Bitten...

I have a confession to make. (Which is apt, I suppose, based on the title of this weird little blog). One of the main reasons I haven't been blogging as often as I should, which translates to once a week or so, is because I have been thoroughly sucked into the teenage world of vampires and werewolves. I have never once in my life had any interest in these creatures until just a couple weeks ago when I decided to see what all the fuss was about with Twilight. Just because it's an international phenomenon doesn't mean that I'm going to like it, I thought. Well, as it turns out, I do like it. A lot. Never before have I devoured 500+ page novels so quickly. There are 4 books in the series (in case you don't already know this). I'm reading the 3rd one, and anxiously awaiting the opening of the second movie next month. The 4th novel is more than 700 pages. No problem. I'd like to pace myself, but that's just not happening.

Part of what intrigues me about Twilight is that the author is a mom about my age with 3 kids, just doing her thing, and wakes up one morning with a dream so vivid she has to turn it into a novel. Fast forward a few years, and now her husband stays home with the kids while she rakes in the millions and is adored by her countless fans. Incredible! Haven't quite figured out my million-dollar-international-stardom idea, but I guess I'm still young (relatively).

Moving right along, then...
We had a great time in Boston. The drive was enjoyable, the water resort was a blast (especially because we had the whole place practically to ourselves), we got to wander around Harvard, and it was just fun to get away. Fall was beautiful there, but it is equally as beautiful on our street and in our backyard. There are some absolutely stunning colors, ones that I didn't see too much of living in Calgary. The kids are excited about jumping in some leaf piles, as soon as we rake some.

I wanted to mention how touched I was by all your comments when I wrote about my mom. I read and reread those comments and so appreciate each of you. It was interesting how each person that commented could relate on such a personal and specific level. Thanks for the love.

Another emotional day this week, as Monday was 2 years since my uncle was killed. Sometimes it's still so fresh and raw and other times I find myself trying to convince myself that it never really happened. Like my cousin said, the pain doesn't lessen, it gets worse as time goes on. My heart still breaks for my cousins and aunt who are just left with his memory.

Not sure how to smoothly segue onto the next topic from here...

I've been getting asked a lot about how the "raw" is going. Well, it's still coming along, slowly sometimes. I don't care how passionate I may be about raw, but I enjoyed my Thanksgiving turkey thoroughly, and there is just no substitute for that! Nor is there a substitute for the Butternut Turkey Soup I made as leftovers (which the kiddos loved - ha! they do like squash!) or the Cream of Turkey Soup... Both were so delish, and very healthy and most important, gobbled up by my munchkins. (My Oma used to laugh at Connor, who, at age 2, announced at her dinner table that he did not like squash. Guess he does after all - if only Oma could see him now!).

But, I digress. I have been a very faithful green smoothie drinker now for almost 4 months and I'm still loving them. The only thing that could make me love them more, I decided, was a proper blender (you know, one that actually gets rid of all the chunks). Well, I have saved my pennies and used some early Christmas money, and my beautiful new fancy-schmancy blender should be here in the next week or so. I really can't wait. It's silly to be so excited about an appliance, but blenders are probably my favorite appliance ever. I even ordered it in RED!

Lunch and snacks are often raw, but really nothing fancy. I've tried quite a few different raw recipes - some were good, some not so much. Supper is pretty much never raw, but does include even more veggies than before, many of which are indeed cooked. I can't give you an exact recipe for my green smoothie, as it varies slightly every day. So instead I'll just list some of my favorite ingredients and you can try for yourself, if you dare! Definitely leave me a comment if you try one, or leave me one anyway if you don't because they sound too odd. I eased into my green smoothie over a couple days, but the transition really wasn't all that hard. Here goes:

Blend together a rather large quantity of any greens you can get your hands on, using water as needed. Greens I use are: spinach (definitely the mildest and "smoothest", a good starter), collard greens, swiss chard (white and red), beet greens, kale (one of the most super of the superfoods), dandelion greens (I have found these beauties in several different grocery stores). I've even tossed in romaine lettuce and butter lettuce. The key is using a variety and mixing it up. You can use one or several, but just change it up every so often. I shove my blender full of greens and it blends down into approx. 2 cups of green sludge. Smell it. Then go stick your nose in the freshly mowed lawn. Then close your eyes and see if you can tell the difference! Yum. I've never tried the green sludge on its own, and probably never will. Some people do. If you do, I'll send you a prize!

So now you need a lot of yummy fruit to disguise the grass clippings. I like adding at least some frozen fruit, partly for creamy consistency, and partly to make it cold. (However, once I have my new blender, I'll be able to add ice and actually have it blend!). Some of my favorites are: bananas, mangoes, peaches, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, pears, grapes. I have yet to toss in an apple, but might try it. Any combination of these fruits should work, although I always use a banana - it just seems to be a good flavor "masker". I also toss in extras such as flax and hemp seeds, which are very good for you, supposedly.

I'm going to leave you with that for now. Thanks for stopping by and checking out my ramblings!

A Quick Hello

I just finished a yummy bowl of apple crisp, made with apples that the kids and I picked at a local apple orchard. Topped with some vanilla ice cream, it was absolutely delish! Not exactly a raw dessert, but, too bad! I was thinking of heading up to bed and reading, but I heard my blog calling my name, rather impatiently, I might add. Just a warning to manage your expectations about how coherent this post will be, as I'm getting pretty sleepy.

Speaking of raw food, some of you have been asking for updates. I'd like to say that I have totally given myself over to the raw food lifestyle and there's no turning back, but that would be lying. It certainly is a challenging transition to make, and I'm realizing that I need to be organized and plan things out in advance a little better if I'm going to prepare a raw meal. I've been doing tons of reading, and have loads of good recipes just waiting to be tried. Some I have tried and they've actually not been very good. It's turning out to be a very slow process for me, but that's ok. I've been having my daily green smoothie, and rarely miss a day. That's been the biggest change I've made. My smoothies are full of so many greens and fruits, that I know I'm doing my body some serious good. I've also been really good about having lots of raw snacks and have dramatically increased my fruit intake. I'm not allowing myself to feel any guilt over any non-raw food I eat, as a habit 35 years in the making is going to take some time to change.

I think I'll save any further thoughts for my next post, if I want it to make any sense. I'm fading fast here.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I am looking forward to sharing a (non-raw) turkey dinner with my family, plus my mother-in-law and uncle. SO much to be thankful for!!