Belts & stuff.

I had a thought the other day: how does wearing a belt affect our subtle energies? Do you think it does, I guess is the first question, and then if so, how... I think it does. it's like it cuts my energy in half at the waist. haven't heard or read anything about this... do you know?

Today I was still eating emotionally; it was all over the place. Trying to have some self-compassion (especially given the stress of the weekend). I realize when I'm feeling emotional and reach for cooked food that I feel like crap, and it reminds me how gooooooood I feel when I choose raw. I love raw. ;)

I listened to matt monarch of the raw food world interview victoria boutenko last night. fascinating interview. not sure if you can find it on this-here-internet-web-thingy any longer but if you do, check it out. Very interesting. (had a great conversation with my 9 yr old about thermo-self-regulation and 'tempering the body' today.)

weekend horoscope

my horoscope for the weekend said something to the effect that i'd receive some unexpected news that could be interpreted two ways: initially, it might appear shocking or negative, but really, it's a blessing in disguise. um, ya, great.

well, so you're wondering what the 'bad' news with the silver lining was, eh. well, at first i was drawn to playing around with an online financial budget tool and was hit with the rather harsh reality that we spend more than we make. (oops) so i was trying to come up with a (hopefully) sustainable, balanced budget. which was all fine and dandy, except that i then found myself emotionally eating because of the stress (why are emotional attachments to food so gosh-darn STRONG?!?!) Then, rather unexpectedly, some of my emotional baggage that i had stuffed way down deep started to surface. why, i have no idea. all of a sudden my thoughts were drawn to it and bubble-bubble-burp up it comes and whoa nelly, NOT ENJOYABLE. you see, isn't that why we all stuff our emotional crap so deep?! because it SUCKS to have it in our faces?!? ha ha ha yep, that's why. everyone (whether you're willing to admit it or not) has emotional baggage, imo... we stuff it down, or deal with it in damaging ways like through addictions (drugs, alcohol, food, porn, etc.) for example... we've all got it, though - while i've met plenty of people in denial, i've yet to meet anyone without any.

now me, having a decent amount of both counselling experience and training (LOL) is determined to face the music. this *stuff* has been bubbling up more and more often and that, for me, is always a sign that I guess it's time to deal with it. otherwise it'll just keep coming up at inopportune moments and wreak havoc with my otherwise-orderly life. i also know that generally as of late, my life is getting a little (dare I say) mundane and well, lacking fizzle... and I *know* that personal growth usually happens through times of upheaval and chaos, so I was actually kind of aware that something might soon arise.

so i spent most of the weekend trying to sort through it. nothing has really resolved itself yet, but just journalling and talking to supportive people has helped tremendously, and I know it's the right thing to be doing in this moment. i started the day with reiki, and ended with a himalayan crystal salt & baking soda lavender bath. but as i'm sure you well know, this type of work is VERY exhausting. so right now, I need to keep it short and honour my body by getting the rest it needs.

in light and love,
~n~

Fa-fa-fa-Friday!!

Holy crow we're all so exhausted tonight; we went with three other local mamas and their broods (& mutts) for a 7 km walk this afternoon!! (If you want to know how to wear out puppies and 5 yr old girls, take them for looooooonnnnnnggggg walks, LOL... but make sure you have lots of kids to entertain each other!)

I'd made vegetable barley stew in the crock pot this morning for everyone else for dinner, so when we got home from our afternoon trek, all I did was whip up some baking soda biscuits and voila, dinner on the table! I was so grateful I'd made the stew this morning, before going to tai chi class...

Today I've had:

• 2+L of green smoothie (~5 oz of salad mix, 3 bananas, about 4c (combined) of frozen raspberries, strawberries & blueberries, 1T of Vitamineral Greens, 1T of Chlorella powder, 1T of maca powder, 1T of raw agave, 2T of Vega Oil, and enough water to blend)
• 2 bananas (or was that 3?)
• a mini-mandarin orange
• a couple handfuls of raw trail mix
• a couple raw oatmeal cookies (recipe from rawmazing.com; omG these were soooooo yummy)
• 1/2 a Caramilk bar
• zucchini wrap with squash, sage cream sauce & cranberries (from rawmazing.com; simply INCREDIBLE).
• 2 baking soda biscuits
• a piece of raw apple-cranberry cheesecake (also from rawmazing. Funny, it's so filling I don't gorge on it like I thought I would.)

Still, I seriously eat too much.

Madrona Farm

I wanted to share with you a story about a local organic farm... there are many people in our community who are fundraising to protect this property in perpetuity from development... and all it's going to take from you is a little click of the mouse...

Here's the information I received from Guy Dauncey, a local author who sends out an "econews" newsletter each month:

Madrona Farm is a wonderful example of sustainable organic farming in the middle of a city, which is working to raise $2.5 million to secure the land under The Land Conservancy ownership, for ever.

