The blogosphere seems to be split into two: the “I-don’t-believe-in-new-year’s-resolutions-because-we-should-be-making-positive-choices-ALL-year” camp, and the “I-always-hated-resolutions-but-recently-I’m-drawn-to-the-idea-of-setting-some-good-intentions (but-I’m-still-not-calling-them-resolutions)” camp.

Me? I love a new year and a fresh start. Any opportunity to clean house, to take stock, to re-inspire, and most of all, to make lists! That’s all good as far as I’m concerned.

Each December I spend the month reflecting on the year that’s past, revisiting what I had hoped to achieve, and imaging what I want the next year to look like. I’ve written in the past about my yearly Word doc – the one that sits on my desktop so that I always have easy access to my ambitions.

I make a new doc each year. First, I copy and paste the old one. I like to scroll back in time, from more recent years to the oldest ones, to remember how far I’ve come (and how successful I’ve been at fulfilling my aspirations!) At the top of the new doc I always start with a title for the year – something to sum up the overall tone I’m going for. For example, 2009 was titled “Living The Dream”.

And this year, 2012?

“You Only Get One Shot”

Underneath my title, I outline my annual intentions. There’s always a theme – for example last year was “Quality Over Quantity”. And then I list my specific goals.

And this year, 2012?

“This is my ONE LIFE. What is *really* important? What will have mattered once I’m gone? “You only get one shot” – so make it count! Fill it with joy. Unplug. Fill it with laughter. Family comes first! Always, always Live in the Love.”

This year I’ve listed some specific goals (which I’m choosing to keep private), but what I’m intending to do for January – and for this MMM – is to outline an actual plan of action to help me achieve each of these goals. Step by step! No excuses! I find that it helps to work backwards, to begin with your end goal and then to imagine where you would have to be in order to take that last step to get there. And then what would get you closer to that second-to-last step? And so on.

For example, I always mean to send birthday cards to my friends, but I never do. I hate that! Why does it happen? Here’s a plan of attack:

End goal: Sending Card

What keeps me 1 step away: Not being able to find the time to get to the store for a card. (gah!)
Action: Buy (or make) cards NOW, and keep a stash on hand (with stamps!)

But what keeps me 2 steps away: Not remembering birthdays in time (oh shame!)
Action: Go through iCal and set reminders for all important birthdays – 2 weeks in advance with a 1 week follow-up.

End Result: Cards are easy to send!


That’s just one small example, but you get the point. So, this MMM is all about -

1.  Setting intentions for a new year, and
2. Outlining a very specific plan for conquering those intentions

Are you in?? Have you already set some intentions? Know how you’re going to keep the momentum?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Me, I decided to take a closer look at my oral care routine. Which was, unfortunately, pretty abysmal. For someone so focused on health and wellness, I had a big ol’ blinder on when it came to my teeth. Confession: I hadn’t been to the dentist since before I became pregnant. Um, that’s almost three years ago! I never flossed and aside from brushing twice a day, I didn’t do *anything* else to take care of my mouth.

And it was starting to show. I smoked for over a decade and I drink a lot of coffee and a lot of green juice. Super staining. Dull. Ick.

When I was pregnant, I developed swollen and sometimes-bleeding gums. It’s actually really common (about 50% of women) and it’s due to the hormones. My pregnancy-induced gingivitis didn’t go away after giving birth, though, and I still get flare-ups. Ugh.

So clearly, I was due for some dental attention. I did some research and devised a natural approach plan of action. I was curious to see how much I could reverse on my own, before visiting a dentist (which I will do of course, early in the new year).

Here’s what I did:

1. I began Oil Pulling every morning (here’s an interesting article on oil pulling, from a rationalists perspective). This is an ancient Ayurvedic technique where you swish oil (I use sesame) around in your mouth for a full 20 minutes first thing in the morning, prior to brushing. It’s supposed to detox your system and proponents claim it can alleviate all manner of disease. I don’t know about that, but I do know that I keep hearing about how it’s helped people brighten and whiten their teeth. I figured I’d give it a try.

2. I finally started flossing. Gah! What took me so long?! Every night before bed, and you know what? It feels good and it’s super easy. Again, what the hell took me so long?

3. I took out my tongue ring. It was a good run – almost 15 years! Almost half my life! But I’m pretty sure it was damaging my enamel and it certainly wasn’t helping things in there. It had to go. I miss it a lot less than I expected (now my lip ring, thats a different story – I’m not *me* without my lip ring!).

