"Monday, Monday
So good to me.
Monday, Monday
It was all I hoped it would be..."

Today was a great day! The sun is shining...  warm and breezy...  and I saw my first dragonfly!  I love dragonflies!! They make me smile  :)

If you have stopped by since last Wednesday, you are maybe wondering how the cleanse day went, right?  Well, let's get right to it...  I ended up doing my cleanse day on Saturday, instead of Friday.  Friday my plans were derailed by unexpected appointments, etc for the hubby...  and I really wanted this first cleanse day to be all about me.  So, Saturday is the day, right?  Well, sure, why not??  Well, I thought having the family around on my first cleanse day would difficult, but I did it anyway.  I was tired of waiting!  And it was difficult...  and I was scared, yes, I admit it...  I did not really know what to expect!  How would my body respond?  The day was long and had many highs and lows, but not totally crappy, it was do-able.  For starters, I slept in, which I must have needed and started the cleanse about mid-morning.  I followed the plan down to the Snacks!, even though I'm not that wild about them.  I also added one IsaDelights Dark broken into quarters and when I felt like I was really losing my cool, I let one piece dissolve on my tongue.  I have tasted better chocolate, but these are really good too and they do work like magic!  I alternated between keeping busy and resting...  I wanted to keep busy, but when I did, my girls wanted to help and then I got distracted so much that I got behind on the days schedule.  Later in the evening I was loathing taking the final 'cleanse for life', I really wasn't feeling well at that point, I had a slight headache and my stomach was queasy.  I tried to take a walk, got cold and felt worse, so I came back after 10 minutes...  Woobie was so disappointed!  All right, fine then, let's bite the bullet and do that one last 'cleanse' and get it over with...  guess what?  I felt a little better!  LOL  I thought that was pretty dog-gone funny!!  Then I took a long, hot bath...  that was heaven...  and felt so much better!

Some of the most difficult challenges were not being able to eat anything that the family was eating and I was kind of used to that because I have been doing shakes for a week, but I have been doing them at lunch and not with the family; so the smell of coffee in the morning or pizza baking in the evening...  or the popcorn commercial during the evening show...  at times, seemed unbearable...  and totally self inflicted...  do you know what I mean?  Next cleanse day will be better, I know it!  I will embrace it.. .  and I'll use a timer!

Sunday actually was a surprisingly difficult day.  I felt like I had to be really careful and not overeat, because I wanted to eat everything!  You see, my house it not "Carrie Proof"...  it still has the tortilla chips and Easter candy and pop...  we do not have a lot of those things, but they are here.  I took the girls to church and we ran errands afterwards...  Target has many yummy things too, but I did resist  :)  The hubby made a roast for dinner.. . yes, I had roast, a small baked potato...  and my plate was well over half full with a wonderful green, leafy lettuce salad.  It felt good to eat again and I savored every bite!

Today is Monday and I feel like I am back on track and feeling good!  Monday has been so good to me.. .

Oh...  and have I lost any weight?  Was it worth it?  Yes, and YES!  As of 4/22, I have lost 8 pounds and a total of 4.25 inches since I started the 30 Day Cleanse on 4/14  :)  and that's a good start!

Ciao Bella!