Fermentation

I've been drinking KeVita for the last few days and am loving it. What I'm not loving is the $3.50 a bottle. Kevita is a probiotic drink that is helping to keep me away from soda. I'm not positive, but I believe it is basically water kefir, which I have brewed at home in the past. I stupidly let it lapse and let my water kefir grains die. Today, I drank kombucha, which is fermented tea. You brew it by using a SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) also called a kombucha mother. You can buy a "mother" or you can try to grow one yourself (I have in the past grown my own SCOBY but I recently read that you can't grow a SCOBY on your own any more). I figured, It's $3.50 to try it again. If it works great, if not, little lost. Tonight I started the process. I brewed a cup of green tea and added 2 tablespoons of sugar. Once it got to room temperature, I added a bottle of store bought kombucha and added it to the tea. I read that if there is what looks like a "mother" floating in the store bought kombucha, then there is a better chance of growing your own. I was hoping to find a picture of my home grown SCOBY, but I can't put my finger on it now. I'm hopeful that it will grow again. My next thing is to buy some more water kefir grains and start some water kefir again. I am looking forward to that. I also want to buy the book wild fermentation. I have made my own sour dough starter in the past and want to start again. I'm looking forward to creating my own foods and can't wait to get my plants started and my garden growing! Here's to goof healthy food and a healthy lifestyle! Amy

Here's a couple of pictures from my garden last year!

Just A Quick Post

Today was day 5 of my 21 day sugar detox. Things have bee going ok except that today was my oldest's 7th birthday. I ate potatoes, BBQ sauce, a roll, and cake. After my bagel Friday, I should really start day 1 tomorrow. One thing I am learning is not to feel guilty because of these set backs. Life happens, and I wasn't going to not have cake with my child. What changed though, was that I had 1 roll,1/2 the potatoes, 2 ribs, and a small piece of cake, as well as a 6oz sirloin and Caesar salad. Previously, I would have had more like 4 rolls and a huge piece of cake, I would also have had loaded fries vs loaded mashed potato. Not a huge difference in the potato choices, but at least it was only 1/2 of it. This needs to be a lifestyle change for me. I need to be healthy. Tomorrow, we are having salmon. I'm not a huge fish fan, but I'm trying to be better at eating heartily fish. I just need to keep moving forward with my journey to be healthier. Another piece to this journey is making sure that I am eating mindfully. I want to make sure that what I put in my mouth is really what I want. I want to stop mindless eating. Overall, I want to look at food as fuel for my body, as a way to keep me running for many, many years! Here's to living a healthy, happy, and long life. Amy

Sugar Detox

So, here it is, day 4 of my 21 day sugar detox and I have had some huge ups and some huge downs. Day 1 was easy and I thought, I can do this no problem. Well, then came day 2, and that did not go as well. I was angry, and had a headache as well as no patience. All I wanted was some starchy carbs and sugar. I persisted and didn't give in. I did try to make some approved biscuits, and yes it did help but they were not really what I wanted. Day 3 came and went but I did give in and I had a bagel and a Hershey kiss. Not happy that I gave in, but I did get right back on track and ate what I was supposed to for the rest of the day. On to today, day 4, and I've done really well. I've lost a little weight, probably 3-4 pounds since I first started and maybe 10 pounds from my highest weight. I still need to lose a good amount of weight, but I want to do it the right way and maintain what I lose. I want to continue to make lifestyle changes and not just changes to lose weight. Another positive to this diet change and maybe even weight loss is my nightly breathing. My husband has mentioned, especially when I was pregnant, that my snoring was awful and I would have issues with sleep apnea. Now I am overweight but not crazy overweight. I think it's more the foods I'm eating or should I saw not eating that is making the difference. He said that things have been much better. I am heading out tonight to buy a bought from deliciously organic. I think I am going to plan on staying mostly grain-free. I have heard from a lot of people that being grain free is very beneficial. I am seeing a lot of benefits, just in the last few days, which makes me want to continue. I also want to live a healthy lifestyle with clean eating, less processed foods, and local foods (preferably from my backyard). I still want to include creativity in my life, including crafts, gardening, as well as cooking. I'll be trying out a new recipe for bread with coconut flour as well as almond flour. Trying new recipes is always fun and creative. Like I said in my last post, with spring coming, I want to clean out stuff and get more organized. I am hoping that this diet change is going to help with my energy and clear headedness, which will help me with getting organized. I am hopeful, that with an organized life, I will have more time to be creative and also add some exercise into my life. Wish me luck on continuing my new way of life! Amy Sprouts and microgreens Latest mandala Curry turkey meatballs from paleomg.com

