This month I’ve been hosting a spending freeze challenge for the Grocery Shrink Plus members. It was an extra perk of their meal plan membership and they got some extra stuff, like printable worksheets and the super frugal $50 week meal plan to help them get the most out of the the challenge. The best part is how the members encourage each other.
Here’s one comment from a member who gave permission for me to share her story but asked to remain anonymous:
This “no spending freeze” has been an inspiration to me.
I finally talked with my husband about our budget. He is on board, and I am holding myself more accountable on our grocery budget. I am one of THESE people with overblown grocery budget, but can’t afford it. I am working hard on not stock piling, holding out for the true sales, and only buying what is needed right now (fruit for most part, along with paper products and toiletries). So far, we have only spent about 15% of our regular budget. I intend on keeping the same for February, and then keep our new budget to 2/3 of what we spent last year.
Our other budget items have remained at 0 for this month, except of course for what we spend our animals and pets, some homeschooling expenses and regular bills. When we had to eat out, due to lack of planning and time, it made my family more aware, and gave more tools to discuss with our kids why we are not going out every Sunday for dinner with our friends after church.
Is it hard? Yes, as I am trying not to obsess over the budget, but at the same time enjoy almost too much seeing our expenses going way down this month.
And from another member:
We were able to pay off the balance of a credit card that I didn’t expect to pay off for another 3 months! Getting this debt snowball rolling….
And we still have a week left!!!!
We wrap up the spending freeze, January 31st, but I’m keeping the group open for several ladies who want to continue freezing for a few more months and kick their debt to the curb.
But this isn’t the only reason I’m excited. Have you ever noticed how much sticking to a budget is similar to sticking to a healthy eating plan?
That’s why the next official GSP challenge is a fitness challenge. It starts February 6th and comes with special bonuses including fat shredding prep ahead meal plans, so you can have your meals and snacks all ready to go for each week, a private group where you can check in and get a pat on the back, and extra coaching. If you’d like to join us, here’s a secret link for 50% off the membership. It expires February 6th or whenever we fill up.
It’s important that everyone knows about Irlen Syndrome, because it is often misdiagnosed or missed altogether and leads to other health problems. It can be the result of genetics or head trauma including whiplash, concussion or combat. 50% of children with learning disabilities have Irlen Syndrome, and 40% of children diagnosed with dyslexia have Irlen’s syndrome instead. Irlens is very common for veterans and can cause enhanced PTSD symptoms.
Irlen Syndrome is a sensitivity to light, which sounds simple enough, but the affects are anything but. In an Irlen patient when certain wave lengths of light hit the eye, confusing messages are sent to the brain. This usually leads to visual misperceptions. Words can dissolve into the white page, tremor, or tumble down the page. It might look sharp and clear in the very center but distorted away from the center. Items might look like they are glowing, colors might appear that aren’t really there. Things may look closer or further away than they really are. Depth perception may be off. Round letters like o, e, a, and u might look identical to an Irlen child learning to read, making phonics quite confusing. Square things might look round, including home windows and doors. A genetically triggered Irlen patient may not recognize that they are seeing anything abnormal. It’s all they’ve seen or experienced and will naturally assume everyone else sees that way too.
Since Irlen Syndrome is a neurological disorder, both optometrists and special education teachers in the United States are largely unaware of it. I’d like to see this change. While it’s true that an Irlen patient’s eyes are not causing the problem, the pathway of the SOLUTION is through the eyes. Often the first intervention for a child with a reading problem is to take them to the eye doctor. How much better could we find and help these kids if eye doctors knew what to watch for? It would benefit every eye practice financially to offer this service and benefit the families who currently have to travel quite far to reach a practitioner. In addition, since around 50% of all children with learning difficulties have Irlen Syndrome it only makes sense to add it’s study to the course work for all Special Education teachers. Since Irlen syndrome is barely touched upon in optical school in the United States, and rarely mentioned in teacher education, many children are misdiagnosed. My oldest daughter was diagnosed dyslexic with visual processing and processing speed disorders and we didn’t discover she had Irlen syndrome for 8 more years.
