Haunted House Hunt

In the spring of 2000 we moved from suburban Chicago to the "wild west" of Colorado. We sold our tiny 1800-square-foot home before we had time to find another. Chris went house hunting in Colorado Springs with our two oldest daughters, who were 15 and 12. We had eight children, so the goal was to upgrade our living space. The house hunters found two homes that qualified. Chris called me with great excitement about the first one.

"It's perfect! It backs up to a horse farm. It's close to the schools. Lots of room. It's beautiful." He emailed pictures. I loved what I saw.

He placed a bid on the home and headed east. What he didn't know was that another family had placed a bid the same day. An identical bid. The homeowners chose the other family. We were devastated.

Chris and the girls returned to Illinois dejected. Chris decided to fly me out to look at the "other" house, a spacious 5500-square-foot home with five levels. Chris had some concerns and felt I needed to see it before bidding on it.

I remember getting off the interstate 50 minutes after arriving in Denver. We were meeting our realtor to do a walk-through. For some reason I felt apprehensive. We drove up to the house, in a new development with lots of homes under construction. I noticed boys riding their bikes on the mounds of dirt.

We walked through the front door and I felt "it" immediately. Disarray and clutter. The house felt "dirty." I felt uncomfortable. Assuming I was just reacting to the overbearing, gaudy decorating style, I continued the tour. We walked into each of the six bedrooms, the game room, the in-law suite. With each room I became increasingly uneasy. Instead of feeling just messy and dark, the house felt deeply oppressive.

As we drove away I looked at Chris and said, "I don't like it. I don't ever want to go back. I know I can't live there."

We spent two more days looking for the right home and didn't find it. We returned to Illinois unsure of our next step.

Our realtor emailed us, suggesting we reconsider the 5500-square-foot "oppressive" home. He sent pictures of each room. Chris encouraged me to imagine the home without the gaudy decorating and the clutter.

"The house is a shell. Imagine it without their furniture. Look at the floor plan. Think of the potential."

I hesitated. Then I saw the wisdom of it. It made a lot of sense. I agreed, the house did have potential. We made a deposit and moved eight weeks later.

We arrived the day before the closing with all of our things in a huge truck driven by a friend. At the walk-through, the home showed no signs of a move. It was as cluttered as I remembered. I left the walk-through and sobbed. Something felt "off."

We learned that the home was in bankruptcy. The family hadn't paid their mortgage. The builder's brother was in jail for murder. The builder wasn't regarded well in the community. Something was seriously wrong.

A friend agreed to keep us for a night to allow us to escape the confines of our tiny hotel room. We were living out of suitcases, far away from Illinois and the comfort of friends. We were unsure if we could take possession and if the court would allow the sale.

We agreed to wait until the family was out of the home and requested a clause requiring them to vacate completely by midnight the next day. When Chris and our realtor arrived at midnight, the garage was full of debris and unwanted items. We paid for a dumpster to haul it away. The house was filthy and the carpets stained, but we made the most of it and tried to make it our own.

Within months our health began to decline. A seizure disorder, an obstructed bowel, strep, mood disorders, and more symptoms kept us either at the emergency room or the doctor's office. In our prior 15 years of parenting we'd had one visit to the ER.

It was a rough first year. The following seven years were no better, with clear signs that something was indeed "off."

In retrospect I see the value of a mother's instinct. She is designed to create a nest for her family, and I knew this was not the one. It would take eight years for my instinct to conquer. We walked away from the home on October 4, 2008, finally escaping the toxic mold that lurked within its walls and was relentlessly poisoning our bodies.

Do I wish I had listened to my gut? Absolutely. Do I regret our decision? Definitely. Does this keep me from moving forward? No. I am grateful for the knowledge that has come from this experience.

In my next post I will list ten foundational things to look for in a home. My hope is that our story will help another family avoid this scenario and help another mom listen to her "nesting" instinct.

