The Tangy Life

Today was better. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but the day sure got brighter. I was buying lemons at Trader Joe's and the lady who rang me up asked if I cooked with lemons a lot. I told her that I actually drink lemon water in the morning. She was stunned.

So, I thought I would share the "why" to why I do that;-).

Our bodies fast when we sleep (no food or water). When you wake up in the morning, your body has done its best to push the toxins out of your cells and fat tissues and into your blood stream to be removed. The BEST thing to do is to drink a quart of water with some lemon juice in it (and I add fresh minced garlic as well) and drink it down BEFORE anything else goes into your body. This helps to flush away all the nasty toxins as lemon is very cleansing and the water is, well, obviously hydrating.

The worst thing you can do is eat a huge breakfast right when you wake up. Since your body has been fasting, your metabolism is running really slow AND if you eat that huge breakfast right when you wake up, it will absorb the toxins which will in turn go right back into your body. That's the part they forgot to tell us in school when they were giving us test tips!

Anyway, I made the most delicious raw recipes today:
*Cinnamon Rolls (Straight out of David Wolfe's "Superfoods" book
*Aphrodisac Balls (Again out of the "Superfoods" book
*Tomato soup
*Pate
*Collards spice
Pictures & details soon.

Anyway, all in all I feel light. Detox central today, if you know what I mean;-)

I love you.
Terra

Chocolate Challenges

I felt angry today.

I felt angry that there are so many chemicals in society. Angry that I decided to do this. Angry that when I get in my shower I'm washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

Angry that I can't get water anywhere I go because it's not spring water from the source. But then again, I don't want to drink the dead water, that's why I made that rule in the first place. I don't want to drink water that has been bottled, stripped and then packaged. Especially in plastic. It has no life force. Uh.

Angry that there isn't anywhere within 2 hours that I can eat food that is organic, local and raw. Why? Uh. I have to make it all. (Jim helps so much and bless him for that. Seriously.)

And confused. What is my life's purpose? I keep trying to put my goals on paper for 2010. I keep trying to write them out and put an action plan to them. I know I have a big purpose, I was telling my mom at 5 that I was going to "save the world". But what is it. Why doesn't life come with a manual? Seriously.

I know that this is all just a byproduct of detoxing all the old, gross stuff from my consciousness. It's such a process. I know that I can change my thoughts and just be happy, but it feels like a monumental task right now.

Okay. So after all that... there was a great part to my day too. Chocolate.

A few months ago when I was leaving coffee behind for good, I started drinking an awesome raw chocolate drink.

KICK THE COFFEE HABIT: LOVE THE CHOCOLATE!!!! (If that calls to you:-)

This is how to do it:
*1 TBS RAW Cacao
*1 TBS Agave Nectar
*Heat water (not too hot)
*Mix the cacao and agave together to make a type of paste
*Add water, stir
*ENJOY!

This will seriously take your mind right off coffee. Like coffee, it makes you feel thirsty, so make sure you have water available after drinking it. You will never look back.

I had an AHA! Moment today. Our Cali friend Joseph said, "I love the way your pantry looks." Haha. Sounds strange, I know. But it made me realize that when I went to the store, I decided to buy what was in there. I decided to stock it full of the BEST FOOD EVER. That was a choice. This microscopic realization did in fact hammer home the idea that I DO CREATE my entire life, the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful. I'm creating it now and have ever since I was born. It's ALL been a choice depending on what I focus on and in this case, good food or not.

I love you,
Terra

Getting Personal

Picture 1: What my calves, butt and thighs look like now, from upside down. This is also how flexible I am.

Picture 2: The little bit of extra wiggle on my tummy, arms and what the bust is like now.

Picture 3: The arm wiggle. Yes, this one is my favorite. There is a bit of extra jelly here that I won't miss;-)

NOTE: I do not think I'm fat. That is certainly not what this is about. It's simply about taking note of where I am now. That's it!

So, why the pictures?! To help introduce the wiggle meter!! It measures how much that excess stuff on my arms, legs and stomach, well...wiggles. It will be measured in pictures (as above) and with a measuring tape.

Here we go:

Weight: 153 pounds

Wiggle (W) left arm: 12½"

W right arm: 12¼"

W left thigh: 24 1/8"

W right thigh: 24¾"

W waste: 37"

W butt: 42"

W right calf: 15"

W left calf: 15 3/8"

W bust: 33½"

W neck: 13¼"


I have totally avoided looking up what is "average" as I don't think it necessary to burden myself with those "facts". I'm excited to be starting where I stand and see where this takes me. I've never cared much about measurements but as anything, it's a tool to track progress...so I'll measure once a month or so and see what's happening with my wiggle.

So then...today!

I was really tired and had to take a nap about mid day. My energy was really low and I felt like I wanted to binge again. I narrowly avoided it, seriously, it was like chocolate-cake-on-your-birthday tempting. I didn't even know exactly what I was craving, just anything. These are the times that I recognize the difference between listening to the nutrition my body wants and just having cravings due to the chemicals in certain foods still being in my body. This is part of building my mental strength.

