Homesteading Goals for 2016

      After my post on Looking Back on 2015, Justin and I really discussed a lot about what we can do now to start accomplishing our desire to homestead. There is so much prep work and research we can do this year as Justin finishes school and we still don't have a home to call our own. We are calling this year, THE YEAR OF EDUCATION! After we are well-versed, we can decide what we really want to focus on, and then it will be easier to shoot for those specific goals instead of just pondering the generic idea of homesteading.

Before ground

       FIRST objective we have already begun. A huge preliminary step into a homesteading mentality is doing whatever you can right now even if you are not in your ideal location. Justin has spent the last month tilling a piece of land in our back yard to start a humble garden. It was a lot of work since the ground he worked on consisted of was mostly hard clay and huge rocks that plants cannot thrive in. So he aerated the ground and moved all the bulky rocks. He then put nice dark, nutritious soil on top to plant the seeds.

After five days of tilling

       We decided we wanted to use heirloom seeds, first for the organic factor (they haven't been altered over the years), and second, with heirloom seeds, you can keep using the vegetable's seeds to replant each crop. A lot of seeds aren't able to keep reproducing. We read that people who start up a garden do all sorts of random seeds they find in the store, but they encourage you to pick plants you really want to eat and already use in your diet. This way you aren't having this huge garden and then wondering what you are going to do with items you don't enjoy.
      I will talk more about our fun little garden in a later post. We are just praying with all the El Nino rain that it hasn't drowned all our hard work!
      SECOND area we want to focus on is who will be learning and researching what. We want to use our unique gifts and interests to divvy up what we want to grow our knowledge in. It also helps us quicken our growth by sharing the research load, then later on we can inform each other on our new skills.

       Justin loves gardening, animals, and herbology. I love the art of fermentation, textiles, and tincture making. With Christmas money we have bought a bunch of books to start off our research. Our first books include farming, premaculture, goats, homesteading, and a healing by herbs book. Most of these books summarize the basic, over-arching ideas which will give us a better view of what we are getting ourselves into.

       Yes, a goat book. We love the concept of having goats! Goat milk tastes so good and is extremely digestible compared to cow's milk. And... they are so cute! Well, the Nigerian Dwarf goats are smaller and cute. Alongside goats, we definitely want chickens. They say chickens are the 'gate-way' animal into homesteading. They are really easy to take care of and give you lots of eggs in return and eventually meat if you want to go that route too!
       I have loved getting into green tea kombucha, here is my post on how to start your own, and seeing how easy and delicious it has been, makes me want to dive into all sorts of fermented foods. They are beneficial to your gut and add healthy bacteria your body needs to properly function. We are looking into trying sauerkraut, water kefir, and pickling vegetables.
      We both love herbalism and creating tinctures to aid the body in fighting off sicknesses and increasing daily nutrition. There are so many 'weeds' that people overlook that are helpful, like dandelion and goldenrod. It will be so enlightening to study hundreds of plants and herbs that we may have heard about but never knew how amazing their potential was. Also, people sell tinctures for a ridiculous price, and people will pay it for their healing properties. Being able to create our own will be a huge money saver, and eventually if we succeed in it, we could make a profit producing and selling our own.
       THIRD is the idea of starting an unique podcast to add to our blog. With our blog, we are trying to seek ways of standing out of the crowd and bringing new and interesting ideas to the blogging world. One fun part of Family As We Go, is that we want to be a couples/family blog, not just a mommy blog. We want to incorporate both our perspectives on our life and family. Justin has always had a knack for speaking and teaching, so having him use his gift in a podcast could be an excellent addition to our blog. We do not have a specific route as to how the pod cast will develop yet, but are really excited for what may come with including it. 
        FOURTH important focus is learning what location and to what extent we want to be homesteading. We first need to look for our ideal location and use that as our basis of what we want to do. Do we want to build our own home or go with something already in place? What kind of alternative energy to we want to use? Should we have a home next to a river for water and food access?
        Right now we are looking at Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, three states which seem to offer what we are searching for. We love the alpine trees and mountainous atmosphere, and there is a lot of open land available, and right next to some of the national parks. It These areas really have everything that Justin and I love about nature. There is a lot more land to be purchased in these states. Growing up my whole life mostly in California, I have been in 70 degree weather my whole life = I am a wimp with cold. I am excited and nervous to finally get out of my comfort zone and adapt to the changing of seasons that will come with a move.
        Keeping in mind all hopes and our desires, the LAST focus will be finding "the place" after all the research and pin-pointing the area where we most want to settle. This will probably be something we come to at the end of this year when we have a better grasp on what it is we are after. However, we will always be ready for the unexpected.