Untreated Irlen patients are stressed out all the time! It’s common to find them grinding their teeth, clenching their jaws (with permanent joint damage), tight shoulders and neck muscles, headaches–often migranes. This amount of stress can lead to OCD behaviors, whole body inflammation, hyperactivity, memory loss and language processing disorders (poor access to words when writing or talking,) new or worsening allergies, temper eruptions, sensory integrative disorder (sensitivity to touch, sounds, smells, tastes and textures visual clutter, etc.), depression, and social anxiety (fear of crowds or leaving home.)
I had common adrenal fatigue symptoms at an early age such as exercise intolerance, heat and cold sensitivity, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, depression, exhaustion, amenorrhea (after age 13), food sensitivities and fear of crowds. When I became a mother these symptoms increased to the point that I was bedfast for months at a time on several occasions.
I never would have considered Irlen syndrome as the root cause of my trouble, if it weren’t for my daughters. I never struggled in school. I learned to read spontaneously when I was 4 and went through school in the gifted and talented program, earning straight As and a full ride scholarship through college. 9% of Irlen patients are just like me. Their visual disturbances don’t disrupt normal function. When I was sitting in the clinic with Heather watching her 3 hour long test process, I would say things like—ooh, that color makes the whole room feel calm. The doctor looked at me and said, “Mama, you’re next.”
“Oh no! Not me! I read just fine.”
“I’m sure you do. You’ll get a chance to prove it in a minute.”
I sat at the testing desk and the doctor asked me a few questions: Do you have TMJ? Are you considered clumsy? Do you ever have trouble thinking of the right word? Do sounds, smells, and lights irritate you? Have you struggled with Adrenal Fatigue? Do you have night blindness? Do you grind your teeth? Have you ever worn glasses?
I answered yes to everything. Then I remembered when I was 12, school and social pressures and hormone changes added to the stress that my brain had already been under for years. The visual disturbances worsened until I was blending lines together in reading, skipping and re-reading lines. Homework was impossible. My mom took me to the eye doctor. He said, “Well, there’s nothing wrong with her eyes, but I’m going to write her this little prescription and see if we can relax her eye muscles a little.” That should have been my first clue that I had a neurological problem, but we just didn’t know.
The doctor gave me a medical textbook to read. It took all my concentration to focus on the words and pronounce the complex vocabulary properly. But I did it, really well. I beamed at her….”I proved it.”
Then she said, “What was that about?” I couldn’t remember much from the text I read. She turned the page and we spent several minutes looking at the page through different colored filters. I found 2 that cut down on trembling of the text and she asked me to read again. My speed and accuracy was pronouncedly improved and I could remember more of the text. she asked me to go home and make an appointment with the local screener. I said I’d consider it.
In the meantime, my youngest daughter’s glasses arrived in the mail. She was at school so I tried them on. I didn’t expect much, but a strong feeling of peace and well-being flooded over me. I was experiencing a calm brain for the first time in my life and it was overwhelming. I burst into tears. I looked across the room and things far away were in focus that weren’t before. When I took the glasses off and put them back on, and off and on…. (you would too!) I realized the room had been vibrating…my whole life.
A few days later, my oldest daughter was in the living room doing her homework in the dark…again. “Don’t you want me to turn on some more light?” I asked.
“No! Please, No!” Then she burst into tears. “Could you read my text book to me? I’ve been staring at it forever and I can’t make sense of it.” In the past I would have said something like, “If you’d work in adequate light, you’d be able to read it.” But this time, I put everything together. The headaches. The dyslexic and processing diagnosis. The emotional outbursts and sensitivity to sound and light. I read her the book, then called Ken Schmidt our local Irlen screener and got her in the next day. My suspicions were confirmed. She had a severe case of Irlens.
Heidi’s case is interesting because her verbal communication is partially locked due to Irlens. She learned to talk late even though everything else was developmentally early. I’ve always known to take what she says with a grain of salt. It’s not that she’s untruthful, she just perceives things unusually. Heidi was unable to verbalize which filters helped her. Her Irlens was so severe that she still saw visual disturbances through every combination of filters.
At our extended visit to the specialist 3 hours away, I mentioned to the doctor that I wished we could hook Heidi up to a biofeedback machine so we could test the stress on her brain through the different filters. That would help us figure out what she needed since she couldn’t tell us. The doctor snapped her fingers. “I can’t do that, but I can do this….” She went to a drawer and pulled out an ear lobe pulse monitor.
