8 Years!

8 years ago today I married the man of my dreams. I honestly can't imagine living this life with any other. He is absolutely THE one for me and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world.

Happy Anniversary Kevin!

(Sad to say I don't have any current pics of us together on this computer! This one was from a trip to South Africa in 2005.)

I drank a beer... and I liked it!

Anyone who knows me knows that I really dislike the smell and taste of beer. Taking the time to "acquire" the taste seemed to be a waste of time. And I'll never forget when my sister brought some beer over to my newly built condo to share with friends who helped me to move in and accidentally spilled two whole bottles on my brand new carpet (I swear I could still smell it the day I sold the condo and moved out 8 years later!).

Well... a visit to some friends' house today involved a wonderful and unexpected experience: Lindemans Lambic Ale (I had the Framboise). Have you ever tried it? This stuff is GOOD! Check it out and let me know what you think!

Have you tried it yet?

I know I've already posted about this but I am just so excited about my delicious daily breakfast drink (yes, food excites me!) especially since the spring/summer growing season is upon us. The possibilities are endless! ...and my husband who does NOT like spinach is starting to drink them, too.

PS: I hope to be a little more regular with my posts.
:)

Happy Mother's Day!

I thank God my girls chose me to be their Mommy. Today they woke to a small gift to celebrate Mother's Day. They are so loving and I am so lucky!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful Mothers out there!

A Little Raw

I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis about a year ago. Several of my relatives suffer(ed) with it so I'm not too surprised, but it kind of stinks! In my case it presents itself as fluid on my knees. Within four days of a flare-up it is painful to bend, difficult to walk, and I have to go to my doctor to have my knee drained. Not fun. The good part about it, if there is such a thing, is that the flare-ups occur on one knee at a time, never both at the same time (hopefully I didn't just jinx myself!).

After several painful months I finally gave in and started medication that was to help relieve my symptoms. I say "gave in" because the medication I was prescribed is pretty toxic and has a lot of potential side effects. I did not want to take it but thought I needed it to improve the quality of my life during flare-ups. Three months passed and I was still having flare-ups, along with anxiety from being on the medication, so I stopped taking it. I started asking personal friends, cyber-friends, and various practitioners about alternative treatment and received the same advice from several: go raw!

Google research pulled up a lot of information on raw diets and as much as I want to be rid of my symptoms, I know I could not possibly go 100% raw (I love, Love, LOVE food too much!). I don't eat red meat but I do enjoy poultry and seafood. I also love my pasta, breads, and soups. But, thanks to this post from Progressive Pioneer (via her guest posting on Design Mom) it is easy to commit to eating a delicious raw breakfast everyday. I never thought spinach, banana and orange juice could possibly taste GOOD! (I usually add one or two other fruits to it but not always.)

Kevin and I have become members of Community Supported Agriculture (first delivery of fresh produce in two weeks!!) so we may even be able to have raw lunches as well.

I have also started using unfiltered organic vinegar, turmeric, fish oil and chondroitin/glucosamine in my daily diet. Although I still get some fluid in my knees, the flare-ups have been fewer and farther apart, it has been less painful and the fluid has been going away on its own so I haven't faced a needle since February 16! Woo-hoo! Fingers crossed that my symptoms continue to fade away!

Pearly Whites!

I'm so glad we were finally able to say good-bye to the pacifiers. I'm happy to report that we've survived and the girls are sleeping better than ever without them!

Another 'first' took place this week when we took the girls to their first dental appointment. I was a little nervous about it and was prepared for a struggle but my two little big girls really impressed me. The appointment went exceptionally well!

I was on the fence about whether to schedule the appointment with my current dentist or with a pediatric dentist. We ended up trying out a pediatric dentist and I think that that decision made a world of difference. Although my dentist is kind and I imagine my girls would like her, the office is a very nice basic dental office. The pediatric dental office was NOT a basic dental office! There were huge, colorful butterflies hanging from the ceilings, fun things to touch and look at, and the hygienist we had must have been trained by Mary Poppins herself!

Each girl took her turn and left with a new tooth brush, tooth paste, and a special prize from the "prize machine". They loved it! When we got back home one of the girls asked, "Can we go back again soon?".

Why didn't they have dentist offices like this when I was a kid?!