Create a Housekeeping Franchise.

Systems. Every successful business uses systems. Some of the most successful francises today sell their operating systems for huge fees all based on a system of proven success. The Francise fee is not for a product, stock or anything other than the system, and usually training in that operating system.

Keeping a household is simply a system, too. Setting up that system takes lots of work, thinking, planning and trial and error. I have been working on systems for many years and just about feel like I have it into a workable routine that is both workable and flexible for the days that I am called out of town. The routine must be easily picked up again without much stress and back tracking. I have started keeping a day of the week clip board on the wall of my pantry with job lists and descriptions for everyone's use and referral. Here it is below. Each day should only be about a half hour or less so it fits in with our morning routine before we go for a walk.

Maintenance Monday,
Laundry-all dark colors
I keep a rotating household maintenance schedule including monthly chores like changing the furnace filter, emptying the vacuum tank or washing the car. Each Monday the next item on the list comes up. Once per month I have added jobs to be done every 6 months instead like washing the windows.

Terrific Tuesday
Laundry-all ironing and leftover folding of darks.
It is so terrific because we get all the garbage out of the house and out to the road. All the recycle has to be separated, etc

Wipedown Wednesday
Laundry-all grey colors
All vertical items such as fridge, dishwasher and doors and switches are to be wiped. On another clipboard I rotate less frequent jobs like wipe down the freezer lid in the garage, top of fridge and the monthly wiping of kitchen cupboards, garbage cans. Each week one of the above chores comes up on the chart along with the usual doors, etc).

Thorough Thursday.
Laundry-mending and folding leftovers of greys
This is the day that all the bathrooms get cleaned (by me) but the boys do a though clean up of anything that gets left out during the week. All dusting of horizontal items such as lamps, table tops, etc.

Fun Friday
Laundry- all white or light colors
A final vacuum of the whole house and the boys wash the kitchen floor. We usually try to do something fun as well like go to the beach, or more often, go shopping. In the summer that means garage sale shopping and that really is fun!

That takes us right through all the household chores for the week and if all goes well the house is clean by Friday afternoon. Saturdays are reserved for anything that may come up be it fun or work, or leftover work if we had to travel or got behind during the week.

This works for me!

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Words of Wisdom for a New Couple

This weekend we are going to be attending a wedding of a young couple that we have known since the groom he was about 5 years old. We have been family friends with his parents and we have watched each others children grow up and now get married. One of the wonderful ways that his mother has decided to celebrate her son's wedding is that she has asked the attendees to write some words of wisdom to be returned with the RSVP so they can be printed and included in a wedding album for the new couple.
It really takes some thinking when you know your words will be immortalized perhaps for many decades of their lives together. Wisdom on a subject like this has to be dug for, and quite ironically these four points came to me as I was digging in the garden today planting some more flowers (hoping that we would get some summer this year so they can grow!)

Most wisdom comes to us thought trial and error and so it is true with these words of mine. Much of what I have to say has come from my own struggles and dysfunction in these areas. Only in crying out to God have I found any hope of resolution in these areas (and I'm still working on some of them)

I thought I'd include them for your thinking pleasure today.

Dear Chris and Sarah,
What a wonderful day this is, June 21st, 2008. Whatever the future holds for you, this date will go down in history as the moment of the biggest commitment of your life.

Chris, your Mom and Dad have asked for words of wisdom for you and I have summarized four points for your careful consideration.

The first one is commitment. I'm sure you have heard lots about commitment as you have contemplated marriage but the word commitment needs to be more clearly defined as a commitment to communicate. It would be naive to assume that you will never act in the flesh. Life is going to get complicated.
You will tend to go in opposite directions and you will grow apart over time. It is the natural law of the sin nature and of marriage in general to grow apart as life gets busy and time goes by. When offenses occur, and they will, the natural tendency is to withdraw, and resent. The difference to a successful marriage and a subsistence marriage is that one major factor. The commitment to stay married, though thick and thin but more specifically, the commitment to stay in communication and resist resentment and isolationism.This is when the commitment to communicate will produce opportunities for some very “intense
moments of fellowship” but the rewards will be a stronger marriage and a deeper understanding of each other and the oneness that you will eventually achieve in your marriage.

