Raw Food Forums

Well we are nearly into two weeks of 2008 and I feel ready. I also feel that it's time to release my old journal and start afresh.

I'm a different person and I have different goals.

My personal goals for 2008 are:

To become less frightened of a deep conversation. To know that I can understand them and contribute.

To be kinder to my body. I'm still up too late at night and up too late in the morning which means no exercise as I rush from the shower to the office with Bill running after me, big GS in hand!

Early to bed and early to rise.

Yoga, three times a week. Walk running three times a week and no computers after 5.30 three nights per week.

To focus more on others.

To feel gratitude all the time and not just when things are going my way. Often when it feels like the world is against me I forget to be grateful for the things that are working well!

I have others but am a little overwhelmed with what I have just written so will leave it there for now.

xoxoxo

I never would have picked you as frightened of a D&M Jen!  Its funny how we often walk around with these deeply personal fears and doubts about ourselves that no one else can see or even suspect.  Well I have confidence in you -_-

Jen,

On your first goal specifically - in my continued readings of your posts, I have seen over and over great depth.  I think sometimes, simple language is mistakenly confused with simple/shallow concepts. 

At the heart of the most profound concepts is a simple observation or piece of information.  A simple truth.  A kernel.  I have seen you "hit" such kernels over and over again.

So many streams of consciousness are typed here, and some paths are long and winding, with complex sentence structures.  Other roads are simple.  All lead to the same place.

Sometimes it is difficult to step back and see exactly what it is that we personally offer, from another's perspective.

On gratitude - I was only thinking tonight how unbelievably grateful I am that MSM is back in stock!  :laugh:

 :laugh:  How funny that we both picked up on the same thing!

Well thank you girls!

Rowdy you said something that jumped me there:

This is most likely true with a lot of things that I read here. Sometimes I just don't understand what people are saying but I get a feel of what they mean! Just beauties are Miss Bliss, Iv and Rudy to name a few. I read what they are saying and so want to understand but just don't get it. Sometimes though I read on in the future and then I understand it.

Maybe the student is ready!

Anyhow, one I forgot to mention is that I want to larf more this year. I have always been quite serious and I want to be more of a larfer. I feel so good after a good chuckle!

Here's something that made me larf my glutes off tonight...



xoxoxox

To get "a feel for what they mean" = feeling it in the heart.  You're ahead of the pack!

It is a very different thing to understand something intellectually (head) than to know it via the emotions/feelings (heart).

To know something at an emotional level is where the power is.

Just my humble opinion.

p.s.  I laughed out loud at those hot cross buns.

jen your post come across to me often as joyous, thats the deepest depth. you don't have to be an intellectual giant to be deep.

the world could never be against you jen, drop that thought..

understanding the context of conversation is often more important than literals..

hokahey

True Rowdy True. But to respond to it I need to understand it intellectually as well and that is probably my frustration. I understand when talking to people, I mean, it's easy to say "what do you mean" and get a simplified version isn't it!

I love the bunnies. Made me larf also!

I need to go to bed now. Early to bed, early to rise!  Have the best night ever!

xoxoxo

wow theres some synconisity there rowdy

Hullo Les! We were duo posting... lol. Yes I do feel very happy here. I would just like to get in on some conversations. Maybe reading some different material that challenges my mind. I found Autobiography of a Yogi a bit of a challenge but I was terribly wonderfully interested at the same time.

Stretch my mind! Les, I like your posts too. You show a lot of kindness. I was saying to someone the other day that it's very selfish of you to live all the way up there. If you could kindly move to somewhere between here and Sydney so we were all a little closer that would be cool.

Is anyone up for a camp out at Jen's? I guess that I am halfway between the Whitsundays and Melbourne?

xoxoxox

Yes, ok.  I was going to respond that you could "type what you feel", but I see that one needs the words to express the "feeling", which is what you are saying.  DOH!

Les - I'm sure there is, if I knew what you meant.  Feeling a bit dim.   :laugh:

You are not as 'dim' as you sim!

xoxoxo

Jen - you're a goose.  That made me cackle like a witch!

Lol Jen...ya goose...you're smarter and more "intellectual" than you think...actually....you have the only thing necessary...intuitive perception....

Learn to trust it.

I reckon you'll get ma "drift" there....lol

John

i'm in heaven tonight

Jen I am so happy you have your new journal.

Your not the only one that has things fly over your head on the forum so I feel what your saying. Maybe we can ask each other without feeling silly or something.

About what you said about gratitude. I dont know anyone that feels gratitude all the time. Be easy on yourself maybe. But I do feel what your saying about feeling more gratitude in your life and when things aren't going to plan.

Love ya Jen. BIG Hugs!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ps I wont see you at the markets today, I have work. I think I was the first one there at 5:30am.

Thank you Sacha - you just made me think of something important that I did not mention in any of my above posts.  And that is, that I don't understand certain things written here sometimes either.  If it is something that I really feel I need to understand, I will ask further questions to help clarify, otherwise I am happy to just let it be.

On gratitude - I have started, just this year, in spending a few minutes each night, as I first lay my head on my pillow, in doing a "re-cap" of the day, and doing a little gratitude list in my head.  People, events, circumstances etc. that come to mind for that particular day.  I don't set any rules, just do a quick run down, and articulate in my head my gratitude.

Today, I am going to start early and say, I am grateful for you Sacha.  :heart:

Jen, lovely to see your new journal for the year!  Love your new goals and outlines for your year ahead too.  I think if you know which way you're pointed, the path becomes much easier to pick out.

By the way... I count a lot of intellectuals as my friends.... and not half of them have as much clarity of truth and intuition as you do, girl.  It's been said here that you are already ahead of the pack by having the sense of feeling of what is being said, I'd agree with that wholeheartedly. 

It saddens me to see the intellectuals think too much around every angle of a problem, but never ever think to apply their own 'truth' to the situation - thus they never find their satisfactory answers or place in life. Instead remaining confused by too many ways of looking at something, with no sense of 'rightness' about any of them :(

Intellectualising things can be a a form of mental masturbation....without ever achieving an orgasm.

Using the mind to solve problems doesn't work.

Answers come from within (intuition...or..if you like...tuition from within).

Then the brain tries to "understand" something it cannot.

But there's two sides to this.

If the ego and the brain started the process well...it just becomes a self-serving loop.

If a real and intuitive insight occurs and you wish to try and explain that to another then the mind (and to a certain extent the ego) become involved in the process out of necessity...you can't just walk up to someone look them in the eye and dock to the usb port to transfer data.

Intent is paramount....

There are equal traps within simplicity and complexity.

Some things can be oversimplified to the point another will miss the point (whether you are the giver or the receiver)/

Some things can be overcomplicated with the same result (whether you are the giver of the receiver)/

What is the intent or purpose of the individual who is trying to convey something to you? What is your intent as the listener?

Is it purely self-serving and from the ego or from a genuine desire of care and love for another?

These things are difficult to read in an environment such as this (difficult, not impossible...particularly over time).

Rigidity of opinion/view and repetition can give a lot of insights....

John

They are great goals, I look forward to your journey as I know that by the end of this year you will have more that conquered them and will be setting another lot of inspiring goals as you reach new heights in you journey of life...

love love
xx

Yay Jen,

I only just found your new journal!! Very nice to start fresh when you feel you have changed so much last year.
I am with you on the larfing part, I think it is when we are most in the NOW and that's what it is all about right?

AND Yoga 3 times a week! Oh I will follow you on that one too (gosh they are some great goals to achieve)

Hope you are having a lovely day.

Love ~eve~

I need to bring some clarity here. This is what I get for posting late at night with little thought. I am actually more concerned about keeping up with conversations here on the forum. There are so many posts that fly over my head! In person or on the phone I am much better with them. I have very deep talks with people, friends and strangers mostly... not really one for sharing with my family.

Except maybe my sister... we have a kind of solidarity.

Going back to one of my other goals.... gratitude. Last night was a noisy night in our street which is really strange. I have a neighbour who I think has more problems that anyone could poke a stick at but even she was quiet last night.

We had hoons in our street! I don't think we have ever had that before. But from about 1 until around 3.30 they were racing their cars in our street and another street until I heard the familiar skid and muffled pop of a car accident. Then it went quiet. Then a neighbours dog started barking at 4 and other neighbours were out there yelling "Shut your blinding dog up for expletives sake" which is also really unusual. Normally if a dog barks... it barks for one night and that's it. No one says anything! Very exiting.

So anyhow, the sun was starting to rise and I had dozed intermittently from around 1 until the car accident. Then I was wide awake! I knew I needed sleep but I was too tightly wound so I consciously decided to remove my thoughts from what had happened and thoughtless people to what I was grateful for. That's the last I recall until 7am when I sprang out of bed alive and full of beans and ready to hit the markets... yeah!

