Day 9 (Wednesday, 9/26/07): Ireland: 40 Shades of Green

Since I was about 30 years old I had a sense I would spend my honeymoon in Ireland. (I told some friends and family that over the years too.) It doesn't look like I'll traditionally marry in a church service (like the good Irish-Catholic girl I was raised to be), but I still think I'll be honeymooning in Ireland. What I've realized as of late is that it's just not going to be with the guy I thought it might. Sometimes we think we have our lives all figured out -- but as someone once said, "We make our plans and then God laughs" -- or something like that.

Well, God laughed today.

I hope when I finally get to Ireland I'll get to see land that looks as amazing as this!

Days 5-8 (Sat.-Tue., 9/22-25/07): Headin' for High Ground

Been doing some emotional housecleaning these past few days and feel as though I'm heading up over a high mountain ... with some great views up ahead.

The wonder of life is how all of its threads really do have a design . . . and often we're not privy to it. As corny as it sounds, I believe in a tapestry Master at work on the underside -- an underside all intertwined with knots and various colored threads that appear to have no beauty or symmetry but which eventually become a beautiful piece of art. That's kind of how I'm viewing what's in store for me during these autumn and winter months ahead.

These last four days were a bust for me in certain respects, food and exercise-wise, although I did eat vegetarian at a dinner I was invited to at my cousin's place (a salad and roast veggies that I brought from home). I enjoyed a couple of glasses of vino and had some wonderful laughs. Heard a great collection of tunes that took me back about 40 years -- to the Summer of Love, 1967. We were all singin' along ... amazing the way lyrics stay in one's head! I'll be heading out to these same cousins' beach house in a couple of weeks -- for a last glimpse of ocean this summer. Looking forward to it. My cousin Bernadette was my best friend when we were kids ... I love her and her family dearly. They're the kind of people you feel instantly at home with. Yup, lookin' forward to it.

Long Beach Island, originally uploaded by Nikon Nut.

Day 4 (Friday, 9/21/07): "Conversations With Yourself" by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin

Little Black Dress, originally uploaded by sharp bokeh.

Today so far has been one of all-day fasting. I didn't plan it that way. It just happened. I decided I'd only eat when hungry -- which is something I am aiming for daily -- and surprise of surprises (!) I haven't been hungry until just now -- 5:00 p.m. I'm heading to the Village to get a few items, so for dinner I'll have one of those great seaweed salads in Pure Food & Wine. Yum.

One of the biggest breakthroughs I've had in the past few years is the realization that what I tell myself ABOUT myself has an impact on what shows up in my life (and on my bod!). For instance, as I gained weight little by very little over the years, I began to call myself names ("Oh, What a matron you look like" ... "ooh, you are getting huge -- what a piglet!" ... "Why can't you lose weight - you have no will power." ... "Why did you just eat that -- what is wrong with you?" and so on -- and I wasn't even near the weight I am now, so warped was my image of myself!)

It is no wonder it has taken me so many years to finally be on the downside of the weight problem I developed! As long as I was having conversations with myself like the above, I kept going in the DIRECTION of those negative ways. It's like my body was "obeying" my thoughts. Almost as if I was virtually programming myself for failure. And those thoughts all echoed how "wrong" I was! No wonder food became more and more inviting. It's miserable to think one is constantly WRONG . . . and food (or drink or drugs, for that matter) is a wonderful momentary pleasure to escape those thoughts.

This principle of kind self-talk applies to so much in life -- not just healthy eating / getting fit. I'm posting a link here that I stumbled on today that may be worth a listen if you can relate personally to anything I wrote above.

Conversations With Yourself - Audio Clips (Start with "Introduction" (at very bottom of page) or hit the "Click Here" icon in the middle of the page. Either way -- it's good stuff. )

. . . So today, I "see myself" in that little black dress (ooh lala)! Why not?!

Day 3 (Thursday, 9/20/07): Green Juice is baaaaak!

For breakfast I had a terrific green juice ... and it set the tone of my day ... a good one. It's been a while since I had a green juice, and after I drank it I realized how much I missed them. It was the juice of a whole cucumber, two carrots, a large handful of kale, 4 celery stalks, and a handful of spinach.

For lunch I had a mixed green salad w/ a tiny bit of steamed artichoke and fennel, compliments of the salad bar at the office.

For an afternoon snack I had a "Kind" bar of dried fruit and nuts.

I walked to and from the office/train station this morning and plan to do the same heading home, but I still haven't gotten myself out in the mornings before work on a good long bike run or walk, but that will happen. I'm easing into being on a schedule again after having a whole month of unscheduled (vacation) time off work. It's harder than I anticipated to get back into a 12-hour work grind after all that time to myself! (Note to self: Must come up with another way to earn a living with a lot less work/commuting hours!)

I think it would be good to feature on a regular basis some helpful books and teaching videos for those wanting to learn more about raw food living and it's varied aspects. To help me remember to do that, I'll do it on the same day each week. So I hereby dub Thursday Book/Video day. I told a friend of mine I'd send him a book on juicing and it sent me browsing online, so the first book I'll feature is the one I'll be sending him. It's Steve Meyerowitz's Juice Fasting and Detoxification:

This contains a good excerpt on detoxification:

Borders Books - Juice Fasting and Detoxification

This lets you "look inside" the book and also offers used copies for sale:

Amazon Books - Juice Fasting and Detoxification

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

~ Mark Twain

Day 2: September 19, 2007

Photo: Springtime in Devonshire (by Jody Miller)

I went to The Google ... ah ... ah, The Internets today (the above is a Chimpy inside joke) for the videos posted below because since returning from England I have found myself inexplicably drawn to and succumbing to eating the most damaging foods possible: meat, sugar and white flour!

