Uncooked

What do Cowboys, exotic animals, and artichokes have in Common?

2010-09-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

I am so EXCITED! My brother called me tonight and has 2 extra box seat tickets to tomorrow's Dallas Cowboys game, and I get to go! For those of you who don't know I am a native Texan and therefore a natural born Cowboys fan. My husband, Wayne, is a HUGE Eagles fan. I am dragging him along "kicking and screaming." I actually think he is excited about going. He says, "It's worth it just to see the new stadium." Don't worry -- I will make a Cowboys fan out of him yet.

I am also excited because we booked Phillip's birthday party tonight. His birthday is not until October, but his party sounds so cool! It is going to be at our home, and a wildlife expert is going to come and show the kids some exotic animals (all of which have been rescued) and present a program on conservation. We are going to collect gifts for the Humane Society in lieu of gifts for Phillip. We can take them to the actual shelter here they will use the gifts and he can see where and how the things/money he collects will be used. This will be much better than having a rand new set of toys to clutter his room.

The other thing I did today was make roasted artichokes. I know, they are not raw, but I had never had one and was eager to try, and they are vegan, after all. It wasn't hard to make, just a little time consuming at first. When Wayne came home he looked puzzled and was not very excited about eating artichokes for dinner. However, they were delicious, and surprisingly very filling! Turns out they have tons of fiber (10.3 grams to be exact). When I told my brother (who is a chef) what I was making he called the heart the treasure and it really was the best part. Wayne can't wait to have them again. Overall it has been a very good day!

Mangolicious Green Smoothie Recipe

2010-08-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

In order to start my green smoothie day off right this morning I decided to a little experimentation. I had a fresh bunch of Rainbow Chard that I was determined to use. Honestly, swiss chard is not my favorite green. I think it has a bit of a funky aftertaste. That being said, I believe in rotating my greens, and Rainbow Chard is so pretty it is hard to pass up. The smoothie I made this morning had absolutely no aftertaste, though, and I may find swiss chard a more regular part of my green smoothie regimen because this one was VERY YUMMY!

I cut up about 1 - 1 and a 1/2 cups of chard, a very ripe mango, a banana, a slice of lemon, and the brown stuff in the pic is tamarind. This is a fruit I discovered just this summer and to me, it tastes like a mix between an apricot and a prune with just a hint of sour. I put all of the fruit in the Vitamix with a cup of water and a cup of ice and blended it until smooth. Then I added the chopped chard and blended again.

Try it -- You will like it!

1st day of school

2010-08-30T18:58:00.000-07:00

We started school today. One of the benefits of home schooling is that you can start whenever you want. It was definitely interesting having Phillip at home and we very quickly learned that we needed headphones for the computer. Jake and Emma will definitely learn how to work through distractions. Overall, Phillip was great. We did handwriting, worked on letters and phonics, counted to 100, did some addition, and began a health unit on the likenesses and differences between boys and girls, and sex (he has been asking where girl's pee comes out). I think the sex part was his favorite part, but he is a boy after all (ha! ha!).

I am exhausted! One thing I didn't mention in my summer update blog yesterday is that I also had a hysterectomy, less than two weeks ago actually. I am fine (no pathology), and I am healing nicely, but I get so tired and sore. Tomorrow I am taking it a little easy -- we may do reading in a big family pile in my bed. We started The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I had almost forgotten what a fun book it is to read. I get such a kick out of watching Emma and Jake roll their eyes when I tell them what we will be reading and then begging to read one more chapter.

Well, I took my pain medicine about 20 minutes ago so I better log off before I reach la-la land.

Tomorrow is a green smoothie day for me -- I'll be home all day so I'm going to have a love affair with my Vitamix and drink all the greens I can! I am looking forward to it!

Approaching the School Year with Reluctant Eagerness

2010-08-29T08:21:00.000-07:00

Summer break is coming to a close all too quickly. While part of me longs for the return to routines and schedules and the busyness of all of the extra curricular school year activities, part of me is dragging my feet. I will miss lazy mornings, jumping in the pool just because it is hot outside, fresh tomatoes and peaches, reading good books, and just plain old playing with the kids.

Since I home school we have the flexibility to start school whenever we want and believe me, I have strongly considered not starting until after Labor day, but I have to admit there is something about "knowing what I am going to do each day" that is attractive to me. I also love the way newly sharpened pencils and fresh clean notebook paper smell. There is an excitement in putting together new notebooks and opening the boxes that contain all our school materials for the year. I always get a kick out of watching Emma's eyes grow big as she looks ahead toward the sentences she will be masterfully diagramming by the end of the year.

Planning ahead is not only for school work, though. The schedule of the school year also forces me to be very intentional about planning my meals and snacks throughout the day. This year it will be even more so as Jake and Emma are taking a couple of classes outside the home that I will have to be out and about during times I would normally be at home. We are planning fresh fruit and vegetable options, and it is time to get my dehydrator revved up again. If you know any good raw food dehydrator recipes, especially for bars and such, please pass them along to me.

To update you on other things That happened this summer: I finished my five month boot camp at the beginning of this month. It was quite the commitment -- 6 days a week for an hour a day at 5:30 in the morning. I learned lots of ways to get protein as a mostly raw vegan, and I have a little 4 pack to prove it. While I have enjoyed having most of August off I am considering doing it again. I gained such a sense of accomplishment by committing to the regimen, and I feel as though my body has responded amicably. It is hard for me to believe that it was just three years ago that I was was overweight, lethargic, and very sick. Today, I feel like a picture of health and energy thanks to a change in intake philosophy. A raw diet and exercise have indeed changed my life!

Jake, our 13 year old, went to Scotland and Northern Ireland and had the time of his life! He rally enjoyed it. It was interesting to me that he said tings such as, "Mom, you wouldn't believe how quiet it was there," or "My favorite time was the time I spent hiking the mountain alone." When his grandmother asked him what was the most important thing he learned after thoughtful consideration he said, "I learned that no matter where you live in the world all people build their own kinds of fences." I am so glad that we made some sacrifices so that he could have that opportunity.

Emma and Jake had an excellent swimming season! They both went to "A regionals" and Jake even qualified to swim in the state competition, doing better than he ever thought he could do. It was so much fun to watch them excel. Phillip also learned how to really swim this summer, in large part, due to his sister teaching him everything she knows. He has become quite the fish.

Wayne's work is going well and we have just enjoyed spending time with each other and our family this summer. His mother and my parents both came to visit at different times, and it was a nice to be with them. I did some itinerant preaching in mostly small, country churches this summer which was very refreshing. I also read several good books, including Infidel and Eat, Pray, Love, both of which I highly recommend. Unfortunately, my tomato plant only produced 2 tomatoes, but that is 2 more than last year. I will keep trying this thumb of mine, hopefully one day it may get a green tint. Until then thank God for the Farmer's Market and Whole Foods!

Alive and Kicking!

2010-06-30T07:29:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been since April that I last wrote! I have had so many irons in the fire I lost track of time. If you are a parent, you know all about the end of the school year hustle and bustle. We had dance recitals, and dance pictures, T-ball games, and T-ball pictures, Kindergarten graduation performances, and kindergarten pictures, and Chorus concerts, and, you guessed it, chorus pictures. My parents visited. Wayne's mom visited. All of that was quickly followed by Jake's trip to Scotland which was much harder on me than I would like to admit. I stood in the airport waving goodbye and crying my eyes out (something I had promised myself I wouldn't do).

I don't think I slept by a couple hours a night the whole time he was gone. The good news is I was very productive! I have been working on editing 2 books for a very good friend of mine, and I was able to complete that (They are very good books and I will be talking it up as it gets closer to publish date). I was able to write a few sermons and I preached a few times. I carted Emma and Phillip back and forth to summer camps and swim practices. I went o the doctor and to the dentist. I dug in at boot camp and worked my butt off. The time went by quickly and Jake is back home now. He had the time of his life! I am so glad we let him go -- he seems to have grown up so much!

Speaking of boot camp -- I am in the home stretch -- only 1 month left. I feel so good! I will be posting pics soon. It has been very challenging, but very rewarding! I have even donned a bikini in public this summer, and I am down to a size 6. But boot camp is not all about the exercise; it is also about fueling your body. My mostly raw diet has provided me excellent fuel and results! The only problem is that I feel like I eat all day long! I eat enormous amounts of fruits and veggies all day long to ensure that I get the proper caloric intake. I am definitely not one to skip a meal!

I am enjoying the fruits (and veggies) of summer so very much! I think I have eaten the best watermelon I have ever put in my mouth this summer. The heirloom tomatoes are so delicious and I have even had a couple from my own backyard. My tomato plant is still alive -- that is quite an accomplishment for me! The cherries and blueberries have been so sweet and juicy! And I love the local peaches, squash, and green beans.

I hope you like the new look of the blog and will continue to follow me on my journey toward reclaiming my health and my life!

Physical health leads to Spiritual Health

2010-04-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

Judging from all of the emails I have received about yesterday's entry, I am apparently not alone on the running thing. Thank you all for your responses -- I was beginning to think I was the only one who did not like to run. I really don't mind the exercise, in fact, once I finally make it to the gym, it makes me feel a lot better. I have found that when I feel good about my body, that good feeling translates to other areas of my life as well. I feel more confident, I sleep better, I feel more focused, I care more about what I eat, etc.

The first few weeks I was doing boot camp I felt like getting up at 4:45 was possibly the worst thing I had ever committed myself to do. However, the last few weeks (it is hard to believe I have been on this regimen for seven and a half weeks now) I have been waking up even before the alarm goes off, and I have been wide awake and ready for the day.

There are things I like about getting up early. For instance, 4:45 is the only time of day when my house is completely quiet and I can be totally alone. I like to sit in my favorite chair all by myself and read a devotion. No one is competing for my attention, putting their feet on me, or asking me to do something else. I also have a private time to pray. I feel as though waking up for boot camp has not only improved my physical health, but my spiritual health as well. Funny how that works.

Confessions of a wanna-be (not really) runner.

2010-04-21T17:31:00.000-07:00

I have always admired those people who put on their dry-fit clothing and running shorts and step out of their front doors to "go for a run." Recently, my sister-in-law and her husband were visiting and he stepped out for a little over an hour one day so that he could run a measly ten miles. I must admit, I was jealous. In my mind I am a runner. I can picture myself training for a marathon. I can imagine getting that "runner's high." I can feel that need to finish the race somewhere deep down inside of me.

Running seems like it would be a great way to exercise, especially right now -- when the weather is so nice. I always think that I want to do it; that I want to be a runner... then I try it. I think some people are just not meant to be runners, and I must be one of those people. No matter how much I want to like it -- I simply don't. In fact, I might even say I don't like it at all. I can ride a bike, I can get on an elliptical machine, and heck, I can even row until the cows come home. BUT I CANNOT RUN! I DO NOT WANT TO RUN! I DO NOT LIKE TO RUN! There, I said it. It is all out in the open. I feel much better now.

Convenience Foods

2010-04-15T18:11:00.001-07:00

Today I discovered Vega -- bars and shakes for vegans. These products are all or mostly raw and are designed for athletes. While I would not yet consider myself to be an athlete, I am working on it. I must say that both the bar I had and the shake were quite tasty. I guess they have always been at my local Whole Foods Store, but I only noticed them for the first time today. It is so nice to have high quality whole foods with convenience!

Sometimes the very thing that keeps us from eating healthy is the idea that we don't have the time to prepare healthy meals. I am a very busy mother of three who knows what it is like to juggle 20 things at a time. When my doctors first suggested to me that I become vegetarian almost one year ago fear and dread ran through my mind as I thought, "What am I going to eat and where am I going to buy it?" As someone who spends most of her afternoons as a taxi driver, convenience foods (read - fast food standard American Diet) were a huge part of our lives. I thought that either I would have to learn to like fast food salads or starve. Boy was I wrong. I found it is just as quick to run into the grocery and pick up an apple or banana as it was to wait in the drive thru line. I also discovered nuts and seeds, and almost all grocery stores sell well made organic salads. There are so many raw bars and snacks out there that I didn't even know about -- I just had to look for them and ask where I could find them.

Now, I don't have time to not eat a healthy meal. Now, I can't even imagine eating the way I used to eat -- I realize that the standard American Diet was sucking the life right out of me!

One way to see what you are really putting into your body is to keep a food journal. There are so many easy to use websites that have free calorie counters. It will open your eyes when you see that one cup of low-fat soup and half of a cafe sandwich at a local "healthy fast food alternative" contains over 100% of your daily sodium, or how just one hamburger can destroy your fat and caloric intake. There are so many better choices out there, and they are just as easy. You are so worth putting just a little effort into eating well. You can do it! I promise, it will change your life.

Good Experience

2010-04-14T18:56:00.000-07:00

Well today I am one step closer to becoming a member of Grace Presbytery in Dallas. I met with the Committee of Ministry today and they have recommended me. It is always a bit stressful to go through examination, but the committee was very nice and welcoming, and they made me feel very comfortable. I was excited to meet such wonderful people. Thank you also to all of my friends and colleagues who were gracious enough to give me such wonderful references. Thank you to my family and friends for your support and encouragement through this entire process.

Day at the Park

2010-04-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Today Jake and Emma went and studied in the park. It was a lot of fun! Jake was reading a book on Marco Polo and Emma was learning about Marie Antoinette. We had just picked the books up at the library and the kids were complaining about having to read them (they were too long and boring). However, after about ten minutes of reading they started piping up asking me, "Did you know that Marco Polo.....," or "Marie Antoinette was in prison for....." It was pretty cool that they were getting into their books. I wish we could study in the park every day -- it just makes all of the senses so much more alert and alive!

We took a picnic lunch and I had a wonderful salad with the season's best tomatoes -- so YUMMY! They were little yellow tomatoes -- I don't remember what they were called, but they were so sweet. I also had some goji berry trail mix (walnuts, raw pumpkin seeds, and raw sunflower seeds) and a pink lady apple (pink ladies are my favorite -- they have just the right amount of tart and sweet).

Summer is right around the corner and I have many inquiries as of late about a raw food lifestyle. I think many people are just trying to get in better shape for summer, but some are wanting something more from their foods. If you want to see what really living feels like then give it a try. Live raw foods will make your body and mind ready for living!

Excellent Spring Weekend

2010-04-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have had a difficult time getting going today. Wayne was out of town all weekend so I missed my weekend and Monday came too soon for me this morning. I forced myself to get out of bed when the alarm went off at 4:45 this morning. I am glad I did, because by the time I finished at the gym I already felt a little better just knowing I had accomplished something.

I did a little experiment this weekend and ate lots more raw foods because my face was breaking out. Guess what, it significantly cleared up! I wish I would have taken a before and after picture. My body just agrees with raw foods. I know what works for it and I am going to stick with that.

The kids and I had fun this weekend, even though we missed Wayne. We were very active. We went on a 4 mile bike ride at Arbor Hills Nature Preserve and a 2.5 mile hike at the Heard Museum of Natural Science. It was a beautiful spring weekend for being outdoors. Phillip also had 2 soccer games. Needless to say I am exhausted and now it is only Monday! Off to bed for me!

Another Green Smoothie Day

2010-04-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

I had a green smoothie day today! I have been noticing that ever since I started eating some cooked foods (mostly fish and beans) to try and get some protein back in my diet that my skin has started to break out again. So I did some research and discovered that Pea Protein and Hemp Protein are very good sources for vegans and have been trying them out. The first smoothie I had was strawberries, banana, orange, kale, with pea protein. The second was strawberry, banana, mango, kale, with help protein and 1/2 serving of pea protein. I must say they were quite tasty. I can't believe the hemp protein had 14 grams of fiber. Things ought to be moving well in the morning. It felt good to eat almost all fruits and veggies today. I feel as though I have much more energy and hopefully it will help me clear up my skin. I'll let you know.

My brother and sister-in-law are in town searching for a new home. It is such an exciting and stressful time in their lives (preparing to move a family to a new city is quite an undertaking), but we are so glad they will be moving close. It will be very nice to have family in the area! Phillip can't wait to play with his cousins and Emma can't wait to help babysit them. Jake is just excited. I hope they find the perfect house and that the move goes smoothly and just the way they want.

Raw Challenge

2010-04-07T18:36:00.000-07:00

Just when I think I am over being sore I am sore all over again! Sore in a good way -- lets me know my muscles are working. Speaking of being in working order, I finally got my lab results back from when I went to the endocrinologist week before last. Sometimes my labs take a bit longer because they have to do some specialized calcium and protein tests that are sent off. That being said, IT WAS ALL GOOD NEWS!

