Following Dreams May appear as a Free-Fall Downslide At First

We had a tiny window in our decision to sell everything we owned almost in Michigan to come up with the funds to move to Oregon. We had an online friend willing to co-house a place she herself had just been able to get. We left not even knowing if the new treatment was even working or not although my Michigan Oncologist did everything in her power to ensure I would have enough medicine to tide me over for the delay between state insurances.....a 2 month supply basically.

Within 2 days of being on the road, I started hurting under the ribs and shrugged it off as the way I was sleeping.  Within a week, I knew that was not the case and that treatment simply was not working and the tumor was growing pressing on my ribs. By the time my insurance here in Oregon kicked in, 3 days before my first appointment, I was in excruciating pain, things did not taste any good and well, was back defying the grim reaper again. New oncologist switched my treatment ( back in February I believe) and we immediately started seeing results in my favor.

6 months we co-housed and as I said in an earlier post, my family just was not too happy sharing space, not that they were not nice, they were , just that we were not very compatible personalities. However I am forever grateful to experience it to see if it was for us and to know we had a place to come to when we got here. So we made the choice to go on an extended camping trip to explore Oregon. This lasted 5 days before I found out about the brain tumor and for the third time in 3 years defied the grim reaper. He loves to grab my hand and force me across the threshold to the other side and each time I pull back letting him know I am not ready. My family still needs me, I have dreams I want to fulfill and I simply am not gonna go easily so there!

Well we now for the past 2 1/2 months have technically been considered homeless, although we still for now have a roof over our heads at a friends who has given us a tiny studio that is a tad bigger than our 3 cabin tent. As soon as she found out about the brain tumor she would not allow us sleeping in the tent anymore. This also came at a time our van started really struggling with overheating and a badly needed brake repair which both of course are still in need of repair. We have tried 3 times at the mechanics to fix the overheating issue but it still continues to be a problem as the trip to Washington and Portland left us in the red for a little bit.

Many may say why would we ever take a trip knowing it would put us in the red and financially hurt us? Well it should not have but with the tumor it made for the worst navigation skills ever and had us driving around forever lost!  Also I truly did not know how long I may have so it is a trip I would do all over again since it may have been my 1 shot to explore the west beyond Grants Pass, meet the most amazing families and see some of the most beautiful scenery you can imagine.

Have we hit bottom yet? No, not really, bottom would mean no roof over our heads, going hungry, losing health insurance..........  it is just appearing to go in a downward slide, even our 14K has been cut in half with hubby having to become my full time care giver.

But we continue to live in the moment, seize the day, follow our grand dreams with a positive attitude ( other than me getting real anxious and ragey from the steroids they had me on through radiation! )
I also do have a plan to turn things around as long as my health holds out so I am really looking forward to how that plays out in our cards. I can not quite share that with you all yet though! But perhaps soon I will be able to!

Today is Monday, a day to start new beginnings so I wish all of you a fabulous week!

Turn the page,

Carrie Hetu

 

A New Year, A New Plan, A New Groove ......

What an exciting way to start a new year by starting a whole new way of life in a state 3000 miles from a state you lived your whole life in! Well all but 1 year when we attempted a year in North Carolina!  For now we have said goodbye to Michigan and have totally fallen head over heels in love with southern Oregon and the warmer temps combined with a beauty unmatched by Michigan!

Trying to get all my medical set up in a new state was difficult to say the least, even leaving in me in tears or rage on a few occasions.......seems like it is not all that popular for a stage IV breast cancer patient in the middle of treatment to sell everything they own and move cross country! With  that being said, it is finally all set up and done and waiting for new oncologist appointment next week. Being that I seem to be having problems with a tumor growing again ( did not have any problems until we hit the road to our new home and has been getting worse and more frequent in the meantime.)  But it is all good and will be getting answers soon.

We did not just leave Michigan, but made a commitment to hubby saying good bye to fast food work forever! I have to remind him it took big kahunas to sell everything we own and move to a new state, so working for himself is NOTHING and he can do it! He needs lots of encouragement, nudging to get motivated, help at knowing what to do and learn computers for the first time in his life but I know he can do it!

With all that being said, our

  GOALS FOR 2015 ARE :

1.) To work on my health, get my tumor that is causing a lot of problems under control, build muscles and strength, spend time in spiritually uplifting nature, keep stress low, humor and joy high

2.) Hubby to start generating income in his new entrepreneur adventure of odd jobs starting with window screen repair and side hustle jobs.

3.) Figure out how to live comfortably within the income we already receive through SSI payments for me being considered disabled in a manner expected to result in death........ I know right? Not that I buy into the resulting in death but yeah that is a  stage IV prognosis which gets your SSI claim expedited and I received payment within 3 weeks of filing, no 3 to 5 month wait nor fighting a denial letter........who knew?

