2 years

Happy Tuesday everyone!!

Hope everyone is doing well:) I'm pretty good and keeping busy as I've taken on another person's job this week while they are away on vacation. I had a fun time on the weekend getting my last stash of blueberries picked. I ended up picking 36lbs of berries and I'm finally able to freeze some even though the blueberry monster (hubby) is catching up! Ry and I also had a fun time walking around down town looking at designs for our tattoes:) More to come on that later! On Saturday night I watched Sex and the City 2 as I hadn't seen it yet. I thought it was pretty good and more applicable to me as a married lady:)

Speaking of marriage...It was my (our) 2 year anniversary yesterday! 2 whole years we have been married and together for 5. WOW!! Where does the time go. I went to the mall after work hoping to find these jeans that the hubs has been wanting (he is pickier about clothes than me!). I was on the phone with my mom while I was getting out of the car and because it's habit, I locked the doors. Well, my keys were inside:( So, I had to wait around the mall for over 2 hours. Ps I don't like the mall haha! I bought Ryan some jeans (which I will be returning..told you he was picky lol!) ,picked up some bananas and raisins as I was out, then headed to Starbucks for tea. It actually was nice and relaxing plus I got to talk to Annette as she had called to wish us a happy anniversary. She is so awesome! After Ryan came and bailed me out, we went for din din and then I grabbed a rice milk ice cream on the way home (Ry got DQ). Dinner was ok but I wasn't too impressed by my pasta dish. I'm thinking I'm going to cook up a big meal this weekend to celebrate again because a Monday celebration isn't the same as a Saturday one (on a long weekend:).

I thought today I would share with you some photos of our wedding and such! Hope you don't mind:) I LOVE our photos as they capture who we are completely! My beautiful friend Erica did our photos and I'm so glad she did!

The vows! We each wrote our own vows. I was BLOWN away by Ryan's vows..so amazing!

My beautiful flowers that my bestie made! She is so talented:)

Yes, it takes this many ladies to do up a dress..the next picture will tell you why!

I really wanted a lace-up back...and I sure got it:)
tie lesson!

This is "the truck"- Ryan's first love lol!

One of my favorite pictures!

These handsome guys are my second cousins and they did a fantastic job greeting everyone walking into the garden!

Another second cousin! This little cutie was my ring bearer. I think it's so awesome that we used a piece of wood to hold our rings because it's a very profound piece of of our lives.

Did I tell you I was a crier?

My grandma and my mom:)

The rings!

The Kiss!

The hubby's family

My family!

This was right before we were to enter for dinner! Nearly forgot to take photos with my mom!!

The lanterns the guys put up! The drapery that I found in a thrift shop!

The yummy cake!
The first dance! I was telling Ry to move around the dance floor but I should have just let it be because now I only remember bossing him around lol!

What an amazing two years! Albeit with many bumbs along the way, yet I wouldn't have it any other way!

Here's to never stopping to dream! Love ya babe!

Just what the doctor ordered!

Happy Friday everyone!!

Hope you are having a rockin' day! Besides the rain, I'm feeling a bit better today. I was having a major self-sabotaging day yesterday! Not good! I'm in the midst of getting my ND school applications completed and let that little voice inside that said "you're no good, you are not going to make it"take over and drag me really down! I didn't even want to talk about it with the hubby and he was feeling at a loss! Finally, I let it all out to him at 6:20 in the morning and it felt super good to recognize it and release it! Applying to get into naturopathic school is more scary for me right now than exciting because I'm following my doubt, rather than the passion and belief in myself. I've done this my entire life..but I plan to stop that NOW! It's time I realize I can do this and anything else I want to do in this short life. So....

I CAN DO ANYTHING...and SO CAN YOU!!

I feel better already! Aren't uplifting messages better in a rainbow of colors? LOL!
I was just checking out my weekly email from Kris at Crazy Sexy life and on her love list was a site called The Daily Love. The site sends you a love message each morning..how cool is that? You can never get enough love!

I mentioned I was off to see my naturopath this week. My doctor rocks! Ryan and I have gone to see him for over two years now and I have learned a LOT. I'm always picking his brain and asking questions (ND in training over here!). Besically I'm always asking the "why" questions. And he graciously answers them:) He knows that I want to go to naturopathic school too so he shares a lot of his insight with me and I'm very grateful for that.


Usually I'm in the office for prolo or PRP for my knees but they have been strong (YAY!!) and so I finally decided to tackle my aunt flo problems. He tested me in many different areas and discovered that I have too much xenoestrogen in my system and my liver doesn't recognize this estrogen mimicker. Yes, these suckers can bind specifically to estrogen receptors and cause a whole heap of disasters with the reproductive system and much more.

