The Juicy Life--Day 32 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

Warning: This post has a Christian theme today. Also, mention of drag queens. :) If that offends you, I invite you to skip it and see you back here tomorrow! Love ya! Mal

I have to smile when I think of everyone all over the world lighting their candles and sending their love, prayers and support to Dave this weekend. I, for one, have every faith that all our prayers are manifesting in a powerful way toward Dave's healing and prosperity. The Bible says, "Ask, believing" and that is exactly what I did. :)

I have lots of experience with "Ask, believing" including when my mom had just had a medical mistake done to her and she lost her leg and almost died. She was in ICU for 90 days! She "almost" died so many times, battling post-op infections and wounds she she still carries to this day. I love the line from the movie "Mask" where Cher's character said, "If I dug a grave every time some doctor told me he was going to die, I'd be eating chop suey in China right now!" That's how it was with Mom, we got told to say our "final good byes" so many times, it almost got to be a sick joke. We had to fight them not to remove life support till she was ready to breathe on her own. But through it all, I had that peace that passes understanding, I just felt like it was not her time to go. I said more prayers than I ever have in my life, and I had a huge army of believers who were also praying for her. We asked, believing, and the Lord saw fit to let me have her a while longer. I am not suggesting, in any way, that God is some kind of a wish-machine: you put in your prayer and out pops the outcome you wanted. Not at all. Sometimes, God says something other than we wanted to hear, and that can be really hard to understand, sometimes even impossible. But I do believe, that many times, when we ask for, in complete faith, things that are for the highest good, it is the Master's good pleasure to give His children the kingdom. That has been my personal experience of the fulfillment of that promise.

I struggled with compulsive eating and morbid obesity all my life. There was a time when I could not pass a drive-thru. All I thought about was food--making food, obtaining food, eating food, hiding food. At over 400 lbs, I believed myself to be a hopeless case. I figured I would die very young and leave my children with no mother; my family and friends with just a sad, head-shaking tale of how it's such a shame she could never overcome her demons, and such a waste. I tried every commercial weight loss program; I read every book. I got hypnotized. Everything helped, temporarily, but they were just band-aids on my wounded soul because I hadn't gotten relief from my compulsion that was the cause of all my troubles. I came to believe that God could help me, that I was worthy, and that nothing is impossible for Him, not even an impossible case like me. I asked, believing, and being willing to do whatever He showed me. I truly believe He led me to raw food, and then led me to RFR to be able to get the help I needed to stick with it. Now, I have relief from my compulsions, by the grace and through the power of God. I can take food or leave it. I can eat food for its nutritional value to my body, and not to stuff down emotions or try to fill holes in my soul. I can juice feast for 32 days and watch my family eat my sister's birthday dinner and dessert yesterday with no problem.

So yes, I believe in miracles. I trust 100% in the power of prayer and I have faith that whatever happens for Dave now, it will be for his highest good.

What Day I'm On: 32 out of 40, 80% of the way

How's It Going? I just did not like my juice this weekend! It was really hard to choke down. I maybe drank 2 quarts each day, maybe less. I made a huge mistake, thinking I was going to make Penni's "salsa juice" from Real Juice Daily, so I juiced some green onions. Then I remembered I had used up all the tomatoes, and I needed to find something else to get the volume of juice I needed. No problem! I had a ripe cantaloupe! I know this will come as a huge shock to you, but onion/cantaloupe juice does not taste very good! (I know, right? Who knew?) Today I am having YUMMY juice. I'm talking some apple/pear action with my green juice! I am getting excited thinking about it. I really, really, hate to waste organic produce but I CANNOT choke down the rest of that melon/onion juice. It is going lovingly into my compost, may it rot to the benefit of the soil.

Detox: Still having Adventures In Bathroom Land! The exciting story of one woman's ever harrowing quest to make it to the Porcelain Palace, just in the nick of time! (Can this be rainbow chard/Swiss chard doing the honors, revenge of the Rainbow Juice?!) (Or is is just old Ms. Colon doing her heavy house work?!) Tune in tomorrow for another suspenseful tale: will Mallory make it to the facilities in time?! Only the Tidy Bowl Man knows!

Decluttering: My car is full of boxes to drop off at charity places today. And since most of them are having Labor Day sales, and all my Fall clothes are super huge on me, a girl cannot be expected to pass up a quick look-see, now can she?

