Rainbow Chard!

Is anyone aware that there is such a thing? Because I wasn't until today. I went to the mall to buy one of a few gifts that were still on my list. I have an injury on my right heel so I was limping the whole way, but because I was moving at a slower pace I enjoyed myself more. I looked around at everything they had there, and even stopped in at a kitchen supply store to imagine shopping for my dream kitchen. -lol- A few elderly couples bumped into me because we were walking the same speed, trying to get through the hustle and bustle of christmas shoppers. I smiled at them and apologized and every one of them smiled back at me and apologized as well. It was nice to connect to people like that. I'll probably never see them again, but I think we brightened each others day with just that simple gesture. Afterwards, I went to Whole Foods - the only place to get a good selection of organic stuff here - and stumbled upon this rainbow chard. I've bought red and white before, but never rainbow. I thought it was so cool, and Oni's gonna love it. :)

Off to work now. I hope my heel doesn't hurt me too bad.

Peace is every step

Isn't that a lovely photograph? When I get my new apartment I'm going to start collecting tea cups, and sprouting herbs and plants in them! Wouldn't that be nice? To be a plant, growing up in a pleasant and beautiful little tea cup, and then be lovingly placed into the warm soil of the Earth once you'd grown big enough? Ah, *sigh* I like plants. I don't think I can say that enough. -lol-

I was supposed to go to my grandparents' today for a dinner, but my dad has a bad cold (or flu) so we're postponing it. That left me open to a lazy day. I took a short nap after work, and was woken up by the boyfriend coming home and snuggling into bed with me. :) We spent the afternoon together, just enjoying each others company and having the ability to do nothing of importance. He gifted me with some books yesterday. He came across two unused gift cards, one of which was for a book store, so he gave them both to me and took me out to pick out whatever I wanted. I was very happy. :) I got a vegetarian cook book because I'm always in need of new ideas, and a great - scratch that, WONDERFUL book by Thich Nhat Hanh called "Peace is every step." I still can't pronounce his name, even after reading several of his books, but I always love what he has to say. If I come across anything that I think is lovely, I'll be sure to post a snippet here. (And I'm sure I will)

I hard boiled some eggs today. They were about to go bad so I figured I'd hard boil them, and keep them in the fridge to add to my salads. I love eggs. I adore them. I make sure to only buy the organic, certified humane eggs, and if at all possible I will only buy from local farmers or small farms. I want to have some chickens when I get older so that I can have fresh eggs every day! I'll build them a little chicken coop and name one of the hens "HENrietta" *giggle*. It's something I really look forward to.

My little parrot, Rufio, is letting me know it's time for bed. He fluffs himself up and pushes up against me and starts mumbling himself to sleep. It's absolutely adorable and I hate to move him, but I still have to feed my pretty fishies and he has to sleep in his own "bed." -lol- The fish are getting frozen bloodworms tonight. They'll be excited.

Photograph taken from: http://monstermagnet.deviantart.com/ She has some unique stuff. (I think the photographer is a she. ???)

What a busy day!

This is probably going to be a long and picture-filled post! Today was wonderful. Due to bad weather last night I ended up staying one more day at my dad's (and what wonderful timing that bad weather had! -lol-) He wasn't feeling well this morning so I made him some toast, and then we both went out christmas shopping together. We got a little bit done and had a smoothie (I got something with mango in it. I had to ask them not to add extra sugar or anything. Why do they always look at me funny when I say that?)

I then came back to my apartment in the busy city (bummer) and set to work on making macaroni and cheese for tomorrow night's dinner. We're all going over to my grandparents' place because we're not yet sure if they'll be joining us for the actual christmas dinner. My grandpa has been in and out of the hospital lately for this, that, and the other. Hopefully, we'll be seeing them for two christmas dinners *knock on wood*. I took pictures because I've always wanted to make home-made mac n' cheese, and this was my first go at it. :)

The ingredients (I tried to make it as healhty as possible, but its for carnivorous junk food eaters ... what can ya do?)

The before and after!

