Raw Food Forums

Today for me was sensational (filled with sensation :-), so I thought I'd create this topic (couldn't see one already). I'd love to see daily posts from you all, as I know all of you are always having the best day ever!

Started today with 8hrs sleep and 2 bananas after rising.
Walked 1.5km to work with my prized possession: a 12kg local-grown seeded watermelon
Ate about 3kg of the watermelon by lunch time. This watermelon is soooo incredibly tasty!

Ran to Black Mountain for the monthly run-up challenge where they time you to run to the top of the mountain. I figured it was a 20 minute jog to get there from work...a perfect warm-up. I didn't look at any maps to get there and wasn't really sure which way to go. I just took my chances through what felt like the shortest path hoping the streets linked to where I was headed.

Awesome treat #1...500 metres from my office (next door to the Canberra Theatre) I find an undeveloped block with some variety of apricot trees growing (I'll take photos of the trees and fruit tomorrow so I can find out which variety). There must have been a hundred ripe apricots on the ground and a few left on the trees. The birds had enjoyed a few of them. I didn't have much time before the race so I chowed down on a few enjoying the sun-warmed tree-ripened fruit for free in the middle of a city!

About 1500m further I came across the ANU Food Coop. Took note of where it was and thought it worthy of a look on the way back to work.

Got to the base of the mountain with 10 mins to spare to chat to the other runners from the Australian Mountain Running Association. I ran to the top in 17 mins 27 sec and felt very happy to have run a solid run with a strong finish under hot conditions.

Ran back most of the way to work with a fellow runner from work who is also running in the Six Foot Track 46km race in the Blue Mountains on 10th March. Then I detoured back to the ANU Food Coop. To my great surprise they had loads of fresh fruit and veg and all of it is either certified organic or locally grown! And it's pretty cheap (e.g. $4.50/kg for bananas). Had no money so had to go back after work. They were open til 7pm. Awesome!

Navigated back past the fruit trees and sat down in amongst all the fallen fruit, so much that some got squished under foot. There was way more than I could eat. I probably ate about 20 but what I noticed was how different it was to eat for free as it is in nature. I just ate one food until I was satisfied. Then I stopped. Simple. No mind games. No temptation to overeat. Just blissful sun-warmed fruit...all I cared for.

Ate another 3kg of watermelon in the couple of hours following the run.

Had a great day at work. Actually achieved a lot which is satisfying.

Ran 1.5km back to my car carrying about 8kg and felt strong in the legs. I haven't felt that for a while due to fatigue from mountain running most days. It was very welcomed!

Swung by the food coop, got about 4kg of bananas, 3 cobs of corn, and a tiny ripe avocado which was delicious and devoured immediately after leaving the store. Haven't had any overt fats for a couple of days and that was a nice touch. I followed that by munching down a cob of corn while travelling to Organic Energy in Griffith to pick up my order of baby (English) spinach for green smoothies.

An unexpected benefit of switching to organics is meeting choice people at the organic stores.

While in the Organic Energy store I took the opportunity to browse the private library of Stella, a raw foodist in Canberra who has her books available for browsing. What an amazing collection, several hundred books on topics from Essene fasting (there were dozens of Essene books), Yoga, Cancer, a nice raw foodist collection, Arnold Ehret, health, beauty, spirituality, the list goes on. This store is awesome. Warm people and true natural foods. I didn't see any products or processed or superfoods for sale. How cool is that! Bought a tray of delicious peaches and a couple of red capsicums.
Going to give my contact details to the store so I can meet Stella. Can't wait!

Dinner was 1.6 litres of raw soup made from tomato, celery, lebanese cucumber and medjool dates. Yum!

Post to raw-pleasure as a perfect finish to a perfect day.

...and doing it all again tomorrow :-)

Hey raw aussie,

I've kinda been out of the loop lately, but just reading your post today makes me get all energized at the energy i can feel through your post.  very cool.  wow, i can't imagine running that much during a day at work!  i hope you don't have a desk job b/c i can't imagine an athlete like you sitting down all day.  I'm so glad to hear that you ran into so many good things on your best day ever!

i just had 2 cups of watermelon earlier.  boy, that is nothin' compared to how much you ate!  but it must've been great pre and post-run fuel. 

have a fantastic day!  thanks for sharing!

Grant fantastic idea this topic...you sure did have the best day ever..

today so far is the best day ever...arose after 8 lovely hours of sleep,feeling vibed...whipped up my gs for the day...filled my 2 litres thermos with baby spinach,4 oz dates and 8 bananas and 2 cups strawbs...cut up my 3 rockies to blend post run...

off i go,stack it on the concrete,beat the instant thought go home,get sympathy and comfort,ran 7 kms...i threw in a couple of extra hills...i blitzed it,,i used your smile therapy grant,it really worked a treat thank you...blood all down my white singlet,looking scarey running...didnt care,felt strong powerful and courageous....and somewhat dizzy wheni finished,lol...got home,,got my cuddles and sympathy...feelliing very sore now,but damn,its still the best day ever...

going in to meet fabulous clients.today will be a most awesome day....with so much raw love to you all....

wonderful to read about your best days ever! :D

That day sounds awesome Grant!

I find, lately, I have been having the best days ever because I'm doing heaps of exercise. Riding heaps with my best mate up steep hills, walking in the hills, finding ripe figs on a tree!, and just feeling positive.

Laughing, smiling. Knowing I have the choice to have the best day, or a crap day, and I choose to have a great day. Life is great. Friends, sun, exercise, fruit - what more could you ask for?

Yesterday I awoke at 7:30am after a refreshing 8.5 hrs sleep.
2 bananas, 2 peaches, delicious
Planned to swim in Lake Ginninderra yesterday but decided not to because I didn't have goggles.
I realised a few hours later that was just an excuse, so this morning I swam 1km in Lake Ginninderra (after checking the website to ensure no blue-green algae warnings).
I followed this with the 5 Tibetans (including the 6th Tibetan) on the grass in my speedos to entertain the passers by.
Got caught up in meetings at work and didn't get to eat until nearly 3 hours after my swim.
A few posts on raw-pleasure saying my posts inspired and energized them...I could never grow tired of hearing that!
But when I did, it was back into the remaining watermelon stashed in my office drawer overnight.
So tasty but only ate about 3-4kg of the watermelon today. Will finish it tomorrow.
Several people in the office commented on how delicious it smelt. It had to agree :-)
Ran with my camera at lunchtime to take photos of the apricot trees I found yesterday.
Munched on some of the ripe fruit off the ground (beautifully sun-warmed) and then noticed something I missed yesterday.
Between the trees was an area loaded with sun-dried apricots!!!
Tasted divine with the warmth of the sun softening them and varying degrees of sun-drying. The dried fruit went down well mixed with the fresh ones.
I filled a bag with loads of fresh and dried. Felt awesome squatting down foraging for fruit off the ground, without being self-conscious of the city folk rushing by in their lunch hour. Friends at work are waiting til Friday to see if I'm still alive before they try the apricots. At least they acknowledged they look good.
For dinner, ate a cob of corn, a red capsicum (I don't think I've ever eaten red capsicum and not thoroughly enjoyed it) and a few medjool dates...all organic of course :-)
Nice thundery evening with a drizzling rainfall. Beautiful to fall asleep to...

I'm going to have the best day ever too.... when i find an apricot and a fig tree... wow that would be awsome!

Made big blender full of g's and massive fruit salad for the family when they wake up the off for my run.

Great run down along the beach and up past Snapper Rocks... we have the Quicksilver Pro on next week so it will be busy! surf looks great so in for a swim this arvo.

then a good walk with hubby after kids headed off for school, a nice morning with him and a huge g.... mmm.

xx

This is great Grant! And you are so right, on raw we have every rason to have a great day every day(acca The Secret). I can't beleive how positive every day feels, and I often think during the day, how I love my life!! (That is an improvement for me, because not every day was like that before raw). Infact raw has really taken me to new levels in the past year, that I havn't been before.

And thank you fruitypie for pushing me off the cooked cliff and into the raw lagoon. Without that I'd probably still be eating cooked vegan, thinking I was living an ideal life, which I now know was compromised in so many ways.
We're now in a beautiful place and I'm going to stay here forever.

ahh yes,i believe we are in the same beautiful place..

i have had the best day ever...it is a beautiful sunshiney day....i feel alive.even though i am tired and scabby from my crash of yesterday...i love how my body is healing so quickly...i feel blessed to have all you raw fab folks in my heart and in my house...inspiring me each and everyday..

i have enjoyed the most wonderful succulent fruits,today,rockmelons,bananas,dates,celery and my once per week malay durian(organic) -so no durian legs or dry mouth tomorrow,lol when i run..

I met the most wonderful kind and fun people today,i love attracting those kinds of folks into my day,if i am not,i look at myself and wonder what aura i am giving off,to attract the opposite of fabulous folks..

i love that i can be so open and free with you all here..i love that tomorrow is going to be even better than today...with love...

Yay Janita! You are beautiful! :)

Grant, that spot with the apricots trees just looks surreal! Wow! Sun dried apricots! Yummo!!! I remember thinking my cooked vegan diet was really good. No, did I? Or did I just accept it as "norm"? So glad to be onto raw!

Today was the best day ever because:

   - I had the best sleep, after a 50km ride yesterday
   - Rode up Norton Summit Road and didn't stop once! Felt so energised the whole way up, inspiring/motivating       
myself with encouraging and positive words!
   - Rode back down and ate 9 (!!) fat purple, ripe figs off da tree! Another fig tree! I tell ya, they're everywhere in Adelaide it seems! (My tongue burnt afterwards, so think I ate too many, or shoulda peeled 'em!)
   - Also ate a handful of beautiful purple grapes (currants?), with seeds, from the vine, just before the fig tree
   - Popped into the best organic shop in town and chatted with my best mate
   - Ate the best salad ever!
   - Read some of the book of Amy Gillette, the cyclist who was killed in Germany two years ago and was mightily inspired!! (to ride that is, and to ride hard!)
   - Rode up to Morialta Conservation Park and had an awesome walk!
   - Picked a couple peaches from a tree, small, but juicy!
   - Also rode 50km in total today, which was my goal for the day (normally only do around 20km each day for travel)

Awesome day! Can't wait for tomorrow, off to Melbourne and gonna eat tonnes of fruit! Mwahaha!!

