Sweat Shop

I’m Miss OP, & I support them:

^ this shirt was a lighter color before I visited the sweat shop. It was certainly lighter in weight. It was very dry, but it became wet… with sweat. (Sorry if you’re grossed out… it’s only natural!)

I’m really talking about one of my latest visits here:

 

…because it makes me sweat!

It’s really beautifully decorated outside, with a garden area & an outdoor canopy/cover with chairs & couches (to the right, once you walk past this welcome arch).

I have been LOVING yoga lately: Hot, Power, Hatha, Vinyasa… whatever I can get! I’ve even started doing it on my own, from what I remember from classes & from this podcast I found at Yoga to the People!

Upon leaving the Yoga Village, they serve some of my favorite Yogi Tea (Chai) with s’milk & honey. Definitely makes getting through the challenging class: the way it makes me feel + the delicious inner warmth of the tea!

I’ll leave you with a quote that hangs on the wall- I hope you like it:

Never Give Up!

I know I haven’t been around lately… I’ve been busily working on school stuff & my summer plans, but I am still photo-ing my rave-worthy eats & doings! AND I’m still reading & commenting on your blogs!

Have a great week, darlings! ☮

(DISCLAIMER: I do not support “Sweat-Shops”- just places that make me sweat!)

Feeling lucky!

Someone is looking out for me! Who?

^ Facial Yoga, anyone? … maybe not her, but I don’t know. But yesterday I went back to the yoga studio to try a new class (as described on their website):

Power Yoga- Power Yoga is based on Ashtanga Yoga which helps cleanse and tone the body, mind and senses. An energetic series of poses designed to build strength, increase flexiibility and an inner freedom beyond compare.

I got there a little late, signed in, trying to rush into class (not a good thing in yoga, yanno? But it was “Power Yoga” so I was warming up in a way?) I gave the lady working the front desk my money & she said I had a 10-class pass! I had pondered the possibility last time I was in, but definitely did not pay for it, so someone really wants me to practice. I felt SO THANKFUL for that because I hadn’t been practicing as much as I would like, mostly because of funds & wanting to save a little.

I know, I know, I should be investing in my health, especially now that I don’t belong to a gym, but I have been walking, some running & lifting some light weights (not lightweights, the people) at home, which are still great exercises, but yoga brings a totally different feeling– inside & out! I love it! This is definitely a RAVE post! … for my “Yoga Fairy”, for the practice of yoga, for some power looking out for me & my well-being! THANKS, whoever you are!

Another blessing, in the same day?!

When I got into work yesterday, one of my managers hands me a Target plastic bag… hmm? He said, “It’s from Andre,” then turned & left. OOOkay…?  

Ya’ll, Andre is in his late-30’s & very pleasant when he comes in & we always talk. He’s big into meditation & wellness, working out, healthy food (typical customer!), but he is also friends with one of my older-female-co-workers. Well, the other day this lady gave me one of her daughter’s (cute) shirts she didn’t want & I told her. “Anything else she doesn’t want, please send my way!” I guess she applied this to every part of life, haha. When she & Andre were hanging out, he gave her some goodies & she told him that I would like something too. I found this kind of odd, but sweet, too!

He gave me some raw flax crackers, from a local company: Dynamic Raw Food Artistry

 

They are all made with Onion & Garlic, but with 4 different flavors: Ginger, Jalapeno, Coconut & Curry, & Spirulina!  They say to “drink lots of water while consuming dehydrated foods.” That makes sense, right? Don’t wanna be dehydrated… heh. heh. heh. 

I immediately dove into the Coconut & Curry flavored ones: YUM! They aren’t really *crispy* but they have a great texture & still a bit of crunch & are able to hold a topping (hummus? soup? cheese? YES!) 

Thanks to my 2 ANGELS! … and all my Blogger-Angel-Peeps out there (Y-O-U!) for just commenting & making a sistah’ feel GrOoVy! Should I play the lottery?! I don’t care to win, but I am on a lucky, given streak!

And I got a new tea:

 < Lipton Vanilla Caramel Truffle

When I bought it, my mom said, “NO, not another TEA!!!” Yes, another tea! I like variety, especially now that I don’t drink the standard coffee! It’s great, with real caramel pieces in the tea bag! But I wish I didn’t have to buy 20 of them- I just wanted to try it. Still, it’s in the cupboard, with 2 gone already! *sweet!*

Despite just going to the beach the other day, today is totally yucky: rainy, cold, windy! Good day to stay in & work on HW- not necessarily what I want, but it’s most definitely what I need!

