This is hands down the most craziest dumb arsed thing I have ever done..... So today is the first day of going totally RAW food living. I am not complicating my menu with gourmet rawness I am eating simply. So far had Banana and mango juice, 2 bananas, cup full of sprouts with vinegar and sea salt, and 2 avocados. I am most enjoying the sprouts, crunchy little morsels of deliciousness. I brought some strawberries which could pass as small apples, Mmmmmmmmm. I may just graze on these during the day. I think my biggest hurdle is the evening. Sitting down and enjoying a family meal is more than just the food, its sharing, its bonding over comfort food. Plus I have to cook a meal for them which I cannot even taste. And while they dig into their favorites I will be eating a plate full of tomato and spinach, and possibly be considered the FREAK of the family...Yes this is a bizarre lifestyle but I am determined to HEAL. This is an experiment to see if eating like nature intended can in fact give me a lean body, healthy immune system and free me of the ailments I have been suffering with for years. The harsh truth is my whole life I have been riddled with ill health. Asthma, pneumonia, acne, hay fever, colitis, PCOS, degenerative spine, prolapsed disc, carpal tunnel, ab thous ulcers, hypothyroidism, polymyalgia. The list is long and in between so many different illnesses have plagued me, there is too much to put down. I am only 37 years old?????? Why do I feel like an old woman? WHY? I just want to take a chance, see if this lifestyle can reverse the damage already done. What have I got to lose? Nothing!

How The Raw Food Diet Saved My Life

Wow I must be having some sort of mid life crisis. I am seriously questioning my place in the world. Feeling somewhat lost and dazed and challenged. I know I have always been radical when it comes to my diet. I can honestly say I have tried it ALL. But when it comes to food and natural living I have to say it is a subject which really interests me, however putting it into practice seems impossible. Having been raised on eating all the foods available, meat, potatoes, fruit, veg and bread in its many forms has been a luxory which I have never taken for granted. And I do love food! More recently I have really questioned the 'norm'. You know the standard diet which is driven by industry. It seems strange but visualising all that MEAT in supermarkets makes me cringe. Investigating an alternative lifestyle is becomming more and more appealing to me. Upon researching how to strengthen my immune system I stumbled accross a you tube video about a man who also decided to take action in a dramatic way to heal his body. He discovered the raw food diet and swears it has transformed his life ( take a look at the link I have added). WOW right? But it does seem extremelly radical and definately challenging to completely transform my diet to exclude meat, cooked food and processed foods etc.... So I come to the decision that even though its crazy, its still not as crazy as a lifetime of prednisone, and other toxic medications. I mean I am 37 and feel like a friggen 80 year old. I once snuck a peak at my very large medical file on one of my stays in hospital. In the notes a Dr had written, "paitient's appearance is well beyond the age she claims to be". Whaaaaat the? Obviously this made me severely depressed on so many levels. Then I say to myself, well princess suck it up. Hit the gym and do whatever it takes to reverse this. Ugghhhh really? It just doesn't feel natural to me, nothing does. I look at my dogs, lazing around all day long, ALL DAY.... They should be ashamed of themselves LOL. They eat their meat, in its most natural form and have not one inch of unwanted fat on their furry little bodys? And all they really do is sleep, apart from the occasional burst of 'playtime' they might have. I think about all other creatures in their natural environment and realise that they are not suffering from disease and oibesity like us humans. Why? They eat what their bodys are designed to eat, and they eat for survival NOT for pleasure. Ohhh I could ramble on and on about this but I will spare you hehehehehe. What it comes down to is this. I have always believed in natural living, I don't need to convince others thats not my goal here I am simply sharing my thoughts. See I am a foodie at heart and always will be. But I have to question what I am putting in this vessel especially since it is literally breaking down. Its not going to harm me or anyone else for that matter if I experiment and indulge this curious way of life. Desperate people will do crazy dumb arse things. So for the next 6 months starting from tommorow I am going to go FULL raw living.GULP.............The only thing I have to lose is some weight, some medications? Oh yer and my sanity hehehehe. But really Its won't kill me to try. Leaving behind the beloved spag bog, and many other comfort foods behind me will be the hardest challenge of my life. But this life is worth fighting for. This is going to definately test me not so much my will power but spiritually I believe its going to test me. I can eat all the food that nature provides naturally, in abundance and without guilt. More than one tribe has creation legends which describe people as vegetarian, living in a kind of Garden of Eden. A Cherokee legend describes humans, plants, and animals as having lived in the beginning in "equality and mutual helpfulness". The needs of all were met without killing one another. When man became aggressive and ate some of the animals, the animals invented diseases to keep human population in check. The plants remained friendly, however, and offered themselves not only as food to man, but also as medicine, to combat the new diseases. I wonder how many of us could actually kill an animal with our own hands and then prepare it and consume it? Its these questions, that keep surfacing which has motivated me to really give this way of eating a go. Wish me luck, I'll keep you posted!

