Moreno, Take 2?

Hello, August.

Nice to see you again.

I always feel more organized when the beginning of something is clearly marked as the beginning.
Today is August 1, 2011. Today is also Monday. Today I also rebooted phase 1 of that crazy M.Moreno diet thing I did once before. I'd say that's a pretty obvious delineation of beginning. 

Remember this guy? 

hello, brown cow! | greek yogurt

Yeah, he's back. Today is Moreno, day 1. I'm not in it to lose a ton of weight, but I do feel like I had some added energy the last go-round, and I' not contesting that.

So here's to beginnings. It's never too late to start fresh. Let's go, August.

xo | cmd

  

Practice Makes... Better!

This is definitely already proving to be quite the eventful week. [[ I love it! ]]

Today I met up with Kalyn at my church [[free plug:: New Harmony Baptist | Milford, OH ]] to do a few quick runs through the two songs we're to be singing this upcoming Saturday at her mom's wedding. I am so honored to be a part of that day with them, and I have to thankthankTHANK Laura & Adam for stopping out to help us for a bit before their evening plans.

I just have to share something else today that makes me not just proud, but impressed, excited, and grateful.

One of the greatest people I've ever met is doing something wonderful this weekend.
He is my husband, and he is an extraordinary person. To catch everyone up a bit: Joe has been working unbelievably hard to become successful in his field of weather forecasting for the US Air Force. Along the way, he's managed to hold roles such as dorm chief at Basic Training, and Red Rope at Tech School. Throughout my visits, I was amazed by how many people rely on him for advice, information, and support. He is willing to give all of those to the best of his ability without thinking twice.

He is my husband..... and that is why I am so proud that this weekend, our church has voted to license him into the ministry. This means that he will have the supportive backing of our church when he starts the required training for a pastoral position in ministry. This is a huge step, and I couldn't be any more proud of his dedication and where his heart is. I hope that all the people along the way who helped plant seeds in his heart to study and learn to love our God know how much they are appreciated. We as a family are embracing the directions of both Air Force life and ministry work.. Please keep praying for us along the way!!

SO yeah... like I said, very eventfulweek ahead:
1. - Wedding this Saturday.
1.5 - [songs x2, dress prep!]
2. - Church & Joe's licensing
2.5 - [practice song for church service, too!]
3. Moreno diet, still goin' strong!
[*excited*]

xo | cmd

Temperamental Little Monday | MM7

Oh my good gracious, it was BEAUTIFUL outside all day today! It was a welcome breath of fresh air and sunshine to replace the dreary curtain of rain that's been hanging out here lately.

After work, I stopped to find a song to sing this Sunday at church. I found one [secret :) ] and also ended up snagging this little number. It's a little pop-ish for my taste, but she's got a great voice that's within my range, and many of her songs would be a good fit for singing during a service. I haven't made it all the way through the album yet, but it's decent so far.

I found myself afterwwards at Kalyn's doing the dinner thing with her and her family, and we finally sat down to tackle the task of hemming the dress for her mom's wedding [this Saturday]. I am very honored that she's entrusting her garb to our artistic interpretation of a seamstress. We are the wedding Macgyver's and we are on a friggin' roll!

1. Hem dress. 2. Learn songs [x2]. 3. Don't bomb songs on Saturday.

Oh yeahhhh.. You've gotta admit, we're ok when it comes to improvising. All you need is a little fabric tape, scissors, a sewing machine, and a box cutter. Don't ask about the box cutter. Ha. :)

Anywho, also had to stop for a minute to admire the abrupt change in the weather. There was enough buzz all night about possible tornado activity in the area, but all we saw was some rain and ominous clouds.

Not a bad kick-off to the week!

xo | cmd

Guess Which World Didn't End Yesterday. | [[&MM6]]

I don't know about any of you, but I didn't waste even a second of my day in literal evacuation mode for the rapture yesterday. Meet the man who should be apologizing publicly for the chaos he incited:

^ Found that online and although I don't necessarily agree with bashing, I certainly agree that this was a true epic fail. That's Harold Camping, who, for anyone interested, spread a big ole' rumor [again] that the Biblical rapture was going to happen....yesterday.

Now, if there's one thing I do know, it's that I'm a long-term firm believer in the fact that Christ is Lord, and that His return is going to happen. What irritates me beyond what I could even begin to express here is the damage that this one man managed to inflict on the Christian effort, as a whole.

