7 Reasons we don't take medicine

Typical American families have this dirty little not-so-secret stash lurking somewhere in their home, usually in the bathroom. No, I'm not referring to poop, so calm down.What I mean is a medicine cabinet.

Just speaking form experience and from what I've seen in friends' and family's medicine cabinets, the common items include things like:

• blood pressure medication
• anxiety medication
• sinus medication
• cough drops/syrup
• sleep medication
• cholesterol treatment
• hormones
• myriad vitamins
• diet pills
• energy pill/drinks/supplements
• fiber
• tylenol/advil/aleve, etc
• laxatives and/or the-ones-that-stop-you-up..what's that called again? 

Anyway, you get my point. Well, I'm here to tell you that we don't take any of these things! In fact the only ones we even have in the house are tylenol and some vitamins that we don't take. Not only do we not use anything on that list, but also...everything on that list is treatable with herbs!

Before I get into what we're taking though, let's be clear about what  I mean by "herbs". The herbs I use are 100% individual bulk herbs. The turmeric is only turmeric. The kelp is only kelp. There are a few premixed items we like, but you can still identify the individual herbs. No fillers. No weird, unpronounceable ingredients. Also, the herbs you buy in the store are not the same quality or potency as what I'm talking about today. For example, turmeric is a common spice used in curries; however, if you buy a bottle of turmeric off the shelf at the grocery store, it's gonna taste great but if you try it as an herbal remedy, you'll be disappointed with your dud.

So, without further ado, rambling, explaining, or shenanigans, here are some of the remedies we've been using lately:

Pictured are turmeric, beet root powder and black walnut hull. I also use kelp, activated charcoal, bilberry powder, diatomaceous earth, peppermint tea, st. john's wort, eleuthero root, echinacea, cinnamon, and several others.

For the main 7 we like to take, I use this nifty little contraption to make my own capsules. The gelatin capsules come totally empty with two pieces. You put the tops in one side and the bottoms in the other, fill the bottoms up with herbs, them squish the whole thing together.

 

And there you have it...homemade herbal capsules.

 

And so, as promised, 7 reasons we don't take medicine:

1.  Activated charcoal- good for detox, especially with chemicals/poisions. Also great for skin care in face washes, scrubs, and homemade soaps.
2. diatomaceous earth- strengthens hair, skin and nails. Y'all...I have to trim my nails two or three times a week now just to keep them from being ridiculous.
3. bilberry- treats arthritis and improves night vision
4. beet root powder- this is a great multi vitamin, great for fiber, and works wonders for your skin!
5. black walnut hull- great source of iodine,great for your thyroid, but also help detox your gut.
6. turmeric- turmeric is magical. when we take it, we feel energized...more alive. I know that's silly, but even the hubs feel invincible on the days he takes it. it alleviates pain and tension, helps with blood pressure, treats bowel irritations, and so many other amazing things
7. kelp- yes...this is like seaweed, and it smells like seaweed. you can do your own research to learn all of its benefits but we take it for two major reasons. First, it helps your body absorb nutrients from other foods. So basically it makes sure that all those other herbs and your healthy diet won't go to waste. Secondly, it helps block calories because it makes your body more efficient in absorbing the nutritional qualities of your food. It's not a magic diet pill, but there are studies that show it can successfully treat obesity, so I'm giving it a chance.

 Well, that's it. I know those aren't really reasons...I have way more than 7 anyway. But as you can see, we're getting so many awesome benefits by taking ALL NATURAL, REAL, STRAIGHT FROM CREATION herbs. No additives. No preservatives. No chemicals. No gimmicks. No nasty side effects. No carcinogens.

I get all of my herbs from Bulk Herb Store right now. They have great products, awesome service, and great research aids. And their prices are good.

Do you use herbs or other natural alternatives? Do you want to start using herbs? Let me know your favorite herb!

Ham bone Ham Bone where ya been?

I been around the world, and I'm goin again!

Ok well not really. I've been right here in good ole All-binny. ( I say this as a colloquialism, not because Albany is particularly good.)

Anyway, I've been busy with kiddos, housekeeping, a husband with an ever-changing work schedule, and trying to keep the dog in the yard with a broken fence.By the way, is there a way to say plural broken? Like, my fence is broken in at least 4 places so could I say I have a "brokens fence?" or do I just have to wrap it all up into one and say "broken"? because I feel like using "broken" doesn't illustrate how messed up the fence is. It's multiply broken. That's mul-ti-pleee, not mul-ti-pl-eye, by the way. I think I just made up that pronunciation also.

 On to the good stuff...

 Here in Albany we've had good enough weather that I dried my clothes on a makeshift clothesline (i.e. the multiply brokens fence) for over a week before the rain came in and tried to drown us all.

I've been sewing like a mad woman. Mug rugs (that's a real thing), casserole carriers, kitchen towels, hot pads and oven mitts, wedding aisle runners, skirts, dresses, bags, etc. ( by the way, anything I just listed is for sale if you just ask!)

There's a drawstring bag, a casserole carrier in green/dark blue, gingham hot pads, sunflower oven mitt, casserole carrier and skillet handle cover, a chenille kimono coverup, a fishing shirt, and a matching set of pillowcase dresses/skirt for me and the girls.

Spring cleaning. Y'all. This rental was way grosser than I realized. I haven't deep cleaned since we moved in..I mean we mopped and vaccuumed and all before we moved our stuff in, but this week I've been doing everything. I cleaned all the windows...you know how you can pop the window out and it hinges in so you can clean the outside while you're inside? Did that make any sense? Well, let me just tell y'all...these windows haven't been cleaned in YEARS. It took a quart of white vinegar mixed with a quart of water and a squirt of dish soap to clean just 6 windows. Ugh. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking that we've lived here with all that junk collected up under the window. I also cleaned out our closets and dressers, got rid of all kinds of junk, cleaned all the baseboards and left every single window open for a good 8 hours. The house was nice and fresh-air-y.

Reading in the sun while the chirrun run amok. I knew how to spell that word: amok. But I don't understand the spelling at all. I  mean, I've never heard anyone say "run a-mock" it's always " run uh-muck". What's the deal? English is cray, y'all. Back to the chirruns running amok. Last week I read my nook while lying in the yard and Scott slept in his lawn chair in the sun while the girls dug holes, transported baby dolls in the back of their tonka truck, pulled the dogs tail and took their clothes off (that's called being nekkid around these parts). in case y'all didn't know, lying in the sun for about 8 hours will burn you up like an egg on Arnold Schwarzenegger's military tank(that's a real thing too, y'all). Luckily only the back of my legs burned and everything else has a nice tan. Unfortunately, most people who see me are able to see both, so I look like a lunatic.

See what I mean about running amok? This child can go from fully-clothed-in-8-layers-of-winter-gear  to BUTT NEKKID  in about the time it takes to say "Maddy, why are your princess panties in my flower bed?".

I've totally failed in my resolution to blog more, but to be honest, I don't really think about it very often. But just for fun, I'll try to throw in some recent photos for all you nosey-nosers.

Our new bike trainers. It's kind of like a spin class, but no black lights, we're outside, and they're really noisy. So, actually, nothing like spin class.

Maddy refuses to sleep until we take pictures.

Chunk. Need I say more?

Watch out for a future post on my hubby's new hobby.

And a future post about herbs. (in my head, I just pronounced the "h" trying to be funny, then realized that no one will read it that way I meant it)

A mug rug. It's legit, y'all. Why do people say legit all the time? I'm thinking maybe they don't understand the correct definition of legitimate. Like...we obviously didn't think it was illegit. Although, then again, maybe it is, since it ain't got no daddy. There's a word for that too...