A Round of Turmeric Shots.

After finding out that I had Chondromalacia Patellae, the doctor recommended that I take a 5-day round of ibuprofen. Due to that fact that I have peptic ulcers, NSAIDs [ibuprofen, etc] are off limits for me. So I decided to try turmeric shots…

Turmeric [Curcumin] is said to have incredible anti-inflammatory properties. Both the Chinese and Indians have used it to medicinally for centuries. Not only can it be used as an anti-inflammatory but some have claimed that it helps to lower cholesterol, decrease symptoms of IBD, protect against Alzheimer’s, improve liver function, and prevent cancer.

Finding the turmeric root was challenge. The city I live in is not large and it is surrounded with lots of fast food restaurants, nothing very healthy around here. Actually, South Carolina has been on the “fattest states” list for quite a while, so I really have to search to find the foods that I am used to eating.

I ended up getting the turmeric root here but I have also heard that it can be found at any Whole Foods [although I have not been able to verify that].

To make the turmeric shot, I simply put about 3″ of washed turmeric root in my Omega 8006 juicer and turn it on!

After some research on the root, I discovered that curcumin is not absorbed by the body unless you mix it with pepperdine [the active ingredient in black pepper], so I add a few dashes of that before swigging it down. It is not really an easy shot to take, it is a little rough on the palate but give it a chance because the taste gets easier with time.

Want to give turmeric shots a try but are scared of the taste? Try some of the turmeric juice recipes below to start off with.

No-Sugar Added Turmeric Juice

• 1″ piece of turmeric root
• 1″ piece of ginger root
• 1 lemon
• 2 stalks celery
• 1 cucumber
• a few dashes of black pepper

Sweetened Turmeric Juice

• 1″ piece of turmeric root
• 1″ piece of ginger root
• 2 Granny Smith apples (or other green variety)
• 3 carrots
• a few dashes of black pepper

Patience is a Virtue.

It’s been a few months since my last post… As some of you know, I am in chiropractic school and unfortunately, last quarter was pretty intense so I was studying with most of my free time. I also began teaching more yoga classes, so the past few months have definitely been a balancing act. With blogging being one of my hobbies, Live More Happy had to go on the back burner.

As far as my half-marathon, I did not finish… Around mile 5, I got a terrible pain in my knee and it pretty much stopped me dead in my tracks. It was so painful, even walking was a challenge. There was no way that I was going to make it up and down the rest of the hills that I had in front of me. The aid station was at the 7 mile marker so I limped my way along. Upon arrival, I had the medic bring me back to the start/finish line. All that training and hard-work out the window.

I have been told that the pain in my knee is chondromalacia patellae AKA runner’s knee, an overuse/inflammation injury.  It has been taking [what feels like] forever to heal and I am still not back to running. Grrrr. I am icing my knee and drinking daily turmeric shots [more information on the blog soon] to help with inflammation and healing time.  I will eventually run again but I am not holding my breath for that day to come.

I look forward to blogging again! Talk to you all soon!

11 Miles.

My half-marathon is 2 weeks away. My training plan has been somewhat non-traditional, I just plan to increase my mileage until the 13.1 on March 15, 2015.  Instead of tapering as the half gets closer, I’m just going for it! I don’t think this is a bad thing because the whole point of tapering is to have a large amount of glycogen stored and a small amount of lactic acid in the muscles for a faster speed.  Considering that speed is not really something I’m worrying about this time around, I’ll be okay not tapering.

Yesterday was a rough 11 miles. My muscles just weren’t feeling it. I made it about 6 miles and after that I feel like my body just started to shut down. My body said, nope, not today!  It took me about 2 hours to complete the 11 miles but it was painful, mentally and physically. Sometimes you just have those tough runs. I’m checking the 11 miles off and moving on. Next week will be better.

Despite my long, painful run, the scenery was beautiful. It was a little bit chilly (about 32 degrees) but lots of things to look at. For the past 3 weeks my long runs have been in Greenville. There is a beautiful park there that has trails for miles and miles. 