4. I switched back to using my homemade toothpaste. Yes, I had fallen off the wagon. With mommy-ing and book-writing and all of life’s other distractions, I’d gotten lazy and gone back to buying the Trader Joe’s natural toothpaste. But that stuff is crap and it has all sorts of ingredients I shouldn’t be using – ingredients that have actually been shown to damage teeth! So I’m back to using the homemade stuff and it feels really good. My mouth is thanking me.

I also picked up some tooth soap, which I’m excited to try out. It just arrived in the mail this morning, so I’ll let you guys know what I think of it after giving it a go.

5. A few other little things. Occasional baking soda “garglers” after lunch or snack (to de-acidify the mouth). Trying to be mindful about clenching my teeth (I do this a lot! Especially when I’m reading). Re-incorporating foods that are high in bone-building minerals, like nettle infusions and sea vegetables (I’d kind of loosened up on this during autumn).


And the results of all these changes?

WOW! All I can say is WOW. My teeth are SO MUCH brighter, after just a month. Whiter, clearer, they look and feel cleaner, and my whole mouth feels healthier. Still not perfect – I’ll need more time and a trip to the holistic dentist before I can expect that – but honestly, WAY better than I expected after 30 days. I think the oil pulling is responsible for most of the aesthetic turnaround, which is so cool. I’d call this mission a definite success!

~~~

So what about you guys? Did you challenge yourselves this month? What came of it? What did you learn? Please share!

~~~

In other news, hey look! Does something seem a bit different to you? That’s right, we spent the weekend cleaning up and making improvements, and I really hope you like them! I already adored the overall look of the site, so I really didn’t want to change a whole lot. Just a few tweaks for the better, like:

1. The content area has widened from 475 pixels to 600 pixels. Yay, bigger pictures!

2. Our tagline – “Socially Conscious, Totally Fabulous” – has been added to the header. I love love love this!

3. The side bar has widened to match the content area (and to accomodate having two ads side-by-side, which is the most unobtrusive way to include two ads)

4. The side bar has been polished up: social media links are all easy to find (omg who knew I was such a social media whore??), Bonzai Store/Amazon Store/Wish List/Tip Jar links have been streamlined, & basically it just looks so much mo’ betta!

5. The fonts for the navigation buttons, and for post titles, have been updated. I think they’re so much prettier this way.

I hope you like the new Bonzai, but I’m also totally open to your feedback or constructive criticism. Please let me know what you think!

~~~

MMM # 23 Round-Up

Last month I took on the challenge of tackling my inbox. It’s pretty much the bane of my existence, and a constant source of stress. So I made a plan: each night, I wouldn’t go to bed until the inbox was dealt with.

And how did I do?

Well, at first it went very well. I started the month with a deficit, an enormous backlog of unanswered comments and emails left over from Vegan MoFo. But for the first few weeks I was able to stay on top of new comments/emails, AND I began to slowly chip away at the mountain.

Then, I went on vacation. And . . . it all sort of went to hell. Damn!

In California I was focused on seeing friends and family, and really allowing myself to relax. And though I totally thought I would be able to get my work done, I failed . . . miserably!

That’s okay. I learned!

I learned that prioritizing email-answering as the first thing I do right after Waits goes to bed, is not as much of an imposition as it seems. I learned that cleaning out my inbox never takes as much time or as much emotional energy (this is the hard part for me, honestly, since I really try to make sure that my answers are the best and most thoughtful that they can be) as I expect. And most importantly, for a few weeks there, I learned how great it feels to have a clean inbox.

So I’ll try again. It fits with my New Year’s plan this year, which is all about communication (more on that another time), and I hope to have really made it a habit within the next few months.

Alas, for now, I still have that whole backlog to deal with. Oi!

~~~

DIY December

I’m not going to host a book club this month, or an organized mission either. It’s the holidays, and people are already busy and stressed-out enough! However, I encourage you to look through the MMM archive, or choose something totally unique, and try out a little mini-mission of your own! It’s a great way to catch up on a mission you may have missed, or to finally find the time to start that one thing you’ve been meaning to do.

Me? I’m attacking my teeth. Oral care, baby! Dedicated flossing, oil pulling, natural whitening techniques, and I’ll be investigating the concept of remineralization (ahhh Sarah!!!!!!!!). I look forward to sharing all my results and finding with you guys!

