Good morning, or good evening  depending on your time zone.    This morning I made my way across town with my girlfriend to try out a new breakfast place I heard about from my other good friend.  It's called the Maui Bake Shop, and it reminded me of a little soho shop in N.Y. or someplace like that.  The bakery windows had Neapolitans,  French Apple pies, you name it they had  it.  Lots of fresh baked bread coming out of the oven in every size,  shape, and form.  I ordered my favorite breakfast, a spinach and cheese omelet with of course coffee.  Overall, it was a nice, comfortable place with a very nice staff, and I'm happy to report I was not hungry for anything with sugar in it, even though the pastry window looked divine, and very contemporary for a shop on Maui. 

 Just after breakfast we made our way over to the Maui Swap Meet where the vendors sell everything from clothes, flowers, art, and fresh produce.  I wasn't going to buy any more produce, since I just bought all my staples yesterday at the  Down To Earth 30% off sale, celebrating Earth Day!  I pretty much bought what I needed for the week, and  as my friend continued to shop for her produce,  I remembered  I needed cilantro, green onions, and green peppers to whip up a great salsa,  and use my ripe bag of avocados and tomato's I had bought.

Well no body work this weekend  because of finances, but I really find myself missing it today.   Just one hour seems to  rejuvenate my sore old body, and it puts a little pep in my step that seems to last throughout the week.   My body work gal is having a Mother Day's Special using a Golden Collagen mask with a message.  My friend said she wants to do it too, so I guess I  will call and get us on the books for that day.  

Well,  I am happy to report our 23 yr. old son is living the life in San Fran.  He is working out again at the 24 Hr. Fitness with all the young, beautiful people, and eating Quinoa, and Talapia dinners.  He has always made great food choices but as his Mom, it makes me happy to hear he is living good, and working hard. So just hearing this makes my day great!  Now my hubby wants to go out and eat lunch someplace so I got to run.  Have a great Easter Day tomorrow everyone.

Common Cold Cured by Juicing (I think)

Why did one of my co-workers come to work sick,  after  she downed a few capsules of her favorite Flu medicine?   I know, I know she's used all her sick pay, and she can't afford to stay home.  While I worked all day along side her coughing, sneezing attacks, and had to smell her sick breath!    I came around the corner and walked right through the air she just finished having a coughing spell in.  I smelled that sick stuff,  and sure enough a few nights ago my nose started running, and I woke up  with it.   Luckily for me,  I was juicing for five days previously, I personally think all that Vitamin C, Antioxidants, and my Vitamin D supplement kept me from getting a full  blown  flu bug!  So going on my second day, and I'm almost cured.  I've been juicing before work, and I've been juicing when I walk in the door after work.  I might add,  I didn't sneeze, cough, and talk on the phone,  washed my hands often, and I don't think I kept the cycle going.  I'll know by next week, if my close friends are sneezing. Hehe:)

Since getting this cold the day before yesterday, my pick to cure this bug is juicing;   2 Lemons, 1/2 Cucumber,  Beet + leaves, Parsley, Swiss Chard, and an Apple 2 X a day!     Seems to be the fastest cold I've ever gotten rid of   in a  long time.  Note:  I still ate my usual meals in between. 

Okay, been juicing a total of 9 days now,  Whole Foods first, and then with my own juicer, and I've lost a total weight of  5 lb. 

Also following the BFC with a few cheats now and then, but not super bad ones.   This is working for me, and I feel great!  Well, this is my take on curing the common cold.  My bestfriend still says, it's Oregano Oil!              Go figure!

Feeling More Energetic

Tonight was the first time I felt like taking my doggies for a little stroll up the hill in a long while, so I guess my energy levels are slowly creeping back up.   I began juicing about a week ago, first buying a 16oz. Carrot, Celery, Apple, and Ginger juice from Whole Foods.  Within a few days I bought my own Jack LaLanne's juicer from Macy's sale, and happy I got it when I did.    I paid 79.00 for mine,   it was on sale from 139.00.  My best friend had to pay 99.00 for the same juicer this weekend because the sale changed.   She is juicing too, and she made her first drink yesterday, and said she loved it.  She made hers with a lime, instead of a lemon, carrots, celery, and ginger.  She is diabetic, and the next morning took her sugar levels and they were below 100, better than they've been in along time.

