Leftover rice, onions, garlic, sea salt, tumeric and mustard, parsley
leftover scrambled eggs
Strawberry/blueberry soup with blackstrap molasses

broccoli sprouts, mozeralla cheese, organic baby carrots, whole grain rye crackers...

leftover millet bread, torn into crouton like pieces, thyme, tumeric, and curry--- fried up in olive oil til crisp

Coffee
vanilla soymilk

My diet is a mix of the old standard A blood type diet and that of a teacher.

Which rainbow colors did I hit?

Roy G Biv...

Red: strawberries
Orange: carrots
Yellow: cheese
Green: sprouts
Blue: blueberries
Indigo:
Violet:

Misc colors: brown and white. I will take the kids to the store tonight. Small stores work best for us. Each will have a short tablet of paper which lists breakfast, lunch, dinner and ROY G BIV.

When I am alone, then some day I will visit the store and stock up on essential pantry items (without them!). But letting them choose both teaches and encourages compliance. The trick is finding those small grocery stores, even if the price is a little bit more. Sensory information from grocery stores can easily overwhelm anyone

Breathe. Open my eyes. Smell the fresh air of spring. Feel my heartbeat relax in my chest.

It's over.

I can feel my body shift from the fight or flight syndrome into the relaxed and balance state all teachers crave. How appropriate that spring is around the corner............

I am finally divorced.

Finances are stable,the parenting schedule is in place, and there is a new job on the horizon. It was an awful road and I more than glad it is over.

I have missed this website terribly. I will always firmly believe in preventative versus reactive. Interestingly enough, I will lose medical insurance in May. I am left wondering.... is this a sign? Is it finally time for me to dive more fully into healing my body from within and preferably before a problem arises?

I don't know. The new job is centered around teaching health and fitness principles to brand new instructors. It will be wonderful. I will be able to teach others how to safely instruct the general population on basic exercise principles. That is definately prevention in my book. I also get to travel and a see a little bit more of the world. Who knows, maybe I will eventually make it to Dr. D's clinic on behalf of work!

There is a small sign posted on my fridge: It's a simple scale with God/Family/Work on the top and Sleep/Nutrition/Exercise on the bottom. One could argue that nutrition is more important than sleep, but I seriously suspect it is about equal in my case.

I didn't ignore Dr. D's principles during this struggle. But I certainly wasn't able to focus on it. I pledge to come back and blog nightly.

Let's talk about my disappointment with my supplements for a moment. The current ND I visit is a big Dr. D fan, but she has chosen a company named "Standard Process Inc." I was prescribed Vasculin, Parotid, and Super EFF. Ingredients include:

bovine heart extract, nutritional yeast, veal bone extract, rice bran, bovine liver fat extract, etc, etc....

There are many more ingredients. I just didn't want to list them all. The good news: my skin improved. I notice immediately.

The bad news: I broke out in hives. My body does not like something. And as I took these supplements as directed, the hives got worse. I am upset because I paid for these supplements, and I don't know if I can get my money back. (Probably not.)

Now, I can't help but think: Bovine. That's cow, isn't it? I am pretty certain that is not in my beneficial or neutral catgory. Gosh darn it. Stress has really played a number on my system.

I dealt with an additional problem (it's a little personal- no details this time) and I went to the traditional doctor twice. After two rounds of different types of medications, I finally went back to the health food store and tried something else. I will find out if it works within the next seven days. If it works, I will talk about it then. Geeze Louise.

I did draw up a new budget, and I think I will dedicate 100 dollars a month to my Naturopathic Doctor. I will be much more hesitant to buy supplements, however. She is an O, by the way, and is probably not as familiar with what A's might require. Or.... now here is a wild thought, --- maybe I will just save that money-- and put it toward Dr. D's conference. It gets so frustrating. I know the diet well, but I do not know how to assess my system well enough. I also exercise much more than the average person. My requirements are different.

There is an inexpensive ND degree through a reputable online college. The total cost is only 3,000 dollars. But, I am not at liberty to spend that on myself right now. The next step is to buy a small house or condo for my boys and I. Right now, I am renting a little house in the country and I absolutely love it. But it is expensive and not realistic to stay here. I so wish I could.

I just finished reading Dr. D's and Suzanne's most recent blogs. Just a couple of quick comments:

1) I talk to my clients about dietary habits all of the time. Basically, whether you believe in Dr. D's theories or not, his beneficial grocery shopping lists and suggested meal plans are healthier than 99% of what the general population is doing now. My own mother, would like absolute proof that any one particular diet is 'the' answer. My response? If the quality of your life improves due to better nutrition, aren't you better off? Isn't some improvement better than none?

The real question is rooted in psychology. Why is it difficult for people to change? Evolve? Grow? I suspect that until a little psychological coaching is provided along with the education,,, there will always be loud skepticism.

2)Suzanne, how wonderful your physical therapist soon to be helped you with your knee! Interestingly enough, I have been promoting "Injury Prevention" Fitness Assessments among the Rockford Road Runners. If you understand how the kinetic chain is supposed to function, (spine, nerves, muscle) and supposed to feel, then you can prevent future problems. You can also be much more efficient with the type of exercises you choose. I have seen so many people waste money on exercise videos and exercise classes, only to learn that their strength imbalances still exist. Why do I care about strength imbalances? Because it affects everything- that future fall on the ice, that strain in your lower back after you shovel snow, etc. etc. I have heard of professional ice hockey players (extremely strong, great sense of balance, etc) who consistently suffer groin injuries because they forgot to train their lower abs. Our bodies are layered with complicated systems which WORK TOGETHER.

3)Nutrition. I still have so much to learn. I appreciate the fact that Dr. D has done much of the research for me

I have a habit of reading my horoscope at the end of the day. I want to make decisions based on logic, my own intuition, and yes - even quiet meditation and listening to what hopefully is God's voice. But at the end of the day when I am curious, I like to read the horoscope and marvel at the coincendence of the week!

I wanted to jump into employment which motivates and inspires me. Creating my own company does just that. I think I will divide my 'work' time into three categories: keeping up on personal training research, taking a class in a brand new direction (massage therapy or reflexeology) and nutrition based research centered from this website. Last time I looked, certification on the genotype diet details were still in process.... but that is definately on my hit list!

Of course, whatever my children need gets rolled into there as well. Interesting enough, everybody needs spiritual time, food and exercise- so it won't be too hard.

Speaking of food--- talk about obvious proof! While we were all gluten free yesterday, we were not chemical free. Cracker Barrel, lays potato chips and then a few carrots were pretty much the diet yesterday (too much coffee and tea, too!). Immediate headache and stuffy nose syndrome. Achy legs and trouble sleeping. As soon as I drank a large glass of hot water with freshly squeezed lemon juice, all symptoms disappeared. But I am stil thirsty, so -- time to get some more! Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Intervals -- that simple state of motion where one starts slowly and then speeds up. Recover slowly and then speed up again. Repeat, and repeat as the body learns to produce energy and withdraw as much fuel from our muscles as it can.

I suspect my gray matter operates in the same manner. I seem to be the most productive when I can concentrate, walk away, concentrate, literally run away, and then back at it again. I have always enjoyed multiple projects and hate monotony. Variety, thinking, and movement. Time to recover.

I am several hours into a new job application. Just a little something to help protect me as I get ready to go into business for myself. I am in this research mode which could literally last for weeks if I truly had the time. Luckily for my kids, I do not!

It will be a very merry Christmas, I suspect.