So what about you guys? What will you be doing for this DIY December?

And now, I’m off to address my inbox. BONZAI!

Okay, so YES, we’re already one week in to November . . . BUT, it only takes 21 days to form a new habit. Which means . . . we can still do this. You with me?!

This month’s mission is actually very straightforward. It’s something that I should already be doing, and most likely you feel the same way. It causes me a ridiculous amount of stress, on a regular basis, all the time. And yet, it really should be NO BIG DEAL.

I’m talking about: the inbox.

Oh yeah. That beast. The “oh-I’ll-just-get-to-that-later” that somehow turns into dozens of unanswered emails looming like a dark cloud over your shoulder. Forever unsettled. Never caught up. *shiver* Oooooh, I hate that.

So I’m finally going to do something about it. From now on, I answer email same-day. AT LEAST a quick response to touch base, with a promise to follow-up later. My goal: I don’t go to bed until the inbox is clean.

So far, so good. I’m also working on a ridiculous backlog of emails right now, but this mission is just in regards to *new* mail. And yeah – so far, so good. And it feels goooood.

So what about you, dear friends? Do you accept this mission? If you already keep a clean inbox, is there some other area that you could be better about staying on top of? Like watering the plants/sweeping the floors/putting laundry away/etc? If there’s anything that seems like it should be small, but due to negligence, becomes a huge point of stress, then THAT’S what this mission is about.

You in?

~~~

As an aside, for the next 6 weeks I will be taking an online course with The Institute For Humane Education, called Raising A Humane Child. Today is the very first day of class (!!!), and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am. I feel like this will be an amazing resource for me, as both a parent and a person. I wasn’t planning on talking about the class until it was completed, but I’m just too excited! All you parents should totally check out the organization, because they are doing spectacular things. As for me, I’ll let you know how it goes . . .

~~~

Next month we will be the taking a break from the Bonzai Book Club, in order so that we all may make it through the holidays alive. BBC will resume in January!

So, how did it go?

Well first, can I just say – I friggin’ love Jillian! Who knew? But she’s a pretty incredible lady. Have you listened to her podcast? She’s very much into “personal development”, but in a non-creepy way (personal development is awesome, but so many gurus are slimy! she is not.) Her information is solid, she speaks from her heart and from her own experience (BIG proponent of therapy, bless her) and also, she’s just super cute and charming. So anyway, yeah. I am a fan!


As for the workout, I started at level 1. I was aiming to build muscle, NOT to lose weight, so I put myself on a training schedule instead of a burning schedule. This just means I gave myself “recovery days”. So my intended itinerary looked like:

Week 1 = Level 1, Mon-Wed-Fri
Week 2 = Level 1, Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri
Week 3 = Level 2, Mon-Wed-Fri
Week 4 = Level 2, Mon-Tues-Thurs / Level 3, Fri

- with the goal of making it all the way through a round of Level 3, without stopping, on the last day of September (Friday – TOMORROW!).


So that was the plan, but of course, there were the inevitable glitches. Firstly, my ankles went into complete protest mode, having gotten used to low-impact exercise like walking and biking. After 2 weeks up jumping jacks and butt kickers and high kicks and skaters, my poor ankles were swollen and stiff, so sore I had to take the stairs sideways. It was crazy! So I had to take a few days off – most of week 3 – and now my ankles are all better (plank jacks be damned!)

However, then I got sick. Dangit! So I missed a few days this week as well. Still, I feel strong and ready, and tomorrow I’m going to attempt Level 3. Wish me luck!


All in all, when I started this mission, I wrote:

“This month, I’m going to focus on fitness. I’m going to strive for strength. Build muscle. Feel my body become powerful. Challenge my own physical limits. Heighten my metabolism . . . and my abilities. Sweat out some toxins. Increase endorphins. Combat cortisol and, hopefully, help to manage my stress.”

And with that as my goal, I can proudly proclaim, without a shadow of a doubt, mission accomplished!


