Detox Day 3

Day 3 of my detox diet

Breakfast -
Creamy Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Blend 1 banana, 1 cup of sliced strawberries, 1/2 sliced and peeled avocado, and a few ice cubes for one delicious and healthy serving.

By noon, when I was in a rush to get to class and the only thing I could grab on the go was freeze dried mango slices, I was seriously craving some Pizza Hut cheese bread and sad to say, for a second I considered it. Eating unhealthy is SO MUCH EASIER than eating healthy. But I persevered and now I'm eating lunch...

Lunch -
Fresh sliced mango, carrot sticks, hummus, and gluten-free multigrain crackers.

Detox Day 2

Breakfast -
Peachy Green Smoothie
Blend 1 cup of torn spinach, 1 cup of frozen peaches, 3/4 cup of vanilla almond milk, 2 teaspoons of honey, and a few ice cubes. Makes one delicious serving.

I have an entire recipe book full of smoothie recipes, and I'm finding it interestingly difficult to find ones that dont call for yogurt. Milk I can replace with almond or coconut milk, but nearly all of them require yogurt or frozen yogurt.

Snacks -
Freeze dried mango slices, apple slices dipped in almond butter

Dinner -
Quinoa, fried tempeh, and veggies

I felt much better, never getting a headache or super drowsy. I went to the gym, and though my shin splints prevented me from running very far I did run a bit, walk a bit, do a little time on the elliptical, and a 20 minute core workout.
I was craving pizza, chocolate, and just about anything else unhealthy by 8 pm, though. It's so tempting to give in! But I will not put my taste buds before my body ;)

Detox Day 1

I decided to do a detox cleanse for several reasons. I began working out and eating healthier, plus being a vegetarian, at the start of the year. At first I lost several pounds, was seeing results, and feeling great about it, but soon the results seemed to begin to slack off and I wanted something slightly more drastic that I could do to boost them. Also, I am running a 5K this Saturday and thought it would be a good time to start feeling great.
Of course the first thing I did was research. I had to find a cleanse that didn't require eating meat. I found several good sources, such as the Dr. Oz 2-Day Detox and the GM Cleanse but ultimately ended up getting most of my ideas from an About.com article. As with anything, though, it is important to research and compile the information into something that seems reasonable and doable.
Saturday night we went to WalMart where I spent too much time and money picking out fresh fruits and vegetables, almond milk, and gluten-free crackers.
And that's about all that I will consume for the next week.
The trick (to the detox I have chosen)? Cut out sugar, gluten, and dairy. Sounds pretty simple, right? It is. But what does it leave? Fruits, veggies, and gluten-free grains such as quinoa and whole grain rice.
So it's smoothies, fruit, salads, veggies, quinoa, rice, tree nuts, and hummus.

Day 1:
Breakfast:
Tropical Breakfast Smoothie
Blend 1 20-oz. can of pineapple chunks and juice, 1 banana, 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, and 1/4 cup of coconut with 1/2 cup of ice. I didn't have coconut so it wasn't quite as sweet as it should have been. This makes two pretty good servings.

Snacks:
15 almonds, gluten-free crackers with hummus, carrot and celery sticks with hummus, a (not-quite-ripe :/) plum, and fruit strips.

Lunch:
I was in a rush to get to work, so I had some gluten-free coconut and chia seed cereal with coconut milk.

Dinner:
Quinoa with steamed carrots, broccoli, and peas.



By 9:30 I was craving coffee, but I avoided the campus center at school. About halfway through the day I could feel the effects of changing my diet and having no sodas or coffee or sugary stuff. I was tired, had a pounding headache, and crashed on the couch for about an hour this evening. I forced myself to get up, though, and go outside to enjoy the weather and take a walk/run around campus to help my body emit those toxins through sweat. Feeling better now :)

2013

Hey guys.
Well, my last post was January 1, 2012. Chances are most of you have checked this page more recently than I have, according to the page view stats. My last post, though, was about New Years resolutions and was really interesting to read now a year later (though I was grateful I hadn't included anything about posting more often). Did I accomplish my goals? Not perfectly, but I definitely progressed in each area I wanted to. I was most interested that I mentioned I wanted to try to be a vegetarian, because while I don't remember saying that specifically, it is something I have wanted to do for some time and today marks three complete successful months of vegetarianism.
Other things have changed since that post as well. In the year 2012 I met my best friend (one year ago today, actually!) who I fell in love with: Wes, and in 19 days we will have been together for a year. I gained 5 new piercings (all in my ears and nose, nothing freaky), traveled out of the country for the first time to Costa Rica, where I had TONS of new experiences. I moved out and got my own apartment, which is great but really teaching me how expensive life is! I began going to Fianna Hills Baptist Church with Wes, where I have a great church family.
Things have already changed even in 2013. I recently started a new job as a server at Olive Garden. I joined a gym and have been working out and running more.

