Rawsome Healthy Day 2/5 – Healing Journey Day 53

Journal:
Today was a much better day. I prepared my grapes last night so that they were ready to go today. I had them rinsed, stems removed, and put in a portable container so that all I had to do was pop the container open and eat. 2 lbs of beautiful green grapes were consumed this morning.

It was after the morning snack that I ran into semi-trouble again. I did not have time whatsoever to go make the smoothie for lunch. In fact, I didn’t end up making the smoothie until after I had a meeting, then packed and cleaned up my classroom and finally came home. Seriously, that was way too long to wait to eat and it led me to eat some leftover junk from yesterday. I didn’t eat near as much junk, but some nonetheless. I have to somehow find a way to manage my time a little better.

So of course, as soon as I came home, I made my smoothie out of bananas and Romaine lettuce. This seriously is not my favourite smoothie, even with my bananas ripening properly. After this program, I don’t think I will make this combination again.

I later had to do some errands in town but did not go to the gym. I’m giving my body the rest it was demanding from me today. Tomorrow, I will hit the gym hard again. So instead of going to the gym, I jumped into making the pre-dinner snack which was fresh orange juice blended with kiwis. Now this was an interesting combination. Try it out sometime!

Finally, I made the supper which was a spiralized zucchini dish. Oh my goodness you guys, this sauce was DIVINE. If anything, it actually felt extremely rich and flavourful, almost too rich and flavourful. I actually think it would make a great gravy for a future recipe. It did feel very salty even though my sundried tomatoes were oil and salt free. And because it was so rich, I did not eat all of the sauce. It was too much. I ate lots of zucchini and that was that for the night.

**I did the breakfast and lunch from Day 5 of their diet plan, and the supper from Day 3. Still using their recipes, just making them as things become ripe.

Review of Symptoms:
-Tongue needed minor scraping
-Stomach still not feeling great (gotta stop the junk food!!)
-Digestion is trying to do its job but running into issues (again, no more junk food!)
-Hair still feels dry and easily becomes static. Not enjoying this.
-Acne is bad. Thank you junk food….

Weight at the end of the day = 170.4 lbs (down 0.2 lbs form yesterday)

Total Calories = 2032 (75% carbs, 14% fat, 11% protein)

Green Juice Feasting – Healing Journey Day 45

Journal:
I actually woke up excited for today. Some people may think that today wouldn’t be so great because I’m going back to juicing instead of having actual food, but honestly, I have come to really enjoy juicing as a form of giving your body a break from digesting food. It definitely provides a cleansing day.

Now, today I tried to space out my juices because not only are juices generally lower calorie, but because they are green juices, they are even lower calorie due to the greens content. So here is the schedule in which I drank the juices:

8:00 am – Skinny Glow (melon, apple, cucumber, spinach, celery)

9:40 am – After Glow (spinach, cucumber, celery, kale, apple, parsley)

11:10 am – Glow Boost (spinach, kale, cucumber, broccoli, mint, pomegranate)

1:40 pm – Ener-G Glow (pear, spinach, cucumber, celery, chlorophyll)

3:00 pm – Sky Glow (pear, cucumber, kale, lemon, mint)

5:00 pm – Peak Performance (apple, cucumber, kale, spinach, lemon, parsley)

6:45 pm – Emerald City (spinach, apple, celery, cucumber)

8:30 pm – Everglades (cucumber, celery, cilantro, lime, apple)

Why were some of my juices called “Glow”? Because I purchased them from Glow Juicery. It is an awesome place where they made cold-pressed juices that are raw and unpasteurized. They also make smoothies and raw foods to eat. I love this store and highly recommend you check them out!

The last three juices I drank were from a place called Splash Juicery which is also an amazing, organic, cold-pressed juice place. They also serve smoothies, raw desserts and raw meals. I just recently found out about this place and I’m so thankful I tried them out! Absolutely recommended as well!

So the odd thing was, I start getting a headache just before I started drinking my second juice of the day. I never get headaches. My eyes have been giving me some really bad troubles in the past week, and I fear I may be headed to some trouble I don’t want. I’ve pretty much stopped wearing my sunglasses so I can get as much Vitamin D to my eyes as possible, and I still need to cut down on the computer time. I can’t lose my vision… it’s time to get serious. I think some extra sleep would also help my case.

