Cooper's Sailor Room

While Cooper has been in Coudersport this month, I have been decorating his room with a sailor theme.  Since we moved, his room has been one big disaster!  So it needed some love and attention.  We came up with the sailor theme since Coop loves everything to do with the ocean and I wanted to do something a little more mature than a pirate room.  Originally I was going to build him a loft bed but my ambition ran out before I even got started.  So a sail over his bed will have to do!

It took me all month and a lot of hours to get all of the pieces in place for this big reveal.  I'll break it down for you too!

Dresser BEFORE 

The sailboat picture on the wall was a bi-product of a large frame I bought five years ago to use for a giant picture of Cooper and I.  When we moved in July, the glass broke on the frame and while taking out the broken glass I found this sailboat picture.  PERFECT inspiration for the Sailor Room!

The idea for the dresser came from Pinterest!  I have a slight obsession with Pinterest these days.   I think it turned out great!

I found this old globe at a junk shop in my hometown.  It was a lamp but I took it off the base with the idea of hanging it from the hook in the ceiling in Coop's room.  Then I decided I wanted the anchor that I found at Royal Port Antiques to hang there so the globe was moved to the shelf.   I found the buoy's at the Christmas Tree Shoppe for $1.99 each.  They came with Christmas decorations on the front but I easily peeled those off!   The oar is also from there for the bargain price of $3.00!  I tried to write Coop in rope on the front but unless you know that's what I was going for it just looks like swirls!

The sail above Coop's bed was also handmade!  I found a canopy on clearance at IKEA and it was the best deal for $12.99!

I laid it out and cut it to size and then used some GIGANTIC Sharpies to decorate it and add some detail.

The 16 stands for Coop's birthday - January 6th!

It may not be a loft bed like we had originally planned but I think it's pretty cool!  I hope Coop does too.







I wanted to add some personal details into the room for my main little man.  I ordered giant "C" above his bed and painted the red and white stripes on it to make it nautical.    The lantern came from Royal Port Antiques and the frames were all from Christmas Tree Shoppe (for less than $2 each!!)

Before Coop left for Pennsylvania for the month I found a nice desk at a yard sale.  It was a bit trashed from the teenage girl who had it before us but nothing a little elbow grease couldn't fix.  I also painted his ugly green lamp with silver hammered spray paint because it was hideous!

We've all seen the oversized black and white prints going wild on Pinterest right?  The one with the two little girls close up picture?  Well, in case you haven't here is my version!  

 This was overly simple do put together but a little less glamorous than I had originally thought.  Next time maybe I'll have to do a portrait or something more exciting.

So that my friends is Cooper's new Sailor themed bedroom.  He comes home in five days and I cannot wait to see him!!   It's been a long, quiet month!   I enjoyed my time "alone" but found myself busting my butt every weekend working on this room!  So it's a good thing it came out so awesome!

Side note: See the jar on his desk with cash in it?  I am currently reading "Cleaning House" by Kay Wills Wyma.  This is Cooper's allowance for the first month's experiment to rid our house of youth entitlement.  He will undoubtedly be less excited about that little project than he will be about his new sailor room!   But I can't wait and recommend this book to every parent out there.  Let's change this generation - one kid at a time!

BPC Day #2

Weigh in this morning: 133.2 lbs
Net loss: -2.3 lbs

I didn't have any hunger pains or anything last night.  In fact, I slept pretty well (except for a little visitor in my room around 2am!)

Today went very well.  I wasn't even hungry this morning so it was about 8:30 before I started on my first juice.  I actually found myself pounding them to get through them in time for the next.  I do admit, around 3pm I was starving again.  I did have one mini bite of chocolate zucchini cake.  I had to taste it before it was gone - I work with scavengers when it comes to sweets!  haha

I finished my last green juice around 6:30.  By finished I mean I drank half of it while I continued to unpack, hang pictures, clean and put away everything in our new house.

So here I am at 9pm just getting around to drinking my Cashew Nut Milk and writing this post.  I feel GREAT today!  I have been in the best mood all day and very energetic tonight.  Last time I did the cleanse I became a total B-witch by the second night.  I'm happy to report that did not happen this time!

I can't wait to see what my weight is tomorrow and how I feel!  I hope to be 131 lbs or less by Saturday morning.  I'm also hoping that the drop in weight loss will help me remain on track while I'm "down the shore" this weekend.  Or at least when I get back on Monday!

Good night for now!  More tomorrow!

BluePrint Cleanse ...... Again

BLUEPRINT CLEANSE!!!!

Does this feel like deja vu to anyone?  I have started another round of the BluePrint Cleanse.  This time I am doing the professional version and not the homemade kind.  I was fortunate enough to get this round for free so why not right?

