I have joined Young Living Essential Oils!

I first learned about essential oils, and Young Living Essential Oils, years and years ago. I'm not sure if my son was even born yet--he's 13. But after learning about them, I got busy with other stuff and haven't paid too much attention to them. I still have a bottle of YL lavender that gets used periodically and some samples that I use now and then. Yes, they are still good after all this time.

My mother-in-law recently signed up with them due to friends or acquaintances or something of hers. She specifically wanted to try out the NingXia Red drink for a while to see if it made a difference in her health or overall well-being and being signed up means she gets a discount. She only just got the shipment in, so I can't report on that at all, but she renewed my interest in using essential oils and seeing all the things available with Young Living now, I decided to sign up today. (I also got to experience the Home Diffuser she got and I really liked it!) Will I do the business much? Not sure. Main reason I signed up was because it was cheaper to purchase what I wanted that way! lol. (Main drawback as a Canadian: there are all kinds of YL products that we can't get here! :( ) That said, if you have questions about YL, let me know! I'm definitely interested in learning all I can and answering people's questions or supporting them as their sponsor.

I also decided to check today into the use of essential oils a bit and starting making use of what I have here. I can't believe I didn't think to use the lavender oil last week when I burned myself. I was cooking chicken in a bit of oil, but when I tried to slide the chicken into the pan, it fell in and the hot oil splashed me.

Can you see the mark? I know, sucky photo. We're getting a new camera soon! Woot!

I did what they say to not do and used ice for quite sometime once the pain had kicked in. (Why? Because I used ice years ago on a blistering burn, rubbed it for probably a good 20-30 minutes because it kept hurting like the dickens when I would stop and I couldn't have water running for 30 minutes and the next morning, there was only a discoloration in the skin: no pain, no blistering. I post this disclaimer now: I am not a health professional and am not liable for anything you do because I've shared it works for me!) Then I had to keep it covered a couple of days. It would have likely healed much faster had I used the lavender oil. I put some on today, just to see if it will help with the healing of the discoloured skin, but also thought to use some of the peppermint oil on certain spots to help with sinus pain I've been having. I find peppermint oil, or at least Young Living's peppermint oil, works wonderfully for headaches/sinus pain and today was no exception. Put a tiny amount on some sinus pressure points on my face and woo-wee, did it get those areas tingling!

In wanting a -free life, that includes being free from all kinds of chemicals. Essential oils aren't chemicals. Well, from a chemistry point of view, sure, but they aren't what we mean by "chemicals" in everyday language. So, in addition to dairy-free and other -free things on here, you can now expect to see me sharing information about using essential oils in our everyday lives. :)

EDIT: I suppose I should give you my Young Living number in case you would like to order or sign up! 1772120.

Day 4 - Pre-Christmas Challenge: Water!

Like all other flowers (lol), I need water. Every so often, actually, fairly often, I don't make sure to get enough water. When I don't, like other flowers, I wilt. And I sometimes set up problems with my sinuses and get nasty headaches, too.

Today being Monday, let me look ahead at a typical Monday and my water consumption: Monday afternoons, I teach a French class to a group of homeschooled children. With preparation and busyness in the morning, my attention on the class for the full two hours of the class in the afternoon, and then I rush off to pick up my nieces and nephew from school, a process that takes about an hour, I have a tendency to not drink enough water on Mondays.

Not getting enough water is a common problem, it seems. How many health resources out there say, "Drink your water!" It's important for so many reasons:

• your skin (especially with winter hitting us here in the northern hemisphere and dare I say, very clearly here in the north-central Canadian prairies)
• your brain's ability to think
• your digestion
• your kidneys and liver
• inflammatory conditions (sinusitis, arthritis, etc.) become worse when you get even a little bit dehydrated
• many cite it as important for weight loss
• so much more... 

It's important to drink your water! Maybe you can't have filtered water or bottled water or whatever. Getting enough water is important regardless of the quality. (Says the person who's issues yesterday came from days of not getting enough!) So this is my challenge to you today: Drink at least 8 glasses of water! Fill a pitcher with the amount you are going to drink during the day, keep tally somewhere, do something to make sure it happens. I find I tend to do even better when I drink more than that, but it does depend on what I've eaten during the day.

