Saw this, thought of you... or for any parent for that matter.
:)
Ahhhh, yeay, it's the weekend! Friday nights, Saturdays, and Sundays simply taste so delicious once they arrive! This morning, while letting the ladies out to do their business, I noticed that the air had that broken fever feel to it, that lets you know that fall is slowly arriving. Not necessarily a cool feeling, but not a sweltering one, either. Even the oak leaves are becoming too heavy from the summer's intensity, dying, and falling to the ground, creating a crunchy "ball pit" of sorts for Noodle and Darla to play in. It felt amazing outside and was a quick reminder to the fact that a hammock hanging in the trees by the lake, with a book and a blanket would be PERFECTION!
This weekend, I want to clean the house...I mean really tackle it and set Joey and I up for an easy cleaning/staying organized and relaxed and productive routine. I know I've made this statement a trillion times, but perhaps if I keep working towards it and keep failing, eventually I will reach success. Our place today, as compared to my bachelorette abode's is already a good assessment of how I have improved over the years, believe it or not.
Also, I'm working on at least 3 projects; 2 art, and 1 knitting, and I have several ideas for Christmas that I need to jump on, and ideas for other creative endeavors, like taking a stab at writing/illustrating children's books and collaborating on writing/film projects with Joey (I absolutely love that he includes me and invites me into his passions... I'm extremely lucky). I need to get organized first, though... for my own sanity, but the excitement of so many ideas keeps me constantly motivated. So, here we go, Fall, get ready for some serious business!
Anybody want to check out some fun links...
A really fun housewarming party idea!
How big of a backyard do you need to live off the grid? You'd be surprised!
Ok, I'm a little bit obsessed with Lush. They cater to my eco-friendly desires, create amazing products, as well as motivate me to care a little bit more about my beauty routine... which, in the past, is not something I've invested much time into. So, when I recently ran out of my facial moisturizer, I decided to go to Lush to try out one of theirs. I chose Imperialis and I LOVE it! It makes my face feel amazing, and it smells warm and earthy, which I love. Also, I'm eyeballing this little package of joy as well!
Have I talked about how great Jim Henson is lately? Let me fix that...
(Thanks for thinking of sending me the link, Blake!)
Pointless street Flyers... Hilarious!
Oooo, pretty, I might add this to my "To-Do's" for the weekend!
And, last, but not least, once I grow my hair back out again, I want to find the right person to help me to pull this off! So pretty!
Have a beautiful weekend!
Chillin'
Here's McReady. He's the most fun little man on four legs with whiskers since my little buddy Merlin (my old cat) who he both resembles and whose spirit he seems to embody with a little quirky twist that's all his own. If you're aware of or if you knew my buddy Merlin, then you know just how cool a cat McReady must be because Merlin was also his own man and an excellent cat :) However, we have absolutely no need for four pets. So, when we found out that our good friends Garre and Greg were thinking about bringing a kitten into their little family (they also have an awesome 3-legged lab mix named Steeler, who is also his own man), we were ecstatic. Steeler and McReady have become fast friends! Not only had we found an awesome home for McReady, but we can visit him now and even pet-sit when they go out of town! Our furry ladies are always a little more lively when he comes to play and they're always up to some kind of mischief... it's pretty entertaining.
Tsukiko, a beautiful life-size tigress, is my fibreglass tiger that I painted for the UofM Centinial celebration. 100 tigers have been painted or aesthetically manipulated in celebration of UofM's "Tiger's Around Town" and I was fortunate enough, thanks to the heads up from my friend, Heather, to be a part of it. She sat in our carport for about two weeks, one of which I was out of town for, and then, after a long, hot, and sweaty week, she blossomed into the beautiful and exotic lady that I knew she could be.
Because she's awesome, Garre helped me put the finishing touches on my lovely lady (note the knees behind Tsukiko's back legs). I love my Gare Bear!
Night painting is probably not the best exercise in endurance for your vehicle.
If you want to find out more about the "Tiger's Around Town", click here. There's going to be an "Unveiling" on Sept. 10 between 11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m. when all the tigers will be exhibited. I can't wait to see all of the different tigers, I know they'll be amazing! Also, I know a few of the other artists that worked on tigers, and I can vouch for their awesomeness as well, so you should definitely come check it out if you can!
I hope your Monday was a good one! Today was the first day of school and I must say that it was wonderful to see so many of my kids again and to receive so many hugs. I love my job!
P.S. - the photos of McReady are pictures that I lovingly stole from my good buddy, J.B. I hope you don't mind! They were just so good :) So good, that I'll include a stolen Darla and Noodle picture as well...
I love my ladies! Nugget too, but she was hiding, so we didn't get a portrait of her. Oh well, you snooze you lose.
P.P.S - Greg and Garre renamed McReady Bruce Lee, however, as long as they don't mind, he'll remain McReady over here at the Carr Farm.
Start weight: 132.6 lbs
End weight: 126 lbs
According to what I have read, my weight loss was less than what most women experience, however, I think that's due to the fact that I fumbled my laxative routine during the night before Day 1, Day 1, and Day 2.
As far as weening off the diet goes, here is how that played out in a short summary...
Suggested Routine:
- Day 11 - An orange juice diet, to allow your stomach and body to once again become used to a different type of nutrient source, and, because it's liquid, it won't be as much of a shock to your system.
- Day 12 - Orange juice in the morning, some fruit for lunch, and a vegetable soup with some 1/2 rye crackers for din din.
