This Moment

This past weekend Scotty and I got down and dirty in the soil in the backyard... and planted a vegetable garden.


I lack the green thumb that my mother has (I kill house plants all the time), but last yearwe spent a few bucks and threw some seeds in the dirt... within a month or so we had buckets of veggies and strawberries- we even grew our own pumpkins for autumn cooking!



Scotty's grandpa spent a lot of time tending to his garden, and it's one of the ways we honour his memory... I am convinced that there is magical soil at his place (the yard is beautiful- with VERY little effort on our part).




It was a great to spend a Saturday afternoon with my hands burried in the dirt... we even attempted watermelons and cataloupe this year!

We fired up the BBQ and cooked up some salmon (for me) and chicken (for him)- as we sat in our backyard with the sun lowering behind the trees, I looked to the pale blue sky and smiled, it was one of those soul-quenching moments... I could exist in that moment (not tied up in all my "to-do's" or past regrets) and realize my blessings.



I could hear that still small voice calling...

Oprah Purloined My Plan

I can't believe she took my idea and it passing it off as her own brainchild...

Oprah's on a VERY similar cleanse- except that hers is only 3 weeks, AND she has a personal chef to make lots of tasty creations.

...damn you Oprah.

(If you're considering the cleanse... she has tons of recipes here... although you run the risk of being an Oprah drone now that everyone is doing it)

An Update

I really didn't expect that there would be so much hoopla over the cleanse, but I realize I'm not the only crazy fool out there...

...it's nice to know.

Today I am officially on the one week countdown. I have 21 days of cleansing behind me, 7 lbs dropped (likely excess water weight I've been carrying around day in and day out because I eat too much salt and simple carbohydrates), and, like my girl Ash (who's a few days behind me)... my skin is glowing.

I am very aware of the cognitive dissonance(yep, I'm a Psychology major... and I'm S-M-R-T) that is likely to be taking place, but some of the outcomes cannot so easily be "imagined."

So judge for yourself. Obviously if one puts so much hard work into something, they've gotta convince themselves that its working (otherwise I would have never stuck to it). Like I've already stated, I already did this cleanse nearly 5 years ago and was impressed... but I have been pleasantly surprised at the outcomes this time around as well.

So here goes:

*By day 6 my energy was soaring (last time I did it I felt sick to my stomach at that point as my body literally was going through with drawl from all the addictive substances in my regular diet... mainly sugar). I found the salt thing super hard, because all my food tasted so bland, but I didn't even give a thought to sugar which is incredible because I've always been completely convinced that I was a sugar-addict with an uncontrollable sweet-tooth... turns out... not so true.

*Just before the 2 week mark I developed a strange rash on my left cheek that curved up and around my eye. It didn't itch or hurt, but it was red and puffy/splotchy and lasted for 4 days. During that time I got quite a few pimples (on my face, back and chest... and I've never had any trouble with acne in my life) and developed darkened patches on my back. When you go on a long cleanse like this, your body gets a chance to really clean itself out and does so in any way it can- one of which being that toxins seep out of your pores, and a side effect can be breakouts and dark patches (mine were a mottled light brown)... the rash I didn't get last time but am convinced it's all part of it because I don't have allergies, and in any case, it wasn't itchy. Some people get really itchy as the toxins exit through your skin, and it's recommended that you shower and bathe lots and fill a sock with oatmeal and rub it all over your skin to soothe it... again, the first time I cleansed, I was horribly itchy, this time I was fine (perhaps because I became a vegetarian a year and a half ago?... interesting). While I didn't get itchy, I did notice I had a very unpleasant odour... gross but true... my skin got stanky within an hour of showering.

*Week 3 was brutal, half way through I got the flu... to spare the details (and save my dignity) all I will say is that on a cleanse, things tend to move through the digestive system with ease- add a flu on top of that? Oh horrors. While I craved ginger ale and soda crackers, I resisted (barely) and drank fresh unsweetened OJ and ate fruit... if I can continue to cleanse on a flu... than nothing is gonna stop me. The clouds finally parted and now I am beginning to feel great again. Other changes that I noticed was that my taste buds finally kicked in and with it an acute sense of smell (blessing or curse?... I'm not really sure). I had some dried fruit and was blown away by how incredibly sweet it was, and could only stomach a bit. My 3-weeks-ago self would've punched me for saying it, but it's true.

