Last time I posted, I asked you to give me your suggestions for what you want me to write about here at The Love Vitamin! And I’m pleased to say there were tons of awesome suggestions, and I feel equipped to write to my heart out now.
But where to start??
Well, I did get quite a few questions asking me about.. well, me. I get these questions a lot, actually. What am I really like away from this little snippet of “me” that you see through this glowing screen?
People want to know – what do I do in my real, day-to-day life? Tell us about your clothes and necklaces, your relationship, your house, the music you like… and, of course, that question I get almost every day – “Did you cut off your dreadlocks?”
Well, I figure answering these questions is as good a place to start as any. After all, who doesn’t like talking about themselves? :p
So without further adieu … please enjoy reading about everything you could possibly ever want to know about my personal life. I will warn you, it’s long and involved. But if by some chance this is actually not enough and you want to know more, feel free to ask whatever you want in the comments below and I’ll answer you.
1. Did You Cut Off Your Dreadlocks? Why Do You Wear That Hat All The Time Now?
If you’re a long time Love Vitamin follower, or you’ve watched all my old videos, you may remember when I had long flowing dreadlocks, like this:
But if you’re new to the Love Vitamin, you may know me better like this (minus the starfish, I presume):
So what’s the deal? Are the dreads gone, or what?
The answer is NO! They’re still there. I just got sick of having long dreadlocks that took over my little body. I desperately felt like a change. I did *almost* cut them off, but I chickened out, so I just cut them shorter, and brushed out a few of them in the front to make more straight hair.
Now as for the hat business…. well, I like them short, but they aren’t as easy to style. And I just like how the short dreads look with a hat. So between me being too lazy to try and style my hair, and what I think looks good, I just wear hats all the time now. And I’m sure you’ve noticed that I wear that brown hat incessantly….. well, I just love that hat. A lot.
For those of you who prefer the long dreaded me… don’t worry. They’re growing back. Soon the hats will be gone, and the headbands will be back.
[UPDATE]: Later on, I did, in fact, cut off my dreadlocks. Click here to get the story of how it went down.
2. What’s the Story Behind All Your Necklaces?
The one above was a Christmas gift from my ex-boyfriend (but I still wear it cuz it’s pretty). The particular ex boyfriend who gave this to me is the one I complain on the blog about being incompatible with and it causing me so much stress that I broke out in severe acne.
Well, despite our differences, he was actually a good guy, and we’re still friends. The necklace was apparently made by the mother of a friend of his who passed away many years ago. I believe the stone on the bottom is quartz, and the other white ones are rose quartz, and the blue stones are lapis.
The one above I got on a trip to Morocco with my current love, Luke, back in 2009. No story, really. I just liked it. I don’t have a clue what the stones are… I’m not so sure they are actually stones, as opposed to just painted rocks. Ohh well! The paint hasn’t chipped yet, so I’m happy.
You don’t see the one above anymore because, sadly, it fell apart. It was actually just a cheap bit of costume jewelry that I once bought for a festival (it originally had an oversized pendant on the bottom). But then once the pendant fell off, I just really liked it, so I wore it in seriousness. I got many compliments on it.
I just got a new necklace, which I’m sure you’ll be seeing me wear all the time now. The lady I was getting reiki from also owns a crystal shop. I’m not majorly into crystals or stones for healing (yet?) but this stone just called out to me. It’s called chrysocolla, and the description said it was for “Insecurities and fears. Digestion issues. Menstrual cycle issues”. It just seemed to fit me or whatever I was feeling at the time, so I got her to wrap it in copper wire and voila.
3. Tell Us About Your Clothing Style
Well, my clothing choices are quite intuitive. There’s no rhyme or reason (I don’t follow fashion, or anyone else), it’s just whatever I’ve been drawn to over the years, and my own personal style has emerged from it.
The vast majority of my clothing is from second hand stores like Value Village. Because I’m so tiny (5’0 and barely 90 lbs), I basically choose clothing I like and sew everything afterwards so that it actually fits me. I’d have no clothes if I tried to choose things that fit the first time round.
I like plain basic things without patterns or logos. I like sweaters, tank tops, and the colours brown, green, blue, black, and occasionally maroon. I usually don’t buy things that aren’t those colours, because none of it would go with the rest of my wardrobe! I also like to wear black, stretchy yoga pants that fold over on top, and then wear little skirts underneath it. I like jeans too, but they have to be a certain light shade of blue/grey, and fit me in a very particular way, or I don’t like them. It’s kind of hard to come by the “right” pair.
As you can see, I’m pretty picky about what I like and the way that it fits, so I actually have very few items of clothing that I like and wear, and generally run my clothes into the ground before I give them up. You should have seen the amount of holes in my last pair of jeans before I conceded defeat and threw them away.
4. What About Your Man Friend, There?
My man friend’s name is Luke, and he’s Australian. We’ve been together steady for two years, and have known each other for four. We met when the stars aligned and we both ended up working at a hostel called Suite, in Budapest, Hungary at the end of 2008. We were both backpacking around Europe by ourselves.
Anyway, we got together, and were an item for a couple of months while living and working at Suite, and then we took a three week trip to Morocco together (where I got my blue necklace!)
We got along very well and I liked Luke very much, but I am fickle sometimes, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready to be in a long term committed relationship with him. In fact, because the timing was wrong, I was convinced he was not the right guy for me. It’s all about the timing, ladies. So I left Europe and went home, and that was that. We dated other people (I dated the guy who gave me necklace #1), but we stayed good friends and kept in close contact.
