E a r t h P r i e s t e s s

Super-fast Update!

2012-01-24T17:12:00.000-08:00

Current Weight: 157.6

This is my green smoothie. I think it had bananas, apples, spinach, and blueberries. I do remember that it was delish!!!

I bought some crystallized aloe under the suggestion of one of my clients. The website is http://www.aloeferoxonline.com/ . You can go check out everything they do on your own. You should and probably do already know that it has something to do with bowel health.

Just wanted to give you a close up so that you know what to look for.

This is WONDERFUL!!!. You know I'm a dump cook, but I'll just give you the ingredients. Potatoes, onions that I shredded like noodles with my spiralizer, garlic, curry, kale, vegan bouillon cube, and salt to taste. After everything is cooked and tender take about a 3rd of it out (you decide) and blend it until smooth. Once blend it add it back to the soup pot for a creamy delicious meal that will be both satisfying and healthy.

Now for the highlight of the day. I didn't get to take a picture because my daughter and I were to busy trying to sneak and eat it. My daughter loves kale in any form, but especially kale salad. Well, when we got our delivery today the avocado wasn't ripe. IMPROVISE!!! I cleaned the kale and chopped it rather finely. Put it in a bowl. I added onion and garlic powder, lime juice, horseradish mustard, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast. OMG!!! HONEY!!! That kale had us in the kitchen whispering, chewing, and dancing!!! I thought it could use a little ginger, but baby girl said no to that. Anyway, I really hope this helps you with some meal ideas.

I'm exhausted btw. I stayed up late fooling with my husband. I only walked a mile on the treadmill this morning. I'm scared I'm going to get bored with it, so I'm going to try and get the weighted hoola hoop sooner rather than later.

Peace, love, and regular bowel movements!!!

What To Do With The Vegetable Pulp From The Juicer, Ep99

2012-01-19T16:47:00.000-08:00

Dr. Llaila Afrika: The Path to Holistic Wellness

2012-01-18T17:49:00.000-08:00

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Sweet Potato Pie & The Treadmill

2012-01-18T17:29:00.000-08:00

This will be short. I'm greedy. Sweet potato pie talks. It knows my name. It called. I answered. While my mouth was open to say "huh" it jumped in my mouth. 3 pieces to be exact. I walked 3 miles between 2.0-3.5 per hour at 1-10 incline. My punishment was quite enjoyable and rewarding much to my own surprise. I was listening to RBG Fitclub workout CD. LOVE IT!!!

That is all. Don't judge me. Goodnight.

UGH!!!

2012-01-18T13:50:00.000-08:00

I am starting to realize that I get very irritated when people don't take their health seriously, but pretend like they do. If you are sick and know what you should be doing and choose not to do it, don't tell me. It makes me not even WANT to help you. To be honest I'm like that on everything. If you ask for my help and don't do what I suggest, then please stop asking. I am going through my own issues with eating and getting healthy. I'm tired of being overweight, out of shape, and clogged up. If you aren't then that is just fine with me, but just know that I won't beg you to do better. I won't continue to try and teach you if you don't want to learn.

I...WANT...TO...LIVE!!!

I don't want to die from preventable diseases. I don't want to be the person in the casket that people look at my fat ass and lie saying, "Lawd, she was so young. I can't believe she died from *insert preventable disease of choice here*." I have heard that lie so many times and I am SO sick of it.

I watched Paula Dean today on that cooking show "The Chew". She sittin' up there crying and going on about having diabetes, giving up sweet tea, blah, blah, blah. Then she goes on to say that she has always preached moderation! WHEN?!?! THEN she said gave all these reasons that people can be diabetics, including race which is a steaming pile of bullshit, but conveniently left out diet. Really Paula? Really?

It's time for us to stop choosing to buy into these lies. There are so many people out here that are older than Paula Dean and super healthy because they have discipline! I'm trying to learn from them. I don't want to make anymore excuses. I'm not saying that I won't screw up, but I can say that I won't quit. I am back down to the size I was when I did the MC originally and I did it just by changing my diet and 3 days on the treadmill. I have messed up a few times, but I made up for it. My children WILL NOT bury me before my time. I owe it to them to stay around as long as possible and to slip peacefully to the other side.

Oh, btw, I ate a really good salad with hummus instead of dressing and it was better than I could have ever imagined!!! I'll try to remember to take a picture of it tomorrow...if I don't gobble it down again. That's something else I'm working on.

Khepra Coconut Water Detox Lecture

2012-01-18T12:51:00.000-08:00

Part 1

Part 2

Meet Khepera...

2012-01-18T11:06:00.000-08:00

Please check this brotha out at his website.

Dat Treadmill is da TROOF!

2012-01-16T17:46:00.000-08:00

Weight update: 160.8

Got up this morning...later than usual. Listen I practice celebrating my history 365 so don't judge me for picking today to sleep in. Anyway, I got on that treadmills in that freezing garage and worked until I got a nice sweat going!!! I am in love. I even got grown and jogged a VERY short distance. I am proud of myself because I haven't done any cardio in forever. I did a about 1.25+miles, got my heart rate up and burned about 200+ calories. I came inside showered and did my prayers. I even put some perfume on. I was really feeling good about muhself. ;)

My plan is to do this every morning so that I will think about what I eat. I hope that will make me be more thoughtful about what I put in my mouth. I am working on portion control and eating when bored. Today we didn't formally homeschool and I got bored so I was eating things I shouldn't. I really have to work on that. I have plenty to do, but I am so used to my life centering around my chirren I guess I just fell off.

Thanks to Nikale, I'm bringin' sexy back...hopefully.

On another note, my husband bought me the book Raw Foods on a Budget by Brandi Rollins, M.S.. It is REALLY good so far. It's not just a cookbook. She is really showing you how to afford a healthier lifestyle and avoid being a starchitarian. I hope to implement her ideas while on the journey to health.

http://www.rawfoodsonabudget.com/

Lastly, a client of mine let me try her weighted hoola hoop and I fell in love!!! I want one so bad. The one I found locally is $40. It will be totally worth it when I get $40 to spare. Maybe I can get my Mama to buy it for me as a REALLY birthday present. Yea, maybe I'll try that. I don't ask for stuff very often so she might go for it. Let's all join in a word of prayer for me to get a weighted hoola hoop. What? don't you want me to have a slim sexy waistline?

Bartering is the BOMB!!!

2012-01-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

So, in case you haven't noticed, this lovely country is in a bit of a financial bind. As is commonly said, "If white America has a cold, Black America has the flu." and this is true in the case of the recession. There is good news for those of us that are smart and humble enough to try it. BARTERING STILL EXISTS!!! Guess what I bartered for...I'll wait...

A TREADMILL!!! THANKS NIKALE!!!

Not a old one either, this thing is nice. I am so excited too. I'm going to try it out in the morning. I hope my experience doesn't morph into one of those America's Funniest Home Videos moments.

Btw, since I can never seem to post a blog lately without mention of my bowels, I'll tell you that I'm up because it took longer than usual for my prune juice to kick in and so I'm sitting up with the bubble guts. Reason #539 why enemas are better!

Breakthrough-An Inspiring Raw Food Documentary

2012-01-15T15:48:00.000-08:00

An Enema Saved My LIFE!!!

2012-01-12T16:04:00.000-08:00

So yesterday I was is quite a state. My innards were bloated, and I was burpin' and fartin' uncontrollably...aw quit lookin' at me like you ain't neva been in the same situation. I wrote all about it here. Well, I was finally able do my enema. I took it in 3 separate times to empty the bag, but let me tell you, it was worth it!!!

Most times I am a prune juice kinda sista. I mean I really still like it alot because I don't have to set aside private time, which is hard to come by around here, to do it. It can, however, get pretty explosive and can leave your stomach gurgling for quite a while after the major expulsion has taken place. I have learned to just use it as a regulator though. What can I say? I like prune juice.

The difference with the enema is that you are almost immediately relieved from your gastrointestinal discomfort. I can take a while to finish, but still not as long, start to finish, as the prune juice. I told my friend Mushirah that I try to read a chapter of Dick Gregory while I massage my abdomen and let the lemon juice break down the mucus coating my intestines. I noticed such a huge difference!!! I actually felt energetic and light! I took my shower and came out dancing. FYI/TMI I lost about a pound of waist. I'm starting to wander if I can do this every day until I am pretty much all cleanse of old waste. I'll have to find time to ask Mushirah. Bless her heart, I can be such a nag, but her class on enemas literally changed my life!

Master Cleanse?

2012-01-11T15:45:00.000-08:00

Okay, so although I am doing better than I was (which isn't saying much) I think I need to suck it up and do MC. I really hate it, I must say. Well honestly what I hate is the constant sweet taste of the lemonade. I don't even bother with the salt water flush. If you checkout www.soulvegfolk.com you'll find a lovely post with a lot of input in the comments. I have used it as a jumping off point in the past and looks like that might just be my "thing". I've also been reading the Dick Gregory book and he is heavy on fasting so I feel hyped up for it.

I am noticing when I have combined foods incorrectly, and can't figure out how I never noticed this before. I'm sure I noticed, but I didn't realize that it wasn't normal. For example, I woke up all slim this morning...well slimmer. I put on my jeans and thought that maybe I'd worn them and hung them back up by mistake, but nope I've lost weight. I sashayed by my husband and he commented *shoulder back, chin up, extra hip sway* and I was really feeling myself. Then I ate lunch. I was SO good and by most people's judgement very healthy. Then for dessert about an hour or two later I made orange sorbet. Delish!!! Some time later I drank some prune juice. Okay, still doing well. Dinner before dark as per the Queen (Queen Afua). Apparently, the prune juice was still there and it mixed with the leftovers and...*burp, fart, bulch, burp, burp, faaaaarrrrt*. My stomach was literally getting bigger by the minute. I've gone from slim and sexy to suffering from Dunlap Syndrome. You know, when you belly dun lapped over your belt. I have to unbutton my formerly sexy jeans for the sake of my children. I mean, if a button pops they could be seriously injured!!! Thank GOD I put vinegar in my water, other wise this gas would set off the smoke alarm and the carbon monoxide detector. All I want at this point is an enema, but no! I can't do it because my husband is writing and is to be undisturbed. As I type this my major organs are being pushed out of position by gas building in my torso. If you don't see a post from me in the next couple of days, just know that I've exploded.