- Day 13 - Orange juice and/or fruit in the morning, small salad for lunch, and a vegetarian (mostly Raw) meal for dinner.
Once Joey and I got started on our road trip to St. Louis, I immediately kicked off my slow transition back into solid foods. I remained faithful to the first day's rules of drinking nothing but Orange Juice and water. However, I failed somewhat on the second day and ate a salad for dinner instead of the vegetable soup because the restaurant in which we ate at (that was playing the Grizzlies Game the NBA Finals), didn't have vegetable soup. So, for the next day, I ate lightly with mostly fruit, a small salad with some hummus and fresh vegetable deliciousness, and a delicious vegetarian meal at a South American restaurant called Mango. It was quite delicious! So overall, I didn't carry out the suggested routine, however, I'm still here and I still felt extremely healthy coming off the diet, so I'll give myself a break there.
The downside to not following the weening process carefully is that your body can become constipated pretty easily, being re-introduced so quickly to solid foods. I can attest to this. However, it doesn't take long for your body/digestive system to "clock in" and back into a healthy and consistent routine.
How I felt after the cleanse... was it worth it?
I have to say that after the cleanse, I felt like GOLD! Physically, I felt fresh and energized and was much more aware of what I was putting into my body and how that food will ultimately affect my body. Once my body eased back into solid foods, I was able to digest foods MUCH more easily (something I have struggled with all of my life), and mentally I felt Ah-mAzing! I had just proved to myself that I could handle this challenge, still be productive during my everyday routine, and learn from the experience, making changes to better my everyday diet and outlook. I was very proud of myself after I finished the cleanse which was, in my opinion, the best benefit of all :)
Having said that, I do want to include that I did decide to change my diet completely after I finished the cleanse, which very well could have contributed to certain aspects of my experience afterwards. I decided to change my daily menu into a pescetarian one, with the plan to eventually ease into a vegetarian diet. This really wasn't a difficult transition for me as I have never truly craved meat, nor felt a real desire to add it into my diet, but it was simply always served to me, so I ate it. This is not to say that I don't enjoy eating meat... I DO; a delicious Slaw-Dog grilled to perfection makes my mouth water simply thinking about it, however, it's not a hard decision to find an alternative to any of my favorite carnivorous recipes. Also, I have always felt the burden of hypocrisy as I chewed my meat knowing that if the animal I was eating were in front of me, would I slaughter it in order to enjoy it's addition to my meal... No, but why would I let someone else do my dirty work for me and simply put that animal's life out of sight out of mind? I just can't do that anymore.
So, to get back on topic, I had a great experience doing the cleanse, and I even plan on doing it again at the start of next summer. Most likely I will be continuing the trend every summer, as a way to detox and begin again a new adventure of healthy eating. It was definitely not as difficult as I imagined it would be, thought it was a challenge, and it was a great personal goal to achieve.
Was it worth it? In my opinion, YES! Do I think I could do the cleanse while working? Yes, totally. My energy was a little less than normal, however, it was a very slight difference, and if you're consistent with your drinks, you will be fine.
The Complete Master Cleanse, by Tom Woloshyn
Ok, so let me break this review down into three parts...
- Was it a helpful guide to the process?
- Was it informative?
Also, the diet was a creation of Stanley Burroughs, who Woloshyn gives credit to, but, in my opinion, not enough. It seems as though the emphasis of the book is on Woloshyn's work and his personal opinions and less about the actual process of the cleanse. Woloshyn focuses a lot on other alternative medicinal practices, such as Vita-Flex massage and Color Therapy (his areas of concentrations) and spends a good deal of time and devotion to them.
Once finished with the book, I had only marked a couple of chapters in which I returned to quite frequently. This is also because it does not take a 200 page book to explain the process and benefits of The Master Cleanse... only a chapter. In comparison, Burroughs book, The Master Cleanse (which I have not read, but would like to in order to compare and contrast the content), is only 50 pages, and most of what you really need to know can be found via the internet. I will say, though, that for those chapters that I frequented, I was not unhappy with the plethora of information given, ranging from basic steps to what to expect from the process... really intimate information about the physical effects to expect from your cleansing "adventure" which I found to be a very comforting as a guide.
- Would you recommend this book?
I would have to say that if you're wanting a truly in-depth account of the cleanse with all of the details of every bodily function you may encounter, then I would recommend this book, along with an extra 100 pages that you may or may not find relevant and an author who tends to be a little self-serving. However, if you're interested in knowing the basics and focusing JUST on the cleanse, then I would recommend Burrough's book (I've read good reviews), or simply exploring the Internet and it's discussions on the cleanse. The Cleanse = Awesome, Woloshyn's book = Mediocre.
I think that about covers it...
However, like I said in a previous post, if I left anything out, or if you have any questions that I didn't quite answer, then just leave me a comment below, and I'll answer it to the best of my ability!
I'm going to be using a lot of upcoming posts to catch up on things around here, so be prepared to back-track and hang around the thick of the summer for a bit longer... nothing wrong with that, right? I left my camera in Lindsey and Blake's car, so it's up in St. Louis with a lot of awesome summer pictures as well, so hopefully I'll get my sweet friend back soon and I can share those memories with you!
Have a beautiful weekend!
The best non-existant accessory for this summer = shoes.
