Recent Happenings

Things have been going well for me lately. I am enjoying my time home with my children and the other moms in out little click. We've been having great fun going to the parks, riding bikes, going to movies and watching baseball games. I've been quite busy and I am really loving it.

We've had a few bumps in the road too. My oldest who has been struggling with school and trying to find his identity has begun counseling and has recently decided that it is time to move in with his father. I was a bit surprised that he made that decision and if I am being completely honest I was sad and a bit hurt. I did my best to suck it up and be supportive. He came home for a week to clean up his room and organize things for the little brother he shares a room with and he headed off to his dad's to begin his new life.

I am torn because of course I want my baby to stay home with me but let's be honest, he's about to be 16. He isn't a baby anymore. In 2 years he will be a man. I guess it's time to let go. Also, as much as I hate to say it out loud, it seems the energy in the house is much more relaxing when he is not here. There is a lot less arguing, bickering and negativity. We aren't waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. Maybe he is feeling the same way over at his dad's. We shall see how it all plays out. He will be coming home each Thursday over the summer so he can continue to meet with the counselor who he seems to like.

My youngest little guy had his 6th birthday over the weekend on the same day as my 12th wedding anniversary. We had a lovely day. My husband surprised us by taking us out the the place we were married. We were able to show the kids the exact location of our outdoor wedding (which I am pretty sure they couldn't have cared less about). I loved it. For the little guys we were lucky enough to get a horse drawn wagon ride. We had family over in the evening and had so much fun. Great day!

As far as eating is going I am staying mostly raw with the addition of some fish about once a week. I have been craving it and I can't tell you the joy I am getting out of eating it. I had salmon cooked on the grill on Saturday and I thought I was in heaven. I ate it with a huge salad which is how I eat anything cooked.

I also have been eating tofu about once a week, well probably less than that. I never liked tofu before but suddenly it brings me joy. I love the texture of it. I made it in this stir fry with vegetables and rice noodles. Everyone in my family loved it including me. Yum.

I've been enjoying fruit quite a bit with the change in the seasons. I love, love, love grapes these days and I had the most delicious watermelon over the weekend. I also ate some blueberries that while delicious gave me a blue tongue. I felt like a smurf.

The one thing that I have been eating that I can honestly say has become a bit addictive for me is this chocolate banana bowl that I make. I take raw cacao powder and mix it with agave or raw honey and a little water. It makes a scrumptious chocolate sauce and then I add sliced up bananas, strawberries, coconut, cacao nibs, goji berries etc. Whatever I have. I was having it every once in a while and then it went to every day and now sometimes I have it twice a day. It feels addictive to me.

I know I should try to do a process around it to clear whatever is going on but with the kids home I don't really have that option so I will just wait it out and see how it goes. Soon I will be out of the chocolate powder and I will not be buying anymore! :o)

My son is having his birthday party this weekend. We are having about 20 little boys over between the ages of 5 and 7. They are going to SLEEP OVER in tents in my back yard!!! Can you believe it? It is a bit scary. Wish me luck.

It seems so strange to be out of the loop and off the blog as much as I am but at the same time it feels right so I will keep checking in as time permits. I do miss all of you and I am checking in periodically to see how you all are. Much love to all of you!

What's going on.

Long time no type everyone. I have been busy living my life and I am still hanging in there. My blood test results came back and everything looked good. I had a ESR test that showed some inflammation so I was sent to a rheumatologist for further review. I had another complete physical compliments of my dad and I had a complete blood workup done. My results looked pretty good there too. My cholesterol is all good except for my good cholesterol. That is low. I need to get in some more exercise so that I can get that number up. My blood pressure and pulse are both very low and I had a few weirdly low numbers but no one seemed worried about them so I won't either. All in all I am a pretty healthy specimen.

I followed up with a rhuematologist this week and he confirmed the reactive arthritis diagnosis. Apparently it is caused from a bacteria or virus and the arthritis lasts a couple of months up til 6 months. He said there is no permanent damage and it will go away on its own so I don't need to take any meds.

I am feeling better. Still have pretty good knee pain and on and off stiffness in other joints. I went on a bike ride with my kids yesterday and holy cow, not so good for my knees. Ouch. My fatigue levels are better so I am cooking more and feeling better. I still get a bit worn out by about 9:00 each night but that's OK.

I have been enjoying my food lately. Lots of salads and fruit in the warm weather. I have been loving grapes and can't seem to get enough of them. My favorite salad is the guacamole salad that I make and I have tried a few new things but I just can't think of what they are right now. :o)

I have added back a bit of cooked food. I even have had some fish. I had a sea bass at a Japanese restaurant about a week ago and tonight I had some salmon. I've also had miso soup twice and some seaweed salad. OMG that was so good. I loved it! I had never had it before and it is way better than the crap I was making at home. The seaweed was this fluorescent green color. Just lovely.

I haven't felt bad after eating any of the cooked food. It actually has felt nice and clean so I feel good about it. I have been craving fish a lot lately so I decided to listen to my body and give it some. Delicious!

Life at home with the kiddies has been pretty good. There haven't been any problems and we've been having a good time. I cooked some healthier meals this week finally. I've been feeling major guilt for the way my boys have been eating lately but I just haven't had the energy to do anything about it until this week. It feels good.

I am up way past my bedtime so I am going to run. I hope all is well with all of you! Much love.

I am still here everyone!

I just wanted to drop a quick note to thank everyone for the lovely support I received from all of you. Hugs and kisses to everyone!!!

I dragged my sorry self to the doctor's office on Friday. They said my symptoms sounded like something called reactive arthritis. Apparently after a bacterial or viral infection you can sometimes get an arthritic flare up in the joints that can last 4-6 weeks. Of course they prescribed some drug for me. I asked if I needed the drug to get better or if I would get better on my own. His reply was that I would get better but he wondered how I would function for 4-6 weeks while I waited. I just smiled.

When I looked up reactive arthritis on the Internet I found something completely different from what he told me. Ho hum, it is so irritating.

He ran some blood tests "just to be sure." I don't know what he ran but I asked him to check my B12 levels and I told him that I went vegan about 6 months ago. He decided to also check my iron levels. I should get the results of these tests on Monday.

I called my family and told them what was going on. I was honest for the first time and told them all the things that have been wrong with me for the past...I don't know...many years. I never really want to talk about it so I never tell anyone much of anything. I find it rather annoying to have so much attention payed to my feeling crappy. I truly hate it!

And I know they mean well but I swear to God, my mom called me 12 times that first day to "check up on me." My dad called a bunch too and we had to talk about it incessantly. UGH! I really like to make light of it and go about my business and do my best. That is really hard to do when every half an hour someone is calling to talk about how shitty I feel. Oh well, like I said, I know they mean well and I am sure they are worried so I try to be patient.

