Oil Pulling with Coconut Oil to Relieve a Tooth Ache and More

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

I'm coming in here quick with information on oil pulling. If you're not familiar with the term it's simply swishing coconut oil around your mouth and it's an ancient Ayurvedic practice. You can do this for all kinds of reasons. Freshen your breath, clean out cavities, whiten your teeth and clean out bacteria. Gargling with coconut oil can help with a sore throat as well. Isn't that awesome?

I've been having some discomfort in two of my back teeth, including my gums. I grabbed my huge jar of coconut oil and started swishing around a big ole chunk of the stuff. I did it for at least 10 minutes while I brushed my hair and got ready for bed. One of my teeth stopped hurting immeditely and the other felt much, much better. After just a few minutes?!

I did this for a few days and noticed the tiny grey spot on one of my teeth disappeared.

One of the most important things to remember is to spit in the garbage can. Otherwise, your drain will clog. Very important! My long hair is bad enough! Hehehe...

We've had blistering cold, here in Germany. My lips were a disaster. Chapped and full of blisters. I started putting on something from the pharmacist, but it got worse. I applied coconut oil instead and had immediate relief. The blisters were gone in 3 days.

Coconut oil, organic and cold pressed, is by far one of the most important items to have in your house. You can use it for literally, everything. I buy it in bulk. I brush with my teeth with it, use it in my hair, on my skin. We cook with it and I often put it in my infusions. I can't think of anything besides maybe water that I use more than coconut oil.

Here are my lotion bars I just made using, you guessed it, coconut oil, shea butter and bees wax. This stuff is amazing! I've got really bad dry skin at times. These lotion bars keep my skin quenched for days. Nothing has ever worked for me like these.

Make up remover (Try not to get it in your eyes, but don't panic if you do. Close your eyes for a little while, take a nap or go to sleep and you'll wake up fine. I do this often.)

Sun Screen I live in a somewhat colder climate where summers are not too brutal. I'm naturally blonde with what I might have called, fair skin. Since I stopped eating processed junk/food along with seed oils (all of them) and started using coconut oil as sun screen, I don't get burned and I get an amazing lasting tan. Isn't that nuts? There actually is a little bit of UV protection in both coconut oil and olive oil. You may have to apply it often. I put on light weight garments to keep the sun off, once I've had enough exposure.

Lip balm, deodorant, nail growth and nail fungus. Use on minor cuts and burns, too. I use it on my hands and really rub it into my nails as well. They look so great and shiny which is ideal because I just recently read how crazy toxic nail polish is. So, I won't be using that any more.

If this kind of thing floats your boat then here's another great item from grandma's cabinet.

Years ago, I wrote about the amazing benefits of apple cider vinegar. Wow! It's nearly as awesome as coconut oil. I've grown to love it even more. I'm even make it myself now that I learned how crazy easy it is and nearly free. Seriously?! I used to add a teaspoon of ACV to a small glass of water, but now I just drink the teaspoon because I make awesome ACV. I've found the most perfect apples for it. The apples just so happen to grow on a public lot around the corner from my house. The tree is pretty old and the apples are small and more yellow than read. They are crazy, crazy sweet and I harvest them from the ground, late in the season. It's so sweet and delicious, I barely taste the vinegar.

Did you know that ACV is just the parts of the apple you don't eat and water? I know, right?! So, when I'm making apple sauce, apple oatmeal or apple butter, I take some of the skin and core and add them to my huge pot of fermented apples that I keep under the sink. I cover my fermentation projects (I'm up to so many, lately. More of that, later.) with tea filters and a rubber band. I even grew a gorgeous mother. Eek! I've been doing this for years and you should, too. I just recycle large glass jars from mayo, pickles and stuff like that. Our local butcher gives them away at times. That's a major score.

Add your apple leftovers to a jar. Not the brown yucky stuff. I leave out the the stems and seeds, too. Pour water over the top and put it in a warm, dark place for several weeks. How long depends on how tangy you want it. I just leave mine permanently and add and replenish when necessary. When the fruit gets mushy, usually. Watch out for green, hairy molds. A bit of white residue is ok. That's more than probably yeast. If ya feel uncomfortable, just throw it the heck out. Try to keep your fruit submerged under the water and don't forget to put something breathable over the top. A paper towel and rubber band would do, too.

Again, do your research and check this other old blog where I talk about using ACV and it's benefits. I noticed I got a bit of an energy kick when I took it in the morning. See if it works for you, too.

Look at this enormous apple we got this harvest. One those tiny trees!

If I've got an iffy looking or tasting batch of ACV, I use it to clean.

We've got a tiny yard, but take a look down our driveway. It's full of food in the form of 5 fruit trees, 3 blueberry bushes, goji and the under growth is all herbs, strawberries and more. I throw our dishwater here so pumpkins, tomatoes and somehow, miraculously a fig tree is now growing, too. 

I'd love to include links to the place I learned about the coconut oil pulling trick, but just mentioning his name will flag my blog. I blogged about autism and our terrible experience after our youngest got a particular medical intervention that you or your kid probably got, too and my blog pretty much disappeared after that. I didn't even say anything bad or controversial, but that's just the way the world is swinging these days. The truth is something we are not allowed to know.

