Vitamin D and me

We haven't been very close for a long time now. Seems like D just doesn't like to be in most of the things I  eat. Guess that might change....  I cannot eat eggs and milk, and won't eat liver, but hey, fish might reappear on the Heather menu ;)

I'm naturally a tired person. Always have been. I'm not narcoleptic or anything, but you could always count on me being the first one asleep at sleepovers. Yes, I was the one who had her face drawn on by all the other giggling excitable girls who stayed up into the wee hours of the night.

Or had every blanket in the known world piled on top of her to resemble a giant turtle, as she comfortably snoozed the evening away.

Thanks Deven and Liz! Great memories.

But, for several years now, it seems like the lethargy and exhaustion  took a turn in a more serious direction, including, muscle pain and weakness, and lack of motivation.

So, I considered the usual suspects: anemia, thyroid disorder, vitamin B deficiency, or vitamin D deficiency.

I'm such an optimist, no? ;)

I'll be honest. I thought the blood tests would come back showing serious anemia. The other diagnoses seemed a little more far-fetched to me, especially considering I already take a vitamin D supplement.

Well, wouldn't you know it!? I'm vitamin D deficient ANYWAY.

It varies among the "experts" as to what is considered the normal range for vitamin D levels. Some say it starts at 30 ng/ml (nanograms/milliliter), some say 32, and goes up to 100 ng/ml.

I'm at 27 ng/ml

So, here comes the increase in D3 supps! I'm ordered to up it to 2,000 international units a day.

I'm hoping that in no time I'll be jumping out of bed like this

until it's time to hit the hay.

So, the next thing on my agenda is to get a bone density scan done, as chronic vitamin d deficiency can cause osteoporosis.

I'm already feeling better just knowing what the issue was, so I can justify my bouts of lethargy and exhaustion, and that I'm not a complete freak.

Maybe :)

comments?

Hey all!

I've had several people ask about being able to comment on my little bloggy....

Long time ago in a galaxy far far away,

I had the comments section enabled.

People left comments, it was nice.

Then, some wackadoo made a creepy bizarre comment, so I disabled the comment thing.

But, I'm trying to get it back up how it was.

There are some new options in the settings and I'm a li'l confuzzled, so bear with me until I get it worked out.

Cuz, I would love to hear from all you!

Thanks for reading!!

Gardening tip

So, you're gardening and you wanna be "green?" You don't have a compost bin that you can use as natural fertilizer for veggies?

A great alternative is placing a dead fish in the dirt where you'll be planting your vegetable of choice.

My Grandpa  (click to read about him)and I, when I was a wee sprout, used to do this, especially with the potatoes we grew. He was an extraordinary, resourceful gardener. His gardens invariable thrived.

So, if you're an animal rights advocate and are against catching fish to use as fertilizer,

just go to your local lake front and gather all the dead ones that have washed ashore.

Happy Gardening All!

Planting, Playing, and Purchases

Finally! After a weekend of rain, drizzle, and your basic dreariness, the sun made an appearance again. It sure makes the weekdays much more pleasant. :)

So, we got to plant Trinity's Snapdragons and Sweet Pea seeds around the birdhouse post.

First, I had to clear the area of all the sticks, weeds, and dead leaves.

Bruce and Trinity got to do the fun part-planting the seeds.

Here is one of our two upside down tomato planters :) I sure hope these work as well as advertised!

Trinity's tomato plant in the terracotta pot she painted. Groovy design, no?

Mmmm....Roma tomatoes

Sweet bell peppers!

We also got the spinach, snap peas, and lettuce planted.

After we finished with the horticulture, we hung out with my dad. He and Bruce tried to help Trinity fly her kite.

 There wasn't much wind. Those boys sure tried for their little princess, though.

I headed to my fave store-Woodman's, and found some yummy new eats.

The Lundberg brand seems to have quite a foothold in the organic gluten/wheat free market! Thank you, Lundbergs!

Bruce surprised me and cleaned out Sentry of its Fage greek yogurt!

"Wait," you say. "But Heather, aren't you lactose and casein intolerant?" Yes, yes I am. BUT....

I am able to tolerate high quality yogurt with serious gut protecting live and active bacteria.

The bacteria in yogurt actually "eats up" the lactose and casein and renders them ineffective. Kind of like bacterial tazers in the world of renegade dangerous lactose and casein villians!

