Final Assignment: Crafting an Effective Writer Topic #2

Nyselxcin-Okanagan Language

Crafting an Effective Writer Topic #2: Identify and describe a favourite activity or interest and provide at least 4 reasons why this activity or interest holds your attention and/or is enjoyable to you.

                               Nyselxcin is a language being revived from the brink of extinction, by the very dedicated language keepers of our valley. Our culture, language and traditional ways of the First Nations people are slowly being driven into extinction because of generational problems and racism. The traditional language keepers of many nations were ripped from homes and beaten into submission via the residential school system. The Nyselxcin language was illegal to use for the First Nations people. This explains why so many First Nations languages were drowned out never to be heard again. In my valley, we have dedicated, motivated and amazing men and women that work tiresly so individuals like me can hear, learn and speak the language of our people, and to gift on the traditions to future generations. These same language keepers are showcasing and illuminating respect for our people, for ourselves, for our culture, for our language, and for our traditions. I am proud to say that I am currently learning my traditional native language. I is a difficult and rewarding language that gives me the greatest joy to be sharing with my children. The spoken sounds and the written words are absolutely fascinating.  I am proud to say that I am learning from amazing elders in my community. To ensure generational, existence of our traditional language, we must first start with, a moment, a step and the spoken the word.
Way’ lim limt! Goodbye, Thank You!

Starting out with Trim Healthy Mama!

Trim Healthy Mama and a key to a new eating Life!

 

 

I first saw the advertisement for a biblically based eating "diet" in a subscription of Above Rubies Magazine. www.aboverubies.org  I saw it and it looked really exciting. I had just finished a course on Nutrition and Disease Prevention with www.coursera.org and was still on fire with all of the amazing things I had learned over the course of 6 weeks on the art and science of eating to prevent diseases (including diabetes and gestational)  so when I saw this one I immediately wanted to get it, even just for curiosity sake.  My dear hubby ordered it for me for our fifth anniversary gift and it was on its way up from the USA! I couldn't wait!

 

 

 

At my 27 week midwife check up I had to go in for my wonderful gestational diabetes blood work (yuck, annoying and icky) but it comes with the territory! Just after I took the test my book came in!

I was so excited. So we jumped in and started experimenting with all of the recipes. While I started to read the how to's and why not's ect.

 

I have to tell you that I am fully in love with how this book was written. Although, there is a lot of information at first, it is all relevant, much needed and excellent. It was even better than my nutrition course, because the book comes from a Godly, and biblical perspective that helps me so much in attaining and retaining more of the head knowledge, heart knowledge and will to want to succeed.

 

 

At 28 weeks, the results were in.....I was full blown gestational diebetic. At first this news was earth shaking. This pregnancy has been by far the best out of all of my pregnancies. At this point my total weight gain was 13lbs and I was feeling amazing. Although, I had to stop walking my 20 hours a week that I was. Turns out my body was starting to wind down as I started to get farther along. So I backed off to about 10 hours of walking (pushing a stroller and with my other two children as well). I do not drive so I walk! Which keeps my plus size figure.....well the same size but at least makes me feel better.

 

I have tried diets and new eating of all sorts. Last year, I lost 47lbs in less than 12 weeks, simply by adding 4 hours of gym time to my already large hours of walking and counting carbs, calories and stressing out! Which is why....although I maintained to only gain back 10lbs and keep it off I fell back to eating without a lot of the regime!

 

With THM, hope was revived and rekindled. God would be the driving force of encouragement and this eating makes sense. Its not about depriving but thriving. So, I believe it was Providence and in Hi perfect timing for this wonderful eating life!

 

For 8 days straight, I recorded my eating for the dietition, I peed on the stick every morning to test keytones and recorded it all! All eating THM. (Which by the way my dietitian is absolutely loving! Thinks its awesome, she looks through my book, recipes etc.and took down the website!).  And eating 7 small meals a day, each one with a protein of some sort and drinking no less than 2 litres of water per day!

 

To our utter dismay, I had to be placed on insulin. I lost 6 lbs and I was sent for more blood work.

 

Week 30-31 came with a slight raise in my insulin but other than that no weight loss and dietitian happy with progress and sticking to this amazing eating with luxurious and nutritious food!

 

We are now on week 32, somewhere along the way I managed to lose another 4 lbs...my shorts(that I wear for modesty sake under my skirts and dresses) are baggy in my legs and buttocks. My undergarments that have not fit since I entered the 2nd trimester fit comfortably and I feel amazing. My sugars are leveling out to where they need to be.

