DId you know that...

May 28th was the day that mayonnaise was invented in France many years ago? Now it is being used in many forms and variations across the world. Make your own today! Just get a couple of eggs, mustard powder and olive oil ( or any sort of oil), add some salt and seasonings, and blend on high until the consistency is the way you like it.

We are on day 9 today. Over all: green smoothies rock. If you haven't tried one , DO. It gives so much energy, lightness to the body, and GLOW to your skin. There is no "perfect' recipe : to each its own. I like mine plain more on the salty side ( with more celery). I just like them that way. My kids REALLY love the thicker sweeter ones ( a bag of greens or bunch of spinach, or arugula or anything. Spring greens are the best, really. Very sweet and tender. Then a couple of bananas. Strawberries. Some frozen berries. Then I add a drop-full of stevia extract -kids. They like SWEET thing ). Did I mention , that smoothies and juice are THE BEST way to get nutrition in?

I also discovered my absolute favorite desert of the moment :

Strawberries, cut in pieces

Walnuts - pieces

Cinnamon

Raw cacao nibs

A dropfull of Stevia

Absolutely delicious. Stevia adds a very nice flavor. And with strawberries in season, they are not only sweet and aromatic, but also great priced. Enjoy!

I want a vacation

I am feeling nostalgic. I feel complete living among russian and ukrainian diasporas, and it is no wonder that my memories, hidden deeply in the back of my mind, are waking up now, bringing , again, the color back to life.

I look back at the last decade, and wonder, how is it that I did not notice that the most precious to me memories were melting away, silently. I still don't know...

So, today, when the sun hit it's high and the playground became ubber-ly hot to the point of "put-eggs-on-the-slide-not-the-baby" kind of hot, I took my little squirmy to the sand box. There is something magical about the sand when you are one ( or two, or three...). I watched little ones' fascination with the grains running through the little fingers, and couldn't help but tearfully smile , remembering the warmth on the sun, kind caressing of the water, and countless sea-shells. My childhood. It seems it was just yesterday my dad and I built sand castles. And today, i am building one for MY daughter.

Every year , growing up, my parents would get 10 days to 2 weeks, and take my sister and I out to the sea shore ( read "really nice ocean beaches" if you haven't been to the sea. The difference , really, is that the sea CONNECTS to the ocean. And there are a whole lot less sharks around , although the water is very warm ). We would usually go to the Crimea. For the duration of the time we would do NOTHING but lay in the sun ( don't worry , the PROPER times : before 11 and after 4. the other times we were under the tent), or for the kids (aka us) literally, LIVED in the water. The beaches were open 24 hours, and as I grew older, my memories were created from the beautiful sunrise from behind the mountain. The stillness - near mirror like - of the sea. The warmth of the water. The beauty of mother Nature. Best friendships were created with the guitar songs and midnight swims on the moon lit beach, with the sand cool and the moonlight path trembling on black, calm waters. This is something that is engraved in my heart. Forever.

I want my children to create such memories. I want them to remember me just the way I remember my parents. I want them to look back and to WANT to be the same - not in identical way, but in the way of LOVING their children, just as they are loved now.

Someone told me recently, that giving just love is not enough. I thought about it... and disagree. Love - true, unconditional, complete , God-created love, knows no fear, has no limits, is complete and can conquer anything. Love - or lack of thereof - is what saves or destroys.

I want a vacation. Any idea where we should go?

PS Day 6 is marked by fabulous green market steal : young broccoli florets, spring garlic, first spinach and radishes, and of course, aromatic strawberries and cherries for desert.

Days 3,4 and 5

Are pretty awesome. It is AMAZING how much difference the JUICE makes. I love shoothies, but they are my second best now. Juices are just that much more powerful. I also found a great way of making the goal and still be sane. Juicing EVERY day is just not realistic for us right now : we are WAY to busy, and a good juicer ( and the clean up mostly , knowing that I will NOT be able to

leave without a sparkling home. I just mostly hate coming back home to something that I need to clean. Home is my rest place)

SO. I found that juicing every 2-3 days ( more like 3), is great. I use the glass green bottles to store juice, and since we have the Greenstar juicer, all the enzymes and such are still there. Juicing 3-4 different things makes it really easy to target everyone's taste buds: i just mix more/less of certain ingredient according to the taste.

On the other note : I am very proud of my sissy : her first solo. Self choreographed and performed. She had no school. Diamond in the raw. All I am going to say is , the genes.

( Did I just take credit for this? You bet I did! After all, I was the first to lay the way after the snowstorm... One day I'll post how my dancing life started )

Today is...

A ROSE day in Bulgaria. How cool is that? I think I am going to celebrate by getting a bouquet of roses and putting it to use too. Bulgarians spread the petals all over, and weave the wreaths out of certain types of roses. Pretty and romantic!

On the food note :

No juicing ( but all the ingredients for tomorrow), but green drink instead ( the green water , as the kids call it) , beet salad ( beets, carrot, avocado, parsley and leaks + spices and seasonings ) for dinner, and lots of happy giggles when deciding what to get for tomorrow.

I also decided to add one more thing - doing something new every day. Something I might have always wanted to do, but never had time to , or something I never thought of doing. I saw the world through my kids eyes today. It is fascinating.

May 21, day 2, 29 days to go.

It's time

With craziness and changes over the last couple of months, my all important nutrition routine has taken its tall. It's time to revamp and redo. Reporting it daily, or every other day will be good for disciplining. And on that note ...

