28 Days of Adding Happiness – 5 Strategies for Being Happier

I cannot believe that it has been almost 28 days already! I really hope that this blogging series has helped some of you and has in itself added some happiness to the world. It has been an incredible project, and I am so grateful for having the opportunity to work with Sarah and to create such a positive project in the blog community.

Throughout this project we have posted up things that make us happy, things that make you happy, and things that make others happy. We have shared positive links, ideas, projects, and posts with each of you. Hopefully each day you were able to look forward to the information and creative awesomeness that we wrote to the world.

The saddest part of accomplishing a big project like this though is that it will eventually and inevitably come to an end. At some point there is a stopping point, or a point in which we must move on to the next project or the next thing. As one of my last posts in this series, I want to NOT say goodbye. I am hoping that you will continue to join me here at my blog for positive posts that celebrate life and bring happiness to others. In the mean time, I wanted to share a few ideas/ strategies for being happier:

1. Choose Happiness – Happiness is a choice that we make for ourselves each day. We can choose to me weak, sad, upset, or unhappy. Or we can choose to be strong, happy, kind, loving, and positive each day. It is our choice and that is what makes it so beautiful! Sure, there are tons of things that can drag us down each day, but if we wake up and say to ourselves, “Today I choose happy!” it’s going to be a huge step toward making that happen in our lives!
2. Be Grateful – Without a sense of gratitude, happiness can diminish. We become bitter and sad. We can feel alone or grouchy. However, when we learn to be grateful, even the small triumphs, tokens, and achievements become something to celebrate. Be grateful for what you have, who you have, and what you are able to do. Being here on this earth is a blessing. Don’t forget to be grateful for that!
3. Forgive People – Holding a grudge is such a heavy burden. It brings us down, handicaps us, and eventually defeats us. When someone is truly sorry, forgiving them will free up all sorts of time and energy in your life. You will no longer need to worry about your hatred, your bitterness, your sadness. You will have so much more time for positive, wonderful, and happy emotions. You will feel so much better!
4. Accept Your Flaws – We are all flawed and that is one of the most beautiful things in this world. Being flawed is what allows us to connect with others! Think about it, if you were perfect in every way, you would never need others to make you feel complete. If you were perfect, you wouldn’t need anyone because you could do everything for yourself and do it perfectly. There is a reason that we have people in this world that are talented in Art or Science, or Math or Writing, and the reason is because we can’t do it all ourselves. Once we accept this, we can begin loving ourselves for our own strengths!
5. Laugh – Laughter is healing. It gives us the opportunity to feel good. Laughter reminds us that every moment of life doesn’t have to be series. It gives us a chance to let go a little, and as a little extra bonus, it ensures that we smile. Have you ever laughed without smiling? I challenge you to try that! Laughter is a real medicine for sadness and the best prescription for happiness. Do it every day!

 

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Adding a Little Love DIY

I have to admit that I originally wrote this post for the Courage and Dash website that I currently create DIY posts for once per month. Next month I will begin writing over there every-other week. I’m kind of excited! I was planning a new post for today that was very similar but not quite the same. I had planned to DIY a lovely welcome sign for your door. We all know that welcoming friends into our home will add a bit of happiness not only to our lives, but also their lives as well. The problem occurred when I was cutting out the material and completely sliced across the entire project. Talk about some crazy arm strength! So, I decided to share this lovely post with you all instead.

One of my college professors always had us going around searching for inspiration. We were required to find something inspiring or take a picture of something each day and then use it to inspire us on our latest projects. This became such a habit, that I still do it despite not needing to turn in my findings to my professor. One day I was walking through a craft store and saw a really neat piece of artwork for sale. It instantly gave me an idea, and I knew I had to create some artwork for our bedroom.

Today’s DIY tutorial makes use of a really fun product that I love to use: foam board! Foam board is so versatile. It can literally be used for about a million different types of projects. It works really well in for projects when you want to create dimensional artwork or when a lightweight product is necessary. Today’s project can be created for any room or any occasion. It will work for artwork in your home or for a party decoration.

What you will need:

• 2 colors of foam board (unless you wish to paint it.)
• A template (unless you wish to use your own handwriting)
• Sharp Craft knife
• Pen
• Scissors
• Adhesive of your choice
• Spray glitter if you wish

***Step one and two can be skipped if you would rather use your own handwriting. Simply draw out your word or words of choice onto one of your foam board pieces.

