A breezy afternoon at Fort McAllister!

We woke up Saturday morning (May 4th) to the sound of a steady rain. Due to my ever-present disease of Sarcoidosis combined with a difficult healing crisis I was experiencing a very emotional morning and asked Mike to stay home with me. He originally had plans to go to work. As expected, due to the rain, my grandsons t-ball game was cancelled. Despite the soggy day, we decided to get out of the house for awhile and just go for a drive. Somehow our truck ended up in Richmond Hill (Georgia) at one of our favorite restaraunts--The Upper Crust. After a delicious lunch, we headed out on a drive that led us to Fort McAllister State Park.

 

 

I was pleasently surprised to find that this park is wheelchair friendly. Although I am not 100% confined to my wheelchair, I do use it for long distances. Below is a picture of me and Mike and one of me and Alexis.

This scenic park is located south of Savannah, Georgia on the banks of the Ogeechee River and is perfect for a day of leasurely exploration. It would be a great place for bycicling or canoeing, and they offer rentals for both. While we were there, a group of people were fishing from the dock.

This picture of the marsh was taken on the way to the camground on Savage Island. We were basically checking out the island for an upcoming camp. It is located in a very tranquil, natural setting! Thankfully the day we were there it was very breezy, and that helped to keep the sand gnats at bay! We will be back!

Moving Down The Simple Path,
Robin

My relaxing detox clay bath!

In my last post, I mentioned one of my detox methods that I am trying out is a clay bath. Hubby and I read a lot of information about Bentonite clay including the following from the Amazon store:

Purification 100% Pure Clay Bentonite is a soft, volcanic clay mined from various locales around the world.It is also known as montmorillonite or fuller's earth. ;Bentonite was historically used by Native Americans for purification and healing.

We also read some basic instructions from websites of people who actually use these clay baths for detoxification purposes. We place our first order of 3 pounds of powdered bentonite clay from Amazon. Three pounds wasn't a magic number, however the minimum three pounds allowed for free shipping.

As always, my baths start with really warm water and hubby made a paste of clay and water to rub on my back over my lung area for starters. Then we poured some more clay into the bath and I smoothed it on over my face, neck, chest and shoulders and let it dry. I have my reasons to believe that this is really helping to detoxify my body, but even if it weren't, let me say that this was an incredibly relaxing bath!! I highly recommend it! From eveyrhting that I have read, you need to start these baths once a week for a few weeks and then go to onjce a month. The clay costs approximately $10 per pound. After the bath, I had pain in some muscles and over the lymph nodes in my neck. To me, this is a good sign!! I will continue my detox with epsom salt baths every night, and bentonite clay baths once a week for now!

I am learning about the healing crisis as I go, but I'm not sure what to expect. I do know that Juice Plus is bridging the gap between the fruits and vegetables I consume and the recommended daily 7-13 servings. Who can eat that much?! LOL!

Moving Down The Simple (and Healthy!) Path,
Robin

...About the Healing Crisis From Toxic Hell!

It's been nearly two months now since I've started this new whole food nutrition product. As you may have noticed from the picture above,  the products name is Juice Plus+. Nutrition is the key to health and Juice Plus+ delivers! Check out our new website at www.frogturtlejuiceplus.com and watch some of the informative videos for yourself! Mike, Alexis and I are all taking the product but since I have serious health issues, I am the only one dealing with a serious health crisis.

As the title states, for me this healing crisis has been very difficult--although totally worth it! Judging from the symptoms that I have been going through, my body was very toxic and nutritionally depleted! This disease of Sarcoidosis robs and destroys your body until it finally kills you! As soon as I can get back on my feet, with Gods help using Juice Plus+ as a tool, I plan to start a campaign to raise awareness about how insidious Sarcoidosis really is. Most people just don't realize! While I am going through the healing crisis and replenishing my nutrition stores with Juice Plus+, I am also using some simple and natural detox methods to cleanse my body. These include: Epsom salt baths, bentonite clay, poultices for the lungs and sinuses, bentonite clay baths, basic fleet enemas and a mild vegetable laxative. Sarcoidosis had all but shut down my digestive system! Within hours after taking my first Juice Plus capsules, my digestive system was trying to reawaken! Thank you God for Juice Plus+!

One of the best things about the Juice Plus+ company is that when you as an adult order your box of product, a child member of your family ages 4-18 is eligible to receive a box of Juice Plus+ free of charge. This is implemented through their Children's Health Study program. Amazing! Check it out!


Moving Down The Simple (and healthier!) Path,
Robin

Feelin' Like a Fake!!

                                         Welcome to our newest follower, Steve Finnell!
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This is a picture of me with hubby Mike during better times when I was feeling more real and less fake. These days unfortunately I'm feeling like a big fake! My general health is at a really low point and I am trying to do what...? Okay, so I have discovered this really great product! Let's call it a health supplement in the form of whole food nutrition! I've been on this product now for three weeks and it is doing some really good things for me! So now without remembering about my energy tank being empty I sign hubby up to be a distributor with the company and promise to help. Now with normal health and energy levels this would be great, but this is me we're talking about! Me--the same woman who promised to keep up with this blog and hasn't posted since November. To be fair to me though, I have been very ill since June 2012 with both Sinus and Lung infections. (Pretty serious problems!) Then in November, a couple of weeks after my last post, the whole family came down with a pretty bad case of the flu. It literally almost wiped me out! There was one point when I was so sick that I had nothing left to fight with and just knew I was a goner! That morning as my husband helped me back in bed I felt God picking up the pieces and fighting for me. That is an amazing feeling! Thank you Lord! Going through the Winter and into the Spring I have not yet bounced back totally. After 3 weeks of this whole food nutrition supplement, I can tell I am making progress but at the same time I am in the middle of a Healing Crisis. It's hard not to give up, but I want to know what's around the corner for me. So here I am, trying to pitch this product while I am so sick from this Healing Crisis. Before, I felt as though I was on a bottom rung of the ladder, but this Healing Crisis has thrown me off of the ladder and upside down on the ground, panting for breath! Everyone involved with this company seems to be holding pep rallies and they are the cheerleaders, while I am sitting in the corner nursing my wounds. Guess I was overwhelmingly depleated! God, please give me the energy and courage to come out the other side and feel real! By the way, I will let you in on the product information very soon!

