Thinking About Getting Juicy

I'm Feeling Ready to Get Juicy!

So, for those who are unaware, since March 01, 2008, a diverse group of juicy people from around the globe have been partaking in the 1st annual Global Juice Feast. Hosted by David and Katrina Rainoshek of http://www.juicefeasting.com/ , I have been following this event with interest since it started-watching, listening, and learning. Wow! This amazing event is changing the course of people's lives (from the inside out) as they embark on a (hero's) journey to reclaim their health, and the health of the planet.

I've done my homework and at this point, I feel ready to start my own juice feast soon. In January of this year I did a 6-day mini Master Cleanse. I found it challenging. Detox was immediate and it was HARSH. I wasn't as physically or mentally prepared as I needed to be to complete the entire 10 days. Still, the over all experience was a positive one and it left me wanting more.

I want to go from this..


To this...

I need to make a break for freedom. There isn't ever going to be a time when there isn't a deadline, a night out, a party, or an important event.

My life is happening in the NOW.

Things are always going to come up, because life isn't always convenient. But hell, neither is poor health. My mind and spirit are ready now, and I've been juicing and eating high raw for several weeks in preparation.

My biggest concern is preparing my body for the realities of a juice feast. Although I've been eating high raw for several weeks, I haven't experienced much in the way of detox. Am I in for another harsh reality? Maybe so.

I've been searching for information about how long most juice feasters have been raw (or high raw) before attempting their first juice feast. So far I've come up short. Maybe I'm the Guinea Pig I'm looking for.

Will a raw food diet (or juice feast) rattle my BONES?

I'm at a greater risk for bone loss than other women my age due to a condition called Premature Ovarian Failure. I've read studies where people on raw food diets have a lower bone density than those on a typical S.A.D. diet, so I emailed Matt Monarch for his thoughts. He suggested that I contact well known raw food researcher Dr. Fred Bischi for advice. Intuitively, I can't imagine how a diet of raw foods could put my bones at a greater risk than than a diet consisting of meat and cooked food. It just isn't logical. I'm already on a low dose of hormone replacement therapy, take a bone-building calcium supplement and avoid things like caffeine and alcohol. What I could do it get more weight bearing exercise like walking and lifting weights.

Cosmic Order

Coincidence
(1) the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but seem to have some connection.(2) a combination of accidental circumstances that seems to have been planned or arranged.



I likey :)



Here's why.



Last night was Oprah's 9th online webcast with Ekhart Tolle to discuss his book, A New Earth. OMG! I had SOOO many AHA! moments that my head was spinning. The class discussed chapter 9, "Your Inner Purpose."



This has always been a tough one for me. I am a person who has been living in a nearly permenant state of dissatisfaction and negativity for the past...well, um...20 years.

I am...



ALWAYS looking to the future or living in the past.
ALWAYS thinking I need to make more of my life.
ALWAYS thinking "everything will be great when (X) happens."
ALWAYS looking on the outside to find my true purpose.



You know how you hear something or read something over and over again and some how it never quite sinks in? And then one day, "Eureka! Breakthrough! I GET IT! YIPEEEEEEE!"



I am forever trying to get somewhere. My biggest A HA! moment came when I heard Oprah read the following:



"The great arises out of small things that are honored and cared for. Everybody's life really consists of small things. Greatness is a mental abstraction of and favorite fantasy of the ego..."



AND



"...your entire life journey ultimately consists of the step you are taking at this moment. there is always only this one step, and so you give it your fullest attention. This doesn't mean that you don't know where you are going, it just means this step is primary, the destination once you get there depends on the quality of this one step...What the future holds for you depends on your state of consciousness NOW."



SO



Our sole primary purpose, the INNER purpose of all mankind, is to align our lives fully with the present moment. Once we are aligned fully with the present moment, the Universe will rise up to meet us-helping us align our OUTER purpose (career, desires, goals, etc.) with our INNER purpose.



Immediately after class was over, I went back to work. I focused on the NOW, bringing as much Presence as I could to what I was working on. Then I got an email from a regular client who asked me if I would be interested in taking on a certain type of project for him-a type of project that I have been considering doing for myself recently, that is, a project where I would reap the sole financial rewards of my work. Coincidence? I don't think so. I think it was the Universe saying, "Yep, now you're back on track."

Getting In the Way of Self

I've been doing dream work for about 15 years. That is, recording my nighttime dreams in a journal and trying to decipher their meaning the next morning. Some mornings I remember 2-3 dreams. Other mornings I don't remember any. At times my dreams are SO abstract and bizarre that I haven't got a clue as to what my subconscious is getting at. Then other times, like last night, the message in my dream is crystal clear.

My Totem: The Crow

A person's animal totem is represented by any animal they feel a close connection to-one whose energy speaks to them in a way that seems especially relevant to them during a particular period in their life. Traditional Native American medicine states that every person has 9 power or totem animals that represent the medicine they carry in their Earth Walk. These animals emulate each person's abilities, talents, and challenges.

