Health

We had an awesome birthday party for Sama on Monday. I can't post pictures right now though because they are on Sama's phone and he isn't here. But our friends came over and we had a great time cooking, eating, and hanging out. I love get-togethers like these!

It's Cold Here
So I need to give in and finally start turning on our heat at night. This morning I woke up and turned to get my phone to check the time and it was damp and foggy because of how cold it was! What?! Sometimes I feel like I am camping in this house because we sleep right under the window and it just feels cold. I don't know. With this house being old I guess I am a little paranoid about heat sources. We have some plug-in heaters that we use during the day that work really well to warm a room. I think it is cheaper than the radiant heat that is hooked up for the house. But you aren't really supposed to use those plug-in heaters at night when you are asleep. Right? I think I have read that/been told that. Then I am paranoid about the radiant heat too because we have a couch covering one vent and a bed covering the other. They are easily moved though so that we could use the radiant heat at night. I just get paranoid about all the weird noises the old heater makes and just the fact that everything is so old; like old somehow equals flammable. I think I will buy a fire extinguisher for a little peace of mind. We really should have one anyway!!!! Is it weird that I am so paranoid about heaters in old houses?

Health
My sister has been going to a naturopath lately and has been learning all kinds of cool things that she is nice enough to pass on to me. Since having her fourth baby she started getting really bad headaches and has been trying all kinds of things to relieve them. She does acupuncture, goes to a chiropractor, and now to the naturopath. She has gone to regular doctors as well I think. Anyway, the naturopath told her to cut out refined sugar and white flour from her diet. She has been doing a really good job of it! And it seems to be helping her. I am inspired to do better. I feel that I have made a lot of progress in the last year and especially the last few months since becoming pregnant at treating my body better. I get more exercise and eat healthier overall. But I could still do so much better! And I need to do so much better because my better is still quite unhealthy. The last three days have been filled with too much junk food. It makes me feel crummy, so today my goal is to eat really well. I don't know why it is so hard for me to avoid sweets, but it really is a big struggle. The biggest thing that has changed for me is that I am better at giving my body all the nutrients it needs. I eat more whole wheat, fruits, and vegetables and I eat less meat. Mostly because I don't like meat as much as I used to. But while I give my body what it needs, I still eat sweets too often. So I try to eat even more healthy food to fill myself up and cut down on cravings for junk. It works best if I am really focusing on it. If I do well for a few days and then don't really think about it, then it starts to go downhill again. I know that sweets in moderation are just fine. It is the moderation that is hard!

Anyway, I wanted to write about magnesium. My sister was told at her last appointment that magnesium is really important. (Here is a link to her post about it). It is kind of interesting to learn about, so here is a link to a page I found that talks about magnesium. One of the biggest benefits for me right now is the blood pressure. My blood pressure is slowly climbing, which could lead to preeclampsia if it doesn't get lower. Obviously that would not be good for me or baby! It is kind of worrying me and thus making my blood pressure higher, so I try not to think about it too much! Anyway, there is some evidence that getting enough magnesium can help with blood pressure. The other important thing for me is that it can help with insulin production and diabetes. Even though I don't have diabetes, I am at a huge risk for it. It is on both sides of my family and my eating habits need work! Anyway, I never really thought about magnesium and I don't hear it talked about very often, but I guess it is actually quite important! Oh, and it helps boost energy too! Who doesn't need more energy? There are other benefits as well. For me I don't like a lot of the magnesium rich foods that much. But I am willing to eat more of them for the benefits. Just not beans. I could never eat that many beans. The other thing is a magnesium supplement, but I think I have that in my prenatal vitamin and I also think it is best to get as many vitamins as possible through the foods you eat.

So today's focus for me is health! Eating healthy, getting exercise, and mental health too! That is, I need to do things that are good for my soul as well as my body because I believe the two are connected. What do I do that is good for my soul? I like to listen to uplifting music, read scriptures or other uplifting material, spend time talking to friends and family, and being productive. Anything that makes me feel good about myself and about my life.