6 Person Inflatable Floating Island

This looks FUN!

Tropical Tahiti Inflatable Floating Island 6-Person Capacity

Cinnamon Apple Cider Detox Drink

I found this post has suddenly been getting a lot of views lately, so I decided to repost it and bring it up to the forefront.  It's coming into Spring, not Fall, obviously, and this is also a time when I start hitting the trail and really getting into outdoor cardio exercise. This drink really is fabulous! I've also added a little Peach Schnapps for a fun drink now and then!

[original post: August 24, 2013]

Since I've been trying to get healthier and lose more weight before my surgery, I've been perusing Pinterest a lot searching for good low cal or no cal detox drinks.  I found a Pin for a Zero Calorie Detox drink that called for slicing an apple then adding a cinnamon stick to water and putting it in the refrigerator at least over night.  It didn't seem like that method would release a whole lot of flavor, or nutrients, from either source, so I devised my own method and created my own drink. 

Not only did this make my whole apartment smell absolutely heavenly, but it turned out amazingly delicious!  It's a great drink for any time of year, but even more special now that Fall is right around the corner.  If you like apple cider, or apple juice, you're going to love this.  It actually kind of tastes like a McDonalds Apple Pie in a glass!  (without all the fat and calories, of course!)

Ingredients:

1 Apple (any choice - I used a Fuji Apple)

1 Large Whole Cinnamon Stick

1 Tablespoon Unsulphured Molasses

1/4 - 1/2 cup Raw Unfiltered Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

Stevia Sweetener to taste (the kind for baking)

I sliced and peeled my apple. Then in a medium sized saucepan I added about 4 -5 cups of water, the cinnamon stick, and molasses.  Bring the water to a boil and boil for just a minute or two, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover and let simmer for at least an hour. You really want the apples to release their goodness.

After it's done simmering and you've allowed it to cool, strain the liquid into a pitcher and refrigerate overnight (this process might not be necessary, but it just happened I made this at night, so that's what I did). The next morning I added the apple cider vinegar and about 3 tablespoons of Stevia sweetener (the kind that measures just like sugar).

Pour over ice and enjoy! I drink a glass every morning!

If you try this and want to tell me how it turned out, feel free to comment or email me.  I'd be happy to know someone else enjoys it as much as me.  The reason for the apple cider vinegar is that I've read it's excellent for aiding in weight loss and reducing belly fat, so I figured this would be a great way to sneak it into my diet.  I'm sure it adds the lovely cider flavor to this drink as well.

Never Give Up

Spring Fever

Pain had to take a backseat today as I took to the trail and got some much needed exercise. Although only 45 degrees outside and pretty wet, it was a very beautiful ride with a great friend. By the end we both just felt alive. Breathing in that cold, crisp air really gives a person a nice boost of energy and just makes you feel clean and refreshed.

We are excited for more upcoming rides just like today. I appreciate the company and the distraction from my misery, and the exercise helps me to feel somewhat human again.

Dial-A-Douche

THIS is what I deal with on a minute-to-minute basis, every single day.

The irony of it is the fact this is a wheelchair accessible, dial-a-ride van for those with limited abilities or the inability to drive.  There are stickers on both sides of the van asking for courteous parking, to not park too close to the doors, to leave room for a wheelchair to get in and out.  Yet, she is parked taking up two handicapped spots, one of which is mine, and I am in a wheelchair. If I was to park in the spot on the left (which is near the roadway) then I'm infringing on the van's ability to get a passenger in or out -- so...  

First of all, people, parking on ANY hash marks is illegal, ESPECIALLY the blue ones that signify handicapped spaces!  For those of you who don't know what hash marks are, they are the diagonal lines next to a parking spot, or anything, to signal you to NOT park there - or drive there in some cases.  This person, who should know the rules, is clearly parked on them.

This is the second time today this has happened to me, and I've had it up to my eyeballs with this shit. At my doctor's office, an elderly woman parked three inches from my driver's door leaving me no room to get out even if I could walk, and I have to have my door all the way open to be able to get my chair out.  So, I had to move my car over onto the hash marks to make room for MYSELF.

I have been dealing with this inconsiderate shit for nearly 20 years now and I'm done being nice and just letting it go.  I'm going to start calling every single person out so that maybe someday these idiots will be educated enough to have a little courtesy for people who's lives are hard enough the way it is without having to be more inconvenienced and ignored.  I'm done.  This means war.

Determination

Quote Of The Day

"You have to be completely consumed with your outward appearance to look in a mirror and not see the terrible person within"

Healing More Than Just My Body Once Again

This will be the second time in my life that I'm struggling with both a broken body, and a broken heart. They say God only gives us what we can handle, but sometimes I think He has a lot more faith in me than He should.

Apparently it's not enough to be struggling with the physical torture of a body that's constantly racked with pain and tight and twisted up, but I also have to tend to an aching heart. There truly are days when I feel like I just can't go on, but I have to believe I'm strong enough to do this once again.

The hardest part of the broken heart is knowing the awful person who broke it never deserved to have it in the first place. I wasted all of that effort and love on a person who threw me away like yesterday's trash. I think that's what hurts the most. It makes you feel stupid for not seeing the truth. For wasting all that time trying to show someone they are loved, when they never wanted your love, or deserved it. Trying to help a person who proclaimed to have been so hurt by someone before; to show them that not everyone is mean and cruel, only to become the victim of their cruelty. To lift someone up and try to show them a better life, only to have them shit all over you once they have gotten what they needed. I just can't understand it and never will. I guess because I would never do that to another person, but it always gets done to me.

It seems like whenever I get physically hurt and incapable of giving in my usual manner, people leave. It's always the people I love the most. So, I guess the problem lies within myself. I give my love away too easily. I think I see someone who's been broken like me, and I want to make them feel better no matter what it takes. I know the terrible pain that comes after someone destroys your heart (like now), and I go out of my way to try to mend it for them. I know this is a good quality and I will never feel sorrow or regret for being good. I actually feel sorry for those who took so much from me with such little regard, because in the end it is they who have lost the most.