Yesterday was such a nice day. It started with checking my emails and receiving a message from Dhrumil of We Like it Raw. He has created a page called Masala that lists” the hottest mix of raw food blogs online”. I was humbled and honored that my blog would even be mentioned. It feels good knowing that somebody is reading my jumbled blogs. I love sharing my experiences and stories. Even better I love receiving comments from others stating that I have helped them. How cool is that?
I took my little poochie, Hailee out for a morning walk and just savored the gorgeous weather. I feel so lucky to be alive and have my life. I have so much to be thankful for. I am smart, healthy, and creative. I have 2 awesome kids that I spend lots of time with. I have a home that I can play around with decorating and gardening. I live in Southern California and we have such mild weather. It’s funny how fast we can forget these things and we always seem to find room for complaints on where we are lacking. I really want to turn that around and only see what is going right in my life. It definitely far out weighs any nitty gritty complaints I may have.
I came home and read 2 chapter “Loss of Innocence” from “Mastery of Love” by Don Miguel Ruiz to my children. This is such easy reading and they understand the message. Wow, this really put me in my place as a mother. It explains how children are tuned into love and enjoying the present moment. As parents condition and dump our “hell” on our kids and they develop emotional wounds like shyness, fear, etc… Our kids start to try to please us (parents, teachers, etc) for approval. Anyhow, I was brought to tears. I love and adore my children. I know they are my teachers and they remind me about real life. So much of our existence is fluff. I want the real stuff, the good stuff. The stuff that matters. I want to live in love all day long. I actually said my goal for the day was to “make love all day long”. That is my ultimate goal. I may not be there 100%, but I’ll tell you what, each day I try I grow by minutes. Before I know it I’ll be there. Practice makes perfect.
My kids and I played around in the kitchen and created this. I love when I just whip something together without any planning. It’s always a surprise. I had some serious sweet tooth going on and instead of eating something really off the charts we had made chocolate ice cream by blending frozen bananas with cacao. We just kept going from there and this is a quick video of what we came up with. Meg wasn’t in the mood to be on the camera so she acts a little silly, but kids will be kids.
Then a beautiful gift wrapped book came in the mail from Matthew Kenney. He sent me his book “Entertaining in the Raw“. Of course it is beautiful and he truly is a genius. Sorry to keep repeating it Matthew, but it’s true! I remember last year thinking there needed to be a book for raw entertaining. Ta da…here it is. Literally, my daughter and I sat and went through every picture salivating. I really didn’t know which recipe to try first. So, of course Matthew recommend I make the basil wrappers. DOH! I should have known, he had sent me that recipe before the book came out last summer. Oops! Well, you don’t gotta tell me again… I am on it! I’ll post a video of the final product as long a you guys realize it won’t be nearly as pretty as his photos show.
Anyhow, I just enjoyed a simple mellow day filled with lots of hugs and cuddles with my kids. I felt centered and balanced. So, I want to keep up with my daily goal to make love all day long. I can see how one day went and I look forward to more. Just thought I’d share. 🙂
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Since I started posting videos on YouTube I have been asked numerous times about my skin care regime. I must say it has evolved and is very different than what it once was.
Here is a video I did a few months ago that I mention my skin care regime. Fast forward to minute 3 to hear about my skin.
As a child and very early teen I always had been complimented on my skin. Funny, I never saw it and always felt a little embarrassed when I was complimented. In my later teen years, what I saw in the mirror was much different. I would see enlarged pores on my nose, tiny little breakouts and bumps on my forehead. Around PMS time I would get painful pimples around my face. I would put oatmeal on my face, egg whites, avocado, you name it. I resorted to OXY pads and every skincare product that was mentioned in the magazines. I remember over scrubbing my face and then feeling the burn from the alcohol in the toners. My face would get tight and itchy. I would get peeling skin around my nose. It seemed my skin just became worse the more attention I gave it. It made no sense at the time.
Being a teen my diet changed drastically. I was eating donuts, pizza, soda, fast food. After all, all the magazines I read said that your diet didn’t have anything to do with my skin. It seemed chocolate and fried foods were OK as long as you used the products that were advertised. Well, I bought into it and became a product junkie. I never saw much of an improvement in my skin. All that seemed to happen is that I had more makeup and more goop for my face.
