I'm a fan.:)

I have been on a particular internet forum for about 10 years. It was through that forum where I first learned about grinding my own wheat, Essential Oils, how to deal with 5 children and live ;) and most recently I've been learning about homeopathy. I used to consider herbal remedies, essential oils and such as "homeopathic". They are not. One company tha thas been in the homeopathy business for years in Hyland's. I have known of Hyland's teething tablets for years as I've used them with each of my children.

I've also used the colic tablets with GREAT relief (hers AND mine) with my last child, in particular.

Well, I have now discovered there are homeopathic remedies for *me* and I've barely scratched the surface of possibilities.

My first foray outside of my trusted sources was to Joette Calabrese's website, Homeopathy Works. Another site recommended by a friend is this one- Dr. Luc.

After reading up on homeopathy a bit and conversing with my friends who use it I was convinced to try it after skirting around it for a couple years. What speaks to me about homeopathy is that the remedies are mild and have no known contraindications or side affects. They are safe for children as well as adults.

They are also inexpensive. Seriously inexpensive. For what you pay for one doctor's visit you can buy months and months worth of homeopathic remedies. And... I don't have to threaten my children with bodily harm in order to get them to take them! From my 3yo on up to my 18yo they all take them without a fuss. I have never had that happen before. Ever. My 3yo is an expert at spitting out any medicine you seem to think you will convince her to ingest.

I'm excited and I've only ventured out into about 4 remedies on the most basic of levels. They are "arnica montana" (for aches and pains/muscles) in ingest-able pellet and topical gel forms; "sepia" for irritability/PMS, etc; Hyland's "Calms Forte" for better sleeping, and ahem... Hyland's hemorrhoids no further explanation needed. Recall the 5 children? They are gifts that keep on giving...lol. It's a tad embarrassing to write about, but if this information helps someone else who suffers then it has served it's purpose well.

The other day a pound of frozen solid meat dropped from a few feet above the floor square onto my big toe. It hurt very badly. Amidst the intense pain it occurred to me to try the arnica. I kid you not within 1 minute the pain was tolerable and within 5 minutes I hardly felt a thing. I used no ice. Rite Aid has a special this week where one can buy Boiron Arnicare Gel for $6.99 and get a Register Reward upon purchase for $6.00. I had intended to try it and $.99 can't be beat so I was happy to take advantage of the sale. I have been using it on the neuroma on the underside of my foot that has been acting up and it has helped quite a bit.

The sepia has saved my sanity and a few lives around here. Literally. Whenever I feel an edginess creep up within me I take some sepia and within minutes I'm much more mellow. When I have a kid melting down I slip them some sepia and it's calmed them nearly immediately. It's awesome!

Rite Aid also had the Calms Forte remedy for less than a dollar after Register Rewards so I bought that as well. I'd used the child's version for my children years ago and it worked. I have been having difficulty achieving quality sleep as of late in part due to being a light sleeper. I have used melatonin in the past, but I wind up upon waking feeling as if I've been drugged. That is not a feeling I enjoy. I woke feeling totally refreshed after the 1st night I took it.

As for the hemorrhoid remedy- I'll just say it works completely and extremely quickly.

I will mention one more remedy I forgot about: Hyland's Bug Bite Ointment.

This stuff is AM.AZ.ING. My 8yo swells horribly from any bug bite and has required a dose of hydroxyzine or two (spaced out) each time he was bitten by a mosquito, or red ant, what have you. Until now, that is. Now we just apply this ointment right away and he's totally fine. No swelling to speak of. I became very interested in finding an alternative to hydroxyzine when I took some of his while I was dealing with a severe allergic reaction to poison ivy. It made me so tired and drugged out! It was not good and I didn't want my child constantly taking a med that had that affect. We live in Louisiana and let's face it, mosquito bites are a near daily event.

I have found the above remedies either at Rite Aid or online through VitaCost.com. I purchased the single remedies in the 30C dosage.

I know many are happy to continue along the route of allopathic medicine, and it certainly has it's place. I ventured into essential oils initially due to their abilities to help ward of germs, bacteria and all manner of things. I have found many effective uses and many just smell good!

