Juice Fast - Day 2

I made it through the day just fine. Around 5pm, I started getting hungry. It is now 925pm and I have just polished off a container of Quaker oatmeal!

I couldn't do it. After consulting my boyfriend and a very dear friend of mine along with my mother--I decided that this wasn't really worth it. I'm not overweight, and the headache I've had all day has been painful. I think one of my errors was not enough juice. I have been drinking about 24-32 oz. of juice and about double that of water. I felt like I wasn't educated enough as of right now to be doing the fast correctly. I do want to try it again, later on this summer and see how it goes.

Juice Fast - Day 1

I woke up around 0830, and decided it would be best to make myself go back to sleep--if possible. I was able to sleep until around 1030, and then I couldn't sleep any longer. I wasn't feeling too bad--not even hungry really. I finally drank my first juice around 1230 after a shower and doing some things around the house. It was a fruity mix of pineapple, peaches, strawberries, apples and other fruits. Delicious! I was pretty pumped, and motivated for the rest of the day. I left for Lawrence to run a few errands and was devastated when I realized that I had left my juice for lunch in the fridge at the house. It was too late to turn back, so I would have to eat food :( Well....that didn't last very long. Turns out, that I didn't have to eat food, I could get a carrot/celery/apple juice at the local juice stop before going to the apartment and getting the last of my things. Pretty great! I headed back to the house around 730, and talked to my roommate for an hour or so. She fixed herself a sandwich :-/ I was starting to feel the effects of not eating. I was grumpy. I re potted my basil plant. I wanted to eat some peanut butter. Something, anything. Then my other roommate got home and started fixing dinner. It smelled so good--I had to go to my room. I decided that I wasn't going to continue the juice fast any longer. That I was done here. But, I took my daily photo anyway:

I woke up to an email from my roommate as encouraging me to stay with it! So, I will!

Juice Fast - Day Zero

I learned the concept of a zero day in the Army, mostly during training. Zero Day is a preparation day. In this case, shopping day! I recently watched a documentary with the urging of my mother entitled: Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. She thought that maybe if I tried a juice fast, as a detox that maybe it would help my acne. Since I just had my 25th birthday, I'm pretty much willing to try anything to make this plague go away.
So, I headed to the River City Market downtown Kansas City (the largest farmers market I have ever seen!) I spent $45 on a counter full of produce.

And I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond with a 20% off coupon and bought an Omega 8005 juicer. I headed home to try out my new purchases. I ended up juicing peaches, apples, cherries, and a variety of other things--just to try it out. It was pretty darn good. I looked forward to my official Day 1!
I decided that since this was an experiment on how 'detoxing' affects my acne, I should take a daily photo. Here is Day Zero:

I'm also reshaping my eyebrows--don't judge me! :)

Cloud 11

Have you ever heard of anyone talking about a positive experience, and them feeling like they were on cloud 9? I have no idea what that means, but if that describes a complete feeling of happiness--then I must be on cloud 11!

Let me catch you up:

Yesterday, I turned 25 years old. I can now rent a car!

*Keep in mind that this is the last birthday where a person can look forward to something. At 15, we get a permit. At 16, we can drive! At 18 we can vote, buy cigarettes, lottery tickets and get into a casino. At 21, we can legally drink. Then we have a larger break in time to 25, where we can rent a car...and then the next thing we have to look forward to is retirement. Maybe, if we're lucky IHOP will still have their senior breakfast at 55!

So, there I was Thursday night out with friends and my mother who had drove into town to be with me for my birthday weekend--being reminded that I was soon to turn a quarter of a century. Now, that's enough to perk up anyone's mood!

Thursday night at Mac's bar and grille surrounded by friends and the madre watching the Miami Heat sneak by with a win over Oklahoma City Thunder. Bleh. I was pumped for a birthday weekend with nothing remotely military involved.

And I digress: I have not had a birthday free to make plans and do whatever I want with whomever I want since I was 20 years old.

 21: pregnant (had baby 7 days later)

22: My first drill at Kansas City Armory

23: Annual Training at Fort Riley, KS

24: Kuwait

25: Was going to be a success!