Today we went to Mana Foods and this really nice guy, with dreadlocks was cleaning the burdock roots, and placing all the veges in a nice orderly fashion.  He heard my friend say I should get beets for my juicer, and then he asked me what I've been adding to mine.  He told me Burdock root is a great blood cleaner, and so I bought about five of those dirty white looking carrot things. I bought Swiss Chard, and Parsley too even though I've never eaten them before in my life.  So I either will cook the Swiss Chard or juice it depending on it's taste.  The Parsley I will  juice, it's suppose to do something good for me. Hehe.  Well it's all new, and  it's helping me get out of the slump I've been in, so it's all good.  I needed to find new things to eat, and doing this is right for me.

 A few weekends ago I rode in the car with my friend to the mall where she was meeting her daughter, and they had appointments to get pedicures.  I noticed a sign that read,  facials with  hot stones,  for the same price as a pedicure.   I opted to try this instead of getting my toes done, and it was the best decision I ever made. The gal that gives the facial,  has been in the Bodywork business for twenty one years.  Not only did I get the best facial ever, I was treated to the best neck, shoulder, hands, and face message!   This weekend I opted for an  hour message, and  my angel, Christina, messaged all my aches and pains away that I've been having in my neck,  back, and feet.  She charged me for an hours message, and spent 90 minutes working on everything from my back, neck, arms, legs, and feet.   She's truly a blessing, and a true healer.  The first time she laid her hands on my back, her hands felt like they were on fire.  She hadn't even touched anything to warm them up.  So I know I'm  in good hands, and feel like I have stumbled onto a miracle worker.  

It's a good thing I shipped Plumeria cuttings to the mainland, and earned a little extra cash, because I am investing in things for me lately.   This combination of new experiences seem to be working!  If we can, why not spoil ourselves once in a blue moon.   We are worth our weight in gold!

Getting Into Juicing and Liking It Too.

Today makes my third day of creating a fresh juice drink and I'm enjoying  it once a day.   I add an apple, 2 or 3 carrots,  3 celery, half of a lemon (peel on), ginger (1"), and drink it with a handful of Mac Nuts.  I will count this as my dinner tonight, along with one plain burger patty, because I'm not a vegan!

 I noticed it's my third day of  drinking  a 16oz. juice  using my new Jack Lalanne's Juicer,  and I've lost 3 lb.   I had gained a total of 7  pounds back since I started fooling around on the BFC.  Shameful!    I've been drinking  a few Latte's from Starbucks, along with eating more carbs than I need to,  so what do I expect?   I started  feeling pretty awful again,  like I had the  flu symptoms, but I really think my body wasn't used to having so much sugar poured into it since I was staying under 15g of sugar a day on the BFC for so long.   I've been eating pretty bad for the past month and I can really feel the effects, like wanting to  take  naps in the day,    being more uptight (than usual), and I'm so tired even after I've slept through the night,   I wake up yawning!   Now my bone spur on my back heel started to get painful again, after it was almost completely pain free for months.   So these 7 nasty pounds are my wake up call to go for it again... 

I figure I must be held accountable so this is what I ate yesterday and today.

TUESDAY

Breakfast:     Coffee/cream (unsweetened)    Burger Patty/Brown Rice/Tabbouleh

Lunch:   Salad  (Whole Foods) 

Dinner:  Juiced - 2 carrots, apple, 3 celery, kale, ginger, 1/2 lemon.

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast:  Coffee/cream (unsweetened)   Greek Yogurt, Barleen's Mango Peach Fish Oil,  Flax seed.

Lunch:  Burger Patty on a Rudy's English Muffin with Sprouts. Coleslaw.  Almond Milk  (unsweetened).

Dinner:  Juiced:  3-Carrots,  3- Celery,  Apple, 1/2 lemon, Ginger - 1 inch.      Mac Nuts-handful.

NOTE:   New item found this week at Whole Foods, and recommended to me by a health conscious person. I've tried it once, and it taste like greens, but not bad. It's a high fiber, protein powder  that is soy free, nut free, and gluten free.    It's made by Manitoba Harvest  and it's certified organic HEMP PRO FIBER.  14g Fiber, 11g Protein, and it has 600mg OMEGA-3 in one serving. 4 Tbsp.

Sugars 0, and Total Carbohydrate is 14g. = 1 Serving of Carbs for the BFC counters.  