She hooked it up to Heidi’s ear and measured her pulse at 84 beats per minute. That’s pretty fast for an athletic teenage girl who has been sitting in a chair for 2 hours. Heidi held different combinations of filters up to her eyes and the doctor kept watch on the pulse monitor. When we found the combination of filters we ordered for her, her heart rate came down to 50 beats per minute in a matter of seconds. Heidi still had visual disturbances through those filters, but it was the best we could do. She will wear them for a few months and then we will go back and try again, hoping that her brain will have calmed enough so she can help guide us to the correct filters better.
The doctor looked at me and said, “Mom, you need to consider this more deeply. No family has 2 daughters this severely affected without history of traumatic injury unless both parents are genetic carriers.”
Both Parents? I made an appointment for myself with the local screener. Ken showed me several sheets of paper designed to trigger visual disturbances in an Irlen patient. He asked me what I could see. I would say, “This is what I see, but I know this to be true about what I’m seeing.” He said, “I’m not testing your ability to adapt for yourself. No one is disputing that you do that very well. I just want to know what you see.” Then it occurred to me that I had spent my whole life adapting, working hard to perceive, ignoring what my mind was telling me and looking for context clues to find the truth. I saw blue and yellow auras and rivers of white running through the print. When I was counting a row of black Xs, the white swallowed them up and left me with a row of white dots. A picture of a black box appeared to have a gray side and the lines would disappear and reappear at random intervals, sometimes doubling. I told him everything, and said, “But doesn’t everyone see it the way I’m seeing it? Aren’t these optical illusions?” I looked at his face and saw the answer clearly, “No.”
Trying on frames at Costco
So off I went to the specialist. I’ll spare you the details, but when I finally found the filters I ordered, she had me hold them up to my face and walk outside. I looked out over the horizon and everything was clear as far as I could see. Crisp, fresh. The lenses had no curve to them, only color. How could this be? The pavement seemed farther away than it used to be. I walked cautiously, slowly. Lifting my feet too high at times, and leaning on Darren’s arm for balance. My depth perception had been this wrong? I am going to need to learn to walk all over again. No wonder I trip up the stairs, crash into door-frames, and knock my hips on furniture.
I have two more children that need to be tested. Their little quirks and sensitivities finally make sense in the big picture of what we’re learning. I want to run out and help them right away, but every person that gets treated costs around $1100, and I need some time to save.
Here are the steps for treatment. Insurance won’t cover it, but most HSA plans will allow you to use pre-tax funds from your HSA account or cafeteria plan.
Make an appointment with a screener. This costs $80 in my town, but saves $150 off the Diagnostician appointment. This is usually a 2 hour session and concludes with a set of colored overlays to read with if you are diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome. Colored overlays are helpful but are just a bandaid. Irlens affects more than just reading and only glasses or contacts worn constantly are a real solution.
Make sure to have a current eye exam. And carry a copy of your prescription.
Buy frames that are large enough to block light from reaching your eyes from the top. Just frames, don’t fill the prescription. You shouldn’t be able to see much ceiling if you roll your eyes up with the your frames on. (We found Costco to be the best combo of style, quality and price.)
Make an appointment with an Irlen Diagnostician. Do call around. We have 3 diagnosticians all within 3 hours of our home. I didn’t check other states and went to one based on a friend’s recommendation. She charges $930 for an appointment, the other one that I found out about later charges $450. This is significant because we have so many family members affected, but now we have a history and relationship with the expensive doctor. (The diagnostician will have advice on whether your prescription is necessary or whether the filters will be enough correction. Ultimately it’s up to you whether you do both or not.)
Follow up in 2-3 months. If at any time the lenses don’t appear to be working, go back and have them checked. Our doctor doesn’t charge for a check within 3 months of the last one. If the child stops wearing them all the time, complains of headaches, or has increased emotional outbursts, it’s time to get them checked.
Once you have a good set of lenses, go back annually for a follow up. The color can fade over time and may need to be retinted. Contacts can also be tinted, but only certain kinds. Once your prescription is good, ask your diagnostician about your contact options.
If you made it this far and have questions or comments, I’m all ears :).
