uuuughhh.....

Ok, so I'm totally over it. Day 7 and I'm bored. I feel pretty good, I'm not really hungry, my energy level is ok but I'm just bored. Food is what I do so it is kinda hard taking all of that away right? BUT...I committed to the 10 days (which actually turns into about 15 if you count the ease in and ease out) so I am going to stick to it. I'm ready to eat good healthy food again. I guess the good part is still that I'm cravin the good stuff and have plans to "get my good-eats on". You know some good whole food. Anyway, just a little update into the cleanse...still glad I am doing it to detox and lighten up but definitly can't wait to be done :) Plus I gotta get some good strength and energy back to "get my run on". Looking forward to it and I think this will actually get me off to a good start.

Cleansing Update

Well, first off, I don’t recommend going on a fasting cleanse while working at a grocery store. BUT I am doing well. I am nearing the end of Day 6. I still have energy to work out each day although I may have to back off on that just a little bit. Day 4 was definitely my hardest. The evening before that day I didn’t sleep well and was a bit uncomfortable. My stomach was definitely off so I went to the bathroom quite often in the night and ever since then I usually have the same issue in the afternoons. Day 4 was low energy and I had the chills and a little achy but didn’t feel sick although my stomach cramped here and there. I just went home after work, took a bath and laid on the couch relaxing and drinking tea. Only three more Lemonade days and then a few ease out days before getting back to a normal healthy diet. Going strong and gonna keep it up. Today was the first real day thinking about eating really food again. BUT I can say the things I am craving are all the beautiful in-season veggies, grains, beans, and nuts. Can’t wait to eat some good healthy stuff again. I also miss cooking too! I must say though that I would miss it a lot more if I wasn’t keeping myself pretty busy. Looking forward to starting my marathon training on Saturday. The weather is warming up and it is gonna be a great spring and summer. Lots going on! Stay tuned :)

Good day in Chicago

So, yes, I am still doing my cleanse and actually am still surprisingly pretty active and feeling pretty good. It is nearing the end of day 3 and I'm still going strong. Observation as I cleanse....It is interesting to see how much time we spend everyday eating, preparing to eat, cooking, planning meals, grocery shopping, planning to meet up with others for something to eat etc...so when all you have to do is make a jug of lemonade everyday, you end up with alot of extra time on your hands to get things done or just chill out.

I had a really good day today. I suppose it helped that it was 73 degrees, sunny and beautiful here. I woke up and got a few odds and ends organized before heading off to meet up with a possible private German language tutor at 11. I gave myself plenty of time to go outside and walk for about an hour before meeting up with her. She was great. Very sweet and kind. She is actually from Armenia but lived for quite a while in Germany and just finished her PhD in Teaching German as a 2nd Language. I'm really excited to work with her and plan to start taking some lessons once a week. Hopefully I will be able to keep it up. I was really nervous and a little resistant to meet up with her cause I haven't been speaking or hearing the language since I left Heidelberg a month and a 1/2 ago. I felt so slow in our first trial lesson. It's really amazing how fast you can start to lose something like that. BUT afterward I was very motivated and am looking forward to learning more. After the lesson I walked to the downtown Library and looked around and picked up a libary card just incases I might want a book or something one day. I left there and walked all around downtown just enjoying the weather before heading home to rest at relax as my energy level was slowly diminishing. At 5 I attended my church's Saturday evening service. I love going in there. It is so peaceful, comforting and calming. Something I definitley need as I tend to get worked up about things easily and don't really have many people here to talk to and help ground me again. We all can get soooo caught up in our daily lives and everything else that we tend to forget about why we are here and why we do the things we do. This brings me to the message tonight which was about really living your life for Christ in EVERY part of the culture you are in; Touching the lives of all those you come in contact with. On the other end it goes to show how everyone in your life truely helps to shape the person that you are. I know I can definitely name a few of those people for me but know that there are soooo many that I may not even know or remember. If you know someone that has positively impacted you, don't be afraid to tell them, let them know that what they do is really incredible and does make a difference. Provide them with this encouragement. And remember, the things you say and every action you do is observed and you never know how it may impact someone else for good or bad. I know that I have to constantly remind myself of this. Sorry I will get out of lecture mode but this is something I feel pretty passionate about and will admit I am definitely not perfect at. I will say though that I strive to be a positive part of as many lives as much as possible without praise but with grace from above.

During the service they also announced that they were putting a group of runners (and nonrunners) to join with Team World Vision and run the Chicago Marathon in October to raise money for the people in Haiti....WELL.....I couldn't turn it down and before I left tonight I found myself registered to run 26.1 miles in Chicago on October 10th. WHOA! I think this cleanse is making me more spontaneous than I already am :) At least I will have lots of people to train with and I'm looking forward to doing it for a great cause and making a few new friends along the way. In closing...Good day in Chicago :)

P.S. I'm not sure who Gabriel Iglesias is but apparently the show is sold out. I just loved the "CHICAGO" Theatre sign.

