joy..

Blessings abound!  

I woke up this morning for the first time in over a week able to breathe, it feels fantastic.  A lingering headache and slight sniffles are all that seem to remain. I'm thankful.  Definitely ready to be over this mess!

Right now my house is filled with the warm scents of autumn.  Pumpkin, spices, whipped maple and the warmth of chocolate. Feeling better this morning led to my deciding to make Pumpkin Spiced Chocolate Chip Donuts.  The recipe is in "The Vegan 8" cookbook, by Brandi Doming.  I giggle when I read the title, it evidently refers to the recipes containing 8 simple ingredients. Yet, every time I make a recipe from it, it reads the vegan ate... they are all amazing!  This woman is a genius. 

I am not a fan of the pumpkin spice epidemic that has hit our country at the first signs of fall. I do not like the fake flavors.  They actually repulse me.  So I was a bit concerned that these were going to have that same taste.  But I was longing for the gentle flavors I remembered as a kid.  The taste of fresh baked pumpkin breads and muffins. I figured worse case scenario - they go out for the birds and squirrels.  

Nope, we will not be sharing these.  

This weekend we bought a yummy whipped maple syrup from an Iowa farmer, it can be used in place of butter on toast and such.  Hubs came up with the idea to drizzle it on the donuts.  The smells, the flavors, all of it came together in a taste explosion!

I will definitely be making another batch.  Now I am curious as to how they keep.  This journey is awesome!

Last night, I decided to be creative and we had bbq bean ball sandwiches... same cookbook.  The leftovers will be lunch today.  I never realized eating clean, plant based, oil free meals was going to be not only delicious, but definitely not boring.  

And to think most of my curiosity was fed by my sweet yogi!  That woman has impacted my life in so many wonderful ways.  Everyone needs a friend like her, or maybe a dozen.  It wasn't an over night journey, it was a slow, years long process.  Yet she never judged or pushed me to see what she was saying.  She simply was herself.   A living example of health and peace.  Always willing to share, but never harsh.  She shared some vegan Facebook groups, told me of how much better she and her husband felt.  Thanked my silly efforts at insuring we had a vegan dish at all events - I now realize how much that means. 

I want to be like her, I want to be a living testament to the difference a plant based diet makes in ones life. I never want to be judgy, but I forever want to support. 

I guess you never know what I am going to decide to write about.  I still remember my sweet cousin years ago telling me I needed to decide what my blog was going to be about before I started writing.  Well, it's been almost 7 years that I have been writing... guess what, I still don't know what I am going to write about.  I guess it's just my crazy, mixed up journey through life... 

I love every single step, the good, the bad, the silly, the serious, the lessons... all of it makes the beautiful tapestry that is my life.  

Yep... I'm blessed...