What's New at According2Meredith?

Hello Again~

A lot has changed!

1. My hair cut
2. Cross Country Move
3. Bought a house in California
4. Beginning a new family endeavor -- H.O.M.E.S.C.H.O.O.L.

1. My new haircut is as pictured... I have longer layers in the back. It's not a new hairstyle. I've been using CreaClip to cut my layers since April of this year. BUT- it's freshly cut and my perm has gotten new life breathed into it. The perm is 1 year old. Not bad, right? My last perm lasted about 2.5 years. How long did your perms last?

2. My husband landed an awesome job in California and so myself and the kids moved out there in August so we could get them started in a great school district for this 2015-2016 school year. We had to live with my husband's grandmother for over 3 months, but it was not all bad. Having that intimate time with her was priceless. She is in her nineties and we know her months are numbered. The kids really stimulated her in a positive way and helped her have a new reason to be alert. My kids learned to be caring towards others. My daughter would give her eye drops at night, my 2yo would bring her blankets to keep her warm and our oldest would sit and watch TV with her to keep her company.

3. We bought a house with a pool in the most desirable school district in the area. The picture above is in my new kitchen. It has granite countertops, an island with a sink and the dishwasher. We bought a brand new refrigerator and washer/dryer set. Let me tell ya, I felt the squeeze on the wallet. Moving isn't cheap. BUT-- then we got a rebate from our title company that almost covered the whole cost of the new appliances. I don't know about you, but I think that is a God thing. =) Either way, we were mightily blessed by that windfall.

4. H.O.M.E.S.C.H.O.O.L. and a new blog devoted to it. So if you wouldn't mind, as the awesome audience you have been through my first couple hundred posts for this A2M blog, please put this new blog on your follow list. I could use some pointers on homeschooling and perhaps my new fresh take on it will inspire some new approaches for you also. Thank you in advance. =)

Breaking up with Public School

So how many of you made tamales this year?

We made 22 pounds of pork, olive, chicharron, and spam tamales this year in over 3 ssessions. It ended up yielding about 10 dozen tamales since we like ours meaty. My husband's family put a lot of trust in me to do the bulk of the cooking and seasoning with their input. Overall, the tamales turned out fantastic. We enjoyed each other's company and even 92yo grandma wanted to participate. It was hard to duplicate the deliciousness that grandpa created with his buckets and buckets of tamales. (He passed away in December 2014.) We have decided to carry on the tradition and remember him with every batch.

I invite you to comment with your best tamale making memories or tips on making it fool-proof and fast... I have a lot to learn as a Korean person learning Mexican cooking!

Rethinking what is medicine

I threw away the bottles...

                                              of pain pills.

Starting April 7, 2015, I broke up with OTC products. I was subjecting myself to an organic detox program and decided to make it life changing. It was the last day I reached for my side-kicks "Acetaminophen" and "Ibuprofen." I wanted to make the expensive detox carry over into other areas of my life. 

This was "breakup" was hard and nearly unthinkable. I had chronic pain from multiple physical traumas. I convinced myself that those "sidekicks" were benign compared to the prescription pain pills I could have become addicted to. But my body was telling me, I was not doing it any favors. 

Other than taking one headache pill, I have been completely off OTC medications for pain or for cold/flu. I have relied on essential oils, exercise and a fairly conscientious diet (less meat, more organic foods, more veggies and fermented foods). My experience with the detox was a surprise to me. 

I thought I would feel better immediately afterwards. But, my body was feeling sick and achy from the detox treatments. Then it hit me--- perhaps the pain is part of detoxing that my body has been doing on its own. Instead of trusting what my body was doing, I fed it the two side kicks as if I lost faith in my body's ability to restore itself. 

And to take things a step further... I decided to get my hormone IUD removed (procedure done today). Since having the IUD, I've collected a lot of fat around my midsection. I suspect my body was not liking the IUD and protecting it with the fat deposits. I have always been petite and nearly effortlessly slim until the IUD.

I have read testimonials from other women who gained a significant amount of weight on hormone IUDs. I will be blogging on my body changes in the coming months. I will continue my exercising throughout the week (monitored by my MisFit Shine) and taking my vitamins, minerals and fish oil. 

My newest health effort is to get better quality of sleep. I've put my cell-phone far away from my body and brain so there are no electrical interferences with restorative sleep. I'm careful to use f.lux on my desktop computer and on my cellphone (EasyEyes) if I'm using it at night.

As an added "health twist," I have been building new friendships that will help me with my fitness accountability, emotional health and general support. The nice upside is that both my husband and I are enjoying spending time with mutual friends. Friends take the pressure off spouses to fulfill all of the social needs a person has.

picture was taken in 2015

Now that I have officially hit 35 years of age, I feel that getting a grip on my health is of great importance if I am going to live a long vibrant life. I don't want to be the old person who is miserable from unnecessary body system decay. I know I'll never look like I did at 25 years of age, but I do plan on keeping people guessing about my chronological age. Thankfully, my mental age is progressing and improving my sense of well-being. 

I have a sound mind that is connected

to a 13-year-old face! Yeah~

What is your experience with detox or birth control? 

Start the conversation in the comment box below!

Dear Step Families

Combat your Prejudice

The area of blended families is the last frontier of socially sanctioned prejudice. There are activist groups for most sub-populations of Americans. The one population who gets the most legal and social prejudice is step-parents and step-families. I think this is the most insidious place for discrimination. If I write this post within my intentions, I will insult you little and motivate you to do better.

If it is okay to discriminate at home, then how easy does that make it to do it elsewhere? On top of that, we are basically modeling to our children that we CAN and SHOULD prejudice people who are not genetically related to us. Ok, to put that in perspective: how much of the global population to you claim as your genetic family? 

It's not just that step-parents succumb to prejudice, so do the children. But, I'm talking to adults and adults are the ones who need to be the "bigger people." I get it. You were a stepchild once and your stepmother mistreated you. And then, low and behold, you find yourself married to a person who has kids from a previous marriage.

The visceral reaction is to play out those unhealthy dynamics with an INNOCENT child. Your feelings and memories are valid. But they are not valid in this new environment. Don't get me wrong, every one has their pain and needs grace. But, for the love of your spouse, this largely innocent child, and the future of the marriage that holds together your present family, keep your past in your past.