One of my animal totems is the crow. I've been fascinated by them for years, and I feel like they follow me and talk to me everywhere I go. Crows are said to be Keepers of the Sacred Law. They are symbols of spiritual strength, magic, and are said to see the past, present and future simultaneously. They are the omens of change, the merger of the inner and outer self. Crow medicine reminds us that we need to be willing to walk our talk, speak our truth, and balance our past, present, and future in the NOW. Crows are shape shifters. They see that the way humanity interprets the spiritual world is nothing more than an illusion. They remind us to shape-shift our old reality (and old ways of thinking) and become our future selves in the NOW-the only real moment that exists.

My Dream

I was standing in my backyard with my dog Buck, when suddenly a huge crow dove down from the sky and started to attack him. Feathers and fur went flying everywhere as the two went around in circles-Buck barking, growling, and gnashing his teeth, and the crow repeatedly swooping in and relentlessly pecking away at Buck's body. I stood there in horror and watched the crow remove large patches of fur from Buck's coat. Then suddenly it dawned on me. Unless I did something to stop the fight, Buck was doomed. The crow would kill him!

Immediately, I rushed in and tried to use my body to shield Buck from the attacking crow. But even then, the crow continued to dive down and attack him. It seemed that no matter how I tried to protect him, the crow wasn't going to give up the attack until Buck was dead.

Adrenaline took over, and suddenly I found myself reaching up and grabbing the crow by its legs. Using all the strength I could muster, I hurled it to the ground. It landed with a dull thud and instantly knew I I had broken its neck. It was dead.

In an instant, a wave of remorse washed over me. I didn't mean to kill it, I only wanted it to go away. How could I have been so brutal? I hadn't realized my own strength. In an attempt to protect my dog, I had panicked.

I started to walk over to where the bird lay dead in the yard. As I got close, the dazed crow slowly lifted its head and looked at me. Then in a split second, it shot up into the air-leaving all of its feathers behind. Naked and exposed, except for one feather on its back, the crow flew low and fast over the yard and disappeared into the surrounding woods. I was relieved and utterly awestruck that despite my cruelty, it was still alive.

So, what does it mean...?

...A short side note about dream work

Dreams offer ideas, insights, and solutions that help us understand our relationships, attitudes, and the way we see ourselves. For 15 years, I have been using the same dream book as a tool for discovering the hidden meanings of my dreams. The book is called The Mystical, Magical, Marvelous World of Dreams, by Wilda B Tanner. The title sounds a little hokey, but trust me, it's the best book I've ever found on dream interpretation. (You can read a review of it here or buy it on Amazon.com here.)

Different dream books and websites offer different interpretations of the same dream symbols. For example, depending on the source, a red chair might have 5 different meanings. It's helpful to find one to two dream interpretation books/websites that you like and stick with them. I have worked hard to program my subconscious mind to use only the symbols and definitions offered in Wilda Tanner's book while I dream. This has made deciphering the meaning much easier for me. Not fool-proof, just easier. The most important thing to keep in mind while interpreting your dreams, is to consider how each person or symbol in your dream is significant to YOU and your current circumstances.

The Meaning: One of Us Has to Go!

**Keep in mind that this is where I am today. I wouldn't be surprised if this dream reoccurs in some form as I make progress on this issue. **

The crow: A higher aspect of myself. A version of my higher-self representing the energies I described above. A messenger. A spiritual part of me. The ability of my soul to soar to great heights.

My dog Buck: A lower aspect of myself. A partly-trained or in this case, untrained aspect of myself, which I recognize and I am attempting to train or control. In other words, my seeming inability to make long term changes to improve my health-a.k.a. losing weight through diet and exercise. This could also be my pain-body as described in A New Earth.

Me: The ego aspect of myself. The part of me identified with form.

The conflict: The battle between Buck and the Crow represents a fight that I continue to have within myself. You might call it a clash between my higher self (the REAL me) and my EGO (thoughts identified with form).

Flying feathers and fur: Confusion, upset, fright, a hasty retreat, loss of dignity.

Me stepping in to protect Buck/me killing the crow: Yeah, that's ME (or my ego) getting in the way again. Constant inner conflict. Every time my higher self attempts to defeat those old, untrained aspects of being (and old thought patterns) my ego steps in. The ego's job is to protect those old ways of thinking so it can stay in control and keep the higher aspects of myself from taking over. Nice, eh?

The crow rising up and flying away: Anytime there is a conflict between the higher and lower self, the higher self will always win out. Sure, it may take a while-even lifetimes. The EGO can stay unconscious and identified with form, but the eternal Presence of who you REALLY are can never be destroyed! It will always be there, urging you on to your rightful purpose-transcending the ego mind. You can knock it down, but you can't keep the higher aspects of yourself getting up again.