Ashley Black Fascia Blasting. The tools aren’t cheap (and I haven’t purchased yet) but I joined the facebook group and have been lurking for awhile. The success stories and before and after pictures are inspiring. I’m interested in the process to gain more range of motion and reduce body pain, especially in my jaw, neck and shoulders. When my husband heard the testimonies, he said, “Will you buy me one for my back?” He had a painful back injury 3 years ago that hasn’t healed even after months of physical therapy. We can totally share one. I also plan to convince my mom to try it on her knee. She has had horrible pain for more than 6 months that even surgery and steroid shots haven’t helped. I think this could be really helpful to her. If you decide to lurk in the group, search #storytimewithjoanna to hear how the business began. It’s inspirational. (PS side affects include loss of cellulite, increased hair growth, increased collagen production, and some temporary bruising.) If you are a physical therapist, chiropractor, or massage therapist–this isn’t optional. You should at least look it over.
Irlen Syndrome. I alluded to this briefly in this post, but we have had even more experience with it since. My daughters have struggled with learning disabilities from a very young age and I’ve spent a lot of hours and money researching and trying different things to help them reach their potential. Both girls are extremely bright, but process slowly and have visual misperceptions. The younger one was diagnosed with Irlen syndrome in August. Since then we have discovered 2 more members of the family who also have it, and are screening the rest to rule it out. This is a fascinating subject for parents of special needs kids, educators, and optometrists. If you’d like to hear more about our experience with it, I can write more–just let me know in the comments. I don’t want to bore you with the details if you aren’t really interested. (This is likely the main trigger for my adrenal issues and I’m hoping with proper treatment, I will finally be able to heal.)
The Young House Love podcast. I’ve loved this blogging duo for years now. Their topic of expertise is home decor and I couldn’t figure out how that would translate to a radio show, but it totally does. I look forward to listening weekly as I do my kitchen chores. I love the way the couple interacts with a big dose of humor.
Do you listen to podcasts? Leave your favorites in the comments below. (Also…let me know about the Irlen thing.)
I’m excited about this easy little crafty post, because it has so much meaning to me. Along the journey of life a few years back, we chose to seek out help from a psychologist who said something very interesting: “The thoughts you think, control the chemicals your body releases. If you are able to change your thoughts, you can change your chemical balance. If you can’t change your thinking, then medication can help make it easier.”
Stress is my enemy. A little spurt of stress can put me in bed for a few days, too weak to even walk unassisted. I can’t control all my stress, like when someone cuts me off in traffic and nearly causes an accident; when a bat gets in my house and flaps around my bedroom; or when someone I love gets sick or dies. But there is a lot I can control.
This past week, a lot of stressful things were going on in my life. Here’s what I wrote in my Fit Yummy Mummy journal: Oh Girls, Life has kicked my tail… My grandma is on hospice and they don’t think she will live through the night. She is 90 and forgot who I was long ago, but I remember who she is. Her daughter, my Auntie, was on death watch for a short time last week, but miraculously recovered for a little while longer and has been moved to a rehab facility. …my mama hurt her leg mysteriously and can’t walk very well…. I tangled with some poison ivy last weekend and am COVERED. Plus the school district has denied to test Heather for learning disabilities even with all the private testing records I sent them and doctor reports. They said they don’t accept any outside of the district assessments and they haven’t observed her long enough to decide what to do about her. I’m so sad realizing that they are waiting for her to fail again before they intervene even though her records transferred from her old school show a clear pattern and need. I’m taking her to another clinic the next state over on Saturday to test her eye/brain connection. It’s so expensive, but if there’s a chance it will help her we’ll find a way to earn the money. I’m trying not to stress about everything, but I’m feeling all the feels anyway and it has zapped my strength. So that’s where I am. Not sure how to pick up the pieces from here while my body has checked out.
That wasn’t even all of it, but it started to feel ridiculous writing so much complaining down. What if instead of that, I had written down all the things that were going RIGHT? I can tell you THIS, I spend way more time thinking about the things going wrong than I do the things I have to be thankful for. I’m sure that has a lot to do with my health struggles.
It’s hard to admit that I am a negative person. Yuck. Just admitting that makes me not like myself very much, so I’m making steps to change. 4o years of consistent negative thinking isn’t going to change easy, but I’m choosing my hard.
I’m starting with this fifty cent notebook. It’s just a composition notebook from Wal-mart. I made a little cover for it by merging this and this. I printed it on regular paper, then trimmed it down slightly to fit the cover.
