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*

Happy Thanksgiving

This year, as always, I am most Thankful for my little mini-me Cooper.  He is my rock and my whole world.  I've told him since he was born that he is my everything and it couldn't be more accurate.  My whole world exists and is because of him!  I really don't know what I would do or who I would be without my baby!  At six years, ten months and 20 days I am sure he will argue that he's not my "baby" but that, he will always be!  I love you, baby!  

Days of December

Can you believe December is almost upon us?  This year has literally flown by!  With the holidays right around the corner, I was starting to get a little anxiety about our plans for Christmas.  We have been in New Jersey for a year now.  Last year we spent Christmas Eve with my sister and brother-in-law and his family.  On Christmas day we spent the whole day just having fun with Cooper's new toys and each other. I made a nice dinner and we both had a very relaxing, nice day.  But something was missing.

It was the first year in my thirty years that I had not spent with my parents on Christmas day.  We called and spoke to everyone over the phone, but it wasn't the same.  When we lived in Florida, my parents and grandparents would all brave the early hour and come to our house (coffee in hand) to see Cooper open his presents.  We would have breakfast there and then all gather at my parents for dinner later in the day. Even the presence of their crazy neighbor Kate became a Christmas tradition.

So spending the day alone - or just the two of us I should say - was somewhat sobering to me.  And after speaking to my mom and hearing the tears in her voice, I knew she didn't particularly like it either!  When I thought about the impending holidays this year, I became a little depressed.  I did not want a repeat of last season's air of sadness on a day that, in my childhood, was always one of the best days of the year!   (Insert "mom guilt" here!)

After speaking to my mom and grandma this week it was unanimously decided that we would fly "home" for Christmas this year.  The irony of that sentence is amazing.  I moved back to the Northeast to be closer to home, only to discover that home really is where your heart (family) is!

December is going to be a busy but fun month for us this year!   The first weekend we will be venturing back to Coudersport for our annual family Christmas celebration that just happens to revolve around the opening days of hunting season!  The second weekend we will be traveling to the Boston area to meet and cuddle the newest, cutest and most miraculous little Lucas!  And finally, from the 22nd through the 29th will be back in Sebastian, FL for a wonderful Christmas with our family!

Like I said, we will be busy, but it will be fun!  Did I mention I will be in Seattle November 29 - 31st?  Lots of traveling in my near future!


*In other news: Cooper is reading the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" book and can get through most of it without even asking me what the words mean.  He just showed me a page of his self-assigned homework where he wrote out a summary of what he had read so far.  He then asked me if he could do his "homework" in YzKidz instead of playing on Monday.  I'm still trying to pick my jaw up off the floor.  He continues to impress and amaze me on a daily basis!  

Happy Fall

On Saturday Cooper and I took a little drive down to Parvin State Park in Pittsgrove, NJ to shoot our annual photo session.  Last year we chose an abandoned farm for our photo shoot which provided a very unique and almost dark backdrop to our holiday cards.  This year, I decided we would shoot a picturesque "Fall" photo shoot.  Truth be told, I had an appointment with a local photographer last week that we ended up canceling.  I knew I had made an expensive choice in photographers but I love her work and wanted to see our portraits through her vision.  In the end, the cost overruled the potential art and we were back to square one.

So, off we went, on yet another road trip!  Complete with tripod, lenses, ideas for poses and the most handsome subject ever I set out to "capture the moment".  The leaves at Parvin were perfect!  They have been gorgeous the last two weeks and lucky for us they have not completely fallen yet!

I knew I wanted some candid shots, some posed pictures and just some cute Cooper shots too.  Mission - accomplished.  After downloading the 140+ pictures we took, I was more than pleased with the "raw" pictures.  I have been indulging in editing them ever since and hope to have some to share soon.  And I know our Christmas cards will be amazing this year.  I may even replace the large portrait in the living room of Cooper and I from our photo session when he was two!!!!

The unfortunate part of the day was that, at the end of it, I was unable to walk!  I have been battling a hip, leg, thigh, muscle, pain for over three months now.  It started in July and hasn't let up yet!  So after standing, walking and exploring for more than six hours Saturday, I was disabled!  It was very upsetting because we wanted to go for a hike Sunday and I could barely stand!  Luckily, I had come to the conclusion last week that it was time to get this issue resolved and finally scheduled an appointment with the Orthopedic surgeon for today.

Long story short, the doctor thinks I have "internal snapping hip" syndrome.  A dynamic ultrasound should confirm his theory and physical therapy has been set up to begin next week.  Let's hope this is the solution I'm so desperately needing right now!  Please!

In other news: Cooper has made his Christmas list on Amazon.com!   I cannot believe we are already planning for Christmas!   November is going fast and December is going to be BUSY.  The first weekend we are in Coudersport for a family Christmas celebration.  The next weekend we are going to Boston to meet baby Lucas and visit Allison and Ruyter!   I can't wait!