 

 

I have to say I am feeling so blessed with the new lifestyle changes and am confident to succeed even after our gorgeous little blessing is out and about!

 

Thank you Serene and Pearl, this has changed my life!

 

PS....For all the dear hubby's...

 

My hubby although, not following THM 100%, and not increased physical activity in any way has lost from my start at week 28, has now lost 12lbs and it is noticeable for me in his gorgeous physique. I love him always and no matter what, but the lbs are melting away!

Now he is excited. Now he is encouraged and now he is on board!

 

No my hubby is a eat outery holic. Loves Loves salty and savory high fatty snacks and foods. Through the past five weeks of experimentation with THM recipes he is feeling satisfied.

 

Keep on all you Trim Heathly Mama's!

Keep on all you Trim Healthy Manly Hubby's!

 

May you be blessed and bless Serene and Pearl's amazing book!

 

www.trimhealthymama.com

https://www.facebook.com/trimhealthymama

www.amazon.com

 



Learning How to Bead!

Beads Beads Beads!

 

I have always admired beaded work. Loved the beauty, the time, the patience and the love of the work that it takes for someone to make such an exquisite piece of art.

I am not a very good at hand sewing. I never have had that knack or ability. I have always simply longed to try but never had the opportunity!

 

A dear friend of mine, a talented force I tell you what! She has an amazing eye for detail and beauty. She is a mama of six and is simply amazing. A wonderful role model for us other mama's! She gifted me the opportunity to learn from her talented wisdom! And so begins my new love affair with the art of beading.

Begins!

 

 

For you see, this particular week I overdid some things. Being 31 weeks pregnant and a homeschooling mama of 3, I sometimes forget that I am supposed to take some rest. Life, is so wonderful and I love keeping busy. I have been blessed with my life and want to live each day to the fullest of the gift that God handed to me.......but I also must remember that, even God rested. So, my dear hubby "grounded" me to the couch and rest for the day. My friend invited me over and was explaining how relaxing, rewarding and productive beading is for me and I can put my feet up! So, naturally, I am all in!

 

 

 

 

Once I got started.....the love affair begin. I tell ya, if you have never had the opportunity to learn this is your day. I am absolutely in love with beading. The beauty of it. The effort. The serenity it is when beading. The fact that when you have completed for the most part you stare at it and just silently sit in awe..for I never knew I could ever accomplish anything like it!

 



 

 

Now you see, this is only my second time attempting this beading. The first time, was last year when I made my youngest daughter some moccassins. Oh that was hard. And it was on beautiful moose hide. Which, in itself I am in love with....but beading on it was quite a learning curve!

 

 

This was a whole different ball game. Its like, being just in sync. The calmness. The beauty. The elegance. I love it. Like I was meant to sit and bead. I don't know how else to describe it! It was serenity. This past week I was praying that God help me. So many different things that I was going through and thinking of and praying for.....and then He gave me this beautiful gift of an afternoon with a genuine friend. A friend that I had so much fun with. A friend that was nice to just sit and hang out. God gifted me this beautiful new desire to relax and work it through. As if beading and I were meant to be!

 

Sounds a little funny, I know but unless you try you may never know!

 

I pray that each of you find your serenity moment this week. That each of you are safe and loved and that you go through your week with joyfilled hearts!

 

Blessings to you and your family,

~Stacey Home Maker~

Crafting an Effective Writer: Week 2: Journal 2

https://class.coursera.org/basicwriting-002/lecture/5?s=e

 

This is the class for the Verbs and Adverbs!

 

Below is the class assignment:

Module 2 Writing Activity
In your journal, continue your list of nouns and adjectives by adding in five to ten verbs and adverbs. Then, write a couple of sentences using your list of nouns, adjective, verbs, and adverbs.

 

Below is my work:

 

School time with my children verbs:

 

1. will
2. do
3. giggled
4. laughed
5. talkative

 

School time with my children adverbs:

1. beautifully
2. slowly
3. quickly
4. loudly
5. often, soon, always

Sentences to follow:

 

1. In our dinning room you will find often my talkative daughters.
2. During our mornings you will most always find school books piled high a top of our table.
3. Our house is filled with high pitched laughter that beautifully rolls our of our windows each day.

 

Loving this course. Please go check out the many courses on:

www.coursera.org

Whats in a Language......Whats in my own.....Part 3

Good Afternoon, Photography courtesy of Shelly Boyd

 



 Good Afternoon,
Praying that today is filling your heart with joy and gratefulness that we are almost into the summer!