When my skin got bad, he was so supportive and loving, and one of the only people I felt like I could open up to and share what an awful thing I was going through. Later on, he came over to North America for another trip, and won me back in the process. The timing was right, and now we’re in love. And he’s the best guy ever. 🙂
So as I said, we’ve been together a solid two years, and we live together, and yes, just made the step to adopt a dog. We do likely plan to get married soon, but in a very casual it’s-really-no-big-deal kind of way. No official plans yet.
[UPDATE] – we got married in July 2013. Click here for the story and pictures!
Oh, I guess if you want to know more about Luke, he’s 28, he’s a kayak guide, and he enjoys soccer and reading literature.
Luke and I in Hungary, soon after we met in 2008
In the Sahara together
5. What Music Do You Like?
I always find it hard to figure out the right way to describe the music I like. I guess you could say I mostly listen to electronic and indie music. Lol – if that wasn’t vague enough. I generally seem to prefer electronic music on the groovy, funky, melodic, and upbeat breakbeat side, rather than, say, the dark dubstep or hard dance variety (if you don’t know electronic music, you probably don’t know what the heck I’m talkin about right now).
I suppose the best way to describe what I like is to list some of the artists that I am currently enjoying. Here’s a list, each linked to one of the artist’s songs on youtube: Chinese Man, Emancipator, Four Tet, Gotye, Gramatik, Bonobo, Caravan Palace, Ganga Giri, Mason Jennings, Morcheeba, The Funk Hunters. Oh yeah, I also have been enjoying a compilation album called “Ghetto Funk Allstars – The Icons Vol I & II”. I love this funk remix stuff to dance and jump rope to 🙂
But of course, that’s just a moment in time, and there are many an artist I have enjoyed in the past. I like the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Pretty Lights, and an absolute ton of other stuff I can’t think of right now. I mostly steer clear of gangsta rap, country, and most things that are too poppy mainstream (lol… I guess I’m a bit of a hipster at heart. Although I do love Pink!).
6. Is The Love Vitamin Your Only Job?
Yes, as of just over a year ago, The Love Vitamin has been my full time and only job. Yay! It feels great to be making a living doing something creative and helpful to so many people (and I’m the boss!!). I’d like to thank you for being supportive of me to make my living this way, as without the financial support, I’d have to have a much less satisfying job to pay the bills. And that means I’d have no time or energy for writing and upkeeping this blog! It’s win-win 😀
Before The Love Vitamin, I worked at a kayak shop every summer for five years, and in between, I travelled and did odd jobs like waitressing. I chose not to go to university, but I did one year of an office administration program (not my thing). I’m still in the process of getting my holistic nutrition diploma, which I’m doing as distance education. For those that were interested in this, this is the program that I’m taking. While I’ve finished the majority of the program, I have to admit, I’ve been putting it on hold for more than a year now because I’ve been so busy concentrating on this blog!
7. What Are Your Other Interests Aside From Health/Nutrition?
I am a person who goes through a lot of phases with what she’s interested in and what she does. My constant big ‘thing’ is that I love researching – so I’ll get on a certain topic for a while (whether it’s a week or a few years) and it’ll consume me until I’m satisfied.
For example, travel has been a huge interest of mine in the past. I love travelling, and in the years after I graduated high school, I was travel crazy. I spent hours researching, planning, and daydreaming about travelling all corners of the world. I did manage to go to Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Europe, and Morocco, all of which were amazing.
Now, I certainly want to continue going on trips and travelling because I still love it, but it’s not a huge all-consuming interest anymore when I’m not actually travelling.
Other current and past interests and activities of mine include: Arts and crafts such as painting, sewing and knitting, personal growth and psychology (this is primarily what I read books about), new age spirituality, dog training (as of recently because of my new canine friend), riding my bike, reading about bicycle touring, psychic intuition and paranormal stuff, lucid dreaming, yoga, gardening, reading.
8. What Do You Do in Your Day to Day Life?
Well, my life is always changing, but this is how things have been over the last 6 months or so and gives a good general picture.
Since I work from home, I spend the majority of my time home by myself, or home with Luke if he’s off work. During that time, I will spend a good part of the day blogging and working on The Love Vitamin. I might also spend time reading on the internet or in a book about whatever other interests are taking my fancy at that time. There’s plenty of procrastinating in there too (facebook, blech).
I try to start my day by doing some jump rope and a half hour of yoga. Doesn’t always happen, but lately that’s what I’ve been enjoying. I take breaks from work to make breakfast; I make lunch, and I make dinner for Luke and I after he gets off work (he does the dishes!). Sometimes it’s just basic “cuz-I-have-to” cooking, but on top of that I’m often doing fun kitchen experiments or trying new recipes, in more of a hobby-ish way.
If I need a food ingredient I don’t have, or need to do other errands, I hop on my bike and ride to the store or the farmer’s market and fill up my bike basket. I would also sometimes ride to the lake to go swimming if I felt like it, or spend a bit of time in the garden, playing with or doing some training with the dog, or doing some other activity related to my interests at the time.
When Luke’s home, we just hang out. We’re mostly happy doing our own things at home, and usually spend lots of time sitting on the couch together being consumed in our own books or computers or activities. Sometimes we’ll watch a documentary together, although we rarely, if ever, watch movies. We also don’t have a TV. On Luke’s days off, we’ll often go for hikes in the woods.
As for our social life, we’re both fairly introverted most of the time so we choose not to have a ton of structured extracurricular activities outside the home, but we do have a few really close friends that we hang out with all the time. With them, we do all sorts of things – we make a lot of dinners together, bbqs at the beach, playing boardgames, watching sunsets, going camping, hiking, going to outdoor festivals, swimming at the lake, and going out to party events or other community events in our town.