The crow being naked/stripped of all but one of its feathers: The release of old attitudes and restrictions, a new sense of freedom, a revelation, the shedding of all affectations, a new sense of honesty and openness. A loss of feathers represents things to be removed so that a new stability can emerge.

The one remaining feather: Your desires preselect the content of your dreams. In numerology, the number one represents a new beginning, oneness with God, unity of of all life. A single feather represents a visit from your angels, or in this case, from my higher self.

In summary: An inner conflict continues to wage inside me regarding the releasing of old patterns and ways of being. I (my ego self) is my own worst enemy and the greatest barrier to my success. In other words, just when I start to dissolve old patterns, I step in and get in the way of my true self.

The higher aspects of myself will never give up, nor can they ever be destroyed. In the end, my higher self is sending me the message that it is capable of dissolving old patterns as long as my ego stays out of the way. The higher aspects of myself are telling me that it is time to make a change.

Better to Wear Out Than Rust Out...

Seriously. Have you seen Jack LaLanne lately? I came across a Sunday afternoon infomercial two weeks ago featuring him, his wife Elaine, and super model/raw food guru Carol Alt. They were touting the virtues of juicing and blending one juicy brew after another in one of Jack LaLanne's power juicers . I found myself riveted to the TV. At 93 years-old, the man is absolutely charismatic. He truly is a walking, talking billboard for eating healthy foods and exercising. He looks amazing!!!

Over the years, Jack has become famous for quotes he's made during interviews and public speaking engagements. (little gems known as “LaLanneisms” ), including saying, "I can't die. It would ruin my image."

He has certainly inspired me. So much so, that in my quest for a new juicer (the old one is literally being held together using a paper clip and duct tape. Ahem, you get what you pay for.), I decided to buy the Jack LaLanne Power Juicer.

I bought it at Target, rather than from the infomercial. As far as juicers go, at $120 it's not considered "high end", but it's easily the best quality juicer I found in the $100-$150 range (my pre-set budget). It's easy to clean (oh, happy day!), has a large chute that can receive large vegetables and fruit (like whole apples), and it extracts on average, 30% more juice than comparable juicers. No lie, I'm getting nearly 20 ounces of juice with the same amount of produce that used to get me 12 ounces. Only time will tell whether or not it will hold up mechanically, but so far so good. Thanks Jack! Your a true inspiration!

Taking Advantage of the Accumulation of Time

My mom sent me this in an email, and I just had to share it...

The Daffodil Principle

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.'' I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.

"I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house, I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren."Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!"

My daughter smiled calmly and said, " We drive in this all the time, Mother."

"Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this."

"Carolyn," I said sternly, "Please turn around."

"It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.








It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn.

"Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.On the patio, we saw a poster.

"Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline.

The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read.
The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain."
The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived.

One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time, often just one baby-step at a time and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world …

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. " What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? "Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?"

Use the Daffodil Principle.
Stop waiting.....
Until your car or home is paid off
Until you get a new car or home
Until your kids leave the house
Until you go back to school
Until you finish school
Until you clean the house
Until you organize the garage
Until you clean off your desk
Until you lose 10 lbs.
Until you gain 10 lbs.
Until you get married
Until you get a divorce
Until you have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until you retire
Until summer
Until spring
Until winter
Until fall
Until you die...

Happy New Earth Day!

Don't get me wrong. I used to love Earth Day. In fact, I loved it so much that I spent 4+ years and $35,000 studying all things Earthy (B.A. Environmental Studies). And even though I realize that in the bigger scheme of things our inner and outer environments are intertwined in a big sticky web of interconnectedness, I would be lying if I didn't say that I'm currently suffering from a huge case of eco-overdose. We've celebrated Earth Day for 38 years and our environment is worse off than when we started. Um...you can't solve a problem with the same mind that created it.

Here's an essay written by someone who echos my personal sentiments on where this green-headed monster called Eco-consciousness is going to lead. Maybe it's cleaning up our inner environment that is what the Earth really needs.

Which brings me to A New Earth, by Eckhart Tolle, author of the Power of Now and other spiritually uplifting books. I, like 2,000,000 other people on the planet, have been reading this book and tuning into Oprah's online web casts on Monday nights, where she discusses book with its author. It's been an incredibly enriching experience-especially hearing Mr. Tolle elaborate on the concepts presented in the book. Never have I underlined, dog-eared, circled, and starred so many pages of a book before. I can hardly wait to read it again. This is a book whose time has (thankfully) finally come!

I read another of this author's books, The Power of Now, when it came out 13 years ago. I loved it. This particular book (similar in content) has been on our bookshelf for two years now and I have never gotten around to reading it. Maybe I wasn't ready for the information again until now. Thank you Eckhart, for sharing your spiritual wisdom with us. And thank you Oprah for bringing it to the masses. Happy New Earth Day to both of you!

The Sauna is Finished!

