By George, I think I’ve got it!

Hello all you lovely bloggers/readers! First of all, I am officially 40!! My B-day wasn’t exactly what I had planned because I woke up with a TERRIBLE bladder infection! Wow–talk about PAIN ALL day long! But, I was able to go to a really cool vegetarian restaurant for dinner. By the way, this post will be picture-less because my camera battery is DEAD and I didn’t realize it until it was too late to charge it:( Anyway, I was a little a lot concerned about my hubby going to this veggie place. He is all about the meat and tators! After looking the menu over, he decided to get grilled Salmon with asparagus and roasted sweet potatoes–there’s his tators. He ended up LOVING it!! He just went on and on about how yummy it was. Well, he didn’t exactly use the word ‘yummy’, but he raved about it none the less. I got a tofu and veggie dish that was to die for! The waitress made sure it was gluten free and I ordered it without the rice. It had this amazing sauce that had kind of a peanutty taste but was a little spicy too. All I can say is YUM! I thought I might try to recreate a dish similar to this at home. I’m pretty sure Heather has a sauce recipe that would be great–like tahini:)

Okay, on to the ‘I think I’ve got it’ part of my post. I have been taking a break from blogging a bit lately. Part of my reason was to have more time for other things, but I have also really been trying to figure out what works for my body. Sometimes, when reading a lot of other blogs, I can get a little sidetracked from what is best for ME. I tend to follow the crowd more times than not and it was getting me in trouble. So, after less blogging/reading, I think I have a semi-plan that will work for ME. Here are the basics:

1- I have finally accepted the fact that my body can NOT handle grains of any kind! I know grains are not bad themselves and carbs are not bad. But, MY body does NOT like them no matter how much I tried to make it conform to what I wanted! Therefore, I am now on a totally grain free diet. I could tell a difference in TWO days of cutting them out:)

2- I have also learned that I can not do sugar of any kind–no agave, honey, etc. I have only been using Stevia and am a-okay:) I can have really dark chocolate though!!:) YeeHaa!

3- Fruits: cherries, blueberries, strawberries–okay all berries, green apples(tart), and very small amounts of banana every few days.

4-Veggies: all veggies except potatoes, yams, and corn. Do NOT do well with starches! Veggie choices are endless and I LOVE trying new ones!! Still juicing some and making sure I eat some raw veggies every day.

5-Dairy: the jury is still out on dairy! I have started introducing homemade yogurt that is fermented 24 hours the SCD way. Once it ferments that long it is virtually lactose free. I do a little Parmesan and other than that, that’s about it for now. I have mostly been making homemade coconut milk yogurt, but hopefully can handle the organic cow milk some too.

6-Protein: I have decided that a vegetarian diet is what feels best to me. I will have eggs occasionally because I feel like my body needs them. I have been back and forth about the whole soy debate and have decided that a little soy once or twice a week should be fine. I also do really well with beans that have been soaked 24 hours and had the water changed several times during the soaking. Soaking breaks down a lot of the starches and they are a good source of protein.

7-Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds are also good sources of protein. I have found that I can do pecans and a smidgen of almond butter every now and then. I can make grain free bread from pecan flour that is really yummy! I also do well with sunflower and pumpkin seeds–and of course, LOVE sunbutter!

8-Fats: nuts/seeds, coconut milk, coconut oil, olive oil

9-Exercise: Can’t forget exercise! Yoga is what I LOVE best, but have found that I also like doing walking/running intervals. Nothing too long or strenuous, but enough to get my heart pumping. Usually, thirty minutes on the treadmill 3-4 days a week is what feels best to me. More than that really seems to bring me down physically.

I think that about covers it! I know this was really long, but it helps me to get it on ‘paper’. Hopefully, I will start posting some yummy grain free recipes soon:) Have a lovely weekend! I’m hoping I get to go skating tonight since I didn’t feel like it on my B-day.

