I Got Sick. Almost 10 yrs of a perfect bill of health, with no family doctor contact. The only known issue I had to deal with during that time was a case of anemia that came and went depending on my diet choices. Since the birth of my son 10 yrs ago, I have been struggling to regain control over fluctuating weight. So, it was only natural to think that my growing belly, was a result of weight gain and a poor diet. I began exercising and watching portion control trying to get back a shape. One day I had plans to travel a couple of hours away to meet one of my cousins for the first time, on my Native mothers side. I was quite excited by feeling very bloated at the same time. I figured that I ate something disagreeable the night before, or perhaps it was the result of nerves and the uncertainty of this family meeting. It turns out, my cousin and her daughter were fantastic! We bonded very well and by the end of the day, I was happy and exhausted and had forgotten about the bloating. I came home and took a brief nap to sleep off the days excitement. Then it happened... I woke up in excruciating abdominal pain. My stomach bloated larger than it ever had and I could see my ribs stick out on the other side. It looked as if I was 6 mths pregnant. The pain was too unbearable. I alerted my husband and we made for the emergency room promptly. My blood was tested, as well as my vitals and all appeared to be normal. I was in tears from the pain, but nobody took me seriously. I told the on call doctor that I felt pregnant and he just looked at me as if I was crazy. I remember just sitting in the waiting chair, looking at him dumbfounded. I do not, as a rule, make trips to the hospital unless I feel like I am dying, and this was that time. I felt so angry and humiliated with the way I was treated and even felt defeated. Luckily, the doctor took the initiative to schedule an Ultra Sound to check over my Uterus. I came in the next day for my Ultra Sound and I could barely keep the pee in me. The pain was so intense that I ran to a nurse and begged her to release some or I would make a huge mess on the waiting room floor. Well, at least that would have made the story a little more interesting ;) After waiting for what seemed like an eternity (under an hr), I was finally called into the little room to have my Ultra Sound done. The nurse was very nice, made some small talk and all seemed normal until she scrunched up her face and flipped me on my side as she rolled the wand from the front of my belly, to nearly the middle of my back. I remember from pregnancy, that regular Ultra Sounds are using done on the belly only. I disregarded my suspicion and continued with the small chat. The nurse had told me that she wanted to get a second opinion from the floor doctor, she said it was normal. She was so genuine that I just took her word for it. The doctor entered the room and gave the same scrunched up look on his face....something began to feel very wrong. I was sent downstairs to emerge to wait for my results. Again, I waited for what seemed an eternity, this time ONLY 2hrs had passed. I was called into a makeshift room with a blue curtain that was drawn for "privacy"". The emerge doctor was very friendly but had a distinct look of confusion on her face, not quite like the scrunchy face, but close. Her first words to me were "I don't know how to say this to you". I told her to give me the news straight up, I have been waiting far too long for the results... She told me that I had a 2 inch Cyst on my ovary. At the time, I swore I heard 2 feet! Nonetheless, the whole weight of the thing was nearly 13 pnds when removed. I had a Vertical Laparotomy, a rather invasive surgery, to remove the gargantuan monster I dubbed "Alien Baby". It has been over 6 mnths since my surgery. I don't really feel "normal", but I ma feeling better than I was. If I could give you some advice, it would be to always follow your instincts. I felt like I was pregnant, because I had a heavy weight on Uterus that should not have been there. I was always tired and pale because my body was feeding this "Alien Baby". If something does not feel right, don't allow others to talk you out of your own health. Most importantly, don't talk your own self out of your health. Only you know your body. Go with your instincts. Sig.

I am just Me.

