Sunday, May 27, 2012

Many Happy Returns

Monday May 21st

Camille woke up calling 'Mommy Daddy Mommy Daddy Mommy Daddy' When I went to her she was standing in her crib arms folded and hanging over the side rail. I love Camille.

Answered a cry for help over at a friend's blog by making up a word for her new super amazing life work. You can find my word here and also read about her upcoming adventure. I love adventures.

Learning about more and more people everyday who are inspired to juice fast or run because of me and my fellow roadrunners. I'm BIG on connecting with people. It's the reason I wanted to travel to Ethiopia,one reason I blog,and something I value a lot within my relationships. I love people.

Making new friends around the world,across the nation or right in my own town (I've done all three very recently) makes me happy and inspires me to keep learning and growing and makes me more open to all kinds of people. I love friends.

It seems like much longer ago than just 2 days that I was running 13.1 miles. I love my medal. *big cheese grin*

Tuesday May 22 nd

A strange-ish day around here. Ever hear something you aren't sure how to react to?

Grandma has made sure all 7 cousins will be sleeping in coordinating prints.

I tried to run but found my knees not quite recovered. I worked out my arms instead.

Chai tea with friends is good. And yummy. I know because I've had it twice in the last two days.

Silas is a good big brother. Today he taught Camille how to get down stairs when she was too stubborn frightened to do it on her own. He sang a little song and hopped a little Tigger down along side her.

Wednesday May 23rd

Today I'm just...quiet. That's not so strange is it?

But I do remember this. Silas was being tickled by a friend. He stopped the torture and Silas pointed out his many owies. The friend pointed out a bruise on Silas' leg and asked what happened. Silas casually remarked 'Oh,that's just a gray spot'

Oh,of course. We should have known.

Thursday May 24th

Clowned around on bikes at Granny and Papaw's house with the kids.

Paid off my credit card and with my points I'm itching to go to Disney again.

Friday May 25th

Told Clara today (playfully) to zip your lips and Silas chimed right in with "Yeah and close your eyes and glue them shut!"

Visited legoland with the kiddos and had a fun time but learned that our kids aren't really into legos...yet? They wanted much more to go across the mall to the aquarium. The aquarium wanted an arm and a leg for the aquarium entrance fees so we decided to keep our appendages and drive back home.

Played a bit of island tag then went and winged it up at Buffalo wild wings. They have sports all over the walls there.

Saturday May 26th

Silas came in too early for a cartoon morning (especially after an island tag night) and said "Look,Mom! It's magneted to me!" I pried my eyes open and saw part of a safety pin stuck to his thumb. "Oh,how'd you do that,Bub?" "I just stuck it through a little piece of my skin!" "That's nice go watch cartoons....zzzz"

Had some mentally draining conversations. ZZZZZZzzzzzzzzz.

Didn't do a single constructive thing to the house. Happy that tomorrow is still the weekend!

Sunday May 27th

Shiloh took the kiddos and I'm at home all day cleaning and doing laundry.

Oh and playing my own version of words with friends. Two friends. Lots of words.

Hope you all had a memorable week as well!






Monday, May 21, 2012

Many Happy Returns

Sunday May 13th

Happy mothers day to me. Things that made me feel special today were going to bed at 8:30 am and then sleeping until 11:30. Waking up to an omlet (as requested) and some grapefruit juice. Some roses and a round of hand made cards. Silas kept repeating over and over as I opened the cards one by one 'It's a weally monster a weally monser!I drew a weally monster!' He always replaces an R sound with a W sound and I couldn't figure out why his grammer was so bad 'It's a really monster a really monster. I drew a really monster...?' That doesn't make sense... I looked at the drawing and then it made sense. It was a stick-ish monster with circles all around the perimeter. Oh,a wheal-y monster. Of course.

My friend texted me happy mother's day x 4. He is a friend that doesn't text often and it was special.

Cecily went home with my parents and took a bag packed all by herself. I don't know if she took enough clothes but I imagine she will make it just fine. Grandmommy has a washing machine.

Monday May 14th

Spent the day dressed in Shiloh's clothes cause mine were ALL dirty. When I say all I mean anything I would want to wear.

Woke up to a strangely quiet house at 10:30. TEN THIRTY?!? okay now I'm awake. Went searching for children and found Clara had used quite an elaborate system that involved a kitchen stool next to Camille's crib to get her up,feed her cereal in her high chair and then dress her complete with shoes. Silas made his own breakfast too and I was oblivious to it all. On the to do list is fix the baby monitor.

