Fibromyalgia Update

Hey friends! I am actually excited about this fibro update - more than I ever have been to write one of these updates! After being diagnosed with fibro in March 2011, I have tried countless prescriptions (10+) and this spring, I found myself in a place where I was taking 6 prescriptions a day, still struggling with chronic headaches, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, and just struggling still in general with the impacts of fibro on my life. 

I'm so thankful to say the Lord has brought me a long way this summer from that place and I can finally see and feel the hope of wellness around the bend and have made great progress. 

I'm down to just 1.5 pain pills a day now (2 prescriptions) to help with fibro. I've been taking 1/2 of a pill of one of them for two weeks to ease off of it and will take that away this weekend (YAY!). I hope to ease off my last pain prescription in the months to follow, though it's a stronger RX and I'm praying it will go well as I ease off. I feel so much more myself after being on pain meds for so long that have made me feel groggy, dizzy at times, super tired, feverish, out of body feelings, some have given me high blood pressure and all kinds of side effects. I feel like the scales have been peeled back and I'm ME again and it feels great. 

There are still days I have pain, rare headaches (I used to not have a moment without a headache, so this is huge!), and I still deal with chronic fatigue right now. I'm so thankful though and I think the path the Lord has brought me through has given me so much perspective in life - days I wake up and feel a little bit rested are such a gift after years never waking rested. I praise the Lord every morning for giving me the strength, energy, etc. for the day. I didn't praise Him for "simple" things like that before my fibro battle. 

Only God knows why we go through these things, but on this side coming out of it, I can see more clearly and am so thankful for this progress and perspective. I have a new goal to help others in their journeys to wellness - and in some cases, help encourage those wanting to find alternatives to prescriptions. Don't get me wrong, prescriptions certainly have their purpose and there are times we need them, but I'm so thankful to be heading in a direction not relying on them every day. 

What's helped? So many things have helped, friends, really. 

• So much prayer through this process. 
• Having a strong family and friend support system (thanks to my hubby especially!). 
• Changing what I eat to exclude dairy and gluten (I may continue on this journey or cleanse at some point to go deeper). Removing dairy from my diet especially has helped the IBS. I have learned to be careful and avoid certain foods (with too much fat, too greasy ,etc. my body can't handle well).
• Drinking water. I can allow myself to be dehydrated easily, and I really don't feel well when my water intake is low. I've been trying really hard (I'm not sure why it's so hard!) to keep this up. Flavored oils in my water help at times to add a little something to the water too. 
• Chiropractic care helped when I went this spring - I need to find a new chiropractor now. I also need to exercise - it's supposed to help a lot and I need to get myself on an exercise plan - even starting with yoga. 
• Connecting with a helpful naturopath helped point me in the right direction and did a thorough evaluation. She was even the one to point out, "You're taking ALL of these prescriptions, and you STILL have all of these chronic symptoms"... yes.. that was a moment of realization I needed to hear I wasn't headed where I was trying to go. 
• Essential oils have been giving me a great foundation this summer as I've decreased my prescriptions. I use some Young Living supplements, oils in the premium starter kit, and I'm been having fun trying new oils each month to help. I've been really blessed by Young Living's supplements and oils this summer! They've helped with pain, headaches, teeth grinding (I used to wake up with pain throughout my jaw and the sides of my face & temples every morning and now I don't - at all!), anxiety, and I'm sure there are others I'm leaving out. 

I praise the Lord for all of this progress, it feels great! Thank you to so many of you for your prayers over the years. I continue to lift it to the Lord and trust His plan for my life. 

Today's Pinspiration:
I can really relate to this sentiment. I'm so thankful to have gotten off so many RXs successfully so far and pray the remainder goes smoothly too. It's a big adjustment when my body has taken them for so long.

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{Farm Fresh} Spaghetti Squash, Roasted Okra & a Fig Salad

Happy weekend, friends! In our last loot of produce from the co-op, we had some fun new vegetables to try! I had wanted to try spaghetti squash before, but it was out of season at the time. I also hadn't tried okra and was excited to try it! 

Spaghetti Squash

Cut the squash in half, pull the insides out with a spoon (it's similar to the inside of a pumpkin), discard that stuff. Put a little olive oil inside both halves, season it with pepper and I used a little garlic and a touch of salt. Put them in a pan (I added aluminum foil to the bottom), open sides down. I think this way, it kind of steams the squash.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes. We checked it by taking a fork to see how easily the insides fluffed - they should fluff pretty easily! We put it back in for another two minutes or so then pulled them out. 

It's wild how much it is really like spaghetti! In look, texture and flavor.  Nick and I were so impressed and excited about the outcome of this squash. Good thing, because we have two more in this week's produce batch!

Add your favorite pasta sauce and you'll love it! You can also add meat, veggies, ect. I made it quickly so didn't have anything else prepared, but it was great just like this!

Roasted Okra

To cook the okra, I cleaned them, cut off the top and bottoms, and let them dry. Once they were dry, I put them on parchment paper and rolled them around with olive oil (just enough) and salt. Then, I put them on a baking sheet with the parchment paper and added them into the oven with the squash. When the squash came out, I raised the temp to 425. 