P.S. Thank you SO much for your comments and support over the loss of my dog:) Still missing him like crazy!

In Memory of…

ELI

We had to put our precious boy to sleep yesterday:( He was 7-1/2 years old and the most loyal, obedient and loving dog a person could ever dream of having.

His kidneys gave out on him, but he went peacefully to sleep in my arms. Words can not express the deep sadness in our hearts or the love that we had for him.

Eli was blessed with the most beautiful coat of hair I have EVER seen!

He captured my heart from the first moment I laid eyes on him at 7 weeks old. He will be missed and loved forever!

Less is More

Happy Sunday everyone! I haven’t been around much lately and thought I would check in and let you know I ‘m still alive:) I have been making an effort to not be on the computer so much. I am realizing that there are things that are needing my attention and less time on the computer means more time for other things.

I have been doing a LOT of reflecting lately about my life and some things that I want to change. I am going to be turning the big 4-0- at the beginning of November and have been feeling like I need to get some of my priorities in order. I don’t mean this in a heavy, bad way. These last couple of weeks have actually been very good for me. I’m realizing more and more what is most important to me.

One of the big changes I want to make is to be more diligent in serving my family. Mom’s tend to serve 24/7, but I am realizing that I am not always happy about that or at peace in my serving. I want to cultivate PEACE, LOVE, and JOY in my home! I want to be able to remain in a peaceful frame of mind even when things are a little haywire. God is REALLY helping me to choose peace instead of anxiety all the time! I am actually in the process of re-decorating a room in my house to just have a place to go and  rest and relax. This is the room that I usually do yoga in and thought it would be nice to make it a really cozy place to go–whether it’s for yoga, reading or just sleeping.

Another priority is to continue working towards being healthy. It has been an ongoing goal of mine over this last year to try to feel well by the time I turn 40! I am finally feeling like I am making progress and am SO excited to see how God is going to continue bringing me to a place of health and energy. Speaking of energy, I had a couple of days this past week that I felt more energetic than normal. I was shocked at how good it felt! I thought to myself how cool it would be to feel like that most of the time and actually be able to get things done that I normally can’t do. So, I am on the right road with seeing the ND, diet, herbs, yoga and learning to relax:)

I have other things that I am working on, but don’t want to write a novel. Basically, I said all of this to say–I don’t know how much I will be on the computer for blogging. I am still reading blogs, but not as much. There are SO many WONDERFUL blogs out there, that it is hard to keep up with them all. I am trying to just read a few each day and then stay off the computer the rest of the day. I will post occasionally, but not stress about it if  I can’t. I hope you will stop by every now and then and say ‘hello’.

Last , but not least, I hope you are enjoying the life God has given you to the fullest measure!!

XOXO to you all!!

Sick and Tired–literally!

Hello people:) Just wanted to stop in real quick. My daughter and I both woke up sick today, but I had something cool I wanted to share.

I guess most of you know by now that I have been practicing yoga for the last 4 months and LOVING it!!! Can’t say enough how much I love it:) Anyway, I went to a new yoga class last night at this Yoga Studio. I have been to one class here before and talked some with the teacher. I was really impressed by the fact that she used to be a professional ballet dancer in Switzerland and France! Anyway, she offered to trade yoga classes for me helping her out with her house cleaning. Of course, I jumped at the chance! I went to see her house and we finalized all the details. I will be cleaning for her every other week in exchange for 2 yoga classes a week.

The type of yoga she teaches is Kripalu and Svaroopa. I like to hear her say ‘Svaroopa’ because she has a really cool accent:) The class last night was a vigorous Kripalu class, a lot like other vinyasa type classes I have been to. I am really excited about the Svaroopa too though. It is a more relaxed class that concentrates on opening up the spine etc. She said it would be fabulous for my digestive troubles AND the class is on Fridays–which is the day after my HARD cleaning day each week. I’m hoping the Svaroopa will be very restorative after all my cleaning jobs for the week.