Step One:

First, using a document program or perhaps Illustrator, create and print a template. Or if you prefer, you can use your own handwriting. Personally, I do not care for my own handwriting, so I always use templates. They can be so easy to create. I created mine to scale, and then printed it to scale as well in reverse. Then I pieced it together like a puzzle and taped it into place. Don’t worry if it isn’t perfect because you can always adjust it as needed.

Step Two:

Cut out your template using your scissors. Don’t worry if it is not perfect. When I printed mine, I used the quick print function so the letters were not quite solid, but it saved a lot of ink. It also didn’t print all the way to the edges. Once your template is cut out you can trace it on the back of one of your foam board pieces. I find it best to trace a mirror image onto the back of the foam board so that there are not any extra marks or coloring on the front side.

Step Three:

Using your sharp craft knife, cut out the letters from your foam board. Make sure that you push through both layers. Once you have cut out your letters, you may need to clean up the edges. I turned my letters over to view them from the front. It makes it a bit easier to determine whether it looks nice.

 Step Four (Another Optional Step):

If you are anything like me, I can’t have enough glitter! I choose to use a spray glitter to coat the letters. You could also use spray paint to change the color of the foam board if you only have one color of foam board. Make sure that if you are painting the foam board, you wait until one coat is completely dry before adding a second coat.

Step Five:

Using the adhesive of your choice, mount the letters to the second piece of foam board. I prefer to use double-sided tape. Foam board is so light that tape is perfect for this project. I like it for this project because it’s easy and clean to use, and it doesn’t require time to dry!

Step Six:

Hang your masterpiece and Enjoy!The best part about this project is that you can change the words, change the fonts, change the colors, and change the purpose. You can make literally anything with this tutorial once you figure it out! So, what are you going to make? Leave me a comment, and tell me what you plan to make. I’d love to see your pictures too. Share them with me!

Don’t forget that this week is the last week of this blog series. Are you sad? I’m sad! Working with Sarah has been such an amazing experience. She is a wonderful and beautiful woman both inside and out. Her heart is bigger than the sky and her smile is infectious. Meeting Sarah has been an enormous blessing in my life, and I am hoping that it has been a blessing for all of you considering all the lovely posts she has shared with us on With Love Paper Goods. I can’t imagine not know this lady, and I can’t wait to see what projects we might team up on in the future. Head over there tomorrow to see her latest post.

Until next time,

Love!

 

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Kale Chips that Taste Good? Oh, yes!

I just love Sara’s unique style! Her flowers are always so pretty. Wasn’t that flower frame she made with paper flowers, just stunning? I loved it!

This Labor Day weekend, how many of us overindulged in all kinds of yummy picnic foods like hotdogs, hamburgers, cookies, or chips? It’s so easy to do, especially when we are surrounded by friends and family members that are eating the same things. As somebody that regularily eats really healthy foods like fruits and veggies all day every day, I can understand how hard it can be to eat healthy in social situations, but I’m also here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be hard.

Two years ago when I switched over to a raw vegan lifestyle, I had a ton of friends that were actually very curious about the food choices that I was making, so I decided to have a dinner party and share my lifestyle with them. I went all out with fancy table clothes, real dishes and glassware, etc for 17 people! It was a ton of work, but I prepared 5 courses (3 of which had more than one option) plus, tons of appetizers for everyone to munch on while we waited for everyone to arrive. Yes, I might be insane! The best part was that everyone loved almost everything, and several people left with recipes so that they could make some of it at home.

One of the favorites that night were the kale chips. There has been a ton of chatter about Kale lately both in and out of the health food world. People are finally starting to notice it for the amazing nutritional value and for its awesome versatility. These kale chips were a huge hit, not only because they shocked everyone with their taste, but because everyone was interested in actually eating this healthy little plant and couldn’t believe how easy it was to prepare!

I originally got my recipe from Carmella at her blog, The Sunny Raw Kitchen. She has a ton of yummy recipes, and I’ve used several of them. Check out her website, and try some of them yourself! Her recipe was found on another site called Raw Food Talk which is another really great source for raw food ideas. For more sites or more information about vegetarian eating, veganism, or Raw veganism, check out this previous post I wrote.