And what about you, my dears? Tell me how the month has gone for you! Will you be continuing your new workout schedule into the fall? (I will!) Did you meet your intended goals?

~~~

Just a reminder that next Monday we kick off the second Bonzai Book Club, instead of another Monday Monthly Mission. After last month’s success, I’m so excited! We’ll be reading Counterclockwise, by Ellen J. Langer, which you can purchase here if you want to support Bonzai (or buy secondhand from your local used bookstore.) Hope to see you in the discussion group!

Oh man, I am SORE!

Today, for the first time, I did a real work out. None of this cutesy “happy healthy mama” stuff. No way. Today . . . I met Jillian.

I’m a pretty dang active lady. I do my little videos a few times each week. I walk the dogs almost every day, while wearing a toddler on my back. I go for a bike ride almost every afternoon, while carting a toddler on my handlebars. I walk said toddler to sleep every night, for about 45 minutes, while wearing him on my chest. And you know, this particular toddler never. stops. moving. so I’m also running around constantly, in between all those activities.

So I maintain my weight pretty easily, I have some lean muscle, and my heart is fairly strong, I think. But still, I’m not necessarily toned. I’m not even as strong as I’d like to be. Mostly, I’ve never, in my whole life, attempted to get “cut”. By which I mean, to *really* get into shape.

But lately I’ve been thinking a lot about health outside of diet. About wellness beyond nutrition. About holistic healing, and whole-person happiness.

This month, I’m going to focus on fitness. I’m going to strive for strength. Build muscle. Feel my body become powerful. Challenge my own physical limits. Heighten my metabolism . . . and my abilities. Sweat out some toxins. Increase endorphins. Combat cortisol and, hopefully, help to manage my stress.

I’ll be working through Jillian’s 30-Day Shred, – a serious ass-kicking of a workout – with the end goal of completing level 3 without stopping, at the end of the month. And I’m really excited for this one, guys!

So what about you? Do you accept this mission? Do you already have a fitness routine that you’re ready to take to the next level, or will you be starting from square one and jumping in for the first time?

***As an aside, remember you can always hit your local library for awesome workout videos/dvds without spending any money. Or, check out tons of great options on youtube.

~~~

Next month will be the second installment of the Bonzai Book Club, which switches off with the Monday Monthly Mission, alternating every other month. I know that reading can be time-intensive, and we’re a very busy bunch of movers and shakes around here. So I always give you the reading assignment a month ahead, at the end of the MMM post, in case you want to get a head start:

If you want to support the work I do here, please consider purchasing Counter Clockwise through my Amazon Store. Buy used to go green!

This month we took on a mission that seemed, on the surface, to be pretty simple: find those little eco-unfriendly things in your life, and “green” them. But sometimes the little things prove to be bigger hurdles than we’d imagined, and finding solutions can take some creativity!

I don’t know about you, but I had a lot of fun with this mission. I replaced my paper coffee filters with a hemp reusable version (LOVE!). I looked into replacing my razor, since the enormous pack that I bought at Costco like 5 years ago, is about to finally run out. I’m considering going the Preserve route (same as my toothbrushes! this company is pretty spectacular). I also noticed that when I get little sample coffees at Trader Joe’s, I absent-mindedly (ALWAYS-GAH!) grab a little stir stick to mix in my agave. Otherwise the sweetness just sits at the bottom! So, I started keeping a little stir stick in my Ergo baby carrier (which is what I’m always wearing when I’m there), and now I re-use the same little stir stick over and over and over. Um, talk about little things, right!? But you know, that’s the sort of stuff that adds up. I’m also going to try keeping and reusing the sample cup itself!

Mostly, I spent the month recommitting myself to some of my old intentions that have fallen by the wayside. I’m back to line drying lots of my laundry. I’m totally back on family cloth, and I feel really good about that one. And now I’m biking everywhere . . .

