Probiotic Side Effects - Vivid Dreams

In an effort to improve my health I began taking a couple of supplements a month ago. One of them is a probiotic by Natures Bounty with Targeted Release Delivery. The ingredients are:

Sodium     20mg
Bio-Active Probiotic Complex     126mg
vegetable cellulose, pectin, sodium carbonate,guar gum, turmeric, vegetable stearic acid

Typically I'll take one capsule before bed (when I remember). Without fail I'll have unusually vivid dreams and high recall afterward. I thought I was lucid dreaming for the first couple of weeks. But then I noticed that the best dreams were happening on the nights I took the supplement. So I played around with it and discovered that was the case.

Yesterday I searched online for the term "probiotic dreams" and found a couple of references about it. So yeah, I felt great knowing I wasn't being weird since other people were having similar experiences.

Last night I dreamt about an indigenous white woman who was a teacher. At one point she drew a huge arrow on the ground, disrobed and laid down with legs agape in front of it. With her thoughts she communicated that we enter the world through the womb and exit from the head? In the next scene she constructed a huge sun dial like structure from red stone. It reminded me of a stadium as I could stand in it and see large squares of stone on the sides. Not sure what it was used for.

The next dream seemed to take place in the same time/area. I played football on a huge field with a large group of people. It was a prehistoric superbowl.

In the last dream I watched a gigantic lake being drained like a bathtub. It looked like the grand canyon when it was finally emptied. Then I became a seed that was dropped into steamy primordial goop. I remember thinking I did not want to spend my life in that mess. It looked like poop. But a voice said I had to endure it to seed the earth.

Suffice it to say these aren't normal dreams for me. 

Starting A New Diet - Primal/Paleo Eating

 I've finally decided it's high time to reign in my bad eating habits. Last week I lost my damn mind while on vacation. Apparently I think calories eaten while I'm away don't count. Because I denied myself NOTHING. All the while my tummy is pushing further and further away from my waistband. that mess ain't cute.

Somehow I stumbled on a the Paleo Diet / Primal Eating Diet online. Basically you eat what our ancestors would've eaten before we discovered agriculture. We're talking lots of protein, fats and carbs that can be found in fruits and veggies. Here's the list of sites and articles I read before deciding to pull the trigger:

Mark's Daily Apple

Nerd Fitness

How To Keep Feces Out Of Your Bloodstream
Crazy title for a great article about grains and why we shouldn't eat most of them. Who knew those damn things don't want to be eaten?

Mark Sisson's Definitive Guide To Grains
Another interesting read that will scare the corn out of you.

This is my third day on the diet and I'm feeling pretty good. I have:
More energy
Less belly bloat
Fewer sugar cravings
Practically no gas at all (which is unusual for me)
Significantly less hunger ( before I'd be hungry every couple of hours)

Anyway, here's my first Primal breakfast. Eggs, Lite Sausage, left over broccoli and tea w/honey:

Just Saw The In Laws

Well, we just got back from a week long vacation to see my hubby's family in Indiana. We had a great time catching up with everyone. My mom tagged along too! So I actually had another black person to hang out with for a bit (LOL)!

Here's a few pictures taken at my MIL house in the country:

Cousin Ebbi making friends

 Ian swinging from Nana's tree

 Sweet Pea playing in the sand box

 The neighbors mules...or donkeys??

 Eating Nana's chocolate cake on the porch

 Sweet Pea sharing her mimosa

July 2012 Natural Hair Update

My hair and I are getting along much better these days. I'm listening to her now and we're finally starting to see serious retention. Mainly because I've finally acknowledge the primary issue I face: Over-manipulation.

It has been the bane of my HHJ all these years. I simply cannot jump on every bandwagon that comes along without suffering a setback of some sort. My hair just wants to be left alone. To that end I'm currently employing protective hairstyles that last a week or more. I've also done a mini chop to rid myself of those unsightly damaged ends. Here's a pic of my blown out hair with a self trim:

Here's another pic with most of my hair hidden under a scarf and a twist out bang:

Braids without extensions (before my trim):

This weeks hairstyle - stretched twists with Kimmaytube Leave In:

Homemade Cornbread Recipe - Jiffy Mix Dupe

I've always enjoyed sweet cornbread. And the only one we ever had in the house (as a kid) was Jiffy Mix. Even though Jiffy Mix costs less than $1 at the grocers I choose to make this homemade version I found at www.allrecipes.com. My kids love it!

