The Random Fact Game

My sweet friend Ali over at Not Hip Enough to Blog tagged me in this fun this little game and it’s been awhile since I’ve done anything like this so I thought I would play along!

Eleven Random Facts About Moi

1. An experience with a giant albino catfish that lived in our home aquarium when I was 6 years old made me really afraid of fish. Yes, fish. I nearly conquered my fear but then had another really horrible experience when I was in my early 20’s involving the death of an eel. Aquariums and fresh water lakes freak me out big time.

2. I live with 3 dudes. This surprises a lot of people, but with the exception of a few months last year when Nicole lived with us, I hadn’t lived with females since I was 13. We have a great dynamic in our house and I’m really lucky to live with such cool, intelligent, eclectic people.

3. I wish I had kept up with art. I always enjoyed drawing and crafts and being creative when I was a lot younger, but gave up art class for drama and music instead. One of my goals this year is to get back into that my doing more crafts and I’m planning to start an art journal.

4. I read the book Before I Go To Sleep in about 48 hours over Christmas. It was chilling and addictive. Go read it.

5. Before I moved out on my own, I didn’t know how to cook. It’s funny that cooking and baking has become such a big part of my routine. I started off simple and moved on to more complicated things, but I definitely learned. I’m still don’t have awesome knife skills, and I’m definitely more comfortable when I’m using a recipe, but I think I’ve come a long way.

6. I rarely ever wear pants. Usually only at the gym or lazing around the house, and I wear jeans maybe once every couple months. I’m always in a dress or a skirt.

7. Last year I discovered that I was 5’7. I thought I was 5’6 for much of my life, but at my physical last year my doctor told me I was 5’7. I’ll take it.

8. At the end of February I’m going for a colpopscopy after 2 abnormal pap smears in 6 months. I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t freaking out a little bit and have cried more than once over it. After talking with quite a few friends, I’ve realized that it’s rather common (why the f do they call them “abnormal” then?!) but it’s still not fun to have to wait to see a specialist and have an invasive medical procedure done. Think good thoughts for me. I’m planning a blog post about this ‘abnormal’ business.

9. For a long time, I thought twitter was really stupid. Then I got it. And fell in love. And haven’t looked back.

10. My favourite Spice Girl was Ginger Spice. In the eighth grade my nickname was even Ginger or Geri (it also helped that I had red hair and ‘developed’ early) I was disappointed when Geri left the band, but followed her career after her departure. I definitely own more than one of her cd’s, both of her books, her yoga DVD’s and have multiple autographed photos. One of my favourite concerts ever was the (reunited) Spice Girls at the Skydome a few years ago. I danced and sang along to every song, squealed a lot and maybe shed a tear or three. My not-so inner teeny bopper was thrilled.

11. I feel things really intensely. It’s a blessing and a curse.

Ali’s questions for me

1. What is your middle name?
Jacqueline. After my dad’s only sister.

2. What is the best movie you've ever seen?
I love Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I love love and the relationship between Joel and Clementine is so crazy, beautiful, tragic and real. I’m lucky if I don’t start crying at the beginning of the movie, but I’m getting better since I’ve seen it many times now. “I loved you on this day. I love this memory.” I’ve experienced love a few times in my life, and even when it ended badly, I don’t think I would want to go back and erase it all.

3. If you could see any band/artist in concert, who would you choose?
I recently scored tickets to Snow Patrol right after my birthday, which makes me really happy.

I would love to see Bernadette Peters in concert. I think that would be unbelievable.

4. Dog or cat?
We never had dogs growing up and while I do love them now, I’m definitely a cat lady.

5. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
That’s such a big question… I think I would want everyone to be more tolerant of one another. Get rid of the bullying, racism, negative stigmas and general judgement. We’d all be a lot happier and the world would be a better place as a result.

6. What do you do to recharge?
It depends. Sometimes recharging means spending time with one or some of my best girlfriends for giggles and dancing and good stories. Other times I prefer to recharge on my own snuggled up with a good book and cup of tea. It depends on how I’m feeling and what it feels like I need.

