Indianapolis Temple

Indianapolis Temple

Day 10-14

5/19/2013 06:29:00 PM Edit This 3 Comments »
One more week to go...

Day 10

  1. Breakfast- Green Smoothie with coconut water, avocado, kale, and mango
    1. I used fresh coconut water although I've heard you can buy packaged coconut water in some health food stores.  I wanted to try my hand at cracking fresh coconuts and draining the water since I am part Samoan...  so I should be able to do it quite handily.  Meijer's had pre-scored coconuts so they were easier to break apart.  Reed first drilled two holes so I could drain the water and then I smashed them on our back porch step.  How thrilling!
  2. Lunch- Indian food
    1. The music therapy department at HHC has a tradition of taking our interns out to lunch for their end-of-their-internship celebration.  One of our interns this time around picked an indian restaurant.  So I stuck close to the chicken and veggie dishes although I did have one piece of naan and one bowl of rice pudding.
  3. Dinner- Berry Shake with coconut milk and cinnamon
    1. Yummy!  This used coconut milk plus some meat from my coconuts.                                                               

Day 11
  1. Breakfast- Apple Kale Sprout and Radish Juice
    1. This was the absolute worst.  It was totally my fault.  I misread the recipe and put one whole radish (and it was daikon which was huge) instead of one CUP.  It was incredibly gross.  I choked down 8 oz of the juice before I gave up.  And I was so mad that I had a small brownie.  
  2. Lunch- Leftover Coq au Vin
  3. Dinner- Leftover Zuchinni Basil Soup

Day 12
  1. Breakfast- Becky's Morning Shake with almond milk, avocado, protein powder, and flax meal
    1. I actually made this the night before as my dessert and it made a ton so I had it for breakfast also.  I used Melaleuca's chocolate protein powder.  Really good and it was an awesome dessert.
  2. Lunch- Lamb Tacos
    1. This was actually a lamb patty cooked in coconut oil with summer squash.  Oh so delicious.
  3. Dinner- Green Coco Smoothie with coconut water, avocado, spinach, and cashews
    1. Surprisingly good since it doesn't sound appetizing.  The cashews gave a nice salty flavor to the otherwise bland smoothie.
Day 13
  1. Breakfast- Apple Ginger Lemon and Spinach Juice
    1. One of my favorites and I think it's because I like sour candy.  If you don't like sourness, this is not for you.  You probably could change the green apples for red to make it less punchy, but I prefer the Granny Smiths.  
  2. Lunch- Leftover Lamb Tacos
  3. Dinner- Leftover Zuchinni Soup
Day 14
  1. Breakfast- Creamy Blueberry Shake
    1. Word from the wise, do not eat this shake before going to a social function unless you brush your teeth.  We were sitting in sacrament meeting before Reed mentioned that I still had bits of blueberry smoothie all over my teeth.  This particular shake was made with chia seed gel which is what happens when you soak chia seeds in water.  Sounds and looks gross, but I couldn't taste it in my shake so it's a win-win.
  2. Lunch- Leftover Blueberry Shake
  3. Dinner- Zuchinni and Sesame Seed Hummus
    1. I think I would have liked this better if I had made it correctly.  I dumped the soaking sesame seeds into the blender with the water and I think I should have drained it first.  So it came out more soupy.  The hummusy soup was a little zippy thanks to some cayenne pepper and was really good!  Just not solid enough for dipping.
I have lost 2.5 more pounds this week for a total of 8.5 pounds!  I really, really, really, really need to drink more water.  I am terrible at that and it's such an integral part of this cleanse!  That is my goal for this week- drink more water.

Days 7-9

5/14/2013 06:57:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Day 7- Mother's Day
  1. Breakfast- Energy Shake from day 5
    1. The girls were excited to make me breakfast in bed :)
  2. Lunch- remainder of Energy Shake
    1. OK.  And a piece of cheesecake and a piece of pizza.  The priesthood brethren treated the women in the ward to an after church luncheon and I couldn't resist!
  3. Dinner-  Chicken Cordon Bleu
    1. So Mother's Day was not a wonderful day for sticking with my cleanse.  The food was gooooooooood though.  I definitely felt it the next day.  I felt different- sluggish, a bit bloated, I had to really knuckle down and drink my smoothie.
Day 8
  1. Breakfast- Mango and Coconut Smoothie
  2. Lunch- Leftover Halibut
  3. Dinner-  Pineapple, Lime, and Fresh Mint
    1. I am lucky to have a chocolate mint plant growing in my backyard and I have been using it a LOT for this cleanse.  I'm not sure if the pineapple came out slushy from the juicer because that's how pineapple usually is or if it was because Reed had accidentally stuck it in the freezer.  Instead of a juice it was more like a slushy.
Day 9
  1. Breakfast- Fennel and Apple Juice
    1. I've had fennel seed before but not the actual veggie.  This juice was awesome!  I will definitely be making this again.  The green apples gave the sour and the fennel balanced it out with a licoricy sweetness.  I only used the head of the fennel for the juice- the bulbs I saved for a chicken dinner that everybody else ate tonight and I will eat on Thursday for lunch.
  2. Lunch- Leftover stir-fry with buckwheat noodles
  3. Dinner- Zucchini Basil soup
    1. I am loving my onion chopper these days.  It makes creating these soups a cinch.  I diced the zuchinni, onion, and celery using this.  Voila, soup in 5 minutes.