Figuring Out Who I Am

This winter has been a weird one. It started out pretty mild, the February hit and it has almost been the slowest winter. Though it has been cold and snowy, this is the first winter that I have not hated. Believe me, I am ready for spring, but I am dealing with the winter much better this year. I even, at times, wish we could move to Maine instead of thinking about moving South. With Spring on it's way, and the rebirth of life and energy, with longer days, and increased warmth to the days, I am taking this time to do some soul searching and taking some time to figure out who I am and what I need. I am looking at spring as a time for me to make changes in my life and as a time for me to reduce the clutter in my life and start fresh, or rebirth myself into the person I want to be. How do I plan on doing this? First, I am starting a 21 day sugar cleanse tomorrow. Second, I will be going through my belongings and looking to see what I can reduce, either by donating or by trashing/recycling. Third, I will be spending time getting organized so that my life is not the caps that I have been living (no ones fault but my own). Fourth, I will be increasing (ok actually doing) exercise. Finally, though this process, I am hoping to become more aware of me and who I am and what I want out of my life. I love my life! I love being married and having kids. I don't like what I look like or the amount of time I spend on the computer. I don't like how lazy I have become. I don't like how crappy I eat sometimes. I don't like how cluttered my life has become or how disorganized I am. These are the changes I want to make. I want to look in the mirror and be happy with who I am. I know that if I'm healthy and I get moving, I'll be happy with me. I will start moving and feeling better and stronger. I will spend less time on the computer and Facebook and more time with my family and actually be creative. I will get rid of clutter and get myself organized. With doing the sugar detox, I am hoping that my head will clear. I am hoping that I will be able to follow through with things and do what I need to do. I will be sharing my 21 day detox here, the good, the bad , and the ugly. I will share the foods I eat and how I feel while decoding. I'm not going to give up my coffee, but I am going to limit it and try to decrease the amount of cream in my coffee. I think eating clean, eating less sugar, and eating less foods that turn to sugar is going to me, my body, and my spirit loads of good! Amy

My Journey

Now that I have decided on a path that I want to take my career, I figure I should start my own journey towards health and document it. Not that I haven't attempted this journey before and I even tried to document a whole new blog towards my health journey, but I think I am an a better place to move forward on this new health path that I have chosen and document it here and as well as document my creative attempts. Since this blog is meant to be about the balance of living a handmade and natural life, it is the perfect place to document both. This journey is going to be at least two fold. It will consist of me journey toward bettering my own health as well as my learning how to help others on their journey. I'm sure that my experience will help me understand what others may go through when they make the journey toward better health. I know that I am going to face issues with food addiction, stress, frustration, trying to get my family to eat healthier, and I'm sure others that I'm not even aware of right now. My journey is going to be eating a clean diet. I am not going too count calorie, points, fat grams, etc. I am going to eat fresh, home cooked, non processed meals and snacks. I am going to increase my daily movement. I am going to decrease and maybe even eliminate gluten, dairy, and sugar. I need to eliminate soda and artificial sweeteners and increase my water consumption. I am not prepared to share my starting weight, but suffice it to say, I need to lose about 20-30 pounds before I am happy with my weight. I am going to try not to focus too much on my actual weight, but it is a way to measure my progress. I'd like to be able to come to terms with the fact that I am almost 42 and will never be 120 pounds like I was when I was 20. I don't even want to be that skinny. I want to be comfortable in my own skin. I want to look at myself and see a healthy strong woman. I am going to start being more adventurous with my cooking ands creating my own recipes. This weekend, I make a mix of asparagus, spinach, peppers, and garlic cooked in butter and coconut oil with a touch of lemon juice added at the end. It was really good different than the basic greens and olive oil and garlic that I usually make, but not too crazy. I am really looking forward to this journey. I can't wait to be able to feel healthier and stronger. I hope that sharing this journey helps others to start on their own journey towards health and wellness. With this focus on food and exercise, I will not be forgetting the creative piece of my life. I want to make sure that I follow all my dreams and passions, both personally and professionally. Welcome to my journey! Amy

