All posts filed under: Eating

California and Coconuts 

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“The Dark, Blue Sea… Thou Glorious mirror, where the Almighty’s form glasses itself in tempests.” -Byron This week I sunk my feet into the California beach for the first time in my aware-life (since 2 years old). After hours of driving, we rushed to the beach for fish tacos and to see the orange sunset, hovering over the ocean rim, like an overly ripe Georgia peach, about to drop from the tree on a muggy summer day. I mean, the only thing that could have improved this heavenly moment would be a penguin clothed waiter with a linen towel over his arm, telling me how they came up with a low calorie Pina Colada and asking how many he could bring me. But, actually, the silence was enough. See, even though I learned that California is massively and understandably overcrowded, like a cod on a table at Pike Place, Seattle on a gray, downy morning after a good fish, the sounds of the ocean drown all those people out. So, I closed my eyes and just…..was. …

Dominant or Dominated & Elderberry Syrup

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“Humility comes before honor.” – Proverbs 18:12b “An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.” -Proverbs 24:26 Most mornings, or should I just call it what it is and say, “The middle of the night,” my loving husband joyfully cuddles up to me and whispers sweet, “good mornings,” in my ear, so much like a jubilant Mufasa from The Lion King, greeting the dawn with the stance of ancient kings and a proud roar. Not only am I NOT a morning person but I have intense opinions about waking up before 6. When verbally pressed before 7, I communicate only in sign language, like an overtaxed nurse on a full newborn ward when the babies are finally silent. People are all wired differently. We think, communicate and go after different things in life….. by design. I’ve been thinking a lot about the social balance of powers. Let me take to the stage and act out a couple classic personas for a moment. 👩🏼”Hi my name is El. It’s short for Elizabeth. I like ‘El;’ it’s like a …

Health Idioms, True or False

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“For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion.” Psalm 27:5a Joseph, who is very much the youngest child, a comical, sometimes pampered (he is the “baby” to 6 other siblings after all),” sprouting boy, whose legs are too long for his head, like a stalk of asparagus, said this week, out of the blue, “I feel a bladder coming on.” Ummmmm, Don’t we all. Lol. And, if he means a bladder infection, where did that come from since he’s never had one?! But, I can more than relate to the feeling that something is coming on illness wise. I’m about as impatient a patient as a pig in a bacon factory in the south. I have been known this week to bemoan to myself, “Just get me out of this!” But, let me tell you what I’ve learned, while I could only sleep one of five nights due to excruciating back pain. I was overcome, right in the middle of it, with waves of gratitude, which rolled in stronger than ever, even while the sky …

Adele, Kindness & Gluten Free Info

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“The greatest happiness of life is the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves.” -Victor Hugo “Hello… it’s me,” the husky, lonely tones ring out from Adele’s new hit single, like an echoing wind across the empty, welsh countryside, that reverberates off an abandoned granite cottage on a darkening January afternoon. Maybe my husband and I are products of 25 years ago, cut out of dough, like little 1980’s gingerbread foot soldiers, but we rolled with laughter this week, as we realized every time Adele sings, “Hello,” we both mentally answer, “Is it me you’re looking for?” A warm nod to Lionel Richie, the original friendly, pining greeter. With an overly full schedule this week, I desperately wanted time away to have a short, mental break. I finally had a few quiet minutes alone, which is about as rare as a steak on our grill, no matter how it’s cooked. Lol. Listen, financially, I had to choose steak or children and, while there are days where I …

The Heart & 5 Fitness Philosophies to Help You Stick With It

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“Shine like stars in the universe.” -Philippians 2 So, I’m sitting at my middle school son’s football game this week when I hear guttural, deep chested orders, like the cry of a drill sergeant from basic who gives himself rewards of extra time to iron his own uniform when he’s been gloriously harsh and made a recruit cry. Instead of the bark of, “You can’t handle the truth,” this commander’s voice growled across the field, “CRUSH them, Hawks,” and was actually a woman, an everyday mom who checked her femininity at the gate. You might chuckle and think, “Oh yes, there’s always one of those.” But, there wasn’t just one of them. Oh no! They were everywhere, a surrounding chorus of rough, raucous moms shouting, “KILL THEM” and worse, and laughing at each other the louder they got. In classic form, my mirth bubbled up inside of me and I had to smash it down, like a bubbles trying to pour out of a shaken soda bottle on to the floor. I mean, I cheer, …

Summer Vignette #2: Yearly Cleanup and Happy 4th!

