Motivation Monday: Wonder

how many times when you are see a movie trailer do you cry?  Maybe Im the minority, but if it happens I am def going to watch that movie.   This is what happened with Wonder. It is no longer in the theatre but I am sure soon on dvd or Redbox.   I think the mother in me was drawn to the story and knowing, that although my children do not have a disability, we put them out into the world hoping the world treats them kind.  We all know everyone will not but we have to let them Wonder.   I loved taking my kids to this movie.  

Loving what's in the Mirror

Picture descriptions below post

Most women can say they have had times where they didn't like what they saw in the mirror.  I am also going to tell you, MEN FEEL THE SAME WAY!  Now they don't share well in general so you don't know.  But if they did, as they do to me (clients), you would realize they step on the scale a lot, analyze their waist line and pants size and also want to look good naked.  

I am going to only speak from a woman's perspective, since of course that is what I am. This will also be personal.  I got into the fitness/nutrition world because I had been an athlete in school, went to college, was not, and chose to figure out the right way to "train" my body instead of doing quick fix, detrimental type things.  Now, did I fall into gimmicks or something that promised a quick response, yes! But intuitively I knew it wasn't right or the long term.   

I became a personal trainer in college, moved into natural/holistic health, started giving colonics and went back to school for holistic nutrition. To now be where I am today. My struggle often came with my body not matching my knowledge. BUT, that is the thing, a book or text is not my body. Its an idea, its a theory, it is someone else's success but it is not me.   

As I lived, grew mentally and physically, my body changed. I had to work within that change. I didn't do well at times.  It might effect my mood that day, or sex, or allow me on occasion to look in the mirror and say who is this girl.   Now, I didn't hyper-focus on it daily but I did think about it when getting dressed or if a client came in and I wondered if I looked enough the part.   

One day, it clicked for me. One day I realized that this is a journey.  A journey that will last my whole life.   I will always be changing, evolving, and so will my body.   I chose to focus on my favorite parts first. My eyes, i love my blue eyes. Ive never had contacts, I see well and they are super blue.   I now have other favorite parts of my body. I didn't get stretch marks on my stomach but I did on both of my hips.  I let the kids know when they see them, I received them from what my body did to grow them. I said I want them to stay forever because they are there because I have you both. So they each claim a side :) 

Now I measure my goals on the mirror and reframing how I look at things. FOR INSTANCE. I struggle with my boobs.  As you can see from the pic above, while nursing they got very large. Now I am lean and thin, so I have no boobs yet the skin that stretched to feed my babies is there and hollow.   I also have stretched skin on my stomach, so when I am in a plank position and look down.... well it's not the prettiest thing Ive seen. BUT it is me.   I also know that those are things that I can't change with my own work.  I would need a doctor to remove skin or give me boobs.   But knowing I am doing the very best I can is actually very calming to me.  

We have to get to this place at our own time. Others can say, you look great. Or your partner could admire you. We, as the one looking in the mirror, have to see it.  We have to see the progress, the life, and the positive things that are unfolding.  We have to love the mirror.  

Caption for pics:   22 yr old sarah, taking a real camera selfie, pic 2 me, before running a half marathon still nursing charlie, my second child.  my morning abs, empty stomach, post first pee. Best they will look all day :), pic 4 I am bending forward for the purpose of this post to show my extra skin.   BIGGEST thing I rememeber from these pics is not how I looked... how I felt based on what I was going through at the time.  

Thank you for allowing me to share ( this was a tough one) 

Recovering from Surgery

I obviously look happy with my swollen cheek, haha

So I have been off the grid so to speak with blog, facebook live and my youtube.  Last week I had all four of my wisdom teeth pulled.  I had neglected my teeth from a dentist stand point for years.  Now was time.  I was not worried about being put to sleep I was more worried about taking the antibiotic and the pain meds.  SIlly, I know, as some would welcome the idea of a zen pill that you have to take.   I on the other hand was thinking about my gut and all I had done to get it to this place.  In one day I was gonna drop a bomb on it.  

So here is what I did to help my self recover.   I did pre and post with juices, probiotic vinegar, bone broths,  CBD oil and also capsule probiotics. I also continued to drink my chlorophyl and fulvic minerals.  I wanted to make sure I was combating the antibiotics with good bacteria right behind it. I also chose bone broth because of its ability to nourish and heal the gut. I added coconut oil to it to provide me with more nourishment.   

CBD oil is great for inflammation and will also ease pain. I did this for my gut but also to not take the steroids that were prescribed to combat the swelling in my face.  Now I was told by others I didn't look as chipmunk as they did but i could tell the impact for sure.   After speaking to my Dr., he let me know that my roots were twisted and that when he removed them they all broke apart and they had to get each piece out. OUCH. 

No one wants surgery but sometimes It is necessary and you need to take meds you otherwise would not want to take.  You have to provide your body with what it needs after. If you do not it can turn into constipation, yeast infections and a very weakened immune system.  

Remember I am here if you need me, 

Huge thank you to Dr. Jackson and the staff at Middle Tennessee Oral Surgery Center, you made it a positive adventure :) 

Getting to the root of your Anxiety

Last week I began talking about Anxiety as a part of Mental Health Awareness month, I am continueing that with a more personal insight into how if affected me. 