Friday morning....I'm 25!!!! Mom and I slept in until around 8 and were going around getting ready for the day's activities when there was a knock at the door. An older man was there delivering a beautiful bouquet of orchids (my FAVORITE flower!), hydrangeas, roses, lisianthus, and tulips. AND an amazingly soft teddy bear!!! I opened the note to read a very heartfelt sentimental note from my boyfriend.

So...a preeeeety good start to my birthday celebration.

My mom was in need of a haircut, so we headed over to the local Mastercuts to get that errand taken care of before we packed up to head for the city. On the way over, I got a notification on my phone that I had a voicemail. Hmm...that's funny--I didn't hear my phone ring. As I listened to the message, a huge smile spread across my face. It was happening!!!!

And again, I digress: Exactly one week and one day prior to my birthday, I was driving to my cousin's wedding and I got a phone call from a man who I had been emailing every Monday for the past 9 weeks. Stephen Terry, Director of Military and Veteran Student Services at Park University was finally contacting me! He was making me aware that the position was officially open and that it would remain available internally for 7 days and that at that time I could officially apply. I had met Mr. Terry at a job fair for Veterans a couple months prior and he had explained to me his need for a full time assistant for the program to continue to grow and be successful. We both felt that I would be a perfect fit.

7 days later (Thursday, June 14th), I was driving back to Kansas from being in Illinois for the wedding and I realized that this was the day to apply! I immediately pulled over in Hannibal, Missouri at a McDonald's and applied online right then and there!

The next morning, I get the message from him and I stop everything and call him back. He says that Park University is interested in me for the position and would I be able to come in that day for an interview....! Uh, duh! Absolutely!

My mother insisted that her hair cut wasn't as important as my opportunity for full time employment--and so we headed to finish up my portfolio and head to Kansas City--after a shower, of course.

2pm, June 15th: I walk into the Warrior Center and am showed around the building, I meet the famous Stephen Terry for the second time, in person--along with a few other enthusiastic people who work at the University. We sit down with 3 other important individuals for my interview and, of course, I rock it! I get a more detailed tour of campus and am walked back to the Warrior Center

4pm: I am told that they will get back with me about the position.

5:15pm: I get an email telling me that I am the final selection for the position, that my start date is the 25th of June and to please send three professional references for them to check out for Monday.

What a birthday present!!!! Thank you, God!

By this time, mom and I are at the Harrah's Casino hotel and are ready to head out for dinner. We consult some of my friends and decide on a South American restaurant for dinner. Delicious!

We head back to the Casino, but we take the long way--driving down Ward Parkway to show my mom the big houses, and the Plaza with the fountains and the shopping areas. It was so nice to finally be able to show her where I hang out, and a little bit of the city.

Around 9pm, we head back to the hotel for final preparations and at 10:30 we head down to the VooDoo lounge for Latin Night! And, yes....my mom was going with me! I was so excited to finally show my mother what I did for fun here in the city! I got her a nice chair to sit in, and she watched me dance the night away! I introduced her to my friends and she had a great time! Around 0100, she was ready to head to bed, so I walked her upstairs and went back down to party a little bit more! It was, after all, my birthday!

This morning we woke up, and headed out to breakfast with one of my closest friends, and soon to be roommate! We had a nice breakfast and talked about the previous day's excitement. Mom and I spent the rest of the day shopping and driving around the city. We had a nice dinner at Barley's Brewhaus, and drove home to start packing up the car with my stuff. I am moving this week to my new address in Northern Kansas City (it's a 15 minute drive to work instead of a 50 minute drive) and I couldn't be more excited! I'm sad to leave Lawrence, and most of all my battle buddy and partner in crime from overseas--but it's not like I'm moving a thousand miles away :) I feel like this is a really great time in my life, and I look forward to what is to come. There is so much more to add, but I think I covered the highlights!

Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday, and thank you to anyone who has said a prayer for me along the way. I feel blessed to be surrounded by positive supportive people in my life!

Ciao!