Woo-Hoo! I made it through 7 days of cleaning my body and my mind. My stomach bloating has gone down and I just feel better. I have even noticed my palate has changed. I drank decaf Chai tea this morning and enjoyed and savored all the tastes in it. Before I would not have liked it much less enjoyed it but today I have. I am learning to turn to tea more to fill in my cravings along with my green smoothies. I'm trying very hard to make this way a part of my life but am also realizing that this is life and I cannot be completely stringent about things...flexibility is key. I don't want to go to a party or someone's house for dinner and not eat anything because of what they are serving. I want to be a gracious guest always so from time to time I am sure I will "slip" up but for me as long as in my day to day life I adhere to my clean way of eating all will be good and right. I have noticed my pain from my endo. has subsided. I actually have times throughout the day where I feel no pain. What a relief. I'm hoping the worst cravings are over and I can turn over a new page. One of health and fulfillment.

In other news, today is Alejandro's bday! My gosh he is 12 today. In 2 weeks he will be entering junior high for the first time. New school and new friends. It will be an exciting time but may I say I will miss him while he is gone at school. He has such a good heart. He is always concerned of others' well being and he is the type that will take his shirt off his back if you needed one. He is such a blessing to have for a son and such a wonderful brother to his sisters. It feels like yesterday I was holding him in my arms and now I am sending him off to jr. high. How time flies. I am determined to inhale the few years I have left before he is off to college. Seeing how fast time goes only reminds me to take each moment as it comes and to never take it all for granted. ever.

Day 6: My new addiction

I'm fessing up here...my new addiction is smores. Why oh why did I have to try this yummy goodness the other day and why oh why did I have to discover that you can do this with the microwave. Pure heaven. Fluffy warm marshmellow with melty chocolate on a crispy graham cracker. I am having a love affair with these things. I think the only way to end this affair is either eating them all (cannot happen) or just throwing everything in the trash and pretend there are no starving children in Uganda. See how hard that is? Ok. I'm doing the right thing and ending the affair now.

Day 5: I'm crabby the crab

Alejandro had his bff spend the night here last night. My gosh those boys ate me out of house and home and stayed up till the wee hours of the night. I could not fall asleep until I knew they were out. Finally I get settled to go to sleep only to get awakened by an early wake up call from my mom! Uugh. She was next door at her new house and needed to come inside mine to make phone calls. I could barely open my eyes. Of course by the time she left the boys were up and raring to go for the day. So no sleep for me as of yet. I guess with the lack of sleep it has made my voice go out as I sound so hoarse. My head is pounding and I am so looking forward to a good night of sleep. I'm hoping I won't be overtired by then and not sleep well.

As far as eating: this morning I had chia and green tea sweetened with stevia and almond milk. I think I have figured out that my morning coffee was making my stomach upset so I switched to green tea this morning and it was fine. Yay! Lunch was a salad topped with turkey slices, tomato, greek olives, and mom's dressing. Snack was a diet coke (I had to have some caffeine to fight off this pounding headache) and hanging my head in shame..a smore made in the microwave. I swear I swore off sugar last night and of course after eating that smore my tummy is making all kinds of weird noises. Dinner will be some leftover beans and chicken.

I'll be taking my son's bff home soon and will be happy to have just my little birds in my nest again. I love his friend dearly but its always nice for it to just be us and to be able to fully relax. My bed is calling...a few hours and I'll be there.

Day 4: I'm through with sugar

Yuck. Ugh. My stomach officially hurts. Why? Because I just ate some of what is both in these pics. We celebrated Alejandro's b-day today at my sister's house for Sunday dinner. We had a lovely dinner of chicken cutlets, bque pork, salad, and potatoes for the kids. After we ate dinner we had this lovely chocolate/walnut 2 layer cake. Being it was his bday, and we were celebrating and all I did not want to miss out on the festivities so instead of a sliver of cake I had a piece...ok a BIG piece of cake. gag. Then as if that was not enough sugar we came home to make smores. Yep smores. How much more sugar could I have possible eaten? Let me tell you if I never see sugar again it will be too soon. I am officially cured of those cravings I was having yesterday. My prayers were answered. Sugar cravings zero.