Please learn about food combinations...

All over the place...

2012-01-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

I'm all over the place. I still don't know exactly what to do concerning this cleanse. I have been doing the enemas I haven't eaten any meat products to include dairy. I am finding it extremely hard to eat raw with the cold weather. I just can't do it.

The reality for me is that I despise cold weather and eating less-than-hot food is not working for me. Now I'm starting to think soups and smoothies and making sure that I incorporate a salad with each meal. Btw, I also have, and have always had, sensitive teeth. That means when cold hits these lovely chompers it just doesn't go well.

I have come to realize that I have had to start back at square one. I had a headache last night through to this morning and I really shouldn't be having them from just eating raw. Why am I having them? Because I started eating meat again over the holidays. Now, I realize that while it was delicious and fun, my body is mad as hell at me. I am going to give myself 7 days to get used to vegan again, and then hopefully I will be ready for adding more raw. Hopefully by the end of it I will be doing raw soups or something. Who knows? I really am simply playing this one by ear. I guess one of the major lessons of this cleanse is that I am learning to listen to my body...

2nd Enema & Today's Weight

2012-01-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

Weight: 162.2lbs

First of all I am so very excited about the continued weight loss. Especially after during a homeschool activity the children took a pic and put my second chin all on front street!

At least I have pretty teeth...maybe it will distract people from my supplementary chin

On to the good stuff. So, last night I didn't get to do an enema because I had a client kind of late in the evening and by the time I was finished I didn't feel like doing it. I drank prune juice this morning and didn't get ANY results. I also drank fresh cranberry juice, water, lemon water, and an apple/kiwi smoothie...nothing. Idk what was going on. I did the enema during a time when the chirren are doing independent work. This time I added the juice of two lemons and decided that I was going to hold the water until I couldn't hold it anymore. I also decided to take my Dick Gregory book with me to help me relax. It's called "Dick Gregory's Natural Diet for Folks Who Eat: Cookin' with Mother Nature". Good stuff. I have to admit that having something else to focus on really helped. It still took my 3 separate times to empty the whole bag, but I feel that it was more productive than it was yesterday.

I realize that some may still have an aversion to enemas and to be honest my body still involuntarily clenches at insertion, but like I explained to my children it's worth it for your health. It's funny that we will eat until we have stomach aches, eat mucus causing foods during sickness, eat food that will cause us indigestion, etc., but will not do something like this that could improve all of that. Now, I'm not saying that you should just eat whatever you want and then do an enema. I just mean to say with all of the other discomforts that we cause ourselves that don't benefit us, let's try incorporating one that does have endless benefits.

Here's what I made yesterday...

2012-01-03T14:04:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post pics of some of my eats yesterday.

This is my raw avocado soup that later became a dip. DELISH!!! Ingredients: Avocado, water, & seasonings. Unless you want it cold, leave it in the blender for a while to heat it up.

This is my new favorite toy. I love this thing!!!

This is my morning meal most of the time and dessert sometime. It's blueberries, bananas, strawberries, and water. So simple, yet so healthy and delicious!!!

WARNING: This will be a TMI post

2012-01-03T10:53:00.000-08:00

Greetings Family!!!

Yesterday's weight: Pre-colon flush-169.4
After flush-166.4
Today's weight: 163.8

I'd like to thank Mushirah for her enema lesson at the cleanse meeting. She took the ignorance out of it, but I must admit that the trepidation remained. I set a goal to do my enema last night. I figured that way if I things didn't go well I was at home with no place to go.

So this is how it went. I put the juice of one whole lemon in filtered warm water into my 2 quart enema bag. I hung the bag and laid two towels on the floor close to the toilet. Lube, insert, and release water...well now that's a strange feeling. I could feel coolnesst going through my intestines (I'll make the water warmer next time) and I started to hear and feel things shifting. When I got to the full feeling. I stopped and massaged my abdomen which must have allowed the water to go higher into the intestine, because the full feeling left. At this point I had a really stupid thought of the water going too far and coming out of my mouth! EW! Poop water in my mouth! Yea, I completely forgot everything I know about human anatomy. Don't judge me. I got up to go to the bathroom and realized that I hadn't held it long enough. It was fine this time though because I'd had entirely too much prune just so I was already pretty cleaned out. I must say, however, that the water when up high enough to get some waste from somewhere. I laid down and finished the bag. Well, at that point I was like, "Shoot I can do this with prune juice and not have to feel all violated." That was until this morning.

With my squeaky clean colon my morning water rushed straight through. I felt the churning, but knew I had time for my prayers so I did that. Once I was done I was ready to "evacuate" my bowels.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TMI WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG!!! Y'all the biggest glob of mucus came out. Now with all that prune juice I had yesterday it didn't move a bit of mucus, but that enema knocked something loose. Now, I must say that I still didn't like doing the enema, but it can definitely see it's usefulness. Especially if you are sick. I also saw what Dick Gregory was talking about when he said that every organ in our body has a corresponding area in the colon. I would say then that an enema is like acupuncture using the colon. As the water was navigating the twists and turns of my colon it would feel tingles or sensations in other parts of my body. It was pretty interesting to say the least.

I will be doing this again tonight and hopefully it will work out the things that I felt I should've done differently.

Drum Roll Please!!!

2012-01-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

Today is my first day. Here are my stats and they are pretty bad in my honest opinion.
Height: 5'2"
Weight: *Pre-colon flush-169.4 After flush 166.4
Chest: 39"
Waist: 37"
Hips: 43"
*Lemme explain the reason for doing two weights. I knew that I was constipated from all the meat, dairy, etc that I ate over the holidays. I have often read that people lose weight just from flushing their colons. I lost about 3lbs of waste this morning and although the pics don't look like it my stomach is not near as distended as it was.

Anyway, here are the pictures...I must really love y'all and myself to be doing this...

My goal for this picture is to get rid of the 2nd chin. There should only be one chin per face and I have exceeded that limit. I would also like to see the love handles go. Why? Because fat on your torso is EXTREMELY dangerous and eventually deadly.

Okay, this should be obvious. My freakin' chin is just ridiculously out of control. Back fat and "mama arms" gotta go. And the 4 months preggo look ain't cute since my children are 8 and 12. Sorry y'all that ain't a baby OR baby fat, and it shole ain't Baby Phat. lol

So far this morning I have had a ton of prune juice and am now working on drinking my powered Master Cleanse mix which my friend Mushirah was right about. It is NOT good. It really just tastes like I am drinking cayenne water. I am going to finish it because I bought it, but I must admit that I am disappointed about $20 worth.

After going to the bathroom about 3lbs worth this morning, I've found that I am trying to talk myself out of the enema, but I think it has more to do with the unknown. I'm going to do it because I have let you all know what it's like.

I haven't decided it I will allow myself a smoothie this evening or not. We'll see how everything goes. This will be a cleanse of listening to my body, so nothing is set is stone except the fact that we need to be able to be prune juice in bulk. Any ideas?

Btw, I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I cleanse with a group of women. LOVE THEM! I was thinking of asking them to guest blog to tell their experiences with cleansing. We'll see if they are interested. I hope so.

Forgot to mention that the white stuff on my pants is cleaner. I am also cleaning my house along with the cleanse so that in the end I will have a cleanse body and a decluttered house. This is coming from the book by Queen Afua called "Heal Thyself". I am doing this in conjunction with an online group.

Welcome to 2012!!!

2012-01-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad that I'm not one of those people that believes that whatever you are doing when the New Year begins is what you will be doing the rest of the year because that would mean that 2012 is going to be a jacked up year. lol

Tonight is the last night of Kwanzaa so we will be celebrating with a Karamu feast and watching the movie "The Help". I'm really excited because some people who weren't able to come will be coming tonight and bringing lots of food. Yes, I will be eating whatever I want. Yes, I will be drinking prune juice first thing in the morning to flush my system and begin my cleanse.

I am still very unclear about what my cleanse will consist of. I know that it will be vegan and be as raw as possible. Either tonight or tomorrow I will take my pictures so you will be able to track my progress. Imma tell you in advance that I ain't hidin' NOTHING. Just like most of you, I look really good in my clothing because it covers the rolls, pots, etc. I'm going to take pics in yoga pants and a tank. It ain't gone be pretty. lol I just think that it's important to be honest.

So far my days will look like this:

Get up & shower etc
Pray
Get warm lemon water
Drink prune juice
Drink water
Drink smoothie
Meditate/Yoga with kids
School with the kids
P.E. with kids
Prep lunch with kids & eat
School
Dinner
Read
Enema
Dry brushing
Shower
Bed

I'm really excited and nervous at the same time. Either way, let's go y'all!!!

Raw Cauliflower Popcorn #40

2011-12-31T19:40:00.000-08:00

Yea, so about those 366 days...

2011-12-27T19:35:00.000-08:00

In God's infinite knowledge this is a Leap Year. Why is it a Leap Year? Because I can still get in 365 days and still get to participate in the Karamu feast that we are having on January 1 for Kwanzaa. I will be starting on the 2nd although I will be taking a laxative tea that night and an enema the next morning.

Anywhoo, just thought I'd take a moment of honesty with you all.

Nubia Answers Questions on Taking Vitamins, My Daily Food Intake and Why...

2011-12-27T19:27:00.000-08:00

Vitamix Blender

2011-12-26T14:12:00.000-08:00

First of all I would like to wish you all Heri za Kwanzaa (Happy Kwanzaa)!!! Habari Gani? Umoja!!!

Just wanted to drop in with a quickie. I used my Vitamix for the first time today and honey, that thang is tha troof!!! OMG!!! I love it!!! Of course I'll do more on it later, but I made carrot apple smoothies with cinnamon and my husband had cayenne in his. They were delish and immediately caused a bowel movement. TMI? Well too bad because that's part of good health! lol

6 days 'til 366

2011-12-25T16:26:00.000-08:00

Hi family!!! I am so excited about starting my 366 days to health. Now, I will warn you in advance, if you aren't already aware, I am not the most consistent person so this is going to be a BIG lesson in discipline. I am going to make my best effort to apply and try everything I know about health to my own life.

