Spring 2013 Update

‎”There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.    ~ Albert Einstein

Dandelion via iPhone

This month I want to update you on how things are going since I began blogging last October and where things have landed on the various projects I have taken on.

RAW CLEANSE:

For March my goal is to drink lemon water each morning and eat 50% raw.

• I love the hot lemon water with turmeric more than I imagined, so that part of my goal has been effortless.

Hot Lemon Water with Turmeric, Cayenne, and a pinch of Salt and Raw Sugar

• I choose eating 50% raw because in the past, I have had challenges sticking to 70 or 80% raw.  I have challenges staying high raw once I eat cooked foods, especially in colder weather.
• I have saved myself by eating a huge salad to end my day at or near that 50% mark.

Barbara’s beautiful salad, Hood River

• I am struggling to get in a daily juice or smoothie.  Some of that is I am enjoying sipping on the Hot Lemon Turmeric Water so much that I sip away all morning and forget to eat until I am very hungry.  When I am very hungry, I tend to crave carbs or protein versus juice or a smoothie.  Right now I am just doing my best to be real and to look at what is going on.  I do better when I can unlock the barrier, than to use sheer willpower to push through.
• I notice I do better with structure, so I will continue to see how best to use that to stay higher raw between cleanses.  Perhaps to put a star on the calendar for each day I do get that juice, smoothie and salad?  What have you done to motivate yourself for healthy behaviors?  I welcome input here.
• I have been using my dehydrator a little and getting more comfortable with how to operate it and what one can dehydrate.

Dehydrated kale chips, apple and dandelion root.  This is kind of a weird combination, but playing around with what the dehydrator can do.

• I am enjoying a healthy diet and holding the gains from my February cleanse, but missing some of that glow, higher energy and intuition that a higher raw diet provides.
• I may do another raw cleanse soon, so stay posted.  I also am hearing of more and more people doing cleanses and appreciating the role they play in health.
• Raw Food Rehab also has an April Challenge I may do, to give me some structure and support!

SIMPLE BEAUTY:

I am enjoying many days without make-up and some without hair products.  I very rarely wear foundation any longer.  I also have had even more fun dressing up and putting on eye make-up, blush and lip gloss when I feel like it.  It is nice to have the range of choices versus always doing the same routine.  I even had the fun opportunity to do a photo shoot complete with make-up artist and hair design via Intuitive Matchmaking, a great group of people who are helping me “find love, enjoy love and keep love!”

Coconut oil and dry brush

• Coconut oil is part of my daily routine for moisturizing and lip gloss.
• I started using toothpowder (versus toothpaste) about 2 weeks ago and I like it a lot.  It is not so sweet and it is better for the environment.  I also think it will last a lot longer since it doesn’t have water in it and it only takes a pinch.
• At the Better Living Show, I found “Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant” and it is fantastic.  It gives better odor control than the mineral crystal deodorant I was using and it feels good on my skin.  I may try Beth Terry’s baking soda with tea tree oil DIY deodorant at some point, but for now I am happy with the Schmidt’s and it comes in 5 scent options, including unscented.

Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant

• I have added in some neat links at the bottom of my original blog on Simple Beauty.

SIMPLIFYING:

Yesterday was the third time I looked at my trash and recycling waste over a 4-week period.  Here is my trash for the past 4 weeks.

4 weeks of Trash as of 3/25/13.  About the size of a large lunch bag and even less than last month!

Here is what’s inside my trash bag for 4 weeks

• My recycling for the 4 weeks only filled up one small gray IKEA container.  As a comparison, I used to empty this gray container 2-3 times a week.  So something is working!

4 weeks of Recycling

Here is what’s inside that gray container for Recycling during this 4 weeks

This is a reminder of why I am reducing my trash

• My junk mail is slowly going down.  It takes a while to notice this as some companies may take 8 weeks or more to purge you off their mailing lists.  Paperkarma is easy to use, so I am using that as my main method for junk mail reduction.

