Ragnar Is Coming Up!

The Ragnar Relay is coming up in about 2 1/2 weeks, and man I'm excited but nervous!

I'm in Van #1, which means we're starting off the race with the first 6 legs.  We found out about 2 months ago that this year, the race is starting off in a completely different direction, which changes up the first 6 legs from previous years.  After a little swapping around of runners to meet their abilities, I shifted from Runner #1 to Runner #4.

Which means I'm running 10.2 miles, then 6.1 miles, then 6.7 miles.  HOLY CRAP.

The first 10 miles will be fine.  It's the 2nd and 3rd set of miles that are going to be painful!  My body is going to be shocked about running 6 more miles mere hours after running 10 miles......and then REALLY shocked at having to do it again mere hours after that second 6 miles!  But it's happening!  I might be crawling.....but it's happening.

Here's my first leg:

Here's my second leg:

And here's my third leg:

So there you have it.  On October 23rd I'll be hitting the pavement on the way to Nashville!  And in only 4 more months, I'll be hitting the pavement in Miami on the way to Key West!!

This weekend, though, I'll be running the Urban Nature 10k happening here in Chattanooga.  It should be fun, plus several of my Ragnar team members are also running it.  It should be a good little training run in preparation for Ragnar.  Plus it's cheap, and it should be pretty!

YAY RUNNING.

My Juice Cleanse: The Aftermath.

Where we left off, it was the evening of Day 3 (my final juice cleanse day) and I still had 3 bottles to go for the day.

Well.....I never drank any of those 3 bottles.  Instead I ended up with a glass of wine and a handful of veggie stix.

Shocked, aren't ya? ;)

So here is my synopsis of my 3-day juice cleanse by Raw Generation.

Day 1 (detailed here):  I was STARVING and really wondering why I had agreed to do a cleanse to begin with.  I didn't want to back out, but I wanted to eat everything in sight.  As in EVERYTHING.  I daydreamed about food.  And I wasn't loving the juices.  A few of them were okay, but the green ones were hard to swallow.

Day 2 (detailed here):  I was a MUCH happier camper.  I woke up early, feeling great, wasn't that hungry all day (except right at mealtimes), and the juices were easier to swallow.  I skipped 2 juices and ended up with wine and veggie stix in my hands later in the evening, but ah well.

Day 3 (detailed here):  Day 3 was pretty much the same as Day 2 - I woke up early, happy and not hungry.  I felt great, and even better, I felt skinny.  The juices went down like nothing.....I drank the green juice right out of the bottle with zero problems.  It didn't even make me flinch.  And even though at mealtimes I was craving pizza, I didn't eat any pizza.  I did eat some lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole for lunch (fruits and veggies are "allowed" on a juice cleanse, as that's what the juices are made of anyway) and I sliced up a tomato and had that for dinner.  I ended up skipping THREE of the juices that day and managed instead to find a glass of wine in one hand and a handful of veggie stix in the other later that evening.

These are our faves.

So I didn't follow the cleanse EXACTLY like I had planned......I ate a few meals (of veggies) and ate fruits in between juices (apples, plums, grapes, etc).  And of course we all know I broke into the wine and snacks two of the three nights.  I had planned to go all out and do the juices and ONLY the juices.  But ah well.  I read that some people choose to juice during the day but then have dinner at night.  Some companies even have packages that are geared towards that idea.

If you had asked me on the evening of Day 3 (Thursday) if I would ever do a juice cleanse again, I would have told you no, simply because I just REALLY like food and hated not eating it.  Even though I felt fantastic during the last 2 days, I still couldn't wait to eat a meal once it was all over.  And on Friday, I did just that.  I had a juice for breakfast (from my leftover/skipped juices) and then had a salad, a side of crab salad and a few slices of pizza for lunch.  And then I ate a salad with grilled chicken for dinner.  So I didn't go crazy, but I did really enjoy my pizza.

I did NOT eat that......but OMG!  YOU NO POOP FOR A WEEK!!

