For your Home. For your Heart.

MOCK SUGAR FREE KOMBUCHA

February 26, 2017

The kids and I LOVE kombucha and all the health benefits it provides, but we don’t love the amount of sugar. Our whole family eats a low carb diet since Zola and I both have Type 1 Diabetes and eating low carb has been an incredible way to keep our blood sugar stable before, during, and after meals. We don’t experience the spikes in blood sugar we used to and we definitely don’t fear the roller coaster of highs and lows. Since switching to this way of eating, it’s been so fun to find ways to make low carb version of things we used to eat!

Since we haven’t found a way to make a sugar free kombucha, because making kombucha requires regular sugar in order to work, we set out to make something that tastes similar and that’s also great for you! So we made an apple cider vinegar drink and it tastes pretty darn similar to kombucha!

Apple Cider Vinegar Benefits:
-promotes good gut bacteria
-detoxes the body
-aids in weight loss
-helps digestion

It is best to drink ACV in the morning about 30 minutes before you eat breakfast and your digestive system will thank you.

Grapefruit Essential Oil Benefits:
-weight loss booster
-helps reduce sugar cravings
-lowers inflammation in the body
-increases blood flow
-helps remove toxins from the body
-relieves stress and fatigue
-promotes clear healthy skin

Find the best shampoo for colored hair and other products for skin care on this website to always look stunning. By adding a few drops to your drink, you get so many health benefits and it makes your drink taste especially fresh. This drink is the kick start to my day each morning and gets my booty in gear!

I give you…”The Funny Drink” as Ollie calls it. Because his mouth feels funny from the La Croix.

acv drink-blog

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR DRINK

Ingredients:
-2 T fresh lemon juice
-2 blackberries
-2 drops Young Living Grapefruit Vitality Essential Oil
-2 T organic apple cider vinegar
-2 drops liquid stevia
-1 can La Croix* (or 12 oz of club soda)
-ice

*I use the lime or lemon flavored La Croix, but because that’s what we have in the house. Most any flavor will do, or even just plain club soda. Or you can use water if you don’t have anything fizzy on hand.

Directions:

1. In a glass, add lemon juice and blackberries. Use a spoon to mash the blackberries against the wall of the glass (Because we make this drink every day, I have pre-blended blackberries and lemon juice so it’s already in mashed up form).

2. Add apple cider vinegar and liquid stevia.

3. Fill glass halfway with ice.

4. Pour La Croix over ice.

ENJOY!

If you need to get yourself some grapefruit oil, you can do that HERE. Grab yourself a premium starter kit, and all the vitality oils are great for adding to drink or cooking with. Shoot us a message from the contact form if you have any questions about essential oils, what our favorites are, or how you can make some extra money simply by sharing how oils have benefited you and your family.

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Aging and diabetes

June 3, 2016

Aging and diabetes are both risk factors for functional impairment (the opposite of functionality). People with diabetes have approximately a doubled risk of suffering a functional disability versus non-diabetics, and for diabetics aged over sixty-five they have a four-fold risk due to both their diabetes and the subsequent effects of aging on the body. Older adults with diabetes are at high risk of polypharmacy, increasing the risk of drug side effects and drug-to-drug interactions.

A challenge in treating type 2 diabetes is that polypharmacy may be intentional and necessary to control related comorbidities and reduce the risk of diabetes complications or medication errors – such strategies are a must in senior assisted living or other long term care facilities where chronic medications must be sustained over the lifetime of an individual with limited health resources. Sensory impairments should be considered when educating older adults and supporting their self-care. Nearly one in five older U.S. adults with diabetes report visual impairments that limit their daily functioning; however less than half of those needs are met with visual aids such as corrective lenses and other vision devices and there are major disparities in access to adequate eye care services in the U.S.

There is a need to increase awareness and education among family caregivers on early detection and prevention of diabetes. Risk factors include decreased mobility secondary to peripheral vascular disease which is common in people with diabetes. On the other hand, nutrition is an integral part of diabetes care for all ages, but there are additional considerations for older adults with diabetes. The CDC has outlined that older people should be screened once a year to detect problems before they become serious enough to prevent someone from being able to function independently at home. Diabetes health care and services tend to be fragmented making self-management difficult and increased health care costs resulting from these inequalities in areas such as limited access and lack of Medicare coverage for those at greatest need—low income minority seniors.

