I hope you had a chance to listen to the show today with Gerry Friesen. It reminded me that we can all benefit from hearing & sharing kind words. You never know what someone is going through.
Ag Days is just around the corner. It’s going to be a busy week. I will be at the show recording interviews for “The Impact Farming Show”, meeting with future guests and listening to presenters to “scout” for future show talent.
On the networking end, I will be attending Ag Women Manitoba network breakfast and maybe organizing an AgTwitter meetup. Not sure if I want to try and make it happen. I will keep you posted!
I am going on a health journey. I have always been fit and healthy and I still am, however, late 2017/2018 have added a few pounds to my figure and some alarming symptoms seem to be flaring up with increased urgency now. Not serious but urgent just the same. In the fall of 2017, my hypoglycemic issues really flared up. No matter what I ate, I could not seem to win. It’s like I never ate enough and I was always dizzy and sick. Yes, I have been the doctors and no I don’t have diabetes. This is and always has been 100% food related for me. Usually, it means more regular snacks and snacks with more substance. Tried that and it didn’t work. By process of elimination, I determined with 100% accuracy that my protein shakes were the problem. I finally stopped taking my protein shakes. This did the trick. Little did I know that Anthony was actually having the same issue and when I quit my shake he followed along. It fixed both our hypoglycemic issues literally within a day and there has been no more massive blood sugar crashes for either of us. HALLEJUAH! He also ditched one of two other things that he determined were causing his crashes. We now eat meat for breakfast. Sausages or pork chops. Night and day difference.
I was happy to have this health concerned solved, however, the excess weight from this trial and error period still remained. It was during this time that I started eating rice noodles and a lot of potatoes to try and get some good substance in my body and stop the shakes. I gained weight. Frustrating. I have weighed myself daily and watch what I eat to make sure that I don’t gain weight. In case you are wondering, no, I have never had an eating issue. I just respect my body enough to have a process for monitoring and managing my weight. Since I have never really gained weight, I now found myself in a position with a bit of excess weight and no real experience on losing weight. It’s simple to not gain weight. Eat fewer calories than your daily calorie needs and monitor your weight. I don’t count calories, however, I know what I can eat in a day before I start to gain weight. This awareness has come from years and years of thoughtfully and respectfully managing my weight. Now here I am, I have to shed those extra pounds.
Weight aside, my top concern has become my increased allergy sensitives and allergic reactions. I have always been very sensitive to many things, however, now it’s progressed to a new level. I am reacting almost daily and getting large rashes with hives and feeling that heavy chest allergy feeling. Yes, I am going to the doctor. Mainly to get an epi-pen just in case. With how sensitive I have become, I don’t want to take any chances of not having one handy in case an allergy ever decides to become more severe. The real work is up to me. I know 100% that it’s food related and I need to clean up my diet. Pills will manage the symptoms. I need to get to the root cause and eliminate the problem.
The next line should be that my 2019 resolution is to lose weight. 10 lbs to be exact. Yes, however, that is not is not my top concern. I need to start respecting my body and only eating what makes me feel good again. My body is clearing expressing it’s anger and I need to listen before this get worst or starts triggering other health conditions.
I am happy to say that I am off to a good start. In the last day or so, I have started eating better and I have already noticed some pounds being shed and I have had less severe allergic reactions and not every day. Yes, the extra pounds bother me. What bothers me the most is the rashes and the fact that something is bothering my insides so much that the inflammation is now causing rashes. I have pushed my body to a new level of inflammation and I need to get this cleaned up. I don’t want to push my body any further down the path of unwellness and I really need to get to peak physical health again. Sorry body and mind. I will do better!
So my 2019 resolution is to clean up my diet, get active and let’s start feeling better than ever!
Have you ever heard of cut flowers? Of course you have, however, have you ever heard of, thought of and followed any cut flower growers? Well hold on, this is brand new to me also. In a previous post, I mentioned a Twitter post from Nurse Loves Farmer and that she massively inspired me in two areas 1) Post a day for 365 days 2) Cut flower gardening.
So yes, I am really obvious with cut flower gardening right now. Sarah, if you ever read my blog…thank you! Secondly, I am inspired by you so please don’t think I am creeping on you ?.
Growing up, my mom was and still is, an amazing gardener. Hands down she has the most beautiful yards and flowers of anyone that I know. While I wouldn’t say she’s a cut flower gardener, she definitely does cut some flowers for beautiful bouquets. I always liked flowrr gardening but I never caught the bug until two summers ago. I have always done a handful of pots and that more than satisfied my flower planting urges. Then two summers ago for our wedding, I went WAY above and beyond my normal planting and actually became a gardener. Let’s clarify, I still don’t plant a vegetable garden. For me, it’s not an interest right now. I am extremely busy and I feel it’s just easier/more logical for us to buy our veggies. Plain and simple, I am not interested. I don’t fall into that because I am a woman who lives on a farm, I need to grow all my vegetables trap. Nope. That is just simply silly. I never believe that anyone needs to “conform” and do something because of xyz reasons. “YOU DO YOU” is one of my favorite sayings.
That being said, when I say that I have become a gardener, I went from 5 or 6 posts each year to 20 or so and 2 small flower beds. I am no Erin Benzakein from Floret Flower (see post video), however, this was still a massive jump for me and my busy life schedule.
Now because of Nurse Loves Farmer and her posts, I am just so obsessed with the idea of a cut flower garden. Today I actually chilled. It’s actually a great feeling. I am well rested from the holidays and have not started my hectic travel schedule so I am feeling pretty zen. I re-read Sarah’s post about how to grow a cut flower garden and reviewed the flower varieties she likes, her tips and the companies and people she follows. I even signed up to receive a free Vesey’s & T&T Seeds catalog and started following all her favorites on social media.
It’s just amazing the beautiful pictures you see and the things you learn once you start following these social accounts. There are some massively talented gardeners with stunning flowers!
It’s January 6th so I have a bit of time left, however, it’s really nice to browse catalogs, look at beautiful pictures and plan my own garden over these dreary and cold winter Manitoba winter days. Between calving season which is quickly approaching and my new interest in flower gardening, time is going to fly.
I am not sure if I am going to actually order from these companies or just buy from my local greenhouses and garden stores. We will see. Because I requested a catalog, and I know the cost to generate them, I will likely order at least one thing from each company to help them recoup that cost at least. I hate to share this…my problem with catalogs is that it takes soooooo long. I am such a now person. I would rather decide on something today and then get it the next time that I am in the city instead of order and pay online and then wait and wait. I would rather have the bulbs sitting in my house while I wait. I know…I have definitely become such a now person.
All that being said, I am excited to garden this summer. What are your favourite flowers that you plant each year? I would live to know. Drop a note in the comments.
