Snow Flirt

Today it was cold.

The snow is already on the ground and winter is pulling out her prom dress.

But, being a defiant diva (I think it’s the hair, or some genetic compulsion to disagree–even with the weather) today I wore a short skirt and rode my bike and flashed my long bare legs to the world. The gloriously triumphant grin across my face was a total attention magnet.

I couldn’t tell if people kept looking at me because of my sneaky grin, my bare legs, or the skirt.

It didn’t matter.

Sometimes it just feels good to bask in attention. I see nothing wrong with wanting to turn a few heads once in a while?

Suck it in, tuck it up, stick it out and GLOW a girlie glow to the whole, wide world!

Yeah… that’s what’s so cool about Fridays. You get double glow points when you stand in the sun!

Love you!
Tera

Super Smoothies with Aloe…and Lowering Anxiety with Green Smoothies

Hello Green Smoothie Adventurers. I have been so busy. So busy in fact I forgot to post last week. You see, in about 5 hours I will be leaving for a long-awaited vacation! It’s about ten till 11pm and I am sitting down in the midst of packing to catch up with all the lovely divas.

I have been busy attempting to prepare for the trip and finish all my homework that will be due while I am gone, so I really haven’t had a chance to sit down with the good ol’ “Write Post” page.  So here it is my last jaunt with my beloved Internet for then next five days. I will be in Eden Hot Springs, where I will have no access to Internet or TV, let alone phone reception. Actually by the time you all see this, I will probably already be there soaking in the natural mineral hot springs.

This trip got me thinking. I figure we will see a lot of cactus while driving clear across Arizona, and you better believe I will be foraging some prickly pears. And then the thought that I get to soak in mineral hot springs, which I am so needing, being that I continue to get sick! (That’s another story!) Well the cactus and the minerals reminded me of a super smoothie created by my good friend Joshua aka Karma Free Kale Chips posted awhile back.  This was before my green smoothie days but it really opened my eyes to the types of super smoothies that you can make.  Click on the link to see the recipe, it is quite lengthy, but really amazing.

Ionic Minerals and Aloe!

This smoothie recipe was the first time I thought about ionic minerals (which I seem to always be lacking in), and I have noticed how beneficial they are especially to us women. The best part of this particular super smoothie is the star ingredient: Aloe Vera!

I like to think of Aloe as a green leafy, since it’s green and a leaf, right? So when I return from vacation I think I will harvest some of the aloe leaves growing in my own backyard and see if I can find a way to make a super healing green smoothie with a double dose of green leafies. Maybe chard and aloe?

I challenge those of you who have been drinking green smoothies for awhile now to try it with me. If you can get your hands on some fresh whole leaf aloe vera, filet it up and add it to your usual green goodness. The only thing to keep in mind is that aloe is very bitter so make sure you can balance you smoothie to your preferred sweetness.

Challenge, and Testimonial to Lowered Anxiety

On the challenge note. I challenge all of you who haven’t tried green smoothies to get the blender out and start it up! Tonight I had dinner with my boyfriend and his sister. I knew that he had been preaching to her about green smoothies, but tonight I really got to hear her testimonial. She is just transitioning into vegetarianism, but already loves her green smoothies. And there is no doubt that the green smoothies are helping her in her journey to raw food. I loved how she shared that she could actually feel her serotonin levels changing when she first started drinking green smoothies, and how they have actually aided in ridding her of anxiety.

Of course everyone is different and I am not trying to “prescribe” anything. I know that kale has saved me from some stress and worry, but it was nice to here it from someone who is a psychiatrist. It was really fun to see how everyone tunes into how the smoothies are working in their own unique ways–sometimes spiritual, sometimes emotional, always physical. It is so inspiring to see what a simple yummy addition to your diet can do.

Everyone keep experimenting and sharing!

What Do Superheros Really Look Like?

Yesterday the rain was pelting hard and cold and the kids and I had a long way to go to get home on bicycle. It was the kind of night where you really feel like you’re braving the elements–banding together like warriors to overcome the odds. It took real determination and courage to keep walking, keep pedaling, keep pushing for the finish line when their tired bodies had already had a very big day.

It’s amazing how responsible a mother is for the general well-being of her group.

In situations like the one last night, where my kids were tired, cold, wet and wanted to go home (but still had 40 minutes of tough pedaling to do) I realize that the ONLY way we’re going to make it through the ordeal is if I keep a positive attitude.

