Business Thoughts

I have been relatively busy lately but I think that's ok.  Last Sunday was my family's christmas get together.  It was very nice.  My brother, his wife and their kids came over to my parents house as well as my sister, her boyfriend and his girls.  The kids all played very well together.  Tim, Tasha and I were all in agreement though, if we had acted and played in the house like they had been doing when we were kids we would have been swatted and told to sit down and be quiet.  We find it very humerous how different our parents are with the grandkids as opposed to how they were with us.  Don't get me wrong they were and continue to be fabulous parents, the changes are just noticable. 

I had lunch with my mom Tues and she notices the difference with dad in particular.  We have a theory about the change, he has lost more of his hearing over the years and maybe the playing kids aren't as loud to him anymore so the noise doesn't bother him.  Either way Dad loves being with the girls and they love playing around when he is there. 

Monday and Wednesday were both full days at Nails Plus.  This coming Monday will also be very full.  Not only are my normal times booked I am also coming in early for 2 extra clients.  I am happy business is staying steady up there.  We'll see after the fist of the year but by the looks of things so far I don't think that will be too much of a problem.

I have also booked a client for Nichols next Wed after Bath.  On top of that I sold a gift card as well.  Maybe if things go well I will get some ectra money and be able to do a little advertising down here.  It would be nice if I could get this practice off the ground too.

Getting Back

I am slowly getting back into my old routines. I have been sorting and cleaning quite a bit recently which feels amazing.

Although it is too cold to walk outdoors I am getting on the Wii again (sporadically best describes it). I brought the Ab Lounger in from the shed so hopefully now that it is in the house I will actually use it and not just pile things on it.

I haven't been reading but I have been playing with some crochet patterns and new yarn, maybe I'll make a scarf or blanket with a bunch of different test strips. That might look interesting. It will be good practice anyways.

Tomorrow Mom and I are going to mail out our Christmas presents to Virginia. They probably won't get there in time but better late than never.

I only had 2 clients today and I always wish for more but it is better than none. So far no one is booked Friday but I am full next week. It kind of surprises me how many people want in right before Christmas. I am not complaining though. I ran a special for $29 for an hour massage I started it in Oct as a new therapist getting clients kind of deal and then I thought why not keep it going for Christmas. This has been great for getting new clients and it has given me a bunch of repeat clients as well but I am nervous that come next year they will all disappear when I go back to my normal rates. I guess I shouldn't be too nervous though because I think I am going to run a $39 hour special starting Jan 1st through Valentines Day in hopes of continuing the steady business. Of course all of this is happening in Bath.

I should really get motivated and do some serious advertising down here for over in Nichols. The only issue I have with the space in Nichols is it very small and I do mean VERY small. Almost claustrophobic small. I also need to get a second table for over there. I can't lug my current table back and forth; it is way too heavy. Guess I better start looking for a good deal or for someone who is willing to be paid in trade.

Hoe + Thow

I am very uncertain what to say today. I almost feel ashamed having not posted anything for 2 months especially after being all gung hoe about blogging in the begining. For that I appologize to anyone who actually pays attention to the things I post.


There are 2 weeks until Christmas and I am so unprepared and actually kind of out of the holiday spirit. Although I am excited to see Suzanne's rections this year I wish I could also see my other nieces also. Alas Virginia is quite a distance away. I attribute the lack of holiday spirit on working in a store environment. I have heard Christmas music since before Thanksgiving and seen Christmas merchandise since Halloween. That environment kinda makes the holidays wear thin very fast.


Although a lot of time has passed not a lot of new things have happened. My sister has changed living conditions and because of that I gave her my laptop so she would continue having a computer access.

A lot of working is really all I have been doing lately. Last Sunday and yesterday My mom, sister and I made a lot of our holiday goodies. Totals include 8 batches of fudge, 2 batches of Fruit Cocktail Cookies, 6 batches of Peppermint Patties and 2 batches of patty filling with cherry, raspberry or creme de minthe oils. All were delicious. To further experiment we dipped half of each new flavor in white chocolate. Although I am not normally a raspberry or white chocolate fan I absolutely love the raspberry patties in white chocolate. They were fabulously divine. I will probably make more of those to give away for Christmas.

wowza

I definitely didn't realize it has been almost a full month since I last posted anything. Well quite a bit has happened since I last posted. I turned 28 on Sept 20th and although just about everyone forgot I did get a few birthday wishes which was nice.

I also took over a massage practice for my friend Brandie. I am now practicing in Bath, NY which is quite a long ways from my home but still a nice town. I am practicing as part of a salon called Nails Plus Tanning Salon. Although I don't have a booming client base I have been steady with at least one client a day. I am only there Monday, Wednesdays & Fridays but that will have to do for now until the practice can be more financially supportive.

Another thing that has happened is that I have become a permanent full time employee of Price Chopper. I am still working over nights in the grocery department but I like it that way because then I can still do the massage during the day.

RJ & I are finally starting to get around for the colder weather. That will be moving much faster this weekend since I have been scheduled for two nights off in a row and the salon is closed Monday for Columbus Day. I will actually have time to get things done. YAY!

I still need to get my car ready for inspection but at least I got the oil changed. I was over due but not too badly. I am not excited about readying the car for inspection. I need to change the O2 sensor and I also need to fix my horn because it hasn't worked in close to 6 months. Maybe while I have everything apart I can make my back door unlock, make the cleaning jets work in the front and the wipers work in the back. My car won't know what to do with all of it parts working properly.

My cousin Sarah also got married during my time of silence. She married Greg Dickson on Sept 25th. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding!! The ceremony was in one of my grandfather's fields and the reception was at the Rod and Gun. The weather cooperated marvelously even though the weather channel called for rain there wasn't a drop felt all day. Many Congratulations and Well Wishes to them!!

News

Well I know it's been a couple days since tomorrow was supposed to happen but here are the pictures of my Basil leaves. I also wanted to make the announcement that since I last weighed myself as part of the wellness at work thing I have lost 10 lbs! I am very excited by the weight number actually going down. YAY!!

So this is both plants after the stems had been cut off. They need some water but definitely need to be brought in too. I am just not sure if they will get enough sun light in my home.

Here is a single layer of the sorted leaves. They have already been frozen for a couple days but they didn't feel as cold or hard as I anticipated. Guess you learn something new everyday.

An finally here are the leaves just in a storage bag lined with parchment paper. I don't know if the leaves will need it but I thought a little added protection couldn't hurt.

