Wednesday, January 21, 2009

oh january

This is it! Late January - the full on feel of wintertime, in all its glory: freezing -30C temperatures, beautiful sunshine, and fields and fields of untouched glittery snow. Snow, snow, snow...

Our freakin' snowblower broke again (it had the same troubles when the seller sold it to us but he got it fixed, covered under his warranty) and we've no truck to take it in with. We'll figure it out, but just a hassle we'd obviously rather avoid, especially with all the snow that's been falling. D came home after a long day at work and shovelled the driveway yesterday - I got out of it cos I had a back spasm on Friday and have spent the week recovering on the couch (lame!).


Have been pouring over seed catalogues. Think I'll order from William Dam, but not the colder-season stuff. Their seed isn't treated and would rather pay a bit more for higher germination. So probably the rest from Veseys. Also, herbs from dearest Richters. Can't wait to let the games begin... late February! One more month. I think I can, I think I can...

Nice things:
1. the feeling of cityness just before the go train enters Union station
2. playing guitar and screaming in a loud hardcore band
3. scarves
4. an electric heating pad
5. the smell of lavender

Monday, January 19, 2009

well water

Well it is my last day of "detox" and I feel pretty much the same as when I started, except for finding it easier to wake up in the morning. But this could be from my insistence on getting up w/ D at 6.30 instead of falling back asleep till 8 and feeling groggy and awful. I have discovered a few things tho...

1. More water is nice, but 8 glasses a day is ridiculous. I call myth on the 8 glasses of water a day push, thinking its source is most likely the bottled water industry. Aside from the impracticality of having to pee all the time, my lips are still chapped, my face is still the same, my hands are still dry... probably more from wintertime than dehydration. Of course water is nice, but I don't feel the need to push getting a certain prescribed amount.

2. Nettle tea is nice for the bowels. 'Nuff said.

3. Greens+ could be the source of my energy in the morning. I have it before bed and when I wake up. No doubt it does a body good and it might be something I keep up with after the week is up. There was also one night I woke up mid-sleep feeling pure elation and awesomeness.

4. Sugar free is good - I feel less manic and desperate in times of wanting a snack, and eating in general. Was reminded that 'ants on a log' (celery w/ peanutbutter and raisins on top) is much more delicious and satisfying than inhaling a couple of cookies. I did bake with honey twice, and on Saturday had (gasp!) maple syrup. These are sugars, but less refined than yr basic white. It's nice to know they can hold up in baking (applesauce is nice too) so I might use the alternatives more often!

5. No coffee is good - D and I have sort of been treating coffee as a weekend treat and I think I'll continue with that. It winds me up too much, making my mind race, and even sometimes causing a mild depression. Not worth it... tho maybe the odd time.

6. Had a couple headaches this week, and I don't get them that often usually. My back also went out (back spasm!) on Friday. Related? Not sure.

7. Gluten-free pancakes are delicious (brown rice flour). Gluten-free baking probably takes a little more work... made some crumbly muffins. Definitely do-able but I miss the fullness of wheat flour. That said, I will continue trying to eat less of it. Not really sure why - just seems like a fullness your body doesn't always need.

8. I forgot how much I like smoothies.

9. I miss a good glass of wine, but definitely appreciate having it on occasion rather than making it a part of most dinners. Easier on the pocketbook too.

Okay, I think that covers most of the bases. No biggie really, but nice to sort of 'reset' my eating habits and bring some more mindfulness to the idea of nourishing your body's organs and cells and so on.

Also

I forgot time to include my 5 nice things last time. Not this time tho:

1. whiskey snoring
2. a yard of acres and acres of beautiful trees, especially just after a snow fall
3. the smell of cedar kindling
4. when D gets home
5. dressing warm and playing in the snow

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

detox

Detox diets are, for the most part, bogus. That said, I started one yesterday! Not really following a pre-made plan, tho it's loosely inspired by Ann Louise Gittleman's book (very loosely - her menu plans are all meat and I'm a veggie). But the basic gist is no coffee, no alcohol, no refined sugars, no wheat flours, no processed foods (or rather, overly processed with weird additives/chemicals - practically everything you buy has been to some extent). I'm also cutting out dairy, tho don't eat very much of it anyway and chillin' out on eating so much soy.

When I wake up and before bed, I have a glass of unsweetened cranberry juice w/ 1 tsp greens+, a fibre supplement, and a couple glasses of water. Nettle tea (2 cups) and water (8 glasses total) throughout the day. Breakfast is a good smoothie w/ flax seed oil, hemp protein powder, fruit, juice, rice milk, etc. Lunch and dins are soups, stir fries, quinoa, tempeh, lentil, couscous, bean, etc. concoctions, salads, using nice oils like flax, sesame, grape... actually not too far off from my usual meals, but minus all the mindless snacking and sugar and so on.

The reason I'm doing this is not really to do a super cleanse on my liver, colon, kidneys or whatever, that's where the bogus stuff usually comes in, but to bring awareness to how I eat, stop eating so much sugar, see if wheat affects me (mild alergy?), drink more fluids, and make sure I'm getting enough protein. Will post menu plan for whomever is interested somewhere (wish I could do a "read more" at the end of this, but not sure how). Also worth noting is that I'd rather not lose weight, or feel hungry (!), so portions are the same as how I normally eat.

Oh and hey check out my cute pets in a rare moment of possibly mutual affection:

Monday, January 05, 2009

a new year

Was thinking I'd do a longish, heartfelt, inspired 2008 year in review. But that's only fun to do in December, when in good position to pause and look back on the soon ending year. Missed the boat on that - it's 2009! More in the looking forward zone than looking back. However, 2008 was so so great so here's its top ten, in no particular order:

1. leaving Toronto
2. living in lovely Meaford, in JP's big beautiful house, for awhile with D while he finished school and we searched for a house (April-July)
3. switching to working from home and going to the office one a weekish
4. all the fun of our band releasing a record and touring
5. exploring the Kawarthas on a crazy winter's day road trip
6. thanks to wonderful real estate agent, finding & buying a quiet, beautiful 65 acre farm! with tractor! (May)
7. living & fixing up house with my love D (July)
8. adopting Whiskey and Mo (fall)
9. dad giving me his car, a green '97 Malibu
10. getting engaged to D!! (Dec 24th)

Gee so much can happen in just 365 days :)


Keeping with the list thing, things am looking forward to in 2009:

1. fixing up the house
2. a big-ass veg/herb garden, and lots of nice flower gardens! maybe chickens?
3. planning a wedding!
4. more music, both solo and with the band
5. meeting more friends in the area
6. seeing my family more often (hi mom!) now that we're only 2.5hrs apart
7. learning to sew
8. finding ways to exercise: running, a v-ball team, swimming, weights, yoga...
9. making more time for meditation/mindfulness practice
10. another beautiful year of enjoying the all small pleasures of my life here - love, pets, nature, fresh air, quiet, etc etc etc!

More listyness:



A blog-pledge type thing to list 5 things a day that make life lovely. This is actually something I've been meaning to do for awhile now so here's an easy way to get it goin - five things a day might get a little much, so instead I'll post five things a week? Maybe more if I'm really feeling it that day.

1. d's curry & dhal
2. apple cinnamon tea
3. healthy, happy parents & brothers
4. harrowsmith country life magazine
5. the fireplace