*Beginning of week 4: I've slowly begun to change my whole mindset- on this cleanse food is fuel. Period. It isn't a social salve (you realize how much every social gathering is centered on food when you can't eat most of it), it isn't to satisfy cravings, it's not a reward, it's not a "pick-me-up" and it is not consumed in excess... it is as it should be, and I am currently trying to harness this view of food. While I will add dairy, eggs, wheat and starch back into my diet after the cleanse, I am dead set on allowing these 28 days to be a HUGE learning experience.

I've learned to cook some stuff I've never tried (quinoa and millet) and LOVE it, and have experienced the difference that a natural meal (AKA not processed and prepackaged) makes in terms of appetite and energy (satisfied on less and it stays with you for a LONG time!). I'm not going to re-introduce certain things back into my diet such as artificial sweeteners, powdered soup stock and white flour. I'm going to be very leery of food labels and not buy it if I have no clue what's in it.

If one really thinks of the common side effects of a cleanse (nausea, headaches, rashes, breakouts, darkened skin patches, you skin smelling something like rotting food) why the heck are we even willing to put that stuff in our bodies in the first place? It's actually really scary.

I'm not saying I will be a complete angel, I will likely eat chips (but will buy the ones that are flavoured with dehydrated veggies and real spices etc.), candy (sweetened with REAL sugar NOT high concentrated fructose corn-syrup), and baked goods (likely those that I make so I know what's in them).

All in all, if your willing to put your taste buds aside, and work hard, I think you'll be glad you did it. It's only 28 days, after that you can eat whatever "you want", but I guarantee what "you want" will be completely different (but like anything, you have to continually put effort in afterwards, or you'll simply slip back into old habits).

... And Then I Walk Away

"I suddenly remembered the tender concern with which the Supreme Court judges in Delhi (before vacating the legal stay on further construction of the Sardar Sarovar Dam) had enquired whether tribal children in the resettlement colonies would have children's parks to play in. The lawyers representing the Government had hastened to assure them that indeed they would, and, what's more, that there were seesaws and slides and swings in every park. I looked up at the endless sky and down at the river rushing past and for a brief, brief moment the absurdity of it all reversed my rage and I laughed."

Every so often I come across a reading for a course that makes my jaw drop and my blood boil... Arundhati Roy's essay The Greater Common Ground is one of those. If you have time, I recommend giving it a read, if not, I'll summarize as best I can.

Despite all the ecologial, environnmental and climactic consequences of building dams, there are also intensely heated social debates surrounding construction of dams in third world countries...

The River Narmada in India is just one example where the government proposes to build 30 large, 135 medium and 300 small dams in the water shed. In Fact, India now boasts of being the world's third largest dam builder. According to the Central Water Commission, we have three thousand six hundred dams that qualify as Big Dams, three thousand three hundred of them built after Independence. One thousand more are under construction.

And what a story it is.

"People say that the Sardar Sarovar Dam is an expensive project. But it is bringing drinking water to millions. This is our lifeline. Can you put a price on this? Does the air we breathe have a price? We will live. We will drink. We will bring glory to the state of Gujarat."

- Urmilaben Patel, wife of Gujarat Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel, speaking at a public rally in Delhi in 1993.

"We will request you to move from your houses after the dam comes up. If you move it will be good. Otherwise we shall release the waters and drown you all."

- Morarji Desai, speaking at a public meeting in the submergence zone of the Pong Dam in 1961.

"Why didn't they just poison us? Then we wouldn't have to live in this shit-hole and the Government could have survived alone with its precious dam all to itself."

- Ram Bai, whose village was submerged when the Bargi Dam was built on the Narmada. She now lives in a slum in Jabalpur.

Yet one-fifth of India's population - 200 million people - does not have safe drinking water and two-thirds - 600 million - lack basic sanitation. They're a brazen means of taking water, land and irrigation away from the poor and gifting it to the rich. Their reservoirs displace huge populations of people, leaving them homeless and destitute.

Some estimates have been as high as 50 million people have been displaced by dams (their villages flooded), and what makes it even more sickening is that the majority of these people are tribal peoples who have been forced from their homes and way of life only to be lost in the slums (there have been reports that some have resorted to selling their babies to foreign adoption agencies to survive).

