It's Time

A few nights ago I was sitting on my couch in my warm, cozy living room, soaking in the still of the moment, and asked myself a question. "What would be your perfect career and how would you feel in it?" So I closed my eyes and let myself imagine. I felt purpose and a natural rhythm of moving and doing—I clearly knew. I had vision and pure intrinsic drive. I was in sync with my true self. I was helping people, coaching people, sharing my health journey. I was speaking and teaching and connecting with people. It felt energizing and exciting and rewarding! I felt fulfilled and creative and so happy. I was relaxed, having fun, and authentic. I was me!

This journey that started out as an experiment with a new way to eat to heal from rheumatoid arthritis quickly became a journey of self-discovery—a road to finding myself. Because of that, much of my time over the past 21 months has been spent quietly processing what I've been learning rather than publicly blogging about it like I'd planned. It's been a solitary journey. But after visualizing my dream career, it all went click-click-click in my brain, and I said aloud, "Is it time? Is it really time?!" Then I felt the freedom and joy of creating come back to me. I instantly knew I needed to blog my "I LOVE U" post that had been waiting for months. And then I flipped to a powerful journal entry I'd written while sitting on the lawn of the capitol, and so I made a separate post. I post-dated both entries so they'd authentically follow my timeline of health. And then I knew it had to be this way—I need to fill in the holes of the journey using my journals so it's as authentic as possible. I want you to feel like you're really on this journey with me, especially if you're seeking healing too. It'll give you a logical perspective of time, pain, foods, improvements, discoveries, and all the highs and lows. This feels good. It's time!

My journey is very personal to me, as I am sure your journey was/is/will be, but if my opening up and sharing can help even one of you, though it may leave me a little exposed and vulnerable, I know it will be worth it. Much of this journey has been to teach me to let go of worrying about what others think, so I guess this is putting that to the test. It's time to be real. It's time to be honest. It's time to let you all know that I'm just as flawed as you think you are, and I'm also just as divinely radiant, infinitely wise, and boldly courageous as you may not yet know you are. Isn't this exciting guys?! You too are on a path to become the person you were always meant to be! (I don't doubt there's a reason you're here on this blog right now, reading this post.) I want to shout all I've learned from the rooftops. I want to shout how grateful and joyful and blessed I am. But I guess for now this blog will suffice. One post at a time I'll share what I've learned.

Though nonconventional and nontraditional in every sense of the words, this journey to healing is undeniably real. I am walking, running, dancing proof that we can be healed if we are open and willing and believing.

Top 10 Ways to Leave RA in the Dust

        (Despite having leprosy, these men wore huge toothy grins. They were a huge      inspirations to me when I visited Egypt in November 2008.) 


WARNING: To begin this trek of leaving rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the dust, I must give a disclaimer. This journey is not for the weak at heart. Your endurance is vital because this road follows the pace of nature. RA may overtake you periodically for a mile or two, but with a steady pace and a heart full of hope, you will achieve the victory—not only leaving RA behind forever, but in the process discovering a more fulfilling way of life and a better you.

1.      1. Take a deep breath. Release slowly. Take another deep breath and release. I can only imagine RA is the last thing you want for your life right now and it’s okay to mourn. The sadness is often fierce like a tidal wave. Most likely you have a lot on your plate already, so the RA is just the icing on the cake. Despite all the opposition, I believe in you. All of us who’ve come before are cheering you on.*

2.      2. Look in the mirror and decide that RA is not you. This is not the life you want. This is not the life you choose. You choose health and happiness. Your firm determination to leave RA in the dust despite all the naysayers may be the only thing that gets you through at times, so you must determine now who you are and what your future holds.

3.      3. Imagine yourself healthy. Visualize yourself doing something you love or just going about the normal routine. What does it feel like to move without pain? Do you feel happy and light, or maybe full of energy and gratitude? What would you be doing as a healthy person? Taking a walk through your neighborhood? Playing with your kids? Hiking up to a gorgeous overlook? Re-create these feelings daily and keep visualizing the health you will once again have.

4.      4. Take responsibility for your health. Know that you ultimately are in control. You can undo whatever’s been done. Believe it and own it. You can blame your dead great-grandmother all you want for passing on her RA genes, but it will only create bad energy and make you feel worse. Taking responsibility for your health is empowering and liberating and will fuel you forward in your journey to health.

