Kombucha Tea & Hidradenitis Suppurativa

 

I made my first batch of kombucha tea today. It is a fermented drink made with tea, sugar, bacteria and yeast. Because it’s naturally fermented with a living colony of bacteria and yeast, Kombucha is a probiotic beverage. This has a myriad of benefits such as improved digestion, fighting candida (harmful yeast) overgrowth, mental clarity, and mood stability. As such, it’s noted for reducing or eliminating the symptoms of fibromyalgia, depression, anxiety, etc. It is extraordinarily anti-oxidant rich, and you all know the benefits of anti-oxidants for boosting your immune system and energy levels.

Most of you don't know but I suffer from a chronic disease called Hidradenitis suppurativa or HS. It is a skin disease that affects areas bearing apocrine sweat glands and hair follicles; such as the underarms, groin and buttocks, and under the breasts in women.

The disease manifests as clusters of chronic abscesses or boils, sometimes as large as tennis balls, that are extremely painful to the touch and has persisted for years with occasional to frequent periods of inflammation, culminating in drainage, often leaving open wounds that will not heal. Drainage provides some relief from severe, often debilitating, pressure pain. Flare-ups are triggered by stress, hormonal changes, humid heat, and clothing friction. Persistent lesions have lead to the formation of sinus tracts, or tunnels connecting the abscesses under my skin. At this stage, which is 3 complete healing is usually not possible, and progression of the disease in the area is inevitable. I have had occurrences of bacterial infections and cellulitis (deep tissue inflammation) at these sites. HS pain is difficult to manage. Hidradenitis suppurative is not contagious.

I have had two surgeries one under my left arm the other in the back of my neck. At this time I have two open wounds one between my breast and the other under my right arm. My right arm is the worst because of all the tunneling of the sinus tract. I trust and believe that God will heal me one day. Doctors have no cure at this moment for HS. So when I go to the doctor they only can provide me with pain pills and antibiotics which makes me sick. Recently I read in a yahoo group about swabbing apple cider vinegar and antibiotic cream on my wounds. I have been doing it for a few weeks and the inflammation has really been going down. I shared this with a friend and she recommended I try kombucha and kiefer. I am sick and tired of being sick, weak and tired. My immune system is low and most of the time I'm tired from it fighting HS.

So I decided after having a heart to heart with my husband that I want to try the natural way.

 

Update: I really appreciate all your google plus and private messages. It really means a lot to me your support is gladly appreciated.

Heavenly Hummus Wrap

 

 

For dinner today I made Heavenly Hummus Wraps. I saw a picture of this recipe posted by The Pioneer Woman on Facebook and I just had to make it. I have been on a quest to serve my family more healthy meals. This recipe was very flavorful and filling.

 

 

The Holocaust Museum

 

Last Friday, my husband took our oldest son Bennett to the Holocaust Memorial Center in Farmington Hills, MI. The museum is well known throughout Michigan as the first freestanding museum dedicated to the memory of the Holocaust, and houses an array of exhibits to shed light on horrors that the Nazis and their allies brought upon Europe in the 1930s and 1940s. At the museum, They saw pictures, videos, and exhibits that gave them a deeper understanding of the Holocaust.

Earlier in the school year Bennett read the book "Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl ". I thought this field trip would give him more information and view points of the holocaust.

 

 

 

 

An Ugly Confession

So what's the ugly confession you ask? My nine year old somehow slipped through the cracks when it came to learning how to tie his shoes. Maybe because he is my third child I just automatically thought I had taught him. He has been guilty of sliding his feet into already tied shoes for years. So today we devoted sometime to this task. After practicing over and over he finally got it. Now he just has to practice everyday.

Teaching An Older Child To Add Coins

Today Malik and I worked on counting coins. He really struggles in this area but I feel that repetition will help him. I found the counting to a hundred printable on Pinterest. It really helps him visualize the concepts. I also found a paid app that is very useful but there are many nice free ones available.

You can find the counting to a hundred printable here.
You can find the app used in the video here.

The Big History Project

In October, I signed up for "The Big History Project" online. The USB finally arrived in the mail today. I look forward to reviewing the information provided. Explore the Big History Project by visiting www.bighistoryproject.org.

