Last year I showed up to health and fitness week in really bad shape, physically, emotionally and spiritually. I had been gorging on french fries the weeks before I came, mentally I was a wreck and I started menstruating within hours of arriving (which was heavy and painful due to eating all those cooked fats).
This year I arrived in great shape. Twenty pounds lighter than last year, fresh and excited from attending the fruit festival 2 weeks before, my body clean from eating all fresh fruits and veggies. We did our fitness evaluation this morning. I have a partially torn rotator cuff in my right shoulder from wrecking my bike in May. Despite my injury, my fitness evaluation score doubled that from last year. First thing we did was run for 12 minutes. Last year I walked the whole time. This year I did an easy slow jog and made it the whole time without even feeling winded or tired. Since I do not run on a regular basis, to me this was amazing. I didn't know I had it in me.
After health and fitness week last year I went home and made three major changes in my life. First thing I did was join recreational soccer. Doug taught me that it's much easier to get an intense workout while playing and having fun, rather than at the gym or doing a workout routine. Even though I was still eating some cooked carbs, 160lbs and not feeling so good, I absolutely loved soccer and I played up until I had my shoulder injury. I attribute much of my running and fitness progress to playing soccer.
The second thing I did was create a supportive 80/10/10 community for myself at home. I knew of two other people eating 80/10/10 in Boise. We hardly ever talked or did anything together. Health and fitness week showed me how important it is to be around supportive, loving people. So upon arriving back home I called the two other 80/10/10 women that I knew. I told them that we would be communicating with each other and supporting each other on a regular basis from now on. I didn't want to seem pushy, but I explained how much this meant to me and it worked! I have stayed very
close to those women and we talk at least two or three times a month if not more. I know I can call them up at any time and they will be there and I know they feel the same about me :)
The third thing I did was start doing the thing I hated doing the most at health and fitness week. I learned that I was only as strong as my weakest link. Physically I hated jumping rope. I became very frustrated and angry during our work out times when Stephanie made us jump rope for what seemed like forever. At the end of the session I remember throwing my jump rope on the ground and stomping off. When I got back to Boise, I bought myself a really good jump rope. To keep me warm in the winter I would jump at the bus stops while waiting. All the bus drivers started calling me the jump rope lady. I jumped and jumped and jumped and then...I started to love it. My daughter and I would have contests to see who could jump the longest. Within just a couple of months I went from being able to jump 10 times to 70. To this day I carry my jump rope everywhere with me.
That is what I learned from health and fitness week last year. So excited to see what I learn this year :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
ant traps, bad energy and kids
Since going vegan, I have converted my house into a place that is full of good positive energy. I have no toxic chemicals in my house, no pills and try not to consciously kill any living creatures. If a fly gets in, I take out the window screen and let it out. For me, that is much easier than chasing it down with a fly swatter, smashing it's body and then having to clean up the murder scene of it's mutilated body. Spiders are picked up and carried outside, same with any other little critters I find wandering around....you get the idea.
Living mostly on fruit and in a house that is not sealed tightly, sugar ants like to visit on a regular basis. If I miss one little speck of juice from fruit on the counter, 5 minutes later it is covered in ants. This has been an ongoing problem and with spring here the ants are in mass quantities. I also noticed outside the ants are climbing all over my fruit trees and my garden. I haven't been doing much about this ant problem for the past few years other than making sure to clean up after myself very thoroughly to give them less reasons to visit my kitchen counters. I didn't want to get ant traps because I felt like they would bring bad energy into my house and yard. There seems to be a balance and order to the insect life around my house and I didn't want to interfere.
I broke down about a week ago and bought some ant traps. I put them inside and outside. I had a gut feeling that I was doing the wrong thing, I even asked Lindsay at the North End Organic Nursery when I was buying the traps if this was going to bring bad karma my way. She assured me that no such thing would happen. So I purchased my ant traps and set them up as soon as I got home. Well...I know better than to ignore my gut feelings.
The ants went crazy over the traps and I watched them eagerly drink their poison and take it back to their families. The next morning there were dead ants everywhere and I cleaned them all up, thinking that the ant problem was over. When I came home from work that night I quickly realized that I had not fixed the ant problem but had made it worse. Instead of sugar ants showing up when there was a nice fruit dripping for them to munch on and forming a nice straight line to take their finding back to their colony, the ants were everywhere... all over the floor, all over the couch, all over the bathroom. None of them were going near the ant traps anymore. They were all just wandering around aimlessly and were literally on everything. This new ant problem has been going on for the past week. The traps are still out and the ant problem is worse than ever.
I live in a bad neighborhood. It is a trailer court in the poorest part of the city. I bought my trailer 5 years ago when I was still sick and overweight. I was broke and wanted to lower my cost of living in order to save up some money. I have fixed up my little trailer and it is very nice inside and out. My house has also been a safe happy place for the neighbor kids to come. They live very hard lives and love coming to my house to get banana's, play on the trampoline and help out in the garden. It is a place filled with good energy and kids are naturally drawn to it. They also ask me lots of questions about my life style, how I eat and they see how happy I am. I could easily afford to move, but I love my low cost of living and mostly, I stay here for the kids.