My endocrinologist is so happy and proud of me! He said, "please don't change a thing, just keep doing exactly what you are doing." I am so EXCITED! I was typing up some information on raw diet resources for a woman that goes to our church who is interested in learning more about it, and I couldn't stress enough how much this lifestyle has changed everything for me. If you are curious, even the slightest bit -- I dare you to try a raw food diet (high in greens) for one week and see for yourself. One week -- you can do anything for one week, can't you? Start right now, make a commitment to yourself, and see how you can change your life, too!

Raw snacks

2010-04-05T18:21:00.000-07:00

Fossil Rim was great fun today, as usual. Wayne's sister and brother-in-law got a kick out of the giraffe sticking its head into the car. We had a really good time. It was fun to watch someone else feed all of the animals for the first time. Neil was in the front seat and almost got baptized in giraffe slobber.

Some of you have asked me what I eat when we go "out of town." Today we took a cooler full of water, apples, grapes, oranges, and trail mix to snack on while we went through the park. It is not hard to pack fresh fruits for a day trip and the kids really like it. I also took some Larabars. They have lots of flavors so it is not hard to find something that everyone likes. If you have never eaten a Larabar, I highly recommend them, but please know they are mostly raw (most of them are around 96%). If you prefer a 100% raw bar, try Go RAW! bars which are also excellent.

Wayne's sister and her husband are amazed by how many fresh and organic food choices we have here. I am so very thankful to live in a place where such good food is available.

sharing a raw food diet

2010-04-04T18:44:00.000-07:00

We have been having a great time with Wayne's sister and brother-in-law! Yesterday was so beautiful -- we went down to Fair Park in Dallas and rode the swan paddle boats. It was a lot of fun. I could not believe how dirty and trashy it was down there, though. We saw lots of turtles and fish. We walked through the butterfly gardens and the butterfly conservatory, too. It was a perfect day to be outside.

This morning we went to church and after church it was raining so we just hung out at home and dyed Easter eggs. That was an experience! Our eggs are, well....let's just say they are interesting. I think the kids ate more than they actually dyed. Tomorrow we are taking them to Fossil Rim to see all of the animals. we are all looking forward to it!

They have been really interested in learning about my food and have really enjoyed drinking green smoothies in the mornings. They said that they definitely tasted a lot better than they looked. Wayne's sister's husband's mother has been eating raw foods for quite some time and I didn't even know that. They learned about a raw food diet when his father was diagnosed with cancer and given only 6 months to live. He started eating raw and lived five years! That being said, we have had some really interesting conversations about food and health. It is nice having them here.

What I eat that is not fruit or veggies

2010-04-01T19:19:00.000-07:00

Wayne's sister is coming from Delaware tomorrow. My entire household is very excited! I hope everyone sleeps well, because boot camp will come awfully early in the morning. I went to Costco today to prepare and had a cart full of fruit and veggies. When I went through the check out lane the man running the cash register was looking at me really funny. He asked me if I ate all of this stuff (brilliant question, huh?).

I told him that I did. He asked, "Don't you get anything else?" I told him that I eat some other things, but mostly just raw fruits and veggies. He couldn't believe it. He said, "Well, you look very healthy so I shouldn't be surprised." I always find interesting the things people say when people comment on my diet. Usually people say, "I could never do that, but I wish I could." Other times people say, "Wow! That's really cool. Aren't you hungry though?" And almost everyone wants to know what I eat that is not fruit or vegetables.

Lately I have been eating raw seeds and nuts, some fish (some raw sashimi, but some cooked, too), raw protein from Source of Life, some sprouted breads and crackers, raw bars, and raw cookies.

Spring Fever!

2010-03-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

It was a beautiful day here today, a bit windy, but I will take windy any day over the cold. The sun was out, the birds were singing, and the thermometer FINALLY went past the 80 degree mark! Hallelujah!! I am really getting an itch to plant a garden. I know I am a little late in the game, but with good reason. As much as I would like to grow things, my thumb is pretty much anything but green. However, I am trying to get better. I want to go out to my backyard (which is very small, by the way) and pick my lunch. That would be so cool!

I have been researching how to build a raised bed so that I can utilize the space we have. The Whole Foods down the street from our house has a homemade raised bed on display. I might just try it this weekend. We will see. They also have gallon vegetables that have already been started so I wouldn't be too far behind. The spring weather is giving me spring fever.

Goodbye Body Fat!

2010-03-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

We measured body fat today at boot camp. It is my fourth week and I have lost 4.5% body fat! I am so excited! I did not really expect it to be that much. My trainer told me not to expect such a significant drop every time (we measure every 4 weeks), but I am quite happy with the results so far. One thing that is slightly difficult is that I have actually gained several pounds. I do not want to get hung up on the scale, though. My trainer reminded me that I am gaining lean muscle and bone density (very important for someone with calcium issues). I know he is right, and honestly, the weight isn't as important as feeling healthy and fit. I really do feel as though I have much more energy throughout the entire day. Wayne says he can tell a big difference.

My trainer also said he is not used to seeing someone drop so much body fat in such a short time. I think that has a lot to do with my diet. I am eating mostly raw protein from plant sources (Pea Protein, Hemp Protein, and Source of Life Raw Protein, and raw seeds/nuts) and occasional fish. That being said, the majority of my diet is still raw fruits and vegetables -- probably 80%. I am starting to feel like the outside is beginning to reflect the strong woman that I am on the inside. It feels good!

Paying off

2010-03-25T19:32:00.000-07:00

I am not one to wish away my life, but boy am I ready for some warmer temperatures. Texas has been cold this year! I can't wait until we hit 80 degrees. I know that before long it will be 100 and we will be wishing for cooler weather, but right now, at this very moment, I say bring it on! I am tired of donning sweaters and jackets! Shorts, tank tops, and flip flops are calling my name, after all it is SPRING!

Wayne noticed how firm my abs are getting today. He poked me in the stomach and said, "Wow! Your stomach feels a lot different than it did a few weeks ago." I just laughed. He said, "No really, I can tell a big difference." That made me feel really good! I still have a long way to go to firm up this flab, but progress is being made. It is always nice when someone else notices. My glut soreness is finally starting to fade a little, too. I walked up the stairs today with only a wince -- it is the small victories that mean so much!

I went to Whole Foods today and they had LOTS of young coconuts. I was so excited! The last few times I have been they have been completely out -- I ask every time, and even get them to check in the back. Today they had two whole bins filled with them, so I must not have been the only one asking. If you have never tried the water and meat of a young coconut in your green smoothie, then you are really missing out! One of my favorites -- 3-4 large leaves of kale, water and meat of a young coconut, an orange, and a banana, and ice and blend away. YUMMY! i can't wait to have one tomorrow.

Raw food diet and Exercise

2010-03-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Every morning before we begin our workouts at boot camp we go around and say what we ate the day before. Needless to say I am eating MUCH differently than everyone else. I have noticed that they all eat lots of processed foods such as protein shakes and bars. My list is much more food, all natural, unprocessed foods, mostly raw, and I am still eating way less calories. One of the hardest parts of this has been hitting my calorie minimum. I am eating so much food! We go around and they get to me and I am listing things like 2.5 cups of kale, 2.5 cups of spinach, 3 oranges, 2 bananas, 2 apples, almonds, cashews, raw protein, green smoothie, etc. Needless to say almost everyone is curious to know why my diet is so different.

The workouts are very hard. My gluts are so sore -- still! Every day I just get up and do it again telling myself, "Tiny hiney, tiny hiney," the whole time. It is getting a little easier, though. I am starting to feel like a can tell a difference in my strength and endurance, and I feel energized throughout the day. That part is really fun!

Awesome Check-up

2010-03-23T18:27:00.001-07:00

Today I went to the endocrinologist and had an excellent appointment. I can't help but think that a year ago every time I went to the doctor it seemed I was getting more bad news about my health. And it was almost 3 years ago that I was really struggling to make it through the day. Now it is all good news and that feels great! In fact, my doctor said he wished more of his patients were like me because I was doing absolutely everything in my power to have a good outcome from an unfortunate condition.

My labs were great! No kidney issues at all! He even asked me if I ate lots of fruits and vegetables based on my lab values alone. He also thought it was really good that I have been doing boot camp because it showed him that I am really feeling healthy and confident in my body again. When I got sick, it was very hard because I felt like my body had betrayed me -- no matter what I wanted it to do it was doing the opposite and I had no control over it. My endocrinologist reminded me that I can never have total control over my body and it may always throw me for a loop every now and then because I do have hypoparathyroidism. But we also talked about how being proactive about my health and condition have given me a great deal of power back in my life.

I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, if I had not found a high raw lifestyle, there is no way I would be where I am today. I thank God that I was in the right place at the right time and that I was receptive to trying something totally new. I got my green on and boy has it paid off!

The tweenager curse

2010-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Jake's actual birthday and he woke up early this morning throwing up. He continued throwing up until about noon. He was pitiful! Welcome to being a teenager. I felt so sorry for him. He seems to be feeling much better this evening but he has eaten only a banana and a dozen Saltines today.

I have been threatening to put a curse on Emma all day, the "I-hope-you-have-one-just-like-you-when-you-grow-up" curse. Yesterday she "cleaned" her room for several hours. This morning I went up to her room and it was a disaster area! I looked under her bed and stuff was just crammed under there. I thought I was going to lose it for a moment. Then I remembered the curse. It worked for my mom, and I know what that means. It means that Emma's room might finally be clean when she grows up and has a family of her own and then she will be hounding her own daughter to clean her room.

On a totally separate note, my trainer thinks I eat the strangest things! He is like, "What the heck is a green smoothie? or a raw spirulina bar?" But, it is paying off! I have lost a little over 5% body fat since I started my early morning boot camp. He was quite impressed. Heck, I was quite impressed! It feels good to be getting some tone and definition again. I enjoy working out every morning because it is the one thing I do every day that is just for me. One more added benefit -- I am sleeping like a baby and have more energy throughout the day. Yes, some days it is hard to rollout of bed at 4:45, but I just think of the payoff and I am able to do it.

The Birthday List

2010-03-21T18:30:00.000-07:00

We woke up to this first full day of spring to find 4 inches of snow in our yard. Seriously! I could not believe it. Friday it was 74 degrees here and we spent almost the entire day outside. Saturday it was still quite warm but raining and then the cold front moved in for what was hopefully, one last hurrah. When I went to bed last night the weather men were forecasting less than one inch of snow, so it was surprising to find so much snow this morning.

Jake is turning 13 tomorrow, but Wayne took off of work on Friday and we did 13 of Jake's favorite things:

1. Have a smoothie for breakfast

2. Go hiking at a local park on the dirt trails

3. Went to play miniature golf

4. Got a haircut (not necessarily a favorite, but much needed)

5. Ate at Campisi's for lunch

6. Visit the S.P.C.A.

7. Play Wii together

8. Fly kites

9. Take the dogs to the dog park

10. Eat at Rock Fish Grill (Jake loves throwing peanut shells on the floor)

11. Go swimming at the community center

12. Have bubble shakes at Fat Straws

13. Make our own tie-dyed t-shirts

It was such a fun day! We all enjoyed ourselves. Jake is such a cool kid. As you can tell, he loves to be outside and with nature. It was a long day, but everyone had such a good time. I will post more pics soon.

I enjoyed my day "off" of boot camp today, but am looking forward to returning tomorrow. My bottom has not quite recovered from the strenuous week one and two, but hopefully it will not be as sore this week. My poor gluts!

I also go to the endocrinologist this week for a check up. I am interested to see how my labs will be and to ask him a couple of questions about working out, maintaining a good calcium level, and protein in my diet. Other things on my list this week are finishing an excellent book written by a dear friend of mine (who I will hopefully get to visit with, if even for a few moments) and finishing a class I have been teaching at church on the liturgy and history of Lent. Wayne's mom is also moving back to Alabama this week and that will be difficult for everyone.

I am hoping for a significant warm up over the next couple of days, and looking forward to seeing what else this week will bring.

Jake is turning 13!

2010-03-18T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today was an absolutely beautiful day! We enjoyed it immensely because we knew it would not last; we have a chance of snow for this weekend, in fact. So today we studied outside and then we played at the park. It was so nice to be out and in the sunshine! Tomorrow will be warm as well -- a bit windy, but warm, so we will enjoy the outdoors again. We are planning on breaking out the kites.

Jake's birthday is Monday and we will be celebrating this weekend. I cannot believe that my oldest baby is going to be a teenager. How did he get to be 13 already? He is already taller and bigger than I am. He was born on a night when the comet was circling the sky -- Wayne, my parents and I watched that comet circle so many times as we walked the block trying to get Jake jump started for his journey out of the womb. It worked.

We will be doing all of Jake's favorite things this weekend. He wants to go hiking, kite flying, visit the animal shelter, and play mini golf. It should be a lot of fun! Sometimes when I look at him, he just completely amazes me. (Of course, there are other times when I look at him and want to bit his head off, too -- he is going on 13 after all). Seriously though, there are moments when I step back and observe his polite behavior or marvel at his ability to figure out a difficult algebra problem and I think, "Wow, this is my son! How did he get so smart, so handsome, so well-mannered?" I thank God every day for allowing me the privilege of being Jake's mom.

Journey to a healthy lifestyle

2010-03-17T19:22:00.000-07:00

As you know I have been trying to add a little more lean protein back into my diet since I stated a pretty grueling workout routine. I have tried some raw protein powder that tastes pretty good and I have had some fish. It will be interesting to see if this works for me or not. There are a couple of things I have noticed right off the bat: 1.) my face has broken out and 2.) sorry for being so blunt, but I am constipated. So far, I am not liking the protein thing --- for me.

I am going to stick with it for at least a couple of days and see if my system kinda levels out, but my body is going to have to do better than this or it is not worth it. One thing that I have learned over the last 3 years since my health troubles began is to listen to my body. There are experts on everything and people line up to tell me what I should and should not eat, from my doctors to my trainer, to nutritionists. Sometimes they do give conflicting information and that is when I have to rely on myself and everything that I have learned, and the way that I feel. So when I say I am not sure about this protein thing, don't forget that I also say "for me." I am no expert on diet and nutrition either. I am excited about some of the things that have helped me on my personal journey towards a healthy lifestyle, and I want to share the things I have found that work for me. Green smoothies and a high raw diet have literally changed my life -- given it back to me, in fact. I hope that you try them and they change your life, too. As for me, I am taking new steps on my journey (largely because my previous raw diet has helped me get to the point where I can) and we will see where this path leads. I am excited about the future, whatever it may bring.

Great Green Smoothie Day!

2010-03-16T18:35:00.000-07:00

I have had a great green smoothie day! They really make me feel so good! For breakfast I had a mango, banana, spinach smoothie -- just add ice and a little water and blend in the VitaMix. Then for lunch I had a Thai green soup from Victoria Boutenko's book Green Smoothie Revolution. Both were very yummy. I am hoping all those live greens will help me work out some of this muscle soreness. My poor quads and hamstrings are aching from boot camp.

I also found a really good website today for those of you who are trying to keep track of your calories. It is www.caloriecount.about.com -- I really like it because it also gives you an analysis of carbs, protein, and fats as well as the nutrients you have consumed over the day. That is really important for me because of my calcium issues, and this way I can see exactly how much dietary calcium I am getting. Check it out.

On a totally separate note, I have to get on my soap box for a moment. I have been reading about the Texas Board of Education's decision to change our history textbooks in order to rescue their language from liberal academia. How RIDICULOUS! This is the 2010 version of burning the books we don't want our teens to read. I never knew it was such a shame to be educated about capitalism, imperialism, and the consequences of how we have chosen to live. How will we ever learn from the past if we can't own up to the present?

I'm Back

2010-03-15T03:03:00.000-07:00

I have not abandoned my blog. I did take an unanticipated 2 week hiatus from it. The first week everyone in my household had strep throat and things were just crazy. I simply could not find time to get online -- any time I found was spent sleeping. The second week was recovery from the first, that and the fact that I started boot camp again. 4:45 rolls around awfully early, and it has just taken me a little time to adjust.

Life is going well. Even though boot camp is early, I really do enjoy going. I am going 6 days a week and every time I finish a class I feel very tired and very invigorated at the same time. I have such a sense of accomplishment! It also makes me feel like I a truly doing something for myself.

The danger with home schooling my children is that it can become very lonely at times. There are days when the only human contact I have is with an eleven year old, a thirteen year old, and a five year old. I do not have to take any children with me to boot camp -- they are simply not allowed. It also gives me a community of adults to interact with every day which is important for my sanity.

I have been trying to add in a little bit of raw vegan protein to my diet. I am starting with just one serving a day to see how my body handles that. I have also decided to go with my doctor's recommendation an have some occasional fish. It was a little strange the first time I ate it -- it really has been a long time, but it went okay. I am still faithful to my delicious green smoothies and they are definitely the high light of my diet.

Anyway, I am back and looking forward to sharing my continued journey to health with you.

Is this week over yet?

