The MC - Days 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8

Geez, Louise, this week has flown by, which is fine by me... I'm looking at the light at the end of the tunnel by now (I'm currently on Day 9, SUPER behind on posting!).  Busy or not, however, I need to catch up here, so I'm going to give you a quick recap of the week...

Day 4:

From what I remember Day 4 was pretty ordinary.  I had a slight headache that carried over from the weekend, so I decided to really push to get more juice and water in during the day and that seemed to help.  My sense of smell has seemed to heighten and I feel like I can breathe more deeply.  I'm not sure if that is a typical side-effect of doing the cleanse, but nonetheless it's a benefit that I've noticed.

Day 5:

Hmmmmm.... trying to remember Monday... this is why you post regularly, regardless of your busy schedule...

Ok... I remember feeling pretty euphoric on Monday.  I cleaned the hell out of the kitchen and the cabinets, even though it's messy again.  Oh well.

Monday night, Joey and I had another "Mondate" and saw "Days of Future Past" at the Drive-In.  Great movie.  I ended the night with a headache.  If I can remember correctly, though, I struggled with headaches for the beginning of the cleanse last time as well.  I also think it may have something to do with the fact that my body is still weaning off of coffee/caffeine.

Day 6:

On Day 6 the Salt Water Flush didn't work.  I went about my day as usual and researched it a bit and decided that next time I do it, I should add a bit more salt.  That night I worked at the restaurant and came home headache free, on the road to easy cleansing....

Day 7:

On Day 7 I had a training day for Summer Camp (starts up next week), so I had to be finished with my "morning routine" by 8:30... that's a tall order and one that I couldn't serve up.  This particular morning,  after adding more salt, I tried to drink the mixture too fast in order to expedite the process so I could get to work on time.  Unsurprisingly this didn't work, and I couldn't keep it down, so I gave up on the SWF and decided to skip it for Wednesday.  The rest of the day went as normal and, once again, I went to bed headache free.

Day 8:

Yesterday, I decided to skip the SWF again, as I had to work again and didn't want to repeat the previous day's mistake.  After work, I picked up Joey and we went to pick up some groceries at the store... I'm not hungry, but I'm definitely ready to be eating again, so in the meantime, I'm planning... oh yes, I have big plans...

Last night, no headaches.  I think we're over that slump.

So, that was the week in a nutshell.  I gained a few more tips during this cleanse that I didn't realize last time:

1)  If you're making bottles of juice for when you go out, only mix the fresh-squeezed lemon and Grade B Maple Syrup, then combine your water and your cayenne as you go throughout your day.  If you mix the water in, it dilutes the fresh enzymes in the lemonade and maple syrup and they die, and if you mix in the Cayenne, it marinates in the mixture making it super spicy and unpleasant to drink.  The lemonade, when made fresh, is actually pretty tasty, but left to sit for a while on it's own gets gross and hard to conquer.

2)  Drinking a variety of non-caffeinated herbal teas this time around has been amazing.  It really helps to add variety into your palette and makes the whole experience better.  Plus, it always seems to calm my mind and my nerves to be sipping on a hot mug of tea.

3) Water, water, water...

4)  If the SWF isn't working, then adjust your intake of Natural Sea Salt in the mixture.  DO NOT RUSH this process if you feel like you're going to gag.


I've been researching a little bit more for other people's experiences on the cleanse and found these two sources to be pretty helpful as well:

1) http://familysponge.com/health/master-cleanse-tips/


2)  I enjoyed watching Yoon and Justin from "The Very Berry Life" and seeing their experience.  It's a pretty in-depth look into their whole cleansing experience as they Vlog about it daily (they have a whole video playlist dedicated to their cleanse).   Plus, I think they're entertaining to watch and learn from.

Anyway, Sunday is soooooo close, so close I can taste it...

Tomorrow I'm shooting a wedding, so I'm going to make sure to get a lot of juice in before 3 when I need to be at the church.  Wish me luck!