The picture above and below were taken during the summer. Due to the winter season, Falls Park doesn’t quite look like this right now but it is still beautiful. Running in nice places tends to pass the time a little more quickly.

After the run, we were starving. I had not eaten any lunch (one probable reason that my run wasn’t great) so my tummy was yelling at me by the time all was said and done. We decided upon one of my favorite restaurants, Tupelo Honey.  They bring each person a complementary buttermilk biscuit before your meal comes out which I was really looking forward to. We happened to have a super cool waitress and she ended up bringing us two biscuits each. Score! I ordered one of my favorite dishes on the menu, the meatloaf.  I’m super picky when it comes to red meat but this is grass-fed, local meat so I feel alright when ordering it. Meatloaf was childhood favorite of mine (my mom definitely makes it the best) so it’s nice that I know where to find a good piece when I’m craving it (and mom isn’t around).I got asparagus and a shaved brussel sprout salad as my two sides. The shaved brussel sprout salad was new on their menu and it was amazing! It had shaved carrots and roasted red peppers topped with a honey citrus vinaigrette dressing. Mmm! I will definitely order it again!

What was one of your favorite foods as a child?

Friday Lovin’ [Two.]

Cards Against Humanity.

“A Party Game for Horrible People.”

Okay, so maybe I’m a horrible person. But getting together with friends and/or family and playing this game is ALWAYS a good time. The laughter doesn’t stop!

Health Warrior Chia Bars.

These are such a quick and easy snack when you’re on the go! They are vegan and loaded with Omega-3’s.  They also have a fair amount of fiber and protein relative to calories.  As you can see from the picture, there are a number of flavors to choose from.  My favorite is the Banana Nut.  MMMMM!  I always keep one or two in my backpack or my car for emergency hunger situations.

Tervis Tumblers.

I love my tervis tumblers because they keep my cold drinks cold and my hot drinks hot. They are easy to carry around, are BPA-free, and don’t break. Tervis Tumbler also has a lifetime warranty with all of their tumblers so if anything about the product becomes defective it’s no hassle to get it replaced.

Happy Friday!

Snow Day.

This is my first winter in South Carolina but it has been pretty crazy so far. Just yesterday I was running outside in shorts and this morning it was snowing!  I’m not sure about you, but these gray days take the life out of me.  I always feel like I am lacking so much energy.

School got off to a little bit of a delayed start today so I was able to enjoy some outside fun with the doggies and Anthony (my beau).  Anthony and I had a snowball fight… I believe that it was my first one ever! Coming from Florida, I only experienced snow when visiting family in New England during the winters. I remember building snowmen and making snow angels but never remember having a snowball fight.  It was pretty fun!

The doggies also seemed to enjoy running around in the snow.  I have two, very spoiled, 5 pound yorkies.  They don’t particularly love the cold weather, as they seem to get chilled very easily, but they loved the snow this morning.  It was new territory for them. Cooper got a little spazzy, he was growling and barking, running around all over the yard, eating the snow (as long as it’s not yellow it’s okay, right?).  Sadie (featured in the photo above) was more curious than anything. She just wanted to know what all the foreign material was, that was floating around her.  After a little bit the snow started to stick to Sadie’s paws and face and she was ready to go inside.

Do you live somewhere where they have snow days?

What is/are your favorite thing(s) to do on a snow day?

Motivation Monday

What is the key to creating a habit? Starting!

You don’t have to be great, you don’t even have to be good, you just have to start.

When I lived in Florida I was an avid runner. I loved everything about running, and to be honest, I still do. I wasn’t great at it but I loved it. It gave me such a great feeling of accomplishment and the fact that I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted, didn’t hurt either.