I have a full physical scheduled for Wed. My dad was very adamant that I go the medical route to see what is exactly wrong with me. He said he would play my game if I would play his. So I will have the full barrage of tests. Who knows what they will find. After the extensive testing I had done when I was in the hospital a few years ago I don't hold up much hope that they will find anything but who knows.

I have spoken to someone at Hippocrates and given him the times that I would be available to spend 3 weeks there. Now I just have to see if they have any openings. My dad is totally supportive of me going and my mom is willing to help with the kids so I can go. She said that they would find a way to make it work. So, we shall see what happens.

I don't know why I can't sleep tonight but I am not the slightest bit tired and it is almost 1 AM. I feel like I am beginning to get my mind back a bit. Not so fuzzy. I am definitely feeling better. Not 100% but I can now walk up the stairs without much problem and going down the stairs is only a little funny looking. I am also waking up less in pain each night. I could definitely make it without drugs feeling like this. I am not sure how long I could have made it feeling like I did before though so yippee for me. OK, well I am going to make myself go to sleep so I guess I will sign out.

Thanks again for all your support!!
xoxo

Troubles

I've been lying low lately because I don't really know how to deal with what has come up for me. I really don't want to complain about it but at the same time I am a bit freaked out and don't really know what is going on.

Last week I had the flu. I am beginning to think it really wasn't the flu. I am thinking it was the beginning of some type of flare up that I am having. I had a fever, sore joints and fatigue last week and now I am having it again in a different way. It started a couple of days ago. My joints hurt so bad that I can hardly walk up and down the stairs. Sitting is painful on my knees to the point of extreme pain. Lifting my arms up causes pain in my shoulders and elbows. My hands and wrists are hurting as I type this. I am having a mild headache and extreme fatigue. I can't seem to keep myself awake throughout the day. I ache all over and it's going on day 3. I don't think I am thinking clearly. I feel a bit foggy and I am just too tired to give a shit about much of anything. What the hell?!

I spent most of my time alone yesterday crying and falling asleep. My husband wants me to go to the doctor which I am resisting because I have had so many bad experiences there. They usually can't find anything wrong with me. If they find something or even if they don't I know they will just give me some kind of crappy medication that I won't want to take so I don't quite see the point in going. I guess I may get a diagnosis as to what is wrong with me however I feel that all disease stems from the same imbalance in the body that manifests itself in different ways so what good will it do? I have to say that waking up in pain again today has got me thinking that I may call the doc though. I just don't know.

It is frustrating, irritating, and a bit scary. I guess I feel like I spent all of these days on my juice feast with the hopes of clearing out any issues I had and to be perfectly honest I feel worse off then I did before. I put in a call to Hippocrates Institute yesterday and I think I am going to have to call my dad and see if I can get some money to spend some time over there. I haven't told my family all the things that are wrong with me because I don't want them to worry and more importantly I didn't want to make a big deal about it. I didn't want every conversation to be about how I am feeling. I don't know how I am going to leave my kids for 3 weeks to get to Hippocrates but I can't see any other way at this point. I am beginning to get a bit freaked. I have to get better. I can't live like this and I have tried doing everything on my own and it just isn't working. I feel like I am actually getting worse!

Sorry to be a downer but I felt I needed to be honest. I will probably not be spending too much time here on the computer since I am exhausted from holding my arms up to type it. I just want to go lie down like a blob! Wish me luck. Love you all!

I'm Still Here

I feel like I have dropped off the face of the earth or at least the face of the Internet. :o) I ended up getting a pretty nasty flu at the beginning of the week last week and spent Monday thru Friday pretty much in bed. It was rough going and I was tempted more than once to take a little Advil or something to relieve my headache and lower my raging fever but I resisted and made it through the whole thing without any toxic drugs.


My weekend was so busy and filled with baseball that I didn't have much time to do anything else. My 10 year old Devin played in a baseball tournament so I watched him play 5 baseball games in the span of 2 days. Wow, that's a lot of baseball. If that isn't enough we left the last game (he took 2nd place in the tournament) and went to see the Kane County Cougars play a minor league game.

It was so fun because after the game they had fireworks and the kids got to run the bases. Then they showed a movie and let the kids sit out in the field to watch it. We had friends set up our tents earlier in the day and we got to camp out behind the field. How fun for the kids...camping at the baseball field. Of course there was a torrential downpour that came in the middle of the night and my teenager and his friend were completely soaked in their tent. I mean, puddles! So funny. They were up at 2:00am walking around trying to find a dry spot. They ended up in the car. The rest of us survived without too much drenching.

We woke up and had a pancake breakfast and the kids had fun searching for toads and turtles in the pond and creek that run through the property. It was a great time had by all and we will definitely do it again.

I have a busy day today. My house looks like a bomb went off and I am in dire need of some food. I have to get myself to the store before my little guy gets home from school. Only 7 more days of school and it's summer break. I really can't believe it especially since it is once again freezing here! Brrrrr. Will summer ever come?

Pictures are of Liam and Aidan. Cutie pies!

Weekend Happenings

My mom came over to watch the kids for me last night. On her way over she called and asked if I had anything for her to eat or did she have to stop and pick something up. I told her that I just made a big batch of cauliflower curry that she could have. She said, "Oh, OK. Do you have anything else in case I don't like it?" Hmmm, nothing like confidence right?

She liked it though and I did too. It had good flavor and the sweet sauce that was on it really gave it a nice contrast. Yum.

So what do my husband and I do when we have a babysitter? We drive 1 hour so my husband can play soccer! Ha ha, lots of fun right? Oh well, it wasn't too bad and to make it up to me he took me to the Borrowed Earth Cafe for dinner. He had the Burrito Loco and I had the Lasagna. We split a glorious apple pie for dessert and I took some cookies home and I ate them today. Yum.

I found out that the cookies they are serving are from Everyday Raw by Matthew Kenny. I am so excited and I just have to get that book now. If you have it, make the chocolate cookies. They are delicious!

We went to the movies and saw What Happens in Vegas. It was OK. It was a bit overacted, predictable and corny but it was fun and sometimes it's nice to watch something light hearted. I wouldn't see it again but I didn't want to poke my eyes out either. Although, I started to doze off a bit near the end but in my defense it was 11:30 and I only slept about 5 hours the night before.

Today was a busy baseball day. My son Devin (the 10 year old) had a double header so I spent 5 hours out at the field. It was friggin freezing! I had on long underwear, a long sleeved shirt, fleece sweatshirt, winter jacket, hat, gloves, and I sat in a mummy sleeping bag. Brrrrrr. I brought along a green smoothie for my food.