I'm obviously a neglectful blogger. Not that it's a bad thing to step away from the computer or anything, but you know, a heads up would have been cool too (Sorry about that!). I didn't realize that I would be taking/needing such a break until I realized that I was on it and didn't feel the motivation or desire to search for precious time to devote to posting. That sounds awful, but I was so busy with projects and making the most of my summer that the blog simply got pushed aside. Now, at the start of school, things are going to get busier than ever, but I have resurfaced to find myself motivated and eager to tend to the blog once again and hope to become a more attentive and interesting blogger in the process.
I promise, though, that I will make it a point to give that heads up for whenever I do take a hiatus from the blog. Because it's simply the polite thing to do :)
On my last post, I was going to review the book that I read in preparation for The Master Cleanse and give an overall response to the experience. So, I will indeed create that review, and then catch you up with my summertime adventures and projects and plans yet to be hatched! I hope your summer has been splendid and that you'll forgive me for the long absence.
Talk to you again soon!
Day 9
So, Day 9 was a lot like Day 4 for me. It was indeed a problem day. I think the bad day was due to a number of emotions that hit me at once towards the middle of the day. I was excited about ending this whole process, but I felt like the day... was.... dragging... on! On top of that my taste buds, who enjoyed the lemonade drink in the beginning decided to go on strike. I just didn't want to drink that same flavor again, so I think I took too long procrastinating in between drinks and crashed, physically and emotionally. I had a whole plan of attack for what to accomplish with the house, and, instead, finished only one room in that task. I got overwhelmed, and, then I took it out on Joey, whether he knew it or not, which wasn't at all fair. The bad Megan's were winning on Day 9. However, the day finally finished (still no headaches!) and I happily dreamt of Day 10 and St. Louis :)
Day 10
Ahhhh.... I MADE IT!!! Day 10 was a piece of cake, once more. The lemonade drink wasn't so bad, anymore, and I spent the day getting ready for Joey and I's little second honeymoon in St. Louis. It was a fabulous day, I felt great, and had a good amount of energy. I had to drop my furry ladies off at the vet to get boarded, which was very, very sad. I hate doing this and afterwards, I constantly worry about them, however, we waited too long to line up a dog-sitter, and the house is no where near ready for a house/pet-sitter, so the vets it is. The house feels SO EMPTY right now, and I can't imagine how dull life would be without them. I miss my little Darla and my Noodle-Doodle already (Nugget the cat will be holding the fort down for us). After the traumatic experience of dropping my lovelies at the vets for a little more than a weekend, I swung by Fresh Market to gather my resources for the next 3 days. You see, I'm not done yet... The next 3 days (including today which is Day 11) have their own set of rules to follow for coming off of the cleanse. It's very similar as when you're training yourself to go on the cleanse, but in reverse. Here's how it goes:
So, Day 9 was a lot like Day 4 for me. It was indeed a problem day. I think the bad day was due to a number of emotions that hit me at once towards the middle of the day. I was excited about ending this whole process, but I felt like the day... was.... dragging... on! On top of that my taste buds, who enjoyed the lemonade drink in the beginning decided to go on strike. I just didn't want to drink that same flavor again, so I think I took too long procrastinating in between drinks and crashed, physically and emotionally. I had a whole plan of attack for what to accomplish with the house, and, instead, finished only one room in that task. I got overwhelmed, and, then I took it out on Joey, whether he knew it or not, which wasn't at all fair. The bad Megan's were winning on Day 9. However, the day finally finished (still no headaches!) and I happily dreamt of Day 10 and St. Louis :)
Day 10
My happy-dancey song... to celebrate :) ...
I'll be dancing to this in my head all weekend :) BOOM-da-da-da-da-du--da--BOOM
Ahhhh.... I MADE IT!!! Day 10 was a piece of cake, once more. The lemonade drink wasn't so bad, anymore, and I spent the day getting ready for Joey and I's little second honeymoon in St. Louis. It was a fabulous day, I felt great, and had a good amount of energy. I had to drop my furry ladies off at the vet to get boarded, which was very, very sad. I hate doing this and afterwards, I constantly worry about them, however, we waited too long to line up a dog-sitter, and the house is no where near ready for a house/pet-sitter, so the vets it is. The house feels SO EMPTY right now, and I can't imagine how dull life would be without them. I miss my little Darla and my Noodle-Doodle already (Nugget the cat will be holding the fort down for us). After the traumatic experience of dropping my lovelies at the vets for a little more than a weekend, I swung by Fresh Market to gather my resources for the next 3 days. You see, I'm not done yet... The next 3 days (including today which is Day 11) have their own set of rules to follow for coming off of the cleanse. It's very similar as when you're training yourself to go on the cleanse, but in reverse. Here's how it goes:
- Day 11 - An orange juice diet, to allow your stomach and body to once again become used to a different type of nutrient source, and, because it's liquid, it won't be as much of a shock to your system.
- Day 12 - Orange juice in the morning, some fruit for lunch, and a vegetable soup with some 1/2 rye crackers for din din.
- Day 13 - Orange juice and/or fruit in the morning, small salad for lunch, and a vegetarian (mostly Raw) meal for dinner.
I'll come back on Tuesday to update you on what/how I ate during our trip and how the whole process of coming out of the cleanse went. I can tell you one thing, though, I am looking forward to that Orange Juice!!!
I'll also write some thoughts and tips on the whole experience and, please, if you have any questions that I haven't answered through my "daily" journals, then comment below and I'll answer them in that same post.
