Hi Friends! I am glad it’s Thursday, how about you? That just means we’re one day away from the weekend! And for me, Scott will be coming home Friday from his business trip which is a very good thing! My agenda is still open for this weekend, but I am sure I will have no problem filling it in. Any plans on tap for you yet?
I went to the grocery store today and saw this Vanilla Extract. An 8 oz bottle of real vanilla extract, a “boutique” gourment brand no less, for $12.99.
Wasn’t ticked off for long, because in the mail, I hit the Hemp Jackpot! Thanks so much to Living Harvest Foods and Tempt Brand for sending me a stash of hemp.
Vegan & Dairy Free, of course
Only complaint: Who gets four servings out of a single pint of ice cream? No one in this house…haha!
In honor of all that hemp, here’s a recent Hemp-Based Recipe I created:
“Spicy Doritos” Cheezy Dip
And if you’d like to read a little more about Hemp which has had quite a place lately on my blog I am now realizing:
1. If you missed my post on Medical Marijuana and other thoughts, Click Here.
2. And here was the day I ventured into a Marijuana Dispensary. Read on, and you’ll see why.
From Yesterday…
It was great to hear what your passions are and what things you love spending your precious free time doing. Everything from to passionate about Pilates to passionate about TV it was great reading everyone’s passions, interests, and hobbies! And, we are all clearly passionate about blogging or we wouldn’t do this timesuck every day labor of love every day.
I got a few good suggestions for health and beauty products you love. Thanks for chiming in on those.
Gym & Weights Today – Recap Yesterday’s Discussion about a Home Gym. I mentioned I am contemplating a home gym. There are pros and cons. Most notably, for me, it’s not the money. I don’t want to sound “like that” because we’re not rolling in dough by any means but for me, physical fitness is a such a core, central tenet in my life, that if I really want to do something fitness-related, I don’t skimp on it because I know I will use it and benefit from it.
As Amber said and I couldn’t agree more with her,
“I would love to have a home gym someday. Oh, to be able to work out without grunty, sweaty, leering guys all around…sometimes I feel like I’d get more out of my workout if I were in the gym all alone!”
Thanks to Madeline and Rachel and who suggested that I check gyms that are closing in the area to score some good deals on used gym equipment. And thanks to everyone who suggested Craigslist but in other cities, not just San Diego. Between San Diego, Orange County, and L.A., yeah, I think I can probably find some gym equipment. hah!
The major consideration for me was coming with finding space to put it. I hate looking at clutter and visual chaos. Ugly, clunky gym equipment qualifies as that, for sure! I don’t know where to put it other than my garage. I can’t put it in the master or Skylar’s room, and the other bedroom is Scott’s office/guest room and is tiny and couldn’t fit gym equipment in it. So, it really would have to be the garage. Since there are no basements in California, all of our extra boxes, suitcases, and stuff that most people throw in their basement into storage, well, what little storage stuff we do have is in our garage, so guess what I did….
I re-arranged our garage! It’s a long/narrow garage and so we park in front/back of each other rather than side-by-side. All our stuff is in the only logical place for gym equipment.
Before
After
Omg. 3 Hours. Physical Labor. I am one strong bitch, that’s all I can say. haha! Who needs a man…do it yourself ladies! All while preventing Skylar from running into the street and singing songs as I am grunting and wrestling with a 200 lb bookshelf!
Now I just have to find the right equipment! I have seen a few things on Craigslist that may work, so we shall we! I will keep you all posted how my Home Gym Plans pan out!
Dessert: Raw Vegan Peanut Butter (or Sunflower Seed Butter) Vanilla Balls
Questions
1. Have you ever tried any Hemp Products? If so, which ones?
I prefer hemp milk to almond milk or to most other plant-based “milks”. As I said, Scott loves hemp milk ice cream and I love hemp-based clothes and home furnishings like blankets, towels, and sheets. Soft, yet very durable, and sustainable. Feel free to let me in on any other hemp you’ve tried to…haha! Or check this post for everyone’s revelations.
2. Do you have any grocery store pet peeves?
A few of mine:
Bagging my produce in too few bags. Cloth bags are meant to be filled and when the are under-filled, I find my things get more beat up.
Selling questionable produce. Some grocery stores really need to weed through things that are going to go rotten or really over-ripe or expired better!
Tossing my produce around on the conveyor belt like my pears and apricots are hockey pucks. Be careful! I always wonder if the person who’s roughing up my nectarines would do that to the food they’re buying with their money?
What are your grocery store pet peeves?
3. I said something yesterday that I wanted to build on. It was this statement:
No one’s “perfect” and I hate looking at choices as Perfect and Everything Else. They are all just choices. From food to body spray to using Splenda. Who cares! If anyone has time in their day to worry about what someone else eats, puts on their body, uses in their coffee, or cleans their floors with, they really need to follow me around for a day so I can give them some things to do to take their mind off what everyone else is doing…haha
My Question Today is…
Do you find it easy to forget about the rest of the world and just do your own thing? Or are you easily influenced by others like to see what everyone else is eating, doing, saying, etc and then you change based on what they’re doing?
I guess food blogs, blogs in general, the internet as a whole is an interesting phenomenon because it is interesting to a point for me to see what someone else eats or buys, says or does in everything from their food to workouts to their relationships, but ultimately I find I don’t care what they are doing or eating or how they’re working out and just want to do my own thing!
I realize, though, that I march to my own drummer and don’t care what anyone else does because I am going to make my own choices; some of them jive with mainstream thought, and some don’t. I have always lived my life marching to my own beat and have known early on in life that my role is Leader.
There are some people who are Leaders, and some who are Followers. Trust me, I’d many times rather just fall into line, follow along with the program at hand, but I can’t help myself and have to do my own thing. And in the meantime, it’s nice to observe others, learn, ponder, be exposed to new things, but I definitely have my head screwed on straight and my choices and values are rock solid and looking, viewing, watching what others do is nice, but it’s not going to change who I am at my core.
3. Are you more of a leader or a follower?
4. Do you find that reading blogs changes who you are? Are you influenced by everything from the latest Superfood like Gogi Berries or Maca to buzzwords like Intuitive Eating to working out using the HIIT method because everyone’s doing it or have to have the latest pair of Lululemon yoga pants even though you can’t really afford them because “everyone else has them”?
5. How resolute are you in your own convictions and beliefs? No right or wrong answers here and no badges of honor for being on one side of the spectrum or another since both places have their strengths and challenges.
Thanks everyone for being such great readers and friends! I hope you have a super day!
Stay Tuned For A Give Away…
I’m loving your site! Very cool!