Why I Love Activated Charcoal

Yep, you read that right. I LOVE activated charcoal, and I'll tell you why. Activated charcoal is some pretty amazing stuff! It has saved us many times from some pretty awful circumstances...like the stomach flu. If you ever feel some sort of stomach/intestinal disturbance coming on, take a teaspoon of charcoal in some water, drink it down and you will feel SO much better pretty quickly. This is what it looks like.

One day I read all about it and it sounded so wonderful I just had to get some for our family. And I'm so glad I did! It has saved my children from having to suffer through food poisoning and the stomach flu. While others who got sick at the same time as us were spending a lot of time in the bathroom, we were recovering. We've given it to friends and family members and even have neighbors who come by sometimes for a dose! Now don't go thinking you can eat that piece of toast you burned this morning and get the same benefit. Activated charcoal has been put through a process that makes it's surface be covered with super tiny holes or pores that bacteria, viruses, and fungus stick to, and then can be carried out of the body. This is what it looks like under a microscope. It goes through your body like a little vacuum sucking up all the bad stuff!

Hospitals have activated charcoal on hand to give to anyone who has swallowed poison, as do ambulances. It can also be used to whiten your teeth and freshen breath. It's also used on the outside of the body for skin problems. This is the kind I get.

It's from a company called My Father's Healing Herbs at www.healingherbs.biz but you can find it in other brands in capsules, soaps, even toothpaste at health food and specialty stores. 

My bag is getting down to the last few tablespoon fulls so I just ordered a new one and thought, "Why haven't I told the world (well, my tiny, little blog-readers world) about this crazy great stuff?" So here it is, folks! And I hope you never have to use this, but, my goodness, it sure is handy if you do.

Until next time, charcoal kisses from Taniya

Throwback Thursday: Our Grand Canyon Adventure!

Once upon a time (about 10 years ago), Clark Kent and our three little ones traveled to the Grand Canyon.

 And is it ever GRAND!! If you have never had the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. It's a most amazing sight. Photos are just not the same as actually being there. My lovely friend, Dawn, and her husband and family, went too!

There's Dawn on the right. And that's me and little, tiny Luke.

Here's my handsome Clark Kent with two of our babies. Look at that amazing canyon in the background!

On our way there we had stopped in the woods to eat lunch. It was a long drive! Here's our oldest, Qiana (I don't know why she's wearing gloves) with Alani, who is holding a big cookie.

This is the cutest picture with little Luke peeking out of his daddy's jacket! It was October when we were there and it was chilly. We actually got a little snow! But it didn't stick around very long.

So this was our Grand Canyon adventure! I would love to go back some day. I think I would even love to live there! So beautiful, so peaceful. 

Happy Thursday everyone, and SMILE! Tomorrow is Friday! 

See you soon. Taniya

A Day In The Life of a Homeschool Mom

Today was a red letter day! No, not because we finished all of our schoolwork, but because I got some new jeans in the mail! See, I'm not one of those people that orders clothes online. I have to make sure they fit just right or I don't waste my time. So they MUST be tried on. But my favorite pairs of jeans aren't made anymore so I had no choice. Nothing fancy, just some American Eagle brand, but they fit just right. Which is very hard for me to find. I had a supply of them but over time (I hold on to my clothes for awhile) they got all ripped up.

So I was pretty excited to have some unripped pairs!

Good old Ebay!

Later we got some Chinese. Yum!

Violette kept looking at me like this.

So I gave her some chicken.

Then I painted my nails.

And last but not least, I put away the last of my Christmas decorations. Yes, I leave out my nativity sets the longest. Look at what I discovered when putting them away.

Instead of Joseph holding his staff, he has some sort of machine gun! I wonder who put that there. Probably this mischief maker!

I hope your day was full of happiness, family, friends, animals, whatever makes you smile! Until next time, Taniya

P.S. I also did this workout!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_PcO9bfRtk#t=836

Dad's Northern Adventure.

Several years ago, my dad and his wife bought a piece of property far from home. They were living in L.A. and had dreams of getting away. Really away! So they scoured the upper reaches of Idaho until they found five acres covered in cedar and pine.
For a while, Dad would make a trip up there once or twice a year to work on building the garage with a living quarters above. So they could move up, live in the garage apartment, while working on building the house.
Well, this summer their dream came true when they were able to pack their bags and head up to start a new adventure. And what an adventure it has been! There are art fairs and music festivals galore in the warm months. In the cold months there's lots of snow! They see deer and elk on a regular basis and a moose was found sleeping in their neighbors yard. They haven't seen one on their property yet but there has been evidence left behind of one passing through.

A couple nights ago they got about six inches of snow, which , being from Los Angeles, is an exciting event. They sent photos...because they know me so well and knew I would love it! Here's their pretty trees.

