Kicking off the Winter blues - coming out of hibernation!

Today I decided we all needed to get out there and shake off some of that old wintery stagnation.

For some time now I've had a little goal that I'd like to start running. I've been feeling so full of life on my low fat raw vegan diet that I actually VOLUNTARILY got up on this sleepy Sunday morning and went for a RUN! Yes, you did read that correctly.... a RUN! It was only very short - halfway round the Koala reserve and back - but, I'm near on exstatic that I could even do that much! I've never really been a runner before - even though I was always fit (pre difficult pregnancy) - but for some reason I have been envisioning myself running through the country side and shifting all that blocked energy as I fly by. I've been craving this expression of power and strength since I was told (not all that long ago) that I was told I wouldn't be able to do anything of the sort ever again (I was wheel chair bound throught the 2nd half of pregancy due to unstable pelvis). My muscles were weak and I barely made it home, but I was soooooo excited that I'm nearly tearing up as I write this!

After such a brilliant start to the day - Oh and did I mention the sun was shining like it was spring- we gathered ourselves and took off to a local farm where we picked up some delicious goodies that any Raw eater would appreciate.

I'm keen to try the Durian that we picked up today. I've heard many good things, and it smells delicious (even if it is lethaly sharp!) I scored some delicous locally grown organic herbal teas which I've been enjoying all day and am looking forward to putting the Aloe Vera plant to good use.

We also stopped by the markets in Mornington and strolled around the colourful crafty stalls. I love the vibrant energy of markets:)

After this Aria konked out in the car while we drove down the peninsula to Cape Schank and took advantage of the fact that all the national parks around here now have free admission (as of July 1 this year).

Drinks thief!

Isn't it great to be ALIVE!

Gnome's carpet pops up where you least expect it!

Lots of "Tuddles" with Dadda today.

Aria insisted on walking down EVERY one of those stairs - all the way to the end and back up again! The other visitors were most intrigued!

Such little legs and so many steps!

A little break for Mama...

... which didn't last for long.

Some awesome views

Intriguing landscapes

Some sort of sea mushroom-trumpet thingee with a seaweed hair do!

Lots of snuggles in the wind while looking at the ocean lap over the pebbled coast.

Some images from earlier in the week around our neighbourhood:

In love and light

So, my raw food journey begins...

I just thought I'd stop by and write a quick  post on where things are at for me right now. I like to keep a record here on my blog for myself as I so easily forget the ins and outs of my days... just ask me at the end of any given week what I've been up to and I draw a blank! This blog is in many ways an on line diary or journal - I find physicially writing things out in a diary like I used to do as a teenager too time consuming & I never seem to get around to it, so this is the next best thing.

Lately I have been on a pretty intense journey with regards to what I put in my mouth:) It's amazing to me just how powerful our diet can be. I am learning an incredible amount about all the healing qualities of fresh vegetables and fruit and all the medicinal aspects of whole foods. I find it quite incredible that these days the pharmacy has almost been replaced by the health food store! Not all health food stores are like this of course, but I find your average health store retailer has the same old 'pill for every ill' mentality as the pharmacist down the road! I am really moving away from using supplements and moving towards a completely natural, stripped back to the basics diet. As the well know Hippocrates quote goes "let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food". I am inspired to eat in a wy that we are biologically built for. Our bodies just aren't equipped to deal with todays 'technology food' and 'Junk food'. To think that I ever put something called "JUNK food" into my mouth and still wondered why I had chronic dis-ease! 

At this stage in my health/healing-evolution I am extremely excited to be experiencing all the wonderful health benefits of going raw. I wrote a little while ago about my transition from vegetarianism to a more traditional and animal protein inclusive diet which was inspired by the nourishing traditions book. I have given that a good amount of time I feel, but it just hasn't been working out for my particular issues. My body just doesn't appreciate having meat and animal products being put into it I'm afraid! So here ends that chapter:)

After reading about a freind's adventures with going raw, I was inspired to look into it myself. I am gearing up to going 100% raw at the moment and am starting off with a juice feast. I discovered there is a good reason it's dalled a juice 'feast' and not a juice 'fast'. I was SO FULL the whole time! I actually found it somewhat difficult on occasion to finish off the whole juice based on the recipes I was using from the wonderul book Raw Food Clease by Penni Shelton. I guess what I've been reading about how our body processes food must be true - apparently our bodies register the nutrient value of food and not the calories. This is why we can chow down on junk food and feel like we need more, more, more - the body is searching for something it can use - but with nutrient dense food we feel fuller more quickly because the body is satisfied that it has been truly 'fed'.