Diets, Nutrition, and Gardeing

For a while now, I have been thinking and rethinking my passions, thinking about this blog and why I started it. I honestly am passionate about living a handmade and natural life, but also a balanced life. If I remember correctly, I started this blog about 5 1/2 years ago when the kids were just babies and we started going to farmer's markets with them. I thought back then, at probably 36 years old, that I was going through a midlife crisis. I think I have slowly been going through one, because now at almost 42, I am still questioning my life and what I want out of it, and how to go about getting it. I know I do want to change the focus of my social work career. I would love to do something with food and food related issues. I, almost constantly think about food, diet, and nutrition and how it relates in my life as well as others lives. I think about what is the best diet to follow for me and my family. As much as I hate to admit it, I sometimes even think about what fad diet, low calorie diet I can eat to just lose weight. I then come back and remind myself, I don't need a crazy fad diet, I need a lifestyle change. With that thought that I need a lifestyle change, I think more about what type of foods I should be eating and how best to afford those foods. When I think about how best to afford them and how best to be able to prepare them, I think about how difficult it must be for some people to be able to afford to actually purchase healthy foods as well as have the time to prepare them. I am lucky enough that I have the time to plan, buy, and cook healthy foods. I also have the money to buy decent quality food, but I wish I could afford to buy better quality foods. I also have space and time to have an actual backyard garden. When I think about what type of lifestyle diet change, I have thought about becoming vegan, going completely gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, eating a Palo diet, eating a clean food diet, and I'm sure there are many other diets that I have looked at. As I think about it, I think the best think to do is to eat a clean diet. I am almost sure that the lifestyle diet I plan to follow for myself is to eat clean. I don't think that meat is evil, but I do think that there is easily too much meat in most people's every day diet. I don't think that legumes are evil like some proponents of the Palo diet promote. I do think that gluten, some dairy and most sugar are not a good thing for most people. I think that t eh best thing people can do it to eat the least processed natural foods that one can find. One of the best things I have heard, is to eat foods that your grandparents would know or eat only foods that you are able to pronounce. I want to continue to work on making my garden the best it can be. I want to be able to walk out into my back yard and pick my produce. I would love to be able to walk into my backyard and get eggs from my own backyard chickens. I want to be able to have my children pick berries from pants in our backyard instead of having to but berries packed in plastic bins from the grocery store. I want to be able to go to my herb garden and flavor my food. I want to go to my flower garden and pick flowers for my house. I want to eat foods that are not processed at all prior to me cooking them. My ultimate goal is to eat mostly green veggies, limit my intake of starchy carbs, get rid of gluten, eat good healthy dairy, limit my meat intake so that I can afford to by good quality grass fed meat. I think that legumes are a good thing for our bodies, at least for me. I want to also look at eating foods in it's natural state, meaning eating some raw foods, but I don't think that a raw diet is the only way to eat, but it is important to have raw foods in our diet. I want to learn about the different types of diets out there so that I can make good choices, so that maybe I can educate others on how to be healthy. As I have thought about this, I have also thought about how to reach people who have limited access to good healthy food. I have thought about people who have limited access to education about healthy foods. I have thought how people don't have the time or the knowledge how to create tasty healthy food. I want to reach these people, especially kids and help them with how to do this. To do this, I need to make changes in my own life. I need to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. I want to find a way to use my social work degree to reach these people. I want to try to make change. I want to work directly 1:1 with people, but I also want to make more systemic changes. I don't know that I can do this on my own, but I know I can do it with support from other like minded people. I want to work with other like minded people, but I'm not sure where to turn. My first goal is to start eating clean foods 99% of the time. I don't want to be a crazy obsessive person who can't allow myself or my family a treat once in a while. I want to start my garden, even though it is still winter here in MA and we still have feet of snow in our yards. I am going to start plants in my basement under grow lights. I am not going to buy breads and sugars because my family and I can't seem to stop eating it when it's around. I am going to buy the healthy foods and start looking at things in a more positive light, not in a way that is negative or punitive. I am going to look at the different foods I can have and how I can really make them enjoyable. I need to take time and really enjoy my food, not just stuff food down my throat to take care of the hunger in my stomach. I am going to learn to listen to my body and eat what it truly needs, not the junk that I think it is telling me it needs. Today was a good start, but a not so good middle, and an ok ending. I have a green smoothie for breakfast, but then went to a family party and ate junk. I never sat down with a plate of food and took time to enjoy what I was eating. I stood up and picked at different foods the whole time I was there. I then went home and didn't give in to the crappy cravings that I was having. I didn't continue to eating junk and crap and say I'll start tomorrow, which never come. I am restarting my healthy eating now, not tomorrow, not Monday after the weekend is over. Happy eating and living the handmade and natural life, Amy Fratto, LICSW

Changing Careers

I met with my friend Holly this afternoon and we talked about how I am thinking about changing careers, or at least changing the focus of my social work career. I was thinking that I needed to go back to school and get another degree, but after talking to my friend, I am thinking that I just need to do a lot of reading and research and get myself educated on different diet philosophies. I think my social work background is totally going o help. I've been trying to think of a way to focus my social work career away from nursing homes and the medical field, now I just need to make the change. I think my biggest focus is going to be clean eating. I have been trying to figure out what is the best diet for me and my family. I have thought about being Palo, vegan, vegetarian, and so many others, but what I am thinking is a mix of different diets. I really want to learn the ins and outs of eat diet and learn how they work in the real world. In generally, my thinking is that a balanced diet including meat, veggies, raw foods with limits to dairy, sugar, and starchy carbs. I tend to shop the outer perimeter of grocery stores already and I truly believe that is the best place to start. As I learn more and start making changes, I will share things here. I want to make changes in my life as well as help others learn to make changes in their life. I am hoping to start to be more adventurous when it comes to figuring out new recipes and ideas to make for my family. I would love to start my own therapy business with the focus on food and healthy eating, but I think I may need to initially start out working for someone to learn more, but maybe not. I'm still in the beginning phases of figuring it all out, but at least I have a small plan. I'd like to also teach people about gardening and where their food really comes from. In grad school, I helped to write a grant to get inner city kids to gardens so that they could learn what whole foods are and where real food comes from. I loved watching Jamie Oliver teach people about cooking their own food and learning what real food is. Now on to research different diet philosophies and clean eating! Amy

Looking Forward

I made an appointment with a friend to talk to her and pick her brain about health coaching.  I have decided.that I really need a break from the medical field and I need to follow my passion regarding more natural health and natural medicine. I just can't continue to work with people who blindly follow the medical field without questioning it. There is a time and place for a highly medical team, and I am truly grateful to live so close to Boston hospitals.  I am also grateful that I live where alternative and natural medicine is practiced.

My goal and passion continues to be natural health, living a natural lifestyle, and making sure creativity is a part of my life and others lives. I need to find a way to make this dream a reality and not just a dream. I'm thinking a vision board is one of the next projects that I need to work on!

