And the results are in....

Well, I'm glad to be posting the results to the Master Cleanse experience... mainly because that means it's over. Wow!! I totally underestimated this thing. I don't regret doing it, but I would have a hard time recommending it too. I lost 10lbs total, which is great. I averaged about 2 lbs per day. I will admit, however, that I bailed early. I was finally getting over the hunger pains, and I think I was getting to a relatively good place on the cleanse. I've heard few people complain of this, which is what began the worry... my teeth! For some reason (I wonder if it's the acid from the lemons) my teeth were killing me. It felt the same those white brightening strips feel when I put them on my teeth. So, unfortunately, that did me in. At the end of last week, I rolled over to Lindsey and said "this sucks!". So, because she is so good to me, she got up and made me a piece of toast with spray butter. Best piece of whole grain bread I've had in my life! So eased out and ate lightly for the next few days. The best part - I can exercise again... and it feels incredible to be working out at 10 lbs lighter. I doubt I'll keep it all off for very long, but it was an experience I'll remember for a long time. I have had no desire to eat candy or drink coke since... which a huge change for me. I hope I can keep it up through the holidays!!

A Slave to the Master Cleanse

November will forever be remembered as the month I started the Master Cleanse, in my mind. It was so fun and exciting to plan for. Surely, my mind was more focused on the results than on the process. The first two days have proven difficult. Although, there are moments of accomplishment and health accompanying the other hungry moments. On Halloween, Lindsey and I enjoyed my ‘last supper’ at Porcupine Grill (pictured). I ate as much I could...nachos, big cottonwood burger, 3 diet cokes and some fries. Later that night I started the process with an herbal laxative tea. As of Sunday morning, the cleanse was on. And it was a powerful first morning;) First mistake, I had never made the drink before hand to figure out how I would do with it. On second thought... maybe a good idea. I would have lost excitement long ago. While the lemonade and maple syrup used aren’t that bad (not my first choice... but still ok), the cayenne pepper about did me in. It left me thinking I had heart burn after every sip. I became quickly discouraged in just the first day! To my saving grace, we picked up some cayenne pepper capsules that doesn’t ruin my only source of nutrition. It has much improved since. I started blending the drink, but I quickly became sick of the pulp and have resorted to hand-squeezing the lemons... shows how little I liked the pulp. The pulp, however, is like a nectar from the gods compared to the quart of salt water I drink in the morning. Because I do it on an empty stomach, i dry heave 2 or 3 times each time I muscle it down. Painful! For some reason, I’m determined to go on. I’ve heard so many incredible stories from others who have complete the 10 day ritual. Finally, today I took time to go sit in the sauna/steam room at the gym. I had read this was a way to accelerate the process and feel energized in doing so. For the first time, my hunger pains disappeared and I felt good. The clogged nose, another symptom, also disappeared for the first time. My preparation was overly thorough, launching into personal investigation for the previous 2 weeks and learning all I could. As my personality has dictated in the past, I tend to overdo things like this. And I must admit, after watching the tour de france this past summer, I would be lying if I didn’t admit to wanting to climb hills a little more like Alberto Contador.
Not sure where this journey will lead... not even sure it’s a good idea. But I guess the only way to know is to try.

Why Can't I Do Anything This Cool?!

Check out that Baby Bump!

There's just something motivating about free stuff! The one thing that Linz has taught me is that the hunt for the good deal is as rewarding as anything else in life. Whether it's coupon clipping, swag or just samples in the deli section, free is good in our lives. So, Linz found out about the baby bump contest with 97.1 here in Salt Lake. We are on a viral campaign to get her the votes. Of course, the winner gets a free nursery... and that's motivation enough. More than that, it's the recognition that Lindsey is one of the most sexy pregnant ladies out there! So if you are one of the millions of readers of this blog, go check out the contest, and vote for entry #106.

http://www.971zht.com/pages/babywatch09/

The pic above is the one we submitted.. in case you get sick of scrolling through all the pics on the site.

Let's talk about me being pregnant...

