The Queen!

Bonjour Ladies,

I know it's been a while...I have been busy creating...wrote a book called  "Holes in My Gas Tank", also been going to school and starting a Gardening Business with my sister Sabrina.

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I have been working on a few blog idea's so stay tuned...in the meantime...I leave you with a story I wrote called "The Queen!"

The rules of the house are set in stone. Those rules must be followed or there will be dire consequences. If one should not participate, and go against the rules of the house, an audience with the Queen will be arranged. Until that set appointed time with her majesty, the unlawful citizen, will wait in the pits of despair. The Queen has spoken and all will obey her every word!

1) All beds will be made each morning.

2) There will be no whining, shouting, yelling or any undignified sounds made around the Queen.

3) Grooming will be done each morning and each evening without constant reminders to the subjects.

4) When subjects have finished consuming their food, they will clean up after themselves and put the plates and cutlery into the automatic dish washing machine.

5) There will be no shoes left at the door. If the Queen should trip over a pair of shoes all subjects will go bare foot until Christmas.

6) All homework will be completed each afternoon before play-time.

7) All subjects will have fun each and every day!

8) Each subject will give the Queen a minimum of 10 hugs and kisses each day.

9) All toys and games will be picked up after use or Robin Hood will collect them and give them to the poor.

10) All subjects will, love and respect the Queen and each other, forever!

All hail the Queen! May she reign forever!

 Do you ever find, being a regular ordinary Mom; that it would be nice to rule like a Queen? Just for a day? Maybe a year? I love my children. I would die for them. But, I must admit I find myself wondering at times why I had them.

 “Tell me honestly, honest.” Rene asked as he pulled me closer into his arms.

 “What?” I snuggled into his shoulder.

 “Do you ever wonder why?” he paused, “Why……we had kids?” he stumbled over the latter.

 “Yes,” I replied, “Honestly, honest. It puzzles me at times.”

 “Mommy! Daddy!,” Alora called out from underneath 4 meters of bright yellow fabric. “Look at meeeeeeeee!” She was dancing, a goofy dance, wrapped up in my Sari.

 “This is the reason why we had children.” I reminded Rene, “Purely for entertainment purposes.”

 Being a Mom has been the toughest job I have ever had, but the most rewarding. My children are the beacons of light in my life. They are my teachers. I have learned more about patience and un-conditional love in the last 8 years that I would never have learned on my own. Nothing in the world can compare to a child’s arms wrapped around your neck then a big sloppy wet kiss on your face, then when they say, “I love you Mommy, you’re the greatest Mommy I ever had,” tears well up. Those moments are pure, honest and beautiful. Godly Moments.

 When they disobey the rules of the household or it takes constant reminders for them to listen, it’s frustrating. Depending on the type of day we had we may even lash out at the ones we love the most. The rules are there for a reason, safety mostly but also to teach love and respect. We need love, gentleness, patience and kindness within us to teach our children the rules. To discipline, so they know what consequences are; to teach them to respect other people, places and things.

“But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23

God wants us to teach these things to our children.

“Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children, and talk about them when you sit at home, and walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

 Just as we have household rules for our children, so God has for his children. The rules are there for our safety, to teach respect and to help us to become the best version of ourselves that we can be.

1) You must not have any other Gods except me.

2) You must not worship or serve any idols.

3) You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly.

4) Keep the Sabbath Holy. Rest.

5) Honour your Father and Mother.

6) You must not murder anyone.

7) You must not be guilty of adultery.

8) You must not steal.

9) You must not tell lies.

10) Don’t envy your neighbour.

Exodus 20:3-17

 ‘Then an expert on the law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to get life forever?” Jesus said, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?”

 The man answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind. Also, love your neighbour as you love yourself.”

 Jesus said to him, “Your answer is right. Do this and you will live.”’

Luke 10:25-28

It’s a warm feeling, having connections. Knowing that someone else thinks the same as you; knowing that we are all in the same ocean, separate boats, but same ocean of life, trying to figure it out in our own unique way; just as God wanted it. 

“God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata- of creatures that worked like machines- would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for his creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to him and to each other in love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for this they must be free” C.S Lewis wrote in his novel ‘Mere Christianity’.

Good thing, God doesn’t rule us, like that Queen. He gives us free choice. We can choose to follow the rules or not. It’s up to us. But, I wonder how God would feel, if we as his children, actually listened to His will for us? Followed His example to be the best that we can be? How do you feel when your child tries his/her best to be like you?