Have a great week, lovelies! Of course, you can’t leave without someone saying bye:

^ My mom was having a snack & he wanted to get close to get a hand-out. Nice move, Jassy! Look at the whites of his eyes, looking back at ya. He always does this: why not turn around to look? haha, silly…

*From my studio’s website:

“Yoga is all about relationship. The word itself means union. It refers to that most elemental of all relationships: the relationship of our small self with our Infinite Self. Yoga is how we satisfy the deep longing to belong.”

–Authentic Relationships Manual, Kundalini Research Institute.

February ended well for me & I’m feeling positive for March, too! 

Question: *WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS MONTH?!*

Heads, Witches & Health

…that’s what this post is about. Do they relate to one another today? I’ll let you decide!

OW!!! …my aching head!

Today is Day #3 of no coffee & my head hurts! I thought I was all groovy this morning, grabbing alternatives for a morning jolt (tea, Kombucha, water). After classes & settling in after lunch, my head was pounding on it’s doors (or, my temples)! I think I am to blame for it. Though I still had some black Vanilla Chai tea this morning, it still doesn’t measure up to the mug-after-mug homage I’ve given to the caffeine gods. 

I’ve been watching plenty of this, though, in my afternoons:

 

Recognize it?! Sabrina the Teenage Witch (…right after Sister, Sister)

I’ve also been in the habit of drinking Crystal Light (we always have 2 different flavors in the fridge for the fam, one permanently being peach tea). Yesterday I caved & had some when I was dying of something flavorful to drink, but today. No! I will not! I think it’s contributing to a dissatisfaction with satisfactory meals (extra, mindless hunger?). READ: I AM NOT depriving myself, but feel like I know how much my body needs & what it likes & something is funny here… Also, sleeplessness, headaches, poor skin tone, & on… I am hoping to eliminate these problems!!! I also find myself drinking these things, instead of pure water, juice, smoothies, soymilk, & other more nutritious beverages. Not good.

*Has anyone else experienced withdrawals or the process of cutting out caffeine (mostly coffee) & artificial sweeteners? Any effects? Any helpful tips? 

I boast a pretty wholesome, natural diet & would love to keep going further with this & these boogers are standing in my way!

In the meantime, I did schedule an appointment with a nutritionist for Monday afternoon. We’ve been playing phone-tag & I finally got ahold of her today after class. I was kind of hoping for an ASAP meeting because I just like things to happen like that, but Monday will do just fine! One of my friends, who eats incredibly delicious, whole foods, recommended her to me, as (he thinks) we have a similar outlook on food. Enjoy real, whole food!

NO- not this kind of Whole Foods:

And, I even find this to be kind of funny (think: why is all this freshness packaaged?!)

Mainly, I want to see if I’m getting everything I need. Being an active, young vegetarian, I realize there are things I may be over-looking. Also, (sorry, boys) I haven’t had that lovely “girly-thing” (as my dad calls it) in quite some time & I am concerned! I am especially concerned that my family practitioner is not concerned! SO- gaining a bit more weight & adding certain things to my diet may be an answer, which I will happily agree. This may have worried me in the past, but I’m ready. I’m growing up. Becoming womanly. Let’s do ‘dis!

*Has anyone had experience with this? (the weight-gain and/or amenorrhea) & what has helped the most?!

By the way, I finished my book: The Last Lecture & loved it! It was Tuesdays with Morrie–ish, so very inspirational & real… like you want to know him & reflect upon your life! Love that feeling! *Time to journal!

Thanks! Here’s wishing everyone healthy heads, bodies & souls; happiness, & good-witchery too!

Bizzy Me!

So! I wore my newly-exchanged shoes to work out on Tuesday and I was still feeling a little squished in them… so I looked at the box: 8. I looked inside the tongue on the shoe: 8. When I did the exchange, I brought the 8’s from home, along with 8.5’s from the store, which I wanted… the guy at the register did the lil’ transaction, handed me back the 8’s & I went (happily) on my way… until Tuesday after my workout! Geesh! I guess I’ll be going back again. Until then, I’ll have to keep them sparklin’ clean!

*This is what I’m looking at, while I blog to you:

 Hi, Milo!

Tuesday, I had another great day! I went to the gym & did the Arc trainer, lifted arm weights & did some abs/core. Then, I went home & made another smoothie. This one was AWESOME! I didn’t get a picture, but it was a pretty pink color, which made it more appetizing than my last effort with the green one! I used this protein powder (13 g. protein + anti-oxidants), added some extra frozen fruit, a couple of T. of sogurt, ice, some water & whiiizzzzzzz…. dee-lish!

I also made this for dinner:

 

^ Mesquite-grilled tofu with mixed veggies (broccoli, brussels sprouts, carrots, snap-peas, mushrooms, onions) over quinoa, Bragg’s & garlic-roasted pumpkin seeds <– a nice touch!