Me and Luke and some of our best buds. And one of our favourite board games.
9. Tell Us About Your Family
Well, my immediate family consists of my mom, Barb, my dad, Ken (yes, my parents are “Barbie and Ken”), and my brother, Aaron, who is two years older than me. My mom works as a kitchen supervisor at the local hospital, my dad is a stone mason, and my brother lives in Vancouver and installs security systems. Luke and I go over and have dinner and BBQs with my parents fairly often, as we live in the same town.
Here is a family photo with me and Luke, my parents, and the family dog, Tess. I donno where Aaron was. I guess he missed the photoshoot.
10. What Does Your House Look Like?
Luke and I live in British Columbia, Canada, in a town called Powell River (it’s kinda sorta near Vancouver). This is also where I grew up.
We live in a small, one bedroom detached rental house on the back of a property. I like it because it’s not right on the road, and there’s lots of trees and bushes surrounding us. And you can’t see into any of our neighbours’ houses.
Here it is from the outside:
The outside
Would be cute, if it weren’t for us being so messy. And that ugly linoleum floor.
Living room
Kitchen
Bedroom
Bears come to visit the backyard fairly often
11. Tell Us About Your New Dog!
Well, his name is Sharkie. He’s just over a year old. We don’t know what he is – we suspect he’s some kind of chihuahua/dachscund mix (officially called a Chiweenie). Other people think there’s corgi there, and others think there’s some jack russel. I guess he’s just a mutt. He’s small, and weighs about 10 lbs.
Anyway, Luke and I have wanted a dog for a while now because we both love dogs and grew up with dogs in our family homes. And I’ve especially wanted one ever since I babysat my brother’s little dog for a week last year – I totally got attached and didn’t want to give her back! We finally decided we are at the point where we are settled down enough now to care and commit to having one of our own – we wanted a dog to share some love with, take on walks, and keep me company while I work at home.
We finally made the plunge, and we rescued him from an animal shelter in Seattle, after finding him on petfinder.com. I’M SO IN LOVE! Oh wow, he’s just the funniest thing, and so cute and cuddly. And very well behaved – he doesn’t growl, bite, or bark like many other small dogs. I’m so happy we got him. Although I can tell I’m turning into one of those dorky “dog moms” who fawns over my dog like he’s my baby. It’s so different having your own pet vs a family pet!
Me n’ my baby
Sharkie having a cuddle with our friend Lorenzo
[UPDATE] – I loved Sharkie so much, that a few months later, we got him a friend! So now we have two pups, and I have found that two is not twice the work, but definitely double the fun! The new one is Huckleberry, or Huck for short.
The Adventures of Sharkie and Huck
Okay! That’s it! I hope you feel like you know me a little better now. If you want to know more, ask away in the comments.
Love your Luke story & especially the pictures of yall. SO cute! [:
Excited for your dreads to come back-love em!
yaaaaaa! im so glad yr getting yr dreads back, I love them, mine are 15 months old! And yr dog is adorable
@ Loreal & Lenore – yep, they’re coming back! They’ve definitely started growing since I cut them (dreads grow very slowly).
Hi Tracy. I’ve been longing to know some stuff about you and you finally have. Nice place you got there 😉
Lots of love from the United Kingdom 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the post Sufyan 🙂
Ever since I discovered your website and your YouTube channel, a year and a half ago, I have embarked on a journey to accept and cherish myself by treating my body and my soul in a healthy manner, being happy… all in all, following many of your pieces of advice. My main issue now is skin picking, due to “hatred” towards any bumps. Working on it!
But you are a true inspiration and ever since I found out you lived near Vancouver, I’ve always had this little dream of somehow bumping into you and giving you a bear hug. I’d probably burst into tears; you have made such a difference in my life.
Aw! Well maybe the stars will align and we’ll run into each other! .. although I don’t go to Vancouver very much because the ferries are just too expensive!!! haha… never know though. I’m so happy to hear the difference I’ve made in your life, Ana.
youre really pretty!!
Why thank you! 😀
Loooved this Tracy, its really cool to get a glimpse into your life! Thanks for doing that.
Luke, yourself and Sharkie make a great little family! I also think there may be some corgi in Sharkie (so cute).
I also find you very inspirational and love your down to earth manner!
Greeting from Melbourne, Aus.
Thanks Eva, glad you enjoyed the post. I’m excited about our new doggy addition, so that we’re now a real family!
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for being open and honest with us! I love your minimalist lifestyle. I can only dream of having a house surrounded by trees and off the main street. If only my job is as fun and give me as much freedom as yours (although it helps me pay my bill so I shouldn’t complain about it).
Hello from Texas.
Tina
I’m pretty lucky, and I feel very blessed 🙂 I’m sure there’s trees in Texas though??? lol… I assume. Do you live in a city?
It’s always nice to be able to have all the jigsaw pieces to someones story! You and Luke seem like a great couple. All the best with it xx My father is a stonemason too, it’s a real art imo 🙂 Maybe that’s where your creativity comes from..? And wow, that bear is HUGE! Can’t believe they come that close – how do you avoid getting eaten!! Lol Oh and you guys seriously need to patent that book shelf – it’s class!
Ha! The bookshelf is awesome, but it’s the most unstable, creakiest bookshelf I’ve ever seen. Will have to get better at building and then maybe we’ll take over the world with our driftwood bookshelf company. hehe
Can’t wait to watch the video! In 3, 2, 1! 🙂
I mean .. er, cant wait to read the article :-D!
hahah yeah, no video for this one. Well, I made one to go with it and it’s on youtube, but I didn’t repeat everything I said here…. it was too long. So I didn’t think there was a point posting it here
I’m so glad you made this post! i LOVED getting to know you better! i feel like we are a lot alike… except for the music choices, although Morcheeba’s Enjoy the ride is one of my fav of all times!
