We’re two full weeks into the New Year, and it’s been A LOT. How’s everyone doing?

The horrific fires in LA have been a brutal start to the year. I’m sure most of you have felt like I do . . . completely helpless as we’ve watched things go from bad to worse. With LA being such a massive area, I bet most of us have friends or loved ones there. I hope yours are safe. Our dear friends live there, and thankfully have remained safe with their home intact. I’m incredibly proud of them because, like so many others in LA, they have rallied with their community to form a group that is collecting and delivering supplies to people who have lost everything. We’ve all seen the footage, these fires have literally moved with the speed and force of a hurricane or tornado, so people have had to flee and leave everything behind.

Their group has created a way for fire victims to get on their phones and complete a form requesting what they need immediately. They’re providing everything from new / unused clothing, bedding, and towels to baby supplies and food. My friend, Emily (who has two young kids and a full time job), has spent every waking moment for the past week collecting and sorting supplies and then delivering them to the people who have nothing left. I am proud and humbled to be your friend, Emily!

If you are looking for ways to help in LA, I always recommend the American Red Cross for any disaster relief. If you want to support my friend Emily’s grassroots effort, you can email me (chris@elevatednesting.com), and I will send you her information.

Okay, it’s not easy to do now, but let’s shift gears . . .

I sincerely believe in doing all we can to remain positive, and continuing to take care of our health and well-being is an important part of that.

Let’s Recap our Elevated Nesting Week!

On Monday, I shared my recipe for Chicken & White Wine Stew with Plenty of Fresh Herbs and Veggies. It’s still super cold throughout most of the country. This would be great to make one night this weekend for a cozy night in! If you missed it, you can find it here!

On Tuesday we dove into the physiology of our bones in How I’m Using My New Weighted Vest & Wrist Weights to Support My Bone Health. With the awesome shift in the focus of maximizing women’s health through perimenopause, menopause, and beyond, we know so much more than we did 10, 20 . . . 40 years ago! Take this as your nudge to make your bone health a priority while also building muscle and cardiac endurance! Here’s the link to that post 😄

My friend, Allison (the same one who gave me the idea of doing chores while wearing my vest) asked me a GREAT question via an Instagram Comment. Her mom has osteoporosis, and Allison asked about the supplements that I’m taking specifically for bone health. First of all, great question, and second, great job in being proactive about your bone health, Allison!!

Any supplements, including those for bone health, are highly individualized based on your specific needs. Since Allison’s mom has osteoporosis, she is at an increased risk. Therefore, I recommended to Allison that she look into getting:

• A DEXA scan (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan) measures your bone density and composition. If you haven’t already gotten one of these, talk to your doctor about getting one to establish your baseline. Your baseline scan, along with your health history, will establish your risk level for developing osteoporosis:
  • If you’re High Risk, you should follow up with your DEXA scans every 2 years.
  • If you’re Moderate Risk, follow up every 3-5 years.
  • If you’re Low Risk, the guidelines say to follow up every 10-15 years, but I would recommend working with your doctor to develop a follow-up plan that you are comfortable with.
• A Bone Profile Blood test measures bone markers that indicate the rate of Bone Remodeling and whether that process is occurring in a balanced way. (go back and read this section in my article to refresh your understanding!) The blood work will also measure your serum calcium and Vitamin D levels, which will help you and your doctor to determine the amount and type of supplementing you may need.

Ladies, your questions are awesome! And, as you can see, they prompt me to get my facts together to present information that we ALL need. Please keep the questions coming!!

On Thursday, I may have freaked you ladies out a bit with some of the alarming information we have learned about the impact sleep (or lack thereof) has on our well-being. But I didn’t leave you Hanging! 10 Strategies for Elevating Our Sleep in Perimenopause and Menopause provides actionable changes you can make TODAY to improve your sleep quantity and quality.

Some of these strategies you may already use, and some may be brand new to you. The important thing to know here is that you’re going to need to incorporate them all consistently into your routine in order to see and feel the improvements in your sleep! Take a look (here) to review them and get your sleep strategy on track.

Don’t tell Daisy, but Gareth and I are heading off on an adventure tomorrow that doesn’t include her. (She’ll be fine.) To be honest, the term “Adventure” may be a bit of a stretch . . . but we’re going someplace warm-ish, so that’s exciting! When we planned it, we thought we’d be going someplace actually WARM . . . the forecast has other plans. But it will be warmer there than it is here! So that’s a bonus, right? Also, has there ever been a paragraph with the word “warm” in it more? You can tell I’m jonesing for a break from the cold.

I’ll still be here on Elevated Nesting next week from our little vacation, and you can follow along with me on Instagram!

I hope you all have a wonderful January weekend!