A New Paleo and Financially Smart Lifestyle

July was a great month with amazing weather and lots going on. I finally got over being sick and could focus on other things. I started a mostly paleo diet where we avoided all gluten, dairy, and refined sugar. Additionally, I spent the month preparing taxes, working out our personal budget, and other related financial things. This is the start of a whole new lifestyle for us.

Paleo Diet

Paleo Blueberry Muffins and a Smoothie

Homemade Ramen - Paleo style and yes Matt made his own broth

For the most part we try to have a paleo diet which includes meat fish, vegetables, and fruits. We just have to avoid all 

gluten, dairy, and processed foods like refined sugars. We will eventually work our way to avoid the grains like rice and legumes. I had to advise childcare Sakura is not allowed to have any gluten and dairy (she gets really bad reactions on her bum if she has any). As we attended activities I had to either make something I could eat to take or refrain from any items that didn’t fit within my diet. I HATE being that person with special dietary needs. I went to lunch with a friend and I picked a place that had gluten and dairy free options, but they didn’t have much I wanted. In the end I ordered a plate and had them remove or replace the gluten and dairy. They had to come back and tell me the lamb had gluten in it, but at this point I figured it was a very small amount and got it anyway. This will be difficult to get used to. On the bright side I have had a lot of success with meal planning and finding some good paleo meals, snacks, and desserts that we like. Here are some favourites (ask me if you want more):

Beef Stew (I don’t follow the recipe exactly)

Cashew Chicken

Cauliflower Wings

Lemon Chicken

Granola Bars

Paleo 7 Layer Bars

Almond Butter Cookies

Paleo apple crisp for the 4th of July

Budgeting

I finished reading The Barefoot Investor by Scott Pape for the second time as part of my Pathways math class. The class really helped me realise that I need to get much better at budgeting. I scheduled a budget date night with Matt for the end of July. I organised someone to babysit too so we could really focus. Next, I started organising our finances, tried different software that would categorise transactions, tried different excel templates for budgeting, and worked out how much we were spending. It took a long time, but I finally found the tools I was looking for to build the budget the way I wanted it. I am planning on doing a short excel course as well to learn macros and pivot tables to make my budget spreadsheet even less manual.

There wasn’t anything revelatory in our budget, but for the first time in ages I finally had the correct amount of how much we spend including our annual, quarterly, and other variable expenses. It made it clear why we struggle to pay off debts. We have so little excess, and when we do have excess we spend it on things because it isn’t allocated anywhere. I realised that had we been working harder at budgeting we would likely have some of our debts paid off already. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail, but suffice it to say that I realised where our main financial issues are and have a plan to improve them.

Sakura’s Immunisation

I started to consider immunising Sakura again because we are going to the US in October and I worried about international travel, and I got a notice that we will get reduced family tax benefits if she is not immunised by September 2^nd, and of course cheaper childcare costs mean I would be able to put her in childcare more than once a week. This is such a HARD decision to make! We decided that the best way to feel confident and calm about our decision was to pray and fast about it. I didn’t fast since I am breastfeeding, but Matt did. The night before I felt like my conversation with my Heavenly Father went like this:

Why do you want to vaccinate her?

Me: So she won’t get any deadly diseases, cheaper childcare, greater family tax benefit, and it would be so much easier.

Are you REALLY worried about her getting sick?

Well….. not really. In fact, I feel she is probably better off in the long run without the vaccinations.

Is vaccinating her for YOUR financial desires and convenience a good enough reason?

               No, I guess not.

I felt so strongly that Sakura was going to be fine WITHOUT the vaccinations and that it would be better to trust the Lord to help me with the other financial concerns. I didn’t tell Matt this and waited the next day till he finished fasting to discuss it. He felt the exact same! His words were something like “vaccinating her because of money is a piss-poor reason.” What was amazing about this was we were UNITED! This time I don’t feel like I need to question it again. Perhaps if we are going to a third world country or something, but I trust that if there is any reason to question it again the Lord will help me know. Finally, I am at peace with this. Please know that I am not trying to say no one should vaccinate, but for our family and the autoimmune conditions our kids will have – we feel it is best not to vaccinate. I don’t have any concrete reasons, nor do I need any, because I am not trying to counsel anyone else and I already have my own answer.