Until then, have a wonderful weekend and see you on Tuesday!!!
On my 8th day of this adventure, I had planned to be mightily productive but instead proved simply to be lazy. As far as the cleanse went, it was business as usual. I feel like I should be giving you new insights into the small details of the everyday experience during a Master Cleanse, however, I'm afraid I would just become redundant, if I haven't already.
The day was beautiful, I slept in late for the first time in a long time, and, towards the very end of the day, I did pick back up where I left off on the process of bringing the house together. This is going to be a looooong process. I'm excited for the end product, however, I'm not quite sure that I can see the end yet. Today I walked around the house and took exterior and interior photographs to share with you as well as to use as "Before" and "After's" (I'll get those photographs to you when I find my Memory Card Converter Drive). I'm hoping to have most everything finished up by the end of the summer so that we can begin having guests over to enjoy the house and the lake. Lets keep our fingers crossed!
I hope your week is going well! Tomorrow's Friday, and, guess what? Joey and I's anniversary is this weekend (We've been married for a year now!) and we're headed up to St. Louis to have a mini-vacation to celebrate our forever buddiness and to relax and have fun. I can't WAIT to head up! I've got a looooong list of things we want to do and I'm SO excited to be eating my first solid meal somewhere yummy!
The day was beautiful, I slept in late for the first time in a long time, and, towards the very end of the day, I did pick back up where I left off on the process of bringing the house together. This is going to be a looooong process. I'm excited for the end product, however, I'm not quite sure that I can see the end yet. Today I walked around the house and took exterior and interior photographs to share with you as well as to use as "Before" and "After's" (I'll get those photographs to you when I find my Memory Card Converter Drive). I'm hoping to have most everything finished up by the end of the summer so that we can begin having guests over to enjoy the house and the lake. Lets keep our fingers crossed!
I hope your week is going well! Tomorrow's Friday, and, guess what? Joey and I's anniversary is this weekend (We've been married for a year now!) and we're headed up to St. Louis to have a mini-vacation to celebrate our forever buddiness and to relax and have fun. I can't WAIT to head up! I've got a looooong list of things we want to do and I'm SO excited to be eating my first solid meal somewhere yummy!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Day 6
Day 6 was a good day. My energy got pretty low at one point, but as soon as I drank some more lemonade, I was good to go. I followed my daily routine successfully, and worked on cleaning/organizing the house and working on creating invitations for my friend, Sara. I've begun to notice that I don't have nearly as many cravings and I'm able to withstand looking at and thinking about food. In fact, I've been going through all of my vegetarian cookbooks and bread-making cookbooks, marking them with post-its, and organizing them so that I will be prepared to be a healthier eater while gaining experience in the kitchen to become a decent cook as well. This didn't make me hungry, however, I'm TOTALLY ready for some flavors in my mouth. Really, going through my cookbooks got me excited about becoming a lot more involved in being more apart of what I eat and being more selective about what I eat. Once I get through this process, I have high expectations for myself!
Day 7
Nothing much has changed in the consistency of this whole process. Day 7 was another good day. In fact... I don't remember getting a headache once that day! I was able to once again go about my day normally, though I had to wake up early in order to complete my Salt Water Flush so that I could get Noodle to the vet at 9:00 without any hiccups. Then, I dropped off invitations for my friend Sara. Her little boy, Isaac, Joey's Godson, turns 1 on June 23 :) Here are the invitations... They're a bit rushed and my tools were limited as many of them were unpacked, unplugged, and unavailable.
After they were printed, I glued little googley eyes onto the cows. The insides of the invitations contained the party info. I'll try to snap a picture of one of the cards with eyes on it. My device which loads pics from my camera is still currently packed.
After dropping off the invitations, Noodle and I went to the dog park where we met up with Emily and her dog Cooper. Afterwards, we came home and began to work on the Lake House.
I haven't written about it yet, but Joey and I recently moved into my grandparents old house. It was vacant and the family didn't want to sell it, it was certainly going to be cheaper rent, and, to top it off, it's a magical place, so we were happy and honored to be able to move in and maintain it. I'll definitely be posting on that soon, along with all of the other catching up. First, I have to conquer this mountain of a quest.
*Warning -- More intimate info. about the cleanse. If you're not interested in the cleanse and are counting down to when I'm finished talking about it, then just skip on past this part. I hope you have a great week :)*
- I think I've been noticing that the SWF is going through me faster these last few days, which may mean that I'm beginning to reach the ending of my NEED to cleanse (some people want to go further in the detox cleanse and will do a much longer cleanse, like 40-60 days or longer). There is still waste coming out, which is pretty amazing since I've not eaten solid foods in 8 days (If you remember, I only ate a liquid diet the day before I started), which, in my opinion, is a testament to why a cleanse is a good thing. We have so much extra "baggage" that we're carrying around and if it's sitting there and it's old, more than likely, when it went in, it wasn't healthy.
- I have read several incidences where people speak of mucus showing up around the end of their cleanse. This being in the form of the sinuses or out the back hatch. More often than not, it comes out the latter. I'm beginning to notice this in my own process which is another sign that I'm nearing the end of my adventure :)
- Maybe I'm doing something wrong, but this hasn't been nearly as difficult as I imagined. Yes, there have been trying times, however, it's nothing a little focus, willpower, and self-motivation can't handle. Mind over matter.
Three more days to go!!!
