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I never thought I’d see the day that I would change the way I cook.  I remember saying for years, “I just learned how to cook and bake all these great recipes.  Why would I want to change that and learn a whole new way to cook?”  I mean really – substituting apple sauce for oil to keep a baked goods moist?  I used butter!  Silly thing is, now they’ve decided all the oils are bad for you and to go back to using… real butter!

Of course, that was way back when I wasn’t thinking about longevity, living in a healthy manner, or finding out that most of the food on the shelves is bad for you!  People are discovering that the chemicals are the reason we have so many health problems.  Imagine that.

It started out as a very simple thing – hubby decided to cut out excess sugar in his life.  We had already worked on cutting out refined white sugar and white flour products (*sigh* good bye hot rolls).  But once we discovered SUGAR in our diet-mandated MEAL REPLACEMENT DRINK, we decided to make a little change.  It was such an innocent thought and desire.  Who knew it was going to turn into a major life overhaul??

trying to find a box of cereal that didn’t have sugar added to it became a huge chore.  I stood in the cereal aisle of my local grocery store and began reading the back of cereal boxes… well at least the ones I ASSUMED were healthy and wouldn’t have added sugar.

Turns out even those who claim to have no added sugar were not telling the truth.  Oh, they didn’t have the word “sugar” in their ingredient list.  Nope.  They went for words like brown rice syrup, barley malt, buttered or cane syrup, cane-juice crystals, or corn syrup/solids – and that’s just the words you understand and can pronounce.  How about dextran, dextrose, diatase, diastatic malt, ethyl maltol, fructose, glucose, lactose, maltodextrin, maltose, mannitol, or sorbitol??

Turns out there are only two cereals on the market without added sugar – shredded wheat and rolled or steel cut oatmeal.  No, sorry, instant oatmeal with brown sugar does not count!  Also turns out that a lot of people who say “HEY, we’re healthy! We search the world for healthy foods so you can trust us” are not quite telling the truth!

You would be astounded at what products have added sugar.  Some were obvious – BBQ sauce – and some were surprises - shredded coconut.

So we went from sugar to “hey, if we can’t pronounce it, why are we eating it?”  We began eating “live” foods – fresh vegies and fruits.  No more canned vegies.  We switched to any frozen brand that didn’t have additives (Green Giant).  Well except for green beans.  There is no good flavored frozen green bean.  They are just nasty.  My opinion, for sure!!

We went to our local food processing store – i.e., fresh meat without additives.  WOW what a shock that was to my taste buds – it tastes so much differently.  Of course the other SHOCK was the sticker price on some foods - $13 for a organic chicken anyone?  Over $3 for organic eggs?

MAN.  To think I could have changed all this stuff years ago but I didn’t want to change the way I cooked.  I thought it would be too much hassle and ruin perfectly good foods - green beans with bacon bits and bacon bits anyone?

Funny thing is, we have both discovered how amazing food tastes when your taste buds are not coated in chemicals.  Some things taste wonderful – like those fresh tomatoes right out of the garden.  Other things have been ruined for us, forever, like all that fried food we used to eat at the local catfish house.  We WANTED it to taste good – it just didn’t.  And we both woke up the next day feeling hung over – most likely from excessive carb overload!  Or Chinese food – waaaay too sweet, now.

But we feel WONDERFUL!  We look better and we have less health problems – like joint aches and pains (gone), skin eruptions (gone), dry skin and hair (gone), waking up with runny nose, congestion, headache (gone) – the list is long!

So call me a health nut – really – go ahead!  I am proud to be a health nut ‘cause you know what?  I’m going to live a long, long time and be healthy at it!

JOY is feeling GREAT!

I am 100 percent patriotic. I am one of those people who want to rip bumper stickers off cars that knock America, US soldiers, our president, and anything anti-American.   I put my hand over my heart when the national anthem is playing.  And I cry at the link below reminding us why it is important to pray for and support our troops.

This little video is heartwarming and thought provoking. SOLDIER’S VIDEO.  If you have trouble, just go to my Honor page at www.joy-cafe.com and view the video there.

I served my country in the US Air Force for four years. I was there when protesters treated returning Vietnam Vets with disdain and unbelievable rudeness. My father was US Army. I am an Army brat who was raised in 2 foreign countries and 6 US states.  I had so many addresses by the time I was 19, I had to ask my mom for a list for some job I was applying for that required major security clearance.

I recently learned of a wonderful website, Soldiers’ Angels. Their motto is “May No Soldier Go Unloved.”  At present, there are 44 soldiers awaiting “adoption” and I encourage you to adopt one.  It’s inexpensive and easy to do. They have several programs you can join from sending letters and packages to being part of a team that does so or supporting the families.

