February was a good month!

3/2/10 Blast off!

Grapefruit and orange juice with a GlassDharma straw.















It was a great month, February. I won a couple of contests so that was fun.

I just heard that I won a Bob's Red Mill contest.
I won a Glass Dharma contest. I got four reusable glass straws out of that one. Beautiful, functional and reusable. I got blue, green, red and amber 12mm straight straws. Perfect for a smoothie. The boy drank his apple juice with one but he said it's too big. Fun, though. I don't have to worry about him breaking it because they are made of thick, heat tempered glass. I was actually thinking if anything, the straw might crack the juice glass! If you are a big straw user these are perfect for reducing your waste output with style. They are guaranteed for life so if you do break one, send it back and they will replace it FOR LIFE!

















Two Murano glass bracelets at GW, 99c each.

















I also found these kick ass slippers at GW for 99c.














They have non-skid spots on the bottom, heh.


Anyway it's been a nice month.

We registered a business name and we'll start working hard on that soon. I'll let you know when we unveil. Exciting stuff.

Oh, and Grant Butler is staying vegan. Yes.

Brussels Sprouts for dinner tonight :)

Tuesday Morning Smoothie and Wild Edibles Discovery in the Back Yard

1 handful of red leaf lettuce woot!
1 leaf curly kale
1 RIPE banana
1 RIPE kiwi
5 RIPE strawberries
2 tbs gr flax
1 tbs each e3live, RenewMe!
20 oz water
blend







Did I tell you the dryer got fixed? I think I will use the lines anyway. Use the dryer for some stuff and put most of it on the line

That screened porch we have is the best thing ever. There are tons of bugs here because we are literally right on the lake. That little 10x14 screened in box off the side of the house is AWESOME! We can leave the door open to get breezes and to let the cat in and out without a swarm of various flying insects coming in. The cat can sit out there and watch the birds right close up and they are both safe. It's a great place to hang laundry and to a fabulous area to grow plants! No deer is gonna eat my 'maters, no how! I love my little garden room.

I strained my shoulder taking out my aggressions gardening. Maybe we should get a heavy bag... I found some kind of grape.































I cut the apple tree branches away from it so it can get more water and sunlight.














I see little tiny green grapes growing on it so I am very hopeful. This summer we should be having apples, cherries, plums, walnuts and now grapes growing wild in the yard. Oh, and nettles. I think our grocery bill should go down which is good, right?

Ok, I am gonna go rest my neck in bed for a while. It feels better than it did yesterday but not 100%. I hope to get some mat time in this evening if I'm feeling better. boo

Shopping, the Dinner that Wasn't and Skirts

Went grocery shopping today.















I love my cart all full of veges and nothing else.















I saw this horrible item at the goodwill. I almost bought it but settled for a photo.















it's a cow in a jar with a sign that says "farm fresh milk".
















I didn't eat dinner again. This time i was pissed about something the boy did and didn't want to have to sit at a table and eat food when I was angry. . A good excuse as any not to eat cooked food. I had some leftover smoothie in the fridge so I drank that for dinner and now I am having a glass of water with ACV. I was offered a beer and it's sitting here next to me getting warm but I just don't want it.
I suppose I will drink it eventually.

We went to goodwill today and donated a bunch of old clothes. All my fat clothes, skirts, tops, pants, underwear, all of it gone. I bought two cute skirts for this summer.















eeew, see the scar from my staph infection below my left knee















We went to the new grange co-op. It's a much bigger store than the old one and it just opened this week. We got a bird feeder and a super strength tennis ball, just for the dog. She loves tennis balls and usually has one in her mouth. It's like a habit with this dog and she goes through a number of them every week.

I saw this shirt. It says Cruel Girl and has an image of a person riding a bucking horse on it. Not exactly Suicide Food, but you get the picture. I hate hate hate rodeo.














There was also a coffee mug that said "I'd rather be dumped by a horse than a man". That one is just confusing and depressing.

There were baby chicks for sale and I wanted to buy them all and let them live free and not be confined, tortured and killed, but I don't have a place for them. Little peepers. They still had little knobs on their beaks but were just getting their wing feathers and were playing and flying at each other. I put my finger in the box and they all nipped at me. I love the way baby chicks smell. Little poopie peepers.

Before and After Vegan Weight Loss Photos :: Smoothies, Green Smoothies. Blended, not stirred...

Today's smoothie was banana, apple, kiwi, a handful of grapes, two handfuls of spinach.
2 tbs Renew Me!
1 tbs e3live AFA flakes.
2 tbs ground flaxseed
fill 'er up with water and blend, blend blend.

I split that with the man, it's standard breakfast around here. It's sweet enough for him and tart enough for me. I could drink the whole 40oz pitcher myself but he can't take as much so we split a blender full and it works out pretty well. I usually juice later in the day.


Here are before and after photos.

Before. This was 2006, at 38 years old, at 220 lbs. Yes, that is actually a ROLL of FAT on my neck. The jeans were men's 7 for all mankind in a size 42. I was barely fitting in them!