They're doing amazingly, but still have $830,000 to raise by the end of January- and there's a very easy way in which you can help.

They have entered The Aviva Community Fund Contest, and could win between $50,000 and $250,000, if they get enough votes.

The Round 3 voting ends in 4 days, at 7pm on Sunday night - and we need to gather 5,000 new votes by then to get them into the final Round 4. If not, they're out.

Can you please vote for them? And ask all your friends and your Facebook friends to vote too?

Vote Here: http://www.avivacommunityfund.org/ideas/acf3693

Once you have signed in, you can VOTE EVERY DAY.

This is completely achievable, if we all vote, and ask our friends to vote too.

Mark your calendars: Nov 29th!

"To Your Health": International Day of Juice Feasting, Sunday Nov 29th...

I haven't mentioned food lately (how unlike me, LOL)... but came across a mention of celebrating International Day of Juice Feasting this upcoming Sunday, Nov 29th, and I think it's a lovely idea. Last year I juiced for 45 consecutive days, this year for 30... and there's the odd day in there as well... by "juiced" I mean I consumed nothing but raw, organic, fresh juices the entire day (usually 4-7 liters over the course of a day). And I'd like to add that the 45 day feast was using a Vitamix and nut milk bags as strainers... for 45 days, peeps. So even if you don't have a juicer, it can be done. And heck, if you`re not into an entire day of juices, why not run out to Booster Juice or your local juice bar and just have one on Sunday. Just TRY IT. It's very healing and delicious, and I, for one, will set aside my fork and knife on Sunday and join others around the world in celebrating the benefits of juicing.

Read more about it here.

So what have I been eating lately? hmm, 2L of green smoothie daily, generally... I had some salad mix tonight (right from the bag, LOL; i'd only just picked it up in our farm box) and a couple cherry tomatoes (also from the farm box)... earlier in the day I enjoyed a bowl of muesli with raw almond milk (Jennifer Cornbleet's recipes)... and I had a couple pieces of raw chocolate from the freezer... and a banana and an orange, and some herbal tea with stevia. Yep, I've been eating LOTS lately (and not exercising, and boy, am I ever feeling that!).

I've been surfing for raw recipes tonight and found a veritable treasure trove (yes, I really do talk like that) of recipes over at www.rawmazing.com I can't wait to try them... all. LOL

Staying Positive

What's going on cosmically the past couple days?! Here's just some of what I've come across: a death in the extended family, a hospitalization as well, one of the blogs I read regularly disappears into the abyss... another blog family finds themselves reeling from a very serious health issue... several of my children's friends are dealing with parental break-ups at the moment, a few friends struggle financially, another's depression deepens, yet another is in a car accident. What the heck is going on?! None of these are things I'm able to laugh about, yet it's finding the laughter in each day, the spark and light of love and hope that make my life worth living.

It's the moments of true happiness that shine through the dark clouds... like listening to my daughter make up beautiful songs in her angelic voice, songs that clearly connect her to something greater in her life... It's watching my son proudly demonstrate mastery of a song on the piano, after just 4 weeks of lessons! It's observing the things that ds and dd find funny... listening to their infectious giggles as they fall, face first, into the pillows - not putting their hands out to stop themselves. I sit, amazed, as there giggling is unleashed, each peal of laughter punctuated by another WHAP onto the pillows of the bed. It's the little moments of life that continually remind me that life is most definitely worth living.

I am reminded of the fragility of the present moment... how quickly life can be snatched from us. I am filled with gratitude - such abundant gratitude - for the many MANY blessings in my life. The awareness of these blessings brings me joy, helps me take life a little lighter, and I join in the laughter as the kids continue falling face first into the pillows.

And so I return to that which fills my soul. In this moment, I return to my breathe. The sacred gift of breath. So simple, yet so profound. It grounds me in the present moment, keeps me real, helps me heal.

Blessings go out to all; You are not alone, friend.

where's your sacred space?

i'm reading star weiss's "Havens in a hectic world", shared stories of people's sacred spaces. Spaces that occupy a place - in our hearts, in our worldview, on Earth. Spaces that defy time. Spaces that give us back a sense of who we are, like a reflecting pool. A sacredness found, at times, in solitude, and also, in other times, through social connections, through human communication, interaction. And this may defy place or time... we could be somewhere we don't consider sacred, experiencing something very sacred. Or we can have expectations that such and such a place will yield a sacred experience, only to experience disappointment... often attributed to the place, and not what we are bringing into that space. that brings up a good question: how does intentionality affect our experience of the sacred? and how can we grasp the sacred in lives that might be overwhelming in this moment, when we're becoming unglued and life is throwing punches at us... how do we move from simply surviving to becoming thriving beings?

