I learned what The Day of the Dead meant by spending time in the New Orleans markets admiring the vignettes. It’s a huge celebration with family and friends welcoming back the souls of the dead.

According to History.com 

The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life.

During contemporary Day of the Dead festivities, people commonly wear skull masks and eat sugar candy molded into the shape of skulls. The pan de ánimas of All Souls Day rituals in Spain is reflected in pan de muerto, the traditional sweet baked good of Day of the Dead celebrations today. Other food and drink associated with the holiday, but consumed year-round as well, include spicy dark chocolate and the corn-based drink called atole. You can wish someone a happy Day of the Dead by saying, “Feliz día de los Muertos.”

The Day of the Dead celebration sounds very interesting, having the soul of a loved one appear could be life-changing.

Enjoy the celebration!

Melinda

This is the perfect dish for when friends and family come over to watch the game or celebrate the weekend. 

True Comfort by Kristin Cavallari

What you need

2 (5-once) bags of tortilla chips

2 cups Black refined beans

2 pounds shredded Slow-Cooker Chicken taco meat

8 ounces of goats-milk cheddar cheese, grated

1 cup full-fat sour cream

1 cup Simple guacamole

1/2 cup Roasted Salsa

3/4 cup chopped jalapeno (Optional)

How to make

Preheat oven to 375F

On a large baking sheet, spread the chips out evenly. Next, spoon the black beans spread over the chips gently, avoiding breaking the chips as much as possible. Scatter the shredded chicken on top followed by the grated cheese.

Bake the nachos until the cheese starts to melt, 15 minutes.

Remove the backing sheet, from the oven and spoon the sour cream, guacamole, and salsa over the top.

Sprinkle the jalapeños on last, if using

Serve immediately

Service 6

Enjoy!

Melinda

The holidays are around the corner so I’ll have more recipes coming your way. By getting everything you need, you can avoid the frenzy at the grocery store.

This recipe is from True Comfort by Kristin Cavallari, all the recipes are free of glutens and refined sugar.

What You Need

2 cups gluten-free rolled oats

4 cups full-fat coconut milk

2 bananas sliced

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Pink Himalayan salt

2 TB pure maple syrup

Serves six

How to make

In a slow cooker, combine oats, coconut milk, bananas, and 2 cups of water with the vanilla, cinnamon, and a big pinch of salt. Stir together, and cook on a low setting for 8 hours.

In the morning or when it’s ready to be served, add maple syrup to the oatmeal. Stir to combine and serve warm.

Melinda

The scrub is easy to make and it also makes gifts.

Willow & Sage by Stampington

You will need

Small Bowl

1 cup granulated sugar

1 TB matcha powder

2 bags of Moroccan mint tea

2 1/2 TB Jojoba oil

3 drops peppermint essential oil

Container you want to use

Chunky yarn

To make

In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar and the matcha powder.

Cut two bags of Moroccan mint and loose tea into the sugar mix.

Add the jojoba oil, and mix well to distribute.

Add peppermint essential oil, if desired.

Store the container in a dark and cool place.

To package for your gift-giving purpose, wrap a nice rope around the container.

Simply rub on rough skin or anywhere that needs exfoliation.

Have fun making for yourself or giving a gift for the holidays.

Keep your eyes open for more DIY projects and recipes.

Melinda

I kept a journal during my heart journey and below are snippets from the notes taken.

Background

I spent two years with my Cardiologist and had no answers. I contacted the Mayo Clinic and they accepted me.

I spent a week having test after test and they did a heart catheter to see what my heart was thinking. I was awake while they performed the catheter, you can’t move during the procedure and of course, I got nausea and the tech gave me a pen with spearmint to stop the nausea. It worked fast. I keep one around for when I need it.

My official diagnosis is Supra Ventricular Tachycardia, small vessel disease, and the artery that keeps the flow of fresh blood back into the heart doesn’t work every time because the flap to let in the blood enter is lazy which means it doesn’t open fast enough to get a full amount of oxygenated blood. 

My first event

I was looking at the tomatoes at the back of the yard and suddenly this strange feeling came over me. I don’t know why but I jumped in the pool and stayed under the waterfall. Then I started to feel some pain and started to hyperventilate. By this time my husband is outside trying to coax me out of the pool but won’t budge. I asked him to bring me a Xanax, it took two before I would get out of the pool. 

My heart was the last thing that crossed my mind. Shortly after it was clear that it was my heart. My heart arrhythmia won’t kill you but you feel like you’re having a heart attack. 

My first full-blown event was like having a heart attack, and your mind says go to the hospital but you know it will be over by the time you get there. One night I started to feel a sharp pain in the chest area, and my blood pressure was high which made me think they were connected. The typical magic number is over Pulse over 100. Unfortunately for me, I can feel an event coming on at 85. This confused my doctor because 100 is the norm. I never said I was normal. 

I might have an event every day or go days in between. One day I was cleaning the tub and a full event happened, the chest pain was severe and I was home alone. My husband was grocery shopping when I called and asked him to come home. I remained crawled up on the floor. There were several occasions I had to call him home.

My cardiologist was clueless. I did two different Holter monitoring tests and still had no idea what was happening. This is when I called the Mayo Clinic, and after a week of tests, they had a diagnosis. You can only stay with any doctor so long when you don’t have any answers. The Mayo started me on Nitro, what a life savior.

Snippets From Journal Notes

My hands are swollen this morning along with my ankles. I feel like my upper body is swollen.  

Both legs have red dots and I’m shaking. My husband looked at my legs and said yes they were swollen.

Several places are uncomfortable to move, they feel crunchy. 

My lungs sound clear and not coughing.

My lower legs feel cold

I was breathing so hard that my stomach muscles hurt.

Seemed like it took forever to slow my breathing down.

This is the longest event I’ve had.

I was already in general pain in the chest but by the time I lay down the pain had increased and stabbing pain started.

If I didn’t know better I would go to the hospital.

I could not see the start of my toes. 

I left a message with admin for my doctor but didn’t call back. That was probably the last straw. 

When I lay down the pain begins.

I had to buy a shower chair because it takes so much energy to shower.

This is my blood pressure and pulse on my worst day. It lasted from 4:43 pm to 10:21 pm. Below is an example of feeling heart pain and you’ll notice that not one reading is my pulse over 100. 

4:43  127/77 Pulse 95

4:49  117/69 Pulse 92

4:55  114/67 Pulse 86

5:08  145/88 Pulse 89

5:33  138/92  Pulse 80

5:46  127/65  Pulse 82

10:21  131/78  Pulse 88

You will notice my pulse is under 100.

I’m happy to say events happen rarely now. 

Take care including your heart. 

Melinda