Hi Gang! How’s Your Day Going? Are you going out and drinking Tequila in honor of Cinco de Mayo tonight? Or maybe some chips and guacamole? I actually wish I was doing the former the later. But, that is not in the cards in this house these days so instead, I had a fun coffee date with Madeline.
No adult-themed beverages were consumed despite it being Cinco de Mayo. Skylar was with me, of course, and this mama doesn’t drink and drive. Plus, Madeline and I didn’t need tequila to keep the conversation flowing. We had plenty to catch up on!
One other time recently I only had a One Shot, One Chance Picture Opportunity with a Yoga Master and that pic turned out Blurry. What’s up with me and The Blur?
Today Madeline was sweet enough to bring me a pair of white with pink socks! I love Pearl Izumi products and that’s who Madeline works for, so I was in luck! Madeline just spreads the love because she hooked Kalli up, too!
It was great catching up with Madeline because we were supposed to get together last week, but I ended up going to San Diego for the day. So, gasp, our last coffee clutch was almost three weeks ago, here.
Similar to our last meetup, it was balls out blazing hot out today, about 96F in the shade, so we stayed indoors.
Anyway, my dear friend, thanks for playing along with Puppet Shows and being kicked by 3-year old feet underneath the table. And for your patience with the bounty of interruptions from the Tiny Peanut Gallery…haha! Glad we got some good girl talk in!
After our meetup I came home and had to deal with my inbox. More on that in a second…
From Yesterday…
I’m glad you Liked the No Bake Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Coconut Oil Protein Bars
And thanks for telling me if you Like to Dance or Not.
And for letting me know the Reasons Why you Workout. I am so happy that most of you seem to exercise because you love it, not because you feel you “have to”. That’s a great outlook and yes, although we must push ourselves from time to time when we’d rather not workout, I believe that if you have to constantly drag yourself to do whatever form of exercise you’re attempting to do, then you may want to switch it up and find something that’s more fun, and less gruntwork.
Thank to the 99% of you for the Major Compliments About my New Progress Pictures! For everyone who left me encouraging words and nice comments, thank you!
Every time I post pics, I cringe a little. Remember when I asked you if there are any posts that make you cringe before you hit publish?
Well posting pics of oneself in a sports bra, no makeup, sweaty unwashed hair, for all the world to see…yeah, I sometimes wonder if I’ve lost all my sense. Don’t answer that…haha!
In all seriousness, I got a comment on yesterday’s post and normally I hit Delete to the nastygrams, but I decided to leave this one up so you all could get a load of this one. It’s still in comments section in yesterday’s post, about halfway down:
From Abbey:
I have been debating whether to post or not…I guess I can’t help myself. I am not a regular reader of your blog but I check it out every few weeks or so. I have noticed that you seem to eat the same things, with very little variation. If you are proposing living a healthy lifestyle, why is this the case? Do you feel that it is the best thing for your body to eat the same things every day, these veggie slaws with little balls of “dessert”? I am actually quite shocked that you feel you need to lose inches off of your waist, and you are activly seeking this transformation. Why? Do you consider yourself unfit? I am not in any way trying to come off as though I am attacking you, I just get concerned when I see others treating themselves unkindly. I wish you the best and I hope you have a long and healthy life. There are many pleasures to be had in life and sometimes you have to throw all the “rules” out the window in pursuit of happiness.
My Reply that I emailed to her and also posted it in the comments section.
It’s the type of thing, I could write a novel, and I fired it off fairly quickly after she left the comment, and after pondering on it for the last 18 hours, I could of course come up with all kinds of snappy comebacks, but this is what I wrote back to her. Surprise, surprise, she hasn’t written back:
From Averie:I am not sure how to respond to this email, but yes, I definitely feel attacked. That’s what happens when someone puts some (not all) of their life out for the world to see. People such as yourself come out of the woodwork and under the guise of “concern” make judgments about me and my choices. I don’t post everything I eat. I have posted recently about this. Since you dont read my blog regularly, you may have missed this. But my blog is not a food journal or diary. Never was, never will be. It’s more about LIFE. Including the fact that I have all kinds of awesome and amazing things happening in my life right now that have to do with motherhood, my fitness endeavors, I just signed a big contract, and scads of other things I don’t even blog about.
