purdy as a picture..can you eat pictures?

I LOVE MACARONS!! It all started in Victoria, living downtown amongst the little italian and french pastry shops..i developed this massive love of the sweet and chewy (with a hint of almond) macaron. They come in all colours and flavours, and they were gone really fast at these shops. I looked at learning how to make my own, and how to make them healthier...but i couldn't. You could use agave nectar for the middle paste, but thats about the only thing you can do...they are not healthy, and maybe that is why i love them so much..like a little affair on your green smoothie..So, here is the recipe that i am using for my Christmas baking..(they will make an appearance at my Ovio Christmas Shindig if they turn out ;)

Ovio Organico Christmas shindig

Hello...i posted this on facebook , but for some of you who are not on facebook...here is an invite:


Ovio Organico Christmas Spa

6-9pm, Dec 12


My place! There will be wine, tea and chocolate fondue, as well as your own personal foot soak where you can try our scrubs, oils and balms. Bring a friend if you wish, and i will have a table of products for sale if you're not done your Christmas shopping! please RSVP 250-376-8331

Guess who?

I've been reading in my course about ultrasound, and the risks it can pose to an unborn baby (even a born one!) and today the lovely Gloria Lemay  posted on her blog a conversation between two women in the birth field about those risks. It is worth a read...
I've personally had a problem with ultrasound for awhile now, before i knew there was any physical risks involved. My problem was about the lack of surprise in pregnancy these days. Sorry if i'm a little brash, but why do we as parents, want to find out the gender of our babe in a dark room with an ultrasound tech? Are we that much of an instant gratification society, that we can't wait until we meet our little furry/bald head muffins at birth? OK, before i sound like a total snob...i've been tempted for sure. In Victoria while i was getting a scan done for my (Levi) pregnancy, the tech said, "do you want to know?" ....that was soooo hard..but Scott was on the other side of that door with Jaida, and i remembered the glee of being wrong about my guess with her..and i wouldn't have had that surprise if i had found out beforehand.  So i guess my problem wasn't with ultrasound per say, more of the lack of surprise ..and how many good surprises do we have these days? I've heard reasons such as: 1. 'I want to have the baby room ready'..sleep with your baby, and i'm sure he/she will be even more content. :) 2.'I don't want to have to buy everything in yellow'...don't, buy a couple of things and then go shopping afterwards...Levi wore pink and purple for the first week of his life, and he didn't seem to mind :) . 3. 'I really wanted to have a boy, so we wanted to find out'..and then what? You lose a little bit of your excitement at the fact you're haveing a girl?  4. 'knowing the sex enables me to bond with my baby better, and give him/her a name' ..when you're bonding with a little soul inside you, does the sex matter? BUT, these are just MY opinions...they go along with my personality...i hate planning too far ahead, and i'm all about surprise. If you are a choleric personality, i don't understand your view, because i'm a full on sanguine. ( Look those up if you're lost on what i'm saying:) Also, if you have different take on it, feel free to rant on me..i like different opinions!

Doesn't this picture make you think of childhood wonder? I got it from another blog and i forget which one..will post when i find out where so i can give the picture taker some credit :)

Thankyou to the friends who commented, called and e-mailed on my post from yesterday..i don't know how to set the comment section up so people can comment anonymously..so far you have to have a google account or other blog. Please tell me if you know how:)

I need your advice!

I am going to do some sort of consumer research here...i have been pluggin' away with my business Ovio Organico for almost 7 years now, it started out as a soap business, and then changed into 24 different skin care products because of my love of making up new products. I quickly realized that i couldn't afford the 12 different types of packaging, and all the professional labels that my products required (especially when there is always a minimum order per label)...so because of my lack of business skills i joined up with my good friend Richard (yes a man, not gay, but we've been friends for a long time..blah blah blah)..so then when Ovio became a real business, with a real accountant, etc..i felt out of my realm...everything had become so redundant and i lost my mojo. :( We went down to 3 products for cost reasons, and  began selling in some stores, but it became boring and not that fruitful...so now what?!  Last weekend i was at a Christmas show, and i had decided the week before to experiment with new essential oils, new mixtures...and even bought some blank Martha Stewart (gasp!) labels so i could create whatever the heck i wanted...and it was so fun!!! The mojo has made an appearance and i'm having crazy brain storming sessions in my, well, brain. Here are a few of my ideas:

1. Carry on with Ovio, but start carrying other products as well and have an on-line shop called Eco-nomical Organical or just Ovio Organico --'the eco-nomical source for all things organic', which would offer great prices on organic labels...

 2. Continue on with Ovio and  develope a product range that is A. very well -priced and sold on-line and at craft fairs, home parties, etc.. or B. regular priced that is only sold in stores, since i have to consider the mark-up the store would put on the product(where would you prefer to purchase?)

3. Continue on with Ovio but make it a mother/baby range only, (and do i sell on-line, or in stores?)

And the last part: What do you use most of? What would you be interested in using? ..i would very much appreciate your comments, phone calls, or e-mails...i need some direction!

Raw food-ness

I bought a Vita-Mix at Costco yesterday..without talking about it with Scott. I came home with a look of glee spread across my face and had to slowly explain why i bought it,('this will change your life Scott', 'it makes hot soup!', 'it was the LAST day at Costco', etc...) he was pretty ticked. $500.00 is not small change around here, so i understand his frustration with his compulsive wife. So i've taken it as my challenge to use it well...last night i made this super delicious soup in 5 min, ..throw all your raw ingredants in, turn it on for 4 min, and the friction makes the soup hot...ta-da!! We made ice cream last night when Scott had a DQ craving...(see all the money we're saving!), and i'm going to make some sort of mush for dinner just to prove you can use it for every meal of the day!! Anyways, i've wanted one for about 4 years since every raw food un-cook book i have requires it for something. I am starting a raw food challenge on Tuesday, and i'm going till Christmas Eve baby..i'll write a little about it, and post some easy peasy recipes.

The requirements are:

*approx. 80% of the food i eat has to be raw goodness
*no white-ness (flour, sugar, dairy,etc..)
*NO coffee..i'm trying this one again
* excercise at least 3 times per week
* no animal products..zip..nothin..

concocting

Tonight i am getting prepared for a Christmas Craft show...wrapping lavender soaps, mixing sugar scrubs, and finishing off a perfume i've been working on...i'm not telling what i put in it, but it smells like coconut with lime, with a dash of cocoa maybe? I'm amazed by smells and how they tend to trick us...i can use 10 different essential oils and have the perfume come out smelling like grape candy...like the fake grape candy. I have always wanted to become a 'nose'...i already drive Scott nuts by detecting the smallest gas leaks, and when i was pregnant the smell of plastic wrap drove me crazy. Mandy Aftelier is a natural perfumer who only uses essential oils and absolutes to create her deeply mysterious potions...a true artist.

babies = hope

Lately I find myself craving pregnancy, birth, and that feeling of being blissed out and in love. In reality though, i know i have a lot of  'things' (for lack of a better word) to work through before even planning a fourth babe... Scott and I have never 'planned' a baby..they just happened on random...and we were thrilled! And with those spontaneous conceptions there is always a feeling of "oh crap...we didn't think about this" mixed with "yee-haw!". So now, its been awhile since a good ol' surprise...and i'm turning 29 , and i'm feeling the weight of 'planning', and 'retirement savings', and with all the bad news in the world, a baby = hope for the future. So maybe i don't really need to have another babe..but even thinking that i might gives me enough hope that my life will not turn out just as i 'plan' it to.