I juice feasted for two days this week and can't even begin to describe the amazing results I've had! To put it simply, my body, mind, and spirit is just working for me now! I no longer feel betrayed by my own body and I have more energy than I did even as a child. In this week of cranking up the rawness of my diet I lost 3kg over night and lost another 1kg over the span of the week. That's 4kg in one week! I have been placing extra emphasis on detoxing my system in any way I know how to as well, which may have also contributed to this weight loss. I have been using my neti pot, oil pulling, ingesting all sorts of wonderful intestinal enzymes (from Eden Healthfoods based only on the professional advice of my bioresonance practitioner and energy healer) to clean out the system, getting as much sunlight as possible in the middle of winter, exercising every day, getting back into my old favourite passtime - yoga, drinking litres of water, going to bed a couple of hours earlier than I used to, meditating more often and with more focus - and I'm also about to begin dry skin brushing. Basically I'm giving this lifestyle shape up a really good hot go!

I'm finding that the more raw food I eat, the better I feel and the more momentum I gain which propells me further towards my goal of complete health and healing. Besides 'devouring' some wonderful books, the internet is also an amazing tool for which I am constantly grateful:) I have joined many raw food sites, found many inspirational channels on youtube, discovered lots of wonderful documentaries, subscribed to news letters and joined an online community where I am inspired and supported. And, of course, I've also begun to find some amazing blogs! I am still constantly amazed by the generosity of those who give their time and energy to share recipes and techniques that heave worked for them. There are some truly loving people out there despite what the popular media will have us believe!

My sister has also been upping the percentage of raw in her daily intake of food and we have been comparing notes most days. I'm very grateful to have a sister who I am so close with and who shares my interest in living the best life possible! My little brother (well, he's not that little any more at age 19) is coming over to stay this coming week and will be participating in a full on life overhaul/detox with me. It will be fantastic to go into this juice feasting week with somebody else to share it with!



There are many, many more amazing resources out there, but here are just a few of those that I've found helpful:)
Raw food rehab - the most wonderful and supportive on line community hosted by Penni Shelton. There is a wealth of information on this site.
Sarma's raw food blog
Russel James of The Raw Chef fame has some really useful videos and delicious recipes.
http://www.sweetlyraw.com/ Yum!

Some must see films:
Simply Raw - a very inspiring movie which follows 6 Americans as they reverse their diabetes by going raw for 30 days
http://www.foodincmovie.com/
http://www.foodmatters.tv/
Break through
Supercharge me and her video channel http://superchargeme.blip.tv/

Anyway, I guess that's enought of a rant for now. Maybe I'll write some time about all the health benefits I am experiencing as I embark on this raw - whole foods life style choice. I am in two minds as to wether it might just be too much information for some! So on that note I'll just say that I hope everyone is having a beautiful and nourishing weekend.

With love and light
xxx

From the Land over the Rainbow Bridge

This is Aria's birthday fairy - her old friend from the land over the rainbow bridge before she came to visit Mama and Dadda. She is waiting to be named by the birthday girl.

 Those dread locks took quite a while... and so did the hands! I underestimated just how much of an undertaking this project was!

She is FAR bigger than anything I've attempted before!

 

 I couldn't get a really accurate representation of the colours today. It was overcast and raining the wholetime :( - I'll have another go on a dryer day!

 

 Her legs are moveable and can be positioned in a few different poses and I've aimed for a tie dyed look with her clothes (I'm not sure if you can tell in these photos). I hope the birthday girl enjoys meeting her friend on her big day. I'm sure there will be lots of cuddles and kisses:)

With love and light,

xxx

{This Moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see. 


Inspired by SouleMama

 I am grateful for this moment

With love and light for your weekend,

xxx

WIP wednesday

This weekAria and I have been working on a couple of different dying projects. We are doing some Batik inspired fabric squares which I will later sew up into a quilt for her bed. I'm not much a fan of doonas these days and am finding it difficult to track down some affordable 100% natural fibre bedding - so I thought, why not make our own! I'm thinking of making it a nice thick blanket with wool and bamboo innards to keep her nice and warm but also remaining breatheable for summer. The design will probably end up being something similar to our spring blanket that I made last year.

