Meth dealer takes on stepford wife

I turned to a time honoured, whole food family recipe yesterday. Mac and cheese. Again.
Opening the packet of orange powder makes me feel like a meth dealer sweating over a bunch of  chemicals, snickering at how good this shit will be, and there won't be any complaining. That's right bitches. I'll serve it up, and you'll take it all in. My mom brain is in a panic, has an infomercial smile on her plasticy face, chirping away at how this is organic mac n cheese, so its totally ok...wonderfully healthy! Except its not you little liar. Usually I do add some broccoli to it, but not this time.
 Little ninja is on a food strike except for carbs and mangoes. 
Well that's done with. Another day another meal. It's not a huge deal. A housewife ideas never meant to be.

Sick samurai

My samurai is sick...migraines again. Maybe it's the suburbs, maybe it's the bike rides, maybe the weight of debt, or the weight of to-do lists, or the force creativity unfulfilled but bursting inside of him. I hope he feels better soon, my samurai. Love him.

Reggio and good links

http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v13n2/wien.html

http://www.naturesplay.co.nz/reggio.php

http://earlychildhood.educ.ubc.ca/community/research-practice-reggio-emilia

http://www.bakersandastronauts.blogspot.com/

http://aerogrammestudio.com/2013/02/28/neil-gaimns-eight-rules-of-writing/

http://reggiovancouver.com/?page_id=62

esl links

more about suggestopedia techniques

http://esl.about.com/od/esleflteachingtechnique/a/t_suggest.htm 

http://esl.about.com/od/esleflteachingtechnique/a/brain_friendly.htm

http://esl.about.com/od/grammarlessons/a/t_suggestl.htm

http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teaching-approaches/teaching-approaches-what-is-suggestopedia/146499.article

http://www.englishraven.com/methodology.html

methodology flash cards

http://quizlet.com/1378251/language-acquisition-krashen-explained-silent-way-suggestopedia-alm-cll-flash-cards/

http://www.moramodules.com/ALMMethods.htm

silent way

http://www.saudicaves.com/silentway/

http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/hutt/esl/silentwy.htm

recipes: Chia, Carob and Hemp - Nutritional Staples

http://ohsheglows.com/2009/07/15/why-you-should-try-carob-hemp-and-chia/

Raw Ambition

I feel like this blog is where my passion lives. I love food. Talking about it, cooking it, creating something magnificent out of it.
The raw or vegan bloggers that I read, are completely 100% enthusiastic about how their diet has fundamentally changed their lives. Now, I'm sure that each person has their reason - be it the curing of some physical ailment, like an allergy, or weight loss, or better digestion. And then there's energy. They all talk about the energy they get, and I do believe it. Even just a few days on a vegan diet, and having incorporated like 300% more veggies into my diet, I already feel more energetic. But, I think that their enthusiasm isn't from that per se - it is from the food itself. Health = Enthusiasm = Joy.
Healthy = Shedding Unhealthy Attachments, and seeking the 'raw'. Being completely pure, honest and real with oneself.

One of the best blogs is Sarma's Raw blog - she is honest and has a great spontaneous, writing style, that is adorable...I love her rants. I read an article last night called 'My Summer Adventure in Juice Fasting' reposted on 'We like it Raw' last night. She put food in perspective for me.


My very favorite part is this:

A wise lady once told me that there is nothing but love and fear. If it’s not love, than anything else (anger, depression, etc.) is just a manifestation of fear. I wasn’t sure what I was afraid of, though I could imagine on some level that facing reality without the insulation of food in one’s belly could seem scary. Or, the insulation of extra pounds. Maybe it’s scary to lose those few extra pounds. Because then what would I obsess over? Maybe it’s my own ambitions that are frightening.

That last line really shook me up. I've read somewhere (actually a bunch of places now) that to eat food, is to numb your emotions. You cannot eat and feel at the same time...or something like that. If this is true, then I've been hiding from myself for a long long time.