4.) Concentrate as a whole family on a one word goal for the year which is ALIVE...what makes us feel alive, what are we passionate about, what can we do to thrive not just survive, what makes us tick, what brings us joy, what do we find fun, what makes us feel fulfilled, what empowers us........and more! Attempting to make each family member a priority to be as happy as possible while being who they are!

5.) To pay off our Van which will be around $1800

6.) To explore and get to know our new home state

7.) To continue to make it without the help of food stamps


So there you have it, this may not be a complete list as I have not had a chance to really sit down and define or goal plan for 2015. Getting my medical stuff all transferred over was practically a full time job and of course had priority over everything. But this is a starter list of the things I know we want to accomplish!

I truly hope you all have an amazing 2015 and you accomplish everything you want out of it!

What are your goals for 2015? Leave a comment and let me know!

Happy New Year I'm Still Here Baby!

Sorry it has been awhile since the last Cancer Progress Update but well, you know holiday and cold and flu season was here. I hope your holiday season was as blessed and joyous as my families was and that you have an amazing epic year in 2014!


I was not so sure this time a year ago I would even see 2014 come around and I can not tell you how just blown away from the love and support and cheering me on from online friends as well as off line family and friends. 2013 was an intense ride that nobody was too sure of the outcome.

Chemo knocked me literally on my ass, my liver was shot, my teeth ripped out of my mouth after rampant dental infections, the garden went to weeds and hubby was afraid of our rooster so dusting for mites did  not get done resulting in a small flock of naked chickens!

I did NOT get to do much of changing my lifestyle as I wanted because it literally was a 10 round knock out fight it seemed to simply survive. I did not have house keepers to clean my house, although I think my family will be learning the art of true cleaning this year! I did not have someone there to cook me nutritious broths, teas or use the juicer for me. Heck I did not even have some one in the house that could cook ( that is in the process of changing as well! LOL) unless it involved hot pockets and microwaves!

I also could not get off the chair for most of the year and was left in a very weak state, where I think our house mice are more productive and could carry more weight than I!

So my goals for 2014 is to finish what I started here. To eat healthy, develop a good exercise plan to build muscle back up, to keep a low stress life, to eat foods that may help fight cancer, and to rock the heck out of 2014!

Today I feel GREAT, those pictures are pretty recent ones and I am starting the year weighing in at
143 1/2 pounds!

January will bring my first CT Scan since chemo stopped and Tamoxifen pills have started followed by a visit to my doctor so will have more to report on all that in a few weeks.

In the mean time I will try to keep up with posts here and talk about my health plans, juicing, and other complimentary things I will be doing!

Thank you for all your wonderful caring support and lets rock out 2014 together! I promise and epic adventure!

My October To Do's

 October To Do List
For How Low Can You Go Frugal Challenge on Facebook at:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/howlowcanyougofrugalchallenge/

1.) Go No Poo ( shampoo)
2.) Give up T.P. for washable cloth  ( only me and only pee)
3.) Winterize Home
4.) Make Granola Cereal
5.) Make Hot Chocolate Mix
6.) Make Sugarless Strawberry Jam
7.) Menu Plan
8.) Have 4 Family Financial Meetings
9.) Make Crockpot Yogurt
10.) Make Mayonnaise
11.) Make Almond Butter
12.) Make Toaster Pastries
13.) Make Quick Breads (banana and pumpkin)
14.) Make Ketchup
15.) Make Laundry Soap
16.) Earn an extra $100
17.) Winterize Garden Beds
18.) De-clutter and De-own all items in house that are not necessary
19.) Catch our bills up
20.) Get propane delivery
21.) Plan Halloween Fun Night
22.) Plan Thanksgiving Meal
23.) Work on Homemade Christmas Items
24.) Purchase 1 to 3 Christmas Presents
25.) Spend $250 on Food for the Month and Use the other $250 for prepper food storage

And there you have it, sounds like I am pretty gun ho about getting back in the saddle from the looks of this list but I know I can do it! One of my major goals for October is my heading towards the minimalist lifestyle, to get my belongings to fit into a duffle bag............ not something I expect my family to follow me on but for me, that is MY goal!

While I am usually frugal by nature, I always see room for growth and developing new skills in order to improve these skills. There seems to be layers of comfort, and each time you get to a level you become comfortable with, it can be a fun time to try to stretch those comfort levels!

Contrary to what many believe, we are quite comfortable in daily life, we lack for nothing, our needs are met and the things we value most are always in the forefront. Since material items, wages, income and things do not define our status in society for us, we follow our drum of values, which for us are connected meaningful relationships, celebrating the abundance of the earth on a daily basis, the miracle of life, and following joy.

