8 March 2010

First, an update on my week of raw food. I managed to last six-and-a-half days before succumbing to some leftover pasta in the fridge and completely abandoning all thoughts of raw anything. While I didn’t make it the entire week, I was very proud of myself for a) lasting as long as I did and b) managing not to strangle anyone while struggling with caffeine withdrawal. And did that first cup of coffee on Monday morning ever taste good!

Going forward, I’m hoping to keep up a more-raw-than-not sort of eating pattern; I really felt energized by all the fruit and vegetables I ate (and I developed a real appreciation for trail mix which both Adam and Leah shared). I will need to figure out how to best incorporate more raw food into my diet (I like the idea of “raw till dinner” so that I can focus on smoothies and salads for breakfast and lunch but still participate in eating the normally-cooked family dinner).

As for the sugar cleanse, I am currently allowing myself a short hiatus while I’m on a family vacation of sorts and am very thankful to welcome vanilla soy lattes back into my life, at least briefly. I plan to be back at the cleanse later this week, though, with a renewed energy to get through the rest of the month.

• Raw Week Challenge , Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse
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26 February 2010

The good news is that I am on my fifth day without coffee and I am still standing. Well, sitting at the moment, but you know what I mean. In fact, all this raw food combined with a lack of sugar is making for a pretty energized me.

The bad news is that I am on my fifth day without coffee and I miss it so much and how am I supposed to make it till Monday without a steamy 20-ounce mug of caffeinated deliciousness? By Tuesday afternoon I was feeling headachey, cranky and desperate, but resisted the urge to brew a pot. I find it especially difficult to work without coffee, since it seems to go hand in hand with slaving away over Illustrator files (a holdover, I think, from when I worked at a design agency and could easily drink three pots a day). However, I refuse to give in and I will make it through the weekend.

I’m still drinking smoothies, since they last forever and keep me feeling fairly full. Of course, Adam and Leah also love the smoothies (Adam gets his own each morning and Leah usually shares a few sips) so they’re usually lurking around waiting for me to leave mine unattended. I do find it slightly ironic that I’m using a Starbucks cup for the smoothies, but it’s double-walled and prevents condensation from dripping down the sides of the cup.

I’ve been snacking on trail mix (raisins, raw walnuts, pistachios and sunflower seeds) in the afternoon when I would usually be downing an iced coffee and bagel. This snack, too, has proved popular with the kiddos, and Adam, who for the longest time hated walnuts, has decided they are healthy and yummy. Who knew?

Lunches and dinners have all been variations on a theme, the theme being avocado. Yesterday I made guacamole with diced tomatoes and it was delicious served with pepper strips for dipping. Or eaten directly off the spoon. Not that I would ever do that. Hee.

Tags: coffee, raw, sugar cleanse

• Raw Week Challenge , Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse
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22 February 2010

Most people know that I have quite the sweet tooth, which is often sated with less-than-healthy options, like cupcakes, brownies and vanilla soy lattes. So when Andria invited people to join her on a 30-day Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse, I happily jumped on the bandwagon. After all, I do like a good challenge, and surely I could go for a month without refined or added sugar. Right? It would just mean giving up my beloved lattes, iced coffee and baked goods and instead focus on fruits and black coffee.

Then Lindsay of Happy Herbivore welcomed people to join her in eating raw for a week and since I still like a good challenge, I figured I could last a week without cooked food. So I happily signed on, knowing that I could really stand to up my raw fruit and veg intake.

Last night it sunk in that coffee is not part of a raw diet. Yikes.

However, pressing on, this morning I woke up knowing that a delicious breakfast smoothie was waiting for me in the fridge (Todd made it for me before he left for work — that’s love).

Made with frozen blueberries, strawberries, mango and banana (along with some soy milk and OJ), this is our family’s favourite smoothie. At some point in the not-too-distant future, we will likely blow out the motor on our blender from all the smoothie blending. Then we’ll get a Vitamix (so I’m secretly willing the blender to give up).

Smoothies take me forever to drink — I finished mine just as I needed to start prepping lunch. Today I enjoyed Mango Avocado Salad, which Leah insisted on sharing with me. Even though I left out the cilantro, it was delicious; I will definitely make this again.

By mid-afternoon, I was feeling pretty desperate for coffee, but managed to make do with some trail mix (raw walnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds and raisins). Surprisingly, this kept me feeling full till about 7:30 p.m., at which point I ate an another avocado. Now, I’m really full and can’t even contemplate snacking this evening.

Day 1 was a success and I’m looking forward to tomorrow!

Tags: raw, sugar cleanse, vegan

• Raw Week Challenge , Super Sexy Sugar Cleanse
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19 February 2010

As of today, Leah is legally our daughter!

Unlike international adoptions from other countries, those from South Korea are finalized here in Ontario, meaning that until now, our adoption agency’s lawyer was Leah’s guardian. In this case, just like with a domestic adoption, once Leah was placed with us we then had six months of progress reports filed before our social worker could recommend that the adoption proceed. The final report was filed in November and then a bunch of paperwork had to be completed and notarized before the adoption could be finalized.

Rather than have the final documentation mailed to us, we opted to have Leah’s adoption finalized in person (mostly for the photo op than anything else), so this morning we headed out to family court where Justice Sherr signed the documents that make us Leah’s family in a legal way. She stole our hearts long ago but now we have the paperwork to go with it.

When Adam’s adoption was finalized, the court stuff took place in the justice’s chambers, but this time we were in an actual court room and had to do the whole “all rise” thing when Justice Sherr entered. Very much more formal but equally emotional for both Todd and me. Adam and Leah really  seemed to get the importance of it all; both were completely riveted during the process.

So Leah is now officially a Roy and we couldn’t be happier. Even Adam was excited, which is saying a lot for a kid who tried to figure out how much money he needed to save up from his allowance to buy Leah a plane ticket back to Seoul.

Next stop: Canadian citizenship!

Tags: adoption finalization, adoption process, leah

• adoption , life
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17 February 2010

While the rest of Ontario celebrated Family Day on Monday, our celebration was today, the anniversary of the day Adam joined our family. I love getting to post this picture every year: our first family photo with Adam.

Happy Family Day!

Four years ago, Todd and I were sitting in our room at the SWS Guest House in Seoul, looking at Adam and wondering just when it would hit us that we were real, honest-to-goodness parents. I think it finally sunk in when we realized Adam’s diaper needed to be changed and we were going to have to figure out how to wrestle this squirmy bundle of energy out of his clothes with nobody to help us. Sadly, Dr. Sears did not seem to adequately cover diaper changing in the 700-page tome I’d packed in our carry-on luggage, though the section on burping a baby was very helpful.

Adam requested brownies for his special Family Day Dessert, so I made Scrum-Diddly-Umptious Vegan Brownies, which are quick and easy to make (perfect for weeknight baking).

My little chocolate monster declared them “awesome,” which is his current favourite descriptive word. He’s pretty awesome, too, if I do say so myself. I consider myself so very privileged to experience the joy that is parenting Adam. And the fact that he’s a fellow chocolate lover doesn’t hurt.

Tags: adam, family day

• adoption , life
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