I'd like to extend a warm welcome to the newest member of the... flock, Lucky. Lucky is a 5 month old Auracana-cross rooster who has come to join the girls here on the homestead ("the girls" being 11 Sussex hens, also ~5 months old). Lucky is very lucky to be here, and not in his ex-neighbour's soup pot this very day, which is where he was destined had we not gone to pick him up. We'll see how he adjusts to his new home; I've never had a rooster and frankly, even though he doesn't have spurs yet, he frightens me just a little. I think a few people think I'm crazy for getting a rooster. "Why?" is the most common question when I mention we have one now. Well, it was the kids' idea. They've raised the hennies from day-olds this past spring, and now want to hatch out more chicks; they want to see a complete lifecycle of a chicken, I guess. They also want our new puppy, who's also 5 months old, to one day have puppies for the same reasoning. All in good time, my friends, all in good time.
I've been experiencing some leg cramps lately... like while swimming today. I am quite certain it's something to do with being dehydrated, so I drank like a fish (LOL) from the fountain at the pool and had another L on the way home, and still more water later. It is certainly possible it's due to dehydration; today I consumed: 3L of water, 1L of green juice and some acai herbal tea, so not as much liquids into me as I'm aiming for (certainly not much before swimming anyways). It's kinda hard because to get the goal of at least 2L of water and at least 4L of juice, I feel like I have to keep liquid in arm's reach alllll day, and that can be cumbersome when you're trying to live your busy busy life. Still, the juicing continues. Day 30 today. So close to being 1/3 of the way through! ;) (cheers herself on)
I honour you.
~n~
30 September 2009
Laughing at myself
ha ha ha ha ha Okay, sometimes you just have to laugh at yourself. Like me. Today. I post earlier about how I need to focus and just buckle down and get some things done. Shortly after, I go and lock my keys in the car, with the radio going and the puppy in her crate in the back. OOPS. But immediately I just chuckle to myself about how silly that was. No anger. No shaming myself. How odd, I observe. Luckily, a phone was nearby and I called the towing company and they were there within 15 minutes. YIPPEE!! And best of all, he was able to get the door open!! WAHOO!!! However, it did take about 45 minutes to get the door open, and I was shiverin'!! (thank GOODNESS for heated seats once we were in!) I don't care how long it took; I was soooooo happy to have that door open. I kept telling myself, "you know, this isn't all that bad. Sure, you're cold, but at least it's not pitch black, and at least it's not raining, or much colder than this. This isn't that bad at all." The whole time, I just had to laugh at myself. I had nowhere else to be, nothing else I ought to've been doing, kids played on the playground while we waited. All I did was stand by and offer encouragement as he tried to get into the car. And seriously, he nearly gave up at one point. Apparently Subarus are "the most difficult" to break into. LMAO Well, that's um, a very good thing. (Unless you've locked your keys inside. ha ha ha ha ha)
I was grateful I'd run my errands earlier and was able to head straight home afterwards. I was so very grateful to the tow truck driver. I was grateful I was able to laugh about the situation, in the moment.
I came home and after making some food for the children and getting them off to bed, had a deliciously hot bath with lavender oil, with some soothing music playing, and gave myself a Reiki session. It was wonderful.
And in case you're curious, yep, still juicing. A full 29 days in at this point (30 actually since it's now past midnight). Not drinking a full 4L a day. Closer to 2 or perhaps 3. Some water, and usually some herbal teas to warm up. It is what it is. This feast/fast is really challenging a lot of my thoughts and patterns and I'm very grateful for that. Getting clear on what needs to be released, and learning to just let go. Easy to write, hard to do... very hard. But it's where I need to be right now. It's what I need to be doing. Of that, I have no doubt.
In loving appreciation,
~n~
I was grateful I'd run my errands earlier and was able to head straight home afterwards. I was so very grateful to the tow truck driver. I was grateful I was able to laugh about the situation, in the moment.
I came home and after making some food for the children and getting them off to bed, had a deliciously hot bath with lavender oil, with some soothing music playing, and gave myself a Reiki session. It was wonderful.
And in case you're curious, yep, still juicing. A full 29 days in at this point (30 actually since it's now past midnight). Not drinking a full 4L a day. Closer to 2 or perhaps 3. Some water, and usually some herbal teas to warm up. It is what it is. This feast/fast is really challenging a lot of my thoughts and patterns and I'm very grateful for that. Getting clear on what needs to be released, and learning to just let go. Easy to write, hard to do... very hard. But it's where I need to be right now. It's what I need to be doing. Of that, I have no doubt.
In loving appreciation,
~n~
29 September 2009
Seeking Clarity
I wish I had clarity of thought. Honestly. My brain feels a little foggy. Actually, I think it's always like this. I think what I really have trouble with is setting priorities and making and following through on a plan of action. Not my strong suit.
Sure I could read self-help books about it but actually, I don't know how motivated I am in this moment to change how I behave. Hey, at least I'm being honest with myself. LOL It's one thing to recognize patterns in yourself; it's quite another to feel ready to change.
Alright. I need to focus a bit and make sure I get what needs to be done completed.
Channelling positive healing energy for all.
Namaste'
~n~
Sure I could read self-help books about it but actually, I don't know how motivated I am in this moment to change how I behave. Hey, at least I'm being honest with myself. LOL It's one thing to recognize patterns in yourself; it's quite another to feel ready to change.
Alright. I need to focus a bit and make sure I get what needs to be done completed.
Channelling positive healing energy for all.
Namaste'
~n~
28 September 2009
Workin' Girl
I'm a workin' girl tonight... LOL, nooooooo not what you're thinking... I'm working in Grampa's office, doing the books for his company. And I'm terribly behind. As in.... MONTHS behind. Honestly, I don't know how people, mothers especially, balance work and home life. I'm in a rather pathetic situation. This only requires about 4 hours a week and here I am, at least 12 -20 hours behind at the moment.
There's so much I'd *love* to do - start writing regularly for an online magazine or writing e-books, raw food coaching, catching up here on the books, or build my Reiki practice, or spend more time harvesting the potatoes and farming in general, not to mention my skills working with cob, and compost pick-up. I have so many varied interests that could all potentially bring in an income.
But how do I BALANCE it all with raising children and keeping a home and looking after my health and so on? How do you DO it, peeps?!?! I'm completely in awe of anyone who can balance it all. Reverent awe.
And that is where I leave you. Because I'm so far behind, I really shouldn't be blogging. LMAO
There's so much I'd *love* to do - start writing regularly for an online magazine or writing e-books, raw food coaching, catching up here on the books, or build my Reiki practice, or spend more time harvesting the potatoes and farming in general, not to mention my skills working with cob, and compost pick-up. I have so many varied interests that could all potentially bring in an income.
But how do I BALANCE it all with raising children and keeping a home and looking after my health and so on? How do you DO it, peeps?!?! I'm completely in awe of anyone who can balance it all. Reverent awe.
And that is where I leave you. Because I'm so far behind, I really shouldn't be blogging. LMAO
27 September 2009
The Journey
We were at the beach on Thursday, soaking up the early autumn rays, kids frolicking in the creek which carves a new path each day through the sand to the lapping waves as they roll in... and out. Another homeschooling mom and I had the afternoon to just... chat. And it was bliss. I totally enjoyed the connection, the conversation. A full three days later, and I'm still feeling so grateful for it. (smiles)
And inevitably we started talking about homeschooling. And the question came up: "What do your days look like?" Oh yes, I remember. I remember embarking on our homeschooling journey, five years ago, with the burning curiosity to know.... what do you do all day? I wanted to ask every homeschooling family I met. Tell me, tell me. What does your day look like? Are your children sitting at the kitchen table writing essays and completing math textbook questions for hours at a time? Are they playing Lego in a house that looks like a tornado's just ripped through? Is the laundry folded? Are the dishes done? Are you June Cleaver when no one's watching?! Tell me, please tell me. I need to know.
Or so I thought I absolutely needed to know. LOL We embarked on our first year of homeschooling, feeling very unsure of how others were doing it, of how we were "supposed" to be doing it. Our online teacher that year was a true angel. She gave me reassurance with a regularity that puts Metamucil to shame. LOL She met me where I was at on this journey. She was a saint. Next year, we continued with the same OLT, only now my confidence had blossomed. I no longer needed such regular contact and reassurance. We did our own thing and met the requirements of our distance learning program. Year 3 I wanted a change and switched DL programs. Our new Learning Consultant was also new to their program. We danced the dance together throughout the year, learning each other's styles and the program's requirements. At the end of the year, I sat with our homelearning journey so far and sought Guidance what to do next. I sensed that I needed a new LC to further my growth as a homeschooling parent. I needed someone who would help me observe my children as their learning unfolded. So I searched around and have been blessed to find the LC we`ve had for two years now (last year and this). This LC is precisely what I was seeking. Supportive, intuitive, connected... she has such respect for children as Beings. She has guided me to further growth in all aspects of my parenting. She walks beside me on this homeschooling journey.
