I pray that everyone has had the most sun-filled weekend! With the weather, who cannot be happy?! There is so much for which to be grateful. Although life seems to get even more crazy-busy as the days pass, the sunshine allows us to at least take a moment to appreciate the warm touch on our skins.

The next two weeks will be filled with TWO main surprises that I am going to keep SUPER secret, so I have to start building the suspense! Please stay tuned! I can’t wait… in the meantime, I am preparing for these amazing changes and super abundant crops! Doesn’t it just make you itch?! I simply cannot wait!

The past two weeks have been simply wonderful, but doesn’t it seem like everyone keeps getting busier and busier? Perhaps it is just that time of a year, but it is during these times that we sometimes need to be reminded what is truly important. With summer drawing near and with work picking back up, life quickly becomes a rat race to try and accomplish everything too quickly. We must remember that WE set our times and that WE have the power to set our schedules according to plan.

We get through the busiest times more easily when we are healthy enough to handle our responsibilities. Who has time to get “sick?” Sick to many means affected or related to physical or mental illness. This time hinders our ability to perform on a basic level, and it keeps us from moving forward. I do not see “sick” as most people do. Rarely, do I ever use the word. I truly believe that if you are under the weather, your body is simply communicating to you that something is wrong. You did not “catch” anything per-se; however, you’re body is requesting a change in your life. For example, you know when your body gets tired that you must sleep to regain energy. Ironically, when people are diagnosed with cancer, they feel as if something has attacked them and that their habits can stay the same. Change must come in order for change to come. The body would not communicate to us in such a manner if it were happy.  Change becomes one of the most difficult aspects to incorporate into our lives, but it does not have to be “so hard.” Change can flow easily and freely if we allow ourselves to accept the amazing possibilities that it has to offer. The trick in the beginning is discipline. After we live it, it becomes a lifestyle.

Learning to know your body keeps you in tune with the world. When it is better for us, the world benefits!!! When we change negative habits, negative energy quickly dissolves, and more vibrant and lively energy is created all around us. It almost becomes a positive force field that simply cannot be touched. If affects everyone, and we cannot help but spread good vibes! The world benefits from our positive changes!!!

Your body will thank you if you thank it. If you love your body, it will love you back. It will take care of you, and it will allow you to succeed in ways that you never thought possible. Most importantly, it grounds you. It creates awareness in your life that everything is connected—from the food that you eat to the way that you feel on a daily basis. Let us not become too lost in our days that we forget that one of our most important priorities are our health and our well-being. Let us all remember to eat pristinely, exercise daily, sleep enough, laugh, love, and hug. Change is beautiful, and we grow from it.

This week, “lettuce” love our bodies so that our bodies can love us! I hope that you all have a wonderful week, and I look forward to seeing you!

Hugs*

Here is a place where you can watch all of my videos! Simply click on the links below, and it will take you to a place where you can watch them!

Here are the links again just in case you were not able to click on the videos:

My Birthday Trip to the Farm

About Me and 80/10/10

Tomato Beet Salad Clip!

This weekend was a mix of sunshine and refreshing rain. The weekends are always nice to press the reboot button, they allow us to re-center ourselves for the following week. J It has been a long time since I was able to take a run in the rain, but it was warm enough this weekend that I was able to run in the rain and feel free without freezing myself! The rain is cleansing on so many levels. For those of you who have not tried this, I highly recommend it!

It amazes me that sometimes we can have a talk with a complete stranger, and this conversation can change our entire perception on a topic. This past week, I was blessed to talk to a new friend who enlightened me about giving. Most of us can think of individuals off the top of our heads who are giving all of the time. These are people who give in many different ways. There are those who give by doing favors for people, and there are those who give by donating their time or funds. There are also those who give by giving their time and their souls to the communities around them. There are infinite ways to give, but does everyone participate?

After talking with my new friend, I realized that everyone gives in their own way; however, one of the most important ways to give is to give to the givers. The givers are the ones who truly expose themselves and put themselves on a line to make change. They take gifts, and they use them for the benefit of the greater good. They use this power for the greater good. They like to lead the forefront of any movement, and they like to guide others to foster growth in any area of life. These givers can also be known to give too much of themselves for the greater good, but they give from the heart.

For those of us who have read the book The Giver by Lois Lowry while growing up, we see one character who is chosen to be the giver of the community. He is chosen to serve and to give back in a way that the others cannot reciprocate. Ironically, although this character gives so much of himself, he receives no support. He gives so much of himself that he loses himself in the end of the novel. Because the community around him does not support him, they also struggle in the end. In relation to our own lives, I am sure that we can all think of someone in our lives who gives too much of themselves—we most likely worry that they will forget to give back to themselves because they are so focused on their mission. Is this a healthy exchange?