..Sarma goes on with some beautiful insights about fasting, food attachments. I just love her honesty.

Overall, I cried a lot throughout the week. Yes, just having no solid food to eat could be reason enough to shed tears, but clearly that wasn’t it, because I felt really good physically, and not hungry. What I felt was an unfamiliar and uncomfortable sense of… sobriety. Like I wanted to reach for a blanket to hide under, but there was no blanket (figuratively). I wondered if this was remotely akin to what a heroin addict feels while in rehab.

It seems very natural that people (and animals) just want to be free, and when we’re ordered around or constrained, it generally induces anxiety and resentment. So where is the happy medium? At thirty-five years old, I should be able to calmly self-regulate what I put in my mouth, right? It’s all up to me, and with so many choices. My brain and my heart had long known that a juice fast would be really good for me. But any time I had imposed on myself a sentence of juice-only at home, I didn’t even last a full day.

There is a tendency for some people (myself apparently one of them) to form addictions and attachments to food (and I’m talking food of the solid, chewable variety). Recognizing this is easier when you put yourself in an environment where there is no food but meanwhile there is ample fresh, organic juice to keep you from going hungry, as well as all sorts of other comforts and nothing to be stressed out about.

But just read the whole article here...

For more soul searching reads, chec out Finding Clarity in a Blender also by Sarma.

Cashew Cheez

Well, I am proud of myself - I finally made something I would normally be horrified to make - Cashew Cheez. I mentioned it briefly in my last post.

Every time I heard of fake 'cheez' I thought - this is definitely something those hippies have gotten wrong! As a cheese lover, the thought of fake, nut-based cheese was just...disgusting. Sorry for how harsh that sounds

But, alas, I assumed 'nut-based' to mean something lumpy, salty and 'nutty' when in fact, that connot be further from the truth.

The cashew cheese was like sweet ricotta. In fact it reminded me of alfredo sauce - an indulgent, rich creamy texture, and it was magnificent!!

I'm incredibly proud of myself, only because i finally tried something completely different and reluctant about, but I was also inspired to create my own recipe - Butternut Squash Alfredo!!

OK ok, I seem to see that combination everywhere now that I made it...hey great minds think alike.

Cashew Ricotta Recipe
2 cups cashews (almost). Soaked overnight
2 lemons
2 garlic cloves
salt, and more salt
basil (or maybe try with sage - I've heard its a killer combination with squash)
dash of truffle oil
water for consistency

ahhh this was so incredible. It tasted like a fluffy, sweet, tangy ricotta!

All I did was add a few broken pieces of basil and some cubed butternut squash, smooshed the squash down. The fibres looked like melted cheddar cheese, so i used this to convince Colin to try. He loved it. Really loved it.

I wasn't 'raw' with it. I threw this mix on top of pasta. However,I cut down my usual pasta portion down by half, and felt incredibly full.

I also had some bread with this. Bad. Bad
Some substitutes: - flax crackers, lentil based breads

Instead if pasta: rice pasta, zuccini pasta, raw wrap or quessadilla


Here is another great recipe:
Amazing asian stuffed peppers
Kale and Bok choy side

This is a great way to use up rice - again I will use brown rice next time!!

Basmati rice pilaf stuffing

sesame sead oil
Carrot
Yam
1 onion
tempura/soy sauce
grated ginger
lemon/lime juice


This was really heavy on the ginger, but that's ok. I love the flavor.

Stuff the mixture into a few brightly colored peppers and bake away for 30 min or so at 300F. I also added some tempura sauce on top of the peppers and around the dish. If I had mushrooms, I would have definitely included them!

When these are out of the oven, make the veggies:

Steam 'fry' veggies - give the veggies a steam.

3 heads of baby bok choy
Head of kale
with tempura sauce

I got hungry while waiting....

The pilaf was great with shredded carrot, cucumber sticks, cilantro and diced thai chilli peppers. YUM!!! I snacked on this while my peppers cooked.