Anyways, I’m from Hungary and I used to live in Budapest for a long time, so it was really good to hear that you’ve been there. Can I ask what were you working there exactly? and for how long? how on Earth did you find overseas (especially in such a little country) from here?
And my other question would be…. are you guys not afraid of those bears? Have they ever attacked you, your dogs or anything around the house?
Hi Eny! 🙂
As for Budapest, I was just backpacking around Europe by myself with no definite plans, and it was winter, and I was kind of getting sick of moving around from city to city. I happened to be in Budapest staying at this hostel, Suite, and there were lots of foreign, english speaking people that had stopped their travels to work there for board and a little bit of extra money. It was all under the table, of course. (and generally hostels like to hire foreign backpackers because you don’t have to pay them much since they are happy working for a place to stay, plus the guests are english speaking and can relate to other backpackers working there)
Anyway… I decided to ask for a job, and they gave me one and that was that. Luke happened to have already done the same thing, and the rest is history.
As for the bears… no we’re not afraid of them. They’re just black bears (not grizzlies), which are pretty skittish and afraid of humans, and dogs. They’ll run away when they notice you. And so far, I’ve only seen them when we’ve been inside the house, so we can sit and watch them. It’s fun 🙂 And Luke has this thing about bears… he just LOOOOVES them. He gets so, so excited every time there’s a bear in the yard. It’s cute.
Oh, and the other suggestion: I would REALLY REALLY LOVE to read about your other interests, too! Like, what you’ve found out/read/believe/discovered about the psychological things, personal growth stuff and the psychic intuition and paranormal stuff, lucid dreaming! They all really interest me too, and I would LOVE to read about them in your blog…even though they don’t necessary belong to skin problems and holistic healing 🙂
Your dog is so cute!! Love the pictures and all the stuff about you as a person 🙂
By the way, Ganga Giri is amazing. I saw them live at Roots & Blues in Salmon Arm last year. Great taste in music -thumbs up-
This was an enjoyable entry ^.^
I’m always excited for your new posts.
Your skin looks friken amazing in all those pictures, just thought I should mention that. You really inspire me to believe in the possibility of achieving that one day 🙂 Thank you.
Yeah, Ganga Giri’s awesome! They’ve come to Powell River twice and played shows in an outdoor gazebo we have here. Sooo good. They came last year, so it was probably the same tour if you’re in Salmon Arm!
Sharkie looks like a Corgi! So cute!
Hahah he seems to look like a Corgi in pictures.. in real life, he looks more like a chihuahua with his big years. Who knows! He is so cute though… he melts my heart
Hi!
I just recently started reading your blog and I don’t normally comment, but I think your blog is so great, you give so much of yourself and you really go into each topic in depth. I imagine you have a bunch of happy readers!
And this was the ultimate post for me as a new reader. You seem like such a cool person. Looking forward to following you 🙂
Yay! Glad you liked the post Amanda 😀
Love this post! I’ve been following your blog for awhile as I work out my skin issues, and it’s great to get to know more about you. To ditto what someone else commented, I get the feeling you and I are a lot alike. Two exceptions – the taste in music (hard rock and metal for me!) and clothing preferences (I have the sort of job where showing up in yoga pants would not be ok, although I do love them around the house).
If I lived in your area, I would totally want to hang out with you 🙂
Haha! Yes, sadly all the people you’d get along like peas and carrots with just don’t live near you. I’m also sure we would be good friends Kit 🙂 we’d just have to take turns playing music and be tolerant of each other’s musical tastes heheh
Thanks for sharing your life with us!:)
I love the pic of you and the fam.. I keep trying to figure out who you look more like?! Dad or Mom?!.. To me a little of both!
I love the way your little house is decorated! It llooks so cozy and welcoming! It makes me want to clean and rearrange mine..lol..( grrhh i hate cleaning tho!lol)
I would live to know how sud you get to travel to so many exciting places?! Like did you and a bunch of friends just save yp and then decided to travel?! Im curious, because Ive aleays wanted to travel abroad one day! I just dont know how and where to start?
Im from the U.S.
.. Sorry for all the questions.. Im just really interested and curious of how you went about it
haha I don’t know! Everyone always says I look exactly like my mom. But looking at that picture, my face shape looks more like my dad.
As for the house… we are so messy… since we got the dog though we’ve been a little tidier. That’s the thing about having a nice place… it’s not nice if you can’t keep it clean! But it’s so hard!!
As for the travel, I think I am going to have to do a whole blog post on travel one of these days, because every time I mention it, I get asked about it…. and I’d love to do a post on it!! To answer your question quickly, you just have to live cheap and save your money (it helps if you can move in with your parents lol, but it’s definitely possible even without doing that). And if you want to travel for a long time, if you can find a way to work overseas, that really helps. I’d also advise just going somewhere cheap, like Asia. – anyway…. so much to say and I love talking about this, so yes….. a blog post is in order
it’s “without further ado” not “adieu”, hehehe!
Your house is amazing!
I love this post. I think you could incorporate all (or almost all) your interests in your blog regularly and it would be so amazing and interesting.
x
hahah… reeeally. I did not know. I always thought it was french. Is it one of those things that gets spelled wrong all the time and no one ever notices?
