Mexican Pizza? Yes, Please.

Okay, team. SIX DAYS LEFT! That's it. Less than a week. We can totally do this.

This week has been much harder than the last three. I guess it's because I know I'm almost at the end and I'm getting tired of coming up with creative meal ideas. We're still rocking it though. No cheating...yet! (Just kidding, Katy...we're totally not going to cheat...)

The hardest part of the day is lunch. It doesn't matter if I come home or if I brave the cafeteria. Lunch = difficult. I've never been good at planning and/or making lunches. Ever. Maybe I should move back in with my mother?

Today I attempted salmon cakes at lunch. They were pretty good. Some fresh packets of salmon (like the non-canned tuna), lemon juice, red pepper flakes, basil, parsley, sea salt, gluten-free oats, and a few eggs to hold it all together. I cooked them for a few minutes on the stove and then ate them with a green apple. All in all, pretty delicious. I'm going to try a few more for lunch tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Tonight we enjoyed another creative, delicious dish: mexican pizza! We made our pizza crust with gluten-free Bisquick and I added some of our lifesaving jalapeno lime salt for extra flavor. Megan browned the organic beef and seasoned it with the seasoning from our solid gold Kroger find: organic taco kits! (A-mazing. Check it out.) Krista cut up a white onion, some green onions, some jalapenos, a fresh banana pepper, black olives, and bell peppers. As our base, we used the organic taco sauce (vinegar free, of course!) and some rotel. Even though we can't have cheese or sour cream, it was delicious! I think it was even better than the regular pizza we made last weekend. It might be part of our mexican fiesta we're preparing for next week's detox party. Which, again, you should all be attending!

After dinner, I headed over to Brian's to play with Grizz for a little bit. I'm on puppy child patrol this week (best babysitter ever), so we played and watched American Idol for a little bit. He's pretty much the cutest thing ever.

I'm really excited about our detox party and our detox celebration dinner the night after. Here's hoping I can make it these last few days. Fingers crossed!

Tornado! and Detox Party...Get Some!

Today's post is short and sweet. We're having a detox party on Tuesday, April 26. We're going to make delicious detox friendly food, tell you all about the detox and how you can get started, and sample some of the Arbonne skincare products. Woo! Megan's cousin (and mine too now that I'm an honorary cousin!), Katy, will be joining us along with an Arbonne rep to explain how much fun the detox is and to answer any questions. There's no pressure to buy anything, but you'll have the opportunity if you're so inclined. It will be our last day of detoxing and we want you to be there! Here's the cute invitation I just made:



If you need more info or you want to join us, you know where to find me!

In other quick news, we went for a run on the new Tucker Creek extension trail between Prince and Tyler and it was awesome. Check it out if you haven't had a chance. We followed the meal with a whirlwind of grocery shopping and a dinner of rice cakes with almond butter, fresh strawberries, blueberries, and half a green apple. OH! and some vanilla almond milk. Dinner of champions!

Hope to see you on Tuesday!

One Week Until...Pickles!

One week from tomorrow we'll be finished with the detox! I'm celebrating with a pickle...or seven.

This weekend was a success. Aaron came over Friday evening and enjoyed a lovely detox friendly taco salad with us. We giggled about how much fun we're going to have at Memphis in May and then we were thoroughly creeped out by my neighbors. Pretty sure something weird happens outside my house every time he comes over. Sorry, A!

Saturday was Alumni Funday. I trekked to the soccer game to see all of my soccer boys play the current soccer team and catch up with the girls. It was great to see Callan, Beth, Catherine, and Missy. It was the second to last day of swamp water, so naturally I brought it with me. It's certainly a conversation piece to say the least! I'll spare you the details of the disgusting conversations that were had, but you can imagine what questions a bottle of brown water might bring about. I later met up with Jake and we meandered through the Village and checked out houses that belonged to other people. It was a little creepy, but it was a nice day for being nosy.

Megan and I decided to try our hand at detox friendly pizza Saturday night. I made pizza crust from the gluten free pancake mix with some basil, olive oil, and garlic. Megan made marinara and browned some delicious organic beef. I made a veggie medley with a purple onion, fresh banana peppers, red bell pepper, spinach, and artichokes. IT. WAS. DELICIOUS. It was awkward to eat since we didn't have any cheese to hold it together, but it was fantastic. So fantastic, in fact, that it gave us the urge to drive to Yellville to spend Sunday with our mothers. I missed out on some alumni funtime (and a fresh tulip surprise from Beej!) but it was worth it to spend time with the fam.