February Goal: Meal Plan

I can now cross off another of my goals for the New Year: a 14-Meal Rotational Plan. These are dinners only. Breakfast and lunch look very similar unless a smoothie or juice substitute for a meal. Snacks include beef jerky, kale chips, fermented fruit leather, boiled eggs, and avocado ice cream.

We currently follow a grain-free diet, as outlined in the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Meals are based on inclusion of organ meats, fish, fats, and free-range, organic poultry.

1. Meatloaf (include kidney, heart, and liver, as well as green juice pulp). Adapted from Rejuvenating Recipes' Delicious Turkey Meatloaf recipe.
2. Spaghetti squash with vegetable stir-fry and green salad. *
3. Chicken fajita lettuce wraps with guacamole.
4. Blackened salmon with vegetable (adapted from this recipe, using ghee instead of vegetable oil).
5. Roasted chicken (we include extra drumsticks). I typically adapt this recipe, substituting ghee for the olive oil.
6. Beef brisket with onions.
7. Spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce.
8. Chicken salad wraps with homemade mayonnaise.
9. Sausage (include kidney, heart, and liver, as well as green juice pulp). Adapted from Millie's Sausages at Rejuvenating Recipes.
10. Mexican vegetables (lots of red/green bell peppers) with salsa and guacamole. *
11. Bacon, eggs, and pancakes made with squash and coconut flour (adapted from this Grain-Free Pancakes recipe).
12. Chicken drumsticks and vegetable casserole.
13. Lemon pepper salmon.
14. Chili (add beef bone for extra fat).

* Meatless meals.

All meals are served with fermented vegetables and/or drink, as well as chicken broth/vegetables.

Vegetable options include sautéed greens, steamed vegetables, oven-baked veggies, and mashed cauliflower.

Food Awareness

In his profound work Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, published in 1938, Dr. Weston Price documents his findings after studying people groups untarnished by processed foods. Dr. Price found that those groups who left their native diet for "modern," processed foods showed clear signs of physical degeneration. Dr. Price's research has never been disputed.

"The evidence seemed to indicate clearly that the forces that were at work were not to be found in the diseased tissues, but that the undesirable conditions were the result of the absence of something, rather than the presence of something." Dr. Price concluded it was the absence of nutrients.

What are processed foods lacking? What is added that disrupts them? What exactly goes into foods produced in a factory? The following Food Awareness Quiz from momsAWARE is designed to help us ask these questions. These aren't commonly known facts, so the purpose is not to score well—it's designed to help awaken us to the clear connection between our health and foods stripped of their nutritional value.

Here is a sampling of the 15 questions featured on the quiz:

1. This is the ingredient list for which product?
   
   UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, SALT, EMULSIFIERS (MONOGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN), DEXTROSE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (FLAVOR ENHANCER), ONION POWDER, BAKING SODA, DEHYDRATED COOKED CHICKEN, HYDROLYZED CORN AND YEAST PROTEIN, SPICE EXTRACTIVES, DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE (FLAVOR ENHANCERS). CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
   
   a. Ramen noodles
   b. Campbell's Chicken & Stars Soup
   c. KFC Popcorn Chicken
   d. Nabisco Chicken in a Biskit
2. The symbol pictured at right, the radura, is commonly found on food packaging. The radura signifies:
   
   a. Organic
   b. Genetically modified organism (GMO)
   c. Irradiated food
   d. Additive-free
3. Acrylamide, a chemical deemed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer to be a "probable human carcinogen," is commonly used in caulking, food packaging, and some adhesives. Food and cigarette smoke are the two major sources of exposure. Which of the following foods contains the highest level of acrylamide?
   
   a. General Mills Cheerios
   b. Hershey's Cocoa
   c. Kettle Chips Lightly Salted Natural Gourmet Potato Chips
   d. Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds
4. The following oil is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a biochemical insecticide, acknowledging that this substance "has low chronic toxicities."
   
   a. Canola oil
   b. Peanut oil
   c. Safflower oil
   d. Cottonseed oil
5. TBHQ (tert-Butylhydroquinone), a chemical preservative which is a form of butane, is also used as a corrosion inhibitor in biodiesel. Which of the following consumer products does NOT contain TBHQ?
   
   a. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
   b. McDonald's Big Mac
   c. Keebler Vanilla Wafers
   d. Purina dog food
6. The United States is the largest producer of corn in the world. According to the EPA, 80% of all corn grown in the U.S. is used for:
   
   a. Food for animals
   b. Processed foods
   c. Ethanol
   d. High fructose corn syrup

How did you do? To find out, see the comments section of this post. To further test your knowledge and learn more about the foods we consume, visit the momsAWARE Quiz Center and take the Food Awareness Quiz.