So coming back into the scene and brushing myself off after being knocked down this year, I am back stretching those very levels of comfort in order to reduce costs, yet again as much as I possibly can.

If you like don't forget to join us on Facebook at our How Low Can You Go Frugal Challenge Group!

First Scan Results are In

Tuesday when we went in for chemo, we got our first scan results in, pretty much what we expected just by the feel of my own physical body and how I am feeling more like myself in general without any pain.  A few in my lung and lymph's have disappeared altogether while the rest are just continuing to shrink down nicely. The best news was that now you can actually see parts of my liver where in the beginning you couldn't, it was all tumors! Fan bloody tastic!

We talked with my doctor about being treated for the rest of my life, which her reply was "Yes you are certainly looking at some form of treatment or another for the rest of your life, which we hope is a long one!"

We also talked about my trying to mow the yard the day before and just not quite up to physical health just yet for such a feat, although I planned this activity for the purpose of gaining strength and endurance again! One thing I did forget though, was my doctor discussed people on chemo can be real sensitive to the sun, so I really need to watch how much I am out in the Sun. Raspberries, I LOVE being outdoors in the summer!


As of now she did suggest that perhaps a Vitamin D supplement would be beneficial to me as we simply do not get enough from the sun.  Also that we will be trying to get chemo for a 2 weeks in a row, one week off plan.........which will be the first time my body can handle a treatment 2 weeks in a row if my lab results come back okay this Sunday.  So far it has been every other week, but things have been looking just peachy, no side effects, no crashes, blood work fine everything! I am so very blessed to have everything going so smoothly.

Other than that, we are looking at about 2 more months of chemo where we will scan again, review and hopefully then go to hormonal therapy! WOOT!

So yeah, things are rolling right along and I am feeling better as each day passes, and each day is just bloody AMAZING!
 

Making May's Breast Fighting Meal Plan

http://www.ivillage.com/breast-cancer-fighting-diet/4-a-142414?p=2   This link has a good foundation for creating a healthy diet packed with all sorts of breast cancer fighting or prevention abilities. For me it is a solid foundation on which to build upon and add to, but not to use as the only diet plan.

There are many foods out there such as Sour Sop fruit that can help in the fight against cancer that are not included in this diet, which is why I see it as a foundation diet in which to build upon to enhance it even further.

This base/foundation diet recommends daily:

3 - 6 servings of whole grains a day

1 to 2 servings of beans

9+ servings of fruits and veggies a day

1 or 2 servings of low fat dairy

1 or 2 servings of soy products

fatty fish 2x a week

garlic, herbs and spices used liberally

2 T flax seed daily

4 to 6 cups green tea ( cold or hot)

virgin olive oil




And this would make up the base, that I will add to or take away from, and create a page here soon with my diet and what all I eat!

Have a fantastic Weekend Everyone!






 

January 2013 To Do List

Health-
1.) Get Biopsy January 3, follow up 1 week later results
2.) Go on Cancer Fighting Diet
3.) Exercise 30 minutes a day 6 days a week
4.) Reduce smoking to 5 a day
5.) Get whole family switched over to a healthier diet
6.) Create menu for January
7.) Meditate 15 minutes every day

Blogging
1.) Write 4 posts a week on each blog
2.) write 3 articles a month for Penny Thots
3.) leave comments on 5 blogs a week per blog category

Financial

1.) Stick to 2013 Budget, use excess to start targeted funds
2.) Start planning 2013 garden
3.) Weekly Family Financial Meeting
4.) look for houses for sale in desired price range
5.) Go on Mystery Shopper assignments
6.) Track spending

Simple Living

1.) De-clutter and D-own items in Bedroom
2.) Organize Bedroom


 

Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking is the surreal feeling I have had over the last couple of weeks and I might say, it is the weirdest feeling ever!

When me and my daughter started this blog, it was an aim for a healthier lifestyle in all aspects, for my daughter it stemmed from being born with Cerebral Palsy. For me it was a suspicion of cancer.

Over the last couple of weeks, that suspicion is becoming a reality as I go through all the testing. I have had the physical and the mammogram with ultrasounds as well. I still have the biopsy on January 3rd to go to and then wait a week after that to get the final results. Yet even at the physical it pretty much became a reality.

I took it pretty well as I had come to terms with it some time ago and put off getting it checked as we did not have insurance at the time. I finally found a program where I qualified for to get help but that took me quite some time to find. We are aware it is a good possibility of being in a late stage and I have faced that.