Yesterday the neighbor kids discovered the ant traps that I have outside. I was sitting on my steps checking my e-mail and listening to the kids play. They had found some ants and wanted to move one of the ant traps over by them. I said that would be fine. Instead of taking the trap and setting it near the newly discovered ants, one of the kids broke the trap open and was pouring it on top of the ants yelling "die ants die!". The other kids grabbed another trap and joined in on the death chant. This was too much for me, I quickly put a stop to the whole thing and threw all the traps away.
These ant traps that I had brought into my home had not only made my ant problem worse, now the kids had gone berserk and were happily joining in on mass murder. My happy peaceful house was turning into a place of chaos and death...all because of few "innocent" ant traps.
Now...with the ant traps gone I am looking forward to things getting back to normal. The day that I leave a fruit dripping and see a well organized line of ants bringing their treasure back home will be one filled with celebration and joy. The natural order of things will once again be established :)
Living mostly on fruit and in a house that is not sealed tightly, sugar ants like to visit on a regular basis. If I miss one little speck of juice from fruit on the counter, 5 minutes later it is covered in ants. This has been an ongoing problem and with spring here the ants are in mass quantities. I also noticed outside the ants are climbing all over my fruit trees and my garden. I haven't been doing much about this ant problem for the past few years other than making sure to clean up after myself very thoroughly to give them less reasons to visit my kitchen counters. I didn't want to get ant traps because I felt like they would bring bad energy into my house and yard. There seems to be a balance and order to the insect life around my house and I didn't want to interfere.
I broke down about a week ago and bought some ant traps. I put them inside and outside. I had a gut feeling that I was doing the wrong thing, I even asked Lindsay at the North End Organic Nursery when I was buying the traps if this was going to bring bad karma my way. She assured me that no such thing would happen. So I purchased my ant traps and set them up as soon as I got home. Well...I know better than to ignore my gut feelings.
The ants went crazy over the traps and I watched them eagerly drink their poison and take it back to their families. The next morning there were dead ants everywhere and I cleaned them all up, thinking that the ant problem was over. When I came home from work that night I quickly realized that I had not fixed the ant problem but had made it worse. Instead of sugar ants showing up when there was a nice fruit dripping for them to munch on and forming a nice straight line to take their finding back to their colony, the ants were everywhere... all over the floor, all over the couch, all over the bathroom. None of them were going near the ant traps anymore. They were all just wandering around aimlessly and were literally on everything. This new ant problem has been going on for the past week. The traps are still out and the ant problem is worse than ever.
I live in a bad neighborhood. It is a trailer court in the poorest part of the city. I bought my trailer 5 years ago when I was still sick and overweight. I was broke and wanted to lower my cost of living in order to save up some money. I have fixed up my little trailer and it is very nice inside and out. My house has also been a safe happy place for the neighbor kids to come. They live very hard lives and love coming to my house to get banana's, play on the trampoline and help out in the garden. It is a place filled with good energy and kids are naturally drawn to it. They also ask me lots of questions about my life style, how I eat and they see how happy I am. I could easily afford to move, but I love my low cost of living and mostly, I stay here for the kids.
Yesterday the neighbor kids discovered the ant traps that I have outside. I was sitting on my steps checking my e-mail and listening to the kids play. They had found some ants and wanted to move one of the ant traps over by them. I said that would be fine. Instead of taking the trap and setting it near the newly discovered ants, one of the kids broke the trap open and was pouring it on top of the ants yelling "die ants die!". The other kids grabbed another trap and joined in on the death chant. This was too much for me, I quickly put a stop to the whole thing and threw all the traps away.
These ant traps that I had brought into my home had not only made my ant problem worse, now the kids had gone berserk and were happily joining in on mass murder. My happy peaceful house was turning into a place of chaos and death...all because of few "innocent" ant traps.
Now...with the ant traps gone I am looking forward to things getting back to normal. The day that I leave a fruit dripping and see a well organized line of ants bringing their treasure back home will be one filled with celebration and joy. The natural order of things will once again be established :)
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Letter to my dad
My dad passed away a little over 2 weeks ago. I have been going through the grieving process. My good friend Maggie suggested I write my dad a letter. So over the past week I have been writing him letters. It has helped. I thought I would share the conversation I have been having with my dad.
Dear Dad,
I miss you so much. It's hard to believe you are really gone. I keep wanted to call you up and tell you about things going on in my life or just to chat. You were always so much fun to talk to, you would get goofy and it would crack me up. I felt so good after talking to you. For the past 2 years since you had your stroke you were never the same. I could talk to you but I was never sure if you really knew what I was saying. I kept this hope inside of me though, a hope that you would get better and be my dad again. Even though the odds weren't likely, I just couldn't give up on you. I know you truly loved me though, even after your stroke when I would walk in the room your eyes would light up when you would see me. I know you were proud of me. I am so glad you were my father.
Even though your time on this Earth was a short 65 years, I know you enjoyed your life. More often than not you had that silly grin on your face and would be talking about your next fishing trip. You had such a positive spirit and I learned an incredible amount from you. I wouldn't be the person I am today without your example. Despite you having a drinking problem you always went to work every day and you had a great attitude about work. You made sure you enjoyed everything you did in life, even if it wasn't the most pleasant circumstances.