Here's to moving towards your dreams, goals, and passions,

Amy

Winter

This year, I am having a love hate relationship with winter. I have to admit, hate is a strong word this winter. Even though we have gotten a crazy amount of snow in the last 3 week, I am not hating this winter. I am just really ready to start my garden. This weekend, we went out and bought snow shoes for the kids. I think that one of the reasons this winter isn't so bad, is because we can do more with the kids and they can get out by themselves. I don't feel as trapped in the house, so my mood is greatly improved over the last couple of winters, like 7 winters. I was sick this weekend and decided that it would be a good time to make some headway on changing my eating habits. I went grocery shopping and consulted a vegan friend about resources for going vegan. A few years ago I started the process and was enjoying it, but gave up because I thought it was too difficult to do with the kids (they are so very picky). I am planning on moving towards eating a vegan diet. This time I am going to go slow. I will probably cut out red meat first, and then move on to cutting out poultry and pork, and then move on to dairy. I'm not a fish eater, so that will be east to cut out. Dairy is going to be more difficult. While I was shopping, and buying good food, I decided to go to Whole Foods, one of my favorite stores. I feel so healthy when I shop there. I know it's probably not the best store to shop at, but I really like it, I just hate that it's so expensive. While I was shopping and trying to triage what I should buy there, so I didn't spend crazy seamount of money, I decided to treat myself to a couple of books. I got "Grow Cook Eat", which I have been wanting since last summer, and "50 Shades of kale". "Grow Cook Eat" is really inspiring me to get my garden planned and start planting seeds to be ready for when it's time to plant outside. I am trying to be better at planning this year and actually plant things correctly. I'm not sure if it's partially due to the winter blues, which I'm not sure that I feel like I have this year, but I am really feeling like I need a new job. It's to the point where I am really having to stop myself from being anxious at night about my current job. The biggest issue is that I want a job I really want, not just a job. I would love to do something health oriented, not medical oriented. I have decided to really start investigating this, but I'm not sure if I can find anything that will fit my schedule. I need to figure out how to do it on my own and make money. I may need to talk to a friend of mine about becoming a health coach and how she did it. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, but haven't made a move towards it. Here's some of my latest creations and activities that I've been working on to keep myself from busy in this weather. I'm really not hating winter, but I am ready to move on from more snow. I love New England, and even though I have been saying I want to move, I don't think I ever will. Happy winter Amy

Clean Eating

I have been wanting to change my diet for some time now. Recently, on Facebook, one of my friends (http://collagediva.typepad.com) mentioned how she went cold turkey and started. She dealt with the headaches and the detox symptoms, and she has done it. She said she feels great. I want to follow in her footsteps, but I am not going to go cold turkey. Yesterday, my first day back from vacation, I stopped at the grocery store on my way to work instead of stopping at dunkin donuts or my local muffin store. I ended up getting salad, yogurt, trail mix and things like that to take to work so that I didn't eat junk. I passed up candy and ordering out, which was a pretty big step for me. I did however go home and order take out. I had 2 good meals and 1 so not good meal. This morning, to help clear out my fridge, I made some bread with some dough that I had leftover. Again not the best, but the best part about eating it was that it didn't give me that same feeling that I usually have when I eat bread, you know, that feeling like I can't stop at just one piece and I have to eat the whole loaf. Was it good? Yes, but was is fantastically good? No. Again, I just got home from vacation and I need to go shopping. My husband has a broken foot, so I feel bad leaving him longer than my work day with the kids and I just get lazy once they go to bed. My lunch today should be interesting. I have a couple of carrot sticks, celery sticks and broccoli. Tonight will be chicken and greens and potatoes from the garden. I need to look into what I can eat on a clean diet. I want to ultimate3ly give up sugar, gluten, dairy, and caffeine. That means no more morning caffeinated coffee, no more bread, no more of many of the things I love. I am hoping that by giving up all these foods, I am going to gain some much more as is my family. If anyone has some resources to pass on, I would love you to share. I have some of my own from the past that I will share as I go along on this journey. This is definitely going to be a journey with small steps taken and I'm sure a few set backs. I know that I am of the mind set now that I want to do this, I just need to make the change and I know I will feel better. I'm hoping that I can learn enough over time to start using food and creativity in my professional career to deal with mood issues. I am hoping to do some research into how food, creativity, gardening, etch can play a role in our mood and behavior. I know that there are people out there that have done the research, and I need to read up on the research and learn more! Hope you all can join me on my journey to living a more balanced natural and creative life! Amy

Now What!

I did it! I passed! I am now a LICSW, a licensed independent clinical social worker. I have now completed so many goals and dreams in life.  I am married to a great man, have 3 great children, a masters degree now with my LICSW (which I have wanted ever since I was in undergrad social work school), a house, a career, and so much more. It is now time to work on new goals, new dreams, new passions.

What are my passions, dreams, and goals? Where do I go from here?  I actually do like being a social worker, and maybe it's just me being overly optimistic, but I think there are so many avenues that I can go down with my social work degree and now my LICSW, I just need to figure out what!

Sometimes, I think I want to do something with health and wellness.  I'm thinking something on the idea of how food affects you: body, mind, and spirit. I would love to do something with growing food, choosing foods, cooking foods, and how it all impacts so many parts of ours lives.