My journey has been about learning trust. I have had to trust that my children will learn what they need to learn, in a personally meaningful way, when the time is right. I cannot force my children to do something they're not interested in. I have had to learn what values I live my own life by, and what values I want my children to absorb. I've had to learn about my own shortcomings, had to deal with them and embrace them as a part of me. It hasn't been easy. But it HAS been worth it. AbsoLUTEly. ;)
So what do we do all day?! LOL Well, a bit of this and that. Really, we just LIVE. We do things that need to be done - caring for pets, collecting eggs, folding laundry and washing dishes. And we play. We play games, we read books, we play toys. (the collective 'we', LOL) We go to classes, go on fieldtrips, hang out at the beach with our homeschooling friends. And I observe. I observe my children learning in a completely natural environment, in a way that they are guided to learn. It's really simple. And I know we're on the right track when we all achieve Flow. We are all feeling like yep, this is it. This is where we're meant to be in this moment. And THAT is bliss.
And inevitably we started talking about homeschooling. And the question came up: "What do your days look like?" Oh yes, I remember. I remember embarking on our homeschooling journey, five years ago, with the burning curiosity to know.... what do you do all day? I wanted to ask every homeschooling family I met. Tell me, tell me. What does your day look like? Are your children sitting at the kitchen table writing essays and completing math textbook questions for hours at a time? Are they playing Lego in a house that looks like a tornado's just ripped through? Is the laundry folded? Are the dishes done? Are you June Cleaver when no one's watching?! Tell me, please tell me. I need to know.
Or so I thought I absolutely needed to know. LOL We embarked on our first year of homeschooling, feeling very unsure of how others were doing it, of how we were "supposed" to be doing it. Our online teacher that year was a true angel. She gave me reassurance with a regularity that puts Metamucil to shame. LOL She met me where I was at on this journey. She was a saint. Next year, we continued with the same OLT, only now my confidence had blossomed. I no longer needed such regular contact and reassurance. We did our own thing and met the requirements of our distance learning program. Year 3 I wanted a change and switched DL programs. Our new Learning Consultant was also new to their program. We danced the dance together throughout the year, learning each other's styles and the program's requirements. At the end of the year, I sat with our homelearning journey so far and sought Guidance what to do next. I sensed that I needed a new LC to further my growth as a homeschooling parent. I needed someone who would help me observe my children as their learning unfolded. So I searched around and have been blessed to find the LC we`ve had for two years now (last year and this). This LC is precisely what I was seeking. Supportive, intuitive, connected... she has such respect for children as Beings. She has guided me to further growth in all aspects of my parenting. She walks beside me on this homeschooling journey.
My journey has been about learning trust. I have had to trust that my children will learn what they need to learn, in a personally meaningful way, when the time is right. I cannot force my children to do something they're not interested in. I have had to learn what values I live my own life by, and what values I want my children to absorb. I've had to learn about my own shortcomings, had to deal with them and embrace them as a part of me. It hasn't been easy. But it HAS been worth it. AbsoLUTEly. ;)
So what do we do all day?! LOL Well, a bit of this and that. Really, we just LIVE. We do things that need to be done - caring for pets, collecting eggs, folding laundry and washing dishes. And we play. We play games, we read books, we play toys. (the collective 'we', LOL) We go to classes, go on fieldtrips, hang out at the beach with our homeschooling friends. And I observe. I observe my children learning in a completely natural environment, in a way that they are guided to learn. It's really simple. And I know we're on the right track when we all achieve Flow. We are all feeling like yep, this is it. This is where we're meant to be in this moment. And THAT is bliss.
26 September 2009
You've Come a Long Way, Baby
I need to post (or re-post) "then and now" pics of me, because sometimes I forget how far I've come. The first was from Feb 2006, the second from September 2009.
How did I lose so much weight? Exercising. Drinking water. Eating a vegan (and now raw vegan) diet, which meant eliminating meat and dairy, and subsequently all cooked food. I generally abstain from alcohol (as in, I can count on one hand how many drinks I have in a year, quite easily). My exercising, initially, consisted of rowing 10 kms a day, 5 days a week for the first year, as well as 90 mins of tai chi class once per week, and 1 km swim once a week. Now I row 5 kms a day, 5 days a week, more tai chi (one 90 min class, two 60 min classes each week), and I usually swim 1 km a week still. How much water do I drink? I aim for 2L; sometimes I drink as much as 4, sometimes as little as 1.
Last year I juice feasted for 45 days. This year I'm aiming for 92 days and am currently 26 days into the feast. When I'm not feasting, my diet consists of raw, living foods: green smoothies, nuts and seeds, vegetables, fruit, superfoods like goji berries and maca powder and camu camu berry powder and the like.
Yes, I've come a very VERY long way in the past 3 1/2 yrs. Just needed to give myself a little pat on the back for making so many drastic, lasting changes. My health has improved so dramatically. Yep, I done good. Real good. LOL
Day 26
I'm at a loss at what to write about. Everything's going fine. There's a lot going on, life's pretty busy right now and there's some stress floating about which is a little hard to deal with, especially when you're juicing and trying to create a bubble of positivity around you, so that you can fully utilize this time juicing to heal and cleanse. But, it's not the end of the world. Everything will sort itself out. [Just for today, I will not worry.] It's a beautiful sun-shiney day here, a cool autumn day. It rained overnight and the tent, which I'd been trying to dry out so I could pack it away, is now wet again (aargh); hopefully today in the sun it will dry out again. Yep, there's just a lot on my mind in this moment... I'll just sit with it all, wrap it in a pink bubble of loving-kindness and compassion, and send it off to the Universe with a little sticky note attached: "Please, would you mind dealing with this? In Gratitude, ~n~"
Yep, that's what I'm gonna do. And right after, I'll go make myself a blueberry, lime, E3Live drink. :D
Oh, and before you get the impression I'm not loving my life fully in this moment.... I want to share that I went to Laughter Yoga class Thursday morning. I *LOOOOOOOVED* it. BOY, did I need to laugh!!! Full, belly-jigglin', ab-achin' laugh. A whole hour of it. It was wonderful. I'll be going to drop-in on the weeks I can make it. :) And I taught tai chi yesterday, and that, too, was wonderful. I am so happy for the opportunity to teach, and for the continuing class I was able to attend beforehand. I *love* tai chi! :)
Right now, I am grateful for:
- my dd, her hugs, authenticity, sweet songs, giggles, and love
- ds, for his maturity, sensitivity, playfulness and spirit
- dh, as we dance through life together, guiding each other towards growth
- the puppy, who follows me around like a shadow, who loves her raw treats, who adds so much to our lives
- for sunshine and fresh air
- for green juice and the abundance of organic fresh food we have available to us
- for my health and the health of those around me. We are all very, very healthy.
- for my body.... for my light, lean, healthy being. I honour you, Body.
- I know that money is not the be-all, end-all of life, but I am truly grateful for our financial stability and security and for the many comforts we are surrounded by. Many of our needs are met through our financial situation. We are indeed well-off. But most importantly, we have each other. We have companionship, family, love for one another. We spend time together - sharing meals, playing games, doing yardwork, playing at the beach. Yes, life is very good in this moment. Very, very good.
Namaste'
~n~
Image from here
23 September 2009
udpate
oooooh i stumbled upon the MOST DELICIOUS juice EVER today (courtesy of www.cafebliss.ca): a shot of blueberry, lime, and 1/2 oz of E3Live. WELL. I had 3 oz of E3Live today mixed into ~12-16 oz... so not exactly shot glass proportions (LOL), but scrumptious, nonetheless. And although having a shot of E3Live (or wheatgrass, for that matter) leaves me rather nauseated as it cleanses so intensely, I had no reaction to the blueberry/lime/E3Live.
Other than that combination, I also had kohlrabi greens/blueberry/pear juice and also celery/ginger/apple/lime/greens (kohlrabi thinnings, collard thinnings, lettuce, and dandelion greens from around the yard).
that is all. i'm lethargic and really REALLY sleepy. don't you find the sound of people/pets sleeping deeply beside you makes you tired as well? :)
~n~
Other than that combination, I also had kohlrabi greens/blueberry/pear juice and also celery/ginger/apple/lime/greens (kohlrabi thinnings, collard thinnings, lettuce, and dandelion greens from around the yard).
that is all. i'm lethargic and really REALLY sleepy. don't you find the sound of people/pets sleeping deeply beside you makes you tired as well? :)
~n~
Day 23!!!
Honestly, I can't believe I'm more than 3 weeks into this feast already, with only another 9 to go. It's going by amazingly fast. :)
Kids & I watched a local documentary, Island on the Edge (www.dvcuisine.com) about vancouver island's food security issues and how to resolve that crisis. EXCELLENT film - it's available in the VIRL library system, or probably with an ILL through your local library. I watched it again b/c it quickly profiled a farmer who grows citrus fruit on the island, and that fascinates me that i could grow my own organic limes and lemons!!! Even navel oranges!! And if you've ever tasted a navel orange, FRESH from the tree..... mmmmmm, well, you'll understand my SHEER DELIGHT at finding out i could grow those right here!!!
