about.

here's a little bit about myself and why i decided to blog...

i'm a 26 year old wife to andrew and mommy to emery and cooper.

i love these 3 like crazy. i met andrew in high school - he was the new kid with a giant 'fro and a TMNT lunchbox {yes, we were seniors and he was rockin' TMNT}. we had mutual friends and hit it off right away. one thing led to another and here we are, having just celebrated a new addition to the family, emery's 2nd birthday, our 6 year anniversary!

originally i started blogging to journal my creative adventures and make tutorials in case anyone else was interested. however, that was back before emery was interacting and before i turned into a total hippy.

why am i now a crazy hippy?? right before emery was born, we tried to get life insurance. andrew's liver enzyme numbers were high enough that they were going to charge us 3x the rate for 1/3 of the coverage. we were super bummed but also confused - he'd had high liver numbers in the past, but whenever he got further testing done, the doctor said he was fine. After i adjusted to life with a baby, i threw myself into researching the liver and homeopathic remedies.

{3 weeks old}

what started off as a little study time snowballed into massive life changes. i realized that everything we were putting in and on our bodies was taxing on the liver. i love to cook and made most meals at home, but i was making them from processed foods. i knew nothing about what was on the labels of the things i bought, and thought words like "all natural" were true statements, rather than marketing tactics.

{after 19 months of changes, i think the only processed thing we have in our cabinets right now is a box of panko bread crumbs. i bought them in a pinch a few weeks ago because i didn't have any left over homemade bread from before i was stuck on the couch for 3 months, sick from this pregnancy.}

then, in Sept 2012, andrew finally went in for an ultrasound of his liver and found out he has Fatty Liver Disease. there are literal fat deposits in his liver, that are causing it to be enlarged. the only 2 causes for this are obesity and alcoholism. {andrew has never been obese and has maybe 4 drinks a year.} the doctor was totally puzzled and sent him to a dietitian with plans to see him back in a year for blood work.

the dietitian put him on a diabetic diet and said nothing about eliminating processed foods, other than high fructose corn syrup. after months and months of reading about homeopathic liver treatments, this didn't seem right to either one of us. we  basically decided to keep doing what we're doing, as strict as we can for a year, and see how the blood work comes back this coming September.

oh, aaaaand i also read that Fatty Liver Disease can be hereditary. i'm so so thankful we started making the changes we did before emery was eating real food - the only major regret i have is giving her formula when i thought i had no other options. emery has never had frozen food like pizza, chicken nuggets, waffles, etc. She's never had a happy meal or hot dog, and the only time she's ever tasted mac and cheese was when we were out of town at my in-laws. sometimes i feel like i'm robbing her of basic childhood fun, because i grew up thinking those things were awesome (thanks to commercials), but her health is more important to me than that - i want to feed her things that are going to benefit her body, not things that will just fill her tummy. Her favorite foods are salmon, raspberries, peas, fried rice, and olives.

{she also loves broccoli!}

i think a lot of people are intimidated by the thought of making the radical changes we're making - i've been blown away by how simple most things are. the hardest part about it is changing your mentality - food shouldn't be fast. our culture is so into convenience and is convinced they don't have time to do anything. everyone has the exact same amount of time, it's just a matter of what you choose to do with it. for us, real food is a big deal and a big priority. it's so tempting to grab a box of crackers or granola bars off the shelf - wouldn't it be great to be able to grab something prepackaged for when we're on the go? but i'm finding that if i'm intentional about it and take just a few minutes to chop some veggies and rinse some berries, we can have much healthier snacks when we're out and about!

{sneaking bites of food}

i also struggled with the fact that the more time i spent in the kitchen, the less time i was spending with emery. finally one day i pulled up a chair, stood her up in it, and had her help me. it's crazy how much a 19 month old loves to do whatever mommy is doing! she knows not to touch what i'm doing and wait for instructions - she fills bowls with chopped veggies, stirs batters, and last night spent a good 20 minutes taking the lid off and on an empty spice jar. i don't want emery to grow up saying, "i'm super healthy, but i have no relationship with my mom because all she does is cook." I want her to grow to love and appreciate good food and the fellowship that can happen while preparing it.

all that being said, back to my original point. what started off as a crafter's blog has evolved into a "healthy living, kid activities, and DiY projects blog" because that's what's happening in my life now! These are the things i'm most passionate about! i could talk about them all.day.long. so instead of boring my friends to death, i share about it here in hopes that it helps people in the same place of life we're in.

things you should know about this blog:

• i used to love to write, but i haven't done it in years so no guarantees that this will be an interesting read. 
• i'm a newbie photographer. and not photographer as in professional, but as in wanna-be. i apologize now for my amateurness. PW gives me hope that it will get better {read the 10 things she's learned here} i plan to do the 365 challenge this year at captureyour365.com to help improve my skills! i'm considering sharing them on the blog, but we'll see!
• i will shamelessly be pinning my things on pinterest. this is not because i want to promote myself or think i'm super cool.  it's because of how i look at the purpose of pinterest - as a huge online idea swapping party. i get tons of my ideas from other people's projects and make them my own. i constantly see something someone did and think "hmm...i like that, but i would like it a little better if it had ______ too." or "i would like it a little better if _____ wasn't there" etc. i customize things to my preferences and then pin them so my little idea can help someone think of something even better. it's how things evolve!
• i want your feedback. if you have thoughts about the blog itself or about posts - i want to hear them!! don't be afraid to comment, i love the input!

you might be wondering why i would make a blog that is so unoriginal. here's why:

1. people tell me i'm creative all the time. i want everyone to know i'm not. i'm a dirty rotten idea stealer.
2. this is fun. i love taking pictures and i love making things, why not document it and share? 
3. andrew's been wanting me to explore photography more and this is a great excuse to do it.
4. not all bloggers who post a great idea have a tutorial i understand. some don't even make one at all. or they don't post enough pictures. i get confused by big phrases like "glue it together" and "stir to combine". show me some pictures! i want to offer easy to understand, step by step how-to's for awesome things i find online.
5. while the base of an idea may be unoriginal, most of the time what i'm posting has tweaks. why not share my spin off?

does that cover everything? hopefully. if not, ask! thanks for stopping by! hope you come back soon :-)

love and blogging,

amber.