Ayurveda Cleanse... Day 4

I'm still feeling amazing.

But one very strange thing is happening... the yoga lady said that we would start to feel our bodies all over, like down to the molecules... sounds weird right?  Yeah, I said the same thing (probably even chuckled to myself and rolled my eyes a little).  BUT, it's true.  

My body feels tingly all over and every part of me has this strange ache (my hubby says that they've drugged me; he thinks I've joined a cult).  All I've done so far is drink the ghee...

That's 8 teaspoons!

Add A little almond milk in order to drink it and heat them up

You've got to blend them! Love my new magic bullet!

 So glad that's over...

Eating cleanly (fruits and veggies).  Use my netti pot...

 (It feels weird, but it really does clean your sinus' out; it feels amazing to wake up and be able to breath!).

Drink ginger tea (with every meal); take out the caffeine from my life.  Take Kapha vitamins—It's all been pretty simple.  Except of course for the drinking of the ghee (seriously, who drinks clarified butter?)  But I really do feel amazing.  Unfortunately, my body is starting to take it's natural course and I'm getting tired around 11 p.m. and I'm usually up for work until at least 2 a.m. so it's been a little bit of a struggle to keep my energy up to get me through a work night sans caffeine.  But I've found that if I eat some dried fruit or fresh fruit it gives me a boost to get through the night.  I'm actually thinking of keeping this no caffeine thing going.  It's still under negotiations in my mind.

My mantra for this week is, "I am strong."

I've been using it for everything:  When I get an urge to drink caffeine (I am strong), when working at a restaurant kicks the cravings into high gear (I am strong), some asshole cuts me off in traffic (I am strong), or when the dress I wanted isn't in my size (seriously, who is an extra small? Why is it even on the rack?)(I am strong). 

So tomorrow starts Thank God I'm Not Drinking Ghee Again Day and instead I'm massaging with curred sesame oil (sesame oil smells amazing!).  

This is the Ayurveda way of cleansing the body from it's toxins on the outside (the ghee was in order to clean the insides of toxins).  I have to say, I'm really looking forward to the massage because my body aches so much; I'm feeling every pain and every ping that comes through my nerves (I feel so in touch with my body).

I can't wait to keep going on this cleanse and keep my mantra flowing throughout my mind each day.

I am strong.

Ayurveda Cleanse...

On Saturday I went down to my local herb shoppe for a session on learning about the Ayurveda detox cleanse.  I really wasn't prepared for what I was going to learn and I wasn't prepared for the length of the class (almost 5 hours of learning about Ayurveda!).

Ayurveda is sanskrit for wisdom of life or wisdom of living.  I went in to the class without an open mind, but by the end of the class I was feeling very lifted and optimistic.  It just taught me stuff that I couldn't deny about myself.

http://www.staengldesign.com/kapha.html

My dosha is Kapha:  "People with more Kapha in their constitutions tend to be of larger proportions, with a robust frame and padded joints, thick smooth skin that may tend towards oiliness, and rich, wavy hair. They are stable and calm in thought, speech and action, and are easy-going and supportive in relationships. There is an element of steadiness to their step, a quality of serenity in their smile. Loyalty is usually their second name. They are long, heavy sleepers and uncomfortable in damp, clammy environments. Calm and sweetness of disposition are hallmarks of balanced Kapha."

It also says that Kapha's shouldn't eat wheat or dairy because it causes imbalance.  It's crazy.  I know that dairy, breads, and pastas are the things that aggravate my stomach and cause me difficulty.  Yet, I love them.  It's something that I'm working on now that I know I should try to avoid them in order to feel my best.

I started eating really clean about a week or so ago so I could start the cleanse as soon as possible.  I started on Monday.  I feel amazing and it's only been two full days.  I'm not going to lie, the first day was really hard.  For the first four mornings I have to drink Ghee (clarified butter) but luckily I'm able to mix it with some almond milk and cinnamon (blended; the ghee and the almond milk are like oil and vinegar, they just don't mix).  This is so you can purify your insides within the first four days.  These first days you can only eat fruits and veggies.  No caffeine (that was the hardest).  I'm just amazed that I don't have a headache.  

