Month: June 2010

Slow Dancing with the Moon; A new user name…

Aynaria 4 Comments

Besides the obvious switch from free service to paid, swapping Word Press themes yet again, I’ve made another change. Some of you might have noticed it, since I’ve had a chance to comment on a few blogs. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I created my WP website a few weeks ago.

Once the the virtual dust died down here at Celebrate Life I decided that there was one thing that needed to go, my user name Nyomomma. Writing Not your Ordinary Momma wasn’t in the cards when it comes to leaving a note on someone’s blog, which is why I shortened it to Nyomomma. Deciding on a name… well that’s always been challenging. What should I choose?

Moondancer.jpg

Moon Dancer

Photo Source: Garden of Graphics

No, I didn’t want to have vegan or vegetarian in my name. I’ve been there, done that. I’m Vegan but… I’m more than that yah know?

It took me a while, but I finally decided to use the name… Moondancer. It definitely fits me. I didn’t just come up with that name. It’s a name I’ve used for at least a year.

I’ve always been fascinated with the moon, read quite a few articles focused on the lunar cycle and its effects on humans and animals. Additionally, there are certain things I do depending on the lunar cycle but even though the fascination was there, I didn’t pick the name Moondancer until I started playing a little known MMORPG called World of Warcraft. Ok, so I’m joking about the little known part. Regarding MMORPG’s, WoW has the largest number of players. Moondancer was/is one of my Night Elf Druids in that game. I haven’t played with that character in months, (miss people like the lovely & talented Kaozz.)

I was slightly surprised when I found many with that user name. I guess I shouldn’t be. It’s very pretty. It’s kind of interesting knowing that others enjoy that name too. Moondancer has that earthy vibe that I like, and well… I do love gazing at the moon. I like dancing, and at times I dance while watching the moon. That’s normal, right? 😉

Isn’t the above picture beautiful? I usually dislike websites that have songs that automatically play when I visit their page, but I didn’t mind in this case. The music seemed to fit, yah know? I’ve always been fascinated with Native Americans and so it’s no surprise I’ve learned a lot about the culture and interacted with many over the years.

Perhaps part of my fascination is because my grandmother was Blackfoot Indian/African American/Irish. I never thought about her ethnicity when I was young. Although she did talk about her heritage, she was my grandmom. A very light could pass for white (if she wanted to and she did to get jobs back in the day) sweet little lady who had so much love for others. Yeah grandmom was doing the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ back in the day. They didn’t ask her race, and she didn’t tell. I can’t say I blame her, times were tough and she and her husband took the jobs they could to survive.

What a great role model she was, and I did my best to emulate her. You want to know something? She was even shorter than me! She was 4’10, small but powerful. I’m 5′. My grandmother was a Rosie Rivetor I simply adored her, and wanted to learn as much about her as possible. She lived a long full life and died a few weeks before she turned 94. Even if she weren’t Indian, I know I would have read up on their culture. Learning about different cultures has always fascinated me. My daughter’s father was an interesting mix of Lumbee Indian, German, and Irish.

Well whaddya know…
My Google search pulled up a song titled Slow Dancing with the Moon by Dolly Parton. I’ve heard many of Dolly’s songs, like most of them, but I’ve never heard this one. I’m really enjoying it. Thanks Dolly!

Dolly Parton: Slow Dancing with the Moon

Lyrics
Dolly Parton: Slow Dancing with the Moon

Sweet little cherry blossom, blooming before her time
Moving her lips to her favorite song, cherishing every rhyme
Swaying her hips to the rhythm, humming along with the tune
Lost in her own little dream world, slow dancing with the moon

Watching her I cannot help but go back in my mind
And suddenly I find I am 15 again
Slow dancing with the moon
Oh, the stars got in my eyes long time ago
And I’ve lived my life like a love sick clown
In a bittersweet cartoon
Just a dreamy-eyed kid slow dancing with the moon

Watching the girl I’m reminded she’s quite a lot like me
Trapped in the suburbs of wonderland, lost in her own fantasy
Somehow my heart never grew up, no one ever burst my balloon
So here I am swirling in star dust slow dancing with the moon

Still believe someday my wildest dreams will all come true
And I’ll find someone who’ll make me 15 again
But until then I’m slow dancing with the moon
Oh, the stars got in my eyes long time ago
And I’ve lived my life like a love sick clown
In a bittersweet cartoon
Just a dreamy-eyed kid slow dancing with the moon

Still a starry-eyed kid slow dancing with the moon

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Dolly Parton

Celebrate Life; Settling in

Aynaria 2 Comments

Hey, how are yah? If you’re popping by my virtual home on the same day I’m posting this or few days after this post was published, chances are you found me via my old WordPress blog, Not your Ordinary Momma. I know the search engines haven’t picked up my website that quickly!