As soon as the news started breaking through the grapevine to loved ones, a bizarre world appeared that I did not quite expect. They started talking to me, about me, as if I was already in the grave! I had this urge to put a sign around my neck that read "Dead Man Walking!" I even had to ask a couple of times for people to quit talking about me like I was already in the grave!

You see it seems that if people are aware you may have stage IV breast cancer, they automatically believe the negative aspects of those statistics. Sure I have a 1% chance of kicking cancers ass. Sure I have a 15% to 20% chance of living 5 years and on average one at this stage lives 18 months after diagnosis.

Statistics scare the hell out of people!

But I am NOT a Dead Man Walking, I AM VERY MUCH ALIVE. my fate is NOT sealed and I have many choices on what I can do to increase my odds to get me to come out on the end of the long line of the survival curve.

Through modern medicine, and treating the whole body nutritionally, spiritually, mentally and physically, I see no reason why my odds won't increase and that I have many years ahead of me. This blog will help me stay accountable for these life changes.

This past week I have been establishing my fight plan for 2013, which I will be sharing soon. It will be a blend of a cancer fighting diet, imagery, music, touch therapy and physical exercise and I am looking forward  to getting it started!

Have a Great New Year everyone!

2013 Goals

Goals for 2013

I have made a new page for these up at the top to help keep them in sight and in focus, but these will be our goals for 2013. Nothing fancy mind you, but perhaps reachable for the new year!

Spend Less Than Earned

How do I plan on doing this?

1.) Reduce Electric Bill by 50%

2.) Cancel Netflix for April, May, June, July and August

3.) Wash laundry by hand ( in 5 gallon bucket and plunger) and line dry

4.) Quit Smoking

5.) Raise at least 80% of food

6.) Make Cloth Sanitary Pads

7.) Cut out Rent

8.) Reduce Phone/Internet Bill

9.) Mow our own Yard

10.) Create Workable Budget where expenses are less than income ( $1,000 a month budget)

11.) Sew
12.) Buy anything we need used from craigslist, thrift stores, garage sales etc.

Health
Health is TOP priority for 2013

1.) Testing for Breast Cancer ( starts actually December 14, 2012 but will start 2013 with results and what to do from there

2.) Going Unprocessed , more raw foods, whole foods diet with proper nutritional guidlines

3.) Set up dental appointments to get rest of teeth pulled and dentures through a clinic 30 miles away for low income or non insured families.

4.) Set up and stick with exercise plan

5.) Stop Smoking

Earn More Money/ Extra Money and Set up Funds
amounts shown in red is desired goals for 2013

1.) Emergency Fund $1,000
2.) Christmas Fund $300
3.) Holiday fund ( birthdays and anniversary) $500
4.) Home Ownership fund $6,000 ( funded from tax refund)
5.) New Car Fund $1,000
6.) Travel Fund $1,000
7.) Vet Fund $300
8.) Medical Fund $1,000

DIY Projects

1.) Portable Chicken coops and pens
2.) Veggie Garden
3.) Chicken Garden
4.) laundry
5.) cooking ( from scratch things i have not made before)


Purchase Goals/Wants List

1.) Push Lawn Mower
2.) freezer
3.) Tortilla Press
4.) Food processor
5.) Dining room table and chairs

Ways to start a Raw Foods Diet

If you are like me being raised on processed foods, fried foods, junk foods and overly cooked foods that break down all the wonderful living enzymes, leaving it virtually lacking in nutrition, you may find it hard converting over to a raw foods menu.

These living enzymes in our foods is what aides us in giving us our bodies needs and having our immune systems work properly. Did you know that just 1 teaspoon of white sugar will block your immune system from working properly for up to 4 hours?  Also when we cook our foods, it kills all the benefits, raw foods have to offer our bodies. We should be eating at least 80% raw foods, yet most of us are lucky to even be eating 10% and certainly not on a regular basis either.

I have been wanting to convert to a whole foods/ raw foods diet for quite some time now,  yet every time I go food shopping, it is a struggle, my taste buds tell me I LIKE all the processed foods. Being a habit of 44 years is also working against me. This is for sure creating a struggle for me in our journey to a healthier lifestyle and my radar for processed foods seems to run on automatic any time I visit a grocery store.

If is is so difficult to convert and change your diet, what is one to do?


Where do you start?

Where to start- First step take white flour, white sugar, junk food, fried food, packaged foods, caffeine and alcoholol out of your diet.


Start each day with an 8 ounce glass of water with a ginger slice and freshly squeezed lemon in it.

prepare weekly menus for the month and make sure at each meal you incorporate at least one raw food into it, this goes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The raw food can be smoothies, green juice ( should be at least 1 green smoothie or juice a day with greens such as kale or spinach greens  and green apple in it ) fresh juices made with your juicer at home, Salads with freshly made raw salad dressing,  fruit salads, raw soups, or fresh veggie trays.