There are givers and leaders for so many different types of undertakings, charities, or movements. Anyone can be a giver, yes, but some choose to hand this responsibility to others who they know will be able to create a difference. We all have different missions in life, and there may be many different missions that we want to support. Us being human, we cannot individually lead every huge movement, but we can be a part of them and take charge of the ones that call to our hearts. Some of us have been placed in the leadership position, but we have all been in the position to give to the ones in charge so that they can lead the change. If you believe in this change, you must also give to the givers.  If you want to be the giver, then you must give back. The beautiful cycle emerges: those who support the givers help to foster growth and change; the givers, in return, use their power to give back to the greater good.

Imagine all of the possibilities in life that can emerge if everyone gave to the givers. I believe that so many of us can be true givers, and the more givers that we have, the more the world benefits. There is no strain on any one person, but we all work together to create change. Every effort, every hand, and even every thought helps to give. There is SO much to give! We all have the power to make this world a more amazing place. No matter what you are doing or what you support, GIVE.

I received one of the best compliments ever that I am a giver. I love to give, but I had never thought of myself as a giver until now. I am a giver, and I want to help others give too—no matter what that may be. I WANT to give back: I want to foster change in the raw foods movement, I WANT to support local organic farmers, I WANT to lead as an example for all health enthusiasts, and I want to help support others in achieving health. Please know that I am not asking for people to give anything to me for I am already receiving more support than I could have ever possibly dreamed of receiving. I simply want to share these thoughts and realizations. I have gained friendships, food, and hugs, and I have had the privilege to surround myself with so many other givers (all of you!!!). Even if you do not wish to be giver, you can give to the givers to create change and make a world of difference.  No matter what you wish to support, I pray that it is good and that it allows everyone to benefit.

Give freely. Give openly. Give acceptingly. Give whole-heartedly. Give unconditionally. Give unselfishly. Give humbly. Give lovingly. Give hugs. Give

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend! We said goodbye to our last winter showers and even got a little taste of summer this past week. Call me nutty, but I love the heat! The boxes were so amazing that they even beat last week in terms of local items, and the boxes looked like the were blooming! Thank you everyone for supporting our little haven that creates so much abundance. It is easy to see that the more individuals who support it, the more abundance that we have. When we share this gift, we can only reap good.

My favorite treats in the boxes the past two weeks have been the incredible local strawberries from Gundermann Farms. A friend told me that they look like little red rubies, and they do! They sparkle in your eye just enough for you to think to yourself that you want one! I love the strawberries so much that I bought two entire cases for myself this week.  I held them close to me as if they were my treasure, and I fell in love with them so much that I was hoarding them hahaha! I felt like Gollum in Lord of the Rings! After I separated myself from them a little bit, I realized that behavior was not typical of me. I am usually giving away all of the food that I have, and I always know that even more abundance is heading my way so soon. I learned a valuable lesson about giving from the heart and about the secret to receiving abundance.

Do you remember the girl named Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka who kept saying, “But daddy, I want one too!” At a point in the movie, she found strawberries, and she called them schnazzzberries as if they had their own attitude. She licked the walls, she stole candy, and she wanted the golden ticket all for herself. She definitely did not want to share her treats, and she was completely immersed in herself. She disobeys Willy Wonka by purposefully grabbing gum that contains Tomato soup, roast beef, and blueberry pie for dessert. Her character does not make it until the end of the movie because she turns into a giant blueberry! She is rolled away by the Oompa Loompas and loses her chance at winning the golden ticket prize. The protagonist Charlie, on the other hand, is the main character who wins in the end of the movie. He has a heart of gold, and because he is humble and shares, he finds success! Perhaps this is a simply kids’ story, but there are so many of life’s lessons in kids’ movies. Even though we are adults, there are plenty of instances where I feel like I am a child all over again. Was it really that far away?! When did we start teaching lessons that we ourselves have not yet mastered? I still have plenty of lessons to re-learn. The sole fact that I must re-learn them makes me wonder if I ever learned them at all!

I am learning SO much about genuinely giving from the heart. We all know that sharing is caring, but sharing becomes significant because it teaches us how to let go and to trust. We must trust that whatever we have just released will come back to us twofold. I have learned that the first way to make sure that you are fulfilled is simply to be grateful for the opportunity to share it with someone. If it does not bring you joy in your heart, then focus on this joy. Think of the joy that it brings them through the offering. Joy is a powerful emotion that can only reap more joy. When we focus on appreciation, it is difficult not to shift any sour mode in which we may sit. Feeling negative emotions only fosters more of them, but opening our hearts to feel love and to be open will only reciprocate such emotions.

