#44: take photos of each other

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Regina

We have still been dating one another though I’ve fallen down on the job of posting about it here.

When a date comes up that doesn’t fit naturally into our way of doing it, we tend to push it off. Or rather, I do. And that is how I realize married couples slip into ruts in their dating lives.

We replace the time and effort that we initially put into our courtship – where planning time together was as important as that morning cup of coffee – with other things that slip into the schedule more easily.

Which is why “Going to an Estate Sale Together” hasn’t happened yet. One, it seems a little creepy to me, and two, we’re trying to keep fewer things in our home for that minimalist lifestyle (less stuff, more moments).

So this particular date prompt was slipped into our anniversary trip to San Antonio back in April.

Date #44: TAKE PHOTOS OF EACH OTHER

Maybe your social media profile pictures are out of date. Spend an afternoon photographing each other.

let me just snap this quick shot

There probably isn’t a better photo describing our photo taking habits than this one.

Mister tends to stop what he’s doing (when he knows I’m snapping a photo) to ready himself. He almost always shows his pearly whites, shakes out his arms letting them rest more comfortably at his sides. He becomes like a statue taking photo taking to a scientific level.

I’m in another camp. I tend to like to take photos that aren’t well planned. Photos that aren’t too posed and somehow capture the heart and personality of the people being photographed. Or perhaps the feel of the moment that I’m trying to capture.

Yep, classic another way our “scientist + creative” marriage works…

Before we matched with one another on the dating website, we both enjoyed taking photos with cameras. Mister’s focus was often on landscape + nature, mine was on people + experiences.

So when we read the date prompt about taking photos of one another, I was thrilled; we already do this regularly. In fact, Mister is moving up in the ranks of an Instagram Husband (read this for cheeky explanation) in my opinion. I kid, I kid, he takes dozens of photos for me each week and most don’t make it on Instagram, but the majority of photos I post with me in them are captured by him.

And let me tell you something wonderful about that…

There is a moment of intimacy when I’m waiting for him to take my photo. Sometimes I’m thinking about how I will be able to use the photo(s) to tell a story, to help moms be better women, to encourage women to simply be better when I’m snatched back from planning into who I’m with, captivated by the way he looks at me.

To my single friends…

Wait for a man who can’t snap a great Instagram photo because he’s so busy focusing on you. Nevermind the mountain, landscape, celebrity, attraction… every time you get your camera back, you are the subject of that photo. It’s worth waiting for.

We’ve been learning about these differences in our photograph taking mindsets for a while now, this date simply encouraged us to call them what they are. And to embrace the differences rather than be upset or divided by them.

he makes me feel like a model

me trying to be a model

it took us a lot of snaps to get this shot because of the people in the background

on the way to the best photo

I see my imperfections and see my beauty

a final celebratory sip before we wrapped our anniversary trip

Here are six of the photos Mister took of me and six of the ones I took of him; all from our 48 hour trip to San Antonio…

he’s over my taking photos at the Alamo

posed but still cute

this is what he did when I asked him to hold my purse)

one of my favorite shots from the weekend and of him; my wine sommelier

this is what it’s like to be around him

we genuinely find one another funny

When I look at each of these photos, I smile.

I’m back on that trip and in these moments (as well as the many that weren’t shared or even snapped). We slept well and ate even better and our conversation was incredibly wonderful; deep, real, and sometimes uncomfortable – but honest.

I’ve ordered many of these in print (I use Free Prints) to put up on the picture board on the entryway into our home. Even if you don’t print your photos, I highly recommend this date when you’re feeling a little glam and playful. Take some time to go back and look at the photos you took together and really talk through what you both see and feel while looking at them.

Such a simple, beautiful date.

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juicing works for me: here’s how + why I’m sticking to it

Posted on May 15, 2019 by Regina

In my last post, I wrote about how I got started with juicing.

In this post, I’d like to share more about why I continue to juice daily.

Before I share the benefits I seem to continue to reap, I want to share what the process looks like in our home.

