Calm, please.

During our Whole Foods trip one day, my older son D.J. came across some free sample packets of this Lemonade powder labeled "Calm."  He picked up several packets indeed and decided it would cure his sleepless nights.  D.J. is my oldest, 15 years to be exact, a football player who is always lifting weights, running or doing P-90X.  He's my running partner at times when I want to do speed work. My inspiration to continue to stay fit, he makes me proud.
Okay, so I'm D.J's biggest fan.  What mother doesn't brag at times?  So, here we go with his sleepless nights.  He began telling me how he couldn't sleep and that it would be 1am before he would go to sleep.  We have a  "no electronic" rule after 8pm so I knew he was sincere about his sleepless nights.  He consumed this good tasting drink one night.  He slept like a baby.  He woke up the next morning so excited about having found the  cure to his sleepless nights.  Okay, so what was this miracle packet?  Lo and behold, it was Magnesium.  Magnesium?  What in the world?   I spoke with our Pediatrician about this and she stated that  the side effects of magnesium is drowsiness.

David, who has problems sleeping takes Lunesta, a prescribed hypnotic for sleep skipped his dose one night and tried the Calm.  It helped him.  Later on after several days of taking he noticed his stools were a bit loose.  Nothing he couldn't handle.  On the back of the container, it warns you about this and you just need to adjust the dose.  Recently we visited the Rhematologist for David and told her he was taking this for sleep.  She mentioned the loose stools.  Her husband takes it as well.  Wow!!

Weeks later I started taking it.  Within 5 minutes I'm out cold.  And its just Magnesium!!!!!! 

Refer to the directions when taking and consult with your physician if you have any underlying medical conditions.  There's even Calm for kids.  According to our Pediatrician, she recommends a natural cure to sleeping problems with children.  In recent studies it has been shown that children who suffer from sleeping problems and are not treated can later develop chronic conditions such as diabetes.

This was taken from the Pre-Diabetes Center website:
Sleep is an important restorative process. Studies show that sleep deprivation causes changes in glucose metabolism, hormone levels and nervous system activity. For example, people who are sleep deprived have increased levels of cortisol in the evening, which in turn can cause morning insulin resistance.

Many aspects of Pre-Diabetes can be controlled, and sleep is no exception. Here are a few tips for improving the quality and duration of sleep at night.

• Make your bedroom calm, cool and quiet
• Put the iPad away: we all love our tablets and phones, but backlit reading devices promote wakefulness
• Get on a schedule: plan to go to sleep at the same time every night and try to wake at the same time each morning

Compliments of my Best Friend Melinda

  In a world that tries to cure everything with a pill, I hope that if you have a sleeping problem that is not severe that you try a natural alternative.  My husband David, was diagnosed with sleep apnea 4 years ago and Lunesta was prescribed to help him with his sleepless nights. Even with his condition, the Calm helps him tremendously.  If you feel you have a sleeping problem such as snoring or trouble catching your breathe when you sleep, consult a Physician.  David's sleep apnea was undetected for many years, mainly because he never felt he had a problem.   One day I caught him trying to catch his breathe as he was taking a nap. I scheduled a visit with a Pulmonologist who after 2 sleep studies revealed he had severe sleep apnea.  

Sleep disorders can be evaluated and treated.  Having difficulty sleeping can as stated above can cause  problems if left untreated.  

  Take Care until next time.

 Get some sleep, Keep Calm and Pray!!!!!

I ordered our Calm from VitaCost.com

Whole Foods sells the exact same thing for double the price (about $40.00)  Natural Grocers sells an 8oz container for about $20.00.  Save money and order from VitaCost,  the 16oz sells  for about $23.00 online.
They also have many flavors available.
 We currently take the Raspberry Lemonade as our nightly routine.

Jennifer : )

Let there be light. Genesis 1:3

Harry Ransom Center
Austin, Texas

When I heard about this exhibit in Austin, I was ecstatic.  A couple of months ago we went on a field trip with our library art class to the Blanton Art Museum with Traci, a fellow mother who also home schools her children, gave me an information brochure for the exhibit. 

We planned to go together, but never coordinated a date and time.  Every night when I read my Bible, I would look a the brochure.  What had me so excited was that there was one of the original King James Bible's on display.  Come to find out there are only 4 in the United States that are complete and 40 in the whole world.  

D.J. and the Gutenberg Bible

Gutenberg Bible.

 As we arrived we were greeted by a very enthusiastic woman who showed us the Gutenberg Bible.  A little History below.

The Gutenberg Bible was the first book printed on a printing press. 

It was written in Latin around the 1400's.  

It was written by Johannes Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany.

The Bible was then translated into English in the royal palace of Hampton Court in 1604.  King James I (King of England from 1603-1625) decided that they needed to create an English version  and it was dedicated to him. 

