The Juicy Life--Day 9 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

What Day I'm On: 9 out of 40 (approx 22% of the way)

I know a lot of folks, as well as Penni, are starting their juicy lives today. I just want to let you know that I am cheering you on. You can do it! The rewards are huge if you do. Don't be afraid, be bold and dare to just try.

You might ask yourself, as I did, when I started my adventure, what else you want to get out of this time. You are going to be detoxing your body; is there any other part of your life you need to detox? For instance, I am abstaining from watching the news. I am trying to abstain from negativity. Do you need to avoid negative people? Do you need to detox your house and get rid of those harmful chemicals once and for all? Do you need to detox your bedroom, and clean it and make it welcoming so you can actually get some rest in there? Do you have items that no longer serve you that you want to release to bless someone else? Even deeper, do you have patterns in your life that no longer work for you that you are willing to examine and let go? I know I do.

Reading over yesterday's post, I think I was quite the little martyr, there. Sometimes, I admit there is a part of me that wants people to think, "My she's really something! I don't know how she does it all!" I think that part crept out yesterday. My intention was to be encouraging and I ending up with, "wa-ah! My life is so ha-ard!" when honestly, I don't feel that way about it. Yes, I get up really early, but I am an early bird, so that's fine with me. I could juice the night before, or work out at night, or something, but that's not what I prefer. And yes, I am busy, but it is a good busy because I am doing what I love. I am lucky enough to love my job. I adore my kids, and I'm proud of all their activities and accomplishments. I love the volunteer work that I do because it gives my life meaning.

Even more importantly, I am living this particular life because: THIS IS THE LIFE THAT I CREATED FOR MYSELF. If any part of it is not working for me, I alone can change it. I am learning that I am 100% responsible for how I react to the events of my life. I can choose to stay in grace: in joy, in acceptance, in love, in the present moment.

The great thing about life: you can have a "do-over" at any time that you choose. Now even. Or now. Or now...

What Day I'm On: 9 out of 40, 22% of the way

How's It Going: Today was great! I had a ton of energy, which was great because I spent the day at a car wash fund raiser for my daughter's dance team. As a parent, they only expected me to watch the money, take attendance, and supervise the girls, but I just really felt like I wanted to get in there and help them. I washed cars all day long. It was awesome! When I came home, I was exhausted. It is 95 degrees here, so I drank a huge glass of water, climbed into my recliner right under the window air conditioner, and promptly went out like a light. My kids just woke me up after an hour, and I feel awesome again, refreshed, ready to go!

I was also not hungry at all today, a blessing. It could be the heat. I had to remind myself to drink my juice.

What I'm Excited About: Penni's book Real Juice Daily came out and I've just started it, but I CAN'T PUT IT DOWN. It is so good. Not surprising, since Penni is such a good writer, but I can't believe how much I can relate to her experience. I knew nothing about her juice feast prior to starting mine, but the insights and discoveries are vastly parallel to my own. This is so much more than a juicing journal. I don't care if you care nothing about juicing, you will love this book. A juice feast is so much more than just drinking juice for a set amount of time. It is JUST DRINKING JUICE for a set amount of time! It is a test of character, of will, and a supreme act of self-love and self-healing. Penni captures the experience brilliantly.

I am also super excited because my pretty new juicer came today! I want to kiss it and name it and take it to bed to sleep with me like a stuffed animal I love it so much. It is white, and shiny, and new and PRETTY. I already said pretty? Well, it's that pretty. Anyway, it unfortunately was delivered after I already had made my juice for the day, so I won't get to play with Ollie (his name is Ollie the Omega) until tomorrow.

So I had my farewell fling with Jack today. Jack, aka my Jack LaLanne juicer. I have been dating Jack for a while now, but now that Ollie has come into my life, I'm afraid the affair is over. Don't worry--I've already found Jack a new girlfriend. My dear friend has a huge organic garden and a lot of health problems. She would love to try juicing but is too broke to get a juicer right now. I'm so happy that I can bless her with Jack. I hope they are wonderfully happy together!

What I'm Drinking: Lemon water and MSM upon rising. (May I just say, bleh! Not tasty! But I'ma keep on doing it. Hold you nose and think of England, or something.) 4 quarts green juice: 2 heads of kale, 5 cucumbers, 10 tomatoes, 1 head of celery, 1 knob of ginger, and a partridge in a pear tree. (Ok, not that last one. Got a bit carried away.)

Detox? My nose is running like the Columbia river and I am sneezing like crazy. I've never had allergies before, so I think it's just our dear friend, detox, cleaning house, if you will. I again eliminated without any enema, and I am pleased to say the volume was impressive, lol It makes me so happy to think I am getting that junk packing out of my system!

Emotional Detox? I had my martyr moment yesterday. Today I am flying high. It is weird too, because usually, I hate the heat. It makes me grumpy, irritable and tired. Not today! I am staying really hydrated and cooling off by getting my shirt wet, ringing it out really well, and wearing it. A little weird, but boy howdy it works and feels great. I figured it out at the car wash. It was a Mallory wash too, lol.

Emotional De-cluttering? As I am getting rid of things I no longer need or want, I am hearing lots of internal objections. I put a bunch of non-natural chemical cleaning products up on freecycle.org and a voice said, "You spent a lot of money on that stuff. You should have just used it up!" and another voice said, "That stuff is not good for anyone! It belongs in the garbage!" But someone else is probably just going to go out and buy it, good for them or not, right? And at least someone is getting some use out of it. I keep having these ambivalent feelings. As I am giving away fancy cookware: you paid a lot for that! You should sell it on Craigslist or ebay! As I get rid of unneeded gadgets: You might need that! And then you won't have it! and so on. As these voices come up, I just thank them for their opinions, thank them for caring about me, but yes, it is ok and safe to freely give what I no longer need, that it may bless someone, or bless the Salvation Army with a few bucks, or something.

Physical De-cluttering? As you can see from the above, we are still in the kitchen. I am having trouble deciding about the canned goods. I have a bunch of cans of beans and tomatoes that I used to use to make vegan dishes for the kids. It's all organic. Do I give it all to the food bank? After all it is cooked, and fresh is so much better, even if I do end up cooking the fresh stuff for the kids, it will be a thousand percent better than canned. Or, do I keep it in the garage for an emergency supply? What would you do? I should say that the same pesky voice in my head says, "What if you need it? What if you lose your job? What if there's an earthquake? What if...." Does she have a point?

I for sure am giving Jack to his new girlfriend and an old blender to my sister who wants to try green smoothies. It's a good blender--it made me many a great smoothie. May it do the same for her!

Advice From Dave: Dave talked to me about different juicers. He said he uses a centrifugal juicer on the road (like Jack) because it is so much quicker. He puts a whole tray of ice cubes into a big bowl before he starts juicing. When the juice hits the ice, it is cooled instantly. He thinks this helps keep it very fresh and vital for the road. He always adds lemon juice to his juices to make them last longer, since he has to make a large quantity and keep it cooled in a cooler in the cab of his truck. When he has the time, he uses a Green Star masticating juicer. He says any juicer is good, and not to get too hung up on having the right one. The best juicer is the one you use today, so start juicing! Here's to your health!