bees wrap is the bees knees

When you get sick, I mean really, really sick you have to look in the mirror and figure out how you ended up that way.

No, it is not some “kick yourself when you are down” lesson….it is eye-opening, detective work that is the most honest and helpful way to avoid getting into the pickle again. Then you have to start taking action.

For one short paragraph allow me to talk plastic:

Estrogen fed the predicament I got into.  Most food-related plastics – including cling wrap and so-called BPA free containers –  “can release chemicals that act like the hormone estrogen,” concluded a study published in Environmental Health Perspectives. 

For the last five years, we have tried to reduce and remove the use of plastic. You have heard me preach before about lessening the load of plastic products in our homes and lives.

Today, I am sharing a charming, useful, reusable, compostable, wipe clean product that really works.  Bees Wrap.

 

Instead of wrapping your hand full of gorgeous grapes in plastic wrap to save for later……………how about wrapping them in a cotton fabric that has been coated in beeswax?

Fortunately for all of us, this is a beautiful solution.

Beautiful Bees Wrap is the Bees Knees!

In place of covering your lefties in plastic wrap or taking your snack to work in a ziplock bag…may I gently suggest you give bees wrap a try?

You can certainly search Google and find dozens of recipes to make your own.  Or you can purchase them from a number of sources.

I received my beautiful bees wrap from https://www.beefuddledfarms.com/what-we-do

Beefuddled Farms is located in Pennsylvania.  One of the owners is Michelene.  She is a mom, sister, daughter, student, beekeeper, teacher, gardener and the list of goodness goes on and on.

In addition to the bees wrap, one of my favorite things she offers (besides honey) is an exquisite lotion that is smooth, rich and is a pleasure to use.

The beautiful spirit of Michelene is most evident the moment you meet her.  She is knee-deep in the bee business so of course, you can purchase other honey goodies from her or she offers classes.  

One of her products is sure to tickle your fancy.  She has a wonderful website that is easy to use.    Please take a moment to stop by her site, look around, enjoy the pictures, learn something new, and share the name of her business with your friends and family.

You will be most pleased that you took the time to invest in your health and wellness, beecause you are worth it!

In this together, friends,

Chat soon.

ps.  In the genre of full disclosure and honesty, Michelene gave this bee wrap to me as a gift.  I value her kindness and am so pleased to share ‘n tell such a high-quality product with you. 

 

 

 

clean plate club members

Submerged in the OLD list of “10 things you didn’t know about me”  was the statement,

I am not a fan of cauliflower. 

Because I am a smarty pants and know it is ultra good for you, I buy one head a month, steam, smash, freeze then hide in spaghetti sauce, pasta sauce, taco filling etc.  No one is the wiser, I can’t taste it and we get the benefits here and there.

Benefits?  What benefits you ask?

reduces cancer risks, can even kill some cancer stem cells, improves detoxification, balances hormones, has impressive amounts of vitamin C, vitamin K, and beta-carotene, fights inflammation, also has rich supplies of calcium and selenium and cauliflower keeps our immune systems running smoothly  

My new list of 10 things you didn’t know about me, NO LONGER contains the blurb about cauliflower.

Thanks to Sam Turnbull and her blog, you too, can whip up this beauty.

https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/quick-roasted-cauliflower/https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/quick-roasted-cauliflower/

Last night was life-changing.  I ate HALF A CAULIFLOWER!  Honestly, because I was a little bit of a piggie, I may have taken more than half.

Here’s the quick version:  take apart a cauliflower, mix up some oil, nutritional yeast, garlic and chili powder, mix, bake at 450* until tender and toasty brown.

Serve with an AMAZING Maple Syrup Mustard dipping sauce (she gives you that dip recipe, along with several others.)  Zowie, is it simple…. maple syrup, mustard, lemon juice, garlic power….  blend.  done.

Say grace and then grab some napkins these will “sell” quickly.

Serve hot, warm or cold…dip those little puppies (no, not real puppies) in that amazing dipping sauce and before you know it….

enough chatter!

Here are two snapshots that will tell you everything you NEED to know.

 

Now, may I gently suggest you make these tonight?  You and your family are worthy of excellent nutrition.   Heck, you don’t even need to explain all the benefits.  Just bake them, serve with dipping sauce and put on a table everyone can reach.

Clean Plate Club members all around!

In this together, friends.

Chat soon.

PS.    Dig deeper and learn oodles more benefits of cauliflower from Dr. Mercola.  https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/02/22/cauliflower-health-benefits.aspx

strip tease

If you are like us, you’re in a constant state of learning, studying, researching.