Yesterday was the last day of swamp water. EVER. It was great! It turned out to not be as disgusting as it was in the beginning. In fact, we actually started to kind of like each other. We went through a rough patch, but I think it could've been a great relationship. Except now it's over. According to Brian, the seaweed drink does terrible things to my attitude, so I guess my friends are probably thankful I don't have to drink that crap anymore.

Mom and I went shopping on Sunday and stopped at El Chico to get some fajitas. We stayed away from everything delicious and just ate chicken, shrimp, onions, and peppers. Our server brought out all of the delicious sides and I'm pretty sure I gave her the death stare, but I didn't touch any of them. Not even the sour cream. Ugh!

Tonight was eat delicious taco salad and clean the kitchen night. I revived the tulips Beej sent me and now they're on our CLEAN kitchen table covered by our CLEAN tablecloth. That's a rarity in this household!

For any of you that are interested, we're having a healthy living party next week and you're all invited! You'll get detox friendly recipes, delicious food, and the skinny on what is involved in the detox and how you can get started. If you're interested, let me know!

It's way way way past my bedtime, but I stayed up late just for you. Oh...and today was weigh in day. I only lost a pound. BOO! But that brings me up to 12.5 pounds in three weeks, so I guess I can't complain. In another month, I'm going to be solid gold. (Didn't know the detox did that, did you?)

Okay...so...detox party. Be there.

Blueberry Waffles, Y'all.

The past two days have been particularly difficult. Maybe the most difficult since we started this thing. Work has been out of control busy and I forgot to take a lunch yesterday. By the time I got home, I thought for sure I was going to fall over. Turns out swamp water + no food = recipe for disaster. Lesson learned.

Today I made it to lunch, but I still don't think I ate enough. I'm living vicarioiusly through Brian, so I had to pretend that my mushy vegetables tasted like the deliciousness on his tray. When it was coffee and ice cream time, I thought I might jump over the table and fight him for them, but I exercised my willpower and left it alone. Despite my mushy veggies, I got home and I was exhausted. It's a similar feeling to your car running out of gas...no bueno. Tomorrow I will eat a spectacular lunch and all will be well.

The swamp water isn't nearly as bad as it was when we first started. We only have three days of body cleanse left and even though I'm definitely ready for this portion of the detox to be over, it isn't that bad. The worst part is the partying alligator in my stomach. Other than that, we're good.

Tonight was breakfast for dinner...again. We're really efficient in the kitchen when it comes to this meal though. Pretty sure we can make it with our eyes closed. Tonight we added blueberries to the waffles and they. were. delicious. So yummy!

For all of you who gave up deliciousness for Lent, you only have a week left! As for this pickle-free diet, only 12 days left! That's practically nothing.

Alumni weekend is this weekend and I'm looking forward to seeing a few good friends who are coming to visit. I even get to cook dinner for my friend Aaron tomorrow to show him how delicious detoxing can be! (Get excited, Aaron...it's going to be fantastic.)

For now, I'm going to continue watching the Princess and the Frog and then I'm going to go to sleep. It's supposed to storm like a crazy woman tonight, so I plan on sleeping really well. Tomorrow should be our last crazysauce day in the office and I'm pretty excited. I'm definitely ready for a weekend of visiting, sunshine, and relaxing!

Holy Alligator, Batman!

Whoa, team. Day 16 has been successfully completed. You know what that means? Two weeks from today we'll be finished! I think I'll eat three pickles to celebrate. Take that, detox.

So day two of swamp water body cleanse led me to the following conclusions:
1. This is a great form of birth control. I never ever ever ever want to be pregnant. Who has time to pee this many times in one day?! Ridiculous. (Sorry, mom. You'll just have to wait for Caleb to give you grandkids.)
2. There's an alligator throwing a dance party in my stomach and/or intestines. The way it feels suggests that it must be straight up electronica/dance music, but there might be a smidge of R&B classic tunes mixed in. He needs to turn his music down because it's causing a disturbance in my life (read: lots of funny looks during an important meeting today). Yeah, okay, so my stomach is growling. Big deal.
3. Only five days left. Thank goodness.

