No Place But Texas

I love living in Texas. I'm sure other states are cool and fun, but there is a special kind of cool and a special kind of fun about Texas.

Today was Go Texan Day in Houston. That is the day all the trail riders come in for the start of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Yes, I said trail riders. Yes, it is the year 2008 and we have trail riders coming in to one of the largest cities in the U.S. of A. It is a sight to behold. Our city streets were filled with a different kind of traffic jam and I don't think anybody really minded.

You are just driving along when you see something a little different coming the other way.


And if all that wasn't enough fun for you, they stop along the way to have lunch.


Yes, the Ikea parking lot was full of horses, wagons, and cowboys. Some even had some really cool boots.


I thought this was pretty funny. Notice the wagon is outfitted with speakers on the back. And they have been eating Chick-fil-A! Where's the beef?



This little guy was so cute.



I may not be a Pioneer Woman, but at least I live in Texas!

My Culinary Heritage

I have been thinking lately about some of the things we ate when I was growing up. My father was a hunter and fisherman, so we always had plenty of fresh game in the freezer. Venison, duck, catfish, quail, we had it all. It one point in my growing up years we had a huge garden in our little yard, so we had fresh vegetables just outside the door. We even had chickens on two different occasions, so we had fresh eggs.

While all of that is well and good, not everything that we ate was so wholesome. Let me elaborate.

• Chinese food. The only thing I knew of Chinese food growing up was La Choy. You remember them. They made "Chinese food...swing American!". I hated it. Loathed it. Went hungry on Chinese nights. When I was in college, my boyfriend's parents wanted to take us out for Chinese food. I was petrified. What would I eat? I hated Chinese food. They ordered family style. Oh. My. Gosh. I was such a deprived child! I had no idea of the culinary delights that had escaped my palette. We went out for Mexican food, pizza, cafeterias, and what not, but we never went out for Chinese. I ditched the boyfriend and kept the love of Chinese food.
  

• One of my favorite side dishes when I was a child was half of either a canned peach or pear with mayonnaise - MAYONNAISE - where the pit was and the grated cheddar cheese on top. I don't know if this was unique to my household or a Southern thing, but we ate it with some regularity. I loved it. Probably still would if I could get around the idea of eating a mound of mayonnaise or eating canned fruit.

• Speaking of mayonnaise, I didn't do this often, but my dad would get a jar of the stuff, a fork, and a pan of cooking pot roast. He would stand over the pot, scoop the fork in the mayonnaise, and then rip off a piece of the roast. Bite after bite. It is amazing that the man is still alive.

• Sweet breads. I can hardly write it without gagging. Sweet breads are not breads that are sweet. Sweet breads are gross. Sweet breads taste like fried fat. They are the thymus glands or pancreas of a cow. I only remember eating them on one occasion myself, but it was a vivid enough memory that I never did it again. My dad and uncle still eat them every Christmas morning and seem to enjoy them. They are sick and deranged men. Probably from eating sweet breads.

• Or it could be from eating brains. Yes, brains. Brains and eggs to be exact. I'm gagging again. This was a treat usually reserved for Christmas breakfast. While the adults swore they made you smarter, I am leaning to the contrary. I only remember eating them on one occasion myself, but it was a vivid enough memory that I never did it again. (Have I heard that somewhere before.) Thankfully, my dad has had trouble finding them in recent years, probably a result of all the mad cow, so we don't have to suffer through them being cooked at Christmas.

• And one of my personal favorites: fried eggs and donuts. But not just any donuts. No. We took leftover donuts and sliced them in half like a bagel. Buttered them. Yes, b-u-t-t-e-r on a donut. Then placed them in the oven for a few minutes to toast them. Then we'd eat them with over-easy fried eggs dipping the crunchy, buttery donut into the runny, yellow yolk. Can't you feel your arteries hardening as read about it? Man, that was some good eating.

What about you? Any skeletons in your food closets? Or would that be pantries?

Tuesday's Tip

" Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Today's tip is something I need to do myself. Be still. Relax. Accept (and relish) the fact that I am not in charge. Someone else, who is much better at EVERYTHING, is in charge.

Life gets crazy. Sometimes it is what is going on directly with me. Sometimes it just seems to be swirling around me. In either case, I need to take the time to just sit quietly and alone with God and let Him be God. Let Him refill me. Let His peace fall over me.

Sometimes I pray. Sometimes I just sit and praise Him. Sometimes I just sit and try not to think of anything and let God just pour stuff into my empty shell.