It's so invigorating hearing all your thriving stories.
(I once ate figs until my tongue bled all over!)

Today was the best day ever!
6:15am Ran up Mt Ainslie
7:30am 1.1 litres of GS: Banana + loads of Baby English Spinach...Yum!!!
8am Checked out road bikes in preparation for racing in the Sri Chinmoy ultra (crazy) triathlon Feb 2008 (15km swim, 400km bike, 100km run). Learned so much about bikes. I think I'll be ready to pick one in about 2 weeks.
I'm so happy with my organic eating. Really balanced eating. No cravings for anything. Everything delicious, even hunger.
1pm: 40 min run to ANU Food Coop (organic store) to get bananas for work afternoon tea.
     Felt really strong in running the relatively short distance.
     How cool is it that work paid for me to buy organic bananas just so I'll have something to eat at the weekly afternoon tea (the rest of the provided food was the usual processed junk...chocolate biscuits, etc).
Someone commented on how my hair looked a lot healthier than a couple of months ago.
A few hours later someone else independently commented on how I look a lot fitter and stronger than a couple of months ago.
Saw a beautiful pink sunset reflection across Lake Ginninderra (where I will swim tomorrow morning).
Dinner: Soup base: Vitamixed 4 cucumbers, 6 medjool dates, and 2 oranges (all hail the Vitamix!)
   Croutons: Fresh corn kernels, red capsicum
   Refreshing, delicious and totally satisfying. A tiny avocado is the only overt fats I've had this week and feeling totally awesome!
Early to bed...early to rise!

ahh having the best day ever already!...

pea and grant awesome awesome days thanks raw budds...mwah :wub:

had 7.5 hours of almost completely restful sleep,after falling alsleep reading my book on angels.. woke upwith almost  all the pain gone from my crash on the pavement.....rowed 15 kms this morning then 15 mins crazy bouncing on my tramp,feeling really clear and pumped!ready for my run tomorrow though,i can feel it in my body that i am ready to cruise out with wings on my feet...
enjoying the most sweet and lush rockmelon that i have blended,god it is like liquid gold cruising down my throat,delicious!

I am off to do an early morning wedding makeup,to make a lovely lady feel like an awesome bride...what a beautiful glorious day to be married...and be  alive and thriving on 811rv.
my fat intake % for the week is 8% i am so pleased with this for sure,and it certainly does make you feel awesome hey Grant..

pea 50clicks is so cool,wicked,soon you will be trekking on long hikes with Harls!

HAve loads of clients booked in today,i am ready for an awesome day and to meet some gorgeous positive happy peppy people...

have the best day ever guys... -_-

hey grant,

are people commenting on your change from a few months ago b/c that's when you started to eat raw?  and were you always athletically inclined or did eating raw funnel your energy to become athletic?  just curious about your transformation.

Hi Sandy

Guess it's time I put together my full story on the site...that will take more time than I have right now.
So the short answer to your questions:
I did athletics for about 4 years from age 11-14. Struggled with running.
I would stop half-way through a 3km school cross-country with a stitch and walk, jog to the finish redfaced.
I first did the City to Surf in Sydney in 1985 in 87 minutes and could barely walk for 3-4 days afterwards.
I've always had a tall, slim build. My weight has only ever changed when I went vegan (lost about 4 kg from 78kg to 74kg) and then again when I went raw (lost another 4kg from 74kg to 70kg). I'm about 6'5". I haven't weighed myself for months but I'd still be low 70's.
From the start of 1998, I was vego (not high raw) for 18 months constantly eliminating things for all the usual reasons (even better health, ethics, environment).
By mid 1999, I was vegan. Stayed cooked vegan for 7 years.
Started swimming training around this time which I hadn't done for about 10 years (and only did it for a couple of months then). I got used to getting up early for swimming training (but was a struggle).
I got into surf life saving and a few marathons during my time as a cooked vegan.
As a cooked vegan, I didn't really feel like I had more energy but I must have as I found myself getting more active and taking on many new things, such as canyoning and rock climbing.
Aug 2005 I did an 8 week period of 100% raw vegan. I only knew a couple of vegans and knew nobody who had tried a raw diet. I felt awesome during this time and people were amazed at how my trim stomach got even trimmer. I got home and decided raw was for me...but I'd finish off all my bags of flour, rice, etc and just not replace them. In hindsight I wish I'd stayed 100% but perhaps I went through a necessary process. I kept a high raw diet this entire time, but yoyo'd struggled with walking past indian restaurants and giving up bread. I used to drink tahini from the jar.
By July 2006, I was finally ready and knew so much more about why I wanted to be raw, from reading and from experience and I  knew a few others dabbling in raw. I met Harley at a potluck after 3 weeks back on 100% raw and he was just who I needed to talk to at that time to solidify that I was doing exactly what I wanted to do and sealed the door shut on cooked food forever. I'm just not interested anymore. I've been 100% raw for over 6 months now and haven't struggled at all with cooked food. I eat a basic undressed salad if I end up at an indian restaurant with family or friends. I just make sure that every knows I am completely satisfied with that so they don't fuss.
My endurance, flexibility and alertness increased noticeably changing from high raw vegan to 100% raw vegan. It is the only diet change I've made that had profound results. The vego->cooked vegan transitions were improvements but 100% raw veganism is profound in so many ways!
I have never had so much energy. I have never run so much. I have never felt so good, all the time. I did a few 100km bush runs as a cooked vegan and took time to recover. On raw, I don't get sore legs 1-2 days after a race. I just have to make sure I don't get injured doing silly things while your muscles are still in a fatigued state. They say it takes 6-8 weeks to be fully recovered from marathons/ultras, so an active recovery within your limits is sensible during this period.
I'm pretty convinced with my few weeks on organic food that eliminating all the chemicals helps stabilise your eating, eliminating (or at least minimising) all those head games involved in eating for the wrong reasons (e.g. because you're tired, overeating, eating for stimulation, social situations, etc). I'm totally at peace with my belief systems and have the utmost confidence I'm on the best path (for me), and with that everything just gets easier.

Thanks so much for sharing your story with us Grant!  :)

x    x

wow,  that is an amazing story.  boy, i bet anyone of us who meets harley would be drawn into the raw foods lifestyle b/c he's such a stellar example of a raw foodist.  that's so great that you are totally dedicated to raw and can pass by cooked foods without a thought.  i know i need to be an example and share raw with my 4 kids and create stuff that my husband would enjoy too.

thanks for sharing!

Gosh we have another Raw Auissie that posts here too. Its a bit confusing, but I shall not that you are an athlete and think of you running up Black Mountain, which is really a very big hill. Good for you running up it in just a short time.

I went there to watch the sunset one year and thought how nice it was. Its close proximity to Canberra is the best part. Its a little like Hobart with its 'mile high' Mt Wellington rearing up on the western side of the city. Amazing views from both mountains.

Joss

FANTASTIC GRANT!!! how awesome is your story...i enjoyed the read,thank you!

RAA,

Just want to thank you for starting this thread. I'm wonderfully inspired. When I first started reading about raw, I came across DW and his "have the best day ever". Have to admit I was cynical, could never get my head round the fact that today would be good, instead always, always looking to the future.

In the last few weeks, things have slowly started to fall into place - not least due to reducing my fat and upping fruit and weekly 24hr fasting. I'm now starting to live for the day and to make the most out of every moment.

So today's been the best day ever cos I woke incredibly early (for me!) after fasting yesterday, fizzing with energy. Got lots of housework done (have huge desire to get house in sparkling and in order) then broke fast with grapefruit and oranges. Hadn't had citrus fruit for a while, so added to the experience. Had lots of giggles with my son before taking him to school then had a great run.

Post has just arrived and it's brought me my first letter with my new "dr" title on the address (hooray!) And my copy of the 80/10/10 diet! So excited.

Also wanted to thank you and others for inspiring me on the exercise front. Am going to start increasing the length of my runs, and get a bike. Haven't ridden a bike for about 20 years!!! It used to be my favourite thing to do as a girl, and I am so excited about getting back in the saddle. Any advice would be appreciated.

ggxx

hey guys...i am having the best day ever...went for a great run this morning.55 mins...and joy!! no stacks on the concrete,lol...so i did my 10% increase for the week..

my beautiful Hannah is visiting,so we went off to Adelaide,got our hair washed and dried,lovely! and then went shopping,you know retail therapy,got some cute stuff...then we bought some luscious peaches and nectarines and devoured them sitting in the mall,in the sunshine,feeding the pigeons and sparrows fruit,they loved it...and getting the oddest looks from passer bys,as we dripped fruit juice all over the place and giggled..

then we walked to the bliss organic cafe,and joined my darling husband and some dear friends for lunch for my bday..Hannah and i ate banana and date icecream,and banana and apricot icecream,wow what a treat...all raw of course*grin*...it felt mighty decadent...ohh and we had handfuls of fresh sprouts to,delicious...even the non raw foodies enjoyed some icecream,and eating all vegan for a change,ohh and they didnt even serve liquour,oops didnt even realise,so it was a very "Janita" raw food lunch,hee hee...

now Hannah and i are chilling and reading through the forum,and it is a fun and fabulous day to be alive...

Have attached some pics of my bday lunch today...ohh and another reason it is the best day ever,Hannah is making us a salad for dinner,woweee...i always make my own food,gosh i feel so lucky...

It's the best to read all of your amazing days!
Glad you had an awesome birthday Neet!

Guess what? I've just had the best day ever! :-)
Still no overt fats and feeling strong.
Bumped into fruitypie and picked up 80-10-10 book to lend newlearaw.
Had a family lunch picnic for my birthday on Monday (I was born on my mother's b'day, so it's always a family event ;-)
I ate 6 organic peaches for lunch...so succulent and juicy...bursting with flavour.
We then played croquet (first time I've played).
Then I had to get in the ocean so I ran barefoot down a steep hill, across a beach, swam about 100m with my hair out (I've recently learned I can swim without using a hair tie), around a buoy and back to shore, picked up my shorts and ran back up the hill barefoot. The highlight was a little girl about 5 years old saying in a happy voice to her mother: "That man's got long hair". I smiled at her happy to be leaving her with the image of a man with long hair running up a hill, still dripping from a swim in the ocean.
My mother came around at dinner time with a "fruit" cake for my birthday which was a fruit platter with candles on top. Almost perfect...I just have to teach her where the organic shop is :-)
Looking forward to the Sydney raw potluck tomorrow.

hello and good morning Grant,aka long haired one,hee hee...

i am red faced i am so sorry i missed your birthday,many happy best day ever returns to you buddy.sounds like you had an awesome day..i most certainly did too,twas wonderful!

