And soon.

Sorry to have been gone so long. I made some life changes and I had a lot going on.

Anyway, I miss blogging and I am going to be starting up again really soon. With a fresh start at a new location.

You can check out my new home here, although the site is still very rough and “under construction”.

I decided to use my first name instead of my middle name. It just felt right! Not that it really matters…I can respond to either one. That’s one of the perks of having two names.

But I won’t be posting regularly til after the holidays.

Just wanted to say hi! And that I miss you guys.

I’m sorry for being so absent without giving you a reason. I have so much going on in my life right now that is really sucking up all of my time. I have not abandoned the blog, but I am taking a break from it (in case you hadn’t already noticed!) I will be back, I just don’t know when. There are other things in my life that are demanding my attention, and I have neither the time or energy to write about it, or about anything else. I’m still reading (and sporadically commenting) on other blogs, but just not as much as usual. I hope you all understand. I cherish all of the friendships I’ve made through blogging and I look forward to getting back to a normal routine and getting back in touch with all of you, as soon as I can.

xoxo

Anyway, I went out and bought something today that has brightened my mood a little: Ani’s Raw Food Essentials!

So I’m really not the type of person who gets excited about a cookbook. Yes, I think finding good recipes and making new types of food can be fun, but I’m not a typical foodie-blogger and I would usually rather buy a new pair of sunglasses than a new cookbook (I love sunglasses! Especially big ones…and aviators.I wear them so much that I usually end up breaking them, so I always need to have a few pairs on hand. Is that weird?). Also, I don’t feel like I really need cookbooks anymore…I always see recipes that I want to try when I am reading blogs. There is such an abundance of great ones that it’s a little overwhelming!

However, Ani Phyo is a whole ‘nother story. I’ve had at least 10 different people recommend this book to me on various occasions, so I knew that it wasn’t just like any other cookbook (or uncookbook, in this case). And I must say, Ani is living up to the hype. I haven’t made any recipes yet, but they all look so good. I really can’t wait to start experimenting with some of her ideas. The recipes aren’t the only awesome thing about the book though. I find Ani Phyo to be so refreshing. She is not at all pretentious about her raw food diet, and she encourages people to do whatever they can and whatever works for them. One of the reasons she is such a fan of eating raw is because it is more eco-friendly. Conventional ovens suck up a lot of energy, and Ani talks about the effects we have on the planet when we use this appliance all the time. I never feel like she is writing with a holier-than-thou attitude, which makes her ideas that much more appealing to me. She also has some great health tips and “green” tips for taking care of yourself and the planet. I think this is a great book, even if you are not vegan (or into raw foods, for that matter) because the recipes seem like they would appeal to everyone. There are some great looking pizzas, noodle recipes, cakes, cookies, and a lot of unique and interesting ideas. For every raw dehydrated recipe, you have the option of simply making it in the oven, so it isn’t mandatory to have a dehydrator.

BUT, I’ve been thinking about it, and I would really like a dehydrator. I don’t know if I can afford the super-expensive Excalibur right now, but I do enjoy the taste and texture of dehydrated food (which is SO costly to buy at the health food store) so I think it could be a good investment.

So I’m wondering: If you have a dehydrator, what kind do you have? Do you like it? Do you think it’s necessary to get the Excalibur over a cheaper smaller model like this one? Ani Phyo recommends the Excalibur, but I’m wondering if some dehydrated foods could just as easily be made on the little guy.

If you don’t have a dehydrator (or even if you do) then what is your all time favourite cookbook? Or do you not use them at all?

You might remember that there were some pictures circulating around the internet and all over tabloids a few years ago of Jennifer Love Hewitt in a bikini.

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I felt bad for her when this happened, because there was a lot of cruelty about her apparent weight gain and I really thought it was uncalled for. Nobody is perfect and she doesn’t deserve that kind of scrutiny. I know that being torn apart in the tabloids is very common for celebrities, but I just think it is awful that anyone should be held up to such a high standard. I also thought it was pretty amazing that she still looks happy in the pictures. I liked that she was having fun and appeared to not care what people think. Well, it turns out that she was mortified by these pictures and decided to take action. Normally, I would think this is fine. If someone wants to work on their health or tone their muscles for their own personal well being, then that’s great. However, I was disturbed by JLH’s methods and motives behind her “body makeover”. I was so irritated that I decided to write a letter to the magazine.