Be sure to be drinking plain water in between meals.


So this is my plan for December to move away from processed foods and will post updates on how it is going.

Have you been successful converting to a whole foods and raw foods diet? What tips do you have that really worked for you?

No Fridge Vs. Unprocessed

5 days into having no fridge and remarkably I have found it so much easier than trying to go unprocessed in our food choices! Not only that, but could say the same for each family member as well!

NOBODY misses the fridge and we are finding it so easy, no thought given to it and when we went shopping on the 5th, I only bought a gallon of milk and a large tin of plain yogurt to go in the cooler. Keeping the cooler out on the porch with a little ice in it has kept it cold enough to where the ice does not even melt. I bring it into the kitchen only at meal times for convenience and then out on the porch again. It has been as easy as breathing and I now wonder what took me so long to get the nerve up to try it? Well of course I had to wait for my family to catch up to my line of thinking and be on board with it! They are a little behind me on this trail of extreme frugality, healthier living and simplicity of a minimalist living!


Yet I started the going unprocessed trial in October and to be honest I have been FAILING miserably! I get to the store and literally start panicking and immediately revert to 40 years of habitual processed food purchasing. The thought of unprocessed runs through my head as soon as we enter the store, but is quickly replaced with the panic. I hesitate in the flour and sugar isle and debate the refined white sugar purchase, then give in and buy it anyways because suitable natural sweeteners  like Stevia or raw honey are just NASTY in coffee! Sure I can drink it black but to me it just is not as good! Of course I should give up coffee but well I LOVE coffee as does my husband!

The other issue is RAMEN, it is a horrible food, yet my daughter and husband love it and throw a huge fit over the idea of giving it up! Without a fridge I opted for other meat alternatives like canned Spam and Canned Corn beef hash! UGH this is really, really, really hard and baby stepping just does not seem to be going quick enough for me because  it IS important to me to get there!

Today I realize it just is not an issue of learning to reform the whole way I am use to shopping but I will have to reform dramatically how I am use  to cooking as well! Since I started cooking at a very young age, it has formed a 35 year habit of shopping and cooking in a certain frugal way. For me to jump out of the box and form a whole new way of shopping and cooking for me, is a much harder endeavor than I ever imagined!

I have not given up though and perhaps this is one issue that may be resolved by menu planning, something I have never been very good at or liked to do much of. But this may  be my only way of breaking a habit of such a long duration  in order to reach a very important goal for my family.


So in this case so far of learning as we go, the going No Fridge battle wins, going unprocessed loses!

Have you ever tried something extreme that took a long time to gain the nerve to do only to find how easy it was or difficult?

Mid-July Check In

At the beginning of the month I posted my goals so thought I would check in and tell ya all how I am doing with those..........just to let you know there has been a serious lack of posts this week due to a severe sunburn on my back! ( severe putting it very mildly)

but anyhow here were the goals and where I am at right now with those.


Go Stoveless-  Epic Fail

Pay utilities up to date = Paid half the phone bill so far........will pay the other half next week

Pay the extra needed to get a propane delivery for propane tank- gets done next monday (not tomorrow)

Spend $80 this month for groceries ( not sure if I can do this or not but will be a FUN challenge!)

Purchase one Christmas gift Done and actually purchased two, one for each younger child.

Earn an extra $200 this month Not even close, the month is not over yet though so maybe?

Save $50   Hoping to do this on next pay day!




So yeah not too great, will get the utilities paid and propane this month plus ordered 2 Christmas presents, the rest is pretty iffy as of yet.

How you doing on your goals this month?

July Goals

Well it is the start of another month! ( yeah about 3 months to go before chickens start laying eggs!)

So as promised I came up with a few Goals for July, maybe not all that ambitous with the sweltering heat wave going on (they say will continue for all of July!) but in any case a few small worthy goals are better then none!  With this being primarily a blog about our finances, I will only share my financial goals here!



July Financial Goals!

Go Stoveless- yup challenging myself to go a whole month without using my stove/oven the entire month!

Pay utilities up to date = ( we are behind on our phone bill and need to catch it up this month)

Pay the extra needed to get a propane delivery for propane heat ( need to come up with $300

Spend $80 this month for groceries ( not sure if I can do this or not but will be a FUN challenge!)

Purchase one Christmas gift

Earn an extra $200 this month

Save $50  (after doing the July budget, unless I make extra money this month this will not be possible but worth trying for!)

What are some of your goals for July?

End of June

End of June is coming in hot as blazes for sure and we could really use some rain! Nothing like a good lightening storm to get rockin growth in the garden, an amazing instant transformation!