I am having the best day ever...had lovely 9 hours sleep,yummy! and rowed for an hour,18kms,burned 1223cals,whoo hoo,wicked..then 15 mins on tramp...now enjoying a bowl of sweet juicy watermelon,and now beautiful sweet and creamy blended rocky!
I love my early morning workouts,that quite still time to myself,its the ultimate way to start the day!
later we are going to visit Cee,am excited to meet her.then we are going to the food and wine festival in Norwood,any other raw foodies heading that way..yup i choose not to drink...but it will be a fun filled day,Hannah and i will be heading for the nearest fruit stand.lol!and it is a beautiful sunny day of 30degrees,just fab  for doing lots of walking..and having lots of laughs,ohh isnt life wonderful?

have the best day ever guys...mwah! :wub:

I'm having the best day ever because I've just read this thread! What a way to start the day.

Grant, my daughter was born the day before my birthday... loads of fun! Not the birthing bit but our shared parties.  ^_^ and my 5 year old son wants to grow his hair long. Hubby is worried he'll get picked on at school and there is not one other boy there with long hair so who knows?... I just love that at 5 he has his own ideas on how he wants to look.

Neet those photos are just beautiful! I'm so glad you've had such a fun day.

Happy birthday to you both.

xoxoxo

You haven't missed my birthday because it's today (Monday) given midnight has gone by.
Happy Birthday to me! Happy Birthday to me! :-)

I had the best day ever yesterday.
Had a lovely sleep, a few quick posts on RP and it was off to newlearaw's to prepare some food for the Sydney potluck.
I used all organics. Organics is what I choose to feed myself now, so it is also what I choose to feed my friends!
About 20 bananas chopped into a bowl, scattered with shredded coconut and topped heavily with a sauce of 16 medjool dates, 5 bananas, a dozen raw cacao beans and some water for the right consistency. Yum!!!
One person at the potluck said he had 9 helpings of it :-) A simple dish which was a winner! Achieved my goal.
Lea and I kept each other from hitting the overt fats, combo-abombos, etc too hard, but we had a try of everything. Delicious. Several new faces. Held in beautiful Centennial Park on a car free day. We were treated with some lovely rain and some late sunshine. There was running, a little climbing and as always, amazing people and refreshing, inspiring conversations. Oh, and Kerry gave me the 5 Tibetan Rites book as a birthday present. Too cool!
Before parting ways the stayers sang happy birthday to me. Very special :-)
I love my life!
Dropped Lea back home and went to Coogee Beach where I did a solid run (400m), swim (1km), run (400m) and didn't suffer as I didn't overeat (much ;-)

Jen, If your son has enough confidence to grow his hair long, I'd almost guarantee that confidence will lead him to a positive place. I find that kids that choose to grow their hair long at that age are freer spirits than most.

Neet, Brilliant to hear your training is going so well and is so much fun! I'd love to get back into some rowing.

Thanks for the birthday wishes! For my birthday today, I'm going to have the best day ever!

Happy Birthday, hope its full of delightful adventures and delicious surprise. Thanks for your beautiful inspiration.

HAPPPPPPPPPPIEST BIRTHDAY BEST DAY EVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVERRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


 :wub: :wacko: :ph34r: ^_^ :mellow:

Sound like you had an awesome rawsome day of eating buddy,that sounds amazing that banana date concotion.wow 9 helping,that certainly was a winner alright...when you come over this way to visit us,you are more than welcome to whip that one up Grant..

yeh rowing rocks for sure...

having an awesome day today.
ran over 9kms this morning,so sooo pleased with myself,yay! then powerwalked 17mins...
enjoyed some watermelon now time for blended rockmelon...Hannah and i are goingto the botanical gardens today,very excited another awesome day...we will buy some fruit probably from wilsons organics,cos organically grown is closed today,then we will walk around to the gardens,meet up with emma (snowwhite) and have a little raw party going on!

ohh hoping the sunshine comes out soon,its a bit nippy,brrrr!but still the best day ever...

Happy Birthday, RAA.

Just got up to another best day ever. Having a day devoted to my writing which is blissful. Have worked hard to get to the point where I can write/say what I want and be utterly creative.  Have a book proposal and a journal article to attend to. Am very tempted to try your banana recipe later for some brain food. Will have a good run first so that I earn it!

Love, ggxx

Thanks for the birthday wish Goji Girl.
So awesome to hear you've had the best day ever.
A writer who is creative and earns their meal...too cool!
What do you love to write about?

beckyji, thanks for your charming wishes and choice words.
Funnily enough my day was filled with delightful adventures and delicious surprise!

Neet, Thank you also for the sweet birthday wishes...I feel so special :-)
9km!!! You are a machine! No, scrap that...machines wear out. You're a thriving organism!!!
Hope you got your few rays of sunshine.

I had the best birthday ever today.
I ate watermelon for breakfast, 10 of the best peaches by late lunch.
I got the best birthday card ever from my grandparents. It said "Grandson, You're a unique young man with the energy and imagination to shape the future..." Very nice to hear empowering things like that from family.
I was drowning in too many tasks at work today, and before I knew it the tasks were delegated to other kind people, and all was balanced again in Grantland.
Just finished eating about 15 medjool dates after my special birthday run.
I chose to sleep longer this morning and go to work late, after 2 late nights in a row.
I loosely planned my day this morning: I'd get through my work efficiently, leaving in time to run for 2 to 2.5hrs and then if the time seems right...finally watch "The Secret".
Well I ran the fire trails around Mt Ainslie, through the pine plantation of Majura, weaving around all the mountain bike trails to keep it fun. I'd never been on the northern or eastern side of Mt Ainslie before so it was a delightful adventure. A man cycled past me in a hurry and we recognised each other from morning runs up the mountain. He got a few hundred metres in front of me and stayed there, so I decided to catch him. Took about a km but I overtook him :-) I told him he made me sweat! It was so refreshing, running in the cool evening with a little wind and the threat of rain (which never came). The pine plantation was so barren of life. No birds, nothing! Are these trees just waiting for their day to be chopped down? There was an extremely empty vibe about that place. But still fun to weave around the bike tracks :-) Not really knowing exactly where I was going or which path was the correct one and knowing it would be dark well before I got back. With the cloud cover, I knew there would be no moon or stars to light the way. But I figure you can't get too far lost near Canberra. Two echidnas crossed my path (not at the same time) and I saw about 30 wallabies throughout the adventure. Two of them just stood there as I ran past within a metre of them. Cool! I ended up climbing Mt Majura as I'd never been there before. It has an aircraft radar station on top of the mountain, so don't think I'll be climbing that one again.
I ran for 2 hrs 15 mins. About 45 mins into the run I thought of Harley's tattoo "PMAR" positive mental attitude regardless. I was going to consciously use it to stay positive when I started getting tired or when I struggled up hills. But that never happened! I was in a positive frame of mind for the entire with no conscious effort required to stay positive. I love my life! I thoroughly enjoyed the entire run, including the hills. Finished the last few km like I was running a 1500m track race. I love trail running. I love the freedom of running alone in remote places. I am excitable like a child when I run in the serenity of darkness. Oh...and my left nipple is sore from rubbing on my singlet :-)

Lea, It is now time for me to watch The Secret. Finally the time is right! Then to sleep, pronto! I've earned at least 9 hrs sleep tonight.

Lynita, Thanks for loaning The Secret to me!

fantastic what a best day ever Grant..

thank you,yes i think this little "machine"oops thriving organism has earned some mighty good sleep too,lol..

i love running alone too in the remoteness in the early morning..there is something very special about that time isnt there...your trail run sounds awesome...

well need to go now,and have a best night ever,as hannah wants to use the puter...ciao ciao my rawbie buddies...

Loved your story Grant!

I definitely feel the same. Went cooked vegan for 8 years but it wasn't until I went raw that I started to feel so energetic and great, great, great! I love eating raw vegan now and I can't turn back, even though when I ride my bike at night I can smell foods and close one's around me eat cooked food that smells kinda nice.

Goji Girl!! So awesome you're buying a bike!!!! What do you wanna ride it for? I don't know heaps, but I guess main thing you need to decide what you'll be riding. I assume mostly road? In that case, a racer (!), or hybrid, or a mountain bike with thinner wheels would be great. You can probs pick up something for around the $300-400 mark, for your first bike in 20 years, but of course, if you spend a bit more, you'll pick up something more decent. But you can def pick up something good around that range.

Good luck with the bike buying!!!! You'll get hooked! Ride heaps! It's so much fun! :)

Happy Birthday RAA. Great to hear that's you've had a best day ever!

my last 3 days have been the best...staying with Neet and enjoying the many raw food eating moments! we found a really good fruit stand with the best nectarines...oh bliss!! soooo juicy and fresh! mmmm...yummo.  -_-

ran 4km and did 1km on rowing machine this morning, had awesome bowl of fruit for breakfast, pear and grapes for lunch, snack on bananas and more grapes, really good salad for tea...and more fruit to snack on (heehee)!!! plus added to that, spent the day with my beautiful neets in the sunshine and warmth!!

Thanks Raw Duchess. Life is beautiful isn't it!

Pea, I find the smell of some cooked foods satisfying. But I'm empowered by the realisation that being satisfied by the smell is all cooked food has to offer me. So I enjoy the sensation of the cooked smells and go looking for some nourishing foods to satisfy my hunger.

thats a great way of viewing cooked food smells Grant...for me smells are memories,as they are for most of us...and i usually register the smell,remember the memory and then move on..toward the nearest fruit tree usually lol...

today is beautiful...

did a great workout,enjoyed some melon..going to Adelaide with hannah,cruising with the top down and music cranked....being very inconspicious of course,lol!
taking my beautiful girl to the airport *sniff* will miss my wonderful raw foodie buddy,but *perks up* she is coming back at easter,whoo hoo yay!!! more fun then too.

theni am off to the organic shop,more fruit and greens...its so exciting buying produce,it makes my day...

great post grant.

you have the exact physique of all the world class distance runners ive met.
ripped n ready to rock!

