Sorting Through the Hype

I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions.  I do, however, always have to hit the restart button after all of the holiday indulgences.  It's truly amazing how crappy you feel after consuming all of the sugar, carbs, wine, and just generally less-than-healthy food.  After too many late nights, I am typically exhausted as well.  So begins the post-holiday reboot.

With all of the health trends, superfoods, exercise fads, etc, it is really hard to figure out what's best.  I've decided that there is no one path to health.  We all have different imbalances, nutritional needs, and lifestyles. Always researching and reading, I am usually up for trying new things.  Unfortunately, some of those things end up being a waste of time, money and energy.  I guess that's how we learn.  There are a few things, however, that I've figured out work quite well for me personally.  I'll share them with you and I would love to hear the things that work for you!

I believe good, clean food is the best thing any of us can do for our health and well-being. I am very particular about what I buy and prepare for my family.  The first thing I did after New Year's Day was get the sugar out of the house.  Sugar, regardless of what form it is in (carbs and grains included), is really harmful to your health. It is not surprising to me that so many of us get sick after the holidays.  Every bit of sugar we consume lowers our natural immunity, making us susceptible to all kinds of yuck. I feel my best when I limit carbs and cut out other sugar completely.  Well, except for the occasional square of really dark chocolate. :)

Foods that I include in my diet are farm fresh local eggs, pastured cultured butter (like Kerrygold), greens (raw and cooked, also in smoothies), good grains like quinoa, lots of roasted roots (especially this time of year), slow simmered soups, organic veggies and lots of hot tea.  I am a big believer in eating for the different seasons.  We pretty much exist on salads and fresh, raw vegetables in the summer.  Once fall and winter roll around, we start wanting warming foods like roasted vegetables and soups, and lots of different teas.

While I am not a believer in taking a hundred supplement pills everyday, I do realize that there are just some things we don't get from our food today. Three things that I do include in my diet everyday are probiotics, fermented cod liver oil (info here), High Vitamin Butter Oil (info here) and coconut oil.  I believe completely in the benefits of healthy fats, having discovered how much better I look and feel when good fats are a daily part of my diet. The only non-food supplement I am currently using is a transdermal magnesium oil spray.  It has worked wonders.

We all know exercise is crucial.  I personally am a hater of the treadmill, so when I discovered Peak Fitness (aka HIIT) a few years ago, I was sooooooo happy.  I absolutely cannot run long distances on the treadmill. It is torture...boring, boring, boring. High Intensity Interval Training is the best thing ever.  20 minutes, 3 times a week. Yes!  The rest of the week I do rebounding or yoga.  I suppose if I were to make a resolution for working out it should be to include more weights...also not my favorite thing.

One of the best things I've done for my health in the past few years is to include different kinds of energy medicine.  I never do any kind of workout without first doing the 10 minute Energy Routine (here) plus a few other exercises I've learned from my mom.  You may think it's crazy and a bunch of bunk, but it makes a huge difference in my ability to work out harder and longer.  (I've also used it to balance my hormones and get rid of premenopausal symptoms like night sweats.)  My dad is in his 60's and never misses a workout. If he does, we know he is really sick.  When he started doing energy medicine to stay balanced and healthy, his daily pushups started to number in the hundreds.  Yes, you heard me correctly...hundreds.  My daddy is quite the studly one, huh. :-)  By the way, if you do yoga, you are doing energy medicine.  Just sayin'...

Well, this is all I can think of for now, not to mention this post is really long.  Thanks to any of you who actually make it to the end!  :)  I really would like to hear what works for you.  Love to learn new things!

Twenty Twelve

As we all tend to do this time of year, I was reflecting back on 2012.  It's certainly been a year of challenges for our family, but in the middle of whatever we may have been enduring--heartbreak, hardship, tough decisions--we had a constant, an anchor, a faithful God who was more than able.  Although we prayerfully and with tears were begging for deliverance, He chose to work things out in a way we never would have seen, allowing us to face and experience some things that we were afraid of.  Taking pieces of life that we never would have thought relevant to what was happening, He used them for our benefit. We saw Him move and truly work all things together for good-even the bad things-and I learned once again that it isn't what He delivers us from, it is what He delivers us through.  Perhaps someday I'll tell the story, but not today.  It is still something between me and my Father, held in my heart to fill me with faith and hope for this new year in a world that is seemingly spinning out of control.

Have faith.  Be joyful and full of hope, for our God has overcome the world and He promises to never leave you or forsake you.  If you have difficult things to walk through, if you are lonely, grieving, heartbroken, discouraged...take heart and cast your burdens on Him. He will be with you through every hard moment, holding you up when you are falling, wiping your tears when your heart is breaking and then helping you to stand victorious on the other side. He will put the pieces of your life back together. He keeps His promises.


 "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23

Joyeux Noel

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas from the Pierson house!  May your Christmas Day be full of family, friends, good food and many blessings from our precious Savior.  We love you.

The One You Can't Put Down

“A first child is your own best foot forward, and how you do cheer those little feet as they strike out. You examine every turn of flesh for precocity, and crow it to the world.

     But the last one: the baby who trails her scent like a flag of surrender through your life when there will be no more coming after–oh, that’s love by a different name. She is the babe you hold in your arms for an hour after she’s gone to sleep. If you put her down in the crib, she might wake up changed and fly away. So instead you rock by the window, drinking the light from her skin, breathing her exhaled dreams. Your heart bays to the double crescent moons of closed lashes on her cheeks. She’s the one you can’t put down.” ― Barbara Kingsolver, The Poisonwood Bible

It has been years since I read The Poisonwood Bible, but this quote has stayed with me, never failing to touch my heart.  Originally having decided to stop after having 2 kids, Jay and I both felt that we were supposed to have one more.  As I am an EXTREMELY miserable pregnant person, this was no small decision for me.  So we had our Maddy...the baby who came with no more coming after. I truly, truly cannot imagine my life without this amazing, brilliant, kind and precious girl. 

