Making Kombucha Home Brew

So, recently I had an excessively fermented kombucha scoby and a buildup of empty store bought kombucha bottles in the recycling bin.   This was my cue to get back into home brewing kombucha- it's the best anyways.

Here you see a close up of the overgrown scoby. 

Like everything, it starts with water:
Boil water.  Make tea.  Dissolve sugar into tea.  Allow to cool completely.  Pour into glass gallon jar.  Add scoby & mother liquid.  Top off with water to fill jar.

This is the original recipe I got from the local soul sister that gave me my original kombucha culture 2 years ago.

I used 3 green and 3 black tea bags. I used organic unbleached white sugar even though I've heard straight white sugar works the best because its so purified.  I should note that everything I used in the process I cleaned with white vinegar first.  Vinegar is awesome for cleaning!!!

The brew.  In three weeks I will have some magical living tea!  Yay!!!!  I'll keep you posted....

Closet Upgrade

So I couldn't bear to post a before picture. Too much exposure. Just trust me, it was chaos. Random mishmash of plastic hangers has been over for a while.  I upgraded to black no-slip hangers a year ago. But since summer, everything needed resetting.

I hung tops, dresses and trousers on the low bar and sweaters and coats on the high bar.

I hung a jewelry organizer on the open part of the back wall. An over-the-door hook set hangs purses and scarves I think I'll want to pull this season.  I have a gazillion shelves, compliments of The Closet Lover.  I folded pullovers and hoodies and put them on the chest level shelf. Naturally, I put pants on the two shelves below the sweaters.

On the inside of the other door (they're french style, opening out) I hang my steam pressing pad- I steam most of my clothes before wearing.

I put luggage and out of season items I don't want to part with on the way up high shelf. Also, grubby work clothes have their own shelf, up high but in reach. I got cheapo adhesive hooks at AceIsThePlace and hung hats in any remaining spaces.  Petitioning the landlord & The Closet Lover to build me a shoe rack.

 Getting dressed is so easy breezy now. 

Running Away With Myself

I am completely floored by this new running technique. It's a timeless concept, but the book by ultra marathoner Danny Dreyer has been around since 2004. There is a book, and audio guide, a DVD & a whole interwebby world ChiLiving.com that hosts a companion Chi Walking program & a bunch of wellness resources.

So you're familiar with the chi concept, right? Well, chi is our life force and the living force in all things. Immeasurable wavelengths of chi flow within and between and around and (insert preposition) ______________ all things. Hey, what's a preposition? Anywhere the chi can flow. Hahaha.

Chi is constantly in motion. Tensions obstruct or skew its powerful flow. The manifestation of that in the body is stress and inflammation. Those things are notorious demons to runners. All athletes really. Heck, All people really!

The Chi Running idea works the tai chi concept of energy connectivity and flow. Your whole body can move and flow fast and smooth by releasing tensions and connecting your chi with the chi of everything around you in a balanced and circuitous motion.

So running Chi Running style is just assuming a 1 legged pose & falling forward. Letting your instinct prevent your fall, you assume the same pose on the other side. Lower legs and small muscle groups are left relaxed & the big core muscle groups do the work so your joints don't get thrashed by static pavement pounding. The middle of your foot strikes the ground, protecting your ankles & knees. All of the jerky bouncing is replaced by smooth circular motions & you go way farther, faster, without fatigue.

Posture is super important. If you keep very centered and long you avoid being a wobbly wheel on the road- or as I like to say, "running all wonky". I pretend that the crown of my head is hanging from a cable & my spine & neck hang like a cord from my head. From this hangs my fountain of chi- the hip carriage. The cable, in my mind pivots from a central point in the solar plexus zone, between heart, navel & middle spine.

I got a lot of cool visualizations from the Chi Running audio guide (available as a CD or .mp3). The one about the turning of the internal wheel at that solar plexus pivot point strikes me as total genius. I picture a wheel powered by breath & heart that turns me down my path. If my wheel is aligned, it glides smoothly wherever I will it. The four corner connecting points for my limbs become cog-like extensions of that main wheel.