Here’s the recipe:

Chrissy’s Goddess Chips
Posted by Chrissy on Raw Food Talk

2 bunches kale, broken into large pieces by hand (preferably dino kale)

Dressing:
¾ cups sesame tahini
¼ cup nama shoyu
½ cup apple cider vinegar
½ cup water ~ more if needed
2 scallion
1 clove garlic
1 lemon, juiced
¼ t. sea salt
¼ cup fresh parsley

Place kale in a large mixing bowl. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth to get a thick consistency. You may have to add more water. Pour over kale and mix thoroughly with your hands to coat the kale. You want this mixture to be really glued onto the kale.

Place kale onto a Teflex sheet, on top of a mesh dehydrator screen, and dehydrate for 4 hours @ 110 degrees. You’ll need to use two trays. Rotate kale occasionally to dry uniformly.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, HAVE NO FEAR! You can still create this yummy snack. Use your oven on the lowest setting and crack it open so that it doesn’t get quite as hot. Keep checking on the chips until they are light and crispy. They will nearly fall apart in you mouth when they are done.

If you try this recipe, leave me a message and tell me what you think, then head over to With Love Paper Goods tomorrow to see what Sarah has in store for you. Don’t forget to come back on Wednesday for another dose of Adding Happiness!

28 Days of Adding Happiness – 10 Easy Ways to Create More Happiness in Your Life

Hello Friends! I’m really, really sorry that I didn’t get this post up yesterday. As you all know, sometimes in life, the unexpected happens. At those times we can choose to panic and still try to get 28 hours worth of life lived in one 24 hour day, or we can take a few deep breaths, prioritize it all, and get done what we can get done. Yesterday was one of those days for me. It couldn’t have been a more appropriate time for my world to fall apart seeing as how yesterday I was going to write about 10 ways to create more happiness in your life, and I actually had to take my own advice yesterday. It’s crazy how things happen sometimes!

10 Ways to Create More Happiness in Your Life

1. Move! Park a little further away, take the stairs, stand up while you fold the laundry, chase your dogs around the yard for a few minutes…These are all ways to get you moving. If you can’t commit to 20 -30 solid minutes of exercise each day, at least try to get in 30 minutes of movement spread out throughout the day. Getting up and moving will make you feel so much better, and in turn, add a little happiness to your life.
2. Sleep! When we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies don’t function as well as they could. Sleep is so important. I always find that I can accomplish things a lot faster and better when I am well rested. Sleep makes me less grumpy toward others, too. Adding even an extra half hour of sleep to your day can add just a little more happiness to you life.
3. Eat! These days, everywhere you look there’s another diet popping up with promises to make you the next Victoria’s Secret model. Nearly every one I know seems to be on a diet., but what if we stopped with the whole diet game and just chose a lifestyle? What if instead of counting every single calorie you take in, you simply started eating in a way that made your body feel good? Fruits and veggies are important, and we all know that. Try to include a few more of them in your day, and they will be sure to add some happiness to your life!
4. Make lists! You know you have about a million things going through your head each day and all kinds of things to remember. Write those things down. It will save you the stress of remembering them…or worse – forgetting them. Making lists will ensure you always remember the things you need to do, the places you should go, and all the little things in between. Making lists will add just a little more happiness to your days.
5. Prioritize! We can only do so much. Every day, we are given 24 hours and in those hours we still have to sleep, eat, exercise, work, etc. and that all takes time. Each day when you get up, take some time to think about the really important things you need to do that day. When you prioritize everything, you ensure that the things with high priority are sure to get done, and the things with lower priority can be done if you have time. Since we aren’t all superheros, if we don’t get it all done, at least we know that the most important things got done.
6. Smile! Right now I want you to try something. I want you to smile, and I don’t want it to be just a small curve of your lips, I want it to be a big, huge, genuine smile; I want it to be the kind of smile you smile when you can’t stop laughing! Sometimes the simple act of smiling can be enough to brighten your day and add a bit of happiness to your life!
7. Connect! Get off Facebook and actually connect with somebody in you life. Social Media is a fantastic tool, and it certainly has a place in our lives, but it cannot possibly replace human interaction and connections. pick up the phone, make a dinner date, play a game! These are the real life things that matter. Connecting with the people you love instead of staying glued to a screen all day or all night will add some happiness to your life!
8. Journal! I know we don’t all have the time or even the patience to sit down each day and write pages and pages about how our life is going at the moment, and you don’t need to if that isn’t your thing. I found a great way of journaling a few years ago that has become a daily habit of mine. Each day at the end of the day, I write one sentence detailing something important that happened that day. It could be as simple as “I made it to work early today, and it felt so good to not have to rush.” or as huge as “I got married to my best friend today!” Taking a moment each day to reflect on your day and find one positive thing about your day that you want to remember, will add happiness to your life!
9. Say No! In the past I found myself stressed out because I always seemed to have a million things I needed to do, and a lot of the time they were things I didn’t really even want to do or have the time to do before I even committed to doing them. If you find yourself always saying yes to people and filling your calender up to the brim, go ahead and stop. When something really doesn’t interest you, it’s okay to say no. When your schedule is already full, it’s alright to pass on something. Saying no every once in a while will free up your schedule a bit, take your stress levels down a notch, and add more happiness to your life!
10. Free Time! Are you one of those people that have every minute of your day planned out from the exact minute that the alarm goes off and you hit the snooze button twice, until the minutes you close your eyes at night? If you are, you need to give yourself a break! Give yourself a half hour or even an hour each day to do nothing, or at a minimum, to do exactly what you want to do at that given moment in time. Even if you have to write it down in your planner “free time to do anything I want” it will be worth it. In that free time, go ahead, read a book, take a bath, sip on a glass of wine, meditate, do what makes you feel good. Giving yourself this opportunity to do what you enjoy, will absolutely add happiness to your life!

