Home-Made Turmeric Supplements

Turmeric, like Ibuprofen, is anti-inflammatory. Unlike Ibuprofen, it can be found organic in the grocery bulk aisle (in a jar labelled with one ingredient). It's also, you know, a food. A food that is not associated with stomach ulcers (though Google tells me that some people have identical reactions to turmeric as those suffering the side effects of Ibuprofen).

That was all the excuse I needed to purchase a capsule machine. I'd been taking Ibuprofen every day for months to manage debilitating wrist pain. Despite also keeping my wrist in a brace and on ice on my days away from work, I couldn't do yoga and had to go easy on the yard work and gardening if I wanted to be able to wield a chisel and plane at my job as a professional woodworker. I can't remember the price tag, but I do recall that the machine, herb, and capsules cost less than some bottled turmeric supplements. 

 

 Making the turmeric pills at home isn't quite as simple as the instructions would suggest, perhaps because my capsules are a size smaller than the machine is built for. Still, it's about twenty minutes worth of work, all told, to make forty or so turmeric supplements.

I haven't taken Ibuprofen in several months, and my wrist pain is a (recurring) memory. Acupuncture has done a lot for my mobility as well, but at $75 a visit I can only go a few times a year. A month's supply of my home-made supplements costs about a dollar.

My psychiatrist approves of the turmeric, saying that some studies show that it may be helpful in overcoming depression. He worried that plain turmeric might not do the trick, however, because the herb supposedly works best when combined with black pepper (and eggs, probably...). I decided to take a store-bought supplement that included black pepper in the ingredients list, and two things happened. First: I immediately experienced the nausea and other stomach problems that some people experience with turmeric (and long term use of ibuprofen). Second: my wrist pain came back with a vengeance. I gave up after a couple of weeks and went back to my dirt-cheap and very effective home remedy.

Year TEN!!!

Guys! It's Year Ten!!!

For some reason I felt that May 7th was my blog's birthday (9th birthday, by the way). Glancing back at the very first post, however, I found my mistake. So, happy belated birthday, Challenge. I'm still doing everything wrong :)

It's been a rocky, rocky road to get where I am, and much of it seems to have been spent shoving as many stones in my pockets and sleeves and shoes as possible to carry along with me. I started writing this blog after moving to Austin, where I brought my husband to help me rescue my sister and care for my Dad and I don't even really remember what else. Oh yeah, achieve total financial freedom. Debt freedom. Freedom from having to work. Something I'm not entirely sure is possible, ever, much less in eleven years. I have a car and a cell phone now. A Prius and a smart phone no less. I'm still living in community, at least. Still gardening and turning compost and building fences...

Oh yeah, and I have a dream job. I work with my hands for reasonable pay and benefits under minimal supervision. I build and I learn. Being single has its perks, too. I am ever-so-slowly but surely hammering my life into what I want it to look like. I wake up with the sun, I make my bed, I drink my coffee in relative peace. I spend most of my time alone, which is nice. I have amazing friends and family nearby.

This next year of blogging will focus on recognizing, accepting, and appreciating my myriad blessings. My privacy and freedom, my opportunities and possibilities. I want to master the art of self-love...which, by the way, I couldn't type without grimacing.

And maybe...just maybe...we'll figure this Challenge out after all.

April 2016 Spending Breakdown

Moonlighting

I'm driving for Uber now.

It was only a matter of time until I gave into the temptation of moonlighting, especially with the new convenience and expense of car-ownership. My intention is to have the car pay for itself: lease, insurance, gas, maintenance, and possibly eventual replacement.

That just happens to amount to a maximum-monthly IRA contribution. Sooooo...guess where that "extra" will be going?

Having driven about five hours last night to learn the system, and about an hour-and-a-half this morning, I figure an average of about two hours a day should comfortably meet my goal. That's about how much time I was on the bus before buying the car, so squeezing that time in at my convenience shouldn't be a problem.

P.S. I'll also create an account to stash about 25% of my earnings. Uber drivers, like all contractors, pay self-employment taxes, and should be prepared for a ginormous yearly bill.