I moved to South Carolina for school and running took a seat on the back burner. There are two reasons that immediately come to my mind of why this happened… time, or lack thereof, and the dreaded hills. There are no hills in the part of Florida where I’m from. The first week I got here I went for a run. I ventured into some uncharted territory, the kind of territory with hills, lots of them, of all sizes. It was painful. I didn’t want to run another one again.

A couple weeks after moving, school started and I ended up barely having time to breathe. I was teaching yoga, going to school from 8-5, looking after two puppies, trying to be a good girlfriend… Running just wasn’t in my schedule, ever.

After about 6 months, I starting noticing my attitude was changing, my moods were not as steady as they once were, I had gained 20 pounds… I just wasn’t the girl I remembered being not too long ago.

So, I started running again. I’m not great, I’m not even good at it anymore but it makes me feel better. Much better. It’s something that I love to do. I started back slowly but now it’s something that I don’t have to “fit” into my schedule. It has become something that is just part of my daily life. A habit.

Maybe there is something in your life that you love, and you’ve put it on the back burner? What made you stop?

The key is to start again! Remember: it doesn’t have to be a balls-to-the-wall beginning. Start slow and take it from there.

How “Live More Happy” Came To Be.

I’ve never really been known as a “social” person. I’ve never liked big crowds, I prefer to be alone more times than not, and value having a few close friendships rather than many loose (for lack of a better term) friendships.  It was only when I started at Sherman College of Chiropractic, July 2014, that I set-up a Facebook… For Pete’s sake, my grandparents had a Facebook before I did! I’ve just never been interested in such things.

So why the blog?!  Well, there are a couple of reasons…

First and foremost, after moving from Florida, away from many friends and family, I’ve felt slightly disconnected. I’m terrible with picking up the phone to call people and if someone calls me, I’m terrible at calling them back. So, I’ve created this blog to tell about my happenings in life [among other things] so that family, friends, and whomever else is interested can keep up with my journey.

Secondly, in the past I’ve used many outlets to relieve stress; yoga, running, napping, listening to music, etc. Since starting at Sherman College my stress levels have increased and the methods I’ve used in the past aren’t as “stress relieving” as they used to be for me. When I was younger, I had a diary that I would write in everyday.  It didn’t matter if I had a bad day or a good day, I was happy or sad, my diary was just a solid place to put my thoughts and feelings into words.  After writing in my diary I always felt positive and accomplished. This blog will second as my diary.  I will come here with my thoughts, ideas, and memories and type it all out. It will be a good addition to my other stress relieving outlets.

So… What about the name “Live More Happy”?

Simple, I believe that everyone deserves and can live a happy life. I’ve had plenty of rough hours, days, weeks, etc.  Sometimes I think it’s not going to get better… it always does.  But what I’ve found is my attitude can make the situation feel like more of an obstacle or it can make it feel like less of an obstacle.  I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason so if I just “Live More Happy” the hard times don’t feel so hard and the good times feel even better.

Enjoy this blog! I hope it inspires, motivates, and intrigues you to dig deep inside and find what makes you live more happy.

Friday Lovin’ [One.]

Numi Breakfest Blend Tea.

This tea is simply amazing. There are many tea brands that contain carcinogens and other chemicals that are dangerous for the body, Numi brand teas don’t. It tastes delicious and I can drink it knowing that I’m not consuming toxic chemicals. Add a splash of unsweetened vanilla almond milk and prepare to be amazed.

Amazon Music.

Amazon music is included with any Amazon Prime membership.  It’s always been tedious preparing playlists for my yoga classes, with this app on my phone it makes it so easy! It’s a simple as searching for a song and adding it to one of my saved playlists. Easy peasy!

Coconut Oil.

This is my first winter season in South Carolina. After moving from the warm Florida winters it’s been a different experience for me.  The biggest thing I’ve noticed happening is my skin getting incredibly dry. My hands have been cracking and, on occasion, bleeding. It’s been quite awful.  To remedy the situation, I’ve been using coconut oil on my skin at night. When I wake-up in the morning it’s like I have new skin (yes, it has been working that well for me)!