I want to talk about exercise and food choices and how that can affect how we act, how we think, how we feel. I want to talk about how growing our own food is healthy not only to eat, but just being out in nature and being part of our own destiny when it comes to food choices. Destiny is not a great word, but it somewhat conveys what I want to. There is something about being outside and "playing" in dirt, taking something from seed or a small plant and being able to nourish ourselves. That being said, I need to take my own advice and make better choices.

Another thing that is a passion, is creativity and how being creative can impact us; mind. body, and spirit.  I love the idea of old fashioned hand crafts, and doing these "crafts" by hand, the way they did before there were machines.  Not that there is anything wrong with using a sewing machine, a table saw, a slow cooker for soap, but there is something satisfying about creating something that doesn't need anything special for equipment.

I love creating! I love being able to take some material and something for warmth, and create a quilt. I love, for example, that a quilt, that can start out as old clothes, old bed sheets, or very expensive material can then become something new and something comforting, something nourishing for the giver and the receiver. I love that , what basically starts out as a piece of string, can become a sweater, an afghan, a hat, something to keep you warm and comfortable, and by extension (hopefully) feeling safe.

I love being able to provide for myself and my family with out always relying on stores to provide all our food and all our clothing and bedding.  There is nothing wrong with buying things at the store, I do so more often than I would like, but it is nice to know that I can grow my own food (at least some of it) and create clothing or items to keep us warm.

I think it is a lost art, one that is hopefully returning, to know how to do simple cooking, sewing, and other fix it type things.  I have the conversation with my husband (more than he would like I'm sure) that Home Ec and Shop are two classes that should be back in the curriculum.  I think everyone should now how to do simple sewing, hemming or sewing a button on.  I think everyone should have a basic comfort level in the kitchen. I think it is important to know how to use tools.

I just heard about makerspaces and the maker movement, and am going to do more research about it. I'm hoping my next post can be more about that.  I'm thinking that maybe an area that I can get into and maybe use my social work degree and experience.  I would love to see a makerspace in Wakefield. Maybe that can be my new goal.

Amy Fratto, MSW, LICSW (I love seeing my name like this!)

Life

I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.  I am hoping that I can test for my LICSW sooner than later.  That would mean that I would have so many more options with in my career as a social worker.  I am trying to stay positive about remaining a nursing home social worker, at least part time, so that I can make money and then maybe do something with my love over creating and natural foods part time.

I have figured out that I do like to being a social worker, but I want to pursue a career in fiber arts and maybe even nutrition.  I know that I need to get some more education for both of these to be a career.  My 3 kids will all be in school all day in the fall, and since my husband is a teacher, I hopefully will be able to go back to work during the day starting in July.

I am hoping that when I go back to work during the day I'll have more time to work on things that are hobbies now and then maybe they will be more than hobbies.  I need to have a focus, and I need to get some more education on how to use my hobbies in a professional way, especially within my social work career.

I do know that I need to be better at following through with things in my personal life.  I  have been better at eating more naturally and less processed, but I really need to do more.  Today is the last day of winter, not that it means much in New England, but I am hoping that warmer weather is on its way with the Springtime.  I am hoping that with the warmer weather and starting our garden, I will be able to keep eating more naturally and be even less processed!

Welcome Spring!

Crocus from my garden!

Trying To Be Healthier and Product Review

Over the last few months, my healthy lifestyle has given way to laziness and unhealthy eating.  This is partially due to the fact that I had months of back pain that resulted in treatment for a herniated disc.  Over the past 6 months, my pain has caused me to have the inability to exercise and even cook the way I like to.  As I write this, it feels like just a bunch of excuses, but I really was in a lot of pain.  About 1 month ago, I was treated for the herniated disc and now only have slight pain here and there.

Now that my pain is pretty much gone, I am trying to regain my healthy lifestyle.  One of the things that I have done is limit my coffee intake and increase my tea intake (I wasn't drinking any tea and I was having multiple cups of coffee and cream a day).  Recently, I had a single cup of coffee and decided to try some VanGogh Caramel Vodka with some NuNaturals chocolate liquid stevia.  This was the first time I tried it and it was really good.  Along with the chocolate stevia, I was given (by NuNaturals) a bunch of other products to try.  I love the liquid Stevia.  I love using the vanilla, lemon, orange, peppermint, and chocolate in my tea.  I also love using the lemon or vanilla liquid stevia in sparking water with some lemon juice to make a healthy "soda".  It's the best drink to have when you need your thirst to be quenched especially in the hot weather.

My husband and I have been using stevia for years as a healthy way to eliminate sugar, yet have some sweetness in things that we enjoy.  I hope to be able to try out some of the other NuNaturals products in baking.  In the past baking with stevia was difficult as there was always a horrible after taste.  I haven't experienced  any after taste with the NuNaturals products that I have tried.  Other than the liquid stevia, the other products that I have tried and love are the fast dissolving stevia tablets and the individual stevia packets.  The tablets are great even in iced drinks.  I love keeping a bottle in my car or purse and using it when I get iced tea out.  I use the individual packets in my husbands tea every day.

I am working on changing my eating habits so that I can lose some weight.  I have never been this heavy and I don't want to get this heavy again.  I am having trouble with making changes, but it will happen.  I need to eat less food, eat healthier food, and start exercising.  I am working with PT and need to get better at actually doing my exercises.  I am doing better, but need to do more.

