Taking a moment to reflect...

General food intake today:

• a generous 2L of green smoothie (romaine, banana, apple, blueberry, blackberry, maca, Vitamineral Greens, agave, goji berries, cacao beans, lime juice and water)
• a bowl of muesli (rolled oats - not raw, goji berries, mulberries, almonds, sunflower seeds, sucanut - a very small amount (not raw), dried cranberries, a little cinnamon), a banana sliced on top and some thin almond milk
• probably about 1L of water with organic lime in it
• 2c of chia pudding (chia seeds, shredded coconut, sesame milk, agave nectar, lucuma, cinnamon)
• too many raw banana cookies (cashews, bananas, pecans, cinnamon and nutmeg) - seriously, I ate so many I lost track. :P
• a bowl of zucchini "pasta" with mock peanut sauce on it (from jennifer cornbleet's book) and a carrot

Nourished the mind? Yep, read some Jane Goodall today and had some very thought provoking family conversation. And I was banker during Monopoly City family boardgame night; taxing my poor brain into mathematics. Good grief!

Nourished the soul? Yep, had a good laugh today over some of dh's antics. Tai chi is very soul-nourishing, too... creates such space and stillness within. It's wonderful. Got some good hugs today from the family. We enjoyed a really nice dinner together for which I'm very grateful. And the pets - the dog, cats, and yes, even the chickens and rooster, provided some companionship and enriched my life today. And now, even as I type this, I can hear the surf at the ocean, and it's a lovely, soothing sound. :)

Nourished the body? An hour of teaching tai chi, and some delicious raw vegan food. I feel like I'm learning to respect what my body wants - at some moments I buzz around, very focused and getting things done swiftly, other times I lie on the bed and just rest (and ya know what, it's okay. The world doesn't fall apart because I'm lying down in the middle of the day. Who knew?!).

And the question I have for YOU today is this: at what age do you believe children are morally able to embrace the concept of forgiveness? just something I'm wrestling with right now.

Let's Talk about Immunity

(LOL I'm hearing Salt & Peppa's Let's talk about sex in my head as I write that... let's talk about im-mun-ity)

I'm hearin' peeps talkin' about the H1N1 vaccine and the flu shot and stuff, and personally, I'm not sold on 'em. Here's what we do in our house to combat flu season naturally:

• washing the hands regulary with soap, not antibacterial soap, and personally, i don't like the antibacterial gel dispensers you're seeing in more and more places. and i REALLY don't like going somewhere and being told i *HAVE* to use the gel. that REALLY irritates me.


• get lots of rest


• drink lots of water


• drink fresh raw juices; I like mine with extra dark-leafy greens. Better yet, why not just give me a shot of home-grown, freshly juiced wheatgrass every once in a while.


• exercise! I believe regular exercise helps keep our immune systems functioning at a high level.


• eat lots of fresh, raw foods. Garlic. Ginger. Things with Vitamin C in them, like bell peppers and citrus fruits.


• camu camu berry powder added to green smoothies


• other things like goji berries and Vitamineral Greens powder


• I have been known to take Echinacea and Vitamin C supplements :)

And although I'm not getting any sort of kick-back from the rest (hint hint, if you're one of these companies, LOL):

• Emergen'-C powders in water


• Cold-FX products


• BLOCKADE: a friend swears by it. The great thing is b/c it's a lozenge, you can take one when you get sick; you don't have to take it ahead of time with regularity. Which brings me to...


• homeopathics: Boiron Influenzinium and Thymuline, and Oscillococcinum as well. Recommended is taking them throughout the fall, regardless of whether you're feeling something comin' down or not.
• And last but not least, try some Oil of Oregano (I prefer internally to really kick the pants off anything that's trying to get me down). Recently dh had a nasty lingering (non-productive) cough and Oil of Oregano is what finally cleared it.

My neighbour has a recipe for home-made cough syrup that she swears by; I think she said it had marshmallow root and some other things in it - I'll try to remember to ask her for the recipe.

STAY HEALTHY!!!!

Sigg Bottle Voluntary Exchange

I don't know if I've already mentioned it, but Sigg, the company that makes the water bottles pictured above, is offering a VOLUNTARY EXCHANGE on their older bottles until OCTOBER 31st. The older bottles have BPA in the liner and although their tests indicate the BPA does not leach into the water, their newer model of bottle does not have any BPA and they will exchange your older bottle for a newer bottle.