Years later, it was time for my massage practice to expand into a day spa. I spent so much time being “educated” on skin care and I knew what every aesthetician knew and more (or so I thought). Most of what I practice now is not was I was taught, but there were a few things that I found fascinating.
One thing I learned is that microdermabrasion is dry friction. The reason it is so effective is because when dead skin cells are wet they become sticky and do not come off the face. When your skin is dry, the cells flake off. I never had microdermabrasion done, but now I do dry friction in the form of skin brushing. Yes, I do my face, but not all the time. I will also take a soft toothbrush and go around my nose from time to time. I find that this is very effective in keeping my pores looking smaller because they are cleaned out.
In regards to exfoliation, I know not to do too much. I learned it the hard way. There is such a thing as too much and I feel that over-exfoliation is more damaging than never exfoliating at all. About 2-3 years ago I did a pumpkin enzyme peel. Once you do one of these you are to apply sunblock and stay out of the sun. Well, somehow I forgot (on the same day) and went outdoors to wash my car. When I came inside I looked in the mirror and was horrified. I had brown patches all over my face. My skin was vulnerable and basically left out for the wolves. I now have hyper pigmentation on my cheekbones. I now need to be more creative when applying my makeup. It is not as bad as it once was and it is fading. I have seen improvements when applying vitamin C, lemon juice, diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide, and bentonite clay. However, I haven’t done any of these in a while. It just hasn’t been a priority lately.
Despite the sun exposure issue after the pumpkin peel. I am not a huge advocate of sunblock like I once was. I am working towards that philosophy that if I can’t eat it, I shouldn’t put it on my face (However, I still am wearing makeup). I enjoy the sun and actually feel and look better after a little exposure.
My Simple Skin Care Regime
I must attribute my skin to more than cleansing and toning. I feel that the things that have improved my skin the most are the following:
1. Drinking lots of water
2. Sweating (either with a workout or sauna)
3. A little sun everyday
4. Using less skin care products and fussing with my skin
5. Eating a high raw diet ( I noticed that dairy and fried foods made my skin breakout, where sweets, grains and bread made my face look puffy.)
Cleansing
I use a microfiber cloth with water daily. I love this because it removes all my makeup, including mascara. It also removes my excess oils on my skin without stripping my face. Afterwards, I can still feel I have some natural oils on my skin. About once a week or so I use a loofa and Dr. Bronners castile soap. This gives me a little deeper cleanse.
Exfoliation
I will skin brush my face and use a soft toothbrush around my nose. I do this about once a month. Sometimes I’ll do it less or more. I am not as aggressive with this as I once was. Like I mentioned before, I think over-exfoliation is worse than none.
Moisturizing
I occasionally use coconut oil, but that’s about it. I will apply the oil, massage it in for a few minutes and then wipe off the excess oil that was not absorbed into the skin with a dry cloth.
Sun Protection
Surprisingly, I am no longer the sun block nut that I once was. I think they made me breakout and I didn’t care for the toxic ingredients. I now use coconut oil, aloe vera, and eat a few Brazil nuts for sun protection. I enjoy the sun, however I am pretty smart about it. I acclimate my skin in the spring to be ready for the summer. I try not to shock it and spend a ton of time in the sun after being indoors all winter. I also take it easy and avoid extended peak hours in the sun. I also understand the importance of a raw rainbow spectrum diet to give me sun protection. Every color is a different antioxidant that the plant produces to protect it from being sun burned. Ever notice the colorful produce is harvested after the long summer days? It makes sense if we eat those foods, we will have the same protection for our skin.
Facials
I used to have these once a month, but I haven’t seen a professional in over a year. I do have a facial protocol that I do at home from time to time. It includes seaweed, spirulina and bentonite clay. The full facial protocol is coming soon to my blog. So stay tuned 🙂
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Take a whiff of your skin after an intense sweat. How does is smell (considering of course you don’t have a thick slathering of toxic deodorant on)? Is it sweet and clean or is it enough to wilt a bouquet of roses? Not exactly the sexiest thing to have after a sweaty romp between the sheets if you know what I mean. Many people think that body odor is normal. It is important to note that there is a difference between normal and common. While it may be common for many people to have body odor, it is not normal and absolutely not optimal. So many people are spraying, slathering, and applying all sorts of gunk on their skin trying to mask this issue. Why don’t we just get to the source and eradicate the problem rather than coping with cover ups? If you find that your skin is not as sweet as you’d like you may benefit from a cleanse. The smell of the skin is directly related to the elimination functions of the colon, urinary, alimentary system (skin), and liver. If those are overloaded then the symptom is body odor.