Yesterday was fun. Cher made a hot pink satin Asian-influenced original dress that I have so say, I would actually wear. She is more of a beginner sewer than I realized, so this was more of a baptism by fire for her, jumping right into patterning and construction, and turning a design in a sketch book into a fabulous frock ready for the runway.

Can I share a secret? The way I got good at this was from my after school job in high school: making dresses for drag queens! I was making costumes for high school productions, and my high school director/drama teacher had once directed shows at Darcelles, our Portland drag queen review. He knew I was picking up patterning/construction skills really quickly, having been making my own clothes since I got old enough to want fashionable clothes and finding only brown polyester in my size! He knew I really needed the cash, and he referred a few "ladies" to me. It was so fun, making trashy-fabulous frocks and star-spangled gowns! Some of it was just tailoring plus-sized dresses to fit their different proportions, but since plus size clothes left a lot to be desired still in the '80's I ended up making a lot of stuff from scratch. Now I am back to my roots in children's theatre, and luckily, the directors I volunteer for love the glitz and glamor just as much as my old "gal" pals, so I get my fix of fabulous, darling. You never know what you will learn in high school!

My Video: Thank you all for your kind comments on my video tribute to Dave! Yes that was the Red Dress. Since I have decided on the Little Black Dress for the International Day of Juice Feasting (next week! Yipes!) I wanted to wear the red because Dave likes dresses on women. :)

Love you, Dave! I meant everything I said on there. Congrats on finally getting on the 'net! (Don't forget to rest, you amazing Energizer Bunny!)

The Juicy Life--Day 31 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

What Day I'm On: 31 out of 40, 77.5% of the way through

Several people have asked me if I am going to continue to blog when I am done with my juice feast. The answer is absolutely, yes. It has been super-fulfilling to be able to put it all out there, and get such awesome advice and support and encouragement. I have a long road ahead of me, healing, releasing weight, and becoming the woman I want to be. I will need everyone on my team that I can get! That is what is so great about RFR. We're all in this together. I love you guys!

That said, I will move my blog out of the liquid lounge when the juice feast is over, about day 46, when the fast is completely broken. If you go to my profile by clicking on the picture of my face, and go to "see my blog posts" you can see all of the posts I've written since 2008, when I tried raw for 1 month and decided I was crazy and it was "too hard." lol Obviously, you have to give yourself permission to screw up and try again. If I had stuck with it in 2008, I would probably be at my goal weight right now! Just a thought for anyone who is still on the fence.

How It's Going: I had some scary, unfun, detox yesterday. We were coming home from taking Mom out for the day, and my belly started cramping violently and I needed a bathroom, NOW. We were on the freeway with no exits with gas stations near by, so I decided I would just tough it out and pray that I got home in time. I did, but just barely, and by that time I was feeling violently ill: nauseated, diarrhea, muscle aches and chills. This went on for an hour solid, and then I put myself right to bed. That was 8 p.m. and I woke up at 7 a.m. this morning! I never sleep that long. Ever. 7 hrs is about what I need.

I had no indication that there was trouble in Bathroom City before that, except that I really had no appetite and didn't really want to drink much juice, only 1.5 quarts. I mostly wanted water. I knew that had happened to Penni a few times because of reading Real Juice Daily so I didn't force it, and now I am glad. Obviously, my body was engaged in powerful detox to get something really nasty out of me. Today, I feel fine, except I have a slept-too-much hangover. I am learning to trust my body's leadings and my own instincts.

By the way, if you still haven't gotten your copy of Real Juice Daily, you should really do it this weekend. Penni is generously giving 100% of the proceeds to Dave The Raw Food Truck Driver for his stroke recovery fund if you buy it this Labor Day weekend. It is a fabulous read: much better than my blog! lol Penni has such great insights. I don't want to give too much away, but it is about so much more than juicing. It is an exceptional account of what a real, extended juice feast looks and feels like. (Penni did 92 days, if you can imagine!) If you already have it, but you still want to contribute to Dave's Stroke Recovery Fund, you can do it here: http://ning.it/a2wqbE

Just want to remind you all of the Candlelight Vigil for Dave The Raw Food Trucker tonight at dusk. (All of my Kiwi and Aussie friends who already lit their candles and sent their prayers and energy, I thank you my dear ones!) For anyone who is reading this on Sunday, tonight when it gets dark, please light a candle and send prayers, energy, love, whatever your spiritual practice, to Dave with these three intentions: that the Master's perfect will be manifest in Dave's life; that he be restored to perfect health and wholeness, and that his financial needs would be covered, and he would be blessed with outrageous abundance and prosperity.