Example:


one of many ridiculous billboards

Really?
In my last entry I noted that Biblically, it is stated that Christ returning will come as a thief in the night. When was the last time any thief called you to schedule an appointment? The event itself will be huge [under under-statement], but we likely won't see it approaching, especially not like this.
Let me dial back a few thoughts.

For those of you who might be reading this as a believer, non-believer, on-the-fence believer, or any variation of existing belief system: my personal position on the matter:

1. I am a Christian. Specifically, I am Baptist, but before we split hairs over denomination, I'll tell you that if we spent even half the time focusing on what unites us as believers [you know, GOD & that book we should study more?] that we do on trying to be the better team, we'd be moving in an entirely different, better direction, at light speed.

2. After yesterday and the fiasco leading up to it, I honestly do not blame anyone scoffing the name of us Bible Thumpers, lunatics, etc., etc. If I didn't personally understand and believe in the deeper truths of the Bible [over which this whole thing started], I would probably be in the same boat, still.

3. I say still, because at one point in time, I walked away completely from faith, from church, and anything that even smelled of a holy lifestyle. I didn't fly off the deep end, but I certainly spent way too much time trying to handle college, a social life, family, and my late teens/early 20's by myself. I found myself regretfully surrounded by people I trusted for the wrong reasons, indulging in habits that were less than healthy, let alone honorable, and the entire time telling myself I was being mature, responsible, and clever. I personified my peers, to feel included, and I rarely weighed consequences. It was fun and games, living my life, on my terms. In a sheerly ungraceful crash-and-burn manner, life caught up with me and I found myself on my knees, hunched over alone in the corner of my apartment kitchen sobbing hysterically and praying for the first time in years for the pain of pretense and the burn of a seemingly contradictive loneliness to leave. If you think that night was one of those prophetic insta-180-change moments, no, it wasn't. What did happen though was a slow but steady and consistent determination to peel away one thing at a time until I was back to a place where I could feel good about my life, from from inside out. From start to the present day, it's been a bumpy 5-year project, and it's not finished. I am not a perfect person. I am not holier than the next person. I am human.

4. So, as a Christian, I simply believe that there is a God. I believe He is to be praised, adored, and respected. He became human to live among us, not above us, and as that human, chose to be publicly ridiculed, outcast, tortured, beaten, and ultimately murdered to save our lives. His flesh bled, just like ours. His body recognized stress, fatigue, and frustration. His brain processed fear and humiliation, excruciating pain and an acute awareness of death, just like ours. I don't know the first thing about sacrifice when I stand next to that. I believe that what He wanted out of us is so SIMPLE: He wants us to be nice to each other, not bullies. He wants us to love each other, not play on separate sides over stupid fights. He wants us to have compassion for people that are hurting, not sigh in relief that we are better off. He wants us to be healthy: physically, emotionally, and mentally. He wants us to stay married and not just acknowledge but also respect our duties as spouses and parents. He wants us to let go of grudges and forgive. He wants us to share, and make fair decisions, even if it means swallowing our pride. In specific comparison to the actions of Mr. Camping, Christ never once ok'd us to slander other people, let alone other people who have taken on a profession of trying to share the positive hope of God's message. To me that sounds a lot like what we learned as kids; we just grew up and forgot.

5. My heart goes out to the thousands and thousands of people who followed Harold Camping's advice. For whatever reasons they had for taking the extreme measures about which I've read over and over, I can only hope that they are being accepted back into the stream of life and gettingck on their feet. My honest prayer for those people is that they realize now that we were are meant to live our lives to the fullest every day, because when Christ returns,we won't be ranked on how much or how little we have, and our socio-economic position won't mean a thing! He will see the way we lived, the way we treated people, and the way we trusted Him along the way.

-------------------------------------------

In other news, today's day 6, and that means only 28 days to go and I will be finished with all 4 cycles!

Alsooooo, Kalyn's mom is getting married next weekend and this week will be filled to its brim with prepping for song [yeah, we're singing, no big deal, ha... but seriously, pray for us; we need it!], and helping hem the dress. We're doin' it Macgyver style. Cross your fingers.

Let's start this week off right :)

xo | cmd

Ημέρα πέντε | Iméra pénte | [[day 5!]]

That's Greek, ya'll. Kalyn & I went downtown to It's Just Crepes, which is becoming one of my favorite digs in Cincy. There are two of these within two miles downtown, but unfortunately those are the closest and only locations around here [sad face].