My cleanse was set to arrive at work yesterday but due to a little address snafu, it was delivered to my house.  THe box had sat outside in the 100 degree sun for about 45 minutes before I got home.  I immediately called BPC and asked if the semi-cool (definitely not cold) juices would be okay and they assured me there was no problem.  I have to admit, I was secretly hoping they would have to ship me a new batch because I was not feeling like cleansing this week!  But, I soldiered on and started this morning.

Starting weight: 135.6

Juice #1 - Green Juice at 8am.  I poured it over some ice cubes and ended up chewing on ice for an hour after the juice was gone.  Not as bad as the first time I tried it but still a little tough to choke down so early in the morning!

*Had some Green Tea to warm up after the ice chomping incident.  I'm pretty sure my coworkers hate me for chewing on ice for an hour! 

Juice #2 - Pineapple Apple Mint (PAM) at 9:30.  I love this one and could drink it all day!  It's like a pineapple smoothy!

Juice #3 - Green Juice at 11:30 - going down easy today

Juice #4 - Spicy Lemonade at 3:30.  By this point I was starving and really craving Twizzlers or the yummy Oreo cupcakes in my office!

Juice #5 - Green Juice at 5pm driving home and to swim lessons.  Went quick and I was actually wanting more at the end!

Juice #6 - Cashew Nut Milk at 7:30pm while baking a delicious chocolate zucchini cake for my colleagues!  I spilled 1/4 of my drink on the counter/floor so I wasn't happy about that!  I love the Cashew Nut Milk but tonight I was too full or busy to finish it.  I probably left another 1/4 in the bottle.

Overall day: Good!  Slightly hungry in the afternoon but the drinks were so much easier this time around!  I am tired though!  But that could be a combination of moving, unpacking, running around like a crazy chaotic person and doing BPC!

more tomorrow......

 

Painting furniture

This month I decided to get crafty.  I had this old dresser that was in "okay" condition but was in need of some tender loving care.  After reading a few posts from Pinterest on how to paint furniture, I opted to try it out on my old friend here.  This is the before:

Notice the broken handle on the top drawer.  What you don't see is that the drawers had lost their track holder thingy that keeps them in the dresser.  The side of this dresser was also falling off.  But, nonetheless, it was a sturdy piece of furniture and I wanted to give it a new life.

This is the post I followed with all of the instructions and details. Her piece even looks like mine (or vice versa).

The first weekend involved sanding and filling the old holes with wood putty.  Along with the requisite trip to Home Depot to stock up on the necessary supplies!

The second week/weekend involved priming, painting and second-coating the dresser and the drawers.

The third and final weekend resulted in covering the piece with polyurethane and adding the new hardware.

End result:

Not bad for an amateur furniture painter, right?

I wanted to do the two-tone as she did in the tutorial but after getting back from Home Depot without the white paint to mix with the Prescott Green, I opted out on that step.  Mind you, a True Value hardware store is less than 1 block from my house but never-you-mind that minor detail.

Overall, I am very happy with the outcome.  It turned out a little "sea foam" green but lucky for me, this piece is going into the beach themed guest room so it fits perfectly with the decor.

What do you think?

Blueprint Cleanse homemade - updated!

Update on my homemade Blueprint Cleanse:

Starting weight

4/29 - 137.8

Today's weight

5/3 - 129.8

Net loss 

8 pounds!   Wooo Hoo!

I ran out of juice on Tuesday and was still inspired to keep up with the cleanse so I made three more days worth of juice!   I also thought it would be great to use reusable glass jars instead of wasting plastic bottles on each batch.  Aren't they just too cute?  

I will admit - I cheated!  But only slightly.  Any website that talks about juice cleanses will explain the importance of using colonics while juicing.  Well let's just say that's not going to happen.  So I did my own version - Twizzlers.  For whatever reason, they always do the trick for me.  So on Tuesday night I had two (and tonight I just had 6!)

I also had a work lunch Tuesday and today so I had a salad both days and just cut out the green juice for the day and made sure my calories were still in check (they were).

I still have two more days of juice to finish so I will complete those and then move on to eating "clean" and mostly fruits and veggies for a week.  I have some travel in the middle of the week so that inhibits my juice plan a bit.  It also forces me to take a break from the juice.  It is addicting to feel this good and lose this much in 5 days!

Blueprint Cleanse - grocery list and cost breakdown

Grocery list for 3 days of the Foundation level cleanse on Blueprint Cleanse:

Produce:
24 - Granny Smith apples
1 bag - Romaine lettuce
4 bags - Celery
8 - cucumbers
2 bags - Kale
1 bag - Parsley
2 bags - Spinach
1 pineapple
1 clamshell of Mint leaves
2 bags - Lemons

Dry grocery:
lemon juice
Agave nectar
cashews (15 oz)
vanilla extract
cayenne pepper

Water bottles - 18
use the water in the lemonade and cashew milk recipes

And now for the final tally........
Grocery cost: $74.69
Per day: $24.89
Per juice: $4.15

UPDATE: when I went to buy the ingredients for round 2 I was a little more cost conscience and the per juice price came down to $3.20!  I also bought some Mason jars to put the juice in (glass is better!) so that reduced the 1-time use fee of the water bottles. 

