Wow.  I'm moved into the realm of very VERY bad blogger.   Let me catch you all up.  (notice I said all like I have a huge fan club..lol).   Anyways, I'm lost some weight.   Yay?   I think about 6lbs now.   I seriously don't weigh myself very often so it could be more.  Based on comments of my co-workers, I think maybe more than I think.  lol.

Last week I went to the acupuncturist for the first time.  She convinced me to begin taking fish oil tablets and a liquid B complex, both of which make my pee smelly and yellow but if they do the job...wonderful.  She thinks I'm doing great with juicing and staying gluten, dairy and soy free.  With my MS, she would have demanded I become Gluten free as she is convinced of gluten's inflammatory properties in relation to MS.   Anyways, I wasn't thinking I was going to have acupuncture on that visit, maybe just listen to why she thought I should.  However, because I immediately began crying when I sat down, she was insistent I needed a "mood" fix.  Yes, I did cry.   I think I was emotionally spent but also I had been almost five days of my Cymbalta by that point.  

I like how she was not going to "compete" against my neuro but "compliment" his strategies.   It may well be that I need to go back on an antidepressant to help with nerve pain and fatigue and I will have to accept it but I'm gonna try really hard not to head in that direction.   I'm tired of feeling like a Zombie.   For example (and this is just an example).    Before antidepressants, if you told me my husband was having a torrid affair I would have been like "f*ck that!.  Where's the bitch.  Imma kill him and her".   On antidepressants I would most likely shrug and say "oh that's nice.  Did he pick up the orange juice on the way home?"    Seriously.  I don't react to anything.  It's like I live in my own protected "mindy" bubble only it's lonely in this bubble and I'm dying to break out.    Considering I swore at my husband this evening for throwing out a brand new hand soap, I would say I'm on my way to being the potty mouth queen I once was....lol

Today marked a week I have been taking the fish oils and b complex, no difference so far.  I have felt the "didn't juice" difference though.   On days I don't juice, I'm hot tempered, uncomfortable, unfocused and all around lousy.  I need to make juicing an every morning priority.  

On the non juicing front, it's still hit and miss with what I like and can manage to cook.  Tonight I made some lime rice or something like that.   I used sesame oil, mustard seeds, poppy seeds, ground tumeric and some curry, green onions and one tiny thai pepper (chopped) to season the boneless, skinless chixen strips.  I ran out of sesame oil and used the oil in the tahini jar too....lol.  I tossed the cooked stuff into my steamed organic long grain rice and then I squeezed an entire lime into the rice and tossed again, adding slivered almonds.   I must say...nummo!!!!   I think I'm going to leave this blog and go get some seconds.....

Today I made some homemade lemonade with my juicer.  You would think this would be easy but as I cant use sugar and the organic honey I found doesn't break down into the juice, so it was quite messy.   In the end, I have some yummy strawberry lime/lemonade and while you can tell it's honey sweetening the mix, it's not a bad flavor combo.

Tonight I minced some ginger and garlic, flavored it with lime juice and rubbed it over some hormone free chicken.   It was yummo.   I, also, took some of the juice of the ginger, garlic and lime and added it to my rice steamer and again...fabulouso.   Topped with almonds, I made something I love.   Maybe Mark won't love it so much.....lol

I planted cherry tomato plants and regular tomato plants outside the house.  First time for everything.  I'm sure it's not the ideal spot but with two large trees shading our humble abode, I'm not sure where the ideal spot may be.    Of course, plant today and heavy winds and hail this evening.   Lovely.   Poor plants.   Good thing I didn't name them and get attached.  

I should note that I've finally lost some weight.   A measly 4lbs.  Yippee.   Good thing I'm not doing this for the benefit of weight loss alone........

Starting my day with 3/4 of a pineapple, two green apples, two kiwi's and one banana.  Good thing I have a juicer to pack all those nutrients into my morning.   I must admit, I want to buckle on the caffeine thing.  I brought almond milk to the local coffee shop (yeah, we can do that in the Yoop) and I've been drinking decaf cappacino's....they are ok but sniff...sniff.   It's just not the same.    It's like having George Clooney and settling for Jay Leno.  

I realized this morning it's been two weeks since I've had a headache.  I'm assuming it's because I'm not as dehydrated as I'm assuming juicing wont allow you to be dehydrated.   I'm also assuming it has something to do with caffeine.   I do a lot of assuming.  :)

I got up uber early this morning, made my juice, took Chevy for his walk and my Nano must have been a bit too loud as I got home and had the following text.."sure, don't say hi to me you biatch"   lol.   Sorry Jen, I would most certainly said "hi" had I been listening to something other than awolnation at 10 decibels.