I would also love to incorporate all my interests into the blog, and I try to sneak them all in, sorta, to a degree. haha. It’s confusing with it being a business, because you don’t know how much you can steer off your niche without it affecting your income.. and I don’t make enough to feel comfortable playing around with it too much…. but I think there will be a point in time when I have completely exhausted the acne and skin care topic and will have to change the direction of the blog, or at least mix it up a lot more. We’ll see… everything will take its own path according to the ol universe, I suppose!
Well it means ‘without more fuss’ (=ado), whereas ‘adieu’ means ‘goodbye’. I like your version though, it’s funny!
Apparently you’re not the only one who mixed them up:
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/ado-versus-adieu.aspx
I understand about your niche, but I think that people also like to connect to a person, so it makes things more interesting if it’s not just one-sided. Also, I think that a lot of people who are interested in healing acne holistically also share your other interests. If you’re worried about it you could always also start a second channel/blog (like some beauty gurus on YouTube also have Vlog channels etc) without risking your current business.
I think the fact that you get so many questions about other areas of your life is a big hint that people ARE interested
🙂
Maybe I’ll have to take a poll or something – find out primarily why people come here! I do really enjoy doing these articles where I take a certain topic and cover it really in depth.. kind of like I did in this article about dreadlocks: https://thelovevitamin.com/2668/getting-dreadlocks/
I’m fairly certain that steering off topic for those sometimes will be more than welcome.. and it’d make me happy 🙂 after all, there’s plenty of acne information in the archives to keep L Vitamin newbies busy for a long time
Hurricane Sandy hit NYC hard and I was without power for about 24 hours. It gave me what seemed like a lifetime to think about my relationship to the internet. Honestly, I knew that in all likelihood I was going to be without power when the hurricane hit and lo and behold, my power was knocked out pretty fast after the rain came. I haven’t been without the internet in a while and I was thinking that I would go through internet withdrawal. Surprisingly I didn’t. I read books by candlelight cerca biblical times and roasted strawberries over a candle. I was genuinely impressed by just how liberating going without the internet or any technology at all was.
I think I’m gonna start going on “technology fasts.” The hurricane really did a number on NY and many other places, so I’ve been meditating and sending out good vibes into the universe for all the people that need it right now. Hopefully the positive emotions projected to those that were affected by the hurricane.
Your house is too cute. I can’t even look at it anymore. And thanks for introducing me to Chinese Man.
I’m sending out good vibes to the hurricane hit areas too!
Going out the internet is a funny thing – I’ve noticed that if it isn’t available or I’m away, it’s perfectly fine, no cravings, it really is soooo liberating! I absolutely love it. But taking time away from it doesn’t actually fix the addiction to it, because as soon as you have it again, you pick up right where you left off!! I think that maybe only long fasts, longer than three weeks might have benefit in that area, since that is how long it takes to create a habit. Well, anyway… aside from addiction breaking, just taking shorter fasts is still beneficial I’m sure for many reasons – unplugging is so important. We’re all way too distracted.
Also, yes… Chinese Man is rad, especially that album, Racing with the Sun
Although technology can definitely be a bad thing, I consider the internet to be a “Feminine” force. Whereas nukes and mindless TV can be considered masculine and destructive objects, the internet isn’t all bad. It’s a source of knowledge and community, so in that way it’s definitely a feminine entity.
But yeah, either way it’s good to achieve a balance. Completely abstaining from the internet, in my opinion, isn’t even a good thing. Depending on how you use it, the internet can certainly be a positive force in your life.
You’re right, I made that sound pretty one sided… I LOVE THE INTERNET! haha…. but I also hate the internet. The internet really is one of the best things that has ever happened to us, never before have we been able to share so much information and open up people’s eyes so quickly. And it definitely CAN be more positive than, say, television .. but yeah… it can be abused like anything else. There’s a definite difference between using the internet responsibly and using it out of addiction. Personally I find that the more I use the internet as a tool in taking action on something (writing a blog post, finding a recipe to make, learning a skill, etc) , the happier I am…. the more time I waste on mindless information consumption that leads to no action, the less happy I am
This was fun to read. 🙂 And I have to say that I am so jealous of your one bedroom house! When we moved in the spring, I thought that a one bedroom house with a garage would’ve been perfect for us, since we mostly wanted more space for gardening and to store stuff like our freezer and dehydrator. But I don’t think they exist in Boulder–or at least I couldn’t find any. So we ended up in a two bedroom apartment, which is quite nice, but I still think it would’ve been cool to have our own house.
Hi Meghan!
I don’t know if they’re common around here either. At least when you walk around town, it doesn’t look that way! I’m actually surprised we found this place… it was exactly what we wanted – small, nature-y, private-ish, and with a garden, but it’s also central in town. And not an apartment or a suite (I hate sharing my yard haha)! And it has a woodstove to boot, so it keeps our heating bills down. We’re really lucky!
Hi Tracy,
My last year has been one from hell, and while my partner and I both help one another with all of the stress we’ve been through, all of my stress seems to have taken a number on my face. Miscarriages, hospital trips, late night police interventions, arrests and court cases. . . I am an actor, and in the midst of all this crazy stuff happening, I can’t help but focus on the fact that my face is a complete disaster. I found your blog about two months ago, and your wonderful energy has completely changed my outlook of the future. Two months ago, I’d sit up at night crying for hours. Now, I spend those occasional late nights browsing through your posts and reading the comment forums, feeling like you’ve created such a welcoming community on your website.
I’ve been wondering about who you are outside of your website, and I am inspired by the positive energy you surround yourself with, from the places to the people to your own home. Thank you for sharing. I’d love it if you could post an article about what you do when your circumstances in life are getting you down.