Ingredients:

1 C all purpose flour
1 C yellow corn meal
2/3 C white sugar
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 C milk
1/3 C vegetable oil

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a large bowl mix all of your ingredients. I typically mix dry ingredients first then add wet ones.
3. Pour mix in a greased a 9 inch round pan.
4. Baked in preheated oven for 20 - 23 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Original Recipe

My Cat Died

I've had my cat Howard for 18 years. He's been my bud for most of my adult life. But he's lived with my mom ever since I had started a family because he hates kids. He thinks they make too much noise.

My mom mentioned he was having trouble eating about a month ago. As the days turned into weeks he stopped eating altogether. And each time I've visited he's refused to come out from under the bed to chat with me.

A few days ago Mama asked if it was OK to have him put to sleep (of course it was). But when the day came we decided it was pointless as Howard's death was imminent yet he was in pretty good spirits. We didn't want him to spend his last moments in a strange place with strange people. It would've scared him. Being home, lying in the sun, seeing and smelling familiarity sounded like a much better way to exit.

Since it's a long weekend my mom and I decided it would be cool if she spent the night here. But when I arrived to pick her up she and I agreed we'd have to take the cat. He looked like a cadaver. Skin and fur hanging from his bones and unfocused eyes.

But he knew I was there! He let me carry him upstairs to the spare bedroom to spend time together. I cried like a baby and he humored me (LOL)! He just laid there letting me hug him, cry and say goodbye. I gave him Reiki to help with his transition. His dying energy was like nothing I've ever felt. Though I could feel his aura about 8 inches above him I felt nothing when I scanned his body. So little life left it was almost imperceptible to me. But near the base of his spine......

The energy pulsed out hard! Pushing against my hand strongly. Strange how his life energy was hanging on by a thread outside his body!! It was amazing. I had to feel it twice to be sure. But it was unmistakable.

After I got myself together we bundled him into the car for the 40 minute drive to my house. Hoping he'd be able to see the resting place we'd chosen for him near our property.

But he didn't make it.

He died in the car while my mother held him. It was kinda beautiful....and peaceful. After he passed I recalled the hot day in 2004 when I picked him up as a kitten to bring him home. Funny how we ended things the same way.

Rest In Peace Howard - mommy loves you!

Alter Egos, Astral Projection and Lucid Dreams

Do you have a dream persona? An alter ego who's bigger, badder and awesomer than you? Well, I have one and I'm thinking of bringing her to life. My own personal Frankenstein. LOL!

Since getting on the mommy track I've kinda lost sight of the things that make me click. Somehow morphing into a sweatpants wearing, ponytail sporting, makeup free, androgynous bore. But in my dreams....in my dreams I'm something else altogether.

This morning I began to think that maybe my dream persona is my unconscious desire to do and be more. Perhaps the "dream" is aligned more with where I need to be. IT more closely represents my mental, physical and spiritual state and serves to push me out of stasis by repeatedly showing me images of personal desire.

Let me tell you about my dream persona. She....
1. Speaks 4 languages: English (obviously), Spanish, German and Italian.
2. Exercises regularly and maintains her weight relative ease.
3. Has great hair!
4. Is a healer and light worker
5. Embraces the healthy expression of love, sex and sensuality

There's more...but those are the major ones. I'm always exploring these themes in my dreams. So why not create them physically so I can evolve to that ideal and continue my growth? Hell. I think it's a great idea. So here's what I'm doing:

1. I downloaded Michel Thomas Spanish from Audible.com to get started on my Spanish skills. Once I'm finished with the intro I'll move on to his Total Spanish course. I don't know how long it will take to learn Spanish well enough to be understood. But I'll give it a try for 6 months and see how far I get.

2. Just picked up Zumba Fitness 2 and tried a couple of songs. I'll have to add more variety to push myself to be more active each day. So I'll give myself until the end of the week to finalized my first months game plan. In the meantime, I'll continue doing Zumba for the fun of it.

3. The hair thing gets it own post! There's a lot going on with it.

4. I finished the Reiki I class last fall. But I don't feel ready for Reiki II yet. I'll write another post about my metaphysical studies and goals.