Toxic Talk Tuesday Today!

Join my husband Chris and me today, February 7,  for another Toxic Talk Tuesday on Chris Fabry Live! We'll continue our conversation about healthy eating and introduce the exciting momsAWARE Natural Year Challenge, both Food and Household editions! Tune in live at 2:00 p.m. Central time or visit the Chris Fabry Live! website to listen via audio stream or podcast.

Garlands of Rosemary

I have a keen interest in the subject of working memory. I lost a great deal of memory function while living in our toxic home. I also have an interest in the subject of chemicals. Because of our exposure, we have eliminated them from our home and diet.

Last fall the staff at our small charter school allowed me to conduct a science experiment. The experiment asked one question: Do chemicals and/or essential oils affect working memory?

The chemicals used were perfume, dryer sheets, and window cleaner. The essential oils were lavender, peppermint, and rosemary.

We decided to allow each child to participate. Some would be test givers; others would be test takers. More than 40 students participated over the course of two weeks. We conducted control tests measuring the working memory of each participant using Digit Span Testing.

According to Psychology Wiki:

Digit span testing is a measure of memory span which is the number of items, usually words or numbers, that a person can retain and recall. Where numbers are used it is also known as digit span, and the test is called digit repetition. It can be seen as a measure of working memory (or short-term memory, depending on the psychological framework used), although other factors such as attention and comprehension also contribute to the performance on this test.

In a typical test of memory span, a list of random numbers is read out at about the rate of one per second. The test begins with two to three numbers, increasing until the person commits errors. Recognisable patterns (for example 2, 4, 6, 8) should be avoided. At the end of a sequence, the person being tested is asked to recall the items in order. The average digit span for normal adults without error is seven plus or minus two.

Reverse repetition is more difficult and requires more processes besides immediate recall.

Here is one of our test sheets:

The directions were as follows:

"I am going to say a series of numbers for you to remember. When I am finished, I want you to say them in the reverse order in which I said them. Do you understand, or should I give you the directions again?"

On separate days we asked the participants to smell a designated scent for 30 seconds. We had them wait silently for two minutes and then tested them with the alternate set of numbers.

Our findings were inconclusive for the most part, with one significant exception.

Colin's graph shows the increase and decrease in scores for the three essential oils. Rosemary clearly had an impact on working memory. Of the 43 test subjects, 2 scored lower after smelling the oil, 11 remained the same, and 30 showed improvement. What is even more interesting is that those 30 individuals improved by a total of 46 points!

Our experiment simply validates what Greek scholars knew centuries ago. They wore garlands of rosemary during examinations for focus and recall. Shakespeare understood this benefit as well. In his play Hamlet, Act 4 Scene V, Ophelia gives her brother Laertes a flower, saying, "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance."

This 2003 study concluded that "rosemary produced a significant enhancement of performance for overall quality of memory and secondary memory factors, but also produced an impairment of speed of memory compared to controls." (We didn't test the speed of the recall, simply the performance.)

What is it about rosemary that helps memory? According to Dr. James Duke, former U.S. Department of Agriculture chief of medicinal plant research, "Rosemary contains more than a dozen antioxidants and a half-dozen compounds reported to prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine." Acetylcholine is a vital neurotransmitter, and when compromised, has been implicated in memory deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease. See this article for other reported health benefits of rosemary.

Greek scholars, Shakespeare, and a USDA official all agree with our middle school students. Rosemary is a wonderful herb well worth. . . remembering!