So, while BPC charges $70 per day, you can make your own for approximately $25.  This does not include the cost of the juicer/blender so you'll have to figure that in as well.  If I were to cleanse every other month that would be about $9.00 additional in blender costs for one year.

I also would suggest shopping a little smarter than I did to be more cost efficient.  I'm sure you can buy raw cashews for cheaper (I spent about $18) and of course you don't use the entire vanilla extract or agave bottle while making these recipes so you can take some cost off there as well.

Good luck and happy cleansing!

Blueprint Cleanse - Homemade

After spending a week on a "diet" that had me consuming almost 1500 calories a day, I decided it was time to repeat the Blueprint Cleanse.  I am going to Sanibel in 41 days and I refuse to look like this when I go!  So bring on the big guns - it's time to get down to business.  And business = cleanse!

I pondered taking the easy route out and just ordering the juices again but at $70/day - I just couldn't stomach the cost.  So I did a little research and found a juicer/blender that I thought could do the trick!  Instead of the very pricey Vitamix that is so highly recommended, I chose a less expensive Ninja.

I made my list and hit the grocery store yesterday on our way home from rugby.  I'm going to have the grocery list and cost breakdown for you in a future post - don't worry.  I'm curious myself to see how much it actually costs to make these juices for one day.  My guess is it's about $12!

I began with the Green Juice since that is the first one you drink during the day.  I also knew, by the ingredient list, that it would be the most time consuming.  And it was to the tune of about an hour of prep and juice time.  But now I'm ready for the next three days.

Once I had all of my ingredients out and ready - it was time to get blending:

Green Juice:
5 celery stalks
1 cucumber
5 stalks parsley
2 Granny Smith apples
3 Romaine leaves
3 Kale leaves
1Tbs Lemon juice
Water

I have to say the Ninja was AWESOME!  No matter what I put in it or in what order, it just made it a smoothy!  Keep in mind you have to strain the mix so it's not going to be a pure liquid!

The recipe I was using said to use a paint strainer.  I'm not sure what that is (but I'm going to Google it for next time).  I used a fine strainer I had.  It worked okay but I do think I left behind a lot of juice by not being able to press the juice out.

End result - nine 16-ounce bottles of Green Juice.  I know the picture is not showing 9 full bottles but trust me - there are nine and they are full!  Not to worry, I am drinking the full 16 ounces of green juice.

Tips: I added a little more lemon juice to make them a little more tolerable than the BPC version.  I also realized, while ingesting my first Green Juice this morning, that they are much easier to get down when served over ice!











Up next, the P.A.M juice!  I promise it is yellow and not green like it appears in this picture.

Pineapple Apple Mint (P.A.M.) juice:
1/3 pineapple
2 Granny Smith Apples
4-5 Tbs Mint leaves
1 oz lime juice (I used lemon)

P.A.M. is one of the easiest drinks in the Foundation Cleanse.  It tastes just like it sounds - pineappley and minty!   Yum!  I will say this drink probably does not have the same nutritional value as if you ordered from BPC.  There was a lot of "pulp" and not much juice so I added a bit of water to the second batch to make it easier to juice.  But that probably detracts from the juice content too.

I'm now onto juice #3 of the day - another Green Juice.  I am actually FULL!  I don't want to drink anything else!  But alas,  in about an hour I will have a spicy lemonade!

Spicy Lemonade
14 oz of filtered water
3 oz Lemon juice
1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper
1 tbs Agave nectar

I put this concoction into the Ninja too just to get it all mixed together.  I believe that is why it turned out orange, rather than a nice yellow lemonade color.  Or it could have been that I added DOUBLE the cayenne pepper than necessary!   Yes - DOUBLE the cayenne.  Needless to say, my lemonade has a KICK!  Whew!  I drank what you see in the glass but couldn't finish any more.  My throat was on fire!

On to Green Juice #3 of the day!  Thank goodness for the ice cubes!  It makes it so much easier to swallow.

Cashew Nut Milk - the dessert of the cleanse

Cashew Nut Milk - the dessert of the cleanse

16 oz filtered water
4-5 oz of raw cashews
1 Tbs of Agave nectar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

This was surprisingly easy.  I've never made a "milk" before but this turned out just like the BPC version.  I had to strain it to get the gritty parts out but the end result was OH SO delicious!

