Super Crazy Excited!!!

It's been a while

Kodiak Winter is approaching. I really don't feel like I got a proper Kodiak Summer. There were some nice days here and there, but the real Summer happened during my vacation home to Oregon. Don't get me wrong, I had a fabulous time in Oregon and the weather was amazing, but when I got back to Kodiak, there were a couple of nice days followed by rain and clouds and cold and wind. A couple of breaks in the rain, but I haven't really seen the sun in a month.

It's time to get into the winter mode with a winter routine. I still hold onto some hope that there will be a pretty Saturday so I can finally go on the Birthday/Anniversary wildlife kayak trip we had planned for the end of August which didn't happen due to the weather. :( Let's just say, I'm hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath.

Aside from getting myself re-organized (an at-times overly OCD task) I am also preparing for my Grand Opening into a new business venture with Country Gourmet Home. After my 1.5 year stint with Homemade Gourmet (a job I loved greatly) the business took another direction and I could no longer continue with the new opportunity they offered. So I began my search for a new company to work with. I decided on Country Gourmet and have spent time learning the new system and getting myself ready to start selling. With my Grand Opening just days away, I feel like I am finally starting to feel prepared. I have a table design, door prizes, games, a little bit of product knowledge, and 100% excitement to see what kind of success I can achieve.

I have a long way to go in my journey to becoming what my standards consider a successful business woman, but I hope to have a few spare minutes here and there to log my progress and love for the new product line.

Between family, work, business ventures, crafts, charities, and getting myself in shape despite the weather which makes me want to crawl into bed with a good book, I am slowly but surely working out a new agenda to accommodate all my needs and wants. That's all for now!

My HG Sellout Inventory List

Here's a current list of Homemade Gourmet items: Facebook me your requests and I will update this list as necessary.

Thank you all again for your support!

Everything is rounded down with no shipping charges. If you are somewhere other than Kodiak, I can still send you whatever you want, but I ask that you pay the shipping (whatever flat rate box or envelope I can use or first class shipping if you want to save a little extra)

List of my inventory:  HIGHLIGHTED STUFF = set aside for now. Possibly sold, possibly not
                     Lowlighted stuff = Available for purchase, but will not be able to send out until the end of July

FREE:
Recipe Cards for Italian Mozzarella Meatloaf
                                        Homestyle Spaghetti Sauce

Double Box Mixes:
$8: Garlic Basil Seasoning (3 left)
      Roasted Tomato Salsa (3 left)
      Italian Red Pepper Bread Dippin (2 left)

      Mock spinach dip mix (1 left)                                                                                                                  

      Garlic lemon seasoning (1 left)

$10: Taco Soup Or Dip Mix (2 left)

        Chicken Noodle Soup Mix (1 left)

        Creamy corn chowder mix (1 left)
        Apple pecan Vinaigrette mix (1 left)

        Louisiana gumbo mix(1 left) ( I think it's a double box)

Pantry Staple: (bulk mix)
$15 Cilantro Citrus Seasoning (1 left)

Gift Boxes:
$10 Dip Trio (2 left) (Dill Dip, BLT Dip, Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Dip)

Meal and Bread Mixes:
$5:  Season n Steam Fajitas (2 left)
       Basic Bread Mix - can add other things to make it unique (2 left)
      Tomato Basil Bread Mix (2 left)

$6:  Creamy Italian Casserole Mix (3 left)
      Panko Parmesan Casserole (1 left)
      Tami's garden select seasoning shaker  (4.25 oz Salt Free Seasoning) (1 left)

Desserts:

$7    Swirly sweet cinnamon bread mix (1 left)                                                                                              

Genderless Child???

How do I bring up this subject without sounding like a "sexist" "racist" or whatever you want to call it? I guess first I should say in all honesty, that I'm pretty old fashioned. I DO believe in male/female relationships...but that's just because I'm straight. I ALSO believe I don't have the right to judge others based on their sexual preference. I'm NOT going to protest gay marriage...in fact, I think it's ridiculous that it's illegal in most states. I believe that gays/lesbians have a right to love and wed as they so feel. I'm in no place to judge others. Judging is not my job. Loving and forgiving is my job. That being said...

How could any parent keep the gender of their child a secret? I mean, sure, dress your kid in neutral colors, avoid pink/blue, doll/truck stereotypes, but when it comes to larger aspects of life such as dresses or pants, I think there's a line. If your little toddler boy wants to wear a dress, sure! But out in public? Your toddler doesn't know what gay is...so why expose him to the teasing from other kids by letting him wear a dress in public on any day other than Halloween? If your boy is going to grow up and choose homosexuality, support him! But don't encourage it before he develops the sense of who he romantically likes. Aren't we supposed to guide our children? Not let them be a blank slate from the beginning.

It's so hard for me to talk about this and not sound "progressive" because I'm all for good change and a more "liberal" point of view, however, gender is gender. A boy has boy parts just as a girl has girl parts. If the parents "ENCOURAGE" a boy to explore being a girl...isn't that unprogressive? If girls are encouraged to explore being a boy it's the same thing! I wasn't a frilly girly girl growing up, but my parents supported my decision WITHOUT encouraging it. I swear, if these parents have a boy who chooses the girl mentality, are they prepared to front the money for the surgery??? Really!

