Wow, what a week!    The weekly gratitude posts are turning out to be more popular than I thought - who ever knew?

First of all, the week was filled with mostly travel to and from Dallas for my Frito-Lay speaking engagement, which I will touch upon with some photos.

Today (Saturday), I am packing to fly to London tomorrow for a week.    It was a sudden, last minute decision where all the pieces of the puzzle magically fell into place.  Unbelievable how it happened - more on that in a bit.

If you look underneath the picture on the top left corner, you’ll see we already have a quote for this week.  I got it from the Gratitude Quotes website through Googling.   (Ah, the power of Google!)

I have no idea who Chuck Danes is but his simple, yet profound statement makes sense, doesn’t it?  The idea is to be grateful even when you’re not feeling well or things aren’t going your way.  All it takes is just a shift of thinking to the positive and looking for hidden gems in your life.   It’s not only a great exercise for the brain but it fosters a healthy state of mind that only you can switch to the “ON” position.  No one else can do it for you.

I have much to be grateful for and I’m thankful to have a community of almost 600 subscribers to share it with!   Which, actually, brings me to the first point of gratitude……

Subscriber Community Increasing Steadily

I admit it.  Every time I open the home page of this blog, I like to see if any new subscribers signed up.  It’s a tiny little ego thing and it makes me feel good.  It also puts me in a state of gratitude knowing that people like yourself continue to be an active part of the AU community.

As a matter of fact, we’ve been seeing several comments ranging from the low 20s to high 50’s lately.   Your comments continue to make the art of keeping this blog alive a worthwhile endeavor!

Thank you!

Frito-Lay Speaking Engagement - Dallas, TX

I have to tell you this client went over the top in taking good care of me while I was in Dallas this week.  They treated me like a member of their family and put me up in a very nice hotel suite, had a limo pick me up/drop me off, among other things.

When I arrived, I was delighted to discover just how warm it was compared to where I had just come from (Ohio).  On my way to the airport that morning, it was snowing lightly with temperatures hovering in the 40’s.   Since I crave the sun’s energy, I jumped at the chance of spending some more time in the warm light.

After checking into my hotel, I had lunch at Cafe Express, a few blocks away and found myself a table basking in direct sunshine.   It was like heaven.   I must have languished there for at least 45 minutes, soaking up the sun’s warmth - it made me feel sooooo good.

Later that night, the committee that brought me in for the following morning’s keynote, treated me to a fabulous dinner at Jasper’s, one of the best of the best restaurants in Dallas.   We had a private room and was presented with a delicious array of appetizers, wine and a main course.    All of us had a great time, myself included.

There was a gathering the following morning for key executives to formally introduce themselves to me prior to my talk.  I was very impressed with how everyone made sure they were facing me so that I could read their lips.  When it came to my turn to say a few words, I told them how much they felt like family to me by that point.

They have a phenomenal program at Frito-Lay called “Enable,” the group that was responsible for the now-famous Superbowl TV commercial with two deaf guys trying to find the house they were going to for a party.  It was hilarious.  If you haven’t seen it, you can see it here.

Rick Calamari, VP of Engineering introduced me to the audience after which I got up and spoke for an hour.   This was a speech where I completely let go and let the Spirit work through me.

It was quite an experience - let me tell you!

When it was over, several people, including a young man in a wheelchair (see photos below) wanted to meet me.  The young man, who I believe had some form of cerebral palsy, said it was his dream to be a policeman.     I asked if he’d mind a hug from me at which point he raised both arms as best as he could.  It was a very touching moment.   There was not a dry eye within earshot.

One of the Group VP’s of HR also approached me with gratitude written all over his face.  He handed me a business card and gave me a hug as well.  It wasn’t until after I got home last night when I realized he had written a very special note on the back of his card:

I am grateful for this incredible life transforming experience.   Thank you Frito-Lay for giving me the privilege of inspiring your workforce and for going all out to promote the event.  You definitely had a great turn out and I can only hope my presentation did you justice!

New Recipes for the Raw Food Journey

Among the good things like being at the lowest weight ever (154.0 on the scale yesterday, down from 178.5 at the beginning of the summer), I am also making new friends who also have an interest in the healthy eating lifestyle.