My reasons for venturing into homeopathy are somewhat related. Anything natural or with no side effects appeals to me a great deal as I figure it's less stress on my body . I desire to help my body heal itself if at all possible. Another large factor is the reality that I have spent most of my married life without medical insurance. As such I have learned that taking care of my body is solely my responsibility. When one does not possess the luxury of going to the Dr. due to the costs involved, one seeks alternative methods.

I can honestly say that I'm very glad I was forced by circumstances to find alternative methods for dealing with issues including illness, pain, etc. Initially I was forced into it, now... it's my choice.

**** The above is solely my experience. Before attempting to deal with any chronic or severe health issues one should consult a licensed Homeopath.

"Auto" Setting No More

It all began innocently enough. I was minding my own business when out of the blue a good friend asked me to photograph her family so she could give copies to family/friends as Christmas gifts. She had seen photos I've taken, including some of her children and liked them.

That was all it took. I have been absent from my blog and a few other things (life) because I've been obsessed, as my husband would say.

Ahem.

He knows me well. :)

I freely admit it, I'm in love with my camera. :) It, and the rest of my kit, are my most prized possessions. I love taking photos and am known to carry my camera to many events, or places where I think I may get a few good shots. I've been very lucky. Over the years I have taken a number of shots that are pretty decent. I even have a few fans which I think is fun. :)

I say I've been lucky because until a few weeks ago my Sony DSLR never left the "auto" setting ... at least not on purpose. I had been more concerned with composition and such things. I decided that if I was going to take photos for my friend I had really better become more familiar with my camera's settings in order to do the best job possible on such short notice. ~Gulp!~ I was commissioned to turn out a usable product. So I set to studying up. It was a crash course, but I found out many great things about my camera. You see- I've had the camera for just over 2 years, however having never used a SLR or a DSLR before...I was a bit intimidated by anything other than "auto". No more. :)

The shoot went fine. It was a lot of fun! I am happy to say that as a result of the studying up I did I am certain I came away with many more usable shots than I would have otherwise. The edited photos are still in Lightroom, awaiting conversion from RAW to JPEG format. I might be tempted to share one if they were already converted, but they are not. And besides, my friend D should probably see them first. ;) I have been teaching myself Lightroom 3 as I edit these photos. It has been a steep curve, I tell you, to get here but it has been fun!

There is a minutiae of details that have surfaced during this project and while I'm not out of the woods just yet with this project, but I'm close!

I have discovered in this process that there is much I did not know, and still don't. One such concern is to produce printed photos that actually resemble the ones on my screen in both color and exposure. To achieve this I must first calibrate my screen to the process of the printing lab I have chosen...after researching. I just received the needed software to accomplish this yesterday and I look forward to getting it set up, however, I must wait until my husband's laptop is available for me to use, for it is the only computer we have that is capable of running Lightroom and Photoshop. ~Drat!~ Admittedly, this vexes me a tad as R does much work on the computer. But it is what it is. He's been very gracious so I shall not complain. :)

So this project I thought would be fairly simple has been anything but. But learning and stretching myself in a new area has been great fun.

I think I have some shots D and her family will really like and I'm anxious to have them printed already! But first to practice patience and eagerly await use of the laptop.

Dang it.

"Cleaned Up" Honey Orange Basil Chicken and Balsamic Citrus Dressing (Vita-Mix)

Last night I was inspired to try and use some of the oodles of basil I have in my garden. I had the idea of pairing basil and the juice of fresh oranges, but after that... my inspiration hit a dead end. I then had the idea to use the "ingredients" function on allrecipes.com and found a recipe that suited my fancy. After reading that it required marinating I decided I would put it off for tonight's dinner. You just can't shortcut a marinade.

I know, I know- displaying a nice photo of the finished recipe is blog convention and I do enjoy seeing them myself as I'm a 'a picture is worth a 1,000 words' type gal. One hindrance to my placing a photo is my beloved camera being away for repair. The other? I have five kids and a slight disability that is especially pronounced in the summer. I often forget to look at the clock. After all...it's still light outside it can't possibly be dinner time yet! Either that or I have failed to plan so it's not uncommon for dinner to be delayed due to one or both of these factors. By the time dinner is ready to be served I'm often being pressed by a number of ravenous children and they can be unrelenting. A photo op is simply not going to happen. At least, not often

OK- so to the recipes. :)

You can find the Honey Orange Basil Chicken on allrecipes. The photo does not adequately display the yumminess of this dish!