Our healthy change list is just over 135.

Today’s gentle healthy suggestion is Tip number 136!

Do you make an effort to stay away from aluminum?  Most of us smarty pants avoid deodorants with aluminum, as it is known to clog your lymph nodes and mainly affect the risk of breast cancer in women.  By now,  we are all aware that aluminum also has its detrimental effects on our brains and how it functions.

Did you know that the razor you used this morning, more than likely has some potentially hazardous ingredients?

Yes indeedy.  That “moisture strip” they have put on the girlie pink razors (cheap or pricey) contain aluminum salt.  Oh, and did I mention the polyethylene glycol which is a carcinogen? There is more, I won’t go on.  You can read for yourself.  I try, honest I do, not to be a busybody and cram information down your throat.  It is just that I sincerely appreciate it when someone shares a great health tip with me.

Sure you can stop shaving  (not happening here).  You could use a straight edge razor and strop like the 1800’s (I can’t see that being a good choice for me).  You can pay extra ( for not having the moisture strip and pay for postage) and order razors online, without the chemicals.

One gentle suggestion is to IGNORE the gender marketing and buy men’s razors. For some reason, they do not have the “girlie” moisture strip on their product.   They are the EXACT SAME PRODUCT only not pink and sometimes have a longer handle.

Or you can take a pair of pliers and remove the strip. (free and pretty easy, I just asked Mr. Right to be the muscle)

 

If you want to dig a little deeper, here is an article shared by Erin Elizabeth.     .https://www.healthnutnews.com/ingredients-found-in-these-razors-potentially-linked-to-alzheimers-and-organ-toxicity/https://www.healthnutnews.com/ingredients-found-in-these-razors-potentially-linked-to-alzheimers-and-organ-toxicity/

Here’s to our good health,

In this together, friends.

Chat soon.

smooth Friday

Hello and Happy Friday!

I wanted to share a helpful, easy, “you will thank me by next Thursday” tip.

When you fill up your refrigerators and freezers this weekend, might I gently suggest you make 7 or 8 smoothie packets at the same time?

Super easy.

A beautiful way to bathe yourself in Grace and Wellness.

Bring home your greens and wash.  (Yes, even the greens in the bags.)  I wash with vinegar then rinse with water. Then I dry/spin the whole bunch in a salad spinner.  You could easily use paper towels or a clean cotton towel.   Vinegar is inexpensive and best part ….. it really works.

We froze oodles and oodles of berries last year, so I am still working off of those.  Or you can purchase frozen berries.

Now, get out 7 or more zip freezer bags.  Roll down the tops.  Set up an assembly line of sorts.

(I use these amounts for one smoothie, you can certainly double or so forth the recipe for more.)

Add one cup of clean, dry spinach or Swiss chard or bok choy or kale or a combination of greens to each zippy bag.  Then I add one cup of a variety of berries.  Sometimes, I toss in half a banana.  Add anything else you want.   The sky is the limit.  Toss in a handful of chopped up peaches or apricots!   (some weeks I do a tropical take on the smoothie….pineapple, mango, strawberry, lime) 

Actually, next time you are at your specialty health food store and you “treat” yourself to a $6.00 smoothie, jot down the ingredients that you fancy in your favorite option.  Then re-create in your homemade freezer packs.

The idea is to create these helpful, beautiful packets that will help you make a smoothie quick and easy and almost effortless.

That way, you can add your liquid, fresh coconut pulp, ground flax seeds, etc. and toss in your bag of frozen goodness.  40 seconds of blending later, you are enjoying a great smoothie.  Little effort to create something wonderful.  Fast and hits the spot.

Refreshing.

Perfect to drink on the way to work.   Perfect to drink on the way to take care of your grand for the day.  Perfect to drink while you decide if you want something more for lunch.

Just think of all the good you will be doing to your body?  One cup of berries a day times five days a week times each month.   Woah, Nelly!  That is a bucket full of antioxidants!  

Berries are some of the most powerful (and delicious) disease-fighting foods available. Color pigments in berries that are powerful antioxidants. Blue, purple, and red color have been associated with a lower risk of certain cancers, urinary tract health, memory function, and healthy aging.

In this together, friends.

(next Thursday, when you take out a frozen zippy bag and make an amazing smoothie, send me an email.  I promise you, you will be so happy that you took the time to make something good for you!)

Here’s to our wellness and good health!

Cheers!

