Denver Botanic Gardens Urban Homestead Tour
Exciting news!
ONE: LiveLifeWhole is getting a new look! I’m so excited about the new logo and the website will feature recipes, garden and nutrition tips! So stop back in October to see the new look and great information!
AND…My gardens will be featured on the Denver Botanic Urban Homestead Tour! This is such and honor to share my passion and joy with others.
There are many garden to see on my urban plot! The Tower Garden, raised gardens, edible front yard, and xeriscape gardens.
I would like to send a special thanks to Nick’s Garden Center and Tagawa Garden Center for high quality plants and friendly service.
Stop by and be inspired!
Tickets are $5.00 Click on the flyer to purchase tickets from the Denver Bontanic Gardens and you’ll be provided with the tour locations.
See you in the garden!
xoxo,
Lori
Read MoreA Door Opens
A door opened for me today.
I have really been struggling with giving up coffee. I love my quiet coffee time on the back patio, the taste of it, the smell of it and even on a Summer morning the warmth of it!
I know on many levels I need to stop drinking it. Even decaf. When I examine my health goals and the direction I want to go, coffee really doesn’t fit in the plan!
I have been struggling with this and I know I have 10 days to kick this habit. In 10 days, I’ll be heading off to a Blue Sage Sanctuary detox center to take this journey to a new level.
{And coffee isn’t in the plan.}
A door opens!
The Paleo Mom shared an excellent post on the Pros and Cons of Coffee
For me, I have to get my head right to take the next step and this is exactly what I needed this morning.
It’s a choice, a choice of health! I can do this!
xoxo – Lori
Read MoreIt Starts with Repetition
Repetition keeps coming up for me in many areas of my life. How do we ever get good at something if we don’t take the time to invest in repetition? Right?
Did we get too much of repetition in school? Are we too lazy? Are they things we say are important to really just words? Do we not set goals? Are we afraid of change? Maybe we are just putting our big toe in the water and have a fear of jumping in?
Repetition keeps what is important to me in front of me and when I’m ready there always seems to be an a-ha moment and the next door is there for me to open and walk through.
Repetition keeps me striving to be better and to reach the next goal.
This applies to my health and many areas of my life, but let’s focus on health.
For 6 years, I have focused on learning about health and nutrition in bits and pieces and it’s been a process. A slow process, but a very important process to me. It keeps me focused and on the journey.
I want to live a long healthy, energized active life, so it’s repetition, staying in front of it to keep me striving to be better and to make tweaks along the way!
There have been countless nutrition talks and books {just a sample of books} on the journey to keep me focused and moving forward:
- Primal Blueprint
- The Paleo Answer
- Primal Body, Primal Mind
- If It’s not food, Don’t Eat it
- The Crazy Makers
- Animal, Vegetable Miracle
- Wheat Belly
- Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptons?
- The Maker’s Diet
- Eating Between the Lines
- Food Rules
- Your Body Speaks, Your Body heals
- The Slow Down Diet
- and I can’t wait to dive into It Starts with Food
My journey began with a health “crisis” in the family, the journey grew with pregnancy and grew even more when my child was born.
The real light bulb didn’t go off until I had my own health crisis {not a major one} but enough to kick it up a few notches.
These are a few of the questions I asked myself when I stepped it up a few notches and really began to look closely at what I wanted my health picture to look like.
Do I have direction? Where am I going? What do I want to achieve? Is it about prevention? {yes} Is it about maintaining a healthy weight? {yes and not through dieting} Am I getting close to the next goal and if so, where am I going next?
It starts today and everyday. Health and prevention just don’t happen. It has to be a conscience effort, care for self and a journey.
{I’m careful not to say “You have to work at it”}
What does your health picture look like? Are your choices taking you in the right direction?
It’s a choice.
What will you choose today? What small step will you take? Be kind to yourself and take care of yourself {because no one else will}!
xoxo~Lori
Beach Blessings
We look forward to our post tax season beach trip every year at The South Seas Island Resort to rest and reconnect as a family. Each year tax season is different and this year seemed especially “taxing”.
We were all so excited to head to a place we know, to rest and have fun together!
{This year we didn’t leave the Island for 2 weeks! We all really needed the rest}
For me, there is nothing more rejuvenating for the body, mind and spirit than the beach! And for my whole family, too!
{I’m blessed they both LOVE the beach too}
I find there is nothing as restful as an overcast day at the beach with the sound of the crashing waves {we had 3 days of overcast this year}, a slight breeze and a 2 hour nap.
I feel such big energy from the ocean and a calm from it too. When I stand on the beach and as far as the eye can see there is ocean and sky. I feel so much peace to know that God created such massiveness, but He knows every hair on my head.
This year, the ocean was fun and full of waves and Reece really enjoyed surfing the waves {me too}!
Ms Maddy is always a joy to have on our trip and this was her second year traveling with us. She is AMAZING! Maddy and Reece barely said goodbye as they headed out for an adventure each day.
There was tie dye, fishing, coconut painting, Scout About, T-Dock fishing, log rolling, bracelet making and pool hopping. They had a ball! Reece is growing up right before my eyes and having lots of fun without being attached to me. Bitter sweet!
{On the plus side, Mark and I had lots of great quiet time on the beach and uninterrupted conversations}
We went on a boat this year to knock off one more thing on the ”6 Things to Do at Age 6″ list. Reece caught a flounder {and we had it for lunch!} and I caught “The World’s Record Smallest Pin Fish” Mark caught a speckled bass.
