The B-I-B-L-E

Sister Bear is holding a bible that once belonged to my grandfather, given to him by my grandmother. It has all her underlinings and notes. I have this bible close at all times.

Fall Walk..

While I'm having a bit of trouble in the writing dept lately, I am certainly not having any trouble reading wonderful and touching writings of others. I have to share this sweet treat from my friend, Leslie at "My Mommy's Place"......
http://mymommysplace.com/blog/2009/10/30/a-fall-walk/

Writer's block, it happens.

Lately, everytime I get excited about writing at my blog.. I'm stumped. Not sure what to write about, what to say or how to even feel. It's been a bit frustrating. I read other blogs to gather inspiration and then I fill up with all these great ideas, or at least the feeling of good ideas. I bounce back over to my blog and start to type and I end up just hitting the "delete" button. Why? It sounded good, it felt good, what happened? Not sure. I guess you can say I have a case of "Writer's block".

This may just be a message to me, that it's time for some quiet.

Hunting for fun at the Patch!

"I'm not a little Punkin!"

"Hush Little Baby" (video by Sister bear)

Tonight, Sister bear was singing all her favorite songs and she decided on her last one to make it up as she went along. This is her favorite lullaby that she loves to sing to Brother bear when he has trouble falling asleep.



and then we found this and loved it.....

Foods from God

It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners... God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body! God's Pharmacy! Amazing!

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye.. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food..

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

What to do with PUMPKIN? Turn it into soup RECIPE!

I just had to repost this fall "goodie"! It's an all-time-fave and mighty delicious. Best way to enjoy it, wait for a cool day, bundle up, visit a nearby pumpkin patch and then go home and make this tasty soup and feast away. Make enough for left overs and some to gift to a neighbor. MMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm.....


This is my new favorite homemade soup that I've been making once a week! So I thought I'd pass along a good thing to you guys.... You can enjoy it either "hot" or "cold", and dip some garlic bread.

What to do with PUMPKIN? Turn it into soup RECIPE

1/2 stick real butter
1 cup chopped onion (i use almost 2 cups for more flavor)
1/2 tsp curry powder (i use 1 tsp for more flavor, well actually i go to town w/this spice and just open the bottle and pour...)
1 14 oz can pumpkin
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
2-1/2 cup water
2 tsp chicken base
2 cup half & half

Directions:
-Saute' onions and curry powder in butter.
-Place in blender and puree for about 1 min.
-Add 1/2 cup of pumpkin and 1/2 cup of water, blend for 1 min.
-Add remaining water (2 cups), chicken base (2 tsp) and other ingredients. Blend.
-Add the half & half (2 cups) and heat all together very slowly in a saucepan or pot for about 30-40 mins. (I cook this on my lowest setting "low" and just leave it on as long as people are still hungry, it shouldn't burn.)

This comes out the best when you use as many organic ingredients as possible. I say that for any meal you prepare. Ok, going to make my family a pot!

Linda Remembered.. .

this was on the program at linda's funeral:

and it was the perfect poem about who Linda was:
"to Laugh often and much;

To win the respect of intelligent people

And the affection of children;

To earn the appreciation of honest critics

And endure the betrayal of false friends;

To appreciate beauty;

To find the best in others;

To leave the world a little better place

Than we found it, whether by a healthy child,

A garden patch or a redeemed social Condition;

To know even one life breathed easier

Because You lived;

...This is to have lived well."- -Bessie Anderson Stanley

Wish more people were like Linda. This world would be a better place.

http://ramblingsfromaramblingmind-lindarizz.blogspot.com/

Sister Bear "Flashbacks"

(My favorite photo of Sister bear and I taken at Selby Gardens, just days into being pregnant with Brother bear and not knowing yet -photo taken by my sister)

As I am approaching the plans of Sister bear's 4th birthday, I can't help but think back upon the earlier days of when Sister bear was "little". It seems so long ago, but when I came across these journal entries, I couldn't help but smile, laugh, tear up and want to relive them over and over again. I know I can only relive the memories and with that, I am going to share them. More will come as I plan her party over the next month. Enjoy the story of a pregnant mother already mothering a toddler. Let me preface that Sister bear and I were living on both sides of Florida at the time, mainly on the west coast while Papa bear worked and lived mostly on the east coast. Yes! Glad those days of separation are over. Read on and enjoy the colorful photos that capture some beautiful moments.....

(Laying on her favorite blankets, the heart one from mama -a valentine gift and "Lamby" the lamb blanket from my mother when she was born.)

Friday, February 29, 2008

so it's "LEAP YEAR" and here are a few Sister bear stories to share with you today, lets just say leaping is lightly used to describe this day.......so we're at the "little house" aka our apt in deerfield beach. getting ready to head to the "big house" our house in port charlotte. i am packing the car and getting it ready for our big drive across the state. Sister bear is bouncing around the house being her cute self and exploring new things. she finds a star that was once attached to a gift bag given to me by nichole, it has a little foam cube attached to the backing w/adhesive. Sister bear is playing with it, she loves stars and all of a sudden she is holding the star and there's no longer a white foam cube attached to it and she is picking her nose and breathing heavy. i immediately connect the two, while remaining calm and having brief flashbacks of stories from my mother about me shoving and sticking things in my mose as a baby. i tell Sister bear to stay still and let mommy take care of it. hoping she will only want to blow and not inhale at this time. i use my fingers as tweezers and retrieve the little white foamed cube that is obviously shoved in a place it shouldn't be and with great success accomplish a mother's dreaded dream. i pull out the cube and hug Sister bear with relief and let her know to never put anything in her nose again. i also let her know how badly she scared mama. she knows (no pun intended) what being scared is all about. mommy accomplishment of the day #1!