I found out another cool thing. This yoga teacher has Celiac–just like me:) It’s not cool that she has it, but I thought it was interesting that we both have it. She went for so long without a diagnoses that she now has severe osteoporsis:( She can’t actually DO the Kripalu anymore, but she is a terrific teacher! She’s good about walking around the room and adjusting where needed.

Another exciting thing that happened yesterday is I got a blogger award from Cindy! Thank you SO much for thinking of me Cindy. I promise I will do my list of ten things when I am feeling better and can think a little more clearly. I would hate to throw something really stupid out there all because of a little brain congestion:) I really was honored though!

Okay, that’s about all I got today! I’m roasting me some yummy veggies and going to watch yet another movie!

Have you ever bartered for something before? I would love to hear about it!

Speaking out of Ignorance & some randomness:)

I had an interesting conversation with one of my clients the other day. Well, it was more like she did all the talking and I just let what she was saying go in one ear and out the other. For those of you that are fairly new to reading my blog, I clean houses for a living. Sometimes the people are there and sometimes they aren’t. I would much rather them NOT be there. So anyway, this lady I was cleaning for is a Christian. I am also a Christian and it’s nice to have clients that are. I was talking to her and just mentioned the word Yoga and it opened up a whole nasty can of worms! She was telling me that yoga can cause people to worship satan and not realize it. Okay, first of all, I think if I were worshiping satan–I WOULD KNOW IT!! Secondly, I know that my God loves me enough to let me know when something is a little cooky!!

This conversation got me to thinking about how people–even me sometimes–can speak out of total ignorance. I’m not saying they are stupid. I just mean that they don’t really know enough about what they are condemning to judge it negatively. This has happened to me SO many times with my diet.  When this client first started saying this stuff to me about yoga, I was tempted to get angry. Then I realized that she just really doesn’t understand yoga. She went to ONE class that was a negative experience. Therefore, in her mind, ALL yoga is BAD! I thought it was interesting that I had this conversation right after I had read this blog entry at Yogiclarebear’s blog. When I read the post by Clare, I thought it must be a very uncommon thing for people to say that yoga is of the devil. Well, I think differently now. I guess a lot of people can have a negative view of yoga, but I’m not one of them. I’m also thankful for Polly’s blog. Her blog is what helped me realize that you can be a Christian and still enjoy Yoga. I don’t know if I would have ventured into yoga otherwise. Thanks Polly:)

Okay, enough about yoga! Here are some random pics I have been taking and haven’t had time to post:

Hubby bought me a new juice bottle:) Holds almost a whole quart which is my juice for the day!

To make juicing a bit easier, place a Kroger bag in the pulp catcher. Easier clean up!

Had my first taste of Jicama this week. Like it!

Lovin' me some Coconut Kefir smoothies:)

Coconut Flour pancakes w/ strawberries and coconut kefir. YUMMO!

Hummus, spinach and raw cheese sandwich w/ roasted veggies

That sandwich was made with Gluten free/ grain free sprouted bread. I still need to post the recipe for this, but haven’t had time. Trust me it’s yummy! It seems like brussels are all the rage these days in the bloggie world. I know I’m lovin’ em!

Hope you all have a fabulous Saturday! I am hanging out at home feeling a little (okay, a lot) drained. I have been at my mom’s more than I have been home this week. She is recovering well from her knee surgery, but still needs lots of help.

Question: Have you ever had someone judge you about something they know nothing about? How do you handle it–get angry or let it go?

P.S. Just wanted to say a BIG thank you to all you lovely people that have been visiting and commenting on my blog!!!!

Tempeh Triumph–(sort of)

Do any of you like tempeh? Well, I have really despised it until this week. I was asking Heather how she cooks hers to make it so yummy and the trick is Bragg’s Amino Acids. Let me just say, it tasted SO good that I ate a little too much and had tummy trouble. That’s what I mean when I say I ’sort of’ had a tempeh triumph. Tasted awesome, but didn’t settle so well. I will however be trying this again and just eat a little. Thanks Heather!

