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Archive for the 'cleansing' Category
Ending the Cleanse
I've always been told that the way that you do a cleanse is the way you do everything in your life.
In the past, I have followed cleanses to the letter. And I did pretty much the same this time – that is until I ran out of the herbal supplement that I was taking for detox a day early! I was sort of horrified for about a minute and I immediately found myself falling down the rabbit hole of "Oh my god! I don't have enough a stuff to finish the cleanse! This is awful, etc, etc." Luckily I snapped out of it and forgave myself for 1) being bad at math – that is, not knowing how many servings I'd need for a 14 day cleanse – and 2) not keeping track of the house supply of Clearvite.
Does this mean that I ruined by cleanse? No. It means that I started the Body Ecology ritual (as opposed to regime or regiment, because, yes, Virginia, words matter) a day earlier. No big deal.
So a few posts earlier, I set my pre-goals for this cleanse.
I jokingly said that I would like to lose 10-15 pounds, but that my real goals were to slow down my eating, to eat smaller portions, and to learn to love my body (note the new tagline). I didn't lose the 10-15 pounds, but I feel lighter and my clothes fit better. In fact, according the scale, I lost nothing and may have even gone up.
Am I disappointed? Actually, not at all, which is both surprising and surprisingly true.
So what did I accomplish in the last 24 days? Well, I think the biggest thing that happened is I bought a weighted hula hoop and I am having the best time…EVER. I never had any idea my belly was so much fun (not to mention talented)! Thank goodness it's summer, because I've actually started running around in jog bras and crop tops so that I can hula at will and there's something delightful about feeling the hoop grip your skin. It's sexy. It's fun. And my inner child, who never really has gotten the hang of crunches (who can blame her, really?) or yoga loves it.
I also started letting stuff go. Emotional stuff. Physical stuff. I shed clothes and shoes and anything that "didn't serve me" or was ugly. Even things I had spent money on – especially things that I had spent money on and never used. Because even though I didn't realize it at the time, when I would look at them, I would feel guilty or start to beat myself for wasting money – and goodness knows that guilt never serves. In the immortal words of Willie Nelson, "Regret is just a memory, painted on my brow, 'cause there's nothing I can do about it now." There is something you can do: learn the lesson. Bury (or give away) the evidence. Then move on.
I also stepped into my feminine. Well, it's probably more appropriate to say that I continued the process of stepping into my feminine because it's been going on for a while and it's a process. I started small: I started listening to female artists again. I realized that since I have been living with Michael, I have adopted a lot of his music: The Grateful Dead, Daniel Lanois, U2, Talking Heads, etc (though I must admit that I drew the line at Zappa)! While he was away, I went through the music collection and picked out a female artist for every letter in the alphabet and worked my way through. Now, I'm not talking Britney Spears or Lady Gaga – my typical workout partners – I'm talking divas, like Annie Lennox, Barbara Streisand, Dinah Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, Jewel, Melissa Etheridge, Nora Jones, Patsy Kline, Sade…. You get the picture. A range of women sharing their experiences of the world.
I have also started doing yoga and meditating. I discovered essential oils. Essential oils help me with meditation because they smell so damn good that it's pretty irresistible to just sit quietly with them and breathe deeply. I've been putting my fork down between every bite and remembering to breathe when I eat; especially to take three deep breaths before food ever passes my lips and to stop and take three more if I catch myself rushing.
I also rediscovered the sensual pleasure of dry skin brushing and wearing short skirts with flip flops on a summer's day. And I'm sorry to say that I've only now fully discovered the importance of presence – not only in my relationships with food, but in my relationships with others, be it family, friends, or strangers. Being in the moment also helps with hula hooping, so it provides a great field in which to practice.
Last night I had dinner with Michael and a a couple of his friends (now my friends as well, as it was the first time we'd met). I drank my water while Michael and Jackie had wine. I ordered the swordfish without the sticky rice or mango sauce, while Jackie ordered the striped sea bass and the sweet potatoes (yum!). I had peppermint tea for dessert while Jackie and Paul split a creme brulee and Michael had an ice cream sundae with extra chocolate sauce. And on the way home, I realized that hadn't felt at all deprived. I didn't feel like I was cheated out of having a good time because I didn't have the wine (I did smell the wine and, I'm not going to lie, it did smell fabulous). But, in retrospect, the peppermint tea (which, unfortunately, was not brand identified by the tag) was the best I ever had and I woke feeling awesome…much better than I felt the last two or three times I've had wine.
So today I started the next three month phase of trying to reclaim my immune system. What have I learned so far?
Own every part of myself.
Have more fun.
Laugh more often.
Be present (or as has been said better than I ever could: Be Here Now).
And love yourself – regardless.
Lots to say: cleansing, reframing, and hooping
I have a lot to say and am not totally sure how to say it.
First things first, the cleanse continues. I'm actually in the most stringent part. Green smoothie for breakfast, one for lunch, and another for dinner. Then I have a big salad post dinner with red leaf lettuce, shredded zucchini, beet and carrot slaw, olive oil, lemon, green beans, and cultured veggies. Last night I threw in a cup of roasted delicata squash. Sounds pretty good, doesn't it? It's delicious. And more importantly, it's gorgeous – the plate a veritable explosion of colors, especially give that the cultured veggies is a beautiful bright pink thanks to the red cabbage that turns into flamingo pink after sitting for a week in brine at room temperature.