But now that I am on Day 3 post-cleanse, my tone has changed.  The past 3 days have felt both rough on my body and rough on my self-esteem.  I lost 2.5 pounds during the cleanse (mostly water weight, I'm sure), but my weight shot back up (and plus some) INSTANTLY after I started eating meals again.  Granted, it wasn't like I went back to eating just raw fruits and veggies......I was hungry for something good and felt like I was in need of carbs and protein, so I had pizza on Friday and Mexican on Saturday (along with some other random tidbits).  But I've also felt tired and lacking energy and nowhere NEAR like I felt those last 2 days of my cleanse.  Of course, I've also been bartending and working late nights all weekend (and will be doing so again tonight), so that's played a part, but I can't use it as a full excuse.  I know that part of the reason I've felt so rough is due to some of the heavier food I've put in my body.

So would I do a juice cleanse again?  Eh......maybe.  The way I felt during the cleanse vs the way I've felt the last few days has made it super appealing.  But juicing is really pricey and actually pretty controversial among those in the health/nutrition field.  I didn't pay $60/day for my cleanse, but that's the standard rate.  I also only cleansed for 3 days, not 30, 60 or even 90 days like some of the extreme plans out there.

So with that being said, would I instead try a raw foods diet, which is kind of like juicing but with chewing involved?  Ehhhhhh........I don't know.  I really don't care for strict diets.  I can't even imaging juicing for more than 3 days.  I love food too much, plus the norm for extreme diets is that you either pack the weight back on after you stop dieting or you damage your body by depriving it of whatever you're depriving it of.

Which is why I love Weight Watchers.  There's no strict dieting involved.  Just SMART dieting.  And for the first 8-10 weeks, I was really good at it.  I need to get back on that "really good at it" wagon again!

So there it is.  Three days of juicing in the books.  I'm on the fence about whether or not I would do it again, but I DO really want that skinny-feeling, super energetic person back that entered my body for 2 days!

Day 3 of Juice Cleansing

Ok, so I have to admit, I MIGHT have cheated a little on my juice cleanse last night.  I MIGHT have drank some wine and I MIGHT have eaten a handful of my kids' leftover stale veggie stix that somehow made it into my mouth before they made it into the trash.  And this was all likely due to the fact that I MIGHT have stayed up too late.

So there's that.  But at the same time, I also skipped out on two of the juice bottles.  I guess I should have drank that last pineapple/cucumber/aloe juice!

Today is Day 3.....the FINAL day of my cleanse!

This morning I woke up just like yesterday - before everyone else and wide awake.  And once again, I wasn't hungry.  I felt good.  And I've felt good all day.

I got really hungry right at 8:30, which is when I popped open Bottle #1 (the green stuff).  I drank it right out of the bottle without any issues.  It tasted like lemon juice again, and the smell didn't even bother me hardly at all.  It's like I've either formed a tolerance to it or acquired the taste for it.  But that was all that I had for breakfast.

Around 11:30, I was suddenly starving.  The kids and I were out and about with my mom, so we ended up at Amigo for lunch.  I had packed Bottle #2 (the carrot one) in a cooler to bring along, so I broke it out at lunchtime.  I did order a side of guacamole salad, which consisted of lettuce, tomatoes and guacamole, but I stuck to the salad and that's all I ate.  I didn't eat a single chip or dip into my son's queso once.  I really wanted the soft taco that neither of my kids ate, but I left it alone.  And after my mini-salad and juice, I was fine.

I broke out Bottle #3 (the second green one) at 3:30, and drank it straight from the bottle as well.  And let me tell you, I drank it in half an hour with no problems.  Day 3 and this is shiz-niz is getting EASY!

After Bottle #3, just to curb any late afternoon cravings, I ate an orange and a plum. 

Another thing I've felt the last two days, besides good, is SKINNY!  I know that I've lost a few pounds over the last few days, but I'm also not naive enough to think it will all stay off like magic once I start eating solid food again.  I know that those pounds will very easily pile back on even after just one day if I let them, which is why I'm hoping to not let them!  I think being on Weight Watchers will help that tremendously, as long as I stick to tracking what I eat. 

