I have had several adventures with trial and error over the last couple of weeks and learned a lot. I've learned that pearled barley is not a raw grain and it won't sprout. Pearled barley has had the hull removed and gone through steam processing. I soaked pearled barley with sunflower seeds planning to make a hearty  bread. I noticed after a couple of days of sprouting that the sunflower seeds were sprouting, but my little barley pearls weren't sprouting (although they had gotten very soft). I'll look for raw barley the at the health food store.

 

Rice was my next teacher. I really enjoy making rice milk. The first few time I made it it was really really grainy, so now I strain it between five and ten times. The finished product is very creamy and smooth. I usually soak my rice overnight and sprout it for one day in preparation for milk. This time I decided to sprout it longer. Perhaps increase the nutrition and make the grains a bit softer. After three days they had nice long tails so I decided to make milk.

 

It looked so good, but it tasted BAD! Usually I love the sweet nutty aroma of rice milk being made. The fragrance had changed from a nutty smell to a distinct vegetable scent, which makes sense because they were now little plants. So I'm sprouting more today and I'll let it sprout for one day this time!

 

A couple of days ago we bought small dish drainer to make sprouting a bit more convenient. It's working. Here's a pic.

 

Wishing you an amazing and joyful day,

Asante

aka Luvli Lotus

 

I am feeling absolutely amazing today. I've been really inspired by the lives of Teresa Jordan and Shazzy and their work with juice fasting, so I'm preparing for several days of green juice fasting. Oooh i already feel enveloped in a high joyful vibration.

 

While searching for independent artists to feature in Divine Revolution Magazine I stumbles across Yolanda Johnson. She is amazing. This is the song I'm rockin today:

 

In case you can't see it, here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JzNpGC1gKw

 

I'm preparing for another issue of Divine Revolution Magazine. It's going to be great! I always worry that is may not turn out and as I begin to work on it I realize it's going to be phenomenal.

All the best to you,

Luvli Lotus

It's been a good long weekend. I had my second speaking engagement on Saturday. It went well and gave me an opportunity to see things that I'd love to improve in my public speaking. I am considering joining Toastmasters. I think that will be great opportunity to gain feedback on my strengths and things I can improve. I was reminded of Toastmasters by Tonya Zavasta. I've just finished reading her book 'Your Right to be Beautiful', and in the end she mentions being a member of Toastmasters. Sounds like a great idea. I'm taking a little break on speaking engagements until February.

 

My husband just had his 32nd birthday. It's his first birthday since we've been married. Little Lotus and I found a wonderful book about old fashioned movie monsters for him. He's a huge horror movie lover. We had a lot of fun shopping for his gift. He's really a wonderful man, which makes me feel great about my own personal growth. I know that the folks around us are reflections of our inner lives and I feel like I've come a long way emotionally to have co created such a wonderful relationship.

 

Little Lotus is learning to sleep in her own bed now. She's four and she has slept with me from her first day of life. Last night it took 4 hours to put her to bed. Tonight we're making magic monster spray to help her have courage in her own room. She's also learning to clean her own room, which has been a wonderful way to keep her occupied. Yes, she's growing! It's great for both of us to gain confidence in her abilities. When she does something that she didn't think she could do she looks so proud.

 

Have the most amazing and wonderful day!

Luvli Lotus

 

So much balancing in parenting, living, loving, working. I love it all and I am still learning how to be present with it all.

 

Yesterday, Little Lotus and I made a compost bin for our balcony. We're so excited! We have so many veggie scraps and several indoor veggie plants to feed.

Here are the steps we followed.

 

SOME OF OUR MATERIALS

 

WE DRILLED HOLES IN THE BOTTOM AND SIDES FOR VENTILATION & DRAINAGE.

 

THEN WE ADDED A LAYER OF DAMP NEWSPAPER,

 

AND A LAYER OF POTTING SOIL.

 

NEXT WE ADDED OUR FOOD SCRAPS,

 

AND OUR RED WIGGLER WORMS (WE'RE BEGINNING WITH 100 WORMS).

 

WE TOPPED OUR BIN OFF WITH ANOTHER LAYER OF SHREDDED DAMP NEWSPAPER.

 

WE PLACED OUR BIN ON SMALL BLOCKS INSIDE OF ANOTHER BIN TO ALLOW DRAINAGE, THEN WE PLACED THE LID ON LOOSELY

 

Today I noticed quite a few fruit flies around in our bin so we're going on a walk to collect autumn leaves for our bin.

 

Little Lotus is watching Miss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends on TV. I really like this show, because it's about a big family who live in a cozy tree house... beautiful. The message of this episode is slowing down to see all of the beauty around us... I hear that loud and clear!

 

Luvli Lotus

 

I did it! 1-2 Green Smoothies a day for a week. It was truly phenomenal. One days 4 and 5 I blended my fruit with celery. I did not like this as much as blending fruit with leafy greens. In the future I'll juice my celery instead of blending it. On days when I excercised and had my green smoothie I felt an increase in the positive effects of the daily green smoothies. I think I'll do another week!

