My New Favorite Probiotic

Posted on February 4, 2014 by Christa Upton

Disclaimers:  I cannot guarantee any results or guarantee that this will work for you.  Please consult your doctor before trying this, especially if you are pregnant.  Also, my friend is a representative of this company.  (But I am not posting this because she is a rep; I’m posting it because it worked for me!!  🙂 )

Over the last months, my tummy problems have slowly increased.  Finally, a few weeks ago, despite my chicken broth and daily probiotics, I could hardly digest anything.  It was awful.

The next day, a package arrived from a friend, including a new probiotic.

I tried it cautiously, because I have had a lot of bad experiences with “products.”

Well, this time, the more I drank, the better I felt and the more I could eat!  By the fourth day, I was literally sipping on it all day and really starting to feel better.  By evening, I ate my first “real meal” in four days.

I even went off it for a few days.  Sure enough, I began to have more and more trouble digesting food, even while increasing my other probiotics foods.

Here is the science/hypotheses of likely why this is working:

  • My tummy problems began to be worse because of accidental exposure to herbicides this summer.  (Various problems are increasing the problem over time, especially the last few months.)
  • Herbicides can kill off the good flora in the gut (Jockers).
  • Probiotics replenish good flora in the gut.
  • Therefore, probiotics counter the effects of herbicides (and probably other antimicrobials).
  • I do horrible with pills, plus I have this gut feeling (ha ha) that probiotics that are “active” and “less processed” may be better for the human body.
  • The probiotics in my other fermented foods contain foods that are hard on my stomach when my stomach/digestion is at its weakest (garlic in my pickles, dill in my kraut, etc.)
  • I believe that this new product is gentler on my tummy, so I can take more of it (all day right now).

So, what is it?  (Drum roll please….  🙂 )  Terrain Oregano from Beyond Organics!!!  🙂

It is a cultured herb, and it has organic acids as well as probiotics.

Find it here:  Beyond Organic Terrain

Also in the interests of honesty, I tried the ginger, and it was too hard on my tummy (probably because ginger is “hot” kind of like chili).  I expect that if I can get into a safe environment and get my stomach stronger, I might be able to do the ginger someday.

Jockers, Dr. David.  “Roundup Herbicide and GMOs Destroy the Digestive System.”  Natural Health 365.  16 June, 2013.  Web.  25 January, 2014.  http://www.naturalhealth365.com/dangerous_chemicals/roundup.html

Christa Upton     Black Hills Picture Books     PO Box 293    Custer, SD  57730

Related Images:

Posted in Caregivers, God's Grace/Encouragement, MCS/Chronic Illness, Mold/Mould | 2 Comments

I Miss my Kitty

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Christa Upton

A year ago today our little kitty, Cinnamon, died.

I recently read again the poem I wrote about her:    Poem About Cinnamon

I cried again, and I still miss her.  And she was “only” an animal!

I do think God likes when we enjoy His animals.

But it also reminds me of all those going through the one-year anniversary of “greater” grief—whether the death of a friend or family member, divorce, birth of a child with health problems, job loss, beginning of a long-term illness, rejection from family, or some other loss.

That first year is hard, and the year anniversary usually brings “extra” grief.

For those of you experiencing grief, hugs to you. May you receive extra comfort today.

 

Christa Upton    Black Hills Picture Books    PO Box 293   Custer, SD 57730

Related Images:

Posted in Caregivers, Suffering/Grief | Leave a comment

Why we should be like “The Fonz”

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Christa Upton

People have tried to guess why “The Fonz” (from the sitcom Happy Days) was so “cool” and so popular.

Granted, it’s hard not to like his “superpowers” (making the juke box run with one whack) and his cool catchphrases (“Sit on it.”)  🙂

However, I think that Fonzie’s superpowers, perfect hair, leather jacket, cool cars, and motorcycle alone, without any moral fiber, would just simply make him another jerk.

In contrast, here are some of Fonzie’s characteristics that I believe not only made the Fonzie character popular but also worthy of emulation:

  1. Loyalty (to his friends)
  2. Confidence (when he knows he is right)
  3. Courage (to stand up for right)
  4. Strength of character (He adopted a “bad boy” image yet didn’t do “truly” bad things but rather often good things.  Some examples are helping those kids who worked on the Cunningham’s bathroom, sticking up for Joanie, forgiving Arnold when Arnold accidentally hit him and made him go blind, and completely shutting down the married woman that was hitting on him as soon as he found out she was married.)
  5. Leadership skills
  6.  Respect (toward others)
  7. Uncompromising treatment of bad guys (kicking them out)

Looking beyond the external “bad boy” image and the unbelievable chick-magnet persona, the reality was a heroic character with many laudable qualities.