Like many of you I have completely over done it and thrown caution to the wind this holiday season. I have even been eating meat *gasp* and yes I enjoyed it. The results of my negative dietary turn have been as follows:

Weight gain
Sluggishness
Mucus build-up
Coated tongue
Stinky poop
Constipation
Skin Eruptions
Headaches
Painful Periods
Longer Periods
Indigestion
Gas
Bloating

Although I don't push other people to be vegan I know that my body functions MUCH better when I am a well balanced vegan. The reason I was able to notice all of the symptoms listed above is because they went away on a vegan diet.

My change will start with a cleanse. I'm thinking MC because it is the best for getting fast results. Then I want to move on to a combination of smoothies, juices, teas, and of course water. BTW, my husband bought me a Vitamix blender which I am SO excited about. It comes with a ton of recipes that are SUPER simple. I am SO excited about feeling better. I am also going to add exercise back into my day EVERY day in some way...well that's my goal. I want a rebounder too. They look SO fun.

I will be uploading some vids, pictures, measurements, and updates on how my health is improving.

Yoga for Your Cycle

2011-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

Fell off...again

2011-12-03T06:53:00.000-08:00

Here's the story/excuse. Our children have been involved in this wonderful 10 week program and between the 2 of them they have been taking 3 classes. One of the classes was an acting class. My son LOVES to be seen, thrives off of attention, and has no concept of what it means to be embarrassed. My daughter likes to be seen on her own terms, likes getting attention in familiar settings, and is easily embarrassed. Somehow in this play my son ends up with a non-speaking part and my daughter with a speaking role. He was a munchkin from Munchkin Land and she played the OZ!!! What is the world?! When I found out I went with it. They've seen The Wiz, but never the Wizard of Oz, but they are similar enough that my daughter knew that she had a pretty major role. Last night as we sat in the pews and watched the displays from the other classes my heart began to ache for my daughter. I watched my dichotomous children as one smiled endlessly while the other fought back tears. I wanted to save her. I wanted to sit on the front row and rock her, but I knew that my hug would release a river of tears. Tonight would have to be the night that she learned what kind of women she is birthed from. I, for once, wouldn't be her savior. Well the first time she had to go on stage was for her photography class. To my surprise they had to stand up and read from a card about the various type of photography they'd learned about. Her voice and articulation were AMAZING!!! As of late we have had to ask her to stop mumbling so I was in a state of pure bliss. Not to mention, this child is gorgeous. Beauty AND brains? Um...yea...that's how we grow 'em in our family. Thank ya kindly. Anyway, when she sat down she went back into panic mode and I went back into savior mode. We both fought our respective battles in silence. The play began and when her part came I kept sending her "you-can-do-this-because-you-come-from-strong-women-and-3-of-us-are-here-to-support-you" vibes. Her part began behind a curtain because as you recall The Oz is hidden at first. When her voice boomed through the sanctuary I started to tear up and swell with pride. HONEY!!! That's MY BABY!!! Then in the play when they discovered that The Oz was just a person, I braced myself because now she was in front of the audience. HONEY? She played that part like only a sista could. I thought I was watching The Wiz with a strong female leading role!!! Tears flowing, I look at my husband who is fighting tears too. Y'all don't understand. This child didn't break out of her shell. She melted that that bad boy and was bathed in feminine flyness when she emerged. I was just so amazed my her.

At this point I know you are wondering what all this has to do with me falling off right? Well, as I've told you we eat for every occasion. Don't judge me. We went to Razzoo's and they are NOT known for vegetarian ANYTHING!!! Okay plus, I was ill prepared and was eating out of raw emotion. Shoot, I was crying while I was typing this post. I have got to learn how to separate food and emotion.

Getting started...Again

2011-12-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

Don't know if I ever told you, but you should always prep for a cleanse if you don't want to suffer crisis. Now, I'm talking about a "real" cleanse, not just giving up a little something. A cleanse where you are going totally raw, juicing, smoothies, teas, etc. I am doing a 21 day cleanse January 1, but my body was like, "Well, you at least need to get back on track a lil bit first. Don'tcha think?" So I'm doing just that. I'm not making any major promises because we are still in the throws of the Helladay--I mean Holiday season. I don't hate the holidays, I hate how people act during them...and I hate how I eat!

All that to say, I am going to get back on track with my striving for vegan, but settling for vegetarian lifestyle until the cleanse. Wait. Did I forget to tell you that I ate turkey for Native American Holocaust Day--I mean Thanksgiving? Yea, I did. Not only did I eat it, I carved not one, but 2 birds up!!!

This morning I started my day with a double dose of detox tea. About 10am I ate quinoa that I cooked in veggie broth. Toward the end of the quinoa cooking I added some mushrooms that I marinated and dehydrated last night. For my greens I had 2 dishes. I steamed broccoli and carrots that I chopped up last night. I also wilted some kale with sundried tomatoes and green bell pepper. Last but not least, I made a lil dipping sauce for no reason other than I felt like it. It was made of horseradish mustard, Worcestershire sauce, avocado, lemon juice, vinegar (because I didn't have enough lemon juice), cayenne, and a lil salt. DA BOMB!!!!!!!

Please excuse the little smudge on the side of the bowl. I was trying to create a pretty presentation, but I was too hungry.

SA-ROC TV: THE 2 WEEK DETOX JOURNEY

2011-11-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

366

2011-11-29T13:26:00.000-08:00

I have an idea. Don't get to excited, because I have a lot of random ideas, but I think this is a good one. Again, don't get excited because I tend to be pretty flighty and inconsistent. Okay, here's the idea. Are you ready? You sure? Now, let's remember that this is ONLY an idea.

Insert really dramatic drum roll here...

I want to document the year starting with January 1. I am going to start changing my life on January 1. During the coming year I will be making major lifestyle changes, homeschooling full time, consistently teaching hair classes, starting a Rite of Passage program for girls, and considering one for women. My goal is to document all of it to keep myself accountable! I am so excited about the things I have planned. I'm going to be really busy, but hopefully really happy. I am a teacher more than anything else and that is what makes me happy and lawd knows I need some happiness right now. What say you?

Btw 366 because 2012 is a leap year.

$5 and no groceries

2011-11-28T12:18:00.000-08:00

At first I was embarrassed to post this, but I think that it may serve as an encouragement to others at some point. We are not, in my humble opinion, truly suffering from the recession but we are feeling it.

Here's the story. I was ordering my veggies weekly from the organic delivery service. Well, that ran me about $50 a week. Sounds like a lot, but we were mainly only eating what came in the box which meant that my grocery bill was vegan, organic, and regulated for the most part. My husband suggested that we change to receiving orders every other week to save money. Even though I didn't like it I did it, recognizing that I can be a little spoiled at times. I am the only one that shops for grocery or cooks, thus, I am the only one that knows what it costs to feed the family. He, however, is the one that pays all the bills. This was a lesson for me in balance and learning to figure things out together. Last week was the off week. If not for Thanksgiving leftovers we wouldn't have had any food. So today I kept looking in my cabinets feeling discouraged and stressed because feeding my family falls to me. As I looked in my cabinet I saw pintos and boxes of cornbread. In the fridge I found 1/2 of a very large purple onion. I decided that I was going to make pintos, purple slaw, and cornbread. I didn't have eggs, cabbage, or mayo. Remember I had $5.

I went to the store and bought a small head of cabbage for $1.29 and then there was a problem. The smallest jar of mayo was $3. As I stood there trying to figure out what to do, I saw that there was a large jar of mayo that was 2 for $6 WITH A $.35 coupon!!! I took my two items to the front and with the coupon my total was $4.94. As I drove home disappointed about not having eggs for cornbread I remembered something wonderful!!! I have egg replacer!!! Basically it is a vegan way to replace eggs! It's a flour and basically you just use 1.5 Tbsp replacer + 2 Tbsp water to equal 1 egg.

Long story short, too late I know, the meal was delicious AND healthy. Unfortunately my husband, the one that I was most excited to impress, got sick to his stomach and didn't eat any of it. I was so disappointed. I still popped my collar a bit at my ingenuity.

YAHCNA'S VEGAN MEATY SPAGHETTI (GLUTEN AND SOY FREE)

2011-11-28T08:28:00.000-08:00

I'm fat...again.

2011-11-27T16:23:00.001-08:00

I could really do without celebrating Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I LOVE my family and I LOVE getting together with them for ANY reason. Well, like most families, when we get together we do so across a food filled table. This is especially true during the holidays.

I have found that I have MAJOR problems eating well during the holidays. I have been miserably full since Thursday. For whatever reason I having problems realizing that I simply don't need as much food anymore. My stomach capacity is less than it once was.

In my usual form I am not going to complain without having a plan. I have started reading "Heal Thyself" by Queen Afua. What I have already gleaned from this is that I will cleanse/fast every month for my holy day. What is my holy day? The date I was born on. Will also cleanse with the seasons, but for this season it will start after Kwanzaa because I am trying to realistic. I might start after Christmas...I'm not sure. My husband is also blessing me with a Vitamix blender!!! YES!!! I AM GETTING A VITAMIX!!!!!! I am so excited!!! I am going to start with replacing one meal a day with a green smoothie, but my goal will be 2 times a day. For whatever reason I have an issue with driving to take an exercise class, but I know I need to do so to get myself back on track. I am going to go back to my African dance classes. I have also found a studio that I can take yoga for $5. So I may be able to get totally in shape for $66 a week. $50 box of food, $6 dance class, and 2 $5 yoga classes.

The other thing I am going to change is that I'm going to start keep track of my improvements. Usually I am totally anti-scales and measurements. Well, clearly that hasn't worked. I am going to take pictures of myself monthly and document my measurements and weight weekly. Hopefully, this will help because I really need to do something different. I am miserable AGAIN!!! This has got to stop. This is a family problem and if I want to prevent it in my children then I have to figure this thing out. If you have any suggestions, please let me know what they are.

Aris Latham Speaks - Clark Atlanta - The Electromagnetic Energy of Food

2011-11-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

DIY Homemade Hydroponic Vertical Garden and Urban Farm in South Florida

2011-11-20T17:31:00.000-08:00

Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Install from Start to Finish

2011-11-20T16:42:00.000-08:00

Brother Polight And Family Speak On Polygamy And Health For The Black Co...