I will be spending every Sunday like this for quite a while. He is going to have double headers every Sunday. Let's just hope the weather gets better soon. I mean it is the second half of May and I want it to warm up for goodness sake!

I have once again been reading Making a Living Without a Job . I read it once a long time ago and I decided that I should probably dive into it again to help motivate me for my career aspirations. I like the book because she has the reader do exercises to help uncover hidden talents and forgotten passions. She tells stories of people who have taken their passions and dreams and turned them into careers and fulfilling lives.

My mom was flipping through it last week and opened up to this excerpt:

Here's a simple test to discover whether or not you are working with passion: Are you in a more or less loving mood or attitude when you are working? Does the work improve your relationships? Cause you to whistle or hum? Make you smile? Help you like yourself more?

Jess Lair wrote about Picasso. "You couldn't tell Picasso's work from his play." wrote Lair. "One minute he would be playing with his kids. The next minute he would be playing with his wife. And then he would be drinking wine and then playing with his paintings. It was all just love, love of his wife, love of his family, love of his friends, love of his work. He just floated back and forth between activities without any thought to there being a division or a gap."

I believe that would describe all people who have found their passion and live it. And rare as it may be right now, I'm stubborn enough to believe that we should not stop searching until our own lives can be described the same way as Picasso's.

When she finished I made some comment about how that it was unrealistic to live like this. That there would always be things that had to get done that would be less than enjoyable. I was actually pretty negative about it.

Today while reading further into the book and thinking about it some more I tried to think about people I know that live even remotely close to this and I couldn't think of anyone and then I remembered reading A Day in the Life of Dhrumil on We Like it Raw. Now this guy seems to know have this down pat. He does his work, he has fun and his life seems to be balanced and exactly what he wants it to be like.

So what do you all think? Give me some input on how close to Picasso you live and whether you think it can be done on the personal level and the financial level. What advice do you have or lessons have you learned? What questions do you have about this? Let's have a dialog so we can all learn.

Daily Gratitude

1. I loved being able to sleep in today. It felt so good and my hubby came and woke me up with a cuddle. What a great way to start the day.

2. I loved watching my son hit a home run. He had such determination on his face as he rounded first and then his face lit up and was beaming as he touched home. Pure joy!

3. I am so grateful for a nice warm house. It feels so good to warm up after a day out in the cold.

Beginning of Gratitude

Photo by Aki Jinn on Flickr

I had an amazingly busy day today. I was going from the moment I got up in the morning. I am in the process of beginning some heavy duty meal planning for my family. When I embarked on my juice feast my wonderful husband took over cooking for the kids. I asked him to continue for a while so that I could get acclimated with raw food cooking and he obliged. Things have gotten super busy in the last week and our cupboards have been bare. My husband doesn't cook the healthiest of meals (bless his heart) and this week has been absolutely atrocious so I just couldn't take it anymore. They have had hamburgers, pizza, pasta, and WAFFLES for dinner this week. We have been scraping by trying to make do.

So I started searching the web looking for easy and somewhat healthy recipes. I found some fun things and I am going to be using my crockpot on really busy baseball days so we can have something besides a box of macaroni and cheese. I know, I know, it's horrible. One day at a time folks. I can't do everything.

My family is not raw, not vegan, and not vegetarian. I am going to be making more salads and fresh veggies to go along with the other meals I make them and I will continue to make my raw meals as well. I don't know how well this will go since it seems to be pretty time intensive. I have created a weekly plan on my computer and printed out the recipes and a shopping list. I will put them in page protectors and if the recipe works out I will repeat them on a regular basis, maybe monthly. Once I have about one months worth I will be able to print them out and go. Hopefully it will be as easy as I think :o)

I didn't have a chance to take any pictures of my food today. What a shame. Sorry to let you all down. I had nori rolls for breakfast. Ha ha, I am a little Ben copy-cat! I had a Mediterranean salad for lunch. I didn't have time to let it sit for 30 minutes so I just ate it. It was still pretty good. I had mock chicken salad in romaine wraps with tomato and cucumber for dinner. Then I had this simple chocolate banana bowl for dessert as a little treat to myself later in the evening. Yum!

Gratitude

I have decided to keep a gratitude journal here on my blog. I think it will be a great way to keep track of this since I am not so good at journalling at home. Each time I post I will end it with 3 things I am grateful for during the day.

1. I am so in love with my husband. I am so grateful that he is such a wonderful man. I love the way he coaches our kids in all of their sports and how he makes it so fun for them. I love when the kids call him Coach Ed and I love the way he plays with them and teaches them at the same time.

2. I am so grateful for the calmness in the house over the last few days. It feels like still waters around here. No drama, just smiling and ease.

3. I was in love with the way the sky looked tonight as the sun was setting. The colors were so deep and gorgeous. Orange, yellow, purple, blue. It was like the most beautiful piece of art one could hope for. I was so grateful to notice it even for the brief moment that I did as I hurried through my day. What a gift.

In the Kitchen

I made this Exotic Fruit Salad Today for breakfast. It was super easy and yummy. A nice change from the ordinary smoothie.



I didn't have much in my fridge so I took out everything I had, combined it with some things from my pantry and came up with the above salad. I thought it was going to be better then it actually was. I mean, it was OK and I ate the whole thing but I wouldn't rave about it so I won't bother giving you the recipe. I can tell you it is an Asian Rapini and wakame salad. The dressing tasted so good in the bowl but when I mixed it with the greens it was just sort of boring. Oh well.

Just a Quick Hi

I am up way too late tonight but I just wanted to drop in and say hi. I had a full day today. I watched my son's baseball game (what else is new right?). It was so sad I just wanted to cry. They were playing their big rival and they were up by 2. My son got his chance to pitch and he did so awesome for the first 5the and 6th innings. He was on fire. Then in the 7th inning they started hitting off of him and his team made some errors and the next thing you know the game was over and the other team ran out onto the field to cheer. It was crushing and I looked out and saw him hanging his head. I had to choke back my tears.

Afterwards we headed home and my mom came home with us. I whipped up some nori rolls for her for dinner. She said she liked them. She said they tasted fresh. That is so true of raw food. There is this vibrant and alive taste to the food.

Then we all played a game of spoons. My little guys just love this game. I love watching them shuffle the cards. They take the top half of the deck and put it on the bottom. They do this over and over again as if it was actually making a difference. They don't want any help however and then they are so focused on dealing the cards that I can't get enough of watching the concentration on their little faces. So cute.

My oldest is contemplating moving in with his dad at the end of the school year. I am pretty sure he has made up his mind to go but is still saying he isn't sure yet to appease me. It is so difficult to think that he may be moving out of my home after 15 1/2 years. I just can't quite come to grips with it. I think that I won't be able to until the day it happens. I guess I am still holding out hope that it won't.