I would tell them again and again how brave they were–how strong and courageous. If I gave up even a little bit myself, because I was tired, impatient or just frustrated, I could feel their courage waning. I could feel the elements and fatigue moving in on them faster than I could lift them up.

And so I persisted by validating them until I was hoarse.

“You can do it!”

“You’re amazing!”

“You’re so strong, so courageous! Look at you go!”

These should be uttered as part of every Mother’s Code of Honor. Some days I think that if we only said words like these, it would be enough to get them through the day. Put your attention on the things you want to grow. Lay off the corrections and criticisms that slow them down and cause them to lose hope and confidence.

They were AMAZING. True heros. Mika was limping a bit by the time we got home, and so Sebastian stepped up to the opportunity to help her by pushing her bike. Mika, who really didn’t need help, pretended that it was so much easier for her to push his bike and said how appreciative she was.

He beamed with pride.

Then I blissed out while they started telling each other how much they loved each other. They hugged with helmets bumping while the rain kept pelting down on them.

I yelled out to the stars that I was the luckiest mom in the whole universe, and of course, they beamed again and just started helping each other even more. The compliments flowed faster than rain and offers of assistance pelted me harder, so I stopped noticing the cold.

It’s easy to get distracted by life.

We get pulled down by the drama, the bills the to do lists. But these are the moments that remind me life is what we make it. All manner of odds that stand against you cannot crush your determinism, your will to persist and to thrive.

Once we got inside, warmed up and dried off, Sebastian told me I was “beautiful like a raw food colored rainbow.”

Can it get better than that? I don’t think so.

Who knew that these would be the glory moments of my life? It’s not some sweaty beach day or starlit night sky that will stay etched in my mind as the pleasure moments that marked my days. It’s the gut-wrenching trials and tribulations of life as a superhero.

The moments that I predict will be the toughest… the moments where there’ a fine line to cross between giving up and “giving ‘er all I’ve got”… those have been my glory moments.

I cannot often find words to express my gratitude to the two remarkable people with whom I have had the privilege and honor of sharing these moments.

And so I come here, to bask in the serenity of being…

The serenity of “Mom”.

Tera

Luscious Tropical Smoothie (Coconut, Spinach, Mango and Banana)

Luscious Tropical Smoothie – makes up one litre (one quart)

• 1 green coconut – flesh & water
• 100 g baby English spinach leaves (3.5 oz)
• 1 mango (just the flesh!)
• 2 or 3 bananas

When making smoothies, I like putting in the greens and water (in this case coconut water) first, and blending this up until it’s smooth. Then everything else goes in and is blended again.

This is a fantastic smoothie for a special treat. Yum! I’m making one up tomorrow morning, and cannot wait. Can you see me salivating?

Now, for an encouraging story.

Hubby and I visited his brother-in-law last week and stayed overnight. When I made up my green smoothie (banana & mango) my 12 year-old nephew expressed how gross it looked. Well, I convinced him to give it a try (after all, he’s a big, tough footy player!). He gingerly sipped the first bit, then promptly sculled the rest of his smoothie and helped himself to a glass of wonderful green smoothie from my jug! :-O  How great is that???? Just to show how fantastic this is, his family doesn’t eat many fruit & vegetables, and their fridge and freezer are chock full of meat and packet stuff – mostly for deep frying. I can’t tell you how good it felt to see him enjoying something so healthy.

Here’s to the power of green smoothies!

Blessings,

Veronica

Green Smoothie greetings from Down Under! (Meet Veronica, Our Newest Green Smoothie Blogger)

Isn’t this exciting? A whole blog completely dedicated to green smoothies. I’m relatively new to green smoothies, although it took me no time at all to be completely hooked on them.

For those of you who have debilitating diseases, take heart! I have fibromyalgia (also known as CFS) and cannot believe the improvements since starting green smoothies. Previously I suffered with a general ache from head to toe and sore skin. You read it right: sore skin! :-O  Since having green smoothies, however, these pains have gone away. Yippee!!! How good is that?

I’m married with five children (oldest two are adults), and one grand-daughter. We live in Australia and love it here. I look forward to getting to know other Raw Divas and trying out new green smoothies.

Blessings to all,

Veronica

BES Coincidence?