5.      5. Decide that your health is worth the price. You literally can’t put a price tag on your health. Health most likely is a top priority in your life now that you have RA, even if it wasn’t before, but you must believe that you are worth the cost. If you decide now that you are deserving of health, the money will find it’s way to you. It happened to me time and time again in moving and often baffling ways. Where there’s a will there’s a way.

6.      6. Know that you most definitely are going to get better if you make time for your health. This means proactively helping your body, mind, & spirit heal through diet, exercise, processing & releasing emotions, and other natural means. Learn from the pace of Mother Nature. By healing naturally you will be healing from the inside out in lasting ways, rather than masking outward physical pain with medication and ignoring the inner workings of your mind and spirit. Believe me, a year from now you are going to be saying that RA was the best thing that ever happened to you because it opened your eyes to what was out of balance in your life and forced you to change. I for one admit I probably would’ve have changed if I weren’t in excruciating pain.

7.      7. Release all fear. Journal it out of you, scream it out to the empty air around you, tell your sorrow to a patient, empathetic loved one. Whatever you do, get the fear out through written or verbal words. I remember how scared I felt after talking with doctors and well-meaning people with RA. Most of them counseled me to hit it hard at the beginning or I’d end up with joint damage. I felt like I was literally in bondage to RA and the medications until I decided to put my trust in my higher source—Jesus Christ. Decide what or who your higher source is, put your faith in that source, and then together determine the best course of action for you. Even after deciding to go the natural route and putting my trust in God, I most definitely had wavering moments where I’d stare fearfully at my fingers, wondering if I was already getting joint damage. But once I better understood that I was responsible for creating my RA (maybe a new concept to you, so please don’t throw rocks), my sense of empowerment and control increased, and I knew that there was nothing to be afraid of if I continued to proactively care for my body, mind, & spirit. My goal was total healing, and I knew there was no room for fear of the unknown (i.e., joint damage) in that mix.

8.      8. Keep releasing your negative emotions as they come up. Every emotion you bottle up inside stays inside and contributes to your ill health. If you’re not at all able to identify your emotions let alone feel comfortable expressing them, join the club! Does that make you feel better or what? All I can say is, you will be amazed at how self-aware you will become. I never gave my feelings a second thought, because I’d been trained to pretend they didn’t exist, but now I am instantly aware if a conversation makes me feel like I’m not good enough or left out or angry. I do my best to process those emotions so I know why I felt that way and then clear myself of all negative feelings that are weighing me down.

9.      9. Eat foods that are fresh, whole, and as natural as possible. Start to pay attention to how you feel after eating certain foods to know what to eliminate. If it grew out of the ground, you’re probably safe to eat it. If it's been processed and preserved, I'd probably pass. The better the foods you put into your body, the easier it is for your body to heal.

10  10. Do what you love. There may be some things you can’t do right now because of your health, but focus on what you can do and make time for it. For your sanity and for the health of your body, mind, & spirit, set time aside for you to feel joy in the lifestyle you are currently living. I admit this was very hard for me at first because it felt like I couldn’t do anything I loved like yoga and rock climbing and traveling. I loved to write, but some days my fingers hurt too bad to hold a pen, but I did the best I could. I went on walks even if my feet were cursing at me—much slower walks, of course, but I still got outside and found something I loved. I took up gardening for the first time, and it is so symbolic and dear to me now. Find your own new source of joy.

*Future blog posts will dig deeper into each of these 10 ways to leave RA in the dust.

I LOVE U

My fingers woke up stiff as usual, but the right pointer, pinky, and thumb have stayed swollen and unbendable all day. As I was getting in my car to head to work, I was inspecting my right hand, and the message suddenly jumped out at me. In my fingers' stiffness they were spelling out I LOVE YOU.

A Pause in a Day of RA

7:15 p.m.
Capitol Hill

Was driving up State Street, seeing the majestic capitol up ahead. I thought of the memorable summer days when I came up here to run or sit on the grass. So, split-second decision and here I am, still broken physically but filling my spiritual reserve. My foot will absorb Mother Nature's nurturing energy and no longer feel like a stone block. It's been a rough today.