Do you have some other suggestions for adding happiness to your life? I’d really love to hear what you do each day to bring about some happiness in your life. Leave me a comment below telling me all about it. Then click on over to Sarah’s blog for today’s 28 Days of Adding Happiness post. She’ll be sharing some great links with you today. I’ll be back tomorrow to share one of my favorite places to go for some yummy happy treats here in my town!

Have a great afternoon! Oh, and a fantastic weekend! Happy Friday everyone!

 

 

 

Monday’s are Magical – Pink Hair Don’t Care

As some of you probably know by now, I recently colored my hair pink. It was a decision many, many years in the making, and the right time was finally now. Although I certainly don’t feel that I must defend this decision, I do have an explanation.  Even my husband is on board with my #pinkhairdontcare choice!   Coloring my hair was something I had always wanted to do. To be honest, the first memory I have of colored hair was actually done on a dog. I thought it was so cute, and I really wanted it for myself, however, it never really made sense. Under the roof of my parents, I probably would have been grounded until I was 50, and after graduation and my move to California, I was still trying to figure everything out and get a decent job. It had always been impressed upon me that “normal” was the only way to be if I wanted a good job and “normal” did not include colored hair.

The first time I ever went crazy with my hair, it really wasn’t crazy at all. I was with my gal pal, Charlie at the mall and found some Mohawk hair product. We went straight back to my place where I proceeded to give myself a short Mohawk and die it so black that it almost looked blue. Since I was in the army at the time, I had to cut it in a way that I could wear it down at work, so I didn’t get in trouble for the cut, but I did get in trouble for the color which I had to immediately change. Here’s a picture of me growing out the Mohawk:

After that experience, I stayed inside the lines for the most part. I only used hair colors that were basically natural until I got out of the military. Then, I decided to put one small streak of hot pink in the front of my hair. I liked it, but it didn’t last long. Again, the boss wasn’t pleased, so I had to get rid of it pretty quickly. About a year later, I decided to go blond. It wasn’t very pretty on me. Going from a dark brown to blond overnight produces an ugly warm blond color in my hair that just wasn’t attractive. After a few months, I went back to normal. Then, a few days later, I decided to put a few streaks of blue and purple in my hair. That was a lot of fun until again, I got a corporate job and the boss frowned upon my colorful hair. Back to normal again!

Are you beginning to see a pattern here? It seems like every time I do something fun with my hair, my boss gets mad. For some reason, colored hair is frowned upon, and those that have colored hair get strange glances from people wherever they go. I almost feel as though colored hair is more horrific to the average boss than a body full of tattoos. At least that’s how it feels!