 

Black Hills Picture Books     Christa Upton   PO Box 293     Custer, SD   57730

Related Images:

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

20 Ideas for How to Homeschool from Bed

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Christa Upton

In the last 5 years, I’ve been bedridden off and on from mold and chemicals.

Here are some ideas for homeschooling through being bedridden with chronic illness, starting with the obvious idea:

  1. Do school on your bed or couch.  Have your children bring you books.
  2. Have a table by your bed with all your planning materials on it, as well as pencils, scissors, etc.
  3. Try a box for books (with spines upright so you can see them) and papers or files by your bed.
  4. Try to plan school and/or do school when you are at your best mentally.
  5. If you are even too fatigued to read out loud, have your older children read to your younger ones.
  6. Have your children grade each other’s papers (when you have a clear teacher’s key for them to do it.  Of course this works better when they are older.  🙂 )
  7. “Let go” of doing “everything.”  Your children will learn.
  8. Realize that most homeschool programs are pretty advanced.  It is also easier to tutor a few children than to teach a whole classroom, so know you don’t have to review just because the book says so.  Only review if your child needs it.
  9. Hand-in-hand with #7 & #8:  ask God where to prioritize your energy.
  10. Ask for help.  Maybe a neighbor would love to read history to your children.  Maybe a friend from church could grade your children’s essays.  Maybe a relative can take over some of the schooling.  Ask God for ideas.
  11.  Let older children do projects on their own or on a TV tray in your room (so you can enjoy watching).
  12. Ask God for strength.
  13. Study your children’s learning styles and optimize them.  For instance, two of my children are extremely auditory, so we use a lot of CDs with songs on them, like the Troxel’s States and Capitals CD Kit:  States and Capitals Kit
  14. Even if your children are not auditory learners, learning CDs can be great.  Most children love music and learn through it.
  15. Make good use of learning DVDs.  Here are some of our favorites:                          Sonlight science DVD     Sonlight math DVDs      Leapfrog Learning DVDs
  16. If you have the financial resources, consider a complete online or video program for schooling if you are really exhausted.
  17. Do not let others tell you what you “should” do, unless after considering their ideas, you feel their ideas coincide with what God is telling you.  (How to know?  I suggest looking up George Mueller for advice on knowing the will of God.  There are other excellent studies on this as well.)
  18. Remember that when your children help you in your illness, they are learning love and compassion and seeing the needs of others.
  19. Remember that God loves your children more than you do.
  20. Remember that if God calls you to homeschool, He will help you do it.

 

Have you ever homeschooled from bed?

Christa Upton     Black Hills Picture Books       Edgemont, SD 57735

 

 

 

Related Images:

Posted in Children, God's Grace/Encouragement, Homeschooling, MCS/Chronic Illness | 5 Comments

To the Suffering and Oppressed Ones

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Christa Upton

To those who struggle mightily with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity/Environmental Illness, other chronic illness, other disability, being a caregiver for someone with chronic illness, MCS/EI homelessness, or other suffering due to no fault of your own, I have found much comfort in the following passage:

“There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day.

“But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

“So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.  And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’

“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.”’

Luke 16:19-25     http://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/luke/16.html

And this:

“‘Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you.

“‘I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.  And where I go you know, and the way you know.’

“Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?’

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

“‘…I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me.

“‘Because I live, you will live also. At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.'”

John 14:1-6, 18-21     http://www.biblestudytools.com/nkjv/john/14.html

 

Christa Upton    Black Hills Picture Books  57735

 

Related Images:

Posted in Caregivers, God's Grace/Encouragement, Homelessness, MCS/Chronic Illness, Suffering/Grief | 2 Comments

10 Ways to Conserve Water

Posted on January 17, 2014 by Christa Upton

Conserving water is good!