Every moment is full of wonder and God is always present.

Psalm 73:21-24

When my heart was sad and I was angry,

I was senseless and stupid.

I acted like an animal toward you.

But I am always with you;

you have held my hand.

You guide me with your advice,

and later you will receive me in honour.

Smile Someone Loves You

"With the loving mercy of our God, a new day from heaven will dawn upon us. It will shine on those who live in darkness, in the shadow of death. It will guide us into the path of peace." Luke 1:78-79 NCV


"This was the worst dress rehearsal I have ever seen in all my years of teaching." said a lady I met at the dog park last Monday. She was also a part time teacher at the school my children attend. "It's going to be a bad pageant." It was also my 8th School's Christmas Pageant and the last one for my eldest who will be in High school next year (Insert deep sigh here). I hoped the wrinkles would be ironed out by Wednesday.
 The place was packed. It was the last show of the season. The kids performed exactly as expected. Some bee bopped to the music, almost falling off the bleachers. Other's sang loudly, right in front of the microphone, totally off key. Some sang shyly with their heads down looking at their feet. There were even a couple of grade 6/7 boys, their arms crossed not singing at all because, "This was totally NOT COOL!" It was an amazing show. I laughed so much..it was great!

It came time for my daughter's Kalina's class to sing. I saw her walk in, beside her BFF, Zaria.
"I don't recall her phoning your daughter to colour coordinate their outfits." I laughed at Deb (BFF's Mom) who sat just behind me.
"Wonder when they arranged that?" she replied.
There they stood, two brightly coloured twins, standing in the first row. Zaria found her Mom first and for the whole performance never took her eyes off her Mom. Her eyes bright, she sang the song for no one else. Deb touched my shoulder.
"Look she's searching for you." Kalina was singing half heartily, looking for her Waldo in the sea of humans. Then she found me and her face lit up and she smiled, a smile that would light up the darkest place. A smile that washed away all the gloom in my heart and I blinked back a tear because it felt so good to be loved that much; for a moment I caught a glimpse of how much it means to God for me to find Him in amidst the chaotic world we live in.
Working, driving, shopping, fixing, baking, tiling, studying, writing, volunteering and just being human takes a lot of time. When we focus too much on the things we need to do, we can't find what's really important. If I was too busy doing things...I would have missed that moment with Kalina. Sometimes it's really hard not to focus on what the rest of the world says you need to do and just focus on what God needs you to do. He wants you to smile and enjoy the gift he gave you.
I recently saw parts of the movie Patch Adams, where 'Patch' had to hold up his hand and say what he saw.
"Four fingers." was his reply.
"Look beyond the fingers." his friend replied. As Patch's vision went beyond the fingers, the digits blurred and he now saw eight fingers.
"If you focus on the problem, you will never find the solution."
To see scene
Time and time again, and I do this myself...I focus on the four fingers of life instead of looking beyond. Seeing things anew, seeing the world through the eyes of a creator who loves me. It's so hard to see Him sometimes, I look, but I only see the crowd; War, Hate, Frustrations, Irritations, Worry, Sadness and Loneliness overwhelm my life, my heart fills with darkness, and I can't find Peace, Love, Grace, Hope, Gentleness, Forgiveness and Self-Control.
Four Hundred years before the birth of Christ, there were prophets who saw through the crowd and focused beyond the fingers and found something amazing.


"But you Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are too small to be among the army groups from Judah, from you will come one who will rule .....His greatness will reach all the earth. He will bring peace."
Micah 5:2, 4-5 NCV


"Shout and be glad, Jerusalem. I am coming, and I will live among you," Says the Lord.
Zechariah 2:10 NCV


It's hard to see God in the crowd of Christmas shoppers. I'd like to challenge you this Christmas to see beyond the Rudolph's and the Frosty's and see what Christ Mas is about.
It's hard to see Christ in the crowd of Santa's, there again, I'd like to challenge you to see beyond religion and take time to get to know the man Jesus.

My wish and prayer for you this Christmas and New Year is to see your Father within the crowd, to find love that has no end, to find peace deep within and joy overflowing. May you be a light in the dark places of the world and of hearts.

Smile, someone loves you.

