Things I never thought I would say....

Oh Shit! I'm out of kale.  What am I going to do now?

A Different kind of vent

I'm venting, but I'm not complaining. 

This is my issue... I feel so good, I want to run or jump and down or dance like a crazy person.  I have caught myself walking around work with a huge smile on my face.  One of my co-workers actually came up to me and asked if I had new boyfriend or was having a lot of sex or something.  How to explain, it's the raw vegan eating?  I can hardly contain myself.  I have a tough time sitting at work, I stand at my desk instead for a portion of the day.  I want to go out and do active stuff after work, but I can't the weather is too crappy.  So I'm doing push-ups.  Like a lot of them.  I'm up to 20 proper, military style push-ups per day, plus yoga and crunches and leg lifts and crazy dancing.  Seriously.  Too much energy. 

I've never had too much energy in my life.  It's like suddenly I'm on speed, except, I'm high on kale.  I don't think I had this much energy when I was a little kid.  Is this what people normally feel like? 

And... as a follow-up to my last post, the universe does listen.  Just as I posted that post, I got paid out for vacation time I wasn't able to take because I was still a trainee.  Yea for an extra $900!  Vacation fund is totally on track, and some of the debt got paid too.

Ok, enough blogging, I gotta spin in circles or something.

goal multitasking

I'm trying so hard to be good.  I have three goals in life right now. Save for a vacation in Thailand next fall, wear a bikini and look good while doing it, and pay off my debts. 

It seems no matter how hard I try, I can't do all three things at once.  I follow a personal finance blog that helps me stay on track for the most part.  I follow three general rules, 1.research your purchases, 2. wait 24 hours before you purchase an item and 3. ask yourself: will this improve my life.  It's the last one that's really tough for me.  Chances are I can do the first 2 steps no problem, but most of the things I want won't really improve my life.  New car stereo, new work shoes, a food dehydrator and the expensive face cream I used to buy.  All these things are on my list of wants.  The one I want the most is the food dehydrator, but at about $200... it's a big want, and not a need.  I have dreams of making raw food crackers and sweet onion "bread".  Plus in the summer, I could dehydrate lots of yummy fruit.  Instead, I'm looking on craigslist for used ones, no luck so far.

I had a pretty good bit of money saved for my vacation fund, but then the car accident happened.  I had to pay about $300 in rental car insurance, a couple days off of work and Christmas presents- poof most of the vacation fund got used up.  I think I'm back on track for the most part now, and am half way back to the amount I had saved up before the accident.

Thankfully, at least the second goal is coming along just fine.  I'm wearing my skinny jeans.  Whenever I wear them I think of Miranda from Sex and the City.  I'm so happy with the raw vegan thing that I'm thinking of purging my kitchen of all items I no longer need: toaster,  casserole dishes and maybe some of the pots and pans that aren't in great shape.  I already donated a chunk of my food cupboards to the food bank at Christmas.    I kept looking at the food knowing I was never going to eat it, so I got rid of it.  I also donated all the clothes that were too big for me.  If you want things to change, you gotta make space for the change to come in right?  I wonder why it doesn't work the same way with money?  If I spend all the money in my bank account, how come that doesn't make room for the universe to bring me more money?

Start your blenders!

There a few kitchen appliances that seem to be a must for every raw foodist.  Juicer, blender, food dehydrator and food processor.  I use my juicer at least once a day.  There are so many awesome recipes that I want to try, but I don't have the right appliances to do it. I found a cheap blender just before Christmas and I rushed home and made my first smoothie and it was amazing.  Kale, banana, blueberry no dairy required.  When I was little, I went to Granville Island and had a frozen yougurt.  On the way home I threw it up and after that I could never mix dairy and fruit.  This is why I never tried smoothies. 

I also tried dates for the first time.  Fruitarians rave about them.  I haven't eaten sugar in 3 months, so the first taste of date was so sweet, it was overwhelming.  |It's amazing how your taste buds change!  Now when I'm craving something sweet, I have a date or two.  I've also been adding them to smoothies.  I have a few favorites:

• banana, almond milk, vega protein powder, a couple of dates
• So Delicious coconut milk, banana, date
• young Thai coconut (meat and milk), juice of 1 lime, 2 oranges, 1 banana (and sometimes I add pineapple juice)
• kale, banana, blueberry

The smoothies are pretty darn filling.  I have a juice, a smoothie, some snacks and ginormous salad for dinner.  It is so much easier to be raw than to be a gluten-free vegetarian.   

My new favorite juice is: Watermelon and pineapple.  After drinking it, I feel A-MAZING, so much energy, it is definitely not a night time drink.

Other things I have noticed- my nails.  I always had pretty weak nails, they peeled, cracked and chipped.  My toe nails were discoloured from nail polish.  I noticed a few weeks ago that my nails don't do that anymore.  They are so strong and shiny, I don't need a french manicure.  I did a bit of research, turns out all that yummy kale is rich in silica and silica is great for nails.  yea for kale!