The headache feeling did go away, thankfully. I made it through the rest of the day pretty well, though I was unusually hungry. It’s amazing what happens when you’re used to eating a huge volume of vegetables and fruit so the compact amount of green juices. I can’t wait to eat again!

I did make it to the gym today and had an awesome workout (yes, even hungry and with only consuming green juices). I did squats, lunges, jump squats, dumbbell pullovers, bench push-ups, lateral raises, standing scarecrow, cable hammer curls, and cable tricep extensions. I then finished up my workout with 20 minutes on the stairclimber. Wowee! It felt so good to workout again. I honestly love being in the gym.

And that pretty much wraps up my night. I’ve got a lot of work to do in order to meet a deadline tomorrow (two papers that need completed), so I gotta get finishing those. I just have my Everglades drink left to finish, and then that’s it for me today. Tomorrow begins days 1 of 3 days drinking green smoothies and I’m excited!

Review of Symptoms:
-Acne is bad.
-Hair is good, but scalp needs exfoliated/massaged.
-Energy is really good.
-A little tired, but due to lack of sleep.
-Eyes are not good… too much computer and not enough sleep.
-Hungry!!
-Digestion is getting better again.
-Endurance is good!

Weight at the end of the day = 168 lbs (same as yesterday)

Total Calories = 1329 (84% carbs, 6% fat, 10% protein… these are STELLAR macros!)

Something Happened Today…

Something happened today that has evoked a whole bunch of emotions and thoughts. I feel this is something that should be shared and not kept internal for it is a true display of the vast differences in humanity.

Since becoming vegan almost a year ago, I have followed so many vegan YouTubers, Instagrammers, and joined several vegan FB groups. Though these groups have encountered their fair share of trolls sabotaging the pages, what I saw today has troubled me the most.

Personally, I cannot stand to watch the animal cruelty videos. I cannot stand violence. I know I couldn’t sleep, eat, or do anything if I were to sit and watch these videos, so I avoid them. If a YouTuber is playing a clip in their videos, I tilt my computer screen down or skip ahead in the video. I simply cannot handle it.

Today, I refreshed my NewsFeed, and the post that greeted me was the most gruesome picture of a cows head being held by the horns by a human. Blood was everywhere, sprayed all over the walls and poured all over the floor, obviously showing a slaughterhouse. It was violent, it was gruesome, it was gory, and it was unnecessary. While in shock, I first thought somebody must have had an awful story to go with it, but instead, the caption stated, “This makes me want a steak.” My heart broke.

This poor creature, his death being displayed as if his life was a joke. The murderers proud of the work they had done in bringing this living being to his brutal death. It was a scene from a nightmare.

Of course, people had already called out the admin of the group, and people had begun yelling at the poster with a variety of tactics which of course simply entertain the poster. I will never understand how people have fun causing others misery. But as I was sitting here tonight, thinking of how I may have responded in the situation, I don’t believe it would have been as the others. Because as angry as it makes me that somebody would do that to purposely instigate drama, the action speaks loudly about who that person is. Getting angry is only what the person wants. Retaliation is what the person is seeking. That speaks so much about the person’s character.

To me, this picture and comment is heartless. To do it purposely in a vegan group shows such unbelievable ignorance. It’s disrespectful, it’s selfish, and it’s menacing. It paints a terrible picture for this person. The thing is, I often wonder how much heart people actually have left. To me, you would have to be fairly hard-hearted to do something like this, to cause so much pain to so many people. To me, only someone lacking heart could look at such a devastating picture and feel that way. There is no sympathy left. There is no compassion left. Simply stated: heartless.

What is wrong with humanity? How have some of us become this way? Why is violence something we enjoy? Dog fights, cock fights, animal abuse, domestic abuse, violent video games, even as far as the UFC. Young, elementary students are playing adult-rated video games as if it’s no big deal. And yet we wonder where our society gets some of their ideals from. Why are we so disconnected from reality?

