and by "tomorrow" i meant "tuesday"...

**Please note that you should consult your doctor before using any of these herbs. You also should work with a holistic health coach or herbalist for proper dosage and uses (i.e., tinctures, teas, etc.). This article is for informational purposes only and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.**

There are two herbs I want to focus on today specifically for women with PCOS and/or fertility issues. 

The first is Shatavari, also known as "hundred husbands" and is used for reproductive health. 

This herb promotes fertility, helps regulate menstrual cycles and ovulation, relieves anxiety and stress, helps heal vaginal tissue and cervical inflammation. It is great for energy and libido. It also supposedly helps to improve the production of milk in nursing mothers but I've also read in other articles that it should not be taken by pregnant and nursing mothers. Again, this is where you should consult an Herbal Practitioner to make the best decision for your situation. 

The second herb I want to focus on is Licorice. 

Not the candy! Licorice can help decrease testosterone in women with PCOS. You must avoid high doses if you have high blood pressure. This herb helps increase the production of stress hormones when they are too low. 

There are several other herbs that women in general should include in their diets but these two specifically are amazing for balance and to help the difficult symptoms that come along with PCOS.

~Joy
(c) 2012 Joy-Jasmin Brunnelson All Rights Reserved

i can't believe i forgot!!!

I'm still pulling together all the information for the herbs post I promised but in the meantime, I realized that I forgot a GLARING omission from yesterday's post. The most exciting part of what happened to me at Mother Earth News Fair!

I.met.Temple.Grandin.

Yup. I shook her hand and had a wonderfully awkward conversation since I had no idea what to say to her. She was standing by her most recent book, Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals.

She was ready to autograph the books for those purchasing it. I felt nervous about approaching her to talk to her about autism when she was at the MENF for her animal work. Having a child with autism, I KNOW how annoyed she might feel with me. How irritating the useless social nuances might feel to her. I almost talked myself out of it. My SIL convinced me to just go and do it. She said, "you of all people can read how she's feeling. If she looks uncomfortable, just back off but you have to go or you'll regret it." She was right. I had to go. So, I walked up to her and this was our conversation:

Temple <sticking her hand out to shake hands>: Hi, how are you?
Me: <taking her hand to shake and feeling a piece of lead drop in my stomach>: I'm good, thank you. 
Temple: So, what do you raise? <she was referring to animals>
Me: A kid. <she didn't see the humor in this statement but I must say it was brilliant!>
Temple: Oh. So, you must know me from my autism things.
Me: I do. I have a young son with autism and we are very inspired by you.
Temple: <eye contact is beginning to shift>: So, how's he doing? (this question felt incredibly scripted...I can tell at this point that she is done with the conversation).
Me: He really is doing well. He's a very happy kid. I am so glad I got to meet you!
Temple: Good. Nice to meet you.
<At this point I walked away>

So, that's my celebrity story. I met Temple Grandin. The example of hope for my child. Don't get me wrong, I know that God has amazing plans for Boogie. He has set a path for him as He has done for us all, but other special needs parents know what I mean. Temple is the inspiration that our children will be okay. So...that's it...just wanted to share. 

~Joy
(c) 2012 Joy-Jasmin Brunnelson All Rights Reserved

food and soap and PCOS

This past weekend I went to the Mother Earth News Fair (MENF)! It was absolutely amazing! It was at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Pennsylvania, so as uncomfortable as it was to be in "Steeler Country"...the beautiful mountain views made up for it! My mama graciously let me take her Honda Insight for the trip (the gas mileage is pure awesomeness) but "Little Buddy" had a rough time with the mountain air. He huffed and he puffed but never gave up. He truly is the Little Engine That Could. 

I loved being around people that cared as much about food, health and the earth as I do. I made several friends, including a 66-year-young man named Don. He was my favorite. He taught me about the history of Hawaii (I know it seems random but it was awesome) and he told me about his juice fast journey. So inspiring! He has lost 40 pounds in 28 days juicing. Way to go Don! With recent major health diagnoses, he decided he "might be getting old but didn't need to be fat, sick and nearly dead". The documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" inspired him to make a change...and he did it! He definitely inspired me to put into action the changes I want to make for myself. And to care for myself and be okay with that. 