Basil

I can't believe it is September already. This has definitely flown by like crazy. I don't know if I've put this in writing yet or not but I am working 3rd shift at Price Chopper as part of the grocery stock crew. I do like it a lot. I have been sweating my ass off almost every night and especially on load nights. Although I have not lost any weight I have notice a difference in the way my clothes fit and Rj has noticed how much more he can wrap his arms around me when he holds me. I am super excited by this. I haven't been walking since I started this shift but I know if I got back into it I know the weight would drop like a ton of bricks. The only problem is I am exhausted and very hungry every morning after work so I go go home eat food (usually some sort of meat dish) then relax for a couple of hours and go to bed. That is another thing that has been getting better also. Minus a few sleepless days I have been getting 8+ hours everyday and yesterday was my day off and I slept for 14ish hours. This is awesomely crazy. I really do hope this change becomes permanent.

The real reason I wanted to type today is because I am super excited about my basil. I just picked about 6 stalks of basil from my 2 plants. I plucked the leaved, sorted out the bad ones, cleaned them and laid them in single layers on a cookie sheet. I use parchment paper in between the layers and put everything in the freezer. I know most people dry and grind their basil but I was researching the best way to store basil and other herbs and for basil and parsley the best method of storage is freezing. Whether in whole leave form or as a pesto like blend, most of the sources I looked at said these two herbs hold their flavor best when frozen. I found that very interesting so that's what I did.I can't wait til they are solid and I can put them all in a freezer bag. The next thing to do is to research some tricks to keeping the basil plants alive and healthy inside over the winter since it is not a hardy plant.

I will have to get back on here tomorrow and post pictures of how they look.

Visit

My sister & I drove to Virginia this past weekend to visit my brother and his family which included meeting our newest niece. Her name is Addison and she is absolutely adorable. It's a miracle that she has her mother's eyes which are the most amazing blue I have ever seen especially since the only person in my immediate family with blue eyes is my mother.

We got in around 1:30 am Friday morning and left about 1:30 pm Sunday afternoon. It wasn't an overly eventful weekend but still very pleasant and wonderful. Friday we lounged around the whole day. Played with the girls and napped a lot as well. Then on Saturday we went to a swimming hole along the Appalachian Trail off of Sky Line Drive. It was absolutely freezing but we went in anyways. Tasha was the only one who chickened out but that's ok because she's always cold anyways. It was a mile and a half hike to the swimming hole and with a 3.5 year old and 5 month old in tow it seemed longer. It was a good workout though. Considering I haven't been walking regularly it was good. I was very sore after the hike back up from the bottom but it was a good sore.

Sunday before we left Aaron and Amanda showed us this old plantation house which was for sale. It was actually under contract when we say it but it was still pretty cool. You could definitely tell it hadn't been lived in for a long time because it stunk bad but whoever was buying it must have recently opened all the doors and windows. When we got there the place wasn't even locked up so we all went in a looked around. It was gorgeous!! It has huge rooms and 10' ceilings and massive windows. There was also 2 separate guest buildings near the house, a garden shed and the remains of one very old large barn which they were in the process of tearing down.

There was one accident ont he way down and one on the way back. Fortunately none of them looked like anyone was seriously injured and traffic wasn't held up too bad for us either because both were in the opposite lanes of traffic. Thank goodness Tasha drove otherwise we would have been roasting with no music because my jeep had no AC or radio.

Although it was a fabulous trip I am happy to be home safe and sound.

Zebras?

I was looking through the Yahoo news and photos and came upon this picture and caption. I couldn't help but laugh so I thought I would share.

Temp

A couple days ago I talked with my store manager and have been chosen to temporarily fill the full time overnight stock crew position. It's only temporary for now but some time after labor day they will be setting up interviews to permanently fill the position. Hopefully if things go well, I like the job and they like how I work I will be the one to fill the spot. I am kind of excited but also very nervous. Although I think I can do the work I am just afraid I may be over confident in my physical abilities and will end up failing. I start this Sunday night and hopefully all goes well. The other thing I am kind of nervous about is the over night manager, I have been warned by a large number of people already that he tends to be two faced and stab you in the back the first chance he gets. I am not sure I have ever seen that but I have never worked in grocery with him just on register while he worked grocery. Hopefully I never see that side of him but maybe doing a good job will keep me on his good side.

Anniversary

Today was a wonderful day. Not only was I up at 6 am on my own without left over grogginess it is mine & my husbands 2nd wedding anniversary. We went to McDonald's for breakfast which was delicious, more so I think because we go there hardly at all. We then went straight to Ithaca and walked Taunghannock Falls. We walked both sides of the upper trail as well as the gorge trail so a total of about 4 miles. I have been walking inconsistently at best but thought I would be able to handle the trails. Well the stairs that go up both sides of the upper trail kicked my butt again this year, however, as soon as we were at the top and I caught my breath again I was fine for the rest of the walk. Something about stairs I guess. We walked the upper trail first and then ate lunch before walking up the creek itself. We usually prefer walking in the water to walking up the actual trail. I think because the water is always refreshing and fun to play in, especially the deeper pools.

After the walking the creek Rj & I ditched our wet clothes and drove home to take a nap. We slept for about 2 hours I think. It was nice to have him actually sleeping with me for a change. With us working opposite shift that doesn't happen often. After we woke RJ wanted pizza & wings for dinner so I called in the order and he went to pick it up. Although it was good I didn't eat very much of it. I hope he stays in the mood for pizza for a rather long time.

Anyways I watched Princess Diaries while eating dinner. I hadn't seen that movie in ages and it was good clean comic relaxation. Rj watched it for a little bit but mostly worked on his computer. During the movie though, work called and asked him to come in which he had predicted would happen earlier today. So although he originally took tonight off to spend the whole day together he told them he would come in after sweetly asking my if it was ok. It's a good thing I know we need the money or I may have been slightly upset.

Anyway I look at it, today was just awesome but unfortunately must come to an end because I must sleep to be at work at 7 am.

Auction

I know it has been a few days since my last post so here is an update. I have been working, reading, trying to sleep (unsuccessfully) and massaging.

I haven't had too many hours at work lately which although I normally wouldn't care I haven't been making enough to cover everything so I guess it's time to kiss ass or do whatever it takes to get my hours back up.

In the past week I have read two books and anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that is a record for me. I don't remember the name of the first book I read this week but the one I just finished this morning is "Mimosa Grove". I have apparently acquired an attraction to action/mystery meets cheesy romance. None the less I have enjoyed reading as of late hopefully it is a trend that will continue.