Day 5 was excellent! It was really easy to get through, although there was a moment when I ran out of my lemonade for a little too long and my headache came back, but as soon as I got myself some more juice I was good to go.
It was a lovely Sunday with beautiful weather and my best buddy to share it with. Joey and I lazied about in the morning, and then, later, we went to go see the new X-Men movie, which, if you're interested, was awesome and may have been the best of the series yet.
It was a lovely Sunday with beautiful weather and my best buddy to share it with. Joey and I lazied about in the morning, and then, later, we went to go see the new X-Men movie, which, if you're interested, was awesome and may have been the best of the series yet.
In the evening, we watched, "The Killing", one of AMC's mini-series, which is a great show btw... only a few more episodes left. I think I'm a big fan of the limited episodes format which allows the story to flesh out and have a purposeful ending while also giving time enough to allow the viewer to truly spend time with the characters. In on-going episodic television, the characters are pretty flat simply because they serve a purpose for that one episode, because, who knows when the show will end, there's no real reason to drive that character to really and truly reveal themselves. Their purpose is to move the plot from point A to point B within 30 minutes or so. I'm not saying that all of them are bad, I've just found the shows with a shorter life span to typically resonate within me longer. If you have any, what are your favorite shows?
So, I haven't really understood what it will feel like when you hit your "bad day" or "problem day". I think Day 4 was that day for me, though, so let me describe to you my experience...
I still went about my daily routine: SWF when I wake up, start making my drinks after my first "elimination", after all my lemonade requirements have been met then I have my herbal tea laxative.
*Note: While on the cleanse you are supposed to have about 3-4 BM's a day, which I hadn't been having up until Day 2 when I fixed my laxative form (to the herbal tea) and from then on it's been pretty accurate.
Throughout the entire day, however, I still had an ongoing headache that would resurface anytime I overexerted myself (Joey and I were moving around furniture) and I was pretty damn cranky all day long. I did my best to keep it under wraps, but bad Megan would resurface occasionally and Joey would have to remind nice Megan that the bad Megan's were taking over. He was very sweet to me all day long... I can't stress enough how good it is to have an understanding partner throughout this process. Unless you're single, and then you have the ability to control the amount of food around you. Day 4 was also the first day that I really began to have cravings. Like, I kinda felt like Peter Pan here, except the food never showed up. Maybe by Day 10 I'll be able to hallucinate my food... and maybe, JUST MAYBE, it'll be neon colored!!!
I still went about my daily routine: SWF when I wake up, start making my drinks after my first "elimination", after all my lemonade requirements have been met then I have my herbal tea laxative.
*Note: While on the cleanse you are supposed to have about 3-4 BM's a day, which I hadn't been having up until Day 2 when I fixed my laxative form (to the herbal tea) and from then on it's been pretty accurate.
Throughout the entire day, however, I still had an ongoing headache that would resurface anytime I overexerted myself (Joey and I were moving around furniture) and I was pretty damn cranky all day long. I did my best to keep it under wraps, but bad Megan would resurface occasionally and Joey would have to remind nice Megan that the bad Megan's were taking over. He was very sweet to me all day long... I can't stress enough how good it is to have an understanding partner throughout this process. Unless you're single, and then you have the ability to control the amount of food around you. Day 4 was also the first day that I really began to have cravings. Like, I kinda felt like Peter Pan here, except the food never showed up. Maybe by Day 10 I'll be able to hallucinate my food... and maybe, JUST MAYBE, it'll be neon colored!!!
I had a hard time getting Joey to play along with my pretend bowl of popcorn while we had a movie night, though. Maybe next time.
So, all in all, it wasn't that I really felt bad physically, but more emotionally, which is something that the book says often happens when your detoxing. Also, I still wasn't truly hungry, I just began craving certain foods, which are said to be the foods that your getting out of your system at the moment, so, good-bye pizza, good-bye cheeseburger, good-bye ice-cream... because that was definitely what I was craving last night. Little Italy's pizza, Wendy's cheeseburger's (I RARELY even eat fast-food cheeseburgers, but I was CERTAINLY craving one last night), and a big cup of YoLo goodness!
Tip: I wouldn't recommend being anywhere near food on this day... it just agitates the monster more.
That night, I dreamt of slowly putting together the world's most delicious cheeseburger... geez...
Ultimately, the day wasn't horrible, just a challenge, and I got through it, and for that, I feel pretty proud of myself.
"I love this drink, I love this drink, this drink is SOoo good, I love my drink..."
Day 2:
Day 2 really was pretty great. I felt really positive all day long, did a lot of cleaning and organizing around the house, and never felt too hungry. On thursday, I did my SWF, whOOoooosh, and then I had 6 glasses of lemonade throughout the rest of the day. The only problems that I ran into was a slight headache towards the end of the night and I figured out why my laxatives weren't working... because they weren't laxatives. Now, before you go thinking I'm an idiot, and, well, yes I can be, but bear with me. Have you been to a Whole Foods in their laxative section... it's really overwhelming. I should have asked for help, but I thought I was hot shit and didn't need to ask for help finding the tablets that would help my poo move along, so, I found a pack (amongst the laxatives might I add) that was labeled "First Cleanse -- 2 week supply", so I thought "Perfect", "I've found what I needed". Well, apparently they're for a different kind of cleanse and are simply vegetable capsules. I, of course, felt like an dunce when I figured this out. Luckily, though, I caught the mistake on Day 2, and quickly fixed it with Organic Herbal Laxative Tea. That night I began to get a bit of a headache, but it wasn't too bad, so I sipped my tea and Joey and I jumped into bed to read our book together (We've been reading a great book together, which I'll be sure to tell you more about!). By the morning of Day 3, all was moving along as it should!