2010-02-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

Last night I crashed -- hard. Wayne's flight was delayed and I was desperately trying to stay awake until he got home, but was unable to do it. My eyes were so heavy and I was doing so pretty major head dives, even to the point of startling myself reminding me of high school algebra in Ms. Smith's class. I finally gave up and turned out the light. The dogs went to barking when he finally got home at about 12:30 and then I was awake, but in that drunken sort of, not making any sense way. I think Wayne was laughing at my slurred words, but I was glad to have him home. Hopefully we will all sleep better tonight.

Tomorrow starts a crazy weekend. Jake is in a play this weekend at church, a musical actually. He has performances on Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon and night. I will be glad that it is over because there has been a lot of rehearsals. It will be fun to see Jake in the play -- he is not exactly the artsy type and I had to twist his arm a bit to get him to try it. I think he has enjoyed it, even if he would never admit it. Jake said the other night that putting on a play is a lot of hard work! So, if nothing else, he is gaining an appreciation for people who pour themselves into the arts.

In addition to the musical, Jake also graduates from Robotics I this weekend and Phillip has soccer of course. I am looking forward to getting some sleep next week. I am also hoping that we get a chance to go out with some friends of our next week to eat some spicy Indian food. I need a bit of adult time after this week.

By the way, I tried a recipe I got out of my Shape magazine on the kids tonight and they loved it so I thought I would share it because it is a rare thing when children ask for seconds of broccoli. I cut the florets off f the broccoli stalks and then sprinkled them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Then I roasted them for 25 minutes in a 400 degree oven. They all devoured it! I would never have thought to put nutmeg on broccoli. I had a taste and it was very good I must say! I try not to eat too much cooked food, but when I do, I make sure it is something good for me. Ordinarily I may have had a normal helping, but I am looking forward to that Indian food so I am saving for a "splurge."

Daily Schedule

2010-02-23T19:39:00.001-08:00

My life has been so crazy today! I didn't sleep much last night. Wayne has been out of town this week and I feel like I am losing my mind. I was up late last night mostly just trying to fall asleep. When I turned out the light the weather people were sure we would have snow so I did not set the alarm.

7:00 woke up and looked out the window -- SHOOT (only not so nicely and with only 4 letters) there is no snow! Let the dogs out, feed them, give Clyde his medicine, and let the dogs out again.

7:15 Phillip is downstairs and wants to snuggle for a few minutes. Snuggle for 5 minutes and then throw him in the shower.

7:25 Wake up Jake and Emma and tell them we are running late there is no snow (I always wake them up by singing "good morning to you at the top of my lungs and horribly off key."

7:30 Get Phillip out of the shower and help him get dressed. Get him a bowl of cereal and a glass of almond milk. Turn on "The Magic School Bus" so I can get dressed.

7:45 I am now dressed and my hair has been dunked because I don't have time to take a shower. Jake and Emma are arguing over a tin can for a science project. Jake punches Emma (not hard, but she is crying for dramatic effect). Settle the fight and supervise their smoothie making.

8:00 Make Phillip's lunch for school and write him a note for his lunchbox -- he loves my letters. Clean up the kitchen and start the dishwasher. Make my own green smoothie.

8:15 make Jake and Emma brush their teeth and start on math. Fix Phillip two pieces of toast.

8:30 Get Phillip's shoes, socks and coat on and we are out the door o the way to his preschool. Jake and Emma have their Latin and spelling in hand because we are going to get my allergy shot after we drop Phillip off. We quiz Latin in the car. Phillip eats apple slices on the way to school.

9:30 We are home again. Emma still has to finish her math. Jake starts on Grammar while I check his math. I answer several questions about adverbial phrases. When he finishes we go over his math and then I check his grammar making him correct mistakes.

10:00 Emma is finally done with math. We go over it together and she corrects her mistakes. She starts on Grammar (direct objects, again, ugh! -- lots of complaining). Jake is trying to write a report without doing an outline or draft and is getting frustrated because I keep telling him to start again. I finally make him do an outline. There is lots of complaining about the decision and I am tired. I tell him to start writing or his report will have to be twice as long.

11:00 Emma is finally finished with grammar, but she has missed more than half of the questions. We review the chapter AGAIN and she corrects all of the mistakes. I am probably not as nice as I should be about this, but she really isn't trying and I have had it. Wayne calls in the middle of all of this. It is not a good time.

11:30 We all need a break so we take one. LUNCH

12:00 We are back it. Jake is halfway through his outline and Emma is starting her report (her outline is already done.

1:00 Jake is finally ready to start typing, but so is Emma so now we are fighting over who gets to use the computer first. I say a quick prayer for patience. Jake gets the computer first and Emma finishes her history outline in the meantime.

1:30 I head out to pick Phillip up from school. I talk to my mom on the way. Now I am complaining. Am I good mom? Am I a good wife?

2:15 We walk in the door and Phillip is asking what he can have for a snack -- does this child ever stop eating? Jake is almost finished, but wants a snack, too. Emma doesn't want to be left out either. Everyone gets one cookie and a bag full of grapes.

3:00 I start on dinner. We have to eat early tonight because Emma has dance. Jake is finished with his report and shows Emma how to get her document started.

3:30 Phillip and Jake watch "Tom and Jerry." Phillip wants to sit wherever Jake is and Jake is almost 13 so he doesn't want anyone touching him! I try to read for a few minutes, but am very distracted. I unload the dishwasher.

4:30 Jake is setting the table and I am getting dinner on the table and drinks made. Emma hasn't made much progress, but I tell her she is done for the day. Everyone to the table for dinner.

4:35 Wayne calls, once again, very bad timing. I eat standing up while doing the dishes and talking to Wayne.

4:50 Emma has to get ready for dance and Phillip gets on his shoes, socks, and jacket. Give Clyde his medicine.

5:00 ask Jake to wipe down the table for me and take the trash out before Mimi comes to take him to his rehearsal tonight (since I can't be in 3 places at once). Emma, Phillip, and I leave for dance. On the way I make a split second decision to take Phillip to drop in day care since I have a parent swim meeting right after dance -- this turns out to be very wise.

5:30 drop Emma off and sit in Starbucks for 45 minutes reading my book. This is my only quiet time for the day. I even had a small cup of coffee.

6:30 Pick Emma up and we have a few minutes before the swim meeting. We run to the grocery to buy car magazines because Phillip has been in "school" for 100 days this Friday and has to make a poster of 100 things -- he wants to make a poster of 100 cars.

7:15 Emma and I are at the swim meeting. It is nice to see old friends. No one recognizes me from last summer because I have lost so much weight and cut my hair off (this makes me feel really good!). It is a long meeting.

9:10 The meeting is finally over and we leave to get Phillip. It is way past his bedtime. I am worried Mimi will make it home with Jake before I get home. I realize I put my phone down somewhere and run back to the meeting room to look for it. Find it -- run to the car to get Phillip.

9:30 We are home. I brush Phillip's teeth and get him ready for bed. He cries because I tell him no story since it is so late. We read a short story and then I tuck him in. Emma wants me to run to Walmart to get her some new toothpaste. I tell her to use mine and go to bed.

9:35 Jake walks in. Rehearsal was good. He gets ready for bed

9:38 Wayne calls. I talk for a few minutes but ask if I can call him back.

9:45 Jake and I chat for a minute and he goes to bed. I start blogging.

10:15 Wayne texts and wants to know if I am going to call him. What is that smell? Oh, it is me -- I just now realize I haven't had a shower today. I hope no one at the meeting noticed.

10:17 wrapping up the blog so I can call Wayne back.

Hopefully I will get to bed before 11:00?? We will see. Typical day.

more SNOW!

2010-02-22T19:16:00.000-08:00

It is so cold here! Once again we are expecting snow tonight. I can't believe we are going to have snow AGAIN. If we get just 2 inches (which is expected) then there will be a new record for snowfall in north Texas. The kids are very excited, but I have to say that I am more like, "Enough already!" I am ready for some warm weather so we can ride our bikes and walk at the park. Not this week, but hopefully this will be the last of the winter weather.

This morning I had a new smoothie. It was red kale and dandelion leaves along with mangosteen and peaches. It was actually quite good! I wasn't sure -- it was more of an experiment, but I really liked it. I had a sprout salad from Whole Foods for dinner. It was also quite yummy. I also bought some Go Raw! chocolate cookies (I had never had those before) and they were very good! I think I may have to do some dehydration experiments to see if I can make some yummy snacks -- I'll keep you posted on that.

Phillip and I went to a kindergarten meet and greet at the public school today. He listened to a story and did an art project on polar bears. He seemed to really like it. Wayne and I are probably going to send Phillip to Kindergarten somewhere so that I can really work with Jake and Emma, but I don't know that it will be there. The school is very nice and I like it alright, but I want Phillip to be able to learn at his own pace and I really want him to be able to play and be a kid. I am not sure he can do that in a classroom full of kids. We will see. I am not ruling it out, we will definitely go to some of the library days before we decide what we are going to do.

Olympic Lessons

2010-02-18T20:45:00.001-08:00

We were watching the men's Olympic ice skating tonight when Jake chimed in, "They need to zambonify that ice." I love it! It has really been fun watching the Olympics with the kids. I am amazed at how dedicated these athletes are. I am convinced they are master manifestors! Yesterday we watched Linsey Vonn visualize her gold medal run before she skied it. The kids were laughing at how funny she looked sitting there mimicking her run, but then they said, "Wow, visualizing works!" when she won. I have so much to learn from these athletes who put their all into what they do.

Imagine if we put our all into the things we do on a daily basis. This is so hard to do, and takes preparation and dedication. I know that for me, my life would be so different. This year one of my goals has been to work on being fully present. I knew it would be hard when I made the goal, but I didn't realize it would be as hard as it has been. My blog focuses a lot on eating, and being fully present when I purchase and consume my food has changed my life! That being said, being fully present applies to so much more than food. It applies to being with family and strangers, feeling heartache and joy, as well as my faith, and the daily chores of cleaning/laundry/ and taxiing my family. This is a goal I will be working on for quite some time.

Better Days

2010-02-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

Today has been a much better day. Clyde has been tired, but well. Yesterday was so stressful and today was very low-key. Thank you -- I needed that!

I am so glad that I stuck with my health goals through all of that stress yesterday. I felt really good about myself and my decisions all day today. It made it that much easier to make good decisions about what I put in my mouth and how long I work out at the gym today. Each day builds on the day before it, and everyday it gets a little bit easier.

The kids and I made a trip to the grocery store for snack food. They picked out a bunch of bananas, a carton of apples, a box of oranges, and Healthy Choice fudge bars (I can live with that)! It was also a milestone reached and conquered in our house when Phillip ate an entire bowl of green salad at dinner this evening. I really do think he enjoys eating healthy. It makes me happy that they are making good choices. Phillip has changed his eating habits in so many good and positive ways! Emma will still choose anything fattening and sweet over something healthy EVERY time if you give her choice, but she knows how to make good choices and if I walk into a grocery store and let her choose a snack with mom-enforced boundaries she does not complain about it at all. Jake is and has always been my healthy eater. He was a vegetarian long before I was. I am just so proud of all of them.

A Difficult Day

2010-02-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

Today has been a rough day. My Clyde-dog had a very large seizure this morning. He has been having seizures for a little more than two years, but they have been minor so we have just been monitoring them. The vet told us that could change and he might have to go on seizure prevention medication at some point, but it would be to Clyde's advantage to wait as long as possible to put him on the medication due to possible side effects. Unfortunately, we reached the medicine day today. Clyde had a seizure for over 10 minutes and was not responsive. They were able to give him some medicine to bring him out of the seizure activity, but said the risks outweigh the benefits at this point and that he definitely needs medication.

They kept Clyde at the vet all day, but let us bring him home this evening and he is doing well. We are trying to keep him as calm as possible. He has been wanting to run around and play though. His little face looks like it had about 100 more grey hairs. I was talking myself into being fine, but as soon as the vet started telling me about the medicine I just lost it.

I told Wayne I wanted to come home and eat a pound of chocolate or chips, but I did not. I never realized how much of an emotional eater I was until I started eating a raw food diet. I reminded myself that eating would not help me cope, and it certainly wouldn't help Clyde either. It was a difficult day. I feel good that I was able to remain true to myself. Please say some prayers for Clyde.

Feeding well

2010-02-15T18:25:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to Fossil Rim today. It was so much fun -- I love going there. All of the zebras have had babies and they were so cute trying run around. They are much fuzzier than their parents. The moms would come right up to the car with their babies following right behind and nursing. Poor moms -- can't even get a moment to themselves (ha!). Seriously though, it was really neat to see. I also loved seeing all of the hills and valleys (not much but flat concrete where we live). It was nice to get my fill of nature for a day.

I have been struggling with my raw food diet over the last couple of weeks. I keep reminding myself that I am still doing pretty good -- approximately 60% raw. I know that 60%raw compared with this time last year (an occasional salad) is really good, but I also know that I do not look or feel as good as I did a month ago at 90 -95% raw. This weekend I have been doing some raw food reading and getting geared up and re-educated regarding raw foods. While I do not feel the need to be 100% raw anymore, a high raw diet really works for me.

I have also noticed that when I eat a high raw diet, my family also tends to eat better. I have never pushed my family to eat a raw diet. They are mostly vegetarian -- I don't cook any meat, but the occasionally have some if they eat out. But, when I eat healthy they do, too. I don't even have to say anything. When they see me eating a nice fruit salad or green salad they just want some, too. Funny how that works the same way candy or ice cream does.

Anyway, I went to Whole Foods this evening and have all the things I need to get myself back in gear. I miss having clear skin and energy galore. My mood has also been a bit sour since my raw intake went down, so I am sure my family will be glad to have me high raw again. My body is much smarter than my brain. It knows what it wants, now I just have to feed it well.

snow day

2010-02-11T20:09:00.001-08:00

Wow -- it has been snowing here for over 14 hours straight! We are at 9 and a half inches and counting. North Texas has passed a record today for snowfall in one day. It is absolutely beautiful, but is starting to get a little dangerous now. The snow is great packing snow and there have been some really awesome snowmen and snow-women. It makes great snowballs and the snow angels weren't bad either. Jake, Emma, and Phillip had so much fun playing in it today, especially Phillip. While he has seen snow, he has never seen it like this before.

Many people are without power, but we still have ours, thank goodness. Tonight it will freeze and tomorrow morning will be very nasty, but it won't stay long. It is supposed to be in the 40's tomorrow, so after about 11:00 in the morning we won't have much to deal with anymore. That is Texas weather for you. I can't even begin to imagine what all our friends and family in the Northeast are dealing with! 9 and a half inches is a lot of snow -- Wayne's family in DE has about 4 times that much.

I am worth it!

2010-02-09T18:43:00.000-08:00

The sun was out today and it sure helped to improve my mood! It was still pretty cold, but nice to have some UV rays to go along with the cold. It is so hard for me when it is just grey outside. North Texas winters are notorious for being grey. The upside is that we don't have 3 feet of snow, though.

My brother and sister-in-law are coming into town this weekend to house shop. I am very excited to see them and their three lovely children. We are hoping to take them to Bliss, our favorite raw food restaurant. My brother is chef, so I want to show him some "gourmet raw food" since all he's ever encountered has been at my house. What he will eat there will be a little different than what he gets at my house -- salad, vegetables, guacamole, etc. I am interested to see what he thinks. We will be celebrating his wife, Heather's birthday so it will be great fun -- she is one cool lady!

I am dreaming about a raw food retreat -- ALONE. I am craving some personal space time. I am wondering if any of you are aware of low cost retreat options. I would like to recharge my batteries and spend some time refocusing on why this lifestyle is so important to me. Health is such a funny thing. When I take a step back from it all, it is almost humorous that we find all find it so difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle despite the fact that we know how good it is for us, and in my case, have experienced the enormous difference it can make. It is a constant struggle to stay healthy and anyone who tells you it is not is just plain lying. The key is that we know why we strive for it. The very first reason on everyone's list should be "because I am worth it." When I forget this, and occasionally I do (more often than I would like to admit -- a side effect of having three kids, a husband, and a lifetime worth of lessons on how to put myself last), I bring out my trusty old mantra and remind myself over and over and over, "my body is my temple." I am worth it! Life is short and I want to live every minute that I can knowing that I can enjoy it to the very best of my ability, so staying healthy is definitely a big part of being able to enjoy life.

Renewed Interest in my Raw Green Lifestyle

2010-02-08T20:13:00.000-08:00

I don't know if this happens to you or not, but I have been noticing how much easier it was for me to eat a completely raw diet when I was sick and felt like "crap" than it is now that I feel so much better. You would think that I would realize that eating and feeling good and directly related, but I am a little hard headed. Needless to say I have noticed a big shift in my mood, how tired I am, and even just how I generally feel since I've been letting myself slip a bit (damn that cheese).

