theadaptive.org

May.15
0

Holly – Youga

Posted by in Beauty Mode, Conversation Starters, Family, Life Hacks, News

I don’t just do Yoga… I’m not into that 🙄. Just kidding…😆 I just mean that I do muh-own thang! – because I’m like that!

Youga… to me, is whatever YOUga-na make it!

I don’t know the yoga beginning like I’d like. I even took the beginning course for being a certified yoga teacher, but decided that I didn’t give a f@ck 🤭 about labels or accreditations.

I was a certified baby sitter and certified puppy trainer when I was 12 years old. It taught me that I like to babysit my own dogs more than anything.

A year into college, I got married which led to my parents quitting paying my tuition. I ended up quitting school. – I was studying how to be an entrepreneur anyway. The internet was becoming more useful and I was optimistic that school wasn’t right for me.

I kept planning on taking Yoga as one of my college classes. I even signed up for one that didn’t have enough students to justify their first class, so they shut it down. No traditional “Yoga” for me, it seems. Which is fine with me.

Luckily, I had been in ballet and gymnastics since I was around 4 years old so I always remembered stretching and certain moves. I was fit until 18 when I felt like life was a bit out of my control (I’m a Virgo) .

I also wore that horrible birth control patch and saw stretch marks in the first week. I hadn’t even had a boyfriend yet, but my sis took me to the clinic, and sure enough. Strip naked. Get on a cold table. Get violated and probed. Get a prescription. Lovely day that was….😵😩😶

Thankfully, after wearing the patch for a week and suffering severe mood swings and weight gain, I tore the patch off and never looked back.

Lucky for me, I’m married now and after 3 boys, my husband got a vasectomy. So no birth control needed. Until that rogue seed goes savage and decides to change my fate, but they went the extra mile when they did my husbands procedure so it would literally take a miracle.

With no worries of kids in my near future, I wanna stay fit. As fit as makes me happy. Enhanced Holly-O, in a sense. Sounds like a cereal. But it’s just optimal-me.

So as 1 part of a multifaceted self-care ritual, Youga, is my version. I make names up randomly for just about everything, and if you’ve heard it somewhere else, let me know because I say Youga, with the thought that I’m doing my own yoga based off of my own flow.

So every time you go rogue, doing exercise just know, that’s your version of Holly-Youga – to me : )

Do you call your practice something unique? Share in a comment below or find me on social media for a real life person!

Have an awesome night! I’m going to go do some pre-bedtime Holly-Youga : )

Happy Stretching!

-Holly

May.07
2

3 Rules I Use To Keep Pets Safe In The Desert

Posted by in Family, Life Hacks, News, Pets, Pixel

Anyone who really knows me, knows I have three chihuahuas. Mango, Mojo, and Pixel.

I also have three boys, each celebrated coincidentally with a chihuahua.

My first dog was a mini dachshund, Pip. -Total bitch, but she was smart and awesome! She cured our family of bickering in no time when she was still a puppy.

…Which kind of brings me to my point. Pip was 11 years old when she mysteriously disappeared while barking outside, yet still inside my parents courtyard… All that remained of Pip was a little bit of blood on the ground.

We are left to assume it was either a bobcat, coyote, mountain lion, eagle, or some other bird of prey.

It was a harsh lesson for us all. Pip was small. 11 pounds of hot dog sausage fury. Delicious sounding to the average predator, I’m sure.

She died 10 years ago this year and now that I have three kids and three dogs, I am continuing to improve upon my proactive approach of keeping my loved ones safe.

How to keep your beloved pets and things safe in the desert according to Holly:

Rule #1: Never leave your pets alone outside. Just don’t risk it. Sure a pack of giant breed dogs are pretty safe, but even a large dog can become a victim in the wrong situation. …Coyotes run in packs, mountain lions are amazingly strong and fierce (especially when hangry), owls are clever, snakes are sneaky, dare I go on..?

