I wish I could say that my grown-up evening out was a huge success. The failure was not on the part of our dinner companions, whom by the way were wonderful, but that of my tummy.
Yes, I said tummy.
I have 3 little kids.
I live in the world of tummy, but butt, and tushie.
       The evening started of normally. I was in curlers and a robe when the sitter arrived. After a mad dash of mascara, hairspray, and perfume; I was out the door on the arm of some amazing eye candy. We were able to walk to the restaurant, which is a novelty I love about our little coastal town. The bosses wife was tall, thin, and extremely sweet. She shared with me her love of Pilates and a few great places to buy organic. We discovered that our oldest girls are both starting school for the first time together and given that kindergarden & 1st grade have the same drop-off/pick-up, I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of each other. Unless, we stick to our plans of having the hubbies do the dropping on the way to work. The only down side is that she IS the bosses wife. While I am meeting smart-funny-generous- all around fantastic women here down by the seashore, they share 2 small drawbacks. Either they don't live in Margate or they don't have kids. I was secretly hoping to finally meet someone who lived my crazy casino wife life, in Margate, with young kids. I guess I got my hopes up a little.
       Couple number 2 was equally delightful. The girlfriend was even taller, thinner, and just as sweet. (I have to say, I'm digging the people we are meeting out here.) They actually relocated from Las Vegas as well, only a month after we did. The girlfriend has the same sense of humor that I do and we had a blast making plans for her to help me take the kids to the beach and me taking her here. Since everyone at the table has lived in Vegas we had fun talking restaurants, growing up (me, hubby, & boss-man), and all the work stuff they say they are not going to talk about.
        The food was delicious. I opted for the special salad with grilled pineapple and avocado to start, followed by a ceviche for dinner. Yum and yum. Hubby and I finished the meal off sharing a slice of heaven... coconut cream pie. It was light, fluffy, and the perfect balance of flavors.
      Fast forward a few hours and let's just say I didn't sleep all night. I couldn't even stay in bed. Instead I had to set up camp in the bathroom. It reminded me of my morning sickness. Which, many of you well know is not fun for me.
At all.
In fact, it is down right painful.
It's enough to keep me from having more kids. If I was planning on more bundles of cuteness.
      Dinner didn't caused my delightful midnight adventure. It had to be something else I ate since I didn't drink that much. And if it WAS my 2 cocktails- then man I am now a light weight. Okay- fine. 2 cocktails, and a beer. Whatever it was, thank heavens hubby let me sleep in so that I could feel partially human.
Then he left for work early.
So I just curled up on the couch and let the inmates run the asylum.

I get a grown-up night out tonight.

With 2 other couples.

Granted 1 of the couples I have never met.

And the other, I know the husband from elementary school a million years ago, but have never met his wife.

Okay, okay, I guess it technically is more of a work dinner that a crazy night out with friends dinner.

Luckily, it's at one of my favorite restaurants.

I'm excited I get to play dress up.

It's so sad and pathetic, I know. 

I'm proud of myself if I get out of my sweats most days.

But the idea of make-up, hair, and jewelry all in one go... so exciting.

But the best part?!?

Hubby and I can walk there.

Can you say cocktail?

Besides, it has the best roasted chicken dish in the world.

(second only to this place.)

Yummy, yum yum!

It's only 2:11 p.m. right now.

And dinner is at 7:30 p.m.

Is it too early to get ready yet?

