Always busy -

I've been in training classes for the U.S. Census again. This new phase should take about a month. It's pretty interesting and you meet lots of people.

Some are really NICE.

Others are just KIND of NICE.

Some are STINKERS.

Others are CLUELESS.

Then there is me, struggling along to understand what I'm supposed to do. It's weird. There are some things that I just GET. Then there are some other things that sound absolutely ridiculous that I DON'T get. So I have to find a kind soul in our class who is training like me to explain it in terms that don't make me tear out my hair.

BUT.

I'm making some decent money and doing a service for the USA. In the meantime, Larry does the laundry, ('cause I'm gone all day!!)

And the camera sits here on my desk......

Sad news to report

Well folks, you know Harley the baby dog from next door? They gave him away. The vet supposedly said he was psycho puppy who could turn dangerous at any moment.

I'll give you three guesses how Larry feels about no Harley around:

1. awful

2. very awful

3. so awful he can't even talk about it.

So here's to our sweet little neighbor dog. I don't think he was psycho puppy. I think he needed to be trained. So I am mad and sad at the same time.

He was a nice little dog.

5 Day Water Fast - Day 6

What a good day! I learned how to appreciate food this morning in a new way. I baked apples for us for breakfast. When we sat down and thanked the Lord for our food, it had a whole new meaning for me. I was so grateful. My taste was enhanced. It SMELLED amazing. And oh, tasting that sweet delicious apple with cinnamon, coriander and nutmeg was like a taste of heaven.

From my studying, I learned that I would probably be more hungry after having food for the first time. That really is what has happened. But now I know that being hungry is not an emergency. I will live.

5 Day Water Fast - Day 5

I've lost 8lbs. (amazing, I think.)

Received answers to questions.

Did some soul searching.

Read a lot.

Thought about food a lot.

Got very discouraged.

Survived.

This has been a journey full of awakenings.

Last night was the worst. I almost quit, because of the thoughts that oh it's not worth it, oh my body needs food, oh who cares, oh I just want to eat. Larry encouraged me to continue until today. So I drank (MORE) water and watched the ballgame with his mother and then just went to bed, with a prayer in my heart of thanksgiving for the blessings of this fast.

I was very grateful that today was the last day.

The dumb part of me started this fast after eating most of a huge hamburger at the Red Wings game Saturday night and, get this, the last food that was in my stomach was FRIED DOUGH WITH POWDERED SUGAR. If I ever do this again, I will work up to it by eating good fresh food, lots of fruit and cooked veggies. It will also be the Master Cleanse, which is drinking a concoction of fresh lemon juice, Grade B maple syrup and cayenne pepper every day. Water alone got very old.

This afternoon, I began to drink an organic pomegranate juice blend, a diluted glass every two hours. What a difference!! I feel alive again. My eyes are still NOT puffy which is such a nice perk. I now realize, with a new awareness, that overeating and especially sugar and salt are really bad for me. Without those things, my blood pressure dropped from a high of 143/93 (yikes) to 114/76. Also, my body did not ache.

Thank you to all four! of you who followed me on this journey. I appreciated your good thoughts and well wishes.

More juice awaits....

5 Day Water Fast - Day 4

Before I forget - my photo blog is open to everyone. I didn't remember that it was still private.

Day 4 has been quite interesting. I've had to stay close to the "facilities!"

There still is not real hunger, but this darn wanting to eat is a pain. It is boring not to eat! Water is fine and lovely and I am VERY grateful to have clean, sparkling water, but it gets tiring and not very tasty after a while. I was planning for breaking my fast Friday morning and saw in the refrigerator, Juice! and Nectarines! and a Pear! and Zucchini! Slowly I will introduce food again. Good, fresh fruit and vegetables. I am ashamed to say that there were some days that a veggie did not cross my lips. I am looking at food differently.

Two things I love about this cleansing is that my eyes are no longer puffy. It never really occurred to me how puffy underneath they really were. The other thing is that my body doesn't have its usual stiffness upon awaking. I had learned in the past that white flour and sugar did a number on me, especially in the morning. Remember last year when I wasn't eating any sugar? I should have continued.

I am hoping beyond hope that I can keep my aging body happy and healthy after this experience.

My mind is another story. I like the way I am thinking this week! To be sure, this is one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life, but the things I am discovering are worth it. I am....

DETERMINED.

COURAGEOUS.

SMART.

SPIRITUAL.

INSIGHTFUL.

Those things are really good to discover about yourself.