Probably why you may not have heard about the amazing benefits of natural things like herbs, teas, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, castor oil and more of your grandma's treatments that really worked. Things that more than probably surround your home. I hope to help you out with that. As long as the internet police allow it.

I'll show off more about those lotion bars and much more DIY stuff that's pure, natural, organic and good for ya.

Enjoy your apple cider vinegar adventures and don't forget that coconut oil, too!

What The Heck is a Mispel and What Can You Do With Them

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

Have you been foraging this fall for food finds? I'm seeing a lot of pumpkins out in front yards either for sale or for free. There are still a few nuts to be found. The apples and pears are just about all rotten or picked by the birds. If you also live in a northern, chilly climate you may find other edible treasure out there.

We've got a very interesting tree that grows throughout our village and is our village's name sake. It is called a mispel (in Flemish). Mespilus germanica is the latin name. I'm not sure if there is an American or English language equivalent. The mispel is really unique in so many ways.

The only recipes I could find were a liquor and jelly. Boo! Let's change that!

The stature is really more bushy than it is tree like. I wouldn't say it is a pretty tree. The leaves are long and fingerlike. One of the best things about the mispel is that the fruit is ready when most other food is long gone. I picked a huge bucket of mispels and there were hardly any  insects on them. Only an adorable lady bug and another beetle critter that was all black with a few yellow spots.

I didn't think to get a picture of the tree. I'll pop out and get one or two for ya. (There were no leaves! I'll take one, later.) 

Above, you can see the fruit. The interesting part is you have to wait until the fruit is rotten. I know, right?! No wonder no one wants this tree in their yard. That might not be entirely true for every use, but it the lore in the village. So, I went with it. The oddity of it was fascinating.

If you're wanting to try one of these, I've got a few tips from my experience. I went for ones that were either on the ground or if they were on the tree, I chose the ones that were a bit squishy. Below, you can see the progression of rot. Each stage tastes different. That lighter green is really, really hard and the one dark one on the end is totally mushy inside and that's what ya want.

In the recipes I read, they used another process that I'm not at all crazy about and that's putting the fruit through a food mill. For me, that's totally ugh. I used it once to make current jam because of all of the little seeds and stems. I thought it was a ton of work and I hardly had anything left at the end to work with.

My process is mega simple, but it is tedious. You only need a small, sharp knife. I used a tiny cutting board and had a few containers for the good stuff and for all of the crap. By crap I mean the outer skin and the FIVE HUGE pits inside. It doesn't leave you with all of that much "meat", if ya know what I mean.

It was a lot of work, but I was just so curious. It took me about one minute per piece of fruit. I put on some tunes and heated up a lovely cup of herbal tea to make the process more tolerable. I also sat on a stool half way through the process and I did one large pot over two days. (About an hour each day.)

The size of the fruit is roughly the size of a plum or maybe a lime. The consistency is a bit like a fig, in my opinion. The taste...that's a tough one to explain. It is totally unique! Hehehe...The closest thing I can think of is indeed, an apple, but it's also a touch sour or maybe pungent?

Cut the fruit in half. Remove the 5 large seeds.

My goodness! I hope you are not put off yet. My explanation sounds nearly dreadful. So, I guess I better keep moving on and get to the awesome part. 

Scrape the meat off the seeds if there is some. Squish out the meat and remove with the knife.

You can see the size of my pot. It holds roughly, 2 full cups of the fruit. My cake was beyond delicious.

There's a look at the cake. I also used the mispel mush in oatmeal along with some fresh apple. I think the fruit is mega versatile. I'd use it with just about any other non citrus fruit. A banana might balance out the flavor perfectly. I'll let ya know, soon.

Freezing them is also in the near future. If I can get around to preparing the fruit, again before it actually does rot. I only came across one piece of fruit that really was rotten. It was black and most unappetizing. Taste the flesh to see if it's just right? You can just eat it right off of the tree, apparently. Of course, you must discard the skin and seed.

I recently made the most delicious wine mountain peach butter and I plan on using what I've got left of the mispel flesh for another tiny batch of mispel butter. Here's a recipe similar to the peach butter I made that you could use for your mispels. Use mispels in yogurt, smoothies, pancakes, on toast with some cinnamon...

Pairing it up with cinnamon is perfect. I'm thinking pumpkin would be a great combination as well. How about sweetening it with maple syrup? Mmmmm....I used honey, cinnamon, apple and mispel for my oatmeal and if you're not a Cherry groupie you may not know that I sauté my fruit in butter when I make oatmeal. Next time, raisins or dried cranberries in there?

For the cake, I used a recipe for oatmeal apple cake and just switched out the 1 1/2 of cups of apple with the mispel mush. I added walnuts that I also collected right next to the mispel tree.

What are you baking this winter? Anything unique as mispel cake?

Thanks for hanging with The Cherry.

Happy baking!

