December 2015: Two years after my incurable diagnosis, we decided to elope to New Zealand. Over the past two years the inflammation in my body had subsided significantly. We’d completely eliminated processed foods from our diets & were making everything from scratch. We removed all environmental toxins from our home & cleaning products. And we’d sought out toxin free beauty & personal care products. We were completely empowered to be our own health advocates through learning about functional testing. We regularly saw an acupuncturist & had monthly appointments for chiropractic care. And then came the second most extreme flare I’d experienced. In preparing for our big 30-day multi-island trip to New Zealand my stress was through the roof. I begged...
March 2014-December 2015: With our newfound knowledge on our broken food system & how making the switch to sourcing from our local farmers could be the answer we never knew we were looking for, we went all in. We sought out farmers in our area that were raising their animals on pasture as God intended. In all honesty, I lived my whole life (30 years at this point) thinking all animals lived their lives in big green fields with exposure to sunshine and clean air, oh how naive! In sourcing from our local farmers we developed such a passion for the farming community & the idea of creating a more sustainable life raising our own food. We were blessed to...
December 2013: Justin & I had been dating for a year & a half when we decided to plan an epic 17-day holiday roadtrip using all of our vacation time from our jobs at The Boeing Company. We went down the coast of Highway 101 from Washington to California and back up to Washington again where we lived. We tent camped along the entire coast and made some of the best memories! When we returned home from that trip my body exploded with inflammation, seemingly out of nowhere. I had a history of skin issues from my childhood; mostly eczema & scalp psoriasis that I would manage with topical steroids & medicated shampoos. But this inflammation was different, it consumed...
