The Summer of Shayla, Take 2

My raw food journey started thus:

I can't help but think of George Costanza on Seinfeld, and his "Summer of George" every time I think of last summer, which was what I called the "Summer of Shayla." Yep, I'm pretty clever.

I was nearly 100% raw all summer, lost not only 60lbs, but all my fibromyalgia symptoms as well. I felt so alive for the first time in...ever, or as long as I can remember. I didn't realize how terrible I'd felt for years, until I experienced true wellness that summer.

However, seasons changed and I reverted back to my usual whole-foods vegan lifestyle. My migraines returned, my fibro symptoms returned, I went back to waking up stiff and sore like my bed was beating me up while I slept. I felt myself becoming ill again and I felt powerless to stop it.

I'm not sure what changed, what kept me from staying on the Enlightened Path of Raw Wellness. Oh, there are "reasons" like produce tastes crappy in the winter when it's out of season (it's also more expensive), and once I lost the weight I kind of lost focus on wellness (I looked good in my jeans, I must be well!).

And those are some pretty good excuses, if I do say so myself, but really I suspect the answer is somewhere inside me where I can't quite reach it. It's probably buried under a bunch of junk I've been carrying around with me for years and years.

So a couple of months ago I decided that it was high time to start cleaning out the attic, so to speak. Time to start taking care of myself a bit more, physically and emotionally, so that I'll be better able to take care of my family.

Which brings me to specifics: I have 3 magical nature kids who are my inspiration in everything. I am a SAHM and I homeschool my kiddos. I try to keep things as natural as possible, i.e. I breastfeed, cosleep, cloth diaper, homebirth, etc. I love educating myself on natural health (I'm doing correspondance courses towards becoming a Master Herbalist/ND), I love photography, and reading (OH, do I love reading!).

Oh, and I love to cook, which might just be my biggest challenge of all during the reawakening of my raw journey, come to think of it! It's so fun to turn people on to the healthy whole-foodsy vegan versions of their favorite foods, in fact, in some circles (i.e. my family) I'm kinda known for it.

I'm sure you all know where this is going...see the links on the sidebar if you want a preview. More on this soon!