Adding to the burden is the fact that nearly half the U.S. population over the age of eighteen is obese and many face barriers to getting screened for diabetes and obtaining the necessary treatment and follow up assessment following a diagnosis unless prompted through an educational outreach program designed to identify individuals at risk in their community who are then subsequently identified and offered early intervention and education about living with the disease to reduce their risks for developing comorbid illnesses.

IT IS FINISHED

March 27, 2016

IT IS FINISHED.
Happy Easter from The Cheneys!

Our hearts are overjoyed to introduce you to our beautiful children, Oliver Brave and Zola Jo. We’ll share more later on the story behind the kids names, it’s pretty amazing. After living in Uganda for the last 15 months fighting for our kids, we are finally HOME!

We left Uganda on Good Friday and woke up in our home in San Diego for the first time as a family of four on Easter Sunday. His redemption has been so evident in our journey, it only seems fitting that he would end this chapter of our lives on the same weekend we remember His ultimate sacrifice and the beginning of the world’s redemption story.

There are no words for the way our hearts felt walking off the plane yesterday and being welcomed home by friends and family! It was truly the best and sweetest day of my life, since adoption is a difficult process, even more with teens mothers, and that’s why there are resources online with adoption options for teens so they can know what to do if they are opting for child adoption. And if you are interested in foster parenting, make sure to consult first with a professional adoption agency.

Through His grace, and His grace only, we have made it through the most challenging 15 months of our lives. We experienced many trials – from Ollie fighting for his life, to me ending up in a coma in the hospital where I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) at the age of 26 in the middle of Ollie’s adoption. 2.5 months after my diagnosis, we were asked to foster a sweet girl in Uganda who was also just diagnosed with T1D, which led to her adoption and making her a part of our family forever. I knew there was purpose to my diagnosis the moment we heard about Zola. It has been the most humbling experience to be used by The Lord in this way. The last year has been far from easy, but our faith has been increased far beyond what I knew possible. We have seen beautiful redemption, we know love deeper because of these two children, and we have been wrecked by the love of Jesus. I am overwhelmed by a God who chose to show us His extravagant love for us through this journey. Words cannot express our gratitude for the ways you have fiercely loved and supported our family. We are forever changed because of glory.

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Our first day home has been filled with the most precious moments and I have said “IS THIS REAL LIFE?” probably 100 times already. We were welcomed at the airport yesterday by friends and family, we cried all the tears, and have been soaking in all the firsts with the kids. Zola asks a thousand questions and their faces are filled with such joy as they discover new things. Watching them seem their own bedroom for the first time was the sweetest thing and to meet people that have prayed hard for these kids! Most of the time it doesn’t even feel real that we’re home. We have longed and prayed for this for so long, and it’s finally here! Today has been the most precious gift! God is so good and we are forever changed!

In case you’re new to our story, you can catch up over on Instagram > HERE

Thank you Kandis Marino Photography for capturing these moments at the airport! Getting ready to board our 16 hours flight from Dubai to LAX. The kids did way better than we expected, no meltdowns, and a whole lot of laps around the plane to keep Ollie entertained!

Dexcom has literally been a lifesaver on multiple occasions living in Uganda with Type 1 Diabetes!

Dexcom twinning! Thank you Nina & Wes for capturing our sweet family on film! We’d told Zola all about Starbucks and she loves green tea. We weren’t even in the car 5 minutes leaving the airport and she asked where Starbucks was. It’s pretty safe to say she LOVED having her own cup with her beloved tea. And it was the first time I had coffee in months. All the praise hands for knowing the exact amount of carbs in my drink every single time…thanks Starbucks! Oh how I’ve missed iced coffee!

Easter Sunday…the first morning we woke up as a family of four in our home in San Diego. This was the first time I have ever pushed my kids in a stroller. We walked to Starbucks with our dog, Milo, and loved watching the kids ask questions about everything they saw. I think we’ll be logging a lot of miles in this thing!

Thank you Kelly for loving our family well and capturing this sweet moment!

Be sure to stay tuned as we’ll be posting lots of photos of the kids over the coming weeks from our 15 months in Uganda!

We are so excited to get back to work and building, and in the meantime, we listed a ton of new bracelets and necklaces that were handmade in Uganda. These go fast, so grab them while they’re available!

