MEXICO PART II

INCASE OF A HURRICANE DO THE ABOVE!


THE HOTEL WE SPLURGED ON ACTUALLY HAD A VIEW!


FRESH CORN TORTILLAS!


CHITZEN ITZA RUINS


EARLY MORNING SWIM

ANN

Ann is classy like her Grandmother, Mary Deane and I'm sure her daughter, Mary Deane's name sake will be the same way! Ann and I have had some nice bonding time over the past few years. We've done crazy dances on her bed. Taken a river rafting trip together in Ecuador. Gone snowshoeing up Rock Canyon with our hubbies! Had babies, cried because of crazy hormones, and rejoiced over new life together! I have loved sharing and bonding over all these experiences and more, ANN! I love and miss you! Happy Birthday!

NUTRITION

My mother-in-law was telling me a story last night about a doctor she took her first child to (so this was over 35 years ago). The doctor told her that our diet has nothing to do with our health! How completely illogical! Well it led to a discussion on food, specifically grains. She talked about the importance of fermented grains or soaked grains. Today I found literature to back up what she told me last night. The following paragraph is quoted from NOURISHING TRADITIONS by Sally Fallon, a cookbook that challenges poliitcally correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats.

Scientist have learned that the proteins in grains, especially gluten, are very difficult to digest. A diet high in unfermented whole grains, particularly high-gluten grains like wheat, puts an enormous strain on the whole digestive mechanism. When this mechanism breaks down with age or overuse, the results take the form of allergies, celiac disease, mental illness, chronic indigestion and candida albicans overgrowth. Recent research links gluten intolerance with multiple sclerosis. During the process of soaking and fermenting, gluten and other difficult to digest proteins are partially broken down into simpler components that are more readily available for absorption.
Animals that nourish themselves primarily on grain and other plant matter have as many as four stomachs. Their intestines are longer as is the entire digestion transit time. Man, on the other hand, has but one stomach and a much shorter intestine compared to herbivorous animals. These feature of his anatomy allow him to pass animal products before they putrefy in the gut but make him less well adapted to a diet high in grains- unless, of course he lets the friendly bacteria of the microscopic world do some of his digesting for him in a container, just as these same lactobacilli do their work in the first and second stomachs of the herbivores.

So my first attempt to follow this nutritional advice is to make Irish Oatmeal.
Soak 1 cup irish oats for 7-24 hours in two cup of warm water with 4 Tablespoons of yogurt or buttermilk.
Bring an additional 1 1/2 cups of water and 1 t of salt to boil add soaked oats and cook over very low heat for 10 min.

In additional reading I've discovered that the bread recipes have you soak the flour! More recipes to follow.

MY MOM

YOU WISH THIS WOMAN WERE YOUR MOM HUH?
There is no one else I'd rather have as my mom. She's the one that knows when something is wrong, and more importantly she's the one who knows how to make things better. She is full of wisdom, wisdom that comes from being in tune with the spirit. I'm not the only one that recognizes her wisdom. I see many others going to her for advice and council. I'm thankful for her presence in my life! LOVE YOU, ASH.

MEXICO

Unfortunately our beach days were overcast and windy, but the stormy clouds made for dramatic pictures!


This was our retro 70's hotel room, with orange as the dominate color!


Eli was a good sport about touring on our backs!


"TWO"! We saw two of these "cenotes" or sinkholes, found all over the Yucatan Peninsula.


Eli was the main attraction! A lady at the bank came over and took him right out of my hands. These were Mayans in a small village that interrupted Eli's nursing.


One of our favorite parts was the mangrove swamp bird watching tour. We saw Osprey, pelican, flamingos, crocodiles, spoon-billed pelicans, storks, great blue herons, tiger herons, kingfishers, parrots, egrets, flycatchers and more!

Birthday Words

JORDAN blooms wear she is planted and she was been planted in quite a few places (California, New Mexico, Utah, Ireland, Massachusetts, Russia, Louisiana, Arizona, and North Carolina. Did I get them all Jordan?) Jordan adjusts well to life and welcomes it with open arms. But more importantly she has her arms open to those lives that come her way, whether they be the lives of friends, family or her little ones. People are drawn to Jordan because of her wisdom and ability to convey that wisdom in words. Words of advice, words of expression, poetic words, honest words. She is not one I would hesitate to go to for those words. I love you Jordan!

FRIENDS

GOOD TIMES WERE HAD LAST NIGHT MAKING HOMEMADE PIZZAS WITH MATT, HILLARY & PRIA! PRIA IS THREE MONTHS YOUNGER THEN ELI BUT COMPARABLE IN SIZE! I USE TO WORK WITH HILLARY, MATT WAS IN A COUPLE OF MY CLASSES AND THEN WE ENDED UP IN THE SAME WARD FOR A WHILE. I THINK WE WERE MEANT TO BE FRIENDS!

New Year=New Arrangement

I WAS ITCHING FOR A CHANGE SO SPONTANEOUSLY (WHILE BRIAN WAS HOME TO HELP MOVE THE FURNITURE) WE REARRANGED THINGS A BIT!