The last four days include eating Kitcheri, sesame oil massages (to bring toxins out), and drinking some castor oil, and a whole lot of stuff that I'm not looking forward to, but I'm keeping an open mind now because I feel amazing and connected to my body (just like they said I would).  

My family thought I was crazy at family dinner on Monday for not joining in on the eating except for my bowl full of veggies, but I don't care, I wanted to do this for myself in order to make a good start at clean eating.  Hopefully, this jump start can keep me going on eating healthy.  

Three days with no caffeine!  Now that's the biggest accomplishment I could have ever achieved.

This should be interesting...

Tuesday Tea Quote...

"The greatest tool you have is the ability to listen"

—Yogi Ginger Tea

I Love Shopping...

I do.  I love shopping, I just can't help myself.  But lately, I've been so good at just "window" shopping.  I haven't been going crazy spending money; I'm giving myself a budget of $100 per week for spending (that includes gas and groceries) so if I want to buy a big purchase I need to save money for a little while in order to purchase it.  I'm putting a certain amount of money away per month in order to reach a goal that I have in my mind for what I want in savings for our future.  Wow, I'm getting so old!  And so far, I have to say that I've reached that goal for January and February; I'm pretty proud of that.

Now that we have our desk complete

(although the office itself is definitely not, so don't mind the horrible pictures), I'm looking to find a new desk chair.  I thought that the hubby might be attached to the chair he had but then he let me know that it was a hand-me-down so if I wanted to change it, I could.  Yea, shopping!

Unfortunately, these are two of the chairs I was looking at from Ballard Designs.  Initially anyway.  But then I looked at the prices and realized that it's just unrealistic for a desk chair.  I mean seriously people, $500-$700 for a desk chair? I mean, yea they're cute but I'm pretty sure that they're also not worth it, unless you're an executive sitting your behind on that chair all day (what am I talking about?  I'm sure CEO's have chairs worth thousands of dollars! But still, it's expensive for us working stiffs!).

So, Mom and I made trip over to HomeGoods today in order to find a chair that works for the room.  I don't want to go too dark because the room is dark but I didn't want to go light either.  Unfortunately, the one chair I did like had a leg on it that was glued together; I refuse to pay $200 for a chair with a broken leg (even if it's fixed!).  I took some pictures of some ideas for the office, but I'm still not settled.

Let me know what you think... the desk chair doesn't need to have wheels (we'd actually prefer without wheels because of the rug), I just want a comfy chair for us to settle into when we're doing our Rosetta Stone...

I think the one is too feminine and big and the other matches the curtains too much

Too bland?

And these were the lights I was looking at... cute little lamp or traditional desk lamp?

Or should I keep looking? The longer I put it off, the more money I save.  A win win in my book.  But I do want to see the finished product sooner than later.

Tuesday Tea Quote...

I found a new tea brand that I instantly fell in love with once I had my first taste: Good Earth.  A few weeks ago Shop Rite sent out a coupon for the brand (maybe that's because the hubby buys me about 7 boxes a tea every other month!) so I had to take advantage of it (they even sent two teas with it).  The original brand tastes like a red hot; it's fabulous, especially with a little bit of almond milk.  They've also got great quotes on their tea bags, so my tea quote tuesday might just give you some better quotes to mull over...

"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."

—Galileo Galilei

"Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything."

—Eugene Delacroix

Oh My, Is It Valentine's Day...

I've never been a big Valentine's Day person; it might just be because I never really felt like I had a sweetheart who cared about it like I did.  When you're a kid it's all about getting those little paper Valentine's cards and you hope, for some reason, that someone will give you a special one that they didn't pick out for the rest of the class.  When you're a teenager you start to realize that you want romance, you want someone to send you flowers to school or have them waiting at your car or on your front porch when you get home from classes.  A lot of the time you're disappointed.  Sometimes your high school sweetheart just isn't the guy on the white horse that you made him out to be.

Not to say I never had a good Valentine's day when I was younger, but it always felt like something your man had to do, not something that he really wanted to do because he felt you were special.  It was more like, well it's Valentine's day, so here's your flowers (the one's that still have the sticker on them from the local gas station).  Put a little romance into it fellas!

Then I met my hubby.  He just makes Valentine's day special.