Well, registrations have closed and we’re still working our patooties off to get everyone set up and ready to go in time for the big day on November 1st! I am SO ready to share this experience with all of my fellow BESers in this session!

Tonight we took the girls to the community Halloween party, where a girl around 7 years old, asked me if I was expecting another baby. No joke. This is far from the body shape I am happy emanating, except of course when I really am busy creating another human!

As I’ve recently shared, I have cleaned up my act a fair bit already, but being just about 4 months post-partum and breast feeding makes things a bit challenging for me. I am totally envious of the women out there who proclaim that breast feeding “just makes the weight melt off”, and part of me wonders if they aren’t just saying that to make the rest of us feel hopeless! (kidding!)

Anyway… the point of this post is not to rehash old news, but actually to tell you something really cool that one of our BES participants pointed out. You see, this upcoming session of the Body Enlightenment System begins on November 1st. That’s 1/11… and she told me, “in Angel Numerology, 111 means the universe just took a snapshot of your intentions – hope it was a good one!”

Can I just tell you how much I love that?! I love that! I love that on SO many levels!

So, it seems to me that this was all just meant to be! Let’s make it count and really enjoy this one together!

Amy

Another Notch on the Blog Belt and 500 Body Enlightened Babes Take the Plunge!

I don’t know who I’m hiding from when I wake up early like this and sneak to the blog.

Perhaps my attempts to evade the ever expanding to do list bring me here with the feeling of culpability–like I’m doing something I shouldn’t be. Looks like we’ve got a lot of beautiful people from all around the world signed up to be a part of this version of the Body Enlightenment System. Today participants will be officially starting their preparation week as part of the program, and so I guess that means it’s time to officially announce… *drum roll, please*

The Body Enlightenment Blog!

Here she is! Blogalicious and Beautiful.

Stay tuned and watch for updates.

With more than 500 people signed up to be a part of this version of the Body Enlightenment System, we just know there are going to be some incredible transformations. Not only do we have an fantastic line up of teleseminars for this BES,  we also have the Truth About Your Food series of lectures with Dr. Tel-Oren is starting up early in November as well. The combination of the two is going to make for some amazing transformations.

Sheesh!

I started this blog post at about 5:00am and it’s not 7:00pm. What a day! To brave Body Enlightenment participants embarking on this incredible journey, today we celebrate YOU!

Make it amazing!

Giddy with enthusiasm,

Tera

A Green Smoothie to Remember (Bee Pollen, Kale, Berries, Grapes and Bananas)

I am so happy that I have a chance to not only share my life stories and delicious concoctions with all you fellow green smoothie bloggers, but I feel truly blessed that I get to experience your stories, your triumphs and most of all your journey through the world of green smoothies.

This has been such a special time for me because my husband and I finally had a “date night” where we had a chance to re-connect and remember why we decided to get married. Since the birth of our son we have always put ourselves last, and it felt really great to have some quality time together. I decided to start our special day by creating a delicious berry smoothie that packed a powerful punch and would give me that rosy glow that one gets when you are going on your very first date with someone special.

Bee Pollen

Oo La La, my favorite super food is bee pollen! “Bee pollen” is actually pollen from flowers that is collected from bees as they enter the hive or is harvested by other means. Pollen granules stick to the bees’ legs and other body parts as they help themselves to nectar (the precursor of honey) inside the flowers. Bee pollen is one of the richest and purest natural foods ever discovered, and the incredible nutritional and medicinal value of bee pollen has been known for centuries.

Honey bees have provided us with a beneficial natural food supplement that is a complete source of protein and a complete spectrum of amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and co-enzymes. In our modern times, scientists and nutritionists have rediscovered these bee-prepared foods and confirmed that they are able to promote benefits in the form of healing and rejuvenation.

Berry Smoothie with Bee Pollen

• One cup water
• One cup purple or red grapes
• Half cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• Two bananas
• One handful red kale
• Half teaspoon bee pollen (start with a few granules if taking for the very first time)

Blend water, grapes, blueberries and bananas first then add kale and blend to a smooth consistency and add bee pollen.

Enjoy!

Tracy

It's a Conscious Reggae Party

The latest issue of Pear Magazine was recently published (online), and I’m so excited about the awesome graphic that Jinjee arranged of the Honorable Robert Nesta Marley and me after she read the article below that I wrote for Pear about my reggae roots. Enjoy!