At dinnertime, I ate a large tomato.  Sliced it up, sprinkled on some salt and pepper, and made it my dinner.  It was delicious, not because I was starving or anything, but because sliced tomatoes are delicious.

As of 9pm, I still hadn't broken out Bottle #4, #5 or #6.  Now, we all know how this ended last night when I skipped out on the last 2 bottles......I ended up with a glass of wine and a handful of stale veggie snacks.  Granted, I still needed the added calories for the day yesterday since I eliminated two bottles' worth of pre-planned calories, but wine and stale veggie stix weren't exactly on the menu.  So tonight, if I don't drink another bottle, there is a possible chance that something non-juice-related will end up on the menu. 

My plan for in the morning is to continue the juice trend for breakfast, since I still have several bottles left.  And since I am totally planning on eating some pizza for lunch!

Mmmmmmmmmm pizza.

Craigslist Frustrations Are Real, Y'all.

I have had success with Craigslist, from buying things to selling things to even advertising dogs up for adoption.

I personally haven't had any real "fails" with Craigslist, though I know others who have.  A friend of mine found the PERFECT house to rent, only to discover that it was a scam.  And that's not the first time that house rentals/buys have been a scam......I've known people who have knocked on someone's door only to discover that the house they went to was indeed NOT for rent/sale.  Then of course we all heard that story last year about the couple who was murdered while trying to buy a car.......

Whatever you do, people......do NOT give anybody a dime of your money until you have the product you're buying in hand.

So I don't think I got Craigslist scammed.  I know that may sound naive, but I really don't.  However, I do have some extreme Craigslist frustration going on, which is why I'm pouring it out on paper (or computer, rather).

You all know that I have been receiving CSA baskets since the first week of June.  I've been receiving half-baskets (or according to my farm, they're actually 2/3 baskets), which have STILL been too much for my family to consume in a week, even with Pinterest and Weight Watchers recipes out the wazoo that I've been cooking up.  So I've been freezing vegetables left and right.  Which is great, because I know have a ton of veggies for future use and during the winter months.  However, even with TWO refrigerators in my house, I am running out of freezer room.  Actually, I'm pretty much OUT of freezer room.  So for the past few weeks, I've been on the manhunt for an upright freezer for my overflow of veggies, along with the local beef I intend to buy and stock it with.

Something kind of like this.

So I've been shopping around for a freezer.  I have been to every store in the area, both local and commercial (Lowe's, Home Depot, Best Buy, H&H Gregg, Sears, Sears Outlet, KMart, B&B Discount, Baugh Appliance, etc) and the best deal on what I wanted was at both Lowe's and KMart (same price, same free delivery).  I've also been checking Craigslist on a daily basis.  I initially thought I wanted one of the smaller uprights (13-14 cubic feet), but decided after inspection that I definitely wanted a 16-17 cubic foot freezer.  And though not a deal breaker, I was really sold on the baskets that some of them had.

Like this.  PS - That black freezer in the pic before this one has 3 baskets, which means it's likely one of the HUGE 20+ cubic foot freezers I don't need.  Seriously, like 7 feet tall.

So I picked out a freezer from Lowe's for a good deal (when it comes to brand new freezers), and it included free delivery.  It's actually pretty similar to the stock picture above, just with mainly a different door shelf arrangement.

There she is!  Not exactly an exciting pic, huh?

HERE'S THE INSIDE!

But let's back up to a week ago, when I decided to check Craigslist for ONE last time before forking over the money for a brand new freezer.   A listing for a Frigidaire upright freezer - excellent condition, frost-free, less than a year old - popped up for $200.  It was pretty much exactly like the one I bought, minus the nifty baskets.  I had seen it stores when I shopped so I knew it was a current model.  SO I WANTED IT.  There was no phone number attached, so I responded via email that I wanted the freezer.  The "listing agent" and I went back and forth a few times.....when could I come see it, where were they located, yada yada.......then suddenly - RADIO SILENCE.  I kept sending emails and all I heard back were crickets.  I even sent an email saying something like, "that's cool if you've changed your mind about selling or if you decided to change the price, but could you just let me know SOMETHING before I move on?".  NOTHING.  ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.  Grrrrrrr. 