7. What would an ideal weekend look like for you?
An ideal weekend for me would include time at my Weight Watchers meetings on Saturday morning, followed by a nap in the afternoon and probably some tea. I would then do some shopping at Damzels and Tabula Rasa and some of my other favourite stores in the east end. I would spend time getting ready whilst eating sushi and putting on a dress to head out with my girlfriends for a night of martinis and dancing with probably some live music. I’d have time to sleep in on Sunday morning, maybe snuggle with a cute boy before heading out for a late brunch and enjoy a day walking and talking in the sunshine. Good friends. Good food. Cute boy. Dresses. Sunshine. Win.

8. What is one thing you wish you could blog about but you feel like you can't/shouldn't?
I hesitate to swear on my blog. In everyday conversation I tend to swear a lot more. I keep it pretty PG-13 on the bloggy.

9. How many hours a week do you spend watching tv?
0. I don’t have a tv.

10. If you could do anything with your life to make money, what would you choose?
It sounds really contrived, but just something that made me happy and allowed me to help others in some way. I aspire to keep things simple and keep smiling.

11. What is your favourite smell?
I’m really digging this Vanilla Coconut fragrance by Lavanila I found at Sephora a couple weeks ago. I had been using a coconut body spray for a long time, but this stuff is even better. I also really love the smell of men’s cologne.

I’m totally going to break the rules and not tag anyone… but if you’d like to go ahead and answer Ali’s questions, you’re more than welcome to!

Did you learn something new? Any random facts I should know about you?

What Really Happens When Vegan Bloggers Get Together

Other than the obvious delicious food…

We have to take pictures of said delicious food

but at least when you’re doing it in a group it looks less weird. Unless you take off to another table to get better light and background…

which is quite normal in our circle.

Thanks to Carol at Belmonte Raw for hosting an amazing lunch for a wonderful group of hungry vegan gals! It was a fantastic evening with great conversation, lots of giggles, general merriment, tweeting and of course incredible raw food. I’m thankful to know Carol, Camille, Marlie, Candice, Nicole and Dani and love our time together!

A New Musical Vegan Friend And Goodies From Louisiana

Back in September I caught a tweet from Lindsay at Cook Vegan Lover promoting her third annual care package swap. I jumped on board and a little while later received an email with details on my partner.

I was really excited when I checked Tanya’s blog and started to exchange messages with her learning that she was also a musician with a strong appreciation for kale! It was a lot of fun gathering goodies for her with a focus on vegan items that were from Canada. I sent her care package off, so you’ll have to wait and check out her blog to see what I got her! I was giddy when I arrived home to a giant box on Tuesday and then opened it up to find all of this:

Lots of raw treats, some Louisiana goodness including swamp water tea and hot sauce, Tanya’s cd and an adorable music themed apron!! It was like vegan Christmas!

Thank you so much to Lindsay for organizing and Tanya for sending such a thoughtful bunch of goodies! I’m so excited to enjoy all of my treats. I love how many amazing vegans and friends the blog and twitter world have brought into my life!

Summer of Love

I’m so lucky to be surrounded by so many amazing people

Last weekend I hosted a yoga class and pot luck to celebrate the end of the 52 Days til Summer challenge and subsequently the beginning of summer! The lovely Ashley taught the class in beautiful Withrow ParkThe sun decided to hide away but that did not stop us from enjoying a fantastic class surrounded by an amazing group of women. It was really cool to bring Ash, Lindsay, Reggy, Val, Christine, Katie and Tara together for yoga and foodie goodness. I made Mexican cauliflower “rice” and roasted veggie pasta salad, Val brought a fabulous berry arugula walnut salad, Christine made a yummy quinoa salad, Katie supplied us with veggies, Linz made Meghan-inspired muffins and Reggy made almond-chocolatey muffins that everyone adored! It was such an incredible afternoon and I was so happy to bring together such a cool group of gals. I think I’m going to organize another outdoor yoga class and pot luck at the end of July – details to follow.

