We are now coming to month number three since we moved here. I cannot believe how fast time flies! We are finally settled in to our new apartment and it is amazing! It has an indoor and outdoor pool, a steam room, hot tub, sauna, and mini gym downstairs, and we live on the top floor so we have a beautiful view of the mountains in the distance and a little bit of the ocean. It is great and we are very blessed!
Xavi´s team is struggling a little bit in the first part of the season, so that is a bummer, but he is playing well when the coach puts him on the court. I love watching their games and getting into it with the fans yelling in a foreign language a the other team. It puts a twist on everything. :) They play again tonight vs. Menorca who is ranked second in the league, so we shall se what happens. If anyone would ever like to follow the games, you can watch them live at www.febtv.com and look for CB Tarragona. That is thier team name.
I am keeping busy here between Spanish classes and doing all of the fun things that come with being a wife. :) We have a new little addition to our apartment, our cat, Drazen. He is now almost two years old, I cant believe it! He is loving it here with the terrace and he just sleeps in the sun all day long. It is nice to have him here on the away games I have to admit, so I don´t get so lonely.
On another note, As it is everywhere, the Swine Flu is circulating here. One of the players on the team got it, so now they are all freaking out. The coach made it mandatory for every player to get a flu shot on the team , and if they didnt they would get a huge fine. Isn´t that rediculous! Of course, me, being against flu vaccinations due to their potential detrimental effects wasn´t thrilled. Did you know that with every vaccination, one´s risk for alzheimer´s goes up ten times! It is due to the aluminum content in the fluid you are getting shoved into your system. It easily crosses the blood-brain barrier and causes what we commonly know today as Alzheimer´s Disease. I know Vaccines have been great for some things, I am just a bit scheptical. I would much rather learn how to make my body strong to fight off any infections naturally then to shove dead and alive poisons and viruses in my body. Here are some ways I have learned to help keep your body healthy (www.greensmoothiegirl.com):
Here are some interesting, simple, natural suggestions by Dr. Vinay Goyal, who has 20 years of clinical experience in hospitals:
1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications)
2. Hands-off-the-face approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face
3. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don’t trust salt). H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. Simple gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected one. Don’t underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.
4. Similar to 3 above, clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. Not everybody may be good at Jala Neti or Sutra Neti (very good Yoga asanas to clean nasal cavities), but blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population. [Robyn’s note: we have a neti pot that you can get at health food stores, and my kids use it for occasional head congestion without my telling them to, because it is so effective: use warm salt water.)
5. Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.
6. Drink as much of warm liquids (herbal tea, etc.) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.
So far this has worked for me, and I´m praying it will through the cold and flu season. If you get a chance, check out the website I got it from, very interesting articles if you like to read about how to keep your body most healthy.
Well, that is all for now, write again soon. We love and miss everyone!!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
New Friends and recipes
Hey guy
Well Xavi´s team got killed by FC Barcelona last night! haha...they had a preseason scrimmage against one of the best teams in Europe with steroidized giants from the NBA, and lets just say it was a David and Goliath match, but this time Goliath won.
On another note, I had a huge, ¨This is such a small world moment¨last week. I went to take my entrance exam for Spanish classes in Tarragona and Kelsie Vosper (a 2009 graduate from PLNU as well) happened to be taking the same test! She is living in Tarragona this year as well as an au pair. We actually lived in the same dorm freshman year of college and have many mutual friends, so crazy! We had our first lunch date in the city the other day and boy was it memorable. I left the house in shorts and a white short sleeve shirt because it was a beautiful day when I stepped on the bus. Well, when I got off the bus it was a different story. In about 2.5 seconds I was drenched from the rain. We met up and laughed our way walking through the thunder storm. By the time we got to the restaurant it looked like we had just gotten out of the ocean with our clothes on. I didnt think they were going to let us in, but that is the plus about being young American girls here, by the end of lunch they were offering us free lemonchello shots. haha..
Many of you ask me what I am doing with all of this free time... and I have had alot of time to well, do nothing. BUT, I have been able to find all of my favorite recipes online and cook and bake alot. This is one of Xavi´s favorites, and it turned out great! Thought I would share it with you guys...
Cappucino Cheesecake
4 c. chocolate cookies or cereal
6 tb. melted butter
2 tb. raw sugar
1 c. raw sugar
3 tb. whole wheat flour
32 oz. cream cheese
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 c espresso
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 bar dark chocolate
1. blend chocolate cookies or chocolate cereal in blender or food processor to create a powder.
2. Blend first 3 ingredients and press into greasted springform pan.
3. Bake crust at 350º for 10 min, then cool.
4. Beat 1 c. sugar, flour, and cream cheese until smooth
5. Add egg and whites, one at a time, beating between each.
6. Add espresso, vanilla, cinnamon and mix well
7. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust.
8. On very low heat, melt chocolate with a few teaspoons of oil.
9. Drizzle chocolate into cheesecake (you can make a design, a spiral, be creative)
10. Bake @ 450º for 10 min, then decrease to 250º and bake 1 hour.
11. Cool to room tempurature and chill for 8 hours in the fridge.
Hope you enjoy it! I think I will be posting alot of recipes on here, I love being creative and making things healthier. :) We love you guys!
