Cherry Star's *FIRST* Birthday :)

Today is the FIRST birthday of our baby horse, Cherry Star :) 

This cheeky little equine angel popped into the world a year ago today, the same day that we landed back here in Ecuador…it’s *amazing* to me that we’ve been here a year non-stop today – it has gone SO fast and soooooo very much has happened…we are so blessed :)

Cherry’s entrance into the world was the most beautiful welcome home present imaginable back then, especially as no-one was really even sure if his mum, Barbie, was pregnant…then suddenly he was just here and…evidently she had been pregnant all along… ;) The pictures here show, from left to right, tiny Cherry the day after he was born, then running down the hill to see me today and finally contemplating whether to chew the vines or not ;) (I posted more photos to Facebook HERE if you'd love to see more ;)

Cherry’s character is very much laced with the cheeky trickster energy, from his “surprise” entrance into the world, to his love of throwing his food all over the floor, to his delight in getting into areas of the garden we’d prefer him to not be, to his constant curiosity about the dogs and daily niggling of the older horses, playing with their tails and manes, trying to provoke them into playing with him – he is a total delight, such a HUGE loving heart, gentle eyes, cheeky horse-anality and always ready for a bum massage... ;)

We give blessings and major gratitude today for the gift of this beautiful little being in our lives –

Happy Birthday, dear Cherry Star :)

on October the 5^th I appreciated:

1 quart water

3 cups watermelon/orange juice

8 granadillas

2 cups pretty intense greeeeeen juice from the garden

water of a young coconut

plate of yummmmmmers raw food goodies at raw potluck, followed by a carob yumball

big mug of herbal tea

chunk of Mr. M's amazing Pili Nut "Chocolate" :)

2 cups coconut water blended with Vitamin C

1 cup water

WOW, I had such fun playing with Google Earth yesterday…have you used it recently…? It had been a while since I’d plugged into it and I got re-inspired after hearing friends talking about using it to “fly to a bazaar in India”, visit their homes and more… So I downloaded the latest version yesterday and Mr. Monarch and I went on a really fun little trip around the globe to some places of significance for us… 

It was AMAZING to be able to show Mr. M exactly where I grew up, without taking a huge trip to England here in this physical reality… ;) Have you used the “street view” function on there…? Unbelievable…with this function I can literally “stand” outside the house I grew up in, turn around 360degrees to see how the whole neighbourhood looks these days, “walk” up the street to the shops I used to go to daily as a child and the pub I used to drink in as a teenager… Really amazing technology…thanks for the entertainment and memory-nurturing, Google ;) 

You can get the latest version of Google Earth from HERE if you’d love to play too... :)

on October the 6^th I loved:

1 quart water

8 granadillas

2 cups greeeeen juice from the garden

water of a young coconut

bowl of cucumber salad with sauerkraut/nori sheets/Sea Clear/lecithin/tahini on the side, followed by a sliced apple

big mug of herbal tea, big chunk of Mr. M’s amazing Pili Nut “Chocolate”

water of a young coconut

 1 cup water

on October the 7^th I was blessed with:

1 quart water

1 quart coconut water blended with Camu powder and Royal Jelly Powder

2 cups greeeeeen juice straight from the garden

bowl of cucumber salad with sauerkraut/nori sheets/Sea Clear/lecithin/tahini on the side, followed by a sliced apple

2 cups water

water of a young coconut

big mug of herbal tea, big chunk of Mr. M’s amazing Pili Nut “Chocolate”

2 cups water

Ooooooooo, one winner is going to be in for an out-raw-geous treat this month...we are blessed and blissed to be able to offer y'all a giveaway gift pack containing ALL FIVE sublime flavours of the supreme Rawtella spreads: Original, Mint, Crunch, Coffee and Silk - wow :)

If you've never tried the Rawtella spreads, they are the stone-ground, raw version of the popular commercial food "Nutella" - the raw versions are handmade with highest quality raw chocolate, hazelnuts, coconut crystals and other yummy ingredients - you can check out all the deets HERE.

To be in with a ch@nce of winning this delicious and generous gift pack, just send in your A to the following Q, to rawreformcontests@gmail.com:

"Which other old favourite commercial chocolate treat would you love to see replicated in a raw version and why...?"


Get your entries in by October the 21st 2011 to be in with a ch@nce of receiving this yummy selection  - the winner shall be chosen at random and with great j0y shortly thereafter...
In the meantime, if you'd love to order some yummmmers Rawtella for your own delight, you can do so HERE - enjoy :)

 
All love and splashes of serene joy, 
A. Stokes-Monaaaaaaaaaaaaaarch. xxx

New Delights...

