Procrastination can be very bad for your health!

Hi all! Happy Friend's Day, Valentine's Day & Family Day! What a weekend! My 1 year anniversary with my boyfriend also fell on this weekend so we're celebrating today by going to Niagra Falls (woohoo!).

Anyhow, I haven't been posting on my blogs for so many reasons, but it really comes down to one thing - procrastination!

As I've posted before, I'm taking a course for the first time in a couple of years so I'm quite rusty on my studying mentality. I've also been busy with work, health related issues/queries/research, writing in a journal again, trying to adjust my schedule to fit stretching & yoga sessions in the mornings, & so on.

My time management has not always been a strong point. It really behaves like a roller coaster. I suppose that due to all of the changes I've been making lately, some of my hobbies have fallen to the wayside (such as blogging, cross-stitching, having a social life, etc!). They'll be back though!

I'm really excited to share the new discoveries & experiences that have been so positive for me!

Just remember, procrastination only causes stress & chaos!!! Get things done when they need to get done, & you will be a much happier, peaceful person. I'm working on it, & I'll see you soon! :)

Salt Water Rinse

I used to use Listerine Mouthwash every evening after brushing & flossing my teeth. It stung, but made my mouth feel fresh.

During my last visit to the dentist, I was told that I still have mild gingivitis (yuck). It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I still have it! I brush twice per day, floss once per day & rinse once per day!

I asked the dental hygenist if she thought that mouthwash was good, & she told me it helps a little. In fact, if you use it too much (I think she meant more than once a day), it can dry out your tooth pockets (or was it sockets?) & cause an environment for bacteria to thrive in. What is better than mouthwash is salt water rinse (ew ew ew). Funnily enough, in the very room that she was telling me this, there was a bottle of Listerine on the table beside us (haha..I guess it's ok to use at the dentist!).

So I looked up salt water rinse recipes (I know, its obvious!) & it turns out that this is all you need to do:

Dissolve 1 Teaspoon Salt in 1 Cup Warm Water (stir if necessary).

I've been doing it daily now for a few days & have gotten used to the taste & my mouth definitely feels cleaner. The water will look a little cloudy / whitish (see picture above with salt water in cup).

So there you are; a very inexpensive (as you can see in the picture, that entire box of salt only costed me $1.29!) & healthy way to rinse your mouth!

Aloe Vera Juice & a little about me

One of the first pieces of advice that my father gave to me when I told him that I was really sick was to start drinking Aloe Vera juice every day. My father has ulcerative colitis; a form of IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). He was diagnosed around 5 years ago & was prescribed a lot of pills. In an attempt to help my dad in any way, my mother read some alternative medicine books to see what they had to say about colitis. At least one of the books suggested Aloe Vera juice because of it's natural healing properties.

Before my father started drinking it, he asked his specialist what he thought. His specialist said "Yes, its very good. One of my patients was almost cured from it." Almost cured. Wow. Now, the medical community has not found any cure for IBD, so this is a big statement.

So ever since, my father takes a shotglass full of Aloe Vera Juice every morning & he swears it has made a difference.

Where I come in:

My life changed in January of 2009. I had always experienced many health issues growing up, but never anything really major. It seemed normal to me to feel the way I did. It didn't seem normal to everyone else. Well, in January of 2009 I got sick. Really sick. I thought to myself - ok there's something going on here...this isn't normal. I looked up some of my symptoms online & BANG. There they were in front of my face. Every symptom led to 3 things: Crohn's Disease, Colitis & Celiac Disease. It never occured to me that I could have what other members of my family had (1 has Crohn's, 3 have Colitis).

So I went to the doctor & pushed for tests. They found stuff. Scary stuff. So far: a hyatial hernia, an ulcer, acid reflux disease & I honestly forget the other thing... (who would want to remember?). I have all the symptoms of Crohn's Disease, but it seems that the specialists in this city are rather busy (grr). I also have recurring eye infections, other recurring infections or ailments & I am always using up my sick days from work.

Now my life isn't horrible, but it takes more "fight" in me to get through the day without any sort of medication (besides Prevacid).

