Happy Boosters

Some days, I feel like I have too much on my plate. I feel overwhelmed. I do a little bit of everything, yet nothing gets completed. Please tell me I am not the only one who feels like this! All the moms who look like they have it all together, you guys are just pretending, right? 

The holiday season tends to make this feeling grow exponentially. Some days, I wake up and I just know the day will be a blur - I go on auto pilot. No idea how I make it through the day. My body just moves and luckily a list of to do items helps me feel a little productive.

I'm still learning what helps me relax, focus and get in gear, but I have a few things that really do help me. I don't know if it'll help anybody else, but it works for moi.

JULIA'S LIST OF HAPPY BOOSTERS:

1) Lay down or sit tall, close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths (10 if I really need it).
I am amazed at how this works so well for me. It helps me relax and regroup.

2) Tell yourself to smile and have a great day. You gotta look in the mirror while doing this. Look at yourself straight in the eye and say, "Have a fabulous day, dah-ling! Smile!". If you know me, you know I have no problem doing this.

3)  Stretch. Oh, I love this one. You don't realize how tense you are until you start stretching your neck, shoulders, arms, back and legs. There's always time for a quick stretch.

4) Go on Pinterest or Youtube and find funny/cute things. If I'm in need of a laugh, I search for funnies and they always work! I always find something that makes me laugh out loud and laughing is an instant happy booster.

5) Take a cat nap. This is a new realization for me. I never took naps before. I didn't like naps. I didn't like having to sleep when it was still bright out. I felt like I was missing out on life. I'm over it now. If all the stars align and I'm tired and Christopher is napping, then I'll take a cat nap. 10-15 minutes helps a ton.

6) Make a list of to do items. If I didn't write things down or make notes in my cell phone, I would be lost. I meet so many moms who look like they never need to do lists. To you supermoms, I raise a glass.

7) Hide my cell phone. I have a love/hate relationship with cell phones. Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, texts, emails, phone calls, Kakaotalk. At times, it is too much. I go through days where I leave my phone on my nightstand in the mornings and ignore the world for a few hours. It helps me focus on the simpler things in life.

8) Workout. I have never met a person who said they regretted a workout. Endorphins, baby!

9) Hugs and Kisses. If I need 'em, I'll get 'em.

10) Rant. Sometimes, you need to tell someone how stressed you are and somehow that act alone magically makes the stress go away.

20 Benefits of Drinking Water with Lemon

I wrote about a this before, but was sent this great list of 20 benefits of drinking lemon water.

Just a reminder that this a cost-effective way of keeping your health. Bottoms up!

20 Unbelievable Reasons To Start Your Day With Water and Lemon

1. Water with lemon provides the body with electrolytes which hydrate your body. As lemons contain good amount of electrolytes such as potassium, calcium and magnesium.
2. Water with lemon is good for the joints, reducing pain in the joints and muscles.
3. Warm water with lemon helps digestion as lemon contains citric acid. It interacts with other enzymes and acids which easily stimulate the secretion of gastric juice and digestion.
4. The liver produces more enzymes from water with lemon than from any other food.
5. Water with lemon cleanses the liver. Lemon juice stimulates the liver to release toxins.
6. Water with Lemon helps fight infections of the respiratory tract, sore throats and inflammation of the tonsils. This is due to the anti-inflammatory properties of lemon.
7. Warm water with lemon helps regulate natural bowel movement.
8. Water with lemon is indispensable for the normal work of metabolism. Since lemon is a powerful antioxidant, it protects the body from free radicals and strengthens the immune system.
9. Water with lemon aids in proper functioning of the nervous system (as lemon  has a high content of potassium). Depression and anxiety are often the result of low levels of potassium in the blood. The nervous system needs a sufficient amount of potassium to ensure sustainable signals to the heart.
10. Water with lemon cleanses blood, blood vessels and arteries.
11. Water with lemon can help lower blood pressure.  A daily intake of one lemon can reduce high blood pressure by 10%.
12. Water with lemon creates an alkalizing effect in the body. Even if you drink it immediately before a meal,  it can help your body maintain a higher level of pH. The higher the pH, the more your body is able to fight diseases.
13. Water with lemon is good for the skin. Vitamin C in lemon, improves our skin by rejuvenating the body.  Drinking water with lemon regularly (every morning) will improve the condition of your skin.
14. Water with lemon  helps to dilute uric acid, the built up of which leads to pain in the joints and gout.
15. Water with lemon is beneficial for pregnant women. Since lemons are loaded with Vitamin C, it acts as an adaptogen helping the body cope with viruses such as colds.  Furthermore, vitamin C helps the formation of bone tissue of the unborn baby. At the same time, due to the high content of potassium, a mixture of water with lemon helps forming cells of the brain and nervous system of the baby.
16. Water with lemon relieves heartburn. For this, mix a teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water.
17. Water with lemon helps dissolve gallstones,  kidney stones, pancreatic stones, and calcium deposits.
18. Water with lemon helps with weight loss.  Lemons contain pectin fiber, which helps suppress hunger cravings. Studies have proven  people with a better alkaline diet have lost weight faster.
19. Water with lemon helps with tooth pain and gingivitis.
20. Water with lemon prevents cancer. This is due to the fact that lemons are a highly alkaline food. Multiple studies have found that cancer cannot thrive in an alkaline environment.