I almost think that these "new" parenting skills are a little extreme, but tone it down, and you got yourself a good idea. How about show your child what is acceptable for their gender...aka: pink is okay for boys...trucks are okay for girls...long hair for boys and short hair for girls...SURE! But don't ENCOURAGE exploration of the same sex at such a young age! Kids WILL make their own decision whether you condone it or not! I guess what I'm trying to say is raise your kids with love...raise them as they ARE (BOY/GIRL) and when they decide who they are going to be...support them and let them know you will support whatever they choose. But I think kids should be raised to know what is NORMAL. I mean...call me sexist...whatever...for calling heterosexuality NORMAL, but come on! The male/female relationship is the basis for procreation! Homosexuality has to rely on the heterosexual relationship in order to have a family, am I right?

Seems to me like these parents are TRYING to create a more heavily populated world of homosexuals. I MUST reiterate, that I am NOT against homosexuality, but I am against parents TEACHING their kids to be homosexual. Teach your kids what it means to be NORMAL...but support what they ultimately choose.

Again, I feel I must say AGAIN that my definition of NORMAL is for the sake of procreation.

There it is...love it or hate it...I just had to get it out there.

Pho Ga!

In September, 2008, after marrying my husband and moving to Honolulu, Hawaii, I was introduced to a wonderful food called Pho. It's a Vietnamese soup dish comparing to our chicken noodle soup in the sense that it's our comfort food when not feeling well.

After moving to Kodiak, Alaska, no restaurants here serve Pho, so I needed to find a recipe that took into account that many ingredients, you can't find in normal grocery stores. I searched far and wide on the internet and tried a few different recipes and they all turned out terrible. Then my husband got me a Vietnamese cookbook which gave a recipe for Pho Ga (Chicken Pho) that I tried and it comes super close to the real thing. It's time consuming yet easy, and I'm going to take you step by step through the recipe with pictures and some slight modifications that I have made to make it better (in my opinion and others who have also eaten it)

But first I must give props to the book and its author: "Into The Vietnamese Kitchen" By: Andrea Nguyen. Not only is her Pho recipe the best I've ever tried, but there's also many more recipes in it that are absolutely perfect, and if you're into Vietnamese cooking or dining, this is a must-have for cookbooks.

Also keep in mind that the following recipe that I am giving incorporates my modifications to the original recipe from the book.

Now...let's cook some Pho!

Before we begin, I must let you know of some ingredients you need that many normal kitchens may not have already:
1. Stock Pot. Don't even bother starting this recipe if you don't have a pot large enough to fit 6 quarts of water, a whole chicken, and other smaller ingredients.

2. Fish Sauce can be found in the Asian section of most grocery stores. Don't smell it from the bottle and don't get it on your fingers. I'm warning you now. It smells like rotting feet, but trust me when I say it's a VERY essential ingredient.
3. Rock Sugar...or Rock Candy. This can be found in most Asian grocery stores. I get my supply in Oregon. I haven't tried the Asian store here in Kodiak, so I'm not sure if it can be found here on island or not.

Aside from the stock pot, here's your grocery list:
Fish Sauce
Rock Sugar/Rock Candy
Fresh Ginger Root (at least 4 inches long)
3-4 Yellow Onions
Whole Coriander Seeds (in the spice section)
Whole Chicken (Don't toss the neck or parts stuffed inside the chicken)
Salt
Black Pepper
Whole Cloves (Also in the spice section)
2 bunches of fresh cilantro
Rice Noodles
1-2 bunches of green onions
OPTIONAL GARNISHES: Choose some of your favorites...but you do need to use some
Fresh Cilantro (already listed above)
Green Onions (also already listed above)
1-3 fresh limes
Fresh bean sprouts
Sriracha Sauce (found in the asian secion of most grocery stores)
1-3 Fresh Jalapeno or Serrano Chile Peppers (I use Jalapeno)
Fresh Mint (I don't use this, but I wanted to include it in the recipe)
Fresh Thai Basil (I don't use this either, but I wanted to include it in the recipe)

Now that you have all of your ingredients, let's start this recipe. I make it for Jeremy and I every once in a while. Bear in mind that it makes A LOT and the broth freezes very well. One pot lasts Jeremy and I quite some time when I freeze the broth we don't use after a meal or two.

Also, keep the whole day open to make this. I usually start it at noon to be ready by 5. Make sure your chicken is thawed, and now you can start heating up your outdoor BBQ grill. Charcoal grills works the best, but either will work. If you are using charcoal, you don't need much. Just get it hot to last 10-20 minutes

First thing's first: Take 2 of your yellow onions and your fresh ginger root. Cut the ginger in half lengthwise and use the broad side of a knife to cut little bruises into the ginger. Don't be shy, bruise away. Also, cut the root-like ends off your onions. Don't peel it. You want the tough skin...trust me.

Now put them - as is - on your preheated grill.

Next, take 2 Tablespoons of Coriander Seeds and put them in a small pot or pan on the stove on medium heat. Keep a close eye on it as you don't want it to toast too much. Roll the seeds around the pan for a few minutes until a nice aroma is coming from the pan. Remove from heat and set aside for later.

Check on your onions and ginger. Rotate as necessary. The onion skin should be getting a nice char color on it. It's fine if some of the skin flakes off. Basically you want the onions and ginger to soften up and get juicy...especially the onion. When done, remove from grill and bring back inside for later. You're done with the grill now. :) Once the ginger cools down, peel off the outer skin and discard. Cut the onions in half.