I don't do this nearly often enough, but every time I do I feel like I can go on because I'm not going on alone.

Do you ever just sit still? Can you? Is it as hard for you as it is for me?

It is something we have talked about for a long time.

We finally decided to do it. Inspired by Shannon's adventures in Uganda with Compassion, we have decided to sponsor a child.

I looked through the photos of children waiting for a sponsor and this little girl jumped out at me.


Isn't she wonderful?

She is now, at least partially, our responsibility to help make it to adulthood in the impoverished area in which she was born. We will pray for her, write to her, and send monthly support to help her have access to schooling, better nutrition, medical care, and the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I used to want a houseful of children. I know now that is not God's will for me. I am grateful that I can call one more "my own". I so look forward to getting to know her and watching her grow each year. My little Missy is already trying to decide on the perfect first gift to send her. It's almost like having the sister she has wanted for so long.

Go take a look at some of the faces over at Compassion. See if one jumps out at you. Wouldn't it be cool to change someone's life for the better?

Photo Meme: Google Images

I was tagged by Michelle to do this little meme. It seemed kind of fun, so I'm playing along. Here goes.

Instructions: For each of the following, search Google Images and post your favorite pic.

1. Where I grew up:


2. Where I live now:



3. My name:



I thought this was interesting. There are a lot of pictures of people named Julie, but this also came up. I'll take it.


4. My grandmother's name:

And no, my grandmother's name was neither Loretta Lynn nor Amphitheater. Go figure.

5.My favorite food:


Really, this could have been any number of things. I don't know what my favorite food is, but this looked dang tasty.

6. My favorite drink:

Just the way I like it, with lemon.

7. My favorite smell:



Mmmmm. If you'll excuse me, I need to go bake some bread.

Now I tag Maria and Wendy. If anyone else wants to play along, you are more than welcome to. Let me know so I can check out your list.

Tuesday's Tip

Sugar. It is one of the evils of our modern society. But DANG do I love the stuff. This is one battle that I have not won. It has been a struggle for a long time and will probably continue to be for a long time. I'm doing the best I can.

One thing that I have found to help is stevia. Stevia is actually a sweet herb with virtually no calories. You can learn more about it here.

You won't find it with the sugar, but it can be found. Probably in the health food section of your grocery store. It is sold as a nutritional supplement.

Unlike my ever health conscious husband (tongue inserted firmly in cheek), I have not been able to use only stevia to sweeten my tea. And being a southern girl, I love me some sweet tea. I have, however, been able to cut the sugar I use in my tea by half. I make me a big pitcher of tea in the morning. It's 3 quarts big. I use 1/3 cup of sugar and 4 packets of stevia. I know that is still a lot of sugar, but it is half of what I used to use.

Baby steps. Every little change helps.

The Wedding

After our little zoo excursion, we returned to our hotel to get ready. They decided to take pictures before the wedding. The pictures were all taken outside and it was a beautiful day. I took some of my own pictures of the wedding party.

The bride, groom, maid of honor, and best man.


My favorite junior bridesmaid.


The entire wedding party minus one freaked out flower girl.



And finally, the new Mr. and Mrs.


My reception pictures didn't turn out worth beans, but a good time was had by all.

We won't rehash the attempts at getting home, but we have just about recovered. Now it's back to real life for everyone.

Bible Giveaway

Maria over at Jubilee on Earth is having her Bible giveaway. To enter, simply post a comment to the entry with a reason why you'd like the Bible. Please be sure to include some way to contact you (e.g. email address). The contest will be open until Tuesday at midnight. She will announce the winner (picked randomly) Wednesday evening. Contest is only open to those within the continental U.S.

Good luck!

California Continued...

So we come home from the mountains for the wedding rehearsal. Can we turn this motley crew into something presentable?


It took a little longer than some would have hoped....


...but we did finish and everyone happily went to eat pizza and play games and contemplate the events of the next day.

The next day, we....


went to the zoo! Hey, we have 2 kids and nothing to do for a few hours. Our bodies are still 2 hours ahead of the local time. We decided to check out the local zoo. It was considerably smaller than our Houston Zoo, but it was very nice. The animals were celebrating Valentine's a little early and were given treats hidden in different containers. They were all very cooperative and let me take lots of pictures.




I really liked the cuckaburro.


He even let out a good laugh for us.

When we got home, we started getting ready for the wedding. Some of us weren't too thrilled with that process.


Tomorrow, the wedding.

Oh, My!