I picture my inner cougar, too. I empathize & imagine myself like the mountain lions that are naturally perfectly adapted to moving swiftly in this environment. I feel myself being supple and relaxed as well a s strong and intentional, just like a real cougar!

Chi Running & focus on running & form & the juju of it all totally renews my motivation to move! I feel like this is a precious gem of knowledge & I want to share it with you so we can all be out there enriching life by running with understanding & flow.

If you've ever been vaguely interested in running, you should check this scene out. It's completely amazing. If you see me on the road, high-five!

Light & Lovely Banana Omega Muffins

Omegas From Coconut Oil, Walnut, Hemp Seeds & Eggs Make Epic Breakfast Muffins

1 3/4 Cup Pamela's Wheat Free Gluten Free Baking Mix*
1/2 Cup Raw Agave Nectar
4 Tablespoons Softened or Melted Coconut Oil
4 Organic Omega Eggs, beaten
1 Teaspoon Organic Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Mashed Bananas
1/4 Cup Hulled Hemp Seeds
1/2 Cup Walnuts

Gotta Thank Grammy for the Square Muffin Tin- Loves <3

Hearty, but not heavy or grainy.

Just Sweet Enough

Da Dank! Loaded with Omegas and gently sweetened with agave & bananas. I wish I could make a zillion & give them to everyone, but I gotta settle for sharing the recipe & enjoying some feedback (& some taste testers maybe?). Mmmmmmm......can't type..... .....eating muffins.

Maybe One More...They're Super Healthy

*Pamela's Baking Mix Ingredients:  Brown Rice Flour, White Rice Flour, Cultured Buttermilk, Natural Almond Meal, Tapioca Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Grainless & Aluminum Free Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Sea Salt, Xanthan Gum
I use Pamela's for freaking everything!  It is so good & light & delicious.  Divine for pancakes & waffles (I had given up on both as too heavy until I discovered Pamela's).  I double the eggs on all the recipes to make sure my vegetarian young people get protein & omega fatty acids.

Meow

Meow by molly-robles featuring a gold cat ring

Scat on the Path

Sometimes that "Harajuku" moment comes from shit. Literally.

Bear Scat (foreground) & Wildcat Scat (behind, to the right) 

One of my favorite parts of trail running is seeing all of the animal tracks & scat. It makes me feel wild to be out there with the other creatures.

I was on The Challenging Path of Blessings this morning & the trail had lots of poop on it. I especially enjoyed seeing wild cat scat next to bear scat. It is similarly amusing when there is cat poo next to dog poo.

As much as running is one foot after the other, it is one life lesson after another. Integration of body, mind & soul in motion keeps me floating down the path and makes me fairiii flit through my terrestrial existence, even when there's poo on the path. This is a light life.  Sigh.....

The View from a Turn Around.  Eureka is under that fog blanket 😉

Sexy Man Scarves

Scarves for Men

It's starting to get chilly out there and it's starting to feel like gift buying season so I thought I'd share some cozy scarf thoughts...

Chilly spring weekend coziness.

Gloves & Scarves by Ralph Lauren Black Label Gloves & Scarves by Boss Black

Hey Mr. You! You like scarves, right? No?!......Why not?

A scarf is warm, cozy & it turbocharges your appeal to the ladies. Visually, a scarf adds stature and can be a great accent for eyes and smile.

You get this in theory, right? You just don't see how it can be done without looking sissy. Any scarf at the wrong time (like manwork or cooking) is totally sissy. What keeps a scarf from being sissy is the timing and the style.  If its chilly & you're doing something social or casual, scarves are super hot. If your scarf is ever in the way or awkward it is so not hot.

Look for styles in heavy gauge wool knits or oversize woven scarves in rich drapey cashmere. Deep earthy tones in your natural palette colors are sophisticated and emasculating.