Now for the hard part. And it's really not that hard. Start a medium-large pot of water on to boil. Take your chicken and rinse it off real well. Detach the wings, remove the neck and "parts" from the inside of the chicken and set aside. I also like to take the tail fat off the bottom side of the chicken. Discard the fat, but you will need the wings, neck, and other parts.

Take the wings, and neck, and chop them into 2-inch segments. I like to save the turkey neck from Thanksgiving and use that as well. It may sound disgusting, but I also like to use the heart, liver, and any other parts that the butcher stuffs into the carcass before selling.

After chopping the pieces into segments, place into your pot of boiling water and par boil for 2-3 minutes to release the impurities.

Keep an eye on the pot so it doesn't boil over. :)

After par boiling the pieces, drain and rinse with warm water.

Now, add 6 quarts of water to the stock pot and place the chicken breast side up in the pot along with the par boiled chicken parts.

Cook until a nice boil starts. Skim off the fat from the top. If you don't have a skimmer, a slotted spatula will work just fine.

Now to add the goodies. After you have skimmed off as much fat as you can, add your grilled onions and ginger, the toasted coriander seeds, 1 &1/2 Tablespoons of salt, 4 Tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 oz of rock sugar, 10 whole cloves, and 1 bunch of cilantro (be sure to take the binding off the cilantro).

Cook, uncovered, on a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.

I like to add about another quart of water and a couple squirts more of fish sauce. I know the fish sauce smells horrid and not like something you want to ingest, but you really can't taste it in the soup...I mean, the taste is completely unlike the smell once it cooks with the chicken and other ingredients.

After 30 minutes are up, remove the whole chicken. Remove the legs/thighs, and cut the breast pieces off.

Set aside and return the carcass to the soup mixture and simmer for 2-3 hours.

At this time, you can start to prep the ingredients for the body of the soup. Take another one of your yellow onions (1 or 2 depending on how many people you are serving - I find one large onion is plenty for 4 adults.) Peel it and cut it in half and slice it super thin - as thin as you can - and put it in a bowl of hot tap water and let it soak for at least 30 minutes.

You can also get your plate of chicken and start slicing it into bite-sized strips. For a much leaner soup, I like to take off the skin. It should peel right off. Super easy!

You can also start to prep your garnish plate. From the optional garnishes listed near the top of this post, choose some of your favorite veggies. I personally like using fresh cilantro, green onions, lime wedges, bean sprouts, and fresh jalapeno. Fresh bean sprouts work the best, but if you live in a secluded place like I do where fresh produce isn't always an option, canned bean sprouts will also work. If you use green onions as a garnish, only use the green part...save the white part for later.

I also like using a combination of Sriracha sauce and hot chili sauce.

Now you can soak your noodles. I use Orchids brand, but any rice noodles will work as long as they are very thin noodles.

You'll want to soak them in a bowl of tap water for about 15-20 minutes. Also, you can get a medium pot and fill it almost to the top with water and put it on to boil.

Now you can start straining out your broth. You can use a cheese cloth or a strainer, just be sure all you're straining through is liquid. Since I don't have a second stock pot, I just use a large mixing bowl to put the broth in until I can empty out the stock pot, rinse it, and return the strained broth to keep hot. Basically strain out the broth and discard everything else. If you want to, you can keep some of the parts like the neck and wings...I also like to keep the liver and heart for a little exotic tasting treat.

After your broth is strained, return it to the stove to keep it hot.

When you prepped your garnish plate, you saved the white parts of the green onions, right?

Chop those up and add them to the strained broth as an added extra treat.

Your pot of water should now be boiling. Take a strainer and your rice noodles and - in small quantities - put the noodles into the strainer and dip it into the boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Repeat until all your rice noodles are cooked.

Remember your bowl of soaking onions? Drain the water out of it. If you want to, you can dip the onions in the boiling water like you did with the noodles, but I like a bit of crunch to stay with the onions. You are now ready to serve! Make sure your broth is very hot! On the verge of boiling is preferred.

To assemble the bowls, take a little bit of noodles, a few pieces of chicken, and some soaked onions and put it in your bowl. Dip some hot broth over it until it's soup!

Garnish to your liking and voila! Pho Ga!

Enjoy! And thanks for reading!

Side note: This is a very lean and healthy soup. If you would like to make it even leaner, refrigerate the prepared broth overnight and there will be a thin layer of hardened fat on the top that you can skim off. Then just reheat the broth and serve as described above!

Best served in the company of great friends. :) Thank you Tschida family for coming over! :)

Back to the grind

Both Jeremy and I did pretty horribly this weekend. On Saturday I made hot wings, mashed potatoes, and chocolate cake (For Jeremy's Birthday) and we had ice cream with it. Then, of course, on Sunday we had leftovers.

It's amazing how terrible overeating feels after having done this cleanse. The taste is so delicious, but the feeling of being stuffed isn't fun. We're slipping back into bad habits, so this is the vow: no more buying junk. At least until we reach our goal weights.

I'm taking the leftover cake to work with me tonight, and Jeremy took our leftover chips to work with him this morning. We've still got the little bit of ice cream and some goldfish crackers, and we kept the tortilla chips for salsa, but let the healthy eating begin again. I even took the leftover chicken wings and made a chicken veggie soup out of it. I think this week, I'm going to try and keep primarily on a fruit/veggie diet. I'll have yogurt or cereal for breakfast, and maybe a light soup for lunch, but primarily fruits and veggies.