I am thankful to know that my body knows what it needs and what it likes, even when I don't (or don't want to). I guess my general malaise and facial pimples are my body's way of reminding me that I need to treat it like the temple I know it is. After my surgery I realized just how important it is to take care of myself. It is interesting to me that when I take care of myself physically, emotional and spiritual wellness follow. Needless to say I have renewed interest in my raw green lifestyle. Here's to feeling better soon!

Good to be Home

2010-02-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

Back to reality -- we have had cold rain all day long in Texas. It has made me miss the warm breezes and sunshine of the Bahamas. Oh well. It is just weather. I have really enjoyed being with the kids today. Relationships are so much more important than weather.

Jake, Emma, and I did a really neat experiment today (we actually began it a couple of weeks ago) on how salt beds form. We dissolved some salt in a bowl full of water and waited for it to evaporate and then observed how the salt formed on the sides and bottom of the bowl. We even took some samples and put them under the microscope. It was fun because they both just lit up with enthusiasm and questions.

Then when I picked Phillip up from school we came home and they all painted pictures while I prepared dinner. Phillip is my abstract impressionist, Emma is my cartoonist, and Jake is my realist. All of their paintings are beautiful. That is something I would have missed if we were still in the Bahamas.

2010-02-03T18:01:00.000-08:00

I am coming off of vacation mode and boy, is it hard! I wanted to sleep s badly this morning, but I got up and taught The Crusades anyway. When I was in school I hated learning about The Crusades. I remember thinking it was one of the most boring things ever! However, this time around, it has been really fun. We watched an excellent documentary that The History Channel did several years ago, and read a few very interesting books. It was fun listening to Jake and Emma ask me if I knew that people listening to Pope Urban II's speech (to encourage and ultimately begin the first crusade) responded with, "It is God's will." Also, I must say that Salladin was a very interesting person. I might just have to research him a little more for my own sake.

Anyway, it is nice to be back to my daily ritual of green smoothies. This morning I had spinach, blueberry, orange, mango. By the way, I don't think I wrote about seeing Paul Nison speak before we left for the Bahamas. I really liked him and everything that he had to say! He was very informative. He has a very balanced approach to eating raw foods so if you are someone who is interested in learning more about raw foods, he would be a great resource!

I am going to bed early tonight to see if I can get some good rest and wake up tomorrow ready to hit the ground running. I have got to get out of this sluggish mode! Sweet dreams!

Bahama Mama!

2010-02-02T19:03:00.000-08:00

Home again, home again! Wayne and I had such a good time in the Bahamas! We went to Nassau, which was a lot busier and more metropolitan than I imagined. Even so, it was absolutely beautiful! At the straw market, I met a new friend, Walter, who was an absolute jewel. He sells sea shells in the straw market and was pure joy to be around. If you ever go to Nassau and see him, please tell him hello from me. Wayne and I try to buy souvenirs that support the local economy and artisans. You also meet the nicest people that way!

We took a day trip out to a private island (only 5 people live there) and it was breath-taking! I fed sting rays and snorkeled in shark infested waters over the reefs. At first I wasn't going to do it. I was so nervous and scared! But then I talked myself into it somehow. I just thought, "this may be a once in a lifetime experience, am I really going to let this pass me by?" Even as I was walking into the water with my snorkel gear on I was thinking I was crazy for doing it. My heart was racing what felt like a million miles an hour. If you have ever snorkeled then you know once your face is in the water the only things you can really hear is yourself breathing and your heart pounding. I was literally talking to myself to slow down and take deep breaths. I am so happy that I did not miss it! Seeing the reefs was like seeing another planet, mysterious and mystical. It was scary, but worth working through the fear.

I also had the BEST pina colada I had ever put in my mouth! It was so YUMMY! (We let our hair down a little bit.) We walked all over the city so I got lots of exercise. Plus it was very easy to eat vegetarian, and even vegan as they have lots of fruits and veggies. We toured churches, local markets, beaches, Atlantis (which was incredible and uncomfortable), and even pirate museums. Wayne and I spent a lot of quality time together and had a blast just lazing around in a hammock on the beach for an entire afternoon!

I am so thankful for my parents who came and stayed with the kids so we could go, and for Wayne's mom who helped get the kiddos where they needed to go on Saturday when everyone had something scheduled at the same time. Without them, Wayne and I would never have been able to do this trip.

Raw food menu for today

2010-01-25T19:33:00.000-08:00

Thought I would post a menu of what I ate today because it seems like I have been receiving a lot of inquiries lately regarding what I eat on a daily basis. This morning I had a liter of green smoothie -- spinach, orange, banana, mango. Mid morning I had a bowl of mixed fruit. Today for lunch I had a delicious sprout salad from Whole Foods. It had sunflower, red lentil, white lentil, and some other kind of sprouts. If you have never had lentil sprouts, they are very tasty! They are a bit spicy and add great flavor. The kids and I ate some heirloom organic navel oranges for afternoon snack. YUMMY! For dinner I had a green leaf salad with dried cranberries and apple cider vinegar dressing and a banana. I feel so energized! I know it sounds weird, but eating this way makes me feel clean. My mouth feels clean, and I do not feel heavy or sluggish. I don't know how else to explain it. I remember when I ate a SAD diet I felt so full after eating meal and then I would be so tired, especially after lunch. Now, I feel revitalized every time I put something in my mouth.

Tomorrow I am going to go hear a raw food guru speak in downtown Dallas, Paul Nison. I am pretty excited about hearing what he has to say. You might be interested in checking out his website at www.rawlife.com. I know I promised a pic from the raw food meetup, but I can't get my pic to download properly. I will work on it and try and get it on here in the next couple of days. Here is a pic of me with my new (kinda funky) red hair.

3 days to go til Bahamas!

Sharing Dreams and Dreaming Visions

2010-01-24T20:08:00.001-08:00

It has been a very good weekend. Friday night Wayne and I went to a vegan Indian restaurant in Dallas with some very good friends of ours. The food was great, and the company was wonderful! Have you ever had the type of friends with whom you just feel connected? These were those type of friends. It doesn't matter how long it has been since we have seen them, we are always just able to pick up where we left off. They accept you for who you are and there is nothing false or forced about being with them. We shared dreams and dreamed visions together so I have quite a list of things to do on my list for this week.

Saturday Emma had choir practice, Phillip had a soccer game, and Jake took an archery class. I got my hair done and became a red head. One of my high school friends told me "red in the head, better in bed." I'm not sure about the truth behind it, but it might be fun to experiment (ha! ha!). It is good to have a change. I like having a little spice in my life.

Speaking of spice, tonight Emma and I went to a raw food meetup. It was very nice and the food was outstanding -- I will post a pic tomorrow. I made raw pizza and raw "almost oatmeal" cookies from my Raw Revolution Diet recipe book. They were both a hit. Someone else made pina colada "cheesecake" (the cheese is actually made from cashews, not milk -- no animal products in it). YUM! My other favorite dish had zucchini and some kind of tomato sauce. We also had nettle soup (I had never had nettle before, so it was interesting and yummy), several different types of salads, and some organic blood oranges. It was fun to see everyone.

My Grocery Cart

2010-01-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

I went to Whole Foods today -- just a quick trip through the grocery. Here's what was in my cart: kale, large bag of spinach, 2 large bunches of bananas, 12 heirloom navel oranges (yum! -- that was dessert), a dozen "Go Raw!" bars, potatoes (Jake and Emma love baked potatoes for lunch), and gluten free vegan cookies for Phillip's lunch box. Oh yes, and a few half gallons of Almond milk. The cashier said, "you sure do like almond milk, huh?" Then he asked, "Do you just use it like regular milk or only in smoothies?" I told him I use it just like milk -- on cereal, in smoothies, to make ice cream, making the kids macaroni and cheese, anything that calls for regular milk -- I just use almond milk. He asked, "Does it taste good?" I wanted to say, "No, it is really nasty," but I swallowed that thought and told him that it did taste good and that it took my children 2 weeks to even notice that they weren't drinking regular milk. He seemed impressed and said that I sold him on it, that he would definitely try it.

Speaking of trying new things I am getting the itch to change something. I made a hair appointment for Saturday so Wayne is worried that I will come home bald. It seems like every time I go to get a trim I have much less hair when I come home than when I left. I like change and I like to keep him guessing, so no telling what I will come home looking like. I like to see him sweat.

Tomorrow I see the urologist for a check up -- I am expecting great news!

Summer smoothies, swimming, and bikinis

2010-01-20T19:37:00.000-08:00

Today it was warm again, but kinda rainy all day so we couldn't go to the park. Having a summer smoothie was the next best thing. We broke out some fruit we had frozen from the summer and made some wonderful freestone peach, blueberry, banana, spinach smoothies. They were very good and it was a nice treat to have some "summer" fruit.

Jake and Emma started swimming lessons today. They swim competitively in the summer and take lessons during the school year to keep up their skills, but last semester they took a break from swimming. When Emma went to put on her bathing suit it barely fit! I didn't realize how much she had grown in just a few months, but we got out the measuring stick and she has grown about three inches. Jake has passed me already, and Emma is close behind. Pretty soon I will officially be the shortest person in my family, which is saying a lot because I am not short. I am 5'9". It is strange to think of myself as being the shortest. They are growing up right before my eyes.

All of that thinking of Emma needing a new suit made me start thinking about the Bahamas. Good thing, because I hadn't even thought about trying on my bathing suit. I dug the bathing suits from last year out of my drawer and tried them on and they were way too big! This is definitely a blessing, but the curse is that I have to find a bathing suit I can wear in the next nine days. Let the great bathing suit hunt begin! Maybe, just maybe, I will be brave enough to wear a bikini this year. Wish me luck!

Wonderful Day!

2010-01-19T17:57:00.000-08:00

Today was an absolutely GORGEOUS day in my "neck of the woods" (as Al Roker would say). It was 73 degrees and partly sunny with a nice breeze. After school today we headed to the park for some soccer and playground time, we even took the dogs. I don't know who liked it more the kids, the dogs, or me. It is hard to believe that two weeks ago it was 11 degrees. It made me hungry for spring to be here!

The day started out wonderful and stayed wonderful. I drank a liter of green smoothie this morning. It was kale, mango, banana, orange, and was it ever good! Later I had a Go Raw! bar. I also ate lots of fresh fruit and finished the day off with a large salad. I am considering making a batch of raw brownies this evening. It has been a while since I made some and they just sound so good!

At the end of next week my mom and dad are coming for a short visit and to stay with the kids while Wayne and I go to the Bahamas. We have had this planned for a while, but it just finally seemed real today. I am starting to get pretty excited! It is going to be a quick trip, only four days, but it will be a wonderful four days. Wayne and I are really making an effort to spend some adult time together as a couple. I think every marriage needs that. It gives us a chance to remember how much we like and love each other, a chance to remember why we fell in love with each other in the first place. Not that I have forgotten, but it will still be lots of fun to remember. :)

my core raw foods

2010-01-18T18:59:00.000-08:00

I was on another raw food website today where someone had posted that every raw fooder should have 15 - 20 core items that they eat on a regular basis. I had so much fun reading everyones' responses. It gave me ideas about what new things I might consider adding to my diet. Anyway, I thought you might enjoy reading some of the things I usually always have on hand: 1. trail mix (I like mine with several different kinds of nuts and seeds, gogi berries, apple sweetened dried sour cherries or cranberries) 2. salads with LOTS of colorful veggies (red and yellow peppers, cucumbers, radish carrots, avocado, sprouts, and I even like nuts and dried fruit on them) 3. Green smoothies EVERY DAY -- LOTS! 4. Fruit salad 5. Nut butter with an apple 6. raw vegetable "sushi" 7. raw "spring rolls" 8. zucchini pasta with raw "tomato sauce" 9. Go Raw! bars 10. Hail Merry Chocolate tart 11. veggies with dip 12. raw date cookies 13. home made guacamole with yellow squash "chips" 14. raw taco lettuce wraps 15. young coconut mixed with almost any kind of fruit 16. almond milk 17. cucumbers, red onions, apple cider vinegar (with the mother), and fresh dill 18. green juice 19. kale (love it!)

Back in the Raw!

2010-01-17T17:00:00.000-08:00

The holidays proved to be a pretty difficult time to stay high raw. Like many of you, I struggled to stay on my high raw diet. My body definitely felt the difference. While I still ate healthy and vegetarian, I was tempted by the cheese and the sweets. Needless to say, my percentage of raw foods dropped significantly. I felt it in my energy level, my skin blemishes, and bloating. There have been so many times in my past where I broke a diet thinking it would be just for a night or a week. If you are like me, it is easy to get stuck in a cycle of "eat bad, feel bad, rationalize that you have already blown the diet, eat more, feel even worse, rationalize..." I did not want to get stuck in the SAD rut. However a raw food diet is not the typical diet.

I found other diets were hard for me to maintain because I did not feel very good while I was doing them. I tried many ways to lose weight in my past, including The Zone, The South Beach Diet, Slimfast, and yes, even Atkins (I am ashamed to admit some of those, but it is the truth). Desperate people do desperate things. Anyway, all of theses diets made me cranky, hungry, and tired. My skin did not improve, either. However, a raw diet is completely different. Although I thought I wanted some of our traditional goodies, once I ate them I could immediately feel the difference in my body. I longed for my green smoothies! I was able to rationalize that if I did not like the way my food was making me feel, "the only way to get out is to change." And this time I knew exactly what would help me feel better! The last few weeks I have been revving up my raw diet again and kicking it into gear.

This morning I noticed my energy level has returned, my stomach is flat again, and my skin is clear. It is amazing to me how quickly and efficiently the body can work when we don't obstruct it. I am very glad to be back in the raw! The five pounds I gained are history and I learned that sweet and creamy didn't taste near as good as I thought it would.

Better than ever!

2010-01-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about my health journey a lot lately. I guess it is because more and more people are starting to ask me about it. Why exactly did I decide to go raw? After two years of being sick, and about 4 years of just not feeling like "me," I got tired. I was fed up with feeling lousy all of the time. When my calcium issues began it drastically changed my life. I was tired all of the time, got sick very easily, took handfuls of medicine, was gloomy all of the time, not to mention the real physical symptoms of my arms, legs, and face tingling and going numb. I did everything the doctors told me to do. I took all of my meds like I was told. I completely changed my diet like they advised -- eliminating phosphate almost completely (this left me eating a lot of white rice and sourdough bread). I was open with my doctors about feeling alienated from my body and emotions, and they told me to be patient. I was tired of being patient. I was tired a patient. I felt like I was just watching life pass me by. My life was ruled by lab visits and doctors appointments.

One day something just clicked and I knew if I was ever going to be better I needed to take control of my health. I was missing out on my children, my husband, and life in general. It was just chance that I happened to see a personal interest news story about a woman with breast cancer who went into remission after going to a raw food resort and clinic in Florida. Honestly, I decided I would try it, I never in a million years thought it would change my life the way it has. My rationale was that trying it at least gave me a sense of empowerment. I felt like I was doing something for me. Even if it didn't help, it was something I could do on my own, and surely the doctors couldn't criticize me for eating healthy.

In short, I decided to eat raw purely out of desperation. Hope was beginning to fade from my vocabulary as my health issues seemed more and more like they were going to be permanent and need constant monitoring. I had given all of my power away to the experts. I had been hoping they would "fix" me. They were doing their best, but my body just wasn't responding. It wasn't that the doctors weren't trying, they really were. They were relying on science and when science didn't respond they didn't know whet else to do, but something deep inside of me did. You cannot imagine how many times I have given thanks for seeing the ten o'clock news that night. Now, I feel like the "new and improved me." Raw food has given me my life back, and things are better than ever!

Laundry Warrior

2010-01-13T19:51:00.000-08:00

We resumed our home school cooking program tonight. Emma made home made vegetable minestrone. She and Jake had their braces tightened this morning so were in the mood for soft food. I sampled it, and must say that it was very good! We had a little ingredients mishap, but recovered nicely. She was supposed to have a can of diced tomatoes, but we did not have any. Instead we added some tomato sauce, some sun-dried tomato paste, and diced some fresh tomatoes -- it was a very tasty substitution. Phillip was claiming he wasn't going to eat it and that he didn't like soup with vegetables in it the entire time Emma was preparing it, but he ate almost all of it. I gave her meal a 4.5/5. (She wanted to make sure I was going to post her picture, too!)

I made some delicious juices today, too! This morning I had spinach, carrot, and apple juice (1 red delicious and 1 granny smith). Later this afternoon I made kale, pineapple, cantaloupe, kiwi, grape. I had all the fruit left over from a fruit salad I made earlier this week so I just threw it all into the juicer. It is amazing to me how filling juice can be.

