an ode to milk.

So I've been really good at that posting every day thing! I feel like I start every post with a version of that lately ...

Monday was my last day of the cleanse! So exciting for me, so I made some of my favourite cleanse foods (although let's face it, I had about eight things that I rotated for twenty one days). For lunch I made my absolute favourite garlic quinoa pancakes, this time with sliced cucumbers and grape tomatoes and roasted garlic hummus. I was able to spread the batter out more this time and make them flatter and crispier. The combination with the veggies and hummus was so delicious and refreshing; I knew there was a lot of garlic in this meal, but didn't appreciate the full effect until I went to give Jamie a little smooch and he recoiled with a 'what the hell did you eat??' Oops! I cannot believe how much garlic I've eaten while on this cleanse. I'm fairly confident I had it every single day, and only recently was I using the garlic press. I mean, I love trying to practice my knife skills (especially after slicing off the tip of my thumb with an exacto knife making Jamie's flyswatter Halloween costume!) but I've never been great at chopping garlic. A press is just so much easier and more my style! Anyway they were obviously delicious.
Since I'd gotten the fresh basil for the pancakes I decided to try the tomato basil pasta again since my attempt with the dried basil was fair at best. I'm so glad, because that sauce is just so delicious! The fresh basil is oh so yummy. I don't know if this makes me a crazy person or not, but lately I've been noticing a black licorice-type smell when I chop basil. Is that normal? Does anyone else ever notice something like that? Or is it likely I am going crazy? Either way, I love it and can't wait until we get the setup to plant some fresh herbs! I majorly dropped the ball Monday evening though and fell asleep reading (what is it about warm summer sun and a good book that makes a perfect nap??) missing both Yin and my meditation workshop! Yikes, super successful day Maia! It's okay, to make up for it I did what's been my favourite at-home routine lately - this hip-opening sequence and nighttime practice, both from Yoga Journal. I find it so relaxing and restorative, and also good for waking up from an evening nap when I don't necessarily need an energizing practice. Lately I've also been a huge fan of reclining bound angle pose, whether I'm in beginning or final savasana in class, or practicing at home, or just laying in bed for that matter, I always find myself drifting into this pose. I've really grown to love and revel in the sensation of hip-opening poses, relishing how much more open and flexible my body feels. Another thing I love about home practice is I can go at my own speed, if I feel like staying in a pose for as much as five whole minutes, or as little as five breaths. I've been feeling such a great stretch in the back of my legs lately when I'm in downward dog that I can get my foot flat on the ground! It's really satisfying and I feel great when I can look back and see my soles flush with the mat - or sweat-soaked towel if I'm in the studio - even if it doesn't necessarily happen every time! Since I had a major nap Monday I was up late and was able to catch the season finale of Top Chef Canada when Jamie got home from work (it was a late night!!) He offered that since it was after midnight I was technically done my cleanse - but I decided to wait anyway.

Tuesday morning I awoke with one and only one thrilling thought in my head - 'I can have milk today!!' Yes, it's been a long twenty-one days, or five hundred four hours, if you'd prefer: thirty thousand, two hundred forty minutes, and finally one million, eight hundred fourteen thousand four hundred seconds !!! For those of you that have been reading since the beginning, or know me in any capacity in life know that I have a deep love for milk. I would like to share with you, an ode to milk.

an ode to milk
a Maia Leggott original

for as long as I can remember : you have been a colossal presence in my life .

i know my whole family loves you, but i think it was me and dad the most, in my memory.

it really until I lived on my own and was working to support my own ass that I realized just how much of your succulent nourishment i actually drank -- four mouthwatering litres that don't stand a chance for more than two or three days .

i will not hesitate to say that you
are my most favourite
beverage of all time - every morning
when i wake up, the first thing i do
is either pour a glass or take a huge 
gulp out of the jug
                                  -- this is okay 
because Jamie and I have separate milk 
preferences, mine being skim and his 
2% - and let's face it, everyone chugs
from the jug  --
                                    to coat my
cat-shit morning breath infused dried-out
tongue and throat.  the warm lemon
water substitute is first-rate at
accelerating the poop process
                                              -- but
not as satisfying to drink.                                 

you are always my go-to - the ultimate
hangover fix
                    -- i have to give some love
to chocolate here because your thicker
consistency coats the hungover stomach
in a delicious way --
                       accompanying any meal,
any junk food category --
                                       salty/crunchy, 
sweet/candy, and chocolate --
                               to cool off on a hot
day, if i'm running late for something and
don't have anything else to fill my stomach
you provide the creamy coating i need
to survive an hour or two.

if this cleanse has revealed that my body
does not love you any more, i want you
to know that my soul will love you
forever, and probably still indulge
                                                  -- more
than i should.

That is my ode to milk, just to show you how much I've missed it. And because let's face it - I'm sitting at home writing my blog with reruns of How I Met Your Mother and The Office on in the background - why would I not be inspired to write an ode to my favourite beverage??