Another goal is to get my abs back into shape by starting pilates again, and I'm going to go to the gym at least 5 days before this time next week.

Quick update on day 3 after cleanse

It's super late...actually, it's technically day 4 of cleanse now, but I haven't been to sleep yet. I had tons to get done today and now I finally am caught up on the crucial deadline chores.

I was up one pound from yesterday, but today I'm going back to the gym. I worked out for half an hour - walking for 10 minutes and 20 minutes of running where I almost got 2 miles in. I took it easy today just because I haven't been to the gym in 2 weeks. My legs felt great...I could have run a lot longer if it were just up to my legs, but my lungs were starting to hurt plus the large agenda for the day stopped me from running farther.

I had a lunch date with hubby today. We fulfilled our craving for fried foods. It was satisfying, but the rest of the day we snacked on fruits and veggies. Not too shabby I must say. I had a yogurt for breakfast, burger-cheesy fries-ice cream for lunch, and fruits and veggies for dinner. Not bad at all.

That's pretty much the update for today.

PM: Second day of food

Today was a bit of a tough one for both Jeremy and I. I don't know the details of Jeremy, but I do know we both went a bit overboard today. I had some hand fulls of goldfish crackers this morning after having breakfast. I felt grimy afterward. : ( I also had some ice cream. :(

I do believe, however, that I worked off most of those calories at the commissary today. From 5-6 I worked up a sweat bagging large orders and bouncing from register to register...we were BUSY for that last hour, plus grabbing carts from the corral and the lot works up a sweat, and believe me, there were A LOT of carts to get.

After work, I was able to enjoy a girls' night sipping drinks and playing catch phrase. I had a Mike's Hard Lemonade, and I'm not a real boozer to begin with, but I like to think I have at least a bit of tolerance. One Mike's should not have effected me the way it did tonight. I think when I flushed my system on this cleanse, it lowered my alcoholic tolerance because my face got hot and I felt light headed and blissful for about a half hour after finishing my Mike's. It was very interesting.

Anyway, I have a ton to do tomorrow, but I WILL fit in a bit of time at the gym.

Day 2 after cleanse

I'm back down  0.8 of a pound from yesterday, but I'm still up 1.6 pounds from day 10 of the cleanse. It's progress. I expect to fluctuate a pound in different directions every couple days, but all in all, as long as the number goes down at the end of each week, I'm happy. I only have 12.4 pounds to go before I reach my goal weight. I don't have a time in mind to reach that goal, I just know I'm not going to quit losing weight until I reach my goal.

Right, so now that the cleanse is done, I'm going to take my body fat percentage again. My starting BFP was 31.4% and today I'm down to 29.5%!

The whole thought of this is exciting. It ALMOST makes me want to do the cleanse again... ... ...almost. I'm loving delicious food too much. Plus, now I get to eat again and also start going back to the gym. I'm going tomorrow mid morning. I realized I won't be able to go Saturday because I'll be at the bazaar all day then I'm coming home and cooking dinner. Yesterday was Jeremy's birthday, but we didn't have any special meal or anything. We decided to take it light yesterday and we will celebrate on Saturday after the bazaar. I'm making mashed potatoes, chicken wings, and fried onions, with cake and ice cream for dessert. Will most definitely have to go to the gym on Sunday to work that off.

Anyway, this morning I had a nice bowl of cereal and I am full! I'll be working at the commissary all day today then going to a ladies game night after work, but I think I'll pack a chicken salad sandwich and a cucumber with me to work. Ahhh, I'm loving the sound of healthy foods.

PM: First real day of food

Wow...food tastes good. Carrots are like candy. I had fun at the commissary today buying a half a cart full of fruits and veggies: Bananas, yellow and green onion, Roma and cherry tomatoes, spinach, iceberg and romaine lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, celery, strawberries, mushrooms, cilantro, jalapenos, apples, potatoes, grapes, garlic, and I may be forgetting something. Seriously though, everything tastes amazing. The strawberries especially. I added nothing to them - no sweetener, no whip cream...nothing and it was like eating candy. Plus it didn't hurt that the crop of strawberries to select from today was absolutely outstanding - HUGE, bright red, firm, juicy, sweet, with perfect looking seeds spaced out flawlessly. So amazing I had to take a picture of one before I ate it:

I do admit, however, that my visual appetite is much larger than what my stomach is allowing. It's hard not to be able to taste everything all at once, but I don't want to digress and lose all that I'd worked hard to accomplish so far. So I had to practice restraint and moderation. I spaced out my fruit/veggie snacking to allow for some digestion in between scrumptious flavors. It's seriously as if I'm tasting everything for the first time. And with nature's candy at my disposal, it's hard to think of fried fatty foods, though I am still looking forward to my burger and fries planned for Friday. I guess old habits die hard. I'm just hoping this new habit will prevail more strongly over the much less healthy yet completely addictive processed foods.

I'm also noticing something strange going on. Without giving TMI, I think the best way to describe what's happening is this: You know when you have a clogged sink? It's been slowly clogging and the water has been lagging more and more over time. Well, you get the most potent of Drano and pour it down the sink - for 10 days, maybe? Anyway, after you treat the sink, the pipes are crystal clear, right? Well when you finally run water through it again, what does the water do? Runs right on through faster than ever. Well, that's how my digestive system is working. It's interesting to say the least.