 

if you were given 5 years

If you were given 5 years…

If you were given a gift of 5 years, 5 years you thought you didn’t have, what would you do?  How would you spend them?  Would you do the things you always wished you could do but for whatever reason you haven’t?  Would you make sure that the people you love know you love them?  Would you buy the extra good foods, go on great adventures?  Would you run yourself ragged trying to make every minute of every day meaningful?

Daleen decided that she would be grateful for each day and would use every day by embracing something that would help her on her journey.  She decided to learn everything about healing cancer naturally.  She’s become an expert at clean living and is a virtual encyclopedia of knowledge on the subject.  She was determined to travel even though it tired her out so much.  After all, there’s a big world out there waiting to be discovered by each of us.  And so, we’ve been to virtually the four corners of these great United States and many places in between.  She dedicated herself to her handiwork and has produced one beautiful piece after another.

We haven’t done it alone though and so we are grateful we have a supportive family and some supportive friends.  Though they don’t all agree we chose wisely, they all have been squarely behind Daleen – who could ask for more?  From phone calls to emails to wee gifts in the mail, everyone has been a positive part of her wellness.

Sweet Liberty, a Golden Retriever of distinction, has done her share.  She’s made sure there was dog hair to pick up, meals for Daleen to prepare for her and toys to pick up.  She’s also caught more than a few tears in her luxurious golden coat and offers nothing in return but love.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; were that humans could be so unabashedly loving and accepting as dogs.

In that bleak January 5 years ago, she would ask me “do you think I’ll be around at Christmas?” and then slowly the question became “do you think I’ll be around to see (fill in the blank)?  There was always the nagging thought that no matter what she did, it wouldn’t make a difference.  She would eat healthily, exercise, get a lot of sunshine, take vitamins and everything wouldn’t matter.

At some point, she quit asking.  She accepted the fact that she was living, she was living well and that was enough.  Next, she started planning ahead – a huge change!  Finally, questioning her life stopped being the predominant thought of her every waking moment.  In short, she learned how to live again and live she has; this Sunday is 1,826 days of wellness.

That dear friend is what cancer does to you.  It robs you of the luxury of not thinking about death.  Sure, there are many other things it does, but the pervasive, all-encompassing thoughts revolve around death for longer than we thought possible.  To be honest, they are never that far away and it’s a constant struggle to keep them where they belong – in the distance.   What cancer can also do is tie you even closer together.  We’d been married for a while when the dreaded diagnosis was given and I thought I knew my blushing bride of 30 years.  Turns out, I only knew part of her.  I have now come to know the amazing strength that is her, and of course, I see more clearly the quiet beauty and the grace that is her.  Along the way, she’s taught me more about living and life than I thought possible and I’m ever so grateful.

We have a few posters and sayings in our home about gratitude and grace.  Ok, a first-time visitor to our home might say many.   They serve as continual reminders.  She is grateful because she was given these last five years when she was convinced she wouldn’t have them.  She is grateful for so many things and so many people I could fill many pages listing them all.  She has the quiet grace that goes with confidence and the inner grace that radiates outward.  When you are with her, you know you are with someone who understands the value of each and every day.  She’s confident that although the future is (and always has been) uncertain, she’s been blessed with these last five years and has tried to embrace each and every day as the gift it is.

Along the way, we’ve learned so much about living well.  We recognize all the positives in our life, and there are so very many, and we’re eliminating the negatives.  We used to struggle over this, now we’ve learned to simply accept it.

I started this writing by asking you what you would do with a gift of time.  Dear friends, you have the gift of time, and more time after that and so on.  That time is yours to do with as you please.  What will you do with your time?  We hope you make the most of it, that you embrace your time and use it wisely.  In short, we hope you live!

Wishing you health and wellness.

~Bruce

good for the soul

Change is good for the soul – and your health!

After making the life-changing decision to heal naturally, Daleen decided that many changes in her lifestyle were necessary.  After all, cancer can only happen if your immune system can’t fight it, and that means your immune system is either broken or damaged.  Either way, repairs are in order.  But where to start?

Let me give you some background here.  Neither Daleen or I were well versed in healthy immune systems.  We thought we were pretty healthy people.  We’d been vegetarians – okay for the picky among you technically we’re pescatarians which simply means we also eat fish.  We did not become vegetarians because we didn’t wish to eat animals, we went down that road because of the chemicals and hormones in meat.  Back to the topic now.    We had a healthy diet and thought we also had a healthy lifestyle.  Boy, were we ever wrong.