Dear People Magazine,

Your interview with Jennifer Love Hewitt was disappointing to me. I remember a few years ago when “unflattering” photos of her were all over the tabloids and people were saying awful things about her. I admired her at that point for not letting the media dictate how she sees herself. Women’s bodies are not often naturally rail thin, cellulite free, big breasted, and toned in all the right places. Nobody is perfect, and everyone has a different body type. Also, it is possible to have a normal healthy body and eat a healthy diet without resorting to extreme measures or fitting into a cookie cutter body shape.

In the interview, it states that Jennifer followed an all-protein diet and a daily 2 hour treadmill regime to prepare for her photo shoot, and afterwards planned on getting a chili dog. To me, this describes everything that is wrong with the way women treat their bodies. She is following an extreme, unhealthy, unbalanced diet (and then later stating in the interview that she “eats healthy”, sending out a skewed message to readers). She eats under 1500 calories a day which is probably not enough to support her activity level, and throughout the entire interview she focuses on weight, image, and appearance. She never talks about health or the way her body feels, only about the way it looks. I believe this is sending a horrible message to women everywhere that the sole purpose of working out is to be super thin and wear a string bikini, which therefore perpetuates the extreme dieting that often leads to poor health, food restriction, binge eating, compulsive eating and/or low self esteem. Jennifer’s portrayal of health and wellness is extremely warped and her motives are all wrong. If you are going to do an issue on “amazing bodies” please feature people who have achieved healthy, fit bodies in a balanced and realistic way.

To be clear, I didn’t send this letter to the magazine. I mean, what would be the point? Tabloids don’t care about good health or spreading negative messages, they only care about making money. I also wasn’t surprised by the interview, just angered. I hate that there are chronic dieters who are going to cut out vegetables and fruit, and only eat protein and chili dogs because it apparently worked for Jennifer Love Hewitt. I also hate that healthy is synonymous with skinny in the article, and skinny should be achieved by any means necessary.  But all I can do is voice my own point of view and hope that I can help someone- anyone- see that extreme dieting is not the answer to health or long lasting weight loss.

The book was based on a popular blog, and I started reading the site every once in a while. I found it so interesting. The secrets ranged from being incredibly funny and amusing to being downright sad. Some of them were moving, some of them I could relate to, and some of them made me angry. But I kept going back, and when I found secrets that really resonated with me, I would save them and look back at them later on. I found it comforting.

What exactly is PostSecret?

From their site:

“PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.”

Some of the secrets are really silly:

Some make me groan out load:

Some are kind of scandalous:

Some people really hate Tom Cruise and his Scientology beliefs:

Some people have secret fantasies about the former president:

Those are all fun for entertainment purposes…

But some of the secrets- the ones that really stick with me- are about the despair that people feel.

A lot of people talk about depression, being abused, having cancer, losing loved ones, and many other saddening life experiences. Although reading these postcards often brings me to tears, I still like to read them. I like that people are putting these thoughts out there instead of holding them inside, and I like that people respond so well to these secrets. The reason they are anonymous is so that people can freely speak their minds, without fearing judgment and repercussions. However, from what I have seen, a lot of the secrets have shown how much compassion human beings have for one another. After having some negative experiences in my life, I truly used to believe that there were so few good people in the world. I believed that many people are capable of terrible things, and a lot of people are only looking out for themselves; that no one really cares. While it is true that some people are capable of terrible things, and that there are some awful people in the world, I have come to realize that for all of the cold-heartedness, there is also an overwhelming amount of compassion among us.

A few weeks ago, something happened that really helped me to see how true this is, and solidified my shifted thought pattern that there are a lot of kind, beautiful people who truly care about others.

