Win a trip? Sweet!

Check out this giveaway on Let's Have a Cocktail...

http://www.letshaveacocktail.com/2010/07/pack-your-bags-we-are-going-to-west.html

PS: I really need to start blogging regularly...it's a goal of mine.  Perhaps it'll happen starting on Monday?  Mondays are for fresh starts.

1st Day off The Master Cleanse

I failed!  I totally failed!  It was all going great!  I was drinking my orange juice, just minding my own business when all of a sudden I get an hour long lunch break.  So what's a girl to do?  Go to Central Market?  Good call!  That's what I did and I looked at food and I just couldn't say no.  I ate carrots and snow peas and green beans and rye crackers, and it was goooooood.  Then this evening I made some homemade veggie soup and that is also gooooooood.  I can't eat much so I only had half a cup.  There's a ton left.  Oh, and my step dad made me some fresh steamed baby spinach.  It's been veggie heaven today!

It was my first day at my new job today and it was so fun!  I love the people I work with.  Like I said, they're closer to my age.  I'm not the baby (THANK GOD!) but I'm also now known by my last name since there are already 2 others with my first.  It's weird.  Please try answering the phone by saying your last name.  Go ahead, just role play and do it.  SEE!  It's hard!  And weird!  I'm always really quiet when I answer the phone because I feel so awkward not using the name I've been using for the past 23 years.

The job itself has a lot to it.  I really didn't think so much went in to leasing an apartment, but since we're on site we deal with all of the maintenance requests, emergencies, marketing...just lots.  I think I'll do really well once I get in the swing of things and find my groove.  (That sounds like a song lyric)

Tomorrow I'm having lunch with the roomie.  She's going to attempt to live this healthy lifestyle that I'm planning on having now that I'm done with the fast.  If she follows through then it'll be really nice to have support just a door away when I want that humongous greasy burger (and I do want that humongous greasy burger) instead of lighter fare.  [Side story: I just saw an empty box of Cheez-Its and was like OOOHHHHH That looks GUD!  But then I remembered that it has dairy and I can't eat dairy yet.  Boo :( ]

Day 6 -- The last day!

This is my last day of the cleanse!  I still don't get to eat solids until Thursday and oh what a day that will be!  I'm really looking forward to chewing.  I'm going to start gnawing on desks and window sills soon.

Tomorrow's the orange juice day.  Honestly, I'm really not looking forward to that...  Orange juice.  All day.  Guh.  It's also my first day at my new job so hopefully I don't faint or puke or do anything that will make them think they made the wrong decision.  I think it's going to be really fun and I'm excited about FINALLY working with people my own age!  I've been the youngest person at just about every job I've had ever.  This will be a nice change.

Yesterday I went to see the Congress Bridge bats with some friends and we also went to HomeSlice.  The smells were amazing!  It took a lot of strength not to eat any of the delicious, greasy pizza in front of me.  HomeSlice is absolutely delicious and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for good pizza in Austin.  After that we went to Austin Java on Barton Springs to have some drinks.  They only had one caffeine free tea which really surprised me.  What also surprised me was that it wasn't very good.  IT'S A FREAKIN COFFEE SHOP!!!  THEY SHOULD ALSO SERVE GOOD TEA!!!  I'm sure it was free trade or some hippie deal and that's why they chose it.  Or perhaps the owner had a particular liking to one of the caffeinated teas so they bought the whole box of 'em.  The tea was gross.  I don't remember what kind it was.  Just look for the one tea bag in the box that is caffeine free and don't choose it.

For my last day of the fast/day before I work full time for the rest of my life I've done nothing but hang out with my dog at home.  We watched some tv, joined an online dating site (*gulp* this should be interesting- maybe that's what I'll blog about next!), watched some shows online, read some stories online, napped for a good 4 hours (Cooper napped longer), and then went to the park down the street.  Coop met a sweet female Catahoula mixed pup named Micah.  I'm pretty sure that's a dude's name but whatevs, not my dog.  

As you can tell my days on the cleanse have been really inactive.  People do this cleanse while having full time jobs and full time lives so it's doable, but for me I'm really glad I've been funemployed through this experience so I could do just that-- Experience it.  All of the different tastes, the heightened senses, the gross excrement from my body, the weight loss, and the general feeling of goodness that I now feel.  I feel great and I weight 20 pounds less.  

