On a health kick...for three days

Awhile back, Jon and I saw the compelling documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." (Check it out on Netflix.) The premise is that our bodies have the ability to heal themselves if given the chance. However, we clog up the process with processed foods, meats, and other things. So, this guy went on a juice diet for 60 days. He ate only juiced fruits and vegetables, and his health improved dramatically. The juicing condenses the food, and makes digestion a lot easier. So, we were due a health kick, and decided this one sounded fun, so we decided to go for it. This was our daily fare.

 

And this is how we ate it.

 I gotta tell you the fruit juices were pretty great, and the "green" juices were pretty nasty. I realize a lot of it was mental, but I had to do some serious breath-holding, chugging, and chasing with water.

The first couple of days were miserable. Jon and I were in a fog of hunger, and supposedly dealing with all the detoxifying that was going on. We felt gross. By day three, though, I was starting to feel a little better. Jon, however, was not. Which makes sense. I mean, he's twice my size, and consuming the same amount of calories I was (which was very little, by the way). He was actually starting to feel ill, so we called it. I said at that point, though, that I would not be going through those first few days ever again. It was an interesting experiment, but...nah....

Juice fasts still intrigue me, though. From what I've read about them, the idea of flushing your system with micronutrients  seems to be somewhat of a cure-all. There have been dramatic results from people with severe allergies, cancer and other illnesses. One of my friends, in fact, staved off cancer and got rid of her allergies by juicing. The theory--giving your body a break from cruddy foods, and allowing it to do its job--makes sense to me. But the practice--drinking kale from a straw--does not.

The Knitted Sock

So I took up knitting awhile back, and I've really enjoyed it! It's very portable and usually pretty easy to stop when needed. The downside is getting a good collection of needles for all the different projects I'd like to do! When I started, I thought knitting socks would be a very economical thing to do. Cool, and economical. Well, there's nothing much economical about it. It would cost about $6 per pair, plus the hours and hours of labor. However, when you're finished, you have a great pair of wool socks that you can say you made yourself! So...not economical, but still cool in my book.

Did I mention I've only made it through my first sock?

Lazy Meme

The instructions with this are to bold the ones you’ve done, leave the others in normal type. So here goes. (I got it here.)

1. Started your own blog (clearly…)
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables (we had a garden as a child)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29 Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33 Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41 Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45 Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60 Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67 Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (well, it was probably going the speed limit)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (outside it)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a lawsuit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
Your turn!

Crafting Getaway

While it seems like most things these days are focused on my kids and family in general, I've gotten some craft projects done lately that I'm really happy about. A few weekends back I got to join my mom, Karen, some friends from my town and a few other girls on a craft retreat. Most everyone was scrapbooking, but I decided to take my sewing things, and it worked out perfectly! I have had a couple projects on my mind (one for over a year), and I finally got them done!
First, I made a birthday banner. I am super-excited about it because I can put it up every birthday, and it will become part of our family's traditions. Plus it's very cute with just the right colors. It just makes me happy.

The second project I had was a purse like the ones I made for the women in my family a couple years back. At the time I had bought some fabric I loved, but like most projects around my house, by the time I got around to making it for myself, I ran out of time or motivation. So this weekend was the weekend! Out came the beautiful fabric, and my purse turned out just like I had imagined. I love it.

 

I can't believe how much I got accomplished over the weekend. Plus my friend Adrienne and I took full advantage of the "big city" to get plenty of shopping in! It was a great time.

Happy Valentine's Day

Jon and I have known each other for 10 years (though we can't agree on exactly when we met). We were friends for a year, dated for 6 months or so, engaged for 10 months (9 years ago tomorrow), and married for 8 years! We've taught Sunday School together, led worship in nursing homes, gone on mission trips with groups and by ourselves, gone camping, enjoyed road trips, written letters, been silly, been serious, had fights, made up, grown up. We've had two beautiful boys together, learned that parenting is hard, leaned on each other, depended on God, prayed together, worshiped together.

Every big event that warrants a post like this,  I cringe to write it. When I think of how much I love Jon, and *how much* he loves me, there are no words. I can't describe to you the daily self-sacrifice that Jon does for me, and how he shows me that he loves me every day. I can't describe to you what security he gives me, how much I lean upon his steadfastness. Besides some killer eyes and that whole tall/dark/handsome combination, Jon's love for the Lord is what attracted me to him in the first place, and it has never faltered.

Jon, you are my sexy man of God, and I love you! Happy Valentine's Day.

Clyde

I love how kitties drape their tails over their feet. Isn't Clyde handsome?

In case you're wondering, this was a photo from the archives, taken when we were packing up our old house getting ready to move here.