The reason I was actually prompted to find this thing again and post was because today is the first day of my detoxification/cleanse diet, and I wanted a way to be able to track what I'm eating and doing and how I feel, plus I know that some of you have expressed interest in it so I thought this would be a good way to keep up with it. So that will be in my next post. :)

Resolutions I intend to keep

I'm not HUGE on New Years resolutions, because they usually end up forgotten after a month or two.
However, I do like to use the milestone of a new year to prompt myself to reflect upon the past year and make a list, whether mentally or physically, of things I intend to do or work on for the next year.

2011 was a good year. It brought me two successful semesters of college along with a summer class; a new job at Eastside Animal Health Center that I enjoy; good times with family, friends, and Josh; an awesome trip to Sea World; a cat miracle; a new church at Mount Olive; and much, much more.

2012 seems promising. My goals?
Spiritual - read the Bible every day (iPhones are so handy for that!), learn to put God FIRST in my life, above everything and everyone else (I've learned that things don't go so well when I lose focus).
Academic - complete two more semesters of college with sweet grades and excel at my position as VP of Sigma Tau Delta (English Honors Society), submit lots of writing and (ultimately) be published. Speaking of which, please check out THIS WEBSITE that I created and click that little "Like" button in the left corner!
Fitness - get back to running and working out, doing yoga, and eating healthy. Thinking about trying vegetarian again for a while.
Organization - get rid of everything unnecessary!

A side note: now that I finally got some time to get back to making paracord bracelets, I've sold several, and even came up with a new design featuring a compass attached in the middle. Please check out all of my listings here: http://myworld.ebay.com/emmkat92

Ah, and one more thing. So Josh and I and his oldest childhood friend Mark took a little trip down to a tiny little town tonight, parked the car on the side of the road, and walked the tracks until we found what we were looking for, which was this...

A pretty awesome old train tunnel, built in 1886. Definitely going back when it's lighter.

Chocolately Treats

I like treating myself. Especially to coffee. Not just coffee. But the really good coffee. My latest favorites are White Chocolate Mochas and, for the holidays, Peppermint Mochas. I first discovered these at Starbucks, but God knows I can only afford so many of those. I then learned that McDonalds has them, too, and they're not bad at all, but cheaper. Still, I'm a poor college kid. So I decided to see if I could make something similar at home.
My mom hates coffee, so we've never had a coffee maker. So I borrowed my boyfriend's coffee maker and started Googling. After reading several recipes, this is what I came up with.

1. In a small bowl, combine equal parts warm water and sweetened cocoa powder.

2. Stir until it forms a smooth syrup.

3. Pour 2 Tbsp. of the syrup into an 8 oz. cup.

4. Add a shot (1 oz.) of espresso or double-strength, dark-roasted coffee. (To brew double-strength coffee, use 4 Tbsp. of ground coffee for every 6 oz. of water.)

5. Fill the rest of your cup with steamed milk. (If you don't have a milk steamer, heat milk on the stove to between 140 and 160 degrees.)

6. Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

I don't have a milk steamer, or a thermometer, so I just heated up the milk until it started steaming. I also didn't have any whipped cream on hand, but I did add a drop of peppermint extract. I thought it was pretty good, though Josh didn't like it.

Monday morning I woke up and wanted a breakfast treat. Once again I went to old reliable Google. Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins and Creamy Hot Cocoa it was. Here's the delicious recipes I used.

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Special equipment: Muffin tin with paper muffin cases

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring jug. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, remembering that a lumpy batter makes the best muffins. Spoon into the prepared muffin cases. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top and then bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/3 cup boiling water
• 3 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup half-and-half cream

Directions

1. Combine the cocoa, sugar and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Blend in the boiling water. Bring this mixture to an easy boil while you stir. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes. Watch that it doesn't scorch. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of milk and heat until very hot, but do not boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla. Divide between 4 mugs. Add the cream to the mugs of cocoa to cool it to drinking temperature.

Organized and Attractive

What is the difference between the adorable, neat little rooms you see in home decor catalogs, and the rooms in your own house? Besides the name-brand appliances, expensive paintings, and the fact that for the purpose of the picture the only things present are those which are attractive, the big thing is organization. That's why they want to sell you all those assorted baskets and metal boxes with built-in labels to put everything in. Those would completely solve your life's problems! All of your magazines, books, craft supplies, and yarn would have their own place. But what about everything else?
The truth is, there is no need to spend a ton of money on things to help you organize the things you have already spent money on. With a little creativity, you, too, can have organized and attractive rooms.

Shoes are one of my biggest problems. I have probably a dozen pairs too many. And that shelf at the bottom of the closet? Just not enough room. I invested several dollars (you could even make your own!) in some hanging shoe holders that go on the back of closet doors. They're totally worth the sight of the hooks on the other side. They allow you to easily see and access every pair of shoes, without the others falling down.