I probably won't be able to eat much myself (lactose intolerance) but I'm sure everyone else will like it. Here's hoping. *crosses fingers*

I also got an aloe vera plant today. I was reading about them not too long ago and noticed that my dad has a big one in the yard that no one really pays attention to. It inspired me to go out and rescue my own little aloe plant. I took pictures of that, too. *wink*




While I was re-potting the little guy, I noticed that my peace lilly *huggles* was starting to come back. That poor plant has gone through such a rough time. I went away for a while and it got neglected by the boyfriend*sideways glare*. Most of the plant died, but I put it outside to get more sun and continued to water it. Tonight, it had come back enough for me to trim away the excess and reveal the beautiful new plant underneath!


I love that about plants - you literally trim away the bad branches to make the plant better overall. People are just like this, though we don't often realize it. Plants are so wonderful. They're so full of life and happiness, and they really teach you how to "be." Just for enjoyment now, I'll show you the rest of my green family:

My devil's ivy - golden variety


My poor, poor spider plant which is recovering from root rot (due to my own ignorance). Trust me, it looks a hundred times better than it did...



My two GORGEOUS snake plants. These were a gift for someone for no other reason than the fact that I was nice to them, and I mentioned I wanted some. I like to think of them as friends. :)


This little thingy has popped up in one of the snake plants. I'm not sure if its part of the snake plant (I don't know if they flower or not) or if its something else altogether, but who am I to tell it to find another home? 'An it harm none, do what ye will' right? So unless the snake plant starts to suffer, it can stay. :)


And finally, I cleaned the rabbit cage tonight. It gets cleaned every other night so its not any big deal, but I can't resist putting up some photos of the bunny. His name is Onigiri (It means 'riceball' in Japanese) and he was abandoned outside of where I work, in a shoe box. He was sick with digestive issues at the time. Several vet bills later he is now a happy, healthy bunny. Oni is a 100% raw foodist who enjoys dark, leafy greens and an occasional baby carrot. He gets fruit bits from time to time, but the previous owners did such a number on his digestive system (apparently they fed him nothing but carrots - so high in sugar! - and lettuce) that now he has a very specific diet. It's ok, Oni, so do I. ;)

Helping, or hindering the cleaning process? You decide.

His favorite toy - it's wings have crinkle paper in them so it rustles when he throws it around.
And the finished product!


Wow, was that ever a long post, huh? Blessings, guys!

Stringing up the lights!

Today was such a great day! I spent the night at my dad's house, and woke up this morning to him making cinnamon rolls and the doberman wanting to go out. It was so nice to have that "homey" feeling back again. I'd been missing it at my busy city apartment.

I helped dad string up all the outside christmas lights. We started with icicle lights for the edge of the roof - dad sitting on the roof, hanging them, and me standing on the ground handing the lights up to him. Eventually his knee started to bother him so I offered to come up onto the roof instead. Unfortunately, I am dreadfully afraid of heights. It took all of my courage to lean over the edge of the roof to string up the lights, but I did it. And I did a better job than dad. We teased each other about this afterwards. *chuckle*

We also put lights around the fence, and along the landscaping. There are even candy canes lining the driveway, and an inflatable Santa Claus flying a helicopter in the front yard (dad's a pilot). I think it's nice that dad likes to go all-out for the holidays. He's really big on "family together time" and the holidays is an easy excuse for him to get just that. -lol-

We went out to lunch together. He got some sort of cheesey sandwhich melt, I got a simple salad. They put sweet green peppers in it, though, and that's something I'd never tried in a salad before. It was a nice surprise to bite into the sweet, spicy, and crunchy peppers. Who knew a food could be so many things at once?

A fellow blogger has taken to writing a list of all that she is thankful for at the end of her blogs (http://aleeshasrawlife.blogspot.com/) I'd like to do the same.

Today I am grateful to have woken up to family, and warm, gooey cinnamon buns.
I am grateful to have been able to overcome my fear of heights (temporarily) in order to help my dad.
I am thankful that we had lunch together, and for my delicious salad.
I am thankful that I was able to go grocery shopping with my sister, and get good things for them to eat and drink.
I am thankful that I am able to be online tonight to write all of this down.

Photo comes from here: http://ravenmacabre.deviantart.com/ *I warn you - it is not a site for small eyes. I search for pictures relevant to my blog, and then link back to their original source. I don't always agree with what else can be found there...