Thank you all in advance for what you are doing for Dave! Remember that every blessing you send out blesses the giver as well as the receiver. Tonight, we shine the Light!

Today, after church, I am going to my friend's house who has been begging me to teach her to sew for weeks now. (I love to sew but I resisted because when the heck do I have time?!) But with the holiday weekend, I have time. She is an amateur designer, ala "Project Runway" and she has a great name for a designer: Cher. She wants to learn pattern making and construction, so she can turn her designs into wearable garments. That is kind of my specialty, since that is exactly what I have done for the last 8 years for my son's professional children's musical theatre. If we make anything great, I'll take photos, ok? :)

I still have plenty of juice left from yesterday so I am prepared for the day. (I know that's not ideal, that juice should be drunk right away, but I can't bear to waste it!) Have a wonderful Sunday, and don't forget to shine the Light for Dave! (You know I'm going to check up on you tomorrow, right?!)

The Juicy Life--Day 30 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

I had fun talking to Dave as he was getting out of the hospital yesterday. I'm not completely sure, but I think Tresa is going to drive his truck back down to L.A. for him? It would make sense because she used to be a bus driver, so she's used to big vehicles. I could be totally wrong, though. lol I do know that she has her work cut out for her, unpacking his truck since he won't be staying in it while he recovers. This is a really tough thing all around. Dave is going to need our love and our support, in every way. The most important thing to him is the Candlelight Vigil for complete healing, financial recovery, and the Master's perfect will to manifest in his life. That is going to be Sunday at dusk, where ever you are. You don't have to worry about time zones. When it starts to get dark, you light the candle, and say a prayer, or send energy or love or whatever your spiritual practice entails, with these three intentions: that God's perfect will be manifested in Dave's life, that he will be restored to complete and perfect healing, and that his financial needs will be met and he will be richly blessed and prosper.

I am so proud of the Raw Food Rehab family, and how they are responding to help our brother Dave. I am so impressed with Penni. That woman is a FORCE for good. The Spirit is so strong in her, and so much love is just flowing through the prism of her life for the healing of the planet and the restoration of the people's hearts and minds and bodies.

How we help our own, especially someone who has done as much for others as Dave, will be a huge testament to the Raw Food Community as a whole. Are we REALLY all about health and healing, love and wholeness? Or do we just talk a good game? Do we love you when you're on top, and take off when you're struggling? Time to shine the light, my friends. Let it shine.

What Day I'm On: 30 out of 40. One month down, 75% of the way there

How's It Going: It's going fine. At no time have I had the thought, "I can't finish this out." There have been times when the detox symptoms got scary that I wondered if this was a really wise thing to do. I really think that it is, though. I feel really good about giving my body a rest and letting it dedicate all of its energy to healing. I feel good about my green juices and have gotten used to the taste.

I feel super great about my ability now to stay the course with an eating program--I have been utterly tempted and my resolve has not wavered. God is so good--His strength sustains me through anything! I need not to get cocky, and keep myself in the attitudes and practices where He can continue to help me. The minute I begin to believe, it's not Him, it's me, blammo! I believe my food sobriety will be in serious jeopardy. I spent 40 years in that dessert, wandering around, lost. I don't want to go back there. It dang near killed me.

The weight release has picked back up again, after being stalled out last week. I removed 4 more pounds last week, bringing my overall total to 117 lbs released. 97 of those pounds were released in these last 9 months! That stuns me. I guess an average of 10 lbs a month is pretty normal, but it didn't go 10 lbs every month. There would be a few months with no movement on the scale, and others where I took off 20 lbs. My message is, don't be discouraged if you are doing all the right things, and the scale isn't moving. It's infuriating, believe me, I know. But stay the course and have faith and it will get moving again, in your body's own time and by it's wisdom.