Here are some pictures of our finished sauna. We're really happy with how it turned out and SO grateful for the ability to take a sauna whenever we want to! I think the french door really makes it. We found this one at Home Depot for $120. It wasn't pre-hung and we had to cut it down to fit.

The timer has a nice delay feature of up to nine hours. That means we can set it before we go out snowboarding and come home to a warm sauna. Nice...





We built the sauna into a corner using two existing walls, so only two walls, this one and the front, are exposed. Note the vent near the wall. To create good cross ventilation, the other vent is positioned on the front outside wall directly below the heater. We also left 1/4" gap under the door. The sauna stays hot, but never seems stuffy. Not pictured are some wooden pegs that we added to the side to hold our towels and robes.





A view from the inside. Above the heater is a therometer and a safty sensor to trip the heater if the sauna gets too hot. I'm not sure what "too hot" means. We usually crank the heater to the max and throw on lots of water (the steam makes it feel even hotter). The sauna seems to top out somewhere between 210-230 degrees F. Apparently, most people (in our neck of the woods, anyway) take a sauna at about 190 degrees F. What can I say? Some of us like it HOT :) The black circular thing on the other wall is a stereo speaker. There is another positioned across from it on the opposite wall.

The top bench is bolted on to the back wall and sits on side supports. The bottom bench rests on side supports, but we left it free so we could remove it to make cleaning easier. The original floor consisted of white linoleum tiles over concrete. We decided to leave it that way and see what would happen. As it turns out, the floor stays perfectly cool even when the sauna is over 200 degrees F, so peeling tile shouldn't be a problem.

Friend-spiration

I'm a very lucky girl...very lucky indeed. I have wonderful friends.

Today I received some 'friendspiration' in the form of phone calls from two of my favorite people. The first friend just finished his second week at police academy and called to give us an update. Yay C! We're so pround of you! Yes, it's going to be hard. But like you said, SO worth it for you in the end!

The second friend's call was health related. She's about to undertake a detox program and was calling to collect some info. Talking with her about the Master Cleanse Diet and raw foods was the inspiration I needed to get back to this blog. Thanks M!

My body has remained a bit of a science project since my past post, so I'll be posting some updates over the next few days before getting back to my regular posts.

Thanks guys! You were the inspiration I needed to get back on track.

The Sugar/Fat Fairy Stopped By Today

After a couple of weeks of 80-90% raw (sans the occasional Boca chicken patty, splash of soymilk, and a few assorted condiments) last night I completely stepped off of the raw food bandwagon and onto the Green Mill pizza truck while out with friends. The evening started late (10:30pm) with an invitation from friends to meet up for a celebratory glass of wine. The week preceding their upcoming nuptials, a.k.a their vacation, had officially begun. Yay for them!

In between going out and coming home, I hit upon a startling discovery. One glass of red wine on a tummy of raw food now quickly sends me into an alcohol-impaired orbit. So to avoid turning my car into the space shuttle (and truthfully, I'm not really much of an astronaut), I found myself eating a couple of slices of pizza and drinking a half a can of coke to sop up (and slow down) the wine. Okay, the coke was only because I was thirsty and I don't like drinking unfiltered tap water (I'm really turning into quite a freak). Anyway, it worked. I immediately felt "grounded" and back in control of all of my physical and mental faculties. (Oddly enough, I also felt nauseated at the thought of eating pizza-although more so at the horror of drinking soda at the same time) Because it's been -20F to -40F below here this weekend, it was awesome to have some HOT food for a change! I'm always SOOOOO COLD!!!!!!

To make a short story long, today's hangover had nothing to do with wine. Instead, I had cravings ALL DAY for simple carbs (sugar) and/or fats. I admit I felt a bit out of control when eating today, like I just couldn't consume enough food to feel satisfied. I did, however, have more energy for exercising than I've had in a few weeks, although that may be due to taking the past 2 days off. Here is today's wacky food log:

*NOT RAW
Meal 1
1 cup detox tea
1 cup kombucha tea

2 Boca Sausage Patties*
2 hardboiled eggs*
1 banana

In between

28 ounces water
12 ounces water plus 2 ounces Wheat Grass juice

Meal 2

1 Ezekiel Sprouted Tortilla
2 Ezekiel Sprouted Tortillas, each with 1 tsp honey*, 2 Tbsp peanutbutter* and sprinkles of cocoa powder :O (See? This is the out-of-control/wacky part)

Meal 3
1 cup Smooth Move tea
2 Tbsp Miso broth
Portobello mushroom cap stuffed with sunflower pate
(the pate is made up of soaked sunflower seeds, lemon juice, olive oil, dill and chopped red onion)
Moroccan Carrots
(carrots in a marinade of orange juice, lemon juice, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, and olive oil)
Mediterrannian Kale
(Kale in a marinade of olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and tossed with black olives, pine nuts and diced red pepper)
Tonight's dinner courtesy of recipes found in Jennifer Cornbleet'sRaw Food Made Easy . Yummmm! I thought I'd share a picture because it looked so lovely....





