Hi steemers! My name is Amy Goodrich, I’m the non-robotic wife of a steem- and technology loving biomechanical geek. Or at least that is what he thinks he is. But to be honest, he still has all his own parts, for now!
My husband told me about this place and said I could get paid for blogging. Now I've been getting paid for blogging for a while, as I run a popular health website. But once he showed me #steemit I knew this was a platform I had to join.
Really excited to be part of the gang, and I hope I can teach you a thing or two in how to live a healthier life without sacrificing the good stuff in life.
Originally I was on an incredible journey to unravel the microscopic world of the plant kingdom! Although I loved my science-y, nerdy job as a plant biologist (also surround by geeks btw, but from a whole different dimension), I soon figured out that it didn’t fit into my backpack… and I dreamt of seeing the world…. unfortunately, you can do only so much with 30 days of vacation a year…
And to be honest, working in a laboratory isn’t as exciting as they want to make you believe. But is sure looks cool and sounds cool. Doesn’t it?
I much prefer this scenery as an office (and breakfast table), to be honest! My own pool surrounded by coconut trees and jungle-y critters.
The pool bar…. Definitely the best place in the garden to have your morning green smoothie!!!!
But life hasn’t always been easy!
Party hard
When my crypto-geek and I were in our early twenties, food and health weren’t on top of our priory list. Although we felt like we were on top of the world, indulging in a few too many glasses of red wine (or rum) while eating kebabs, pizza or Quick (the Belgium alternative to BurgerKing) and partying till the early hours…
(Btw…. This is one of my best party-animal friends… pic of my loving steem-geek coming in just a few scrolls)
While I was working at the University of Ghent, I had a nagging feeling that I could do more. Particularly in the field of whole foods, nutrition, and health.
Probably the urge to change came when both my husband and myself got the news that our health wasn’t exactly what we thought it was….
Yep that’s him!
aka Jan SchetsThe hard reality called life
While having the time of our life, I was struggling with a heart rhythm disorder and high cholesterol levels which I inherited from my dad’s side. However, more dramatic news shook up our little family in 2007.
After a few odd neurological issues, Jan was diagnosed with an incurable auto-immune disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
The doom thinkers we were (we had a neighbor with MS in a wheelchair and a niece of my dad who nearly went blind), the future didn’t look so bright. My hubby was put on weekly interferon shots that did more harm than good. And our little family was struggling….
And that’s about the time when I decided to take up a 4-year after work/weekend course at the European Academy For Natural Health Care to try and nourish us back to health. Step-by-step I introduced the things I had learned into our daily life… One bite at a time!
Although Jan wasn’t too sure about my hippie-dippy like methods… especially the going vegetarian for a few days a week and downing green smoothies for breakfast.
I was often cast away, while actually holding the golden ticket to our issues into my hand.
Changing the life of the most important geek in my life
Fast forward to today… Jan hasn’t had an MS flare-up for several years and since 2 years he is off his weekly interferon injections without any issues whatsoever!
He has never felt as good in his entire life. I improved my cholesterol, weight and heart rhythm disorder without the need for medication.
And the best part…. these days my loving geek is spreading the word of living a healthier and happier life too.
Live should still be FUN!
Becoming healthy is definitely the best choice we ever made. But don’t get me wrong, life should still be FUN.
We are not the complete health nuts, counting every calorie or feeling guilty when having a glass of wine or enjoying dessert or a big piece of Belgium chocolate….
Me again, with a beautiful watermelon mojito… @ the sunset bar in Kampot, Cambodia. The best mojito I have ever had.
This is the sunset bar, with a stunning view on Bokor Mountain (just to be seen in the right upper corner) and the Kampot river.
This is a better picture of Bokor taken from the garden of our previous house…
We are just humans, my hubby included, after all!
And, NO we don’t live on rabbit food, either! You’ll see soon-ish as I’m planning to share all my secrets, Asian adventures, yummy recipes, and happiness with all the steemers who care to listen to me.
My mission: Changing more lives! One crypto-geek at a time!
Finding happiness in freedom
While we have been in a good condition and health lately… food alone doesn’t make you a happy girl.
Almost 3 years ago I quit my job as a plant biologist to focus on guiding people on their journey to improve their health and happiness, without going completely nuts!
And so the digital nomad in me was born. Ever since I’ve been creating my own products; helping people live a happy, healthy life; and being a freelance natural health reporter chasing my own dreams and creating happiness for my little family and everybody around us.
It feels so much more rewarding than working for a boss who tells you what to do and then put the profits in his own pockets without even thanking you for all the hard work.
Now everyday people thank me for being me… honest, spreading my knowledge, and there to help them create a better and happier life…
And I get to live in this little paradise too… #sungazing
Fun facts
Jan and I have been together for 10+ years. Think we lost count somewhere. But what I do know is that the 2 of us got married 5 years ago in Curacao…. Just us and 2 funky witnesses we found on the street and were willing to join us for 20 min. Doesn’t sound romantic at all… I know… but we had an unforgettable 5-week holiday… no family and big wedding stress and hassle… wouldn’t have wished for any other wedding than the one we had…
For the Terry Pratchett and Discworld fans just like us…. This is the official wedding ring….
Apart from being a food lover, I’m also a crazy cat-lady, F1 lover, Yoga enthusiast, and a clumsy snowboarder.
Whenever I can, I don’t mind a dive (or snorkel) into the deep blue to amaze myself of the underwater world.
Born adventurers, we love to explore new places, cultures, and people. That’s why we, my loving/amazing hubby, Chivas (our 13-year old furry friend), and I, moved to Cambodia, SE-Asia in 2014. More about that to come in my next posts.
Although we miss family and friends a lot, we absolutely love the tropical atmosphere, the Cambodian people, the climate, and the simplicity of life…. so think we might stay here for a little bit longer before moving onto our next adventure.
Starting our own location-independent business and being a digital nomad has enabled us the find true happiness and do the things we love!
FREEDOM = HAPPINESS
Life is too short to be anything but happy…. so what are you waiting for?
Never stop dreaming, as dreams may come true
My big dream... one day, I hope my health website Body in Balance, my meal planning membership site YourHealthy.Menu, and my soon to come [EatLove.live](http:// EatLove.live) program (and other things to come) will earn enough money, so I can retire and follow my true passion:
CATS, whether they are small or big, with a tail or no tail, limping or one-eyed, Steem-cats …
One day I hope to be the mother of all cats and help protect their habitat or give the homeless buggers a loving, cuddly place to live their days in peace….
And while cats are the main focus….. probably, the animal lover I am, the doors will be open for all to come!
Think you know it all now ;-)
Peace, love and happiness from the “Wild Wild East”, aka Cambodia!
Amy Goodrich