"She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel," which means 'God is with us.'
Matthew 1:23

Light a Candle

The Christmas Pagent

Thought I would share this e-mail from an anonymous writer... I received it in an email today and just had to share it... For those who are Mom's, enjoy!

THE CHRISTMAS PAGEANT

 

My husband and I had been happily 
married (most of the time) 
for five years
but hadn't been blessed with a baby.

I decided to do some serious
praying and promised God
that if he would give us a  child,
I would be a perfect mother,
love it with  all my heart
and raise it with His word 
as my guide.

God answered my prayers
and blessed us with a son.
The next year God blessed us 
with another son.

The following year,
He blessed us with
yet another son. 

The year after that we
were blessed with a daughter.

My husband thought we'd
been blessed right into poverty.
We now had four children,
and the oldest was only
four years old.
I learned never to ask God 
for anything unless I meant it
As a minister once told me,
"If you pray for rain,
make sure you carry an umbrella."

I began reading a few verses
of the Bible to the children
each day as they lay in their cribs.. 

I was off to a good start.
God had entrusted me
with four children and
I didn't want to disappoint Him.

I tried to be patient the day
the children smashed
two dozen eggs on
the kitchen floor searching 
for baby chicks.

I tried to be understanding...

when they started a hotel for
homeless frogs in the spare bedroom, although it took me nearly two hours
to catch all twenty-three frogs.

When my daughter poured
ketchup all over herself and 
rolled up in a blanket to see
how it felt to be a hot dog,
I tried to see the humor
rather than the mess.. 

In spite of changing over
twenty-five thousand diapers,
never eating a hot meal 
and never sleeping for more
than thirty minutes at a time,
I still thank God daily for my children.

While I couldn't keep my promise 
to be a perfect mother -
I didn't even come close...
I did keep my promise
to raise them in the Word of God. 

I knew I was missing the mark
just a little when I told
my daughter we were going 
to church to worship God,
and she wanted to bring
a bar of soap along to
"wash up" Jesus, too.

Something was lost
in the translation when
I explained that
God gave us everlasting life, 
and my son thought it was
generous of God to give
us his "last wife."

My proudest moment came
during the children's
Christmas pageant.

My daughter was playing Mary,
two of my sons were shepherds 
and my youngest son was a wise man.
This was their moment to shine.

My five-year-old shepherd
had practiced his line,
"We found the babe wrapped
in swaddling clothes." 

But he was nervous and said, 
"The baby was wrapped
in wrinkled clothes." 

My four-year-old "Mary" said,
"That's not 'wrinkled clothes,' silly.

That's dirty, rotten clothes."
A wrestling match broke out
between Mary and the shepherd
and was stopped by an angel,
who bent her halo and lost 
her left wing. 
I slouched a little lower
in my seat when Mary
dropped the doll representing
Baby Jesus, and it bounced
down the aisle crying, 
"Mama-mama." 
Mary grabbed the doll,
wrapped it back up
and held it tightly as
the wise men arrived.
My other son stepped forward
wearing a bathrobe 
and a paper crown,
knelt at the manger 
and announced,
"We are the three wise men,
and we are bringing gifts
of gold, 
common sense
  and fur."

The congregation
dissolved into laughter,
and the pageant
got a standing ovation. 

"I've never enjoyed a Christmas 
program as much as this one,"
laughed the pastor, 
wiping tears from his eyes 
"For the rest of my life,
I'll never hear the
Christmas story without
thinking of 
gold, 
common sense 
and fur."

"My children are my pride 
and my joy and my greatest
blessing," I said as I dug
through my purse for an aspirin.

Jesus had no servants,
yet they called Him Master.

Had no degree,
yet they called Him Teacher .
Had no medicines,
yet they called Him Healer.

Had no army,
yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles,
yet He conquered the world.
He committed no crime,
yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb,
yet He lives today.

Feel honored
to serve such a Leader 
who loves us.

 

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

When Sparks Fly

"He brought me to the banquet room, and his banner over me is love." Song of Songs 2:4 NCV


Solomon did 2 things for the woman he loved. He brought her into a banquet hall,  gave her an amazing feast and he put a banner of love over her as protection. He physically and emotionally provided for her. This is the way God loves us and I began to question if I showed this kind of love to the people I love...especially my spouse.