Took Clara for a pedicure treat. She love the massage chair and has added -Massage Chair to her birthday list along with -Pet Mouse. She chose dark blue with zebra stripes on her toes and dark blue with glitter on her fingers.

I chose glitter only.

Tuesday May 15th

Again Clara played Mommy and I slept in. Thinking about taking fix the monitor OFF the to do list. Perhaps I need to go to bed earlier?

Bought some eggplant,cauliflower and yellow bell pepper for the garden. It's gets addicting growing foods and plants. Just wait 'till I find some on sale strawberry plants.

Wednesday May 16th

Had one of those just need to get out of the house days. It had something to do with waking up to find the kitchen swarming with flies. Did you know I detest flies?

Ohhh I should get a venus fly trap...yup addicted.

Got a nice surprise on my face book wall. And another in my e-mail inbox. It's good having friends all over the nation. It makes my insides toasty.

Thought it about time I hop on the skinny jeans boat. And so I did. One big roll,a pair of Sanuks and I'm good to go all summer.

Thursday May 17th

Packed for our out of town half marathon. Didn't want to forget running shoes,shin sleeves,camelback,honey stix,extra hair bands,and a few good clothes and accessories.

Eyebrows are waxed,I shaved my legs and I'm as aerodynamic as I'll ever be!

ROAD TRIP!!! Loaded up the swagger wagon with five great friends,pumped up the music and sang our way all the way to MO. I seriously felt 15.

Friday May 18th

Went to the grocery store with the girls to fill our home away from home with foods to prepare. Asking questions in MO proves to be an interesting experience over and over again. Chugged water all day. Four runners went through 5 gallons of water in 24 hours.

Visited a wax museum and posed with the stars. Stumbled our way through a house of mirrors and laughed at images of ourselves in curvy mirrors.

Self inflicted a 9 pm bedtime on ourselves while the non runners went out jerky shopping.

Saturday May 19th

Woke up at 2:15 in the MORNING to drive two hours to our first half marathon in Joplin MO.

Met a trained killer.

Ran our hearts out. Had an unexpected emotional experience at the end. Decided to wear our medals ALL day despite what anyone would think.

(planning to blog our run to bits as soon as I get my photos)

Stayed awake for  24 hours in the name of hanging out...since we can't just do that back at home in Sherman.

Sunday May 20th

Left Missouri. Texas bound.

Decided the best pit stop on the way home would be hiking in the mountains.  I could barely manage stepping off a curb for sore muscles and joints but figured a little rock climbing would be just what the Dr. ordered.

Entertained ourselves by impersonating each other. Almost died from laughter on the way home. Someone should do a reality show about us. Seriously.

Brought home giant pickle souvenirs for the family.

My mind is spinning about future blog posts. But at least for now I have recorded these moments.






Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Juice Juice Juicity Juice

Well,now I can cross that off my bucket list! Hold on...

17-preform an extended juice fast


There that's better.

I wouldn't know when to say it was that I became interested in nutrition and all most things natural. Sometime in my teenage years I decided to have all my future babies naturally and at home. When said babies started to eat solid foods my interests evolved to include healthy food choices. Given the wide array of food choices offered to us in our society our family already eats a balance of foods ranging from organically grown super foods all the way down the food chain to greasy dead fast foods. We are comfortable with our children eating cake at a birthday party just as long as they don't turn up their noses for turning up their noses sake at collard greens for dinner.

The most recent edition to our family (Netflix) brought with it a great selection of documentaries and we settled down one evening to watch Forks over Knives. It had a lot of information we had heard before and also some new information. It inspired us to make small changes to our eating habits for the sake of our health and the sake of the impending aging process that seems (almost) futile to resist. We can't stay young but we can stay healthy. One thing led to another and after watching Fat Sick and Nearly Dead at the recommendation of my sister-in-law we decided to juice fast for ten days. For detox purposes.

Anticipating a few days when detoxing might make us feel sick we set our date so that our yucky days would fall on the weekend and we could  lay around if we needed to.

In honor of my impending day of doom thirtieth birthday I was gifted by my in-laws a fancy new juicer. It made life so much easier! The thought of hand mashing all those veggies and fruits.....just kidding I was never going to hand mash all that stuff.

But you knew that. :)

It's an Omega and it arrived exactly on the day we had set to begin.