I don't know if I shared but the other day my son, having been spending lots of time in nature lately, out of the blue said, you know mom, when i spend time in the creek, this may sound weird, but i seem to gain a lot of energy. no, it's not weird, it's what i believe truly happens... especially around water, and flowing water at that. Water is so sacred to humans. I don't think it's any coincidence that our bodies are so substantially made up of water, or that we as humans have some deep, deep connection to the moon, the same moon that pulls the tides.

Sacred places heal us. They allow us to be... to connect with something greater than our selves, to connect with our Truth... sacred spaces give us a chance to go deep into the "dark" emotions of anger, fear, sadness, grief, despair... to go deep, to find meaning, to heal and give us the strength to take that next breath.

So I ask you, please, if you are willing, will you share where your sacred space is, and why? Where do you go to heal?

And by all means, do visit www.starweiss.ca She's done amazing work on this very topic.

Please do return to read part 2 of the post later.

Respectfully Yours,
~n~

Honest Blogger Award... for me?!

oooh, an award... for me?! I'm blushing! of course, i'm on dial-up and having one heck of a time trying to get the pic of it onto the blog, so you'll have to just trust me on it... actually, check out this blogger who awarded it to me! (thank-you, THANK-YOU!!!)

So here's 10 honest things about me:

1. I don't like wearing make-up. I never was able to understand why it was socially acceptable for women but not men. If men look handsome 'as is', then imo, so do women. I had a neighbour remark yesterday I look far younger than my 34 years... which she attributed to my raw vegan diet. ;)

2. I can play part of Iron Butterfly's 1968 "In-a-gadda-da-vida" on the recorder. I *ROCK* at playing it, actually. hidden talent, who knew.

3. I like things put back in their place. Simply b/c, if you share a household with anyone else, everyone will always know where to find... the scissors, the extra lightbulbs, or the car keys. dh says I'm a bit OCD about it, but I disagree. I just appreciate order, not that I`ve been able to unclutter the house enough to get it into an orderly state.

4. I have had the same hole on my right ear pierced 7 times and on my left, 6. I kept getting infections within the initial 4-weeks after piercing, so I'd have to remove the stud, let it heal, and then get it re-pierced. FINALLY my mother figured out I was allergic to the cheap metals in the studs, and I got gold studs, and those were the ONLY earrings I could wear. Wearing cheap costume/fashion earrings gives me the start of an infection within HOURS. So about ten years ago, I gave up. I took the earrings out and now have no piercings. Oh, and for a couple years, I had my nose pierced. Which is another story in and of itself. A funny one. I'll tell you later. ;)

5. I am a middle child. My mother is a middle child. HER mother was a middle child. All three of us are the middle girls of girl-girl-boy families (does that make sense?). I *suffer* from middle child syndrome in the worst way. LMAO Just ask my sister.

6. I would *love* to have more children. Hopefully, more Aquarians, LOL. (dh, dd, and myself are all Aquarians, and ds is a Taurus)

7. When I was growing up, I was determined to become a clinical psychologist. And I was going to have my PhD by the time I was 25. I don't think I'll ever become a clinical psychologist, but I might like to get a master's in counselling psychology.

8. Throughout my life, I've noticed that at any given time, I have a very small handful of really close friends. I just do better one-on-one, rather than in larger social groups. On the Myers-Briggs, I'm actually INFP - introverted, intuitive, feeling, perceiving...

9. I'm fascinated with self-discovery and lifelong learning. I love personal growth and the journey my life is on. And I've been bungy jumping off a 140 foot bridge, over a rushing river, twice (once at 18, then at 28. Ask me again in 4 years if I'm going to go a third time. I have no desire to right now, LOL)

10. I love my life. I adore my kids and husband. I'm very blessed to be supported by extended family and wonderful friends. I live in a beautiful rural community and have the ocean close by. It's paradise. And I'm really, really grateful for being able to share with others through blogs.

Which brings me to six other blogs I'd like to gift this award to (in no particular order):
Holymotherofgod
Raising Seven Vegans
Radical Radiance
Kristen's Raw
My Raw Spiritual Crazy Life
On-Purpose Living
Live for Today

I lost count. :D Some of you may have already received the award, and that's okay. I just really enjoy your blog, and am grateful for what you share on them. :) And I'm sorry I don't have the award picture. Like I say, dial-up internet service isn't at all cooperative with images. You'll just have to go to here to get it. ;)

Creating financial abundance

A few people lately have shared their financial situations with me... not in a "pity me" way, just in a "this is where i'm at" space. i'm glad to have open conversations, and if that's the reality, then that's what it is. no judgment from this end at all. it just *is*. in sharing, we're learning from each other, so let's not discredit the value of discussing openly. But otoh, I like having the "if i had a million dollars" conversation. I like daydreaming about it. I maybe spend too much time thinking about it, LOL. But I know from experience that the matters in my life I give attention to and verbalize, manifest and actualize themselves. I'm not sticking my head in the sand, oblivious to reality. I'm just going to focus my intentions on manifesting something greater for my life.