I learned how to save money from you. I remember you were so proud of your savings account and would be excited to tell me when you were able to put more into it. In my 20's when I was struggling, trying to figure out how to survive, you helped me out the few times I needed you until I learned to be an adult on my own. The last time I saw you before you had your stroke was when you came to court to testify on my behalf when the state was trying to take Savana away. I am so grateful for that and thanks to everyone who showed up that day the state lost their case and I won. Thank you for all that you have ever done for me.
The last night I saw you alive was the night I took you to the ER at the VA. On the drive back to Mountain Home at midnight I held your had the whole time and told you over and over what a great dad you were. I wanted you to know how much I loved you. I knew it would be the last time I saw you.
I am having a hard time dealing with the whole process of grieving you. I haven't been eating right and want to stay eternally stoned. Writing you these letters has helped a lot. I'm getting back on track and feeling my inner strength and joy coming back. I know you are not suffering anymore and that makes me happy, though my heart just aches and aches.
I have been remembering all the fun times we had when I was growing up. When I was a young child you were my whole world. I thought you were the best person alive and when I grew up I wanted to be just like you. Well I did turn out like you in many ways, my love for doing crossword puzzles and reading I definitely got from you. My success I give you some of the credit for as well, even though I did the work, you were the example.
Remember when your little dog Gremlin got ran over? You loved that dog so much and you were very sad when she died. You told me after she died that for quite a while you didn't feel right and you were sick to your stomach. That is how I feel grieving you. I know it will take a while, but I will get through it. It is like compost, everything will get mixed up and decompose and in the end it will become fertile soil.
I am sad for myself really...that I can't share myself with you anymore. You were a great listener. I would just talk and talk and talk to you and you were happy to listen to me. I could be honest with you about my struggles and addictions. You always understood. You had addictions of your own and knew what they were like. I never did tell you about hearing voices in my head though, I don't know why...I guess I was afraid that was the one thing you wouldn't understand. I wish I would have given you the chance. I bet you would have been just as supportive as you always were.
I'm out of time for now. I will write to you more later. I will always carry you with me and I will pass on the knowledge I have learned from you onto your grandchildren and they will in turn do the same. Your short time on this Earth was not wasted. You brought joy and laughter to so many people. You will be remembered.
I love you!
Your daughter, Vickee
Dear Dad,
I miss you so much. It's hard to believe you are really gone. I keep wanted to call you up and tell you about things going on in my life or just to chat. You were always so much fun to talk to, you would get goofy and it would crack me up. I felt so good after talking to you. For the past 2 years since you had your stroke you were never the same. I could talk to you but I was never sure if you really knew what I was saying. I kept this hope inside of me though, a hope that you would get better and be my dad again. Even though the odds weren't likely, I just couldn't give up on you. I know you truly loved me though, even after your stroke when I would walk in the room your eyes would light up when you would see me. I know you were proud of me. I am so glad you were my father.
Even though your time on this Earth was a short 65 years, I know you enjoyed your life. More often than not you had that silly grin on your face and would be talking about your next fishing trip. You had such a positive spirit and I learned an incredible amount from you. I wouldn't be the person I am today without your example. Despite you having a drinking problem you always went to work every day and you had a great attitude about work. You made sure you enjoyed everything you did in life, even if it wasn't the most pleasant circumstances.
I learned how to save money from you. I remember you were so proud of your savings account and would be excited to tell me when you were able to put more into it. In my 20's when I was struggling, trying to figure out how to survive, you helped me out the few times I needed you until I learned to be an adult on my own. The last time I saw you before you had your stroke was when you came to court to testify on my behalf when the state was trying to take Savana away. I am so grateful for that and thanks to everyone who showed up that day the state lost their case and I won. Thank you for all that you have ever done for me.
The last night I saw you alive was the night I took you to the ER at the VA. On the drive back to Mountain Home at midnight I held your had the whole time and told you over and over what a great dad you were. I wanted you to know how much I loved you. I knew it would be the last time I saw you.
I am having a hard time dealing with the whole process of grieving you. I haven't been eating right and want to stay eternally stoned. Writing you these letters has helped a lot. I'm getting back on track and feeling my inner strength and joy coming back. I know you are not suffering anymore and that makes me happy, though my heart just aches and aches.
I have been remembering all the fun times we had when I was growing up. When I was a young child you were my whole world. I thought you were the best person alive and when I grew up I wanted to be just like you. Well I did turn out like you in many ways, my love for doing crossword puzzles and reading I definitely got from you. My success I give you some of the credit for as well, even though I did the work, you were the example.
Remember when your little dog Gremlin got ran over? You loved that dog so much and you were very sad when she died. You told me after she died that for quite a while you didn't feel right and you were sick to your stomach. That is how I feel grieving you. I know it will take a while, but I will get through it. It is like compost, everything will get mixed up and decompose and in the end it will become fertile soil.