To me it all comes down to love. That’s what our purpose should be. We should love one another. We should love and care for the creatures of this earth rather than treating them like objects. Seriously, we have to stop being so selfish. We endanger the lives of so many just to get what we want. I can’t help but shake my head. Maybe if we put ourselves in the shoes of others, in the shoes of the animals, we would for once realize the effect we have. Maybe society would realize the horrors that these fully aware animals and people are living because of us. Maybe, just maybe, then we could live in a much more caring world where violence would finally be realized as an intruder rather than an accepted friend.

Think before you act. Reflect when you’re done. Make changes for the good of all.

Life Vs. Death: What Would You Choose?

Yesterday, at our school’s staff meeting, we had a representative from Alberta Health come in to discuss allergies and anaphylactic shock. Of course, this came with training on how to use an Epi-Pen.

Growing up, my sister had extensive allergies. She always had one Epi-Pen at school and one at home or rather near her at all times. It was a no-brainer that she needed it incase something did happen. It wasn’t even a choice. She always had 2.

You would think that all families would treat this issue the same. But unfortunately, working in a school has shown me otherwise. Some parents will not buy their sons and daughters Epi-Pens. This boggles my mind. A school is a place where so many children come from so many homes carrying so many different items. Sometimes, people will develop the allergies. So even if they had no idea they were allergic to something before, they could come into contact with something later in life that they have an anaphylactic shock to because they have developed an allergy to it. You never know.

Now, we do have a Peanut-Free environment at our school that we enforce. But we cannot control what children were in contact with before they came to school. So it’s a very hard thing to ever make 100% sure.

So, here’s the deal. For the parents who refuse to buy Epi-Pens, we aren’t supposed to give their children a generic one if they need it even if we have it. We could get in a lot of trouble. We cannot administer medication that does not have their name on it.

So let me ask you this: Do you sit by and potentially watch the child die while the paramedics are stuck in a traffic jam or somewhere further away in the city? Because you’re not supposed to drive them to the hospital yourself either. How do you do that?

The decision basically boils down to this:
#1: Do the legal thing and don’t give the child the generic Epi-Pen you have on hand. Best-case scenario, the child is able to make it long enough for the ambulance to QUICKLY get there and handle it from there. Worst-case scenario, the ambulance cannot get there quick enough and you watch the child struggle for each mini-breath and die.
#2: Risk getting fired/sued by the family, but at least know that you did what you could to save that child’s life by administering the generic Epi-Pen you have on hand. It could literally save a child’s life; that’s what they are made for.

I am really interested in hearing what you would do. It’s a tough situation. Leave your answer in the comments below!

Sometimes Your Special Belongings Weren’t Meant to be Yours

Today was primarily a cleaning day. Not of my house, but my classroom. Seriously… you’d think a teacher’s job could be easily conquered and finished right after school’s out, right? Wrong! I’m still not done.

Anyways, I was looking for some cleaning clothing to wear, and decided on jeans and this brown shirt my husband gave me awhile back. On it states, “One Classroom At A Time.” The shirt is actually from a group with a mission of building classrooms in foreign countries, particularly those that have low support of female education, as well as low education ratings overall. It got me thinking about a shirt I once had…

During Christmas Break of my grade 12 year, my sister and I, as well as our youth group went on a mission trip to Peru. We were going to complete a church project, as well as sightsee a little while we were there. We spent months packing little gifts to give to the locals, fundraising, and creating a team name/logo. We called ourselves TYMES (Today’s Youth Missionaries of Edmonton South), and we were fortunate to have a graphic designer as one of our leaders who created these fantastic shirts. It was the only time that name would be used.

Of course we were all very fond of our shirts and took them with us to Peru. We loved our time working on the church and playing with the local children. In fact, we may have gotten in trouble for playing too much… But these kids were the happiest kids. They lived in cardboard lean-tos, knowing they could be kicked off the land at any time. And for the whole community of cardboard living spaces, the children had one ball. That’s it. No extra toys, just one ball. I couldn’t believe it. Rows and rows and rows of these cardboard things, so many children, and one ball. Even the sand had garbage and feces and hair mixed in with it, but these kids still smiled. Wow… that took me a few steps back… You really have no idea how lucky you are until you see firsthand what a third world environment is truly like.