Back in the game...

Everyday Temptations...Waz up with that!

After work today I went to the market and stocked up on everything that's sugar free;  and organic and this included  lots of fresh produce, such as  Cabbage, Spinach, Kale, Sprouts, Tomato, Onion, Lettuce, Carrots Celery, Ginger, and one Cucumber.  A dozen  "Cage Free" Eggs,  Grass fed Beef, Cheese, Tofu, Unsweetened Almond Milk,  Uncle Sams Cereal,  Unsweetened Greek Yogurt,  Rudy's English Muffins.  I made it out with one large sack, and seventy dollar less in my wallet.  We do pay a price for living in Hawaii.   I could go up the street to my local market, but now they charge about the same price, for non-organic brands.  Mana Foods is less expensive than Whole Foods, and about the same as a Trader Joe's  on the mainland.

Breakfast - McDonald's Sausage McMuffin and a Coffee/Cream (unsweetened).

Lunch -  16oz. ginger, apple, parsley, carrot juice

Dinner - Coleslaw, Brown Rice, Hamburger patty.

When I get hungry around 8:00pm I will have my Hot Tea to cut the hunger pains because I already anticipate my stomach will be growling by that time, because it usually is.

If you are wondering if carrots and apples are high in sugar for the BFC, they are, but  I am trying this out because I bought a Jack La Lanne's Juicer over the weekend.  I wanted to start  juicing fresh Kale, Parsley, Ginger, and other nourishing  items.  It's something I feel I need more of at this time,  and this is why I am attempting a slight change in my course on the BFC.  Plus I heard an apple a day, keeps the Doctor away. I am really too tired lately so this is my attempt at getting some energy back.   I will keep you all posted if I do feel a difference. 

 I thought I would mention  my one food temptation of the day that I overcame because they were really calling my name. I was on my morning break having my one small cup of coffee, and  (not so healthy) Sausage McMuffin, when I noticed I was still hungry.  While sipping my hot coffee the Oatmeal cookies started screaming so loud.  They are loaded with sugar, but they taste so good with hot coffee.   I ignored them all, and walked out the door to go back to work.   My victory of the day!

It seems like everyday we get a challenge to eat something so tasty, but we all know where it ends up, on some of us.  I think I will track these temptations everyday for a week to see how many things I turn down.  I can tell you now it will be plenty.    Have a great week and just say NO!

If I Just Lay Here

I watched Grey's Anatomy last night and their theme song,  If I Just Lay Here,  has been playing  in my head all day.  They tried something new in last night's episode and added music and singing while drama, drama, drama was going on.    McDreamy didn't sing a note!    Maybe he was gifted with great hair, and no vocals, but he is still a top notch Brain Surgeon  (wink)!   American Idol was on just before Grey's, so we had a great night of music!  I'm glad all the contestants this year on American Idol are all very unique!  It gives the show great character.  I also want to put in some props for Jennifer Lopez.  What she says to the contestants seems to hit the nail on the head every time! All and all, it's a fun night in Tele World.

Now getting back to,  If I just lay here...  I feel like I've been running in a Marathon these past few weeks.   From the time my feet hit the floor at 4:15am. I am flying out the door to get to work by 5:30am.  I assemble displays, hang signage, meet deadlines, and finish work around 2:30pm.  When I get home I throw on my other work clothes, and hit the great outdoors.   I started spring cleaning out side in the front and backyard of our place, and this includes trimming, and more trimming since my yard has become somewhat of a jungle, or close to it.  I hate to say this but I've been bitten by the bug again, and so I've been planting, and potting anything from Lavender plants to Plumeria trees. Like I need anymore, hence this is where all the trimming comes into play.   I'm usually outside when the sun goes down, and I hear my favorite show come on, then I race to the shower,  fix hot tea, eat a Rudy's Wholegrain, Organic English Muffin with Cream Cheese, and Almond Butter spread,  and settle down in my Lazy Girl chair.  I put my feet up, and immediately my little dogs jump up to see me as we all fall into our nightly routine,  they chew on stuff and I change the remote during the commercials, and watch about two different shows at the same time.  Then we wake up early all over again...