This week included more social time and more amazing peeps as I attended Rannie (aka Photo Junkie’s) 10x10 exhibit opening in Kensington.  I met Rannie a few months ago at #loserkaraoke and it’s been a joy to get to know him and see his amazing work. Whether it be candids (like the one above) or more structured photos (like those at the exhibit) he captures something really special in his photos and his work makes me really happy. (Especially when it selfishly can involve a new profile pic – like the one below that was snapped at Code Your Art Out)Saturday brought even more fun and vegan goodness with an awesome vegan pot luck in Trinity Bellwoods, organized by the lovely Dani. Rockin’ the veggie diva button I got in NYC

Similar to Dani, when I went vegan I didn’t know many vegans outside of the blogworld or those I read about in cookbooks. The blogsphere and Twitter community has connected me to so many amazing people and I’m truly thankful for that. I had such a great time chatting and giggling with Lisa, Steph, Camille, Marlie, Cassandra, Lisa and Dani. The dessert-heavy meal was delightful and I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

I’ve had a lot of stuff going on in my personal life over the past couple weeks and I can’t emphasize how blessed I feel to be surrounded by such an amazing support network. I generally like to keep busy, but life is that much more fun when “busy” means frolicking in the sunshine, wearing dresses and flowers, eating delicious food and spending time with wonderful people. Here’s to much much more of that as the summer goes on!

Best Thing To Do On A Rainy Day In Toronto?

Meet up with a sweet group of gluten free and/or veg bloggers of course!

On Saturday I had the pleasure of hanging out with Ricki from Diets, Desserts and Dogs, Maggie from She Let Them Eat Cake, Kristen from Peace Love and Muesli and Lisa from Vegan Culinary Crusade along with Kristen’s sister and a blog reader named Amy. I had met Ricki and Lisa really briefly the Vegetarian Food Fair (either last year or the year before) and despite having mutual friends, paths that cross and frequent interactions on Twitter, we had never had much of a chance to actually connect.

The venue was Fressen and boy was it ever a rainy day! I have only been to Fressen once before and I was wondering if it was going to wow me more than it did the last time around. We arrived at the restaurant a wee bit soggy and dishevelled thanks to the rain, but spirits were still running high! We realized quickly that they were only serving their brunch menu, which meant a few more limited options that usual. On the griddle side of the menu there was only one option that was gluten free (the corn fritters) and it didn’t really excite me, so I opted for the tapas option. Given the rain I decided to go with the sweet potato/coconut/ginger soup and the jicama and mango salad.

While we waited for our food, Ricki bestowed us with gifts:Homemade walnut cacao nib butter! Wow, was it ever delicious. Ricki even made me believe that maybe I need to give stevia a fair chance…

I had an awesome time engaging in conversation with the girls while we waited for our food. Topics ranged from other veg restaurants in Toronto, choosing whole foods over processed gluten free products, cookbook controversy and of course the blogging and Twitter world. I loved hearing more about Lisa’s adventures at the 105 Degrees Academy after drooling over the pictures of her dishes over the last few weeks. I also had a really lovely chat with Maggie about the death of a parent since she had read my last post. The blogging community is always so supportive and sweet and I was delighted by the easy flow of conversation like we had known one another for longer than reality would admit.

We waited awhile for our food, and after a bit of organization, everyone received their dishes. Soup and salad for meand a variety of salads and other tapas for the girlsI apparently scored the last of the jicama and mango salad, which was quite refreshing. The soup was good, although coconut was really the dominant flavour and I wondered just how much coconut milk had been used in the soups’ creation. Everyone enjoyed their tapas and variety in the dishes, but after waiting awhile for our food, a lack of gluten free options (including no gluten free bread for dipping the various tapas spreads in) and being hit with a 17% built-in gratuity on our bill that they were unable to split, we mused that perhaps next time we would go somewhere else for a meet up.

After we parted ways, Lisa and I wandered into Kensington Market as she was on a mission for some Canadian gluten free products for a blogger exchange and I wanted to pick up a few things. I ended up with a giant bush of sunflower sprouts and Lisa found some yummy goodies from Sweets from the Earth, Live and other local establishments with gluten free goodies.

I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon in March. It is amazing to be surrounded by passionate, like-minded women who share common interests and a love for great food! I’m happy to have made some new friends and have been enjoying every bite of Ricki’s walnut butter. I can’t wait to do it again!

