December's Mail & Product Reviews-Huge Post!

Happy New Year!!!!!  I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve if you went out, or stayed in.  We stayed in as I said we would be.  I actually put my family to bed about 11pm for Skylar and Scott fell asleep about 11:30pm which allowed me time to munch on popcorn and vegan chocolate chips in utter silence while reading a couple new cookbooks.  And I have to say, it was wonderful!

Before I get to the pile of mail I received in December, I wanted to thank you for your comments on my post yesterday about my 1am grocery run for vegetables

 And Fruit
and for appreciating the frustration that was having U.S. Customs confiscate my fresh produce leaving me snack-less for my flights.  I was sooo ticked about it and the officer told me that he was "going to waive the $300 fine" that it should be for bringing vegetables into the country.  But the junky candy and chocolates that I also admit to purchasing in Aruba, those were allowed on the plane with me, no problemo.  And nothing against the meat eaters, but there were people on the plane eating these half-raw looking burgers that they brought with them on the plane and I couldn't help but think e. coli city, but I couldn't bring my broccoli.  Ok, I'm over it....haha!

So moving on...
What did I get in the mail while I was gone in December?  Lots...

Cards Collage-Style from My Bloggie Friends
Katie of Lil Veggie Patch and Miss GC's cards are in the collage...Thanks Cuties!!!
And Here's Mama Pea and Janetha

Nicole the Fitness Freak
Cindy of Mariposa Girl
Erica of Dancing Around the Kitchen
Deb of Smoothie Girl Eats sent me an awesome Gift!  She sent a trio of her homemade nut butters. 
Sunflower Seed Butter
Holy Mole!
And my personal, I'm Getting Really Excited flavor: Spiced Nutella!
I haven't cracked the seal on this plastic baggie yet, because when I do, lookout! 
See trio now, see trio disappear will be the name of that tune.
Thanks, Deb, you rock!  Did you all catch Deb's Guest Post on Yoga Mat Folding?  Prepare to laugh!

Naomi the One Fit Foodie sent me her amazingly artistic rendition of my family:
I loved it!!!!!!!!!  And she enclosed a couple snacky poo's.  Yum! 

And I also won Evan's Contest for TruWhip and the Certificate came. 

Thanks to all my friends that were sooo thoughtful to send me cards or gifts for the holidays and if I've missed someone's card or gift, apologies!!!  Still a little sleep-deprived and jet-lagged and the month's pile of mail was massive, but in a heart-warming, awesome way.  I am sooo thankful to have met so many amazing, caring, kind, thoughtful people in 2009 and thank you all for being there, being a friend, and for being your generally awesome, fabulous self!!!  muah!!!!!! xoxox

Moving along....
And there was a couple jars of Pace Picante Sauce.  I know a little random, but hey, it was free.   
My only complaint about most salsas, as I mentioned in this post...
...is their sodium content. 
Some people say they can't eat as many calories as others, some people can't do dairy, others don't do refined sugar.  I can't do sodium.  My body doesn't process it well and I swell up like a balloon no matter how much water I drink to flush, flush, flush.  Just not a fan of sodium, what can I say.  But thanks, Pace!


Also got these free Halls lozenges.
We are required now as bloggers to disclose when something was free.  I know Anne blogged about this the other day.  We always have been ethically obligated to mention it, but now, we're supposed to be extremely upfront or face $11,000 fines!  So yeah, I scored free throat lozenges everyone.  And they're really good!
I love strawberry-flavored items so those were my faves, but the tropical wave was good, too!
The mail continues with the most lovely holiday gift from Alisa, One Frugal Foodie.  She sent me a copy of her book, Go Dairy Free.
As Gena mentioned in this post, ditching dairy can be really beneficial and I don't do dairy, either.  I am definitely dairy-protein sensitive and intolerant to it so this book is perfect for me! 
Alisa was kind enough to also send me a copy of My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky.  All the recipes are for desserts.  Perfect.  And there are more than a dozen that are both vegan and gluten free.  Totally perfect!
For those who are Vegan, but can tolerate gluten-containing flours such as whole wheat or pastry flour, this book would be a magnificient edition to your kitchen!  Not to put labels on anyone, but Mama Pea, HungryHippie, ya listening?  And for those who want to veganize their sweet creations that they're always tempting me with, Jessica, Janetha, Susan, I think you'd love this book too!

Thanks again, Alisa!!!!

And last but not least, was my Foodie Blogroll Tote I won
Cute and practical.  I love re-useable bags!  Thanks Foodie Blogroll!
So it was a huge month of mail 'round here and that about sums it up.  Whew!  I hope you enjoyed the recap!  I had to get that off my chest iPhoto!


Last night's dinner was Raw Kale,  Brock, Cauli, Cukes, & Tomatoes slathered in my homemade Vegan Slaw Dressing.

Dessert involved a few High Raw Vegan Sugar Cookie balls

Yoga Today is Ardha Sirasana (Half Headstand).  Go into full headstand and then carefully lower so that your legs are parallel with the floor.  Abs anyone?  Holding your legs 90 degrees from your body while fighting gravity is a sure-fire way to help increase your core strength.  Core strength is so important for everything from balance to remaining injury-free and as a benefit, your abs will look better.

And please, when going up into headstand, DO NOT DONKEY KICK UP!   You need to go up slowly and with control; start in downward dog, make a crown for your head with your hands, and start to walk your toes forward, forward, til you go up, up, and away.  No kicking up into headstand as it's a sure-fire way to fall and get injured, severely.


Tip of the Day: Christmas Punch!  I know it's not really Christmas season anymore, but citrus is so great for warding off the sicky germs this time of year.  Enjoy!
Karen's Christmas Punch

What's your take on bloggers having to fully disclose in no uncertain terms how they acquired the products they are featuring on their blog?  For the most part, I think it's a good thing and for most of us, we have always done a fantastic job linking back and mentioning when a company sent us products to sample or review.  However, there are bloggers that get tons, i.e. thousands of dollars worth of free products, and I think for those Big Fish, these rules are much more important.  Because really, who cares if I scored some free cough drops, but I think at a certain financial level, that yes, disclosure becomes more important.  What do you think about The New Rules?  Will it change the way you blog?  Will you be more direct and less subtle when you feature products?  I think I've always been upfront and pretty linkage-happy,  so I will probably not change too much, but I'm curious what your thoughts are!



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