Tempeh over steamed kale w/ roasted onions and zucchini

Sorry about the blurry picture. The steam from the yummy food fogged up the camera. Talk about steamed:)

I was looking in my book by Jonny Bowden called The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth about tempeh. It’s interesting that Jonny Bowden is NOT a fan of soy products, but yet gives high praises for tempeh and miso. Here is some info. from his book:

“Tempeh fermentation produces natural antibiotic agents that are believed to increase the body’s resistance to infections.“  Yay

“Tempeh may ease the symptoms of menopause”–Yay again:)

I served my tempeh over kale because of it’s high calcium content. I recently read that spinach can inhibit the absorption of calcium and I have been practically living on spinach. Oops! LOVE spinach:) I already have Osteopenia due to Celiac and lack of absorbing nutrients, so need to be careful about the calcium thing. I, of course, will still have some spinach, just not so much.

The last two days of eating have been REALLY good, but I’m not really saying what I’m doing. I am trying very hard NOT to label what I am doing and just listen to my body. I have felt WAY more satisfied instead of feeling deprived.

Did a 70 minute yogadownload this morning that felt awesome!! The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping, cooking and caring for my mom:)

Have a happy hump day tomorrow!

Girls just wanna have FUN!

I have been having a blast lately! If any of you read Heather’s blog, you know by now that I was in Nashville last week.  What a TREAT! My hubby had to go to some classes for his job and I got to tag along. This is the first time since having kids that we got away for a whole week–alone:)

I want to back up first though and show you some hotel yoga from the weekend before while I was in Charlotte:

teaching my friend some yoga--in street clothes--in the hotel floor:)

She's NOT dead--just learning to relax!

feels SO good to stretch

Okay, back to Nashville!

Enjoyed every minute with my hubby:)

Got to spend a day with Heather--Thanks HEAB's!!!

We enjoyed a 90 minute Vinyasa yoga class first. Then we headed to Whole Foods–my first time!!!

Whole Foods Heaven!

I ate here THREE times while in Nashville. My hubby is glad we DON’T have one where we live–he said he couldn’t afford it:)

After Whole Foods, we headed to Trader Joe’s–another first for me!

TJ's stash--had to refrain from buying the whole store!

Sadly, these are almost gone:( They are YUMMO!

I also had my first trip to the Cheesecake factory:

Grilled Mahi Mahi with steamed veggies--fed me for two days!

Here are a couple of pics of the retreat center we stayed at(Scarritt Bennett):

Beautiful Cathedral

Loved all the stone buildings

I’m glad to be home, but reality hit just a little too fast.

While I was away, I decided to relax more about my food–a.k.a. less raw.  I think the season is changing where my diet is concerned. Today, I ate about 50/50–raw/cooked. I’m just trying to have a healthy relationship with food–whatever that looks like. I realized while I was away how many ‘rules’ I have been trying to follow. Why do I have to be such a rule person?! So, trying to relax and rethink some things about my diet. One thing I DO know for sure is that I HAVE to stay away from sugar!! I ate too much while I was gone and it REALLY got to me. I also ate more grains and was feeling really out of sorts by the end of the week. That really makes me sad–no matter how much I try to tell my body that it likes grains–it just won’t listen!!

Tried a new dish for dinner tonight but will have to share that later. This turned out to be really long. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Question: Are you a ‘rule’ follower? If so, how do you ‘let go’ of so many ‘rules’?

Hello and Goodbye (for now:)

I just wanted to do a quick post to say ‘HELLO’! My life is spinning wildly out of control and it’s not going to slow down for the next few weeks.  Things aren’t really out of control–just REALLY busy.