Have you ever attended a blogger meet up? How was your rainy Saturday?

It’s The Ashley Show, Therefore I’m In Charge – Everything I’ve Learned In 300 Posts

Ladies & gentlemen (Gentleman? Are there guys who read this blog?) Welcome to Post #300. (Festive occasions deserve festive attire!! Now if only I could figure out a way to throw confetti through each of your computer screens…) 

Some things that I’ve learned along the way…

• Being diagnosed with Crohn’s changed my life, but perhaps not in the ways that I thought it would. It has opened doors for me and I’ve learned that you can quit your job, start fresh and live the life of your dreams. I’ve embraced gluten free vegan life and I’m in love with all the delicious food I eat; as a result of this, my Crohn’s is in check and I’m no longer in pain every day or suffering the way I used to. Amazing!
  
• I’ve been able to accomplish some things that I don’t know if I ever dreamed possible with my eating, physical activity, bellydancing, my job, performing, and learning from past experiences.
  
• Maintaining a healthy lifestyle takes work, but it’s so worth it to feel great. I can’t imagine going back to the life I used to live and feeling the way I did back then. This is good.

I often walk away from my Weight Watchers meetings quoting things that my members have said, revelling in their wisdom and shared experiences. On Saturday one of my members said [after talking about choices she had made during the week] “It’s the ____ show and I’m in charge of my choices”. It really resonated with me because I’ve been f---ing up the Ashley show something big lately and I need to step up my game and be accountable for my choices. I have learned way too much and worked too hard to backtrack and I’m not a particularly passive person in ANYTHING that I do. After all, my motto for 2010 was "Go big or go home", so here goes nothing.

This means that May is going to be a month of me holding myself accountable to my choices with food and activity. Lindsay and I have been sending one another nightly accountability emails for the past few weeks and her support is really helping me to stay on track. On Sunday I hit the gym for BodyFlow and my first ever BodyAttack class in an effort to kick start my week with a healthy dose of exercise. I LOVED BodyAttack!! I will definitely be doing this class more often. After doing Boot Camp for the last 8 weeks, I felt confident in my ability to do a lot of the moves (including lots of push-ups on my toes!) and enjoyed the energy of the instructor and participants in the class. I will definitely be doing Attack again.

And more FIT CHICKS.

And more bellydancing.

And making good choices with food.

And being kind to myself through talking about my feelings, journaling, spending time with people I love and getting enough rest and “me time”.

These are all things I can do, and I’m excited to do them.

Here’s to post #301 and beyond!!

Some of My Favourite Posts In 2009

I don’t know what I did with myself before I started reading blogs.

The blogging community has been incredibly kind to me and with their support, encouragement and inspiration, I have been able to do some pretty awesome things this year. I wanted to highlight nine of my favourite posts from some of my favourite bloggers in 2009.

It seemed like it was a year of change for many bloggers, so posts on the topic of transition and following your dreams by Tina, Angela and Gina really hit home for me. Reading posts of this nature by these incredible women inspired me greatly. It gave me proof of others, just like me, who have followed their dreams and haven’t turned back. Amazing.

Speaking on inspiration, I was so blessed to find Annabel’s blog, In the Hot Spot. She posted a round up of her 2009 posts the other day and I think that pretty much sums it all up for me. I dare you to read any of her articles and not feel inspired to shoot for the stars and change your life.

Andrea’s post on how to get the most out of your Weight Watchers meetings was absolutely stellar. They say that people who attend WW meetings lose 3 times more weight than people who don’t. Andrea goes to meetings and has lost 74 lbs and counting. I think that speaks for itself!

It has been incredible to read the story of Kristen’s journey to pregnancy and I wish her all the best with her little monkey. I bawled my eyes out watching this video. It is just stunning.

Crazy Sexy Life has also become one of my favourite sites this year because of posts like Rory Freedman’s Tips for a Better Life. I am going to post this at my new work station so that I can read it daily in 2010.