I can give you a run down of how it went for me

day 1-For me it was the worst day. I had a headache perhaps from lack of caffeine but since I don't drink caffeine everyday I can't be sure. My energy level was super low. I mostly just laid around while the kids played outside.

day 2-Headache gone and with no choice to lay around I think it helped to stay busy. I prepared for my day at home school co-op by bringing a prepared juice in a to go coffee cup and drank lots of water and coconut water. Survived my first social function that was a potluck style. I still prepared and took food but just ignored the eating of it.

day 3-Still feeling fine I survived social function number two. A birthday party with lots of yummy foods. Snub.

days 4-7 I was super motivated. There was no more hunger and I was losing weight very rapidly.  I was drinking lots of water with lemon and also lots of coconut water. At the beginning of day 4 I was down nine pounds.  Day seven was my first no loss day. I decided to ease up on the coconut water and do at least one all veggie juice each day. At the start of day eight I had an almost 2 pound drop. These days also brought with them a film that coated my teeth and made them feel super sticky. I found out that when you detox the toxins come from everywhere. Including your breath when you exhale. So be patient and brush often. It will go away as the toxins fade from your body.

day 6 I decided to extend from a ten day to a 21 day fast so that I could experience all the levels of fasting and my body could begin the healing stage. I also noticed on this day an extreme reduction in cellulite on this day. Since I had been drinking lots of aloe and using the peel as a lotion in the shower my skin was also very soft.

day 8- I got another headache but it was milder than the first. I discovered that drinking juice high in carrot juice will make your energy levels go up and erase hunger in the event you drink too much pulp.

day 9 to 10 was another no loss day and then day 11 another two pound loss. Day 15 was the first time I had a gain! .2 lb. After more than two weeks that gain almost broke me. I lost motivation for sure but I just couldn't stop. I had read that after day 15 you reach your high energy days that also bring some sort of mental clarity. It took until day 17 for me but even though I felt weak if I climbed stairs or lifted Camille I did have a sort of mental energy. My thoughts seemed more organized and housework seemed to get done more efficiently because of it. Weight loss slowed from more than a pound a day on average to about a fifth of a pound a day.

My limbs started to fall asleep very quickly and I felt that my body might be starting to use up muscle mass instead of fat stores. I decided to end after completing day 18 because I wanted to run again and because my motivation was dwindling because of the slower weight loss. I think I was able to experience all that I wanted to even if I was three days and two pounds shy of my goal.

I was happy with the overall results. My skin was softer,the cellulite was almost gone. 16 pounds of extra fat stores were gone. Running feels easier for sure,imagine strapping on 16 pounds and going for a jog. To me it seems like a subtle layer is gone all the way around. I uncovered some lil biceps and my legs seem more defined...still no six pack (are you really surprised?).

I ate a bit of salsa on day 17,a spoonful of guacamole on day 18 and on day 19 at dinner time I really wanted to eat Chipotle as my first meal but I resisted and headed to Kroger to buy the makings of a super salad.

It was healthy to be sure. It consisted of romaine,spinach, and other mixed greens, yellow bell pepper,tomato,raw cashews,dried cranberries,and these guys



which I had been growing for the last 5 days or so just for the big salad event. Dressing consisted of homemade salsa and guacamole,salt and a spritz of lemon.


It wasn't a big bowl full of

Whole Grain Oats, Marshmallows (Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Gelatin, Calcium Carbonate, Yellows 5&6, Blue 1, Red 40, Artificial Flavor), Sugar, Oat Flour, Corn Syrup, Corn Starch, Salt, Trisodium Phosphate, Color Added, Natural and Artificial Flavor. Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols) Added to Preserve Freshness. Vitamins and Minerals: Calcium Carbonate, Zinc and Iron (Mineral Nutrients), Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbate), a B Vitamin (Niacinamide), Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine Hydrochloride), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin Mononitrate), Vitamin A (Palmitate), a B Vitamin (Folic Acid), Vitamin B12, Vitamin D3.

but it was magically delicious just the same


and it was a beast




I could not finish it.

Juicing may sound hard but it's much like running. You need some good equipment initially but then its about getting in a good state of mind,setting a goal and reaching it. You don't really need any fancy recipes just go to your local produce section buy anything that sounds good and then buy some things that don't.

Things that sound good:                                           Things that don't:

peaches                                                                   kale
apples                                                                     carrots
pears                                                                       beets
oranges                                                                   cucumber
grapefruit                                                                 zuchini
spinach                                                                    broccoli                                                              
pineapple
grapes
tomatoes
jalapenos
garlic
cilantro
celery
cantaloupe
mango

Play around. The first days I would suggest using what sounds good and lots of fruits. You may be surprised at what actually tastes good and what tastes bad.