    Last night I watched Julie/Julia. I believe it was the 2nd or 3rd time. Hubby was on his way home from NYC and refuses to watch this movie with me again after he learned that the author cheated on her husband. To me that detail feeds into the fantasy of fame. I mean who wouldn't get a big head if your crappy life turns into a successful novel and then a movie starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams?
    This got me contemplating the meaning of life... okay not the REALLY meaning of life, but why people love to blog and read blogs. I won't pretend that my revelation applies to everyone. I instead think I represent a strong minority. I believe we love blogs because they simultaneously make us feel important and connected. We can speak to those we love by sharing our day to day joys, frustrations, and victouries. We can spout off on a topic we deem vital, and we can vent when we feel low. When we need to know we are not alone in a situation, reading about someone else's kid/marriage/cooking struggles gives us that sigh of relief that says "I'm not crazy, I'm okay, and I can get through this."
    I have a blog that I like to read. I check it everyday and if the blog has not been updated, I have been know to cyber stalk it until it does. Why do I like this particular blog so much? Well, the author is a mom with several kids for starters. She has done some pretty cool things so far in her life, and she just keeps going. The author of this blog is following her passion while still being able to keep the equilibrium of family and friends. She has balance. For all of these and probably countless more; she falls into my category of "supermom". This title is reserved for those women who seem to be able to do it all. They have beautiful, clean, no dishes in the sink homes. Their kids always look to have clean laundry. They plan and execute amazing parties of all varieties, and they are well rested, impeccably dresses, and they leave the house.
    This is my illusion. My holy grail of motherhood. You see I'm not that mom. I wish I was and sometimes I get myself down because I'm not. In my house we have pajama day. This is a day we never get dressed or leave the house. I like these days. Sadly, we have them a bit too much. I try to keep the dishes from piling up, but with 3 kids who have their daddy's appetite it's a hard thing to do. Even when I get the dishwasher loaded, there is ALWAYS something left in the sink be it a spoon, cup, or pan. While I love my life and truly understand how blessed I am to be living it; I still want more from myself and for myself. I want to start dancing again, but the devil on my shoulder keeps whispering in my ear countless reason why I can't. I want to go back to school, but I don't know why. I want to travel spontaneously. I want to walk into my closet and find the idea outfit for any occasion.
    Most of these are silly things. They are the insecurities of my unbalanced scales. They are the fears of what I'm passing along to my girls. As a mother, I don't want to make mistakes. I know that is the dumbest thing I can say because I am human and thus flawed. So I end this solemn moment by basking in the light I am embraced in each morning. The utter joy of three little ones crawling into my bed to snuggle. Each craving my closeness and wanting nothing more than to just be.

A Little Bit of Cuteness

I love watching my girls personalities evolve.

Ayla is my quite observer. She is happy curled up in the over sized chair with a book.

Just like her momma.

Hayden is my extrovert. She is loud and funny and will try anything once.

Just like her momma.

Dilann is my charmer. This kid KNOWS how to work the cute factor.

Just like her momma.

A New Kinda Normal

Today's blog was achieved through the help of an old friend. Circe was my pledge master a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away. Back when I could dance 14 hours a day and 9 am was the crack of dawn.
Boy times have changed. But, not Circe. She is still the ONLY person who calls me Sunshine. I wanted to post my favorite picture of us, but it is floating in limbo since the move. It is such a cute picture taken at the Red Rose Formal. We are hugging, both look hot. It's an Alpha Phi thing. We love to hug... and we are all beautiful. And smart. And uber successful.

❖❖❖❖

Circe has been very open about the diagnoses of her daughter Savannah with Celiac Disease, so I asked her to answer a few questions for me about her life raising a child who was allergic to gluten.

   Can you tell us how you were introduced to Celiac Disease and what it is?

When Savannah was about 2 years and 2 months old, she started with symptoms similar to a stomach virus, gassy, diarrhea and periodic vomiting.  I remember on a trip we took in late May that we were at a Wendy’s, she ate a hamburger and threw it up within 10 minutes.  When we got home, I took her to the doctor’s office and they told me it was probably a stomach bug and just wait it out.  The “stomach virus” never went away; I took her to the doctor’s office at least once every two weeks with the same symptoms, saying she still isn’t getting better.  I believe that because she never got dehydrated it never raised any immediate flags.  Over the course of this time, she got worse and worse.  She lost over 5 lbs and dropped to 20 lbs and got a huge distended belly that thumped like a watermelon (think of those starving children in Africa you see on TV, she was starving).  She became lethargic and didn't play, laugh or anything. By mid-July, before another doctor’s appointment we were at Books-a-Million, where I’d take her to play in the kids section because it was way too hot outside.  I decided to grab a medical book and look up her symptoms and it was the first thing I saw and it fit perfectly.  At the doctor’s office, the doctor rattled off a list of diseases, Celiac probably one of them, but I was too dazed to pay attention, to see if anyone in my family had any of them.  Before I could ask about Celiac he was referring me to a gastroenterologist and he thought it was Celiac.  At that point he had only seen one other child with a diagnosed case of Celiac in the entire practice (2 offices and 7 doctors).