Emotional De-cluttering: A few nights ago, I basically freaked out on my daughter. I know it is a very typical thing for parents to go nine rounds with their teenagers, but that is not us. We have a commitment to open and honest communication, nurtured and cultivated over all of our lives together as a family. I have always felt that you should treat a child with the same consideration that you treat an adult, and not order them around and bark at them. "Go put on your shoes, you're making us late!" is not my style. "Will you please get your shoes on, so we can be on time?" is how I parent. I think because of this, and because I am quick to apologize the many, many times I screw up, we have a really good relationship that hasn't become more distant as they've gotten older. It also helps that I am super lucky with high achieving, motivated, loving teens who never get into trouble. (Yes, I know I totally won the lottery on that one!) I have to say that the raw food diet has soooo helped me to be a better parent. When I ate junk, all the weird chemicals and toxins poisoning my brain would sometimes manifest in my yelling and freaking out over small stuff, and end in tears (mine and theirs) and apologies (mine) and them basically wanting to find an agency to put themselves up for temporary adoption. On raw food, my moods are even, I find it easier to not sweat the small stuff. I see the beauty in the people around me with unfogged eyes, including my amazing children.

So it was really, really out-of-character that I had what can only be described as a "martyr meltdown." I had this wave of feeling sorry for myself, and said awful things: that my kids didn't really care about me, (not true, at all), that they saw me as nothing more than a paycheck and a housekeeper (wrong), and that it was basically torture to have to prepare their meals while juice feasting, and why didn't they offer, even once, to do it themselves? (because they cannot read my mind and I always said, "oh it's no problem...") I said I never get to watch what I want to on tv (and actually, I don't even watch tv, I'm too busy and there is nothing on anyway. I watch my Glee and Project Runway on the computer) and that I never get a turn on the computer and I have to get up at 4 a.m. to be able to use it (true, but I never ask to use it, and if I did, Joe would give it to me.)

The reason I am sharing this moment I am so not proud of is twofold: I wanted to talk about emotional detox, and about my tendency as a mom to put myself and my needs last, and then blame everyone else for it. I think that is a pretty prevalent problem for us mamas, and maybe it is worse for single moms? I'm not sure. Because when our kids are babies, we are basically their slaves by necessity, and we put our own needs second because it is the right and loving thing to do, I believe we become conditioned to believing that everyone's needs are more important than our own. Being a good mother is as close to the ideal of loving service that I believe we are meant to aspire to achieve, as any other thing we will ever do. But as our children grow into their own people, complete and whole and able to contribute their own light and service, sometimes we forget to put ourselves back on our "to-do" list. That self-neglect, in me, festered into resentment, which I felt guilty about and kept stuffed down. No food to stuff it and blam! out it explodes and rains destruction down on me and my sweet daughter's feelings.

The responsibility for making sure my needs are met rests with me. I need to ask for what I need. I must allow myself to have some time, that is just for me. Some money that I earn, I can spend without guilt. And if I choose to do things for others, in loving service, I need to take responsibility for that decision, and not resent it or blame others for the imposition.

I am so grateful for this juice feast, and even for tough moments like that, (may they never be repeated) for teaching me lessons for my highest good.

The Juicy Life--Day 29 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

By now, you know that my friend in the hospital is Dave. I have known for a few days, but I wanted to respect his privacy and his right to announce about it on his own terms. I just want to go on record as saying how proud I am of how he is handling this whole situation. In the hospital, the balance of power swings strongly toward the people in the white coats, and the person in the bed fighting for their own life can feel helpless in the face of that. But Dave is not about to give up control of his own health and destiny. I love that he politely but firmly refused the hospital food that is a nutritional nightmare. He had every excuse, if he wanted one, to go back to eating all the stuff that made him 430 lbs in the first place, but even in his most dire hour, he was so strong. His resolve to stay "Raw, Vegan, Organic" never wavered.

I am reading all of the comments on the thread Penni put up and I have tears running down my cheeks, learning how much people love Dave and what huge admiration they have for him. Penni says that his best buddy, "Beauty, Elegance and Grace" has been reading him all of them, so it makes me smile from ear to ear to know that he is getting to read all the great stuff people think about him. That is so special--it is not often in this life that you get the chance to find out how much you mean to people while you are still alive. And Dave is very much alive! He will heal, and he will come back better than ever. I have absolutely no doubt about that. He has already overcome a lifetime habit of overeating, cancer, and diabetes. He will heal from this stroke and along the way, he will inspire even more people to take control of their lives and their health, and it will roll like a wave all over the planet.

