My How Time Flies!

Wow!  I can't believe it has almost been 1 year since I wrote a blog post!

Where does the time go?  I really miss blogging and plan to get back to writing something at least once per week.

So, what have I been up to?  I am officially on Diane Sanfilippo's team as the social media coordinator (how cool is that?)  I run the 21DSD Facebook, Instagram and private groups page.
Never would I have thought that when I tried the 21-Day Sugar Detox a few years ago, that I would end up working for Diane and helping others in their journey.  I love every minute of it.

I have also been fostering dogs through K-9 Angels Rescue Houston for almost a year.  Today, I will pick up my 50th foster!  We have loved every minute of fostering and can't imagine our house without extra puppies running around.  Houston area friends- K-9 is always looking for fosters so shoot me an email if you would like to open up your home to some dog love!

I am also training to test for my 4th Dan (Master belt) in Taekwondo.  I have been training for 15 years and am so excited (and a little bit nervous) for the next step of becoming a Master.

I have started using oils from Young Living and have been amazed how they work.  I actually mostly use them on sick foster dogs but I am trying to learn more about the people side too.  :)

What have you been up to?  I would love to hear about your passions.

I promise to write again soon.  I have some Paleo cookbook reviews coming!

Bye Bye Hot Flashes!

This one is for the ladies!

When I was in my 30's, due to many issues, I had a hysterectomy.  This was way before Paleo so I just did what my doctor said- I took hormone replacement.

I never really had any problems except now I have sunspots on my arms and legs that I have learned were due to taking hormones.

When I learned about Paleo two years ago, I switched doctors and starting taking a more natural hormone but it still had ingredients that I couldn't pronounce.  So, in the beginning of this year, I stopped taking anything.

Within two weeks, I was having hot flashes and night sweats all the time.  If you have ever had a hot flash- you know what I am talking about!  And waking up all sweaty?  Not fun at all!
It was very uncomfortable and I think since everything was out of wack, I gained weight too.

A couple of months ago, I went to my first Young Living class.  I loved learning about the oils and how they work.  I read about Progessence Plus and was skeptical but hopeful that it would work for me and stop my hot flashes.

I started using it in the morning and at night.  Within 2 weeks, my hot flashes went away and I didn't have any more night sweats either!  It was amazing!  Waking up cool in the mornings and realizing at the end of a day - "Hey, I didn't have any hot flashes today!"

I wish I could somehow get the word out to every woman who deals with these problems.

I use 4 drops in the morning and 4 drops in the evening.  I will probably play around some on the right amount of drops.  Everyone will be different.

I am still on my first bottle and I have been using it for about a month now so I am thinking it will last me about 3 months.  Of course, that totally depends on how many drops you use each day.

So yes, this oil has been a lifesaver for me!  No more flushing, sweaty, miserable times for me!

One more thing I noticed, when I take sugar out of my diet, I have fewer hot flashes too.

So, this is a great combination!  Progessence Plus and no sugar.


If you would like to try Progessence Plus for yourself- click here 

Interested in becoming a Young Living representative and getting your oils wholesale?  Click here

Feel free to contact me for questions >>> butterfliespeacepaleo@gmail.com

Healing Foster Dogs with Real Food

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I foster dogs through a local rescue group called K-9 Angels Rescue Houston.    All of the dogs from K-9 Angels are pulled from high kill shelters in the Houston area.  I have been fostering for a year now and I have to say it has been a very rewarding experience.

It all started last year when my youngest went away to college and my husband went to London for a business trip.  For the first time in 20+ years, I found myself alone.  I had been following K-9 Angels on Facebook for a while but never contacted anyone about fostering.   That week they posted a picture of a yellow lab named Buttercup that needed a foster.  Since I already had two labs, I thought this would be a great foster for us.   I fostered Buttercup and we ended up fostering her for almost 3 months while she went through heart worm treatment.   When she finally found her forever home, I was devastated.  I loved her so much and it was hard to let her go.

Our first foster Buttercup

The same day Buttercup was adopted, we picked up Hershey a chocolate lab puppy and so the cycle began.  The first foster was the hardest to let go and I do miss them all but every dog we foster is a dog saved from certain death.