 

Some Tips on Helping People with Anxiety

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

Last year, I started a series on anxiety. The first installation was about my personal experience with anxiety. How it all started. How I diagnosed myself. My experience with antidepressants and some of my thoughts on a possible connection with depression.

This post, we'll focus on how you can help others with anxiety or what you can ask of others if you are suffering from anxiety. I realize that not everyone will have the same experience and we all have different ways of dealing with issues. Again, I'm not a doctor nor a psychologist. These are just suggestions.

One of the biggest issues was leaving the house. In the previous edition, I mentioned how difficult this was. I found myself taking a lot of deep breaths because breathing was taxing. I felt flush and I felt like I could vomit at any moment. Sadly, my husband had zero sympathy for me and would not let me get out of going out, no matter what. A part of me thought it might get better while I was out, but it rarely did. It just wore me out, totally. It was so embarrassing! Sitting there for hours, quietly taking deep breaths and trying not to pass out or puke while people look at you kind of strange and continually ask if you're ok. Ugh!

I'm a bit torn suggesting to just stay home because I know in the case of depression, staying home can be the worse thing you should do. I suppose staying home wouldn't really fix anything either and I certainly wouldn't not leave the house for months at a time. You could try to stay home if it really isn't important that you go out. If it's your job, then that could be a whole other story. If you find yourself anxious before work, you may have stumbled on to your trigger.

If you're reading this, hoping to find some ways you can help someone you know and or love with anxiety, I suggest you try to always be calm. Try to keep a lid on your intensity. Don't tease too much or sneak up on your friend, family or partner. Consider your partner, etc and the things that stress them out. For example, driving. Drive how you think they would drive. (I know that might be tough!)This was huge for me. Slow down. Don't drive aggressive if possible and keep an eye out for stressful body language. Closed eyes, white knuckles, gripping handrails, etc.

If you're feeling frustrated by their anxiety, leave the room. Your reaction could make things worse. Try to be patient. I often tried reminding myself that my thoughts were ridiculous. That nothing I ever imagined actually came into fruition, but that never helped. I wouldn't beat them over the head with that one, but a calm reminder every now and then may help.

Get comfortable with being patient because this takes a long time to get over. You won't be able to do it for them. They have to do it. Remind them you're there to help when you can and be strong in your conviction that they will get better. If you see any improvement, make sure you tell them. Positive reinforcement is a wonderful tool.

Keep your schedule open whenever possible. Don't plan too many things. Try staying home more if your home is a relaxing place. If it isn't, see what you can do to change that. Maybe you could clean up a little more around the house, cook more often, do some shopping, spread the work with others even the kids. Encourage them to go for a walk, do some yoga and meditation. Get out in nature whenever possible and see how they do? Think of things you know they love to do and be mindful of the kind of tv you watch and music you listen to. Are the shows stressful? Is the music intense?

No matter what, get outside and take a deep breath. Even if it's just a few minutes and build up.

You won't be able to do the hard part for them, but perhaps you can remind them what part that is and that's what we'll get into for the next edition. Practicing mindfulness is the answer. It could take years until the results start ushering in, but once they do, you'll never go back.

Distractions helped me out, big time. Stay busy! I'm talking very, very busy. As soon as you feel yourself drifting into another cycle of negative thoughts, stop. You may even want to start doing something physical to help you stop, like snapping your fingers or if no one is around, shout stop! I used to act like I was pushing something big and heavy as if I were physically pushing away the bad thoughts.

If you have to stop yourself a million times in five minutes, that's ok and normal. Stop that train when it goes off of the rails and put yourself back on the right track. Pay close attention to everything you do as a means to keep your mind focused. That's what mindfulness is and we'll dive deep next time on this.

The worst thing you can do it just lie around. Get up and get busy!

Distractions help. If I was lying in bed, wanting death to take over, I'd start doing complex movements like swing my arms one way and try to swing my legs another way. Try making circles in a rightward motion with one leg and a leftward motion with the other. Complexities like that will take all the focus you've got!

Try out this thing called Emotional Freedom Tapping. It's another way to distract yourself. It didn't help me a darn bit, but it might help you. There are a lot of videos out there on it. Here's a source that you could use to get you started or at see what it's all about. It's a super easy way to get kick started.

Praying is awesome! Recite poetry, read a book and force yourself to focus by continuing to stop and go back if your mind starts wandering, again. Practice gratitude. Make a list of all the things you're grateful for. Do it before you go to bed and read it when you wake up. I often stop myself from "the thoughts" and start listing all of the things I'm grateful for and smile even if I really don't feel like it.

You've got a lot to start doing. 

- Find those triggers and see what you can do minimize or delete them.

- Keep an open schedule if possible.

- Stay busy.

- Try EFT.

- Keep away distractions by using distractions.

- Practice gratitude.

If you're wanting to help someone with anxiety:

- be patient (it could take a long time)

- stay calm

- stay away from stressful tv/music/situations/conversations when possible

- try fun or engaging distractions

- help reduce stress at home or work

- encourage any kind of positive behavior where you can (Don't give into negative or damaging behavior. You're a person, too and that won't help anyone, anyway.)

Come back and read more about mindfulness. It's a game changer and not just for those wanting to ditch anxiety or depression.

