Friday, July 26, 2013

Blissful Journey ~ Adventures in Art Journaling, Self Esteem, and Avocado Hummus!

I've struggled with Self Esteem issues and Body Image Issues most of my life.  As I get older I am more accepting of myself for the most part on most days.  I think some of that came along with dropping dairy from my diet, too.  I know that sounds like a superficial item on the list of reasons but it's just something I have noticed the last few months.  I think because I feel better overall it has made me feel better about myself.  Not in a vanity type way but more accepting of who I am, I guess.  I guess it's just hard to explain. 

Over the past week or so I have been adding more and more layers to a few Art Journaling Pages and last night completed this one.  I had the layers down and even the two digi stamps but last night I decided to go with the "JUST BE" theme and text.  It seemed to work here and as I added more and more of the "BE..." elements it 'felt right'.

I saw this little 'meme' on Instagram the other day and LOVED that is was Pirates of the Caribbean and Johnny Depp and Captain Jack Sparrow and it all seemed to come together.

I realize we all have our faults but I also think we are all 'perfect' in our own way!  Yes...that's contradicting but pretty deep if you give it some thought!

Yesterday, I forgot to mention, while at the Festival over the weekend we ended up meeting some 'new friends'.  That's one of my favorite parts about being a vendor at these things!  Meeting people but also fellow vendors that you 'click with'.  My mom, dad, sister, and I always come with 'goodies' and invite other vendors over to 'take a break' with us.  Ever since my sister had some store-bought 'Avocado' Hummus a few months ago she's been wanting to try some others.  I finally decided to make it last week.  It made a HUGE batch and I brought it with me to the event and shared with about a dozen or more people!  EVERYONE absolutely LOVED it!  Even people who are NOT focused on their diet or food intake or 'health' foods commented.  One person even said he didn't like hummus - as a rule of thumb - but LOVED my Avocado Hummus!  This totally made my day!  Woot!  Here is what I used...

1 1/2 C Chickpeas
2 Avocadoes
3 T Lemon Juice
2 T Tahini
2 Cloves Garlic
Water (or Grapeseed Oil), Pepper to taste/consistency

14 comments:

  1. Beautiful journal page Jennifer, you are never too old to accept yourself. Your recipe for hummus sounds delicious too! Hope you are taking care. Hugs, ~Diane

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    1. Thanks Diane! You are great! I'm slowly but surely getting back into crafting! Art Journaling seems to be the craft of choice for me at the moment! :)

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  2. I love avocado. My daughter had avocado-feta on toast when we were in KL and she loved it. Guess that's with some kind of cheese. Very nice.

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    1. Avocados are wonderful! Does your daughter have a blog?

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  3. Going vegan helped me with body image too, knowing I was eating mostly whole, plant-based foods made me worry a lot less about how what I was eating would affect my weight. The journal page is gorgeous, wow! And the avocado hummus sounds wonderful!

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    1. Thanks for the words of encouragement! My sister is now trying to find my next hummus challenge!

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  4. Love the art journal! You're gifted! And, you're amazingly encouraging to others : )

    The avocado hummus idea sounds GREAT! I like anything with avocado - I wish my little DD liked avocado so we could all enjoy such a great looking dip, it's almost the only vegan food she *doesn't* like.

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    1. Hi Anna! Thanks for the kind words!

      I had a few people tell me they didn't like hummus and others say they didn't like Avocado and they tried this and loved it! Maybe she would like Avocado in a dip like this!?

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  5. I enjoy seeing your art journaling, nice to see you doing that again. You're so talented. Good for you confronting your demons and overcoming them.

    Speaking of hummus, I've been craving hummus the past several days. I most likely will make it some time this week. I most likely will wait until my smaller Pressure Cooker arrives, so I can cut down on the cooking time of the dried beans.

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    1. Awwww! Thanks so much, Opal! I'm really trying to get back into crafting and I think I am but a different medium, really, more mixed media if anything, I guess!

      Can't wait to see and hear about your hummus! It's rare if a week goes by where I don't do some sort of hummus variation. Last week I dipped Mini Cucumber spears (cut) in it! YUM!

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  6. I love that page and the angel is adorable. I know about self esteem issues, have them myself but I totally agree that as I've gotten older, I'm more accepting of myself. Love avocados. Wish I could cut dairy but I can only have a limited amount of fruits and veggies because I can't do citric acid. If I cut out dairy, there wouldn't be much left, lo.

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    1. Thanks for the feedback! Does 'critic acid' mess with your system/body? Sorry to hear that. Is it only in processed items or all natural/raw as well? Just curious :)

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  7. Sounds like we have a lot in common - I have struggled pretty well my whole life with body image issues. They went away for awhile after I went vegan, but seemed to have crept back up since moving here a year ago. It's nice to see I'm not on the journey alone, and it does seem to get better with age. We become wise and more accepting =)
    I love your Art Journaling, it's beautiful. I should try something like that. What are the mediums you use?

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    1. We must stick together for support! It's nice to have a virtual shoulder to lean on! :)

      Thanks for the feedback on the page, too!

      I used various things here, such as Gesso, Modge Podge, Perfect Pearls, Powdered Chalks, Craft Markers, very fine glitter, black ink, etc.

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