Day 5-6

5/11/2013 06:47:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

  1. Day 5
    1. Breakfast- Energy Shake with tahini, cardamom, and frozen peaches
      1. Probably my favorite shake so far.  You can substitute almond butter for the tahini.
    2. Lunch- Chicken with Stir-Fry Veggies and Buckwheat Noodles
      1. I found out that the juicer I'm using is also a pasta maker!  So instead of buying buckwheat noodles I made them.  Very easy.  Kids did not like them.  I think they are delicious!
    3. Dinner- Spinach and Avocado Soup
      1. The spinach and avocado soup is pureed with coconut milk.  It makes a very creamy soup with a little sweetness.  I would make it again.

  1. Day 6
    1. Breakfast- Mango and Coconut smoothie with pineapple
      1. I am a judge at the State Science Day held at OSU and they always serve us these delicious donuts, fresh made.  Oh my.  Anyways, I knew I was going to be tempted to eat one so I made sure to drink 2 servings of this so I would be full.  It really helped.  I still ate a little of a donut. It was so good.
    2. Lunch- Halibut with zucchini and olives
      1. I had this recipe on my meal list a few days ago and then I found out Meijer's doesn't carry halibut.  Then we went to Whole Foods and, lo and behold, they had a fresh shipment of halibut!  Whoa, expeeeeeeeennnnnnssssiiiiiiiiiivvvvveeeeee.  Totally worth it though.  This halibut is cooked in parchment paper with the zucchini and olives, with lemons and some herbs.  So goooooooooood.
    3. Dinner- Leftover Spinach and Avocado Soup

I have lost 6 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!  I told Reed that I don't feel hungry with my liquid meals, I feel just fine. So that's not the hard part.  The hard part is NOT eating ice cream and pizza.  I have decided to keep going and do the full 3 weeks.  Here I go!

Big Day

5/09/2013 07:41:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
Fifth Third had been contacting us for months about refinancing our home and we never thought it was the right time.  For one thing, we're not going to fit in the condo forever and for another thing we don't have money for closing costs and other re-fi.  After a while Reed decided to look into it and see what they could actually do for us.  I was very wary and said that if he did all the paperwork and felt good about it, I would be fine with it as long as it wasn't going to set us back in our budget.  It took 2 months but we signed all the paperwork today and we are re-financed!  We didn't have to pay anything, in fact we get a check for $250.  New payment plan starts in July.  Even if we are only here for another year, it was still worth it.  I asked Reed why this was all working out and it sounded too good to be true.  He said I should thank President Obama.  I think I'll thank the Lord instead.  

3 years ago we bought our mini-van and financed it through USAA.  We decided on a 3-year loan instead of the traditional 5 so that we could pay it off fast.  Today we received the notice that we have paid it off 2 months early!  I wasn't expecting that because I keep tabs on our debts and we still had a little to pay next month.  Apparently since we were so close, USAA just called it a "closing adjustment" and called it good.  We love USAA and will never leave!  It's so good to have the title in our hands and know that we won't have to pay $145 every month.  Of course, it's going to break now.  Or Reed's car is going to break.

We have been plugging away at our debt for 5 years now since getting on the Dave Ramsey plan.  It has been a struggle.  This year has been a good year for us in this arena.  We've paid off a credit card, one of my student loans, and now the car.  Up next- the daycare costs we have racked up during our winter periods and one more credit card.  Easy peasy with our snowball now.    

Clean update-

  1. Day 4
    1. Breakfast- Celery, Apple, Pineapple juice
      1. I really need a better blender.  It tasted good but there were still some chunks of pineapple after blending for a long time.
    2. Lunch- Broiled Lamb Chops with Asparagus
      1. My first time cooking lamb and it turned out fabulous.  The rest of the family had the lamb chops for dinner and we grilled them that time.  Still delicious.  
    3. Dinner- Leftover Mushroom Zucchini Soup

Day 3

5/08/2013 06:56:00 PM Edit This 1 Comment »

  1. Day 3
    1. Breakfast- Very Berry Smoothie with blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and almond milk
      1. Strawberries are an avoid in this cleanse so I was glad to find a bag of frozen berry mix without them at Meijers.  The smoothie and juice recipes are for 2 servings and it's up to you to decide how to divvy it up through the day.  I've decided that it's best for me just to drink the whole quantity in the morning.  It doesn't taste as good later in the day and I need the oomph to get through my day.
    2. Lunch- Broiled Salmon with roasted asparagus and salad greens
      1. Yuuuuuummmmmyyyyyyyyy.  I used the Salmon Seasoning from Spice House.  I usually like salad either plain or with Ranch dressing (or some other type of creamy dressing).  Since pretty all commercial dressings are out for the cleanse the recipe called for tossing the salad with lemon juice, sea salt, and olive oil.  I gotta say I would do that again!
    3. Dinner- Zucchini Mushroom soup
      1. Actually, I had leftover Pineapple and Avocado Gazpacho so I ate that for dinner.  I was still hungry after the girls went to bed so I whipped up the mushroom soup.  We were given a huge bag of assorted mushrooms so I knew I needed to use them.  Reed hates mushrooms and I can only eat so many solid meals so just sauteing them day after day wasn't a good idea.  I was glad they had this recipe in the Clean book.

