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End of Month Recap and Links – March 2013

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My, oh, my March was a crazy busy month. And as I look back through my posts I see that I was quite busy in the kitchen! More than I realized. Maybe that’s why my body is so stressed out. I did pretty well with my goals. I focused a lot of my attention on homemade food since we are trying gluten free for Rebecca. And I had to squeeze in an extra cake order. But overall not too bad.

1. Writing – I wrote my articles for Real Food and Health and Grand Rapids Natural Living. I also hosted my first giveaway! I’ll be announcing the winner soon.

2. Photography – I finally started reading some of my book so I understand some of the basics. And I’ve been doing a little more photo editing. I think I’ve had some much improved photos lately 🙂

3. Healing – This was kind of a brutal month in terms of healing. I had a couple bad rounds of die off (still working through one). I had a lot of stress. And I started getting a little less sleep again. So where does that leave me? Back to where I started…bloating/fluid retention/weight gain/puffy feeling, cystic painful acne, craving sweets and starches all the time (even though I feel stuffed…I want to eat everything in sight), moody, digestive problems, headaches, red eyes,…the list goes on. My body is telling me to slow down, get some extra rest and relax. I need to make it a priority. For real this time 😛

I have been doing some epsom salt baths and foot soaks and have been doing more stretching. So that has been one area of improvement. I also had my thyroid levels rechecked. I’ll get those results in a couple weeks.

4. Homemade Food – I spent a lot of time on this so that Rebecca would have plenty of gluten free snacks without having to resort to processed food. I still have plenty more ideas to try.

5. Relationships – I went to a women’s conference mid-month with my mom and sister-in-law. We also had a church small group game night.

6. Rebecca – We are making progress with some diet changes. Rebecca is very sensitive to food dyes. So we’re being extra strict about that. And we are trying gluten free. So far it’s going well. Rebecca is really enjoying it herself. I think she can tell she feels better/feels more in control of her mind and body. She keeps commenting on how much she likes gluten free 🙂  And she asked if her birthday cake can be gluten free too. Love my girl!! Only four years old and she already understands the power and importance of nourishing, real food.

I also came across this chart the other day while browsing another blog. It’s very fascinating. I’m not trying to boast about my daughter or anything. Far from it. All kids have strengths and weaknesses, and she is no exception. But we have always know she is smart/advanced. But I often wonder if she is more on the gifted side and that is part of the struggles we have. She just doesn’t want to do the “boring” stuff…like get dressed and take time to eat 😛  She often comments about how boring eating is. On the other hand she is already reading some sight words (even though she’s learning Spanish at school and is only in preschool)…without me even working on them with her. She will just randomly point out words that she knows. It’ll be interesting to see if any of this stands out in the next year or two. We are thankful that she is able to participate in the Spanish Immersion program at her school to help keep her challenged.

7. Crafts – I’ve been working on planning Rebecca’s party.

8. Cakes – I had to make a cake and cupcakes for someone else, ready for pick up the day after my birthday. So I didn’t really make a typical birthday dessert or cake for myself. I made some awesome gluten free Oreos.

9. Declutter – Organize Abram’s closet – still didn’t happen. But I did do some other random cleaning in the basement. Every little bit helps.

10. Acceptance – I’m still working on it. It’s a daily task.

11. Service – I haven’t really done much with this yet. But I will be helping with the nursery cmt at church soon. And I did have a meeting at church about how to improve the status of the snacks/treats for children’s worship to make it safe, healthy and allergen friendly.

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MARCH LINKS

Here are some links to articles from other blogs that I read:

Twenty-five ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables from Yummy Inspirations.

Six ways to treat growing pains naturally from kids+love+acupuncture.

Chocolate peanut butter bars from Healy Real Food Vegetarian. These look good!

Homemade chewable gummy vitamins from Nourishing Joy. I’m always looking for good vitamins for my kids…I just might have to try these!

5 tips for balancing hormones naturally from Cheeseslave. Such great advice!

Homemade bronzer from Thank Your Body. I’ve never made makeup before. But this looks so simple!

Gifted or just bright? from Hands On Learning 4 All.

Ginger chicken salad from Life By Jeanie. I’ve never been a big fan of ginger, but this looks really good. Maybe it would change my mind.

Is the wrong attitude sabotaging your health? by Our Heritage of Health. This is very important. Your mindset can make all the difference.

Natural depression and anxiety remedies from fooduciary.

Refined vs. unrefined coconut oil from The Nourished Life. Some good information about choosing what is right for you.

Three alternative therapies to combat infertility by Girl Meets Nourishment.

And links to my own posts this month:

Grand Rapids Natural Living – Say NO to food coloring.

Gluten Free Nut Free Peanut Butter Cookies and Blossoms

Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks

Soaked Gluten Free Muffins/Cupcakes

Gluten Free Nutter Butters

Gluten Free Crackers

Would You Be Mine, Could You Be Mine, Won’t You Be My Sister?

Soaked Teff Porridge

Gluten Free Oreos

Just Do It!

Soaked Garbanzo Flour Pancakes/English Muffins

March Goals

4 comments

  1. Sara says:

    Oh I totally forgot about your giveaway… I was going to share it on my timeline, but never thought about it when I was actually on a computer.

    I have noticed a huge improvement in your photos – great job!!!

    Hope you get to feeling better again soon, Mary!

    Too funny about Rebecca thinking that eating is boring… Carson says the same thing all the time! Lol! Sounds like she is doing awesome with sight words, too. It always amazes me when Carson points out random words or names. It is so fun to see them learn so much!

    Looking forward to Rebecca’s party!! Can’t wait!! 🙂

  2. The Voogts says:

    Now that I’m home I can actually pick a winner for the giveaway 🙂

    It sounds like Carson and Rebecca are a lot alike. I might send you some info that I’ve been looking at when I get a chance.

    Looking forward to seeing you guys in a couple weeks.

    I’ll get the gift list out asap.

    Hope you got my emails this week.

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