According to the Land Acquisition Act of 1894 (amended in 1984), the Government is not legally bound to provide a displaced person anything but a cash compensation. Imagine that. A cash compensation, to be paid by an Indian government official to an illiterate tribal man (the women get nothing) in a land where even the postman demands a tip for a delivery! Most tribal people have no formal title to their land and therefore cannot claim compensation anyway. Most tribal people, or let's say most small farmers, have as much use for money as a Supreme Court judge has for a bag of fertilizer.

The following snapped me into reality- prompting me to write about it:

The millions of displaced people in India are nothing but refugees of an unacknowledged war. And we, like the citizens of White America and French Canada and Hitler's Germany, are condoning it by looking away. Why? Because we're told that it's being done for the sake of the Greater Common Good. That it's being done in the name of Progress, in the name of National Interest (which, of course, is paramount). Therefore gladly, unquestioningly, almost gratefully, we believe what we're told. We believe that it benefits us to believe.

Allow me to shake your faith. Put your hand in mine and let me lead you through the maze. Do this, because it's important that you understand. If you find reason to disagree, by all means take the other side. But please don't ignore it, don't look away.

It's a hard pill to swallow, but isn't it true of any injustice happening in the world? My problem is that I come across stories like that all the time, I feel disgusted and saddened, but then I walk away and feel as if I am better for at least knowing. I convince myself that I am not like the people who are inflicting such injury on the poor, but if I don't do anything, am I much different?

A Spanish Villa Summer

This coming weekend marks the unofficial kick-off to summer 2008.



Summer is, by far, my favourite season. Free time is spent bummin' on the beach, lounging in the sun with a good book, going for long walks and taking sunset bike rides, and with that said, recreation in the summer is MUCH easier on the wallet. The fruitbowl gets a major upgrade from the regular warehouse apple, oranges and bananas staples to include black cherries, nectarines, strawberries, peaches and watermelon (and best of all, most of the fruit is local meaning that it was able to ripen on the vine= better flavour AND less transport= smaller carbon footprint!). The days are long, the evenings are hot and everything is better bathed in sunshine.

Last summer went by so quickly, too quickly, and one of my biggest disappointments was that we didn't see enough of our friends despite the fact that we had every intention of taking advantage of all the space we currently enjoy at our Villa.


We have one summer left at our Spanish Villa (we're likely to be moving in October), and I am determined to slow down summer by being more intentional and enjoying every moment of free time with my friends.

Being a starving student household doesn't mean that this summer can't totally rock, I am set to make the best of where I am at in life and what I have right now, and what we do have is a big backyard, a private deck (if we drape blankets over the railings), an entire house to ourselves, two of the most gorgeous beaches within 5 min drives from our place (at which you can go out and catch your OWN crab for dinner), a strawberry patch, a vegetable garden and a BBQ.

Viewed in that light, we've got all the fixin's for great backyard BBQ's, tanning except for people (that part is up to you!).

So starting June 7th, our door is open ALL day EVERY Saturday until September for Summer Lazy Days and evening BBQ's (I'm sure we can get a fire pit for night time s'mores too), who knows, we can sleep in the backyard under the stars if you're up for it! Point is: Saturdays= sunning and feasting at the Villa (think of it as the equivalent to the Hamptons for us poor folk).


We will likely only be gone for one Saturday at the end of August (for camping)- other than that we're in school all summer and lack money to go anywhere. If your at our place every saturday it doesn't mean you're annoying... it means your a good friend.

See you June 7th? (if weather sucks, come anyways, we'll order in a watch movies- and maybe go down the street to crash the inlaw's hot tub, our place is big enough to hold everyone).

Spring Cleaning

...It's been a while.

I have good reason: four year anniversary getaway, moved the group home (after some drama), officially became 1/2 of a "starving student" household... that's right, as a type, Scotty is finishing up his fist day back to school up on Burnaby mountain).

With all this change, I've decided to capitalize on it.

When people want to change bad habits or let go of addictions one of their biggest obstacles is that their environment often stays the same (and thus, they fall back into their old patterns). This fact, coupled with my distaste for supporting those big corporate bastards getting us all hooked on junkfood has brought me to sacrifice my tastebuds in honour of good health.

I am in day 4 of a 28 day cleanse.

