On the Streets Where I Lived

Is it really almost mid-January already? I know that time speeds up as we get older, but this year in particular seems to be racing in ridiculously fast motion.

Since New Year’s we have put 1300 miles on our old Suburban, driving to Guatemala and back with our three teens plus one college daughter. This epic road trip brought back many memories of insane border trips we used to make back before we had more permanent visas. This particular trip included an excursion or two down memory lane, as we took our youngest four children to the places where we used to live with the oldest three boys many years ago.

So much has changed over the years. Our old village is now incredibly modern. The roads are paved, people still dress in native garb but can be seen talking and texting on cell phones, and our old little house has been transformed into a 2-story modern house. Now the kids will never believe our wacky tales of life without indoor plumbing and having to hand-wash cloth diapers out in the yard.

Visiting our old language tutors, coworkers, and native missionaries, we were further astonished at how much things have improved for them over the years. The whole trip was a blessing.

Now it is time for back-to-school, back to healthier eating, back to exercise, and back to writing again. After visiting some friends in Chiapas on our way back to Oaxaca, I am adopting some new health gimmicks habits. In case you haven’t figured this out, I am forever on a quest for better nutrition.

Some of the things I have bought into in the past that I still dabble in (look them up on the web for your amusement/education):

• Neti pot - check out some hilarious videos on YouTube making fun of this natural remedy for sinus congestion.

• Kombucha tea -which my kids call “Happy Tea” due to its teensy (less than 1%) alcohol content . One of my longest lasting fads, almost daily fermenting behind the coffee pot; according to the Internet it will cure whatever ails you.

• Sea Salt instead of iodized table salt (okay, so what if it’s pink?).

• Alpiste - canary seed “milk” – supposedly good for high blood pressure.

• Nopal cactus – balances blood sugar levels, etc. Again the kids tease me about this which I am known to throw in my green smoothies along with spinach and fresh fruits.

• Coconut oil which you read about in 2010 when I used it in place of commercial skin care products, resulting in a sun tan.

• Oil pulling - another cheap way to detox the old body and supposedly whiten and clean teeth) – my latest craze.

Last week I brought back a 5-gallon drum of pure coconut oil, thanks to my health guru friends in Chiapas. I can’t wait to see what all I can do now that I don’t have to carefully ration my supply! I also bought a large supply of Himalayan salt.

How about you? Anything new you are dabbling in this New Year? Any new habits you want to develop? How about exercise? Found anything that works for you? What about daily devotions? I now have several free books on my Kindle, but I need to commit to one for 2012.

IRL* It may go fast, but I have a feeling this is going to be another wonderful year.

Nit-Picking

Nit-picking. What mental image does that conjure up? A persnickety mother nagging at her children for a job done not quite well enough? If so, I salute you! More than likely many of you see an instant play-back of a scene you never want to repeat.

Let’s talk about head lice. Makes you scratch just remembering it, doesn’t it? Sorry, but with Thanksgiving coming up, I find myself thanking the Lord for a year free from head lice. How many of you can join me in saying “Glory Hallelujah!”?

For those of you not similarly blessed in 2010, my sympathies go out to you. All I can say is that I’ve been there, done that, and DON’T want the t-shirt OR a photo. No one in my family would have dared take a picture of me looking like a Smurf with a trash bag covering my mayonnaise-slathered head.

Another memory forever stamped on my brain is of sitting with my daughter for hours at a stretch, inspecting her hair strand by strand, then tapping the comb on a white piece of paper. It was revolting to see the number of teeny lice and egg sacks that dropped from the comb, but I must admit there was something weirdly gratifying about hearing that little click when I crushed each live egg with the surface of my thumbnail.

Two vital items for every missionary’s first aid kit are tea tree oil and a good metal nit comb. Not to be superstitious or anything, but in my experience it’s like carrying an umbrella to ensure it won’t rain. Leave it at home, and you’ll wish you had it. We haven’t had a single outbreak since I bought mine.

A couple of years ago, we were (scratch, scratch) on the verge of leaving for a summer furlough when I discovered a lice infestation on my own head and my daughter’s, too. I was absolutely desperate to get rid of the little buggers to avoid sharing them with unsuspecting supporters and hosts in the U.S. There’s nothing funny about spreading head lice to friends from Texas to Ohio.

Consequently I tried every antidote known to man, first starting with the lice shampoo sold at the local pharmacy, proceeding to attempt every home remedy on the internet (to no avail), and finally resorting to something my local friends guaranteed would work. We sprayed Raid in a glass, mixed it with oil, and then slimed that on our heads until every louse and egg was dead.

It worked all right, but getting those toxins out of my system was a long expensive process. I don’t recommend it, not even to prevent head lice at the in-laws’ house. Go for tea tree oil instead.

So, what are you thankful for this year?

IRL* Itching to see the response to the “louse-iest” post I’ve ever written.

De-Toxify or Die

Another of my New Year's resolutions was probably the same as many of yours. Not only am I getting my heart, soul and home in order, but I also intend to do something about this body, which is a mess after the holidays.

Notice I didn't say "get my body in shape."

That may be a (welcome!) side effect, but honestly, I will be content to simply be healthy, headache-free, and not so weary all the time. I hold no grandiose delusions of looking like a woman half my age.

Today, I am on Day Ten of a 21-day detox program. I'm eating only fruits and veggies, mostly raw, with a tiny bit of brown rice or lentils, along with nutritional protein shakes and liver/gut cleansing supplements. Sounds nasty, I admit, but I am feeling more energetic already.

Perhaps you've noticed that since living out of the U.S. we are being exposed to extra toxins in our food, water and environment. The longer you spend overseas, and the older you get, the more toxins accumulate in your body. Maybe you are dealing with fatigue and pain too.

Untreated, these toxins lead to far worse symptoms than chronic headaches and snarky attitudes that slip out when I'm not feeling well. (Yes, I've been known to scream at my poor children, "LEAVE ME ALONE! I'm trying to have my devotions!") For the sake of the Gospel, it's time to start looking for the physical roots of some of my struggles. My family and friends want to enjoy me for many years to come.

For that matter, they just want me to enjoy them, and not be so tired and crotchety.

There is a perfectly awful book I just read--Detoxify or Die, by Sherry A. Rogers, M.D. I was blessed to find an alternative doctor in Ohio who tested and treated me last summer, and gave me a serious wake-up call regarding my risk factors for heart disease and colon cancer.

My sister is a breast cancer survivor, and frankly, this was always a major concern of mine. The doctor tells me I have no medical markers for breast cancer. But, I do need to watch my weight.
Since doing my first detox regime last summer, my blood pressure has normalized and my thyroid is kicking back in. Best of all my mood swings were drastically reduced.

I'd mention the pounds I lost, but sadly I found them again. Like decluttering, dieting is a lifelong venture. No one said this is going to be easy, but I sure would like a taco or enchilada right now.

I'm praying for each of you today, that you find health for your body and spirit this year. Bless you, my new friends.

IRL*Day 10 of a lifelong process of detoxification.