The greatest gift you can give each other and any future children
is a strong marriage, not just a subsistence marriage.

The second thought I had is, be together. Be together as a family now and after you have children, should you be so blessed. Do everything together. Build together a house or a plan garden or a ministry or a family, but do it together. Whatever it is, be one in direction and be and live together. Knowing that the natural, tendency is
to grow apart, this will be a safeguard and an antidote to destructive forces in your lives together.

This, of course, does not mean that either of you cannot never do anything alone, baby showers, or golfing with the guys, etc, but the oneness of direction should be found in your everyday life. Nor does it mean that each of you will not be doing different tasks that make up the overall goal, but the overall focus is on working together, in the same direction for the common purpose.

Make your home the centrality of all family life. This takes intentional purpose and even within the church you will find good intentioned people purposing to fragment your family in all different directions and for different purposes. Be one in all that you do, in family worship, family work and family play. Many distractions will complete for your hearts. Avoid the current tendency to run to meetings, important clubs, and working late instead building your home around the sacredness of the home. Make relationships your top priority even at the expense of profit.

Build a home, a nest where virtue can be developed.

I know several families that have mastered this art and it is no small feat for the size of these families. Many of them have between 8 and 11 children and they all go everywhere together. They serve in ministry together, put an addition on the house together and they build their homestead together and all the children are learning at their father's and mother's side to serve and grow and mature. It is a testimony of the oneness between the parents and the children have learned to follow. They are powerful families that have formed family conviction as each of the children grow into maturity ready to grow their own families.

Thirdly, fulfill your God ordained roles within the family. Chris, love your wife and be the leader and initiator of your home. All selfishness and independence must die at the alter. Learning to lead a family may take some time to master but it will set up the environment for your wife to truly be feminine, to be a support, companion and advisor to you all your life.

She will find it difficult to honor you if you will not be honorable in taking the lead and initiative and if she feels unloved in any way. I have seen many wives frustrated and alienated because their husbands will not lead but sit passivlly until their wives give up and take over. This makes it very difficult for wives to function this way and a loss of respect is inevitable. Our entire culture is generally manless, so I say, Chris be a man, be counter culture in this manless, feminized society.

Sarah, be a woman in all that the Word calls beautiful. Develop a meek and quiet spirit and resort to prayer in times of unresolved disagreements. Be faithful, so your husbands heart can safely trust in you. Be a blessing to him and be a good housekeeper, full of industry and productivity. Be happy and create your home, not expecting him to be the one to make you happy. Provide for him a home full of the fragrance of your sweet spirit and the aroma of a good home cooked meal.

The fourth and final thought is a word of advice that is not what you may have typically heard in premarriage counselling, in social circles nor even in church circles these days. It too, is very counter cultural, but it is entirely Biblical. Children are a blessing. The number of children that you have is not as important as the profound principle that children are a blessing. “Go forth and multiply” and I pray God's blessing on the fruitfulness of your relationship and to be blessed with many children!

Rejoicing with you this day and in your lives together.
Elvis and Janet Langford
Jonathan,
Graydon,
Ryan and Stephanie,
Abbie (3) and Caden, (1)
Amy and Tim, Gabriel, (1)

What words of wisdom would you speak to encourage a young couple just starting out in life?

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Finally, Dental Amagams are Acknowleged as Dangerous.

Silver-colored metal dental fillings contain mercury that may
cause health problems in pregnant women, children and fetuses, the
Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday after settling a
related lawsuit.

As part of the settlement with several consumer advocacy groups,
the FDA agreed to alert consumers about the potential risks on its
website and to issue a more specific rule next year for fillings that
contain mercury, FDA spokeswoman Peper Long said.
Millions of Americans have the fillings, or amalgams, to patch
cavities in their teeth.

"Dental amalgams contain mercury, which have neurotoxic effects on
the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," the FDA said in a
notice on its Web site.

