P.S. on last post...

So I went through a Woods Coffee drive through in Bellingham last week, and the lady saw my very green juice in the cup holder. You should have SEEN her face!

Nice Barista: (horrified expression) "UGH! Are you drinking that?!"

Me: (Laughs out loud) "Yes, I call it my swamp water!"

Nice Barista" (Nervous laugh) "ok, uh, here's your coffee. Have a, um, nice day." (Slides window shut)

Me: ROFL!!!

Can't you totally picture her after shutting the window, like, 'girls, you won't believe what just went through the drive up....'

I wonder what she thought I meant. Maybe I should have clarified a bit and told what it actually was, but she seemed to be in such a hurry....

Juicing for the Faint of Stomach.

(Yeah Caroline, I know. It's been longer than a week since I posted. So sorry Dear!)

So. As the title of this post might have suggested, I have been juicing. What is juicing?

Glad you asked.

Basically it's a (don't say diet. It's not a diet. Diet is a bad word.) fast, or cleanse for health reasons. You may have heard of/seen the documentary, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, which exposes the dangerous habits of eating our society has fallen into.

Fast food, processed foods, and the general degeneration of the things we are putting into our bodies. The documentary recommends a "juice fast" as a way to get yourself back on track, to rid your body of any thing (and everything) labeled as "toxic". (i.e. processed foods, chemicals that food industries are putting in our food etc.) These juice cleanses are different for everyone. Some people go strictly juice, some go mostly juice, some go 1/2

and 1/2. As for me, I fall under the mostly juice category. I'm an active little bugger, and if I strictly juice (I did for 4 days) I end up with massive headaches, and simply couldn't function

Juicing also goes for different lengths of time. Some are 3 days, 10 days or even 30 days.

(The man the documentary was about was really, "fat, sick and nearly dead" and did his fast for 60 DAYS!)

I'm going for 30 days of mostly juicing. By "mostly" I mean all but one meal a day. Usually dinner, and that meal is wheat free. (i.e. no pasta, no bread, no grains etc.)

Is it hard? Uh, YES! Especially since I do the cooking 3 days a week! Grrr. So hard to make some of my favorite meals and not eat them. But, for your enjoyment and my records, I've

photo documented, a step by step juicing so you can see what's what.

So first... Arm yourself with fresh veggies and fruit. I have 3 large stalks of kale, 2 big handfuls of spinach, 2 apples, (one tart, one sweet. ) a cucumber and a handful of strawberries.

Start choppin'.

Apples...

Kale...

Cukes...

All ready!

This is my juicer. His name is Slim. (Yeah, I know I said it's not a diet, whatever.)

Start crammin' veggies.

The juice comes out the bottom, and the..."leftovers" come out the end.

After it's done, pour into a container of your choice. I like a tall quart jar.

Ahhh....Look at that layer of foam on top!

Everything is better with foam on top. Lattes, mattresses, bubble baths....anyways.

I always put mine in the fridge for an hour or so. I think it's kinda gross at room-temperature.

Wash your juicer thoroughly, and right after you're done! Believe me, it's worth it.

(Haha, hi Samantha!)

So whaddaya think? Have you ever tried juicing? For long time, a short time? Or maybe just once?

Should we have a juicing party? (I vote yes!) =)

Cheers!

"That"

So if I know the readers of this blog like I think I do, then this post will likely issue three different opinions.

Some of you, might "un-follow" Ladybugsndaisies, as a result of initial shock, and the common question- "Can Christians do 'that'?"

Some of you will likely disown me, with the excuse (you've been looking for one haven't you?) that it's against your principles to have friends that do "that".

Some of you might have your interest piqued and resolve to look into "that" for yourselves.

And the rest of you? Well you'll probably pass it off as "something Emily would do" or roll your

eyes, and in the good humored fashion I'm so terribly found of, tease me about "that" for the rest of my existence.

What? What exactly is "that" you say? Well, didn't I mention it? Well. Do forgive me.

"That" which I refer to, my dear friends, is:

Yoga.

Ahh. The bomb has been dropped.

But before you all run away and never come back, let me explain, and attempt to save my reputation. If I'm lucky, you'll think of me as a little fruity at best, or one fry short of a happy meal at worst.

But I haven't gone off the deep end I assure you. (LOL? Thought so.)

It all started about a year ago when I began looking for ways to stretch and relax my upper body, namely my back, shoulders and neck. As most of you know, I am a violinist and music teacher, and violinists as a rule tend to carry at least some tension in those areas.

