Your Life As Art Photography by Pam

What Is Your Body Trying To Tell You? | FODMAP

Are you listening? I honestly feel like these last 5 years, thats what Ive been doing. Its quite talkative when I really pay attention – to the good and not so good. Key is to listen, and shift your lifestyle…

I briefly mentioned in some previous posts that I had been working at cleaning up my diet, actually I really don’t like the word “diet” because when I think of diet, I think of restriction in a not so healthy way. So Im going to re-phrase that to cleaning up my lifestyle!

Last summer I had some really funky things going on with my body that had me very confused and uncomfortable. Thankfully after months, I was able to get some answers and movement forward after reaching out to my nurse practitioner and telling her my odd story!

When I met with the Gastroenterologist Specialist she was wonderful at going through what I was experiencing, offering some suggestions and moving forward with some tests for further investigation. One of her suggestions was gaining control of my digestive system with an elimination diet called The Low FODMAP Diet. This is a “diet” where you remove 6 types of foods that are known to be challenging to the digestive system and then after not eating any of the foods in these 6 categories for a couple weeks, slowly adding them back in.

What I did already know was the gut – brain connection! We actually have 3 “brains”… our actual brain, our heart and our gut. Our gut health controls alot of how we feel around our emotions. Think of that, when you have a stomach ache or pain how do you feel? I know this all to well, I felt run down, exhausted, short and irritated, unhappy, blah and over weight! Gut health is so key!

Interestingly enough my body thrives when I am gluten free! Something I honestly did not think would be an outcome of this trial but one that I am embracing and enjoying life without. I’d also known that ice cream and milk have been sensitive on my system (especially after some ice cream indulgences last summer), so I am now reaching for lactose free greek yogurt, which is SO good.

When I left the doctors office I burst into tears, I immediately let my mind go to that dark place of my body letting me down, again! I was used to this for years… it was like a flash back to years of pain and unknown. I called my husband sobbing and how I left without any answers and now have to restrict my eating. I really love that my husband and I can provide a logical sounding board to each other. He simply said, remember when I made a decision [to make a shift in my life], I set a date and stuck with it. He knew I was completely up in my head worrying about how to adapt to this change.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a significant change. It’s literally removing food from my lifestyle, shifting in a very big way. The shift I needed!

I began this shift saying to my family, I dont know why I’m giving up bread, because it will be one that’s fine, I eat it all the time. After 2 1/2 weeks of not having bread, we made sandwiches. One thing I’ve learned is that when you already have emotional eating tendencies, bread or more specifically gluten can add to that “addiction” feeling.

Why is gluten addicting?

There are two main reasons why gluten is so addicting:

Gluten makes your blood sugar rise quickly
It can cause mind-altering effects that lead to addictive eating (source https://www.weightandwellness.com/resources/articles-and-videos/gluten-connection-compulsive-overeating/)

I used to blame the veggies portion of a salad on why it used to fast track through my system and that my body didn’t like veggies… when in reality it had nothing to do with the veggies and everything to do with the gluten! I was adding in croutons or crispy onions, left over breaded chicken etc…

It’s important to remember everyone’s body IS different, so what affects me, may not affect someone else and vice versa.

I followed through this “diet” adding things slowly back in, until December. A month I’m sure everyone can understand why. But, I stuck with what I knew. Avoid gluten, lactose, spinach, brussel sprouts (which does make me sad because in the past 2 years I was really enjoying them). Spinach and brussel sprouts make me feel extremely bloated and uncomfortable. This really is trial and error! One thing I learned about myself only a few years ago is that I cannot eat reheated starches, so potatoes, pasta, rice etc. So I was used to this lifestyle already (if I had left overs it meant eating cold or making less, which we have been getting better at doing!).

How do I now feel when I consciously eat? I feel fuller faster, my blood sugar levels feel balanced, I sleep really well, my time in the bathroom is “normal”. What does normal mean? Well for a while I didn’t feel I had a normal, this goes way back to my teen years. I made my “normal” – running to the bathroom after I just ate as things literally rushed through me. Sometimes multiple trips, sometimes in the bathroom for a very long time. Remember where I mentioned “teen years”, yeah this is devastating to a teen girl and affected my confidence in a very big way. And yet even though this was happening at least once, sometimes multiple times a day, I was still feeling so gross IN my body because I was still gaining weight and unable to loose it, even though I literally couldn’t keep all the food in me. I felt derailed so many times. I think this is why my first reaction was calling my husband in tears.

