kick'n butt and decorate'n

I had plans to go on a walk/run today, but the torrential rains quickly changed my mind.  I watched a couple TV shows- Once Upon a Time because it was recommended to me (it's alright) and Californication (a favorite of mine).  Then I made myself a goal, do some major spring cleaning, or as I like to think of it.... aerobic cleaning. 

I switched out my winter clothes for my summer clothes (early, I know, but I'm optimistic) and washed every piece of clothing I own.  I like to wash everything every once and a while.  The wood scent of my cedar dresser seeps into my clothes if they sit in there for too long.  I don't like that scent, so I take the opportunity to purge a bunch of my clothes while I do it.  I figure if it sat in my dresser for that long, I don't need it.  I cleaned out my closets, getting rid of a ton of stuff, I moved all of my furniture and cleaned under it.  I found out where my cats have been hiding their toys (under the couch).  I had Deadmau5 pumping on Pandora and before I knew it, I was redecorating my living room.  It feels fresh and new, like I just moved into my home.  Best of all I worked up a pretty good sweat. 

My sister sent me this picture from Pinterest earlier this week. I had thought of doing something similar. Last summer I bought a sticker tree but didn't get around to putting it up.   My version isn't so awesome.  I thought it was going to be a lot bigger.  I'd have to put teeny tiny pictures on it, all the frames and pictures I have would overwhelm this little sapling.  I might just leave it as is.



Not bad I think.  The biggest change is in my bedroom.  It was a disaster.   It's the only room that I can close a door on, so if I need to hide something away, chances are it was in there.  Boxes, recycling, vacuum, clean clothes in piles waiting to be put away, bills, etc etc.  I find the messier my room, the poorer I sleep.  I should sleep like a baby tonight.

I'm hoping that tomorrow the weather is better, I have a trail in mind I want to do.  

You're Welcome

Can I just point out that you have just received 7 fabulous blog posts from me in the month of March and the month is not done yet.  I only hit 15 posts in 2009, so I'm kicking butt.  Gold star for Hilary

Sprout You!

Okay, well when I took this picture I had the best of intentions of following through.  I bought a sprouting kit and this was day one.  I planned to take a picture every day until they were ready to eat.  Whatever, I'm sure you can imagine that. 

Sprouting is really really easy.  All you do it soak the seeds for a few hours and then twice a day you rinse and drain on an angle.  In 3-4 day you have sprouts.  Above is a jar of beans, peas and lentils just waiting to sprout.  On a salad, let me tell you, they are so amazing!!  I have also grown sandwich sprouts; a mix of clover, alphalfa and something else. 

Why?  I would buy sprouts from the store, and they would go bad before I could use them all.  I would feel bad, so I wouldn't buy them again.  Or worse yet, I would try to juice the sprouts- yuk.  This way I can grow a smaller quantity when I want them.  Plus it's dirt cheap.  The hardest thing is waiting for the sprouts to grow.

**Important**
Have you fallen in love with dates?  I am so in love with dates!  (frozen banana, frozen blueberry, date, kale smoothie is to die for with a bit of "chocolate"protein powder.)  But I never mentioned this super important thing.  Always look inside the date before you eat it.  Every now and again, I find a date with little bugs or bug eggs in it.  It's gross, but the dates must be good if bugs want to make it their home.  I'd rather have bugs in the odd date, than pesticides.  I ate a lot of dates before I read that you need to check them.  I don't want to think about how many bugs I've eaten.

Bonus Post

I have been going though my back log of posts I created and never posted.  This is one from 2007, back when I lived in the ghetto co-op and when I was still at SFU.  Wow, that was 5 years ago!  Marley still stares at me for hours a day.  No blinking, just staring. 
------------------------------------------------------------------

Sometimes it's hard for me to focus. I find it hard to keep my mind on whatever I'm doing on the computer. I just have this feeling that someone is watching me.

Let's lighten stuff up

It's a product review.  I think it's been years since I did a product review on the blog.  How exciting!

So I remember being little and setting up a toothpaste taste test with my friends down the street.  We collected toothpaste from our homes in little sandwich bags and then tasted them.  I don't remember which kid had the best tasting toothpaste.  We kids were freaks, this is what we did for playtime.  After we were done with the taste test, we turned the baggies inside out and threw them at the neighbours house where they stuck to the vinyl siding.