Needless to say as soon as I woke up Tuesday I rushed to superstore (I'm surprised I didn't buy it the night before in all honesty!) and bought a two litre - just in case I'm intolerant, wanted to start slow! I came home to pour a half cup of delectable creaminess and kissed the glass before I hastily gulped it down (this is not a joke-  I am sincerely that lame). It was the most cold and delicious drink of milk I can ever remember having. As soon as it was gone I wanted more, but I wanted to do my best to follow the reintroducing foods regimen Brittanie had laid out. I tried to watch out for any signs that I had to say goodbye for good, but I'm so flatulent normally that any excess would probably go unnoticed. into mid-evening things still seemed to be going smoothly, so I had some milk with dinner, a bigger glass, and hot damn was it delightful! I also might have been a little bit bad food-wise - I figured since I'd done so well with dairy I could dive right in, I was just dying because Jamie had mentioned having perogies for dinner (one of my other most favourite things! I have a lot, in case you haven't noticed!), so I decided to be bad. We fried up some perogies in a mixture of sesame and sunflower oil, salt and pepper and fried separately a bunch of red, green and yellow bell peppers, onions and an assortment of seasonings and barbecue sauce and then tossed the two together -- oh my lanta was it delicious! Such a different and interesting combination. I had meant to make these perogies, substituting quinoa flour for a while, but never got around to it - this was just perfect timing! I still want to try them, especially after having frozen perogies and realizing how much more delicious fresh ones will be!

Wednesday morning began with an volunteer interview at the IWK, the children's hospital here in Halifax, which I have wanted to get into forever now! I'd stopped in the day before and they thought that showed real initiative and I deserved a spot - so I'll get to spend my summer playing outside with kids! I am so excited, because getting to play outside is such a major thing for a lot of these children, and I can't wait to be a part of that!

The afternoon was a hot one in Halifax, so Jamie and I hauled a blanket and our books over to the Commons to soak up some sun for the afternoon. I definitely had some time to get into my book, Rescue by Anita Shreve. In fact I had a hard time putting it down! It was a sweltering day, and we only lasted a couple of hours before heading home to fire up the barbecue! I have to say - I'm somewhat ashamed of what I have to say next, since Wednesday I was supposed to gradually introduce wheat by having a slice of whole grain bread with nothing on it. Instead, I had three hot dogs in top-sliced white bread buns.

It was so effing delicious oh my lanta.
I knew with every juicy, slightly charred, barbecued, ketchup-filled bite that I deserved it if I felt miserable afterwards. But I felt so proud of myself for just finishing the twenty one days that I rushed into it a little! I'll give myself credit for reintroducing dairy slowly, but my cravings got the better of me (just like when I tried to be vegetarian in grade ten and was sabotaged by my desire for Caitlin's ham sandwich on a white dinner roll) and I caved. But I will not be too hard on myself, because aside from the bloated feeling one would expect after crushing three barbecued hot dogs and buns I felt pretty much normal.

I couldn't wait to get to Jivamukti at 5:30 - I've been bad and hadn't gone to a class since Saturday!! Of course I've been doing it at home, but class always challenges me in different ways, especially Jivamukti! I was especially vigilant not to fall asleep this time, as I did before my last Jivamukti experience! Kirsten talked a little about how we were going to focus on the balancing part of Jivamukti tonight - and did we ever! It was probably one of my most favourite classes I've ever been to, but wow was my balance majorly off! I was shaky, I was falling out of poses like revolved half moon, revolved side angle, prayer twist with a lunge, and other poses that challenged the - apparently absent for the day - stability of my legs. I fell out a lot, but I tried to laugh at myself. I didn't always, but it just reminded me how beneficial it is for my body to go to a class every day! Between the heat outside and the humidity inside I was drenched within the first few minutes. I just love the energetic flow of a vinyasa-style class like this! I definitely want to get some more experience in this style of class, I've decided I'm ready to branch out into more styles - well, as soon as I start getting paid of course. Another part of class that stands out to me is when we did this Jivamukti version of full lotus, alternating sides and then having our arms bent underneath our knees with classic meditation hands. It was very cool, a pose I definitely want to try again. This class introduced me to a lot of new things, and also to the realization that I still have oh so much to learn about yoga!

We did three sets of wheel, although by the third set I had to come out of it early because I was shaking. We did shoulderstand for an extended period of time today too, and I really tried to make a conscious effort to roll myself up onto my shoulders and engage and lengthen my core while stacking my hips above and in line with my shoulders, whilst trying to keep my elbows tucked in rather than splayed out to the sides. I did have to come out once, but was pretty proud of how long I held it for! Needless to say final savasana was a welcome melting sensation for my tired body. I probably could have laid there all evening if I didn't have to pee so badly! I was the second to last person to leave though, as usual! I did surprisingly feel relief as I left and wandered out into the sunshine, the breeze giving me major sweat chills.

I came home and made some delicious creamy avocado pasta for dinner, giving myself a fairly hefty serving. I used smaller garlic cloves this time, and it was just delicious. I love how creamy it is! I felt absolutely exhausted, and was in bed before midnight, which hasn't happened in a little while! I'd wanted to spend some time finishing my book, but I think I barely made it three pages before I fell asleep. It's pretty much routine for Jamie to come home from work to find me fallen asleep with a book either on the couch or in bed, what can I say!

Thursday was another delightfully hot and sunny day in Halifax, and I got to spend the whole day outside for work! It was beautiful, albeit incredibly hot and sweaty. For breakfast I made a smoothie with soy yogurt, orange juice and frozen berries with a little matcha green tea powder (now that I can have caffeine again) - soo delicious! The matcha gives it a delightfully sweet taste while the soy yogurt has a very distinct tangy flavour that dairy yogurt doesn't provide. For dinner I sauteed some more peppers with barbecue sauce, salt and pepper and a little Montreal steak spice and had it on top of rice - yummy! Quick and simple, although I was too hungry to remember to take a photo, oops!

It's late now - this post took way longer than I expected it to, so I'm going to go do my sleepy stretches and head to bed! I hope everyone has been having a wonderful week, don't forget to get outside for your daily dose of vitamin D and appreciate the beauty in your day!

Namaste.