I'm continuing to read Raw Emotions, authored by the lovely Angela Stokes (over at www.rawreform.com). Loving the book; really putting a lot of energy into the tasks and exercises as I go through the book - which is helping tremendously. Today I tried out a food PLAN (as opposed to the food LOG i have been keeping the past 9 months - what I had been doing is writing, after the fact, everything i'd eaten. I will try to write a plan (and stick to it) of what I'd like to eat each day... one day at a time. Hoping that having a plan in place will help me overcome challenges like overeating.
Today I was blessed to have:
1L of V-8 (celery, carrot, garlic, beet, butter lettuce, and um, er, more vegetables)
1/2L of yam, carrot, ginger, & apple. i forgot to add cinnamon. silly me!
1L of butter lettuce, celery, apple, lime, ginger.
1L of water
Alrighty! Finally tired. Juicing seriously gives me sooooooooo much energy. It can be challenging to focus that energy in the right direction so that I can be more productive, and mindful, in every moment. :)
Today I am grateful for:
- my body
- my health
- AMAZING energy while juice feasting
- my Green Star and its lovely delectable juices
- supremely deep sleeps - you wake up sooooo refreshed!!
- forgiveness
- the unconditional love from a child
- wonder and joy
- organic farmers everywhere, and our CSA box!!
- clothes drying on the clothesline in the fall sun
- that the raccoons didn't manage to get into the chicken pen!
Namaste
~n~
Kids & I watched a local documentary, Island on the Edge (www.dvcuisine.com) about vancouver island's food security issues and how to resolve that crisis. EXCELLENT film - it's available in the VIRL library system, or probably with an ILL through your local library. I watched it again b/c it quickly profiled a farmer who grows citrus fruit on the island, and that fascinates me that i could grow my own organic limes and lemons!!! Even navel oranges!! And if you've ever tasted a navel orange, FRESH from the tree..... mmmmmm, well, you'll understand my SHEER DELIGHT at finding out i could grow those right here!!!
I'm continuing to read Raw Emotions, authored by the lovely Angela Stokes (over at www.rawreform.com). Loving the book; really putting a lot of energy into the tasks and exercises as I go through the book - which is helping tremendously. Today I tried out a food PLAN (as opposed to the food LOG i have been keeping the past 9 months - what I had been doing is writing, after the fact, everything i'd eaten. I will try to write a plan (and stick to it) of what I'd like to eat each day... one day at a time. Hoping that having a plan in place will help me overcome challenges like overeating.
Today I was blessed to have:
1L of V-8 (celery, carrot, garlic, beet, butter lettuce, and um, er, more vegetables)
1/2L of yam, carrot, ginger, & apple. i forgot to add cinnamon. silly me!
1L of butter lettuce, celery, apple, lime, ginger.
1L of water
Alrighty! Finally tired. Juicing seriously gives me sooooooooo much energy. It can be challenging to focus that energy in the right direction so that I can be more productive, and mindful, in every moment. :)
Today I am grateful for:
- my body
- my health
- AMAZING energy while juice feasting
- my Green Star and its lovely delectable juices
- supremely deep sleeps - you wake up sooooo refreshed!!
- forgiveness
- the unconditional love from a child
- wonder and joy
- organic farmers everywhere, and our CSA box!!
- clothes drying on the clothesline in the fall sun
- that the raccoons didn't manage to get into the chicken pen!
Namaste
~n~
20 September 2009
Day 20
WOW nearly 3 weeks into this feast already!!! I spent a fair amount of time on Saturday tapping away at the keyboard, working on the visioning process outlined in Raw Emotions, Angela Stokes' book (available here) which I'm currently reading. And I'm very excited to say I've finished the Vision Statement... at a whopping 10 pages typed!!! It's, um, fairly detailed, you might say. LOL I *loved* spending time on it... really putting thought into where I intend to take my life in the next few years. Absolutely amazing. Thank-you Angela for your guidance on it!!
Enjoyed 3L of juice Saturday and 2L of water
1L watermelon juice
1L spinach/celery/apple/ginger/lime
1L romaine/carrot/spinach/fennel
Other books on my bookshelf right now:
Enjoyed 3L of juice Saturday and 2L of water
1L watermelon juice
1L spinach/celery/apple/ginger/lime
1L romaine/carrot/spinach/fennel
Other books on my bookshelf right now:
- Simple Prosperity (David Wann)
- Anger (Thich Nhat Hanh)
- A complaint-free world (Will Bowen)
- Harvest for Hope: a guide for mindful eating (Jane Goodall)
- On talking terms with dogs (Turid Rugass)
- My dog pulls; what do i do? (Turid Rugass)
- National Geographic: the photographics (Leah Bendavid-Val)
I have a child with chicken pox needing some attention. Good night!! :)
19 September 2009
day 19
it's so funny how people view a juice feast, whatever its length, as extremist (and detrimental to one's health). it's just a thought, a preconception, that people have. and as angela stokes writes in Raw Emotions: it's just a thought, but thoughts CAN be changed. ;) So true. Opening our minds, in my opinion, helps our bodies remain flexible as we age. Just something I've observed, that's all.yep, i'm now 19 days into my 92 day juicefeast. it's going phenomenally well. only thing i've come across is that i am tired at different points each day. VERY tired. like, better pull over and have a quick nap tired. especially when driving. LOL it's okay, though. for some reason my circadian rhythyms are all messed up right now and although i've obviously had no caffeine, i am nonetheless rather awake here at nearly 3 a.m., having not had any sleep yet tonight. this is going to affect me greatly as the puppy wakes me up at 6 or 6:30 most mornings, and i'll be lucky to get even an hour of sleep after that. bummer. so you can see how understandable it is that i'm tired in the afternoons. it's not the juicefeasting, per se. it's my day/night clock. tad messed up at the moment.
Apart from that, i'm loving juicing. i did an extra juicing session thursday afternoon so didn't have to touch the juicer all day friday and boy, what a pleasant break that was. not having to prepare any juices all day, just open the fridge and voila, there one is. i'm consuming 3-4 bunches/heads of dark leafy greens daily, not the 4-6+ recommended by more experienced feasters. still, i'm getting at least 3L of juice in daily, which is admirable, imo. loving the combinations of different juices and i'm learning to enjoy green juices with less fruit in them.
Spent several hours tonight visioning as part of the book, Raw Emotions (by Angela Stokes, available in the store over at http://www.rawreform.com/), that I`m reading right now. I remember now that I stopped reading previously as soon as I came to the visioning process as i didn`t want to read ahead without completing the visioning work. It`ll take me a couple more hours to complete it to my satisfaction and then I shall continue reading. Sooooooooooo glad I`m endeavouring to read this book while juicing. I am excited to see mental shifting take place as I start to unravel the self-limiting beliefs I`m not even aware are holding me back. :D
teaching tai chi is going great. i did another 2.5 hours on friday and it felt fantastic. my lower back`s been a little stiff and sore lately - probably because it`s been WEEKS since i`ve sat down at the rower. must must simply MUST make that a priority and loosen up those stiff muscles!!!
and now, a fond farewell as i slip into a blissful, rejuvenating slumber.
adieu, adieu.
`til next time, my friend.
17 September 2009
time for more random photos...
um, possibly the most darling princess i've ever seen?!
the first egg!!! how VERY egg-citing! :p
an absolutely scrumptious, VERY filling raw meal - ceasar salad with a 'burger' from ani phyo's book. the burger, which i made the patties and then dehydrated for a couple hours to warm them, between black sesame seed "bread", with veggies - sprouts, lettuce, tomato, and some salsa... my kids *love* the ceasar salad recipe.
a foraged bowl of berries from our yard in late spring/early summer - wild salmonberries (the orange/yellow ones, wild blackberries (small, but ohhhhhh sooooooo sweet), wild huckleberries (the small smooth red ones that look like mini-blueberries), raspberries from the garden, a single strawberry (lol), and those red berries... not sure of their name - almost like a cross between a salmonberry and a raspberry. i just call them 'red salmonberries' though i'm not sure that's their proper name. ;)
raw pizzas. sooooooo good. dehydrated crusts with, i think, ranch dressing, guacamole and salsa for toppings. mmmmmmm
Raw zucchini "spaghetti", tossed in marinara sauce and walnut pate "meatballs", topped with "parmesan cheeze" (1c brazil nuts ground with 1 or 2 garlic cloves in the fp)... one of the easiest meals EVER to prepare. very filling, too.
Greek salad, raw style: on top of a bed of greens, some tomato, cucumber, bell peppers, sweet onion in balsamic vinegar & EVOO with an avocado, a few walnut pieces and some fresh basil atop, and a couple sliced raw olives. deeeeeeeeeelicious. many thanks to Sheri over at http://www.veganfamilyinc.com/ for the recipe.
dd *loves* her plate of goodies & org w/w pasta salad, but especially those goodies - fresh org pea pods from our local farm, fresh blueberries, red pepper, carrots, dried apricots, cranberries and white mulberries. mmmmm good.
