Snootyvixen's world

my aim is true

Vikki — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:21:17 +0000

After completing 7 days of eating raw, I was ready to plunge headlong into the 21-day vegan kickstart – it started this morning, Monday, March 1, and the first day is now over.

The transition seemed easy, I really feel like I could have carried on with the raw food, but was kind of excited to get some stir fry back in my life! I had shopped for stir fry ingredients – but still could have eaten then raw, had I decided to go that route.

The girls were insistent on having their green smoothies for breakfast, but Paris still has to have her quesadilla! I have to admit, it is very hard for me not to eat the crusts she leaves behind. One of my biggest downfalls has been finishing up food the girls leave on their plate, having been brought up with the “clean your plate – there are children in Africa who are starving!” era.

If I do say so myself, the stir fry was delicious! Cauliflower, carrots, celery, red onions, garlic, zucchini, bok choy, spinach and mung bean sprouts, stir fried in water, with a dash of hoisin sauce and some Braggs liquid aminos. The stir fry was served on whole wheat couscous. It was so good, I’m doing it again for dinner tomorrow!

There is a meal plan that is provided with the Kickstart, but it’s not necessary to follow it to a “t” – there are some recipes I’m excited to try, though! The question remains … can I make it to Day 21? Let’s just say my aim is true!

lifted

Vikki — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:30:10 +0000

Day three of the 7 day raw food cleanse and I feel so much better than I did yesterday. I feel as if I’ve been lifted over a fence and the path from here is all down hill. Plain sailing. Easy street. So much so that I’m signed up for the 21-day Kickstart being promoted by the PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine), which starts on March 1. Twenty one days vegan.

A sample menu for a day for the cleanse would be similar to what I ate today.
Breakfast: green smoothie
Lunch: big “kitchen sink” salad
Dinner: apple

Now, don’t be disillusioned when I say “apple”, this baby was humungous – a Pink Lady apple from my local Fresh Market store. I’ve been drinking a couple of cups of Green Tea Kombucha (Yogi) because the liters and liters of water just aren’t cutting it. I know that’s not the right attitude, my skin is actually really dry so I do need to try to drink more water.

Other things I’ve noticed? Not much, really. I had a killer headache yesterday and could’t bear to listen to TV or look at a computer screen, so I went to bed early with a couple of ibuprofen and slept it off.

Having been “lifted”, I’m now looking forward to the remaining four days.

for you

Vikki — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:11:08 +0000

Just for you, because you’ve been asking, here are pictures of the hamsters, past and present. Recent past, that is. I don’t have a picture of King Fuzzy Wuzzy Dude from way back when. He just wasn’t friendly at all, and definitely wouldn’t pose for a photo!

Here’s the photo parade:

Kiki - Roto Dwarf Hamster

That’s Kiki – she was purchased on Friday evening, February 12th (Ciel’s birthday). She didn’t see Saturday. (see previous entry!)

Kiki

Kiki again. She really was very sweet. She was just so, so tiny – we have determined that she squeezed through the bars.

Then came Snowball:

Snowball is very sweet. She’s not ferocious or cranky at all, like King Fuzzy Wuzzy Dude was. She’s playful, and doesn’t mind being held or played with.

Snowball is still with us. She has just decided to build her nest in her exercise wheel, though. Strange.

computer games

Vikki — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 15:02:39 +0000

I felt the same way that I did on the first day my girls went to kindergarten.

They disappeared through the double doors into a sea of kids. After a few seconds I couldn’t even see them. I had just handed my girls off to a group of strangers and would not see them for six hours. The urge to shed a tear was there, just like it was on the first day they set foot inside the school. The little ball of angst was there in the pit of my stomach …

… will they remember where I said I’d meet them?
… will they stick together, as they had arranged, or would circumstances pull them in different directions?
… would they remember the directions they were given to get to their registration station?
… would they know who to go to if they have a problem?
… would they be able to do the activities they had planned on doing?
… will they find the bathrooms or will they just try to hold it all day?
… would they remember they ordered vegetarian sandwiches for lunch, or would they take someone else’s ham sandwich?

but then, I remember that my kids are resourceful. They’re resilient. They’re smart. And, by crikey, they’re not 5 years old any more! They’re 9 and 10. Of course they’ll be fine! They’ll have a ball!

