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My Non-Toxic Cleaning Routine

Non-Toxic Cleaning RoutineI’m due to have a baby tomorrow. And well, I’m still pregnant. Yesterday my nesting instincts really kicked in and what started as me only cleaning the toilets resulted in me cleaning the ENTIRE house. I have barely been able to keep the kitchen clean this entire pregnancy and today I was able to mop, dust, scrub, vacuum, and polish practically everything in my two-story house. There is surely a baby on the way soon!

When you’re treating your cancer naturally, it is essential that you detox not only your body, but also the chemicals you keep in your house and clean with. When I began treating my cancer naturally 6 years ago, I did this immediately knowing the strong ties that chemical exposure has to a lymphoma diagnosis. And although I started with buying “green” cleaning supplies from Whole Foods, I now make all of my cleaning supplies at home. Here’s a rundown of my non-toxic cleaning routine.

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A Natural Hodgkin Survivor’s Take on the Connecticut Teen Forced Into Chemotherapy

Homepage screenshot from the hospital holding Cassandra against her will, injecting her with multiple rounds of toxic chemical treatment that she doesn't want and feels violated for having forced into her. Notice the message... I'm sure Cassandra and her entire family couldn't agree more.

Screenshot from the hospital holding Cassandra against her will, forcing her to receive chemotherapy she doesn’t want. Notice the message, “It’s the Trip Home that Truly Heals.” I’m sure Cassandra and her entire family couldn’t agree more.

Recently there has been a firestorm around the case of “Cassandra C.”, the 17-year-old who was taken from her mother and home and forced by a state ruling to undergo chemotherapy for her Hodgkin’s lymphoma that she didn’t want.

You can read some of Cassandra’s version of the story HERE, which includes the details of her being taken from her mother and strapped down to receive her unwanted chemotherapy treatments. As a mother of soon to be three daughters and a natural Hodgkin’s survivor of 6 years now, this particular statement from her brought me to tears:

“After a week, they decided to force chemotherapy on me. I should have had the right to say no, but I didn’t. I was strapped to a bed by my wrists and ankles and sedated. I woke up in the recovery room with a port surgically placed in my chest. I was outraged and felt completely violated.”

So much of this story has sickened me, but if you think of the hard facts of what happened here- an almost legal (Cassandra will be 18 in September) American citizen being removed from her home and care of her mother, forced to receive a toxic substance into her body, and then of course what most don’t think about- be given the bill for tens of thousands of dollars for pharmaceutical treatment she didn’t even want in the first place- it doesn’t even seem like America does it?

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One Year Update on My Experience with Samaritan Ministries (Non-Obamacare Healthcare Coverage/ Sharing)

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Update: 12/2018: Our 5 Year experience with Samaritan Ministries can be found HERE. This post is extremely thorough with detailed needs and sharing experience.

Update 4/1/15: You can read about our most recent homebirth experience with Samaritan Ministries HERE.

Last year I wrote a post about Christian healthcare sharing ministries and had no idea that it would become my most popular post on Green Drink Diaries. Apparently more people are looking for alternatives to the federally mandated “Obamacare” than I originally thought!

Today I’m going to go back over some basics of Samaritan Ministries, the Christian healthcare sharing ministry we decided was best for us and also tell about our experience. Americans have only until February 15th, 2015 to make their decisions regarding federally-supplemented health insurance for 2015, so it’s perfect timing for research into other options as well.

For my full run-down on how Christian healthcare share ministries works a a whole concept, click HERE.

For my side-by-side comparison of the largest and most popular 3 Christian healthcare share ministries (Medi-Share, Christian Healthcare Ministries, and Samaritan Ministries) click HERE.

OK, now onto my review of Samaritan Ministries after one year of membership….

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Holiday Gift Idea: Winter Wellness Baskets

Organic_Gift_Basket

I follow several blogs in the natural health world, and I’m seeing that ’tis the season for an awesome list of healthy gift suggestions! I would love to offer my ideas as well, but honestly- I really haven’t bought any new, healthy stuff lately. I already have my staples for the kitchen, make most of my own hygiene and beauty products, and overall am a minimalist in nature, so I only buy what I need and what is useful. It’s also a season of survival and routine in my house of two small children and a baby on the way in 12 weeks, so my idea for you today is one that I actually loved doing two years ago: WINTER WELLNESS BASKETS!

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Natural Winter Wellness Remedies for 2014

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I’m glad to be getting a headstart on this year’s winter wellness list since just this past weekend it dropped below freezing here in Georgia. I learned a lot last year about the remedies in my winter medicine cabinet after a horrible flu had me in bed for a week over Christmas. The flu is a different animal than the common winter cold and it took rest, time, and a combination of these remedies to fully recover. On the other hand, my daughters did great last winter with only a few minor colds they quickly rebounded from.

So this year’s list is edited slightly from last year as I learned a few new therapies I liked better and simplified a bit too…

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My Favorite Natural Cure For UTI’s (because it works!)

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Before this pregnancy and a 5 hour road trip with my girls by myself, I had never had a urinary tract infection (UTI.) Not even after 10 years of teaching elementary school and “holding it” a gazillion times for the sake of not leaving my students alone in the classroom. But when both of my daughters finally fell asleep on our solo summer road trip after an hour of whining, crying, and complaining, I just kept driving and ignored my urge to “go.” 5 hours later, I had myself my very first UTI- and it was no fun at all.

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10 Natural Remedies for Morning Sickness (that work!)

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Let’s first get this straight. “Morning” sickness for me is not just in the morning. It is all day. For many WEEKS. It’s like having the stomach flu for a month and a half. No fun here, but thankfully a beautiful reward in the end. Oh, I haven’t mentioned yet…baby#3 is on their way and due in February. 🙂 These natural remedies for morning sickness have been my savior.

When I have pregnancy-induced nausea, I can’t even talk about GREEN things without getting the dry heave feeling in my throat (hence the 6 weeks that have passed since my last post!) It has been this way with all of my pregnancies, and thankfully my body was able to hold onto its healthy state (and cancer-free) even though I am not eating my usual Budwig, green smoothie, salad, and juice routine.

So what have I been doing to deal with this? Not the usual natural/crunchy wisdom has worked for me (like wretched ginger! Bleh!), but here are a few things that did.

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Anna’s Frozen Chocolate Green Smoothie

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I love this smoothie. My kids REALLY love this smoothie. And it’s easy and flexible…and tastes like CHOCOLATE!

And if you have a daughter who loves the movie “Frozen”, you can tell her Anna loves this smoothie (with a wink of course.) She’ll be even more eager to slurp it down. (Anna scarfs chocolate in the movie) “I want to stuff some chocolate in my faaaaaaace.” Don’t hate me for getting that song in your head again! 🙂

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My 6 Year Experience with the HCG Cancer Test

HCG TEST

If you are not quite sure of what the hCG Cancer Test is, you’ll definitely want to read my first post in this series where I explain WHAT the test is, HOW it works, and WHY I chose to monitor my cancer with it instead of using conventional imaging technology such as CT/PET scans. Although, I am definitely not an expert or a doctor, I do have lots of experience with taking this test!

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The HCG Cancer Test: Does It Really Work?

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There has been a sort of “void” in my transparency about my cancer experience for the past few years since I started writing my blog. I purposely left out a big part of my natural approach to cancer because I wasn’t ready to write about it yet.
I’ve written many times about WHAT I chose to monitor my cancer: the hCG Cancer Test, but I’ve never shared much else about it. You may know that I used the hCG Cancer Test and chose not to use CT/PET scans after my initial diagnosis, but I haven’t talked about my experience with the test, WHY I chose it, or HOW it works.