THE SHOPPING

We’ve read and heard in all juicing circles that we need to shop and juice organic fruits and veggies. In my very basic understanding, it’s because organic is supposed to ensure the foods have been planted, grown and harvested with far fewer chemicals + toxins. And since juicing shoots all the best nutrients into our bodies more quickly, we need to be mindful of what those nutrients might be laced with.

This is the same sentiment with drinking from and storing foods in more toxic, less safe containers like plastic (Tupperware, Ziploc and most of what food is sold/stored in) and aluminum for long periods of time (foil and cans for most foods).

Our goal is to switch out our plastic containers and baggies with these options: Pyrex + StasherBag completely within the next few years.

Here are a few articles (1, 2 + 3) with varying perspectives about the importance of juicing organic vs. non-organic fruits and veggies. It’s costly, sure, but so are the medical bills that come from pumping toxins into your body. Here’s one about the “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean 15” for 2019 that is often referred to in articles about safe, clean fruits and veggies.

If budget is a concern for shopping and juicing organic, I’d recommend choosing a few budget-friendly organic options and juicing less frequently or juicing smaller amounts, rather than choosing non-organic produce. If you’re really stuck and can’t see this working for your budget, consider praying about it. God cares about your health and knows what’s in your banking account, you can invite Him into even this.

As we’re still fairly new at this whole juicing thing, we’re still learning and deciding which grocers have the best produce. We often frequent these places:

  1. Trader Joe’s
  2. Central Market
  3. Natural Grocers
  4. Tom Thumb

in that order…

Quality, price, and selection are most important followed by proximity and customer service. Oh, and their wine aisle – it’s a huge plus if we can get both our produce and our favorite wine in one shopping trip.

We’re still new to the juicing community, so we are really trying almost everything – even leeks! We are also extremely grateful to have so many choices and to be able to afford shopping and juicing organic.

THE JUICING

When we started juicing, I would only wash our fruits + veggies with water. Then I began washing them with this Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak and it has been a game changer!

even organic needs to be washed

I add a small teaspoon of the soak in the bottom of a bowl with warm water. I add the fruits + veggies and let the Thieves soak do its work. You can purchase your own with my friend Tricia from here.

Up until two days ago, I would do the washing, chopping and juicing all in one sitting, every day. Then I decided to try “juice prep” and spent about 45 minutes cleaning, chopping, and storing all the fruits and veggies we purchased hoping it gets us through 7 -8 days of juicing.

An aside: here’s a soul tending tip…

While you’re doing a menial task like meal/juice prep, add another activity that you actually enjoy (like listening to worship music, a favorite album – I happened to be playing the “Little Miss Sunshine” soundtrack, a podcast, a movie or show you can listen to as background noise, hear a sermon or even play the Bible). Whatever that is, pairing a task that you may not enjoy (this isn’t my favorite part of juicing) to something that makes your soul smile, can be helpful in making this a more efficient and enjoyable task and increase your chances of doing it consistently.

Only a couple of days into it and I’m so grateful for the time saved in clean up and prep on a daily basis, making me an even larger fan of juicing.

we have plans to replace all plastic food storage containers in the next two years

I think it’s good that I spend time chopping the goodies down to these sizes because it seems to save the machine from doing extra work. Another timesaver? Leaving the skin on for most fruits and veggies.

from the Tupperware to + through the Juicer

I will drink the juice I’ve just made while prepping for the next day’s juice and cleaning the machine too.

Cleaning the machine is my least favorite part, which is why I must clean it while enjoying my fresh juice. Otherwise, the day’s plans will get in the way and it’ll be something I have to find margin for later in the busy of the day; which would be far more stressful for me.

I have to take a bristle brush to this part of the juicer. For the rest of the machine, I simply rinse out the containers and wipe down the base.

something to look forward to

On the days that my husband works outside of our home, I save his juice in the fridge for his enjoyment later in the day. Although the articles I’ve read suggest drinking the juice immediately, he’s shared noticing the difference between when he has the juice in the evening and when he skips and has to go a day or two without it.

