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My daughter just turned one over the weekend.  Needless to say, past year has been a learning experience for me.  Somehow my Super Woman switch got turned on as soon as I had Luna and I felt it was my job to save the world. Maybe this happens to all moms, but man, it is exhausting! I challenged a lot of norms over the past year including trash, cable and other technologies, vaccinations, food, disposable diapers and other modern conveniences. I led my family on a wild goose chase as we gave up trash, cable, disposable diapers, certain foods, and so much more.  The journey was a learning experience for all of us. We have all learned to be less wasteful, more responsible and much more aware. 

Life quickly became frustrating and far from enjoyable. We found without some of the modern conveniences life became very stressful. For example, without trash pick up you have to learn how to shop to avoid waste. Mainstream does not make this easy. To avoid problems in our family and relieve the stress we all compromised in our changes. We kept the cloth diapers, but got back trash service, however, we increased our recycling load and decreased out typical trash load significantly. We still don't have cable. We replaced it with Hulu and Netflicks and saved a bunch of money. Since then, my husband also purchased a $15.00 antenna and now we get ten clear channels! As for our foods, we are still learning, but we try to keep our foods local or organic whenever possible. We grew some of our vegetables as well.  Some of my opinions and decisions also brought about controversy, I guess that is all about standing up for what you think is right.

It really has been a great year and I feel confident about the changes that we have made as a family. I am also grateful for the people that have taken the time to listen to our experiences and support us. My perspective on life has definitely changed drastically and the challenges have made me a better person. Time to relax and enjoy life a bit.  

3 Day Juice Cleanse - Day 3 and after

So, I finished up the cleanse and have never felt better. I was ready to get some real food back in my system, but my body felt alive. I also was very energetic and mentally clear. It was a very good experience and I plan on doing the cleanse again soon. I lost a total of 4lbs over the 3 days as well. Of course some of the pounds came back, but that is expected. It was also a very liberating experience. I felt in control and disciplined.  I also find that I make better choices now on the foods I eat. Now, food also has an awakened flavor profile that really makes you enjoy every bite. Highly recommended.

3 Day Juice Cleanse - Day 2

Since this is a short cleanse, this is going to be a short entry. I feel better already. I woke up feeling lighter, energetic and not anxious at all.

Day 2:
32oz Juice: Kale, Carrots, Apples, Oranges, Ginger, Celery, Cucumber 

I made a big batch for the day again. I know that the juice loses nutrients if it sits, but making it as needed it is not an option in my day of juggling work and a baby. Anyway, I had energy all day, I was a bit hungry mid day again, but it was curbed by 2 glasses of juice. I am down 2 lbs and feeling fantastic. My skin even looks brighter. It's amazing what a little juice can do. I am also sleeping, which is more than I can say for a week ago! Oh what a relief! It really isn't that hard either. The hardest part is my husbands desire to eat the most desirable foods these past couple of days. WILL POWER!

On the final day I plan to treat myself to a sashimi dinner, a nice light way to introduce food back into my diet.

3 Day Juice Cleanse - Day 1

Lately, I have been challenging the norm of the typical American diet. I eat healthy. Let me rephrase that, I eat healthy in terms of what I was taught to believe is healthy. The general belief in America (which we are taught as early as kindergarten) is to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner all based around the food pyramid. Okay, it's logical to a certain extent, but why if I am following those guidelines do I feel anxious, sluggish, irritable etc. I started to pay closer attention to the symptoms and found that they came after meals.  I wanted to start fresh and flush my body of what is perceived to be healthy with a juice cleanse of fresh fruits and vegetables that I know make me feel great. After the cleanse, I plan on selectively adding foods back into my diet in order to more easily detect foods that may be working against my body instead of with my body.

Day 1
Food: I made a 32oz batch to last me the whole day:
4 bushels of Kale, A little Ginger, 3 stalks of Celery, Four Apples, One Cucumber, One Pineapple

Reflection: It was easier than I thought it would be. I even passed up a hearty Italian meal from one of my favorite restaurants for dinner. I did find myself hungry around lunch time, but it only lasted a few minutes. I guzzled a glass of my juice and felt fine again. My mind has also settled, I don't feel very anxious and my energy level is average.  I am also not tired.  Only two days left!  

Baby Toys, Overrated?

The baby toy industry is cleaning up. There are noise makers, plastic keys, stuffed animals, teething toys, rubber duckies, etc. I have baskets filled, I know. Luna is only 10 months and has more toys than FAO Schwarz! Okay, so not that many, but a lot. I can only imagine how many more she will collect with her first birthday coming up! My low patients for clutter is already designating places for her new toys!

Anyway, I am sure most parent can relate, no matter how many cool new toys your little one has it is always the unexpected that catches and holds a babies attention. Luna's favorite toys are the hamper, an empty water bottle, straws, my camera case, any iPhone, and our vacuum.  I think we need to rethink this whole toy industry :)

Numb-Founded

I overheard a conversation between a guy and a girl the other day. The one was about ready to drink a bottled beverage when the other took it out of her hands and started reading the label. He said, "Do you know what is in this? Some of these ingredients have been closely linked to cancer. This could kill you!" She shrugged her shoulders, took it out of his hands and started to drink it.

Have we really become that numb as a society? We can blame the large companies who put these things on the market, but what ever happened to our instinct for survival? We know things are bad for us, yet we indulge anyway. Cigarettes are a great example , the package even says "may cause cancer". They have killed so many people, yet so many millions still smoke. 

We only care when it is too late. We regret the bad decisions in a hospital bed, up until that point we glaze over and only hear what we want to. We aren't invincible.  The decisions we make today will effect us and others for a lifetime. What will it take to wake up our numb society and regain that instinct for survival? 

Personal responsibility. 

I Deserve It

We have become an "I deserve it" generation. Whether we know it or not, in the last 70 years we have lost the concept of living within our means and instead have become slaves of debt. The norm for my generation includes a mortgage, student loans, car payment and a minimum of one or two credit cards. Buying something when you have the money for it is a thing of the past. The average household owes well over $15k and that doesn't include home mortgages. Before there were loans and credit cards people actually saved up for their homes, bought their cars with cash and didn't have EVERYTHING they wanted (new iPhone, latest Nike's etc.), but they still survived.  Ask yourself this; is it that the cost of everything is so high that we need a loan to afford the things that we need/want or is it that we feel that we are entitled to have the things we can't afford? 

Debt has become a norm in America, ask the US government.  It is a very hard culture to crack and I only see it getting worse unless everyone starts taking personal responsibility and living out of the norm.  I passed a billboard the other day that said "Get Engaged...for only $129 a month".  Really? It was an advertisement for engagement rings.  What a way to start a marriage.  The "I deserve it" equals "over-extended", its no wonder that America has such high cases of anxiety, depression, divorce etc, etc.  Stop and think about it, where would you be if you never took out a loan (yes a mortgage, car and student loans count) or never signed up for a credit card.  What wouldn't you have and would you be able to survive? For most of us that is a hard question because we can't remember back that far. Try this one, how much money have you paid in interest on these loans in the past five years and what better things could you have done with that money? 

Dave Ramsey of Financial Peace has some great advise on how to obtain a debt free lifestyle. As Craig Groeschel from LifeChurch puts it "say no for a little, so you can say yes forever".  It is truly a freeing experience when you are not a "slave to the lender".