10 thing you might not know about me!

I thought since the last blog post was about something a little more serious in my life I would take the chance to type up a fun one. Kind of like a get to know me blog. Here goes!


1) I am a gum chewer. I have been since I was a kid, but once a teenager I was addicted. I HAD to have a piece of gum in my mouth to chew at all times. Well other than when I was eating and sleeping of course.

2) I am terrified of a lot of things. Most thing that have a very slim chance of happening. For example being a small boat out on the water and a big huge hump back whale or really any whale for that matter swims up beside it. Just thinking about it makes me anxious!

3) I am claustrophobic. Small, tight places make me panic like my life is going to end. It also makes me uncomfortable seeing scenes on the television where someone is crawling through a tunnel in the ground, but a small tunnel. AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!

4) I love walking bare foot in dirt, sand etc. But most of all dirt. I tend to be bare foot while gardening too just so I can feel the cool, damp, soft dirt on my feet. Now this makes me wish Winter was over!

5) I have always wanted to live on a big piece of private land, build a small house, have a small live stock and a nice big garden to live off of over the warmer months AND be as electronic free as possible. Just getting back to the basics. You know out houses, no electricity, wood burning stove to cook and keep warm with. That sort of thing. Which reminds me I use to watch all those reality shows that were based on modern people/families going in pioneer life. It excites me!

6) I don't shave OR rarely do. So yes I have hairy under arms, my legs are growing a forest and so on. I will shave for certain times of the year. Say I am going to be in a wedding, I will shave my under arm hairs and legs etc. But for the most part I am O NATURAL ;) Rawr!

7) I love being active. Going to the gym, being outside hiking and just in general doing something active outside I enjoy. It's my thing. However that's mostly in the warmer months. The freezing cold keeps me drawn inside like most people.

8) I won't buy plastic wrap or tin foil, unless I need it for something specific like camping. We use tinfoil while camping, but other than that I will not buy or use it. It's so horrible for the environment! 

9) I have had 5 knee surgeries so far in my life and I am sure I will need more as well as a knee replacement according to my specialist. It's no fun, but I think that's why I am drawn to being active. I want to cherish and make the best of what I have until I don't anymore. I think the surgery where I couldn't walk for 8 weeks was what made me realize my legs mean a lot to me.

10) Gardening!! I love having one, being in one and just watching things grow. I had my very first veggie garden when I was 13.

So there you have it. 10 things you might not known about me!

Getting back to ME

   A lot of people that know me, know that I struggle really bad with depression especially during the colder months. So I am looking into some more natural forms to help me combat this until the warmer more brighter months like summer. Oh lovely summer how I miss you!

I have done a bit of research and talked to my health care provider about taking a natural supplement called 5HTP, which has been found to really help with anxiety and depression. There are some side effects, but what medication or supplement doesn't come with the possibility of side effects. I personally had to weigh the pros and cons to each side and make a choice with what I wanted to do. So I am now taking 100mg of 5HTP. So far it has been 5 days and I have noticed a big different so far. One thing I have noticed other than my mood being a lot more positive with some motivation on my side is that my need to eat food to help me feel better isn't there anymore. Yes, I was one to eat to fill a void and try to help me feel better, which has not helped and I have gained 10lbs in the last 5 months. I almost have to make myself consume a meal or a snack. The last few days I have had to force myself to eat actually. Well I lie, by 2pm in the afternoon is when I had bad hunger pains, but all morning I had zero hunger pains or want to eat. But don't you worry I wont be starving myself, I plan to get on a good healthy eating habits roll so my body is being given the best to help with depression. 

Another good thing I am making sure I take is vitamin D, fish oils, multi vitamin and a complex B vitamin which are all suppose to aid in mental health. And last but not least is exercise! I am one of those crazy nut cases that actually enjoys going to a gym and working out for 1-2 hours daily. If I could fit in being a gym addict now that I am a busy Mother I would. Some Mom's have a glass of wine and GASP some Mothers will do some *cough* illegal activity *cough* to get through their day. Neither of those are for me personally, but give me a gym membership and I will use it to my full advantage. Now give me a treadmill and stationary bike at home and I wont touch it, go figure. Something about getting out of the home, being by myself and working hard on weight machines gives me a natural high. Maybe it's adrenaline and serotonin combined, but whatever it may be it helps my mood. 

So lets mark 2014 the year to really kick depression in the butt and out the door! Anyone with me? Do you suffer from depression? How do you help it. Did you find anti-depressants to help a lot or do you find a combination of anti depressants and natural forms to really help. Please share with me your secrets to kick your depression in the butt.

Photo is not mine personally, but it's beautiful so I thought I would share. Nature is another natural antidepressant.

We need to appreciate nature and the small things more.

I think us humans need to appreciate things in life a little more. We tend to get caught up in what is being aired on tv, our materialist objects, small problems we make into huge mole hills and forget to appreciate small things this earth gives to us. We really do need to stop and smell the flowers more, maybe we would all be a little more content with even the negative in life or some of our problems wouldn't have such an impact on us. I really want to start trying to take a step back whenever anything stressful happens or anything in my life gets in the way of potentially enjoying something. I am the type of person that is not very optimistic, hell I am not really at all. I use to say I expect the worst, but hope for the best in everything, which in most cases it always does end up being the worst, but I can't keep looking for that or else I am never going to enjoy the little things in life.

I have learned a lot since growing up, gone through a lot and I guess I can admit that with those good and bad things that I have experienced and gone through it has made me who I am today. I always said I would LOVE to erase all those shitty things that happened and just forget about them, but I think if I did I would lose a part of me and who I have become so now I take back what I have always said and I am actually kinda glad that all that has happened. Even since becoming pregnant with my daughter things have changed hugely and even how I look at things now.

Anyways, I have no idea where this is going, but I just think we all need to appreciate teh small things in life, especially what nature has to offer. Nature is such a beautiful thing in life and it gets skipped over and I think maybe for myself to be able to deal with worry and stress less is to take time out of my life and enjoy it! I want to teach my daughter this too when she comes, while she is growing up. Have a love for nature and not get all tyed up in materialistic things like everyone else does.

I want a simple life, and nothing but the simplest things. I don't need stuff to be happy.

****This was written while I was pregnant when I thought Dagney was a girl! I still think this though!!****