Sunshine Needed

October 23, 2012 No Comments A Well Crafted Life

I’ve been feeling down lately. Stressed. Tired. WORN OUT.

I honestly thought this was a side effect to parenthood. I have wondered on many, many occasions whether I was even cut out to be a mom if this was the way I felt. (No longer feeling that way, btw.) I went to my new doctor the other day and she gave me some suggestions to help me in the day to day and she also ordered some blood tests.

The results are in… I thankfully didn’t have diabetes or thyroid issues (two things she tested for) but, did however have low iron and very low vitamin D readings.

She said that a lot of people in the Pacific Northwest have low vitamin D levels. (Go figure… it is raining here most of the time.) I had a score of 11 when average levels begin at 50.

My doctor prescribed a whole slew of vitamins, diet change, and exercise. Hopefully, my new vitamin regime will help with the lethargic feeling I’ve been experiencing and the anxiety attacks due to feeling overwhelmed. She said said to expect a change in days!

I’m so happy to finally have a reasonable answer that has a reasonable plan to fix the ways I’ve been feeling. I had a horrible bout of Postpartum Depression around month three of becoming a parent and I was beginning to feel that it was coming back, just a little different.

Funny thing? People tell me all the time that I am getting ridiculous amounts of stuff done. But, I’m just not feeling it right now. I’m hoping to feel like my normal, over-achieving self again soon!

Have you ever been tested for a Vitamin D deficiency? How did it affect you? How did you treat it?

A Well Crafted Life

Budgeting Basics: Brown Bagging It to Save Money

October 18, 2012 No Comments A Well Crafted Life

INFO GRAPHIC SHARED BY CREDITSCORE.NET

I am no money expert. I’ve made plenty of financial mistakes. I grew up on welfare. I have thousands of dollars of educational debt. NOT PERFECT.

That being said… I am all about living a well-rounded life on a budget. Learning how to manage your money so that you have the money to pay the bills and lead an enjoyable life is a life skill I feel would be much more beneficial to high school students than some of the required courses.

One of the things I pride myself in is my ability to menu plan. My husband and I typically eat foods that I prep and make rather than eating out or getting a bunch of prepackaged foods. I’m not the best at it EVERY week. But, I do a pretty fine job. I’ll be sharing more about menu planning and a free printable menu planner tomorrow.

Recently I was shared the pretty neat infographic above about brown-bagging-it to save money. I thought I’d share it here with you and ask:

What do you do to save money?

*This is NOT a sponsored post. I was shared the above info graphic and I felt that it would work with a series of posts I am working on about Budgeting Basics. I am not affiliated with Creditscore.net in any way.

A Well Crafted Life

Doctor’s orders: Qi Gong

October 16, 2012 2 Comments A Well Crafted Life

Note: This post contains affiliate links. Affiliate links are marked with an asterisk (*) and provide this blog with a small payment for purchases made through the link at no additional cost to the purchaser. Thank you for supporting A Well Crafted Party.

I had to get a new doctor due to my move. I was pretty thrilled that I had several options at my new doctor’s office. The lady I picked is a MD, OB, and Acupuncturist. While I have never even considered acupuncture before, I suspected that she would be more whole body health centered than just the throw medicine at a problem type of doctor.

Can Qigong Help My Stress? My Doctor Seems to Think So!

And, I was entirely right. I’ve been having a lot of health and pain problems recently. While she is getting me some blood work and has given me quite a few diet suggestions. She also highly recommended QiGong to help with my pain issues and lose weight. She said it would work “magic” in decreasing my stress levels as well. And, that little bit sold me on at least giving it a shot.

She suggested that I try two different videos from Lee Holden, the writer of 7 Minutes of Magic: The Ultimate Energy Workout*. She suggested Qi Gong for Low Back Pain with Lee Holden* and 7 Minutes of Magic – AM & PM Routines with Lee Holden*.

While those are on order I’ve been trying to do a few moves I’ve found on YouTube. I always feel silly doing yoga-like moves. But, I can’t deny how much better I feel afterwards.

Other Suggested QiGong Sources:

Lee Holden has a YouTube channel that has come in handy! Visit his videos 3 Simple QiGong Exercises for Fast and Natural Stress Relief or Stress Relief Techniques QiGong to get started!
Qigong with Kseny is great for a different vibe than Holden. I like the QiGong for Stress and Tension video as well as the 15 Minute Evening QiGong for Sleep.
Are videos hard to follow? The step-by-step exercises in the Qigong Workbook for Anxiety* may be just the thing to help you through the movements.

Crowdsourcing stress relief exercises – seeking your help!

What is your favorite type of low-impact exercise? Have you done types of yoga before? What about acupuncture?

I’ll most likely let you all know how Qi Gong goes for me as time moves on. Here is hoping for the best!