Spring Cleaning

It's that time again when the winter and heavy foods are drifiting away and in comes the warmer weather and along with it the desire for lighter, cooler foods. Spring is a great time to do a detox fast of some sort. ONLY if you know what you are doing and ease in and out of it. THis year I decided to experiment with The Master Cleanse or as some of you may have heard of as the Lemonade Diet. I decided on this one because sooooo many customers have come into the store for the three main ingredients hoping to have a miracle happen but yet still eat the junk they used to eat after completeing the cleanse. (My Top Secret Response: "NOT GONNA HAPPEN") BUT if you do it correctly it could actually help clean you out, clear away the toxins, give you revitilizing energy, and get you back on track for a healthier diet. So....I actually started two days ago with an easy-in diet. My first day was just fruit and veg, followed by a day of just fruit and veg juice. Today I started the Lemonade. It is made of purified water, grade B maple syrup (provides vitamins and minerals as well as positive/negative sugars), Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice for cleansing and rebuilding, and cayenne pepper for stomach heat and the clearing of mucus in the digestive tract. It actually tastes really good. Not sure I will be saying that in a few days but at least I like it now. I took a jug of it to work with me and on I was on my way :) I did great today. I worked out this morning, stayed energized at work and felt fine this evening. People I have talked to say that Day 4 is the hardest so I'm just gonna push on through. 10 days is my goal. I will update my progress as I go.

Fun Times with Old Friends

Yesterday, two of my great friends from back in my college days left after 4 days of visiting Chicago. We had such a great time exploring Chicago, eating at several Chicago favorites, and walking down memory lane from back in day when we were a little younger and crazier :) They arrived on Friday afternoon and we hit up the town for a little dinner and Chicago walking in the beautiful weather. Saturday, I surprised Kristi with tickets to The Oprah Winfrey Show. After telling her that we were actually in line for just a little museum display of a bunch of Oprah's things, I had her "going" up until we were walking through security before I had to tell her we were actually going to the show. Although the show subject itself was a little boring, the experience and spending the time together was really great. It airs on April 15th, so we get to see if we get our 15 seconds of fame. After the show we went to dinner at a great "hole-in-the-wall" resturant and had amazing crab legs for cheap. Sari filled us in on the little secret place in a below ground space with wobbly tables and Pabst on tap :) Definitely not your typical swanky seafood joint....more like a small town local bar feel. Just like home for us :)

Sunday we went to church and had brunch at my store before I had to work and the last horrah was on Monday night when we went to dinner and then drinks at the top of the Hancock building. There is an amazing view of the city up there. It was so great to have some familiar faces, close relationships, many laughs and genuine love around again. Monday night we got a few hours of sleeps before I brought them to the train for the airport early the next morning. Then it was back to work. Tuesday was a very long day at work especially with minimal sleep and I was so exhausted but my friend Jamie drug me to the Lincoln Hall to go to a concert. I was really glad she did though cause the band was really great and the venue was super cool. Any one should check out Low Anthem...they are amazing musicians. Not much exciting coming up the next week or so....until then.

My Chicago Home

The front door entrance

Coming in the front door

My cute little bathroom

Living, Dining, and Part of Kitchen

Dining

Living, Dining and Kitchen Island from other

Kitchen...which I guess is kinda "my" room too :)

My Room

View from my room

Here is the beautiful place that I was so blessed to move into with an amazing roommate, Sari. She owns the condo and is nice enough to share it with me :) The view is amazing as two of the walls are entirely windows, as you can see. I couldn't have asked for better living arrangements here. Come visit!

A lil bitta Chicago

Me, Sari, and Yvette

The BEAN

Sari and I

By the River

So I haven't posted much about any outings in Chicago or sightseeing yet. Probably cause I hadn't done much except work and unpacking. Now it is time to explore. The weather is getting beautiful and it is soooo nice to get outside again. The last two nights I have been out for drinks with my roommate, Sari (pronounced like Sarah but ending in eeee instead of ah) and her co-workers. We have gone to a couple bars with outdoor seating and on Wednesday we walked around downtown afterward and took a few pics. We walked by the river that runs right through the city and passed by Millenium Park where there is a giant reflextive "bean". Not sure what the meaning behind the bean is but it is pretty cool.

Looking forward to much more exploring especially this weekend when one of my bestest buds, Kristi and her husband Matt get here TODAY!!! She doesn't know yet but we are going to Oprah tomorrow. SHHHHHH.....It's a secret ;)