First, I want to thank you for clicking on the link and stopping by my new home. On my free WordPress blog I mentioned I was growing tired of writing there. I simply didn’t have the freedom to do many things that I’m used too.

I’ve been writing online since the early 90’s, have had a hosting provider for many of those years and just recently tried out a free blog. I didn’t like it at all, and so now I’m back to hosting my rambles under a paid service. Enjoy it, since I have more freedom to do whatever the heck I please, and I can play with my WordPress themes too.

I still have a lot of work to complete here before it meets my satisfaction but I’m happy I’ve moved to a hosted server. Celebrate Life is my new virtual home.

This WordPress theme won’t be staying; I just tossed it up until I have time to play around with themes that interest me.

As with my other personal/professional sites I’m using customized permalinks. It’s great for SEO, and I always thought it looked cleaner than having a number assigned to a post.

It took me a little while to come up with my url, but since my tagline is Celebrating Life I decided to include that in my url. Life’s too short, I celebrate the time that is alloted to me. Negativity is something I go out of my way to avoid; it’s simply not healthy.

Broken links/Things acting screwy…
Although I think I’ve updated most of the links on this site, I could have overlooked something. If you do find something please leave a comment here or send an email to info at imcelebratinglife.com just remember to use the @ in place of at.

calvinonwriting.06.18.10.jpgOn Writing…

A few years ago, I created a website that focused on natural skin care and cleaning products you could make at home. I posted a lot of recipes I’d created over the years; I even sold a lot of my products too. I’ve always enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned with others. I believe in playing it forward. It’s always a great feeling to help others out too. Creating that website was amazing since I was able to interact with more people. I could never meet that many in person. Eventually I’ll bring that website back online, but until then you’ll see me posting organic recipes here.

Protecting our environment, gardening, and enhancing our health naturally are a few things I’m extremely passionate. In fact, it’s something you’ll see me writing about a lot on I’m Celebrating Life.

I do hope that my readers don’t ever think I’m attacking them because it’s simply not my style. If I can make you think (like may writers have made me do over the years) well then that’s great. I’m vegan, but you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to be healthy. You simply need to make informed choices when it comes to eating.

There’s so much misinformation out there, at times it can be hard for people to cut through the crap to find credible information. It’s my hope that I can pass along tips I’ve learned or at least point you in the right direction.

What can I say, I love Calvin & Hobbes and the above cartoon has always made me laugh.

Small Honey Bee update…

Bees (more specifically honey bees) have been on my brain a lot lately and so I’ve been doing a lot of honey bee reading. I’ve picked up books from the library, chatted with some fantastic folks (like Two-Honeys) online, and thanks to Organically Managed Beekeeping (The podcaster lives in Maryland just like myself) I’ve stumbled upon some amazing podcasts. There’s so much valuable information that I’m taking my time to digest, and savor the wealth of beekeeping information.

I’m hoping everyone has a sparkling day!

Upcoming experiment: Baked veggie chips

Aynaria 9 Comments

Produce.06.17.10.jpgIn an earlier post, I mentioned how I went 100% raw for a little over a year. During that time, I purchased a food dehydrator and started experimenting with raw treats. Being the savory diva my snack of choice was the raw veggie chips I made.

At the time, I was working out of the home so I brought a lot of my creations into work. Being the only one that was vegan or vegetarian, it was always a thrill when my snacks/treats went over well by those that didn’t just eat vegetables.

Dehydrated snacks were a treat, they weren’t something I ate daily but they were healthy treats. It’s thrilling to know that no matter what I eat, it’s good for me. I don’t eat excessively. Combine that with daily exercise and I feel pretty much unstoppable. You would think that’s enough, right? Well it isn’t, how we treat ourselves and others is extremely important. How can we expect to be healthy emotionally, if we constantly feed off or spread negativity? So yes, at times we need an internal workout too. 🙂

Anyway, back to the veggie chips…
The majority of my veggie chips have dark leafy greens. I’ve written briefly about the importance of eating dark leafy greens before. Being the green lover that I am, you’ll see me writing about greens a lot. They are important, include them in your meals. They can enhance your health. 🙂

Although I’ve been meaning to make a baked version of the veggie chips I used to make, unfortunately, I’ve never gotten around to doing that. I can blame the lack of following through with that for many reasons. The number one reason is simple. I prefer a lot of my foods raw, so well the yummy vegetables are in our tummies before they even make it into the ingredients pile. However, I do have some free-time over the next few days, and so I’m thinking I’ll make some baked veggie chips. I’ll be sure to post pictures, and I’ll try to remember to measure everything and post it on this site.