^ I got hungry a little while later, so I had this snack, consisting of:

packet of plain oatmeal, some Chia Goodness cereal

Now, I am definitely not one to waste food. But yesterday… just look what I came up with & tell me if you would do the same:

I started with this packet:

…it looked promising, being hemp protein & full of goodness

 

 

 

 

 

 

…& I added some frozen fruit (including peaches & a banana), some sogurt, ice & water… to get this narstiness:

 BLEGHH!!! Again, I wanted to like it & I hated the thought of all those good ingredients (& $$$) going down the drain, but one dip-of-my-finger in this blend put a sour look on my face and I had it thrown down the garbage disposal before I had any other reaction! The dogs didn’t even get a chance to sniff it out & look pitiful enough for a handout… so I went back to a tried-and-true standby: Spirutein (vanilla flavor) soy protein powder:

Then, I added a banana, some (maybe 10 or so?) almonds, sogurt, water, ice, cinnamon & cocoa powder to come up with a much better outcome:

Then, off to work, where it was a total MAD HOUSE because:

• It was “Senior Day”, where folks aged 60+ got 10% off everything in the store
• Brendan Brazier came to talk about his book (Thrive Diet) & products (Vega nutrition)… check him/it all out here. After the lecture let out, people swarmed the store to try some of the products & get their lil’ paws on the goods!

It was a successful day, for sure… just very busy! Finally, I had this to get me through & make me feel a lil’ spunky:

 Ginger Kombucha!

I’ll update about today, which started very early with a staff meeting before we opened the store this morning. It’s sure to be another good day!

Happy New-President-Day!!!

Milo says so, too:

Tree-huggin’ Christmas gift

Last night, I went home to find a package from my friend Bama filled with goodies like Clif and Kashi bars, Sport beans, a funny Christmas card and Chris Carmichael’s book Food for Fitness to “Eat Right to Train Right” because I’d love to run more and even compete again, but want to make sure I have my bases covered, as far as good sport nutrition! THANKS BAMA- you’re GRRRR-REAT!

Last night I felt like baking. With all these awesome bloggers making cookies and other yummy treats this time of year, even though I’m getting sweets, I still want to contribute. i thought about something original. Then, I thought something homemade and totally OrangePop-ish would be the best! Soooo, I came out with 2 varieties of…

GRANOLA!

While The Santa Claus was on TV, I just sort of looked up recipes, and then played around and made my own anyway. My 1st attempt I tried a variation of “Almond Joy” except later I realized I should have added cocoa powder for the chocolate part…oh, well!

The 2nd one, I added more dried fruit and nuts and… wow, even more of a winner!

I put them in  tubs.

I know there’s a niftier idea than plastic baggies to give them in (I still want to make more varieties, but I was getting sleepy!) **Any suggestions??** They’re very much welcomed!

Would you believe that they contain no oil? It’s true. I may post the recipe I used, if they’re hits, or if I get an influx of requests.

…until then, THERE’S ONLY A FEW MORE SHOPPING DAYS LEFT ‘TIL CHRISTMAS! EVERYONE BE HAPPY AND LOVING 😀 and especially, show it if you feel it!

I speak with honest GARLIC breath!

Why, hello, my lovely long-necked friend! I saw this at the store and had to try it! Why? WHY NOT?! Yes, it is diet, but it still tasted like I melted an orange creamsicle in my mouth! I felt like I was in the 50’s at the soda fountain. Oh, a twist on my beloved orange pop! Too bad I don’t have a juke box and I wish I drank it with a straw, but now I think of it…

To back-track, I made some famous Chickpea Cutlets from V’con for lunch today. I also had Emerald Kale Salad from the deli at work, which was excellent. One bite into the cutlets and I said, “OHHH YEAH!” I made a spin off of some mustard sauce, which I could never in a million years replicate, because I just sort of put some of this in, and some of that in… improvisation! From what I remember, it had some mustard powder, Braggs, Wasabi powder, garlic, Agave nectar, some flour to thicken it… I don’t know for sure, but it was garlicky, tasty, and delicious, all together! I was very satisfied, can you tell?! The kale salad was garlicky, too, so afterward, I sort of felt like I had just eaten the entire bulb of garlic! Ha! (Jasper and Tucker did not want to speak to or kiss me afterward!)

Isn’t my mini-whisk the cutest?!