I don't want to walk anymore, my feet hurt so bad. It hurts to write, so I'm holding my pen differently. Usually my finger stops being swollen a few hours after I wake up, but not today. The "guilt muscle" in my back just started hurting. I am unhappy with my institute class. I spent all morning reading the wrong assignment. I bought the wrong textbook. I just feel crappy, and my head hurts. I want my healthy feet back! I need to call the acupuncture people. I also need a massage. I don't know if waking up at 5 a.m. was the best thing today when I have a class that goes till 7 p.m. I need a heavenly hug.

The Madeleine Cathedral bells are ringing. Small winged bugs keep landing on my arms. The light breeze is barely rustling my hair. I'm in the shade. What a beautiful time of day.

For some reason I let myself be controlled by culture—seasons, in particular, and school beginning. Just because school's started doesn't mean I bury all lessons learned about fun and spontaneity. I'm taking my life back. There's a large bearded man speaking Chinese (I think) at the top of his voice and walking this way. But I know I'm safe. He reminds me of Hagrid.

I release all guilt for not being perfect. I release all guilt for not being a better friend and for not doing my iStar work today. I forgive myself for setting me up for failure. I forgive myself for having expectations that aren't humanly possible.

Hagrid is stumbling closer and yelling louder, so I think my time has come.

Sea Shell Windchimes

In movie of Sense & Sensibility, Margaret, the youngest daughter, makes the coolest sea shell wind chimes when her family moves to a cottage by the ocean. She inspired me, so as I watched the movie the other night I created my own wind chimes from shells I'd collected over the years.

Creating is one of the best ways for me to raise my spirits. It breathes life back into me. It's a wonderful, healing addiction!

To begin my project I gathered together the following:

-shells with a hole already in them
-shells with some sort of an indentation where a drill bit would stay put to begin drilling
-twine
-power drill
-1/8-inch drill bit (or the smallest you can find)
-Sense & Sensibility DVD and my laptop

I'd never used a drill before, so it felt quite empowering to be sitting crossed legged on my living room floor holding a power tool in my hand while watching Jane Austen on the big screen. Some shells were thicker than I thought and took longer to drill through. What? Another lesson on patience?

After making a hole in the shell, I'd lay out the shell on the carpet with the other shells to envision them hanging together. I knew I wanted the shells to be staggered in how they hung, and I knew I wanted some shells to be tied onto the same strand of twine, so I made some twine strands longer and some shorter. I tied the shells onto the individual strands of twine I'd cut, and then when I had all the shells in place, I tied each individual strand onto a longer strand that they all now hang from.

Makes me so happy to see my sea shell wind chime every time I go outside!

No Green Goes to Waste

I was thinning my beets a few weeks ago and thought, "Hey, I should eat these baby leaves instead of composting them." Maybe everyone else naturally knows to eat them, but I sure thought it was a brilliant plan. So here is my tuna sandwich topped with baby chard and baby beet greens—my first taste of the garden! Nothing compares to eating produce you grew with your own two hands.

1 slice sprouted Ezekiel bread (gluten lectins are destroyed in sprouting, but read ingredient label carefully)

Albacore tuna

Tomato slices

Baby chard

Baby beet greens

Any other greens you'd like

Pepper to taste

Asian Sesame Slaw

I originally got the framework for this recipe from The 28-Day Cleansing Program cookbook and then did some tweaking to come up with what you see below. Feel free to do more of your own tweaking to personalize it to your taste buds.

1/2 head cabbage, sliced thin

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup red onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil

3 teaspoons gluten-free tamari (or replace with soy sauce)

1 teaspoon agave

3 tablespoons almond butter
1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds

Combine cabbage, carrots, and onion in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl combine all other ingredients except sesame seeds and sunflower seeds, and stir well. Pour mixture onto veggie mixture and stir well. Add seeds and stir.

Salsa Salad

3 large red leaf lettuce leaves (or your favorite green substitute),
   chopped into bite-size pieces
1 cup soaked & cooked garbanzo beans
1 cup  soaked & cooked black beans
1/4 onion, chopped very fine
6 baby carrots, chopped coarsely
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped very fine
1 tablespoon olive oil
Dash cayenne pepper (tasting as you dash as to not over do it)
Salt to taste

Optional: tortilla chips

This creation was inspired by my graduate professor Cheryl, who always knew the perfect day to bring food for the office—the days I forgot lunch or had no food at home to bring! Replace the garbanzo or black beans with Great Northern beans, pinto beans, cannellini beans, kidney beans . . . whatever you prefer.