The last couple of months has had me really struggling with goals, I kind of went into just automatic drifting mode of just getting stuff done. While I do not mind puttering in the garden, tending to chickens and cooking delicous meals, it has been bothering me that I seem to be struggling in the goal department. Without goals forward momentum ceases and can get you stuck in a daily routine that stagnates and goes nowhere but surviving on a daily basis. No good!

So these last couple of days of June will have me planning out July and see what we can do for some attainable goals. I have already figured out a July budget based on if we DO NOT lose any income for the month. I am truly hoping it does not decrease until August. To be safe I will need to do another budget in case of a decrease in income. Considering I have a few bills I need to play catch up on, that would be extremly difficult to do so best to plan and hope for the best case scenerio.

I will also be using Frugal Farmers Roadmap for Self Reliant Journey Checklist as a guideline for working out my plans and goals for July.

Sometimes I think I struggle with goals because I tend to come up with opposite polars that conflict in our true desires of what we want and where we want to go. This can have me unsure as to what direction to head into so leaves goals best left alone. In the end though, I know we need them to continue a forward and upward momentum.

Happy July Planning!

Read those labels!

Labels can be a tricky thing, as food companies promote their products as healthy. An obvious one for example would be those high sugary cereals that have large bold print on the front saying they are made with whole grains.........does it really matter when all that sugar is added? Another good example is when the Nutella commercials showed a mother saying she could count on Nutella for giving her children a healthy breakfast........um Nutella is nothing but sugar!

Morningstar vegetarian frozen meals appear to be healthy to until you read the label and notice the Carmel coloring and high fructose corn syrups in the ingredients. Carmel coloring and high fructose corn syrups should be avoided always. Many whole wheat breads are also made with corn syrups, Carmel coloring or processed flours.

This is why reading labels is so important, as many foods are disguised as being healthy yet upon inspection of labels proves to be nothing but bad for your body.

I recently purchased Ann's House Cranberry Nut Antioxidant, boasting how it is trans fat free, cholesterol free, low sodium, good source of protein and good source of Antioxidant vitamin E. Sounds good right? Yet the label shows that the cranberries have sugar added to them. Sure there could be worse choices, but somebody who is trying not to eat refined sugar would not want this going into their body.

If you are new to switching over to a whole foods eating plan perhaps a great step you could take is by starting with 3 ingredients you commit to not putting in your body. Maybe you would want to start with White Flour, High Fructose Corn Syrups and Carmel Coloring. Once you decide which three you want to give up, pay attention to the labels in the store and do not purchase any items that list these as their ingredients. After a full months time, add an additional item to your list of giving up on a monthly basis. You will be well on your way to eating healthier wholesome foods in this manner without making a major over night switch. By doing it slowly, you may be more likely to stick with it as it slowly forms a habit as well.

So check those labels and be conscious of what you put in your body! As Woody Harrelson says, "If you can not pronounce it, Mother Nature did NOT make it and perhaps you shouldn't eat it!"

To a healthier you!

Creating A Health Plan

Creating a health plan is an easy way to start baby stepping your way into a healthier lifestyle. Nobody expects you to make a 100 degree turn around over night, and if you are use to eating bad food, and an overall unhealthy way of life, it is not good for you to make such drastic changes at once.

To make a good health plan one should take into consideration of implementing a body, mind and spirit approach. Preventative and holistic measures can go a long ways in keeping you healthy and away from doctors! This is not to say you will never need a doctor, but doing what you can to stay healthy and in good mental state of mind, will have you not needing them near as much. I am no doctor and this is not medical advice, if you feel you have something serious, you should go in and get it checked right away.

When creating a health plan you should try to implement (starting slowly of course of what you think you can easily change) some or all of the following.

• Healthy Menu- What kind of healthy foods do you want to start incorporating into your diet and how many times a week? Do you want vegetarian, vegan, whole foods or raw foods? How many times a week will you in the beginning stages allow yourself the processed or junk foods that you enjoy and you feel would be hard for you to give up? Is there certain foods you want to incorporate for their health benefits such as fighting cancer, building immune systems, energy boosting?

• Outdoor activities- Sunscreens have bad things in them we absorb into our skin, yet we need the Vitamin D we get from the sun. We should plan on getting outside daily for at least 30 minutes a day. To help boost our Vitamin D we may want to take a Vitamin D supplement or eat plenty of Vitamin D rich fish such as Salmon or Mackerel at least 3 times a week. Perhaps you could incorporate an exercise routine with being outside such as running, or brisk walking 2 miles a day, biking 5 miles a day or a gentle Tao Chi or Yoga routine outside.