On a side note - I can't believe how delicious bok choy is! The broth from the steaming was so incredible - I think I will do this as a soup next time, add some wonderful meaty mushrooms to it. I am SOLD on bok choy! Kale takes a bit of getting used to though, but not as bad as I anticipated.

Heart, Soul and Hunger - My new Health Quest begins!

I need an extra dab of motivation to keep me on my health quest - ok maybe an armload full, so I'm blogging about it! I am trying out vegan food, raw food, vegetarian food, and overall wellness in my life. It means more fruit, vegetables, calcium, iron, fresh air, biking and overal de-stressing.

So here's my quest: everyday to document my meals and then improve on it, so my food the next day is healthier than the day before.

New substitutions, better ingredients, more raw and more creative ways to add freshness and health.

I am obsessed with raw food, although, I'll be honest, i haven't prepared that much of it. I don't know why I have been putting it off. I read food blogs constantly and am fascinated by the INCREDIBLE raw recipes out there. Some of my favorite sites right now: Kristen's Raw, Ani Phyo, Oh She Glows, OneLuckyDuck's Sarma Raw Blog, Rawesome, Julie's Raw Ambition.

These are all incredibly beautifuly examples to me of raw food ambition. Each has taken raw cooking to another level that is unique and beautiful to them. I am truly blown away at their creations and their honesty (especially Sarma right now. Thank you thank you for your incredibly honest blog posts!)

So back to my mission - today's food, and how to improve for next time!

Todays food:

6:30am
Oatmeal crisp with apple and pear
- add flax seeds, and make this more substantial - more bulk foods like banana, raw apple, hemp seeds or a nut butter to go with this. Oh she glows gives great advice

6:30 am
latte - bad all around, but its my addiction - if I ever throw coffee, it will be a miracle. I did **think** about having a big blueberry spinach banana smoothie this morning *anticipating my new blender!!! so maybe another time. I could at least use oat or hemp milk though

10am
small cup of tomato soup Pacific Food brand - have raw or fresh soup rather than boxed.
4 mary's crackers - yum - ok nothing wrong here right??
3 Tbs - hummus/cashew cheese spread -I added cashew butter to make it creamier - maybe added fat for no reason?
cucumber slices- excellent - just double the amount, and try carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes and cauliflower as well

Lunch 12:30
Amazing Asian stuffed peppers with kale and bok choy - I had a healthy serving of greens - 3 leaves of kale and some bok choy. Pretty darn good.

Next time use BROWN or WILD RICE or Quinoa!!

Damn - I always catch myself! There is always a way to do it differently. I think lentils would work too, now that I think about it.

1:30
small cup of chilli - vegan chilli. It was incredible!! oh c'mon i don't know how to improve on amazing chilli - i even added chocolat nibs to it. perhaps lentils could have gone in as well...

1:30
1 latte - with milk again. Time to have MATCHA in the afternoon, or another form of green tea (chocolate matcha looks devine to me).

5:30
3 slices white bread - with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

BAD. No excuses. I was hungry and I felt desperate because there is so much of it in the fridge- and someone's gotta eat it!

6:30:
1 cup squash cashew alfredo, with pasta. OK ok the refined, professed white flour here is very bad. Next time rice pasta, white beans (canelloni??) or a whole wheat pasta version - at least!

2 glasses water

8pm
glass of red wine

10:30
stolen bite of a scone....

11pm
chopped tomato with lemon juice, cilantro and basil. Holy cow this is an amazing combination. But it is much too late to eat.

What's up next
marinated mushrooms to go with my cashew cheese
stuffed zucciini

Eggplant Bacon
'Roasted' tomato soup

Anything from Rawmazing....wow!!

Thank you to Sarma, for being an inspiration! I will let you know how tomorrow goes, and post links to all of these great sites where I'm getting my inspiration :)
xo Anna

Jamie Heywood: The big idea my brother inspired | Video on TED.com

This is absolutely incredible.