A few days ago, I had hit an interesting place with the cleanse. I was forgetting my supplements, I was forgetting my cultured veggies (to be eaten at every meal). At the time, I attributed it to ambivalence, but now I'm thinking that it was more like simple forgetfulness. It was almost like I forgot I was on a cleanse.
I haven't been hungry. I've a ton of energy. But more importantly, I've had my mind on other things.
Michael was away for several days and I had plenty of time to dig old information products off of my hard drive for recycling. A couple of them talked about making space in your life – by literally throwing shit away. One woman recommended throwing five things away every day. You know, like a game. I decided to give it a shot.
The next morning, I got up, totally psyched. I pulled out every thing that didn't fit (that was either too big or too small). I also tried everything on and got rid of anything that "didn't serve me." Notice I didn't say that was worn out or frayed, but things that didn't serve me. The idea of only keeping things that serve you is an interesting one. I ended up getting rid of things that I had worn once, or not at all. Most often things that I had bought on sale in response to an unintended weight gain (as if there is any other type). After pulling two trash bags worth of clothes out of my closet, my next stop was the chests of drawers, which were, I am embarrassed to say, teeming with things that 1) I didn't remember, 2) I hadn't been able to find in years, and 3) didn't serve me. And in that moment, I learned the importance of location based living (I hope Michael's not reading this, or he might try to hold me to this), because if I can't find it, it's not serving me.
I found shirts, skirts, jewelry, slips, socks, hair clips, pony tail ties, jackets, jeans…. It was crazy. Another extra large trash bag got packed for Listen.
I also got rid of shoes, empty shoe boxes, belts, pajama tops, and coats.
And then I organized. For the first time in months, if not years, I can actually see what I have when I look in the closet, in the drawers. It's glorious.
Then onto stuff: framed posters that have lived in the closet for two years, hangers, shoe racks, concert tickets, show strings, drafts of papers, cook books, a day timer from 2009, the list goes on.
And you know what's scary? I don't think Michael even noticed. But every day I get rid of five more things. Sometimes they're small, sometimes they're large.
And you know what's amazing? I can feel the space in the house. As I shed the pounds of inorganic matter of the house, I am less concerned about the organic matter associated with my body…even though I know without a doubt that it's all related.
And it's not just the physical junk, but also the emotional and mental crap that I've been carrying around for years.
I stepped on a scale this morning: 152 pounds.
And instead of thinking automatically, "I can't believe that I gained 20 pounds since last August," I honestly thought, "Wow, I only weigh ten more pounds than I did when I was 16. How frickin' cool is that?"
Something has shifted and I am so thrilled. It's fun and easy and for the first time ever, I am in love with my body. I'm also enjoying it in a way I never have before….
Because when I'm not cleansing, or cleaning, or reframing the cleansing or the cleaning, I am hooping!
At the ripe old age of 41, I bought myself a huge multi-colored hula and we (my body and I) are having a blast! I have plenty to say about the hula (especially how it ties into my femininity), but suffice it to say that I'm having too much fun looking for the next five things and swinging my hips to whatever music strikes my fancy to worry too much about arbitrary numbers. In other words, I'm more interested in how many times I can get the hoop around my hips, how many songs I can last through (whether it's Led Zeppelin, Sade, Linkin Park, or Melissa Etheridge) than I am the numbers on the scale.
Happy Hooping!
Phase One: Down; Let the Mind Tricks Begin
I'm eleven days in, 25 if you count the two week sugar detox I went on before this all started (and you discount out the two glasses of wine I had the night before I officially started).
It was interesting in a number of ways.
One, today is the first day I overate. In retrospect, I'm not even sure if I was hungry, if I was really worried about crashing my metabolism and producing cortisol, or if I just finally gave into the insidiousness of my unconscious mind.
Whatever it was, instead of drinking copious amounts of tea after dinner, which has become my habit (and going to bed slightly hungry), I decided that I should eat more calories today and had a green smoothie. Now, granted, it was a green smoothie and I did leave out the hemp seeds, and it was only 250 calories and most of it was high quality protein (raw hemp powder) and leafy greens. But, the truth is, I didn't need it. The truth is, I would have been better off with the tea, because as soon as I finished it, I realized that not only was a no longer hungry, but I was stuffed.
I suppose that I could have only had half of the smoothie, but trust me on this: I don't yet have that degree of self-possession. Notice, I say yet.
Then, feeling bloated and stuffed, I decide not to exercise.
Whoa. Can we say slippery slope?
So I took a deep breath, fully associated into the uncomfortable feeling of being overfull (I even turned it up using my favorite food related submodalities) so that I would not be tempted lest I decide to try it again tomorrow. Then, instead of going to bed like I wanted to do, I went and did yoga. 50 minutes.
It was hard. It didn't feel good. It wasn't fun.