July Events

We had some fun events occur this last month. We had a stake ball that was Gatsby themed. Last time Matt wasn't feeling well so I went by myself. This time we could go together and Sakura loved the music and dancing. She eventually got really tired and one of the YSA watched her for me so I could enjoy the party for a bit. 

Later we had our Christmas in July party with the YSA. I made my first ever honey baked ham (paleo style of course)! It wasn’t spiralised, nor as good as the store-bought ones in the U.S., but I was proud of the results. I had to go to an actual meat factory to buy a big enough ham. The food and activities were great, and I think everyone had a great time.

The following day was the farewell for Xen-Xen Alambra. I will miss her in Pathways, at YSA activities and class, working on sewing projects together, and having her over to watch Sakura. I’m glad I was able to spend a lot of time helping her prepare for her mission and get all the necessary items. I’ve already heard she is doing well in the Philippines MTC and it sounds like her district has lots of laughs.

There was an awesome relief society activity that I attended where we had a presentation with a psychologist and then a short yoga session. I spoke to the psychologist afterwards about my future goals of being a psychologist. She helped confirm for me that getting the Doctorate degree would still suit what I want best and that there are scholarships available for those degrees. So, I just need to get enough money to do the 4^th year research degree (around $9000 I think) and then I can look for scholarships. This is still what I want to do, but I am hoping I can find the money and time to do it. This woman does walk and talk therapy where they go walking around nature while doing therapy. I thought that was such a great idea! The yoga was also helpful as we spent the majority of the time on breathing. I’ve done lots of yoga before, but never had so much focus on just breathing. I found that the breathing exercises were really helping me to feel relaxed, calm, and centered within. I have been trying to end each night with breathing exercises to help me sleep.

Sakura’s childcare also had a festival of lights that Matt and I went to. It was neat how they decorated the different rooms with lights and activities for the kids. They also had different art projects that all the kids had done for the activity displayed. We couldn’t find Sakura’s lantern, but we did find her painting. I can’t imagine so much work would be worth the effort. I’m glad they did it though and I look forward to other events they have in the future.

One Sunday Matt and I found out about an interfaith meeting that was being hosted at our chapel. We decided to attend. The Sikh, Bahai, Judaism, and Mormon religions all gave a presentation on their sacred scriptures. It was so fascinating! I have never heard of the Bahai faith and didn’t know anything about the Sikh religion. To my surprise the Judaism presentation was just as foreign and I thought I knew more about them. The Sikh faith pointed out that for them their scripture is considered and treated as a living human being. I won’t go into details and give incorrect information about them, but you could read more here.

I have made a goal to spend more time going places with Sakura and so I have taken her to quite a few parks lately. To my surprise, Sakura LOVES sand. The childcare people have told me she loves the outdoors and they always make sure they have lots of outside time when she is there. She has definitely enjoyed the times at the park with me so I will try to continue to make that part of my routine. There is a disc golf course at Pine Rivers Park so I could try doing that once a week as well.

This last week Matt and I were able to go rock climbing with the youth and it made me miss going every week. I still don’t know how people balance kids with these other activities. We will have to keep trying new things.

Yesterday we went and picked strawberries at the Strawberry Fields. It took some time to find really good ones. It’s not actually cheaper than store bought, but it is fun to choose and pick your own. We made homemade jam but due to the lack of real sugar and pectin, Matt isn’t satisfied with it. It’s good enough for me and we have this awesome crusty bread mix that makes the perfect scone like bread to go with it! That same company, Well & Good, also makes an all-purpose cake mix and I made apple cinnamon muffins with it this weekend as well. Together with acai bowls for lunch with our fresh picked strawberries we have been eating well despite our gluten and dairy free needs.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

Sakura Update

Sakura is now 9 months old, weighs 8.7kg, has two teeth on the bottom, one on top, and another coming in on top. She only gets good naps in the car while I’m out driving places, and night time sleeps she rarely lasts more than three hours before waking up crying. Lately my patience has been spent and I literally just turned the monitor off when I tried for over an hour to get her to calm down. Although I don’t like the method, after a couple of nights she seems to have improved and settle herself more. This could be because her tooth finally came out though, so I have low expectations. 