Incorporate these into your regular practice and you’ll be smelling sweet in no time.
1. Do things to make you sweat- vigorous exercise like power yoga or even a sauna will do the trick. The digestive tract, urinary tract and alimentary system (skin) are the 3 major proponents to cleansing. Did you know the skin is considered the 3rd kidney? Sweating has a huge impact on the smell, tone, clarity and color of your skin. Many people tell me they don’t sweat and think this is a good thing. It is actually the opposite. If you aren’t sweating you probably are not drinking enough water.
2. Drink lots of water- at least half your body weight in ounces. To support the liver and spruce up the flavor add lemon, lime or orange wedges.
4. Eat foods that encourage the colon to purge itself of any residue or old matter that may be rotting in the GI tract. Chlorophyll is a natural odor eliminator. Chlorophyll is found in leafy green vegetables. According to Victoria Boutenko in her book “Green For Life”, she recommends that we consume 2 bunches of greens a day. Beyond greens, apples, carrots, celery, and beets (especially the beet tops) are all great for colon cleansing. This is the best step to take. If more aggressive measures are desired herbs can be introduced.
5. Skin brush – this gets the circulatory and lymphatic system going to where it can cleanse the body at an optimal rate.
6. Try a series of colonics, perform home enemas, or try purging herbs like licorice, cascara sagrada. This can be habit forming so do not exceed 30 days on this herb. If after a 30 day break from this herb you can resume on 30 day intervals or as needed. Ideally, you want your body to function on it’s own without the need of herbs to force your body what it should do naturally. Some people enjoy the benefits of bentonite clay mixed with psyllium to accelerate the cleansing process.
In the meantime, try going off your smelly cover ups. If you feel your body odor is too strong you can use a natural salt deodorant and/or essential oils.
Many are asking about my bikini body progress. Well, I started to feel overwhelmed and too wrapped up in every little thing I ate or did. It started to turn into a stress rather than a fun transformation. I was putting unneeded pressure on myself in order to lose weight. It felt more like a struggle than anything else. So, I needed to take a break and change things up.
Not only was I stressing myself out emotionally, I think my workouts were too high stress for me. I even think that the adrenalin rush I would get from intense workouts were defeating the progress. If the cortosol levels are too high in the body and the adrenals are overworked it will suppress thyroid function. Not good for someone who is already dealing with a slow thyroid. So, I decided to pick up the yoga and drop the hard core boxing and boot camp classes.
I even laid off spinning since it really reduced my range of motion and slowed the progress I was making with yoga. I have been dealing with a considerable amount of low back pain. I have hyper lordosis which simply means my low back is really overly curved. It makes it a bit more vulnerable. I injured a disc 10 years ago and it just seems to be my weak link. However, when my quads and psoas are fully stretched my back pain greatly reduces. So, lunges, splits, warrior 1 and all those similar stretches are rocking out! Plus lots of core work keeps me better aligned.
As I was clearing out old data in my computer today I came across pictures I didn’t realize I had. This is me weighing in at 108. As you know I am a little over 5’5″. Don’t mind the boob slippage. I was laying on my tummy and sat up quickly . I didn’t realize I was doing a “fashion DON’T”. 🙂
I decided to post these anyway since it really got me excited to think of being that size again. When I see these pics , it takes me back to that feeling confident in my body. I am enjoying this process. As long as I stay in this zone I feel energized and not pressured. I am happy to watch my transformation.
I want to stay in a state of excitement and gratitude. I want to be thankful for what I have now and remember how lucky I am to even have a healthy able body. So many people are less fortunate, disabled, or ill and how dare I complain. I am one lucky chick and I look forward to being as healthy as possible. 