I grew up listening to the conscious lyrics and reggae beats of Robert Nesta Marley — thanks to my conscious, reggae-loving dad. Today, I use Bob Marley’s music (and that of his children’s) as one of my tools for renewing my mind and freeing my soul. And, I’m having one of those moments right now. I’ve had the house to myself this evening and have been loving this one-person conscious reggae party: just me and the sounds of Marley (via YouTube videos).

As Annette Larkins says in her book Journey To Health: “…Turning on a favorite tune of the moment, grabbing a groove and synchronizing with the music is such a natural activity for me. Whenever I hear music that strikes a chord within that part of my musical self, I must move to it; I cannot sit still. If it’s my kind of music, and its force touches me, I can lose myself in its depths…”

And, that’s precisely what I do — lose myself in the depths of Marley’s music. Period.

I often turn up Marley’s voice, sing and dance about, and get totally full, completely uplifted by this philosophical Rastaman. Right now, here in my house, it’s as if I’m at a “session” — a term we use in Bermuda for an all-reggae party!

A mega-fond childhood memory for me is that of the many Bob Marley albums my daddy collected and played regularly in our Bermuda home. Daily, as Daddy prepared tasty island dinners for our family (my dad loved to cook), the voice of Marley and other reggae artists, such as Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Dennis Brown, Third World, Jacob Miller and many more could be heard throughout the house. Indeed, this reggae seed my daddy planted in me has never died. And my mom teaching me about the I-Threes is a cool memory, too!

In fact, let me take this all a step further…some of these reggae artists mentioned above visited our home when they came to Bermuda to perform. My dad was friends with a Jamaican reggae producer, Tommy Cowan, and Mr. Cowan would make contact with my dad when he was on the island. Often, my hospitable father would invite Cowan and whatever band members he was with at the time for dinner. When Peter Tosh and his crew visited our home, I recall my cousins and I competing for who would serve Tosh his meal.

Another memory that stays with me is my daddy’s interesting account of when he visited Jamaica and drove as a passenger in Jacob Miller’s car, experiencing Miller’s aggressive driving on some winding Jamaican streets. When Miller visited our home, I was quite young (10 or younger, I think), and one question I remember asking him was, “What other reggae artists do you like outside of yourself?” I overheard him telling my parents that I impressed him with my questions. I also have a vague memory of him telephoning our home, and I was excited that I answered the phone at the time and got to hear his voice.

Fast forward to my adulthood…

In a recent yoga class, the first song that was played as we began our practice was one of Marley’s. I had e-mailed the instructor, Mary, earlier in the day with a request for some Bob Marley music in that class. Mary obliged, and Marley instantly restored me as I had felt a little out of sorts at the beginning of class because of arriving there just at the moment it was about to start. However, Marley got me right on track and the rest of the hour was powerful. “This is for Penny,” said Mary as Marley’s voice kicked off the line-up of songs for our yoga time.

In addition to feeling such a connection to Marley’s music for reasons mentioned, I can’t help but wonder if there’s a Natural Mystic blowing through the air from him to me because of our Ethiopian Orthodox connection. We are both baptized members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and Abuna Yeshaq, the Ethiopian Archbishop who baptized Marley and performed his funeral ceremony, also flew to Bermuda in 1996 to perform my daddy’s burial. That same day that same archbishop baptized my son who was five months old at the time. Three years before that, Abuna Yeshaq had flown to Bermuda to marry my husband and me.

Abuna Yeshaq was a close friend of Bob and Rita Marley and also a close friend of Ainsworth and Caroline Burgess (my parents), so in some spiritual way, Bob and Rita feel like an aunt and uncle to me. Who wouldn’t love their uncle’s music — especially when the beats and lyrics are as rich as those of the one-and- only Robert Nesta Marley? His music strikes a chord in my soul; his sounds and lessons certainly make my life richer. Thank you, “Uncle” Bob!

In fact, early into my one-person party today, I decided that on my birthday in December, I want to invite some of my friends to an all-Marley-music yoga class taught by Mary. Everyone is sure to have an uplifted day!

So, off I go to contact Mary about setting this up. Maybe I’ll have our yoga party videotaped and The Raw Divas will show it on their new, darling pink TV.

