I Did A Thing

I bought a  new computer. Yep. It will be on it's way to me 2 days before my 23rd birthday. The one I'm currently using has lasted me just over 4 years but you know it's bad when you avoid shutting down your laptop because you don't think it'll turn on again if you do. 

I thought that buying this new computer - while necessary - might give me a little of that retail therapy high I'm used to, but I guess I'm too depressed for that. Things have been getting worse. 

A few conversations have thrown words around I can't ignore.

The only question is - can I be brave?

These Are The Days

Busy, busy, busy.

I am here with a new iTunes card, and therefore new music, and freshly applied holiday-red nails with festive snowflakes added to them. They're pretty cute.

Today's earworm:

"Yellow Flicker Beat" - Lorde for the Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 1

It's becoming increasingly apparent that I need a new phone sooner rather than later. We'll see what deal Rogers can drum up for me. My poor little iPhone's battery barely lasts 12 hours now. I need to charge it every night. It's beyond inconvenient, and it begins to worry me that it'll die before I can upgrade. 

 

World Is Changing

First of all, if you haven't seen this yet please go listen to it now:

Nick Pitera never ceases to amaze me.

On to less important ramblings.

I lay on the couch tonight with animal surrounding me, the Christmas tree alight in the corner, sipping vanilla Smirnoff on ice. Yes, vanilla flavored, because I am a lady 20-something who likes her alcohol to taste like something else.

If I'm being honest with you, internet, this last month or so has been an odd and particularly hard one for me. 

I continue to fall into a haze on more than one occasion. Someone will ask me a question and I'll retort with a bite more severe than my simple intention. I will be offered comfort, love, and understanding, and I turn my back. I am given an opportunity to voice my opinion, and I say the first thing on my mind which is often not what I wanted my first words to be. I lose time. I lose sleep. I lose memory and I lose thoughts.

I spent the early part of the month reeling from what was a combination of sudden knowledge of something that happened in my personal life, as well as something very pivotal that happened at work, as well as the death of someone who has been very close with our family of five growing up (not to say that he is not also important to the rest of our family, being one of my dad's younger siblings). So while this month began with loss, emotion, pain, and ultimately, pushing through, the feeling of hazy manic depression has crept back. And this time it's here with a vengeance. 

Some days I have no appetite. I will go the entire day consuming nothing but coffee and water. Other days, I have 3 meals, constant snacks in between and still I am constantly hungry. Other days still, foods that normally would not upset my stomach suddenly do now. 

Lately I've been having what I call vegan cinnamon almond oatmeal. I recently found some certified wheat-free oats and I pour some into a bowl, the amount depends on the bowl and how hungry I feel. I've never been a good measure with pouring things into bowls. But I digress. I add some brown sugar, a healthy dose of cinnamon, some ground ginger, then hot water. I mix that up and add lots of almond milk - I have always liked my oatmeal milky - and some raw almonds on top. It's sweet, it's a little spicy (not spicy hot, but spicy with the cinnamon and ginger), it's hot and it's comforting. 

 I've also been obsessed with hot chocolate - yeah, okay, it's not vegan and it's probably more processed sugar than one should consume. But I don't know what it is, I just can't stop having it on a daily basis. I could live off hot chocolate.

*shudder* Vodka has a good kick sometimes. Ice and vanilla kill it a little but not completely. Where were we?

Ah, yes, the latest obsession with chocolate. I swear, our clients are so good to us they're killing us slowly. Why doesn't anyone ever bring a veggie plate as a Christmas gift, huh? Thankfully because of the whole gluten thing I've managed to avoid most of it, but it hasn't stopped me getting into the Lindor truffles, among other things. But those Lindor truffles are my weakness. They are seriously so amazing.

I am almost completely done with my shopping now. As much fun as it is shopping for other people (and I really mean that), it'll be nice to finally call it done and start wrapping. I'm going to pick up the last few things tomorrow - a few chocolate gifts for friends of the family, my landlord, neighbour, and nail tech. 

Does anyone else listen to music just to feel better?

My go-to "I'm sad and want to dive deeper" songs:

"High Hopes" - Kodaline (really anything Kodaline, but this one always gets me)

"Say Something" - cover by Victoria Justice and Max Schneider

"Hallelujah" - Rufus Wainwright

"Someone Like You" - Adele

"What The Water Gave Me" - Florence + The Machine

"Just A Dream" - cover by Sam Tsui and Christina Grimmie

"Ma Memoire Sale" - from Chansons d'Amour, sung by Louis Garrel

"Walking Backwards" - Sam Tsui

"Belief" - Gavin Degraw (stripped version)

"A Thousand Years"/"Jar of Hearts" - Christina Perri

"Give Me Love" - cover by Max Schneider

And on a completely different note, random songs I'm loving right now:

"Try" - cover by Max Schneider

"Love Me Harder" - Ariana Grande and the Weeknd

"Blame" ft John Newman - Calvin Harris

"Thinking Out Loud" - Ed Sheeren

"Ghost" - Ella Henderson

"Centuries" - Fall Out Boy

"Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk" - Rufus Wainwright

"Magic" - Coldplay

"Sweater Weather" - The Neighbourhood

"Monsoons" - The Puscifer

"Chandelier" - Sia

"Troubles" - U2

"Often" - The Weeknd

"Blank Space" - Taylor Swift

"Angel in Blue Jeans" - Train

"Kill and Run" - Sia for the Great Gatsby

"Grey Area" - Sam Tsui

"Little Lion Man"/"I Will Wait" - Mumford and Sons

"The A Team" - Ed Sheeren

Alright guys, I think that's enough for one night. I'm going to finish my drink, wash my face and try to sleep. I wish you all the best for the end of the year if I don't post on here before then. Merry Christmas and I hope your 2015 treats you well.

xx

Cleanse Day 4/5: Making Adjustments

Good afternoon, internet people!

So on Day 4, I was reminded that I have a birthday dinner to go to this weekend, and while I know how to work the menu and have something as clean and veggie based as possible, the timing falls on the last cleanse day. Also, weirdly enough, I was way too hungry yesterday. So what i decided to do instead was a 4.5 day cleanse, so I could do this birthday dinner (not my birthday, btw). 

So yesterday I actually had 8 juices rather than 6, which worked out because it ended up being a bit of a longer day. This way, too, I wasn't getting hungry later in the night and end up eating something because I ran out of juice. I spaced it as normal, and drank more water of course to compensate. 

Today (day 5), I have 4 juices to space over the morning and afternoon. So that's my plan of attack for today, it seems to be working so far. This may be considered cheating, but it's the only way I could do all the things I intended to in the first place. 

I'm proud of myself for making it this far. Tomorrow I'll be posting my overview and thoughts about the cleanse in general, anything else I experienced, and if I would do it again!

Thanks for reading! xx

Cleanse Day 3: Chill Out Day

Shortly after I posted day 2, I started feeling that lovely pain again and this time it was for a legitimate reason. So now, on the one set of days that women are given free license to eat their weight in chocolate and greasy food and expensive lattes, I am drinking raw, cold-pressed juice. 

Which is not to say I'm knocking the juices. They're still good and I do feel that my digestion has improved and my belly is not as bloated as it usually is at this time of the month. However, the pain is significantly worse. I spent the day, therefore, lying on the couch snuggling a puppy and watching Frozen, Bones, and Youtube videos while a storm raged outside. For the pain, I'd avoided taking any medications during the cleanse as well, and though my headache was bad at times, I held out and didn't take anything for it. So the same went for the cramps. Instead, I took a friend's advice and microwaved a small towel to bring myself some relief. I don't have a hot water bottle or bean bag - the towel doesn't hold on to heat like those do, of course - but this was enough to get by. 

In hindsight, I should have just started with 3 days. I'm now on Day 4 and while I'm not "hungry", I'm itching for a salad, a latte, hummus, SOMETHING. I think I just am wanting more variety. I've had the same "menu" for 3 days, and I don't think I properly thought it through. I didn't think I'd get bored. Yes, there are 6 very different juices to have throughout the day, but they're the same 6 juices. If I were to do this again, I think I'd do 3 days, and maybe customize it. The website gives you the option to do that. For the first time, not even halfway into day 4 of my juices, I am about ready to throw in the towel and just drink them between small meals. But, my determination has held out for me so far. I think I would be disappointed in myself if I quit now.

Now for the day's struggle - I have to go downtown today but the storm has gotten worse and I really don't want to leave the house. Maia needs a walk but it's so icky out she barely wants to pee outside. 

Anyway, there's my bitching for the day, haha. I'm going to finish my second juice and play with the pup for a bit. Thanks for reading, all that do. 

xx

Clease Day 2: Changes?

Good afternoon, guys!

Read Day 1 here for info on what the juices taste like: Cleanse Day 1 

Day 2, the juices started tasting better to me than they did the first day. I definitely noted more hunger when I went longer between juices. 

This may be a little TMI, but i feel it's important to mention. Last night, about half an hour or so after finishing my last juice, I was lying down reading before bed and began to feel a "cramp-like" pain in my lower abdomen. I figured it was just normal cramps, so I got up and did what I had to do, and rolled around in bed in excruciating pain for about another hour before I was finally able to sleep. 

Now for more TMI. When I woke up this morning I felt normal, and hadn't bled at all. So was it really cramps, or was it some side effect of the detox? I'm not sure because the only other detox symptoms I've had have been the caffeine headache, which has finally left in its entirety (at least for now). This morning I had my water, first juice, another glass of water and then lost track of time so I'm having my second juice now, about 3 hours late. Whoops. I don't feel hungry, but the cramping feeling is back. I honestly can't tell if it's normal "that time of the month" pain or if it's the detox. Either way, it's not as bad as it was last night, and otherwise I'm doing well.