I also know that God loves me. He answers prayers in many wonderful ways. I know the Atonement is real.

I am also announcing to the world that my husband is a kind man. He loves me, too.

5 Day Water Fast - Day 3

Today is much better. I am not hungry and actually feel kind of energetic, although a little light-headed. Or spacey. Maybe it's just being tired. Every time I flopped on the couch or the bed today to take a snooze something would wake me up, like the phone or a noise outside or the cat.

I'm getting some answers to the "issues" on my list! The answers are coming through my reading, or just thoughts that occur to me or even in a couple of dreams I've had which are pertinent to why I'm doing this.

Water tastes pretty good again. What's weird though is I am already planning my menu for the weekend, meaning how I will wean myself back to eating. Food is on my mind, but the desire to eat is really not there.

OH! And my lower braces are off! The uppers will be on for another couple of months at least. My retainer is purple and looks ridiculous but it makes me smile so who cares!

I can't say I'm really enjoying this, but I'm not hating it and it is good for me. The benefits are real.

Thanks for the support!

5 Day Water Fast - Day 2

The headache nailed me yesterday. My head was very sad and angry at me. Usually a headache means I am a little dehydrated but since I was drinking a lot, that probably wasn't the case. So I just went to bed about 10:30 and slept REALLY well until about 4am when I woke up with the same unhappy head.

With some prayer and thought, I decided it would be just fine to take a couple of Advil on an empty stomach. I went back to bed, tossed and turned for just a little while, then LO! JOY! - woke up this morning at 8:30, feeling wonderful!!

No headache!

No aches anywhere!

The hollow feeling in my stomach was manageable!

I was still alive!

And now, the things I am learning while fasting are profound. I will share some.

This is hard. It is taking courage and determination to do this. Taking one day at a time helps.

I am really not craving food. It's almost like when we don't drink alcohol, it doesn't matter if there is any around. We just don't drink it so it isn't a temptation anymore. That's how I'm feeling right now about food. I'm just not eating it so it's not a temptation.

What IS hard is the feeling of emptiness banging around in there. This is definitely an emotional journey of trying to be filled with things other than food. I am VERY surprised at how much time (before) I spent considering food. Thinking about it. Planning for it. Preparing for it. Buying it. Cooking it. Eating it. Cleaning up after it. Wandering around looking for some more.

Now, it's just me and myself. Larry of course is here and supportive but this journey is mine. And whoa, it is emotional.

Physically, I am a little irritable and the headache is back, but not as bad as it was yesterday. My mouth has a funny taste in it.

We went for a short walk this afternoon which was nice. Temperatures in the 70's, sunny, lovely and pleasant. I am tired, so I need to take a nap. Part of this whole thing is for me to learn to listen to my body, something I don't usually do. I am sitting a lot in my little nook, reading, thinking, listening.

I AM learning.

5 Day Water Fast - Day 1

While driving home from church this afternoon, I saw a woman and her little boy coming out of a pizza place with the cardboard box that holds my favorite food. My first thought was that I don't have to WORRY about food for the next five days.

It was a good thought.

There are things that should be done today and I want to do them. My Gospel Doctrine lesson for next week, for instance. But I am trying like mad to not let this be just another Sunday. This is my time to look over my list of issues. (Actually, isn't that just the dumbest word? We used to call "issues" "troubles.") But I do have time. I do have time.

Yes I have a list which I will be mulling over and discussing with the Lord. I hope he doesn't get sick of me and my "issues." Nah, he never does.

Water tastes weird today.

Ya know what?

Thanks to all of you who responded about my photo a day. I just decided that it doesn't have to be all or nothing! Imagine that. So I will be on the lookout for cool pics day by day but if I miss a day I won't kill myself.

I just realized that since I stopped doing my Photo of the Day, my desire to blog has dropped off significantly. Soooo, how can I change that? My blog is like a journal, so I'm missing out on recording too many things.

So this is what is going to happen:

After going to the last Red Wings game of the season tomorrow night, I'm going to start a five day fast. I'll be drinking water. That's it.

I feel this need to take five days to myself to feel good again - mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually etc...

After a lot of study and research, a five day water fast with a lot of quiet time sounds just right to me. Larry is supportive, which is good 'cause I won't be doing any cooking! What I will be doing is reading, sleeping, meditating, taking short walks, praying, just trying to get myself together again. I am really looking forward to it.

I will keep you updated as the days go by.

Oh and please, if any of you think this is not good or it's weird or dangerous, don't tell me. I need the encouragement, plus the Lord says I'll be fine!