2011-11-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

Cancer, cancer, and more cancer...

2011-11-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

I don't know if I ever mentioned this before, but my family has a history of cancer. A LOT of cancer and seems to start at every young ages such as 30s and 40s. It consist of just about every kind you can think of. Recently, my aunt went and got genetic counseling done and found that she carried a gene for breast and reproductive cancers. One of her 2 daughters got tested also. One daughter tested positive while the other tested negative. Now, of course, my mother wants my sister and I to go. I haven't talked to my sister, who btw has already had breast cancer. Wait, maybe she doesn't even have to go because she already had it. Anyway, I am a little leery about getting tested. If I don't have the gene it also means that my daughter is free and clear, but if I do have it then the saga continues. I have decided that I'm not going to have cancer because I'm tired of seeing what it does to people. My cousin is dying from it as I type. I'm full of regret, but it doesn't matter now I guess. The best I can do it glean from what she told me and move forward.

I feel more pressure than ever to dive into a vegan life style and eventually move toward raw. The problem is simple. I am petrified of what I see going on around me in my family. What do strong emotions do? They make me what to eat!!! Eat what? Starch.

I just needed to vent. I don't need any answers, not that anybody reads this. lol I have to find a way to preventatively heal myself and my family.

Pictures!!!

2011-10-25T14:18:00.000-07:00

Troy Davis = Naomi Winfrey

2011-10-02T16:28:00.000-07:00

Solove Concord,NC police brutality

2011-10-02T16:26:00.000-07:00

My bowel movements now!

2011-09-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

This is a continuation from my last post. So I made a salad for dinner and that is just what the wholistic practioner ordered! The cleanse pills I take have both a stimulant and fiber. I guess without food the fiber didn't have anything to bulk up. So I will be trying to do everything raw and still have maybe only one meal a day. This is a little more difficult than usually because my food processor broke. *insert sad yet pissed off face here* I am going to push through however.

On another note. I am thinking about trying to take grain out of my diet eventually and just eat fruits, veggies, and seeds (quinoa). What do you think?

Fall Detox and Cleansing 2011-Day 3ish

2011-09-25T09:21:00.000-07:00

So here I am on day 3ish and I'm feeling fine. Sippin' on warm lemon water which is good for your liver and alkalinization (don't know if that's a word) I have made a few observations. If I use the pills that make you go to the bathroom apparently I need something more solid than teas and such. I haven't decided what to do about that, but I will soon. If my spiralizer was here already I would make some raw stuff. I'm thinking of making some smooth soups or something. Like a squash or tomato soup. Maybe even a bean soup. Idk. Like I said I'm still trying to sort it out. The reason I realized that I need something on my stomach was that last night I got hungry and made myself a banana smoothie. As soon as it hit my stomach I felt my intestines wake up. Once I drank it I had to go to the bathroom twice. I realize that people don't want to talk about poop and such, but bowel health is important so get over it.

Anyway, I just wanted to give you an update.

Fall Detox and Cleansing 2011-Day 1.5

2011-09-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

So about day 1...I forgot ALL about it!!! I was suppose to start on Friday and I totally forgot until a fellow cleanser messaged me on FB to ask me a question! All I'd eaten up to the point was a vegan bean soup I made that was delish! Anyhoo, when I realized it I went liquid for the rest of the day. I have been drinking protein smoothies, water, water with vitamin C in it (I'll tell you about that down below), teas, and natural juices. I feel fine so far. I haven't been looking at food too much, although that will change Tuesday because I started the organic food delivery again. The make matters worse they are sending avocados. Today I bought more tea because the detox tea I bought yesterday had senna in it and I DON'T need anything else to make me go to the bathroom.

*Prepare for a very looooooooong side note on the vitamin C and other stuff*

Okay, so I have a piercing allergy to nickel. That means that I can't get pierced with it, but I can wear it once I am all healed up. Anyway, I got my ears pierced with earrings that were supposed to be nickel free, but I started itching, blistering, etc., but I was determined to leave them in. I bought some earrings from this website made from niobium which is for super sensitive people. As soon as I put them in my ears stopped itching, but I had to fight what I think was a slight infection. I don't have insurance so I found some antibiotics that weren't expired and started using them, but they didn't seem to be working. I remembered hearing about high doses of vitamin C being good for infection and having NO ill effects on the body. While I was in Healthy Home Market I asked a lady what she would suggest. She suggested collidial silver internally and externally. I have been applying it to my ear, taking it twice a day, and taking about 4000mg of Vitamin C. In less than 24 hours I have seen a HUGE improvement!!! The swelling has gone down, my gland isn't swollen anymore, no more redness, or pus!!! Basically my lack of health insurance has pushed me toward healthier more wholistic medicine. Now I just have to get some probiotics to counter the antibiotics I took.

My Raw Pasta Dish Yummmmy

2011-09-24T13:29:00.000-07:00

Zucchini Spaghetti

2011-09-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

Fall Detox and Cleansing 2011

2011-09-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings!!! I know it's been a while. I've had a lot of nothing going on. I have my overeating under control more than I did, which I am very excited about. I am back on my vegan path which has caused immediate, although not dramatic, weight loss. I am having one problem though, I am always tired and my lower back has started to hurt. I don't know what that's about.

On to the good stuff. Yesterday I made another go at having a cleanse meeting. I was a SUCCESS!!! I had 6 people to come. I made it a pot luck and everybody brought REALLY good stuff!!! The conversation was nice and relaxed and I got to share almost everything on my list. We are going to meet again at the half way mark for the sake of encouraging each other.

For my 10 days, I'm thinking of doing prune juice, teas, and alkaline water. It know it will be hard, but I'm going to try it and see how things go. More updates later!

Dr Sebi Eat 2 Live or Eat 2 Die - Full 2/2

2011-08-21T18:15:00.000-07:00

Dr Sebi Eat 2 Live or Eat 2 Die - Full 1/2

2011-08-21T16:43:00.000-07:00

Fall Detox and Cleansing 09/19 by EYES WIDE OPEN RADIO | Blog Talk Radio

2011-08-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Listen to internet radio with EYES WIDE OPEN RADIO on Blog Talk Radio

Picture Update

2011-04-18T18:00:00.000-07:00

We were on our way to a beautiful wedding that we were REALLY honored and excited to be a part of. Titus decided to take the pic, probably because I don't put on "real" clothes that often between work and homeschooling. Anyway, this old standby outfit is a good gauge for me to measure my size as it use to be a lil' snug to say the least. Anyway, just thought I'd give you a lil update.

Do you like Wendy's new NATURAL fries? Read this...

2011-04-17T17:04:00.001-07:00

http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112557/wendys-natural-cut-fries-bnet

Look What I Made!!!

2011-04-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

As you know I am making an effort to do the Lifeit Raw Food Detox. Today I made what I consider to be my first complete meal. When I tell you it was delicious, I mean every word. You must try these recipes!!!

Creamy Kale Pre-massage. I could have eaten it right then and it took all I had not to eat it. SN, don't add any extra salt. 1 tsp is plenty as it turns out. You are going to love this dish!!!

This is the Creamy Kale after being "massaged". David begged to have more after a little taste. Mari really loved it too. I want to see if my carnivorous niece likes it. Then I will know it's the bomb!!!

I can't even express how good this tastes. You just have to take 15 minutes out of your day and make it yourself!!!

Here it is all plated up. I knocked the chill of the marinara as suggested at the end of the video above. It tasted so flavorful and fresh. It feels good to know exactly what is in your food.

I know. I know. You hate okra. Well, I hated okra until I grew and made my own last summer, and now I'm sold. Anyway, this dish actually had me addicted...literally. It is totally raw and totally packed with flavor. This is from the Lifeit detox.

I was so excited to find organic stuff for cheap at my local Food Lion grocery store. I use the ground flax seed along with ground chia seeds in my banana smoothies. It makes them really thick and tasty. I made on for dessert today and used coconut water in place of my usual almond milk.

Yea, I know it's not organic, but it IS cold pressed and it IS available at my local Food Lion. Oh, AND, it was ON SALE!!!

Replacing MC with Raw Food Detox

2011-04-12T16:00:00.000-07:00

I was sitting here sipping my "lemonade" and thinking about how the whole thing felt pointless. I didn't see a major difference the last time, but I didn't know what else to do. The other thing is that the point is to change my diet. Anyway, I talked to my husband about it he agreed that it was time for me to move forward from MC. I purchased the Lifeit 7 day detox packet and so far I am very pleased.

I broke my very short MC detox with a BEAUTIFUL salad. I made a dressing out of avocado, maple syrup, garlic, onion power, water, evoo, a lil salt, and a lil braggs. OMG!!! The dressing was sooooooo goooooood. My husband put it on the black bean burgers I made. BTW, this time I marinated some mushrooms in Bragg's Amino Acids before putting it in the bbb. I was eating the mushrooms while making the bbb because they were amazing...just wanted to put that out. I'm thinking that next time I might marinate and then dehydrate them. *wipes drool*

Anyway, just wanted to update you on the change.

The evening of the 1st day of MC 2011

2011-04-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, so as you can tell from the vids I've been posting, I want to eat already. lol I've had a headache already, and in the spirit of transparency, yes I took something for it. Hell, I couldn't see. It was better for me take something than land in the emergency...again. I need to do this though. I really do. I can't wait to get started on the Lifeit Detox.

I am really excited about getting this vegan thing right finally. The main thing I need to focus on is planning and preparation. I totally messed up Sunday at Mama's house. I ate 2 plates of mac and cheese, broccoli casserole, white beans, string beans, sliced tomatoes, and bread. Oh, and I also ate some strawberry delight. Oh, and I also drank some Appletini before the prune juice before going to bed. lol

Now that we've had true confessions, let's move forward. So, I'm going to drink my prune juice before I go to bed again. I'll try to do it literally before I lady down in hopes that I don't have any interruptions in my sleep.