It's a blustery day here, wind and rain, gloomy clouds. I'm proud of myself that I've done this right so far. For the last almost week, all I've wanted is a hot Starbucks latte. I am definitely going to have to ease myself back into coffee, but I doubt I'll go back to meat. Maybe on special occasions, or for dinners out etc, but as it is I don't eat a lot of meat in those situations anyway. Usually chicken or fish. I want to decrease my dairy intake as well. I'll see how hard it is to reincorporate those things into my diet after this is done. Ironically I have to go out for dinner on Sunday, so I'll have to see what I can find that's not only gluten free, but also vegetarian, and easy to digest. I'm assuming a salad, but I don't trust restaurant dressings. I'll figure it out.

Anyway, I think that's enough blabbing for today. I'll let you know how I'm doing tomorrow!

Love you for reading! xx

 

Cleanse Day 1: First Impression

Good morning!

This time I may actually mean it. My dog let me sleep until 8:30 which rarely happens, so it was nice to get that extra hour-ish of sleep. I think I may have to go to a pet store and buy her something ;)

Okay let's be honest I would have bought her something regardless. Her breed? Spoiled.

Miss Spoiled is currently curled up next to me on the couch. Yep. What a life. It looks a little something like this. 

Anyway, yesterday was day 1 of the cleanse and I want to give you a little first impression I had of each juice. For reference, I'm doing Good Life Cleanse's Classic Detox Cleanse, and all the nutritional info is provided in the link. You can see which ones I'm having and the presumed order. I'd recommend referring to that so you know what I'm talking about as I go through the juices of the day.

 First thing when I woke up, I drank a tall glass of water. I wasn't feeling hungry (and I never am in the morning), so I instead took Maia out for a walk, which was supposed to be an hour and turned into two. So by the time I got back home it was 11:30. I started with my first juice of the day pretty late, you're supposed to have it within the first hour of waking up. Whoops.

The first juice is "Classic Greens", with apple, cucumber, romaine, celery, lemon, spinach, kale, parsley, and ginger. On first impressions yesterday, I wasn't overly fond of this one. It tastes pretty heavily parsley, which I'm not a huge fan of. But, it wasn't horrible, and I could taste other flavours in it too. Ultimately, it was okay, but not my favourite.

Please note, in between each juice - as instructed - I had a cup of hot water. You can do hot or cold, but because it's winter here in frosty Canada, I chose to boil a kettle and have a mug of that. 

The second juice is "Sweet Life", with pineapple, cucumber, apple, lime, and mint. I quite like this one. At first the mint was quite strong but about halfway through it became refreshing. Plus, I love anything with pineapple, so there's that.

The third is another green juice, called "All U Need", with carrot, celery, spinach, and parsley. This one again is parsley heavy, but it's lighter than the first one and the carrot is heavier. Which I appreciate, it makes the juice a little thicker and sweeter than the first one. If I could, I would swap out the first one and have 2 of these instead.

The next one is called "Master Cleanse" with lemon, maple syrup, and cayenne pepper, and this is the one I was most worried that I wouldn't like. I can't handle spicy things, so this "spicy lemonade" intimidated me. My first sip was, I'll be honest, horrendous. Then I realized I'm supposed to shake it. So I did that. After I shook it up it was tolerable, but I had to dump the last 8th or so of the bottle because all the cayenne fell to the bottom and made it very spicy. Otherwise, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I just can't handle spicy things.

I had been spacing these no further than 2 hours apart, and that seemed to be working well, but after Master Cleanse I had a shower and was getting distracted watching Bones and not keeping track of time. I went about 2.5 hours, and realized suddenly that I was getting really hungry. 

I started my next to last juice of the day - "Roots Remedy", with cucumber, apple, celery, carrots, beet, lemon, ginger, parsley, mint. This one is okay, I don't hate beets, but again the parsley is pretty strong. I think the mint helps mellow it a little so it's not so offensive. It easily quelled my hunger about halfway through. I'm proud that I didn't break before even one day!

The last juice is called "Creamy Cashew", with cashews, vanilla bean, cinnamon, dates, and sea salt. This is the one I was most excited for and it's definitely my favourite. It's like dessert! I did find the vanilla bean to be a little strong, but it was a nice ending to the day and really kept me full overnight. I didn't wake up starving or anything.

So there you have Day 1! I'm pretty happy so far. Tomorrow I'll give more of an overview of how I've been feeling, etc. Have a good day, and thank you for reading, all that do. xx

Prep Day 3

Day 3 was easier still than the days before. Here's what day 3 looks like:

Green tea (throughout the day)

Water (throughout the day)

Smoothie of strawberries, 1 apple, 1 banana, chia seeds, and almond milk

Hummus with celery sticks

Vegan chili with tortilla chips

I slept poorly, but that has nothing to do with this - as you may remember I am an insomniac and when I do sleep it's not often very deep or very long.

So today marks day one of just juice, water, lemon water, and green tea. We'll see if I survive. I'll give you my first thoughts tomorrow, as well as daily updates and finally at the end an overview of what I liked, what I didn't like, and would I do it again?

Love you for reading! xx

Prep Day 2

Yesterday was better than the first day. My headache persisted until around 1 pm when it finally started to fade away. I called and ordered my cleanse, and it will arrive today.