Things that make a scarf kinda sissy?  Prints, loud colors unless they are the color of your eyes, embroidered designs, logos, soft gauzy materials, tassels. Makes sense right? Leave the pretty stuff for the girls that will be reeling you in by your soft & cozy affirmation of comfort and stature (yer scarf, silly).

Brazilian Sexy Book Review

I saw this title at Tin Can Mailman & couldn't resist.  Who doesn't want to be Brazilian sexy?!  I am a junky for the beauty & self improvement books, so  I was kinda surprised to see a current one I hadn't read.  It's written by Janea Padilha, the Brazilian beautician responsible for popularizing the Brazilian wax.

Brazilian allure is all about attitude.  It requires laid back self respect.  It is marked by self-assured posture.  It is the beauty exhibited not as an offering to men or a challenge to women but as an act of love for yourself.  The message is simple and accessible & what we all want to hear anyways.

Brazilian glamour is rotted in an easy breezy, patient, love yourself lifestyle.  The advice about simple hairstyles, clean soft skin, good food and exercise didn't really have any big surprises in it but it was fun to read anyways.  Janae coaches women to stay clean, moisturized and hydrated inside and out.  Apply eyeliner.  Wax.

Oh, yes, the wax, the Brazilian Wax.  So, when Janea was a stylist in Brazil, she was hanging out at the beach and saw a smokin' hot lady in a thong bikini bend over & expose hairiness between the cheeks.  Janea worried, "Oh, no!  I don't have that do I?!"    She checked it out & gave herself the first Brazilian wax in her bathroom that evening.  She loved how clean and sexy she felt & got her sisters & clients excited about it.  It became a trend in her hometown.  When she and six of her sisters moved to NYC to open a salon she gave a Brazilian wax to a writer for Elle magazine and the rest is smooth, hairless history.  The Brazilian Wax is beyond grooming.  It gives everyday women access to the Brazilian love of sexuality.

Janea encourages women to enjoy sex.  She devotes a quarter of the text to interactions with men.  It is advised to love and accept your man while training him away from his less attractive faculties.

K, so, you have more fun sex, you look & feel sexy and fun.  Makes sense.  This book is positive & fun.  You can hear the Brazilian Wax Goddess accent bubbling into the conversation sometimes.  Janea gives simple Soul Sister advice in an easy evening read.  Pending my appointments at J Sisters Salon in Midtown Manhattan I will practice being Brazilian Sexy:
Respect, Wax, Relax!

Prolific Living Writing

Answering the questions in a writing exercise in the e-book Empower Your Writing by the amazing Farnoosh Brock. 

I am short and abrupt sometimes. I am long and drawn out sometimes too. I write short and long sentences. I attempt to engulf my topic. I am all about straight talk, short and concise. I don't like to leave things unsaid, but I frequently do.

I am factual and emotional on paper. I am brash and daring. I am gentle by intention but ruthless with delivery.. I prefer subtly fancy words. I tend to be bouncy and scattered, but as I age I become more focused and centered.

I sometimes write snippets. I sometimes write fully full sentences.

I want to learn to write with a more conversational tone. I frequently write free flow with unedited thoughts and uncensored ideas. I don't like to repeat for emphasis. I like to ask questions and write to the answers. I might enjoy using irony and sarcasm. I am awkward with self deprecating humor. I am learning how to playfully offer laughs at my expense.

I like to red hot poker shock my audience from time to time. Isn't polarity a stance on the issues? I write as if writing to a best friend in absence. I write with absent adoration. Let's work on that. Let's work for the lovers.

I write authoritatively because by the time I've put words to paper, I've really thought about it. I write in "I" form most of the time. I'm learning to write to you, for us. I write to inspire and inform. I aspire my audience to feel moved to take action. I'm not much of a storyteller. I reflect on my own experience. Thank you for being part of it. We're awesome!