A CHRISTMAS STORY – PAM’S TALE PART 2

DECEMBER 16, 2014 

I promised that I would finish my Christmas tale today. If you need to catch up, read Part 1 here.

Isaac didn’t want physical gifts for Christmas this year. There were two concerts he wanted to go to instead. Yesterday, I shared a bit about the one we went to this past weekend. The first one we attended was last month. Allow me to share with you the saga it took to actually make it there.

This concert featured Francesca Battistelli

and Sanctus Real. These guys are from my neck of the woods, so I was pretty excited about seeing them in concert.

We had the whole thing planned out. We’d leave the house at 3 PM and make the hour drive to Fort Wayne where we’d grab a bite to eat somewhere and make it to the concert by 6 PM. We didn’t concern ourselves with the need to be there too early to stand in line because we had tickets for the Artist’s Circle. We would just get there when the doors opened. Let me reiterate here – that was the plan.

Click over to my new blog, Still Playing House, to finish this saga.

A CHRISTMAS STORY – PAM’S TALE PART 1

I have a little Christmas story to tell. But, it’s not your typical Christmas story. It’s personal. It’s the story of Christmas 2014 in my household. Specifically, Isaac’s Christmas gift. You see, when we asked him what he wanted for Christmas this year he didn’t ask forthings. What he really wanted for Christmas was to go to two concerts. Last night we saw Toby Mac and Matt Maher.

It was SO good! I swear, TMac is 50 years old and dances around the stage like he’s 19. Needless to say, it was a very high energy concert.

This one pretty much went off without a hitch. The concert was held in the Performing Arts Center at the University of St. Francis in Fort Wayne. It was indoors, but set up like an amphitheatre. Every seat in the house was a great one. As a family who doesn’t particularly care to be crowded in swarms of people like a can of sardines, we choose to sit directly in the center section in the very top row. There were still a lot of people at this sold-out concert, but we felt like we had a little more breathing room up there. Here’s the thing about sitting in the top row – heat rises.

A little back history on me. At some point in my adult-hood I became allergic to the cold. That’s my doctor’s official diagnosis. I live in Indiana, y’all. I get to have more fun than a barrel full of monkeys in the fall, winter and most of the spring here. But, here’s a little tid bit that makes that even more exciting. I have some hormonal issues that causes wild temperature swings. That means I’ll go from covered in painful, itching hives because I’m freezing my tail off to profusely sweating femininely glistening five minutes later. It’s so much fun that I feel like I live in my own personal carnival i. I’m my own Circus Freak. Thank God that at least I don’t also fill the bill as The Bearded Lady.

If I don’t quit finding stray hairs to pluck out of my chin, lip, and yes, nose I might still be able to manage it. Are you jealous of all this sexy, yet? So, back to my story…

The line to get into the building was wrapped all the way around the block. It’s December. In Indiana. I’m kind of like Diana Prince when I’m out in the cold for very long. I morph into my alter-ego.

To continue reading, hop on over to my new blog, Still Playing House.

My Anniversary Weekend

Hello, Hello, Helllllooooo... Hi! Hey, Y'all! So glad to see you! Thank you to everyone who has expressed an interest in my health and well-being. And, to those who'd wondered if I'd turned to poop and the hogs ate me. So, let me start by saying that I have not turned to feces and been eaten by the other white meat. Also, I am fine and dandy. I have just been extremely busy and my brain has been on overload - incapable of trying to string together coherent sentences that anyone would want to read on this little ol' blog of mine. Hopefully, now that homeschool group is done for the year, I'll be able to get back to blogging a little more regularly. Now that we've gotten that out of the way...

OK. So what in tarnation have I been up to exactly? Well, of course you know that I started a business this year and opened a shop on Etsy, PURE YANKABILLY - All Natural Skincare. That's where the majority of my brain cells have been recently. Y'all, there is a LOT of work that is involved in starting a business. It's not just making products, taking pictures and uploading them to Etsy. That's actually the smallest part of it. Who knew?... Anyway, Isaac is still homeschooled and we are part of a homeschool group. So, we've had that and several days of Stanford Testing. And, for some weird reason my family expects me to still feed them and make sure they have clean undies and all. You understand about that, right? In the midst of my new normal, though, we've tried to squeeze in a few fun thing, too. Today I'll share a bit about one of these mini trips with you.