Indian Jambalaya

2011-04-11T17:31:00.000-07:00

Making Sun Dried Tomatoes

2011-04-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

Raw Recipe: Spicy Mustard Greens Soup

2011-04-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

Raw Greens

2011-04-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

Menstrual Cups!!!

2011-04-11T12:22:00.000-07:00

I was talking to a friend of mine that is about to get married on Saturday!!! YAY!!! I'm so excited! Anyway, she was saying that her cycle started today. Luckily she has a short light cycle that should be off before her night of fun, but this led to a conversation about my Diva Cup. I didn't realize that I'd never told her about it. I won't do you the same injustice. I love it so much more than pads or tampons!!!

Here are two vids that compare the different name brands. I have only used the Diva Cup, so that's all I can speak on.

Why use something like this? For me it comes down to ease and the environment. Unlike pads and tampons, there is no leakage once you get the technique down. There is a learning curve to this. It doesn't flip your uterus inside out when you remove it. You don't have to change it as often so you don't have to watch the clock to keep your white pants white. As far as the environment is concerned, on menstrual cup will replace hundreds of pads and tampons in landfills. You only have to replace it once a year.

Please if you have any questions about my experience with this lovely little item let me know. Nothing is too personal, so go on and ask me. :)

I

Master Cleanse Day 1-Spring 2011

2011-04-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

So last night I ended my night with 8 oz of prune juice. I did have a lil scare last night, but it was nothing. lol

This morning I drank 8 more oz of prune juice. As soon as my stomach began to let me know that the prune juice was working, my son and hubby decided that they needed to use the bathroom. I decided that I would use the one in our bedroom because I knew my hubby would be moving faster as he had been up for a while already. Um, no. He decided to discuss the fact that I should've told our son to get out of the bathroom so I could use it. All I heard was blah, blah, blah, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...I finally made it with no problem. That is the difference between the prune juice and salt water. There would have been NO waiting around with the salt water flush. NONE.

I have chosen to use lime to start with...

Let me back up. My intention was to start this yesterday, like I did, but I almost didn't do it because I didn't have time to go the Home Economist yesterday. So, I didn't get to get anything organic. :( Harris Teeter did have a bag of limes on sale and that is how I ended up doing lime juice first. These lil things did have any juice. I used a whole bag on a gallon of "lemonade". I'm going to have to go back out today and get the good stuff.

I bought some veggies for hubby since he claims he is going to go raw while I do MC. We'll see. I didn't buy a lot of stuff, but I bought stuff that could be either a burrito-type-of-thing or a salad-type-of-thing. The point is that I purchased things that he can make himself. We'll see how it goes.

Master Cleanse and a lil bit more...

2011-04-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

So, I think I'm going to MC tomorrow. There will be some changes this time. I am going to start with prune juice tonight and in the morning. The reason? Because I don't have time to get the tea and prune juice works better imho. I have a client in the morning and will be starting the prune juice early enough to "get it all out" before starting her hair. I will do the "lemon" as directed. I will be doing it for a minimum of 10 days as usual.

After completing my 10 days on MC, I will go raw for a minimum of 7 days with the Lifeit Detox. To be honest idk what I will do after that. My goal is to go vegan. This time of the year makes it a lot easier. I do, however, have to plan ahead for winter because that is when I have strong cravings for dairy and starch as my comfort food.

Another goal of mine is to back off the starches. The only way to rid myself of this belly is to lessen my intake of starch. I have noticed when I take this step, I don't really lose weight, but my stomach is flatter. Trying to keep from looking and feeling like this again.

I wanna get back to looking and feeling like this...

These pics came from this post.

My Jewelry

2011-04-08T16:42:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share a slide show of my jewelry. The majority of what I create is one of a kind and intended to be as unique as you are. If you like what you see and would like to purchase some piece visit me at http://www.etsy.com/shop/abenaevolving?ref=si_shop

Pics!!!

2011-04-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

My breakfast this morning. Quinoa and a ton of veggies!!!

Bought 6 more block to finish bed, only to realize that they were smaller, but it still worked out! Yay!

Newspaper to assist in keeping weeds from rearing their ugly lil' heads.

Kids helping...well most of the time anyway. lol

Taking a break. Notice the lil' one had his glove on. The right tool for the right job. ;)

Y'all what is this? It looks like a bee fly hybrid.

All done!!! Time to make another box!!! Donations can be sent to my paypal account. Thanks.

Aren't they cute?

Breakin' breakfast rules...

2011-04-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

This morning I was supposed to do my 3 mile walk, but hubby wanted to sleep a lil late. I was hungry and decided to drink some water, because I didn't want to walk with food on my stomach...something I read. I drank my chlorophyll water. Of course that's when hubby decided to rise. He told me that I should be okay for a 45 minute walk. I doubted it, but tried anyway. At the .5 mile marker, I already had to pee. I called and told him I was on my way back.

That being said, I don't know I why I said all that, but I've decided not to eat cereal, oatmeal, or fruit. I know I should eat something like that, but I'm not. I'm eating quinoa with California veggie mix. I burned on pot of quinoa trying to type out this post, but I put another one on. lol Do you think that was an omen from the vegan breakfast gods?

Billion Acts of Green Contest

2011-04-07T18:06:00.000-07:00

This is my African Dance teacher. I love her even more now!!!

Black Bean Burgers take two.

2011-04-06T15:11:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I tried the black bean burgers again. This time I used the second recipe found here. They turned out really tasty. I did add mushrooms because I have a mushroom addiction. They fam said they enjoyed them, so I'm happy. The toppings I offered were tomatoes, broccoli sprouts, tomatoes, pickles, and spinach that never actually made it to the table. I will try to remember to take pics when we eat the rest tomorrow. Anyway, if you want a good dependable recipe for burgers, that is a good quick one.

Another cleanse...smh

2011-04-05T17:47:00.000-07:00

So, I'm going to cleanse again. I'm tempted to do MC again, but the truth is that it won't help me break my bad habits. That is really what all this comes down to. I have food addictions. I'm thinking of trying this http://www.lifeitdetox.com/7daydetox.html.

Now, let me be clear. I'm not doing the 28 day cleanse until I see how I feel about the 7 day cleanse first. It looks really promising and I know I need to do something because I feel sluggish, fat, and out of control in my relationship with food.

Whatever I do, I just know I have to do something...

Sista doin' vegan and doin' it well!

2011-04-03T15:13:00.000-07:00

Vegan Mac and Cheese

2011-04-03T15:04:00.000-07:00

If I can master this, I will make my husband EXTREMELY HAPPY! I think I'll add bread crumbs as I've seen done in some recipes...

Black Bean Burgers

2011-04-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try this after I failed miserably at making a bean burger. It tasted good, but the texture was like refried beans in patty form.

Purhaps, I'll try this one. It looks easier and more realistic to start with...

I'm thinking that I might as mushrooms for a more meaty texture/taste.

How to Make a Nutritious Vegan Salad Dressing

2011-04-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

RAW BREAKFAST CEREAL

2011-03-31T18:11:00.000-07:00

Making CREAM OF QUINOA WITH FRUIT (Breakfast)

2011-03-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

Nutritional Philosophy Update

2011-03-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

Self-Administered Colonic Massage

2011-03-30T15:28:00.000-07:00

Bowel health is so important and yet it remains taboo. I hope that you will sneak and watch this and begin to take better care of your bowels.

Well then, Master Cleanse it is!

2011-03-30T15:24:00.000-07:00

So I've been battling a headache all day. I've been using white willow bark and it's taking the edge off, but it's not quite doing the job. Every year my body let's me know when spring is on it's way by my headaches making their way back. When I did MC for the first time it was because of the headaches and the headaches have been the reason for my decision to MC each year. As you know did the remedy instead, this is a clear sign that it didn't do the job quite like good ol' MC. I'm also REALLY tired and can't seem to get enough rest. UGH!

Summer solstice is on my birthday and I usually try no to cleanse on my birthday. I might just end up cleansing early, because I can't have too many more days like this. I've had a lot going on right now and a cleanse will probably do me a lot of good on both a spiritual and physical level.

$2.95 meal...almost

2011-03-29T17:27:00.000-07:00

So my money was a little challenged today. I had rice, stewed tomatoes, and almond milk. What can I add to that to make something delish that my kids and family can and WILL eat. I decided at buy a bad of lentil and bunch of mustard greens. I drained the tomatoes and put it in the stew. I used the juice from the tomatoes, cumin, and curry to season the rice. Talk about stretching a buck. For hubby and kids, I put theirs on burritos with leftover black bean burgers. MAJOR SUCCESS!!!!

How to Make a Not Tuna Salad by Evelyn Prather

2011-03-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

Winter Solstice Fasting for Health and Longevity by Keidi Awadu (Living in Black)

2011-03-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

Winter Solstice Fasting for Health and Longevity
Posted by Keidi Awadu on October 4, 2010 at 7:46am in Health and Environment

For anyone interested in a means of rapidly improving your health status, quickly losing weight, and gaining mastery over the processes of psychology and spiritual manifestation, I recommend fasting for health and longevity.

I have been fasting regularly for about 5 years and love it immensely. As a rule I begin my fasts on the seasonal changes. Thus, the first day of Winter (Winter Solstice / first day of the true calendar year); first day of Spring (Vernal Equinox); first day of Summer (Summer Solstice); and first day of Autumn (Autumn Equinox) I automatically know it is time to begin fasting.

My fasts go through different phases and generally last from 7 to 28 days, even though I have fasted for as long as 42 days. I like to keep my fasts in cycles of 7, as it is a sacred number in ancient cosmology.

The phases of my fasts proceed as follows:

1) Initiation - I generally will go on water only for a period of from 2 to 7 days. This allows for a quick conversion to the beneficial outcome of the fast and also reinforces a discipline that is simply amazing. This is NOT recommended for those new to fasting as it can have some surprising negative consequences such as fainting and cramps. If you do feel faint it is most likely a consequence of a sugar crash; you can drink grape juice or orange juice for quick relief. You can add lemon or lime to your water to balance out your missing electrolytes, which is the source of the cramping. I might also use flax seed oil in case my lips start to blister from the missing fats.