I'm still picky about my toothpastes.  I cannot handle minty toothpaste, it's so intensely hot, it burns my mouth.  I used soft mint flavours up until Crest came up with a Vanilla Mint flavour.  It made me feel like this...

But then I for a while I couldn't find it in the stores.  So I was forced to look for something else.  From what I've been reading, fluoride isn't good for you, and the action of brushing you teeth does more than the actual toothpaste.  (side note, my teeth don't get fuzzy anymore being on the raw vegan diet, but if I cheat and eat non raw, I notice my teeth feel nasty)  So I was in the health food section of my local Thrifty's and saw this brand... Newco Bubblegum flavour, made in Canada, vegan, not tested on animals and fluoride free. 

  Ingredients
MSM & Aerobic Oxygen in Deionized Water (Cellular Energizer), Vegetable Glycerine, Calcium Carbonate (naturally occurring source for abrasion), Carrageenan (emulsifier & thickener derived from Irish Moss), Unpasteurized Honey (natural preservative), Foodgrade Bubblegum Flavor, Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda), Yucca Extract (foaming agent), Organic Tea Tree Oil, Sea Salt, Organic Sea Kelp (Source of Vitamins & minerals), Neem Oil (healing properties for mouth), Stevia.

It sounded a heck of a lot healthier than the Crest label.  It doesn't taste like bubblegum at all.  It's really sweet and tastes a little like fennel and smells a little like Eucalyptus.  It has a smooth texture, not gritty and reminded me of brushing my teeth with jell-o.  I was able to tough it out, but remember it is supposed to taste like bubblegum, it's for kids!  There is no way a kid would want to use this.  Also it doesn't foam up when you brush.  I didn't like that, I almost felt like I wasn't cleaning my teeth without the foam. Oh and did I mention the tube was like $7?

So I got to the end of the tube (thank god!) and it was time to find another brand.

I decided to go with a more well known brand Tom's.  I have used a few of their products in the past and liked them.  I had the choice between fennel or strawberry flavour.  Strawberry was the obvious winner.  It's good, tastes like strawberries, good about of foaming action, vegan and not tested on animals.  I like that they out the ingredients on the box like this:

Name	Purpose	Source
Glycerin	Moistener	Vegetable oils
Water	Consistency	Maine aquifer
Calcium carbonate	Mild abrasive	Purified calcium from the earth
Hydrated silica	Stain removal	Purified silica from the earth
Fruit extracts	Flavor	Strawberry, banana, & other natural flavors
Carrageenan	Thickener	Seaweed (Chondrus crispus)
Sodium lauryl sulfate	Dispersant	Derived from coconut and/or palm kernel oil

 
Nice and easy to understand, and I don't have to google ingredients to make sure I'm not putting gluten in my mouth.  (gotta read those labels, I just noticed the new hand soap that I bought has wheat in it.  Can't use that!)

I bought the next tube at the same time because I was afraid of being stuck with nasty toothpaste again.  I figured this upped my odds.

Now the only reason I even bought this one was because it was cheap.  50% off.  I did not want to get suckered into another tube of expensive toothpaste that tasted like crap. 

Ingredients: Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Zinc, L-Absorbic acid, Calcium carbonate, Glycerin, Water, Stevioside, Carrageenan, Grapefruit extract, Silica, Aloe vera gel, Cranberry extract, Sodium bicarbonate, Perilla extract, Essential oils (cranberry, blueberry, strawberry, cinnamon, ginger), Sodium cocoyl glutamate.

I'm in love with Jason.  The flavor is orange, cinnamon and mint, but it's mild not painfully minty.  And this stuff really foams up when you brush.  This would be my only complaint.  It's almost too foamy, and I need to spit before I'm done brushing. It's also vegan and not tested on animals.  Now the Crest Vanilla Mint is back in the stores, but I'm not going back.  I'm committed to Jason and Tom.

PS thanks for the comments and texts from my stinky post.  Appreciated.  I should probably do a product review of deodorant, I literally have 10 different brands/scents in the house right now.