Ohhhhhhhh why am I feeling so FLAT... Really hitting me hard lately. Don't know what is going on with my silly 'womamy brain'.... as Paul would call it hehehe. I know I have tried, oh I have tried. In the past 11 years of dedication to my children I went back and did my AMEB grade 4 piano exam. Which may not seem like much but for me it was huge. It certainly doesn't give me any qualifications though, its just an achievement and something I had to proof to myself if ya get my drift? Then due to financial hardship, Paul being out of work for a period of time I dosed myself up with prednisone and re-entered the workforce. I gained employment with SomeCare and began training on and off the job doing personal and community care. But alas I only managed 8 months. Here I was caring for people when in fact I was in need of care. I developed an ulcer which failed to heal due to the high doses of steroids I needed to keep this polymyalgia in remission. So I found myself pondering and wondering what my purpose was other than being a Mum? I remembered my days in school and memories came flooding back of the Science room, the chemistry, biology and forensic science. I loved these classes and thrived in this environment. So I signed up to a Cert IV in Laboratory Science at TAFE. It was an evening class and I really enjoyed it once again back in the Lab..... I did find it tough, however managed to pass some pretty heavy exams. But again my health intruded on my ambition. I had to leave. Then again and more recently I enrolled in MWT institute. They were offering a subsidised Diploma in Music, which seemed right up my ally too. Again managed to attend most classes, even though they were an hour away, every second Saturday. Sure sounds easy enough? But with my health, steroids, colitis, trial meds etc I finally crashed. Ending up in hospital with devastating effects of biological experimental drugs for which I was the guinea pig for. I was a MESS......And that leaves me here............Still frustrated and not knowing which way to turn.. I thought maybe I will just enrol in a Bachelor of Science at open university... But NOOOOOOO that's not it? What to do, what to do, what to do? All my life I have been ambitious, I love music, art, passionate about growing my own produce, writing etc... All these hobbies excite me. But can I make a career out of them? We need money. And I am 'medically' in remission. Not that its great mind you, I am still on prednisone and a long list of others to keep me from curling up in pain. However I'm certainly not dead LOL. I have a brain (sort of) and am willing to work. So I have come to the decision to just keep on keeping on. I am going to try and finish this Diploma in Music online if possible, and gain employment with anyone who will have me? That's the best I can do for now. Maybe if I keep focusing on my passions eventually something wonderful will come my way?

Well life can be hard. Having been unwell for 6 years now has been sucky. And this year my son began school, meaning I have a lot of time during the day to recognize that hey I am bored. You can only clean so much before you go completely MAD... At least for the most part I was able to finally troddle off to specialist appointments and the like to get a diagnosis and treatment plan that for now seems to be in working order. I mean contemplating going back to work with a walking stick, and running to the loo every hour would have been slightly annoying LOL. So with my colitis finally in remission thanks to Sulphalazine, and my polymyalgia in remission thanks to good old prednisione, here I find myself staring blankly at 4 walls and rocking.. I mean I have been a stay at home mum for 11 years and loved every minute of it. In fact I can't believe we have a house, cars and have managed all this on ONE little wage. My hubby has done so well supporting all of us through and through, but now I wish I could contribute too, you know take some of all that worry off his plate for a change. My career choice before was all about horticulture. It was physical and I found it to be very rewarding. But alas now I am afraid I need something which won't trigger a 'flare', something a lot less demanding. Wish I could get paid to write this blog, now that would be cool! Any way one can only dream..............

Today my skin is erupting with a familiar blistering skin rash which usually lands itself nicely upon my most exposed area, my FACE! Although its been sneaking around for a few weeks (off an on for years), today I have become increasingly aware of its presence and am irritable somewhat. I don't want to feel irritable, today was all about dandelions and cayeene pepperiness? But I refuse to get on the woe is me wagon, REFUSE lol. So rather than amusing the little pesters I am going to give them them a blast of goodness which they can't ignore. An advertisement on T.v promoting SK-11, with Cate Blanchet, and her FLAWLESS ghostly skin got me thinking. Should I toddle off down to David Jones and fork out $245 for a jar of this magic? Hmmmm I THINK NOT. Asian women love a luxury brand of what is known as “miracle water” which was discovered in a Japanese sake brewery almost 30 years ago. It was notice that workers who handled the fermented sake still possessed remarkably youthful looking hands. One woman used any brand of sake as a facial toner and brightening treatment once a week and at age 80 her skin looked flawless and amazing. I am thinking of a few much more affordable options. You could use rice water, Sake, rice wine vinegar as a toner?

To make rice water you’ll need:

• Half cup organic rice
• Water
• Glass jar with lid

Take half cup of organic rice and fill it with water so the rice is covered. Use only organic rice because it is free from pesticide or fertilizer. Let the rice soak for a few minutes until the water turns cloudy. If you think rice is not clean, you can keep the water after second wash. This is your rice toner and you can use it just like any other toner. Pour this water into a glass jar, store it in the refrigerator and it will last for 4-5 days.