End result....

Three days worth of Blueprint Cleanse-like juices!  All ready for the week to begin.  I have to say, the process time was LONG.  It took me about an hour to do the green juices and then maybe 20 minutes each on the others so total of about two hours prep time.  Had I planned better, I would have had everything here for the full 5 days so I could have kicked it out all at once.  I also would have had more cheese cloth.  The strainer took forever!

Next post will be the cost breakdown and grocery list.....

I hope you enjoyed the long blog post today!  Please leave me a comment if you have done any cleanses or plan on doing the BPC either purchased or homemade.  I would love to hear what you think!

Happy Juicing!

GM Diet update, leg/hip/thigh update and a treadmill too

Hello readers,

After my last post, I wanted to provide an update to the GM Diet.  I followed the diet for one week as I blogged and then I took one day off and started again.  The second week of the GM diet was a little more difficult to follow (or obey).  I was about 60% on the GM diet until about Tuesday.  From there it all went downhill.  In my defense, I had a LOT on my plate Tuesday including a very difficult decision about our puppy.  But, despite all that, on Friday morning I was 129.4 at home and finished our weight loss competition at 130.4 in the office.  That's a 14lb loss in the 9 weeks we did the competition.

Overall, my rating of the GM diet was a 9 out of 10!   It is easy to follow, strict but flexible, affordable and produced great results without starving me to the point of binge eating!   I liked it so much, I started it again today for week #3!  Following Easter weekend I was up to 133.4 this morning so I would like to get back to that 129 and keep that number going down, down, DOWN!

For those of you who have seen me in person over the last eight months, you might have recognized my slight limp.  Or more like a complete dragging of my left leg.  After doing every possible test, four weeks of PT and even contemplating surgery, I was finally introduced to a doctor who knew exactly what my problem was and more importantly, how to fix it.

About a month ago, I received my first set of "trigger point therapy" needle injections to stimulate a spasm in the muscle belly that runs down your inner thigh.  This is the most painful experience of my life - including child labor.  To be fair, I had two epidurals during labor so maybe my view is a little foggy.  But let me tell you, trigger point therapy hurts like a Be-witch!!  After another appointment two weeks ago, and four more needles in my muscle belly, I am feeling so much better.  It amazes me that I went this long being completely mis-diagnosed!  That being said, I am on the road to complete recovery and could not be happier.

So.....it's time to get moving again!   I was contemplating joining the gym again now that I am able to go but tonight I re-evaluated and chose a more efficient and hopefully useful alternative.  I opted to buy a very "no-frills" treadmill from Amazon that I plan on putting right in my living room to hopefully encourage *force* me to get moving.  I have also committed to Cooper that we will go for a bike ride at least 3-4 nights out of the week.  This can mean me riding, walking or running beside Coop and his new bike!

Stay tuned, I plan on being a lean, mean, sexy mama-machine this summer!   Vacation is 60 days away!!!  

Another day.....another diet

I booked our summer vacation last week and it has inspired me to start yet another diet!   Our vacation is going to be on Sanibel Island in June.  It just happens to coincide with my 32nd (ouch) birthday!  I wonder how that happened!  ha

So it's time to get in shape!   Time to lose those nasty 10lbs that have been hanging around since Cooper was 4 months old.  Yes, your math is correct - 7 years or so!  

I have to admit that the weight stayed off pretty well after the BPC. For the most part I kept off about 5lbs.  But then, as it usually does, my demented psyche got the best of me.  I was noticing that I could have a snack or two each night and not gain. So that lead to more and more "cheating" and don't you know those 5lbs came rushing back!  Why is weight loss so damn frustrating?

The new diet is called the GM diet. It was designed for General Motors back in the 80s.  It sounds pretty ridiculous but you have to understand, I NEED the structure of something like this diet. It tells me exactly what to eat every day for a week.  7 days of lots and lots of fruit and veggies.  Very little else.

Day 1 - Starting weight 136.8
Only fruit today!  ONLYfruit. Nothing else!  I was doing pretty well until about 4pm when I got a bit of a headache.  But I finished the night off strong with some pears from South Africa (YUM!) and some canned pineapple.  I felt pretty good for only eating fruit but my belly did look and feel very bloated.

Day 2 - 135.4
Only veggies today.  The diet recommends you start your day off with a baked potato.  Do you know how hard it is to choke down a baked potato at 7am?  I cheated a bit and had my chai tea K-cup with my baked potato.  The rest of the day went well.  We had lunch out for a coworker's birthday so I had a big house salad and some sweet potato fries (maybe 15 at most) I wasn't hungry at all until about 7pm and I really wanted something sweet!  I resisted!