Yogurt is a great source of calcium, protein, and the aforementioned beneficial bacteria. How do you know you have a high quality yogurt? Well, it should really only have 2 ingredients for maximum health benefits.

1-Grade A milk

2-LIVE active cultures.

Watch out for the kinds with more sugar than a package of Skittles. Ewwww.

All that sugar pretty much renders the health aspect of the yogurt null and void, and may as well be pudding.

So, to all my local readers who also love Fage yogurt.....if you ever go to Sentry and it's not there, um, take it up with Bruce ;)

Identifying Your Ikigai

A repost. Because it's one of my faves :)

Do you have an ikigai?

(pronounced "icky guy")

Ikigai is a word that Okinawans use to define their purpose in life. It is the driving force that motivates them to get up in the morning, live a fulfilling life, and not just survive, but thrive. It is an essential component to the health and longevity of centenarians (those who live at least to 100) there.

I think many people, especially us Christians, can identify a general purpose, or ikigai.

To me, it would be to serve and love God by serving and loving others.

Aside from a general purpose, I believe we have ikigais that are "seasonal." When one season or phase of life ends (i.e.becoming a stay at home mom, becoming a student, or even retiring from your job), we need to adapt and adopt a new ikigai.

But,what is your personal, unchanging, consistent ikigai that transcends every season of life? This is, I believe, the most important ikigai. It is the one that will continue to motivate you and encourage you despite your circumstances.

The personal ikigai is identifying and it is how people could describe you. It is a passion, a gift, or a calling that could, for us Christians, stem from our general ikigai.

Identifying your ikigai is important, because seasons, situations, and circumstances change.

To live a life with purpose that sustains our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health, we need something that is independent of different "seasons" and circumstances.

I've heard dozens of stories of husbands and wives passing away within months of each other, from a "broken heart", and of people dying within HOURS of retiring from their jobs.

I believe that because their seasonal ikigai was gone, so was their will to live. So when you retire, remember it's from your job, not from life.

Remember the P.I.E. post?

I think that woman in New Orleans who sought out others to help, even as her own world crashed around her, had an identifying personal ikigai. It was probably to help others, no matter what. She was-a helper.

So what is YOUR ikigai? Can you identify it? What will drive you and motivate you to get up everyday until the day you die?

I pray that it is something of more than just earthly value, but of an eternal ,everlasting , legacy-leaving value.

I mentioned that the Okinawan centenarians identified several components to living a long, healthy, fulfilling life. There are many cultures around the world with record numbers of centenarians and they all have the same basic components:

Common components among 4 cultures with many centenarians are:

Stay Active

Be optimistic

Embrace an "ikigai" or sense of purpose

Eat a plant-based diet with minimal animal products

Maintain a strong social/familial network of people you can rely on

Big Find in a Small Town-part deux

Small town finds are so fun, because you think you know everything interesting (and not so interesting) about the place, especially if you've grown up there.

I think I just may include these small town FINDS as another theme in my little blog. It fits right in, since all the other themes also start with "F." Look to the right at my blog description. It's meant to be :)

Now, the Sweet Lips find is definitely an interesting one. Brynne, the owner was kind enough not only to take the time to chat with me and Trinity, but to give us a tour of other parts of the building as well.

Some more eclectic and fun artsy creations.

Since Brynne lives an hour and a half away (yikes!), she enjoys taking the time spent driving, to catch up on audio books.

She also enjoys sharing that hobby with others.

Audio book exchange on the honor system. Believe it, people!

Need a unique and fun greeting card? Look no further.

Now, the BATHROOM! Uber cool. Look at that sink!

The painting on the wall is of the very building in which Sweet Lips is located.

Trinity and I spent at LEAST an hour here taking pictures and chatting it up with Brynne. Trinity's little 6 year old attention span was very well under control. She was so content, thanks to the gelato and the activity area just for kids! What other art gallery do you know to have an activity area for kids?

So, if you're looking for something fun and interesting to do on your downtime, head to downtown Lake Mills and visit Brynne and her mom Beverly at Sweet Lips (103 Church St.)

Big Find in a little town-a True gem!

We tend to be creatures of habit, no? We go about our daily lives, hittin' up the same grocery store, bank, gym, gas station, coffee shop, running our mundane little errands.

This weekend, because the annoying welcomed rain forced us to postpone our veggie potting plans, I decided to check out a place here in town that I've passed countless times in the past 2 years.

