The reason this is my favorite time of year. The weather these last few weeks has been glorious.
Baby Gunnison is getting so cute and big!
Our customers at Tangle have been knitting helmet liners for the troops and we have sent off over 500 so far. We are so happy to be part of this project.
We will be carving pumpkins at Carrie’s big pumpkin carving party later this week, but the kids had to have a little sneak peak at the fun.
Remember this quilt? The one I made when I thought the baby was going to be a girl? Turns out he was a boy (see above) and so the quilt became a nice throw for Rickelle’s living room. (This would be the second girl quilt I’ve made for a boy. – Lesson: don’t sew quilts for babies until they are born.) I finally got the binding on it.
Last week I was invited to attend a dinner party at Cat Mayer’s house. She had the brilliant idea to get 10 entrepreneurs together for a beautiful dinner under a canopy of twinkling lights on her patio. Robin from Toast styled the whole event and it was catered by Berna B’s. Everything was so magical.
(Of course my iphone photo’s don’t do Cat’s justice.)
Last week my friends Seth and Carrie moved into my basement. They make #12 & #13 to live in my basement. S&C have been on this huge adventure since February of this year, traveling all over the country. They were needing a place to keep their stuff while they were on the road and also a place to stay when they are in town so I offered up my basement.
Carrie is one of my dearest friends and someone that I can easily live with. While they have been home this summer, she and Seth have provided SO much community to the kids and I. Something that we are desperately needing at this time in life. Relationships mean so much more when you are constantly living life together.
Seeing them leave yesterday for the next leg of their trip was bittersweet. I know that this trip is such a great opportunity for them – not something they will be able to do once they have kids and a mortgage. But it’s also sad for me to lose a big part of my community, if only temporarily. The lesson that I’m learning is that I need to continue to cultivate a community surrounding me and the kids. That life is meant to be lived together and that it takes a village – for all of us.
Yesterday was the official last day of my cleanse. I didn’t end up following the diet very well because my blood sugar couldn’t handle it. By day five all I could do was lay on the couch – my body was begging for protein. So I gradually started adding beans and lean proteins in. By the end of the cleanse, I was eating low-fat dairy, lean meats, beans, nuts, fruits and vegetables. The diet without any proteins was undoable for me, but with the proteins it was totally doable and I plan to continue on it. In the last 15 days, I’ve lost 5lbs. Which is a feat for my body that likes to hang onto every ounce.
I think the 5 day fruits and veggies only was a great way to get myself off sugar and junk foods and back onto a better eating plan. I feel healthy and energetic and am finally not craving grains.
On Monday baby Gunnison was born. We were all convinced that he was a girl, so he was quite the surprise. But as soon as I saw him in the hospital with his mama (my dear friend Rickelle) I thought, of course he’s a boy. He is just perfect. Now I have to figure out how to transform his quilt into something more boyish.
On Tuesday I got to spend some time with Carrie and Danielle before Carrie headed out on her next big adventure. Carrie didn’t win her contest – and it all seems a little fishy. I believe it was rigged. (Thank you all who voted for her.) So we had a little retail therapy at Pollux and then ate at one of my favorite downtown restaurants (il Bistro) before wandering up and down Main Street. I’m on Main Street nearly every day, but with that familiarity it has not lost it’s charm. I especially love it at night.
Wednesday I went to my first City Council meeting. I recently started serving on the board for the Downtown Association so I’m starting to get interested in the workings of the city. My friend Amy was speaking before the city council, so I thought it would be a good time to go observe. It was fascinating. I was so surprised that the meeting begins with a prayer by a local pastor. Many people in this town think it’s run by a good ole boy’s club – I’m not sure if that’s true, but it makes me want to get right in the middle of it and stir things up.
On Wednesday Eden also left for camp for 4 days.
Thursday Brooke helped me take my old couch to the landfill. I felt SO guilty about taking it there but because the evil (horrible) cat scratched it so badly, no one would take it. The landfill is SUCH an interesting place. We spent the rest of the day cooling off at the lake.
The rest of the week was spent preparing for Tangle’s big 5th birthday sale and finishing up the Fall Class schedule. (See Spud above, one of our classes.) Can you believe that I’ve had Tangle for 5 years? The time has gone so fast! We had a wonderful sale on Saturday, the biggest day ever. I’m so thankful that Tangle is such a success – I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I didn’t get to spend my days surrounded by yarn and fabric and wonderful people.
