nakedjen

Ready? Set? Go!!

There is so very much that I wish to chat with all of you about, but first we had a contest. We did. 

The winners were chosen by the little widget from Random.Org and it turns out that Stephanie and Stardustdawn will each get the teas for their dogs.  But, remember, you're all going to receive a sample of Honest Kitchen Food (and they have a new, completely grain free food coming in September for both Cats and Dogs) and so if you get an email from me asking you for your mailing address it is simply so I can get the information to Honest Kitchen so you all can get your FREE STUFF!  So please don't think I'm sending you porn.  This time, it's not!

Meanwhile, though, I feel like I'm about to burst at the seems with all the goings on and things I want to talk to all of you about because there's good and there's bad and there's funny and there's sad and it feels like I haven't typed with my fingers flying across a keyboard just to share the words swirling inside my head in so long that my head now resembles a hornets nest that was designed by Tim Burton with help from Edward Scissorhands.  Who, yes, I realize is the darling OF Tim Burton, but he has the Scissorhands!  There are missing bits and pieces you see.  It is his design.  Courtesy of Mr. Burton.  All swirling somewhere above my neck where a head is supposed to be. 

That's me. If you were to see a photo.  There isn't one.  Use your very beautiful and active imaginations.

Let's leave you with a list.  Of the topics to come.  Just, so, you know, there's something to at least keep us all honest and perhaps maybe you all want to write the blog posts instead?  There's a thought.  At this point, given the Tim Burton Hornets Nest state of my head, you all might do a far better job.  You're all brilliant writers!  Here, have a go!

• Eating Raw and Yoga Every Day
• Cherry and Sasparilla Kombucha
• Guerrilla Drive-In ~ Salt Lake City style
• There's Enough Phish for a Feast
• Google Is Trying To Kill Me
• If I'm Not Nakedjen, Then Who Am I?

Ready

Infused with Love

December 6 Prompt

Author: Gretchen Rubin
The Happiness Project
@gretchenrubin

Prompt: Make. What was the last thing you made? What materials did you use? Is there something you want to make, but you need to clear some time for it?

 

It is no secret that I make organic medicinal teas and tinctures.  I had a business selling them, globally, that I made the heart-wrenching decision to close last Thanksgiving.  That decision seemed like a prudent one, at the time.

I had no idea how much I would truly miss it.

These were not just your average teas that you buy off the shelf, but specially crafted blends made especially for each individual client.  What that means, exactly, is that I spent time getting to know each person, as best I could, what they really needed, what special need they were trying to address and then crafting a very specific herbal remedy specifically for them.

It was challenging and it was heart warming and a gift to me.  Every single time.

I still make the teas for friends and family that ask me directly to do so. I made three very special blends last week for one friend who tracked me down and asked for something for various members of her family. 

I only use the very freshest and best 100% organic herbs in my teas.  I think, honestly, this is one reason they work so well.  The other reason, I believe, is that they truly are unique blends custom-crafted for each individual.  No two blends are exactly the same.  Plus, well, there’s all that love that goes into it.

If you’re reading and you’d like your own special blend of organic goodness for a specific health challenge that you may have, feel free to email me and ask me about it.  Together, we can try to sort it out.  If I can’t help you, I will do my best to find you another alternative health practitioner in your area who can. 

I’m not jumping back into Dreamsweet Organics full-time, per se, but I know that I feel far more useful when I’m truly giving back to the world.  So this is my first step in that direction.

 

Every spring I go out there anyway, around the bend, unconditionally. ... Come the end of the dark days, I am more than joyful. I'm nuts.

SHE SPRUNG LIKE SPRING BRIGHTLY

As we were standing on the steps of the temple last Saturday afternoon, surveying the throng of very happy and smiling and swaying colorful people below us, I turned to Ruth and said, "I need to go down there.  I need to be right in the middle.  I have to be part of all of it when everything starts!"

"I'm staying right here!" she shouted at me as I negotiated my way, with lots of "Excuse mes" down, down, down the hill to the middle of the crowd.

I'm not exactly tall.  In fact, well, I'm about the size of most fourth graders.  Actually, most fourth graders these days are taller than me.  I'm a little person. Who got SQUASHED.  All was going quite well, the bright colors were flying, the air was speckled a rainbow hue, we were stomping and chanting Hari Krishna when someone from behind, someone quite large, someone my small body was not quite able to support no matter how much my heart wanted to lift him to the heavens, landed with an OOF right on top of me. 

Down I went, down he went, down many people went.  A pile of arms, legs, body parts all akimbo in a sculpture painted in electric kool-aid hues.  

It was absolutely fantastic and I can't wait to celebrate it all again.

SHE LIKES TO USE A LOT OF WORDS

Emily Gilmore has retired to Utah, as you may or may not actually know.  The idea of all of this was far more disconcerting than the reality actually has turned out to be.  So far.  I have seen and chatted with my mother more in the last three months, since her arrival, than I have in the last ten years combined. 