Some of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity live in drier climates for our health.  Others with MCS dry-camp, having little water at their campsites. In these situations, conserving water becomes even more important.  Here are some ideas for conserving water:

  1. While your shower water is warming up, catch the cold water in a bucket rather than letting it go down the drain.  Use it later to wash laundry or water plants.
  2. Take “Army showers”:  turn off the water while you soap up and wash your hair.  If you like, put the plug in when you first start with the warm water, and at least your feet will stay warmer.  🙂
  3. Gather clean snow and let it melt for use in the laundry.  (Or use it to make old-fashioned snow candy.  :))  Collect rain water for laundry, plants, garden, etc.
  4. Use potato or pasta water for soup the next day. REFRIGERATE or freeze the water in the meantime, though.  Starchy water is a hotbed for bacteria and could make you VERY sick if you leave it out and use it later. 
  5. Have a “baking day,” and don’t wash the mixing bowl, measuring cups, etc. in between recipes.  (A little sugar and egg from your cookie recipe won’t hurt your bread dough.  But be careful about re-using things after too long that you used with refrigerated ingredients.  These can grow bacteria, too.)
  6. Don’t wash some things at all—rinsing-only is fine with dry ingredients, and you also save on soap.  Examples:  a measuring cup used only for flour and sugar, a measuring spoon used only for spices or herbs
  7. Don’t wash OR rinse some non-perishable things; wipe them out with paper towel instead.  Examples:  bread pans, cast iron skillet used only to make grilled cheese or fried potatoes, measuring cup used only for oil   Especially if you are using a “more natural” dish soap, this can also save frustration of soap not removing grease very well.  In fact, sometimes it helps to wipe greasy things out even if you’re still going to wash them.
  8. Wear clothes more than once, especially pants, (if you didn’t spill tomato sauce or something on yourself :)) before washing the clothes.
  9. Set dirty pots in the sink and wash hands or rinse other dishes into them and let them soak.
  10. Save large yogurt containers, salsa jars, tomato sauce jars, cocoa powder containers, etc. for use with leftovers.  Most of those things are fairly easy to wash out.  After using the containers for leftovers (which are often harder to wash out, being greasy or full of meat or cheese or whatever), throw away the containers rather than washing.  (You were going to throw them away the first time anyway, right?  Just get them nice and dirty first.  LOL)

Do you have more ideas for water conservation?

 

Christa Upton       Black Hills Picture Books          PO Box 293      Custer, SD   57730

Related Images:

Posted in MCS/Chronic Illness, The Black Hills | 2 Comments

Fresh Air?

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Christa Upton

One day in the winter of 2012, I had to go to town to sign some papers at the bank.  We drove in from our rental house outside of town.  In northern climates, the cold of winter tends to hold pollution closer to the ground (because of something called temperature inversion), so towns and cities are often worse with car exhaust and propane combustion in the winter.  On that particular day, I was so sensitive to the pollution that a few short minutes after arriving into town, I began to feel worse.  Ugh.  Town air.

We got to the bank, and hubby Steve went in and explained that going into the building would make me sicker (carpet, perfumes, etc. being even worse than that town’s air).

A notary public graciously offered to come outside and witness my signing the papers.  Steve thanked her for coming out, and she said, “Oh, I can use the fresh air!”

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry (so I did neither).  What a crazy thing—I’m standing there gagging on exhaust and she is happy for the fresh air!

But yet she was right—“town air” IS “fresh air” compared to “bank air.”  In fact, that town’s air is probably better than the vast majority of towns in America.  Even so, it made me sicker!

That’s extremely severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity for you.

Thanks for reading, to know a little more about what I and many, many others like me face!

 

Christa Upton         Black Hills Picture Books         PO Box 293       Custer, SD 57730

Related Images:

Posted in MCS/Chronic Illness | Leave a comment

Castile Soap with Absolutely no Petrochemicals

Posted on January 10, 2014 by Christa Upton

And good customer service to boot.   🙂  Here are Dr. Bronner’s products:

http://www.drbronner.com/DBMS/LS.htm

Just to clarify, I won’t make any money off this post or this link (and neither will any of my friends or relatives) even if you buy Dr. Bronner’s soap, but I know how difficult the MCS life is and wanted to share something that might be worth considering.  Also many people, even those without MCS, are interested in going away from petrochemicals.

Dr. Bronner’s Castile soap has absolutely no petrochemicals.  They use veggie oils and saponify them into soap and glycerin.

I recently found out that even the “preservative” in Bronner’s liquid Castile is from a food source (not petro).