Thoughts on Whitney Houston

Yes, I realize it's been a while since Whitney Houston died.  I've been thinking about writting this post for a while, and have written it in my head about 4 times.  I'm processing some recent family drama, it's all interconnected.  Old drama, new drama and Whitney Houston.


Warning, this is another heavy post.


So my mom died when I was 12.  I didn't know she was dying, not because I wasn't told she was sick, but because I didn't understand what I was told.  So anyways, on a fateful day in December 1992, my sisters and my oldest sister's boyfriend drove us to the hospital where my mom was staying.  Blah blah blah.  And then a nurse came in and said she was dead.  Blah blah blah.  Funny thing is, the blah bah blah, is because I don't remember the things that happened in between.  So in between people crying, I remember the hospital being really really quiet.  I remembered that I wanted to leave, and that I wanted to go see the nurses station becasue they had a dog there.  And I remember that the nurses station had the radio playing.  I remember that the song that was drifting down the hallway when my mother died was Whitney Houston's I Will Always Love You.  As a result, the song means a lot, and at the same time I sort of hate it.  I never told anyone about the significance this song holds for me.  Not for any reason, it just doesn't come up in conversation.  Know one ever asked if my mom died to music. 

The week that Whitney Houston died, I heard that song a lot.  I found myself being strangely upset that this washed up has-been crack head died.  I"m not a huge fan, and I hardly ever listened to her in the last 10 years.  But I can never think of Whtiney without thinking about my mother and vice versa.

After these last two posts, you're going to be happy to read about kale.  Aren't ya.

Edit. turns out I have one more depressing post to go after this.  2012 is shaping up to be a real piece of shit year.

Just Putting it Out There

This is probably one of those posts that is going to be deleted shortly after I write it.  It's 100% cathartic, and if you actually got to read these words, you will probably be learning more than you wanted to know about me. 


So I have said before on the blog that I have an obsessive thought, but I didn't say what it was.  I had done some work on re-training my thought processes.  I had a really good stretch, but today it's back.  In sum, I obsess that I could/might or actually do stink.

Now where did it start?  Well not to place blame, but my nickname growing up was stinky.  But it didn't bother me.  If fact this wasn't even a thought in my head until I accidentally left clothes in the washing machine too long and got the dreaded musty towel smell.  Unfortunately, I also had a cold, and was completely unaware I went to work smelling like musty towels.  For a while it totally devastated me.  So that was the beginning.

Now here's the thing, I'm obsessive about doing everything to not smell.  Showering daily, wearing only freshly washed clothes, smelling my clothes frequently, bringing changes of clothes with me, using soaps, body washes, scented lotions or perfume, using pantyliners, applying deodorant several times a day, applying multiple brands of deodorant a day, carrying baby wipes with me and smelling myself multiple times a day.  Even in doing all of these things, I still worry that I might smell.  If someone touches their nose, of sniffs or coughs, or moves away from me, or doesn't sit next to me, I'm convinced it's because they could smell me.  If someone mentions they smell something stinky, it sets me into overdrive.

I work in a scent-free workplace.  This has caused me some issues, because in the past if I ever worried I smelled, I would quickly use yummy smelling moisturizers, or something.  I can't do that now.  So today after lunch a co-worker mentioned that she thought she smelled cat spray.  I immediately panicked.  I had done all of the good hygiene things, so why would I think it would be me?  I rushed off to the washroom at break to check out the situation.  I definitely smelled my laundry soap on all my clothes (fresh out of the dryer),  my hair smelled good, deodorant was doing it's thing.  So I knew it was not me.  Even though I knew, I cannot possibly be smelly, I was still convinced that the co-worker was talking about me when she was whispering to someone else.   

I realize this is 100% crazy.  But what if I really do fill a room with stink?  OMG that would be the worst.  Now the obvious solution is to just ask someone.  I have asked a few trusted people, and they have confirmed that I'm insane.  So why can't I get past this?  It doesn't help me in my social life at all, let me tell you.  Anyways, if you think I don't smell, I could really use the confirmation.  I'd rather be crazy than smelly :)  

um yeah, this post will have a short life.

