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"Expect nothing, live frugally on surprise." - unknown author

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Born and raised in Southwestern PA, where I learned the value of hard work, perseverance, and family.

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A Proud Berlin Brothersvalley Mountaineer

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A Proud Berlin Brothersvalley Mountaineer

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Grades K-12 were full of sweet memories at the small-town school of Berlin.

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Berlin Brothersvalley School District / Homepage

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Equity In Education: This school district is an equal opportunity education institution and will not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap in its activities, programs, or employment practices as required by Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504.

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Oh, the good ole college days! After graduating high school, I became a Nittany Lion before finishing my collegiate year abroad in Norway, and then returning home to teach.

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Penn State Football: The White Out Experience

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So blessed to have been hired at my Alma mater and be able to serve the community I love!

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My educational background includes a bachelors degree in Secondary Education: Social Studies with minors in both Political Science and History from The Pennsylvania State University.

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My fur baby, Tanew, at our home in Fairhope, PA. This good boy loves hiking with my fiance and I and gives us so much love and joy!

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While I am not yet a mother, I AM a huge fan of staying organized. iMOM is a great resource for accomplishing this with free printables to help keep my life in order and inspiration to get me through the day.

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iMOM.com: Parenting Tips, Free Printables and Family Fun Ideas

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Your source for parenting tips and relationship advice to inspire you to love your family well. Free printables, family fun and pillow talk questions too!

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For real-life, applicable sermons, Pastor Michael Todd leads the scene. If I can't make it to my home church of St. Paul's Presbyterian, this is my favorite channel to go to for what is always a good, scripture based lesson.

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Welcome to the Transformation Church YouTube Channel! Be sure to like, share and subscribe to our channel for updates on all the latest from Transformation Church. Join us LIVE on Sundays at 9:00AM, 11:00AM, 1:00PM, 5:00PM CST at transformchurch.us/live Show less

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My all time favorite podcast for the ride home. Staying an informed American is an important civic duty!

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All Things Considered for October 11, 2023

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Hear the All Things Considered program for October 11, 2023

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Whether its the Steelers, Pirates or Pens, I'm always ready to watch a game and cheer on Pittsburgh!

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Learning a foreign language has always been a goal of mine and thanks to the app Duolingo, I am well on my way to being the first in my family to speak German since my Great Grandparents.

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Duolingo is the world's most popular way to learn a language. It's 100% free, fun and science-based. Practice online on duolingo.com or on the apps!

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This blog is my go-to for tips on self-care and maintaining a balance between my professional and personal life.

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The Ladies Coach - Love, Life & Relationship Advice for the Modern Woman

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CHRISTAL FUENTES - The Ladies Coach - Love, Life & Relationship Advice for the Modern Woman

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Christal is the Founder of The Ladies Coach. She lives and breathes her belief which is that you can't find fulfillment in life without mastering the art of relationships! Coming from the hospitality industry, Christal always loved being able to service people and finding ways to cater to each guest's individualistic need....

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Pursuing my masters at Fort Hays has been an amazing journey that I have truly enjoyed. Although I will be so happy to earn my graduate degree this fall, I will be a bit sad to see it end. I have learned so much about not only Organizational Leadership but about myself as well!

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Leadership Styles Assessment Test - Your Leadership Legacy

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Your Leadership Legacy by Robert M. Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca. his book explores the art of legacy thinking, helping you to formulate a legacy that will have a positive effect on your work immediately.

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Mindfulness, defined as a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, plays a key role in my life now-a-days and I love FLOW magazine and their online resources for keeping me grounded in the moment. Also, two of my most favorite books are on this topic as well, THE UNTETHERED SOUL and WHEREVER YOU GO, THERE YOU ARE. Check them out!

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As a Christian, I believe it is important to be thankful for everything life gives to us as it is either a blessing or a lesson to be learned.

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Starting my day out with my online devotional always gets it off to a great start. I hope to continue to grow stronger in my faith with each day that passes and Ray Stedman's site/app helps me accomplish this goal.

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The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

Lot had lifted up his eyes and chosen for himself; now God says to the man of faith, living in his tent on the hillside, Abram, lift up your eyes. Where? Everywhere-to the north, the south, the east (the portion Lot chose), and the west. All the land is his!

This land is consistently the symbol for us of the fullness of life in the Spirit of God; the life of joy, power, love, and glory; the life of refreshing ministry to others. Surely this is what Paul longs for us when he prays, [That you] may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18-19). This is all yours, if you are willing to let God make the choices of life for you. Lot will never know this! Nor will we, if we make our choices on the basis of what we see, relating to the materialistic, commercial standards of those about us. But if we are content to have what God gives us in life, all the fullness of Christ will be ours.

