Pumpkins, Pumpkins everywhere

So, my blog was never really meant to be about food. Having said that, I have been very inspired by the fall colors and the feeling that they create. I love cooking good for you delicious food. I also love the changing produce section this time of year, full of many varieties of squash, and of course pumpkins. They have painted pumpkins, cooking pumpkins, carving pumpkins, and even those of the canned variety.

So today as I planned what new soup I would make for the week, I remembered the barely used can of pumpkin puree left over from the pumpkin cookies I made yesterday. Along with other random vegetables and spices in the pantry, I concocted what I believe to be the best soup I have ever made. Here's how it went:

2 celery stalks
1 onion
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 sweet potato
1 golden delicious apple (would definitely substitute a granny smith here)
(chop all veggies and fruit)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 tbsp curry powder
dash tumeric
dash corriander
dash thyme
dash pumpkin pie spice (can use cinnamon or clove here)
salt and pepper
2 cups vegetable stock
2 cups water

What I did:

Heat olive oil over med-low heat in a big soup pot, add sweet potato, celery, and apple in that order, cook for about 5 min until they begin to soften, season with a dash of thyme and salt and pepper. Add the onion and garlic, cooking for around 5 more minutes until the onions become translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a blender or mix with an immersion blender, or whatever you have on hand. This soup becomes totally transformed when blended and has a beautiful color!

I highly recommend you make this, and the smell that fills the kitchen is awesome!

The Tri-fecta of Chili

I was inspired to make this classic since the weather has begun to change. This is my vegan twist on chili and it is so good even the carnivores love it. I call it the Tri-fecta because of the three kinds of peppers and three types of beans.

You will need:

2 stalks of celery
2 large carrots
1 yellow onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 orange pepper
1 can of corn
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of white beans
1 can of black beans
1 large can of diced tomatoes or two small cans
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 packet of chili-o or make your own using spices on hand

This cooks up in a jiffy, the time comes from cutting all the veggies up. You will need to cut them approximately the same size so they all cook evenly. Begin by heating the oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the chopped vegetables one at a time depending on the density, i.e carrots, celery, peppers, onion, garlic, etc. Cook for about 15 min or until all the vegetables are soft but still maintain their integrity. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another 10-15min so everything incorporates. I like to eat mine with some green onion and cheese sprinkled on top with cornbread. Crackers or tortilla chips work as well. Enjoy!

Long Trail to a Cure

This coming Monday, my friend Michael Kraemer will hike the Long Trail in Vermont, the oldest footpath in North America that stretches over 270 miles along the Green Mountain Crest. He will be making the trek with his business partner, Wyatt Silcox, and his dog, Annie. He has been completing hikes such as this one since he graduated from college, and this year he has decided to also benefit a good cause.

This year he has partnered with the American Cancer Society through their local Roanoke office to raise money for their programs and research. Please join him in his efforts as a sponsor of his hike by making a contribution to the American Cancer Society.

Your contribution will directly support cancer patients , their families and their caregivers through research, education and advocacy. Even small contributions go a long way!

Make checks payable to The American Cancer Society and mail to Michael Kraemer 5151 Remington Rd. Roanoke, VA. 24018 or make a donation to your local office.

Revised Yoga Scholarship Essay

I cannot express in words the intensity I feel when I think about becoming a yoga teacher. I am frustrated with my inability as a writer and wish there was a better way for me to show you what yoga means to me. Every time I am on the mat, yoga returns me to the awareness that I inherently have everything I need. The empowerment and joy that I feel when standing strong in Warrior II, or the glow of energy that radiates from my hearts center in Urdhva Dhanurasana, and the grace and humility child's pose can bring, is what I want to share with others. If I could show you a pose, If I could stand before you in Trikonasana, energy exploding from all five points of my body, I would be able to demonstrate to you the light that bends itself though all my cells and layers expanding through my aura and out into the world. This is what I want to share as a teacher, the loving, powerful, healing energy that can be generated, by our bodies, through Asana. I believe that if we are fully at peace with ourselves we can bring peace to the world, and yoga is the only path I have found that leads to this truth.