Day 3:
So, Day 3 is generally accepted as one of the problem days throughout the cleanse. The body's toxins begin to release, the mouth begins to get a "fuzzy" sensation to it, and, sometimes, though Joey swears I don't smell, people begin emitting an odor which is caused by the toxins leaving the body. We either poop, pee, sweat, breath, or snot them out. Lovely, I know. But, hey, you're getting them OUT!!!
My Day 3 really wasn't so bad, even though it's beginning to take a little more will-power to drink the lemonade every day. According to the book your allowed to add some variety with water and organic herbal teas, which I have been and I highly recommend so as to give your taste buds a little treat.
I went through my daily routine, drinking my SWF and then drinking 6 glasses of lemonade throughout the day. I did, however, begin to get that subtle headache about mid-day, which grew a bit into the evening. To counteract it, though, I pampered myself with a lovely hot bath, a Marilyn treatment to my hair (which was LOVELY), and some time spent just chillin' by my parents pool. No stupid headache is going to get me down!
That night, Joey and I drove into midtown to go see our friends Angela and Dani, and our friend Emily's mom in a GLEE-ful Cabaret at TheatreWorks. We were joined by Emily and her boyfriend, Justin. It. Was. So. Much. FUN!!! If it had not been for our friends in the show, I think Joey would have thought the he had been abducted and brought their as torture. Glee + any kind of Musical Performance = Hell for him. Don't get me wrong, he loves theatre, just not musicals, but I think even he enjoyed it. Well done ladies!!!
Last night, after the play, we came home, watched the season finale of Extras, and, after I had my special tea, went to bed. All-in-all, besides the constant, but not terrible headache, it wasn't a bad Day 3 at all.
Goodbye for now and love to all!
My favorite "Glee" song from the show:
I had never heard this song before... This song + the choreography...Tickled my funny bone!
So, if you haven't heard of the Master Cleanse and don't know much about it, then you can find a plethora of information via the Internet, like, here and here, or, you could read a book or two about it. I read Tom Woloshyn's "The Complete Master Cleanse: A step-by-step Guide to Maximizing the Benefits of The Lemonade Diet", which I found to be extremely informative and have been and will be using it as my guide through this whole process.
In order to give you a run-down on why I'm doing this to myself and why many others do as well, I'm going to list the benefits of the cleanse as taken from Woloshyn's book:
In order to give you a run-down on why I'm doing this to myself and why many others do as well, I'm going to list the benefits of the cleanse as taken from Woloshyn's book:
- Better Sleep
- More Energy
- Clarity of mind
- Positive Outlook
- Greater flexibility
- Weight loss -- women often lose 1 pound per day during a cleanse, men up to 2 pounds
- Freedom from addictions -- many smokers have quit after doing a cleanse
- Increased strength
- Swelling and Pain
- Hair loss -- I thought this was confusing until I read the description of the benefit: People report their hair stops falling out (balding) and has more body
- Skin improves
- Allergies reduced
There are many other benefits throughout the entire book, however, these were the main points listed. It's really interesting, and some of the stories are amazing.
Anyway, to quit babbling, let me get on with my experience with Day 1 (I'm writing this while on Day 2). If you have no intention or desire to hear about what all is happening in my gutty-works, then I'll just let you know that you can stop here :).
Start date: 6/1/2011
End date: 6/10/2011
Start Weight: 132.6 lbs
The night before Day 1, I took 1 herbal laxative pill. This didn't do anything, and the book said to take 3-5 for the desired result, but the pill bottle said take 1 and then move up to 2, so I guess I will have to go up to 3-5 for the desired result.
The morning of day 1 I woke up and drank a Salt Water Flush (SWF). It's a mixture of 2 teaspoons of natural sea salt (uniodized) and 32. oz of warm water. If you think about it as if it's a nice broth then it's not so bad. Anyway, the salt, because it's natural uniodized sea salt, passes right through you, unless you need the minerals. The salt water, going through our crazy-straw system of organs, helps to break down and pick up waste that's just sitting around, not going anywhere and making us more unhealthy. Once it passes all the way through the system (about 30 min.)... WHOOoooSH. It's a bit comical. Let me just say... not that I did, but if you were to do this, GOOD googeley moogeley, do NOT fart, you would certainly shame yourself.
Right after the SWF I began my lemonade mixing for the day. I had 7 8oz glasses throughout the day and it really wasn't too bad. I began to feel much less energetic towards the end of the day, but all in all... not bad. At night I tried 2 herbal laxatives instead of one... still nothing. Last night, however, I had some AMAZING sleep!
Is this too gross to talk about? If it is then I'll just write it out in my private journal, but I figured it might be of interest to someone who might want to try it.
Hey there!
Yeah, so I didn't exactly hold up to my end of the bargain since my last post... eh, sorry about that! Anywhoooo, there's a whole lot to catch you up on, and that I WILL indeed do... I PROMISE! For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to bombard you with an assault of catching up. Most of this swift updating is due to the fact that 1) I'm on SUMMER BREAK!!!! (WooooooHOOOOOOOO) 2) I'm beginning to feel refreshed and ready to rumble with lots of new projects... and... 3) I'm going to kick the summer off by attempting to do the Master Cleanse, or, the Lemonade Diet.