I won! I am sooo excited. Megan over at Sorta Crunchy recently moved to Typepad. She had a housewarming giveaway for her readers and I (yes ME) won! You can't tell that I'm excited, can you?

I won Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day Cleaning Kit, Honeysuckle. It is full of "aromatherapeutic household cleaners with naturally occurring, essential oils to provide a special, singular fragrance for my entire home. Honeysuckle, oh so sweetly scented, provides an air of calm as you clean. Often used as a cleansing aide, this fruity floral is known to be quite soothing & cooling."

And let me tell you, I could use an air of calm as I clean. I could use an air of calm when I sleep! I wonder if you can take honeysuckle intravenously.

Go visit Megan and see her cute, new site. Tell her Julie sent you.

California Dreaming

We had a nice trip to California. That is, if you don't consider the last 11.5 hours we spent in the airport and flying home through the night.

We arrived on Thursday evening. We met the Houston gang and the bride and groom at Marie Callendar's. It was a joyous reunion.

But Friday...wow. This SE Texas family went to the mountains! We surprised the kids and just told them we were going to see a forest with some really big trees. We went to Sequoia National Park. They have some really big trees.


But the real excitement was the SNOW! These poor deprived Southern children had never seen much more than a few flakes. They were beside themselves. We bought one of those little disc sleds and they went to town.


Missy discovered soon enough why we are a Southern people. She got snow in her boots. Her feet were so cold they hurt. She retreated to the car to try to warm them up. Poor sweet little toes.


Mommy and Daddy did their best to build her the snowman she had dreamed of for so long. We called it a snow princess. What do you think?



I'll share more tomorrow. For now, I will leave with this view.



Happy Valentine's Day, too!

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday's Tip

Most people who are concerned about their health prefer to filter their drinking water or have at least considered it. But have you considered filtering your shower water?

If your water is from a municipal water source, you are probably showering with chlorinated water. Chlorine is used in water treatment to reduce and kill bacteria and viruses found in water. By its very nature, chlorine is a toxic chemical.

The EPA lists the following dangers of chlorine:

• Chlorine is a potent irritant in humans to the eyes, the upper respiratory tract, and the lungs.

• Higher levels of chlorine have resulted in mild mucous membrane irritation, chest pain, vomiting, cough, and toxic pneumonitis and pulmonary edema .

• Chlorine is extremely irritating to the skin.

• Acute animal tests in rats and mice have shown chlorine to have high acute toxicity via inhalation.

• Workers chronically exposed to chlorine gas have exhibited respiratory effects, such as eye and throat irritation, and airflow obstruction.

• Animal studies have reported decreased body weight gain, eye and nose irritation, nonneoplastic lesions, and respiratory epithelial hyperplasia from chronic inhalation exposure to chlorine.

Yikes! In addition, here is what the author of the Maker's Diet has to say:

"Avoiding contact with chlorinated water is of the utmost importance. This includes bathing water and drinking water. Chlorine kills bacteria, friendly and unfriendly, in the intestines. it can be absorbed through the skin. I recommend installing a shower filter to remove chlorine." -from: Patient, Heal Thyself; Jordan S. Rubin, N. MD., PhD.

While it is bad enough to drink the chlorine, the shower makes it even worse. Chlorine is not only absorbed through the skin, but also re-vaporized in the shower where it is inhaled into the lungs and transferred directly into the blood stream. Drinking filtered or bottled water only does half the job. A shower water filter is an affordable solution to the problem.

I use one that we got at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, but they are available from many sources. Just make sure that they filter out chlorine. Not all of them do. They are easy to install and you can shower with peace of mind that your skin and hair will be better for it as well as your insides.

Held Captive

So I'm taking this Bible Study with Beth Moore on Breaking Free. It is all about being held captive by things that keep you from living your life abundantly in Christ. I got a really good illustration of that over the weekend.

Sunday we were on our way home from our long weekend in California. We dutifully arrived at the airport in ample time to make our flight. We got on the plane and then – we got off the plane. It seems there was some problem that needed fixing and there was a part that needed to be flown in and we would have to wait and it could be awhile and go sit in the terminal. We were going to be held captive.

So we are sitting in the terminal. How bad could that be? Well, we can't really go anywhere. San Francisco and all it has to offer are just a few minutes away, but we can't leave. We must stay here. We have to stay in the terminal, which isn't a bad place, but it isn't San Francisco.

The snack cart arrives. We can help ourselves to a cool beverage or a crunchy snack. Well, this isn't so bad. We have snacks! Our chairs aren't as comfortable as we would like, but really, it's not so bad. If we tried to leave we would be in real trouble, so we'll just stay here.