My ultimate weight loss goal is to be back to where I was in high school.  Ya know, when I thought I was fat (pshh, stupid high school kids).  Freshman year of college I was there.  It wasn't until sophomore year that I started packing on the college 70.  Yes.  I gained 70 pounds in college.  Crazy!  And totally gross!  But thankfully I'm on my way to getting back to a healthy weight.  What amazes me most is that while it's obvious I've gained weight, I don't look like I'm a small child heavier.  Let's do a side by side comparison.

19.8 BMI (normal range)29.6 BMI (obese)

That's right folks.  In four short years I became a fat kid.  Yikes!  Currently my BMI is 26.6 so I'm in the overweight range.  15 more pounds until I'm in the normal range once again.  I know I can do it!

Day 4 -- Wow, Day 4? I typed in Day 3 at first...

This has become reeeeeeally easy.  I'm finally accustomed to the taste of the limeade concoction.  The cayenne pepper still sucks, I won't lie about that, but the sweetness of the nectar and the tart of the lime helps to cover the harsh taste of the paper.  I was drinking my laxative tea at night, but since I'm not doing the salt water flush (my step dad scared me off from it with his poopie stories) I'm taking the laxative tea twice a day-- morning and night.

Everything is running through smoothly.  I feel good, just a little weak, and I can't do much other than walk down the street or up the stairs without becoming tired.  The good news is I've lost about 5-10 pounds so far!  That's a great start for my diet.  I'm not positive about the exact number because ever since I moved back to Austin I've been eating healthier so I may have lost weight before I began the cleanse.  Overall, my weight loss since moving back to Austin is about 20 pounds.  SWEET!

So that's that.  I'm going to stop the cleanse on Monday and begin drinking orange juice Tuesday.  On Wednesday I get to drink orange juice, have vegetable soup for dinner and eat 1-2 Rye crackers.  I'll probably have some soup for lunch too.  I'm so sneaky!  Thursday I can eat vegetable soup for lunch and have veggies, salad and fruit for dinner.  I'm sure my stomach has shrunk so while I'm excited about eating I know it probably won't be very much.  Honestly, I'm so pumped about chewing.  You don't realize what a glorious motion it is when all you do is sip.

Today I got a pedicure with my mom and picked up my new favorite magazine-- Real Simple.  I read my magazines from the back forward.  It's completely normal.  The most interesting things in the magazine are in the back and I read them first.  I'm impatient.  Anyway, the magazine has the "Food" section in the back.  The salads and entrees looked to die for!  I'm getting a subscription (my mom's paying for it) and I recommend you do too if you know what's good for you.  But if you'd rather go the free route the website has everything that's in the magazine.

Tomorrow's Sunday.  WHAT UP JESUS!

Totally forgot!  Kick Ass was a funny movie.  A bit graphic.  It was like a Quentin Tarantino film for kids if your kids curse a lot.  I recommend it.  And the best friend was the perfect date.  She payed for my movie (I gave her cash) and didn't eat because I wasn't.  We shared a water that I snuck in.  Perfect.

Day 3!!! It's all good!

Day 3 has honestly been pretty simple.  I think it helps that I was semi-busy today.  I took a drug test for my job (and passed so I get the job, yay!), babysat for a couple of hours, had an interview (because why not?!) and am about to go to see Kick Ass with my bfffffffffffff.  The hardest things was making lunch for the kids- english muffin, chicken nuggets, avocado and peaches.  All deliciously yummy things that I wanted to eat soooo bad, but instead I had my "lemonade."

Tomorrow I'm going to buy the delicious concoction from Daily Juice.  It's only $10 and I'm tired of squeezing limes.

OMIGOSH I ALMOST FORGOT!!!  I had this crazy dream that I was at Wellesley (I had just watched Mona Lisa Smile) and my whole family was there and all my college friends and we were celebrating something (graduation maybe?) and then the ground opened up and the devil came out but it was a chick devil and she kept trying to get me and my puppy and we ran away and drove really far and went to my mom's and she lived in the country and we hid there and then I woke up.  Psycho analyze that, Dr. Phil!