I hope you're feeling better already!

The Last Free Template for 2025 is Waiting for You Along with Beautiful Scrapbook Pages for Inspiration

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

Here's the last template for 2025. How did you like this year's free template pack? Would you like to have 12 more free templates, next year? If so, you'll have to pop over to the group and add your pretty pages to the album and when we reach 20 pages, it will unlock next year's template pack. If you're not on FB, leave your page in the comments or send them to me in an e-mail.

Kait always designs the most gorgeous pages. I love these colors and what a great idea to put the text in a circular pattern. Fun font, too!

Templates are ideal if you've not a lot of time to scrap or maybe you're lacking in the talent department? Perhaps ya don't even know where to start? Templates are the perfect springboard. Add some texture with "effects", grab a few elements with like colors, pop in your pic and you've scrapped.

The loveliest pages use repetition, eye catching colors, contrast, texture, depth and balance. Learn how to scrapbook through this blog. There's over a decade of tips, tricks and thousands of lovely pages and freebies.

I quickly scrapbooked this page using free goodies from the blog. Scroll through and grab what you can, while you can. Don't forget! I'm taking down the links to this year's free templates after a couple of months. The first few are gone, but don't fret. The templates can be found in my shop for less than a cup of coffee.

Here's a look at the free templates from this year. Please share the pages you make with them? I'd love to see what you do and help me make this blog more interactive. I often feel like I'm just doing all of this for myself. I appreciate your comments.

If you missed out on some of the free templates, here's the pack of templates from the shop.

If you're in the mood to start scrapbooking the upcoming holiday, check out what we've got in the shop.

I'll be blogging about all of kinds of Cherry-Licious topics in the near future. Here's a peek at what's to come.

Orchids!

I love going crazy in our enormous picture window. I'll be sharing all kinds of decorating ideas. I can't find anything at all on the internet or Pinterest. So, I'll be filling a gaping hole.

I've started a book for oatmeal recipes. I'll be sharing some excerpts.

I had thousands of peaches and plums this year and scoured the internet with what to do with them. I'll share the list I manufactured and some of my own recipes as well as ideas on what to do with all of the fruit you don't intend on using.

Coming soon will be a few blogs on gift giving. I think I want to start with grilling gift ideas. Since we've got years of expertise in this department. Stay tuned!

I hope you've had a super year and I look forward to seeing you next year. If there's something you'd like to see on the blog, you can always ask. Shoot me a mail.

 

Once You Buy Ginger and Tumeric You Never Have to Buy it Again Donch'a Love That

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

If you're a fan of The Cherry, you might remember another blog I wrote about the unbelievable health benefits of curcumin which is a specific polyphenol compound found in tumeric. 

The long, green, large broad leaf plant in the window is the tumeric. Use it in your container gardens for length.

Apparently, I've an autoimmune disease causing excessive inflammation which totally freaks me out because not only do I eat crazy healthy, I spend hours outside daily and I exercise a lot as well. I really don't get it.

My rheumatoid arthritis doctor says I'm borderline and he's not convinced I've rhemua. Neither am I! Hehehe...I keep telling my doctors, I'm too young for this $hit and they always laugh. My numbers are pretty darn great, over all. So, as usual, I am once again a conundrum of science. 

The doc knows I will not take drugs, injections nor will I have surgery at this point. So, he recommended curcumin tablets. I told him I drink a concoction of ginger, tumeric, black pepper and honey, nearly every day. Apparently, that is not a high enough dose.

I wore a brace on my thumbs most of the summer and took the darn supplements. The swelling in my thumbs went down, but I continued to have an angry red spot on top of the swelling on the right hand. That is an indication that there is still inflammation. It's winter, nothing is helping and the swelling is back. It's not working great, but I'll keep taking the supplements longer. I often forget to take the pills and that could be a part of the problem.

Besides beautiful greenery from the leaves of ginger and tumeric, you can consume the roots in a variety of fashion which I go into great detail on this blog. Today, I wanted to share and show you how much one small part of the root will multiply and you'll never have to buy the stuff, again.

Above, is a specimen of tumeric. Notice the shoots growing from the roots? They do this in my root and tubor drawer, in the kitchen. Once they start getting lengthy, I plant them in the ground if it's toasty outside or in a pot if it's cold. Place the pot in any window (really) and it will grow. Even in the grey depressing winter of Belgium and Germany. You'll never have to buy the stuff again! I started from some store bought tumeric in the organic grocery store.

I got all of this from one small specimen.

Can ya see my tumeric in the green house? I just took this picture a few days ago and we're in late November. Once the green leaves begin to yellow and wilt, you can harvest your roots. I take the large ones and replant the small ones both in the ground and in pots. This way, you never run out. Tumeric isn't all that easy to find in stores in Belgium or Germany. You may find them easier in ethnic shops like your local Turk and maybe in the organic section of a decent grocer.