All the best :)

In loving memory of a snake no one ever knew

Blog copied from 12.09.2008

I saw someone run over a wild corn snake tonight. It was really terrible. I stopped and pulled over to help it, but the damage was pretty bad. So, I stayed by it in the road with my car's flashers on and signaled people to go around. I called my dad to come help me, but I knew there wasn't much we could do. I tried calling some rescue places, a few vets - anyone I could think of. No one had any vets that were knowledgeable about reptiles. I positioned myself over the snake so that no one would run him over again, and he wrapped himself around my foot. I guess they like to feel "grounded" that way.

When my dad showed up he had a shovel with him, so he tried to get the snake onto it and move it off the road. (My dad is afraid of snakes.) The snake was a good size, and too big to fit on the shovel, and all my dad was really doing was pushing the poor thing across the asphalt. So I told him to stop and bent down to pick it up myself. I know it was taking a risk: parasites, getting bit, etc. But it was far too hurt to even think about biting. All gory details aside, I ended up with blood and other misc. "parts" on my hands. In the end, there was nothing we could do; no one could help us and the snake needed nothing short of major surgery. So my dad and I decided the only thing we could do for it was put it out of its misery. It was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make.

Tonight is a very sad night for me.

Rest in peace, little snake. I'm sorry I couldn't have done more.

Image taken from here: http://bullter.deviantart.com/
Please note that this is not my work. All credit goes to the original artist.

Bigger and better pots

Yet another old blog, originating on 07.29.2008

Have you ever noticed the plants for sale at the doorways of grocery stores and supermarkets? I noticed some the other day. I mean really noticed them. I noticed that although they were by the glass doors, there were no windows nearby. The closest windows were blocked by huge posters advertising sales, rows of shopping carts waiting to be utilized by mechanical shoppers, a large scale for those who are slightly more weight-conscious than the rest of us, a small floral stand boasting large bouquets of cut flowers, and several large helium tanks for filling balloons.

All of these things were decidedly more privileged for various reasons, and so they got the coveted window seat. My heart went out to all the little potted plants just trying to get by in the doorway. Actually, it stirred up a lot of anger inside of me; anger that I've been working very hard to let go of lately. I wanted to do something to help those plants - particularly a few that had become root-bound. They'd outgrown their humble beginnings and were ready to move on to bigger and better pots.

If you think about it, the same goes for people. We're all trying to get by in tiny pots and living off of second-hand sunshine while others pass us by and judge us. Rather depressing, isn't it? Until you realize that those plants are living, and some of them are even thriving. Maybe they don't see anything wrong with where they are in the world after all.

The image above is my own. :)

This is an old blog, but one I'd still like to keep track of. The true date for this one is 08.28.2008

When I drive to school in the afternoons I always take the back way. It is a small, obscure road that branches off from the main one and runs along the edge of a large lake. The grass there grows up past your ankles, and its the healthiest shade of green you can think of. Many trees provide shade for the area, and when the wind blows through them they whisper such a sweet lullaby. There are plants that grow up out of the water, and when the breeze sweeps through them they rock gently on the surface of the lake. The heat encourages cicadas to chirp loudly while crickets and dragonflies go about their daily business.

Except for those cicadas its very quiet there. The road is far enough away that the cars don't disturb the harmony of the place. Students avoid it because it is too out of the way, but my route to class takes me by it nearly every day. Because of my frequent visits, I've learned a secret: there's a family of at least five large iguanas living there! The male is never too pleased to see me, and I usually get a fantastic territorial display from him. I respect his space, and I understand that he doesn't want me there so I try to keep my distance. If I were him, I'd feel the same. He's become something of a friend now. I see him most afternoons, sunning himself on a hill while the large female and several young iguanas lounge near the lake.

But today something was different. Today, he wasn't in his usual spot…

While driving the back road, I found his body - sprawled across the middle of the road. My initial reaction was shock and disbelief, but that quickly turned to sadness. I immediately pulled over to see if maybe he was still alive, or if there was any way I could help him. But there was nothing I could do. Whoever had run him over had cracked his skull. I sat on the side of the road and just cried. People continued to drive past, swerving to avoid the carcass. It was such a senseless death. I don't understand how someone could have not seen a four-foot, male iguana with a bright orange chin and stomach and large spines along his back crossing the road. Its almost as if someone had been aiming for him, and that breaks my heart.