Now that we've crossed the "let's use words that are distasteful in our blog" bridge, I'll give you a brief recap of today's activities and then I will promptly fall asleep.

Breakfast: delicious shake.
Lunch: leftover pasta and a few small pieces of leftover chicken, along with two episodes of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. Total bummer though, because the episodes that were playing today were the episodes in which John Ritter dies. Worst. Day. Ever.
Dinner: a tiny square of chocolate protein bar.

I had a Kingdom Builders meeting at church tonight, so I didn't get home in time to eat anything substantial for dinner. I did remember to drink my tea though, so all in all today was a success. Either I'm really hungry or that alligator is throwing a rave in my stomach, but it's bedtime.

If you're still reading this 16 days in, I commend you. If you aren't still reading this, you won't see all the hateful things I'm about to say about you. Yay! Okay, but really, comment and let me know you're still around. Apparently I'm really needy. :)

Two Words: Swamp Water

Oooookay. Remember that time I said, "Tomorrow begins the 7 day body cleanse portion of the detox and I'm kind of excited about it. It may not taste delicious, but I think it will be okay-ish." That, my friends, was a huge lie. That stuff is disgusting! The only way to describe it is to liken it to swamp water. It tastes like those organic, all-natural fruit roll ups...you know the ones I'm talking about...the nasty ones. Yeah - 32 ounces of that. Sick. Rumor has it it's going to be totally worth it, so I'll keep doing it, but whoa. Katy Jill - you weren't lying - it's way nasty.

Moving on...breakfast shake was delicious, as always. I rocked some leftover breakfast for lunch (originally typed as "leftover breakfast for dinner for lunch"...what does that even mean?) and then it was roommate bonding/cooking time for dinner. Megan made marinara with some of the leftover hamburger patties (because we don't waste food in this household, which is probably the reason we needed to detox in the first place...) to go with our gluten free pasta. I made another batch of brown rice cereal, basil, garlic, salt, and pepper coated chicken tenders, and Krista made chocolate protein bars. They sound illegal, but I promise it's all good stuff. She made them out of rolled oats, chocolate protein powder (the foundation of our breakfast shakes), almond butter, and agave nectar. If you're thinking, "Wow. Those must taste a lot like no-bake cookies," you're correct. They were delicious. We finished the evening with our detox tea and a movie. (#whendiditurn90)

Megan and I were going to head to 10 Fitness after work, but I couldn't bear the idea of working out indoors. The weather was absolutely perfect for an afternoon jaunt around the neighborhood. 2.10 miles and a lot of sweat later, I came back inside and chugged 14 gallons of water. Obviously, the elliptical is not helping me get my run on.

I'm pretty sure that sums up the highlights of my day, other than the fact that it was POURING when I woke up this morning (read: huge storm last night that sounded like Clash of the Titans in the backyard) so I trekked to work in my cute dress and my rainboots. That seemed like a very practical idea until both of the following happened: I realized I had forgotten real people shoes and had to clomp around the building in galoshes all day and THEN, the sun came out and completely hid the fact that it had been raining at all! Needless to say, I looked like a complete toolbag walking out of the building after work with the sunglasses/galoshes combo. Good one.

Now for the most exciting part: today is weigh-in day. I lost six pounds last week! For those of you keeping score at home, that's a grand total of 11.5 pounds for the first two weeks of detox. Here's to a good night's sleep and hoping that swamp water doesn't kill me tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

Lettuce Burgers...?

Whoa. The weekend is finally drawing to a close and we're gearing up for week THREE of the detox. It doesn't seem like it's already been two weeks, but we're almost halfway finished with this 30 days of awesome.

Friday evening we decided to make breafast for dinner again. Here's what I've learned: despite the fact that our kitchen isn't big enough for four people to be cooking at once, it's a lot of fun to do it anyway. Krista, Seth, Megan, and I made an exceptional dinner, complete with lots of giggling. I'm pretty sure that agave nectar may just be my new favorite thing. It's so delicious!