Of everything they tested Savannah for, I hope with everything that it was Celiac because the treatment is only a diet change, no medication, no real risks for other diseases, and if taken care of, no long-term damage to her body.

  What is the most challenging aspect of this disease given that it affects your child?

That she is a very picky eater.  I think that some of this stems from when she got Celiac.  I also believe that she knew what the problem was before any of us (doctor’s included).  Savannah ate toast EVERY morning for breakfast, before we got the diagnosis confirmation; she stopped wanting toast, just like that.  I think she equated the toast with when she felt the worst, just after eating all that gluten.  It must have been like a bomb going off in her belly.  Reading about other people who have Celiac describe the pain and suffering some of them had with their stomach and gut, I am just amazed at Savannah’s resilience.  She never cried, complained, or whined all during the time she had to have been in excruciating pain.  Just imagine how bad you feel when you get diarrhea for one day or a bad bout of gas, she was in that state for three months, 24 hours a day!  With all the advances in food, I don’t have the worries parents did 10, even 5 years ago about birthday or wedding cakes.  I guess the biggest challenge is making sure she can take care of herself when I am not around to check her food.  I can’t be with her 24/7 and she is getting more independent and wanting to have sleepovers and stuff.  She has gotten to the point at school that if someone hands her something to eat, she either asks them if it has wheat in it, or says that she can’t have it because it has wheat in it.  Now we are moving into the fine tuning phase, explaining more details about gluten (not just wheat) and what kinds of foods can have gluten in them.

 You had mentioned to me that you believe all people would benefit from a gluten free diet, why is that?

In my research about this disease, which is an auto-immune response that she will never grow out of, I have learned about gluten (found in wheat, barley and rye) and how it affects the human body.  Gluten is a natural inflammatory of the human body, anyone who eats gluten, with Celiac or not, will experience inflammation of the joints and muscles.  Most people never notice it, but it is there.  That is why people with arthritis may experience benefits from a gluten-free diet.

I also think of wheat like I do milk.  People are lactose intolerant because the human body is not made to be able to drink the milk of another animal.  We are the only species to do that.  Some people have built up a tolerance and/or our genes have begun to change to help us digest the milk, but as a species, we are not supposed to drink cow’s milk.  Wheat is the same, it have been genetically modified over the centuries so much, that we can now, for the most part digest it, but it is not natural to the human diet.

  What benefits and challenges do you face with your food lifestyle?

I have really taken the “working Mom’s” approach to gluten-free living.  I don’t have the time to make everything from scratch and frankly with all the advances with labeling laws and the fact that a wheat-free diet has become the newest trend, I don’t have to.  When she was first diagnosed, I envisioned mixing my own kinds of alternative flours and baking everything from scratch.  I even bought a stand mixer.  I use it for her bread, but I make it from a mix.  There was a big learning curve with Celiac.  Gluten is in all kinds of products, you wouldn’t imagine, just like sugar.  Soy sauce, most are make from wheat, not soy, which is also the basis for many marinades.  Some boxed raisins are dusted with flour to keep them from clumping, but not so many anymore, most use corn starch now.  Almost all cereals, corn, rice or whatever are made with malt flavoring which is made from barley containing gluten.  Most soups use flour as a thickener.  We need to stay away form barbeque flavoring and even some artificial colors or flavors.  Oats do not have gluten in them, but are often stored in the same silos as wheat, and therefore cannot be considered safe.  We have to remember no double dipping in peanut butter, butter, jelly or other condiments; a new knife for every use.  Spreading peanut butter on regular bread, then dipping the knife in to get more contaminates the jar and it has to be marked “Not GF”.