I will continue to use NuNaturals in my tea and hope that I can eliminate coffee.  I need to limit my caloric intake and start eating healthier foods.  I need to increase my exercise and strengthen my back so that I don't hurt myself again.

Amy

Goals for 2013

Do I dare even write this down for all to see?  This summer I am going to be 40!  Sometimes I can't believe that I will be 40 and then other times it doesn't phase me in the least.  I recently found a blog someone decided to make and give away 36 quilts this year since she turned 36 January 1st.  The blog I found was at http://dailydog.typepad.com.  It has inspired me to create and give away 40 things by the end of the year (If I have to I'll give myself until I turn 41 next summer).

As some of you know, I am the MA National Chapter leader for http://enchantedmakeovers.org/category_28/National-Chapters.htm.  I recently got my first donation to send to a local shelter.  The goal of the National Chapter leaders is to: "Enchanted Makeovers is growing across the country one sewing project at a time! Each state has a chapter, led by a coordinator who will answer your questions on our three sewing projects and collect/deliver the hand-made pillowcases, capes and dolls to shelters for women, teens and children. Hand-made items are a big part of our mission because we believe each gift carries with it the love and positive energy of the crafter. We have seen first hand the impact this has on those who are re-building their lives while living in a shelter. Please join us by donating our sewing projects to your state chapter. The National Chapters only represent our sewing projects."

I now have to find local shelters that would like to have these donated items.  My goal is to make at least 40 pillowcases, dolls, and/or capes to donate to the shelter that we partner with.  My thought is to find a smaller shelter as the larger more well known shelters more than likely have a lot of donations coming in.  They probably don't have items like this, but I'm sure they have more things donated than smaller less known shelters outside of Boston.  I love this idea and it is inspiring me to do something in my own community, I just have to actually formulate a plan and put together something that will fill the needs of my community.

I am thinking that we have a local food pantry and that maybe they would like to have handmade hats, scarfs, mittens, and blankets.  I can only imagine that if they can't afford to buy food, they probably can't afford other things either.  Also, having something handmade to comfort them and keep them warm is always nice.  We also have a large population of people with mental health issues.  I was thinking of tapping into that area to for areas to donate handmade items.  I think I had another thought, but unfortunately that has left my conscious memory right now.  I was also thing we have a local hospital, and hospice agency that could benefit from handmade craft items, like chemo caps, prayer shawls, etc.

This is one way that I am trying to merge my love of social work, community, and crafting.  One of the things that I would love to work on is figuring out how to make this into a career.  I was thinking of at some point looking into grant writing for some funding.  I am contemplating working with my local farmer's market to have a place to have collections of handmade items to donation to local agencies that have needs, maybe even a knit, crochet, sew out.  They do a plain aire paint out every year and have the wakefield collaborative there.  This may all be a pipe dream, but I really want to utilize my love and passion of my social work career, community involvement, and crafting in my career.  I don't want to not do something for fear of failure, but I want to make sure that what I do has the thought and time that it needs put into it.

Before I do anything, I do need to do a community needs assessment to figure out what my community needs.  I certainly can start small and see what I can do even by myself and hope that it will grow in to something larger.  I have a lot of thoughts spinning around in my head.  I also have a part time job, 3 kids, a husband, and a house that need my attention.  I do need to find something for me that I enjoy though, and have it maybe even be something that can grow into a career.  Lots of research to be done, but I am looking forward to it. (I wish my iPad didn't get ruined.  Maybe since I don't have a ton of money I can look into a windows one.)

Amy

PS- I also have the goal of getting healthy.  I want to eat healthier, exercise, and have good mental/spiritual health!

Juicing

A while ago, I joined in with BzzAgent to help test out products.  Recently I tested out Neutrogena products and was very pleased with how smooth the eyeliner was.  I was just asked to test out some juicing info.  I joined in to try Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead (which I have watched before and really enjoyed), as well as a new program, join the reboot, which I have not heard of.  I am really looking forward to re-watching the movie as it helps to keep me motivated.

As I've shared, I have the gene mutation for the BRCA2 gene which places me more at risk for breast and ovarian cancer, as well as a small higher chance for pancreatic and skin cancer.  At this point, I have opted to forgo prophylactic surgery for a more holistic approach to cancer prevention, meaning, I am looking to change my diet and increase my exercise as well as change my reaction to stress.  

I have been running for the last 4 months, with the goal of running every other day.  I have also been making green smoothies for the last 4 months also.  I haven't been as good as I should have been, and I really think that re-watching this movie will help me to keep motivated.  Even if I didn't have a higher cancer risk, I have to admit that I would still be interested in doing the lifestyle changes that I am making.  I have tried juicing my smoothies, basically straining them through a milk bag type strainer.  It's not as easy as I would like, but maybe if I learn more that juicing is more beneficial, I will maybe invest in a juicer.

Amy

I've Made The Decision

My husband and I have been running, or at least attempting to run for the last 4 months.  We have gone every other day alternating so that we each get to go and we each get a break.  We started back in February and we were getting up at 5:30 am.  Now, I am definitely not a morning person, so I switched from 5:30 am to between 8-9 pm.  I don't mind going that late, except, I tend to miss my running time due to a multitude of reasons.  I actually prefer running at night, but I may have to start going back to the mornings again.  I am missing to many times and it too easy to make an excuse.  Recently, I asked my husband how he was able to get up at 5 am (he actually stretches out, which is something I need to start doing).  He said he just made the decision to do it and he does it.  Sounds simple doesn't it?

