Time for a cleanse (a bookshelf cleanse)

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

UPDATE: we have a winner!

Dairy Free and Gluten-free Kitchen by Denise Jardine & Sweet Cravings: 50 Seductive Desserts for a Gluten-Free Lifestyle
Fingers Crossed :)

Thank you

No, no, not a diet cleanse, a book cleanse. 2014 has just been a few weeks long, but I’ve committed to simplifying and letting go of what I don’t need. And I’ve realized I have so much and don’t need most of it.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Some people have bunch of shoes. Or jewelery. Not me. I have a ton of cookbooks, and a sagging bookcase to show for it. Most are ones I’ve bought, because I *had* to have them, and a few were review copies. I’ve thought of doing a book giveaway before but worried about offending authors. Honestly, I’ve finally come to the conclusion that it’s time for me to stop buying books. When I really like a cookbook, I end up buying it (again) on kindle–it’s much easier for me because it’s lighter, and that makes a huge difference for me physically.

So let’s be clear. These are all great books and authors I love and respect! They just need homes where they’ll be properly appreciated. All are new or like new condition–I’m keeping all my pre-kindle books with the sticky finger marks and chocolate splatter on the pages.

So here’s the deal: Which TWO books do you want to win? Leave me a comment and let me know. The winner will be chosen at random.

One entry for each:

  1. let me know in the comment field which books you want to win, and make sure you enter your email into the comment field. It won’t be displayed, but that way I can be in touch if you win.
  2. Share this on twitter and leave me a comment here to let me know
  3. Follow me on twitter at @CherylHarrisRD and leave me a comment here to let me know
  4. Share this on FB! and leave me a comment here to let me know
  5. Follow me on FB on my GF Goodness page or my Harris Whole Health page 

Open to US only (sorry, shipping fees are a beast) and this contest will be open until Feb 8th 10pm EST.

Posted in contest | 78 Comments

Thankful for teamwork: thankful thursdsays

Posted on January 16, 2014 by Cheryl Harris

Ah, the first of my Thankful Thursday posts! It’s a bit of a roundabout thankful, but that’s sometimes how life works.
I’ve been having some pretty intense GI stuff since Christmas, and so days have been really…something. I’m really glad, and proud, that I’ve been able to take good care of myself. I know in the past I’ve had times where I was angry at body, as thougbig orange flutterh my body were some sort of derelict employee whose job it was to cart ME around.

But this feels peaceful. I’m doing the best I can. I’m giving myself compassion. I’m making time to get 9-10 hours of sleep. I’m doing everything I can. I’m not blaming or shaming, and I’m not falling into the hole of “why me”. My body and I are on the same team, united in figuring out ways to feel better.

I’m really thankful for that.

Posted in thankful thursday | 3 Comments

Dec Sanity Retreat Round-Up & Thankful Thursdays

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAFirst, thank you so much to everyone who participated in the December Sanity Retreat, from my delicious co-hosts:

to everyone who read, commented, shared, or joined us in the Facebook group.

And so…(drumroll please)

the winner of the Nuts.com gift certificate is Ms. Pamela of aseafish out of water. Yay Pamela!

The winner of the fun stuff from me is Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl and I can’t tell you what the present is because then she’d read it and spoil the surprise. 😉

I decided to blog my the things I was grateful for daily during December. It was interesting. I didn’t anticipate how hard it would be, between losing power for a few days, an autoimmune flare, dental issues, and kinda bizarre GI problems that made me  go on a low fat diet. Hopefully I’ll never had to do that again! So there were more than a few days that I didn’t feel very grateful.Of course, true to my nature, I posted on those, too.

I’m glad that I was doing the gratitude posting. It was a stretch for me. I’m a very private person, and I found it challenging to post on ME for so many days. I don’t think I’ll ever do daily posts again, but I’m grateful for it nonetheless for showing me ways I’m not yet comfortable showing up in the world.

So I’ve decided to do Thankful Thursdays for 2014. I’m giving myself permission in advance to miss a few, because I’m sure I will.

And here’s a roundup of our December fun:

My 31 days of gratitude:

If you focused on having a sane December in 2013, how did it affect your holidays?