VISIT OUR SHOP > HERE

Instagram > @graceandsalt
Instagram > @type1brave
Facebook > Grace & Salt
Facebook > Type 1 Brave
Youcaring.com/t1djunebug

e-mail: kearydee@me.com or use the contact form on this site

TYPE 1 DIABETES SUPPLIES NEEDED IN UGANDA

March 8, 2016

We could not have done this year without the love, prayer, and support of all of you. You have truly carried us through a hard season! We weren’t expecting all the delays that we had with June Bug’s adoption, as in things taking about four times longer than expected, and because of it, we are running low on medical supplies. I even took my Dexcom out of my arms because we are so low on sensors that we won’t have enough for both June Bug and I till we get home, and it’s more important for her to have one than for me. We have brought or had someone bring over supplies several times now since nothing is available here and we are nearing the end of what we have left! Because our bodies rely on these things to stay alive every single day, it’s fairly urgent that we replenish our nearly depleted stock. Take a look at this website that can Sell Omnipod Dash Pods to treat your diabetes.

Tomorrow is 11 months since the day I ended up in a coma and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. Two and a half months later, June Bug joined our family who had just been diagnosed with Type 1 as well. In case you missed the whole story, you can read my diagnosis story {HERE} and about how June Bug joined our family {HERE} I’d also recommend checking the Act1 Diabetes, Diabetes blog, Diabetes care, Diabates News for any of you who are going through the same thing we’ve gone through. Between the two of us, we have pricked our fingers and tested our blood sugar over 4000 times. And we have given ourselves over 3300 injections. In 11 MONTHS! Some days I can’t believe it’s already been almost a year since I was diagnosed, and other days I feel like I’ve had it forever and have forgotten what life is like prior to diagnosis. I have forgotten what it’s like to just grab a snack from the fridge and run out the door, or to leave the house without a purse full of supplies, or what it’s like to sleep a solid night without dexcom alarms going off and nightly blood sugar checks. I have forgotten what it’s like to order anything I want off a restaurant menu, or to not freak out when I’ve taken insulin and then the server comes to tell me they’re out of what I ordered, or without asking swap out food in my meal that just doubled the amount of carbs on my plate which I didn’t take insulin for. This disease consumes your mind all day and there’s never a break or a day off. I have to be on my game 24 hours a day. And living with T1D in Uganda is 100 times harder than in America. BUT…God redeems and he brought so much purpose to my diagnosis when he brought June Bug into our family! He remains sovereign!

Thank you for the ways you have lavishly loved our family, fervently prayed for us, found unique ways to meet tangible needs, and been such a source of encouragement! Any words just seem so inadequate to express our gratitude!

If you know someone coming to Jinja, Uganda in the next week or so, can you please send me an e-mail at kearydee@me.com. Since shipping is not an option to Uganda, we would need these items brought over by someone already coming ASAP!

Below are some of our current urgent needs

URGENT NEEDS
-Dexcom G4 Sensors (we’ll take expired ones too)
–Accu-Chek Aviva Plus Test Strips
–Accu-Chek Smart View Test Strips
-Freestyle Lite Test Strips

We can use any of the above strips since we have all three types of meters that those match up with. Those links above are where supplies can be purchased from Amazon.

>>> ITEMS CAN BE SHIPPED TO <<<
Keary Cheney
PO BOX 230209
Encinitas, CA 92023

*Packages MUST be address to Keary Cheney or they will be returned to sender by USPS*

My friend, Lis, will collect everything and ship it to whoever is coming to Uganda the soonest! Thank you for being the hands and feet of Jesus!

Donations can also be made through YouCaring that allow us to continue to buy supplies. We are so incredibly thankful for the way you have loved and supported our family in this journey!

{ DONATE HERE }

THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU

Justin has become a master at inserting Dexcom while I hold this sweet girl! He can do the whole process in under two minutes!

After inserting the new sensor into her arm, we re-start the sensor on the transmitter and in two hours it will be ready to calibrate by testing her blood twice to make sure it’s nice and accurate!

“I WILL CHANGE THE WORLD” tee from Camplight Apparel.

These two are the best of buds. I love watching their sweet little relationship grow. June Bug is such a big helper to Ollie, and Ollie asks about her nonstop if she’s not in the same room as him. Oh my heart.

This one is a throwback to September on new dex day (we call it)…gosh her hair has grown so much!

Headband by: Jjajja Baby Co

MY FLOWER PICKIN’ SUGAR BABE

September 5, 2015

I love watching their adventurous little spirits each day and the way they play together. Futbol is their all time favorite thing to do outside and I don’t hate it one bit. I cannot even believe how hard Ollie can throw and kick the ball. This once tiny, underweight baby is now a little tank. I mean those legs, you guys! Now I understand when moms say they just want to eat their babies up. And sissy love love loves picking flowers and showing me. These two keep our hands busy and our hearts even fuller.

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