Last month Chris and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary. In trying to think of something fun to do in honor of it, we decided to take a weekend trip to Columbus, OH where it all began for us. We wanted to take Isaac along and show him all of "our" special places - where we met, where we went to school, where we dated, our first apartment, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

The closer we got to the city and as that lovely skyline came into view, we got really excited. Well, Chris and I did anyway. Floods of old memories and the feelings that came with them started rolling in. Then, we came to the area that we once called home. To say that it had changed would be a colossal understatement. It had been really nice when we lived there. Now, not so much... Anyway, we checked into our hotel and began our expedition. Oh yeah, our hotel wasn't even there 17 years ago. Neither was the mini city that used to be cornfields surrounding it.

Y'all, it was CRAZY! CRAZY, I say! Our journey to 'us' began when we met at Meijers (a northern version Walmart, only nicer), where we both worked. We got off of work at 2 in the morning and the only place open at that time was the Waffle House that occupied the front of the Meijers parking lot. So, that was where we went every night when we got off work to drink tea and talk until we had to go get a few hours of shut-eye before school. People, they closed Meijers down! It was just an empty, dilapidated shell of a building! Then, they had torn down the Waffle House and built a new one in a different location of the same parking lot. So, even though there was still a Waffle House there - it wasn't "our" Waffle House. Bummer... After that disappointment, we decided to go see our first apartment that we lived in after we got married. It. had. changed. ALOT. It was a pretty new and pretty nice neighborhood back in the day. Now, though...well, let's just say that we were afraid to slow down to snap a picture of it.

 After that, I had Chris drive by my first apartment there. And, lo and behold, it hadn't been torn down or moved or changed into a new super center or anything.

I lived in the first floor apartment right there where the grill is. Ironically, the name of the apartment complex is "The Moors" and my new last name is also Moore. I think it was destiny. Yep. Lots of memories there. I lived there with 4 other girls. The people above us sounded like they moved the furniture at least a few nights a week to hold line dancing parties. Of course, we probably weren't much quieter. That apartment complex was more like a dorm and our place seemed to be a major hang-out. At least one thing about Columbus hadn't changed so far...

We moved on to see the old school. You guessed her... The old campus had been sold. It wasn't there anymore. The school had relocated and had changed names. See, I told you it was crazy. By this time it was getting late so we hit the Walmart that hadn't existed 17 years ago for drinks for the night, grabbed some take-out from the Popeye's that popped up out of nowhere and headed back to the hotel that used to just be a cornfield.

The next morning dawned with fresh hopes of finding and exploring the parks that we used to picnic at and walk the trails. We also thought we'd head out to Hocking Hills, which is only a short 40 minute drive away. But, alas, it was not to be. It was raining. Not that all out frog chokin' kind of rain - just the kind that was light enough to be a nuisance. We knew Hocking Hills would be a bad idea because you just really don't want to go walking trails high in the cliffs on wet rock. We figured we could still go find our old parks, though. But, you guessed it, we could not find them for the life of us. Everything was so built up and new roads and towns expanded to the point where nothing was recognizable. And, if it hadn't been for GPS we would have been totally lost.

On to Plan B. We decided to go find one of our favorite towns, Granville, OH. It's a beautiful little town nestled in the hills and home to Denison University.

We used to love to take the beautiful back roads and drive through those gorgeous hills, enjoying each other's company as well as the view. It was magical - especially during Autumn when the leaves were in peak color. It was also the place where this incident happened.

Although it was rainy, it was still beautiful. Here's a bit of it's charm - although there ain't nothing like the real thing, Baby.

brick roads

quaint churches

lovely houses

and this charming town full of incredibly cool restaurants and stores

like this one.

It's a very French-y type store

with darling vignettes every place you look.

Granville also has this hotel.

It's supposed to be haunted. We didn't go in to find out.

A brief trip through Granville was all we could handle. Not only was it still drizzling, it had gotten c.o.l.d. It looked like everything we had planned for our anniversary get-away and trip down memory lane had been doomed from the git-go. I didn't even mention how our original hotel reservations had fallen through when we were only about an hour away and our room ended up costing more for one night than our original reservations had been for 2. So, we decided that we would stop for a nice, warm lunch and head on back to home-sweet-home.

Although nothing went as we had envisioned for that weekend, all-in-all it was still nice to get away for the night. We also learned a good lesson. You can't relive the past. Time marches on whether we want it to or not. So, it was a good reminder to enjoy the memories of our lives just for what they are - good memories - and focus on making new ones. Which is exactly what that weekend ended up being. Now we can look back and say, "Hey, remember that time we went to Columbus to show Isaac all of our old places and our history and not one thing went right because everything had changed?"