I do a lot of cooking and I’m constantly being inspired by the beautiful and delicious foodie blogs I follow. Some of my favourite blogger recipes this year have included Heidi’s asparagus stir fry, Jae’s pear ginger amaranth crumble, Michelle & Lori’s chocolate cream cake and everything from Meghan’s kitchen.

Speaking of Meghan, I have to say that I look forward to her posts every day. Her recipes are staples in my kitchen and I appreciate her outlook on life. Finding her blog this year was such a blessing, taking her cooking classes was wonderful and I am so lucky to have her as a mentor and friend. Everything on her blog rocks, but two of my favourites this year were I’d Rather Be Chubby and My Secret to Healing.

There are days when I can’t keep up with my Google Reader and suddenly I find myself with 300+ posts to read. Rather than click Mark as Read, I do my best to actually catch up and read everything because of amazing bloggers like these ones!! These are just some of the fantastic posts I have read (and starred) this year. Thank you to all the bloggers for your thought-provoking, gutsy and inspiring posts. Keep ‘em coming!! 

Which posts have inspired you this year?

Crohn’s Week: Those I’ve Met Along the Way

When I was first diagnosed with Crohn’s, I knew one other person with IBD and that was Lori. I didn’t really know the entire story (as she had been diagnosed quite some time before) but she was the extent of my Crohn-ie connections. Since being diagnosed, I have had the pleasure of connecting with so many others whose lives have been affected by IBD.

I found out from my grandmother that I have two great-aunts and one second cousin with either Crohn’s or Colitis. Many people have confided that they have dads, sisters, cousins or friends who are also affected; Through the blog world I have met so many beautiful people to share stories of poop and Peglyte with. I wanted to share some of their stories with you to spread awareness as to how many people this disease touches as well as give you a sense of how it affects each of us differently.

I found Andy’s IBD awareness site through a Crohn’s forum. He was looking for people to share their stories and I happily sent mine along. Andy was diagnosed with Crohn’s in September 2008. He had been experiencing major stomach pains in the last few months of university, which for a long time he attributed to heavy drinking. The stomach pain continued even after the drinking stopped and then his appetite decreased. After talking to his GP about his symptoms, he collapsed the following day and was rushed to the hospital and put on heavy painkillers. It took the medical team 2 months to determine that Andy had Crohn’s.

Andy was initially put on steroids, but reacted badly to them, making emergency surgery his only available option. He would later have two more surgeries to resolve a blockage and split bowel and to ultimately reverse his temporary ileostomy. Andy was recovering from his third surgery when he sent his questionnaire back to me and said that he felt encouraged that his life was slowly coming back together.

“Even when your body is in its weakest hour, never take for granted your imagination.”

One of the scary things about IBD is that it is often misdiagnosed, which was the case with Marie-Claire. After suffering from constant cramping stomach pains and blood in her stools, her doctor told her that she had haemorrhoids. She continued to be in pain for more than a year, when she ended up in the hospital after fainting due to loss of blood. Marie Claire said,

“I think I have always been prone to the development of this disease, however I believe the actual trigger was stress related as I started experiencing symptoms after my father and both my grandparents died within 6 months of each other. It was a bad year.”

Marie-Claire went on to be diagnosed by a second doctor with Ulcerative Colitis. A year went by and she didn’t feel any better. She eventually landed in the hospital in dire need of a blood transfusion where the doctors even told her mother that she might not make it. It was during this episode that Marie-Claire found a GI who changed her life. This GI was the first to agree that her condition could not be diagnosed as either Crohn’s or Colitis as well as recognize that food and environment are aggravating factors in the disease.

When Marie Claire was in the hospital for the blood transfusion, the only option that was presented to her was surgery to remove her entire colon. She refused and opted for the strongest drugs they could give her including prednisone & cyclosporine. She has been on and off steroid-based treatments for years and is currently managing her disease through a combination of self-awareness, Imuran and supplements with a healthy dose of exercise and positivity. As a result she has been in remission for two years. When I asked if she told people that she had IBD she responded by saying,

“Yes. After having about 15 colonoscopies (I have at least 2 a year) and running to the bathroom holding my butt countless of times, I have no shame.”

Love that girl!

Speaking of love, how stunning is Jessica Grossman?