I placed a piece of wax paper inside the notebook, so I wouldn’t get modge podge all over the pages and stick them together.
Then I put a thin layer of modge podge ($1 in the Target spot bins) over the back of the picture, and stuck it to the cover, starting on one edge and smoothing it over to prevent air bubbles. Then I took my brush and put a thin layer of glossy modge podge over the top for durability.
Here’s the best part, the brush strokes in modge podge are visible after it dries, giving printed art a hand-painted affect. To take full advantage of this, I went back once more and added brush strokes to the water color flowers, following the natural curve so each flower would look hand-painted.
You GUYS! I’m feeling so clever right now. When it dried I trimmed the corners and added a matching cover to the back.
Before I thought of this little project, I looked on Amazon for a gratitude journal I could buy. There were several good ones like this, this, and this. They were each less than $10, but the DIY one was the more affordable option for sure. Karen at A House Full of Sunshine has a different idea for a DIY journal cover that is darling for all you washi tape lovers. She also had some good thoughts about gratefulness that are worth clicking over to read.
Here’s what I’ll write tonight:
Heather’s new Irlen filters that are helping her read better
Family cooperating for Grandma’s Funeral
A chance to sing with my daughter and my sister-in-law
Free flute lessons for Heather that make her so happy
Our cars are both repaired and running well
A supportive church family
I’m all about reducing stress, not adding to it, so I’m not writing in complete sentences, telling stories (unless I want to), or giving myself a quota. If I’m too stressed to think, I might just copy down a scripture verse or hymn that I’m grateful for, or tape in a coloring page. And if I need to skip a day, that’s A-OK, since none of the pages are pre-dated.
P.S. If you want to hear more about gratitude journals, Sherry talks about hers in the “We’re Digging Section” on episode #11 of the Young House Love Podcast.
I’m so excited about the flavors of autumn! Apples, cinnamon, maple, pumpkin, acorn squash….Yes please! All of it.
Here’s a super simple recipe that is sure to please your fall cravings, but is still cool and refreshing for those warm afternoons. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and is low carb. If you’re following Trim Healthy Mama, this would be an S. The few carbs that are in it are naturally present in the Greek Yogurt and Pumpkin.
Creamy Pumpkin Mousse
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup plain Greek Yogurt (I used fat free but any fat content is fine.)
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp liquid vanilla stevia
4 packets Truvia
(If you aren’t counting carbs and just want to use sugar, I recommend 1/4 cup real maple syrup or honey to replace the stevia and Truvia.)
Put everything in an electric mixer with the whip attachment and whip until soft peaks form. You’ll be able to see the trace of the beater through the mousse and the lines will stay when it is ready.
Transfer to 6 serving dishes and chill until ready to serve. I’ve found my stevia sweetened things taste better when chilled for a couple of hours. It helps the flavors blend and makes the stevia less bitter. My kids gave this 2 thumbs up even before chilling.
For a new prep-ahead weight loss meal plan every week, click here.
At 3 pm everyone at my house gets the munchies. I’ve taught my kids to be self-reliant when it comes to food. It’s a habit of years of dealing with chronic illness. Now that I’m doing a bit better, I want to take back some of the kitchen control. I like my kids learning to cook and make do, but I’m not loving the mess they leave behind. It’s going to take some steady supervision to change the bad “clean up after yourself” habits I’ve allowed. In the meantime, I’m being proactive by preparing after school snacks. Rename these “muffins” and you can serve them for breakfast too :).
Zucchini Chocolate Cupcakes are loaded with veggies, fiber and protein. You can choose how you want to sweeten them. I used a mixture of xylitol and sucanant. To get the right texture, you should include real sugar for at least 1/3 of the sweetener.
You can also be creative with the flour you use. I used fresh ground whole wheat flour, unbleached flour or a gluten free flour blend (if it has xanthan gum in it) will also work. If you are using an alternate flour option, add it gradually and stop when the consistency is cake batter right. Some flours (like coconut flour) absorb a ton more water than wheat flour and you will need quite a bit less.
Zucchini Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbs vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a stand mixer, beat Greek yogurt with sugar, eggs and vanilla. Stir in Zucchini.
Add baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, cocoa powder, stirring well after each addition.
Add flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring just until incorporated. Do not add chocolate chips at this time.
Fill greased or lined muffin cups 2/3 full. (I like to use an ice cream scoop to measure it.)
