Juicing - The Next Step - BBQ Blow Out Recipe

This beautiful drink is a recipe from the uh-mazing Joe Cross himself. It juices to the bright color of magenta, and tastes nothing like barbecue lol! Rather more like a buttery, sweet, summer lunch,

Super Easy Juice Number 2; Spinach Berry Bazinga

My next super easy juice, Spinach and berry, yuuuuum, get the recipe below.

Awesome Things You Didn't Know About Whole Foods

Whole Foods has some great programs that most people don't know about. Read below to see what benefits you're missing, and how you really can afford to be apart of the WF better living culture.

There ARE WF coupons!

Get Coupons Here

They also have store deals!

Find Store Deals Here

Save 10% if you buy a cases of your favorite grocery items!

Save By The Case Info

Grab The Whole Deal flyer, and

Whole Foods Cheap Treasures - Affordable Shopping

Hi friends! 

I always love the comments I get about Whole Foods and the misconceptions of it being expensive and impossible to shop at on a budget. I mean, yes, there are items that are expensive, usually organic options and specialty items, but I personally think it's CHEAPER to shop here for some

Motivation Monday; Post Holiday Recovery Lemon Pepper Spritzer!

Can you feel it? The post chocoliptic sugar crash, you're so swollen from sugar and salt your rings won't fit, and you barely have the energy to refuel with coffee just to get going.

I'd say you had yourself a hopp'n' holiday alright, but don't get too hard on yourself! It's just fine to let your hair down and be unruly and let go. I personally don't believe in a life without indulgence,

When Will My Doctor See A Person, Not A Body

I was about 12 when I began explaining pain and unhappiness to one doctor or another.

It began with stomach pains, infections, then back pains, and eventually I had every symptom that had WebMD telling me to start checking off my bucket list.

This whirl wind of health issues has followed me to present day. Just Monday I had a Rhizotomy, a procedure where nerves were "burnt" in my low back to shut off pain signals. 

I'm sure I can anticipate your feelings on this decision, but after spending more than half of my life in pain and recently losing any quality of life with almost no mobility, I decided it's time to start getting real results. I feel that myself and several medical teams have exhausted all other routes that weren't major surgeries.

My history with medical professionals hasn't always been great, but recently I've become blown away from the lack of quality of care. 

Not only did I wait over an hour for this noon appointment (this wasn't the first hour wait), but I was also fasting, becoming overly dehydrated, missing 2 medication times, and far beyond my sitting tolerance...hence the whole point of my being a patient here.

After nagging the poor receptionist and another 20 minutes later I was taken back to get my IV. Then things flew like a freaking tornado.

 I was without my glasses, face down on a narrow table, exposing my glorious rear end, and who I assume was a nurse injecting who knows what into my IV. 

After my clothing was adjusted (no robe) and a cold pad was placed on my back I wasn't spoken to again. 

The doctor I assume he was, stood arms length from me, never introduced himself, explained nothing, or even offer to udder a grunt to me. Not one name given to me, not one question of comfort, and not one step past a cold pad was explained to me. I do however remember the nurse asking how the assumed doctors family was along with some other all staff chatter, then I was alseep. 

I clearly remember very shortly after laying down feeling drowsy, and I thought to myself, did you just get injected?! I also remember making noise with the injection because it hurt, and never got any "patient care" follow up to my comfort level, I can almost swear that I expressed it hurt. I also meant to ask to be told when I would be drifting off but I guess that time passed too. Speaking of which my IV site feels like a broken wrist...thanks a bunch.

What was this.... a lab rat testing?! I thought I was having what to me was a pretty terrifying procedure done. I mean someone was going to cut off nerve feeling to my back, and I must have expressed at a minimum of a dozen times my fear of losing feeling somewhere not anticipated. 

Sadly, this isn't even close to the first or worst experience I've had; not even in the last 6 months, and not just at this facility. 

Currently I'm rotting away in my bath tub, because sometimes that's all that will do. I am mentally and physically cooked.

 I just got home from a functionality test to tell my employer and insurance just how miserable I am. I cried....sobbed, through the 3 hours of pain because if I didn't complete it the test was invalid, if I seemed insincere and not giving effort I'd be deemed a liar. 

So, I did what I could, I pushed too far, and I'll pay for it....but that doesn't matter mind you...I was also denied an ice pack.