However, I have found myself intrigued by both tattoos and colored hair. I’ve never seen either as a bad thing, or looked at either with a raised eyebrow. I love when I see someone with tattoos or colorful hair. I think it’s beautiful. For the most part, I don’t even think that they do it for attention. I think they do it because they can and because they want to. Everyday people wear their favorite color clothing, drive their favorite color car, and decorate their homes with their favorite color, so why must it be so taboo to color your hair with your favorite color?

Back in June I announced my new, full-time job – working for myself from home as the CEO and Creative Director of Pretty Much (See that post here). I no longer had a corporate job in which I had to keep the boss happy. I was finally in charge and could do what I wanted with my hair. I’d been waiting forever for this opportunity, and I was pretty darn excited. I talked to my husband about it, and even he was on-board. So, just before we left for vacation, I went in and had my hair colored pink. I had a professional do it to ensure that despite the wild color, it would still look good and wouldn’t look tacky or trashy.

My thought process, and the argument I used to win my husband over on the idea was that if I were given the choice between two different creative professionals to decorate my wedding and create my stationary, the first one I would check into would be the one with pink hair over the one with regular brown hair. I’m not saying that brown hair is bad or boring or that you shouldn’t have it, but I know from my personal experience that pink hair defiantly makes a create statement and brings out my personality.

So far, after nearly two weeks as a pink headed lady, I still love every inch of the pink. I still feel confident in my choice as well. It makes me really happy to know that there isn’t a single person that can tell me to change it or to fix it. I love that I can have pink hair. In a way, you might say “I left my 9-5 for this!”

28 Days of Adding Happiness – Cheesecake!

I’m so excited about my first blog post for the 28 Days of Adding Happiness! This is going to be so much fun. Sarah and I have a lot planned for you during this series. If you haven’t already read post number one on Sarah’s blog, you’ve got to read it! Yesterday she posted an awesome tutorial for making a statement necklace. It’s gorgeous!

Before I jump right into an amazing recipe, I wanted to tell you why I am so excited about happiness. It seems that most days we all rush around in a haze just trying to beat a clock or get ahead. We often loose site of the most important things that we can do for ourselves. Yeah, I said it – you can do things for yourself! Happiness doesn’t have to be a foreign concept. It can actually be something that we ensure for ourselves each day. Through taking care of bodies, making pretty things to wear or give to others, and even reaching out to others can make your own day better.

A really important part of being happy is taking care of our bodies. When we eat junk, we feel like junk! The hard part is that it is so easy to eat junk every single day, and that turns into a vicious cycle of eating junk, feeling like junk, eating junk, etc. What many people don’t realize is that eating healthy and taking care of our bodies doesn’t have to mean a huge green salad for every meal. You can still indulge; you just need to do it smartly.

Today I want to teach you a really yummy recipe for cheesecake. It’s pretty incredible tasting, and when you see the ingredients, you’ll be doing a double take. Yes, you still want to eat it in moderation because of the high calorie count, but with each bite you are giving your body some wonderful ingredients. Is there a better way to eat delicious food and make your body happy at the same time? I don’t believe so!

Here’s your recipe:

Crust:

3/4 cup almonds

1/2 cups pecans

4 tablespoons almond butter

1/2 chip cacao powder

4 tablespoons coconut oil

4 tablespoons agave

Filling :

4 cups cashews

4 tablespoons coconut oil

10 tablespoons agave

2 vanilla beans (scraped)

3 teaspoons nutritional yeast

Juice from one lemon

mix all ingredients for the crust in a food processor until mixed well and dough-like.

Press the crust into a pan and set it aside.
Next, do the same with all the ingredients for the filing. Spread the filing over the crust layer.
Put your cheesecake in the freezer for 2 hours. Take cute pictures of your dog while you wait.
Once the cheesecake has set up, remove it from the freezer and top it off with a topping of your choice. I love fruit on mine!

 

Enjoy! Tomorrow you will have to head back over to Sarah’s blog for another fun post!

