Vitamin and Supplement over-load!

I'm a preventative maintenance person when it comes to my health.  I am constantly reading and researching vitamins and supplements that I would benefit from but I tend to go a little over-board!  I have a small shelf in my pantry with all of them sitting there, so innocently with their little index fingers calling to me! (see pic, they reside beside some hurricane prep cans, the shelf is pretty deep, hard to see just how many bottles are there)

I have made a promise to myself to finish the majority of them...because I have paid for them, not because I feel like they have benefited me in any way.  Have you ever done that?  Bought a vitamin or supplement, take them for awhile and then they sit forever on a shelf and you eventually throw them out because you figure they finally got too old?  I have started putting them in the little 7 day planner and am taking them daily with the intent of completing them and throwing the EMPTY bottles away.  I'm whittling them down to a few that I know I will benefit from, like a good multi-vitamin for women over 50 from GNC, turmeric, krill oil, probiotic, and D3. I have quite a bit of excess to go through but I'm not worried that when I do finish them, my body will be lacking anything if I don't buy more because I really don't feel like they are doing anything for me.  I DO intend to ADD a CTFO product called Super 7 which is a fruit chew that has 7 super fruits in them for amazing immune boosting power.  I am adding this because I know I don't get enough fruit in my system and want a good daily boost for my immune system since  winter is approaching and I normally get taken down by the flu.

As a side note, today is day 16 of my miracle mornings and this is one of the goals I've made for myself as I work through creating the life that I want!

Make promises to YOURSELF and KEEP them!  They are the most important promises you can make because as we all know, if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of the ones we love!

Musings of a modern day mamaw.

Personal 30 Day Challenge

I don't know about you but I don't care for the 30 day fitness challenges.  They stress me out just thinking of them. ~shiver~ But I DO like making a personal challenge just for me!  I am accountable to myself and no one else. That being said, I have started a 30 Day Challenge and am 4 days in.  It involves waking up during the week at 5:00 a.m. and about 7:00 a.m. on the weekends.  There are no "free" days because I am trying to form a habit and if I skip days, I'll never create the habit.  It is a personal commitment to change the way I think and feel to create the life I want to lead. 

I had purchased a book on my Kindle, but I have no idea how long ago I did.  I had finished the book I had been reading and thumbing through my Kindle and when I saw the name of the book I was instantly intrigued!  When I opened it, it was apparent that I had begun reading it but for whatever reason, never finished.  This is not like me, I always finish a book, even if I don't care for it, it's just something I've always done.  

So I started reading it again and right off the bat, this book spoke to me! I have been reading and listening to podcasts and having conversations with a friend that falls right along with the lessons in this book so I committed to finishing it this time.  The author has a 30 Day Challenge so when I finished the book, I took his guideline and began my own.

The name of the book is "The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod and is about what highly successful people do in the morning to set the tone for the rest of their day. It involves the power of attraction and affirmations and creating the life you've always wanted by simply changing the way you think!

The premise is to "re-set" your subconscious mind, to live and think as if the things you want in your life are already there and how you would look and feel if you already had them.

The guideline is called Life S.A.V.E.R.S. -
S - Silence - after getting up, splashing my face with water and drinking alot of water to wake up, I sit and follow a meditation app for about 5 minutes. This is hard for me as my mind goes in a million different directions so I am training myself to stay focused on the present moment, listening to a guided meditation.
A - Affirmations - I have written several affirmations about weight loss and another page about wealth and I read through them, focusing on each word and believe them to be true, over and over for about 5 minutes. 
V - Visualization - I have printed pictures and positive quotes for things I want in my life and envision what it would look and feel like if I already had them.
E - Exercise - (I do this one last just before I get in the shower) 5 - 10 min is what I dedicate to this for now.
R - Read - I am reading a book called "The Magic of Circlework" and I read for about 10 minutes.
S - Scribing _ (it just means writing) I have never "journaled" so I am learning this and what I have been writing is whatever comes to mind, I do this for about 5 minutes.

That is it - it's just quiet time for me with no distractions, I am drinking more water as I do these things, trying to get at least 20 ounces down before  I'm done.

I am just 4 days into my challenge and am very proud that I stayed committed even through this weekend.  Each one of these things are simple yet hard at the same time as I am training my mind to stay in the present moment and not wonder around aimlessly, I am a plan ahead sort of person so I always run through "what-if" situations just so I'm prepared....which is just a waste of time and mind-space.