For the full article, please visit:

http://complete-health-and-happiness.com/happens-body-drink-warm-honey-lemon-water-morning/

Giving Back This Holiday

Last season, CJ and I were wrapped up with our bundle of joy and settling into our new home (we moved in 4 weeks after Christopher was born!). This year, all is calm and we've been talking about how we want to give back. We threw out several ideas and one of our ideas was to send a care package to a military troop overseas.

Since my brother, Sam, attended Virginia Military Institute, I asked him if he had any friends who would be spending the holiday season overseas. Within half a second, he texted back with two names, Joe and Kenny. Joe and Kenny were classmates of Sam and I met these guys several times throughout Sam's 4 years at VMI. I was happy at the thought of putting together a care package for them and so it began, a care package filled with gifts to give back saying "thank you!"

We filled up Christmas stockings full of snacks and shipped them off. I feel really good about this little project. While we are surrounded by beautifully decorated trees, Christmas lights and holiday music, our troops are overseas, separated from their loved ones and will be spending the holiday season alone. This is our way of showing them we care and are thankful for their service. 

CJ and I have a few other ideas we want to do and hope we get to knock a few more do-good items off our list. 

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

I am on a roll! Two different pies in one week. Call me the pie master. I originally wanted to bake a pumpkin pie AND apple pie for Thanksgiving, but decided not to be a hero. Since I bought all the goods to bake an apple pie and I didn't want it to go to waste, I baked one this morning.

This recipe had over 6,200 5 star reviews on it! How could you NOT try this, right? Grandma Ople's granddaughter posted this recipe. What warmed my heart was reading her words on how thankful she is for all the positive feedback and that her grandmother lives on through this recipe. Doesn't that give you the fuzzies?

 

Grandma Ople's Apple Pie

Recipe cred Grandma Ople's Apple Pie (Posted by her Granddaughter)

Ingredients:

8 Granny Smith apples (peeled, cored and sliced)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
3 Tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick of butter)
1/4 cup of water
Pastry for 9 inch double crust pie

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Julia's Notes: Prep the lattice ahead of time, so you can pour the sauce immediately and avoid it hardening. Place pie in the bottom rack to avoid it burning. I think 425 was too hot. There were a few burnt marks on the pie. I think 350 the entire time will suffice. Next time, I'm going to add cinnamon and I will try another apple variety. Granny Smith apples are too tart for my taste. This pie was delish, but I wished the apples were sweeter. I leave you with three words... A LA MODE!

BEST Pumpkin Pie Recipe

I am so sad. I baked pumpkin pie for the first time ever and I forgot to take a picture of it. It was delicious! Everyone said so. I hope they weren't lying. I know it was good because even my brother-in-law, Ryan, loved it and he's not a fan of cheese. Blasphemy, right? Not a lover of cheese? My sister, Eunice, is slowly bringing him to the dark side. First, cheese pizza and now this delicious pumpkin pie, which has cream cheese in it.

When my family asked where I got this recipe from and I said Paula Deen, they all said, "BUTTER!". Yes, Paula Deen uses butter in everything but but but there's not a ton of butter in this one. I promise.
Other pumpkin pie recipes use heavy cream, so really, this one is kinda sorta maybe healthy? Who cares about healthy on Thanksgiving, right? 

Pumpkin Pie

Recipe cred Paula Deen

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups canned pumpkin, mashed
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks, slightly beaten
1 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, optional
1 piece pre-made pie dough
Whipped cream, for topping

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place 1 piece of pre-made pie dough down into a (9-inch) pie pan and press down along the bottom and all sides. Pinch and crimp the edges together to make a pretty pattern. Put the pie shell back into the freezer for 1 hour to firm up. Fit a piece of aluminum foil to cover the inside of the shell completely. Fill the shell up to the edges with pie weights or dried beans (about 2 pounds) and place it in the oven. Bake for 10 minutes, remove the foil and pie weights and bake for another 10 minutes or until the crust is dried out and beginning to color.

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the pumpkin and beat until combined. Add the sugar and salt, and beat until combined. Add the eggs mixed with the yolks, half-and-half, and melted butter, and beat until combined. Finally, add the vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, if using, and beat until incorporated.

Pour the filling into the warm prepared pie crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the center is set. Place the pie on a wire rack and cool to room temperature. Cut into slices and top each piece with a generous amount of whipped cream.

Julia's Notes: This recipe really makes 2 pies. I read through the reviews before making this and they all said they had so much batter leftover. Good thing I prepared 2 pie crusts because that part takes the longest. I really appreciated the flakiness of the crust and I attribute it to baking the crust first. I didn't follow the video because it doesn't follow the recipe!