REWIND:



oh, hello, shellac

 Why? Well, Kalyn needed a quick touch up, but her normal spot was well out of the way of our agenda. So we settled for a *different* place, to which neither one of us had ever been. We figured it would suffice, since it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing, anyway.

Long story short, TWO AND A HALF HOURS later, after filing her nails down beyond the fingertips and applying about 15 layers of bonding, clear coat, more bonding, shellac, clear coat, pixie dust, and who knows whatever else she had, the lady was finally done. An hour and 45 minutes into our visit, a girl came in to get a whole new set of acrylics, each one painted a different color, and was almost done by the time Kalyn was being finished. Oy.



southwestern crepe | it's just crepes | cincinnati, oh

I've recounted previous visits to this place, and I've yet to take someone who hasn't enjoyed it. I mean, look at that sucker! {the food, not KP} My favorite thing about this place is that its founder/owner is originally from Greece, so he's legit Greek. His motive in opening a restaurant was because there are crepe stands on practically every corner in his home Greek city, but none here. Basically, I love crepes, and I love this place. De-lish.


brittany | cori | kalyn

Sorry about that reso [phone camera]. This was our little visit to Bellevue/Covington to see Brittany and her beau, Rob.


pasta salad

  Pasta salad, compliments of Brittany!

There's not many better ways to spend a Saturday night than to just hang out on the backporch of someone's house and do nothing but relax.

Coming from a house headed by an Italian mother, I am such a sucker for pasta salad.

Plus, we brought out the D90 and got some silly candids to go along:


`brittany. cori. kalyn | gun show | lol

 

best friend :)

All in all, pretty good little Saturday!

-------------------------------


Oh, and for the record, it's Saturday night, so that means that the rapture did NOT happen. We are still here, so that means that that 80something-year-old Harold Camping was wrong, once again [1994]. His contextual abuse of scripture that resulted in thousands of followers makes me honestly, literally sad. It is this type of fanatical heresy that scars the true efforts behind genuine Christianity and the promises upon which it is actually based. As a Christian, the one thing I do know about the Rapture and any related events, is that it will come as a thief in the night, at a time that only God can see [2 Peter 3:10-11]. Let's get Biblical and remember that we are to live our lives every day, every moment to a capacity that would honor God, not just in the moments we think may be our last. Nowhere in the Bible does it state that we'll be instructed to sell all of our belongings, quit our jobs, or try to murder our families [read about that here] in advance. I mean really?

 

¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
 ¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.

-------------------------------

So, with that on my mind, I'm going to live this life the best way I know how that will glorify my God, so that when that day does come, I will have given my best for every moment on the books.

See you tomorrow :)

xo | cmd

Friday = Four



asics!

^ .. Because the ones that are sitting in my room now are a definitely broken in and don't have this crisp look to them, anymore. BUT, they're the same ones, and they saw some good action this morning before work. I figured that because Friday is so often considered that last day of the week, and every slip-up that happens that day is just filed in the It's Friday cabinet. So.. at about 4:45 AM today (take THAT, Friday), these little buddies had to wake up early and work for 2 quick miles before I headed to work. For me, knocking out a quick jog in the morning lends me a bit more energy throughout the day. It's just a matter of dragging myself out of bed, because I for one love.my.sleep.

Anyway, KP's mom's wedding is in 8 days! Kalyn & I have 2 songs to perfect, and a wedding gown to hem up between now and next Saturday. Should be a pretty eventful week next week. We will make this happen, yes we will.

Oh, and P.S.- Good thing I got the running done this morning, because this is what we ordered in to help us tackle the task of dress hemming: 



marcos | cheese | y-u-m.



Well, it's Friday, isn't it? :/

xo | cmd

 



Hungry for Hungary! | MM C3D3 [cycle 3, day 3]

Behold...

chicken paprikash | paprikáscsirke!



Hungry for Hungary!



Hah. So looking back at that photograph now, it looks a lot greasier and unhealthy than it really is. I'm not saying this is the most dietary rigid meal around, but it certainly isn't greasy, and that the yellow color isn't butter or cheese. It's organic chicken stock and paprika, along with the chicken that tints it that way, just to clarify.

Anyway, this is chicken paprikash, a Hungarian dish that we ate last night, and as always, loved it. Sydni especially favors this one, which is fine with me since there's really not much to it aside from exactly what you see. Chicken, mashed potatoes, paprika, a bit of flour, and just a touch of fat free sour cream.



self-sufficient feeding



This was one of my favorites growing up, and I would definitely recommend it! [Added benefit: Prep time + cook time = about 40 min., less if you're not mashing your own potatoes!] 