Yours truly:
the first egg!!! how VERY egg-citing! :p
an absolutely scrumptious, VERY filling raw meal - ceasar salad with a 'burger' from ani phyo's book. the burger, which i made the patties and then dehydrated for a couple hours to warm them, between black sesame seed "bread", with veggies - sprouts, lettuce, tomato, and some salsa... my kids *love* the ceasar salad recipe.
a foraged bowl of berries from our yard in late spring/early summer - wild salmonberries (the orange/yellow ones, wild blackberries (small, but ohhhhhh sooooooo sweet), wild huckleberries (the small smooth red ones that look like mini-blueberries), raspberries from the garden, a single strawberry (lol), and those red berries... not sure of their name - almost like a cross between a salmonberry and a raspberry. i just call them 'red salmonberries' though i'm not sure that's their proper name. ;)
raw pizzas. sooooooo good. dehydrated crusts with, i think, ranch dressing, guacamole and salsa for toppings. mmmmmmm
Raw zucchini "spaghetti", tossed in marinara sauce and walnut pate "meatballs", topped with "parmesan cheeze" (1c brazil nuts ground with 1 or 2 garlic cloves in the fp)... one of the easiest meals EVER to prepare. very filling, too.
Greek salad, raw style: on top of a bed of greens, some tomato, cucumber, bell peppers, sweet onion in balsamic vinegar & EVOO with an avocado, a few walnut pieces and some fresh basil atop, and a couple sliced raw olives. deeeeeeeeeelicious. many thanks to Sheri over at http://www.veganfamilyinc.com/ for the recipe.
dd *loves* her plate of goodies & org w/w pasta salad, but especially those goodies - fresh org pea pods from our local farm, fresh blueberries, red pepper, carrots, dried apricots, cranberries and white mulberries. mmmmm good.
Yours truly:
16 September 2009
Day 16
Wow, is this juice feast ever going by FAST!! (no pun intended, besides, it's a feast, not a fast, LOL) Days just zip by.
Taught tai chi this morning, after taking a continuing class myself. So 2.5 hrs of tai chi this morning. *BLISS!!!* True bliss. Came home at lunch, sooooo relaxed. 11 students in the class. So good to be teaching again after a summer off!
Drank 3L of juice today, and 1L of water, as well as a cup of licorice spice herbal tea. The juices were:
- another V-8 concoction
- spinach, celery, apple, lime, ginger - a LOVELY combination. i could drink it every day. i usually do. *winks*
- pineapple, celery, red pepper, dandelion greens (yes, they're very much edible - just make sure they haven't been sprayed... or peed on, LMAO), and kale
The other day I tried a combination that Matt & Angela Stokes-Monarch on youtube (don't ask me for the link right now; I'm on dial-up, after all!) - it was soooooooooo good and the kids agreed that there is a taste of chocolate milk! ;) 2 heads of romaine, 1 head of spinach, 2 lbs of carrots, and a little fennel. Made about 2L of juice. I added 2 apples as well; I haven't quite got to the point of green juices with no fruit at all. They are so very very cleansing, my body isn't quite ready to handle that just yet... actually, psychologically *I* am not ready to handle that kind of detox yet. But yes, the "chocolate milk" was delicious. I'll be having lots more of that to come.
I am finding that juicing generally costs about $15+/day here. I can't seem to find organic greens for $1/head or bunch. Closer to $2.50 or even more than $3 each, which at 4-6 a day quickly becomes a little prohibitive. I have cilantro and sorrel and parsley in the garden, as well as beet greens, kohlrabi thinnings and collards which will soon be harvest-able. And some young lettuces as well. But I'm thinking of ordering an entire case of things through the produce delivery - like 24 heads of romaine lettuce, or 24 heads of celery. I'm just wondering if my "raw fridge" is large enough to accomodate that much produce. And also, what about variety being the spice of life?! If I eat nothing but romaine and spinach for 2 weeks... well, wouldn't it be better to pay a little more but have more variety while juicing? I don't know. What do you think?
In less than 3 weeks, dh & I are going away for 4 nights. I'm hoping to juice throughout the time away, but am wondering if I should take the juicer with me, or just go to juice bars and have 4L made up each day and store it? Guess I should google the cities we'll be in and make sure they have raw restaurants/juice bars where I can do that. Also, I know downtown a liter of juice costs $13. Purchasing 4L is going to be $52/day. Times 4 days. hmmmm. Seeing as I can make 4L of juice at home for $15/DAYYYYY, it's far more economical for me to bring juice along. I *could* juice 4 days' worth ahead of time and freeze it and take it along in a cooler. One possibility. Hmmmmm.... hamster wheel's'a turnin'. ;)
And I'm well into Raw Emotions (a book by Angela Stokes-Monarch; you can purchase it online at www.rawreform.com in the Store). EXCELLENT book. Really loving it. I tried reading it months ago but (as usual) had so many books on the go simultaneously it was hard to get into it just then. But now... NOW!!!! While juice feasting, it just seems it's the PERFECT time to get into reading about the emotional attachments we have to food, and sorting through some of the food issues that have been plaguing me for so long... like my addiction (yes, it truly is one) to refined sugar and wheat. I long for the day when they get no rise out of me. I will write more about RE as I go through it.
Ahhhhhh, dh is home from work.
Signing off...
~n~
Taught tai chi this morning, after taking a continuing class myself. So 2.5 hrs of tai chi this morning. *BLISS!!!* True bliss. Came home at lunch, sooooo relaxed. 11 students in the class. So good to be teaching again after a summer off!
Drank 3L of juice today, and 1L of water, as well as a cup of licorice spice herbal tea. The juices were:
- another V-8 concoction
- spinach, celery, apple, lime, ginger - a LOVELY combination. i could drink it every day. i usually do. *winks*
- pineapple, celery, red pepper, dandelion greens (yes, they're very much edible - just make sure they haven't been sprayed... or peed on, LMAO), and kale
The other day I tried a combination that Matt & Angela Stokes-Monarch on youtube (don't ask me for the link right now; I'm on dial-up, after all!) - it was soooooooooo good and the kids agreed that there is a taste of chocolate milk! ;) 2 heads of romaine, 1 head of spinach, 2 lbs of carrots, and a little fennel. Made about 2L of juice. I added 2 apples as well; I haven't quite got to the point of green juices with no fruit at all. They are so very very cleansing, my body isn't quite ready to handle that just yet... actually, psychologically *I* am not ready to handle that kind of detox yet. But yes, the "chocolate milk" was delicious. I'll be having lots more of that to come.
I am finding that juicing generally costs about $15+/day here. I can't seem to find organic greens for $1/head or bunch. Closer to $2.50 or even more than $3 each, which at 4-6 a day quickly becomes a little prohibitive. I have cilantro and sorrel and parsley in the garden, as well as beet greens, kohlrabi thinnings and collards which will soon be harvest-able. And some young lettuces as well. But I'm thinking of ordering an entire case of things through the produce delivery - like 24 heads of romaine lettuce, or 24 heads of celery. I'm just wondering if my "raw fridge" is large enough to accomodate that much produce. And also, what about variety being the spice of life?! If I eat nothing but romaine and spinach for 2 weeks... well, wouldn't it be better to pay a little more but have more variety while juicing? I don't know. What do you think?
In less than 3 weeks, dh & I are going away for 4 nights. I'm hoping to juice throughout the time away, but am wondering if I should take the juicer with me, or just go to juice bars and have 4L made up each day and store it? Guess I should google the cities we'll be in and make sure they have raw restaurants/juice bars where I can do that. Also, I know downtown a liter of juice costs $13. Purchasing 4L is going to be $52/day. Times 4 days. hmmmm. Seeing as I can make 4L of juice at home for $15/DAYYYYY, it's far more economical for me to bring juice along. I *could* juice 4 days' worth ahead of time and freeze it and take it along in a cooler. One possibility. Hmmmmm.... hamster wheel's'a turnin'. ;)
And I'm well into Raw Emotions (a book by Angela Stokes-Monarch; you can purchase it online at www.rawreform.com in the Store). EXCELLENT book. Really loving it. I tried reading it months ago but (as usual) had so many books on the go simultaneously it was hard to get into it just then. But now... NOW!!!! While juice feasting, it just seems it's the PERFECT time to get into reading about the emotional attachments we have to food, and sorting through some of the food issues that have been plaguing me for so long... like my addiction (yes, it truly is one) to refined sugar and wheat. I long for the day when they get no rise out of me. I will write more about RE as I go through it.
Ahhhhhh, dh is home from work.
Signing off...
~n~
12 September 2009
Day 12
Well, actually it's still Day 11; I haven't gone to sleep yet! Day 11 went very well. I've been having a challenging time getting the 4L of juice into me each day - one day earlier this week I had 3/4L the entire day. Day 11 I consumed 3.5L, which was admirable, as well as a good 1L of water, if not a bit more.
I haven't been exercising at all since starting the juicefeast, with the exception of tai chi. I am feeling like I need to get on the rowing machine tomorrow, to move a bit more than I have been.