 For now she is still primarily breastfed, but she now enjoys solids and will eat any food you give her. She loves everyone and is getting quite mobile. Matt predicts she will be walking by the end of the month. She climbs onto everything and can’t be left unsupervised while I go to the toilet anymore. While teething she has been extremely clingy so my back is suffering from constantly picking her up. At the end of the day I still think she is adorable and am amazed at how much love I feel for her. I don’t love being a mom yet, but maybe there will come a time where I feel more fulfillment from the mom part than from other things.

Business and Illness Do Not Mix

It's hard to recall much of June when I spent the majority of it somewhat sick and not completely coherent. Sakura got sick and then she happily passed on the fun to me. Next thing I know she had lots of goop in her eyes (conjunctivitis), which she also passed on to me. Sakura was having serious issues sleeping during the day and night so we weren't getting sufficient sleep to get better. To add salt to the wounds, Matt was gone from the 13th to the 23rd of June on a trip to Japan with his family to visit relatives, get family history, and tour the area where their ancestors were.  I can now report we are on the mend, Matt returned home safely, and things are somewhat back to normal.

Then and Now

There were quite a few events that took place in June. I went to a temple endowment session where my friend Xen-Xen was going for the first time since she just got her mission call. We went to lunch at a sushi train restaurant afterwards to celebrate. I didn't think I would be able to get a babysitter, but it all worked out in the end and I was so glad to be there and reminisce of my first time going through the temple for my own endowment.

She didn't like that she couldn't see what I was cooking.

Another YSA had a bridal shower and wedding take place in June. I helped organise the bridal shower games and was disappointed I had to abandon ship for a little bit as Sakura was getting fussy. I was also disappointed that the gluten and dairy free banana muffins I made weren't as amazing as the previous ones. I'm pretty sure I used a different recipe so I think I will start throwing out the recipes that aren't amazing. Of course I just realised that with my current memory issues - maybe it is better to have a stack of rejected recipes in case I end up printing and trying the same one.

The wedding reception I ambitiously tried to make a beef stew and cornbread (gluten and dairy free of course). It was a potluck and the bride Dyani asked if I could provide enough for anyone with dietary concerns like mine. She was thinking simple muffins, but I wanted to go all out. The result was that I was quite a bit late, but luckily no one had started eating yet. My stew was good, and so was all the cheesecake I ate for dessert. In case you are wondering - Yes, I am aware cheesecake has dairy and gluten, but I threw healthy eating out the window because Matt was eating whatever in Japan, and I was sick and tired and food that isn't good for you just tastes so amazing! Whew. I had a wonderful time at the wedding reception and Sakura got in some cuddles with the bride and groom. I only regret that I waited till the end to do the photobooth pictures when she was asleep.

Somehow I managed to go to a baby expo as well this month. They had so many samples and things. My favourite item was a clip on teether that I got for Sakura. She loves having a teether or dummy (pacifier) on hand at all times.

This is the first beanie I made her

This is the larger version

The last big activity before Matt got back was an Escape Room I put on for the YSA at the chapel. I got all the details from this website (click here). It took quite a bit of preparation getting the materials and putting the clues together, but is was well worth it. The idea is that they find the clues on their own in the room and unfortunately some clues they could figure out without finding all the hints. This lead to them missing a couple clues and getting stuck. I helped them, but our leader held captive would've died if we were doing a CSI operation. I hope this company chooses to do different scenarios in the future because it was still worthwhile and SO much cheaper than paying $40+ per person to go to an escape room location.

When Matt returned I finally got a little baby relief, but not for relaxing. We had made a goal to change the painting business from a sole trader to a company by the end of the financial year (30 June) so I had a LOT to do. Somehow I got all of the most important things done with the help of our business consultant and accountant. I had to create the company, change business registrations, change business licence, set up a business bank account, and change our accounting software for a company structure. This stuff isn't complicated exactly, but for a novice it is so easy to do it horribly wrong so I'm glad I have an awesome business consultant for these things! Alan's details are here if you are in need of a business consultant in the North Brisbane area.

Some other updates include:
- I finally got Sakura's Australian citizenship certificate and was able to apply for her Australian passport. I have been waiting for this for months!

- We are going to the U.S. in October! My mom was going to come to visit for Sakura's 1st birthday, but it ended up working better for everyone to have us visit them. She bought us all the flights and we worked things out with Matt's family so we could visit them too. I'm so glad it all worked out because with that huge business loss we don't have excess money for trips.