So...It's literally been months since I have blogged. I guess b/c I feel so busy and don't ever take time to do it. I work and do church during the week, then when the weekend rolls around I don't touch a computer and just hang out with my husband.

So I found out I was pregnant around may 8th. I took 2 pregnancy tests and was so confused b/c the line that indicates that you are pregnant was so light. So I went and bought more b/c I thought they just didn't work or something. Sure enough, the 3rd one said I was pregnant too. So me and Jake were just like...that was quick. I had just gotten off birth control 2 weeks before, so we had no idea it would happen that fast.

I guess I have had it pretty easy so far. My friend Michelle told me she threw up every day for 5 months, and I haven't once. I do feel exhausted alot and sick to my stomach alot, but not too bad and it's less often now. Also, my face is usually pretty clear, but pregnancy has caused my face to break out and almost look like a rash on my forehead. It's finally starting to clear up a little.

We found out at 16 weeks that we were having a boy (July 30th). We were so excited. The doctor had told us according to the heart beat it might be a girl. So Jake was especially excited to find out "critter" was a boy.

So I'm at 19 weeks now and you still wouldn't ever guess I was pregnant. I've only gained like 3-4 pounds, but I'm sure it will start showing more really soon.

So the pics at the top have how many weeks I was at the time in the left hand corner. The 1st one was me at 12 weeks. His nose looks like pinocchio, but it was the way the ultrasound device was held. haha. The second pic was me at 18 weeks and it shows the top of his head with his arm up to his forehead. So cute. It's so neat to do an ultrasound and see your baby jumping around and being so active when he's so tiny.

Livin Large in L.A.

So, this post is way over due, and this trip feels like it was ages ago... but we've been reminding each other we needed to do this post for a while. So here goes:

We had some jetblue points set aside for a trip. Deadline was approaching so we booked them back in the spring for the only event we had on our calendar - Ryan & Sarah's wedding in Socal. We were excited that this would be our first return trip since the moving away over a year before. We booked the calendar and did it all. And as anyone who has frequented Socal knows, doing it all generally entails eating tacos at Tito's Tacos right of the 405. Heaven!! So, after picking up the rental car, we drove immediately to Tito's and then to Didi Reise (sp?) for a high calorie ice cream sandwich to wash the taco grease down. We were two for two.
We got to catch up Billy for a bit who works in LA. It was fun to see him and chill for a bit in Westwood. And then, like two teenage kids in their first hotel, we headed back excited to have some privacy. I think it had been a long time since we'd been on vacation. Because we both enjoyed the hotel like never before.

The next day we were off to the fashion district for some cheap clothes. This is quickly becoming a must see every time we are in the area. Nothing feels better than a good deal. But even better was our next stop, the Dodgers vs Angels game in Anaheim. Katie and JD hooked us up with tickets. It was awesome! Especially the dude in front of us from Dodger land who kept yelling "the real LA" everytime the dodgers did anything of significance. There was even a brawl two rows behind us and we got sprayed with beer. Good times!!

The trip was ticking by too quickly. We stayed a couple nights with Katie and JD at their 'Stadium Loft'. Appropriately named because we could walk to Angel stadium. How cool is that. Mad props to the Price's for being such hard core Angel fans. On Saturday we ate at BJ's (as you can tell our eating schedule was rigorously planned before hand) and headed to the beach before heading to Dana Point for Ryan and Sarah's wedding, which was incredible...see pics.


And finally, to finish with a bang, we headed up to the Museum of Tolerance to learn about the Holocaust... something we'd meant to do the whole time we lived there. It was actually pretty fun. And just the little vaca we needed. Unfortunately, it's been awhile since all this good stuff actually happened, so we're due for another one.

Morning Rides are the craziest

I've been able to workout with some local talent in the mornings. It has been a great way to start getting back in shape...marriage has done some serious damage to my waist line (we just love to eat together). So I'm hoping waking up at the crack of dawn will help me out. Lose or not, it has already been some of the best local riding and running I've ever done. I've also been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the iphone on the Verizon network... and I may have to wait forever. Here is what the iphone of one of my buddies tracked while we rode over to the avenues this morning.