----->>> In a Home Named Destiny: Embracing My Inner Hippie

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Monday, April 14, 2014

The Garden

This was probably one of our biggest accomplishments in our time at the Ranch. We spent a lot of time out there trying to get everything ready for Spring planting. I just had to share some before, during, and after pictures. I never get to stay and taste the goods from all the gardens I help plant but who cares half the fun is just digging in the dirt!

The garden plot when we arrived.

picking up trash and moving rocks

getting ready to put the fence in...

Elderberries have taken over the whole right/back side of the garden.

weeding around the garden trying to find the railroad tie planters!

my hubby tillin' up the land!

two times around the garden, around hidden rocks and boulders... it's exhausting!

Just needs a fence, then hay and plants!

Jordan and I have never put a fence up but hey here goes nothing!

The gate may have taken us a few tries but we got it!

Finito!

BEFORE!

AFTER!

Jordan's Sprained Ankle

I can't forget to tell you this story. It also happened in the last few weeks of Arkansas. Jordan was out fishing and helping with some chores around the ranch when he misplaced his foot in a hole covered by leaves. It resulted in a horrible sprain. I mean if you look at the picture below you will really understand. It was already starting to bruise on his hobble back to the house. The bad news was that he had to work the next evening and he couldn't call off work becase we had just got home from our trip to Kauai. So it was time to enter into the world of all the things I had been reading and things that Wendy had been teaching me in herbal medicine. (I can't say I was happy that he sprained his ankle but I was very excited to play doctor with all these new tricks I had just read about!)

The result was miraculous really, that is why I have to share!

The Foot!!!!! It was pretty bad....

First, we heated up some hot water (as hot as he could stand) and mixed it with apple cider vinegar. He soaked his foot in that until it would cool to room temperature, usually about 15-20 minutes. After that we iced it for ten minutes. We repeated this a few times. This took the swelling and pain away pretty quickly.

Second, we made a fomentation and wrapped up his ankle. (Basically that means we took hot water and Dr. Christopher's Bone, Flesh and Cartilage Herbs and made a strong tea.) While that was heating up I put cayenne oil on Jordan's foot to enhance circulation and help absorption of the herbs in the fomentation. I then took strips of muslin/cheese cloth and dipped in the super hot tea and wrapped it around his foot. After the entire area was covered I wrapped it all in saran wrap to keep from dripping everywhere. We left it on for the next eight hours while he was sleeping.

Applying Fomentation: strips of cheese cloth dipped into strong tea of Dr. Christophers BF&C herbs

Wrapped in plastic wrap

We added a ziplock back over just to catch any drips and then wrapped that with a heating pad (that lasts for 8 hours)

In the morning there was no swelling and the bruising that appeared the night before was gone. We did another fomentation wrap in the morning. By afternoon he was able to walk on it with a little limp. The night before he couldn't put any weight on his foot.

So before he had to go to work we put Arnica oil all over his foot with an ankle brace. He made it through his entire eight hour shift less than 24 hours after this initial incident!!!

I couldn't believe it. His ankle was still sore for the next few days so we repeated the process everyday with the apple cider vinegar, BF and C fomentation and Arnica oil. By the end of the week he was walking without a limp at all and in two weeks time he was pretty much back to his normal self.

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Our Pathway to Healthy Living

I am often an extremist and now with the availability of information on the Internet and all the knowledge through my new books, this whole journey to healthy and better living can become quite overwhelming. I mean Monsanto has ruined nearly all of our food or at least they are trying to, pesticides are causing cancers and killing off our wildlife, dairy products are so full of hormones and chemicals that they are causing early puberty and cancer, sugar and caffeine are drugs that can kill you, natural food isn't really natural at all.... You name it, there is at least 1000 websites to tell you how horrible things are and that they are only getting worse! If you're not eating everything organic your life is basically over.

Ha ha, well that is what it feels like sometimes and honestly, it's just plain overwhelming. My extremist side feels like becoming a strict organic vegan. But then reality sets in, we live in a motor home with 1/4 of a kitchen, we have an icebox instead of a fridge and no freezer (hard to keep produce), we don't have access to all organic food for more than half of the year, and my husband is obsessed with red meat, bacon, eggs and cheese.