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Corrie Ten Boom

Three Important, Inexpensive Weekly Routines You Should Do for Your Well-being

        After my first week doing the 21 Day Hormone Reset cleanse, (if you want to know what the Reset is click here for my previous post) I wanted to research three detox aids she recommends to help detox and clean your system along side with diet change. This cleanse hasn't been terrible since I haven't felt hungry on it, and though I feel a little weak, I'm not miserable at all. She really emphasizes getting at least eighty-five grams of protein a day which really helps satiate yourself for long periods of time lending good energy for the day. The hardest part would have to be giving up the caffeine. Since Cedric is still in sleep training mode, I do not get a full nights sleep. Coffee was definitely my little picker upper, but the book describes that once you are more detoxed, your body's natural energy should shine more. So that is what I am hoping, but not quite sure since I am sure she is talking to people who can get a normal nights rest.

        The three detox aids I am doing are dry brushing, tongue scraping, and epsom salt baths. The dry brushing and tongue scraping are daily activities, and the bath is suggested to do four to five times a week. After doing these for the first week, I am hooked on wanting to continue them in my lifestyle practice. Being the researcher I am becoming, I wanted to take the time to read into the benefits of each activity, and was impressed by the results. With both the evidence of feeling good and the online research, I really suggest looking into these yourself! But for now I will take you into some background and benefits I have read.

         Tongue scraping is a practice I do twice a day, right along with brushing my teeth. Once in the morning after breakfast and once at night during my bedtime routine. In the Charaka Samhita, which is a very early Ayurvedic text, it says that cleaning the tongue, "removes foul smell, tastlessness...and by taking out dirt coated on the tongue, teeth and mouth brings relish immediately."

Side note if you aren't familiar with Ayurvedic practice, it is an ancient system of healing that started in ancient India. Breaking down the word Ayurvedic means "science of longevity" or "knowledge of living". Justin and I base many of our practices and diet off of Ayurvedic principles. 

          When you scrap the tongue daily, it removes any build-up of bacteria on the tongue which can lead to bad breath and of course the housing of many bacterias. Normal brushing of teeth and flossing can not remove all the bad toxins on the tongue, especially the back of the tongue. A few of the benefits of tongue scraping include improvement of breath, improvement of your ability to taste, helps avoid toxins from being reabsorbed in your body, improves dental health, and helps you get to know your tongue. 

          With the last benefit, getting to know your tongue is more interesting and important then it sounds. Different parts of your tongue are linked to different organs in your body. So by looking at different parts of your tongue, you can see how the health of your organs are. By scraping your tongue, you are also stimulating the corresponding internal organs by the link of nerve endings which works just like acupressure or acupuncture. I could really do (and probably will) another post on just what the tongue can tell you. However, a quick google search will get you a lot of information.