If you have not had a chance to post on that discussion, will you please go and do that now? Even a few words to say how much you love or admire him, and some get well wishes, will feed him the vital medicine of hope, and love and radiant beams of light. And if you have even a few bucks that you could send his way? That would be such a HUGE blessing. He needs to concentrate on getting well, not on how in the world he's going to get by without being able to drive for 6 months. Dave is one of the most generous people I have ever met. If you needed it, he would be there in a heartbeat. Everyone can do SOMETHING, if we're honest. Think about how much it has meant to your life to be inspired, uplifted, and delighted by this sweet, sincere spirit. Is that worth something to you? I will get off my soapbox, but I so encourage you to go right now to Penni's announcement and leave your comments, and your love. The paypal and address to send checks are there, also.

I think that how we help Dave will be a testimony to the rest of the world of how the raw food community is compassionate, sincere, and loving. We are about nothing, if not health and healing and loving our neighbor.

And Dave, if you get to read this, I want to tell you that I really do care about you, more than I have words for. I have every faith in you that you will come back from this, and be happy and healthy, and able to help even more people, which I know is your passion. The moment I met you, I felt a rush of love (I know you call this the Living Life Force) and just huge admiration for you that went so much farther than just knowing your incredible story of overcoming health challenges. It is something deeper--it is something about you, the man that you are, and how you choose to live in compassion and sincerity on daily basis. I am so lucky that Annette asked me to Blossoming Lotus that night and I got to meet you! I thank you for all you have done for me, all the coaching and great talks we've had, and for being my friend. Take care and rest up good buddy. Teresa is incredible--such a treasure--and I know she is handling everything. Your job is just to rest and to heal and to stay positive, no matter what. You are in my heart and in my prayers always, my dear friend. Always. I love you!

The Juicy Life--Day 28 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

What Day I'm On: Today marks 28 days, or 4 weeks! Alright, now we're talking! I am 70% of the way to 40 days.

How's It Going? Yesterday was a stressful day--I found out a friend was in the hospital. And for some reason, my kitchen table completely collapsed. There wasn't a lot of stuff on it at all--but it did have one bad leg, and it must have leaned to far that way. At first I was really upset, but then I was just thankful that no kids or cats got hurt. I am worried for my friend, but I have peace around that situation. At no time did I think, "Oh, man, I'm stressed, I want to eat something really harmful to me!" lol That sounds ridiculous, because it is. How does eating bad food make anything better? It doesn't, and yet, that was my go-to coping mechanism for years and years and years. I think it's nothing short of a miracle that I can be on the juice for 28 days, no problem, and the thought didn't even have to be beat down, or anything. It just didn't occur to me. Amazing! Thank you, God, for all you are doing and for being in control of all my situations and for having everything turn out for the highest good!

Today, I'm so tired that I can't see straight. Well, it is 4:18 a.m. right now, and I rilly, rilly, rilly want to crawl right back in to my cozy, welcoming bed instead of getting busy and making my juice. I think I will have some Rooibos tea and see if my body will be fooled into thinking it is getting caffeine from all the years I drank black tea. It's worth a shot, and Rooibos is so yummy!

What I'm Drinking: I scored a whole bunch of rainbow chard, heirloom tomatoes, apples, bell peppers and carrots at Limbo yesterday. Limbo is my favorite produce stand--they have awesome prices on organic produce, they try very hard to get local first, and they routinely take their overstocks, put a ton of them in a bag, like a big bunch of swiss chard, 5 apples, one bell pepper and 2 cumbers, and sell them for a dollar! Yesterday I helped myself to 8 (!) dollar bags! Since I will be using up all that rainbow chard, I am calling today's juice Rainbow Juice. I think that's a good name for all the beautiful colors of produce that go into a good juice.

Yesterday, I juice beetroot greens, which I'm not fond of, but are good for you. It kind of made my juice taste icky to me all day. I want yummy juice today!

Emotional Detox: Too much emotion coming in to process much old baggage right now. I am just resting in the wonder of being at peace and knowing that it's all going to be ok. I know not what the future holds, but I know WHO holds the future.

