So here in Oklahoma, winter is making up for how mild it was the last couple of years by icing on us and leaving us in the single digits. I'm freezing and pissy. I HATE ICE!!! I don't mind snow, I kinda like it. And when it's cold outside, it can make you appreciate your warm house and your fuzzy slippers (or in my case, hand-knit wool socks) even more, right? Yeah right!! We are doing good to keep it over 40 degrees in this place. My house is old. Really old and falling apart. They found problems with the gas pipes so they won't allow the gas on. Some nonsense about the danger of explosions or fumes... whatever. (Yes, for those who might not understand me yet, I'm being sarcastic.) So we have no hot water and only space heaters. We are supposed to be moved out by the end of the month but it may realistically be January something. We rent, by the way. The windows and doors are so poorly installed that you can literally pass things through to someone outside around the edges. Seriously, we've done it. The sliding glass doors have about a 3 inch gap on one side because they don't fit the opening! We've filled that with foam but it still lets in air. There are holes that you can throw a cat through, as the old saying goes. Although nobody better be throwing my kitties anywhere;o) I know the holes are that big because possums keep sneaking into my house. Yes, literally.
Totally off subject but I have to tell this story now, since I mentioned the possums. They live under our house. I'm cool with that. Well, this one is so comfortable living with us that he likes to stroll through in the night. We would usually just yell at him or the dog would bark or a cat would hiss and he would take off back out the hole. (It's not a hole I can get to - the landlord made the holes last year trying to fix the gas problem.) Possum wasn't aggressive, in fact he was quite shy and nervous so we just ignored the problem. I grew up in the country; critters don't bother me. My cousins had a pet raccoon for years. Well a couple weeks ago, Cameron woke up and the possum was strolling across his body on his bed as he slept!!! He screamed like a little girl and the dog came running and started barking and the chase was on. Well, possum realized he had screwed up big time (even though he was considerably bigger than the dog) so he did what possums do.... he played possum. He had made it to my room by this time. So Gadget dragged what he presumed to be his "kill" behind my love seat. Possum still playing dead. Cameron moved the love seat, put a bucket over it, took it outside and THREW it across the yard. Still playing dead! He came in the house and we watched out the window. About two minutes later, he gets up and casually strolls back under our house. Yup, it's like that around here.
I've mentioned that I had given up on life until last August when I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Well, I'm admitting to all of this so you can understand just how low I had sunk. We were living in a house that should have been condemned. We can only plug use one appliance at a time in the kitchen other than the frig. Throwing a breaker is a very regular occurrence. Basically if you turn on the toaster without unplugging the juicer, bam. This neighborhood isn't great either. Oh and my beloved old truck (I LOVE old trucks - especially Fords; I would rather push an old truck than drive a new car) has been neglected and left in need of repairs for over a year. I had to have someone to help me in and out if I went anywhere anyway and I couldn't do my own shopping anymore as I couldn't walk unassisted and was too proud to use an electric cart. So what did it matter if I had my own transportation. My poor family could do nothing to pull me out of this downward spiral. It was actually quite telling that I was even willing to live in town. I have always hated living in town. I need to be in the country surrounded by nature and critters and air. I feel trapped and claustrophobic in town and it sets off my PTSD something fierce.
So this really does relate to all my healthy life changes. I hated myself so much that I didn't care how I lived. I don't now. Juicing and WFPB eating has not only given me back health, energy, weight-loss and independence (which is so important to me I can't even express it here - I am independent to a fault by nature) it has also given me back my self-respect and my desire to live the life I choose. We are getting out of this rat trap. We are looking for land to buy out in the country. We are going to buy a large RV to stay in while we pay off the land because once you have 50% equity in your land, there are a couple of companies that will either put a double wide on it or build a prefab home on it for no down payment. Your land serves as your collateral. The RV will also allow me to do another thing that I've always yearned to do and never been able to - travel. And buddy, let me tell you... we are going somewhere warmer for the winter. We should have the RV by the end of January at the latest - probably a 32' 5th wheel, haven't decided for sure. Getting the truck fixed by the end of the month as well - that's my Christmas present. I have friends in South Texas I'd like to see as well as a sister in Arizona and brothers and tons of cousins in California. I am most definitely going somewhere warmer for at least a good chunck of this miserable, cold, icy winter that Oklahoma apparently has planned. I love Oklahoma but I HATE ICE!! (See how I brought that back around. I really did have a point!)
Oh and lest you think I'm too off topic on this post, let me just say that as long as I have to literally bundle up in several layers including hat and scarf and mittens inside my house, I will probably not be losing as much weight because I'm not drinking cold juice and eating cold salad today. If I can see my breath in my bedroom, I'm having hot lentil soup and warm broth and baked potato with salsa and oatmeal and anything else that is served nice and hot! Don't get me wrong, still plant-based and clean but not much raw. And I have really come to believe in the power of raw. I'm not getting involved in all the drama going on in the raw community these days but I do believe that eating as much raw, fresh foods as you can manage will always benefit you. Except when it's 8 degrees fahrenheit outside and you only have a space heater.
Oh and as to my weight, I have lost a bit more. I'm down to 293 which means I've lost 47 lbs since August 23. I'm really curious to see how much the weight loss slows with these changes or if it will surprise me and keep going at 2-3 lbs a week. Stay tuned!
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