Getting Clean

5/07/2013 06:36:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
I started a cleanse program yesterday and am feeling good so far!  My friend, Marly, completed this particular program a couple years ago and blogged about it here.  I thought it sounded interesting and checked out the book right away.  But then I was pregnant and you can't do the cleanse while pregnant.  So I never read the book.  I finally sat down and read it a few weeks ago and decided to jump right in!

I like how it's not a juice fast since I could never do a juice fast.  Too hard.  I get 2 liquid meals a day and 1 solid (usually lunch).  The liquid meals can be in the form of juice, smoothies/shakes, or soups and all meals need to follow a special list of foods which is pretty much primal which was what I was semi-doing before.  I also like how he places special emphasis on restoring the good fauna in the gut, not just cleaning it out.  The weight-loss will be an added bonus.
  1. Day 1
    1. Breakfast- Classic Green Shake with spinach, pine nuts, and almond milk
      1. I think I added too much spinach and didn't blend it for long enough.  Had to choke it down and almost didn't make it.
    2. Lunch- Cucumber Mint Soup
      1. Very yummy and would actually make this again even if I were off the cleanse
    3. Dinner- Garlic and Rosemary Roasted Chicken with parsnips and apples
      1. Although you can eat a solid dinner the program recommends that the solid meal be during lunch.  I had to switch it for the first day because this particular meal would be good for the whole family and it made it easier scheduling wise.  The recipe made quite a bit so I'm saving the chicken for a later meal.

  1. Day 2
    1. Breakfast- Green Power Juice with celery, apples, spinach, lemon, and lettuce
      1. I borrowed a juicer from my father-in-law and I must say that I am in love with it.  I can't believe how easy it is to use.  If I do this cleanse again I will need to buy once since I can't imagine making juice without a juicer.  This was actually very delicious and I think the apples made the juice go down easier than I thought.
    2. Lunch- leftover chicken from Day 1
    3. Dinner- Easy Pineapple and Avocado Gazpacho
      1. The blender will be your best friend during this cleanse.  My blender is not the best and if it holds up through this whole process, I will be impressed.  Very delicious.
Confession- I did have one slip up today when I walked into the staff lounge and saw a chocolate hazelnut cake somebody brought in to share.  I cut a little piece, had it in my mouth, and was chewing before I even realized what I had done.  No, I did not spit it out.  Something else that Dr. Junger said in the book was that there might be little steps backward but there is no failure when this type of thing happens.  I just walked out of the lounge without looking back.  The cake was really good though.


Smashed Finger

5/05/2013 07:08:00 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
On Thursday afternoon Vivi was excited that the weather was warm enough to play outside in the water.  So excited that she smashed her finger in our sliding glass door in her exuberance.  It was a piercing scream that I heard from the front of the house and it did not stop for several minutes.  I could tell that it was going to be at least a very bad smash.  After a while she calmed down and was able to play.  Then she woke up at 11:30pm just screaming with pain.  I think part of it was that she was in pain and the other part was she was very tired and wasn't quite sure what to do with her body.  She refused to take Tylenol, even spitting it out.  After 45 minutes of her crying (and waking up her sisters.  Thank goodness Auntie Lindey was around to help them go back to bed) she finally calmed down enough to take some Tylenol.  She still woke up several times in the night wimpering.  The next morning wasn't that much better.  I was beginning to wonder if she had broken her finger.  After posting for opinions on Facebook I was about to take her to the doctor when Reed assured me that it wasn't broken.  He has had many a smashed finger in his line of work and he said they were pretty excrutiating.  So I decided to wait a few more hours to see how her finger looked and how she felt.  Top that off with both of her sisters throwing up.  I gave up and took a sick day from work.  If I didn't know any better I would have thought that all 3 girls were in cahoots to keep me home because by lunchtime all of them were fine.  Vivi's finger looks horrible but she can move it around and for the most part it doesn't bother her.  She will definitely lose her nail and we've been keeping Melagel and a bandaid on it.  I just keep telling her that Auntie Jamie and Lara can both sympathize with smashed fingers :)

I am grateful for a place of employment which allows me to take sick days to be with my kids.  I am grateful for Auntie Lindey who was able to help with the other girls while I took care of Vivi (Reed later told me that he vaguely remembers waking up because of the screaming but decided he wasn't going to be of much help.  Probably right :)  He's pretty grumpy when he's been sleeping.).  I am grateful for Reed who allayed my fears.  I am grateful that Vivi's finger is only bruised and not broken.
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