Long time no blog!

Y'all I'm dog sitting this week and also all of next week. Wait, let me back up...I'll actually have at least ONE extra dog in my home, that I do not own, from now until July 28th and I love it!

I joined Rover and one other dog sitting service a few months after I first moved to the Charleston, SC area and my "business" has REALLY picked up the past six months. I started just to have something to do with all the free time I spend sitting at home. I figured I could at least be making some money while doing something I enjoyed. And we all know I love a dog.

I'm watching Winston until Sunday and the poor baby has horrific allergies. Hot spots, raw spots all over him. His parents have tried special food, fish oil and Benadryl, among all the other things their vet suggested. When he was first dropped off with me, he was pretty nippy, but that all changed once I got home from work the same day and he wanted to be walked. Mmm Hmm. I see how it works, Winston.

Winston in all his cone and "cape" glory.

Stella is being dropped off Saturday and I'll have her for nine days. Next WEDNESDAY a pug and a Boston will be joining our house full. lol. It all sounds chaotic, but really it's a fun, fairly simple gig. Just love on some dogs.

I do highly suggest Rover.com if you're looking for a pet sitter or want to pet sit yourself. You can use my referral code. I think I may get $20 off a stay for my pets if you sign up through me, and you also get $20 a stay for yours. Totally worth a shot, especially in bigger areas that have a need for reliable, kind people to watch other people's pets. My special referral sign-up page can be found HERE.

Just thought I'd share what I'll be up to for the week or so.

Also getting a MUCH needed pedicure tonight with a friend from work. My feet like like they were puked on and ran over. Gross.

It feels like I hardly ever wear the things in my closet anymore, so when I get the chance, I take it! Not that I really need an excuse--if I wanted to walk around my house all dolled up that's perfectly fine, too, but damn it's nice for this homebody to get out sometimes!

Dress: Target Shoes: Old from Anne Klein (bought off ebay!) Clutch: ebay

Makeup of the night: I used the Naked palette and Sephora's Lipstick Pencil in the color Strawberry Delish. OBSESSED with this pinky color for the summer!

That's it. I haven't done a fashion post since I've been "back" to blogging and thought I'd share!

Have you guys found any cute summer clothes at Target? I am ALL about their dresses. I just love them- I love that they always have the same dress shape in different colors and patterns.

Every Sunday I meal prep for the entire week in order to set myself up for healthy food success.

What that means exactly is that I cook my lunches and dinners and prepare my two daily snacks in one fell swoop. Less to worry about when I get off work when all I want to do is relax, because God knows, my job can be one hell of a headache.

Lately I have been OBSESSED to the max with Trader Joe's Chili Lime Chicken Burgers! And more specifically their recipe for Crunchy Chicken Burgers. O. M. to the G, you guys.

  It's so easy that you'd think it was awful for ya....

• 2 cups TJ's Organic Broccoli Slaw
• 1 tbsp TJ's Fresh Cilantro, chopped
• 3 tbsp TJ's Champagne Pear Vinaigrette
• 4 TJ's Chili Lime Chicken Burgers
• 4 TJ's Multi-Grain or Honey Wheat Hamburger Buns ( I used Ezekial Bread!)

I feel rather lithe and long-limbed, like a....gazelle.

I am happy to say I am FINISHED with this juice cleanse. DONE. No more.

Before I give you my feedback I have to make one admission.........
I only did 3 days of just juice, instead of the 4 I had planned. I really just didn't want to do it anymore. Three days was enough for me. I don't feel bad about it, because it's not as though I started to eat junk today (Day 4), but I mixed in some fruits and veggies, quinoa and almonds along WITH the rest of my juice.

The weird thing is, once I started eating real food, I found that I WANTED juice. Or a salad. I can literally feel a change in my taste buds and the foods I'm craving.

For a recap I decided to do this Q & A style.