Let’s see, this past weekend I went out of town to take my daughter to see Taylor Swift!! I didn’t actually go into the concert. My friend and I rode to Charlotte, NC with our two young’uns. They(the young’uns) went to the concert while my friend and I hung out together. We had a really good time and Elizabeth(daughter) LOVED the concert. No time to post pics though:( Believe me, there is NOT a lack of pictures, just too busy to do it at the moment. Maybe later. Anyway, after the concert, we waited outside with the kids in hopes that Taylor would come out for autographs–she didn’t!! We did get to wave goodbye to her though:) It was almost 2am by the time we got back to the hotel! I am NOT a night person either! Boy, did I pay for that the next day.

This week is full because my mom had DOUBLE knee replacement yesterday. I have been at the hospital all the times that I’m not working. Today, I even went by to see her between clients. I am pooped!

On top of being at the hospital-A LOT–my husband had a death in his side of the family. We are heading to the funeral home here in a bit–hence the reason for the quick/no pics post.

Next week, I will be out of town the whole week! I have a special treat meeting with someone while I’m away, but I’m not tellin’ with who yet:) I can’t wait to get away for a whole week with NO kids!!! My hubby has to go to some kind of classes for his job and I am just tagging along. It will be a MUCH needed break for us (especially me since I don’t have to go to classes)!

Quick update on diet: I am juicing a TON this week. I messed up on my diet when I went away this past weekend, so I am trying to be really good this week:) I am eating almost all raw and tummy is feeling pretty good! Yay! Oh, I tried a tiny piece of beet in my juice yesterday after seeing Lara and Maggie talking about it. My verdict–TASTE LIKE DIRT!!!! I HATE beets, but thought I could sneak them into my juice–didn’t work.

Enough rambling! I have places to go and  people to see. I just wanted to catch up with you lovely people first. Don’t know when I’ll have time to post again. Have a great rest of the week!!

My very own–’Spaghetti’

First of all, I NEED A SPIRALIZER!!! Okay, I got that off my chest:) I made spaghetti for the rest of the family tonight for dinner and I was NOT in the mood for a salad–gasp! My tummy has been pretty messed up since yesterday afternoon and I have had more trips to the bathroom than I care to count(TMI:). I had to call the ND today and she encouraged me to keep my meals simple (aka. no more raw cereal with 3 different seeds and raisins!). Too many ingredients are not always good for a fussy gut.

I really wanted spaghetti. It used to be one of my favorite meals with some yummy hot garlic toast. Considering that probably would have put me in my grave, I decided cheating was out of the question:) So, spiralizing–by hand–I went. I had zucchini ‘noodles’ with shredded organic carrots. I topped it with the Raw Caesar Dressing from Natalie Rose’s book. I then put it on top of a little spinach. I also had a piece of raw cheese. Not too complicated (no seeds) of a meal, but really tasty and satisfying.

Nothing special, but it made me happy:)

I don’t know where I have been in the yoga department lately because I just today finally did my first Yogadownload class. I am hooked!! Just let me say that buying yoga classes online could be a dangerous thing for me:) I did the 35 minute Power Yoga #4–for FREE! For some reason, I have been feeling like if I can’t do at least an hour of yoga, its not worth doing. I AM an ‘all or nothing’ person by the way. Because of thinking that way, I wasn’t doing ANY yoga this past week–duh!! Do I need a lesson in moderation? YES! My body started missing the mat in a BIG way! I can’t even explain the health benefits that I feel like yoga gives me.

So, today I did the 35 minute class in the morning, a 20 minute breathing class in the afternoon (to relax:), and the rebounder for 30 minutes instead of walking for an hour. Check out Maggie’s post about the benefits of rebounding. Who says you have to get in all your exercise at one time? Breaking it up made it easier to fit in what I wanted to do without killing myself. If you like yoga and have never checked out Yogadownload–Just do it!! You’ll be glad you did:)

Well, that’s all for now folks! I have spaghetti dishes a-waitin’.

