*Ok so working on an old laptop, and a trigger happy pinky finger, this post just got published about 12 hours before I actually wanted it to…nothing like a little surprise publishing on a Monday morning, but hey, it’s all good. Enjoy the “early” post. Anyone else ever done this? I know Deb has, anyone else?
How are you doing today? What’s shaking sweetie pies? I’m doing great and thanks for the awesome feedback on Diana of Soap & Chocolate’s Guest Post Yesterday which featured her take on Raw Vegan Peppermint Patties! If you missed that one, check it out!
And again, Thanks a Million, Diana! Your creativity inspires me to stay inspired and I can’t wait to whip up some goodies when I return home from my trip!!!
A couple quick food highlights ’round here included a Kale Salad with Cukes, Brock, Sugar Snap Peas, and Cauli…
…dressed with my Homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing. Sweet-n-Tangy goodness!
A Garden Salad for Scott with carrots, arugula (I love the peppery, spicy, bite of arugula!), sun-dried tomatoes (another girl I know has been using the Sun Dried Tomatoes lately, too), & cukes dressed with my homemade CreamyVegan Cesar-Inspired Tahini Dressing
and a Baked Potato on the Side. That I nuked.
Are microwaves safe? Probably not but I use it anyway. There’s a time and place for convenience and sometimes, you just gotta say, what the heck, I need to. I try not to over-use it, but I also try not to overthink things and drive myself nutty!
And Skylar has been enjoying her Advent Calendar.
Scott’s Jewish. I’m not. Anyone else raised in a split-religion house? The Advent Calendar for us isn’t even Jesus’s Birth. It’s about The Mouthful of Chocolate…
…And opening the cute little doors.
I have such fond memories of Advent Calendars from my own childhood and she loves it, too!
And she’s had lots of fun on Slides
And we’ve been to the Beach
Where we’ve made lots of sand castles
And we’ve dug sand holes
And laughed & loved alot
Yoga Today is 108 Sun Salutations.
You’re thinking what???!!! Why??!!!
Don’t know what a Sun Salutation is? Here’s the flow of one salutation.
Or here’s another.
What is the significance of the Winter Solstice?
Well the Winter Solstice, which occurs between Dec 20 & 21 every year, is today. Meaning, it’s the shortest day of the year and the sun’s position in the sky is the lowest. The seasonal significance of the Winter Solstice means that until the Vernal Equinox, the days will begin to lengthen and nights will begin to shorten. Many people celebrate Winter Solstice as a time of rebirth, a new beginning and a chance to marvel at the power of transition from darkness into light.
It’s customary in yoga traditions to mark the Solstices with 108 Sun Salutations.
Why 108 Sun Salutations?
I found this info which gives a succinct and clear explanation:
There is a special significance to 108 in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. For instance, there are 108 beads in the mala of both traditions; there are 54 letters in the Sanskrit alphabet and each has masculine and feminine, totaling 108; 1 stands for Higher Truth, 0 stands for Emptiness and 8 stands for Infinity. As we reflect on the significance of the sun, we are reminded that the sun is the illuminator of our world, that it is our primary source of heat and the giver of life. So come, honor the sun!
Or here’s Yoga Journal’s take on it.
You don’t have to do all 108 Sun Salutations; do as many as you feel is appropriate. Heck, just do one! Just be mindful and present, joyfully aware, that the days will now get longer and notice how this effects you in your daily life.
Questions!
If you’re religious, do you feel connected to the winter holidays, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, in a meaningful way? Or do you feel that the December Holidays have morphed into a time of retail gluttony and commercialism? Or, do you feel a bit of both? Or, do you view this season as a time to simply connect with friends, family, and loved ones independent of everything else?
I am of the opinion that it’s wonderful to celebrate the holidays with my immediate family and although we don’t get caught up in gifts (I mentioned before that we don’t do gifts for any holidays anymore, which is very freeing and a gift in and of itself!), but I also have to stop and remind myself of the Christian significance of this time because, I admit, it does get a bit buried and lost for me otherwise. But what’s your take on this time of year? What does it mean for you?
As I asked in the post, too, did you grow up in a religious household? Were your parents the same religion? Did this or does that matter to you? I know some of my friends, VeggieGirl, Katie of Faith Food & Fitness, and many more of you too, have strong faiths and I applaud people who believe in something and stand up for it, not only religious choices, but in general.
Next Question…do you feel connected enough to yoga to even contemplate 108 Sun Salutations? Is there a physical exercise or something you do that once upon a time you thought it was crazy but now you’ve accomplished it? Marathon running or Century Bike Rides come to mind for me! How about for you?
Stay Tuned For More Guest Posties in the House and less Deep Thoughts. It’s a Food Blog after all. Haha!…
Love your tat! And the food pics, of course.
We sometimes go to midnight mass, usually get take out for dinner and drive around to look at Christmas lights.
BUT this year my sister is on a high school french exchange program, so she's not home and my flight doesn't get home in until christmas morning, so things will be different, but still full of joy for sure. My parents and brother will have a lonely eve.
Omg! Congrats on the award. I loved reading those facts. Wow graduated at 20 with a Psych degree. That is very impressive!!
