Cantaloupe Carrot Smoothie

Cantaloupe Carrot Smoothie
2 whole Cantaloupes (fresh)
2 cups of Aloe Juice
*Blend until smooth. (will be very thin)
2 cups of Carrots (steamed and cooled)
1 cup Sweet Potato/ Yam (cooked and steamed)
1 whole Banana (frozen)
*Blend until smooth. (will be very thick) Empty half this smoothie into a large pitcher that can be air tight when closed. Now into the half left in your blender add the following:
2 cups Peaches (fresh frozen)
1 cup Greek Yogurt (original)
1 cup Apple Sauce (unsweetened organic)
3 tbsp Flax Seed (organic ground)
2 scoops Chia Seeds (organic)
1/2 Banana (frozen)
*Blend until smooth and mixed well. Once you have blended this amount (which should be roughly 9 cups of smoothie) add it to the pitcher of the other smoothie. You'll notice that the saved smoothie will be carrot/ yam orange, and that this fuller mixture will be much lighter in color. Once you pour all the smoothie into the pitcher, stir it well with a long wooden spoon (or whatever you want to stir it with). The color will become a beautiful Cantaloupe orange color and taste amazing! This will be a very thick smoothie. As long as it is in an air tight container it will last 5-7 days before needing to be thrown out. However, if you freeze fresh smoothie that is another way to make large batches like this to stay fresh longer. This will make 14cups roughly of smoothie.

The Pounamu Prophecy Book Review

Have you ever discovered that life wasn't all that you thought it would be? Have you ever noticed that things seem to stay the same? Have you ever experienced that nothing good or bad seems to really faze your routine, your stamina, or your work ethic? Have you ever just stopped to think, to wonder, to try something new?

The Pounamu Prophecy is a book that not only captures your mind with the force of rushing river water; but it releases your soul and provides freedom to think. It follows the lives of 3 people; in which each person is faced with life crunching challenges, soul quenching agony, and mind blowing opportunities to see truth. Meet Mere a wonderful native of the Ngati Whatua tribe of Auckland, we get to experience her childhood memories of watching her village burn to the ground, of the government lie and break promises throughout her whole age of growing. We get to see what it took for this mighty Tribe to stay strong, and hope on.

What if your perspective on things changed when your raft you've been using to float through life suddenly rammed into giant boulders? What if your whole life turned upside down because the creek bed you have always been flowing down has suddenly dropped out into a waterfall? What if you were given the chance to make things change for the better? Would you? What if you were brought into the path of an enemy what would you do?

The Pounamu Prophecy is a book that clutches at the feelings within your soul, feelings you might not have known you would experience. It snatches and clings to the brightest thoughts within your mind like a thorny barb, which can become somewhat painful. This book follows the life that Helen and James have built for 5 years as a married couple. We are invited into intimate closeness to their inner struggles, their lack of communication as a couple, and their lack of vibrancy together.

I am loving this book. I will treasure it for a long time. I love Aussie Authors, of the handful that I have had the privilege of reading their works, their imagery, their passion, and their detailed fluency is impeccable. As a reader, I was drawn into the land, into the country, into the daily lives of these 3 very human, very weak and beautiful people's lives like they were friends I have known for a long time. I cried when they cried, I was frustrated when they were, I wanted to slap them across their faces and give them a good shake (because I felt like I could as a friend) at their stupidity and lack of hope, faith, and belief. That is how well written this wonderful little book is. 

I want to quote the best part of the book: "No race is better than another; we are all human, capable of great evil and great good." pg. 186. You will see how hope breaks down barriers, how love transcends weakness and sin, and how truth and forgiveness are keys to a happy life. I highly recommend this book!

*To comply with the FTC regulations, I am clearly stating that I did receive a complimentary copy of this book through BookCrash in exchange for an honest, non biased review, to be posted on 2 different sites.

Beet Raspberry Smoothie

Beet Raspberry Smoothie
2 Celery Sticks (frozen)
1/2 cup Cucumber (fresh, peeled)
1/2 cup Spinach (fresh frozen)
1 whole banana (not frozen)
8 oz Aloe Juice (cold)
*Blend until smooth. Will be a thin light green color smoothie base.
1/2 cup Raspberries (fresh frozen)
1/2 cup Beets (steamed, peeled, cooled)
(DO NOT USE PICKLED BEETS!!!)
*Blend until smooth. Enjoy this cool refreshing beet red (or fuchsia colored) smoothie. This is a thin smoothie and it will separate so stir it if you let it sit more than a day. This makes 24oz, so 2 servings!

The Astronaut Wives Club Book Review

This is a very interesting topic to me, as I grew up in Houston Texas and was able to go visit the Houston Space center many times. I have very fond memories of going there, being able to experience zero gravity, seeing astronauts practice working in suits in a very large pool, and taking pictures with my family by many of the rockets on display.

I love books, movies, and documentaries that give an inside view point to a very historic event or program. This helped peak my interest since this book contains actual biographies of many intimate parts of the lives of the women who stood behind the men who became the USA's first Astronauts.

What I learned: I didn't know the history behind the Astronauts themselves. I didn't know what their history was, what training they had before becoming Astronauts. I learned more about why the Space Race was so important to the United States, I learned about the fame and glam of being apart of NASA when it was new.

What I want to know now: I would love to learn about the Russian view of their own Space program and Space Race. I'd love to learn about their failures, their successes as well. How did that country's treatment of their Astronauts and those families compare to how the US treated their own Astronauts. At the very end of the book, you can read about what some of the wives did after the Space Race was over, after their man was done with NASA. I would love to hear from the children of the Astronauts what they knew, how they felt, and what they experienced during that period of them growing up.

Dynamics of the book: I loved the images spread throughout the book showing the women the book was written about. I loved the quirky little details that were put into each woman's character. The small things: like what color dress they wanted, how they felt about their husband, and even how many kids they had; those little thing are what make them seem more human, more life like, rather than just another celebrity. Reading about how bold, and rude, and pretentious many of the press personnel, many of the paparazzi, and even many of the NASA officials treated these poor devoted women was eye opening and really tore at my heart for them. I was surprised at how different each group of Astronaut wives were, in the sense of how they took this lime light role, how they responded to each other's aid, and how they interacted with each other. I guess I just didn't realize how important competition was for the Astronauts and their wives and their families. What was just terrible in my mind was the fact that these men who had wonderful families and sweet wives who loved them, couldn't keep their marriage vows. There were so many husbands who committed adultery like it was nothing, and no one cared to help the wives deal with this horrible deed. That broke my heart.

Who did I relate to the most: I loved Annie the most, she seemed so sweet and honest. I loved that she had a stutter, and then eventually was able to over come that mortal weakness. I loved Betty's forward thinking, and her spunk. Harriet is a true hero, sticking up for her rights, being true to her kids, and living an amazing life after her divorce.

The Astronaut's Wives Club: was actually really disappointing to me. I would have thought they would have been more honest, and down to Earth with each other since they were all going through the same thing together. I would have loved to confide in someone who knew how I felt, what I was going through, and know that I could trust that shoulder when I needed a cry. I understand the need for appearing brave all the time, but keeping emotions, and fears bottled up inside because its taboo to reveal how you really feel is just an awful way to live. I can't believe those women felt that is how they had to live and act in such a special group.