I have had lots of energy today thanks to all of my juices -- they have enabled me to be the "laundry warrior." I must have done 15 loads of laundry today. Seriously, I do not know how that much laundry creeps up on me! I wonder if I am the only mom who must do laundry marathons so that her hildren will have something to wear tomorrow.

Loving Life

2010-01-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

I did not fall off the face of the earth this weekend, thing have just been crazy busy! They are starting to settle down a little bit, but the next few weeks are a little busier than usual.

We were driving down the street today and Jake looks and me and asks, "Mom, can we read more of The Inferno today?" Need I say more? His words were music to my ears! This weekend he finished the last of the series The Chronicles of Narnia, too. Tonight he was searching amazon.com for another book or book series to read in his free time (We read a book together, like The Inferno, as a part of school, but the kids also have a book of their choosing to read on their own.) If you have any suggestions for an almost 13 year old boy, please let me know. I sent him to bed with The Pearl and Bless the Beasts and the Children. We'll see which one he chooses.

Yesterday I took Jake and Emma to see Bodies, The Exhibit in Dallas. If you haven't heard of this, it is an exhibit of real human bodies that have been dissected and then coated with a polymer. The bodies are "posed" like they are throwing frisbees, giving a high-five, etc., and you can walk around them 360 degrees. In addition they have individual body parts as well like lung, the hear, the kidneys and CT scans. The exhibit is spectacular! I took gross anatomy in college, but this was even better. Maybe that is partly because I don't have the stress of actually doing the dissections or making the grade, but it was also because the bodies weren't laying on platform and they were displayed in different planes. Jake and Emma had the "gross factor" at first, but they warmed up quickly and I they ended up really enjoying it! The room that showed fetal development was their favorite. If you get the chance to see this exhibit, I think it is in several cities, GO!

The exhibit was really aimed at promoting health as well. It showed diseased hearts, arteries, etc., and had displays about smoking, drugs, alcohol, and fat. I couldn't help but thinking that less than a year ago I was 40 pounds heavier than I am right now. I feel very blessed to be healthy now. I feel very blessed to have found the raw food lifestyle. It has literally changed my life, and maybe even saved it!

E.R. Adventures and Cooking with Jake

2010-01-08T20:08:00.001-08:00

Wayne and I decided to have a date night tonight. We went to see Avatar at the I-Max. We have already seen the movie once, but not in I-Max. Of course, you can tell that we like the movie. I have heard some say the graphics are awesome but the plot a bit shallow. I did not think that. I likes the plot and the graphics which were, by the way, AWESOME (and I am not a graphics person, believe me). Anyway, we got to the movies and watched all the previews and then Wayne got a phone call from his brother. He didn't answer it, but his brother just called right back and Wayne decided he better answer it. Turns out Wayne's mom fell and dislocated her hip (she has had 2 hip replacements in the past, and presently has a broken foot) and they were waiting on the ambulance to arrive. Needless to say, we did not get to see the movie. We left for the hospital immediately.

We actually beat the ambulance to the hospital, but they were not far behind. She was in a good deal of pain and popping it back in was pretty tricky because she did such a good job dislocating it. They gave her lots of pain medicine and then about twelve people manipulated her for quite some time before they got it to go back in. Luckily, she was pretty much out of it. When it was all over she didn't remember a thing even though she was awake. I told her it was too bad because she had 4 or 5 good-looking young paramedics in the bed with her. That part is true, they were actually standing on the bed trying to manipulate her hip back into the socket. She is going to be a bit sore for a while, but they will release her later on tonight.

So we had an adventuresome night! Not exactly what we planned, but I am so glad she is going to be okay. It is a little scary whenever a loved one is injured, and my poor husband and his brother are a bit wimpy when it comes to stuff like that. No one likes to hear their mama screaming. Their instinct is to look away and not touch, even though they wouldn't be anywhere else. Mine is to hold her hand and get her warm blankets. I am glad we were able to be there for her.

On another note, it was Jake's turn to cook tonight for he and Emma and Phillip. He made vegetarian chili covered baked potatoes. He gave himself a 5 out of 5, and Emma gave him a 4 out of five. He did a great job, even though he would not wear an apron and I had to bribe him to let me take his picture cooking. We discovered Jake has my knack for crying at the first slice of an onion (Wayne hardly ever cries). He ended up dry chopping the onion in the Vita-Mix (Gosh, I love that machine!) so we didn't drown one another out of the kitchen. The chili made the house smell very good, but I took his word that it tasted good. He was very proud of, and possibly even impressed with, himself.

By the way, Wayne is doing good on his renewed raw vegan diet, despite all of the cooking going on in my house. I am proud of him.

Home School: Emma's Adventures in Vegetarian Cooking

2010-01-07T19:52:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I eat a high raw diet. Wayne is trying to a high raw diet, and most nights I prepare two meals. One for me (and sometimes Wayne), and one for the rest of the family. This requires lots of planning, is sometimes tiresome, and can be tempting. I want my children to be healthy. I do not want to force them to be raw vegans, I want that to be their choice. So I came up with a plan to help me and teach them.

Yesterday I had Jake and Emma go through some vegetarian recipes and each choose three recipes they wanted to try. They were responsible checking the recipe list and we went to the grocery store where they had to find all of the ingredients they needed. Today was Emma's turn to prepare dinner. She made vegetable pasta. All of the kids like it. She gave herself a five on scale of 5 (with 5 being the best), and Jake gave her a 4. Not bad. Phillip ate it all, so that is really saying something. Emma was very impressed with herself.

She was so funny. She had to pick out an apron to wear while she cooked. My grandmother made aprons for me and I have a lot to choose from. Tomorrow is Jake's turn -- he is making veggie chili and baked potatoes. It worked out very well because tonight Emma cooked, so Jake did the dishes.

Having them cook for one another is GREAT for many reasons: 1)they learn to follow directions 2) math is in all the measurements 3) they see how much food costs (At the grocery store Jake said, "I can't believe all of this food is just for a few meals!") 4) They learn to cook and eat healthy and, 5) It is a big help for me! This way I can prepare a raw meal for Wayne and I without having to make two meals at once.

Stress Test -- he passed!

2010-01-06T19:15:00.000-08:00

My dad's stress test went very well today! I am so glad. It really is a relief to know. I mentioned before that my dad had a heart attack at a young age. His father had multiple heart attacks, the first at a young age. This knowledge was not part of my switch to a raw diet because I had so many other health problems -- I wasn't even thinking about my heart. However, I do worry about my brothers. I hope they are aware of the increased risk since they run in our family. I know they know about the risk (technically), but being aware of it is a different thing all together. Being aware of the increased risk requires one's attention and vigilance, not, "One hamburger a week won't matter." I love them and want them around for a long while.

Speaking of loving someone and wanting them around, I spoke with Wayne about my concern for him. Since Thanksgiving he has been gradually wandering away from the healthy lifestyle he had adopted. A few cookies here, some holiday ham there, a few drinks at the party started to become, "can you brig home some of that from the grocery." I wasn't sure how he would take it, but when I mentioned it to him he was glad. He said he had really noticed a difference in how he looks and feels and is ready to get back to a healthy lifestyle again. He just needed a little push. It is so easy to get sucked back into a SAD diet. I am glad he is willing to make positive changes.

The kids and I started reading Dante's Inferno today. I had forgotten how much I like it. We have been through the first circle of Hell -- they were surprised to find out that Dante thought angels were there, existing side by side with all the people who sat on the fence. Jake didn't think that was very fair. He said, "But they didn't do anything wrong." I reminded him they didn't do anything right either, in fact, they didn't do anything at all. We had a great discussion about what makes a person virtuous.

In raw food news, I am really getting into this juicing thing! This morning I made juice out of two apples, 2 carrots, a handful of raspberries, a handful of blackberries, and two handfuls of spinach. Jake and Emma said it looked diarrhea, but thought it tasted delicious.

Staying enthusiastic, warm, and healthy!

2010-01-05T19:15:00.000-08:00

Today was much better than yesterday -- thank you, God! We actually had a very good day. We spent most of the day at the library talking medieval art and the Greek Zodiac. Jake is learning about it in Latin and has become really interested in why they developed it. He has been studying the constellations and the Greek mythology behind the Zodiac. His enthusiasm has caught on with Emma, too. It is all good for me because I like to see them when their little light bulbs get turned on and I get see their enthusiasm for learning. Also, negative numbers are coming along much better.

On another note, it is so cold here! Texas is not supposed to be this cold -- mother nature obviously did not get the memo. Thursday it is going to be in the low teens. I got some UGGS for Christmas (I know, they are so ugly, but they are so WARM), and I refuse to take them off at this point. I think I will be sleeping in them tonight. I like them more than I ever would have imagined!

My green smoothie was YUMMY this morning! Kale, 2 apples, a handful of raspberries and a handful of blackberries. The color of it was not so pretty, but it was delicious. I just put it in a red cup so I couldn't see it. I also made the kids a smoothie that they thought was "the Bomb." It had a small carton of Naked's Green Machine, 2 Granny Smith apples (core, peel, and all), 2 carrots, and a small tomato. They loved it! It is nice to be back in my regular routine.

Monday

2010-01-04T19:44:00.000-08:00

It is has been a rough Monday for me. The morning went okay and everything seemed to going well, but it quickly deteriorated from there. We started back to school today and the kids seemed to be moving at the pace of frozen slugs. I became very frustrated with them and just had to take a break from them for a few minutes. Jake is trying to understand negative numbers and had reached his max. Emma was trying to get away with doing as little as possible. I felt used and abused. Jake was telling me that I didn't understand the problem and did the same problem wrong five times before he would listen to me. Emma had to repeat her Grammar lesson on outlining 3 times because she was trying her best to learn outlining without actually doing an outline. FRUSTRATING!

I think what was most frustrating to me is that I had such big plans and new ideas for school today and they just didn't happen the way I had pictured in my mind. Funny how that happens sometimes. Then I was frustrated with myself for being so frustrated with them. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. I will recharge tonight and we will all try again tomorrow.

My dad also went to his cardiologist for a check up today and found out that things were not as good as he hoped. While it is nothing serious, it is a reality check that every little thing we do (or don't do) can effect our lives. The holidays were not kind to his diet -- a little too much bread with butter, pies, ham, and sweets for him. Under normal circumstances he eats pretty well (thanks to my mom mostly), but during the holidays it is easy to get caught up in the, "I'll just have a little bit of this and since I don't do it that often, it won't matter that much." I even found myself getting caught up in the holiday diet cheating. The fact is a consistent diet full of lots of fresh fruits and veggies is what our bodies need, and a little cheating can get out of hand very quickly. My dad had a heart attack a few years back and a anything other than a stellar doctor's report makes me a little nervous. He is having a stress test on Wednesday, so I will rest easier after that is over and we get the results.

On top of his not so stellar report from the cardiologist, he also found out that the pain he has been having in his back is the shingles. He really does seem to be fine, but I cannot help worrying about him. I want to tell him, "RAW, RAW, RAW," but I know that is something he will have to decide on his own, and that it is not for everyone. I just want him to healthy and to be around for a very long time! My best witness for the raw food lifestyle is to be an example, the rest he will have to decide. I just want him to know I love him very much! I want all of my loved ones to be healthy and happy!!!

So anyway, Monday is almost over and boy, am I glad! Tomorrow is a new day -- it will be better.

ALIVE in 2010!

2009-12-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today I experimented a little more with my juicer. For breakfast I had coconut, pear, romaine juice. I blended the water and meat from one young coconut and then added it to two juiced pears and a head of romaine lettuce. It was quite good, I must say. I love coconut. I think I could add it to pretty much anything. For lunch I decided on a nice vegetable juice. I did 5 tomatoes, half a red pepper, half a yellow pepper, a stalk of celery, and a little bit of Bragg's Amino. It was also very good. I wasn't sure because I vegetable juice is typically not my favorite, but I really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow we are entertaining people who are not, and don't want to be, vegetarians, much less raw vegans. That is okay with me because I realize this lifestyle is not for everyone, but it does make feeding everyone a bit challenging. At first I was going to say to hell with it and make a big pot of chili and have hot dogs on hand. They could all enjoy the chili and I could just make myself a smoothie. But I finally settled on a vegan homemade minestrone. It is not raw, but it is still chocked full of all kids of good stuff. I also got some crusty bread for everyone to enjoy and I am going to also chop up some fresh fruit and veggies to munch on. I figure that is a pretty good compromise. For dessert vegan pumpkin pie -- Yum! I can live with that. I am also juicing oranges in the morning and we are going to make mimosas. I am not a big champagne fan (I don't know many who are), but it is hard to beat a good mimosa!

2010 looks to be good, though, and I am excited about what this new year will bring. I think about how much life has changed in just a little over half a year of eating a high raw diet and I get goosebumps -- I can't see what a year of eating a high raw diet will bring, and two years, etc... I feel so much wiser, healthier, and ALIVE!

JUICY!

2009-12-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

I received a juicer for Christmas and I have been juicing my little heart out today. The kids and I went to Costco this morning and they each got to pick out a fruit. Phillip picked apples (sweet apples, actually -- he makes sure to clarify "sweet"). Jake picked oranges and Emma picked pears. We bought in bulk because I wanted to try lots of different concoctions. Then we came home and did some experimenting. We made carrot, apple, pear, spinach juice. It was really good! I was surprised how much juice we got out of the carrots; it was pretty impressive. The juice was such a pretty orange, too.

I poured myself a large glass and that was lunch. I was going to have a salad, too, but I was full from the juice. In fact, I wasn't hungry all afternoon. I expect smoothies to fill me up, but just juice? I did not expect to be full. Jake drank a full glass, but Emma and Phillip just had a sip. They both said they liked it, but neither wanted a full glass. I'll keep trying. I did succeed in getting Phillip to eat a small salad at dinner this evening, though. It even had yellow and red bell peppers, onions, and cucumbers on it. Wayne and I are making a little extra effort to get him to eat his veggies. He is the only one of my children who turns his nose up at vegetables. If I don't offer it to him and show him how much we value having veggies in our diet then he is sure not to ever like them. Therefore, I will keep piling them on him plate and making him eat even a few small bites.

We got a new game for Christmas called Qwirkle. We really like playing games and this one was GREAT! If you haven't heard of it, I highly recommend taking a look at it. It requires lots of strategy and planning. It is MENSA approved, and we all enjoyed playing it. Speaking of games, we got another game that we played with the kids before my parents left that was also fun. It was Funglish. It is sort of like charades (you are trying to get people to guess a word), but there are only printed words, no acting. Both games guarantee a fun family night!

Before I wrap this blog up for the night I just have to tell you about one more thing. We had more SNOW today! I cannot believe it. It was not as much as Christmas Eve, only about one inch today, but it was so pretty falling. Tomorrow it will be in the mid forties, so it is not going to last long. We are enjoying it while we can.

Visioning 2010

2009-12-28T18:20:00.000-08:00

This evening on the news they were talking about resolutions for the New Year. The reporter stated that the average American gains at least five pounds during the holidays and the majority of those do not lose the extra pounds. I have been one of the majority for many years now, but not this year! I am so very thankful that I found the raw food lifestyle! I am also thankful that I am finally healthy, happy, and fit.

This evening I have been working on making some vision boards for the 2010. I have been cutting and pasting photos and pictures of things I want to attract in my life. It may sound corny, but it helps me to get a clearer picture of what I want, and to focus on it. So what do I want in my life? Continued health, happiness, love, a peaceful spirit, success, financial independence, and to write and teach. Not much, huh? I put my posters in places where I see them regularly -- on my bathroom mirror, in my closet, above my desk, and inside my kitchen cabinets. Whenever I see them I try and REALLY notice them.

It may sound really corny, but I am a believer. Last year I put posters up that images of health on them. There were fit people, lots of fruits and vegetables, and affirmations of improved health. Of course, I began eating a raw diet last summer -- something I had never heard of before last year, I lost 40 pounds, and I had normal lab reports for the first time in 2 and a half years. Do I think the posters gave me all of that? No, of course not, but the posters helped me work toward the life I already imagined for myself.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T16:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas was very good! We have had so much fun in the snow. We don't see much snow in Texas so it was an extra special treat. This is the first snow Phillip really remembers. All of the kids (including my mom and dad) got marshmallow "shooter guns" and we have been having marshmallow wars all day. The dogs think they are in dog heaven eating marshmallows for Christmas. My mom is wrapped up in her Snuggie pelting my dad and Wayne as we speak. You have never heard so much laughing!

It was so nice to be with our friends and family. I really missed my brothers, but we did speak on the telephone. It is hard to live so far away and not be able to be with everyone. I hope they know how much we have thought of them today. Of course, we also missed all of our loved ones that are no longer with us -- my grandma and grandpa, my Mi Mi and Paw Paw, Wayne's dad, and Wayne's Mom Mom, too. We miss them everyday, but on Christmas their absence (or, I should say, presence) is particularly missed. At the risk of sounding corny, I must say I surely felt them near as we said the blessing this afternoon. I hope all of you had a Merry Christmas, too!