I'm off to peruse the net to find some easy sweet potato chip recipes so I can have a yummy snack for work today.   Look out Martha!

I'm eating some interesting meals.   Like this

Yes, those are kale chips.  I've been making them with a little olive oil, balsamic, Italian seasoning baked at 350 for ten minutes.  They remind me of crunch brussell spouts that way.   The olives are stuffed with garlic and very yummy.  Radishes, of course, are still my favorite raw veggie.   I did make some rather tasty juice tonight with lots extra to begin my day tomorrow.  Beets, lime, oranges, kiwi, kale and apples.

Today was a good day in terms of activity.  I felt alive.  I didn't even get involved on the computer this morning and instead went for a walk, a long walk with Chevy.   We stopped on one of the lake decks so Chevy could bark at the fishies..  

Somebody should really check the deck rails cuz I think Chevy was weebling their wobble a bit to much.
Following our walk, I came home and brushed him, gathering a Walmart bag of golden retriever hair.   But he wasn't pretty enough so I brought him out to Piers Gorge for 45 minute swim and subsequent bath.  He was in Heaven.  We followed it up with a 30 minute hike up the Gorge trails until I realized I needed to return home so Mark could bring me to see The Avengers at the movies (great movie, btw).   So my pup was plum-tuckered out.

Yes, this means I'm feeling the energy of my diet.   Yay!!!!  I even found time to paint some canvas edges black so I can begin the process of creating some paint sample art.    Stay tuned for that future fiasco....

Blog Neglecter!  That's me.   I've had a busy week but did manage to enjoy a great Wed. off and while I meant to sleep until 3pm, my back wouldn't let me.  Funny how we could sleep forever when we were young.  I miss those days.

I took several walks this week and instead of walking around Strawberry Lake every time, I've walked the 'hill".  It makes my bum feel like I've completed at least 30 minutes on a stair-stepper.   Seriously, it doesn't look like a big hill but my bum tells a different story.

I made it my two weeks of juicing, except Wed night I had hormone free chicken and asparagus.   I grilled the chicken with lots of oregeno, Italian seasoning and balsamic and the quick mix tasted really good.   I made a awesome salad Thursday night with the left over chicken (and there was a lot because I couldn't eat too much).  I did have juice for lunch and breakfast both those days.  Friday came, my 15th day and I didn't juice all day.  I was just sick of fruits and veggie juice.  I managed an orange and a few strawberries for lunch.   For dinner, we went to Spiro's and I searched and searched the menu for something both gluten free and soy free.   Finally, the waitress assured me their rice noodles were indeed rice (funny how I trust nobody) and I had a wonderful Asian veggie noodle combo.  The snap peas were so fresh and crunchy.   It was a wonderful wonderful meal...until....

Yes, I got to Walmart after dinner and RAN to the restroom.   I mean, RAN!   I guess my tummy wasn't ready for that wonderful dinner.    Sigh.

I proceeded to shop at Wallyworld for gluten, soy & dairy free products and um not so lucky.   I found a few things but all of which mean cooking.  I mean, Wallyworld doesn't even carry Red Mill products.  Why?   I'm sure that I'm not the only person searching for gluten free products.

Today was the real test.   Baby shower.   Loads and loads of yummy food.   Luckily I have nearly 1/2 of my dinner from last night and finished that before going to the shower.   Of course, I ate the fruit and veggies and drank lots of water.  However, I had to wipe away tears when it came to saying "no" to the Andrea's Sweet Designs cake.   Oh god, how I love her cakes.   Almond cake with raspberry filling and the best BEST icing ever.   Yummmmmmm.....and of course I said ...."no".

I should be proud but I'm kinda kicking myself in the ass.  It's not like I can eat Andrea's cake that often.....puhlease..will somebody get married soon and have Andrea's cake???  Pretty please?

After the shower today, I did find gluten free pancake mix and requested that Mark make me some for Mother's Day tomorrow.   I've been craving pancakes.   The only problem, I don't really have a natural maple syrup on hand.  Sigh...guess I will just spread some almond butter on those babies.....

Short blog tonight.  I'm beat.   Very busy at bank today, however, I did manage a lunch and spent most of it on the toilet.   I had a beet juice concoction this morning and um, yeah, my pee is purple, my #2 is purple.   Everything is coming out  Barney.  (if you had a kid in the 90s you will get that reference).

Somebody said that I was at my "clean" point when my outgoings match the color of my ingoings.   I wasn't that keen on actually witnessing.   Oh the joys of juice!

I've been thinking about what meals to start with come this weekend and do you know after all these fruits and veggies, I just want to have some grilled asparagus?   Geesh....