So, I went to the mall after that, because I have a few gift cards and I love a good sale, but nothing caught my bargaining eye, so I left and picked up my liquified-creamsicle and some decaf coffee (Cinnamon Hazelnut, thank you) and went home. I really wasn’t hungry for dinner. 4 hours later, can you believe it?! Usually my body is saying, “FEED ME!” every 3 hours or so, but I wasn’t hungry! I was, however, in the mood to cook. After going through my recipe books and taking stock of what I would fancy in my head, I decided I would eat a good, full, meal. And it would be tasty! I made a spin off of Pasta de la California in V’con (hmm, Pasta de la Madam Orange Pop?!), with some spicy Bar-B-Que tempeh, and a side-salad with Annie’s Woodstock dressing! How have I not known about this beauty-of-a-dressing before?! Loved it! Props to Annie and her employees! Again, I have garlic breath, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I have to be honest here. I’ve been dreaming all today when I would sneak in some exercise, other than walking around the mall. I haven’t been feeling as strong lately and it’s been probably a week since I’ve hit the gym. But, I have been walking, biking, running (minimally) and working recently. And, some more honesty for you, I’ve been feeling a bit tired, frail/thin-feeling. This is not a good feeling for me because I am usually full of energy, happy, warrior-like (yes, me, Orange Pop, Warrior Princess!)… so I knew I needed to eat and eat I did! I feel like sometimes I look like a little girl, or worse, a little boy! You know what I mean? So, here I type, full, sleepy and a bit uncomfortable, but I will be kind to myself because I’ve been not-so-kind in the past, if ya know what I mean.

So there’s honesty for ya! I promised myself and my parents I’d take great care of myself while they’re away, and always! That’s a gift everyone should let themselves have!

…waiting…

STILL, for my Veganomicon cookbook! My other one came in just over a week, and it’s nearing 2 and a half, and I’m worried about it! I ordered it via Amazon.comand still have the virtual reciept, so I feel like I have a back-up if it doesn’t work out, but I’m keeping my hopes up about it! I haven’t tried any recipes from VwaV but I’ve looked through and I think I’ve made a mental note about a few… #1 is the curried tempeh & mango salad sammiches! I love tempeh, and a good sammich… and mango, so this sounds right up my ally! Whenever I buy dried fruit, I go for the dried mango strips (not really the pieces, though), but I have branched out lately with apricots and dates. Apricots are becoming a ravin-fave too! Also, I’ve never made scones, or had them for that matter, so maybe their hazelnut scones are worth trying?

The other night I made dinner for my family. I love doing this, and I just had an itch to do it because I felt like I wouldn’t have a nice, home-cooked mealfor a few days, or really until maybe Friday because I’m working a lot of nights this week, sooo I busted out my recipes and my sister helped me decide on Spicy Peanut Stew from Vegetarian Times. I served it over wheat berries, which I love, and you must try, if you haven’t. They are kind of circular and look a bit like barley, but darker (reddish?), and when you eat them, it seems like you can pop them in your mouth! Great! No picture, sorry dolls! There’s a picture on Veg. Times, and it actually came out pretty well (and very spicy!). It would be even better, with those veggies, in the fall.

In reading posts about optimism from my beautiful fellow bloggers (i.e. Jenna & Emma), I was actually thinking of life and how lucky I am yesterday. The sun was shining, after being hidden for maybe 5 days in a row, and I was out for a little fresh air stroll, when I walked passed a girl’s house, who would have been my age, had it not been for a horsing-around-car-accident that took her life. I walked passed, thinking of how she was not alive and how lucky I was to be alive and that I should actually live everyday of my life! Not merely exist. Live for me, and live for all those who have unfortunately lost their lives. I have been close to that, too, so I am so very appreciative of all I have. And I’m learning to celebrate who I am and am becoming! I’m the youngest of three girls, so sometimes growing up it seemed like I got the “leftovers”- in clothes and hand-me-downs, as well as energy, care, and emotion. Not really. I’ve been very fortunate in all the love that has been shown to me! Not just from family, but feeling it from everyone that’s known me. Wow. Not everyone is like this. At work, I hear people complaining about wanting time off, being bored, blah-blah-blah… I’ve been out of work for maybe 7 months and have since learned to appreciate and handle “down-time” and “me-time” and when I’m with someone to be with them in mind and body. People respect that when you’re with them, whether they realize it or not! To treat others as they really are important and matter, and to interact with them in order to gain something from them in life (whether material, internal, emotional, etc.) is wonderful! So, respect each other and love one another. Nothing in life is ever accomplished by loafing around, or complaining. We are dealt things in life because we must learn from them, and because we can handle them! Smile! Laugh! Care! Appreciate! Love! Always work on yourself, because that’s the best kind of work that can be done, and it’s ever-lasting! Not only is happiness contagious, but it’s excellent for your health!

Have a great week, and I mean this in my heart 🙂

P.S. Happy 24th Birthday to my oldest sister! I have to work tonight, so while the rest of the family goes out to dinner at a Bar-B-Que place (*phew* too bad for me, missing all that meatiness), I’m taking her out to get Mexican for lunch… her favorite, although I’m glad for it, too 🙂