My new normal feels awesome, when I listen to myself. My body processes things as it should, I am pain free, comfortable, healthy. I CAN eat all the salads and not have to run to the bathroom, I just have to watch what goes in it! Hint… there is gluten in a lot of things, secretly!

We have shifted our household over to gluten free pasta and after trying a few types have found some our family really loves!

I was able to naturally loose that weight that the doctor had told me if I could loose, would help lessen my IBS symptoms as well. Actually thinking back, this also triggered me that day leaving the Dr’s, being told to lose another 10% of my weight after I had already lost a significant amount, for me felt like a slap in the face. BUT, It was merely a tap to get moving and listen in to my body even more!

I talked to my kids. I put up a chart on the wall of what I could and couldn’t eat as part of the FODMAP diet. This helped immensely with meal planning and for their understanding. When you are suddenly forced to think outside of the box, it’s incredible how less stressful it is!

As my husband had told me, just set a start date and start. I couldn’t argue with him, because he literally did that and he knew how supportive and proud I was to him. So I did. I printed off the food lists, downloaded the FODMAP app from Monash (which has research behind it supporting this 6 week diet) and got started! If I didn’t know, I would learn on the way!

Now that we are all social distancing, what better time than now to truly take a dive into your eating habits! Be conscious of how you feel AFTER you eat something, and make note. If you are curious about more support, check out the app in your app store or google FODMAP Monash University. I found it to be a very helpful resource while out to eat or doing groceries, even meal planning at home!

5 years previous to this I began getting more in touch with my body and me. I had went through a couple cleanse and restore protocols that helped immensely. I know for a fact those cleanses combined with my energy work propelled my health higher than it ever had been.

So take this time that we have been given, we are all home much more now. Use this as your opportunity to rise up even more, even if that means sinking down into some challenging emotions.

For the emotional eaters out there, I hear you. I hear you, I feel you. I was, no I am you. Being an emotional eater, is triggered by something in your life. For me it can be boredom and sitting in front of the tv, however its typically deeper than that and more linked to stress or other more significant feelings. Which has been my trigger. During this global pandemic I’ve had to really push myself to walk away from the kitchen. I shared the other day on insta of the pain I was in, because I indulged in a food I shouldn’t have. Pain like that I hadn’t felt for a very long time. Truth be told I was allowing myself to feel stressed, scared, worried. All legitimate feelings but also all feelings that food wasn’t going to “fix”! Acknowledge it, be ok with shifting again. Just like when we all learned to walk at various ages, when we fell down, we got back up!

P.S. it’s ok to fall down and get back up again! This is how we learn. We just want to get ourselves to the point where we do not continually fall down the same hole again, and again and again.

So a little insight into what I did and do to help myself when I have an IBS flare up… One oil I have used since the beginning and is with me at all times, DigestZen to calm my digestive system, its incredible and totally helps calm and balance. Peppermint has been scientifically shown to help with IBS symptoms, so I took 2 Peppermint softgels, also took digestive enzymes and a probiotic. At my daughters advice, because she knows it works, I also laid down on my left side for 15 minutes! Plus I cannot forget my oils I use to ground myself, lately I’ve been really pulled to Nerolo, Magnolia and Balance. It all totally helped… BUT in retrospect I wouldn’t have had to even need IF I followed my body’s lead and consumed things that helped my body thrive!

Sugar is also a BIG immune depressant! Something we all should be avoiding especially at this time, yes emotional eaters I’m speaking to you and your kiddos!

With being home more, many restaurants closed or only open for take out, use this to your advantage to figure your body out! Because once you do, and once the world gets back to our “new normal” it’s totally doable to still enjoy meals out AND be healthy! We did all snowmobiling season, how? I pushed judgment aside and asked when in a restaurant!

This is one thing I used to do and will no longer do. I would push my own lifestyle or dietary needs aside because I didn’t want to “inconvenience” someone else?! Which essentially was telling my heart and soul that their feelings and plans mean more than how I feel myself – NO! It’s even been a bit of an adjustment for some of our family, more so when eating out when my options were more restricted to “just eat it tonight”, I pushed through what I would have found embarrassing and just settling to confidence in needing to know what I could eat and feel good!

One thing I have learned is once you clean up your diet and your body is liking what you have done, it’s much quicker to let you know when you have consumed something you shouldn’t have! My kids even remind me of this! Which I am grateful for!