 

20 Things You Probably Don’t Know About Me

1. I have studied at 9 different colleges and universities because I’ve moved around that much!
2. I once had a Mohawk, and it was blue.
3. I have eight younger siblings:  5 sisters and 3 brothers.
4. In middle school, I won the read-a-thon- three years in a row just so that I could donate the grand prize ( a mountain bike) to our school’s huge fundraiser auction.
5. I’m addicted to The Voice despite it being rigged.
6. I try my best to follow a vegan lifestyle for the amazing health benefits it has given me, but every once in a while I indulge in real Ice cream or a steak. I know – I’m horrible!
7. I celebrate my birthday for a week because I love to celebrate, and I even celebrate my half-birthday. This year, I’m not quite as excited to do that though – it will be the big 3-0!
8. I have a small heart. No, literally! My heart is slightly smaller than normal.
9. In fourth grade I got my hair chopped off. When my husband saw that school picture for the first time he said, “I didn’t know you had a twin brother!”
10. In my early twenties, I survived on monster coffees and milky way candy bars for long periods of time.
11. I lost a really nice pair of glasses (before I had PRK) in the Rhine River in Germany while I was there after being medevac’d from Iraq.
12.  The lowest grade I ever received in school was a B+ until my senior year when I got a D on my final exam in World Religions. I went to a Catholic School. The next time a ever got a low grade was when I got a C at the age of 29 because apparently when you are excused from class to have a major surgery, that doesn’t mean that you can make up the work. I cried!
13.  I have an unreasonable and irrational fear of heights. I have had numerous conversations with my brain about getting over this silly fear, but it refuses to listen.
14.  I got my first gray hair at age 21 and it was in my eyebrow!
15. It is best for the greater good of the world to not argue with me. I will not let you win. We will argue, even if I am wrong, until you give up and agree that I am right. I have attempted to break this awful habit, but thus far, I have failed.
16. I should have hit adulthood during the roaring twenties. During my teenage years and into my twenties, I was a true flapper at heart. I even dressed as one to go to my senior prom.
17. I have a crush on Robert Downey Jr.
18. I hate carpet. I think it is the most disgusting flooring option available. We have carpet in our house. Yuck!
19. I have a very (un)healthy attraction to glitter, especially gold glitter. I once glued glitter to my eyelashes with super glue. Please do not ever do that.
20. My studio has enough craft supplies within it to open a small craft store. You think I’m kidding…but I’m really not!

Self Love 2014: Being a Vegan, Setting Goals, and Loving Myself

So, here is a crazy wild fact about me: I’m a RAW VEGAN! Yikes! Don’t stop reading yet. Just hear me out. I promise that I am not trying to push this lifestyle choice on you. Many people have heard of the American documentary film, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead that follows the journey of Joe Cross, an Australian, across America for 60 days while he follows a juice fast. I can relate to that man! I was a 246 pound 5’ 8.5” female. I’d gone to nutritionists, tried prescription weight-loss medications, tried exercising, counted calories, and still just could not get my weight under control. It kept climbing, my back, knees, and feet killed me. My feet themselves were so swollen that they looked like softballs wearing shoes! I had every symptom of low thyroid on the planet except that my thyroid levels were borderline normal so insurance would not cover the $400 medication. I was on several medications to treat depression, anxiety, back pain, sleeping problems, and I was getting close to needing a medication for high blood pressure. I was a wreck! Oh, and one more little detail – I was in the hospital! Besides my health, my relationship was suffering. Yup, I’ll say it – I hated having sex or being intimate in any way! I felt ugly, fat, and embarrassed constantly. It was bad, and I knew that I had to figure out something.

On March 2, 2012 I decided the time was now. I woke up and made some juice for breakfast…and a snack, and lunch, and a snack, and dinner. The next day, I woke up and did it all over again. I did this for 4 days. I lost 10 pounds, and my eyes looked so white and so bright. I had a ton of energy! After 4 days, I woke up and drink nothing but water all day. I did this for 3 days. My energy was through the roof and I had lost another 5 pounds for a grand total of 15 pounds that first week. Slowly I eased back into eating, but it wasn’t the same kind of eating that I was used to. Instead, I ate as a RAW VEGAN! These are the sorts of things I ate:

What is a raw vegan? Simple! A raw vegan eats nothing but fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and sprouts. The catch is that you don’t cook anything by conventional methods. You heard me right – everything I ate was raw! Now, when I tell you that I don’t cook anything by conventional methods, I mean that I don’t use my oven because it heats food to a temperature that begins to destroy the nutrients within the food. Occasionally I use my dehydrator to “cook” food though. Providing I don’t heat my food above 105 (there are a few different conventions on this temperature ranging from 105 to 118,) all those nutrients stay in tact and provide me with all kinds of good stuff to keep my body healthy and full of energy. So that’s the gist of it. Trust me though, there is so much more, and I DO NOT advise anyone to try this type of extreme lifestyle without doing the research. I will provide you with links to some of my favorite sources at the end of this post.