My juicy combos for Day 11:
- celery, pineapple, red pepper (LOVE this combo; I'm really loving celery right now) with probably 2T or maybe 3 of E3Live
- romaine lettuce, pear, cucumber
- green leaf lettuce, celery, apple, lemon, ginger
- "V-8": tomato, basil, cucumber, celery, carrot, beet, green leaf lettuce (okay that's only 7, but still, it was really good)... with kelp flakes in it.
- green leaf lettuce, pineapple, and blackberry
Definitely it helps to make all the juices at once. Using the Green Star they don't oxidize quickly, so I have no qualms about juicing at once like that. I do keep the pineapple juice separate from the greens if I'm going to store it for any length of time, however. Also still figuring out the Green Star; figuring out which order to put the food into the chute - keeping some celery or carrot to push the softer or pulpier foods like tomato or blackberry through... but I am *LOOOOOVVVVVVIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG* the Green Star. What a seriously awesome juicer this is. Best quality ever. Love it.
Changes since starting juicing - I'd say my face is clearer. It's usually quite red-toned, but now is regularly even-toned. Nice complexion. I can see my jaw muscles flex if I clench my teeth - I hadn't noticed that before starting the feast. LOL A little weight loss. Having to summon all my willpower to resist things like the pineapple pizza the kids were eating the other day, or the peanut butter cookies in the house... i *know* that anything with refined flour and refined sugar tests my willpower tremendously. I'll be re-reading Raw Emotions very very soon and working through it. While juicing is the time to get to the bottom of my food addictions.
Feeling great overall, though. :)
I haven't been exercising at all since starting the juicefeast, with the exception of tai chi. I am feeling like I need to get on the rowing machine tomorrow, to move a bit more than I have been.
My juicy combos for Day 11:
- celery, pineapple, red pepper (LOVE this combo; I'm really loving celery right now) with probably 2T or maybe 3 of E3Live
- romaine lettuce, pear, cucumber
- green leaf lettuce, celery, apple, lemon, ginger
- "V-8": tomato, basil, cucumber, celery, carrot, beet, green leaf lettuce (okay that's only 7, but still, it was really good)... with kelp flakes in it.
- green leaf lettuce, pineapple, and blackberry
Definitely it helps to make all the juices at once. Using the Green Star they don't oxidize quickly, so I have no qualms about juicing at once like that. I do keep the pineapple juice separate from the greens if I'm going to store it for any length of time, however. Also still figuring out the Green Star; figuring out which order to put the food into the chute - keeping some celery or carrot to push the softer or pulpier foods like tomato or blackberry through... but I am *LOOOOOVVVVVVIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG* the Green Star. What a seriously awesome juicer this is. Best quality ever. Love it.
Changes since starting juicing - I'd say my face is clearer. It's usually quite red-toned, but now is regularly even-toned. Nice complexion. I can see my jaw muscles flex if I clench my teeth - I hadn't noticed that before starting the feast. LOL A little weight loss. Having to summon all my willpower to resist things like the pineapple pizza the kids were eating the other day, or the peanut butter cookies in the house... i *know* that anything with refined flour and refined sugar tests my willpower tremendously. I'll be re-reading Raw Emotions very very soon and working through it. While juicing is the time to get to the bottom of my food addictions.
Feeling great overall, though. :)
11 September 2009
random pictures
I finally copied everything from the back-up hard-drive onto this new laptop, and downloaded all the photos from the digital camera that have been sitting on its card (everything since Easter 2009!!)... months and months of photos... Haven't quite sorted through them all yet, but wanted to share some photos of the past 6 months or so...
A raw vegan solid chocolate bunny for Easter from Cafe Bliss (http://www.cafebliss.ca/): deeeeeeeeeelicious.
A raw vegan solid chocolate bunny for Easter from Cafe Bliss (http://www.cafebliss.ca/): deeeeeeeeeelicious.
Because when you're five, you can never wear too many hair clips at once:
I love the rainbow of colours!
wearing her brother's voice changer Clone helmet: 
An absolutely GORGEOUS spring day down at the beach, having a picnic after exploring the tide pools:
Johnny Jump-ups that self-seeded in the garden. I generally only plant edible things in the gardens. 
Goofing around in the house with a nerf football:
She's getting the hang of doing her own hair: (love the tie-dyed shirt, too!)
That's good for now. There's lots more to come.
09 September 2009
Day 9 - all about detoxing
i'm feeling crummy today... don't know what's going on, really, but hopefully this passes quickly. right now, i just want to crawl into bed. not drinking too much juice so far; 1L of celery/lettuce/apple/ginger/lemon earlier this afternoon, with a little E3Live in it. I have 1L of V-8 made, but not really desiring it just yet.
there's a community association meeting tonight that i really should attend; i'll have to bring the children with me if i do. tomorrow night is the tai chi open house which, again, i really should attend, but again, would have to bring the children along. And we're house-sitting Thurs through Sun, which means driving 70 kms round trip each day so that we can manage both houses. I realize the situation's not environmentally friendly at all, and yes, that bothers me a bit. I need to harvest the potatoes this weekend - remember I planted 200 lbs of potato seed in early June? Well, I'm pretty sure it's harvesting time for them. I'll let you know how that goes. :)
Anyways, i am going to go rest now. :)
Today I am grateful for:
- detoxing (better out than keeping it in!)
- a caring and supportive family
- water, with a squeeze of organic lemon
- snuggles with the puppy
- not having much that absolutely HAS to be done today.
- being comfortable at home
- happy sounds of children playing imaginatively
Namaste
~n~
there's a community association meeting tonight that i really should attend; i'll have to bring the children with me if i do. tomorrow night is the tai chi open house which, again, i really should attend, but again, would have to bring the children along. And we're house-sitting Thurs through Sun, which means driving 70 kms round trip each day so that we can manage both houses. I realize the situation's not environmentally friendly at all, and yes, that bothers me a bit. I need to harvest the potatoes this weekend - remember I planted 200 lbs of potato seed in early June? Well, I'm pretty sure it's harvesting time for them. I'll let you know how that goes. :)
Anyways, i am going to go rest now. :)
Today I am grateful for:
- detoxing (better out than keeping it in!)
- a caring and supportive family
- water, with a squeeze of organic lemon
- snuggles with the puppy
- not having much that absolutely HAS to be done today.
- being comfortable at home
- happy sounds of children playing imaginatively
Namaste
~n~
08 September 2009
Quote for today, the first day of School for so many children in our land...
John Holt from "How Children Learn":
Birds fly, fish swim, man thinks and learns. Therefore, we do not need to motivate children into learning by wheedling, bribing or bullying. We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning. What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can... into their lives; give children as much help and guidance as they ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest.
Ahhhh, yes. Children WILL learn. We simply need to *be* with them as their journey unfolds. Perhaps that's the biggest challenge for us as parents. ;D
Today marks my dd's first day of kindergarten. But we choose to homeschool. So she was sound asleep as the school bus rumbled by at 8:03 this morning. Actually, the puppy & I were the only two awake in the house - all other family members dozed happily. And here, on her first day of kindergarten, she's got chicken pox, so even if she WERE going to a brick-and-mortar school, she'd still not've been able to attend.
While the car was in at the shop today, we were planning on playing on a nearby playground. Until we arrived, that is, and found it crawling with preschool-aged children, infants, and mothers... one of whom may have been pregnant - who knows. So rather than infecting them all with pox, we continued walking down to the extra large grass soccer fields, where the puppy could run off-leash. I don't know why I foolishly assumed a playground beats a soccer field for entertainment value. Seriously. The kids ran and ran, being chased by the puppy until all 3 practically collapsed in a sweaty, panting heap at my feet. They hid behind trees on the perimeter and played hide-and-seek with the puppy. They played tag with the puppy. The creativity that unfolded on that field was a sight to behold. Whereas I can see in retrospect that the more we give our children in terms of material objects, the less they require the use of their imaginations. Unecumbered by material items, children can unbridle their imaginations and creativity. Life Lesson learned: always give children a blank canvas to paint on, not a paint-by-number.
It was curious while we were out, how people reacted to my daughter`s obviously visible chicken pox. Some were very respectful in that they brought it up to her, but didn`t step back in horror. It was more of a `well, everyone gets it - we`ve all had it ourselves` - sort of attitude. Accepting of it... and her (she`s feeling a little self-conscious at the moment). Others, like some of the other shoppers in the grocery store, gave her (and me) looks of horror and fear. No kidding. Perhaps these were adults who had never had it, or had no idea what these sores on her face were. Or maybe they were just confused why my obviously school-aged children weren`t in school during school hours on this, the first day of school. Who KNOWS what was going on in their heads. Nevertheless, when you see a child with obvious sores, and you don`t know what it is, show some compassion and ask the child or their parent, if your curiosity simply won`t rest until you know.