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge | 3 Comments

My Favorite Posts of 2013 (Pics!)

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Cheryl Harris

I really enjoyed posting gratitude for the December Sanity Retreat and I’ll be posting a roundup soon, but am so ready to get bn pureeback to food! As I looked through 2013’s recipes, it’s clear to me that I’m posting less food, but pickier about what I post, so I’ve had a hard time narrowing down my favorites on my blog and around the web. Here are my top 3 in a bunch of categories:
Veggies:

Main meal

 Desserts:

Doesn’t quite fit anywhere else, but I couldn’t leave it out:
Hazenut Buttah (goodness on a spoon!)

Recipes from books out in 2013:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

On other websites:

Chocolate Chestnut Cake–actually my recipe, but published in Simply Gluten-Free Magazine

Picturesfoxy beautyness

My thoughts:

 

Posted in baked goods, cat pictures, cheryl's musings, recipe | 3 Comments

Resolving to lose weight? Aim higher.

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Cheryl Harris

All of the weight loss resolutions I’m seeing are starting to grate on me.

Did you know that I lost about ¼ of my weight and have kept it off the last 9 years? Probably not. I don’t mention the weight loss because it’s not particularly significant in my life. I was somewhat overweight according to the charts, and now I’m not. In some ways, it’s been one of the most trivial changes, which is why I don’t think it’s ever come up on my blog after almost 6 years of blogging.

You can read that again if you’d like. I lost a big chunk of poundage and have kept it off almost a decade and it’s pretty irrelevant to me. cheryl wedding

Why?

I was pretty awesome at my highest weight. And gorgeous inside and out. Do you think I would have looked happier at my wedding if I weighed less or my arms were more toned? I don’t think so.

What I am proud of and care about:

  • Dramatically changing and improving my eating habits. Yes, I’ve gone from the woman who ate frosting by the spoonful on many occasions to the woman who can’t get enough kale.
  • Ending a long-standing binge eating habit.
  • Learning to love and cook amazing food.
  • Getting physically active, even despite physical limitations
  • Meditating daily!
  • Taking great care of myself, and learning to love the person I am.
  • Maintaining loving relationships.
  • Finding much better emotional balance
  • Starting a business and watching it flourish
  • My love and my kittehs.
  • Managing all of my health conditions.

Those accomplishments are a result of a change in habits and attitude, not a rigid plan.

I am so much healthier than I was, in almost every way. When I changed my life, my everything else changed. And if my weight had NOT changed when I changed my life, it still would have been worth it.

Please understand…my intent isn’t to diminish others in their goals for health, including weight loss. But you can hate yourself thin; you can’t hate yourself healthy. Same goes for bullying, and often that seems the cornerstone of many diets–beating yourself into submission. Thanks, but no.

So before you plan those New Year’s resolutions, consider what you care most about. The number on the scale doesn’t define your health. You can aim higher than just seeing the scale move.

I’m also really loving Johnna’s post on dieting–check it out.

Posted in cheryl's musings | 8 Comments

Grateful for Mr. Dude: Day 31

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Cheryl Harris

c and e 2013I did save my favorite “grateful” for last, largely because I don’t quite know how to put into words how much he means to me.e mohawk

We’re very different. He’s much more conservative than I am–okay, that may not be clear from the picture, but it was for a Halloween party a long time ago, but I couldn’t resist! And we have wildly different views on many topics. We have heated discussions health topics and the statistical significance of different studies, the use of control groups and relative study power (I wish I was kidding here, but alas, no). More often than not, we have polar opposite interpretations. We’ve been together more than 13 years, and we’ve both changed and grown a lot during that time.

What hasn’t changed at all is that we love each other, and usually like each other, too.

No matter what, I know that Mr. Dude will come through for me and be there for me when I need him, even if he doesn’t agree with me. I know he’ll love me and support me, and that has been my North Star. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that no matter what, he’s got my back. It’s like having a cushy cloud to land on. It seems like he’s been with me for as long as I can remember, and I sometimes forget to express my gratitude to him because he feels like a part of me.