  What is your favorite meal?

Her favorites are Annie’s GF Mac ‘n Cheese and Amy’s GF Pizza that she embellishes with onions, zucchini, turkey pepperoni and extra cheese.

 ❖❖ Personal note: I have to say that the Annie's GF Mac 'n Cheese is THE BEST I've ever tasted. My girls love it as a quickie tuna casserole (tuna & frozen mixed veggies).❖❖

   Do you find that your family is more open to foods given the dietary restrictions?

No, Savannah is still a really picky eater and my husband still insists on “wanting his gluten!”  I have heard that quinoa is a great alternative, but we haven’t tried it.  We just look for the best tasting alternatives to the foods we regularly eat (i.e. gluten-free pastas, pie crusts, crackers, soy sauce, soups).

❖❖Personal note: Quinoa is super yummy and full of protein. You can use it in place of rice or even pasta. I love mine with Trader Joe's Tamara sauce & Chicken. ❖❖

  If and when you “fall off the wagon”, how does it impact your body?

I think that because she started this diet so early and didn’t have to try and do it at 12 or 20, it is much easier for her to stick to the diet.  We are just starting to experience some growing pains with Savannah.  And if she goes to public school, I think it may be a little more challenging.  But we have made sure that she is very knowledgeable about what she can and can’t eat.  She has, kind of luckily, had a few instances of eating wheat and she pukes immediately (within 5-10 minutes) so she vividly remembers what will happen if she eats wheat.

   Can you share with us a “day in the life” of your kitchen?

Savannah still enjoys toast for breakfast, one piece with butter and one with peanut butter and some yogurt (with extra fiber, because people with Celiac often don’t get enough fiber).  Her bread must be pre-made, pre-sliced and stored in two-slice seal-a-meal bags in the freezer.  We make bread about once a week, or if we have time will make 2 or 3 loaves at once, so all her sandwiches are always with toasted bread. 

For school we just pack lunches with other options, fruits and the one or two vegetables she might eat, slices of baloney or cheese and crackers, yogurt, gluten-free pretzels.  Luckily, she will never get to eat in the school cafeteria.

Because she is such a picky eater we are trying to avoid separate meals, so most everything we make for dinner is gluten-free with some sides or additions with gluten.  I will use gluten-free marinades, but may have regular bread available at a meal.  When we make pasta, I will just make her some gluten-free pasta separately.  But if we make pizza at home, we really like a particular gluten-free pizza mix and will all eat it.

  In your opinion, how much more work is it eating gluten free?

It’s really not that difficult.  There is an added level of difficulty because Savannah can’t have any amount of gluten, or she will get sick.  I was gluten-free for almost a year and it was relatively easy.  It was a choice for me, so I wasn’t as strict.  I would just order a hamburger without a bun and French fries, regardless of what else was cooked in the restaurants oil.  For Savannah’s I have to make sure that only French fries are cooked in the oil, not chicken fingers or other breaded items.  Contaminated oil makes the fries not gluten-free anymore because of cross-contamination.

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Thank Circe for sharing you story with us. As soon as I find that picture, I'm posting it!

Love,

Sunshine

Just Breathe

Pilates is about breathing. 

Life is about breathing.

Most people forget this simple, natural act.

When was the last time you took a good, long deep breath?

What happened when you did?

I bet you felt calmer and more relaxed.

I bet you were able to handle a stressful situation or control your anger.

 I bet you were able to let go of the day and relax with those you love.

❖❖❖❖❖❖❖❖

Do it now.

Feel your lungs expanding in all four directions. 

Make yourself fill up like balloon.

 Hold for just a moment. 

And release.

The Birthday Surprise

Yesterday my best friend, one of my 4 favorite people in the world, and designated garbage taker-to-the-curb turned 37.
So what do you give the man who has everything?

A BIG FAT LIE... which ended in a surprise birthday party.