Today was grocery shopping day.  I like grocery shopping for the most part.  I like checking out what's available and deciding what I''m going to buy.  As if making those decisions are big life decisions.  It's so satisfying.  And then!  (Now this is the really bitchy part of my personality that I try to squash)  I like looking at other people's grocery carts and I like to judge them for their choices.  (Ugh, I know.)  This is a really bad thing.  But when I see someone buying 6 frozen pizzas, diet coke, ice cream and fruit loops, I just can't help it.  Now when I see a cart of junk like that, I like to look at the person and see if they match the food in their cart.  I am always disappointed if they aren't obese.  Like, how are they eating total garbage, and not fat?  But those are few and far between, usually, people match their food.  I wonder what people think of me sometimes.


Today I was checking out the organic section, marvelling at how good the prices were today.  So I grabbed two 5lb bags of apples, a 5lb bag of oranges and then the pineapples were under $2 each, so I grabbed two of them.  I was making my way back to my cart, lugging about 20lbs of produce, when I noticed I was being watched.  A middle aged man was looking at me like I had 3 heads.  Apparently I was the only person that bought like 50lbs of produce today.  (???)  I was contemplating asking the produce guy if I could buy a case of bananas or coconuts, but then I decided the guy that was watching me would probably lose his shit.  Here I thought I was just buying a bit of fruit, but to others, I was a total freak.  Oh well, I guess there are worst categories of freaks out there.


Edit: I came back to this post to add something really profound.  But in the 30 seconds it took me to get here, I forgot what that was.  Must start writting things down...

spring time

Ok, it doesn't look like spring.  But I'm back walking at one of my favorite walking places in the sun, and that makes it feel like spring.  Actually it was really cold, and my nose started running, and I was forced to be super classy and use my sleeve.  :)   In the fall I kept wanting to take a picture of this stretch of the path when the leaves were changing, but there were always too many people in the path.  This was the last week of February, and I had the path to myself.  Too bad the colours are so drab.

I thought I spotted a lookout through the trees last time.  This time I decided to check it out.  It's a lot of slippery stairs to get there, but the view of the lake was pretty good.

This weekend, I decided to go to the garden centre and say goodbye to winter.  Did I mention it snowed like 2 days ago?  I'm pretty happy with my new container ($9) and $8 for the flowers.  They are growing in organic soil.  But I didn't buy the soil for them.  In between the flowers I sprinkled salad green seeds.  When the spring plants are done, the lettuces should be on their way.

I'm very ambitious this year.  I'm growing parsley and cucumbers in these little pods.  In the past, I haven't had great success container gardening fruits and veggies.  I'm going to give it another go.  I have also talked Dad and Judy into doing a patch of kale for me.  I dropped a package of kale seeds in their mailbox on my way home.  That will probably really confuse them.  It's like a drive-by involving kale.

And if that wasn't enough, I also bought a sprouter!  Sprouts are supposed to be so good for you, and taste good.  I don't usually buy them at the store because they are expensive.  This set up was $14.99 including the sprouter, and 1 bag of mixed beans and peas, and 1 bag of sandwich sprouts (radish, alfalfa, clover).  I'm most excited to try the bean mix.  They should be ready in about 3 days.  Stay tuned for an update.

AND.. I'm going to have to have a discussion with the Canucks staff.  Why are they moving out all the hotties.  I had a whole post planned for Byron Bitz.  They better call him back up for the playoffs. 

Hotties on the Beach, Hotties on my Wall

So I've got the creepy stalker thing on the right side of the blog that tells me what the most visited pages of my blog are and where in the world the person is from.  My sister just put it on her blog too, and I am realizing how much I dislike being tracked.  But the tracker is useful to learn what the people want to read about.  Besides my faithful friends and family, strangers come to see the hot hockey players series.  I think that I should just title all of my posts with the word Hottie in it.  Even if it''s just another post about kale.  Oh man, won't that piss off the people that are looking for porn.  :)  Today hearing that Cody Hodgson was traded made me a little sad because I had plans to feature him as a hottie in the play-off run. 

I know Cody.  I'm disappointed too.