So, what are you waiting for? Use this time. Use this opportunity you have to be cooking more at home to figure out if you should be making shifts in your eating habits! Let’s all come out of this so much healthier and happier as a collective! ✌

Just Breathe

On this gorgeous Friday evening I was sitting on my front porch with my dog, enjoying a drink in the sunshine. It’s so quiet. The odd vehicle goes by. Sure it is quieter than town, but as of lately, its eerily serene.

As a true introvert I was completely welcoming of the slow down to prevent large gatherings or shows etc. Where this virus could spread quickly, to flatten the curve. Got my attention but very understandable. Then schools are closed. Closed for 2 weeks following March break. I heard the breaking news over the radio in our office, that literally made me stop. That was my WTF moment. When my heart sank and the uncertainty grew.

I have challenges with the unknown. It’s something that as a very futuristic person can cause major feelings of anxiety.

That is exactly what happened.

It went from large events being cancelled to schools being closed to everyone needs to stay home and only if you are essential can you work. Oh and you cannot see your family and friends as you normally would. Parks are closed. Trails are closed.

What The Actual F?!

This happens in the movies, not in real life. And yet it was. This was, no this is our current life. I have to say current because I know we will all grow from this.

But seriously, this is surreal. As a person, a wife, mother, working mom this ignited a fire of worry and uncertainty of ‘what would happen’. My children were now going to be home for 3 weeks. We work in an essential business that then had to begin asking our customers some serious questions and even denying some people service because of Covid-19 and our need to protect our employees, ourselves, all of our families and the customer as well.

I began having a hard time sleeping. Eating for comfort, half and half it was good for me. My guts this week were in physical pain. I hadn’t taken my vitamins, minerals and omegas in almost a week, simply because we were totally out of routine and my mind was very cluttered. I was disconnected from myself.

Nature is so grounding for me, being outside, especially near water when I am able. After work the sun was shining so bright and warm. My dog and I enjoyed sitting on our front porch. My husband put some chairs on our new deck, that still needs the decking but has plywood, and we were able to enjoy what it will be, listen to the birds from our new space. I needed Friday night in a very big way. To envision what is to come, to appreciate what we already have, how we can shift to enjoy our home and property even more.

Last weekend I felt productive around our house, that first weekend, after school closures were announced on the Thursday, was a complete write off. This weekend I’m stoked for the temps, not so much for the rain, we’ve got lots we can be doing at home for our additions, which just let me say it’s good we started when we did and that we had already received our mortgage advance months ago, because this would have me even more freaked out and I would have justified to myself that we didn’t need to do this… when in reality, sitting on our new covered deck last night enjoying a drink and listening to the birds, this is exactly why we did this. This is exactly why we transformed this house into our custom nest. Love the space you are in, however that looks for you. For us, for me, I pushed past my fear of taking a big leap, we added a big chunk to our mortgage, that I had to push through so much fear and doubt and once the framing was done, it all became so much clearer for me, so much more worth it. In these slightly uncertain times, I love that this home is completely us. Each one of us.

Although we are an essential business and are still operating to a certain extent, has reassured me because we are still able to work, thankfully because we have a mortgage, utilities etc. Being an “essential business” providing plumbing and heating services also means going into peoples homes and businesses… which is slightly nerve wracking. However, I am also comforted though in how the government has really stepped up to provide people with some financial relief for those who need it, with so many businesses closed it’s very real. Even in our small town it’s very real how many are currently shut down BUT those who have also stepped up offering home delivery of their products! It’s truly heart warming seeing everyone pull together, for understanding, gratitude.

I acknowledge how this has affected my own mental health, my children have been incredible at rising up themselves. Our son designed and built, all on his own, a stand for his PS4 wheel and pedals so he can play online more comfortably with friends. He has also been helping decluttering and cleaning. Our daughter has been cooking and baking, and doing some decluttering and cleaning herself. While also making time for her creative mind to explore some of her art projects. They have honestly been a huge help. Especially when my mind has been on our family but also on everyone who I work with, our work family.

Being patient, acknowledging how this is affecting every single one of us. We truly are lucky that the seriousness of this is to stay home to help flatten the curve. We are literally being told to stay home, which yes that in itself being told we cannot do this or that, that is enough itself to wrap your head around. The government is telling us we cannot operate our businesses unless they are essential, our children cannot go to school, they cannot play with their friends in person, we cannot get together with friends or family to celebrate or even just hang out, people who have lost loved ones cannot even have a funeral. This is a time in our lives that is literally making history.