After. This is today, 41 years, at 160 lbs. a 60 pound loss. Look at my neck! It's gorgeous.















Don't make fun of my outfit. Yes, I am wearing velour camouflage culottes and a thermal henley with red owls on it. So what?
I still have Seven for all Mankind jeans, they just don't fit anymore.




















I wear a size 12 now. I'd like to lose another 20 lbs but it's not a priority. I have always felt very comfortable at 160. In the future I plan on eating more low fat raw foods and I might lose it over the summer, so subscribe to my feed. I update every day, whether I have something to say or not. With photos of what I'm blathering about which is usually food. I like food.

I hope you enjoyed my before and after photos. I posted them to show other 40+ women (and women over 40, also) that you can have the body you are supposed to have, not one that is hidden behind 60lbs of fear and ignorance. Educate yourself!

Please comment and share your own before and after vegan and raw food weight-loss photos, if you have them!

A long ramble about a bunch of different things

Mickey loves the new screened in porch he can play outside and still be safe.














Did I tell you that I am making beer? I am. I got some hops on sale at Nightfire, boiled them up added some nutritional yeast and a couple of tbs of sugar and put it in an old wine bottle with the cap loose. That was a few days ago. I'm not sure when it will be ready but I will let you know.

2 liters to freedom














I have been trying to get photos of my hair for the No Poo entry but I can't get them by myself, no timer on my camera. I keep forgetting to ask the man to take some.

my ugly mug with freshly rinsed hair. No 'poo since Aug 2008













wow, there is a lot of grey in there.

Me in a pretty dress.





I got this at Community Thrift in San Francisco last year. It's a size 20 which fit me perfectly when I bought it. It has a tie so I can make it tight at the waist and it has a lot of skirt. I will shorten up the straps and it then the bust will fit perfectly. I don't know what dress size I wear now but a junior 13 pants fits me perfect at this point. Sometimes a 10 will fit but it's snug. I wore a size 20 and was considering a size 22 this time last year.






I got up this morning, did 30 minutes of yoga, stretching mostly and some balance poses. Then I blended the seeds and strings of the melon that the boy ate last night. I blended it with some water, seeds and all and then strained it. Poured it in a glass and drank it up. Cantaloupe is such a treat. Creamy and yummy, but I have to take melon all alone or not at all. I get serious gastrointestinal difficulties if I try to eat melon with anything.

it's the seeds I'm after













Last night I made jelly with some of the melon. Just a half a mason jar full. I boiled the melon with water, sugar and some agar flakes, reduced it by about a half, until it started to get that melted candy feeling. I don't know how to describe it. Then I poured that in a clean mason jar, let it cool on the counter and then put it in the fridge. It's jelled up real good. It should be eaten soon, I don't know how long it will keep.

I got new rubber boots. Big black ones like Christopher Robin. Mine are the same breand as those but only $12 at Ross. Totally Ross-some!!
I wore them to the bus stop every day this week. We have been bringing the umbrella every day but only used it on Monday. Tues, Weds and Thurs, it has only started pouring after it warms up a little. Just like I remember when I was a kid, it would start to pour as soon as I got to school.

It's definitely spring, even if it was snowing this morning.

















Minnie is doing much better.














I got the pills down her real easy, two at a time, she didn't fight at all. Then just held her for about 30 minutes. She laid in my arms purring while I tried to think healing thoughts. Then I brushed her and petted her for a while. She doesn't clean herself anymore so she has some matting. I try to brush her out every day but those mattes sneak in. She also played with her toy, a couple of twisty ties. My cats love them. If there is a twisty on the floor, look out, claws will be flying.
I gave her 1 tbs of the new Vet food and she ate














This much. Maybe half.














I am going to leave the rest out for her, she might eat later. I left some out last night and she ate it. Around 4AM I heard licking. I thought, who is licking what? Then I remembered, Minnie! She's eating! I turned on the light which made the man scream AAAHH! but Minnie kept eating and I turned the light back off. Yay for nocturnal feeding patterns!
I'm still waiting for poop. The kittehs, that is. I don't want to think about it too much. It's sort of dread and anticipation all at the same time. I'm just really glad that she is eating and playing. She is still very yellow. I can't believe I didn't notice it until Vet pointed it out. She's bright yellow.


In other news, Victoria's Secret sent me an online coupon for $20. So I bought 5/$25 panties. That's $5 for 5 pair of Victoria's Secret Pink® Cotton Hipsters in various colors. Woot, I say. Woot! Ahem. Ok, sorry. I also got two Body by Victoria® racerback bras, with Infintiy Edge, they were on sale 2/$40. None of my old bras fit anymore. I literally swim in them. It's like church bells in my shirt. I've been wearing sports bras that I bought at the goodwill. But now, I will have bras.
I can go without shampoo, but I am still heavily addicted to Victoria's Secret racerback bras. Hey, I quit coffee 2008, heroin 2001, cigarettes May 2008, almost a year! AND lip balm!