Combine all ingredients and devour. Tortilla chips can be crunched up and added to each personal salad or used to scoop up the salad for eat bite.

A Master Enjoys the Present

 

A few months ago I went to a Body Mind Spirit workshop given by a dear friend of mine, and this week I've been rereading the materials she gave us, searching for answers as to how I can rise above physical pain, which basically means emotional pain—new paths, new perspectives, connections. Basically, I'm searching for truth. In the process I came across a list of powerful descriptions of victim behavior, survivor behavior, and master behavior. I've referred to it several times a day this week, so I figured if it's helped me this much, it's gotta be of use to some of you! It's enlightened my perspectives, helped me reach for something higher, and given me specific reason to process and release certain emotions that I know are holding me back and making my body act out in pain.

Today I'm sharing #8 with you because it's root emotion is FEAR, which is the most common negative feeling in the world right now. The antithesis of fear is safety, peace, trust, faith, flexibility, and power.

VICTIM BEHAVIOR: Victims are driven by their fears. Their focus on the past creates regrets. Their focus on the future creates worry. Their health and energy are often compromised as they feel powerless and helpless.

SURVIVOR BEHAVIOR: Survivors discipline the mind to live in the moment. They know that guilt, worry, resentment, and other negative emotions rob them of their health and precious energy. They practice trusting the universe (God) in order to let go of fear.

MASTER BEHAVIOR: Masters have an ability to enjoy the present moment, allowing life to just happen, rather than manipulating things to "make" them happen. They are able to manifest their reality as they choose and trust the flow of life.

We compromise our health when we allow ourselves to fear, either reliving the past or mentally creating a worrisome future. To release fear, tell yourself that you are in control of your life. You are powerful beyond your own comprehension, and you have placed your trust God, who you believe will never fail you. You are safe, and you have complete faith that everything will work out. You are flexible and open to new ideas that may lead you down better pathways and increase your joy in life. My mantra for this year is "I am open to everything and attached to nothing," and it has saved me time and time again and led me toward the greatest blessing I would've normally been closed off to.

Today's message: Enjoy the present and allow life to happen. You are the master of your fate. You are courageous, powerful, and fearless!

Homemade Granola

This healthy granola is yummy! (Please excuse the poor quality picture) And guess what? It does not contain refined sugar or any other processed ingredients!

4 cups rolled oats (not instant oats, which are a processed food)
1/2 cup raw wheat germ
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 cup nuts (I used macadamia and sliced almonds)
3 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon

Mix well.

Heat these ingredients on stove until just melted.

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup water
optional: 1/4 cup coconut oil
optional: 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Pour over dry mixture and stir until evenly distributed. Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes, preferably on a cookie sheet. Stir halfway through the baking process. Keep in pantry for up to 2 weeks, or refrigerate for up to 6 weeks. Enjoy! (You can serve this with almond or rice milk, and sprouted raw sunflower seeds)

Room for Indulgence

By nature I am a stickler, a rule-abider, a promise-to-the-death kind of a person. I never realized how powerful my self-control was until people were in awe at how I changed my diet so quickly a year ago and how I did it so "effortlessly." They'd ask me about treats and I'd say, "I don't need them." It took a while for me to get it, but I recently recognized that too much self-control can stifle your spirit and deprive you of joy in life. Who needs joy, right? All I need is health. Interestingly joy and health go hand in hand. Balance. Moderation in all things. Self-control is fabulous as long as you indulge wisely every once in a while.

My indulgence? Halloumi cheese. A Cypriot native, halloumi cheese is the only cheese that can be grilled without melting, and it tastes divine in a fork-full of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. It is worth its weight in gold, but if I'm going to indulge my taste buds and bring a little joy into my life, halloumi cheese is worth the price.

Summertime Pasta Salads

Of all the gluten-free pastas I've tried, hands down, Mrs. Leeper's is the best. I buy the organic rice vegetable twists, and actually just started ordering them in bulk on Amazon.com. Some of the other rice pastas I've tried are so temperamental to cook, hard on the inside and mushy on the outside, but not these ones. Although beware that I have tried the Mrs. Leeper's corn pasta, and I'm not a fan. See what you prefer, but I recommend sticking to the rice pasta.