A time in our life that while making history is also forcing every single one of us to get comfortable with our home life, our family and most important ourselves. A time when we need to focus on what we CAN do!

Be kind to yourself and others. This isn’t the time to be greedy or negative, in various ways (hoarding toilet paper, seriously?!). This is the time to take a good look around your home and shift what needs shifting. We have all been given, in a slightly odd way, the gift of time. It can feel challenging to rise up, especially for anyone who has had mental health challenges in their life. If you feel yourself sinking, cause remember everyone is experiencing the effects from Covid-19, but also “life” continues on and for some there has been some more challenges to deal with along with the corona virus. Life itself doesn’t completely stop during a pandemic, my heart goes out to those experiencing even more heart ache at this time. Reach out digitally or on the phone to people, share your heart when needed. We do not have to walk this road alone. What IS within our control?

What helps me during these times?

Take your supplements to ensure your health (physically and mental) is boosted to the levels that you know help your body feel good!
Get outside in nature, even if it’s just sitting outside on your own property. Breathe in the fresh air, listen to the birds – they are so happy! Even if just for a few minutes, even of it’s raining.
Clean up around your property and/or roads nearby. I find the sunshine so motivating and was able to get out after work yesterday to pick up some building and roofing material scraps.
Diffuse essential oils that are both uplifting and cleansing! This morning I’ve got Tangerine, Grapefruit and Peppermint going in the diffuser. Grounding oils are also very helpful! I intuitively select which oils we will diffuse on a daily basis. All of our oils have physical health properties they support with, but also and perhaps most important during this time, they have emotional uses for every single oil! Tangerine is the oil of spontaneity. Grapefruit is the oil of honoring the body. Peppermint is the oil of a buoyant heart.
Read. This is something I’ve started doing more of in the past 2 years. Last weekend I got 3 chapters into a new book, Woman on the Edge, perhaps it was resembling how I was feeling. The one morning I woke up at 430am, wide awake, so rather than pick up my phone and get on social, which is far to easy to do, I picked up my book and read the entire thing, before heading to work?! Whaaaat?!
Journal, however its comfortable for you, on paper, online or both! Share your thoughts, we are all in this together and your words may help encourage someone else or even just free the thoughts from your mind putting paper to pencil.
Hydrate. Thankfully I love water, however when we are at these in between temps I find myself I do not tend to drink enough water so be conscious of upping your water intake.
Healthy food, we are all spending much more time at home. Move away from the “comfort convenience foods” and get yourself in the kitchen. Better yet get in the kitchen with your kids! When we fuel our bodies with healthy foods (and drinks) we boost our immune system, sugar is a big immune depressant.
Claim your space – I’m sure we all have some area in our home we can declutter, organize, purge… renovations aside I know we do!
Be gentle to yourself and your loved ones. I was initially stressing about how we were going to parent, work and home school and I’ve pulled back realizing that real life can provide so many learning experiences for our kids. Connect with loved ones online or on the phone.
Follow your intuition. For many this means slowing your brain down first to be able to listen to your heart and soul, truly listen. If you feel the need to clean, clean, if you feel the need to nap, nap. If you think of someone and want to reach out, reach out.
Meditate and Breathe. This has been significant for shifting my mindset. For pulling myself out of my head and back into my body. If you are new to meditations check out some of my fav’s… Helen Murray, Gabrielle Bernstein, Tamara Arnold, Angela Kontgen. Gabby Bernstein has also created an Anxiety Relief workshop happening on Sunday click here to sign up!

As much as this has drastically changed our life, we all have the opportunity to choose to grow ourselves. This honestly is an incredible opportunity to take a deep dive within. I acknowledge how uneasy this can feel for many. Lean in keep going and find someone you resonate with to guide you, whomever that may be!

It Gets Worse Before It Can Get Better

Think of anything you go and grow through, a lot of times it gets worse before it gets better. That’s the growth part.

This afternoon we were outside cleaning up our yard from the various construction activities during the winter. It felt SO good to see progress. To also feel progress. For brunch (we enjoy lazy mornings on Sunday) I made mini quiches and breakfast sausages. I was purposely keeping myself busy to not go outside.

Last week when all of this clovid-19 stuff began it felt, and let’s be real still does, feels so surreal. I was letting every decision about these additions stress me right the F out! Decisions I was forcing on myself that I clearly wasnt ready to make.