Thanks,
Tabatha
Hi Tabatha!
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been having such a rough time 🙁 But I’m happy to hear that you’ve found a little place here to feel like you’re not alone!! much love to you!
Well the good news is if you really want to travel again, you now have a bunch of people all over the world who love you and connect with you through your blog, and we would totally host you! And with your Love Vitamin friends, you could go crazy with all of the healthy food you want!
Hahah that is true! Like my own private couchsurfing club haha
Wow, so many travels. Did you do all these by yourself? I would love to travel to Canada for a while and maybe even work there but I’m so afraid that it would become too difficult, I would get too lonely, etc. Any advice?
You seem like a really nice person.
Thanks for the music links, I’m just listening to them 😉
Hi 🙂
Yes I initially travelled overseas by myself on two separate trips (one trip was a year long to Australia/New Zealand/South East Asia, and the other one was to Europe/Morocco)… however, I always ended up meeting people and travelling with them, so I was rarely actually alone. There’s lonely times, but not that many. I really need to do an epic “Love Vitamin Guide to Travel” to answer everyone’s questions about it!
Hey Tracy, how’s your intuitive eating going?
My intuitive eating is going well! Ever since I wrote that article, I totally relaxed about food, and have given myself a lot more leeway with it… I just eat what I want to eat! Luckily it’s still mostly whole foods, but I do eat a bit more processed food than I used to, and when we’re with friends, I just go with the flow, and there’s no worries anymore….. my skin is just fine, and I feel so much more FREE!!! ahhhh. I should write a follow up article.
Hi Tracy,
Thanks for the inside look into your life! I have a quick question, sorry if it’s off topic: How was Fran’s (from High on Health) webinar? Would you say it’s worth purchasing? I’m just kind of skeptical…
Actually, I haven’t listened to it yet because I was busy last night. So I don’t know yet!
Oh, well maybe you could give us a little review on it after you see it (if you want to of course). Just enough to let us know if it’s worth the purchase. Just a thought, thanks!
Yep, I will. I’m not exactly sure when we’re going to get the link to listen to it if we didn’t make it to the live thing, it doesn’t seem to be available yet. So … I will listen to it as soon as the download is available, and see what I think
Hey Tracy! Thanks for this! Its so weird how interesting i find posts like these, but i guess im not the only one considering you did this post by request, haha. But i do have another question, does Luke eat like you do?
And btw i really like your hair nowadays, the way it is down in the front, it looks pretty this way!
Oh and i just thought of another cool post idea, you could give us like an inventory of your kitchen and say what some of your favorite food items are. I’d be interested, haha. :p
Hi Kaitlyn 😀
Glad you enjoyed this post – it’s also the type of post that I would love to read from someone I followed/read… I find it really fascinating finding out personal details about people. I guess it’s not a surprise that I really enjoy reading biographies if I find a good one about someone (I guess I forgot to mention that in my reading interests haha)
As for Luke, I guess we mostly eat the same way… because I cook him dinner hahaha. For breakfast and lunch though, he eats differently – he eats a lot of bagels, and bacon, and sandwiches, that I don’t.
Hi Tracy,
I really enjoyed learning more about your life! It sounds very exciting and helps us know the super cool woman behind the blog 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing!
Patty
Ps- I live in lower Manhattan and just got power back. I wanted to share with everyone that I didn’t do anything to my face for a week (except maybe let some water touch it during the shower) and I haven’t broken out or anything. There is really something to the caveman and not looking in the mirror and stressing!
Hi Patty –
Thats great! I think there is definitely something to it too.. but it’s so hard to implement in real life! It’s like a lot of addictive things – you take away the temptation and it’s easy to go without! But as soon as it’s there again, you’re right back at it. At least you caught a glimpse of the magic so you know it’s legit 🙂
hi! a sunday night I was thinking that I had to do something about my distructive face picking behavior, because that brings my self esteem very low…and I found you’re youtube post about picking and that helped me a lot. I don’t have acnee, but I do have annoyng pimples…I was already making face masks with honey, aspirine, olive oil and lemon one time a week and that is the best face mask I’ve ever tried till now. After seeing some of your youtube videos I began to use honey in the morning and at night, and my face looks much better already.
I like you’re blog, and I think you’re such a sweet and lovely person. I really enjoyed this post. Thank you for sharing part of you’re life with us!
Hi Mia,
That’s fantastic to hear your skin is looking better already! 😀 and thank you so much for reading the blog!
Hi Tracy,
Loved this one! It is so cool to “meet” you! I love the changes you have done with the blog too – really cool.
I love the little pups and the rides into town to get food – and the swims along the way 🙂 Sounds idyllic!
Gotta have another catch up soon 🙂
Mel
Hi Melissa!
Haha yes, it does sound quite idyllic – and I guess it is! But now winter is setting in, so those idyllic bike rides and swims are going to be put to an end until next summer… ah well 🙂
Thanks for noticing the changes – I got motivated one day and decided to clean everything up. I thought your idea of having a more “green” picture of me was a good idea 🙂
Anyway, yes – we should catch up. Just from quick look at your blog, it sounds like you’ve been going through some big stuff! Good luck Mel!
Your house is so amazing and cute, You are so Lucky!! =D also i like your outfit in the family photo, you look like a fairy!!
Thanks Lauren 🙂
Hey Tracy what are your plans for the future? Like Career wise?
That is a good question! I really don’t know… I love this blogging career, but it will need to evolve in some way, and who knows what the face of the internet will be like in a few year’s time. Everything moves so fast. I don’t have any plans, really, I’m just taking things one day at a time. I’m not so sure I really want to open a bricks and mortar nutrition business, so that’s probably why I’m procrastinating on finishing my nutrition diploma
Tracy, wherever did you get that phenomenal driftwood-looking bookshelf. I want one! 🙂
PS – love this post!
