Functionally Whole

05/10/2026

In the first few years of learning to manage my autoimmune disease, the Phoenix Helix podcast was my lifeline. Eileen’s wisdom, grace, and resilience was a beacon of light in an otherwise dark and scary world that I was trying to figure out how to navigate.

A few years ago, she retired the podcast to focus on a childhood dream of hers: to write a novel. I was so sad to lose her voice in the podcasting world, but at the same time excited for her and the book she would produce.

I was lucky enough to be a part of her book launch team, and I absolutely adored Celestial River! If you’re looking for a fun, whimsical book that also has dramatic twists and turns, you should definitely check it out!

Here’s my review:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely loved Celestial River! The way the story unfolded really draws you in to the life of the characters and the little town of Celestial River. A true sense of community and deep friendships are important here, and as those things become threatened the reader is taken on the journey to save them. With lots of twists and turns, this book is a page turner that sometimes had me cheering and other times groaning at the choices of the characters. As I neared the end, I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be but I loved it. I definitely recommend reading this debut novel, especially if you’re a lover of the Blue Ridge Mountains - I wish Celestial River was a real place that I could go!

You can get your copy on Amazon!

04/26/2026

Here’s a fun little nerdy matcha fact 🤓

I have switched out my coffee for matcha and so far I’ve had really great results! I’ve even had a few pain free days which I am so thankful for (although it hasn’t stopped it completely). But I’m almost out of matcha, and decided to do some research before I bought more.

Most recommendations are to only get ceremonial matcha, but I wanted to know why - and also, if the different grades had different levels of beneficial compounds.

One of the primarily antioxidant polyphenols in matcha and green tea that is responsible for anti-inflammatory effects is EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate). Since this is the effect that I am most interested in, I wanted to get whatever has the highest concentration of this.

I figured that ceremonial grade would have the highest levels, as the tea is younger, shade grown and harvested early. But it turns out that culinary grade has higher concentration of EGCG! It seems this compound develops as the plant grows and becomes more astringent. My first batch was culinary, so that’s what I’ve decided to order again since learning this.

It is always recommended to get organic matcha from Japan. I ordered Naoki, but if anyone has any recommendations please let me know!

I’ve gotten a lot of questions and interest in how the matcha has been working for me, so I wanted to share! 🌿

04/25/2026

I had the honor of leading a small group of Girls Who Hike OHIO ladies on their first backpacking trip at Wildcat Hollow Tuesday! Everyone did amazing learning to use their gear and practicing. We also got to enjoy wandering through all the beautiful wildflowers - although peak was early this year and we missed that, and there were still flowers as far as you could see! 🤩

I am so thankful for all the laughs, the camaraderie, the thought-provoking conversation and openness. Something special happens when a group of women go out into the wilderness together, and it is such an honor to be able to create the space for this magic to happen. 💜

04/17/2026

Just a few ✨glimmers✨that make me happy …

A cup of herbal tea from .of.life.apothecary to support my thyroid, using a tea infuser from that is soooo cute that it brings me joy!

Winding down in the evenings is something I’ve been working on for better sleep, and having a cup of tea helps - and it’s something I look forward to so I’m more likely to do it. (I just can’t have it too late or I’m up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom!) Plus it makes me feel good to support local businesses!

What are some of the glimmers in your life recently?

04/11/2026

What does a day in the life of living with a chronic illness look like?

It depends.

Some days, when my autoimmunity is well managed, it looks like I’m a high-functioning, high-performing person.

It can look like my life is one adventure after another, where I’m constantly backpacking or hiking or out enjoying nature.

It can seem like everything is positive and happy - the times where I love everything about my life: my market job, coaching, my marriage, my family, my tribe, my fur children.

Other days, it’s crying in the Cumberland Gap visitor center because I’m in the midst of the worst flare of my life and I can’t do any of the things I wanted to do on my birthday vacation.

It can be frustration that I have to cancel plans I was really excited about yet again, either because I’m having a physical flare that limits me or I’m just too exhausted to go.

It can be fear and anxiety that keep me awake and worrying that if I don’t figure out how to fix what’s wrong with me, I’ll miss out on my bucket-list dreams and all the things I love to do.

And the thing is … from one extreme to the other, all of these are valid. All of them are a part of my story.

I learned a long time ago during my grief over my miscarriages that the only certainty about life is that there will always be ups and downs. Our responsibility is to learn how to navigate those ups and downs … that no matter what happens or where the day finds us, that we can pick ourselves back up, brush off, and continue forward with hope.

That we become gracefully resilient in the face of adversity.

That we take these experiences that shape us and use them as a light for others to help them find their way.

That when we look back, we can see the beautiful story that’s been written - one we couldn’t always fathom in those small moments, but is brilliantly obvious once we make it through the other side.

