The lovely Bunny Berry (see yesterday’s post congratulating her) has cooked up created an amazing and fun community to encourage others to take a 100-Day Raw Food Challenge!

RawFu:  Fighting obesity, fatigue, health problems, and bad habits through a dedicated 100 Day Raw Food Challenge!

Are you up for a challenge? Not sure? Well, check it out and make up your mind before the official start of the RawFu 100 Day Raw Food Challenge begins on August 1st! Your challenge doesn’t have to be eating 100% raw for 100 days. You can create a challenge that feels good for you: maybe eating one raw meal per day, juicing every morning, or eating a salad before your cooked dinners.

I’ve joined the challenge and I’m looking forward to the start of it! I haven’t narrowed down what my goal will be, but I’m definitely going to challenge myself to achieve an even greater level of health. I hope you’ll join me in the challenge!

A few of my friends have recently reached some special personal milestones in the raw food world. Congratulations go out to…

Sam: ONE YEAR RAW!!!

Sam is an all-around great guy. He’s charming, funny, intelligent, honest, and open. You can find him on YouTube, as well as his YardSnacker blog where he has been documenting his raw food journey! He has been a great inspiration to many new raw foodists. Sam has also been documenting the growth of his fabulous garden. Check out his videos and blogs when you have some time! Congratulations on completing one year of raw, Sam!

Kevin: 100 EPISODES PRODUCED!

Kevin Gianni is an energetic, upbeat health enthusiast (here’s an older post I wrote about him). It seems like just yesterday he began producing his entertaining and informative Renegade Health Show video episodes, but he has actually already produced his 100th episode! If you haven’t checked out all that Kevin does, yet, I highly recommend doing so. You can find him all over the place: on his site Renegade Health, YouTube, FaceBook,  and my favorite online fun spot: Twitter. Be sure to drop him a line if you like his work, too. He loves hearing from his audience. Congratulations on your 100 episodes, Kevin!

Beth: 100 DAY CHALLENGE MET!

Beth, better known as Bunny Berry, is a rising star in the raw food community. Her wit, beauty, honesty, and creativity have earned her a fast-growing following of fans. Beth documented her personal 100 day raw food challenge through video blogs (also known as vlogs) that she posted on YouTube, a well as her blog. Beth can also be found over on Twitter. She’s been spreading the word about raw foods in an enjoyable way, and encouraging others to give it a try. Congratulations on completing your 100-day raw food challenge, Beth! 

Even though it’s not time to share everything with you about the life-changing events going on with us here at Pure Jeevan, I’m going to try harder to squeeze in a few minutes once in a while to update this blog with other information. I miss coming here and connecting with all of you. Thank you for so many lovely emails that you’ve been sending to me. I will be responding to all of you very soon. Please forgive me for taking so long to respond, but once we fill you in on everything that’s been going on, I think you’ll understand that it’s difficult to find time to keep up with email and blog writing, among other things.

The latest news, as far as raw foods go, is that I’m having a love affair with a particular fruit. When I was transitioning to raw foods over two years ago, and also during the first few months of eating 100% raw foods, I was in love with young Thai coconuts. I couldn’t get enough of them and they did some amazing things for my body—the most amazing was lowering my cholesterol to a healthy range within one month! After many months of consuming at least one coconut per day, however, my love affair ended. I still loved those Thai coconuts, but they just weren’t as attractive to me anymore.

I’ve currently found myself in the middle of an equally intense love affair again, but this time it’s directed at the lovely pineapple. I can’t get enough of them. I’ve been eating at least one a day and not tiring of their sweet smell or taste in the least bit. In fact, every day when I wake I’m looking forward to eating another one. I’m so crazy about pineapples that when I find myself with a counter filled with only green organic pineapples, I’ll actually ask Jim to pick up a ripe, nonorganic pineapple for me! I know, I can’t believe I’m sometimes eating nonorganic fruit, either! But, there you have it…I’m not 100% organic, after all—and I’m a bit fickle when it comes to love affairs involving food.

Did you know the Thai coconuts aren’t organic, either? Not only are they not organic, they are many times treated with chemicals to keep them from turning moldy. There were rumors going around that they were dipped in formaldehyde, but the lovely Matt Amsden (of Rawvolution) had some tested to see if the rumors were true, and found that they weren’t. Even if they were, the amount of positives my body received from those young coconuts was worth the negatives of ingesting chemicals. They took me to a higher level of health, as I feel the pineapples are currently doing.