Xenoestrogens are, according to natural news, are foreign or not-made-in- nature estrogens that are found in pesticides, many plastics, dairy products, meats, and scented products such as laundry soaps.

Yikes!!

The doc and I had a talk and he was telling me just how bad xeno's are! One of the main xenoestrogen he was chit chatting about was phthalates which are also called plasticizers.
Then he got onto the topic of cling-wrap. Yes, I do use it from time to time and I also have plastic lunch containers. Because it's so think and pliable..lots of chemicals in there! Plus if it at all gets warm this is when it releases all the bad demons into the food it is touching.

This was a huge wake up call for me and the plastics around my house! They are just no good even if they don't get warm! I'm planning on placing an order for some better options.

What do you use for lunches and on-the-go containers?

As for the doc, he placed me on a protocol of some natural goodies to get my hormones back on track and to help my liver rid itself of the toxins it is holding onto.

Evening primrose oil, Unda #10 (female reproductive system), Unda #1000 (thyroid and parathyroid degeneration), and Unda # 243 (hepatic conditions).

The goodies in Unda # 243 for hepatic (liver) function

Sarge said that I might notice a difference on my first cycle or, if I'm pretty toxic, it may take 2-3 cycles. I'll keep you posted! PS This is my protocol after the doc did a bunch of testing on me so please don't start taking these if aunt flo is driving you nuts. Check with your physician/ND first!

Have an awesome weekend! I actually have very few plans and I'm A-ok with that! I'm doing my final blueberry picking tomorrow (this time I am actually going to freeze some!) and on Sunday we might go to Grouse Mountain, other than that I am just going to enjoy being at home for once:) Maybe get a little crazy in the kitchie??? Well, of course!! XOXO

Kitchie Adventures Part 2

Happy Thursday everyone!

I'm going to admit I'm feeling pretty low today. There area a bunch of things on my mind that are dragging me down and I'm failing at pulling myself out of the rut. I feel like I need a good ole crying session...or is that just self pity? Anyways, I'll get through it and life always works itself out. I just need to have more faith! Another bummer was that I didn't place in the contest. Thank you all who voted and cheered me on. You rock! It's okay though as I gained a whole ton of knowledge and self confidence that I lacked before. And guess what? I'm going to join in on the next contest and rock it again because the experience is awesome!

Okay I just walked away from my desk for a second and I was thinking about the kombucha I had growing on my counter and it hit me...I forgot to add the sugar!! Oh man, what a scatter brain I am lately. What do I do now? The scoby has nothing to use to ferment with so I guess I need to start all over? BLAHH! I noticed that one jar was already growing a baby. So..should I add some sugar to it or start all over? Any suggestions would be awesome..thanks:)

Speaking of kombucha, I did actually some the right way LOL! And it is AWESOME stuff!

Mmmm fizzy fizz fizz! Getting ready to go into my uber cool beer bottles!

Ready for a second fermentation! I sat these bottles out on the counter for another 24 hours to increase the effervescence (cool word, hey?)

My split up scobies and newly bottled bouch!! Ready for round 2!

I'm really excited to experiment with different flavors. I read that you can use rooibos tea for a herbal kombucha tea! I also want to try a flavor that I heard is amazing- ginger peach!

What's your favorite tea to use when brewing kombucha?

What's your favorite flavor?

Now time for a little choc-o-late!

Have you ever seen so many spoons? Ha!

Some key players in my chocolate - chia seeds, bee pollen, and flax seeds!

The ground up version! And yes, that is my coffee grinder:)

The ooey gooey goodness for the chocolates which includes the above mixtures with some almond butter, sea salt, and honey. To see further info on this recipe check out my previous post.

I used my plastic ice cube tray (I know, I know I need to get something better!) filled the trays half full with coconut oil chocolate which I then placed in the freezer. Once it was set, I added as much ooey gooey filling as would allow. Then I placed more coconut oil chocolate on top and put them back in the freezer to set.

The lone Ranger! As you can see they almost all disappeared before I could snap a pict.

Mmmm so good and provides amazing nutrition for a chocolate bar!

So, there you have it, my latest kitchie adventures:) Hope you are having fun in the kitchen and creating some amazing, healthy eats! Up next...my visit to the naturopath and why I'm throwing away my cling-wrap!

PS What are your favorite non-plastic containers to use for lunches and such?

PPS Tell me your favorite places to visit in Florida and California...there is a possible vacation trip coming up:)

Have a great day everyone!! I'm grateful for you all:)

Kitchie adventures: Part 1

Happy hump day!