It requires a very little amount of your time and money to support our troops and their families in a very REAL way.  Go to http://soldiersangels.org/ and check it out.  I guarantee that you won’t regret it.

The war may not be in the news as much as it was but the soldiers are still over there protecting freedom and keeping evil at bay. Please consider supporting a soldier today.

JOY is all the freedom we enjoy here in America. I think we sometimes forget that there are people who don’t have any rights - those very rights we take for granted. Men and women can pretty much become anything they aspire to be - politicians, business people and owners, mothers, students, free. In some places in the world, a woman can’t even show skin (like an ankle or wrist) without dire consequences.

We whine about gas prices, grocery prices, SUV’s, weather, America, neighbors, and voting (yet we have the right to vote).  While they may be viable concerns, we have forgotten to be grateful. We have become a spoiled-brat nation.

Next month, we celebrate our independence. Many people don’t even know what this means. Take some time between now and July 4th to understand the freedom we enjoy in the United States of America. Be grateful. Express your gratitude.

I love America and being American. I love living in America and all that implies. We are a blessed nation even if we forget it sometimes.

When I was in my teens, I always thought I’d live this grand, huge, bigger-than-life life; one full of adventure, thrills, and amazing romance.  I wanted to travel again.  Being an army brat, we moved every 1-2 years since I was born until my sophomore year in high school.  I didn’t like living in one place very long – I wanted to explore!  I wanted to try different careers.  I wanted to go anywhere I wanted to at the drop of a hat.  I wanted to LIVE BIG.

I managed to live BIG (in my eyes) until the day I became a single parent at 28.  My world became a little narrower then.  At first, before he was born, I thought, “Well, I’ll get my real life back when he’s 18 and leaves home.”  I wasn’t thinking with any reality-based information, that’s for sure.  Then while pregnant, came that first time when he kicked.  And I knew.   The awe of that moment changed everything and I knew I was getting ready to experience something I could never have imagined until it became reality.

When I met my son in person, there was nothing else to see from that point on.  My world narrowed down so pinpoint small, there was only the wonder of this baby.  There was no more desire to live the way I used to.  I discovered that this narrow little world was an amazing and wonderful place to live.  I would have missed a true miracle if I had not sidetracked into this world.   Just the marvel of this little being discovering everything fresh and new in his world, and being able to look through his eyes at it, is something I will forever be grateful to God for.  Well, maybe not the spiders and bugs part.  But still.

After awhile, we expanded our world a little by meeting and marrying a knight in shining armor.  That changed the entire family dynamic in our little world.  It developed into fresh learning experiences and new joys.  Watching as a child adapted to his heart’s desire – a daddy – was another time in my life’s history I will thank God for forever.

Soon, life changed as the child grew up, graduated, moved out, and developed his own life of living BIG.  My world expanded a little more with newer freedoms and a new privacy with a knight I’d never truly been alone with until then.  Life was even better.

Then my mom had a stroke in 1999.  Then my dad died in 2004.  As time passed by, my world became narrower and narrower.  Mom became even more dependent on me and soon incapable of living without a bit of help.

I live in a very small world now.  This world consists of a small town, a small job, a small circle of friends, and a small life.  Every decision I make has to be worked out with my mom in mind.  Vacation?  Make sure she has someone available to help her.  Go to town?  Make sure she doesn’t need anything from the grocery store.  Bills?  Write them out so she can sign the checks.  On and on and on.  There are no decisions that don’t need to factor in my mom.

But you know what?  First of all, I’m grateful I have learned to develop a different relationship with mom.  It may not be the same one we used to have, but I enjoy her and treasure the time we have together since I know that this time is coming to an end someday soon.  Each day is valuable and precious, even if there are times of frustration.  She adapted to living without dad and I adapted to living with a mom who is no longer that strong, independent woman she was.

But second of all, that same amazing and life altering first thing that changed my so-called BIG life, becoming a single parent, is now helping me enjoy my so-called smaller life.  Because of his relationship with his gram, that son helps me with her in ways too innumerable to go into.  They have developed their own special world where he is not only grandson, he is taxi driver, house cleaner, gardener, bill payer, lawn care pro, and chief cook and bottle washer.

I have this huge life, really.  It may look small to the outside world, but my life is amazing.  I have the love of my best friend and knight in shining armor, Leland.  I have a few true friends and I have Josh.  Josh, the child I could not imagine a life without.  Josh, who champions his gram like a person developing his own knightly character.

Because of the love of a child for his gram, I have seen a love that is indescribable.  It is pure and it is real.  It is protective and it is hard working.  I am so proud of him.

How could it have been a BIG life if I had never experienced and seen true unconditional love?

Live every day joyously.  No matter how big or how little you think your world is, it is important to celebrate where you are, right now.  CELEBRATE YOUR LIFE!