I am sad for myself really...that I can't share myself with you anymore. You were a great listener. I would just talk and talk and talk to you and you were happy to listen to me. I could be honest with you about my struggles and addictions. You always understood. You had addictions of your own and knew what they were like. I never did tell you about hearing voices in my head though, I don't know why...I guess I was afraid that was the one thing you wouldn't understand. I wish I would have given you the chance. I bet you would have been just as supportive as you always were.
I'm out of time for now. I will write to you more later. I will always carry you with me and I will pass on the knowledge I have learned from you onto your grandchildren and they will in turn do the same. Your short time on this Earth was not wasted. You brought joy and laughter to so many people. You will be remembered.
I love you!
Your daughter, Vickee
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Last Day in Kauai
So my last day in Kauai was very blissful.
I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 7a.m. I felt really good. It looked like the day was going to be sunny and I was very happy about that.
I did some things on the computer for a while, then lied down for a while to get a little more sleep before Savana woke up. I couldn't really sleep, so I just relaxed.
Around 10 a.m. Savana got up. I did some laundry and packed. I squeezed my 64 oz. of tangelo juice and bottled it up.
Janie got out her cotton that she had picked and taught Savana and I how to spin yarn. First we learned how to spin by hand and then she showed us on her treadle spinner. It was hard to do and I couldn't do it very good. It will take a lot of practice.
Then Savana and I caught to bus to go to the beach one last time. On the ride to the beach I got a little teary thinking about leaving but not too much and it didn't last long. The beach was great! There were huge waves that would come crashing down on us and throw us all over. It was a lot of fun just going wherever the water sent me. Even though the waves were big, where we were at there was very little curren, so I felt pretty safe in the watert. We played in the waves for about an hour. I started getting a little tired so I got out, sat in the sun and drank my tangelo juice.
Darrel and Janie came and picked us up and we went to the market. Wed. market is my favorite. I didn't buy much because I was leaving. A few banana's to make a smoothie later and some broccoli which I ate right away.
After market we went back to the house. I made 2 liters of papaya/banana smoothie and drank it all up right away. I wanted to make sure I had a full stomach before getting on the plane. I also ate a few fresh jungle peanuts that Janie and Darrel had bought at the market. They were sooo yummy. After just a few I could feel my body telling me that it had enough fats. I listened to my body and stopped eating them.
I finished packing and it was time to go. Darrel had made a raw tahini dressing earlier and I put some of that on a huge bowl full of lettuce and took it with me in the truck. I ate my lettuce on the way to the airport but the dressing was too much after having ate the fats in the peanuts earlier, my body was done with fats. So I gave it to Darrel and he finished it off. We listening to music Savana wanted to listen to on the way to the airport. I was really surprised at how calm I felt about leaving. At the airport we all hugged goodbye. Janie and Darrel wanted my assurance that I would be back, which I assured them that there was no doubt about that. I didn't even want to leave. I could easily picture myself living there happily ever after :) Earlier in the day Darrel kept saying he was going to keep Savana as collateral to make sure I would come back. I felt so good to be wanted. I loved staying with Janie and Darrel. I learned so much from them. After being together 23 years they are still very much in love and it shows. The whole time I was there, they did not say one mean or angry word to each other...or to Savana and I for that matter. They communicated openly and clearly with each other and even in stressful situations they showed each other nothing but love and understanding. Simply amazing! Staying with them I felt surrounded by beautiful, joyful people all the time. People like Janie and Darrel are few and far between and I am so grateful that they are part of my life :) Those are the kind of people that I want in my life!
Savana and I made it through security, got on the plane and flew out of paradise :(
The overnight flight was tough. We flew to LA, then Salt Lake City which is where I am at now. It is 26 degrees outside. Ridiculous! At least Boise is a whole 10 degrees warmer at a balmy 36....inside I am laughing hysterically...ahhhhh!!!!!
I went to bed around midnight and woke up at 7a.m. I felt really good. It looked like the day was going to be sunny and I was very happy about that.
I did some things on the computer for a while, then lied down for a while to get a little more sleep before Savana woke up. I couldn't really sleep, so I just relaxed.
Around 10 a.m. Savana got up. I did some laundry and packed. I squeezed my 64 oz. of tangelo juice and bottled it up.
Janie got out her cotton that she had picked and taught Savana and I how to spin yarn. First we learned how to spin by hand and then she showed us on her treadle spinner. It was hard to do and I couldn't do it very good. It will take a lot of practice.
Then Savana and I caught to bus to go to the beach one last time. On the ride to the beach I got a little teary thinking about leaving but not too much and it didn't last long. The beach was great! There were huge waves that would come crashing down on us and throw us all over. It was a lot of fun just going wherever the water sent me. Even though the waves were big, where we were at there was very little curren, so I felt pretty safe in the watert. We played in the waves for about an hour. I started getting a little tired so I got out, sat in the sun and drank my tangelo juice.
Darrel and Janie came and picked us up and we went to the market. Wed. market is my favorite. I didn't buy much because I was leaving. A few banana's to make a smoothie later and some broccoli which I ate right away.
After market we went back to the house. I made 2 liters of papaya/banana smoothie and drank it all up right away. I wanted to make sure I had a full stomach before getting on the plane. I also ate a few fresh jungle peanuts that Janie and Darrel had bought at the market. They were sooo yummy. After just a few I could feel my body telling me that it had enough fats. I listened to my body and stopped eating them.