Then God said to Abram, Not only do I give this land to you, but I will fill the land with your descendants. That is, I will make you fruitful beyond belief. I will make your life one of such blessing that after you are gone, there will be those who will stand up and say, 'I received my spiritual life through that man; there came to me strength for my journey through him; he has been a great blessing to my heart and life.'

Then he said to Abram, Arise, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I will give it to you. The land is all that Christ will be to us through the eternal ages to come. But God is saying to us, Don't wait for it. You don't have to wait until you die to enjoy this. You can have it now if you will possess it in Christ. Walk through the land. Possess it-now!

Wherever Abram wanted to move in that land, God opened the door for him. The whole land was his. The Canaanites and Perizzites had to move out when Abram came in. Thus, the Spirit of God declares to us in Romans 6:14: For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Whenever you want to be free from the weakness, ruin, and power of sin, you can! The land lies open before you. Possess it!

Everyone dwells in a world exactly like that of Abram and Lot, a world in which material values constantly clamor for us to make a choice. We have only so much time to invest, and we are pressured to try to grab the best for ourselves while we can. We can say with Lot, I want what the world can offer me now. I want the cities of the plain. Or we may wait with Abram, content with our tent and altar, enjoying the blessings of the land by faith now, and waiting for God's fulfillment of all His promises in that wonderful age yet to come.

Father, give me grace to let You make these choices for me. Create in me a hunger for the fullness of the land. Make me discontented with my present possession of it, and lead me into the full knowledge of the love of Christ.

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The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.

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My favorite poem - which sits above my desk and serves as a personal guidepost for how I carry myself in life.

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Comments & analysis: If you can keep your head when all about you / Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

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This short video succinctly outlines my overarching goal of the past, the "now" and the future. I show this to my students every year and, every year, it serves as a reminder to me to not sweat the small stuff and also not lose sight of the things that truly matter.

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Health is wealth! One of my biggest passions is keeping healthy with natural health products and by staying active through hiking, biking, running, kick-boxing, and yoga. Organic Olivia's blog/shop helps keep health a front and center priority by showing how food can affect our bodies and serve medicinal purposes while also sharing her personal struggles and stories.

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At Organic Olivia, we believe that natural remedies, herbs and food can help prevent disease and increase quality of life. That the mind-body-spirit connection to physical illness is always present, and that integrating eastern views to western medicine can heal the body.

What started as one-woman's blog has rapidly turned into a global tribe of like-minded individuals seeking knowledge, tools and resources for leading a healthier and more fulfilling life. We are dedicated to the research, education, advocacy and creation of natural remedies to heal and nourish the body and are committed to providing the tools to empower you to make the right decisions for your body. Thank you for being part of our Organic Olivia Community.

Olivia's Story

The Short Story:

After facing health issues all my life with no answers, I decided to search for the root cause of chronic illness. This led me to traditional systems of medicine, and taught me that all physical illness has an emotional and spiritual aspect as well. Organic Olivia started as a blog of my journey of learning and healing. It has vastly grown into a destination for tips on how to use food and herbs as medicine, how to avoid and remove toxins from your body, the root causes and deficiencies behind illness, alternative remedies, and more! I am an investigator, a researcher, a self-advocate and an advocate for the health and freedom of all human beings. I am nothing more than a seeker of the truth, because that's all I have ever wanted.

The Long Story:

Hello beautiful.

My name is Olivia and I created this blog-turned-company when I was at rock bottom emotionally and physically. I am not a doctor... I am not a nutritionist... and I do not have every answer. But I'll tell you something wonderful: you do. You have the power to find every solution you are looking for and heal yourself from the inside out. You have to power to learn and build a life of perfect health, starting today. Since I've already told you what I'm not, I'd love to share with you who I am, and how I discovered it. I am an investigator.... A researcher.... A self-advocate and an advocate for the health and freedom of all human beings. I am nothing more than a seeker of the truth, because that's all I have ever wanted. My struggle throughout all my life was food, weight, self-love, and happiness, which is why I began writing and blogging - to help others struggling with the same issues.