When it comes to documenting my creations I do it all in MacGourmet Deluxe. I’m a Mac user. It’s a Mac based software application. I’ve been using this application for a few years, and enjoy it immensely. Since acquiring it, I’ve used it to hold many of the recipes I’ve created. I enjoy creating simple, nutritious, and delicious meals. I’m even happier when others enjoy what I prepare too and realize that eating healthy doesn’t have to be a ‘bad thing’ it can be quite delicious — and it’s good for you!

Publishing a book focused on whole food vegan recipes is one of my long-term goals, and the recipes that will be featured are all stored in this application.

Technorati Tags:
Vegan, Vegetarian, whole food

Busy as a Bee

Aynaria 10 Comments

bee.06.12.10.jpgHello everyone! There’s been so much going on in our little neck of the woods. Our garden is coming along nicely. I really don’t need an excuse to get out in garden, sure it can be hard work but I find it relaxing too.

You want to know something? I really hate wearing gloves, and so when weeding you usally won’t find me wearing them. I can always wash the dirt out of my nails afterwards, right? My nails grow fast, are strong, and fairly long. I know not the ideal combination for a garden lover, but there yah go.

Although I haven’t had too much time for writing here at Celebrate Life, I still manage to tweet on Twitter and have met some fabulous folks in the process. If you have a twitter account you can follow me at @Nyomomma. For the most part, I’m finding them more chatty than my gaming tweet folks.

I’ve been also focusing on another project. It’s not ‘new’ since I’ve always had a love for this activity since I was around six years old, but it looks like I’ll be moving forward with it early next year.

Allow me to ramble a bit, ok? I’ve always been fascinated with bees. All types, but my favorite has been honey bees. I’ve always been impressed with these industrious little creatures, and have read numerous articles/books about them as a child.

As I became older, my fascination with them grew. I noticed a huge decline in bee population an decided to read up on the subject. I knew I wasn’t imaging things when I immediately pulled up articles about this very topic on the world wide web. Colony Collapse Disorder is something that seems to have affected bees on a world-wide scale. Unbelievable!

Naturally, when I started reading about Colony Collapse Disorder I was concerned. A 1/3 of the crops that humans eat are dependent on Bees. Some experts speculate that if honey bees continue to die off human survival won’t last too much longer.

I’ve always wanted to invite bees in our little world. I imagine some might think that’s strange since I’m Vegan. I don’t want them for their honey. I’m not bothered by those who responsibly gather honey either. Over the years, I’ve met a few local beekeepers that were amazing, and really took care of their little bees. Anyway, I do believe the bees I invite on our property will benefit from the land and crops we do have here, and it will be nice to see more bees around the place. More important, I want to do my part to help out with the declining bee population.

About six years ago, I had planned on getting bees. Just like anything I’m interested in, I did a lot of research; I had read numerous articles/books about beekeeping but I held off getting them. One of the main reasons was my daughter. She was a little over one year old. Although she’s never been out of my sight, part of me was still paranoid about her somehow getting past mommy and opening that buzzing box near the woods (yeah as if that would happen!)

I rejoined the Beemaster’s forum, I couldn’t remember the user name I had when first joined about three or four years ago, and I came up with another one. I’ve always enjoyed that site since it is a wealth of information and the owner, and the Beemaster community has always made it a wonderful place to hang out and increase my knowledge about bees. I’m looking forward to learning more about them.

I’m currently working on an article about bees, I imagine I’ll be finished early next week and will publish it here on Not Your Ordinary Momma.

I won’t be getting bees this year, but in Spring 2011, we’ll most likely be welcoming a few hives onto our property.

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Colony Collapse Disorder

Vegan Cuisine: Spicy Black Beans & collard greens

Aynaria 3 Comments
Black Beans & Collards.06.08.10.jpg

Spicy Black Beans & Collard Greens

When I think about the foods that I enjoy eating, I would have to put black beans and any type of leafy green high on that list. I really enjoy eating my dark greens. It wasn’t always that way.

