The Rut

5 seconds to Yum!

So good!

One hour earlier ....

I bolted from my comfy chair, turned off the TV, got dressed and decided

it was almost high noon and high time for me to get out of this,

 much deeper than the picture below, RUT!!! Eek.

It's time to get moving and shed some pre-Christmas and apres-Christmas overindulging!

It's a beautiful, crisp and sunny Winter's Day

and there cannot be any more excuses.

I've been inspired by a dear friend Anita who 

walks every day (earlier in the morning that this, I might add!)

and has been "defluffing" as my blog friend Ellen calls it,

with great success.

You can find Ellen's fun and inspirational posts at:

https://happywonderer.com.

Defluffing has to be a theme over here too.

I've missed this walk and this sunny day brings some lovely shots.

My treat at the end of this, almost 45 minute, walk down our country road

was a delicious spinach smoothie.

Why have I waited so long to do this?

Pray that I will continue to get on the road get out of the rut

to healthier days ahead.

Spinach, a splash of carrot juice, squeeze of lemon,

half avocado, banana, strawberries, pineapple, blueberries,

melon and a good dash of cinnamon!

My other rut is being so behind in blogging/journalling

and getting caught up with pictures and such.

A new month is just around the corner - a new chance to make some much needed changes?

Another great reason to stay healthy!!!

Can't believe we had this much snow just 18 days ago.

Till next time - taking "baby steps" down this road. Are you struggling with this?

Do You Yoga Dot Com

It's the first day

of a new Month

and the beginning

of a New Season ...

It's time to "turn a new leaf"

About a month ago,

my daughter mentioned on fb that

she is doing a 30 day yoga challenge.

I decided to check it out

and see if I could do this.

Tonight was the first lesson

So I tuned in to Erin Motz's first lesson
on doyouyoga.com

She's so young and cute - sigh!

I have to say - it felt really good,

that is,

once I found my yoga mat,

figured out how to keep my laptop from

fading out every 3 minutes,

and adjusted the lighting in the room

so the pot lights didn't blind me while

doing the "reverse table top"!

It only took approx. 20 minutes.
Surely I can give 20 minutes a day for the next 30?

Why don't you join me???
It's free and you can start anytime.

Now if only I could lose a few pounds in the process.....who knows?

Till next time .......... Namaste

Precious Water

Day 1:
First thing this morning I poured myself a cup of coffee with cream, took a few sips and realized - oh no, I'm off coffee this week - remember?????  Force of habit!

I need to retrain my brain to think "water" and drink lots this week.  It shouldn't be hard to think about water these days since I can't remember a time that it has been so dry and in need of rain!!  This reminds us of how precious water really is and to not waste a drop.

This water bottle will be a close companion this week!

Today is Day 1 of my raw food detox and I'm "fasting" till supper time (except for the few gulps of coffee by mistake this morning).  I know I can do it!  I have much to do today and hopefully this will keep me distracted!  There are many windows to wash, laundry to do, and general chores around the house that have been neglected all weekend. Oh, and I need to go for a nice long walk and drink lots of cool thirst quenching water too!

Suppertime will be 2-3 delicious apples and then I will prepare and pack my meals for Day 2.

• Breakfast will be fruit - another apple for me
• Lunch is a delicious smoothie and a zip lock bag filled with veggie picks
• Dinner is a large green salad - for me it's spinach, cherry tomatoes, celery, red peppers, and cucumber dressed with a drizzle of EVO and a squeeze of lemon - any combo will do.

This, essentially will be my menu for the next 6 days.  I will mix up the order and probably have my smoothie in the morning because of convenience.  Also, after Day 2 I will have fruit plus veggie picks at my noon meal.  This tastes amazing and there are so many fresh local fruits and veggies available at the markets and in stores this time of year!

Join me and let me know how you are doing!  Marg - I've sent you an email on this - hope you got it.

Till next time ............. praying for rain.

7 Days 101

It's time!!

I plan to do my "7 Day Raw Food Cleanse/Detox" to get back on track and this also happens to be my #101 post - Smile.