Rule#2: Minimize the reasons an animal might be interested in being near your property. Consider if you’re inadvertently inviting predators by leaving pet or human food outside, or not picking/cleaning up enough after outdoor feasts. I say again: Minimize danger.

-Forethought. Learn it. Live it. Love it!

Is it dark? Use man made lights to your advantage. It blinds or discourages sneak attacks because the lights are too bright in contrast to the natural darkness the wildlife is used to.

Rule #3 Don’t get too comfortable. I mean, predators are obviously good at observing their surroundings and checking for holes in the fence, animals alone, distractions, or learned responses. …Say if every time a door creeks there’s a little doggy that goes outside with a clanky metal collar, does it’s smelly business, barks, draws attention… Predators are smart and resourceful. They will pick up on habitual behavior and look for an opportunity- a weakness.

It may be best to have fencing that is tall, but that will not guarantee any real safety. It adds a level of security, but flying animals won’t even think about a wall or fence and I’ve seen mountain lions and bobcats on the roof, so a 6 foot stucco wall won’t do enough to keep them out.

All the tips and prep in the world aren’t as good as your undivided attention for keeping your pets safe.

Stay alert and your pets are more likely to stay alive!

Have a desert animal story?

Tell me about it in the comments!

Do You Know Your Ultimate Desire For Contentment?

Posted by in Conversation Starters, Family, Inspiration

I found that it makes me happiest if I keep my needs very basic and, if you are anything like me, you too desire a life of contentment.

-You’re powering through most days with an ultimate goal of self satisfaction and ever-lasting fulfillment at that rest point I hope you’re imagining in your head for the future (When you’re not living in the now, of course; ).

-That place you can’t wait to be. The one you get up in the morning for and go to bed re-evaluating if you can check any “to-do’s” off your list.

My husband and I work (some would argue: overwork) our butts off in pursuit of this very goal, broken down to its most basic form: Find an attainable position of peace for our family to experience some form of comfort and security-before we’re too old to enjoy it.

For us, this means figuring out OUR best guess of where we would be happiest, purchase property there, create a fully sustainable life, create, live, love, enjoy, share and spread how we decided to do it.

I’ve taken the past few years to study everything I ever wanted to online. I wrote a project about “There is No Harm in My Farm” when I was 8. The fact that it has taken so long for me to attain my dreams was because of self made limitations brought on by my society (the world only I, personally was subjected to) That’s the world that only I experienced and that only I have memories of. It’s the world that created who I am today. I learned my lessons. I grew. I accepted and embraced who I really am and she loves love.

It feels completely attainable. I am aware that there are unfortunately plenty of heart wrenching things going on, practically every moment (somewhere in the world), but I want my families very existence to counter that stuff. However we can.

I want to know that whatever I purchase or make may alleviate suffering somehow.

Did I grow organic (un-poisoned) flowers and other plants for local bees?

Maybe, I purchased something with a 100% compostable packaging.

Maybe, I didn’t do anything at all… Maybe I spent more time at home, not driving around or ordering anything to be delivered.

I have started to do more myself. Looking into what I could be doing on my own instead of a product.

We have to remember that product commercials are meant to sell what they are talking about, so hearing “Why” you need something is meant to convince you that you need it.

I frequently think of how basic our needs really are, and when all those needs are met for every individual… Now that would be one peaceful world 🌎✌🏻.

That’s all I have time for right now. The kids are waking up and if I don’t post this now, I will fill my day with so much fun and chores, I may not find it again until I’m too tired to use my iPhone’s keyboard.

Peace ✌🏻

-Holly

Apr.13
0

Review Goals Regularly 

Posted by in Conversation Starters, Family, Inspiration, Life Hacks, News

I’ve been saying, for a few years now, that “This is the year! This is when all of our hard work rewards us with our goals!”

But the truth is, I know better.

As much as I want to be able to dictate when and where success will come, I know that luxury doesn’t happen on demand. 