Knowing we needed to fix her immune system and do it fast, we turned to other folks who have gone before us down the road to natural healing.  Enter Bill Henderson.  Bill watched his wife die a horribly painful death due to cancer, despite her doing everything the doctor ordered.  After her death, Bill decided that there had to be a better way; that his wife did not die in vain.  He wrote a book Cancer-Free, Your Guide to Gentle, Non-Toxic Healing.  Bill wrote in an understanding way.  He’s non-judgmental and offered that most important quality of all.  Hope.  He wrote there are hundreds of ways to cure cancer without toxic chemicals.  I’ve often thought there are angels among us, certainly Bill was one of them and sadly (or happily for him) he’s now among them having passed away about 18 months ago.  Another side trip here – when you hear chemotherapy, think toxic chemicals.  The first chemotherapy drugs were an advent of poison gas from World War I.  Back once more.  Bill introduced us to others who think alike and who share their knowledge.  Chris Wark, Dr. Johanna Budwig, Kris Carr and so many more.

We stopped all toxic chemicals in the house.  That means no more dryer sheets, no more commercial laundry detergent.  Toss out shampoos, soaps, most cleaners.  Out went toothpaste (fluoride and sugar), deodorants (aluminum), and almost every container of makeup.  If you are reading this and you happen to be of the female persuasion think about that.  What would you do if you couldn’t use your favorite brands of makeup?  Or virtually any kind.  It took months and months to find safe substitutes.  Next came a look at food.  Nothing with artificial preservatives or colorings.  No more processed sugar (sugar is just bad even if you are cancer free). No Dairy. Say goodbye to gluten.  No peanut butter or peanuts (peanuts have a mold that is harmless – unless you have cancer), started 64 ounces of freshly made juice daily (thank you Champion juicer!) – my juicer even has flame decals as I’m the fastest juicer in town.  Ok, maybe not but the flames are cool.

Started taking chlorella, iodine, magnesium and magnesium baths.  Beta glucan, turmeric, started eating a lot of mushrooms and mushrooms capsules (thanks, Paul Stamets) 20,000 IU of Vitamin D daily, Zinc, Iron and selenium levels established and maintained.  Ph balance checked on schedule.

 

Bought a Berkey water filter – the best in the business.  Got a Rebound-Air (good for the lymphatic system) a Biomat for deep infrared heating (kills cancer cells) and took baking soda baths.  Enter 35% Hydrogen Peroxide (when you pour 35% hydrogen peroxide into bath water, for every cup of H2O2, near 100 Liters of Oxygen is released. Oxygen creates an unhealthy environment for cancer cells), said no to phthalates, stopped touching cash register receipts (toxic chemicals) and tossed all sunscreen (toxic chemicals that you rub into your skin!)and instead started getting 45 minutes of sunshine daily.  Regular massages, longer walks and only 100% cotton bed linens – the list goes on and on.  It’s a long, tough process and it’s ever changing as our knowledge grows.

In short, Daleen took charge of her health.  We’re acutely aware that health is a gift but a gift that needs continual attention.  Some changes were easy, some for Daleen were incredibly difficult.  There are other changes, psychological changes that are necessary too.  We created a “Gratitude Jar” and when we are grateful, we write it down on a slip of paper and at the end of the year, we read those slips.  Everyone has something to be grateful for, this makes it easier to remember.  If we had something in the house that did not bring joy or wasn’t useful, out it went!  She read more, traveled more, even though it tired her terribly, and started being more positive, despite the horrible negatives in her life.

All these changes were necessary and all are necessary.  There’s a hundred more if you’d like the list, let me know and I’ll happily send it to you.  The point is that in order to maintain a healthy body, you have to work at it.  Some days you don’t have the energy and that’s okay.  Get a good coach who will nag you, push you and hold you when nothing is going your way.  Most of all, seek out information from those that have been there, you don’t have to do it alone.  If you just need a wee boost, let me know – I developed a fine voice in the Army to encourage you!

Tomorrow I ‘ll wrap this all up!

I forgot angels baked cookies

Yesterday, 4 years and 11 months, ago I was diagnosed with cancer.

I was told that I had one year to live if I didn’t do as they told me.   big sigh.

I did not forget the day, nor have I been able to go a day and not know what the tally is.

I have dabbled, sharing my story here and there over the almost five years.

For some reason, yesterday, was a tough day. Then I put on a cute & sassy pair of big girl panties, extra jewelry, beautiful lipstick, kick-ass red cowgirl boots, asked Alexa to turn on some music and just like that, the day, as well as my outlook, changed dramatically.

Sometimes I can be a dunderhead and forget to put “it” out there for the universe to handle.