Reminds me of when she was an infant. She was born with a severe left club foot. Treatment involved weekly full-leg casts from 5 weeks until 13 weeks. I remember walking through Costco, with her facing outwards in a Snugli carrier, and getting the most EVIL looks from people that I had somehow broken my infants`leg at such a young age. But they didn`t have the decency to talk to me. They simply glared as they walked by. It`s taken me a long time to develop skin thick enough to not be bothered by other people`s glances in my direction. I don`t do it consciously; in a flash of an instant I can read your face and know what your unspoken opinion is on me and whatever I`m around). Instantly. A gift, definitely, but also sometimes a curse... especially if I let others`opinions of me dictate my emotions.
Anyways I`m digressing quickly here, the more tired I get. Have a jolly good evening and we`ll see you around. :)
~n~
Birds fly, fish swim, man thinks and learns. Therefore, we do not need to motivate children into learning by wheedling, bribing or bullying. We do not need to keep picking away at their minds to make sure they are learning. What we need to do, and all we need to do, is bring as much of the world as we can... into their lives; give children as much help and guidance as they ask for; listen respectfully when they feel like talking; and then get out of the way. We can trust them to do the rest.
Ahhhh, yes. Children WILL learn. We simply need to *be* with them as their journey unfolds. Perhaps that's the biggest challenge for us as parents. ;D
Today marks my dd's first day of kindergarten. But we choose to homeschool. So she was sound asleep as the school bus rumbled by at 8:03 this morning. Actually, the puppy & I were the only two awake in the house - all other family members dozed happily. And here, on her first day of kindergarten, she's got chicken pox, so even if she WERE going to a brick-and-mortar school, she'd still not've been able to attend.
While the car was in at the shop today, we were planning on playing on a nearby playground. Until we arrived, that is, and found it crawling with preschool-aged children, infants, and mothers... one of whom may have been pregnant - who knows. So rather than infecting them all with pox, we continued walking down to the extra large grass soccer fields, where the puppy could run off-leash. I don't know why I foolishly assumed a playground beats a soccer field for entertainment value. Seriously. The kids ran and ran, being chased by the puppy until all 3 practically collapsed in a sweaty, panting heap at my feet. They hid behind trees on the perimeter and played hide-and-seek with the puppy. They played tag with the puppy. The creativity that unfolded on that field was a sight to behold. Whereas I can see in retrospect that the more we give our children in terms of material objects, the less they require the use of their imaginations. Unecumbered by material items, children can unbridle their imaginations and creativity. Life Lesson learned: always give children a blank canvas to paint on, not a paint-by-number.
It was curious while we were out, how people reacted to my daughter`s obviously visible chicken pox. Some were very respectful in that they brought it up to her, but didn`t step back in horror. It was more of a `well, everyone gets it - we`ve all had it ourselves` - sort of attitude. Accepting of it... and her (she`s feeling a little self-conscious at the moment). Others, like some of the other shoppers in the grocery store, gave her (and me) looks of horror and fear. No kidding. Perhaps these were adults who had never had it, or had no idea what these sores on her face were. Or maybe they were just confused why my obviously school-aged children weren`t in school during school hours on this, the first day of school. Who KNOWS what was going on in their heads. Nevertheless, when you see a child with obvious sores, and you don`t know what it is, show some compassion and ask the child or their parent, if your curiosity simply won`t rest until you know.
Reminds me of when she was an infant. She was born with a severe left club foot. Treatment involved weekly full-leg casts from 5 weeks until 13 weeks. I remember walking through Costco, with her facing outwards in a Snugli carrier, and getting the most EVIL looks from people that I had somehow broken my infants`leg at such a young age. But they didn`t have the decency to talk to me. They simply glared as they walked by. It`s taken me a long time to develop skin thick enough to not be bothered by other people`s glances in my direction. I don`t do it consciously; in a flash of an instant I can read your face and know what your unspoken opinion is on me and whatever I`m around). Instantly. A gift, definitely, but also sometimes a curse... especially if I let others`opinions of me dictate my emotions.
Anyways I`m digressing quickly here, the more tired I get. Have a jolly good evening and we`ll see you around. :)
~n~
06 September 2009
In the Juicing Groooooooooove..
Yep, we're already 6 days into this juicefeast. Hard to believe; it's really gone by sooooooo fast and really really smoothly. I'm loving the GreenStar; I don't know if I mentioned but I picked up a coarse filter so now I can juice fruits (watermelon is absolutely heavenly!) and pretty much everything.
Today I had
1L: spinach, celery, apple, lime, ginger
1L: watermelon
1L: yam, carrot, apple, ginger, cinnamon
1L: water
1 small cup of blueberry herbal tea
1L: beet greens, chard, apple, lime, ginger
I felt really elated today, especially earlier in the day. Just euphoric. Filled with bliss and happiness. It was a beautiful feeling. Over the day it gave way to fatigue... so much so I was ready to go to sleep at 8 tonight. LOL Still, despite the tiredness I feel really great.
I was at the tai chi workshop for 5 hours, of which we probably did 2 hours of actual physical exercise. However the lectures and oral teachings were VERY helpful and informative and I really do feel I benefitted a LOT from this weekend. I know I will get the MOST from this workshop if I can begin to incorporate tai chi into my daily life... the same as I row most days, and eat raw all the time... it would be very nice to do tai chi (and reiki) daily as well. I know this is where my life is drawing me, and I also know that making new habits is actually not all that difficult (mostly it's our mental clutter or blocks that prevent our success).
I was really blessed to be able to talk with another person who has experience fasting during the workshop. He's 79 and has been practising tai chi for over 20 years. Although he didn't in his younger years, he now treats his body very well, cleansing, fasting periodically, eating mostly raw, doing all kinds of things to improve his health and longevity. He reminded me several times during the weekend to be gentle on my body during this feast. I was grateful to have someone to talk to about how things were going; someone with experience of where I am. A few other people just looked at me like I had 3 heads, and one even said how extreme juicing was (in their view). One woman asked what the "symptoms" were of the juice feasting working...
Why is it we think that cleansing or fasting is somehow detrimental to our health? (It is with intention that I use the words "we" and "our" in that question, for I realize that I *am* the other people I talked to; I am you, and I am me. That might seem really deep and beyond comprehension, but to grasp even the tiniest of the true interconnectedness of life is profound. Just be with it; sit with it and see how you feel about it)... anyways, yes, why IS it that we see taking care of our bodies "extreme"?! Isn't putting animal flesh fried in fat or oil into our bodies.... how can we even call that food? Sure, a carrot was a living plant while growing and I realize that we are ALL consumers, even those of us that eschew consumerism are continually consuming throughout our lives. I think most people that eschew consumerism are actually eschewing materialism - the unnecessary consumption of material goods above and beyond the necessary. I digress...
Someone asked if I was doing this for weight loss or for religious reasons. Neither, really. I'm doing it because I was drawn to it, because I think we end up storing negativity in our bodies and it is important to periodically release that and rejuvenate and rebuild our bodies. Negativity might be ingested or enhaled toxins from our environment, it might be negative thoughts we have or stressful situations... things we can't quite get a handle on, that can't quite process... we store those things somewhere, don`t you think... maybe as tension in our lower backs or shoulders (or other skeletal joints), or maybe in our excess fat, or in our cell memories. Hard to say exactly where it's stored, but it's in there somewhere. As far as religious reasons for fasting, I'd say I`m doing it more for spiritual reasons than religious, as I don`t adhere to any one organized religion, but I do consider myself a very spiritual person.
What I`m getting at is that people who are not familiar with juicing or fasting try to fit it into their mental schemas somehow, into the box of familiarity. And maybe it doesn`t fit so they label it extreme or wacky. That`s okay. I`ve planted the seed; exposed them to the IDEA. Perhaps one day they`ll come across something about juicing or fasting that might open them up further to the idea. Or not. Either is just fine. :) After all, we are exactly where (and WHO) we need to be in this very moment.
Namaste
Today I had
1L: spinach, celery, apple, lime, ginger
1L: watermelon
1L: yam, carrot, apple, ginger, cinnamon
1L: water
1 small cup of blueberry herbal tea
1L: beet greens, chard, apple, lime, ginger
I felt really elated today, especially earlier in the day. Just euphoric. Filled with bliss and happiness. It was a beautiful feeling. Over the day it gave way to fatigue... so much so I was ready to go to sleep at 8 tonight. LOL Still, despite the tiredness I feel really great.
I was at the tai chi workshop for 5 hours, of which we probably did 2 hours of actual physical exercise. However the lectures and oral teachings were VERY helpful and informative and I really do feel I benefitted a LOT from this weekend. I know I will get the MOST from this workshop if I can begin to incorporate tai chi into my daily life... the same as I row most days, and eat raw all the time... it would be very nice to do tai chi (and reiki) daily as well. I know this is where my life is drawing me, and I also know that making new habits is actually not all that difficult (mostly it's our mental clutter or blocks that prevent our success).
I was really blessed to be able to talk with another person who has experience fasting during the workshop. He's 79 and has been practising tai chi for over 20 years. Although he didn't in his younger years, he now treats his body very well, cleansing, fasting periodically, eating mostly raw, doing all kinds of things to improve his health and longevity. He reminded me several times during the weekend to be gentle on my body during this feast. I was grateful to have someone to talk to about how things were going; someone with experience of where I am. A few other people just looked at me like I had 3 heads, and one even said how extreme juicing was (in their view). One woman asked what the "symptoms" were of the juice feasting working...