I'm freezing.  Darn spring rain.  I want nothing more than some tomato soup.   Doesn't this recipe look good?  Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup .   I think when my two week of juicing are up and I wander into another rainy day, I'm going to attempt to make this with Almond milk and of course, juice the tomatoes instead of using canned tomatoes.   The butter, however, will take some learning on how to omit.  Any ideas?

Today, because of my tomato soup craving, I made another tomato based juice.   4 toms, 1/2 bundle of spinch, 2 cukes, 2 celery stalks, a little avocado (I tried a little as I didn't know what the juicer would do with avocado) a sprig of fresh basil and one garlic clove (or whatever you call one piece off a garlic..don't use the whole garlic.  we don't really have Vampires in the U.S).  This was my first time juicing garlic.  I love garlic but I was afraid of how pungent it would become.   Fortunately, it tasted awesome.  I would have take pictures but I'm too lazy.  It is a Sunday afternoon and I'm allowed to be lazy.

I'm really bumming because I realize that on the Wahl's diet, I should stay away from Soy.   I love Tofu and was looking forward to baking some with Thai seasoning.  Sigh.   I read that there is Almond tofu but it serves a more desert-like purpose and not likely something I would find around here.

I must say I'm getting hungrier and hungrier and I can't wait for this cleanse to be over and being eating more than fruit/veggie solids or almonds.   I'm really craving protein.  I mean meat.  As many know, meat is not a friend and I often say I could live without the stuff but today, I'm wanting a piece of steak.   Just one little piece, of course, drowned in A1 sauce but nevertheless, steak.

I had to fight the urge.   I had a huge urge to call Blackstone and order a huge greek salad, of course, fooling myself that all that feta cheese can't be that poisonous. If I hadn't skipped making a lunch juice, I wouldn't be so ravenous.  Luckily, I decided on carott juice for dinner, thinking it would kill my urge.  8 lovely carotts, 2 applies and one mango later I had this...

But I was ravenous.  So I used some of the carott pulp (and there was lots of carott pulp) to make this.,,

It could have used butter but ahhhhh let's dream.   With a little honey and a spoon of flaxseed, I warmed this baby for a minute in the microwave and it's yummo.  The flaxseed adds a complimentary nuttiness just as I'm sure my husband thinks I add complimentary nuttiness to this household.   See, it's perfect!

AND the best news.  I removed the carott pulp first before adding the apples and mango and as I went to toss the later out I thought "what the heck" and I threw it into Chevy's dish and he LOVED it  mixed in with his dog food.  He came back looking like "more?  more?  more?" (insert the Miska youtube dog's voice here).

I do have one juicing complaint.   I've only lost one pound.   I know I'm not doing this to lose weight, my goal is eating better for life and helping my MS, however, one measly pound for 8 days of juicing??   I'm not feeling the love!

One week!  Wow.  I can't believe I made it thru this last week on juice and some almonds.  The freaky thing is I'm not starving.   I watched Mark eat his Damian's take out and I didn't even want any.  Yes, his buttered bake potato looked good but it was not the food worth failing.

I have to start planning and gathering for the next transition which is to the Wahl's diet.   It basically means raw food, no gluten, grass fed meats and no processed foods.  So, yeah, I can have a hamburger but on what and with what??  I'm pretty sure ketchup is processed and I don't "can" my own pickels.   Sigh.   The upside is I can make my own potato chips.  (Can you feel my dread.  I suck in the kitchen).  Maybe I will stick to juicing simply because it's so easy and I don't have to make choices.

Well, it's been a crazy week and an even crazier day.   The mattress upstairs is calling my name.  Can you hear it too?

Many have been asking how I have been feeling.   This is going to sound very strange, but I've been feeling full. Except for the occasional stomach rumble, I haven't had hunger pains and the only time I feel "hungry" is when I'm craving something.  For example, last night, Mark made lasagna.  I think it was a Marie Calendars lasagna and I had to fight...yes fight....the urge to lick the spatula as I wrapped up his lasagna and put the leftovers in the fridge.  My eyes moved back and forth from the melted cheese to the lumpy marinara on the spatula, like I wasn't sure which ooey goodness I was going to take a quick pick from.    I resisted.   I dropped the spatula in dirty veggie water, flung the saran wrap over the lasagna and shoved that sucker in the fridge.  I proceeded to juice the tomato concoction you saw previously.  But as for hunger, I don't think I'm truly hungry.  

Overall, I feel the same.  I don't have any extra energy, actually the opposite.   I've been fighting fatigue.  I'm sure this is because the Tysabri is clearing its way out of my body and the fatigue I felt previous to Tysabri is slowly returning.  Another reason for me to stick with juicing and diet modification to be sure I give myself a fighting chance before ever taking Gilenya.  Notice I said "ever?"

