Going 'No-Poo'

There are a lot of articles on the www that tell you how to go 'shampoo free' in your hair care.  Some thoughts are getting rid of the chemicals, some thoughts are better care for curly hair.  I initially fell into the latter category.  Going 'No-Poo' for better curl care.

But as my migraines worsened I started looking at ways to eliminate as much chemical exposure as possible.  Remember you can't control everything you are exposed to but you can control the things in your home and on your body.

 I started my 'No-Poo' journey reading Lorraine Masseys book Curly Girl which is available through Amazon.

She advocates using conditioner instead of shampoo because of the moisture that curly hair needs.  My hair did quite well using this method, but I was still using chemicals on my hair.  I did this method for several years.

Fast forward...

About 3 years ago (at the most) David discovered an all-in-1 shampoo/body wash by Zest.  He used it and really liked it, because he only had a single product in the shower.  Being a bar soap, he thought he would use less soap than with a liquid.  About 6 months later we could no longer find it and even contacting the company proved fruitless, as the company discontinued the bar soap, but they had something in liquid form if he wanted it.  He did not!

So a search began for a good bar shampoo.  During this time he also started to travel for work and taking the right size bottle that might leak was a pain and he really did not like the hotel products . We found a bar shampoo at Duluth Trading Company.  So we ordered 1bar, David tried it and loved it. I was 'resistant' to change.  He asked me several times to just try it but I was SO sure that MY hair care choice was better that I refused.  Finally, just to appease him I tried it.

WOW!

I was wrong.  This stuff was great.  I didn't need any conditioner to soften my hair.  I needed very little product to style my hair and my curls just keep getting better and better. 

So I am a believer.  AND the best part?  The ingredients are Tea Tree Oil,  Hemp Oil, Almond Oil, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Caster Oil, spring water and sodium hydroxide to bind it together. Unfortunately the binder is a chemical, but for me the alternative shampoos are much worse with many chemicals.

J R Liggett Bar Shampoo

We buy 12 bars at a time and this lasts the 4 of us at least 12 months if not longer.  We put the bar on a piece of plastic so instead of any of it dripping away on the soap dish it sticks to the plastic with no waste.  When it gets down to a stamp size sliver I can still get 2 or 3 shampoos out of it.  Then David adheres a new bar to the plastic and the cycle continues.

Happy Shampooing!

And, Yes, We highly recommend this product.

Remembering Axel

Axel and his mommy, Jenna

Axel and his daddy, Jake

Axel and Michelle, Jenna's mom, my sister

Axel and Autumn and Terry, my b-i-l, Michelles husband

Autumn Jade, Axels sister

You have ordained every breath...

...we take.
In pleasure or pain there is no mistake.
Gladness and grief, both are in your hands,
and sufferings brief carry out Your plan....

Joy in My Sorrows

Valley's come for every one of us.

It might be in the form of divorce or death.  In financial woes or even prosperity.

In 2 Corinthians 12 the apostle Paul tells us that he  asked the Lord 3 times to remove a "thorn in the flesh".  I don't know what this thorn was but I believe that it wasn't something little.  This was something that was really affecting him, this was a "valley".

Paul tells us, "Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.

⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

 We will all have thorns. 

Do you have Christ's sufficient grace to go through the trial?

His grace will support you and give you peace.

It is only because of His grace that I have full faith that Axel is in heaven.  Yes I still have sorrow, I still mourn for him.  I have great sorrow for his parents.  They are so young and have gone through so much in just a few short years.

I do and will continue to pray for them.  I pray that if they are not Christ Followers they will turn to him, the one who holds the word in his hands, the one who created Axel and took him home, the one who can grant them a peace which surpasses all understanding.

He's Gone

Axel Paul

January 26, 2010-January 18, 2012

We knew he would die very young.

He had a very serious congenital disease, Chiari Malformation.

In the back of my mind I had always thought he would start to decline over time and we would know it was coming.

Instead he was gone in an instant.

Now his Mommy and Daddy are grieving for their son.  They are so young yet they have proved themselves to be excellent parents.

They chose life for a child who would never grow up.  He was almost 2 and still the size of an infant.

But his smile!

That beautiful smile!

His Gramma, my sister, said Axel was the happiest baby she had ever seen.

He was so healthy in the ordinary sense of the word.

He didn't get a lot of colds or ear infections.

He wasn't a fussy baby.

He was a happy baby.

So pray for his Mom and Dad.  Pray for his Grandparents.  They knew this would come someday...but it came so swiftly, one minute he is as fine as he could be considering his Chiari.  The next he is gone.

Axel and his little sister Autumn. She is 3 months old.