Throughout my life, I have always felt that I was searching for something greater. I searched for this through sixteen years of dance and movement, an avid interest in hiking, kayaking and a strong connection with mother earth. I continued my search though my undergraduate studies while pursuing a degree in fine art. Throughout college I constantly felt the need to work with my hands, to help others, and to heal others, which lead me to discover Reiki and to research other modalities of energy and body work. I hit a crossroads shortly after when I was working in a corporate setting, a job that led me to much frustration and thankfully, exploration. It was then, that I returned to the mat.

I was blessed to be accepted into a work-trade position at my local yoga studio, a gift that I will always be grateful for. I want to share my experience now by becoming a yoga teacher. I know that the world will benefit from having one more encouraging yogi teaching others. It is here, on the mat, where I become my truest self. Namaste.

Remembrance.

Today we will remember our fallen.

They will be in our hearts and minds while we meander through our days. Honoring the loved ones lost by living this day and all others to the fullest. While some will mourn their losses, those who didn't share their pain, send love and be love. Give an extra smile today. Hug your family. Be kind. Listen to your heart. Celebrate the living. Remember the fallen.

Inspiration

I just returned to the beautiful Sunny Slope Farm after the most wonderful yoga class. Jill Loftis, founder of Uttara Yoga in downtown Roanoke, led us through a heart opening and heart warming hatha flow. The space is utterly gorgeous, light beaming in through huge windows facing Kirk Ave. Wood floors that instantly root your feet into the ground, soothing music and a vibrant energy filled the room. At the closing of class, Jill passed around the 'quote bowl'. It was like a fortune cookie without the cookie. Mine was as follows:

Seek the wisdom that will untie your knot

Seek the path that demands your whole being

Leave that which is not, but appears to be

Seek that which is, but not apparent

-Rumi

I loved it, looking around the room, it appeared as if everyone else loved theirs too. The perfect ending to a perfect class. Namaste

Change is good

Change. We tend to react one of two ways to change. We can either become tense, hard, opposed, and stressed or we can embrace, soften, and even become malleable under the weight of change. There is the possibility of a third reaction of indifference which seldom happens, at least seldom in my experiences. We are too opinionated most of the time to be indifferent or uncaring when change occurs.

I have been subconsciously resisting some shifts lately. It has caused me slight suffering, boredom, and loneliness. The changes I have recently experienced are fairly dramatic, but I have also had similar reactions to seemingly simple occurrences. The awareness of this recent opposition has allowed me to transform, to move and bend more freely. Quite literally, the awareness came from moving and bending. I have had a dedicated daily yoga practice now for a week. Yoga has truly allowed me to embrace, love, and wrap change up around me like a blanket. Every time I get on the mat I am allowing myself to be completely present in the now. In the here and now space, resistance is non-existent. This is the space of great growth, love and openness. Change is good.

Gratitude

As I began my ritual hike of McAfees knob, I should have known what lay ahead. Apparently, I had yet to learn a particular lesson. This only dawned on me about a mile in, when I realised my 'new' hiking boots were beginning to give me some hot spots. These 'new' hiking boots had tried to speak to me earlier in life when I was in Maine hiking the 100 mile wilderness, the same shoes I had mailed home because they hurt my feet too much, the same shoes I had on today.

As I grappled with myself whether to continue and suck it up, or have the guts to tell myself it was ok to turn around, without going all the way to the top, my boots began to give me blisters. The hard head in me won, and my feet didn't really hurt that bad (yet), so I continued to the top.

The only problem is, when you get to the top, you have to turn around and walk all the way back. I am still questioning several hours later why I thought it was a good idea to break in my shoes on a short 7 mile hike!

