Tuesday, July 31, 2012

DIY Tutu Time!

Hello, my name's Kati; I'm 16 years old and I spent the afternoon making myself a tutu.

Have you ever found yourself craving some tutu action, but are too poor or unwilling to buy yourself a professionally made tutu?

Do you have an old bolt of tulle just laying around, and you don't know what to do with it?!

Then this post is for you!

I made this tutu out of some elastic I found in mom's sewing desk, a few inches of thread, and a bolt of tulle from a thrift store.

This garment shall be used in an upcoming video - shall be tons of fun; stay tuned! :D

But anyhow - now I shall share with you the secrets of making a fabulous tut all by yourself!

First. I found a piece of elastic and cut it so it would fit around my waist, like so:


Then, I took my tulle and cut it into pieces; I assume any size will do, but for the size & fluffiness of mine, I made squares about 2.5' long by 1.5' wide.
Gather the tulle in the middle and fold it over on itself, and tie it around the elastic using a larks head knot. I tried to take a picture of this step, but it really didnt work. So I found a picture of the knot on the internet:

Did that all the way around the skirt (32 knots for me, may be more or less depending upon your size). Aaaand here is the finished product: (:

Sunday, July 29, 2012

On My Mind//9

Ever eaten a big piece of fruit in the sunshine? Pretty much the best thing ever.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

On My Mind//8

Home alone.

Herb, music, writing, and yoga.

Perfect night. ❤


Better Than Everyone Else?

My dad sometimes alludes to the idea that I put myself on a pedestal, or that I think I am better than others because I am a vegan, and I know that this is not uncommon when thinking of vegans.

Umm, hello? I love Daddy, but honestly that is a really stupid argument. When I tell you that you should cut out dairy because it causes things like osteoporosis, obesity, and cancer, it's not because I want to put you down and make you feel bad about drinking it. It's because I care enough about you to want to help you do better. When I comment on the way eating steak contributes to starvation in Africa, it is a desperate attempt to make you understand how drastically your choices are effecting others, and to help you improve those choices. It is not me trying to make you feel bad about what you are eating. When I tell you that the chicken that laid those eggs you had for breakfast lived out her life in a tiny cage where she couldn't so much as flap her wings, I'm not trying to make myself feel better because I don't support that. I'm trying to make you understand, so you won't support it either.

I went vegan because I decided that me and my taste buds are not more important than a suffering animal, or a starving child. I did my homework and decided that rather than blaming big companies and people around me for my obesity and health problems, I was going to take responsibility for my own life and my own health.

The way I see it, if you see me pointing these things out to you as me "putting myself on a pedestal", then somewhere in your mind, you are putting my actions on that pedestal. When I tell you about how animal farming contributes to 18% of greenhouse gasses, you are, probably subconsciously, deciding that it would be better not to contribute to that - and therefore placing me (who does not support animal farming) above you (who does) in your head. Naturally, there are only two ways to combat this.

Your first option is to raise yourself to the same level as me in your mind, and go vegan.

The second is to resent me and tell yourself things like "vegans are snotty and self -absorbed," "vegans think they are better than everyone else," and "vegans are stupid and they are going to die from lack of protein." The idea is to pull me back down a few notches, so we are at the same level again in your mind.

So next time you are hating on vegans, think about that. Are you bettering yourself, or just bringing others down to make yourself feel better?

Edit: Decided to make a video based on this post, if you'd rather watch than read:

Monday, July 23, 2012

Karma Always Wins.

Literally or hypothetically, I believe in karma. I know some people don't; I could go into a flurry of reasons explaining why I do (and, come to think of it, I might in a later post), but today I want to focus on karma and the food we eat. It all makes so much sense.

First, we all know somebody who eats a standard American diet. This person is eating animals that were imprisoned and miserable their whole lives, and then finally tortured (burned to death in boiling water, necks slit while they're still alive and conscious...read the book Slaughterhouse by Gail A. Eisnitz) as their lives were ended. This person is almost inevitably going to be obese at some point in their life. They have endless health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, high blood pressure, fatigue... the list goes on. Score one for karma.

Now lets take a look at a vegetarian. Generally, this person eats no meat products - although some eat fish and chicken. They also still eat eggs and milk. A vegetarian's risk of obesity and/or most chronic diseases is generally significantly lower, but problems are obviously not rare. In addition, vegetarians still have problems with everyday illnesses like flus and colds.