On the topic of sleep. My brain is having issues with that one. It just does not want to shut up lately. I hope this is not a side effect of reading. I have not been able to sleep for more than 30 minutes at a time, it is definitely getting rather frustrating to say the least. I have never had insomnia before but it stinks.

Ok so now we are caught up and can get to what I did tonight. Mom & I went to a tax auction. It was pretty fun and interesting to watch. We were hoping one of the properties would go for a little next to nothing but it ended up going for more than we can spend. Oh well. So after the auction we went for Chinese and it was pretty good but that was the end of the night for us.

Anyways, I work for a little bit tomorrow and then Sunday is Rj's and my 2nd anniversary. We will be going to Taunghannock Falls again same as last year. We like to go back to the place where we were married. It's also one of the few times a year we can agree on what to do when we have the same day off. It's kind of nice that way. We usually take pictures so I am sure there will be some posted on here soon enough.

Video

I went for a walk after work tonight and it felt so good. I will be going for one tomorrow if it's not raining and hopefully riding my bike to work Thursday. I think the Relay for Life has helped me get back to where I want to be.

I can't help but laugh right now. My hubby is trying to get a controller button unstuck and it's just not working for him. I love him very much but I will probably have to fix it soon because he will be fed up shortly.

I said I would post some pictures from the Relay for Life and here they are. This first item is the team Survivors Lap they did as part of the opening ceremony. This will also serve as my trial run with using video as well.

The first two pictures were taken during the opening ceremony. The Fight Like a Girl banner was part of the Teams Lap. There were 20+ teams I think they said.

The second picture is the doves. At the end of the opening ceremony they released white doves and this was the best I could do with my camera.

This picture is Pat Conover who is my boss and was the team captain. The photo was taken by a 4 year old boy which is why it is mostly of her upper torso. He had a really hard time getting all of someones head in pictures but he definitely took a lot of ground and feet pictures. It was actually very humorous going back through the pictures. Thank goodness for digital cameras.

This last photo is of the luminaries which people could buy in memory or honor of someone with or having fought cancer. They actually sold enough to surround the 1/4 mile track. It was a very cool thing to see these all lit with the lights off. Actually after 10 pm these were how the track was lit. They turned off the stadium lights and left these lit. It was a very nice site.

Experiment

Today is experiment with pictures day.

I am going to try a bunch of layouts and see which ones I prefer.

The pictures above and below are of my perm after about 6 weeks. I think it looks better wet but it usually doesn't look too shabby no matter how it is.

The next couple pictures are misc. but I promise there will be some sort of commentary.

So I have decided you have to build picture blogs from the bottom up or you end up having to move everything around. This is kind of weird and frustrating.

By the way this is RJ ready for his first day at Price Chopper. I know I am a photographing maniac now but I want to remember these days when I'm old and senile.

This is a picture from this years Reed Reunion. Left to right are my grandfather Reed's sisters Donna and Carole, some unknown relative and husband of unknown relative. The face in the corner is my cousin Meagan.

This is my brother Aaron with his daughter Addison, March 19th, the day she was born. I have not met her yet but my parents said she is adorable. I get to meet her towards the end of August. Yay!

I think I like the alternating right and left photos over the vertical stack because is takes up less room on the page. I like white space and all but not a whole lot.

I have been trying to get two pictures to be side by side on the same row and it is just not working. Anyways above is the concrete pad poured about a week ago for Tim's double wide.

I was going to post some pics of the Relay for Life I talked about yesterday but I think I might wait and do another post for those pictures.

Relay

I participated in the 2010 Relay for Life of Tioga County last night. I walked a total of 10 miles which was less than I thought I would be able to walk but still not a disappointing number. It was the first Relay for Life I had participated in and I am quite sure I will do it again. I think my biggest problems were wearing my new sneakers instead of my walking sneakers and starting prep and set up at 11 am which included loading 50 cases of water in and out of my jeep, putting up our tent(s), getting food around, etc.

Starting the major prep work at 11 am not really a big deal that was actually a blessing or I never would have made it as long as I did. Loading 50 cases (24 packs) of water did take its toll but I think the worst part was the tent(s). I put the s in () for a reason. We had one booth location with a tent but the tent Pat brought had 3 broken legs which she was unaware of so we had Kelsey go back to the store and get the other tents we had left there. She came back and we started setting up the second tent only to find it also had a broken leg. McGivers we were and took the good leg off of the one tent and put it on the second tent. Yay we have one working, standing tent. We get everything all set up for our booth. No more problems we are ready to go.

About 30-45 minutes later we get this crazy thunderstorm come through with lightning hitting very close to the relay site. The coordinator says everyone inside. We start walking toward the building and hear a crash behind us. The rain had come down so hard and fast the tent couldn't shed the water fast enough and collapsed under the weight. I mean snapped frame and all. GRRR...!! So here Pat and I are holding the tent up trying to keep everything from becoming completely ruined from all the water and this relay committee lady informs us she can't go in if we are still outside. We politely tell her were are not going inside with our tent collapsed on everything so she just leaves, no offer to get help, nothing. I think 2 seconds later the storm passes anyways so poo on her.

So now we have gone through 2 tents, everyone and thing is soaked and we are frustrated and getting fed up. Kelsey gets the 3rd tent from her car, we pull it out and realize it's only 5'x5'. It wasn't even large enough to cover the (2) 6' tables we had. Well it's all we had so we set up the best we can and it looks pretty pitiful but oh well. Around 6 pm we call one of the other girls that was coming down after work to see if she can find a larger tent, another cooler and bring some more ice. Thankfully she comes with a 12'x12' tent, cooler and ice. We all move the itty bitty tent out of the way to set up the one she brought and finally all is well again.

So 8 hours later after all the loading, unloading, putting up and taking downs I was a little tired and finally able to start walking for the relay. Although I was tired I still had a great time and hopefully next time the prep/set up won't be so tiring before walking.

The next walk i am aware of is the breast cancer walk in Binghamton in October and I think I will participating in that as well. I just need to talk with Pat and see what she is doing for it and how I can help.

Long Time

I have fallen out of my routines lately. I haven't walked, ridden, blogged, cleaned, read or any of my other usual things. Now having acknowledged the situation maybe I will be able to motivate myself back to my normally more active life style. Partial fault for this I blame on work. I have been working what I think some would call a swing shift. Overnights for a day or two then days for a couple days and then back to overnights for a night. The constant change in sleep times makes for very restless sleep.