I debated as to whether I should talk about this on the blog or not, because I know that it might seem crazy, but I figured, what the hell. My experience might be helpful to someone else who is interested in attempting the cleanse as well. So, I'm going to make 10 straight entries documenting the whole process... it might not be pretty, I'm warning you, but if you're at all interested, I'm definitely going to give you the low-down.
Tomorrow is Day1 of my cleanse, and I've already done 4 days of preparation for it. Those days simply consisted of a mostly vegetarian diet (I ate some delicious catfish on Memorial Day) and a good deal of weaning off of coffee. To wean myself off of coffee without getting my normal caffeine withdrawal headaches, I decreased my coffee intake dramatically each day, complementing the decrease of caffeine with a B-5 vitamin, until I could go without coffee and still be headache-free. The last couple of days I have been drinking mostly home-made smoothies to get myself used to an all liquid diet. Today was my first day that was completely absent of solid foods and, I have to say, it wasn't too bad. So, cross your fingers for me for the next 10 days and I will take you on this journey with me.
Yeah, so I didn't exactly hold up to my end of the bargain since my last post... eh, sorry about that! Anywhoooo, there's a whole lot to catch you up on, and that I WILL indeed do... I PROMISE! For the next couple of weeks, I'm going to bombard you with an assault of catching up. Most of this swift updating is due to the fact that 1) I'm on SUMMER BREAK!!!! (WooooooHOOOOOOOO) 2) I'm beginning to feel refreshed and ready to rumble with lots of new projects... and... 3) I'm going to kick the summer off by attempting to do the Master Cleanse, or, the Lemonade Diet.
Summertime!!!
I debated as to whether I should talk about this on the blog or not, because I know that it might seem crazy, but I figured, what the hell. My experience might be helpful to someone else who is interested in attempting the cleanse as well. So, I'm going to make 10 straight entries documenting the whole process... it might not be pretty, I'm warning you, but if you're at all interested, I'm definitely going to give you the low-down.
Tomorrow is Day1 of my cleanse, and I've already done 4 days of preparation for it. Those days simply consisted of a mostly vegetarian diet (I ate some delicious catfish on Memorial Day) and a good deal of weaning off of coffee. To wean myself off of coffee without getting my normal caffeine withdrawal headaches, I decreased my coffee intake dramatically each day, complementing the decrease of caffeine with a B-5 vitamin, until I could go without coffee and still be headache-free. The last couple of days I have been drinking mostly home-made smoothies to get myself used to an all liquid diet. Today was my first day that was completely absent of solid foods and, I have to say, it wasn't too bad. So, cross your fingers for me for the next 10 days and I will take you on this journey with me.
I hope your summer-time is treating you beautifully! See you tomorrow!
Absence: I apologize for it. It has been far too long since I've shown any love to Underbite and I promise I will be making up for that. My excuse: life has been hectic, and, though I have had the occasional moment to check in for an update or exciting links, I've just been taking the small opportunities to give a minute to myself and Joey to breathe and catch up with ourselves. There have been several instances where I've clicked to create a new post, stared at the blank template, and clicked out, not knowing where or how exactly to even begin. The blog has always been a fun little ongoing project for me and never a stressor in my life, and I don't ever want it to become one, so I stepped away from it while I let life slow down or catch up or whatever you want to call it. However, today, when I sat down, I didn't feel the dread of not knowing what to write about or where to start, so I began typing. So, ultimately, now I've got a lot to catch you up on, and a lot to write about, and I hope that you'll forgive me for the dry spell. I'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and sharing my ideas, inspirations, and life adventures with you so that perhaps you will enjoy them as well and can share your thoughts and comments.
Today Joey and I headed over to his family's house to celebrate Mother's day a week early with an excellent brunch made by his sister Cheri. We all sat out on the front porch, ate delicious breakfast burritos, bagels with cream cheese, capers, onions, and smoked salmon, home fries and fruit (Yeah, that's how Cheri rolls and it's awesome!). Mimosas and coffee complemented the brunch as well, as did the always wonderful and good time that comes with visiting my in-laws. They're a most excellent bunch of people and I'm so very happy to now be counted amongst them!
After brunch, we migrated to the den where we watched the Grizzlies show the NBA that they are indeed a team of contenders. The series won against the Spurs shed some light on our abilities and I'm stoked to see how far they can go. Although the OKC Thunder are an amazing group of athletes, the Grizzlies proved to be the better team this game and this Memphian could not be any prouder! Go Grizz!!!
So, despite the tornados and the crazy weather, it has been a great Sunday, and I'm excited to catch you up and get back on track. I never got a chance to show you my final piece from the art show, so I'll start from there (pictures below) and slowly catch up with myself from then... March... geezz I'm behind! I'll try to get back on the Mon., Wed., Fri. posts, because I liked that flow. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I hope this week proves to be lovely for you with (hopefully) calmer weather.
Today Joey and I headed over to his family's house to celebrate Mother's day a week early with an excellent brunch made by his sister Cheri. We all sat out on the front porch, ate delicious breakfast burritos, bagels with cream cheese, capers, onions, and smoked salmon, home fries and fruit (Yeah, that's how Cheri rolls and it's awesome!). Mimosas and coffee complemented the brunch as well, as did the always wonderful and good time that comes with visiting my in-laws. They're a most excellent bunch of people and I'm so very happy to now be counted amongst them!