Exercise, well I couldn't walk this morning because Bill was already gone to the working bee at the archery club and I really just like to walk alone. So I hopped on the rebounder for a minute at a time for around 10 minutes all up which I was more than happy with.

I'm going to take Bella for a walk soon also. So exercise is a go. I was having a big chat with Caitlyn yesterday about things we believe that are no longer true and through this discussion I discovered that I was still holding on to a belief that I would not be liked if I was not good at sport. So I've never played it! Comes from primary school... no more needs to be said there. I don't think I will ever be a team sports person but I would love to become fit.

Why? Because I have read a lot of autobiographies and biographies and articles, and I've watched a lot of people and I think you can be fit, but not healthy, and I think you can be healthy but not fit. I believe that physically, health and fitness are two separate things entirely although they may merge from time to time. I would like to be more balanced here.

This time last year, I was only concerned with staying thin... now I want to be thin and strong. Lithe is a good word that springs to mind!

Mental fitness is a goal as well. And balance should be there! Oh boy without that then there will be no point to the rest of it. I could end up healthy, fit and crackers without that!

John, Rowdy, Waterberry, Sacha, KLR, Les, thank you all for your words. I love coming back to a crowd!

Sacha, did you get my message?

Eve you just posted! I'll have to hit send to see what you said! Yaaaaaaaaaaay for larfing! Hot cross buns...

Here is my pic of the day....


xoxoxo

I got your message Jen. I never hear your voice not laugh or smile at what you have to say once. You bring so much joy and happiness to so many lives. You can be grateful for who you see in the mirror each day Jen.

Thankyou! Rowdy. That was sweat of you. You left a heart print on my chest, Thankyou!

Love Sachman!

.

Cute picture Jen! Very appropriate -_-

I'm sorry ya feel that way Migina..."masturbating all; over the forum" etc...

Sigh...

John

Sorry John, comment removed... and hopefully we can be friends again -_-

Have I missed something? I loved the masturbating comment! LOL. Made me have a larf!

I thought you was bing funny Migina!

Don't sigh John, it's much better when you larf! Here's something for you to larf at!


xoxoxoxo

Lol, Yes! that was some of my best stuff Jen, I thought it was hilarious... but obviously not for everyone. Poor John :wub:

Love the picture, I'm having a good giggle!

Yesterday I was knocking some walls down in my house with a friend of mine...he's a builder type dude...they know all sorts of amasing things these builder guys.....but this guy in particular is a bit of a "philospher"...

There was sh-it everywhere...dust and sawdust and all that jazz...

As fast as he's making the mess i'm busy cleaning it up.

At one point he started laffin...and said "John...mate..sometimes ya have to make a mess to make progress......."

There's a lot in that observation...

John

PS...hahhahaaa Jen....when did I give you permission to post my pic online (what the hell is this crap.....LOL)

Hi Jennie, great for You to start the 2008 journal, as everything and everybody is going to be different this year.

To understand with heart is the point, the answer of the heart is what I personaly like.

The true feeling, short and simple.

You well ahead of most of us.

Complicated constructs of logical minds are usually just tiring, at least to me, and very often not solving or helping the issue.

I am probbaly the seeker of simplicity.

Am currently reading teh book Quantum Eating, the book has 450 pages. Each chapter has possibly 2 lines worth of idea, it is so tiring to read it and it wastes so much time and energy.

If the autor was efficient teh whole book could be clear and simple to teh point and the ideology explained on 45 pages instead of 450.

This is nutritional forum, I allways said if healthy nutritional education needs more than 10 pages, than it is wrong,

the main idea needs to be explained on 1 page and than 9 pages for some more dailed stuff.

So why the western society requires nutritionists to study for years, and go trough 1000's of pages of material ?

Than when Yiou see this qualified nutritiobnist comming onto TV show confronting those who follow 1 -10 page long concept, this 1000's pages long educated nutritionist is teh only fat - old and sick looking person ?


So the KISS is what I like :laugh:

the Universe delivered to my email box the following from Bob Proctor yesterday and probably this is the best place to post it as the issue was mentioned here few times - enjoy :



Saying Your Thank-Yous

A year ago, at a get-together of a dozen girlfriends from college, I saw my old friend, Therese Gibson. When I told her I was writing a book called Happy for No Reason, which focuses on the 21 core habits of unconditionally happy people, she told me about the daily gratitude ritual she practices with her 95-year-old father, Charlie, that keeps them smiling and feeling good.
Therese moved in with Charlie, who's still sharp as a tack, during a bad time in both their lives. Charlie's wife had just died, Therese was at the tail end of a painful divorce, and money was tight. They were as glum as any two people could be. But both had heard that gratitude was a great way to feel better, so they decided to sit together for a few minutes each morning before Therese headed off to work and tell each other three things they were grateful for in their lives.
"It was slow going in the beginning," Therese told me. "The first time we did it, I had a hard time thinking of even one thing I was grateful for." Finally, she looked around the room and saw a vase she liked. She told Charlie, "I'm grateful for how pretty that vase is." It sounded silly, but it was the best she could do. Charlie wasn't any better at it, often waiting for Therese to give him a clue about what to say. But she and Charlie both noticed that even a thank-you for something superficial had a good effect.
Soon, their decision to focus on what was right in their lives began to pay off. Both Therese and Charlie started to feel happier, and to notice that more and more things were going their way. Even their money situation improved. Three thank-yous became five, then ten, and soon they had to stop listing the good things in their lives long before they ran out of things to say-or Therese would be late for work.
One day, they were feeling so light and happy after finishing their lists that Charlie, who'd always liked the musical Oklahoma, started singing "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning." Therese joined in. It was the perfect expression of how being grateful made them feel. They added this song to their ritual and now "saying their thank-yous" and singing together has become one of the highlights of their day.
I've experienced myself just how powerful gratitude is. Once, after going through a heartbreak, a friend told me to write down five things I was grateful for each night before I went to bed for three weeks straight. I knew that psychologists say it takes 21 days to change a habit, so I agreed. At first I struggled to come up with anything, but I continued doing it every night and over time the pain in my heart eased.
Try doing the gratitude exercise yourself. Every night before you go to sleep, list five things that you're grateful for that day, and notice how you feel when you wake up the next morning. A grateful heart can send your happiness level soaring.
Marci Shimoff

"Oh what a beautiful morning"

I'm grateful for my friend Darren who just phoned me to tell me he is now a Dad (for the 1st time) and the joy in his voice.

I'm grateful for my friend Mato who will be here this afternoon to do some things and I'm blessed to have him as a friend.

I'm grateful for the stick-it note my lady left on my monitor this morning telling me how much she loves me.

I'm grateful that one of my dogs recently taught me a lesson in patience.

hey jen. happy new year! just started reading over your new journal. i know what you mean about the fit but not healthy and healthy but not fit. at the moment i'm exercising a bit but not eating well. what sort of yoga are you doing?

Oh wow! I did a really long post here last night and it is not here....  :shrug:

Oh well. I'm off to bed peoples! I've been told time and time again lately to take it easy that I'm pushing myself and although I felt fine this morning, I leaned over to pick something up and fainted! Now I have a sky high temperature and feel like I am going to varmint. So I am taking my bucket, a good book and I am off to bed.

But before I go... here is the pic that I posted yesterday that got lost...


xoxoxox

Oh no! I hope you feel better soon - sending healthy vibes to you - sleep well!  -_-

Susan

Thanks Susan, I did sleep well. 10 hours of solid shut eye!

I started my day today with a recipe sent to me by a friend

4 stalks of celery
2 pink lady apples
1 lemon (no peel)
1 inch of ginger

Juice the above and drink it down!

Then I drank 2 litres of water...

Now I'm having this gorgeous little concoction:

400ml of almond milk
one large handful of gojis
5 dates

Soak the above for one hour then add one heaped tablespoon each of mesquite, lucuma and cacao powder and also one heaped teaspoon of msm. Blend well and then add some chopped frozen banana.

Yummm! Jaffa smoothie. I haven't tried a smoothie like this before but I decided that if I have started doing fainting then maybe I should start listening to some long term raw foodies and do what they do. So this one was inspired by Matt Adams who has been in my ear all morning via my mp3 player.

I'll have a GS later as I believe in the power of greens!

xoxoxox

I blazed through this afternoon after my smoothie. I only wanted a lite dinner at around 4 which is normal for me. I had a salad of lettuce, green and red cabbage, a huge tomato, some cucumber, olives and some Japanese mayonnaise which I am still addicted to but for the small amount I have and the huge amount of pleasure I get from it, I am not going to worry about it.

I was still a little nibbly so munched away on a handful of olives and was happy again!

I've had a bit of a day. Testing myself. As you know I need to balance and to learn to find balance and I am looking forward to the challenge but sometimes it all feels too hard. That's when I leave the challenge alone and go and do something else!

Now I feel better.

Here is todays pic....


xoxoxox

HI Jen,

Good to see you are feeling better again!