Yesterday I didn't have much of an appetite, but here is an overview:

Green tea (throughout the day)

Water (throughout the day)

Small glass of orange juice (I'm aware this is sugar, it just seemed like a better alternative to delving into my stash of halloween candy because I was craving something sweet!)

Vegan chili, with tortilla chips

I was going to make a berry smoothie afterwards but didn't end up doing that after all. Instead I opted for a hot cup of water with lemon, and went to bed.

I know this doesn't sound like much, but I really didn't have much of an appetite. Especially first thing in the morning.

Love you for reading! xx

Prep Day 1

In preperation for the cleanse I'm starting on Tuesday, I have to do a 3 day prep period. 

This means no refined sugars, dairy, meat, coffee, and lots of water, incorporate plant based meals so the cleanse is most effective and my system doesn't completely crash with the adjustment.

Yesterday was Day 1. The worst thing about it was avoiding coffee. My caffeine headache started around 11 am and has continued into today - over 24 hours now. I knew it was coming, but that doesn't stop it from being horribly painful. Otherwise, yesterday looked like this:

Filtered water, first thing in the morning, and throughout the day

Handful of raw cashews/almonds

Salad with lettuce, cucumber, green pepper and organic caesar dressing (so I failed a little here, I didn't realize my dressing had cheese in it, whoops)

Green tea

Vegan crackers with organic peanut butter

Vegan crock pot chili with organic tortilla chips (not certified vegan but there weren't any animal ingredients that I could see)

 I plan to do a post every day about the previous day, so you can follow along with this experience. I placed my order today for the juices, and they should be arriving tomorrow, which will allow me to start Tuesday morning. That's it for now!

Love you for reading!

xx

Health and Juice Cleanse

Good afternoon, beautiful people of the internet.

Lately I've fallen off the health wagon. A combination of stress, Halloween chocolate, and nasty weather have contributed to this lovely little spell. However, I am determined (and by putting it in print somehow I must be held accountable) to get back on track.

 I'm strongly considering trying a juice cleanse for the first time. I am no stranger to green smoothies, so my concern is not the taste of the juice. I actually am pretty excited about it. My concern for doing this is the cost, more than anything. I don't have a juicer, so unless I go buy one and all the produce i would need - by my calculations and guides I've found online at least - it would cost a few hundred dollars to do a cleanse for 3+ days. I have a Nutribullet, but the point of that blender is to maintain the smoothie consistency. The point of juicing is to remove that fibrous content that a smoothie maintains. 

On the other hand, I've found a company out of Nanaimo which delivers cleanses, raw, cold pressed, organic, to your door. It would cost, with shipping, about $60/day. Which, if you add it up, is less than if I did it myself. The only thing is I don't know if I can handle spending the money on it! Ugh, the struggle.

Regardless of the juice cleanse thing, I am making an effort to make better choices again. I need to not fall off the wagon anymore. This should be a lifestyle for me.

I am walking my dog every day, drinking way too much water, and plenty of tea. I've also been trying to avoid meat products. I have made a new vegetarian friend who has inspired me to stop eating meat, or at least I'm cutting down on it. Eating meat really is not necessary, just with also being gluten free I find it difficult to cut out both things entirely and still have things to eat!

Anyway, looks like that's it for now. If I go ahead with the juice cleanse, I'll let you know how it went, my thoughts and experience. 

Love you for reading. xx

The return of the baby dreams

I haven't had a dream this vivid in a long time. I slept for almost 12 hours, only interrupted once, which is the longest consecutive sleep I've had in about a week. 

Anyway, my troubled sleep schedule is beside the point. I had another pregnancy/baby dream last night, and this one has continued to stick with me. I woke up confused, physically sore, and with blanket lines all over me - which can only mean that I slept very deeply. At least I think so.

Let me set the stage for you.

I was the same as I am today, but in a hospital, and my vision was patchy as I apparently was in the process of active labor. I could see black spots and hear muddy voices - all I wanted to hear was the cry that would tell me he lived. I blacked out.

When I woke up, I was more tired than I've been in my life. I looked around, took in the room that surrounded me, stuffy, too warm. I kicked the blankets off of my legs and tried to sit up. A nurse that couldn't be much younger than my mom came to my side and propped me up with a pillow behind my back. She smiled kindly and said something akin to, "you're in for a surprise, sweetheart". Of course my mind automatically gravitates to the dark possibility that my son had died. She saw the panic in my eyes and assured me, "No, there's nothing wrong dear. You'll see in a minute."

Another nurse then wheeled in a small, glass covered bassinet - not unlike the ones they keep in the hospital nurseries, but not the one they place premature infants in. I noted the blue blanket peeking from the corner and my heart soared. He lived.

"Here she comes." The older nurse placed her hand on my shoulder. 

"She?" My mind reeled. "No, it was a boy."

She smiled and we both watched as yet another nurse wheeled in a second bassinet, this one with a pink blanket. 

"Congratulations, sweetheart." The nurse by my side smiled and took my hand. "It's twins."

My stomach dropped through the floor. Twins?

Never in my dreams had I ended up with twins. So this dream was kind of a strange turn.