Do you have an old favorite meal that you miss?

Jackpot!!

Check out this load of stuff my hubby won at the health food store!! I don’t think I have EVER won anything in my life, so I don’t even bother to sign up. He signed up and told me he would win–guess he was right! This nice backpack was loaded with all kinds of goodies! I think pretty much all of it is gluten free, but not corn, rice etc. free:) So, my hubby will be doing most of the munching on this bunch of goodies. I bet there are almost a dozen snack bars! There was a bottle of body wash, coconut water (which I will gladly drink), hemp protein, acai fruitein, gluten free ‘granola’, single servings of peanut butter and almond butter and more!! There were also some herbal remedies, but no thanks! I am on enough of those already:)

Speaking of remedies, I think I am finally getting closer to what really works for me–I think:) I went to the ND last Friday and was complaining to her about my terrible cravings for things that I am NOT supposed to have. I thought it was because I was eating a high raw diet and not feeling satisfied. Well, come to find out, it was my hormones!! You can read about my journey into Peri-menopause here. She told me to increase my natural progesterone cream and I am feeling WAY more balanced (I have opted to NOT use any prescription hormones for my symptoms.)  Man, hormones can do scary things to our bodies. She is also ordering yet another herbal remedy to help balance my wacky body. I am already feeling a HUGE difference though. I have not touched anything ‘illegal’ since my visit on Friday!! Whew!

So, now that I am not wanting to eat everything in my town, here is what I am doing. I have been fixing this raw cereal every night before bed to have the next morning and it is really satisfying me.

I know, it’s not very pretty, but it works for me:) Before bed, I put the following in a bowl: 1/2 cup quinoa flakes, 2 tbs. sunflower seeds, 2 Tbs. pumpkin seeds, 1 Tbs. hemp seeds, and 1-2 Tbs. raisins. Then I add 1/2 cup coconut milk and 4 Tbs. coconut water (which sweetens it all). I put this in the fridge until morning. Then I add 1 Tbs. hemp protein powder and some cinnamon. Mix and dig in:) Soaking things is key for me to have a happy belly! Last night, I actually soaked the seeds and raisins seperate in some water left out on the counter. I think they ’soak’ better that way. That keeps me happy for a good while.

Then about mid-morning, I make some green juice. Today, I tried cabbage in my juice after seeing that on Maggie’s blog. It was yummy. No picture though, because it went down the hatch:) Thanks for the idea Maggie!

I have been able to wait longer to eat drink lunch since doing the raw cereal and juice. I have really just been wanting smoothies for lunch.

I’ll usually have a snack involving a little fruit in the afternoon. Yesterday, I was inspired by Averie to pull out my ice cream maker. I made a sorbet with frozen cherries, strawberries and half banana. Oh, I also added 2 Tbs. raw cocoa nibs. Blended it up and threw it in the ice cream maker:

If anyone makes this, you may want to add some agave or something. It wasn’t quiet sweet enough, but it worked for me.

For dinner, I have been having a BIG salad! No pictures–oops!

I also recently came up with a bread recipe that I can finally feel good about eating. I will post more about it another day, but I made my own flour with sprouted and dehydrated buckwheat, quinoa, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. The only other flour in it is a little coconut flour. I have always hated the fact that gluten free breads are loaded with all kinds of starches–that I can’t digest–and they are usually pretty refined and high carb. My homemade bread doesn’t have any of the typical starches in it, is pretty good in protein and not refined and high carb. I took a piece to my ND to let her try it and she loved it! So, now I have a  sprouted bread that is technically grain free and very healthy:) YUM!

Gotta run now, today is our first day of another year of homeschooling:)

God Bless!!

Added note: I think I have had too much of a good thing with the seeds in my raw cereal! I tend to quickly forget that I can’t do so many seeds three days in a row! My belly is NOT happy at the moment. So, I am trying a new raw breakfast in the morning. Stay tuned:)