It’s very un PC to “need” someone, and it certainly wasn’t in my plan to be depend on anyone. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERABut because of health stuff, I did (and do) need him, and he’s been right by my side, doing his best. I don’t know if I could stay as patient as he (usually) does.

He’s also the papa of my kittehs, which counts for a lot, too.

I’m grateful for his love, his sense of humor, his compassion, his integrity, his kindness and that he loves my cooking. And his hugs! He gives the most awesome hugs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wow. I can’t believe I’ve kept up the gratitude blogging for 31 days, more or less, for the December Sanity Retreat! This week’s hostess is Valerie of City Life Eats and she posted on getting more present with reflection and breathwork. Hop on over to comment on her post and be entered to win a Nuts.come $50 gift cert!

Posts so far:

My 31 days of gratitude:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’m delighted to be joined by wonderful hostesses with likeminded blogs:

Posted in cat pictures, cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge, self care carnival | 2 Comments

Grateful for Love: Day 30

Posted on December 31, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

First, many thanks for the love from yesterday post and warm wishes online and off, and I’m feeling much better. I wasn’t really able to eat more than a few bites for the past 5 days and my poor digestion is starting to move toward normal, which is super cool and obviously has done wonders for my mood, too.

It’s day 30, and I have to write about Mr. Dude still, of course, and I thought I’d write about my gratitude for my physical progress, because it’s officially TEN YEARS since I first sprained my ankle, which marked an era of whole lotta struggle (and triumph!)

And then I found this note on my desk from a few months ago.dinner note

I was teaching and out late, and when I came back to my aunt and uncle’s, this was waiting for me.

Those of you who are gluten-free and everything else free know how beautiful it is to have a homemade safe meal made with love, especially after a REALLLLLY long day.

So I’m dedicating today’s “grateful” to all of the people who have loved me over the years. To all of the friends that have held me, literally and figuratively, when my world fell apart. Everyone who treated me better than I treated myself, and saw the beauty in me when I didn’t know how. I’m grateful for all of the angels in my life, from my bird Mr. Feathers to strangers to all of the little kindnesses that have helped shape me into who I am.

Some people learn to love themselves from receiving love from the beginning, and that’s pretty groovy. The rest of us have to learn our worthiness along the way from the reflections of love and kindness we see in the eyes of others.

I am more grateful than I can put into words.

“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.”
~Albert Schweitzer

I would suggest that our furry or feathery friends can have a similar effect to bring us home, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drop by for the December Sanity Retreat! This week’s hostess is Valerie of City Life Eats and she posted on getting more present with reflection and breathwork. Hop on over to comment on her post and be entered to win a Nuts.come $50 gift cert!

Posts so far:

My 30 days of gratitude:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’m delighted to be joined by wonderful hostesses with likeminded blogs:

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge, self care carnival | Leave a comment

Not really gratefuls: Day 29

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

Gotta love it when my own advice comes to bite me in the tush.

To be totally honest, I’m not feeling very grateful around now…I’m having a round of “medical mystery mess” and it’s extremely physically and emotionally uncomfortable. So is my dental work in progress. While I can acknowledge the good (my sweetie, my kittehs, that this happens less often than it used to) and the wonderful gifts in my life (my vision, my walking, greater strength, wonderful people around me) I’m just not feelingOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA it.

You can cultivate an attitude of appreciation, and I think I often do. I think writing these posts makes me more aware of looking for the good, and I know it’s possible to find the beautiful moments in the middle of the mess.

But posting today on gratitude…not so much. Yes I could easily write something up and post it, but I don’t wanna! In some ways, I feel better knowing I don’t have to. Maybe I’ll just schedule in a make-up day later on.

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge, self care carnival | 6 Comments

Grateful for my nephews: Day 28

Posted on December 29, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAShort and sweet:

I’m grateful to see my nephews, even briefly, and to get this bracelet that H made for me (he’s 4 1/2, so he had help.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drop by for the December Sanity Retreat! This week’s hostess is Valerie of City Life Eats and she posted on getting more present with reflection and breathwork. Hop on over to comment on her post and be entered to win a Nuts.come $50 gift cert!

