Parting Words

I read a blog post today that really struck home, in both a good and bad way. A fellow Mom let off some steam about all the “rules” of parenting and how absolutely tiresome they are.  The rant got my attention because the title referenced slathering toxic cream (sunscreen) onto her children. I actually thought it was going to be a post about the dangers of the toxic creams and how regular joes can avoid them, which – as you know – I support. But she went in a completely different direction, humorously focusing instead on how following the do’s and don’ts often prevents us from living the very life we seek.

She’s right. I mean, she’s dead-on, nail-on-the-head, face-palm right.

Why did this resonate with me so? I’m glad you asked.  If you’ve read my blog before, you might have noticed that I only posted twice in 2015. There are two reasons for this: 1) I was actually busier living life than writing about it and 2) I found that the thoughts I was trying to formulate into an educational blog post were often this-is-how-you-should-do-it thoughts which would serve to benefit no one other than me. I don’t EVER want someone to read my blog or anything I’ve written and feel like they are being judged or criticized for the choices they have made. Remember that saying our mothers taught us, “If you can’t say anything nice…”? I’m proud to say that I actually listened. When I read what Sarah wrote in her post, it reinforced my belief that no one should feel like the job they are doing as a parent is not good enough. Ever. And I thought, Amen, sister! To hell with the parenthood rules.

I admit that when this blog started I found a ton of mommy-bloggers who seemed to have their lives tidy and packaged and wrapped in a shiny bow. I had already stepped quite a way outside of my comfort zone to share with the web my successes and my failures at a year of changes toward natural living.  I used the blog as my scrapbook, and then I found the entire mommy-blogging community. I thought they were geniuses, and I envied the amount of readers they had. I bought a domain and linked it to all the stellar blogs I followed. I signed up for Twitter.  I created a Facebook page and invited friends to like it.

To date, my FB page is a dead horse and if I may be honest here, I hate Twitter.  Hate it.

The effort of keeping up with all the e-social requirements was exhausting. I mean, really. How in the hell are we supposed to experience life if we’re sitting in front of a screen watching stats and comments all day long? Seriously? If I do that, then eventually I’m not going to know the kids I’m writing about.

It took me about a year to realize I had better things to do with my life. I ditched my efforts at gaining followers and my readership remained in the single digits.  I could live with that.

So basically, I have two reasons for writing today.  First, I’m thinking that I will not renew this domain when it expires.  I will move all the posts over to my primary blog, www.DomAndLori.net, just to keep my ADHD and parenting advice available – you know, on the off chance that a reader needs my words to tell him or her that it’s okay to call the shots. (As if.) Essentially, I believe the shelf-life of The Purpose Driven Mom is nearing its end.  It’s cool.  Because honestly, every time Facebook tells me someone looked at my page, I feel this overwhelming responsibility to go write a new post or update the site. But at the same time, I’m not feeling the “purpose,” so the responsibility is mildly aggravating at best. Besides, notifications from all these damn apps are on my last nerve. Example: Pinterest tells me today that I have 25 pins waiting for me.  Um, no, I don’t.  My friends saved 25 pins and Pinterest thinks I care.  Kiss off, already, Pinterest. It’s not like I’m going to suddenly want a knitting pattern and forget you exist.  Give me some dang breathing room. (And yes, for all you techies with the knowledge knots, I have already turned off the notifications.  And I’m still getting them. Figure that one.)

Second, I have some parting words for anyone who reads this post, whether you’re here because you followed the mission from the beginning or because you just stumbled upon the page and felt like spending some time with me. (Thank you for that, by the way.)  I have spent a full six years changing my lifestyle, helping friends with food advice and recipes, and attempting to make my corner of the world a little more natural, if not altogether better. Sometimes I have succeeded and other times I have fallen flat on my face.  But I have learned in these six years that the journey is entirely mine and that my mission includes not judging people who do not walk the same path.  To that end, I feel I have achieved my mission.  But I want you all to know a few things before I bid you adieu, some things I hope will help you on your own journey:

• Please, for the love of everything holy, don’t ever let anyone make you feel like you are less of a person or less of a parent because of your choices. If you love your children and let them know it, then you are a good parent in my book. When you read an internet post or email that says you HAVE to do this or do that, unless it seems like something you have the desire, the time and the energy to try, IGNORE it. If you wanna give it a shake, do so. But if you try it and find that it doesn’t make your life better, then allow yourself to Let. It. Go.  And show the haters your middle finger.
• There is a ton of electronic information on recipes, tips and tricks to make natural living easy. Spoiler alert: 99% of them do not work for the long haul. Trust me.  I have made every recipe for natural cleaner on the internet. I have tried many of the home remedies suggested by mostly-trustworthy writers, and I have found very few things that actually live up to their claims. (Six years, people.  Six long years.) I have found many things that I have no desire to even try. I love coffee, but putting butter in it, despite the claims, does not make it or me bulletproof. And the idea of a coffee enema is a straight-up Hell No.  After six years of research, of all the “natural” cures on the internet I can vouch for three.  Get that? Three. They are:
  • Lavender essential oil works for minor burns. It immediately takes the pain out of burns from bacon grease splatters, and it even worked when I hit my knuckle on the oven element last week.  I will always have a bottle in the kitchen cabinet.  Take that for what it’s worth.
  • Heartburn cure: 1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar and 1 teaspoon honey diluted with about half a cup of water. Chug it, shoot it, whatever you wanna call getting it down the guzzler. It is the only thing that has ever worked on me, and it cures in less than ten minutes.  Granted, I’ve only had heartburn four times in my life, but OHMYGOSH I would cut out my esophagus to alleviate that pain!  This worked every time, and it will forever be my remedy.
  • Allergy cure: take the heartburn remedy and add ¼ teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon turmeric. I usually hit this three times a day when I’m sniffling. This works on me, my husband and my son when the seasonal pollen count threatens to take us down.  My daughter won’t go near it, so we may never know if it works on her.  She’s good with a box of Kleenex, so we shrug and move on.
  • BONUS cure: I don’t think this one is on the internet, maybe it is…I’ve never looked. My grandmother taught us this treatment for ant bites.  If you get attacked by ants, immediately grab handfuls of leaves from two totally different plants or trees (soft leaves work best) and pulverize them together in your hands. Rub – no, smear – them all over the ant bites until your skin is green from the chlorophyll.  This seems to take the sting out right away and keeps the pustules from forming. I’ve used this remedy for years.

So there they are, folks – the four natural, everyday remedies I am willing to vouch for after six years of research and practice. As far as food goes, I will always endorse clean eating as a means of staying well and being good to your body. You want to use whatever diet/method/lifestyle supports your best health, no matter what anyone else thinks of it. If there is anything I have learned in these six years, it is that change is hard, and each person has to decide for himself or herself how much change is worth it. My personal food choices are wildly unpopular, but they work for me and I feel good physically when I stick to those choices.

CONFESSIONS:

• While my best health is promoted by a grain-free lifestyle, my home is not grain-free. It’s not even totally organic.  My dogs eat grain-free.  My kids do not.
• My kids eat Reese’s Puffs. Yes, you read that right. I actually put in my grocery cart multiple boxes of full-on General Mills, GMO, gag-me-with-a-cereal-spoon Reese’s Freakin’ Puffs. Why? Because it makes them happy. They know my opinions and ideals, and they share some but not all of them.  Once they became teenagers, I felt like they had the right to make that choice. So if they want canned ravioli or Pizza Rolls or Kraft Mac & Cheese, by George, they’re gonna have it.  I pick my battles.
• I love to be in the sun, but I don’t use sunscreen unless I’m swimming. Judge away, just don’t tell me about it. I have my reasons for not listening.
• I have loved my readers’ comments, especially when they tell me that I helped them consider a new view or that they found parental support on my blog. I felt like my presence here was helping someone, and that made me feel good. I owe gratitude to everyone who ever bothered to read my words and write me back.
• I have considered ditching my Facebook account altogether because my newsfeed is full of aggravating articles from activist organizations that I once “liked.” I need to take my own advice and just flip those organizations the bird, but even that task seems like an energy drain.
• I texted my husband yesterday before I left work and told him that I wanted chocolate and wine. Like, for dinner. I was serious.  And I got them.

It’s been a pleasure to share this journey with you, my friends, but it’s time to close this chapter of my internet life.  I wish you health and peace, always.

Love, Lori

Why No Wheat?

Tags

diabetes, glycemic index, Grain Brain, no grains, paleo, pre-diabetic, wheat, Wheat Belly

I had the “wheat-free” conversation with two friends recently, which prompted me to write this post.  Over the course of the last year and a half whenever I tell someone that I try to follow the Paleo lifestyle for eating, they always ask why I don’t eat grains.  I suppose sugar is a no-brainer for most people, as it was for me, but I didn’t always have a ready answer on the grain part.  I had only vague “grains are anti-nutrients” statements that I could not support with any memorable scientific notes.  Not being one to try to force people to my way of thinking, I’d shrug and let it go.  What’s right for me isn’t necessarily right for someone else.  Hadn’t I learned that already in my own household?

Last autumn when my husband was diagnosed as being pre-diabetic I read through the literature his doctor sent home with him.  It recommended low-fat foods, fruits, vegetables and lots of whole grains.  Ugh.  But I nearly lost it when the literature encouraged diet soft drinks and sugar-free candy.  ENCOURAGED!!!   I read the absurdities out loud and then tossed the literature across the table.