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Love getting my daily scriptures after I run; a little vitamin for my heart. 👍 Daniel had SO much to do this week, staining our deck and a friend’s deck. So, we formed “Team Bless You” to surprise him. We cleaned the garage, the upstairs of the barn and the car. This is us right before we set to work- grrr, determined! 💪                           Lots of evening dinners around the fire after a week of house repair and organization for the year. Found these gluten free flour tortillas for Joab at Trader Joes. They were chewy but not bad.                           Add a little meat, fresh veg, black beans,  cheese, homemade salsa and Kapow! This is Isaak scoring in his end of season rugby game. 🎉                           I’m loving that “stone washed” is back in, apparently. 80s graduates unite! 🙌 …

God Loves His Creation and Gluten Free Baking

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Oh, how I need a few things in life… laughter, sunshine, flowers, my family and God. Did I mention my insatiable love for blueberries/raspberries, writing, Spanish Flamenco guitar music, Turkish, Mexican and American bbq food, well written fiction, the beach, palm trees, Maui (have I made my point yet :-)), adventure, living abundantly, old friends, blue jeans, the late afternoon sun, hot showers, white curtains, politics/law, the outdoors, architecture, beauty, directness, peonies, distance shooting, farm country, 100% cotton, barns, minimalist landscape paintings, joy, Lily of the Valley, smokey quartz, horses, european countryside and interior design to name a few. And, that is some about the person called Laurie Anne, with all her complexities, quirks, joys and flaws. 🙂 Honestly, what God has been reminding me about this week is a little difficult to write. Randomly, some old memories have come to the surface, like sediment at the bottom of a lake that gets stirred up with a summer rain. I actually think God allows that at times, so he can speak to and teach us. …

Thankfulness and Hummus

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“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” -Mother Teresa The sun has finally come out in Colorado and graced us with a summer day! Would you like to know the evidence I have besides the strawberry shade to my legs? Well, let me tell you… One day last week, I was peacefully doing my hair in front of the mirror. The sun was pouring through my open bedroom door, flickering slightly as the pine trees swayed in the breeze, like tall mothers rocking their newborns, breaking the light into patterns on my tile. It was a rare moment, where everything in the world seemed to pause. Suddenly, I jumped. My body jumped, my heart jumped and, even, my cells seemed to jump, as a nearby gunshot reverberated just outside my bedroom door. I gasped, not expecting such a different atmosphere within 1 second flat. What was it? Well, in walked my beloved husband, carrying a cocked shotgun, looking more like a craggy, moss covered southerner, who has been …

Marvelous Marriage & Mango Smoothy

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“…the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you.” Every Thursday night, I frantically throw together an easy dinner for the kids, so Daniel and I can have some time alone. Soooooo, last week we were on our date, making “eyes” at each other over bison and salad, because, people, trust me on this, it is SO worth it to keep flirting in your marriage! I want to be hot for each other at 90, trying to kiss with our dentures popping out and saying to each other, “Is that you, Sweetheart, or the fur coat hanging by the door?” Besides, a big cut of red meat to a man is like an Italian love song playing violinist, long stem red roses and a giant, glittering rock in a box is to a woman. Nothing, I mean nothing, says romance to a man like a beer and huge cut of steak. LOL. Anyway, I finished up my dinner and ordered a desert, not realizing just how large the desert was at …

Silence and Spaghetti

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“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whisper of God.” – Emerson Two weeks ago, our family piled up in our Suburban for a little pre-season camping, looking an awful lot like the Beverly Hillbillies, with blankets, tin cups, enough S’mores’ supplies for the nation of Chad and with sausages strung along the roof rack. Ok, I am teasing on the last one 🙂 If you’ve been into the mountains, isn’t the silence up there hard to describe? Even our quiet moments down here don’t compare. And, it doesn’t just silence the exterior noise but my thoughts start to slow way down, as I take in the popping of the fire, as it breaks down twigs and the white sides of aspen logs, and the evergreen needles snapping under the hooves of visiting deer. Learning to be quiet is a skill and in my 9 person family, which is as peaceful as bead craft day at a junior high girls’ summer camp, a prized commodity! Often when the whole house sleeps, I lay …