It is amazing to me having worked up to 3 jobs at one time during college I was always still able to do school work, socialize, etc. I then worked at Sanmina and even when I would put in 50+ hours in a week I still had time to do the normal day to day things and now that I am working part time I have time to the day to day but I have no ambition to do so. I also have a hard time and generally feel exhausted when I put in more than 35 hours. It's rather strange to me.

I am going to have to start looking for the Grade B maple syrup again. I felt fantastic and energetic after my cleanse and it wasn't even for the full 10 days either. I think I may do the cleanse 3 or 4 times a year now or at least frequently enough that I don't get the run down feeling.

This time however, when I come out of the cleanse I think I may pursue a more vegetarian life style with my only meat being minimal amounts of chicken and fish. By fish I mean tuna because I still haven't found a fish dish that I like. As far as when to do the cleanses go January, May & September seem to be pretty good times for them. After the holiday seasons would probably be best.

I am going off the bed now as I almost dozed off while typing this.

Viewing

This weekend started not so great but I am hoping will end on a lighter note.

Yesterday I went to the viewing of Jerry Dartt. I am sure there aren't many people who read this who will know who he is but he was the father of a very good family friend, an officer of the Steuben County Sheriff Department for 30+ years including 3 terms as sheriff and an all around great guy. Although I do not have any personal stories of shenanigans with him my older family members do. I was unable to attend the funeral service today but while at the viewing I heard many highly amusing stories about this man from my mother, father and Steve Dartt. Steve is Jerry's son and my father's best friend in the whole world. Although my deepest sympathies go to Steve and his family I have to admit that I am happy Jerry is no longer in pain. Death can be a much needed relief.

Different topic: I tried starting some seeds months ago from fruit I had bought from the store for smoothies. My starter inventory consisted of 3 mango, 2 peach & 3 apricot seeds. To my great displeasure none of them have done anything and all 3 of the mango seeds have rotted so I threw them all in the cut grass pile under the dying maple tree. I knew getting them to grow was a long shot but I was still hopeful. Watch, now that I have given up on all of them and thrown them to the compost pile they will all do great, minus the rotted mango seeds of course. I guess I will just have to try again with the next bunch of fruit I buy.

Stoked

I was so excited that Fox was going to start posting episodes of Bones on their site again. This morning when I went to see the new episode I saw it was a rerun. I then found out that the new episodes don't start again until September. Duh!! I have been watching this show for a while now, I should know better. Oh Well! It just means I won't be spending the morning watching Bones. This is the perfect opportunity for me to go for a walk instead.

Today is going to be a productive one over at mom & dad's. I will be helping my momma plant more garden. With any luck we will be able to finish the one next to the house and get some more done on the flat. I am so exited! Things are growing and starting to get big and bushy. YAY!!

I am also happy for what tomorrow has in store. First the Cherry Festival on Cayuga Lake, then giving a massage at FLSM, and then maybe getting to some crafting done. I am super stoked that I took this weekend off. I definitely needed these consecutive days off.

A While

It has been a while since the last time I posted; I think tonight will be just some thoughts.

I found out today just how depressed Rj is with work. He absolutely hates it. Although he has a couple friends there he hates the hours. He's been tempted to quit for a while now. I told him if he wants to quit fine but quit by getting fired or laid off so he can collect unemployment. I also started helping him fill out applications online tonight. Hopefully they will be fruitful. I feel terrible that he's depressed and miserable I just wish he could have come to me sooner. I don't know who reads this but if you can keep an ear out for any full time positions in the area that would be fantastic.

On a lighter note I got a perm on Friday. I wasn't originally intending on getting one but Becky ended up not coming down like planned and I didn't want to stiff the stylist so I took her appointment instead. I got a spiral perm and although it doesn't look bad it does take some getting used to. I am so excited that I can actually take a shower tonight and wash my hair. Yay!!!

Another happy note is that on Sunday, Tasha, Mom & I made Father's Day dinner and had my mom's side of the family come down. I wish dad's side could make it but they all live too far away for last minute get together ideas. We all had a lot of fun though. It was nice hanging out and getting to catch up with everyone. The food was fantastic now if only I could get my mom to lay off the onions. I don't mind onions but my mom puts so much in everything that onion overtakes the flavor.

Work this past week has been kind of weird. I have been called in to cover a lot of over night shifts because all the grocery people seem to be quitting. I don't mind the over night it just kinda screws up the sleep schedule. This week is a very light week for me. Because I covered the Sunday over night I didn't have to work Monday and the only other days I am scheduled to work are Tues & Thurs and I asked for the weekend off so I really only have to work 2 days this week. Although I appreciate the down time I should try to pick up more hours for a better paycheck next week. The other thing I have to do soon for work is put in for my time off next month. I need to get that done soon especially now that we are going to the new online system. I don't want to be too late to get the days off.

I think I am going to spend much of my free time this week cleaning, sorting and getting rid of things. I seem to feel really good when I can get rid of extra excess things. Things I don't need or haven't used or just haven't gotten rid of for some insane reason. Although I did get rid of a bunch of things last Thursday I know there is still more to get rid of and maybe then I can go get the rest of my things out of dad's shed. That definitely needs to be done since I think mice may have gotten into a box or two. Hopefully not though and stuff will still be in good condition. I guess if it's not it will be that much easier to get rid of.

I have not been consistently walking but I still am losing weight. I am hoping the more I keep getting out to walk the more I will want to make it a regular thing. I get the daily walking newsletter to help motivate and give you walking fitness ideas and suggestions and I like reading it but I should probably follow more of the suggestions I read. For me the hardest part is my own motivation. I am lazy and I like being lazy on the computer, knitting, crocheting, latch hooking or being lazy in some other crafty way. Though some might not find these activities lazy they are not physically straining to the point of raising the heart rate for fitness and weight loss purposes. Maybe if I could successfully walk and do one of the other pleasurable activities I wouldn't have such trouble maintaining a healthy body mass.

I am so happy I was able to type tonight. It feels like I just squeezed the excess information and stress out of this sponge of a brain I have. I need to remember that walking seems to help with that also, maybe that will help motivate as well.