“Will you help me eat right?” my husband asked.

“I don’t agree with that crap,” I said, pointing to the literature endorsed by the American Diabetes Association. “I can’t even explain to you exactly why I don’t agree with it, but I can’t stomach the idea of medical professionals telling people whole grains and Aspartame are good for you.”

“Then we’ll throw those papers away.  Will you help me eat right?” he asked again.

How could I say no?  He was placing more trust in me than in his doctor, and I wasn’t about to let him down.  I jumped back on my Paleo bandwagon with both feet.  Dom immediately cut out grains and sugars.  His blood sugar, which we tested daily, normalized at once and over the course of the next three months he lost 20 pounds.  Even better than those awesome health benefits, we were enjoying cooking dinner together almost every night and sharing lunch at home during the workdays.  I decided to make it my mission to find out why this grain-free life was treating us so kindly.

Two of the books I have read in my quest are Grain Brain and Wheat Belly, both written by physicians and chock-full of science.  Admittedly, I sometimes found myself zoning out from all the scientific references, but two things caught my attention and held it: 1) Both doctors referenced cases of various illness and disorders which other doctors could not specifically diagnose – all alleviated with the elimination of grain from the diet; and 2) the scientific trials referenced in both books included tens of thousands of individuals – large scale research.  Conversely, I overheard our local news recently touting a health study in which 200 individuals participated.  Wow…a whole 200 people?  Please.

Even though I had already given up wheat and other grains, these books reinforced my resolve to avoid them.  Some basic facts that strengthened my understanding are:

• It’s not my great-great-grandmother’s wheat.  The wheat we eat today has been so genetically modified in order to produce larger crops and greater profitability that it no longer resembles the wheat of our ancestors, and it wreaks havoc on the body in ways that ancient grains simply did not.
• The inclusion of grains as the basis of our food pyramid (not to mention the sheer proportion of grains compared to other foods in our “recommended daily nutrition”) is not based on any scientific evidence.  It was pretty much decided by a group of politicians in the 70’s (who were likely trying to support corporate agriculture) and simply never challenged.
• Genetically engineered wheat (roughly 99% of all wheat world-wide) can not survive in a natural environment.  Originally created to produce higher yields in an effort to offset world hunger, these grains were propelled into our food supply without any studies on their health effects.
• From a blood glucose standpoint, a slice of whole wheat bread whacks out your blood sugar more than a Snickers bar.  (NOT that I am advocating you dine on Snickers!)  To be precise, a Snickers bar has a glycemic index (GI) of 49.  A slice of whole wheat bread has an average GI of 71.  This information alone makes me furious that the ADA literature I referred to earlier actually promoted wheat products and whole grains for people wanting to manage diabetes.  I guess I should just be happy that they didn’t advise we have a Snickers bar with our diet soda.

I looked at the American Diabetes Association’s website explanation of GI on various foods.  They list the GI of a piece of whole wheat bread as “medium GI (56-69)” while stating white bread has a “high GI (70+).” Conversely, according to the Harvard Medical School, whole wheat bread averages a GI of 71, the very same as white bread.  Surprising to most, a “healthy” bowl of instant oatmeal averages a GI of 83.  I looked extensively at various groups’ food GI charts and came to my own conclusion:  given the extensive varieties of food products available to us in the stores, the data pretty much can be expressed in any light to support any claim.  But I have to marvel at the fact that a whopping 79 million people in the U.S. are “pre-diabetic.”  From my standpoint, it’s easy to see why.

Okay, so I gave up bread (and oatmeal and crackers and cereal and donuts and… you get the picture).  Wanna know what else I gave up?  My ever-growing list includes joint pain, cramps, blemishes and skin oddities.  Dom gave up antacids entirely.  Just a little slip (which we made on two separate weekends) brings back symptoms we would have otherwise ignored in our former selves.  So many health inconveniences were just accepted as a part of life and aging.  But the elimination of wheat (and likely sugar too) has proven that life and aging can be so much better than we had been trained to accept!

So, what do I eat?  Well, lots of eggs, uncured meats, cheeses, whole milk (I’m “paleo plus dairy” 🙂 ) fruits, nuts and vegetables.  We drink red wine with dinner.  No sugars, no starches.  I rely on sweet potatoes for an indulgent carb boost and paleo “treats” for my occasional sweet tooth.  (See Living Healthy with Chocolate and PaleOMG for some awesome treat recipes!)  I don’t worry about calories, fat or cholesterol for many of the reasons cited in the two books referenced above.

And no, quitting wheat cold-turkey was not super-easy.  I actually did it three times before it stuck.  This last time, with Dominic’s health at stake and armed with much more information, I walked away from wheat and didn’t look back.  But I know how hard it can be… after all, I made an Italian give up pasta.