I could analyze into oblivion the reasons, but it would be pointless. I figure all I have is this moment. All I have is now, so rather than waste a moment in the past, I'll simply go forward on this raw food/get fit adventure. My month-long vacation in England sort of threw me a bit off my stride, I think, but I'm now back on track. For me, this road to fitness meanders a bit, but it's leading me back to myself, so I just keep on keeping on. "Back to myself" in the sense that it's gradually unveiling the me that's already there, yet still under some layers of "protective clothing" in the form of fat! I'd prefer a Gortex jacket for protective clothing from now on!

If you can bear with the corniness factor, check out these wacky "Meatrix" videos. I remember seeing the first one a couple of years ago when I started all my research in earnest on garbage food, or "faux food" (and its relationship to obesity specifically) ... before realizing that this fake food is actually the single, most definitive cause of EVERY illness man endures! I say "fake" because one usually expects food to nurture. But faux food does the exact opposite. Maybe a better term then would be fraud food (?)!

I'm posting these videos, as corny as they are, because I think eating mass-produced cooked meats and dairy is the No. 1 cause of disease, yet is so insideously hard to get away from because we have grown dependent on and addicted to its taste, as it is all pervasive in our cultures. It represents comfort, safety, home & hearth and a zillion other things! I'm also posting the videos to remind and reinvigorate myself about the REALITIES of agri-business farms in general so that I re-commit to steering clear of what is grown on them (pun intended)! Faux food isn't limited to just meat and dairy though. It's stuff we've thought is real food but isn't: any food tainted by man in some way; any food that grows naturally but that man then "processes" (messes up) with heat and chemical additives.

Guess I'll be getting rid of that big ole Italian meatball sitting in my fridge just screaming out to be microwaved and slopped up with some white Italian bread! Yup. That will be my ritual kickoff tonight when I get home from work. I'll give it a proper burial ... into the garbage pail. May the meatball rest in peace . . . before it causes me to R.I.P.

The Meatrix

Take the red pill and watch the critically-acclaimed, award-winning first episode of The Meatrix Trilogy.

The Meatrix II

Our heroes Moopheus, Leo, and Chickity return in "The Meatrix II: Revolting" to expose the dark side of the dairy industry.

The Meatrix II-1/2

"The Meatrix II-1/2" takes us to a processing facility, where we learn how we feed our Fast Food Nation.

What I think of myself determines my success. Do I love myself enough to commit to getting this life-threatening fat off of my body? Am I willing to do what it takes to reach the level of fitness I long for? Seeing myself (in my mind's eye) already having reached my goal is crucial to arriving there! If I have realized anything from my time spent in England is that what I THINK of myself can either cripple me emotionally and mentally -- or make me free. I am the master of what comes to me. As I think of myself, so shall others.

Most Astonishing Health Disaster of the 20th Century! (8/10/07)

Don't miss this short, but powerful, video, and if you're able, pass it on to friends and family. (It's even got one of my all-time fave Hawaiians, Israel "Bruddah Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole, singing throughout.)

Most Astonishing Health Disaster of the 20th Century

How sad and ironic that it is Bruddah Iz singing on this video ... as he died of obesity -- obesity unchecked, uncorrected, unhealed. From all who knew him, he was a beautiful soul. (He died a couple of months before I moved to Oahu in 1997).

"White Sandy Beach of Hawaii"

I've been right where he is many a day. It's Waimanalo Beach -- one of the most beautiful in all the Islands.

Video of Bruddah Iz Performing in a Park in Hawaii

Notice How Many Hawaiians Know the Lyrics

Tribute in Honolulu for Bruddah Iz

Check out Rhapsody - You can register (no strings) to listen to all kinds of music for free.

Register for Rhapsody Free Music Here

In This Life - Bruddah Iz

Oh... now I'm on a roll! ... here's a song by Keali'i Reichel, another of my favorite Hawaiian singers.

E O Mai

I Will Be Here (a simple love song that I love)

Okay . . . now I've gone and made myself "homesick" for Hawai'i nei! One look at the photo above -- that SKY! -- tells you why!

Month 5 - August

Well, I've completed my "30 Days to Raw" coaching seminar with Karen Knowler and now I'm back and will be recording in my blog again more regularly for the next eight months or so. When the eight months conclude, it will have been a whole year since beginning this "raw food journal." In that time I hope to be gleefully reporting that I've reached all my goals and am happily tooling along a lot more fit, a lot more healthy, and consistently eating primarily raw foods. Actually, it is more than a hope. It is a certainty! I WILL be telling you all about it.

As the landscape photos that I've recently posted show, I plan to be away on vacation for nearly a month beginning August 15th, just eight days from now. Chances are I'll have limited use of a computer -- but I'll manage to pop on here and there, hopefully, during that time.

I wanted to jot down a few highlights of my coaching time with Karen Knowler, but the clock tells me I must run for my train -- so tomorrow I'll get to that! Karen is the "Raw Food Coach" ... and all-around superwoman who is mum to a five-year old and manages to do the work of at least five people ... as you can see if you take a look at her extensive and highly informative website! Click on her link to the right: "Start Here").

Ta-ta for now. More tomorrow.