What have I noticed after consuming so many pineapples for the past few weeks? Well, it’s pretty amazing! I’ve had rosacea since about the time I gave birth to KDcat, over thirteen years ago. Rosacea is a common skin condition in fair-skinned people (particularly if you are from a Celtic descent), where parts of the face become flushed or there are patches of red. For me, it has always been worse on my nose and my cheeks. Different foods used to trigger it, making it more noticeable. Intense changes in temperature would do the same, as would exercise.

Well, the last time I visited with the holistic doctor, she mentioned my rosacea. I asked her what causes it, and whether there’s anything I can do for it. She said it many times comes from low stomach acid (Hydrochloric Acid or HCL), which happens to be one of my remaining health issues. Low HCL is what causes me to not absorb enough B12 and iron. I have always felt that eventually raw foods would help my stomach acid reach a healthy level, though, so I haven’t taken any kind of supplements to aid my digestion. Well, guess what? My rosacea is clearing up! That, to me, means that my stomach acid must be getting to a healthier level!

When I was younger my skin was flawless, almost like porcelain. When I got older and the redness started showing up, I used makeup to cover up the patches of red. I rarely wear makeup anymore, so the redness is almost always visible and I have never gotten used to it. Lately, however, I’ve noticed that it’s fading! Some days there is next to no redness on my cheeks, and my nose is more a patchy red than all-over red!

I had a feeling that the pineapples must be causing the change, so I did a little research. Pineapples are loaded with bromelain, a source of beneficial digestive enzymes. They break down the foods in the stomach, aiding any natural stomach acid digestion that is taking place. People have been eating pineapples to aid in digestion for a long time, and here I find myself doing the same! 

Let’s hear it for new love affairs and following our instincts when we are drawn to something on some deep level. I just love that my body can give me signals for what it needs, and that I am connected enough to hear the messages! Who knows how long this love affair will last, but it sure is doing some amazing things for me right now!

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So, what’s new with all of you? Have we lost readers because we haven’t been able to keep this blog regularly updated? What are your thoughts about pineapples? I always heard that they don’t ripen once they’ve been picked, but I’ve since found that they actually do ripen if you are patient enough (thanks to a sweet employee at the food co-op who encouraged me to experiment with a green one). I’ve missed all of you and I hope you’ll continue to be patient while we are away for days and weeks at a time.

Lots and lots of love to all of you!

Wendi
XOXOXO

We at Pure Jeevan are making MAJOR life changes!

Did you think our lives solely revolved around raw foods—that once we went raw, there were no more major life changes to be experienced? Well, maybe it’s true that our lives do, in a way, revolve around raw foods—they give us the health and vitality necessary for living a truly vibrant life! However, we are each (Jim, KDcat, and Wendi) unique and interested in many different things. Somehow, we pull all of our differences together and stand united as a loving family. It will be together, as a family, that we embark on an amazing MAJOR life change.

A few of you may already know what I’m talking about, but the rest of you are about to find out all about it, too! You may have noticed that we’ve temporarily discontinued many of our raw food services—for those of you who have written to ask for help, I am still responding to your emails. If I can’t help you at this time, I’ll do everything I can to assist you in finding the help you need. This was a necessary part of preparing for the change that is about to take place. In addition to cutting back on our services, we may not always be consistent here with our blog postings, and our email responses may not be very timely (as some of you may have already noticed). We will answer your emails, however, so please don’t stop sending them to us. Hearing from all of you makes my heart fill with love and happiness!

We’ll be sharing information about the life change we are making here in our blog, as well as through our newsletter. So, be sure to sign up for both (if you haven’t already done so), to keep updated on what we are doing. It’s going to be very exciting! Will it involve raw foods? Yes, in a way it will!

I’ll fill you all in on it very soon, I promise!

Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.

To receive automatic updates of our blog postings, simply enter your email address in the space above, in the right column, of this page (under “Get Our Blog Entries by Email).

I look forward to taking all of you along with us, in a way, during this change we’ll be making!

Lots and lots of love to all of you!