Thanks Harley.
Those words are enough to motivate me for months! :-)

RAA,

It's still Monday here in the US, so it's still your birthday!


(http://yelims2.free.fr/Fete/Fete08.gif)

Boy, you raw aussies sure know how to put in a good workout!  Seems like my workout tonight is nothin' compared to yours.  but i'll get there.  i have far to go for any strenuous cardio.  I know everyone needs to pick something that they're comfortable with, so I don't want to even start comparing, but your adventures sound so enticing it makes me want to be able to hike up and down a mountain.  need to just start walking let alone running!

I think it's just so sweet of your mum to make you a fruit platter.  I guess she wouldn't want to put too many candles on it or else your fruit would start overheating!

Have the best day ever today!

Wow, you get good value out of birthdays with an international crowd.
Thanks for the birthday wishes, Sandy!

Mum really felt like it was breaking tradition not to light the candles but that wasn't what I wanted.
She accepted that and sang happy birthday to me. Mum's are great aren't they.

I just had the best day ever :-)

A good night's sleep (8.5 hrs).
A lovely rainy morning which was very welcomed as they don't happen here often.
Running out of food and the organic shops don't open until 10am so I enjoyed a light breakfast of 3 oranges and later a small avocado.
Became late enough getting to work that I got to go to the organic ANU Food Coop and picked up radiccio lettuce (tough and tasty!), cos lettuce, avocados, bananas, and a recent favourite of mine...fresh corn...so sweet and succulent!
Colleagues (really nice ones :-) at work agreed to push a meeting back 30 mins so I could get in my recovery run (after last night's adventure). I ran with friends up Mt Ainslie...47 minutes return trip. I was amazed that I felt quite strong and not fatigued at all following last night's activity.
A belated birthday call from my sister who has been having an incredible time somewhere up near the Gold Coast. She was unneccessarily laying a guilt trip on herself for not calling me yesterday. I set her mind at ease and was very happy she'd called.
I put my entry in for the Six Foot Track 45km race in the Blue Mtns from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves...finally after about 4 years I can actually partake in this amazing race that has over 700 entrants and has been running since 1984. My "so called crazy" ultra friends do a 90km race called the "12 Foot Track" which is...you guessed it...the Six Foot Track and back!
Left work at a reasonable hour and will get to do some reading before bed. Dean Karnazes "Ultra-marathon man: Confessions of an all night runner"...about time I got back to this book...I enjoy reading it so much.

Until tomorrow...
Enjoy your rest time,
Grant

Some cooked food smells like beautiful flowers..... love the smell but have no desire to eat them!!!!    -_-

Had best day exercising, eating and preparing lots of raw treats for me, family and friends!

Best day ever to you all!

xx

i saw dean in san fran last year. neat guy and one can only imagine what he would be doing on raw. like planting trees during a marathon, every day for a year!

top book either way. its not a health book but its a lifestyle, motivating book of the highest order.

6 foot track..nice!

Whoops, missed your birthday Grant, thinking of you now belated. Hey thought of you today(why I had the best day), when I picked up local organic persimons, watermelon, caps, eggplant etc. going up again tomorrow, you want some?

Also my best day included an amazing storm with huge downpour of much desired rain, in which I got the urge to go play/run in it...and I did!! Bliss!!

Hey Grant,

I'm writing academic stuff - really it's all to do with social justice. Work cuts across several disciplines - sociology, social policy and arts. Just finished PhD and now looking for a book deal and I'm writing academic journal articles. Have just had book proposal accepted for review by a big publishers, so am on right lines.

Raw is giving me clarity in terms of my writing. But probably more in terms of what I want to achieve in life. Feel so focused and am doing lots of visualising and manifesting.

Pea - yes, I'm so excited about the bike. Someone has offered to give me an old mountain bike of theirs. Just waiting for them to get round to dropping it off for me. Thought this would be a good start. Can see how I get on before investing in something. Am saving for a vitamix at the moment, then will start a bike fund. For the time being I want to ride to the local (fruit and veg!) shops - too far to walk and I don't like getting the car out for short trips.
So I need to get some kind of basket/pannier to put stuff in. When my son gets a bit more able on his bike, we're going to go for rides together. There are some lovely wooded areas with cycle tracks round here that we can drive to. So also need some sort of rack for car.

I'll let you know how I get on with it! Will probably have heaps of questions.

ggxx

Sorry, no time to post the last few amazing days, but today I'm also having the best day ever!
Ran up Mt Ainslie this morning. Lovely run through the dampened flora.

Fruitypie
You've made me all excited with talk of local organic persimmons, watermelon and caps! (Do they have red caps? My favourite!) I definitely would love some to get off you on the weekend.

Talk about the law of attraction, I just found a local organic grower in Canberra. He and his wife have 120 acres and have been running a stall every Thurs from 8am to about 2pm within about 100 metres of my office!
$2 for large red capsicums
$3 for honeydews
$1 fresh corn
$3 celery
snow peas, apples (waxed by organic standards i.e. vegetable based wax), oranges, peaches, nectarines, beetroot (huge ones), butternut pumpkin, basic, coriander, loads of stuff!
And so cheap for organics!
Had a great conversation with the farmer. They have an open day on the farm every October.
He said it's been a tough year with the drought. He has this system where he recognises off coloured plants and takes them out (cuts them off near the ground and grafts a new plant to it). That way he has all healthy plants and doesn't tend to have problems with insects/bugs/grubs. He talked about some old theories they had from the university about the colours that insects see and why they are attracted to a particular plants and not others of the same variety. Brilliant to talk to an old wise man who has been growing as nature intended since he began the farm decades ago.
I plan to run up Mt Ainslie again at lunch time!

Off for the weekend, but dropped in a watermelon and persimons(ripe-ready to eat) for you Grant yesterday.

Canberra's not such a boring place after all :-)

Hey there fruitypie, Have an awesome weekend!
Yesterday I picked up 12kg of organic, locally grown, royal gala apples for $25. Canberra is rockin!
Got more benefit from it than I bargained as I ended up carrying over 20kg (including the apples) for about 20 mins to get to my car after work :-) Lovely fatigue/lactic buildup through the arms...the kind I haven't felt much since my rock climbing days.

Had a great weekend, amazing what you are finding, nearly something every day!!! I have also brought back some fresh from up north. Got some fresh herbs,celery from kerolis to. Kerolis got a cool property we could do the raw thing at, but her hubby has a gun...I won't give any details, but basically it isn't vegan!!!

glad you had an awesome weekend...hubby has a gun...ohhhh interesting*grin*or not...??

i had a great weekend....i had the best run ever on saturday morning...i had a mishap yes...no biggie,just a bit of a sore ankle still,but getting stronger by the day..butt muscles are sore,love that feeling!
I had my first encounter with animal communication,it was amazing amazing!! and had i not hurt my ankle and left work,i wouldnt have had this amazing experience...the channels are unblocking...i am in awe!
Played with my little niece Lidia,had a wonderful time embracing my inner child...and feeling the love..
rowed yesterday...had a little sleep in this morning...and rowing in a moment,then some light trampolining and tomorrow a light run...building the strength back up in my ankle...so it will be stronger than steel!

have the best day ever rawbies....mwah :wub:

so great to see everyone embracing each day and getting the best out of it!!

i had the best day yesterday too...going to the melb food night...meeting lots new ppl.

found out there is an organic shop just a few blocks down from where i live, and here i'd been going to one a few suburbs over!! wow! haha...now there is at least 3 i know close by...so many choices! heehee...love it. so, yesterday was the best day ever, i found out where i can get more food from!!  -_- -_-

It is so good to live in a city for it's organics etc. great fossicking everyone. I have been finding the local country side of the road stalls helpful. The organics up here arn't great.
 
Neet- You have the running bug :-) fantastic. Sorry bout the ankle, you'll recover quick though. Please explain your animal communication...sounds good, want to know more.

Hey Fpye...yes am recovering so quickly...thank you :wub:
I do have the running bug...i visualise myself running all the time...when i am out driving i look at the road and see myself running,i just love it!

animal communication...have had 2 experiences in the last 4 days...i am a little shy about telling you but i will..cos its very new to me....
on saturday sitting in the car waiting for hubby at the fuel station...with my sore ankle..and i looked over and a sick looking 'older' man,had a beautiful little doggie on a leash...and was roughly jerking him around,and it had to be hurting him....and i heard the dog say"one day...you are going to need me...."and that was it,it was as clear as day...
then the day after...my cat who i have never ever communicated with...was on the floor eyes tightly shut..and i came and sat next to him...he said.." i know you are there,but please leave me alone".....
now i am talking to him all the time and looking deeply into his eyes...and he is looking at me oddly and saying"how come you took so long to talk to me"....looking a little distrustful,but i hope to win him over...

Wow, i'm so glad you shared. Great stories & just the start of something very exciting. I havn't heard much about this but hae always been a very big animal lover & I look into their eyes & talk to them. I havn't really thought about them talking back. Opens up heaps hey!!

Best day today, I get so excited on Wednesdays cause I get to buy local freshly picked produce for real cheap. Got some more persimons and a bunch of other stuff to, then came home and ate up big.

yeh,its is awesome...makes me feel really excited and honored....once the channels start to clear,i am truly free to be myself,no matter what!!

sounds like a fine eating day...yum persimmons..mmmm

I love persimmons too. I had three the other day in a fruit salad which was beautiful!

I've just had the best day ever because I've worked through a major fear, done two workouts, one great big walk, played with my kids and just been happy all day!  ^_^ I feel happy without the fear of it going because I know I can be happy again even if I fall.

I just love raw and all it teaches.

xoxo

well done babe :wub:

Hey, where's Grant, i believe he should be here posting the good news of his best day eva. I will let him share....

My days have been so saturated with the best experiences ever that I haven't been in to post.

