Healthy

Part of my journey to womanhood has been realizing that being a woman is about more than crafting cute things and being a whiz in the kitchen.  It's also about being healthy mentally, financially, and physically.

Aside from a clumsiness-related sprained ankle or two, I have been tremendously healthy.  I've always worked around lots of germs (first with kids and now at a kids' hospital), so I have an immune system that's roughly as tough as a mixed martial arts fighter.  I've never had a major illness and rarely even catch a cold. I'm realizing now how blessed I've been!

To make sure that my body stays on track, I took the ultra-womanly step of making 3 doctors' appointments in one day, the dentist, the eye doctor and my primary care doctor, who I hadn't seen since 2005.

The eye doctor was easiest; in, out, new geeky gasses!  The dentist...anxiety, terror, poke, poke, scrape, scrape, scrape, giant bill, done.

Me + new, geeky glasses= <3 (Unfortuantely,

this picture also = Me + Uneven Bangs.)

  Side note: how many pictures of yourself do you get to post on your

blog before it becomes a fashion blog?

 But oh, my doctor, amazing!  I LOVE that tiny, Asian woman!  She chatted with me for like 45 minutes about why I think 29 is too old for acne and how my deep, abiding love for baked goods is conflicting with my new love of jeggings, and then she drew blood and put me on a very sane and easy-to-follow diet.

My naturopath doctor did not prescribe a bunch of drugs, but she did recommend a bunch of vitamins! 

I went back two weeks later for my first weigh in and the results of my blood work.  The great news is that I lost 5 pounds ! (My adorable doctor actually hugged me as I stepped off the scale.)  Also good news is that my glucose was normal.  After 20 + years of carrying some extra junk in the trunk, I'm terrified of Type II diabetes. 
Less great was that my liver function is a little bit "sluggish." (It must be from all those delicious margaritas that I haven't been drinking!)  My doctor is not super worried about it, but she told me to eat "liver friendly" foods, including bitter greens and beets.

Dandelion greens.  A woman in the store stopped me to ask how I was going to cook them.  I used this recipe from Epicurious. Turns out "bitter greens" are appropriately named.  Also turns out I'm not a fan of dandelion greens, but I choked back a whole bunch.  You're welcome, liver.

So, now I'm in week 3 of my diet, which I prefer to call a "life-style" change, discovering new vegetables to cook (brussels sprouts, yes! dandelion greens, no!), getting skinnier every day and so, so grateful for my health!  Going to the doctor and following her advice feels like the most womanly thing I've ever done!  (I'm also so, so grateful for normal glucose levels, so that I can continue to adore gummy bears and cupcakes!)

PS Can you tell I'm a little obsessed with my iPhone and used it for all these pictures?  I also used Instagram on most of them.  L-O-V-E!

PPS I ran into Michaela today at the mall and told her that I follow her blog, then we talked about the fact that our nails are shellac-ed.  She was very sweet; I was a little creepy.  It was awkward.