This Is A Bit Weird, But Highly Convenient
Now debuting in the Organic frozen foods isle at your neighborhood "Fine Foods" grocery store is...






drum roll, please....













Frozen Wheat Grass cubes in a box!

Inovative idea or pure marketing hooey? Ahem. I am afraid to hear the answer that. (Just so you know, that is my kitchen table in the picture). Wheat grass IS considered a "Super Food". Unfortunately, it takes 1 pound of wheat grass (and a very specialized juicer) just to make 1 ounce of wheat grass juice. That's not exactly practical (or cost effective) for the do-it-yourselfer raw foodie. I've got my little flat to harvest for salads and spring rolls, but I was hoping to have some wheat grass in juice form once in a while, too. Due to the sticker shock ($17.99 a box for 10 2-ounce servings. EEEEK!!), I'll be rationing these little gems to ensure they last as long as possible. You can't put a price on being healthy, right?

Peace Is Every Step

I'm currently reading a great book called Peace Is Every Step-The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life. The books is by Vietnamese spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh (pronounced Tik * N'yat * Hawn), one of the best known and most respected Zen masters in the world today, as well as a poet, and peace and human rights activist. The book is profound in its simplicity. It talks about everything from the sacredness of washing dishes and eating a tangerine to the benefits of conscious breathing and thinking less. This paperback book is a short 134 pages and worth a read if you get the chance. It's helping me see that there are plenty of ways to fit meditation and mindfulness into my everyday life without having to sit cross-legged on the floor.

Here's a trailer of the 60 minute movie by the same name. The movie can also be found on YouTube. It isn't the same as the book, but still interesting. It's more focused on Waging Peace to avoid war and contains clips and interviews of Thich Nhat Hahn as well as people who survivied the Vietnam war, including American veterans.

Our Shiny Happy Sauna

We (actually, largely my husband Chris) have made more progress in recent days on the sauna. While I was out shopping for wedding guest attire, he insulated it and attached a paper-backed foil vapor barrier to the inside walls and ceiling. I think the whole thing looks a bit like it has been wallpapered with aluminum foil. It's also surprisingly toasty in there already despite not having the heater hooked up. This kind of vapor barrier isn't easy to find. We had to order ours from a sauna manufacturer online. It works great for saunas becuase not only does the foil stand up to the heat and moisture, it reflects the heat back into the saun just like an oven would.

Chris also hung a shelf in our laundry room (adjacent to one of the sauna walls) to support a stereo receiver and wired the sauna for sound. This is going to make listening to some relaxing music from our iPODs (or catching up on NPR/MPR) pretty slick.

Shelf for Stereo Reciever

We have also added some strapping to the walls and started on installing the cedar tongue and groove on the ceiling. The strapping is necessary, because we're installing the cedar boards vertically so we need something to nail them in to.

Strapping on the outside walls

Installing the T & G is a painstaking process. Every board has to be individually measured and cut to account for the sloping of our floors. It's a fun process though, because each board you put up generates more motivation to keep going and get the job finished.


(sigh) It won't be long now!

Cracked, But Not Broken

"There is a crack, a crack in everything
That's how the light gets in."

This is one of my favorite quotes.It hangs in my bathroom where I can see it everyday. It's from Leonard Cohen's Anthem Lyrics. I like it because it's all about self-acceptance. That's something I got a good dose of today when I went dress shopping for the wedding I'm going to next week. Ugh...

I'm pretty much right smack in between sizes right now so getting anything to fit properly is pretty much a nightmare. Nine stores and nine million dresses later, I did come up with something...well, actually three somethings. I really loved one dress, kind of liked a second, and the felt like my third choice was just okay. I coudn't decide at the store, so I decided I would solict an expert's opinion (my husband) and return the other two.

After a brief fashion show, Chris picked my #2 choice. He thought it flattered my figure the best and I could tell by the expression on his face that he thought I looked really good in it. That's why I love him. Even though he knew I really wanted him to like my first choice the best, he didn't. I think "too prom dress" was the phrase he used :) Thank goodness for his honesty. He's always got my back!

I would SO love to lose like 20 pounds by next week (even if it was only water wieght!). I know I could partake in a hard core fast and do it, but I REFUSE to give in to that kind of thinking. My body isn't perfect, but it is what it is right now. And it IS getting healthier every single day! I may always have cracks, but I'm NOT broken. Better health is my ultimate goal, right? At least I keep telling myself that :)

Today's Food Log:
* NOT RAW

Meal 1
1 cup vanilla tea
8 ounces Green Juice
Ingredients: kale, red chard, 3 carrots, 3 stalks celery

Meal 2
Salad
Ingredients: 1 head romaine lettuce, 1 spicy boca chicken patty*, 2 ounces raw cheddar, 8 black olives*,2 Tbsp caesar dressing*, handful of alfalfa sprouts, 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds.
Meal 3
Tortilla wrap
Ingredients: 1 Ezekiel 4:9 tortilla, 1 tbsp of mellow brown rice miso, handful of sprouts, red pepper, 1/2 jalapeno, peelings from 1 carrot, 1/4 sliced cucmber, 6 black olives, chopped red onion.