We left off with my failure of my first Nyselxcin class....and if you remember correctly I learned quite a bit from and it was the harder class to begin with! :)

In January, my eldest daughter and I began Nyselxcin Naqs which is the beginner course for our language. I loved this class. Now by no means was this class easier. LOL! This language has a lot of guttural sounds, clicking, even the way you breathe is a specific sound when that sound comes out.

I am telling you this was harder to learn than singing for me. The joy I received from learning our language is indescribable. I felt that I fit in, I was welcomed, I belonged and in time I could really be good at it.

At this point I am now feeling not the overwhelmed anxieties of who I was because a piece of my heritage was molding with in my heart. This class was being taught by a wonderful woman, whom believes that anyone wanting to learn should be encouraged and helped as much as you can. Both her and our elder teacher are the most amazing women. I have to say I have never met two woman work so hard for something, with such passion and strength and love. These two taught me so much about myself and about where I came from. The knowledge is priceless and I can never repay them for the price would be far to high. They are worth so much to me.

 

You see our language was going extinct and from the efforts of a few (but growing now) people they are growing, thriving and teaching. I am so proud of all of the hours or effort behind the scenes that go un noted, un documented. The Hours the amazing ppl put in writing proposals, record audio, writing booklets for our amazing children, songs, curriculum, stories......I know from personal experience how much they work. I have to say each one of them deserves a medal for how much they do!

This class we  as an entire class were able to get to lesson 10 before the time was up. And this class I passed!

By this time I was so blessed with many friends and family. I was blessed with my children learning this gorgeous language that comes from our heritage.

 

 

We learned greetings, numbers, food, family tree, and so much more. It made me want to become bilingual and teach my other children as well. So all that summer we practiced until even my 3 and 1 year old understood the words from the lessons 1-10 at least to hear and understand.

 

 

At this time I was trying to obtain my status.....because my parents were so young when I was born there were a lot of misunderstandings yuppers some arguments and what have you, so when I was little I did not receive my status.

 

When I was in high school because alot of stressful situations and fighting occurred again I was unable to get my status.

 

 

When I was born my father was never added to my birth certificate. Which poses a problem when I am older and trying to get my status.

 

As it stands INAC requires that your birth certificate says who the father is. This is just to apply for your status.

 

Because of difficult situations with my mother this was a stressful, hurtful, and extrememly emotional painful process to go through.

Also, I live in the city in which my parents were when they got pregnant with me and where a lot of their growing  up was!

 

So you can imagine stories and rumours and so much else! It was very scary and even some things from my mother made me question whether my dad was my dad.....

 

 

It was an extremely traumatic situation with a fair amount of stress. My beautiful, thoughtful, caring loving husband, God and good friends and family really saw me through it!

 

We got the paternity test and it came back 99.999% my dad was mine!!!!!!!!!!!:) :) 

The relief was indescribable. It was wonderous! Unfortunatley,INAC said they needed my birth certificate changed...and wouldn't you know it! In order for my bc. to be changed my birth mother had to sign the live birth registration for it to be changed......

A door closed, slammed shut frustration, agony, anger my resolve was now slowly falling. Seeking God for strength, endurance and perseverance.

God sent me my husbands love, my husbands grace for my emotions, my husbands arms to hold me through the tears, my husbands ears to listen to the crying, the anger, the disappointment the fear and my husbands amazing faith in God our Creator to hold me steadfast and on the path!

God gave me my amazing Husband!

Well, for today I feel that will be enough. I have talked your eyes off lots probably.
Until next post,
may you be blessed today and may today you equally be a blessing to others.
Stacey Homemaker~

Photography by Shelly Boyd,
www.salishschoolofspokane.org
www.interiorsalish.com

Dish Soap, Hand Soap......two different kinds no more!!!!!!!!!!!

On the Left is my vinegar solution for all purpose cleaning.
In the middle is the Dish Soap Solution, and on the Far left is the bathroom hand soap.

I have to say that all of these chemicals in all of our everyday use cleaning supplies just FREAK me right out. We are a family of sensitive skin, eczema and simply ouchieness to all of these so called sensitive skin products.

I am telling ya sensitive skin is hard to even attempt "new or different" sensitive soaps. So I went searching and found my own.

I found a recipe on one of my fav sites. www.frugallysustainable.com and tweaked to my families needs.