          

           Another daily routine I now incorporate is dry brushing. Dry brushing actually started in Finland, where they would use a dry brush before going into a spa. Later on it spread all through the European countries, and eventually is starting to pick up here in America. At first people thought it was just good to get rid of excessive dead skin cells, but research has determined it has helped with so much more. A doctor in Finland, Dr. Paavo Airola, started implementing the use of dry brushing in his approach to naturally heal his cancer patients, and recorded great results. Some of the benefits of dry brushing include the stimulation of your lymphatic system, which is the system that eliminates cellular waste that has been collected from your tissues and taken to your blood for elimination. By stimulating the lymphatic system, it helps release all those unwanted toxins which is a huge detoxification aid. Exfoliation is also key to improving the appearance of your skin and clearing clogged pores which lets your skin breath. Dry brushing also increasing circulation, can reduce cellulite, help relieve stress, improve digestion and kidney function, and can be invigorating. It's true, as your dry brushing it just feels great on your body.

         When you dry brush you want to pick a brush made with natural material and long handle to reach all the hard-to-reach spots. You can brush once or twice a day, I usually do it when I change out of my pjs in the morning, or when I am changing into my pjs at night. Our skin is the largest organ of absorption and elimination, so why wouldn't you want to keep it invigorated and cleansed? 

     The last routine is needed four to five times a week: epsom salt bath. This one is my favorite. First off, who doesn't want to soak in a hot, relaxing bath after a long days work, and to get the great benefits from epsom salt while soaking, come on now! Epsom salt is made up of Magnesium sulfate. Did you know magnesium is the second most abundant element in our body's cells? It helps regulate over 325 enzymes and plays a huge part in bodily functions like muscle control and elimination of harmful toxins. When you are magnesium deficient, it can lead to heart disease, strokes, osteoporosis,

joint pains, stress-related illnesses, fatigue and is really disruptive in womanly hormones. It can be a huge cause for PMS, which I am thinking has been playing a major role in disrupting all my periods.

       Fact: eighty percent of Americans are magnesium deficient. Our soil has been decreasing in magnesium which doesn't lend as much to our crops, the typical American diet has less and less magnesium in it, and consuming fats, sugars, and salt help deplete the body faster. 

      Another interesting discovery I found is that calcium and magnesium play a close role together in our body. The bad part is, most of us supplement with calcium but forget all about magnesium. Since they work together, if you are magnesium deficient, your body actually cannot absorb the calcium and you end up being deficient in both! 

        After gaining all this knowledge on magnesium, it really made me want to make sure I was getting in magnisium. So besides the amazing epsom salt baths, I decided to make a magnesium spray to use as well. I found a simple recipe by Wellness Mama blog, here is her recipe. It is really easy to make and helps with getting your magnesium in!
       Other benefits of magnesium include a healthier heart and circulatory system, can reduce the severity of diabetes with increased use with insulin, helps rid the body of heavy metals and toxins from the cells, relieves stress, relieve pain of muscle cramps, helps with nutrient absorption, and easing migraine headaches.
        When making an epsom salt bath, I use two cups of epsom salt, ten to fifteen drops of lavender essential oil, and a spoonful of coconut oil to soften the skin. I then soak for fifteen to twenty minutes to let it all soak in. Really helps you sleep great at the end of the day.

     So that is my new routine. I love each one, and it is also very helpful that it doesn't take up that much more time of your busy day. So even after the twenty-one day hormone reset is over, I will definitely continue on with these.

What do you think? Would you try any of these? Or do you already do any of these?

21 Day Hormone Reset Challenge

       Today I am starting a twenty-one day diet to help reset my hormones. Why should I and many if not all woman do this from time to time? Let me take you through some background...
     
       A few years back I went for the first time to my now holistic doctor, questioning my fatigue and terrible pain around and during my period. I was fit, ate decently healthy, and was angry that my body would be so messed up during a whole week of every month. I would binge eat during my period, not have any energy to exercise, and I felt miserable. When I went to Dr. Vincent Medici (very eccentric, very wise health expert!!!) he told me I was estrogen dominant. Wait, I thought it's good for women to have lots of estrogen and men to have lots of testosterone. Duh... No. Women should have a good mix of estrogen and progesterone. When estrogen takes over, a lot of issues start arising. It is really easy to become estrogen dominant with all the xenoestrogens (fake estrogen) we are exposed to everyday. A few daily occurrences include exhaust from cars, using plastic, being on birth control, using makeups and lotions, and eating hormonal red meats.
       