The last day came of our time in this area. The church was completed, and we were attending the very first service with the locals. Of course, our neighbourhood children were there too, sitting on our laps, and just happy for a secure shelter over their heads. Saying goodbye to them was hard. They worked with us, sang with us, played with us, and even taught us a little Spanish. Thankfully, we were able to create big smiles with stickers, pencils, notebooks, lollipops, and little toys. But what really mattered was the extra we decided to give.

I don’t remember who started it, but I’m thinking it wasn’t me. Somebody in our group gave his/her shirt to one of the kids. As I said before, a shirt we were fond of, that would never be printed again. But I knew in that moment, that as special as that shirt was to me, it would mean so much more to these children. Yes, because they were poor and a new, good quality shirt would be wonderful to them, but also because they would always be able to remember the people who came and brought them gifts, even though we had no idea who they were.

It was then that I realized the truth: Everything in this world shall pass. God tells us so. We won’t be taking that shirt to Heaven. I won’t be taking my diamond rings to Heaven. Everything in this life will not be going to Heaven (objects… let me clarify!), but for the time we are here, we can make the most of what we have. Sometimes it will hurt out pride, absolutely. Sometimes, we may never get another chance at whatever item we give away. Sometimes, it may not even change a person’s life like we may have thought it would, but we can only do the best we can with what we have and what we know.

I don’t know if giving my shirt away made a world of difference in the child’s life. I have no idea. But I do know that at that moment, the smile and laughter and hugs I got in return were all that I needed to know for sure my shirt was going to the right place.

God Cares, Even About the Small Things

I know, for myself, and possibly for others, it is so easy to retreat to our knees to ask God for help in the big things, but not always such a normal thing to go to our knees over small things. I’ve heard some people say that God doesn’t need to be troubled with our little things. But here’s the deal: God cares about it all, big and small.

Last week, I was on track to be at least 5 minutes late for my chiropractor appointment. In fact, with all the lights and traffic in the city, there should have been no way to even make it on time.

However, I prayed. Not on my knees, but in my head as I started out the driving, looking at the clock on my dash, realizing I was in trouble. And you know what happened? I hit every green light along the way (around 6), and even had a parking spot in a very non-parking friendly area. And the best part about it was: I even had 7 minutes to spare! There is now way that should have been possible. Especially not driving through a heavy pedestrian area. I couldn’t believe it!

So moral of the story, God cares about even the small things. Anything that seems important to us is important to God. He may not always have the answer we want (because God knows best), but He does have THE answer. Pray, no matter what!

Day 18 – “You Got A Problem With Me?”

I have a problem. I brought home that veggie burger last night (and felt the misery of so much grease this morning), and do you think I did “RawTill4”? Absolutely not! I knew that burger was in there, and that’s what I went for. I’ve gotta learn to order only what I can eat that night, and not take things home. It’s not mentally working!

Meals:

Breakfast – Veggie Burger
Lunch – Vanilla Iced Coffee (I know, not much of a lunch…)
Late Snack – 4 Freezies (so hot here!)
Supper – Black Bean Burger, French Fries
Late Night Snack – Blood Orange Kombucha, Vegan Vanilla Cake

I didn’t workout today, but it was a bit of a weird, interesting day.

It was late this evening when we went to Planet Organic. I honestly love that store, and I needed some last minute items to take with me while I’m camping this week with my students.  When we got to the store, there was a very intoxicated man standing outside the doors. As soon as my husband got out of the car, he yelled at him saying something along the lines of, “You got a problem with me?”. Um, no Dude… we just pulled up and we’re going to get groceries. We hadn’t had a problem with you yet… But as we kept walking inside, repeating the word no several times, two bicycle policemen were walking towards him. As we went through the sliding doors, the store manager came over asking if he was still there, and was happy to see the police were there. I’m guessing this guy had been hanging around, causing trouble for awhile. What an extra little “spice” to the night.

Then it comes to me sitting here, eating this vegan vanilla cake. It takes me back to a whole different world…

A couple years ago, I was sitting in my apartment, my husband still unable to work, and living paycheque to paycheque. At times, I had to juggle which bill I could let slide for a month or two. Half of the time, our car didn’t work. It was such a different world. For us, it was such a treat to eat at Tim Hortons or McDonalds, McDonalds being the most frequent because it was the shorter walk from our place. We did what we could with what we had.