So, back to my story. I was loosing weight. I was feeling great. Life was awesome, and I was even able to start going to the gym where I entered & won a contest for loosing the most inches during one month. I was on top of the world. Of course life throws a wrench at you whenever you feel like you are on top of the world, and drags you back down the mountain kicking and screaming. On July 14, 2012, I left for Afghanistan. I had 2 ½ weeks to prepare for this trip, and I was not thrilled. My biggest concern was my new lifestyle. I had lost 50 pounds and I was feeling amazing. The last thing I wanted to do was deploy to a war-stricken place where the food offered was anything but raw. Without much choice I did it though.

For the next year I attempted to do what I could to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I learned to eat bell peppers because that was one of the few fresh vegetables that I could count on. I learned to avoid most of the fruit available because it was either not ripe or so ripe that it had mold beginning to grow on it. I drank 8 bottles of water everyday. I ordered as much RAW food powders, canned black beans, and canned peaches & pears as I could from Amazon, but by the end of my time there, I was eating eggs, bread, rice and other processed food because it was about all I could count on. My weight was up and down the whole time between 170 and 200. (The first time I hit 180 was a huge celebration for me!) I just could not find a balance. It was so frustrating to me that the Army would rather give their soldiers 5 different kinds of pie to choose from and 3 different kinds of ice cream to choose from along with the fried EVERYTHING than give them healthy options that would boost their energy and keep them fit for battle. What a horrible mess!

Moving on to July 3, 2013: I came home, and this time it was for good (I had been home in February for a month and a half.) At that point, I was mostly eating as a raw vegan again, but something in my brain had clicked during that year away and I found it to be nearly impossible to eat 100% fully raw. My weight remained at about 185, and I still felt pretty good. I wanted that willpower back though. This was one of the hardest times for me though when it came to being stressed out. I had less than two months to plan my wedding. Yup! I was engaged in May of 2012 and had out down the deposit on all of our wedding vendors before I found out I was deploying. To top it off, I was doing everything by hand! I had less than two months to letterpress our invitations suite, make a flower girl dress, make programs, make welcome bags, make this, make that…basically do it all. My fiancé was in Afghanistan [from May 2012-November 2013 with a month home for the wedding], so he was no help, and my family all lived on the other side of the country so they couldn’t exactly help very much either until they flew out the week before the wedding. Luckily I had a neighbor friend that was able to help me a few times!

Needless to say, a raw vegan lifestyle was not a top priority for me at that time. After the wedding, came the honeymoon. Our honeymoon was so magical and it took place in Walt Disney World! How could I possibly go to Walt Disney World on my Honeymoon and not eat whatever I wanted to eat? Despite walking around everyday all day long, I still managed to gain 20 pounds on my honeymoon! You heard that right! 20 pounds! That’s just insane. The sad part is that once we returned, I still could not find the willpower I needed to return to a raw vegan lifestyle, and the weight stayed put. Finally in November my husband came home from Afghanistan for good. I was pretty excited to have him home and thought that maybe having him around would give me the encouragement I needed to get back on track, but of course it did not. Instead, the holidays came and went while I gained another 10 pounds! I couldn’t say no to chocolate covered strawberries-you can find the best ones at Shari’s Berries

That brings me to the here and now. It is the end of January, I’ve been diagnosed with a cardiac condition called Posteral Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), I weight 210 pounds, and I just can’t get that weight off. I am so ready to get back on track though, so I’m starting over.  Next week I am going to begin again. This time I really have to be careful about juice fasting. It is supposedly not a wise thing to undergo with a diagnosis of POTS or while taking a Beta-blocker, so I won’t be able to juice fast, but I will incorporate juicing into my daily regiment. I’m going to make this happen!