Anyway, eating is a party! My friend Joseph is in town from CA and he is staying with us. He offered to make dinner and hello, of course I agreed! He wants to become a professional raw chef so he's got a lot of tricks and tips for making food. He made raw tacos for dinner...then we made banana ice cream with frozen bananas and dates for the caramel sauce. Good Evening taste buds! This was one of the best raw meals I've ever eaten, hands down. Hot diggity. The banana ice cream was smooth and dreamy. We all totally loved it.

*Recipe Time* (thanks to Joseph)
(for 3 people)

With a juicer:
*Freeze 6 bananas
*Run through your juicer without the mesh screen
*Through the dates into a blender or food processor with a bit of water
*Blend
*Through together in a bowl
*Video tape your reaction;-)

Without a juicer:
*Blend 6 bananas
*Freeze it
*Same process for the dates

So then...enjoy! Pictures and such tomorrow!

Hugs & love,
Terra Rose

Day 1

Day 1
*Being posted one day late...*

Rest assured darling, that 2010 IS going to be the best year ever! Can you believe this sunny Arizona weather to usher us into a new year? Stellar.
Last night I rang in the new year with the most amazing people in Sedona at Grace Grove Retreats. I danced the night away to the most amazing drum beats, drank elixirs and ate raw chocolate. It was oh-so-feel gooood.

Well, today was amazing. I had insatiable cravings and wanted to binge on foods that I swear I was making up. But alas, all raw day 1 has been accomplished. I went rock climbing outside at Camelback to ring in the new year with Jim and my great friends Megan and Mark. It was a total blast…there’s nothing like the top of a cliff view to realize how easily accomplishable your goals really are.

What I Ate Today:
1 banana
1 orange
1 kale, almond, lemon & olive oil salad (plus bread crumbs which I thought were spices. These, consequently, were not raw. BOO.)
2 antioxidant juice elixirs
Spring Water
Lots of loose leaf tea at home
Zucchini “Pasta”
Persimmon Pie (oh. my. gosh.)

Okay, so the next thing I am about to share is strange. Part of my deal is no chemicals, right? Well, all shampoos and conditioners have some kind of chemical in them…even if they are biodegradable. So, I stopped using them.

My shampoo and conditioner have been replaced with a spoon, cup, apple cider vinegar and baking soda. Baking soda gets rubbed onto my scalp in a circular motion for a few minutes, then I rinse it out. After that, I put apple cider vinegar on the ends. It actually worked even though my hair feels a little…thick. And the ends feel surprisingly moisturized. It was cool. I don’t know exactly what will happen, but I know for sure that I will not be converting to dreads. Nope.

Next, I am off to snag a shower head filter to eliminate the chlorine, fluoride and other nasty chemicals that are in our tap water!

Moonlight hugs,
Terra Rose

Indulging because...

...“It’s the last time for 365 days”.

So, I’ve had my last egg breakfast, hot chocolate and chai tea.

I have to admit that I’m getting really excited about starting out. Now, I’m running through my check list.

Jim made me four cd’s with positive music on them, thus making ditching the radio an easier task. Check.

I just unsubscribed to the two news sources that came into my inbox. Check.

Tomorrow, Jim and I will be headed up to Sedona for a RAW Chocolate New Year’s party and we will have the opportunity to get spring water from the source in Sedona. No tap water won’t be hard. I haven’t drank that for years. No bottled water at all will force me to plan ahead and make sure I have water with me everywhere I go, all the time.
Alcohol won’t be hard either. I used to drink like once every 3-4 months and 1 glass of wine would send me over the top of tipsy to somewhere else, soo right. Check.

I got rid of all the uncomfortable clothes in my wardrobe last week. Check.

If there’s a negative person in my life, well...there won't be for long. Check.

I have essential oils & incense (don’t love it anyway). I will have to hold my breath if I’m in public and someone lights up a smoke. Then I’ll run the other way. Let’s cross our fingers that doesn’t happen. Awkward. Jim doesn’t wear cologne, thank good-gosh-gollyness. That would be an awkward breath holding experience…for a year. Check.

I’ve been frantically looking for the best shower-water filter and I think I’ve found one. I guess the sooner I purchase, the better because I can’t shower …and that, my friends, could get gross. I figured out the shampoo & conditioner jig. More soon. Okay, lots of hugs won’t be hard…I love everyone. Check.

We don’t have a TV. So, not watching TV won’t be hard I guess. Check.

Goal for week 1: EAT as much raw food as possible. Stay full all the time. Eat tons of raw cacao in lots of different forms (it’s an appetite suppressant) and exercise my pretty little heart out. (Of course, follow all my rules too!)

This combination will keep my mind off other foods & negative influences creating a focus on the task at hand.

Okay, soon enough will come the blog about WHY I’ve chosen these specific things.

Until then, I love you!!!

Terra Rose