So Christmas fare has left me feeling out of sorts.....bloated and craving chocolate constantly...but then when I eat the chocolate it isn't satisfying. I decided this morning to put me and the kids back into a routine...more water, more fruit and organic yogurt, less refined sugars. I already feel better....I know it's probably just a head game since I've only changed my eating habits for 8 hours, but I do feel good.
A couple months ago I ordered powdered
Spirulina from vitacost and have kept it hidden in a cabinet, completely sealed. Quite honestly, I was afraid to use it after reading so many reviews online about how badly it smelled. I have taken it in capsule form but thought that the powdered would be better because then I could sneak it into the kid's diets. But...the fear of that
smell just kept me from digging in. Today ,though, I did the healthy deed and opened the bottle....put a little organic milk, organic vanilla yogurt with some frozen strawberries and 1 teaspoon of the green powder. I blended it up, poured myself a glass of the bluish liquid, held my breath and......hmmmmm, delicious. No smell, no strange taste - I don't know what all those
other people were smokin' but even my kids thought it was good. So...here's to good health and trying something new! Hopefully the result will be more energy since Spirulina is a super food!
My mom got me the book Sara Snow's Fresh Living for Christmas and it is so very good and enlightening. I'm definitely ready to start 'freshening" things up around here...and excited about writing my journey down in blog land. Green Mama World might me a more appropriate space for that kind of writing but we'll see where I go with it. My once *change* for yesterday that I made is I ordered Finn some newborn diapers from Seventh Generation. Usually for the baby's first month I like to use disposables to give myself a break and for all of those, heee heee....blowouts that newborns seem to have. I found an amazing deal on Amazon...the diapers came out cheaper than Wal Mart diapers and then have no chlorine in them at all. Score...me and Amazon have been forming
quite the relationship here recently. I love the fact that if you use your brain a little...sustainable living doesn't have to be SO expensive.
For the last few days, I've barely been able to keep up with just "normal" housework. The never ending mound of dishes, the four loads of laundry needing to be folded....the endless supply of crumbs under Finn's highchair...boo. I've been craving *earth.* I've been dreaming of a hike in Breckenridge for weeks, a new potted plant - I've been scouring the internet for gardening tips and dreaming of vegetables and little packets of seeds. My green thumb was calling (or Mother Nature - take your pick.)
And then it happened. A clear blue sky and a perfect early morning. Zac worked with me the night before to get caught up on laundry, the fridge was full of fresh produce and enough pita bread to feed an army - the only excuse NOT to start my garden was the dishes...and the dishes could wait.
After some coffee fresh from Italy (there are perks to your brother being in the Air Force) and a bowl of hot oat bran (I added chopped dates and honey this time....SOOOO good) I retreated to my back yard for the next two hours and did this....
Sat in the dirt, touched the dirt, smelled the dirt. I should probably just become an earthworm since I feel so at home with soil, except I don't think Zac would approve of my reincarnation choice. I guess I'll just stay a girl who sometimes gets to garden. We already had some corn growing in the plot so I added tomatoes and some cucumbers...
Such lovely little plants full of promise - I can't wait to make my own fresh pico de gallo - yummo. I also have another little spot in the yard with some jalapeno peppers and then basil and some rosemary.
This gorgeous perennial is one of my new faves - Lacy Blue Russian Sage. I love how wild and wispy it is...a flower after my own heart. I'm a big fan of the style of landscaping I've noticed out west...very eclectic and not a lot of "symmetry" going on. I like that. :)
Trin and I concocted this delicious lunch of watermelon slices, mini omelets with orange bell pepper, black olives and cilantro, cucumbers sprinkled with Himalayan sea salt and dill, gorgeous deep red cherries, and a pitcher of ice water with lemon. So refreshing after being in the hot sun...
Aren't they just gorgeous? I don't know if YOU know this but cherries are one of the only foods that naturally have melatonin in them...great for regulating heart rhythms and also it promotes healthy sleep cycles. Cherries also contain anthocyanins which is great for people who have arthritis or swelling (like gout.) Superfoods amaze me.
And it would also seem that I've been growing my very own flower child - she gets her good taste honestly. And speaking of honest, five little ponies and a cutsie t shirt for 3 bucks is a total steal - yah for good quality thrift stores - makes me wanna dance, and I just might....in my back yard surrounded by sage and tomatoes.
