Well, in life, balance is always an issue. I've had a few blogs running around in my head in the last few weeks, but none of them have come to full development in cyberspace quite obviously....

I suppose now would be a good time for a few little snippets of my life this past month.

First off, I have been enjoying my own "recipe" which consists of co-op deli ingredients thrown together in a wrap. Here is a delightful last minute wrap idea for anyone in the Twin Cities area:

Go to the wedge and pick up the basil walnut pesto and lentil walnut pate from the deli case. The only avoid for As is the black pepper used to flavor it. Spread these ingredients onto an Ezekiel or Fat Flush tortilla (made by French Meadow) and in between these two put some powdered garlic, ground mustard seed, and turmeric. Add some broccoli or alfalfa sprouts and wrap it up baby! Voila! I literally lived off this concoction for about three days in a row and enjoyed every minute of it!

Also another amazing health food, albeit processed, that many can enjoy from Whole Foods is the ShaSha Bread Company's spelt and flax flatbread. I'm madly impressed by this ShaSha guy, whoever he is! Way to go on some wheat-free alternatives!!! Keep'em coming!

Next place worth mentioning....Intelligent Nutrients (IN), the sister company of Aveda. They used to be located in Uptown Minneapolis on South Hennepin and Lake St, a few blocks from my pharmacy. They closed down in order to open this huge 15,000 sq. foot complex in NE MPLS, right off East Hennepin and the I-35 W exit. After they've been opened for the last few months, I finally got the urge to visit this amazing place two weeks ago!

There is this beautiful retail area full of foods, supplements, essential oils, upscale grade incense, and Horst-inspired things. Horst is really into Biblical oils and even has a spikenard oil named for retail as "Maria Magdalena" since she annointed Jesus' feet with Spikenard. I bought a tiny little 0.2 ounce of this stuff and brought it to work. It's quite strong and some techs/pharmacists were not very fond of it, mostly the guys, but Elana and I just loved it.

Speaking of Elana...she, Tara, and Paul (techs at the store) all got into pharmacy school at the U of M! They will all be in the same class next year so it will be interesting to hear what they are learning when they come to work on evenings and weekends.

Whoa, anyway, sorry for the tangeant. Back to IN. Next to the gorgeous, almost holy, retail space came the cafe. Lots of organic healthy options, so inspiring to me as a healthful food lover, but still, not quite BTD-friendly. Nevertheless, I had some kale soup (yum!) and some salad w/grapefruit and some other things that I cannot remember any longer because it was too long ago! Also had the most gorgeous cup of white peony tea! I just LOVE this place. The teas are so beautiful, not only to drink but to watch blossom as they are filled in a clear glass teacup with piping hot water! Oh my God, the thought of leaving Minneapolis is so scary to me!! This is Horst's ideal world and it is so beautiful!

The bummer is that the cafe is only opened for lunch at this point. However, there is a Wunderbar in the very back where they serve wines and other things in the eveings and also have speakers come in to discuss various alternative medicine concepts. I have not been there yet, but plan to go very soon!

Hmmm....what else? There is something very strange in the air this spring. I also get a little bi-polar/manic around this time of year. Not that I've ever been diagnosed with anything that would brand me with a big fat DSM-IVR scar for life, but still, I want to spend lots of money, party, and ahem...pretend I'm a little forest creature in mating season whenever April and May roll around. Spring is my favorite time of year, despite all the rain, I still just love the cleansing effect of it all. I really get a little crazy in the spring!

The best news of the entire season: Grubster is moving to Minneapolis in July! That's right! As he has always said to me for the last grueling year and a half we've been dating in this long-distance purgatory,

"The bear will go to Minneapolis! The bear will go to Minneapolis!"

I am excited that we may finally resemble a "normal" couple, haha. It's time. He needs to come mark his territory here or I might be swept away by another manimal here in my spring fever. He is definitely my alpha male however. There is no denying that this handsome Type O triggers a primal response in me to share the spread of genetic material with him. We are so totally going to have babies together someday when we get our finances, emotions, and geographical logistics straightened out! And yes, also before all that happens, as Walter Crinnion pointed out in the IfHI lectures, all women living in this toxic earth need to do some serious heavy metal and PCB detoxification before even considering getting pregnant if they want to have kids without ADD or with an IQ higher than 70, haha!

Sorry, while I realize my human form takes on a slightly higher level of being than most creatures, I am an animal of this earth and cannot deny this part of myself, so I apologize if this primal mating talk offends you. Express, don't repress.