Random Thoughts by Pina

So one thing I needed to conquer in my quest to go organic was cooking with whole chickens. The money you save by buying whole chickens is amazing...and costco is the cheapest place to get them but the thought of tackling a whole chicken is frightening! The first time I tried cooking a whole chicken, I roasted it for about 1 1/2 hours...it didnt cook all the way through. Which is ok because I was planning on using the meat for various dishes, like enchiladas, tacos, stir fry, etc. Today I decided to cook it in the crock pot. I put a layer of onions and garlic on the bottom of the crock pot and I covered the chicken in montreal steak seasoning (no MSG...YAY!!!). I let it cook on low for about 6 1/2 hours. After 4 hours I threw in some organic orange carrots from trader joe's and some organic purple carrots and organic red potatoes from the farmers market. Seriously...buying from the farmer's market makes me feel so good! I love supporting the farmers and I love buying local prod...

So, when I got a gym membership about 10 months ago I agreed with my husband that I should be working out about 3 times a week to make my gym membership financially worth it. I was doing really good until about 2 months ago. I think that finals, along with getting a new job, new schedule, and my own laziness has really got in the way. Lately I have been lucky if I make it to the gym 2 times a week... The interesting thing is that I am finally at a place in my life where I am comfortable in my own skin. I have learned to finally embrace the way God made me and realize that no matter what my outer appearance looks like the true beauty comes from a heart after God. I have comes to terms with what a real woman looks like. Not the woman on the cover of Cosmo, not the woman in any victoria secret catalogue. Those women are beautiful...but they are fake. They have no ounce of cellulite, they NEVER have stretch marks, their skin is perfectly smooth. A real woman, no matter how physically fit t...

So...I realized that I tend to not post until I have a big long blog about something that I feel is a huge issue or whatever. I am going to try and post more often just about my daily life along with the big important (to me) posts :) So, I finished my 3rd semester of nursing school. It was difficult in different ways. Instead of being really academically challenging the hardships came in the form of bad communication between teachers, and just not really knowing what to do. I felt as if this semester they just kind of threw us out in the hospital practically on our own and didnt really explain what was expected of us. Somehow I floundered my way through it and my patients recieved the care they needed...I just felt like I needed to take some ativan before every shift :) Anyways, I have been working as a CNA now for about a month at a home health agency. At first I really hated it, but I have started to see some benefits from me working there. It has helped to be more thorough with my ...

Why is our country obsessed with looking perfect? Why do we go to such great lengths to hang on to our youthful appearance? Why is looking "old" not considered attractive? Why do women want to surgically remove any evidence that they ever were pregnant? Beth Moore states, " Today’s women face unrealistic expectations, and then we’re bombarded with unrealistic images every day, making us more and more insecure. We’re insecure about everything from our looks to our worth as women, from our relationships to our futures, and everythingelse in between. You name it, and we’re probably insecure about it." http://www.solonginsecurity.com/ These questions have been troubling me for some time now. I dont know how many times I have heard people around me saying that they cant wait until they are done having babies so they can "fix" their bodies. I usually tell jokes and try to make it seem funny but I am really heart broken on the inside. Where did this obsession wi...

ok....so I am really excited about this. I am eating it right now and it is amazing. I think I will call it...Mexican Inspired Tangy Beefy Thing. Ok so the ingredients are... -21/2 cups of green salsa (costco is selling an amazing green salsa right now, really flavorful and cheap) -1 cup brown rice -Some cut of beef...probably half a pound... -1/3 of a block of cream cheese -Chile powder -Lemon pepper -A little bit of onion -Some frozen peas 1. Start off by cooking your brown rice. It takes about 40 minutes to cook and the rest of the meal is really quick. Pour 1 cup of water mixed with 2 cups of the green salsa into a pot, add rice and bring to a boil, add about 1/2 cup of frozen peas. Once it is boiling evenly put the lid on and turn the heat on low and let it simmer for about 40 minutes. 2. Watch part of an episode of Parenthood, cry, laugh...long for children...oh wait, that is optional :) Just basically wait until you have about 20 minutes left for the rice or not...I dont really ...

I decided to be like Laurie and post a recipe. I love to cook, especially after a long day. It is therapeutic for me. I also try to stay away from SAD (standard American diet). SAD causes issues with your body...and I am not just talking about digestive issues either! Anyways, today I made a yummy couscous dish and I decided to share it. If you haven't had couscous yet, go to Trader Joe's and buy the whole wheat couscous. It is good, and cheap. BTW, when I first made couscous for my husband he didn't like the texture, he said it felt like fish eggs...I continue to make it and he seems to have gotten over the texture. So here it goes...my first recipe blog...someday I will get really fancy and post pictures...but I am not quite ready for that! Ingredients 2 chicken breasts cut into teeny tiny pieces(optional, this would be perfectly fine without meat, however I am married to a man who thinks he needs meet or he will waste away) 1 zucchini also cut into teeny tiny piece...