No Yellow Roses Ever pt 2

In my last post I left you with a cliff hanger....

Remember the roses?  The beautiful yellow roses?

I put them in a vase with water and put them on the bookcase in the dining room/school room/music room/ sewing room.....

About 2 days later they were not looking so nice...

By day 4 they needed to go.  And there was an odor.

We couldn't find the source of the odor.  It reminded me of a potato or onion gone bad.
The taters and onions were fine.

Oh well, time to throw out the roses.

I pulled them out of the vase and kept the baby's breath to put in a vase with some other dried flowers that we had on the piano.

Then I dumped the water in the sink and S.C.R.E.A.M.E.D!!!!!

There were 4, four, 4 dead mice in the water.

I don't know how they got there.  Dad's theory was that they had somehow gotten into the vase and not be able to get out and subsequently starved.  Then the water helped along the decomposition and smell.

YUCK.  Believe me bleach was my friend that night, after the guys disposed of said dead bodies. 

I still don't know we managed to get the vase out, fill it up with water and flowers and not notice 4 bodies in it.  It is a large vase, one of those from the florist and it's a dark green so I guess it could have happened.  Blech:(

No Yellow Roses. EVER. pt1

My darling husband kindly went to the store Tuesday night to replenish my diet ginger ale supply. I had been hit with another of my famous migraines complete with nausea and vomiting. While out he also bought me yellow roses.  I love him.

I NEVER want to see another yellow rose in... my... life!

Why?  Why would I make such an 'ugly' statement when most wives would be thrilled that their hubby bought them roses just because? 

Because... I... Hate... Mice...

To be continued...

Why go to the trouble?

Ask Yourself:

"Why would God go to the trouble of sending His Son all the way to earth to endure the life He lived and die the death He died--if all we had to do to get to Heaven was 'be good?'

" He sure went to a lot of trouble for nothing. Either that, or we're missing the point.

 - Joe McKeever

     

Where's the Line to See Jesus?

A homeschooling Mom that I know sent me this song.  I told her that I am not a fan of what I call 'story songs'  but this song is more than that.  Its message is true and calls us to question our Christmas celebrations.

Another thought that I had today while I was running errands.  "Why do we put so much into Christmas, even as believers, but the death and resurrection of our Lord are much quieter.

I have no problem telling perfect strangers "Merry Christmas", even if it is NOT politically correct.  But around Easter I have a real difficult time saying "He is alive!".

Something to think about.

Another thing to ponder...churches put on a big, often expensive production for Christmas.  But I am aware of fewer and fewer celebrations for His resurrection.

It's sad,

The trouble with 'Small Groups'

First read the blog at this website:  Deeper Story.com
This is my response:

My husband and I also have the problem with ‘small groups’. They are too often NOT a welcoming, healing place to be. We have both been emotionally and verbally attacked because the "leader" did not think what we believed, said, did was up to their standards.
He fortunately has a Bible Study group with several men at the office that has been meeting for several years. Not a ‘you have to join a small group’ group but a group in which they can be real. Where they genuinely care about each other. A group that has developed trust and love for each other over time. Something that CANNOT be forced.

I have never experienced the close care and friendship that should be a part of my walk with Christ.

Maybe I am too broken to fix. Maybe there is something wrong with me that I cannot ‘fit in’.

What ever the reason I hunger for the type of fellowship that the early Christ Followers had. A community that loves each other, that bore the burdens, mourned with those in mourning and rejoiced with those rejoicing. O how I long for that…

Quotes that hit home

"One of the biggest problems in the Church today is that we are so full of everything the world has to offer, we have nothing to offer a starving world." - Jentezen Franklin


FYI Jentezen Franklin is the senior pastor of Free Chapel in Gainesville, Georgia, and Free Chapel OC (Orange County) in Irvine, California.

Another post on Migraine Disease

Are you tired of hearing about migraines yet? I'm sure tired of having them. (I did backtrack on the blog and don't see a migraine post for a while).


What's new? Well my neurologist says I am the most difficult case she has ever seen. (She is the 3rd Neurologist to tell me this). The next step Dr H. wants to take is botox injections. Botox has helped some patients but is not a guarantee. I am not ready to do something that seems so drastic but I will be meeting with another Dr in the practice to learn more about this procedure.

If I want the Dr to listen to me I should at least give her the same consideration. Meanwhile I am studying and researching as much as possible to educate myself on the options for preventing as well as treating migraine.

With that in mind, I just found a new website that looks very promising. I googled (actually I swagbucked but googled sounds better) low-tyramine diet and found this Relieve Migraine Headache .