Some things I found and tricks I learned:

-pineapple can make anything taste better
-make sure to strain the pulp so you won't re-awaken your digestive system and feel hungry
-if you do feel hungry drink something carrot based and the feeling will fade
-celery will start to taste very salty after a few days
-zuchini (shudder) hold your nose and guzzle and don't do that again
-you may start with four or more juices a day but toward the end may only have two
-beet juice proves to be very cleansing
-all of the things on the sounds bad list except the last two are actually good
-drink lots of water with lemon-half your body weight in oz. is a good start
-juice a couple of soaked dates if you need a sweetener
-consume lots of (pure) coconut water to get by (check whole foods or something similar for big boxes of coconut water that don't have added sweeteners or preservatives)
-drink herbal teas
-several days before you begin,stop drinking caffeine (to lessen the headaches) and eat lots of raw foods instead of heavy cooked meats
-stay close to home and near your juicer or take already made juice in a to go coffee cup if you have to
-carrot juice stains so use a lid in the car
-if your kids ask to make juice right after you just cleaned up the juicer and counter say yes,they will drink tons of veggies


(See? Juicing is fun!)



(Even babies can do it) 

-if you have a garden set a big bowl on the counter for scraps and start a compost pile


-make a gnat killing concoction you can find in this post and set it near your compost bowl

-if you don't have a garden use veggie pulp for soup stock and fruit pulp for popsicles


-you can not juice avocados (boo) or bananas (wah) so end your fast with them if you miss them too much.

I'm already concocting a post about my favorite juices so sit tight but don't hold your breath it will be a few days. I'm off to the races!




Sunday, May 13, 2012

Many Happy Returns (formerly known as) Weekly Remnants

It may seem a bit vague to you but to me it's the things about our days I wish most to remember. So skip it if you want of have a peek inside my dearest Diary.

Sunday May 6th

Week two of our new family 'keep the house clean' system is finished. Silas won and got to choose the family activity for the evening. He chose to have a bonfire. We s'more'd it up.

We did a lot of work on our new garden. It's easy to get overly excited about 'free all summer' foods and snacks that you won't have to prepare umpteen times a day. Never mind the salad I'm already planning to eat in oh...say...July. It's beautiful in my mind.

Finished juice fast day 18. I started the re-awakening process of my digestive system by eating a spoonful of guacamole at dinner time.

Camille slept until 10:30 this morning for the second day in a row after going to bed at her usual time. 15 hour sleeps must mean she is turning into a toddler....overnight.

Monday May 7th

Finished reading The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo to Cecily during school tonight. She answered all the discussion questions in the back of the book really well. Good to know she was listening and learning while enjoying one of her favorite things. Having her legs and back scratched.

I ended my juice fast because I thought I should. Funny to eat when you aren't hungry. Funny to feel sad about ending it. Glad to not have to worry that all the carrots were eaten by the kids at dinner.

Played slap jack with Clara tonight for some one on one time. She thought she was teaching me some great new game. After that we made up a game together called sets of six. It's a bit like go-fish but you work to create sets that add up to six. I imagine you could play it with any number you like. The aces are worth 18 points. It means nothing except that Clara said they should be. Addition in disguise...my very favorite kind of 'school' work.

Realized today it's only 12 days until I run my first half marathon. WHAT am I doing sitting around? Eeep. I think I got a little nervous just then.

Is apple cider vinegar supposed to be carbonated? I think ours may be bad. Tasted bad!

Tuesday May 8th

Found a great new way to use apple cider vinegar...expired or no. Put some in a glass add a couple drop of dish washing detergent and stir. Set it near your fruit bowl or compost bowl or both (huh,now I can quit moving mine from place to place by simply making another. I  am a genius just now) and all those curious little fruit flies or gnats as we call them will crawl in and sink never to buzz again. I don't mean to be morbid.

I researched natural organic ways to get rid of fleas because our cat Dinah is suffering and not allowed inside at the moment. I discovered diatomaceous earth. It's super amazing. Seriously I'm still trying to find something I can't use it on. Smoothies?

Told Camille let's go inside for a minute. She looked over her shoulder at me and said with thinking eyes uuuuhhhhhhhhmmmmm... and then continued to go about her business. Well,at least she thought about obeying. We all know it's the thought that counts.

Tuesdays I get to stay at home all day. Sometimes I nap on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are sweet to me.

Wednesday May 9th

Got to spend all day with my homie John. We drink tea and eat salad. It's what we do. Since like ten years ago. We can't squeeze in movies anymore so instead we marvel at each others gardens.

I think I wrote my first estimate at the shop today. I only had to walk outside three times to check something on the car. I'm practically a pro.