After doing all of the prep work and cleaning for about 16oz of juice every day for the last 6 -ish weeks, I’d recommend the once a week session. Plus, ain’t it purty?

THE BENEFITS OF + ONE WARNING ABOUT JUICING 

In addition to how pretty the foods look, there are so many other benefits of juicing.

I was thrown into full menopause a short 8 weeks after having my second hysterectomy. And I felt surprised to learn about symptoms in addition to the most common or most talked about ones: hot flashes, mood swings, and night sweats. There was also a fogginess of mind for me and my libido was under attack. My sweat was profuse and stinky too. I was so disappointed that this was seemingly the rest of my life after having had two surgeries and an emergency blood transfusion to improve my quality of life.

After joining a Menopause Support Group on Facebook, talking with my general practitioner, my OBGYN, my holistic, faith-based chiropractor and lots of women who have tried many, many things, I was stuck on NOT relying upon medication.

It was getting rough and rougher – on my mind and on marriage – to keep trying to tough it out. I mean, I’d had a natural childbirth, certainly, I could do this menopause thing. But, I was struggling with depression and frustration, feeling embarrassed because of my body odor and flailing my arms in people’s faces to fan myself, when they were sharing their heart or allowing me to help them meet a need. It felt like too much.

After juicing for about 2 1/2 weeks consistently (almost daily), I noticed that my hot flashes had subsided, my sweat lessened and my energy and mental acuity had improved. The keys, I believe, were including a healthy dose of celery in every juice – we’re still not at celery juice as a stand-alone – and staying on top of my water consumption.

My libido has gone from “off” to a 5 or 6 (which is huge!) and climbing. My attitude is more chipper, genuinely, and I’m able to sleep better through the night.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m sold on juicing. Wishing that I’d only began sooner when younger.

One quick precaution, keep it real thing that none of the articles I read tell you, is this…

When you begin juicing consistently, be sure that you are near a bathroom where you don’t mind spending a lot of time. Do you get my drift?

Juicing provides many nutrients and vitamins – which, hooray! But, juicing also removes a lot of the toxins in your body. This is why people often do “juice cleanses”. When you get started, don’t be surprised when your Poo-poouri purchases also increase. Consider yourself warned and then keep going, it does get better.

I don’t consider myself an expert on juicing, but I also don’t believe I need to be one. Two months ago, I was depressed and whining about being attacked my menopause (yes, that dramatic) and now, I’m better. Juicing has been a big part of that.

If you’re in the season of menopause and haven’t tried juicing yet, get started, sweet woman. And if you’re younger and think menopause is a lifetime away, start juicing immediately!!! It’ll likely help with other things happening in your body and better prepare you for the later years of life.

Posted in Better Health, Simply Sather, Soul Care | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Me? A Juicer!?! Never. But wait…

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Regina

Never say never folks…

I have been sharing about the benefits of juicing to everyone – even strangers – so when a friend + follower asked me to write a blog post to answer some of her questions, I was all about it.

It’s important to get it all to you so there will be two posts about juicing. In this first one, I’ll tell you how we started juicing, about the juicer and recipes we use and point you to some resources to help you make a decision about whether this is for you or not (spoiler: it’s for almost everyone!!!)

In the next post, I’ll share how we make it work in this season of our lives and how often we juice, the personal benefits to us and a few other helpful tips + hacks we’ve learned on our juicing journey.

HOW WE STARTED JUICING

I took a new part-time job in March, putting my total current job count at 3. And in my new role as front desk receptionist in a spa, there are a lot of conversations about the healthy (and not-so-healthy) choices in our lives.

One of the employees there was listening to me describe some of my ailments (aka complaining about menopause symptoms) and started talking to me about juicing. Specifically about celery juice.

She took me to @medicalmedium on Instagram and we started scrolling through all of the benefits of celery juice and a few other things too. I’d heard about the benefits of juicing from a few other friends, social media accounts & hashtags I follow (like @sassyredlipstick + #celeryjuice).