The girls are attending the SIT Conference, Students Involved in Technology, at Heartland Community College. It’s run by kids, for kids. If you’re an adult and you want to attend, you either have to volunteer or you have to register – no hand holding here, dear!

When Ms. Riccio, the library teacher, offered Paris and Ciel a scholarship to the conference, they were so excited! “It’s going to be just like when you go to a conference, Mommy!” They had to pick their lunches when they registered online, and then they have to pick the sessions they go to. I downloaded the list yesterday and I couldn’t believe the range of choices! Everything from Webkinz (and FarmVille) to making your own robot. Srsly? Robotics, green technology, geocaching, design, video, animation, and Ciel’s chosen field of interest: Forensics. Are you kidding me? My girls were wishing that this was held over about five days so they could attend all the sessions they wanted! Wizard 101, Club Penguin, Zoo Tycoon, Petz5, Webkinz and Farmville could take up one day just on their own!

I really can’t wait until 2pm when I pick them up to find out just what they thought of the day, and hear all the new programs they want to download, and how Ciel no longer wants to be a vet, but a forensic scientist! Really, I just want to hear all about Billybob the Monkeybot & Techno-Pranks – yes, they signed up for that one!

Make sure you check the video today, this is classic Aussie new wave from the late 1970’s. Sheesh, am I really that old?

oh baby, i like it raw

Vikki — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:46:03 +0000

The verdict is in. I’m about to embark on the The Raw Divas 7-day raw food detox program. Starting Saturday. After the Kiwanis fundraising pancake breakfast.

I just don’t feel good. I have a full blown sinus infection which is not only messing with my head, but my chest too. I think it’s time to just flush the system and start over.

I’ve done this particular detox in the past, and …..

wait …..

I just remembered that Laura invited us over for supper on Sunday. Better make that a Monday start.

As I was saying …

… it is a very tolerable fast, the green smoothies really freak people out, yet they taste so good!

My body is currently overflowing with symptoms of toxicity … I won’t go into them all, you can read them on the divas page for yourself. Let’s just say that I have 16 of those checkmarked “symptoms”, and no, I won’t elaborate on that!

Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds. I can do this again! I’ll keep you updated, of course, on a daily basis. Remember, MONDAY is the starting day!

getting better

Vikki — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:54:09 +0000

Have to admit it’s getting better, it’s getting better all the time (it can’t get no worse!) – so spoke the infamous Beatles. And such is my outlook.

I also have to admit that it’s getting harder to blog each day. Sometimes the subject matter that was floating around in my head all day suddenly disappears the minute I fire up the laptop. Or the reverse happens, I’m ready to write, but just don’t have the time.

Sometimes I’m just lost for words.

Sometimes I want to rant and rave, but then I think that it’ll just bore people and I’ll be showing too much negativity.

Sometimes I just ramble. Like now. But it is getting better. And, even if it’s not, I’ll keep believing that it is getting better until it does.

I’ve been tapping. Not tap dancing, silly! Tapping.

EFT

Emotional Freedom Technique

We store negativity in our energy “system”, and tapping the acupuncture/acupressure points that are “channel ends” releases that negativity. Tapping can be used for a number of reasons – from the common cold to financial freedom.

I won’t go much more into it now because there is so much that has already been written about EFT on the internet, but what I will do is report on my findings as I tap away on a daily basis! I’m following YouTube videos by David Childerley – he is easy to listen to, has a very simple to follow style and is “easy on the eye”.

I haven’t been doing this long enough to give you any informed comment as yet, and it’s not something I’d do in public (it looks a little strange!) yet all the reviews I’ve read tell me that it works. And hey, the worst that can come of it is that I look a little nutty if anyone catches me in the act!