You can find out more information at www.mysigg.com/bulletin and click on Exchange Program.

Abundant Blessings

What a priviliged life I lead (as dh loves to remind me, LOL). Truly, though, I'm very blessed. I wake up when I wish - I rarely have to awaken to an alarm clock (I'd *much* rather awaken to a rooster crowing outside, or the dog needing to go out). I choose not to work outside the home - a choice which undeniably will ruffle the feathers of some, being that I do have a decent education and "could make something of myself" (as some people enjoy telling me), but it's a much-discussed decision that works very well for our family. I live my life as I choose, generally speaking. I am blessed to have access to healthy water, to healthy (raw vegan) food. I have a beautiful (unfinished) home (roof leak notwithstanding, LOL). I am blessed with the company of pets, of our amazing children, of a supportive and loving partner, of friends and extended family. We're financially stable; he has a great job that he enjoys... I could go on, but obviously, life is good. VERY good.

Today, for example, is typical of the luxurious life I lead: I spent the morning lounging, reading Jane Goodall's Harvest for Hope: a guide to mindful eating. She's a FANTASTIC writer. I'm really enjoying the book. The kids and I did their weekly homeschool "reports" and we wasted our time playing computer games (time management ones, LOL). By then it was after noon - we made green smoothies and although the housework was calling, we began to make dough ornaments instead. The kids' friends called & came over, so I reluctantly got dressed... at nearly 2 in the afternoon (N.B.: please phone before coming over. please?! or we might both be embarrased, LOL)... still making dough ornaments... the kids all joined in and we made ornaments pretty much all afternoon... I have a dehydrator FULL of them now!!! The kids went off to play Lego, or dance and play dress-up, depending on their fancy... I bustled about doing the housework that I'd successfully ignored for hours (days, truthfully) - basically vacumming with the puppy trying to eat (& bark at) the vacuum the entire time, or sweeping the kitchen floor while she tries to eat the broom. VERY helpful! Fed all the kidlets and then the older ones and I set about playing a board game (Stock Ticker). I got to play the piano for a while after the kids all went home, we spent time reading an Enid Blyton book before bed, after the kids were asleep I had a relaxing, hot, lavender bath, and now I'm enjoying surfing the net for a bit.

Truly, I am blessed. In a big, BIG way.

I'm feeling grateful...

It's been a good day, a great day really, for which I'm very grateful. dd had her art class; she loved it. Afterwards, the kids went to a birthday party, which was supposed to be for 3 hrs, but we kinda overstayed our welcome and were there 5 hrs... but the kids were playing so welllllllllllll together... why end that just because the clock says to? And besides, I was really enjoying the parents' company, too. Nonetheless, I'll phone tomorrow and apologize, LOL, although I'm pretty sure it was mutual... I'll just check-in on that. ;)

For some reason, though, tonight I'm feeling very... almost melancholy. Maybe contemplative is a better word. Thoughtful. Lost in thought. I'm feeling surrounded by the energy of loss right now. I don't know why; it's not my reality right now at all. It's just that tonight, for various reasons, this is where my thoughts are drawn and I find myself sitting in the darkness, in the soft orange glow of the rock salt lamp, my eyes moist with salty tears that will not come, feeling the loss that so many others have felt, sensing the path others have walked - in a word, grieving. I feel in awe of how courageous people are in the face of adversity, of loss. I guess one way to think of it is not as a "loss" but as "changing form". Perhaps then I will begin to understand. But for right now, I sit with it. Not trying to fix it, change it. It just is.

And just sitting with it, I sense a shift, towards gratitude. It becomes a sense of gratitude - GRATITUDE (it feels very big)... for that kernel of opportunity for growth, for learning, that lies within every moment. Even in loss, there is so much to be had. Time for some Reiki and a warm bath.

Namaste'

Things that have passed my way lately....