Talk to you tomorrow!

p.s. - sorry for the lack of pictures... I need to get back into the routine of taking pictures for the blog.  I have a fancy new phone now, so I have no excuses.

The MC - Day 2 and 3

Alright, alright, alright... we're blowin' and goin' over here in cleanse-town.  This part of the year is my personal preference for doing a cleanse as I feel hungry less when it's warm outside, plus... it's warm and sunny, there's always things to go do outside to help distract from wanting to snack and eat a lot.  During the winter, that's exactly what I want to do... eat a lot.  The downside to cleansing during the summer is that there's a lot of amazing stuff going on and it's a pretty busy time of year.  This is both good and bad.  Good in that your days are full and exciting, Bad, no Challenging, because you're usually surrounded by delicious grilled foods and drinks and social events with eating and drinking, and because you have to plan accordingly to fit all of those things in.  The past couple of days has been no exception to this Summertime dilemma.



Day 2:

Day 2 started off well.  Upon waking up, I made myself my first Salt-water Flush (2 tsp. of sea salt mixed with 32 oz. of warm water).  The SWF has never been my favorite part of the clean, but then again, it's a challenge, so down went the salty water mix.  It helps to think of the drink as a salty broth.  I'm just not that into saltiness, so here again, this bits a challenge for me.

Thirty minutes to an hour or so after finishing the drink, I began to feel a gurgle in my stomach, the mixture brewing in my guttyworks.  This part is important, as it's helping to really work out any waste just sitting around in the colon mucking up our systems and potentially creating more dangerous problems down the road.  After I let my gurgling stomach brew for a bit, I went to the restroom to relieve myself and whooooooosh, that's that.  One BIG tip:  AT NO TIME DURING THIS PORTION OF THE CLEANSE SHOULD YOU FART.  YOU WOULD HAVE A DISASTER IN YOUR PANTS WHICH WOULD REQUIRE YEARS OF MOVING FAR AWAY FROM HOME AND HAVING TO RECREATE A NEW IDENTITY IN ORDER TO MAKE NEW FRIENDS AND FIND A NEW FAMILY WHO WILL LOVE YOU AGAIN.

The rest of the day went as per usual.  I drank approximately 6 glasses of the lemonade drink.  My friend, Stacey came over and we threw around some ideas for projects that we would like to do and then I headed on to a bachelorette party that I was attending later that evening.  The bachelorette party was a lot of fun, but here again, it becomes difficult with socializing.  However, playing drinking games with the rest of the gals and taking swigs of your lemonade instead of shots of tequila is definitely one way to make sure you drink the sufficient amount for the day AND it doesn't leave you with a hangover! Let's play drinking games every night!

At the end Day 2 I had a bit of a headache, however I drank my nightly smooth move tea, and hit the hay.

Day 3:

On Day 3 I skipped the SWF because Joey and I had my friend, Deidre's wedding to attend at noon and I didn't want to risk putting myself in a precarious situation.  So, I made up my drank for the day and we headed out to the chapel.

The wedding was beautiful and so were the bride and groom!

The rest of the day Joey and I enjoyed together, relaxing and catching up on Mad Men and then watching David Gordon Green's latest film, Joe, which was a beautiful return to the familiar world's and characters in his first film's.  Joe was an intense and impressive film with simple storytelling involving complex and dynamic characters. In his characters depth is where I've always found my love for David Gorden Green's film's and the stories within them and through Tim Orr's cinematography his movie's become Art. It was a beautiful Saturday night.

At the end of the night, my headache returned, plus, earlier in the day, I started my cycle, so I drank my tea and put myself to bed in order to relieve myself of both headache and cramps.

Let me know if you have any specific questions about the cleanse or anything else!  Talk to you soon!

The MC - Day 1

Day 1 went pretty well overall.  I started the morning off waking up early (I usually wake up early, so this wasn't a problem for me) and responding to the call of nature, or, in this instance, the call of my natural herbal tea laxative (I use Peppermint Smooth Move by Traditional Medicinals).  The laxative works very well and works pretty well with my schedule as I typically wake up around 7:00am (give or take a few) and need to be going and blowing around 10:00am.  It didn't infringe on my morning routine whatsoever, though I would recommend being near a bathroom just in case.