I’m no doctor and I don’t pretend to be.  I don’t know your personal situation and cannot guarantee any results for anyone, including myself.  But if you’re dealing with an ailment no one can identify, or you’re simply just wishing you could feel better, try eliminating wheat and grain from your diet.  Give it four weeks and see how you feel.  It may work for you; it may not.  I’m betting that it will.

I found a quote on Facebook the other day that stated, “Every time you eat or drink, you are either feeding disease or fighting it.”  (Credit: Heather Morgan, MS, NLC.)  I have learned that I’m a fighter.  How ’bout you?

I wish you health and peace.

Here But There

Tags

paleo, Recipes

Sorry for being  MIA again.  I haven’t been able to complete a blog post for what, four months now? I’ll start one and then it just sort of fizzles.  I think I have writer’s block.  It’s showing up in other areas of my life, too.  Time to banish the demons.  😉  I once read that a blogger should post something every day, even if it’s crap writing.  I just can’t make you suffer through EVERYTHING in my head, so I (obviously) haven’t subscribed to that idea.  Maybe I should.  Be warned.  (Footnote: after finishing this post and re-reading it, I think I’m already testing the theory. My apologies.)

The Hubster and I are back on the Paleo Wagon in a much more committed way.  It’s been pretty easy this time around, and we are already feeling better as a result.  Hubs is dropping pounds and I can already tell that food is in control of that crappy pain in my right elbow.  My pantry is shaping up nicely and I have found several new blogs to stalk.  Not all of the blogs are strictly paleo/primal, though many are.  I likely will not turn PDM into a paleo blog, but I just have to share some of the awesome sites I have been stalking.  Check ‘em out:

PaleoHacks  I just registered for PaleoCon, a free week-long e-seminar that starts Monday.  Paleo pros will share information, research, exercise and recipes.   Eeep!!  As I read up on PaleoCon, I noted that one of the speakers, John Durant, reminded me an awful lot of the mainstream media image of Jesus.  And then I saw that his topic in the conference is about (roughly interpreted by me) the biblical aspects of paleo.  Too funny!!  Bring it on, John!

Crackers on the Couch I found and fell in love with Brooke’s recipe for mushroom broth, which we now cannot live without. 

Edible Harmony  Denise rocks some “real food” recipes!!  Shortly after I canned an army’s supply of sugary pumpkin butter, I found her paleo pumpkin butter recipe. 

Paleo Spirit  On her “About” page, Lea states, “When I realized that ‘Paleo’ could mean much more than just diet and exercise, I was hooked. I embrace the ideal of pursuing health and fulfillment through simple, time-tested strategies and apply them to my life as a woman, a wife, a mother, and a Christian.”  I heart her.

Crazy Sexy Wellness  Kris is a ten-year Stage 4 cancer survivor with a wealth of knowledge and experience.  She has some great whole-food for your whole-life stuff on her blog. 

PaleOMG  Juli calls it food porn.  It is.  Seriously, as my friend Kim says, Oh-Em-to the double-Gee!!  This is usually the first place I go when I’m brave enough to try something new.  Or when I want sweet cheats.

Paleo Cupboard If you’re in the mood for Cajun Shrimp and Grits, give this a try!  After a stressful week of questionable eating, this was the first meal that actually satisfied me.  That shrimp spice recipe?  Ohhhhhhh yyyyyyeaaaaahhhhhhhhhh. 

Everyday Paleo  Sarah was one of the first paleo bloggers I started following, way back when my quest for natural sun tolerance led me to try paleo.  And since we are tamale lovers, I cannot wait to try her brother’s paleo tamale recipe. 

Multiply Delicious is home to my favorite herb cracker recipe. 

Elaina at The Rising Spoon saved me several dead presidents this fall with her pumpkin pie spice recipe.  She’s also trying to get me to put butter in my coffee.  Hmmmmmmm…

So there you have it… a smattering of the places I’ve been hanging out lately.  You should visit them too.  I’m sure you’ll find something you like!

Late night edit to today’s post: I was browsing the Paleo Digest on my new computer (found in the Microsoft Store for Windows 8 – love it but don’t know much about it…anyhoo) when I stumbled upon a site I am going to haunt for the long term…Living Healthy With Chocolate.  Basically, imagine something you like with chocolate in it, and I’m pretty sure Adriana has already made it Paleo!  Magnifico!!!!!