Why did I want to do a juice cleanse?
I am telling you RIGHT now, I did not do this for weight loss. I am educated and smart enough to know that the weight I'd lose as a result wouldn't be in the form I wanted to lose (water vs. fat). Do NOT let weight loss be a driving factor for you in doing a 3-4 day juice cleanse. It's not that you won't see the scale move (I weighed out of curiosity and I've dropped 6 pounds) but more than likely some of that will come right back when you eat regular, solid foods. Now, if you're doing a juice cleanse for longer than a week, maybe...just MAYBE you could keep some of that weight off, but damn....that's dedication.

I decided to try this for my health, to see if it would make me feel more alert and more awake as people claimed it did for them. I felt like I needed a jump start again- I had been in a workout slump and needed to feel better.

How do I feel?
I really feel GREAT. Besides having a small craving for a hamburger, I feel more energetic than I have in a long time (and I've felt this way since day 2 mind you), my skin is super soft, I feel like I can go workout for hours on end and I'm ready and wanting to eat big salads and healthy even more than I did a week ago. No headaches, no aches anywhere. No stomach grumbles.

How much coffee do I usually drink? How much alcohol?
The cleanse said to stay off of caffeine/coffee a week before the juice cleanse. I usually drink about 2-3 cups every morning. Sometimes less. The past week I hardly drank any to easily transition into the "no-caffeine" zone that the Juice Cleanse asked of me. Alcohol? Usually it's a few drinks on the weekend: wine or whiskey with one ice cube.

Was it tough to give up alcohol/caffeine?
Nope. I only had one small hankering for a glass of wine while watching TV last night. This morning I really wanted a cup of coffee, but tomorrow will come and that cup of coffee will taste like the best thing in life.

Did I miss anything/have cravings/get actually hungry?
There were times at work when I'd get small cravings for things. Not really cravings...more like just a desire to EAT them. lol. I just wanted to bite into them.

What did I like most about this particular cleanse?
SUPER impressed that the drinks are quite low-glycemic and have a very low sugar content. The green juices have only about 7 grams of sugar per bottle, and 18-20 grams on the higher end. A few other cleanses I looked into contained about 40-60 grams of sugar per bottle! No. Just no, thank you.

Urban Remedy's cashew milk and cleansing lemonade drinks are sweetened with stevia (other cleanses tend to use agave), so they’re even lower in sugar than the juices.

I also really love their use of super-nutritious veggies like dandelion greens, burdock root, fresh turmeric, etc. I'm all for trying new and interesting veggies and....weeds/roots. haha?

Would I do it again?
Ehhhh, I'd definitely drink juices again, but I think I'd only do a juice cleanse for 3 days and it would be MAYBE twice a year during season change. I could see myself doing it after the holidays. Other than that, a long-term juice cleanse isn't for this girl, but never say never.

What did I learn the past four days?
First and foremost, my long-time suspicions were true... I love food. I just do. I love the way food tastes, I love the "experience" of eating and dining with others, and trying new foods. I will never NOT love food and that's OK. But, I also love the way I feel when eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet...

90% of the time I'm careful with what goes into my body because I want to take care of it- I want it to last a good while. I want to set a good example for other women on what a healthy body image is and how to have a HEALTHY relationship with food.

That's just how it's going to be for me, but that being said a juice cleanse is a nice way to break things up, try new things. ESPECIALLY if you don't get enough fruits and veggies, I think this would be outstanding for you.

I also learned that tastes and habits can be changed and redirected toward something better.
Cost: Urban Remedy cleanses cost $60 a day plus shipping (which costs $45 per 3-day cleanse).

Support: Urban Remedy sends you a pre-cleanse email containing tips for how to prepare for your cleanse. I liked that little something extra.

How to Order: Their website, urbanremedy.com 


Thanks for following along! If you have questions on my experience, let me know I'd be glad to answer! Now on to bigger challenges...what shall I attempt next? Hmmm.........