I know when I started to get anxiety really bad I could trace back how it first began, kinda like stair steps up up up to the peak of a couple panic attacks. 

We had gone through some extreme financial loss right after having Addi and we picked up some but it got bad again once I was pregnant with charlie. My sense of security and stability was really rocked and I was in full on survival mode.  Figuring out how I could save what we still had (a house I wanted to have this second child in) grow my business to make more money, and of course continue to raise my almost 2 year old.   Charlie came out perfect but chose not to sleep at night.   two year old, business, not sleeping, my body began wearing down.  It started with headaches that I made into more than headaches (what if something is wrong with my brain). Which led me to feeling tired as I drove.  So then it popped into my head that I could fall asleep while driving with the kids, and that totally freaked me out.  Now, that had not come close to happening, but once I planted that thought....... it grew.  So in the car with the kids I would yawn all the time and be super anxious. We would stop somewhere and I would be fine.  If I was driving without the kids i was still tried but the worry of falling asleep wasn't there

                                            **I didn't care if I got hurt........ yes! :( *****

So as you can see, it started with stress and lack of sleeping and i allowed it to manifest to a brain issue and the possibility of wrecking my car with the kids in it.  I really just needed a nap.  I could have taken things to repair my adrenals but I was breastfeeding and many were not good for my milk production.  I did notice as he got older and did not solely depend on me for food that my body was able to have a little more recovery time.  I also began trying to talk about what was on my mind. All the things I was worried about in our home, how I felt I was failing as a mother, how I wish my business would have been growing faster.  As I got them out I released that tension and energy from my body.  I also began to look at my successes rather than my short comings.  

I began to understand what was happening, accept it not as me being weird but as something that was going on for me in this period of time and it would pass.   And it did.  I was able to do things to help my adrenals recover. When I chose to stop nursing he instantly slept through the night and so did I.   I also got better at asking for help.  

Anxiety does suck, panic attacks are the worst, BUT when you begin to understand the root you can begin to get yourself to a place where it/they do not control your life.  

Hang in there, it really does get better,

A few of my favorite things

I am on the go a lot. I have my business, raise and school my babies and also practice regular self care. I like food that is functional and also satisfies me.

What do I mean by functional?  Food that does more than provide just protein carbs and fat, but also gives my body nutrients, superfoods and herbs.  I also like to know that if I pop in anywhere almost, when I forgot to plan, I have an option.  

So lets get started,

1. Addictive Wellness Chocolate:  I met Sage and Ana Blanca at the Longevity Conference put on each year by David Wolfe.  They created a sugar free chocolate with amazing herbs and superfoods. One circle chocolate is potent enough to give you a dose of what you need based on the chocolate you are eating.  There is love and magic in these chocolates, I know :) 

2. Cultured Veggies & Sauerkraut: I love taking some Brads Raw Chips and some ferments and having my lunch or snack with them together. Fermented Veggies are wonderful for your digestion and are a great probiotic source. Now I will mention they do have an off setting odor to many, but the taste and benefits are so amazing, I don't worry about the odor. 

This is a local company I just found in our Whole Foods.  I really really enjoy Harvest Roots Ferments. 

3. Kind Bars:  There is really no bar that is perfect. If they are raw they have dates and tons of sugar. If they aren't they still have tons of sugar.   Kind bars aren't perfect but they are almost everywhere.  I would rather sub the sugar for fat, and I am able to do that with there low sugar options.   Next time you have to stop while traveling and get a snack, look for Kind, there is a likelihood you will find it. 

4. Spring Water in glass: If you follow me on social media you will know weekly the kids and I go to a local spring by our house.  We add water to our yeti's and also to a 5 gallon jug. We exclusively drink it and love it.  If I am out of my morning fill up and I am in whole foods I usually grab Starkey's. If you have not drank fresh spring water, there is nothing like it. 

 I hope you can pick up or order one of the above to make your life easier and have a pleasurable sweet treat.  

You have anything you want me to try?  

Ep:8 Diva Cup and Lube

I went there..... taking care of our lady parts is so important and that includes what we put in and around our vagina.  Let me know your thoughts about alternative menstrual needs. 

Ep.7 Sheila Wysocki interview

So grateful for this life Im living.  I get to meet amazing people and learn and grow from them. I have known Sheila for over 5 years. She is very dear to me, and agreed to be my first interview.  She has mega cred and is helping many lives.  Sheila is a private investigator and helps families who have lost hope when their case goes cold.  Shes tough, loving, a mother, and a major hustler.  Enjoy this interview and my authentic and candid talk with her :).

Find out more about Sheila here:  

Dateline Episode

Website:   ,  Washington Post Article

Peoples Magazine

Ep. 5 Honoring your body during a time of loss

Taking care of your WHOLE body is a tough. Food, emotions, career, relationships, all play into who we are and how are body deals with dis-ease.  This all becomes harder when we experience a loss/death. I hope with this rambling you can take away a couple things to help you during that unfortunate time.