goin veg

for 6 years i was vegetarian. then i moved back to good ole georgia and couldn't resist country fried dear steak, biscuits and gravy, yellow squash cooked with bacon, blt, venison burgers. one bite ruined me for the past 4 years. i've been battling with this meat thing on and off, justifying that i'm a foodie and therefore HAVE to eat meat. but on my most recent fasting cleanse i was reminded how lite it feels to not eat meat.

i know a crazy, native-Italian-moved-to-New Jersey at 15 who's been vegetarian for 40 years !!!! can you imagine being from Italy, living in New Jersey and not eating meat??! i can't.

and my yoga instructor has been vegetarian for 25 years and travels extensively for her job. can you imagine traveling all over central America and not eating meat??! i can't.

but then i came up with my very own form of vegetarianism, which i can't and won't rightly call vegetarian. and i'm not quite sure what i'll call it. my current diet already has a lot of restrictions: no corn syrup of any type, no added sugars whenever possible, no refined sugars, no preservatives, food colorings, artificial flavors or fillers, low intake of corn and soy derived products, minimally processed foods even if it is gluten free, all things gluten free, no gmo whenever possible, organic as much as possible....i think that covers it, phew!

so the newest restriction, meat. unless...the meat is fish or seafood (which eventually i will phase out too), or it is free range organic and humanely slaughtered. this mainly pertains to meats such as chicken and turkey. i'm not really a red meat fan and never have been unless it's venison, so pretty much all red meat is out. and even with these exceptions i rarely eat it.
and to be quite honest, for the past two weeks i've been more than content eating greens, fruits, nuts and grains.

the more i think about it and all the damage that's been done to the earth to mass produce foods that aren't even foods anymore (!), i can't find any reason why i need to eat anything other that the basics, and in their most freshest and natural form.

All Hail The Hail !

this is the biggest i've seen. i thought my first west texas hail storm last year was amazing. this one tops that.

ice chunks are like snow flakes, all kinds of different patterns and shapes

when i stepped outside...

when the sun came out...

when the dogs wanted to eat leftovers...

when Maverick did his crazy jumping thing he does when he gets happy...

Jewel was cool....

...in 1997 with her hit Foolish Games.

as a 17 year old spending summers on Fernandina Beach, Florida, smoking green with all my guy friends...i didn't have many girl friends to speak of...the words to this song didn't mean much to me then. i was just into acoustic strums and female voices. but now, listening to it for, literally, the first time in 13 years the words ring especially poignant. there are a lot of Jewel jokes out there, and she hasn't had a whole lot of radio air since the late 90's...but when it comes to honesty and putting words together that are more than just teen angst, this one does it. and just as i'm sitting here thinking about all that has become my life in this past year, i hear this song.

You took your coat off and stood in the rain,
You're always crazy like that.
And I watched from my window,
Always felt I was outside looking in on you.
You're always the mysterious one with
Dark eyes and careless hair,
You were fashionably sensitive
But too cool to care.
You stood in my doorway, with nothing to say
Besides some comment on the weather.

Well in case you failed to notice,
In case you failed to see,
This is my heart bleeding before you,
This is me down on my knees, and...

These foolish games are tearing me apart,
And your thoughtless words are breaking my heart.
You're breaking my heart.
You're always brilliant in the morning,
Smoking your cigarettes and talking over coffee.
Your philosophies on art, Baroque moved you.
You loved Mozart and you'd speak of your loved ones
As I clumsily strummed my guitar.

You'd teach me of honest things
Things that were daring, things that were clean
Things that knew what an honest dollar did mean
So I hid my soiled hands behind my back
Somewhere along the line I must've gone off track with you

Well, excuse me, guess I've mistaken you for somebody else,
Somebody who gave a damn,
Somebody more like myself.

