This blog seems to have creeped into health topics more than actual housewifing. My inflammation levels lately are not allowing for too many ambitious projects (to my dismay), but there are projects in the works.
Matter of fact, before Husband is off again to save Florida, last night we made an executive decision to start fixing up our 'fun' room. I insisted I build the medium bookcase from Walmart to start fixing up the spare room (which has been accumulating clutter for a year now, but lacking in the organizational items department). It's a plain 'ol Mickey Mouse piece of furniture, but my collection of books and such have been sadly awaiting display from the dusty cardboard boxes they were originally moved in. Newlyweds had to choose their next piece of furniture carefully if you need a new mattress, so we settled for a makeshift piece of wood. We have pieces of art musical instruments that are serving as shelves and laundry baskets that the cats have claimed possession of.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="210" caption="Yes, Husband actually bought me one of these! And I love it."]
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While he's gone this week, my mission is to start purging any rat-pack items that are taking up space. You know, the little pieces of junk that had sentimental value at the time you saved it, and later can't figure out why in the name of Chelsea Clinton you thought it was special. Pre-marital apparel that is irrelevant. Correspondence that was too miscellaneous to file and somehow important enough to be saved. Doo-hickeys ordered from the wedding registry that can only be explained by the drunken power of the shopping gun (pre-vow hysteria). His valuable collection comics and action figurines. An iron. Ha, what is ironing?
I will do it as time and health allows, for there are many other things to keep up, such as the cooked meals from scratch I must prepare (no convenient food for this delicate flower, not even sandwiches), the boring laundry, the messy cats, the personal maintenance, the minuscule chores that add up to tidy house. Actually, so long as my health is on hold, Husband made the suggestion that maybe we ought to hire a maid to help out every once in a while. So this is love.
ON BEING OLD FASHIONEDPlease understand, it is not my desire to hand over my duties to another woman. I am Spanish and its in my blood to clean and cook for my man. No illness can take that away from me. But unlike many of the Spanish, I'm not prideful down to the core. To have a clean and organized home is more important than pretending I can work full-time, deal with 24hr pain and exhaustion, maintain a sane identity, and still wear a genuine smile for when my guy comes back from toiling under the sun. Many women are overworked, overstressed, and neglecting themselves, by having to take on multiple roles. They manage it well and deserve praise, but they do not deserve the wear and tear that comes with it. These are the times we live in and we must find ways to adapt. I'd rather scrub my own toilets and afford a new dress rather than have a Maria do it (Oh, don't be so sensitive. My mother was a maid for the wealthy in NY and her name is Maria), but we'll have to have reallocate some monies if and when this is will come into effect. I appreciate His perceptiveness in the matter and that he offered it before it even occurred to me. It don't think it will be more than once or twice a month, but now I know I have the option with Husband having made it clear he understands that this one is out of my hands.
That being said, I am old-fashioned enough to believe the woman's place is in the house or societal matters. Power to stay-at-home moms and a certified housewives. This is the way nature intended it. The men go away to hunt, the woman nests, gathers, and takes care of the children/cats. When the man comes home depleted and ready to regenerate, the woman is not cranky because she just got home from dealing with idiocy in the workplace, she is not losing her head from scrambling to make a pre-packaged dinner for the man, she is not to tired for bedroom-duty at nighttime, she has time to look nice for her man so he does not have to think of his wife as the wispy-haired, spoon-waving, sauce-covered-t-shirt, rambling madwoman that this society has made of women!
(Note: I know there are women out there who handle this with grace, I don't imply to total population of working women are at tipping point. However, to those keeping up appearances, make sure your chi is not fried internally). My point is that the stress levels are imbalanced because man has to help woman do chores and help with the kids' homework when he should come home to relax after breaking his back all day. Woman should have time to spend time raising and watching the younguns at playtime. We should be balanced people because we are given the mental and physical capacity of carrying our family-roles adequately.
This is not just my personal opinion...if you're curious as to why couples are constantly butting heads even in loving marriages, check out this shiny jewel. I've been reading about human and marital relationships since I was 19 and this one by far has rocked my world the most. The science involved in balancing stress hormones and the way nature intended men and women to relate and compliment each other is mind-bending:
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Many couples believe that they must sacrifice themselves and their needs in order to please their partner. But this attitude needs to be adjusted. Yes, compromise is required of every relationship – but you don’t make these changes and give up on yourself in the process. The art is in finding fair and reasonable compromises. John Gray introduces new ways to make this happen in a life filled with stress.
Men have traditionally been the breadwinners and women traditionally the managers of the home and children. But there is increased pressure in today’s society for women to work outside the home and thus there is a diminished pressure on men to be the sole provider. Women are expected to do so much in addition to their traditional roles, which have never been tweaked or redistributed, while they now work full-time jobs. Women have a never-ending to do list and stress is at an all-time high. Men are dealing with their own levels of stress. As a result, relationships become filled with misunderstandings, friction, and a sense of helplessness.
-John Gray, Ph. D
WELLNESS GOALSAs I was mentioning above, my goal this week is to maintain myself physically while improving the state of my home, treading delicately so that I don't overdo it.