One day, we had taken the bus to go shopping down this road, covered with stores on both sides, and that’s when I saw the organic food market. I remember walking through there, not being able to really buy much (much more expensive than a McDonalds-night-out budget), but I so wanted to try this vegan vanilla cake. I had been vegetarian for many years and had heard lots of criticism about vegans and how the lack of dairy made everything taste bad. I so badly wanted to see for myself. Luckily, they sell pieces of the cake for a couple dollars, so I was able to get that and I think one special drink (I believe it was also the first time I tried kombucha). I couldn’t believe how good it was. In fact, I remember sitting at the bus stop, not realizing kombucha was carbonated, had shaken the bottle, opened it, and was quickly covered in what I immediately thought smelled like vinegar. What a smell for the ride home!

Sometimes I think it’s important we look back and see how far we’ve come. My husband is now on his third job in this country, we live in a 3-level townhouse instead of a 1-bedroom apartment, we have 2 working vehicles instead of one that continuously broke down, we have our own washing machine instead of using coin laundry, and I’ve gone vegan, eating as organic as possible. We NEVER eat at McDonalds anymore. So much has changed. It doesn’t mean we’re quite comfortable to where I’d like to be, but we’re in a place where don’t have to worry about bills not being paid, or fun not being had (though still smaller scale). And as I’m sitting here eating this vegan vanilla cake, I can smile and know I’ve come a long way from the first time I was blown away with this delicious treat, and look forward to where I’ll be the next time I have it again.

I Hope One Day My Students Understand

It has been such an emotional week for me this week. After an incident that occurred last week, the decision was brought down from Academic Standards Committee as to what would occur as punitive and redemptive actions in this situation. Of course, I had to write the e-mail, and then answer the questions that later ensued as to what had actually occurred as well as the details of the final decision.

So far, parents have seemed understanding and supportive. It’s the students that I worry about the most.

I hope one day my students understand
The reasons why I had to do what I did
The amount of punishment I suffered with them
The fact that I wanted to erase the event and the consequences with it
The reasons why I couldn’t
The reasons why I had to follow through even when I didn’t want to
The reasons why I can seem so harsh
Only because I want them to see their own potential
I hope one day my students understand
How much I cared and wanted them to succeed
The tears I’ve cried and the time I’ve spent
The lasting effects of memories
I hope one day my students understand
That I tried to do the best I could
A year is short in the grand scheme of life
There is no time to waste
I have to do what I can each day
Even if it means correcting mistakes
I hope one day my students understand
That it wasn’t just to “get them in trouble”
My care is genuine, much deeper than that
I hope one day they’ll see it.

To any other teachers reading this blog: Do you ever feel this way? I’m finding truth in the fact that it’s usually the more difficult students, the ones you spend so much time trying to “fix” or “correct” that grow on you the most. Since I have no children of my own, these students essentially are my children. And I think that just makes it worse when things go wrong.

I know I’ll get through this, it’s just another bump in the road. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. It’s so hard not to reach out and want to take all of their pain and hardships away. It’s hard to watch them learn the difficulties of life. But you have to, or they’ll never learn the difference between what is right and wrong. And so it is my prayer each night, that no matter what happens, they’ll someday understand and see how much I care. I hope one day my students will understand…

Week 12 Day 3

I drove myself to work today. What a good feeling! I still got up at the regular time, but had so much more time to get things done and still get to work on time. I actually enjoy not feeling rushed in the morning!

The school day went well. I kept in all of my students during morning recess to write lines about how important it is to be quiet in class. I also had some boys scrub a few cupboard doors with toothbrushes (I have a cleaning stash under my sink) from throwing snow outside (an absolute no-no).

Now, the crazy part about this, is I was filling out a graduate survey for my university, and one of the questions it asked was: How would your students describe you? I’m the type of teacher that talks straight to my students. We work together and we figure things out together. Then, if necessary, I will step in to solve problems that they are not solving on their own. And because I’m very straight-up with them, I told them what I was doing and asked them to be completely honest about their answers. Keep in mind the trouble they were just in. They completely poured out these amazing descriptions, one being, “a good disciplinarian”. I wasn’t sure how to take that at first until they told me that my punishments were good and fair. Wow. I love my class!