It really bothers me that I'm learning so much important stuff at such an old age. Hehehe...I really wish I would have known this stuff long ago. For example, so many plants that I thought were "weeds" are actually super plants and crazy good for us. Like dandelion (all of it including the roots and reaves), nettle, plantain and so much more. I'm almost thinking the powers that be are preventing us from learning the real and true ways to a healthy life. Telling us the things that are great for us are bad and vise versa. More on that later, along with the warning that there is a war on food and that is no conspiracy. It is essential that you see the truth, as ugly as it is or you may just suffer the consequence.

Keep your eyes out and focus long and hard on making your matrix as awesome as it can be because no one else cares as much as you do. (And I! I care, too!)

If you like this post you might also like my posts on tomatoes and eggplants. Even I have success in those departments! If you're into menu planning then you will definitely want to check out our Weekly Menu Planners. I blogged an entire year of healthy menus for you. This blog is all about how awesome planning menus are. Save, time, waste, fuss and money!

Keep coming back for more gardening and recipe inspiration. I'm working on several books at the moment. One being a book all about oatmeal.

Thanks for stopping by The Cherry!

 

Tackling Anxiety and Depression and a Free Printable of Positive Affirmations

 Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

After a quick bit of research through the blog, I wanted to see if I had anything on anxiety and how to get the heck over it. I thought for sure I wrote something about it, but couldn't find a thing. Even the AuSumness blog didn't have anything. (That's a blog dedicated to Autism.) There's so, so much I want to share. I'll break the information over a few entries being sure to link up all of the parts on each blog.

I am not a doctor nor a psychologist. I'm simply sharing my experience with anxiety from start to finish. Take the information and apply it how you see fit and maybe in conjunction with a doctor if and where necessary.

When I was at my worst, I couldn't imagine doing something like this.

I was brainstorming on where to start and I thought I'd start with my first epic anxiety attack. At the time, I had no idea I had anxiety. I didn't know I had it. My doctor didn't know what was wrong with me either. Eating was very difficult and I lost a lot weight, hovering around 100 pounds.

Allow me to share my symptoms in hopes of shedding some light on this mentally and physically debilitating illness. I seemed to do ok during the day and as evening closed in, everything got worse. I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. My heart pounded and I was sure I was having a heart attack. I wasn't really nauseous, but I felt like I could puke, all of the time. Sometimes I did heave, but nothing came out. Looking back, when I was alone, I did better because I had to and when I had support, I'd fall apart.

Several times, I was rushed to the ER from hives that covered every inch of my body and even the inside. I'd get them in my throat which blocked my breathing. Fun! I was ridiculously tired at night. My hubs had to carry me into the bedroom and help me to bed.

I'll tell ya, it nearly killed me to be so sick and helpless. Without regressing too much, my young adult life was extremely difficult. I dealt with hunger and homelessness amongst other worse unsavory dilemmas, but it didn't bother me much. I was always so resilient! Always optimistic that it was just all a phase and that everything would get better with determination, which I had more than enough of and hard work.

That's a big part of why I couldn't believe I had anxiety and still find it hard to believe. I suppose aging, having two young boys with Autism and living outside of my home country could have contributed to the mix. 

I was scouring the internet, trying to figure out what the hell was wrong with me. I ate healthy. I was physically active. I believe I found my answer in a comment on a post about a gluten free diet, thinking I may have had some kind of food allergy. The light went on! I just knew, then and there that was it. So, I dug deeper and read and read about anxiety and sealed the deal. Once I could finally diagnose myself, the doctor agreed. 

I resisted medication at the start because I rarely to never take pharmaceuticals. I never really needed them, before. After many months of feeling like and wanting to die and the weight loss and feeling helpless, I caved and took the antidepressants.

Again, I am not a doctor, but I find it pertinent to share this story and my findings in hopes of helping or even saving someone else. I would never, ever recommend antidepressants. If you are considering them, by all means do a lot of research. They are bad news. Many of today's mass killers are on them. They totally (excuse me) fuck with your brain. Bad, bad news. The worst part, like many other pharmaceutical interventions, they do not cure you. The number of people that kill themself whilst on antidepressants is appalling and makes their use highly questionable.

Antidepressants numb you. They disguise your symptoms and bring on a ton of new ones. The first two pills I took had me crawling on the bathroom floor, flapping and moaning for hours. The doctor recommended sticking with them. Ugh! My hubs was most concerned about the reaction I had, but I motored on and eventually turned into a careless zombie on day three. 

Nothing was awesome and enjoyable. Every single thing was, meh. I didn't know who I was because I was the complete opposite of myself. I was an insane, Energizing Bunny, neat freak, but then I gained 30 pounds in 30 days and the place was a mess. My knees were killing me from the rapid weight gain. I couldn't sleep at all. Not even for a few hours. I started falling asleep at traffic lights and at dinner parties, but when I could slip into bed, I couldn't sleep. Never mind the endless night terrors!

Why on earth do doctors not recommend a psychiatrist when taking these pills? I studied a lot of psychology in university which probably was a huge help getting to understand everything I was going through.

OK. Now, I want to get into a closer view of the symptoms of anxiety and why I think it's similar to depression and how my tips will most probably help both illnesses. 

