Happy Friday!
Here is a beautiful reminder of what REALLY matters in life. You can focus your time and energy on acquiring money, fame, or possessions, but they will not make you happy and will only leave you wanting more. In the end, we must ask ourselves, “What REALLY matters?” and spend our time and energy on those things. If you can’t see the video below, check it out here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec21ah-H_UY
My friend sent this inspiring video to me last week, and I thought it was absolutely perfect!
Have a Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend, and remember to always choose LOVE!
Here is a post from my new blog, Stacy Loves. This is the book that inspired me and put me on the path I am on today to wellness. It all started with making time for myself. Although it felt selfish at first, this book made me realize the importance of self-care. As a result of following Cheryl Richardson’s advice in this book and making small changes every week, I feel I have grown in every area of my life. I encourage you to check out the book!
I’m really excited! I just started a new blog called STACY LOVES…! It is a blog devoted to gratitude and looking for the good all around us. I hope to share all the good things I have discovered in life…my favorite quotes, recipes, foods, products, craft ideas, books, movies, and stories that inspire me (and hopefully you, too!). STACY LOVES… will be similar to Journey to Complete Wellness, only it will not be restricted to Health & Wellness topics. I hope you will check it out and follow along with me as I discover more good things in life! Check it out HERE!!
I strongly believe that the secret to happiness is gratitude. We must all learn to be content with what we have and recognize the blessings that are continuously surrounding us each and every day! Life IS good!!
What are YOU thankful for today?
This week has been crazy busy for my family with the start of school, hosting our annual back-to-school ice cream party for the neighborhood kids, and preparing for the upcoming 4-H fair that my kids are involved in this weekend. With all the fun and excitement going on this week, my house is a disaster and I have fallen behind in my usual weekly obligations (including my weekly blog post). In lieu of writing a long post this week, I would love to share with you one of my favorite mantras. I am constantly reminding myself of this, but this week it seems particularly appropriate. 
Whenever I say this to myself, I always feel instantly better. I have discovered that having complete trust in God and the universe IS the way to inner peace and the biggest stress reliever there is!
Have a great Labor Day weekend!! Enjoy!! 🙂
Are you looking for ways to use up those fresh tomatoes from your garden or local farm stand? Here is a delicious tomato recipe I got from a friend. She found this recipe in Hannaford’s Fresh Magazine (July-August 2011). You can find the original recipe here.
I was skeptical at first because I had never heard of tomato pie before, but I figured I would give it a try to use up some of my tomatoes. It was REALLY, REALLY good!! Everyone else who tried it enjoyed it as well! ( I could not get my kids to try it, but I’m sure they would have loved it, too.) I invite you to give it a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed!
One pie crust
2 medium tomatoes (in season)
½ cup mayonnaise
1 container (5.3oz) plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup dices sweet onion (Vidalia)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Fresh basil (or 1/2 teaspoon dried – I used dried because I didn’t have any fresh)
1/8 teaspoon pepper
I would like to introduce you to my all-time favorite book. I just finished reading it for the 3rd time. It is filled with inspiration, wisdom, love, compassion, gratitude, and all things good. I think everyone should read it at least once.
I am posting this review this week in an effort to aid in spreading ALS awareness. As I write this, people all over the nation are dumping buckets of ice water over their heads for the ALS ice bucket challenge (which I also did earlier this week.) For those who want to gain a better understanding of this horrible disease, I think this book provides just that. For more information on ALS, or to donate, visit http://www.alsa.org/
And now, let me introduce my favorite book:
I rarely read books more than once, but this was my third time reading this book and I could read it over and over again. I was looking for a quick and easy read and as I walked by my bookshelf, this book was there and I just felt like I needed to read it again. And I’m so glad I did! Sometimes we all need a little reminder about what is really important in life, and this book does just that. 🙂
I LOVE this book! Tuesdays with Morrie IS my all-time favorite book! I love it because it is a very quick read, yet it is filled with so much wisdom and advice. It is a great reminder of what really matters in life – relationships, love, and compassion. Through his actions, Morrie shows us that gratitude is the key to happiness. He experiences so much loss as his body gradually withers away, yet he is happy because he chooses to focus on the things he is grateful for. I think this book is a gift to humanity, and I think everyone should read it at least once. For those who are not into reading, the movie is very good as well!
Tuesdays with Morrie is a story of a wise old man named Morrie Schwartz who has ALS (a.k.a. Lou Gehrig’s disease). As his body slowly deteriorates, he shares his wisdom and advice on many different areas of life with his former student, Mitch Albom. They meet for 14 weeks, on Tuesdays, right up until Morrie’s death. The topics they discuss include: the world, feeling sorry for yourself, regrets, death, family, emotions, the fear of aging, money, how love goes on, marriage, our culture, forgiveness, and “The Perfect Day.” This book is a result of those interviews, and through their words and actions, Morrie and Mitch show us the real meaning and importance of love, compassion, and gratitude. Morrie wanted to be known as “A Teacher to the Last”, and that he was and still is through this book. This book was Morrie’s gift to the world, and he and his teachings will continue to live on through it.
“The culture we have does not make people feel good about themselves. We’re teaching the wrong things. And you have to be strong enough to say if the culture doesn’t work, don’t buy it. Create your own.”
“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”
“I give myself a good cry if I need it. But then I concentrate on all the good things still in my life.”
