I Did It!

So I did it! I finished the Master Cleanse. I make it 10 days. Thats 10 days with absolutely no food. I have never fasted a day in my life so I was really skeptical as to if I would be able to finish. My goal had been to make it to day 8. The third and fourth day were hell, but after that it wasn't that hard at all as I began to lose all cravings for food. So what benefits did I get out of it?

1- I lost 6 and a half pounds although I am sure that I have gained a few of them back since I began eating again on Sunday.

2- They say once you lose a sense, your other senses will become stronger to make up for it. I was amazed at my newly found sense of smell. I could smell everything... and I mean EVERYTHING.

3- I have lost all cravings for junk food. The entire time I was on the cleanse, I was dreaming of what my first real meal would be. It of course changed everyday from Veggie Burgers and Homemade fries to Cafe Rio Salad to a whole package of saltines to the famous cheese fries at Outback Steakhouse which by the way were recently voted "worst food in America" with a whopping 2,900 calories. I was however very surprised that by the time the cleanse was finished, all of those craving had subsided. I have had Pepsi twice since I finished and It has done nothing for me where before I would down 4 Pepsi's before a meal was served.

4-It was a great mind game. It made me realize that the majority of the time that I eat, its not because I'm actually hungry but more so because the food is there. I was very much reminded of what a hunger pain feels like and it was something that I hadn't felt in a very long time.

So what was my first meal you ask...Yummy Watermelon! And let me tell you, it was a YUMMY Watermelon. Will I do it again? Yes, I have already decided on January. I figure what better time to clean out the junk in the trunk than right after the holidays? Next time Mr. Matt and I will do it together instead of the 2 weeks apart that we did this time around. I think that my goal for next time will be 13-15 days.

So is it Spring or Winter? I'm still not sure. I actually pulled my winter coat back out of the closet this morning. On the other hand, my confused tulips are finally doing this.... And This.... And for my trees... News Flash! Roller Derby is back! We went to the first bout last Saturday and it was a blast! If I didn't think it would get in the way of our backpacking and camping trips planned for the summer, I would buy season tickets in a second :). Go Bomber Babes!! The weekend before last we got to have our niece over for the night. It was a blast! We rented What a Girl Wants, went to the dog park, and made a cake for her to take home as a housewarming gift. She very quickly became Sam's best friend as he LOVES kids. Things to look forward to in the next few days: Wise Guys with an old friend, Date with my sisters, BBQ at Clint's house, Planting my garden, Love family dinner at sister Shauna's and Mr. Matt getting his skinny ass home so we can watch an episode of my new favorite series "How I Met your Mother" and finish the night off by soaking in the Hot Tub.

Sweet Dreams

We went to see A Fine Frenzy on Tuesday...It was Incredible! Her talent is phenomenal. A special thanks to Mr. Matt for surprising me with tickets to her show.













I keep having these reoccurring dreams. I was searching for a dream interpreter as I'm curious as to what they could possibly mean, but naturally they all cost an arm and a leg and who knows if its not all just BS anyways. Theres 3 dreams that I have at least once a month if not more. 1) I'm at an amusement park. It's Lagoon, but it never looks anything like Lagoon, I just know that it is. I get on a roller coaster, and just as it begins to go, the restraints fail. Sometimes its mine that fail but the majority of the time theres someone next to me and its their restraints that fail, I spend the whole ride frantically trying to hold them in. 95 % of the time its my little sister Hayley and the rest of the time its some random baby. I always wake up in a panic. 2) I go to put my contacts in and the are huge. Regardless of the fact that I'm looking at the contact and can obviously see that its way to big to fit into my eye, I keep trying because I know that I have had them in before and they fit fine then. I always wake up feeling extremely tense. 3) I'm somewhere other than home and my eyes start watering, then they start burning, burning to the point that I cant open them. I spent the whole dream trying function in some random situation but not being able to see other than a few split seconds here and there when I manage to crack my eyes briefly. I think it would be interesting to know how they tie into my everyday life and emotions since I keep having them over and over and....over again.

Mr. Matt went to see a movie with a friend. Gabe's giving me the "I'm waiting to cuddle up and fall asleep look" so I think I'm gonna turn on a movie and curl up with the pups. Stoli's obsessed with tormenting the cat so we'll go downstairs and give poor miss Abbie a break :)

A Breath of Fresh Air

Its Monday and I officially had a vacation day :). We stayed in a bed and Breakfast last night located up the canyon in Woodland. It was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Mountains and farmland together make a very peaceful landscape. We spent the evening eating junk food and watching episodes of LOST. The room was nice, a large sliding door window in the bedroom with a great view of the mountains. It was not the cleanest room, but it was a quaint country cottage so what can you expect. The whole room was done old style country including an aluminum bucket shower.


And how could we forget our after breakfast dessert :)
After we had gotten into town this morning, Matt took me bowling:). We both did particularly awful but had a blast anyways!!
Shauna (sister in-law) and her now husband Bill are currently in Costa Rica. They married on Saturday on the beach. Shauna if you read this...I am so happy for you. Bill is a great guy and you are great together. I wish you nothing but happiness! I can't wait to see pictures. Meanwhile, we are puppy sitting Stoli for them. The first few days were a lil crazy as she was in the process of adjusting and well... bouncing off of the walls with energy. But now that shes a bit more settled, its been great. She's still got a lot of pup in her but shes definitely got the personality to make a great dog for life. Here are a few pics.

This was just after I had given them a bath today...
This is a video of Stoli falling asleep on our way home from Camp Bark Alot. I actually got a better video of it but it was too dark to see her eyes.