This week I found a little note stuck to my trucks window in the morning that read, Keep your dogs quiet already, and then a word I can't make out, and po neighbor.  PO must mean, "pissed off", but it really bothers me that I can't make out the word just before the po.   I admit our dogs,  along with everybody else dogs in the hood bark when people  walk by with their dogs.  Unfortunately,  we have a fence that comes  right up to the sidewalk, so all three of our dogs go "NUTZ",  and do dog stuff when they can get away with it.  The next day I kept all dogs quiet, while I figured out a plan. We already use a bark collar on our big trouble maker, but it doesn't seem to faze her, because she still carry's on.   I ended up picking up lots of 2x4 and 4x4, along with three 65lb. bags of Concrete, and Lattice, and constructed a fence two days after this mysterious note appeared on my windshield.  Not bad for an old lady who is thankful to have an impact drill that works.    Okay, now for the good part, it's working.  My dogs have been silenced.  Salincio!  I have taken all joy out of their lives, and restored order to the hood.  It's so quiet tonight I can hear a pin drop, or close to it. 

Well my Lazy Girl comfortable chair is calling me so I need to go and just lay there!  Have a great weekend everybody! 

I've been at a loss for words, so hence no post lately from this corner of the world.   Let's see where to begin.  I''ll begin with the most important person in my life, and that's my Mom.   She had Heart surgery a few weeks ago on her valve, and she was in the hospital for one week.  She is home now recuperating and my Dad is taking very good care of her.  I made the decision not to fly back based on what she said, 'that she would be fine', and 'to come after  she's on her feet  so we can do fun things  together', and that 'she'll get her sea legs back in no time, and feel like going again'.  I called everyday to check on her progress, and about the third day after her surgery she sounded really good.  My Mom said the nurses only offer you pain meds if you really need them and she didn't need to take any, so she must be one very tough cookie.  Now about a week later I hear how big her incision is, all the way down to her bellybutton, and that the surgery took about 6 hours.  Mother's always want to protect their babies, even when the baby is a 56 year old women!  I had no idea from the sound of it, coming from her own mouth, that this was such a major surgery!  Well thank the great Lord above she is up and walking the hood, visiting friends, and chillin as she's on the mend, and is getting back in her routines.  I'm still deciding when I should fly back, and it's probably going to be this coming May.

I had promised a friend of mine over two months ago that I would cut Plumeria's for a huge sale that he is participating in for the Southern California Plumeria Society  in Balboa park  on  April 2 and 3 from 10am to 4pm.   I sent him about 65 cuttings of several beautiful  varieties  I found on the West side, and he will be there selling his wares.   If you want to smell,  see,  and grow a Plumeria check out the location on Face Book under the name of the Southern California Plumeria Society.   It looks like  everyone has a good time choosing their favorite cutting, and getting good advice on how to raise them once you get them home. It's all about getting the flavor of the Islands!  For those of you who live in Snow Country, they need lots of sun, heat, a dryer climate, so I'll post some pictures that I took. Just close your eyes and imagine how a rose, and a gardenia combined together smells, then you will know the fragrance of a  Plumeria.

It saddens me that Border's, my favorite bookstore is closing their doors. Today's sale included  everything from  20 - 40% off on  in the entire store.  I bought my son a journal, and I bought  Taylor Swift's new dvd.   I held the Primal Defense book in my hands, but I decided to wait for it to come down in price by possibly next weekend to buy it.  The shelf still had a lot of his books, and above it was about nine Belly Fat Cure books.  If you live near a Border's Book Store check to see if their doors are closing so you can get some awesome deals. My friend no longer has her job there after they go out of business, and she said she feels so sad because she loved her job! Not many people can say, they love their job!  She's not sure what she is going to do, but has already applied to a lot of places.  She's a people person, she'll land another good job.

Well I've gained four pounds back, and everyday I keep saying I'm going to start over, and stick to it!   My best friend told me today that she heard the best days to start something is on a Monday and a ? Sorry, I can't remember the other day.  So I am promising all my Sista's out there that I am committing my Monday (tomorrow)  to all of you.  Why does sugar keep pulling me back into it's web? Boy, do I feel it too.  My husband said to me the other day, "you better get back into your diet because you were doing really good, and now you can't remember a damn thing, and you're all over the place".   Unfortunately I have to agree.  I might have to go back to the bookstore to get the Primal Defense so I can get a jump start. Aloha everybody, and have a great week!