Pardon Me, This Way is a Very Nice Way

Dear Diary,

Wow, this has been one long week. I've been on spring break, but it certainly hasn't been the sun-drenched, sand-filled break the brochures promise. No, this has been a week filled with reading textbooks and writing papers, and catching up long-overdue paperwork. I'm happy to report that I now feel like the end is in sight.

Just before lights out every night, I read a few more pages in my copy of Crazy Sexy Diet. I have to say, I'm developing a real love/hate relationship with this book. I love the author's voice, I love all the wonderful information she crams into each chapter. What I hate is that I can't ignore it. The things I'm learning are going to require some real changes and as hard as it's going to be to put into practice, I just can't ignore it.

Pardon me, this is a very nice way.  It's pleasant down that way, too. 
Of course, some people do go both ways.

So I've been thinking all week about all this new information, about miscombining and protein sources, about animal products and factory farming, about wheat and gluten, about eating raw, eating vegan/vegetarian and eating right for your blood type .... I told my husband last night, I feel like I'm lost in a dietary wasteland. Maybe not a wasteland, maybe a better analogy is the image of the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz, pointing first this way and then that. Yeah, it's more like that.

There's a lot of information out there and I'm just not sure I can get my thoughts around all of it. I've finally come to the conclusion that while there are plenty of things I'm still figuring out, there are also things I already know and can do - even if I'm still trying to figure out all the rest. Here are a few of the things I know:

Hydrate: I need to drink 8 glasses of water every day without fail. I know this because the first place it shows up when I don't, is my sleep. I can't sleep when I'm dehydrated. 

Wheat: Here's something I need to face. I'm one of those people who needs to avoid wheat. I don't like it, but it's true and I just need to accept that about myself. Period.

Vitamins: I may not be in this place forever, but for the time being, I need to take them. Every day. Without them I feel crappy, I don't sleep. I'm a mess. Seems like a no-brainer. 

Juice: Gratefully, this is a habit I still love. 

Walking: Last on my list, but this may be the most important one for keeping me sane and for fueling the desire to follow through on the other four. I can make time to walk every day. Once upon a time, I walked four miles every day, but Once upon a time doesn't count. I did it then and I can do it now. There's just not any good reason not to.   

So, there you have it. It's not the sum total of my thoughts from this week, but it's a start - and that's really what I need. In our first month of this adventure, juicing became a habit. It was one small thing we agreed to do, and despite all the other things I'm ... still striving to figure out, juicing remains a constant. I'm now planning a month of drinking water, taking vitamins, kicking the wheat out of my diet, continuing my love affair with juicing, and taking daily walks. I may only catch up with you here once a week, but for the next month, I'd like to try and post my daily progress on The Constant In-Between. It's sure to be a real snoozer and more about accountability, so please don't expect any real page-turner. I suspect I'll need some encouragement, so if you have a thought to check in and leave some for me in the comment box, I'd love that.

That's it for me for now. I've still got papers to write and water to drink and a Scarecrow's directions to follow.

Love,
deborah

What's Up, Doc?

Dear Diary,

Hello, Stranger.  I know, it's been a while.  But I'm back.  We've been super sick around here.  One of the things you don't think about when starting a big family is (what I now call) the Domino Effect of Sickness.  We never all get sick at the same time; rather it's one goes down after the other after the other.  This lovely bout of influenza has been with us about two weeks now.  Yuck!

Also, we've been worried sick around here about one of our most beloved relatives who had a little "C-word" scare.  I'm happy to report that the biopsy results came back clear.  But it was pretty hairy around here until we heard the good word.

There's something about getting sick - and fearing getting Sick (ya know, "sick" with a capital "S") - that really gets a person thinking why?

When it's the kids getting sick, I tend to play this little game of How Did it Happen?  I start thinking: I knew I should have wiped that Target shopping cart or Every time I take the kids to the pediatrician for a well-child check up we end up...not well or I knew we shouldn't have had that play-date with little Joey, he's been coughing his head off...you know, trying to find the culprit, trying to make sure it doesn't happen again.  Which, of course, it will.