But I did feel better…after it was done.
Let's be completely honest: I don't really think I was all that hungry.
And I am in no danger of starving.
I did not need the shake.
I think at some unconscious level I was making some misguided attempt to "reward" myself either for ten great days of cleansing or finally getting a handle on a work project that had been giving me the slip. Regardless, it was an old strategy – one that I am glad to say, no longer brings the pleasure it once did.
And, though I never thought that I would every say this (at least not in print), I am glad I did the yoga.
Sometimes old habits are hard to break, but nothing's impossible. And maybe one day, I'll remember to reach for the yoga mat before automatically reaching for the BlendTec.
Cleansing: Heading into Day Five
I woke up this morning and tried on the shorts that were about three inches from closing about three weeks ago. They closed! They were tight, but they closed. With a long shirt I could actually wear them. However, instead of putting on something uncomfortable just because I could, I shimmied them off (peeled is more like it) and slid (and it really was a slide) into a pair of jeans that fit better than they have in months.
Today is day five. I know I said yesterday was day five on Facebook, but I had gotten ahead of myself.
It's not that I don't like the cleanse and am wishing it over. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I'm rarely hungry and I feel great.
In fact, as cleanses go, this one is pretty mild; however, there are a lot of moving parts. Here's been my typical day:
Large glass of water with lemon
Green Powder drink (8 oz)
More supplements
And even more supplements
Cultured Vegetables
My typical green smoothie, sans the cayenne pepper
Supplements (2 hours later)
Cucumber with sea salt
Salad with zucchini, organic hormone free chicken breast, beets, lemon juice, olive oil, and cultured vegetables
Second Snack:
More Supplements (2 hours later)
More green powder, this time mixed with supplements
More supplements
More chicken (or fish), green beans (or broccoli), beet and carrot slaw, and – you guessed it – more cultured vegetables
And more herbal tea and water than you can shake a stick at. In other words, I'm not going hungry.
The most troubling, or should I say challenging part of the cleanse, has been the emotional cleansing. My dreams are vivid and emotionally rich. And they're not happy dreams. They're sad. They're confused. They're suffering. They're full of guilt, loss, and remorse.
Last night I spent hours (or so it seemed) trying to explain to a friend why we had lost touch. Have I ever bothered to do this in real life? No.
The night before dream-Michael informed me that I was "too much" and that he needed to take a break. Luckily real life Michael assures me daily (if not more) that this is not the case.
The night before…well, let's just say it's not fit for public consumption.
I've cleansed before, yet this is the first time that I have experienced the emotional side of it. I'd heard stories and read warnings, but for the most part I was too tired, irritable, or hungry to notice my feelings.
Or maybe it's because this is my third or fourth cleanse and since the only things I really had to give up were tomatoes, beans, onions, and the occasional trip to the candy jar (which, technically had stopped a few weeks ago already), I'm finally able to start getting to the stuff underneath – the stuff that undoubtedly led to the reason that I decided to do this cleanse in the first place.
When I say that this is day five, what I mean is that this is day five of the first ten day phase. The second ten day phase adds in certain grains (like quinoa, millet, buckwheat, rice, etc), but takes out all animal products (at least for five of the ten days). The second phase is also less supplement heavy, but I'll still be drinking protein shakes before meals, sometimes one a day, sometimes three. The third phase, which is a three month minimum, begins on July 4th. There the animal products come back, but the rice gets taken out, as does the fruit. It's funny, I haven't eaten fruit in close to a year, but I have certainly enjoyed my daily apples!
In other words, I'm in it for the long haul. And subsequently I expect there will be some heavy lifting, not only in terms of my autoimmune system's ability to care for my body and my weight, but also in terms of my habits and, probably even more importantly, my emotions.
In the meantime, speaking of habits, I have containers of vegetables culturing in the guest room (it's the only place that gets even close to 72 degrees these days) as well as bottles of coconut water keifer. You know, between that and all the supplements and shake powders, somedays I feel more like a chemist (or a biologist) than a sociologist!
But it's all good…even the dreams.
My New Favorite Breakfast Drink: Ginger Lime Blast
Over the last three years, I have given up pretty much every thing I liked – if not loved – to drink! Coffee, diet coke, wine, margaritas…. You name it, it I gave it up.
I was pretty much down to water and herbal tea. I had a minor flirtation with Kombucha – and I will again, when they put it back on the shelf!
Well, I have stumbled on a new concoction and I have been enjoying it daily! Not only is it absolutely delicious (indeed, even my father likes it!) it's also super healthy. It's detoxifying, alkalizing, and it even speeds up your metabolism! Seriously, what more could you want?
Juice of two lemons
Juice of one lime
3 slices of ginger root (each one about the thickness of a quarter)
1 slice fresh jalapeno (seeds removed)
2 stalks of celery
Liquid Stevia (15-20 drops)
2 cups water
2 cups ice
4 to 6 strawberries (optional)
Put it all in the blender and hit the button!
This makes about 32 ounces and it's wonderful! It's actually great if you exercise in the morning, because there's just enough energy there to get you through a pretty tough 30 minute work out!
