Health Update #1

Ok, so I have been wanting to explain a little more about the health problems that I am currently focusing on correcting.  I also just want to have a place where I have everything written down because it can get a little overwhelming at times to try and remember it all.  So that's what this post is - I apologize in advance if it's confusing or long.  ;)

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PCOS - This diagnosis was basically given to me because my hormone levels came out all wacky on a couple of blood tests.  I'm trying not to worry about it too much right now because I think it will kind of correct itself once I get all my other issues sorted out.  I'm basically just trying to eat clean so that I'm not making the problem worse by adding unnecessary hormones into the picture (pasture-raised, organic meats instead of conventionally raised meat with added hormones, raw dairy, organic produce instead of pesticide/herbicide laden food, no soy)

MTHFR - No, I'm not swearing at you, this is the name of the genetic mutation thingy... I'm still trying to grasp this and understand it, but I know it has to do with methylation and detoxing.  Basically, instead of getting rid of the stuff my liver has detoxed, my body is just kind of recycling it and sending it round and round again and it's clogging up the pathways for all the other stuff that needs to go on.  To me, it makes a lot of sense that if my body's been working really hard to just get rid of this junk, that it would not be able to focus on being a fertile place to grow a baby.  It also seems to make a lot of sense about why my hormones are out of balance - if I'm not able to detox all those synthetic hormones that I used to get in my diet and in the birth control pills that I took for a year and a half, of course there's an imbalance.  So hopefully, now that we're focusing on this whole methylation and detoxing thing we can get the bad stuff out and get everything in balance and working the way it should!  ;)

I'm taking several supplements to help jumpstart the methylation process and get things working:  MSM liquid, Methyl-B12, and TMG.  I'm also hoping to add some form of Methyl-folate soon too.  We are also saving up for a legit water filter for our kitchen to help reduce the toxin load as well as continuing to keep the chemicals to a minimum in things like our cleaning supplies, toiletries, and food storage items.  

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Those are the two main issues that I am hoping to deal with overall.  I visited my naturopath last Saturday, however, and there are a few other minor issues that I am hoping to clear up this month.

H. Pylori - I've done a protocol for this before and although it can cause leaky gut, it was relatively easy to get rid of last time so I'm hoping it won't take too long this time either.  We are on a Gastro Health tea for a month which should kill the bacteria and heal the gut and a Safflowers supplement which I think is to help the stomach acid build back up.

Heavy Metals - She also saw a lot of heavy metals in my blood that I was not doing a great job of getting rid of.  I'm on supplement to help with that.  Zeolite something or other...

Hormones - She also gave me a supplement to help with my hormone balancing.  I can't remember all the details of that I just know it was hormone support (it was like information overload that day, we came home with so many supplements and were there asking her our questions for three hours.  Bless. Her. Heart.)

Other random stuff - To make sure that my body is good and nourished for preconception, I also am taking an herbal prenatal vitamin with gelatin, a probiotic at night, fermented cod liver oil, spirulina, and a D3 supplement.

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This sounds like a million crazy supplements... and it kind of is, but several of them are only for about a month or so until we go back to the Dr and see how my gut/hormones/detoxing is going.  I can also combine a bunch of them into my morning Gastro Health tea so it is not overwhelming and I'm not swallowing ten thousand pills every day.  We'll see how I feel when the ones that we had to order get here and I'm actually fully on this protocol. ;)

 So there's where I'm at physically with all the health stuff going on right now.  Emotionally, things change every day.  Sometimes multiple times a day.  I would definitely say that overall I am struggling this month.  I don't know if it's that the holidays are coming up, or because winter makes me gloomy, or just a combo of everything, but I have been super emotional this month.  I'm struggling to stay content and find the good in our lives right now. And I feel guilty for that because we have a really great life.  I don't like that this one thing overshadows all the other great stuff that is going on, but some days it does just feel like one big cloud raining all over everything else. I feel how it affects all the day-to-day stuff because I think about how much different it would be if I were pregnant or had an infant right now.  I don't know how to stop doing that.

Spiritually, I feel kind of the same way.  I trust God and know that He has a plan for us.  I just find myself struggling to choose joy and thankfulness lately.  I'm trying to continue the practice of thankfulness from last month, but there are days when I just want to be a brat instead lol.  I want to ask God why it has to be this way.  I want to ask Him how much longer we have to wait.  And sometimes I'm tempted to think I can fix this on my own with my ten million supplements.  I pray everyday for Him to bless us with a baby, but I need to remind myself that when He does it will be all Him and not because of anything that we did.  While health is important and correcting these issues can only be beneficial for us and our chances of pregnancy, it's only by God's power that it will happen.  

This has turned into a super duper long post now so I will wrap it up.  Hopefully, future updates will not be this long... but I make no promises.  ;)  I'd also like to do another post that is more focused on my diet and the things that I eat on a regular basis.  Not sure if that would be helpful for anyone, but I'm also curious to see how/if my diet changes in the years to come so I want to document what it is now. 

Anyways... I'm finishing now, I promise!  

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  

Enjoy your day off with your family and stay warm! :)

Homegrown Collective Unboxing

Hey, friends!  I have another fun unboxing video for you.  This one is from the Homegrown Collective.  This is a really cool company that sends you a monthly box full of goodies that allow you to make your own self-sustaining, eco-friendly products.  Past boxes have included a kombucha starter kit, a box of ingredients to make your own home remedies, and detox in a box - everything you need to make your own bath detox and herbal tea detox.  Check out what I got:

I apologize again for my dog's crazy antics behind the scenes.  She's a little rascal ;)

If you're interested in finding out more about Homegrown Collective you can check them out here.  

Hope you all are having a great week so far.  And if I don't post again before Thursday, have a very happy Thanksgiving! :)

Julep Maven November 2014 Box

Nail polish!!! :)  One of my favorite things.