 

Catching Up

Tags

giveaways, makeup, Simple Beauty Minerals

Sorry, y’all.  I took a little unintended snooze for a while and neglected my blogs, my email and life in general outside of Poca Voglia.  I practically dropped off the map.  I’m actually surprised the Internet still knows me.  I logged in only to pay bills and buy things from Amazon.  (I heart Amazon.)  My own parents didn’t see me for three weeks, and Mom and I only talked on the phone twice in that whole time.  I know, right?  And what, you may ask, kept me holed up in my bubble for so long?  Well… see, what had happened was…

I got tendonitis in my elbow, which is aggravated by my desk height every time I use the computer at home.  So that kept me from sitting there to write, which as you see I am finally determined to do anyway.  My poor little blog has been bombarded by spam and autobot “users” despite all the free protection I can afford for the site, so checking my email has become an all out pain in the backside.  I had to deal with Comcast (the corporate spawn of Satan) three more times, and suffered the botanical injustice of watching a “white” crepe myrtle bloom purple in my front yard.  PURPLE!  The nursery graciously gave me another tree that blooms in the correct color.  (Comcast, surprisingly, also came through for me in the end.  The very end.  Go figure.) I was cell-phone harassed by an obnoxious marketing ploy for two weeks before I finally got the chance to give them an uncensored piece of my mind.  I got sucked in to a really long book that I couldn’t put down despite my grudge against it.   And on top of all that, Aaron’s computer got a virus, so any tech time I had at home was devoted to restoring his system.  Were it not for my father, I’d still be sitting there trying to disarm the virus.  He dealt with it for twenty minutes and then just formatted the hard drive.  Needless to say, I am now an overbearing Windows-updating, kilobyte-clearing, security-locking, virus-sniffing bloodhound. Floppy ears and all.

Not that it’s been all bad, mind you.  My garage now sports a gloriously organized peg-board, my yard is looking pretty good, and the family is still healthy.  I managed to ease myself into a new hairstyle, and this pasty white girl is finally sporting a natural, subtle summer glow.  The tan (if you’ll forgive my liberal use of the word) won’t last long, but I am enjoying it nonetheless.

OK, so now that you’ve heard my sob story, put down your violin and sneak a peek at this!  I am officially three weeks late with the news (because of all that crap I just whined about) but Lisa over at Simple Beauty Minerals (formerly Style Essentials) is having a month-long anniversary party.  And she’s giving gifts at her own party…’cause that’s just how she rolls.  Each week is a special celebration.  I won’t even tell you what we’ve already missed, but this week focuses on Different Colored Eyes and Lisa has free mineral shadows to send based on your eye color (if supplies still last).  Next week will have something to do with ice cream colors, which sounds perfect for this time of year.  I’ve already put you drastically behind, so head on over to Lisa’s site and sign up for her newsletter so you can get some cool gifts too!  You’ll only be sorry if you don’t sign up.  😉

May the rest of your summer be infinitely healthy!

Like Riding a Bike

Exactly six weeks ago I was driving my car and talking to my kids about their falling grades and sagging attitudes.  I had to admit that I, too, was not quite myself in the home-stretch of waiting for our home to be built.  My kiddos, who are usually good students, were seeing their second-quarter grades drop into oblivion.  They both admitted that they could do better, and they just hadn’t been putting forth the effort like they used to.  I in turn admitted that I hadn’t been doing all my “mom duties” like I used to either.  I let stress wear me down, almost to the point of illness again.  My purpose-driven-ness got put on autopilot, and many of my own “Oh-no-I-WON’Ts” morphed into “Oh-what-the-hells.” It was a rough autumn, to say the least.

My own parents are Super-Heroes for taking us all in.  For four solid months I did not cook, clean, wash laundry or make a bed.  I think I only fed my dogs twice in all that time.  Knowing how hard it was for all of us to be without permanent residence, my mom made good-and-sure that we were spoiled like last week’s fruit.  I vocalized only once, but secretly feared for at least two months, that I would completely forget how to maintain a household.  (I love you, Mom!)

We moved in to our new house on December 7, and though we were so glad to have our own place, I wondered if I would actually find my feet again in my new kitchen and utility room.  I am pleased to say that I have.

Baby Girl was sick the entire first week after our move, and while I felt I really needed to be at work, the cosmos and my husband felt otherwise and set me straight pretty quickly.  As the Hubster pointed out, “She is sick.  She needs to stay home and rest.  And, you have more sick time than I do.”  Point taken.  So in between reading to Vic and checking for fever, I unpacked a box or two and then decided we were going to need to eat, and if I had anything to say about it, we were NOT eating more fast food.  (Yes – I had regressed THAT far!)  I pulled out the dutch oven, washed off the summer’s storage dust, and proceeded to make Red Beans and Sausage.  Then I whipped up some olive mix, made muffalettas and baked a whole chicken in my sparkly new-fangled oven.  I’m sharing all this to express my surprise that my domestic abilities have not faded with the season.