 Also, in this dream the only people I knew were my family and some coworkers. I didn't have any friends, my dog was there, but not my best friend. That's part of what made this so strange. My mom, sister, uncle, and Timbit were present. Also the person I strongly suspect as the father was present too. This is a person I know in this life, so I'm not going to post who they are.

Next they allowed  me to hold them each in turn. The father came into the room and smiled with that goofy grin - that said - "Would you just look at this." 

Through the rest of this dream, I was learning how to care for two babies and not one. He was around, but not too present and this dream seemed to focus on the babies themselves, not us. The boy was bigger than his sister but not by much. I remember at one point jokingly comparing them to puppies. It was at this point that Maia and Timbit raced around the living room at my mom's house and she yelled at them for roughhousing around the babies. So maybe in this dream I lived at my mom's house? My uncle was in the house for some reason, I guess to meet his great-niece and great-nephew. He kept bothering me about how I was looking after them with the father. I guess we had them out of wedlock so he wasn't too impressed? My mom was over the moon excited to have grandchildren. My sister was excited to have a niece and nephew and respected my choices. I guess this was my choice?

I'm not sure really where the dream was going...I woke up shortly after the scene at my mom's house. I call it my mom's house rather than my parent's because my dad was not involved in the dream. Anyway, super weird and is throwing me off. 

I guess that's all I can ramble about for right now. Thanks for reading, if anyone does.

x

Blogger Hiatus, Depression, Health

Health. Is that a word anyone else cringes at? If there was a word that made me feel instantly guilty, that's it. 

Living gluten free is not too much of a struggle for me anymore. I'm finding it easier to resist the easy grabs - bagels, take out pizza, soft wheat fast food buns, Timbits, birthday cake. How I miss the easy wheat-eating life. But it's working for me so far, and there's enough substitutions out there these days that I'm able to have the occasional piece of toast or blueberry muffin if I want it. 

I don't know what the problem is now, though. Dairy? I wonder if I need to cut out something else that I love just for the sake of my seemingly increasingly sensitive digestive system. Lately I've been very bad and have had Dairy Queen three times in the last week! Talk about the best way to throw off all the hard work you've put into eating healthy. My digestive system hates me, my skin is freaking out, and my hair is falling out. 

That's another thing. My hair is actually falling out.  I don't know if it's stress, diet, or shampoo. After brushing, or finger combing, I literally will have strands on my hands, brush, falling out. I will feel one brush along my arm while at work - when I wasn't even touching it. I mean really...I haven't changed anything. I always brush it, I've been straightening it almost daily for the last four months (always with heat protectant), and haven't dyed it in longer than that. I try to take good care of it, and this is how it repays me? By fleeing my head? Come on, hair, that's just not going to do.

We recently went down island to visit some great aunts and my great uncle. I think the only purpose for this visit was to make my mom happy - it was kind of a sad, dull, and awkward experience.  Spending the day hanging with 90-something relatives is not usually a barrel of laughs, but they are all of varying health, and none of it is great. It was good to see them...I don't often get the chance to go to family functions as they're usually short notice and on days that I work. Anyway. The thing that got me was while my mom proudly exclaimed about my younger siblings' success in post secondary, my sister's promise ring from her boyfriend, and my aunt's farm's exploits to her dying aunts and uncle, she always paused when she came to me, the bisexual, uneducated first born, who has done nothing but work at the same job for four years, and says a variation of the following to each relative: "...and Samantha...has a dog, which she takes to dog shows, and wins ribbons."

 I'm glad my biggest claim to fame is the fact that my dog exists.

"Give me a heads up before you tear me down." Sam Tsui "Heads Up"

I dream that I will become something someone can be proud of.

 The last conversation I had with my father centered around my dog, my roommate's car, the fact that my little brother is moving away for school, and the plans to move in the next 3-4 years. He described their new home as "downsized", with room for "our children, and their spouses, and their children". 

"Dad, you sure seem to have high hopes of procreation in the next couple of years."

"Well, your sister has her promise ring. Didn't you ever think of adoption?"

 YOU SAY THIS BECAUSE YOU THINK I'M GAY?!

For the record, I have nothing against lesbian and gay couples. It just killed me that he assumed I would never amount to whatever pedestal he has placed my siblings on and therefore would HAVE to adopt a child in order to have a family. Thanks, Dad.

I think that's all the rambling I have for today. Just back to my old ways and feeling pretty squashed lately. 

xx

  

 

 

 

 

My Green Smoothie

Hi guys! *waves*

So the other morning I didn't have to work until later, so I decided to take a few extra minutes making my morning green smoothie and show you guys what I like to have. Keep in mind that what I put in these does change from time to time based on what I have in the house, but this is more or less what I have in it. 

I use my Nutribullet blender to make these. It was a much-debated purchase but in the end I'm so glad I went ahead and bought it. I make an effort to use it almost every day, and when I don't I actually find myself thinking about the smoothie I missed in my day.

I hope you can excuse the less-than-stellar iphone photos.

First I fill about half the large cup with organic baby spinach. This is my favourite "green" for the green smoothie. Some people use kale, swiss chard, even spring mix or parsley. I like the flavor of spinach, so this is really all I use. I always buy organic. Keep in mind I STUFF the spinach in there. It may not look like a lot but that's two handfuls crammed down in the bottom. I like to squish as much as I can into the cup.