 

Saturday we went to the grand opening of a raw restaurant and academy called 105 Degrees in Oklahoma City www.105degreesacademy.com. Raw food Author and chef Matthew Kenney is a partner is this venture. It was really nice to meet Mathew Kenney and see such a great intentioned business. We really enjoyed their smoothies and desserts.

 

LIFE IS WONDERFUL!

Luvli Lotus

Publisher/Editor DivineRevolution Magazine

 

This is Day 3 of my Green Smoothie Challenge. Since Monday I have challenged myself to drink 1-2 green smoothies a day in addition to my usual 90% raw lifestyle. The inspiration for this was Vicotria Boutenko's video Greens Can Save Your Life. I 'd like to build up to drinking 2 bunches of greens each day, which depending on the bunch of greens, is about 3-4 green smoothies per day. I haven't followed any recipes so far, just mixed whatever greens are available (already in my fridge or at the healthfood store or farmer's market) with fruit and water. So far I have experienced these benefits:

 

-Increased sense of wellbeing and peace of mind

-No desire for caffeine

-Decreased desire for cooked food

-Very easy release of waste from my body

-Clearer complexion

-Smoother skin on my body

-Consistent energy throughout the day

 

I am not fasting with green smoothies, but I must admit that there isn't much room left in my tum for any other food. This is so wonderful, I will probably continue this habit even after this weeks challenge is over. To learn more about green smoothies visit Victoria Boutenko's website http://greenforlife.com/

 

Today Little Lotus and I visited the farmer's Market to buy lots of friut for green smoothies and to snack on. WE LOVE FARMER'S MARKETS'. We went there with the last of this weeks grocery budet ($16) and left with all of this

 

 

 

Luvli Lotus

Publisher/Editor Divine Revolution Magazine

 

 

 

Wow!, I am in love with green smoothies. My Green Smoothie Challenge began yesterday. I am challenging myself to drink 1-2 green smoothies a day for a week. I am not fasting, only adding green smoothies to my 90% raw food lifestyle. After only 1 1/2 days I feel a huge lightness of spirit and body and increased mental clarity. I have been watching Victoria Boutenko's video Greens Can Save Your Life which I have learned so much from. Serveral points that were really helpful to me have been:

 

-Greens contain unsoluable fiber which acts as a sponge for toxins as it goes through the body.

-Unsoluable fiber has the ability to soak up 16 times its weight. Victoria Boutenko calls them "magic sponges".

-All green leaves contain tiny amounts of poisons that are good for us in small amounts, but harmful if they add up in our bodies. So, it's important to use a variety of greens in our green smoothies. For example: today I will blend kale with fruit and tomorrow I may blend dandelion greens.

 

Recently I published my first Squidoo lense. It is a picture tutorial called 5 Simple Steps to Raw Organic Pecan Milk.
You can read it by clicking here http://www.squidoo.com/pecanmilk

 

 

Pecans make a delicious nut milk. My husband calls it "pecan pie in a glass"

Here's to our greatness

Luvli Lotus

 

I've begun my Green Smoothie Challenge with some things I had in the fridge. This morning I'm drinking red chard, banana, and orange. It tastes really wonderful. I didn't want to add agave nectar like I usually do, so I threw in a few extra bananas. It is very sweet and yummy. My goal is to drink 2 bunches of greens each day. So I'm off to the gym after I drink my smoothie. I love to wear flip flops to work our in... they're so comfy.

 

Last night I had a headache which means I need more water. I have been menstruating for the last two days. Since incorporating more and more raw food into my lifestyle my menstruation time has decreased from 5 days to three days of light flow! I love it. I still get headaches during my moon time though. I love my moon time and I want to find more ways to celebrate it. There is an amazing woman named Gina Cloud http://www.redefiningwoman.com/ who facilitates workshops and events that help woman reclaim the honor of being a woman. I love it! That is a subject I want to research more. I love reading books like When God Was Woman by Merlin Stone or Succulent Wild Woman by SARK. What an amazing contribution our spiritual evolution.

Blissfully

Luvli Lotus

 

Today has been wonderful! At one point Little Lotus told me, "Mama, something new and exciting happens to me every day"! I felt so successful as a mother at that point.

 

Tomorrow morning I am beginning a one week Green Smoothie Challenge. This evening I had a huge Green Smoothie with kale and banana to give me a head start. I was watcing the video Greens Can Save Your Life by Victoria Boutenko, and she really inspired me. One point that really made sense is to switch up the kind of greens we use in our smoothies because all leaves contain tiny amounts of poison to keep us from over eating them. Another really helpful tip from Sergei Boutenko is to keep it simple. I love that, simple is always the best way to go!

 

Love and Joy

Luvli Lotus