Was expecting to go under 6 hrs in my 45km mountain race on Saturday and thought I was being very optimistic at hoping to go under 5 hrs 30 mins.
I came in at 5 hrs 6 mins!!! I'm still supremely amazed!
During the race I ate 8 organic cavendish bananas, drank enough water that I never felt dry and filled my camelbak with 1.5litres of water blended with 20 organic medjool dates. That stuff was magic during the race. A true electrolyte drink which took minutes to give me a boost. I also drank about 800mls of smoothie (celery blended with a little amount of water). I believe this is why I didn't get the usual cramping soon after the 30km mark which I've had in every other ultra race.
I ran without my watch (I wanted run to run by how I felt...in touch with my body...running smart...and running with my heart). I had no shortage of positive inspiration to draw from. Was amazed at the number of people that know me as "Thrax" from the forums on www.coolrunning.com.au
I was hearing ultra athletes who perform way better than me telling me how they got great results trying some of my previously posted suggestions for race nutrition. Flattering. Imagine if they went 811rv!

I ate A LOT of food after the race (as much fruit as I cared for), had a massage highlighting my tight calf and glutes, drove back to Sydney, quick night swim at Coogee Beach (my equivalent of a radox bath) ate very light in the evening allowing for optimal recovery during my slept/rest of 13 hours on Sat night.

Got great inspiration for future directions from Lea (Thx!). Won't post the details now...Ohhh, the suspense! :)

The best day ever (as always) rolled over into today:
This morning I ran 2 soft sand laps of Coogee Beach this morning, swam 2 laps in lovely choppy conditions :) no water sucked down the throat is always a bonus! Followed that by 2 more soft sand laps, the last lap being a solid run getting the heart rate pretty high. Love the fast recovery!
Lunch time I went for a run for 1 hr 15 mins including a climb up Mount Ainslie!!! I amazed myself. I'd set out for a gentle recovery run but felt so good that I ran faster and stronger than I normally do! Did I mention how much I love the fast recovery of this lifestyle :)

woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh man!!! Grant i have been hanging to hear about your progress...wow...awesome awesome awesome...my GOD!!! you so inspire me...well done 5 hours 6 mins...f*&^!!!
you are a powerhouse..what an awesome example of 811rv living...positive mental attitude and extreme mental toughness....if i am not mistaken that is 6.8mins per km...awesome! and with mountains to climb...

i'm doing well then for my baby run of 10kms...averaging 6mins to 6.5 mins per km....-whether i am on the flat or hills

thank you for sharing you most extroidinarily awesome best days ever...mwah :wub:

Oh and I forgot to post...my waking/resting heart rate the morning after the race (toward the end of my 13 hr rest) was...
drumroll please...35 beats per minute! I even double checked it.

And the best day ever factor was magnified as a previous race winner of the 45km 6 foot track race (and also a good mate) told me I wouldn't be running for a few days and I'd be really sore. I said expected to be back running straight away and I'd keep him posted :)

RAW TO THE CORE!

fantastic well done - yes you are raw to the core. i am truly inspired.

Aussie that's just awesome. Know wonder you feel so amazing! Congratulations on a great run and in doing some good in the world by inspiring some of the other athletes (and some of us!) to stretch ourselves.

xoxoxo

anyone can be an athlete. cos if i can , anyone can!

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!

I love how everyone here is so active...and Grant really is a great advert for raw...was so glad you could report to Dr J king at the finish your sucess..I know he is quietly questioning ;-)

Love to hear the recovery to...

My firend just got told from a Natropath she doesn't get enough protein ( she is a cooked vege) I just feel like showing them what you athetes do on 811...blow them right away :-)

give the naturopath my number....   hehe  :)

Yeah Jen, you go sort her/him out! Hehehe. I know you would do it in the nicest possible way.

 Jen, I so admire you. You are always so lovely with warmth shining through your posts. And the work you are doing at the moment is amazing. I don't know you really well but I'm so proud of you and what you are achieving anyhow. Well done.

xoxoxo

Thanks love, thats means a lot !!

 :)

x   x

You are welcome! (http://yelims.free.fr/Forum/10.gif) for you.

xoxo

WELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL....my day is the best day ever ever everrrrrrrrr!!!!

10.5 kms this morning in 64mins 3 mins faster than 2 days ago..whoo hooo,and i discovered that i really enjoy and am good at running hills...phew!

And i have one of my favourite people in the world with me...helping me go through all my things in the house and laughing and being happy,after my one teary moment,and lots of warm hugs and love....its all good!
And eating the best my lush bananas and grapes for lunch,lovingly prepared by Hannah...We(actually I)he he decided to burn some benzonite(sp?) rocks...like a nice gentle incense..welllllllllllllllllll :wacko:ummmmm,lets just say that there was ALOT of energy in the room at the time of the burning...and well lllllll it kinda took offf black billowing smoke in the room...like full on...and flames 1/2 metre in the air...bearing in mind this is on the dresser on a little piece of tin foil...hheee hhee harrr harrr...well fortunately there is still a house standing and we are able to sell it...i was in the bathroom and Hann is saying shhheeeesh NNNNNNNNNNNeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet,its getting bigger and so she bravely scurried across the carpet....and we dumped in the shower .....black stuff everywhere dear god...yes we still have hair and eyebrows...hee hee mwahh arrrra rrrr,just!!!!

1)  why did you have bentonite blocks?

2) why on earth did u set them on fire ?!!

thank god u r alive!
x

What are bentonite blocks?

xooxo

Bentonite is a clay that is typically used topically on the skin, or internally as a laxative with a fibre such as psyllium,  to my knowledge at least! 

What else do u use it for Neets?   x

harr harr harrr thats too funny *rolling around laughing here clutching my side*mmmmmmmmmmwwwwwwahrr harrr....i like to live dangerously,,Dani yes you are right...its meant to give off a lovely aroma as in like an incense..weelllllll if black billowing smoke and ash every where counts he hee hee....

lets just say wouldnt light it and go to bed...gasp!

Oh, sorry ... my bad!  I shouldnt speed read the posts  :)

hey jen, I'm glad you did! thanks for the giggle!  :wub:

xoxoxo

having the best day ever at our friend Clintons fruit farm,laughing eating fruit and sunbathing...ahh life is indeed so very very sweet....

just a couple more pics...Harls buddying up with the gorgeous little donkey hee hee normally hes very shy...Harls says its cos not many females go to the farm,so he was checking us out...hee hee...

ahh have got lots more tan today...lazing in the sun...hann did too,and Harls is already chocolate,lol

Good girl Neety! Looks awesome. So glad you had the best day ever! Thinking of you.

xoxoxo

tanks babe....feeling awesome...its all good its all raw baby.... :wub:


Many many perfect moments these days...just really normal stuff,that in the hustle bustle of busy life they get overlooked and not enjoyed and embraced...its really awesome to slow the pace and smell the fruit so to speak!

Like when we were sunbaking today...little birds were flying around coming close and singing their little hearts out...its so beautiful!


we munched our way through pineapple guavas,mmm soo delish when super ripe,they taste really like a mild pineapple,yumm!! found a couple of stray figs...ohh i love figs,and makes me a bit sad they are going away again,sniff..i miss them...oh hurry back little figgies....
found a mandarin i think,that was super juicy but didnt have all its beautiful fruit sugar yet,a little flavourless...and dined on the lush grapes Harley had picked from the neighborhood"shop",lol...so filled with water and delicious...
Hannah picked (unknowingly) an olive and bit into it,and the face she pulled was so hilarious i laughed so hard...she said Whhhhhhhhhhhhhhhatt the &*&% was that!!!!another stitch from laughing...i swear i have pulled neck muscles this weekend from laughing so hard with her and Harley....
Hann has inhaled her way through 10 bananas a day since she has been here..and yesterday i think she ate more...her pants are starting to fall off,looking good!!today driving home shes like,ahhh Neet i need that green smoothie soon,she made it tonight very beautiful,she couldnt wait for me,wafting around trying to bring myself back to earth to make such mundane things like green smoothies,lol :wacko:

Hello my raw treasures....yet another best day EVER!!!

did light training this morning...then Hann and i cruised the shops...then we went to Bliss organic cafe.and caught up with Juicymangogoddess and Harley,we ate banana,date and strawberry icecream,and grapes and chatted and laughed...and Harley entertained a lone patron who was listening very intently,with tales of eating raw...was awesome...

Then Hann and i did organic food shopping and chucked Harls bike in the back of the car and went for a swim in a secluded little spot,the water was VERY invigorating,actually quite cold...and we swam and laughed and paddled...i was getting out of the water and bashed my knee hard on a big rock...sheesh hurt so much i thought i was going to be sick....no stitches needed just came out in a big egg like lump...but i kept moving to warm up...was absolutely shivering and teeth chattering...Harls fed me bananas and we found a kind of sunny patch...and then Hann and i drove back home and luxuriated over our lush green smoothie mmmmm good!!

Feel warm and sleepy now,and so beautifully relaxed!

May this gs pic is for you,he he

you guys make me smile  ^_^

Love it all Neet.  You're 'supposed' to be all sad and mopey and depressed and having second thoughts.  Har har, what a delight, you're having the absolute BEST time EVER!!!!  Rock on dudette!!!

And thank you for the smoothie.  Too right ^_^

Love and big huggles,
May

Go the GS chug! It looks as though you all had the best day ever! Yummy looking ice-cream. Might have to make some tomorrow.

xoxoxo

mmmm yumm! the icecream was wicked...one lot had more dates in it,which was much yummier,the other was a little watery,but still nice and refreshing,just not so 'chewy'......


ready for another best day ever.... -_-

well i guess Hannah and i have already started our best day ever,it kind of just extended from yesterday...we started cleaning and packing up stuff in the house at 10pm last night...and finished around 1.45am...then we laughed over nothing in particular and ate bananas grapes and persimmons...delicious...dont usually eat that time of morning,lol....but we got so into the cleaning and dancing as we cleaned that we were ravenous when we were done!
got to bed around 3.30am...so needless to say this is a rest day from training today...my knee is pretty sore from yesterdays rock encounter anyway so the rest will do it some good healing time....


mmm looking forward to an awesome day,afternoon and night...mwah mwah mwah :wub: :wub:

Neet you are OUTSTANDING!
Loving these beautiful jewel bright posts complete with pics of gorgeous rawbies!!!!

guzzling the gs!