The ad was still up on Craigslist even though they weren't responding to me anymore, but after three days I finally gave up and gave in.  I bought my shiny new freezer and had it delivered, and I didn't have to lift a pinky in the process.  I'm just glad that I haven't heard back from the person about that Craigslist freezer.....I'd be super irritated if they got back to me AFTER I bought the new one.

I just don't understand why some people don't have common courtesy.  I totally get that we're strangers and that neither of us will ever know who was on the other end of that conversation, and that you don't owe it to me to respond.  BUT C'MON, PEOPLE.

Somebody's mama didn't teach them right.

Day 2 of Juice Cleansing

Day 2 of my Raw Generation juice cleanse has far surpassed yesterday in the happiness department.  First, I woke up before everyone else around 6:30 this morning.  I didn't physically get out of bed, but I was wide awake when Delano started calling for me at 6:45.  I had a slight headache when I woke up, but it faded on its own after not too long.  And when I got up, I wasn't overly tired like I usually am.  Even on nights when I get 8 hours of sleep, I typically wake up wishing I could get a couple hours more.  My morning routine involves getting Delano out of bed, taking him to pee, and then curling up on the couch to try to catch a few more ZZZs while he watches cartoons (typically with him sitting on me).  Then after about another 30 minutes to an hour Lucy wakes up, I go and get her, fix her a bottle, put her on the couch with Delano, and then I curl up in the recliner for a bit before the kids force me to be productive.

This morning I laid on the couch with Delano like I usually do, but instead of trying to sleep, I was checking email and Facebook and what not, and by 7:15 Delano was in his high chair eating a PB&J (his breakfast request).  So I was pretty much up and at'em right out of the gate.

Also......I wasn't hungry.  I figured I'd wake up STARVING.  But I wasn't hungry at all until it was time to pop open my first juice around 8:30.

Today, I blended Bottle #1 (the green one) with a banana to make a smoothie.  It still tasted green (though more like green + banana) and took me about an hour to drink.  I had a little help from Delano, as he seemed to like it, even with it being green (he won't actually eat greens as a food yet). 

At this point, I wasn't missing food and wishing I could eat everything in sight, which was way different from yesterday.

I did get really hungry right around 11:30, when it was time for lunch.  The kids and I had met some friends out for Toddler Time at the Eastgate Library, and then went by our local library to check it out and sign up for library cards.  After we were done and since we were already out and about, what I REALLY wanted to do was go grab some lunch at a restaurant.  There's a restaurant called Family Table near our house that has a soup/salad/pizza buffet (along with a full menu).  It's not the best in the world, but it's pretty decent and I could taste the pizza in my mouth.  I wanted like 14 slices. 

**I just discovered that their all-you-can-eat pasta deal is the same price as their regular buffet and it INCLUDES soup, salad and pizza.  Ummmm......Fettuccine Alfredo, please!!

But alas......instead of giving in to my lunch cravings, I came home, ate an apple and drank Bottle #2.  Bottle #2 was even better today than it was yesterday.  I still added a little extra orange juice to it, but I'm not sure it needed it.  Then after the kiddos went down for naps I drank a bottle of water and ate a plum.

I have been SIGNIFICANTLY less hungry today than I was yesterday.  It's still hard to believe that I'll be doing this for a whole other day and that tomorrow isn't my "Let's Eat!" day, but overall I am not disappointed with the way I feel today.