• Music Therapy- Here you may want to spend 15 minutes a day with and listen to types of music that lift your spirits and make you feel good. Or you can listen to special healing vibrational types, drumming or what ever makes you feel at peace or gives you joy.

• Exercise- This should be a cardio workout and could be broke up into a variety of different exercise forms to prevent boredom or too much stress on your body. Again this could be incorporated with the getting outside in the sun time. Do an exercise routine that you feel good about and want to do!

• Spirituality- This does not necessarily mean religious pursuits, for I am aware not everyone is religious, however finding things we really feel a deep spiritual connection to daily can be an important step in staying healthy.This may be going to church, finding ways to help others, marveling at something we find beautiful or even spending time in nature.

• Massage Therapy- Our skin is sensitive and touch can have amazing healing qualities or allow us to get rid of excess stress at the end of a hard day. You may not be able to afford a  massage therapist, but perhaps you could  arrange a night with a friend, spouse or the family exchanging massages. Try a gentle tickle too, just barely gliding the tips of fingers over the persons skin..this has amazing results for someone suffering from back pain or chronic muscle pain as it seems to confuse the nerves in a wonderful way.

• Meditation- Some time should be found a few times a week at least for reflection, deep breathing techniques and quieting our minds for at least 15 minute sessions.

• Laughter- Watch comedies, tell jokes, read jokes, do whatever makes you laugh, as the saying goes laughter is the best medicine! Try to find time and things to do that make you laugh as often as you can throughout each and every day! Laugh until you cry, laugh until it hurts, Laugh until you burst!

So start creating your health plan today keeping these things in mind to try to incorporate and you will be well on your way to a healthier life. As with anything this goes without saying, if you have certain bad habits such as too much sugar, smoking or drinking  a plan of action to stop these bad habits should be part of your plan as well!

Here's to a healthy you!

A Basic Budget Is Not Everything

Our budget, is as you may of noticed our bare minimum, very basic budget. It provides for immediate necessities like rent, car payment, car insurance, gas for car, electric, phone, propane, groceries and online service.

But what about everything else that comes up in the course of a day, quarterly, or annually? What about all those little extra things that make life juicy?  What about so many other categories that you typically see in example budgets or other budgets online?

We all know the adage of spend less than you earn if you ever want to reach true freedom and financial Independence. Currently our budget allows for $1100 while leaving the remaining $300 for investing and savings. Not Bad, if I do say so myself, this is something I never thought I really would ever be able to do on this kind of income. Yet still, there is so much more...........

Our budget is straightforward, simple and what I call our immediate SURVIVAL budget. $1400 is what we can actually expect out of any given month and our survival budget reflects this. However income is not anything set in stone and in fact we can not count on an exact same amount every payday, the fluctuate in great numbers based on how many hours were actually worked in a given pay period. Many times hubby brings home an extra $20 or even $50 or more some weeks, others well he brings home less than the budgeted $450 bi-weekly paychecks.

So I have started an envelope method for all those lovely extras we would love to cover and anytime we go over $1400 in a month for income, the extra gets put into the envelope funds.

Remember the sealed jar? All pop bottle return money goes in there along with 60% scrap metal money and we have gave that jar a destination.........a Hawaii Vacation!

But extra income goes to fill in the gaps that a survival budget just simply can not cover and I must tell you, for a juicy life I will admit to having quite a few envelopes to fund!

But money is in each on now and will be built upon throughout the year and I hope I remembered most things! We have envelopes for educational expenses, both my daughters future weddings, our new car fund, car maintenance, fairs, dining out, garage saling, haircuts and clothing.

I have envelopes for our horse trip across America, entertaining guests, barbecues and picnics and one for pet care/vet expenses.

I have envelopes for business, video games, holidays, yard care, investing (extra or other avenues than stocks of course) medical and dental.

You get the point, the little juicy things of life we would like to enjoy but living pay check to pay check never allowed.

Money with a destination can be a powerful step towards a juicy life full of simple joys and pleasures with a grand one thrown in here and there for good measure :)

End of February Action List Update

1.) Make Yogurt  Made 4 batches

2.) Make Ice cream Made 3 batches
 3.) Get Cat Spayed  dog and cat done!

4.) Increase automatic investments to $200 a month YES

5.) Put $100 towards savings $650!6.) Purchase Sam's Club membership Decided against doing, not worth the drive

7.) Start a sealed pot where pop bottle money and extra money goes into Yup!

8.) Establish financial routine NO not really

9.) Log expenses/ Cash flow chart fail

10.) Start weekly financial family meetings doing today

11.) Develop healthier menu our meals were healthier but really did not create a menu

12.) Order at least 2 financial books to start building up financial library ordered 1

13.) Research local environmental issues yup

14.) Set up a new blog venture  Yes and still working on at http://www.homeschoolinghousewives.com/


15.) preserve food 2x this month
16.) Increase income streams from the $150 from January to $300 Did not even make the $150 like in January! FAIL

All things considered I believe I did fairly well reaching most the goals I had set out to o on this list!
How did your goals for February go?