Awesome guys!
Let the raw times roll!

spent the day hiking in lamington national park with my pixie.

3 perfectest moments in a perfect day.

1) kissing my love at the top of a tree 30m above the ground on the tree top walk.

2) "tightrope" walking a fallen tree to where it rested in the fork of another tree and looking down to see i was about 6 meters up in the air, standing on a log less than a foot in diameter, and wobbling a little in the wind. god i love heights.

3) curled up on the couch with my darling and laughing myself sick watching Clerks 2. the first one is still my favorite of all kevin smith's movies, but that doesnt make any of the others any less hilarious, and that definitely goes for this movie too.

best day ever. without a doubt.

ahh delcious Ant...i had a best day ever too...

will leave out a couple of details,lol :wacko:

Had an awesome training session.....

spent the morning,watching my man going through sorting out his 'stuff' as i lolled on a wooden plank in my underwear sunning myself...

went to the fruit shop-passed a persie tree,laden with ripies...snuck a couple,then went around the back of the house...no answer so went into the yard and picked em,and some old irritable guy,who thought he was the persie police came and gave us the evil eye,he gave me the creeps big time,then he rustled up the lady who lived there,and she was a bit nuts at us..she wouldve been cool i reackon if the old guy wasnt there all bristling and important,lol...anyway H has the gift of the gab and he slid us out of it nicely...we zipped around the corner and feasted on our persies,yum yum omom!!

then we cruised around another corner and managed to score some grapes,delicious...

Had an after noon nap,so lazy and divine...then we went for a nice walk-checking out some good deals on air tickets to thailand ect.....soaking up the sun,then we played on the swings....
had a lovely massage...yes I got a massage,smmmm so delicious!

More laughter,had an early dinner...so good....and a bit of a chill out for awhile...
then the girls came home,and we started out doing some yoga stretches,then we were working in pairs sometimes 3's to do lifts and all sorts of fun stuff...i esp enjoyed leg pressing Pea...that was wicked,i love feeling so strong and capable in my body...

had lots of fun sunshiney kissing moments...mmmm life is sweet!

Hi Ant,

Thank goodness I'm not your love, I'd have had to blow you kisses at the top of that tree with me on the floor.  And I'd have had trouble falling asleep that night cos I'd picture you falling and I'd keep jumping.  Poor David's had a few nights like that just through leaning on a 3rd floor balcony railing!!!

I'm so thrilled for you about your day, it sounds truly wonderful and very special.  Something to keep in your heart always and bring out whenever you have free time or hard times.  Perfect :)

Neet, you're always having best days ever.  You're boring.  Hehehe.  Keep it up special lady.  Enjoy every second and store them in your heart.  Perfect too :)

Love
May

May, hehe yeah my girl doesnt like heights that much either, but shes a courageous one and braves them anyway hehe with much shaking and nervous laughter. but i dont think they bother her as much as it sounds like they do you. hehe if they give you bad dreams just from watching others being up high then you really are lucky you arent my girl lol. im forever doing stupid things high up in the air hehe. its one of the best feelings in the world. one of my biggest inspirations is Philippe Petit, the man who illegally walked a tightwire between the World Trade Centre twin towers back in 1974. He wrote a book about it called To Reach The Clouds which is a beautiful and exciting read if anyone is interested, and describes more perfectly than i ever could the complete feeling of freedom when youre up high with only this flimsy tiny thing between you and the ground, be it a wire, or a web or a ladder or whatever.  Here is a little extract of the book for anyone who wants to be shocked and awed (http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,11913,877695,00.html)

Neet: one day im gonna come visit you guys in Adelaide and come out on foraging adeventures. they sound like so much fun! complete with grumpy old men and all. i know its bad, but theres something about angry old men that i just find hilarious.. i dont know what, but i find it so hard not to laugh when an old guy scowls at me coz im being silly and playful hehe

and lovely soft sunshiney kissing moments.... sounds like we both had a lovely day in that way.  ^_^

I almost fall asleep and then suddenly jump, taking a huge intake of breath and flinging my arms out!  Neither of us can sleep the night after I've had anything to do with heights.  The worst one was when David went abseiling - I was at the bottom of the cliff (no surprises there hehehe) watching and for his first decent he came over too eager and tipped upside down.  He was hanging there, head down, feet waving in the air above the cliff top and his helmet had fallen off and come down the cliff alone.  Didn't like that so I went to the top of the cliff where I didn't have to watch but our 2 (then) young boys kept getting too near to the cliff's edge for my fancy - within 100 metres of it.  That kept David and I from sleeping for 2 nights afterwards.  Poor David loves a thrill.  I've completely allergic to adrenalin in any form.

I will have to find and watch Clerks 2.  Love comedy films.  My favourites are Weekend at Bernie's - couldn't sleep that night either as I kept almost falling asleep and then remembering something and laughing!!! and The Gods Must Be Crazy.  Watching those, even again and again, are best days for me.

Naughty Ant!!!  The grumpy old man was just trying to protect his neighbour's property.  But never give up being playful.  I pity the people in this world who've forgotten how.

Love
May

hehe may i warn you, clerks 2 is vulgar in parts... very vulgar lol in almost every part. and its worth watching the first Clerks movie first, because there are so many carry over jokes in it that it will make the second one funnier.. and the first one is just brilliant lol.

and i know the old guy was just protecting his neighbors fruit. but really, its fruit. if there was enough ripe fruit there to feed harley, neets and possibly others, i really cant see one old lady eating that much fruit before it goes bad lol. sometimes (tho rarely) there is reason to get grumpy, but some things should be overlooked lol. i always find old guys funny because the grumpy ones are always grumpy over such silly things! actually, thats not just old guys, its everyone, myself included... so many of my rotten moods end in me laughing my butt off coz ive taken being moody so far that its just absurd lol.

OK, I'll get Clerks 1 and see what I think.  Some vulgar I'm fine with, some I'm not, depends how it's done, but I'll give it a try.  I'm not toooo fuddy duddy.

Unless she was going to sell the fruit and needed the money.  We'll never know ;)

Yeah grumpy's not good but we all have our turns sometimes.

harr harr you betcha ants pants,it was a rocking day...tonight i left him with a massage and tucked him into bed...he was all tired and mm snuggly,cute!!

yup come over we go foraging...yup cranky old men,tis kinda funny,cept he was wayyyyy creepy,,i was eyeballing him with a big smile,and he just looked freaky....

May yeh i know i may appear boring to some...but hey i love being so 'boring'and having the best day ever...
having the best day ever is on my msn...and one of friends says,arent you over that best day ever yet...i was kinda stunned,and im like no,are you over breathing?arent you done with that yet,i said playfully?she laughed and said good point!

haha Neet you can never be boring! You're too much fun to be around :)

hee hee you to sweet Pea,lots of laughter and frivolity,loving it! -_-

another best day evverrrrrrrrrrrr...worked but finished early...sunbathed in the back yard with Pea...ahh im thinking im getting brown then i look at her skin...ahh baby steps...after being covered up so long,it takes time,but it will happen..he he..

then i shared a couple of bowls of blended soup with someone fab...then i zipped off back to the house in the hills...now im chatting with my buddies here and have the music super LOUD...and will mop the floor in a mo and go to bed to sleep rested and peaceful,for an awesome run in the morning!

Awoke to my first morning in Chantiburi, Thailand, grinning from ear to ear at how many rich experiences I've had recently.
It's my turn for the daily zap. Lying in bed, relaxed ready to see what may happen...five minutes into it, and nothing, so I'm thinking oh well, awesome that it brought my attention to the present moment and my thoughts to all the incredible raw friends that have saturated my life with bliss. My thoughts then wandered over some self-development points from a rawsome chat with Freelea.
Then...bam! Zap! I felt tingling hit my entire body and serious goose bumps came to life. Almost felt like I was tied down being electrocuted (without any of the pain) thinking my back was about to arch up from my resting position.
Maybe 30 seconds later, the feeling left me. Then again it came after a few minutes for 15-20 seconds. Intense.
Over the following half an hour I got the occasional tingles in the lower legs for short periods.
This is incredible and was physical proof to me that we are all so closely, directly connected regardless of the distance between our physical bodies. THANKYOU EVERYONE (Please PM me if you zapped me. I'd love to know)

I ate 2 white flesh, 1 red flesh dragon fruit and then hit the markets to buy 10kg of Nam Doc Mai (Thai mangoes with cinnamon+brown sugar flavour) for Freelea, Harley and I for breakfast...I ate 10 of them...3.8kg...heavenly taste...bloated stomach to max but still felt vastly energetic!
Met Kelly and roarphood. I sooo love meeting more raw people!!! Good times always follow. We soon after got a Thai foot, arm, head massage for an hour for about $7 (after walking past a hardware store selling snake fruit out the front...don't see that in Australia!)
Went to the fruit festival and found out the durian eating comp was on at 5pm. Didn't eat (much) until then.
Ate almost 1kg of durian flesh in 2 minutes, but got my butt kicked by Harley and Roarphood. More training required :-) So I ate about another 15 kilos of Durian and half a kg of Jack Fruit (which I tried for the first time! Awesome!)
Had a nice chat with Harley about life, the universe and everything, and hit the internet cafe.
And the day isn't over yet!!!

skipping along merrily*** wait for me...wait for me...im joining these best days ever real real soon!!and bringing some very cool people with me...

You guy's(travelling Thailand rawbies) are making all us 'green'...green's good though...means we will be up for next trip!!! Keep posting G, love to hear the excitement from here...the fruits sound awesome of course...this will change your life;-)

Grant I can feel your exitement and happiness coming through my puter. I'm just so happy that you are having this fantastic time!

xoxoxo

Today I had the best day!

Everything is so spontaneous!

Awoke vibrant and refreshed after a solid but short sleep and eating so much the day before!

Harley slept in after posting photos on RP til late at night so we postponed our 10km run. Freelea and I went off into the markets happy to get lost and find our way again. We found red papaya which was delicious so we got about 4kg to share. Also got a young coconut each which they machette up for you on the spot.

