Excerpt from my mind.

It was as if my only purpose was to think, with the help of all the knowledge I accumulated in my life; Now I was supposed to use that knowledge to understand the world and what all of it means. My mind wouldn't stop, I couldn't make it fast forward or reverse. I was just there. no time existed. no language existed. nothing existed.

I was alone with my feelings, the images I've created in my mind and nonsensical words I made up - all of this meant more to me then anything. I was going to live on forever in my non-human body - the question was whether I will live it peacefully or in pain. 

I couldn't rid myself of my thoughts. they were going to be my existence now. I had nothing else to do but think. I've got nothing but time. "Choose your thoughts wisely", I said to myself.  

- Excerpt from Agnes' mind

Conscious

Are you conscious?

So many times throughout the day, we think about the things we want/need to do in the future and the things we have done in the past but are not focused as much in the present as we should be. How many times do you hop in your car and the next thing you know, you magically appear in your parking spot as if the vehicle drove itself there? Unaware of the sounds along the drive, unaware of all the cars, movement and appearance?

One thing that helps me become more mindful and aware is meditation (and yoga). If you don't have the time to go to a monastery or take half an hour to yourself in a quiet place, that is okay! I recently discovered what is now one of my favorite apps for Android: Conscious

The app gives you a challenge everyday for you to accept. I posted some examples of challenges that I have had in the past. The point is for you to bring awareness to these aspects in your life amidst the chaos. The best thing about the app is that the phone reminds you, through vibrations or sound, about your challenge!! (Half the work is done for you).

Try it out!

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Gluten free!

Being the inquisitive person that I am, I love experimenting with new things and analyzing their results; What would happen if I slept an hour longer per day? what if I woke up and made my bed each morning for a month? What if I had regular chiropractic care for a few months?how will this effect my life?  How will it effect my mood? my anxiety level?  

There has been an ever increasing hype about the lack of gluten in ones diet. A few people I know have told me GREAT things about it! Lots of energy, feeling more alert, feeling less bloated, less bowel issues! So I decided to give this whole gluten-free thing a whirl and see how it affects my life. So, for the past couple of weeks, I have been gluten free (besides a couple of hiccups - my roommate is an amazing baker!)

So what wonderful things typically contain gluten? 

Beer, hard liquor, crackers, bread, meatballs, pasta, practically all baked goods (that includes pies, cakes, muffins, tarts!), gravy, anything breaded/dusted such as wings, breaded fish, schnizel, veal parmigiana and MUCH much more. 

Gluten refers to two proteins (Gliadin and Glutnenin) found in wheat endorsperm and is found in Wheat, Rye & Barley. 1 in 133 people in developed nation are affected by gluten (sometimes life threatening).

Sooooooooooooooo what did I eat exactly?  

I must say, being gluten free is tough for a bread lover. If I could live off of one single item of food my entire life, it would probably be bread (or potatoes). Gluten free bread is very dense - almost like a banana loaf. It's actually pretty good comparatively but definately not very versatile. I tried making grilled cheese with G-Free bread and it just wasn't the same. It is absolutely delicious with PB&J for breakfast though!

Having gluten free pasta was probably one of my favorite lunch/dinner meals. Why? Because there was no difference in taste; If anything, I may have convinced myself that gluten free pasta noodles are tastier then regular pasta! This is definitely something I will buy from this day moving forward on a regular basis.  

My colleague at work is allergic to everything, including gluten, so she's been instructing me on what to eat/refrain from. She mentioned Bunner's in Toronto is a great place for gluten free baked goods. Needless to say, if you set aside the fact that you are paying twice as much for everything, then everything looked exceptional. I ordered 4 things off the menu and inhaled everything almost immediately. Truly a great place!

I've also had gluten free pancakes and pizza which I found had a bit of a "cardboard" taste, but, I could definitely get used to it. There are also a whole bunch of gluten free goodies you can purchase at Homesense & Winners too! 

There are a lot of unhealthy foods that contain gluten also... such as most types of lays and ruffles chips! Lays should come out with new packaging that says "Gluten Free" and see how their sales may increase! 

how did it affect my life? how did it affect my energy levels?

All in all, I do think that 2 weeks is not enough time to feel the full boar of what it means to be gluten free. I didn't have any mood changes or didn't feel significantly more energetic (one of the things people notice about being gluten free). One of the more meaningful differences I did see was that I was slowly starting to loose my belly fat! Yay right? I also felt less bloated which is awesome because we know what feeling bloated does to our productiveness (Gilmore Girls marathon anyone?). I also noticed that I felt hungrier throughout the day. Hungry when I woke up, hungry at lunch and hungry in the evening! 

