Tea Time: For the love of Rooibos

For the next 28 days I am on an elimination diet. It's been long overdue. With chronic tummy issues and anxiety as well as raging post-partum hormones and sleep deprivation... IT WAS TIME.

This is a rather strict diet and as part of it I was forced to give up my daily cup of Joe. Now, I do not drink a ton of coffee, nor did I ever feel like the caffeine was a necessity. I just love the taste and the ritual. So naturally I needed to come up with a substitute (which may even turn into a replacement).
Enter Rooibos (pronounced Roy-bos) tea.

Now Rooibos, although treated as a traditional tea by many, is in fact an herb and therefore can be considered medicinal and therapeutic. It carries a very distinct flavor and smell that I have quickly grown to adore. The tea is made from the leaves of a bush that grows in Southern Africa where it is also known as Red Bush tea (it carries a distinctive red color upon steeping). I have been mixing it with lemon and raw honey but plan to try it with homemade almond milk as soon as I make a batch.

Rooibos is naturally caffeine free, low in tannins and loaded with minerals. I've read it can help with headaches, insomnia, asthma, eczema and boost the immune system overall. Rooibos also contains polyphenols which are said to have anti-inflammatory, antiviral and antimutagenic qualities.
Seems like the perfect addition to my healing elimination diet doesn't it?
To take it a step further, I read that South African women claim that the plant was very soothing for their colicky infants and given that I am breastfeeding a gassy, poor sleeping 6 month old, this is a WIN WIN!

I know there are many more positives to this "tea" but I will just leave it at that and get back to my cup.

Interesting use: A "London Fog" is a way of preparing Rooibos where you steep the tea in steamed milk then add honey. 

No Excuses: It is what it is...

I don't know why I have gotten into the bad (or maybe good) habit of saying "it is what it is." Let's just say it's been over a year since I last posted on this blog. Um...It is what it is. Who knows why it has taken me so long to get back to it or why I am feeling the sudden urge to do so? Who cares.
A great deal has changed over the last year. Let's just say most notable is the fact that I am writing this with a bowl of organic vanilla ice cream next to me and not a glass of organic red wine. Hint, hint. I am with child — have a bun in the oven — and for the sake of unpleasantries, let's just throw in the mix "knocked up."

14 weeks pregnant. The bump is MUCH bigger now. 

Our baby girl is due sometime in early September, which puts me around 30 weeks pregnant or for those of you who haven't experienced counting your life in weeks ... 7.5 months pregnant. We have 10 weeks until the due date. Before I was pregnant, I was under the impression that at the cusp of month nine you have a baby. Turns out that is not the case. Really, a woman is pregnant for more like 10 months — give or take.
Pregnancy is a funny thing. First of all because it is so amazingly different for each woman. Second because even when it is happening to you, right before your very eyes, it is still inconceivable what is occurring within your body. No amount of reading or confering with women who've been through it can prepare you for the actual thing. It is, and always will be no less than a miracle.
I have been SO lucky. No morning sickness, normal weight gain, no stretch marks (so far), blah blah blah about all of the icky symptoms I have read about and prepared for that I have not had to endure. If it weren't for the fact that I am slightly winded after just one flight of stairs, that people (politely) assume I am incompetent of carrying my own groceries to the car and, of course, that I miss my nightly glass of vino, I might actually go as far as to say I have really enjoyed pregnancy.
I sleep more (kinda), I eat better, I drink more water and I feel important to someone other than myself. That is pretty darn cool. What is not cool is the influx of information an expectant mother must weed through for guidance and preparation.
There are so many schools of thought on how and why to do things when it comes to pregnancy and parenthood, that even as an "over-researcher" I got to a point of just choosing to ignore most.
I still refer to "What to Expect" for the summary of what is going on from week to week, mainly because it's sitting on my night stand and it's kinda fun for a quick reference. I do browse the internet if I have a random silly question (but I try not to stay on it too long). I read "Active Labor" in preparation for an attempted au-natural birth and currently I am reading "Bringing up Bebe" at the recommendation of a fellow pregnant friend. This book hits home. I am not going to go into detail on it and I don't agree with 100% of how the French do it, but I'd like to think that I will take away a great deal of insight as to how to raise my child. Most importantly, my hubby agrees with all of the things I have shared with him from the book, so we seem to be starting off on a solid co-parenting ground.
Now, the only thing left is to look into this whole breastfeeding thing. I mean, I get it, but I don't, so a little guidance is necessary.
I hope to keep up my posts from here on out and will attempt to make them much shorter than this, but there is no guarantee on either fronts...sorry people,  it is what it is!