Regardless, enjoy on an empty stomach; preferably before breakfast!
This is so refreshing! I love, love, love it! And everyone I've shared it with agrees!
Post Easter Brunch Sugar Coma
Let me preface this by saying that I had the most delightful brunch today. I had a wonderful time catching up with friends and family in an environment which was definitely more people focused than food focused, which is such a wondrous change from most holiday gatherings I've attended.
Having said that, I also had an important insight that will serve me well as I start adding sugar back into my diet.
Here it goes: have you ever been in a situation where everyone around you – except you – is drunk?
That's sort of what it felt like today, post-Easter brunch as I watched everyone around me slip into a sugar induced coma.
So, what is a sugar coma?
A sugar coma occurs because you eat too many calories – and too much sugar – in one setting. When this happens, an alarm literally goes off in your body, causing you to secrete insulin. Insulin is a hormone that pulls sugar out of your blood stream and stores it as fat. Insulin, unfortunately, is a rather efficient hormone. One could actually say that it's too efficient, because insulin doesn't just get rid of the excess sugar in your blood; it gets rid of all of the sugar in your blood. Then, when you don't have enough sugar, you get tired, irritable, grumpy, and, let's not forget hungry, which more often than not sets off another whole cycle of overeating.
Today, after brunch, I watched – like clockwork – as six reasonably healthy adults all pretty much dropped into a sugar coma within an hour (maybe two) of having finished eating. Without exception, every single adult (the kids, interestingly were unaffected; but then again, they're still at the age where you have to convince them to eat!) started yawning and a couple of them even nodded off in their chairs.
Me, I felt completely energized. Moreover, I was relieved that I had foregone the regularly scheduled meal, despite the fact that it looked and smelled absolutely delicious! And based on the comments and expressions of rapturous delight around me, probably tasted just as good as it looked.
So, what constitutes a "normal" holiday brunch? I think this is a reasonable question, because I realize that my definition of normal is so far outside of the norm these days that it's probably irrelevant.
This particular one consisted of mimosas, french toast, maple syrup, brioche eggs, spiralized ham, steamed asparagus, and green peas, followed up by a round of tea/coffee and an assortment of cookies and jam. (Actually, this brunch was pretty tame compared to those I remember from childhood, where there undoubtedly would have been some sort of "Easter Cake," not to mention the infamous "Easter Baskets.")
Me, I stuck to my aforementioned menu of Sunburst Salad, Black Sesame Bread, and Black Pepper Cheeze.
And though no one joined me in my offerings, as I didn't choose to join them in theirs, I felt completely comfortable sitting down to break bread and catch up.
I think that the post-brunch-sugar-coma was so noticeable to me this time because I have spent the last month balancing my blood sugar and was therefore completely unperturbed by any rise or fall of blood sugar and, consequently, insulin following my meal. Also, there was nothing in the meal that would have caused my blood sugar to spike in the first place.
In addition to simply having had a wonderful visit with family and friends, today provided a really good reminder for me – as someone who is about to re-enter the world of sugar – to take it slowly (if at all).
As I noted previously, today is the last day of the 21 Day Sugar Detox, so as of tomorrow I can start adding sugar back into my diet. Judiciously.
Lesson from today: when I start adding certain foods back into my diet, I need to think not only about how good it's going to taste going in, but also how it's going to make me feel 2 hours, 2 days, and even – believe it or not – 2 years from now.
Does that mean that I won't get any enjoyment out of my food for the rest of my life? No. But it does mean that I will continue to strive to eat the kind of food (that is, food that I actually do enjoy) that will allow me enjoy my life to its fullest.
The Verdict's In
I stepped on the scale yesterday wrapping up a ten day limeade cleanse and the first five days of the subsequent 10 Day Biotics Cleanse.
I sort of knew something had changed when I tried on a size four dress in the juniors department at Kohl's the other day and it actually fit!
Regardless, you could have knocked me over with a feather when I actually got on the scale. And got off of it. And then got right back on it.
I swear, if that scale had been in my bathroom instead of in the faculty locker room at the gym, I probably would have fallen asleep there standing upright!
For the first time in my adult life, I don't need to lose any weight! In fact, in a completely unanticipated turn of events, I am actually substantially below my stated goal weight!
Go figure. I guess all of those old boyfriends who used to tell me that I was full of crap were actually onto something!
Anyway, goals or no, I'm curious as to what the next 15 days will bring!
Fifteen days – that is – that include 5 more days of prescribed deep liver cleansing, followed by 11 additional days of sugar detox!
Then let the maintenance begin….
Just in case you were beginning to wonder, the fun never seems to end here at Camp Living Lively!
Breaking Fast (and heading into the 21-day Sugar Detox)
Well, the limeade fast is officially over. I got up this morning, did some yoga, had some herbal tea, waited for Michael J to get up, then made the Biotics NutriClear and Rice Protein Shake. I blended in a couple of extra ice cubes to make sure it was chilled, then served it in goblets.
It was okay. But more to the point, it wasn't limeade! Laugh!
