Laurie's Everyday Notions

I was very excited last week when Hubs gave me a juicer for Christmas! I've always wanted one but had decided that I could "make do" with my Ninja blender. Even if it meant that my smoothies were more chunky than smooth. My first juice was apples and carrots. Oh yum! Yesterday my new juicer came to the rescue when I was spent the day in my pajamas as I nursed a headache, flu-like symptoms and a cold. I felt miserable. By afternoon I knew I needed to do something so that I would be ready for work today. I searched for a "feel better" recipe and found this one . In my juicer I threw in a heaping handful of kale, 1 grapefruit, 3 oranges, and 2 kiwis. I added the juice into by Ninja with 1 banana, 1 T. chia seeds, 1 T. ground flax, 4 T. coconut oil (melted), 1 can of coconut milk, 2 t. ground ginger (I had used up my fresh ginger the previous evening in my detox bath), 1/2 t. cayenne pepper, 2 T. lemon juice, 4 T. honey. This made a BIG smoothi...

Yesterday I took advantage of some Cyber Monday deals to complete (for the most part) the Christmas shopping that I had begun on Black Friday. Today it's time for me to give. Won't you join me?  Giving Tuesday from World Help on Vimeo .

So I had big intentions of blogging every day of November, sharing 30 days of gifts. My hope was to share a few Christmas crafts but mostly I wanted to share information regarding organizations which work towards ending oppression, poverty, hunger and the like. My hope was to encourage you (and me) to spend our Christmas money in a way which would help others.   But God had other plans, quieting me a bit and using that time to teach me. I'm learning to COMPLETELY lean on Him. I'm learning to give Him my every dream and trusting His plan for my future. It's been a beautiful month.  Maybe I can still accomplish my goal of 30 gifts in November. We'll see. Meanwhile I will share a few - in no particular order and a few which I've shared previously. :) 1 .  Love 146  - Organization working to end child trafficking and exploitation 2.  Eden Minstry  ~ Jewelry "the journey of hope continues for women who have escaped trafficking and prostit...

I enlisted the help of my daycare families to bring items to fill our " Christmas for an Orphan " boxes. The needs were simple. Band-Aids, pencils, markers, crayons, toothbrush and toothpaste, stuffed animals, matchbox cars, etc.  Yesterday the kids and I organized...........ok, I organized the boxes then the kids rifled through the boxes to see what goodies we were sending (while they did this I talked to the children about the items and how they would be used by the orphans that we were sending them to) and then I reorganized the boxes so that everything would fit! The kiddos were very excited about the gifts that we were sending but were even more excited about the children in whom we were sending the gifts to!  Laurie's Little Sprouts, the name of my daycare, sponsors a Guatemalan girl, Karina,through World Help (the same organization that does Christmas for an Orphan). The Little Sprouts and I talk about Karina everyday! We have a picture of her hanging in the...

Busy crafting week ~ chalkboard gift tags, soap and candles Today my heart is overflowing with gratitude. Last week I wrote a post about my dreams, my worries, my faith (or lack thereof). In writing that post , a post that I had no intention of writing, God spoke to me. He clearly pointed out my lack of faith and reminded me of how faithful HE is! My attitude changed and I'm seeing His hand orchestrate something very beautiful. I got over my pity party, gave my dreams...and worries to Him and got busy. :) I looked around the house for income generating ideas. I re-posted a few of items on a local Facebook "for sale" site, items which I had posted several times over the past 5 months. All were sold within an hour! And yesterday I was blown away. I had a book that was in excellent condition so I decided to try selling it on Amazon. After listing my item I noticed that there was over 200 other people listing the same book! I almost deleted my listing. 24 hours afte...

Last week's menu was focused on vegetables as my children and I did a 7 day cleanse. We started on Monday. Monday and Tuesday were filled with a lot of "what can I make??" By Wednesday I was savoring the the vegetables. Sauteed, raw, combinations that I've never tried. I loved getting creative with my food.  In photo collage: Top left ~ smashing up an avocado for a concoction that I used as dressing (pictured in the middle). 1 avocado, juice of half a lime, a sprinkling of ACV, a few grinds of pepper, and a bit of Wildtree Garlic Grapeseed Oil. Next time I may leave out the lime...the dressing was a little "mouth puckering".  Photo in top right shows me mixing my homemade dressing with the veggies that I added to a salad (organic spring mix). Top Middle ~ making Tabouli in one bowl and in the other bowl is the chopped cucumbers, tomatoes and avocado to add to a lettuce salad. I decided I liked topping my salad with tabouli (pictured in bottom right)...

I'm linking up tonight with Lisa-Jo for Five Minute F r i day . The prompt word is truth...... And before I reveal my "truth" I should share a couple of other truths with you. First, I had intended to write something completely different. In fact I wasn't even going to join the FMF party. But God took over so here I am. Also, I started writing and couldn't stop after my five minutes where up (plus my boy wanted me to make him a couple of eggs so I got interrupted half way through). So my five minutes was more like 10. Or 15. Give or take.  The truth? I've been stressed. I've forgotten to completely lean on God. I've forgotten how He has proven to be faithful to me over and over again. The right words come out of my mouth but somewhere along the way my mind become too overwhelmed. Stress and worry replaced faith. Three weeks ago my boy had knee surgery and all I could think of was how I would pay that bill. And he needs to go to the dentist but ...