As you can see it has been a day of ups and downs for me. It's strange because despite it all I have this feeling of strength that everything is OK. I can't really explain it. Maybe I'm just tired. ;o)

Love to all.
PS Day two of tamales was BAD. They tasted delicious but made me so sick. I don't know why but I felt as if I was in a coma. I couldn't stay awake and I slept on the couch for about an hour as I fought of waves of nausea. Blech. I don't think I will be making those again any time soon.

Red Hot Raw Mexican!

I was never a big Mexican food fan which is funny since my hubby LOVES it. I liked a good burrito, salsa, guacamole, and when I tasted a real, authentic tamale for the first time I was in love! Now that I am eating raw I seem to be turning more to Mexican food to feed me.

Yesterday I made the fajita veggies again and today I put them on a salad with some tomato, avocado, and pumpkin seeds. I sprinkled some lime juice on and the liquid from the veggies and it was yummy!


Then I made some tamales from my new Raw Food Real World cookbook. I've been wanting to try them and I know the recipe is online but I just never got the chance to make them. Well, I dug in today and knocked them out. A little raw food therapy.

It really wasn't that hard. It was just a lot of different steps. I certainly wouldn't make something this time consuming on a regular basis but they looked fantastic and they tasted really nice.

I changed things up a bit because I didn't have the amount of time required to dehydrate the mushrooms and I also didn't have green tomatoes so I used this recipe for the salsa verde. It tasted great. It was a bit watery so I put it in a fine mesh strainer to drain the extra liquid and...yummy. I think I will make this again for eating with Mexican flax crackers. It's a nice switch from normal pico de gallo that I make. I read somewhere that tomatillos are from the nightshade family though so if you are trying to stay away from them, you might want to steer clear of this salsa.

I posted my 101 list today. It is on the right side of the blog, way down at the bottom. I've started a few of them so I feel like I am off to a good start.

I know I just posted today about staying off the computer. It just so happens that there is no one home right now so I thought I would shoot off a quick post before they got home so I could share my fun in the kitchen with you all today. Gotta run!

Changes Are Happening

Hi everyone,
I've posted a new Utter in my green player to the right. If you can't find it there you can listen to it here.

Thanks for listening!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a terrific Mommy's Day. I know I did. It was a relaxing and fun weekend and I have never been so happy for lousy weather on Sunday because it meant my son's double header was canceled and I was able to spend Mother's Day home with my family. My parents came later in the day and we had a nice time.

The above picture was my dinner on Saturday. We had one of our favorite neighbor couples over for dinner. They are just the nicest people and we love spending time with them. They all had hamburgers with chips. I made a big salad for anyone who was interested. I used mixed greens, oranges, cucumbers, and pine nuts. I made a lemon dressing from the Raw Food/Real Worlds book It was pretty good.

I also made the Indian Spinach Dip again from Alissa Cohen's Book. I put it in romaine leaves and topped it with some tomatoes. It was very good and satisfying. I ended up dipping some carrots in it later as we played cards for a little snack too. Yum.

Sunday morning I woke up and decided that since it was Mother's Day and I could do WHATEVER I wanted without guilt I was going to watch the new movie I bought called All Jacked Up. I was thrilled that the hubby wanted to watch it with me. He is usually not into this kind of thing.

There was a lot of good information in the movie and there was some traumatic scenes of what goes on in the slaughterhouses. I was crying and crying during that part. I just couldn't stop. Unfortunately there were some pretty slow parts that dragged on and the movie was a bit all over the place but I am glad I watched it and I am especially glad my hubby watched it.

I told my teenagers that I wanted them to watch it for my Mother's Day gift (yes I milked the Mother's Day thing but with 5 kids I have to :o). They were less then thrilled and I had to wake up my 14 year old a few times. :o( We talked about it at the end and they were surprised at how horrible the animals were treated in the slaughterhouse. When I asked them if the movie changed their idea about anything they pretty much told me no. I was pretty disappointed but I did my part by showing it to them and they have to make their own choices in life so what can a mom do?

I got some beautiful handmade cards, art projects from school, 2 apple trees and 2 Raw Cookbooks. I got the above mentioned Raw Food/ Real World book that I've been contemplating purchasing for 2 years now. I've always steered away from it because everything looked so difficult but I decided that it would be nice to have for special occasions. I also got the new book from Fresh The Ultimate Live Food Cookbook by Sergei and Valya Boutenko. I haven't had a chance to look through it yet so I can't say anything else about it.


For dinner on Sunday I made a salad and some pesto pasta with my lemony pesto oopsie sauce. It was fair. I also made Chadd Sarno's Pasta Puttanesca which was pretty good. The funny thing is that while I ate it I would rate it a 6 out of 10 but the taste in my mouth after eating it bumped it up to an 8 or 9. How weird is that? I also made a mango mousse for myself that I enjoyed while everyone had ice cream. Yummy.

After my parents left we watched the Survivor Finale and I have to say we were a bit disappointed at the outcome. I said it was a bad ending to a good season. I won't say more in case my overseas friends haven't heard who won yet. xo

So all in all it was a wonderful weekend. I guess the downside to all this relaxing is that it has carried over to today. I don't feel like doing anything today except taking it easy. I know I have a busy day coming up later so I just feel like being a blob. Oh well, it is Monday.

Journey Outreach

I sent this link to someone today and then I thought I should share it with all of you. I love this movie. It brings tears to my eyes every time I watch it. So inspirational. I hope you enjoy it.

Ooopsies in the kitchen

So today was an interesting day in the kitchen for me. It started off good with my morning smoothie and then I moved onto my lunch which was wonderful. I made a corn salsa and put it on top of my mixed greens. The salsa was rather sweet and eating it on its own was a bit much but mixed with the bitter greens it was a nice balance.

Then I decided to make some pesto. I bought 2 bunches of basil because I wanted to freeze some. So I turned on a taped episode of Oprah and started throwing things in my food processor. I whipped it up and took a taste and blech! It was weird and yucky. I couldn't figure out what the heck was wrong. I've made pesto before so what the heck. I looked down and saw my garlic cloves lying there on the counter. Duh, I pressed them and mixed them and gave it another taste and blech! I thought back to what I had done and it dawned on me that I put, are you ready for this? A half cup of lemon juice in it! I know, how does someone hand squeeze 2 lemons and add them to a recipe that doesn't call for them without realizing it? Good question. I blame it on Oprah! :o) Oh well, it started to grow on my so I stuffed some mushrooms anyway and froze it so we'll see.

So then I decided to quickly whip up some sunflower pate before I had to run out the door for 2 baseball games. I would have just made some nori rolls with avocado but I didn't have any. I threw everything in my mini food processor and then it dawned on me that because I hadn't soaked the seeds I should have ground them up in the coffee grinder like I do every other time I've made this. Duh again. My food processor sucks the big one so the consistency was crappy. I didn't have time to care so I made up some rolls, threw them in a to-go container and ran out the door.