Why is it we think that cleansing or fasting is somehow detrimental to our health? (It is with intention that I use the words "we" and "our" in that question, for I realize that I *am* the other people I talked to; I am you, and I am me. That might seem really deep and beyond comprehension, but to grasp even the tiniest of the true interconnectedness of life is profound. Just be with it; sit with it and see how you feel about it)... anyways, yes, why IS it that we see taking care of our bodies "extreme"?! Isn't putting animal flesh fried in fat or oil into our bodies.... how can we even call that food? Sure, a carrot was a living plant while growing and I realize that we are ALL consumers, even those of us that eschew consumerism are continually consuming throughout our lives. I think most people that eschew consumerism are actually eschewing materialism - the unnecessary consumption of material goods above and beyond the necessary. I digress...
Someone asked if I was doing this for weight loss or for religious reasons. Neither, really. I'm doing it because I was drawn to it, because I think we end up storing negativity in our bodies and it is important to periodically release that and rejuvenate and rebuild our bodies. Negativity might be ingested or enhaled toxins from our environment, it might be negative thoughts we have or stressful situations... things we can't quite get a handle on, that can't quite process... we store those things somewhere, don`t you think... maybe as tension in our lower backs or shoulders (or other skeletal joints), or maybe in our excess fat, or in our cell memories. Hard to say exactly where it's stored, but it's in there somewhere. As far as religious reasons for fasting, I'd say I`m doing it more for spiritual reasons than religious, as I don`t adhere to any one organized religion, but I do consider myself a very spiritual person.
What I`m getting at is that people who are not familiar with juicing or fasting try to fit it into their mental schemas somehow, into the box of familiarity. And maybe it doesn`t fit so they label it extreme or wacky. That`s okay. I`ve planted the seed; exposed them to the IDEA. Perhaps one day they`ll come across something about juicing or fasting that might open them up further to the idea. Or not. Either is just fine. :) After all, we are exactly where (and WHO) we need to be in this very moment.
Namaste
DD has chickenpox. She's 5. At first (2 days ago) I thought, geez, where'd you get those flea bites from? (they were small red dots) but by the next morning, when they multiplied, I started to think 'chicken pox'. She never had a fever before breaking out; just a general misery that is very unlike her sunny, bubbly personality. But she also had dental work done recently I thought it was due to the dental work. Perhaps somewhat. So today I'm going to pick up some Rhus Toxicodendron to see if it will help relieve her itching (which seems to be making her most miserable) - 5 ch every 2 hrs. We'll see.
On Day 6 juicing. Everything's going very well. I had coconut water mixed with grapefruit, orange and apple yesterday. DEEEEEEElicious. I don't care for coconut water on its own just yet. But mixed, it's very good.
And I've been at a national level Taoist Tai Chi Internal Arts & Methods workshop this weekend. I've been taking tai chi classes for 4 yrs now. For me, it's a form of moving meditation. Stillness within while you move through the set. Very rejuvenating and relaxing. Relaxes and massages the internal organs while circulating lymph and spinal fluid, among other things. Seeing the interconnection between everything - I move my hand, but it is connected to every other part of my body.
I received some very good feedback and correction on my form from the workshop instructor, who has over 25 yrs experience. Very helpful. He talked at one point about our bones being alive. I've actually never thought of it before, but he's quite right. Our bones are not like rocks in our bodies; they are made of cells, which are living and changing. Think of how a broken bone heals; your body repairs it. You cannot repair a rock that has broken in two.
Today is the final day of the workshop. So I'm up early, to juice, before heading out. DH is at home with DD and will have to hold the fort down until I return later. Tomorrow we're having a celebratory open house/BBQ for dh's recent accomplishment at work. I would guess we might have between 20 & 50 people over... and it's POURING rain this weekend here. So it looks like it'll be inside. (I'm going to call people who I know are coming to let them know about the chicken pox; especially those with kids - b/c dd is still within the contagious period).
Alright. Off to juice then off to tai chi.
~namaste~
On Day 6 juicing. Everything's going very well. I had coconut water mixed with grapefruit, orange and apple yesterday. DEEEEEEElicious. I don't care for coconut water on its own just yet. But mixed, it's very good.
And I've been at a national level Taoist Tai Chi Internal Arts & Methods workshop this weekend. I've been taking tai chi classes for 4 yrs now. For me, it's a form of moving meditation. Stillness within while you move through the set. Very rejuvenating and relaxing. Relaxes and massages the internal organs while circulating lymph and spinal fluid, among other things. Seeing the interconnection between everything - I move my hand, but it is connected to every other part of my body.
I received some very good feedback and correction on my form from the workshop instructor, who has over 25 yrs experience. Very helpful. He talked at one point about our bones being alive. I've actually never thought of it before, but he's quite right. Our bones are not like rocks in our bodies; they are made of cells, which are living and changing. Think of how a broken bone heals; your body repairs it. You cannot repair a rock that has broken in two.
Today is the final day of the workshop. So I'm up early, to juice, before heading out. DH is at home with DD and will have to hold the fort down until I return later. Tomorrow we're having a celebratory open house/BBQ for dh's recent accomplishment at work. I would guess we might have between 20 & 50 people over... and it's POURING rain this weekend here. So it looks like it'll be inside. (I'm going to call people who I know are coming to let them know about the chicken pox; especially those with kids - b/c dd is still within the contagious period).
Alright. Off to juice then off to tai chi.
~namaste~
05 September 2009
Day 4 on Juicefeast 2009
Salutations! Well, today (Friday, even though I'm posting after midnight) went very well juicing. I had 4.25L of juice, including some great combinations:
- watermelon. YUMMERS. I think 2.25L today were watermelon.
- beet, carrot, lettuce, ginger
- kale, apple, ginger
- celery, orange, lettuce
- grapefruit, cucumber, cilantro, garlic
- lettuce, celery, lime, ginger, apple (this one is delicious)
I went to the National level tai chi workshop in town tonight which will be continuing over the weekend. I received some wise instruction individually which I was very honoured to receive (after first being embarassed at being asked to demonstrate my form in front of the class of 50+ people). But embarassment and self-consciousness quickly turned to gratitude and honour as I realized I was doing *some* things right, and to have the opportunity to receive feedback and instruction from this level of workshop is next-to-none. A wonderful opportunity gifted to me!!
Apart from that, I picked up a beautiful organic cotton dress at MEC - it's called the Patagonia Margot dress if you want to look it up. I'd link it here but the laptop's runnin' outta juice tonight and I probably only have a few minutes left... I'll try and edit this post in the morning and show a pic in here.
I was going to tell you I've lost weight this past week, but then I thought about how I don't want weight to be given undue importance in my life. Our society does that enough for women. No need to add to it. :) Just know that I'm very healthy on this fast. Healthy. That's all. I'm definitely at a healthy weight for my body already; the purpose of this fast isn't necessarily simply to lose more weight - it's for my spiritual, emotional, mental (and physical) health.
Just takin' it one day at a time. And hey, tomorrow's already Day 5. It's FLYING by. :)
Be peaceful and quiet within,
~n~
- watermelon. YUMMERS. I think 2.25L today were watermelon.
- beet, carrot, lettuce, ginger
- kale, apple, ginger
- celery, orange, lettuce
- grapefruit, cucumber, cilantro, garlic
- lettuce, celery, lime, ginger, apple (this one is delicious)
I went to the National level tai chi workshop in town tonight which will be continuing over the weekend. I received some wise instruction individually which I was very honoured to receive (after first being embarassed at being asked to demonstrate my form in front of the class of 50+ people). But embarassment and self-consciousness quickly turned to gratitude and honour as I realized I was doing *some* things right, and to have the opportunity to receive feedback and instruction from this level of workshop is next-to-none. A wonderful opportunity gifted to me!!
Apart from that, I picked up a beautiful organic cotton dress at MEC - it's called the Patagonia Margot dress if you want to look it up. I'd link it here but the laptop's runnin' outta juice tonight and I probably only have a few minutes left... I'll try and edit this post in the morning and show a pic in here.
I was going to tell you I've lost weight this past week, but then I thought about how I don't want weight to be given undue importance in my life. Our society does that enough for women. No need to add to it. :) Just know that I'm very healthy on this fast. Healthy. That's all. I'm definitely at a healthy weight for my body already; the purpose of this fast isn't necessarily simply to lose more weight - it's for my spiritual, emotional, mental (and physical) health.