Today I ate fairly healthy. Jeremy got a sandwich at Java Flatts this morning and couldn't eat it all so he gave me the other half. I had a yogurt for breakfast, the other sandwich half for lunch, I snacked on some fruits and veggies, and we had fresh pico-de-gallo with tortilla chips for dinner.

My stomach gargled this evening not with hunger, but with a very pleasant sigh. It's almost as if it was saying, "YUMmmmm...my compliments to the chef...I...the tummy...am happy."

I still haven't worked out at the gym. I want to, but I have a ton going on this week between work, chores, and getting ready for a bazaar coming up this weekend. I'm hoping I'll be able to start going back to the gym on Friday. If not Friday, then DEFINITELY Saturday.

First day off the cleanse! Summing up the cleanse

Okay, so technically it's the second day easing back into normal eating. Yesterday my strategy was to start getting my body used to something besides lemonade. I drank a lot of broth, some orange juice, and some lemonade...without the syrup or cayenne (I used some Truvia sweetener). I don't know if I can EVER eat pancakes with maple syrup again...pancakes yes, but the maple syrup...I'm not so sure. Jeremy doesn't even want to look at another lemon for a while...but I am loving normal lemonade. My taste buds thanked me repeatedly for the broth. It was a welcome change.

Throughout the day I kept to liquids, trying to keep up the mentality of a growling stomach means I should drink something, rather than just because I can, I'll drink something. I worked at the pizza parlor and decided I should really be careful and ease more slowly back into getting my body used to digesting solids, so I had a tiny amount of vegetables: some pickle slices, piece of tomato, etc. I did falter a tiny bit when I had A-French-Fry and a small bite of ice cream. But still, added up, I consumed less calories than I had the previous days on lemonade. The lemonade and syrup was about 600 calories a day, but today, I only had about 400 calories. I'm trying to figure out now the difference between a hungry stomach growl and a digesting stomach growl.

Today is a new day, however. I'm up 2.4 pounds from yesterday, which doesn't make sense to me because if you added the weight of all the liquid and veggies I ate and drank, it wouldn't equal 2.4 pounds of consumables. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with "that time of the month" coming very near.

Anyway, today, I get to lightly feast on some yogurt, orange juice, and some more veggies. I'll take it slow and see how I feel, but I may try a small bit of a light soup as well. Tomorrow is the last day of transitioning, so I better make today and tomorrow count because Friday at lunch, I got a lunch date with hubby at the pizza parlor.

To sum up the cleanse, I do feel clean, lighter, and accomplished. I haven't lost my taste for junk food, but I feel more motivated to eat healthier. I bit into a carrot and it tasted better than ice cream. I bit into a cheeto and it didn't taste as good as I remember. I could feel and taste the unhealthy of it and it wasn't too pleasant. The flavor was good...not as good as the carrot, but there was just something gross about it, so maybe I kind of have lost my taste for junk food. Like right now, I cannot wait to have a cucumber, and chips are farthest from my mind.  

I'm glad we did it. I probably will never do this exact cleanse again, but I'm glad I did it. I think it set me up for healthier choices in the future, plus gave me the confidence to know that if I can virtually fast with nothing but lemonade for 7-10 days, I can conquer any diet or cleanse that comes after this.

It was a good experience...difficult, but good. The three biggest pointers I have for anyone who is interested in trying it are:

1. You have to WANT to do it (not try it) The mentality of finishing rather than trying to finish is stronger verbage that really helps - believe it or not.
2. You have to set CLEAR goals for yourself and will yourself to stick to them.
3. Tell friends and family about your plans to finish it. My biggest motivation was not the thought of failing myself, but proving the ones wrong who didn't think I could do it. Telling people about it held me accountable not only to myself but to others, which was one of the biggest factors in my success of it.

Day 10: Master Cleanse (AM)

I forgot to make a post last night, but I know it was hard working at the pizza parlor. My favorite ice creams were out and I REALLY wanted some nachos, but I held it together. I couldn't blow it; not on the last 2 days of liquids. I had some pretty intense hunger pangs after getting home, but it's cool down time now.

Today, I'm drinking lemonade - I'm not taking the syrup shot - and broth, orange juice, water, tea, etc. I want my body to get used to something other than the lemonade.

I'm feeling pretty good this morning. I'm down 0.4 pounds from yesterday with a total weight loss of 11 pounds now. I'm only 10.8 pounds from my goal weight. People are noticing a change in how I'm looking as well. The girls I work with said my face is thinner than last week. That right there was motivation for me to not have a bite of ice cream last night. Today should be much easier, but I do work again at the pizza parlor tonight and I cannot have anything again tonight.

I have also worked out an at home daily exercise routine. These things have never worked for me in the past just because I haven't stuck with it, but I think this Master Cleanse has taught me some discipline, and now I feel like I can stick to anything. So I'm going to try and do this at home routine every day for a month. The routine focuses on my "problem areas" which I consider to be my jiggly underarms, inner thighs, and lower abs. Plus I'll continue to do my 5 days a week runs at the gym. I'll start back off slow and quickly work back up to my 3-4 mile jogs that I was at before the Anchorage trip. All of that coupled with moderation and healthier eating, I'll be down to my goal weight in no time.