Have you ever tried to take a trip down memory lane only to find it had turned into a super-highway?

Cute Etsy Find

Let's talk about checkbook covers today. How'd that be? Do any of you use the cheap, crappy little vinyl ones that you get when you order your checks? I do. Because I'm cheap frugal. Back years ago, like before I gave birth or had a yungun' cut out of me or however you prefer to phrase it, I worked at a bank. Do you know that we actually had three color choices for those cheap, crappy little vinyl checkbook covers then? Yes'm we did. Navy, green and red. Now, I guess the cheap, crappy little vinyl checkbook cover companies are experiencing a financial crises where they can't afford green and red pigment or something, because we aren't given color options anymore. The cheap, crappy little vinyl checkbook covers only come in navy blue.

Don't get me wrong...it's not that I really care. It's not one of those life-altering experiences. I don't get bummed when I open my new box of checks and SURPRISE! I get another cheap, crappy little vinyl checkbook cover in navy blue or anything. I think I might actually sew a bunch of them together and make a tablecloth or matching bra and pantie set out of them or something. But, I digress...


Ever since I opened a business account and carry two checkbooks with me, this single color option has been an oh-so-slight pain in the neck. I don't want to take 3 seconds to get the right checkbook when it used to only take me 1 second. Do you feel me? So, I figured I needed to find another checkbook cover. So I thunk and I thunk and then I thunk some more about where I could find another one. And...then it hit me. Duh! Etsy! Y'all, they have everything on that site. I'm pretty sure that if you can think it up, you can probably find someone who makes and sells it on Etsy.


Since my shop is PURE YANKABILLY, I really wanted to find something that had a western feel or cowboy boots. I'm a duplicate check kind of gal, so it was important to me that there be a plastic insert to go between the checks. Look what I found!

Here's a shot of the inside...

It has a place for my register and a plastic piece sewn in for the duplicates. And, it has a cute contrasting fabric on the inside.


I purchased this through a shop called Every Stitch. It was less than $10 and shipped out the same day I purchased it. I saw so many cute covers, though, that had I not had something specific in mind, I would've had a hard time choosing. Prices range anywhere from $5 up, depending on what type of material you prefer.


Now, when I see this in my purse...

I'm back to fishing out the right checkbook in one second flat. That makes me smile. :0)


So, share with me...have you ever purchased anything from Etsy? We're you looking for something specific or just window shopping?


Don't forget, you still have time to enter the giveaway for over $60 in PURE YANKABILLY products!

It's Time to Spill the Beans...And a Giveaway!

OK, I'm ready to get back to more regular blogging after some intensive work on another project. And, I'm ready to spill the beans on just what that project is. :0) Where shall I begin?


I've been making not only cleaning products, but personal care products for my family for several years now. I have researched and experimented, then researched some more. I'm always looking for ways to shed toxins and chemicals and incorporate healing plant extracts. The benefits that my family has experienced because of this have been incredible. Back a few months ago I started sharing some of my tips and recipes with y'all and was blown away by the response. Evidently, I'm not the only one ready to say goodbye to Big Business in skin care. I'm just tickled pink at so many of your comments sharing how these things are benefiting you, too!


Shortly before Christmas, things started snowballing into what I can only call "A God Thing". Allow me to share a few of the highlights. My husband started using some of the newer products I made to give as Christmas gifts, and he commented to me that I should start selling it. At our Christmas gathering, my extended family heartily agreed. Between the holidays, my cousin and I went into a health store in my hometown on a reconnaissance mission and the owner overheard our conversation. She said that she would like to carry my products. I was still in the planning stage at that point. Then, my husband received an unexpected year-end bonus from work (that he's never gotten before) and we realized that God had just provided our start-up funds. So, PURE YANKABILLY ~ All Natural Skincare was born. You may have noticed that I already snuck a new tab in up there with a link to the shop. Is it snuck or sneaked? Anyone? Good thing I don't teach grammar...


My eyes have recently been opened to the fact that there are "do-ers" in life and then there are those who would rather not mess with it themselves. I'm a do-er.  Always have been. I know many of you are, too. You're the type of person who takes great joy in the challenge and the following satisfaction of figuring out how to do and make things yourself. I understand that this may not be for you. But, there are many folks who either don't have time to do the research, hunt down ingredients and then actually make something - or they have no interest in it. Many of them still want to rid their lives of chemicals and take a more natural approach, though. Let me quote the famous Doc Holliday here..."I'll be your Huckleberry!"