Next I slice, then half the slices, about a quarter of a cucumber. I miss this when I don't have it for my smoothie. Again, I try and buy these organic, and I usually get at least 2 at a time. That will last about a week, then I go get fresh ones. It's so refreshing and really adds to the flavor, and of course green color! It's probably not necessary to cut it up so small, but I'm paranoid and want my blender to last as long as it can. Considering I'm using it almost daily to make these drinks (and others!) I want to prolong it's life the best I can. Part of that is not making it work too hard each time.

 My green smoothie doesn't feel right without pineapple. I use 2-3 "stalks" in each one, depending on how big they are and how much room I have left in the cup. I buy it pre-cut, which i know is the lazy way out, but my goal is to make making these smoothies as simple as possible so I am more inclined to keep doing it. That's the way my brain works. Anyway. This is part of the "fruit component. I usually do 50% greens/veggies and 50% fruit, as I like mine to taste sweet. The pineapple really masks the taste of the spinach, so if you're new to this I highly recommend it.

I half a lemon, cut a couple slices to put in plain water, then squeeze the juice of the rest of it into my smoothie. I am COMPLETELY, and utterly, irreversibly, obsessed with lemon. Lately I've been trying to make an effort to drink more water, and nothing makes it go down better than having it taste great. Lemon does that for you, without adding any chemicals, sugar, or calories, and it helps detox your system with its cleansing properties. Get lemon daily. 

As an add-on, I like putting in either a tablespoon of chia seeds (which are SO good, by the way; another obsession) or ground flax seeds. Yes, you do have to grind them into powder for your system to do anything with them. I used the Nutribullet to do this - it comes with a Milling blade made for turning seeds into powders and nuts/water into nut milk. I just bought a container of organic flax seeds then ground them in the Nutribullet until you get a rather fine powder. It's not going to be perfect. You could buy it pre-ground if you wanted, I just found it more cost effective this way as I knew the Nutribullet could grind them for me.Anyway, flax is a good source of fibre so it's a great add on to your smoothie, and it adds a different texture, so if you don't like more watery drinks, add this to thicken it up. I don't do this everyday.

Now, you could leave it the way it was, but because I only had 2 stalks of pineapple left this day I added some fresh raspberries. Frozen would work great too; I just happened to have fresh ones. I also really like frozen sliced strawberries in this. They work as nutritional ice cubes!

Now we're done loading up all our ingredients. How pretty does this look?

We're almost there. Just add enough water to either go up to the Max line (don't go past it!) or less if you want a thicker smoothie. I usually go up to the line or just below it as I've done this day. I use filtered water from my Brita filter, but you can use any liquid you want - cocount water, orange juice, whatever. I personally don't like the taste of coconut water, but it's health benefits are boundless so it's recommended for this kind of thing. I stick to the plain water with the lemon in there.

Screw on your Extractor blade, make sure it's tight, then flip the whole works over. Lock it into the power base (there are small notches which guide you). 

 Blend...

 Keep blending...you can see it's turned this - in all honesty - gross color.

It's lucky it tastes so good, because it's certainly prettier if you don't add berries or flax. I blend it until the consistency looks the way I want it. This varies day to day.

There you go! Hope you guys enjoyed. Want to see more recipes in the future? Let me know in the comments!

Bonus: Here's my latest fruit infused water obsession: Lemon and strawberries! So yummy.

Picture Roll

My baby puppy Maia, a few weeks before she came home. I think she was almost 2 months old here. Maybe a tad younger.

Here's another one! Baby fluffy puppy <3

Shameless selfie.

Maia, older now, practicing her "down"

Christmas day. Maia's first Christmas was lovely

My favourite place is a walk in the woods!

In January I wrote out this list of resolutions. So far I'm working on all of them besides the driver's license...it's difficult when you work 8-5 and the office is only open 9-4! Since I don't drive, it's not like I can whip myself down there on my lunch break.

My 2014 Birthday picture. I'm 22 this year! I feel like I'm finally starting to make headway with my goals.

The beginning of this year brought some of the heaviest snow days I've seen in CR.

More shameless selfie time.

RAW dessert - blended frozen bananas, almond milk, cacao powder, chia seeds, with cinnamon and blueberries on top! It was SO delicious. Too bad my blender croaked just when I started getting into making green smoothies.

Maia's face when I wouldn't give her a treat. She is 6 months old here, in her crate at her first ever conformation show!! She gained a point here, which goes towards her Canadian Championship.

The same weekend, Maia and I decided we needed to take a selfie together in the car.

Maia posing on her first ever off leash walk in her favorite trail by our house.

Phoenix loves couch cushions. He keeps wondering when we're giving Maia back. Unlucky for him...we're not. Hahah.

Health and GF Update.

Hey guys.

I'm still not sure if anyone actually reads my online journal, but I thought I'd do a quick update on my thoughts and my health, mental and physical.

