Welcome to My Blog!

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit me in my new Blog Home.  I really love it here, but I want to hear your feedback as well. 

Is it easy to leave a comment?

Is there anything you find confusing about my site?

Is there anything you saw on Xanga that you would like to see here as well?

I have only moved a few posts from the other server, so my archives only go back to May; but I will be working on that a little each day.  I will also be adding pictures to my albums as time allows.

I am hoping that this will be a good fit for me, and that you, my readers, will enjoy the lack of advertising on my site!  I know I certainly will!  No yucky ads on my web site and no "plugz" on my home page!

I'm also delighted to have a "preview" page that I can check out before a post actually posts on my blog.

So, from our new home to you, we say "Welcome!"

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We hope you enjoy it here as much as we do.
Alesha

Friday, 19 June 2009

*EDIT below

If you are a fan of rip-roaring thunderstorms, you really should come to Florida during the summer. 

Yesterday's
storms were predicted for several hours before they actually got here,
so I was able to get outside in the yard to pick up a few
things…cardboard boxes that hadn't made it into the garbage can, a
piece of tubing that will eventually be part of our central a/c system,
and a watering can.

I also moved a bag of playground sand, then
later wondered if that was such a good idea.  After I came back inside,
I kept feeling twinges all over – my upper back, my hip, my lower
back.  I am happy to say, however, that as of this morning, all is
well!  Nothing seems to be any the worse for wear.  I think I am just
starting to use muscles that have been dormant for a while, and they
were protesting my use of them.  How dare they???

Hey, are you looking for a good mystery to read this summer?  Here's a review of one by my bloggy friend Cheryl at Copperswife.  I'm always excited to get a "thumbs up" on a good mystery series!

I
was happy to be able to tackle a good deal of the laundry yesterday. 
Doug has been doing most of the laundry on the weekends, except for the
week my mom was here.  It's just too much for me to sort, then carry
the clothes to the washer; and then the stretching and bending to move
it from washer to dryer was not a task I could do either.  So, it was
nice to be able to do some of it by myself yesterday.  Now, mind you, I
still have a large stack of undies and pjs sitting on the end of my
couch, but still…some of it got finished. 

Isaac
had a drowsy, slow-moving day yesterday.  I'm not sure what's going on
with him.  I'm hoping that he was just recovering from his busy day of
therapy on Wednesday.  He was certainly in a good mood, though, and we
laughed and giggled all day long.  His laughter is so contagious…I
don't even try to stop myself.  It does good like a medicine…and that
is good for both of us!

Well, I have several things on my to-do
list for today.  One of those is to make my weekly visit to the
chiropractor.  Hopefully, that will go smoothly, and I'll be back home
to finish that to-do list soon.

I pray that you have a great
weekend, and that you are able to assemble with like-minded believer's
in church on Sunday.  If you have no plans to attend, I heartily
recommend that you change those plans and be in the Lord's house if you
physically can.  Your spirit will be fed by the preaching of the Word
of God, and you will be encouraged by the fellowship with other
believers.

Blessings,
Alesha

*Edited to add:  when I returned home from the chiropractor, my mom had swept the house and folded all that laundry!!!  Whooo hooo for mamas!!

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Daddy and Isaac went to therapy today, both sporting new hair cuts.

Isaac was having an "I don't want to open my eyes or smile at you" Day.
 

Ok, maybe just a small smirk will suffice Mommy and she'll leave me be!

Oh, good grief!  I'd better give her a smile or she's never going to get that camera out of my face!

All buckled in and ready to go…

My two handsome men…hitting the road.

And
for Mommy…a nice peaceful, quiet day to do the things that need to be
done:  laundry, dishes, jewelry making, email, blog reading, picking
veggies from our "5-gallon bucket garden"…same stuff as usual, only
at an easier pace.

Soon they will be home, and the quiet will be over, but the house will be much more joyful and certainly a lot more interesting!

Alesha

ENERGY!!!

Today, for the first time in over 2 months, I woke up with a bit of energy!

I
was able to work in the kitchen, only stopping to feed Isaac and take
out the dog, for about an hour and a half this morning.  I have not
been able to do that in such a long time!  Praise the Lord!

I
am still in considerable pain.  My chiro explained that it is nerve
pain I am feeling, from disks in my back that are inflamed, pinched or
damaged.  We're not sure which, but are not going to spend a lot of
money finding out right now.  The best thing for my back right now is
periodic adjustments, continued weight loss, an optimal diet and
moderate exercise.  For now, my exercise is working in my house,
something I haven't been able to do for a while.

We are
continuing on our Hallelujah Diet, although it has not been easy the
past several weeks.  We are juicing our carrots and taking our barley
and all of our daily supplements.  They really do help us to feel so
much better when we do that every day.

Here's a little something I thought you would enjoy:


(they sell these on the Hallelujah Acres website, and I just could not resist!)

I also have a fabulous recipe to share with you.  It was sooooo yummy!!!  The recipe is found in Recipes for Life from God's Garden by Rhonda J. Malkmus.

