The difference between knowing, and really *knowing* and My Garden!

(In continuation from last post...)  I did get up that morning at 7, but I was so tired and just wanted to take a nap on my yoga mat.  I pushed through, but didn't get much out of it.  Needless to say, I didn't get up at 7 the next day.  I learned that forcing myself to do it because "I know it's good for me" doesn't really work.  Sure there will be days I don't want to work out or eat a salad or do yoga, but it usually just because I am feeling lazy.  There is a difference between "knowing it is good for me" and really actually knowing it is good for me.  There are plenty of tips, tricks and claims out there about feeling great and being happy.  Do all of them work?  Well, I haven't tried them all so I'm not sure.  But have all of them worked for someone, probably.  The trick is finding the right reasons to make changes, and making changes for the right reason.  On days when I don't feel like working out or eating right, I can remember times when I felt good when I did and felt bad when I didn't.  That is usually enough to get my lazy behind in gear.  "I know it is good for me" because science and research tells me, but I also know because I have experienced it.  When it comes to yoga and meditation, the science and research is there.  There have been numerous studies that have shown the positive effects of yoga and mediation on stress and life happiness and I have come across them many times.  Every time I do, I think "I want to have that feeling, I will someday."  When I force myself to the mat because "I know it is good for me" the session turns out as a waste of time because my mind is elsewhere, counting down the minutes until I can sit back down and take a nap.  Instead of feeling refreshed afterward, I feel as though I could have better used my time.  This feeling then gets added to the list of reasons why I don't want to get up early to spend time on my mat.  Have I felt the positive effects of yoga yet?  To some degree I have.  I have felt the connection to breath and movement that calms my breath and mind....usually only for a few seconds at a time though.  I know that it helps calm me down in the morning when I wake up with the anxious feeling in the pit of my stomach.  I also know that it has helped my flexibility and helps to reduce tension in my back.  Though these are all positive attributes, and enough to keep me coming back again and again, I haven't had that epiphany that has led me to my calm, quite and confident self.  I know that practice make better, and I will keep practicing.  I just want to make sure that when I practice, I am in the right mind set.  I don't want my yoga practice to be an item to check off my "To-Do" list for the day.  I want it to be my retreat, my sanctuary my calm in times of stress and anxiety.  I want to really feel the benefits of yoga so that when the times come that I don't want to practice, I can look back and really know that taking some time for myself on the mat will be a good thing :)

(I did get up this morning to do yoga after a relaxing weekend, and I felt good.  I am doing better about focusing my mind on my breathing and movements while I practice rather than coming up with my plan for the day.  Meditation on the other hand is a different story....I'm still working on that one.)

Now on to my garden!  It has been about two months now since my mom and I planted my wonderful produce plot, and it is looking fabulous!  Many people walking by or working in the garden have told me how great it looks!  Not that I am keeping count, but mine looks the best by far!  I also know that the reason it looks so good is because I make sure to get out at lest twice a week to water, and every couple weeks to weed.

This last week I got my first real harvest and made some yummy meals with my produce :)  This week I know that I will have more to harvest and I am excited to try out new recipes with my very own fresh, organic produce!

This was my real "first harvest", but this was all I picked. Ground Cherries!

Harvest one: rainbow chard, basil, ground cherries, and marigolds

My Garden, two months from original planting

Almost ready to pick!  I love broccoli!

My pumpkin is trying to take over my garden!  And starting to put out little pumpkins :)

Amish Gold, I ate this one straight off the plant on Friday and it was tasty!

Pretty purple bean flowers.  A humming bird visited these while I was working!

Beautiful yellow pumpkin flower.

What I made with my rainbow chard: greens and beans

Pesto with the basil

and a fresh tomato and basil pasta salad!

Have a wonderful summer day in the sunshine and enjoy all the fresh produce!

CSD - Week 2

I am happy, happy, happy!!  For the first time in a long while, I have been happy, optimistic and pleased with where I am in life for several days in a row without a end-of-the-world crash!  Why you ask?  Well I have to say that I really think I found the motivation and steps to get me to keep going and make a change.  Following a way of eating that is compassionate and about being in tune with my body, cravings and emotions as well as following a plan to turn my negative thoughts to positive ones has really had an effect on how I feel and think!  On top of that, it hasn't been as hard as I thought it might be.  Don't get me wrong it has taken dedication to get up early every morning to do my yoga, affirmations and mediation when my husband is still lying in bed sleeping.  And I have had to make sure I am aware of my thoughts and have had to fight a few nagging negatives away, but it hasn't been a painful journey.  I know that it was probably easier because I was already vegan and have tried several time before to turn my thoughts upside down and be positive all the time, but the way Kris writes has really helped me too.  Her writing is humors and she includes fun words and phrases that make me smile, but she also writes in a way that pushes you to try what she suggests without any judgment; if you fall or falter, just dust yourself off and keep on going because we are all human and NO ONE is perfect :)

Though my intent was to blog everyday and chart my "progress," my daily routine has been pretty much the same (as far as the CSD goes) and what I have learned over the past two weeks can be summed up as well. (Though I do wish there were times I could "download" my thoughts to my blog and expand on them later because I feel that my enlightenment moments happen when I am away from a computer, with no writing instrument or paper and I often just stumble upon them and can't quite remember them later.  This usually happens when I am exercising and it is just me and my thoughts).