At One With Nature

We had to cancel our first backpacking trip of the year :(. We had planned to backpack into Havasupai Falls this weekend but had to cancel due to 1: Weather issues and 2: Car issues. This hit me really hard as I have been overly excited about getting away and leaving some recent family drama behind. I feel so helpless as I watch family member after family member fall into the evilness of addiction. The latest, my 13 yr old sister. How do you help a child that has no rules or boundaries. There is no consequences for her actions and instead of learning from the destruction that loved ones have caused to themselves and the people around them, she is modeling after them. One of them, my 19 yr old brother. I tear up when I think of how much potential he has. The boy has what it takes to really make it in this world, I've seen it, but has no one to show him how get there. My mom, lost in her own addictions, feels as though punishing them would be hypocritical and is more concerned with being "friends" with them than giving them what they need, a parent. Backpacking is such a release of stress for me. There is truly no better way to put life back into perspective than spending a few days at one with nature. We bought brand new backpacks for this year.
Every pack I've used in the past has been boughten from a swap meet so I can't wait to try one that has actually been fitted to me. I can't wait to get to try it out.

On a bright note, to make up for the canceled trip, Matt's made reservations to a cute little bed and breakfast in Kamas. I love to stay in b and b's as each one is so different. Someday when I'm a lil old cotton top, I would love to own one somewhere out in the country with a great view and a balcony that wraps entirely around it.

Matt bought us tickets to A Fine Frenzy for next Tuesday, I'm so excited!!! It's at the old Avalon so that should be interesting. I used to go there to watch the hypnotists when I was a youngin.

Matt...

You are so incredibly good to me. Thank you for all the support you have given me this past weekend and throughout our entire relationship. I truly am lucky to have you in my life.

....

It happened again...my mom tried to take her life last night. Yes this is not the first time, and yes it is always very difficult to overcome emotionally but this time...this time we almost lost her. I love her so much. But... I don't think she knows it. How can you be there for someone who doesn't want you there. How can you show support for someone who thinks that any words of encouragement you may give means that you are looking down on them....even though you are not? How can you love someone who doesn't love themself? It has been a long long road we've been down and I fear that the end is nearing. Three things need to happen: 1: She has to want to get better 2: She needs inpatient rehabilitation and 3: She needs to have positive influence around her -aka- she needs to lose the BF of 20 some odd yrs who has separated her family but doesn't love her enough to marry her. None of these are things that can be forced, unfortunately it is left up to her to want a better life. Helplessness is a very difficult emotion to deal with, I want to be there for her but it always seems to complicate the situation. She uses the term "addictive personality" as an excuse. Her idiot of a doctor told her that she has a 20% chance of recovering... so naturally she only sees that that must mean there is an 80% chance that she will not recover...so why even try....Yet another excuse. She says " I can't stand the way I feel when I'm sober" Part of me wants to grab her and tell her that guess what?!! Life can be shitty..for everyone. So put your big girl pants on and deal with it like the rest of the world. I love her so much more than she'll ever know. My heart hurts with hers and I want her to get better, I want her to be happy... or at least okay with feeling normal. I want her to be around for my children. I hate that I feel like I'm going to lose her but at the same time not knowing how to get close to her. I hate that it hurts so badly. I miss her ... I miss what we used to have.

2008 Resolutions

Alright here it is...2008 New Years Resolutions!! A little late...i know. Every year, like the rest of the American population, I half heartily think up unrealistic new years resolutions with the easier said than done attitude and all along knowing that theres a very good chance that I wont go through with them. Not this year...This year, I have put a lot of thought into making realistic goals and I honestly have every intention of keeping every one of them. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Every morning and every time I feel stressed/anxieties I will stop and ask myself "What is really important to me?" Too often I let myself get caught up in things, ideas or situations that should not have priority in my life and in consequence, I let the things/people in my life that really do matter to me take second place. What is that saying?...Life is too short to sweat the small stuff.

2. 6 am. I will now wake up every morning Monday through Friday at 6 am to workout. Now, since I do so much love my sleep and understand that this one is going to be a challenge some mornings...I will allow myself one freebie sleep in day during the work week if needed. However, if i choose to use a freebie, it must be made up on the upcoming weekend but does not need to be at 6 am because hey.. that would just be crazy.

3. Stress. I stress too much and I become unhealthy because of it. Its an ongoing challenge for me but its needs to be listed.

4. Outdoors! Every summer I plan to do spend a lot of time outdoors and every summer seems to come and go in the blink of an eye leaving me with the disappointed feeling of wishing I had done more. Not this summer. This summer will be spent backpacking, hiking, car camping, gardening, walking the dogs, going to the parks/dog parks, reading outside etc etc etc.

5. Increase water intake and decrease carbonation. I wont say that I will never drink carbonation again, that would be unrealistic. But I will drink it in better moderation.

6. I will spend more quality time with the pups. So many days, I find that I'm tired and exhausted after work and as a result I don't feel that I give them the time and attention that I would like to. They are the world to me and I couldn't picture coming home to house without them waiting at the door for me.

7. I love my weekends. I love my weekends so much that I tend to wish away my weekdays to get to them. Life is so short and I will work on appreciating every day that is in it.

8. I will make dinners more often. Too much of our money is spent on eating out. This will also help with eating healthier as we are more apt to make poor decisions when eating out vs cooking dinner at home.

9. Garden. This summer will be my 3rd year creating a garden and I will be the first to admit that in the past I have gotten all excited about planting a garden but became lazy when it came to up keeping it. This year I will put a lot more TLC into my garden

10. Emergency Kit. I have been talking about putting together an emergency kit and funds for over 2 yrs now and this year we are going to have one in the house and in the car.