Well, for me it hasn't been that easy, but I have decided that I need to follow his lead and just make the decision to commit.  Now, when I say I need to make the decision to commit, I am not just talking about running!  I am making the decision to commit to running (getting up early or sucking it up and going no matter what, unless I am really, really sick), eating a meat free/dairy free/gluten free diet, making time to create, making time to donate, and making time to live the life I want to lead.

I am going to take the time to get organized, clean, and purge what I don't need.  I have slowly been purging things, but I don't think that I have been doing enough.  This is a huge piece of what is going to make my life easier.  The better organized I am, the easier it will be to have the time to do all the other things that I want to do.  I think that making this decision now is good.  I was never a tv watcher, but over the last number of years, I have started to get sucked into shows.  Now that summer is here and season finales are over, I am hoping that getting in a good routine will help me remain in a routine once the new season starts again in the fall.  I'm hopeful that I will be in such a routine, that I won't want to watch as much tv.

I am going to start researching recipes that are meat free, gluten free, and dairy free.  Myself and my oldest  son are gluten and dairy sensitive.  My oldest was also recently diagnosed with PDD NOS (he has high functioning autism) and seems to do much better when he doesn't ingest gluten and dairy.  My husband's doctor wants him to eat an animal protein free diet and from what I've researched, I've found that this is the best diet for me to eat given my BRCA2 situation, especially since I am leaning against having surgery!

I have a ton of craft supplies, and when I think about how much money I have spent on them, I get a little sick to my stomach.  I was a little crazy with buying.  Since I love to create and I have a lot of supplies to create with, my goal is to create with them and then donate them to different agencies.  I am hopeful that I can donate and get rid of some of my supplies, as well as feel good about taking time to create.

I am making the decision to follow through with my goals in life, instead of just having goals that I don't follow through with!

Amy

Cancer!

I hate this word!  Like most people, I have been more than touched by cancer within my family.  I also have the breast cancer gene mutation which freaks me out more than just a little.  The decisions I know have to make suck to say the least, but at least I have the options to make decisions (about the only positive that I see in knowing that I have the gene, well along with knowing that my kids are at risk instead of not knowing.

I just found out that someone who I went to high school with lost her husband to pancreatic cancer last night.  As a person with a BRCA2 mutation, I am also at risk for pancreatic cancer, although that risk is low especially in comparison to my breast and ovarian cancer risk.  I also found out that there is more pancreatic cancer in my family that I ever knew.  Granted it is the familial lineage is pretty far away, but at least for me, it scares the crap out of me.

Every time I hear that some has been diagnosed with cancer or passes away from cancer, I get more freaked out.  I know that I need to make certain decisions, really just whether or not I am going to have my ovaries removed or not.  Every time I think I've made the decision, I think and then lose my nerve to stick with it.  Right now I am leaning against surgery and looking more at lifestyle changes.  That may change as I get older, as I get more peri-menopausal, or as life happens.  For me, not having surgery means that I will have the chance to have surgery if I choose at a later date.  If I have surgery when I am not ready, I can never take it back.  I do know that I am putting myself more at risk for ovarian cancer, but for now, that is my decision.  I did get my blood test back for my ovarian cancer test and it was normal, good news, and I have my ultrasound next week.  I still need to schedule my breast MRI, but need to do it at a certain time so I am in a waiting period right now.

After hearing the news of my friends's husband's passing, I really need to stick with my goals.  I really need to focus on eating right, exercising, being creative, and getting my life organized.  Following through with my goals all help me relieve stress on my mind, my body, and my spirit.  Now I just need to keep this resolve and follow through.  As I sit here typing, I am drinking my green shake (after I ate a crappy lunch).  I need to make sure that I actually drink these and eat more fruits and veggies in general as well as good whole grains!

For all that want to know what I put in my shake, this is it:

Green Smoothie

1cups of green leafy veggies (today was swiss chard)
1/2 an apple (green or red)
1/2 a pear
1 banana
1/2 an avocado
1/2 a bag of frozen blackberries
10 oz of water

Blend til smooth and enjoy!  I do have a vita mix.  I'm not sure how it would work in a traditional blender.  I believe that you should have a high speed blender so that it can really get things blended so that your body can incorporate them easily.

Enjoy life and take care of yourself!

Amy

On Being Previvor

If you didn't know, I recently found out that I am a "previvor".    A previvor is a term, I believe, that was founded by force.com to designate a term for people who are positive for the BRCA gene.  I now am faced with the decision to have prophylactic surgeries to remove my ovaries and my breasts.  This has been something that I have thought about for the last couple of months.  I had started thinking about it before I got tested, but the reality of this is just finally hitting me.  Last night was really the first time that I allowed myself to break down.  I was out doing my walk/run and in the middle of it, I broke down and started crying.  I started talking to my husband about what happened and he said I really need to do research and figure out what I need to do for me and that he will support me in what ever decision I make.