So all's I'm gonna say is my life is filled with abundance and prosperity. That's right. I am truly TRULY blessed and my life flows smoothly.

Say it with me, out loud, three times:

MY LIFE IS FILLED WITH ABUNDANCE AND PROSPERITY. I AM BLESSED AND EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL SECURITY IN EVERY MOMENT. I LOVE MY LIFE.

There. Don't you feel even a smidgeon better now? Seriously, I do. (smiles) oh, btw, smiling helps here, too. don't hold back, bein' all serious on me, don't be shy. just SMILE. :D

One of the principles of Reiki I've learned is Just for today, do not worry. It's so easy to say it, but often in our hectic, overly-stress filled lives very difficult to LIVE it.

So let's just try. No worrying about money today, okay? Actually, today seems like an awfully long time not to worry... what is that, 86,400 seconds?!?! Talk about overwhelming! How about just for this one eensy beensy moment we not worry about it. like.... *now*. and then *now*. hmmmm that seems much more manageable. Push those worrisome thoughts aside. Cast them out. Be done with them, I say! ;) Maybe we need to say it again:

Three times, out loud:

MY LIFE IS FILLED WITH ABUNDANCE AND PROSPERITY. I AM BLESSED AND EXPERIENCE FINANCIAL SECURITY IN EVERY MOMENT. I LOVE MY LIFE.

ahhhhhhhhhhh that's better.

If you're still not feeling the love after reading this far, then why not play the gratitude game? Name one thing for each letter of the alphabet that you are truly grateful for in your life in this moment. I'll start us off.

A, in this moment I am grateful for... an abundance of fresh apples that were gifted to me after harvest this autumn.

Now it's your turn. You've got the letter B.

why am i the only raw vegan in my house?

when people find out i'm the only vegan/raw vegan in the household, they often ask why. I read blogs of other families where everyone is vegan and/or raw. And fwiw, imho, this is absolutely the way I'd *love* to see my family headed. Which begets the question: why am I the only one eating this way. In our household of 4, I'm the only raw vegan. ds is vegetarian, and dh and dd are omnivores (although dd eats an awful lot of vegetarian meals).

When i went vegan 3 1/2 yrs ago, I think dh thought it was a fad. In fact, I know he thought it was. b/c a couple months in, he said, "well, you'll go back to eating meat eventually, right? Maybe just not red meat." um, no, i really didn't intend to eat any meat, or dairy, for that matter. So the weight continued to release and I continued eating vegan and although it made for awkwardness socially at times - especially amongst family and friends... not so much in restaurants as in people's homes (the old adage of 'you'll eat what's in front of you', and not cause your host 'unnecessary' stress by placing your dietary choice on them (even though i've always been willing to bring a vegan dish to share, it'd be the spontaneous dinners that made it especially awkward) - and I stress here that everyone recognized it was a CHOICE to eat vegan and not medically-recommended; that might've made it less awkward). And sure, it made it challenging even b/t dh & me when it came to eating out - not that we eat out a lot, but when we did, it sometimes became an issue... but we'd always go and i learned to phone ahead... like to the steak house, or the bbq place... where meat is center stage and i'd be lucky to get an iceberg lettuce salad. i learned to eat something ahead of time, or else to bring something along to supplement the salad i'd inevitably have. But i was committed to eating vegan.

Fast forward a couple years and I start eating raw. well, if eating vegan didn't present enough social challenges, try explaining to family and friends that now i don't eat cooked food?!? some looked at me like i had three heads!! they'd never heard of such a concept! a few people took it very personally, like I was attacking what they enjoyed eating... which, for the record, i was not. i had also learned by this point not to mention my dietary choices. i simply just chose salads without trying to explain myself, and some people asked why i wasn't eating the steamed white rice or the tofu, and sometimes i'd say i prefer to eat fresh/raw foods now and sometimes i'd just say it's what i wanted in that moment... so as to avoid the discussion. And when meeting friends and family at coffee houses, i learned to have herbal tea and avoid the baked goodies. Sometimes the kids would loudly share that i was a RAW vegan now and didn't eat anything cooked, which would get a quizzical look from others and no reply from me. You know, you don't have to explain yourself to everybody. LOL I do recognize now that I was developing a soy intolerance as a cooked-food vegan, so if people now ask why I'm raw, that's what I share, and then it becomes more "acceptable" to have made such an alternative dietary choice.