Years ago I would eat dark greens because I knew they were healthy. However, if I were to be perfectly honest, I didn’t enjoy eating them. Which is why I tended to ‘cook them to death’ so I wouldn’t have to taste them, crazy I know… 🙂 I favored the lighter greens, which weren’t as healthy. Over time, my taste buds changed. That tends to happen the ‘cleaner’ and healthier you eat, and I began to crave dark leafy greens and now they’re part of my daily eating habits. Beans and greens can be made in numerous tasty dishes. They’re loaded with vitamins and nutrients, and if prepared correctly they are delicious.

Yesterday morning, I went out into the garden and picked a few leaves of collards. I decided I would prepare a simple breakfast of black beans and collards. Since our collards are huge, I only needed 4 leaves.

Calcium, vitamin A, B6, and vitamin E are a few of the nutrients you’ll find in Collard greens. Dark leafy greens are loaded with vitamins and minerals and should be included in your daily eating routine.

After picking the collard greens I decided I would add black beans to the meal too. I’ve included the recipe I made below.

Spicy Black Beans & sauteed collard greens

  • 2 cups collard greens; rinsed and chopped or shredded
  • 2 cups of black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp freshly chopped ginger root
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp curry
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin seeds
  • 1/2 cup of water

Direction

  1. In a deep frying pan or large pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
  2. Add the onions, sautee until clear.
  3. Add garlic, pepper, and all other spices except for the sea salt
  4. Stirring frequently, cook the spices for a several minutes
  5. Add the collard greens, making sure to coat the greens with the spices and oil
  6. Sautee for about two minutes
  7. Add the remaining ingredients
  8. Turn heat to medium low
  9. Stir frequently, so the ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
  10. Serve and enjoy!

If you like you can add the greens right before your serve the dish. In doing so, they are only lightly cooked. This is how I normally make any dish with greens. I enjoy the raw taste of greens. However, I did something differently and actually cooked the greens for a few moments. Since I drink them daily you know a green smoothie accompanied the meal.

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Recipes, Smoothies, vegetarian, whole food

Swapping themes and blogging update

Aynaria 4 Comments

For my few readers out there /waves you can see I’ve swapped themes again.

I’m simply not happy with the limited WP themes I have hosting my blog under WordPress so I know it’s only a matter of time before Not your Ordinary Momma moves to a hosted provider. I’ve used Lunar Pages for over eight years. I’m sure that’s where I’ll eventually move this site.

A little about my Vegetarian ways…
I swapped to Vegetarianism in 1992, moved onto Veganism not too soon afterwards. The transition wasn’t ‘hard’ for myself. I’d always been raised around a lot of vegetables (I’m fortunate, I know) and meat was mainly a side dish. With my family, animal products didn’t take over our entire meal. Strange I know since my parents raised chickens, turkeys, goats, etc., It just wasn’t done that way. In most cases, animal products were treated as a side dish. You know what? There were quite a few meals where animals didn’t even make an appearance. Ok, I take that back they did, but only to wind their flexible bodies around our feet at mealtime, meowing for a little treat or to place a well placed kick on our ankle (our rabbit.)

I learned to cook at an early age (four.) My mother saw my interest in cooking, and actually encouraged it. Naturally the meals I prepared at that age was limited, and heavily supervised but that began my love affair with cooking (or uncooking.) 🙂

About three years ago, I swapped to a raw food lifestyle. My eating intake has always been high raw. Although I don’t get into % when it comes to things such as that I’ll do so now, to give you an idea. On average, I was eating about 80% raw foods. I’d been eating that way for years, and although I had a high amount of energy (I think that is due in part to the way I eat — whole foods) I did notice even more of an improvement when I went 100% raw. I stayed 100% raw, for over a year. These days I’m upping my intake of raw foods again, so moving past my 80% raw intake.

Remember when I talked about my green cravings? Odd since I already eat a high amount of greens but I didn’t really question it, I just upped my intake. If we listen, our bodies can tell us what we need. Anyway my increase in raw foods happened about the same time as those cravings. These days, I’m up to around 98%.

Similar to when I went to 100% raw foods, the results are the same. I’m having more energy than I already have (which is great because my activities have increased recently) and I feel even better. Initially, when I went to raw, I found that shocking. Wait, you mean I can actually feel better than I normally do? I’ve always felt great, Menstruation was never something I had to worry about after swapping to vegetarianism.

