Finally ... I'm writing a new post!!

Well, things have been rolling in a perpetual cyclone of shifts and progressions, transgressions and recoveries, and, always, discoveries.

I spent last month testing my toes in the waters of the Body Ecology Diet. February: my month of transition to a new way of eating, living, being. Aside from some fascinating, if uncomfortable, physical detoxification effects, it has been a much smoother transition than I had expected. (Yes, I am knocking on wood as I type this.) I don’t mean to imply that it has been super easy-peasy. I have experienced amplified reverberations of my symptoms: fatigue on a colossal level; that fuzzy-headed, spaced out inability to focus on anything; sore muscles; achy joints; toxic dreams, feelings, emotional outbursts; etcetera. But I have enjoyed the food I’ve been eating. I am fortunate that I happen to love vegetables ... even the sour cultured vegetables that are a signature of the BED. And now it’s necessary for me to choose vegetables over, say, cookies. I thought my cravings for sweet treats would be overwhelming and intensely physical, but that has, thankfully, not been the case. I have been having emotional cravings for baked goods and ice creams and chocolates, but my physical cravings have been minimal. In fact, the only real physical cravings I’ve noticed are for coffee, earl grey tea, and plantain chips. Things I didn’t really consume all that much before beginning the BED. Strange.

After the initial detoxifying shock of the new dietary regime, my body has begun to feel better. It has been a subtle shift that seems to be happening in nearly imperceptible increments. All of a sudden I have been noticing an increase in energy. I am experiencing moments of great productivity. I am able to think more clearly and focus on the task at hand, as well as preparing for the next few tasks ahead. My symptoms are lessening. I am feeling kinda good. I still have some minor physical symptoms, but they are radically lessened in occurrence and intensity. I have also lost some weight.

So, yeah, it’s going pretty well.

I mentioned that my craving for baked goods has been pretty negligible. But my craving to actually bake goods has been intense. So much so that I have begun baking things that I cannot even eat. My friends and family are simultaneously loving me and hating me as I force upon them ... er ... lovingly offer to them treat after treat. I have been baking things with and without gluten. I have baked strawberry hand pies, white cake with strawberries and pimms buttercream, white cake with powdered hot chocolate mix topping, a trio of cookies for a tea party at the inn, and a couple recipes of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies just to try to find the best one. I am on a baking tear! And I’m loving it! All I want to do is bake things. Oh, and clean my house. In fact, I might be turning into Donna Reed. Check back often … could be I’ll morph into her slowly like The Fly. But it’s so much fun to keep house! I’ve been listening to my Andrews Sisters channel on Pandora, which sets the mood delightfully. So, get prepared for some recipe posts soon. And I mean recipes for household cleaners and cosmetics as well as cakes, cookies and pies!

I also finally got a new camera. It’s a good one, too: A Nikon D3100. I still don’t really know how to use it properly, but at least I have a tool for snapping photos while I’m figuring it out. I’ll post some soon. (Haven’t figured out how to get the photos from the camera to the computer yet. I’m such a luddite.)

Lastly, I’ll be posting soon about my recent jaunt to Greenville, NC – the Emerald City – where I met up with a friend from college whom I haven’t seen since we were in school together. Fun times! And photos! And recipes! Keep reading! I promise to get my caboose in gear and start posting proper ... er ... posts to keep things interesting. Wishing you blissful experimenting!

Xoxo,

Melanie

(above: strawberry hand pies)



(above + below: earl grey tea cookie sandwiches w/ apricot jam - joint venture with Susan Massey. photo courtesy of KDI)

(above: salty oats + cranberry cookies. photo courtesy of KDI)

(above: strawberry shortcake mini muffins - joint venture with Susan Massey. photo courtesy of KDI)

PS: These photos were not taken on the new camera.

PPS: Please feel free to make suggestions if there are experiments you’d like me to try on your behalf. I promise to seriously consider all such requests.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes ...

So, the raison d'etre of this blog is taking a slightly dramatic shift. With the recent drastic change in my income, and the unusual weather keeping me housebound (snow in NC?!), I have been doing a lot of reflecting, philosophizing, and questioning. I won't bore you with the tedious details of how I came to my decision, but the decision has been made nonetheless: I am going to get rid of my belongings, get my house in order, sell my house, and buy an RV and call it home. Yes, I know you may be thinking any number of thoughts about this decision ... likely all in the vein of "Is she off her noggin?" But, I don't think I am. (Well, not in regards to this decision, anyway.) I finally realize that in trying to secure a somewhat normal life for myself, I have only managed to make myself a relative hermit with lots of pets, too many bills, and a tendency toward boredom and depression. From the moment I bought my house, my excitement at having taken a responsible (read: conventional) "grown up" step toward a proper (read: conventional) "grown up" life has been shadowed by a strong feeling of suffocation and entrapment. While I love Durham, I have never truly felt at home here. My life has become a stagnant, purposeless, boring mess, and threatens to continue this thread if I don't take action to change it. And the action that seems to make the most sense for me, is to release the baggage of then, and start over with the now. I've been reading everything I can find on selling a home, and buying an RV, and living in an RV, and being nomadic, in general, etcetera, etcetera. And every time I envision what my new life might be like, I get happy little butterflies in my belly. Okay, so half of those butterflies are gleefully happy, and the other half are scared out of their wits, but even the thought of doing something this scary feels pretty incredible. Isn't is common knowledge that truly spectacular awakenings can only really happen when we remove ourselves from our comfort zone?
So, while I'll continue to post about the things I'm doing to get my house ready to go to market, I'll also be sharing insights on the preparations for this new life journey. I've already started posting furniture for sale on craigslist, and have begun some small repairs on the house. I've done round one of primer painting on the hideous salmon pink trim in the hallway. (It was left by the previous owners, and I never got around to changing it.) I've removed all the old grody caulk around my bathtub, and am prepping it for new sealant stripping. I'm constantly editing my belongings and relegating oodles of items to the attic to sort for sale once I've freed up a little more space in the house proper. Plus, I've compiled a list of all the things I need to have addressed for the house to be ready to be shown to a realtor. The list includes estimated costs, notes on potentially necessary goods and services purchases, and the estimated order of priority for each item. (It's a bit longer than I'd like it to be, but it's doable, and that's a comfort.) My dad has agreed to help me with many of the items on the list, which is also a great comfort. So, you see, the blog's taking a huge Left Turn ... as is my life.
Check back often ... I'm sure there's gonna be lots to share as the journey unfolds. As always, your feedback is welcomed. Here's to happy experimental adventure!