Well, being a new mommy (to my adopted doggie) has been incredibly rewarding physically, mentally, and spiritually, but is also the reason I have not blogged as of late! Between visits to the pet supply store, vet, dog parks, and many, many walks, as well as work which is always beckoning me (lots of sick people needing drugs dispensed), I have not taken the time to sit down next to the computer and blog my heart out.

So now, since I'm procrastinating the work I should be doing (cleaning my house!), what better time to share my latest reflections with the BTD community?

Tonight, there was a RMB meeting that somehow a few months back I was added to their email list. I know that sentence made absolutely no sense grammatically but right now I'm so jacked up on this green tea drink from Intelligent Nutrients that my brain is saying, GO GO GO, and I don't have time to stop for second thoughts.

RMB stands for Responsible Minnesota Business. There was a free meeting at Intelligent Nutrients (you all know the company Aveda started by Horst, right? Well, he sold Aveda and started up IN here in MPLS). Grubster and I came but neither of us really knew anyone else there and by the time we got there, half the get together was over so it's sort of strange sometimes walking in on a meeting, as casual and unstructured as it was, especially since neither of us are business owners, though we do both work for not-for-profit companies now, haha.

Please visit www.intelligentnutrients.com because there is some really cool stuff for sale here. Horst is very into natural health as you might imagine given Aveda's progressive philosophy back in the 70s and 80s when it started. His store has such an intriguing variety of essential oils, medicinal foods (organic coffee, org. chocolate, green and rooibos teas, fresh organic salads at the cafe, oh it's heaven!), and all sorts of other great goodies. There is an INcentive program where the more you buy the more cool stuff they send. I just got a $10 gift certificate in the mail (and used it all up tonight at my visit!).

Horst is coming up with this line of cosmetic products that are so clean (no petrochemicals, etc.) that you could actually eat them! His philosophy is that you don't want to be putting stuff on your skin or your scalp that your body absorbs which will in turn cause a variety of illnesses. I can't wait till his stuff comes out on the market! I mean, even most of the stuff sold at the co-ops and HFS have a lot of parabens, SLS, and other questionable "inactive" ingredients. Wouldn't it be wonderful to walk into a beauty salon and walk about being able to pronounce the ingredients on the label without hesitation?

Unfortunately, the store itself is not doing as well is it could be doing. I attribute this to its location. Horst opened it in sort of a strange but beautiful space. He is definitely forward-thinking in this because I'm sure that within ten years the location will generate plenty of pedestrian traffic (which is the kind of clientele he needs given the fact that most pedestrian-happy people tend to invest in their health to some extent just by the nature of their walking). Until then, it's a hidden gem in the city, right off of I-35W, near Old St. Anthony and Dinkytown, but not very close to any other key businesses, just many old warehouses.

Tonight, Aaron (aka Grubster) had his auro photo taken. He is a yellow. No surprise to me. I actually thought he might be orange or red, too, and he also has a lot of indigo in his third eye chakra which is fairly active compared to the other chakras. Now, certainly, some might say, take these aura machines with a grain of salt, but I find them to be an intriguing tool for self-discovery and self-healing. For instance, I have a very green aura (about a month ago I was yellow-green), but my 7th and 1st chakra have been consistently weak.

This lack of grounding (1st chakra weakness) I almost feel has become worse over the last few years. I used to love traveling, but now, the thought of getting on a plane is just plain (no pun intended) traumatic for me. And, I mean, I should know better, statistically. People get on airplanes all the time. They take-off, they land. It's all good. And dear Lord, if anyone should put things into perspective it's me. My house is located right smack underneath one of the main landing flight patterns for the MSP airport! I honest-to-God have a jet going above my freakin' house every five minutes. Nevertheless, the combination of 9/11, being a pharmacist (control-freak who sees how quickly and easily errors can happen in the healthcare business), and some unknown force have made me feel ungrounded to the point that the thought of going several hundred to several thousand feet in the air is just plain terrifying. I've been flying all my life. I have accumulated over 200,000 frequent flier miles from Northwest Airlines which I probably should be using up right about now as they are dancing the backruptcy jig. And still, what keeps me hellbent on the ground physically? Lack of grounding spritually I suppose.

So, with that, I'm starting with some oils. I'm starting to develop healthier waking rituals (trying not to wake up so stiff!) And what else? Kegels? Pilates bridges? Man, how I'd love to be able to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn without fatigued resistance and just meditate? Perhaps that's in the works. Some people, aka highly disciplined people, make it look so darn easy! It almost seems as though this is a chicken egg phenomenon. You have to have the groundedness to get up every morning and face the day like this, but how else to you achieve it? Am I making sense?

Between the am mocha, the pm herbal tissane, and the late pm matcha w/ginger (what was I thinking??), I'm writing this with a good share of jitters. But hey, don't complain, you have a blog to read, right?

Food. What's new? Well, tonight, Aaron and I both had delicious salads at the IN. Aaron had the house salad with edible flowers, red bell peppers, some sort of creamy dill dressing, walnuts, and I had the beet chevre salad with a delectable carrot dressing. It was awesome! It's just too bad people aren't catching on to this place. Here we have the masses stuffing their faces with fastfood getting dumber and larger by the minute, then wondering why they can't lose the weight. The answer is at 983 East Hennepin Ave. in MPLs, people. Well, OK, it's one solution anyway. Don't forget that D'Adamo guy who wrote all those Blood Type books (wink). He might know a thing or two about optimal vitality, too.

Otherwise, no rave restaurant reviews. I've really been doing a whole lot of home cooking this past winter. And in a jam, I eat simple stuff from the Whole Foods deli. No, it's not perfect but at least I know what ingredients they are putting into each preparation unlike most mystery dishes at most restaurants and delis. A Trader Joe's is opening up near me in May. That should be fun! It's within biking distance so I can finally be that cute little eurochick wannabe who stacks groceries into the basket and bikes them home.

On that note, goodnight!