Day 3 - 134.2
Veggies and fruit day.  Started off the day with a green monster.  We were headed to Cape May for the day so I made sure to pack a big salad for lunch and lots of fruit.  I did great until dinner.  We went to the Lobster House and although my intent was good - my dinner was not.  I ordered a crab salad thinking by the description it was a green salad with crab on top.  Yes, I know crab is not a fruit or a veggie but we were in Cape May!  It turns out it was a crab salad on ONE piece of lettuce.  Some carrots and tomatoes helped but I did polish off  the yummy crab salad (and a slice of their oh-so-good bread!)  OOPS!

Day 4 - 134.4
Banana and milk day.  Yes - only bananas and milk!  Back on track today after my derailment yesterday.  I a green tea for breakfast and wasn't even hungry for a banana until about 10am.  I had two!  And a big glass of milk.  For lunch I had two more bananas and lots of water. Dinner was a very tasty banana milkshake!  Cooper even stole some of it for his dessert! Another big glass of milk and another banana for snack and I was good.  I even resisted Cooper's cupcake after lunch and donut after dinner.  (I know, bad parenting but he is a skinny mini!)
PS - I made the "wonder soup" and it made my whole house smell like onions (or B.O.!)  eww.  I kept some in the fridge just in case I was starving but most of it went right to the trash.  Outside trash of course!

Day 5 - 133.6
Today is tomatoes and beef day.  Eww right?  What do you eat for breakfast?  Tea!  That's what I had since I could not stomach either tomatoes or ground beef for breakfast!   The rest of the day I was not hungry at all.  I forced myself to eat 3 tomatoes for lunch (with some oil & vinegar) and a grilled lean hamburger.  Dinner was a nice steak and more (ugh MORE) tomatoes.  Who can physically eat 6 tomatoes in one day?  I gagged down 5!

Day 6 - 132.6
Back to veggies and beef day.  Or so it was supposed to be.  I went to a business lunch and had the inside of a steak sandwich and a salad.  Ok and two pieces of calamari.  But then I realized the salad dressing probably wasn't alright and the steak sandwich had provolone.  Oops!   For dinner I reverted to a nice salad and carrots.

Day 7 - 132.4
Fruit juice, veggies and brown rice.  Again - not so much!  I had tea for breakfast.  Apple juice and veggies & dip (teeny bit of dip) for lunch and then more baby carrots and apple juice for dinner (on the run).  Not exactly following the rules but I wasn't hungry so I didn't eat!

Final weigh in following Day 7 - 131.4
WOOOOOO HOOOO!!!!!!  I lost 5.4lbs in 7 days!   Again, WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!

I decided to take today (Wednesday) off from the "diet" and start the GM diet tomorrow again!  I LOVE this diet!!!!  Until I find another one that is........3-day diet anyone?

Follow up from BPC

I've been asked a few times how the BPC ended and how I've been feeling, eating and doing since - so here's the update.   Following the cleanse my goal was to eat "clean" which in my mind means the famous mantra:

dont' eat it IF IT DOESN'T COME FROM THE GROUND OR HAVE A MOTHER

Well that was quickly out the window as our Friday sushi at work became a spur-of-the-moment (i.e. intentional way to vandalize my BPC success) trip to hibachi!   I LOVE hibachi!   I was pretty cautious of the volume I ate though - more out of fear that I would be severely punished for eating "real" solid food so quickly after being only on a juice cleanse.   I am happy to report there were no negative side effects to my hibachi lunch and I was still well within my calorie goal for the day.

The weekend continued with lots of fruits and veggies.  I even managed to obstain from drinking at a family birthday party (full disclosure: I did have cake though - who can resist chocolate cake with peanut butter icing?  Not this girl!)  As we were leaving the party Cooper came down with a stomach virus that left us housebound and him couch ridden all day Sunday and most of Monday.

I had to run to the office on Monday even though I had taken the day off to stay home with Coop for President's Day.  After our errands all around town we went to the diner for dinner.  I opted for a spinach salad with hot bacon dressing.  YUM!   Coop wasn't feeling well again so he barely ate.  And then....it happened.  I came down with the stomach virus at 2am Tuesday morning.

It. was. awful!

I'm pretty sure what we both had was some version of the ever popular NOROVIRUS!   I do not wish this stomach bug on my worst enemy.  I was supposed to fly to California on Tuesday but moving from the bathroom was physically impossible (let alone being in a window seat on a six hour plane ride).  So California was cancelled.

The virus lasted a good 48 hours and I swear to you I think I am still feeling the affects today.  My stomach has been one big pit of acid reflux ever since.  And other (unmentionable) side effects.  Some say it was the cleanse, but I am going to blame the virus.  I don't think even a juice cleanse could cause this much havoc on my insides!

