Thursday, October 30, 2014

Wild Rose D-Tox - Day 1

While this might not be hoop related, it's pertinent to living a healthy lifestyle. That and the fact that I think it's going to be humorous how this plays out...and with the growing popularity of detoxes, this could help someone out. 


I started today my Wild Rose D-Tox today. This detox is a 12-day whole body herbal detox. Three different supplements as well as a tincture are to be taken twice a day (before breakfast and dinner), and there is are diet restrictions. No dairy. No grains (I infer this as no gluten.) No alcohol or processed foods. No sugar or anything fermented. No tropical fruits. 

I went grocery shopping yesterday, following my very carefully planned list of foods I can eat. They encourage you to get playful with spices and herbs. And considering I'm living off of vegetables for the next 12 days...I gotta get creative. My first creative endeavor was making a tahini lemon dressing last night. I unpacked my mountain of produce and organized everything so that I'm not deterred when it comes to making meals (although I really have no choice.) 

Because you're not allowed salad dressings (nothing with vinegar anyways, because it's fermented), a lot of forums and web pages I've looked at often have this dressing recipe. So it's tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, fresh parsley, salt and cayenne (optional). It called for 2-4 large cloves of garlic, and in retrospect, I should've trusted my instinct and only put one or, at the most, two in. It's got some kick to it! Tahini comes from sesame seeds and so it's fairly nutty, but the parsley gives it that freshness, and the lemon juice gives it the acidity that vinegar would otherwise provide. 

The recipe only yields one cup (or a bit more depending on how much water or lemon juice you put in it.) But I'll make it through that batch and next batch will be much less garlic and maybe some other spices. 

I took my two of each pills this morning, along with two squirts of the tincture provided. Thankfully the forums I read provided me with the best tip to date...take it with ice cold water. They say you can take it with water, so I put two squirts into a glass and put a little water out of the fridge into it and shot it back. It's mild and not that bad, and the cold water definitely masks the gross taste a bit. 

So now I sit. Waiting. I'm scared of what sort of bathroom fireworks await me. I'm nervous. Both for what could happen, and that it might not work and all this water I'm drinking that seems to be going right through me isn't being absorbed into my bowel like it's supposed to. 

It's still early...I suppose we'll see how the rest of the day goes. 

Over and out, 
(a detoxing) gypsy

Monday, October 27, 2014

Juggling Act

I thought it had only been a month since my last post (still too long...obviously), but it looks like it's been almost two months. If there are any readers out there, I apologize. I honestly can't believe how fast time has gone.

September was a bit of a blur. I began my journey to becoming a Hoop Love Coach with my lovely friend Deanne Love as my guide. I think I may have been a little nuts to think that I could work full time, vend at a street fair (which was also my first vending opportunity vending in Winnipeg - The Sherbrook Street Festival), and do Hoop Love Coach training at the same time.

The small group of hoopers that decided to brave the
cold weather and hoop for a bit on World Hoop Day 2014.
September also saw my 26th birthday, the planning and preparation for my sister's wedding (October 18th), and we can't forget that there was some minor organizing involved as World Hoop Day was the very beginning of October.

I'll be honest...there were times during September that I thought I had definitely spread myself a bit too thin. It was also to the point that at the beginning of October, I had to leave my position as volunteer staff writer with hooping.org. One too many things on my plate and I was no longer enjoying what I was doing. This is usually a clear sign that you need to take a step back and do what's most important while shedding the activities that are no longer serving you or our purpose.

But once my priorities were a little bit clearer, I decided I could bite off a little more once again (not entirely sure how my thought process led me to think that)...and I applied and was approved to be part of the W.E.S.T. group here in Winnipeg. (W.inning E.tsy S.treet T.eam) This group of amazing artisans are local Etsy vendors who are able to participate in great vending opportunities (i.e. craft fairs, etc.) around Winnipeg once every couple of months.

I'm excited to be vending at the next upcoming W.E.S.T. sale - Saturday, November 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Holy Cross gymnasium located at 290 Dubuc Street in St. Boniface. There's no admission, so pop by to check out some of my new designs and to support other local artisans...there's definitely going to be some great Christmas gift ideas there!

Now that sister's wedding is over and I've been able to step back and look at what I have on my plate, I'm still busy. But it definitely doesn't seem as overwhelming anymore...and besides, your life's work should be fun. Right?

love & sparkles,
(busy) gypsy