Or when you intend to fail, or decide to fail, is that just quitting?

At the end of my senior year of college, I was accepted to the graduate program I had chosen. It was a specialized degree, and due to the fact that I was soon to be married and had just bought a home, the program needed to be tailored for working professionals, and likely online.

I was studying environmental science with a speciality in language and literature – I thought it would make me more marketable in the higher education field with such a distinct literary specialty. After months of parsing through geological studies and reporting on rock formations in central New Hampshire, I withered. There was little literature. Little interaction. Little garnering from the wisdom of a respected professor. I read alone, wrote alone, and responded to carefully worded forum posts rather than the quick thinking musings of a heated in-class debate.

I scorned online learning – I didn’t want a means to an end. I wanted to learn, and to learn and understand deeply. I wanted to analyze and debate and feed off the insights of my peers and professors. So I opted for failure. Not academic, flunking failure, but rather I chose to fail at online learning. I made an investment of time and money, and I failed.

I wouldn’t say I quit – I view quitting as something you do when things become too hard to surmount, when the odds of success dwindle and walking away seems easier. By all other accounts, I was succeeding in this program – academically, I had a high GPA and immaculate ‘attendance.’ But it didn’t fulfill me. It didn’t nurture me in the way I wanted it to. I didn’t quit – I failed. It was a calculated decision based on experience and evidence. It was intentional failure.

I didn’t regret it for a moment. I still don’t. I took a few years off and made money, and a home.

I’ve now been accepted to an English Literature program that, by all accounts, is just what I need. Classes in old stone buildings with talented professors and literary enthusiasts a handful at a time.

Thank you, failure.

This is one of my favorite times of year. Mother’s Day falls at precisely the right time, as the world wakes from its winter sleep, and animals everywhere are fostering new life. Hawks, eagles, ducks, backyard birds – all nurturing the next generation. I admit to watching more than most people’s share of nature cams each spring. My particular favorite is Eaglescrest (you can read more about it here, and watch the new life for yourself). Red-Tail Hawks, Canada Geese, Barn Owls, Golden Eagles, Killdeer…all watched by camera (and millions of people) as they raise a new generation. Their love and attention to detail is astounding.

So, here I am, thinking about what it means to be a mom. While we might be the only species that celebrates their mothers throughout life, our experience of being loved and nurtured is not a singular one. While I don’t condone animal testing in any right, a study done many years ago looked at the impact of a mother’s presence and necessity on young monkeys (Watch the Vsauce video that mentions it here). Those separated from their biological mothers formed uncanny attachments to artificial versions for the purpose of comfort and affection. See, regardless of species, the need for love and support and comfort is present from the moment that we are born. Mother’s are vitally important to well-being.

Think, then, of what it truly means to be a mother. A constant source of love, affection, comfort, sustenance. Even in the animal kingdom, mother’s are the ones that brood, feed, protect, and teach the little ones. They are responsible for the success of another generation. Its a biological requirement, and they do it again, year after year. The human species does it an average of 2-3 times in their entire life. Curious.

Whatever your relationship, then, with your mother, where ever she may be – appreciate her. For all her love and even all her faults, you are you. And that is perfect.

Happy Mother’s Day.

http://www.thriveintegratedhealth.com

• Hello! I have some questions that I thought you had some answers. I want to start using some supplements for our immune systems…I know that echinacea and vitamin C are important, but I’m not sure of doses and if there is anything else that is good to do. I want all three of us to start doing something. And I would like to maybe try to do some natural supplements that might help my fibromyalgia for the rest of this pregnancy and while I breastfeed. I haven’t been on any meds since I got pregnant with [my first son] and I assume I won’t be on any for quite a while longer. The symptoms can be overwhelming and if there is something I might be able to do that is even a little helpful and safe for me and baby that would be awesome! I thought you might know of some websites or info that is reputable that I could maybe check into these things. Or maybe you even have some info.  Thanks, lady!
• What a great question!