I have already seen slight changes in relationships and other areas in my life, I know it's making a difference and that keeps me motivated!  

Find something you can do in your life and create your own 30 Day Challenge...why not?  What else have you got to do? LOL!

Musings of a modern day Mamaw.

New Wellness Journey

So I started this new wellness journey, if you know me at all, you know I'm always looking for natural alternatives for better health.  I fought tooth and nail when they put me on blood pressure and cholesterol medicine...I didn't like all of the side effects. They would put me on something and I'd take it for awhile and take myself off.  Well I had been off for several years and started having issues so I went back to the doc and he asked me why I quit taking the meds. "I don't like all the side effects!"  He gave me the strangest look and said, "Well don't you think the side effects of a stroke are a little more serious?"  Damn it man!  Soooo, I'm taking the crap and they just gave me an additional blood pressure med because my pressure was staying high....GREAT!

So I started looking AGAIN, for something natural that would help and hopefully get me off this junk forever!  I found CBD oil!  It is made from the hemp plant...but don't get too excited...it doesn't have THC in it so I don't feel high (darn it) I've been hearing about it alot lately so I thought I would give it a try.  I signed up with a company called CTFO which means "Changing The Future Outcome" (I kinda like that) where you sign up as an Independent Consultant so you can sell it yourself.  It didn't cost anything to sign up and they didn't ask me for any payment info so I thought the risk was low.  

CBD has been known to support healthy blood sugar levels, promote healthy energy levels (which I need badly!!) relieve anxiety, aid in digestion, support optimal immune function,regeneration of healthy cells (that's why it's good for people suffering through cancer) and can help to promote a sense of serenity and overall well-being...and let's face it....who doesn't need that these days?

You and I both know products don't work the same for everyone, I've tried all sorts of energy pills and drinks and nothing gives me the slightest bit more.  I have been using this now, morning and night, for one week and I sleep sooo much better and soundly (just ask hubby!) and have started to realize I am more alert and aware at work.  I am usually so tired and dragging my ass that it's hard to stay focused and perform at my best.  This is very important in my 9-5 as I am in the mortgage industry...time-crunches, number crunching and documentation gathering...I have to keep several balls in the air at one time and uber-multi-task and direction changing all day long!  That change alone makes it worth it for me, but what I am most interested in is the internal changes it should be making. I don't have chronic pain so it will be hard for me to tell what it is doing for me internally, but what I am watching for is sustained energy, so I can keep pushing through all day, keeping a clear head and not collapse as soon as I get home and be worthless for the rest of the night.

Now I have menopause working against me so it's like swimming upstream.  So I know if I start to see a difference in me....it's GOTTA help someone else.

Since it cost me nothing to start my own business, I am becoming a product of the product so I have my own testimony to tell.  If you want to see if it helps you, what have you got to lose?  You try other things right?  This is just like walking into a store and picking up any natural supplement that you want to try.  You have to stay consistent and give it time to work, but WHAT IF?  

What if you DO notice a difference?  What if your pain is less than normal? What if your nausea after chemo treatments is relieved?  What if your muscle spasms and seizures/convulsions lessen?  What if you find more energy to help you through your day?  There are so many KNOWN benefits to using CBD oil, why wouldn't you give it a try to see if it helps you too?

Yes, you can walk into a store these days and purchase right off the shelf, but I BELIEVE that since CTFO doesn't have a brick and mortar store, they can put that money back into research and development of the products and it means higher quality and better results.

I am doing this for me and mine and I believe it is going to give us better quality of life, after all, none of us are getting younger and no one gets out of here alive!  So why not TRY something that just might help you enjoy the time you do have?  

Musings of a modern day mamaw.

Email me at:  wellnessjunkie4u@gmail.com
Website:  www.debbstf62.myctfocbd.com
Opportunity:  www.debbstf62.myctfocbd.com/cbd

Don't mess with a Doe

I'll never forget the day...

So we have some acreage and hubby and I have a path that we like to walk.  Over the years, our dogs have recognized our movements when we decide to go for a walk, even if it's been awhile since we did it.  When we put our tennis shoes on...that does it.  They jump and bark and squeal and can't wait to get on the path!