When I was young, I just didn't fit in with the other kids. I was weird. I liked to play instruments, watch the Twilight Zone and build villages out of aluminum foil. Looking back I was actually awesome... and such an old soul! But others didn't understand this, and I was bullied a lot. I was called 'four eyes' and fat - all the time. I was overweight throughout my entire childhood and thought about it every single day. One day, my friend's little brother laughed at my weight and told me to "go eat a cheeseburger!" The only thing I could retaliate with was, "go eat something organic!" Ironic now, don't you think? Haha! I was sick all the time, with constant infections, stomach problems, food allergies, and viruses. I remember I got so tired of taking different antibiotics that my parents had to hide them in Wendy's cheeseburgers (definitely not the best choice!). Being on constant prescriptions was the norm in my eyes.

I remember I would eat ENTIRE boxes of Quaker granola bars while sitting in front of the TV, just because I was bored and unhappy. I couldn't stop.

This started in elementary school. My parents who also struggled with weight and eating would always say, "Ok, tomorrow we'll clean the crap out of the house, I promise, but tonight let's celebrate and eat all the junk food we want!" We would go to CVS and get bags of candy and cookies to indulge on. Of course, "cleaning the crap out" would never work and we would always fail on our "diets"... It was such a vicious cycle, and it was all I knew. As I entered middle school, my mom took me to weight watchers and I discovered a little thing called calorie counting. My obsession with food turned into an obsession with calories, which led me down a very slippery slope of eating 200-calorie soy burgers and 0-calorie diet sodas for the entire day. Everyone around me kept congratulating me on my weight loss, not knowing I was doing it in the most unhealthy way possible eating barely enough food, which happened to be made of toxic chemicals and artificial sweeteners. When I got to high school, I stopped undereating, but continued to count calories as food still controlled my life. Then came 11th grade. My mom was talked into giving me a Gardasil vaccine and after my third shot, I knew something was wrong. I began sleeping way too long at night, never feeling rested, falling asleep in class, forgetting everything, and began suffering from painful cystic acne all over my face and back which had never happened before. About a week after the third round, the stomach spasms began - some days I was curled in bed for hours writhing in pain from what doctors told me was simply "Irritable Bowel Syndrome" which had "no cause." Of course, there was a VERY clear cause.... my liver was absolutely overloaded trying to excrete the dangerous levels of aluminum in Gardasil. I had tingling in my hands and feet, among many other symptoms that correlate with heavy metal toxicity. There is a cause for every effect. Don't ever take "no cause" for an answer, because digging a little deeper changed my entire life. In the months following, my health continued to spiral. I had no more motivation to count calories, and although I was eating a normal amount, I gained 40 pounds. I was depressed, anxious, and frustrated all the time (symptoms of an overloaded liver). I couldn't lose weight, I felt too sick and exhausted to exercise, and I felt hopeless. My digestion and IBS were worse than ever. Doctors told me it was all in my head and gave me anti-depressants within 5 minutes of speaking with me. They made me a zombie while taking them, and suicidal while withdrawing from them (I wouldn't wish withdrawal and "brain zaps" on anyone).

One day I looked at myself in the mirror and something clicked. SOMETHING had to change. I didn't want to be stuck in this cycle anymore. Pills didn't work. Antidepressants didn't work. I wanted out! I wanted the good that I knew existed in this world.