Garden Update ... 6 months in the making!

borage

It has been six months since I have posted ANYTHING to this blog. I could make excuses but the truth remains, I just didn't feel like it. Freelance work, life, family and a new copy editing job took (and still takes) precedence. Sorry!
Many people have inquired about when my next post would be - well here it is and it is mostly pictures. I figured I would ease back into this writing thing and not bore you with words, unless it is something poignant (don't hold me to that statement, please).
These are all pictures taken of yard/kitchen garden a couple of weeks ago. The garden is dwindling in the summer-ish heat so I figured I better capture it quick.
The best surprise of the year has been the amount of fruit in production. We have limes, grumichama cherries, Barbados cherries, mangoes, key limes, miracle berries, Jamaican cherries, surname cherries and blueberries. In a month or so we hope to have watermelon, papaya, and lemons. We continue to fight the stupid squirrels for our fruit! Suggestions welcome. The dogs help and so does hubs air rifle. I know that is bad but where are the predators?

eggplant

Veggie production was pretty good, as well. We had/have beets, cabbage, kale, eggplants, onions, tomatoes and jalapenos. To be honest, we just didn't make as much of an effort this spring, but plan to go full-force in the fall.
Right now we are watering the garden two times a day due to extreme dryness in our part of the state. Whatever is growing and has survived with minimal effort in the way of herbs, is it. That leaves us with oregano, thyme, Thai basil, rosemary, sweet basil, flat and curly parsley although not for long) and garlic chives. We did have beautiful borage, as you can see, but just one week after the picture was taken, while I was sick and in bed, hubs decided to do some weeding. He mistook the borage for a weed and pulled it ALL out. My heart broke a tiny bit but it is a good thing it's just a plant.
While we will keep the watermelon, jalapeno and eggplant going through the summer. The rest we will dead-head and clean as it dies. We may research some cover crops but overall I find it just too hot and buggy to veggie garden. We plan pick back up in August.
The chickens were giving us a total of three eggs a day for the first part of the year and two continue to lay one per day, but our mini-chicken (Bantam Cochin) has gone broody (she thinks she can hatch the eggs so she steals the other chickens eggs and sits on them all day in the nesting box, rather endearing but a pain in the butt). She has been a bit of a challenge because she stopped laying and we have to lock her out of the nesting box once a day so that she will get exercise, take dust baths, eat and drink. We hope the end is near on that front and she goes back to normal. When we go to collect the eggs, she lets us, but not without squealing and getting irritated. There is a short video of this in the post.
So that is all for now. If nothing else, I will keep posting pictures of Home Harvest-y things we do. Thanks for checking in!

the loot

blueberry bush at front door

mini-beet

cabbage

garden friend 

grumichama flowers

grumi-cherry starting to form

grumi-tree with chix-tractor 

surname cherry

watermelon vine

Barbados (acerola ) cherry

cabbage 

Dorothy and Blanche doing their jobs

herbs

bamboo filling in, getting taller

cucumber vine out of chili planter

grapes forming

grape vine

jalapeno

Jamaican cherry tree

Jamaican cherry fruit (cotton candy taste)

key lime

lacinto kale

limes

mango tree

mangoes

miracle berry plant

rogue squash plant

strawberries

Ah Christmas...