Next, I shall speak of vegans and raw vegans. I'd say they're both about the same, ethically - so I am grouping them together. Vegans eat no animal products. This means that they are not contributing to the slavery and cruelty that is the egg and dairy industry. Unsurprisingly, their health tends to correlate with their compassion. Vegans generally do not experience problems like anger issues or depression as these are often caused by hormones in animal products. Their chance of heart disease is a whopping 46% lower than that of a meat eater, and a vegan is far less likely to become obese in their lifetime. In addition, they don't have the weight of 600+ lives weighing down on their shoulders. That's big.

Believe it or not, it can get even better. A true fruitarian takes no lives. Plants or animals. It is the epitome of a compassionate diet. What is fruitarianism like? There's so much to tell. So much energy. I sleep well at night. I'm almost never sick. No BO. Amazing capacity to feel and cope with emotions. Good mood. Constant, simple appreciation for everything. Excellent hydration, normally without drinking water. Clean, smooth, comfortable digestion.... I'm serious, I could go on for days, but you're not going to understand the real, simple, natural beauty that the diet really is until you've experienced it. And I want so badly to be able to share the experience with the world. Maybe that will never happen... But I can at least share it with you, and in turn, maybe you will inspire somebody close to you to share it with you...

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Starting A Fruitarian Diet

[updated!]

Thinking maybe you'd like to try out fruitarianism? I highly recommend it. It'll be so good for you - your health, your weight, your self esteem, your karma.... Just everything.

However, it's not super easy when you're starting out. Especially for those who are used to a SAD. So, since success is the goal, I wanna offer some tips and tidbits for any beginners out there - as well as my congratulations and wish that it all goes really well for you and you realize how amazing the diet is!

1) Transition period! Though it's absolutely possible to switch straight from SAD to fruitarian, it is going to be significantly harder. Switching to vegan, raw vegan, or frugan are all transitional options that will make it easier to switch over into 100% fruitarianism. Veganism is, of course, when one eats only food products produced by plants. Raw veganism is the same, only followers of this diet do not cook their food. This would be one step closer to fruitariansim than cooked veganism, but the follower will still eat nuts and heavier veggies and things - which the body is used to from the SAD. Fruganism is another option, where the diet consists of only fruit, but fruit can be eaten cooked or raw, whatever.
Personally, I arrived at fruitarianism over several years (my story is available here if you're curious or interested). At first, I was vegan, a year later I switched to raw veganism, and a year later, here I am - fruitarian. Obviously a year isn't necessary in between everything, it was just a natural progression for me.
Though I arrived here by following the veganism path, looking back I must say now I think I actually would recommend fruganism as a transitional diet over vegan or raw veganism, though they are all good options, each healthier than the last.

2) Always have plenty of raw, fresh fruit around! If you get hungry, you will be tempted to indulge in other, less healthy options! Also, always make sure you're eating enough raw, fresh fruit! That means eating until you are full! I know that there are people who start a diet like this with the goal of losing weight. Don't worry, you will lose weight, I promise! Eat as much fruit as you like - check out this young lady who lost significant amounts of weight on about 3,000cals of fruit a day!
Think of it this way. If you eat plenty of fruit, you are eating what your body wants, it is naturally able to deal with it, and for whatever reason our bodies naturally return to their optimal shape and weight on pure fruit. However, if we try to interfere with this process by cutting calories, ect, our body starts to think it's starving. Which leads to binging. And the body, trying to protect us, puts on as much extra fat as it can, to protect us for the next time this happens.
So, moral of the story is - learn to appreciate what your body is trying to do for you, and then stop fighting it. Just show your body that it no longer needs to worry about not getting enough nutrients, so instead of trying to store them - it can focus on making you the healthiest, happiest, most attractive person you can be.

3) Detox. This is just something to be aware of. In the years that you have spent on SAD, your body has built up toxins. Probably grossly large amounts of toxins, that it was unable to ever clear out entirely, becasue more and more kept being piled on top of old ones... and it just turned into a huge mess. Now that you are starting out eating just fresh, cleansing, easy-to-digest fruit, your body can finally get rid of all the toxins that have been weighing you down and slowly killing you and making you miserable for years. These toxins will be being pulled from your fat stores and things, and into your bloodstream to be discarded as waste.
Since all these toxins are going to be interracting with your body, you are definately going to feel it. Headaches, sickeness... I dunno, it wasn't that bad for me 'cause I've been working my way here ever so slowly since I was 12. But chances are, you will feel it. And you'll be miserable. I'm really not trying to scare you away; that's the last thing I want to do; I just want you to understand that what is causing the discomfort is not this new diet, but your old one, all the problems that have built up because of it. It's hard work, getting rid of that shiit. Don't be too quick to blame it on the one thing that can make you better.
Depending upon your level of toxicity, this detox could really last from a week to to half a year - with incredibly varied degrees of discomfort. Just know that when you pull through and you're on the other side - no matter how much detox sucks, I swear on anything that it will really, absolutely be worth it.