Physical Detox: Because I have so much stored fat that is being metabolized, and fat is where your body stores toxins, I have a lot of detox, even when I am not juicing. I don't want people to think they will have all these joyous symptoms when they juice. Most people have just very mild things happen, and nothing all that bothersome. Most people did not start out over 400 lbs! I feel like detox symptoms are a small price to pay for many more years being added to my life. And honestly, I had tons more ugly symptoms BEFORE, when I was so heavy: terrible acne till I was 38, eczema, boils, weird dry flaky patches, skin yeast outbreaks, boils, all this on top of the sheer PAIN of dragging around that much weight, on my back, my joints, especially my knees and feet. The effort of just living, lugging around those pounds of pain, left me utterly exhausted.

Detox is a good thing! Better out than in. Yes!

Decluttering: I came home from work yesterday to find that Nora had cleaned the whole house while I was at work! That was an awesome surprise! (Better than finding the remains of the dead kitchen table in my room! lol) She is a great kid! I am feeling lucky and happy. I've been doing my method of taking a box, and getting rid of 40 things, every day. Some goes in the garbage or recycle, and some goes in a box for charity. 40 things,every day. I thought it would be challenging, but it is not, a thought that gives me pause. (If I can get rid of 40 things daily, with very little compunction, it is pretty clear evidence that I HAVE TOO MUCH STUFF!) I am tossing toxic cosmetics and lotions and cleaning products, giving away too big clothes, and all the kitchen stuff from when I was a fabulous baker. Everything I release seems to have an attachment in me--I feel emotions well up as I let go of it. I'm thinking it's kind of like the emotions getting released that were present when you stuffed down food, that I think happens when you burn a lot of fat, quickly. The emotions I had when buying the stuff, or receiving it as a gift, are welling up as I release it. It is tough to process, hopping from a good riddance feeling, to a guilt at spending so much money on that feeling, to a "glad-I-don't-fit-in-that-anymore-but-sad-because-it-was-my-favorite" feeling, all in the course of a few minutes. It is a roller coaster ride! But when I am done, and the stuff is tossed or donated, I feel lighter, and freer. Stuff weighs you down, dudes. Better to bless someone else than carry all o' that around.


Don't Forget: We are toasting Dave and sending him some love along with our juices and smoothies if you are so inclined. Toast Penni and Susan and anyone who has helped you along this path of radiant health and life abundant. Lift a glass and drink to their health, and to your own!

The Juicy Life--Day 27 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

I now have less than 2 weeks left on this juice feast. Woo-hoo! It has been so enlightening, but it has been a challenge and a test of my will at times. I am proud of what I have accomplished so far, and absolutely determined to stick it out.

I want to dedicate this post to a special shout out from Dave, The Raw Food Trucker. I wish each and every one of you could have the chance to just have a few minutes in the presence of this kind, loving, wise one. In this world of PR spin and everyone concerned about their image, the media showing us plastic glamor and glorifying phonies, he is 100% genuine. He speaks directly from his heart, and that heart is the size of Texas. I am so honored that I get to call him friend, and have the opportunity to sit at his feet and LEARN, not just about health and juice feasting, but about LIFE. He is a man who truly loves his fellow man as himself. He helps so many people, he would be embarrassed if I told you. So I will just say that I don't have too many heroes, but Dave The Raw Food Trucker is one of them. :)

Dave wanted me to pass on to you how important it is to take 100% control of your own health. He said he's learning the hard way and he loves us and wants us to have that power over our own destinies. Dave is an incredible example of doing just that, having cured himself of cancer, diabetes, and taken off over 230 pounds to come back from morbid obesity.

He also wanted to tell us how lucky we are to have this place, and to have each other. "It's incredible, everything that Penni does and how she's put that place together. I know she has a family and kids. I don't know how she does it, but God bless her soul. I hope you guys tell Penni how much you appreciate her, and having a place to get that love and support." We do, Dave! We appreciate it SOOOO much. We love our Penni and Susan too! We know that we walk a far easier path because of this place; we don't have to be the lone "health nut," the "crazy vegan" out there on our own. We have each other, and what an enormous blessing that is. I can honestly say that my life has been far more touched and enriched by the people on this website than it has by any more than a handful of the people I see in my daily life.

Dave is so excited that we are all juice feasting. He said he's hearing from lots of people that wonderful healing is happening here. He gives all the credit to Penni for getting us juiced up and keeping us motivated.