Doing this a little differently, I'll end this post with my Day 3 recap:

I posted early morning (early morning for here) yesterday, but I already had a sinus headache causing me problems. Part of this issue seems to be tied to my neck muscles, which I tried to work on with my yoga the night before, but clearly all kinds of different factors mixed together and left me almost incapacitated. It's not the level of pain in my right sinus but somehow just how the pain was, if that makes any sense. I had at times pressure and pain going in behind my eye, into my ears, no balance at all if I was standing and my eyes were closed... I thought about my self-imposed challenge and how would I be able to do the exercise if I was in that state?  I tried alternate-nostril breathing (a yoga technique) which helped clear some things out a bit, but didn't do enough. I tried to find trigger points and massage them. I tried massaging my head, which felt fantastic, but only went so far. I tried taking two Advil; it might have helped take the edge off a bit. Typical OTC sinus medications are not an option for me (ended up in emergency last time with severe heart palpitations!) A few people have told me a neti pot is the way to go when it flares up like this, but I don't have one. I finally ended up with a heated magic bag on my neck and base of my head, propped up in a specific way on the couch where it still hurt a bit, but I could function, at least function as much as I needed to laying on a sofa with a laptop. Sitting in a normal position meant me constantly massaging my head and around my eyes and cheekbone. It wasn't fun. And the sad thing is that it was the second time this past week. The other time? Thursday evening, after a day of 4 hours of French classes and getting even less water than usual.

You see where my recommended challenge is coming from today? Do not do as I have done! Especially if you have sinus issues!

I was hungry and decided I had to eat. This was before trying everything to ease up the pressure. I had some of Ani Phyo's coconut breakfast cake batter left, so I plopped it on a plate, put some maple syrup and... could barely eat any. Made me feel sick to my stomach. After easing up the sinus issues, I was able to finish it but still didn't have much of a desire to eat, even though my stomach was saying it wanted food. It did, however, make it easy to be raw for the morning. (I know maple syrup isn't raw, but that's a nitpicky thing I don't count. Just like the pasteurized orange juice that goes into my green smoothies.)

The avoiding junk was hard. Because I was feeling blah and tired, I really wanted junk. I saw frozen tart shells in the deep freezer. "Mmmm, 'butter' tarts would be delicious." Then I thought about making chocolate chip cookies. Neither times did it hit me they would be considered 'junk'. When it did hit me and I was still craving something, I thought about making Sarma Melngailis's chocolate coconut truffles and was so close to making them when a little voice said, "Wouldn't that count as junk, too?" Does it? I don't know. I decided it wasn't the healthiest way to satisfy the craving, so I didn't make them. But boy, was it difficult to stand against it! I eventually made myself a little trail mix with raw pumpkin seeds, raw sunflower seeds and some raisins.

Late afternoon, my headache and sinus pain had eased enough that I could do some other things, but not too much. In retrospect, a day with the laptop helped me read blogs I haven't read in a while, blog, and write something like 4800 words for NaNoWriMo. The things I can get done when I'm not busy with everything else!

It hit me that I had still to do my exercises. I finally managed to get to them. I decided to still focus on my glutes, but I kind of created my own sequence from different exercises. I just think it's important to not do the exact same thing every single day. I also did some yoga.

Despite most of the day being very rough, I still managed to accomplish everything I set out to do--including avoiding the junk! A little voice is saying to me, "Avoid it today, too!" I might as well. But the main focus will be the raw food in the morning (I don't even know what I have in the house, eek!), get the exercises in and water.

Are you going to make sure you hydrate yourself enough today?

Hopping Back On Board

Well, baby-hopping my way back on board!

Today is the first day of school here which is a good time for new beginnings. Somehow, it's just easier to push ourselves through with something new on a day that seems "new" anyhow.

I have decided it's time to hop back on board and baby step my way over the next week or two. I was feeling so good when my mornings were almost entirely raw, lunches were raw or mostly raw and then supper was cooked but high veggies and often a salad. It's been weeks since I've eaten like that and the results are clear: low energy, headaches and sinus problems are back, skin's a mess, my ears constantly feel slightly plugged, allergies are through the roof... I hate this. I keep getting mentally stuck on the "perfect" (sic) way to eat and some part of my mind broke through and finally said,

"Just do something each day that's better."