Luke Chapter 2

The Birth of Jesus

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register.

4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

8And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ[a] the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

16So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told

A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

2009-12-24T20:24:00.000-08:00

It has been an interesting day. We found out this morning that my mother-in-law broke her foot yesterday at my daughter's performance in the Nutcracker. She went to the ER this morning when she woke up and her foot was VERY swollen. She got a temporary cast and has to see an orthopedic surgeon next week. She is feeling much better, though.

We have had family and friends stopping in all day and have really had a great time. On top of the great time we were already having. IT SNOWED HERE TODAY! The kids were so excited! Who would have thought? Yesterday it was 74 degrees here and now there is 3 inches of snow in my front yard. It is pretty cool, I must say -- a white Christmas, in Dallas, Texas. My mom said they had to come all the way to Texas to get a white Christmas.

Almost Oatmeal Cookies Rock!

2009-12-23T19:38:00.000-08:00

My almost oatmeal cookies have been a hit today. I really like them and will definitely be making them again. They do take a while to make, but it is just the dehydration that takes such a long time. Making the dough is actually pretty quick and easy, and once they are in the dehydrator you don't have do anything except flip them. I guess what I am saying is that they were worth the effort.

Today Emma sang in the Nutcracker so we were very busy running back and forth to the performance hall for dress rehearsal this morning and the actual performance this evening. Her choir sang beautifully and were appreciated by all who were there. I am very, very tired tonight and have a million and a half things to do tomorrow so I turning in for the night. Sweet dreams!

Holidays: Preparing to Succeed

2009-12-22T18:56:00.001-08:00

Three days and counting. Mom and Dad are driving here as we speak and should arrive within the next hour. We are all getting excited! Today the kids and I made white chocolate covered pretzels and some organic cookies. Those are some of their favorite treats. Then we made some treats for me. I made raw almost oatmeal cookies -- they are in the dehydrator as I type. I also bought lots of fruit and am ready for the holidays! Tomorrow I am making raw not-peanut butter cookies and raw brownies so we can leave some for Santa. I have been so much healthier that I do not want to fall off of the wagon because of a failure to prepare.

For one brief moment, all of the laundry is done and the house is clean. I am enjoying it while I can because Wayne and the boys will be home any minute and this moment will be over as soon as they walk in the door. Oh well, it was good while it lasted. They have been at a living creche tonight. Jake was a shepherd. Phillip loved petting the sheep, donkeys, and cows. Emma and I did not go because she had choir rehearsal since she is singing in the Nutcracker tomorrow. They practices with the symphony tonight and she was thrilled! It was neat for her to practice singing with the back-up of an orchestra -- she said she felt like a "real" singer.

The Whole Pizza

2009-12-21T18:50:00.000-08:00

Wayne and I had the home made raw pizzas for dinner tonight. I must say, I did a good job! My pizza crusts weren't as pretty as Bliss', but they tasted just as good. I made pesto and raw pizza sauce and layered them on the crusts. Then I topped the pizzas with raw sun-dried olives, purple onions, and Roma tomatoes. They were pretty, but they looked pretty small. I was worried that we would still be hungry, but neither Wayne nor I could finish our entire pizza -- they were very filling! I will eat the leftovers tomorrow for lunch. Wayne was worried because they didn't have cheese on them, but once he tasted it, he said he didn't miss the cheese at all.

Today I took the kids to North Park Mall in Dallas and we went to the model train exhibit. It was really cool, and the kids absolutely LOVED it, even Emma. The tracks and scenes were so elaborate. It doesn't cost much money and the proceeds go to The Ronald McDonald House. It was very well done. We also saw a very cute (and FREE) puppet show in the mall. I try not to take 3 children to the mall EVER, but especially when it is crowded, because it is a recipe for disaster. Not today, though, and let me tell you, the mall was not just crowded -- it was packed! Nevertheless, we had a very nice time. The SPCA also had a booth set up in the mall and played with all of the puppies. They really had some cute ones. My favorite breed is a mutt, and they had lots of those. We adopted both of our dogs from dog shelters and I am a huge advocate of shelter adoptions. If we did not already have two dogs, I may have brought one home. The pic is of one named Minnie. She looked like a little Clyde (one of our dogs).

By the way, Happy Winter Solstice. I can't believe that there are only 4 more days until Christmas.

A Green Smoothie Day

2009-12-17T20:30:00.000-08:00

Today was a green smoothie day! I had one for breakfast and one for dinner. It always makes me feel good to eat good. Sometimes I think I am really hungry and that what really sounds good is a slice of pizza or an egg sandwich, but then I drink my smoothie and find myself fully satisfied. There are times when I make a deal with myself that I can eat whatever I think I am craving if, and only if, I drink my green smoothie first and find that I am still craving it. It always works.

The first was a spinach, mango, banana, orange. The second was kale, young coconut water and meat, orange and banana. I had a salad with dried cranberries, blueberries, figs, and pistachios on it. I realize I haven't been writing a lot about what I have been eating lately. I guess it is because I am getting so used to eating this way, that I don't think of it as being something different anymore. I did cook for the kids and Wayne today. They had roasted red potatoes with rosemary and garlic, black beans, and sugar snap beans. Oh, and I have been meaning to write about the pizza crusts that I FINALLY got around to making -- they turned out great! I have eaten part of one, but tomorrow night I m making homemade pizzas with them. Emma and Wayne liked it, and Jake thought it was okay. I a eager to try the whole pizza.

Got my Bliss On!

2009-12-16T20:12:00.000-08:00

Today I finished my Christmas shopping. The kids and I went into town to finish up and I realized that we were near Bliss Raw Food Cafe' so we went there for lunch! It was so GOOD! I had coconut kale enchiladas. I know, it sounds not so good, but it was delicious! Even Jake liked it! Jake got a Vietnamese Pho Soup, and Emma ordered a Margarita pizza. We split some brownies for dessert. They put frosting on their brownies which makes them very chocolaty -- I need to learn how to make the frosting.

We wrapped presents all afternoon. One person would have to go out of the room so we could wrap their presents and then we would switch. Our children buy Christmas presents for us and each other with their own money so they get excited just thinking about each others' reactions will be when they open the present they gave them. Jake even adopted his own angel from the Salvation Army tree this year. They are like other children in that they would much rather spend my money than theirs, and complain about how expensive things are and if I would only give them 3 more dollars they could buy something really cool. However, it is good for them to stick to a budget, and to realize that it is not how much you spend that matters.

Precious Clarification & an Awesome Check-up!

2009-12-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

My friend Catherine reminded me that not everyone loves the movie Precious as much as I did. She reminded me that it has been widely criticized for portraying light-skinned black people in a more favorable way than dark-skinned black people. It has also been criticized for portraying abuse and poverty as stereotypically "black" issues. While I understand the criticism and am glad that my friend brought it up, I stick with my initial review -- the movie is great and should not be missed! The fact that we are thinking about the issues, no matter which side you come down on is a good thing to me. For me, personally, the sex crimes committed in this movie did not speak about "black" issues. I wrote about two specific young girls the movie made me think about, one was a black girl from my sixth grade class, and one was a white girl from rural Georgia. We cannot ignore the fact that the victims of these crimes are most often women. That being said, we cannot ignore the fact that women of color are more likely (black and Latina women are at least twice as likely as white women) to experience poverty, and I believe the movie wanted to show that there are more crimes being committed against women than sex crimes, and that poverty is also a form of abuse. It was difficult for adults to first, understand, and then, to help Precious because of the extreme poverty in which they all lived. While many of the characters who helped Precious along her journey were lighter-skinned black people, Precious is definitely the heroine of her own story. She could not have been the heroine had it not been for those who helped her, and the movie shows the extraordinary power of people to love one another and to love the self. I believe that some people go through their entire lives and have no idea that crimes like these are being committed everyday. I believe there are others who live lives similar to Precious, and never know that life can be different. Both of these scenarios are horribly tragic; if Precious opens the hearts of just one person, then telling you all to see it will be worth it in my opinion. Anyway, I felt that I needed to clarify my review of the movie -- thank you Catherine, for your insight.

On a totally separate note, I went to the endocrinologist today and had my second excellent report! Eating raw continues to pay off! My doctor continues to be baffled by the fact that I have no dairy in my diet and my calcium levels are remaining within normal range -- he says I am peculiar.

Busy, busy, busy

2009-12-14T20:08:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a whirlwind of a weekend! We had so much going on -- Christmas parties, finishing our shopping, dress rehearsals for Emma's choir performance, Phillip's Christmas play, Jake's lock-in, and a soccer game! We did not slow down at all. I was glad Monday was here so we could slow down a bit! We will really have to wait until tomorrow to slow down because tonight was Emma's choir performance; she sings in the Collin County Children's Choir. It was awesome (I am not just saying that because I am a mom, either) - check out the clip!

The kids and I are starting to plan menus for Christmas. Emma told me tonight I need to make the raw chocolate cherry brownies for Santa because they are her favorite, and she wondered whether Santa would even be able to tell that they were raw. She also asked me when there was going to be another raw food meet up because she wants to go. Of course we are going to make raw almond cookies and date-nut balls. That is a s far as we got, you can see we have our priorities straight -- dessert first! Good thing we have a week and a half to decide what else we are going to eat.

My friend Liz emailed this weekend and told me her good news -- normal blood pressure for the first time in a long time. She credits her raw diet with helping get her health on track. I am so very proud of her, and glad that I have been a part of helping her be the very best person she can be!

A Family Experiment

2009-12-10T19:51:00.000-08:00

I did a little bit of Christmas shopping this afternoon. The stress is on the find the last few things. I am having HUGE envy of my friend Joshua who does not celebrate Christmas in the traditional, American way. His family has decided not to buy presents for one another, but just to enjoy being together. I REALLY like that! I mentioned it to Jake and Emma and they looked at me like, "We're not going to do that are we?"

While Christmas can get very hectic and totally out of control, I have to admit I do like shopping for that perfect gift for people on my list. It is too bad we have to do it all at Christmas. I always try and put a lot of thought into the gifts I give and it really helps me to feel closer to my friends and family. The key is to keep it all in perspective, though. Christmas is not about presents, cookies, and decorating. While those things can be fun to do, Christmas is about so much more than that and that is what we tend to lose sight of the fastest.

Today we participated in a family experiment. We did not turn on the television or play any video games for the entire day. It made for a very nice day! We read books and talked, and all three children played very nicely together for an ENTIRE hour! We had to be very intentional with keeping Phillip occupied, but he did well. I think Jake and Emma were quite surprised to learn that they could live without it. I think we will make this an ongoing experiment at my house!

BTW -- here is a pic of my loaded salad today.

Staying Warm

2009-12-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

It is still Cold in Dallas, Texas -- 22 degrees tonight. It has been a little hard to eat raw because it is so cold outside. I have been making some warm green soup the past couple of days to help warm my bones. I don't know when I became such a wimp about the cold, but I definitely am wimpy! I write this sitting in my deluxe Snuggie. I love my Snuggie!

Tomorrow I get my new dishwasher! I am very excited! 20 years ago I never thought I would say that I was excited to get a dishwasher, but I am going to be one happy woman tomorrow! I may even hug the delivery guy's neck!

Today I got so busy with home schooling I neglected to make my pizza crusts. I just ran out of time. Somedays I do not know where the time goes. We get caught up in learning about Vikings or verbs and before I know it the day is over. I guess part of it was because we spent most of the morning at the dentist. No one had any cavities -- YEAH! I have to go back in January to have some old silver fillings replaced, which scares me to death, but I have some time to psyche myself up for my date with the dentist.

A little complaining followed by a lot of good news!

2009-12-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

When we moved to Texas 2 years ago I thought I was moving to a warmer climate! Someone did not get the memo because it is downright COLD! Tonight and tomorrow night it will be in the low twenties with wind chills in the teens. Now, I know some of my readers live in northern and western climates that are much colder than a Texas winter, and you are all probably laughing at me about right now. But, seriously, my hat goes off to all of you! How do you do it? I am a winter wimp! If it is going to be this cold can't we at least have some pretty snow instead of gray drizzle?

Tomorrow I have to get up very early in the very COLD weather and go to the dentist, of all places. Those of you who know me well know that going to the dentist is my biggest fear. I can get shots from the doctor all day long, I can give birth to three babies, naturally, and I can convince myself to do lots of scary things, BUT the dentist -- you have to drag me in and stand there and hold my hand the entire time! It is scary. I have nightmares about the dentist, right there in my face, poking me with that little hook thing.

Okay, okay, okay... I have been complaining all night (it's the dentist worry thing). But now for good news! My speech went very well today! It was actually a lot of fun, and I enjoyed meeting some new friends. Another good thing - Wayne went to the grocery for me today (wait, there's more) and got all of the ingredients for me to try my hand at making raw pizza crusts in the dehydrator tomorrow. They will take a while to dry, so we won't be able to taste them tomorrow, but I am excited about making them! The kids and I will have fun doing that. This will be my first try at "cooking" something in the dehydrator. And I am also anticipating more good news -- tomorrow I have to repeat my labs (blood and urine tests) to monitor my kidneys and calcium levels, I am fully anticipating that my blood work will be completely normal once again. I believe my high raw diet is making all of the difference in my health. I feel so much better and I believe that is going to be reflected in my labs. I'll let you know when i get the results back!

A little extra "oomph"

2009-12-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I am giving a speech at a church here in Dallas, and I am a bit nervous. I am going to have a super duper green smoothie in the morning to get my motor running and give me that extra "oomph" I need. I am planning it already.

Today, the kids and I finished Canterbury Tales. They really liked it! It was fun. Tomorrow they are writing their own Canterbury Tale, so it should be interesting to say the least.

I am feeling myself starting to get a bit anxious about Christmas. It is closing in fast and I have so much to do. I feel like I was ready to get it all done at the beginning of November and held myself back thinking it was "too early," and now that it is mid- December I can't get myself going. Maybe my morning smoothie will help me in that department, too.

Wayne went to the Kiss concert here last night. He was so excited. He took his brother as an early Christmas present (he is a huge fan), but I don't know who had more fun! He must have called me 20 time telling me what cool thing they were doing. However, we are very tired! We did not get to bed until after 1:00 A.M. I couldn't sleep because I was waiting on him to get home, and then he told me all about it before we went to bed. Needless to say, I am holding my eyelids open as we speak and a green smoothie can only do so much.

Precious -- Definitely Worth Seeing!

2009-12-05T15:59:00.000-08:00

Last night Wayne and I went to see the movie Precious. Wow! If Monique does not win an award for this movie, then something is BAD wrong with America. In fact, if this movie doesn't win multiple awards I will be surprised. Precious is an excellent movie. It will take your breath away. Yes, there are parts of this movie that are sad and very hard to watch; but make no mistake, this movie is also filled with hope and the triumph of the human spirit.

I could not help but think about a young girl that I went to middle school with in Nashville, Tn who had her second child in the sixth grade. She was in my class and must have been at least 3 years older than me. I also could not help thinking about a young girl that I saw as a physical therapist in Waycross, GA who had spina bifida. She was in the first grade and was in foster care due to molestation and rape by her father while her mother did nothing. Precious' story is the story of many young girls (and boys). I wish her story were an isolated event, but unfortunately it is not. The movie reminded me that my comfortable world is not so comfortable.

Anyway, please do not miss this movie! It is well worth your time, money, and thoughts!

Grocery shopping, weight loss stories, and hot yoga!

2009-12-03T18:46:00.000-08:00

I went to the grocery today and stocked up on all my favorite fruits and veggies. I can't believe I am saying this, but it was actually fun! The kids were behaving and so many things looked good! I buy a lot of frozen organic fruit at Costco during the fall and winter and we went there first. The Vita-Mix demonstrator was there today doing his thing. He made a great drink -- 3 cups of grapes and a slice of lemon (peel and all). Jake and Emma couldn't wait to get a sample. We all liked it; needless to say we bought some grapes and lemons. I'll be making that again!

Today I saw a couple of people I haven't seen in several months. They were astonished at how much weight I have lost and wanted to know how much I have lost and what I have been doing to lose it. It felt so good to get such a reaction! I told them all I had done was become a raw vegan. We ended up having a 20 minute conversation about what kinds of things I eat and how much healthier I look and feel. One girls mind was ticking, I could tell she was considering it. It is such a joy to share my story with other people.

I am thinking about enrolling Jake, Emma, and I in a trial hot yoga class. They are willing and I am interested. My sister-in-law used to take a hot yoga class and she loved it! I am wanting some fitness for myself and some physical education for the kids. If you've ever participated in a hot yoga class I would love to hear from you about what you thought! I talked to a teacher this morning and she thought the kids could definitely do it. I will let you know what we decide.