I woke today feeling great! No headaches, no aching and I actually felt full of energy. The realist in me decided this euphoric feeling MUST just be because its Friday, but I'd also like to think juicing is doing something good for my body.

Day 1 Overview

7:00 a.m.- My day began with a huge glass of water with lemon- no difference there. Around 8:30 a.m. I had my first juice of the day: The Brainiac. Tasted just like the ingredients it listed. Typical green juice. Not bad to start the day.

By 10:00 a.m. I started feeling a few small hunger pangs, understandably, which is about the time I always eat my greek yogurt. Instead, I reached for Juice 2 of the day: Time Machine. This one was just what I was craving - and didn't even know it! It was lemony like tea and spicy from the cayenne. No chugging with this one even if I wanted to because that cayenne sneaks up on you. Two thumbs up for this baby!

I even let Meredith, my friendly friend and co-worker, have a taste. She concurred.

Unfortunately, the second juice only kept me satisfied until I started salivating hearing announcement after announcement about a "burger burn in the front of the facility" blaring over my place of work's loud speaker. Thanks, guys.

I also found myself going towards the fridge to grab a snack. Sorry. Not today. Or tomorrow...or the day after that......or the next....

12:15 p.m.- I can feel a headache trying to creep up on me. I tell it to "get the hell out of here" and push through. Other than that minor itch, I feel good. I don't feel sluggish or weak, just sleepy from a restless night's sleep.

The third juice of the day is nicely named, Flush. Flush because that's what I've been doing to the toilet all day. This juice is SUPER refreshing and minty and I love it! So far I haven't met a juice in this cleanse I don't like! Two thumbs up so far on taste!

1:00 p.m.- I finished with Flush rather quickly and I have another hour and a half before my next juice. AN HOUR AND A HALF?! I find myself nervously trying to figure out what to do with my hands...with my mind..WHAT'S HAPPENING? I keep looking out my window at work, distracted, thinking about snacks now. Almonds covered with chocolate and other NatureBox snacks I have at home. I just want to chew. Already. It's only day 1. I keep breaking out in random dance moves in my work chair (if you can even call them that? More like wild flailing of my arms.) It's a weird thing- and then I'll feel sleepy again. This is weird.

2:30 p.m.- TIME FOR THE NEXT JUICE! It's probably me hallucinating, but I immediately feel better with the first sip. Oh my God. It feels so good to have something else in my stomach, even if it's not a solid. After Party is earthier than the juices I've had so far today, but the apple and lemon cut that taste significantly. I've tasted earthier, that's for sure. Kinda wishing it were more earthy/heavier so it could have a more filling effect on my stomach.

This headache nag is still hanging around. Blah. I start doing Google searches on "juice cleanse benefits" to keep myself motivated.

4:30 p.m.-The time seemed to fly between the last juice and number 5. Probably because I was driving home from work and all I could think about was consuming the next juice, The Warrior. The Warrior is strawberries, chia seeds and stevia. This was the most filling of all of the juices so far and delicious- strawberries? How can you go wrong?

6:00 p.m.- Last call for alcohol!!!

Last juice of the day and the "creamiest". Relax was cashew milk with vanilla and cinnamon. It was a nice ending to the day- creamy, comforting (if THAT'S even possible) and now I'm definitely welcoming bed with open arms. It's been a long day. Thank God tomorrow is Friday.

Was I starving today? It seemed like when I started to get that hungry feeling it was time to drink another juice, so I didn't felt ravenous or dying for food. My stomach had a bit of an empty feeling, but I didn't have bad cravings for any food.

Most frequent thought of the day?
"This is hard, but it's really not THAT bad."

Overall thoughts for Day 1?
Not bad, but not ideal. I wouldn't say awful by any means, but difficult, yes. The baby headaches I experienced were the most annoying part about day 1. Plus I was a little emotional overall today, so that didn't really help my longing to chew something.

Check back here tomorrow for Day 2, when I either push forward or trip and fall. lol Just kidding. I'll make it.