If you're a do-er, then I wish you many happy concoctions! I hope you continue to enjoy the skin care recipes I have listed here as well as those from all around the web. My eye cream recipe has been the most popular post on my blog every since I hit "publish". And, it's good stuff. But, my new eye cream that I sell in my shop is great stuff. I've added awesome healing and anti-aging ingredients to it and then whipped it to a wonderful consistency. That's what I've done with everything in my shop. I put in extra research and tracked down the finest ingredients I could get my hands on to make each product the best it could possibly be. 


I've been giving samples to people that I know in real life and have had some really amazing reports rolling in. I'll share some of them with you later. But, for now I want to get to the fun part! In honor of PURE YANKABILLY'S grand opening - I'm going to do two giveaways.


For those of you who may want to go ahead and try something - I'm offering a 15% coupon for liking my PURE YANKABILLY Facebook page. So, are you ready for the first giveaway? I thought so!


Here's what you'll receive:

Gentle Bar Soap - 5 ounces

This is the only soap my family uses. It's in the shower and at the bathroom and kitchen sinks. It lathers so nicely that me and Chris both use it for shaving now, saving the expense of shave gel. Since making this I've also been able to say goodbye to a separate face wash because this is awesome for taking good care of the face. I often use it to wash my hair. It's gentle enough to use as an all-in-one soap and shampoo for your babies, too. We always take it with us when we travel, because Isaac's hands will inevitably crack and bleed if we don't. That's not a lot of fun for him. Can you tell we love this stuff? 

Hard Lotion Bar - 1.5 ounces

This is my husband's all-time favorite item. This man has never used any type of lotion because he can't stand the feel on his skin. Y'all, he even puts this on his face. Like, every night. It's not greasy at all, but very nourishing and moisturizing. It's even taking the callouses off of his hands that he's had for the entire 17 years we've been married. 'Nuff said.

Organic Sugar Scrub - 8 ounces

Peppermint Grapefruit

I use this scrub from head to toe two or three times a week. It's wonderful to use before shaving. Although, it would be nice if it was the kind of 'sugaring' that took care of that for you, too. You'll have to do that yourself, though, unless you just enjoy looking like 'the missing link'. I won't judge you if you do. Anyhoo, it does a fantastic job of exfoliating and then leaves you wonderfully moisturized. Someone I recently shared this with said it was better than a scrub that she paid $60 for. I'll let you tell me what you think...

Flower Power Soothing Salve - 2 ounces

I created this salve for our trip to Michigan at Christmas. I was out of our hard lotion bar and knew that I needed to bring some sort of moisturizer with us because of Isaac's hands - and regular lotions cause them to break out. Even when we take our soap with us he usually will have a minor flare up from not using it 100% of the time. I intended this to be a rich, general moisturizer (which it is), but was happily surprised to find that it is very healing as well. Someone that we gave a sample to recently has reported that it has made a tremendous difference for her husband, who has been plagued for years with a skin condition that the doctors have been unable to help him with. Use it on anything that is fungal in nature,  burns, eczema, to generally soothe skin and more. This is my mom's favorite, by the way.

and finally...

Green Goodness Healing Balm - 2 ounces

Y'all, this stuff is UH-MAZ-ING! It is a blend of 6 healing herbs that I've infused into EVOO, unrefined and cold-pressed. Then, I add a bunch of other oils that have a strong history of healing a myriad of issues. It's good for cuts, burns, fungal infections, bug bites, boils, rashes, eczema, psoriasis, bruises, sprains and SO much more. 

These products have a $60.25 value. The giveaway will run until Thursday, March 22, 2012.

Whew! This was a long post so I'm gonna keep entering the giveaway pretty simple, K? 

To Enter Giveaway:

Simply leave me a comment telling me which item you're most excited about trying.

For extra entries, leave a separate comment for each of the following...

+1 - Follow Ramblings of a Happy Homemaker - or tell me if you already do.

+1 - Follow PURE YANKABILLY on Facebook - or tell me if you already do.

+1 - Blog about this giveaway and then leave me the link for your post in the comments.

+1 - Share about this giveaway on Facebook and then let me know you did.

I've had some people share with me that they aren't able to leave a comment on my blog for some reason. I've tried unsuccessfully to figure out why. If you find that you fall into this category, shoot me an e-mail at hhramblings@gmail.com telling me what you did to enter. There's actually a button on my sidebar that will let you do this quickly. One e-mail with all your info will be fine.

Alright, that's all folks! Good luck to you! And, thanks for reading. :0)


I'm sharing this post at Your Green Resource.


THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

I Need Your Help..

