Raw Cleanse...eww.

I have finally made the committment to do a detox.  Over the last few months I have fought off the sluggish fatigue, headaches, nausea, low energy and more.  You see the words "cleanse" and "detox" so I don't need to list any more symptoms...kapish? 

I have been listening to Dr. Axe on SuperTalk 99.7 on Sundays and have heard enough testimonials to this particular cleanse. You can read more about it here:  http://www.draxe.com/the-best-way-to-detox/.

The Do's are simple

• Eat plenty of organic, raw fruits and vegetables
• Drink lots and lots of water
• Work in garlic flax seed, legums, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, herbal and green teas

Plus....a seven day cleanse kit called "Raw Cleanse"  yum.

The Dont's are pretty simple too:

• Avoid dairy, meat, processed foods, grains, sugar, alcohol and caffeine.

Not too difficult except:
I love dairy. Really, I do. I love real butter, cream, yogurt....ect.  But I will abstain for a week.  The other uh-oh for me is caffeine.  I have two cups of coffee faithfully every morning. And, I use CoffeeMate. Arrggghh! So, I will give up my dairy. I can follow all of the rules, but I will continue my coffee. I am curious how much of a monkey wrench that might throw into the mix. 

For breakfast I slowly ate 12 oz of blackberries. Yum!  For lunch I had a veggie burger, strawberries, oranges and watermelon and some cucumber.  Again, yum! 

Stay tuned!

Does this clutter make my home look fat?

Ever tried to lose those last 10 pounds? Ugh. Right??!!  That is how I feel about my clutter. And I have realized that it is dragging me down and wearing me out. My piles of paper are so "in your face" that my poor family has no idea that I actually spent a few hours and blood drops on an area. How's that for confession? Anyhoo. Tonight, I am taking a teleclass "Your Home Matters" by Kimberly Medlock.  The announcement of the teleclass arrived in my inbox like a light of hope:

"You will never truly experience all of the benefits and satisfaction that can come from a successful direct sales business if you are constantly nagged by the feeling that your home life is being neglected as a result.  If your home is lacking order and organization then don't miss this special session by professional organizer Kimberly Medlock!
 

This session will give you specific systems and strategies for addressing the key areas of your home - closets, kitchen, papers and kids!  It is packed with must-know information if you truly want less clutter and chaos in your environment."

WISH ME LUCK AND MOTIVATION!

Southern Fried Chicken Pasta Salad

In my recent endeavors to rid my home of clutter, I found about four different file folders filled with recipes printed off from websites and clippings from magazines.  The funny thing is, I don't really cook...alot. I used to. Once upon a time, I was an independent consutlant with The Pampered Chef and gained quite a reputation for cooking well and cooking creatively. I used to preach it to the choir at my kitchen shows...."do you find yourself in a dinner rut? Does your family know what day of the week it is just by simply taking a look at the dinner table? You know...Taco Tuesday, Sloppy Joe Saturday, Whatever-is-in-the-pantry Wednesday, etc." Then, I would throw myself and my guests into an fun cooking demonstration of how to kick up their menu and shoot that dinner rut out of the sky.  And all for pennies and in very little time. Ahhh...well, I stopped listening to myself.  I fell into a rut and pulled my family down in with me.  Poor things!  I received a bit of inspiration recently. My neighbor was in a difficult and physically painful situtation that deserved some serious TLC from us.  I offered to bring some meals over.  In going through all of my recipes I found a little clipping about the size of a coupon for Southern Fried Chicken Pasta Salad. 

Simple and easy. Mayo, mustard, salt & pepper, bell pepper, hard-boiled eggs, minced garlic and cold fried chicken.  Confession:  I purchased popcorn chicken from the Wal-Mart deli.

Olivia and Chloe helped.  They loooved the Food Chopper.

It turned out pretty well. My hubby and little one were pleasantly surprised by my "shake-up" and enjoyed it too.  My neighbor said it was delish. I feel the need to place a gold star on a chart for myself!