To make the Batik effect we used some water based glue - much like pva glue - and then put it in the oven for a quick dry so it wouldn't seep into the fabric. Aria then painted over it with some watered down acrylic paint. After the paint dried I washed it in hot water in order to get all the glue off. I'm loving the result!

Now that our test patches have worked out fine we'll be going ahead with a whole heap more. I love the dreamy effect of it all - perfect for bed time! I will intersperse some other pale blue patches in between the painted ones and the backing will be pale blue too. I'm hoping to have it finished for her birthday:)

We are just about to tie dye some thin cotton fabric with rainbow colours. This will go with her rainbow bridge birthday story (of which I have yet to find a copy! If anyone can summarise the story that would be great. I kind of get the gyst, but would love to hear the real thing!). The fabric will also make a great accompaniment to her yet to be made play stands (for which I have found this great tutorial).

I did have lots more to write about, but Aria has just woken...

Peace

xxx

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice has such a warm and glowing feel to it! I think this will be something I'll look forward to a great deal each year. This year I didn't plan very much in the way of festivities as I have had another recent flare up of glandular fever. Even so, we had a lovely, special, enchanting time:)

The night before solstice, Aria and Dadda celebrated with the local Steiner crowd at a winter festival. During the week we got together with some of the other Mums and Johanna, our playgroup leader, to make some laterns which were to be used on this night. During the lantern-lit celebrations (no overhead lights) a special story, songs and supper were shared before a muddy lantern walk. When Aria got home she came bounding up to me saying "fun, fun!"

Yesterday, to celebrate the coming of Father Sun - Aria and I began the day with some powerful fresh smoothies followed by some Yoga (we happened to do lots of salutes to the sun, which was quite appropriate!).

Then we rolled up our sleeves and pants and went for a beautiful sunny walk to the beach! How amazing to have full sunny blue skies in Melbourne during Winter! It was glorious to walk through the water (although it nearly froze our toes off) while replenishing our vitamin D stores:)

Later on that day it got very dark very early, so we lit many many candles and put them all around the house. We worked and ate by candlelight for the rest of the day while singing "Fairies of the Candle Flame" which Aria now sings along to.

What a beautifully energetic but restful and peaceful day we had (despite Aria's four teeth popping through!) I hope you had a wonderful celebration wherever you are in the world :)


With love and light,
xxx

A morning in the garden

I'd been noticing of late that some areas of our garden had very suddenly become overgrown with weeds, so today Aria and I got busy outside with our little forks and spades. She absolutely loved it! What a great opportunity for her to express some of that boundless energy! Right now it's like I've got a toddler on speed, so a morning in the garden was absolutely perfect:) 

As is the done thing lately, she was jibber jabbering away: huge monologues interspersed with great big imitative belly laughs (think Santa). I looked up at one stage to discover that she was talking to a chubby green caterpillar about how Dadda went in the brrrm brrm to work and then she started singing part of our "fairies of the candle flame" song to a scurrying insect.

Singing the day away

A balancing act

This girl is rarely seen outside without a basket of some sort!

 Tree hugger!

Aria spent quite a bit of time talking to something up the tree. I couldn't figure out what for the life of me - maybe it's her friend "fairy woof woof" Aren't some moments just delightful?

I think we'll be having many many more mornings in the garden. We are constantly going for nature walks and spend a lot of time outdoors, but how is it that I missed what is in our very own back yard?

With love and light

Broken umbrellas and worrying less.

Today Aria and I went for a walk along the beach in the pouring rain - and I do mean pouring. The kind that is coming at you from multiple directions - the kind that needs more armour that just one umbrella and a raincoat. Maybe a portable tin shed would be getting close... I truly felt that Aria and I needed to get outside today - I've been feeling my vitamin D stores fading along with the sun, and the muscles in my cramping legs were craving the sea water, so I just thought - so what if it's storming outside. Lets go Aria!