Posts so far:

My 30 days of gratitude:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’m delighted to be joined by wonderful hostesses with likeminded blogs:

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge, self care carnival | Leave a comment

Grateful for the power of a dream: Day 27

Posted on December 28, 2013 by Cheryl Harris

I’ve heard people talk about “being realistic about how real life works” and what’s possible. I’m grateful that I don’t listen very well, and realized a long-shot dream.

7 years ago I worked for DC government. I was doing great work (on paper): running the breastfeeding program for DC WIC. But I had totally burned out for a variety of reasons, and there was mold at the office, and I was terrified that it was exacerbating my medical issues.

It was my chiropractor who first encouraged me to think about what I WANTED. My initial reaction? I was furious—I felt like he was mocking me. At that point, I was avocadofacetechnically disabled, barely walking, having major fatigue issues, in severe pain daily and *just* squeaking by. I mean, just sitting in a chair for 8 hours was about maxing me out.

I did talk to Mr. Dude back then about leaving my job. He sat me down, and we had the “this is our mortgage, these are our salaries, this is the house going bye-bye without  your salary. Any questions??” I don’t blame him in the least. I knew what I wanted to move away from, but didn’t yet have a vision of what I was moving TOWARD. I just wanted out, and had no plan.

Dream? Who was I kidding. I had a steady job with benefits and job security. The grown up thing is to suck it up and continue the course.

Yet the seed was planted. And what fun is the “adult thing” anyhow.

By then, I had started helping people with a gluten-free diet online and in person, and it was a perfect match. I knew it would be a great fit, and yet…bridging the gap to starting a business seemed ridiculous.  Sick people don’t start businesses. What was I supposed to do, network? I was walking around with a cane, and perpetually a funky shade of greyish green.

Oh, and did I mention that I hated clinical nutrition during my internship because I thought it meant working in a hospital and never learned anything about private practice?

And, somehow, that seed started to sprout.

I started by asking around, and I found a perfect place with super cheap rent. I left my job, and they let me do some independent contracting, and I worked 2 days a week at a local WIC agency.

I started seeing clients, which was a joy. It wasn’t all rainbows and unicorns: I also had big orange flutterthings that looked promising end abruptly, and days where it felt like the sky was falling. I made a lot of mistakes because I didn’t have a roadmap. It was humbling. I can’t say it was a smooth process for me, but I don’t ever remember even considering giving up.

I had opportunities fall in my lap out of the blue and was speaking at groups maybe a month or two after I started. I was lucky in making good connections. Slowly, and yet, amazingly, pieces fell in place. Mr. Dude was/is a huge support, especially for classes. My former supervisor even took pictures for my website and logo.

I’ve been seeing clients formally for more than 6 years, and I love it. Or at least I’m very grateful for the overwhelming majority of it.

Looking backwards, I wonder how I stuck with this early on. Good thing I have the temperament of a pit bull with a bone. I’ve always been terrified of change, and I realized early that a certain amount of fear was (usually) a sign that I was on the right track, rather than a sign I should retreat. Of course, much of it was the fortune of finding wonderful people. But none of it would have happened if someone didn’t see more in me, or if I didn’t choose to see more in myself.

I can say is that my dream has been a blessing to me, and (I believe) to others. I had every reason imaginable to believe my dream was impossible, or at the very least, highly improbable.

And yet, here I am. Doing what I want, and able to make it work financially, too.  I have the sense of using my gifts for what I love, and that in itself is amazingly rewarding.

And, of course, if I can do it, so can you.

I love the words of Joseph Campbell:

“When you follow your bliss…doors will open where you would not have thought there would be doors, and where there wouldn’t be a door for anyone else.”

What would you do if you didn’t have that little voice on your shoulder saying that you couldn’t?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Drop by for the December Sanity Retreat! This week’s hostess is Valerie of City Life Eats and she posted on getting more present with reflection and breathwork. Hop on over to comment on her post and be entered to win a Nuts.come $50 gift cert!

Posts so far:

My 30 days of gratitude:OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I’m delighted to be joined by wonderful hostesses with likeminded blogs:

Posted in cheryl's musings, December Sanity Challenge, self care carnival | 2 Comments