Total junk mail and paper use is less

• What I am finding is awareness is key.  The second most impactful thing has been to look at options.  I can buy the can of beans or I can learn to make my own beans.  I am declaring 2013 to be the year I master the bean!  But, you get what I mean, if you are aware and then make conscious choices, your trash and recycling will reduce.  And yes, sometimes I may choose to buy the can of beans.
• I am enrolling in a 3 week class entitled “Less is More” which is all about recycling and conscious reduction of waste.  Perfect time for this and learning more.  So, you can bet I will be sharing what I learn.  Betty, the instructor, already let me know that the aseptic almond milk containers are recyclable at the curb or drop site such as Far West Fibers here in Portland.
• I am pulling out the “Plastic Free” book about 2-3 times a week.  It continues to be a wonderful resource on options for reducing, recycling, reusing and refusing!
• I watched the “No Impact Man” movie to see what other ideas I might get on saving energy and resources.

COMPASSIONATE LIFESTYLE:

I took the 8-week Master Veg class offered by our Northwest Veg group here in Portland.  In it I learned a lot about nutrition, ecology, animal treatment, animal rights and working conditions in slaughterhouses and factory farms.  I originally choose to be vegan for health reasons, but I can see it is a choice that benefits our earth and the animals more than I knew.

Two big concepts that I learned are:

• Farm animal really don’t have any rights or laws to protect them like I imagined.  They are more like property and therefore aren’t protected like our pets are.  In high school during the Vietnam War, I never understood why people would be appalled that women and children would be shot and if a man was shot it was “less awful.”  To me a life is a life, suffering is suffering, whether you are a man, a child, a woman or an animal.  I choose to protect life, reduce my health risks, and to protect our planet by avoiding animal products.  I am still learning the more subtle nuances of hidden places where animal products are used.  And it is a gradual process of looking at options when making new purchases as well as removing foods and products that come from animal sources.
• The grain it takes to raise and produce an 8-ounce steak could have filled the empty bowls of 40 people.  If the plants we grew were diverted to people versus livestock, we could feed all the people on this planet and no one would go hungry.  I was introduced to the book “Diet for a Small Planet” in the early 70’s when it first came out and I heard this concept back then for the first time.  As I grow older and have more understanding of myself, how things work and world issues, this seems so much more important.  Be sure to see A Place at the Table to learn more about hunger.  It’s a problem that doesn’t get much press, but is right under our nose.

GREAT NEW THINGS ON THE HORIZON:

New life in the form of a seedling

• I am thrilled beyond measure to report that my daughter and her husband are expecting a baby in September.  This will be my first grandchild.  I feel ready to be a grandma and learn from this new little one.
• In March I cleaned up my yard in preparation for a garden this Spring.  Last year my yard laid barren as I worked long days and came home fried most days.  I am grateful for the opportunity to dig in the dirt, plant some seeds for the first time since grade school and to see what we reap this year!

Here’s my Garden in June of 2011

• I am taking the 21 day Meditation Challenge with Oprah and Chopra and loving the depth, relaxation and insights I am gaining from even just 16 minutes a day spent in reflection and meditation.  We have a week to go and I am enjoying it enough to buy the $39.99 download of 21 days of meditations.  I can take this with me on my trip and use it when I need a reminder to go within and find my center.

THE CAMINO:

• I am preparing for my adventure to walk the Camino de Santiago this June and July.
• I will leave on May 28^th to Paris for 5 days, then fly to Biarritz and venture on to St. Jean Pied de Port where the Camino begins.
•  I will be communicating via Facebook while I am away with hopes to post photos and brief words most days where wifi allows.
• I may (but no promises) blog briefly once or twice during my journey.
• I will be blogging prior to my departure to let you know what I choose to take on the journey and to share a link to the map so those who wish may follow along.

Cathedral in Santiago, Spain

Life is rich and full of adventures.  I am so glad I took that naked leap off of the cliff of “the life I knew” into what was an “unknown void.”  I feel I am re-discovering who I am and enjoying every minute of it.