Yesterday was the best day we have had in a long long time. Why? Because we got to visit the BEST HOUSE EVER!
Our friend, Mary, came to pick us up and we went to her house for the very first time. Her gorgeous house outside of the city. YAY! The simple fact of being surrounded by trees was almost enough to qualify this for the BHE title. It has been so long since I have had anything but concrete and loud neighbours around me that I had forgotten what silence was like.
Well, almost-silence, because guess what else there was in the house. ANIMALS AND A BABY!!!! And not just any baby but a baby so adorable that every time a new photo is posted on Facebook, Melina and I both yell "Liiilllyyyyyy" with glee. Dainty little 10 month old girl with the bluest eyes and having of the longest lashes you have ever seen. I will admit that I am putty in her teeny little hands.
Angus
And are you ready to hear about the animals? You can never really be ready for this pure AWESOMENESS! Two big dogs, one of whom was an immense love sponge, seven cats and a wee little foster kitten. There were animals everywhere and it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen. Lily was sat on the floor the entire time we were there and played with toys, and her interaction with the animals was enough to make me cry. They were so comfortable with each other. Anyone who claims "I have to get rid of my cat / dog because I am pregnant and what if they hurt the baby" should visit this house.
Little wee Prince, but I think his name should be Jack
Sorry to invite people over, Mary!
I would show you photos of baby with animals but it is not my child so I want to be respectful. You will have to take my word for it.
Beautiful Ariel and Angus
In so many ways this is the life that we are working so hard for. The house may be further in the country, but the chaos and love of all the animals running around is a dream. It is THE dream.
~ Denise
I got permission for Lily pics!
As so many of you know, we have hit a block in making it towards our goals. Insurance companies SUCK and have led us to creating a bit of a debt and we are working on paying off every penny. We have had to find ways to make our money go a lot further. Cheap and delicious and healthy meals? Sure thing! Enter the Happy Herbivore.
We have recommended the Happy Herbivore to anyone who will sit still long enough to listen. The recipes are super easy, they are all healthy and rely on very easily found ingredients.
The first is probably our very favourite. Black Bean and Salsa Soup.
This
recipe looks so simple, but it is amazingly delicious. I have cravings for this soup. Cravings. Like, I-will-never-live-without-it kind of cravings. And it is so cheap! YUM!!!
Now, as we are vegan, beans are a big part of our lives. Love it! The next great, and cheap,
recipe we love is for Black Bean Burgers.
Now here is the thing about bean burgers - do not expect them to be the same texture as a faux meat burger. Make sure you cook them long enough, and I substitute the ketchup in the recipe for BBQ sauce. A nice bun and DEELISH! Who says vegans don't eat yummies?
And now for something completely different, or in this case without black beans, is this amazing
Chana Palak Masala.
This is super versatile. We usually have spinach and some other veg in the freezer. One time, I had already started cooking when I realized that we had no spinach but we did have some frozen asparagus. And you guessed it - DEELISH!! Seriously, these recipes are no fail!!
It makes me feel like we can do this. We WILL get out of debt and we WILL make it to every single one of our goals, and we'll be healthy doing it. Hells yeah!
** All photos come from the amazing
Happy Herbivore website. Do yourself a favour and check it out.
So, I'm trying to have more fun. And learning something new is always good, right?
Starting with something nice and simple, you know, not 'home rocket-making for newbies'. Manicures. I have hands. Two of them in fact.
If any of you have ever visited Pinterest, you probably have new hobbies now too. Mixing white vinegar and original blue Dawn is revolutionary. I laugh in the face of soap scum.
This is one of my favourite colour combos and techniques.
-Melina. : D
Between doing her nails and Skinnygirl Margaritas, she may never leave the house again.
~ Denise
It is no big secret that the road to our goals has hit some major road bumps in the past few months. Let's face it, the insurance company crapped on us, we had our sick cat. All of it almost managed to beat us down, but the end result is quite different.
I have to mention some badness first. One of the very first goals that I mentioned was us going to see the Mission in Toronto in September. That has had to be postponed. Postponed, not cancelled. This means more to Melina than anything and I have promised her that one day somehow we will see them. Who knows, the lead singer lives in Brazil. Maybe we will go visit the Brazilians and use the Samba skills we learned in Zumba! LOL!
We may be laughed at, and mocked, and possibly kicked out of the country ...