BMX

So today was a generally fun and productive day. This morning I was up around 9 ish, returned a movie RJ kept forgetting to take back, parked at Price Chopper to walk around Owego, picked up a few groceries and then came back home. The walk was nice. I must have booked though because I left my house at 10:20 give or take a couple minutes and I was done returning movie, walking and grocery shopping by 11:35 and when I first started walking the same route itself took the full hour. I would say that is pretty good because that hour and 15 minutes includes drive time.

Anyways, back home I did some online stuff quickly before mowing the yard. When the yard was done I had a cold meat sandwich for lunch which was simply yummy. Then I did some other outside clean up like picking up all the rope, condensing the coal bins and making it so they don't get filled with water, and cut down some of the branches which had been rubbing on the roof. After all the outdoor stuff was finished up I cleaned me up and made meatloaf. It was actually the 2nd time in 2 days but that's because I burnt the crap out of the first loaf because I forgot it was in the oven. So four hours later when I remembered/smelled it I pulled it out pretty black. Today's loaf turned out much better because I didn't forget about it.

I was going to help mom with the garden this evening but I got a notice from a friend that she was going to be in Endicott because her girls race bmx bikes there, so I went there instead. I am actually really glad I did because I needed to get some social interaction outside of work and I like watching the girls' activities. I also found out they race in Owego (two minuted from my house) and in Sayre (15 minutes from my house). I told her to call me when they go so I can meet up and watch them race. The girls are in the same class so Sierra always wins but Cheyenne is getting better and she tries really hard. Brandy's going to try and get the girls in a national race in Maryland and Massachusetts which I would love to be able to watch. Maybe I could get the time and go with them, that's if they want me to go.

Happy

Worked today at Price Chopper and then went to mom & dad's to help plant the garden. Put in 3 rows of potatoes, 2 rows of onions, 3 rows of string beans and one row of rutabagas. I am extremely excited about the rutabagas in particular. I like their taste but hate the grocery store price tag. We definitely need to keep an eye on them come harvest time so they don't get overly large and pithy. I will be back over there tomorrow to get the garden next to their house prepped for planting. Pulling weed, rototilling and things like that. I will also rototill the lower garden where the zucchini, squash, melons and tomatoes will be going. If we get all of that done and it still hasn't rained we may get the zucchini, squash, melons and tomatoes planted as well.

Another thing that happened today which I am happy about is I was able to play with my niece Suzanne. When she was a baby and even up until about 3 months ago she would scream bloody murder if anyone other than her parents even looked at her. Now she runs up to me when I get there, I can pick her up, chase her around and generally have fun with her and she enjoys it. I was extremely amused when I tapped her on the head four time saying duck every time, then the last time I said goose, ran away and she chased me all around the kitchen into the living room. Then she tagged me and expected me to chase her in return. I was just highly amused by this. I was also amused when it was time for me to leave she waved good bye and blew me a kiss on her own like it was the normal way to say good bye. I thought it was really cute. I am glad to see she is becoming more sociable even if it is only with her family so far.

Windsor

Today was nice. I worked the overnight last night so I came home and crashed for a few hours. When I got up it was about 3 pm ish. I did some online stuff, talked to RJ for a bit and got a bite to eat. After that I drove to West Windsor to look at a house. I didn't realize how far away Windsor really is until I got there. Holy Hanna!!

Anyways, the house is small and looks pretty trashy but that was expected since the online description reads "handy man's delight". I think the worst part of the house is all the garbage. It was everywhere. Bags piled inside (seen through the windows), on the back porch and in the yard. I think cleaning it up would make a world of difference. The other reason it looks not all that great is because the previous owners cut the front porch off for some reason. I mean it may have started falling apart but they definitely finished it off. The main reason I looked at the house is the acreage with a small price tag. I wish I had been dressed for hiking in the woods. from the house all I could see was the hillside behind the house and the field across the street. I don't know which went with the house but if it's the hill I see why it was so cheap.

Well after looking at the house I stopped in to see mom and dad and managed to catch them on their way downtown so we all went out to dinner at the Rice Chinese Restaurant in Owego. They are a small place and are never very busy but I would say they have the best Chinese food in town.

I know I haven't been very productive but oh well. It's bed time now.

Slacker

**WARNING** **This turned out much longer than anticipated.**

The last three days have been a blessing and a curse in my mind. I have had a wonderful time with family but I have not been super productive or persistent with my walking. I did not work Fri or Sat. and I only worked 5.5 hrs today. Not good for the pay check but fantastic for the social life.

Friday I spent quite a bit of time with my hubby. I thoroughly enjoyed that because we don't get to see each other a lot because of our day vs. night working schedules. To be honest I don't remember a whole lot of what I did Friday but I don't remember any stress, arguments or wishing I was at work either. I do remember we went to dinner at the Grand Central Restaurant in Owego and then visited his mom for a couple hours after that.

Saturday I spent almost the entire day with my mom and sister. We went to the Rhubarb festival at the Montezuma Winery, which was at the corner of 89 & 20/5 at the north end of Cayuga Lake. Although the festival itself was a let down for us it wasn't all bad. There were some amazing classic cars there and the band was good. My sister took pictures of many of the cars so maybe I can get her to send me some. When looking at the flier for the festival we anticipated more rhubarb oriented foods, festivities, vendors etc. At the festival the only rhubarb oriented festivity was a rhubarb stalk toss and we didn't get there early enough to participate but we did get to watch it. That was kind of amusing especially seeing so many different ways to try and throw a rhubarb stalk the farthest. The food although not bad was mostly prepackages/processed foods. The only thing made on site was the rhubarb chili which wasn't bad at all and I am not nor have I ever been a chili fan. There were pies and jams but they were all factory processed. There was no place to buy fresh rhubarb which kind of surprised us. They did have their rhubarb wine at a discount and I liked that muy mucho. As far as festivals go, it's more of a fun local gathering not the kind of festival you drive for 30+ miles to attend.

I think our own experiences and expectations were the worst let down. Along the line of experiences, Mom & I drove about 45 minutes to Cortland to pick up Tasha and then 45 minutes to the festival. So that time was good for conversation but bad to stiff joints. On top of the drive time my Jeep started having issues on the way to Tasha's place so we stopped in Apalachin, called Marilyn to come get us, take us back to Mom's house, get her Jeep and start again. The car trouble was not overly bothersome to me but what was more frustrating for me was we decided to have Marilyn follow me driving my Jeep back to Mom's and the whole drive back nothing happened. None of the skipping, sputtering or noises happened the whole way back. I guess that's not necessarily bad but when you are trying to diagnose it makes it very difficult.