So whether the cleanse was to fault or not, I'll never know!  But I doubt it.  Irregardless, a combination of the BPC and the virus kept me down 5 of the 7lbs I had lost during the cleanse.  

This week was a bit of a challenge in regards to my food intake.  Let's just say there was a very unpretty binge after realizing a size 4 dress fit well with room to spare.  Yes, I know this is backwards logic (the dress fits - yay - I'll go binge eat ?!?  huh?)  but that is why I have a problem with dieting and food and weight!   My brain is backwards!

But ....two weeks out of the BPC and I am still 5lbs lighter than I started.  For that I say THANK YOU BPC!!!!!

Would I do it again?  Probably - but only if I had a wedding or function that I needed to quickly get a flat belly for.  Oh wait - I do have a wedding this weekend.  If only I could afford to do it again - I definitely would!  Green juice and all!

BPC Foundation - Day #3 and Wrap Up

Day #3 on Blueprint Cleanse - Foundation


Day #3 went by without a problem.  I was actually impressed with how easy it was to drink the juices and not eat anything around me (including the 10 dozen cookies I was making).  I actually found myself wishing I could keep going on the cleanse for a few more days.  But alas - it came to an end!

BPC Wrap-Up:

Let's get right down to it - I lost 7lbs throughout the whole process including the two days of vegan eating before the cleanse.

Breaking the cleanse was fairly easy.  I had some watermelon and blueberries for breakfast.  Our whole office was going out to hibachi for lunch so I reluctantly joined in.  I really wanted to stay at the office and eat my salad that I had brought but I didn't want to be the only one not going.  So I went.  And I caved.  I had shrimp hibachi but the good news was I didn't eat the fried rice or noodles.  Just the shrimp and veggies.  Not exactly how I was supposed to break the cleanse but it was better than a total crash!

I felt pretty gross after lunch, I have to admit!  I really wanted to have a nice, big "movement" but it didn't quite happen.  In fact (sorry - TMI) it hadn't happened since the first day of the cleanse.

I'm anxious to see if the 7lbs was just water weight that comes right back.  Overall, I would say I was not that impressed with the cleanse.  I felt exhausted the entire time and pretty irritable on Day 3!  The weight loss was awesome don't get me wrong but I am not sure it was worth the cost.

At least it's DONE and I can move on with Eating Clean!

BPC Foundation - Day #2

Day #2 on Blueprint Cleanse - Foundation

Day two and I'm on a roll.  Today started off with a Green Juice on the way to work.  Seven AM is way to early to be drinking celery!  But I sucked it down and moved on.  I was a little tired this morning but more because Cooper woke me up at 4:45AM.  Also WAY TO EARLY!  

With the Green Juice down at 7am, I moved on to the lovely Pineapple Apple Mint around 9:30.  Much better than yesterday I have to admit.  Lunchtime brought another lovely Green Juice but luckily no hunger pains!  Around 2:30 I broke into the Spicy Lemonade!  Surprisingly, it had lost a little bit of it's spice since yesterday and I was able to finish the whole bottle (yay me!).  

This is where it gets interesting.......wait for it.......I was hungry around 4pm.  I debated breaking out my final Green Juice of the day a little early but decided to hold off until just before 5pm so I could enjoy it in all it's deliciously green wonder.  Again to my surprise, this time the green monster wasn't quite as bad as I remembered.  Either that or I was just in a hurry to chug it down and head home for the day, I'm not sure!  haha 

In an ironic twist of irony, I had to come home and bake 5 dozen cookies for a colleague.  It is very hard to resist fresh baked cookies when your whole house smells like FRESH BAKED COOKIES.  I don't think I have ever been more aware of my sense of smell!  It's a good thing I could finish the night off with a lovely Cashew Milk drink.  And tonight it was actually quite delicious!  I'm sure the cookie would have tasted better but again I was proud of myself for finishing the drink. 

Day #2 is done!   I am shocked to say this but I'm actually not craving anything tonight.  The cookies smelled great but didn't tempt me to cheat.  The candy that is all over the house was more annoying than calling my name like they usually do!  

I am trying to plan the breaking of my cleanse on Friday.  I have the one Green Juice leftover from yesterday that I plan on having in the morning.  Friday is usually our sushi day at work but I think I will stick with a light salad and maybe Wonton soup.  Dinner will probably be a nice salad too.  

This weekend is going to be a bit of a challenge because we are going to my sister's for my nephew's birthday party.  Kelly is making Mexican food, birthday cake and ice cream and of course drinks!  I'm more worried about how to explain to everyone that I'm not drinking because I just finished a juice cleanse and don't want to ruin the results than I am about the actual temptations!   But hopefully everyone understands and just lets me veg on some veggies rather than taco's!  

On to Day 3 .........