And when you (or someone you love) gets Sick (or fears she is), that little mind game gets even worse.  In our situation, there was a lot of wondering why?  Not why me, just why?  Some of the top concerns were: Is it deodorant, is that the cause?  Or maybe standing too close to the microwave?  It's gotta be the cell phones;  all this technology is just not good for us.

And I get it, I played the same mind game when my mom got Sick.  And still do, in attempt to protect my children.  The problem is, there are a million things you can blame.  Is it the microwave, the deodorant, the cell phone?  No.  Yes.  Maybe.  Probably a little bit of each of those things and all the others we think of and those we don't think about.

I like to hope that the scientific advances and medical breakthroughs that have come with living in this Jetsons-like world of futuristic technology far outweigh the potential risks of having a cell phone or an iPad with us at all times.  But who knows?

What I do know is that no one is going to get Cancer from eating too much kale.  Or too many organic apples.  Scientists may determine deodorant is the Number One cancer causer in twenty years but I'm certain they won't say we should have laid off the veggies.

So, I'm going to avoid the stuff I already know is bad (from BPAs and pesticides to sticking a bobby pin in an electrical outlet) and I'm going to try not to worry about all the conspiracy theory stuff.  Instead, I'll just super load my body and my children's with as much of the good stuff as I can and hope, as I always do in my little optimistic mind, that the good guys always win.

On a happy note, I went to the eye doctor for the first time in five years last week, and guess what?!  It turns out I don't need glasses anymore (just when I had picked out the cutest replacement pair too!).  I've never heard of eyesight getting better with age (The twenty-something intern said at least three times, "This sometimes happens when you get older."  Ugh.).  Instead, I'm going to give all the credit to the carrots.  The abundance of carrots.  Hey, my Dad always said they were good for my eyes!

Talk soon,
Becky

I'm CRAZY, and NOT so Sexy...

Dear Diary,

Okay, its technically day twelve of my twenty-one day Crazy Sexy Diet cleanse... And its been a BUST! I just haven't had the will-power that I 'normally' have when taking on the challenge of a detox/cleanse. I am trying not to be too hard of myself though, and just going with 'it'. I have not missed one day of Green Lemonade in months... I am actually in the habit of making a mason jar of it first thing in the am to last me through-out the morning (75% of the time til lunch). Lunch is still 100% RAW, on occasion I'll have a sprouted wrap/bread. Its just dinner that throws me for a loop; especially when I don't have the afternoon to prepare.

Not that there's any real good excuse, but LIFE has just been a little crazy these past few weeks. Probably due in part to my in-laws leaving town and getting back into a rhythm without help/support. I am NOW really realizing how time-consuming it is to eat RAW 80% of the time. For the past 2 months, my son was either with Oma & Opa or napping when I was slicing & soaking. I was able to use my time very wisely and plan/prepare our RAW meals. But now, without any help and my son napping while I am teaching; I get NO time to be that RAW chef that I truly want to be.

We are moving this week as well, which has only exaggerated the chaos and lack of order in my kitchen... Nonetheless, I am NOT giving up. I am just going to have to adjust. As with ANYTHING... You just need to make the time. I used to say all too often, "I don't have time to read [books]". Well, that's just a bunch a bollox (wow, I can't believe that's a real word, lol). You just have to MAKE the time, adjust you life a little, set your priorities, and WHAM there you are half-way through the Hunger Games. Okay, more like quarter-way through The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth (welcome to my world!) But, you get my point; I think...

No EXCUSES!!! I just have to make a conscious choice to be better. For who, MYSELF! No, its not easy. Yes, it would be a lot easier to just give-up. But where's the FUN in that? Where's the challenge in giving up on myself? If I stop caring, no-one else will. On the bright side, I get to start from scratch once again TOMORROW!!!

P.S. I went for a RUN this afternoon... I haven't run in months (and that's being generous). I am sore already! Isn't that supposed to kick in 'the morning after'? Thanks Beck for the inspiration, I think? I am going to kick your ASS if I can't get out of bed tomorrow, LOL!!!

P.S.S. Dates are my new best friend since finding out I am 'allergic' to Cacao... They seriously have SAVED me in many moments of desperation!!!

Sorely Yours,
Maggie