Soup
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp miso broth with 1/4 cup of veggie pulp from today's green juice.

Snack (Dessert!)
1 Washington apple cubed, 1 tsp. of honey*, 10 pecan halves.

32 ounces water, plus 3 tsp of Ultimate Miracle Green
28 ounces of water
1 cup chai green tea

Eating healthy is a funny thing. After only a couple of weeks of eating 80-90% raw, I don't crave ANY simple carbs anymore. I mean nothing. No chips, no bread, no cereal. AND no sugar. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. I guess that's because I am eating plenty complex carbs with all of these veggies. It's just so wierd to not crave things like that anymore. They honestly don't even make my radar. All I seem to crave is more vegetables. What I probably NEED is more fruit.

Green Miracles

Here's a product I recently discovered at Whole Foods. It's called Ultimate Green Miracle Living Powder (Yes, I'll admit it. The name IS a bit cheesy, but at least I didn't pay $50 for it). Anyway, it's good stuff-good tasting (REALLY!) and loaded with nutrients. I bought it primarly to take along with me when I'm away from home and away from my juicer. It's no substitute for raw greens, but it's better than not having access to anything. You just mix 1-3 teaspoons in with water and shake it up. It tastes a bit like a freshly mowed lawn smells-EARTHY! (Or, like grass would taste it you put it in the blender). I'm going to bring some on my upcoming trip and sip away while I'm at the beach. Yummmmy!!!!!

Here's my food log today:

Meal 1

12 Ounces Green Juice
Ingredients: LOTS of assorted kale, dandelion greens, and mustard greens; 3 celery stalks, 2 carrots, 1 oriental radish, 1 beet, slices of ginger.

Snack
1 banana

Meal 2
8 ounces Fruit Juice:
5 apples, 3 carrots

Snack
2 ounces fresh coconut meat
1/4 raw walnuts

Meal 3
Miso broth with 2/3 cup of raw veggie pulp from this morning's green juice.

Also:
32ounces water with 3 teaspoons of Ultimate Green Living Miracle powder.
1 cup green tea
1 cut chai green tea
28 ounces of water

My tummy is finally settling down a bit, although I'm still feeling the occasional sharp pain in my abdomen, it seems to moving around and it seems much less frequent. I'm not sure if I've been combining foods incorrectly, if my insides are "fixing" something, or if I've just overwhelmed by body by suddenly eating well. (probably the latter!) At least things are starting to move through on a regular basis.

I am getting a sense that I need to eat more fruit. I'm also starting to suspect that I'm developing a sensativity to certain types of grains-specifically the Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted tortillas I've been eating lately. I did get another compliment on my face/skin today. Apparently I'm starting to "glow" (hopefully not in the dark from all the carrots I'm eating:) Hopefully the rest of my body will start to catch up soon!

Art as Meditation

I'm a lucky girl. Lucky enough to have a whole extra room in my house that is dedicated to nothing but creative pursuits-painting, drawing, sewing, scrapbooking, and any other kind of creative project I feel like taking on. We've lived in our current home for just under a year, and only recently have I starting taking advantage of this creative space.

Art is one of my favorite ways to meditate, that is, as long as I close the door and leave my inner critic out in the hallway. On those blissful occasions when I'm completely tuned in (or out, depending on how you want to look at it :) my mind is devoid of thought, time flys by and I have no awareness of anything-not even of the canvas in front of me. Sometimes I would swear that what I end up creating feels like it came from somewhere else.

Playing piano and running can work the same way for me. I think this kind of "moving meditation" is just as important as sitting still to quiet the mind. Here's what came out of my latest painting meditation...


18" x 28" Acrylic on canvas.

This is one of my favorite paintings by German artist Micheal Sowa. All of his paintings are whimsical and usually depict animals doing something quite unexpected (like a pig leaping joyfully off of a dock into a pond). We have 4 of his prints and all of them always make me smile. I wonder where Micheal Sowa goes when he paints? I think I would like to visit that place :)


Micheal Sowa's "Fowl with Pearls."

Wonderful Wheatgrass

Really. Sometimes I am SO slow. I've been buying and enjoying the virtues of wheatgrass for a couple of months now. I only purchase a flat occasionally (they are not cheap), and I usually just add it to my salads or Nori rolls, because my centrifuge-style juicer isn't very efficient at extracting juice from these type of greens. It was only this past week that I finally figured out I could keep a flat growing after I cut it. Sheesh! It IS grass after all! Clearly the mental clarity that comes from eating a lot of raw foods hasn't kicked into high gear yet.