"Pregnant women and persons who may have a health condition that makes
them more sensitive to mercury exposure, including individuals with existing high
levels of mercury bioburden, should not avoid seeking dental care, but should
discuss options with their health practitioner," the agency said.

According to Dr. Robert O. Young, a researchscientist at the pH Miracle Living Center,"mercury filings can be a focal point for acidic toxicity and poisoning of the blood and tissues. Mercury is known to be one of the most dangerous
and toxic substances on the planet."

"Many people are unaware that "silver" amalgam dental fillings are actually
50% mercury. The American Dental Association (ADA) refuses to publicly state
that dental amalgam fillings contain a high level of mercury, and adamantly
denies that the mercury escaping from them can cause serious health issues."

"Yet it has been proven that fillings lose their mercury content. According to
Joyal Taylor, DDS, one dental researcher removed fillings that had been in a patient's mouth for five years. He also removed twenty year old fillings
from another patient's mouth. He tested the percentage of mercury content if
both fillings, and found that the five year old fillings had lost one half of
their mercury, and the twenty year old fillings had lost all of their mercury.
Fillings tend to fracture at the edges and begin to crumble away,
and mercury is absorbed by the roots of the teeth as well as the surrounding bone
and adjacent gum tissue."

"Every day, we do things that can increase the release of mercury vapor from
amalgam fillings: brushing our teeth, using a water pick, chewing gum, and
consume hot foods and drinks can all releaseup to 300 parts per million of
mercury colloids. Any levels over 1 part per million can be cytotoxic
to the blood and tissues."

"Removing amalgams without special precautions increases mercury blood levels
for a period of time. Such a concentrated release of mercury can severely exacerbate
existing neurological conditions."

"It is best to consult with your Dentist about removingyour mercury filings over a
6 to 12 month periodof time so the body can adequately remove this
highly acidic material out through the elimination organs."

The FDA must issue the new rules in July 2009, Long said.The lawsuit settlement
was reached on Monday with several advocacy groups, including Moms Against
Mercury, which had sought to have mercury fillings removed from the U.S. market.

While the FDA previously said various studies showed no harm from mercury fillings,
some consumer groups contend the fillings can trigger a range of health problems
such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's disease.

In 2006, an FDA advisory panel of outside experts said most people
would not be harmed by them, but said the agency needed more information.

Mercury has been linked to brain and kidney damage at certain levels.
Amalgams contain half mercury and half a combination of other metals.
Charles Brown, a lawyer for one of the groups called Consumers for Dental Choice,
said the agency's move represented an about-face. "Gone, gone, gone are all of FDA's
claims that no science exists that amalgam is unsafe," he said in a statement.

J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. analyst Ipsita Smolinski said the FDA is not
likely to outright ban the fillings next year but will probably call
for restrictions."We do believe that the agency will ask for the
label to indicate that mercury is an ingredient in the filling, and that
special populations should be exempt from such fillings, such as:
nursing women, pregnant women, young children, and immunocompromised
individuals," Smolinski wrote in a research note on Wednesday.
Dr. Young stated, "mercury filings are one ofthe major contributors to an acidic
environmentand can cause an imbalance in the alkaline
design of the body leading to dis-ease of the blood and tissues."

http://www.phmiracleliving.com/
To learn more about the science of Dr. Robert and Shelley Young go to:
http://www.articlesofhealth.blogspot.com/

Miracles happen not in opposition to nature, but in opposition to what
we know of nature.
St. Augustine

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic
Arthur C. Clarke

There are only two ways to live your life. One, is as though there are
no miracles. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
Albert Einstein



Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Eat your colors!

Eat your colors! Wild colors, bright colors.

That's it.

It is that simple!

Eat a variety of colors everyday and you have some of the most basic ingredients for a healthy diet.

Have you ever noticed how colors fade as they are cooked? Perhaps another indication that we need to eat more raw. Furthermore, have you ever noticed the lack of colors in fast food restaurants. They have to include in their logo and all of the surrounding decor very bright and varied colors-perhaps to make up for the lack of color in the actual food!