That's right. I have been without lip balm since I don't even know when. December, I think. It's nice. It was the last cosmetic to go. Now it's just oil. Coconut, olive and jojoba.
Sometimes my shins get ashy and I like to grease up my face, neck and chest once in a while. I like to rub coconut oil on my stretch marks. It makes me feel all tropical.
I use some olive oil that is scented with orange oil in the shower and sometimes on my hair, but thats it. Oh, I still use toothpaste and on special occasions I will use some Tom's of Maine calendula scent deodorant. Roll on or stick, I have both. Both have propolyne glycol and I try to use them as little as possible.
I guess I'm lucky, the man doesn't use deodorant or cologne of any kind. I made him some shampoo/body wash out of castile soap, witch hazel, jojoba oil, a tsp of salt and rosemary oil and now he smells wonderful all the time. He was using a shampoo with a heavy perfume before. I am slightly allergic to perfume. It gives me a headache, feels like my throat is closing, sometimes I will start coughing or sneezing. It's hard to go out in public sometimes because of people's perfumes. I can't go to the boys karate dojo because of the air freshener they use.

Ok, I am done rambling, loading photos and editing. I have to get some tomato plants repotted and I don't think its going to get any sunnier than it is, which isn't very. I'm glad it's not raining.

Thanks everyone for your lovely comments, they mean a lot to me. Have a happy, healthy Friday, one and all!

Juicing Without A Juicer :: Juice 101 for Beginners, It's not as hard as you may think!

It can all be so intimidating. Juicers can cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. I bought a second hand juicer for $50 but it's big and a pain to clean, etc, blah, blah. It also still needs some spare parts, so for now I am juicing with my blender.*

















It's not perfect, it's not ideal, but it's a way to get juice into your body. No excuses!

Today I had celery, collard greens, and a roma tomato.
Chop all and put in blender**
















Put them in the carafe, lid on, and whirl!
















I usually let it go for about 3 minutes. The longer it blends, the smaller the pieces of veg will be and the more will fall into your juice. If the pieces are too small you will have a smoothie and not juice, which is fine if you want a smoothie but not fine if you want juice. Experiment until you get it the way you like it.

A fine colander on a bowl is what I use to strain the juice from the pulp.
















Pour it right in there and let the juice fall in the bowl. Stir the pulp to make sure you have all the juice in the bowl.
















Pour the juice in a glass and save the pulp for recipes!

















Have a RAW DAY!


















Footnotes:

*I have a second hand Hamilton Beach 14 speed blender. It's pretty powerful for a regular household blender and I keep it running from sun up until sundown sometimes, so I'm happy that I can pick them up at goodwill or on ebay for about 7 bucks each, but we can talk about my blender drama some other day! :)
** celery and collard have long fibers that can twist around your blender blade and cause the motor to burn out lickety-split! cut them into one inch pieces to avoid this situation

Photos without Explanations

Cleaning the Fridge... Seitan Burgundy with Brussels Sprouts ::AND:: Hagelstein Park Adventure Photos

Look closely, you can see Wicket W Warrick* This link will take you to a short video of her.














Self Portrait















We sometimes drive out to Modoc and there is a sign on the way that indicates a place called Hagelstein Park. Every time we drive by I wonder aloud about Hagelstein park. Is it really a park? Housing development? Something else? This weekend we stopped!

It really is a park! with picnic tables and barbeque pits and a small lake!















Hoggelstine? Hagglesteen? Some other combination? I don't know how to pronounce Mr. Hagelstein's name but I do like his little park and hope we can do a raw barbeque out there someday...
haha, raw barbeque. That would be a picnic, dear.
Whatever.


********************************************************************************

I made a big batch of seitan with some of my juicing pulp but I forgot to add salt!
The stuff had been in the fridge for a while, great texture but virtually tasteless. Meat needs salt. Especially wheat meat.

On Saturday, the man said to me, "no more cooking until you use up some leftovers," so I sliced the bland seitan into very thin strips. They looked like steak strips you would see in a cheesesteak sandwich.
I made a sauce with about 1/2 a cup of burgundy wine, ketchup, some barbeque sauce, pepper, capers, etc. I wish I had written down what I put in it! grr.

I put the strips in my loaf pan with some brussels sprouts and poured the sauce all over the top covered the pan with foil then baked it in the oven for an hour or so

Wow, it was good.






























I wish I'd had some mashed roots for that GRAVY!!!

I served it with tomato bread and something made from cooked oat groats, beans, potatoes, leeks and other various items found in the fridge, partially blended, heated and called "soup", and some other various leftover remnants from past meals that were re-heated and called "sides", the ubiquitous salad, seed cheese and sauerkraut














Cuz it's all about the condiments, baby. All about the condiments.
And cleaning the fridge.


Footnotes

*Wicket is a friend of a friend who is staying with us for a while.