Cecily is amazing. I love our new one on one night school routine. It's exactly as it should be that learning stuff.

Clara took her carrot pear juice out to play and tripped and spilled. Came in heart broken. Because you got hurt? NO! Because your juice is gone? NO!  What,Clara? Because it's all over my tutu!!! She washed,changed and I made her some yogurt with mango and chia seeds instead. Dinner on the fly. All was happy in the land of Clara once more.

Ran for the first time since beginning my juice fast back in April. Kept up a good pace for a short run. Mile and a half in fifteen minutes and some change. Feels great to be back! Gonna keep sucking up beet juice and see how that endurance level builds. Who doesn't love extra oxygen?

Thursday May 10th

Granny's day. We go and spend the day every Thursday with my Granny. She makes us lunch. I clean up the mess. The last three times we've visited I have not eaten lunch with them because I was exclusively juicing. This Thursday I was not but preparing for my big run I knew I did not want to eat what ever southern country food my Granny would make and I knew they would scoff at whatever food I would offer to bring. So I took food for myself. My current favorite salad. I took a big salad and dumped it into a big bowl of Granny's. They laughed when I said next week maybe I would bring enough to share. Not because they don't eat salad but because of the size of my bowl.

Instructions for my newest obsession

mix together:
dark leafy greens and spinach for a base
purple cabbage
cauliflower
home grown sprouts (any kind will do)
dried cranberries
raw cashews
drizzle with Kroger brand olive oil and vinegar salad dressing

indulge,die,go to heaven


The toys at Granny's house stay at Granny's house much to Camille's dismay. Each week she lugs around the same baby doll and each week she cries when we pry it from her fingers. On the way home today she said with her super whiny back of the throat voice 'bebe,bebe,bebe'. I tried to comfort her as I drove. I tried  to explain to her many different ways that the baby has to stay so that she will be there the next time...and 'we are going home right now and can get one of your babies'. It didn't matter. She tried telling me in just as many ways that she wanted that baby. 

'Mommy Mommy, bebe bebe bebe bebe bebe bebe'
'Mommy Mommy, bebe bebe dah bebe bebe dah' (baby doll)
'Mama. Nanny Papa bebe bebe bebebebebe NannybebebebeMamaNannybebeeeeeeee' (Granny and Papaw's baby)

Yes,she played the part of the smallest piggy toe alllllllllllllll the way home. Crying not wee wee but be-be. She said it approximately 1,457 times. 

Silas was very proud today to finally fill his 'stay all night in your bed' sticker chart. He got to go on a special 'just me and him' date to choose a treat. He chose to go shop at cracker barrel. He chose little light up finger lights in an assortment of colors and some of those waxy bottle things you sip and chew. He gave Clara a hug before we left and said 'Bye Clara I love you' and he had tears in his eyes. He loves his sister. Right now he and Clara can be found anytime side by side giggling. They are even sharing a room,which has something to do with Silas' success of filling his chart.

Shiloh finished putting all the pickets on our new fence. Now we just need some gates and Camille can be sent out to play along with the big kids.

Finished up another book with Cecily. Encyclopedia Brown Boy Detective. I remember reading that when I was about her age.

Friday May 11th

Spent the day with multiple friends sipping tea.

Secured another great sitter. It feels good to go out guilt and worry free.

 Finally got my beloved Chipotle even if we did have to inhale it. Saw Avengers with some of  the group. Apparently missed something about Captain America. Missed the rest of the group too.

Picked up Cecily at one in the morning from a party. Said she upon entering the house to a roomful of our friends 'I had TWO cokes!' Big day for her. :) She brought her siblings some treats as requested.

Saturday May 12th

Slept until 11:30. (that has to be some kind of Mommy record) Chilled with a couple of out of town siblings. Shopped for a birthday present. Unintentionally bought a very similar present as another friend. Ran a good run. Quad C's and arm hangs,push ups and one steep driveway. Then swimming and cupcakes, hot tub and hot potato, frogs and beetles, grape soda and coffee, giggles and smiles, frisbee and apples to apples, macaroni and sausage, reminiscing and musing, polka dots and sprinkles, Blake and Abbie's, hugs and high fives.

Home at 3am but no sleep at all. Did I already say coffee?

Overall had one rough,shocking,inspirational,funky,awesome,unforgettable night. You might have had to be there to understand.

These are the things from this last week I don't want to forget and so I write them down and press them into the pages of my blog so that on rainy days I can come back for a quick peek of some warm memories.

...aaaaaaaaaand It's Mother's Day! May many happy memories fill your day both old and new.



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