A time of giving. Giving what? I have yet to venture out into the world of retail madness this Holiday Season. In fact, I have been avoiding it like the plague. It's not that I don't like to give. Giving feels wonderful. I just don't like to give under pressure. This year I am feeling the pressure more than usual. But I am also feeling the procrastination more than last. And like all other aspects of my short life, I am over-thinking my reasoning for avoidance. While I am not a wise sage, nor am I anywhere near enlightenment of any kinda; I have pretty much determined my Christmas giving quandary stems from a sense of selfishness. Not the kind of selfishness that makes receiving better than giving. The kinda of selfishness that screams "to give-just to give-is sometimes more selfish than not."
Both Ryan and I have very generous parents in both the physical and spiritual nature. We also have amazing siblings, relatives and friends. So naturally at this time of year, we rack our brains to come up with gifts that will have meaning for those who bring so much meaning to our lives. This year two things have happened. First, when it comes to our parents, they all requested that the greatest gift of all would be time. Time with each other as couples, time with them, time to help with things we would most likely already jump in to help with. Second, we cannot figure out what items to give that would have meaning. This year more than years past we are in a situation that we could purchase nice things for these people, but nice isn't always meaningful. So why is it so hard to just accept that on Christmas morning, there may not be a present to be opened with my name in the "from" section of the tag? Why do I feel like a bad person if there is not a physical item listed next to each person's name?
I think part of it is because nine months out of the year, we are all just going about our selfish business. Not paying any attention to what the people in our lives may need or want or what they just plain enjoy. Instead the last month of the year, we scramble to be present in their lives in order to be able to buy and feel good about giving. Again it goes back to selfishness, tack on a little consumer pressure, and what you have is loads of adults buying-just so they can give. What would it take to eliminate that feeling of guilt from not buying just to give? The only solution I can come up with, I am not able to implement this year. Starting January 1, 2012, I vow to pay more attention to the people in my life every day. Here is what I want to happen. Through out the course of the year, not the 3rd week in December,  because I will be present in people's lives, I will come across things they may need, want, or like. And then and there, I will take note or even purchase those things. I may chose to give them in the moment or I may hang on to them until Christmas morning but either way I will know that it will be a gift of meaning not afterthought.
Now, I don't have children and when I do I will not deny them Christmas morning gifts from Santa; but as they get older I hope that I have the courage to teach them that one meaningful gift, whether it be physical or spiritual is much more special than ten that were bought under holiday pressure.

Ode to the imperfectly perfect Christmas tree!

I once read that Amish women purposely sew flaws into their quilts as reminders of human imperfection. To me, the lesson in this workmanship is that perfection contain flaws. Because without flaws and nuances, life would be boring and therefore imperfect.

This weekend hundreds of thousands of Americans descended upon candy cane-striped tents filled with fragrant, conical shaped trees, all with the intent to find "the perfect Christmas tree." Will they succeed? Yes. Why? Because perfection is in the eye of the beholder. And when that tree is filled with colorful (or white) lights and adorned with the jewels of past, present and future, it will make no difference how the leaves fell or that one side is a tad lop-sided. She will be beautiful; she will be imperfectly perfect!

In the last month of her life, her ornament bejeweled greenery has been entrusted with our presents of which she will hold within her colorful shade for the next 21 plus days. Her happy caretakers will go to bed and wake up to her comforting pine-y aroma. They will feed her Karo syrup and water to nourish her in her final days.

During her life, this tree provided shelter for squirrels and birds and oxygen to our environment. In her death she provides joy and warmth to all those who will look upon her and smile. And when the time comes to be stripped of all her frosting, the hope is that she will once again become part of the earth, nourishing the soil her ancestors once did in order to help future generations of Christmas trees grow in her likeness. Perfection indeed!

Poo-Free Update

So...I have made it a full week with no shampoo or conditioner. My hair is not tangled, it does not smell funky and it is not greasy, per se, but I do find it incredible hard to style. Not that I did much styling to begin with, but blow-drying and straightening right now are out of the question. The texture is hard to explain and I am not sure if this is the "detox" period that some have forewarned. I am going to give it a couple more days and see what happens but as the weather gets colder here, I am wanting to have the hair down and straight so I may give in. In the meantime I will continue to take full advantage of side updos and hair accessories.

Pumpkin Fever

I am some what of a "Bubba" when it comes to pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin yogurts, pumpkin ravioli---you get the point. On a cold day in the Fall there is nothing better than a pumpkin-spice latte. At 4+ bucks for a grande pumpkin spice latte with soy milk, one can surely not afford such an indulgence on a daily or even weekly basis. So in setting out to find a thrifty alternative I discovered an easy way to get my pumkin fix without breaking the bank.