In the meantime, join my party in this moment by listening to the sounds and lessons from a timeless voice. Indeed this legend lives on! Some of the songs I’m here jammin’ to are below (and so many of these lyrics are stuck in my mind from the days of my youth):

~ Roots Rock Reggae

~ Forever Loving Jah

~ So Much Trouble In The World

~ So Jah Say

~ War / No More Trouble

~ Africa Unite

~ Crazy Baldheads

~ Rastaman Vibration

~ Is This Love

~ Give Thanks And Praises

~ One Love! (Peace Concert)

And, the list goes on…

Here’s a brief interview with Ziggy Marley about his dad, and a heartwarming letter, via song, from Ky-Mani Marley to his infamous dad. This “letter” brought tears to my eyes the first few times I watched it.

I just love this Marley family! Well, if Bob is my “uncle,” I guess that makes all of his children my “cousins,” right? I love ‘em all; there is a booming ray of love light that just seems to shine from each of them right into my soul. And how can you not love love?

It’s all about love! So love with all you’ve got!

One Love!

*Photos in collage, flickr.com.
(1) sugaree_gd (Kerrie)
(2) edsonmoreira_sk8
(3) Levi Yeomans

*Photo of Penny Powell by Caleb Powell

In the Swim

For those of you who read my initial blog on my attempts to learn to swim, I have some news.

I wasn’t really feeling too keen about going to my swimming class on Saturday morning. Not sure why. I guess I just hadn’t psyched myself up for it – and I’ve been feeling a bit frustrated with not being able to get on top of the “breathing” issues. Would I EVER be able to swim a full lap without stopping?

On the way to the pool (Darren drives me there on the way to taking the girls to ballet – no point wearing oneself out before the class, is there? Tee hee!), I said to Darren, “What if I’m never able to get over the breathing thing? What if I am only ever capable of taking four or five breaths before losing my rhythm?”. Normally, I don’t get so down about these things, but this whole swimming thing has really been challenging me.

The instructor told us to do a warm-up lap and a half of freestyle, and I thought, “I’ll just see how I go.” So, I took off, and everything seemed surprisingly easy. I knew how to do the strokes and kicking properly, I timed my breath well and lifted my head at the correct angle (most times) to take the breaths. Before I knew it, I realised I was actually going OK, and that I had some sort of chance of making it to the end, as I hadn’t choked on water or nearly burst my lungs. Normally, this feeling would result in me panicking a bit, but I just kept going, pumping those strokes and gliding through the water. I saw the end of the line on the floor of the pool, and looked up slightly to see that the end of the pool wasn’t far away. I gave it all I had, nearly gasping as I took in the last breath, and striving to reach the pool wall. I ACTUALLY DID IT! A full lap without stopping!

I bobbed around in shock at the end of the pool, and I excitedly told my good news to the lady who followed me. The class then did half laps and went on to practice breastroke kicks, so I didn’t get another chance to go for a full lap (mind you, the first one plum wore me out!).

So, at the end of the lesson, one of the other ladies in the class joined me in the MEDIUM lane (no, not the slow lane for us!) of the pool, and we decided to have a go at doing a full lap. And I did it! And so did she! We gave ourselves ample recovery and chat time at the other end of the pool, and then took off for a third go – this time, I nearly crashed into another swimmer and choked on the last breath, so I didn’t quite make the full lap (only about two strokes short). But hey, I can claim two full laps. Before this I had never, ever, in my whole entire life, completed one lap without stopping. This is one proud mama.

My goodness – what a feeling! As I walked home the Flashdance ‘What a Feeling’ tune (annoyingly) hummed in my ears – although, no, I didn’t do the manic dance that features in the movie. When Darren and the girls arrived home I told them the great news and we had a huge group hug and happy dance. The girls were so excited – I just hope that they (and you, if you’re a fearful non-swimmer) are inspired by my achievement, and know that they, too, can overcome their fears and swim, swim, swim!

Although I think my success was due to weeks of practice, concentration, courage, and determination (and watching The Miracle Swimmer – more on that in another blog), I also think that a green smoothie can take some of the credit. Normally, before I head to the pool in the morning I usually drink orange-lemon juice (juice of two oranges and one lemon, topped with water) and eat a banana an hour or so before I leave. But on that day I got up earlier and had a green smoothie of bananas, apple, spinach and rocket (arugula). Maybe that helped fuel my near-Olympic success?

Oh, happy days.