I personally think it's nothing a little cinnamon and vanilla bean wouldn't fix (though MJ wants his cacao)! We decided to try it straight the first time and see how long we could last before we start the modifications. Though it's breaking protocol, we figure anything that doesn't contain sugar is fair game!
I realized how weak I've gotten doing yoga this morning. It was tough and it used to be something I could breeze through. I think I may add a couple of different exercise routines in during the day, keeping them short and sweet until I get my strength back.
I tell you sitting down to break-fast will never have the same meaning again!
Day Ten of Ten
We made it! The limeade fast is done – or will be in a few minutes, after we go to bed.
Today, I started cooking again. I made a balancing broth from Penni Shelton's book, Raw Food Cleanse: Restore Health and Lose Weight by Eating Delicious , All-Natural Foods – Instead of Starving Yourself and some flax crackers from Raw Dawg Rory's excellent e-book Getting Raw with Raw Dawg Rory. I also made some tabouli (albeit with red quinoa instead of bulgur) for Michael J, in case he's up to adding that back in for dinner.
It's funny the things that almost undo you.
In my case, it was the soggy sweet potato that I strained out of the broth and the strip of seeds that I'd removed from the cucumber.
I think the smell of food – not to mention the weight of it in my hands after 10 days – made me weak. But I prevailed. I sipped on and stayed strong.
But everything (and everyone has their limits), so instead of sitting here and smelling the scents of the crackers which are dehydrating in the basement, I am off for my last cup of Senna tea and then to bed.
Though I typically hate Day Light Savings Time, I am grateful that my last day of the cleanse was for all intents and purposes one hour shorter than the first nine.
Good night.
Stay tuned for more cleansing adventures as Michael J and I turn our attention to the 21 Day Sugar Detox!
Nine down, one more to go!
Yes, I'm still alive after 8 days of limeade cleansing!
The most incongruous part of this whole process has, ironically, not been the complete absence of food, but my workout shoes that have laid untouched next to the Nordic Track. I can't even remember the last time I've gone 8 – 9 days without exercise.
Now granted, I have done some light yoga (barefoot) and walked from my car to the office (in my regular shoes), but there's been no sustained activity.
I figure there will be plenty time for that next week, however, as I attempt to restart my metabolism, which has surely slowed during this process.
The next eleven days will be interesting, because, believe it or not, we're not done!
Tomorrow – while I'm still on the green juice – will involve food prep. Again, it was a shock to open the dishwasher for the first time in a week and see, lo and behold, dishes! Not to mention the forgotten feel of a fork in my hand. I remember laughing with Penni Shelton, the founder of Raw Food Rehab said, when starting her juice feast, "Sometimes it's a good idea to just step away from the fork for a while." I think she might be on to something.
Then, from Monday March 15 to Wednesday March 24, we're on a ten day deep liver cleanse, which introduces some food, but not a lot.
Breakfast – 2 scoops of NutriClear and 1 scoop of rice protein powder and a package of detox supplements.
Lunch – a clean meal (meaning nothing with anything that even remotely looks like sugar) and another pack of supplements.
Snack – 2 scoops of Nutriclear and 1 scoop of rice protein powder.
Dinner – a clean meal (again, no sugar) and yet another pack of supplements.
Personally, I think this is going to be more challenging than the limeade fast, because at least with the limeade you could get a sugar hit every 10 minutes – whether you needed it or not.
However, I am thrilled to be back in the kitchen tomorrow. First up: Ani Phyo's Black Sesame Sunflower Bread!
Then, between March 25 – April 3, even though we will be on regular meals (that is, no more Nutriclear and Rice Protein Powder shakes for breakfast and snack) we'll still be sugar free.
Let me tell you, the term spring cleaning has taken on a whole new meaning at Camp Living Lively!
Six down, four to go
I really can't believe how quickly time flies when you're not eating!
Maybe it's because I'm getting more sleep, which is a good thing.
Maybe it's because I'm not spending all of my time planning, preparing, consuming, and cleaning up after my next meal!
Whatever it is, it's interesting. Time has become as fluid as my meal supplements. And it's not because I'm light headed either! 😉
Today, I actually broke down and bought a German engineered tongue brush/scraper, because the fuzzy tongue thing had just gotten the better of me.
I also bought a dry skin brush.
Dry skin brushing is probably old hat to most people, but it was new to me. And boy was it exhilarating – especially after a long massage where the masseuse actually "cupped" my feet and slathered my abdomen in caster oil in an attempt to get the lymph to move more freely through my body!
Off to get at least eight hours of sleep.
Stay tuned for day seven!
P.S. I'm actually more concerned about adding the food back in, as Michael J and I are heading into 21 days of no sugar – no fruit, no chocolate, no nothing. But I guess there will be food, for which I I am pretty darned sure that by that point I will be grateful!
Four Down, Six to Go
The fast is going by quickly – I guess that's why they call it a fast!
No real symptoms to speak of.
Though things are obviously still being cleansed (stuff that I don't even care to know how long has been in my body given that I haven't eaten in four days!) I've decided to take a break from the optional portion of the fast – that is, the internal salt water bath.
The first couple of days it was fine, but today it was the gift that kept on giving. Given that I have classes tomorrow, it's probably not a good idea to be dashing to the loo every five minutes!