BPC Foundation - Day #1

Day #1 on Blueprint Cleanse - Foundation

On Sunday I received a "welcome" email from BPC regarding the start of the cleanse and how to get off to a good start (prepare, prepare, prepare!).  I spent Sunday and Monday on a 98% vegan diet and I have to say this morning I woke up with a headache that lasted until lunch today.  I had some watermelon/kiwi and green tea for breakfast at 9am.  By 10am I was worried that my juices would not arrive in time to get them all in today if they didn't come by noon.  Luckily, I gave them until 12:30 to get here before giving in to a salad for lunch.  At 12:20 they arrived!!!!!! 

I was so excited to open the box and check them out!  Unfortunately, BPC did not send me the little cooler I was so excited to see.  But after a quick email to them, they promptly responded saying it will be here tomorrow.  Anyway, back to the juices.  I failed to realize just how heavy 18 juices would be (6 per day times 3 days).......15lbs of juice!  I quickly put them in the fridge (as instructed by my first BPC email)

But not before a quick photo op:

Juice #1 at 12:20pm - Green Juice described by BPC as "6lbs of leafy greens in one little bottle.  The cholophyll-packed green juice lowers acidity and balances your pH.  Stay alkaline.  Stay healthy"  I describe it as.........gross!  Salad in a bottle.  But gross!

Juice #2 at 1:30pm - P.A.M. or Pineapple Apple Mint described by BPC as "pineapples contain bromelain, an anti-inflammatory agent that helps fight heart disease and arthritis".  I say....sweet!  Not bad but very sweet!

Juice #3 at 3pm - Green Juice......a little easier this time.  Went down faster but still not "good"

Juice #4 at 5pm - Spicy Lemonade.  BPC calls it "cayenne pepper boasts metabolism and gets your blood pumping while lemons are a natural expectorant, full of antioxidants and highly alkalizing.  That's hot."  My take on the spicy lemonade......sPiCy!!!!!  spicy SPICY!!!!!

Juice #5 is another green juice but I was so full from the first four being crammed into a 5 hour timespan that I chose to skip this one.  BPC advised skipping the lemonade if I was going to skip one.  I should have listened!

Juice #6 is called Cashew Milk and deemed by all review posts to be the best of the worst!  They describe this by saying "cashews contain zinc, which rebuilds the body's collagen supply and prevents wrinkling, stretch marks and other potential "body roadmaps".  My take on this one.......it's nutty and creamy and milky.  It is the best of the rest I will say!  


Quick questions answered:

• Am I hungry?  No
• Am I dizzy or lightheaded? Yes, but in fairness I woke up with a headache and a bit dizzy
• Am I going to the bathroom every 20 minutes?  YES but only to pee
• Do I feel nauseous?  Not at all
• Do I miss "real" food?  I would like to chew something but I am not hungry so I'm not.
• Did I cheat? Yes - I had one - yes 1 - M&M.  It's Valentine's Day people!  Have a heart!  (pun intended!)

Blueprint Cleanse experiment

These little bottles are the only things I will be eating/drinking for three days.  It's called the Blueprint Cleanse and you can read more about it here for all of the details.  But the gist of it is a great way to jump start a clean eating or healthy mindset by forgoing all carbs, refined sugars, caffeine, alcohol and solid food (oh yeah, that too!) for a few days to "reset" your internal system.

My reason for choosing the Blueprint cleanse was simple.  A friend of mine did the cleanse (thanks MM) and I thought to myself "hey, if he can do it, I can certainly try!"  So after a few weeks of debating the cost, I finally decided that I would go ahead and purchase the drinks.  They will arrive on Tuesday in their cute little BPC cooler.  I ordered the "Foundation" cleanse because I didn't want to go with the beginner cleanse (I'm too cool for that) and I was scared to death of the extreme cleanse.

Let me clarify that the idea of the cleanse is to break down the toxins that are trapped in your body.  Not to actually cleanse your colon or anything frightening like that!   Although there may be some "waste" leaving your system, most testimonials I read stated that they actually experienced little to no difference in that department.  Enough on that topic!

BPC is kind enough to send you an email three days prior to your BPC arriving.  They give you the details on the logistics of your juice arriving and then a nice little paragraph about how to prepare.  It starts by saying "Prepare, prepare, prepare......we can't stress this enough."  So I decided to heed the warning and today I am preparing!   All fruits and veggies for two days prior to the BPC and two days after.  That's the plan anyway - I will keep you posted.

Off to enjoy my fruit for breakfast!  Wish me luck!

Sunday Update:  Spent the day eating only veggies and fruits.  Breakfast was green tea & fruit salad (watermelon, kiwi and strawberries - 1c.), lunch and dinner were salads with iceberg, spinach, cukes and avocado and a few more green teas throughout the day.  I'm a little hungry and really wishing I could devour the 60+ Valentine's Day cookies I made this weekend BUT I am on a mission.  I hope to be as disciplined tomorrow!  Until then........