Me, Zachary and Emily

They didn't allow any picture taking due to copyright laws, but they did let us take a picture with the Gutenberg Bible. We spent about an hour plus there looking at all the history of the Bible and there were various displays of bibles.  I was amazed to see a very miniature bible whose words were only visible with a magnifying glass.  David's favorite display was one of several Abraham Lincoln campaign pins and a copy of Milton's Paradise Lost.  Amazing!!!!  I don't want to tell you everything they had there.  You need to see for yourself.  It truly made me think about how God has inspired many people throughout the past generations.  He continues to inspire me and in turn I plan to inspire my children to lead this next generation into a great nation with God as their leader.  To me, God is my Joy, my King and the very existence of my being.  

The exhibit is on until July 29'th. Don't miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!!!! Go visit it!!

Harry Ransom Center

21st and Guadalupe Streets

Austin, Texas

Written with God's Love,
 Jennifer

My Little Secret to Long-Sustaining Energy

Barley Malt, Unrefined
Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil
and Brown Rice Syrup

Alarm goes off.  Wake up. 5:30am. Sometimes 6am.  Jump out of bed (okay, not always).  Roll out of bed, get dressed, grab my already prepared water bottles and gel.  Out the door I go, sometimes I just decide just to run close by.  But, when I plan my long runs, its off to the YMCA Trail.  10 miles today.  So, how do I do it?  Over the past year since I started long distance running I experimented with several gels, beans, (the first time my friend Marlene suggested beans when I run, I thought she meant mexican beans, LOL!!), chomps, blocks and what not.  One that sent my body into an acute allergic reaction.  What in the world?  Thank God for Benadryl and for a husband who is viligent enough to spread hydrocortisone cream all over my red, raised, full of whelps body.  What a nightmare!!!  

A day before a long run I would stop by my favorite establishment to buy these long-sustaining gels, beans, chomps, etc.  A bit expensive I must say.  Some of those packages sell for $2.00 or more.  The chomps were my all time favorite and I would come back from my little trip full of these "miracle" little chews.  Hiding them was my goal because having a 15 year old in my house, nothing goes uneaten.  Ha!!!!  

After several long runs using these "miracle" chews, I became exhausted during my runs and beat down afterwards.  I would sometimes stay in a daze for hours after a run.  My family thought I'd gone nuts!!!   Feeling as if I could no longer run long distances, I came across a recipe online from a nutritionist who started using coconut oil before her long runs.  Coconut oil belongs to a special class of fats called medium-chain fatty acids.  These fats are not normally stored in the body as fat, but are instead quickly converted to energy.  Yay!!!

There are times during my runs that I feel I can run more miles, but I stop because I don't want to injure myself.  

If you would like to use this as a replacement for an energy bar, just consume 1-2 tablespoons before a workout or during the day for extra energy. Don't we all need extra energy?

Jennifer's Long-Sustaining Energy (AKA: the reason why I can run 10 miles)

Fill a pan with water.  Fill so that the jar is
at least more than half immersed.
Use a 16oz Canning Jar.

• 1 cup of Brown Rice Syrup (Lundberg's Organic Sweet Dreams Brown Rice Syrup)
• 1/2 cup Barley Malt (try Eden's Organic Barley Malt Syrup)
• 1/4 cup Unrefined coconut oil
• 1/4 cup Organic Creamy Peanut Butter (without hydrogenated oils or sugar added)
• 1 tsp Sea Salt
• 1/4 cup of hot water (I use coffee instead for the caffeine)

First, turn heat to med-low.

Next, start adding your ingredients.  Add the Barley Malt into the jar.  Then, add the Brown Rice Syrup into the jar.  

The mixture should look like this.  Stir with a knife.  

Add the Peanut Butter to the mixture.  Stir with knife.

Next, add the Unrefined Coconut Oil.  Stir with knife. 

Sprinkle in the salt.

Finally, this is what the mixture should look like after 10 minutes of constant stirring. 

For those of you who own a Keurig, set the cup size to the smallest setting. For those

of you who are behind with the times (J/K!!), you can just brew a regular cup of coffee. 

Add 1/4 -1/2 cup of coffee to the mixture.

It will appear to be very thin, but when it cools it will harden. 

Yummy!!!

Put Lid on and shake Vigorously!!!

This is my Favorite part!!  Shake it!!! Shake it!!

(You have to be singing the song, Shake it like a Polaroid Picture)

Happy Fourth of July!!!! 

(You can fill the gel into your tube like container for workouts or just eat by the spoonful. 

Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. )

One ounce equals 150 calories, 24 grams of carbohydrates, 1.8 grams of protein, and 5 grams of fat.  Ratio of approximately 64% carbohydrates, 5% protein, and 30% fat

Total cost of ingredients:  $25.00 which makes around 2 batches of 16oz gel.

I purchased my items at Natural Grocers and Whole Foods.