What do you blog about? What’s the name of your blog? I would love to “can’t help myself” and march over and leave a comment on yours, not “attacking you” of course.
I consider myself EXTREMELY fit which is why I am competing in a fitness competition! It’s a goal. I’m training for it.
I have tons of pleasures in my life. Not sure what rules you think I need to throw out the window. I have posted and linked extensively to my food allergies and why I eat the way I do. They aren’t arbitrary rules, they are based on I feel best when I eat a high raw vegan diet. Period.
I admit that I am very frustrated by your email. It makes me wonder why I blog, honestly. To get this type of thing in my inbox? Oh the joy.
So for anyone who wants to know What Blogging Really Entails, You can Check This Post. But that post doesn’t adequately warn you about readers who feel it’s within their scope and privledge to jump on those of us who blog honestly, and from the heart and give their two cents.
I have posted here on Unsolicited Advice
And I posted here about Why I Refuse to “Defend” My Choices
This post is full of great tidbits for how to handle negative people and naysayers if you missed it.
And for those of you who are not familiar with my High Raw, All Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Light Dietary Path, largely because of Food Allergies, you can Read Up on the Nasty Symptoms that plague me if I stray from this path. Including anaphalactic shock and death if I were to eat shellfish. Of course, I am also a Vegan for Compassion, See Here.
So the point is that my food choices are not arbitrary; they are very well-researched and through trial and error, and 30 years of work, I have found what works for me: plants! And I’m not sorry if that looks “boring” or inadequate to some people! As I advocate here, we all must do what we need to do for our own bodies, for where we are at in the moment, and not be so stubborn as to not re-evaluate our choices from time to time. And above all, don’t judge others, and realize that no two people are alike so what works for me may not work for you and vice versa. I am tolerant of everyone’s path and wish others could extend me that courtesty even if they know it’s not what they would choose.
I want to thank everyone who writes me and tells me that I have inspired you. I receive dozens of emails every day in addition to the sweet comments you all leave me telling me that I inspire you or that I’ve helped you to make certain positive changes in your life, and thank you for writing and letting me know this! It helps me keep blogging, keep going, and keep sharing!
I will be honest, yesterday’s comment has left me wondering why I blog and if I should continue.
Thanks to Tasha, Katie, Jessica, April, and Madeline for talking me down from the ceiling last night! Your friendship means the world to me!!! Thank you for being there!
I open my life and heart and share openly and honestly about what’s going on in my world and it’s so hurtful when I get negative comments especially from people who clearly don’t follow my story, i.e. training for a fitness show, high raw vegan with food allergies, etc. and they make judgments and leave hurtful words. No one who blogs deserves this. Ever. Jenny got one recently that made my blood boil for her.
As I have posted about Here, I don’t blog for the Food or the Recipes anymore. The novelty of that wore off a long time ago! I blog to establish connections with other like-minded people or others who can appreciate my life path and I can appreciate theirs. That’s the beauty of the ‘sphere to me. Bringing people together. Yes, the recipes are a part of it, but Real Life!!! is so much more interesting to me than salads, bowls of oatmeal, jars of nut butter, or green smoothies.
I also asked in This Post about why you Read my Blog or anyone’s blog because I had mentioned it gets a bit boring for me to post only about food & recipes, and I’d like to post about more about my Life, too. Thankfully the majority of you told me you don’t solely read my blog for the food. Whew! What a relief, because there’s only so many way I can make Rabbit Food Raw Plants look “new and exciting”!
