In some ways this week has been quite productive, but in others, not so much. I have reclaimed much of my cluttered house. It's actually kind of exciting seeing it fall back into a normal appearance. I have found that simply taking an item with me when I go to another room that needs to be put away there has taken care of quite a bit of the clutter. I also make myself put things away when I'm done with them instead of waiting until "later", since later usually never comes.

My struggle with my new dietary limitations has had its ups and downs. Just when I think I'm getting the hang of it, I fall flat on my face. All in all, I keep plugging along, knowing that eventually I'll get the swing of this. I think I'm going to have to pack up all of the spices that I cannot use at this time and put them away where I cannot easily use them by accident. Finding substitutes for recipe ingredients I normally use in my cooking is a challenge. But in the long run, the benefits will outweigh the pain I have suffered through to get there.

A simple thing like attending a potluck today was depressing. The only thing I could safely eat was the soup that I brought. Not knowing if ingredients I cannot have are in foods on the table sure takes the fun out of life. My initial reaction was to give up on potlucks, but if I went home I'd have to cook for myself anyways so I may as well just continue to bring something I can eat to potlucks.

Tomorrow begins a new day, with a fresh start.

Change

The clock goes backward an hour tonight. With the time change, I am reflecting on changes I need to make in my life. I used to be so organized, juggling was no problem. I raised 3 small children on my own and even with a debilitating disease nipping at my heels, I kept up on most days. So what is the deal now? Why can't I keep up? Clutter not only fills my house, but it fills my life as well.

Tomorrow begins a new week, and also it is a new beginning for me. It took time to become disorganized, I do not expect it to magically change over night. However, I choose to chip away at my clutter and over time, it will go turn into an organized, effective life.

Day 1, Bring it On! I can do this!

A Fresh Begining

Wow! So much has changed since I began this blog, and yet so much is the same. I have decided to delete the old and start fresh. I was raised vegetarian and thus thought I was healthy. Of course I have always been overweight, but for several years I have tipped into the category of obese according to the scale. That is a scary term. As a result of this I have been diagnosed with  Sleep Apnea. I have tried CPAP, which initially was a breeze. But somewhere along the way became difficult to tolerate. I tried a mouth device which was a fail, and tried CPAP again and failed yet again. So, I just suffer with the health problems that come with Sleep Apnea.

I also suffer with Lupus, which causes me a great deal of pain as well as chronic fatigue. Somewhere along life's path, my skin became extremely dry and my hands and feet began to crack and peel. This has been labeled many things, from dishydrosis, to eczema to psoriasis. It is very painful and quite embarrassing. I have tried every lotion and cure known to man, and still, I suffer. Enough is enough! There has to be a solution to my medical problems!

I have started seeing a Nurse Practitioner that is holistic and willing to use natural healing methods when possible. I have gone gluten free, which does reduce my pain and fatigue to almost nothing, but not quite.

I recently began following the Alkaline Diet. I have to say, this is the best I have felt for some time, but my skin has shown no improvement as of yet. I had food intolerance testing done and yesterday I received the results. I have a severe intolerance to carrots, cherries and eggplant. I have a moderate intolerance to several foods and a mild intolerance to quite a few more. All of these foods have to be removed from my diet for 3 months. After three months, I may introduce one every 4 weeks to see if I react to it. This revelation has made for a difficult transition, trying to shuffle my meal plans to remove critical items like garlic, rice, quinoa and pinto beans from my diet in addition to many other staple foods. I am determined to succeed though! I even have to give up my favorite, Sushi! I wold have to have an intolerance to seaweed... But that is one of the first foods I plan to reintroduce in three months!

So, in a nut shell, I am still very much on a quest to regain my health. As I plod along this path, my plan is to continue with the Alkaline diet to see where it takes me. Other hurdles I have to cross are drinking enough water (consistently) and introducing an exercise program, and sticking to it!

Here goes...