So what am I going to do?! There has to be a happy medium. The truth is we have had to get a very realistic perspective of our lives and figure out what goals we could set that would actually be attainable. We want to build healthy habits now. Health and vitality are important to us and extremely important for our type of life on the road. So here are some of our stepping stones that we have recently added in our pathway to healthy living...

1. Two-Three Vegetarian Dinners a Week. Since my husband is obsessed with meat he has a hard time picturing a meal without it, we have started incorporating some meatless dinners into our schedule. We started with once a week and have worked our way up from there. It was kind of a big deal when I served the first dinner without meat.... but he is adjusting and actually enjoys those dinners now.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar and Local Honey- There are so many amazing benefits to A.C.V. (as long as you get the raw kind with the mother. We like Braggs!) the only problem is I hate the smell/taste of vinegar- Like so much so that it makes want to vomit! I have always stayed away from it until we learned of this amazing concoction, and I just have to share it!

What you'll need:

-Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother

-Raw Local Honey

-Cinnamon (the real, good kind!)

How to make it:

-Boil some water

-Add 1tbsp A.C.V. into a mug

-Add 1tbsp honey

-Sprinkle cinnamon to cover top of liquids

-Add 1 cup of warm water

-Stir till honey is melted

-Drink!!!!

It tastes a lot more like Apple Cider now than it does vinegar. Yes, there is a little kick to it in the back of your throat but you learn to love that feeling. We try to drink it at least once a day.

***About a month into this- Our allergies have nearly disappeared, our digestive systems are very happy, my husband rarely gets heartburn anymore, and my skin has really cleared up.

3. Drinking Distilled Water (when available)- We incorporate it as much as possible and also have increased our water intake dramatically!!!! Here is some info on distilled water:

"Although there has been some hype over the years about the “danger” of distilled water, there are actually a number of benefits of distilled water. Let’s take a look at some of these benefits of distilled water and how it can make a difference in our overall health beyond aiding natural detox.

Contains No Contaminates: One of the biggest benefits of distilled water is that it contains no contaminates or impurities. The process of distilling water kills the majority of organic impurities like bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms. It also separates debris, minerals, and heavy metals from the water as well.

Aides the Body Detoxification Process: Some individuals have tried to state that distilled water can leech necessary minerals and nutrients from a person’s body. In reality, this is actually one of the benefits of distilled water. Although it can’t actually leech minerals that you need from your tissue, it does act a little like a magnet and attracts minerals that can’t be used by your body. This includes excess minerals and mineral waste that has been excreted by your cells.

Does Not Contain Any Chemicals: The two most common chemicals that are found in both tap water and bottled water are chlorine and fluoride. Chlorine is used as a disinfectant to kill off harmful microorganisms, and fluoride is added to help prevent tooth decay. However, introducing chemicals into your body is never a good idea, and excessive amounts of fluoride can actually lead to discoloration on children’s permanent teeth. Another one of the benefits of distilled water is that it does not contain either of these chemicals" -Spiritdetox.com

4. Practice "Grounding" at least once a day for 30 minutes- "Grounding or Earthing is defined as placing one's bare feet on the ground whether it be dirt, grass, sand or concrete (especially when humid or wet). When you ground to the electron-enriched earth, an improved balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system occurs. The Earth is a natural source of electrons and subtle electrical fields, which are essential for proper functioning of immune systems, circulation, synchronization of biorhythms and other physiological processes and may actually be the most effective, essential, least expensive, and easiest to attain antioxidant. Modern science has thoroughly documented the connection between inflammation and all of the chronic diseases, including the diseases of aging and the aging process itself. It is important to understand that inflammation is a condition that can be reduced or prevented by grounding your body to the Earth, the way virtually all of your ancestors have done for hundreds if not thousands of generations " -articles.mercola.com

So far these are things that we have incorporated into our lives since being here in Arkansas, of course there are other things that we have already started practicing years ago and more things to come in the future. It always a journey, but we are taking one step at a time.