And where did the shoes go, you ask? Well, today they’re back, and, if you happen to be reading this on Tuesday night, please contain your excitement until Wednesday morning, k? Oh, and remind me to tell you about the hamster.
MANY many ladies shoes under $25, including KangaROOS and Chinese Laundry! Wednesday, 2/17 offer! Womens Shoes Under $25!
And we can’t leave the men out of this deal, either. Wednesday, 2/17 offer! Mens Shoes Under $25!
Buy a pair of shoes, or two, or three, for yourself or your valentine (oh hush, I know THE day is over, but your valentine should be your valentine 24/7/365!)
Wait! Carlos Santana makes shoes? Wednesday, 2/17 offer! Carlos by Carlos Santana – Select styles 60% off or More Today only!

And with that, I’m off to tap before bed. Positive affirmations, baby!

happy birthday

Vikki — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:25:54 +0000

Shorty Doo Wop turned 9 today. It wasn’t really ceremonious .. see, she can’t wait for her gifts. So, when Lanie (the American Girl doll) arrived earlier this week, she HAD to open the package. When Paris bought her a new Webkinz for her birthday, she HAD to enter the tag on the website to activate the character (she did give Paris back the actual toy, and Paris had also got her a surprise … the Michael Jackson “This Is It” DVD), so there really wasn’t much left to be ceremonious about! I think she just likes to spread her “special day” out into a whole special week”

This afternoon, as soon as I picked the girls up from school, we drove over to Peoria to go to PetSmart. Ciel picked out her Robo dwarf hamster, a habitat and all the other accoutrements a baby hamster would need.

Paris, who is usually so patient, asked about a guinea pig. She would like a guinea pig and she no longer wants to wait until her birthday. So, there were expressions of disgust, the stomping of feet, and some general mouth downturning, and she rode home in silence. Ciel, on the other hand, could NOT be quiet. She hounded me to let her take out the cage. No. She hounded me to let her take out the hamster. No. She hounded me for the time. Two minutes later than the last time you asked. She hounded me because we weren’t home yet – she just hounded the bejeebers out of me!

Once we did get home, we assembled the cage, realized that some of the extras she bought wouldn’t fit either in or on the cage. She managed to get the hamster out of the take-home box and into the exercise ball, and we finally got the cage assembled and set up with the bedding, the aspen, the food and water. Then Pucci arrived on the scene (for the uninitiated, that’s the cat).

She stalked the cage. She didn’t touch. She just crouched and looked. Ciel didn’t like Pucci looking at Kiki. She shooed her away. Pucci hissed and bit Ciel as she tried to move her away from the cage. I could see this was going to be fun!

Ciel asked if she could keep Pucci shut in the computer room. I explained that when we go to school/work during the week, we cannot keep Pucci shut in there, it’s just not possible. She will eventually realize that she cannot get to Kiki, and will stop stalking her. I’m convinced of it, I just had to convince Ciel of it!

Then the unthinkable happened. Ciel had taken Kiki out of the cage (again – despite my pleas to let her settle in) and, in the process of transferring her from the exercise ball to the cage, Kiki dropped to the floor and was off and running. I’m just SO glad that Pucci wasn’t around to see it, or we’d be Kiki-less by now!

So, those were the happenings of the evening. And Paris is still grumpy.

you make me feel

Vikki — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 13:05:14 +0000

The way you make me feel …
You make me feel like a natural woman …
You make me feel brand new …
You make me feel like dancing …
You make me feel mighty real …
You make me wanna …

They just love writing songs about it, don’t they? You make me …… whatever. Don’t fall for the trap! When you think that someone makes you do something – good or bad – you have just given away your power.

Now, let’s leave the song lyrics behind and use some real life examples. We’ve all heard these, and maybe even used them ourselves:
You make me SO mad!
Don’t make me stop this car!
You make me jealous

Change the emphasis, like this: YOU make ME …

Can someone really make you do something? Is there nothing in your own personal power you can do to refuse to do/feel that? There is always a choice – you are the one in control of your emotions, aren’t you? So let’s look at some alternatives.
“You make me SO mad” could be “When you do that, I feel annoyed”
“Don’t make me stop this car” could be “If you continue to misbehave, we will stop until you calm down”
“You make me jealous” could be “I wish I had that!”

Switch it up. Don’t give away your power, you earned it, you keep it!