Remember I told you last week about getting a colonic cleansing?  Well, Linda Clifton, the woman who administered my first ever colonic, and I have become good friends.  Like me, she eats healthy, owns a Vita-Mix blender, among other things.

Just before I left for Dallas, she invited me to spend the day this past Sunday to hang out.   We went for a ride on her scooter to a park with a gorgeous man-made pond (fountain in the middle).  We talked for quite some time and then it started to rain.    By the time we reached a shelter (roof covering several picnic tables), it poured.

Soon the rain died out and it was time to scoot back to the house for dinner.

You’ll never guess what we had.

RAW SPAGHETTI!!

No, I’m NOT kidding!

Not only was it delicious but it was very satisfying.   It was strange to see a plate resembling Italian spaghetti.   When Linda handed me my over-sized dinner, I  protested and told her, “I can’t eat all that - it’s way too much!”

But she replied it wouldn’t stuff me like spaghetti used to.  She turned out to be right.  Even though it was a big plate, I ate every morsel of it, even having enough room left for raw dessert (pitted dates with coconut covering - YUMMM!)

Raw Spaghetti.

I mean, who knew I’d be eating this kind of food?!?!?

Do you see the green sauce on top of it?  That was easy to make too.  Linda threw in the Vita-Mix blender the following ingredients to make “spaghetti sauce”:

• Fistful of Cilantro
• Fistful of Basil
• Handful of Onion Greens (long green stems with white bulbous ends)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 big organic tomatoes (cut to thirds)

Mix them in a Vita-Mix blender and you’re done!  When I make raw spaghetti the next time, I plan to throw in a few extra items in the blender for the sauce - I just don’t know what yet.  But that’s the fun of it!

That reminds me, I’ve been listening to my intuition and doing what it tells me to do in terms of when to eat, what to eat, what to put in the blender when I make green smoothies, etc.  It’s been an interesting journey because now more than ever, I’m listening to what my body is telling me.

I suspect that if you decide to embark on a similiar journey, you’ll find yourself doing the same thing.  Okay, that was one recipe.  Here’s another one for you.

The Hoppy Loaves

This is even easier to make!  You see?  It’s not just about eating boring celery and carrots.  You get to be creative and it doesn’t take all that much time either.  Just a little planning is all you need.

The “Hoppy Loaves” are good for either lunch or dinner.   You can have them as a mid-day snack if you want but I prefer turning these loaves into a meal because they are so filling.

Some people in the raw food movement call this recipe “Romaine Lettuce Roll-ups” but I am calling them “The Hoppy Loaves.”   (Get it?  Hopson is my last name so Hoppy ………)     

There are two kinds of Hoppy Loaves.

The first is made of romaine lettuce, sliced cherry tomatoes, avocado and minced garlic cloves.   Scoop out the insides of an avocado and mesh them with pieces of garlic in a bowl.  Spread them on the romaine lettuce and then decorate them with sliced cherry tomatoes.

I made this platter for a holiday party recently and while some people wrinkled their noses at the sight of the healthy-looking tray, others were curious and decided to try a few.   Did they like them?  Well, the entire tray was empty within a half hour!  You tell me.

This is how you can adapt to “reality” - you can’t stay home and eat raw food forever.   Sooner or later, you’re going to be invited to a party of “non-raw foodists.”  That’s okay.  You can adapt like I did.   What you bring might raise some eyebrows but so what?  At least you’re bringing something YOU like and feel comfortable eating.  If no one else wants to eat what you bring, GOOD!   At least you can have it all to yourself.  LOL.

The second kind is even easier to make.   Simply spread raw almond butter on the romaine lettuce and eat!  Both recipes take not even 5 minutes to prepare.   Go and tell the others about this recipe - it’s healthy, delicious and filling!

Before I get into the last and final gratitude piece of the week, I just want to alert you to a new category here.   Until I get my own raw food blog up and running, every time I mention anything having to do with my raw food journey, I’m going to put it in a new category called “Raw Food Journey.”

LONDON HERE I COME!