I bet I could still ride a bike if I tried!  But it’s rainy and cold, and I’m a weather wimp, so that experiment will have to wait.

Helloooo, July! It’s Sooooooo Good to See You!

Greetings from the road to recovery!  We have actual, reportable progress on so many of my most stressful issues that I just gotta share…

First, I am finally healed from my first tumble.  The doc determined that I did not fracture my elbow and he downgraded me to a sprain, which made me very happy.  Unfortunately, that news was not even twelve hours old when I fell AGAIN right at three weeks ago.  Despite bruised ribs, a gashed up knee and a face that made me look like a volunteer punching bag, I am finally healing – again.  Only in the last week have I actually felt like myself.  I accomplished tasks at work (yay!), cooked dinner, and even did a little more packing.  Oh, and I managed to sneeze without feeling like my ribs would be blown to the four corners of the earth.  For the win, right?

Next, while I was laid up in bed whining over my wounds and snorting Lortab (not really…well, maybe…) we got an offer on our house.  Which, of course, we accepted.   Which means we sold our house.  Which means that we have to get ready to get the hell out of Dodge…for real now.  Aaaaaaaaand, we closed on our construction loan and broke ground on the new house.  Next we move in with my parents.  (And their world will never be the same…)

On the Food Front, I have to thank you all for your support and wonderful comments with regard to me changing our diets for Aaron’s benefit.  It has not been an easy change, and we have had several nights that tried everyone’s patience at the dinner table.  But Aaron is a trooper, and even though he abhorred many of the things we made him try he DID try them, and even found some new things that he likes.  I had to throw in one or two cheat days to keep everyone sane and chugging along with me, but that one night of sundaes and DQ Blizzards was worth the tummy aches we all had the next day, if for nothing more than strengthening our morale (as well as our resolve!)  We are tweaking Paleo to work for us, and in the end I think that we will each have a better ability to make proper decisions about our own nutrition.  The kids have really embraced all this change better than I imagined they would, and I am so grateful to have such earnest learners, even when they are begging me relentlessly for Southern Maid donuts.

Finally, I think the biggest change is once again happening within me.  I’ve learned that falling down is easy (too easy, thankyouverymuch!) but getting up is where you grow and learn.  I learned am learning to slow down – to not rush through these days of change and uncertainty, but rather to embrace them and try to appreciate something different about each day.  Last week as I walked across the parking lot, realizing that it feels so damn good to be “me” again, I found myself hurrying.  And then I realized that hurrying is exactly how I got injured in the first place.  I will make a conscious effort to slow down, physically and mentally.  Because as stressful as I know these days ahead may be, I don’t want to miss a single thing about these events and the opportunity to see my family through them safely.

Paleo Progress

Tags

grocery shopping, paleo, progress

You’re probably wondering how this whole putting-my-kids-on-paleo thing is working out.  It does, after all, have the potential to land me flat on my face, or at the very least, my cavewoman butt.

I didn’t want to start them out on paleo before school ended, because I had no clue what to put in their lunchboxes and decided that three more days of PB&J sandwiches wasn’t going to kill us.  So school ended on Wednesday, and then we found our fridge and pantry pretty bare of essential ingredients.  With payday and a resulting grocery trip looming on the horizon, I decided to hold off a couple more days before turning this dietary apple-cart upside down on the weekend.

So, yeah, we are officially on Day Two.  Four hours ago, my family completely hated me.  Four hours ago, we were also standing in the middle of WalMart while foods we used to buy with reckless abandon taunted us from their shelves.  Who wouldn’t be hating during that?!

But let’s back up a bit.  Yesterday we made our first ever paleo pancakes, which ironically got two thumbs up from the Hubster.  The kids did not share his enthusiasm for the pancakes.  They were a messy pain to cook, so my enthusiasm was waning before I ever tasted them.  But they ended up being the kind of pancakes I can’t get enough of.  If you’ve ever had the harvest grain (nut and grain?) pancakes at IHOP, these are similar in texture.  And totally paleo.  The kids ate bacon as they explained to me that the pancakes just didn’t turn them on.  So be it.  Not everything is going to be a win right out of the gate.

Lunch was a little more enjoyable for everyone.  We had bunless hot dogs and homemade tamale chili.  I can’t get my family to buy into the best-for-you hotdogs at the health food store, but everyone tolerates Hebrew National fairly well.  Let me state that nothing about a hotdog makes it paleo.  There are several ingredients that make me cringe.  For now, though, it’s a means to an end, and it represented our first everyone-seems-happy-eating-the-same-thing meal.

Dinner was hosted by my Mom, who rocks steamed squash like nobody’s business!  Breakfast this morning was fried eggs (but I think I slept through it) and A LOT of complaining and whining that everyone was hungry and all they really wanted was a bowl of cereal.  I was the Wicked Witch of the Kitchen, starving my subjects with grain withdrawals.  Waaa, waaa, waaa.