I woke up with excruciating pain in my abdomen and ran to the bathroom.  Let's just say it was a good thing I didn't walk...

I weighed myself too.  I've lost 15 pounds since coming back to Austin.  I know there's no way that's all from the cleanse so I guess I've been eating healthier than when I lived in Florida.  Or maybe I'm just eating less.  What the reason, I'm pumped!

I'll let you know how the movie is!

Day 2 -- Less Hungry

It's Day 2 of The Master Cleanse and I'm not as hungry as yesterday.  I am however a bit light headed, and by light headed I genuinely feel like there is less going on in my brain than normal.  Like maybe my brain needs food to work properly.  Whatevs.  I feel skinny.

Today during my incredibly difficult task of inputing shoddily written email addresses into an Excel spreadsheet for this yummy, super popular, organic-friendly grocery store based out of Austin, Texas it was a struggle to type my normal 75+ wpm.  Did I just brag a little about my typing skillz?  Yup!  I really feel like my typing was off.  I had to backspace way more times than normal.  Ew, I just realized that I'm talking about typing like it's interesting.  Done.

So I wasn't as hungry, drank lots of my yummy concoction and herbal tea, and had a massive uh-huh this morning.  I guess the cleanse is working!  I didn't do the salt water flush because I didn't have any non-iodized salt.  Oh what a silly mistake...  After a quick trip to the HEB for more limes (3 for $1) and non-iodized organic sea salt I am and good to go!  Although upon telling my ma and step pa about my plans to flush con salt water they immediately were like "hope you have a diaper BAHAHAHAHA!!!"  Thanks 'rents...NAWT!  I think I'll probably do it anyway.  Besides, I have to take a drug test first thing in the morning for my new job and it'll make things interesting.

I leave you with my new favorite internet show: VeryMaryKate.

Oh, and tomorrow my mom and I are getting pedi's during lunch.  She's paying.  Precious!

The Master Cleanse -- Day 1

Cleansing is not something that I love per se, but I do love looking good so it's a means to and end...sort of.  I've decided to do The Master Cleanse otherwise known as The Lemonade Diet as a detox/pre diet routine before I begin my actual diet.

Why am I dieting when I have this bodacious bod that men fawn over day and night?  Good question!

One of my best friends recently became engaged to an amazingly wonderful guy who I know will be a loving, supportive husband and blah blah blah---I'm a bridesmaid.  Super exciting!  But also stressful because I'm not that hot young thang that I was in high school and I'm very insecure about my body.  Omigosh did this just become an oh, woe is me blog?  Heck to the no!

So the cleanse.  Yeah....  Not eating SUCKS!  I'm a rull big fan of cheese and meat -- two very unhealthy food items, especially with the lack of moderation I possess.  Day 1 could have been a ton million times harder than I think it was.  It probably helped that I didn't wake up until noon-thirty, made my concoction (which really isn't terrible tasting), laid in bed all day watching Castle and House on Hulu, and finally showered at 5:30.  No, I did not wash my hair in case you were wondering.  I've also made a variety of hot herbal teas throughout the day.  A semi-strenuous day for an unemployed chick.

Tomorrow will be a lot more busy- signing an apartment lease (I'm a big kid!), passing a drug test for my (hopefully) new job, working for the temp agency that has yet to find me a full time job, and hizzity hanging with my future roomie.  Big day people...BIG DAY!

All in all Day 1 was nothing to brag about.  There are people who don't eat for an entire day all over the world, mostly for reasons other than cleansing but lucky for them they don't drink a beverage that includes cayenne pepper.

Wish me luck with Day 2!  Hopefully I'll still be the sweetly pleasant young thang lady that everyone knows me to be :)

I wanted to give y'all the recipe for the delicious concoction in case you're interested.  I modified it because I really didn't like the taste with lemon and maple syrup.  This recipe is more along the lines for those with a diabetic problem (or so I read--it's the internetz and could all be made up!)

60 oz water
12 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
12 tbsp organic Agave Nectar
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

You are supposed to drink the entire amount each day, in addition to the salt water flush in the morning, but more on that tomorrow after I've experienced my first flush.  Oh, and I'm sipping a laxative tea as I type!  YUM!  Prepare yourself for a possibly disgusting post tomorrow.  I'll try to sensor as much as possible.