Raw, Random, & Recipes

Many things have been going on as of late and things have been in high speed.  So much so that I trashed a few recipes that I was working on but still wanted to share them with you here...but...I will get to one of those in a bit. 

First up is Chia Goodness - Apple Cinnamon flavor that I have had on hand for a while but finally cracked open about 2 weeks ago.  As I have said a few times I have a 'thing' with the texture of Chia Seeds once they have been hydrated.  I did eat the bowl - whole - like this but next time I think I am going to put it thru a blender before consuming - just as my own personal preference, I guess.  The flavor was tasty, tho!

Here's another thing I have been munching on...another raw vegan cheese spread.  This one was very thick and very tasty.  I think I put a tad too much Apple Cider Vinegar in it tho but it was still good!

I wanted to try it on Brown Rice Pasta but it didn't last that long.  I used it for scooping corn chips but also for veggies, too!

Paco, Riley, and Charlie have been doing well.  Our next appointment and blood labs for Paco is January 4th.

Another reason we've been busy is because we HAD to clean our basement for a number of reasons but time-wise had to because we needed to have someone come and change out our Water Meter "parts".  Thank GOD that project is done...oye!  BUT...I will say...it worked out for the best!  We donated 28 bags of clothes, bedding, shoes, hats, and coats!

I've been busy writing a lot for numerous websites but I am happy to report that I will be doing a lot more now that I have a new computer!

I was trying to use a Chromebook that we got on sale MONTHS ago and eventho it's handy it has a lot of quirks.  It's NOT very good at multi-tasking or working off of multiple screens/windows, and it's the easiest to save or retrieve files or edit photos.  So basically everything I NEEDED it for it wasn't cutting the mustard!  DH got me my Christmas Present early last weekend - an All-in-1 Dell that has been working real well for what I need!  You can see the screen in this photo - it's a large and wide screen!  I took this pic while on Megan Elizabeth's Hang Out Chat the other night.  Some Vegetarian/Vegan/Raw Foodies met up and chatted for about 2 hours!

There were some great tips on skin products, skin care, make-up, things to do at home if you don't wear make-up (I usually don't) and then we got into food, gift-giving, and a whole lot more!  Here's a pic of me from yesterday morning.  I put it on Instagram with the tags #nomakeup #nofilter #longhairdontcare.  It was shortly after I got out of the shower.  This was my 2nd day using ACURE Organics Shampoo and Conditioner.  I hope to do a more lengthy review on those products soon.  The fist day was a bit rough but the 2nd day was GREAT!  More on that down the road.  So this was more of a mini wrap-up over the last few weeks, I guess!  More coming soon!

Household Updates

Last week was crazy.  I wanted to hold off on posting this until I knew more.  I'm happy with my choice to wait because I think there has been some improvement.  Here's what's up...Last week...Paco developed another spot near his hip.  He also stopped taking his meds - which was never a problem up to about Wednesday Night.  PLUS...Wednesday and Thursday he was getting sick.  Thursday Night even more so.  I called the vet that had been with him thru his whole ITP Diagnosis and she wanted me to bring him in again on Friday so I did.  They did all the blood work all over again and said the good news was that his levels and counts were the best they have been since this whole thing started.  The bad news was they are pretty sure that he has an ulcer somewhere in his body.

So we took him off of the steroids and added an additional medication to coat his stomach and help with this ulcers.  This seemed to help a LOT.  Because it was an intense steroid that he was on - they asked me to start giving it to him yesterday so I did. 

Time will tell what we will do next but I have a feeling they will have to adjust the steroid(s) that he IS on because that is the problem.  

Thankfully all else seems to be ok.  What I will say - without any hesitation is that ITP SUCKS!!!!  I wouldn't wish it on ANYONE...human or animal! 

In other news...Suzie has been rapidly aging.  We've had her for 12 years and she was 2 when we adopted her.  She's the Queen Bee - always has been - always will be - but - she's been making some noises the last few months that we are chalking up to arthritis.  She's always been a picky eater but the last week or so we've had to coax her to eat more than usual.  She's not in pain because she's still running around and playing.  I have been adding water to her food and yesterday I picked up some soft food to mix in with what she usually eats...I know she wasn't crazy about the food we just ran out of so that could be part of it too!  BUT...I have to say she is LOVING the wet food that we bought for her.  She's been eating it up without much nudging from us.  Disclaimer...our furkids are NOT vegetarian/vegan neither is my hubby.  Anyhow...I hope this new special mixture of wet and dry food will be the trick for her.


Aside from 'furkids' it was a weekend of CLEANING in our house!  WOWZA!  I started on Tuesday of last week going thru my clothes and ended up trashing a bag and donating 3 large garbage bags full of clothes.  THEN...this weekend I was able to toss 2 more bags and donate 4 more bags of clothes to Goodwill, too!  I still have more to go thru but this is a great start!  We went thru the upstairs hallway, the bathroom, the bedroom, the down stairs living room, and front room, and Paco's Palace (as we call it) and cleaned, too! 

Another thing we chatted about this past weekend was possibly opening up a YouTube Channel or two.  We thought it would be a good thing to do this winter since we tend to be hermits when the snow flies...which brings me to my next tidbit...SNOW...blah...YEAH...we saw our first snow fall of the season...a dusting...thankfully it didn't last the whole day on Saturday. 

Mini Cleaning & Reorganizing (of the Kitchen)

Just thought I would share a mini cleaning project over the long weekend...

In the corner of my kitchen is this little section here.  For YEARS I had it filled with stacked Veg*n Cookbooks!  I decided to move them into the Dining Room area - that we don't really use as a dining room per say but as a spot where we do our 'bills' and have the dog food Rubbermaid tub as well as Paco's Pen area, where we keep our Vacuum Cleaner and Steam Cleaners, and a few other things.  I more specifically moved them to the closet area where we have some shelves inside.
It was so nice to see a few shelves free of clutter for once!  I then lined up all of my Protein Powders and mixes as well as the nuts I have on the bottom shelf and then put my boxed items on the other shelf.  Some of my husband's stuff is on that shelf, too, including his popcorn.  Once I open the other Freekeh and Veggie Noodles I will store them in Mason Jars.  I haven't found a Mason Jar the correct size to store Rice Noodle yet.  As you can see I have quite the collection started of my Garden of Life Products.  I wanted to see all of them and have better access to them.  Before doing this I had them in a cupboard and wasn't thrilled with the set-up.  Now I am!  Another little fun thing this past weekend was this signing and dancing Chihuahua that my mother found for us.  It's too cute!