So why aren't the rest of the family raw vegans? Like I say, dh thought my flirt with veganism was temporary. He knows better now. ;) Same with when I went raw - although by then he knew I had the willpower to follow through with my choices. And I think he was more willing to accept my choice because I wasn't forcing it on him. At no point have I put a completely 100% raw meal in front of him (I'm the main chef in the house; not that he doesn't cook - he quite enjoys it and he's very good at it). There have been times when I've said, geez, I really can't fathom having to cook something for dinner - I'll make my raw meal, but will you please make anything you'd additionally like yourself? And he will very happily make the children and himself something to complement the raw food. No arguments. But this is not the norm. Normally I'm making myself a raw meal, ds a vegetarian meal, and dd & dh omnivorous meals.

when i read blogs of other vegan and raw vegan families, i admit there's a touch of envy on my party. i would secretly LOVE to have a vegan or 100% raw kitchen... no smells of bacon frying, nothing that i would struggle with not eating, like the cheesecake in the fridge or some other baked goody (knowing how strongly i'm addicted to wheat)... just wholesome healthy raw foods that we would all enjoy. it's ideal, but it's not my reality.

and so i struggle. i admit i find it challenging, often making three different (but usually complementary) meals... like in summer one night we had burgers, so there were 2 meat burgers, 1 veggie burger, and 1 raw burger, and raw ceasar salad that everyone enjoys. You can well imagine that meals simply take some planning and preparation on my part. Often the children will eat vegetarian or vegan meals with raw sides. Often their snacks are completely raw. They drink green smoothies near daily. So I'm doing the best I can, without forcing raw veganism on them, which I think could very well backfire. I recognize the influence I have on them as their mother, simply sitting beside them eating a raw meal. I don't need to force it on them. They're welcome to share in it of their own volition. (the thought crosses my mind: will one day my children say I didn't care enough about their health to more strongly encourage them to go raw?)

It would be one thing if dh & i were both raw vegans... then it would be a no-brainer that of course, the children would eat raw as well. But b/c he and I aren't on the same page it's just not that simple. It's probably a pipe-dream to think that one day all four of us will have chosen the same path, so I have to live in this moment and I simply remind myself it's not about the food, it's about us sharing our meals (and lives) together. I'm very conscious that I went vegan and then raw long after dh and I were married, when ds was already 6 yrs old... so he'd already had 6 years of fast food restaurants and such. :(

Which is why I need to add that I am so very proud of ds. At 8, he volutarily chose to become a vegetarian, DESPITE some pretty negative and critical comments from other important adults in his life. Things like "kids need meat to grow healthy!" and other such nonsense. So I made sure to point out the other vegetarian kids we knew... and here on the West Coast, there's actually lots. It was his choice to go vegetarian, and he talks about how one day he'll go vegan, and then eventually he'll eat raw. He's concerned about global warming, and we talk about the impact of eating a vegetarian diet in terms of water and grain consumed. We talk about how western consumption patterns are impacting the global scene - how other countries want to become more like us in terms of their consumption patterns - and how that would impact global warming. We can have these conversations because I'm not trying to convince him that eating vegetarian is the right thing to do. He's already chosen it for his own reasons. He took control of his health; he saw the benefits I received from eating vegan and made the choice himself.

I don't purposefully have these "pro-vegetarian" conversations in front of dd, who's only 5 (I also don't avoid the topic). She's not yet ready to embrace a completely vegetarian diet, and that's okay. I'm content that meat is not the focus of each meal for her, the way it is for dh generally. She eats vegetarian more than 50% of the time, mostly b/c I won't cook meat for the small portions of it she'll eat. She never complains that she's missing out on meat; she's aware that she only eats it when daddy's around.

So for now, this is our reality. One raw vegan mama, one vegetarian son, an omnivorous meat-loving father and an omnivorous daughter. I'd *love* to hear from other families, especially from those where the parents don't share dietary choices, and what choices are made with the children in mind.

A Saturday fast.

Saturday, for reasons I don't pretend to fully understand, I fasted on coconut water and green smoothie. I had more than 4L of young coconut water and 2L of green smoothie, as well as a cup of herbal tea. I don't know why I felt drawn to fasting... I didn't have the intention to when I went to sleep the night before, but upon waking, I just took it a moment at a time... In this moment, what do I feel like nourishing my body with? And apparently, young coconut water was the answer more often than not. I just felt so connected to Spirit by cleansing throughout the day. Each moment became a connection to the Divine.

I also tongue-scraped, did a couple hours of tai chi in the afternoon, and luxuriated in a very calming salt/b soda with lavender oil hot bath this evening. It's been a fabulous (although hectic) day!

AND I began reading what I can see will be an INCREDIBLE influence on my life: local author Star Weiss' book: Havens in a hectic world: Finding Sacred Places". Please, if you're at all interested in the spiritual journey that is your life, do read it. I'm 4 chapters in and am LOVING it.

Namaste'

Connection

On the tv news I caught last week they had a clip about people using the internet to meet others... in-person. As in, using the internet to get off the internet... to actually CONNECT with other people. I laughed, because we're all so... alike. We all crave connection with one another... not the not-looking-you-in-the-eyes-but-say-'thanks'-absentmindedly-for-holding-the-door-open-for-me kind of connection, but the look-me-deep-in-the-eyes-see-my-soul-see-past-my-ego-that-obscures-us-from-truly-connecting kind of connection. You know the difference.

