The old grey mare...er... chicken... ain't what she used to be.

Sure chicken is cheap and supposedly low in fat but look again. What price are you paying for this homogenized, cheap and convenient food? This video investigates how supermarkets have affected the food on your plate, and reveals the telltale signs that the food you buy may not have been grown in the way you think.

The Process of Letting Go....

The process of letting go as your children approach adulthood is a bitter sweet process filled with either confidence or fear depending on how you have raised your children over the years.
In the younger years, training is of utmost importance; training to make their bed, training in cheerfulness and continual practice in daily routines that should become a part of everyday life over time. Their education is primarily knowledge based, fact related and fascination driven. Many boys love to read about astronauts and other science subjects and to develop the ability to make accurate observations. Some girls love insects, butterflies, also enjoy much in the line of science. This is a time to build a knowledge base of the English language and how the world works and to observe the wonders of creation.

In late childhood and early teens, the child should be ready for the understanding level, the ability and skill of drawing careful observations. History may come alive to many children at this time as they discover that history does repeat itself and can learn to love the ability to discern the lessons of history. Teaching your children about life and academic subjects becomes primary in a parents focus while training is being established.

Harvey Bluedorn of Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style'>Teaching the Trivium: Christian Homeschooling in a Classical Style, says it well.

Your job would be to train the Knowledge Level to make accurate observations, teach the Understanding Level to draw careful conclusions, and coach the Wisdom Level to express themselves well and apply things effectively. Remember, all children of all age levels are developing all three of these capacities, Knowledge, Understanding, and Wisdom all of the time, but certain age levels are focused on certain levels.

As the child is approaching the late teen years, as my children are, I am seeing much of the later development taking place, the struggle to gain wisdom. This is the level where your job as a parent is to coach and mentor (or find mentors).

As I look back over the years I can see the whole process in arrears and can see obvious glaring holes in some of my parenting. Nevertheless, much of their development has been natural and we can rest that in all that we do God will assist us in doing His will in raising them for His Glory and that will include the natural process of growing up and developing into competent, capable young adults.

As I see my second son (third child) approaching adulthood, I long for the young sweet age of his toddlerhood, remember his tender childhood at 9 and 10 and see him developing into his manhood age as he is moving all too rapidly right now. He is taking on the attributes of manhood. He desires to look after me, and to protect me and to provide for me if necessary. All these things I cherish and long for and yet mean a time of change from childhood dependency to adult responsibility.

Ah the process of letting go is so bittersweet. Lord, give me grace.

Why I choose an anti cancer diet.

The statistics are staggering. Cancer has now passed heart disease as the number one disease killer in the western world. It has moved from one in four, past heart disease, to one in 3, (exactly two of my immediate family) will die from cancer as a direct cause of cancer in their lifetime.

Yes, I know we must die of something and today we are able to diagnose what that cause is rather than to say of "died of natural causes," but our western lifestyle has us believing that cancer is the risk of living. Our modern medical perspective has us trained to not ask why but to be dependant upon the professional doctors to fix us and send us home happy (and drugged) without any suspicion of cause whatsoever.

My 27 year old son was one of those statistics last year and even though is considered in remission after 6 months of gruelling chemotherapy, none of us need to assume freedom from risk. Cancer is usually multifaceted in cause and we all need to assume an anti risk lifestyle, not out of fear, but out of responsibility.

Causes of serious disease are everywhere, in food additives, pesticides, air pollution, cleaning agents, paint and furniture fumes, natural gas emissions (gas stoves and furnaces) even the radio and wireless computer and cell phones that we seem to have absolutely no control over in our electronic world are becoming major threats. Furthermore, the very medical practices that are supposed to "keep us healthy," such as vaccinations and other medical drugs and treatments can severely increase our cancer risk.

In reading this article, one line that struck me as interesting,"Surveys we've done indicate many people don't think they have control over their cancer risk, but studies clearly indicate they do."
Being the independent minded (rebel) that I am and quite opinionated as you might have noticed by now, I choose responsibility over dependency and subsequent medical treatments. Either way, my lifestyle becomes my choice... even to the extent that I take my life into my own hands through an anti cancer prevention lifestyle.