5. So many issues surrounding sex/sexual energies and the way we learn about it. I plan to address some of those issues via Astral Projection/Lucid Dreaming techniques as well as my pole dancing classes. Once again, this topic probably deserves a separate post. You know what....that'll be the next post I write.

Laters.

I'm Gonna Do It - Pole Dancing Class

Well, I've been threatening to work out since the new year began. But today I'm actually gonna do it. I vacillated between a local Zumba class or Pole Dancing but decided on the latter for several reasons:

1. Between my 11 year relationship with hubby and raising 4 kids I've somehow misplace my sexy. I can't find that thing with a magnifying glass. Most days I look like a criminally boring stay at home mom. Which is a shame. Cuz I used to have a magnificent ass and killer figure. Seriously! It's still there under my dingy oversized tshirts and sweats. But it'll take a little effort to dust the booty off and get it back to eye popping status.

2. I need to rediscover the woman in me. Sounds cliche. But sometimes a girl needs to express her sensuality without judgement or unwanted attention. It isn't a sex thing...really. But a woman thing. Letting your hair down and allowing your body to move freely without a care in the world. That's what I want to experience more.

3. My attention jumps from thing to thing. So I figure a room full of people, great music and focusing on NOT busting my ass ought to keep my attention long enough to get a decent workout.

Anywho...gotta leave in 15 minutes. I'm nervous and excited. If all goes well I'll try to do classes twice a week. Maybe I can find a used Zumba Fitness game at Game Stop on the way home to add to my small but growing collection. If all else fails I fall back on my Power 90 DVD's to supplement class.

Toodles

Where's My Ipad?

I swear I have to wrestle it from his tiny hands most days.

Weekly Menu 1.16.2012

I meant to post my menu plan a couple of days ago:


About ready to head to the grocery store for this weeks supplies. I've planned for 6 days worth of meals. The seventh day will be leftovers or eating out. Sometimes we'll have a leftover buffet at the end of the week just to clean the fridge out before stuffing more groceries in.

This week I've gotten a number of recipes from www.tastykitchen.com. My other favorite recipe sites are Allrecipes.com and Pioneer Woman Cooks.

• Mock Shepherds Pie and Salad
• Crispy Honey Lemon Chicken, Rice and Green Beans
• Lentil and Ham Soup
• Queens Potatoes (a la Renaissance Festival)
• Slow Cooker Pot Roast w/ Carrots and Onions over Egg Noodles
• Tilapia (not sure what I'll make with it)

Since the weather's so cold and we have a long weekend I'll find a new cookie recipes to fill our cookie jar with. The kids love mommie's chocolate chip cookies but they're getting tired of it. Oooh, lemon cookies would be ideal! 

Almost forgot the kids are dying to try a few recipes from a site we discovered on this week's TT&J linky party. The site is called Six Sisters and they have an epic post with great pictures listing 20 kid friendly snacks. 

Lawd knows I'm open to suggestions. My boys come home from school starving every single day. And I don't feel good depending on sweets and processed food to satisfy them.

Flash Back Friday's!!

Lucky me! In my search for vintage milk glass slat and pepper shakers in my area I stumbled upon a new thrift store called 2nd Avenue. Apparently it's the storefront used for the Purple Heart charity. Within minutes of entering the store I copped three beautiful vintage dresses. There was a fourth....but I put it back since it had a bit more glitz than I'm used to in daylight hours. Simple day dresses were the goal. Something pretty and light to traipse around in this spring and summer. So here's my haul:

First up is this orange cotton day dress by Sears with matching belt. The fitted waist is really nice. Hides my little buddha belly pretty well.

This blue wrap dress is my favorite by far. I love the  red stitching detail and pockets. The wrap design is very forgiving. Making my waist appear smaller than it actually is. I love it: Think I paid $8.00 for this.

 This purple day dress reminds me of my grandmother! It's made from a lightweight polyester type material. I secretly envision wearing this with nice flip flop. They exist, ya know.

 Am I channeling June Cleaver or what? This number came without a belt so I had to improvise. In the future I'd probably pair it with brighter colors for a little POW! But I could see myself wearing this while window shopping on Main Street in historic Annapolis. Love the pockets!