I dream of being on my future-farm, able to sit in my office and get a few hours of un-interrupted writing done during daylight hours. That’s just not in the cards every day and that’s ok. Everyone deserves positive attention and guidance and I’m there for my children in that way. 

Since the new year, I have been practicing many new practices. One of which is learning how to manifest things using the power of positive thinking and using high vibrational frequencies to see if goals can be reached sooner. I’ll write more on this later, as today I’m just revisiting how well these manifesting practices are affecting my current life and situation. I will write whether or not they work at a later date. 

So, as much as I want to be an accomplished blogger, I recognize and realize that I will design, write blog posts, and books as much as I can until it opens up to do so more often.

After all, I am working on enjoying my children’s childhood, too! 

So, I am currently renouncing my stubborn ways and deciding to appreciate every moment I do get to work on what I want, when I want because, after all, that is my ultimate goal. To be able to do whatever I want when I want and I want that for everyone (as long as what you want does no harm to anyone or anything: )

Don’t worry! That usually means that I want to help those around me in any way I can without a negative impact. 

My children might interrupt me every few minutes on some days, but as they get older, they interrupt less and less, and I can sense and see that they really are doing well and becoming wonderful little human beings. 

We all enjoy excitedly talking about the entire family’s goals before bed each night and the family’s goals are great to discuss with the whole family, not just mom and dad deciding for the entire family, though there are times that is necessary, but not when you’re talking about goals. 

To let everyone speak up a bit about what they’re excited about in life is how we all start to connect or re-connect and connections are important your whole life, so why not cultivate an amazing relationship with your children from the start. 

Don’t get me wrong, bedtime still takes me way too long with three kids when I’m going solo, but the harder I have to work at life by myself, I get this sense that it’s adding something to a metaphorical piggy bank that will pay back in the future. 

That’s all for now. Have an awesome day!

-Holly 

May.08
5
Mar.20
10

Trauma Release Exercise Technique

Posted by in Conversation Starters, Family, Inspiration, Life Hacks, The Adaptive

Hello everyone,

Today I want to share something that might look a bit odd, but it’s beneficial  none-the-less.

Most of us have suffered some form of trauma in our lives and there are many ways to deal with it. One of them being Trauma Releasing Exercise (TRE)

Check out the video below to learn more about how to release trauma from your body. It’s a great way to feel better when you can’t exactly figure out what’s bothering you.

If you do try it out, feel free to let me know how you feel afterwards.

Have an awesome day!

-Holly

Mar.20
10

What I learned from a Stanford Nutritional Course I took Online For Free From Coursera

Posted by in Family, Inspiration, Life Hacks, News

Hello,

Did you know you can take some college courses for free or a small fee depending on if you want to be able to put it on your resume?

Since April 2012, Computer Science Professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller from Stanford University have been busy so that the rest of us could have access to some of the best educational courses out there. There are other options out there, but I tested out Coursera first.

Naturally, I was curious, after I heard about Coursera for the first time in mid 2015 from my 60 year old mother (She’s not your typical 60 year old) I knew I had to take a few courses for myself… for free!

Being a mother of three boys who know how to eat, eat, eat. I started all of my children off on fully organic, homegrown, homemade, home cooked, vegetables because don’t we all know by now that if you start them out on fruit that they are more likely to crave sweet over other more nutritious foods and that those pre made baby food jars aren’t the healthiest option?

I am an Entrepreneur, having once run a successful blog for a few years back in the early 2010’s, and I am currently studying at my own pace to become a Yoga instructor, while starting a non-profit.

Who knows how true it is, but I once heard it takes 10 years to master anything, so I’m in the year of mastering this be-otch… called nutrition!

If you’ve read my post on how I kicked a few health issues then you understand that it had been a love/hate relationship. Why can’t I eat chocolate covered cherries all day and feel like a billion bucks? Well, it turns out not all food is created equal and that our bodies can be screaming at us and if we don’t know what to listen for (say, if no one taught us or maybe we are too stubborn to listen).