The Big History Project school courseware is:

• 100% open, online curriculum and content; easy to download, print, share

• Ready-made lesson plans, online teaching guidance and support

• Custom designed content including videos, texts, comics and animations

• Easily tailored specific state standards and instructional approaches

• Aligned to Common Core ELA standards for 9/10th grades

• Within the Big History Project folder on the drive, click on the document

named “Start Here” for guidance getting started.

Big History also offers students a meaningful way to gain important skills including working

across disciplines, evaluating evidence, claims testing and critically examining primary

and secondary texts. 

Billiards Lessons

 

While away on a recent family getaway my husband schooled us on how to play billiards. The boys really put their best foot forward and learned the game. As for me I will stick to crafting I'm not good with a pool stick.

 

 

 

 

 

Egyptian Cartouche Name Plates

Continuing our studies in Ancient Civilization we watched videos on Egyptians cartouche. Then the boys made necklaces by carving their hieroglyphics names into clay. After working carefully on their names it was time to bake the necklaces in the oven. The boys really enjoyed working on this project.

 

 

Another Eye Surgery

 

On a day that most schools were closed and we were expecting near blizzard conditions. I was on the road driving two hours to the hospital which should have taken about 40 mins. Talk about being scared in the moment seeing cars spun out in the ditches. Mommy had to be a big girl and drive while all the people in 4x4 flew by her. My oldest son had to have Chalazion surgery. This is his third surgery for the same problem, the last surgery was last year. It is really stressful when you have to deal with doctors and the thought of surgery. We are praying that this is the last time he will need this procedure.

While waiting patiently I crocheted him some fingerless gloves to cheer him up.

 

Crochet Fingerless Gloves

 

Today I finished my first pair of fingerless gloves. This set of gloves really gave me a challenge because I did not understand how to crochet in the back loop. I would start off in the back loop but when I turned at the end I would do the front. So once I was showed the correct way to do it above was the results I achieved. I liked everything about them except they were to loose on the ends and did not have the desired shape I wanted. So I searched YouTube for answers which I found. To correct my problem I had to do two rows of single crochet on the top and one row on the bottom using a smaller hook. The pictures below show the corrections I made by adding these stitches. Now I have a pair of fingerless gloves to match my Scoodie.

 

 

 

High School Geography

 

After much research a finally found a geography plan that I liked and my highschooler enjoys. It requires lots of reading but very interesting content. I brought most of the books from Amazon which all were very economical and a great addition to our bookshelf.

 

 

You can find the lesson plan at the link below:

http://harmonyfinearts.org/2011/03/world-geography-for-high-school-harmony-art-moms-plans-to-download/

 

 

Cabin Fever Zoo Trip

 

The winter blues set in and the our family was looking for a fun day out, the Detroit Zoo made a great winter getaway. We have been getting hammered with heavy snow and -0 windchills this winter. So as soon as we got over 32 degrees it was time to get out the house. Please enjoy the photo highlights below.

 

Djembe Drum

The boys are learning how to play the african drums. Their dad got in on the action showing the boys his skills. I look forward to all of them playing together one day.

 

Crochet Scoodie Complete!

 

Two weeks ago I asked a dear friend of mine to show me how to crochet. She supplied me with a hook and a roll of yarn. She taught me how to make a slip knot and instructed me how to single crochet. As shown in my previous post I practiced and practiced. After using the whole roll she supplied to make pot holders I decided to step it up a notch. I searched YouTube videos looking for a project to do. I found a video on how to make a Scoodie.I am very proud of the outcome of this craft project. Above is a picture of the beginning of this process.

 

 

I was on a roll until the video I was watching went from being visual to verbal. I was stumped the directions given just did not make sense to me. I was left with two pieces a hood and a scarf with no clue of how to connect them. So I watched a couple of videos on how to connect two crochet pieces. I decided to just connect them with a hdc and it worked. Is it perfect? heck no! Now it was time to give it a pop so I added a hdc roll of red and then I did a sc around the whole project.

 

 

Then I got really ambitious and decided to add a rose to the side of the hood. So back to YouTube I went to find a beginners rose. I really like how it turned out I just have to learn how to attach it better.

 

And now for the big reveal..........