Oh well.  So in keeping with the theme of my blog (chiseled hotties, and my pointless rants) I have posted a picture of the latest hotties to enter my life.  Meet the Rawbrahs.  3 raw vegan brothers, that have an entertaining youtube channel.  Summary of their channel: they eat fruit, work out and listen to good music, getting into hyjinx while also being Christian virgins in Georgia.  This year they produced a calendar featuring pictures like this.  I didn't purchase, because I'm cheap.

Then on another youtube channel that I follow...

The Amazing Bill Barlow was offering the calendars for free.  I was lucky enough to snatch one up.  It arrived in the mail today, and there are now 3 sets of six packs on my wall for the next year or so.  Bill is an amazing guy himself- he lost 200 lbs in a year as a raw vegan. Thanks Bill: http://www.rawfoodformylife.com/ 

In this episode of Cribs

I thought it would be fun to give you a tour of my home.  The Hong Kong wall.  It's full of pictures from my trip to Hong Kong and some of my favorite pictures of Ella and Julia.  The elephant is my favorite thing.  It sat in a box for years at my Dad's old house and I got it when he sold the house. 

Next is looking from the living room into the kitchen.  This picture is from a few months ago, I've changed some things around since then

When I moved in, I didn't have a couch for about a month.  I bought this one for cheap from the Brick, it only looks like leather.  I didn't want a fabric sofa, because I just knew the cats would ruin it.  I notice that it is not very sturdy, I have to be very conscious not to sit in the same spot every time.  It doesn't really bouce back as quickly as it used to when you stand up.  Luckily, the cats think it makes a poor scratching post.  They don't even like to sit on it.  In the back is a bookcase my Dad made me about 10 years ago.  It got a facelift with a couple coats of dark paint.

And then there is the roaring fireplace.  It's electric heat.  I wish I had the option to have it on, but without any heat coming out of it.  Salem just recently learned that she can sit on top and feel the hot air blowing out the top of the fireplace.  Off-white carpet and black cats is possibly the worst combination.  I have contemplated shaving the cats.  The floors need to be vaccumed every day to stop the clumps of black fur from showing up. 

Any episode of Cribs isn't complete without a look in the fridge!  Pretty well stocked, this is enough for maybe a week.  I've got 8 heads of lettuce (Costco), carrots, spinach, apples, cucumber, cellery, figs, miscellaneous fruits and greens, coconut water, coconut oil (moisturizer), hummus and some wine and lemmoncello.

And on the counter is the fruit section: kiwi, avocado, tomato, apples, oranges, ginger and bananas.  I have a 3 bunch minimum for bananas now.  1 bunch that I'm eating, and 2 bunches ripening.  I have been eating about 3-4 bananas a day.  I usually put them in my smoothie.  My dinner smoothie is often banana, kale, almond milk, water, dates and vegan protein powder, I'll have a salad as well if I'm still hungry.  This is not going to last a week because the oranges and apples make up the base of a lot of the juices I make.  My new favorite, is spinach-orange-apple.  I could drink this all day long, it doesn't matter how much spinach you add, it still tastes like orange juice.  Luckily, I now have a Costco membership and can stock up on the organic spinach.  Other than that, I found Costco to be expensive for produce.

And that completes our tour.  You don't get to see the bathroom, because that's boring, and my bedroom is a disaster.  I'm in the middle of going through my clothes, packing away the winter clothes and making a donate pile of clothes that no longer fit.  Also in the donate pile are all the kitchen things that I no longer use- hand mixer, pasta fork, flippers, and toaster.  I am also eye balling my BBQ.  Anyone want a BBQ in excellent shape that has never been used to cook meat?

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!
   

Gratitude

So long 2011, hello 2012.  I hadn't really thought about it, until someone pointed out to me that this has been a big year in the life of Hilary.  Since then, I've been adding up all the changes and momentous events.

1. changed jobs (February)
2. quit my second job of 12 years (February)
3. moved to the valley (via living with Dad for a month)
4. landed my dream job (July)
5. quit my old job (July)
6. went to a family reunion (Aug)
7. went to my first gay wedding (Sept)
8. changed work locations (Sept)
9. went camping by myself (Oct)
10. changed work locations again (Oct)
11. totally changed my diet (Nov)
12. got in a pretty bad car accident (Nov)
13. bought a car (Dec)
14. lost 15 pounds (and counting)

Hmmm, I hadn't realized there had been so many changes.  Especially funny because I was feeling like I'm in a bit of a rut, and I was looking for a way to make some changes in my life.  (nothing drastic, just something to make like interesting) Maybe I don't need more change, maybe I'm just used to there being a lot of change in my life.  I'm grateful for change. 


