Monday Mash.

First off my best friend, Elly, is venturing off to a far away land tomorrow... for 6 whole months and that is the minimum (knowing her, she will figure out some way to stay a little longer). I could not be more excited for her and the big adventure she is about to go on, but I am realizing how different its going to be without her. She is the kind of person that you do not get tired of. The kind of person that is game for anything, anytime. We can have fun together by literally just being around each other, it doesn't matter what we are doing.

She teaches me things every time I am with her. Things like how cool the x-games are, how to slow down and enjoy life, and how great it is to be yourself. Elly is pretty inspiring and I am going to miss her shining spirit. She has made many of my nights ones to remember and I already can't wait to hear all about her time away!

I am sharing this because I hope you have a friend like Elly in your life. If you do, don't be like me and wait to tell them how great they are before they are leaving for a while. Go ahead and let them know what a blessing they are to you. It feels good to be loved and it feels good to have someone to love on. I think we only come across such special people few times in our life, so when you find one, hold on to them!

Cheers to friends, being young, and taking adventures!

Stay hungry. Stay foolish.

-Steve Jobs

Happy Monday

February + Goals

daisies are blooming!?

It's already 5 days into February, but it feels like spring! I have not talked about the end of my cleanse, I have not reflected on my January goals, and I have not set new goals for this month. I am beginning to feel like I am failing at this whole blogging thing...

This past week lacrosse started, which makes my nights much shorter, my legs much more tired, and my hands much less busy in the kitchen. I did not manage to get pictures of some of my eats... but its okay cause one recipe author has already taken lovely ones. I made this killer bean and squash soup, that gets better and better over time. I went to Elly's and ate a few too many helpings of a salad with pecans, strawberries, apples, and avocado in it.  I made an accidental Dal (indian lentil dish) with carrots and onions in it, which will be made again for sharing with y'all.

To recap quickly on the cleanse, it was great and I am so glad I did it! Totally challenging but really rewarding. It is nice to practice self-control in a world where most days there is no need to. I successfully cut out dairy, gluten, sugar, and anything processed from my diet for 21 days. This past week I have been slowly adding back these foods into my diet. Sugar is what I can detect most. It makes me feel sluggish and after eating a couple of little cookies yesterday at my lacrosse team retreat, I had a headache. As for dairy and gluten I have not seen much effects. Bread has not bothered me, and the little bit of cheese I have had has not been a problem either. I have not had yogurt yet, and I think that will be a good test for how dairy treats me for breakfast. I have also realized that once I was done with the 21 days, my portion sizes have been creeping back up.

Now that I am done with the official cleanse, I really want to keep my sugar and dairy intake low, keep juicing 2x a week, and watch my portions. So for February goals...
- only 3 desserts a week
-juice 2x week

On the other front of life, in February my goals are to...
-give daily appreciation to my parents
-give my all in lacrosse by being a leader and encouraging the team through hard workouts

Hoping to post more this week!
Happy Super Bowl Sunday, Go Giants!