Peek

I'm the kind of person who is enamored by churches, regardless of what religion they're tied to, but I don't think you have to be in a building to seek or find God. 

During one of our walks along the Sound, in Duck, OBX, I stopped with my girls to peek in a special place just to the side of the boardwalk.  It's a small, round, gazebo style building with a beautiful view of the water.

The door is usually open for passers by, and it might be the smallest, but most quaint 'church' you could visit.  It sort of says, 'hey, here's a place where you can stop and say a prayer if you want....no pressure'.  Fitting for the relaxed atmosphere of OBX.

The single stained glass window inside has a beautiful message. 
It's a nice one to remember.  I thought I'd share.

 

I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing, therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

Have a great day!

{Jenn}

Canine Spirit

Weather can play a part in having a succesful vacation, but I can honestly say, as long as we can get to OBX, I can deal with whatever Mother Nature has in store for us.  Just get me there.

After a few days of hot sun on the beach, the clouds rolled in and the rain came, but that didn't stop us from walking the boardwalk at the waterfront shops, which expands down the shoreline of the Sound, all the way down to our must-go-to-sweet-spot, Duck Donuts.  We stumbled upon the owners getting interviewed and photographed for Distinction Magazine, and the girls had their photos taken too, as they dug in to a dozen of the hottest, melt in your mouth, donuts we could order...  As their Daddy would say, it figures we go out for donuts, and the kids end up in a magazine....  It was an extra treat, for sure, and we will have to keep an eye out for the article, and see if the girls make the cut.



Augen



The boardwalk connects you to a quaint shopping area, and across the street are beautiful little boutiques called Scarborough Lane.  My husband took the girls and I peeked into a jewelry shop, by myself.  I quickly realized it may take awhile to find everyone again, as the shops wrap around two seperate areas, kind of rectangular shaped.  My oldest peeked her head out and waved to me from the one store I was worried about taking them in...Outer Barks.  Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful shop, with all kinds of special gifts for your dog, but I worried that the girls would get sad, missing Augen, who we lost in February.  I think now it was Augen who drew the girls into that store, becuase it was the most special stop of the day.



The kids had already made fast friends with Robin, the store owner, and told her all about Augen.  Turns out maybe Robin needed the visit from little girls who lost their big brother dog, because Robin lost one of her dogs earlier in the week.  Her other dog, Bogie, was lying in his dog bed in the shop.  Our youngest daughter was petting him so gently and said, "Mom, he is so sad, I can feel it in my body how sad he is.  He misses his brother.  But the other doggies spirit is still here mom.  Just like Augie's spirit came with us to Duck!".  By now, I was tearing up, Robin was tearing up, Peyton was on the verge of tears......until she spotted a greeting card they had on a turn-style rack with a weimaraner on the front in a birthday hat.  "Look, Mom!  It's Augen!".  

Robin packaged the card up, and gave it to her to take home to keep so she could remember her Augen.  It was really sweet.

Our oldest ended up finding a weimaraner ornament with angel wings, so you know we picked that right up as a keepsake.

I make sure I talk to our girls in spiritual ways, and how we are all connected.  How spirit never dies.  Never goes away.  Guides us.  

Peyton's first comment when we arrived in Duck was, "Hey mom, Augen's spirit came with us, I think he is already down at the beach!". 

Seeing how she was able to openly talk about spirit and feel the loss of the dog is confirmation to me that even when I wonder if my kids are listenening.....they are.  And because of that, they were able to share in the grief while comforting Robin and her dog Bogie at the same time.  That's pretty big for little kids, especially when coming from a six year old. 

It was even more beautiful to witness.

Turns out I was pretty grateful for the rain, which took us to the shops, which led us to The Outer Barks for a little shopping. 

It was the best stop of the day.


Have a great day!

{Jenn}

Clarity by the sea



OBX, North Carolina

 After a few solid days of sitting on the beach with my family in Duck, OBX, and enjoying watching the dolphin play and ride the waves just like our daughters have been, I'm reminded of my intense love for the coastline, no matter where it is, on earth.  The air, the greenery amidst the sandy coastline, and the feeling of clarity that comes by being so close to the ocean, is something I think I honestly need. 

