It is getting dark here now, a black night without a moon to be found with a quick glance. We are starting to see our breath in the mornings, with a bit of frost on the windshield. My favorite time of year is fall. I just can't get enough. Summer is always too long for me and winter comes too quick.

I was looking into a product called the Conception Action Pack. Typical things like charting your cycle are described and the pack seems pretty straight forward. When the advertisement began... more

I mentioned in an earlier post that I had ordered the Healing Grief Cd from healingjourneys.com. As I was researching which CD to order, I searched the archives and found a letter about grief that I felt Belleruth answered with the utmost caring and wisdom. I will be posting a little more about the actual CD later on and my experience with it. I felt that everyone dealing with grief could benefit from reading the letter. Here it is:

Most of the trite sayings about loss are true, so if I sound sickeningly prosaic, please bear with me. First of all, if you can identify all these feelings of disbelief,... more

This may be old news to some of you, but it was new news to me today. I was in the waiting room at my son's doctor's office, reading a newer issue of Psychology Today Magazine. In one of their little blurbs, they mentioned a study in which hypnosis aids women undergoing ivf. The actual study was not mentioned in the small article, but, thanks once again to google, I found the study.

Reported on August 24, 2004 www.OurJerusalem.com ran the article. Quoting David Brinn, here are some of the highlights of the article:

If... more

The last few weeks I have been having troubles sleeping and troubles with controlling my grief about my dad. I had a counselor tell me once that with each new grief, we relive past grief as well. In mourning now, with legal battles unresolved about estate issues, I feel mired in loss. With more hurt and sadness than I ever thought possible from people that my dad trusted and loved. I was at my wit's end on what else to do to try to work through this. And then I remembered Belleruth.

Belleruth Naparstek has a website called www.healthjourneys.com. She offers a variety of products, but is well known for her guided imagery. I have bought... more

"Womankind: Is Seasonale® Reasonable?"

Elaine Stillerman, LMT, wrote the above article for Massage Today, a publication that I receive. She is upset with the marketing of Seasonale®, and wonders if other women feel the same way.

Is there anyone else feeling disgusted and outraged at the latest assault on women by the pharmaceutical industry? Are women so gullible that we believe these mega-billion dollar giants have our best interests in mind when they claim that... more

"Just relax"

There is hardly any one comment that makes trying-to-be parents as crazy as the above statement. It seems to say that there is a "blame" to lay on someone, and you are the intended target, since you are so incapable of handling your stress, you are being punished by not having a child. Well, at least this is how I took it! Speaking to others, I don't think that I was alone in this reaction.

I came across an article from the 2005 issue of Health magazine titled, "Stress and Your Fertility" by Susan Dominus. Needless to say, I was curious.

The article deals with interrupted menstrual cycles which could bring on infertility in women who have waited... more

Ok, Ha ha to the cliche, I couldn't resist. But honestly, I have a killer headache tonight. I'm thinking that as the story goes, someone has a headache, so someone else in the couple isn't going to be getting any for the duration of the pain. For the good of procreation, I have turned to my aromatherapy texts to figure out which oils are good for relieving headaches. Here is what I found out:

Bottom notes: Patchouli, mental properties are used for depression, grounding, stress, and tension. Middle notes: Lavender, mental properties are used for calming,... more

So, once again, I can't sleep. All of you have heard or experienced how having little ones in the house can disrupt your sleep patterns. Well, I have always had trouble sleeping, even as a child. Of course, during my pregnancies and then with a newborn, it only got worse. Even when she slept through the night, I couldn't. Now Bec is home and he is a trooper when it comes to sleeping at night. Not so for Mommy!

Instead of lying around and fretting over how my not sleeping is going to influence my mood tomorrow, I normally get up and try to do something soothing to calm myself into... more

To begin the treatment of 12 flowers, you lie down on a massage table, face down with your back exposed. After the needles are in place, an herb pellet is lit on fire and placed beside the needles in corresponding order. The pellet is created by mixing a Chinese cooking sage along with other herbs to create the tablet form. It then begins to smoke and burn down. The theory is that the faster the pellet burns down, the more that the area that it relates to is cold. This also brings heat to that organ system, helping it to warm up.

So, the smell isn't too bad and you really can't feel too much. Until a little later when they burn down close enough to the skin. At that point,... more

I have just finished a three round treatment for allergies at my acupuncturist's office. Last month I had sinus surgery and my septum reconstructed due to a sinus infection that I had had for over 6 months, that even with a 10 week treatment with antibiotics didn't cure. Not only did the infection cause breathing trouble, I also had vertigo, headaches and ear pain. A CT scan showed tissue damage as well. After the surgery, I felt wonderful. Almost all secondary symptoms were resolved. It was great, I could breathe. Until.

The first really windy spring day around here in Central Washington, you could see the pollen filled air blowing all around. In your face, in your hair, in... more