....or should I just call it, "These are a few of my favourite things" (yes, I spelled favourite correctly; I'm Canadian, eh), and start singing like Maria from the Sound of Music... ahhhhh yes, my kids love ALL things Julie Andrews. :)

A few things to check out:
www.greenhalloween.org
www.spud.ca
www.realrawfood.com
www.mec.ca

Now, I don't *have* any of these.... I'm just looking at them, thinking, hey, these look handy (and somewhat unnecessary, LOL)... I am considering some of these for gifties for the upcoming holidays...
Pampered Chef's Food Chopper or Tupperware's Quick Chef - the advantage to either of these two products is I could still "food process" when the power's out, which, admittedly, isn't all that often anyways, so remind me again, why would I need these? LOL
Cutco's Knives - Cutco knives are the best I have used.
Epicure's Teapot, brewing basket and kyoto cherry tea (mmm) or Wok
Lee Valley Tools' Mandolin Slicer

Today's agenda: dd's ballet class; teach tai chi; have family Christmas photo taken.
Must get going. :)

O Glorious Days of Autumn!

Two days of glorious, GLORIOUS autumn sunshine! How BLESSED we are. Gone are the torrential downpours (well, temporarily anyways); the roads are dry again and the beautiful sunshine streams in the windows well on its way to the North wall (*love* the passive solar orientation of our house. It's VERY well designed in that regard)... anyways, I begin to digress already...

Feeling much better today, after supplying my digestive system with 60 BILLION helpers, in the form of Acidophilus. Fight, little ones, FIGHT!! Ya, so, who knows what was going on in there - from the excessively loud gurgling and nastiness of it all, i'm glad to be over whatever it was. That's the great thing with raw foods, you heal so quickly! I was at the chiropractor last week, and the month before one of my shoulder blades was giving me the slightest bit of grief - he had popped it back into place, and so now, 6 wks later, he goes to see if it's out of alignment again, but nope - totally healed. He is truly amazed at how young my body is for its 34 years... in the sense of it stays in alignment between visits and it corrects misalignments very quickly, and has amazing flexibility and regeneration. As I was leaving this visit, he said, "Whatever you're eating, keep on eatin' it!" He knows the connection between food and health. We've talked about my raw diet, and although he's not raw himself, he knows that more veggies (especially dark leafy green ones) and fruits are good for the body.

There was a nasty accident on the road into town this afternoon - a loaded logging truck rolled on a corner, taking out 4 power poles as it went. Gratefully, there were no injuries at all, but 1000 homes are without power (probably still) and the road was closed for upwards of 8 hrs, leaving all the rush-hour travellers to take the windy, hilly country road (it even has a single lane bridge to complicate matters)... on our way into town for ds's aikido class, traffic was backed waaaaaaaayyyyy back from the bridge (they did have flaggers - as in flag people - at the bridge, thankfully). I'm just so grateful no one was injured in the accident. Sure, it's a minor inconvenience to travel the long way around, (and I imagine some of those weary commuters were cursing the extra time spent in the car), but really, we have so much to be thankful for.

Yesterday dd went to her friend's across the street and in exchange, ds's friend came over (they're brother & sister - yes, *my* kids, OBVIOUSLY mine are brother & sister, LOL - the friends, THEY're brother & sister)... The two boys and I played an entire game of Full House, a board game in which we are hoteliers, checking in and out guests and running hotels. The game came with our house when we bought it eleven years ago (estate sale - we got EVERYTHING that was in the house - including some men's underwear - LMAO)... and ds just LOVES board games, and this one especially. I'd love to find a copy of it on e-bay since the Guest cards are pretty well-used and we've broken our "people popper" thingee. But it was a GREAT afternoon of boardgaming... the boys eating popcorn with nutritional yeast on it and drinking hot chocolate. Even though it was a beautiful sunny autumn day, we so enjoyed just spending it inside playing together. Later I went out and ate probably 2 cups of fresh raspberries in the garden while just basking in the sunshine. Seriously - Oct 18th and I was eating fresh raspberries. Gotta LOVE living in this beautiful climate!!!

And I read 6 chapters of Brian Jacques' Martin the Warrior last night to finish the book. ds was right into it; dd, not so much, but still enjoys snuggling while being read to. I admit, I love reading aloud to the kids... we've enjoyed so many great books together and it's a wonderful way to reconnect at day's end. I think one of our favourites has been Pierre Berton's The Secret World of Og. Or any of the Enid Blyton books we've read, like The Magic of the Faraway Tree and The Wishing Chair and Mr. Galiano's Circus. The Hobbit was a great read. As were the Farley Mowat books we've read. Or... or... or.... Yep, we likes readin'.

I'll leave you with the joke my daughter told me the other day (courtesy of Chirp magazine):
What did one eye say to the other?
Just between you and me, something smells.
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha (or is that a groan i hear?) ha ha ha ha