I call the cleanse a difficult but WELL worth it success.

Master Cleanse Side Note

I have been reading many people's journals online about their experiences with the Master Cleanse, and I'm realizing that in my experience, I need to make a change in my goal.

The other day, Jeremy and I were discussing our strategy for weaning back into good foods. Jeremy's reasoning for wanting to start the process on day 10 was so that he could give himself an extra day to let his system come back into normal foods because Wednesday (day 11) he may be eating some real foods. My decision was to remain on strictly lemonade through day 10 and Wednesday I was going to take it easy with yogurt, OJ, and fruits and veggies. According to ALL of my research, I'm supposed to have ONLY liquids on the first day of weaning off such as broth, OJ, water, lemonade, etc. I don't know why I decided to skip that day, but I'm thinking it's an important step, so I have changed my goal to be the same as Jeremy's. We will start our transition tomorrow.

I have NOT changed my goal because I'm anxious to get back to normal food, nor have I changed it because I simply can't hack the lemonade any longer. This decision was made purely for better health reasons. I don't want to risk shocking my system with solids so soon. So I will have liquids tomorrow, then Wednesday I will have yogurt and OJ and graduate to fruits and veggies. Thursday I will incorporate chicken noodle soup to the mix, and Friday will be regular solids.

I'm no longer considering this a breach of my goals. I'm considering this a healthier decision based on the fact that I was so focused on how we were going to ease INTO the cleanse that I failed to CLEARLY indicate how we were going to ease OUT of the cleanse. I know I vaguely set the plan, but it wasn't completely clear as we were going into the cleanse. And now that I know more about how it's effecting us, I think this decision is wise.

In all honesty, I could keep up this lemonade diet a few extra days, but I would also like to "cross the finish line" with Jeremy, who is pretty set on being done on day 10.

Day 9: Master Cleanse (AM)

The end is just around the corner...woo!!!

It's been an interesting morning. For some reason, Jeremy's phone died in the middle of the night (a very first in the 2.5 years we've been married) and he was late for work. He usually leaves for work around 7:15, but I woke up at 8...confused that it might be Sunday. Then I realized it was MONDAY! It's a good thing we live 5 minutes from his work.

But back to the cleanse. I'm surprised that I didn't lose more yesterday than the scale is saying I did. We were outside hiking for about a half hour - more exercise than we've gotten all week - and it's saying I only lost 0.4 pounds from yesterday. That brings my total loss to 10.6 pounds. I still have two more mornings to weigh myself, so hopefully I'll break 12 pounds.

Feeling good this morning. A bit tired, but I'll come out of it once I wake up a bit more. I have a lot to do today including finishing up some craft projects, getting ready for a bazaar this weekend, cleaning house, and reading for book club. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day today.

Day 8: Master Cleanse (PM)

I have conquered a few trials this day. I don't know exactly where the aroma was coming from but this evening I was sitting on the couch imagining the things I'm craving and all of a sudden I smelled a beautiful aroma; I thought it was my imagination, but Jeremy smelled it the same time as me. We sniffed the air and it smelled like someone nearby was grilling...or baking some sort of Parmesan garlic beef steak. I also smelled rice. I may be completely wrong in what it was, but whatever it was, whoever was doing it...it was blissfully amazing and made my stomach growl. I had to chug some lemonade to get it to stop growling.

I do have to admit, being hungry isn't really a big deal to me anymore. It's been 8 days since not really eating anything...technically it's been 6 days on straight lemonade. It's hard for me to even think that I haven't eaten but only drank lemonade for that long and I'm still alive and not curled up in excruciating starvation. There are times where I feel I just have to eat something, but then most of the times I feel like I could go on longer than the 10 days. The lemonade is tasting good to me these days, but I still am looking forward to some yogurt, broth, any other liquids with a different flavor...plus of course REAL food.

Tomorrow's day at the pizza parlor should be a good test for me to see if it's as hard or less hard for me to work there than it was for me last week after just starting the cleanse.

My biggest fear right now is this growing list of recipes to try and foods we're craving. It's going to take us forever to get through this list and I fear we are going to overdo ourselves and not pace ourselves. Many of the recipes are very heavy...healthier than deep fried fatty foods, but heavy still - things like chili in a bread bowl, ribs, mashed potatoes, calzone, etc. I just don't want us to end up with all these leftovers from me making different dishes each day and feel like we have to eat the leftovers and make more dishes to get through the list. We need to know to pace ourselves between heavier dishes and lighter dishes, plus portion control AND leaving a day or two to eat leftovers. (We hate wasting food.)

Anyway, so concludes day 8. Only 2 days left before I can have some yogurt and OJ and light veggies, fruits...and I'm going to attempt a small can of chicken noodle soup. It's mostly broth with very soft noodles and minimal chicken, so I think I'll be okay. Jeremy's last day of lemonade is tomorrow before he plans to go to nothing but broth on day 10. He's not growing accustomed to the lemonade like I am.

The finish line is in sight!!!

Day 8: Master Cleanse (AM)

Sorry for the lack of post last night. Was having movie night with hubby and didn't think of making a post. I can remember, though, from last night that it was hard. We both got food cravings and our stomachs were both growling. We even considered starting our merge back into solid foods on day 9 or 10. We talked about only doing broth on those last two days, but I decided to stick to my original goal. I guess when I originally made out my goal, I didn't clearly set the rules about nothing but lemonade till day 11 with days 1 and 2 being a merge into lemonade. Jeremy has decided to go with broth on day 10 to give him an extra day of merging back into the solids. I'm going to continue with the lemonade through day 10 and go to broths and yogurt and juice on day 11.