Uncover Ostomy is the brainchild of Jessica and the IDEAS group.

Jessica was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease at the tender age of 9 after having stomach pain, decreased appetite, and frequent trips to the washroom for more than a year. Her disease stabilized for a couple of years until she got the flu when she was 11, which caused her to be sick for 2 years. For a long time she followed her doctor’s advice and took her medication as prescribed by her doctor. She also tried an organic diet without sugar, flour or dairy which she found to be very limiting.

In 2003 Jessica opted to have surgery to remove her colon and some of her small intestine and now has an ileostomy. As a result of the surgery she is symptom-free, pain free, eats as she pleases and is able to thrive as a university student and vice president of her sorority.

Uncover Ostomy started as a project in her grade 12 media studies class. Jessica said,

“Our final project was to create a PR campaign for an NPO. I picked the United Ostomy Association of Canada. I created and advertisement of myself covered in a sheet exposing my ostomy. The summer after the project I went to camp ostomy camp where I met up with a volunteer I had met at camp before named Rob. He was the founder of IDEAS [Intestinal Education and Awareness Society]. I showed him my advertisements and he said he really like them and wanted to use them for his organization. After 3 years of working out the kinks, we finally had a contract and a plan for me to fly to Vancouver to create a new version of the ad for his organization. And that’s how we got Uncover Ostomy. “

I think it’s an amazing campaign and hope that it continues to raise even more awareness and help others to feel more comfortable with their ostomies. Clearly an ostomy isn’t stopping Jessica from doing anything!!

I’ve found some other pretty amazing gals (who happen to have Crohn’s) in the blogsphere. Back in March, I started reading Kris Carr’s blog CrazySexyLife on a day when they happened to feature a guest post by Lauren. We’ve since become friends through comments and emails and I’m feel so lucky to be able to connect with another young woman who is taking a similar approach to her healing. After many different medications and various doctors, she has found a promising new gastro and is feeling generally healthy. In her questionnaire she said,

“Crohn’s has made my life better. I enjoy every second that I am feeling well. I am so happy with the way that I eat now and how I handle stress and emotions.  Before Crohn’s I would let everything bother me. Now I roll with the punches and eat my veggies!!”

I’ve also connected with 2 Meg(h)ans.

Megan (no h) writes a blog called the Gut Gazette. For three years her doctor and naturopath told her that she probably had IBS while suffering from diarrhea, loose bowel movements, extreme stomach pain, stomach discomfort 24/7, weight loss, fatigue, canker sores in her mouth and iron deficiency. She was finally diagnosed with Crohn’s and began a few different treatments. She currently relies on a combination of traditional medicine, holistic treatments and supplements to help her feel good. She said she is feeling about 75% better but still experiences flare ups/extreme pain about once a month.

“Live well, laugh often, love much.”

And then there’s Meghan. I actually discovered Meghan through Lauren’s guest post in March. Her comment intrigued me and I ended up treating myself to a series of cooking classes and became an avid reader of her blog. Meghan’s story of achieving great health, as documented in her e-book The Healthy Cookie is incredibly inspiring. I quoted the following passage of her book in my review back in August,

"We must take our health into our own hands, do our own research and despite what is considered the norm in our society, we should consider our diet and lifestyle first, put natural remedies before chemical treatments and choose needles before knives."

This has been my approach to my Crohn’s and as a result I feel fantastic. I can’t say enough, how blessed I am to have met this amazing woman. She has inspired and supported me in ways that go far beyond food & Crohn’s and I’m so happy that our cyber-paths crossed last spring.

In Canada alone, there are said to be more than 200,000 people with IBD, the highest reported prevalence in the world. These are just a few of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been directly affected by IBD. Reading their responses to my questionnaire was thought-provoking and inspiring and reiterated for me that I am definitely not alone. I look forward to feeling inspired by each of them as they travel onwards in their journeys.

I want to say a huge thank you to Andy, Marie-Claire, Jessica, Lauren, Megan & Meghan for their bravery in allowing me to share their stories with you in my continued attempt to raise further awareness of IBD.

For more information of my journey with Crohn’s Disease, please read instalments 1, 2, 3 and 4 of my Crohn’s Week posts.

