Tidbits

So how 'bout them Oscars? Everybody except for ME seems to be surprised that Crash won Best Picture. I called it way-back-when. Despite reading a lot of dismissive reviews about it, I still think Crash is an excellent movie that gives top-notch performances and lots to think about and discuss.

And dear, sweet Reese Witherspoon walks away with an Oscar too. Yay! She really showed how talented she is in Walk the Line and her work is consistently excellent. I'm a big fan of hers and am so glad she was rewarded.

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Folks, I have good news. After my terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad hair cut last month, I've been plotting about where I would go and what I would do since I vowed never to return to my former hair hacker. I ended up going to a hair salon where I got an excellent cut and style and I am thrilled with how I look! One of the owners of the place did my hair and she was wonderful. She spent lots of time with me finding out about my hair, what I've had done that worked and didn't work, looked through books with me to get ideas about what I'd like, and then she proved to me how skilled she is by doing a fabulous job thinning out my extremely thick hair and managing to make my hair so much better than I think it's ever been. She spent over an hour and a half with me, and she has got me wrapped around her little finger now. I'll try to get a picture in for your perusal later.

I've gotten tons of compliments on my hair and women at church were coming up asking me where did I get it cut and which stylist did I have, etc. You know you look good when everybody wants to follow in your footsteps. ;)

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Thanks to my inspiration from Bird by Bird I've been spending time writing most days. Not just blogging, but doing some writing exercise for myself. It's going well and I feel glad to be developing my writing, getting my thoughts out in written form, and clearing my brain of the stuff that tends to float round and round in my noggin if I don't put it someplace. I've been able to deposit some of my more "drivelly" thoughts into my personal writing, so hopefully this blog can be spared some of that.

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I've been on my super-health-kick for over a week now PLUS I've been exercising. I've eaten so many veggies that some days I felt like I would barf if I had to even look at another salad. But, I'm hanging in there. I'm so very tired of being sick, my immune system is very run-down, plus my body will thank me if I can lose some weight. I have this crazy theory that my back might not hurt so much if I weighed 10, 20, or 30 pounds less than I do now.

In the past couple of years when I've tried to eat more of what I consider healthy (a lot of raw foods) I've found it difficult to keep up with it since it's different from what I'm used to making and the ways I normally run my kitchen and meals. Thankfully, this time around I haven't found it all that hard at all. I guess that I'm used to the recipes that I like enough to remember that I need to sprout something or save carrot pulp from juicing or whatever, and just keep making something raw every day. I also got a wonderful, fabulous new food processor, which has helped immensely because I was limping along with a small, half-broken one. Good kitchen tools make a huge difference in how easily food can be prepared!

The recipe book for raw foods that I really love is called Rejuvenate Your Life and can be purchased at the resource store at AboveRubies.org . Many of the recipes in it are for things that we enjoy eating now as a regular part of our diet, even when we're not on a health-kick. The author is a very creative raw foodist and has tons of ideas for ways to eat a variety of delicious foods that aren't stripped of their nutrients by cooking.

So far I've made raw, healthy cookie bars, treat balls, salad sprinkles, bread, crackers, cookies, snacks, and more. Most days this week I've been able to eat 50-85% raw foods. Last year when I got on a raw kick in January I lost 8 pounds, and I wasn't even exercising. Boy would it be nice to have some results like that this year! However, weight loss is only a side issue for me right now. My body is just desperate for health and my mind can't stand for me to be sick any longer. Something's got to change and I know what it is.

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Have a great day, people!