         Dr. Medici recommended for me to read What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About

Premenopause- Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty, by John R. Lee and Jesse Hanley. Yes, I'm not thirty yet, but it is scary that with processed foods and exhaust and other factors, increasingly younger ages are being affected by hormonal imbalances. You know there are problems when girls younger then ten are getting their periods... The interesting part is that the book goes on to say estrogen dominance can affect women who have low levels of estrogen, too. Estrogen dominance "describes a condition where a woman can have deficient, normal or excessive estrogen but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body." (p. 45), so either way, estrogen dominates. The book recommends to counter the estrogen with taking progesterone cream, which I had been taking before I got pregnant. Two weeks ago I was pleasantly surprised when I came across a diet book sitting on my mom-in-law's table describing how to help fix the hormone imbalance many struggle with.
         Before I get into the diet, I'll tell you some of the symptoms of hormonal imbalance, and see if you can relate to any of these: PMS, breast tenderness, hypoglycemia, foggy thinking, infertility, mood swings, irregular menstrual periods, osteoporosis, depression, insomnia, fatigue, polycystic ovaries, fat gain, and much much more. I have struggled with hypoglycemia, irregular periods, and fatigue and mood swings around my periods. Enough is enough. I know my dreaded period will start up once again when I stop breastfeeding in the months to come, and I do not want to dread it anymore. I am praying this is a successful diet that will really reset my body.
       The book I read was The Hormone Reset Diet by Dr. Sara Gottfried, and she simply goes through seven components that most people consume daily that should be cut out, if only for the twenty-one days, to reset and clean out the body. She makes it really easy with taking out one of the seven elements every seventy-two hours (three days) which helps reset that hormonal issue. These are the seven components taken out:

1. Going Meatless: Red meat and alcohol really cause estrogen dominance. Some signs of estrogen dominance are ovarian cysts, breast tenderness. and difficulty losing weight. 
2. Going Sugar-free: Sugar causes insulin resistance. This causes weight gain and sugar addiction. 
3. Going Fruitless: High glycemic fruits cause high leptin. This causes excessive hunger and weight gain.
4. Going Caffeine-free: Caffeine causes imbalanced cortisol which leads to stress, poor sleep, and hunger.
5. Going Grain-free: Grains (including gluten) cause high thyroid/insulin resistance which causes bloating, exhaustion, and hair loss. 
6. Going Dairy-free: Dairy results in imbalanced growth hormones. This causes stuffy/runny nose, frequent skin reactions, and tendency toward sinusitis. 
7. Toxin-free: Toxins cause testosterone imbalance which leads to fatigue, achy joints, and frequent colds.

      This seems like you're taking out EVERYTHING, but it actually leaves the healthy basics, and it is really only for twenty-one days (three weeks) so I think completely doable. It is so important for your health. You start the first three days or seventy-two hours with just going meatless (and no alcohol). You then move on every three days to the next subtracted element. This is what the eating program looks like as you take out more elements:

• consume a pound of veggies a day
• eat at least eighty grams of protein on hormone-free, grass-fed, free range chicken, eggs, turkey, or fish
• eat beans, lentils, seeds, and nuts for other protein
• consume good fats from coconut oil, avocados, olive oil, clarified ghee
• add probiotic foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi
• drink a lot of water 
• consume at least 25 grams of fiber a day

      Dr. Sara emphases to do this diet with a friend and keep a journal to help stay accountable. I have recruited my mother Becky, my mother-in-law Sue, and my sister Marianne. I am so excited to see the results physically and mentally that are sure to come from this reset. Each week I will update you on how we are doing and the real struggles and successes we are experiencing!

       Questions or interested about this reset? Would love to talk about the benefits of a hormonal reset and encourage you to research more about it!