Today's food log:
*NOT RAW

Last night-1 cup of smooth move tea (laxative tea)

Meal 1
1 cup of Chai Green Tea

Meal 2
3 cups spinach
1 cup alfalfa sprouts
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp of Caesar dressing*
2 Tbsp Miso, 3 heaping spoonfuls of veggie pulp
2 ounces coconut meat

Snack
2 Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted tortillas
2 Tbsp peanut butter*
1 Tbsp Honey *

Snack
2 ounces raw aged cheddar

Meal 3
8 ounces Fruit Juice
Ingredients: 6 kiwi, 1 orange, 1 persimmon, 6 pears

I think I'm overdoing the cheese and certainly the tortillas. In a way, I think I'm using them as a way to feed my cravings for carbs and fats. It's wreaking havoc with my digestive system, though. I may end the day with another salad. I just dread drinking more laxative tea (and waking up to cramps), but the lower right quadrant of my abdomen has been tender all day and I feel like I need to empty out my colon some more. I had my appendix out a couple of years ago, and I swear I've had pain there ever since. Did they leave something in there? Damage some nerves? I'm not sure, but it's starting to get annoying. Ever since going on hormone replacement therapy (early menopause a.k.a. premature ovarian failure), I can hardly eat anything without getting bloated either. I suppose I traded hot flashes for bloating. At this point, I'm just not sure which is worse.

Today's tip: I recently came across some information describing how a person should eat salads at the END of a meal, rather than as a first course. Duh. Although this is contrary to what is considered customary, it makes sense when you think about the "sweeping" role fiber plays in digestion.

Walk'in-N-Work'in

I like walking and running on my treadmill, but even with great music the workouts can get boring. My work also involves keeping up a quite a few blogs-which can be a terrific time waster. So, hey! Why not combine the two? A few simple twists of a kayak strap, and Voila! I think I've found the solution to solve both problems! I actually got the idea after I googled "laptop strap for treadmills." My search returned a product called The Net Runner.


Don't try this while running :)


MINE'S a lot cheaper :)

Guilt-Free Treadmill Time

I do LOVE my Billy Blanks, and I've been attempting to get in at least 50-60 minutes of the advanced "Get Ripped" workout every day. So far so good, with the exception of the slow revival of a former running injury (the old stress fractures in my shins are starting to get a little cranky). On and off (mostly off) I've done a lot of Tae Bo over the years, and the Get Ripped Advanced II workouts still reign supreme for me. I always notice changes in my body almost immediately when doing these workouts, and they are a great way to burn a fast 600-700 calories.

Every so often I've been alternating Tae Bo with some pre-programmed speed and incline workouts on my treadmill.

Calorie Conundrum

I've been juicing a lot, which is good. My problem is calories. Am I getting enough, or too few? I'm just not sure. Either way (with too few or too may) I risk slowing down weightloss and the shedding of potential toxins if I don't figure it out. It's tough to determine just how many calories are in an 8 oz or 12 oz glass of juice, because once you separate the juice from the pulp, the nutritional content changes. So how many calories are left behind in the pulp? That IS the $64,000 question. I've been searching for help with this online, but still haven't found a site that can answer all of my questions. Until I figure this out, I'm going to watch my intake of nuts and cut back on the more sugary fruits and veggies.


How many calories are still in here?

I can't say whether or not I'm losing any weight, because unfortunately, I never bothered to write down a starting weight. I keep intending to step on the scale one of these mornings (really!), just so I can look back in a few months and mark the changes. I'm definitely firming up, but I don't really feel any lighter. In fact, if I had to guess, I say the opposite was true. I feel like I'm retaining A LOT of water. And I still feel bloated immediately after eating unless I eat only the tiniest amount of food. Hmmm....could it be these?


I've been adding a lot of seaweed, which is a good natural source of iodine. I eat the Kelp (covered in a dusting of natural sea salt) like a snack, wrap raw veggies up in the Nori wraps, and sprinkle Dulce flakes on my salads and in my soup. I've cut out traditional table salt (and pepper) altogether, and I've been avoiding Tahini, Soy Sauce and other "condiments" that I know are high in sodium. Maybe it's time to cut back on these, too.

Because I have a friend's wedding coming up in about 10 days, I'm considering substituting most of my meals over the 5-7 days with juice. I've got to get a handle on what food combinations are causing the bloating and try to dump some of this excess water weight before the big event. I read somewhere that for every so many excess carbs you consume, your cells retain X amount of excess water. In the case of excess protein, the cells retain almost zero extra water. I guess that means upping the high protein greens like spinach.

Today's Log:
* NOT RAW

Meal 1
1 cup raw rolled oats
1 Washington apple cubed
1/4 cup raw walnuts
1/4 cup soy milk*
2 Tbsp of honey*
All mixed up in a cereal bowl-delicious!

