"Farewell, my Subaru"

(LOL, you didn't think I'd get rid of *MY* subaru, did you?!?!? LOL I'm quite attached to the heated seats. LMAO) You'll have to read the post to understand the title...

I've been having an absolutely grand week - it's just been going so well and I'm so content! (DD realized she has her first two loose teeth! Most exciting for her!) I've been really conscious about drinking lots of water each day - litres of water each day - and it's definitely helping. Helps keep me full, which keeps my mind off of food. I've also been trying to let myself feel hungry before reaching for food, rather than just eating "because it's time". That's a more challenging one - I think many of us have a very set belief that we should eat first thing, mid-day and somewhere around "dinner time", and it can be challenging to free ourselves from the self-imposed structure (although in some ways the structure can be helpful). Nonetheless, I feel like I'm able to still get some greens into me and also have a treat or something sweet as well... it doesn't have to be all-or-nothing.

Yesterday I had:
- 1c muesli, 1/3 banana, and 1c almond milk
- 1 orange
- 1 mug of black tea with stevia and almond milk
- 4L of water (with lemon slices)
- some flax crackers with sundried tomato sunflower herb pate and yummy homegrown alfalfa sprouts on them for lunch
- 1 oz raw clarity chocolate (goji/blue-green algae)
- 1 chocolate chip cookie & 2 mini vanilla cupcakes (see - there's the indulgence, LOL - my daughter desperately wanted to bake something with the mini-cupcake tin - she had sooooo much fun baking and decorating them)
- 1L of green smoothie for dinner (I made 2L with 1/2 bunch of spinach, 1 1/2 tbsp spirulina, 1/2 avocado, 1 banana, 1c frozen blueberries, 1c frozen raspberries, water, 1 tbsp maca powder, 1 tbsp cacao powder, 1 tbsp cacao nibs, 1 tbsp cacao butter, 1 tsp goji powder, 1/4 tsp camu camu powder) - had the other L of smoothie for breakfast this morning.

Exercising is going great. I'm focused on rowing 100 kms this month and so far I'm at 84 kms, so another 16 to go in the next 3 days. No problem. Also doing tai chi class twice a week, which while you might imagine it's not much of a workout, you'd be quite mistaken. Although you might be moving slowly... VERY slowly sometimes, you certainly get a workout. I'm often sweating by the end of the set of 108 moves. (or is that tmi?!) ;) Today I'll be swimming while the children are in their lessons - usually 1 km.

Haven't been making time to meditate although I am working at incorporating mindfulness into my daily activities - like doing the dishes, making the bed, folding laundry, whatever it may be that I'm doing. Driving - that's a big one. How many of us let our minds drift while we're driving - we call it multi-tasking - thinking about our grocery list or what to say to so-and-so when we see them next - instead of really being present while operating the vehicle. :) There's a challenge.

I just finished reading Doug Fine's "Farewell, my Subaru". HILARIOUS read. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in going 'green' or living a more sustainable lifestyle, but is worried about what that will mean in terms of losing creature comforts like the MP3 player or laptop. (that's all of us to some extent, isn't it) LOL The book is SO well-written I couldn't put it down and ended up reading it in two evenings. Order it from your local library before word gets out and you're number 33 on the wait-list for it. ;)

This has to be my favourite part of the book (various excerpts from pages 186-189): "I was starting the goat ejection process when I realized something: I was happy. Happier than I can ever remember being in my adult life. I had rediscovered a childlike joy in the very real-life endeavor of living green.... I hadn't realized it (earlier), but I realized it acutely now: just by attempting to live with a little less oil in my life, I'd already won.... The promising turn my life had taken was the result of my decision, quite simply, to try.... I kissed the Pan Sisters as I herded them to their corral penalty box, and thanked them for the lesson...

"Living local and green was not an all-or-nothing proposal. Each day I had another chance to make good choices, to move toward a healthy, independent, sustainable life. My first year's effort was just an initial step.

"I was going to stay with it. Whether the green fad faded or gas got cheap again. And not just for planetary reasons, but for personal ones.... My neighbor Sandy was right when she told me that mine was a two-person task, but not because it made the chores easier. Rather becasue it made life inifinitely more joyful. Because it gave that crucial concept of home its depth. It gave me something manageable that I tangibly wanted to nurture into future generations. And I thought that's the greatest good I could do."

Isn't that just so very well-written? Speaking of being so very very happy with his life in that moment - that is where I feel I am a great deal of the time these days. Just so happy. I like to think it's partly because of my choice to eat raw. Every time I honour my self by eating raw food I really feel like I'm respecting my self. I'm giving my body live enzymes with which to heal and grow. It feels sooooooo good. And I love the part about just by attempting to live a life we believe in, we've already won. We do, simply, need to try. That's how I've lost more than 65 lbs now. And totally, it doesn't need to be all-or-nothing. We can make a new choice in each moment, each day, to either go with it, or not. And it doesn't mean we've failed if we change our minds or change beliefs or paths... it's all part of the ever-changing journey. :) And it seems that his biggest realization during the year was that having someone beside you to enjoy the process is life's biggest reward, and isn't that the truth! It seems to me that what really matters in life isn't about accomplishments (like "mastering" raw veganism or building a cob house), it's about relationships and the community that's built while doing things we are passionate about (like eating raw or building that cob house, LOL). The next book on my bedside table is Thich Naht Hanh's "Friends on the Path". Looking forward to it.

Today I am so grateful for every aspect of my life, I don't even know where to begin. :)