I thought I would put a spin on my Ancestral Eating series of posts, and address three more Weston A Price principles in an article written just for the busy women out there.

Now I know that the WAPF principles were written for everyone, but as a woman, and mother of four, and wife of a full time farmer, who lives on and runs a homestead, I’d like to share how I’ve learned to take care of my needs in this regard.

When I started my full-time farmwife journey here in 2020, I scoured the internet looking for daily routines from some of the successful homesteading ladies I know. Guess what? None of them inspired me, if I could even find them. Nobody says, ‘At 6 am I wake up, then at 7 I eat breakfast, at 8 I….’ That’s what I was looking for though. Someone to tell me how to live this life, my dream, that I suddenly achieved (and had no idea what to do with). I wanted to know how they did it all so I could too!

I didn’t just want to get by day to day, I wanted to thrive, feel WELL, be able to do ALL the things that the other ladies I was following were doing: make my own skin care, make sourdough bread, make bone broth, meal plan, garden, preserve food, milk the cows, run my business, make cheese, have a clean house with picture perfect flower and vegetable gardens, have 10,000 followers on social media, give classes, make crafts… you know, all the things everyone else seems to pull off and still be glowing for a selfie!

It’s only been two years, but I feel that I’ve learned quite a bit about what I can do, what I should say no to, and what I need to feel my best. I know I have a lot to learn, but I’ve come a long way too, just in the last few months.

Here are the WAPF points I’ll address:

Use only natural, food-based supplements.

Get plenty of sleep, exercise and natural light.

Think positive thoughts and practice forgiveness.

JILL NIENHISER, WAPF Website, ‘Dietary Guidelines’- JANUARY 1, 2000

If you read my previous post, you know about the wonderful 12 day vacation we were able to take this summer to celebrate Emily’s graduation from high school.

What I didn’t say in that post, was that I was suffering from a major case of burn-out in the months prior to us leaving. Challenges with our business & other projects had driven me to the brink, and the entire week before we left was the MOST stressful with graduation party prep and getting ready for the trip. The only thing that kept me going was knowing I would soon have a glorious 12 day break, and I was SO ready for it.

But why? This was our dream, for me to be here and focus just on our farm. We are literally living our dream, but I was so burnt out and stressed all the time, I couldn’t enjoy it. No matter what I was getting done, there was a long listed of ‘I should be’s’ waiting after it. My list never ended, and all of the expectations I have put on myself just made it longer. If I did take a day to go have fun with the kids, all I could think about was what was waiting for me back at home.

If you know me, you know I am very imaginative and I have LOTS of big ideas. I love ideas. I love talking to people about their ideas. I love planning ideas, I have an idea book where I brainstorm more ideas… You get the point. Living inside this head of mine can be quite a busy place. I needed to get quiet and prioritize what is most important, and so, on our vacation I did just that. Here’s how-

Step 1- Added high quality supplements to my diet.

I know I don’t get everything I need from my diet. I just can’t cook the way I need to all the time. About a month before we left on the trip, I started taking Peak Performance nutrition packs from Melaleuca. I was definitely still under a ton of stress, but at least I seemed to have more energy to deal with what came at me. Before taking these, I often needed an afternoon nap to get me through my evening chores, now I have energy to spare.

Step 2- Listen to your body- cut out unnecessary stimulants.

• I took a break from social media, not perfectly, but mostly. I read books & journaled in my free time, and we enjoyed each other’s company. Instead of telling everyone on social media what I was doing, I told my future self through a journal!
• I set an out-of-office reply on my business email, and only checked it once in a while.
• I didn’t set a morning alarm, I took naps, and went to bed when I was tired.
• I didn’t plan any of our activities like I normally would. We did what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it.
• I didn’t worry about what was going on at home. I couldn’t help from Tennessee anyway, and I knew the Kierra and Amberly had it covered.
• I took pictures, but not obsessively, I was present.
• I woke up each morning and had coffee on the porch, in the sunshine, with my mom almost every day.
• We never rushed to leave early to go anywhere (except the day we left here). Most days we hit the road by noon or so.
• I avoided drinking more than one or two alcoholic drinks, and even then, weak ones.
• I listened to my body and paid attention to how I was feeling.

Listening to my body took all of the points listed here. I avoided comparison and feelings of failure by not scrolling social media constantly. I’ve since unfollowed many of the accounts I used to follow, especially women like me and businesses like mine. I didn’t want to continue to compare my reality to their highlight reel. I do still use social media to occasionally share happy memories and business material, but I try not to camp out on it like I used to. I think many people are using this philosophy now, and it is not as active as it used to be anyway.

Taking a break from my email was essential. Yes, I did have to still run our business, but I learned that not every email needs an immediate response. The out-of-office reply helped me avoid that guilt.

I respected my body’s specific circadian rhythm simply by resting when I felt tired, waking with the sun, soaking up the sun in the morning, and going to bed when darkness set in (or not long after) with the exception of a few nights when we were having fun together watching movies, visiting or playing games.

I have since also eliminated coffee from my diet and switched to matcha tea. I’m finding that the energy I get from matcha sticks with me longer and doesn’t cause the side effects of coffee (think lower GI issues, and afternoon caffeine crash). I also have continued to limit alcohol, and the more I avoid it, the worse I feel when I do have it. That is motivating in itself! Because I always have enjoyed a cocktail at night, this is a challenge for me. What I’ve started to do is replace my nightly cocktail with a fancy wine glass of kombucha!