Enter a can of plain pumpkin and half a container of coconut-milk vanilla creamer. Toss both ingredients in "the bullet" or in your blender, along with a few dashes of store bought pumpkin spice mix and a splash of water. Pulse until smooth, mixed and creamy, then transfer to a storage container. Add a couple of scoops to your morning coffee and wallah...pumpkin spice coffee the whole week for less than the cost of one Starbucks version. This means you also control the sugar and calories intake as well. In creating this silky seasonal blend, I happened upon another brilliant use for my pumpkin spice mixture, transforming a rather dull afternoon snack of vanilla Greek yogurt into a fantastic Fall pleasure, with health benefits. Start with plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, add two or three scoopfuls of the pumpkin mixture, stir until blended. Top with chopped nuts, a local honey drizzle and pumpkin spice to taste. PURE PUMPKIN DELIGHT.

Magazines on My Mind

I have been an avid follower of Design*Sponge for about two years now. Grace Bonney is a genius in my eyes. To my delight I opened my Google Reader today and found D*S writer Kate Pruitt's post stating that despite what some say, periodical magazines and publications are not dead and, in fact, they seem to be making a comeback presenting readers with even more spendid art and knowledge to tease our tactile senses. For the record, I am all for evironmental stewardship, but I will always have a soft spot for beautifully written, illustrated, photographed magazines. Thanks to the Design*Sponge post this morning(http://www.designsponge.com/2011/10/wilder-quarterly.html) I was introduced to this eye candy that I am giddily excited to get my hands on:

http://wilderquarterly.com/current-issue/

http://wilderquarterly.com/current-issue/



I also recently found this digital magazine that I will continue to patronize:

 http://www.sweetpaulmag-digital.com/sweetpaulmag/fall2011#pg1

'Poo Free...I think I might.

Current hair using conventional 'poo and conditioner

Not that 'poo people...shampoo free! I promise I have no intention of creating dreads, nor will I sport greasy, smelly locks. For months, I have tried to find beauty products that are organic and effective. I have spent mula galore on shampoo and conditioner with no luck. No longer interested in being a product whore, I am ready to move on. I will not let my scalp, skin and the environment suffer from my choices anymore. I love that this method is cheap, eviro-friendly, and toxin-free. So why go shampoo (and conditioner free)? See great logic here:
http://simplemom.net/how-to-clean-your-hair-without-shampoo/
and more about it here:
http://crabappleherbs.com/blog/2008/02/01/simple-herbal-hair-care/

Interested to see if this will work for my long, wavy hair?  I think I will give a shot and report back.

A New Health Frontier

I have already had three doctors appointments regarding my health concerns.They consisted of a visit with a gynecologist, a family physician and an endocrinologist. I was left unsatisfied with their treatment plans. It is not their fault, I know they have worked hard to get to this point and have helped many others. They were trained to look at individual symptoms, blood results and pathology, all of which remain “in the normal range” for me. From them, I have received a clean bill of health of which I am thankful. But while none of my health complaints seem life-threatening and by conventional standards and I am just “fine and dandy,” a lump on my thyroid, womanly troubles, and screaming intuition speak differently.
My next step is a doctor of Chinese medicine. My first appointment will be two hours. It took one phone call to set up the appointment and I spoke to one person (I spoke to three people and waited two weeks to get an appointment with the endocrinologist). I will spend 2 hours--with the doctor, not an hour in the waiting room and 15 minutes with the doctor. I will not have to provide proof of insurance or hold my breathe every time I approach the mailbox for they next month awaiting an astronomical bill.
I have heard nothing but fantastic reviews of how this man has saved and changed lives. Yet despite his praise and popularity, I have had the pleasure of receiving personal responses via email from him validating a need to look a little deeper. This was unexpected and much appreciated. Already through my correspondence with this doctor, I feel valued and respected. He may find nothing physical. There is no way to know. What I do know is that I am hopeful that he may hold the key to finding ails me. I am excited to share my experience.