Ok, Seriously. I am a 30 fricken yr woman still working on my childhood dreams. Every year that passes, brings new challenges. Yet with every new year I think, this is it! This is the year it's going to happen, Man...AND BAM! A new challenge shows its ugly face. What the Hell? Then I go on this big tirade, start to feel all sorry for myself and fall backwards into that all too familiar pit of darkness. I get to cry, stomp my feet, all of that. That darkness can be quite addictive actually, but only if I let it... See, I am fierce! Possibly a little weird as well, but mostly fierce! I know what I want, and dammit I am going to get if it kills me. I have even contemplated the idea of marrying some rich, very old Billionaire who would give me the footing I needed to achieve these goals. Awe, who am I kidding? I don't know any Billionaires! Ok. I kid, my morals always seem to give me a swift kick in the ass when needed. I guess that means I should put these stripper heels back into the closet while I'm at it. Reality sucks sometimes. And then it hits me, like that time when my son was only 4yrs old, and he threw a metal, toy car right at my forehead. One of those coma induced reality checks kicks in. I am one lucky lady. I have a wonderful son. Ok, he has the ability to land me in the poor house with his appetite for food. And, every time I enter into his room, I swear a bomb has gone off. The shrapnel being bits of clothing and toys everywhere, but I still love him to death. He was my best, planned decision at the tender age of 19yrs old, and I don't regret a thing. I am not a perfect person, nor do I pretend to be. I make mistakes, I feel sorry for myself, and I pick up the pieces only to start all over again from square one. I am just me. And, I don't care if nobody likes it. I am not changing for anyone. Sig.

The Sisterhood - Welcome Sister's!

I have always been inspired to motivate and to create change. So, that is exactly what I am attempting to do. I have recently created a facebook page, with the help of my cousin Margaret, to connect women of all walks of life. I believe in the power of women and the impact that we can make when we come together.

Woman are strong, loving and caring. We create balance in a male dominated society. We are needed to make change. We are a great support system for each other.

My idea is to bring women together to discuss topics of importance ie. coping s tragedies for full time working mothers, to give each other motivation with words of wisdom and experience, to provide guidance through past experience, to educate each other on healing remedies, natural living, ways to care for the environment, etc.

Women are full of so much useful knowledge and it would be great to have the experienced, guide the inexperienced.

I wish to connect the souls of women. I look forward to having social gatherings, where we can discuss important topics while bonding.

Perhaps in the future, we can start an organization to fund charities. The possibilities are endless!

Sometimes, women just need a place to feel safe, to share stories and to get some "womanly" advice. This page is designed to do such a thing.

I would like to take the opportunity to invite women to join this new journey. Add your wonderful insight and knowledge to this page. Help it grow as a supportive network for women who need it. If you don't need support, perhaps you are a great motivator!

We welcome you all as individuals, equals and a sister's!

Hope to see you there,

Much Love

Sig.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-SisterHood/325492084166146

Homemade Salve - Yes You Can!

I make salve all of the time. It's a great thing to have around the house for ailments such as: mild burns, bug bites etc.

I have been saying for a very long time, that I should someday share some of my recipes. Many I have searched online, but just tweak them a bit to make them my own.

Here is a very basic recipe, of which you can tweak on your own, once you become more comfortable with making it.

-Basic Peppermint Salve-
makes approx 250 ml

* 1 Cup shaved beeswax ( I by it in a puck and shave it off as needed. You can use pellets if you prefer.

* 1/4 - 1/2 cup of favorite oil. I prefer extra virgin olive oil. You can use, grape seed oil, sunflower oil etc as long as it can handle being heated. I also have a bad habit of eye balling my measurements, you may need to tweak the amounts according to your preference.

* I also prefer to fuse my oil with fresh or dried herbs. For example, I harvested a bunch of peppermint and hung it to dry. I removed all of the leaves and stored in a seal proof container. I use the leaves in my peppermint salves. All you do is, place a handful ( or desired amount) of herbs into an oven proof dish, add oil enough to cover the herbs and cook on a low setting for 3hrs. Once cooled off, drain the herbs by using a cheesecloth and use the peppermint oil in your salve recipe. You can do this with many types of herbs.

