Organic Gardening Going Great!

As you may know, I eat predominantly raw foods -- especially in the summer.

Over the past few years, I've been attempting to grow most of my own food, with mixed results. The shorter Massachusetts growing season combined with less-than-ideal soil and a lot of trees make it a little bit of a challenge.

As a result, I've been doing a lot of container gardening (easy to move around my sunny deck) and planting things against the deck (holds the warmth longer than out in the open).

I came across manual on www.HowToGrowOrganicVeggies.com and am LOVING the results I'm getting!

It's full of everything from best watering techniques to saving money on groceries, protecting your plants from bugs without using pesticides and what to do if you have limited space (think "deck" in my case despite the acre of land I own). It even includes the easiest veggies to grow (important when you have dogs who trample everything in their path).

The best part -- many of the tips and techniques are low cost, easy to implement and you know those are my FAVORITES!

Here's to an amazing garden!

Have you ever had that feeling that you must have done something to warrant all the bad luck you were having?

Well, I'm there.

After spending a week of my life "on the couch" with the flu and strept throat, I'm not fully recovered and have somehow sprained my hip. It's either that or something in my lower back and, based on symptoms, my doctor feels it's a hip sprain.

The issue...I can barely move. While the doc has given me some strong meds, I don't like to take medication. I prefer a more natural, holistic approach.

So today I'm sitting on the downstairs recliner/couch, fully propped up with pillows and a jug of water and my laptop (after all, there's only so much time a girl can spend lying down in bed). :-)

On the positive side, I was able to fully set up my smoothie/juicing station (my primary source of food during the warmer months) the other day so that everything is a quick turnaround and step from the fridge and sink.

While it sounds so obvious, it's amazing to me how people often make things more difficult for themselves by not setting up for success. I've noticed how I don't juice or blend as often when my glass (I use a huge crystal wine glass as a way of pampering myself), Jack LaLane power juicer (or Wolfgang Puck immersion blender), and room temperature (apples, oranges, cucumbers, green foods, hemp protein powder, etc.) ingredients aren't right at hand.

By creating a juicing/smoothie bar, I'm ready to go at any time.

Blogging again...

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted to this blog...I started a journal and have been posting my ramblings there instead.

Guess what I discovered?!?!?

Quite frankly, I am more accountable when I post here instead of in my journal. The reason, I think is simply because others find inspiration in my words here whereas my journal inspires only me.

So get used to seeing more frequent posts... :-)

And the goal is...

I mentioned a few posts down about the fabulous time I had with Kailash Sozzani in determining what my palette is.

Part of Kailash's program is to go shopping with you -- colors, styles, textures, fit, etc. As a result of my current "getting healthy regime", I requested that we not go shopping yet.

After all, why purchase new gorgeous clothes which won't fit me in 2 months. :-)

Kailash graciously agreed to do the shopping piece of the program when I'm back in Tucson in March.

And now for the goal...publicly proclaimed as it were: to be no larger than a size 10 by March 26, 2009.

This blog will continue to chronicle my journey...I hope my story inspires you.

With love,

Sandy

Workouts? What workouts?

If you've noticed my exercise routines (and subsequent muscle pain) have been missing lately, there's a good reason...I've been sick with one of those lingering nasty colds which refuse to let you breathe.

I've got to admit it, I'm really missing my workouts and the energy and clarity they bring to my days -- with luck, I'll be back swimming and doing Zumba on Monday.

And then of course, there's Fern... :-)

One thing I've noticed on my raw food journey is that eating raw is harder for me (usually pretty easy) when I'm not feeling well -- with the cold, I've been craving warm/hot foods and have been enjoying tons of tea.

Webcam 101...not sure I'm liking this

I'm being interviewed for a video that's going up on YouTube tomorrow and have been playing around with my Logitech Pro 9000 webcam tonight.

It's pretty humbling to continuously catch myself either looking down (think "multiple chins" here) or speaking with my hands (I'm Italian -- what can I say?).

While the eating right and exercising have been going phenomenally (although I didn't do as much exercising as I should have), the webcam is pretty unforgiving when it comes to my chin. :-(

Okay, back to practicing posture. Looks like we're going into video!

Surviving while at a business retreat away from home (and routine)

Over the past few weeks, I've been on vacation in New Hampshire and am currently at a business retreat in Tucson, Arizona.

Being away from home (and my personal trainer) is challenging from a workout routine perspective.

While in New Hampshire, I went for walks with my darling hubby (DH) and swam daily.

Here in Tucson, I'm getting very little sleep (but it's SO worth it) and am swimming in the mornings (well, most mornings -- some days that extra hour of sleep is just TOO good to pass up).

This combined with being a vegetarian in a resort hotel where the "after hours" dinner menu has two veggie options: a cheese tray (can we say HEAVY) or fried corn fritters (nuff said?) is definitely keeping things challenging.

I'd love to hear any tips you have for staying true to your routines while away from home...thanks in advance!