Megan
Haha, we just picked up driftwood off the beach and screwed it together. Lol, it’s so wobbly
Aw, I love it!
Yeah, me too 🙂 Thanks for noticing it! ha
hey 🙂 love your website/articles! i’ve been looking at different nutrition courses by correspondence, curious what your thoughts are on the csnn one?
I like it. Since no in the natural health world can really agree on what’s right and what’s not, I like it that CSNN gives you a lot of different viewpoints and allows you to decide for yourself… I felt it was very well rounded, not dogmatic. I’ve learned a lot from it
You have SUCH a nice skin! what do you do?? (:
Hi Amanda
Hm, well… I do everything I talk about on my site, and in my ebooks 🙂 Live a healthy life, eat well, sleep well, exercise, and keep my stress low, and use gentle natural skin care (well, actually I don’t use any anymore)
Oh wow, I going to start this right now, my acne is driving me nuts!! I feel so happy that you got yours to clean up, congrats!!
Thanks, good luck with your journey Amanda 🙂
Thanks for this! I thoroughly enjoyed it. And thanks for all do with The Love Vitamin. So glad you get to focus on it as your primary job.
Thanks Foss! 🙂
Hey Tracy, I was wondering.. If you’re having any financial problems – Did you ever consider applying for the youtube partnership program? It’ll kinda expand on your work with the lovevitamin. And I think it might turn out nicely since you got over 5k subscribers and get at least 1000 views per video. 🙂 Thought that might help you!
Not that I think you need it.. But, it might help on stuff whatsoever! ;p
haha, funny you should mention that.. Luke and I were just talking about that yesterday. See back in the day, if you were a partner, you got to have that banner at the top of your page that linked to your website. I wanted the banner so bad! haha… so I kept waiting until I thought I had good enough stats… and applied… got rejected… applied again… got rejected… and then they went and made everyone youtube partners! And then I said screw you youtube, and haven’t paid attention since. But I’m still not clear on whether or not I can still get that banner… I do want the banner…. but either way, I still can put ads on my youtube videos, which earns me a paltry sum of money. I refuse to put those horrible commercials before my videos though, or I’d probably earn more
Eh.. I haven’t really experienced a commercial at the video on a famous blogger, but it has happened on big youtube channels like machinima or something like smosh.. But I think you can change the settings so you can only put certain commercials on your videos.. I dunno but I think it’s worth the try! 🙂
I have the option to put the commercials at the beginning, but I don’t, because they’re stupidly annoying haha
Really cool getting to know you more! You’ve been inspiring so much in the last few months to be more accepting and happy with myself since I found your YouTube channel. I just <3 you for your positivity and love of life.
Yay, I’m so happy to hear that Alex 🙂
Hi Tracy, I have been following lots of your videos on youtube, and you have truly inspired me to create a healthier lifestyle! I went to the health food store and picked out a few things to start me on my new healthy eating routine! (Ive had trouble in the past trying to stick to a healthy diet),I would always cave when I would see a type of junk food.. do you have any advice on how to push through the first couple weeks of eating all healthy foods? I also wanted to ask you what type of a food/healthy plan are you on (ex:vegan,paleo, natural foods etc and how long have you been on it for? (hope that’s not too personal of a question)! I hope to hear back, because I really could use some advice on how to have the strength to stay on a healthy eating plan. P.s- I am also from Canada,(Ontario) 🙂 Thanks so much, Lexi
Hi Lexis,
I’m glad you’ve been enjoying the blog and videos! 😀
I think with beginning healthy eating, you have to
1) keep in your mind all the time why you’re doing this (your goal)
2) foster self love so that you are willing to put in the effort to do something healthy for someone that you love (ie. yourself) https://thelovevitamin.com/6738/how-to-start-loving-yourself/
3) Just get by on willpower for the first bit, because as you stay dedicated it will become a habit and get way easier
4) Don’t be hard on yourself… be sure to cook yourself good health food at home, but give yourself treats sometimes and enjoy food with friends and family, because often if you deprive yourself too much, you just want it more, and it creates stress, and then that just backpeddles you
Good luck lovely, I know it’s not easy, but it gets easier.
Hey Tracy, thank-you so much for your quick reply! It means so much to me 😀 I am most definitely taking in all your positive advice to help me push through, and to create a healthier new me 😀 ! I have another question (may sound a bit silly tho) .. do you ever treat your self to chocolate, chips or candy(If so, how often?) I’m wondering this because I don’t know if BAD junk food is something I should give up all together with my new healthy eating plan or not? Any advice would be extremely helpful ! Thanks so much, I’m sending lots of positive energy and happiness your way! Lexi
Hi Lexis,
Yes, I do eat those things! it varies in frequency of how much. Here’s the thing… when I first started eating healthy, I was so strict because i was afraid. I was SO terrified of acne, that I became terrified of certain foods. Once i finally released that and allowed myself to be more free with my food choices, I just found that if I ate too many of those things, I just didn’t feel as good. So I’d naturally gravitate back to eating healthier… and not because I was afraid. I think that’s a lot healthier way to go about healthy eating. But sometimes you just have to dive in and experiment before you can figure out what works for you.