(Another note: last weeks 30 mins of moderate cardio plus 30 mins of Classical Stretch: no bueno. My body is not ready, my muscles did not heal well from what should be non-strenuous exercise. This week will alternate workouts daily rather than knock out two in one day, or skip if necessary).I have to reinforce some health tips regarding nutrition, anti-inflammatory foods, and basic bodily upkeep. I urge my friends and readers to try a few of these if you feel or look stressed and rundown. For those who argue that you have no inflammatory problems, I believe you, but we do live in a country with a pro-inflammatory diet. Without noticing, our bodies could be struggling too hard on their own for balance. Help it be ready for the next time flu season comes around. (Also, incredibly helpful for those with asthma and allergies). It's easy to forget, if I may speak for us all, but worth the reminders:
- Drink a gallon of water a day - Already bought my purified water. Lugging it around everywhere. Moves the toxins faster, clears skin, lubricates all systems, basic life force, reduces the need to imbibe other caloric drinks, constant hydration diminishes chances of headaches.
- Reduce sugar - Every other week, no sugars other than fruit. No sweetened drinks. Sugar encourages diseases such as inflammation-based ones, candida, and cancer. I'm addicted to it like cocaine (even natural sugars) which is a subject for another day. If you're not ready to quit, and least cut out all refined sugar. Look out for hidden sugars in breads, microwave dinners, pre-packaged foods. After 50 grams of sugar a day, you've surpassed the allotted daily nutritional recommendations and it will begin to turn into fat if you're not moderate to heavily active.
- Green Tea - 2 to 3 times a day. This is an anti-inflammatory and highly beneficial drink. Thankfully, I was forced into quitting my coffee addiction. Dropping this tasty daily or trice-a-day comfort is not for wimps in the Starbucks splattered world. The truest hazard of coffee are refined and processed beans (information rather recent to me) which cause even more acidity, free-radical damage, and chemical changes in the body. Pro-inflammatory. Nothing wrong with caffeine in moderation and Green Tea is enough to get tiny jumps in the day without the overload.
- Ginger Tea - Another anti-inflammatory gem. An alkaline drink for an acidic world. This one AND green tea combined do wonders for my swollen hands and feet. Although the swelling is not always obvious (obvious being a purplish-red, rubbery, weak and impossible to slip out wedding ring), if your hands hurt immensely when you hit or bump them softly on surfaces, you might have internal inflammation. The first time I truly came to understand how severe my inflammation was a time I dropped my keys on my sandal-covered feet and I had to sit down, cry, and wait for pain in my leg and head to stop. It shouldn't hurt that much.
- Celery Juice Every Day - I swear by this alkalinic drink. Every time I overdo it with the dairy or sugars. Even with the amount of acidic tea that helps calm inflammation, balancing is still required. I have recently started to add aloe vera in the blender. Not only good for inflammation but for digestive aid, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc. Click here for the ton of benefits from this spiky plant. You can buy it in liquid form if you're afraid of touching the goo.
- NO GLUTEN. PERIOD. - This one for all with food sensitivities and allergies. The belly ache and anxiety is immediate! I have gotten careless with this one, although much better. It goes hand in hand with the sugar goal, because almost every gluten product has some form of sweetener added. No more cookies and Starbucks bakery, no matter how stressed I get. Food is not love - Monica from Friends. For those who know you have an unhealthy diet and wanna get on the ball, reducing your gluten (breads, pasta, baked goods) will help your body streamline digestion. Might be worth looking into new grains that deserve our attention. Well, they're not new, but not common: quinoa, amaranth, millet, etc.
- Vitamins and Supplements - Organically, we shouldn't need to take a multivitamin or extra supplements. We should be getting all our nutrients and minerals from local game and agriculture. But we eat from supermarkets where everything is shipped from all over the world, not indigenous to our area, temperature, and atmosphere. That little pyramid of food groups, not so balanced. Therefore we end up lacking here and there in essential nutrients. If you don't have a diet full of fruits and veggies, a multivitamin shall cover the basics. The fish oil will cover some other bases. And depending on your personal needs, there is always Echinacea, milk thistle, calcium, magnesium, etc.. It's good to find out where our deficiencies are and help them. I 'm going to stick to my vitamins like never before because I tend to forget them when I'm healthier. If you need overall health and balance, look into Green Vibrance and the Magic Pill.
Before I had the correct diagnosis and my body was being ravaged by migraine medications (a misdiagnosis), the Magic Pill brought me back to almost full balance. If it can work on an ill person, if you're already close to healthy it may do wonders for you. To healthier people, the difference may not be too obvious but it doesn't mean it's not working. Green Vibrance has almost the same ingredients as the Magic Pill. The difference is that is contains tons of vitamins, superfoods, active probiotics, and helps complete some veggie intake. Shop around at bodybuilding.com, vitacost.com, and dpsnutrition.com. If your husband drinks a lot of protein shakes (or you), dpsnutrition has great deals for vitamins and the magic pill.
Those are just some mini-goals for now. Pay attention to what your body tells you. It's the best advice I've gotten as I've learned how to deal with my
Wolfing around.