I finished packing and it was time to go. Darrel had made a raw tahini dressing earlier and I put some of that on a huge bowl full of lettuce and took it with me in the truck. I ate my lettuce on the way to the airport but the dressing was too much after having ate the fats in the peanuts earlier, my body was done with fats. So I gave it to Darrel and he finished it off. We listening to music Savana wanted to listen to on the way to the airport. I was really surprised at how calm I felt about leaving. At the airport we all hugged goodbye. Janie and Darrel wanted my assurance that I would be back, which I assured them that there was no doubt about that. I didn't even want to leave. I could easily picture myself living there happily ever after :) Earlier in the day Darrel kept saying he was going to keep Savana as collateral to make sure I would come back. I felt so good to be wanted. I loved staying with Janie and Darrel. I learned so much from them. After being together 23 years they are still very much in love and it shows. The whole time I was there, they did not say one mean or angry word to each other...or to Savana and I for that matter. They communicated openly and clearly with each other and even in stressful situations they showed each other nothing but love and understanding. Simply amazing! Staying with them I felt surrounded by beautiful, joyful people all the time. People like Janie and Darrel are few and far between and I am so grateful that they are part of my life :) Those are the kind of people that I want in my life!
Savana and I made it through security, got on the plane and flew out of paradise :(
The overnight flight was tough. We flew to LA, then Salt Lake City which is where I am at now. It is 26 degrees outside. Ridiculous! At least Boise is a whole 10 degrees warmer at a balmy 36....inside I am laughing hysterically...ahhhhh!!!!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
1 day left in Kauai
Last night I went to bed at 9. I woke up at 7a.m. feeling really great and refreshed.
I did some things on the computer. Squeezed my 64 oz. of tangelo juice and bottled it up. Janie, Darrel, their son Ariel, Savana and I all headed off to get the rest of the shipment for the screen house. We had to go to the farm first to get the big truck that they rented, since we had left it there last night.
We got the truck and drove both trucks to the shipment yard. Janie, Savana and I in the one truck. Darrel and Ariel in the big truck. At the shipment yard they were telling Darrel that he picked up everything yesterday and there wasn't anything else to get. He was not very happy since they had told him yesterday that there were 2 more pallets and that is why he kept the big truck another day. We were there quite a while figuring things out. I spent the time carrying Savana around in different ways to build up my arm strength. It is pretty tough carrying 85 lbs. around for long periods of time.
Finally Darrel and Ariel left to take the big truck back and us girls waited around for the rest of the receipts. We then went and picked up the guys. Ariel had some errands he needed to run with Darrel close to the mall. Savana and I walked around the mall, while Janie stayed in the truck and took a nap. I drank my tangelo juice and bought Savana a smoothie at Jamba juice. It was a beautiful day. Partly cloudy, mid 70's and a tropical breeze. We sat in the sun at the mall for a while waiting for Darrel and Ariel to get done. It was so cool being in a mall but still being outside. After a few minutes the guys showed up and were hungry. They decided to go to a mexican restaurant. I did some thinking about how I wanted to address this situation. I have been all raw for 10 days, I wasn't sure how I would do in a restaurant. I was really hungry and yesterday I had gone through a lot of cooked food cravings. I decided that I was up for the challenge and that I would just simply stay strong. At the restaurant I ordered a green salad which came with lettuce, tomato's, olives and cheese. I asked for no olives and cheese, so it was really just lettuce and tomato's. I told myself that I was going to be happy with that and I was. My salad came and I asked if they made their salsa fresh. She said they did, so I ordered a little to use as dressing. I ate my salad, wasn't even tempted to eat any of the chips or nachos that everyone else was eating. I was happy, my body felt great and there was no way I was going to ruin that great feeling by eating something that would take me down. I wanted to continue to feel light, beautiful and clean....and I did :) When we were almost done eating Ariel's girlfriend met us there and he decided to stay and go off with her for a while. Just as we were getting ready to leave Janie showed up and we all went back to the truck to go to the farm again.
At the farm Janie and I did inventory of all the parts for the screen house. It went really well. Things were labeled good, we found everything quickly and best of all...everything was there! We were very excited and jumped around hugging each other. I ate a bunch of fresh greens. Darrel fed the guinea pigs and then we headed back to the house, picking up Ariel on the way.
Back at the house I made a liter of papaya/banana smoothie, then took an hour nap. I woke up at a little after 6. I had scheduled to talk to a friend at 6 on gchat so I quickly got on the computer and thankfully they were still there waiting for me. I also skyped another friend and talked to them for a while. Around 7:30 I got off the computer and made another liter of papaya/banana smoothie. Janie, Savana, Darrel and I sat down and watched "IT Crowd" while Janie taught me how to knit. I thought I did pretty good for my first time. I also made my tomato soup somewhere in the middle of all this. Everyone watched tv while I knitted for a couple of hours and then headed off to bed.
It was another fantastic day on the island. I could only do 6 push ups tonight because my arms were tired from carrying Savana around earlier.
I weighed 152 lbs. this morning. The weight is slowly and steadily coming off.
