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My mom snapped this picture on her phone of Jon & I before we left for this Grandmothers 80th birthday party.
It makes me very happy, I love him so :)

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have a wonderful weekend every one!
<3

direction

Over the past couple of days I have been doing a lot of reflecting & looking inward to gain more insight & a better understanding about myself. I've been listening to myself more, something that I easily forget to do if I don't remind myself, but is really so important. One of the realizations I've come to is a direction I want to take this blog in. So far it has been mostly just pictures of my life. I love to take pictures & that aspect will not be lost, but I am going to begin to focus more on the lifestyle I lead in more depth. One of those categories will be nutrition, a great passion of mine & something I am currently studying, & the following is some more "insight" into just that...

I have recently decided that I am am going to define my diet as Flexitarian, which is a new term I have just learned about through the nutrition school I am attending (Integrative Institute of Nutrition...I'm going to do a post soon that elaborates upon the program, I love it!). The main idea behind the Flexitarian diet is that you eat a primarily vegetarian/vegan diet, but you allow your self to be flexible on occasion & eat items like meat, dairy, & other items you usually avoid. I like this model because there is less pressure, you can have something if you are having a craving or out for a special occasion with out feeling guilty. Plus, I don't think I could live with never having cheese again & a few times a year, especially in the summer, I really crave burgers. Of course, when I do diverge from my normal eating habits I will still choose organic, local & GMO (genetically modified organism) free food which a lifestyle decision I made two years ago since learning about our food system from the Environmental Studies & Sustainable Agriculture courses I took in college. 

Here are a few helpful & informative images I've found that relate to the diet I follow.

You can find some more stuff  I've gathered about healthy living here for now, but 

I will be elaborating about more stuff on the blog soon.

If you don't know what GMO's are....

until you have it all you won't be free

It's a mystery to meWe have a greed with which we have agreedYou think you have to want more than you needUntil you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breedI hope you're not lonely without me

When you want more than you haveYou think you needAnd when you think more than you wantYour thoughts begin to bleed

I think I need to find a bigger place'Cause when you have more than you thinkYou need more space

Society, you're a crazy breedI hope you're not lonely without meSociety, crazy and deepI hope you're not lonely without me

There's those thinking more or less, less is moreBut if less is more how you're keeping score?Means for every point you make your level dropsKinda like it's starting from the top, you can't do that

Society, you're a crazy breedI hope you're not lonely without meSociety, crazy and deepI hope you're not lonely without me

Society, have mercy on meI hope you're not angry if I disagreeSociety, crazy and deepI hope you're not lonely without me
Eddie Vedder, Society 

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“make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” 

- Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild 

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I watched Into the Wild last night (It's one of the newly added films on netflix)

It's been a couple years sine I've watched the movie & even though I've seen it a handful of times to me it is one of those stories that every time I watch it I take something new away from it. Depending, on where I have been in my life & the state of my mind I've been in the journey of Alexander has either stirred something up, brought something to light, or showed me a completely different way of viewing something. Additionally, the soundtrack to the film by Eddie Vedder is equally as inspiring. Above you can see on of my favorite songs & one of my favorite quotes from the film. The most stirring take away from watching it this time was the title of this post: "until you have it all you won't be free". I am definitely going to remember this as I go through each day because it has hard to live in such a consumer driven society & not get sucked in. Only to discover later that all you have consumed never seems to be enough & all you have makes you more cautious  through life. Go explore, be in nature, be free.

If you have not yet see the film or read the book, I strongly recommend it.

*Also I'd love to hear of any books or movies that have a similar affect on you.

growth, thunderstorms, & the beauty of spring

so in love with flowers covered with droplets of rain after a storm

& there have been a lot of thunderstorms & rain lately, which I don't mind because the plants love it & i find that it gives me time to catch up on things...plus the weather before a thunderstorm is on of my favorites :)

one of my garden beds

(i used clover as a cover crop for the whole bed this year to retain moisture & aid the soil) 

green bean

kale 

zucchini 

potatoes 

clematis

I love this vine & it looks pretty on the lamp post

arugula

which I have been eating now for the past week it's so nice being able to step outside whenever i want & pick leaves to snack on or add to a meal 

nasturtium

parsley

cilantro

basil

sugar snap peas

mr. gnome who watches over the garden :)

(I painted him at a pottery studio a few years ago)

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p.s. if anyone else has a garden I would love to here any tips you have

or

if you have any questions for me I would be happy to answer

have a nice weekend everyone

<3



adventures with meka in may

love this!

so in love with this pup & hiking

we go 3-4 times a week now that it is consistently nice out & i really cherish this time 

not only am i getting exercise, but it also a time to reflect, everything slows down & i feel so at peace in nature