Eve

Thanks Eve! It's great to be feeling better I can tell you...

I found my sister! We are not long lost or anything. I copied this image from the internet so I don't think she will mind me posting here...


She is an amazing girl.

I've had a busy day and have Sacha, Swami and Travis coming over for dinner so I had better rush! Hopefully I will have some photos to put up here of the food later!

kiss kiss!

Some photos to share...






I wish I had opened the freezer of the fridge as well. It's full of frozen mango and banana!

xoxoxoxx

Oh Jen, what gorgeous vibrant kids you have!!! And yourself too!!!

...and your fridge looks like heaven!!!

We have 2 fridges but I'm afraid they're a mixed bag of lush and not so lush! Working on it though!!

Brian was up making the kids fruit smoothies before I even got out of bed this morning (wonders will never cease!!) and Finn (my 8 yr old) came in to give me a bright orange sloppy smoothie kiss to wake me!! lol was so cool to see... a kodak moment!

Susan x

Hi Jen,
 Caitlyn is your "mini me" , she has your megawatt smile and cheeky brown eyes!

Of course, Brock is gorgeous too.

I would like to come and live in your fridge as the weather in Perth has been from 39-44 degrees Celsius for the last few days. I would be very happy in there!
 
Maybe we could start a thread of fridge pictures for a little fun.

fruit salad, yummy mummy..

Sometimes I just don't understand what people are saying but I get a feel of what they mean! Just beauties are Miss Bliss, Iv and Rudy to name a few. I read what they are saying and so want to understand but just don't get it. Sometimes though I read on in the future and then I understand it.
[/quote]

Jen I so agree, most of the time I don't understand what is being said.  I like plain and simple or I will take the literal take on it and even sometimes I will get my husband in to read it and explain it for me, especially when  I know there is a meaning in their for me but I just DON'T get it. 

I feel and think with my heart not my head. hee hee or I will sense what the perosn is feeling.  Bit hard in cyberspace.  I also have this with meditaion, I don't actually see clear in my mind the messages etc but I can feel what the colour is etc.  Everyone is different.

Wishing you all the best for the coming year.

Light and love,
Annette
xx

Hi Islandsun, It's much easier when the hubbies help out isn't it? Mine was making raw choc shakes for my kids this morning.  :laugh: Happy days!

Dani, it's great to see you here. Yes Caitlyn and I are very similar in looks. Funny thing, as much as Caitlyn looks like me, I look like my mother. My mum and Caitlyn however, look nothing alike! Yes come and live in my fridge! That would be awesome!

I agree Les. Yummy yummy. Those pines are are awesome!

Annette it's good to see you! I'm glad you know what I mean. I hadn't thought to get Bill to check some stuff for me but he probably would understand. He is a very very smart man!

A good day today. I've started taking Friday afternoons to do the bookwork and catch up on paperwork and it's working well. This afternoon I had to pick up some stock as well and got to have a good ole natter with a friend. All is well. I feel relaxed.

I have loaded the first raw summit to my mp3 player and have been listening to that a lot. I got so much out of Mike Adams and Victoria Boutenko. They just seemed to know what I needed to hear!

I've been trawling through one of the new books in store. I've been exited about this book for months and now I have it I've been having a ball! Last night I had the miso mushroom soup which was gorgeous. From what I have read miso, while not raw is fermented and therefore live. I had organic chickpea miso and loved it. I had no harsh feelings in my tummy after it and my mouth did not taste feral this morning.

I've added a few things like organic miso and nutritional yeast back to my diet at the moment. I have been in a weird headspace and have been craving and eating more cooked food. I think that since I've been running RP that I have put a lot more pressure on myself to eat raw and of course, if I am told not to do something... the first thing I want to do is exactly what I was told not to! I'm quite happy with this for now. I think that having some nutritional yeast to help me get past cravings is better than having cheese. Usually if I have cheese I want bread or pasta as well so I am, in effect, only eating one thing that is not technically raw instead of two.

I've also decided to forget about combining for now. Since I have been having my supersmoothies, I have had rockmelon smoothies a few times an hour after with no problems at all. Also I have created meals that have fruit and nuts and still felt highly energised and well in the tummy later so that is not a problem.

Tonight I had a cashew aioli that was cashew based and very delicious with zucchini noodles, on a bed of lettuce and diced capsicum. Kwor! I sprinkled it with chives to make it look pretty. Bill gave it the thumbs up too which was great!


xoxoxoxo

Gosh that looks delicious!

Good for you on learning that you don't have to be so strict with your body all the time on raw.  It sounds like you're letting yourself be a bit more creative with combinations and hopefully your confident raw cheffing skills will come running back too!!!!!

The one word that I saw written on the forums & I often keep in mind with raw is 'abundance'.  I like to have an 'embracing all the good things' state of mind, rather than a state of mind that looks at what I can't have.  Makes all the difference for me.

PS:  you and Caitlyn definitely do look alike! It's too cute.  Bizarre that she doesn't look like her grandmother but you do, I guess the 'halves' of people that add up to what they look like came from different people there!

WOW Jen,

You HAVE to get some a new pic in your avatar soon you look 15 years younger in that photo holding your girl AND soooo healthy!! I almost fell off my chair AMAZING.

Hope you have a lovely day!

Eve

Me too. I feel different about food at the moment. I am enjoying many things!


Well Eve I am NOT going to change my pic if it's going to have people falling off their chairs! LOL. I don't want to be responsible for your concussion! Tee hee.

Thank you very much though, I feel younger too. More vibrant and definitely happier. At least these days when I am unhappy I can pinpoint why with truth. I always could when I was depressed too but there was an element of drama and truth bending there. These days I am a lot more accurate!!!!

I've mentioned here a few times about how I have dreams where I am runnig that are soooooo real. I also have dreams that I am roller blading or doing yoga and in my dreams I always do these things extremely well. Lately I have been having these dreams more often. and I have started waking up with sore muscles. The other night I dreamed that I went for a run and stopped to do some stretches half way through my run. In my dream I was sitting on the ground with my legs straight out in front of me with my body lying flat on my legs.

I was saying to myself, my body knows it can do this. My thoughts, my beliefs are stopping it. When I woke in the morning I was so sore at the backs of my legs and I can stretch about 10 cm further than I could before! Trippy.

I just hope that I am not sleep walking/running/yogaing.... I sleep in my birthday suit and running around in the middle of the night gives me the creeps! No mud on my feet in the morning. If anyone has any ideas on why my muscles hurt after these dreams I would love to hear!

Another big thing I am up to at the moment is practicing acceptance for the things I can't do anything about. Like the serenity prayer I suppose.

One of our neighbours has a dog that they have decided in their wisdom to let outside to bark all night. I don't know why...

When I was a child, we had a blue heeler whose neighbours, who at their own admission could sleep through a bomb, let it roam at night and it used to drive my dad mad. Dad just cannot sleep through barking dogs and his insomnia lead to terrible moods back then. These days he still can't sleep but is pretty mellow from what I can tell.

Anyhow, I get really angry when people let their dogs out at night to bark and bark. Last night I realised that Caitlyn, Brock and Bill were all sleeping. Other neighbours never hear dogs barking... so it was me! At first I raged about how these owners were selfish and that they should move their dog inside at night to have consideration.

Then my little brain through the word acceptance at me. I was lying there with my eyes screwed shut and I literally saw the word in lime green letters float through the blackness. So I decided that I have the problem. If everyone else could sleep with it so could I. Everytime the dog barked after that I repeated a mantra to myself "I accept that this dog will bark. I accept that I can sleep knowing that this dog is barking" and I kid you not, I was asleep in less than 15 minutes.

Awesome.

I have some more photos to share today.

I bought a big 12 kg watermelon the other day and chopped it up for smoothies and sorbet and Caitlyn wondered around taking shots here and there.



I'll have some more later.

I just love that wicked SOH of yours, so infectious!

Love the photes and my what a cutie Bella is, thanks for sharing Jen:) 

Hi there! I'd thought I'd stop by your space finally to say hi! I have been reading for a while so now I'm outta the shadows! You and your kiddies look so gorgeous, healthy and full of life.

I hope you enjoyed the rest of that beautiful watermelon.

love x

Hullo Garfield! Thank you. Errrrrr, what is SOH? I know that I know, but I cannot for the life of me think of what it is! OH... sense of humour! There we are. I knew that as soon as I admitted I didn't know that I would remember. Thanks again!

Jungle, thanks for stopping by my place! It's great to see you here. I still have some frozen but I am enjoying it immensely thank you!

This is one of the cake slices that I got from the Northy St Markets yesterday. Nicky is a master chef and I look forward to doing some events with her in the future!


And this little fella ended up in my smoothie this morning. When Sergei was here he spoke about if you are unsure of whether a weed is safe to eat or not, take a small piece and pop it under your tongue for 10 minutes. I did that yesterday with this and it was fine. So I added it to my smoothie today and it was yumm. I also had french sorrel and lemon balm, pineapple and frozen mango.