It's called the Sweet Lips Art and Gift Gallery.

I am so happy I did!

I have lots of pictures and so much info from my impromptu visit, that I'm going to have to break this up into 2 separate posts.

This historic building was, among many things throughout the years, the municipal building back when I was growing up.

It has since been renovated into a gorgeous and comforting art showroom with unique and fun gifts.

My camera was clickin' nonstop when I walked in, until Brynne, the welcoming and informative owner of the shop introduced herself. What a doll! She was so gracious and outgoing. I have to admit, she's one of the nicest people I've ever met!

Not only is this an art and gift gallery, showcasing art from dozens of Wisconsin artists, but it is a coffee shop that serves specialty drinks AND gelato!

So many things about this place drew my eyes' attention!

The funkiness of much of the art and gifts (not funky like smelly, but funky like "unconventionally stylish") was stimulating.

Colors popped from all areas of the gallery, begging me to avert my attention their way.

I'd call this....the post-modern classic stuff :)

Ahhhh....the lounging area, where you can sip your latte, savor your gelato, or munch on your organic gluten free Birdie Bar (I bought 2!) all sold in the shop.

There were also quite a few books and magazines in this area, if you wanted to get your read on!

I loved all the natural lighting of the gallery. It really showcased the glass art beautifully.

Check out these nightlights! I love the dragonfly :)

Some artistic gifts for the sportsman in your life.

Where else can you find dresser knobs that look like shells-on fishing net?

And of course, Brynne and her mom Bev.  

You should have seen these two light up as they told me about the 20th Annual Wisconsin Main Street Award Ceremony held just the night before.

 Out of 36 Wisconsin communities, they were recognized for Best Adaptive Reuse, because of the incredible renovations to and reuse of the building.

Congrats!

I found this quite appropriate, not only because of the innovative way in which this building has been restored, but because of the Earth Day weekend! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, right?

Stay tuned for part 2 of my visit to Sweet Lips! You don't want to miss the bathroom pics ;)

Scenes from a small town Earth Fair

The second annual Earth Fair in our tiny midwestern town was held in the brand new Jr. High School. More than 97% of the construction waste was recycled. Groovy, eh? :)

I enjoy these kinds of fairs and seminars, being "green," and taking care of the Earth NOT because I worship and exalt the creation, but because I worship and exalt

THE CREATOR.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to HIM." (Psalm 24:1,  1Corinthians 10:26)

Trinity with an electric car.

There were lots of fun and informative displays-the most fun being the interactive ones.

Here she is using the bicycle to light up a LED bulb.

I was very interested in the display by a local church. They were selling books called "Serve God, Save the Planet." I didn't bring my wallet :(  They are also having a seminar later today, I may go back and check that out!

The freebies are one of the best parts of these gigs, as well! The church's freebie was a pen made COMPLETELY of recycled materials: cardboard, bamboo, corn by-product, and recycled ink.

Nice :)

The first 1,000 people there got a free Spruce seedling. Trinity decided to name her Friendzy.

Some potty facts-just for Ede :)

A very interesting fact on the board was that the average person flushes the toilet nearly 140,000 times during their lifetime.

Trinity's question: "How do they KNOW that?"

Good question.

This kind lady let Trinity help a bit with spinning some wool. She had some sweaters and shawls on display, also. She dyed her wool with vegetables.

A very exciting find! This farm is about 45 minutes away, so not very convenient. BUT, they deliver their grass fed meat, organic eggs, and cage free, free range chickens.

They are also a vendor at our local farmer's market every Wednesday, which starts on May 5th. So, if you want some of their products that they don't display at the farmer's market, you can order and they'll bring it!

Some of their goodies they'll have at the farmer's market.

Their website is http://www.naturalmeats.org/

Trinity standing by some different kinds of recycling gadgets.

The picture below raises a good question. Sometimes organic isn't what you think it is. Funny enough, I just read an article with Michael Pollan which addressed a similar issue. He stated, "...to get a piece of the financial premium that organic foods command, farmers simply substitute organic fertilizers and pesticides for synthetic ones."

Scary.

Some final thoughts/facts on the new Jr. High. I'm impressed :)

"The heavens are Yours, and the earth is Yours; everything You created in the world is Yours. You created it all." Psalm 89:11

So, are you treating it as a good steward should? Would He be pleased with how you take care of His things?