It was with these attitudes and prejudices that we went grocery shopping.  You can imagine how much fun we had.  Despite the fact that my children were bickering through the entire store, that I threatened to flat-out beat them on the salsa aisle in front of an innocent bystander, and the fact that I was abandoned to push my own buggy with a fractured elbow not once, BUT TWICE during the trip, there were some positive highlights.  For one, the Hubster actually started reading ingredient lists.  I showed him what he needed to look for, and as he picked up item after item that he used to LOVE to eat, he grew more and more disgusted.  I think he was more disgusted with the fact that he knew those things were never again going in my buggy than with the fact that the ingredients themselves are dangerous.  But, whatever it takes, ya know?

And, even though we usually despise WalMart, I have to give them kudos for carrying my fave brands of organic coconut milk, coconut oil, and chicken at really decent prices.  Their seafood and produce still leave A LOT to be desired, but I’ll be heading out to Kroger this afternoon to finish stuffing our fridge.

We came home with our still-sour attitudes and blood-sugar crashes to a lunch of fajita chicken, guacamole and cherry tomatoes, after which Aaron informed me that even though it’s tough, he does believe these changes are worth it.  I really needed to hear that from him.  Sometimes I don’t know if he is trying to convince himself, or if he just wants to say something that will make me smile.  But he’s a smart kid and I know he believes in positive change, even if it sucks for a while.

A few notes of confession:  I have not nixed dairy from the kids’ diets because I still think milk is important for their bodies, and a little cheese adds great flavor to some otherwise boring recipes.  I still let them have a little sugar – we bought some V8 fruit/veggie juices to drink – and of course, I add dark chocolate to my homemade trail mix.

If you’re wondering how making this change is remotely possible for us, I found these two incredible resources this morning.  Paleo Plan has great recipes, and BTB Fitness gave a perfect standing grocery list and a ton of info on implementing it.  Worth the reads if you’re interested.

Decaf, Schmeecaf

When I tell you that I nearly titled this post, “What the Hell Was I Thinking?” you’ll know exactly where this is going.

So, yeah, I said I was ixnaying caffeine, right?  Would you think terribly less of me if I retracted the whole hair-brained idea???

I’ve been drinking decaf coffee for a month now.  I have also suffered with a month of bad hair days.  Coincidence?  Whatever.  It’s also coincidental that as soon as I returned to full-caf earlier this week my hair went back to being manageable.  But I also totally jacked the experiment by switching shampoos two days ago.  So was it the decaf or the shampoo or just my hair rebelling against 40?  Who knows?  Who really cares?  I gave decaf a fair and mighty shake, but in the end I decided there may be an undiscernable reason that decaf and I just aren’t meant to be together.

I’m no sharper for having switched, either.

I found a few minutes to discuss this with my dear friend Kim the other night while she stirred a pan full of corn.  “I read your post.  What’s all that about?” she asked.

“Oh, I think I’m gonna have to give that up.  Can a month of decaf make me have thirty bad hair days in a row?”

“Of course it can; Venus is in retrograde.  You’re just trying too much stuff.  You need to chill.”

It’s good advice, really.  There’s one thing I’ve learned in these two years of change.  If it’s a good change and worth holding on to, I’ll feel it.  There should be a positive benefit that I am able to recognize after a certain amount of time.  If I struggle with something for a month and experience no positive changes, then it’s quite possibly just not something I’m destined for.

This may be the fastest retraction I’ve ever made on this blog.  Coffee, anyone??

Hey, It’s Okay…

In a bout of ragged wits-endedness, I flopped down with my Google Reader to try to catch up on everyone I have missed for the past, oh-I-don’t-know, five weeks?  (Who’s counting?)  I didn’t realize how absolutely defeated I felt until I pulled myself away from dishes and laundry and cheer-challenged family members and sank into my iPad for the first time in Way Too Long.

Not too far into my Reader I saw Shell’s post titled Hey, It’s Okay, so I checked in on her world.  I like checking in with Shell.  She brings perspective to me far more than she knows.  And she offered Airing My Dirty Laundry’s linky-loo opportunity (I’m so bad with the internet terms!) to share my own “Hey, It’s Okay” post.

So I am.  Right now.   These are things that have turned me on my ear in the last seven days.  Things I’m dealing with.  It’s all good.  I am woman.  Hear me roar.

Hey, it’s okay…

To serve canned tomato soup and boxed mac-n-cheese for dinner.

To make your child do his science fair project on his own.  And it’s also okay if said project looks like he did it All. By. Himself.

To use your car’s seat heater in 60-degree weather.  Just because you CAN!!