So how do I really feel? 

Other then the fact that I should probably try this gluten free thing for a full month, I'm not so sure its the best thing for me. I would be loosing the nutritional benefits that whole wheat products provide my body as well as the nutritional benefits that I get from other foods that contain gluten. I think eating healthy is one thing - and if you can limit your intake of eating gluten-enriched products by substituting them with other foods such as quinoa and veggies - then that is the way to go! 

Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving has come and gone and since I helped my mom with dinner this year, I thought I would share a couple of my favorite dishes I made from the night.

Besides the wonderful turkey that we are all so accustomed to on Thanksgiving, I decided to make a ham! Something that my family has never made before and it was actually my favorite dish from the night! It is SO easy and incredibly yummy - even for leftovers!

Recipe:

- 1 (12-pound) shankless skinless smoked cured ham
- Whole cloves for studding ham (I actually thought this meant garlic cloves until I realized its a different spice altogether! They are a MUST - expensive but worth it!)
- 1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup prepared mustard
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

See full recipe at The Food Network 

Don't forget to make fresh cranberry sauce with your turkey and ham (that canned stuff is awful!) - bring to a simmer 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water and 500g of cranberries - cook for 10 minutes and voila - you're done :)  

my wonderful momma!

Another one of my favorite dishes were the Bourbon Sweet potatoes <full recipe here

The ingredients include:

• 5  sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2  cup  firmly packed light brown sugar
• 4  tablespoons (1/2 stick)  unsalted butter
• 1/2  cup  bourbon 
• maple syrup

Yum! They were so sweet and a great healthier substitute to your white potatoes.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

A couple of friends and I embarked in a little Florida adventure a couple of weeks ago! We mainly stayed in the Fort Lauderdale region in order to save some money since that's where Jessica's parents bought a place. Thought I'd share a couple of things with y'all.

In any city with the sight of palm trees everywhere, warm sand felt between your toes and the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the shoreline - you cant help but take a couple of days to simply sun bathe on the beach, reading your favorite books, listening to your favorite songs and pondering life's mysteries. These moments are precious and I truly embrace every inch of it.

But besides the obvious beauty one encounters in these regions - here are a couple of other things you should look out for:

- I am sure any seafood you get by the beach would be great, but I had the fish tacos at the Drunken Taco and they were amazing!

- Watch out for local Floridians fishing at the shoreline on the beach. They follow schools of fish that are distinguished by a pool of darker water. I saw a couple of  young guys catch a HUGE Snook about 5ft wide. They said they catch sharks, Mullet, Sea Bass, Mackerel and a bunch of others on a regular basis.

- Everyone should take an air-boat tour of the Everglades. A beautiful place surrounded by overarching Mangrove Trees, Catfish, Alligators, Banana Spiders (okay so this part didn't excite me either), cranes and wild raccoon's (way cuter then the ones infested in our rural neighborhoods). 

- If you want to go out on a night on the town, go to "america's Backyard" - It's an outdoor/indoor bar with top 40 music & hoola hoops. Met some great people from New Zealand and hung out with some awesome locals. 

- Splurge on a nice bottle of wine that you wouldn't want to buy in Canada! The wonderful wine from Napa Valley, California is so cheap at the supermarkets!   

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DIY Light Canvas

So a couple of people asked how I made this decor canvas light and I thought I would share.

It's actually quite simple! All you need is a canvas, battery operated LED lights (got mine for 6$ on Amazon), a Phillips screwdriver or similar (to bore the holes), and any other decor you would like to use for your project - in my case, I used a wooden heart that I painted white with spray paint, sparkles and stick on letters I bought at Michael's Craft store! 

You first start off by painting your canvas a color of your choice or leaving it white. 

You create your design by puncturing holes in the canvas with a nail.

I made the holes a bit bigger in order for the LED light to fit through by using a drill (couldn't find the darn screwdriver); Do it slowly and don't push the drill in too far.  If you do, the LED lights will not stay put as the hole will be too wide.

Use a glue gun to mount the heart to the canvas - wait a few minutes for it to dry. 

Slowly start to puncture the LED lights through the back of the canvas. 

Velcro the battery pack to the inside of the canvas. 

VOILA! Eeeezy-Peezy.