2) Colon Cleansing - After the water phase, I go to an herbal laxative and unfiltered prune juice or plum juice. This provides a great elimination of that mass which has accumulated in the colon and intestines, some of which has built up since my last fast 90 days before. Once a year, at Spring, I additionally take the CKLS / olive oil cleanse, which REALLY gets the stuff that has attached itself rather permanently on the lining of the intestines and colon. You would be surprised at the stuff that comes out.

3) Targeted System Cleansing - I go through a series of organ cleaning, and blood cleaning juices; one per day. These proceed from, or include: 100% cranberry; pomegranate; celery; carrot; apple, orange; cucumber and blueberry. Each of these have a specific purpose and are targeted at a specific body system: kidneys, blood vessels, blood, immune system and nervous system.

4) Chelation Therapy - There are three phases to this part of the detox, each cycle lasts for approximately 8 hours and the cycle repeats for three days: First, I take 1 tablespoon of bentonite clay along with one capsule of calcium disodium EDTA to remove heavy metals and toxins on the cellular fluid level (these can include arsenic, mercury, aluminum, lead, cadmium, nickel, and more). I take three doses once every 2 hours and then break for two hours; Second, I use about 2 oz. of aloe vera juice along with one capsule of a combination of Milk Thistle and dandelion root, as a liver rejuvenating tonic and blood cleanser; again three doses over 2 hours each, rest for 2 hours; Third, overnight I use prune juice along with CKLS or cascara sagrada, both herbal laxatives, to remove the waste that has been pulled out from the body during the two previous sessions. This cycle goes on for three days.

5) Cellular Rebuild - After completing these phases I have lost on average about 1/6th of my body weight, up to 26 lbs. Now I begin cellular rebuilding with protein juicing with a lot of fruit along with almond or rice milk. I do use a soy based protein powder made from organic soybeans. Fruits will include banana, mango, papaya, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, apples, oranges, kiwi and more. Additionally I will make vegetable juices with tomatoes, celery and greens.

6) Living Superfood - For me, the ideal way to return to eating solid foods is to go completely raw, organic with the incorporation of as many "superfoods" and "superherbs" as possible. This way I have been able to maintain the new body at its highest vibration level as possible. Quite simply, after the detoxing cycle is complete, there is no rush to get back to the patterns of eating and living that I knew before the transformation.

I hope you find something instructive and inspiring in this information. I also recommend you seriously increase your exercise during the fast. For me, this is the time when I am the strongest. I do a minimum of 150 sit ups per day along with vigorous walks, bike rides, hand weights and strenuous work. I DO NOT allow myself to feel weak because of not eating.

The human body is an awesome and amazing machine; perhaps the finest in the known universe. I recommend that we all take control of our bodies and stop the habits that are contrary to our optimum health and vitality. The rewards are awesome and include heightened intuition, increased clairvoyance, rapid weight loss, increased energy, heightened spiritual awareness and appreciation of the many blessings that are in our lives. Plus, you save $10's each week from the money you saved on food. Check out the catalog on LIBRadio for some great audio on fasting, juicing and other serious health solutions.

As the optimal path toward sustaining this body purity, I highly recommend staying on a strictly vegan nutritional path immediately after the completion of the fast. For me, the optimal is 99% raw, living food. The outcome will be miraculous. Even further, the incorporation of "super foods" into your regular food intake will access an even higher level of vital health and energy. You can learn more about my latest research at www.LivingSuperFood.com.

Autumn Fast and Colon Cleanse

2011-03-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

Sensual Healing Series: #3 Hip Opener

2011-03-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

Sensual Healing Series: #4 Core Control

2011-03-28T15:38:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to make it to this point...

2011-03-26T18:57:00.000-07:00

Belly be gone!!!

2011-03-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

I can't remember ever mentioning this, but I have a belly. It's not from giving birth because my youngest is 8 year old. It's not because I have a C-section and they ruined my ab muscles. It's because I have a starch addiction.

I spent a lot of time "counseling" my husband on his sugar addiction. I would fuss at him for eating sweets at night etc. One day, I was singing the praises of MC and a balanced vegan diet when I realized something. When I did the MC the last time, I continued with a very balanced diet. Very little to no unhealthy white starches. In other words, I wasn't eating anything that I had to validate eating. I was making healthy soups, salads, pasta dishes (no white pasta), etc. My stomach was SO FLAT! Okay, well, it was flat enough for me. lol Anyway, that being said I realized that my starch addiction was also a sugar addiction. The trick is that I could satisfy my with a seemingly harmless bowl of rice with veggies that were sometimes starchy themselves. I had to have rice with everything. Not brown rice. My drug--I mean rice of choice is basmati or regular white rice.

Now that I know what the problem is what have I been doing to solve it? Well, I've been finding things to replace my starches. For example I would usually make beans and rice together and that would be my entire meal and I was good. No greens, just rice. Well I made this tasty meal and it was so good the kids ate it again for dinner and almost ate all of it between the two of them.

White Beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic, garam marsala

Chinese Cabbage and Kale

Everything plated up.

Don't you wish the computer had scratch and sniff or at lickable screen? Not to worry. This dish took no time to make. It is as easy as I made it sound. Oh, btw, I mixed everything up before I ate it but by that time I wasn't thinking about taking a picture. ;)

The Remedy-Recovery Day & some pics

2011-03-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

Can I just say how happy I am to be drinking my old chlorophyll? OMG!!! It taste to clean and delicious!!! I will think of Supa Mega Greens, every time I smell pond algae from now to the rest of my life. None of us will even open the jar. I realize that this sounds dramatic, but I don't care. lol I will try the 5 week plan, later on, but I will not spend the money I spent on Supa Mega Greens again. Ever. Never. Never ever never ever never in life...ever.

So anyway, we've eaten some tasty miso soup. It was my first time. I must say that I will be checking miso out again. I'm thinking that I will use it to season my rice or quinoa. It was quite delish. Tonight I we are going to have VERY simple salads, with homemade dressings. Then I'm going to make strawberry banana smoothies for whoever wants it.

Here are some pics for ya!

This is the beginning of my cinder block garden

I just have to add the other side.

I am going to add newspaper to prevent weeds and plant in all the large holes.

I want to use a lot more yard for gardening, but I have to cut down more trees. :(

Dehydrating pears. They taste like candy.

I got this dehydrator for $5 at GW. It has one more tray and a plastic sheet for "wet stuff".

This is what we had for dinner. No I didn't follow the instructions of just squeezing a lemon on this. I did, however make a lemon dressing that I found on line. Of course I put a lil of myself in it and it was soooo good!

Recovery Day-Ummm...yea..about that...

2011-03-24T04:49:00.000-07:00

Okay so, today is the recovery day. I set my alarm to get up late because I'm still feeling all exhausted. My daughter comes and knocks on the door because she's been throwing up. Bless her heart. Because was a CNA for quite a bit of her life she knows how to analyze bodily functions. By the time we started talking she'd analyzed the consistancy of yesterday's defacation, that there wasn't enough defacation, and that her vomit didn't look like it should. You might be grossed out but I was beaming with pride as I re-cooled her washclothe. She is already learning to take her health into her own hands which is more than I can say for most adults these days. My son woke up to see what was wrong with his sister, so we basically had "a meetin' in tha ladiesroom". lol He hung out for a while and we all decided to go ahead and stay up since it was already 6am. Everybody said their Ori prayers, got dressed (I'm pre-shower dressed), and I went to fix peppermint tea for my daughter (with an extra shot of peppermint), and made made this for my son:

Egg, almond milk, soy bacon, spinach, garlic, onion, and nutritional yeast

Not that pretty, but he liked it. lol

So of course at this point I haven't juice anything for fear that she will star throwing up again as soon as I get up to go do anything which is kind of stupid I guess because she is very mature. I guess it's just me being a mother. Anyway, I'll probably be doing prune juice again since I have no clients today. lol Mari, will be on liquids all day today to flush her system.

Something interesting just happened. My son was tell my daughter about the omlet I made for him. She was saying that it sounded good, but grossed her out because her stomach still hurts. We began to discuss why it is that when you are nauseous, the smell/thought of meat/dairy makes you sick, but veggies don't. Hmmmmm....

Cinderblock Garden

2011-03-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

I'm really excited because I have my seeds planted and they are already coming up!!! I decided that this year I would do an above ground cinder block garden. I'm also going to incorporate the foot gardening technique along with cover the bottom with paper to keep the weeds down which shouldnt' be a problem anyway.

Yesterday, my Dad brought the cinder blocks to me. He only brought 30 although I clearly asked for 40, but he quickly redeemed himself by helping me unload the blocks which are no-joke-ridiculously heavy. Today, I put them in place and put a foot path between the beds...well 1 and 1/2 beds (remember I don't have all of the blocks). Btw, my dawta did the foot path while I did the blocks. I'm going use the holes to plant flowers, herbs, and maybe even some plants that don't grow too large. I guess I should add some pics to this huh? I'll do that just for you. That'll be later though, because right now I'm outside enjoying the warm weather and the beautiful breeze. Thank GOD, I don't have allergies!!! ;)

Remedy-Day 4

2011-03-23T13:56:00.000-07:00

I know I was slack because I usually write earlier in the day. I've been busy with errands and such. So, I've had lots of energy today, but I think it's more because this cleanse is almost over. I'm mostly finishing because I like to finish things I start. Here are conclusions I've come to while doing this cleanse:

This is not for someone who has cleansed regularly or already eats a relatively healthy diet. We were already vegetarian. We already drank chlorophyll daily. We'd already stopped eating out a lot. Blah, blah, blah...That being said, I didn't see any profound change. This would be an excellent starter cleanse. I will however incorporate all of the things I've learned and build on what we already have established healthwise. At a later time I will, however, do weeks 2-5 of the cleanse. I don't have the funds right now to do everything as it should be done, so as stated above I won't do it until I can do it completely.

Bowel health is very important to me. That being said, I was more comfortable with MC in that I saw "results" daily. With this cleanse I only had results when I chose to drink prune juice as my juice. I am a little nervous that I am going to have to do some extra work to get my bowels back on track. We'll see. I know that he mentions enemas and such in the book for those that have problems with constipation, but I didn't and I don't plan on starting now.