I did finally get some of the dreaded side effects of juicing.  Lovely toilet trips the last two mornings but luckily nothing that has effected my work.  I'm totally paranoid about having accidents at work.  Those who have MS know all about "accidents", bladder or bowel.  It's never pretty and so we don't like to help it along any.   On a scale of 1-5, 5 being the worst, I would rate the bowel issues as a 2 at this point.  So, if your thinking of NOT juicing because of this fear, don't.   Give it a try.   It was what was scaring the bejesus out of me and now I wonder why I was so scared.

Last night I had some mild toe curling but it was nothing compared to the pain I woke with this morning in my face.   Yes, my face.   WTF?   I'm hoping it sinus or some strange type of migraine but I thought I was going to toss my cookies, (um, juices?) it hurt so badly.   I may have been clenching my teeth very tightly while sleeping and perhaps this is why I woke up with all this pain in my jaw and cheekbones.   It was very strange.   Six tylenol later and a hot shower, I feel somewhat better.  

This mornings juice is yummy.   I threw this one together rather quickly.  Two oranges, one kiwi, 1/2 of a watermelon edge, 1/4 pineapple, 2 apple, and some coconut.    I'm still struggling with the meat removal of the coconut.  

Speaking of coconut, I've never tasted anything so good as the hunks I'm pulling out of that shell!  I mean, I've always loved coconut.  Can you say Pina Colada?  Nummy!    Anyways, when I see the coconut my body is saying "give me give me give me" and it doesn't even want me to put it in the juicer.  It's making me pop it in my mouth and then I have to start the whole meat removal process over.    What's up with that??  The same can be said with beef jerky.   I'm totally craving some.   I wish I knew where I could pick up some natural jerky right now.   I'd be all over the stuff.

I'm off to work.  Keep your fingers crossed that the rain will stop and I can take a walk after work with my baby.  Poor Chevy needs more walks.

Today is day six, right?  Yes, I work at a bank, I can add, it's def six days.   I just made another tomatoe concoction.  It's not pretty.   Take a looksie.

 Yeah it's not pretty but it's Yummo!

Tonight I used one red pepper instead of two green peppers but the recipe is essentially the same.   I'm thinking I should pick up some dill but given how hard cilantro is to juice in the machine, I wonder if dill will be just as difficult.   Seriously I could chew and spit the cilantro faster than the juicer.  lol.

I am really impressed with this juicer.  I really can't blame it for it's cilantro difficulties.   :)

Last night I had an excruciating toe curl at about 3am.  I felt like all the bones in my foot were being crushed  and my toes were going to touch my ankle.   F*CK it hurt.   I hopped around, walked up and down the hall  and nothing worked until I put the sock, which had inadvertently fell off my foot (yes, I sleep with socks), back on the foot and viola....the pain subsided.   Really???  Really?   I mean Really?   I feel like it's not a disease but a psycho poltergeist making sure I don't sleep.   BTW...I can say F*ck cuz this is my blog!

Oh and before I log....will somebody tell me what lettuce this picture might be?   I've been putting it in my veggie juices along with the kale and have no idea. I'm sure it's something I eat all the time but since I'm not buying lettuce in prepared bags and Martha Stewart kicked me out of her kitchen, I'm defaulting to my tiny audience's knowledge.  lol

The other day, at work, I reached into the candy drawer, unwrapped a oreo-filled chocolate easter egg, and popped that sucker in my mouth.   In a split second, I spit it out and said.  "oh my god", tossed that thing into the garbage while the tellers giggled.   Well, today, I did it again, only this time it was because my mouth tastes like crapola.   I grabbed a fireball, realized it was full of sugar and after tossing the thing, took some sugar free gum from a teller.   Point of this?  Hmmm, well, I would munch  if I wasn't sure I wanted to stick to this BUT, also, juicing makes your breath stink or something....

This is almost the end of day five and I can't say that I feel better.  That would be great but it would be silly and it would give many the impression eating healthy is a quick fix.   I am impressed with my self-control but perhaps that is because I'm working too much and I have no temptations in my office.  Ten hours of OT last week and probably the same this week, doesn't make for a lot of food grazing.  

I can tell you that my first bit of food better be brushetta cuz after the drink last night at dinner, I'm craving basil and mozzarella cheese.

I opened my first coconut this morning.  Thanks to a friend giving me instructions on how to properly roll and thwack the thing at the same time.   Coconut was a great additive to my juice this morning.   Darn if it's not the hardest thing to eat.   No wonder Hawaiin's are skinny.   Anyways, I put the coconut juice and some meat (what I could patiently skim) into my pineapple, apple, strawberry, orange juice concoction.  

And now the juicer calls for dinner.  I have to get my veggies into my day.  Darn this Kale.