Thursday, March 14, 2013

Spring Break

     Wow! It has been a looooong time since I have written in the blog. It feels really good being back, although I can't promise I will be writing much until the summer. In fact I can probably promise not to be back much before summer. Before I dive into what wonderful things I have been doing on my week off I want to give you an update on the last couple of months.
   
     Last semester was an extremely stressful 4 months; I started a new job, started a master's degree (online classes right now, thank goodness!), and I had a very bad relationship with one of my assistant teachers. All of that equals little sleep, little exercise, food cravings, and lots of stress. Needless to say I gained about 7 pounds back last semester, which made me even more stressed and depressed. Finally Christmas break came and we got to house sit for one of my colleagues who has a beautiful house in the mountains surrounded by beautiful trees, a herd of deer, and a little dog that slept by our feet. We both got sick so I ended up doing a whole lot of nothing and I started to feel much better! During the break I did finish reading Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet and thoroughly enjoyed the book. 

     I decided I needed to take my health into my hands so I did Dr. Oz's Three Day Detox Cleanse which I enjoyed, mostly because I was FORCED to take a bath EVERY night :) Then I jumped into Jason Vale's The World's Biggest Juice Detox which uses the 7 lbs in 7 days plan. Two things happened, I found that I LOVE Jason's juices and I became BALANCED! I hadn't felt at peace in so long and now that I did I didn't want to give up the feeling. So I made a plan; I wanted to try different diet or detoxing plans so I started with Juice Yourself Slim--like, then went on to 14 lbs in 14 Days, which is an app inside the 7lbs app, then I did the plans in the Hungry for Change book. During the 14lbs and the Hungry for Change plans I learned that my body does not like meat products; I ate salmon and eggs more than I have in... probably a year, and I think I gained about 5lbs from that (which have since come off, but the cellulite hasn't). And now I am almost finished with Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Detox. Kris promotes veganism, and so I tried really hard to be vegan and didn't buy any cheese (I am excited to have a little next week) I didn't pretty good too. 

     So now I feel GOOD. I like the Crazy Sexy Detox because she has something to read every morning, which really helps to stick to the diet. Monday I am starting Natalia Rose's Detox Diet and I am excited about that. I really have been enjoying eating more and more raw--I have been learning that this is a journey and I have been trying to stay away from my scale :) I will try to keep you posted on how things go, but I am excited to see where this journey takes me. 

     Ok, Spring Break! Well I have been doing what you all wish you could do during your spring break... a whole lot of NOTHING!!! I have just been relaxing and resting from all my beautiful angelic students. I have really enjoyed my time, I did clean our monster bird cage (my mom calls it the Taj Mahal). I have also been cooking! I made raw oreos, coconut butter cups--my new favorite raw snack, and almond pulp cookies. That was Monday. 

     Tuesday I did homework all day long--nothing too exciting. I did do Cardo X from P90X and I think I did Chalene Johnson's (aka 'Crazy Lady' she is just too happy for 4:30 a.m.) Ab Jam. Wednesday I went shopping (for food), looked up a new discipline plan for my classroom, and had a date night with my loving husband. I also did about half of P90X's Legs and Back, without the back, and I am soo sore right now. For lunch I threw together what ended up being Chocolate Pie Soup, which I don't know if I will share just yet. But it was yummy! 

Today I went for a wonderful run, see what is outside my apartment?

That's right a trail, aren't you jealous ;)
I then cleaned out our fire place and finished cleaning my pots and porch. I am hoping to grow greens this year and save some money on groceries. 


Can anyone tell me what this plant is?

     I planted some seeds one year--peach, raspberry, apple, and one more, apparently, which I can't remember. So I have this beautiful vine that has been growing for about 4 years now, but I don't know what it is.  

I had a little helper (menace) in this project. 


Oscar walked outside, following me like a little dog before I knew he was there, then look what he did to my screen!

I ended my day doing guess what! Yup, cooking... Lunch was butternut squash, apple juice blended with cinnamon and a frozen banana. 

Then I made Vanilla Macaroons, Chewy Oatmeal Crunch Bars, Chickpea Poppers, veggie chips, cacao butter (I will post a recipe when I perfect it), and veggie fajitas (poblano pepper, mushrooms, onion, zucchini, tofu, sweet potatoes) with raw salsa, and a wonderful all-purpose cheese sauce made with cauliflower, I will also be posting this recipe when I perfect it (and get a picture)! 



 And tomorrow I will be cleaning my apartment, not too exciting. 

I have also been reading Ani Phyo's Ani's Raw Food Essentials. During the summer I will be learning how to eat more and more raw. So I will be happy for you to join my in that adventure. Also Jason Vale is doing a Spring Clean Detox in April that I will be joining. I will keep you posted. I might even blog during the Detox!

Happy Juicing!!!

What have been your best or worst times in your journey towards health and what have you learned?

What are your favorite comfort foods?  (Healthy or not)

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