I realized late in life that I knew nothing about nutrition. I was 6 months pregnant with my first son and I wanted whatever I wanted and had been told by most every passer-bye-er that I was so lucky I would get to eat whatever I wanted.

Those ARE the words every pregnant women wants to hear. Because all of a sudden your sexy, sleek, curves, are bulgy and swollen and you can’t tell if you want to laugh, cry, or throw up. I call that time in my life my own version of the Wonder Years.

I think back and wonder why I thought the things I did. I understand that I had never learned what kind of foods were really good for me. I knew to eat vegetables, but I didn’t know how to make them delicious yet and the phrase “I can eat whatever I want.” Kept creeping in my head.

Eating whatever I wanted at the time was hindered by our bank account at the time so my go-to consisted of, some of you may want to close your eyes, but McDonalds and a Coke. I was totally hooked. I needed that Big Mac and caffeine.

Now, knowing what I know, it was the MSG, corn syrup, salt, partially hydrogenated oils, etc. that kept me coming back for more. I wasn’t just hooked. I was addicted. Mostly to the coke I found out later. Interestingly enough, when I wanted to know why I had this addiction, I asked my family I found out my oldest sister takes the cake.

Back in the days of siblings being the only baby sitters available, my 11 years my senior sister, was too tired to get me the water I was begging for. So, she handed her baby sister her coke to quiet her.

Now, you have to understand that I don’t blame anyone else for my problems (at least when they can hear me ; ) so I bucked up and was bound and determined to find out more about our food system. This started in 2006 and I have been studying everyday since and now have plans to potentially become a Holistic Health Practitioner. If I do this it will be AFTER I raise my triplets (No, they’re not really triplets).

So you want to know what I learned from my Free Stanford course? Not much, But that was the best part! The instructor was so impressive! She knew what I already knew… But I expected it to be a food pyramid, laughable nutrition course because that has been my experience my whole life.

I was delighted to find out I was wrong on my expectations. Realizing that I would never have had access to this amazing course if it wasn’t for Cousera, I told as many people as I could about it. I didn’t need to know the info in the course, but I needed to know that the course was worthy, I guess. It is worthy.

I had spent the last 10 years gathering a lot of the info she laid out in 5 weeks. So if your looking for some learning short cuts, you can look on Coursera or one of the many other online schools popping up.
I don’t think it should be so difficult to obtain a job that pays a very generous wage. It should fully be expected and the norm that everyone be healthy, happy, kind, motivated, friendly, generous. I understand that the biggest problem starts with the Giant wealth gap between the 1% and the rest of us. Let’s not forget we’re all in this together.

Hope you make your day amazing,

-Holly

 

[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coursera]

Mar.12
0

Coconut Oil Pulling

Posted by in Conversation Starters, Family, Life Hacks, News, The Adaptive

Hello,

I am a true believer in the coconut oil pulling craze.

I first heard about it around 6 years ago. You put around a spoonful of coconut oil in your mouth, you swish it around and “pull” it, somewhat vigorously, through your teeth anywhere from 10-20 minutes.

Now there’s a little debate in my mind as to how long because I’ve read a few well-known health sites that have said anything over 10 minutes may cause you to re-absorb some bad bacteria if you pull too long.

My personal belief is that you should pull the coconut oil through your teeth as long as you can stand it… up to 20 minutes.

The truth is, your jaw muscles get really worked out during this whole process and it gets tiring. Especially the first few times you do it, but there are so many benefits and the workout is one of them!

I’ve noticed it helps define my neck, chest, and shoulder area because it’s such a workout that it usually reminds me to actually do some other physical moves while I’m doing my pulling (think squats, horse stance, core exercises, whatever you can think up). Total bonus!

Not only does it help in toning the neck area, but it also:

  • Cures tooth decay
  • Kills bad breath
  • Heals bleeding gums
  • Prevents heart disease
  • Reduces inflammation
  • Whitens teeth
  • Soothes throat dryness
  • Prevents cavities
  • Heals cracked lips
  • Boosts Immune System
  • Improves acne
  • Strengthens gums and jaw

I have noticed all these benefits in my time using it.