Sharing does not have to be with physical objects or with food, but it can be with anything. We have built a co-operative based upon the ethic of sharing food with each other, and it is beautiful. I see everyone swapping from their boxes, offering apples, making dinners, sharing recipes, building friendships, building communities, etc. However, there is so much more that we can share. A few months ago I wrote that a simple act of kindness can shift the energy between two individuals, and it can shift your energy too! As the weeks pass, we have the choice for our lives to consecutively get better and better. I firmly believe that we are always on an uphill climb, and every week, I watch as more beautiful things in life unfold. Choose to see every event, every happening, every object, and every person as a blessing. Even if you are dealing with rocky roads, these roads are there as an opportunity for you from which to grow. If we ignore the lessons that are placed before us, how can we improve our lives? To shy away from circumstances such as these will only keep us running around in circles until we spin into a fall. As a good friend of mine Alix states, “I want to be less mean and stupid than I was yesterday.” We can only be better today than we were yesterday. Throw it all out on the table and move forward! It’s ok! We will all still be loved even if we make mistakes.

One of the last things that I wish to become is a blue Oopma Loompa. Therefore, I have already begun sharing my sschhnazzzberries to all around me. The joy that I have received from this has created such a beat in my heart that I cannot describe it. This lesson is not just about the strawberries, but it is about so much more. If we can conceive it, the realization has more to do with opening our hearts to the world—living freely with no strings attached. It brings us closer to a pure place of acceptance. All good can come our way.

Take life one-step at a time, but in your heart, believe that things just keep getting better and better. We have the power to make life the best that it can be for us. Do things that make you smile. Give. Share. Breathe. Love. Nourish yourself in every possible way that you can. If you have a ruby, share this ruby and watch the true wealth that it brings to the world.

This weekend had the most amazing energy surrounding it! The sun was shining, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed the first taste of warmness in the air! It was my first time to wear shorts all day and to not feel like a breeze was too brisk! Many were also enjoying Easter weekend with their families, so I hope that everyone had the time to indulge in another great holiday!

Maybe it is just me, or maybe I am always excited, but I am over-thrilled to announce that this past week we had more local items in the share boxes than we have EVER had before! More than half of our boxes were local! It is amazing what sunshine and rain can do for any harvest. This also means that more than half of our budget went to local farmers this past week! While that may not sound ecstatic, it has profound impacts on our bodies, in our communities, on our local economy, and in our city!

This also means that the boxes just keep getting better and better! The more participants in the co-op, the more we are able to support local famers. The more that we support them, the more abundance we receive. The more we support them, the more they support us. It is a beautiful cycle! Furthermore, it becomes such a blessing to know that you have home grown, trusted food that will nourish you! In a city where McDonald’s sits on every corner, this changes everything. People always talk about the dishes that their grandmother made, but few actually continue to make them due to numerous reasons. I have seen several recognize this, and although they may not be connecting to their roots, they are trying to achieve a new level of health based upon what they are able to commit to in today’s society. I consider my box a safety net regardless of no matter what else may be happening in the world. It assists me in successfully living my raw lifestyle and in setting new goals for myself each moment. I am challenged, but I learn more with each experience. How can we not grow as individuals in these instances?!

Without my body being nourished, I know that I would not be able to foster my mental or spiritual health as well. When your body is cleansing to be pure, your mind follows. Very often, it can be very difficult to look in the mirror at your own issues and recognize that you are the one that must change. As much as we would love to center our focus on what must change in the outside world, the focus must be drawn inward. We are the only ones that can create the change that we wish to see. Ironically, it is all in our perception. People usually only see the issues in the world that pertain to them the most. When we change, our perception changes. If something inside of us shifts, we will also see this shift in our surroundings. For instance, if you struggle with feelings of hopelessness, you are most likely to notice others or situations with hopelessness in your surroundings, and you will most likely be affected by it. However, if you work on yourself enough to shift this hopelessness into pure joy and gratitude, you will most likely focus on this gratitude more often and see others who hold this attitude in their hearts as well. When we shift, everything around us shifts, and we can then help the world to reach greater levels of change. Imagine the difference we can make if we all simply work on improving ourselves!

This week is too good of a week not to make better. I have decided to look at all of my faults in the eye. I will try to address every issue if it bothers me because I truly want to create goodness, love, and peace everywhere. A dear friend always tells me that if something bothers me, then it is my issue on which to work. Only we can change how we feel about ourselves, about others, and about our surroundings. I can only try to be better today than I was yesterday. Today is a fresh day! We get thrown curve balls so that we can learn from them. They are amazing growth opportunities, and they are placed before us so that we can make our lives and the world more amazing!

If I were a box of vegetables, I would want to be colorful, full of life, crisp, energetic, tasty, local, and vibrant! I can only be this way if I am grown in rich, watered, and nurtured soil. I must also be tended to daily with careful consideration and love. “Lettuce” do this for ourselves and do this for others so that we can share and grow as one! Lettuce make life be the best that it can be!