A few years ago, we were headed down the path and Zip had joined us as usual.  He will stay with us until he sees, hears or smells something interesting in the trees or tall grass and then he takes off to explore!

We had rounded the corner at the front of the property when all of the sudden we hear him barking like he's on to something so we stopped and turned around.  Well he had flushed out a Momma deer and she wasn't too happy about it.  We knew she had a baby laying between the trees at the front of the property somewhere but didn't think they would be there at that time of day.  It was right before dusk.

So he is chasing her towards the fence that they usually jump over and all of the sudden, Momma decided she had had enough of this short, stout, L-O-U-D little pest (and I'm sure she was familiar with him) and she stopped!  As we watched, she looked down at him as he barked at her, and she started chasing HIM!  Suddenly the fierce barking turned into crying and squealing like she was killing him!  With his tail tucked, he was a white and brown STREAK of fur coming right for us!  He wanted us to save him!  She had only taken a couple of steps towards him then turned and jumped over the fence but he thought she was hot on his trail!

Hubby and I were bent over, laughing so hard we were crying as Zip ran behind us for protection!  Our big, bad guard-dog had met his match!

He THINKS he's Billy-Bad-Ass, but let whatever he is chasing, turn towards him and he runs for the hills!  

Don't mess with a Doe!

Musings of a modern day Mamaw.

With this being Easter weekend, I took a walk down memory lane.  The earliest Easter I can remember, I was very sick.  The memory feels surreal, I was laying on a hard couch or loveseat in a room in our house where no one else was.  I remember hearing lots of noise and conversations...with 8 people in the house, it was never quiet.  I was very young and most likely in Kentucky or Tennessee.  I don't remember how I got there, I just remember waking up to a very weird smell and a crinkling sound coming from my chest.  Mama was checking a mustard plaster or something that she had spread on my chest and I think it was wax paper that she had covering it.  I must've had a high fever, the memory almost seems like a hallucination.  I think I dozed off again.  Then the next memory, I'm not sure if it's the same day or the next but it seems like it was AFTER Easter and I was taken outside to our barbeque grill.  When someone opened it, there was a Barbie doll in there for me.  The feeling I get from this memory is very strange, I'm thinking it was because I was so sick.  Mama had told me that once, when I was very young, I dehydrated and almost had to go to the hospital.  I wonder if this is that time.

When our kids were young, we didn't get them the traditional Easter baskets, we always got them a toy of some kind and had the candy in or around the toy.  I remember we had found these bats called Mondo bats that were plastic and shaped almost like a big funnel.  They would hit the ball with it and it made a loud, funny noise.  We had put the candy and little toys inside the bats and had them on the couch Sunday morning for the boys to find and play with.

We had big family gatherings with an Easter egg hunt at Pop and Granny's house.  All the nieces and nephews and Tyler and Wes had baskets that Granny always had for them and the adults would go hide the eggs and then open the front door and let them loose!  It was crazy, loud and hysterical funny to watch! 

Then when ours got older, they and their cousins were the ones that would hide the eggs as the younger cousins went out to find them.  

This year is going to be quiet, for the first time in years we aren't going to the family gathering and neither of our sons will be around so it will be just the 2 of us.  

So far....being empty-nesters isn't all it was cracked up to be.

Musings from a modern day Mamaw

Today is March 18th, two days from the first day of Spring and it was a beautiful day!  Looked, felt and smelled like a summer day.  I had been reading on my back porch, listening to the birds and windchimes in the background and I looked out into the yard and noticed how bright the sun was.  The thought went through my mind that I should be laying in the sun!  So I dropped my Kindle and ran to my room!  Threw my bikini on, grabbed a couple of beach towels, suntan oil spray and fixed a big bottle of water with lemon and cucumber slices and hit the the back door!  There was a pretty strong breeze and it felt fabulous because in just a few minutes, I was feeling the sun.

Once I got situated I started to daydream and took a walk down memory lane.  Almost every time I lay in the sun I remember days when I was in high school when during the summer, Mom and I would lay side by side on our lounge chairs in the back yard and soak up the sun.  She always used a hard little twist-up thing of cocoa butter and I can still remember the smell. 