Now here is the good. Obviously we have to rebuild some savings and pay off some debts that are the result of all of the insurance drama. I will always be limited as to how much work I can do at a 'regular' job. I have worked at 40 hour + jobs before and the result is always messy. I do fine when I am anywhere in the stable to manic range, but as I start to cycle down - which is inevitable - I can't maintain any kind of sanity. What I do instead is I work my 25 hours a week at a decent job and come up with ways to supplement. The Etsy store is part of that.
Now I have bitten the bullet and decided that if I have a skill that I can use then I HAVE to use it. Even if it is scary. Thus the genesis of Witchy Kitty Tarot Readings.
Solstice always keeps a close eye on things. I can't do it right without her.
I do the readings by email. This was a really scary thing to start. I have been reading cards and learning about them for roughly 10 years now, but any time you put yourself out there and say "Hey, I am good at something", it is scary as Hell.
In the two weeks that I have been doing this though, it has been amazing. Doing the reading in writing is the perfect medium for me. That is how I best express myself, and I honestly think that I connect more deeply with the cards this way. And the fact that the people I have read for have said that the messages in the cards had deep meaning for them was so humbling. I feel like I have found something that I want to do, that I can do well, and that I can help people with. It is a great feeling.
Melina has her own ventures she is looking into. I will leave them to her to discuss. :)
~ Denise
You know that feeling when your world is suddenly turned upside down? Time stretches out in an endless predictable highway of home, work, home, work. Then, everything stops.
That happened to us on Tuesday. Vanian wasn't peeing, just straining in the litter box. I won't go into the desperate struggle to get him to the emergency vet, then to our vet the next day, begging for rides and money and to please leave work early. He is home and ok.
The point of this post is perspective. When a crisis hits, your view changes. What matters changes.
In our case, being financially able to take care of our babies and ourselves. We need a car, this must take priority. And before that, building up savings and paying off debt.
And, perhaps most importantly, being grateful for our family and friends. Cuddling babies is a privilege.
Cuddle yours.
-Melina
We've been absent for a bit. Life, health and hardships got us off track. I am not going to dwell on the bad because I am finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel and am ready to focus on what this blog is all about - GOALS!
Most relevant to us right now is the goal to see the Mission play in Toronto in September. For those just joining us, this goes beyond being on Melina's bucket list. This might just BE her bucket list! Anyone who has ever connected to a piece of art and been changed by it should begin to understand how Melina felt about the Mission in her difficult teens. We are going to make this happen. The setbacks we have had lately have had a huge impact on us financially, but I refuse to allow this to impact us taking this trip! My hands have bled from making jewelry. I will make this happen!
Long term, the goal remains that house in the country, being a full time writer. Why do I want to live in the Annapolis Valley? Because this is what it looks like:
The feeling of peace I have when there is indescribable. It is like coming back to my true home.
Every morning I will spend a few minutes centering myself and focussing on what I am working towards. We have also been getting Witchy with it again, but that sounds flippant. It is important because in truth I have been connecting with faith again and that could not be a bigger deal.
Working every angle to make these goals reality. We're back!!
You know what I mean, just completely bat-shit crazy. Drooling in my shoes, nothing medically wrong but just completely wackadoodle nuts. People have a certain respect for crazy. They call it 'eccentric' or 'unique' or 'creative'.
You know what they often don't have respect for? Actual diagnosed mental illness. I'm tired of people who should know better not having a clue. Insurance people questioning why I am not seeing a therapist. Guess what, bipolar disorder is a chemical imbalance, and if I need talk therapy it will be with a psychiatrist who is also equipped to treat a medical condition. It is not a problem that will be solved if I just talk about my feelings and figure out if I was potty trained too soon.
"So, your doctor just gives you pills for it?" YES! If you are diabetic you will get insulin, if you have a thyroid problem you might get synthetic hormone. I have an imbalance, I get pills.
I was diagnosed 16 years ago, and have dealt with the repercussions of that diagnosis ever since. Even though I am well-managed, I still have times like now where I am incapacitated. It halts all progress towards my goals. I am open with people about my illness because if they don't hear it from me it becomes a secret that is whispered about. I accept that my credibility will go down the moment people find out. I would rather have it be out in the open.
The illness can be tough but I don't want pity; I want understanding. When that isn't possible I'll take simple acceptance.
But it would still sometimes be easier if I could just say I was crazy.
~ Denise