I am a high raw vegan. This works for me. That means I eat plants, and a lot of them. I will not post every head of cauliflower I eat or every stalk of broccoli. My blog is not a food journal or diary. Never was and never will be. And I realize that some of the foods I post probably look repetitive. But this is my Groove and I am Happy and Thriving this way! Not a Rut! Why fix something that ain’t broken?
But would it be better for me to not post Green Food if it seem redundant to readers? I see plenty of blogs where people establish their groove and once they find what works, they don’t change it. And their food follows a fairly predictable path. The Pure Twins are on a similar path as I am, April loves protein, Janetha is a Body for Life fan, Evan is a conscious omnivore, Danielle is a vegan, and the list goes on and on. These friends know their path and that’s that.
When you find what works for you, it may seem repetitive to others and that’s ok! But I realize it doesn’t always make for good “blog content”.
Speaking of Repetitive Green Food: Raw Kale, Tomatoes, Cukes
Dressed with Vegan Slaw Horseradish Relish Dressing
Dessert is a Continuation on Yesterday’s Toffee Theme. Today’s Toffee is Vegan Cinnamon Toast Toffee with Almonds
Hard to Choose Which One I like Better? Yesterday’s Vegan Cinnamon Toast without almonds?
Or Today’s Vegan Cinnamon Toast Toffee with Almonds….
I also had a few of the high Raw Vegan Almond Butter Cookies I made
Yoga Today is Sirasana (Headstand)
(I talked in this post about weight distribution with your head vs. arm & shoulder muscles. Check it out to stay injury-free in your neck!)
I read that Tina is doing a Yoga Challenge. I don’t read her blog regularly but Molly’s blog tipped me off! I love it when people are inspired to try yoga! It’s been 10 Wonderful Years for Me as I mentioned yesterday! Or of course in my All Things Yoga FAQ post.
Gym & Weights Workout Today: Day 3 – Chest/Shoulders
Questions
1. Have You Ever Had a Blogger Meetup? Who’s your Dream Blogger Meetup? Are there any bloggers you’re dying to see what they’re like in person? Who?
2. Do you find that once you’ve hit your groove with the foods that make you feel optimally, that most days are simply a version on a theme? Meaning you eat similar things daily even if it’s not the exact same, it’s close or quite similar? i.e. raw veggies for me. Or are you still searching for your path and what foods are going to make you feel your best?
3. As a blogger, do you feel pressure to have cool, fresh, and awesomely-inspired “content” and recipes? Do you feel it’s redundant to post certain eats? Do you just post it anyway? Or do you not post?
I would love to say that I create culinary masterpieces every day, but what you see, is pretty much what I eat: clean, simple, fresh, raw, and no “masterpieces” involved. Do you enjoy seeing other bloggers’ less-than-masterpiece meals? Their “ordinary eats”? Or do you just gloss over the food anyway? I am trying to determine if it’s worth posting my “ordinary food” or if I should only post my bigger recipes?
4. Hurtful, negative, or less than cheerful comments. Have you ever left one for a blogger, either intentionally or not, but after the fact you realized your comment may have hurt them?
I hope to God I have never done this to anyone. Some of my dry humor doesn’t always translate in the comment field and since I leave tons of comments, I type turbo-style and I am being more careful not to say things that may not convey on email like they would in-person.
5. What do you do about negative comments if you’ve gotten them? I think I’ve handled myself with grace and dignity and class because I could publish Abbey’s email address and have all of my 3000 friends that stop by and read my blog every day drop her an email…haha! But that’s not to say I wasn’t hurt by it. It’s much easier to “shrug it off” from afar than if you’re the one receiving it. Have you ever had a nastygram? How did it make you feel? Did you delete it from your blog?
P.S. I was Mentioned as One of the Top 50 Blogs for Raw Food Recipes and Inspiration! Many of my friends and those I admire and respect are also on this list, so I feel privileged to be in such good company!
Stay Tuned For What I Buy at the Grocery Store and Why…
I really like your posts.