I've been planning the shin-dig for a few weeks. I had enlisted the help of some pretty spiffy people, all of whom did not include my children. Have you ever know a kid to keep a juicy secret? Point proven. So on the morning of the big day, after hubby left for work, I spilled the beans to my little ones and hit the kitchen.

What you don't see is the bags of stuff on the floor. Or the potatoes. Or the large cup of coffee fueling  my cooking marathon.

About half way through the morning my kitchen started hitting me back. I think the dishwasher is on it's 2nd running of the day already. My mom would be so proud... I was cleaning as I went.

                                                      

This tree... is basil, and the tomatoes smelled like heaven. I turned them into this.

My only real break in the day was when we had to run to the farmers market for a few missing ingredients. And the lightest, fluffiest blueberry scone I have ever tasted. And homemade mozzarella cheese which melted in your mouth.

To add an extra element of fun - a new favorite toy decided to break. I hear bad things happen in 3's. My coffee maker fizzled on Monday and this guys broke after slicing the potatoes and before the crust for the tarts. I wonder what kitchen gadget will be the next to go...?

(Mom, aren't you so proud for me? I was actually using my food processor! But now he's broken. Sorry.)

In the words of my Marine father "Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome."

Mr. Blender wasn't up for the tart making task until I got on my knees and wept. Then he agreed to help. Just like a man, add a few tears and they are putty in your hands.

My only (other) snafu of the day... I was going to make both a fruit tart and a strawberry shortcake cake from here. I forgot to get the powdered sugar for the icing. So I just make 2 tarts instead. That was a good choice. I had 1 for dessert at the party and 1 for breakfast. It was a win-win situation.

By 4 p.m my brain was fried, the tarts were baked, and the brisket was falling apart. I took a quick shower, made 50 trips to load the car and headed off to the party location. 

Miss Sandy's house. 

It's really odd then her husband calls her Sandra. Because I've been programmed to answer to any form of my name or close pronunciations. I kept trying to answer him and then would realize he wasn't talking to me. It made me dizzy. 

❖❖❖❖

It was now time to make "The Call". I was nervous calling hubby with my cover story. I was SURE he would know something was up given the dishes in the sink and the yummy smell in the house. I actually had butterflies. Plus I didn't want to upset him on his birthday.

"Honey, don't be mad. My car won't start."

"What?!? Where are you?"

"I had to go to Gernardi's for some special cheese. When I got back out to the car it would start, then stall. I don't know what's wrong with it."

"Oh geeze. Don't try to drive it. Do you know how much a tow truck is going to cost us? At least it should still be under warranty. Are you sure you're not out of gas?"

" I got gas 2 days ago. It's hot and humid out here. If I can get it started I'm going to drove to Sandy's. She is only around the corner, that way I can get the kids out of the car."

Fast forward to me not answering the phone while I was "driving" to Sandy's house.

"Why are you not answering your phone?!?"

"Babe, I got the car started and drove to Sandy's. Just come get us here."

  

  

  

It was his first surprise party ever. Thank you to all of our friends who helped us celebrate!

Happy Birthday babe, I love you.

Just for fun

In the next few days I have some very informative, and fun posts coming.

But today I wanted to give you something cute and cuddly to hold you over.

This first was my favorite as a child.

I LOVED the smurfs.

I had a smurf sleeping bag, lunch box, the works.

So you can imagine my delight to see a trailer for a new smurf movie HERE.

And to find this lunchbox HERE.

For those who don't know, my maiden name is Pepper.

I LOVE Dr. Pepper.

If I drink soda, it's my drug of choice.

I used to have a shirt that said "I'm a Pepper"

It's the old slogan of Dr. Pepper.

Ok, Ok, FINE...

I still have a shirt that says that.

It looked like this.

Just less boxy.

Yesterday

Yesterday started like any other.

My coffee maker broke. And I fixed it with a toothpick.

Hayden was "Cranky Hayden".

(for those who know that phrase, you understand.)

We left the house to run errands.

And it rained.

It rained like the you were standing under Niagara Falls.

Then it would stop for 2 minutes. Then start again.

It was kinda fun in the beginning.