Monday Update:  Down 1.8lbs this morning.  I guess being "vegan" for a day is pretty good for you.  Today was easier than I thought at work!  I cannot wait for my BPC to arrive tomorrow.  Not sure what time FedEx will get there - hopefully early!  I did cheat a bit tonight with a few Hershey Hugs/pretzels with M&Ms from Valentine's day.  I did not have the V-day cookies that were eyeing me up all day though.  Huge win for me!

Stay tuned tomorrow for Day #1 of the Blueprint Cleanse.  I hope to update throughout the day with how I'm feeling, how the juices taste, etc.  We'll see how that goes........

iheartfaces

iheartface.com's photo challenge this week is titled "By The Book" and I couldn't resist using this photo of sweet Baby Lucas reading his book about dogs!  Love the smile on his face!!

Sites I ADORE

As I'm getting into the spirit of all things Valentine's Day, I thought it would be nice to share the websites and blogs I absolutely ADORE!

Absolute Favorite - Vitalic Photo Blog.  I first stumbled upon Vitalic Photo girls when I was living in Sebastian, FL where they reside.  A mutual friend introduced me to their work and Chrissy, one of the two fabulously creative photographers.  I've been stalking their site every week since!  I just LOVE the feel of their photos and shoots.  Their editing is creative and unique without being overdone.  I am obsessed with all things Vitalic!

Site which I can spend HOURS on - Pinterest!!   Most of you are very familiar with Pinterest, pinning and boards but for those who are not, I will give you a brief overview.  It's a big, giant, web-based cork board where you can grab and pin anything and everything you like, want, desire, see or NEED from anywhere on the web!   You can even upload your own pictures to "pin".  Each pin goes on a "board" which is basically a way to categorize your pins.  Think of it as your own personal sticky note board!  Love to pin!

Most creative website I follow: Living Locurto  This is a website full of free printables, PSD downloads and overall creativity abounds from Living Locurto.  I also heart their sister-site iheartfaces.com  These gals have got their creative genes flowing and I'm proud to say I usually love all of their posts!

Health & fitness website best: My Plate Livestrong  I use this website to track my weight and calorie intake.  I'm currently using it to help me watch my caloric intake and hopefully shed a few pounds I gained over the last few weeks (months/years).  Love, love, love Livestrong!

Favorite friend website: Britta's Banter   Britta - author of self-titled Britta's Banter - is a dear friend of mine from my childhood.  I have known Britta since I was four or five so almost 100% of my life.  She is a wonderful writer, a fantastic mom to Mr. Lance and a very good friend!   I always crack up at her various topics and banter (get it? Britta's Banter).  She is one talented chick and I'm so glad to be able to call her my friend!

Industry website I frequent most:  Being in the produce industry, I rely on The Packer for my daily and weekly produce news.  I can count on The Packer for the most recent industry related news, updates on my friends and colleagues in the business and great updates on new commodities and trends.

Favorite Food website:  Skinny Taste  The name says it all - it tastes good and is good for you!  I love most everything I try from Skinny Taste and I especially appreciate that you don't need 40 unheard of ingredients to complete these recipes.  Once I make them, I can check the calorie count of each dish and log it in Livestrong.  If I really like it, I may pin it on Pinterest too!


Of course there are many more, including the very popular Facebook, LinkedIn and my Hotmail account.  Polyvore is growing on my top favorites list and with Cooper in 1st grade we are constantly on IXL, RazKidz and other education sites.   The world wide web is a very infinite wealth of knowledge, entertainment, and expression.  Let's hope the government allows it to continue to be an outlet for our constitutional right to Freedom of Speech!

What are your top sites?  Please leave me feedback and let me know!   Happy surfing!

Christmas Review

It seems Christmas has come and gone so quickly this year.  It could be because we were traveling so much over the last five weeks and haven't really had a chance to slow down yet.  So here is a brief review of our FIVE Christmas celebrations (there may have been more - I lost track)

Dec 1 - 4: Coudersport Christmas (#1)

 Dec 9 -11:  Boston visit to meet baby Lucas

Dec 17 - 18:  Only weekend home turned into a cookie production line

And Christmas #2 - gifts from Mommy

Dec 22 - 28:  Florida vacation

Christmas #3 - Christmas morning at Grandma & Grandpa's

Christmas #4 - Christmas night with Grammy & Poppy

Dec 28th return to New Jersey and Santa came while we were away!

And December 29th - we got a new member of the family (could be Christmas #6!)

WHEW!!!!  I'm exhausted!  And broke!   Cooper is overly spoiled and I realize this I promise!

*Now on to Coop's birthday celebration*