Wheat Pillow

The Problem:

Sometimes people ask me, "how are you so skinny?" What do you say to that? Why do people ask that??? I know it is a compliment, but I never know how to answer that question. 'Uhhhh, I eat whatever is in front of my face.' I have never been a fan of diets. I refuse to give up delicious food for the sake of my figure! Anyway, I now know how to answer that question: My body will not let me stop exercising!!!

Our family has a history of really bad back problems. I have been subject to them quite a few times and it is literally crippling. Working my core relieves the strain on my back and as long as I do it consistently I don't have any problems. Well, that's a problem...because I am a big fan of loafing. Long story short: I haven't been diligent in my pilates and now I can't even lift my baby!!!

The Solution (or part of it anyway):

When I was growing up my parents were super cheap (sorry parents! It's true). In the winter it would get pretty cold in our house, and I'm also ultra sensitive to cold, so by 'pretty cold' I mean, like, probably 67 degrees. Anyway, in high school I discovered The Wheat Pillow

...or so I call it. It's basically a reusable heating pack made out of wheat. I would put mine in the microwave for a couple minutes and then put it at my feet when I went to sleep and it would keep me warm through the night. I love wheat pillows!!! I think those were the stuffed animals of my high school days. I couldn't go to sleep without one in the winter, and it was a sad day when I had to retire it for the summer.

They are really easy to make:

1. Cut out fabric and sew inside out leaving a 3 inch(ish) gap

2. Grab yourself some wheat! (We happen to have it on hand from our emergency food storage, but it's super cheap to buy if you don't already have it laying around.)

3. Use a funnel to put wheat into the opening of the pillow without spilling it all over the place. Don't fill it too full, mine is probably 2/3 full of wheat, if that.

4. Sew the hole closed and bask in the sweet, sweet warmth of the almighty wheat pillow!

It is great for sooo many things! I use it when my back hurts (it can be used hot or cold, for cold use pop it in the freezer for a half hour), I pop it in the microwave for 2 minutes before I have to leave on a cold morning, so that I have something while the car takes 20 minutes to heat up, I also used to take it to work when I was working sports games in the winter.

As we speak my wheat pillow is on my back relieving my pain and hopefully (fingers crossed) buying me some time until I have to start exercising again! =)