" You are like a garden fountain - a well of fresh water flowing down from the mountains of Lebanon." Song of Songs 4:15


Am I a well of fresh water for my spouse? Are You? Do you mostly whine and complain at them or do you give them the silent treatment and turn away when they do something you don't like? Do you grunt one syllable answers to their questions because your too irritated to talk? I don't always feel like I can be a well of fresh water for my spouse, and he is not always there to be that well for me, that's why I need help. I go to the one who can provide it.

"Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never be thirsty. The water I give will become a spring of water gushing up inside that person, giving eternal life." John 4 13-14


I always thought the Old Testament book Song of Songs was a bit weird. I never really understood why it's in the Bible. Recently, I have been pushed into reading it for my class. It's a part of my homework reading and I see it in a new light these days. Not only does it show the passion God has for his creation, but also the passion a Man and Wife must have for each other.

"How is your lover better than other lovers?" Song of Songs 5:9


What makes you different from all the other spouse's around? When you're having coffee with your friends what do you say about your spouse.
"Wellllllll, You won't believe what my spouse did this week...." Do you insert something positive or negative here? Do you gripe and complain or share the wonderful things they've done?
I know I do stupid things to irritate my husband each week. I'm human. It's a fact that he has done things, that have disappointed me. We are human, we make mistakes.
It is our reactions that make us better than other lovers. We all handle disappointments differently. Do you scream and yell speaking unkindly to your spouse and bringing him/her to a all time low? Do you gossip about the irritation to your neighbours and friends making your spouse look like the most horrible partner a person can have whom your neighbour's and friends now disrespect? Do you keep it all to yourself and build a wall around your heart, removing yourself emotionally from your spouse?
What would happen if you love, accepted and forgave your spouse? Don't pretend the incident didn't happen. Talk to your spouse, tell them the irritation and why it bothered you. Love them anyways and move on.
My husband did that recently a few weeks ago. I'm a little conservative and I don't do a lot of things because I hang on to fear. I know this about myself and I am working on it with God's help, step by step. Rene wants me to be more outgoing, to take the initiative and get out there..."Get dirty and make mistakes." as Miss Frizzle says on the Magic School bus.
"You want me to what?" It was our 20th wedding anniversary recently and we went camping. Just the 2 of us, up a logging road, in the middle of nowhere. Mountains , streams and waterfalls surrounding us, it was the proverbial Garden of Eden and my husband was Adam and he wanted me to play Eve (before she ate the fruit).
"There's no body here." He reported and waved his arms about in melodramatic fashion. I laughed, thinking about that imaginary hiker on top of that nearest mountain who was sitting there eating a granola bar with a set of high powered binoculars that happened to be aimed right at our camp site.
"Oh, Lord...help me be brave. I'm tired of letting my fear always get in the way. My husband needs a bold wife right now. Help me." I thought, as I pushed thoughts of the google earth satellite that would be aimed right at the precise coordinates of this particular camp spot in the middle of no where. It took a moment of coaxing and inner dialogue, but I finally did release the fears of 'Big Brother is Watching' and became the Eve to my Adam (before the fruit).
"You could relax a little?" Adam was chopping firewood and laughing at His Eve who sat in the camp chair, arms and legs crossed 2 feet from the fire.
"I'm cold." Although no one knows exactly where the Garden of Eden was, I was pretty sure it was closer to the equator than I was presently.
"Would you like a blanket?" Adam was so thoughtful, "I'll put some more wood on the fire." How gentlemanly, I thought, and became more relaxed. I leaned over to slice some brie to go with our baguette and that's when the sparks started to fly....

...These were not romantic sparks as some of you may be thinking...remember Adam was adding wet wood to the fire and Eve was sitting 2 feet away....

Ladies, I just want to say, that things don't always go as planned. Stepping out of your comfort zone is what God wants us to do, sometimes we are going to get burned and we will need the first aid kit, but God always makes good. He has our back.

Eve stepped out of her fear box a little, she was scorched, but her relationship with Adam got a little closer that weekend because she stepped out.

Ask your husband what you could do to make your relationship a little closer....This week, try to step out of your comfort zone and enjoy time with your Adam.

Well, I'm off to buy some Aloe Vera Cream...Have a great week!

Ciao!