Home Again!

2009-12-03T05:34:00.000-08:00

We are home again, home again, lickety-split! We had a fun, but very quick trip to Nashville. Yesterday it rained most of the way drive back. All the rain made it seem like it took so long to get here because you couldn't keep track of the time by watching the sun. We were all very tired and went to bed early.

All in all, the trip went very nicely. My mom got a bit under the weather while we were there, and I did eat some things that I do not normally eat at home, but mostly just cooked vegetables and a cookie or two. I also had several very good raw meals while I was there as well. I think that my family (not mom so much, but dad and my brothers) still find it hard to believe I do not eat meat. They are all very supportive of my decision not to eat it, but they still think it is a bit strange.

Truthfully, it is a bit strange. I grew up having meat every day, and it is strange to sit down at the table with my family and not have meat. It is also strange not to want it, or even crave it. If you would have told me a year ago that I would no longer eat meat, I would have laughed in your face. I may have told you that you would be right, "when hell freezes over." Funny how fast life changes. Whether it is our diet, where we live, our jobs, or what we are choosing to do in the present moment -- life can change in the blink of an eye.

At times the changes seem overwhelming, and they are so very scary! Other times the changes are welcomed with open arms. Still others we tread into with equal amounts of hesitation and expectation. But, one thing I know for sure is that if we didn't have change life would be boring! Change lets us know that we are alive. It forces us to make choices to feel our minds ticking, our blood flowing, our our hearts thumping. Change forces us to move.

Home again.

2009-11-29T03:33:00.000-08:00

I have been off of the radar for a few days because we decided to make a quick trip to Nashville after all. A small trip is better than no trip. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Dallas with Wayne's mother and brother and it was very nice. However, it just felt weird not seeing my family at Thanksgiving, too. So Friday we packed up the car and took off driving. It is a bit of a haul, but well worth it.

We have been visiting with my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and my niece and nephew. It has been a lot of fun! I think my mom was really nervous about what to make for me to eat while I was here, but it has been easier than she thought and my family is very supportive. I had some vegetable soup, green smoothie, and we made a wonderful salad that everyone enjoyed yesterday as well!

I wish we were able to stay for a longer trip. Since this is "home" for me, I have many friends I would like to see, but am just not going to have the opportunity this time around. It is strangely wonderful being back. The scenery is so beautiful! Even though most of the leaves have already dropped, the landscape, the hills and valleys, are still gorgeous! I miss the texture of the land -- Dallas is pretty flat and metropolitan. I must say, though, that Dallas is growing on me. Whenever you move it is always hard to adjust, but moving away from "home" is particularly difficult. We have been away for two years now so I am starting see that Dallas isn't so bad after all.

Pink rubber gloves -- the new sexy

2009-11-25T20:28:00.000-08:00

Emma was feeling much better today! I am thankful for that! We were even able to get her hair cut -- it is so cute. It is her first "tweener" haircut; I took her to my stylist for the first time. She looks so good! Getting her hair done put a little pep in her step. I could tell she felt great about herself and her new do because she was posing in the mirror. After we got her hair cut we went to pick up out Thanksgiving meal and someone asked her right way if she was 14 (remember she just turned 11, and she is about 5'5"). When she told the lady how old she was the lady said, "Holy model!" Emma was just shining.

I was getting in the holiday spirit today and made a new smoothie. It had cranberries, apples, kale, agave, a vanilla bean, and cinnamon. It was yummy and did the job getting me in the spirit to celebrate thankfulness. I didn't even mind doing the dishes by hand. It hasn't been too bad not having a dishwasher. I may feel differently by December 10th, but so far so good. I kinda like my bright pink rubber gloves. They are the new sexy.

Thanksgiving preparation is underway!

2009-11-24T19:14:00.000-08:00

I should have known that either Jake or Emma was going to get what Phillip had last week. Emma was the lucky one. She has been sick all day -- cough, sore throat, fever, and throwing up. I took her to the doctor, and they said it is just a virus and we have to wait it out. We are hoping that tomorrow will be much better for Emma. I have been loading her up with fluids, vitamin C, and homemade vegetable soup. She really isn't hungry, though, and has been sleeping most of the day. Sleeping is good and healing!

I had two delicious smoothies today. One was kale, pineapple, strawberry, banana, papaya. The other was apple, banana,strawberries. I also ordered a Thanksgiving meal this year. Wayne's mother and brother are celebrating Thanksgiving with us. In short, am the only raw foodie. I did not want to spend the whole day preparing food that I cannot eat. I ordered from Central Market, so my family is going to eat good! Not only will their food be delicious, it is also organic and the turkey is a free-range turkey. I feel good about feeding them good stuff, and I also feel good about staying true to myself and the goals I have for my own health.

Spring in November

2009-11-23T19:47:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful salad for dinner this evening. It had lettuce, broccoli, dried cranberries, carrots, cucumbers and onions. It was warm here today, almost seventy degrees, and it tasted so refreshing! It almost made it seem like summer.

Phillip had a play date today with some of the children from his preschool. The hostess was so nice and had sandwiches, drinks, and desserts set out for the moms while the children played. It is these types of social situations that always worry me. I don't want to appear to be rude, but I also don't want to compromise the way that I feel either. I politely declined and told her that we ate a late breakfast. I think I always get more nervous about it than is really warranted. I don't think anyone thought anything about my declining the refreshments.

On another note I have been doing some serious house cleaning the last few days. I am rearranging furniture and doing some of the heavy duty cleaning. I know it is not spring, but the cleaning bug has definitely bitten me. I am really interested in simplifying my life these days, and feel as though cleaning my house is helping me clean out my life and make room for new things to move in.

Living foods and God

2009-11-20T20:00:00.000-08:00

I am teaching a Sunday school class on The Song of Solomon (a.k.a. Song of Songs, a.k.a. the centerfold of the Bible). I was really nervous about teaching it at first, but it has really been a lot of fun! I have enjoyed learning about it and teaching it. One thing it has made me realize is that Christians don't utilize our senses near enough. (I realize that this is a HUGE generalization, but one that I am willing to make). Christians rarely take the time to feel God and/or Jesus with anything other than our "brains." What would happen if we really paid attention to what is going on around us. What would happen if we listened for God? I don't mean listen as in when the preacher says on Sunday morning before reading the Scripture, "Listen for the Word of God..." I mean really listened and heard God speak in the way the birds chirped at daybreak on Saturday morning, or in my five year-old's voice exclaiming the wonder of how the sun can shoot beams through the clouds. What if we heard God speak in the nursing home as the 92 year-old woman ponders if tomorrow will be her last day, or in the 82 year-old person's room next door explaining how she can't wait until his grand-daughter visits tomorrow.

What if we tasted God's work every time we bit into a ripe and delicious honey crisp apple. What if we smelled God in the labor of our laundry? What would happen if, when I rubbed the tear off the cheek of a tweener or a grandmother I imagined I could feel God's own tears. Could we handle it? Would it be a sensory overload? Sensory perception may, in fact, be THE best way we can sense God's presence in our lives.

You have read many times where I have written that I noticed my food more now that I eat a high raw diet. I appreciate the smell, the texture, and the taste more. I appreciate the labor it took to get from the soil to my table. I know it sound silly, but maybe I am sensing God's presence -- the real livingness of my food. The real smells, tastes, and textures that were meant for me to perceive. Perhaps eating living foods requires me to be alive in a way I had neglected before now.

Seeking Suggestions for Thanksgiving

2009-11-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

Shopping for a new dishwasher is not fun at all! I am stressed and tired. I have been racing back and forth from Sears to Home Depot, to Lowes, and Best Buy. Of course, no one has the dishwasher I like in stock and it will take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on where we decide to buy it (The stores with the cheapest prices are, no doubt, the ones where it will take weeks to get it). What is a few weeks anyway?

I also looked at some new flooring for our kitchen today as well. That is also stressful, but a little more fun. We have been wanting to refinish the floors in our house since we moved in two years ago. Now we have an excuse to actually do it. I just hope that the quotes don't totally blow my mind. Let's just say, I know what I am getting for Christmas this year.

Thank Goodness Tomorrow is Friday! I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. We may break out the Christmas decorations. Phillip is really into decorating this year. He is ready to celebrate. Speaking of celebrating, I am beginning my raw food research on Thanksgiving meals. If you have any suggestions, please email me!

Getting my giddy-up back!

2009-11-18T18:35:00.001-08:00

Life has been CRAZY the past few days. We found out Phillip had pneumonia, Emma had a birthday (and a party), and the dishwasher broke, leaking all over the kitchen floor. I tried to buy a new one today, but they had nothing in stock at Home Depot and I didn't have time to go anywhere else. Tomorrow someone is coming to look at the hardwood floor to see if there is any way we can salvage it. Joy! Joy!

Seriously, though, life could be much worse. We are very fortunate to be blessed with the life we have. This is just a little crimp in my tail, a little hitch in my giddy-up. I am so glad that Phillip is feeling better and we still found a way to pull off a birthday party by juggling everyone out of the house since Phillip was very sick. Wayne took them roller skating, then switched places with me and I took them for pizza and ice cream. Emma was happy and Phillip was able to rest and recuperate.

I think I have mentioned before that I still cook for the kids. They eat a primarily vegetarian diet. We don't buy milk or cheese for home, but they still eat it when they go out to eat. They even occasionally eat meat. Some people have asked me if it is hard to cook for them and still eat my raw food. I have to say that it is not. I love my food so much, and I love the way it makes me feel, so I am not tempted. I do sometimes taste what I make them to make sure it is seasoned alright, but it never tastes as good as I remember it.

Tonight, I made spaghetti for the kids and Wayne and I made a wonderful green smoothie for dinner tonight -- fresh pineapple, water and meat from a young coconut, kale, and frozen strawberries. It turned out very good! Wayne took one sip and said, "YUM!" He never thought kale could be so good.

The Master Cleanse was a bust, or maybe not.

2009-11-14T01:33:00.000-08:00

It is 3:34 A.M. and I am writing my blog. Yesterday morning I woke up to a very sick little boy. He is running a pretty high fever, coughing, stuffy nose, and very snotty. He has been kinds puny all week, but yesterday he was especially puny. I have taken him to the doctor and he does not have the flu, an ear infection, or strep, so it is viral and all we can do is wait it out. Needless to say I have tip toed up the stairs a few times to check on him and make sure that he is okay.

Needless to say the Master Cleanse is a bust for me. I only had enough lemons for yesterday morning's lemonade and I needed to go to the grocery store to get more, but there was no way I could take Phillip feeling the way he does, and no way I was going to leave him home without me or Wayne. I had pretty much gotten over the hungry feeling, but I was still pretty tired and cranky -- not good things to try and negotiate when you have a sick baby. So, maybe it is just not for me at this juncture in my life.

I am not saying the Master Cleanse is a bad thing, in fact, I think it has helped many people. But, I am no longer trying to lose weight -- thanks to my raw diet, I reached my goal weight. I did want to see if it would help me achieve some mental and emotional clarity about my life, but I think there are other ways I can do that.

Beginning a raw food diet was a HUGE step for me, and it has literally changed my life for the better in so many ways! At the time it seemed like I was making an extreme move, and I needed to do that because my health was very poor. I did not know what I was going to eat if I couldn't have beef tacos, smothered chicken, french fries, and macaroni and cheese. Not that I didn't eat healthy foods, too; I always had a side salad (covered in blue cheese) and a vegetable side. Now I see the choice to eat raw was not as extreme as it first seemed. Instead of swinging widely to some fad diet (as I had done so many times before) I was making a choice to balance my life with the foods that nature really intended me to eat. I said no more to engineered food -- no refined sugar, processed junk, additive and preservative coated meat and dairy products, or salt infused mixes and sauces -- and returned to simple foods. What seemed extreme at the time was not at all, it was returning to the basics. Where and how did I get so off track? I can think of numerous reasons now that I SAD (Standard American Diet) consumer. Like many Americans I was turning a blind eye to the food industry, and I was telling myself, "If they can sell it in the grocery stores or a restaurant, it can't be that bad for me." I neglected opportunities to learn about how my food got on the table. I was consuming exactly what I was told. I was filling my emptiness, disappointments, and heartaches with fat laden, sugar coated, syrup dripping, salt loaded ANYTHING that looked like it couldn't possible come from a garden or farm. I was so disconnected from my food!

When I started this I had no idea what a turnip looked like, or that there were so many varieties of kale. I did not know that a salad could taste so good without croutons and blue cheese. I did not know you could put berries and nuts on a salad. I had no idea that there were so many different types of greens or sprouts. I did not know what tahini or young coconut was or where to even begin to find them in the grocery store. I did not know I could roll sushi (vegetable, of course), marinate vegetables and not cook them, or make raw cookies. I had no clue that I could prepare an entire meal without using the stove, oven, or microwave. I did not know food, real, natural, food could make such a huge difference in how I felt and looked!

Yesterday, I must say I was a little bit disappointed that I could not stick it out through the Master Cleanse. After all, I did all my research, read the entire book, and thought I was totally prepared. I REALLY wanted the clarity. But, as I sit here typing at what is now 4:18 A.M. I am realizing that perhaps the Master Cleanse gave me exactly what I needed after all. I don't want an extreme diet. I want my food to give me balance, health, taste, and goodness and I have all of that already.

Cleansing One Day at a Time

2009-11-12T17:31:00.000-08:00

This morning went much better. What went down, stayed down. I must admit I was a little worried and nervous about drinking the salt water this morning, but it worked out alright. I was, however, quite tired and cranky today. The book, Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days by Peter Glickman, says that is normal and part of the detox. It should go away after tomorrow. I hope so.

I was a little hungry today, too. However, I wasn't craving crazy stuff or really anything from a SAD diet. I miss my raw almond cookies, a good salad with fresh berries, and my trail mix. I don't think I craved a green smoothie because it is a drink, and I was craving something to chew. Part of me is wondering if I can make it 10 days, but I am going to keep trying. One day at a time.

Rough Start to the Master Cleanse, but good 1st Day

2009-11-11T18:22:00.000-08:00

Well, the cleanse started out a little rough this morning. I drank my salt water this morning and all seemed to be fine for a few minutes. Then, all of the sudden, I started gagging and next thing I knew I was running to the bathroom. Needless to say, what went down came back up. It was not fun, but I immediately felt better and was able to continue the regimen for the rest of the day.

Wish I could say as much for Wayne. He chickened out after a long meeting today. He bailed on me. I can't really blame him, to be honest. It is difficult to do this. I made dinner for the kids tonight and felt quite hungry. I also made the mistake of visiting Bliss Cafe's website (a local raw food restaurant) and checking out their new menu. I was having some pretty big cravings for Bliss! Perhaps I will go there to celebrate making it through the cleanse.

Have I been truly hungry? No, not really, but the habit of eating is what makes it hard! It is so natural to pick up a piece of fruit when I walk by the kitchen and chomp on an apple or enjoy a banana. I wonder how many times I have grabbed a piece of fruit or handful of trail mix and eaten it when I really wasn't hungry. Something to think about, isn't it.

Master Cleanse Revisited

2009-11-10T18:03:00.001-08:00

Well, I have been pondering the Master Cleanse since the last time my plan to do it fell through due to birthday plans. I have done lots of research on it and I am going to try it. I went to the grocery tonight and got all my lemons, so I am ready to give it a go. If I don't like it, or the way it makes me feel I will discontinue it, but I am planning to give it my all. Those of you who know me, know that once I decide to jump in I do so with both feet!

I am actually a bit excited about it. I feel as though I have been in a bit of a rut, and am hoping to gain a bit of clarity and perspective. This is going to be a time of prayer, reflection, and meditation for me. Wayne says he wants to try it, too, so that should make it a little easier -- having a partner. We will see.

Emma's Adventures at the Raw Food Meet up!

2009-11-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

This morning I could not believe it was already Monday. Tonight I can't believe that Monday is almost over. This entire weekend flew by so fast. We were so busy with youth group, soccer games, choir practice, church, teaching, and dinners. Wayne and I had to split up to get everyone where they needed to go. Emma and I went to a Raw Food Meetup near our house. I found the group on Meetup.com and it was really GREAT! Wayne and I had been to a meetup once before. Everyone brings a dish and you can learn about other people, why they eat raw foods, how they prepare their meals, etc.

Emma, being ten and only about 30% raw was a reluctant attendee, but agreed to go. I told her she didn't have to eat a lot of anything, just to take a little bit of each thing and try it, and then she could go back and get what she wanted. We took raw almond cookies and pistachio-fig cookies, which were a hit. But, everything was a hit! Someone made raw mashed potatoes with gravy and marinated onions, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie (the mashed potatoes were made from celery root, and the pumpkin pie had no pumpkin -- only carrots and sweet potatoes). Someone else made bananas foster. There was lots of fruit and pine nuts from Italy. It was all very YUMMY!