Ever since I started a Gluten Free journey about a year ago, I have discovered that I'm passionate about finding out where food comes from. I would be lying, however, if I said I didn't still cheat and order things like pasta and pizza, eat chocolate and drink Tim Hortons every day. But for the most part, I'm becoming very cautious and aware of what I'm purchasing and putting in my house and my body. For example, I'm paying close attention to recycled materials, organic stamps or labels, and once my local Sunday market comes back you can bet I'll be frequenting it for local produce. 

I am in no way saying this to be snobby - but there are so many people on this planet that see a burger and fries from a fast food joint as a staple in their diet. You know that they're aware it's not the "smart" choice. But they do it anyway.

Since going gluten free, I haven't been able to order the foods I would usually order. I haven't been able to eat burgers, take away pizzas, crazy bread, pasta, bagels, sandwiches, etc. The list goes on. Of course there are so many GF versions of these foods now. And for a treat, these are great to have in the house. But they're just not the same, and there's a reason for that. Human beings were never meant to consume wheat, really. They were never meant to consume genetically modified corn and apples sprayed with wax and pesticides. God forbid a bug crawl on your fruit. That's why you wash it, right?

I don't know. And I'm by no means an expert. And I'm kind of getting off track.

My point to all this rambling is this: whole foods will improve your health. Consuming whole, well-produced foods will work wonders on your body. You know that after eating a large, fatty or starchy meal you feel like crap. You feel that way for a reason. 

I'm making an effort to include more whole foods in my life, and I think so many other people could benefit from doing the same thing. It's not hurting anyone! Actually, it would probably hurt less. I'm not saying veganism or paleoism or gluten free living is for everyone. It seems there's a new diet trend out there for people from all walks of life these days. You can read online, pick up a book, watch a video about any kind of lifestyle you wish. But who says you should conform to being any one of these things? Why can't you just eat wholesome foods that make you feel good and make your body into what you want it to be? 

Most of us want to lose weight. I'm included in that bracket - no one is perfect and I do have pounds to lose. I'm not saying I don't. By implementing a raw, whole food diet into my regular life, I feel that I'm helping myself get better. And if one person can do that, so can others. 

There are so many helping hands out there these days.

Anyway, let me go into a bit more detail of some switches I've been using lately to help progress into a raw food diet over the next year or so. 

It took me almost a year to go Gluten Free and learn about the lifestyle and what wheat does to my body. I know now that I can't eat gluten, and that I feel like absolute shit on a stick if I do (accidentally, or otherwise). I haven't intentionally eaten gluten in months, but I did have an attack by a restaurant back in January which was absolutely brutal. I've learned so much and I want to keep learning. Here's a few changes I've been slowly making in my diet, home, life. I hope they help you too.

Give up: Tim Hortons Mocha

Try this: Double Double Tim Hortons Coffee

I only drink one of these on an average day, and sometimes we don't go at all. I mostly have these in the morning at work. I used to order a mocha all the time - and I know that a double double still involves processed white sugar and dairy cream - but it's better than half hot chocolate. It's fewer calories, less fat and less sugar. This is one vice I allow myself - I am not the same person without morning coffee! I hope in the next year to slowly get away from the sugar entirely. Or, to ask for just cream and add my own agave or something instead of the white sugar. I've become very in love with coffee and I don't want that love to end...I usually just have the one cup a day.

Give up: Processed fruit juices

Try this: Fruit waters

I haven't had a lot of orange juice lately. Instead I've been cutting up a lemon, and/or a handful of blueberries or raspberries, sometimes cucumber, and putting that in either a large glass or small pitcher in the fridge overnight. I've been drinking that instead of fruit juice from the store. The best part? You're getting additional hydration, it tastes great, is really cheap to make, and you can use any fruit you want! I've seen these done with herbs too - like mint. You can always blend a fruit juice and strain it, but I don't have a high speed blender (or at least one with a high enough speed), so I've been doing the "fruit infused" waters instead.

Give up: Brown sugar (in teas) - I still use these sugars for baking etc

Try this: Agave syrup

 I've become a lover of agave lately. Some I like more than others. And I like this better in chai tea then anything else. I'd rather have chai than another tea anyway. But I'll get to that. My favourite is the Nectave one, but it's only available for purchase in bulk. So when I see it at Winners, I grab as many as they have. I love the flavor of this one. There's another brand I get at the grocery store too, and I keep a bottle of the vanilla agave at work for coffee if I happen to have some there - which isn't too often, as I usually need to buy a creamer too. Anyway. This stuff is really sweet - the one I'm currently using says "25% sweeter than sugar, so you don't have to use as much". And they aren't lying. I know when I've put too much in. Since I don't like honey, this is a good alternative to more processed sugars, and I don't care for artificial sweetener. However, agave isn't for everyone. It's actually high in sugar, so if you're diabetic, this won't work for you (I know this only because my mom is, so she can't use it). Otherwise I really like using this in tea or coffee, and I feel better knowing that it's organic.