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I apologize in advance for this jumbled blog. It is more like notes than a smooth post. However, so much time has passed and the blog is just getting longer. So, I thought you’d understand. Next time I know better than to go so long posting a blog or video! BTW, a new video is on the way. Here is a bit of an update of what went on in January.
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Personal Growth
I have been going through my old journal entries and vision board and checking in with my life direction. I found old affirmations that worked for me in the past and I don’t know why I stopped, but when I did so did the results. So, I am back to my affirmations. I also listened to Tony Robbins CD on Relationships and the emphasis on self love. He recommends 2 minutes of self love in the mirror daily. Wow. What a great habit for me to establish.
I watched this Ann Wigmore DVD . I am working on setting this lifestyle up at my home! Everyone should consider their home as their own personal health retreat. After watching this I was so excited I made the cabbage rejuvelac. I want to set up a space for sprouting. I have had a friend who has been nudging me to do it, but since I am such a visual person it wasn’t until I saw it in action that I became excited. I also want to make the energy soup and even try it dehydrated to make rolls with. I did incorporate the composting system that was featured in the video and I hope it works out.
Made Raw Miso Soup
I can’t claim dibs on this recipe it was shown to me by someone else, but I thought I’d pass it along. I love it since it is soy free (perfect for my thyroid). Here are the ingredients. These are rough estimates.
8-16 oz Hot water ,1-2 TBSP Adzuki and chickpea miso (pictured above) ,Shitake Mushrooms (dried and soaked, next time I want to find fresh mushrooms) ,Mixed sea veggies 1/2 the bag, rinsed . I am trying to get in some sea veggies or kelp in daily for my thyroid. A sliver of onion (or any allium family: green onion, chives, leeks, scallions, etc)
This is like heaven for my thyroid and perfect for these cold winter months. OK, I live in So Cal and it doesn’t get that cold, but you know what I mean. 🙂
Made a raw curry salad dressing
Inspired by Ani Phyo’s Curry Salad Dressing . I used avocado instead of olive oil and I liked it better. ; ). I mentioned I am trying to obtain my fat from food and not from bottles.
Tried a new yoga class
My favorite yoga of all time is Bryan Kest’s Power Yoga. However, I tried Anusura yoga at a local studio. I learned how to partner up and help my partner get into poses that need some assistance. I did back bends and handstands which I haven’t practiced in a long time, so it felt wonderful. Opening up my body IS opening up my mind. However, I have a pretty open mind as it is! Outside of yoga class I have been practicing yoga with a partner and I am learning how helpful it is to have someone assist me in a pose to take me to a deeper level of my practice. My shoulders and hips are so tight and I look forward to when I can have free range of motion. Here is what I can do on my own now. I want to be able to grasp my hands.
I feel that after years of tight deltoids (shoulders) that I should focus on releasing them. I know I won’t be able to go into deeper poses until I can release this restriction. Hopefully in the future I can post video and photos that are more exciting than this.
Relationships
Self : I have been focusing on practicing more self love since I truly know that this is the key to great relationships. How can others enjoy me if I can’t enjoy myself? This is a huge thing for me since in the past I associated self love with being egotistical or self absorbed and selfish. I realise I need to be a little selfish in order to have anything to give anyone else.
Kids : I feel so close with my kids. I started homeschooling them 3 years ago and it has really changed my life and the way I view education. I also know my kids strengths and aim to nurture them as best I can. We have such an open line of communication and I really have learned a lot about myself as I watch them grow. Lately we have been having fun snowboarding. I also take my kids to gymnastics, speech therapy, guitar and horseback riding lessons. Wow…so time consuming, but I enjoy exposing them to all sorts of environments. The biggest part of being a mom is stepping back and letting them grow naturally. I need to remember less is more and to allow them to do for themselves what they can.
Snowboarding
Here is the mountain view from my home, new snow!