Just thought we'd show you some action shots of our paprikash party....



cleanin' up shop!



We're in the habit now of feeding ourself! One of the quirks of motherhood is attempting a task and realizing through it that your child has so many of your personality characteristics. Example: Without thinking, I dished out Sydni's food and we sat down to eat. I put some on her fork to feed her, but was met with a scowl and whiny protest... because sheeeee had to do it, alone. Does this make for a bit messier of an experience? Yes. Does she feel like a big girl? Yes. Was Mama the exact same way as a kid? Yes.  



el fin!

xo | cmd


Day 2: Let's Talk Food.

Confession: I haven't started my Z-Pak yet. I feel most of this sinus goop clearing up on its own, so I'm going to revert to my stubborn ways and not take anything until I feel a little closer to death like I did last week. So there. :) My mom would be proud...

packed lunch | salad + cucumbers + cuties

So today I thought I would pay homage to one of my personal favorite things in the entire world: food.
Ever since I started this Moreno regimen, I've gained a whole new appreciation for food and what I should be defining as actual food.

There's a book by Michael Pollan entitled, Food Rules, and for anyone who's even a little curious as to what they're actually putting into their bodies, this is one of the best places to start. It's outlined simply: what we put in our bodies should be compatible with our bodies, not foreign and fake. I would definitely vote in favor of anyone reading this if they haven't already.

Anyway, back to this Moreno diet plan that I've been doing for the last 30some days. I'm not entirely unaccustomed to eating healthy; not much fast food, if any at all, rarely indulging in junk food, no pop [or soda, you silly people who prefer that word] eating cooked food when at home, and packed lunches for the majority of the workweek. I don't eat red meat, either, which isn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but a personal decision.

In terms of translating that into my tales I share here: ya'll must think I'm the only one that eats around our house! :) Well, if you've ever met little Sydni, you would be amazed at the amount of food she can intake in relation to her petite frame. It's pretty impressive. This girl eats like a champ! One of my proudest moments thus far in my quest as a mother has been the ability to make educated discernments regarding what will nourish well-rounded development of itty bitty bodies. It takes a bit more effort and dedication than giving her a bag of cheetos and a piece of processed lunchmeat, yes, but consistency makes the whole idea nearly effortless over time. I gained so much dietary wisdom from one of the best mothers to walk the path of motherhood, and if there's one thing I won't ever regret, it will be repeating some of the things she did along the way.


Here's just a touch of what little monster will devour if you let her ;) ........

fresh fruit crepe w/ organic yogurt | gluten-free granola | whole wheat toast



homemade whole grain chicken quesadilla | organic green beans
vit d milk [she wouldn't give that up for a photo]

And last but absolutely not least!! -

scrambled eggs | biscuits | lemonade w/ fresh berries [not pic'd]



now that's country.

Yessss, that's right, MISTER Dills is entering the cooking arena! [I am so proud :)]. I received these two shots via text, and had to share them here. I am so proud to say that he's expanding beyond his signature scrambled eggs to sides, and even a little downhome country food. This is good. This is really, really good. I wonder if one day we can occupy the same kitchen harmoniously, at the same time, while it's in use. Hmmm. Baby steps. ;).

SO..

For any skeptics out there, I can't stress enough the exponential difference you'll feel if you try it, even if only for a week. I'm not suggesting you do something drastic like a colon cleanse or grass smoothies [but if that's your calling, good for you!], but even starting small, like cutting back on how many pops [sodas, yeah, yeah yeah... ] you drink a day, or maybe eating a piece of fruit instead of a cookie if you're hit with a sudden craving for sweets. Even popcorn [not the super butter extra butt .. yes, I said butt] is a better substitute than half a bag of potato chips. Oh, and don't forget to do something other than sit on your behind [aka, exercise helps!]

Sorry. I'll stop my soapbox. :)

Happy healthy Wednesday!

xo | cmd

Cycle 3: Day 1

chicken caesar salad | day 1

Cycle 3 is here. Cycle 3 = Achieve Cycle. Supposedly I'm allowed to eat pasta now, though in exceptional moderation. I'm cool with that.

-------

Oookay. I need to get this off my chest. If you've been reading along for even one entry prior to this one, you know that for the last 8 days now, I've been at odds with some sinus/allergy/sinusitis/or something... issues. Last Thursday, it got to the point that I thought I might benefit from the second opinion of a licensed professional. This pretty much goes against my normal thought process, but this is the same girl who also took a Sudafed on Friday. I think I'm losing it.