Just takin' it one day at a time. And hey, tomorrow's already Day 5. It's FLYING by. :)
Be peaceful and quiet within,
~n~
03 September 2009
Day 3 - running errands while juicing
Today was... busy. I knew it would be - the kids & I had 3 appointments to keep and what seemed like a gazillion errands to run in between and all over town, and hey, it's only my third day juicing and I wasn't too sure how I'd be handling the transition to juicing, and my first day out and about while juicing on this juicefeast. Knowing I've successfully juiced while out of the house all day on previous fasts/feasts is comforting, yet there's still a little anxiety about not being right beside the juicer for hours on end. LOL Did I tell you on Day 1 our power went out TWICE during the day and I had no juices made and was a little concerned if the power stayed out for several hours how challenging that would be in terms of maintaining focus to stay juicing? As it was, they were both short power outages (less than 2 hrs) and in between I made lots of juice, so the second one was a cinch. But it reminded me to have juices made beforehand.
Yesterday I fell short on the 2 lbs or 1 kg of dark leafy greens, although I did get my celery in. I also didn't get around to doing any tai chi or rowing yesterday, which I'd been planning on (nor today either, which means I'm overdue for some exercise tomorrow!). My last juice of the day was consumed around 4 p.m., which made for a long-ish "fast" overnight, although I wasn't that hungry (haven't been yet on this feast, thank goodness).
Today was so incredibly busy. Again today I had about 3L of juice and again, fell short on the dark leafy greens but did get the celery in. I started the day with one coconut's water, one pineapple juiced and some E3Live in there. mmmmm was that combo ever GOOOOOD! Around 11 I had a L of celery/chard/apple which was yummy, too. We were out from late morning until about 8 tonight (yes, it was a long, juiceless afternoon) when I made about a liter of lettuce blend/apple/blackberry with some Vega oil and E3Live. I was in HEAVEN with the blackberries in the juice. SOOOOOO delicious! I had 1L of water today and 2L yesterday (and none the first day of juicing). And yep, running errands today was just fine. I love that with juicefeasting you're still capable of living your daily life, of going about your business. In fact, the Green Star is so wonderfully easy to use in terms of making juices and even clean-up's not that bad with it, and the juices are so delicious (and pulp free. Blech. I don't like pulpy juice.). I picked up a coarse screen today for it and will attempt to make watermelon juice in the morning. mmmm looking forward to that!!
Organic home delivery was today. I got 12 lbs of juicing carrots, a bunch of beets, 2 heads of romaine, 2 heads of red leaf lettuce, 2 bunches of spinach, 7 bunches of celery, some lemons, a couple pears, a couple grapefruit, one bunch of kale, one bunch of chard... it's working out SUPER well to have home delivery. I'm picking up 36 lbs of organic apples this weekend through the food buying co-op (one of 2 I belong to), which should carry me through the month, I hope. Tuesday is CSA day at the local organic farm. This week's box had salad mix (which I juiced tonight), 2 cobs of corn, chard, basil, tomatoes, strawberries, garlic and a couple potatoes. Yep, our house is FULLLLLLLL of fresh produce! LOVE it! Good thing we picked up that second fridge a while ago. It's coming in handy now!
Live your truth
~n~
Yesterday I fell short on the 2 lbs or 1 kg of dark leafy greens, although I did get my celery in. I also didn't get around to doing any tai chi or rowing yesterday, which I'd been planning on (nor today either, which means I'm overdue for some exercise tomorrow!). My last juice of the day was consumed around 4 p.m., which made for a long-ish "fast" overnight, although I wasn't that hungry (haven't been yet on this feast, thank goodness).
Today was so incredibly busy. Again today I had about 3L of juice and again, fell short on the dark leafy greens but did get the celery in. I started the day with one coconut's water, one pineapple juiced and some E3Live in there. mmmmm was that combo ever GOOOOOD! Around 11 I had a L of celery/chard/apple which was yummy, too. We were out from late morning until about 8 tonight (yes, it was a long, juiceless afternoon) when I made about a liter of lettuce blend/apple/blackberry with some Vega oil and E3Live. I was in HEAVEN with the blackberries in the juice. SOOOOOO delicious! I had 1L of water today and 2L yesterday (and none the first day of juicing). And yep, running errands today was just fine. I love that with juicefeasting you're still capable of living your daily life, of going about your business. In fact, the Green Star is so wonderfully easy to use in terms of making juices and even clean-up's not that bad with it, and the juices are so delicious (and pulp free. Blech. I don't like pulpy juice.). I picked up a coarse screen today for it and will attempt to make watermelon juice in the morning. mmmm looking forward to that!!
Organic home delivery was today. I got 12 lbs of juicing carrots, a bunch of beets, 2 heads of romaine, 2 heads of red leaf lettuce, 2 bunches of spinach, 7 bunches of celery, some lemons, a couple pears, a couple grapefruit, one bunch of kale, one bunch of chard... it's working out SUPER well to have home delivery. I'm picking up 36 lbs of organic apples this weekend through the food buying co-op (one of 2 I belong to), which should carry me through the month, I hope. Tuesday is CSA day at the local organic farm. This week's box had salad mix (which I juiced tonight), 2 cobs of corn, chard, basil, tomatoes, strawberries, garlic and a couple potatoes. Yep, our house is FULLLLLLLL of fresh produce! LOVE it! Good thing we picked up that second fridge a while ago. It's coming in handy now!
Live your truth
~n~
02 September 2009
Day 2 Juicing
Well, I've survived Day 2. LOL I shouldn't say "survived"; it makes it sound like it was horrible and it was anything but. Truly, beginning this fast has been a relatively smooth transition from solids to liquids. I foolishly stayed up last night playing a (you'll laugh at this) kids' time management online game 'til the wee hours of the night (who can't manage her time well?!?), and of course the puppy woke me up early, so all day I've been feeling the effects of sleep deprivation. A little crankier than normal, a little lazier than normal (I just heard you say, "as if that's possible." LMAO).
Actually, you know what? I wasn't all that lazy today. I steam cleaned half our living room floor, and that was a big job moving furniture and stuff out of the way and doing that. I cleaned the kitchen rather well and swept and washed the floors (oh suuuuuurrrrrre, you say, people do that more regularly than i. 'tis true, 'tis true), did laundry, that kind of thing. Nothing overly strenuous and I made sure I took time out to play with the kids - a couple games of pokemon, reading the newspaper, collecting eggs. Generally a swell day here. Just moving a little slower than normal. Taking it easy on myself, what with the lack of sleep and cleansing effect of green juices (which can leave you a little light-headed sometimes).
In terms of juice consumption, yesterday I made 7 juices, each about half to three quarters of a litre. I felt like I was constantly in the kitchen, juicing, or cleaning up from juicing, or preparing to juice. So today I made a couple batches of juice. I had celery, cucumber, lettuce and apple first in the morning - about three quarters of a litre i think. Then i mixed up 2L of "v8" - tomato, celery, chard, cucumber, red pepper, radish, carrot, beet. yummers. I had 60 oz of lime water and a cup of chamomile tea and that was it today. So total juice consumption Day 1 was 4.5L and day 2 was 2.75L. And I'm down a pound overnight. LOL
Now, some Reiki and a good night's sleep.
warmly,
~n~
Actually, you know what? I wasn't all that lazy today. I steam cleaned half our living room floor, and that was a big job moving furniture and stuff out of the way and doing that. I cleaned the kitchen rather well and swept and washed the floors (oh suuuuuurrrrrre, you say, people do that more regularly than i. 'tis true, 'tis true), did laundry, that kind of thing. Nothing overly strenuous and I made sure I took time out to play with the kids - a couple games of pokemon, reading the newspaper, collecting eggs. Generally a swell day here. Just moving a little slower than normal. Taking it easy on myself, what with the lack of sleep and cleansing effect of green juices (which can leave you a little light-headed sometimes).
In terms of juice consumption, yesterday I made 7 juices, each about half to three quarters of a litre. I felt like I was constantly in the kitchen, juicing, or cleaning up from juicing, or preparing to juice. So today I made a couple batches of juice. I had celery, cucumber, lettuce and apple first in the morning - about three quarters of a litre i think. Then i mixed up 2L of "v8" - tomato, celery, chard, cucumber, red pepper, radish, carrot, beet. yummers. I had 60 oz of lime water and a cup of chamomile tea and that was it today. So total juice consumption Day 1 was 4.5L and day 2 was 2.75L. And I'm down a pound overnight. LOL
Now, some Reiki and a good night's sleep.
warmly,
~n~
01 September 2009
Day 1 of the 2009 Juicefeast
Well today is the beginning. I'm hoping to fast for 92 days... one day (one moment) at a time. LOL Today has gone well so far. OOOOOOHHHHHH and yesterday I picked up a GreenStar juicer and I *LOOOOOOOOOVE* it. It's fantastic.
One question for you GreenStar users though: is it the blank plate or the coarse plate I use for things like soft fruits/melons and tomatoes and such? I can't remember what it said about that.
Thanks and I'll check in again soon. Please send me some good vibes and energy; the first few days of any fast can be challenging. ;)
Namaste
~n~
One question for you GreenStar users though: is it the blank plate or the coarse plate I use for things like soft fruits/melons and tomatoes and such? I can't remember what it said about that.
Thanks and I'll check in again soon. Please send me some good vibes and energy; the first few days of any fast can be challenging. ;)
Namaste
~n~
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