Anyway, the bottom line is that while I'm working toward getting healthy, I'm making a commitment to taking a shot of Aloe Vera Juice every day.

The Juice:

Aloex Aloe Vera Juice is the juice that my parents introduced me to. My mom bought it in the health section of the Superstore. I'm sure you can find different brands in health stores as well as the health section of any grocery store. You might even find it in pharmacies. I'm positive that it's amazingly healthy for everyone to drink but if you're not sure, check with your doctor first.





The Taste

I won't lie, it's gross. Thats all I can say. It tastes a bit like what you might imagine paint thinner to taste like. But you get used to it. Sorry for the bad news. Try different flavours & see what you might prefer :P

Thanks for reading my story!

If anyone is interested, here is the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of Canada Website

Exercise 'Resolution'

I'm not a big workout junky. I love exercising, but I prefer to exercise while doing something productive rather than just walking on a treadmill. My 'resolutions' for excercise are what I have always resolved to do & have mildy taken part in, in the past. However 2010 is about really really going there & doing the things that I know will impact my health in a positive way.

On the first day of the new year, I fulfilled a wish I've had for many years - to visit a Hindu Temple! Two Hindu friends of mine invited me over, dressed me up & prepared me for many fascinated stares (I stood out like a sore thumb). We entered the temple, took off our shoes, & walked into what appeared to me as a great big, massive room with people sitting, standing, praying, talking & wandering about. It was not at all what I expected. As my eyes followed the sound of a chanting priest, I noticed that there were several smaller temples inside. We approached the temple that had a large group huddled around it & watched the priest enter the temple (forbidden to anyone else). He performed many ceremonies, mostly involving fruit offerings, and moved on. I then followed my friends around to each temple & pretty much did what they did! It was a very interesting, educational & spiritual experience. I'm very grateful for having this opportunity & I hope to go again!

Yesterday I really started getting into my physical health kick by grabbing my ice skates & convincing my boyfriend to walk to the subway station. It was -30 Celcius with the wind chill so I think we put the "craze" in "Crazy" (does that joke make sense?). I tried several times to jump a fence while my boyfriend egged me on, but to no avail (I ended up walking around the fence & faced my laughing boyfriend on the other side). The entire walk probably took about 45 minutes. Then we walked for about 10 minutes from the subway station to the ice rink. We skated for awhile (maybe 2 hours? We lost track of time!) & then did a whole lot of walking before we hopped back on the subway & headed home. That felt like a great success.

The only downer to the whole experience (and I can't believe I'm admitting this), is that someone said something really hurtful to me on that day. It definitely put a damper on it. As important as it is to not let hurtful things get to you, it can be really difficult when you're already going through a rough time. Let's put it this way - I looked like hell. I've been sicker than ever in my life & it has made me look tired. Tired tired tired & old. Seriously. No matter how much you do with beauty products, if you are under extremely stressful circumstances for a long period of time without a single break - it will start to show. Trust me. It takes a lot, but it will show. And its showing on me. I look like a different person than I did a year ago. I know I'll bounce back someday but I really feel like I've aged 10 years in just 1. So someone said something about my appearance (I was not wearing a single scrap of makeup so that's why I looked like such crap). What's so sad about it is not that I look like hell, but that some punk (& believe me I could have a field day about his appearance) made an assumption about me & put energy into being mean for the hell of it. So the moral of this story is: never, NEVER - make assumptions about people. You never know what they are going through or how they got to where they are now or why they seem the way they seem. Enough said. Sorry about the rant. I just hope that people will learn to have some compassion for others by reading this, & that people who have been judged by their appearance will know that all that matters is how you feel.

Anyway, I can only control my actions & I can say confidently that I'm moving full force into becoming a more healthy person in 2010.

If anyone wants to share their health tips or goals, please do in the comments below!

Oh and P.S. ~ A great way to excercise is to clean! Thinking of cleaning the house in that way makes it feel a lot less boring!

And P.S.S ~ Thanks Christine for the add! A big shout out to my friend Christine - we should get together again soon!