Pink + Pink + Pink = Too Much Estrogen

"I don't want to sleep on pink sheets!" Rene and I were putting clean sheets on our bed.
"I don't like pink sheets." We inherited the sheets from my parents who had change to a King bed. Since I was the only family member left with a Queen, the sheets came to me.
"It's just a fitted sheet on the bottom, "I whined and questioned my husbands need for a different coloured sheet, "The duvet is brown...you wont even see the pink."
"I don't want to sleep ON PINK!" I couldn't understand my husbands vehemence to the rose coloured material, "I'm putting my foot down...No PINK sheets!" then he grabbed the sheet, rolled it into a ball, and threw it into the corner of the room.
"What is wrong with you?"I asked irritated, not yet cluing into the fact that something bigger than sleeping on pink sheets was bugging him here, "What if I like to sleep on Pink? Huh?" Feeling an immediate surge of 'poor me' syndrome and 'why does it always have to be about him?' attitude I glared at him then rolled my eyes in disrespect.

"It is hard to find a good wife, because she is worth more than rubies. Her husband trusts her completely. With her, he has everything he needs. She does him good and not harm for as long as she lives." Proverbs 31:10-12


"There's just too much estrogen everywhere I go." My husband came up behind me and hugged me, as I was doing the dishes later on that evening. "Between the ladies at work, my daughters, my wife...I....I just need to put on my leather jacket, sit on a motorcycle and smoke a cigar." It wasn't about the pink sheet. Well, don't I feel a little sheepish.

"A husband can hurt your feelings, be inconsiderate, uncaring, abusive, irritating, or negligent. He can say or do things that pierce your heart like a sliver. And every time you start to pray for him, you find the sliver festering. It's obvious you can't give yourself to praying the way God wants you to until you are rid of it." Stormie Omartian 'The power of a praying wife'


Sometimes we are not going to understand everything our husband says or does. Many times we will feel defensive about his reactions and or statements. But we do have the free will and authority to choose how we are going to react. With love, acceptance and forgiveness or with selfish anger, poor me attitude and disrespect. I don't mean you have to agree with everything he does... and I don't mean for you to be a door mat for an abusive attitude.

"Our love for others must never be confused as a license for their destructive behavior towards us, towards others or towards themselves. Love commits itself to their "highest good" and stands stubbornly and relentlessly against their destruction from any quarter." Jerry Cook "Love,Acceptance and Forgiveness"


God so loved the world that he gave. (John 3:16) A commitment to another being motivates us to act on his or her behalf. A shallow sensation that inspires us to respond to someone in love isn't the love that is needed to build a relationship with someone. It takes work. Agape Love. Love in action.

"Agape involves the kind of giving that can not be compensated. That concept of love is quite foreign to our culture. The mentality of this world leads us to love and give only when there is reason to assume that our love will be reciprocated." Jerry Cook "Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness"


 I wasn't acting out as the Good Wife from Proverbs 31 initially,  it took a little bit before I was gently reminded and an attitude adjustment was made. I love my husband, when I married him I made a commitment to him...for better and for worse...it's not always been sunny, but God does not want my marriage to fall apart. As a Mom, it's so easy to fight for my children. I would fight to the death for them. But do we do the same as a wife?

"I will not allow anything to destroy my marriage. I will not stand by and watch my husband wearied, beaten, or destroyed. I will not sit idle while an invisible wall goes up between us. I will not allow confusion, miscommunication, wrong attitudes, and bad choices to erode what we are trying to build together. I will not tolerate hurt and unforgiveness leading us to divorce." We can take a stand against any negative influences in our marriage relationship and know that God has given us authority in His name to back it up." Stormie Omartian 'The power of a praying wife'


Love is a commitment and operates independently of what we feel or don't feel. Jerry Cook goes on to say, We need to extend this love to everyone....I'm saying...even your husbands...as hard as it may be sometimes...

"I want you to know that I'm committed to you. You'll never knowingly suffer at my hands. I'll never say or do anything, knowingly, to hurt you. I'll always in every circumstance seek to help you and support you. If you're down and I can lift you up, I'll do that. Anything I have that you need, I'll share with you; and if need be, I'll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you and no matter what happens in the future, either good or bad, my commitment to you will never change. And there's nothing you can do about it. I love you." 


This is how God loves us. Do we love our spouse like this?

Well Ladies, I'm off to to a little shopping for sheets at Cabala's. I found the perfect 'Camo' sheets.

Ciao!

God Has a Pocket Full of Poop Bags

I was walking my dog, Angel, on the dyke this morning and as I bent down to pick up the mess, she left behind...I had a prolific moment....