After brunch, we migrated to the den where we watched the Grizzlies show the NBA that they are indeed a team of contenders. The series won against the Spurs shed some light on our abilities and I'm stoked to see how far they can go. Although the OKC Thunder are an amazing group of athletes, the Grizzlies proved to be the better team this game and this Memphian could not be any prouder! Go Grizz!!!
So, despite the tornados and the crazy weather, it has been a great Sunday, and I'm excited to catch you up and get back on track. I never got a chance to show you my final piece from the art show, so I'll start from there (pictures below) and slowly catch up with myself from then... March... geezz I'm behind! I'll try to get back on the Mon., Wed., Fri. posts, because I liked that flow. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and I hope this week proves to be lovely for you with (hopefully) calmer weather.
Unravel, Patiently
Pen and ink with watercolor
22"x30"
A detail shot...
And, another detail shot. I do believe that I significantly strained my eyes and worsened my vision with this project, but damn it felt good to create it.
Have a great week and love to all!
This weekend, I'm joining my fellow grad students in hanging our show. I would love for anyone interested to come check it out, and will have a small handful of invitations to pass out soon :).
Because this small series was so detail intensive, with stippling and such, I have noticed a significant change in my eyesight... and not for the better. I've been squinting a lot more lately. So, an appointment with the eye doctor is going to be due soon, and, for the fun of it, I've been eyeballing frames that have been calling my name. Tell me, which is your favorite of these two?
I found both of these vintage frames at this awesome etsy store. If you want to look around for a unique pair of glasses, then this is a good starting point!
Because this small series was so detail intensive, with stippling and such, I have noticed a significant change in my eyesight... and not for the better. I've been squinting a lot more lately. So, an appointment with the eye doctor is going to be due soon, and, for the fun of it, I've been eyeballing frames that have been calling my name. Tell me, which is your favorite of these two?
I found both of these vintage frames at this awesome etsy store. If you want to look around for a unique pair of glasses, then this is a good starting point!
And, for some weekend fun links...
Have I shown you this yet? If I have, I'm showing you again... because it's awesome and reminds me of what I used to do with my toys when I was in high school... but much more successful.
Fun fabrics for sewing projects...
Check OUT this AWESOME video! It's mesmerizing!
I've been fantasy moving to all sorts of places via sabbaticalhomes.com. Join me in this daydream adventure!
Kuhldesignbuild.com = awesome. Check out their portfolio and that pirate ship in a little boys bedroom!
I do believe I, I mean my students and my nephews, could benefit from these. I might just have to invest.
And, although it may be a bit creepy, I have to admit that when I saw this, I considered for a minute if I could pull it off as an everyday purse or not... you know, as a fun little fashion accessory :)
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
And help me ponder the glasses; red or blue?
These are a few small doodles within my book that accompanies my main piece in the Graduate Art Show. The work is due on Monday, so keep your fingers crossed that all goes well!
P.s. - For Valentines Day, Joey and I gave each other separate "assignments" for creative projects. I received a screenplay for a short film that I LOVE, and I made Joey a mixed media collage. Here's the collage, although it's still a work in progress:
We've been feeling the itch to travel.
Hope everyone has a great weekend! March is just around the corner!
Perhaps I've been under a rock, or, perhaps I've just randomly stumbled upon my newest musical obsession... either way, I couldn't be happier to have found it! Electric Six = makes Megan dance like an idiot (in the most awesome/badass sort of way). You can count on me to be at the Hi-Tone on the first of April... and the stop in Memphis better not be some silly little April Fools joke!
This is basically how Joey and I end our nights together:
And, the proper way to dance...
I really hope I was a rock star in a past life.
Noodle Doodle being lazy on a Saturday.
The TSW Seasonal Wrap and the Spinny Shroom from Trolley Stop Market are sooooo good!
Following my goal to become a little bit more environmentally friendly this year, I bought my first bar of solid shampoo from Lush. I have to admit, I was extremely surprised at how well it worked, and how much I loved it. My hair feels and smells great, the ingredients used are natural lighteners for blond hair, and a plastic container was completely eliminated from the equation! Also, because my sister-in-law, Cheri, is awesome (all 3 of my sister-in-law's are awesome!) and made "spa" products for Christmas, I used a home-made mask to condition my hair as well! The bar looks like it's going to last a while and it just took a few strokes in wet hair and immediately I had a head full of shampooing fun. I can now officially say that I highly recommend solid shampoo! Lush had some awesome options, but they're definitely on the pricier side, so if you're interested, I would look up some home-made options on Etsy.
Rediscovering Ed Emberly. My kids at school LOVE these!
An AWESOME way to save, up-cycle, commemorate, and memorialize your toys while bumping up your home decor a notch!
I want my walls to look something like these someday...
Some amazing Art to check out:
The circles are only seen at one specific location, otherwise, they are fragmented.
Found at: http://honestlywtf.com/art/trompe-loeil
Balancing tight-rope sculptures!
Found at: http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/tightrope-walking-sculptures
And, last, but not least, I'm loving this fishtail braid! Joey likes my short hair, but he's voiced that he prefers it long, so, I'm thinking this may be the motivation I need to grow it long again. We'll see... though, my hair-do outlooks do tend to change daily ;)
Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a great week!