Maddy is growing up into a beautiful young woman. Where do the years go?  So fleeting.  Don't let a day go by without hugging your kids, telling them you love them, and making time for them even when you feel you couldn't possibly spare a moment. 

Love you, Peanut.  Thanks for all of the hugs, kisses, snuggles and love.  I am sooooo proud to be your mama.

Free

A few years ago I decided to reclaim my home and make it a healthier place for my family.  Perhaps someday I'll write about what prompted my actions, but for now I thought I'd share a few things I have done to create a space that is as free of chemicals, allergens, etc etc etc, as I can possibly make it.  My philosophy in all things that have to do with health, real food, natural living and such, is to do what I can and not stress about the things I can't change.  Stress is likely worse for our well being than just about anything else anyway.

Here is one little change I made that is really, really easy.  In the past I would buy deodorant, but never antiperspirant.  As I began learning more about different chemicals found in most personal care products, I realized that even just buying deodorant minus the aluminum found in antiperspirant wasn't good enough.  One day I was thinking about how great baking soda is for absorbing and removing odor and decided to try it as deodorant.  I mixed it with our favorite clean lotion and discovered that it works wonderfully!  My teens use it, too, and with great results.

 A teeny, tiny jelly jar. It works perfectly for this! 

It is ridiculously simple to do.  If you have a lotion that is fairly thick that you really like, use that.  Make sure whatever you use is free of chemical nastiness like fragrance, parabens, etc.  I use coconut oil and my girls like lotion.  The baking soda/lotion ratio is about 3/1, possibly even 4/1.  It just doesn't take much baking soda.  Make it in small batches, put in a glass container (not plastic, if you can avoid it) and it should last for a good while.  Honestly, it only takes a tiny bit rubbed into your underarms and you are good to go!  Give it a try. :)

Southern Thanks

Thanksgiving--the holiday that smells yummy. Pies baking, turkey roasting, bread rising.  This time of year my heart longs for time spent with my family.  Somehow, Montana never feels quite right to me at Thanksgiving.  For me, it's just a Southern kind of holiday.  Thanksgivings past were spent with the Haley side of the family.  Food, family, games, laughter, obnoxious loudness, way too much pie, a crowd of aunts, uncles and cousins, and Michelle and I kickin' everyone's butts at Nertz.  Oh yeah, good memories.

Tomorrow I would like to be in my mama's kitchen, along with my girls.  There would be pie crust making, bread kneading and cornbread dressing fixins.  If I know Beebs (and I do), she'd have a pot of some amazingly tasty soup on the stove for us while we are all busily prepping for the next day's feast. Most likely, a movie would be playing in the background, with no one really watching it.  The kitchen counters would become a mountain of pots and pans, even as one of us would constantly be washing up.  

Thanksgiving morning the good smells start early with the turkey roasting and hot coffee brewing.  I have to tell y'all...my mama makes the best mashed potatoes, gravy and dressing ever.  Really.  The best. Pretty sure she puts all of her love into it.  Maybe that's what Thanksgiving tastes like at Beebo's house--love.  

Thank you to my sweet mom for all of those meals, for every single one of the gazillions of  homemade pie crusts rolled out on your countertop, every loaf of fresh bread, every potato peeled, every stick of butter melted and made into something wonderful. :) It may seem like an inconsequential thing, but it absolutely is not. It is a love offering to us. I know this to be true now that I, myself, am a mom. 

Happy Thanksgiving, Beebo and Pappa.  Sending love and gratefulness from Montana all the way down to South Texas.

Thrifting

I love to go thrifting with my girls. Digging through the mom jeans and 70's macrame that inhabits thrift stores, we've made some delightful discoveries!  It's kind of the thrill of the hunt, I suppose. You just never know what you might find, but there is always the possibility of coming across something wonderful.

Here are a few thrifting words of wisdom...
    * Always keep hand sanitizer in your car.
    *Almost anything can be cleaned, so look beyond the occasional grime.
    *Yes, sometimes the stores don't smell exactly lovely. Who cares.
    *Sometimes you'll not find a doggone thing worth buying. That's ok. Keep trying. It'll be worth it.
    *Most thrift stores have 1/2 price days.  Totally worth standing in line for!
    *Have a sense of humor while you are there. Some things in there will make you say, "Whaaaaat???"(We once had a contest to see who could find the ugliest thing.)
     *Most thrift stores support awesome nonprofits so your money goes to a good cause.
   
    So get out there, brave the funky smell, and find a treasure of your own!



Here are a few fun things that we've found...

Book holder from the back of a church pew. It now hangs on Maddy's wall.

Kyra's lamp.  Looks darling in her room.

Maddy's chair. It's an awful plaid, but was really clean and in perfect shape.  I also thrifted the vintage chenille bedspread to put on top of the ugly plaid.  Btw...I got the chair and the spread for a grand total of $14. Sweet!

Cherry Ames nurse books were my absolute favorite when I was a kid.  I have managed to find a few of them.  Love!!!

Lots of lovely art

With the long Montana winters, a lot of tea drinking goes on around here.  Thrift stores are a great place to find cute teapots.

Fun little 70's things.  This is our tea tin.

Little egg holders.  I just liked them.

My grandmother had a cake tin like this one.  I love using this.

Lots of old linens and Pyrex.

We've found cute little random dishes and oh so many fantastic books!

Old classics abound at thrift stores.

More artsy sorts of things

Mirror and pretty teacups in Kyra's room

More pretty teacups and saucers

Old teakettle used as a planter

Pyrex!