Day two was a little better than day 1. I woke up feeling nauseous but that subsided by mid-morning. I made the V28 juice which I think was supposed to be similar to V8, but it wasn’t very good – kind of tasted like dirt. By the end of the day I had a little energy and felt ok. The cravings weren’t too bad and Danielle and I went on a 1.5mile walk. She is a day ahead of me and was down 4.5lbs by day 3. I don’t have a scale and haven’t been to the gym to see what my loss results (if any) are.
Day three was rough. I woke up in the middle of the night with strong anxiety and a sense of dread about the fast. In the morning I woke up nauseous again. The anxiety came back off and on throughout the day (which isn’t normal for me at all) and by the end of the night I had really low blood sugar and felt terrible even though I was either eating or drinking something every few hours. I seriously considered quitting the fast. The cravings were gone, but the fruits and vegetables didn’t seem like enough to sustain me through out the day.
The v28 has been the only recipe from the site that I haven’t liked so far. I’m thankful that I love all veggies and I did LOVE the seaweed salad:
1 cup Soaked Arame Seaweed
2 Tbsp Flax Oil
1 Avocado
1 Tomato
1/4 Red Onion, finely chopped
1 Carrot, chopped or shredded
Parsley, finely chopped
Fresh Lemon Juice
Sea Salt
Dash of Cayenne
Add all ingredients together in bowl, mix and enjoy.
So yesterday I started a 15 day fruits & veggies fast. My friend Danielle told me about this great documentary on Netflix called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and after I watched it, I was sold on the idea of a fast. It was pretty amazing how these two men reversed some pretty serious diseases and lost TONS of weight by juicing. Danielle was totally sold on the idea of doing the fast too so we decided to give it a go.
I started with the Reboot Standard fast which is 5 days of fruits & veggies and fruit & veggie juice, 5 days of just juice and 5 more days of fruits & veggies/juice. I am not totally sold on the idea of just juice for 5 days, so I’m giving myself the option to possibly eat during that time.
I’m trying to follow the suggested meal plan. I knew I’d have an easier time sticking to the diet if I knew exactly what I was going to eat and when. I like every vegetable, so it seemed like a good plan for me.
Yesterdays meals looked like this:
Breakfast: pear
snack: Green Juice – kale, spinach, apple, celery, cucumber, ginger (pictured above – it was actually quite good and full of protein thanks to the kale and spinach)
Lunch: cold carrot-ginger soup – which I loved (I juiced carrots and then blended the carrot juice with an avocado and some spices), a giant salad with homemade honey mustard vinaigrette.
Snack: a plum and a banana
Dinner: Steamed broccoli, snow peas and carrots with homemade sesame ginger dressing. The rest of the carrot soup. Some fresh coconut.
By the end of the day I kind of felt flu like and very lethargic. These symptoms are very typical of the first few days as my body cleanses itself. My stomach was very bloated and uncomfortable too. I felt full but not satisfied. All I wanted was something with grain – the kids were eating giant pretzels and I WANTED one.
Friday night Carrie,the kids and I loaded up my Xterra and headed to Delta, the next town over, to watch the double feature at the drive-in. Before pulling in to the movie, we headed to Sonic for dinner. (I rarely eat fast food and rarely eat at chain restaurants – I try to only eat at local restaurants as much as possible. But I have been CRAVING the Chicago Dog at Sonic – it is SO good!) As we pulled up to Sonic, we were happy to see the drive-in spaces FULL of vintage cars. It was SO fun!
After we enjoyed our delicious hot dogs (Chicago for me, New York for Carrie and Chili Cheese for the kids – they are their father’s kids) we headed to the movie.
We backed the Xterra in, laid down the back seats and set up a comfy little camp. The movies were Mr. Popper’s Penguins and Cars 2 which were perfect for the kids. Carrie and I fell asleep during the last movie, but the kids went strong all night, probably fueled by all the sugar they consumed. The movie starts at dark which put us home (after the 30 minute drive) around 1:30am.
I have to say, it was one of the MOST fun nights we’ve had all summer. Definitely a summer tradition we will continue every year.
(now I’ve got to run like 10 miles to burn off the hot dogs and popcorn!)
My dear friends Seth and Carrie made a video for Gain’s Facebook Contest and they are in the top 25 with a really great chance to win a million bucks. Please help them win by voting for their video everyday until August 1st.
Here’s the link
You have to allow the Gain app through facebook and then go back to that video to vote for it.
