Anyone who knows me, knows that my battle with allergies and upper respiratory crud are my arch-nemesis. Allergies kick in, asthma kicks in, upper respiratory crud kicks in. Well, in the past 2 years, my older two have been to the doctor for upper respiratory crud 3 times each. They take zyrtec, sometimes it seems to help, sometimes it doesn't. At our list visit, the pediatrician said that studies show that honey is more effective for coughs than a lot of pharmaceutical cough syrups. So guess what we are using for cough syrup? Honey, sometimes with lemon.
About a month ago, my sister in law introduced me to Essential Oils by doTerra. My sister apparently was also introduced to them and has seen her friends' daughter's health improve drastically. Sis calls them hippie oils. And honestly, my first thought of them when I heard about them was the memory of patchouli wafting down the hall from certain students' rooms in the college dorm 17 years ago. I couple of months ago, a friend that I met online also posted a picture of her stash of oils that she was packing in fer toiletry bag for her family's vacation to Disney World. Come to find out they have not been on antibiotics in 18 months. She has been using them for 2 years.
Anyway, my point is that modern medicine is not working for my family. My kids don't even get fevers often, they just get this really bad crud that takes 2 weeks to shake. Like their mama. Antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria. And sometimes it takes 2 rounds for us to knock out the nasty cough.
There has got to be a better way. Will essential oils be part of that better way?
When my introductory kit of lavender, peppermint, and lemon oils arrived, I decided to try the lemon in my water and the lavender on my daughter at bedtime. Honestly, that first night I did not notice a difference. She doesn't fall asleep easily, and that night was no different. A couple of days later, she requested that I massage her feet with those oils again. And again the next night. Both of those nights, she did settle and stay asleep better.
My personal usage... well, I have simultaneously begun drinking more water and using coconut oil in my coffee, so who knows. But the past 2 days, my mid-afternoon pick me up of lemon water and peppermint oil inhalation have certainly not hurt. I didn't even feel like I needed a nap yesterday. Coincidence? I don't know.
But status quo is not good enough, so in conjunction with trying to eat right and exercise, it's worth a shot.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Flashback
http://awanderingheart.blogspot.com/2009/03/training-has-begun-ive-been-doing-my.html
The last time I said I wanted to do a 5k... in 2009.
The last time I said I wanted to do a 5k... in 2009.
perhaps it's time to revive an old dream, instead
In 2009, I decided I wanted to try to run a 5k. I don't know what happened, or how that dream fizzled, or when I stopped believing it was worth the effort involved. But I did. Or maybe, I just didn't think I COULD do it, so why bother?
Fast forward... my cousin, who I mentioned yesterday... caught the dream. With an awesome, trusted friend mentoring her, she trained relentlessly. Then injury delayed her dream of running the Boston Marathon just 1 year after finishing the BAA 5k. (Read her guest post over at Middle Places... it is awesome.)
I ran tonight. Not just on the elliptical in the basement. After dinner, I left the kids with Daddy and ran out my front door. I didn't stop for almost 1/2 mile. And then I walked briskly home. I haven't run a mile since PE in high school. I probably have not run 1/2 mile since then, either.
Freshman year... 1991... that was a long time ago. A couple of years before that, I had wanted to try to run middle school track. Alas, some grades dropped from A's to B's, my asthma and allergies kicked in, and instead of figuring out how to manage them, I quit before the first meet. (What ever happened to "I don't expect perfection, I appreciate the effort," the mantra that I heard growing up? I guess it did not really apply to athletics in our house.)
Anyway... the run felt good. My goal is to run farther every time I get out there (3 times a week to start?) and not worry about speed. Even if it's just 10 yards farther. I have an inhaler and I am not afraid to use it.
I bet I could search back in my blog and find posts from 2009 describing my idea of trying to run a 5K.
I do have another motivation in this. Blood sugar. I am prediabetic and do not want to get type 2 diabetes. Nor do I want to HAVE to track every single morsel that enters my body. I love food. I have been blessed with a high metabolism in addition to a long torso for some reason, so during all 3 pregnancies I got funny looks when I told them how far along I was. The 3rd pregnancy, people didn't seem to believe that I could have gestational diabetes, but I did.
A friend told me to choose an event and make that my goal, otherwise I won't actually get around to doing it. So I guess that's the next step.
Fast forward... my cousin, who I mentioned yesterday... caught the dream. With an awesome, trusted friend mentoring her, she trained relentlessly. Then injury delayed her dream of running the Boston Marathon just 1 year after finishing the BAA 5k. (Read her guest post over at Middle Places... it is awesome.)
I ran tonight. Not just on the elliptical in the basement. After dinner, I left the kids with Daddy and ran out my front door. I didn't stop for almost 1/2 mile. And then I walked briskly home. I haven't run a mile since PE in high school. I probably have not run 1/2 mile since then, either.
Freshman year... 1991... that was a long time ago. A couple of years before that, I had wanted to try to run middle school track. Alas, some grades dropped from A's to B's, my asthma and allergies kicked in, and instead of figuring out how to manage them, I quit before the first meet. (What ever happened to "I don't expect perfection, I appreciate the effort," the mantra that I heard growing up? I guess it did not really apply to athletics in our house.)