Jamie Heywood: The big idea my brother inspired | Video on TED.com

The ultimate love child

Creativity is one thing. I can churn out marketing ideas, partnerships, campaigns and concepts in my sleep (and I've got a notebook by my bed at all time) to grab ideas by the tail (See Elizabeth Gilbert's TED talk about harnessing creativity)here.

But balancing analytical research (using analytics, case studies, reports and trend data) with creative drive is crucial to implement strategy confidently, and garner the support of co-workers. The beauty of executing a plan (only the juicy stuff) is when you have research to back it up. Left brain- meet Right Brain, and spawn a beautiful love child called Brilliant Marketing Strategy.

Linchpins and Passion

Everyone talks about passion, and how to inject it in their lives, wrap themselves in it, dip their toes in it, eat it and glow from the inside out.
No one embodies creative anarchy, encompasses passion, and how to live it (and work it!) like Seth Godin.
Who else has ignited inspired and fearless marketing and personal innovation concepts? Igniting passion is a human miracle.

Linchpin - his new book stopped me dead in my tracks. It is a call to action:

Change.
Don't believe tired, unoriginal and unquestioned thoughts.
Stop following rules that don't make sense.
Get rid of crappy thoughts that clutter your head with doubt.
Have an opinion.
Dare to be something other than a cog.
Be Indispensable

Start with this blog.

Blogging is , more than ever, about passion and exciting content. It should ignite audiences, but also make writing and exchanging ideas more exciting. Here's a quote from great article by Mary Jaksch:

Again, it’s not simply enough to be writing content for your niche anymore. Due to the sheer mass of competition online these days, whatever you put out to the world on your blog has to provide massive value to your readers.

Because of this, if you can get really into your articles and get excited about the process, that’s going to show in the final result. The bottom line is that if you’re feeling really passionate about what you’re saying, you’re going to produce the type of posts necessary to gain mindshare in your industry.

I've just spent hours cleaning my RSS feeds, and removing the trite, boring and obvious content; the stuff that doesn't perk my interest, ignites a new idea, or makes me want to shout (YES!!) at the computer screen and madly typing my response.

Read Seth's blog - it is full of mantras and ideas that embody passion, wisdom and marketing ideas that reaped years of success. Be the change.

Yogis and Lions

I want to be a yogi! Unfortunately I have a tendency to boredom, low-pain tolerance, and sudden food cravings that seem to rise simultaneously and faster than a twitter feed.

In fact when I'm being forced into an organ crushing, muscle contorting animal pose, my postures usually resemble something of a half- eaten carcass more than a proud lion. Usually I get this bootylicious -tune stuck in my head, which,as you can hear, really affects my concentration.

To all of you out there who can tolerate bending yourself into hideously kinky positions - I do salute you! Here is a little yoga humour for good luck!

One has to wonder...

Can VanCity can break through its spineless dread and just embrace it the inevitable? They're heeerrrreeee whether we like it or not! Embrace it, stay informed and accept the good with the bad. According to the Guardian, we have our knickers all in a knot in comparison to other Olympic cities, and our poor attitude isn't fixing our problems.

Whether you are 'pro' or 'anti' Olympics, one thing to look forward to is the diverse media coverage emerging from Vancouver.

Presenting the W2 Media & Culture House!

I will proudly be an Olympic blogger and communications coordinator at W2. This community media hub be a space for 'unnacredited media such as the reputatble Tyee, Vancouver Observer and numerous international bloggers. From its towering windows, W2 will be projecting the games onto the old Woodwards building at Hastings & Carrol.

From the W2 Vision Statement:

The W2 Community Media Arts Centre is a highly anticipated project opening in the Winter of 2009-2010 at the landmark Woodward’s redevelopment in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. In the leadup to opening, W2 is operating the 13,000 sq ft W2 Culture + Media House across the street at 112 W Hastings.

It is intended to provide a vibrant and complementary focal point in the redevelopment of Woodward’s and act as a catalyst in the revitalization of the Vancouver Downtown Eastside by emphasizing the development capacity by and for the DTES residents.