I guess one bonus to the weekend is that after I was home Saturday evening RJ & I burned some of the wood we had out front in a little campfire. I was nice and relaxing for me and I was super stoked because I have been wanting to burn that wood for a long time now. If it hadn't rained today I would definitely have burned more tonight. Maybe tomorrow instead if it doesn't rain.

On the walking note I originally intended on talking about, I have been such a horrible slacker! I thought about walking Friday and Saturday and just didn't do it. I was hoping to be able to walk today but it rained in the morning and I took a long nap after work. Now I just don't feel like it. I think I will get on the Wii Fit instead; I haven't done that in a long time. I will probably look like a fish out of water but it will be fun. I hope tomorrow is nice because I am looking forward to walking around Owego.

Firebird

Today has been a fairly uneventful day. I worked this morning, went for my walk, went home, had lunch, ran some errands and have been getting caught up with online stuff and things at the house.

I know last time I posted I talked about ankle issues with walking on crowned roads. I think I may have found a reasonable solution. After I work I walk from Price Chopper (that's where I work) down front street to the light closest to the railroad tracks and then go around the block to Main St and walk Main St. back to Price Chopper. I haven't driven it yet to know how far it is exactly. I think it is a little less than what I have been doing but my ankles don't hurt when I'm done and I seem to be walking faster the whole time. My ankles definitely appreciate the sidewalk. I think on my days off I will call Tara and see when she is available. Then maybe her and I can walk together. I guess I should have put that as a response to her comment. I think I am still really bad at this blogging thing...

Yesterday, on top of taking my walk I also helped my parents rake up a field of grass. I am thinking it was almost 1.5 acres. My dad mowed it the day before and then my mom wind rowed it before I got there. She and I raked the rows into piles which, in my wussiness, gave me a blister on my hand. Then my mom & dad forked the piles into the truck while I drove the truck. It was kind of fun. I hadn't done that kind of work since I was 13 or 14. It felt good to be productive and physically active at the same time. I think I better call them this afternoon to see when and what they are doing next for the garden. I also need to get my flowers planted. I bought the seeds; I better put them on the ground.

The other thing I have been thinking about lately has been my Firebird. I got it from Becky & Paul as a birthday present but I think it was convenient and got it out of their yard. Don't get me wrong it was a fabulous present because I've wanted it ever since I saw it in the jungle of a side yard. I haven't had the money to do so but I want to get it running and looking good again. I spent some time today looking up mechanical parts and interior parts. It needs the whole interior replaced because it has become that deteriorated and covered with stuff. Part of the problem is that all the seals leak and let a lot of water inside. I guess with this car I am not sure where to start first. I don't want to tear it down to the frame and start from scratch because I tend to get overwhelmed when projects start that way but it may be the best way to go in this case. Maybe I should start with a tarp because I don't have any place to keep it out of the weather and at least that would help keep it covered.

Slumber Party

So last night was the slumber party for Stephanie. It was strange for me. I definitely had more fun running around with her three boys than I did hanging out with the girls. The girls even at 11 were so full of drama. The boys on the other hand were extremely happy to run around in the dirt. I was very happy for this and ran around the yard with them. I know the thought of me running is hilarious but it was more the fake running you do when you need to let a 2 year old win a race. I also realized last night that I don't think I ever went to or hosted a slumber party during my childhood. Not that I'm upset, I just found that notion interesting. After the girls went to sleep and Annette and I cleaned her house a little I went home. Mind you my 10 minute drive got me home @ 5 am. I have turned into such a baby. I was absolutely exhausted staying up that late and went straight to bed and didn't get up until 1:30 this afternoon. I used to be able to stay up a couple days at a time and not think twice about it. Now I fall asleep at the 24 hour mark whether I want to or not.

Topic change. I tried out my new sneakers Fri. before I went to the slumber party. I liked them a lot. I could definately feel my legs working more than with my regular sneakers. My calves and quads were the most sore but my hamstrings and glutes got their fair share of work as well. I think these sneakers are going to do me a lot of good this summer. The only thing I had issues with on my walk had nothing to do with the sneakers. There are no side walks were I live and the roads are seriously crowned for rain runoff. This puts a good amount of torc on my ankles because my left foot is always inverted and my right foot is always everted. Yes I could change this if I walked on the wrong side of the road for half of my trip but I hate the idea of doing that. Short of driving to a park or place with sidewalks does anyone have any idea how to handle my road crown issue? I am open to just about any suggestion.

New Sneakers

Today was a generally good day. Work was busy and went by fairly quickly. I have been very unhealthy lately. After the cleanse I was doing so well eating a lot of fruits and veggies, nothing fried or sauced or overly processed but this week has been frought with fried, processed foods and very little raw foods. This may be a good weekend to get back to healthy since I do not have to work on saturday and will be sleeping all day sunday.

Tomorrow I will not be blogging at all. I work in the morning and am helping a friend with a sleep over for her soon to be 11 year old daughter. The same one I mentioned in my last post. I know I am glutten for punishment but I felt bad that she would be wrangling 8 girls and her 3 boys by herself. One thing is for certain though. I will forever be determined to never have children after this weekend if there were ever doubts before.

This afternoon I went to Vestal and bought a new pair of walking sneakers. I desperately needed them and I don't feel bad for buying them but I think they are the most expensive pair of sneakers I have ever owned in my entire life. They are Avia brand and they are the kind with the curved souls that are supposed to help all sorts of things including posture, gate and speed up the toning process. I don't know if any of that is true but I know they were very comfortable and seemed to have excellent arch support which I greatly appreciate. Although I did not get back before dark to go for a walk I think I may have time to go for a long walk before I keep my promise to be surrounded by children.

Can't Help It

I had a pretty interesting day in a not so pleasant way. Until about 7pm my day was same old same old. Then I went to a chorus concert for a 5th grader which wasn't all that horrible. I definately remember singing the exact same songs when I was in chorus.

Anyways, I then go to my friends house (mother of said 5th grader). Also not inherently unpleasent. I know most assuredly why I never will have children. THEY ARE EVIL! To the core of their miniature bodies. Don't get me wrong I know 90% of that is parenting but the other
10% is still very important. It's their ability to drive me insane in a single breath.

I do not understand why a person, legal adult or otherwise, would want to raise a child to be disrespectful, mean, insubordinant and down right obnoxious. I know the down right obnoxious part is hard to control in an 11 yr old but still.