After we ate I asked my husband if he really needed me out there. He looked at me like I had two heads. Of course he wanted the help, he and our son were doing a great job but with more people we could accomplish even more. So out I went… I wasn’t informed of the loading requirements and began throwing whatever I picked up in the box for the bin… I was wrong and reminded multiple times that I also wouldn’t be fired from helping 🤣 haha I tried 🤷‍♀️!

We got alot accomplished! It felt really good! Visually I could see we were making progress and that is a huge factor for me!!!

As I was walking back into our house when we had finished, I looked into our back yard. I’ve always been able to “see” our vision on paper, it’s pretty awesome to see it in real life coming together. As I walked up to the door admiring the deck it hit me… It gets worse before it gets better! We lived this with each reno. Especially when the basement flooded.

We have this amazing vision for our family home, now conveniently have an abundance of time to get moving on our project again! Its wonderful to see each new stage, one step closer. In these times of uncertainty, one thing is certain, this home is exactly what we have always needed it to be and I am grateful.

I am also, honestly, grateful that we were able to negotiate a lower mortgage percentage rate before starting the additions which helps ease my mind while the world reconfigures itself, literally.

Similar to how many of us are feeling now. With so much uncertainty in the world right now. It may feel confusing, stressful, even fearful at times. There will be worry, wondering if you are making the right decision or how that could be. Any challenge we are faced is a challenge because we find ourselves in a position we have never been in or decision we have never made. Its growth. Ive learned on this journey in life this is the process, we all embrace the process in our own way. When it feels difficult, like you cannot reach the top of the hill, you take a few steps further and achieve your goal!

We will get there. We will all experience growth again, we will all rise up. At a time when it feels really bad, because we have not experienced this in our lifetime, if we all do our part, just like us helping in the back yard, we can reach our goal much quicker, by working together!

Take this downtime as an opportunity. How do you want to grow from this? How will you BE a better person and live your best life? How can you improve your living space to be more of a reflection of you?

It gets worse before it gets better…

Curious?

What is your vision of “better”?

A Patience Reminder

Earlier today I heard the radio announcer say that we were in a rainfall warning with up to 25mm of rain.

I instantly went negative. The rain, and alot of it, is still a big trigger for me. The more I’ve learned about PTSD, the more dots Ive connected.

We have all been through highs and lows in life. There are times that leave a really big imprint. When these imprints are negative and/or associate with trauma this makes it emotionally feel defeated and depleted. Literally. Triggers are a reminder of a significant event or time in your life, both good and bad. They are totally different for everyone, given we all live completely different lives. What could suddenly set it off, may not also be the root cause.

Rain is a trigger because our basement flooded.

I am learning how to best handle these triggers, whatever they may be, not just for myself but also my relationships with my husband and kids. Last night I was feeling really low. Allowing everything to stress me out, although I’ve been taught many times ‘patience is a virtue’! Stressing over various choices we need to make for the additions, one that I am totally hung up on and feeling very indecisive. Worrying of the business, most specifically our guys who have to enter people’s homes to fix their plumbing or heating. Hearing all the doom and gloom that is literally the entire world.

This shit happens in a movie NOT in real life!?

Then I walked outside tonight.

It is raining.

It smells so fresh, so new.

Cleansing.

Something I was stressing about earlier, felt exactly right.

A lesson in patience, again, reminding that sometimes chaos comes before the calm, and that’s ok. Confusing, but ok.

This sweet girl reminds me the importance of patience, space and trusting in the journey.

All good things in life take time. Now is when we need to give ourselves and the entire world time. A slight pause. To be ok with not always feeling ok, to be ok with the unknown. Honestly not a feeling I enjoy, however I am reminding myself daily, sometimes multiple times, it will be ok.

This girl reminded me today multiple times to trust in me, trust in the process. Most of all be compassionate and love. It’s not often this sweet girl will snuggle in our room, she herself is still working on her own fears that we unfortunately wont know of. So we must be patient, give her space, respect her and support her in over coming her fears to be comfortable in all areas of our home.

We are making progress, just like we are doing to help flatten the curve. A very surreal moment in life, one that most certainly will be a significant time in history.

As anxious as this can make me feel, as my husband reminded me this morning, I grab my oils to help calm… thankfully Balance was near by and did just that!