After school, I had to leave right away because I was getting my next size of trays for Invisalign at the dentist. The roads were terribly icy, but I managed to make it there safely. I then proceeded to sit for an hour because of how behind they were. However, I couldn’t leave and come back the next day because my dentist only works on Tuesdays. So I waited, and then got my new bottom plate, as well as a maintenance top plate. It hasn’t started hurting yet, but I fear it’s coming.

I went home, got ready, and my husband and I went to the gym. I had a very good back and biceps workout. I was stronger, felt solid, and took a little more of a leisurely approach by slightly longer breaks since my workout was a little shorter today (7 exercises). I even was able to complete 25 minutes of steady state cardio on the stationary bike! It was just a good time at the gym.

I noticed something at the gym tonight though. Standing in front of the mirrors, I realized that my back shape is nice (from a side view). But it’s almost like my stomach is somehow getting flatter and yet sticking out more. I guess I can best describe it like a thick, smooth curve. I haven’t quite settled on how I feel about this. But I chose to leave it as a realization that I am stronger, I feel better, and regardless of the fat percentage, my muscles are showing more than they ever have before, and that’s a feat in itself. So I’m going to keep waiting and see how my body continues to take shape.

It Could Always Be Worse…

Something I try to always focus on is the fact that things could always be worse. There is almost always some positive to every situation. It has helped me get through many different situations, and helps me to focus on the things I still have.

Although this year has been a particularly difficult one, I keep reminding myself that there is much worse out there. I have a roof over my head, a loving husband who is also safe, a wonderful family that is only a phone call away, and all of my needs are provided for. I also have a job, and that is some life security.

Today, we as a staff at the school said good-bye (for awhile) to one of our teachers. He took this job, over an hour from home, and started travelling back and forth. He had a company that was building a house for him so that his family (wife and children) could move and they could be together more. As a first year teacher, there is always a ton of extra work to be done to get everything in place for your schedule, your curriculum, and the years to come.

A few months ago, he had brought his wife to walk through the new house together. It was not quite finished, but was getting close and they were very excited to start moving in soon. During the visit, his wife started getting a progressively worse headache. It was so unusual that she went to the hospital, and come to find out, she had a mini-aneurysm from a condition of mal-formed veins in her spine. She got the help needed, and left the hospital preparing to return for many tests to see what could be done. The longer she waited, the greater the chances of death. Talk about a shock!

That same weekend, his father had lost his job. Though this was not significantly-directly related to him, it had a large effect on him and the family.

To top off that same weekend (yes, some things actually come in 3s), the house that he had been waiting for so long to be finished had a gas leak and blew up. Can you imagine?! Yes, insurance will cover it, but that is all that extra time that he will be separated from his family! I’m not sure when the last time he saw his young daughter and baby son.

As expected, he requested to take a leave of absence for the remainder of the year. His wife was scheduled for surgery to try and fix the vein problem, and during the procedure was rushed into an emergency surgery from complications. A second “bleed” had taken place, and she came through the surgery beating the 60% odds of dying. How incredible!

Although the surgery was successful, she had lost feeling in the lower half of her body. We have been praying intensely as a staff for her recovery, and with God’s blessings and healing, she has some movement and feeling back in parts of her legs and ankles. The doctor was not completely optimistic, but we continue to pray for a miracle. Because of her questionable recovery, she will be living for the next few weeks-months in the hospital and rehabilitation centers. All of which her husband will be staying with her, encouraging her through the process. Meanwhile, their children are being cared for by extended family members.

*sigh*…

So really… is what I’m going through all that bad? When I think of their story, no. My husband and I have our health and our mobility. Everything might not be perfect, and may in fact be difficult, but we have each other and continue to persevere through everything that comes our way. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

So during our “good-bye” session, we presented the teacher with an envelope, complete with signed cards, a motivational message, many gift cards for various restaurants around the hospital, and 4 gift bags filled with yarn and needles to knit and crochet. Apparently, the teacher’s wife has wanted to learn how to knit and crochet, and so what better time than now! My hope is that it gives her something else to look forward to and will help the time go more quickly during her recovery.