I got SO MUCH information at MENF; herbs that can heal, what supplements will help my body work in the way I need it to, what veggies really do for you...kind of overloaded but so pumped to making the best food decisions possible for me and my family. It really opened my eyes to see how God has provided us with everything we need on this earth to heal and be healthy. Plus, I learned how to make soap and salves...BONUS! So, now you know what you're getting for Christmas this year! :)

Coming off of this past weekend at MENF, I also just started my PCOS Diva Jumpstart program this past Monday, which is perfect timing. Because this is a paid program that Amy (PCOS Diva) has put her heart and soul into, I will not give out recipe information and/or program details but I will say that learning how to eat to correct my disorder is hard and awesome and a lot of work and delicious. I have always believed that food is medicine and learning which foods can regulate my body falls right into line with that. The fact that everything that Amy teaches from PCOS Diva is exactly what I learned from the holistic health coaches at MENF makes me feel very encouraged that I've made the right decision in joining her Jumpstart program. I need someone to hold my hand and tell me what I can and can't do and what I can and can't eat...and Amy does that. She rocks. And here's a yummy picture of my dinner last night:

Salmon dinner with roasted root veggies and kale

As Amy has warned will happen around day 3-4, today I have felt awful (flu-like symptoms, nausea, and fatigue). Removing certain foods from my diet has caused my body to release toxins which is a good thing once they pass through but until they do, it is just "ugh". I will get past this though, I will push through. It makes me realize how much crap I was still feeding my body even though I thought I was eating healthy. I'm going to bed early tonight and hope to feel better tomorrow. 

Anyway, I'll pick one of the subjects I learned about from MENF and share tomorrow. Night y'all...

~Joy
(c) 2012 Joy-Jasmin Brunnelson All Rights Reserved

i'll huff and puff and...

Oooooh... he thinks he's sneaky. He thinks he's smart. He thinks he can derail me, deter me, scare me, push me away. Look at what he's done in the past couple of days:

• The announcement was made of my job loss happening this week rather than later in the year (due to merger).
• The company that bought us decided to play into a loophole of letting us go when we are "their" employees in order to give us their dinky severance package rather than the one that was negotiated by our company.
• My bank account was hacked into and subsequently I had to shut down my debit card, so no card for 7-10 days. Business days.
• During this past crazy storm, part of our tree fell and busted our pool. Our brand-new pool. 

What he didn't count on....me and my faith. God is showing me again and again that the Holy Spirit is guiding me. With the perspective from God, THIS is how I see it:

• I have the luxury of knowing ahead of time that I'm losing my job. It's a job that served its purpose in helping sustain our family when Hubby was out of work. It's run its course and it's time for me to go.
• I'm getting a severance package. Whatever money I receive is a blessing and will help carry us through the summer. A summer I get to spend with Boogie before he becomes a big Kindergarten boy. 
• I found the issue right away. My bank is making it easy to fix the issue. I'll have a beauteous new  debit card since mine is worn down anyway. It wasn't my last dime they took. 
• The tree missed our bedroom by inches. Hubby, Boogie & I were all dead asleep when the tree cracked and fell. Had it hit the bedroom, we wouldn't have heard it in time. We also have insurance on the pool. Who gets insurance on a pool from Wal-Mart? We do and we'll actually get our money's worth. 

Really looking back at it, these are all first-world problems anyway. These are nothing compared to the real sadness and suffering I see around me; friends losing all they own and their home due to a house fire, losing their fathers, getting their possessions stolen, having no money to eat for several days, suffering with tremendous health issues, preparing for surgeries, testing for cancer, laying to rest beloved pets, preparing funerals for their children... 

My problems aren't really problems at all in comparison. 

~~Joy

(c) 2012 Joy-Jasmin Brunnelson. All Rights Reserved.

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hunger games

For those of you who know what's been happening in my life lately- you might understand this reference:


THE HUNGER GAMES HAVE STARTED AND MY NAME WAS CALLED AS TRIBUTE.


Yup. My name was on the list. 


I am losing my job. 


(Caveat: I am NOT losing my job due to lack of performance or anything...there are "overlapping positions" due to a merger).


