It's the little things...

I think it is so true that when something is rare, or rarely happens, it is more cherished and sought after.  That is exactly how I feel about this whole food thing I'm going through.  If I get nothing else out of this journey, at least I know that I made a small difference in the way I feel about the things that come so easily to me.  It's about the small things.  

Only weeks ago, when I ate anything and everything I wanted, it was just that, eating.  Now that I have been away from that state for two weeks, I feel like I appreciate the things I have had so much more.  Now the simple thought of coffee in the morning has so much more joy in it.  I have allowed myself coffee the last couple of days because I feel like I've learned from this. And I've earned it.  But it isn't the same cup of coffee I had before.  It's much more.  

Not that I didn't appreciate things before.  I did.  I didn't come from a family with money and I certainly don't have money now.  It was never a priority for me.  I have more than I could ever want, but I appreciate what I have and that makes all the difference.  So to be able to coerce myself to eat twigs and bland berries for a few weeks, eventually a year, I have an ever greater appreciation for the things I have in great abundance around me.

When I drink coffee now, I need less because I am so much more satisfied with it.  I find that I don't just drink it down as a way of staying awake or waking up, I'm actually enjoying it much more.  Instead of saying, "Jeez, I need coffee", I'm saying, "yay, I get to have coffee!" 

 It's only temporary though, to have a little coffee.  Just as a reward.  I think the thought that I can cheat once in awhile really helps me to keep going.  Dealing with the psychological let-down that I can never have certain things for a year is quite depressing. 

I think if we could do that with more things in our lives, be more satisfied with the little things, we would be much happier people.  Instead of having to have the kitchen gutted and redone every 5 years to make our fickle selves happy, wouldn't it be great if a pretty utensil holder would make us just as happy.  50% of the stuff in landfills in the United States is building materials.

It's the little things.

Oh, and guess what...  I'm down a jean size!  

Day One of Eating Only What I Grow

Well, my last night of eating whatever I want is over.  Seems fitting that it was my favorite holiday, Halloween!  But I didn't really go crazy with food or anything.  I ate some candy of course.  It was Halloween, after all. And I drank a small can of Pepsi.  I don't drink soda very often, but it was my last night.  I had to try being bad.  I was carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds so I ate lots of those.  I didn't really even eat dinner.  I guess I was just excited for this adventure to start.

Mike is in the kitchen cooking something that I can't eat right now.  Oh, I think he's making tuna or something.  He must be finished though because Little (the cat) is watching me type.  

My morning so far has been uneventful.  I am drinking blackberry leaf and plantain tea instead of coffee.   No sugar.  No milk.  I really like it.  Blackberry leaf is most similar in flavor to black tea.  These are some of the leaves I dried during the summer.

I'm going to eat fresh stuff from the garden today.  I don't want to break in to my stored food until I have no other alternatives.  I have celery, parsley, turnip and beet greens, broccoli, onions and garlic in the garden still.  I also have oat, lentil and sunflower sprouts.  My breakfast this morning will be some of those things.  And what ever wild food is out there still.  

So here I go.  I'll update you tomorrow.  Have an enchanted day everyone!