Terrific Tuesday!

Today, everything seems to be coming together maaahhhhhh-velously. I'm having a terrific day. Instructed my very first beginner tai chi class - 10 students, yee-haw!! - and it was soooo much fun. Great times! The kids went to a friend's and had a lovely time over there. The afternoon has been flying by - I've been sorting through tai chi paperwork and cleaning out the pantry shelves - (I still need to exercise & it's already 4:30) and ds goes to his first Aikido class this evening.

Started the day with a bowl of 1c muesli and 1c almond mylk. Had a huuuuuge salad for lunch (nice crisp greens, a little green onion, 1/2 avocado, 1/4 red pepper, a solid 1/2c of alfalfa sprouts, some sliced cucumber, & a sprinkling of goji berries, dried cranberries and cashews on top) and a bowl of sliced banana with 1/2c 'crisp' topping and 1/2c almond mylk afterwards. Haven't had much water, nor have I had as much greens as I'd like... I'm thinking of making a smoothie with celery as a base. mmmm But actually I'm not as hungry as I'd've thought by now.

Here are a few blogs to check out:
http://aleeshasrawlife.blogspot.com/
http://rawreform.blogspot.com/
http://rawmom.blogspot.com/
http://rawtoddleralex.blogspot.com/
http://beautyofexpression.blogspot.com/
http://holymotherofgod.blogspot.com/

Oh, and in case you were wondering (like I was) when Chinese New Year falls this year (it's the 2nd new moon after the winter solstice), here are the dates for upcoming years:
January 26th, 2009 - Year of the Ox (dh is an ox)
February 14th, 2010 - Year of the Tiger (check out that date!! wink wink - & no, it's not just b/c it falls on Valentine's Day, that date is extra-special in our house)
February 3d, 2011 - Year of the Rabbit (I'm a rabbit, in case you were wondering)
January 23d, 2012 - Year of the Dragon (ds, mil & great-grampa are all dragons)
There ya be. I'm hoping to continue our annual tradition of heading downtown to Chinatown for the New Year's Parade (Lion Dancing, firecrackers & excitement) and then off for lunch (sometimes we've gone for dim sum or to the noodle box, but hopefully this year we can go to Mo:Le's or Cafe Bliss for some raw loveliness).

I was watching tv last night - not common as we don't have cable or satellite at home... I was out... anyways, I was watching Tim Gunn's Guide to Style or whatever it's called on Slice. I have to say that I was actually surprised at one point that I had a bit of an aha moment. The young woman whose wardrobe was being revamped on the show was trying on couture dresses and the designer was there watching her try these gowns on, and the young woman said, you know, there is something about trying these gowns on, you can FEEL THE LOVE that went into their creation and THAT is what makes you feel so special when you're wearing them. It was at that second that I went - WOW, that is EXACTLY how I feel when I'm eating at Cafe Bliss, and I can see the love and intention that goes into the making of the food I'm about to nourish and honour my body with and it really makes me present to what I'm about to do - eating raw food becomes such a spiritual awakening - that we are HONOURING our bodies with live food... It was such a huge flash for me. Really made me realize that it's not about putting food on the table QUICKLY, it's about what you're doing when you're preparing the food. (Made me think of a recent meal, when we were all together as an extended family, and I just got the sense that it was really overwhelming for the host to have taken on hosting that dinner - it seemed more to be about getting everything over with quickly, not about connecting with each guest, not about making food with loving intentions, not about creating memories). And so I ask you - when you are preparing food, are you angry? Are you resentful? Are you distracted? Or are you happy, fully present, and grateful for the opportunity to create something healthy and nutritious for those you love? And how does that play over into all aspects of your life - are you grateful for and present when you're brushing your teeth, when you're driving and stuck in traffic, when you're running errands, even when you're going to the washroom?! Might sound a little crazy, but truly, are you grateful for your life?! ARE YOU EVEN HERE FOR IT?!