I'm grateful for all the good things that came to me in 2011.  It kind of felt like all the things I was trying to accomplish for the last few years came together job-wise.  I'm grateful to have learned that I love the drama of prison, and the adrenaline rush of being in the environment.  I liked meeting people that I would be absolutely terrified of on the streets, but getting to know them for who they are instead.  I know having met the biggest, baddest mo-fo's out there that I can handle anything.  The rest of the job was total shit, but I'm grateful to have learned that about myself.  I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to repair a damaged relationship with a client, it had always bothered me.  I'm grateful that I was lucky enough to get the job I have wanted since college.  I'm grateful that after I got the job, I actually still liked it.  I'm grateful that my extended family has become more connected because of the family reunions.  I'm grateful to have another awesome niece.  I'm grateful she's not a monster.  I'm especially grateful that I didn't die in a car accident.  I'm even happier that the insurance claim worked out and I was able to buy the car I had originally wanted to buy 2 years ago.  I'm grateful that I stumbled upon the raw vegan lifestyle and online community.  It has simplified my life so much and I have never felt so good in all my life.  

Lots to be grateful for!  Hoping that 2012 brings more good things and is kind to you too!

Expensive?

This is the other comment I've been getting a lot.  Fruits and vegetables are so expensive.  At first I agreed with this, but now that I'm in my second month, I can see that this is totally wrong.  Each week I go the veggie store and spend between $20 and $30 that does me for the week.  This is the usual list:

• 2-3 bags of apples
• 1 bag of oranges
• a bag of ginger
• 6 lemons or limes
• 2 heads of celery
• 2 bags of carrots
• 1 big bunch of kale/chard
• 2 broccoli
• 2 bunches of parsley/cilantro
• 1-3 cucumbers
• 1 bunch of bananas

On top of this, I spend about $10 per week on almond milk and maybe $5 a week on something else like tamarinf or raisons.  About once a month I stock up on nuts, vegan protein powder and treats like fresh coconuts, persimmons and vegan cheese, maybe $50 a month on miscellaneous items.  I never totalled up what I was spending on food before.  The gluten-free bread I used to eat was $6 per loaf, so I don't think it's an exaggeration to say I spent between $75-$100 per week in food before.  How crazy is that?  For me this is a huge motivator to keep on going.  Not only do I feel better, but I'm saving money.  I think it would be hard to justify eating raw vegan if it was crazy expensive. 

What Hilary Eats

I thought I would do a post on what I ate today because I keep getting asked this all the time.  Now keep in mind, I'm sick and ate a little less than usual.  I'll do another post on this when I'm not sick.

Breakfast:

• coffee and almond milk
• gluten-free no sugar corn flakes, 1 tablespoon each of raisins, walnut pieces and unsweetened coconut and 1 banana

Snack

• 1/2 of a flax bar (flax, molasses, raisins)
• green juice (parsley, celery, kale, cucumber, lemon, ginger and apple)

Lunch

• about 1 cup of green grapes
• about 1 cup of broccoli

Dinner

• 1 carrot
• 3 olives
• a tablespoon or two of hummus
• 3 or 4 almonds
• grande 1/2 sweet vanilla soy no-foam americano

Bedtime Snack

• neocitron -yuck!

Normally, there would be more veggies for dinner, but I'm just not hungry today.  The rest is pretty typical.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but it's surprisingly filling.  I used to eat so much more in volume before.  But I'm eating a lot more nutrient dense now.  It really does make sense, you gotta eat a lot of garbage to equal the same amount of nutrients. 

Off to bed, to hopefully sleep this cold away!

Cravings

How to deal with food cravings? 

Four weeks into mostly raw vegan eating I certainly don't have all the answers, and I'm not perfect.  This morning I had pancakes for breakfast.  I don't feel guilty after all they were made of rice flour, and almond milk not butter and wheat.  I think it's much more realistic to eat something cooked every once in a while, and not think so rigidly about how I want to eat. 