OK, y'all...I've mentioned that I've been working on something huge that has kept me from blogging since the first of the year. I was hoping that I could keep it a secret until 'The Big Reveal'. But...I need help. So, I'm going to spill a little bit of the beans in hopes that somebody out there reading this might be able to help me - or at least point me in the right direction. :0)


I'm starting a business. It is going to include an Etsy shop, but I also have a chiropractor and nurse that owns a health food store already interested in carrying my products. I also have the opportunity to do some in-home parties. While this is all very exciting, there is the whole business end to deal with.  And, when I say business, I really mean taxes. Being tax season and all, I can't get into my tax guy right away for this issue. I know a lot of you have Etsy shops. Do we have to charge taxes on our products? If so, do we have to charge them for each state that would possibly be buying from us? Then there is the whole issue of selling retail. And, in multiple states. BAH! Anyone out there have experience with this or know someone who can point me in the right direction? Anyone? ANYONE? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Bueller?



Ferris Bueller's Day Off

— MOVIECLIPS.com

Merry Christmas!

This week has been busy.  My goal was to get some sewing done for me and the family.  To get my feet wet and the tension set on my machine, I started with a holiday cuff for my dog, Layla's, neck.  The only red fabric I had in my stash was this plaid.  After I finished the cuff and put it on her, my son jokingly said that I ought to make her a kilt to go with it.  Well, by golly, I had just about enough material left to whip up a matching skirt for her cuff.  My family thinks I'm half nuts, but I think it's stinkin' hysterical. LOL  Anyway, Layla will be sporting her feminine side this year for Christmas.  Can anyone play Silent Night on the bag pipes? :0)

We're leaving tonight to spend the Christmas and New Year holidays out of state with family.  It will be good for Isaac to have so much time with all those cousins he doesn't get to see but a couple times a year.  I won't be around as often the rest of this year as I'll be enjoying my family, too.  I'll pop in as I can.  

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah, if that's what you celebrate. And, have a Happy New Year!  Enjoy this time with your family and friends.  And, most importantly, take time to remember Jesus, the reason we celebrate.

XO,

Pam

...And A Partridge In A Pear Tree!

I think that just about everyone is familiar with the Christmas Carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  I grew up singing it, but never really understood it's meaning.  I thought it was just about some old Victorian custom of gift giving for the holidays.  Then, a few days ago I received an e-mail from my mom that explained this song.  I'd like to share it with you because I figure that if I grew up clueless to the meaning behind this beloved carol, maybe you're clueless, too. :0)


From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics.  It has two levels of meaning - the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.


Here is what each day stood for...


1 - partridge in a pear tree = Jesus Christ
2 - turtle doves = the Old and New Testaments
3 - french hens = faith, hope and love
4 - calling birds = the four gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke & John
5 - golden rings = the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament;
     Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy 
6 - geese a-laying = the six days of creation
7 - swans a-swimming = the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit; prophecy,
     serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership and mercy
8 - maids a-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 - ladies dancing = the nine fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, 
     kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control
10 - lords a-leaping = the ten commandments
11 - pipers piping = the eleven faithful disciples
12 - drummers drumming = the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed


You can click here for printable coloring pages that go with "The Twelve Days of Christmas".  I think they would be a great tool for teaching your kiddos the meaning behind the song and keep them out of your hair give them something to do while you finish up the last of your Christmas preparations. :0)


So, tell me - did you know the story behind the carol, or were you clueless like me?

OK, y'all.  Today I need your help.  This past week I bought a new quilt and shams for our bed.  Both me and my husband loved the old coverlet.  It was very "us".  But, it was 6 or 7 years old and getting some discolorations on it that just wouldn't come out in the wash.  We knew it was time to move on.

old coverlet

I had to run into Kmart this past week and noticed that the quilt by Country Living that I've had my eye on every since they started carrying that line was on sale.  I was able to snag a king size quilt with matching pillow shams for $49.99. Yes!

Although you can't see it in this picture, it's really soft and textural and has a beautiful design stitched into it.

The reverse side has this light print with embroidery like the pillow shams in this picture.  It will be perfect for spring and summer.  