It's not just about the eyes. I'm thinking about connection and how we either build it in each moment, with each interaction, or we don't. As in, why was I so preoccupied with getting us to dance class on time that I wasn't fully present in the conversation with my daughter when I hurried her to eat her breakfast so we could get out the door? I was going through a list in my head of things to remember; I wasn't giving her my full attention. What message does that send her? How does that reflect upon myself? Oy vey.

So I sit here, really thinking about it. What does connection feel like? What does it look like? Well, I tell ya, when dh was standing behind me at the Remembrance Day ceremony yesterday, and he kissed me gently on the back of the head, I felt such a deep connection with him - we had a lengthy, loving conversation in that one gesture. When ds gave me a spontaneous hug as we passed in the hallway later, again I experienced connection. I consciously tried to give whomever I was talking to today my undivided attention (and trust me when I say this is a learned behaviour for me; I have to consciously overcome the urge to multitask!).

In the end, connection enriches our life experiences so greatly I cannot begin to describe it. I don't know if I've shared the moment last autumn: the kids and I were driving the famed Cabot Trail on Cape Breton, Nova Scotia... We detoured off because I wanted to go see the abbey where Pema Chodron resides, and as we went down this single lane, curving, seaside gravel road, we came around a corner (we hadn't passed a house in probably 5 kms or even 10), and all of a sudden there was a house and we were approaching the abbey, and there was a woman, probably in her 60s, out for a walk, and she stood there, her hand outstretched, with a black-capped chickadee sitting on her gloved hand. Our eyes met, she smiled, the bird flew to the nearby bushes as our vehicle passed by.... Such a fleeting moment, yet the impact of that moment is etched in my memory. She was living so fully in the present moment; she had been deep in connection with that chickadee, and she didn't begrudge that I had interrupted. In that instant I was reminded it is not the destination, it is the journey and HOW we travel that matters... do we travel mindfully? is our intention to connect with all other beings we come in contact with? Are we able to hold the sacred space open for others to join us in deep connection?

How do you travel through life?

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

In memory of Bdr Myles Mansell (1981-2006)

In the news: processed food linked to depression

Each week, we get a CSA produce box from our local organic farm, we get a bin of organic produce that we order through an online grocer that delivers to your door, and we have our own veggies outside, as well as getting a monthly local organic box from another source(and I haven't even mentioned farmer's markets or farm gate sales!). (YESTERDAY, November 8th, I was *STILL* eating fresh raspberries from our garden... unbelievable. You'd think I lived in California and not the Pacific Northwest!) Yes, we eat a LOT of fresh fruits and veggies in our house. In fact, we have a fridge that is JUST for fresh produce. The other fridge has jars of nuts and seeds, cooked grains and legumes sometimes, dairy, meat, condiments, dh's beer (LOL), etc. I've found that just having more fruits and veggies in the house means the kids reach for them more often. It's that simple. No junk food (or even processed food, for that matter)? No arguments over it!

i've edited the following (while I personally don't advocate eating fish, the researchers do, fwiw); here's the original:

Researchers at University College London found that a diet including plenty of fresh vegetables, fruit and fish could help prevent the onset of depression.

They compared participants -- all civil servants -- who ate a diet largely based on "whole" foods with a second group who mainly ate fried food, processed meat, high-fat dairy products and sweetened desserts.

Taking into account other indicators of a healthy lifestyle such as not smoking and taking physical exercise, those who ate the whole foods had a 26 percent lower risk of depression than those who ate mainly processed foods.

People with a diet heavy in processed food had a 58 percent higher risk of depression.

The high level of antioxidants in fruits and vegetables could have a protective effect, as previous studies have shown higher antioxidant levels to be associated with a lower risk of depression.

Eat your fresh (local, organic, raw) veggies and fruit, already!!

quick check-in

i have another post i'm working on... it's just taking some time to get my thoughts together on it... but in the meantime, i just wanted to check-in and say we're having a great (leisurely) weekend. dh came home yesterday and we had a little 'saturday night house party' with the four of us... dh & ds having a pokemon battle and dd playing some piano and dancing (and waiting for her EXTRA loose front tooth to fall out!!!), and well, generally some loud music on the stereo (our nearest neighbour's away for a week, so crank up the tunes!!!)... i should note that we all live on one acre lots, so our nearest neighbour is still about 250 feet away from our house.... PLENTY of space as it is, but when you REALLY want to crank the tunes, well... LOL

today dh is off at army, and the kids slept in 'til 9, so i had a quiet leisurely morning so far... it's a beautiful, sunny, crisp autumn morning (after recent heavy rains) so i'll try to get outside to enjoy it. there's nothing we *have* to do today - nowhere to go, no errands or anything. weekly homeschool reports need to be done, but they don't *have* to be done today... tomorrow works just fine, too. :)

hope you have an enjoyable sunday as well!
~n~

H1N1

I admit it; I'm blissfully ignorant of the media, in general. I choose not to watch the news on tv, choose to generally not listen to the news on the radio, and I don't read a daily newspaper. Once in a while I go online to the news headlines, just so I have a dim awareness of current events, but it's usually all so doom and gloom, I'd much prefer not to fill my head with paranoia and negativity. So, sure, I *know* that H1N1 is making it's second round up here in North America after appearing in spring. I *know* this. I also feel that there's an awful lot of attention being given to it at the moment, and I'm not totally comfortable with that.