I can do something, can't I? Of course I can.That something for me is starting off my day with fresh fruit or a green smoothie. I actually did so yesterday, but that was just a "bonus day" of sorts. Today is the beginning of the actual commitment to do this. I know I'm going to feel so much better!

At the same time, my daughter and I have plans to have a gluten-free day this week. Clearly it's not today. Tomorrow's probably too soon and Friday probably wouldn't work, so I guess Thursday will be the day. I'll see what I can come up with for simple meal suggestions and we can even buy necessary items if we need to tomorrow. She is very used to eating wheat of some sort at lunch and often breakfast, so it could be particularly hard for her. I think people in general tend to get into ruts with what they eat and to pull themselves out and try something different doesn't always feel satisfying!

Btw, I'm still doing my 100-day yoga challenge. Yesterday was the 22nd day in a row. It's never too late to create your own challenge and to join me in either yoga or healthier eating!

Back from a hiatus!

Once again, my attempt at following the 30 (or is it 31) days of the 10-Pound Shred book have been foiled! This time: I got sick. From Tuesday until Saturday morning, I woke up each morning with a fever and a headache. I was tired, sometimes exhausted, could get out of breath just cleaning the kitchen. Not fun. Unfortunately, being out of it like that means I probably didn't eat super well. I couldn't even begin to tell you what I ate last week! I just don't know! I can tell you that I did not exercise.

I asked Tommy Europe, the book's author, what to do since I'd been off it a week. He said to back track to Day 8. So, I redid Day 8 today. Day 8 is a motivation day: do whatever physical activity you like. So, I warmed up on the treadmill and then did some ballet exercises. (My daughter's dance recital on Saturday inspired that!) I used a book I have had since I was, hm, 12? 13? I used to be able to do so many of the things in it easily, more of a turnout... *sigh* If you don't use it, you lose it, don't forget that!

Some things I've observed over this past week however: my body really doesn't like sugar. White sugar, I mean. We had a birthday celebration for my sister-in-law and my niece (her daughter; I babysit her during the day) and I made a cake on Friday to bring to the celebration. I made it dairy-free so I could eat it. It was delicious, I have to say, but I did get a little hint of a headache after eating it, even though I was fine with anything else I ate.

Just now, I dipped into some of the remaining frosting. As it so often happens, an almost immediate headache. (When will I learn? I guess the yumminess still outweighs the small headache!) I first noticed this correlation between a certain type of headache I get and sweets when I was 16. I'm now 37. I'm a slow learner in this regard, it seems. Or too apathetic. :(

Other observations: I did weigh and measure myself as scheduled last week. Weight has not changed, but I felt very puffy, so perhaps it had changed and I was retaining water that day. Some measurements have gone down. Woot! That means my very unused muscles are tightening up! That's good news. I was disappointed that my weight hadn't changed. I had eaten so much more in terms of fruits and vegetables compared to previously, cut back on grains and I think eliminated junk. It was just one of those moments of feeling like it doesn't matter what I eat, the weight is staying the same. But then it hit me how much better I had been feeling, how even my seasonal allergies were simmering down even though other people I know are still having serious problems (people whose allergy symptoms' severity matched my own in previous years). Yesterday, I decided to try a piece of a raw apple. It didn't cause me to itch. Now, sometimes apples don't bother me, but most of the time they do. I don't think it's a coincidence that I'm in the middle of a season where others are having a hard time with allergies, and here I am, have been eliminating the crud from my diet and upping the whole fruits and veggies, and I was able to eat some apple. It's been 12 years since I first started having problems with apples. I was pregnant with my son. Years later, someone said to me it sounded as though my body needed to detox. I think she was right. And I hope that's what I'm now working on. Of course, eating the frosting isn't very helpful to that. :/ But things are improving and even if the weight isn't changing (yet), my health is, and that's so much more important.

I *almost* ate the last cupcake

I almost ate the last cupcake.