But then I realized I had 3 kids with me in flip flops.

When I got home from my errands it was raining so hard I couldn't get out of the car.

We don't have an attached garage.

(one of the small things I miss about Vegas.)

So we stayed in the car.

2 of my kids slept.

1, won her first game of solitaire on my phone.

Then suddenly it all just stopped.

And we were greeted with this.

For those who can't tell, that's my street, under a foot and a half of water.

Like hibernating animals waking up to spring, the children (and adults too) emerged to do what was beckoning us...

When a car would come, and yes some people drove in this, it would make waves for all of the boogie boards.

Sadly, I don't have pictures of my girls on their boogie board.

 I was too worried of dropping the camera.

And too frazzled from the 10 minute search for their swimsuits. The suits were hiding from me.

So close your eyes and picture a 1 year old trying to pull her big sister through the water.

Now picture the baby dunking her head in the water like it's the bath tub.

Now how about mommy wanting to bath her in Purel.

Priceless.

The best part was that I have a memory about the same thing. It is one of the my favorites, and now my girls have it too.

Fun Night Out

This is Jim

For his birthday we drove to Philly and ate here.

With all these great people.

It was amazing. But we had a special guest.

They have suckling pig if you pre-order.

With super amazing sides.

 (Just don't get me started on the cheese plate and tapas we had to start. Heaven. And a lot of "Oh my goodness" goin' around the table.)

I won't even tell you the conversation going on in this picture. Let's just say it's comparing parts of dinner you don't normally eat.

We all felt like this after dinner.

So we went here for one of these

We did a lot of dancing. And singing.

And This sums up the night.

Borrowing random guys sunglasses at 2:30 in the morning in Old Town Philly.

Good Times.

Birthday Dinner

Last night a group of us

drove down (or up)(or sideways)to Philly

for dinner.

It was amazing!

Maybe tomorrow I'll tell you about it.

If you ask nicely.

And say "pretty please, with sugar on top."

Mind Over Matter

Cleaning is not my favorite activity. Unless, for some reason, I get an itch to do it. Like when I'm "nesting" during the end of a pregnancy. But THAT'S not going to happen again anytime soon. Or ever. Unless I stumble into an infant Gymboree class. Then I might need a dozen or so more babies.

But what I like to do is make the time count.  That's why, when I read an article about the "Placebo Effect" I was interested. Could our minds really effect our bodies?

Yes.

Our brains are capable of many great wonders IF we use them. I have heard stories of people over coming incredible odds both physically and mentally. So it makes sense to me that if we set our minds to a healthier lifestyle or activity; that our bodies would follow suit.

Back in 2008 the "Placebo Effect" theory was tested. Basically, they took a group of 84 maids  who said they get little or no exercise, and told  one group of they were already exercising while at work (group A) and didn't say the same to the other (group B).  One month later they went back to re-test the 84 maids. What they found was the group A had lowered their blood pressure, lost weight, and decreased their hip-to-waist ratio by 67%. read here

So I figure, if I need to clean, I might as well make it count.

Excercise is in the eye of the beholder. If you look at a task and realized the exercise potential in it, then it can become a form of exercise. I personally use the philosophy of no wasted movements. I set a time or area limit for my cleaning and I go-go-go. I move with purpose, try not to stand still for too long, and even throw in an exercise with working. Calf raises while cleaning the bathroom sink. Squats while putting the kids clothes away. You get the idea.

If nothing else it makes the time go by faster.

Never Too Young...

Okay, I'm over my nutrition ranting. 

Sorry.

 I just get so worked up over food. Mostly in a good way. Like when I saw this recipe. 

I can't wait to make it. I might de-gluten it a bit, but I'll still take a bite or two of hubbies which will be served as suggested.

Any hoo-

 I walked upstairs the other day and overheard this conversation.

Thing 1-"let's go to exercise class."

Thing 2- "okay!"

Thing 1- "now do this."

Please disregard the messy room. I have 3 very active things sharing it. They can rival any tornado when it comes to play time. Thank you. This is a recording. Beep.

