This is how we usually travel...with smoothies and fresh fruits/veggies to munch on. With many people traveling through the upcoming holidays, we figured encouraging you to skip the Golden Arches venturing to pack your favorite healthy munchies instead would be the greatest gift we could give.
No one has ever become poor by giving. ~Anne Frank
Giving Thursday is upon us once again. This week was more difficult than my first. Only because life seemed more busy. I'm prepared to share the gifting that has taken place in my life over the last seven days. Some of the gifts are different from last week, but some are very similar.
At the conclusion of this blog, I'd really appreciate some feedback. I'm not sure how many of you are incorporating giving into your daily life. Do you find our Giving Thursdays helpful or inspirational? Would you prefer that I use our Thursdays for something different? Don't be afraid to speak up. This blog is here to help and serve others. That means you! How can I serve you better?
The love we give away is the only love we keep. ~Elbert Hubbard
Day 8
Gave: 1. Taught Elijah a new game
2. Helped Christian reorganize her craft and writing supplies...found a few items she wants to donate on another day.
3. Made a coin bank for Elijah
4. Found a better home for Spanky.
5. Gave a lonely individual a new loving companion.
Received: 1. Another seizure free day for Elijah
2. A day off from driving Jeff to and from the carpool drop-off.
3. An extra 20 minutes of sleep this morning.
4. Joy in watching the delight on Elijah's face and listening to his laughter as we played together.
5. A nice phone call from my Grandma.
Day 9
Gave: 1. Comfort and Support to friend by meeting her at the ER at 12:30am when her baby started seizing. Stayed there with her most of the night, until she received the answers she needed and all was OK again.
2. Encouragement to a friend who's trying to make some positive changes in her life right now.
3. Bought Christian (littlest pet shop toy) and Elijah (Towmator matchbox car) as a small surprise for being so helpful this week.
Received: The opportunity to go to bed earlier tonight, so I'm signing off and taking advantage of it. Goodnight!
Day 10
Gives: 1. Straightened carts at the grocery store
2. Prepared a feast to share with friends.
3. Approached a stranger and started a conversation. (This is HUGE for me. I'm so timid that I rarely approach someone I do know).
Received: 1. Help cleaning and preparing food from my family
2. Compliments on the dinner
3. A new friend
Day 11
Gave: 1. Piano to a church that needed it more than we did.
2. Encouragement to a friend.
Received: 1. A candle that smells amazing.
2. Several moments of pleasure and joy with the family.
3. Another seizure free day for Elijah.
Day 12
Gave: 1. A baby doll and some craft supplies to a charitable organization.
2. Some new clothes that didn't fit to someone who could wear them.
3. A listening ear to a stressed out friend.
4. Checked out some books at the local library that my children have really been wanting to read.
Received: 1. Another seizure free day to celebrate.
Day 13
Gave: 1. Mailed healing/get well a card to someone in pain
2. Provided a listening ear when husband needed to vent about work struggles.
3. Washed dishes for husband after supper to ease his stressful day.
4. Pushed 2 carts into a small family operated business after prior customers failed to return them. (what is it with me and shopping carts?)
5. Played a silly game with daughter tonight.
6. Ignored a confrontational statement so as not to engage in a potential argument.
Received: 1. Another great seizure free day
2. Bill at doctors office was lower than expected for today's visit.
3. A safe drive to and from Columbus.
Day 14
Gave: 1. Healing thoughts and prayers for complete strangers I passed on the highway. They'd totaled the car when they hit a deer and I know how scary that must have been.
2. Mailed a card to someone who could use some prayers and encouragement.
3. My time helping the children work on a holiday craft they plan to give relatives.
Received: 1. Help in the kitchen making smoothies. Elijah likes the special time with me and I enjoy the help.
2. Another seizure free day for Elijah.
3. A card in the mail from a special group of friends.
If you are giving, do you mind sharing a few gift ideas to inspire and encourage others to do the same?
Wow! I can hardly believe Thanksgiving is just a week away. Are you starting to make plans yet?
I've had food ideas rolling around in my head for several days now, but I'm just getting around to putting it all on paper. I've given several of my recipes a few trial runs so that I would have the time to tweak them before the big day.