My bathroom is always a mess. Makeup, hair products, oral hygiene items, and facial products clutter my counter constantly, and throwing them in a drawer doesn't help with the organization factor. My solution? I took baskets, boxes, and bowls that I had from gift sets people had given me, and recycled them into good use. I have one basket with all of my hair products on a shelf; another on the counter holding my obsessive amount of mouthwash, floss, and toothpaste; a bowl in a drawer for all of my not-every-day makeup, and a divided box in another drawer separating everyday makeup, tweezers and nail clippers, and nail polish.

My desk is my other huge problem. I do everything at my desk: homework, writing, painting. The problem is, this desk is only big enough for one project. Out came the baskets again. A divided basket holds my sharpies, pencils, notepads, staples. A file holder helps with my letters and paperwork. And the cutest thing? A glass coke bottle to hold my paintbrushes. They can't roll away or clutter my workspace, I never have to go looking for them, and it looks pretty neat.

Another cheap alternative is those rolling, plastic drawers. I got a set of three at Wally World for less than ten dollars last year. It doesn't take up much space, but provides a place for me to store all of my old schoolwork and notebooks that I may need access to again.

There are many other ways to keep your stuff organized that doesn't involve too much work or a lot of money. Show those magazine people up, and be just as organized and attractive without paying them to do it for you.

My life is brilliant.

Today was a good day: work in the morning til noon, coffee and poetry with Alex (who was so nice to offer to help me), a nap, and baking. :)

My latest project: homemade shampoo. I have naturally oily hair, so I have to wash it every day. Even if I wash it in the morning, it's sometimes greasy by that evening. Homemade shampoo cleans better (I used it for the first time last night, and I'm already happy with the results), doesn't contain chemicals, and is cheaper. You can do really easy homemade conditioner, too.

Tonight I made sugar free healthy oatmeal cookies, and I'm making sugar free honey wheat bread. Yummy.

I'm certain I had more to say, but I must get to my homework.

Hiking the OHT

First off, I'm writing this post from my phone's blogger app, so if it's a little short, that's why.
Yesterday Josh and I spent about 5 hours hiking about 14 miles of the Ozark Highlands Trail yesterday. It started out a little chilly but ended up feeling great. Other than a little soreness and stiffness - and the unfortunate face plant I did when I tripped over a large log - it was a lot of fun. The leaves are all changing and the scenery was beautiful. We found some neat big rocks that Josh climbed on, some old rock chimneys, and some sort of a spring well or something. I also found an old alcohol bottle full of mud, but Josh didn't think it had a message in it. :/ lol
I've only got about five weeks left of the semester. I registered for spring last week. Intermediate Spanish 1, Fiction Workshop, Textual Research Methods, History and Development of the English Language, Newspaper Staff, Applause (our literary magazine) Staff, and hopefully Free Verse are what's on the menu.
My latest writings have been a character journal from the perspective of Ichabod Crane about what really happened to him, a creative nonfiction essay about working at the vet, an essay on Americans' focus on material possessions, and an essay about a basement at one of my old houses.
I think that's all for now. Thanks for reading!

My Life in Words

Maybe the title of this post would be a better title for this blog. Hmm, what do you think?

My latest happenings: Everything has been crazy lately. School is in full swing, in fact we're in week 10 of 16 for the semester. I'm really enjoying my classes, all 17 hours of them, and I'm excited about these upper level writing classes and getting involved in the department. I'm taking Nonfiction Writing, Editing, Poetry, Publications Staff, Literature, and Spanish. The latter two are online and not my absolute favorite, but they're not bad. Nonfiction is probably the best. Learning about and writing creative nonfiction is fascinating and exciting to me; I love drawing from my own experiences and creating stories from them. You can read my first story HERE. And while you're there, you can take a look around at some of my other essays and poems. Editing has given me a lot of writing and editing practice. Poetry is tedious but good. Publications Staff is great. Check out my article in the latest newspaper edition HERE. Actually, check out the whole thing! We have a new editor and have re-vamped and improved the newspaper this semester and have gotten a great response from it. My adviser found out that I am able to declare Spanish as a second minor, so I'm pretty happy about that. I've been accepted into Sigma Tau Delta, the English Honors Society, and am looking forward to being involved in it.

LOVE this mug. Maybe I'm a nerd... but it's definitely on my wish list.

My latest obsession: hot white chocolate mocha from Starbucks.

My latest tragedy: We won't go into everything except to say it's been an interesting two and a half weeks full of tears, friends, doctors visits, medicine, and vet visits. The only thing I'll go into here is the vet visits. Some of you know my cat, Tinkerbell LaTasha Bojangles... or Tink for short. Anyhow, last Friday while I was at Wally World filling some prescriptions after my own visit to the Dr., my mom called me and told me Tink had been hurt badly and I needed to get to the clinic, where, fortunately, she and I both work. Panicking, I sped down there and found her on the x-ray table meowing loudly. Immediately in tears, I asked what happened and mom explained that she had been pinned under my garage door since I'd left that morning - for about 2 1/2 hours. Long story short, nothing was broken or crushed, and though her back half was paralyzed at the time, she is now recovering miraculously and is able to walk a little, although she looks pretty funny. Time will tell, but I'm very thankful.