And speaking of classes, before I started this regimen, I had promised mine that I would make them some raw fudge/cookies on the last day of classes. The bad news meant that in order to keep my promise, I was actually cooking tonight. The good news is that I am so sugared out from the local grade B maple syrup in the limeade that the dough wasn't even remotely appealing. All of the cookies made it into the freezer unmolested and all of the remaining nuts and dough remnants went right down the sink.
Anyway, time for a cuppa (sans the biscuits) and off to bed!
Two down, eight to go
Second day of the limeade fast.
More energy? Check.
Fuzzy tongue? Check.
Headache? Nope.
Hungry? Surprisingly, not at all.
If someone had told me three years ago – heck, three weeks ago – what I would be able to go two days without food and not really even miss it, I would have laughed in their face.
Stay tuned.
One down, nine to go
Michael and I just finished the first day of a limeade fast.
There's a lot to say about this (including how horrifyingly fuzzy my tongue is at the moment); but now is not the time.
Stay tuned.


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I like cooking so much. That's why I decided to create my Sweetbook, where you can find my favorite dessert recipes. Here I share my impressions, life memories connected with cooking these meals. Leave your comments and responses and be sure I will pay attention to each opinion. Please be loyal and not send spam message, because this blog is a little step to my dream…
When I was a child my mom showed me her cooking skills. She was a really good cook. All the time I wanted to be like her. I noted every recipe and tried to repeat it. Cooking became my hobby and big part in my life. I always treated some sweets my friends and relatives. Since childhood I have had a dream to become chef. But I felt in love with my future husband. Two years later I became a mom. That's why I had to forget about my dream and devote all my free time to bring up my baby. Time was passing and I became a mom of three kids soon. Since then a new period in my life has started.
Today I'm a happy mom and I cook delicious dishes for my family. I always look for interesting recipes and try to make surprise of something new for my kids and husband.
Recently I have decided to create food blog of dessert I have cooked. Here you can see the recipes of diffrent cakes, cookies, drinks, no bake desserts, pies and cupcakes. An original source is after each post. I hope you will like it and find it useful for you. I'm looking forward to your comments and support.
Your Daisy

subset: commoncrawl


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Italy vs Sweden: Match Preview, Predictions & Betting Tips – 13/11/2017
Italy vs Sweden: World Cup 2018 Qualifiers Betting Tips And Offers
The second legs of the European Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup are rapidly approaching. Thankfully for us, we've been almost spot on regarding all our predictions around first leg games, with one big exception: Sweden – Italy.
The Swedes managed to produce a surprise nobody really expected, this doesn't change our plans a whole lot for the second leg. In some terms, we're actually glad the Italians will start with a 0-1 goal difference.
Although they fell just short of expectations in the away game, we have to look into the game a bit closer to truly understand what happened. Italy had 64% possession, more shots on goal, and led 4-2 in terms of big chances.
The goal they conceded came from a deflected shot, and their defense managed to keep the opposing attackers at bay fairly easily. We believe that only bad luck and maybe some lack of inspiration made them not score in the game, which surely won't happen for the second time in a row.
We almost can't imagine a World Cup 2018 without Italy, and surely the home fans can't either. For the second leg, they have everything on their part: home ground advantage, the better group, better individual players, more experience. Everything but the score, that is.
Sweden's mission in the second leg is a lot simpler: try to score a goal. It's hard to think that they'll be able to defend for 90 minutes and not concede at all, so their objective will be to score exactly one goal – no more, no less.
This would oblige the Italians to score at least three times in order to progress, which suddenly turns the game into a much harder one for them.
By playing simple, direct football, the Swedes might be able to pull the complete upset and qualify for the World Cup. Nobody gave them big chances ahead of the double, but a lot of the naysayers might be biting their tongue now.
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Betting Offers & Tips
From a betting perspective, there are quite a few ideas worth exploring. First off, we expect at least 2-3 goals to be scored in the game – especially if Sweden scores first. Next off, a home victory is a fairly easy bet, with Italy being big favorites.
Even a 2-1 scoreline could make your bet a winner, although the home team won't progress further. Betting that they'll actually progress at the end of the 90 (or 120) minutes brings bigger odds, but also a bigger risk – one that we would most likely encourage you to take.
Last but not least, we expect 2 more things: possession to swing wildly towards the home side (>60%) and at least 4 yellow cards in the game. Both teams will do everything in their power to win, which is bound to produce a few bookable offenses.
Betting Tips & Latest Odds
BTTS: Yes @ 2.50 or 6/4
Italy & Over 2.5 Goals @ 2.87 or 15/8


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The Senate's five-week recess presents the perfect opportunity to drive home the message that legislators should support Sen. Mark Udall's (D-Colo.) amendment to the Small Business Lending Fund Act, CUNA President/CEO Bill Cheney said Wednesday.
The amendment would raise the cap on credit union member business lending (MBL) from 12.25% of assets to 27.5%.
