going green...for your health

Some people have trouble drinking their vegetables. I am not one of those people. My mind does this funny thing when it knows something is good for us. It turns on a little taste good switch and poof…

MPITHW (most people in the world): “Ewww. Liquid kale…nasty.”
Emily: “Liquid Kale. Hmm. Looks weird. Tastes awesome.”

It’s just the way it rolls.

Now, I’m not going to try and convince you that this smoothie is ever going to taste like dipping thin mint Girl Scout cookies in a glass of milk while you watch reruns of Friends at midnight on your couch. This is never going to be that for you. This green smoothie is for people who wake up in the morning and want to punch today in the face.  In a kind way, of course. Violence is not a part of this smoothie shenanigan.

So here’s what you do if you don’t like to drink green vegetables…you take one for the team. You remember that if you want to live long and healthy and eat lots of Girl Scout cookies, you have to balance it out with green things. So you do it, you put your healthy pants on and you get out your blender.

Who knows, you may even start to like it. 

Green Smoothie:

1 C. water

2 C. kale

1/2 C. pineapple

1/2 banana

1/3 granny smith apple
1/4 C. orange juice

1 TBS. wheat germ

pinch of fresh parsley

blend it up for a couple

of minutes. enjoy one
now & one later!

document the joy.

"There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” 

–John Calvin

Hello & good morning to you, 

It's been a long time. Too long. I started this blog to chronicle a four month adventure to the pacific northwest and that was exactly what I did. When I returned from Oregon, I spent a long time feeling uninspired by the familiarities of home and anxious that I had made a wrong decision by not returning. After a few weeks of being home, I realized that much of what I missed was writing about my seemingly insignificant yet cherished discoveries.   

You see, writing does two important things for me. It makes me aware of the beauty that can be found all around; in nature, in friendships, in meals shared, in discovering old things and creating new ones. It also allows me to tune in to the part of my brain or maybe the part of my heart that isn't often stirred by the spoken word. When I sit down to write or type, it's almost as if a secret place has been uncovered, like a box filled with deep appreciation for simple things springs open and comes loose. Writing takes a moment in time that could easily be forgotten, brings it to life and more importantly makes it a part of the future.

Oregon was undoubtedly one of the most beautiful places I have been and at every turn there seemed to be something to write home about. That chapter of life's grand adventure has come to an end. There are days that pass when I miss it tremendously but before I can begin to lament, a day comes where I am standing on the beach, looking out at seagulls flying over the Atlantic Ocean and am exceedingly happy to be in the sunshiny state of Florida. I am beginning to realize that joy is not conditional on geographic location. Sure, there are times where the beauty of a place surpasses that of another but seeking and uncovering joy, true joy, can happen in a multitude of places. Near and far away. 

So here is to the continued documentation of joy and all of the mysterious places it can be found.