So there you go. Superstar in the kitch yesterday and super stupid today! hee hee.

OK, I think I am over nori rolls. I have officially burned out on them. I didn't even really enjoy them that much. It's good because I just ran out of the wrappers. I went through 4 packages. Can you believe it? Well I guess my body has had enough of them. Now I have no idea what I am going to eat tomorrow and I have a game to go to at 10:00am. I am not prepared. I was out until 9:00PM and had to come home to my kitchen that looked like a tornado went through it and then I watched Independence Day on TV and now it is midnight and I am just going to go to bed and let the chips fall where they may tomorrow.

Nighty night.

PS I meant to tell you guys what happened yesterday at my son's baseball game. Remember when I told you that I worked that garage sale for a fundraiser and I brought my lunch with me and everyone was looking at it and smelling it (that's putting it lightly, I stunk up the whole garage and had to sit outside to eat it. It was broccoli rabe). Anyway, one of the moms who was there came up to me and asked me if I would give her the recipe. I was shocked. She said she had never heard of it but it smelled good. I don't know, raw rapini might be a bit much to start her out on >;o)

Now I am going to BED!

Ramblings

Every night my husband and I start the routine of preparation for the next day. We get the kids' lunches ready and we prepare all the ingredients for the morning smoothies. My husband likes to make his smoothie at night, put it in a mason jar and put it in the freezer. I don't think you're supposed to freeze them and I told him but he says it works so what the heck.


For a long time I wasn't preparing mine at night and then one day I realized it was crazy to do the work twice and now when I go to have my smoothie each morning I just throw all the cut up stuff in the blender and flip it on. So easy!

I've also been making an extra glass of smoothie each morning and leaving it in the fridge for an afternoon snack. I like to have it ready to go without any preparation. It's like a bonus!


More, More, More

I was so excited when my grocery store had kale in stock again. It's been 2 weeks with nothing. Boo hoo. I decided to make James Russell's Wilted Kale with Chipotle Dressing because I've been waiting...well, 2 weeks to try it.


The recipe calls for 4 heads of kale. I don't care how much it wilts, I can't eat that by myself so I decided not to halve it, but to quarter it. One bunch of kale. I also didn't have any hemp seeds so I used sesame seeds. I took a series of pictures to document the process.


I titled this More, More, More because I felt like every step of the way that is what this dish needed, more. In defense of the recipe, I think if I followed the recipe as written it probably would have tasted better.


Here are my mores:

1. Massaging. I think I should have massaged the kale longer and maybe even let it sit out and marinate for a while like I do with my broccoli rabe. I didn't like the raw taste I would get from time to time while eating it. Blech. I've marinated kale before but I've never had it taste like this before. Massage your kale a long time people. And when you think you're done, massage it some more.


2. Tomatoes - I would have like a bunch more tomatoes in my salad. Maybe if the kale tasted better I wouldn't have wanted more tomatoes but as it was I threw some more in after I started eating it.

3. Just more - I think I would have liked a bit more taste. The chipotle taste was good but I would have liked more. I think it would have benefitted from some garlic or pepper or something. I was thinking about adding more stuff to it as I was making it but as I said before I like the idea of trying things the way they are intended so I know where to go from there.


I usually rate all the things I make with stars. I would rate this one about 2 1/2 out of 4 but with some tweaking I know it would be just what I like. I will also make notes on recipes so that the next time I make it I know what to do differently. It has come in handy many times.

On the Go
I am the queen of eating on the go. I used to be so good at GO-ing to the drive thru or GO-ing to get pizza. Now I am the queen of raw food on the go! I only had a few minutes to prepare before I ran out the door for my son's baseball game today. I mean seriously, it was probably about 10 minutes. In that time I managed to make zucchini noodles, slice up and massage some mushrooms and spinach, and sprinkle on some pine nuts.

I packed it in a container (plastic- bad- I know) and grabbed a container of marinara I had ready and bam! I was out the door.

Now, that probably doesn't seem so fantastic BUT I also managed to get 4 bags of snacks made for my little guys, get the dogs put away, corral the kids to go to the bathroom, get their sweatshirts, coats, baseball mitts, shoes on and loaded in the car. I also got my husband's extra clothes ready, grabbed my coat, packed waters, and got everything in the car and ready to go. Whew! I amaze myself sometimes.


I guess what I am trying to say is that eating a raw and living foods diet doesn't have to be hard. It can be simple and it can be easy. It can be great. If I can do it, anyone can.

Today is Thankful Thursday

I was driving home from my favorite Italian grocery store today and this song came on the radio. It is such a beautiful song with such heart and soul and it got me thinking about my online friends. So many of you have shared this journey with me and have been there when I needed a friend. You have helped carry my load and shared my pain and sorrow with me.

I am, as always so grateful for all of you and I wanted to share this song with you. I only hope that I will be able to return the favor if and when you need it. Love to all!

Ha ha, blogger won't let me post it here so I've put it in the sidebar to the right. I will leave it there for a few days.

Confessions of a Messy Un-cook

Well, I took this picture yesterday and it took me until today to be able to post it. I'm not sure I will actually go through with it even now but we'll see. You see, I am a messy cook and now that I am eating raw I am a messing un-cook. I don't know why and I can't control it. I just always seem to create a kitchen that looks like a tornado went through.

I have a neighbor that is so neat and tidy and we used to spend a lot of time together. She actually helped me with some of my mosaics a few summers ago. One night we were out in my screen room grouting this 6 foot panther I had to finish with black grout. Now if any of you have ever grouted before you know it is a messy endeavor. When we finished up I was covered in black grout. I had it on my face, arms, clothes and probably my hair, who knows, I was a disaster. Jamie on the other hands had one little drop of grout on her forearm! I couldn't believe it!

So one day I decided that I was going to try to be like her in the kitchen. I started out slowly. I got out all the ingredients I needed ahead of time (I usually fly by the seat of my pants and run around my kitchen grabbing this and that), I was talking to myself in my head, "Open the spice jar, measure it out, pour it into the bowl, put the cap back on, now put it away. This went on for a while and then all of the sudden it was like I went blank and then I woke up and the dish was done and my kitchen was a mess.

Oh well, what are you going to do? I am who I am. At least I clean it up when I'm done...eventually ;o)


Here is what I ate for dinner tonight. I took the leftover fajita veggies from last night and put them in romaine leaves with avocado and tomato. I made a salad with a bit of lime and the juice from the fajita veggies. It was delish!