We started trying to find our way back (by following a different path...being the adventure raw types :-) and along comes Harley on his bike. People could wander around all day in those markets and not find each other, but we all just gravitate to each other. Lea headed back to the hotel for a rest after recovery from feeling off the night before.
Harley and I went for a load of the Nam Doc Mai mangos which I got hooked on the yesterday.
We approach the stall and the lady loads up a full plastic shopping bag and gives them to us for free! With our appetites, Harley decides to get another loaded up bag to buy, but when we put them on the scales, she insists we have them for free too!!! So we gorged ourselves on the best foods in the world for free, squatting in the grass on the edge of a dirt carpark. Completely satiated, we left the uneaten coconut flesh for the rats to feast on. It's nature's way.

Passing a sports store on the way back to the hotel, we stopped to see if there were any sports/running sandals for me (very hard to get size 13 in Thailand :-)
We ended up buying awesome addidas running shirts/singlets for less than $20 each.
Then Harley had the great idea of getting something printed on them but wondering how we could find out where we could get them done locally. We decided RAW VEGAN was the best message to print and were amazed to find out the shop had stencil letters and a machine to put them on straight away for us! It only cost about 30 Australian cents per letter ($2.40 per shirt). They had different colours and we now have the most awesome shirts to parade around town in! Harley riding with me running alongside both with the same RAW VEGAN lettering on our backs has to be seen. Photo posted by Harley on the topic "Look out Milan. Here comes raw!". We got 4 shirts done and no doubt will be getting many more done over the next 2 weeks!

After heading back to the hotel to see if Freelea was still there (she wasn't), we headed out for a 2hr Thai massage. On the way, we stopped for a minute at a large map so Harley could point out where we were and show me how far the beach was we will check out some day soon.

A guy from Santa Rosa, California came up to us asking if we knew where the Durian festival was. Harley gave him directions and asked him if he'd tried raw eating. He had but had gall bladder issues, and said he was still on the learning path. Coincidence that a raw fooder can just walk up to us in a foreign country? I don't think so. Stuff like this is happening every day, like I said, we are drawn to each other.
After 10 minutes of Harley telling him about too much fat in a raw diet causing gall bladder problems, the guy eventually says, is your name Harley! He'd read about Harley on the Durian yahoo group! Small world...tiny infact!
We moved on for our 2 hr Thai massage which was AMAZING! A special touch for me was that the masseuse was singing along with the background music. She had a beautiful voice and hearing it so closely was incredible.

Freelea rocks up halfway through the massage and says how relaxed we look, ate loads of banana mangos and left again. Massage over, I grabbed my bag still with red papaya from harley's bike, but ants had gotten through it. Spent 5 minutes getting them off and I was on my way to the Durian Festival around the big lake. I followed Harley's directions of keeping the sun to my right and found the most amazing back street path, I had never seen. It was like being in suburbia rather than the middle of a busy city.

Arriving at the festival I bought a kg of snake fruit and finally ate my papaya on the oval. Yum!
Oh and subtly pee'd in the grass from the bottom of my shorts while sitting down eating (rather than paying 3 baht to pee into the sewerage system). Convenient being a guy :-)

I saw something move in the grass and thought a moth had move a wing or something. I gently brushed the area, expecting a moth to come out but instead I was in for a treat. I discovered little weed/plant I'd never seen. When you touch a leaf, the leaves collapse and flop downwards, then the branch flops down. This hits the branch below which triggers it to flop down, etc. This is a plant that knows how to play dead! Cool!!! These are only the height of mown grass.

Returning from the oval I see a competition going on where they drop durian from a cherry picker 10m high! The catcher has a folded hessian bag which they flick up. The durian hits the centre and you quickly swing the bag in towards your feet to gently land the durian safely on the ground.

I found out a banana+durian eating competition was going to be on and couldn't wait to tell Harley who was on his way. A few minutes Harley turns up and he was amazing with the durian catching comp going on. He'd never seen it before either. The guys doing the catching looked like pros who had worked in the durian plantations and it looked dangerous. i.e. if you get hit you go to hospital or worse.
I say to Harley, wouldn't it be cool if we could try it out. He didn't sound keen on the catching part, but for some reason the idea excited me. Within minutes one of the officials (who knew us from the durian eating comp) asked if we wanted to have a go. He chose Harley as the dropper and me as the catcher. Coincidence? I think not!

On a quick learning curve (trying to avoid death), the guy tossed me a durian from the ground and I dropped it...I'm thinking how can I catch one from 10m high accelerating straight down at me!
He got me to toss him one which he caught easily. I had another go and I caught it. The crowd loved it and started getting worked up. The sight of westerners appreciating their prized fruit energises Thai people.

Ok, it's time! Harley is looming down from above and the pressure is on. Thankfully he can drop straight and I caught it! I catch 9 durian one after the other. Then, to work the crowd, Harley had saved the biggest til last!
He holds it over the cherry picker above my head and I let out a big WOAH!!! It was a 5kg whopper. I caught it but it didn't get a very soft landing! What an AMAZING experience!

People were taking photos of us from all directions. The locals absolutely loved it!
In fact, one local drunk (there is always one) followed Harley and I for the next 20 minutes. We couldn't shake him. Even when we ran, he started running in thongs, carrying a long-neck bottle of beer! We don't know why he was following us on such a mission. We think he wanted to buy us durian but couldn't understand what he was saying.
Having lost the drunk guy, we ran back for the durian eating comp with minutes to spare.

Harley came first with a whopping 1.4kg of durian flesh in 2 and a half minutes after 5 monkey (lil) bananas.
I came 5th having eaten 720 grams with many lessons to learn about how to get unripe durian down fast. The ripe stuff is easy, but they always give you a mix of ripe and unripe! They gave Harley and I the uneaten durian (kilos of flesh) which we quickly devoured before running/riding off for more.

We then headed to a province just out of Chantiburi (I ran while Harley rode measuring my speed...no pressure of course :-) I ranged between 14 and 18km per hour which I thought was pretty good on a heating food like durian. I wouldn't recommend durian for sprinters! The body was struggling harder but still performed.
Checked out some more cheap running attire in sports shops and markets. We picked up 5 sports backpacks for under $20 (yep about $4 each!). These are packs ideal for running or trekking complete with padding, waist strap, etc. So cheap and high quality!

Ran back to the fruit festival and bought a Ganyow, Chanee and Monthong durian. And Harley grabbed a monthong or two also. We devoured our durian which never fails to please passers by. In fact, we love to walk around eating them because the reactions are so incredible. Locals just break into a big smile and draw the attention of their friends to look at us in amazement at us enjoying their prized fruit!

Short run to the internet cafe to create the longest post ever for the best day ever!!!

free fruit, throwing fruit, eating fruit for prize money, eating fruit to show a nation a better way, eating fruit to get seeds to plant more fruit, eating fruit to fuel us to the next fruit meal..

LOVE your holiday journal RAA.  Thank you so much for taking the time to share with those of us who couldn't make it to Thailand this year.

I reckon we should all see how many of us can go next year don't you?  All get t.shirts done so we can be seen to belong too!

Love
May

Wow Grant. That seems better than the best day ever. The better best day ever? Bester best day ever? I'm wishing I was there tooooooo. Have fun for me.

xoxoxo

Hey Grant,
Love your mega-post :) Sounds so fun and cruisey over there! The Thai people are so nice hey... not surprised they are so bemused by your fruit devouring/throwing antics :) I suppose not many foreigners head that far east too? so doubly entertaining for them!

Cool and strange about running into the raw American guy.....A similar thing happened to me when i was in Cambodia a few months back, ran into an American raw guy at a veggo cafe who just happened to be there discussing raw with another guy when i was there.....(hmm that guy's name wasn't Alden by any chance?) I was reading the Celestine Prophecy when i was travelling and quite a few things happened that seemd more than coincidental....v interesting stuff.

Hope Lea's feeling better....?

May, I predict 30 raw vegans for the Thailand trip next year! Definitely should all get shirts printed and get them seen.

Jennie, Please accept my invitation for next year:
"Dear Jennie, Please come to the Chantiburi Fruit Festival in Thailand in May 2008 to eat the best in the world, learn from the masters i.e. Harley :)  and thrive!"

Somers, glad you liked the post. I don't think the guy's name was Alden but I could double check with Harley. That would be a bit too coincidental :)
Lea is back in full form, better and stronger than ever!

Today we rode to the beach. 60km return. A knew biggest riding distance in a day for Freelea and I!
Kelly, Dave and Harley were the rest of the crew and had their own bikes. Kelly/Dave had managed to get Freelea and I free bike hire for a couple of days! Rawsome!
Ate Durian for breakfast. Drank about 8 litres of water during the day and got plenty of sun. Sculled up to a litre at a time. Kept nice and hydrated!
Bought 2 helmets (worth about $100AUD each) and 2 racing shirts for a total of about $60AUD!
Getting out of the city I saw my first Durian tree and held a Durian still hanging from the tree. A nice connection!
Also saw my first Rambutan tree and snake fruit tree.
There were also plenty of Dragon fruit cactuses growing on the farms and papaya trees.
It's easier riding a bike through the city than it is to walk! ...if you know where you're going :-)
Found a $12AUD blender (399 baht) at the dept store which we plan to buy to make Durian/banana/mango smoothies!
The beach was amazing with bungalows and super warm ocean water (very salty).
None of us ate for the 7hr trip. Just kept our water up. We're eating so well we all had plenty of energy for the 60km ride and frolicking at the beach which included handstands, swimming and running.
Dolphins passing by made a nice touch too!
Washed out from the sun so will have an awesome sleep tonight! About to head out and grab some durian!

Oh wow Grant, how awesome is all of this :-) To good to dream about, must come next year...I think you should import some shirts for all of us on the forum... we need some for the city 2 surf of course. you guys are rockin & taking the world by storm(or was it fruit?).

Keep posting, lovin hearing it all...

You know, when this thread started I was very depressed and I thought I would wait until I had a really golden, stellar, amazing, incredible day before I posted here.
Well, I have had many wonderful amazing days since and have not posted here! I either forgot or kept thinking I'll wait till a completely perfect day...
Can't keep waiting forever!
Although my days lately can't compare to Grant's in any which way...