Give up: Windex, or other chemical-based cleaners

Try this:  Green, organic, or chemical free cleaner, like IQ, Method, PC Organics

I don't use most chemical-based cleaners anymore. The only things I haven't found a replacement for is drano, which is pretty difficult to find a working one that's organic, my laundry detergent (the one I have is the only one that hasn't made me itchy!) and the wetjet refills for my Swiffer. I use PC Organics toilet bowl cleaner (works just as well as Lysol!), IQ grapefruit bathroom cleaner and green tea all purpose cleaner, and Bath and Body Works hand soaps - which aren't organic, but they are at least cruelty free, and I really like them. This one holds true of tissues, toilet paper, paper towel, and the like. Even my cat litter says it's biodegradable. Eventually I want to get a cat genie so I don't have to throw litter away at all.

Give up: Cheap, processed chocolate

Try this: Organic, fair trade chocolate

Chocolate companies use way too much crap in their treats. It's not necessary - organic chocolate comes pretty close in price (not exactly, but if you think about it, it's pretty reasonable), and is usually fair trade too. I like the Camino, Green Black, and Endangered Species varieties. Yes, I still buy crappy chocolate sometimes. But I'm conscious of what I'm doing, and if I'm in the grocery store and get hit by my sweet tooth, I make a point of checking out the organic section. You can usually find vegan versions too.

Give up: Kraft Dinner, Sidekicks, other boxed meals

Try this: Annie's organic macaroni and cheese/GF varieties 

Who said healthy food can't taste good? When I'm really lazy and want something warm and comforting, I usually check my GF cupboard for a box of Annie's Organic. There are two GF varieties, a traditional mac and cheese and then a shells and white cheddar, which I prefer. These make a quick and easy meal that usually feed two portions or if I'm only cooking for myself, dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. There are so many kinds for everyone else too, so if you're looking for something new, I seriously recommend looking at these the next time you're in the store. Yes, they are more expensive than regular KD, but they are certified organic, and for someone like myself who actually can't eat KD anymore, they're a great option.

These are just a few of the swaps I've made in everyday life. Let me know down below if you're interested in seeing more. I'm sure I could come up with a ton of posts about this.

Thanks for reading...

 

Resolutions 2014.

This post took forever to get up. And not for the reasons you'd think - thinking too much on each one, too busy to write, etc etc. I'm basically just lazy. I've been spending a lot of time on my beauty blog, which you can check out here if you haven't already. So if you're looking to check in with me a little more regularly, hop on over there for all things beauty related.

But anyway, this is not what this post is about. 

RESOLUTIONS for 2014

Lose Weight

This is a constant one for most people. It was one for me last year as well, and I think I'm on my way. 

Gluten Free

In 2013 I started a gluten free diet. For the most part I'm cautious of what I eat now but I have cheated and haven't been as careful as I could be. I'm going to make it a goal for 2014 to be very cautious of what I'm eating and where it's from. I think it's easier to watch what I eat when you take any possibility of ordering in or eating out off the table, so to speak. For example, I can't order a burger through a drive through or a take home pizza anymore. It's also encouraging me to cook more at home and eat a little better.

Organic, Fair Trade, Local (Food)

I'm trying to purchase as many organic, fair trade products as I can in the coming year. I'm already doing this, but I could be trying harder (like I said in the GF section). With every organic purchase over processed purchase, I feel better about things.

Cruelty Free, Vegan, Not tested on animals, as natural as possible (Cosmetics, Body care, Hair care, and Nail care)

I am making it a goal to only purchase personal care items that are at the very least cruelty free (meaning against animal testing and the use of animal products in cosmetics). I'm also trying to stick with products that are as natural as possible. For example, most of what I was using a year ago was full of chemicals which are no good for your skin! Now I'm obsessed with vegan, organic skincare which works better than the chemical-filled garbage.

Save Money

Again, another common new year's resolution for a lot of people. There is talk of going away on a trip to England at the tail end of 2014, so I really do need to jump on this resolution as quickly as possible.

Get L license

This joins in with the laziness thing. I am now 22 and don't have my driver's license yet. What a lazy ass I am. One of my big goals for this year is to get on learning. The sooner I learn the sooner I will get places. Literally. 

WISH LIST for 2014

I thought I would include some of the things I'm wishing for this year. These are items, so don't get all fussy on the fact that I have a wish list of things I plan to save up for and/or purchase this year. It's just something I wanted to put up somewhere so I'll remember.

Cat Genie

My boys will be 3 years old in May and I've wanted one of these since I got them. They're expensive, but I like that they are eco-friendly, and scooping won't be necessary anymore! And I can stop buying litter to throw away later. 

Queen (or larger) Bed

Yes, I want to buy a bigger bed. How else can my cats sleep away the day in ultimate comfort?

Queer As Folk Complete Series

Again, something that might sound a little weird to some people. I've been meaning to buy this series since I finished it a couple years ago (I watched all the seasons, almost three times, online). I just haven't done it yet. I think this year I will save up and purchase it for myself.

Alright guys, that's my new year's post for 2014! Who knows how often I'll come back to this blog, but if you want to catch up with me, hop over to my beauty blog (link is in the top of this post). I'm on there a lot more frequently.

Thanks for reading! Ciao!