Raw Success

I can't believe the weekend is almost over already. We tried to do a bit of Christmas shopping this weekend. We did not get that much accomplished, but at least we got started. Wayne and I were also able to spend a little bit of time alone, which was very nice! It is nice to be with the whole family, but it is also nice to be just the two of us every once in a while.

I am so excited about this upcoming week! My birthday is Tuesday, Phillip's birthday is Thursday, and my mom is coming for a visit on Thursday as well. Friday, we are taking our "Columbus Day" off of school and spending the day at the Texas State fair! Saturday we have a soccer game and next Sunday is Phillip's birthday party. It is going to be a busy and fun week. I am looking forward to trying some new raw food recipes with my mom -- I may try some "harder" stuff like preparing Irish Moss and making raw chocolate pie.

When Wayne and I went to the Raw food Meet-up in our community a couple of weeks ago, one of the women we met there loaned me a DVD called Raw Success. It is about 6 people who take a challenge to cure their diabetes in 30 days. All of this occurs under a doctor's supervision of course. The DVD was so inspiring -- it gave me new motivation for continuing my raw food lifestyle. I have never had Diabetes or anything, but I do feel as though raw foods are responsible for most, if not all, of my own return to health. If you get the chance, check it out, I guarantee you will be inspired!

On another note, many of you felt more comfortable emailing me well- wishes and concerns after I postponed my cleanse. On one hand, I received very supportive comments to follow through with the Master Cleanse in the near future. On the other hand, I received some emails of concern about the Master Cleanse. Let me assure you all I have done a good bit of research on the Cleanse, but I promise you all I will look into even more before I do it. If any of you have any info you think I should look at, in favor or against, please let me know.

October Recital

I love October! The leaves change, it gets a little cooler, and I turn a year older. My mom says this is the time of year when the trees quit practicing and put on their recital. I have been finding myself thinking back to a year ago. I felt so far from being "recital-worthy." I am AMAZED what a year can do!

This time last year I was discovering my first (of many) kidney stones. I was tired all of the time, felt like I wasn't able to concentrate, couldn't understand how I could exercise all of the time and not lose weight, and quite frankly, I was suffering from depression. It was beginning to feel like I was in a medical spiral downward and I couldn't see how to get out of it. Little did I know that about six months later I would hear about the benefits of a raw food diet on the evening news from a woman who had been suffering from cancer. That news segment would stick in my head. It would grow from being some extra tidbit of information filed somewhere in the back of my head, to a curiosity, to something interesting, to a research obsession, and finally to a lifestyle.

This time last year I was dreading my birthday -- the previous two years my body felt like it had aged 10 years in 365 days. I could not see how I could ever get back to "normal." That was one thing I was right about; there was no way for me to get back to the way I was, but there was a way for me to feel better than "normal." When I began my raw food diet the energy was the first thing I noticed, then my skin seemed to clear up and improve right before my eyes, and my mood seemed to shift and suddenly life was exciting and full of promise again. That was all in the first two weeks. However, I was still not convinced -- any fad diet can make you feel better, at least for a little while. The proof is in the pudding.

Funny how things work, isn't it? In this short year I feel like the clock has turned backwards for me. My medical difficulties have resolved. Fear and depression no longer have power over me, and I believe in myself. My food no longer makes me sick. I have lost 35 pounds. My skin has stayed clear and I continue to have an abundance of energy. I am excited about my birthday this year! Look out trees -- I might just show you up!