HAND SOAP RECIPE

 

10c of Water

5tsps of ivory bar soap

118ml aveeno baby soap

90 ml of washing soda

105ml of vinegar

9.5 ml Pure Tea Tree Oil

9.5ml Pure Lavendar Oil

7.5ml of Pure Vitamin E Oil

 

Yields 2L which lasts my of five 2 months

=$6.76 cost to make

**remember all utensils and pots, measuring cups are only used for this purpose**

Boil water and the shredded ivory soap

(be careful to boil on a low temp keep stirring so as not to bubble over)

When the ivory soap is all melted, I pour it into a measuring cup

 (so as easier to pour into bottles later)

I then add the Aveeno Baby Soap, washing soda and vinegar making sure all is dissolved I let cool for 15 min.

After cooling period I add the Tea Tree Oil, Lavendar Oil, and the Vitamin E Oil.

Mix well

pour into your bottles, and let sit for 24-48 hours before use. I found I am in a dryer climate at a higher elevation and 48hours to set worked for me.  A friend of mine from a wetter and lower elevation only needed 24 hours.

check after 24 hours if it is a wonderful liquid texture with no clumps and you like it that way then its good for you. After 24 hours it can gel up I like it like that. But make sure to give it a good shake each day to mix it up sometimes like anything else it can settle.

 

DISH SOAP RECIPE

 

Is the exact same except for one ingredient. I use the regular baby soap, the yellow everyday baby soap. In replace of the Aveeno. Reason for it is the Aveeno has a moisturizing ingredient that I like for the more frequent washing of hands.

 

Other than that its all the same. I also really enjoyed substituting the Baby Goats Milk Soap, but I only tried it because it was a gift from a friend. This soap makes the cost  to make a lot higher.

 

To make it easier you can make your dish soap and hand soap with the aveeno and make a double batch, and it works great. We tried that and it wasn't to bad. Like I said I have extremely sensitive skin and need the extra moisturizing action of the aveeno with the handsoap.

 

 



I have to say I love utilizing this recipe with our 9 year old daughter. This is an amazing Homeschool project to do with her, after the little ones have gone to bed and have a mother daughter night. Its so much fun and she learns so much from it. We talk about the antibacterial properties of the lavendar and tea trea oils, and where they come from. Why Vit E oil is essential for immunity of the hands and skin, how it increases the elasticity of our skin. I make into an education but sooo much fun night.

 

Remember each moment with your children is precious. Make it count. I love turning education experiments or anything into a whole family affair to make memories. And I am teaching my children ways in which to be frugal and still be able to have our needs met. To also be aware of what we are purchasing and watching out for sale items like our ivory soap and stocking up when it is really low. We are building our home and family on a debt free basis and hope and pray that teaching our children the fundamentals of a debt free lifestyle through basic financial principles every day will increase their chances of not being in debt when they are older. And that they are more financial minded when they do grow up and leave the safety of our home. God is an Awesome God and His will to be done but our goal is to grow them up with all of the tools and knowledge that we did not get while growing up! All from a bibilical mindset as well.

 

 

I pray that this was a informative and fun read,

May you be blessed each day and may you equally be a blessing to all those around you,

Stacey Homemaker~

 



Whats in a Language....Whats in My own......Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2FIXyvfD_c

Way', (hello)!

I am praying that today is a day that you have been gifted the ability to enjoy our beautiful creation. That when you woke up this morning you could count at least one item to be thankful for!

The above link, is to a song that people in the Nyselxcin Language have for a Greeting song. I love this song. I am currently putting it into my preschool program for my two youngest children in the Fall.

So, yesterday we left off on my family and I moving to a gorgeous Valley and starting to come into knowledge of our Heritage!

Through some stressful, thankful, tearful and frightening events we as a family needed to switch up our roles. My husband was unable to find work here in the Valley. The work here is so different than what he has ever seen. For you see my gorgeous 6 foot 3 inches Blonde haired hubby is a city man! Through and Through....(he used to iron his jeans lol).

It was a tough go. We were blessed with my Dad giving my family a place to stay, while we found our feet. So, I found a job. I was terrified. You see I went to college when I was 18 I graduated with a 3.99 GPA in Legal Office Administration Assistant, doubling with a Accelerated program for Office Administration Assistant, but.....that was 6 years before this time. And I had gotten pregnant before I was able to get a job in the workforce.

I found myself sitting at a Desk in a First Nations Immersion Band School. I saw the culture, the language, the people, the children and fell in Love. This new journey had just begun......now don't get me wrong. Working in any job full time for me is not what or how I want our lives to be. My prayer is that we are blessed with myself at home raising and training and educating our beautiful miracles and doing the best we can. For this season in our life I went to work. And we feel nothing wrong with that.

We also were blessed with our third pregnancy during this time. So while I was on Mat. Leave our eldest daughter and I were able to attend a language class.