As is often the case with recipes I will adapt as I go. My goals are two-fold. 1- to "clean up" the recipe, if needed and to increase anything I think may require it in order to make the flavor more robust.

How I adapted this recipe:

To make it a "Clean Eating" recipe I simply changed out the vegetable oil for olive oil. Easy!

With flavor in mind I doubled the OJ and the orange zest. I juiced my own oranges from which I also got the zest called for in the recipe. If you use store bought OJ you will likely get a stronger orange flavor. I pulled some frozen parsley out of the freezer and I used freshly ribboned basil. I cannot tell you how much basil I used as I did it by eye, however I know I at least tripled the recipe amount. I used 8 5-oz chicken bre*sts. (Amended for internet filters.)

The chicken was delicious!! A key test- everyone in the family ate it. :) My husband did say that he preferred the chicken that had cooked with more of the basil and zest pieces on it. I agree. I think next time I make it I will strain the juice out and sprinkle the chicken with the basil and zest as it's grilling. I will probably also add in at least a TBSP of pre-minced garlic. If one only uses 1/4 cup of the OJ as the recipe is written I'd recommend starting at 1 tsp. I find garlic to always be helpful. :)

I served this with brown rice that was cooked with half chicken broth (home made), half water as well as a few larger zest pieces tossed into the rice cooker.

We also had salad with a new dressing which I really love, Balsamic Citrus Dressing. I had printed this off of the Vita-Mix site some time ago. I'm sorry I waited so long to make it! The oranges really do an excellent job of mellowing the tartness of the balsamic vinegar.

Substitutions I made according to what I had on hand and to clean it up: I used 2 pretty large oranges, a sliver of white onion (perhaps a tsp chopped?), honey for the sweetener, and one small whole lime, peeled. I halved the salt and used freshly ground black pepper.

Because I was in a hurry I did not fully read the directions and I blended it all at the same time instead of adding the oil after blending the rest. It worked out just fine. :)

If you adore citrus, as I do, these recipes will not disappoint! They make for very pleasing light summer fare. I'm already planning my lunch for tomorrow- a salad with chopped leftover chicken and dressing. :)

Ginger Pork- from All Recipes :)

This is dinner tonight and it's wonderful! I have yet to meet a recipe with sherry in it that I do not like and 10yr old port is excellent in this one.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/ginger-pork/detail.aspx

It tastes much better than the photo on the site would suggest. I can't take my own photo as my camera is away for servicing.

I did not have green onion so I subbed some white onion in when I browned the pork (in freshly ground hard red wheat flour). I used Chicken broth for the broth and water measurements. I'm sure I doubled if not tripled the ginger (grated from frozen) as one cannot have too much ginger. :) I omitted the sugar to make it a "clean eating" recipe. In the last few minutes of simmering I added thinly sliced carrot.

I served it over brown rice that was made in a rice cooker with a clove of garlic and a few rings of white onion thrown in.

Definitely a keeper!

An added benefit- every child happily ate the meat. :) Now the rice was another story, though I quite liked mine with the sauce on it. When I buy a pork loin I cube a portion of it and bag. The relatively quick defrost has saved me on a number of occasions. Tonight was not one of them...I was a tad late. Photoshop was decidedly more fun than cooking. :)

They say "misery loves company" and they just might be right. :)

How about being my company? :)

I realized that I've not posted for some time. Life kind of unraveled in the past few months and then we were away from home for 28 days. We drove to California ("home") from Louisiana (where we currently reside) for several reasons- to see family, attend our 20th high school reunion, and apparently to get a nice shiny new transmission in our van.

Yeah, between you and me, I could have skipped that last part, especially with 5 kids in tow.

But even though were were stranded in Barstow, CA for 5 nights it turned out OK. We were able to go to some places we would otherwise not have known about nor visited had we blown through there as was our original intent. I believe 'blowing through' Barstow is pretty high on the list of most who pass through. :)

We visited "Calico" a once booming mining town that is still into mining only they don't mine silver anymore, they mine the pockets of tourists for dollars. No matter, is was still a lot of fun and was great for spending a day that would otherwise have been spent at the hotel. Did I mention 5 kids? Yeah- NO way was I going to stay at the hotel. For five days. Nope- wasn't happening. There would be no telling how my families' demographics would have been altered had we stayed holed up in our one room for that long...