Saturday was a bit of a challenge on the food front. I enjoyed a cup of brown rice cereal and almond milk for breakfast before heading to the gym and then a protein shake for lunch while getting ready for an afternoon wedding. Megan and I headed to Romance, Arkansas (whaaaaaaaaaaat?!) for a 4:00pm outdoor wedding and let me tell you a secret: IT WAS SO HOT OUTSIDE! Props to the groomsmen for not passing out during the wedding in those suits. I'm fairly certain it was in the 90s. Beautiful wedding and a lovely outdoor reception with wine, champagne, kegs, and a tasty smelling array of food. We opted for bottles of water. By this point, we were exhausted. I think the lack of real food and the fact that we had worked out AND attended a 90 degree wedding with minimal water consumption probably played a huge part in that. Moral of this story: drink lots of water. Always. We came home and made lettuce wrap burgers with fresh veggies and some sliced potatoes we baked with salt, pepper, jalapeno lime salt, and garlic. Yum.

Instead of sitting at home and staring at each other (I realllly need some new hobbies!), we ventured out last night with some of our friends. It was a great night out with Tonya, Sarah, and Josh, and we had a lot of fun giggling at people who shouldn't consume alcohol in public. All in all, it was a pretty good Saturday.

After church this afternoon, we re-visited the lettuce wrap burgers and I modified the potatoes a smidge. I reheated them on the stove until they were a little crispy and then we dipped them in agave nectar. Um, yeah...that was the best decision I've ever made. Spicy potato slices + agave nectar = jackpot. It's the first time we've eaten potatoes since we started the detox, and we probably won't eat them again any time soon, but they were just what we needed to pair with those lettuce burgers.

Instead of heading to the lake as planned, we put a giant blanket over the living room window and relaxed in the living room all afternoon. I'm soooo close to finishing my book and I got to take a quality afternoon nap. It's been a great weekend and I'm hoping this week follows suit. Tomorrow begins the 7 day body cleanse portion of the detox and I'm kind of excited about it. It may not taste delicious, but I think it will be okay-ish.

Oh! and tomorrow evening I'll report back on the weigh-in day #2 results. I'm excited and kind of nervous to see what happened last week. I know that something good MUST be happening because I bought a dress on Friday that's a size smaller than I would normally buy. Slam-o!

It's almost midnight which means it's wayyy past my bedtime. Check back tomorrow for weigh-in results, a recap of detox day 15, and my thoughts on day one of this body cleanse.

Friday is Almost Here...

Hey, team. We're approximately an hour and 15 minutes away from Friday and I could not be more excited. Work has been crazysauce this week.

Megan has officially perfected the breakfast shake. It's even become sort of delicious (weird, right?). I made the trek home for lunch today and was promptly greeted by some funny smelling chicken upon opening the refrigerator door. I sent that chicken straight to the trash and started looking for a lunch alternative. Surprisingly, I didn't have to eat scrambled eggs for lunch (personal victory!). I ate a bowl of brown rice cereal with almond milk, a few corn chips and some fresh salsa, and a rice cake with almond butter. If you're thinking to yourself, "WOW! That sounds absolutely delicious. I'm so jealous of her lunch." You're wrong. While it was semi-filling and semi-edible, it was NOT "absolutely delicious." Despite the lack of cohesiveness in this meal, it was a meal that didn't involve an egg or a piece of lettuce, so I'll take it.

The afternoon was just as busy as the morning, but I still managed to hit the afternoon no-energy slump. I'm not sure what I can use to get past that since coffee isn't allowed, but that's my challenge for this weekend. Making it from lunch to dinner without a) starving and b) falling asleep has become a challenge in the last few days. Today has probably been the most difficult of the detox so far, but it's still not as awful as I was expecting. Bonus!

Krista made a detox friendly version of a Mexican chicken-ish type meal and it was great. I have been blessed with two roommates that are good cooks. Between the three of us, we've got this down to an art. Seth brought us some fresh salsa from Whole Foods (best day ever) and Krista made enough for leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Win.

It's almost 11, which means it's time for me to go to bed (an hour and a half ago...#whendiditurn90). There are a lot of fun things coming up this weekend, so get excited about the glorious posts I'll have for you in the near future. I know you just can't wait...

Grillmaster Flex

Double digits! We're one-third of the way through the ol' detox and we're still rockin' it.