Tomorrow we will leave the island. Our plane leave at 9:45p.m. I am trying not to think about leaving. I am excited to see friends and my kitties when I get back.
Savana and I will probably spend some time at the beach tomorrow for the last time if the weather is nice.
I did some things on the computer. Squeezed my 64 oz. of tangelo juice and bottled it up. Janie, Darrel, their son Ariel, Savana and I all headed off to get the rest of the shipment for the screen house. We had to go to the farm first to get the big truck that they rented, since we had left it there last night.
We got the truck and drove both trucks to the shipment yard. Janie, Savana and I in the one truck. Darrel and Ariel in the big truck. At the shipment yard they were telling Darrel that he picked up everything yesterday and there wasn't anything else to get. He was not very happy since they had told him yesterday that there were 2 more pallets and that is why he kept the big truck another day. We were there quite a while figuring things out. I spent the time carrying Savana around in different ways to build up my arm strength. It is pretty tough carrying 85 lbs. around for long periods of time.
Finally Darrel and Ariel left to take the big truck back and us girls waited around for the rest of the receipts. We then went and picked up the guys. Ariel had some errands he needed to run with Darrel close to the mall. Savana and I walked around the mall, while Janie stayed in the truck and took a nap. I drank my tangelo juice and bought Savana a smoothie at Jamba juice. It was a beautiful day. Partly cloudy, mid 70's and a tropical breeze. We sat in the sun at the mall for a while waiting for Darrel and Ariel to get done. It was so cool being in a mall but still being outside. After a few minutes the guys showed up and were hungry. They decided to go to a mexican restaurant. I did some thinking about how I wanted to address this situation. I have been all raw for 10 days, I wasn't sure how I would do in a restaurant. I was really hungry and yesterday I had gone through a lot of cooked food cravings. I decided that I was up for the challenge and that I would just simply stay strong. At the restaurant I ordered a green salad which came with lettuce, tomato's, olives and cheese. I asked for no olives and cheese, so it was really just lettuce and tomato's. I told myself that I was going to be happy with that and I was. My salad came and I asked if they made their salsa fresh. She said they did, so I ordered a little to use as dressing. I ate my salad, wasn't even tempted to eat any of the chips or nachos that everyone else was eating. I was happy, my body felt great and there was no way I was going to ruin that great feeling by eating something that would take me down. I wanted to continue to feel light, beautiful and clean....and I did :) When we were almost done eating Ariel's girlfriend met us there and he decided to stay and go off with her for a while. Just as we were getting ready to leave Janie showed up and we all went back to the truck to go to the farm again.
At the farm Janie and I did inventory of all the parts for the screen house. It went really well. Things were labeled good, we found everything quickly and best of all...everything was there! We were very excited and jumped around hugging each other. I ate a bunch of fresh greens. Darrel fed the guinea pigs and then we headed back to the house, picking up Ariel on the way.
Back at the house I made a liter of papaya/banana smoothie, then took an hour nap. I woke up at a little after 6. I had scheduled to talk to a friend at 6 on gchat so I quickly got on the computer and thankfully they were still there waiting for me. I also skyped another friend and talked to them for a while. Around 7:30 I got off the computer and made another liter of papaya/banana smoothie. Janie, Savana, Darrel and I sat down and watched "IT Crowd" while Janie taught me how to knit. I thought I did pretty good for my first time. I also made my tomato soup somewhere in the middle of all this. Everyone watched tv while I knitted for a couple of hours and then headed off to bed.
It was another fantastic day on the island. I could only do 6 push ups tonight because my arms were tired from carrying Savana around earlier.
I weighed 152 lbs. this morning. The weight is slowly and steadily coming off.
Tomorrow we will leave the island. Our plane leave at 9:45p.m. I am trying not to think about leaving. I am excited to see friends and my kitties when I get back.
Savana and I will probably spend some time at the beach tomorrow for the last time if the weather is nice.
Monday, February 7, 2011
2 day's left in Kauai
Last night I went to bed at 10 p.m. I had trouble falling asleep for some reason which was strange since I was exhausted.
I woke up at 5 a.m. Squeezed 64 oz. of tangelo juice, bottled it up and grabbed my bag of longan's that I didn't eat yesterday. We left at 6 a.m. to get April to the airport. We dropped her off at 7 a.m. We had planned on picking up a big truck to haul Janie and Darrel's shipment with all their screen house parts back to the farm right after we dropped April off. We found out though that the truck would not be ready until 10 a.m. So we went to the farm for a while. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. So I stayed in the truck and took a short nap, until it was time to go. I drank all my tangelo juice when I woke up on the drive to get the big truck.
We picked up the big truck and drove to the shipment yard, got part of the shipment and drove back to the farm. We unloaded all the parts, which were very big and heavy. It took a while and a lot of creativity, but it was fun and we got it all done. We drove back to the shipment yard and picked up some more of the screen house. Went back out to the farm. I ate my bag of longan's and drank a bunch of water. We unloaded that shipment, which was a lot easier than the first one. By that time it was 5p.m. and we were all hungry and tired. We stopped at a few place and headed back home. I ate 2 apple banana's on the drive. Back at the house I made a liter of papaya/banana smoothie.