Right. So long story short, I broke down and scheduled this doctor appointment and although I was feeling substantial improvement, thought I'd keep it and see if the doc had any insightful commentary or recommendation. I remember now why I try to avoid this route for anything short of having a baby or having a bone pieced back together. Today, I could've probably received the same diagnosis from my tax consultant, the mailman, maybe even my 1-year-old. After about 6 seconds of shining a light into the back of my mouth, she was confident to tell me I had some drainage.

.......yep. Drainage.
She wants me to believe that drainage has been the culprit to be held accountable for prolonged sinus pressure, headaches, total stuffiness, and migraines. I suppose it's possible...



z-pak | ugh...



My options: Either I do a Z-Pak, or take the route of a nasal steroid. Pretty stark ends of a broad potential spectrum, I thought, but I'm not the one getting paid buku bucks to rattle off medical advice. The most interesting part came when I told her about my recent commencement of Neti treatments. Her first reaction:

"Oh, that's great. If you're doing that, you probably don't even need a prescription or any OTC allergy medicine."

Oh. Well all right then. I'm confused. Are the Z-Pak, Alavert, nasal steroid, and Neti Pot all synonomous?

Whatev'. I'll try out the Z-Pak and hope it kicks this bug, for good.

Tomorrow's Wednesday. Woot Woot :)

xo | cmd

SEVENTEEN [round 2!]

What better way to celebrate the end of another cycle in the Michael Moreno 17-day 'diet' fiasco, than to wrap your successful little self in a blanket of muted, soggy silver.

....sweet. sounds like fun.

The perpetual wetness that took such a brief yet welcomed hiatus from its nesting spot over Cincinnati is back. Technically, it came back Friday afternoon, but it's still here, and it's quite the drab adversary to ignore in hopes of creating an energetic Monday.



rain in cincinnati | originally uploaded by desizemoe


^^ I found that shot and had to include here: I love the graining he added and the character it takes under the clouds parting. 



serpentine wall | ohio river

The running theme here is this persistent weather and all of its insipid nothingness. *sigh.

Tonight, I had toyed with the idea of attending a Reds game, at the 2-ticket generous offerings of my bosses. Kalyn and I thought it over and decided she'd freeze and I'd end up sicker than I already am now; it just didn't seem conducive to our common sense to go. From what we saw on TV, the 6th inning would've made enduring the elements well worth it. Oh well. Nice job, Reds!

Oh yeah, P.S. - Day ONE starts (again) tomorrow! Cycle THREE: I'm comin' for ya.....

xo | cmd

Boogie's Back! [&MM16]

MM[Michael Moreno]16. That means one more day & cycle TWO is finished! I'm pretty happy with the ongoing results of this thing. I've not been perfect with every single day, but even so, I've noticed the changes. Thumbs up, MM.

Played some soccer today. The sinuses didn't care much for the constant sprinting and jogging, but too bad. I'm really going to miss these folks. It's not often you find yourself on an indoor team that can bond and have as much fun off the field as we try to have on it.

^ ah, tribute. xo.



In bigger news, little boogie came home from her mini-vaca at Nana & Pappy's. She of course had new clothes, new words, and even a new boo-boo (an itty bitty, barely noticeable cat scratch she obtained while attempting to carry the cat by its tail, I'm sure). Either way, she's baaaaaack[!!], and was more than ready to exhibit her newly-acquired singing voice all.the.way.home. :)

What a kid. ♥ ♥ ♥

Here we go new week, here we go! {insert double clap here!}

xo | cmd

Satursinusday. MM15. Allyn's, too!

Mabuhay, weekend!

cottage cheese | fruit | almonds | spoon = enjoying♥

-- Did another sinu-cleanse/neti syringe this morning. I'm happy to report it was far less gruesome than the first round, and offered about 2 hours of "better" before whatever I've got going on up there came back to sit. [[ I'm imagining myself as a robot with a little alien the height of a pencap sitting in the control room that is my sinuses just pressing buttons and pulling levers unabashedly. He's a mean little guy, that guy. He might even resemble the little Mucinex guy. Who knows anymore. ]] And yes, I know I should lay off all dairy products until I get this straightened out, but it's day 15 of the Moreno deal, and I don't regret it. Not yet :)



my quarky little gem

 I'm also happy to report that today was one of those days that the little things just make you smile. In spite of these pesky head issues I'm battling, I dropped in one of my favorite thrift/re-sale digs and stumbled across a shirt that had gone on to that esoteric hangout with all the 'other socks' and teenage retainers (aka, lost it). It's one of those cases in which that particular item of clothing was purchased I-don't-know-how-long-ago and quickly became one of my favorites. Then it goes missing and I figure there's rarely even a minute chance in all of my graces that I'd ever find a replacement. Today I found a replacement. The exact same shirt, though a size smaller [still fits, because the shirt itself is just.that.stellar]. Good times, good times.