Oh, it's going to take awhile. The part must be flown in and won't arrive for 3 more hours. Here, have a voucher and get yourself some dinner. See, it's not so bad. We get dinner. We only get to choose from the 4 or 5 vendors in this little airport, but they aren't so bad. Really. So what if we can't leave. They do still have all our bags. But it is comfortable enough. It's not great, but it's just fine. We are taken care of in our captivity. It's not the best life, but it is a life and we are getting used to it. We simply stay at the airport.

Then we get the call. After a lifetime (yes, I'm prone to exaggerations) we hear a voice that tells us we can leave the airport. We don't have to live like this forever. We pack our carry-on bags (that are now spread out over 14 seats) and put our trust in the airline. We board the plane and begin our flight.

The best part is that we walk off the plane free. We can actually breathe free air, drive our car, and be in our home. It was a struggle to get here to be sure, but it was worth it. We are free and we are home.

Being in bondage is sort of like living in a terminal. It's fine. You get used to it. There are perks, but really, nothing beats walking in freedom. I, for one, don't want to live in a terminal. I want to breathe free air, not recirculated air. I want to walk in the sunshine, not just look it at out a window. I want to know the joy of San Francisco and Houston and HOME and not just survive where I am.

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners (of the terminal!)
Isaiah 61:1 - 3

I'm Leaving...

...and I'm taking the family with me.

We are heading to the land of fruits and nuts, (that's California), to witness the wedding of our beloved nephew, Honey Lamb.

It will be a first flight for our little Missy. She is quite excited.

It will also be my first flight since being diagnosed with an inner ear disorder. I'm a little anxious about all the cabin pressure changes. I have been trying to stay current on all my vitamins and nutritional supplements, but I still covet your prayers for a fun and uneventful trip. I would really hate to experience vertigo on the flight. The sight of a woman of a certain age laying on the floor vomiting is not pretty in any situation, but in the confines of an aircraft it seems particularly unappealing.

I will try to post while away, but we may just be having too much fun! Thank you for your prayers.

See you soon!

Tuesday's Tip

I have lost some weight. Not as much as people think, but it is a few pounds.

I packed on the pounds after Missy was born. It took awhile for me to decide it was enough, but I did get to that point. I made a few changes and was able to drop some weight. I admit to 35 pounds. At some point I quit getting on the scale, so I don't know exactly how much.

That was great, but I needed to take another step. I had made a few changes and lost some weight, but there were bigger issues to tackle. I needed to make some lifestyle changes.

I'm slow. I don't deal well with change. I don't like any sudden disruptions in my life. But I'm not getting any younger and the stress of living in our toxic world has taken its toll on my body. I needed to clean up my act.

People have noticed and commented on the changes in me. And I just plain feel better. I thought this would be a great place for me to share some of the changes that I have made and why I made them. Some are related to food and diet, but a lot are household and other lifestyle changes. Some are big, some are little, but they all add up and make my life a little better, a little less toxic.

And so Tuesday's Tip is born. Each Tuesday I will try to share a little something I have changed in my life. If you you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to comment and let me know. I am not a doctor or specialist in this (or any!) area, so this is just what I've read and experienced along the way. We will start with....

Kefir

I have added kefir to my diet. Kefir is a cultured, enzyme-rich food filled with friendly micro-organisms that help balance your "inner ecosystem." It really helps sluggish digestive systems.

It is an ancient food. Anything that has been eaten for literally thousands of years has got to have something going for it! It is more nutritious and therapeutic than yogurt, and it supplies complete protein, essential minerals, and B vitamins.

You can make it home if you like, but it is available in most grocery stores now. I buy an organic kefir at Whole Foods. It is thick and tasty and makes a great smoothie. And it helps balance out my insides. Of course, the unflavored variety is the best, but it does come in many sweetened flavors that make it more palatable. Kefir has a little more “zing” than yogurt.

I am lactose intolerant, but the beneficial yeast and friendly bacteria in the kefir culture consume most of the lactose (or milk sugar). I don't have much trouble with it.

Kefir, it's what's for breakfast. (But I also like to take a swig any time I open the fridge. Yum.)

Win a Bible

Maria over at Jubilee on Earth got so excited and had so much fun during the Bloggy Giveaway last week that she just can't stop!! She has decided to give away a bible every other Sunday beginning February 17th. Make sure you hop on over there and enter.

And read something while you are there. She is a new Christian and loving learning about the Lord. Her excitement is contagious.