I started to research what healthy eating really was - not calorie counting! I read alternative sites that really delved into nutrition and its effect on the mind and body. I read testimonials of disease and depression being cured through food alone. I began having a banana and almonds for breakfast, salads for lunch, fruit and carrots for snacks. I even went gluten free. I researched more and more. I began reading again, and watching videos and documentaries that challenged my mind instead of trying to keep up with parties and other teens my age. I finally found things that made me happy besides food. I was still feeling some effects of my sluggish liver, but things were getting BETTER for once. A few months later, I received a nearly full scholarship to Fordham University. I was overjoyed... except for one thing. They did not offer nutrition as a major, which is what I wanted to study after my recent epiphanies about food. I decided that instead of studying nutrition, I'd go straight into pre-med so that I could become a doctor and finally figure out the cause of all my ailments. But something wasn't right - I hadn't received answers from my own doctor about the issues plaguing me for years, so how could Western medicine truly provide me with the tools to find a solution? Still, I grudged through 4 months of 9 classes at once and the stress hit me like a tidal wave. I know now, through my studies of Chinese medicine, that stress immediately affects your liver, so what happened next is retrospectively no surprise. I got sick. Really sick. I could feel that this time was different. I developed a huge cyst on my groin that turned purple and pussed. The lymph nodes under my arms began to develop cysts as well, because my blood was so toxic and polluted. My stomach problems were worse than ever. I had a low grade fever and migraines every day morning to night, and my vision was blurry. I almost collapsed in the shower, so my mom took me to the doctor immediately. Once again, doctors were at a loss. They poked and prodded and tested me for everything. Not once did they ask me what I was eating, and not once did they ask me if I was under stress. I was left with no answers for weeks. My doctor, however, did take the time to suggest the birth control pill to me several times while I was visiting him for my unexplained fatigue and obvious overall toxicity. I reluctantly agreed and within 48 hours developed "erythema nodosum" nodes all over my legs and had to go to the hospital. My immune system and organs were just giving up, and not a single soul told me about cleansing and cleaning out my body. A week later, my cysts and lymph nodes swelled up even more, and the fatigue was killing me. My doctor finally decided to put me on an antibiotic "just in case." Similar to the birth control, this was a wrong move. It just kept adding to my liver burden. One day in chemistry class, I started sweating uncontrollably and my skin turned a sallow yellow hue. I checked my phone and had an e-mail from my doctor saying "Your liver enzymes are through the roof, it's not a bacterial infection it's Epstein Barr Virus! Stop taking the antibiotic immediately!" Much of the damage was already done. I was angry and confused. I was starting to hate my body and was completely out of touch with it's beautiful, innate healing power. I went home, sweaty and exhausted, and said "I. Am. Done." No more doctors. I'm going back to the basics. I picked the most ancient medicine I could think of, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and started from the beginning. I learned about yin and yang, and the meridians/organ systems. I sucked up all the information I could find about liver disorders, and eventually diagnosed myself with "damp heat." If you think of a damp, hot setting - naturally, viruses and bacteria would breed happily. This is the Chinese interpretation of the state of my liver. I ordered herbs that were "dry and cool" for balance that specifically targeted the liver. I went to a Chinese herbalist by my house and he gave me a gentle full-body detox tea that is used today by many people to eradicate cancer. In a few weeks, my cysts and lymphs nodes shrunk. I could digest food again. I wasn't constantly swollen and inflamed. It was working. These silly herbs rejected by mainstream medicine were working. I was hooked. I was so proud of myself for finding natural solutions. I wanted more. I wanted to know WHY I got sick in the first place. I wanted to know how to achieve optimal health. I started my blog so that I could inspire others to research and open the Pandora's Box I was knee deep in. Since beginning my website, I find answers to my questions every single day. Seek and you shall find. I keep getting healthier. I keep getting one step closer to the way my perfect body was designed to thrive. And it's all because I'm following my passion. I'm doing this for everyone out there who has ever been ill with no answers. Without health we have no life. I eventually discovered parasite cleansing and colon cleansing, and used herbal formulas to rid my intestines of years of junk and bugs that were weighing me down and causing my debilitating IBS. By my third round of parasite cleansing, I got some pretty huge worms out, and was subsequently rid of the painful cystic acne on my back. I learned that your upper back is a reflection of the small intestine, so it made perfect sense that worms and waste clogging up that area would result in the waste getting expelled by my skin as a last resort. I learned that your intestines govern the health of your entire body, and that everyone is suffering from unwanted critters to some degree because of our modern polluted world and mineral deficiencies! I posted about my experience with parasite cleansing and the response was incredible. I started to make my own herbal parasites by hand to accommodate the huge interest that had developed from people with stories and digestive troubles just like mine. It would take us an entire month to make just 400 cleanses, and they would sell out faster and faster every single time. When it sold out the last time in just 45 minutes, I knew we hand to expand. The feedback we were getting made my heart swell with happiness and I was so excited to reach more people with my products and mission. We started an IndieGogo campaign to raise funds for larger scale production, and I was amazed at the support and interest we received. We raised over $250K and I can't tell you how many photos of critters I've received from people who are getting their energy back! This is what I was put here to do, and it means the world to me to be able to bring the world a product and information that I believe in. What started as a small blog turned into the company of my dreams where I get to share important health information and research with others daily. And what started as a series of negative experiences in my life, turned into beautiful lessons that have served to benefit others. Everything has happened for a reason and I don't regret a single moment of the struggles I had to endure to get here. I hope to continue sharing tips and solutions on how to live your healthiest life as long as I'm on this earth, and I look forward to learning from you guys, as I do every single day. Thank you for reading.

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At Organic Olivia, we believe that natural remedies, herbs and food can help prevent disease and increase quality of life. That the mind-body-spirit connection to physical illness is always present, and that integrating eastern views to western medicine can heal the body.

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9/21/19 will be the beginning of a new chapter as I marry the most amazing man in the world and become Mrs. Walker.

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"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill