Before the hustle and bustle began, the living room of the Arundel House. One guest said: "This house won't be big enough for long ... I think this is going to be really, really popular in the near future!!!" Click image to enlarge » |
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| I gave a talk Friday Night on Healthy Hearts from PCRM (the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine) « Click image to enlarge |
Kathy and Eric Kusk said it was their favorite presentation of the weekend (High praise since we had lots of wonderful speakers!) Danelle Sollman said, "I thought you had a PhD from how professional you sound! (REALLY)" Click image to enlarge » |
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| PCRM has a fabulous power point, script, posters and handouts for this. Please contact them if you are interested in giving these free talks at libraries, community groups, churches, etc... www.pcrm.org you would learn a lot and it's a wonderful service. « Click image to enlarge |
Girls Chattin' Karen Whitaker said, "Meeting other like-minded women was so great. The diversity of ages, lifestyes and vegan experience made things interesting. I came alone but never felt left out or lonely." Click image to enlarge » |
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| Beautiful North Pier in South Haven. Next time I might take everyone on the River Walk and point out some of the history of our beautiful vacation destination town. « Click image to enlarge |
Judy checking in and picking up her goodie bag. Christine Nesci said, "I loved the entire weekend! My only real complaint is that I wasn't able to come earlier on Friday and stay later on Sunday!" Click image to enlarge » |
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| Louise (Michigan), Alice (Indiana) and Debra (Wisconsin). Some food comments: "I loved it." "fresh, yummy, variety and nice use of spices!!!" "Wow on the soups!!!" « Click image to enlarge |
Check out that plate! My goal was to spoil everyone with great healthy food! "Every meal was a feast", "all the food was fantastic!" "I love cooking tips and learning new things" Pam Dennon said," I will live out the benefits of this weekend for the rest of my life! Looking forward to sharing recipes with friends and family. Just the encouragement I needed to take my diet up another notch." Click image to enlarge » |
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| Here Danelle, have some more! Danelle kindly wrote, "You did an awesome job and exceeded a lot of women's expectations that weekend. You should be congratulated. I enjoyed all of it." « Click image to enlarge |
It's more fun to eat when you're not the cook! Right ladies? Click image to enlarge » |
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| Louise, Christine, Rita, and Pat. « Click image to enlarge |
After meditation with Pam on Sunday. Thanks again Pamela for adding your special touch to the weekend. www.PamelaChappel.com Click image to enlarge » |
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| My oldest child..., wow how they grow. J.T. will be 14 this year. « Click image to enlarge |
It was pretty cool that J.T. wanted to help me prepare this breakfast. The boys also HAD to make smoothies for everyone on Sunday. Such sweet kids ... We love our smoothies! Click image to enlarge » |
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| Keynote Speaker and Diabetes expert from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Caroline Trapp. What a great lady and friend! « Click image to enlarge |
Pat, Debra and Myself. I know Debra's favorite part of the weekend was the massage. Pat- not sure her favorite part, but I surely loved having her come down early in the morning to chat with me while I did meal prep. What an awesome lady and knowledgeable cancer survivor. Click image to enlarge » |
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| Sue and Karen. Sue gave me high praise telling me she had been to other retreats and mine was THE BEST. Karen Bennett said, "WOW! What a terrific effort and you certainly delivered!" Thanks again, ladies. « Click image to enlarge |
Hey Jill you didn't say anything about male dancers ... Just kiddin'. Click image to enlarge » |
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| I call this Photo ... "Intently Listening" « Click image to enlarge |
The lovely Karen Whitaker. She said, "Jill, you did an outstanding job putting together this event. In my job, I work with event planners on a daily basis so I know!! I feel so much better about moving toward a vegan diet. I currently still eat dairy and fish but have been cutting back immensely since the weekend." Click image to enlarge » |
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| Our lunch on Sunday, more yummy food. « Click image to enlarge |
Caroline and Kerrie, enjoying the weekend and fully relaxed after their fabulous presentations. Click image to enlarge » |
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| Vegan Barb Bruno wore her "political statement T." The rest of the message says this: VEGETARIAN: A person who believes in peace, love, compassion, solidarity and health who wants to end world hunger, have clean air, land, water and keep the rainforest. Save the world's resources and end the unnecessary torture and killing of animals. « Click image to enlarge |
My fabulous intern for the weekend, Jordan Alsup. Thanks again for all your help Jordan! Everyone surely appreciated your hard work and great attitude. Click image to enlarge » |
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| Another kindred spirit Deb Uhlman. First met Deb years ago in Chicago when she was bringing large groups of people together to see the award winning documentary, "The Witness." What an amazing film and an amazing lady. « Click image to enlarge |
Sara Hardina really helped me out during the event! Thanks so much Sara, People raved about your excellent soups and kale. Click image to enlarge » |
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| I'm surprised Matt is still smiling after all the running around he did.
What a great guy. Thanks darlin'! « Click image to enlarge |
Vegan Christine Nesci invited her friend Rita Craig along for the weekend. Rita didn't know what she was getting into but in the end said," Wonderful experience. Truly changed my life. Thank You." Click image to enlarge » |
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| Getting to know each other at mealtime was enjoyable for all. « Click image to enlarge |
My son Jackson and cookbook author Joanne Rachor. Comments on Joanne's cooking demo: "I am still amazed that she bakes bread in a crock pot.' "She was wonderful, I would have liked MORE of this!" Click image to enlarge » |
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| More comments from Rita: "All the food was fantastic! I loved all the fresh fruit. The French toast Saturday morning was great. Stuffed grape leaves, Yum! Crabbiless Crab Cakes were really good and the sauce ... mmm. Jolie Gems- I could have ate far too many of these. The Mexican Layer Dip was amazing. Sara's greens were great. The Quinoa salad was really good, and the pumpkin soup was my favorite." « Click image to enlarge |
Dr. Kerrie Saunders was such a joy to meet and learn from! One lady said, "Fantastic. I learned so much from her. I can't say enough good things about her presentation or her personally." www.drfood.org. Click image to enlarge » |
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| Maha, my "master chef" and I. "HER FOOD WAS AMAZING - SHE SHOULD OPEN A RESTAURANT." "What a treat and every meal was a feast. (I thought vegans only ate rabbit food!!)" « Click image to enlarge |
Ovnik is not a medical doctor or dietician. She is just a woman looking for a better way to live. Ovnik, who struggled with her weight and energy level for years, was introduced to a vegetarian and is now 30 pounds lighter with greatly increased energy levels, which, as a mother of three, is a daily incentive to remain healthy.
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