Cup of Chai Green Tea

1 quart water

Meal 2

12 oz Green Juice (plus 4 for my hubby :)
Ingredients: 1 cucumber, 3 stalks celery, 3 carrots, 1 radish, 1 bunch red chard, 1 cup dandelion greens, 1 cup mustard greens

Meal 3
3 cups spinach, handful of sprouts, 2 Tbsp of caesar dressing
2 Tbsp of Mello White Miso, 2 cups water, 3 heaping spoonfuls of veggies pulp + chopped onions.

24 oz water (while working out)
1 quart water

Snack
2 Ezekiel 4:9 tortillas with 2 ounces of raw aged cheddar and 6 olives*

Extra Pulp!


Extra Pulp & Miso Soup:)

We're Wired!

Now that our arctic cold snap has snapped (seriously, -20F to -30F plus wind chills for DAYS ON END!) we're starting to make some more progress on the sauna. The wiring is almost all roughed in. We actually ordered some marine (waterproof) stereo speakers that haven't arrived yet. We bought a cheap stereo receiver that we plan to house on a shelf just inside our laundry room (on the other side of one sauna wall). We considered just getting a dock for our Ipods, but NPR/MPR junkies that we are, decided it would be awefully nice to have a radio, too. After much monkey businesses, our heater has FINALLY arrived (directly from Finland, via Saunatec in Cokato, MN via A Touch of Finland in Marquette, MI.


So shiny!

BUT....thanks to an oversight on our part, we had to have a second circuit breaker panel added-the other was full! So basically we paid for an electrician ALL DAY LONG. (Ahem) Granted, we would have had to put a second box in anyway, but needless to say we hadn't exactly factored the extra cost into our overall budget. Eeek! I can hardly wait for that bill.

<
The sauna has it's own breaker box :)

The electrician also suggested using this rubber tubing over the wiring to reduce/exclude the possibility of corrosion down the road. Great idea!


We also picked up the rest of our materials (insulation, cedar tongue-and-groove, and misc.) so we'll be ready to forage ahead as soon as the inspector gives up the A-okay.


Yes, the basement (and office) are a complete disaster, but boy does it ever smell good down here!

Blogging On!

Okay...so it has been awhile since I've posted. My apologies. Thanks to an encouraging email from a daily reader and diehard fan (thanks, Mom), I've decided to press on...

As I mentioned in my last post, I was considering starting my juice fast last week to detox from the previous week's outings (I've been such a social butterfly lately ;)

CANCEL THAT!
I've decided to put it on hold until a least late February-for a few reasons.

First off, many of last week's social engagements are leading up to a grand finale-a friend's wedding in Key West, FL, on February 16th. I suspect there will be plenty of dancing, drinking, seafood, and sunshine to come down from upon my return. Hence my decision to hold off on fasting for just a few weeks longer. Second, things are humming along just fine with the raw foods. I'm not in any hurry to go and muck things up with a hardcore detox diet. My skin is shaping up (I have had the occasional odd breakout, and as bizarre as it sounds, my eyes are bluer and the whites-well, whiter. I thought this was just my imagination until my husband commented on it without my prompting. I'm also firming up from 40-60 minutes of Tae Bo and my daily walks with the dog. All in all, I have been feeling great and really getting into the raw foods, exercise and meditation. This is about total lifestyle transformation, not instant gratification, so I'm fine taking things slow and steady.

Daily Food Logs

I've decided that I'm going to start blogging my daily meals-if not daily, then I'll catch up every couple of days. This will give me a good chance to keep track of what is working and what isn't, and for those interested (Mom?), it will give them a peek into what it's like to eat 80-90% raw. I look forward to any and all suggestions from those more in-the-know.

Today's Yummies

* = NOT RAW

Meal 1
1 cup Chai Tea
12 oz Green Juice
Ingredients: 4 stalks celery, 4 carrots, 1 head romaine lettuce, 1 large beet, 1/2 jalapeno, 1 cup red and green kale, 1 cup dandelion greens, 1 cup mustard greens, 1 zucchini, 1/2 avocado, 2 small pieces of ginger.

Snack
1 Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted grain tortilla with 1 ounce of raw cheddar (YUM!!!! I'm not sure I could never go raw vegan, I just LOVE raw cheese SO much!!)

Meal 2-Soup & Salad
3 cups spinach
2 Tbsp Newman's Caesar dressing (admittedly, a weakness)*
1 boca chicken patty*
Small handful of raw walnuts
1 Tbsp of ground flax seed
2 ounces alfalfa sprouts
2 Tbsp Miso broth (Mellow White variety) with several heaping spoonfuls of veggie pulp left over from this morning's juicing and a bit of chopped red onion added in (!!!)

Meal 3
Fruit Juice
Ingredients: 1/2 Pineapple, 12 blackberries
1 banana

Other:
2 quarts water plus 8 oz of water with 2 tsp of Living Green powder
Caribou Hot Chocolate (I was on the shore of Lake Superior watching people (crazy people) take the polar plunge (jump in 32 degree water in their skivvies) to raise money for Special Olympics). I was cold (relatively speaking, of course :)