When Life Gives You Umeboshis...

Did you know that an Umeboshi is often considered the world’s most sour fruit? THREE TIMES more acidic than a lemon, this Japanese favorite isn’t for the faint of heart!
 
However, this tangy fruit has been linked to improving circulation, boosting the immune system, reducing the chances of coming down with a cold or catching a nasty bout of the flu. It has also been shown to lower the chances of gastroenteritis, ulcers, and stomach cancer! It even helps boost energy levels and gives your body a jumpstart to healing in so many different areas.
 
At the surface, this fruit seems like one you might want to stay far away from. Afterall, how many of us really enjoy eating slices of lemon, much less something three times more acidic?! Yet, processed correctly and cooked the right way, Umeboshi has been called the “magical healing fruit” for centuries, and you can imagine why!
 
 
2020 has been one really strange year, hasn’t it? But what if we could somehow turn this year’s struggles and hardships into something a bit less…sour?

Continue reading "When Life Gives You Umeboshis" below, and discover 5 simple ways to make your days a bit sweeter!
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1. Start your day off right
When the shadows start to overpower us, we have two choices: Find the light, or make our own.
There's always light to be found around us if we look hard enough! Think of ten things you're thankful for. Spend extra time in the Bible each morning and reminding yourself of all His promises and truths. <3
Put on some music or make your favorite breakfast!
Music does wonders for a weary soul! Making God your first priority every morning definitely starts the day off right as well. <3


2. Make your own light
Plan a fun activity, make a list of all your favorite things and see how many you can accomplish even with a pandemic going on. Find ways to alter your favorite things if they're not Covid friendly. Pick a new hobby; you never know, it may quickly become a favorite!

3. Play the "Glad Game"
If you've seen the movie, Pollyanna, you know what I'm talking about! The Glad Game is Pollyanna's own twist on "listing the things you're thankful for" but surrounding the current situation. For instance...
Thursday's are unpleasant and dreaded because that's the day my nurse comes to put a new needle in my port. BUT, I can be glad that it's only once a week and Thursday doesn't come around again for a whole 6 days! ;)
Now you try. Is there a situation you're struggling to get through because you can't find the bright side? See if there's something you can take from it and turn it into the Glad Game. <3

4. Make sure your priorities are straight
This one sounds simple enough, but it can be really hard! They say true joy is found when putting:
Jesus frist
Others second
Yourself last
And there's so much truth in that! When we start our day off on the right foot by putting God first, the other things start to naturally fall into place. We'll have more of the mindset and heart to serve others, we'll put ourselves last as we seek to better the lives of those around us.

5. Reach out to a friend
There's such a strong power and light to be found in the simple process of just reaching out to a loved one. And not just for you, but for them too! If you're the calling type, schedule a phone call with a friend. If you're more like me and prefer messages and emails, then send a quick message. Take a bit of time to catch up and let them know how much they're loved. Chances are, you'll also be the one coming away blessed. <3


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Do you have any tips to add to the list? Let me know in the comments below!

​I feel like I should introduce myself, haha! It’s been awhile, hasn’t it? I stopped blogging consistently in what feels like decades ago. Life became a bit crazy and things have never been the same since. When Covid first began sweeping across the nation, people talked about having to stay home and what that looked like for them; how different that made their lives. I’ve been living like that for almost two years now, nearly bedridden for much of that time, so Covid didn’t change too terribly much for me!!
 
I thought it was high time I gave a bit of an update and let all of you lovely people in on the happenings of the last couple of years…

I’ll spare you the boring timeline and just suffice it to say that throughout the last two years, after months of bloodwork, traveling across states and even flying to doctors around the world, I’ve been diagnosed with POTS, Lyme disease, EDS, Alpha Gal Syndrome, MCAS, and Pernicious Anemia.
 
Daily IV therapy has been the most miraculous blessing and the one treatment that keeps me out of bed on most days! After a year of dealing with a picc line (and landing in the hospital every two months because of it) I had surgery in March of this year to have a PORT implanted. (A device placed under the skin with a tube threaded into the vein above the heart). The best decision I’ve ever made concerning health stuff! When my needle isn’t in, I can take showers, swim, and have the freedom I never had with my picc. I have my own personal nurse (no, that totally doesn’t make me feel special ;) ) and she comes every week to put a new needle in my port. Hence why Thursday's have become a bit of a dread nowadays! So I reward myself with strawberry Push Pops because that’s a totally mature thing for an adult to do.

How my life has changed…
 
My mornings consist of trying to wake my body up before 10:30, (which is hard when insomnia keeps you up until nearly 3:00 each night!) taking meds to get my heart rhythm on the right track, and doing my morning IV. (Usually while I’m doing my bible time!) Each IV takes around 1-2 hours to infuse if I’m being a patient patient. (Hahaha. See what I did there?)

My evening IV is a new addition to my treatment plan. I think it's making me a bit more nauseous than normal, but since I can’t get enough fluids orally right now, it’s a necessary nuisance!

Having Alpha Gal means eating no meat other than poultry or fish, and MCAS has taken away my ability to eat most everything else. I can't have gluten, dairy, and it seems I’m allergic to everything at the moment (and by “everything” I mean even water makes me sick some days and most fruits and vegetables cause reactions and there’s very VERY little I can eat without suffering some sort of reaction. I have an appointment with a doctor in CO who I’m flying out to see soon, so currently praying she’ll have answers and treatment options so we can steer clear from TPN or feeding tubes. <3
 
POTS and EDS currently think it’s fun to work together to affect my heart rate and blood pressure, so I can’t stand for over 10 minutes without passing out. Which cuts down more than you’d think! Simple tasks like washing dishes, sweeping the house, making dinner, taking a shower, and countless other things are severely affected because of this. It took months, if not over a year, to really get into the swing of things, find a new normal (which seems to forever be changing) and ways to work around these tasks, or alter them, but I’m finally slowly there!

I’ve stopped any big writing project at the moment. Probably one of the hardest things that's come out of all of this. I write short devotional/inspirational posts over on my Instagram page HERE, but Lyme and POTS have both affected my body so much that writing takes energy I don’t have most days. Not having enough blood supply to your brain hinders so many normal everyday tasks I use to take for granted! BUT, I could write this post (even though it took me dayyyys, lol!) So I'm rejoicing in that big accomplishment!


I’ve instead thrown every bit of energy into my business Literary Treasures Co. A fun business I started to supply authors and lovers of bookish things with all the literary merch! It takes far less brain power to keep up with than writing did, but it’s been a special way for me to still be a bit connected to the writers world even while I’m not writing. <3
 
I make custom lamps, freshly roasted coffee, bookish teas, tote bags, pins, t-shirts, miniature book keychains, and most recently; my soon to be, Literary Treasures Co Book Box (more coming soon on that fun adventure!)
 
It’s amazing how much one can do simply from the comfort of a recliner or chair. ;)
I’m forever grateful for being able to run my own business and the flexibly it gives me!! On the days I can’t even leave my bed, or just make it to a chair, I can still run my business and create products; continuing my passion of bringing the world of books to life in magical ways!
 
If you want to follow along on that crazy journey, keep an eye out for an email sign up link coming your way really soon!

Keep scrolling for more pics of my adventures, and all things baby animals (because we can always use cute baby animal pics in our lives, right?! And more pictures from Literary Treasures Co!)

If you got to the end of this; thank you. <3
Not blogging and being able to interact with all my sweet readers has also been soooo hard and something I miss greatly!!! But I'm always around and here for you and just an email away! Feel free to reach out anytime and I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can! <3

Sending all the hugs and coffee!
 Until next time, let's keep our lights shining for Christ!!
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