• Wake up around 7ish, give or take a few depending on when I get to bed.  I have been trying to get 8 hours of sleep every night!
• Drink my glass of water with a little fresh lemon juice and a sprinkle of cayenne pepper
• 25 minute morning yoga routine
• 5-10 minutes of reading the goals for the day and saying the daily prayer and affirmation.  (Though I am not religious, my prayers are to Mother Nature and as I say them I picture myself in a beautiful forest feeling the effects of my prayer).
• 15 minutes of mediation.  This hasn't really gotten much easier.  My thoughts still wander, but I'm not going to give it up!  I downloaded some guided meditations and have added a candle for me to focus on.  I also would like to make a shrine so that I am not staring at our TV.
• After waking up my sleeping husband, I make my morning green smoothie to which I have added strawberries and a date and removed celery to make it a little sweeter and less green tasting.  I couldn't down the pure green smoothies any more.  Again, if I had a juicer it may be a different story.  I think the texture would make a difference.
• I drink my smoothie as I get our lunches ready.  My lunch includes a big salad with lots of goodies on it and lately has also been a sweet potato and black bean burger with cumin avocado spread, both homemade and both delicious!
• After that, I have found that I need a little more fuel to get through to lunch, especially on the days that I cycle at noon, so I have a small bowl of oatmeal with some dried mango.
• Then it is off to work or whatever else the day has in store.  My aloe water comes along with me too, and I sip on that until noon or so.
• Monday and Wednesdays I cycle at noon, so I have a snack before I go and make sure I bring my homemade energy bars for after.  I tried going to a cycling class last week without eating beforehand, and I was zapped 15 minutes in to the 45 minute class.  It was a struggle to keep my legs going for the whole class, so I don't do that anymore :)
• Other days, I eat my lunch around noon and have a snack around 2 or 3.  When I don't cycle, I usually work out in the afternoon and come home to dinner.
• Dinner has been lots of different things, but the other night I had orange glazed tempeh with quinoa and steamed veggies which was de-licious!  Tonight I made Indian lentil dalh and had it over the rest of the quinoa!
• After dinner snack has been vanilla chia seed pudding and sometimes a single square of dark chocolate.  (I went a whole week without chocolate just to prove I didn't need it!)
• I am trying to be done eating by 7, er 7:30 (sometimes I don't sit down to eat until 7), but I am often hungry before bed and gab a cracker or too to calm the rumbles enough to sleep.
• The nettimeds!!  The only downside is that I think my jaw forgot what to do when it is closed, so I have found that I hold it funny and it starts to hurt.  I am trying to be more conscious of how my jaw is aligned during the day, but I know when I am not paying attention I hold my bottom jaw jetted slightly forward and to the left.  I am hoping it will fix itself in time.
• I am also trying to remember to dry brush before a shower, but I often forget.  Even moving the brush to the counter hasn't helped jogged my memory!  I have done it a few times and it feels really good and I can see the dry skin flaking off.  I hope it helps with my unevenly dry skin and brings out the radiantly beautiful me underneath!
• Bed time come around 10, so that we can be to sleep by 11 to get those 8 hours of beauty sleep in! 

Now what come of all this?  Is it something I feel that I can continue on with, or will it be a 3 week adventure with an end?  How has it helped and what changes have I seen?  Well I want to answer all these questions, and I will, but that clock has crept up on me and it's time to hit the hay!  Tune in tomorrow to hear how my negative Nancy has turned into a positive patty!  And how it has really opened up my mind, my spirit and my heart!

Good night and good health!

CSD - Day 6

I woke up with the sun this morning (well almost), I was up at 7:30 without an alarm.  It was nice to be up earlier on the weekend with nothing that needed to be done!  I could take it easy and go at my own pace.  My "focus" for the day was helpful, but would have been much appreciated a couple days ago!  Kris reminded me that detox may cause emotional symptoms including irritability and depression, especially if you happen to be on your period!  Oh man, that was me a couple days ago!  My affirmation today was also what I needed to help me stay strong: "every step is a victory, every fall a lesson.  Either way I am improving now"which is so true in this journey and in life.

I wasn't able to make to try out the green juice in the blender this morning, but I will try tomorrow because it is my first fasting day!  I got to go to the Newport farmers market today and got some good local produce that I am excited to use this next week in some yummy recipes!  The farmers market trip was followed by a wonderful yoga class that was focusing on clarity, but with playful spin so that we weren't too ridged.  What a wonderful idea for at this point!  I struggle all the time with trying to "do everything right" and not be to uptight about everything at the same time.  The class involved a lot of standing poses which made my legs tired, but was very relaxing at the same time.  I enjoyed it a lot!  I wish I could go to a yoga class everyday!  Like I mentioned yesterday, I enjoy a room full of people doing the same poses with me, especially when we sing or chant like we did today!

We spent the afternoon on the beach at our nephew's pirate birthday party and it was a beautiful day!  It was fun watching the kids run around finding buried treasure and enjoying the sun.  I took the time to walk down to the water and enjoyed a moment by myself.  I let the waves lick my feet as I let my surroundings overtake me.  The sound of the ocean was all I heard, the waves rolling in and out was hypnotic and the sun in the bright blue sky reflecting off the water in sparkles was beautiful.  I could have watched the water for hours.  I took time to appreciate the wonderful day and took the time to realize how lucky I am to be able to do everything that I do and have such a wonderful family.  I though of all the people I think are so happy and tell stories of all the fun things they get to do, and I realized that I am in one of those moments, I just have to chose to see it that way.  I have the choice to see things how I want them. All it is is a mindset.  I can choose to see things in positive light and be happy about what I am doing and choose to remember things how I want to.  I wrote peace, love, and happiness in the sand with accompanying pictures and I thought about good happy thoughts.

The day was great and I am excited about my first fasting day.  I will probably try a raw soup at the end of the day :)

Peace and Love!!!