Striving for Healthy-ish

Re-reading this book, “The Metabolic Approach to Cancer” by and making additional highlights and notes. It’s FULL of information crucial for that whole-body wellness I’m striving for. Understanding the WHY of being healthy is important in order to develop the desire to actually do it. It’s a constant struggle for me which is I’m healthy-ISH.

Learn more about this striving for healthy-ish journey over at www.BrandiClevinger.com ✨

No words for how adorable he is sleeping on the sunroom couch with my baby pillow in the afternoon sun. 💕

My mom and me took a trip from South Carolina to Virginia to pick up my oldest son from his dads house. He’s visiting us for two weeks and I haven’t seen him since the virus pandemic started in March.
So even though I’m NOT wanting to be in public places, I’d do it for a chance to see my son. Moms would do anything for their children. And this is why my mom came along on the trip - so her daughter didn’t have to do it alone. 💕

I don’t know why I like this quote so much. I guess it’s because Andrew Jackson was a bad ass and didn’t take crap from others, so this is him through and through. I also think about this in terms of fibromyalgia advocacy and spearheading change within the Fibro community. Either way - 👊

My dad clipped some of his hydrangea for me. I put the clippings in some vases of water and now I’m waiting for it to take root before transplanting. I’ve never had this plant before so I’m learning to care for it as I go along. They are so beautiful when they bloom! 😍

Yep!!

This monstrous backyard of mine is kicking my A$$ this morning!! Due to physical limitations and the inability to keep energy up, I have to break down the yard work over time.
Today it’s mowing the backyard and edging the patio and garden beds. Tomorrow it’s the side and front yards. Hopefully tomorrow evening I can finish the edging around the house and front yard.
Lots of breaks with water too! 💧 Wearing tall boots makes it harder but I’m not taking the chance of running across a snake 🐍 or getting attacked by the ferocious ants in our yard. 🐜

Did you know I have a smoothie ebook? Getting my kids to eat healthy greens was a challenge at first but now I hide it in smoothies and they don’t even know it. Perfect!
In my ebook I walk you through how to properly store produce in the freezer, how to make smoothie packs for even quicker smoothies, why certain ingredients are used and more! There’s even an easy reference guide to creating your own smoothie magic! DAIRY FREE TOO!! 😍
Right now “Blending Your Way to Wellness: 10 Quick and Easy Smoothie Recipes” is on sale for less than one dollar! Grab your digital copy using the secure checkout on the website.
Check it out here: https://www.beingfibromom.com/products/

This tomato 🍅 and cucumber 🥒 salad is crispy and delicious for a perfect healthy-ish snack! I enjoy snacking while I write, so I’m *trying* to replace snacks with healthier alternatives. These are some tomatoes from our garden I mixed with cucumbers from my moms friends garden. I sprinkled a little black pepper on top for enhanced flavor.

Repost from -
・・・
Your thoughts have real and measurable effects on your body and brain. Your immune cells know your deepest feelings.⠀⁣
⠀⁣
Your stem cells are wired to your brain and help you repair and regenerate. But they only turn on and make new brain cells when you relax. And I don't mean sipping a glass of Chardonnay while watching TV or practicing retail therapy. ⠀⁣
⠀⁣
In school, we all learned how to read and write, but we never learned how to use our minds to help us with the most important survival skills of all: staying happy and healthy! Research has shown over and over again that learning to relax is one of the most important keys to long-term health and vitality. ⠀⁣
⠀⁣
To engage the powerful forces of the mind on the body, you must DO something. Learn how to ACTIVELY relax. ⠀⁣
⠀⁣
Whether you practice deep breathing or take a simple leisurely walk, find an active relaxation that works for you and do it. Here are a few more ideas on how to push your pause button:⠀⁣
⠀⁣
1) Make choices that make your life balanced — practice saying “NO” to others and “YES” to yourself.⠀⁣
⠀⁣
2) Try yoga or meditation.⠀⁣
⠀⁣
3) Get enough sleep.⠀⁣
⠀⁣
4) Eat whole foods that decrease the stress response.⠀

Check out todays harvest - tomatoes and peppers - we plucked from our garden! We got a few strawberries too but we’re trying a little experiment with them right now (more on that later). What are you growing right now?

For anyone struggling with a life transition right now, here’s some encouragement -
Repost from -
・・・
I believe this is true, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy to do. One of the most difficult things I learned to do after the fibromyalgia diagnosis was letting go of what I use to be able to do and accept that I now had limitations.
Moving forward with this new way of living wasn’t changing the core of me. It wasn’t saying “I’m no longer the person I was once”. It was simply acknowledging I had new boundaries and a new way of doing things.
I’m still me: the somewhat-at-times loud mouth, stubborn, introverted extrovert, book loving, lovable, strong-willed, independent, imperfect, all-in or all-out, sarcastic, hot mess of a woman.
Essentially, the art of moving forward is learning to love all of me.

Striving for Healthy-ish

Striving for Healthy-ish's cover photo

What an inspiring 11 year old entrepreneur doing great things!! Check out all the products. They have something for everyone from adult to child! 🙌

Rayn-Bands has modern medical alert bracelets and accessories! There’s one for everyone whether it’s for you or your kid.

Check out more at http://www.beingfibromom.com/rayn-bands-the-modern-medical-alert-bracelet/

I heard Christine Caine’s interview with Christy Wright a couple months ago and this statement resonated with me. I immediately wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget it. I wrote them to remind myself of my strength when times got tough. Cause - let’s face it - times DO get tough. Like all the items on my desk, it eventually got lost amongst the chaos.