Today was Rock & Roll day in the cafeteria (read: all of the delicious fried foods you want to consume all day every day). Guess what I ate for lunch? I'll give you a hint: it starts with "scrambled" and ends with "eggs." Yeah - you got it - scrambled eggs with veggies, a bowl of corn and black beans, and a bowl of broccoli. Who has two thumbs and won't be clogging these solid gold arteries any time soon? This girl.

This is where my day gets exciting...to avoid cooking and cleaning the kitchen AGAIN, we decided to grill out at Brian's house and it was possibly the most delicious decision I've ever made. Jalapeno lime pepper, garlic sea salt, regular sea salt, and pepper on some chicken tenders...shazam. It's magic. We also made some grilled corn on the cob with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Yummo!

The best part about grilling out at Brian's (or anyone else's for that matter) is that I don't have to actively participate in the actual grilling. I get to prepare the food, clean up my mess, and wait for deliciousness. Best. Decision. Ever.

After Grillfest 2011, we headed to Hendrix to watch Sassy Gay Friend. He came to campus and did an amazing show. He was absolutely hilarious. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go to YouTube right this second and watch Romeo & Juliet, Hamlet, and Othello. You won't regret it.

Now it's time for some detox tea and an episode of Dexter (obsessed). Krista is cooking dinner tomorrow night and I'm pretty excited about it. Getcha some.

PS - For all of you that are trying to comment and can't, try to choose the anonymous option in the "profile" box and see if that works, but don't forget to tell me who you are!

I Think I Have a Milk Crush.

Day nine = complete. Tomorrow we hit double digits!

Things I've learned since last Monday:
1. I'm addicted to gluten free waffles with agave nectar and breakfast for dinner in general.
2. I may or may not be developing a total milk crush on dark chocolate almond milk.
3. I can survive without beer (shh. don't tell.)
4. I always knew I enjoyed cooking, but I've finally realized that I'm actually pretty good at it. Come over sometime.
5. In addition to my poor eating habits, before this detox I had really really really bad time management.
6. I feel like a new person and it's only day nine!

Things I miss so far:
1. Pickles. My love of pickles might outweigh my love of gluten free waffles.
2. Beverages other than water and almond milk.
3. Being able to sleep through the night without having to use the restroom. Party foul. If I didn't have to pee like a pregnant woman, that would be okay with me.

I feel like six positive things and only three semi-negative things is a pretty good way to feel after almost a week and a half of a COMPLETELY changed diet. We're only working out three times a week, but I feel great. I can't believe I used to eat so much crap. I'm in the process of collecting (and in some cases, creating) the recipes we've used so far. If you want any of them, let me know! (Lauren - I've got you, girl!) I'm going to keep collecting them throughout the detox (I have a binder. #nerdalert) so if you want them all at once, I can hook you up.

Several of you have told me that you're jumping on the health wagon, whether it be eating better, drinking more water, exercising regularly, etc., and I think that's awesome! The best part about blogging every day is hearing what you guys have to say about it. It's become a routine part of my day and I'm so happy to share it with some of my favorite people. Keep on keepin' on, y'all.

PS - Ended up not going out to eat for dinner in Little Rock with Laura tonight...too much office stuff to work on. I'll brave that adventure when I absolutely have to. Who orders a salad without dressing?! Eek. This may be the biggest challenge yet!

Taco Night!

Aaaaand we start week two. Seriously, other than the no beer or cheese rule, this is so much easier than I thought it would be (so far).

Tonight was taco night and IT WAS DELICIOUS. Organic ground beef with hot taco seasoning on fresh romaine lettuce with fresh tomatoes, onions, rotel (obviously not fresh...), and a giant bowl of my fresh guacamole. Y'all, it was tasty. It was also a fun time in the kitchen with the roommates. Lots of giggling is involved when the three of us try to cook together.

I've mastered the fine art of scrambled eggs in the cafeteria and I'm finally starting to feel full after eating less. Turns out a week of detoxing will do that to your stomach, which is good because you can only find so many vegetables in the caf. Pinto beans? Um, no. Kidney beans? I'd rather die.

Kicking ass on the elliptical is getting easier, too. Can you run a half marathon on an elliptical? Hmmm. I want to run another half, but we're about to get into summer super hot time and I don't want to be yakking every other mile...perhaps a cooler weather half marathon would be best. Any suggestions? And who wants to run it with me? You know you want to...