Captain Sean preparing the flounder.
On my bucket list for this trip, a boat ride and lunch on Cabbage Key! I just about choked on the cost for a boat ride to the island $250 r/t. Ouch! Just two days later we met Greg and his son Henry at the Marina. Mark hit it off with Greg, they met for coffe the next morning and Greg offered to take us to Cabbage Key for dinner! Yay!
Greg and Henry
Greg and Henry’s Boat
On the ride home, I saw the most amazing sunset I have ever seen! On one side of the boat, the sun was setting and on the other the full moon was rising. So beautiful! Not to mention the dolphins jumping in our wake, great music and new friends. Wow! Such a wonderful memory!
As Thurday night came creeping up on us and our 2 week trip was coming to a close, Reece asked if we could stay longer.
{It brings joy to my heart that he loves the beach and that we can make beach memories every year!}
I am blessed to visit the beach yearly!
{I dream of living at the beach to experience beach blessings every day!}
Beach Blessings!
xoxo, lori
Mama’s Boys of the Bronx – A Dentist Story
Have you seen this new show TLC? “Mama’s Boys of the Bronx” Yo! How you do’in?
There a few video clips of these Italian boys {and I use that term loosely} hanging out in the Bronx on the famous Arthur Avenue where you can find true Italiano food. {According to the boys “Little Italy” in NYC is a tourist trap}.
R and I watch TLC on Monday’s as our date night, but let me be clear our favorite show is Cake Boss not the Mama’s Boys of the Bronx! So we were looking for Cake Boss and came across this Mama’s show. Hysterical! These “boys” from the Bronx are in their late 30′s living at home with Mama! And did I mention, Mama does everything for them. Oy!
So were watching this show and one of the “boys” goes to the dentist with his mother, she fills out his intake form and stays in the room with him. Did I mention he was in his late 30′s?! So he has a cavity and needs to have the entire tooth removed. In comes the big needle.
This is my wake up call!
I have been so busy I haven’t been able to think about my dentist appointment the following morning. The only thought that crossed my mind is that I have a big blue block on my google calendar for the dentist and I need to show up and have the amalgams removed.
It has been a good 20-25 years since I last had a cavity and dental work and somehow I FORGOT that I will be getting a needle in my mouth! Thank you Mama’s B Boys for the image of a big needle in the mouth and reminding me of the reality of dental work {no wonder I have been taking great care of my teeth all these years, every 3-6 months for cleanings!}
I can assure you I did not show up with my mother, she did not fill out my intake form {ok a staff member did because it’s what they do} and she did not stay in the room and hold my hand!
I’m no Mama’s Girl from Denver!
What I can tell you is that I had the mercury/silver removed from my mouth, all 2 of them all by myself. This was a piece of cake! A little numbing, the big needle and viola! The amalgams were removed {safely}! I opted to pay a bit extra to have the amalgams removed safely without the risk of swallowing or inhaling the mercury/silver. Just as a precaution, I’ll be doing a little metal detox too!
xoxo,
Lori
Read More
Books, Books, and More Books!
I’m dreaming of white sand enjoying the sun and a stack of books! We’ll the beach is not in my near future {vacation is 5 months away}, but I sure do have a stack of books by my side.
The big brown truck brought me my new stack in a brown box with a smile on it! Hello Amazon! What a great way to use up those American Express points! FREE BOOKS! A match made in heaven.
The first I decided dive into “Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal” By Datis Kharrazian, DHSc, DC, MS
Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal
I discovered this book at my Chiropractor’s office. After whizzing through it, I’m not sure how I don’t have thyroid issues based on my list of allergies and the abuse I did to my body by eating the typical Standard American Diet (SAD), but whew, thank goodness.
This book is fascinating and a MUST read for anyone suffering from thyroid issues. I discovered thyroid issues are based on a cascade effect and several different factors occurring in the body. I’m all about going to the source of the problem and it’s definitely addressed in this book.
This gave me a better understanding of the symptoms of thyroid issues and also thyroid can be linked to autoimmune disease, Hashimoto’s where the body is attacking the thyroid due to mistaken identity.
The link to gluten was fascinating to me! {This is where I’m surprised I don’t have a thyroid issue}
“Because the molecular structure of gluten so closely resembles that of the thyroid gland, the problem may be one of mistaken identity. Every time undigested gluten mistakenly slips into the bloodstream, the immune system responds by destroying it for removal. That’s because gluten doesn’t belong in the bloodstream but gets there through overly permeable intestinal walls, or a leaky gut”
“Numerous studies from several countries show a strong link between gluten intolerance and Hoshimoto’s disease”
Hypothyroidism, is also addressed, so if you or someone you care about is suffering from thyroid issues, pick up this book for some great info.
I found this book as a source for prevention and how to support my husband with thyroid issues. Knowledge is power!
The health journey continues!
Read More
About Lori
My life is so wonderfully full with the love of my life of 9 years, our spunky very imaginative 6-year-old, two obsessive herding dogs and a few fish! We reside in God's country, Denver, Colorado. A nutrition journey began, after the birth of my son and the discovery of countless food allergies. On my journey, I became passionate about all things that relate to health, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I hope you find my journey an inspiration to Live Life Whole! Read More… 