Wendi
XOXOXO

In a recent post, I answered part of a message I received from Violet, one of our blog readers. Below is the continuation of my response to Violet (much briefer than my last one!).

Following my response to Violet is a response to Sarah, who has a fantastic raw food blog that I enjoy reading.

Violet’s message continued:
“I was wondering if you perhaps had any raw friends, or specific support in
your transformation into raw, and how long the transformation took? Do you
take many supplements and minerals?”

Dear Violet,

My response to these questions was getting quite long, so I’ll save what I typed for a future blog post. However, I’ll give you some very brief answers right now.

I did not want any support while I was transitioning to raw foods this time. I shared what I was doing with some people, but I mostly wanted the journey to be a solo one. It was almost a spiritual journey in many ways, as much as a physical and mental one at the time. So, even though some people may have been supportive in small ways, I was pretty much doing it alone—for myself. 

While transitioning, however, I surrounded myself with information on raw food—by reading information online, as well as in books. I strongly feel that surrounding myself with raw food information on an almost daily basis is what kept me inspired to continue with my raw food journey.

I never looked back over my Going Raw Journal to see how long the transition to raw actually took. I had been making gradual changes for quite a long time, but I think I remember setting a goal and a date at one point. Overall, this time when I decided to eat only raw foods (I had tried raw in the past), I think I probably transitioned slowly over the span of about a year.

Once I got closer to being 100% raw, I recall setting myself a three-month transition time to become 100% raw for one full year. Once I met that one year goal, I created another one for myself (to decrease the amount of fat in my diet). I will continually review my diet and see what is and isn’t working well for me.

It’s important to realize what kind of person you are—do you do better with support from others, or do you do better on your own? If you enjoy support from others, I strongly recommend joining some of the many online raw food support communities.

No, I do not take many supplements or minerals. I like to rely on my body to supply me with everything I need. However, since I have been low in B12 and iron on many of my blood test results, I do occassionally supplement with an iron pill or B12 sublingual tablet.

Lots of love to you,

Wendi
XOXOXO

Sarah’s question:
“…where do you get freshly shelled peas from…your garden? Can I be really stupid and ask you to show me a photo of waht they look like unshelled and what they’re called? ‘Cos my hubby and kids love peas but I’ve never found any fresh ones.”

Dear Sarah,

It’s not stupid to ask for pictures to identify peas! It’s actually something another friend and I were talking about just the other day—how there are different kinds of peas, and how to identify them. So, here are two quick pictures I took of the peas I had in the fridge. They aren’t overly fresh, but you can get an idea of what they look like in the pods.

There are basically three kinds of peas. The first is what most of us think about; it’s sometimes called an English Pea. The pod of the English pea is thin and not very tasty, unless picked very young. The peas, however, are very sweet when they are first picked. After some time, however, the sugar turns to a starch and the peas aren’t as delicious. English peas are the ones that are frozen and are also found in cans.

The second type of pea is the Snow Pea. Snow peas are served in many Chinese dishes. The pods are picked young, before the peas develop. The pod is not very thick, and is quite flat compared to the other pea varieties. It is sweet and crunchy.

The third type of pea is the Sugar Snap Pea. This is the one that I eat and love. It is a combination of the English pea and the snow pea. The entire pod is edible and quite thick, sweet, and tasty. You can shell the peas and discard the pods, or you can eat them together. I eat them both ways, but I rarely discard the pods if I’m only using the peas for a dish—I just chop up the pods and use them in salads!

Last year our local food co-op was selling all three varieties of peas. I bought a small bag of each. I was disappointed with the English peas. Even though they were quite large, they weren’t very sweet. That’s when I did some reading about peas and found out that the English varieties lose their sweetness the longer they are off the vine. Now, I never purchase the Enlish ones. It would be fun to grow them someday, however!

Thanks for the question, Sarah!

Lots of love to you,

Wendi
XOXOXO

If you like raw cauliflower and fresh mint, I recommend you try this dish! Jim and KDcat don’t like raw cauliflower much, so this dish wasn’t a big hit with them. I, however, consumed the entire dish before the end of the day! I LOVED it!