To throw together a pasta salad I mixed together the following:

gluten-free pasta twists
olive oil
cucumber, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
green bell peppers, chopped
black olives, chopped
Parmesan cheese (vegan option is Vegan Grated Topping)
salt

This is another combo option I tried just yesterday:

gluten-free pasta twists

olive oil

spinach, chopped 

tomatoes, chopped

avocado, diced

Romano cheese, crumbled

salt

Maybe throw in hicama, cilantro, parsley, orange, red, & yellow bell peppers, asparagus, grated carrots, chopped kale, or cashews. Have fun making your own salad combinations. 

Cookie Mix on Trial

Many, many months ago I put the Namaste Chocolate Chip Cookie mix on trial. Read what I thought of them here. Since that time I've found an even better tasting gluten-free and dairy-free cookie mix. The Cravings Place: Chocolate Chunk Cookie. Try them. You won't regret it. Just look at these guys (see mouth-watering photo above)! Again, my long-standing recommendation to you is to make all your food from scratch, but it's nice to have an emergency backup just in case.

Why these cookies over the Namaste ones? They are more substantial and fluffy. Are those good descriptors? I'm not sure they are, but the Namaste cookies would not stay together. They were wimpy and thin. I literally crave these Cravings Place cookies, and it's great to have a treat that has only 4 grams of sugar from beets as opposed to 16 grams of refined sugar. Use coconut oil where it calls for dairy-free margarine. One time I added apple sauce to this mix instead of  coconut oil, and they ended up way too sweet and way too dense.

WARNING: Sugar depletes the body of minerals because of its acidity. To regain pH balance, our bodies pull minerals from our bones and teeth to neutralize the acid in our systems. Be wise and eat sugar in moderation.

Cupcake Mix on Trial

I work with children on the Autism Spectrum, and we are careful what we feed them. Many of them are allergic to tree nuts, casein, and gluten, so we often go the vegan route when preparing snacks for them. Recently we made cupcakes for a celebration we had with their families, experimenting with the Namaste Vanilla Cake Mix and Cliff's Best Gulten-Free Brownie Mix. As always, my long-standing advice is to make all your food from scratch, but it's nice to have an emergency backup just in case you need a gluten-free or vegan dessert in short notice.

In the end, the vanilla cupcakes the boys had grabbed ended up in the trash. Very disappointing, but oh well. Now we know. The vanilla cupcakes tasted more like bran muffins while the chocolate cupcakes could've passed as any of their regular white-flour cupcake friends. Even though Cliff's are a brownie mix, their consistency is more like cake, so they worked great as cupcakes.

WARNING: Sugar depletes the body of minerals because of its acidity. To regain pH balance, our bodies pull minerals from our bones and teeth to neutralize the acid in our systems. Be wise and eat sugar in moderation. 

My Babies Are Growing!

I don't think there's anything quite like watching little sprouts appear out of nowhere from simply planting a seed. It's miraculous! For the first time in my life I have my very own garden, and I suddenly feel like a protective parent . . . and a surprised parents: "You won't believe what my chard did today! They're growing all on their own! And the turnips have the cutest little leaves on them now!"

Because of the winter weather that crept right in the door meant for spring, we planted in cycles. And also, I admit, it was because I was lazy. Planting everything in one or two days seemed impossible, so I just barely planted the beets, spinach, and cilantro. The chard does its own thing and is already sprouting up everywhere, as you see in the picture. Behind the chard in the picture are beautiful purple flowers of our chives. Our turnips, radishes, lettuce, cauliflower, carrots, all kinds of squash, tomatoes, bell pepper, zucchini, and potatoes are healthy, so now it's time to watch the beets, spinach, and cilantro to see what they do. Okay, Mother Nature. Do your thing.

Sweet Potato Tacos

Many thanks to Aunt Cynthia, who introduced me to Sweet Potato Tacos. I could eat them any time of day, and leftovers are just as good. Prepare yourself—these seriously are to die for.

