Catching Up

Hi Everyone,

I guess I have a little catching up to do. First, and I meant to tell you this two weeks ago, our mouse has left the premises. No more droppings, no more eaten pellets. Gone and good riddance.

Secondly, I'm happy to tell you, I am no longer suffering from "lack of afternoon coffee" syndrome. The headaches are gone, I'm no longer dragging my feet and I'm not feeling the craving starting at 2:00 any more. I'm glad that's over.

Krista and Steve went on our church's Marriage Getaway Weekend, this past weekend. Guess who stayed at my house Friday night to Sunday afternoon? Baby Warren! Cora always says, baby Warren or baby Persson when she's referring to the two babies in the family, so I find myself saying it too, LOL. Anyway, this was Warren's first time staying at my house overnight and, although I was tired at times, I really loved every minute of it. Well, maybe not EVERY minute, like the four poopy diapers in a row, but close to every minute, LOL.

He's a very happy and content baby and would literally sit in the high chair while we ate dinner or breakfast, just watching every move we made, laughing and giggling. Sometimes he'd sit on the floor watching Cora play with a toy or he'd sit in her bed with her while she was playing in her room or reading a book. Sometimes he'd sit in his Exersaucer jumping with delight knowing that when he would jump, the toys would move. And he's so cuddly. After having his bottle, he'd just lay in my arms, content to just chill out on his formula high. He was such a good baby while he was here. I have some pictures but at the moment they are in Ashley's camera and Ashley's camera is with her at work. I'll try to get those posted in another blog soon.

So, I started a juice fast this week. All that means is, I'm fasting, as in, no food, only juice, for three days. After three days, I'll start eating raw food like salads, fruits and vegetables, but only for a day or so. Then I'll start introducing regular food back into my diet but on a much healthier, (I hope) level than I was eating before. This is not a religious fast. The purpose for this is to, first, cleanse the system ridding it of sludge and toxins and lots of unnecessary water. It's amazing how bloated a person can get from not eating the right foods. And it allows fat that's been hanging around your body for a long time, to be lost. Typically, a three day juice fast will not release too much body fat but as for me, I'm using it as an introduction, a kick-start, to losing weight through better eating. I did this type of juice fasting once before for a seven day period and lost 12lbs. I admit I was completely shocked to have lost that much in such a short time, especially since I've never been able to lose weight any other time I tried. Seven days was difficult and it really made me realize the importance I had put on food and what it meant in my life. Not a good thing, let me tell you. You know that saying, "one day at a time"? well for me, fasting for 7 days was "one minute at a time". I never thought so much about food in all my life. I was obsessed by it. My mind was so preoccupied with food that all I could think about was what my first meal was going to be at the end of my fast, and that's not the way it should be. So this time I'm in a way better frame of mind. I'm not thinking about food like the last time although I did wake up at 3:30 in the morning and my stomach was talking to me pretty loudly, LOL. With a three day fast, I can at least see the light at the end of the tunnel. When I did seven days, there seemed to be no end in sight. It really made me think about Jesus fasting in the desert for 40 days and the difficulties he may have faced. At least He didn't have to think about wanting to sink his teeth into a nice cheese pizza, LOL. I wonder what He did think about??? So I'm in the middle of day two. I'll fast all day tomorrow and start eating on Thursday and from there on out, it will be up to me to cut out the junk and snacks and my beloved (almost) nightly ice cream. Winter time always sets me up for eating too much, snacking too much and not moving enough. I don't like to jump into anything so strongly that I just end up fizzling out after a short time so I'm really hoping I will succeed at losing a few pounds and eating a little better than I have these past long winter months. Also, just FYI, if you are thinking about juice fasting, do some research and learn what's right for you. It is completely safe and beneficial if you do it for the correct reason and the right way. Also, invest in a good juicing machine. I have the Breville Juice Fountain Compact and it's GREAT. I LOVE it.

We all went to Krista's last night for haircuts. Initally it was just supposed to be Mark and I but then Ashley decided she needed a haircut and well, what the heck, let's cut Cora's hair too, LOL. I haven't had a haircut since before Thanksgiving, with the exception of a bit of a trim around my neck. It's actually not been looking too bad but I was letting it grow for a particular kind of haircut that I wanted and at the last minute, decided not to get. Go figure, LOL. Anyway, Krista used the razor to thin, thin, thin it out since my hair is so thick and seems to get too heavy before I actually need a haircut. I've been wanting to have her cut my hair so that it comes forward with little sideburn whispies and that is exactly what she did. In addition to all the thinning, it came out just the way I wanted it. At the moment, it's just a tad shorter than I eventually want it to be but that's only because it wasn't long enough to start out with. In a few weeks, I think it will be exactly what I had in my mind. I'm even thinking I may take a big step forward and have her put some extremely subtle highlights around my face to brighten things up a bit and give it some demension. My hair is SO dark that sometimes even with a good cut, it just looks flat with no texture to it. I'm not sure when that will be but if/when it happens, you know I'll be sure to write about it.

Well, hopefully I'll have some pictures for the next time and oh yeah, today Persson goes for his two month check up. Can you believe he's two months old already? I'll be sure to let you know how that went and how much he weighs.

Until the next time,
~J~