If you couldn't tell by the name of this blog, I believe in living a more natural life, but I also believe that there is a balance that needs to happen when living a natural life.  This decision is one area that I believe needs to be balanced.  I don't think that it is an easy decision to make: to either have surgery to remove parts of my body, that for a lot of women including me, are part of who we are as women or to use more alternative means to prevent cancer, breast and ovarian.  Right now I am leaning to not doing surgery with the potential of maybe having my ovaries out, but not having my breasts removed.  I have felt that this was going to be the way that I would go from the beginning, but I am scared of making the wrong decision and getting cancer and leaving my husband and 3 young children before it is time all because I made the wrong decision.

The New Year's goals that I have written about are based a lot on my BRCA2 + status.  I think that if I can work harder on these goals and actually meet them or at least continue working on them, I have a good chance of preventing cancer.  There is a lot of writing out there about having a gene and getting cancer.  There is also some information on how your genes are not your destiny.  I am hoping that I can make changes to my life to help change my genetic destiny.  I need to do a ton of research, and I need to find people who are on the same page as I am.  I haven't really figured out how to find these people, but I am hoping that there may be a group that I can find, maybe a support group type forum that actually meets in person.  I love that the internet allows for all sorts of info, but I really want to meet people and talk to professionals in person.

I am hoping that at some point in my life, I will figure out what I want to do professionally and hope that the less stress I have career wise will help with less stress overall.  I would love to have a career that took into account my beliefs of living a handmade and natural life.

Wish me luck on my research endeavors!
Amy

Healthy Eating and Living

I've written a lot about wanting to change my diet and my reasons for doing so.  I've also written a lot about my struggles with being healthy.  Currently, I am finding it really hard giving up meat.  I still want to give up meat and I think in time, I will actually do it.  I think my biggest struggle is figuring out a meal plan that my whole family will eat.  I am thinking that I probably need to make meat dishes for my kids, and maybe even my husband, and I will just need to have some restraint and follow through with how I want to eat.  Given my BRCA2 gene (and don't want to proceed with surgery yet), I think it is also important to reduce the amount of animal protein I eat (at least from what I have read).

At this point, I really need to stop eating gluten, dairy, and reduce animal protein.  I also need and want to reduce the amount of added sugar, especially white sugar, in my families diet.  I start off doing well and then, I flop and fail.  My oldest son is not supposed to be eating dairy and gluten either (we both scored 3's on our IgG blood test) .  Given that I have concerns about Michael having more of an issue than just a speech delay, I know that following through on no gluten, no dairy, and probably other additives will help him out tremendously!

At this point, I am really going to concentrate on following through with my healthy living goals.  Other than this week, when I have been sick, I have been doing great at exercise.  I could probably do more, but I am happy with what I am doing.  I need to add some short meditation and yoga in, but otherwise exercise is great.  I am trying to make time to be creative, which is going ok, but not perfect.  I am also trying to get organized which is extremely slow going and tedious and time consuming, and difficult.

My thoughts here seem a little scattered (I'm obviously not a writer).  I really just wanted to get down in words, my goals and what I am finding difficult.  I hope that taking time to write down, what I want and what barriers I am facing, even if those barriers are just invisible barriers that I have put up, will help me be more aware and make the changes I need to, even if they are slow going!

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday: How do you wish to spend your time? (a day late)

It's Wednesday again and that means it's time for Wishcasting Wednesday.  This week we are asked:        

"How do you wish to spend your time?"

A simple answer to this question is: "I wish to spend my time following through with the goals that I set of myself at the beginning of the year". 

1.  I wish to make time to get myself healthy.  By this, I mean exercise and eating right.  I have started walking/running every other day and am starting to feel pretty good.  I still have a long way to go, but I no longer ache after I finish my exercise.  I would love to add yoga and/or meditation to my routine.  As far as eating healthy, I still have a way to go.  I am doing well with drinking my green smoothies in the morning, but I am still having trouble throughout the day.  This is something I will continue to work on.  I am also trying to remember to drink my water kefir instead of soda.
2. I want to make time to get my life organized.  Again this is something that I am am working on.  I have started going through my craft supplies and am starting to purge somethings.  After purging, I have started to get an organization system.  I also want to get more organized so that I can have a cleaner house.
3. I want to make time to be creative.  I have been crocheting and trying to get my unfinished projects completed.  I am trying to use up the supplies I have instead of buying new and adding to the lack of room that I already have.
4. I wish to spend time learning about new things.  I want to learn more about essential oils, gardening, and herbs as well as getting better with the creative things that I like to do.  I want to learn more about growing herbs and using them.  I want to learn more about using essential oils for me and my family.  I want to learn more about how to have a good healthy garden so that I can use that to feed my family instead of relying on the store.  I'm sure that there is more that I want to learn, but that is what I can think of now.
5. I wish to spend more quality time with my kids.  I am looking to spend some time homeschooling my twins for their first preschool year.  It is so expensive to send 2 kids to preschool for 2 years.  I think it will be good for them to go for 1 year, but I don't know that 2 is necessary.  I also want to spend more time encouraging them to be creative and not really worrying about the mess that they make.  I also want to make sure that I spend quality time with my husband!

For now this is where I wish to spend my time.  How do you wish to spend your time?

Amy