2 medium sweet potatoes (not yams), baked

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 small onion, chopped
2 cups black beans, soaked and cooked
1 cup vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic (but go crazy and add more if you love garlic)
1 1/2 chili powder
2 teaspoons ground mustard
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cilantro, chopped
Tortillas (corn or sprouted)

Optional additions: corn, tomatoes
Optional toppings: tomatoes, spinach, avocado, lettuce, fresh salsa

Put the coconut oil in a large frying pan and saute onion and garlic for about 15 minutes. Add beans and seasonings. (I actually have never added chili powder and ground mustard, and the recipe has still turned out amazing.) Stir. Add vegetable broth. At this point I usually add frozen or fresh corn and cilantro. Simmer with lid off until almost all broth has cooked off.

Mash the sweet potatoes with their skins on. Spread some of the potatoes in the middle of the tortilla and top with the beans. Add whatever other toppings you'd like.

What do you want?

How many of you have heard the phrase, "Ask and you shall receive"? Maybe the better question is, how many times have you hard the phrase, "Ask and you shall receive"? And how many of you sometimes sit baffled, skeptical, or indifferent when you hear those words? Like you're missing a vital piece of the equation. Like you must not be worthy of what you want because you sure have not gotten it and have actually stopped asking. Like it just must not be something you'll ever have, so you should just accept it.

Some people say "It's all in the Lord's timing," to make themselves feel better that they haven't gotten what they wanted. Sure. That's an easy excuse. (Sorry to be harsh.) Do you really think a loving God would withhold a righteous desire from you? Instead of saying "the Lord's timing" we should say, it's our timing—we're not yet in a place to receive. What it really comes down to is, do you truly believe that you can have what you're asking for? Now I know your initial response may be to get frustrated and start flinging your sweat & tears at me—I've been there plenty of times myself, so please feel my support, but again, if we've heard the scriptural phrase, "Ask and you shall receive," hundred upon hundred times, it must be important and true. So let's do a little experiment, since that's what this blog is all about anyway, right?

Think about something you really want. You don't just want this if it's convenient, you want this no matter what. This could be physical health, freedom from an addiction, an iPod, peace of mind, some good lovin', thick healthy hair, a new dress, piano lessons for your son, or a dream job. What do you want more than anything?

Now, think about how much you believe you can have this desire. I'm not asking if you deserve this desire, I'm asking if you believe that you can have it. At this point logic often starts to creep in. "Well, I've had bunions for 12 years, so I don't really believe they'll ever go away. And they're hereditary, so I'm stuck with them no matter how much I want them gone," or "I have no clue how I'd be able to afford piano lessons for Joey. We're barely scraping by each month, and I don't see how any extra money will be coming in," or "I've survived my job this long, I guess it's not so bad. I should just feel lucky to even have a job." What do we call these? Cop outs!! Dig deep. Keep going. If belief is your roadblock, now you know where to put your attention.

The desires of your heart and your beliefs must be on the same vibration for you to get what you desire. What does this mean? This means that your desires and your faith must match in strength or you will never get what you want. You either (1) don't believe that it's possible even though you have a lot of desire or (2) don't want it enough even though your faith is strong. Or (3) you have neither strong enough faith nor adequate desire yet. Again, please don't throw rocks until you've processed this information and experimented with it in your own life. Desires are realized at different speeds depending on where we are on the spectrum of belief and the spectrum of desire.

One more fascinating thing to consider: like attracts like. When I said that our desires and beliefs must be on the same vibration for us to get our desire, our thoughts and words must be focusing on what we want, not on what we don't have (i.e., focusing on how fat you are instead of on how you're going to get thinner: "I'm so fat. Nothing fits. Oh my gosh, my hips are so huge. I wish I were as skinny as Sheila," vs. "I'm ready to eat healthier because I deserve to look good and feel good. I look so much healthier than last month! I love myself for being determined to change.") Whatever you put your attention on, you will get—either exactly what you desire or more longing for what you don't have. It's up to you.

For me this part is especially hard because I sometimes feel like I'm flat-out lying to myself. If my whole body aches and I can't move my arm without shooting pain, do you honestly think it's easy to tell myself I'm getting healthier and that my hard work is paying off? Number one, I didn't say it was easy. But it is actually pretty comical at times—I love telling myself that I am the healthiest I've ever been when I'm lying in bed because my hip joints are in so much pain. But even better than being comical at times, it works. I've experienced it. Even this morning I had a good long talk with myself about some emotional issues from last night that triggered pain in my hip and elbow. To be honest, I dread those self-talks. Why? Because it means work and change and doing hard things. It means doing things I don't always want to do, like confronting my inner demons. But if I remind myself that I am working through emotions to keep my body from hurting and to ultimately get what I want, it's not brainwashing or telling lies to myself—it's ultimately focusing on what I want rather than on what I don't want. It's making my beliefs and desires strong enough that by natural law—God's universal laws—I have to get what I desire.

