What is my favorite possession? hmmmmm.....That question can take me down a number of roads. My first answer is,
1. My camera. That is my materialistic answer. It brings me a creative outlet. I believe God gave us creativity as truly a therapy. It is a way to work through hardships and press on even to find joy admist any pain. My soul needs it and feels full to the brim when I get to create something. But, this was not always the case. And as of 2 years ago, when I discovered a certain blog, I began to really take stock of each day and make it wonderful. Thanks, Kelle Hampton!
Or I could answer....
2. My family or home. That is my Sunday school answer. But, truly, my home is something very real, tangible and ever changing. Today, Finn and Ally made a toy bank for the baby out of cardboard coins and an old Oatmeal container. We call it unplugged play!!
He quickly figured it out for himself!
With Eric busy, Finn starting working on our mailboxes and writing letters to everyone! That was fun.
Or, If I was hungry when asked the question....... I might answer with...
3. That juicy watermelon sitting in my fridge.
Eric's seat (given to us from friends!) is also up there as a favorite possession.
we used to put him in his walker that had a tray, but that was a nightmare...He would move all over the house, dumping the food everywhere. Now, that he has his own seat and he is up with us, he's eating great and trying all sorts of new foods. And, he just positively glows now that he's part of the family!!! (We didn't have a seat for him with all of our recent moves!! poor guy!)
Or, I might answer with those tangy lemons we can turn into summery lemonade.
Juice 'em
Pour sugar to the concentrated juice however sweet you like.
Add icy cold water and Voila!! I make it this way, b/c we all like our lemonade a little different. Some like more sweet, some more diluted.....you get the picture!
Delishhhh!
This would be my Metaphorical answer. When the day starts out like one of Alexandar's Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Days and I happen to wake up with gum in my hair or I find Ally puke on the ottoman........we can brush it off more easily b/c we can make something out of a little crap-o-la any day! Not to get too ying-yangy, but most days, the good and the bad really do seem to even out. If something's not going quite right, well, a good thing really is around the corner....
But, to get to the point. I think the best answer to the question, What is my favorite possession, is:
4. My health
I think, at 31, I'm realizing the gift it is to have my health. I will not have it forever. I will not know when it may fail me. But, if I use the kindness of wisdom, there are ways I can prevent major health setbacks. It's as simple as good nutrition!
If you can't take the time right now, come back when you have 20 minutes to spare and watch this video of Jamie Oliver at the time he received the TED award. It is a powerful message and one we all need to hear, especially for the sake of our children and for any young people in our lives.
With Jamie's passion to get America back in the kitchen and back to eating properly, with healthy foods, I hope he will cross paths one day with one of my personal heroes, Aviva Goldfarb, creator of Thescramble.com
I know! I know! Giveaways aren't really my thing. But, this blog is for me AND this second giveaway is something I just feel compelled to do right now. I have to say that whenever I giveaway something on this blog, it is a Big Ol' Present from me. I do not receive any incentive from these businesses I rave about. I just LOVE them and want others to share in my LOVE of them! :)
The big prize might not seem as awesome as the last prize from Everlater.com. But, I think this great giveaway prize will turn out to be one of the biggest blessings for whomever will be the lucky winner.
Am I just killing you here??!!! What is this prize, you ask?!!! The grand prize is a 3 month subscription to Thescramble.com (a $20 value). The scramble is a menu planning service. The winner will receive a weekly email with a menu for the week consisting of 5 entree recipes (along with suggested sides), how to prepare them the most efficient way and also, it includes a comprehensive shopping list. I use this service all the time, especially right after having my babies. I would not even look at what I was preparing for the week (I knew it would be delicious!). I just grabbed the shopping list, marked off the things we already had at home and dashed to the store, kids in tow. I love it and want to share this gift with a lucky reader.
I have not even told you the best part! I'm truly grateful for Aviva. I have her to thank for the healthy eating habits of my family. Not just for my kids, but for both Camlon and myself as well! If one must pick a practical issue to fight for in life, getting America to eat healthy is a great one. Aviva's does the hard part (planning recipes, testing them, getting them nutritionally analyzed...and more) and I benefit. As a young mom and a young cook really, I've grown in the kitchen with her recipes. I try things I wouldn't normally think to try and most of the time, I'm blown away by what new, healthy foods my kids will try and LIKE. :) I looked at Jamie Oliver's book, Food Revolution at a bookstore once. I love his idea and agree with his message 100%, but the first recipe in the book intimidated me, and I've been cooking now for 6 years!!! I'm thankful for the Scramble's simple and healthy dinners!
So, that does it. My favorite possession is my health. My favorite dinners are scramble dinners. All right, so my last giveaway had 17 in the running. :) How about this one!!!? I know it doesn't sound as cool as saying, "Honey, OMGosh!!! I just won a diamond ring off of some person's blog today!!!"
BUT, I know the winner will be so glad they won. Maybe, years from now, they will look back on this contest and say, "That was the day I got my health back!" :)
You've shared with me your future vacation aspirations. Can you share again about ways you are trying to live and eat healthier. From our family to yours, let us know your triumphs, too!
Bonus: If you tell me you've linked to this page, I'll enter your name twice. A winner will be posted on June 6th, CAMLON'S BIRTHDAY!!!!!
15 comments:
HI Rachel!!
I love the posts all the time! You have inspired me to get a better camera for my brithday two months ago and to enjoy each day for what it is!! My husband and I started eating better last November. We have increased our healthy lean meats and reduced some of our carbohydrates and sugars. My husband has last 20 pounds of fat and has increased his lean muscle. I over course lost nothing, but have turned some fat into lean muscle. Your kids are soo lucky to have such a caring mom!