Here's a close up.  Ignore the dark spot that my camera loves to imprint into every picture. :0)

We are really happy with the new quilt.  As a matter of fact, I seem to be drawn to just about everything in Country Living's new home line.  It's also my favorite magazine.  I so look forward to every issue that comes.  Not that you care.  I'm just sayin'... :0)

Anyways, not one to waste - I now have a fabric from a king size coverlet, 2 king size shams and 2 valances.  Anybody have any ideas as to what I can transform all that material into?  I was kicking around the idea of cutting down the coverlet into a smaller throw.  Also, I switch all the red accessories from fall and winter out of my living and dining rooms every spring for light blues.  I could also go something along the lines of a table cloth.  But, being a novice sewer, I'm really open to ideas and suggestions at this point.  Any ideas for me?  Please?  :0)

My Top Real Food Resources

In my last post I mentioned that I've been doing a lot of reading about food and nutrition.  I have some issues with my health that haven't been rectified by following the current nutritional philosophy.  It doesn't help that that philosophy changes about as frequently (or more so) than most people change their decor.  Something had to give.  Given the fact that so many diseases have popped up and increased in direct relation to "new" processed foods, I figured that real foods that have stood the test of time have probably done so for a reason.  I've been on a journey to find out all that I can about it.

Thank God, I've got a great doctor who is on board with taking care of problems as naturally as possible.  She even recommended a book for me on the subject.  So, I thought I'd share some of the resources that have been really helpful to me.  The common bond between all the following is that they focus on eliminating processed foods and getting back to eating "real" food.

"Ultra-Metabolism" by Mark Hyman, M.D. - This is the book that my doctor recommended.  It talks about how our bodies process food, which foods to steer clear of and it has a systematic approach broken down into weeks to help jump start the health process.  It also has a recipe section in the back.  Dr. Hyman also has a weekly newsletter that I receive.  You can sign up for it on his website.

"Real Food - What to eat and Why" by Nina Planck - Hands down, the best of the best in my opinion.  I would file this under "Must Read" for every person even remotely considering eating healthier.  This is the book I wish I would have started with.  It's full of so much information, but presented in way that isn't overwhelming at all.  Nina has an easy style to read, while giving you lots of meat to chew on.

"In Defense of Food - An Eater's Manifesto" by Michael Pollan - This is an excellent resource.  It gets into the history of our food, which is much more important than I realized.  It's definitely an eye-opener to find out who is really controlling our food supply and heart-wrenching to find out that the people that are supposed to be looking out for our health aren't.  But, this isn't a depressing book.  It gives steps we can take and leaves us full of hope in spite of the system.

"Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon - Ok, to be honest, this book is really heady.  I had to really be able to sit down with highlighter and concentrate in order to absorb this book.  But...it's is absolutely full of studies, pictures and helpful information.  And, that's just a bonus to the fact that this is a cookbook.  I keep coming back to it for ideas on how to eat better - especially with ingredients I'm just getting familiar with.

There are many, many helpful books on the subject.  Some I have read.  Some are still on my list to tackle.  But, these are a handful that have really impacted me.

I also get a daily newsletter from Dr. Mercola.  He deals with everything from food to vitamins to water filtration and what we should be sleeping on.  He often offers products that go with what he talks about, but not in a pushy way.  He can be rather long-winded, but it's always worth at least skimming through the article.  I've gleaned a lot of great information from his newsletters.

Another great resource for me has been blogs.  There are many great real food bloggers out there.  These are the ones I read on a daily basis.  Sometimes I get good info.  Sometimes I get great recipes and how to's.  And sometimes I get much needed encouragement to keep on keeping on.

GNOWFGLINS - Enjoying "God's Natural, Organic, Whole Foods, Grown Locally, In Season"

Kitchen Stewardship

Nourishing Days

Real Food Forager

The Healthy Home Economist

One more thing I'll leave with you is a documentary that rocked our family called Food Inc.  Rent it from the library.  Watch it on Netflix.  Just watch it.  That's all I'm going to say about it. :0)  Don't you just hate that?

I realize that each person's body make-up is slightly different and that there isn't a one size fits all diet.  I also understand that we should prayerfully seek the steps that we need to personally take toward health.  But, there are certain truths that hold true for all of us.  These resources aren't the end all and be all to health and nutrition.  Your optimal diet will probably look a little different from mine.  Heck, my diet is constantly changing, as I think it should.  I know that my family has a long way to go.  But, I plan on continuing to learn more, seek God's wisdom and baby step mine and my family's way to better health.  

With these resources, as with everything in life, I think it's good to keep an open mind to the facts presented, weigh them, pray about them, digest the meat and spit out what you need to.  I've personally found that I was overwhelmed by some things earlier on that I can handle at this point in life.  

I hope some of these resources help you like they've helped me.  If you've got any must read resources that have impacted you regarding health and nutrition, please share them in the comments. :0)

Pam