It always brings me back to an amazing experience I had ....

Years ago, during the summer between high school ending and college life beginning, I was lucky enough  to travel to Australia through the Experiment in International Living as a student ambassador.  It was an experience that shaped my life, and view of the world.   I met up with a group of same aged teens from all across the country in the Los Angeles airport, and together, as strangers, we travelled to (quite honestly) the most beautiful place on earth.

There was an experience where we each got to live with a host family in Melbourne (my family was the Cronins, a wonderful family), we lived in the Outback in tents with a wagon train for our meals, lived in Sydney in a youth hostle where I got the opportunity to see Madame Butterfly at the Sydney Opera House (after a quick call home to mom and dad, asking for Western Union replenishment for the ticket money), lived on a million acre cattle ranch where we were taught to "cut cattle" on horseback, and my favorite stop of all~living on Heron Island.  The entire purpose of the trip was to get to Heron Island for the marine science experience through the Heron Island Research Station operated by the University of Queensland.  I was in heaven.

We tagged coral reef areas to record marine life feeding patterns, we went seining for creatures to add to the wet lab, went diving over the Great Barrier Reef....all on this tiny island, perpendicular from the coast of Gladstone, straight out in the sea.  It's barely on the map.  The asterisk you see is way bigger than the actual pinpoint the island is....

Not only was it beautiful by day, and totally secluded...but by night?  The sky was so pitch black you could not see your hand in front of your face.  We were in ultimate darkness, no ambient light at all.  The stars looked three-dimensional and appeared to be reachable, all around you, as if you were standing in the middle of a laser show.  Not far off, or "way up there"....you felt that you were a part of the stars.  It was a connection to the earth I had only experienced when diving deep down in the ocean, sitting on the bottom of the sea. 


I was part of the earth, not just as an observer. 

All of us need to try to find a place that will offer us that experience, there's magic in it, and it is something that has stayed with me almost 20 years later (wow, I really had to think about that...it's been 20 years?). 

I would love to find my way back with my husband and children one day (there is a tiny resort on the island), but until then (when I win the lottery) I will soak up the sun and dig my feet into the sand where I'm sitting in Duck, OBX...because isn't that always the most beautiful place on earth? 

The place where you are, right now.

Have an amazing day!

{Jenn}

p.s~if the Cronin Family, of Camberwell/Melbourne, ever see this post, I'd love to reconnect with all of you~especially since my stay with you was "pre-internet".... {Host mom: Maureen Cronin, host sister: Jennifer, host brother: Andrew, can't remember host dads name, sorry!!  You were all wonderful to me}

Maya

I have been wanting to write lately, but my computer has been painfully slow...the kind of slow where you want to lose your mind a little bit.  But I was willing to sit through the slow to post a quick one this morning.  The kids will be getting up any minute for school.

I get up at least an hour before the kids everyday~it's the only time where the silence is only pierced with the sounds of the birds from out in the backyard, or the perk of the coffee pot.  It is a little piece of heaven before the machine of the day starts cranking.

You can bet if I put on the TV, it's not to watch the news....who wants to start their day with the stabbings from overnight?  I don't.  So I dvr Oprah's Super Soul Sunday, where she talks with spiritual teachers from various backgrounds, and start my day with something positive.
I haven't gotten through the entire episode with Dr. Maya Angelou yet, but just the mention of her name lets you know it was amazing.  What an incredible woman.  It's worth watching~and if you're like me, you'll have a notebook in hand.  She gives the best tidbits of advice, especially to moms. I will take all that I can get.

When you get, give.

When you learn, teach.

Have a great morning!

{Jenn}

Breakfast "Cereal"

Good Morning!

Ok, you have heard me talk about the Thrive books ~ here is the first recipe I tried as I began to include those new pantry ingredients in my everyday life. 

At first you might feel like you are swimming in muddy waters, because you will have to pick up some new ingredients that you may not have in your pantry yet~but that is okay.  Change is good.  This is not painful...just go to the store with a list, and you will be fine.  There are people working in the store who are nice...they will help you find your stuff.  Promise.  Once you start eating more in the "new way", it will become old hat, and you won't feel weird buying hemp anymore...you know, the legal stuff......