Day 4 and Sonic happy hour is calling my name

I'm hitting a wall here. Thud. Not liking this detox one bit and am already imagining myself going back to my old ways. Horrible I know but I am so addicted to my sonic fountain coke and get giddy when I go during happy hour and get one for 81 cents. But I'm doing good and drinking my water. Lots of water all the while wishing it was my beloved coke. sigh.

As far as nausea, this morning was the first time I woke up without it. Yeah! I ended up making a green smoothie for breakfast: kefir, spinach, banana, goji berries, and chia seeds. It was yummy but didn't keep me as full as long as I had hoped. Lunch was a high fiber wrap made with turkey, spinach, and red pepper. I ended up eating Mariposa's leftover wrap for a midafternoon snack. I have been hungry and not sure why? For dinner I am making a big salad topped with tuna, peppers, tomatoes. Hopefully it will tide me over till tomorrow.

Today was a super busy day. It took me 1 1/2 hours to clean all my floors in the house. I felt like I had done a workout when I finished! Then I got Mariposa registered for soccer for the fall. I stopped by at Barnes and Nobles to return a book (found it cheaper online) and instead got The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. It is a self improvement/spiritual book based on the teachings of 4 tenets: as written in the book: Be impeccable with your word (be true to what you say), Don't take anything personally (that is a hard one for me), Don't make assumptions (working on that one) and finally Always do your best. It came recommended to me so I'm hoping it will inspire change within me.

*Artist* is becoming quite the cook and what good time indeed. It's hard for me to eat what the rest of the family eats and she has really learned her way around the kitchen (great for me!). So right now she is making beef stroganoff for the family to eat with dinner along with corn. I'll be eating my salad with them wishing I was diving into a plate of yummy, warm comforting stroganoff. Can you tell I am really hitting a wall here? It's almost like I am mourning the loss of being able to eat whatever and drink whatever and be happy. I'm hoping tomorrow I will wake up feeling better and not feeling like the cravings are getting the best of me.

Tonight should be fun. Our dear friend works at a theatre and has offered us free tickets to see G-Force with the kids. I'm excited to get out with them and just enjoy some time even if its watching a kid movie. Last night *artist* and I went to see Julie and Julia. OMG you have to see this movie!! It was so so good. I loved every bit of it. Be warned it is long and your butt will be numb when you stand up after watching it for 2hours but its so worth the butt numbness. I swear. Watching it was like reliving my childhood. My mom always cooked gourmet and as a child I wished she cooked like everyone else's mom aka pork and beans, meatloaf, but NO my mom would get live lobster drunk in beer then cook them up for a gourmet dinner. What little did I know just how nice that way of eating was. Now I know how good it was and watching the movie just took me back to those days and all those memories. Such a good movie for sure! While we are on movies another good "date" movie is The Ugly Truth. Holy crap was that ever funny. The whole theater just chuckled through that one. Its all about the girl side v/ guy side of looking at things and let me tell you both you and your mate will love this one. So funny and such a good date movie.

Battery is now drained from laptop. Time for it to get charged and time for me to find something to keep my mind off of coca cola and home comfort food.

God is speaking

I just found this verse out of the Book Of James in the Bible and how apprapo it is: James 1:2 "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials".

Whoah. This is exactly what I needed to read today. Just yesterday I was thinking about how bad things happen to good people and why they do and how to handle it when it does. Here is my answer. God wants us to find joy in all that we do and all that happens. I also think its through our trials that we learn and grow immensely and become stronger from them. We gain wisdom, insight, and empathy through our trials. I guess what I am learning is to not focus so much on the trial but the reward at the end. To be joyful knowing that we will be better and stronger for it. To trust that our Lord will not give us more than we can handle and that through Him all things are possible.