Recently, someone wrote the following anonymous secret:

I was shocked to read this article about the number of people who were affected by reading this secret, and how kind-hearted people were being towards the author. There is an ever-growing Facebook group dedicated to this cause, and tens of thousands of people have joined. One person commented on the please don’t jump Facebook group, “If I knew when you’d be at the bridge, I’d drive all the way from Ohio to meet you there, and hold you until you changed your mind.”

This video shows some of the other comments people left:

I was impressed and incredibly touched by this reaction. I have always felt that depression is misunderstood, but suicide in particular is stigmatized in our society. Obviously suicide is a tragedy, but I find that people usually aren’t so saddened by the act itself, but instead condemn the person who does it. I’ve heard it being described as many things: selfish, cowardly, criminal, lazy, insane, failure. It angers me to no end when people say such things. We should be doing everything in our power to prevent such occurrences instead of downplaying the pain people feel. When someone takes their own life, it is nothing short of a tragic event and it is devastating. I would have expected some sympathy for the author of the secret, but I would have also expected a lot of hate. Instead of tearing the person apart, something incredible happened. People came together in a time of need, and tried to prevent such a tragic event from happening.

It reminds me of one of my favourite quotes…

“In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.” -Anne Frank

All pictures are courtesy of PostSecret.

Sorry to be M.I.A for the past few days. I’ve been busy with the daily grind, but I’ve also been putting a focus on my health. I have been spending a considerable amount of time trying to find my path to a healthier, happier life.

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One of the things I’ve been doing lately is acupuncture. The first time I heard about it, I was skeptical to say the least. I mean, needles in your face and on your body are supposed to provide pain relief? It just sounded far fetched to me. But after talking to various people and hearing about what it has done for them, I’m thinking there might be something to it. People really do swear by this treatment, saying that it has cured their pain, helped them lose  weight, cured their depression, helped with allergies, etc. I haven’t had acupuncture enough times to do a detailed post on my opinion of it. I haven’t even formed a solid enough opinion for myself, so it would be unwise to write about it. I will probably discuss it more soon, and provide you with with some research and share my experiences if you are interested. I do think its worth a shot to help ease my stomach pain, and if nothing else, it is giving me a few moments of my time in which I am NOT supposed to think. This is really difficult for me to do, but the idea of turning off my brain is very appealing to me. With my chronic insomnia and hectic days, there is rarely a time when I don’t have racing thoughts, and I think I need to slow down.

I think we all need to slow down sometimes. We live in a day and age where everything is so fast paced, everyone wants to be there yesterday, and we are constantly thinking but don’t have time to truly process the thoughts. So many of us become scattered and impulsive, overworked and overstressed, and at the end of the day we are just so tired. So tired, but no time for sleep. Because the brain doesn’t just turn off like that.

I really admire people who meditate or practice yoga, and are able to be in the moment and focus. I love yoga and it has helped me through some tough periods, but I wish I were better at the whole concept of not judging yourself, letting go, simply focusing on the breathing and poses. It sounds like it should be the easiest thing in the world, to “just be”, but it is so difficult. I’ve been trying to do more meditative yoga and listening to guided meditation recordings, and my mind just drifts. My naturopath plays guided meditation during my acupuncture sessions, and I try so hard to focus, but I almost instantly start thinking about things that I don’t want to think about anymore.

Despite my ever-firing neurons, I have high hopes that I can do this. I can find the health and vitality that I have been seeking for so long. I am a work in progress, and eventually I will figure things out. Maybe consistent meditation and acupuncture will help, or maybe I will experience some kind of “placebo effect” if I truly believe that they will help. Either way, I am not giving up yet.

Any opinions on acupuncture? Have you tried it? Would you recommend it?

Do you meditate and/or practice yoga? Do you think of yoga as more of an “exercise”, ie: power yoga and sculpting or stretching out your muscles, or do you feel like there is a mind-body connection and a meditative purpose that goes along with your yoga practice? Do you struggle with turning off your brain to meditate?

Since I missed the song for Monday again, here it is. I love Joshua Radin. If you want to relax, he is your go-to. He has a very soothing voice.

Stay tuned tomorrow to see what I’ve been up to in the kitchen. Hint: They are baked goods and they are GREEN.

xoxo Lauren