All week long I have felt mostly irritated. I can try to explain it away by blaming Aunte Flow, or my family, my husband leaving the gate open and the dog escaping, the children's pig sty of a room, the weather, the fluorescent light that keeps blinking in the kitchen and needs to be replaced, the neighbour smoking Pot. Just 'insert irritation here' and blame my sour mood on that. So now I have a valid excuse for my bad temperament...or do I?

God calls us to be Holy. What does that mean? Holy means separate, set apart, different.

Romans 5:3-4
"We also have joy with our troubles, because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope."


My reactions to the above irritations did not set me aside. I allowed life to bother me and I hung on to the irritation and because of that....it turned me into a person my family didn't want to hang out with. I thank God it only took a few days and not weeks or years or decades for Him to set me straight.

 We are not supposed to hang on to the mess of this world....the mess that surrounds us.

Walking on the dyke is my time to cry out to God with all  my messes and Thank Him for my Blessings. It's a time of reflection and quiet so God can speak back...Then I noticed the dog. I noticed how freely she ran between the tall grass after she dropped the heavy load she was carrying around. She didn't look back....she didn't hang onto it....she didn't circle the excrement or try to clean it up on her own...Drop and go...that's what she did... and she looked free and happy.
Are you hanging onto any crap? Are you in a sour mood because things just haven't gone the way you expected?....May I suggest something?
 DROP AND GO BABY....don't look back..... because God has a pocket full of poop bags.

Tiptoeing gently into Raw Food

My good friend Nadyne, recently took a Raw Food Cooking class...although technically you don't cook the food....it looks kind of neat and I asked her to write a little something about it....if you enjoy it and wish to learn more...let me know, because she has another class soon....


In a nutshell, RAW (vegan) food is all about nuts, seeds, fruits and veggies (no cooking!) in order to be able to absorb all or a majority of the enzymes, proteins, vitamins and minerals nutrients contained in those food as a healthier alternative and wellbeing in general. (And also an energy saver...).

http://www.rawbc.org/articles/enzymes_protein.html
http://www.healself.org/rawfood.html
http://www.realrawfood.com/

This cuisine does require some "soaking and sprouting" times... but when accomplishing that at night, then the rest is as easy as any other meal preparation on a daily basis.
[And the presence of a garden and the assistance of a good blender - Ex.: VITAMIX, and a good dehydrator - Ex.: EXCALIBUR + other little food slicer, cutter, etc. = bonuses].

Here are 2 "snacks" recipes for beginners (& tested by myself at my UBC class last night... yummy!!):  

1.  Green peach smoothie (2 servings)
- 2 cups of water;
- 1 banana, chopped;
- 3 peaches, chopped;
- 2 cups of baby spinach;
- 1 cup of green leafy lettuce, chopped;
- 1/4 bunch of fresh mint

* you can certainly experiment with berries instead and/or any of your favourite fruits and leafy greens!

In a high speed blender, mix all the ingredients until smooth. Voila!  Enjoy immediately... or can be refrigerated in a glass container for up to 48hrs.

2. Chai banana almond milk smoothie (4 servings)

- 1 cup of almonds, soaked for 8hrs, rinsed and drained;
- 2 cups of water;
- 1/4 cup of dates (soaked for 30min. if they are too firm);
- 1/2 tsp of nutmeg powder;
- 1/8 tsp of clove powder;
- 1/8 tsp of cardamone powder;
- 1/8 tsp of Himalayan salt;
- 1/2 tsp of vanilla powder (or 1 tsp of vanilla extract - alcohol free);
- 3 frozen bananas, peeled and chopped (frozen brings more sweetness flavour to the banana!)

* there too you can play with the spices quantities to adjust to your own taste!

Mix the almonds with the water in a blender until homogeneous and filter with a nut milk bag (easier and renewable!) or a cheese cloth.
Ex.: at natureprovides.ca (based in N.Van.)  http://www.rawbc.org/raw_businesses.html#sprouts 
Freeze or refrigerate the pulp for making cookies, breads or croutons... (for a later lessons!?).
Poor into the milk all of the other ingredients, except for the bananas, into the blender and when homogeneous again, then add the bananas until smooth.
Enjoy immediately or can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Do not forget to try to buy organic and local when ever possible, but to also first use what you have on hand! 

Nadyne.  :-)

PS.: I might do a nice RAW potluck at the end of my class... interested!? (There should be some soups, pastas, snacks, cakes, etc.!!).