- Sakura got her first tooth! Her second tooth on the bottom is also almost there. This now explain the extra feeds and difficulty sleeping. Good thing she is still super cute!

This next month the focus is to be gluten and dairy free with hopes of working towards a paleo and sugar free diet. We also are looking for ways we can save or earn more money to recover from the business loss and pay off debts. At this stage we are thinking I might be able to try some work like life coaching, disability support work, or something like that. It's something I can do on top of Matt's business stuff and it should help me with my future goals of working as a psychologist. Right now we are just playing with ideas. I hope that in the next year we will be much more organised and have regular meal and financial planning happening. At least we are getting better!

P.S. Apologies for the severe lack of photos. I thought I took photos of things, but apparently not.

On the Move

Last month was full of lots of events so I'll try my best to keep my summary succinct.

My brother Destin came to visit in the beginning of May. This was a BIG deal for me as he had previously chosen to go elsewhere like Japan or Vietnam instead of spending the money to visit his sister. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a cold and still had a perpetual cough when he arrived. Nevertheless, we started off with a bang.

The first couple of days we spent in the heart of Brisbane, exploring Southbank and all it has to offer. We discovered the Buddha's Birth Day Festival was the following day and returned to do more and see what was at the festival. Did you know Buddha used to be a prince? 

To finish off the night Destin and I went to Eat Street. We just shared a few items and called it good, but Destin loved it so much we went back the next night with Matt and got something like 6 or 7 dishes throughout the night to share. I think we averaged around $30pp but considering the amazing food we got I think it was better than had we gone to a fancy restaurant.

Saturday we spent the afternoon at a very small disc golf course Destin found at a park about an hour away. It was a lot of fun, but I'm not sure the trip would be worth it on a regular basis.

Monday was labour day here so I had booked a horseback riding day trip for Destin and I. This was likely more for me than him, but he agreed to it. Slickers Horseback Riding does these midweek trips once a month where you have about 4hrs + horseback riding and a big lunch by the lake. This trip they also had swimming with the horses. Destin did great even though he was the least experienced and rusty of the group. We were able to do quite a few trots and canters throughout and getting in the lake bareback was fun!

The following couple of days we spent at Tangalooma Island Resort. Sakura was a big hit with the many tourists and as we waited for the ferry I had a large group of Asians crowding around me and actually taking pictures of Sakura. They didn't speak any English, but I think they were very worried about her lack of socks from their gestures to her feet.

Unfortunately, our first day it just rained a lot. The boys took a nap and I took Sakura for a walk when the sun decided to come out. We had a lovely walk on the beach and watched the Pelicans.

Later that night we got to feed the wild dolphins. You don't spend much time with them or anything, but it was still a neat experience. We finished off the night eating Peking Duck in our room.

The major downfall of that first day was that I got horrendously sick. I basically couldn't move and had hot and cold flushes. Matt had to watch Sakura for me. I spent most of the night getting up to go to the bathroom. We think it was a combination of my cold/flu and perhaps some bad coleslaw? Matt also ate the coleslaw and had to spend some time on the toilet.

The second day was beautiful. I skipped breakfast and was feeling mostly better by the afternoon thankfully. We walked to the wrecks farther up the beach (20min walk) to do some snorkelling. We didn't do much, but it was still nice to relax on the beach and see all the fish. The visibility was better than the last time I had visited.

Destin spent the rest of his trip in the Gold Coast touring around on his own. This worked out well since I was recovering from my illness. We had a scare the morning of his flight though as it had been cancelled. He was able to get the last ticket on the only flight to Sydney, but at a huge cost. I think he ended up missing his connecting flight to the U.S. but it all worked out eventually. Overall due to late and missed flights on his way to and from Australia he ended up not saving much on the flight at all. Tigerair called him later to give him his credit which the international call cost as much as the credit. Oy.

Mothers day this year was awesome! As my first "real" mothers day it made a huge difference to actually have a child when I got an adorable hand made card and mug from Sakura (courtesy of Little Legends Early Learning Centre). I told Matt I wanted flowers and breakfast and he delivered, with an adorable rainbow teddy bear as well. Additionally, we had a church activity where the men served all the women dinner. It was a nice way to catch up with some ladies I don't see often. 