This semester has been hard. We are tired...of school, of studying, of always having more school work to do, of not having any time together...and much more. I feel like our marriage has been strong though. We have been weary and procrastinating. I just feel like I have been in school for so long! The good news is I got a new journal which always helps me to get in the word more. I have had quite a few journals over the years. They are all usually half complete because whenever I feel as though I am entering a new season in life I start a new journal. We received a gift card to a wonderful restaurant for Christmas so I decided to bring my camera and document one of the very rare date nights we had. It was so fun and relaxing and we had great fellowship. I embarrassed my husband by taking pictures of our food and stuff, however I don't care. Let me just say that this salad was by far the best meal I have ever eaten at a restaurant. At first I was a little skeptical, I believe ...

I am so glad that people who are better writers than me such as, Paul, Laurie, and Aaron are writing against the Pearls and their "ministry." I often just feel like what I want to say sounds great in my head but I cant get the words to paper. Anyways, Paul and Laurie are quoted in a great article from salon.com. Here is the link. http://www.salon.com/life/feature/2010/02/22/no_greater_joy/index.html There are also links to Paul and Laurie's blogs on my right side bar. Go, read, and speak out if you can. Friends...this cannot not go on. No more kids should be killed while receiving "christian chastisment."

Ok...I realize that to most people this is a no big deal thing however, it made me feel like a super wife. I, Pina Marie, unclogged the toilet!!! So, here is some personal background. I come from a family with amazing men. My father took out the trash, fixed everything on the cars (even checked the oil for me) and ALWAYS unclogged the toilet. If there was a clog and my dad was not home, no problem! Just close the lid and use the master bathroom until my dad came home from work and give the gross task to him after a long day of working at a job he disliked to provide for us. He is the dad, that is what they do right? So, when I moved out of my parents house, before I got married, I took it upon myself to take out the trash and check the oil on my car...but I have never used a plunger. Today, my usual friday babysitting gig was canceled so I am home all day. And the toilet was clogged. My first instinct to close the toilet, and wait until my hard working, stayed up all night last night s...

If you know me well, you know that I am obsessed with birth. If you sit down and talk to me for longer than 10 minutes you will hear more than you ever wanted to know about birth, home birth, midwifery...and the list goes on. Seriously, sometimes I embarrass myself. I will find myself talking about different kinds of birthing positions that will prevent tearing or an episiotomy with men...single men from church... I have a problem. The only way I can cure it is to actually become a midwife. Which is my ultimate dream, besides being a mother of course. Anyways, I thought this article was interesting. It is from a midwifery newsletter that I get every month. It is about the risks of prenatal ultrasounds. Enjoy! "One challenge that ultrasound operators face is keeping the transducer positioned over the part of the fetus the operator is trying to visualize. When fetuses move away from the stream of high-frequency sound waves, they may be feeling vibrations, heat or both. As the FDA wa...

Here is a link to the local news here. They have linked the murder with the Pearl's web site. I am so heart broken by this situation. http://www.khsltv.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=10755@khsl.dayport.com

I just wanted to say that I feel like I was a bit harsh in my last post. I dont want to impart judgment upon people for using the methods of the Pearls. I just am so rocked by the recent tragedy in our town that I cant help but express my opinion in this manner. I just wanted to clarify that.

I am not a parent so I obviously don't know as much as some. However, I do believe I have a little more experience with kids than most people I know who are my age without kids. I have been babysitting for a long time now. About 12 years to be exact. I have witnessed families with incredible parenting, horrible parenting, alternative parenting, and really strange parenting. I have realized that it really doesn't matter what form of discipline or training you use. Consistency is the key. I was once given a copy of the book, "To train up a child," by Micheal and Debbi pearl. I was about 19 years old when I started reading this book and to be honest I had to put it down after the first chapter. I was sickened. They start out by comparing children to military personal. Here is a passage from the first chapter. " When headstrong young men join the military, they are first taught to stand still. The many hours of close-order-drill are simply to teach and reinforce su...

I am not pregnant but I have been finding myself nesting in preparation for this next semester. I feel like I need to have my cabinets and fridge cleaned out before I can start. Recently Sean and I decided to clean our our closets and get rid of some stuff. We were watching the t.v. show "hoarders" at the same time and it really helped! I found myself holding a purse that used to be my grandma's that I will probably never use. It is huge and takes up alot of room, compared to my other purses. I was telling sean that I didnt want to get rid of it and as I was saying it the lady on the show was saying almost the exact same thing about a little trinket from her deceased mother. So I put the purse in the donate pile...and five minutes later retrieved. I am not ready yet :). I think it might have something to do with the fact that my grandma's husband passed away about a week ago. It made my grandma's passing (2 years ago) more real...more concrete, if that makes any s...