Reach for your comfort, honor your feelings. I can admit I’ve fell into some of my old emotional eating habits. Albeit they are much healthier than years ago, I could feel myself losing touch with my motivation. Shine light on the darkness. Call yourself out. If you feel yourself getting down, you aren’t alone and it’s ok!

Tonight a movie and popcorn with my girls, was exactly what I needed, my patience reminder! 🙏💕🌎

We can do this together 💗

Without a doubt, we, as a collective in the world, will get through this current situation.

A situation that, let’s be completely real, has never happened in our lifetime, perhaps not even our parents. Many of our grandparents were around during the war, albeit very different. I wont sugar coat it, this totally has my attention.

It’s not just me. It’s my kids, my family, which includes many elderly relatives, friends and of course our co-workers.

Our family business provides essential service for plumbing and heating. Yes some can be put off, re-scheduled if needed, others are true emergencies when it comes to heat and water.

Yesterday we made the choice to lock the doors. We are still cautiously operating our business to provide these essential services, however are reducing our interaction with people coming into our office.

For me this felt scary, scary to finally make that decision, worry that we were making the right decision and that we need to first and foremost put the safety of our employees and all the families attached to them as priority.

Earlier this week I had to tell someone we couldn’t come help them with their water issue, because people in that household had just returned from Cuba. This admittedly was tough for me, we obviously want to help when we can, but we have to put our employees wellbeing first.

As a mother I have to be very conscious of what my children could be exposed to.

It’s the unknown, the uncertainty that quite honestly has taken the most toll on me emotionally. We continue to do our daily norm of supporting our bodies and home, because that is our norm. I’ve honestly been reaching for my oils alot more recently, for emotional support. One of the main reasons I began using them.

This morning I woke shortly after 5 am. Something I’ve been striving for and my body has been learning to do naturally. However I’ve noticed I have been allowing my emotions and therefore my body, to be almost paralyzed in fear. I may have been up early, but the “what if’s” and worry circle through my head, until I finally get up and rush out.

That’s NOT a good feeling. At all, for me or anyone.

All the while we are also trying to make decisions for our last major renovation piece to our home. Decisions have to be made that I’m having a very hard time making. I need to take a drive, not only to look at other homes for some inspiration, but also to clear my head a little bit.

The uncertainty, while in the midst of some major renos, with a mortgage on our dream home, thankfully realistic, is slightly, no why sugar coat it, it’s been stressing me out. In a very big way.

But then I read something shared in our local FB group, a group where I had begun distancing myself because of the negativity. Last night someone posted about positives coming out of this pandemic. People are healing. Social distancing is not a bad thing. It can help you pour more into you, your home and most important your kids.

But we all have to do our part. We will get through this. I’ve seen so many posts about how cleansing this will be, a reset on life for so many people. Obviously I know the seriousness of this illness for so many people and my heart goes out to them.

As I rose early, I laid in bed and felt I needed to rinse in the shower. I find the shower, water washing over me, so cleansing. Before I got back in bed, my husband suggested I grab an oil to help calm me. He could feel how anxious I was feeling. Thankfully I keep a bottle of Balance in our room and within minutes was feeling a sense of calm and feeling grounded.

We can do this, working together, with compassion, understanding and patience.

World Peace Cookies

The world needs these cookies right now!

“WORLD PEACE COOKIE”
First off they are SO good!!! Chewy and soft but also has crunch – exactly what I love!
Second, but the most important…
World Peace 🙏💗
Division and greed has become very apparent this past week as the world shut down. Walking into the grocery store seeing literally no toilet paper, shelves empty, carts heaping with multiples of products. Fear, worry. I walked in the grocery store confident and calm, walked out heavy and exhausted! We need to be prepared, but in a realistic way, without feeding the spread of fear.
This pause, although inconvenient in a very big way, is offering us a bit of a gift.
As an introvert, it’s a given I love my home time, I am a homebody, but also love to explore.
This has literally taken away all our excuses before, which literally meant…
“I have no time…” 🙄
I realize this slow down is going to have an impact on our economy in a very big way, what I am talking about is a personal benefit to our soul.
We have been told to distance, major and even small events, seasons cancelled.
Literally being told to stay home.
OK… as I look around our space, one that has been in some stage of renovation for the past 4 years, there is a variety of things I can find to get off that mental to-do list!
Think of how incredible the world will be when everyone is forced to take a step back and just be within their own space. If you arent comfortable with it now, you’ve got the time to get comfortable! What do you need to do? Declutter? Organize? Shift furniture around? Clean? Meditate!
Third, these cookies are healthy and good for you! What we should be consuming to help our body is healthy nutritious foods to boost our immune system vs crashing. I’ve been there, done that when I was that person who was sick all the time, what you put in your body matters! A healthy snack, that also satisfies the craving! When my anxiety creeps up, I crave! 🍪
Sugar feeds illness. Support your body holistically and nutritionally so you are stronger to fight the germs. 👊
Go make the cookies and listen to a meditation!
Thanks Mom for the cookies 😘

