Vacation Detox

Well, I did it! It's been two weeks without Facebook and it feels pretty good. The only time I miss it is when I think about friends that are having babies soon and I want to know if the big day has come and other updates about people I don't see often (Hey, Madeleine B. email me!). I will probably reactivate it soon, but it's been a nice break.

We just got back from a trip back home to California. John got to see his family and friends for the first time in over year. It was touching to see how loved he is. A week seemed like way too short of time, but we managed to squeeze a lot in, including birthday celebrations and a lake day. We throughly enjoyed the crisp California air and lack of humidity. We even got to wear sweatshirts most nights!
Ah, that bay breeze!

Getting back to one's "roots" is always refreshing and grounding. It was nice to have face to face interactions with people we love. One not so refreshing part of being home, however, was eating tons of junk and gaining weight. Since John got home from deployment, we've been indulging on all kinds of foods that aren't so healthy. This past week it finally caught up with us as we tried to consume as much of our favorite foods we can't get here in Texas. We decided that needing to unbutton our pants to sit down isn't acceptable so tomorrow we are starting a seven day juice fast to just reset our systems, so to speak.

We're trading in carne asada fries, burgers, pizza, and buffalo wings for kale, cucumbers, apples, and celery. The first three days we'll be drinking the "mean green" juice which includes the above ingredients as well as ginger root and lemon. Days 4-7 we'll add in other things like carrots, blueberries, and flax seed. Once the week long juice fast is over, we'll slowly start to add in whole fruits and vegetables (not just the juice), nuts, beans, fish, poultry, whole grains, and treats. Neither one of us wants to be rigid and never eat junk again, but we're hoping to sort of cleanse out the crap we've consumed the last two months and get back into a more moderate lifestyle. When John was gone I started eating healthier and exercising more. He did the same and we both felt an improvement in our energy level and overall well-being. I also didn't have a cold sore for 7 months (I was getting one about once a month before). Unfortunately, I have two healing up and one more just popped up this morning. I'm hoping the fast and subsequent healthy lifestyle will again subdue the outbreaks. I hear the first three days are the hardest as the body goes through a sort of withdrawal period. I'm up for the challenge and looking forward to pushing myself. It will be a great exercise in self-control and discipline.

This is all we'll be consuming over the next three days! If you see us over the week, please encourage us to keep going;  I'm sure we'll need it!