Sleeping beauty.

Well maybe beauty isn't the right word...

wishing I was...

another sad story

Every now and then you hear a tragic story... a parent accidentally leaves their kid in a heated car, or a toddler drowns in a pool, etc. These stories break my heart every time. I seem to read about these episodes too often for my comfort level.

This morning a woman in Pittsburgh accidentally ran over her 6 year old daughter who was riding a tricycle behind her car. The girl died.

How do you live with yourself if you are the mother? I cannot fathom it. I like to think I will be a parent with awareness. But accidents happen, and you can never guarantee they won't happen to you.

Clean Living

I have been eating so healthy, I think my toilet is deriving benefits!
(sorry)

I feel like I've learned more in the past week than I've learned in the past year.... With knowledge, comes further questioning and interest, so I've become a search engine hound - seeking more and more information on the subject of Eastern Medicine. I'm also looking forward to my accupuncture appointment next week.

I've come to realize that the body is a fragile system that relies on proper balance to function properly. Chinese medicine works by getting each organ back in balance. It also works to establish proper functioning of blood flow to each of the organs.

The confusion comes when you aren't quite sure which aspect of your body is out of balance. In comparing my symptoms to the corresponding diagnosis, it seems like I could be off balance in multiple areas. So which remedy should I follow?

One remedy prescribes to eat lots of soy beans, the other says to stay away from soy products.

One remedy says to eat lots of pineapple, the other says to eat lots of raspberries.

One says eat lots of eggs, the other says stay away from dairy & cheese.

My diet has certainly become much more varied in the past week or so... bring on the wheatgrass, spirulina and tofu!

Okay, now we're getting hokey..

I'm onto the "positive affirmation" section of the Eastern Medicine book...

They recommend spending about 15 minutes a day repeating the following affirmations:

I am healthy and happy, my hormone levels are balanced.
My cycle is in tune with my body's natural rhythm.
I will conceive a healthy baby when I make the conscious decision to do so.
I believe in myself, for I am incredible.
I am taking charge of your own fertility.

Come on now! Are you kidding? I think I need to draw the line here. What's next? patchouli and nude colonies? I gotta keep my mojo, people. : )

Inflexible

...That's me! I did 30 minutes of an hour long yoga tape yesterday... I am sore today, yikes!

As part of my new health kick, I've started deep breathing, stretching and yoga.

I have been pretty active most of my adult life... an avid runner and cyclist for years. After one too many running injuries, I retired from running and I'm now a "Lucy walker". Clearly, those sports do nothing for one's flexibility. I am humbled.

The value of friendship

I make darn sure I enjoy every weekend... every moment of the two days off of work are precious to me. I am lucky enough to have wonderful people (and canines!) in my life to help make weekends enjoyable.

I made a realization this weekend... there is nothing more valuable than best girlfriends who you can just BE with, trust, and never feel the concern of offending them. There is no pretense, no judgment, no posturing... Just appreciation, understanding and respect for each other. We appreciate our similarities as well as our differences. If one is having a problem, we try to lend and ear, offer consolation and suggest solutions. There is no bravado or jealousy, even though one of us might be in a better position financially or more successful personally or careerwise. Icing on the cake is a friend who you can have fun with and laugh with.

It is rare to find people in this world who you can develop such a relationship with. Let's face it, you aren't necessarily going to have this type of relationship with family members.

Here's to great friends... I feel blessed to have them in my life!

A new approach

I have made a turn in my pursuit to become fertile... I realized this weekend that the process I have been in just isn't working. So, I'm going a different route. Instead of following orders and pumping mysterious synthetic products into my system (oh yeah and spending a boatload of my insurance company's money), I am going to take on an active role. From now on, I'm calling the shots. (I can talk big can't I?) : )

We'll see how I feel in a coupla months... but, for now, I feel good about my new "project".

I had already cut out caffeine, artificial sweetener and alcohol - well, in order to not feel deprived, I will allot myself a glass or so of vino per week : )

I figure, why not? Let's go all out! I bought a book on Chinese medicine and fertility. I can't put it down. It's fascinating. Every single thing I've read thus far makes just too much sense.

The contrast between Eastern and Western medicine is stark. They give is following analogy: Western medicine is like throwing fertlizer on a plant, whereas Eastern medicine is about creating a fertile ground, using compost, etc.

So... in the fertility world, the Western medicine approach is to identify which hormones are lacking then hyperstimulate the system with synthetic hormones. Conversely, the Eastern medicine approach is the get the body back to a balanced state hormonally so the body does what it is supposed to do... for women, it's have babies. Duh!!! How much sense does that make? It's almost laughable.

I also booked an appointment at an acupuncture clinic that specializes in fertility, and I may go get some Chinese herbs too. It could just be that I need to get my Qi back. (if you don't know what that means, go get a Chinese medicine book!)

I will keep you updated... watch this space!