Sprinkle the top of each cupcake with 1/2 tsp of mini chocolate chips.
Bake for 28 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing cupcakes to finish cooling.
I try not to worry about my kids. With a God this big, why should I worry or fear? But I do, even when I pray and I think I’m not going to. We’ve done homeschooling, private Christian school, and public school. Last year I had 1 in private, 2 homeschooling, and 3 in public. This year we are transitioning everyone to public school and it’s a little heart wrenching for me.
Last week, my oldest boy, who homeschooled last year, who has been spending too much time in his room, wearing pajamas, and reading books, came out of his room early on Monday. Dressed. With shoes. He said, “Bye mom, I’m going for a bike ride.” I stared after him dumfounded.
Then Tuesday, he said, “Soccer tryouts at my new High School started yesterday, but it’s not too late to join. Can I go tonight?” My son has done little more than walk from his bed to the fridge in a year, partially because of his love of books, and partially because he has sore, swollen knees from Osgood Schlatters disease. I was happy he was out of his bed and interested in something. I found the medical forms he would need and we showed up.
I sat in the bleachers with one other mom. 52 kids and 2 moms. I had prepared 3 bottles for his practice: 1 with ice water, 1 with electrolytes, and 1 with recovery protein and glucose. I was terrified. How is a kid who lies around reading books all day going to handle high school soccer tryouts?
They did nothing but run for 2 hours. Greenies, 400 sprints, 800 sprints, more greenies, then more sprints. There was less than 60 seconds recovery time between each exercise. I thought he might throw up. I thought I might throw up. The other mom said, “this is exactly what they did yesterday.” I thought, “this coach is an idiot.” What happened to alternating active recovery days? He yelled at the boys, “If you think this is hard, don’t bother coming back tomorrow!” I yelled back, “You can do it, Caleb! Finish strong! I believe in you!” Every other boy on the field was either wishing their mom was there to cheer him on or really thankful that she wasn’t.
As soon as I got my boy home, I filled the bathtub with warm water, epsom salts and Blue Heat essential oil blend. I made another glucose protein shake. I iced his knees. I told him how proud I was.
He insisted on going back the next day.
The next day, his dad took him. I was singing special music at the testimony service for my brother’s priesthood call to elder. In our church no one can decide to join the priesthood. It’s not something you can earn, study for, or choose. The call comes through prophecy. It’s a big deal and kind of rare. While I sat and listened to the prophecy and confirmation testimonies I thought about my boy on the soccer field. Did his dad take protein and glucose and electrolytes? Would he cheer?
I beat them home and when he walked in the door, I knew things weren’t good. We had talked about worst case scenerios. If you don’t make the team, maybe they would let you come to practice and work out and get stronger. That night, Coach told him no to both.
The next morning the other mom in the bleachers sent me a text. “Cross Country meeting tonight.” Cross Country? If Caleb had sore knees, was this the best thing for him? But I asked him anyway. He said “maybe,” so we showed up. XC had started on Monday also, but would credit his running at soccer practice for the missed sessions. There were no tryouts. If you want on the team, you’re on the team. The coach was amazing. “We cheer everybody on, even the other team. Grades are super important. We are family.” They explained that even though they work out for 2 hours a day 6 days a week, they have an alternating active recovery schedule. Finally, someone with common sense.
Caleb showed up Friday for his first practice, we left the house at 5:45 am. One coach rode his bike moving between the front of the pack and the rear so he could keep tabs on the kids and their health. The 2nd coach drove a car, so he could pick up the kids that were in trouble. Caleb ran for 2 hours and when I picked him up, he was smiling. He did a jig and said, “How can I have so much energy?” I asked him how he did. He said, “I wasn’t at the front of the pack, but I didn’t have to get in the car.” I asked him to tell me the name of 1 kid on his team, he told me 2. Then it hit me, Caleb will start this HUGE school with friends, adults he can trust, and self-respect.
At that moment, the room started to spin, my knees went weak, my vision closed in on itself. I had just earned myself a recovery day or three–all from worry, sigh.
How about you? Is your family making big changes this year with educating your kids? How do you feel about it?
I know I’ve been quiet lately. I’ve been enjoying SUMMER with a slower schedule and time with my kids. Here are a few updates.