How is everyone's day going? I'm doing okay. Had to bring the poor kitty away today:( I tried yesterday to get him to the shelter but I hit many road blocks. One, I was driving back and forth on the wrong street FOREVER looking for the place. Little did I know that the street was split up (one on each side of an overpass). I live in this area but I never venture off the main drag. Then by the time I found the street..an accident had just happened and the road was blocked off. Boo! So, kitty had to spend the night at my place...sad! I'm a little paranoid now because I don't know what happened to him/her. I just hope that the kitty wasn't poisoned. I don't want to let Nemo out ever again but he just loves to laze around on the deck and follow me around the garden. Blah! I don't like this situation one bit!

One thing that was fun about being at the shelter was watching the little kittens run around and play. They are just so sweet:) I keep telling Ry that Nemo needs a playmate! I haven't received an answer on that one yet LOL!

Okay ladies and gentlemen it's time to share some kitchie stories. I've decided to split up my stories into multiple posts because I would be blogging all day otherwise.

First up.....wheatgrass!

I've been growing wheatgrass out of my ears! I went with the technique that the guy in my local health food store told me about.


1. soak the hard spring wheat

2. allow the wheat to sprout for a day or two, rinsing twice a day

3. Once you see little tails it's time to boggy!

4. I used the plastic trays that you get flowers in from a nursery with 50/50 peat and organic seedling mix.

5. Really wet the soil mixture in the trays

6. Add the sprouts, enough so you barely see the soil but not too much that they are piled on top of each other

7. Really water the trays with the sprouts (2nd watering for the tray)

8. Wet a piece of newspaper very well and cover the trays with it

9. Place by a window where it gets indirect light

10. Water everyday really well

11. Remove the newspaper once the wheatgrass has pushed the paper up.

12. Juice it, baby! Or you can give it to your furry friend:)

What the heck is this stuff?

Nemo is his own juicer LOL!

This way has worked for me so I'm going to stick with it. I'm sure there are a million other ways to do it too! Google is a good friend:)



Now for my turn to juice!

It took a lot of wheatgrass for me to get a little bit of juice. I do not have a wheatgrass juicer so that's probably why. My juicer I don't think is meant for wheatgrass and veggie/fruit juicing. Oh well, I'm drinking wheatgrass juice and that's all that matters:)

Look at that color! Powerful stuff! I drank just a little bit, probably a 1/2 shot glass worth but I still felt it. I get a strong reaction from wheatgrass. I can literally feel it working in my body and I get full of energy! I should have used a chaser this time though...as I found it more powerful than the commercially grown stuff!

Do you drink wheatgrass juice? Do you grow it yourself? Do you have an actual wheatgrass juicer?

Next I want to share with you what I made with my rejuvelec!

I think I used barley but I totally can't remember. Aimee says she uses quinoa! I'm obsessed with quinoa so I definitely will be giving that a try! If you want to learn more about rejuvelec check out this video.

I blended together 2 cups soaked cashews and a little over a cup of rejuvelec. Here's my cashew/rejuvelec mix after about 30 hours. I'm loving all this use of fermentation lately!

What am I making with this strange concoction? Well, nut cheese of course! I followed Meredith of The Raw Seed as her and her hubby went through the nut cheese process and decided to give their recipe for sour cream and onion cheese/dip a shot. Am I ever glad I did! This recipe rawks!

It seriously tastes like a SAD cheese! The hubby LOVES it and so do I! It is easy to make it just takes time:) I changed a few things. I didn't have any lemons so I used lime juice instead. I changed the proportion of cashews to suite what I had on hand but I think I added to much rejuvelec because it came out with the consistency of cream cheese. Not saying that's a bad thing! I'm just curious about the consistency in the harder cheeses. More experimenting to be done!

Meanwhile, I decided to try out this cheese in some wraps. I made them for the hubby for lunch and I got two thumbs up.

Coconut-oil roasted peppers, cheezy quinoa, on-a-bed-of-kale wrap

2 bell peppers, sliced into strips

1 tbl coconut oil

pinch of salt and pepper

1 cup quinoa, cooked

Sour cream and onion cheese or whatever creamy cheese you have on hand

2-3 kale leaves, de-stemmed and ripped into small pieces

Ezekiel wraps

Place the pepper strips in a glass baking dish or whatever dish/sheets you prefer. add in a tablespoon of coconut oil. Add some salt and pepper if you wish. Cover and place in the oven at 350 degrees. Remove after about 20 minutes. I just waited until they were slightly soft.

Place the kale pieces down the center of the wrap, add the peppers. Then add the cheese. And finally, add the quinoa. This way the cheese "holds onto" the quinoa. Like so...

Mmmm!!

The final product!! (sorry for the dark photos)

Stay tuned for Part 2!! Chocolate and kombucha!!

Have a great rest of your day everyone. I'm off to see the naturopath this afternoon and I'll tell you guys why I'm visiting and the outcomes soon!

PS if you haven't voted for me please do so here! I'm in the women under 40, second contestant!! Thank you!!