I am SOOOOO happy – the RawReform.com main site is back up again :) It got blown to pieces by all the CNN-related traffic and was sadly down for over a week, being lovingly restored, like a raw version of humpty-dumpty ;) WELL, now it’s all back together and shinier than ever, thanks to some nice men who have well-developed left-brains for all those techie details – thanks, guys :)
You can check it out HERE (scroll down to the bottom of the front page and click the link, to skip the email sign-up ;) There are new pics up, updated videos and media area, plus you can check out the forum here if you’d love to connect with others...
Do you like the new before/after pic on the front page? I’d LOVE to hear any thoughts/comments/suggestions on any aspect of the site that you might like to share abt – please email angela@rawreform.com to let me know ;) Now seems like an optimal time to shake it all up...
Thanks :)

on October the 3rd I had:

1 quart water
2 cups ‘wild power’ tea
2 cups veggie juice: cucumber, celery, sprouts, carrots with greens, radishes, endive, fennel, lettuces, ginger
2 cups energy soup with flax crackers, followed by a chunk of raw chocolate from Twinkle :)
3 cups water
1 cup energy soup with a mixed-seed ‘cookie’, followed by a little round choco/coconut ‘cake’ at Manna Café
3 cups water


on October the 4th I had:

1 quart water
1 quart veggie juice: zucchini, carrots, celery, ginger, endive, fennel
2 cups energy soup with a curry powerstick, followed by a chunk of ‘Hazelnut dream bar’ from the Monarch ;)
3 cups water
glass of ‘greengasm’ juice at Inspiral Café in Camden
shared plate of raw cheesecake and truffles at Inspiral, mug of lemon/ginger tea
1 cup energy soup
2 durian pods
1 quart water

As I write this, I am just finished eating a yummy meal with the Monarch, during which we were reminiscing about some of the ‘other-than-optimal’ things we used to eat before we went raw... Mr. M was recounting how he would consistently eat 2 microwaved chicken patties on bread for BREAKFAST, followed by tuna straight from the can onto bread for lunch, capped with a dinner of 2 more of those dry chicken patties on...yes, more bread ;) LOL... a definitive recipe for digestive disturbance of untold levels, surely?
I’m pretty sure my pre-raw intake topped his though in terms of calories, greasy trans-fats, crazy choices and just about everything else ;) I was actually doing an interview this morning and the journalist asked what I used to eat in an average day before my raw adventure...it makes me laugh just describing it sometimes – COUNTLESS thousands of calories in a day, starting with 2 rounds of fried-egg toasted sandwiches on white bread with margarine and tomato ketchup for breakfast – about 10 minutes after waking, preferably ;) It really does amaze me that I’m still alive sometimes when I think of the way I used to eat...it truly is incredible how much the human body will tolerate...
These days I rarely seem to eat solids more than twice a day (compared to almost CONSTANT meals/snacking in my past)... I just don’t feel GENUINELY hungry more often than that, during the space of any given day, so there’s no real impetus to eat... When I first met the Monarch and he ate twice a day, that seemed VERY ‘restricted’ to me and I couldn’t imagine eating that way...well, here we are a few years down the line and now I choose to eat that way too...interesting, the way our paths unfold... ;)
I hope YOUR raw journey is unfolding with grace and joy toooooooo...

on October the 5th I had:

1 quart water
1.5 cups ‘wild power’ tea
1.5 cups veggie juice: celery, cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, lambs’ quarters, endive, fennel, carrots with greens, ginger
2 cups energy soup with nori sheets stuffed with mix of hemp seeds/linseed oil/Himalayan salt, followed by a little bowl of durian ice cream
cup of spicy tea
3 cups water
1 cup veggie juice: celery, cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, lambs’ quarters, endive, fennel, carrots with greens, ginger
1 cup energy soup with nori sheets stuffed with mix of hemp seeds/linseed oil/Himalayan salt, followed by a chunk of ‘tahini dream bar’
3 cups water


on October the 6th I had:

1 quart water
3 cups veggie juice: red bell pepper, fennel, carrot
20 chlorella ‘nuts’
2 cups energy soup with a curry ‘powerstick’, followed by a chunk of ‘tahini dream bar’
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water
2 cups energy soup with a curry ‘powerstick’, followed by a chunk of ‘tahini dream bar’
mug of spicy tea
3 cups water

WOW, I am in LOVE. I am feeling totally ADDICTED to the new shampoo and conditioner we have from Soignee ;) LOL...I have never felt so attached to a beauty product before... I heard a woman talking once about how she felt ‘addicted’ to using one brand of ‘natural hair care’ products. I smiled, yet couldn’t really relate, as she enthusiastically recounted how excited she would be to go for a shower, just so that she could use the products and smell their luscious smells... Well, now I’m finding that I CAN actually resonate with that feeling, when I use the Soignee products. They are TRULY amazing – I’ve never used anything like them on my hair...they smell like CHOCOLATE and are sooooooOOoOooooooo rich and creamy and smooooooooooth – my hair feels like silk during and after using them... I feel like I sound like an 1980s shampoo ad right now ;) LOL – it’s all true though – I LOVE these products and feel like I’d love to never use anything else on my hair again (other than breaking the cycle of using any products at ALL, of course ;) I had no real interest in these products at first, yet our customer service gals tried out some samples and were SO excited abt them that they INSISTED we start carrying them in our stores. They even actually ordered the products and added them to the website themselves (unheard of ;), just to be CERTAIN we have them ;) That’s the power of the Soignee line... Here’s some of the official blurb abt them:

“Enriched with soy and wheat proteins, vitamins, herbal extracts, and essential oils. MSM and Panthenol help restore a radiant beauty to all hair types, especially chemically treated or damaged hair. It is gentle enough for everyday use. Soignée MSM Shampoo contains NO Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, methylparaben, propylparaben, alcohols, chemical foaming agents or preservatives, and is hypoallergenic.”

I also hear that their Wrinkle Crème product is outstanding too – I haven’t tried that yet, or the facial crème, facial wash or night crème...we have them all in the RawReform store though - check them out HERE if you’d love some yummy treats for your OUTER body... ;)
ENJOOOOOY :)

All love,
Angelalalalalalaaaaaaaaa. xxx