Coconut Creme Brought Such Happiness

It's the long awaited post on.....coconut creme. Coconut creme creamer is a deliciousness I first saw mentioned in a post by another blogger---and since I love some coconut flavor these days, I finally found it in our local stores. While I definitely recognize prepared creamer is oh.so.not.healthy for hub and I, it's one of our habits we picked up when we got married and it's one I'm not yet ready to shake. Before hub and I got together, I used regular soy milk and some brown sugar, but now that we've switched to espresso there's just something oh.so.delicious about legit sugared creamer. (Please do as I say, not as I do in this case, dear health students.....)

So imagine my surprise when I posted a picture similar to the one above on Facebook, only to have commentary ensue about how there were healthier, less-processed alternatives available! Oh my word----I was in heaven!!! Forget the fact that I was being schooled.....I was being schooled!!!!! :) And I loved every.single.minute of it. Comments got added about where I could find homemade alternatives and how others were integrating less-processed, more natural homemade food into their lives. Rock my world---natural living is truly going mainstream....and I couldn't be happier. The fact that these comments and resources are routinely showing up on social media (Facebook and Pinterest, etc) and are being shared frequently leaves me OH SO HAPPY.

Which leads me to discussion on one of my high school best gals (of whom I have received permission to post about on this blog---I always try to ask permission before mentioning people). My best gal D is an Oregon gal through and through, although in many regards she and I have been incredibly different individuals throughout the 15? years that we've known each other. (Good golly 15 years!) We met in high school Spanish class and learned to enjoy each other as volunteer partners at our community hospital. And we've had all sorts of moments in between since then full of unconditional love and other moments of butting heads, which is why I consider her husband and her to be more like additional surrogate siblings rather than just my friends. (Plus have I mentioned my hub and her hub share a best friend, which is how hub and I met?!)

Over the years, D has read my blog off and on and while we haven't shared the same viewpoints on many things, becoming a mama this year has most definitely made D quite a bit crunchier....and while I'm always proud of who she is, I'm even more oh so proud of the advocate she's becoming. This lady is constantly teaching me new things about natural mama-hood and providing me links to things that I might pass on to others or one day want to know for myself. And really she's developed quite the following cause in a lot of ways she's the perfect candidate to educate others AND have them listen. Cause here's the thing: most the time when I post something about toxins, chemical exposures, natural living etc on Facebook people skim over it because it's just another post coming from liberal, public healthy me.....but the most amazingly awesome thing is that when D posts something similar people ACTUALLY pay attention, read, learn, and frequently attempt change. D has the uncanny ability to breech both worlds---those that are still very much in the mainstream mind frame and those that are already in or starting down the path of natural parenting/living, etc. And while it might sound cliche, it's legitimately a beautiful thing to be watching and I'm 100% enjoying learning from D as well. This year it's been such a joy to watch her develop via her pregnancy and birth her adorable lil man, who has created such a deep love within his mama. And the addition of watching her find and share this passion has been an even greater gift.

So here's to all the ways that natural living is becoming a new norm....and I'm oh so hopeful that it will keep continuing!