4) You will probably be hungry. Super, super, insatiably hungry at first. For the first week or two, maybe a month. Your body is used to having heavy foods. A 'lump' in your stomach. Fresh fruit, with it's high water content will not do this. Again, don't hold back. Eat and eat and eat, as much fruit as you want - until you feel like you don't need more food. The feeling will go away eventually, your body gets used to the fruits. Eating this way becomes the only way. That lump becomes an evil, weird, foreign thing. I promise. And that's the way it's s'posed to be.

5) Have as much variety in your fruit as you can get. You don't want to get bored.There is a lot you can do with fruits, by way of mixing them; especially veggie fruits. (I have a link to some of my favorite recipes in the upper right corner), and there are just an abundance of different and exciting options when if comes to fruit out there. But it really sucks, and can be really hard - again, especially at frist - when you don't have a lot of options, or all you have to pick from is an apple and an orange, while there are SO many different cooked food options you could be choosing from.

6) When I first went fruitarian, I was definitely eating too many avocados and olive oil. Having so much fat in my diet made me feel pretty fatigued, sluggish, and foggy. If a high-fat diet is sustained, it can lead to some real, serious problems down the road - even if you're getting the fat from "good" sources. Stay away from oils entirely. It's okay to have an avocado everyone in a while, but don't make a habit of it. Definitely focus on sweet, juicy fruits.

7) Make sure you're staying hydrated. You may or may not still have to drink water on this diet (depending upon what kinds of fruits you are eating and climate). In my opinion, the best way to judge this is to make sure your pee is clear every time you go to the bathroom. If it is at all yellow-tinted, you need to drink some water right away, you are getting dehydrated.

That's all I've got for now, I will add more if I think of anything - but for now, good luck, I really truly wish you the best! You're gonna love it!

Vegetables?

I had the most delicious peach this afternoon. It was delicate, sweet, juicy, flavorful... Just another little reminder that fruit is so perfect for us.

If it smells good, feels good, looks good, and tastes good in its natural, raw state - then it is probably the ideal food for us. Simple concept, right? That's why I love it. ☺

Fruit fulfills all of this criteria.

Certainly, meats, dairy, eggs, legumes, and grains do not.

Neither do vegetables, in my experience.

SHOULD we be eating greens? Its still a question that I toy with in my head, and I have been very back-and-forth on the topic for the past few months.

For now, I have come to a conclusion: eat only fruit until I find myself attracted to or wanting to eat these greens in their raw, natural state. Until this happens...I cannot believe that we should be eating them.

Peace, sunshine (actually if you're in the US, I s'pose we'd be better off wishing for rain...) and loads of fruit to all.


Monday, July 16, 2012

This Can Be Yours.

5 Steps To Fantastic Health!


The five most important things (in our opinions) for the health that you want to achieve!

Read the writing on the wall: Have fun with your exercise. Don't make it boring and repetitive - be creative, make it a part of your day that you look forward to! Here are just a few ideas.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Sleep Is Not Coming

It's dark.
Sleep is not coming tonight so I lay here in thought instead.
What is life if not to be happy?
Carly makes me happy.
Sometimes frustrated.
Sometimes tears.
Why?
Do I want this?
Can I balance my spiritual life?
The two cannot coexist.
I know, but not why.
Can I feel fulfilled following either?
Rebirth must exist.
Rebirth is the only way to feel peace.
Drift to sleep, almost.
Hands. I cannot think of anything but my hands.
They feel weightless.
They feel tingly and weak and immobile and useless.
What is this.
I hate this feeling.
Jolt awake suddenly.
Shake hands, feeling is gone - kind of.
Must sleep again.
Hands.
No!
Again.
Feel trapped, imprisoned.
"This too shall pass..."
Moment of panic.
I know what to do.
Hurry to bathroom.
Light is surprising.
Cold water - splash face, cover body.
Floor is wet, doesn't matter.
Look up.
Reality is different, it seems altered.
Drugs?
This is a dream.
This cannot be a dream.
What is going on?
Chills.
Hurry back to bed, cover with sheet.
Now I will sleep.
No.
Facebook.
Eyes scream for sleep. I will try.
Heat. No escape. Breathing constricted, sweat. The world presses in on me.
I'm crazy.
Turn on light.
Sleep is not coming tonight so I will write instead.