This might be a tough one for some. I think, both anxiety and depression are for the most part, self inflicted. Whether through thoughts and or diet and your diet's effect on your hormones in the case of depression. That being said, we can also cure ourselves. Isn't that the best? But wait! Not only can we be cured, it won't cost you a penny. You don't even have to leave your home and you'll love the new you and so will those around you.

One of the first things you have to figure out is what is triggering your anxiety. I was plagued with negative thoughts and I might guess that people who are depressed do the same, but in a slightly different way. My experience and the experience of a few others I spoke with with the same aliment agreed that with anxiety we keep horrific scenes in our brain. Ones where the plane crashes with all of our loved ones on it. Where the car gets slammed by a semi truck on the way to the beach. Where my child starts choking and I can't save him and on and on and on....Day after day. Then hour after hour and minute after minute.

This cyclical doom thinking more than likely produces way too much cortisol in the blood which starts to make us also physically ill in a variety of ways. Share with me and our readers, in the comments, if this is not similar to depression. I'll go out on a limb and suggest that depression is when we have negative thoughts about ourselves and anxiety is when we have them about others? Just a guess. When I think of my friends who are depressed they seem thoroughly self absorbed to the point where they barely even notice others or consider other's feelings.

Why would we be given antidepressants when we are not depressed, but panicked and anxious? Perhaps that is how I could connect depression with anxiety? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Let's dive into triggers and we'll end there.

Eating was one of my triggers. I was in a cycle of thinking I was going to get a stomach ache after eating and more than likely, gave myself a stomach ache for thinking like this all of the time.

Leaving the house was another trigger. I couldn't stand it and I was really, really upset with my husband for making me leave because I just felt like walking death and I felt super, super embarrassed because I would lose all of my color and I kept trying to catch my breath by breathing in deep. Everyone kept asking, "what's wrong". I would totally recommend allowing someone to stay at home for awhile as they start to accept their illness and begin to heal and slowly draw them from the home with nice things to do, first. We'll go into more details on how you can help in another blog.

Yet another trigger was particular people. Hmmm...My first and perhaps the worst panic or anxiety attack I had was when visiting my best friend. OMG! What?! Why would visiting my best friend give me anxiety? Was it leaving the house and thinking I was going to crash or die and leave my children parentless? Was I going to choke on something at the dinner table or die of embarrassment because I couldn't hold in a fart when everything was so quiet?

This revelation also revealed to me that my best friend was definitely not the best. She brought on a boatload of drama. She was completely self absorbed and rarely reciprocated authentic love. No one had it worse than her. No one understood her or felt what she felt. She diminished everything everyone did and is obviously, no longer a friend. This is what they call detox. More later!

Can you see how crazy busy and ridiculous these thoughts were? These dreadful circular thoughts are like poison, people! They literally poison us and make us ill. They must be stopped and I will help you with that.

In order to find your triggers you may have to stand outside of yourself and spectate your behavior through a microscope. What exactly were you doing when your heart started beating out of control? What exactly were you thinking about when you started feeling sick and or sad? Finding the triggers are essential for healing. It might hurt and actually it should hurt a little because it will help you understand better and help you be more sympathetic with others. Like an alcoholic or drug attic, you gotta admit that this is your problem. Playing the blame game is not going to make you or anyone else feel better.

I'd also recommend not scolding people for not understanding. It certainly doesn't help the issue. It may actually help foster what's really going on. This is all you for the most part which is really a good thing because no one can control your destiny better than you. You are going to save yourself! You can't rely on others to do it for you or even help you through it. I suggest having zero expectation from others and rely solely on yourself. If others are indeed helpful, then be grateful. Gratitude is also an excellent healing treatment.

I hope this piece has opened your eyes and your heart. With much love, I hope you can begin to heal as we progress in this series. You can totally do this. It is definitely worth the work. It won't be easy and it'll take quite awhile, but we know what happens to those who wait...

I've got these free affirmations for you. Print and share them if you like. I designed both a color and economic variation for you. Click on the image and download.

Best of luck with your journey!

How to Design Gorgeous Planters and Container Gardens on the Cheap

Welcome to The Cherry On Top.

Are you a garden person or do ya just love pretty things? I want a lovely garden and yard, but honestly, I'm not so super at it. I've been trying to master container gardens for decades. I have several books in my library and I've finally figured out how to do it right. Let me show ya what I've done and you can see if it will work for you and your containers.

Check out this sweet harvest from our garden and we've got a tiny yard. I should totally share how we have nearly a dozen fruit trees, fruit bushes, a greenhouse and containers on a tiny plot around our house. Stay tuned!

I didn't think I could harvest so much by the start of July. I think the greenhouse had a lot to do with it. I've got several garden related blogs like the one below about eggplants. Not only are they really beautiful, delicious they produce fruit for several months. Check out the blog, get some amazing recipe ideas and a bunch of fun, free printables.

Above, is my eggplant in July and it is still alive in November with fruit!

This plant is now a bush in November and as you can see, full of fruit.

If you're a fan of The Cherry, then ya know I love my girls. The image is linked up to a piece about gardening with chickens. It sure as hell isn't easy. Especially if you're girls are left running around the yard, like mine. I've got an enormous chicken collection throughout several blogs and it's all free.