You took your coat off,
Stood in the rain,
You're always crazy like that.

the big question

what to do? what to do? what to do?

it makes me SICK to think that yet again this year i won't be going to a yoga program. and it's not totally out of the picture, but just a really really slim chance.

the serious decision i'm looking at right now is "what to do with the coffee shop?" my options are, 1) closing down and thinking about how this whole past year was kind-of sort-of wasted if i don't continue it in some way, and just moving to austin, getting an hourly job, saving saving saving, and hoping hoping hoping i can make it to sedona in the fall. 2) converting it into a caffeine and carb craver's dream on wheels, silver bullet style, and moving it to.....3) Austin, or....4) whichever festival/carnival/venue presents an interesting and promising crowd of addicts.

Dear Universe,
i've already come to terms with the possibility of not seeing sedona this year. so the biggest thing i'm facing right now is the coffee shop. how does one make a decision like this?? there are no signs pointing in any direction. all i want at this point in my life is a mini rv packed with two dogs and one cat and some gas money to get me to silver city, new mexico where i can happily work for trade on a farm for a few months, and some how...magically....acquire $3000 for yoga, and in september study with the gurus.

is that asking too much?

i'm 30. i have the same drive and ambition as i did at 15, except time isn't doing me any favors.

with my horizons set to the desired course i'd be the happiest little peppercorn on the bush.
love,
chloe

polaroids of the day

twins

paired

they come in two's

polaroids of the day

afternoon happy hour at Eve's Garden

the most wonderful, colorful, little oasis of organic friendship in the whole of west texas.
an unexpected abundance of visual pleasure chock full of hanging, flowering vines, koi fish pond, pregnant feral cats climbing the rafters, the smell of fresh baked bread wafting from kate's AMAZING kitchen, light streaming through bottles nestled between panels of papercrete walls....i love this place.
once you walk into the indoor green house/garden the smell of flowers is so intoxicating you may have to step out for a spell. the indoor one lane lap pool with over flow water falling down the side of one wall, invites a refreshing dip after being tossed around in the dusty wind. the falling water alone is a relaxing sound.

things i've learned from being a Texan

i'm not a picky eater by any means. but ever since i was a young kid i've had texture issues with certain foods which eventually created a list of foods that "i didn't like". but really it wasn't ever the flavor of these foods, but the way it felt in my mouth. along with being texturally challenged, i also can't take heat on my food of any sort. now, my pops is a great cook and has invented several great dishes. many of which i've been able to pick around or merely just smell while it's cooking, due to the spicy ingredients.
so this blog is dedicated to my dad:
right now i'm eating pickled jalapenos on my breakfast taco, and quite often i put Tapatio (the equivalent to Tobasco) on my scrambled eggs. and when it comes to salsa i have stepped up to the medium level. so next time i'm visiting i'd love to have some of your hominy casserole, or even your jalapeno corn bread !!

something fun to do, eventually

polaroid of the day, 2nd try

mood decided:

needing refreshment

spring has not brought moisture this year as most years promise

it's a very dry, dry, dry desert afternoon

thinking of the cypress lakes in Georgia

and dewy mornings

polaroid of the day

i had a difficult time deciding what kind of mood i am in today,

so i went for funny.

yoga studios win the battle against state regulations !!!!

back in December of '09 yoga studios, teachers, students, were fighting the state of Virginia to remain independent from state regulations. the state officials trying to pass the mandate thought it to be a way to protect the investments of those taking a teacher training program. yoginis and yogis the world over see it as a way to impose government crap into an age old teaching that has been successful for millenias just the way it is. putting government standards on such a practice would go against everything that is yogic, including, but not limited to, application fees (just like in state universitites) and tax fees exceeding in the thousands...which would ultimately shut down studios due to the exorbitant amounts. thanks to VA governor Bob McDonnell a bill was passed exempting all yoga studios in the state of Virginia from state regs. the exemption is also expected to pass in New York and Maryland.

for the love of spring

 sun kissed laundry and lounging pups

Aster experiencing spring for the first time....eating ants <3

fruit trees blooming

bare feet and flowy skirts