Musings on life, parenting, Jesus, and more...

Well, it’s not really a new name. It’s my maiden name and I chose not to go back to it when I got divorced in 2018 because I wanted to legally share the same last name as my children, at least through their school age years. Those are rapidly coming to an end with my oldest daughter graduating high school this year, and my youngest only having six years left. I still plan to keep my legal last name, Bacheler, at least until I need to get a new passport. That seems like a good time to try to switch everything back. In the meantime, for business and personal related things such as social media I’m going to give my maiden name another go. I think it will help eliminate some confusion since my business name has always been Casler Financial, I would like it to be a little more obvious that I am the owner, or at least an important part of the founding of the business. Our rental cabins in Idaho also have the family name, Casler Farm, and with my dad gone, I want to carry on his namesake. So ...

Dear Dad, Thank you for the gift of the land that you poured your heart and soul into for so many years. You truly created a special place in the woods of North Idaho, and I consider it a blessing and a privilege to be able to carry on your legacy on the property. The kids and I just spent a week there for Thanksgiving, and it was extra special being able to invite a friend along to join us. Thank you for allowing us to have vision for the Casita nine years ago and for all the hard work you put into fixing that up and making it livable so that more than one family could enjoy the property at a time. I wish you could see what Julie has done to the yurt space. We are considering renaming it, I hope that’s OK, but what you built up there in the garden area is really not a yurt at all and I feel like calling it that does it an injustice. It’s another one of your creative masterpieces and has so many of your special touches and quirks built-in. She has added insulation and finishing touches...

I have had such a struggle with my family over the years, and talking about it has helped me. I’m hoping that sharing my experience can help some of you as well. I just want to start by saying that it’s OK to have boundaries with your family. It’s OK to have boundaries with anyone, but sometimes with family it can be the most difficult. If having a relationship with someone is unhealthy, it’s OK to choose not to spend time with that person. Just because someone loves you doesn’t mean you have to allow them in your life and it definitely doesn’t mean you have to allow them to treat you in a way that isn’t healthy. Most abuse happens in homes where I’m sure people would say that they love each other very much. Loving someone doesn’t mean that you will always treat them well. If there are people in your family that have been abusive, neglectful, or dismissive to you, it’s OK for you to choose not to have a relationship with those people, especially if they aren’t willing to make an effort...

Our healthcare system is very broken and unless more people start talking about it, I’m afraid it’s going to get to the point where no one can afford to be insured. I love being self-employed, but at least once or twice a year I consider going to work for a large company just to get health insurance benefits because it’s so expensive to buy insurance on my own as a self-employed business owner. And I know I'm not the only one who has this thought. I want to take a moment to share a little about my individual experience. I was fortunate enough to qualify for the Oregon health plan after getting divorced in 2018 and thanks to loosened requirements during Covid, I just recently had to start shopping for my own coverage. I am healthy, in my mid 40s, and don’t go to the doctor very often so to keep costs down, I opted for a high deductible health plan. I also wanted the option to contribute to a health savings account, which is a tax deferred savings account that you can use to pay your...

First off, I just want to start by saying I am not writing this in anyway to shame people that have already made the decision to start taking GLP-1’s themselves, I’m just simply sharing my history and my thoughts surrounding why I will not be trying this method to help me lose weight, at least at this time. I’m not saying I wouldn’t consider it in the future if my health needs changed, but at the current time, while I am about 50 pounds overweight, besides the heartburn that I’ve shared about, I don’t feel like I have significant health risks that would warrant the need for prescription weight loss, especially one that we do not yet know the long-term effects of. I started looking into what GLP-1’s even are recently when a couple of my friends suggested that I take it to help with my weight loss journey. What I’ve learned, is that for one thing, once you start taking it, you’re pretty much signing up to be on it for the rest of your life, maybe at a lower dose when you reach your maint...

If you know me personally, or if you follow me on social media at all, you’ve probably seen that I love listening to podcasts, watching documentaries, and learning how to make healthy choices so my body functions at its best. I’m not a fan of big pharma and have spent years working to get off prescription drugs while still managing chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, depression, heartburn, and other issues. It’s no secret anymore that added sugar in our food isn’t good for us. Countless peer-reviewed studies have shown that excess sugar and processed foods can be harmful to our health¹. Did you know that added sugar has more than 50 different names on food labels²? If we’re trying to avoid this toxic substance, it can be incredibly challenging. It’s estimated that around 70–75% of packaged and processed foods contain added sugars³⁴. But here’s the especially frustrating part: when I’m already trying to make good nutritional choices — eating whole foods and getting enough protein ...