Day 3: healthy goodies

I went to the store and bought some health food goodies. On my prior detox I really did not delve much into these foods but rather stuck to what I knew ie: veggies, whole grains in limited quantities, and lots of water. This time around after a lot of reading and researching I am learning just how important not only supplements are but food as well. Food can act as your pharmacy, healing all that aids you. So, this is now my pharmacy along with a handful of supplements I am currently taking.

Agave Nectar: it is a natural sweetener derived from a plant. It does not affect your blood sugar the way table sugar does. A little goes a long way and is great to use to sweeten tea, oatmeal, anywhere you would need a dose of sweetness.

Sushi Nori: I have never tried this stuff and am waiting to get some courage up to try. It is loaded with live enzymes, minerals, and is all around good for you. I'll let you know when my courage sets in to try that! But from all that I have read its really supposed to be good for you.

Quinoa: Another food I have not yet tried. It is packed full of amino acids making it a complete protein. Many vegetarians eat this to get their protein in. I am not a veg. but I like the way protein makes me feel fuller longer. I hope to try this goodness in a few days.

Goji berries: Yummy! I tried them for the first time and they are so good. The texture is like a raisin. You eat them right out of the bag or you can sprinkle them on oatmeal or blend up in a smoothie. They are chockful of antioxidants and are known for their healing properties. They enhance you immune system helping it to function better. A very small handful is all you need with this little powerhouse of sweet goodness.

Chia seeds: Ok these were scary at first. And just so you know yes these are the same things that you see late at night on the infomercials selling chia pets. I have to admit after eating these I have envisioned a chia pet growing in my tummy! ha! Let me tell you these are soo yummy. These too are a complete protein, gluten free, high in fiber, and high in minerals. A little goes a long way with these as well. When I first made a bowl of these I was surprised to see how little was in that bowl. You use 2 tablespoons of chia with 4 tablespoons of liquid ( i used unsweetened vanilla almond milk) and let it sit (gel) for 4 minutes. I looked at it and thought how in the world is that little amount going to fill me up. Well let me tell you it does and keeps you full until lunch. This is coming from a girl who can eat 1 1/2 cups cereal and still be hungry 2 hours later.

Green tea: I usually do not drink this as I find it bitter. However I have read about adding a bit of agave nectar and vanilla almond milk to take the bitter out. I'm planning on drinking this tonight. This tea is full of antioxidants as well as anti cancer properties. My goal is to have a cup a day of this protective, healing tea.

Lemon water: I should be drinking this upon rising but I'm finding myself still a bit nauseated. I just can't stomach the thought of drinking lemon water early in the morning right now. I'm hoping in a couple of weeks I will be able to do this.

As far as detox symptoms I have been tired. Luckily its summer and the kids are sleeping in late as am I. This is helping immensely being able to sleep longer as sleep is so healing to our bodies. I'm not sure what I will do when school starts back up in a couple of weeks. I'm hoping by then to be detoxed and feeling energized so I won't need as much sleep.

As for eating today:
breakfast was chia seeds with goji berries sprinkled on top. decaf coffee with stevia and a splash of cream.
Lunch will most likely be a salad topped with tomatoes, peppers, tuna, and my mom's dressing.
Dinner not sure yet. But it will be something along the lines of fitting into my new diet.
I have been reading about how important it is to eat something every 3hours but I just have not been hungry. If you eat every 3 hours it actually will stimulate your metabolism so you burn more calories. At this point I just can't justify eating between meals when I am not hungry.

I'm off to head to Barnes & Nobles with the kids. Hubbie left work early today as he is just exhausted from all the work he has been doing. I'm hoping to give him a couple of hours of a quiet house while the kids and I browse through the bookstore. I have a book on hold I am planning on picking up: The Four Agreements. It came highly recommended to me so that will be new book to read and hopefully inspire me on my new journey to healing.