I guess I find it mildly challenging how to respond to well-meaning relatives' enquiries as to whether or not I'll be vaccinating our children against H1N1 and also getting them a "regular flu shot". We will be getting neither, and this is causing some friction (a lot?) amongst family who have made different choices for themselves and their dependents. (that's me, the black sheep in the family, always doing things differently. I'm baaaaaaaaaad. LOL) The concerns are heightened because one family member has been diagnosed with it already (moderate case; not needing hospitalization), and yes, we'd been in contact, so there's a considerable amount of worry going around that the kids may get ill yet... especially because I'm choosing not to vaccinate them. I prefer to not worry; after all, it does no good, and well, it's one of the Reiki principles I choose to live my life by. ;)

A few days ago I blogged about our immune systems and things to take/do to keep it functioning well. Today I read a few other (what I consider worthwhile) suggestions: using a neti pot with warm salt water to flush the sinuses and gargling with salt water. I think taking probiotics is a great idea as well - keep the digestive system functioning well, especially the intestines. *very* important to our overall health. I've been upping our intake of dark leafy greens as well; I get a lot of benefits from consuming enough fresh organic greens daily. And try to laugh every day. Your body has the same physiological response whether you truly laugh or "fake" laugh, so just fake it if you have to, but know that with practice, it gets easier to laugh. We just don't laugh often enough, and hey, it's really good for our health.

So laugh already. And be well.

Wacky Wednesday

Greetings! It's November and no kidding, I was outside in a t-shirt today. It was WARM... and perhaps more importantly, not raining as it so often is in autumn here on the wet coast. ha ha ha that should be west, not wet, but both are equally valid. ;)

Today we had swimming classes this afternoon. Basically 2 hours in the pool. ds has a 45 min lesson and dd a 30 min lesson and the rest of the time is spent frolicking with other hs'ing friends. I swim laps (1000m) while dd is in her lesson, as she's not allowed to be unattended in the pool outside of her lesson (b/c she's less than 7 yrs old). ds, otoh, is off with his friends the entire time. It's a small-ish pool and the hs'ers are generally the only people using the pool as it's mid-day on a week-day.

I came out of the pool today with a slightly hoarse voice. The pool uses ozone filtration, which as I understand it is in some ways chemically similar to chlorination. I definitely notice odd things like this after swimming... so I try not to go to the pool more than once a week. Other times I've noticed I smell like chlorine (despite having a shower and using soap) the next day after swimming... and that's kinda freaky to have a 'bleach' smell emanating from your skin. Nonetheless, within an hour or two today the voice was back to normal... some fresh air and water cleared that up.

Today I had a green smoothie for breakfast, a little vegan (but not raw) chocolate from Denman Island Chocolate - 1/2 oz for a snack, a plate of veggies (sorry, let's pretend I'm refined and classy and call them crudites, LOL) and raw sweet mustard dip for lunch and a banana, another green smoothie for dinner and a mug of peppermint tea later.

broody hen is no longer sitting on any eggs... the three she had been on were non-productive after nearly 4 wks so i've removed them.

Yesterday the kids had their friends over... 5 kids in the house for a couple hours! Actually, ds and his two friends were outside in the creek and forest for most of that time; dd and her friend played dress-up and fairies and make-believe... I tell you, there's not much sweeter than listening to two five year olds playing make-believe together. ADORABLE!!! :D Later, dd went over to her friend's, but the older three asked me to join them playing a boardgame... so we had a 90 minute Full House game that was GREAT fun! They're a great age (9, 9 & 11) to play boardgames together... and I'm aware that part of why I enjoy their company is that they are kids who (a) don't watch tv; only videos and even then, they're not consuming visual media like your 'average' kid out there, and (b) they're all homeschooled and just really in-tune with their spirits... they're really awesome kids.

I have to go now; both kids are in the room and I'm finding it hard to concentrate... :) Oh, and I just remembered I had wanted to write about something completely different. LOL well, it'll have to wait 'til tomorrow, if I can remember 'til then!