Lean Into The Slow Down

I had to go to the grocery store to stock up on things we legit needed. The energy in the grocery store was honestly just gross.

I went in knowing what I needed, with a list, my buckets and my freezer bag, feeling calm and confident, but also cautious.

I left feeling so heavy, drained and exhausted.
I am grateful because I did not run into one negative person, everyone was polite which was so nice to see!
It was the energy of panic, worry, rushing… fear! All feelings that completely bring me down.

I literally stopped myself a few times in the grocery store to reground myself. Remind myself its OK. To be realistic of what we already have and what we did need. Thinking of others as well. Especially the elderly who may not have anyone to go out and help them stock up? Whose immune systems are more at risk that someone my age. This is a beautiful reminder to think of yourself first AND others!

I went in knowing what we needed, saw a few more things we needed and I had forgot, but then saw the various full, and some over flowing carts, the empty shelves, having to get way down to see if there was any more pasta sauce at the back, I could feel the panic begin to rise, was I buying enough, what if we need this or that, should I buy more pasta, oh I can’t because there isn’t any gluten free, but remembered we do still have some at home. Pasta sauce on aisle shelves that were almost completely bare, the toilet paper aisle… empty!
Which has me totally baffled… why toilet paper?! I had purposely been waiting for toilet paper to come on sale, I love the really big packs when they go on half price!

The cancellations, although understandable, honestly have blown my mind! When it was announced yesterday afternoon that schools will be closed for 2 weeks following March break, it really set in just how serious this is.

It hit me last night, maybe this is a massive step in truly slowing the world down. Forcing people into isolation, whether sick or not instantly slows the world, after the initial panic of course, whether we like or not. Yes it most definitely is going to affect the economy and every single business, in most likely a very big way.

However maybe, just maybe this could be a slight pull back and once we are through this, which hopefully won’t end up being as long as it could have been without precautionary actions, to then exponential growth for all. Growth financially and in time.

Literally cancelling everything, forces people (it should anyway) to stay in their own homes. I can think of so much I could do at home, that I maybe kept telling myself I “didn’t have time for…”. Even simply more time with my husband and kids! To really get comfortable with ME! To encourage my kids to do the same.

So I am being optimistic and realistic about life. Open up to the slow down. Supporting my body just as I was before, but with a little bit more intention. Grateful for our local stores and not having to go to the city. Please remember to shop local, especially living in a small town, we need to support our own at this time 🙏💗.

Although I feel like there is alot of fear and panic in the world right now, I also feel confident in how we have been supporting our family for years! I checked in with our Dr’s office Wednesday, I realize the importance of our modern medicine. I explained how our son was doing, improving everyday, they said to continue doing what we have been doing, it was obviously working because he continued to get better. Living a healthier lifestyle has boosted our health and happiness.

Also, big shout out to our local butcher for having ground beef! It’s by far so much better tasting and is already environmentally conscious freezer ready!✌

The light!

The light!
Sometimes it’s easy to see, when you get stuck in the darkness. When the light suddenly feels so good.
That was today.
The warming temperature, rain that smelled so fresh and the light!
The beautiful evening light!
My soul felt so recharged!
Mercury was also doing something this week, it was a full moon and its Friday the 13th!
Today I felt a huge motivation to shift the energy of our home, 4 years of a custom renovation has at times been heavy, but it’s the come back… that feels so good! Every single stage I’ve felt I have grown personally, as a family, professionally and am truly loving life, with all that happens in it. Being more conscious and present.
Which makes me so excited for our family. This beautiful light means the reno begins moving again and we are getting so much closer to our dream home
Soak in the beautiful light!
So grateful!

International Women’s Day | 2020

“Shed the Armor of Excess Weight” – March 8th (Thriving As An Empath)

As I opened the page to today’s daily message, my heart truly felt this, deeply.