After we visited Calico we the drove through Rainbow Basin. It was a fantastic place to drive through! One would never have known of it's existence if it weren't for the handy AAA Tour Book. It was just a couple short miles from Calico and we were very glad we had the rented Tahoe with it's 4-wheel drive instead of our fully loaded minivan.

The great thing about both of the above links? They have pictures so I don't have to feel compelled to post any. :) My pics currently reside on my dh's laptop which I have limited access to. I will say that the pics on Wiki do not do either place justice.

Now back to being miserable.... :) I have been stuck inside and mostly at my computer, as it requires limited arm motion, for several days now. I am highly allergic to SOMEthing in my yard and had the brilliant idea (NOT) after a several mile bike ride last week to hedge all the growing things in our front and back yards that required it. I was in a tank top and shorts. I figured I was already sweaty so I may as well take care of things (note 28 days away from home). That was a foolhardy decision, lemme tell ya. I did wash up with my Jewelweed soap as I have been doing every time I come in from the yard since I discovered it. I guess after about 2 hours hedging with no protection for my skin from allergens, it was too little and far too late. Within 24 hours I was uncomfortable, by 48 hours out I was down right miserable. The underside of my arms, even the bend in my elbow have been in horrid shape with first itchy raised oozing sores, then an incredibly itchy raised red rash with slight oozing everywhere in the affected areas which basically is bounded by my arm pits and my wrists. The love has been shared (thankfully in smaller areas) by my torso and upper thighs. Recall the shorts? Even the underside of my chin did not escape. In short I've been a wreck. I have been living on Advil for days. I thought of snapping a few pics to show, but lucky for you, my camera is away for sensor cleaning. :)

So I've been utilizing the Jewelweed soap which helps to dry out the lesions and it does a great job of quelling the painful and very intense itching. I have been using Jewelweed salve as well and while it all helps a lot, the level of relief has not been as much as I would have liked. I have been thinking I'm allergic to Poison Ivy, Oak, or even Sumac, but I do not recall seeing any of either. I'm allergic to something- that is certain. My husband thinks it may be the three tall bushes in the front yard that I had to get very up-close and personal with in order to trim them and cut the tops. He just might be right. All I know is I have now officially resigned from hedging.

I've not slept all night for a number of nights now as I'd wake up itching and in pain. I'd have to get up and wash with the soap in order to go back to sleep. Last night I had an idea. Why not take my son's Rx which helps him with the itching and swelling of bug bites? So I did. I slept for 12 hours which was awesome! By this morning my pain and swelling had decreased by half. I know, I know, it's not wise to take an Rx that is not yours. But, I was desperate. In truth, I was originally looking for Benadryl when I happened upon my son's Rx. Sue me.

The good news is I think I have turned a corner. I seem to be doing well today with Advil and coconut oil infused with a few drops of cypress essential oil (good for swelling) slathered upon my skin. I still have the rash and some slight oozing, but I also have dry spots that look as though they are trying to heal. Wish me luck! :)

A few benefits have been a now clean desk, and I have caught up on all the blog I follow in Reader since I've been pretty much useless in any other capacity. :)

Fighting The Dark Side of Nature... On It's Own Turf

My first foray into essential oils began with making my own cleansers for the house. I liked the scents as well as the anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and other properties that came with them. And frankly the cleansers themselves were dirt cheap compared to store bought. More than the lower cost, though was my focus on reducing the use of various and assundry chemicals used within my home. If I can make something with an identifiable list of 4 ingredients, why buy something with a list of 20, only being able to identify a few?

So- that is where it began. As I became more cognizant of the various oils and their uses I began to realize that I could infuse coconut oil with essential oils as a moisturizer. I learned I could use peppermint oil for headaches, fevers, or even indigestion. And so on...

As opportunities (symptoms to some :) ) would present themselves over the last week of illness I would pull out my copy of :

to see if I could find a treatment inside for the ailment. I must admit, I'm impressed.