My silly girls, follow me all over the place and then they just chill and preen. I love chickens.

I gave away this entire collection including several word art. It's so, so cute. I just love it.

Let's get started on those containers.

I saw a lot of people in my area use this ornamental type of grass and it comes back year after year and is super easy to maintain. I love that! It's also tall and long which is ideal for containers. You can't always have height in your containers, but when you can, let me share how I work with it. The grass was 4 Euros.

For this planter, I put the high grass in the middle and the low, hanging flowers all around it. These little white flowers are one of my all time favorites. I'm so sorry! I don't know what they are called. They grow up just a few inches and even hang just a bit. They spread out fairly well, but I always fill the space with them. You can see, I just left a few inches without plants.

I use rocks and mulch on the top to help retain moisture because container gardens and pots can dry out rather fast which isn't always easy. We had a crazy dry summer. Well, we've been having very dry summers for several years. These huge pots are ok for dry weather, but small pots are not at all great. Neither are those hanging baskets. Those are the worst for dry conditions. I hardly every use them any more. Unless, I know I'm going to be home for a long time. You can also use mulch and rocks at the bottom of your containers for drainage and help prevent root rot.

My hubs always wanted a palm tree. I don't find it very fitting for Germany, but I thought I'd finally buy him one. They are usually expensive, but this one was on sale for about 15 Euros and those marigold around it were like .79 cents and the dangling lovelies were around 1 Euro. The huge pots I used came with the old house we bought.

Large pots can cost a fortune! I get mine at thrift stores, garage sales and occasionally, a neighbor might put a bunch out on the street that they want to get rid of. Whoo hoo! I do encourage you to fill up the pots with good soil whenever you can. When I was budgeting hard core, I'd fill the pots with recycled paper and empty plastic pots. This does not give great results, but if you don't have the dosh for soil, it is an alternative.

You can see this pot is old. I considered painting it, but I already had so much to do. I still might get around to it, but I doubt it. You'll need paint that can handle the outdoors and water and or you could put some kind of varnish over the top to help with that. I'm not a huge fan of chemicals. So, I just deal with the worn look.

Above I've got this tall plant, lovely draping plants and adorable, tiny flowers in between. Again the tall plant is in the center with the other two varieties surrounding it. All of the plants I chose were some of the least expensive ones in the nursery. Learn which nursery or hardware store has the best plants so they last. The large plant was 8 Euros and the others were under 2 Euros a piece. If you have the budget, try not to be stingy when planting your containers. Fill in the area as best you can considering growth as well. That's really helped my containers look great. Easier said than done.

This planter just makes me smile. The pot came with the house and it is huge. The plant is a lantana and it flowered all spring and summer. I chose a flowering plant for around it with the same colors, pink and yellow. It looks like a mini petunia. I could have planted a few more in there.

Come to think of it, planting containers is a lot like scrapbooking! Ha! Repeat colors for cohesion and go with contrasting textures. This large plant, again in the center, has larger pointy leaves and the ones underneath have tiny longer leaves. The large plant has a darker shade of leaf and the little plants have a lighter green.

I always put my plants together at the nursery to make sure they match. Sometimes it takes awhile until I get it just right. I've been at it for so long, I'm getting to learn my plants which makes the process a lot easier.

Here are some more containers, showing off the tips I gave, but this time the higher plants are towards the back of the pots next to medium sized ones and with the lower plants and draping plants in the front and or around the edges. That's also how you manipulate clusters on scrapbook pages.

I got so lucky! My planters matched my Halloween garden flag I designed and had printed.

Here's a low, ever green in the back, not too high with lower, colorful, draping flowers. I particularly enjoy a color palette with no more than 3 different colors. It looks chaotic to me if there are too many different colors or too many different kinds of plants. Repetition brings me peace, zen. 

You can barely even see the pot with this hanging plant that usually has flowers. It's been in the pot for several years now. I have to dig out the other plants that shares the container and replace it with a higher, new one.

Another example. Again, my apologies for not knowing the names of these plants. I'll try to keep that in mind for next time. That draping plant is a favorite that I buy every year. The tall one is a wild oregano that must have seeded from another plant.

Above is a long, ever green conifer in the back with a Dusty Miller also towards the back and pansies all around the front. Dusty Millers can get enormous, but of course, you can trim them. The bees loved the flowers which were still around in the fall.

Consider the plant at hand. Below is wisteria and hosta. They will grow enormous. The hosta can be divided and that wisteria will go in the ground, soon. You won't want to couple up these plants with other plants because they will be quickly over grown. You might get a way with one season. In the ground, it would be doable, but again, keep in mind the growth potential of your plants.

That large hanging wall mounted basket is a total pain in the butt. It is nearly impossible to keep moist. It is in a super sunny spot and because of the shape and size, it doesn't allow for too much soil. I put geraniums in there. They are not my favorite plant, but they are pretty tough. I put ivy all around and through the spaces to fill it up. I lined it with a coconut mat, but the water just runs right through it. Especially, when it is really hot and dry.