But, I was skeptical.

My hot flashes were so bad at night, that I was needing to shower twice a day from all of the sweating my body was doing. I was getting desperate y’all, it seemed I might need a shower cap and a mat (like the one that goes in a baby’s crib) to keep from leaking through our bedding and ruining my hair.

It was that bad.

So, I started learning about juicing; following Instagram (my favorite social media platform right now) accounts about it. And what I found was hard to believe, but so simple: eat the most natural things, they’ll be better for your body.

I mean, I’m often “late to the game” with trends – especially health-related, diet-y kinds of things and at the risk of having to leave behind some of my faves (ahem, can you say bacon + butter?!?). I don’t want to sacrifice flavor and enjoyment for health. But, I was tired, stinky from the sweat, moody, and reluctant to put meds in my body.

That’s how juicing became a serious front runner in addressing my symptoms.

THE JUICER

About four weeks into this new job, I had heard enough. I’d started mentioning it to people who I knew might know something about juicing and they were shocked. Partly because it was me who was asking and also because they were all “of course we juice, how have you not heard about this”?

I was set to borrow one friend’s juicer when another friend just handed me her underused juicer to keep. I had not researched any machines, I was on the “it needs to be free” plan, so this was perfect.

dirty from use, not the way she gave the juicer to us

We have been pleased with this juicer and after spending time on the company’s website, we’d likely replace this one with a new Hurom when the time comes. I don’t know what our current model cost because it’s no longer on their site, but they’re an investment y’all; one I think every woman ought to consider making.

So you may want to borrow before you buy.

Hurom – go take a look at their website – is so thorough, with many types of juicers (I believe ours is a “slow” juicer), accessories, recipes and more. I’ve subscribed to their website’s newsletters for updates about products + recipes and will follow for more information until it’s absolutely time for us to replace our current machine.

THE RECIPES

The same friend who handed us our first juicer also gave us a recipe book.

The Top 100 Juices: 100 Juices to Turbo-Charge Your Body with Vitamins and Minerals, by Sarah Owen – you can get it on Amazon, but shop around, another site had it for a quarter of the price.

We heavily relied on this book for the first few weeks of juicing. It helped us know which fruits + vegetables marry well and which ones we hope not ever to need the benefits of (can you say leeks?!?). We also learned that jumping right into a full 16oz of celery juice would not be us, so my bartending days and baking skills factor into the concoctions we enjoy.

It also has an “ailments directory”, glossary and index in the back which gives us a quick reference for the things we can juice and their benefits. These resources helped me throw off the rigidity I can put myself under as a baker and made room for me to simply play, because other than flavor, everything in our juices has at least some benefit to our health. So there are really no mistakes.

You can search and follow and find so many different recipes online (Pinterest will guide you), but the most important thing (in addition to taste) is that your selections are organic.

JUICING 101

The internet can be a treasure trove of information, sometimes making me struggle with overwhelm. Knowing that I didn’t want to talk myself out of this adventure, I chose to keep things simple and only selected a few resources that would help me learn from the pitfalls of others who’d gone before me.

You do you, but here are the TWO articles I read early on that helped us continue moving forward on our juicing journey.

Are You Making These 8 Common Juicing Mistakes

Juice Cleanse: The Pros & Cons

We are not on a juice cleanse, never have been, but whenever I explain that we’re juicing, people often ask about the cleanse. That’s why I’m sharing the second article here. I often drink the juice at the start of the day, before I’ve eaten and have my cup of coffee and after a 16oz cup of water.

Mister sits and savors his juices, even the not so yummy concoctions. I stand and drink mine while preparing the next juice.

In the next post, I’ll share all about what we do to make juicing a regular thing in our home, why we continue to juice + the benefits I’ve begun to consistently experience (and some real but not-so-pleasant things I think you oughta know), all coming to you before the end of the week.

In the meantime, tell me about your juicing experience!

 

Posted in Better Health, Simply Sather | Tagged , | 4 Comments