Thing 1- "now this"

If it isn't obvious, my oldest LOVES to be in charge. And when her minions - I mean siblings- follow orders, it's even better.

Thing 3 had to join the fun.

Now Thing 1 REALLY is the teacher. Check her out supervising the workout session.

My favorite captured moment was this.

                                              

I was playing solitaire on my phone in the kitchen, because that's what I do in the kitchen. When I looked up and saw my baby doing pull ups. She when turned to me and said "mommy, I exercizing." 

Since it was so so so cute, I made her do it again so I could record it. I think this was take 3. When I asked for take # 4, she cited child labor laws, demanded more pay, and stormed off set. Okay, fine, she just smiled and said "no, I finished." But it wouldn't have been surprising if she had. Thing 3 is one smart cookie.

Just goes to show that little eyes are always watching and it's never too young to start exercising.

                                              

Truth About Supplements

Americans, for the most part, eat a crappy diet. You know it's true, I know it's true, and big business knows it's true. Since most people are not willing to drastically change their diets to gain the nutrients their bodies need, big business has been kind enough to give us supplements.
Supplements have many great qualities- if you BUY quality. They can enhance even the healthiest diets, if taken correctly. You can mix and match supplements to fit your health needs. Here are some that every person should take.
1. FISH OIL- High in omega 3 fatty acid. Great for almost everything concerning the heart. Including plaque build up in the arteries, high blood pressure, and triglycerides (fat in the blood). Extra bonus- may lower risk of stroke, lower risk of anxiety, depression, and inflammation in the body.
2. VITAMIN D-  The best way to get vitamin D is from the sun, but with skin cancer on the rise; it may not be the safest. Vitamin D is know to ward of breast, ovarian, colorectal, and other forms of cancer. It is also proven that americans do not get enough vitamin D from the sun and fortified foods. Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, fighting off autoimmune diseases, arthritis, and  fibromyalgia.
3.GREEN TEA- Loaded with polyphenols, which is a plant produced chemical packed with antioxidants believed to be more potent than vitamin C. Green tea, is also recognized worldwide for its therapeutic properties, contains powerful flavonoids called catechins. The chief catechin in green tea is epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which is a powerful antioxidant with anti-inflammatory, cholesterol lowering, fat burning and other beneficial properties.
4a. ANTIOXIDANTS- Probably the best known ones are vitamins C and vitamin E, beta-carotene, lutein and lycopene. They are part of the family of antioxidant carotenoids that are found in fruit and vegetables.  Antioxidants help our bodies battle the chemicals and damage caused by a poor diet and environmental pollutants.
4b. FLAVONOIDS- Are another group of anti-oxidant nutrients, and they are also found in fruit and vegetables. Flavonoids are not produced in the body.
5. FRESH ORGANIC FRUITS AND VEGGIES- It's amazing how smart mother nature is. All of the good stuff our bodies need we can get from a healthy, balanced, plant heavy diet. And here is a fun little fact for you. That nasty chronic inflammation problem that most people suffer from (asthma, arthritis, autoimmune diseases, headaches) can all be controlled or eliminated with a grain or gluten free diet. All of the junk food we eat is having a bigger impact on our bodies than just an expanding waist line.

Bottom line, the best supplements are those found in a healthy diet.

Pure Happiness

YESTERDAY

I received the best news a friend could get.

I shouted "woo hoo!" at the top of my lungs.

 Luckily, I was at the park and only a few parents looked at me strange.

It was a phone call that answered my prayers.

My dear, sweet, funny, selfless friend

just received word that she is
CANCER FREE!!
I can't explain the joy that has once again filled me knowing she is now healthy.
I marvel that she can look at her chemo depleted body and call me with excitement over the new body awareness she has. 
She had to tell me that she now understood some of my "cueing" from our Pilates sessions.


This woman amazes me with her upbeat personality and infectious smile. 
She is the one who introduced me to gluten- free eating and how easy it is.
She is also the worlds BEST esthetician for those of you in Vegas.
You will love her. Your SKIN will love her.
My skin wept when we moved.