I didn't even break out Bottle #3 (another green one) until almost 4:00.  And I decided to just go for it - drink it "as is" without diluting it with fruit.  It's still not my fave and I avoided smelling it while drinking it, but it tasted more like lemon this afternoon than liquid shrubbery.  I wasn't really hungry when I popped it open, but figured that since it was almost 4:00 and I had only had TWO bottles so far, I should probably drink another.

Yesterday I felt like I was starving myself, but today I haven't felt that way at all.  I honestly, besides right at lunchtime up until this point, haven't been hungry.  I've been perfectly content all day.

Bottle #4 was consumed for dinner.  While the hubs enjoyed his chicken and rice casserole, I drank a bright red bottle of beet juice.  This was after, of course, I caught myself pinching off a piece of leftover cake and popping it into my mouth (oops).  I did find myself hungry at dinnertime, just as I would normally be hungry at dinnertime.  So it was kind of like a repeat of lunchtime, where I was having little fantasies about food.  Before dinner, the kids and I went to the farmer's market to pick up our CSA basket and milk share.  I was "safe" at the market (besides the cookies I bought for the kids as their market treat, I could have actually eaten just about everything else and been fine!), but on the way home I pictured myself going through a drive-thru and eating something delicious.  Which isn't abnormal, as I've been on Weight Watchers since mid-May and so drive-thrus aren't typically on the menu, unless I plan ahead through my WW tracker app (which is way different from a tracker jacket).  But the buttermilk fried chicken sandwich......which was something I saw in an advertisement today (maybe on Facebook?).....is definitely not 26-points-a-day friendly.  I also fantasized about an extra large order of McDonald's fries. 

Korean "Potato Party".  According to the news article attached to this photo, this group of kids ordered 60 large fries, which totaled approximately 30,000 calories.

Then the buttermilk chicken sandwich made me think of the Dirty Bird sandwich at Urban Stack, which made me think of the Good Day Sunshine burger at Urban Stack, which made me think of the hot pimento cheese dip at Urban Stack, which made me realize I just wanted to be at Urban Stack.

So I didn't eat any of these things, but instead drank beet juice.  YUM.  However, I will say that the juice satisfied my hunger pains.  I drank the juice and was totally fine afterwards.  Not saying I didn't WISH it had been something else......just saying that I survived the fact that it wasn't.

I didn't make it to Bottle #5 or #6.  By the time I started Bottle #4, it was 6:30.  So at that point I knew Bottle #5 (the 3rd green juice of the day) was out, because I certainly wasn't going to finish up my day with a green concoction.  But I didn't even make it to the pineapple/cucumber/aloe juice, as I didn't think I'd be able to finish it in time before bed. 

So Day #2 is done and in the books.  JUST ONE MORE DAY.  I'm counting down the hours until Friday, which I'm already planning out......healthy with a slight indulgence, of course!

Day 1 of Juice Cleansing

Day 1 of my Raw Generation juice cleanse and I am HUNGRY.  As in, every morsel of food I see I want to put in my mouth, especially carbs.  And my house doesn't lack for carbs with two toddlers running around.  I've got crackers and cereal and granola and snacks coming out of my hoo-ha.  Of course all I get to do the next 3 days is LOOK at it!

All day long all I've thought about is food.  Seriously, like I've thought about stuffing my face with ALL types of food......Mexican, Italian, American, Chinese.....you name it, I want it.  But I was prepared for this.  I was forewarned that I would be STARVING on the first day, and I was not lied to.

I was woken up this morning at 6:35 am by my darling son, who needed to pee and was ready to face the day.  I had already mapped out my day as far as my juice cleanse bottles went.....I was going to drink them at 9:00, 12:00, 2:00, 4:00, 6:00 and 8:00.  Around 8:35 I was about to eat my arm off (which is not normally the case, so I'm guessing my body already KNEW it wasn't getting any "real" food today) so I popped open Bottle #1.