The Centre’s objectives are to produce and present new works of artistic significance and social benefit; to empower individuals and communities (young and old alike); and to engage with technology and interdisciplinary artists as producers rather than consumers. Emphasis will be placed on cross-cultural sharing, artistic and social outcomes, as well as the quality of process.

W2 will bring together hybrid art forms, community art practices, individual human development and community cultural development in a single environment. It will be home to a diverse grouping of Vancouver arts and community service organizations offering developmental programs in writing, radio and television production, painting, sculpture, photography, mixed media, video and cross-media.

Cultural services delivery will include a broad range of daily public offerings, including walk-in activities, courses, workshops, symposia, and individual and group practice. In addition, the combination of administrative and production spaces will provide professional and supportive structures, in which people can make new work, extend and develop their practice, and establish new contexts for public presentation. A portal to the global community will also be realized through 24/7 webcasting and satellite distribution systems from the performance centre, digital media labs, and TV studio.

Read the mission statement and vision here: W2 Media & Culture House

Check out my shelves

Not my rack. My shelves.

I've been following and stealing great book ideas from the oh-so intellectual crowd Goodreads, on social community for bookworms like me! Goodreads is a community for book lovers. It's a great way to get book recommendations from your friends and others. You can keep a list of books to read, join book clubs, and even take the never-ending book trivia quiz.

So, yeah feel free to check out my shelves and share your faves!

BrightKit RSS test

Lets see how the Brightkit RSS feed works from my blog, Ninjaflower!!! This could make cross-posting really really simple.

I never liked Brad anyways

I'm sorry Brad Pitt. I think you're a little overrated, I was just afraid to confess. Between this Benjamin Button hating video and this hilarious Official Anti-Benjamin Button site, by Fiona Forbes, I'm pretty convinced that the movie will be a little less than satisfying. OK ok, I did like the abs in Fight Club!

See more funny videos and TBT Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Jah

Lovin Mashable. Thank you Twitter

Moi...tired

This is me...a little exhausted in this photo, but at least you get the idea!

Net Tuesday Rocks!

I was at Net Tuesday a couple of days ago. It was my first time, and what a great group of people - like minded change catalysts, networkers, and invigorating conversationalists and technology gurus.  Joe Solomon , Monica Hamburg, I will definitely be going to this again!  It was all live blogged as well by Hummingbird604.com.  

See you all soon!

A new direction for Ninjaflower!

It is already 3 weeks into the New Years, and it has been eventful! Ninjaflower is taking a new path to nourish her spirit. No running in circles, only to end up in the exact same spot that she started in. This year will be about slow movements

Learn lessons from my Warrior.

Slow down - Listen to your heart
Move in one direction - UP.
Learn the basics first before expert level.
Persistence, Commitment, Dedication, Completion
Compassion and Intuition
Choose projects Wisely
Long-term Planning
Knowledge before Self-Promotion
Health and Maintenance


NinjaFlower has been assessing her skills by focusing on Strengths, and her MyerBrigg type -ENFP.  Here are some tips for ENFP personal growth which are remarkably similar to my own goals:

As with all types, the ENFP can achieve personal growth by developing all functions that are not fully developed, through actions such as:

• being selective about starting projects, and producing plans to help identify which ones can be delivered
• pausing and thinking, and recognising that others will accept the ENFP and his/her ideas more if given sufficient time to make their own contribution
• being more accepting of existing routines that work well
• investigating the facts, and documenting them, before interpreting what they mean
• listing options and undertaking a formal process of evaluation against criteria, including a cost benefit analysis
• changing his/her vision to fit more closely with what is possible
• expressing the appreciation that is felt towards others

Best Links for ENFP
http://www.geocities.com/lifexplore/enfp.htm
http://www.teamtechnology.co.uk/myers-briggs/enfp.htm

Strengths-Based Careers
http://www.oprah.com/article/money/career/20080401_orig_marcusbuckingham_course