Anyway... the run felt good. My goal is to run farther every time I get out there (3 times a week to start?) and not worry about speed. Even if it's just 10 yards farther. I have an inhaler and I am not afraid to use it.
I bet I could search back in my blog and find posts from 2009 describing my idea of trying to run a 5K.
I do have another motivation in this. Blood sugar. I am prediabetic and do not want to get type 2 diabetes. Nor do I want to HAVE to track every single morsel that enters my body. I love food. I have been blessed with a high metabolism in addition to a long torso for some reason, so during all 3 pregnancies I got funny looks when I told them how far along I was. The 3rd pregnancy, people didn't seem to believe that I could have gestational diabetes, but I did.
A friend told me to choose an event and make that my goal, otherwise I won't actually get around to doing it. So I guess that's the next step.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
it's time for a new goal
I write this at risk of being a little too transparent, but I'm going to do it anyway.
My cousin Marissa was supposed to run the Boston Marathon this week. Alas, she had an injury that kept her from running, so she, her husband, and my Uncle went to the route to support our friend Lisa, Lisa's husband, and Lisa's Dad. Thank the Lord, they are all okay. Lisa's husband and Dad were within feet of the explosions, they are fine. If Marissa had been running, my Uncle, Aunt and Marissa's sweet babies might have been in the area that was blown to shreds, and her finish time would have been around the time of the blasts. Talk about bittersweet divine intervention... who knew a fractured pelvis would turn out to be a blessing in disguise?
Anyway, Marissa and I have become good friends through the years, and part of our journey is that we set a similar goal for ourselves in labor and childbirth. Even though the details were different, having a sounding board in that journey that was not critical and encouraged my choices was huge. A year ago, my cousin ran her first 5K- the Boston 5K before the marathon. She set a new goal and went for it.
Almost 5 years ago, I set a goal to do my best to deliver my son without the epidural. Today I realized that that was the last major goal I've set for myself and followed through on.
That's depressing.
I am the middle sister in my family. Ironically, I have always felt just in the middle... oh, I have done well in some areas. I was raised to do my best, but somehow along the way that translated into just being good enough. Ironic.
So, it's time for a new goal. Or maybe a couple. I am notorious for having ideas (I cannot really call them goals) and not following through. Perhaps it's fallout from that era of legalism in which I felt I could never be good enough so I would settle for what appeared to be my best, I don't know. Perhaps it's from not really having an example of setting goals other than getting the house clean and taking care of the kids. Those are good things, and I am thankful for my Mom, but I wish she had taken time to cultivate personal interests in addition to the home and garden. I think it would have been good for her... the example of having goals set by other people in front of me would have been good.
Now it's my turn to show my 7 year old daughter than being a stay at home Mom does not mean that is all I do. Who coined that phrase, anyway? I don't work outside the home, I don't go to school... instead of focusing on the "don't" it's time to find my drive to "do." Including the housework. Have I mentioned I really hate housework?
My cousin Marissa was supposed to run the Boston Marathon this week. Alas, she had an injury that kept her from running, so she, her husband, and my Uncle went to the route to support our friend Lisa, Lisa's husband, and Lisa's Dad. Thank the Lord, they are all okay. Lisa's husband and Dad were within feet of the explosions, they are fine. If Marissa had been running, my Uncle, Aunt and Marissa's sweet babies might have been in the area that was blown to shreds, and her finish time would have been around the time of the blasts. Talk about bittersweet divine intervention... who knew a fractured pelvis would turn out to be a blessing in disguise?
Anyway, Marissa and I have become good friends through the years, and part of our journey is that we set a similar goal for ourselves in labor and childbirth. Even though the details were different, having a sounding board in that journey that was not critical and encouraged my choices was huge. A year ago, my cousin ran her first 5K- the Boston 5K before the marathon. She set a new goal and went for it.
Almost 5 years ago, I set a goal to do my best to deliver my son without the epidural. Today I realized that that was the last major goal I've set for myself and followed through on.
That's depressing.
I am the middle sister in my family. Ironically, I have always felt just in the middle... oh, I have done well in some areas. I was raised to do my best, but somehow along the way that translated into just being good enough. Ironic.
So, it's time for a new goal. Or maybe a couple. I am notorious for having ideas (I cannot really call them goals) and not following through. Perhaps it's fallout from that era of legalism in which I felt I could never be good enough so I would settle for what appeared to be my best, I don't know. Perhaps it's from not really having an example of setting goals other than getting the house clean and taking care of the kids. Those are good things, and I am thankful for my Mom, but I wish she had taken time to cultivate personal interests in addition to the home and garden. I think it would have been good for her... the example of having goals set by other people in front of me would have been good.
Now it's my turn to show my 7 year old daughter than being a stay at home Mom does not mean that is all I do. Who coined that phrase, anyway? I don't work outside the home, I don't go to school... instead of focusing on the "don't" it's time to find my drive to "do." Including the housework. Have I mentioned I really hate housework?
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