1. Eat more 'real food'. I currently have a science experiment going on in my kitchen. I am trying to sprout some raw almonds. I already eat almonds every day. I love them. But, I am trying to sprout them because sprouted nuts give you more nutrients and are easier to digest. I am learning that we basically ruin all food in one of 2 ways: we either alter its form so much (ie. soy) that it becomes useless and even detrimental OR we don't properly prepare it and thus we lose out on many of its benefits. To help me in this goal, I got a juicer for Christmas. I have already increased my fruit and vegetable intake dramatically with my beloved juicer.
2. Read a book a week. I'm already behind on this goal. Last year I averaged a book every 10 days. And, being an oddly competitive person, I've decided I need to read more this year. But I have already sabotaged myself because my first book of the year: Sue Monk Kidd's 'The Dance of the Dissident Daughter' is really long, has very small font, and is way too thought provoking, thus slowing me down. It has however, helped me with a goal that I won't ever commit to paper: working out more. I have been spending hours lately on the revolving staircase machine just so I can read Sue's book.
3. Learn how to make tamales. I know, this is probably one of the most random goals to have. Yet, I've really wanted to learn for about 2 years now. So, if you have any suggestions on how I can accomplish this one, let me know.
4. Plant more. I have dreams of having a real vegetable garden, but I've decided its just not going to happen as long as we live here. We have too many trees. I am going to be thankful for the shade they provide and move on. However, I still want to try to grow something, it will just have to be in a container. Again, I need some direction on this and hopefully it will materialize in due time.
5. Start recycling. Uggh. Just taking out the trash is such a chore. I literally drive across the parking lot to the dumpster while Brad hangs out the back using all of his strength to hold onto the trash barrel. It's ridiculous. We have no pick-up service, so I will have to bag everything up and take it somewhere. But, its time. I can't keep pondering Genesis and Colossians and keep throwing out all sorts of things that could one day be a book or a shopping bag or who knows what else, plus I was raised better.
I could keep going and going. But that's precisely the problem - when I start thinking of ways that I want to live and act better, it becomes overwhelming. So, I'll start with just these 5. I think I can handle them, maybe not #3 - but, only time will tell.
And here are some pictures of my juicer!
Isn't the color incredible? Turns out I like carrot juice, especially if mixed with apple juice.
Some red carrots I picked up this weekend at the World Hunger Farm. I tend to go a little crazy with concoctions. For lunch today I enjoyed a glass of carrot-cucumber-lemon-celery-pear juice. Grant liked it too, so we took turns taking sips with a 'bendy' straw.