The way this trip materialized was a bit strange but because all the pieces fell into place so easily, I have to think it was meant to be.

The last time I went overseas was when I went to Italy with a friend in the mid-eighties.  That was a lot of fun but I had not been back to Europe since then  (Photo Credit:  davidgutierrez2007)

Ever since I went on the raw food journey in September 2008, I’ve come across many inspiring raw foodists on the Internet including, but not limited to, Philip McCluskey (Loving Raw - look for an interview with him here very soon!), Dhrumil (We Like It Raw) and Anthony Anderson (Raw Model).

I’ve also discovered David Wolfe who is very well known in the raw food movement.  I bought one of his books, The Sunfood Diet Success System, which I really enjoyed.  It was both motivational and practical.

And then I learned about Matt Monarch and Angela Stokes both of whom are raw food celebrities in their own right.    Angela lost half of her body weight on raw foods while Matt went 100 percent raw overnight while working as a young rising star at MTV Networks about 9 years ago.  The interesting thing about Matt that he was somehow able to take his raw food journey and turn it into a compelling story even though he was always in great shape before he went raw.  Angela on the other hand, lost 160 lbs on the raw food diet.

One day, I decided I wanted to buy a couple of Matt’s books (Raw Spirit and Raw Success).   I’m the kind of person that loves to read voraciously when I hit upon a new area of interest to me.   It was like this when I first began flight training back in 1999/2000 - I filled row upon row of my bookshelf with aviation books.   Now I’m doing it again with books about raw food.   Pretty soon I’m going to have to build a large library to accommodate all these books!

Shortly after I ordered Matt’s books, I received an email from him thanking me for the purchase.  While this was nothing out of the ordinary because I often receive automated “thank you’s” for purchases I’ve made, when I took a double look, I realized it was a personalized note from Matt himself.

I sent him an email to express my surprise about him responding personally to a small order of books.   That led to a flurry of emails back and forth where I introduced to him some of my YouTube videos as well as my speaking website.    He wrote back saying he’d love to find a way to work with me in some type of capacity but wasn’t sure exactly what (he speaks all over the world at various raw food festivals and events).

That’s what sparked an idea while driving around town, doing errands one day.

TIME TO GO TO LONDON!

The thought came on so strongly that I knew I was supposed to go there.    The first thing I did was to tell Matt of this “crazy idea.”  His reply was down right enthusiastic  - “Come on out” he said.

Then I remembered I had a long lost friend named Mike who also lived in London.  He had visited me years ago when he went to New York City during the mid-eighties.  I let him and his friend stay at my place for a whole week.  His parting words were, “If you ever need a place to stay when in London, give me a shout, okay?”

It was time to call in that favor.

I contacted him and said I was thinking of going to London the first week of November.   His reply almost made me fall off my chair.

“Godod news!” he said.  ” I’m on vacation that week!”

I got went right to work finding myself a flight but reasonable airfares was almost impossible to find since I was looking to book a seat only the week before.   Many available seats were being listed in the thousands.  I almost gave up but decided to continue searching the next day when I hit the jackpot and found a seat on Air France at a reasonable price.

The departure date is……..

TOMORROW!

The flight leaves out Detroit Metro.  That means I am driving 3 hours from Ohio to Michigan to catch this overseas flight.   That’s okay.  The flight isn’t scheduled for departure until early evening anyway so that means I’ll have an opportunity to catch up with some old friends in that state.   I’ve been meaning to do that anyway so I might as well catch two birds with one stone.  (I know that sounds cliche, but hey, who cares, right?)

I’m very grateful that from the moment this CRAZY idea was conceived, everything fell into place so easily and effortlessly.  I am already packed, my passport is current and all I need to do now is finish this post and go rest up for the long day tomorrow.

Ladies and gentlemen, for the next week, it’s going to get very quiet around here.  The Adversity University campus will continue to hum with new and old visitors alike (hopefully with comments) but no new articles will be forthcoming until I come back to America on the 11th.

Thank you all for your continued love and patience.  I look forward to sharing scores of photos and hopefully interesting stories to tell of the London trip!

Until then, enjoy!

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