and spirit...encouragement for your soul.

Hopefully this will be a place of resources and information for living a healthy lifestyle while feeding your soul. Recipes, links to helpful sites, words of encouragement and scripture....all to help you and your family make wise decisions for your life.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

How do you slow down a busy life?

My mother-in-law, Rhoda, is fading fast. She is 93 years old and her health has been declining for several years. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky in the home where my husband was reared. I wish we had visited more often this last year but life gets in the way of our priorities. We received the call last night advising she would not last much longer. As soon as Wayne was off the phone the debate about what to do and how to do it began.

We need to just get in the car and go to be with her but the electric meters need to be read, electric bills calculated, invoices for rent and electric printed and delivered. It's the first of the month and we can't just take off and do it later. It's a dilemma for both of us. Wayne is torn between needing to be with his mom and needing to complete his work. What to do, what to do...

I have commitments at church and Rotary and with my Juice Plus team for the next week or two as well. All I can think of is how I'm going to get it all done before we take off for Louisville and I'm praying we get there in time. How do we prioritize our lives?

Obviously we are not the only ones to face these challenges. I just can't determine how to change things. We can't just drop everything and run when we need to. There are people depending on us and there is church work to be done. How do you handle these issues?

One thing I shall resolve to do in the future is to keep up with the work at hand. If I weren't behind on just about everything, some of the issues I'm facing now would already be complete and behind me. I am also going to ask for help when I need help. Maybe the next time we have an emergency we'll be better prepared.

Lord help me with the important things and the trivial issues of everyday life. Give me the strength and wisdom to make the tough decisions. May the Holy Spirit guide my path. Amen

Monday, June 21, 2010

So many recipes...so many memories!

A couple of months ago I was invited to create a new blog on videojug.com. It's a "how to" site with mostly "how to" video clips. They wanted to expand into blog pages and I was invited to be a "Founder." I wasn't sure about it and had no idea how I would proceed but thought I would give it a try.

I decided to make it a food blog and publish mostly old southern recipes. I have been so pleasantly surprised by the memories conjured up by all the old casseroles and dishes. Each click of the keyboard makes me smile as I type the ingredients list of my aunt's "fried" corn or my mother's "one egg cake." With each published recipe I think of three others I want to request from my favorite cooks. Red fish from my brother Joe, coconut cream pie from Catherine Aylor, key lime pie from Alan Carter...I could go on and on.

My family and circle of friends is chocked full of gifted cooks and it's difficult to decide which recipe to request next. As I reminisce about the family dinners and Junior Women's Club card parties and casual gatherings with friends I treasure the food and fellowship that has made up a large part of my life.

I am thrilled with my new adventure and grateful for all those who follow both my blogs. I love the comments and appreciate the good wishes. Amazingly, I never thought of writing and publishing until a few months back when my friend, Pam, launched a blog and inspired me to do the same. And here we both are....just publishing away!

Thank you Lord for old and new friends. Thank you for inspired cooks who share their recipes and techniques. Amen

Thursday, June 17, 2010

20 Pounds lost....hope I don't find them again!

Today was a milestone. I have lost a total of 20 pounds in about five weeks. I am celebrating by continuing to do what I have been doing since I began the diet. After all, I used to celebrate by allowing myself a special "treat." That would have caused me to put back on a couple of pounds. I call that discipline and discipline has been a serious problem for me in the past. I sincerely hope my undisciplined days are behind me because losing weight is no picnic!

I am a little less than half way to my weight loss goal. I have 28 more pounds to lose and I am growing weary. It is difficult to eat out or socialize with friends as I don't want to be a pain. I am also a foodie and my limited diet is not very satisfying.

The good news is the diet is effective and I'm losing so quickly I won't have to be on it for more than another five weeks. That is, if I continue to lose at the same rate. I'll be able to go to the next phase that will allow a few more carbs and a little more fat. I'll be grateful for the fat as my hair and nails are absolutely brittle.

I am very happy to report I am wearing clothes I haven't fit into in quite some time. Bathing suits are still an issue. I look better but it still isn't pretty! Maybe next year!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Birthday boy cooks!



It is my brother, Joe's, birthday week and he spent the weekend cooking for the entire neighborhood. Thursday was roasted chickens on the big green egg accompanied by grilled zucchini, yellow squash and onions. It was, as usual, outstanding. A day of laying in the sun, floating in the pool and eating good food while visiting with family is a good day.

Friday was my niece, Angela's, birthday. A large party of friends, neighbors and family was on again. This day was another day of floating and drinking, sunning and visiting (gossiping if the truth be known) followed by more picnicking. This time the menu was a little fancier. Joe grilled an entire rib eye on the spit. His Parmesan mashed potatoes are always the best accompaniment with the roast beef. The ever popular King salad was also a hit. The topping on the cake, so to speak, was a beautiful masterpiece of a birthday cake by Angela's friend, Joannah. Angela's friends were dressed up and sassy. What a beautiful group of young ladies. They partied 'til 2:00am. I was long ago in bed when all the younger folks left. Another good day!

Today was a day of sunning, swimming, drinking, eating and visiting. Are you getting the pattern? Today's menu was ribs on the Big Green Egg (a ceramic smoker) that we all had to smell for six hours. The aroma from the ribs made our taste buds perk up and our mouths water all day. Justin, my nephew, made a fabulous cole slaw, ML made a tasty pasta salad and Jerry made an appetizer of cerviche Atlantic salmon. I shall publish the recipe for the salmon on my other blog, "My Southern Table" if he will allow me. It was spicy with jalapenos, soy and onion.

Here's the really sad news....I could eat none of it. My diet is still on. I have lost a total of 16 pounds so far and I do not intend to stop until I reach my goal. You would be proud of me. No drinking, no snacking, no potatoes, no pasta salad, no cake!! I am very proud of myself. It wasn't easy. I love all that stuff but I didn't cheat. There has to be a reward for me somewhere down the line. Lord give me strength!

Saturday, June 5, 2010

A new adventure?

I was recently invited, due to this blog, to be a founder on Videojug.com's pages. The invitation said they were looking for "experts, such as yourself." HA! I accepted the challenge of creating a blog on Videojug even though I do not have a clue how to operate the new blog. This blog "Food for thought and spirit" was also a challenge in the beginning. Just finding my way around the blog site, determining how to create, edit and publish posts took some effort. I made some mistakes and learned from them. I was able, after some experimentation, to decipher how to post images and videos.

The focus of the new blog will be food and nutrition. I intend to invite my "foodie" friends and family to contribute to my pages....as soon as I figure out how to do it myself. I tried to post a picture of a bowl full of Zellwood corn for my first page post and it just didn't work. I know I'll learn as I go and the site will look good and provide good information but it may take a while.

I would love to share your favorite recipes if you are willing to allow them to be published. They may not have been published before, unless it was in a recipe book to which you submitted the recipe. AND I would love a story to go with the recipe. Is it a family favorite? Did you grandmother make it for family holiday gatherings.

Check it out and let me know what you think. http://pages.videojug.com/sites/47-soul-of-the-south Become a follower and make a comment. I can't wait to see how the blog will look in a couple of weeks after I figure it all out! Thanks to all the current followers and I look forward to your comments and advice for the new blog.