My diet was whole foods (close to the source as possible) and ‘unnatural sugars’ and junk food’ just didn’t fit my lifestyle. I knew the impact of putting unhealthy foods into my body. I’ll try to get into a habit of posting more recipes on this site related to cooking and just simple environmentally friendly household, gardening, and skin care products you can use. I make and use them at home.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been following the Waist Whittling Wordsmith. The Wordsmith, is documenting her weight loss and has been incorporating healthier meals into her daily routine. I’m always inspired when I encounter people who are working to make improvements in their lives. Along with reading her blog in my RSS feed, I’ve tweeted with @WaistWhittler. Watching her progress, is serving as a positive reinforcement for myself, to keep working on the goals that I’m trying to achieve. If you get a chance, stop by and visit the Waist Whittling Wordmsith’s virtual home. She’s also thinking about switching to vegetarianism so if you’re veg pop by and give her some tips.

Regarding those goals…
Recently, I’ve been wanting to do more when it comes to helping others. It’s something I’ve always done (and it’s something I enjoy) but over the past few years I’ve eased up. Sure I still volunteer at homeless shelters and animal shelters too, but it’s not as it used to be, and so I’m changing that.

One of the first things that were cut was video games. I love games and although I never spent hours playing a game, I felt I needed a break and I took one. Guess what? I don’t miss it at all. Sure I’ll go back to playing computer and console games at some point but at the moment there are more important aspects in my life.

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Raw food

Raw Recipe: Almond butter

Aynaria Leave a comment

Almonds.06.05.10.jpgWow, what a busy week. Gardening, volunteering, cleaning, and of course hanging out with my lovely daughter are a few things I’ve done this week. My daughter is officially out of school for the summer, and I’m enjoying having her around.

Plenty of simple, nutritious, and delicious vegan meals have been prepared although finding the time to post them hasn’t been happening. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to post some of them this weekend.

A few days ago I made one of my favorite dishes Dhal with brown rice. It had the three qualities I enjoy; simple, nutritious, and delicious. Yesterday I made roasted root vegetables. They had those three qualities too. My daughter devoured both dishes.

Yesterday, I decided to make a nut butter. I have an overabundance of raw Almonds so that was what I made. Nuts are a healthy fat, and many are good for you. I decided to include some of almonds benefits below.

Almond Benefits

    1. Heart Healthy

Numerous studies have been done on the health benefits of nuts the British Journal of Nutrition published a study linking consumption of nuts with a lower risk of heart disease.

    1. High in antioxidants.
    2. Whole almonds provide the most heart healthy benefits

The Journal of Nutrition published a study showing that 20 flavonoids can be found in the skin of the almond.

    1. Almonds may help you lose weight

International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders conducted a study with 65 obese adults. Those on the almond rich, low calorie diet lost more weight than those on the low calorie, high carbohydrate diet…

Those eating almonds experienced a 62% greater reduction in their weight/BMI (body mass index), 50% greater reduction in waist circumference, and 56% greater reduction in body fat compared to those on the low calorie high carbohydrate diet

As you can see, nuts can be extremely healthy. I don’t tend to gorge myself when I do eat them (even though some of them are quite delicious.) Yesterday as I was preparing the roasted root vegetables I decided to make some raw almond butter but I decided to add a few seasonings; I’m including the recipe below.

Raw Almond Butter

    1. 2 cups of Raw Almonds
    2. Olive or coconut oil

-use as needed

Seasonings (optional)

  • teaspoon of natural sweetener; honey, stevia, etc.,)
  • dash of sea salt

Directions

    1. Grind nuts in a grinder
      I use a coffe grinder, when I’ve used larger amounts of nuts I’ve used a blender (I used my Vita-Mix)

*If you use your Vita-Mix, make sure you don’t blend too long, since it will heat the nuts.

    1. Transfer ground mixture to food processor

*You can keep keep in the grinder, it just takes a but longer.

  1. Gradually add oil (one tablespoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.)
  • Refrigerate, and enjoy!

Makes about 10 ounces.

*You’re almond butter will need to be refrigerated since no preservatives have been added. Although it can last a month this way, my butters never lasted more than a few weeks. Enjoy

My daughter and I enjoy nut butters, and we enjoy eating it on a variety of foods such as dips and sandwiches. Yesterday I made I added garlic instead of the seasonings I mentioned above. It was strong, but we still enjoyed it; next time I think I’ll roast the garlic, which will add some sweetness to the butter. Of course, my nut butter will no longer be raw but it still will be delicious.

 

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Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, vegetarian, whole food, Nut Butter