I know I’m just a little ‘ol girl from the inter-webs, but speaking from years of experience, when I remember to do the coconut oil pulling 3-5 days a week, my teeth are whiter, cleaner, healthier, and pain-free. I have less gum and mouth issues altogether since introducing this into my life.

If I feel a canker sore coming on after I bite my cheek or something, coconut oil helps mouth my wounds heal faster, it’s awesome!

So go to the cupboard right now, grab your cold-pressed coconut oil and scoop a quarter size amount into your mouth and start giggling because you’re going to sound like your talking to your dentist for the next little while 😉

Oh and maybe share this if you like it. Girls gotta blog!

Happy coconut oil pulling!

-Holly

Mar.10
0

We Have A Dream

Posted by in Conversation Starters, Family

Hello!

Everyday my family and I talk about our goals and dreams and try to chip away at the list of things necessary to get me and my family closer to them. My husband is working towards our shared dream every time he leaves the comfort of our home and has to go work for weeks on end just to provide for us.

We were smart enough to learn that being entrepreneurs was in our best interest. Now that we know that, we just keep learning everything we don’t already know about how to complete our goals. Sounds like obvious stuff, right?

Well, it’s not that easy when you’re goals involve buying a large piece of land and it’s not in our plan to settle for a tiny lot just because that’s all we can afford. So ten years, 3 babies, 3 dogs, 2 cars, 1 motorcycle, and no land later, we’re still trucking along towards the perfect situation.  (I know we put the cart before the horse, but I still feel like that shouldn’t mean we can’t make it ahead just because inflation rises faster than wages.)

And if you’re thinking: Sell everything and buy land, we’ve been doing that for the last 4 years.  No joke! Every time we’ve saved ANY money something came along that takes just about the same amount away. Like there was an invisible message written in the sky above us that said “They have extra. Take it!” Well no more!

Since we run our own business and our expenses are all our own, we know that we haven’t been making any profit for the past few years. Since we don’t want to take out any loans, we are just paying for most things as we go.

This is great and horrible: We make the money. We spend the money. It goes towards bills or expanding the business or something that works towards a goal so that we may hope to make more money. Then it’s gone and we literally have to wait until we make more money.

So, I’m trying to follow the rules of the successful places that give their tips to do this or do that, to be successful in life, blogging, saving, penny pinching, etc. I plan on posting about what works on here so I can share the love. 

I do worry sometimes that I’m too late. Bloggers gotta blog and I’m in a see of millions trying to be seen who put way more time into it than me. I have busy days, pretty much everyday. Even my husband usually has to wait his turn for my attention whenever he is home because I do so much myself so that we can save money.

To get an idea of some of the things I do myself most of the time. This includes, but is not limited to cooking and baking from scratch (can we say bulk food ;), kid raising, cleaning, laundry, outings, shopping (one of my faves! Hey, I’m still girly and I only like to buy sustainable, ethical, humane, good for the planet stuff) crafts, most kinds of repairs, homemade soaps and cleaners, toothpaste, face and hair creams and masks, healing through food, essential oils, and so on. 

During the summer, life is amazing because it’s warm and there is so much to do. During the winter, ehh…. not so amazing, unless we’re out on an adventure and we’re not big fans of cold weather so winter adventures are kept at a minimum.

Don’t get me wrong. We do a lot of fun stuff. Play cards, board games, playstations, computers, light sabers, dinosaurs, learn about the cosmos, watch Planet Earth, build forts, make home movies, bake/cook, teach, fly drones, play music, go on walks, and so on. But our dreams, ten years in, are getting closer than ever before and I just want to push us onto that life raft and yell “We made it!”

Are you working on any dreams right now? If so, what have you found to be most helpful in attaining them? Let us know in the comments below!

Have a wonderful day,

-Holly

Feb.17
0
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