But I didn't.

It wasn't a matter of will power or anything like that. In fact, this post was supposed to be "I ate the last cupcake."

But I didn't.

It happened like this:

I still had a bunch of leftover cupcakes from Tuesday (St. Valentine's Day). Nobody was eating them. Well, not entirely true: Some were eaten on Tuesday, my 4yo niece had had one each day since, the little guy I look after had one yesterday and I indulged yesterday (and regretted it), but that still left many cupcakes. Hubby and my kids aren't eating them.

So I ate one after lunch.

Or rather, 3/4 of one.

I'd eaten half of it, really paying attention to the taste and texture, and was kind of thinking, "Why am I eating this? It doesn't even taste that good." See, it wasn't homemade and made of fine ingredients. It was No Name cake mix and some sort of prepackaged frosting. Full of man-made chemicals and crud. As I threw the last 1/4 of it away, I said to my daughter, "It doesn't taste like real food." Pause. "That's cuz it's not real food." (And even just the 3/4 I did eat left me with my tell-tale headache. I don't know if it's the cupcake or the frosting. Or an ingredient common to both. Or just my body's way of saying, "Stop eating this cr*p!")

I had no temptation for the rest of the afternoon.

My 7yo niece and 11yo nephew arrived after school. I let them each have a cupcake. (And part of me inside is now going, "Why am I feeding them that junk?") That left one. Which sat there. And sat there. And sat there.

I ate supper. With the cupcake sitting there still on the table. I thought, "I guess I'll eat it. I'd hate for it to go to waste."

In half a second, through my mind went the idea of blogging about how I ate the last cupcake and why-oh-why-did-I-eat-it-when-it-didn't-taste-that-good-and-how-I-catch-myself-doing-this-eating-things-up-because-I-don't-want-them-to-go-to-waste-but-won't-it-just-be-going-to-waste-in-my-body?

Going to waste in my body. 

And for something that I didn't even really enjoy.

I looked at that thing sitting there. The poor thing: its fate was doomed. No way I was going to eat it now.

I cleaned up my supper dishes and confirmed that nobody was going to eat it. Then I picked it up. It is now in the garbage--because everybody else here has the sense to not eat it. And now I do, too.

And that's how this post, that was going to be "I ate the last cupcake", became "I *almost* ate the last cupcake."

Listen to your body!

I have in my head, after writing "Listen to your body!" the song "Listen to Your Heart" by Roxette. And it being St. Valentine's Day and all, seems like an appropriate song to have in my head. :D

In any case, I just wanted to babble a bit about the messages our bodies give us. This is one of those days where my body is either speaking loudly--or I'm just paying more attention!

I woke up this morning feeling like I was coming down with something, not hungry, eventually ate a banana. Not hungry for a while, my stomach was grumbling though, decided to drink some water and saw another banana and went, "Mmm, that would be good." Nothing else was the least bit appetizing. Not even the frozen dessert made last night.

Lunch came around. I was starting to feel hungry a bit, but nothing seemed to appeal to me. I eventually settled on making a cucumber, celery, carrot salad (I won't share what I did--it wasn't a very good sauce lol). By the time I finished it, I was actually feeling quite a bit better. I decided to try my raw frozen dessert (YUM!), looked at the clock and it was about 12:15. The whole morning was raw! Woot! :D And rather unintentionally.

I was feeling like I needed something more, so I reheated some leftover rice. Again, it was one of those things of considering multiple options and when I saw the rice, I knew that was the thing to do.

After that, since we have a close-to-expiring cake mix, I made some Valentine's cupcakes. I naturally ate a couple. And now I have a headache. I was fine all day--until I had the cupcakes.

My body is telling me something!

How often do we ignore these signs? How often do we recognize them but continue on eating what causes the problems anyhow?

Someday I'll learn. Being very aware that this headache, and the blah accompanying it, came as a result of the cupcakes is definitely making me look at the cupcakes as evil little things--at least for the rest of today. lol. I really do have to try to make some raw cupcakes sometime. But I need to find one, or adapt one, so that there aren't any almonds!

All I really want now is water. I think I'll listen. :D