I think this was a really great Mission with so much adaptability and room for interpretation, which is why I can’t wait to hear what you guys did with it! So tell me tell me, what little things did you address in your life this month? Leave it in the comments!

~~~

Just a reminder that next Monday we kick off our very first Bonzai Book Club, instead of another Monday Monthly Mission. We’ll be reading Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong And How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly, so make sure to pick up your copy this weekend! I’m so excited!!!

It’s really all about the little things, ya know?

At the end of our last mission, our 20th mission, I reached out to you guys for some feedback. I wasn’t sure we should continue forging forward in the same fashion, with a new mission each month. To be honest, coming up with new tasks has become increasingly difficult – we’ve done a lot already! We’ve covered dietary choices and health, we’ve become activists, we’ve become exercisers, we’ve worked internally on our growth, we’ve taken on environmental challenges, and so much more.

You know, I’m really proud of us.

But we can still push ourselves farther, can’t we? I really wanted to focus on an eco-friendly theme this month, but after the composting, the line-dried laundry, the reusable femenine products, the secondhand shopping, the driving less, and omg we mustn’t forget the cloth toilet paper for great hippie’s sake. What was left?


Last week I was making my coffee at midnight (I make it the night before and refrigerate it for iced morning java) and I came across the last of my paper coffee filter. And, maybe since it was midnight and I have a wandering mind, it put me to thinking. Do I really need to keep buying paper for my coffee, even unbleached, “natural” paper? Between my daily imbibing and Damian’s morning drip and on the weekend, our afternoon refills, we can go through as many as 3 or 4 of these filters a day. That can really add up! Is there an alternative?

And what else can we replace, or live without?


I remember how much I used to adore lotion. I would slather it over every inch of my body, every single morning. I even wrote about it, a review of all the most “natural” brands. It was the last non-homemade item I held onto, because I couldn’t imagine living without it, and because every time I tried to go off it, my skin dried out.

Well, then I had a baby, and my hormones got all wonky-like, and my skin got suuuuper sensitive, and also, I was really really really busy. There was no luxurious lotioning for me anymore. And when I did manage to get some on, my lovely lotion was giving me rashes, eek! One day I ran out and I just didn’t bother replacing it. No time! And my skin was dry for about a week, and then it balanced out. Now I never use body lotion and my skin is supple and fantastic and NOT addicted to added moisturizers. In the end, it’s so much better this way.

The same thing happened with Q-Tips. I’m not even kidding you, I was working my way through a Q-Tip collection the was 5 years old (Cosco, baby). I always said when it ran out is when I’d go off the Tips, but the truth was that I secretly dreaded it. I hated the feeling of water in my ears! I never felt like I was completely “clean” until I’d wiped my ears out. True story, I’m a weirdo.

Anyway, I’m sure you can see where this is going. I ran out of Q-Tips, I felt yucky and soggy-eared for about a week, and then I got used to it and now I don’t even notice anymore. Except that I’m no longer throwing away sticks of chemically-treated bleached cotton that I’ve shoved into my ears everyday. Q-Tips are really bad for you, anyways.


The point is, sometimes you just have to take the plunge and kick those old wasteful habits to the curb. Think you can’t function without paper towels in your kitchen? You can, I promise. Cut up an old bath towel and keep cloth rags in the cabinet. We’ve been paper-free in our kitchen for years.

You could replace paper napkins with pretty cloth ones (sewing project!)

You could replace disposable bathroom cotton balls with soft washable hemp pads.

You could switch from bagged tea to looseleaf, and use a metal strainer.

There are a million little things all around your house than can be replaced or done away with completely. These little things really add up, and over time it’s the little things that can actually do the most damage. So let’s not overlook them anymore!

Me, I’m starting with my coffee filters, and getting myself a metal mesh insert. I’ll also be keeping my eyes out all throughout my life, watching for ways to tweak and tame the wasteful beast.

What will you do? Do you accept this mission? Share your ideas in the comments so we can all benefit – I’m sure you guys will have some great ones!

~~~

Next month will be the first installment of our Bonzai Book Club, which will switch off with the Monday Monthly Mission, every other month. I’m so excited! But I know that reading can be time-intensive, and we’re a very busy bunch of movers and shakes around here. So I’ll always give you the reading assignment a month ahead, at the end of the MMM post, in case you want to get a head start.

For our very first BBC we will be reading James McWilliams’ Just Food: Where Locavores Get It Wrong and How We Can Truly Eat Responsibly. I can’t wait!

Raw Lasagne from Vegan Mario’s in Santa Barbara, California, in early June.

I’ve been eating very well. Oh yes, very well.

This month’s mission was a continuation of last month’s mission, with a twist (we’ll get to that in a sec). We all challenged ourselves to eat a more healthy, whole-foods plant-based diet. Some people added daily juicing; others incorporated green smoothies. Some readers chose to go vegetarian for a week, and some even tried out veganism!

Me? Well of course, I’ve been raw. And aside from a very select few deviations, I’ve been entirely raw for the past two months.

Um, I feel fantastic.