Stuffed Red Peppers
4            medium red bell peppers
1/4 c      onion
1 c         celery
1 c         corn kernels (I used organic canned corn, but fresh would be better)
1/2 tsp   rosemary
2 c         vegetable soup stock (I use "Vegetarian Better Than Bouillon" in water)
1/4 c      chives (I used dry, about 1/8 c)
1/4 c      carrots
1 c         basmati rice (I used brown basmati rice)
1 clove   garlic
1 tsp       parsley flakes (I used about 3 stalks of fresh)
Celtic Sea Salt to taste

Bring
soup stock to a boil, add basmati rice, reduce heat, cover and cook for
25 minutes.  Turn off heat and allow to sit an additional 15-20 minutes.
Slice
tops off peppers, remove seeds and stems, and dice the remaining red
part of the top of pepper.  Dice the onion, celery, chives and carrots
and combine with diced red pepper and corn.  Mince garlic and *steam
saute this vegetable mixture until  tender – about 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine rice, vegetables and seasonings.  Fill peppers and bake about 30 minutes.
*To steam saute, place veggies in very small amount of water and cook in skillet on stove top with the lid on.

Let me know if you try these, and how you liked them.  We enjoyed them a lot!

Our
church's Junior Camp is taking place this week.  We have an awesome
place, called Camp Glory, out in the middle of the Florida woods where
our camps take place every summer.  I attended them from the time I was
around 8 years old until the summer I graduated from college.  I have
wonderful memories of fantastic adventures, awesome friends and
decisions made for the Lord. 

My brother and sister in law
will be out there this week, along with many other counselors, campers,
cooks, speakers and parents.  I am praying that God will speak to many
hearts and change many lives this week. 

I am also praying the Florida mosquitos will be kept at bay and the temperatures will not be tooo scalding.  Oh, and I told my brother I would also pray that he would have a cabin full of boys who sleep all night long!!!

I pray you have a wonderful week,
Alesha

Something Pretty

I will be sending this jewelry set out to my sweet friend, Bren, soon!

 
 

And
after my having a major "uh oh" in the creative process, let me tell
you that Bren is not only sweet, but she is also a very gracious woman!

You see, I created the entire necklace and the earrings in the wrong color!!!  
When I finally realized it, I moved heaven and earth to find the right
colors and make another set.  When I told her what I had done, she
wasn't even offended; and was very kind.   What a good friend!

The thing is…I can't even blame this on old age – I'm only 42!!!   
The only thing I could think of was that the pain I've been in lately
must've muddled my brain and thinking processes far more than I
realized!

So,
they say confession is good for the soul…so I should be feeling "less
stupid" really soon, then, right???  I certainly hope so!!!

God
says that He gives us beauty for ashes. (Isaiah 61:3)  That brings up
such great pictures in my mind.  And so, out of my mistake, I have an
extra necklace.  I've added some things to it, and posted it on my Etsy
shop.  I am hoping that it sells.  Doug says it may be the prettiest
thing I've done yet.  He's a little biased, I think, but I'll take
it!!!

My pain
level seems to have "leveled" out these days.  I wish I could say that
it's disappeared, but not yet.  My doctor did say that I could continue
the muscle relaxers, with no ill effects, so I am doing that.  They do
seem to help a little bit.

Isaac had a FABULOUS day at therapy
yesterday!  We are finally starting to see some of the things that he
was doing before he became so ill with the seizures early in 2007.  It
is exciting to see progress again.  It has been a long road of recovery
for those skills.  It's amazing how the human brain can relearn those
things!  Praise the Lord for that!

I pray that you all have a great weekend.
Alesha

A Day Out

The scales were kind to me; but they were downright extravagant to Doug!   I am down 3 more pounds, giving me a total of 26 pounds lost. 

Doug is down 13 more pounds, with a total of 64 pounds lost!!!

I
told him I wanted to poke him in the eye for that; but not really.  I
am so happy for him that he is feeling better and getting healthy.

Isaac's
blood work went fine, although they did have to poke him twice.  The
nurse apologized profusely, as she works with children all the time,
and really tries to make that first needle count.  Isaac didn't cry
though.  Daddy was holding him, and he knew all was well.

I
visited a new bead shop today, and oh wow!  I was impressed!  And they
do classes!!!   I am contemplating one near the end of the month that
teaches soldering of sterling silver.  Wouldn't that be fun????  Yep,
definitely going to pray about that class.

That's it for today. 

Blessings to you and yours,
Alesha

Just Hanging Out…

…enjoying Isaac's company today.  Daddy is still coming by to feed him each day.  I am still having some pain.

…counting my blessings.  We are well and together and so blessed.

…praying
for friends:  those who are ill, those who are grieving, those who are
trying to sell a house, those who are recovering from surgery, and
those who have hearts broken beyond belief.

…remembering
yesterday's blessing of being able to assemble with like-minded
believers in church.  Never take a service for granted!

…enjoying the beautiful BRIGHT sunshine outside; and knowing that like my friend Mrs. C said, by the time you read this, it could very well be pouring rain!  That's a summer day in Florida for you!

…looking forward to my doctor's visit tomorrow, and hoping that the scales will be kind. 

…believing
that the day is not far away when we will all be "hanging out" together
in Heaven, and looking forward, with great anticipation, to that day.

Alesha