REFRESHING CAULIFLOWER MINT SALAD
(serves four)

One medium head cauliflower
1 cup packed fresh spearmint leaves (if you use peppermint, you may want to use a lot less)
1/4 cup semi-firmly-packed loveage leaves (you can use parsley instead)
1/4 - 1/2 cup freshly shelled peas (optional)
4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon salt (start with less, and increase to taste)

Directions: Finely grind (pulse) the cauliflower until it is in tiny pieces, but stop processing before it turns into a paste.

Pick some fresh mint, if you have any growing in your yard. If you don’t, and you enjoy mint, then I recommend growing some! It’s easy to grow and smells wonderful. You’ll want to plant it in an area that is confined, however, or else it takes over. Here’s a picture of the mint growing on the side of our home.

Next, mix the spearmint, loveage, olive oil, salt, cilantro, and lemon juice with the cauliflower.

Then add the optional peas, if you have any. I LOVED the peas in this dish!

I served this dish with a simple side salad that didn’t have much more on it than a tiny bit of salt, oil, and lemon (and some chopped tomatoes). This refreshing cauliflower mint salad is very flavorful, so you’ll want to eat it with something plain.

This dish is best eaten as soon as it is prepared. When it is freshly prepared, it is light and fluffy. The longer it sits, the softer the cauliflower gets and the overall dish becomes a bit watery. It still tastes great, but the texture isn’t the same.

Here they are!! Images from the 3-Day Raw Food Spiritual Ashram Retreat! There were more taken by the ashram staff; once they are sent to me, I’ll include those, as well.

Page One: Guests
Page Two: Raw Food
Page Three: Yoga
Page Four: Ashram Grounds

I receive many questions from our readers, and I am very happy to respond. I truly love helping others, but I don’t do it just for them. When I was younger, many times I thought I was performing selfless acts of kindness whenever I’d help others. However, now I realize I am experiencing pleasure by helping others. I find it very rewarding, as though I am fulfilling my purpose in life.

Do you know what your life’s purpose is? Do you believe there is such a thing? These aren’t rhetorical questions; I’m really interested in hearing your response. Well, I’ve known my life’s purpose (actually, I have more than one) from a very young age, but it wasn’t until recently that I began living it more fully. My purpose in life is to love others—to connect with others through an immensely deep and genuine love. One way I’ve found for spreading my love and realizing my purpose is by helping others.

When I answer questions for our readers, I speak from my heart. I think it’s important to realize, however, that the answers we receive from others are *their* answers to similar questions. Maybe their answers will work for us, but maybe they won’t. I’ve stressed this many times, but it never hurts to repeat it: Listen to others, hear what they have to share, but mostly listen to your own inner voice. We all have the answers deep within ourselves, even if we can’t always hear them very well.

I noticed in my friend Melissa’s journal that she was responding to questions within her blog posts. I thought it was clever to do that, since sometimes others may find the questions and answers helpful for themselves, as well. So, from now on if questions aren’t too personal, and my answers seem like something that might help others, I will try to share them here for the rest of our readers.

The reader message that I’m answering today will require two blog responses, since this first part is quite lengthy. Even though my response isn’t going to seem brief, I actually didn’t go into a lot of detail about the things I was addressing! 

Violet says:
“I was impressed with your transformation and sharing of info. I, too, am vegan, but very overweight, and nothing has helped me get fitter. So, I am trying to go raw. It has been so very hard, and I am practicing a compassionate approach to this transformation as best as I can. Some days are easier than others. Life is like that.

As foods and emotional ties to them is such an amazingly strong link for me, the days I am feeling much emotion, are days I want to eat cooked foods. Sometimes I give in for ‘comfort.’”  

Dear Violet,

I’m happy you found our site! Congratulations on starting your journey into raw foods and vibrant health!

It’s wonderful reading that you are practicing a compassionate approach to the healthful changes you are making for yourself. *BIG HUGS* to you for being kind to yourself. Making changes isn’t always easy, especially where diet is concerned. You are very brave to take your health into your own hands and I send lots of supportive love to you during your health journey. You can do it!

Emotional eating is something just about every human being experiences in one degree, or another. I haven’t had emotional eating issues where I found myself faced with eating disorders, but this is not uncommon for many people. When it gets overwhelming—when our emotions are controlling our eating habits in a very unhealthy way, it’s important to get some help. I’m not sure from your letter how much “emotional eating” you are doing. Since you have noticed the pattern, however, you are already on the path to regaining control of your eating habits! So, this is great news for you! I’m going to address your message as though you are not experiencing extreme emotional eating, because I didn’t sense that in your message. However, please send me another message if I assumed incorrectly and we can talk a bit more about this.