Even though this has literally been the most cumbersome work load I’ve ever been under, I’ve managed my stress remarkably well. Not that I haven’t been a total mess, because I have, but it was actually Damian who brought to my attention how my diet is probably influencing my ability to make it through this. Seriously, I’ve been staying up well past midnight (WELL past) for weeks, taking care of my poor miserable teething baby all day, exercising plus going on two 30-60 minute walks each day, creating and testing over a hundred new raw recipes, and writing like a madwoman every single second that I can eke out to sit down alone with my computer. I’ve been overtaxed to the max and I should have crashed and burned out weeks ago.

Instead, I have *so* *much* energy. It’s kind of crazy when I think about it! I’m also prone to emotional instability when I get really stressed out, and I’ve been able to maintain a much more even keel throughout this process – actually much more than either Damian or I expected, haha. I only cried like a dozen times!

But joking aside, it’s a bit difficult to judge the efficacy of diet under such extreme circumstances. Who knows what has influenced what, and where the credit can be lain. All I know is, I made it through a beastly 7 weeks relatively unscathed. I even lost some weight and gained some muscle, and got that super spectacular raw-foods “skin glow”. I love that glow!

So ultimately, this mission has been a huge success for me. I’ll be continuing to eat high-raw, well, indefinitely. At least through summer. What I like about where I’m at right now, is that I don’t feel any sense of restriction. I eat raw foods because they make me feel amazing, not because I feel like I “should” or because I’m trying to prove a point. And if I want a little bit of cooked food, I’ll have it, without any worry or weirdness. Eating for what makes me feel good instead of just what tastes good, has been a huge paradigm shift for me over the past year or so. Luckily, what feels good also tastes friggin’ great! But then again, that took some adjustment, like it will for anyone (you too, if you give it time!)

Raw cheesecake quartet: delicious no matter who you are or what you’re used to.

Last month we extended the mission, and added an additional challenge: to read a book relating to our health goal. I chose Becoming Raw, by the authors of my “bible”, Becoming Vegan. I made good progress early on in the month, but got too busy for reading these last few weeks. No problem, I’m picking it right back up and I’ll be finishing soon. It’s a *really* great book, a truly honestly approach that presents the most balanced raw information I’ve ever read. There’s no dogma. The authors are straightforward and they’re not invested in the results, which means they review the literature with an open mind. The scope is exhaustive; they cover every study that’s been done on raw foods/foodists. They offer the pros and the cons, the benefits and the red flags, with tons and tons of science to back it all up. There’s also a great chapter in the beginning that details the history of the raw foods movement, which I found fascinating. All in all I recommend this book to anyone who’s interested in raw living. *Highly* recommend.

And what about you, my dears? How did your mission go? Do you feel the results of your healthy changes? And did you read anything that you found inspiring? Please, tell me all about it!

~~~

This was our twentieth mission (!!), and I’m considering taking a pause here for a while. Or, I’ve thought about doing a Bonzai Book Club instead, where we all read a book a month, and discuss. Would you be interested in a book club? Do you like the MMMs, and do you participate in them? Would you miss them if they were gone, or would you appreciate my time/energy and posting space being devoted to other endeavors? I’d love to hear your thoughts here!

Also, if you do like the MMM, do you have any ideas? I know I’ve asked this in the past, but I’m looking for more. Monday is right around the corner – if we do a MMM, what would YOU want it to be?

~~~

K, lay it on me!

Did you wonder where the wrap up was last Thursday?!

Well, it’s like this. I’m still working like mad on this uncook book, so I’ll continue spending my days in raw-raw land (ahaha, I crack myself up). And from the feedback I’ve gotten from most of you, this mission has been met with both enthusiasm and difficulty.

In other words, you guys are really into it, but hasn’t been easy. Whether it’s been adding more juice to your life, or trying “raw till dinner” or going vegetarian – which are just a few examples of personal commitments that readers took on for this “get healthy” mission – we’ve all seemed to face some challenges along the way.

Which is why I want to give us another month! To re-commit, to try again, to finish off strong. For our better health!

And, I’m adding a challenge. I want you to read a book that relates to your own personal goal. So for example, if you’ve gone vegan this month, why not read The China Study? Or if you’re adding a daily smoothie, you could pick up The Green Smoothie Revolution. There’s so many books on health, the possibilities are truly endless. If you have any questions I’m happy to offer my recommendations!

Me, I’ll be reading this one:

Aw, Photo Booth is so OG blogger/camwhore, haha.

Becoming Raw by the same amaaaaaazing women who wrote my bible. I’m so excited to read this!


So my dears, do you accept this extended mission? And which book will you be reading this month?