Every morning, during the week, my husband and I eat the same thing {sometimes on the weekends we have eggs or something...}.  There can be slight variations, of course, but sticking to a "no-brainer" kind of meal for breakfast is key for me.  I don't want to think about much in the morning~I'm trying to deal with 3 kids, and that's enough.  If I don't plan in advance, I will make a crummy choice or not eat at all.  Both options are just not good, and will leave me hunting for chocolate...

Routine = no thinking {good}

Making choices with my eyes closed while trying to think in the morning = {bad}



Routine is good.  Do yourself a favor, and plan.  Below is our breakfast cereal, adapted from Brendan Brazier's book, THRIVE The Vegan Nutrition Guide to Optimal Performance in Sports and Life.  We don't always have every ingredient on hand, but we do have definite staples in our pantry now, so I will give you what we have created from the original recipe in the book.  This is what we have come up with from the book recipe,  "Ginger Pear Cereal". 

Once you understand the general components of putting this together, you can add/delete ingredients easily, as we have, and enjoy the benefits of a supercharged breakfast.  The protein, fiber and energy will keep you going, and you won't feel hungry in an hour. 

Another thing...you are not going to want to chop up this stuff every morning...don't add something else to your morning list.  My husband and I make a 5 pound container of this, and keep it all chopped up and ready to go in the fridge.  It keeps beautifully~all you have to do is scoop it out into your bowl, and pour a little almond milk on it, and eat it. 

See?  No thinking for like 2 weeks.  Then you will need to make it again....

Morning Apple Cereal

• 1~5pound bag of gala apples {or pears} chopped

• 1c Organic ground flax seed
• 1c Hemp protein powder
• 1/2c Carob powder {or cocoa powder} *carob is optional, give a nice taste, though
• 22 {approximately} Medjool dates, chopped
• 1c sliced almonds {or whatever kind of nut you like}

Step 1: Chop everything up...apples, dates..

Step 2: Mix everything else into bowl with the chopped apples and dates.

Step 3: Stick it in the fridge and stop thinking about breakfast for about two weeks.  Yes, it's a big container, but if you don't want to make as much as we do, just chop a few apples, a few dates, and sprinkle on a few Tbs of each of the dry ingredients to get the same result.  Add milk, and enjoy!

Give it a try...you will love it!

Have a great day!

{Jenn}







Thrive

What the heck are you eating? 

Face it, even if you think you are eating well, you probably have no idea of the extra calories in your diet {I didn't}.  You know, the ones keeping you bloated, and feeling unhealthy?  The one thing I know for sure, is you can go to the gym for as many hours as you want, and if you over indulge in even what you think is healthy, you are setting yourself up for failure.  I am living proof. 

After having three daughters in the span of four years, let's just say my "last 20 pounds" did not seem to go away.  Well, it did go away, a couple of times, then creeped right back on to my behind.  Why?  How could this happen?  I felt like I was eating all the right things: protein powders and energy bars before (for stamina) and after workouts (for recovery), fruit and veggies, not too much pasta, and the like.  I wasn't sitting around eating ho-ho's.  It just didn't add up for me.  The weight on my licence was more of a pipe dream than reality (and NO, I felt no need to tell the DMV of it's inaccuracy).

I don't mean to pull out the Oprah card, but I did see a show where her entire staff went vegan for a week.  I was amazed at how they all were commenting on how fit they were feeling, and no longer had bloating issues.  They seemed to have more energy, and said they felt better than they ever remembered.  The best side-effect?  Weight loss.  Like, a lot of pounds dropped.  So I started investigating... how I would even go about becoming a vegetarian? Would I even be able to figure it out, and still feed my carnivore husband and children at the same time?  I should also tell you that my husband is a triathlete who competes in Ironman distance races, and the man can eat.  How could I convert him as well, and still get him enough nutrition to get through long, vigorous workouts?

In my online hunt for all things vegetarian, I came across this site, No-Meat Athlete, where this guy hit the nail on the head for me.  Not only was the site geared towards vegetarians, it was basically vegan as well.  And the guy was an athlete.  Bonus~that gives him instant street credit with my husband.  It was full of recipes and ideas for leaning into this healthy change in lifestyle.  But the best part about finding the No-Meat Athlete site was coming across the post he wrote about the Thrive books, written by Brendan Brazier.  It's a great website, check it out.