“It’s horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But it’s also wonderful because of all the time I get to say goodbye. Not everyone is so lucky.”
“Everyone knows they’re going to die, but nobody believes it. If we did, we would do things differently.”
“Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”
“If you don’t have the support and love and caring and concern that you get from a family, you don’t have much at all.”
“This is part of what a family is about, not just love, but letting others know there’s someone who is watching out for them. Nothing else will give you that. Not money. Not fame. Not work.”
“Learn to detach. Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent.”
“I embrace aging…if you’re always battling against getting older, you’re always going to be unhappy, because it will happen anyhow.”
“You have to find what’s good and true and beautiful in your life as it is now. Looking back makes you competitive. And, age is not a competitive issue.”
“The truth is, part of me is every age. I delight in being a child when it’s appropriate to be a child. I delight in being a wise old man when it’s appropriate to be a wise old man. Think of all I can be! I am every age, up to my own.”
“We put our values in the wrong things. And it leads to very disillusioned lives.”
“You can’t substitute material things for love or for gentleness or for tenderness or for a sense of comradeship.”
“You know what really gives you satisfaction? Offering others what you have to give.”
To find meaning in your life: “Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”
“Status will get you nowhere. Only an open heart will allow you to float equally between everyone.”
“Giving to other people is what makes me feel alive.”
“Love is how you stay alive, even after you are gone.”
“I believe in being fully present. That means you should be with the person you’re with.”
“People are only mean when they are threatened, and that’s what our culture does. And when you get threatened, you start looking out only for yourself.”
“Here’s what I mean by building your own little subculture. I don’t mean you disregard every rule of your community. The little things, I can obey. But the big things – how we think, what we value – those you must choose yourself. You can’t let anyone – or any society – determine those for you.”
“Every society has its own problems…You have to work at creating your own culture.”
“If we saw each other as more alike, we might be very eager to join in one big human family in this world, and to care about that family the way we care about our own.
“Invest in the human family. Invest in people. Build a little community of those you love and who love you.”
“Be compassionate. And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place.”
“Forgive yourself before you die. Then forgive others.”
“As long as we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on – in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here.”
“Death ends a life; not a relationship.”
“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” ~Henry Adams
“Love each other or perish.” ~Auden
If you have been looking for ways to use up all those delicious blueberries that are in season right now, give this healthy smoothie recipe a try. This drink is very filling and it would serve as a delicious breakfast, lunch, or a snack! Enjoy it any time of the day! We have been making this smoothie a lot lately, and I’m happy to say that ALL of my daughters love this one! 🙂
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup yogurt (I like Stonyfield Banilla)
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup organic spinach or other greens (optional – I usually don’t add this because my daughters will not drink it if they know there are greens in it.)
Notes:
Make sure at least one of your ingredients is frozen to make your smoothie cold. If you do not have any frozen ingredients, you may want to add some ice.
This smoothie is best served immediately, especially if you are using the greens.
If you are adding greens, blend the greens and the liquid until smooth before adding the remaining ingredients.
Enjoy! 🙂
Last night I watched the movie “What’s on Your Plate?” with my 9-year-old and 11-year-old daughters.
“What’s on Your Plate?” is a documentary that follows two 11-year-old girls in New York City as they set out to investigate where their food comes from, how far it travels, how it is prepared, etc. They interview farmers, food activists, storekeepers, and many others as they visit farms, supermarkets, fast-food chains, and school lunchrooms.
I loved this movie because it was educational, inspirational, and eye-opening for my girls. As they were watching, they had a lot to say. My 9-year-old mentioned how lucky we are to have farms all around us and to have access to fresh, local produce all summer. Both of my girls were inspired by this movie. Without any suggestions from me, they both decided they wanted to challenge themselves to eat only REAL foods for one week. (LOVE that!) 🙂
I thought this movie was a perfect introductory food documentary movie for my girls. I loved that it wasn’t overly negative. It focused more on the “good” in eating REAL foods than it did on the “bad” in eating processed foods. The movie aligns with my mission to teach my girls to respect their bodies. I think this movie should be shown in every school to help bring awareness to children about the importance of respecting their bodies and eating healthy.
Check it out! You can see the trailer here. 🙂
When I began this journey toward healthier eating, one of the first things I tried to do was minimize the products we used that contained corn syrup. I began reading ingredient labels on everything I bought. I was not able to find salad dressing in a store that did not contain corn syrup, so I decided to find a recipe to make my own. That is when I came across this recipe from PennilessParenting.com. With just a few minor modifications, I have made this recipe several times. My family likes it even more than the store-bought dressings!
This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make, it costs less than store-bought dressing, tastes better in our opinion, and it contains ingredients you most likely already have at home. If you are missing a few of the spices, it probably won’t make much of a difference.
This recipe can be used on salad greens, pasta, or any recipe that calls for Italian dressing, including Perfect Potato Salad.
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup olive oil
2 ½ Tablespoons Grapeseed oil
1 Tablespoon water
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon honey
1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon Himalayan pink salt (if you don’t have any, just use regular salt)
Pour ingredients into a 2 ½ cup glass measuring cup. Transfer to a glass salad dressing bottle. Cover and shake well. Refrigerate to store.
Edited on 8/13/14: I tried making this using olive oil only and leaving out the grapeseed oil. After being in the refrigerator for a few days, it solidified. So it is necessary to add another oil in addition to olive oil to prevent this.