This is where we are thinking of putting our vegie patch. It gets two to three hours of midday sun per day. Is that enough? As you can see we need to build up the soil and get some drainage happening there.

You can see the compost bin that Bill ended up building me on the right. Nice and big. We are planning on having a footpath on the left so there is no garden up against the house and plants on the right.

Should be a fun project.

xoxoxoxxo

Jennie take a look at no dig gardens. That would be perfect for that location. You build on top of the soil and it's easy. That's how I did the whole garden in front of our last place in Bilambil Heights and it went from clay with no drainage to a gorgeous garden in about 6 months.

Another interesting concept is square foot gardening. That book specializes in growing as much as possible in small spaces. They have some tremendous results. I think you can find some information on the net too.

Love,
Sheryl

Those mum and baby weeds are milk thistle...I have heard of others eating it, must try it too. Plants that you can grow up trellis' are great for small spaces - beans, peas, cucumbers, pumpkins even. It is amazing how much food can be produced in a little space. It will be a great source of fun for the whole family I'm sure. That cake looks amazing! Love the bright plate. wow

Jen, we too did all of our patches by the NO DIG method that Sheryl mentioned. Start saving newspaper and card board now in preparation. It really is easy.

And I would definately utilise the wall. I have just spent my tax cheque on trellis for our fences and our beans, cucumbers, peas and tomatoes love it. The colourbond fence was too hot, but I think your bricks should be just fine.

I would have to say I eat nearly 100% Raw when my garden is productive. When I buy organic we struggle financially, but I figure health is the most precious thing one can have. And I just can't buy non organic tomatoes and such after eating our own.

So I now am getting up early in the mornings and spending no less than 10mins sowing new seeds, weeding and tending. And it is working. Every few weeks I'll start new tomatoes, lettuce etc so that I will have a constant supply.

And I feel great, grounded and not so bad about spending time at work inside.

Plant your garden Jen and you'll be wondering how you ever lived without it  :yahh:
xxxxxx

Great looking compost thingo Jen! And I eat those weeds all the time, I don't know what they are but I have them in salads and GS.
Bella is such a cutie! I wish Casper loved watermelon that much!!  :ohyeah:

Thanks everyone for the gardening advice. I've passed it on to Bill and he is quite exited. One of my brothers friends runs a business growing and selling organic seedlings and I'm going to hit him up for permaculture advice as he has studied that extensively.

I was going to work tonight but I am completely tuckered. I have been eating so much. Not giving myself time to get hungry. I have allowed food to become a habit while I am at my desk. Who needs to eat as much as I am while sitting on their heiny anyhow? Not I... I must have had six full meals today.

I've also overdone it on kale, baby spinach and silverbeet in smoothies. I am getting a sore throat after them which I have been told is a sign that I have eaten too much oxaclic acid. So I need to find other greens. I'm really craving clover. I'm looking forward to having this patch. I'm sure that most of the clover in our back yard has been peed on by Bella and I'm not really keen for that but when I look at it my mouth waters!

I used to have heaps of it in the gardens in the front yard and then we mastered how to mulch to keep weeds out of the garden and to keep water in also.

I am off to read Autobiography of a yogi. I've discovered that when I am overworked that I sleep like a person with their eyes shut all night after just a couple of pages of that book. Good stuff.

Hi Sheryl, that was a great garden you had going there. Yummm! All those greens...

Jungle it's great to know the name of the milk thistle. I really enjoyed it in my smoothie and on it's own it had a charm also!

Amaluca, it's great to see you again! Thank you for letting me know how much time you spend in your garden each day. I'll tell Bill. 10 minutes a day is not a lot.

Hey Freedom! It's a very trendy compost thing isn't it! I think we will end up dividing it in two as it is huge! We really need to look after it as well as it is just outside of Caitlyn's bedroom and she is worried about the smell.

I'm a  little worried that the area will not get enough sun but I'm sure that we will find stuff that grows in there just fine!

xoxoxxo

Hi Jen,

Your little vegie-garden-spot-to-be looks very promising... you're gonna have a ball playing in your garden!

Sorry to hear you've overdone those greens... sounds a bit nasty! Good luck in your search for un-Bella'd clover  :laugh:

And that cake earlier just looks so... scrumplicious! I'm glad it's not at my house, because it would magically evaporate in one go and I'd strangely have a very sore belly!

...But I love the photo of your fridge... I could dive into that with my mouth wide open, oh so easily!

You, Caitlin and Brock are all looking very bright and happy too; it's wonderful to see! Thank you for sharing with us.  :rose:

Looking forward to seeing you soon

xox JJ the e.l.f.  :laugh:

Hullo JJ. Mwah! I am so exited that we'll be catching up soon. I feel so lucky that you are dropping by my place! I'll buy one of those cakes and have a lunch or dinner while you are here and we can eat the whole thing! Well... maybe not the whole thing but what a dessert!

I have learned a lesson! For months now I have been putting myself under incredible stress. By saying "I have to do this now" or "I need to get this done" along with "there is not enough time" and worrying incessently about not getting everything done TODAY (everyday) I have not been good to my health.

I believe that our emotions are as important to our health, if not more so than food. Truly I do. My emotions surface internally mostly. So I have clear skin and eyes from the food I eat and look great... however I reckon, with the physical feeling in my stomach that I am near to having a stomach ulcer again. I only get these when I smoke (9years since I've had one) so that says a lot.

Funnily enough the tummy stuff didn't really cause me to take notice. In fact because it is a familiar feeling I didn't even really notice it. It was when I fainted the other day... I mean, so stressed that I have to pass out to have a break? Come on Jen!

Yesterday morning I nearly fainted again. So I let some blood rush to my head and went and took a ten minute break. During that break I made myself a rockmelon smoothie and got some sunshine. I felt like a million bucks afterwards!

I've been pandering to my stress. If I've been thinking 'I have to get this done by ...o'clock" I have not taken breaks. I have just kept going. Often I don't leave the office for 12 hours at a time except to go to the loo!

Yesterday that changed. I will not be a slave to worrying thoughts. They are only thoughts and that is all. I am only human... perfect in my imperfections yes? So yesterday if I felt stressed I walked OUT of the office and sat in the sun until calmess timidly knocked on the door. Once I had invited calmness in stress became huffy and left the premises slamming the door behind him. Child. Anyhow, the first time it took ages. But by the end of the day all I had to do was walk out and look at the sky and feel better.

I got loads more work done in a shorter amount of time and was a lot happier by the end of the day. A good experiment yes!

I met up with Bliss in the afternoon and am pleased to report that she was just as I thought she would be. I have spoken to her on the phone though. If I had only read her posts then I would have thought otherwise as she writes a little differently to how she speaks thank goodness! I understood everything she said which was awesome!  We had a great chat about Raw Spirit and have come together with some good ideas. It will be a great event!

I am going to make myself a smoothie and calmly get on with my day!

Have a great and good day all...

xoxoxox

Oops, near on forgot a funny for you...

Hi Jennie! I've just been catching up on your journal a bit... I loved the pics of you and your kids - you guys need to be on the front cover of erthmum's new raw magazine :laugh:

Those salads look incredible *licks lips* lol

I've noticed that the mood here at RP has changed in the 6 months I've been away. There seems to be a really strong feeling of self-acceptance in everyone of where they're at in their raw journey, no matter what % of raw that might equate to. And I've noticed the same thing on your thread too. I think it's wonderful. Coz 100% might be the ultimate but if it comes with the price of the pressure of perfection, the overall outcome isn't going to be good is it? It's where you're coming from when you do what you do that counts, I'm finding.
So I wanted to give you a really big hug and tell you how happy I am for you that you're not demanding so much of yourself! I think I'm pretty safe in saying that no one here wants prefection from you, we just want you to be doing whatever you need to do to look after yourself in the best way you can. Which basically means that we want you just as you are :wub:
xx ABG

ABG, I'm so damned glad that you are back! Thank you for everything you said! Mwah...

A much better day today. I did not worry about a thing. It's been awesome. And time just stretched! I can't believe how long this afternoon seemed. I achieved a lot! very happy with my outcome.

I'd write more but it's time to make la dinner!

xoxoxox

glad you're feeling much better Jen....

i saw the two people kissing...

whats for dinner love...

hey! you cant beat juicy fruit sugar to clear your mind,its the most awesome feeling!

im on my second massive bowl of vegs...gawd they're sooo good!after eating fruits all day,its just the most delicious thing to eat!

MMmmmm. For dinner I made a pineapple, orange cobbler. It wasn't as nice as the apple one I made the other night but it was still pretty yummers!

Yers my tummy is feeling a lot better. I'm having an early night tonight.

xooxoxo

Shazaaammm, dear Ma`am!  Images shall now be her(e)  wor(l)ds... hehehe...

Zensational Goji Bliss...