For exercise, I’ve started the C25K (couch to 5k running app) again. I can feel my body getting stronger with each day! Even if I don’t feel like running, I’ll take a walk with the kids, or do some other light activity that I enjoy.

Step 3- Positive Thoughts and Forgiveness

I have not had bunches of people throughout my life hurt me, or require my forgiveness- and in that I know I am blessed. I don’t really have enemies that I know of, I do have a quick temper, but as fast as I get angry, I do forgive and forget. I tend to just avoid toxic people, but I do commit to pray for them. Praying for someone that you can’t necessarily relate to is humbling, and a good way to love them, but still protect your heart and mind.

Mostly, I’m hard on myself, but I realize that everyone has the same challenges really. It’s not all about me. I’m not special in the challenges I face each day- everyone has them, even the seemingly ‘perfect’ ones I followed on social media. I need to be quicker at forgiving myself for my shortcomings, celebrate all the things I can do well, and start relying on my community for the things I don’t. Relying on others does not come easy for me and is a form of humility I am working on in myself.

My veggie garden can easily be replaced by a trip to the loca farmer’s market in season, where I can support other farmers just like us! We have a wonderful health food store in town where I can get bone broth that’s likely better than what I can make here. I have been able to make my own skin care line, but what I can’t make I get from Melaleuca without sacrificing quality or safety.

So what is a day in my ‘new’ life like?

I’ll start this section off by saying, your perfect day may not be the same as mine. You need to listen to your body, our rhythms can be different!

But for ME now and going forward-

• During the school year, I’m up earlier and I run the kids to school (summer vacation I’m up around 730-8). Andy usually does the morning milking because that just works out best for us- he’s an early riser, I’m not. Waking up before the sun is not what my body prefers, so I don’t if I have the choice. I need a solid 7 hours of sleep, Andy needs like 4…
• When I get back, I will go for my run- 30 mins.
• Then its matcha tea, prayer and bible study on the porch (except wintertime when its too cold)
• Breakfast with Andy- usually a bagel or yogurt, maybe some fruit and take our supplements. We each do our own thing for breakfast.
• Shower, dress and do my hair and makeup. Getting ready for the day is vital for me to feel good. If I stay in my comfy clothes and don’t do hair and makeup, I feel down.

Side note- everything I listed above, I used to skip and head straight to work as soon as I got up, or home from the school run. If I took time for any of the above I felt guilty. Literally, everything I listed takes about an hour and a half. I talked to Andy about the morning milking, and he said he is happy to do that and that I should not feel guilty about taking care of myself. In the morning when he’s home is the only time I have, the rest of my day is full. God I love him. After I complete my morning routine I ….

• Work on whatever I have lined up for the day- this could be bottling, writing, bills, cleaning, gardening, run to town… whatever needs doing.
• I take an afternoon break before picking the kids up from school, before milking- I read, watch a show, or take a snooze for an hour or so.
• Then I get dinner prepped and head out to the barn. If we have leftovers, yay!
• I milk the cows, feed calves and clean up, go in and finish dinner.
• We eat, take our supplements, and spend the evening doing homework, getting ready for the next day, and maybe read or watch a show. I get to bed by eleven pm or earlier.
• This schedule varies some, but this is generally what happens except on the weekends when I avoid the ‘work’ part, and the transport to/from school obviously.

Bonus section- Set realistic goals!!!!

Another thing I have done to help with some of the overwhelm, is made the decision to laser focus on what we are good at here on the farm, and forget the rest.

I had such a long list of products that I wanted to offer our members, it was overwhelming. You know what we really do well? Livestock. And we can either have livestock and milk the cows, or I can have a garden, but we can’t have both (not with keeping the house clean and everyone fed anyway). And we don’t need to! There are so many wonderful farms around us that grow vegetables, pumpkins, fruits… we can support them instead! So I’m going to salvage what I can from my garden this year, and next year, I’ll leave that to the pros. I’ll still have my herb garden, because that is small and set up to be easy to manage, but the rest can go!

I still would like to offer baked goods for our members from time to time, but that will be a winter thing, when the yard, herb garden and pool are hibernating and I have help with Andy here more often instead of in the field. I think that is an achievable goal. I will also continue to make my own skincare products, but will likely share the recipes for all of you to try rather than make them to sell. I get more joy from using and gifting them than I would from selling them anyway!

By setting realistic expectations for myself, I will avoid overwhelm and also feelings of failure when I just can’t do it all. Those emotions, over time will cause me to crash, like I did this year and I don’t want to go back there again.

In summary…

• Listen to your body. It took me the first few days of our vacation to unwind from my daily grind, but then I could really feel myself relaxing and falling into a natural rhythm. I was intentional about taking this into my ‘real life’ when we returned home.
• Make healthier choices- add a good quality nutritional supplement (of course check with your doctor), reduce outside negative stimuli like social and main stream media, self inflicted stress, caffeine, alcohol and junk food, take a walk!
• Get out into the morning sunshine to get your body’s clock going for the day.
• If you have a formal job, maybe you can adapt some of these strategies to fit your schedule. If you can’t fit a morning routine in before work, maybe you can do it immediately after, before you start your ‘after work’ work. Everyone has 1.5 hrs in the day that they can take care of themselves.

I hope this post has given you some tools you can use, they have sure helped me heal my mind from years really of over-ambitious goal setting and stress. It did not take as long as you might think, and it is so worth your effort! God bless you on your journey to wellness!

Please comment below, and also, add anything you’d like to share that’s helped you find wellness on your journey!

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