For years, this was me.

“I don’t have to use excess weight as armor. Instead, I will practice meditation and visualizations to ground and protect myself.”

While speaking with an energy coach last year, she immediately picked up on my energy. Then she asked “What happened when you were 10?!” At first I did not know what she meant and then the words fell out of my mouth… my sister went missing. She was only 2. Thankfully she was found and completely ok. However as her big sister, 8 years older, that phone call was absolutely terrifying and apparently (and understandably) was stuck within my energy for many years.

Becoming a Mom myself, I have learned just how real these emotions and life is. Especially when we push things down hoping they will go away, not truly understanding the repercussions of this action.

When we know better, we do better.

As someone who is an emotional eater, I know I need to be conscious of my surroundings physically and emotionally. My body has honestly been through so much, multiple surgeries even before my kids arrived, tests, procedures etc. Really can do a number on you mentally and physically.

I am a healthy example for both my kids, not just my daughter. At one time I wasn’t, but when we know better, we do better! ✌

“Mom I need the throat spray”

My son said to me after hockey.

I immediately knew what happened. This happens if my kids have a sugar overload. And by overload I mean over a few days and typically at least one other factor. We honestly are much more conscious of the amount of and how sugar is used in our home.

At the beginning of the week my kids were home from school as their buses were canceled so my daughter made cookies for her birthday celebrations. Yes a slight indulgence of mine as well, she makes them with gluten free flour!

Later in the week we had 2 birthday celebrations with our daughter, plus leftover desserts and pizza.

Sugar can be addictive. It can also seriously affect your immune system. Anything that isn’t good for us can do this, for example smoking. When my husband smoked he sounded like he was always sick. Since quitting his health has improved SO much!

When my son asked me for the throat spray, I took the time to educate him on this. Not punish or ridicule him in anyway, but for him to understand a connection, something to bring him conscious to how sugar does impede his (everyone’s) immune system.

From my personal experience, I have noticed this with all of us. If I also do not get enough sleep, my immune system feels like its having to work even harder, then I’m even more exhausted, irritated, unhappy. This week we also had a couple of late nights.

When the kids are honest that they feel off, they can begin to see their own healthy patterns and adjust as required. Up the water intake!

Today as we were driving to the mall I could feel myself tensing up, it took me a bit to put the connection together myself, but it totally came in and made so much sense.

I was much more proactive for myself this week, being conscious of my sleep, I had a couple late nights, what I was eating, being a bit more patient with myself, also supporting my body with my supplements. I’ve been aiming to be more conscious about taking them because I KNOW how good I feel when I do it? I took some additional supplements both Wed and Thur night. I know its helped. I know for next time I will also give the kids that boost as well in addition to their daily morning and night oil routine!

I am learning to trust in myself and honor my words. Allowing space for any reroutes and new paths. Grateful for the ability to always be learning and share these life lessons with my kiddos!

Everything in moderation, as a mom I honestly do not want to heavily restrict my kids, I want them to be able to feel how they feel, adjust when needed and still “be kids”. Yes at times that means over indulgence and then recovery, it’s an opportunity to learn, vs me simply telling them NO!

Yes we have a throat spray we use in our home, it’s a DIY with essential oils and it works fabulous! 😊✌

I use an empty On Guard bottle to make the spray in.

Top with distilled water and it’s ready for use! 1 drops Cinnamon, 5 drops On Guard all others 2 drops

Using the Infectious Protocol from Symphony of the Cells is also another very effective option to blast out any germs!

From our experience, these options have assisted our family in boosting our health and wellness. At times when we know the triggers are less sleep and overwhelming sugar amounts we are also conscious of this moving forward and encourage sleep, rest and copious amounts of water! My boy is very much like his mama, we need our sleep and our healthy habits! A few years ago, our son wasn’t feeling well, I made up the throat spray and could see improvements, but when I looked in his mouth I also saw some white spots that freaked me out. So made an appointment with the Dr’s office just to be sure. He was checked out, throat swabbed and we were told to continue what we were doing at home, it was working! Incredible reassurance because it was the throat spray and oils that we were using! ✌ I mention this however because sometimes modern medicine with holistic health measures is what we need, other times, we need that reassurance we are doing what needs to be done. One thing I’ve learned is by rushing to the doctor for antibiotics, can actually do more harm to your body by killing off healthy bacteria. From our experience this happened to both myself and my son and over the years we have boosted our health back up naturally!