Also, to answer your question that I missed before, I don’t really follow a set food philosophy strictly anymore, but generally, I loosely follow “traditional foods” in the style of the Weston A Price foundation recommendations.
thank-you, thank-you for your input <3 So sorry that I have like a million questions but…
Today for example.. I woke up, had a green tea… then a bowl of Organic Kamut Puffs and almond milk.. and then I had a Salad (spinach, avocado,broccoli,mushrooms, green beans, cucumber, chicken ( I roasted a whole chicken last night for my first time haha), a hard boiled egg, olive oil and some apple cider vinegar… but when I was done i didn't feel that full-satisfaction feeling I would get out of eating say a hamburger for example.. DID you feel this way when you first started to eat healthy foods? I also let myself have some honey roasted peanuts …:( because I felt like i was craving something sugary.. I JUST want to eat healthy good stuff and forget the bad…Do i just have to step up and have more will-power?
Hi Lexis,
Yes, often your body will take some time to adjust to healthy nutrient dense foods, instead of foods with all those empty calories, and you may be a bit hungry at first. And as you detox, you maybe strong cravings…. they get better though!
Hey tracy, hope all is well with you 🙂 ! I need your advice on whether or not to go dairy free. Iv been having lots of mood swings and im wondering if eating dairy and meat that gets injected with horomones and chemicals could be a part of theproblem. And I was watching one of your vids and you mentioned milk and dairy products having horomones in it. Is that because of the horomones they put into the cow? I dont think dairy is settling with my body and im wondering if I should go dairy free (letting u know that I love milk and cheese bad…) so it would be toughb for me … but im slowly trying to improve my lifestyle and the food choices i make. All your advice has been very helpful and your a true inspiration! P.s once I get nutritional yeast and tamari I plan on making that awesome looking salad dressing u showed in ur video. Thanks, sending positivity your way 🙂 !
Hi Lexy – well I would definitely encourage you to try going dairy free to see how it affects you and your moods! Many people can’t process dairy very well – well, commercial dairy. Many people who have dairy sensitivities can eat raw milk and raw milk products without any trouble…. but either as an experiment, you should cut out all dairy for at least a month and see how you feel…. you might find it’s so worth it. But you might not! The only way to find out is try.
Thank you so much ! I think I will try it out for a month 🙂 !
Hi Tracy!
I’m really interested in that program you’re taking and was wondering if anyone can take that program or if its just for Canadians? (Cause it says Canadian School of natural Nutrition.)
I’ve been lost in figuring out what I wanna do in my life, taking courses in Pharmacy Tech, but in completing the internship, I knew it wasn’t right for me. I still wanna help people and an Uncle of mine gave me ideas about holistic nutrition and that’s when I read about the program you’re taking. I’ve looked into it and absolutely love the idea of helping people naturally.
Thanks so much! 🙂
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa,
I’m not sure if you can only take it if you are Canadian. I know that there are similar programs based in the States too though! Not sure which ones off the top of my head, but have a look around
Im surprised I never heard of chrysocolla, but i realized i need it, so i just ordered one :)I ll prob wrap it in wire and make a pendant.
You and I sound a lot of like, and your life is basically what I dream of having once I graduate high school! I feel like the inner me is suffocating but in less than three years I can get out and embrace who I really am- that being mostly my inner hippy. Your house looks very cozy, especially the dew on your sliding glass door, haha. But I was wondering- what were your high school years like?
Hi Brittni!
Yep, high school can be pretty suffocating especially if you are feeling your inner groove and it’s totally not working with what’s going at school…. people are so closed minded in school and stuck in convention. The whole “high school years are the best years of your life” is the biggest crock of shit I ever heard hahah… I guess maybe they are for some people, but I assume that’s only if you’re like a wanky popular kid who after high school realizes that popularity in high school means nothing in the real world!
Anyway… despite saying that, high school wasn’t terrible for me… I had a solid group of friends, and a boyfriend I spent a lot of time with. I kind of just flew under the radar. I don’t think I knew myself very well at that time so I didn’t feel suffocated by it, but after I left I realized what a great big wide amazing world is out there and what a little closed world high school is 🙂 Sounds like are definitely going to make the most of your years after you graduate… make sure you travel, explore, and let your inner self out as much as possible. Good luck my lovely xox
Hi Tracy!
I’ve been reading your blog for about 10 months now, and I’m slowly, but surely starting to see healthy results in my skin (woop woop!)- so thank you for sharing your research and insights with all of us!
That brings me to this question:
(forgive me if you find this… well cliche, haha)
How and when did you realize The Love Vitamin was your calling? What gave you purpose to pursue this healing work you’re doing now??
I feel as though plenty of my skin issues stem from the lack of purpose I’ve always struggled with. I’m just curious as to what the process looked like for you??
Thanks,
Shay
Hi Tracy!
I am new to your blog but I love it! I am a few days into the caveman and just feel it’s going to be right for me. Congratulations on your marriage! I’m going to be 2 years in jan 15th this year :).
I am also really into nature and art and painting and I LOVE that abstract one over your couch. Can you post a closer shot of it? Also I’m curious if you painted it :). Anyways, keep being awesome!
Hi Sarah, welcome to the blog! 🙂 Glad to hear the caveman is going well so far… I know what you mean about it just feeling right. It’s not for everyone, but it really resonates with some people. I love it, I’m still doing it two years on! Anyway – yes I painted that 🙂
Hi Tracy! I sent you an email.
Hi Tracy,
do you happen to remember where you got that brown hat or any suggestions on places to buy hats that you think are cool? I love hates but i tend to have a hard time finding ones that suit me since i can’t have wool!
Hi Su, I got my beloved brown hat at a booth at my local farmer’s market, but my suggestion would be to go on Etsy.com … there’s a HUGE selection of homemade, interesting hats that will ship anywhere