We saw “Phantom of the Opera”
A New Friend: I also met a new local friend who found my online videos and blogs a few months ago. Although I was unfamiliar and a bit uneasy with meeting people who know me from online it has been very fun. This allows me to connect with people who are on the same path. 🙂 I am looking forward to meeting more people with whom I can synergize with rather than draining or conflicting relationships. However, I know I can choose to see the good in anyone including my ex. I mentioned in my last blog that I had dinner with my ex and some people were interested in how that dynamic works. As long as I focus on his strengths I can enjoy him as a person. When I focus on his weaknesses or what I don’t like, I realize I become so frustrated and outright angry. That isn’t serving me or him so the less I do that and the more I appreciate his strengths we can work together to raise our kids.
Romance: I am still single as I have been for a long while. I realize that I have not made this a priority and how can I allow for a wonderful man to enter my life if I do not know exactly what it is I am wanting? As I mentioned before I have been listening to the Relationship portion of the Get the Edge series from Tony Robbins I know that in order to have a sustainable relationship our natures must be similar or complimentary. I spent lots of time clarifying my vision of an ideal partner. More to come on this topic.
Community: I am a co-organizer of an organic produce co-op. This is how I connect with the members of the community and encourage healthy living. Again, I really wish more people had this in their community. Here is a photo of Tonya (another co-organizer) and me supporting Bunny Berry and RawFu.
This is where we set up our co-op and basket of organic produce to distribute on Saturdays.
Career
I have been feeling a desire for a shift for sometime. I am wanting to break free and expand into other realms of optimal living. I really feel like empowering people to live their dreams. I want to live my life to my best, share my experiences with others and inspire them to live life with passion. I am currently having my website created. The focus is on empowered living. Wow, I had no idea how much work goes into that. I have so many things that I am doing and being a mommy-preneur is just another one of them.
Finance
This is definitely a top priority for me to get into shape. However, I was able to pay off one credit card. Only one more to go. Debt is absolutely something I want to eradicate from my life. I really want to be as free financially as I possibly can. I know that sometimes I put it out of my mind, but it’s time I pull my head out of the sand and take some action to creating wealth and financial abundance. Mentors are welcome :)!
My Garden
Here is the trash bins for compost and as you can see I am already overflowing.
My south facing side yard with 4 raised beds.
This bed is filled with radishes and other stuff that I never harvested. I still haven’t done anything with that irrigation hose. I am still hand watering which is tough to remember with my busy schedule.
Here is my bed of beets. It is the gourmet blend I planted in fall. It is almost ready to harvest. Beet greens are fabulous for liver function, bile flow that breaks down fat. Not to mention that they are awesome for sluggish elimination.
This is my carrot bed and honestly I don’t know why they are growing so slow. I am not sure I’ll grow carrots again, but it was a learning experience.
This is just a mix of all the other seeds that I had leftover that were planted here.
I received tons of goodies for my garden like rock dust! I can’t wait to get going on my spring garden. I mentioned earlier on the Ann Wigmore video, I saw a home compost system that was set up with big trashcans that had holes drilled into it (much cheaper than a tumbler). I went for it and set that up. I received lots of seed catalogs. It seems that winter is when the catalogs are sent and people decide what they want to grow for the year. I want a nutrient dense garden! Gardening is really teaching me to be better at planning and patience. It’s not like I can pop a seed in the ground tonight and harvest the thing in the morning. It takes lots of dedication and love. Who wouldn’t benefit from those traits?
Obtained a new camera
If you read my blog you know my home was broken into and my cameras were stolen. So, I now have a new camera . I am actually excited since the format is jpeg avi which means I can now add to my videos using movie maker. My last one was saved mov. files and I wasn’t able to convert them appropriately. Hey, learning to edit or add special features to my video sounds fun. I gotta embrace the technology world. Home Life
New locks and an alarm system was installed. I talked with my neighbors and it seems that I haven’t been the only one who has been broken into. I have been dusting, moping, wiping down walls, windows, baseboards, and window blinds throughout my home. I am eliminating more stuff that I don’t use. Less really is more. I have also been wanting to set up my dining room as a little dance/yoga space. Here is what I am starting with.
I want to install a mirror along that back wall, a barre, a removable pole and of course lighting and surround sound.
Sightings
I came across videos and blogs that were inspired by me. Woo hoo! Nothing feels better than knowing that just by being me I am actually helping others. Thank you! Check ‘em out!
Nancy, Paige, and Annette . Guys, thanks so much for reading my posts and for supporting me.