I will probably make a tomato soup of some sort in a while. Probably the same thing I made last night as a salad dressing without the dehydrated tomato's since I forgot to dry some today.
I am really really tired tonight and I hope to get to bed by 9. In an hour.
I feel really good though from all the physical labor today. It is so great working with Janie and Darrel, their communication skills are incredibly good. No one gets mad or frustrated, we all work together and have a great time. I wish I could stick around to help put up the screen house, I think that would be an absolute blast. We have to pick up one more shipment tomorrow but there is no way we will have time to start on it before I leave :(
I am up to 8 push ups.
I didn't weight myself this morning so I can't report on that.
I woke up at 5 a.m. Squeezed 64 oz. of tangelo juice, bottled it up and grabbed my bag of longan's that I didn't eat yesterday. We left at 6 a.m. to get April to the airport. We dropped her off at 7 a.m. We had planned on picking up a big truck to haul Janie and Darrel's shipment with all their screen house parts back to the farm right after we dropped April off. We found out though that the truck would not be ready until 10 a.m. So we went to the farm for a while. I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open. So I stayed in the truck and took a short nap, until it was time to go. I drank all my tangelo juice when I woke up on the drive to get the big truck.
We picked up the big truck and drove to the shipment yard, got part of the shipment and drove back to the farm. We unloaded all the parts, which were very big and heavy. It took a while and a lot of creativity, but it was fun and we got it all done. We drove back to the shipment yard and picked up some more of the screen house. Went back out to the farm. I ate my bag of longan's and drank a bunch of water. We unloaded that shipment, which was a lot easier than the first one. By that time it was 5p.m. and we were all hungry and tired. We stopped at a few place and headed back home. I ate 2 apple banana's on the drive. Back at the house I made a liter of papaya/banana smoothie.
I will probably make a tomato soup of some sort in a while. Probably the same thing I made last night as a salad dressing without the dehydrated tomato's since I forgot to dry some today.
I am really really tired tonight and I hope to get to bed by 9. In an hour.
I feel really good though from all the physical labor today. It is so great working with Janie and Darrel, their communication skills are incredibly good. No one gets mad or frustrated, we all work together and have a great time. I wish I could stick around to help put up the screen house, I think that would be an absolute blast. We have to pick up one more shipment tomorrow but there is no way we will have time to start on it before I leave :(
I am up to 8 push ups.
I didn't weight myself this morning so I can't report on that.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
3 more days in Kauai
Ahh..only 3 days left. Time to work on deep breathing, don't panic...stay calm.
Last night I went to bed at around midnight. I woke up at 4 a.m. and felt really hungry. I drank some water which helped but I was awake by then. I got up to check my e-mail and had a message from a friend wanting my story about overcoming schizophrenia for his web site. I started writing out my story and before I knew it the sun had come up and it was 9 a.m. The house was starting to wake up so I went out and asked Janie what time we were leaving for the farm. They were thinking they would leave around 11. I did a few more things and went back to bed to catch some sleep before leaving. I slept for about an hour. Got up squeezed 64 oz. of tangelo juice, filled up my water bottle, grabbed a big bag of longan's and we were out the door.
On the way to the farm I drank 32 oz. of my juice. When we got there I started in on my favorite things. I searched around the passion fruit vines to find the fruits that had fallen...I call it hunting for easter eggs. There were a lot of passion fruit to be found which was fun. Then I headed to the papaya patch and harvest quite a bit of papaya's. The bin that I put them in was so heavy I couldn't lift it, I actually could barely even drag it. I almost went and got Darrel to help me bring it in, but decided that I was tough and could do it myself. I would drag a couple of feet, rest, drag a couple more feet, rest until I got it all the way back to where the truck was. I was very happy with myself. I then separated them into smaller bins so they would keep longer and not bruise each other with their weight.
After that Janie, April, Savana and I went over to the cotton plants. They were completely hidden in the guinea grass. We started hacking away at the grass. I loved this work. I got into my zone and went to town. Savana lasted about a half hour and then went off to explore. It was slightly raining on us which felt great and the air was pleasantly warm. My kitty motor was purring away inside of me as I worked. It took about an hour and a half to get all the grass cut down. We took a break and on the walk back to the truck we discovered little heads of lettuce coming up in the old garden area. We all just started munching away, I love eating food directly from the ground. It makes me feel like a wild animal. Those greens tasted like heaven to me and I ate and ate and ate until I felt completely satisfied. Then I went and drank the rest of my tangelo juice. I love being on the farm surrounded by nature and natures food. It gives me a sense of security and makes me very happy.
I usually call my boys that are with their dad in Salt Lake City every Saturday. So I called them up and as always we had a lot of fun talking and joking around on the phone. I then called my friend Doug and between my boys and him I must have talked for quite a while because when I got off the phone everyone else was back working, weeding out the basil patch. Just as I was about to head over they started coming back and said that they were done and it was time to go. I was feeling a little tired from not getting enough sleep so was glad to be heading back.
Back at the house I was planning on taking a nap but did some work on the computer instead. By the time I was done with that I figured that I might as well wait until bed time and try to get to bed early. While doing my computer stuff I had a liter of papaya/banana smoothie.