We had a little “situation” just last night. Paris was a little snarky because she hadn’t done her homework and was not doing a good job of getting it done. She – and Ciel – as usual, took way too long to get ready for bed. By the time she was ready to put her pajamas on, I was already upstairs ready to tuck them in and give them goodnight kisses. Of course, they both shut their doors to get ready, so I just hung out in my room. Paris came in – still dressed.
Me: Why don’t you have your pajamas on yet?
Paris: I don’t have any pajamas
I turned to the basket of freshly laundered, but not yet folded, clothes and found her a pair of pajama pants, which I handed to her. She just stared at me. I pulled out a blue t-shirt and asked “Is this yours or Ciel’s?” She shrugged her shoulders.

I didn’t see the shrug.

I asked again “is this yours or Ciel’s?” She answered in that sing-songy type of voice that is full of attitude, saying “I don’t know!” I gave the t-shirt to her, told her to go put it on, and sent her back to her room to finish dressing for bed.

This is how it could have gone:
“I don’t have any pajamas”
“Here, take these. Is this your t-shirt?”
“I dunno”
“Paris, don’t make me mad”
“I’m not”
“You are, you’re making me mad”
… and it just escalates from there into shouting, which gets nothing accomplished.

The situation did diffuse itself. After Paris didn’t want me to kiss her goodnight, I went back up a few minutes later and hugged her while she cried and apologized for being “mean” to me. She said that she had been mad and just wanted to be difficult. And by me not giving her my power, the situation diffused quickly rather than dragging on and resurfacing in the morning.

So don’t give away your power to others by letting them make you do something. Be responsible for making your own decisions.

And what does 6pm have for you today?
Who doesn’t love Columbia shoes and apparel? I know I do! Wednesday, 2/10 offer! Columbia Footwear and Apparel-All Styles up to 75% off Today Only! I’ll take the Aquatooth in coral/melonade please, size 11.

Heels, straps, paisley or flats … Unlisted fits the bill! Wednesday, 2/10 offer! Unlisted-All Styles 75% off Today Only! For kids too – check out Jam Along!

And Asics. For the sportsman or woman in you … they even have spikes and treadmill shoes! Wednesday, 2/10 offer! Asics Footwear and Apparel-Up to 75% off Today Only!

And yes, 6pm compensate me if you buy anything through these links. So, spend away!

family affair

Vikki — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:28:26 +0000

Welcome, Lanie!

Yesterday we welcomed a new addition to the family. Her name is Lanie.

Lanie is Ciel’s birthday gift from her Grandma & Grandpa McEwan and me, and though Ciel’s birthday isn’t until Friday, Lanie arrived today and she bugged me and bugged me and bugged me until I let her open the box.

Lanie is American Girl’s “Girl of the Year”, and she’s a nature lover. She comes with a laptop computer, a few outfits, jewelry, a sparkly hair pick and a couple of books. Oh! And a pet rabbit. It seems that this may be an emerging tradition … the Girl of the Year for Ciel’s birthday. Well, that put Paris’s nose out of joint. Her birthday isn’t until October, and the Girl of the Year is announced in January. That means that Ciel will always get it first, and if Paris were to get one then Ciel would be mad because Paris would be “copying”. So, we thought long and hard, and decided that Paris would get the American Girl historical dolls. And, of course, Ciel has to have her say in the plan … she will be the one deciding which doll Paris gets.

Now all we need to find is a hamster …

So, what’s the deal at 6pm.com today? I’m shopping XCVI! I love linen!
XCVI Apparel: All Styles $29.95 or less Today Only!

free kotex first period kit

Vikki — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:29:44 +0000

Click here for your free First Period Kit, as advertised on AllYou.com

Mom, are you ready?

If your daughter is around the same age as my two youngest, you may be thankful for the Kotex First Period Kit.

I just ordered mine. Be prepared to pay 2.99 shipping!

What is in the kit? Product samples, a booklet with ideas to help you answer questions, a booklet for your daughter to ready, information on Toxic Shock Awareness, a guide to help you and your daughter choose the best product for your needs, and coupons!