healthy home

It is really difficult to eliminate all toxins in our home but I do as much as possible. I wanted to share a few sites I have come across that are useful to 1) remember what to avoid when buying products for house or body and 2) find healthy stuff for our home and bodies. I have spent a lot of hours so if nothing else, at least I will have some links all in one place!

This website is great and can also drive you crazy. You can look up what you have at home to see how bad (or healthy) it is or you can do the opposite - type in a product you want to buy and find one that is rated ZERO health risk or close to zero. This website is run by the Environmental Work Group and I do think it is very reputable/reliable. Say you want to buy face lotion, you do a search and it will come up with products in order or hazard rate, so all of the zero's will be first. Here are a few zero's I have found - it takes awhile because first you look through the zero's, then you have to see if they are easily available and affordable.

zero face moisturizer - it is lovely and the company is sweet and affordable - I like to support them for sure. Actually, all of their products are rated zero hazard! I just ordered some body lotion. I would like to try their shaving creme for MIke.

zero shower soap - Kiss my face pure olive oil, no fragrance

zero body scrub (good for getting those toxins moving on out) - Organic Fiji Pineapple Coconut Organic Sugar polish, you can get it here - it is a nice big jar.

zero face wash - Kiss my face potent and pure exfoliating face wash

zero body butter - Badger fresh citrus

zero sunscreen - this is a big one - finding an effective and harmless one - this group did a ton of research into sunscreens - Badger sunscreen was found to be the most effective while being safe for our bodies. Also - Badger products are all quite safe for us.

A lot of these products were purchased at vitacost.com. As you can see, I have put a lot of time into finding safe products. I just came across this list of things to avoid. I have seen some of these things in other recommendations - I am not sure of the credibility of this list but some of these ingredients have been banned elsewhere so there must be something to it.

PS I often find some nice organic products when I am roaming around a health store and buy it. Instead of looking it up all the time, I just enjoy it!!

more on yoga

I was in yoga class today, in the middle of a twist position, and realized this - I LOVE twists. Shoulder stand, forward bends, bend bends, warrior, tree....yes, but twists - I think I could stay in a twist all day. They just feel so powerful and healing at the same time, to me.

I have yoga on the brain lately and it feels great. Mostly because I have carved out some time on a regular basis. Also, my cousin is going to be doing tons of yoga in India soon and I am dreaming about how that might be. I don't think that is the type of trip I could do right now, but I like to dream about it.

Do you have a yoga pose that makes you feel stronger than most?

yoga and meditation

One of my goals for 2010 was to increase my own practice at home. I have created a little space in my home to do this. Mike actually had the idea of the particular room (very sweet). We moved my office out of the back room and into the front sun room. The spare bedroom is now becoming the quiet room when no one is visiting. It is difficult to put away ALL clutter but it is much better than it was. I put some wedding pictures in there, as well as some lavender essential oil, a beautiful rug, a small water fountain and some curtains. I unplugged the annoying and bright red-numbered alarm clock and put it away. I have my yoga mat and blocks, meditation cushion, meditation cd's, and meditation music.

Now that I have this special space, I have more motivation to spend some time doing yoga or meditation. I am also hoping that I am building some positive, healing energy in my new room. I remember so clearly walking into the room Mo created as her first quiet room, years ago. The energy was so powerful and wonderful. I can't even really explain it but to say that as soon as you entered, you felt this amazing and powerful energy. I hope some of you can visit my room someday and share some healing energy.

I wanted to share one pose I have learned and added to my practice. This is a simple restorative pose I learned in yoga class and have seen on many blogs, it involves putting your legs up on the wall. I have read it is actually great to do in the evening as a way to quiet down and get ready for sleep. I have been trying to do it for a few minutes at night. I haven't graduated to a nightly practice, but it helps to sit with my legs up on a wall a few nights a week.

Have a nice sleep.

(Photo by Bill Masciarelli at Wild Dunes, Oct. 2009)

to health

I haven't used this space to talk about cancer much. I started this blog way before cancer (BC) and I enjoy it as a place to share exciting life events and thoughts. My friend Rebecca created a wonderful blog last year, when I was first diagnosed and I have been keeping it updated with my progress.

I think I like it separate but just figured I would show the link to my health updates.

for 2010

I made a lot of changes in my diet and lifestyle in 2009. I would say 99-100% were based on my cancer diagnosis. Very soon after being diagnosed, I read a ton of books (most of the quality "kick cancer butt" books were sent from a great friend and colleague of mine - thanks Doug!)and learned about the things I could do besides take horrible pills to fight cancer. I changed my diet greatly, eliminated toxins, threw away all of my white flour and perfume for good, joined a support group, started jumping on a mini trampoline, found a yoga class just for women with cancer, and embraced the whole idea that you have to enjoy life today/live in the moment/be happy for what is now, etc.

While all VERY positive, these changes were made from a place that did include a tiny bit of fear. I was scared in 2009 and needed to figure out everything I could possibly do to fight. I am excited to start 2010, to continue with the changes I made last year while embracing my new life and feeling a bit less fear. I made some goals for this year. Yes, many are still based on the fact that I have cancer, but I think they come from a different place within me. I am excited to continue my healthy eating, find new ways to eliminate more toxins, continue my quest towards mindfulness, and seek out more fun as I enjoy marriage, friends, and family!

A few things I would like to do in 2010:

- Cook dry beans and freeze some to be ready for another meal. They taste SO much better. Thanks, Jessie, for that idea.
- Sunday meal planning for the week including lunch
- Broadway show with hubby
- Berkeley and other trips including somewhere hot and beach-y with mike
- Knit for the new babies coming into my life this year (and remember to bring the knitting for the waiting rooms - 1 reason I wanted to learn how to knit was so I could fill up some time spent in waiting rooms by knitting)
- Finish the quiet room for meditation, yoga, journaling, or just sitting with a book
-Deepen my yoga and meditation practice
- Give myself some thinking time on my dissertation
- Tone down the internet use in the evenings (half the time I am searching mindlessly at things I don't really even care about!!)

my garden buddy

On New Year's eve, I heard the news that my friend's dog passed on suddenly. He was about 12 years old. Mylo was a wonderful dog and had a lovely, exciting life following my friend to wherever life took them. I lived with Mylo for many years and he was a very good garden buddy. I had a garden a few blocks from where we lived and we would walk there together. I would work and Mylo would find a shady spot to nap. Sometimes, he sun bathed and once he ran out into the corn field and caught a baby rabbit. Luckily, he knows the word "Drop" and did so quickly when I realized what he was about to bring over to my plot of organic vegetables. Another day, he decided he was ready to go home and while I was busy digging, he walked home. When I noticed he wasn't under the tree, a search ensued for quite awhile before we realized he simply went home. (For those who knew him, you would understand the surprise at his decision to do his own thing.) Mylo loved harvest times, especially when it allowed him to chomp on fresh snap peas.

My very first blog post featured Mylo, sitting very close to me as I studied.

I am very sad for my friend's loss. I will hold memories of his very good company close to me.

the end of 2009

Well, December flew right by me. It was a wonderful holiday season, celebrating for nearly 3 weeks. We covered a lot of family ground. It was lovely to space out the celebrating; much less time rushing from here to there. Christmas brought us to RI a few times, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Monroe, Louisiana. We owe a visit to Northampton next/immediately.

Just past the new year, I am reflecting on 2009. It has been a wild ride this past year and we have had so much love and support from our family and friends. And here I am, after 1 year of treatment, 1 year older, and feeling mostly healthy and positive and watching the cancer slowly but surely fade away.

I am ready for 2010.