I had nori rolls for lunch and then I finally ate my falafel that I made. I made a small amount of cucumber sauce and put it in a romaine leaf. It was really good. Surprisingly good. I look forward to having this again. It might not look too good in the picture I took but it tasted good.

I have been eating 4 times a day instead of the usual 3. I just can't make it long enough between meals so I have added one in. It's usually pretty light but it keeps me going so I think it is good. It's funny because I couldn't ever seem to get 4 quarts of juice in when I was on my juice feast but now I am eating 4 meals a day. Hee hee.

It seems my mom has found her way to my blog. Hi Mom! I don't know how she managed it but she is here. She called me today and we had a good talk about my future. She really helped me focus my poor, whirling brain in regard to getting my act together and starting a career. She even gave me homework! Can you imagine? Well, I think it was helpful and I am grateful. Besides, you can never get enough positive spin from your mom right?

I am celebrating the fact that my Little Liam is heading back to school tomorrow. His fever is officially gone and he just went outside to play a little football with his brothers. I know, he should probably rest but he was so bored that I just couldn't say no. He was so cute today. He called me on the phone's intercom today and said, "Hello, this is Snicky-Doo (the name we call our dog Snickers). Liam asked me to call you and ask you to watch a movie with him." Ha ha, how cute.

OK, I have to go clean my kitchen before the hubby gets home ;o)

Summer on a Plate

Today's salad was marvelous as I knew it would be! I just can't tell you how much I enjoyed it. It wasn't the most food combining friendly recipe but it was so good that I just didn't care. As I sat out in my screen room eating it I felt like I was eating summer on my plate, hence the name. Loved, loved, loved it. It was so simple too!

I made a vinaigrette with my pomegranate vinegar, olive oil, lemon zest, and Dijon mustard. I mixed some baby greens with an orange, some strawberries, avocado, marinated onions, and pecans. Wow! Delish!

For dinner I made fajitas again for my hubby. He was so excited when he came home and saw them sitting on the counter marinating. Instead of using the chili powder this time I used a Mexican seasoning that I made up a while ago. It was good. I took a picture but for some reason Blogger won't let me put any more pictures up tonight so I posted it to twit pics.

I also made some tortillas to wrap them in this time. They were really good. I think they were a bit sweet for my taste though. I enjoyed them but every once in a while it just felt a bit too sweet. I almost think I like them better in a lettuce wrap of some sort. Just goes to show you how much your tastes change when you do a juice feast.

I also posted a picture of my backyard view on twit pics today. I was sitting out there all day enjoying the glorious weather. I just love that my screen room is actually a 3 season room so I can shut the windows if it is too windy or cool. We have sat out there many nights during rain storms watching the lightening too. I love my screen room. I can't wait until I have a bit of $ to make it look pretty too.

Mouth Revolution

I found this movie on James Carey's blog and I was laughing out loud. You have to watch it!

Making Money

Hi everyone, I made another Utter that you can listen to in my Utter player to the right. It doesn't have anything to do with raw food per say. I am talking about making money. It's about 5 minutes long and I hope you will listen and give some feedback. I could use it.

Thanks!
xo

Getting Out and About

Today's salad had great potential. I thought I was making a salad with wakame but I soaked some arame instead. It was still good but I have to admit that the wakame is better, well at least I like it better. It was still good though.

Here is what I put in the Seaweed Salad:

arame
bean sprouts
1/2 granny smith apple
cucumber
spiralized zucchini
onion
chopped cilantro

Dressing
3 Tbl apple cider vinegar
3 Tbl Namo Shoyu

1 1/2 Tbl sesame oil
1/2 Tbl flax oil
1 tsp agave
1 tsp grated ginger
1 large clove garlic
1 Tbl sesame seeds

I ate this for lunch with some nori rolls. I know, I love them. I can't stop eating them. It's ridiculous. They are the same ones I ate yesterday. I don't know why I keep taking pictures of them since they are always the same. Tee hee :o)

I soaked some almonds and pecans last night so I could make some falafels today. I have been wanting them for quite a while. I whipped them up this morning and put them in the dehydrator. I was surprised how quickly they were done. They finished in half the time I expected. I was planning on having them tonight with a nice tabouli but I forgot that I had planned to go to the local raw food restaurant for a meetup tonight.

I put a few in a collard with some tomatoes, cucumbers and alflafa sprouts for a little snack around 3:00. They were a little dry. I think when I go to eat them for a main dish they will need some kind of sauce. I am not a huge fan of tahini so I don't know what I will do with them just yet.

On my way over to the Borrowed Earth Cafe I stopped off at the Olive tap. It is this cute olive oil shop in downtown Downers Grove. It was so cute but the best part was the owner. What a sweet man. You could just tell that he loves what he does. He has passion and that is contagious.

The oil and balsamic vinegar are in these big stainless steel looking urns with spigots on them. He walked around with me and told me about all of the oils and the types of olives used, where they came from and how they were pressed. He gave me samples of all the different things he had and let me tell you, it was divine.

I ended up purchasing a medium bodied olive oil from Sicily. A big shout out to you Dea!!!! I also got the most unbelievable balsamic vinegar...are you ready for it...pomegranate! OMG it is ridiculous!!! I can't wait to make a salad with it. Woo hoo! I walked out of there with two bottles wrapped up in pretty tissue paper and placed lovingly in a beautiful paper shopping bag. It was such a treat. I guess it should be for the price I paid! Whew, I can't wait for the hubby to get that bill. He won't understand :o)

The meetup was so much fun. I met some great people and had a really nice chat with the owners at the end of the evening. It's a great place and the food is delicious. It has a nice vibe. I like it there. I told Kathy (the owner) that if they ever need an employee to work a bit here and there that I would be open to it. I think it would be fun. Ha, my parents might fall over since I tried so hard to run away from the restaurant business my whole life. This is different though. :o)

I had a burrito to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. It was really good even though it was a bit spicy for my tastes. All of their food comes with 2 or 3 side salads that will vary depending on what they have fresh that day. I was able to eat that and cool my tongue down a bit. It was a lot of food and I ended up only eating half of it which was good because it saved room for the COOKIES!

OK seriously, I don't know what the heck they did to make these bad boys but they were like nothing I have tasted before. They were double chocolate chip cookies. The texture was firm and soft at the same time and the flavor was rich and sweet. Holy cow...so good they should be illegal. I was planning on eating only one but, uh oh, I ate both of them. Shhh, don't tell anyone. Now I know to stay away from them.

When I got home I had my hubby try the burrito and he really liked it. He actually finished the whole thing. I am so happy because now I know for sure there is something he can eat there when we go out. It was good too because I asked him how spicy it was to him on a scale of 1 to 10. He said 5 and I said 8. Pretty good to know how we compare. Now I know how to make his food when I cook for him.