  Well, there are several things you could probably try, but top of my list would be to see a reputable Chiropractor. Like all Doctors, some Chiros are amazing, some not so much.. Most specialize in specific care (like fibromyalgia, pediatrics, sports injuries, etc), but all board certified Chiros (DC’s) log MORE Med school hours than MDs. I don’t know if you know much about the practice, but they don’t treat the “spine” per se, they treat the nervous system, which, through the spinal cord and brain stem, gets severed off when misalignments happen. You’ll want to find a DC that is active, involved, develops “treatment plans” (instead of “just come in when you’re in pain”), a place that does a lengthy assessment of your overall health, weight distribution, posture, range of motion, thermal scans or x-rays, etc. Having good alignment strengthens your immune system in leaps and bounds, too.
  Recommended: http://www.nhchiropractors.com/

  As far as supplements go, are you already taking a quality Omeg-3/DHA? One of the best ways to avoid inflammation, (optimizing Chiropractic care) is to have the right ratio of Omega 3-6-9, but 3 is the hardest to come by, so a good fish oil supplement is the way to go. Top of the line is Nordic Naturals (third party tested, excellent ratings), and they even make gummies for kids (my girls love them)! Make sure to keep them in the fridge to keep them from going rancid. I HATE the taste of fish oil, and you taste it long after you take it, so I buy the Nordic Naturals Strawberry DHA supplements — they ONLY taste like strawberry. Answer to my prayers!
  Recommended: http://www.nordicnaturals.com/

  Also, one of the most common deficiencies is Vitamin D–especially this time of year. Iwish I knew all about it when I was pregnant. I’m not convinced to supplement babies with the “Formula Brand Multi PLUS D” especially if you get enough D3 while nursing, and maybe you could give a baby just D3, but I don’t know if there is such a thing. I’ve been taking tons of multis for years, and I just found out my D levels are severely low — serum level of 18.1, when it should never be lower than 30, but closer to 100 is best. I’ve also read that research has found taking D3 supplements is more effective than a flu-shot! The daily recommended values (DRV) is 400 International Units (IU). Wayyyyyyyyyyyy too low. That was established when people spent all day in the sun. 5,000 IU, especially this time of year is best, and lower it to 2,000 in the summer (your body can convert 10-20,000 IU of D3 in 10-15 minutes in the sun — through the stomach or mid section is best). D3 is fat-soluble, so eat it with something that includes fat to help with it’s delivery to cells. BTW, mislabeled, Vitamin D is actually a hormone, not a vitamin — interesting, no? (oh, and vitamin A is important, but A and D bind to the same cell receptors, so too much A, and D doesn’t have a place to go  just to keep in mind)
  See Abigail’s “Supplement of the week:” http://boldasnature.com/2010/10/14/supplement-of-the-week-vitamin-d3/

  Also, take a WHOLE FOOD supplement, one that your body only recognizes as food so that you don’t need it with food and so it won’t give you a stomach ache. Mega Food (my fav.), New Chapter and Shaklee are the best I’ve found. I take Mega Food Baby & Me during pregnancy and lactation. Take 100 mg of vitamin C 5 times throughout the day, or one 500 mg time-released C. C is water-soluble, so it gets flushed out if you have a little more than you need. It’s very hard to OD on C, especially if it’s a food supplement. Also, a good (refrigerated) probiotic is excellent for immunity, digestion and overall health. Eating fermented food helps with this (fermented cabbage, fermented ketchup, raw organic unfiltered cider vinegar – Bragg’s is best, kombucha is also amazing).

  Hope this helps!
  Best of luck, my dear!
  Jordan

Hello, all!

I am honored that Abby has invited me to guest post on Bold as Nature! I’m Jordan Remmes, and here is a little bit about me…

I grew up in the Western Mountains of Maine, moved to Portland at the end of my senior year in high school. That fall I attended Southern New Hampshire University, graduated in three years, and then married my best friend, Danny. Danny and I met in undergrad on campus, and after we got married, I had the privilege of meeting Abigail through our (now) husbands (she and Nathan weren’t quite hitched yet).

I have since given birth (naturally… more on that later!) to two beautiful baby girls: Ella and Rory (current ages 3 and 1). We live in Manchester, NH, and my husband works in higher education.

I look forward to contributing to Bold as Nature, particularly concerning the natural needs of  today’s parenting.

Ella, Danny, Me, (Rory) – August 2011 -

I live in the wrong town. Don’t get me wrong, our cozy community is amazing – great schools, no crime, happy families, farmer’s markets. The necessities of a great community. Drive about an hour north, however, and you’re deposited into a town that feeds on intellect, literature, art, and the pursuit of knowledge (not to mention great food and an adorable night life). I should live in Hanover, New Hampshire. I informed my husband  last night that I was moving into a Dartmouth brownstone – I’d visit him on the weekends.