I will be posting articles and recipes from time to time that are specifically labelled anti cancer. I have been collecting and am constantly learning recipes that are becoming part of my daily routine and help to later my own lifestyle habits of health.

Below is one such very simple delicious and very inexpensive recipe using the great health foods berries and sprouts in my favorite format - a smoothie. You can buy sprouts in the produce section of your grocery store or you can easily and inexpensively sprout them yourself. I will post how to sprout broccoli in the next month or so.

Anti Cancer Green Smoothie

1 pint broccoli sprouts

1 pint ripe organic blackberries

1 cup water

Blend all ingredients well. - Enjoy


Nutritional facts:

In 1992, scientists found that broccoli sprouts are rich in a compound that provides significant protection against breast cancer and colon cancer. The compound is called sulforaphane glucosinalate.

Black raspberries (blackberries) have been shown to reduce the risk of oral, esophageal and colon cancer in animal models, according to the researchers.

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Many of us have great and powerful disabilities to overcome in life, but few of us choose to focus our life purpose and occupation in that very area of disability. Watch this amazing and moving video to see what determination and perseverance can produce through the message of this dance.

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

Wacky Wednesday-Real Life Science

One dark and rainy day in May, my youngest son Graydon and I were at a garden center and happened to see a small food service type of container at the cash register. "Mantis pod" it read. Would that be Praying Mantis? I was intrigued. What a great real life science project. I often regretted my boys not being able to see a real praying mantis in our hot and humid home when we lived in Ontario. (They were not born yet)

Praying mantis's are the most intriguing little insects. They will actually turn their heads to look at your face. It's kinda shocking the first time you see his head follow yours as you twirl him around on your hand. ....Back to the story... of course, we bought the container and followed the instructions to keep it in the fridge until the weather got warm and then hang it on a tree. Out came our field guides and we researched all about praying mantis (Life applicable learning- the most stickable learning there is. In 2 - 6 weeks out of the pod were to emerge hundreds of baby praying mantis. We hung one on either side of the garden and watched carefully. We were warned to not miss the hatching because once the babies come out of their paper wasp like birthing pod there is not much evidence that the pod is empty and the babies will all scatter and you could miss it. Well, one we missed but the other I providentially caught just a the right time. Here is a great shot of the pod dripping with babies. They quickly jumped down and were off. Within 30 min we could hardly find one. They were so cute!

Surprisingly, Graydon found one of the long lost mantis babies now grown to over an inch in only 3 weeks later. It is surprising because they are completely camouflaged with their surroundings. They look like a small twig or other thread like natural debris. He was obviously doing very well.

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily

A new look-What do you think?

I have been contemplating for some time getting a new look for my blog. Since I'm not very technical I would have to pay someone to do a good job but my son just came across this free background blog site and gave it a whirl on his site GL Highlights

Wow, How easy can you get? So I switched mine as well. I like it but it doesn't do a few things that I would like, like give that scroll down feeling.

(The background stays put while the words move upward)

Does this bother anyone else besides me?

Living a Lifestyle of Learning Daily

Spiced Squash Raw Salad

Another raw food winner.This time I am posting a recipe for a salad. Many erroneously think that raw food people (officially called raw foodists) eat only salads. Nothing could be further from the truth BUT salads are part of good nutrition and this one happens to be quite economical as well. If you happen to have planted one only zucchini plant in some remote garden corner you will have enough summer veggies to enjoy this recipe simply entitled Spiced Squash, taken unaltered from the bookThe Raw 50: 10 Amazing Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Drinks for Your Raw Food Lifestyle


1/2 c chopped sun dried tomatos, soaked for 2 hours and drained

2 T cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.

1 T minced white onion

1 T minced fresh oregano

1 T minced fresh dill

1 t Himalayan salt

2 zucchini, sliced and 2 yellow squash, sliced.

Combine all in a mixing bowl, add salt, oil, and herbs. Toss to coat all the vegetables and marinate at least 2 hours.

The next day this salad is even better and the fresh herbs need a little time to really permeated the sauce and the skin of the zucchini.

Enjoy!

Living a Lifestyle of Learning daily