(http://img242.imageshack.us/img242/4737/rawsensationgojigojorawyl7.jpg)

(http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7285/sensationalgojigojoblisni3.jpg)

(http://img172.imageshack.us/img172/1548/rawpleasuregirls007mq1.jpg)

(http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/5765/rawpleasurerainsdropskf7.jpg)

(http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/5168/rawpleasuregirls005mk9.jpg)

I loved meeting you Jennie, you are truly a raw sensation!  I am keen for the next rendezvous!

Much Bliss with No Miss Chievous Pandering ~ thank Goddess!  :D

~*~

Blissy! Thank you so much for posting those! I love them all. I love your word play with Zensation! I might have to change my screen name... but I don't think I am very zen-ish. I don't really know what it means!

Lets get together again soon. Make plans plans plans!!!

Jojo looks very very happy! Love that girl!

Thanks again...

girls you look beauwdiful...Jen you look amazing babe...loving to see the pendant you are wearing,it warmed my heart(even more...lol)

Actually I will have to tell you about the pendant talk we had.... started by Bliss. Wow! That's another one for the phone... LOL.

xoxoo

I'm really enjoying all the cat pictures Jen, where do you get them from? or is it a secret?  Its like a mysterious cat oracle... or something!

Jen you sound so happy and full of life (can I have some of what you are on hehehehe) I better get back on it hay.

I have missed you so much its seems like 2008 is going to be a great year for you I can feel it in my waters. Me I think it will be half 2008 and half 2009 dont ask me why I just do.

Sending you lots and lots of love girl.

angie

The cat piccies are awesome aren't they. Princess Bee put me onto a site that makes her larf a lot when she came to visit. You can visit the site HERE (http://icanhascheezburger.com). I love it! Now I have announced it I will have to find another funny site! One last one before I stop!


What a day. I have managed to keep myself calm again today and ideas and thoughts are flowing nicely. I have not been craving cooked food which is nice. You know that if I really, really want something cooked I will have it. But if I am stressed and just wanting to binge on food, I will not. I won't use food the way I used to use alcohol.

I've just surprised Bill by saying we are going away for two nights and so we are going away! Awesome. I hve to find someone to feed my doggie but that will fall into place! And then I am away for two whole days. No puter... gosh. I bet I get withdrawals! Tee hee.

ABG I'm glad that you have noticed that there is a different feeling here. I think self acceptance is huge! I don't mean that we should not have goals to improve areas that we are unhappy with but I think we need to be happy with the process.

A lot of this comes from Wayne Dyer but really resonates with me as most of what he says does.... keep the goal in mind but don't make it your whole life. This leads to non-balance. Focus on the process. So when I have my odd cooked meal, I make sure that I still think raw. I don't know if that makes sense... if you are a smoker (Wayne's example) and you want to give up, everytime you light a cigarette, tell yourself you are a non smoker. This way you will soon start to believe it and your behaviour will change.

It might take a little longer than cold turkey but if you focus on the thoughts it will happen.

I have been doing this with stress. I had a think today while I was driving about what stress is? What chemicals are released into the body during stress? I don't know for sure but I think one might be adrenaline. Rudy was writing awhile back about adrenaline being addictive. So stress is addictive. I have proved it. I have used stress to enforce certain beliefs that I have about myself. I will not write them down as I don't want my mind to go there but I've replaced them with

* I can succeed in whatever I choose
* I can think clearly and precisely when I wish to.
* I am efficient.
* I love time. Time is my friend. There is enough time to get all I need done any time I choose.

And so on. I just keep finding things that I normally stress about and create new thoughts. It's working really well and has released the need for me to drive to John's and knock out some of his walls! Tee hee.

What a rave. In saying all of this I know that I can keep doing this. I really want to focus on writing positive things. I believe that if I write something that I feel is holding me back in anyway I am giving power to it so I am going to try not writing about that right now in detail. I might just write that I am struggling with something for example.

It's funny to think that I am accepting myself more than ever while making all of these changes. But I truly do not believe that stress, seeing myself in a negative light, anger... I don't think that these are me. It's this that I want/need to get past... to see me? I think that 'I' am light, happy and funny. This is what I choose to accept.

I need to eat! I am hungry.

Have a great night all!

xoxoxoxox

Yaaaaaaaaaaaay! We are going away to Ballina for two days. Bill is desperate to get me away from a  computer! So I am packing up my Frees, my running gear, my mp3 player and a book and we are going to relax.

I can't work out how to transfer my playlist that I have created to my mp3 player. I've created it, copied it over the way I transfer the rest over but when I go to my play list in the mp3 player... it says 'no file'. Pout.

Have a great time all!

xoxoxo

We have just had three wonderful days away. I felt so calm while I was away. A totally different person. It was awesome. I'm pretty knackered and had some pretty big realisations of my own to think through but I'd love to share some photos with you or just to keep a record of what I've been up to for me really. Remembering that I am a person in my own right was surprising!

















xoxoxox

I LOVE the photos Jen. I am so happy for you. Just what YOU ordered. Relaxation, Life long memories, and I am sure a bag full of magic moments as a family. How blessed you are.

I adore the photo of Caitlyn and Brock. It has happy faces and a beautiful back drop.

Looking forward to seeing that relaxed look in person real soon.

Love Sach!

Welcome back Jen!  Glad to hear you had a wonderful and relaxing time, you deserve it!

I have to say I ADORE your photos.  The ones "me at the beach" "brock and I at the beach", taken just of your feet... have such a magical artistic touch to them I fell in love with the photos instantly!  Then the photo of Caitlins hand in yours, silhouetted against a sunset... sigh... again, just magic.

These particular photos touched me also.   Treasures!  I imagine how powerful it will be for you, Jen to look back at these, from some new vantage point, some day eons away...

Zensational!  It is great to see such splendid moments of your unwinding, whereby you found yourself relaxing enough to indulge in the enjoyment of being creative!   

:yahh:

planning, planning, planning

let's make it sooner than later :)

Great to see that you had an awesome weekend, looking like the mermaid that you are.

I just hope you remembered to get the books out of the microwave... oh and those Kitzbars from the shop looked great, hope you enjoyed them.. :)

xx

ohh graceful goddess...you look so zen and beautiful,as does everyone,ahhh holiday mode,however brief is a breath of fresh air..

Bill's looking trim,well done to him!

Thank you all! I had a lot of fun while I was away. When we arrived we found a tiny little cabin and that was fine. We didn't want to be in there much anyhow. We went to go for a swim but the river was closed for swimming and fishing because all the rain had washed stuff into the river and there had been a mass fish kill. So the water is too toxic to swim in! There were still fish coming in dead on our last day there, a month after the initial kill, and it's just helped me to realise the importance of organic as a lot of people believe that this has happened because of chemicals from farms.

So we went to the beach instead and I didn't want to swim. I was happy to just lie on the beach and enjoy relaxing. The next day we went for a drive and then to the local pool in the afternoon. There was huge waterslides and the kids really wanted to go on them all. Because I've been told that my adrenals are stressed and that I need to relax I chose to lie on the grass and read my Autobiography of a Yogi book instead. Any excitement for me at the moment means that my adrenals work.

The next day we went to Lennox Heads and fell in love with a whole new place. It is just gorgeous there. We are very keen to return for a holiday!

I have been putting a big emphasis on remaining calm. Whenever I feel stress I have a few little things that I have been doing to center myself again. It's a major challenge for me to stay calm and centered when things are not going to my egotistical plan but I am going ok so far.

I have been fighting my depression again for the last few weeks which has not been nice. Not full on but it's been hanging around the edges and I've been having some very negative thoughts about myself and my body. When I woke yesterday morning I realised that this has been in direct proportion to the amount of cooked food I have had lately. Just realising that helped me to let some of it go and also realising that I can control this.

What have I been eating? Well I don't like to say as I don't want to cause cravings in others but it has been vegetarian and too often. It's easy to fall into the trap of eating too much cooked over the Christmas period and I've been having unhealthy cooked food probably two to three times per week. It used to be around once a fortnight so there has been a gradual rise.

Right now I have headaches and stiff joints. But I know that I will be ok. Just realising it helps. Also I've just noticed that I say I have been fighting depressive thoughts again but I should just accept that I have them and move on. What we resist persists right?

Today I am feeling happier. I didn't want to write what I was feeling at the time. I don't know why but now that I am past it I feel better about it.

Anyhow, thank you all for your replies. I'd better get to work!

Have an awesome day/night depending on where you are.

xoxoxoxo

Fantastic Photo's Jen you look so beautiful and relaxed.

It may have been short but it looks like it did wonders for you.

Thanks for sharing Jen you have me Jelouse now *I want a holiday*



Jen we posted at the same time

I've had a much better day today. Lots of yummers things to eat including some great peaches from my local f+v.

Tonight I made a salad and when I went to serve it, there was very little there! So I had to make a apple cobbler and have some dessert. What a shame!

