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:

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

the roads we take

An easy Sunday morning... pets fed, fire rekindled, bathroom cleaned, breakfast eaten, dishes soaking, shower pending, and right now just catching up on some work. Preparing for a small meeting tomorrow in the city, then Whisk will need a walk (tho we bought the petsafe in-ground fence stuff yesterday, so soon he will be running again! without phone calls from unhappy neighbour! we hope!), and I'll have to pack a bag, then drive to the commuter train station about 1.5hrs away, then another 45min trip into the city, then a streetcar to band practice at 7pm... wew! Days like this are strange and great to me - one minute, I'm walking along a deserted, unplowed country road with my dog, the next I'm chatting with strangers on Queen St., en route to playing loud guitar and screaming with band-mates. It's a dual existence and it's so cool to get to live both.

What's a winter post without a weather update? Earlier this week, temperatures were in the -20's and now it's mild and heading for +7! On top of lots and lots and LOTS of precipitation... snow, rain, sleet, it makes for crazy driving conditions. Am hoping the snow let's up so that D gets home safe and I can make it to the big smoke tonight. Full on snow-storm right now so we'll see.

D's snowman from a couple weeks ago... and now we have even more snow!

kong

All hail the kong ball! D picked it up last night at the pet store, taking a queue from JP and her Per. Keeps a dog busy long enough to relieve pet owner guilt over the little guy's boredom. Put a bit of peanut butter in there and he's happy as a clam, for hours. Tho I just heard a loud sigh from the living room. Think he's taking a frustrated breather.

Yet another huge snowstorm. It's crazy! Need to get some x-country skiis ASAP.

in winter

Snowed in and cozy. Alone with the domesticated animal kingdom inside, and the rest out in the dark. Wind that can make you sit up and wonder, but know it's just the wind. Because no one would come this way, in this weather, at this time of night, with only a moonlit sky to guide them. Finishing the dark, cold, candle-lit adventure of Neverwhere feels appropriate and satisfying (good read!). A new quilt on the bed for the night's big chill.

The morning's sun glitters in the fields like diamonds, which cover my eyelashes when walking up the road with trusty canine sidekick, -20C no thang. No neighbours or neighbours' pets out. Just us. I shovel a little spot for D's car, coming home now that highway 26 reopened. Happy to resume conversation and company with fellow human, especially such a good one. Toronto plans delayed until it makes healthy sense to drive, perhaps Wed night, as we're due for another storm tonight and tomorrow. Yes, I see it's already begun!