We'll be joining family for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. I'm sure they'll be serving turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, dressing, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, and more. I'll be making several raw vegan contributions to the meal. My goal is to make everything as tantalizing, flavorful, and gorgeous as possible.
What will you be serving this year? Are you preparing anything special for the holidays?
Times are changing and new growth is taking place here in our Living Fruity household. As a family, we made the decision to give up our former way of eating and adopt a vegan diet over two and a half years ago. We never looked back or regretted that decision for even a millisecond. Soon thereafter, we gravitated towards a high raw diet, getting the bulk of our calories from fresh, living fruits and veggies. The journey didn't end there....
In January of 2008, I dove head first into the raw lifestyle. The benefits I experienced from being mostly raw to being all raw was great. I never expected it to be a lifelong choice. I just wanted to see how long I could do it. Within a couple months, I knew there was absolutely no way I'd ever go back.
I always hoped to have a raw family, but that was never a decision I wanted to enforce. This is a personal conviction, so therefore it must be a personal decision for everyone. I would have rebelled if I were forced, so I couldn't do that to those I love. My family remained on a mostly raw vegan diet, but they would enjoy a nice cooked vegan dish 2 or 3 times a week.
At the beginning of October, when Elijah was in the middle of horrific seizure activity, he naturally gravitated toward being 100% raw. His seizure activity began improving at the same time. After being raw for about a week, he said he never wanted to eat cooked food again. I overheard a conversation between him and his sister about two weeks later...he was telling her that all his cravings for cooked food were gone. He finally felt what I had felt almost 2 years ago. He's in this for the long haul.
Christian joined in as well at the same time her brother did. She's quick to admit that cravings are still a battle for her at certain times. Christian is very emotional and that really plays into the cravings. Even so, she's satisfied by her raw diet.
Jeff wasn't ready to let go yet and I didn't push the issue. I will admit to being quick to share success stories with him or direct him to reflect why he might be experiencing certain physical symptoms. This really had to be his decision, just as going vegan was. He ate raw at home and carried raw lunches to work, but he'd still have something cooked at a catered luncheon or other social event. I care about his health and want what is best for him. Even so, I would love and accept him even if he wasn't vegan. Being high raw is a hard lifestyle to maintain in this day and age and I'm grateful to have a partner who embraces it.
Jeff's journey is really just beginning though. I'm excited to say that a little over 2 weeks ago, my wonderful husband joined us in Rawland. He's still having some cravings, but he's holding strong. Will he do this for the rest of his life? Only time will tell. He's had a few more trips around the sun than the children have, so this will be a more difficult journey for him. I totally believe he will find success over his cravings and the moment of no return will arise for another member of my fruity family.
A wonderful friend and coworker, shared a bit of information with Jeff last week. She's getting a HUGE hug from me the next time we see each other. Who would have thought a simple web link would make such a difference in my life? What I'm about to reveal is one of the most excellent time savers ever.
If you're anything like me, you follow several blogs. I have friends using blogger, multiply, wordpress, and more. It's difficult to keep up with them all. Clicking on the links from my favorites folder works, but it takes a while to go through the list. It's really disappointing when I take the time and many blogs were never updated to begin with.
Life's been keeping me so busy lately, that I haven't been taking the time to check everyone's blog in a timely manner. I was out of the loop and feeling so ashamed.
Then comes Bloglines to the rescue. It took just a couple minutes to set up a free account and add the subscription button to my internet toolbar. Then I went to one of my favorite blogs and clicked the new, shiny subscription button. It immediately asked to subscribe to that blog through bloglines. I did this with each of my favorites. Now, I sign in to bloglines each day and avoid single clicking on every blog to see if there's an update. Bloglines will only show the blogs that have been updated and exactly how many times it has been updated since the last time I checked in. It will allow me to read the blog in it's entirety or just a summary.
Do you realize how much time this has saved? Now I have no excuse for missing your blogs. If you don't hear from me in your comments section, drop me a note and make sure I have your link. If you don't have an account with bloglines, be sure to sign in today. If you do...why didn't you tell me AGES ago?!?