I didn't get to walk this morning because I was busy sleeping in... oops. So this afternoon I went for a walk for an hour and a half and I tell you. I was so happy to fling a salad into me at the end of the day. No cheese cravings! I feel a lot happier already.

I still feel quiet and unclear in my thoughts about myself but much better overall... which is great.

Hey Pinky, the holiday was great. Opened my eyes to a whole new way of life. Relaxing! I think we should all do this from time to time. If you can get away for a holiday at some stage, I highly recommend it.

xoxoxxo

you are moving through this time with grace and dignity.....depression is an awful thing.....

regardless of what you are putting into your body... the quality of the food whether its poor quality raw or cooked,flesh or vegan... your mind set towards it, and yourself as you're eating it, or after you've eaten it,has everything to do with how you feel about yourself!

hugs to you

Bugger, I did a big post and I lost it! Not meant to be said obviously....

xxoxoxox

Lol Jen....that's happenned to me a few times recently as well.

I take it as the Universe telling me to shadup....lol

Och! Am I talking too much? It happened to me twice last night... I did a post in my I'm running thread as well, GONE!

Maybe the universe is telling me to spend more time looking at others and to leave me alone for a bit!

xoxoxox

OHHHHHHHHH Jen.....I take it as the Universe telling ME to shadup...your loss posts were prolly just hitting the wrong button ;-) ;-) ;-)

LOL! Schmarty pants....

xxoxo

A good day today. I started with the 5T's and I think I over did it a bit but will take it a little more easy tomorrow. Breakfast was a big bottle of water. It was all I could even think of eating/drinking as I felt so off. About three hours later though I started to crave celery and so I hoed into some of that.

A friend of mine came over and I threw together a salad of cos lettuce, ,grapes, orange, pineapple, sultanas and a drizzle of agave. The agave was a little too much. The sultanas sweetened it enough. It was still quite yummers though!

Dinner was another salad... cos lettuce again with chopped capsicum, avocado, olives and another yummy dressing that I cannot disclose due to copyright reasons but Bill and I really loved it. On it's own it was very tart but with the salad it was divine!

My friend who came over is a personal trainer and we are going to have a session once a week. She is concerned that I have been walk/running for this long and cannot run further than I can. A bit baffled by it. But I have a goal to run the Gold Coast half marathon in July this year so that will be great to get that done. I have no interest in running a full marathon at this stage but a 10k run... I would be happy with that.

I"ve been tying to send love to people I don't like today. I have a few people from my past who, when I think of them, can still have my blood boiling! I figured that it is really easy to love those who we get along with. Not so easy to love those we cannot stand. It's not easy and I am trying to have no expectations about how this might turn out so that I can just accept whatever happens.

Anyhoo, tomorrow I have BerryBliss and her wonderful family coming to visit for awhile and on Sunday Waterberry is coming too! I will have a household full of wonderful rawbies! What fun. If anyone else will be in the area do call and if it's a good day and we are going to be here you could come to dinner!

xoxoxoxo

Hey there Gorgeous!

I would love to be there with you all tonight and did give it serious consideration, but with poor visibility on the roads and being a long drive to your place, I reluctantly conceeded to myself that twas best to stay home and meditate.

i am enjoying reading of your inner and outer journeys.  Thank you for sharing so openly and honestly.

Muchus Love n Bliss,
Lettuce meat soon...

~ox~

salads sound just amazing Jen...

tonight i had,
grated carrot,cuke (with skin on yay!!) and lettuce,with squeeze of lemon and tsp of flaxseed oil(thanks Karen...)

great for you getting personal training 101..awesome!

Wow Jen you are really working through some stuff at the moment arnt you. How exciting. And being able to run a half marathon wow that would be fantastic. Maybe next year (or the year after) I will be where you are now. I am feeling much much much better being on raw but this isnt about me is it.

i find it really strange that when we eat more raw our emotions go funny but it is true isnt it it really does. Like me the other day. but all is good now. I just cant wait till the mood swings stop from being pregnant.

anyway girl sending you lot and lots of loving hope you guys are having fun with BB and her family it would have been fantastic to be there but maybe next time.

Love Angie

hugs Angie...

Jen,doing great guns girl...i said to Nige the other day,how amazing i think that you are,and how you juggle so much in your life....

i also thanked him,for still loving me,even though i am a work in progress lol

Miss Bliss, we must get together soon! More planning is needed I feel. It would have been lovely to have you here. Last night was quiet as it turned out....

Neet, I'm glad to see that you can have cuke skin again! No side effects? It's funny, one of our friends, a very good needle poking healer that I can't remember the title of what he does but it will come to me, asked me to start giving Brock steamed vegetables a few times per week as he is not digesting the raw foods.... then this happens with you and I think he is not so nuts after all!!!

Pinky, yes it is amazing. It's easy to block our emotions with cooked food.

Well this weekend has been a busy one. The gorgeous BerryBliss arrived with her family on Saturday and I am pleased to say that she is sooooooo wonderful. Very gentle and courteous with a beautiful smile and larf. Andy, her hubby is wonderful too. Full of life and laughter. He is a deep thinker, as is Berry and just a beautiful all round man. Looks like Eric Banna.

Their children are gorgeous. Tiffany and Caitlyn got along right away. Brock takes a little longer and doesn't really understand those younger than he is but he did great sharing with his toys and I am very proud of him for that as he is not usually that generous.

Unfortunately on their first night here the rain started... and didn't stop. Our back yard still hasn't recovered from the last lot of rain did not absorb the water... but the tent did! So everything got wet. The tent is out of the question for the rest of the holiday as it is supposed to rain all week.

So, change of plans and Berry used her contacts and they were able to move to another place for a few weeks. I was happy to have them in the house but this way is good too. Now they will get family alone time and I guess after sharing with someone in close quaters for so long Berry was reluctant to do so again so quickly. However we are going to see each other a lot!

Waterberry was delivered to us by Sacha yesterday morning. Berry and I were off shopping for f+v at the time and when we got home.... voila! Another forum member. LOL. She is awesome. Light and bubbly and likes to larf. Talks with her body if you know what I mean. I like her and think that by the end of this holiday we will be inseparable.

Shame about the weather but Yay for umbrellas being invented! LOL.

Anyhow, better go spend some time with the kids before school. busy busy busy. Have a great day all.

xoxoxox

We were posting at the same time Neet. Juggling... becoming an expert! LOL. It's the balancing I'm having challenges with but I will get there.... hugs

Hello lovely Jen!

How fantastic that you had the Chance to experience some time of relaxation. I really hope that you can juggle plenty of relaxation in your everyday life...as easy as it is to stress!

The photos of your family are so full of love and moved me.

Enjoy everything!

Love x

Acupuncturist???? no he's not so nuts at all babe,lol hows litl Brock doing?

Thanks Jungle, the photo of you and your gorgie babe does the same to me!

Hi Neet, he's doing ok. He has been wetting the bed more again which is a shame but Bill puts it down to the high water content foods he has at night. Bill has been waking up at night to go to the loo and is busting in the mornings. As far as he is concerned it's the downside to eating the way we do! I have camel like bladder and sleep through most nights!

Back to Brock, he is understanding the role that food is playing. When he wet the bed last night he said "I haven't had enough green smoothies have I mum?" and he said he wants to have one every day after school.....

I have had a very very high fat week. I am not 80 10 10 but after this week I am more inclined toward lower fat although that is not really a fair thing to say. It's emotional more so than anything else. In my excitement to have everyone here I have made loads of gourmet stuff and also bought a bunch of food through 'from Earth and Water" (previously Sprout and the Bean) for our guests. I have had pretty much no high water content meals. Very very unbalanced and my behaviour has followed suit.

Lethargic, moody, aches and pains. Not to mention that my hair looks Brylcreemed! Ewwwww.  A lesson learned. I'm loving having everyone here. Yesterday they wall went bush walking to Purlingbrook falls and it was amazing. That waterfull is 104metres tall and after all the rain we have had it was PUMPING! There had been a landslide so the circuit was out but they had a great time anyhow going to the bottom and back up to the top and I wasn't there so I will leave it to Berry, Sacha, Waterberry and maybe even Bill will pop in and tell the tale!

Better get to it! Have a great day all.

xoxoxox

Hi Jen,

Just popped in to say hi, good to see you are doing well!

Love Eve

Hey Eve, how are you doing? Thanks for stopping by.

It's been a busy couple of weeks with raw visitors popping in everywhere. Berry had a great time and is now an honorary Maori. I have learned a lot from her and her husband. He is awesome and I am looking forward to them moving up here soon... aren't I Berry!

Stine is a fairy who flits in for a few days and then is off somewhere else again for a few days and then she is back. We larf a lot. She is helping me to find my silliness!