Dinner

RJ & I went out to dinner at AppleBees tonight. It was so good. We both got the smaller portion dinners and skipped appetizers and desert. It was probably our least expensive dinner out in a while but it was so good and I didn't have to worry about left overs or anything like that. After dinner we stopped at a couple to stores to get the networking stuff RJ wanted. He it such an electronics junky. It's kinda cute. Anyways when we got home RJ started doing his thing and I went to the store to get some goodies. Not that I need junk food but it sounded so good and trust me they tasted good as well. Ice cream with cookies and milk. I was in heaven it was so good. It didn't take much to fill me up either. Tonight is relax before work @ 3 am. After work tomorow is when I am going to put a hole in the wall so RJ can finish what he's been dying to do with the network. I think I will also do some serious catching up on things tomorow. Although I am not behind with anything I feel like I'm not ahead yet.

catching up

Today has been a catch up day and I am exhausted. Full day at work and unfortunately i didn't get everything done I wanted but Oh Well. There is always tomorow. I mowed the lawn because it was starting to look like a jungle. I was able to ride my bike to and from work today which felt great because walking has not been a feasible option lately. I took a shower after I mowed the lawn and I still feel fantastic from that as well. I didn't get to do any of my normal online things yesterday so I got up to date after the shower.

I have made another observation about my behavior after the cleanse. I don't feel the need to sleep 10+ hours every night. I used to sleep between 10 and 14 hrs every night and would be exhausted with any less. Like not be able to function kind of exhausted. Since I have done the cleanse that has not been a problem I have been waking up after 8 hours on my own. Sometimes I wake up after only 6 hours and feel great and able to tackle the day. I hope this doesn't change anytime soon. I like being able to get a lot more done.

Idiot

Today thoroughly feels like a rinse and repeat day. I unexpectedly had to work because someone called in. Then I came home, made lunch, checked e-mail, facebook, etc then I went for a long walk. I say long walk but I don't know exactly how far it is I just know I walked for 90 minutes at a pace that made it difficult to sing with the music playing in my ear. I enjoyed the walk though. I was able to observe different things tis time. I used my eyes more today than previously. I notice some very cool looking trees and by their sizes most of them were pretty old. I was thinking I should take my camera with me on the next walk but now I'm not so sure. Maybe on a nice sunny day.

This evening when I made dinner for my hubby I made a smoothie as usual. It was different than the others though because this one was papaya, mango and banana. I liked the flavor but the texture was very different. Not necessarily bad just different. On top of that I was so hungry that I made another smoothie for just me. I drank the whole thing but nowI feel completely full without being over full or feeling like like I'll want more to eat later tonight.

So back to my long walk. I got a blister the 1st long walk I took and made the decision to get new sneakers before walking a long time again. Well, my infinite stubornness kicked in and I only wore a different pair of old sneakers thinking they would be better and the blister on my foot won't hurt. I AM AN IDIOT!!! Why on earth I thought that I have no idea. I knew I had a blister and I knew it would hurt if i walked on it a lot or could possibly get worse. Well it definately got worse. I made it all the way home started to stretch and when I went to go inside to change I couldn't even lay my foot flat on the floor. That was 3 hours ago. I still can't even lay my foot flat. I will say it again. I AM AN IDIOT!!! Geesh Rachel. You have a brain. Use it!

Nap

Today was the ordinary stuff work, e-mail, clean, make food for hubby before he leaves for work, etc. The only exception was a nap. Although naps are pretty ordinary on a not so busy day, I was not expecting this nap. I finished the 1st three things on the above ordinary stuff list, went to finish the bikini I have previously talked about finishing, and the next thing I know I am waking up and it is 7:30 pm. I don't remember reclining back, covering with the blanket or dreaming. Something must be up because on top of this spontaneous narcoleptic moment I was freezing when I got home this afternoon even though it was over 50 degrees outside. I even had RJ start the stove before he went to bed, I was that cold. I truly hope I am not getting anything microscopic. I feel fine now but I will have to see if that status changes in the morning.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a lovely day and if my recently acquired blister isn't bothering me too much I think I will enjoy another long walk. This time I will find a different pair of shoes to wear or maybe I will go for a bike ride instead then shoes won't really matter.

smells

Today is the first full day after the cleanse. I didn't over do it too much. I had dried fruit, raw cashews and fruit puree for breakfast, a yogurt and some more of the fruit puree for lunch then I had the last of the fruit puree with some potato chips as a break snack at work. When I got home I made some Mac & Cheese but only had a small amount and put the rest in the fridge for RJ to eat before work tonight. While RJ was getting ready for work I made a smoothie and we both had some. Things I notice greatly about the three solids I chose to take in today, mac & cheese doesn't seem to have the same drawing taste it had before the cleanse. I used to be able and want to eat an entire box but I didn't today, I wasn't even remotely tempted. The potato chips were BBQ and that part of the flavor was wonderful but the salt part of the flavor made it so I could not eat many at all. The three pieces of dried fruit I had peach, apricot & pear didn't have the same appeal they normally have. I think this time of food transition may be a good time to try new foods and to retry foods I previously disliked. Maybe I only disliked them because they weren't overly sweet or salty. I am definitely going to take this as new and waiting opportunity. Maybe that will be a recurring theme for this blog. Food, the rediscovered frontier, and my mission, to boldly try more new or previously discarded flavors than I have ever tried before.

Changing the channel. I went for a walk this afternoon and it took a little more than an hour. Although I have a blister because I didn't realize how thin the soles of my sneakers had become, I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I smelled Lilac & Honeysuckle the entire way. There was the occasional farm, cut grass and exhaust smells as well but they seemed to mix in pleasantly today. It was kind of weird when I returned to our road though because I could smell so many more things than I usually do. For example, I never realized, before today, how much the first house radiates the cat urine odor. Maybe after the blister heals and I get new sneakers I will be able to explore some new walking terrain and get ready for serious hiking.

Smoothies

Day 7 of the cleanse ended up being the last day of the cleanse. It was convenient though. The last of the syrup was used with the last lemon so the only left over is the cayenne pepper and I can use that in other things.

To come off of the cleanse I made a smoothie. I am glad I did too. At first it seemed to hit me like a lead weight then all of a sudden I felt great and the whole time no cramps. I made a second smoothie later when my husband got home and he had some too. I have a feeling this may become a regular thing for us, which would be nice because there is nothing but fruit and yoghurt in the ones I make so they are pretty healthy. He seems to like them so I guess that's good. I used to live on smoothies when I was in college. I have a feeling I may get back on that band wagon. I always felt great and I remember that being the slimmest time in my life.