Clean your face then soak a cotton pad in rice water and apply it on your face. This will help to tighten pores and bring glow. The same rice water is considered to be an excellent hair conditioner. After shampooing, rinse your hair with rice water and leave it on for a few minutes then wash it.

Sounds good to me! As I sit here and sip on a warm cup of Miso soup, made with love. And I mean love. From last nights dinner of sweet potato and potato mash, I decided not to throw away the water used to boil them in. Instead I added an organic stock cube (chicken in this case), some Miso paste, and cayeene pepper. A great morning pick me up drink! Plus its loaded with tonnes of potassium from the potatoes. Not wasting a THING. Now onto my next challenge. Drinking TONNES of water today to help with the skin. I really struggle with drinking water, don't know why. But I know it will help to flush out the nasty's and keep my skin much clearer. I'll keep you posted!

Had a bit of good news (if you could call it that). Finally have a diagnosis for my ailments. Few months back had a colonoscopy and to cut a HUGE story down I was diagnosed with microscopic colitis. After taking medication to treat this condition I have had amazing results. No more trips to the loo like 20 times a day for me, yes smooooooth sailing for this girl. Another 'mysterious' condition which chose to fall in my lap 6 years ago has also been recognised. People who know me well also know the stuggles I have dealt with. Many frustrating mis diagnosis led to medications on a mile long list. Prednisone being the only one which gave me any results. Which in the end provided the clues to finally figuring out what it was, Polymyalgia Rheumatica. This is mostly an autoimmune disorded that affects elderly people, however it can sometimes appear in younger adults like myself. Here is a link : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polymyalgia_rheumatica

Anyway finally knowing what it is has given me some hope for the future also. Knowing why the muscles in my body stiffen with pain and cause me great fatigue and disability is essential to treating it also. Unfortunately prednisone which is a powerful anti inflammitory is the only cure for this condition. Without it I will not be able to function normally, and having 3 kids to run around after, well you know! Getting onto the lowest dose my body needs to remain in remission is now my goal. Also living again! Not having to go on and off and on and off the prednisone is much better for my health and eventual permenant remission. It can last anywhere from 2-10 years. Already served a 6 year sentance so fingers crossed I am on the home stretch to recovery ! It feels like a GREAT weight has been lifted and now I can truely buckle down and work towards building the future I want. Living well, exercising, meditating, gardening, going back to work, and studying. Yep I want all of it. Today I enrolled in Open university Melbourne to study a Bachelor of Science. Woha I know big committment. However I am taking it slowly, and figure it will be good for my overall wellbeing. I am sick of dreaming about a better life, better future. I want to make it happen. Choosing to accept that for now there are many things I can't control, like my weight gain which has been a massive side affect from taking prednisone for all these years. Its not good, and I hate it at times. But really? I don't want to let it get me down. I just want to give myself permission to accept it and take positive steps towards making it right again. HOW? Well this blog is a start, it is a little outlet for me to vent, to share and to inspire (hopefully) all of us to make each day count. It doesn't have to be an overhall everyday, like counting calories, joining a gym 5 days a week etc... It just has to be a commitment to making small changes daily. I began by drinking dandelion tea, adding cayeene pepper and today drinking more water! Today I have enrolled in Uni, tomorrow? Well thats for you and me to wait and see heheeehehehe, over and out!

Fresh hummus (garlicky goodness), handful of raw seeds, nuts and dried fruit, a delicious red apple! Just some of the healthy changes to my daily routine.... That's all it takes, waking up each day with the intent to include something GOOD for YOU.... Some meditation, walking, listening to tribal chanting on Youtube, AHHHHHH can you FEEL the wellness LOL..
Today I am having flashing thoughts of dandelion tea and maybe adding cayeene pepper to my daily diet.
People consider cayenne to be one of the most powerful herbs on the planet because it "moves blood". It can make your ears pop, give you a feeling of blood rushing to your head, and make your feet and toes tingle. Much of cayenne's healing action occurs right in the mouth immediately as it touches your tongue absorbing in seconds where nerve endings send signals throughout the body instantly. Waves of fresh blood are claimed sent wherever you are sick and new healing begins in seconds as cayenne blasts through the blockages in sick areas of the body. It turns your circulation on in seconds and when combined with other herbs changes a so-so-herb into a mighty one, thus experts propose it be used in every herbal formula. Cayenne contains flavonoids that will heal heart cells as well as protect the heart. Cayenne contains vitamins that will destroy bacteria and increase one's immune system. Oh I could go on and on about the many ailments which can be healed with this peppery treasure, but I am sure you will google it just like I did hehehehe. One quack claims it can stop a heart attack dead in its tracks, and so I am tempted to make a tincture and keep it in my pantry, you know just in case! Now touching on dandelion tea, which instantly fills my mind with yellow fields of gold and sunshine. Yes it's been raining all day, but somehow these visions flood my mind with happiness and healthiness. But its getting late and my blogging is stopping me from another essential for healing 'SLEEEEEEEP'. So tomorrow I will share my dandelion tea adventures... See you then x