The first week I was craving chocolate, bread (gluten-free), cheese and pop.  I tried to focus on why I was craving these things:

• I think I was craving chocolate because I wanted the instant pick-me-up.  I think it was a bit of an after dinner habit too.  When I was done eating, I wanted something sweet so badly.  I substituted really sweet fruits, usually a gala apple after dinner usually takes care of it.  Or carrot, apple, orange, ginger juice.  Such a sweet treat.  So yummy, my step-mom had a sip and went out and bought a juicer!  It's that good.
• Bread.  I swear I'm a carb addict.  When I first became a vegetarian, all that meant was that I stopped eating meat and ate more bread.  Enter celiac disease and I was forced to quit bread.  I mourned the loss, but after a while, I didn't miss bread very much.  And then I found the awesomist gluten-free bread.  Like a true addict, just one taste and I was hooked.  I'm not sure why, maybe because it makes me feel full?  I remember reading signs in the park that said do not feed the ducks bread because it fills them up, but they get fewer nutrients and don't have enough fat on them to survive the winter.  Empty calories.  I don't need to eat to bread, I want to.  I've pretty much white knuckled my way through these cravings.  When it's been ready bad, I eat air popped popcorn.
• Cheese.  I thought when I was craving cheese it was because I needed calcium.  Cheese isn't a great source of calcium at all.  It is however, super high in calories and fat.  Usually, this craving went with a bread craving.  omg, the grilled cheese sandwich craving was ridiculous.  Every single day for at least a week.  When the cravings were bad, I ate almonds or peanut butter.  I have eaten so much peanut butter!  Before a container would last be over a year.  Not anymore.  When I was counting calories, I wouldn't eat it at all.  But now that my diet is so super low fat, I can afford the calories.  My favorite snack is celery, peanut butter and raisins.  Another favorite is fresh coconut, I haven't had fresh coconut in 10 years.  So good!
• Pop.  Not just any pop, coke.  Sweet bubbly calories.  This has been the easiest craving of all to beat.  The juice was the cure.  I look forward to drinking green juice so much!  The flavours are so intense, pop doesn't even compare.   

I think my taste buds have changed.  Maybe they forget what so much sugar tastes like?  Somewhere around the 2 week mark, I broke and ate a chocolate bar.  But I only took a few bites and threw it in the garbage, it was so sweet it made me sick.  Before there was nothing that was too sweet for me.  I think it's not the foods that we crave, it's the way we feel when we eat them.  But it's a roller coaster ride!  Feeling so low, and then zing! I feel great, and then so low again.  I feel more even now.   

Where to next?

I've been asking myself this a lot lately. 


In three months time I will be moving to .... somewhere.  I had planned to put in a transfer to the city, but now I'm starting to think this would be a bad idea.  The cost of rent has increased about $100 in the last year since I moved away.  When I do the math, this only makes sense to do if I don't have a car.  Since I'm buying a car this week, it might not make sense for me to sell it so soon.  I think I might be putting myself in a worse financial position with the cost of living in Vancity.  So what are my other options?  Coquitlam.  A couple years from now, the skytrain will be running out there.  But then I think of Miss New Wave by Matt Good, and he makes Coquitlam sound pretty depressing.  Or Burnaby or Surrey or New West, are options too.  It would be much easier to get together with friends than it is now.  Something I am definitely looking forward to.

In three months I will have some say in where I get placed, but not a lot of choice.  But in six months time, I can put in a transfer for anywhere.   So where to?   


I'm sort of playing with the idea of making a big change.  I've been hmmming and hawwwwing about requesting a placement in the Nelson office.  Could be awesome!  The more I get into the raw vegan thing, the more I think it would be great to live in a community where there are raw vegan restaurants.  This is why I wanted to move to Vancouver, but guess what's in Nelson?  A raw vegan deli and a juice bar!  Along with a bunch of health food stores and a great farmers market.  Hmmm, can't you totally see me living there? 

Other places I considered but are off the list? Masset- I would love to visit, but probably not live there.  Victoria- maybe in 5 years.  I was really hoping that there would be an office in Whistler or Pemberton.  No luck.

What do you think?  Nelson or bust?