Rach! So what we do to eat healthy is....pack as many colors into one day or week, with fruits and veggies, and i only cook with lean meat...if a recipe calls for ground beef I use ground lean turkey, and it still tastes great. I have also learned that if I buy junk..it gets eaten, funny i know! So no ice cream (only for special things) or soda and i keep the chips very high and they only come out when company comes! I hope to get my kids loving more veggies than i did when i was little! So far Aiden's fav is yellow peppers, and spinach! i'd call that success! Thanks for sharing! :)
Well, we don't have kids yet but I love to cook for just Dave and I and the way we stay healthy is by picking and buying a lot of our produce and some meats locally! My in-laws have a veggie garden that could feed a small country and we have an organic animal farm next door where we get our meat and eggs. I am wondering how we'll explain the connection between our "order" of meat and the lack of a familiar mooing face next door to our kids one day but, for now, we'll take it! :) xoxo
Well Rachel....I try to do as much as possible from scratch. Even if it's something as little as making my own taco seasoning. I like to know what's going into my foods. I also love to serve multi-colored meals. Especially dinner time when we're all piled around the table. Last night we enjoyed a large salad (prepared by Abigail), a bowl of strawberries (delish!) and marinated/grilled London Broil. My girls are really getting into the joy of cooking/baking. It's fun to share that hobby of mine with them!
I LOVE your blog, as so many others do, too. You have such a way of writing about the simple things of life, that make us realize what a blessing it is to be a part of our own precious families...and the family of God! Love you!
~Laura Peck
Rachel...I so love your blog. What a great idea...one of my passions, too. Wish you'd been here for the lettuce and greens explosion that's happening:) Hope like in SD is good.
Hi Rachel....so thankful for my health, too. Been thanking the Lord for it more lately. I really take it for granted.
Definitely been striving to eat real, whole foods here and nothing processed. Having to eat gluten free makes this easier. Some days I'm even thankful for the restriction, as I know it keeps me on my toes to find something besides bread and pasta! Though somedays I REALLY wish we could just order a pizza! Oh well..... would rather it be diet fixed than meds fixed!
Hope you and yours are well! What an AMAZING library!
Hmmm...I haven't heard about the scramble meals, but I am intrigued; love the concept! We started eating a lot healthier before Audrey was born when we did Body for Life together. Then when Norah had all her food issues and I had to totally restrict my diet...and read all the labels...I was thrust into the 'whole/real foods' world, and I won't look back! I cook most everything from scratch, we have a huge garden in our backyard this year, and we order all of our meat (beef, pork and free range chicken) from local farmers. Just recently watched Food Inc, and was re-inspired. Thanks for the giveaway! It's a great idea, and I hope I win. ;)
Oh, and I'm not here saying I'm an angel. Just the other day, we were all out together past lunch time, the kids were whiny in the car, we were lost (heehee) and not sure when we would be home...We got some fast food and I found myself feeding our little Eric (14months) french fries b/c it was the only thing I had!! I turned to Cam and said, "WOW!! Third baby syndrome has struck! No way would I have EVER given Finn fries!" *Sigh* At least we are all learning and growing here!!
Hey Rachel! I'm going to check out this scramble dinner thing even if I don't win! I've been trying to establish more nutritious meals for our family and I go on spurts and then they die out because honestly I'm a young cook and am not quite sure where to go. I exhaust recipes and we desperately want to eat better. We always find that we all have more energy, less health issues (headaches, etc.), better skin, ect. when we eat healthier. I'd love a chance in your giveaway.
Love you posts btw! Your one of the links on my feeds and I link to you from my own blog. Love you guys!
Rachel - You're right - this is right up my alley. I find I spend a great deal of time trying to balance feeding my family healthy foods with getting as many groceries at the store for a little money as possible (I love double coupon day!). I think my kids eat pretty well, but I would like to introduce them to new and different foods at an earlier age. btw the kids are now 3.5, 2.5 and 5 months! Later this month I'm going to start mashing up food for little Dakota...so much work :)
love ya and miss ya
amy*
Count me in! I've been looking for some sort of meal plan. Thanks for this. Also love your posts. Much love to you all! Angie
Rachel, you blew me away with this post, I am so touched that you named me in the same sentence as Jamie Oliver, and as one of your heroes! Your blog is beautiful, and that diced watermelon just made my mouth water. Oh, I made the most delish salad tonight in honor of my mom's visit--arugula from the garden, diced orange, toasted pecans, shredded parm, and dressed with 1/2 lemon and a little olive oil, salt and pepper. I could eat it all day!
Thanks for making my day, Rachel. I'm so glad I've helped your family eat better, but you do all the hard work of shopping and cooking!
I grew up in a home where McDonalds was a real treat.. maybe 4 times a year. My parents made sure that we ate healthy almost all the time. In our home we don't keep ice cream, chips, pre-made dinners etc. Almost everything is fresh and homemade. For instance, we are going out for the day (today) and the cooler is packed with fruit, veggies, water and turkey sandwiches!
Hey Rachel, thanks for the invite to be part of the drawing! Andy and I keep playing the "we'll start tomorrow" game ... so here's to starting tomorrow (literally, since tomorrow is the 6th, ha!).
I love my camera too ;)
I have a lot of trouble getting my 3.5 year old son to eat fruits and veggies so I have to get creative and sneak them in there. Sometimes I puree broccoli or carrots and put them in his sandwiches in place of mayo.
Nice blog. I hope you don't mind if I follow. I have lots of pics on my blog too in case you want to take a look.
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