I'll do a separate write up of the furniture bargains found this week.

Weekly Menu

In an effort to expand my cooking skills and offer my family new and exciting dishes I devote two nights a week to new recipes. If everyone raves about it we add it to our regular rotation...for awhile.

This week I was reminded of a great home-cook-turned-pro I discovered in 2009. Remember Melissa D'Arabian from Food Network Star? She was my favorite on that years show. As a homemaker (like yours truly) she created delicious everyday dishes families would actually eat! So this week I'll be trying two new recipes from her show Ten Dollar Dinners: Lemony Shrimp Scampi Pasta and Fish Piccata.

Rounding out the rest of my weekly menu are:

BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches
Chili
Beef Burritos
Chicken Pot Pie

I figure we'll eat leftovers once or twice. Or at least have enough for school or work lunches.

iRIP Steve Jobs

I'm kinda bummed about Steve Job's passing. We all knew it was coming. But still....




I understand he authorized a biography of his life earlier this year. No question I'll be downloading it to my ipad ASAP.

Well, Steve...I guess this is goodbye. Job well done, sir.

Art Picture Redo

I love art! But since becoming a stay at home mommy I no longer have the extra cash to spend on it. But luckily I have LOTS of time at home. So when I'm in the mood...and the kids aren't stalking me...I'll steal away to the basement and paint. This is my attempt at recreating a colorful piece I saw on Etsy. I can't remember the artists name. But I'll be sure to look it up. She has tons of wonderfully colorful pieces that I love.

I used cheap acrylic paint from the craft store. And one of those thin art canvases that come 3 in pack for $7. Overall I like it. Especially since I haven't painted since high school!

DIY Farmhouse Dining Table

Home Decor ADD is a real disease.

After upgrading to a single family home last year I became obsessed with furnishing it. One and a half years later I'm still arranging and rearranging our stuff. One minute I'm totally sure I want a Tuscan feel. Then the seasons change and I want something beach-y and coastal. Then suddenly I'll want ethnic prints and pops of color!

But through it all I've been completely satisfied with our kitchen table. It's a farmhouse dining table my husband built using this plan from Ana White's blog Knock Off Wood. You can find the plans here.

Here's the inspiration photo.

And here's the table my hubby built:

We still need to stain it. But hubby is so proud of his handy work he won't let anyone touch it!

Sweet Pea's Favorite Breakfast

My never fail breakfast for my picky little eater: strawberries, sausage and and a slice of raisin bread.

Weekly TWA Check

So, I'm steadfastly growing my Teeny Weeny Afro (TWA) out. This week I'm experimenting with comb coils, coil out and bentonite clay treatment. So far I'm liking the look. though my hair seems a bit dry. It drinks any moisture I put on it: conditioner, butters, oils, water, whatever. Plus my hair color doesn't reflect light as well as darker hues. So it's just something I have to deal with.

In the near future I'll experiment with earrings and makeup to soften the look as my hair grows out. Hair this short (on a head this big) needs a little help to make it pretty and feminine. Highlights would be cool too. I normally use African Pride Highlighting Kit in their lightest shade (Sahara Sand) to frame and warm my face in the winter months.

Weekend Crafts

While reading a natural hair blog last Friday I stumbled upon a few coloring pages that really spoke to me. I mean, I actually wanted to color those things!Well, one thing led to another and I managed to create 3 crafts from that post.

The first two gave me an opportunity to use my copic markers. I bought them months ago during a short lived manga phase. So it was really nice attempting to work with them. The colors are great and true. however I really need to work on my technique. Right now I'd describe it as very basic. But I've discovered a few tutorials on deviant art that might help.

Anyway, here are the coloring pages:

And here's a link tot he originals if you'd like to color them yourselves: Naturally Beautiful Coloring sheets

Here's a pic of a paper craft that came to mind using the last image. All of the supplies were found in my craft room except the tacks. They were less than $2 for one pack at Home Depot. Though I'm sure you can get them cheaper elsewhere.:

 I attempted to use foam backing to create a 3d effect. Not sure it shows very well in the pics. Now that I've made this rough draft I'd like to try it again with different media. Wooden or cork background and contrasting colors that pop off the page more. I'm also thinking of ways to color the tacks to offer a more customized look.