NAMASTE'

So yesterday's fish hatchery tour was really neat; sadly, only 2 of the 8 hs'ing families originally interested were able to make it last-minute, but still, it was a great tour. We didn't see them actually harvest eggs or 'milk' the male salmon as none of them were ready or mature enough... they'll be going back up on wednesday morning to check them all again as well. Still, of the 65 chinooks they've already done, there were something like 350,000 fertilized eggs in trays which we got to see - VERY cool. In the springtime when they have hatched and are "buttoned up" we may get the opportunity to go back and hand-feed them all as they grow, which would be really interesting, as well as possibly helping with their release later into the river.

Also took ds and his friend to their Aikido class in town last night. Nothing too eventful to report there; they enjoyed it. I took the puppy to the park and had a herbal tea during part of their class. Today I'm taking my kids with me as I teach tai chi class this morning and this evening ds has yet another Aikido class, only much closer to home.

What kind of homeschooling mischief will we get into today? ;) Oh, probably finish painting the dough ornaments we made last week (HOPEFULLY; there are 4 cookie sheets full of ornaments on the kitchen counters!!) and seal them, keeping a close eye on broody hen who is due to hatch out 3 eggs any day now, a romp through the forest to the creek out back to find salamanders and frogs and other exciting discoveries, dd is already practising her piano and also some creative dancing, ds will most likely do a fair bit of silent reading, add a few interesting discussions throughout the day and I think we've got most of it covered!

So far today I've had 1L of green smoothie (salad mix, purple kale, bananas, blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries and marionberries, VitaMineral Green, camu camu berry powder, goji berries, maca powder, agave nectar, chlorella tablets and water) and, er, a few Hallowe'en candies, which, no, weren't vegan, raw, or at all healthy.

But right now I have a puppy barking relentlessly at me to get my butt out of bed and come play with her. I guess I'd better get up. :)

Life

A few things of note the past few days:

• Hallowe'en. As we live in a very rural area, the kids go trick-or-treating around the neighbourhood, to less than a dozen houses and are done within an hour easily, and aren't completely inundated with masses of candy. It's just right, imo. The kids put most of their candy in the freezer, and you know, before going out yesterday, they both still had candy leftovers from LAST year's Hallowe'en, so they're not even eating it all throughout the year! this year, ds went out as a jedi warrior with a light sabre, and dd as Cinderella. We had a campfire earlier in the day with extended family and the kids carved pumpkins and had a fun time... and ooh, if Grammy didn't pull of the BEST EVER Dame Edna costume!!! WOW!!! A costume that will go down in history. I'll have to post a picture. dh was both a little disturbed and highly amused at the sight of his mother dressed up as a 6'2" Australian transvestite. LMAO (you would be to, admit it)
• The end of Daylight Savings Time. I was kinda hoping to sleep in just a little this morning, but alas, pets (and children) don't seem to have any regard for man's "wondrous" invention, the clock. Really, I don't have much use for time management either, generally speaking, so I felt compassion and empathy for the animals and children who have a greater connection to their natural rhythyms rather than what time the clock says it is, LOL. I didn't mind so much at all getting up "early". :) So the rooster was crowing by 6 a.m., which was actually 7 a.m. yesterday morning. I made Lucky stay in the coop with the girls until 7 a.m. this morning - I know full well that the local noise bylaw prohibits "excessive" noise before 7 a.m. and after 11 p.m., so I just don't let the chickens out of their coop until 7 a.m (and they're NEVER noisy in the evenings). But the puppy was up at 6, too, and the kids were up by 7ish, which was, yes, a little too early for me. I was *hoping* to have them asleep by now, but they seem to be adjusting to the time-change faster than me. LOL
• Our day was simple. I went to the quarterly food co-op meeting and ordered organic staples for the rest of the house (rice, flour, beans, canned goods, pasta, etc). It's nice to just go and spend time with other women; I enjoy their company. It turned out to be a beautiful sunny autumn day; the kids splashed in the creek in the forest out back, and I played in the compost and cleaned out the chicken coop, and spread finished compost in the garden areas lying fallow for winter (some "chores" are just plain fun - for me, anyways; I don't mind taking the kitchen scraps out to the compost, stirring it up, adding things to it, digging for worms... to me, that's not a chore, that's just enjoyable, but I realize not everyone would agree. I don't even mind cleaning the chicken coop. How weird am I, LOL). And you know, here it is, November 1st, and I was eating FRESH RASPBERRIES from the garden. No kidding. Beautiful, delicious, fresh raspberries. yum.
• Tomorrow we're going on a tour of the local fish hatchery; should be fun, if you happen to think watching salmon get sacrificed for the harvesting of their eggs is fun. One of the dads coming is a minister; maybe he could offer a prayer to the fish who are giving their lives for the greater good of their species? ;) I'm half-kidding; even as a raw vegan, I actually understand the whole circle of life involved, and the importance of the work that goes on at the hatchery. And I'm sure my kids will have some interesting observations and comments on the ride home, too. Undoubtedly.