Here are some top view examples of how you can arrange your pots. Notice how I use the same plants over and over.

Some of these plants are from the summer. They don't look great, but I have a tough time throwing out plants that are still alive. I add fresh ones when necessary.

Looks like Heather, Salvia, Dusty Miller and another usually fab plant that seeds rather well, but does much better in the ground. Not the best example.

Very important to keep in mind is to choose plants that have the same watering requirements. For instance, if you wanted to put together an herb vessel, you wouldn't put rosemary with parsley because rosemary hardly needs any water whilst parsley needs a lot.

See my olive tree? They re usually very pricey. I got lucky when I spotted this one for only 19 Euros at the hardware store. I paired it up with lavender and creeping rosemary. Both are super hardy, heat and dry tolerant. Ideal for a hot, sunny spot. I can't find my close up. I had it planted in a spot, but it was rather shady. So, I moved it to a super sunny spot.

Check those little tags and look on the pots for information about the plant of your choice to make sure that water requirements are the same.

Above is that basket from a previous pic, but this was the beginning. It got so darn heavy, it was bending my shepherd's hook. This basket is huge. So watering it is a lot easier than a small one. I had put a plastic bag on the bottom in hopes of retaining more water.

Isn't it just stunning!? I used chives for the hight. It gave length, it flowers, repells pests and it is edible. Of course you have to be careful planting edibles by inedibles. When you are short on space, put edible plants in with other flowery ones. So you see, small medium and large plants and how they are distributed.

Just look what we have here. An enormous sage plant. Y'all sage is the bomb. I don't know what the hell to eat with it, but it is forever green, it grows like a weed, the bees absolutely love the purple flowers, you can make incredibly nutritious tea with it and you can burn it in your house as a detox. Cool, eh? 

Salvia is a hardy plant that gives a deep green foliage, purple hued flowers and it's nice and high, too. Bees love it as well. To the left is a huge box container full of Mediterranean herbs. The dry ones. Like Thyme and Rosemary. Those little yellow flowers are the cutest darn thing and they did great all summer long. They look like tiny petunias. That's a tomato plant that just started growing there. So, I left it, but my potted tomatoes and veg never, ever do well. I've given up!

That's kiwi growing up the wall. The green does great and it grows, but we were never able to eat any fruit or it didn't fruit. It is an easy plant and I'd try again. That box in the middle boasts lavender, celery and parsley. I wouldn't normally plant these together because lavender doesn't need much water at all which is not at all the case with the other two, but the parsley and lavender just started growing there with the celery I planted. I had lavender and chives growing all over the entire yard and even in the cracks of the driveway!

Speaking of petunias. Hehehe... This outside area is where we lived. I even made a little outdoor kitchen. Again, don't be stingy when planting those balcony boxes. I always, always use under coasters for water. You may have to periodically empty them if it rains persistently. They can give your plants root rot and they can get stinky.

How to tolerate ironing? Surround yourself with flowers, a gorgeous view of nature and bubbles.

These petunias were not all that much work. There was a lot of deadheading which is really important. The more you deadhead, the more flowers you'll get. They did require quite some water. The longer or deeper your balcony box is, the less you'll have to water.

I ordered that huge pot from the Aldi online. It was 9 Euros! I got two. The big pot contains a beyond fabulous lilly. It did ok in the pot, but the next year, I planted it in the ground and wow! It is beyond gorgeous and is still doing great years later. A dude at the nursery gave me a tip. He said, when the frost gets to it and you cut it back, cover the area in the winter, then uncover as it warms up. Works great! I just put an empty pot over it.

Teamed up with the lily is a starkly contrasting snap dragon. Snap dragons and pansies seed like no other plants in my experience and I love free plants! Note the height differences, contrasting greens, textures and repetition of pink.

All righty! Look what we have, here. A mammoth basil plant, chives that provide height, lovely bee attracting flowers and some drape. Wow! Then a few colorful, low mini petunia thingies, again. I love this container and most of it is edible.  Ooh! I see our grapes, too. We will definitely be planting more grapes in our new/old house. Did you know the blooms smell absolutely divine?

Here's a straw flower. It's great in the heat and can handle some dry, but I wouldn't buy it again. That plant surrounding it is just top. I use it all of the time. It's very, very hardy and needs little attention.

I thought for sure I had an image where a potato was growing in the container? Darn! I'll have to look for it. As an experiment, I planted potatoes in pots along with low flowering plants. Did you know they provide a very tall, lovely green plant? I didn't even really buy it. I just used small green potatoes or potatoes that were growing huge root thingies. I did it in a bunch of pots and ended up with a dozen potatoes. Two birds with one stone! I somehow ended up with potatoes growing all over the place. I guess the plants seeded?

I hope you could use some of these images for inspiration. I have hundreds more photos of my gardens and containers. I'll be back with more ideas for you and hopefully a few more tips I learn along the way. Ooh! Maybe orchid tips? I have pretty good luck with orchids and a sweet collection including a monster orchid that's over 10 years old and rarely stops flowering. Cool, eh?

Thanks for checking out The Cherry.

Happy gardening!