So, today, I have a special request. I know a lot of you were planning to try a juice feast, or even just adding some juice to your raw food in the next few days and weeks. In Dave's honor, would you consider having a juice feast in the next few days? It certainly doesn't have to be 40 days! It doesn't even have to be a whole day! It could be any amount--one glass, one quart, one day, or as long as you choose. (If you want to raise a green smoothie, do that!) I know how thrilled he would be, if each of you would lift a glass of your favorite fresh juice in his honor, and say a little prayer or send a little love to Dave for all he has done for others. Drink to his health, and to your own.

This life is way too short. We have to tell people we love them and appreciate them while we we've got them here. Dave never ends a call without telling me, from his heart, that he loves me as his cherished friend. So I want to tell you guys, from my heart, how much I love you all and cherish every one of you.

Please raise your glass (and your prayers and good thoughts) to our friend, Dave, and to your health!

The Juicy Life--Day 26 of My 40 Day Juice Feast

Well, it's getting interesting around here! We have a little debate going about how to break a fast. I knew I had heard that David Rainosheck now says that green smoothies are the best way to break a fast.

I had first read that you are supposed to eat soaked prunes for a few days, up to 6 for a long juice feast like mine (anything over 12 days). Then you have juicy fruits, while still drinking green juice and really hold off on adding back non-juicy fruits like bananas and avocados till after you've added back green salads, in the last few days of breaking the fast.

But then I saw the Rainoshecks on youtube and in an interview with both of them with their sweet new baby, he explains that green smoothies are the new, preferred way to break the fast. That's fine with me, I am not so crazy about the whole prune idea.

And in Real Juice Daily, Penni writes about how she was getting ready to break her 92 day feast (92 days! My cow, Penni, how I admire you!) and she was glad that the new protocol was green smoothies but then the power went out and she got stuck with the soaked prune method after all!

Any whoodle, I am guessing I will go with the green smoothie method, combined with some soaked prunes, and continue some green juice while I break the fast (after 40 days, of course!) The prunes are to ya know, get you moving, *wink wink* but honestly, maybe I am a mutant, but I have been *wink wink* moving all along. Maybe it's because I take magnesium? Anyway, I love a good plum, but mushy soaked prunes don't sound great to me, and I literally have not eaten a thing in 26 days. Maybe by day 40 they'll sound good! Don't bet the farm. :)

What Day I'm On: 26 out of 40, 65% of the way there

How's It Going? Today was good--no headache, just a twinge of a bellyache, which I still think is related to my back strain. Or maybe it's because I have taken to drinking Penni's "salsa juice" which has onion and garlic and a wee lil bit of jalapeno in it? I love it so. It is quite yumfull. I may lay off it for a day and see if it helps my tummy. I am trying to see if I can get rid of any parasites, as gross as that sounds. The only thing grosser? Is having the PARASITES STAY IN ME. I'm told I need wormwood and some other herbs to do a right and proper job of it. I will have to cruise by Limbo ("See the famous 'Wall of Herbs'! Over 700 varieties!") to see if they have any fluke-be-gone or worm-away or similar.

My back strain is better today. I'm convinced it's giving me just enough heck so I don't forget not to be a dork and decide to move heavy inanimate objects for fun anymore. It still hurts when I sit, or drive, or stand from a sitting position. The good thing is that it doesn't hurt at all to walk, so my exercise hasn't been affected. Plus I have access to an endless supply of ice packs at work and hot and cold running Physical Therapists. My back strain doesn't stand a chance in the face of such good stuff coming my way!

In Real Juice Daily, Penni wrote about the theory that you go back 120 days in time, spiritually, for every one day that you are juice feasting. Since I am 40, that who have me back to age 27 right now. When I was 27, hmm, ok, Nora would have been 4 and Joe was 2. It's about the time I decided I couldn't bear to have them in daycare anymore (too many fears from my past combined with bad experiences with my kids' daycare) and I pulled them out and quit my job on a whim and started MY OWN daycare. I knew how much I was paying for daycare and I figured, there was decent money in it, I love kids, and how else is a single mom going to stay home with her own? Plus I had been a preschool teacher just out of college, so I knew I loved it and had some experience. I am wondering if this is what brought up, in some way, me sharing about the babysitter who abused me in my post on Day 22? Anyway, it was a bold (maybe foolhardy) move, but it all worked out, and while we didn't live high on the hog, I did get to be there for the precious childhoods of the people I love most in this world.

This whole juice feasting thing? It really is a spiritual journey. They say the longest journey in life is the 18 inches from the head to the heart. I walk the line. Juicy. Life.