Other events for May included a girl's night out with facials and karaoke. It was a lot of fun, but I still had a cough that became uncontrollable if someone made me laugh. Karaoke doesn't work well with a cough either so I hope we will do it again. The most surprising part of the night was that I reconnected with a friend that I had known when I had studied abroad. Jordan and I were often together at group YSA activities and we used to have pancakes at her house a lot after an activity. I didn't know she was in Brisbane so I hope we will have lots of opportunities to catch up and meet each other's families. Another day we went to a 1 year birthday party for my friend Cate's son Finley. He is such a happy boy and it will be crazy to see Sakura and him playing when they can both walk an talk together!

I also attended a Teddy Bear Picnic at a nearby park with Sakura and some ladies from my mum's group. They had face painting, balloons, music, and giant shaded tents for us to sit under. It was a fun morning. Later that week I also attended a Gluten Free Expo at the Brisbane Convention Centre. This was awesome because every stall had samples and they were all gluten free! I did have to check labels for dairy though.

The gluten free expo was well timed because earlier that week I met with a naturopath recommended by my doctor (at the same clinic). After reviewing my medical history she determined I clearly have more going on than just the MTHFR mutation problems. It seems evident I have pyrrole disorder and potential another autoimmune condition affecting my thyroid. Add to that gut issues and I sound like one big mess! Truthfully though I eat better and try to be healthier than I ever have been in my life. What is the solution then? Well, I have to do a few updated tests, but she said I really should go on a Paleo diet. Gluten, dairy, and sugar are all really bad inflammatory foods for anyone with autoimmune conditions. She at least said that I should do this at a pace that works for me, but try to go off all gluten and dairy right away. How did I respond to this? I went and bought a doughnut, some chocolate, and ate some cake at an activity, etc. This might be a very slow pace, but after Sakura had some bad diaper rashes after my binge week I clearly need to take this more seriously. My diet affects more than just me.

Now I am getting better at getting rid of all gluten and dairy, and I am trying to use only natural sugars like honey and maple syrup in my baking. I'm at least doing way better at meal planning with Matt and for the most part we are having healthier dinners like stir fry with lots of vegetables. I'm learning I can cook with Sakura even if she just wants to be held as I can put her on my back in the Ergo 360 carrier if needed.

Massaman Curry and Homemade GF Bread

Sakura is now 7 months old! She is sick again unfortunately, but she is as happy as ever. She can sit up on her own and crawl without a problem. She is also gotten very chatty and likes to talk a lot! One of her favourite toy is a stand-up play table which she surprised me one day by pulling herself up to it on her own. It's hard to imagine this regularly happy child used to be fussy all the time with reflux. I'm glad things are better, but I'm still waiting for that day where she sleeps through the night. In fact, just sleeping for 3+ hours at a time on a regular basis would be nice. She is now in her own room and I have a spare mattress next to her cot for difficult nights. Right now I can expect to be in there from 4am till 6:30am awake time.

Sakura and her friend Jackson watching a show together. 

I still have my Pathways class every week. The math is still really simple and easy for me so I find I get a little bored in class. It is still good to get a refresher course in algebra and it makes me feel good when I remember it's something I am good at. The best part about the class has been the book review as I chose to re-read the Barefoot Investor book. After doing the budget for class and the other material I am reading I am really motivated to get better at managing our finances! We just don't have a good plan for saving money.

Matt has a variable income which always makes it hard to budget, but we have always had enough to cover any expenses without carefully watching every purchase. Well that may change because one of his major clients went under liquidation and they owed us approximately $11,000. We are lucky this didn't destroy us as I have checked every avenue and it is likely we will never see any of that money. This did really hit our plans for visiting family and some other household items we were hoping to replace. To my surprise, my mom decided she would pay for us to come visit for Sakura's 1st birthday in exchange for Matt helping paint their house. Matt's family was also willing to chip in so we could make sure to visit them as well. We have been blessed despite the huge loss to the company. After all, we could have been the unfortunate company that paid a $30,000 deposit for their fitout only to lose it all and get no work done.

Well June should be interesting as Matt leaves to Japan with his siblings to hopefully connect with some unknown relatives and tour around. He will be gone four 11 days so it will be just me, Sakura and the cat. In case you are wondering how Shade is doing with mobile Sakura, see the short video below (I couldn't load the full version).