MOTHERCAKER!!!

For much of my life, "food" has been a four-letter word. Without going into details (that isn't the point here) I will say that I went from being a teenager who never even really thought about food, other than "I'm hungry, is this reasonably healthy (and vegetarian)?" to a kind of obsessed maniac of a young adult. And while this blog isn't about food, eating, and weight, (it's supposed to be about fun and shopping and yoga and pilates and more...) it is a huge part of my life, and one of the reasons I felt the need to abandon my latest blogger blog and start a new blog. (And I hate the word "blog," so that sentence annoys the hell out of me.)
I don't want to criticize anyone, so I will try to tread lightly here. Years ago (2002 I believe) I made my first foray into the world of raw foods. This is before Demi Moore and Robert Redford and who-knows-who-else professed to the public the wonders of their raw vegan diets. This is before raw food bars, raw food snacks, raw food recipe books by the hundreds. This is when I spent three months of my life being fruitarian--I ate whole, raw pieces of fruit and not much else. And I felt great. (Please no comments on the protein, the fat, etc. I know what I know, and everyone can choose to believe what they believe.) Anyway, I only stopped because I started my First Real Job with Real Benefits, and damn it, I was going to fit in.
Huh. Lot of good that did me.
I started having health problems. A lot of them. While I do believe that most health problems today are caused or at least aggravated by our diets and the ridiculous amounts of chemicals we use, I know that the change in my diet was not the sole reason for my deteriorating health. However, when I got sick of being sick all the time last year, I went back to raw foods. And the effects were amazing. I was thriving as a fruitarian. I started a blog dedicated to my smoothies, my improving health, my love of fruit. And then I abandoned it. And then, weeks ago, I lost interest in my diet and went back to a few grains, a baked potato here and there. No big deal, right? Well...it is. I feel like crap. And I want to go back.
See, the reason I decided to even start eating other foods again is a stupid one. Some days, I spend a lot of time on the internet. Even when I tell myself to stay away from a website, I find myself checking it. In this case, a very big, very popular, "raw food community." See, I find these people who identify themselves by their diet and nothing else, ridiculous. I may say I am vegan, but I am also a yoga and pilates fanatic and future teacher, a shopaholic, a singer, a daughter, a wife, a writer, and a lot more. But I digress. See, these message boards started out as a place for people to share positive things...and turned into a fight over which raw diet was best, which "raw guru" was best (seriously, when it starts to sound religious, um...I'm outta there), and who had the best XXXX. And then there were the people who said things like "When the world ends only the raw foodists will be saved" "We have a higher consciousness" and "Don't eat this and this and this and this and this" (until only air was left!)...and you know, I realized that I absolutely DID NOT want to be a part of this world. AT ALL.
Today has already not been a "raw day" but I look forward to trying again. See, I know that I may choose to eat vegan, raw, juice only, or even dirt (not really dirt, I just love the word) and do it for my own reasons (health, body) and I DON'T HAVE TO BE LIKE ANYONE ELSE! I don't have to be part of a community that spends a lot of time arguing, I don't have to listen to anyone's ebook about how I should not eat pineapple or not eat after 1pm, and I don't have to endure listening to people who make me feel like the world will end and I will burn up into a ball of blue flame just because I ate raw cashews, which really aren't raw!!! I am going back to what I did last year at this time, which is listen to myself and my body and NOT the others. They don't know me, so why am I listening to them? So let the Vitamixing begin...and in the meantime, I erased the links and the google sidebar that constantly updated the posts on said website. Hey, it's a great thing, for some, but as for me, I am not going to visit it for at least a long time.

Which brings me to one of the real reasons for this blog...SHOPPING!!!

I promise that I will post things that are funny, interesting, and/or shopping and fashion-related as the bulk of this blog.
But I had to explain why I abandoned my latest blog, and why I am starting a new one, and where I am coming from.

If you made it this far, thanks. If you skimmed and are reading this now, well...let's just say, new outlook, new blog, and keep reading...it WILL get fun, I promise!