I'm not talking an herbal cleanse (those ones where you continue to eat crap but just take a supplement 3 times a day at the cost of $50)- I'm talking the hard-work-self-control cleanse.

My girl Sarah and I went on this incredible (and cruel) cleanse almost five years ago, and it was well worth it (I had planned on doing it once a year, but I'm a procrastinator... what can I say?). It was so hard, but after the 28 days, my energy and mood was up, and my appitite for sugar and chemicalized food was WAY down (I remember a lot of it actually turning my stomach).

I'll share the plan. Take the bait if your in for the challenge...

1. REMOVE ALL ALLEGENIC FOODS FROM DIET... COLD TURKEY
Some of these aren't bad fr you, but many people have mild allergies to them and don't know it (evidenced through depression, fatigue, headaches etc.), so cutting them out of your diet for the 28 days allows your body to work on getting all the toxins out (without having to try to digest stuff it really hates). These include:
*Wheat... yes even whole wheat products (ever heard of gluten?- it's a huge problem to a lot of people, and it's in ALL wheat). So for 28 days say goodbye to bread, pasta, cereal, baked goods etc.
*Dairy (lactose)... no milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream...boo.

2. BYE BYE RED MEAT AND EGGS
It's hard for your body digest meat and cleanse at the same time (did you know it takes up to 3 dyas for your body to pull the nutrients from meat?...yes, that's right, it has to begin to decompose in your body first... that's why people on Atkins had that bad odour- it's called ketosis). You want to stay away from Saturated fats (as in red meat and eggs) because they tend to coat your intestines (not allowing your body to get rid of the junk thats lining them).

3.NO REFINED
No sugar. It causes huge highs and lows... this one is hard for me, I'm an addict, but after 2 weeks (of hell), your cravings dissappear (and you can be one of those people we all hate who is satisfied with fruit...damn you Scotty).

4. AU REVOIR ADDITIVES AND PRESERVATIVES
This is what your cleansing out of your system... so give your body a break already! We were never created to eat this stuff, and it doesn't do anything for our health. Instead, much of it lines our digestive tract, interfering with proper absorbtion of nutrients (making us tired, cranky and endlessly hungry). Just think about it: if it is made to preserve food... what do you think it does when you swallow it?

5. PASS THE SALT
It makes you retain water... avoid it as much as you can bear... you don't want to retain anything.

According to naturalpaths, we're lugging a lot of toxins around in our bodies and because we keep adding more, our body doesn't have time to get rid of them, so they clog our intestines and some get stored in our fat (there is the theory that the storage of these toxins are largely to blame for cellulite... thats why skinny gals get it too if your body is the type that transports toxins away from the intestine). Another claim? You can lose up to 10 lbs of toxins (but that's if you eat insane ammounts of processed foods). I don't remember a bunch of weightloss, but I did get the dark patches on my back that were predicted (toxins leech out of your skin) that dissappeared in week four.

So what do you eat?
*Ooodles of Veggies
*Fruits (Fresh, dried or frozen...fresh juices and smoothies are great)
*Oats (Oatmeal, homemade granola)
*Grains and seeds (Brown rice, Quinoa, millet, barley... look it up).
*Tofu
*White meat (chicken or turkey... but try to buy organic to avoid the hormones)
*White fish
*Soy/almond milk (but not the flavoured... So Nice Natural is good).
*Nuts (you can buy natural peanut butter).
*Brown rice pasta. (make homemade tomato sauce and pesto and you're set)
*Beans
*Honey

Your main flavour enhancers will be lemon juice, garlic, vinager, olive oil, pepper, mustard, tahini (sesame paste), miso paste, parsley and Mrs. Dash... it'll be bland at first, but your tastebuds get more sensitive within a week.

For recipies I recommend vegetarian and vegan books/websites... you actually can eat a lot more than you think (homemade sushi with brown rice, fruit crisp (cook frozen fruit w/ honey and toast rolled oats w/ honey and grapeseed oil and BAM!), Stir Fry, Oatmeal pancakes w/ strawberry sauce (over cook your oatmeal then pur into fry pan)...

The final key is to drink tons of warm water with lemon, it cleanses your kidneys and liver so they can do their work of detoxing you.

If your crazy enough to do it, remember the saying: "Short term loss for long term gain"