Now as for this morning. I'm down 1.4 pounds from yesterday with a total weight loss of 10.2 pounds since this time last week. My clothes are fitting better, I feel better about myself, I feel lighter and perkier, and I feel a bit less self conscious. :) It's hard to believe that by the time this thing is over, I could be 7 pounds away from my goal weight. Right now I'm only 11.6 pounds away from my goal weight.

Feeling good this morning. Slept in till 9, but I'm energized and ready for the day.

Day 7: Master Cleanse (Mid Day)

I thought it was unrelated to the cleanse, but now I'm thinking it's a side effect. Nothing serious. I just feel like there's an invisible weird coating on my tongue. It doesn't hurt, but it just feels weird. IT won't brush off. It's not effecting my taste buds at all; it's just sort of...there.

Keeping kinda busy. I have a big list of things I want to accomplish today, but my mind is playing a bit of A.D.D and procrastination. I know i have a bunch to do but at the same time I don't know where to start so I do nothing.

I've been sleeping really well these past couple nights. I still feel a lack of energy in the day, but it's not all-consuming. I can see food and it doesn't bug me too much. It makes me think of all that I'm craving, but I don't have to use a lot of self restraint to keep me from eating it. I'm at a point now where if my stomach is growling telling me I'm hungry, I think of getting something...but then I remember that I can't and I move on no big deal. If I get a major craving for something like a burger, I look forward to having one, but the thought doesn't make me want to quit the cleanse anymore. If I say I want to quit, it's only words and my real self knows that I'm going to finish. I'm not about to give up these 7 days when I only have 3 left. I worked too hard to quit now.

I'm still craving non-healthy foods, but at the same time I'm motivated to try some new recipes that I wouldn't have thought to try before. For example: I like green beans, but I don't usually eat them. I don't know why, I just never buy them. But now I see a recipe for paprika shrimp and sauteed green beans and it looks amazingly delicious and I can't wait to try it. So I think before this thing is over, Jeremy and I are going to sit down with some of my cook books and pick out some nice dishes that I've never made before that we probably never would have made before doing this cleanse. The thought of veggies and fruits is very appealing in addition to the burgers and fried chicken and so on. So I haven't yet lost my appetite for junk, but I've added an appetite for healthier foods. Don't get me wrong; I liked fruits and veggies before this cleanse...I just chose not to eat them as often as junk. Maybe because the prep time for veggies is longer...peeling cukes, tossing a salad, wiping off mushrooms, etc, whereas opening a bag of chips was much simpler.

Day 7: Master Cleanse (AM)

I'm a bit hungry this morning. MY stomach is growling a bit, but I'm sure once I drink some lemonade and or water and or tea, I'll feel better.

I'm down another 1.8 pounds from yesterday making my total loss a whopping 8.8 pounds since Sunday!

This weekend should be interesting. Usually, it's a time of chilling, snacking, adventuring, etc...but we need to keep busy with our minds not on food. There's a few chores we need to get done this weekend, but again, I think the evenings are going to be the most difficult.

Not too much else to say this morning except that we're still motivated to finish...especially since we're over half way done.

On a side note, Jeremy tried the salt water flush yesterday and it didn't really effect him. Though, I imagine we're already pretty "cleaned out"...the salt water flush may have been more effective at the beginning of the cleanse when we still had a lot of junk food in our systems.

Day 6: Master Cleanse (PM)

I forgot to do a mid day entry, but not too much has happened differently from this afternoon. I've been hungry. I have not been drinking the water that I should be, but my lemonade for the day is almost gone. My stomach isn't growling right now, but off and on all day it has really been telling me I'm hungry.

I'm still craving a burger, or you know? I'd take anything I could just bite into and chew for a bit. Cucumber, banana, kiwi, tomato, grapes...I've also been craving jalapeno poppers, tuna salad sandwich, peanut butter honey banana sandwich, fried egg and toast, bagel and cream cheese, brisket, chicken noodle soup, tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich, mashed potatoes and gravy, and even some new recipes I've never really cared to try before but look really delicious now.

Dang...now I made myself hungry again. Like...not just craving and thinking I'm hungry...I mean tummy grumbling hungry.

I'm still surprised that I'm not dying of starvation only ingesting 60 oz of liquid all day, but my body is functioning completely normal.

I'm still motivated: Only 4 more days to go. That's when I think the real work shall begin. I mean, I can't let myself digress back into poor eating habits, and I have this long list of foods I crave, and It'll take weeks to get through mine and Jeremy's list of craved foods; we need to keep moderation in our vocabulary during those weeks. Not only moderation, but gym needs to be in our daily lives if this thing is going to keep working.

We probably won't ever do this again, but it's definitely a great experience and I'm glad we're doing it. It's a great first step towards a much healthier lifestyle. I admit, we will still have the occasional piece of chocolate cake and eat out at restaurants when we're not on Kodiak, but I think having gone through this intense of a cleanse, we won't want to lose what we worked so hard to achieve.

