Positive Activism

Since this blog is about trying to keep things POSITIVE I thought it was rather fitting to post about something I have been doing lately that is a form of positive activism.

Many activist get a bad rap because of all of the negativity that pops up.  And I'm fully aware that we wouldn't be activists at all if everything was 'hunky dory' and all was perfect in the world.  I have been thinking of more positive ways to spread the word and a few months ago when I saw that The Humane League had these static stickers for volunteers to hand out to restaurants I knew it was within my calling!

The stickers I was passing out lately are a little hard to photograph but I wanted to give a shout out to a few places for placing these stickers in their window and in a great spot!  Both places were overjoyed to slap them on their window!

The first place is The Arbor House Cafe and Tea Room and their Facebook Page is located HERE.  I've blogged about them before and I will blog about them again!  It's a neat place and I graduated with the brother of the owner.  He works there, too!  Their mom was actually my Color Guard adviser while I was in high school marching band, too!  Wonderful family!

I took this snapshot this morning as I was walking into the office.  You can see the sticker in the upper left hand corner.  Some of the vegan options they offer are bagels (with peanut butter), a few different kind of wraps with veggies, hummus, sprouts, their own dressing, etc.  They also have a garlic hummus and corn chips that is good, too!

Their walls are often covered with art and they have acoustic groups and bands in there every once and a while.  Their tea offerings are expanding, too, and they even offer High Tea (Afternoon Tea) gatherings!

The other place I would like to give a shout out to is Total Evolution Cafe and Smoothie Bar which is within the same block as Arbor House.

They are fairly new but the business owner has owned other businesses in the past.  The sign outside and above their entrance currently says Seasons On The Avenue - that was her last business name.

As you can see she put TWO in the window...one on the left of the entrance which is near the bottom of the window near the wheel of the exercise bike.

The other was in the right side window below the display of smoothie mixes.  You can see some of the things they offer for healthy snacks, smoothies, juices, wraps, etc.  But I will be posting something later today or tomorrow with some of the vegan options I have been gnawing on as of late.

What I find the most interesting about this place is that they have a base menu but almost everything is customizable, too!  They offer an Oatmeal Bar with Steel Cut Oats, Grits, and more for your base and they have over 20 toppings to choose from, too!  They do 'build your own wrap' and rice bowl meals, too!  Very Cool!

I hope to make it over to Tabouli very soon, too, to see if they would like to put a Vegan Options Inside sticker on their window.  I'm assuming they would because they note the vegan options on their menu!

There aren't any fully vegetarian restaurants where I live but a handful of them have been opening their minds and hearts to include vegetarian and vegan options lately and if that is the case I want to do what I can to promote that fact.  I have mentioned before that the next city over they do have a veg restaurant but I haven't been able to visit as often as I would like to.  I hope to go over there, too, and give one of these stickers to them!

Gingerlily Essential Oil & Depression

I truly believe certain things happen for certain reasons.  Perhaps there is a clear reason or maybe just a coincidence that really makes you think and half chuckle.  Either way I had something happen to me just now that fits in that category!  I was going thu some of my old earrings and mementos that dated back to my college years and came across 2 items I didn't even know I had...Gingerlily Essential Oil and a spray that was the essential oil equivalent to a cologne.  It was called a Positivity Spray!  I sprayed one small squirt on each wrist.  It smelled lovely.  More importantly I found the following info on Gingerlily Essential Oil and wondered if I located it out of the blue for a reason...I've been 'down' and 'down on myself' lately and could really use this in more ways than one...

"In this fast moving world, people are packed with their busy work schedules and suffering from mental exhaustion and depression problems. This oil is very effective in providing the relief from your mental stress by calming & revitalizing your mind as well as body. It is used broadly in aroma therapy treatment to get relief from the nervous related problems such as stress, mental exhaustion, anxiety, depression etc." ~ Website Source/Quote

Poms, Snips, & Crystals

It's been a rough week.  But since this is my positive and uplifting space My Blissful Journey I won't vent here.  Instead I will focus on a few things that made me smile yesterday.

A small local grocery store near here had pomegranates on sale for quick sale.  They were VERY ripe but you could get 2 for 79 cents!  I grabbed a duo of them and might try and go back to get more depending how the two I got look when I crack them open later today.

Parsnips!  Parsnips are a food that I don't eat a lot of.  Not because I don't like them - mostly because they aren't a big thing in my area and they don't keep many in stock at the stores.  And when they do they aren't the cheapest thing.  I don't really have many recipes and/or ideas in my creative arsenal for them either.

I branched out.  Yesterday I grabbed two of them.  They cost $3.71 for the two of them.  I would like to do a raw vegan rice recipe with them soon!

One of the many things I am learning about at the moment are crystals and chakras!  I ordered two of these cones and should get them tomorrow.  The orange and the yellow.  I'm thinking about getting the red, too, because of how I tested on a chakra test and daily life, habits, characteristics, and interests.  I hope to put them on my desk at work and surround myself with more positive things.  Another thing I am getting back into is Mandalas, too, and will be putting some of those in my office when I complete them.

Make It Marvelous

Make It Marvelous!  And it WAS!  This past weekend we attended a two-day event with our Wildtree Products and it was WONDERFUL!  My Mom, Sister, and I are all official Reps and my Dad loves helping out too!  We really needed all of us there this weekend!  It was a MAD HOUSE but that's a GOOD THING.  Sales were the best we've had!  We sold out of 15 different products!  I know this isn't the best picture but it shows SOME of the things we sampled!  All of our Grapeseed Oils, a bunch of our sauces, marinades, etc as well as a few dips and spreads and the NEW Hot Pepper Jelly which is AWESOME (and Vegan!)  I'm also excited about the new Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce.  It's doesn't contain eggs or dairy as many Honey Mustard Dressings/Sauces do and I'm so happy about that!

I really want to continue making this week Marvelous!  By blogging I feel it has made me keep the momentum going!  I feel like I am accomplishing things and staying positive and that was my goal with this blog - to not only document my attempts at recipes and activities, but stay active and positive and creative!

I hope to start incorporating some of my exercises here as well.  I'm really wanting to get to the bottom of my weird leg sensations, too, so I might break down and call a chiropractor.  I am also gearing up the furkids for a visit to their Great Grandmothers (Riley & Suzie) and Paco to "Uncle Jack's" as DH and I go on a side trip in the near future!  We won't be gone long but it will be nice to get-out-of-dodge for a bit.

I will surely take pics!

I'm also going to start sprouting again this week and will be making Tabouli as well as a few other dishes this week, too, so stay tuned for that!

Just a little update on things and positive thinking for the rest of the week post!

Have a great week, friends!

Participating Post:
Marvelous In My Monday