* You can add a couple of gel Vit E capsules if you are worried about shelf life, although salves last for a very long time in the open air, as the components take longer to break down without things like water being added. Either way, keeping in in the fridge is ok too, it keeps the salve tougher and acts like a cooling cream. Also, the Vit E is a great skin softener.

* Last but not least, add a generous (10-14) drops of your desired essential oil. I sometimes mix them depending on the purpose of the salve.

"Pain Relief: Peppermint oil can be used externally for providing relief from pain. It is believed that the presence of calcium antagonism in peppermint oil aids in removing pain. It is cooling in nature and therefore helps reduce fever." Peppermint has many more healing benefits.
Peppermint blends well with various other essential oils including eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon, marjoram, etc.

Research your oils and their purpose before mixing different kinds together for an effective salve, or you can ask me and I will be more than happy to help :)

Once you have all of the needed ingredients.....

Use an old pot on a stove top to melt the wax. Wax will burn and is flammable so be careful! You only need it to melt down on a medium heat setting. Once the wax is melted, add in the virgin olive oil. Take the mixture off of the heat and add in Vit E and oils as preferred. mix together with a wooden spoon and slowly pour it into a 250 ml sterilized, glass jar. Allow to cool with the lid off. When completely cool, it is safe to use or refrigerate.

Good Luck! I hope this works for you! If not, I can still whip you up a couple of batches ;)

Much Love,

Sig.

Being a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)

For as long as I can recall, I have been told that I was too sensitive. I suppose that description was not too far off. It turns out that I am Sensitive...Highly Sensitive.

Firstly, there is nothing wrong with being a sensitive person. Sure, in today's world, it may seem like a weak trait. Highly sensitive people are in fact, far from being weak.

Allow me to explain...

HSP's are not superior, nor are we inferior to the rest of the world. We are just wired differently. Everything we hear, see, smell etc. is heightened incredibly. We can only take in small bits of information, as we get over-whelmed easily.

Here is a more accurate, written description of what it means to be a HSP. http://ezinearticles.com/?Highly-Sensitive-People---Traits-and-Characteristics&id=81866

For many years, I thought that my suffering was a result of a mangled childhood. It took me many years to stumble across the idea of actually being a sensitive person.

For me, being an HSP goes deep to my core. I consider my heightened abilities to be "gifts". Why else would I be given these abilities?

When I refer to "abilities" I mean: My natural ability to be empathetic, sympathetic and caring. I love everybody and I don't hold grudges. I am creative, I have a natural "knack" for many things such as; healing, herbs, art, music and my heightened senses allow me to perceive things differently.

As mentioned earlier, I am by far not a Super Human. I have my faults, one being a wicked, short term temper. We all have our personal faults, I continue to try to improve on mine.

Going back to the "gifts"..

I have mixed blood, however I identify mostly with being Native American. Many things come to me so naturally, it almost seems to be a gift from my ancestors, or perhaps from the Great Spirit himself.

I use my gift of empathy and my knowledge of herbs, to heal. I use my experience from a dark, twisted past, to help others through their dark and twisted times. I am sort of a "wounded healer".

Highly sensitive people can be very useful in society. Here are a few ideas to elaborate further on the concept http://www.helium.com/items/270798-understanding-highly-sensitive-people

If you are a HSP, know that you are not alone. Don't become introverted because nobody understands you. If you are reading this, I understand you! Don't change who you are, just learn to work with what you have.

I am on a path to become a healer. I plan to merge Conventional medicine with Natural and Spiritual Healing. I believe that the answer to our health care needs, lay in the balance of Mind, Body and Soul. My ability to perceive things differently, leads to change.

Good luck to all of my fellow HSP'S! We are all unique in our own ways, even if we aren't Highly Sensitive. Everybody has a role in life, go seek out yours and make a difference! <3

Here are a couple of links to describe what it means to be a Highly Sensitive Person:

http://denmarkguy.hubpages.com/hub/hsp

http://healing.about.com/od/empathic/a/HSP_hallowes.htm