Some time ago I had a friend mention , that there should be complete freedom in doing ( this case "eating"), letting go of control and just doing what works. The theory is that once one stops being a "control freak", it all works out by itself.

Well... It doesn't really work that way. Discipline is discipline. There is a difference between being a control freak and controlling oneself because of discipline. I remember helping out my aunt ( who was a kindergarden teacher ) many years ago, and her telling to one angry 4 year old, who was creaming and explaining to her that he's so "angry, he can't even talk, because so-n-so is not sharing the blocks". ( cute , isn't it? ) So, she said " Well, even through you are angry, that doesn't mean that you need to cry or scream. That only shows one's lack of manners."

A little doll controlled himself and , through tears, but calmly sorted situation out. Isn't it a WOW situation? It engraved in my memory forever. It is real. While it doesn't work all the time perfectly, it works as I applied it to my children. Now - am I raising "control freaks"? No. I do not believe so. They are growing to be disciplines individuals, knowing how to deal with occurring situations and WORK THROUGH them with the MIND still intact. I believe this is important. Keeping one's "cool" is essential for anything one will do in life, whether it is raising kids, dealing with new developments at work, eating , etc.

Now back to food. From thinking and reasoning ( and I love to do that, and I don't think it's a bad thing either. Arthur Connan Doyle had one of the greatest minds in the history, I think we all could take a leaf out of his book. Will do nothing but good ), the bases are still there: discipline is discipline. One must do what one must do , to keep things balanced. I mean - we don't question why we brush our teeth, right? It's it the MOST controlling thing? Twice a day. Or even MORE often! But we do it, because it's good for us even we are absolutely ridiculously tired. A person that keeps their teeth clean = control freak? I hope not. It seems that the 'freak part' would apply to the one that would question that. SO!

I am doing a month of "intense revamping". I feel like we need juicing , and a lot of it. New treats - we are oh, so bored of our every day trail mix. And speaking of that : need new snack food, or maybe snack drink... And most and foremost : NEED MORE VARIETY for dinner. I love what we have, but we are ultimately are getting too "routined". Need changes. Need more fun. I'll report every evening. Or every other one , if things get too crazy.

May 20, 2010. Day 1. 30 days to go.

Control freak or discipline?

Best time ...

Did you know that the best time to shop is before noon? The assistants are not tired yet, the sizes are still there, empty dressing rooms and no lines to check out!

Note for the day:

If shopping for new shoes , do not buy tapering down heels that are under 3". They create an illusion of heavier body and shorter legs. If you love them - go for 3" of more. The hight will compensate for "side effects".

Dirty dozen, clean 15

My friend from right here posted this on her blog. I think it is a very good list, and very important to know. I noticed a HUGE difference when we decided to "organicanize" ourselves.

Where do you get your produce?

Happy birthday to...

Did you know that today is the official birthday of Jean Style? May 20, 1873 Levi Srauss & Co got a United States patent #139121 for using copper rivets to strengthen the pockets of denim work pants. Levi Strauss & Co. began manufacturing the famous Levi's brand of jeans, using fabric from the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Who'd know that what started as work pants would become one of the most wanted perfect fitting items in fasionista wardrobe not only in the US, but also spread through out the world? Do you think Levi Strauss knew what he was starting? While I am personally not a devotee of Levi's , i am most definitely happy he came up with the idea , as this is my second skin ( nearly), and allowed other creators use their imagination.

What's your favorite brand ?

support the turks

Did you know that today is a Turkish Youth and Sports day? They are rather large on celebrating it too. Seems like an excellent way to support turks and go to a yoga class, pilates, gym or simply dance your heart out. What do you think?

surely can't be

I look at my 3 little kittens, and my heart melts every time. And then, when they are not around, I think about them, and I get teary. I know that probably, every mother feels that way, and still... I am the luckiest, the happiest and complete woman. My little cherubs are my life. Sweetums, you will be reading this some time later. I want you to know that my heart belongs to you. It always has , and always been. Long before you were born, and forever when I go. Know that no matter where I am , my thoughts, my heart and my mind is with you. My love is there for you. Know that I will do everything to make you happy. Everything. I kiss your eyes when you sleep, remembering the little sparkles that filled your eyes during the day. I kiss little hands, remembering holding them during the day. I kiss little feet , remembering running on the playground all day. I kiss your cheeks, remembering your little heads laying on my shoulder. If I could, I would pause the time to keep you this way for a little longer, but I know how curious you are about world and living in it, and I run by your side, hoping to be able to catch up. I love you, cherubs. My kittens. My birds. My life is complete. You complete me.

Your happy smile is my purpose in life. I love you. I love you. I love you. 100000 x multiplied.

Just to spike the brain power

eonvrye that can raed this rsaie your hnad.

To my 'selected' strange-minded friends: If you can read the following paragraph, forward it on to your friends and the person that sent it to you with 'yes' in the subject line. Only great minds can read this This is weird, but interesting! If you can raed this, you have a sgtrane mnid too

Can you raed this? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetr in what oerdr the ltteres in a word are, the olny iproamtnt tihng is that the frsit and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it whotuit a pboerlm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Azanmig huh? Yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! If you can raed this forwrad it

I am curious. Leave me a comment whether you can or cannot read this. And what you thought about it. I could. I thought it WAS strange , but fun.