To tell your son that you won’t tuck him in or kiss him goodnight until he clears his floor of all the Legos so that you don’t sprain an ankle tripping over a plastic Hogwarts.

It’s also okay if your son merely scoops all the Legos to one side of the room, clearing you a runway of sorts to his bed.

If you haven’t finished (or started) the book you want to write.

If your grandmother announces in shock when she sees you on Thanksgiving that “You’re a redhead!” even if you have had black hair all your life until your four-year romance with permanent hair dyes.  And it is also perfectly okay if you immediately return home to dye your hair black again, and wear solid black to work the next day in order to detract from the hair.  Your coworkers will keep mum because they know what is good for them.

To secretly long for payday so you can buy that holiday bottle of Bailey’s Irish Crème.  The same bottle you plan to drink without sharing.

If you make a muffaletta cheese ball that suffices by itself as two of your lunches.  Whatevs.

If you set out your Christmas tree and your Advent wreath on the same day.

If you check your daughter out at 1pm on a Monday because she’s “sick” even if you aren’t entirely convinced that she is, in fact, sick.  Sometimes we just need to be taken away from the stress.

If, after rolling your eyes, you realize that – holy crap! – your daughter might actually be sick, what with all that coughing she’s been doing since 1pm.

If you’ve committed yourself to saccharin-free, dye-free, preservative-free homeopathic medicines, only to go running to the pharmacy for Children’s Motrin and Delsym when fever and coughs put up a bigger fight than you expected.  Do what works and let it go.

If you buy everyone gift cards for Christmas.  Better yet, buy them all at Kroger when you run in for a pint of Ben & Jerry’s! (makin’ a list…checkin’ it twice…)

If you can’t hold out on seeing the new Twilight movie just because you haven’t been able to get the book from the library yet.

If you want to take two vacation days so you can have your own Twilight marathon for the sole purpose of comparing the significant differences between the books and the movies.  (Not sayin’ I’m gonna…just, you know…to each his own.)

If your now-public food-and-habit chemical-free lifestyle change that so rocked your world is considered by acquaintances as your “special diet” and they wonder ALOUD if you are “still on it.”

If you move bunny rabbits from the warmth of your only empty bedroom to the starkness of the garage.  They really don’t care.  You’ll actually be happier.  And your carpet will be cleaner.

If your vegetable garden looks like crap at the end of November but still manages to produce veggies.  We call that Lagniappe.

If iTunes is acting wonky.  Another update is just around the corner.

If you don’t take out ALL the Christmas decorations this year, knowing what a pain it is to repack everything in January. Set out only that which you truly enjoy.  It’s cool.

Hey, it really IS okay.  Thanks.  I feel better.  😉

Summer’s Over, and I Have Lemons!

Last spring I bought a lemon tree because it wasn’t always easy to find organic lemons in the grocery store. I decided I’d be better off to grow my own.  I really didn’t consider that with just one tree I likely wasn’t going to have enough lemons to supply all the lemon water I like to drink.  I bought the tree, positioned it on a rolling stand and set it outside by the backdoor.  I was pleased that it already had several budding lemons on it – all dark green.

Months passed and the green lemons grew quite healthy.  I counted eleven in all by the time the tree stopped flowering.  As the lemons grew from pea-size to golf-ball size, they stayed a beautiful dark green.  I wondered when they would turn yellow.

The kids wondered too.  “Mommy, are you sure you didn’t buy a lime tree?”

“I’m pretty sure.  We’ll just see what happens,” I commented, thinking to myself that if I was actually growing limes I would just find some salt and tequila and roll with it.

When the weather snapped two weeks ago I brought the lemon tree inside and set it next to the window to enjoy the sun without the cold air.  And then the temperature stayed in the 70’s, making me wish I had waited to bring it in.  BUT – the lemons, then almost tennis ball size, began to fade into yellow.  Within a week two of the lemons were bright yellow and the rest were half-way there.

Then Victoria came to me one evening with a worried look on her face.  “Um, Mommy, um…I didn’t pull it, but this lemon came off the tree when I accidentally bumped it,” and she held one of the brighter yellow lemons in her palm.

“If you didn’t pull on it, then it was ready to come off of the branch and be eaten.  Let’s see how it tastes!”

We cut into the lemon and a fresh, soft lemon scent filled the air around us.  Wow.  I think if all lemons had that gentle a scent, even Dom might like them.  I was surprised at how soft the rind was, mostly because I am accustomed to the thickness of store-bought lemons that I assume have been force-ripened.  The rinds on my lemons are very thin – so thin that gently squeezing an uncut lemon will ooze a little juice (or lemon oil?) through the tiny pores.

So even though I have the tiniest crop, I am pleased beyond measure with my little Charlie Brown lemon tree!!