After becoming predictably saturated and having to repeatedly manouvre an umbrella that was intent on remaining inside out, I became rather discouraged. Visions of indoor warmth crept into my icicled brain and my frozen legs and feet ached. I could feel the arthritic pain of fibromyalgia clawing at my joints and began to feel fearful that I had triggered off a painful episode. Silly me!

Then began the self bashing... "I shouldn't have come out here," "Why do I always make life hard for myself?" "This was a ridiculous, stupid idea", "Aria's probably hating this", "I should've known we'd get saturated", "Why did I do this?"... you get the picture. We can be pretty harsh with ourselves sometimes and I'm a master of this when I let myself go unconsciously.

After a fair amount of 'Melissa Bashing', a small voice on my back piped up - just audible over the wind and heavy rain.

"Mama wet... Ah well, no worries.... wub oo" (love you). 

In one instant the beauty that surrounded me became obvious. Coming from Aria's mouth - the innocence and purity brought a tear to my eye! I got to thinking - Some things just aren't that complicated. It's simple... Life doesn't need to be so serious! The ability of the young child to go with the flow and move through life living in the now is just magical.

So now my day has not become about aching legs, drenched clothes, pain, fatigue and broken umbrellas. Today is about letting things go, worrying less and loving more.

 

With love and light

xxx

Goodbye Autumn...

Lady Winter is unfolding

Curling slowly within

S

Soothingly still and silent reflection

Autumn lingers...

as we say goodbye

New rhythm settles into our days

A time to nurture, refocus and become inspired...

 

We're beginning to enjoy WINTER!

Peace

xxx

She's Finished!

Just thought I'd share some pics of the completed little Aria that I've been working on for her 2nd birthday...

 For Aria this will just be a doll that Mama made, of course she's not going to know it looks like her - but it was great fun for me to work on getting a likeness happening! I actually didn't start with this photo in mind, but after I started making her, I realised where I must have been getting my inspiration.

After I decided that this doll would resemble Aria, I wanted to really capture her determination, enthusaism, and how alive she becomes when outdoors on our nature walks.

I included her amber necklace, the flower embelishment on her pants and a tie around her kimono top (losely based on a top I knitted for her a while ago that she always wears).

Now I'm working on a fairy which is larger and even more of a task than this doll. Am getting there slowly. This is sooooo addictive!

WIP wednesday and Winter table

Recently I've been working hard on a little doll for Aria's 2nd birthday. Feeling inspired by some of our recent photos, I'm trying to make it in her likeness.

Trying to form a solid figure as a foundation before creating some clothes.

I still have lots of tweaking and details to add, but here's how she looks so far:)

Nice butt!

And a view from the side... I'd like to make her boots less sock-like and add a trim to her hat and pants. She also wears an amber necklace which I may try and include.

One of the photos of my little elfin girl that inspired this creation.

************

We are welcoming the cool rain and cosiness of winter over here. This is the beginning of our winter nature table. I've really struggled for inspiration this season! This is our first winter table, so I'm sure as the days roll on I'll adapt more to this new season. I miss autumn right now and winter has not yet arrived in my soul! Ah well (as Aria would say - like the other day when I walked in and she'd thrown her vegies all over the room... "Ah well... no worries" lol)

With love and light

xxx

Fairy Tale Gals

I've just finished these little girls who look like they come straight out of a fairy tale... The only trouble is, I can't think of which one!

I have tentaltively named them 'Meadow' and 'Sky'  

 Complete with apron - ready for some adventures or to help her Mama with the baking.

It's getting a bit chilly outside so this wee lass dons her olive green scarf for her trip to the Sunday markets

With a lot of encouragement from friends and family, I've decided to create an on line shop (with the help of my very graphic-design-talented man). I'm really excited about this venture which will allow me to focus my new addiction into something productive. Wish me luck!

With Love, Light and Peace 

xxx

This Moment

I am grateful for this moment...

{This Moment} A friday ritual (inspired by soulemama). a single photo capturing a moment from the week. a simple, special, extraordinary moment. a moment to pause, savour and remember.

Felt alive giveaway :)

For anyone wanting to learn the addictive art of needle felting, Kay Petal's 'FELT ALIVE' website is where it's at. Check out this post for her fantastic dvd give away and for the link to her new super duper flash website! I absolutely love her fun and 'alive' approach to this awesome art - so inspiring:)