Ingredients:  apple juice, spinach juice, kale juice, collard juice, lemon juice, carrot juice

I was really hoping that with apple juice listed as the first ingredient, it was going to taste like apple juice with a little bit of greenery tossed in.  Well......I'm not an expert on green juices or green smoothies or anything of the sort (this may have actually been my first green drink ever), but it definitely did NOT taste like earthy apple juice. It absolutely and definitely tasted GREEN, even though it wasn't thick.  And the thing is, I loooooove greens.  I love cooked spinach and kale and collards as much as anyone else who loves greens.  But this drink was hard going down.  And it wasn't terrible - it actually WAS sweet - but it was just tough.  It took me an hour, and I thought I was going to throw up about halfway through.  My body wanted to eat the bowl of Cheerio's that my son was enjoying instead.

Around 12:45, I popped open Bottle #2.

Ingredients:  carrot juice, fresh-squeezed orange juice, ginger juice and lemon juice

This one wasn't bad.  Not overwhelmingly carrot, which I was afraid it might be.  I did add a little extra orange juice into it (a recommendation by the company if you want to change the flavor a little), but overall not bad.  It still took me an hour to finish it, though.  And I did also eat an apple, which is totally allowed if you're trying your best to stick to the plan without cheating.  Raw fruits and veggies are A-Ok.

I was still starving, though.  I got to watch my mom enjoy her cottage cheese-avocado-cucmber-tomato salad (A FAVE), and I got to stare at my kids while they ate cheese, yogurt, Cheez-Its and peanut butter on graham crackers.

I wanted to hide in a corner with the box of Cheez-Its.

Around 2:30, I popped open Bottle #3.

Bottle #1 ALL OVER AGAIN, just with a different picture on the label as a distraction

This time around, I tried blending it with some frozen fruit (peaches, pineapples, mangos and bananas) to make a smoothie.  I don't really have an answer as to whether it was better or not.  It still took an hour to drink.  And I think I determined that more than anything, it's the smell that messes with me.  If I cover my nose, it's MUCH better.

I also ate a plum.  So at this point I've had three juice bottles, an apple and a plum.  I'm not regretting my decision to do the cleanse.  But man, I am hungry.  And EVERYTHING sounds good!

I realized at about 4:30 that I hadn't drank any water today.  I'm supposed to be drinking at least 4 glasses of water a day along with my juices.  But seriously, by the time I finish one juice, it's close to time to start the next one, and the last thing I'm thinking of is putting more liquid into my body.  And even though I'm hungry, my body is actually full on the juices.  Sounds crazy, right?  But that's exactly how I feel.  Like I'm starving but yet couldn't eat another thing.

I did manage to miraculously drink about 16 oz of water before popping open Bottle #4 at 5:00.

Ingredients:  carrot juice, apple juice, beet juice and lemon juice

This one was also not bad, in the same lines as the carrot one earlier.  It's REALLY red and looks like liquid raspberry Jello, but (I guess) tastes like carrots and beets.  I'm not really sure what liquefied beets are supposed to taste like.  Again, it's way better if I don't smell it.  I'm not sure if I can taste the apple or lemon juice in it.  Maybe the flavor's in there - I just don't know.  This one also took me about an hour to drink.  It seems that I definitely cannot chug any of these juices!

I ended up skipping Bottle #5.  It was a repeat of bottles #1 and #3 and I just couldn't do it......plus I was fairly certain that there was no way that I could make it through two more bottles before bedtime.  So I skipped #5 and am now on Bottle #6.

Ingredients:  pineapple juice, cucumber juice and aloe vera juice (also notice that it is an "excellent source of love")

This one also isn't bad.  Tastes pretty much like a cucumber.  I like cucumber so that's okay with me (though I think it would be MORE awesome if it tasted like pineapple).  It was the best of the six, though I'm sure at the end of the day it was supposed to be.

Between bottles #4 and #6 was dinnertime.  My husband cooked up a saucy chicken and rice casserole that smelled delish....that of course I couldn't eat.  I had another apple, an orange, a plum and a banana.  And oddly, I wasn't hungry at dinner.  I wanted to eat for sure, but I wasn't actually hungry.  I could have stuffed my face with half of that chicken casserole paired with a beer or two and been a really happy, stuffed camper.  But I was also okay with the fact that I didn't.  Partly because I want to succeed at this cleanse and kick off the last leg of this weight loss with a bang, and partly because juicing isn't exactly cheap and I don't want to waste my money by ignoring what I'm supposed to do.