How in Gods good name are people expected to deal with these things. I'm too worried about hitting a bad nerve with my medical team, or too exhausted too keep moving from practice to practice....they do read the charts and have become to see me as a "chronic" patient which translates to hopeless in my mind.

I am shocked and saddened by our healthcare. I know it's a difficult and complex system, but when did people stop caring? I've worked in healthcare, my family works in healthcare, and I can tell you we all have the ability to control how WE affect others. From signing in to the front desk to pushing the papers the right way and having a stand on good moral. 

Being unhealthy is scary, and putting your well being into someone else's hands is asking a lot of a person, take that job seriously, and make an effort to do better.

This fortunately all leaves me with 2 messages of faith.

1) in troubled times ask God to strengthen you, it's surviving to the end when through struggle we learn what it is to have hope.

2) Matthew West's Do Something

"If not us, then who

If not me and you

Right now, it’s time for us to do something

If not now, then when

Will we see an end

To all this pain

It’s not enough to do nothing

It’s time for us to do something

Be the change you want to see.

Momma Always Said: Let It Go

It's been over a year now since we've talked. She used to be my best friend, the person that I thought God made to be the sister that I never had. God, I always wanted a sister, how could you bless me with this person, and then take her away? Sure, I had other friends, life long friends even, but she was the friend that was on the exact same level as me. The one that you didn't even need to talk with, she always knew what I was thinking or feeling even when I didn't. It was like we were cut from the same piece of cloth.

 How could you ever turn her heart so cold towards me that she'd never talk to me again?

I'll never forget the night I told my mom that my best friend hated me and that I'd be missing the wedding I'd probably lost more sleep over than she did. It still makes me cry even sitting here today telling you about it, I'd rather lose a hundred loves than lose a best friend. 

My mom knew this friend was a piece of my life that I wasn't ready to lose. I wanted her to tell me my friend was wrong, she'd call in a few days and we'd move past this. 

Yet she stood firm as mom and reminded me of the lesson she taught me every time something greater than me negatively filled my heart....let it go.

"Let it go Carla," she said, "this will eat you alive.You can't make people love you and you can't make people see things your way," she said. She knew my hurt was too deep to offer suggestions on fixing things.

Every time I offered a reason, excuse, debate, or whatever it was I said in my ugly cry voice, she asked, "did you do everything you think you could do?" Yes, I think I did, then she repeated, 

"let it go."

What the heck was she saying this to me for? I don't want to let it go! I want to fix my friendship, though I had no idea what went wrong, why we couldn't talk it out, or what would ever not allow for a few days apart and a screaming battle and a hug to patch it up! 

Well, mom says, to let it go doesn't mean to give up or to quit. It means that you are allowing yourself to be at peace for the things that you can't control. Let God take the wheel, let what is meant to be come to you when it's ready, let yourself breath easy and never bring yourself down for things you cannot change. 

It's not easy to let things go, no matter how big or how small they are. No matter how young or old you are, the task is still a challenge, but once you do, there's a stillness, a peace, that is well worth it.

Just because you let something go doesn't mean it didn't leave an impression on your life or your heart. I dearly miss my friend, I don't know that I'll ever find a person like her in my life again, but I cannot make her like me, forgive me, or befriend me, and that's ok because mom also taught me that people come and people go, their purpose in life may have been fulfilled, and they may return one day. Until then, I can't allow myself to suffer and feel heavy. I appreciate the time we had as friends and will always cherish that.

Do you have something to let go of?

My Starter Juice - An Easy Start - Dreamcicle Carrot Marries Apple

I call this my dreamcicle juice, and it was my first ever juice that created the juice manic that I am today. For all of you that look at the color and fear the taste because there's GASP, vegetables in it, stop letting your brain get in the way of a healthier you. 

Purposely Living A Fuller Life

(a personal photo taken by yours truly....tell me this doesn't make you believe in the beauty of the world)

I do several daily devotionals and today's challenged me to spend more time with God. While I feel very confident in my relationship with Him I had never questioned how much time I devote to my faith, or to having conversation with God specifically.

Hitting Your Breaking Point - Beast Mode - She-Hulk

First and foremost, all girls are always and forever Princesses, at all times, even on beast mode day.

The picture above cracked me up! It summed up ALL of the ways I was feeling.

 Did you ever feel like all of those faces and personalities mixed into one poor over stimulated body??? 

Did you ever feel like you just need to quit at life for the day?
Like you lost all ability to keep calm and carry on?!