Sacha has been a Godsend driving people around and being a tour guide. I think our guests would not have had such a great time without his help. Him driving people everywhere allowed me to keep working as I needed to without worrying that I should be doing this and that. It was awesome! Big thank you Sacha. You rawk!

It's been a huge time. I am ready for rest. I am going to the beach in the morning if it doesn't rain and then I am going to work in the afternoon. There is a lot to get done as there are some great things happening here. I am so full of secrets that I can barely contain myself. It's very exiting and trying to hide everything is fun! Especially with everyone here.... I did well!

I'm back on my path. Taking stress by the neck and throwing it out the window has allowed me to really focus a lot more. I have hardly had a problem with it at all since and it feels awesome. I've had so many synchronicities around me that I couldn't count them all. My path is placed firmly under my feet right now.

I have forgotten the GS. I have had only two in the last couple of weeks and I can feel it. I found myself very drawn to grass today so have been picking young bits and chewing them until they taste blerk and spitting out what is left. It's fun to spit it out!

I'll be starting my GS again tomorrow and maybe some green soups as well.

Anyhow, that is my life lately...

xooxo

OMG I have a new friend! You know when you just click with someone and you know you are brought together for a reason? I've had that quite a bit in the last year but this one feels amazing. I chatted to him on the phone for ages today and he is just amazing! Bill and I are having him to dinner in a couple of weeks when he is on the Gold Coast. I can't wait.

Life has been amazingly busy lately. I have learned a bunch of new things. I am doing well with raw eating but physically I am not so great right now. I have been very lax with my greens is all I can put it down to... EAT YOUR GREENS! lol I think also that lack of rest is not helping that much.

I have been exercising every second day which seems fine right now. I am ok with that as I have worked until midnight nearly every night this week. Last night I worked until 1am. But you know... it doesn't even feel like work. Until I hit a wall. Next week I'll be a little softer wtih myself.

Caitlyn, Brock and myself seem to have come to a compromise for now. They are having a green smoothie daily and then they get to have a vegetarian cooked dinner. It's not perfect but looking back... it's a major improvement.

Victory is mine over the cheese! I have released it just about! Last night I made the mistake of making everyone elses food first and then my food. I ended up eating cheese and you know, in the end it tasted terrible. Really bad, like I had done a varmint half an hour before. That taste that lingers no matter how much the mouth is rinsed! Very happy not to want it. But I still like it melted.... 1/2 way there!

I got a shock earlier this week when I discovered that I had gained 4kg. I knew I had as everything was tighter around the waist. I look funny wtih my big belly and slender arms and legs. No I am not preggers. Once again I put it down to not enough greens. Also the last few weeks I have been very very high fat and dense fruits. I am not a Natural Hygienist but I do believe in loads of high water content foods and I haven't been having them.

It will go again. Easy come, easy go.

Anyhow, finding that I had gained that was a big shock. I think that's why I have been head down and bum up all week. 1kg per week for 4 weeks. That's how long it's been since I weighed myself. Scary. It will go. It IS going. I can feel it falling away.

anyhow, that's my rant. It's been awhile!

xoxoxox

Hey Jen
Yeah you'll release that easy babe, I've got a bit of a tight jeans syndrome happening at the moment but am deflating again nicely-bodies change. Gee you are working so hard. Do you manage to get enough sleep? I have a fairly similar deal with my kids too. They have at least one gs in the day, only fruit or veg for snacks and a big serve of steamed veg and millet with salad for dinner. Can't complain about that really. Love ya-Bec

Sleep! What's that? This week I am in bed by 8.30 every night and lights out at 9.30. Also doing skipping after I go to the toilet (happens more often than you might think!) Sitting on my butt for 12 hours a day and walk/running for one hour was not what was intended for my body. Movement is key!

xoxoxo

Well as you may know I have gained 4kg! (8 pounds roughly). At first my thoughts were "Oh, easy come easy go" and despite dropping 2kg (4 pounds) in the first week of discovering that I am still panicky. As soon as I saw the figures on the scale I remember feeling like I'd been punched in the gut and for the first time since May 06 I have been looking at food like it is my enemy and not my friend. I have had all sorts of eating disorder emotions surface and I'm sure that this has happened so I can release them.

Logically I know that if I truly loved who I am that I wouldn't care less about extra weight.
That I have been eating so much high fat food lately that it's amazing it's only 4kg
That I do an hours exercise in the morning and then sit on my butt for 12 hours before going back to bed... derrrr. what a great way to gain weight!

So what am I doing about it? I am going back to my counselor as my thought patterns are so unhealthy right now.

I have a skipping rope and every time I go from the office I use it for as long as I can. This gets my heart rate going and my metabolism speeding up again... hopefully.

I have banned myself from the scales for a couple of weeks.

I'm thinking about increasing my exercise to a long walk/chi-run in the morning and a quick one in the evening before dinner... say 20 minutes.

I am also going to download a picture of a body that I like and put my head on it with Gimp (a freeware version of photoshop) and put it on my wall.

I'm also going to visualise... see myself looking that way.

I'm going to affirm that I love who I am. I still can't bring myself to say that I love myself without feeling like I am lying so I will affirm that "every day I begin to love myself a little more"

That's a good start isn't it? I feel better after writing it down.

If anyone else has any suggestions I'd love to hear them. It's time to change!

xoxoxo

Hi Jen,
Have you thought about intermittent fasting?

One day on, one day off.. from food. It's not difficult and there's no deprivation...well, not until the next day! You end up eating half of your usual intake, and you can basically eat what you like on the eating days.
Apparently its the episodic gap that's important, not the amount of calories consumed... but wisdom to select wisely prevails.
 There are some excellent web articles out there, I'll pm you a few links if you like.
I've been doing a whole heap of experimenting with dry and water fasting  and reduced calorie intake for longevity and mental clarity over the last few months, and have been feeling very energised, clear headed and generally bouncy as well as losing  weight.


Hope this helps.

Hi Dani

can you please PM the links too?

Thanks

Thanks Dani, that would be awesome!

xoxoxox

hey jennie! whaz up in tha hood? (notice awesome super cool slang, i'm like so with it  :mellow: )

I think we should all learn to love ourselves more. Have you read "you can heal your life" by Louise Hay? it's all about learning to love and accept yourself, it's a really good book, I'm reading it at the moment, really really recommend it! :)

Hobart is soo cold! as soon as i see some rainforest, waterfalls and pretty beaches i'm so out of here! not coming to GC again though so don't worry!  rofl

lots'a love
Stine

Hi Jen,

Have you thought about a couple of colonics? Would get you feeling cleaner and lighter.

Sending you lots of love,

ggxx

Stine you are funny.... Gold Coast too hot, Hobart too cold! Love your slang. You sound like a local! Sort of.... I need to get that Louise Hay book. I've been reading it on and off since I was 17 and never owned a copy. I think that if I have wanted one for that long then I am not going to regret the purchase. It's very rare that I regret buying a book!

Hi GG, I have thought of it. I am a little hesitant though. Time is not right I guess. I'm sure it would help but I just don't know!

Thanks for the love. How is your mum? Sending you some big loves right back...

I've halved my fruit intake and upped my greens and veges. I've also cut back on nuts but not cut them out. I still have a handful a day or an avo. I adore avocados right now. After I did this I went through a detox! Pimples, headache and sore throat. Mild fever. No wonder my running has not been great! I'm feeling a lot better. Not as 'wired' and able to think and concentrate better.

xoxoxxo

Thanks Jen. My Mum's having a big op on her spine on Friday. We're hoping that will help reduce the pain. Still having lots of family time which is good.

How are you going? Are you still detoxing or has it settled down again? Any weight shifting? Sounds as though you're doing all the right things.

ggxx

Hey Jen Just want say hello and give you a big hug and twirl you.

Love Sach!

I finished reading it, and it is one of the best books I've ever read! (she did mention the raw food diet and that "they" don't eat salt at all, ever. yes we (I) do! :P )

I'm reading her follow-up book now, the power is within you, and it's such a great book as well! (I'm also reading rough guide to first time around the world, should have read that before i left hihi  :rolleyes: )

I have a job interview tomorrow btw, (just kitchen hand) send me good vibes! :D

how's the weather btw, stopped raining yet?  :laugh:

lots'a love
Stine

I'll be thinking of your brave mum GG and you too. I wanted to thank you by the way. The weight dropped 2kg within the first week. However this week I have not been eating well. Too busy. What a lame excuse! I should spend more time in the kitchen. I love it there!

And a big hug for you too Sacha. You are awesome.

Stine ballerina, Good luck with your interview! *crosses fingers* It rained a lot today and  a little yesterday. All good. I wish I could send some to Melbourne though.

Life has been hectic. I had a new bookeeper over today and she spent three hours with me helping me out with things. I really liked her and got along with her well. We were larfing like old friends by the time she left.

xoxoxo

Hey Jenni....

am wondering if you can explain why the sore throat and headaches? I have had them since I started...what is your opinion on them?