I tried some basic stretching which helped to a point, but I began to realize that it was going to take more just a little stretching now and then to relieve the tension I felt almost constantly.

You guessed it, I thought of yoga. Now I admit, when the thought first occurred to me, I was hesitant. I'd heard of the physical benefits of course, but isn't yoga a lot of Hindu religious hooha?

(words like, meditation, Sanskrit, karma, and quantum energy came to mind.)

So, I started some research. And what did I find? Basically, yes, no, and it all depends.

When yoga first became popular in the 1960's (Dude, you know man, when the hippies were thrivin') it was practiced true to original form, both the spiritual and physical. The fact that

people like members of the Beatles rock n' roll group practiced it, skyrocketed its popularity.

But over time, the physical benefits came under scrutiny, and serious consideration.

Doctors started recommending it, and the while the spiritual aspect is still widely observed and

practiced, it isn't the only way.

Now, gyms and fitness centers all over America offer classes that are based on the principles of relaxation, flexibility and stress relief, minus the spiritual aspects.

In 2003, 15 million people practiced yoga. Wow. Just goes to show what happens when Mary tells Lucy about her new fitness class!

So basically, that's what I'm doing. My local fitness center just 3 minutes from my house has a class once a week, that I'm going to, as well as some do-it yourself yoga at home.

I've only been doing it for a few weeks, but already I see an improvement in my flexibility.

Apparently there are some 84,000 different poses and variations, so don't look to me as your local go-to guru, at least in this lifetime! (I know, that's not funny.)

I thought this made for an interesting post, something out the ordinary at least.

What do you think? Ever thought about yoga? Maybe you do yoga, or maybe this is just too far out for you. But I'm dying to hear what other people think about yoga in general.

So. Breath in, breath out slowly, and leave a comment so we can all see what side of the fence you're on. (of course if you're not sure, meditate on it for while and connect with your inner core)

Ok, enough of the corny jokes. Hope you enjoy the weekend everyone!

"Blessed are the flexible, for they can never be bent out of shape." ~ Anonymous

Tennis Anyone?

The pool is up, summer must be here!

But this summer, the thing I look forward to the most in my week, isn't swimming, it's tennis!

I've wanted to learn tennis for some time, and while dad has played just about everything else with us (soccer, basketball, baseball, hockey, volleyball, badminton, and even touch-football) when I asked if he could teach me tennis, he gave me "the look." You all have dads, and you know what I mean.

The look that says "go jump off a cliff." And he accompanied this with the words, "I HATE tennis. If you want to learn, get someone else to teach you."

Me to self: Hmm, maybe if I ask with the "big brown eyes tactic" in mind (which rarely fails) he'll know I'm really serious, and reconsider.

But upon application of said tactic, all he said was; "Sorry Princess, but I mean it. I HATE tennis. Get someone else to teach you."

Me to self: Phooey. Wow, he really, really doesn't like that game, if the no-fail tactic FAILED!

Well, I guess I'd better find someone else!

So I called around, and Homestead (our local fitness center) gave me the number of a gal named Holly. So I called, obviously, and she said that if I could find a friend to take lessons with me, it would cut the cost of lessons by $10!

Now to find a friend...

"So, Ali... ever thought of taking tennis lessons? By the way, did I mention how cute the shirt is on you?

Ali: Nope. Not interested.

Me: Don't you think it'd be fun? I mean, good exercise, fun and experience!

Ali: I don't care to spend the money, I get lots of exercise playing badminton with you as it is, and besides, if you learn to play, you can teach me for free, and then I'll get the experience.

Me to me: Darn this dutch heritage of ours! She got the "cheap gene."

Well, Sam already said she wasn't interested...who else could I call....

This led to the phoning of My good friend Janeal, who to my utter astonishment, immediately said "Yes! I've always wanted to take tennis lessons!"

Wow! So, needless to say, we're takin' tennis lessons! Every Friday for an hour +1/2, and hopefully we can practice Thursdays.

Our coach is awesome, and an excellent teacher. And Janeal? Well... umm... she beat me our mock game last week! She'll be great!

So, anyone know how to play tennis? I'm up for a game anytime! =)

Mark Twain says...

The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not. ~M.T.


Unfortunately very true! :)

Sorry I havn't been blogging lately, I've been busy reading the driver's book, and then proceeding to flunk my first driver's test by one question, and studing to take it again later this week! (bleh.)

Hope you're all havin' a blessed Lord's day!