I'm going back to my old chlorophyll. I realize that his chlorophyll might be better, but what good is something that I hate drinking? Maybe as I continue this path I will revisit it, but until then...I'm over it. I also like liquid chlorophyll more than powder...especially grainy powder.

A cleanse shouldn't make you tired imho. Okay, so when I did MC I had the energy of 10 women. I was waking up without my alarm clock, taking walks, and exercising. Well with this I've been too tired to even read my books, which pissed me off a bit.

This is an excellent cleanse for a beginner. The cleanse is short, sweet, and to the point. You also are able to have a break the monotony with the juices and you are also able to choose which juices you want which I love!!!

I realize that my commentary doesn't line up with most that sing the praises of this cleanse and maybe the next time when I am able to do the entire thing I will see a difference. I'm not giving up on it just yet. I'm definitely going to revisit the concepts with my own tweaking. I would suggest that you try this cleanse for yourself and if nothing else buy the book, because it has SO MUCH KNOWLEDGE in it.

Btw, today is the last day of the cleanse, but tomorrow is a recovery day. Don't ever do a liquid cleanse and think that you don't need a recovery day.

My husband hates me...and himself.

2011-03-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

WHY IS HE COOKING VEGETARIAN DIRTY RICE AND BROCCOLI?!?!?!?!?!? When I tell you that chlorophyll water has never pissed me off as much as it is right now, I mean every word. He is a really good cook so this is sheer torture. I'm trying to finish the water so I can at LEAST juice the melons!!! UGH!!! I HATE THIS CLEANSE RIGHT NOW!!!

Remedy-Day 3

2011-03-22T05:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning! So last night I went to be around 8:15-8:30. I was so tired/drained. I did my pre-shower dry brushing and boy did it feel good!!! My cycle started this morning so I'll blame the headache I had on that. This morning I juiced cantaloupe because today is melon day.

Issues so far:

Amount of Mega Greens needed vs. shipping efficiency-I am doing the cleanse with my husband. Went through the 1st jar of Mega Greens yesterday. When I messaged him on FB he said that they only ship every two weeks so you should plan for that. If you are doing the entire five week plan (alone), I would estimate that you will need 3-4 containers if you add the maximum amount to your various juices. Another idea would be to see where you are at the end of the cleansing portion and order according to that prior to the 5 week part of the plan. BTW, there is no expedited shipping offered that I know of.

Juicing out of season-So, yea melon is not in season right now. Shoot a lot of stuff is out of season right now so this is really expensive and I'm trying to figure out where this stuff is even coming from. I am treating this like I do cooking. I'll do it as recommended the first time and tweak it to fit the next time.

Amount of water to drink daily-I was already drinking a gallon of water daily. I decided that he must mean that you are to drink a gallon minimum. Maybe my stomach capacity is too large from overeating all these years. Idk, but I'm going to do it his way this time, and as stated above, tweak for my needs the next time.

Size of Mega Green opening vs tablespoon-I know this may sound petty, but whatever. I was a little irritated at not being able to fit my tablespoon in the opening of the jar. If you tell me that all of my measurements are pretty much in tablespoons, shouldn't your jar accommodate a "regular" tablespoon. For all of you culinary artist, I realize that tablespoons come in all shaped, but most of us use the Dollar Store round one. Anyway I just ended up dumping both jars into a mason jar for less waste and time saving.

Remedy-Day 2...evening

2011-03-21T16:51:00.000-07:00

So my husband didn't want anymore prune juice for totally valid reasons. He preferred peach, which of course is not quite in season here, but what hubby wants hubby gets. I decided since I was spending unnecessary money I would get some pears to juice alongside the peaches. Pears are my fav next to strawberries. Honey, lemme tell ya!!! My juice was DELISH!!!! OMG!!! Why didn't I drink it this morning too? UGH!!! Anyway, hubby said he was gross and as usually wished he had gotten what I chose. ;)

Tomorrow is melon day. I bought cantaloupe and honeydew. I wanted some freakishly out of season watermelon, but all they had were those little science experiment dwarf seedless kind. :( For our fourth day I bought some mangoes that were on sale...wonder why? lol

I don't know if I'm going to do the 5 weeks (4 weeks for us as we are already vegetarian) because this stuff is really beginning to dig into my pockets. I'll probably do it next time with all the juicing and such at the end. It is a really good plan, but I just need to be a little more prepared for it.

Btw, we are getting rid of the microwave. My dawta can in shouting, "Iya, I figured out how to warm food up in the toaster!!!" I was really happy for her, but realized how screwed our children are if anything ever happens. We really gotta do better. My husband was actually the hardest to sell on the idea, but has now thought of 50 reasons not to have one. lol Gotta love him.

The Remedy...Day 2

2011-03-21T04:10:00.000-07:00

This has been an interesting ride already. Here are the updates so far.

Night sweats-I was sweating ALL night. I do sweat at times, but I had to get up and put on a cotton gown to absorb the sweat. When I woke up, it was soaked through. My husband also said that he was sweating all last night. Neither of us thought the house was hot so it has to be the detoxing. I'm going to give him a dry brushing and massage tonight to help him detox a little faster. Last night prior to going to bed I did a dry brushing to my body and then my shower.

Mucus-I woke up this morning coughing up mucus. No matter how much I got rid of it kept coming. I thought it was just me, but my husband complained of the same thing. I'm glad to see it because it's better to get it out than keep it inside your body. It's amazing to me that being on such a gentle cleanse is having results so quickly!

Prune Juice (the juice of the day)-Ah yes, prune juice ala Mega Greens. Delish. I do need to go to the store this morning so I better hurry up. We don't want any surprises this morning now do we? No, we don't.

30 FB fast-I forgot to mention that I began a 30 FB fast at the same time I began the cleanse. I thought I would miss it because I use it a lot. I don't miss it at all. I did a 7 day FB fast before and I had a little withdrawal the first day or two, but this time...nothing. I'm enjoying not feeling compelled to keep up with 1 group of people multiple ways. I've noticed that people that have you email will both FB and email you and sometimes even text. That is entirely too much access and attachment.

Seeds planted-Yesterday, my dawta and I went to purchase seeds for this year's garden. This year I will be planting everything inside cinder block raised beds and using the holds in the cinder blocks to plant herbs and such. I'm really excited. Hopefully this way I won't have the same battle I had last year with weeds. UGH!!! Now, if I can find a way to get rid of all those beetles I had last year naturally. Neem oil? We'll see...

The Remedy...Night 1

2011-03-20T18:21:00.000-07:00

It's about 9:15pm and I am finishing up my green water. I'm going to go do the breathing exercises prescribed, dry brush my entire body, shower, stretch, and go to bed. This has been a good day and I feel good about it. Btw, my headache is due to my cycle coming and has nothing to do with the cleanse. :)

I meant to mention that a friend of mine started MC today also. I'm very excited for her! It feels really good to see Sistas taking control of their bodies and health. She is going to change her whole family's outlook on health.

It's not about living forever, it's about living out our allotted time to the fullest!

Headache already...(The Remedy Day-1)

2011-03-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I have a headache. This is what I think is going on. 1. My cycle is starting today and when I haven't been eating well I have headaches as one my PMS symptoms 2. This cleanse is working faster than I thought. It's not a migraine, to I'm happy about that, but not being able to take anything is a bit difficult. :( This a totally normal part of detoxing. Just know you need to just ride this out and it will be better the next day.

This is just an update to allow others to compare notes now or in the future.

The Remedy Cleanse-Day 1

2011-03-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

First of all I started off wrong. lol I was supposed to have my juice in before 9am. Um, yea, I came out of the room at 10:46am. Now that we've had "true confessions" we can cover what has happened so far. I juiced an entire bag of oranges. 24oz for my husband and myself and about 16oz for my dawta. I added 1tbsp my husband's and mine and 1/2 tsp to my dawtas. The reason that I reduced the amount for my dawta is that she doesn't eat as much as we do so I knew she wouldn't drink as much juice. I didn't know what they Supa Mega Green tasted like at that point so I didn't want to overwhelm her. After that I put 2 tbsp each in our gallon jugs of distilled water. Mari drinks 48oz of water per day so I gave her another 1/2 tbsp in her water.
How does it taste in the juice?
Well with the orange juice it didn't alter that taste. I chose orange juice because it was cheaper. The book does give other juices that you can drink on day 1.

How does it taste in the water?
Green. It doesn't taste like grass or anything. It does have a little ginger added for flavor. I would describe it as clean and green tasting.

What if I can't drink that much water?
Even if you normally wouldn't drink a gallon, you will be able to do it on this cleanse. Remember you aren't eating anything solid for 4 days. A gallon per day of water, green or not, should be your goal anyway. Your body is made up of mostly water when in top condition so you have to replenish that. Also drinking water will help you to lose weight if that is one of your goals.

Why should I do instead of MC in your opinion?
I am only on day one, but I will offer an opinion on this anyway. This cleanse is much more "doable" with a more balanced approach. If you are in an emergency situation, like I was when I did MC, I'd have to admit that it looks to be a much faster flushing option. You may even consider following your 10 days on MC with 5 days of The Remedy. The Remedy offers more variation because of the choice of juices. I also grew tired of the sweet taste of the "lemonade" all day.

That's all I have for right now. Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

Finding a Middle Ground with Grits

2011-03-17T05:26:00.000-07:00

Okay, so when you are trying to change you diet you often feel as though you are being told "don't eat this...don't eat that...this is poisonous...that causes cancer..." You are also often told that you have to give up your favorite foods. Well one of my guilty pleasures is grits. I don't know what's wrong with grits and to be honest I don't want to know because I'm not going to give it up yet. Queen Afua mentioned replacing grits with somethings that made me prefer giving them up completely so that's a no go. I actually don't eat them that much. For the most part I only eat them when my husband request them, which is maybe about every couple of months.

Anyhoo, since beginning to read "The Remedy" I feel as though I need to add greens wherever and whenever possible. So yesterday as I sat staring at the pot of grits, thinking about how much starch I was about to feed to myself and my family, I had an idea. I would add spinach to it. I added fresh chopped spinach to the bottom of the bowls, allowed the heat and moisture from the grits to wilt the spinach, and a new middle ground was born. I am a southerner by birth and still live here. We tend to eat really heavy meals and so this is just one more step in the right direction. Next I need to work on portion control and gluttony. Until I get that under control I'll just try to find a healthier way so that I don't balloon back up to my former 185+lbs.

