Dogs Will Be Dogs or Dog Will Be Dog

This is our dog, Juliet. She is a three year-old Pitbull who is loving as can be. We adopted her from our local animal shelter when she was just five months old.

We have security cameras inside and outside of our home. Obviously the animals do not know this or else Juliet would not have gotten into the trash. Notice how she pauses and looks behind her to make sure no one is coming in through the garage. This incident took place this morning while my Husband was on his way home from work and while I was taking our son to school.

My Husband came home to a living room and kitchen strewn in trash, so he sat down at the computer and rewound the security tapes and found this. Yes, she was disciplined accordingly. Yes, I think it is utterly hilarious. Dogs will be dogs, after all.

I'm Going Back to School, Y'all!!!

I started my courses online today with Ashford University. Yup, this momma is majorly excited and looking forward to graduation with a BA in Complementary & Alternative Health. It should be under two years before I graduate since I am a transfer student who already has an Associates degree, so all my general ed stuff is out of the way.

So far, so good. I really like the classroom format and how user-friendly it is. I am not the most computer literate or internet savvy person, but I feel very comfortable with it. This gives me the confidence that I will be able to see my degree through until it is complete!

That being said, it does change my routine a little bit. I will have to streamline my homemaking tasks to ensure that I have the time to study and get my assignments done on time. I have the support of my family and the blessing of my Husband which is essential to my success.

The past week we have been Spring Cleaning our home and getting rid of clutter and things we no longer need or use. It has been very liberating to see the clutter disappearing. I plan on listing a few items for sale on Craigslist and local Facebook groups to try and make a little profit. Other things have been given away/donated. Anything to have the clutter all gone! Less clutter means less for me to worry about and less for me to clean.

Now, I don't have the most organized home in the world, but I am working on getting it to where it works out for us more efficiently. I don't enjoy spending time searching for things when they could be in their proper places and save me time.

Time management is everything. Being a wife, momma to a child with Autism, homemaker, and now a student pretty much will take up all of my time. Here's to getting into a good routine and looking forward to the journey ahead!

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Uh-Oh! We're in a Drought!

I live in Central California. We are known for being a vast and bountiful region of all things agriculture. In fact, the Central Valley's agriculture contributes heavily to California having the 8th highest GDP in the world. And now we are in trouble. California is in a severe drought right now. So much that the Governor declared a drought State of Emergency and called upon the people of the state to reduce their water usage and waste by 20%. Its so serious that it even caught the attention of the White House and even President Obama came for a visit.

The drought is set to have many negative impacts, specifically driving up the cost of food. And this will be devastating for a lot of families nationwide who are already struggling to put/keep food on the table. The graph below shows how serious an issue food insecurity is for American people and how it is a continually growing trend.

Now that the facts have been presented, What is my family going to do to ensure we are doing our part? First of all, we will begin by aiming for 20% or more water conservation in our household. This is being done by:

• Taking shorter showers.
• My son taking showers instead of baths. When he does take baths, the tub only gets filled 1/4 of the way and then that water will be used to water outside.
• Running the dishwasher only when it is full.
• Same goes for the washing machine.
• Not washing our cars nearly as often.
• Saving the water in a jug from the sink when I run it in the morning to warm it up for washing my face. This water gets used in the animals' water dish and also in my homemade cleaners and in the garden.

These alone have shown a 20% reduction in our household water usage. We are aiming higher and working together to further reduce our water usage.

We are also planting a vegetable container garden in our backyard to ensure we have fresh produce and will not have to pay a lot of money for it. I will be canning, freezing, and preserving the produce we will not be eating right away for us to enjoy later in the season.

I know that the drought will have other severe impacts on our lives in other ways, but I am optimistic and doing what I can to be prepared and to help my family handle it with grace.

Hello, My name is Holly... Did I mention I am 29 and have Arthritis?

My heart is heavy right now. I am 29 years old and just found out that I have arthritis in my back.

Total SHOCK.

I had NO idea.

I never really had any back pain, but my lower and middle back area started to hurt a few days ago and then the pain flanked both sides all the way around. I thought it was kidney pain, so I made an appointment to see my Doctor (in this case a Nurse Practitioner) ASAP.

I had some tests done which revealed it was not bladder or kidney related. The NP ordered me some x-rays (I had six done, total) which revealed that I have arthritis in my back. Go freaking figure!

So, here I am the next day still in shock. I admit I am also feeling a little blue. It's kind of a blow to my entire lifestyle. I will get over it.

In the meantime, there are some changes I am making in my life to make my situation better:

1. I am changing to an entire Paleo diet/lifestyle. Which means for me: No grains (I was already gluten-free, but now this ups the ante), no legumes, no dairy (already dairy-free), no soy (already soy-free), and no refined sugars. This change in diet will eliminate more possible inflammation triggers, 
2. I will make sure to take breaks as needed throughout the day and to sit down and rest. I need to let my body rest so I don't trigger a flare-up.
3. I will begin a very low-impact exercise regimen. I was planning on joining a gym in a few months, but this is no longer plausible. I need low-impact exercises like walking, yoga, and modified pilates. 
4. Get acupuncture treatments done once a month or as needed.
5. Get chiropractic treatments done once a month or as needed.
6. Seek God daily and be grateful to be alive!

There we go. I have somewhat of a plan in place to deal with this and it feels good knowing that there are things I can do in order to improve my situation.

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