. so 1st recipe is for Rick

MARS RIBS-- I use side ribs, I trim all excess fat and silver skin and then I score the meat lightly in a crisscross pattern. Place in the bottom of a large roasting pan (if more than 1 layer i use a rack but it's not a necessity) Lightly salt and pepper both sides and then Rub vigorously

with prepared spice rub(see below). I use beer or white wine and I pour it around the edges of the pan until about 1/2 way up the depth of the ribs sitting on the bottom layer of pan.

Cover with foil and place in a preheated 250 degree oven bottom/bottom middle rack in the oven for 3-4hours. then remove and let coolso meat will bind and not fall apart on the bbq. also may place in fridge overnite and rewarm in low oven to tepid temp and then place on bbq and baste.. ( if you skip the cool/fridge part do not put ribs on bbq because they will fall apart. Just use oven broiler and baste with the bbq sauce) VOILA MAR'S RIBS

RIB RUB: 1cup granulated garlic, 1cup granulated onion, 1/4 cup ground cumin, 1/4 cup smoked paprika(they have sweet and spicy , brand La Chinata, I use a little of both if I have it if not may be omitted) THIS IS THE BASIC RUB- FROM HERE EVERYONE CAN ADD OR SUBTRACT ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUAL TASTES- AS YOU MAKE THEM YOUR PALATE WILL TELL YOU WHAT TO TRY NEXT--THERE'S ALWAYS MAR'S EVERTHING TASTES BETTER WITH LEMON ZEST MANTRA. RIGHT B. YUCK YUCK

MAR'S BBQ SAUCE- as you can see I'm am not a proponent of sugar in my rubs or in my sauces. I use fruit to make my bbq sauce sweet and sticky-yum. Whatever fruit you want and in season is always better. Sooo potful of diced plums-peaches-grapes-pineapple- you get the picture. For every 2 cups of fruit 1 cup of liquid, water is perfectly acceptable, dash of wine never hurt a t'ing, and don't forget a pinch of salt. simmer on low heat for a couple of hours until fruit has completely disintegrated, and reduced by 1/4 to 1/2. 2 ways to do the next step, I like punch in my sauce so I add the next ingredients right to the fruit compote pot, if you like a more laid back sauce saute the onions and garlic first. Sooo next add 2 medium onions, 5 cloves of garlic, I use apple cider vinegar, but regular can be sub'd. I start with 1/2 cup vinegar, and 1 cup ketchup. Then stir and taste, salt and pepper, and any hot sauce, cayenne or chipotle you want to spice it up. I use chipotle powder, or buy a tin of chipotle in adobo sauce and use that. when it tastes good, use your stick blender to puree to a smooth consistency.

There I just proved to myself no matter how crappy I feel, if I can talk about food and nutrition my brain does the good hum thing it does when I exercise. Ahhhhh, better now. Thanks everyone, and HELP A GAL OUT AND SEND YOUR FOOD,NUTRITION, RECIPE QUESTIONS TO MOI. DAT'S ALL FOLKS.

to thrive or not to thrive

That is the question. I have been in surivival mode for a verrra long time.

I met a woman this summer whom I now call friend. She saw something in me that I had not only forgotten about, but wasn't sure I even believed I could resurrect. A kernel of my soul that has been so deeply buried by the pain and suffering of a chronic, unremitting clinical depression that my life has been purely about coping strategies employed moment to moment.

I was so busy, trying every day to exercise, eat healthy, journal, meditate, yoga breathe......to get myself to the next day that I am lost. Lost in survival, lost in the full time job of not succumbing to the worthlessness and hopelessness that is the trademark of Depression.

Oh and so much more, the no regular sleep, the lack of appetite, the unrelenting worry wheel(anxiety,procrastination,lack of self worth and self esteem to name a few) in my brain that is the only thing that goes at mach 10 in my life. Every moment, every step filled with lead and trepidation

. Sooooo all this to say, TODAY I begin to take my life back.

I believe by shining a light on my daily struggles, the darkness/poison inside that I share with no one, I will excavate the kernel of my soul that believes in a different life. Thanks to AKAB, for giving me the spark to begin again.

TODAY'S AFFIRMATION IS" I BELIEVE FAILURES ARE THE STEPPING STONES TO SUCCESS"

Thanks to all my family, nuclear and chosen for your collective inspirations.