Day 6: Master Cleanse (AM)

I woke up with a bit more energy this morning. I'm actually looking forward to my lemonade mixture...not so much for the syrup/cayenne shot...but I feel pretty great this morning. I'm not craving anything for breakfast, and I'm ready to start my day.

I'm down 1.8 pounds from yesterday...with a total loss of 7 pounds since Day1. I look forward every morning to jumping on the scale now. I LOVE seeing the numbers go down. I'm now only 14 pounds from my goal weight. A lot of people and research says that once this thing is over, I could gain back about half the weight I lost, but I'm still holding high hopes that I don't. I think that if I ease back into a normal...albeit healthier diet mixed with my exercise routine I had been doing before the Anchorage trip, I will just simply continue to lose weight...slower for sure...but continue nonetheless.

I've gotten many questions over these 5 days including, "Aren't you hungry?" "Don't you get headaches from the lack of food?" "How can you do it?" First, I DO get hungry in the evening time when I have gone all day without solid foods and my body has used up the energy from the lemonade, but I am taking psyllium husk and wheat grass supplements which aide in the feeling of fullness as well as the cleanse itself. I have not yet gotten one headache from lack of food, though I did get a short-lived painful hunger pang that lasted maybe 5 seconds last night after I posted my PM update. It was more than a stomach growl...it was more like a pinch of hunger, but again it only lasted 5 seconds...then I was fine. Last question answered...I can do it because I WANT to, I have support from friends, my hubby is doing it as well so I don't have to see him eat, I am determined to finish, I'm seeing results which keep me motivated, and I have ALL THESE LEMONS-if I didn't finish it, what would I do with ALL THESE LEMONS? Plus, I'm over halfway done now, I may as well finish. Besides, it's really getting easier. I'm surprised because I'm a MAJOR food addict. I could be full and still want to snack on junk. At meals, I clean my plate even if I'm full. I go back for seconds just for the flavor of my favorites...even if I'm content and not stuffed.

I'm also starting to feel "cleaned out" from the tea and psyllium husk. I won't go any further than saying that, but I'll just say that the tea mixed with the supplements...it's working like a charm.

Until mid day...

Day 5: Master Cleanse (PM)

Still going strong. Working today wasn't nearly as hard as getting through working at the pizza parlor.

I still don't have too much energy, but I'm not really lagging. I just feel like I wanna be lazy. I'm not craving too much today. It's not eating at me like it was last night. I still think a burger and fries would be really wonderful right now, but my stomach isn't growling.

I've almost completed my lemonade for the day...then I'm hoping to drink a bunch of water.

The most annoying part about today is the hiccups. I have had REALLY BAD hiccups off and on all day. And it usually lasts a good half hour before it stops. Nothing works. I've held my breath, chugged water, taken long deep breaths...usually those things work for me, but not this time.

I think today was easier than yesterday. The thought of food was kind of maddening last night, but tonight, not so much...and the lemonade is starting to taste okay.

I can officially say we're half way done with this cleanse...it's been easier than I thought it would be in the long run, though at times, I admit I HAVE wanted to quit.

Day 5: Master Cleanse (AM)

I will only have 2 posts today as I work all day bagging groceries. I'm hoping it's not a rough day...last night was very hard. This morning it is just as I suspected...there's a reset button and my stomach isn't craving anything anymore...but by tonight...I dread what my mentality may be.

My throat feels better today as well. And I'm down 1.8 pounds from yesterday with a total weight loss of 5.2 pounds so far. It's exciting to see these kinds of results and that I'm not starving myself in the process.

It's definitely a tough diet, but I still hold hope for what it can do for me in the next 6 days.

Last night I did what Jeremy did towards the beginning of this thing and I drank a "special" tea and took a psyllium husk pill at the same time and by the time we actually went to bed, it was really making my stomach gurgle and make "those" sounds. I never did have to run to the bathroom, but I imagined that the tea was helping to wash the pill through my system scraping away at the impurities lining my insides helping clean me out.

I think I'll skip that part this morning just because I have to work all day today and I don't want to have those uncomfortable inside gurgles and groans while I"m at work. Bagging groceries, I don't really have time to run to the bathroom that often. I'll save it for when I come home.

Day 4: Master Cleanse (PM)

Evenings are tough...pizza parlor or not. I kept my hands busy crafting this evening, but my thoughts still trailed to food and my cravings remain the same. Jeremy went to get a tea bag and when he came back into the living room, I swear it was a cracker...a little square glimmer of hope and I asked him to share...but alas it was only a tea bag. Heh heh.

Still motivated to finish...one more day until we're half way there. And in all seriousness, I'm not dying of hunger. It's tough to break the habit of crunching food.

I didn't do well on my lemonade today. I did make myself extra lemonade today, and I drank some tea as well, but I still have a bunch of lemonade left. Almost enough for tomorrow's rations.

My throat is starting to hurt from all the citric acid. I'm hoping it goes away tomorrow.

It is hard knowing there's a half a tub of goldfish crackers in the no fly zone upstairs...It's a big enough tub that I could bury my face in the crackers and revel in the cheesy goodness.

I hold high hopes that after a good night sleep, my stomach will again reset itself and I won't have to go through the crazy evening munchie withdraws for another several hours.

Almost half way there...almost halfway there...almost half way there...*tummy grumble*

Jeremy and I just had some "erotic" food talk about tearing open a warm potato roll and spreading butter on each half and watching it melt from the outside in.