A lemon a day keeps the doctor away!

When life gives you lemons....... use them to   G E T  healthy!

I wanted to share some health benefits of drinking lemon water in the morning. I have heard that it helps with balancing the pH in your body and that is good for a number of reasons, for example, cancer thrives in highly acidic systems. But there are a number of different benefits I discovered as I looked into it more. It's important to make sure the water is room temperature, because cold water can shock your system because it takes energy from your body to process cold water and it can prevent all of the many health benefits from starting to work. Here are some of the benefits that I found (and love them!):

• clears out toxins in the body
• hydrates your lymph system and releases toxins built up 
• aids digestion 
• hydration
• reduces heartburn
• helps with constipation, if you're having trouble with bowel movements the warm water and lemon help because taking in plenty of water is helpful for constipation and the citrus can give some help to get things moving inside
• stop UTIs, encourages the production of urine as a result toxins are released at a faster rate helping to purify the system 
• helps kill bacteria in your mouth, it freshens breath it can also relieve tooth pain and gingivitis
• weight-loss/reduces appetite, lemons are high in pectin fiber which help fight hunger cravings and is also been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet lose weight faster
• good for skin, vitamin C also helps to reduce wrinkles because it helps produce more colleges and also helps clear blemishes on the face. the lemon water reduces toxins from the body and helps with clear skin and reduce the appearance of scars 
• good for your immune system
• workout recovery 
• aches and pains, it helps to reduce inflammation especially as in arthritis
• reduce phlegm,  it helps rid the body of mucus
• strengthens the brain, Vitamin C and potassium help the brain and nerve function and helps to keep you alert in a natural way
• cleanses the liver, it flushes toxins out of your system 
• helps kick the coffee habit
• a dose of vitamin C, this is one of the first things that is depleted from your body when every you are stressed out, vitamin C helps fight colds they're high in potassium which stimulates the brain and nerve function and also helps control blood pressure
• reduces respiratory problems, warm lemon water can help get rid of chest infections and yucky cough

Isn't that fantastic? I have gotten in the habit of buying a bunch, juicing them, and leaving them in a container in the fridge. In the morning just add it to some room temp water and enjoy!

Hope this helps ya!

new traditions.....

H-A-P-P-Y  H-O-L-I-D-A-Y-S!!!

It has been far too long since I showed up around here but I'm always glad to be back putting my thoughts and feeling to paper (or computer) ha! Today, I wanted to share my heart on a brand new tradition that I started with my family this year. It's a focus on the act of giving thanks. Every year I try to push my luck with my husband and try to get the tree up early....hehehehehee.... I have to admit, I am definitely the pushy, bratty, fight for my way type.

This year hubby put up a good fight, that we shouldn't put the tree up until after Thanksgiving, and I can totally agree with that thought of not skipping over a holiday, but that isn't what I was trying to do. I truly just wanted the celebrations, good feelings, and happy thoughts to start early! I am so in love with this time of year and I can't get enough of it and, quite frankly, 25 days of celebrations isn't enough..... so I got creative and came up with an idea for a new tradition. I hope you'll try it too!

A THANKSGIVING TREE!!

We pulled out our tree from the garage and as a family we fluffed it and put lights on it. 

Then I cut out some small pieces of paper and as a family we each wrote something that we are thankful for and that is what I used to put on the tree. Our 3 year old just scribbled all over most of the papers but that's ok because it's her personal touch. I asked her what she was thankful for and I wrote it out for her on one of the pieces of paper.

I would have loved a real tree but I ran in to one problem with wanting to decorate early, no one is selling trees yet. Maybe in December we will switch it out for a real tree!

All of the pumpkins and the small trees are from hobby lobby, I bought it all for 50% off after halloween!

 

I hope you enjoy this and are encouraged to start a new tradition with your family. I decided that from now on starting in January I will have a "Thanksgiving jar" somewhere in the house. Randomly, we can write down things we enjoyed together, memories or moments that made our heart smile and collect them in this jar throughout the year. Then next November when we put our tree up we will have lots of little notes that we can read to re-live and remember those moments that we loved!