Moving Down The Simple Path,
Robin

No, I didn't disappear! At least...totally!

Bonjour everyone! So, I haven't posted in...well, forever! Or close enough :) Almost a month ago, I created my own blog, just for crafts. But, don't worry! I'll still be posting here, it'll just be catagorized diferently. I'll only post on here about..well, stuff that's going on, for one, and also for Homeschool. I'm going to be doing "field trips" to historical places in Georgia for Georgia History. And part of my grade is to write a report about it on here. So, that's the other thing I'll be doing!

The bestest thing EVURR happened on the 22nd of October! Taylor Swift's new album Red came out!! Annd, on her website, they were selling these AWESOME packages...Bonus, Premium, and Ultimate..AND I GOT THE ULTIMATE ONE!! :D It's sort of Christmas, early. It comes with a blanket, Tervis cup, her new CD (duh), a framed--GIANT--picture of her, a signed lyric booklet (it's in the picture frame--so, basically, you get two), & a note from her!! :D Awesome, riight?!

Yep. & that's about it.


~Alexis

Our vision of community!!

 First, let me welcome our newest follower! Derek Wood of A Life Made Simple has recently joined our blog as it's newest follower. Thank you and welcome!

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Hubby and I have been making great progress in the decision making process toward a path for a simple life. We envision this path involving other like-minded people. We are now making plans to purchase a tract of land in a country setting in south Georgia, within 25 miles of Georgia Southern University. With prayerful consideration, we are going full speed ahead with our plans for a Christian-based Intentional Community. Below is a picture taken from the land we are looking at. It is already zoned Agricultural, so growing our own food won't be a problem.

The definition of Intentional Community by Wikipedia-- An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They typically share responsibilities and resources. Intentional communities include collective households, cohousing communities, ecovillages, communes, survivalist retreats, kibbutzim, ashrams, and housing cooperatives.

Most Christian-Based Intentional Communities that we have found seem to be very expensive places to live. We want to marry Christian Values and principals in a community that is very affordable, green, and simple. This is our dream!

We see this community of people working together to grow our own food organically. After a time, our goal will be to not only feed ourselves in the community, but to grow enough food for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program.

We plan to include a pond on the property. This pond will be used for fishing and non-motorized boating (Jon Boats, Paddle Boats, Canoes, and Kayaks). I see this as a very relaxing place in the country.  Of course swimming would be an option! :)

What can be more relaxing than a group of friends roasting marshmallows over a campfire! Turn off the TV, and enjoy some home grown entertainment! There will be lots of recreational opportunities available right in the community! We plan to include Swimming Pools, Basketball Court, and Tennis Courts--just to name a few.

Housing options have not totally been decided upon. We are thinking about lots of possibilities and trying to decide which will make the best usage of the land. We do plan small private spaces (Homes) with lots of green spaces where children can play freely. Common spaces that we share together as a community will include Large Dining Rooms, Play Rooms for the children, Workout centers, and a library.

The definition of Co-housing from Wikipedia--A cohousing^[1] community is a type of intentional community composed of private homes supplemented by shared facilities. The community is planned, owned and managed by the residents – who also share activities which may include cooking, dining, child care, gardening, and governance of the community. Common facilities may include a kitchen, dining room, laundry, child care facilities, offices, Internet access, guest rooms, and recreational features.

Each person in the community will have an opportunity to volunteer for a community position of interest to them. Cooking teams will be rotated for the nightly meal so that no one has to cook every night. We will share communal meals in the evening in the large dining hall. Of course, if you're not feeling particularly social one night, just drop by the dining hall and pick up your meal and take it home. The really great thing about this plan is that if one member of our community is sick, their meal can simply be dropped off at their home. Neighbors helping neighbors!

This is just a partial list of some of our ideas. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any suggestions. Interested in joining us? Let's start a conversation!

Froggy Farm--Moving Down The Simple Path,
                           Robin

Welcome Autumn--My Favorite Season!!

It's always so nice when I start to detect the cool crisp tones of Autmn in the air! Autumn, sweet Autumn!! Although I can no longer see the visual effects of the beautiful golden crimson fall foliage, I still adore Autumn's presence. It is still a sensory delight to walk through a carpet of crisp new fallen leaves that crunch underfoot.I believe that the scent of burning leaves is one of the more intoxicating pleasures of Autumn! (Although I can only handle the smoke in moderation these days!)

I was born in Autumn! I have just celebrated my 51st Birthday in a very relaxing way. My husband Mike, daughter Alexis and I spent some time at a nearby hotel. Actually, I would like to give the Holiday Inn Express a shoutout for being a great hotel! It was a birthday gift from my mom, because we had to stay close to home in order to walk the dogs. We spent a very relaxing time together watching television (the Food Network), popping popcorn and ordering in pizza--things we don't normally do at home. The next morning was breakfast at the hotel, then more relaxing before we left for home. Great birthday and I didn't over do it! :)

Plans are coming together as far as what we do next on our simple path! Looks like we may find a really great place in the country, live very simply, grow our own food and travel by RV and camp when possible. Hopefully we will be making progress on this path very soon! Sounds like a winner to me!

I love you Big Bird!

Moving Down The Simple Path,
Robin