healthy living

We were on vacation for the past two weeks, visiting with family. This past week one of the family members got head lice. Before we packed up my mother-in-law and I were vacuuming and laundering everything we could see that we thought would be a potential “host” for the little bugs. I’m crossing my fingers we got rid of them before we brought them home. I’m checking daily for signs of nits and I’m going to add a few drops of tea tree oil to our shampoo to ward off any who think they want to crawl on our heads!

It’s that time of year to think about what we want to accomplish in the new year. How can it be 2011 already? The last few years I have gone from using categories with a few things under each (health goals, financial goals, house decorating or renovating goals, etc.) to making affirmations (which I think is more positive and motivating). My 2010 affirmations (which I also posted on my blog front page to remind me constantly of what I need to focus on) included: *I am a healthy, trim size 6*I am a money magnet. Thank you! Thank you! Thank

This is the month. I am committing to working out daily with Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. If you work out daily for thirty days, this twenty-minute program promises that you will lose 20 pounds. I’m game. I need to kick-start my metabolism to get back the pre-baby, pre-postpartum depression me. I really want to lose the majority of it before Christmas. Twenty-five days … I think that should be about 17 lbs according to Ms Michaels promise. Bring it! I am posting a side-bar update on my daily progress.Want to join me? Leave a comment and let me know

My eyes are wonky again. When I was pregnant with Ava in 2006 I had to leave six weeks prior to my due date because I’d go home and be physically ill after a day on the computer. My eyes were strained. That was the longest time waiting for Ava to be born (and then having her 11 days overdue!). Not only was I physically uncomfortable, but I also wasn’t able to read or watch television or do much except for lay on the sofa. What a boring time. I’m not bored this time around with the lot of kids

Flu season has arrived and so has the issue of vaccination and the new string of H1N1. Reports of deaths related to the H1N1 virus on the news have already started. Is this media hysteria or legitimate cause for concern? Should I vaccinate my young family or let my body work it out should we come across this virus? How else to protect myself? I received this email that seems to explain H1N1 and how to prevent contamination should we be exposed to the virus. The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of

My head’s a-spinning. I am reducing my meds and I thought I was doing better. Then today came. It’s not a good day. The weight isn’t dropping (even though I’m forcing myself to exercise to get those endorphins up) and have been upping the water and fruit & veggies intake. Nope – still 25 lbs to go.  It doesn’t matter if I have good food or bad, exercise or not. So I’m focusing on the “getting healthy” versus the “losing weight”. But seriously … how long do I need to remain large and unhappy?

Thanks to Simple Mom for the article on “Watch Out for These Health Busters“. I’m summarizing the highlights of the article below. For the full article click on the post title. Our family is attempting to direct our diet away from processed foods and less sugary treats. This is hard for me in particular as I have a super sweet tooth and I am not the most informed on how to identify healthy products ~ the family is lucky I serve them a well planned dinner! The original post on watching out for health busters is helping me learn to

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.~ Confucius ~ I started new medication for the post partum depression, which may not be so post partum any more since the baby is 17 months old next Thursday. The weight gain is absolutely ridiculous. Especially because I am a very motivated person when I set my mind to something. I’ve been walking at least once a day through a work-out video with the kids as well as gardening and other active things (which is hard not to do when I have 7 toddlers to handle and entertain). I