I finally had to leave him and walk to class, but I continued crying the whole way there. I passed by the female and the juveniles. They seemed oblivious to the carnage. Honestly, I'm not too sure they would have cared even if they did know. But I cared a great deal. It saddens me to think that no one else on campus cared about the iguana's death. I feel as if I should pay him some sort of tribute, but I really don't think it would matter that much to him – he is, after all, a lizard. So instead I've written this. A sort of homage to his memory. Here's to him – the giant lizard of the lake – and to his survivors. I sincerely hope that they live long and happy lives, with plenty of sunshine and anything else that their little scaly hearts might desire.

Image was taken from here: http://tominabox1.deviantart.com/
This is not my photography; all credit goes to the original artist.

Dealing with negativity

Another old post; the true date for this one is 08.06.2008

Does anyone else find it odd that Publix seems to be the crossroads between very difficult people and perfectly sane ones? It seems that I run into more negative people while shopping at Publix than doing just about any other thing. I don't know if it's the daunting task of having to purchase the food for your entire family's wellbeing all in one stop, or if it's emotional turmoil from a busy day, or what - but Publix definitely seems to attract some very negative people.

Today's unpleasant woman was a cashier. Now, I work the register at my own job so I know that it can get a bit monotonous and sometimes people will try to hassle you about this, that, or the other. But very rarely do I ever let this get in the way of handling each new customer with respect. This woman obviously didn't have the same outlook that I did.

I step up to the register and place my basket on the counter. It wasn't a heavy basket by any means; I'd gotten two cans of beans and a bag of cheese for tonight's rice, and a head of lettuce for Oni. The cashier sits down on a stool behind the counter and reaches across to grab the edge of my basket with one hand. With one angry motion she tips it over onto its side, spilling all of my items onto the counter. She then lulls her head to one side, and staring straight ahead the entire time, scans each item and leaves it on the counter for me to bag. I just looked at her strangely and opened my canvas bag to put all my groceries in. She hands me my receipt, and moves onto the next customer.

At first, I wished a manager were present so I could have said something. But then I realized there was probably a reason for her behavior. Maybe the manager was tough on her that night, or maybe she'd gotten into a fight with a friend or significant other. And going even further, one might even suppose the only reason the manager was tough on her, or the friend started a fight with her, was because they'd been wronged themselves. Who is to say? It could be one great big circle of violent words and actions, all leading into the misery of the next person.

Buddhism says everything is connected. And while true Buddhism takes this to an extreme which my busy schedule doesn't allow me to fully appreciate, I do understand it to some extent and I have to say that its a wonderful notion. It goes something like this: say you purchase a book from a store. You may think at first that you have only purchased a book and nothing more. But, Buddhism says your book is not only pages and ink and binding, etc, but also the printing press which produced it, the man or woman who operated it, the building where it was housed, its employees, the trees which were cut down for its paper, the loggers who cut down the tree, the lunch those loggers ate, etc. Buddhism explains that you could go on forever examining the ins and outs of what's really a part of your book, until at last you'd pretty much covered everything and everyone in the world. It's really quite fascinating.

So I think we should all at least learn to appreciate the effects that our negative actions can have on others. The cashier probably has no idea that I was even paying attention to her, or that I'd go home and write a blog about her. She has no idea that her negative actions and attitude have affected me. But they have, and in turn, I've affected others by telling them about my bad experience and stirring up negative feelings in them. They were not even present for the episode, and they expressed resentment towards this woman. Admittedly, I experienced that same resentment at first. But when I fell back on Buddhism, and realized that maybe her bad attitude wasn't solely her fault, I was able to let it go.

Truthfully, I don't know where I wanted to go with this other than to simply say: Be as nice to each other as is humanly possible. Don't forward negative energy; just let it evaporate, and let it go. It may sound silly, wishy-washy, or crazy. But it's very healing.

The image above is my own. My own handwriting, my own wonderful flowers, and my own snapshot. I hope you enjoy it.

Re-visiting yoga

True date for this post: 07.20.2008

I just recently decided to get into Yoga again, after having left it for a few years. So today I went to the book store and looked up some books on it. I didn't buy anything because nothing was really what I wanted, but I at least re-learned some poses and breathing techniques. So I exercised tonight, then cooled down with Yoga. I feel so tired and exhausted yet relaxed and so calm, that I can't believe I ever stopped doing it. I just wish taking classes was an option. For now, I'm on my own; but I'd recommend it to everyone!

Image taken from here: http://www.sheknows.com/articles/803708.htm
(I didn't read the article, just pirated the image. *wink*)