Although I've hit so many roadblocks along the way, I'm still pushing forward and hoping for the best. Below is a summary of my life events for the last 90 days with the overview following, as per usual. Merry Christmas everyone! 

I know, I usually don't post these because I tend to not eat recipe food anymore (too many food sensitivities). My typical meal is a piece of meat with a 1/2 cup of beans on the side and maybe some kind of roasted veggie. But, I've been a bit braver lately and dipped my toe into the recipe world again. My mom made this awesome Black Bean and Corn Salad as a side dish for Thanksgiving this year. I loved it (it tastes even better after a day or two). So, I thought I'd share it with you all as well. And, if you really need some delicious bean recipes, I always recommend Unique Hammond's blog. Her carrot muffins are the chronic. 

Adjust this bean salad however you like. Too corny? Use less corn. Not into tomatoes? Leave them out. Gotta have more lime? Add more lime. It's your world. 

When we last left off I was back in the US to help my parents and feeling strong. Exhausted and stressed but STRONG. I ended up spending a whole month at my parents house running errands, helping my mom get to doctors appointments, walking the dogs, and cleaning the house. Most afternoons, while my mom napped, I sat next to her on the couch. I didn't want to leave her side. I stopped meditating every day and the stress built. I hate that it's hard for me to meditate during the times I need it most. 

Catch up here:

Ok, let's get started!

Yes. You read that right. It's possible to have a PAIN-FREE period! Like, not even a slight cramp. I had no clue! 

For most of my life, that time of the month mean​t cramping so severe it was blinding. I would lay in bed massaging my legs, begging them to function so I could stand up and get ready for work. Nausea was constant and severe, it made choking down food a painful job. And, then there was the fatigue. A crushing weight, ever present, the feeling of an elephant riding on my shoulders and the skin on my face feeling like the melting wax of a lit candle. With fatigue comes the feeling of being in a tunnel, with your daily life far away at the opening, where you desperately struggle to see and hear your surroundings. This was often my first day of my period and it was always a day to just survive. The following days of my period would always be much better but with what I now realize was heavy bleeding, very heavy.