Living in South Florida, she wore her bathing suit almost every day.  She had several different colors but the same cut, I remember a light green and white one and a coral and white one.  She was a little thick around the middle but she wore a two piece and had the most amazing legs!  She was such a beautiful woman and always had the perfect, golden tan.  She wore her nails long and took care of them herself, her favorite nail polish was Revlon, Fire Pearl.  It was a slightly pearlized darker hot pink and looked great on her with her tan.

We would lay there soaking up the sun until we started to get hot and then walk down the steps of the pool and swim down to the deep end and back.  Our dog always laid under one of our chairs and she would also walk into the pool, swim down to the deep end and back.  The three of us girls would then casually walk back up and out to our chairs, Mom and I would lay back down and Sandy would ZOOM 'round and 'round the back yard until she wore herself out and then would lay back down under our chair, waiting for our next swim.

Mom didn't drive at that time, I don't remember ever going anywhere with her, just her and I, so those moments in the sun, in the peace and quiet of a beautiful summer day, were our Mother/Daughter time, that and when she would let me sit in the bottom of her closet, trying on all of her high heels, she had so many, in colors to match different outfits, and I dreamt of one day being able to wear them.  My feet never did get big enough. 

The smell of Estee Lauder Youth Dew, Wrigley's Spearmint gum and leather and warm summer days....these are the things that make me feel like she is right beside me, happy, young and tan.

Musings of a modern day mamaw.

Mom and her first two daughters-in law.  Look at those legs!

Snapchat and my inner child!

So last night I was scrolling around on Facebook and Instagram, watching videos and whatnot and saw a few pics that friends had taken on Snapchat.  I hadn't been on Snapchat for awhile so I clicked over to see what was new and goofed around with some of the filters to see what they did...you know exactly what I mean right?  (most we don't save. 😁😁 )

I saw this cute one that someone had used to take a selfie with me over the weekend but I didn't realize that it was a voice changer!  OMG!  Did I have a ball with that?  Now mind you, I am home alone with no one else to hear what I say or do so I was WIDE open. LOL!  I like to imitate voices, not specific voices, just accents I guess I should say.  So I recorded this goofy, corny, southern accent saying off the wall stuff and sent a message to my hubby....knowing he would bust out laughing and wishing I was sitting there when he did!  He sends me a text that says, "You're not all there, that's funny! LOL" I was still watching it over and over and laughing my butt off and of course....I made another one!  I posted that one on fb and then watched it over and over about 6 times and let me tell you what...I was laughing so hard I was crying, I mean, loud, belly laughs...so much that it made my little dog nervous!  He ran up to me and put his paws up on my legs to see if I was okay and I was laughing so hard I really couldn't even talk to him.  By the time I made myself stop watching it because it was past my bedtime, my stomach muscles hurt, my nose was running and I needed to wipe the tears off my face!  

As I was getting ready for bed, I kept thinking about it but what I was thinking was...that was ME I was laughing at.  My silly self being funny and it was a blast!  I hadn't laughed like that in a long time and it felt good and happy!!  I had hesitated to post it on fb because...what would people think, right?  Then I felt so good and was having so much fun I just wanted someone else to enjoy it too, even at the cost of making me look silly. No, I was not drinking, it was just me, being spontaneous and silly.

At what point in our lives do we lose that childish nature?  That fun loving, silly, spontaneous, goofy side of ourselves that we used to be?  As a child, you just react, you do or say whatever crosses your mind and don't worry about what people think.  In fact, thinking of our granddaughters, when they are doing something that makes people laugh, they KEEP on doing it, over and over...until someone cries Uncle and it usually isn't the kid!  

I miss that whimsical, happy-go-lucky, carefree feeling.  At some point we snuff it out because we are too grown up to behave like that. ~tsk~ What?  I've always had a good sense of humor and loved making people laugh, I put humor in so much of my day, it puts people at ease...most of the time.  I have had a customer on the line that I try something funny, a silly one liner to ease some tension and I hear crickets....so then I put my adult attitude back into play and move on...

But thinking back, in the banking industry, it is so dry, conservative, always have to look and act professional...well I get that, but we are talking to real human beings who have thoughts and feelings too and you never know what is going on with a person.  Why not be the laughter and sunshine in their day for just a little bit, who cares if you make yourself look silly?  If I've made someone laugh, it makes me happy!

Is it that I'm getting older and getting to the point where I really don't care what people think?  Who knows, but I've found that goof-ball girl again and I like her, I think I'll keep her around.

Musings of a modern day mamaw.