I did have a piece of a potato chip today but I mean a small tiny piece which wasn't bad. I also had a small piece of pizza which I ended up giving to the dog because I couldn't eat the whole piece. Oh well. What I ate tasted amazing.

I applied with the NS railroad today. Hopefully I will get a call or e-mail. More likely an e-mail from them. I applied for the train conductor position. There are a few available in the area and how cool is it to be building and driving a train around. If this pans out I will be so stoked.

It's been a great weekend and looks to be a busy week but I am looking forward to it. Now that I am done with the cleanse I am not sure what topic to turn to next but I am sure I will figure it out tomorow.

Party

Today is day 6 of the cleanse. I can now understand why they say to do the cleanse for 10 days. The first 4 days not so much movement, days 5 & 6 have seen much more movement. Excited in a not so excited kinda way if that makes sense to anyone but me. I was tempted to ditch the cleanse today but with the encouragement of my husband I kept going even through the birthday party with cake and ice cream. One good thing about sticking to it was seeing the look on my nephew's face when he tried the mix. It was priceless, too bad I didn't have the camera.

Rj's out getting wings. I have not wanted to quit this cleanse more than I do today. Missing out on cake, ice cream and now wings. Granted all these things are part of what made me want to do the cleanse in the first place but that is besides the point, I am still allowed to miss them.

My one biggest fear when I start eating again is that I'll do something stupid and binge on food and then feel like shit afterwards. I guess if I'm thinking about it now I will be aware of it later and it probably won't happen. That's the dream anyways.

Since I mentioned it, Nikara had her 2nd birthday party today. She made out like a bandit. Although that is too be excpeted for the only grandchild from an only son. Don't get me wrong by no means would I classify her or her father as spoiled brats but the only from an only is bound to be spoiled by one generation or another. It was fun none the less. Rj & I got to see family we hadn't seen in a while and see the rugrat run around and play with the other kids. Nikara is smart for two. Without saying a word she pretty much told her older cousins to piss off when she was tired of entertaining them. It was kinda cool.

Excited

It's day 5 of the cleanse. I still have not had any serious hunger pains which I think is very good. It also confirms what I already knew; if I'm stranded anywhere for a week I will survive as long as I have a source of water and I wouldn't look the least bit famished when found. I have also learned that until today I wasn't sure if this cleanse was working. Today I pooped for the first time since I started the cleanse. I was thinking if there is no poo there probably is no cleansing happening. I'm not sure if there was just a lot of stuff to sort through before my body decided to get rid of it (sorta like me and house cleaning) or what but I was super excited to poo. Wierd; I know.

Another note of personal cleanse education. The Grade B maple syrup tastes much better than the Grade A. When looking for supplies all I could find near me was organic Grade A maple syrup so I bought it thinking "This will have to do." However, a week after I bought it I was at the craft festival in Athens, Pa and found this vendor who was selling his own maple syrup and I found Grade B. YAY!! I was so excited. Now I started using the cleanse with Grade B because that is what was called for but when I had (2) 8 hr days in a row I left the Grade B syrup at work and used the Grade A while I was home. Thank goodness the Grade A is almost gone, it definately doesn't taste as good. I am going to use it up this weekend while I am home.

Another cleanse thought came to mind while typing. I will probably run out of syrup completely before the 10 days is up because I am definately going through it faster than anticipated. I don't know if I will look for/buy more if I run out early. I definately will no run out of the other supplies but I had a hell of a time finding the right syrup the first time and it was expensive to boot. I guess I will just have to wait and see. Maybe if I stumble across some that isn't too much money I will get it.

On the blog testing note, I think I like this a lot. I was never good at meditation at FLSM but quite a few people said it made them feel focused and grounded and that is how I feel when I am done typing. I guess maybe I should have started doing this a long time ago.

Mangos

Work went well today. It stayed a steady busy. A couple rushes but nothing too drastic.

Day 4 of the cleanse. I was dreading today because I had heard and read everywhere that day 4 is the hardest day but it's the same as the other 3 days to me. It must be because I'm a little wierd.

The grocery store where I work has mangos on sale $1 each. This is awesome except I'm not eating right now. I am buying them anyways. I figure after the cleanse I will not want/be able to eat a lot of solid food without great discomfort so I am chunking them up and freezing them to be turned to smoothies after the cleanse. Hopefully they don't taste funky after being frozen for a week. Lesson learned if they do taste funky I guess. Right?

Stars

Today has been a very good day. I was able to stay busy at work. I found out I was star of the month in March, star of the quarter for the store and star of the quarter for the zone. I am very excited about this. I guess it's the first time anyone from our store has ever been picked for the zone. YAY for a great day at work.

On the cleanse note...today was ok. I am starting to get mild hunger pains today. Yes they go away when I drink the mix but they seem to come back sooner than I expected. I'm sure they will simmer down as I keep going. I think part of the problem may have been that at work I can't drink as frequently as I was able to the first two days when I was home most of the time.

I read a number of diffrent places that a salt water flush is common practice during the master cleanse but it makes you have to go quite a bit. I have the supplies to do the flush I just don't have the courage. Hopefully courage will show up Friday, my day off.

Good Morning Planet Earth

Day 2 of the master cleanse is going very well. I haven't been hungry but I have realized how much I ate out of boredom. This morning was a prime example. I had three glasses of the mix this morning and still wanted to eat even though I wasn't hungry so I went for a bike ride instead and the desire to eat went away. I will see how many more things I become aware of during this cleanse.

Totally different topic...I finished part of the christmas present for Jon (my sister's boyfriend) before I went on the bike ride. I am very stoked about that. Next thing on my crafty to do list is finish the bikini I started for my sister Tasha. She was supposed to be going on a cruise this month, that fell through but I am still going to finish the bikini for her. Maybe she can use it this summer.

First Time

Today feels like a good day to test out blogging. I'm not exactly positive the direction this blog will take but I'm sure it will be fun none the less.

I think I will start with the master cleanse I started this morning. It's also my first time for that. I didn't buy any book or guide just read up on it online and talked with a few friends who had done it before. I don't know if I will make it the full 10 days but I am going to try really hard. Here's the recipe I am using:

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp Grade B maple syrup
1/10 tsp cayenne pepper
10 oz distilled water

I heard it gets pretty hard around day 4 but we'll see. My biggest problem right now is a headache but I am more than positive that's from the lack of caffeine.