There was a wait at our favorite restaurant, so we took to the brick sidewalks and visited the shops in the heart of Dartmouth College. I dragged Nathan into the book store, with an emphasis on dragged, because he knew that once we walked through the doors, he’d be hard pressed to get me out. I took up residence in the fiction section on the upper level of the bookstore – as in I sat down, on the floor, with a stack of books that I couldn’t choose between, rifling through pages and mumbling to myself while Nate played Fruit Ninja and looked for anything related to athletics or easily recognizable summer blockbusters (“did the Bourne series start out as books, or where the books written after?”) – you see, opposites attract.

Money being what it is, I had to limit my selection. To one. (Damn you, fiscal responsibility). I realized that didn’t mean one author, so I opted for a collection (basically a zillion books in one, right? – take that, financial gods). Not to mention that short stories are my favorite. FAVORITE. While a lengthy novel consumes you for days on end, I think an effective short story is a more challenging form of art. Plots, character development, imagery, symbols, movement – it all has to be short. And captivating. And provoking. And overflowing with double meaning. And maybe even shocking. All in only a few pages. So my reading for this week? The Oxford Book of American Short Stories. Edited by Joyce Carol Oates, this anthology encompasses historical father’s of American literature and relative newcomers. Nearly 900 pages of short stories. James Baldwin to Langston Hughes. Sarah Orne Jewett to Philip Roth. Paul Bowles to Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Don’t expect to hear from me for a while.

Barley water is an ancient beverage revered for its tonic properties. Its list of reported benefits is surprisingly long – from anti-aging, soothing digestive inflammation, and expulsion of toxins to treating urinary tract infections, acting as a mild diuretic, and nourishing the kidneys during times of stress.

In fact, barley water recently received accolades on NPR for its skin-nourishing capabilities, and, upon a brief google search, I even came across an Alton Brown recipe on Food Network – I feel so behind the times!

I decided to give it a try, and made a very basic barley water than can be sweetened with fresh fruit juices, honey, or citrus (such as lemon or lime). I followed the premise behind Alton’s recipe, and gently simmered hulled barely in purified water for a little over half an hour. I let the water cool and poured a glass – it was mild, unoffensive, and bland. I stirred in a small amount of raw honey and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. This immediately perked it up and made it undeniably refreshing – I immediately imagined sipping this in my yard this summer while taking a break from tending to the garden.

My intention is to drink at least a glass a day for several weeks – I am intrigued by its benefits and can’t wait to report back on what I find!

Have you tried this drink yet? What are your thoughts on functional beverages?

This past year has been glorious. Several years of planning culminated in a gorgeous vegetarian wedding that left me hitched to an extraordinary man. We bought a house. Graduated. Ventured out into the ‘real world.’ And now, as I sit in my office, fingers itching over the keyboard, unsure of what to tell, sleet and rain are pounding down, pummeling the white snow off of the branches, relieving them of their burden as they spring upwards again. Even the dreary gray sky is beautiful to me.

Certainly the most significant event of the last 9 months was my wedding day. I want to share some images from that amazing day with all of you. My husband and I are so very proud that we had a day devoted not only to our love of each other, but our love for all creatures, too. No animals were harmed in the making of this marriage.

It feels so good to be back!

That’s probably a little much, huh? Describing a farmer’s market as magical might make it seem like I’m losing grip a bit, but I swear that it was. It was a great atmosphere where everyone was as passionate as I am about healthy, natural foods. Even the bakers there use only fresh berries they grew themselves to make their beautiful pies! I felt really connected to the foods I was trying, and the people that grew them.

So what did I walk away with? Blueberries, raspberries, gooseberries, kale, heirloom tomatoes, beautiful handmade soap, vegetarian baked beans (OMG), local free range eggs (sold by kids who were farm more excited about eggs than I’ve ever seen anyone), homemade cinnamon bread, raspberry jam, and more.

And what am I going to do with all of this?

For the berries – no cooking, just enjoying!

The goosberries – what I don’t munch on, I’m tempted to make a gooseberry fool with local, raw cream!