Well Xavi´s team got killed by FC Barcelona last night! haha...they had a preseason scrimmage against one of the best teams in Europe with steroidized giants from the NBA, and lets just say it was a David and Goliath match, but this time Goliath won.
On another note, I had a huge, ¨This is such a small world moment¨last week. I went to take my entrance exam for Spanish classes in Tarragona and Kelsie Vosper (a 2009 graduate from PLNU as well) happened to be taking the same test! She is living in Tarragona this year as well as an au pair. We actually lived in the same dorm freshman year of college and have many mutual friends, so crazy! We had our first lunch date in the city the other day and boy was it memorable. I left the house in shorts and a white short sleeve shirt because it was a beautiful day when I stepped on the bus. Well, when I got off the bus it was a different story. In about 2.5 seconds I was drenched from the rain. We met up and laughed our way walking through the thunder storm. By the time we got to the restaurant it looked like we had just gotten out of the ocean with our clothes on. I didnt think they were going to let us in, but that is the plus about being young American girls here, by the end of lunch they were offering us free lemonchello shots. haha..
Many of you ask me what I am doing with all of this free time... and I have had alot of time to well, do nothing. BUT, I have been able to find all of my favorite recipes online and cook and bake alot. This is one of Xavi´s favorites, and it turned out great! Thought I would share it with you guys...
Cappucino Cheesecake
4 c. chocolate cookies or cereal
6 tb. melted butter
2 tb. raw sugar
1 c. raw sugar
3 tb. whole wheat flour
32 oz. cream cheese
2 large eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 c espresso
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 bar dark chocolate
1. blend chocolate cookies or chocolate cereal in blender or food processor to create a powder.
2. Blend first 3 ingredients and press into greasted springform pan.
3. Bake crust at 350º for 10 min, then cool.
4. Beat 1 c. sugar, flour, and cream cheese until smooth
5. Add egg and whites, one at a time, beating between each.
6. Add espresso, vanilla, cinnamon and mix well
7. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust.
8. On very low heat, melt chocolate with a few teaspoons of oil.
9. Drizzle chocolate into cheesecake (you can make a design, a spiral, be creative)
10. Bake @ 450º for 10 min, then decrease to 250º and bake 1 hour.
11. Cool to room tempurature and chill for 8 hours in the fridge.
Hope you enjoy it! I think I will be posting alot of recipes on here, I love being creative and making things healthier. :) We love you guys!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
The beginning
Hey everyone!!
We decided we should start one of these to keep you guys updated on our lives over here. First, we love and miss you all so much! Thank you for all of your prayers and support, we definately feel them.
So, we are here. Spain. We finally made it after these long past two years, we are here together, and it has been so awesome! We are now living just outside of Tarragona, Spain, in a place called Salou. The place we are living now is actually temporary. It is an apart-hotel, until our real apartment is ready for us, which we are praying will be very soon. We are only two minutes walking from the beach, we´ve got it pretty good! God has truly blessed us so much and we give Him all the glory!
The preseason has started for Xavi, and they have played 3 games in the Catalan tournament. They are 1-2 currently. I will keep you posted on the games and websites to follow if anyone wants. I have a good feeling about this season! :)
I (Jessica) will be starting my Spanish classes soon in Tarragona, and I am looking forward to that. As soon as I am fluent enough, I am going to start applying to hospitals and clinics here to work as an RN. I met a friend here, who is the girlfriend of one of Xavi´s teamates, and she is a nurse here and said once I learn Spanish it wont be a problem at all because of their desperate need for RN´s here. She is going to help me find the steps I need to start work, so that is awesome.
So as of right now, we are doing great, and loving the married life. Thank you for all of your prayers, we really appreciate it. Will write again soon. We love and miss you all! Come visit us soon!
We decided we should start one of these to keep you guys updated on our lives over here. First, we love and miss you all so much! Thank you for all of your prayers and support, we definately feel them.
So, we are here. Spain. We finally made it after these long past two years, we are here together, and it has been so awesome! We are now living just outside of Tarragona, Spain, in a place called Salou. The place we are living now is actually temporary. It is an apart-hotel, until our real apartment is ready for us, which we are praying will be very soon. We are only two minutes walking from the beach, we´ve got it pretty good! God has truly blessed us so much and we give Him all the glory!
The preseason has started for Xavi, and they have played 3 games in the Catalan tournament. They are 1-2 currently. I will keep you posted on the games and websites to follow if anyone wants. I have a good feeling about this season! :)
I (Jessica) will be starting my Spanish classes soon in Tarragona, and I am looking forward to that. As soon as I am fluent enough, I am going to start applying to hospitals and clinics here to work as an RN. I met a friend here, who is the girlfriend of one of Xavi´s teamates, and she is a nurse here and said once I learn Spanish it wont be a problem at all because of their desperate need for RN´s here. She is going to help me find the steps I need to start work, so that is awesome.
So as of right now, we are doing great, and loving the married life. Thank you for all of your prayers, we really appreciate it. Will write again soon. We love and miss you all! Come visit us soon!
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