Hope your feeling better today....;)

Love,
Beau xo

Hi Beau, it's all part of the detox process. When we eat normally our body stores any toxins that it cannot deal with in various parts of the body. When we start eating well, if the body is in good enough condition it will release the toxins back into the blood stream to be filtered out of the body the normal way... through the organs.

These toxins are what cause headaches, sore throats, temperatures, any flu like symptom really. Also acne, farting (LOL!), tiredness, excessive weight loss and more.

Victoria Boutenko has a book called 12 Steps to Raw which helped me enormously to understand the detox process. A lot of libraries have it. Get your hands on some good books.

Drink lots of water, green smoothies are awesome (currently sucking down celery, date and orange. A strange mix that I am not yet sure if I like!) and if you can get yourself moving then do. Also rest is important. I'm only just learning how important now.

xoxoxox

Thanks Jenni....

yes I am detoxing....have an ulcer and can't swallow properly!

I am inspired by all of you though...you look amazing!

thankyou for the inspiration!

Ugh... ulcers can be so painful. You could spray some food grade hydrogen peroxide on it and that should help clear it up quickly. Time is another good way to clear it up!

The kids are sitting beside me making peanut butter sandwiches. I have to bite my lip and remember that when I was their age that I ate peanut butter as well and I'm ok now. Grrrrr.

I'm trying to be more patient with them. I've noticed that they have been really impatient with each other lately and it is usually a direct 'feed off' from Bill or myself.

Well I am off to put all of the shopping away.

xoxoxo

Well I continue on my merry way with Raw. Running 5km's on the weekend was a breakthrough in more ways than one. I used to have a saying if I saw a woman with an 'awesome' body and that was "I'd kill for a body like that but no way would I work out for it!" I thought it was hilarious and said it often as I guzzled down alcohol and take away and antidepressants. All things that are known to keep weight on....

Since the run I have been going through some stuff. Not in a bad way but definitely reassessing who I am. What I am about. After all, I NEVER thought I would be able to run that far. Even with all of the help I have recieved I didn't think I would ever do it... I mean, one of the big things about me is that... I am not fit.

Well there is an old belief that does not fit anymore. What else is not right? I've got all sorts of aches and funny things happening with my body that I'm sure is just a part of me freaking out and trying to yell at me about change. All you peoples out there with Louise Hayes books... what does the left shoulder represent? Twice today I have had a burning sensation there and not been able to feel the skin on it. Even when I pinch it hard enough to leave marks I still can't feel it. But it doesn't last long... and I just tell it to bugger off. My mind will continue to change no matter how my body resists!

The kids have settled well into having their GS at night with a vegetarian meal afterwards. So long as it has loads of veges in it I am not being so pushy with them. The stress it was causing us all was just not worth it.

2008 is an awesome year. I have many lessons popping up. Only 25% through the year and I continue to feel like I am being gently hurried in my direction. In the nicest way. I'm loving life right now!

xoxoxoxo

I need to remember that when I was a child I barely ate anything raw. I did eat loads of vegies though.

The left side is associated with the female aspect.

Ms Hay says......

Shoulders represent our ability to carry out experiences in life joyously.  We make life a burden by our attitude.

Affirmation:  I choose to allow all my experiences to be joyous and loving.


She also says to "see joints", so I'm seeing joints.... :laugh:


Joints: Represent changes in direction in life and the ease of these movements.

Affirmation:  I easily flow with change. My life is Divinely guided, and I am always going in the best direction.

Thank you! =Joyously said! I am off to ebay to buy that book now. I've wanted it for 20 years... or so. I don't think I will change my mind in a hurry!

I'm off to do some affirming.

xoxoxo

Well I haven't made it to ebay yet but I just rushed outside to talk to Bill and smashed into the corner and took the skin off the other shoulder! *larf* At least I am balanced... as well as joyous and loving!

I uploaded some stuff that Brock has done in his art class recently. After he was kept back (at my request) to repeat grade one I felt a little sorry for him as all of his friends were moving on. So I joined him up in an art class with his bestest buddy and didn't really expect a lot but he is loving it! Here are some of his creations...

For this one he had to lay out clay in different layers and create effects with different tools. Then paint it after it had been in the kiln. He was really happy with it.

This one the teacher drew on a white board and they copied what she did. I was pretty impressed with his proportion. I don't think that I could have done as well!

I'm really happy that he is enjoying these classes the way he is.

xoxoxo

Hey me sweet Jennie Bean...You are such a loving mother and woman, "Eric" was talking about you today, just what he learnt about you whilst being with you...and it is all good...I think you under-estimate yourself and your abilities...your soul.

I love to see how proud you are of your sweet children...your strong maternal love flows off every page in your journals..you are very caring, trusting and giving, I love your whacky smacked sense of humor...

Believe in yourself...cos we all do.

Just had the feeling to tell you that.

Lots of love my sweet sister

BB :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart: :heart:
XXXX

Berry you have an amazing gift for allowing people to feel good about themselves. I'm so glad you are posting again!  :laugh:

Well my weekend away was.... interesting. I got a little bored of sitting around watching people smoke and drink so I went to volunteer... in the canteen. Hmmm. In hindsight, that was a mistake. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I was so busy leading up to leaving that I didn't really prepare well. I was told there was no power where we were going so that meant no vitamix. No GS.  :(  No S of any sort! ANyhow, I thought of Bill and dehydrated him some snacks and took some active nuts as well.  I packed 20 oranges and apples (each) and 15 litres of water.

Stuff for the kids... I was doomed from the start!

So I went to the canteen. Had hardly eaten anything. I wish I had some fasting experience. This would have been a great time to not eat. I pretty much ate cooked for three days. It was interesting to watch it from the outside in. I won't go into what I ate as I don't want to trigger a craving in someone else. It was vegetarian and soft drink free and that is enough detail.

ANyhow, to watch myself get quickly sucked back into the vortex of eating and never feeling 'full' was... interesting to say the least. And to see the lack of care about what I put in was another reminder. All I wanted to do was shove food in. And because I was volunteering I got a lot for free! It was not healthy, it was not good in any way. I will not do that again.

It was, however, a great way to meet people and I met some gorgeous women. One lady was really inspiring. Her husband was run over by a drink driver 8 years ago. He lived but she lost her husband anyway. These days he is a two year old emotionally. He does seem to have adult thoughts and can remember when he was normal but reacts the way an infant would. So she lost her husband, was landed with a 'stranger', most of their friends melted away as they seem to in these instances.

Her husband has no taste or smell, is nearly blind, 5% hearing in one ear (if I recall it all right) and is in a lot of pain. He can't eat by himself because his Trachea (I think I have named the correct body part) is compromised and he often chokes.

Anyhow, talking to her was amazing. She is so loving and kind. She is a big lady. I would guess her to be at around 130kg. While I had one talk with her she bought her 10 year old 2 cans of coke. This is her normality. She doesn't get to talk about what happened a lot and has never had counselling. She didn't ask what I do which is a pity as I would have loved to help her lose some weight as her legs hurt her most of the time. But she didn't ask. She talked like she had never been able to. Sometimes it's easier to share with a 'stranger'.

Anyhow, I now treat Bill and the kids like it is the last time I see them whenever they leave. You never know if it will be or not. I'd like to think that if something did happen to either one of us that the others would know that they were loved.

A bit sombre isn't it!

Anyhow, back today 100% raw again. Detoxing. I don't feel too bad emotionally which is a pretty good thing. I often have a lot of anger when I go off the rails. But today I was just foggy in the head and had to concentrate twice as hard and brush my teeth a lot. Am dizzy right now with a headache but that will pass. Really sore kidneys.

The kids had a great time away. Caitlyn said she felt FREE which was something that I've never heard her say before. It was an eye opener how much they loved the bush. Brock had a ball. He took his hotwheels cars and spent a lot of time making roads in the mud for them to go in.

Anyhow, I can hardly keep my peepers open so I am going to bed. Reading Slash's autobiography right now. Interesting. I'm going to read Steve Waugh's one next. I'm also reading Living Cuisine which is pretty good and I've learned a lot there.

xoxoxxo

Jennie, what an interesting weekend you had. 

Every time I nibbled on nuts while I was away I thought of you.    And take that however you like.   rofl

I heard about the school thing, omg I was so concerned for you and Brock.  So glad he is okay.

So......I'm having a RAW party tomorrow (and maybe continuing into the weekend, depends on how long the food lasts)  :laugh:, and having pizza......and chezcake.....and hummus.....and carrot cake.....and and and crackers........and my special dip......and and choc chip icecream.........and vanilla icecream...........................and and and....some other stuff - all RAW food of course.   Come over if you're free.  Or you could come watch me drum for like 5 minutes on Sat night, coz now there's all these other bands performing and we may not have a chance to perform properly.  :( 

Whatever you do my darl, do it because YOU want to.  And because it gives you joy.  Smiles, hugs and lotsa love to you.