We had an amazing time, being taught by one of the Elder's and an amazing teacher. We learned, and loved so much this language. Now do not get me wrong this language is one of the hardest, confusing, and at times down right nerve wracking I have ever attempted to learn. But in my heart I found peace. I found a new meaning to the word language. Falling in love with words and teaching my children became an everyday at thing a passion that started deep with in.

Now believe me, this language and culture is a beautiful and most unique entity. I have had so many welcoming, joyful and heartfelt moments over learning this language that words cannot even describe.

Now I took one of the harder courses first. Now....boy although I had so much fun I don't recommend doing the harder course on anything before you do the beginner course. Although, it was so much fun, and I learned so much. The road was difficult and a wee stressful at times.

This also the first time in my life that I had completely failed at something. I went strong into our final exam at a 73% I studied hard. I thought I had this in the bag.....then the final came and oh boy my brain turned upside down and eeeeeeek.

I read the questions wrong. I translated from Nyselxcin into English instead of reading the Nyselxcin and then answering in Nyselxcin....Oh Nelly I tell ya. It was not the easier thing.

When I got that test back.....I wept and I smiled. For I may have failed the course but in the lessons that I gleaned while learning.....This journey was just beginning. :)

When I was growing up. I really didn't learn what parenting was..
I honestly thought it was something to survive and not something that continues through to thrive.

While in this first course...my teacher was (and is) such an amazing role model. The lessons I gleaned from our conversations really helped me grow as a mother, and as a woman. Our Elder teacher gave me the gift of imperfection. You see I am somewhat of a perfectionist. Specially in academics(for reasons that will have to wait for another post). For this beautiful, patient, wonderment of a woman gave me the time, strength and encouragement to practice and that time is what counts and not perfections.

For anyone that knows me, knows that I am my own hardest critic, my own worst grader, and also my own best optimist...for everyone else that is....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQzKJkHJz_U
The above link is one of the stories that we learned in this first class.

It was so much fun, and so amazing to learn the words. It is here that I knew God wanted me to learn a piece that He knew I needed to find.....

For today, I believe that will be enough of writing for me.

I pray that my journey of self discovery and my language will encourage you to go out and learn something new today!
May you be blessed and May you equally be a blessing to those around you. Remember it doesn't have to be much, for most have not enough. But when you look hard enough all of us have something we can bless others with!

Stacey Homemaker~

www.interiorsalish.com
For all of your Nyselxcin Needs this is your most wonderful and amazing site! And the youtube links above gives you a wealth of amazing language videos.

 

Meet Stacey Homemaker.

Stacey is married to a wonderful man of almost five years. They met at age of 6 and hated each other. Lol! After moving, living and life separated the two; they reunited at 23 and through a very short, but intense three weeks of dating were engaged. After a seven week period were married.

                Stacey is a blessed mama of three amazing and gorgeous children, and is currently pregnant with baby number 4. She also is homeschooling her children and keeps them quite busy.

                Stacey is a crafty woman. She loves to create things out of old things (she uses the word “upcycle”). Her passion is to sew and create lovely things for her children and for her family. This year she frustratingly took on the task of trying to knit (don’t worry it will be a post soon) and she is currently teaching herself to plastic canvas.

                Stacey is always making sure that our family is cutting costs where we can by making things from scratch, in order to put the money into things that really need it. For example, food, educations, and family day field trips.

                This year she also was able to learn some of her heritage and the traditional ways of making; moccasins, yarn bags, ribbon shirts, ribbon skirts and even a wee bit of beading.

                Currently, she is working on becoming bilingual in her traditional language of Nyselxcin. That will be a post as well, it has been a blessed journey to learning her heritage.

 

                As a family we believe that through Jesus Christ we are able to have a relationship with God. That in order to have the beautiful gift of salvation we must believe in the literal miraculous conception, birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

                As a family we use the King James Bible, and respect that each person has their own reasons for the version in which they love to tell of God’s beautiful word is their own decision.

                As a family we believe that each child is a gift and a blessing from the Lord. We believe that it is our divine appointment to have the amazing blessing of being gifted a child to raise, teach, and guide into adulthood and furthermore into eternity.

                We hope you enjoy Stacey Homemaker’s blog. We want you to be encouraged and want you to enjoy our blog and all of the wonderful posts coming your way.

                Although we respect others opinions and advice, if you leave slanderous, rude, vexing language your comments will be deleted. This is a blog to strengthen, encourage and share knowledge together. It is not for hate speech and things of that nature.

 

                May you be blessed each day by our posts. Thank you.