This last week I have been dealing with a severe cold. It's the worst cold I've had in years. It began with a stiff and sore neck with a mild migraine, then a fever. I had a day where I felt I was rebounding only to then be dealt what felt like a sinus infection, a deep productive cough, laryngitis and continued fatigue. My oldest son contracted it, as did my 2yo daughter.

I have dealt with this cold strictly with essential oils and I have to say- I'm very pleased with how they've benefited me.

When I first began to feel ill I diffused a mixture of eucalyptus oil, thyme, and lavender. As I felt the fever and chills coming on I incorporated a bath infused with 5 drops of Tea Tree, 2 drops Lavender, and 2 drops Thyme. I didn't think to incorporate the other suggestions in the book for flu. I just wanted to sleep. :) I did use "Tension Tamer" on my very sore neck and around my hairline for the slight migraine the virus brought me and it was a huge help. Tension Tamer is an essential oil mixture sold by Beeyoutiful that contains a few carrier oils and wintergreen, eucalyptus and peppermint oils.

As the cold symptoms and sever sinus issues set in I felt the benefits of the oils even more. (I did also utilize a NeilMed sinus rinse 2- 3 times at the beginning.)

For sinusitis (an overabundance of mucus in the sinus') I put 2 drops of Rosemary, 1 drop of Geranium and 1 drop of Eucalyptus oil on a tissue when I felt the need and when I went to bed I placed it next to my pillow.

Once I noticed my throat feeling tender and sore I diluted 5 drops of Chamomile, 1 drop of Thyme, and 2 drops of Lemon in a tsp of Sweet Almond Oil and rubbed it all over my neck and behind my ears. I did this at night and when I woke I was very surprised that my throat was not sore at all with all the post nasal drip. I re-applied as necessary.

As the cold moved into my chest I continued to use the oils on the tissue and I made another mixture of oils (1 drop Lemon, 2 drops Eucalyptus, 3 drops Rosemary in 1 tsp sweet Almond Oil) and rubbed that on the chest, neck and forehead, nose, and cheekbones. This was a great help! It was especially helpful with my 2yo. This particular 2yo is VERY resistant to any liquid form of medicine. So for her chest cold and sore throat I used the oil mixtures/rubs and couldn't be happier with the results as well as the lack of struggle they required.

I think by far the most far reaching help was the cough treatment- once I found it. I had a cough set in that was so deep it prompted a friend to say I needed a breathing treatment. I had a cough 2 years ago that was similar to this one. It held on for weeks and did not abate until I received a couple of prescriptions. This cough seemed headed in the same direction and I was not liking the idea as convulsive coughing fits are not exactly my idea of fun. :) I combined 2 drops of Eucalyptus, 1 drop of Thyme, and 1 drop of Tea Tree. I used 1 drop of that mixture in half a mug of hot water with a TBSP of honey. Within a day I felt the cold lessening and breathing became more free. I hadn't realized my breathing had been compromised. Oh, and the cough backed off significantly as well. :)

I did not use all the methods the book lists for Influenza, Sinusitis, Laryngitis and the Common Cold. Nevertheless, I'm feeling much better and all without the need, cost or side effects of pharmaceuticals.

The last little gift of the cold ( I hope!) are ear aches. Fortunately there is an aid for that as well that I've used previously with great success- a warm tsp of olive oil with 1 drop of Lavender and 1 drop Chamomile and put on a cotton ball and plug ear. After one treatment last night at least the pain in my one ear is no longer a stabbing one. :)

Why The Chicken Pox Vaccine is Nuts!

As I was perusing my Face Book news feed this AM I ran across this article about the chicken pox vaccine written by a microbiologist, JoAnn Farb. This is my first encounter with any of JoAnn's writings but I thought she did a good job of concisely laying out the argument of those of us who remain unconvinced about the Chicken Pox vaccine in particular, or vaccines in general. I have felt for years that it really makes no sense for one to circumvent the body's natural defense mechanisms and introduce a form of a virus and it's accompanying toxins straight into the blood stream. I also found it interesting that vaccine makers/marketers do not often follow the vaccinated once they get the shot past 90 days, if that. So how then can the manufacturer then say in good conscience there are few adverse reactions (or just a few) and the dramatic rise in autoimmune diseases have no correlation??

Makes one wonder...