To top it off, I rendezvoused with Kalyn, Brittany, & Cameron for some dinner & a field trip out to Allyn's to see our favorite rising star Chris sing. Did we throw a chicken quesadilla into that mix? Who knows.....



chris | today i don't feel like doin anything | bruno mars



 

quesadilla? | ours? | who knows....



allyn's | c.k.c.b

So, as I've been doing all week, I'll be hopin' and a-wishin' for my  head to calm down. I've got a dr. appt. set for Tuesday; I really hope I don't actually need his services by that time.

xo | cmd



Friday the 13th [Moreno Day 14]

sudafed decongestant.

I don't wanna talk about it.

It really disappointed me that I broke down and actually took a pill today. My co-workers think I'm ridiculous for not having done this from the first sign of a symptom. Well, I held out for almost five whole days before I basically got sick of the pressure, the blockage, runny nose, migraine, and earache.

BUT..

As far as I know, this isn't a chronic condition for me. I have fuctioning senses to be ailed, and I have the means to remedy them if I choose. That's more than some people have. So I'm blessed, considerably, and should probably stop whining.

Okay, okay. Good point.

Happy weekend, blogbots :)

xo | cmd

Friggin' Relapse. | D13.

Yeah.. so about that moment of ecstatic but temporary relief I had the other day [yesterday]:

sayonara.

*sad me.

So here's my next battle plan:

Sinuses, meet the neti syringe.

Neti syringe, meet my sinuses.

I'm going to, for the sake of both brevity and gag reflexes, spare you the graphic details of what this produced. Anyone who's ever done the neti pot, the syringe, or any variation of a saline sinus rinse, ya'll know.... this isn't a beautiful thing.. [lol].

Long story short, while I spent a solid 3 hours post-rinse blowing my nose, it did alleviate some of the pressure in my head. In my attempts to follow holistic remedies, I drank some apple cider vinegar, too.

Oh, the things we health nuts do to avoid western medicine. womp womp womp....

Keep in mind I've lacked the ability to taste anything pretty much all week. So to celebrate a window of cleared sinus pressure, I whipped up this little buddy and admit it's never tasted better:

lemon pepper salmon & garbonzo-cucumber salad

nom nom nom.

So while it seems now as though I should probably just come to terms with this sinusitis, or whatever I have plaguing my head, I really don't want to. I've scheduled a dr. appt for Tuesday of next week; I hope this has let up by that time, but if not, I might just have to give in and actually.take.medicine.

We'll see.

xo | cmd

Hello, Upswing | Hello, Twelve!

YESSSSS....

I woke up this morning with some sinus pressure, which I'm assuming is because I've got a sinus infection. [Oh well]. The good news: I can feel myself on an upswing!

My mother deserves all the thanks in the world for educating me on the right way to handle this sort of thing. Anyone who knows me knows that I haven't touched anything even resembling a tylenol in years. I just can't bring myself to do it. Don't think that I judge anyone who does; it's just not my thing. I'm not a huge follower of Western Medicine's typical approach: "RX, RX, RX... ." I've found that if I follow holistic methods properly and consistently [at least for minor stuff like I've got now], I'll see the same results without that bandaid effect.

My saving graces:

|| echinacea ||
|| been relying on this stuff since childhood ||
|| by Herb Pharm ||

|| vitamin c + echinacea + elderberry extract ||
|| my immune system ♥'s these little chewables ||
|| by Integrative Therapeutics, Inc. ||

I can already feel the pressure in my head subsiding, and the feelings of vertigo I had this morning are starting to dissipate as well. Here's hoping the rest of today and the rest of this week show equal signs of improvement. I'm feelin' pretty good......... fingers crossed!



|| breakfast ||
|| greek yogurt + blueberries + pear slices + green tea ||
|| p.s. - tastebudes activated!||

Oh yeah, and I'm tasting things, now, too.
SCORE.

:]
Happy Wednesday!



xo | cmd