Not only am I going to return to a highly raw vegan lifestyle, but I am also going to incorporate some other Self Love habits into my life. I feel that some of the best ways to incorporate Self Love into our days is to take care of our bodies and our minds. This includes all of our organs (skin included) and all the aspects of our minds from our thinking brains, to our spiritual wellbeing and even our relationships with others. Here is my Morning Self-Love routine:

**When I wake up in the mornings I have a Self Love routine. The routine gets me on track for a positive day. I begin by oil pulling. Oil pulling is a practice of slowly swishing your mouth with oil for 10-20 minutes on an empty stomach at least once a day. There is quite a bit of scientific controversy surrounding it, but I find it helpful. I’ve personally noticed an increase in the level of oral health. If nothing else, my teeth are whiter and feel way smoother. Supposedly it also helps to pull toxins from your body.

**Next, I drink lemon water. Lemon water can be very alkalizing. It is important for our bodies to be in an alkalized state of PH balance in order for them to be healthier and fight disease. By drinking lemon water, I not only get the benefit of starting my day out in an alkalizing way, but I also get to check off two boxes on my water log (see my Etsy shop for planners and goal workbooks). My goal is to drink half my body weight in ounces of water per day. By keeping a water log I can easily keep track of how much I have drank and how much more I still need to drink.

**Next, I go for a walk. My husband and the dogs go with, so this ends up working on personal relationships by spending some quiet time with my family. We walk for about a half hour – sometimes more and sometimes less. Even when I really don’t want to do this, I always feel better after some fresh air and some time with my man.

**After our walk, something I will begin implementing next week is exercise. Due to my diagnosis of POTS I have found it very difficult to exercise regularly. I often get sick, dizzy, and nauseous. As with any new exercise program, it is important to start off slow, so that is exactly what I will be doing. Starting slow is better than not starting at all!

**The last step of my morning routine will be my consumption routine. This is the part where I consume some yummy fresh juice, some delicious fruit such as a couple bananas or oranges, and my daily vitamins. Again, there is controversy amongst the raw vegan community as to whether you should or should not add vitamins to your daily regiment. As for me, I have found that it is best for me to take them. I take a raw brand that I love called Garden of Life. Many of the vitamins are vegan, but some of them only hold up to vegetarian standards. I’m ok with that. Do what works for you! It might not be traditional to take them, but I think everyone should do what works best for them. Isn’t that what health is all about? I take their Vitamin E, B-Complex, Vitamin D3, and Zinc. Within these vitamins, I also get my Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Selenium, Folate, Biotin, and Probiotic & Enzyme blends. Again, this is what I do, but it may not be what is right for you. I suggest consulting with a doctor or a specialist to determine what works for you.

How is all that for self-love? I am telling you that this year is the year for self-love. I’ve been striving for it in all areas of my life. I am taking better care of my health, I am starting to MOVE my butt, I am cutting out things that don’t make me happy –there will be lots more on this subject as soon as telling you will not get me into trouble, I am learning new things, I’m starting things that bring me happiness and contentment such as my new business, Pretty Much, & lastly I am working on my relationships. This is going to be a fantastic year! I am so excited!

I opened my business, Pretty Much, to decorate weddings and events. I want to be the reason that other people are happy!

You can find help with planning out your goals at my Etsy Shop. This shows a page from the 2014 Monthly calendar

You can get your year-long goal planning workbook at my Etsy Shop too! It will give you all the tools you need to set some self-love goals for yourself

So, about those links that I promised:

You can check out my Raw Vegan Pinterest board which also has recipes for non-vegan and non-raw foods

Links to general healthy lifestyle websites:

Mind Body Green

Live Strong

New Nostalgia

Links to Vegetarian websites:

Vegetarian times

Links to Vegan Websites:

Vegan Cuts

Oh, She Glows

Kris Carr

Links to RAW Vegan websites:

This Rawsome Vegan Life

Choosing Raw

Fully Raw

Raw Kristina’s YouTube page

I really hope that some of this information inspires you, makes you think, or at a minimum helps you to get to know me a little bit better! If you have questions, please email me! Hello (at) PrettyMuchonline (dot) com.

What kinds of things are you implementing into your life this year to show yourself some Self-Love in 2014? Leave me a comment!

I would also like to disclose that I am not a doctor and I am in no way trained in the medical field. This post contains information about what I feel works in my life. Please consult with your doctor before beginning any type of new lifestyle or diet.