MBL Talking Points
CUNA advises credit unions to raise these talking points when asking senators to support the Udall amendment to the Small Business Lending Fund Act:
"We have an opportunity now, thanks to Sen. Udall and others during this crucial period, to move this issue forward and get a victory for credit unions," Cheney said. "This recess is a great opportunity to reach senators at home in their town hall meetings and campaign events, and talk to them about supporting credit unions."
When the recess ends, Cheney added, the Senate will complete its consideration of the Small Business Lending Fund Act—which would give banks $30 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to loan to small businesses.
"It's absolutely critical that we take action now to move this legislation forward," he said. "We need to build support in the districts these senators serve. We need to make the case for helping small businesses and supporting credit unions."
Cheney urged credit unions to build support for the Udall amendment from both Republicans and Democrats. "We need to contact all 100 senators. If they're a co-sponsor to the [business lending bill], we need to thank them. And we need to ask those who aren't co-sponsors to indicate their support."
He also called on credit unions to spread the MBL message to the media by sending letters to the editor, meeting with editorial boards, and pitching stories to local reporters.
"When you lay out the facts," Cheney noted, "you often get the reaction we did on Fox News a couple weeks ago: Why would anyone oppose this? If you're going to approve $30 billion for banks, why would you oppose credit unions lending $10 billion and creating 108,000 jobs?"
Cheney called Sen. Udall "a true champion" in his effort to help small businesses by expanding the MBL cap. "Let's get this thing done."
• Check out Cheney's blog entry on the Huffington Post regarding MBLs


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The Issues You Need to Fight at DMV:
1. Did the peace officer have reasonable cause to stop you?
2. Where you lawfully arrested?
3. Were you driving a motor vehicle when you had 0.08% or more by weight of alcohol in your blood?
This is not a fair hearing, the Hearing Officer represents the Police Officer, the DMV Office, and is also the Judge. If you have me handle your hearing from requesting it to conclusion of the hearing, I may be able to help you keep your full driving privilege for 60 to 90 days despite your notice saying it ends in 30 days, and I may be able to save it for you completely. All too often, people contact me when they are getting ready to go to court because they dont understand these are two separate cases coming out of the same arrest, one is civil and that is the DMV, and the other is criminal where you go to court. I ask them if they have already contacted the DMV Driver Safety division for their hearing, and they say no I was going to do that at court. They did not read the Pink Order of Suspension and Temporary License that says you have 10 days to request a hearing. So, they have defaulted and will lose their license from the DMV suspension. In many of these cases, I would have been able win their DMV case, and they would never have lost their driving privilege. Now, if they get caught driving on a suspended license, their car will be impounded, usually for 30 days and that cost about $1,000 to get your car back, and you now have a new criminal charge in addition to your DUI charge.
When the client calls the DMV for the hearing, they often call the wrong place, or if they do call the correct office, they are asked questions that are used against them; that is why you should have the lawyer contact the DMV for your hearing. You probably dont know about discovery, what it is, what you need, and how to get it from the DMV, so you are already at a disadvantage. Also, if you call for the appointment, they may lose your request and you have no proof that you made a request. Good lawyers fax the request to the DMV so there is a confirmation, and within the request is a demand for the needed discovery of evidence from the DMV that the lawyer will use to prepare your defense, and that allows the attorney to subpoena additional evidence to help the client. If your DUI was in the San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose Bay Area, call my office in a timely manner (within 10 days of your arrest), give me your information, and I will request your hearing for you to make sure you are doing it right, and that is whether you hire me or someone else. I dont want you to lose, so call me at 510-346-6666 or Toll Free at 1 (800) 690- 4DUI, and you will be glad you did.
Here are just 5 of many reasons why you should hire Donald Gray Drewry as your DUI Attorney:
1. 15 Years of successfully specializing in DUI defense for his clients
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3. Is trained in the Toxicology of Alcohol
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5. Is a qualified Instructor of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests by the Federal Government NHTSA, the tests that police officers use, generally incorrectly, in the field with the people that they arrest


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Bhattacharyya, PK and Nataraj, CV and Mandal, C and Srinivasan, Y (1979) Design and application of affinity systems in biomedical problems. In: Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 56 (1). pp. 7-18.Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)
Official URL: http://www.indianchemicalsociety.org/
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Radiant Body Thermography, located in northwest Portland, suggests five reasons to love breast thermography.
- Detects Inflammatory Breast Cancer, a fast-growing, lethal cancer possessing a heat signature not seen with mammography.
- No compression! Thermography scans are performed with a "no contact" camera that detects detailed heat patterns. Mammography uses 44 pounds of pressure; it takes only 22 pounds of pressure to burst the capsule of a tumor.
- No radiation! Thermography is safe, capturing the heat the body emits with a lens; nothing is "beamed" into the body. Radiant Body Thermography learned in 2005, in the seventh Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation report by the National Academies of Science that even low levels of non-ionizing radiation (used in mammograms) are "known human carcinogens" with "no known safe levels."
- Extra information. Imbalances such as rapid cell growth, thyroid dysfunction and estrogen dominance have unique "signatures" that can be detectable in a breast scan.