Here's my light, fluffy post as promised.  :)




If you're interested in becoming a maven yourself, check it out here.  You can get your first box for free with code FREEBOX.

Also, sorry about my dog blocking half the video.  I about died laughing when I replayed it because I didn't even realize she was in the shot while I was taping.  I'm so used to her being all up in my business that it didn't even register.  Lol... my bad!

Hope you all are having a good week!

Take some time to pamper yourself and paint your nails tonight.  

Or... something else... if nail polish isn't your thing.  ;)

On Wanting to Be a SAHM

I'm not sure how to start this post today.  I've been meaning to write it all week, but just haven't been able to figure out how.  

I guess I feel silly because the truth is, even though I've only been a nanny for about a month and a half... I want to quit my job already.

It's not that I don't like my job.  I just don't want to be working.  My goal has always been to be a stay-at-home mom.  I'm not career driven at all and I'm ok with that.  The "plan" was to work a few years until I got pregnant and then stay home to raise our children.  I'm really looking forward to doing that.

After we bought our house, I really felt the clock start ticking.  I told myself I could stick it out for another year or so at my job and really I was ok with that.  There was an end in sight and that somehow made it bearable.  

But now, there's not really an end anymore.  Who knows how long it will take us to get pregnant?  It could be this month, or it could be in five years (Oh God, I hope not!)

For some reason, not knowing even a general timeline of when I will be able to be a SAHM has really made work difficult for me.  It doesn't feel like a temporary thing anymore.

These feelings have really magnified this week as I've gotten a taste of stay-at-home life.  I actually enjoyed my chores this week.  I had the energy to do dishes and laundry instead of feeling too exhausted to do them when I got home from work.  I had time to vacuum and get groceries during the day so I could just spend the evenings with Doad instead of running errands.  I even got around to finally making more mayonnaise and butter and learning to make yogurt - things we need but just didn't make the priority list until this week off.  

I know that staying at home will look much differently when there are babies and kids involved, but I'm just at this point where I'd much rather take care of my home without a paycheck than be paid to watch someone else's kids and wash their dishes and clothes.  

I just really enjoyed having dinner ready when my husband came home this week.  I loved that we could both relax after work in a (mostly) clean home and not have to worry about chores - if something needed done I could do it in the morning.  I loved how happy I was - things that normally stress me out or make me upset I could laugh at this week.  I just wasn't wound up so tight.  And I wasn't carrying around this guilt about not being a good enough house wife because I actually had time/energy to get the basics done every day, and then some.  I don't know if anyone else noticed a difference in my attitude, but I felt it.  

So now I'm really struggling with thinking about going back to work tomorrow.  I miss the kids and am looking forward to seeing them again and hearing about their vacation.  But if I'm being honest, I really would rather just stay home and wash the windows, clean the kitchen, and maybe make some more yogurt.  

Just call me Suzie Homemaker.  Lol....

Anyways... this post isn't meant to be a downer.  Just some honest thoughts about how I'm feeling lately, especially since I've decided to share about our pregnancy struggles on the blog.  This is a part of the struggle that I hadn't really anticipated and I'm finding it hard to be patient while I figure out how to deal with it.  

Thanks for letting me vent a little today and get some heavy stuff off my chest.  I will be posting some unboxing vlogs soon that should be much lighter in subject content.  :)    

2014 Resolutions: October Recap

I can't believe that there are only two months left in this year.  So crazy!  Only two months left to finish my 2014 goals.  Yikes!  Let's see how I'm doing.  ;)

1. Run 100 miles this year. 

I'm pretty bummed about this goal.  I think I've just run out of steam since I know that I'm not going to be able to complete this goal.  I ran 1.73 miles in October.  The total now is at 27.22 miles leaving 72.78 miles to go to meet the goal.  My mini goal for October is to run 3 miles so that I can at least hit 30 miles for the year.  Hopefully, I can work up the motivation.  ;)

2. Get back to my wedding weight. 

I actually haven't weighed myself at all this month.  I'm pretty happy with where I'm at now though and am focusing more on making sure I'm eating healthy, nourishing foods instead of numbers on a scale.  

3. Read 12 books. 

I am on track to meet this goal.  Yay!  This month I read a book called Fast Your Way to Health by Lee Bueno-Aguer.  This is the first book that I felt kind of "eh" about after reading.  It was interesting and informative, but I think I'm just at a place in life right now where fasting is not a super high priority or conviction for me right now.  I've added the book to my Amazon store though, just in case anyone is interested in checking it out. 

4. Read through one book together with Doad.

Check! :)

5. Find a cleaning routine that works. 

I did laundry AND dishes today... does that count?

6. Get new items listed on my online shop.

I have a feeling that this just isn't going to happen for a while.  I just have so much else going on that is taking a higher priority right now.  Eventually, I'd love to focus on the shop again, but I don't know if that will happen before the year is over.

7. Go to a marriage conference.

Also, not too optimistic about this goal either.  I think we may have missed the boat with this one.  :(

8. Go on a date with one of my sisters each month.

Check. :)  This month my date was with Jill.  We had a great chat at the lake while we walked Lacey around the trails.  I love our times together and am looking forward to this month's sister date already.  :)

9. Learn Spanish

Oops!  I totally forgot about this goal all month.  I need to get back on track with this.  Now that my commute is shorter (yay!) I have to be more creative about when I have time to listen to a lesson.

Well, my motivation towards these goals has definitely been lacking a little lately.  I basically only focused on reading, cleaning, and hanging out with my sister this month.  I want to finish the year strong, but I'm also really tempted to let the cold get to me and spend the next two months wrapped in blankets on the couch! ;)

How are you all doing?  

What are your tips for staying motivated?