Maybe only Southern Californians are appreciating these photos but I am just so excited about going up for a visit. I can't wait until the house is done because then we can stay with them. They even sent a photo of the truck in the snow. Ha ha!

Here is a photo of the house. It's looks done on the outside but there's quite a bit of work left to do on the inside.

A couple days ago when this snow fell, the local news had a story about a man who robbed a convenience store of three thousand dollars worth of cigarettes. Apparently he'd left on foot because all the police had to do was follow his footprints in the snow and they led straight to the robbers house!
I hope this post brightened your day! Come on by now and then to see what we're up to over here. See you soon! Taniya

New Years Chili!

O.K. it's not exactly New Years chili because I make it almost year round. But it is just so darn good it seems like a celebratory dish! So I made it for New Years. Now my family LOVES this stuff! I've never been a chili fan until, oh the past few years or so, and this chili just takes the cake.

Now I'll bet your dying to know why it looks kinda funky. It's because that's ground turkey in there instead of ground beef. So before you say, "Oh gross" and head on outta here, you can always put in any ol' kind of meat you wish and it still turns out yumm-o! I started making it with turkey because my daughter and I were on an anti-candida diet at the time (more on that in another post) so I was trying to think up all the recipes I could that were best for supporting that. And it's super simple too. Check it out:
First you pour a little oil in a big pot over medium high heat. I use olive oil.

Then you chop up one medium onion, and three cloves of garlic. If garlic bothers you just leave it out.

Dump them in the oil and cook until they are translucent (kind of clear-ish).

Then you want to add your meat. This is the turkey I use.

Put your meat in the pot and break it up and stir it around.

You want to cook it until there's no pink left.

Then you add about 16oz. of broth or beer. I use chicken broth.

Let that bubble up for a few minutes, then add your beans. Add whatever kind you like. I used to add three kinds but now I add four, cause we're just crazy like that.

This is black, pinto, white, and kidney. I just use them out of the can and rinse them first, but if you buy them dry and soak them overnight, more power to you. Then we add one 14 or 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes. (That's the size of the bean cans too.)

Now give it all a good stir.

If you want to add some spice, throw that in at any time. I put in a little crushed red pepper because I can't handle much hot stuff. 

Stir that in well.

Now put on a lid and simmer for about an hour. We never make it to the hour mark because we get too hungry and we're impatient but it's so good anyway I guess it doesn't matter! I don't thicken mine like I know some people do because it doesn't need it. So I hope you love this recipe as much as my family does! Let me know how you make yours. Did you make it with chopped up chicken instead? Or just the classic ground beef? One of these days I'll try it with chicken and I'll let you know how that goes over. Until then, have a great day, and a wonderful 2014!! Taniya

Oh What Fun It Is To...Take Family Christmas Photos!

For the first time ever, in the history of our little family, we were unable to take our Christmas photo with every family member. Our oldest is in another county going to college and this year we just couldn't manage to get everyone in the same place long enough. So instead we took everyone's photo separately and just put them all on the same card. What a genius idea! Apparently people do this all the time. Ha ha!
Of course, we had to take many, many photos so everyone would be happy. Some were cute.

Some were funny.

Some were downright goofy!

And my husband and I couldn't be left out of the fun.

Our oldest? The one away at college? Well, hers turned out just fine! So it went directly on the card.

She may not have been able to come home for the Christmas card, but she IS coming home for Christmas! And Christmas Eve! I am so thankful that all my sweet babies will be under the same roof on these very special days. And I hope yours are as well! Hugs, Taniya

Baking For Christmas!

Hi Everyone! This week, and actually most of this month, has been spent baking. Which I love! I look so forward to this time of year because I love baking, love shopping for that special gift for those I love, and decorating the house and Christmas tree with my family is an amazing time as well! But today I'm going to write about all this yummy-ness going on around here. First I made
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES
These are just such a simple recipe and everyone loves them so I like to include them on the plates I give away.

Next I made a batch of fruit bars. This time I made APRICOT FRUIT BARS. Usually I have to make many more batches of these lovely things because everyone eats them before I can plate enough of them to give them away! Ha ha!

And who doesn't love SNICKERDOODLES?

We also made two pans of fudge, one regular and one PEPPERMINT CHOCOLATE FUDGE.

But the regular got eaten so fast I only got a photo of the peppermint! Lastly, we made PEPPERMINT BARK.

I still have more baking to do and will continue until Christmas Day with the grand finale being Christmas dinner with ham and all the lovely side dishes that go so well together. If anyone is interested, I'll be posting recipes of these fun Christmas cookies and desserts soon! Until then may your days be merry and bright...and full of good food! And may your stove look like this.

Kisses, Taniya