Emma took a little bit of everything and liked everything. She had a third helping of pumpkin pie, seconds of cranberry sauce, ate her fill of fruit, and had lots of Mom's cookies. She really had a good time, and when people were asking what kinds of raw things I make at home she would say, "Oh she makes raw tacos and they are soooo good," or "she makes me a green smoothie I love." They really got a kick out of her. When it was time to go, she asked if she could come with me again next time! IT makes me feel good to know that I am helping her figure out healthy eating patterns before she is an adult and that she is learning that good for you foods can also taste really good!

I highly recommend looking up raw food meet ups in your area, and take your children, too!

More Green Smoothie Recipes and quick tips

2009-11-05T20:05:00.001-08:00

So far so good -- Jake and Emma are really liking The Canterbury Tales and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. What's not to like? Why did schools quit reading novels? The entire time Jake and Emma were in public school they were never required to read a novel. They did receive A.R. points for reading them, but that was not an assignment. Peculiar, huh?

Today was a green smoothie day for me. For breakfast I had a kale, with frozen grapes and peaches. I buy grapes and peaches in bulk when they are in season and stick them in the freezer until I want to use them. Frozen grapes are a wonderful snack all by themselves. Anyway, my breakfast was so good that I was a craving another green smoothie for lunch. I had spinach, pineapple, strawberry, papaya, mango (I bought a bag of frozen, organic tropical fruit), and then added a banana. I also made some trail mix today. I will have to hide it, though because Jake and Emma found it and were eating it by the fistfuls.

Seriously, I am so glad that they want to eat it. I would much rather them want to snack on raw nuts and dried fruit than on chips or candy. I think that i am going to try my hand at the dehydrator tomorrow and see how that goes. So far I have been a little intimidated, but I am almost ready to give it a go. I am the type of person who likes to read the entire manual first.

Glow Forth and Create!

2009-11-04T19:03:00.000-08:00

A quote caught my eye today: "Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself." The author is unknown. Those simple words have stuck in my mind all day. How true! After my surgery, when I was so sick, I felt like I was stuck in rut and not able to get out. Isn't that what being stuck in a rut is all about -- forgetting how or not being able to create. The past six months I have been making up lost ground and creating like crazy!

My creations include: a healthy body, mind, and spirit, a happy home, home school lessons galore, numerous recipes, well-adjusted children, and lots of love. Before raw foods came into my life I thought many of these things were unattainable for me either because my body would not let me (I was so tired and sick all of the time), or because I was in such a poor state of mind that I just wasn't able. Within one week of eating raw foods my mind was awakened and refreshed, though. I was no longer I able to fool myself into believing that I was a victim. Within one month of eating a high raw diet my body was so much healthier there was no denying that what I was doing was very good. Now that I have been eating an almost completely raw diet for months I feels as though my spirit is happy and that I shine from the inside out. It is always easy to fool people by putting on a smile and saying, "I am okay." I, like many of you, have done that on numerous occasions. But, now I really am okay and I think it shows.

Many people talk about the "glow" you get when you begin a raw food diet -- your skin clears up, you look bright-eyed and bushy tailed, your hail is shiny and soft, etc. When I first started eating raw I kept checking myself in the mirror to see if I had "the glow" yet. Other people started noticing it before I did and would ask me what I was doing different. Eventually, I was able to see it. Now, I don't have to check the mirror to see if it is there because I can feel it in my very being. Glow, baby, glow!

"Raw LOVE! It changes you."

2009-11-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

I ordered a T-shirt several months ago that was back ordered because there were more orders than anticipated. I got it in the mail yesterday and I am so EXCITED! It says Raw Love: It changes you. I ordered it from a company called Lovemore. The t-shirt itself is "green" and that makes me feel good, too. Lovemore is a pretty cool company, check them out at www.chooselovemore.com. If raw is not your thing, they have other t-shirts, too. I felt pretty darn great wearing my shirt today. Thanks Lovemore!

The kids and I also got the book we are going to read next -- The Canterbury Tales. I can't wait to see their faces once we start reading it. Boy, are they in for a surprise! The Canterbury Tales is one of my favorite books in the world. I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to share it with them, to see their faces and hear their giggles the first time they realize that the author is describing "passing gas" or "belching." I can't wait to hear them ask if we can read just one more chapter.

I am feeling so much better today! Despite the fact that I stayed up half the night (I've been up since 1 A.M., sometimes cold medicine does that to me), my upper respiratory infection is almost gone. I must give credit where credit is due -- all hail the green smoothie! All in all it has been a very good day!

CDC: Tainted beef may be linked to 2 deaths - CharlotteObserver.com

2009-11-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

CDC: Tainted beef may be linked to 2 deaths - CharlotteObserver.com

Va-va -va-voom!

2009-11-02T16:47:00.000-08:00

I've been a little under the weather. Yesterday I had a fever, aches, sore throat, chills, the whole thing. This morning I went to the doctor just to make sure I didn't have strep or H1N1 -- but I did not. YEAH! I just have an upper respiratory infection and I am already starting to feel a little bit better. I've been drinking a lot of green smoothies and water and juices trying to flush it out of my system. My new favorite smoothie is pineapple, raspberry, lime, and spinach. It is so good! I just throw it all in and turn on the Vita-mix. You know how it is when your nose is stuffy and you can't taste very well, but I can taste this smoothie with all of the tangy flavors. I call it va-va-va-voom.

I must credit my breast doctor with part of the recipe. Dr. Jekot is a breast cancer survivor and although she is not a raw foodist, she eats "mostly vegetarian" and does everything she can to stay healthy. While she was doing my biopsy last week we were exchanging smoothie recipes. She has not ever had a green smoothie, so I was doing my best to convince her that it was good. She had the pineapple, raspberry, lime smoothie recipe and I just added the spinach. You really can't tell a difference in the taste. To be honest, the color is kinda nasty, but put it in a solid color cup and you would never be able to tell what color it is anyway.

I am attaching a picture of me in my leggings today, too. Ever since I mentioned it a couple of weeks ago I have been hearing from several of you saying, "It is time we see those leggings." I am "Back in Black." Sorry, I know that it a little corny, but I am a bit corny and a product my generation. A little AC/DC never hurt anyone.

Nighty-night

2009-10-29T17:50:00.001-07:00

I am so TIRED today. I did not sleep last night. I am still a bit sore and laying down seems to be the worst position I can be in, comfort-wise. I finally got up at 2:30 this morning and started doing some research on a class I am teaching on Song of Songs this Sunday. It was good because I got a lot accomplished since everyone else was asleep, but about 4:00 this afternoon I felt like I was crashing hard. There has been no time for napping today, though.

It sounds funny, but I think my raw foods give me more energy and "get through the day" than coffee. I used to drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day, especially during the afternoon to stay awake and get all the things done that I needed. Now I have coffee once in a blue moon and find that a green smoothie gives me much more stamina than a latte, with no headaches or let downs when the caffeine wears off.

However, no sleep is no sleep and I am also listening to my body's needs much more these days so I am off to bed early. Sweet dreams.

Life is good!

2009-10-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry I did not blog yesterday -- I was emotionally exhausted after my biopsy and took the evening off. I got the news this morning that the biopsy was completely benign! I am so glad -- it is such a huge weight off my shoulders. The whole experience has been quite draining and I have so much respect for the women (and men) who have been and continue to go through the angst of not knowing what is going on with their bodies.

I am a little more sore and tired than I thought I would be, but that kinda goes along with my personality. I would like to be able to "take a licking and keep on ticking," but I am just not made that way. I am learning to be patient with myself and with the healing process. Going through this brought back so many memories of not so good news after my thyroid biopsy 2 and half years ago. The doctors had told me they fully expected my biopsy to be benign, but it came back probable cancer instead. That whole scenario was playing in the back of my head while I was waiting for the doctor to call.

I know it sounds weird, but in some ways, getting the good news this morning liberated me from that nebulous cloud that has been following me around since the whole thyroid thing. It has been like the bubble that hangs over a cartoon character's head expressing their feelings even when they are not talking. I have had that faint bubble of doubt hanging over my head asking, "Am I really okay?" Today, that bubble was burst! I can look at myself and say, "Yes, I really am okay!"

I have learned so much about myself over the past 2 and half years. Part of me would like to say that I would have been okay no matter the news, but I cannot say that for sure. I don't think you know what you are going to do or feel until you are there. But, what I do know for sure is that I am taking good care of myself. More than ever before I am being kinder and more patient with myself, and honoring my feelings. I am filling my body with good stuff -- good nutrients, lots of love, good thoughts, good words, people who care for me and about me, and good intentions. It is paying off, and life is good!

Wild Rumpus

2009-10-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big biopsy day. I have to say that although I really do think everything is going to be okay, I have been a lot more nervous than I thought I would be. I get moody and aggravated easily when I am nervous so today has been a little difficult; every little thing has been getting on my nerves or upsetting me. I think that it is a little more scary since the last biopsy I had they thought I had cancer. That was in my thyroid, and it turned out it wasn't even cancer, but it still was a long and complicated journey.

We went to the movies today thinking it would help me get my mind off of things a little bit. We saw Where the Wild Things Are. I was a little wary because I am typically not a fan of any book that is made into a movie, particularly childhood classics, but it was very well done. I cried through a good bit of the movie. It was probably good to get the tears out, but it left me feeling heavy-hearted. The movie was slow in some places and gave an almost uncomfortable amount of time to process the difficult feelings that reside in all of us. Not good for someone who was trying to avoid difficult feelings at this particular junction. Let the wild rumpus start! Since I had a little wild in me today it was appropriate and it did make me "deal." In the end a good howl made me feel better.

Raw Ethical Eating

2009-10-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made my first raw pie. I don't know why I have waited so long because it was so easy and delicious! It has always intimidated me a little bit to try a pie. I should really say, my mom and I made chocolate cream pie. The crust was made from macadamia nuts, dried pineapple, and dates. The filling was raw cocoa nibs, a young coconut, coconut butter, dates, and vanilla. Then we froze it it so it would set (we didn't wait quite long enough, but it did not matter that much) and topped it with fresh raspberries.

We also made raw "fried" rice, vegetable sushi, and a seaweed salad. It all made for a very good dinner. I think my dad was surprised. He was kinda hanging around the kitchen with his lip curled up a little bit as we prepared it, but when he tasted it he liked it, and even said he thought he could get used to eating like this (as long as he could occasionally have a little meat). I think that would be great for him.

A high raw diet is not for everyone, but I do think that upping your raw intake will benefit almost everyone! The key is to listen to your own body and be sensible. When I first started eating a raw diet, I did crave some things, but the longer I stuck with it the less cravings I had. Now that I have learned so much about food and the food industries I don't think I could ever eat meat or poultry again. It doesn't even sound good.

I did not start eating this way for ethical reasons, largely because I was totally ignorant of how my food got on my table. However, eating raw has opened my eyes and mind to many things I did not expect when I began. Ethical eating is increasingly becoming a large part of why I eat what I eat. Some good books to start your own food education are Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (she is not a vegetarian, but is an ethical consumer), and Food, Inc. (also a film). Just be prepared, once your read or watch them it will change how you view your meals.

Good food, good books, good music, GREAT company!

2009-10-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

We took parents to Bliss tonight. Actually, I guess you could say that they took us -- they wanted to treat since it was my birthday last week. It was so very good! The new menu is not up yet, but they do have a couple of their new dishes available. My mom had spaghetti and "meatballs," my dad had margarita pizza, I had rawsagna, and Wayne had rawko tacos. We all tasted each others' meals and everyone had a delicious meal, as usual! For dessert my mom and I split an orange persimmon sheezecake that was so very good! I have got to learn how to make some of these desserts! Wayne and my dad split a white chocolate one, and it was also good, but ours was the bomb! Wayne and I both had a Chocolate Bliss elixir, Dad had Hemp Horchata, and Mom had Minty Hemp. They were impressed.

Miranda, one of the chefs, was there tonight, and she was so nice and friendly. She chatted with us about why she went raw in the first place (to look better) and all of the benefits she received from being raw (health) that help her stay raw. She said, "I am no longer addicted to my food." I think that is so true! I did not realize how addicted to my Standard American Diet I was until I started eating raw foods. Sugar and flour (white stuff) were the worst culprits and I did not realize the hold they had on me until I tried to eliminate them. Now, I enjoy and love my foods without feeling like I NEED them. When I finish eating somewhere like Bliss I feel happy, fulfilled, and healthy, not full, bloated, and full of gas. I also feel good about myself. I no longer think, "Gosh, I shouldn't have eaten that," or "I feel so fat," or "I can't believe I ate all of that."

After dinner we went to Half-Price Books, one of my favorite stores! It was fun just to prowl around by myself -- no kids. It is neat to look at all of the books. I got some books for school -- The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and some critical thinking books. We also got a couple of CDs, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. Good food, good books, good music, great company -- what more could I ask for?

Looking forward to some Bliss

2009-10-23T18:49:00.000-07:00

I wore my new leggings today and got numerous compliments which made me feel really good! Like I said yesterday, I would never have even imagined myself buying, let alone wearing leggings even 6 months ago. Today I was receiving unsolicited compliments from strangers -- who would have thought?

Tomorrow my dad flies in and we are all so excited to see him! He is coming in early so I am keeping this short tonight because I have got to get some sleep. Dallas' Bliss Raw Food Cafe is calling my name; we are taking my parents there for dinner tomorrow. I hope their new menu is up and running.

Spread the Raw Love!

2009-10-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

Today I went shopping with my mom. It is always fun to shop with mom. It is hard to believe that less than six months ago I was wearing a size 12 (probably should have been a size 14, but I was squeezing into my size 12 so I wouldn't have to buy a bigger size). Today, I was comfortably fitting into a size 6. YAHOO! It is even more fun to shop with mom when I look good in the clothes. It was fun just to play and try on things that I never would even consider before I lost 35 pounds. For instance, today I bought some leggings -- me, in leggings. I would not have been caught dead in leggings 5 months ago. Wayne loved my new things, too!

My mom is also becoming a green smoothie expert. Since she has been here I have been making her a green smoothie every morning. This morning she said she wanted to show off her own skills and she made me a green smoothie with peaches, bananas, spinach, a little raw agave, and some cinnamon. It makes me very happy to be able to share my new lifestyle with my family! Wayne, my mom, and my dad are all looking and feeling better. Wayne's brother is also trying some new and healthier foods and has added a lot more fresh fruits and veggies to his diet. He is pleased with the results and is excited that he feels healthier. I am going to continue to spread the raw love!

Cow Eyeball Dissection

2009-10-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 5:00 this morning to drive 2 hours in the POURING down rain in order to go to Glen Rose, TX and dissect a cow's eyeball. We listened to The Story of the World (a wonderful history book for children on CD) on the way. It was really fun! We listened to the story of Gilgamesh, the story of how silk was discovered, and learned about the citadel cities in Africa that mysteriously disappeared. Very interesting.

Then we got to Fossil Rim and got our cow eyeballs. Jake and Emma just sat and stared at it first. No one wanted to touch it, let alone make the first cut. Jake finally picked up the scalpel and just kinds poked at it until he figured out he was actually going to have to hold the eyeball in his hand to make an incision. Emma just sat there saying things like, "gross," "eeewww," "this is so nasty," until I made her take a turn and finish cutting the rest of the cornea off. The class was GREAT and the instructor walked them through every step. By the end of the lab they were comfortable and even having a good time. It was a good day for home schooling. I am so glad that I have the opportunity to be with my children every day and expose them to so many different learning experiences!

Since we left so early this morning I did not have my green smoothie for breakfast -- I did not want to wake Phillip with the Blender. I made one for dinner, though and my dog, Clyde, was so excited to hear the blender start up. I think he enjoys the green smoothies as much as I do. My mom thinks it is hilarious that he comes running when he hears it.

Appreciate Your Food

2009-10-20T17:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Jake and Emma and Mom and I are heading to Glen Rose to go to Fossil Rim for the day. We are going there to dissect a cow's eyeball. I think it is really going to be cool for them to see how an eye works. We have not been to any of the home school activities there before so it will be good to see if that is something we in which we would like to be more involved. I hope it is not pouring down rain when we finish because we would love to take Mom through the park.

Mom and I made Pistachio Paradise "cookies" from a Boutenkos recipe today. They are YUMMY and not too hard to make. We had fun digging into the bowl and rolling the cookies around in coconut. They have that salty sweet dichotomy going on that makes them very satisfying. My mom said she was noticing how much more "hands on" my food is. I had not really thought about it that way before, but she is right. Perhaps that is why I have felt like I have noticed my food more -- because I am touching it, feeling it, slicing and seeding it, smelling it, etc. When you have so much contact with your food before you eat it then you appreciate it more, at least I do.