I got off the computer and was trying to figure out what to have for dinner. I finally decided that I wanted a salad with some yummy dressing. I made up my dressing in the blender with tomato's, dehydrated tomato's, basil, green onion, zucchini and half a teaspoon of tahini. It tasted really good but when I went to get my lettuce out of the fridge I discovered that it had gone bad. So I walked three blocks to the store and bought some more as well as some broccoli. I made up my salad when I got back and poured on my dressing. It was really good with the broccoli but the lettuce tasted too bitter. I tried forcing myself to eat some of the lettuce and kind of disguised it by making sure I had broccoli with each bite. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and just picked out the lettuce and at some more with just the broccoli. I got really full and couldn't eat it all. I had been sitting on the floor talking with Janie and April while I ate. April had been watching Janie and I eat the past couple of days and was getting very interested in what we were doing. She asked if she could taste the rest of what I couldn't eat. I was of course more than willing to share. She tasted it and ended up eating almost all of the rest.
I came it to do my blog and will hopefully be in bed by 10. We have a big day tomorrow and have to get up at 5a.m. to take April to the airport and pick up Janie and Darrel's screen house for the farm.
I weighed 153 lbs. again today.
I am doing 7 push ups!
Last night I went to bed at around midnight. I woke up at 4 a.m. and felt really hungry. I drank some water which helped but I was awake by then. I got up to check my e-mail and had a message from a friend wanting my story about overcoming schizophrenia for his web site. I started writing out my story and before I knew it the sun had come up and it was 9 a.m. The house was starting to wake up so I went out and asked Janie what time we were leaving for the farm. They were thinking they would leave around 11. I did a few more things and went back to bed to catch some sleep before leaving. I slept for about an hour. Got up squeezed 64 oz. of tangelo juice, filled up my water bottle, grabbed a big bag of longan's and we were out the door.
On the way to the farm I drank 32 oz. of my juice. When we got there I started in on my favorite things. I searched around the passion fruit vines to find the fruits that had fallen...I call it hunting for easter eggs. There were a lot of passion fruit to be found which was fun. Then I headed to the papaya patch and harvest quite a bit of papaya's. The bin that I put them in was so heavy I couldn't lift it, I actually could barely even drag it. I almost went and got Darrel to help me bring it in, but decided that I was tough and could do it myself. I would drag a couple of feet, rest, drag a couple more feet, rest until I got it all the way back to where the truck was. I was very happy with myself. I then separated them into smaller bins so they would keep longer and not bruise each other with their weight.
After that Janie, April, Savana and I went over to the cotton plants. They were completely hidden in the guinea grass. We started hacking away at the grass. I loved this work. I got into my zone and went to town. Savana lasted about a half hour and then went off to explore. It was slightly raining on us which felt great and the air was pleasantly warm. My kitty motor was purring away inside of me as I worked. It took about an hour and a half to get all the grass cut down. We took a break and on the walk back to the truck we discovered little heads of lettuce coming up in the old garden area. We all just started munching away, I love eating food directly from the ground. It makes me feel like a wild animal. Those greens tasted like heaven to me and I ate and ate and ate until I felt completely satisfied. Then I went and drank the rest of my tangelo juice. I love being on the farm surrounded by nature and natures food. It gives me a sense of security and makes me very happy.
I usually call my boys that are with their dad in Salt Lake City every Saturday. So I called them up and as always we had a lot of fun talking and joking around on the phone. I then called my friend Doug and between my boys and him I must have talked for quite a while because when I got off the phone everyone else was back working, weeding out the basil patch. Just as I was about to head over they started coming back and said that they were done and it was time to go. I was feeling a little tired from not getting enough sleep so was glad to be heading back.
Back at the house I was planning on taking a nap but did some work on the computer instead. By the time I was done with that I figured that I might as well wait until bed time and try to get to bed early. While doing my computer stuff I had a liter of papaya/banana smoothie.
I got off the computer and was trying to figure out what to have for dinner. I finally decided that I wanted a salad with some yummy dressing. I made up my dressing in the blender with tomato's, dehydrated tomato's, basil, green onion, zucchini and half a teaspoon of tahini. It tasted really good but when I went to get my lettuce out of the fridge I discovered that it had gone bad. So I walked three blocks to the store and bought some more as well as some broccoli. I made up my salad when I got back and poured on my dressing. It was really good with the broccoli but the lettuce tasted too bitter. I tried forcing myself to eat some of the lettuce and kind of disguised it by making sure I had broccoli with each bite. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and just picked out the lettuce and at some more with just the broccoli. I got really full and couldn't eat it all. I had been sitting on the floor talking with Janie and April while I ate. April had been watching Janie and I eat the past couple of days and was getting very interested in what we were doing. She asked if she could taste the rest of what I couldn't eat. I was of course more than willing to share. She tasted it and ended up eating almost all of the rest.
I came it to do my blog and will hopefully be in bed by 10. We have a big day tomorrow and have to get up at 5a.m. to take April to the airport and pick up Janie and Darrel's screen house for the farm.
I weighed 153 lbs. again today.
I am doing 7 push ups!
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