I can't explain it.  It's not about the money he spends or the dinners out we have had, it's about the fact that I know he does it just to make me smile and feel like a princess.

He's a keeper (better be right? That's why I married him!).

We decided a few weeks ago that instead of going crazy for Valentine's Day on presents (like he knows how to do! and I don't know how to do—what do you buy your man for Valentine's Day anyway? unless of course he's a metrosexual, then you could just buy him a shirt I guess)... Anyway, he's great at buying presents and I feel horrible at it, so we decided that we would buy each other the full set of Rosetta Stone in Spanish (latin america) and that we would try to talk to each other in Spanish as much as possible once we both got started.  I think it was a wonderful idea.  The two of us nerds have been sitting here since Sunday throwing out sentences to each other and then translating; it's been fun, we're learning, we're dorks, and he didn't get a chance to really top me this year.  At least I thought...

The doorbell rang around 11 a.m. and who is it but the Lorel Grove delivery people sending me my flowers.  Now, I tried to convince him that he didn't need to "waste" his money on flowers this year, but that man of mine, heard the words "waste money on roses" so, instead he bought me tulips (Which my mom says the seeds are plantable, so I'm prepared to kill the flowers again promptly around spring time—that is when you plant flowers right?)  

I've never received tulips before and they're beautiful!  He really does know how to make me smile when I least expect it.  He's too cute and a romantic, whether he knows it or not.  

We went to Peters for dinner at 5 o'clock (early bird special people we are!) and it was fantastic!  Although, we both have to admit, our experience was much like the Valentine's day episode from Modern Family this past week... What can we say?  We like to eat early, just like the old people in diapers (no joke, there was definitely a woman wearing diapers there) Sigh.  Oh, romance!  But I enjoyed every moment of that delicious garlic soup because after today, no more dairy for me!  I need a new way of looking at food, not just cream and cheese... 

Despite our early reservation, we had a great time, we had an amazing time.  The food was perfect, we had complimentary champagne, and of course, bread shaped in a heart (these are the moments that I actually wish I charged my phone)!  Hopefully, we'll be one of those customers in our early 80's going out to dinner hoping we don't fill up the diaper too quickly (just kidding folks, just kidding!).

So our Valentine's dinner ended a little after six and to my surprise, the hubby offered to go and pick up the desk I ordered from Home Decorators.  I was a little worried, after my adventure with my mom in traffic last week, that we wouldn't get there before the store closed, but he assured me that either way, it would be a nice drive together.  And it was.  Thankfully, the store was open too (again, because I had to hit the bathroom! damn bladder) but also because I was really looking forward to seeing this desk in our office (well his office, since I barely use it, but then again, now I'm up here often because of the Rosetta Stone setup we have going, I guess I can really say, our office).

 He's such a trooper.  After a romantic dinner and a really long drive through the back country of New Jersey, he's in the office, as I type on his computer, putting the desk together for me.  

Now that ladies and gentlemen is what I call romance!  But hey, I even opened his beer for him, so I'm sure he thought that was really romantical too...

Happy Valentine's Day!

No More Facebook (At least for now)...

So, I've been realizing that lately I've been wasting a lot of time on Facebook.  Like three hours a day total time.  It's addicting.  It's silly.  I do nothing but open, close, and reopen my laptop, just to check Facebook. It's addicting. 

I need a break.

So I'm taking my own little version of a sabbatical.  A sabbatical from Facebook.  

I waste so much time just checking and rechecking people's status' and pictures.  It's crazy.  I don't know how this happened, but it did. 

So, I want to see what I can accomplish when I'm not on Facebook.  I thought that this would be a good way to start my week of getting on track with my diet (lifestyle change, isn't that what they tell you to call it these days).  Think of all the time I will have when I don't have Facebook to keep me distracted.  We also just got the Rosetta Stone in the mail, so now I can have a good addiction (hopefully).  

I've told people to follow my blog, snail mail me, e-mail me, or, brace yourself... call me!  I'm not available on Facebook for at least the next the week.  My hubby is changing my password for me and under no circumstances can he give it to me!  So, I hope no one does anything exciting this week!  I hope I don't miss being a voyeur for a week.  It's going to drive me nuts, at least for the first few days, to not see 300+ for status updates...

Here goes nothing.