Oh, what a night...

We had such a wonderful time last night! The past two weeks have been very difficult for our family. Grand Master B has been dealing with some significant health issues, leaving me unable to work and with very little time or energy for socializing or blogging (gasp!). However, things seem to have stabilized and we are waiting for a final long-term treatment plan to be put into place. I am back to work and even got out of the house for an evening amongst adults last night. Thanks to everyone who has supported us during this time.

I particularly want to thank my Aunt Mary who sat with B last night so that Jim, Deana, my mom and I could go see Wicked at The Orpheum. What a fantastic show! We had bought the tickets weeks ago and we were taking my mom as a combination Mother's Day and birthday present. I had been fearful that we might not be able to go given B's issues but God was loving our family last night. We had such a wonderful night - great dinner, great show and great company. If you get the chance to see Wicked while it is in town, do not hesitate. It is superb! Deana and I even got matching "Defy Gravity" tees which we will go out of our way to not wear on the same day (but I make no promises cuz it's such a cute tee). The shirts are v-neck and the wording goes down each side of the vee across the chest, potentially creating quite a 'double entendre' depending upon the size of one's chest. I'm not sure that my own endowments will astound but it puts a smile on my face just to think about wearing it. And after the past two weeks, that is blessing enough.

What A Week

Sometimes there are just not any words...

Life Goes On

When we last visited with our faithful heroines, they had recently survived scathing attacks by the dreaded salt wash of the Master Cleanse...

But we have since returned to our "regularly scheduled programming" in terms of food and life has settled down into a semblance of normalcy. We are working together to make healthy food choices (which included a rockin' fun grocery trip to WalMart on Sunday), stay on track with a WW program and incorporate more exercise into our lifestyle. The weekend went really well. I went for a walk around the neighborhood on Saturday and Deana took the kids downtown to explore the Old Market. Then on Sunday after spending way too much time and money at WalMart, we had the Walocha's over for dinner. I roasted a pork loin and summer vegetables mixed with an Asian- spiced honey mustard marinade and Deana made some super yummy brown rice (the secret is to cook the rice in chicken or beef stock for added flavor). Then we hung out and watched Across The Universe. It was low-key but very fun. Grand Master B even graced us with his presence and danced with his mother around the living room.

Deana says - "Rockin fun trip to Walmart?" Apparently Jenn has the ability to block out my children behaving like maniacs. I think they must pump some sort of air additive into those stores that make children ask for everything they see, run like hyenas and generally just behave badly. I don't think I've said 'no' so much since high school.....

Oh, What Beautiful Morning...

I feel so blessed as to actually be able to consume food today. I am surprised at myself but one of the things I missed the most during the MC experiment was coffee. I usually start my work day with a large cup of coffee (or a skinny vanilla latte from the Starbuck's in the VA lobby if I'm treating myself) and I found that I was really craving a cup of coffee all week. I didn't feel like I needed the caffeine but lordy, I did miss the taste of coffee...so you can bet your ass that the first thing I did upon awakening this morning was make myself a large cuppa. I might even go have a croissant later!

Saying Goodbye To The Master Cleanse

My Day Six was about as enjoyable as Deana's but for the exact opposite reason. We have both learned that we have exaggerated responses to the "Shit Ass" Salt Wash - Deana holds onto the salt and I can't stop letting the salt go. After conferencing yesterday afternoon, we decided to end the MC experiment. We started this process as a motivator for weight loss and (of course) self-improvement. And when the process starts making you sick, causes you to contemplate suicide or results in massive body bloat, it is time to stop. In review, we both did actually lose weight and we both really liked some aspects of juicing (radiance juice). I will probably incorporate this juice as an option for breakfast in my weight loss action plan.

Next stop:

CONFESSION FRIDAY!

I almost forgot about Confession Friday! I confess that I was so upset this morning (See Day Six entry) that to make myself feel better and to amuse myself, I matched my shoes not to my outfit (yet they do) or even my purse---- I matched them to my underwear. And now I giggle like a four year-old every time I go to the bathroom, which has been a lot today. Again see Day Six entry.......

Day Six

Ok, I'm not going to lie, I thought about quitting this morning when I discovered that a) the alleged 'salt cleanse' not only does not cleanse me and makes me feel bloated and all around crappy, but it also causes me to retain so much of the water that I've been drinking that not only did I not lose any weight, I somehow managed to gain three pounds overnight and b) since I was so bloated I could not get my wedding ring on. After my initial freak out I calmed down and decided since I willingly signed up for this train ride to hell, by God I was going to finish it! I've since peed about every hour or so and have been able to put my ring back on. Whether I'll be able to get it off again remains to be seen. On my last trip to the bathroom, I discovered that I am "this close" to being able to get the jeans off that I am currently wearing without unbuttoning them, (a skill which came in handy in high school, but I digress.......) which is encouraging because they are a size smaller then what I was comfortable in last week. In any event, I will no longer be 'salt cleansing', but may use something you can find at Walgreen's and screw Dr. "Only organic holier than thou Butt-hole" that invented the MC. My body likes the toxins and "it wants what it wants". So there.