I seem to do very well with their soap—I have been using it for over two years with no noticeable problems, and I am very grateful.  (Of course I can’t guarantee that it will work for you.)

I like the Citrus and Almond the best.

 

 

Do you have any favorite products to share that work for your MCS?  Please comment below!  (But no products in which you have a financial interest, please.)

 

Christa Upton       Black Hills Picture Books       PO Box 293      Custer, SD      57730

 

Related Images:

Posted in Caregivers, God's Grace/Encouragement, MCS/Chronic Illness | 3 Comments

10 Reasons Why Southwestern South Dakota is Good for my MCS

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Christa Upton

Title sounds funny.  🙂  At least I didn’t say “northeast of southwestern South Dakota” or something.  LOL

Okay, so those of us with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity/Toxic Injury/Environmental Illness know that there is no perfect place on earth for us.  (Which is why I’m glad there’s heaven.)

However, today I’d like to share some of the wonderful things about my area that help my MCS.

  1. Neither Custer nor Hot Springs spray aerially for mosquitoes, at least in recent history.
  2. Custer has hardly any bugs because of the elevation.
  3. Hot Springs has a natural spring, open to the public (for filling your jugs), with fantastic water.  (Downtown, across the river, near the gorgeous waterfall, or ask anyone in town where “Kidney Springs” is.)  My hubby has never, ever in his life “liked” water until now.  It tastes like water “should” taste—wonderful natural minerals from the ground, no treating necessary.
  4. The Black Hills contains areas that are either too dry or too hilly for agriculture, creating a little “pocket” of area with no aerial agricultural spraying.
  5. The climate is “semi-arid,” especially in the Southern Hills, allowing for less outdoor mold, better breathing (for me, anyway), and fewer weeds that people want to spray.
  6. The winter climate, though containing weeks of very cold weather, also has weeks where it is downright warm, especially in the high-altitude sun and dry air, especially if one is protected from the wind.  I’ve been out in a T-shirt in the sun in January and February.
  7. Dakota Radiology (in Rapid City) has a no-scent policy for their employees and patient gowns, and employees were extremely accommodating for me.
  8. Both Custer and Hot Springs have little areas of “escape” that are quite good depending on the season.
  9. Nearby Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, areas of Mt. Rushmore National Monument, areas around Spearfish, and areas of the National Forest are often extremely low-chemical, especially the Wind Cave area.  I can ride in the car for miles around here and hardly experience any symptoms, depending on the season, mold count, etc.
  10. Some people think that the pine trees help make the air better.  (Although that’s not true if one is allergic to pine dust or if one has problems with the terpenes given off by pines.)

062I can’t remember where we took this picture, but it shows how the Hills look “black.”  🙂

Christa Upton    Black Hills Picture Books      PO Box 293      Custer, SD      57730

Related Images:

Posted in MCS/Chronic Illness, The Black Hills | Leave a comment

7 Wonderful Things about 2013

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Christa Upton

003

7 wonderful things about 2013, in no particular order:

1.  Our children got to enjoy some really neat things this year, for example:

  • the Pioneer Museum down in Hot Springs, SD
  • the always-fantastic (and free) Wind Cave science program for kids (Jan. through April)
  • the Custer Library Program, which was exceptional this summer
  • Cascade Springs south of Hot Springs
  • chess club at Hot Springs Library last winter & spring, which was extremely well-run
  • a live (and wonderful) Chautauqua presentation by fellow homeschoolers

May I add one thing:  the Pioneer Museum is the first public building in a LONG time that I was able to enjoy with almost no reactions and very little recovery time afterward!!!   It helped that they had many windows open for cooling and that it is very high on a hill in a town that’s already better than most regarding pollution.  Wow, it was like a dream to enjoy that with my family.

2.  I grew through a challenging writing job given to me.
3.  I learned how to better follow God’s agenda for me.
4.  In September, God provided this large, beautiful home for us to enjoy (through May).
5.  Out-of-state relatives were able to come visit us twice!   It was so good to spend time with them.
6.  A new friend of mine and I have become very close, able to chat like sisters.
7.  God never deserted us or left us to struggle on our own.  (This is true every year, and it’s always one of the best things ever.)

Would you like to share something wonderful about your year?

Christa Upton     Black Hills Picture Books     PO 293     Custer, SD   57730

Related Images:

Posted in MCS/Chronic Illness | 6 Comments