My little Liam was home sick today. It was a bit scary. He woke up screaming and crying at 6:00 am telling me his back hurt. He had a slight fever. I got him back to sleep and then when he woke up again he was still complaining of a sore back. It was mostly on the left so I knew it couldn't be the gallbladder or appendix so I thought maybe the kidneys.

I went with him to the bathroom and watched him straining while he was peeing so I got a bit worried. I took him to the doctor and they did a urinalysis on him. The quick one came back clean so that was good. They are going to culture it but I think it will come back negative too. I found out that he hasn't pooped since Friday though so the straining could just be constipation. I am thinking he has two unrelated things, a virus and constipation. I got him some organic cranberry juice just in case and had him eat some flax crackers and raisins. Hopefully that will get him moving again.

As the day went on his fever got worse. He was bright red, burning up and completely listless on the couch. He kept falling in and out of sleep. I usually try not to give the kids any kind of fever reducer but when it hits about 104 degrees I usually give in and that is what happened tonight. Poor little guy.

Wow, I had a lot to write tonight didn't I? Well, it was great getting out of the house and doing something new and different. When I was driving home I realized how happy I was singing in the car and it made me see that I need to do this type of thing more often. I feel such a bond with so many of you on the Internet but I don't really have any friends locally that are into the same things as me. I am usually the odd one that everyone asks weird questions to. It was great to see that there are people out there who are like me and one of them lives minutes from my house! They get together all the time and they are planning some fun adventures. They want to go camping and to Ravinia for meetups. Now that's what I'm talking about, well not the camping thing but still, how fun. Only my hubby could get me to go camping for him :o) OMG, I can't stop typing. Sorry!

Much love!

Weekend Menu

So you all know I've been craving seaweed. I decided to whip out my wakame that I had in my pantry and see what I could do with it. I made the first salad yesterday. It was OK. A little boring but OK. I have never had wakame so I was surprised that I couldn't really taste it too much. I was so excited that the taste was so bland and yet so good for me so I gave my husband a strand. Ha ha. He was gagging and spitting it out. It was the funniest thing. Hee hee, I'm evil. No, I really didn't think it had that much taste. Oh well. Here is the recipe I used. I did not use the Bragg's and I used romaine lettuce and tomatoes. No nuts.

Simple Wakame Salad

Recipe contributed by Dorleen Tong
1 clove garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 avocado
Bragg's to taste
3 cups greens (sunflower, buckwheat, spinach, lettuce, etc)
1 cup soaked wakame seaweed
optional: tomatoes, walnuts, pecans, almonds or pine nuts

Grate the ginger and garlic. In a small bowl, mash the avocado, ginger, garlic and Bragg's together. Break greens and wakame up into bite size pieces. Toss all ingredients together thoroughly.
This recipe is courtesy of San Francisco LiFE

Today I decided to try again. I made Japanese Delight that is in Alissa Cohen's book, Living on Live Food .I added a bunch of alfalfa sprouts and substituted the Bragg's for a little bit of miso. It was pretty good. Better then the first one. Still not to die for but still, very good.

Now the nori rolls I made to go with it are another story. Wow, I loved them. I mixed some fresh grated ginger with a bit of miso, a bunch of alfalfa sprouts, avocado, cucumber, cilantro, and red pepper. I really loved these and wanted more and more and more. :o)

For lunch I made the Indian spinach dip from the same book. I didn't know what to expect and I was thrilled at the taste of it. It had 4 cups of spinach in it and I ate about 1/2 of it. I put it in a collard wrap with more alfalfa sprouts, red pepper and grape tomatoes that I cut in half. Yummmmmmy! I didn't take a picture of it because honestly it didn't look that great, but it tasted wonderful!

I did take a picture of the sandwich I made with it for dinner though. I used the Black Sesame Bread I made from Ani Phyo's Book and topped it with cucumber, tomato, alfalfa, and red onion. It was pretty good. Better in the collard wrap though. I guess I can't be a good critic of the bread because when I was supposed to put sunflower seeds in it, I put sesame seeds. Oops, I think that might change the taste a bit. I am going to have to try it again.

I don't know why I decided I wanted a dessert tonight. Maybe I thought it was a special Sunday treat. I made this Mango Mousse and Berry Parfait. I don't know where I got the recipe because I copied it off the Internet about 2 years ago but boy oh boy was it good. My husband and kids thought it was good too. I made a smaller amount.

Red Mango Mousse and Berry Parfait

4 cups Fresh Red Mangoes (I don't know what red mangoes are. I just used a regular mango)
4 TB Coconut butter
1/2 vanilla bean (I used liquid)
2 TB lime
1 TB lime zest
1/2 cup agave (I used a lot less, a drizzle)
Pinch of salt
1 cup berries (I used strawberries)

Put all ingredients except the berries and 1 cup of the mango in food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Chill in the fridge 1-2 hours or overnight. (I didn't do this)

Fill the cups with a layer of the mousse, a layer of fresh sliced mango, then another layer of the mousse, then a layer of fresh berries and so on until full. Top with a layer of fruit and fresh mint leaves.

I was so excited on Saturday when I went to a local kitchen store Sur La Table and bought myself a spiral slicer. I was able to make the most beautiful angel hair pasta with it. I topped it with marinara and it was delicious. I love that slicer! It's so cool. I also got this neat mango cutter. You just press down on it and it takes the pit out. It makes it so much easier. I loved it.

So that was my culinary weekend. I hope you enjoyed the recap. I am enjoying my food so much that I wish I could eat more:o) There's always tomorrow!

Bathroom Stories

Photo by AK Photo's

So I know this is a weird subject to be talking about but I feel as if I've gotten to know you all well enough through our juice feasting that I can go ahead with it and it won't be weird. I hope so anyway.

Remember when I had my dramatic colonic episode during my juice feast? If you remember, I had quite an emotional response to releasing probably years and years of "matter". I continued with the colonics throughout a lot of my feast and yet I still wasn't seeing a lot of improvement with bowel activity. So many of my juice feasting friends were all very regular while I was still stopped up.

Even when I broke my feast I was eating prunes for a week to try to get things moving. It was slow going but I am happy to report that I have for the first time in my life that I can remember gotten "normal" movements. I know it sounds crazy, but I am just thrilled about it. I am in the bathroom at least 3 times everyday. I am still having moments where I know I have to go but it takes a while to happen but at this point, who cares, I am able to go all the time, everyday! Woo hoo.

Now, the reason I have decided to write about this isn't just to pat myself on the back...or the bum as may be. I have noticed something about myself that I never knew before and I suspect it may be something other people with chronic constipation might be able to relate to.