- An ally in avoiding unnecessary biopsies and over-treatment. Thermography offers a safe, non-invasive procedure that is a valuable adjunct in determining whether a lesion is benign (statistically "cool") or malignant (statistically "hot"). By ignoring or excluding information about a lesion's "thermal signature", aggressive treatment is more easily justified and employed by a profit-driven medical system.
"Love your lumps and know their thermal signatures before justifying aggressive, invasive testing and treatment," suggests Candace Parmer, certified clinical thermographer in Portland's Pearl District. She adds, "Most lumps I scan have cool signatures."
Radiant Body Thermography, 1314 NW Irving St., Portland. For more information, call 503-775-1812 or visit RadiantBodyThermography.com


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|You are in: UK Politics
Thursday, 24 February, 2000, 09:35 GMT
UK destiny in Europe - Blair
Prime Minister Tony Blair has told an international audience that Britain should play a full part in the European Union because that is what is best for the country.
Delivering a strongly pro-European message during a speech in the Belgian city of Ghent, Mr Blair said the UK's reluctance to play a key role in Europe was one of its greatest miscalculations since World War II.
"Of course Britain could survive outside the European Union but it would be a poorer and a weaker Britain and that's why I am determined that we should play our full part in Europe," Mr Blair said.
He pointed out that nearly 60% of British trade is with Europe and that three million jobs depended on the UK's membership of the European Union.
Speaking during a visit to the European Commission in Brussels, he told an audience of European business leaders that Britain's relations with the rest of Europe had too often been "ambivalent" or "indifferent".
The speech was intended as a counter to former Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher's 1988 Bruges speech.
In that 1988 speech, Baroness Thatcher as the then prime minister spoke of the spectre of a "European super-state" which would come to dominate the continent unless Brussels was stopped.
'Greatest misjudgement'
Mr Blair said his disagreement with Mrs Thatcher's speech, which has informed Euro-sceptic debate for more than a decade, was not that its criticisms were all unjustified.
"My disagreement is that the response to those criticisms was for Britain to withdraw into its shell, to opt out," he said.
"We should be leading the way in Europe, shaping the direction of Europe, participating in debates and working in partnership with the others for a more prosperous economy for our people," he said.
'Halt the drift'
He supported his argument for closer engagement with the EU by saying that where that has happened so far under his leadership, the UK has seen results.
The speech is part of a week where the government is determined to put out positive messages on Europe.
It has included the launch of a campaign by pressure group Britain in Europe to bolster support for stronger links with the EU.
Tory shadow chancellor Michael Portillo told the BBC that Mr Blair's warnings that the Conservatives would lead Britain out of Europe were evidence that, "the prime minister is giving up on trying to convince people that the best thing for Britain is to give up its own currency."
He said the euro was an "unprecedented experiment and we have no reason to believe it will be successful".
He also criticised Mr Blair for "spending a lot of taxpayers money on scrapping the pound".
Links to other UK Politics stories are at the foot of the page.
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Kalina Grabb (center) was one short of her career high with three goals Thursday night (photo Harvard Athletic Communications).
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Harvard women's water polo team outscored No. 10 San Jose State, 6-5, in the second half, but 13 goals allowed in the first 16 minutes doomed the Crimson. Sophomore Kalina Grabb came off the bench to score three goals for Harvard, which ultimately lost, 18-8.
SJSU (9-7) stormed out to a 6-1 lead after one period in part due to three goals from Victoria Smith. Harvard's (13-7) Yoshi Anderson scored with 27 seconds left in the frame, but it wasn't until the Spartans had already captured a commanding 6-0 advantage.
Smith scored two more in the second period and Anna Natalizio added two goals herself, as San Jose State cruised to a 13-2 halftime lead. SJSU goaltender Maddie Reardon made five saves in the second period to bring her game total to eight and stall any chance of offense for the Crimson.
Offense came easier for the Crimson in the third and fourth stanzas, scoring three times in each, but the 11-goal difference was too much to make up for. Grabb found the back of the cage twice in the third and three different Crimson, Charlotte Hendrix, Jelena Cyr and Charlotte Hendrix, accounted for the tallies in the final eight minutes.
Ariel Dukes made six saves for Harvard, including three in the third period to help Harvard outscore SJSU in the frame, 3-2.
Harvard is now 3-3 on its annual spring-break trip to California and culminates the eight-game, seven-day excursion with matchups against No. 2 Stanford tomorrow and No. 5 California Saturday.
Grabb 3
S. Price
Molnar 2
S. Price 2
Grabb 3
Molnar 3
Andersen 2
A. Price
Dukes 6


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Thomas J. Leek's term as Chairman of the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce culminated with the Chamber's 92nd Annual Dinner, featuring national political commentators, CNN's Paul Begala and Fox News's Tucker Carlson. In his closing remarks, Leek urged people to appreciate their community. "Some people can walk past a flower and only see the dirt," Leek said. "I'm not Pollyanna. We don't have to look past those things in our community that need improvement. But, if we spent half as much time building up our community as we do tearing it down, this would already be a better place."
On behalf of Cobb Cole, PA posted in News & Press on Thursday, February 2, 2012.