So tomorrow is another day!  Another day of liquid fruits and veggies.  I think I'm going to blend some banana in with Bottle #1 in the morning and see if I can tame the greenery a little.

Here's to two more days of a juice cleanse!

A Little Catch-Up

It's been a while since I've posted anything, because I've been super busy.  Busy with bartending gigs, with environmental projects, with running, with birthday parties, with tagging for consignment, and with life just in general.  Any "extra" time I've had has been dedicated to something other than this blog. 

A lot of things have happened the past several weeks, with one of them being that Delano turned 3!!  He had a great birthday weekend, and our house was PACKED with people who came to the party.  The theme was Paw Patrol (per Delano's request), so we had a Paw Patrol cake (made, of course, by my SIL Shanleigh), ice cream, a hot dog bar, beer, margaritas, and buckets of Krispy Kreme donut holes (because Groupon).  It was fun times, and I still need to write out my Thank You cards.

Blowing out the candles after NOT singing "Happy Birthday" (it freaks him out).

These are still on the front doors because I just love them.

This was a fun find!

Last weekend Lucas and I spent Saturday night in Atlanta (ALONE!!) because I had the Hotlanta Half Marathon to run bright and early Sunday morning.  The race was great - I loved the course (loads of hills) and kept a slow and steady pace in order to run the entire thing without having to walk.  It stormed on us for the entire second half of the race......I'm talking black skies, thunder, lightening, and POURING DOWN RAIN with areas of flash flooding, which meant we were running through ankle-deep water in areas.  I thought it might make things miserable, but it actually made things super enjoyable.  The main thing was that it wasn't hot!

Me in the rain.  I didn't even notice any of the camera folks out there.  PS - that shirt isn't actually black.  It's WET.

I've still been picking up my weekly CSA baskets, though I haven't posted any pictures (or taken any, for that matter), and I've still been cooking new recipes and freezing the rest.  I've also still been picking up my raw cow's milk each week.  I had to up my order from a gallon a week to a gallon and a half a week, because these kiddos drink a LOT of milk.  And we still run out of the raw milk before every Wednesday!

I've also still been doing Weight Watchers, and have been talking to my coach at least once a week.  I've been stuck in a bit of a rut for the past month, mostly because I've gotten a little lax on the plan, but I intend on kicking myself back into gear and finally losing these last pesky 8 or 9 lbs.

Speaking of kicking myself back into gear, I'll be jump-starting that "kick" next Tuesday with my very first juice cleanse!

There they are!  A day's worth of cleansing right there.

I ordered a 3-day cleanse package from Raw Generation while they were offering up a 60% discount.  It was still pricey, but WAY less pricey at 60% off!  I had hoped to do it this week, but they didn't arrive until today (I ordered too late on Friday to get them shipped out for the weekend), and after reading the pamphlet, it is highly recommended that you "prep" yourself for a few days beforehand.  Since I'm bartending at Finley Stadium during the day this Saturday (aka BEER), I figured I would start my "prep" on Sunday and start the juicing on Tuesday.  It will be interesting to see if I feel great or ready to rip someone's arm off and eat it.  Or maybe both?

There are a couple of local places here in Chattanooga where you can buy juice cleanses (among other things).  The two that I know of are The Local Juice Company and Southern Sqweeze.  These are easy to obtain being local and all, plus you support the local community, but Raw Generation with the 60% off deal was cheaper and so as a first-timer, I went with the cheapest option. 

So those are just a few of the things that have been going on lately!  I could babble on and on about this and that, but I really need to wrap this up and be productive, as usual.  :)

Enjoying a birthday present.

This Post Is About Food. And Pinterest.