The hardwood floor in our living room is all finished! I don’t have baseboards up and I haven’t started on the built ins yet. But I did move the furniture in place just like it would be with the built ins there. I want to live with it a little bit before I got through the expense and work of the built ins buy just to make sure I like the arrangement. So far I really do! You’ll notice there’s a rug down. It’s the one I bought for Darren’s office. We are a long ways away from being able to use it for his office and I may pick something else for him then, or move it down and pick something else for the living room. I love the rug and right now it’s the most affordable option since we already own it ;). Everything is centered on the room, but the angle I had to stand to take the picture makes it look wonky.
Before
Currently
Concept
(I’m rethinking the whole slip cover thing. I’ll have to cut the back cushions off my sofa to make it work and it’s going to be a lot of work. I still want to do it, just much later.)
2. I had a midlife crisis last week and bleached my hair patchwork orange. I don’t have pictures because it was too humiliating. But it was mostly yellow with squares of orange and brown scattered through it. My hair stylist’s son was having surgery that day so she couldn’t help me right away. I wore hats everywhere, even to a wedding shower and denied all requests to take it off. It was humiliating. On phase one of the do over, she got rid of the orange and brown and I was GOLD blond all over. It was horrifying. The next day I was asked to lead the song service for the all area branch meeting. I couldn’t say no because my hair was horrifying so I stood up there and sang away like there was nothing crazy on top of my head. Three days later after multiple keratin and biotin treatments she added ash brown highlights and toned it all over. We had to get pretty aggressive to get rid of the remaining brassiness and I was a little gray/purple for a few days. It has settled down a little bit and now I’m REALLY blond, in a good way. I no longer scream when I see a mirror, which is positive progress.
3. I have been healing up a lot over the last 2 months. My hair has started to grow. It has only been a week since the orange hair fiasco and I already have dark roots. While dark roots aren’t pretty, I’m going to take it and love it since it’s another sign that my health is improving. I started back to my Fit Yummy Mummy workout program, starting at the introductory level (the step before beginners….) and feel like I’m going to be able to finish this time. While half my family is away at summer camp and my chores are reduced, I’ve been prepping foods to help with my goals. I’ve made protein batter for pancakes and keep it in a jug in the fridge so I can cook a few fresh up in the mornings. I also froze protein shakes into popsicles molds. It’s just almond milk and chocolate flavored protein powder, but having it in a popsicle slows down my eating process and is really fun. And I made a 4 serving recipe of Thai Chicken Salad and divided it into recycled Chic Fil A containers.
If I make a family size recipe each time I cook something new, I can eat on it for awhile for no extra work. When it’s that yummy I don’t mind eating leftovers.
4. My new washer and dryer have been in service for about a week and I love them! They are HUGE. One load in the new washer is worth 3 in my old one. I used to do 3 loads a day and now I’m down to 1. It’s the same amount of laundry but I can get through it in 1/3 of the time.
rgIf you are new here, this is the day I share some of the frugal things I’ve done recently and then you share yours in the comments. the idea is to encourage and inspire each other.
Happy Friday! I’m so excited! Darren made arrangements for me to have a whole 24 hours to myself this weekend. The kids pitched in to clean up the kitchen and main living areas, so my 24 hours wouldn’t be spent on chores. I’m going to read a book, spend time outside, stretch and exercise, soak in the bath and eat super healthy food. I’ve been struggling the past couple of months with feeling exhausted, dizzy, & foggy in the brain. I have a few good hours in the mornings and by noon, I’m working flat on my back with the computer propped on my knees. Sometimes I’m in bed for the night by dinner time and miss out on all the family time.
Yesterday afternoon I started to feel a bit better after several weeks of going back to the food choices and supplements that have been proven to work for me. Darren came home around 6pm last night and I was not only out of bed cooking dinner, I was dancing a little jig in the kitchen—just because a good song came on. He walked in and said, “Wow!” It was a big change.
If I know what works, why would I ever quit doing it? It’s crazy, but as I start to feel better I think, “I’m healed–finally! The nightmare is behind me!” and I skip a dose of supplements, I accept an additional responsibility, I allow myself some junk food. I don’t feel the affects right away, so I think, “See, you just ate a couple of Oreos and feel great. You’ve finally beat this!” Then after a while of bad behavior I start to notice, “Hey, my hair is my hair falling out! Were those lines on my face this deep yesterday? Ouch! my nails sure are brittle. My arms feel heavy. Yikes! The room is spinning! Sob, I’m crying and I’m not even sad.”
