Health Accomplishments, Goals, Some Gardening Plans, and Life!

[L.]

I'm watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead for the first time right now......Joe Cross (the guy in the movie) apparently used to take prednisone for his disease he was diagnosed with...He calls it, "a powerful steroid."  It's the same exact medication I was prescribed to take for my ulcerative proctitis that I've been refusing to take for months and months now...My doctor didn't even think it was a big deal to prescribe it to me.  So frustrating.

Been having a few flare-ups here and there...eating less sugar...just ran out of white flour, so that's good... ;)

Some Other Things I've Done That Sprung Up From Watching This Movie (I forgot I even did a few of these things, they've been out of my realm so long):

• I stopped drinking pop a couple years ago (2009).  Sometimes on a weekend out, it'll end up in a mixed drink, but other than that, it's gone, and I only go out a 3-4 times a month (by the way, I've only EVER gone out and drank 3-4 times a month maximum, maybe give or take one or two months where I went out say 6 times...that is far less than many people my age.  I've somehow managed to find myself surrounded by extremely responsible people my age, who have no desire to go out more than that)
• I stopped eating red meat, or at least greatly reduced consumption of it a couple years ago...I want to say 2009 (and stopped getting biannual/annual bronchitis because of it...haven't had bronchitis since I made the decision), for my arthritis.  It greatly reduced flare-ups and took me out of the bed I'd been stuck in for months.
• I learned from my body, not the internet (I was inspired to research about why I was feeling the way I was feeling afterward...googling terms like detox and reading about buddhism, my favorite religion, before I ever even learned about raw foodism), how powerful fruits and vegetables are for my health in April, 2010.
• After feeling so great, learning more about myself (deep soul-searching at the time), and what my values were (helping the environment, being conscious of how my actions affect the rest of the world, taking care of myself and others) I went further with my diet:
• I went off all dairy completely in August 2010.
• I went off all meat completely in August of 2010.
• I eliminated nuts from my diet in August 2011, because I found out I have an intolerance.
• I've almost eliminated beans completely from my diet for the last few months, with a few re-introductions, all of which have had negative effects afterward in regards to my ulcerative proctitis, so I plan on eliminating them for good.
• I've been on low-no sugar (other than whole fruit/juices) diets before and they very much helped me...I plan on doing this again.  I also see no difference between white sugar, honey, or raw agave at this point in time.
• I plan on juicing a lot more.
• I plan on using far less salt.
• I plan on subbing any white flours with healthier whole grains if grains must be added at all.  Right now, things like potatoes, white rice, and even flour seem to help me more than hurt me on my personal journey...they allow me to use the bathroom on a regular basis, as opposed to the horrible constipation I face on fruits and vegetables alone currently, regardless of how much water I drink (it's the ulcerative proctitis)

A very potent green tea has been helping me become far more regular too for some reason!!!  Many brands don't, but this particular kind seems to have that affect on me.

I've also been gazing at my Baker's Creek Heirloom Seeds catalogue...last night I stayed up for an extra hour looking at it and flipping through the pages, imagining my beautiful future garden and telling my boyfriend all about the politics of the food industry...LOL I said, "Thankyou for putting up with me and my ranting," afterward!! :P  He was so sweet, he just sat there and looked at it with me and listened to me talk.  He seemed genuinely interested...It's so odd, for someone I wasn't even interested in...I am liking him more and more every day.  I feel sooo happy to see him and sooo happy he is here, it's been wonderful him staying here for the last 3-4 days.  I'd love it if he stayed even longer, I haven't grown tired of him yet. :)

I can't wait to plan my dream garden with all of you!!

I am thinking lots of greens...rutabagas...watermelons...fennel...garlic...cantaloupes...pumpkins in autumn...even trying out this really interesting-looking, thorned, yellow, exotic melon that the catalogue said was hardy and easy to grow.  It's probably meant for regions like Florida, nevertheless, I'm going to give it a try anyway!!  What fun :) I really can't wait to get started!! :)  It has been snowing on and off incessantly...but I might start indoor gardening soon to prep everything.  I am going to see what the Michigan gardening websites advise!!

Had a really weird dream last night that I was dreaming, with a boyfriend (not sure who this person was) at my Aunt's house in WI, and I had a nightmare, and when I woke up, my cousin walked in the room, knowing I had it, and said that I had to leave her house to sleep somewhere else immediately, because of the, "Nanamagia." (pronounced in the dream nawh-nawh-mah-jee-ah).  LOL I don't really know what the nanamagia is, I'm thinking of googling the word just for kicks and giggles, but my cousin in the dream was acting very superstitious, and the nanamagia is supposed to be like, evil dream people or something.

How funny to have a dream about having a dream!!!!

Toodaloo.

Oh P.S: Continuing watching Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, I see that the guy who is juice feasting at the last half of the movie is on a lot of medications I was on, both methotrexate (which made me deathly ill, it's a mild form of chemotherapy), as well as hydroxychloroquine.  I love that his doctor is supporting his healthy journey and gradually decreasing his meds, saying, "eventually we will have you off of all of them."  That is encouraging for me.  Hopefully the next time I see my doctor and I have the opportunity to explain more in depth to her, she'll be more understanding.

[Ayn]

I am garden ready!!!! I am planning my spring, summer and fall garden, the thing is, I just havent had the energy to actually get the garden ready. THAT will take hours of hard labor. I didnt cover it for the winter or anything, I just let it go... ugh, I wish I had not done that. But I am so looking forward to this, AND there are also plans to EXPAND it (which is also a lot more work, but I do think it will be worth it.) At some point, we really want to be growing, freezing, drying, canning most of our own food and just being able to eat from the land. It make take us a few more years to get there, but... I really think its the way to go!

[Grateful Glenda!]

Wow! I just received my seeds in the mail from Baker Creek last week! I, too, am soooooo excited for my garden this year!! Of course, I went wild with ordering seeds. I'm going to try several new varieties this year that I haven't planted before so I'm anxious to see how they do in South Dakota weather. I can't wait to hear more about your garden!!

[Brandi!]

Oh my freaking goodness lyza!!!! I too had a nightmare last night, about having a nightmare, then woke up in my dream and was telling the people about my nightmare, only to have another nightmare.....then I finally woke up! A dream in a dream, and both were no fun... and when I woke up this morning and went outside there were two birds fighting In my driveway... I dream wild things every night..but usually not nightmares....it's so crazy that we both did that lyza! Nightmares and dreams in dreams...weird. anyways, I too am excited about my garden. I went out yesterday and bought a few herbs: basil, cilantro, and dill. And plenty of flower seeds...love to see flowers everywhere. Ugh! But I stilil have no idea what to put I the garden....because I wantto put everything I it, it am working with limited space. :-) glad you and your boyfriend d are getting along. It is nice when someone will listen to your "raw rants," as I call them.