Today, as I sat at my desk frustrated and overwhelmed with tears and thousands of thoughts swirling around a central theme of “how can I do this?”, I glanced down and saw these words.

That single index card that was lost for so many weeks suddenly stood out like it was always there waiting for me to see when the time was right. The words jumped out at me, grabbed my attention and said - let’s get up and keep going.

I WILL pick myself up and move forward. Just as I have always done for as long as I can remember. Because I know this to be true - when I can get up and push on this time, I will the next time. And the next time. It will continue to get easier with each passing day and with each time I pick myself up.

I need this for so many reasons!!

Repost from

My day starts and ends with Thieves. 😍 It’s no exaggeration when I say Thieves is my favorite product line from Young Living.

Start the day with Thieves toothpaste and mouthwash. 👄

Do the laundry with Thieves laundry detergent. 🧺

Get your dishes sparkling clean with Thieves dish detergent and/or dishwasher powder. 🧼

Clean your entire home with Thieves household cleaner. 🏡

Finish the day with Thieves toothpaste and dental floss. 🦷

Plant based products for your family’s overall wellness. 🥰

I like to reuse my glass jars for various reasons including food storage. Using glass jars helps my kids to see what’s ready to be eaten during snack times.

It’s also helpful to prep various foods at one time rather than multiple times during the day. It’s a quick grab and go snack, too!

・・・
Add these ingredients to your water for Water Detox 💦

I got my Young Living shirt yesterday! 😍 🙌 It’s comfy, fits well, and is so pretty! Thanks for a great shirt, !!

.foods
・・・
Bisphenol A (BPA) and Bisphenol S (BPS), often used in replacement of BPA, are endocrine disrupting chemicals used to make polycarbonate plastics.
🎞
Endocrine disrupters refers to chemicals able to mimic or interfere with the normal function of hormones.
🎞
These epoxy resins are found in food and beverage packaging (packaged meat, canned goods, water bottles, baby bottles, juice and tea cups), medical devices, straws, & thermal printed receipts.
🎞
Fantastic post by .health!
・・・
🙅🏻‍♀️Let me start by saying that plastic should be avoided. However, for some of us, it is not always possible. So which plastics are “safer” and what do these signs mean?
These signs were originally designed to identify the type of plastic used so we know which ones can be recycled and reused (eg 1,2,4,5) .
However, I’ve lumped them by potential toxicity. Avoid those on the right... ones on the left are ‘safer’ but doesn’t mean they are 100% safe.
☠️Plastics can leach chemicals, particularly if exposed to sun, heat, repeated use, abrasives; some are better than others.
👩‍🔬Here are some common uses of these by the number you see inside the triangle:
1- (this is usually deemed safe but because arsenic is used in manufacturing, I put it on the right hand side) - soft drinks, water bottle, nut butter jars. These are single use so recycle them but do not re-use them.
2-milk jugs, juice and detergent bottles. Considered the safest, and most stable (ie less breakdown).
3-Cling film, food wrap, PVC pipe, teething rings and toys 🤬 - major source of phthalates, avoid.
4-Frozen food bags, squeezable bottles, Cling film - consider replacing ziplocks with silicone bags like or fabric bags (make sure the coating is food safe eg ).
5-reuseable microwaveable ware, kitchen ware, disposable plates and cups- more heat resistant than others so considered safer.
6-styrofoam cups, plates, disposable take away boxes - avoid this completely.
7-beverage bottles, baby milk bottles, electronic casing - some may say BPA free, call the company to see what the material is and if it contains BPs and BPF instead.

I’ve always wanted our family to have dog and cat brothers. They are so sweet! 😍🥰

5 Ways A Toxicologist Always Avoids Germs When She Travels

These are great tips from mindbodygreen -

https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/a-toxicologists-healthy-travel-tips-that-help-her-avoid-germs

mindbodygreen.com Repeat after me: Magnesium is a traveler's best friend.

Love yourself for so many reasons.

❤️💜💛💚💙

Finally! ONE product that can do ALL my household cleaning AND it’s free from toxins! 🙌 Woohoo! This is how amazing Thieves is - just a few minutes of soaking concentrated Thieves on the oven door, a little elbow grease and voila! Presto, clean-o!

・・・
For a majority of my life I ran online marketing campaigns for other people. I loved helping other businesses grow. If you need some social media consulting for your business, here is your chance to learn, grow and pay it forward! ⁣
⁣
At FundFibro.com one of the perks is all about using social media to grow your business. You can pick my brain and get a lot of technical insights on social media platforms. ⁣⁣⁣
⁣
Even more positive perks if your business relates to and in anyway. ⁣
⁣
Your donation supports patient centered programs for ⁣
⁣
Millions have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and chronic pain. You can give back and learn some social media at the same time! ⁣
⁣
Go to FundFibro.com!

Woohoo!! My official certificate for the health coach has arrived! It looks fabulous! 😍 Who’s ready to start some health coaching with me? 💪

・・・
The essence of ethical wildcrafting.

I got this catnip for Tom the Cat. 🐈 Surprisingly, he hasn’t eaten all of it at once like Tobin did. 😆 Does your cat like catnip?

We found this amazing toad burrowed in our front flower bed. We found out it’s an Eastern Spadefoot. So cool!! 🐸

P.S. We relocated the little guy since they spend most of the lives hibernating in the ground and we disturbed him. 😕

🌸 Happy Mother’s Day 🌸

We found this beautiful snail by the pool this morning. 🐌

Accurate. 🙌 📚 😍 Follow all my book findings and reviews over at on Instagram.