Tomorrow evening I will try to master the art of detoxing while dining out. I haven't tried it yet, and I'm not really looking forward to it, but I'll report back. I would try to think of more things to add to this post if I thought I could stay awake any longer. Off to bed for Granny Gibson!

PS - Down 5.5 pounds from last week!

Avett Brothers and Waffles = Yum.

Tomorrow marks one week of detox fun! If the first week is supposed to be the hardest, this is going to be a piece of cake.

Last night's gluten-free pasta and detox friendly marinara were pretty solid and I made some crispy, garlic, basil chicken that was absolutely delicious! After the "bring your own dinner" party with Megan, Tonya, Zach & Abby, we headed to Harding to see the Avett Brothers in concert. Um, yes please. It. Was. Amazing. I can't wait to see them again at Memphis in May!

This morning I woke up in time to enjoy a bowl of brown rice cereal with almond milk (tastes JUST like Rice Krispies!) before going to church. I met James Tyus at New Life Church and I think I really liked it. I'll definitely be going back for round two and then maybe I'll be able to make up my mind for real.

After church, I made some more marinara out of some stuff we had in the cabinet and then grilled another piece of chicken for my leftover pasta. The kitchen is clean, this week's groceries have been purchased, and I'm a few chapters closer to finishing my book. I'm not used to being this productive on the weekends, but it's not so bad!

We've almost perfected detox friendly breakfast for dinner and it is a tasty victory. Megan made gluten-free waffles topped with agave nectar and I made scrambled eggs with crumbled turkey sausage, yellow onion, and orange bell pepper. We rounded out the meal with some dark chocolate almond milk which was surprisingly delicious. Yuuum.

It's only been seven days, but this is starting to become routine. So far, I think the hardest part is that we can't drink anything that isn't water or one of our pomegranate fizzy tab things (pretty much just detox friendly Crystal Light). Sometimes I just want some flavor!

Anyway - keep reading and I'll keep posting..your comments, messages, and tweets are all very encouraging!

PS - Netflix surprised us with The Rules of Attraction today. None of us remember adding it to our queue, but it appeared today, so we're watching it and it's awful. I don't care how attractive James Van Der Beek and Iam Somerhalder are...it's not worth it.

One Bowl of Guacamole Later...

The weekend is finally here and I absolutely could not be more excited. It's nice and sunny outside, I got to meet with lots of prospectives and their parents this morning, and I'm going to see the Avett Brothers tonight with Megan, Tonya, Zach & Abby!

Since this detox has prematurely aged me to 92 years old, I didn't have the energy to post before bedtime last night. I stayed up so late (pretty sure I was in bed before midnight...) watching Steel Magnolias for the first time ever. Solid movie.

Breakfast has become pretty routine...I think I'll start referring to it as "wake and shake." Yesterday's shake was absolutely perfect. It's not that it's particularly delicious, but I've gotten used to it and now it seems normal and semi-tasty. I guess it's sort of an acquired taste much like coffee and beer (yum!). Instead of rocking Fat Kid Friday (chicken tenders & macaroni and cheese), I brought leftover stir fry from Thursday night. Brian convinced me to bring it into the caf...not that it took much convincing because I don't like eating alone...and after sweet talking some of the Dining Services staff, they snuck me in the super secret back hallway entrance. Win!

The weather was cooperative so we ran to the store after work and acquired the necessary ingredients for detox friendly guacamole, chicken kebabs, and grilled corn on the cob. Let me just say that the guacamole was amazing (if I do say so myself!). We ate the entire bowl! The kebabs and corn were fabulous and I think I probably ended up eating my weight in veggies. Word on the street is that it's okay to stuff myself with veggies...I guess we'll see in another three weeks!

We grilled, giggled, ate lots of yummy detox friendly food, watched Steel Magnolias, and pretty much just won all over the place. It turns out you can have a fabulous evening with friends that doesn't involve booze. WHO KNEW?! Today is full of errands, elliptical time, and hopefully a nap. Tonight is gluten-free pasta, detox friendly marinara, and the Avett Brothers!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! I'm headed out to enjoy the sunshine and the fact that it's only 11 and I've been up for 4 hours. This never happens! Detox = win.