Thank you so much for passing this along to me. I feel so incredibly honored and cant wait to write it up. Thank you so much! =)
Oh and I absolutely voted for you for the raw awards. Im ssooo incredibly excited for ya. Im actually going to go to the awards ceremony since its in Santa Monica which is about 10 minutes away from me. So i'll be there to support you and cheer you on sweetie!
I gotta say too, those chocolate brownie oats look incredible. Im so craving chocolate right now and it looks sssoo fabulous. Once these christmas cookies are outta my freezer Im gonna have to make a big batch of them!! Looks awesome.
The mac and cheese looks great too. Very cool guest post! I used to love mac and cheese but dont eat it anymore since its not too healthy but now maybe I can have my mac back.
Tonight we are celebrating with friends which is nice. Usually I fly home to see my family or to Texas to see my husbands family but this year we had to stay put for the time being. But I feel really lucky to have good friends to celebrate with as well. So will be a fun night.
I wish you and your family a wonderful and absolutely fabulous holiday!!
awww pum'kin! thanks so much for the award sweetie. If there was a "bloggie BFF who is the hottest raw foodie/yogini ever" I'd totes give it to you :) congrats, babe. You deserve all the recognition in the world!
Hope you have a Christmas eve to remember with the little peanut. Love you tons! xo
Wow, just when I think you cannot awe me more…you do. Each of your facts is outstanding, don't know where to begin. I think that one about feeling things deeply really depicts you also…you seem to tune in to what others feel.
That muslei bread looks neat-o…looks like cinnamon raisin bread types that smell so lovely in the toaster…I hope you are having a safe and happy Eve of Christmas.
And thank you so much for passing the "award" on to me…so sweet…really.
I actually did it before…but its kinda fun to do again sometime…makes a person think..take care.
Hey, I totally just blogged my 7 random things upon receiving the same Beautiful Blogger honour from Gena. Too cool! They're kinda from childhood/teenage years, but I guess that's what I remember the most these days! I have yet to experience life beyond my 20 years !
As for the Best of Raw awards – hello? Sexy raw woman! That's YOU! :)
P.S. Your gluten-acious bread looks SOOOOO GOOD.
I got the award and did my facts here: https://www.jessicatudor.com/?p=1602
Wow you're tall! I can't picture you living in MN. I just can't. I had the same kind of memory in school. Psych/Bio at 20? Dang, girl. What's your day job?? Smartypants! :)
(I am extremely sensitive too – I can't watch the news or I cry. It goes beyond empathy, doesn't it)
I find it easy to talk about myself because I do it in an I-relate-to-you way. I like listening to other people and sharing things – the first 20yrs of my life were so beyond dysfunctional I need the reassurance it's not just me, and conversely, I have some dang funny/unbelievable stories from it that just make good anecdotes.
IVE missed commenting.. its sooo tough when we are away. (which we will be for another week!!)
CONGRATS On your award, Averie!! You deserve it for sure.
Christmas eve=buffet din at my house with just my immediate family. Prob be watching some sort of will ferrell movie.. lol.
HAVE ASUPER HOLIDAY :)
So jealous of all the wonderful fresh fruit you're getting there!! And that muesli bread!! Droooool….
Thanks for the award dahlin' I will definitely display it on my blog very soon ;) I LOVE hearing random facts about people too. Mine: I used to play guitar and sing in an all-girl punk band ;)
Congrats on the awards! It was fun learning seven random things about you!
I would pick to live in Southern California as well! I'm also almost 5'11''. And I have a B.A. in Psychology (but I wasn't 20 when I graduated). Anyway, this was fun… :)
Have a fun day at the beach today! We are planning on a relaxing day today. My in-laws are coming over for our traditional salmon dinner, but it's going to be low key.
Averie, THANK YOU! This gives me warm fuzzies, esp. since you're right that I got it from Gena earlier this week too. Now I REALLY have to do that post, haha! Hopefully it'll go up tonight. :)
PS I just read the Pure2Raw post and loved their mac n cheese idea–definitely great for something different, especially since everything I've heard about them before now had to do with their baked goods. So intrigued to see their quinoa recipe! Will have to check out their blog more regularly.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
omg. i'm really sensitive too! anytime something negative happens i take it REALLY to the core!
hmm. i find it REALLY hard to brag about myself. i know on my blog i'm like WOO HOO i ran well today- that's the extent of my gushing about myself. otherwise, i'm really modest. D always says i don't give myself enough credit. lol. interesting fact: hmm. i'm a twin. identical. my dad's brother married my mom's sister. and..i still wear shorts on dates and in 40 degree weather. lol.
Merry Christmas! : )
My mother's birthday is christmas day so my family spends the night at my parents' house christmas eve and santa comes to visit even though my brother is 27 and I'm 23 : )
Just voted for you, BTW : )
Enjoy Aruba!
Hey! Congrats on your award too, girl! Your treats ALWAYS look great! Enjoy the holiday season!
Thanks for the shout out Averie! Christmas Eve will be spent baking with the brother and lying around watching movies with the family! We're under a Winter Weather warning! Fun fact? I won a state wide geography contest when I was in the 4th grade!
wonderful awards – congrats :)
Christmas eve is going to be spent at my house with my immediate family and cousins. We are having dinner then going to church.
Merry Christmas!! I am envious of your location – Aruba sounds divine!
CONGRATS on your award!! Photographic memories are the best, aren't they? I love it.
Christmas Eve = my real Christmas celebration with family. I hope you guys enjoy your holiday!!