Tuesday, December 27, 2011

TINY PRAYER REQUEST

UPDATE at 12:29 p.m.

Well, the plumber came out again and used the metal pipe snake.  Everything is fixed ....again...for now. However, they will come back Thursday to put a camera down the pipe to see how our water pipe was connected to the city pipe when the house was remodeled about 13 years ago.  So we'll have to pay for that. So I'm just not going to worry and trust God that He'll fix it ;) :)

Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather :)

Hi everyone,

Just a quick prayer request. The water pipe to our house is clogging...AGAIN. We thought it was "fixed" a few days ago. Everything seemed fine and we were glad to have the money to pay for the repair. Now it's clogged again. My dad is trying to run a pipe snake through the pipe to see if it will fix the problem.  We do NOT have the money to pay someone to look at it again. 

I know it's a small request compared to some of the others out there right now..but this is going to really hurt us financially, if we can't get this fixed on our own. Pray that this problem will resolve itself!!!

Love andhugs, Heather :)

Thursday, December 22, 2011

CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE SOUP

Hi everyone,

It's been a long time since my last post. I'm so sorry.  I've been really busy.  I'm doing really well on my weight loss/healthy living journey.  As of last Tuesday, I had lost just over 48 pounds. About two weeks ago, I started the GAPS diet.  You can click here to learn more information.  It's a really super healthy program that is not just for people with mood disorders...but also for people like ME, who have auto-immune conditions. In my case, I have ulcerative proctitis, a minor form of colitis. Anyways, here are the materials that I work with...I'll blog more about them later.  My main reason for posting today is tell you my easy recipe for chicken vegetable soup.

THESE ARE THE MATERIALS THAT I WORK WITH. MY NATUROPATH IS A CERTIFIED GAPS PRACTIONER, AS WELl. I HAVE A WORKBOOK WHERE I RECORD EVERYTHING I EAT AND DRINK, THERE'S A BOOK, A WONDERFUL COOKBOOK AND A DVD WHICH DEMONSTRATES HOW TO MAKE THE VARIOUS RECIPES.

Now I have a super easy recipe for chicken and vegetable soup.  I will be posting about this again, because I forgot to take a lot of pictures when I made this soup.

First, I place a whole, organic chicken in a slow-cooker and add about 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of Celtic salt.  My slow cooker is really small, so I can only make one chicken at a time. Also, if it comes with giblets, make sure to include those in the slow-cooker. It really enhances the flavor.

Set the slow-cooker on low for 7 to 8 hours.

Once your chicken is done  cooking, pull apart all the meat from the chicken and place in a big stock pot.  Optional is to include the giblets such as liver and gizzards...chopped up really fine, they're good for you...extremely good for you, and you won't taste it in the soup.

Once you've pulled apart all of the meat, you strain the broth into that same stock pot using a fine mesh strainer.  This lets you keep all those yummy chicken juices and healthy fats without adding all the gross bits like tissue and bones :) :)

Okay...so when my chicken is about 30 minutes from being finished in the slow cooker, I add chopped broccoli, purple onions and rainbow carrots to my steamer. You can add whatever veggies you like. I like a lot of color ;) :)

When that's done, add those steamed veggies to the stockpot with the chicken broth and meat.  Put that on the burner on medium heat and  heat it through to your liking.. :) :) 

This is what my soup looked like last night.
THIS SOUP TASTES AWESOME AND IS TOTALLY GOOD FOR YOU.  I USED ALL-ORGANIC INGREDIENTS. YOU CAN USE WHAT YOU LIKE.

I also added three little "fingers" of fresh, organic and chopped garlic. So good and the house smells awesome :) :)

Well, that is my simple recipe for chicken and vegetable soup. I eat this quite a bit as part of my diet. It's healthy and the fats and veggies are good for the gut, they help add healthy bacteria to the gut.

That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :) :)

p.s. I also added a tablespoon of bacon fat to my bowl of soup and one egg yolk....from an organic egg.  It won't work with regular eggs....but that's a story for another time.  I am also making yogurt from fresh, raw cow's milk. That will be ready sometime this afternoon.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

MY TEA TIME TUESDAY AND TEACUP & TEA THINGS TUESDAY FOR DECEMBER 1st.

Hi everyone,

Okay, here is my tea post for this week.  I tried to get it up yesterday and totally forget.  Here is the last of my tea things that I purchased at auction a few weeks ago.  The cup and the saucer are from the same designer. The plate is from a different designer.  However,  the patterns are so similar, they fit together nicely :)

THIS IS THE TEACUP, SAUCER AND PLATE THAT I PURCHASED AT THAT AUCTION A FEW WEEKS AGO.

HERE IS THE PLATE.  IT IS REALLY INTERESTING WITH THE BEAUTIFUL SCALLOPED DETAIL ALL THE WAY AROUND THE EDGE OF THE PLATE. NOTICE THE PRECIOUS LITTLE ROSEBUD IN THE CENTER OF THE PLATE.
THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE SCALLOPED ROSES PLATE.

NEXT, I PLACED THE SAUCER ON TOP OF THE PLATE. DO YOU NOTICE HOW WELL THE ROSES ON BOTH ITEMS FIT TOGETHER? IT IS REALLY AMAZING.

THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE SAUCER.

THIS IS THE FLORAL MOTIF ON ONE SIDE OF THE TEACUP. IT HAS A VERY SIMPLE GOLD DETAIL ON THE HANDLE.

THIS IS THE SMALLER FLORAL MOTIF ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TEACUP.

THIS IS THE BACKSTAMP ON THE BOTTOM OF THE TEACUP.


I really enjoyed sharing some more of my tea things with you.  Now the trick is to find a way to display them beautifull in my home. Right now, it's just random placement wherever there is space in my room :) :) :)

Oh,  Friday I'll be sharing some vintage finds that I found this week. You'll have to tune in Friday for that.  I've really committed to buying things at thrift shops and antique shops, when I can afford it.

Thanks for stopping by my blog to visit. I LOVE visitors and comments :) :) That's the news from the ocean shores of California today. Love and hugs, Heather :)