I really am blessed to have had the job fall in my lap when Hubby lost his job last year. It did what we needed it to do. It helped our family stay on its feet. That is, IF family had feet...it would be on them. And not on its butt. 


Of course, I have the best intentions to "keep my chin up" and trust in God but I'm sure I'll have some days where it'll be hard to keep the "great attitude". Especially when Hubby doesn't have enough jobs one month to cover all the bills or when we have to start giving stuff up and selling stuff to make ends meet. Then...I'll wish someone volunteered as tribute for me. 


Seriously though, God is amazing. I know, for a fact, that He did not want me there. I know what it is he wants me to do. And He sent me a love song on the way home today just to remind me (I chose the one with lyrics so you could get it):

Now comes the real test. Do I just sing along or will I live it out?:

Anything I would give up for you

Everything I'd give it all away...

P.S. I'm a pretty awesome car-singer. People in the lane next to me agree.

Oh, and for those of you who were on the edge of your seats wondering...yes, I made my midnight deadline for my first essay. :) Pretty good essay, if I say so myself...and because I actually am an AUTISM EVANGELIST...oh yeah- I worked autism into my essay about psychological theories and our worldview. Hmmm, maybe I'll post my essay tomorrow in lieu of a blog.

~~Joy

(c) 2012 Joy-Jasmin Brunnelson All Rights Reserved.

ring...ring...

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***************************************************************************


I was blessed this morning by a phone call. 


I love phone calls. With all the Facebooking, texting, IMing, IGing, KiKing, MySpacing (anyone?), Twittering, and e-mailing... just a simple phone call can make all the difference in your day. 

There's no misconstruing the tone of the other person, just organic back-and-forth conversation. Real conversation. Like they say something and you have to immediately answer them. You can't google an answer to their question (without them noticing that you take a long time to answer them). You have to pay attention when you talk to someone on the phone. It's a REAL person on the other line. You could multi-task while on the phone but I challenge you in your next phone call to take a step back and just BE in the conversation... It could be your biggest blessing for the day! 


I think it's more inline with how we should be with other people. 


Be personal. 
Be nice. 
Listen. 
Take turns. 
Hear them actually LOL when you say something funny. 
Make awesome noises when telling stories. It is very hard to write out sounds. 
Hear their voice. Isn't that what we all want? I think so since there is big business in recording our voices in cards, teddy bears and photo albums. We need human to human interaction. 


The bonus is that my phone call was from my spiritual mentor. I love her! She has opened a door for me to realize my potential in what God has called me to do and encourages me constantly. To be uplifted by a phone call can set the tone for the rest of your day. And she did that for me today. I didn't even realize that I needed it until she called.


For that, I am so grateful. 


~~Joy
(c) 2012 Joy-Jasmin Brunnelson All Rights Reserved

Before I Go To Sleep

Mommy, don't you cry now and Daddy you weep.
I want to whisper something before I go to sleep.
I know that when I came here I looked perfect in every way.
And you were so proud, Daddy; when you held me on that day.
And Mommy, when you kissed me and wrapped me up so tight,
I knew that I belonged here and everything was right.
But then I stopped talking and began to slip away,
I saw your worried faces as you knelt by me to pray.
And Daddy, I always notice how you wipe away a tear,
When you watch the other children as they run and laugh and cheer.
I may not be able to tell you how much I love you so,
Or even show you how I feel and what I really know.
But when you hold me, Mommy, at night when all is still,
I feel the love you have for me and I know that all is well.
And Daddy, when you take me to the park to run and play
I know that you still love me thought the words I cannot say.
I want to tell you something before I go to sleep.
I may be sort of direct and you may not understand,
I know that I am not that little child that you and Daddy planned.
But I love you both so very much and I know you love me too,
And if I could only speak my heart, you would feel my love for you.
I know the future is unknown and you will always have to be,
The ones who love and listen and take good care of me.
I know that you are frightened and you shed so many tears,
And if I could I'd wipe them dry and take away your fears.
So Mommy, don't you cry now and Daddy please don't weep.
I want to say…I love you both, before I go to sleep.


Written by Sally Meyer 2000