It is a lot of stuff to read but I'm going to plow through with my trusty pen and notepad by my side and learn as much as I can.

One thing I did learn today...

Cheddar cheese triggers migraine.

I ate what I thought was a healthy breakfast. Good for my blood sugar, having protein and carbs, natural not processed... I ate an apple, cheddar cheese and a cup of green tea.

Within 2 hours I was slammed. I took my meds right away and within 10 minutes I was vomiting. So I think I probably did not get any meds into my system. I had Daniel call the pharmacist to see if I could safely take another dose of meds. She said it would not be wise, wait 4 hours. So now I;m sitting here typing because I have some spaghetti squash in the oven and need to wait about 35 minutes more to take it out. Then I'm going to surround my head with ice packs, put blinders over my eyes and try to break this headache.

Note to self, print out the list of tyramine containing foods and put it front and center on the fridge AND put a copy in my wallet.

Another thing I am going to do is investigate acupuncture and seeing a naturopathic doctor. I just want to get some personal recommendations.

SO...this is where I am. Still fighting and often feeling like I am losing the battle. I know I am going through this for a reason. Maybe the reason is to teach my children how to care for and have empathy for someone with a chronic illness. I don't know.

I do know that I am in control of my attitude and how I respond to people in the midst of all of this.

So I will continue to learn and to wait upon the LORD and to learn to be content in the midst of pain.

It's Unlike Me

The Isaacs, "It's Unlike Me, Just Like Him"

A wonderful reminder that no matter what I think I am suffering, Christ suffered infinitely more and yet He forgave.

A reminder that only Christ can bring the peace and comfort the we are searching for.

Waiting

On Tuesday, October 4, I saw my endocrinologist. During his exam he found that my thyroid was enlarged. After confirming that I had never been told that I had this enlargement he decided to check it with an ultrasound.

The following Tuesday I had the ultrasound. What follows is how the events played out.

October 14,

Susan's Endocrinologist called her today. The results of her ultrasound were a 1.6-cm nodule on her Thyroid Gland. Now they want to perform a biopsy to determine whether it is malignant or benign.

If you would pray

(1) for Susan to have peace about this,
(2) that the doctor would be able to perform this biopsy with as little pain as is possible,
(3) that the Doctor would have wisdom in what to do going forward, and
(4) that if this is a malignant mass, the Doctor would be able to treat it effectively.

Thanks!
David


Susan had a Thyroid Biopsy on Monday, October 24, to check a 1.67-cm nodule that was found on the left side of her Thyroid. Usually they can get enough cells from 2 needle sticks to determine whether there was any malignancy in the nodule.

They had to stick Susan 4 times just to get enough cells to tell…NOTHING. The first two needle sticks (and they don't just stick you: They move the needle around!) got nothing but blood. The third stick they got "blood and collagen." On the fourth needle stick, they got too few cells to be conclusive.

We found out yesterday, that the few cells they got on the fourth needle stick were "inconclusive." But, Susan's Endocrinologist, told us that actually that is a very good sign. Apparently, picking up a lot of cells immediately is usually a sign of cancer. So based on the report, there is nothing to worry about.

They will perform another sonogram in about 8 months (June 2012) to see if this nodule has grown any. According to Dr. Holt, between 40 - 60% of women will have nodules on their Thyroid glands by age 60 (Susan is 47).

So, thanks be to our merciful Heavenly Father, Maker and Creator for allowing Susan's health to continue to be normal, for allowing us (my family, especially Sarah) to remain calm through this ordeal, and for increasing our faith through this trial.

Thank you for your prayers,
David



To all of David's friends who prayed for me.

I am in tears today as I just now start to comprehend how many of my dear husbands friends and business associates have been praying for me over this past month. It truly is by God's grace alone that I was able to wait on tests to be done, wait for pain to be over, and wait for results to be given.

Yesterday as the nurse finished checking my blood pressure, which I told her would be high, (it wasn't!), and went back over all the usual vitals I was numb. Then as she was leaving she said, "I'll leave you alone to talk but if you need me just call. I'll be right outside." To me that was code for, "Prepare yourselves, Dr Holt has bad news."

I won't repeat what David has already told you about the biopsy results but do want to add that I went through the rest of yesterday numb emotionally. I had thought when I received good news that I would feel as if the weight of the world had been removed from my shoulders. But between a terrible migraine which I had not yet been able to treat effectively, and the tiredness of the previous days in which I was deliberately avoiding learning anything about any type of thyroid problems I was just numb.

So today as he forwards every response to me, I am overwhelmed to know that God has placed people in David's life who will pray for us and encourage him.

Thank you for your prayers and love,
Susan