Shortly on my way down the trail, I encountered a gentleman hiking up. We stopped and made small talk, instead of the simple wave or hello. He asked if it was crowded up top and if I was a day hiker. I told him of my past trail adventures and he mentioned his desire to thru hike the trail. He said he had planned to hike this summer but was hit by a car. He then proceeded to tell me that he had just learned how to walk again!

When we parted ways he gave me a new found strength to keep moving and the gratitude for the fact that I even had legs to walk with. So, despite my lessons learned about breaking in new shoes, I was also given the opportunity to experience extreme gratitude. For that, my blisters were worth it.

Growing Pains...

My body propels forward as my heart stands still.

Tearing through astral flesh and bone,
It returns to it's cavity as a rock in a slingshot, missing a peice.

Inhaling, my feet grow roots...
Grounded by the earth, as tall as a tree.
I am Whole.
I am Home.
I am Love.

What goes around comes around

This summer, and particularly this month has been a whirlwind of events and changes. All good, sometimes seemingly less than good at times, but coming full circle none the less. Amongst all the happenings I have been experiencing a few have stuck out . In between things like: signing up for a yoga teacher training program in Asheville, NC , returning to my mothers farm in Virginia for the fall to go back to school, leaving Josh behind in Savannah to finish up his program at SCAD, quitting my job in order to do all these things, some 'coincidences' have occurred.

Now, anyone who knows me, will understand that I use the term coincidence loosely. I am a firm believer in the "things happen for a reason" scenario, and that we are truly the creators of our own experience. These coincidences occur more commonly once we start to connect to our true selves, our god selves, or the divine inside us and others.

So, unsurprisingly, as I work on the latest issue of The Healthy Alternative which features advertisers and articles based on building a community here in Savannah, I become a piece of the puzzle. Through a series of people and events:

1. Meeting a friend David Acuff, through Josh's bike restoration business.
2. Which led us to GreenDrinks last Tuesday evening at Hang Fire.
3. Where we heard toastmasters of the evening DaVena and Tony Jordan speak on behalf of their organization AWOL, All Walks of Life.
4. Which is an organization working on providing low income families computers and Internet access, among many other things in the Savannah community.
5. Of whom I spoke at length during a lunch meeting with my friend Michael Elliott of the Union Mission, who told me it would be for my greater good to start a blog!

Which all led me back to my computer working on the 'One Small Step' section of our periodical. And it just so happens that my selection for this September issue is about recycling your old computers to local organizations and charities.

A light bulb turned on when I said to myself "Why don't we feature AWOL as the local charity and get our readers involved in the community too?"

Suddenly I had become the catalyst for change and growth. It felt similar to seeing a rainbow, or eating something from your childhood, or the expansion after a yoga class. If all this happened in around a week, imagine what can happen when we open ourselves up to the possibilities of connecting to our peers and our community on a regular basis....

Look for the September issue of The Healthy Alternative featuring:

AWOL,All Walks of Life, Inc.
P.O. Box 15846
Savannah, GA 31416
Donations can also be made online. www.awolinc.org

What goes around, comes around.

What's all the fuss about?

This is my first attempt at a blog post, on my first blog ever. Not such a big deal to many, right? Wrong. The idea of a blog may be simple enough, but to actually create one can be a daunting task for members of the general public. Daunting for me, however because I am a perfectionist.

I lack the skill to forgive myself if I create or make something that sucks, or at least sucks according to me. This has helped me to procrastinate the majority of things I have done or never started for most of my life. I have put off even the thought of this blog for ages just because I would have to: think about what to write, write something wonderful, take amazing pictures that completely grasp the concept of the post, redesign the layout of the blog to match my non-existent website, build my website to host my matching blog, etc, etc.

At this point, this blog is not only the beginning of a blog, but the beginning of a new process of letting go . I think every time I sit down to just write, it will be a release of perfectionism, a moment of forgiveness, the loss of a layer. Even the actual event of hitting publish, for the world to see will be a win. A chance to allow myself the freedom to be vulnerable. Whoa, but no not me... I can't start a blog!