I never liked the idea of going to the bathroom. I thought it was embarrassing and I thought it was gross so I didn't want to have to do it very often. I would hold it in so I wouldn't have to go when I was out in public etc. God forbid I would have to take a crap at someones house, no way in hell was that going to happen. I was too busy to stop and go to the bathroom too. Putting this on top of the emotional ties I have had to "holding on" and I set myself up to keep it all in.

So now that I am going more regularly I catch myself holding it in again. I will be sitting at the computer and feel like it is time to go to the bathroom but I don't want to get up so I wait. Or I will be watching TV and I don't want to get up so I hold it. What the hell, I have a DVR so I can pause live TV right? Why do I wait?

I find that it is a habit. I was like this for so long and I didn't even know it. So now when I catch myself doing it I stop what I am doing and go to the darn bathroom like my body was created to do. The cool thing is that I am so efficient now that I go so quickly and with little odor that I could go at someones house and they wouldn't even know it!

When I am in the bathroom on my throne I make a point to be grateful to my body for doing what it was intended to do, for releasing the toxins and for keeping things moving. I think it is really important for me to respect my body and all of its functions so that it will keep working for me.

Of course I don't think I would have been able to experience this abundance of movement had it not been for my juice feast. I really think that getting the fresh juice in my body everyday did some major healing in my digestive system. It is so cool.

So I hope this wasn't too much for you and I hope it was helpful to someone out there because I guess that is the only reason anyone would want to talk about their bowel movements in public, to help someone else. :o)

Having food fun

I have been so interested in what I've been eating for lunch and dinner that I haven't told you that I have been having smoothies everyday for breakfast. I was going to have juice but David told me that the fiber in the smoothies each morning acts like a broom and really sweeps the body clean so I have been making one each and everyday.


That has been the only fruit or sweets I have had although today is the first day I was craving something sweet. I really wanted some chocolate, the raw kind but I didn't feel like taking the time to make it since it isn't really what I should be eating so I just ignored it. I ended up eating some watermelon later in the day and that seemed to satisfy me.


For lunch today I had nori rolls with the leftover tuna pate from yesterday. I can't seem to get enough of the nori. I love it. Seaweed, yum. I need to explore some more types of seaweed and try some new things. Expand my repertoire per say. I have some Wakame in my cabinet so I might try to find something to do with it.


For dinner I made some hummus that is made with zucchini which is the picture above. My husband came home and said it looked good. I told him that it wasn't, but then I told him I ate a bunch of it. I laughed because I couldn't decide if it was good or not. It was so bitter that I didn't really like it while I was eating it but then I kept wanting to eat more. Weird.


I think the tahini was too strong for me and I will try to use less the next time I make it. I made extras so I could make a wrap with it for tomorrow so I hope I like it. :o) Maybe I will add some more zucchini to it and take the taste down a bit. We'll see.


I have really only been making things from recipes right now. I need to get a sense of how things taste before I can venture out on my own and create my own dishes. It's like when you take art classes you start out copying the masters to learn and then you can create your own.


It's funny because that is how I have been thinking about my food lately. Today I was feeling a bit antsy and bored and I decided to make the hummus. I had so much fun putting the veggies out and making it look pretty. It's becoming like a creative endeavor for me. Too fun!

Fun Friday

Here is a little Meme I found today around the subject of travel.

1. Where would you most like to travel? What attracts you to that destination? What would you do while you were there?
I want to go to Costa Rica. I want to do it all. See the beaches, go to the volcanoes, check out the jungle, enjoy the culture and take a zip line through the tree tops, white water raft, swim in the waterfalls, go to the hot springs and the cloud city, and whatever else looks fun. I have heard that Costa Rica is beautiful, has a variety of climates and is a lot like Hawaii 20 years ago. Since Hawaii is my favorite place I want to check it out. Besides, Ben lived there and he said it's Awesome! :o)

2. What are the top 5 places in the world you would like to travel to?

1. Costa Rica

2. Italy

3. Greece

4. Any South Pacific Island

5. India

3. There are all kinds of spiritually important places around the world like the Vatican, Mecca, etc. What spiritual location would you choose to travel to?

I would love to take a pilgrimage to India. Brandon Bays led one over Christmas this year. They traveled to sacred places all over India and sat with masters. I think that would be so life changing. It is something I don't see myself doing until my children are older however. Something to look forward to.

4. Choices, choices! Which location would you choose and why?

Venice, Italy or Juneau, Alaska

Venice, Italy because it is in Italy! and because I know Alaska is supposed to be beautiful but I am just not into going anywhere that is cold. I can't deal with the thought of it.

Tokyo, Japan or Berlin, Germany

Berlin, Germany because I don't have a desire to go to a city in Japan. I don't have much of a desire to go to Germany either but if I had to choose then it would be Berlin.

Dublin, Ireland or Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

This is a tough one because I would like to go to Ireland but not really the city of Dublin. I am attracted to the countryside of Ireland. Ho Chi Minh City would be pretty cool but I guess I would have to go with Dublin.

Bejing, China or Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janerio, Brazil is my easy choice. I have absolutely no desire to go to Bejing and if I went to Rio I might be able to get out of the city and check out the countryside of Brazil. I think that would be awesome.

Waikiki, Hawaii or Moscow, Russia

Waikiki without a doubt. I know I have been there twice and it is a bit commercialized, OK a lot but it's Hawaii, my favorite place so I couldn't pass up the chance to go there. I would have to get off the strip and cruise the island though. Oooh, makes me want to hop on a plane right now. I wish I could move there!

London, England or Stockholm, Sweden

I have to say that I don't know much about Stockholm but I think I would choose it over London. I just don't have a desire to go there.

5. Where do you most want to visit in your country, some place you have never been before?

Hmmmm, in my country I would want to go to... I'm not sure, either Asheville, North Carolina or somewhere in California. I've never been to NC and it is supposed to be beautiful. There is something about it that is alluring to me. I've been to LA and San Francisco before but I think I would like to go to San Diego or up north where the redwoods are. Oh and then there is Oregon. I would love to go there. So much to see!

6. I am coming to your country. Where should I go ?

Wow, that is a tough one. The country is so varied with so much to see. I would suggest some kind of tour I guess so you could see everything. Start on the East Coast and see the New York, Boston, the birthplace of our country, head to the Midwest and check out Chicago, south to the smoky mountains and down to New Orleans, then up to Colorado and the Rocky Mountains. You wouldn't want to miss Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. Then on to the desert and the Grand Canyon in Arizona then over to California and all there is to see there and then you would want to head up to Washington or Oregon. There is so much more to see that I can't even decide.

But I guess if you could only pick one place to go it would probably have to be New York because let's face it, it's New York (I've never been there myself :o)

PS I apologize for the look of this post. Blogger was impossible and I finally gave up. I hope it's not too hard to read. xo