04/02/2026

My friend Jeanne has been telling me about matcha for a while now, and I tried it for the first time a week or so ago.

I really liked it! And then I started researching, and realized that it has a whole slew of health benefits - specifically ones that can help with autoimmune disease.

Most of these benefits are due to a high concentration of EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate, a potent antioxidant that modulates immune responses and reduces chronic inflammation).

Some of the benefits include:

🌿 Immune System Modulation, helping to suppress overactive immune responses and promote self tolerance
🌿 Suppression of Pro-inflammatory Cytokines, which are often elevated in autoimmune flare-ups
🌿 Gut Health and "Leaky Gut" Support, potentially reducing the "leaky gut" issues that can trigger immune reactions
🌿 Stress and Cortisol Regulation, especially important since stress is a major trigger for autoimmune flares

I’ve been having flares and pretty consistent tendon issues lately, so I’m going to start having matcha lattes instead of coffee or my regular Vancouver Fog teas. Adding collagen gives it an extra boost!

The best part is that it’s super simple to make. I’ve honestly had this bag of matcha for a few months or more, but was afraid to try it because it was soooo GREEN that it intimidated me. But it’s easy and delightful!

1 - 1.5 cups of coconut milk (I use can because they are creamier)
1 tsp matcha powder
1 - 2 scoops of collagen
Maple syrup to taste

I warm the milk first. Then I pour half the milk into my cup, and use a handheld frother to blend in the collagen and matcha powder and add the maple syrup. Once all the clumps have been blended, I add the rest of the milk and finish frothing.

Yum! 😋

03/24/2026

Sunday I led a great VIP Meal Planning Session!

In this 2 hour session, we talk about the different methods and types of meal planning and prepping, your goals, and figure out what will work for your specific situation. The goal is for you to walk away with a solid plan for meal planning/prep that you can execute at home, some resources, and 1-2 weeks of example meal plans that you can start off your personal meal planning database with.

If you’d like to learn more about how this can help you be more intentional with your time and eating, and help you create the life you want - reach out to me! 💜

03/23/2026

Modern medicine has become extraordinarily advanced, yet it often fragments what was never meant to be divided.

We treat organs in isolation.
We manage symptoms in silos.
We separate mental health from physical health, as if biology and emotion operate on different systems.

But they don’t.

Your thoughts shape your physiology, your gut influences your mood, your stress rewires your metabolism, your immune system, even your brain.

The body and mind are not separate entities, they are one integrated network, constantly communicating through hormones, neurotransmitters, and inflammatory signals.

When we ignore this connection, we miss the root cause.

Healing begins when we zoom out.

Support the body with real food, regulate the nervous system, address stress, sleep, relationships, and environment.

03/20/2026

Imagine that your best friend is in a relationship with someone who:

🚩 Doesn’t listen when she talks
🚩 Ignores her when she asks for help
🚩 Always chooses what they eat and doesn’t takes what she feels like or needs into consideration
🚩 Tells her to suck it up and push through when she is tired or in pain
🚩 Puts her down and criticizes her when she doesn’t do exactly what they want, even if she tries her best
🚩 Constantly makes her feel like she has to do extra to “make up” for something

You would most likely feel like your friend should get away from this person, right? Most of us would recognize these 🚩 in someone else’s relationships right away.

But many people - especially women - treat our bodies this way and never even realize what we are doing to ourselves.

🔹 We don’t know the language our body uses so we don’t recognize when it is communicating with us
🔹 When we begin to have symptoms like anxiety, weight gain, IBS, gas, bloating, that is our body asking for help with something - but we don’t understand the language, so we ignore it
🔹 We choose foods that are we’re craving , are quick or convenient rather than what our body actually needs or wants
🔹 When we are tired or in pain, we push through at the same pace
🔹 When our body doesn’t do what we think it should be doing (like lose weight or function normally with illness or disease) we think of it as broken or stupid
🔹 We force high intensity workouts or calorie restriction in order to “make up” for what we ate or skipping a workout

It’s no wonder that so many have a dysfunctional relationship with their bodies!

I believe learning the language that your body speaks and then honoring it is the truest form of self-love. It’s something that we should hold sacred.

Would YOU want to be in a relationship with someone who was always annoyed when you talked to them?

Of course not!

So give yourself and your body some grace. Begin to treat your body the way you would want someone to treat you.

I promise you, this will change everything about your health or healing journey. 💚

03/20/2026

Functional medicine and the functional approach to health has been an integral part of my healing journey!

03/19/2026

Autoimmune disease can be unpredictable - especially once we start dealing with perimenopause. This is an excellent in-depth article about how this transition can affect autoimmunity and how to help manage it.

Discover how menopause and autoimmune disease interact, why symptoms worsen, and how to manage flares with hormones, diet, and lifestyle.