Having adrenal insufficiency messes with my ability to do DIY frugal things. We’ve been talking about making more memories as a family. Darren said, “Honey, there was a free kite festival last weekend. The kids would have loved it,” and we both knew that I wouldn’t have made it physically. I’ve learned to take advantage of my good hours by preparing evening meals in the morning when I have the most energy. For a time I stopped making as much from scratch (like our breads) to conserve my energy. It’s a vicious cycle, because scratch stuff not only saves money, but it’s healthier too.
The affects of making bad choices aren’t instant and good choices don’t bring instant results either, so it’s hard to stay motivated. I’m writing it down today, so I can look back and remind myself that my choices matter. Since I’ve felt better, I did a little more scratch cooking this week.
I made breakfast. The first time, I made breakfast cookies. And the second day I made muffins from cereal crumbs. We only buy bran flakes and toasted o’s from Aldi. Which averages $.10 a serving (plus milk.) It’s not coated in sugar, but it’s still more processed than I’d like. The kids can fix it for themselves after I’ve left for work, so for this season in life we have cereal. The crumbs collect in the bottom of the bag and I save them for adding to muffins and cookies. This time we had banana muffins and I used up some really old frozen bananas I found in the bottom of the freezer.
I saved my homemade mayo. On instagram a few weeks ago I showed a photo of my lovely but very bitter creamy 100% EVOO homemade mayo. It was so bitter even my real food loving mother-in-law coughed when she tasted it. I added some stevia, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika which made it tolerable. Then I made a homemade dressing with it, cutting it with buttermilk and cilantro. It was delicious. The mayo is keeping a long time in the fridge. It’s almost gone now, but I might try it again with a different blend of oils.
Contemporary Ruffle Maxi Dress
3. I didn’t buy dresses. I filled my cart at Forever21.com and had a 20% off coupon to use. It didn’t feel right buying the clothes right then with all of the other goals we had for our family, so I waited 24 hours. When I checked back in they had sold out of my size in several of the things in the cart, so I skipped the whole thing. It felt really good to let it go, even though they were such pretty things.
It’s your turn. Inspire us with some of your frugal activities this week.
I made a little venture over to Dirty Don’s today. If you’re new here, that’s a salvage grocery store in my area. There are salvage groceries in almost every large city where they get freight from semi’s and trains that didn’t make their destination on time. The stores can buy the merchandise for pennies on the dollar and then re-sell it at a discount to their customers. It might be perfect or dented or repackaged in some way. Dirty Don’s is like that, but the trashiest of all the stores in my area. For that reason it has the best potential bargains, but I have to check the expiration dates closely. They don’t have any qualms about selling stuff 4 years (or more) past expiration.
I spent just under $30 and this is what I got:
Multigrain Cheerios: $1 a box (2)
100% whole wheat tortillas: $.75 a bag (4)
Long Grain Brown Rice: 2 lbs for $1 (4)
Chicken Hot Dogs: 3 lbs for $1
Cutie Clementines: 3 lbs for $2 (2)
Strawberries: 1 lb for $.50 (4) (I know you’re wondering, I did throw away 1 berry per box but the rest were good)
Mandarin oranges: 3 cans for $1 (6)
Tomato Puree: #10 can $2
Marinara Sauce: #10 can $2
Tropical Fruit Salad: #10 Can $3.25
Blueberry white tea: $1.50 box
They had a lot of other deals, but I was pretty selective about what I bought and purchased fairly small quantities this time. It’s becoming harder for me to feed my family on our budget and I wanted to make sure that I had money left for fresh stuff the rest of the month.
Insert Squealing tires as we change subject.
I’ve been blogging a bit over at my other site, Centsablyfit.com, about my experience with Adrenal Fatigue. It’s not really a topic that I felt comfortable featuring on this blog. I needed to get my thoughts organized about it so I could go back and remind myself how far I’ve come and what is working. If it’s a topic you are interested in, here are my last 4 posts:
I have a little bit more to say on the topic so if this is important to you, subscribe over there so you won’t miss anything. I also post my favorite fitness recipes there as a resource when meal planning for myself.
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