For more information about IBD, please visit the
Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation of Canada website.

For more information on Jessica’s campaign, please visit the
Uncover Ostomy website.

To read more of Meghan’s story of healing, be sure to check out her
e-book, The Healthy Cookie.

Posts I loved this week...

I can't remember which day it was, but my google reader told me that I had more than 300 posts to read - yikes!! I am slowly catching up, which is so fantastic because some of my favourite blogs have had some fantastic posts up:

10 Ways to Shake Up Your Life and Feel Energized - I discovered Annabel's blog a couple weeks ago and the timing could not have been better for me! Her blog focuses on achieving the life you've always dreamed of and her posts are incredibly inspiring. I dare you to go read this post and not feel inspired. Go.

The Pill: Sex, Drugs & Mood Swings - Meghan did an awesome series this week on the effects of the birth control pill as well as a number of great alternatives. I came off the birth control pill back in May because it was making me crazy. The lovely ladies at Red Tent Sisters were instrumental in helping me to make the transition and introducing me to the Justisse method. I feel amazing and in tune with my body as a result. Check out the posts for a ton of information as well as a great giveaway.

Marni Wasserman Follows her Passion into the kitchen on CrazySexyLife - Marni is going to be teaching holistic food prep at my new school beginning in January! Looking forward to taking class with her!

Have you stopped by Katie's blog for her Operation Chocolate-Covered-Kindness Page view drive?

Remember when Kate got to goal? This week she posted before & after photos on her blog, so go check out her amazing transformation!! What a superstar. So excited to celebrate Lifetime with her in a few weeks.

I also loved this post from Andrea detailing how to get the most out of your Weight Watchers meetings - such a smart (& inspiring) cookie!

Thanks for all your positive comments on my post about positivity! I'll be thinking of all of you when Annie belts out "Tomorrow" 3 times this weekend.

Truly Unbelievable Vegans

See what I did there?

With the objective of getting through the entire alphabet by Saturday, I’ve combined the next three letters to talk about some vegans I adore. I thought it would be fun to spread a little link love to vegans who inspire me through their blogs, cookbooks and initiatives on this planet, so here we go! (I’ve created an Amazon Store that features many of the lovely authors I’ve highlighted in this post, so be sure to check it out!)

Sarah Kramer truly is a “vegan cookbook superstar”. She is the author of 4 cookbooks including the first vegan cookbook I ever bought “How it All Vegan”. She’s cute and funny and the recipes are lovely for vegans and non-vegans alike. I made the black-bean & lentil salad from “La Dolce Vegan” for a potluck at work today!

Gena from Choosing Raw needs to get going on a cookbook, or maybe just a book about life and eating in general. Her posts are thoughtful, passionate and accessible for all. I love her simple approach to food. The day frozen bananas were introduced to my blender, creating banana soft serve was pure heaven and I have Gena to thank for that! Want a taste of Gena’s point of view? Check out her fantastic post from earlier this week called What Food Is Not; it will absolutely get you thinking.

I first encountered Jae Steele when I borrowed her cookbook “Get It Ripe” from my local library. I fell in love with the recipes like the gluten free blueberry buckwheat muffins and really enjoyed her culinary point of view. This summer I had the pleasure of testing recipes from her upcoming cookbook Ripe From Around Here which focuses on the importance of local food. Conveniently Jae lives in Toronto, which meant whatever was local to her, was also local to me! Recipes like the phad thai (to feed an army), curried split pea soup, roasted ratatouille, and pear ginger amaranth crumble brought joy to my kitchen and I can’t wait for the book to come out so that I can easily access all of the recipes whenever I want.