I can sum up the last few years with one sentence.

I chose the road less traveled.

I made the choice to respectfully and quietly decline the offer of chemotherapy and radiation.

(very important side note:  those souls who choose chemotherapy & radiation and live, are amazing.  When 97.3% of the time, it doesn’t work, those folks walking among us are astonishing.  Tip your hat to them for what they have endured.  They are living miracles.)

Having cancer is tricky, harsh, brutal, crappy, awful, LOUD, difficult, lonely and surprisingly, takes away your breath, some of your courage and brave people skills.

Two roads diverged in a wood and I – I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference. Robert Frost

The thing about Robert Frost’s quote is that while being true words, he doesn’t mention how dark, scary, lonely, quiet, and not fancy that road is.

On one hand, frightening and unknown, pink ribbons, goodie bags of spirit-lifting lipstick, pink boas, friends rallying around, pins, hats, walk-a-thons, embroidered vests, support groups, a very clear, mapped out route awaits.

The other choice was an equally frightening unknown, however dimly lit path, with Mr. Right and I holding neon yellow high lighter pens for research & studying and gallons of green juice with a couple of folks in your corner.  Sort of a bizarre version of a sad, dull, blush colored lipstick, sad face “before” picture you see in fashion magazine layouts.

I get it.  It is scary.

In the beginning of the journey, I was heartbroken when “friends” jumped ship. Others politely & quietly moved to the other side, no big break-up, just quietly faded out of the picture.   I was crushed when some relatives thought my choices were ridiculous & uninformed and chatted behind my back.   I won’t even go into the mean & hateful things some of my doctors & medical staff said to us. Certainly not worth my breath to repeat.

While trying to re-build my broken immune system (yes, every single person with disease has a broken, damaged immune system) for quite some time I stayed away from groups of germs people.   Extremely limiting gatherings, extracurricular groups, church, outings, movie theaters, planes, etc.  Lonely during the days until Mr. Right came home from work.

Enter social media and technology.  Figuring out a way to make new friends through the world-wide webs.

Holy Toledo, because of this blog, I met a new friend and have what is shaping up to be a forever friendship. I’ve reconnected with friends from elementary school.  I even put on my brave lion mask and wrote to folks in an online counted cross stitch group.

A couple of months ago, while sounding rather juvenile, I excitedly told Mr. Right, I met a new friend.

For some unexplained reason, I jumped in with both feet. I felt brave and saucy.  I can’t explain the bravery.  Maybe an angel was nudging me in that direction?

I forgot.

I forgot how lovely it feels to have someone visit and talk and not feel sorry for you.  I forgot how wonderful it feels to relax and just write for fun.  I forgot how it feels to be curious about another person and ask questions and listen for answers.  I forgot how much fun it is to plot and figure out a surprise gift to give to someone else.  I forgot how satisfying it feels to make something for someone who understands handmade presents.

I also forgot how gobsmacked it feels to get an unexpected box of pure HAPPY in the mail!  I forgot how flabbergasted I am when someone makes me something.  Believe it or not, it left me speechless (for a moment).  Cookies and treats and stitchy stuff (HUGE shock, no one has ever bought me stitchy stuff) and paper and ribbon and a hilarious card…. oh Lordy, get out the smelling salts.  

I had completely forgotten that when some folks jump ship, it just leaves room for new friends to jump aboard.

I am here to tell you that angels walk among us. When you least expect it and need it most.

Fierce angels wearing bad-ass, fancy, insanely large, Victoria’s’ Secret kind of over the top wings.  They bravely wear juicy, saturated intense color lipstick, bake cookies and wear glorious shoes we all drool for.

My fierce angel has glorious dark curly hair, wears amazing lipstick and has red pointy toe shoes with glorious big bows on them that I covet. However, in my mind, even to work, she wears fancy aqua colored wings.

In an effort to help me sleep through the night,  I began writing this blog 1,152 posts ago.

This installment will most assuredly help me sleep through tonight.   Lots of good, some bad all removed from my shoulders and put here for safe keeping.

Thanks oodles for listening to me, holding my hand, keeping me company, leaving kind & uplifting comments.  Such sweetness pushes my swing.

Today, I am mighty grateful that angels do indeed bake cookies. Delicious & beautiful cookies.

Here’s hoping that you are happily and surprisingly gobsmacked by a fierce and amazing angel in your corner. One that bakes cookies.   Once you catch your breath and stop feeling light-headed, it is a rather lovely feeling.

In this together, friends,

Chat soon