Most of the dogs (we mostly foster puppies) are malnourished and usually get sick (mostly with kennel cough).  I have  really enjoyed watching the puppies grow and gain weight under my care.  I usually add bone broth to every dogs food, sometimes I add egg yolks (from my farmer Yonder Way Farm), liver and coconut oil to their grain-free dog food.

We even fostered a now Paleo famous pup named Scout!  If you follow Liz Wolfe from Real Food Liz, you may know that she adopted a rescue dog she named Scout.  That was our foster puppy!

Scout with her new mom's book!

Scout and Liz

We have now fostered 23 dogs and even have adopted one of our fosters-Julian.

Our foster fail-now apart of our family- Julian

If you ever get a chance to foster, it really is a rewarding experience.  If fostering is not for you just remember- adopt don't shop!


If you are reading this in August of 2014 and would like to donate to my walk fundraiser for K-9 Angels, it would be most appreciated.  All money my team collects goes to K-9 Angels so they can continue saving lives.

Click here to donate >>>   http://www.strutyourmutt.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.participant&participantID=23368

Well hello everyone!  I haven't posted here in a long time!  So sorry!  Sometimes life just gets in the way.  But, I am back!   I have so much to share with you.  I am going to start with the present and then go back to talk about things that have happened this year.

My goal is to blog at least once a week.  I have so many topics floating around in my head- hair care, homemade beauty products, essential oils, dog fostering, real food recipes, #21DSD and so much more.

So, thank you for coming to my blog and feel free to read my past posts and I promise I will be much more active!

Here is my favorite news right now,  we adopted our last foster dog.  He was our #17 foster and we can not imagine life without him.  So, meet Julian!  I am going to write a whole post (or series of posts) about volunteering for a local rescue and about some of our foster pups.

Stayed tuned for more blogging friends!

Day 21 of my 21DSD

Day 21!  It is here.  The last day of my detox.  Since I forgot to go to the farmer's market yesterday, I have had to eat whatever is in my fridge.  I am too lazy and it is too cold and rainy to go to the store.  lol  The past 3 weeks have gone by really fast.  I cooked a lot of meals out of the new 21-Day Sugar Detox book and all of them were really good.  I think that helped my not get bored.  I also try to always cook double the recipe so I will have leftovers to grab if I need them.

I will be writing a post tomorrow about my 21DSD experience.  Overall, it was really good and I may jump on board again on December 2nd.

Here was my food today

Day 20 of the 21DSD

Today is day 20!  I woke up late this morning (we have a foster puppy who is sick and kept us up all night) and my husband had made breakfast.  I did take eggs out of my diet but it has been almost two weeks now and guess what he made?  Yep, eggs with chorizo, tomatoes and avocado.  Was I going to turn it down?  Nope!  So, I ate it and I can say, I didn't feel any different.  Hopefully, I can eat eggs without a problem.

I totally forgot to go to the farmer's market this morning.  Boo!  I guess I was too sleep deprived.
So either Whole Foods or the grocery store for me this week.  I have a farm pick up Monday for my meat and eggs.  I ordered some chicken feet too to make some great chicken broth.

My family ordered pizza for dinner.  Not just pizza hut but good New York style pizza.  I did not eat any but I sure wanted some.  I have not been eating dairy this detox but I did have tomato with mozzarella.  It was bette than eating pizza!

Here were my meals today

Breakfast
Chorizo, eggs, tomato and avocado

Lunch
Mug cake from PaleOMG

Dinner
Chicken thighs, acorn squash and tomatoes with mozzarella

Day 19 of the 21DSD

Only 3 more days!  I am excited to finish but I am really not planning to eat much differently.  I will add in some fruit (I have a kumquat tree and persimmons are in season) but I am not planning to dive head first into sugar.  I will eat paleo pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving but plan on getting right back on track Friday.  I guess you can say, I will be doing a modified 21DSD because I will be eating some seasonal fruit.  I can honestly say, I am pretty sick of bananas!  lol

Here is my food today

Breakfast
Sausage patties, butternut squash, peppermint tea

Lunch/Dinner
Beef fajita salad with guacamole and salsa

Snack
baked apple, pumpkin seeds, 8 ounces of kombucha