If you read enough raw food information, you will come across similar information to what I’m sharing again and again. Until you experience things for yourself, however, the information many times just seems a bit too unbelievable to be completely true. I’d like to explain my understanding of emotional/comfort eating and the role of raw foods, and share my own experiences with it.

Read the rest of this entry »

A partial group picture from the retreat.

The 3-Day Raw Food Spiritual Ashram Retreat was a success! All my time and effort that went into creating the event was well worth the experience. When Leela Mata and I discussed a possible raw food retreat about a year ago, I had no idea how to go about creating such an event. I have never done anything like this, so I approached it by asking myself: “What would I want if I was attending a raw food spiritual retreat?” From there, I created a retreat that I would love to attend, myself. In fact, when it was completely organized and guests began signing up, I wished that an identical event existed that I really could take part in, as well!

Leela Mata and Wendi Dee, pleased with the success of the retreat.

Leela Mata and I may have experienced the weekend from a different perspective than the guests, but we still enjoyed it just as much. This was the first big event at the Peaceful Valley Ashram, and it was sold out! All available spaces were reserved, and we needed to decline a few requests that came during the final weeks prior to the event. Mata Ji was happy to have the ashram filled with the energy of so many guests. The entire place–the buildings and the surrounding property–sprang to life when the first guests arrived. I think at that point, Mata Ji was able to begin seeing the vision of her ashram coming true. It was my deepest pleasure to bring public awareness to the Peaceful Valley Ashram. The plans that Mata Ji has for the place come from a deep desire to help others find a peaceful space to fulfill their spiritual needs.

KDcat enjoyed taking the compost out; it was a nice break from the kitchen.

For me, I was happy to see my vision for the weekend finally coming to life. KDcat came along with me, to help me with the food preparations. I’ve told her, as well as just about everyone else: she was more than an assistant–she was my partner that weekend. She woke early in the morning to help me prepare the pre-breakfast fruit platters and fresh juices, created countless raw food meals, served the guests, cleaned up, emptied the compost multiple times, and did it all with a smile on her face and love in her heart! Not once did she complain, even though she was up, helping me, from early in the morning until after ten o’clock each night. There was no time for her to play or sketch, but she never complained. She was a pure joy and made the weekend even more lovely than I ever imagined. We started each morning with hugs and kisses, reminding each other that we were there to serve others with love, but we also wanted to have fun with the experience. We took many cuddle breaks each day, which helped both of us have the energy to continue preparing, serving, and cleaning up after each meal.

Whole fruit platter with fresh veggie juice.

The food we served was beautiful! It was all 100% organic, fresh, and prepared with love. Many guests approached us, letting us know that they could feel our loving energy in the food! That made us feel great!!! We served four meals a day (pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch, dinner) and made sure there were plenty of snacks available throughout the weekend, as well. I’m not sure which meal was the favorite for the guests, but I think it might have been a tie between the Mexican meal and the sandwich one. Many guests shared how thankful they were that I included recipes within the bound retreat materials for every dish served that weekend. Now they can create their favorite raw food meals at home!

Nori wraps. 

During the weekend, I also held food preparation demonstrations before each meal (three per day). I showed how to create some easy raw food meals, the ways pasta can be created, how to wilt kale to make it easier to consume, what the dehydrator is like, and so much more. I also held a raw food Question and Answer session and a small Raw Foods 101 talk. I enjoyed hearing the many questions and comments from those attending the retreat. I’m pretty sure KDcat enjoyed being asked some questions, as well, and giving her own answers.

Patty and Denny

Becky and Mary Beth

My favorite part of the weekend was the guests. Many of them either flew into Pittsburgh, or drove very long distances to attend the retreat. I knew I would love all of the guests, but they were even more wonderful than I imagined! I was able to get to know some of the guests a little before the retreat, through email conversations. However, meeting people in person always brings a deeper connection. My heart was overflowing with love for everyone I met. It was a weekend that I will never forget. I have continued to keep in touch with everyone, and I promised to have all of the retreat photos posted as soon as possible. I’m waiting to receive images that were taken with the ashram camera, too. It will be nice to have them all together, if possible.