Heirloom Tomatoes – I have a nice loaf of crusty parmesan and garlic bread. Add fresh basil and a slice of provolone – fresh tomato sandwich (it’s the simple things in life…)

Kale – I just got a juicer, and have been juicing everything in sight (more on that later!). Kale is getting thrown in my breakfast juice!

And the baked beans – It has been so long since I have had baked beans. They’re usually full of bacon and pork; no thank you. So when the couple that makes these asked me if I’d like to try, and I politely declined and added in that I’m a vegetarian, I was thrilled when he told me he is a lifelong vegetarian and these beans were a dream come true. Well, he was right. They’re unbelievable. And for all you out there ready to crack jokes about baked beans, get this: The name of their company is Breakwind Farms. Their slogan? “Fartootasty”

Here’s to a relaxing, dreamy weekend for all of you!

Plus, an afternoon lunch with a great friend isn’t a bad way to spend the rest of the day…

Plastic bottles, garbage, electronics, water, pollution, pesticides, fertilizers. Just some of the buzz-words you’ll hear when you’re talking about the eco-movement. There is so much you can do to make a difference in the treatment of our Earth. Here’s some eco-facts that might make you think twice before tossing the water bottle or leaving on that light.

• The average American consumes five times more energy than the average global citizen or 10 times more than the typical Chinese. (Worldwatch Institute)
• It takes less gasoline to restart your car than it does to let it idle for more than a minute. If all the cars on US roads had properly inflated tires, it would save an estimated 2 billion gallons of gasoline per year and improve your gas mileage 3-7%. (University of ColoradoEnvironmental Center, 2003)
• If every car carried one more passenger during its daily commute, 32 million gallons of gasoline would be saved each day. (Natural Resources Defense Council, 2003)
• Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. (U.S Dept. of Energy)
• Indoor lighting use is highest during the hours of 9 to 5, even though the light bulb was invented to help us see in the dark. (University of Colorado Environmental Center, 2003)
• Between 1850 and 1970, the number of people living on Earth more than tripled—yet the energy they consumed rose 12-fold. (Worldwatch Institute)
• Replacing one wasted can requires the energy equivalent to light a 100-watt light bulb for 5 hours or to power the average laptop computer for 11 hours. (Container Recycling Institute, 2001)
• Glass can be recycled again and again with no loss in quality or purity. Glass containers go from recycling bin to store shelf in as little as 30 days—again and again. (The Glass Packaging Institute)
• The average global temperature in 2005 was 14.6 degrees Celsius, making it the warmest year ever recorded on Earth’s surface. The five warmest years since recordkeeping began in 1880 have all occurred since 1998. (Worldwatch Institute)
• Extracting and processing petroleum into common plastic containers (polyethylene terephthalate, PET, and high-density polyethylene, HDPE) takes four to eight times more energy than making plastics from recycled plastics. (GRRN, Wasting and Recycling in the United States, 2000)

(courtesy of Energy X Roads)

• If just 25% of U.S. families used 10 fewer plastic bags a month, we would save over 2.5 BILLION bags a year.
• About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.
• In the past 50 years, humans have consumed more resources than in all previous history. (U.S. EPA, 2009. Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead.)
• More than 100 billion pieces of junk mail are delivered in the United States each year, which comes out to 848 pieces per household. The production, distribution and disposal of all that junk mail creates over 51 million metric tons of greenhouses gases annually, the equivalent emissions of more than 9.3 million cars. (ForestEthics, 2008. Climate Change Enclosed: Junk Mail’s Impact on Global Warming.)
• Half the world’s tropical and temperate forests are now gone. (U.S. EPA, 2009.Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead.)
• 75% of marine fisheries are now overfished or fished to capacity. (U.S. EPA, 2009. Sustainable Materials Management: The Road Ahead.)
• Only a few hundred of the more than 80,000 chemicals in use in the United States have been tested for safety. (President’s Cancer Panel, National Cancer Institute, 2010. Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now.)

(couresty of Ecocycle)

And, unfortunately, the list could go on. And on. And on. And on. There are so many small ways you can green-up your routine, and so many resources that can help you do just that. Below I’ve added a few links to sites that can help with great ways to go eco! To be as Bold as Nature, we have to make sure Nature sticks around….do your part!

Green Links:

The Green Guide

The Daily Green

Practically Green

Whole Living