Red: tomatoes and tomato sauces, raspberries, apples, strawberries, pomegranates, cherries, peppers, radishes, and watermelon

Purple-blue: plums, grapes, blueberries, blackberries, red cabbage, beets, and eggplant

Oranges: oranges, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, carrots, winter squash, apricots, peppers, and mangoes

Orange-yellow: tangerines, oranges, peaches, papayas, pineapples, peppers, and nectarines

Yellow: lemons, corn, peppers, and yellow squash

Green: salad greens, kiwi, broccoli, avocados, Brussels sprouts, chives, green onions, parsley, cilantro, green beans, spinach, peppers, Swiss chard, and kale

White-green: celery, asparagus, honeydew, and pears

White: mushrooms, onions, cauliflower, garlic, leeks, shallots, bananas, artichokes, and bamboo shoots

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Delicious RAW orange Salad Dressing

Into a strong blender drop
3 peeled whole oranges
1/4 cup olive oil or milder natural oil
1/3 - 1/2 c fresh pineapple
touch of Celtic salt
1/4 - 1/2 c water or thin to desired consistency
small amount of stevia to taste
1 T or so of young coconut pulp (optional)

Blend on high till smooth and pour over a spinach, red pepper and papaya salad. Yum. What a way to celebrate the arrival of spring and summer weather. Raw food dressings are so easy to make up on your own. If you have a great one, would you share it with us all? We would love to hear it! I'll make it, photograph it and post it and give you the credit! (unless you already have a picture, then I'll let you send me your picture)

Sheer Raw Cookie Delight

If you love macaroons, and I do, these will satisfy the
craving, naturally and they are raw. The key is letting
them dehydrate long enough before you eat them!
The ingredients are a little expensive, but they are a
treat and I have been splurging upon occasion.
Besides I'm not buying other treats that cost me in
health issues later so I feel like I can totally justify
these cookies every now and then.
They are taken from Carol Alt's second book,
The Raw 50: 10 Amazing Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Drinks for Your Raw Food Lifestyle


Mac Macs

1 cup dried coconut
1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
(I put them in a blender to pulverise)
1/2 cup almond flour (again pulverise soaked almonds)
1/4 cup agave nector
1 T vanilla extract
1 T coconut oil
1/4 t celtic or Himalayan (pink) salt

Mix the ingredients with your hands, or a spoon, in a large bowl. Form the mixture into 1 inch balls, flatten and place them on a teflex lined sheet to dry at 115 degrees for 12 hours or more. (Don't eat them all yourself. Please learn to share!)

Make Your Own Vanilla!

I found this recipe in one of my raw food recipe books and decided to try it. It doesn't sound like it should work. Surely the real vanilla that you pay a fortune for in the stores must be a whole lot harder to make than this. NOPE! This is so easy and it works great. The liquid (vanilla extract) is fragrant and flavorful and always ready.

I estimate it to cost about half of commercial extract and it is alcohol free, another bonus.
I get the ingredients from my home delivery coop, Azure Standard, who only delivers on the Pacific coast right now and some inland states as well, but you can also order for UPS delivery if your order is over 40.00. For those of you regular Azure people I've included the order codes and prices for your convenience.

Here is the "recipe"

Cut up (or leave whole) 2 or 4 whole vanilla pods.(HS664 $4.40 oz.) These are dried black long pods and are somewhat rubbery to cut. Don't be confused by the "instructions" on the Azure page. I have not found the beans they talk about being inside the pod. I just use the whole pod.



Add them to a pint of food grade glycerine (NS075 $4.40 pint) and leave overnight. By morning the thick, clear glycerine liquid will have extracted the powerful flavor of the pod and is ready to use. I just leave the pod pieces in the liquid or I guess you could take them out. The liquid will not be dark like the commercial vanilla. I'm not sure why. Perhaps manufacturers puree the pods making the liquid dark, but your vanilla will be perfectly clear and flavorful.

That's it. The pint will cost you $8.80 total and I've even reused the pod pieces in another batch of glycerine with almost the same results. The flavor does seem a little weaker though.
Add to raw smoothies or baked goods. The flavor seems to last either way. Enjoy!