Brendan, you made this lifestyle part of my everyday life, and I promote your book to everyone who asks, "Jenn, how did you lose the weight?".  Because guess what?  It's still gone.  I've had to buy all new pants.  All-new-pants....in a single digit size.  Want to know the secret? 

Stop eating crap. 

By that I mean acidic food.  The entire American diet is based on eating highly acidic foods, and until you start eating foods that produce an alkaline body, you are going to feel like crap, and not like how you look in pictures.  It's just a fact.  There is quite a long list of the crummy acidic foods we feed ourselves, and our children everyday in the book, and I will talk about them more as well.  Basically think of everything that's in your pantry....about 85% of it is probably on the acidic list.  Yes, I still have some of that stuff around, but we focus on it way less than we used to, before we knew better.

Please don't think that your family is all big boned and it's not going to work for you.  Or that you have "bad genes" and you can't do anything about it.  Just because your family might be bigger people, doesn't mean YOU can't decide to be healthy.  They are probably eating many of the same foods that are producing crummy health for all of you.  That's like saying that gravity only works for most people, but not for you.  It will work, I promise you.  I KNOW so {no, I'm not a doctor, but I can google like one}.  I just hope you might be willing to lean into the lifestyle a little, and the results will come.

The weight on my licence is actually over what I weigh now...funny how now I am ready to march up to the DMV for the new picture and get the weight corrected on my licence now.  When I was was working out like crazy, I was frustrated that I never lost enough weight~I know now it was my diet that held me back.

I'll be talking more about the Thrive books, and how they have changed the way I eat, and the way I feed my family.  First stop?  Breakfast.  Stay tuned~it's not the "breakfast cereal" you're used to.  And, yes, my husband eats it too!

Have a great day...and eat some extra veggies today!

{Jenn}

Pride

Watching the scene in Boston play out last night was amazing.  A successful conclusion to a horrific week.  Seeing people come out of their homes to cheer for the law enforcement personnel as they left the area, was tear jerking, to say the least.  From all of the fear, came pride and gratitude that couldn't be contained.

Earlier, while the operation was still in full-swing, I couldn't help but think...are those guys hungry?  How are  they functioning if they haven't eaten? How many hours have they been out on this case?  When was the last time they slept?  I'm sure they were running on adrenaline, but I know how I feel about my own husband when he is out too long on a case.  I know I'm his wife, but worry like a mom too...can't help it.

And, what I know most of all...how were their wives/significant others watching this news coverage without losing their minds?  I know my husband would want to be first in the stack for SWAT, and I know how I worry.  Seeing it unfold in front of me on TV might be unbearable.  And with one officer's life already taken... I didn't want to imagine what else could happen. 

You see, as a spouse of a cop, you block it all out.  Every piece of it.  You get used to the uniform, the guns, the vests, the body armor.....but when they walk out that door, it all melts away~at least to me.  I tell myself he "goes somewhere" and comes back.  Thinking about the middle part is too difficult.  I would never sleep, or be able to function if I envisioned everything he does each day.  Forget about SWAT, I don't even want to think about that part.  So I know that this all playing out on TV has had to be extremely difficult for the wives and families of those involved, and we should all say a prayer for them to get through this.  

Because even if they don't realize they need the lift, they do.

A few years ago, I saw a police take-down in traffic, directly in front of me, as I drove my daughter home from preschool.  I sat there in my car, frantically trying to figure if I was seeing my own husband as the officers got into position around the car.  Once I realized it wasn't him, it dawned on me~oh my gosh, that's what he does everyday.  Every single day.  I did not like it.  It blew my reality up, and scared the heck out of me.  It's always in the back of my mind...

To every cops wife, spouse, partner who had to hold their breath this week, as you prayed for your loved ones safe return home, know that all of us in this extended law enforcement community worried and prayed along with you, and we will continue to do so as you deal with the aftermath of this week from hell. 

Thank you for yet again another reminder that our "good guys" always show up. 

Be safe.

Have a great day

{Jenn}

PS....all the photos came from this site below...

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/04/19/surreal-photos-of-swat-teams-combing-watertown/