Some of my other favourite vegans include:

• Dreena Burton – I probably make a recipe from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan nearly every week
• Lazy Smurf – and not just because I won her recent giveaway! She has some awesome food pictures and I love hearing about life as a vegan in Texas
• Angela – Oh She Glows is just a beautiful site, period. I didn’t even realize for the longest time that Ange was actually vegan!? She loves food and is incredibly sweet, what’s not to love?
• Isa Chandra Moskowitz – How could I make a list of vegans and not include the creator of Vegan Mofo herself? Veganomican is a staple in my kitchen. I also recently enjoyed a copy of Vegan with a Vengeance that I borrowed from my local library. It’s going on my wish list because it was full of amazing recipes and inspiration! Such yummy vegan goodness!
• Hannah Kaminsky – Bittersweet is such a gorgeous blog. Hannah is such a talented gal behind the camera and in the kitchen and her book, My Sweet Vegan is a fantastic resource as well.
• Lisa – Another Torontonian vegan I found as a result of the recipe testing. Her blog is an awesome resource full of recipes, links and pictures of fabulous vegan (and sometime raw) goodness.
• Meghan – Although not strictly vegan, I use more of Meghan’s recipes that anything else in my kitchen including those from my time in her cooking classes as well as from her blog (banana –chocolate cuppins are also joining the pot luck party today). She’s another one who needs to get on with writing a cookbook!!

I could go on and on here folks, but I’m going to leave it at that. I’m constantly updating my blogroll with blogs I love and will continue to add books to my Amazon Store as I come across them.

I have to thank all of these bloggers and authors for providing me with daily inspiration in my kitchen. I learned awhile back that focusing on the foods I can (and want to) eat, makes meal time a lot more fun. These lovely ladies ensure that there’s a lot of love in my kitchen and fantastic food on my plate at every meal!

Which bloggers or authors do you look to for inspiration?

Happy 1 Year to me! Let's celebrate with a giveaway

Eric knows how to party

This blog is 1 year old! I can hardly believe it. It seems like yesterday I started this up as a way to connect to my members during the week and now it's turned into something so much bigger than that! Earlier this week I hit over 20,000 views which just blows my mind!!

I want to thank each and every one of you for reading, commenting and sending me emails. It really makes me so happy to connect with all of you and as a result I've learned so much. WW has taught me so much about myself and has helped me more on my life journey than just in weight loss. It has pushed me in directions I had no idea I would go in and introduced me to people I had no idea existed - but am so happy that I'm going there now. I also have to say that being a WW Leader is one of the best, most fulfilling jobs on the planet!!! My members continue to inspire me every single week and I am so grateful to lead such a phenomenal group of people. 

I've learned that no matter how far off plan you feel you've gone, you're never completely off the WW wagon. Sometimes you're in the driver's seat, other times you're holding on for dear life and there are times when you are running behind it trying to catch up. It will always be in your periphery, and just like the 'Footprints' poem a leader, receptionist, friend, fellow poster or even "Hungry" will always be there to carry you when you need it most.

This blog originally started as a way for me to connect with my members and other WW folks throughout but morphed into something entirely different when I was diagnosed with Crohn's. Thank you for your amazing support and continued enthusiasm for my blog as I've tweaked the format. I love all of my readers - the Weight Watchers, foodies, vegans, yogis, friends, family and everyone else!

Since birthdays are a festive occasion, I thought a giveaway would be in order!! To make it even more fun, there are two different things you can win!!

It's no secret that I love my Laptop Lunch. The lovely folks at Obentec (who make the Laptop Lunches) have graciously agreed to give one to one of my readers!! I am so excited to spread the Laptop Lunch love to one of you.

A second winner will also recieve a prize package with a few fun "Ashley's Choice" items in it. The contents haven't been confirmed as of yet but may include something like this or maybe a couple of my favourite things or maybe a book? I'm having a lot of fun putting it together!!

To win:

• Leave me a comment and tell me which post over the last year was your favourite (and why)


• Gain another entry by posting a link to this giveaway on your blog and leaving me a comment to tell me about it.


• Gain a third entry by checking out the Laptop Lunch site and leave me a comment telling me which bento set is your favourite. (I love my pink set!)

The giveaway is open to readers in Canada and US. This giveaway will close next Sunday June 7 at 6:00pm EST. I will choose 2 winners through a random number generator and will contact the winners via email. Please be sure to include your email in your entries so that I can contact you easily if you win.

Thanks again to my Laptop Lunch friends for donating a bento box for one of you lucky readers!

And thanks again to all of you! I look forward to more blogging in the year to come...