If you bake these alone, I'd cook them at 425 for 10-15 minutes. 

They turned out so good and we enjoyed our first okra experience! 

Our farm fresh meal that was SO delicious and filling for a couple of veggies! :)

Our batch also had figs - another first for us! We tried some just eating alone and enjoyed them. The taste isn't what I expected, but it was nice! I added them for an easy side salad for another meal last weekend.

This week, we got tons of produce, so I'm sure I'll have more recipes coming your way!

Those collard greens and rainbow chard leaves are HUGE!

Today's Pinspiration:

Cheers! Let's make it a party and shower others with kindness :)

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Easy Iced Latte at Home

 I've been loving making iced lattes at home this summer. So easy, delicious and refreshing! I've gone periods of time without coffee - I think close to 2 months or so this spring to see if it would help my fatigue. I didn't notice a big difference there, but my fatigue could be due to other reasons. Whenever I've treated myself to coffee this summer, I did it this way.

I brew my coffee ahead of time (in my Keurig which we love!) to let it cool mostly on the counter. I add a little almond milk (or regular milk - whatever you use), a little vanilla extract - I've also used almond extract, or a drop of peppermint essential oil (yum!). I shake that around with ice. 

 Then add coffee and enjoy! It's a super easy recipe but it's delicious every time. 

It even gets a little frothy which is fun!

 Today's Pinspiration:

I've loved my coffee since I was little (I still blame it for stunting my growth ;)). Even if I don't need the caffeine, I love the taste! I've heard about the Dandy blend which I may have to try sometime too. 'Cause I love the taste of coffee, but some believe coffee (since it comes from a seed) isn't tolerated well by those with auto-immune conditions - this was an interesting article I read this week. Those with gluten sensitivities are also told to be cautious with coffee in the article. Food for thought. For now, I'm enjoying a little coffee here and there, in moderation. 

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Our 5th Anniversary Cabin Getaway

Last Friday (8/8) was our 5th wedding anniversary and also my adoption day! Nick invited my parents over for dinner and we ended up watching our wedding video. It was so much fun! I've wanted to watch our wedding video SO many times but never got around to it, so that was a our FIRST time seeing it and it was so much fun re-living that day, and watching it with my parents was so much fun. What a great day it was! 

Nick had been working on plans throughout the week, so I thought he was up to something, but I had no clues as to what it would be. He guided me on what to pack "just incase" we'd need to stay the night somewhere ;). He also had us order a few take out meals so we'd have the quick meals (dairy/gluten free for me) to take with us. He planned every detail - it was so thoughtful!

I had no idea what the dress code would be where we were headed, but I wanted to wear the earrings I wore on our wedding day - so I did :) YOLO, right?!

We drove about a half hour before getting to our destination.. 

We arrived at Sand Hill Ranch and stayed at a cabin there. It was so quiet, quaint and relaxing. 

Our cabin had many modern conveniences and looked pretty new!

They even had satellite TV, and another bedroom and bathroom upstairs. 

Our best attempt at a family photo:)

Ranger loved it and was very curious to explore every inch. 

My guys and our adorable cabin. 

A little storm came through when we got there and another one was rolling through just north of us when we started to explore the ranch.

This may not be exciting for you country folk, but we would walk across these bars to go see the horses. They'd leave the gates open and the horses I guess can't cross over these, so they can't get out. Ranger did pretty good with them!

The horses came right up to us when we got there. They were so sweet and welcoming. The owners say when you're here, "our ranch is your ranch", so we did a lot of exploring that night. It was so neat!

The horses and Ranger weren't sure what to think of each other.

I let Nick deal with the horses first before I warmed up to them. My experiences with horses usually involved instructors/camps, so being out there on our own, I was slightly guarded! They were really nice though. 

They loved Nick. 

They had little bulls too - I imagine this is where little cowboys and girls practice their skills!

Time on the ranch was so good to us. The Lord blesses me every day with this man!

I like this curiosity from both parties :) 

Ranger's feet got very dirty for the first time, ha! They were caked with mud, burs, etc. so he got a bath complete with bur-pulling (not fun) when we got back. He's not so used to the country!

It was pretty to be out there as the sun was setting. 

Sunset on the ranch. The sky looks SO big out there!

We got up to see the sunrise the next morning too. It was nice to be still and enjoy the sounds of the wildlife & birds at the ranch. 

Ranger was so worn out when we got home! We had such a great time. We both said we could enjoy a few nights there - it was lovely!

Nick, thanks for making time and finances available for us to enjoy this getaway. It was so refreshing and enjoyable to get away together and enjoy the quietness of cabin life! I love you so very much and am so thankful for 5 years of marriage with you - I can't wait to enjoy a lifetime more!

For fun, you can look back at our second year anniversary stay at the Gaylord Texan, or our fourth year at a bed and breakfast in Granbury, TX. The other anniversaries, we enjoyed dinner dates together :)

Today's Pinspiration:

Yep. Every single day. 

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