... yesterday I had the best day EVER because I woke up at quarter to five, enough time to be able to walk to yoga instead of catching a cab. I had a good practice, concentrating on my postures rather than my ego and loving the sweat. When I got home I had a big banana smoothie and put away a tonne of things that had found their way over my home so that it was tidy for when the cleaner arrived. When the cleaner arrived I went off to do some chores, walking to an internet cafe where I loaded the latest chapter of a fifteen-part series I have been writing since January so that my global readers can read it and give me feedback. 72,000 words in and only three chapters left to write!!!!!
Then I went off to UTS, my own uni, to participate in a forum in the women's collective on sex work as a guest speaker and found the people in attendance to be intelligent and open minded and willing to listen. I met another sex worker as well who is interested in becoming politically active! Yay! After this I went home to a beautiful clean house and had an enomous and delicious salad whilst commencing work on the next chapter of my story. I went off to do a short booking that delivered some MUCH needed cashola into my hands and was an interesting and fun booking, if not the most exciting and I had the distinct impression I had genuinely helped the person I was with. After this, I went home, had another salad, wrote a few more words on my story, and then gave myself a wonderful treat: I went to bed at 8.15pm!!!!!! mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!

Thanks so much Grant, I LOVE voyeuristic holidays if I can't take one myself.  I can so picture David and I there with you all next year!!!

Princess, SO thrilled for you.  That does sound like the perfect day to me.  Not too much work but lots of things you've enjoyed so much.  Perfic ^_^

Love
May

Hey Grant, Invitation accepted! I am hoping we can all go as a family if no-one has any objections to the kiddies coming along! They would so love to see the eating competitions as would I! I'm going to start a savings fund now. Weeee how exiting!

xoxoxo

Hey Grant

-wow awesome writing. i am blown away -sounds like the best holiday ever. I am thoroughly enjoying your thailand adventures - dont you just love those dolphins.

Speedy, Oh yeah, love the dolphins. I'm sure one day soon I'll get to swim with them up real close.

Raw sensation, So glad to meet you at MBS. Feels great now with a connection between your screen name and YOU. I'm pretty sure Thailand will still allow kids into the country next year. And they are way more than welcome to hang out with the raw crew here. Once you pay for your flights it's cheap, cheap, cheap. Rooms from $5AUD per night, durian from 15 baht/kg ($0.55AUD/kg), 1 hr Thai massage for about $8AUD.

May, Would put a big grin on my face to join you here next year. Please come along!

Fruitypie, Definitely working on bringing loads of shirts back!

Princess, What an awesome best day ever. Early to rise, early to bed, exercise, the best food, good company, giving to others, self development and good fortune. Change to your natural diet and amazing things ceaselessly come your way.

everybody is welcome! nadia is travelling solo with her 2 sons and we expect her anytime now.

the more the merrier. so many fruit stalls to raid!

Hello my raw buddies...well here i am sitting in a the interenet cafe...with my good buddies Harls and Grant...in Chantiburi with my belly full of durian...with another best day ever under (my rather tight belt,lol)...well its not over yet and who knows what adventures are heading my way even before the night is over!!

Well truly my best days ever are blending into each other...so its really like one big best day ever,lol!
Had a great flight from Melbourne...i had chosen a seat right up the back of the plane...so i was all alone..Di and Clinton were seated further down the front of the plane...there was three vacant seats in front of me,in a row...so in i jumped...and as i was fasting on the flight....each time i felt the need that i wanted food,i just slept...or lay there,listening to music with my eyes shut...thinking what an amazing journey i am on...how we truly do make our own bliss....


Anyway was a great flight...then we waded our way through customs...i got to the customs guy....and he says,did you come on your own? i said why?and he smiled and said you are going to make lots of friends really quickly...i laughed...he smiled and i trotted happily through...
We found a cute little backpacker place..and booked a triple room(sorry to clinton and di for cramping their style)...lol...then went out exploring...first port of call for me was watermelon...was hanging for juicy fruit after the long flight and fasting all the day long!so i hoovered down a half watermelon...sweeeeeeeet!!

 then came awesome awesome mango///so downed 2 or maybe 3 large bad boys....then i believe i devoured mangosteen...yup first encounter with the fab mangosteen,,very lush and yummy!!then a kilo of snake fruit...then i managed to find the most awesome durian....well not the most awesome,,,but damn fine never the less...so i had probably around 1.5 kilos of that...eating happily away...knowing i am getting full ...then all of a sudden my body just went WOAH!! we are a gonna be sick if you dare take one more bite of that durian girl....so i hastily pushed it to the side,Cliint kindly finished it off....and i ran across the road and sat quietly on the side of the road...eyes glazed over...within 20 or so minutes i was rockin again...and eagerly wanting to walk back home,to generate some bodily exercise....alas not to be...Di wasnt fee ling  best...so in the open air hair raising taxi we got..and zipped back to the hostel...
Di opted to crash out after a shower....and clinton and i went for a walk/run around the streets for 40 minutes or so..which was great it enabled the fruit feast to move along..for a fine nights sleep!!

clinton and Di and I travelled from Bangkok today....we spent the morning walking the streets of Bangkok...trying not to choke on the pollution...meeting some happy peppy little people...getting odd directions from the locals...but finding out way never the less....hairing around the streets...im always a million miles ahead of most folks i walk with,,,hee hee not a fan of the slow wandering type of walk...it bores me,i slow down then im back out striding again...then we were zipping around the streets in a motorbike/openair-kinda weird taxi like thing...hilarious...i am always sitting on the outside...so hanging on for dear life laughing all the while...too oo funny!!


Found our way nicely to Chantiburi...and feasted on mangosteens then rambutans(tasty little critters)...and along came Harls...so the guys got their bikes assembled...and Kelly and Dave came along...more awesome rawies...so i trotted off with them....then made our way to the hostel...cool little place..great little room...clean functional...and tidy...shower,bed loo and a fan ..what more could i ask for!!

went off to fnd fruit....had juicy pineapple...yum to live for!!lol then some nam dok mai mangos...very very lush...Harls and i sat on a kerb..or rather just up from a kerb...as i devoured these impossibly juicy mangos...juicy up to my elbows!!Caused some smiles and laughter from the locals....feeling so much more hydrated and replete...we set off back to the hostel...me to have a shower and wash off the mango juice...and we decided to head off and find durian...i went off walking...the others were riding..and we were to meet in 10 mins at the durian stall....i had the directions firmly in my head..zipping around the streets..dreaming along as i am known to do...not really taking notice of land marks...yardy yardy yarda....

so it starts pouring with rain...i sat on the street for awhile..talking to the locals...getting asked left right and centre how old i am????funny but odd....so i thought to myself..you know its pouring with rain..and i said to Harls earlier i just want to be soaked in the rain...and i was just longing to get soaked...so out i stepped..with cheers or run run go go...from the locals...and lot of laughter...i couldnt remember which direction harls said,,,,so i went all three "left turns",lol!!found some police men on the street...and asked where is the durian..after much gesturing of eating and rubbing belly..and smelly spikey fruit...they said where it was...i went running down the street..well and truly soaked by this time...greeting all the locals with a big big happy smile...running most of the way down to durian land!


When i first got to the stall...the lady wouldnt serve me...shes shaking her head saying no no...i am nodding and saying yes yes...rubbing my belly and smiling..she called over one of her twin sons...and i eventually got through that i wanted YES  soft smelly lush durian...it was pouring raining so hard...so i sat with them on the upturned crate...and all the vendors hovered closer and closer...to the white girl doing a mighty fine impersonation of a drowned rat savouring each bite of durian...with a moan and smile with every bite....anyway i thanked them and thought i would venture home...it was still pouring with rain...so up the street i ran...and down the way i thought i came...well anyway to cut a long story short...i got misplaced...i wont use the word LOST.....and i wandered up and down the streets the same damn streets say around 4 or so times...seeing the same smiling happy people...trying to ask directions to a hostel i didnt have any idea what the name of it was...hmm what did i say about my dreaming ways....lol!


so i thought i think its time for more durian,.....so i ran back down to the durian vendor again...and said yes another one...and theyre saying no no...rambutan mangosteen...you will get hot belly...the lady said not for you??i said yes for me...she laughed and said you will get fat...i said no way....and set off on happy trails again..literally wringing out myself by now...but enjoying the subtle hydration of the beautiful warm rain....i sait on the edge of the huge round about...eating the durian...not realising that this would wreak such havok...the whizzing traffic slowed to a grinding halt...and people were hanging out their windows smiling and waving and yelling hello hello....so i thought i will move on now.so traffic can flow back to normal...still totally lost,so up and down the streets again...thought i would pop into the internet cafe to see if i could use the phone..and use the loo...was about to get directions to use the phone...and Harls comes strolling up the hill....he said he was just thinking wonder where she is...and i yelled out his name...too cool for skool...just goes to show that we dont need a mobile phone with these synchronicites....ran back to the hostel...dried off an changed and here  ia m...writing the longest post in my rp history....with a huge drunken guy who was seated next to me...but the nice internet lady moved him down one..cos quite frankly he is seriously creepy.with one eye in tuesday and the other in friday...

so yup just another fabulous best day ever...feeling bit sleepy now...must be time to rest soon i reackon...

Headed through the streets with Freelea both of us hungry for greens (after days of durian and mango)...and what do you know...we stumbled across a market with loads of vegies and greens.
Bought an awesome quality, heavy machette for 100 baht (less than $4AUD), a huge stainless steel colander, a peeler and chopping board. With ingredients in hand we were ready to make our salad...
Palm heart, carrot, tomato, cucumber (so crunchy...yum), chives, coriander, fancy lettuce, snowpeas (local equivalent), mango, ginger, freshly shredded coconut, with lemon and lime squeezed over. Best salad ever. And definitely left the taste of Thailand in our mouths...and Harley arrived just in time to share in the feast!

Afternoon, had a 1 hour foot massage (which includes head, shoulders, arms and legs!). The masseuse was so strong, it was killer. Taking you right to the edge where you're forced to meditate to stay relaxed. In fact, all of us got harder massages today. I think they've tested us out and have realised we're tougher than they thought.

Tonight I ate durian in heavy rain. Delicious beads of water lining the precious pockets o