I have never been a Pinterest junkie.  I created an account a few years ago (because everybody was all YOU SOOOO HAVE TO GET ON PINTEREST) but I never really played around on it much.  I think the only things I had pinned for the longest time were a few shelf storage ideas way back before Delano was a mobile baby, because I was trying to come up with a unique plan for childproofing our stair railing along with creating a play area.  My most favorite idea was this one:

I thought this idea.....a bookshelf up against the railing (since Lucas wanted to keep the original railing intact).....was PERFECT.  And I thought we would turn that whole section by the stairs into a play area.  But then I realized - what if I have a climber??  Then bye-bye-baby head-first over the shelf and down the stairs.  So this idea was canned......at least for anytime in the near future.  I still like it a LOT, though.

Lucas ended up building a plexiglass wall against the railing that works perfectly and doesn't hurt the original railing at all.  And it's been perfect.  And the desired play area moved over to the opposite side of the room (no chances of falling down any stairs!).

For me, for a long time, Pinterest was just one more thing for me to become obsessed with that I didn't need.  I have Facebook for that.  And email.  And Twitter.  And my online bank account access.

But then I joined Weight Watchers, and I needed recipe ideas.  The Weight Watchers website has recipe ideas out the wazoo......but it's really overwhelming.  It's like sorting through McKay's cookbook section, which is INSANE.  So I started looking up Weight Watchers recipes on Pinterest, and it was awesome, because a lot of them show the PointsPlus value right there in the description.  So I started pinning recipes that looked yummy, and I've made several of them already.

I haven't made this yet, but it looks delish!

I also haven't made this yet, but it looks quite yummy and in need of some chips and salsa and maybe a margarita.

And then I joined a CSA.  Which meant I was receiving vegetables that I had NO idea what to do with.  Like turnips.  And radishes.  And even with vegetables that were familiar (like greens and zucchini), I needed some new ideas besides simply sauteing them.  So I started hitting up Pinterest for ideas because it is SO EASY to look up recipe ideas for specific foods.  Plus the big seller is having a picture handy for everything.  It's really like buying a book because the cover catches your eye. 

These roasted radishes looked delicious via Pinterest.  I plan to make them again with WAY less salt, because I oversalted them the first time and kind of ruined them.

This picture also drew me in, and gave me a way to use my tomatoes.  And it was a really good soup!

Tonight I've been pinning a bunch of recipes for greens, because I've got a bag of kale and a bag of spinach to work with this week.  Sure, I could simply saute them or I could freeze them, but I'd like to try something new.  So I've decided to make this:

This recipe is really simple and calls for kale, but I'm going to use both kale and spinach.

Since the recipe above won't use all of the kale and spinach I have, I plan to use the rest for salad.

I plan on roasting my zephyr squash like this delicata squash recipe, even though it's not a delicata squash:

I also have a lot of tomatoes, bell pepper and yellow squash.  So I've decided to make a spaghetti sauce that uses all three.  I found a relatively simple sauce that not only calls for tomatoes, bell pepper and yellow squash, but also calls for onions and carrots, both of which I also have from CSA baskets.  WIN!

I hope it's as good as the ingredients portray.

I'm still going to have a little bit of yellow squash and zucchini left over, which I'll probably end up freezing unless anybody claims it.  I also just remembered that I have a whole head of green cabbage in my basket, which will definitely not be seeing any action this week!  So I guess I'll be freezing that, even though I already have a whole head of purple cabbage in my freezer (which is planned for a soup later on). 

Cabbage, anyone???

I should probably learn how to freeze meals instead of just freezing individual veggies.  I can freeze soups, but I'm not sure what full meals can be prepared and frozen successfully.  Like what can go together and not turn up all mushy and weird after being defrosted.  I've seen Top Chef......I've seen the frozen meal disasters.  Or maybe I just shouldn't bother.  Do I really need more meal preparation activities in my future?  Probably not.  I'm doing the best I can with what I'm given at the moment!

At least someone knows what they're doing.

I still think I need a separate freezer.......