End of Month Recap and Links - February 2013

Somehow February just flew by.  I felt like I couldn't keep up with all of my work, let alone extras.  My body is going through lots of changes and adjustments that aren't always easy to tolerate.  Things have been a bit crazy at home, and Abram has decided to never sleep in again (I hope that's not really true, but it feels like it)...giving me hardly any time to get on the computer.  And we're ending the month with a bang - Abram is sick again.  So back onto antibiotics today :(  I hope he perks up so I don't have to hold him the entire day.  My arms and back are already killing me from yesterday.  So I did what I could.  Here's how the month went.

1. Writing -  I managed to write my GRNL February article.  And I have my topics for my RFH articles.  I just need to find the time to actually write them :P  No work on the newsletter yet.

2. Photography - I did not have time to look at my book.

3. Healing - I am getting used to my rotational diet.  And I'm having fun experimenting again.  Overall I've seen a reduction in my food intolerance reactions.  So I must be doing something right/the rotational diet must be helping.

On the down side I've had some days of being super cold lately and have had an increase in my low metabolism/adrenal fatigue symptoms.  I'm more tired than usual.  My body temps are going back down.  I'm cold all the time.  And digestion is awful.  So I'm trying to figure out how to remedy that.  I probably need some kind of combination of the following - more sleep, more food, less exercise, less fluid.  That happened last week.  I think it was due to major stress.  I do recover fairly quickly from these episodes.  But it's still frustrating.  I'm trying to sleep more and exercise less.  That does seem to help.  Temps are flirting with 98 again.

I am keeping a spreadsheet of my daily meals and symptoms.  I need to go over it now to see if I find any consistent food/reaction combinations.  I did learn that I don't tolerate quinoa or sweet potatoes.  I'm still not sure about dates, avocados, beef broth and chicken broth.  I have also confirmed that I don't tolerate much fiber.  I'm still debating about wheat and dairy.  At the moment I think the verdict is that I can tolerate some dairy.  But I think I'm going to be totally gluten free for a bit to see if that helps.

On a positive note...I am DONE WITH MIRALAX...FOREVER!  I've been off of it for four weeks exactly now.  And I don't intend to ever take it again.  I can't say that things are perfect now.  But I don't care.  I'm not putting that chemical back into my body again.

I have started all of my supplements.  It's kind of a pain to take so many pills each day.  But I just keep telling myself this is temporary until my body is back to where it needs to be.

There have been plenty of ups and downs.  And I'm still learning.  But on the whole I've seen improvement.  Even in the last few days of getting just a little extra sleep and a little less exercise I can see a big change in my energy levels.  It's so nice to have the energy to really play with my kids - dancing, jumping, etc.  And it's so nice to not feel like I just ate a balloon after each meal.  I can eat...and still feel normal/not have my belly bloat up.  A true miracle.

4. Homemade Food - I made quite a few gluten free baked goods for myself to help keep my carb intake up while not reaching for wheat.  I'm enjoying this new experiment...and the delicious results :)  Soaked gluten free graham crackers are in the dehydrator right now.  I'm soooo excited!  And looking at my link list I realize just how much experimenting I did this month!

5. Relationships - We had a lot of fun celebrating my nephew's birthday, going to Sleeping Beauty with my mom, going to a hockey game and going to Bible study.

6. Rebecca - We continue to do our best encouraging her and trying to focus on her strengths.  And we understand her personality and struggles better each day as well.

7. Crafts - ummmm...not a spare second for this.

8. Cakes - I made a soccer cake for my nephew.  I have a preliminary sketch of Rebecca's cake.  I have yet to start sketching Abram's Mickey Mouse cake.  I have a little time for that.

9. Declutter - nope...didn't work on Abram's closet either.

10. Acceptance - I have been working on accepting others and myself.  It's a work in progress, but at least I'm making progress.

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LINKS

I always love posts that tell the truth about saturated fat and cholesterol.  No, they don't cause heart disease.

Here are some other main stream dietary myths.

Even cats know the truth about butter :)

A great post on how to dye Easter eggs naturally.

Great information on vitamin K2, why we need it and how to get it (one of the reasons I refuse to cut butter out of my diet :)
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And my own posts from the month in case you missed any:

Gluten Free Amaranth Tapioca Chocolate Bars

Teff and Rice Granola Bars

Pumpkin Pot Pie with Soaked Amaranth Crust

My journey to find the "perfect" diet

Soaked Garbanzo Flour Carob Scones

Raw cheesecake

Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

White Rice Pancakes

Beautiful Babis preoder...there is still time!!!

Candy bar ice cream (a personal favorite)

Crunchy Crumble (this is awesome sprinkled in yogurt - cow's milk, goat's milk or coconut milk)

Single Serving Simple Pot Pie

Chocolate Chip Scones (I still LOVE these...I'm glad I still have a few in the freezer)