February Action Update

Okay bare with me please, I feel I am busier than ever this month but getting farther and farther behind on everything! LOL

I have tons of recipes to share as I have been a regular Betty Crocker this past week in the kitchen, now I just have to find the Martha Stewart in me as much as the thought of the woman makes me shudder HA!

I also have my Decluttering photos to ahem, share as embarrassing as it will be but bare in mind, my household only has about 150 square foot a person!

So I will work on getting all this up this week, hopefully I do not flood everyone in updated posts trying to catch up!

But now on to this post which is my update on how I am doing for my goals this month!

1.) Make Yogurt  Yup third batch working as we speak! I found I can use 2% milk but the last 8 hour rest with the towel around it is increased to 16 hours! Still as good!

2.) Make Ice cream  Oh Yeah! One raspberry and one banana carmel chocolate, tonight will be a frozen yogurt.

3.) Get Cat Spayed Her and the Dog went in for a wellness exam as required by vet prior to scheduling both getting spayed. So health exams done, shots updated, fecal exams done ,  vet and assistant giving rave reviews about their sweet tempermants and great conditions of health. Surgery Set for earliest they could fit them in, in 2 weeks!

4.) Increase automatic investments to $200 a month Yup done and completed and investment transactions accounted for as completed.

5.) Put $100 towards savings yup, actually $250 so far

6.) Purchase Sam's Club membership Um NO, don't think I will be able to either, begged hubby over and over on DATE NIGHT to go  since we were right there and he refused! LOL I don't think he is a fan of going to another store that is 35 miles away when we have a Walmarts just 5 miles away.

7.) Start a sealed pot where pop bottle money and extra money goes into Not yet, February has gotten off really slow for any extra income, online as well as off so have not had any extra come in for a sealed jar yet.

8.) Establish financial routine Working on, purchased a few small things to help get this all organized.

9.) Log expenses/ Cash flow chart hmmmm been so busy this has fallen by the wayside but will go do as soon as I am done posting. Unfortuantly that may mean I have forgotten a few things so there will be unaccountable loss of money transactions this month.

10.) Start weekly financial family meetings No, I think I will start this tomorrow, to be honest I forgot about this one!

11.) Develop healthier menu Working on it!

12.) Order at least 2 financial books to start building up financial library Not yet, kids homeschooling educational items needed to come first. Like a Violin for my daughter I ordered as a birthday gift for her (her birthday is in May also a chemistry set for my sons birthday in April) Ordered a few books for teacher to such as Growing Up Global .

I will order the 2 financial books next week


13.) Research local environmental issues Not yet

14.) Set up a new blog venture Bought Domain Name, paid for Webserver and it is up at www.homeschoolinghousewives.com/    but I need to do a ton of work on it and figure out a few kinks in using wordpress as I am a longtime blogspot user before it will really be ready.

15.) preserve food 2x this month Not yet unless icecream counts LOL

16.) Increase income streams from the $150 from January to $300 Sigh, as stated February has been slow so not sure if I will even do as good as January but then again................The month is not over!

So there you have it, the good the bad and the ugly!

How you doing with your February Goals?

The Path to Financial Freedom

Finances are an extremely personal choice in the way we choose to handle them, depending on the lifestyle we are seeking. Not everyone makes wise financial management decisions, but everybody does use different techniques or formulas when handling their personal money.

Some use frugality and reducing spending, some use increasing income and some use a combo of the two.

My plans for 2012 will include using a combination of

Green Living/ Low or No impact style of living.

Prepping  ( there is something to be said about being prepared for when disaster strikes....disaster can come in many forms, including job loss!)

Self-Reliance - build it, grow it, find a new way, fix it , the more you can do yourself the less you need from consumerism)

Developing new skills

Increasing Income through developing passive income streams, business, investing and such

Spending Less than Earned

Leverage

Preventative/Holistic Healthy living- eating right, exercising, taking care of self physically, mentally and spiritually


I feel if I use this combination of different flavors and lifestyles that it will allow us to live a sound financial managed life, giving us the tools to lead the life we want in accordance to our values. It will help us while living on little , build a better future, with a solid foundation that would be hard to shake further down the road. If we would of had this system in place earlier in our life, we would not have had our bridge collapse totally on us and things would of been a whole lot easier.

Lessons learned, the hard way perhaps but learned none the less.

By incorporating these techniques now though, I know we are coming ever closer to where we want to be and free from worries.