15. Eat only raw foods for a week.

Done!  And it wasn't nearly as difficult as I imagined it would be.  I even got The Husband to do it with me.  You can read all about my adventures in raw eating in my vegan blog.  I posted recipes for just about everything I ate including...

• Creamy Cantaloupe Milk
• Mango Cherry Smoothie
• Carrots and Currants Salad
• Creamy Avocado Herb Dressing
• Chocolate of the Gods
• Sweet Summer Corn and Squash
• Oil-Free Vinaigrette 
• Edamame Hummus Dip

Plus other pics of some of the raw whole foods I ate and an end-of-week wrap up with a review of the book I used for most of the recipes I used.

I enjoyed it so much, I'm going planning in incorporate more raw foods in my diet from now on.

5. Get down to a size 16

I've been feeling really ... ample ... lately.

I swear, I must be one of the only fat vegans on the planet.  Seriously now, when you conjure the image of a vegan in your mind, don't you think of someone fit and trim?  Moby.  Gillian Anderson.  Joaquin Phoenix.  Jennifer Connelly.  Tobey Maguire.  Emily Deschanel (the chic from Bones).  These are the bodies that come to mind when pondering what a typical vegan looks like because these people are vegan.  

  

Then there's size 18-wearing me.  I'm starting to get the feeling people don't believe me when I tell them I'm vegan.  I'm sick of feeling large and so totally not in charge.  Granted, I'm insulin resistant with PCO, which makes it extremely difficult for me to lose weight.  But it's not impossible.  For me it's all about eating smart and exercising regularly.  I have to do both.  I'm grabbing the reigns and slowing this ride down.  

  

I'm officially setting a date to reach this goal:

  

I will be a size 16 by July 18 (my next trip to Denver).

  

That is all.

41. Do something to surprise my husband at least once a month

My surprise for my husband for April was a special meal.  When he and I honeymooned in Hawaii, we fell in love with a dish there called Loco Moco.  Since we've gone vegan, he and I both thought we'd never eat Loco Moco again, but I surprised him by figuring out a way to veganize it.  Read all about how I did it and see pictures of the final results in the post entitled Vegan Loco Moco over at my vegan blog.

So ... 41. Do something to surprise my husband at least once a month (1/33)

97. Set up my Fey Altar

I cleared out the space for my Fey Altar and began pulling it together today.  I decided to place it in the bay window in my kitchen.  I like this spot for it because it seems like a "between the worlds" type place in my home.  It's not really inside (because it juts out over my herb garden) and it's not really outside (because it's still part of the kitchen).  Also, I spend a lot of time in the kitchen and I want to use the altar as a vehicle to build and foster and fruitful relationship with the Fey.  What better way to do that than to place it somewhere I'll look at it a lot?

   

   

It's very basic right now, but after thinking about it quite a bit, I think I have a solid idea of where I'm going with it.  I hope to create a portal, of sorts, around the frame of the bay window.  I plan to do this using my interpretation of the symbolism associated with the points of the Feri Star (7-pointed star).  It's difficult to explain, so I'll just have to show what I mean through photographs as I get it set up.  Suffice it to say I'm starting with the top point: The Sun.

       

My selection of items for this altar were greatly influenced by the events of the day I began setting it up.  Sadly, Cora Anderson passed the morning I chose to activate the altar and I was strongly moved to place her photograph, along with that of her beloved Victor, together as the centerpiece.  It is appropriate, I think, since it is through their teachings that I am even communing with the Fey in this way.  Eventually, however, I know their photographs will migrate to my ancestor altar, as they truly are my spiritual ancestors.

  

   

Other items on the altar in it's current incarnation include a sparkly blue kaleidoscope (it just seemed Fey-ish), the gold doilie I used during Cora's 93rd birthday celebration, two plants, a skull, a rose, a wooden mushroom, and the pieces that will eventually be assembled to create the first point in my Feri Star portal.