This weekend there is a church picnic potluck to enjoy and on Sunday evening I will start my 7 days of refreshing raw food, smooth skin, improved digestion, increased energy, and shedding a few of those lbs. - too many potlucks, BBQs and dinner parties!!!!  I am also vowing to get back to the gym (since I'm paying for my membership anyway) and do my walking regime!!!  One great thing about blogging about this, is that it will hold me accountable.  I mentioned this exercise in a couple of my past posts in January:  http://rhubarbandroses-rosella.blogspot.ca/2012/01/its-monday-and-this-is-week-i-am-going.html

Hopefully I will feel like shopping for that Mother of the Bride dress.  Up till now I've just not been able to force myself to do this and it's time.

So, to prepare during this week:

• Start cutting back on my caffeine intake (because for 7 days I will be going caffeine free - eek, and I know how it feels by about the 3rd day if I go "cold turkey")
• Eat less meat over the next week to prepare for 7 days of meatless meals
• Resist the "monster" cookies, fresh baked muffins, woopie pies, brownies, cinnamon buns, etc. that appear on the snack stand at work - sigh
• Clean out the fridge and stock it with wonderful fresh vegetables and fruit - all so plentiful this time of year.
• Dig out the smoothie maker and prominently display it on the cupboard
• Gather up my yummy smoothie recipes
• Eat less and drink more water
• Weigh myself at the beginning of the fast and wait till the end to do so again

This will be 7 days of raw food (fresh fruit, vegetables, leafy greens, smoothies made from all fresh ingredients).  This excludes dairy products, meat and breads (my weaknesses).  Popcorn and chips are NOT raw food!!!  Sigh!

I'm going to start on Sunday evening by fasting over supper (that should be easy after the Sunday noon church potluck),  Monday morning and afternoon and then on Monday evening having my first "meal" of a mono fruit (I will eat several apples and they will taste amazing).

On Tuesday I will have an apple for breakfast, a green smoothie for lunch along with a bag full of raw veggies, and for supper a huge wonderful salad dressed with a squeeze of lemon and a drizzle of EVO.

The next 5 days after that will be the same three meals but I will add different kinds of fruit, lettuce wraps, and a variety of smoothies, alternating the order of meals.

Anyone want to join me????  I'll share some of my favourite smoothie recipes along the way.  We could commiserate encourage........

BTW - the farmer says he'll join me too "for the most part"!

Stay tuned for a healthy week ......

Wednesday Wednesday

Well, it's Wednesday and the caffeine headache has lessened - and I only ever drink 2-3 Cups a day!  I don't intend to give it up and that will be the first thing to indulge in after this week!  Otherwise, I'm feeling great - a little stiff from going to the gym however.  I notice on my face - my skin feels smooth and soft and I also really notice my improved digestion (too much information?).  I didn't weigh myself before starting - I just knew that my jeans were fitting much too tight.  Hopefully I will have shed a few lbs. after this.  Sigh!

I have always tried to keep my weight down as much as possible because my concern is getting "the diabetes" as they used to say.  It is very prevalent in my family on my mother's side and I have 3 siblings who have been diagnosed!  Something I definitely want to avoid if at all possible.  It's a battle for sure.

Today my meals consist of my morning smoothie, raw veggies, a couple of apples, a banana for lunch at work, and a huge salad for dinner.  My smoothie looks like sludge today but oh so delish.  I used 1/2 a field cucumber (peeled and seeded), 1/2 banana, 2-3 handsful of spinach, pomegranite juice, and best of all, 1/2 Cup of blueberries!  Yum.  Honestly, the food tastes great and my sweet cravings have subsided.

I'll give you a wee report on Friday to let you know how things worked out.

Here's to eating a rainbow! 

Monday Monday

It's Monday and this is the week I am going to do a wee raw food "detox".  The hardest thing for me is giving up my coffee.  By day 2 or 3, I seem to have a crazy caffeine headache.  It's all so worth it though.  I feel so good while on this 7 day program, my skin  becomes smooth, my digestion improves, and if I'm lucky I'll shed a bit of this Christmas weight gain!!!

I'm starting off the day with this smoothie.  It's a combination of pomegranate juice, 1/2 a banana, raw spinach, raw pineapple, a spoonful of Greek yogurt (I know it's not raw but I'm just using up what's leftover in the fridge),  and a dash of cinnamon.  This may look rather "green" but it tastes absolutely delicious!!!! AND it actually satiates my appetite.  Lunch will be some raw fruit and veggies and supper will be a delicious salad.

So - here goes - I think this is actually a week where there are no planned dinners or banquets so I should be able to do this!

Join me and let me know how it goes?!........