Angel, Nicoletta, Faye

Nicoletta and Elena

On the last day of the retreat, four of the guests remained for an extended retreat. I was able to talk more at that time, since the kitchen duties were cut back significantly now that there were only four guests to serve. I wished that I could have had more time with each person attending the retreat, since each one was unique and lovely in her, or his, own way.

I said I would share my thoughts on the retreat, so I won’t hold anything back. Here’s the negative of it: it was exhausting! I was physically exhausted when I returned home. I took a few days to myself and did absolutely nothing at all. Waking up early in the morning, preparing, serving, and cleaning up after four separate meals (which were gourmet, multiple dish ones) all day long, and not finishing the kitchen work until around ten o’clock each evening for the entire weekend was completely exhausting. Our love of serving others, our joy of receiving lovely comments about all that we were doing, and the thrill of seeing many months of preparation finally coming to life is what kept us going that entire weekend. Once we returned home, however, it was time to crash!

While we were working in the kitchen, some of the guests asked if they could help with something (it was obvious we were working very hard). As much as help would have been appreciated, I really wanted each individual to experience the peace that comes from a retreat. When you get away and life stills enough, you can truly connect with your inner self. Some guests helped by clearing their plates from the tables. But one guest (you know who you are, Angel!) wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was often found washing dishes and keeping us company as we prepared the food, but also capturing pictures during the event. Part of me wishes she wouldn’t have helped us, so that she could have experienced more solitary time, but then I wouldn’t have gotten to know her so well! It was a pleasure spending time with her, as well as all of the other guests.

I was approached by some of those attending the retreat and asked if I would consider organizing a yearly reunion for the 3-Day Raw Food Spiritual Ashram Retreat. I laughed a bit, and then said I thought it was a great idea, but only if we could hire someone to do all of the work and I could be one of the guests next time! I wasn’t joking, either. I would love to be on the receiving end of a weekend like the one I created. There was a lot of attention to even the small details (finding out more about the guests before they arrived, notifying the ashram staff about individual needs, creating and giving gift baskets, developing a beautiful keepsake with the bound retreat materials, etc.), making sure the weekend was as enjoyable as I could possible make it. It was a pleasure to treat the guests to such a weekend, and that was extremely rewarding. It was worth all of the physical exhaustion, because it filled my heart with joy and was very fulfilling on a spiritual level to be serving others in that way.

Would I do it again? Maybe. I’d need to charge a lot more for the weekend, however, to hire some more help. It was far too much work for just two people. It was rewarding on so many levels, however, and I’m very happy that I put so much of my heart into creating that special weekend for the guests.

Tomorrow I’ll finally be posting about the 3-Day Raw Food Spiritual Ashram Retreat that I organized. I took a few days to myself after the event, and then I needed to catch up on a lot of things (which included formatting an almost 150-page publication). It’s hard to believe that two weeks have passed, already, since the retreat ended.

I have a lot of photos from the event! Some of the guests prefer to remain anonymous, however, so I can’t share all of them with you. However, there are a lot that I can still post on a public page for you to view! I’m waiting to receive some more images from the ashram’s camera. Once I have them, I’ll be able to complete the photos pages and share images from that wonderful weekend.

BIG THANKS to one of the guests, Angel, who happily took my camera and captured images that weekend. I am extremely grateful that she did, and I’m also impressed with her creative gift with photography! The image she captured of another guest, Faye, is absolutely beautiful! I’m looking forward to sharing the pics with all of you!

In the meantime, I’ll have a post about the retreat weekend on the blog sometime tomorrow (with some pictures, of course). I’ve received some very touching emails from some of the guests, and I’m going to share some of what they’ve said in a separate blog post.

Thanks so much to all of you for sticking with me while I was away from the blog. I look forward to getting back to a regular writing routine again. Please let me know if there is anything you’d like me to post about after I’m done updating you about the retreat event.

Lots and lots of love to all of you!

Wendi
XOXOXO

Today in Pure Jeevan’s home we are celebrating one of the best days of the year—KDcat’s birthday!  How she has blossomed over the years…

…and today she is officially a teenager!

 Happy Birthday, KDcat!!! We love our teenager so very, very much!!