Hello All!

Do you all remember the song....To everything turn, turn, turn.......... there is a season, turn, turn, turn........well, it goes something like that.  Anyways, that has been my life lately.  So many seasons in the last few months.  There is a time for everything under the sun.  I know I'm writing just at the very birth of a new year but I had a "rebirth" of sorts of my own in the last couple of months.  After these many years I am going to go back to school to study cosmetology!  Oh yes, believe it!  I am the very late comer into my family business but I'm so very excited!  I am looking forward to sharing my experiences with you all as I continue my homesteading and start a new career.  I am sure that so many of you are doing the same thing trying to make ends meet in this ole world.

So lately I've had a couple of girlfriends try this overall body cleanse that uses lots and lots of lemons.  They swear by it, it made them so much more energetic, gave their complexion a radiant glow, and they slept so well at night.  I decided to try this cleanse after a couple months of considering it and planning when would be the perfect timing because you know I can't skip great meals that are planned around my family and friends.  Right now, today, I am in my 7th day of this cleanse which consists of a juice made with many many lemons, cayenne pepper, and maple syrup.  This, with a couple other things added but, absolutely no food.  I haven't eaten anything for 7 days!  Going into it you don't give a thought to just exactly what going without food means for 10 days but, while in the midst of it you give it lots of thought.  I have learned many things about myself.  One, is that my whole world revolved (s) around food.  I mean everything, parties, dates, games, t.v. commercials, conversations, new recipes in magazines we would like to try, movies, meals 3 times a day and of course, snacks!  It is next to impossible to get away from food.  But try, I do.  Two, is that I have become acutely aware that my sense of smell is heightened greatly! I can taste food through smelling it! Sometimes I have to leave the room and go clear to the other end of the house! AND I can smell garlic breath a mile away! (I've offered a mint to a person or two in the last week). :)  And three, I've become more aware of my surroundings.  Two nights ago I was having severe neck pains....I lay in bed and my pillow just wasn't right so I started going through other pillows I have here and there, I went through so many pillows to no avail that around 4:00am I finally gave up and came down to the couch to sleep.  I didn't want to disturb Tom since he had to go to work so early.  Even the couch pillows weren't cutting it but while I lay there in misery I noticed that right there in my own living room from my own little couch I had the most spectacular view of the starry sky!  It was a brilliant sight.....yes, there is the big dipper and yes....OH!  A shooting star!  I was amazed and while marveling at that miracle....there's ANOTHER shooting star!!!  Two, not 3 minutes apart!  As I contemplated my joy I thought to myself, if I wouldn't have had this neck ache and come down here, I would have slept right through the most amazing show on earth!  I am so thankful.  I have also become quite aware that I can throw some great pity parties for myself.  They are short lived, well some of them, but they are grand!  Tom and I went to one of our local hardware stores the other day, a particularly hard cleanse day for me, and as I was coming from the bathroom I passed a lady and just had this thought, "I'll just bet SHE got to eat today!"  pout, pout.  See, I had a mini pity party for myself.  Pathetic!  Anyways, I am on the downside to my experiment, day 7 (in case you all forgot, because I haven't) :).  I am giving my body, mind, and soul a clean start, i believe.  I'm flushing out all the impurities I can in this short allotted time and I am thankful for it.  I hope to do it again in the next year or so.  I have been faithfully journaling my adventure so that I can look back when I'm ready to do it again and not have any surprises although I have a sneaking hunch that I will be in a different stage of my life then and I will discover many new things!  New adventures are a good thing, aren't they? 

Until then, I'm kinda starting to smell garlic......mint anyone?

Blessings on finding your rich, homespun heritage!

janele ;)