It's True

I just wanted to add to what Katie said in her 'To Be Super Human' post about Vitality. The supplement is amazing! I have been taking it for about a month and a half now. In that time I have doubled my weekly running mileage to about 30 miles a week, and it hasn't even phased me. I feel like I have more energy and am not as tired. Here's a link to my running log: http://www.running-log.com/calendar?athleteid=11833 (I didn't run as much last week because I had the flu.) I have been working hard to get where I am currently with running, but I also feel that Vitality has helped me have the little extra I need. I feel like a teenager again!

Drink Hot Pink

When Robyn Openshaw says her Hot-Pink Breakfast Smoothie is hot pink, she isn't kidding. I went to one of her green smoothie workshops this week, and she asked how many of us had tried her hot pink smoothie. Only a handful of people raised their hands, and I wasn't one of them. For some reason I just hadn't gotten around to trying it even though I've had the recipe for more then a year now.

Well, I woke up this morning and decided today would be the day of the hot pink smoothie. I even had all the ingredients except for the coconut liquid, so I replaced it with coconut milk. It probably came out much thicker than it was supposed to because of that, but it was amazing! No wonder Robyn drinks 4 quarts of it every morning.

1 1/2 cups coconut liquid (raw or canned)
1 large carrot, cleaned and cut into 3 pieces (or 5 baby carrots)
1/2 medium beet, peeled
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup dates, chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 frozen strawberries

Put the coconut liquid in your blender first. Then add everything else except the strawberries. Blend on high. With my Blendtec I put it on speed 4 to really puree the beets and carrots. Then add the strawberries. I ended up adding 15 strawberries. Be prepared to be amazed!

To Be Super Human

True: Today I ran 5.6 miles instead of the 4.0 miles I planned on. (Hey, I felt good and wanted to keep going—I'm not sure that's ever happened before.)
True: My last mile was paced at 7:58 (I was also running down hill).
True: I haven't run 5.6 miles in almost 13 years!
True: I haven't run, period, in 12 years!
False: I could go run another 5.6 miles right now, piece o' cake, because I've got super-human powers.

Although I am not Super Woman, I do have a confession to make. Two months ago I started taking a supplement that resets your genes. That's exactly what I said, but this aint no science fiction. The supplement is called Vitality, and believe you me, I did my research before putting it in my body. I actually refused to try it until I took a bottle to my holistic doctor, to have her test it's compatibility with my body. Her computer registered it very high, meaning my body would greatly benefit from Vitality. So I shed me skepticism and gave it a try. My only regret is that I didn't start taking it sooner—I would've sold just about anything (including my earring tree, which everyone knows is the first thing I'd grab in a fire) to have had Vitality a year ago when I was in such unbearable RA pain.

Vitality is full of all kinds of natural extracts like cordyceps mushrooms, pomegranate, and ginseng (nonstimulating), but the key ingredient is the "Ageloc formula" based on the research of the human genome. The scientists who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the human genome are the same guys who created this Ageloc anti-aging, gene-resetting formula. For more on the science behind Vitality, click on the image below.

So what happens after taking Vitality? That all depends on your body—everyone is different. After three weeks I noticed that the rheumatoid arthritis in my right hand stopped reared it's ugly head!—for the most part, my right hand is the last remaining area of RA in my body. And after about a month and a half I noticed I could not only get by with 7 hours of sleep, but I could function and felt totally rested! To go from needing about 9 to 10 hours every night to 7 is a modern-day miracle. Many of you who read this blog have auto-immune diseases and know all about exhaustion! Others of you have small children, which, I may be so bold to say, is comparable to having an auto-immune disease when it comes to energy level. If Vitality could help give you part of your life back, like it has me, it is worth trying! This is not a shot of energizer bunny for the quick energy fix or the all-nighter, but this is the natural way to get your genes producing energy more efficiently, like they did when you were 20 years old, if you can remember that far back. (Oh, and Vitality helps with mental acuity too, for those of you who can't remember being 20.)