The Remedy...the basics week 1

2011-03-14T12:23:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, because I believe that we should support African American in business. I will not be giving all of the information that can be found in "The Remedy". He has it packed full of encouragement, hints, nutritional info, recipes (all kinds), exercise, etc so you DO NEED TO BUY THE BOOK!

Table of contents and abbreviated run down:
Part I-The Remedy
This covers the chlorophyllian cleanse. I am REALLY excited about this and I hope I can do it for 2 weeks to replace the week 2 step. We'll see. Basically in week 1 you juice in the morning and evening and you drink 1 gallon of water that contains a chlorophyll mixture. I did choose to purchase Brotha Slom's mixture, but he does give you a recipe on how to make your own. I rather just buy what I need. Thanks anyway.

Since I hinted at week 2 I will clarify for you. During week 2 he does allow for a flexitarian diet. This is intended to prevent heavy meat eaters from slitting their wrist from withdrawal symptoms. I don't really need that week, so I'm thinking that I might double up on 1 of the weeks instead (probably week 1).

Messaged Brotha Slom on FB and he said that my Supa Mega Greens should be here by the end of the week so I'm excited that I should be ready to start on Sunday aka Spring Equinox!!!

Here we go again!

2011-03-13T18:09:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm going vegan...again. I realize that at this point you think I'm a failure, but I don't even care. This is about my health. Let me start with a cleansing list of my weaknesses:

I am addicted to sugar, but not in the form of desserts. I love love love starch! According to Supa Nova Slom I'm a starchetarian.
I eat emotionally. I like right now I'm mad as hell and I want a pastry. I'm more pissed off because my husband was supposed to get it hours ago, didn't, and then came out asking about it like I said it 5 minutes ago.
I have a major issue with over eating or gluttony. I think it's directly connected to #2.

I will probably add somethings to this list later, but this is all I can think of. So, as you know, I always cleanse with the coming of spring. Well I was going to do the cleanse "The Remedy" by Supa Nova Slom, but the Supa Mega Greens are very slow coming IMHO and he hasn't answered my email enquiring about when it should be here. *just messaged him on FB. Ironically, he'd just made a post about ordering the Mega Greens* Anyway, if they aren't here then I will default to the MC. I really hate doing it and won't even attempt the salt water if I am forced to do it, but I like to cleanse WITH the equinox not before or after. I have to get rid of this stomach. I also have to buy some pepper spray so I can begin walking 3 miles again. Soul Twin doesn't feel too good about me walking alone, but that's why I like it because I'm ALONE! I'm also planning on taking 3 yoga classes a week. We'll see how it goes...Well, this was more of an update than a full post, but of course you will be hearing more from me soon.

California Dreaming in Charleston, SC

2011-02-14T10:23:00.000-08:00

My husband and I just celebrated our 4th anniversary. He surprised me with a beautiful vacation in Charleston, SC. One of the things he was most excited about was having dinner at California Dreaming, a well known restaurant that can HIGHLY recommended. Well, this is what we experienced there.

We had a 7:15 reservation, and realized that we were lost. I called in and talked to a hostess who seemed more than happy to help us. She was wonderful and very patient. We made it there with time to spare thanks to her great directions! When we arrived the restaurant was VERY busy and the parking lot was VERY full. A good sign right? Maybe. When we walked up to the front of the establishment we saw a set of stairs and began to look for the wheelchair ramp (my husband is in a wheelchair, but very able bodied). It wasn't marked very well at all, but we found it none the less. We usually enter together via the ramps, but we didn't want to miss our reservation time or even cut it close. We like to be early for things. ;) I walked up to the hostesses and waited patiently. Apparently I forgot to turn off my powers of invisibility because I was left standing there. A couple of kids dressed in ROTC uniforms walked up and immediately got the attention of all 3 hostesses simply to be told to go to the bar to get their to go orders. I waited a couple more seconds and was finally acknowledged with a dry, "Yes. May I help you?" I smile and told her about our reservation and was handed a buzzer. I told her that my husband had used the ramp and that I didn't see him. "Oh, he'll be coming from back there." she pointed vaguely. I glared at her and went to search for my husband in this maze of tables. He met me toward the back of the restaurant. Apparently, wheelchairs use the same ramp that is used by hand trucks to bring in supplies. He'd had to wait outside after using a buzzer to get in. Well the place was so loud that nobody heard him. An employee was using the back exit and was somewhat startled to see my husband on the other side of the service entrance door. We walked back through the restaurant toward the front with him telling me about being stuck outside on the chilly nigh.

My husband and I sat down for a minute or so, but were buzzed promptly at 7:15pm. The first hostess gathered our supplies (utensils and menus) without so much as a glance, handed them to another hostess, who looked us up and down and said, "Follow me". Call me picky, but I was always taught that you greet people before doing anything else. We followed the hostess who periodically glanced over her shoulder to make sure we were there. We passed about 5 tables appropriate for couples, but somehow ended up at the table by the service entrance (the one my husband had be forced to use) and the kitchen. It's common knowledge that seated by the kitchen or bathroom is damn near an insult. I was facing the kitchen only to be entertained by this idiot who beat on the stainless steel counters, spoke loudly about nothing, and danced and sang the whole time. To make it worse, his pants were sagging so that his boxers were showing. Yea, I took a pic although it wasn't very clear, here it is. This is him mid-dance move.

Our waiter was wonderful and a much needed relief because I was beginning to think that being rude and obnoxious was a prerequisite to work in this place. He brought our drinks and my husband and I talked about our experience thus far. Almost on cue, two women (I assume they were also hostesses due to their black outfits and arrogance) walked over to our table talking to each other. They had their hands on our table counting and talking about how to seat the next party. I was glaring at them, not believing that they could be that rude! They saw me looking and gave me a rude little smirk and said, "Um we'll be done in a second." WTF!!! I couldn't believe it!!! I have been treated better at McDonald's!!! Eventually they shot me a look and walked off. Our lovely waiter returned to take our orders and in a very short time returned with our food. They food was delish!!! Not good enough to make me EVER want to eat there again, but it was good enough for me to duplicate at some point.

While we were eating I was waiting for at least one of the managers that I saw running around the stop and speak to us so that I could tell them the good and bad of our experience. Well that never happened. My experience told me that they didn't care anything about us or our money. We paid. Tipped our waiter our normal $10 and exited through the ~~servant's~~ service exit in the cold feeling less than satisfied with our experience.

Our experience with rude people wasn't over yet, because some able bodied lazy jack-ass blocked the ramp with their car. UGH!!!

California Dreaming turned into a dining NIGHTMARE!!!

Big ol' butts and boobs

2010-10-08T15:35:00.000-07:00

This post is for those Sistas that don't naturally have all of the abundance that is often glorified in the Afrikan community. This is for those Sistas that are really cute, but have to arch their backs and hold their shoulders back in order to have the extra curves that are so desirable in our community. This is for those Sistas that are hate even spending $10 on a bra because we don't have enough boobs to feel like we are getting our money's worth in satin and lace.

I grew up in a time that was filled with songs written by Uncle Luke and a well know dance called "Da Butt" that I was ill equipped to do, but did anyway (because it had my name in it) . I was naturally a size 3. I was slim and slim wasn't in fashion. My face and attitude were my saving grace because lawd knows I didn't have the body. To add insult to injury people constantly felt the need to tell me how slim I was. More often than not these comments would come from overweight elders. What they didn't understand was that I wanted what they had. I wanted a big butt and boobs. My mom is a chocolate brick house. I remember envying the way she could make her fish-tailed skirt work. That skirt looked like it was sweeping all the cares of the world off the path behind her. I wanted to be shaped like my Mama. Being slim was ugly in my eyes. I was surrounded by images that told me that being slim was unattractive. Damn you BET!!!

After giving birth to my second child, my son, I began to gain weight. For a while I was quite happy with my new found sexiness. I had some thickness. Of course now I had to hold my stomach in all the time to give my thickness some curves, but that was okay. I was fillin' out my jeans. I was in a DD bra. Guys had always looked at me, but now they were looking at me coming and going. Finally, I knew what those thick girls must feel like.

When my son was almost a year old I began to have aches and pains. My knees and hips were giving me trouble. I got on the scale one day out of curiosity while I was working at the nursing home. I was in shock. I was 180+lbs. WTH? How had this happened? I went from 110 lbs in high school, 120-130 lbs in the military, and now this?!?! I am not big boned, just like many other Afrikan women. Just like many Afrikan women I could tell because my fat was causing me to have aches, pains, and lethargy. I'm sorry, but if you are feeling this way, you are fat and your bones have nothing to do with it.

Soon after I realized that I was fat. I met my husband. He thought I was cute--sexy even. I convinced myself that I was sexy too. I could even hold my stomach in while napping if I didn't go into a deep sleep. lol Once we got married we continued to eat whatever the hell we wanted and considered sex to be enough exercise to keep us in shape. Well, to be honest, now that we are in better shape, I realize that it was lazy fat sex. Let's face it, there are some things that can prove difficult when you have too much excess meat in the way. All that still didn't matter. In the end my weight loss came as a result of my need to get rid of my constant headaches.

All that to say this. It is hard sometimes to grow up in a culture that would rather you be fat with a big butt and big boob than be your healthy natural size. I am down to about a size 10 and have little to no curves. I've had to explain to my husband that the curves are gone and that I am naturally slim. Bless his heart, because he didn't know. Now mind you, my husband couldn't care less about what I look like, but he thought the size he met me was the size I naturally was. Many Afrikan men are indoctrinated to think that all Afrikan women are naturally brick houses. That simply is not the case. I'm naturally slim. When I am at my healthiest at my age I will probably be somewhere between a size 6 and 8.

My name is Abena and I don't have a "rack" or a "donk" and I'm fine with that.

Day 11-Orange juice...

2010-09-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

I made it through this day. It wasn't hard because I was SUPER busy and I still am. My soup is in the crockpot ready to be eaten tomorrow after my orange juice. I am drooling just thinking about it! YAY! A sun ji o!