What are some practical ways your incorporate healthier habits into your lifestyle?

Friday, February 21, 2014

Snowy Morning in Arkansas

I sit on the porch coffee in hand

It's 19 degrees, my coat and my gloves are on

Trying to keep in all the warmth I have

As I exhale my breath steams

You can see my coffee steaming too

The horizon is filled with layers upon layers of rolling hills

And just before you reach the sky a huge mountain range lie

Down below I hear a crunch and crackle as the

tiny birds scavenge for seeds to fill their hunger

Until Spring finally comes

There is no sign of her as icicles fill the trees

Ice surrounds every branch every leaf

With the occasional burst of sunlight

The whole forrest glows like crystals

Clouds cover almost every ounce of blue

but there is something magical happening

Slowly but surely tiny snowflakes start to fall

Whisping in the wind, swirling through the air

til they make their way to cover earth's floor

The winds blow through the trees

It sounds so angry as the frozen timbers

are not willing to bend, crraaaack........crrrrrrrreeeeeekkk

Hold on little trees, withstand the wind or else

You will loose a ........ branch.

There it goes falling from way to high slamming to the ground

Winter is here, in all his splendor

Creating a mystical wonderland

And I sit here on my front porch

With my coffee in hand to witness

Every part of it

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Road Life

It's three thirty on a beautiful sunny Saturday afternoon. I imagine most everyone is relaxing, doing chores around the house, catching up from another busy week of life. This morning we woke up in San Luis Obispo and now we are half way to Parker, Arizona. The northern coast is a Gem... A beautiful, misty illustrious gem. We so much enjoyed our time exploring, walking with the sand beneath our feet, feeling the cool ocean breeze on our skin.

But after a whole summer of no "summer" we have been craving sun shine. Like hot sweaty pure sunshine. So being that our house is on wheels and having no time constraints we left this morning heading east to the Colorado river.

This is the beauty of life on the road. Plans are never really plans. In an instant or a change of heart you can switch directions and drive to wherever your heart desires. Even if it's an extra 300 miles out of your way just to soak up a couple rays.

I am giggling right now thinking to myself... Wow I have been unemployed for five weeks now. I feel almost guilty. I have thoughts of how we are going to make ends meet... Did I save enough money. Are we crazy? I mean who just takes five weeks off work?!

Then I smile bigger. I remember now that we worked really hard for this. Four years ago Jordan and I payed off $20,000.00 of debt in one year. We had only one credit card left after that. This summer we were incredibly frugal and Jordan worked extremely hard to get his online company's new website up and running- because of this we paid off our last credit card. It was hard this summer. We only ate out 7 times the entire four months in Montana. We only went out for drinks a few times. I planned meals for two to three weeks at a time to save money on food. We pinched every penny between saving for our next trip and becoming debt free.

And now....We owe nothing. To no body. Our overhead a month is less than $150.

So five weeks into our little vacation I sit here with a big smile on my face. I know that our hard work and discipline with our finances pays off in big ways. I know that even because our house is smaller than most and we don't have a piece of land to our name we are ahead of most by being debt free at ages 26 and 27. And more than anything I realize that I am so beyond grateful to our God who has given us everything we need at the exact time we need it. We are amazed and extremely thankful for the continual blessings he pours upon us.

I am excited to get back to work next week and to see my family and friends. But first, I am going to go soak up that vitamin D with the love of my life and enjoy the road life.

Sunday, October 13, 2013

My 25th Year

25 Years of Life...

If you would have asked me 5, 10, or 15 years ago what I would being doing when I was 25 the answer would have been totally different than what I actually did. It's crazy how things can change, what dreams never come into fruition and all the things that can happen when you are willing to say "Yes" to most things and learn to move past others. It was crazy and hard and beautiful all at the same time.

So here is year 25

1. I learned how to live in 21 foot space with one other person

2. I learned what it is like to live without electricity, without a fridge and without running water.

3. I traveled through 15 states and explored 6 National Parks

4. I learned how to live with only 10 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of shoes, a couple of sweatshirts, no nice makeup, no curling iron and no blow dryer. And how to live and save money while only making minimum wage