I have grown up.  So has she. 

Not long ago, she insisted that she wanted to also have a blog of her own. 

"I want my own URL. Nothing like NakedMom.  Something better.  Where I can write about what I'm doing here." 

Emily now has a blog of her own.  I have to admit that I'm quite impressed with how quickly she's learned the software.  I only had to give her one lesson.  Perhaps this nut did not fall too far from that tree.

A MARCH FOR BABIES

It's no secret that I love babies.  I've been a doula for nearly 20 years.  Every birth, for me, is just a beautiful miracle.

Two miracles that I personally know and love were born ten weeks early and not because of any of the reasons usually associated with premature births.  They survived and are healthy, beautiful children today because of the medical research provided by the March of Dimes.

Their mother, Melinda, my very good friend, is walking in the March for Babies and is raising funds for this critical research and programs.  The March of Dimes has helped not only Adri and Devin, but members of my own family, too, and their programs and funding help mothers to have full-term pregnancies and babies to live very healthy lives.  When newborns begin their lives in intensive care, the comfort and care provided by the March of Dimes goes a very long way to help the babies and their families.

Will you please join me in supporting Melinda in this very important mission.  Every single dollar will help the March of Dimes provide these very valuable services to all babies.  Thank you!

Sometimes It's The Smallest Decisions That Can Change Your Life Forever

You may find yourself standing in front of the sandwich counter at your local health food store.

You may find yourself asking the cute boy who always makes the sandwiches if the bread is vegan?

You may find yourself making the cute boy not so cute by asking if the spinach is organic?

You may ask yourself, "My Goddess, How did I get here?"

So then, because you've frustrated the cute sandwich making boy and because no one in the entire store can really assure you that anything at that counter is, in fact, organic, you realize that paying the $6.99 you're spending on that suspect sandwich could instead be spent on lots of really and truly organic ingredients and you, yes you, can make your own very special sandwich.  Lots of them even.

I found myself in exactly that situation this afternoon.  The store was buzzing with mothers and fathers and small children pushing their own diminutive carts and while I was encouraged to see so very many healthy and beautiful people shopping for wholesome organics, it still was a bit disconcerting to have my cute sandwich boy have absolutely no idea about the ingredients with which he was about to construct my sandwich.

I was kind, thanked him profusely for his trouble (people I am always very kind, I promise) and then this is exactly what I did.

I gathered into a basket the following:

• Fresh organic basil
• soft organic tofu
• organic sunflower sprouts
• two organic tomatoes
• a small container from the olive bar of garlic stuffed olives
• alvarado street sprouted wheat organic burrito sized tortillas

The total for my purchases was $8.76  So, yes, more than $6.99 initially.  I took all of that home and then that's when the magic really started.

Into the Cuisine Art went the following:

The olives, some white and pink peppercorns, a few red chiles, a few sprigs of the fresh basil, a dash of sea salt, 5 cloves of raw garlic and a dash of tumeric.  I pulsed that until everything was chopped pretty finely.  Then I threw in about a cup of organic raw almonds.  Again, I pulsed.  Next, I drizzled in organic olive oil.  Not too much, but I'd be hard pressed to tell you exactly how much.  Enough so things started to resemble a "pesto". 

Now I added two thirds of my block of soft tofu.  I actually ran the Cuisine Art on LOW until it now resembled a hummus consistency.  Then, again, I drizzled olive oil and lemon juice into the mixture while it was running on low. 

I ended up with about a half quart of this vegan, organic tofu spread.  Which tastes, honestly, like a yummy garlic olive cream cheese spread.  I took that and spread it on one of the sprouted wheat tortillas, added fresh organic spinach, sliced tomato, and the sunflower sprouts and wrapped it up like a buritto and then ate it. 

It was all really simple and took less than 15 minutes start to finish.  The best news is that for less than $10, I've got vegan organic ingredients for at least 6 sandwiches. 

I hear a lot from readers and friends that eating organic and vegan is both difficult and too expensive.  Honestly, I think the most difficult and expensive part about not eating an organic and vegetarian (or vegan) diet are the long term health effects that will eventually plague you and effect your quality of life.

My life is certainly not perfect, absolutely not.  I do know, though, that my health and, more importantly, my vitality is most certainly improved by this diet. 

I tweeted recently that if you're considering a change to a vegan (or even vegetarian) diet, I'd be more than happy to help you make the transition in whatever ways that I can.  I stand behind that offer and I'm thinking about perhaps using my retooled "dreamsweet" blog to create a month long group who go vegan for 30 days.  I know that it seems a very long time, but I also know that any one of us can truly do anything for 30 days if it is something we really want to do.

What do you think?  Think you would like participating in that with a group of others who are similarly committed?  I'd be there to help and encourage you, answer your questions, give you recipes and even kick your ass when you say, "I ate the cheese!"

Every life change starts with the first step.  I guess what I'm saying is, "Who wants to take a step with me?"  Let me know and we can make this happen.