(In Holley, NY with Nonni picking flowers at a very old cemetary we stumbled upon. She is truly my sweet little flower child.)

(The best kisses from Papa bear, camping in Big Sur, CA with all our great friends and my niece. Sister bear was a natural at being one with nature.)

lets move onto our next adventure....we decide to break up the drive and enjoy the youthful day and stop at the big shopping extravaganza in fort myers. we venture into target, a place i haven't been to in a while and just couldn't get in there fast enough. so i decide at some point, i'd like to buy me a few dresses for a pregnancy photo session i am going to be doing soon. while i try things on, Sister bear is enjoying all the fun contents in mommy's purse... she fixates on my burt's bees lip balm, it has a slight hint of pink, so she paints her lips, teeth and chin, i don't mind.. i am getting a moment to try a few things on and it's burt's bees, it's practically edible. so as i am done, i gather all the loose things from my purse, my few items of interest that actually fit nicely, Sister bear and lastly, my mind.. we exit the dressing room, i give Sister bear the dressing room number "4" to let her feel like a big girl, telling her to give it back to the ladies and say thank you. not another second passes and she's off and running, yes, with her number "4" in hand and a sprint that could probably win her an olympic medal. i am frantic (in my mind only, trying to remain calm) my vision begins to blur, i grab my stroller as fast as i can and begin shuffling thru the racks and let me remind you, i am at a SUPER TARGET, so with question of which direction has stella run to? wishing i knew, i pick one and go speeding thru as if i am playing broom ball with my stroller sweeping thru the aisles not caring about what gets knocked over or who i ram into.. i need to find Sister bear. i am calmly, but louldy calling "SISTER BEARRRRRRRR!!!!!" nothing, i can in my mind see her running in and out of clothing racks, laughing with glee and a sense of freedom that she longs for any chance she gets. her hair must be blowing in the wind, the number "4" must have fallen from her hands racks ago. where is she going? she doesn't care, how fun is this free footed journey. while mama is no where close to finding her, panicked and strolling that stoller thru target at a speed never seen before. i ask random people, "have you seen a little girl run by?" "no" they say, or "i hear one, over there!" over there, is nothing but an empty corner that holds jewelry on a turntable. i retraced my steps, thinking logically, she must go back to familiar territory, and just when i am about to think she's gone forever, another mother of two, pushing her full basket with children in tow, says, "she's over here, what's her name?" i say with great passion, "SISTER BEAR!!!!!" and here she comes, running into my arms, smiling as big as that sweet little mouth can stretch. no number "4" to be found... but my little girl ran straight into my arms. i told her that she "scared her mama and to please never go running away from mommy in a store again." i hugged her so tight, i forgot to breathe and asked her if she wanted some popcorn for being a good girl and coming back to mommy. she gave me a huge hug and kiss and then said, "i sorry mama. i want popcorn!" and away we rolled. mommy accomplishment of the day #2!

(Playing as she did so well on the living room floor at "Big house", our home in FL the place we spent most of her early years. Very peaceful place. We plan on spending most weekends there when we move back to FL in a couple months. Ahhhhhh.)

(At an Italian Festival where her great grandmother was born in Holly, NY. We were visiting with my mother in the fall of 2007 it was a 3 year tradition.)

you think it would have stopped there.. this is not so bad, as it is just funny. first let me just say, if you like, love or just are curious about honey. you must go now to your nearest starbucks and try their new "honey-latte". i had it iced with soy, it is absolutely my new favorite beverage. so i drink my coffee slow, and once we got home, i still had a quarter of my cup left and so i put it into fridge to savor the last little bit, thinking i am going to raise my feet up onto the couch and read my latest edition of gourmet magazine while sipping my ever delicious little bit of honey latte, and enjoy my little home after being away from it all week and just being tired from the drive across the state and the few heart stopping incidents Sister bear threw her mother into. well, it's not that easy with a toddler and being pregnant and so my coffee sat in the fridge a bit longer than i had anticipated. so i got distracted and forgot about it. well, stella is very comfortable with the fridge she knows her way around it, not that i am comfortable with that, but what's a mom to do? she usually has a cup of "moosey" aka "milk" that sits on the top shelf right in front, for her easy access. well, sometimes, it is in the form of a starbucks tall iced cup. yes, she mistakenly grabbed my quarter cup of iced honey-latte and sipped it enjoyably. just as i put the sound of what she was making with the visual of an empty delicious iced honey-latte. i ran to find her finishing it with a big satisfying smile on her face. i laughed, i couldn't help it and asked her, "did you just drink mommy's coffee?" she smiled real big and said, "yes, i like coffee!" (and then she motioned slurping sounds with accomplishment) lesson to mama: no more coffee left in the fridge, sacrifice and put on high counter to possibly go warm. if Sister bear can't have it, there's a good chance, neither can you. so my daughter has definitely taken a few "leaps" today! and so have my heartbeats. HAPPY LEAP YEAR!

(Sister bear and her Noppy, my sis.. they have a very special bond because Noppy has been there with her from day one and we are very close sisters. The little ones know that from a very young age)

(Blowing bubbles with Mama outside Nonni's house, enjoying the fall season in upstate NY. This is when I had just found out I was pregnant with Brother bear and we went to visit my mother. We loved going on walks outside, the season had just turned to fall. It was a lovely time in my life with Sister bear.)