On Day 1, I read where you don't have to do the Salt Water Flush (more on that tomorrow) on your first day of the cleanse, so I skipped it.

After walking the dogs, taking a shower, and doing my morning yoga, I got myself ready for work and headed out for my first lemonade-full day around the restaurant.  The day went well, and it wasn't too difficult, though I did feel a little low on energy and it is a little torturous to be around so much good food.  Oh well... I will have plenty of time to plan the perfect meal upon finishing this bad boy.

After work, Joey met me at the restaurant and we both hopped into the car to visit his Nona and my Mimi.  Nona went to the hospital the other day with a bad UTI infection and kidney stones and (possibly) a pinched nerve.  When we went to visit, she was feeling pretty good as long as she didn't move around too much.

On Memorial Day, Mimi fell from her hydraulics chair onto her face breaking her nose, bruising her wrists and knees and busting up her forehead.  True to the war horse that she is, when Joey and I showed up to visit, she woke up, face bandaged, black and blue all over, telling stories about the family, how she used to play basketball as a girl until the 9th grade when they told her girls weren't tough enough to play basketball, and reliving memories on the farm.  I've been incredibly fortunate in my life to not only know and love all 4 of my grandparents, but also to be able to know them, share with them, and truly enjoy spending time with them, and Mimi is no exception to that.  She always surprises me with new stories and different perspectives and, most importantly of all, her love of Darla ;).  She asked to have Darla once, while I lived with her for a short while... ha, I had to tell my grandmother that she couldn't have my dog, though Darla did prefer her.

Nona and Mimi, you both keep trucking on like the war-horses you are!  Love you both!

So, to conclude, after driving from one side of the city to the other to different hospitals, we made the drive home from Mississippi back to Midtown.  I drank my herbal tea laxative and Joey and I hit the hay, ready to get up and do it all again.

Until tomorrow!

Day 3 of Easing in, moving on to Day 1...

Day 3 of easing on to the MC consisted of fresh squeezed orange juice (I added a little Grade B maple syrup for calories and some water to taste and to stretch the drink).  It was a fairly easy day.  Whenever I felt a bit hungry, I'd turn to my Millie's teas or down some more orange juice.  A whole bag of 7 Florida Navel Oranges carried me through the entire day quite nicely.  I worked last night, so it was a good indicator on how I will feel working while cleansing, specifically around a bounty of delicious (and I mean delicious!) vegan food.  It was a bit challenging, but I'm excited about this cleanse, and I've got my goals and motivation at the front of my thoughts, so it wasn't too difficult.  Remembering my reasons, and the benefits for doing this cleanse will help pull me through the end while working around food.

Upon coming home from work, Joey and I watched Prisoners, an extremely intense movie that I wouldn't necessarily recommend watching literally *right* before you go to bed.  The film was suspenseful, beautifully shot, and the acting was fantastic (especially Jake Gyllenhal's in my opinion), and it left the viewer a lot to chew on.  However, it's not necessarily the kind of movie that sends you off into a restful dreamland.  I sipped my Herbal laxative tea (for the morning) and covered my eyes when needed and then Joey and I hit the sack.

In the meantime, I've been participating in this 30 day yoga challenge.  It's SUPER easy and relaxing, so I've been able to fit it in early in the morning before starting my day.  I usually prefer a bit longer of a workout, but as I've had absolutely no exercise routine as of late, this one has fit into my schedule well. Right now, I'm on Day 4.  Check it out!

So today starts Day 1 of the cleanse, so I'll check back in tomorrow to report about how the day went.  Until then!

The Master Cleanse Revisited

Ok, 3 years ago--whoa, was it really 3 years!?-- I successfully completed The Master Cleanse.  I've been wanting to do it once a year every year since then, however time and scheduling defeated me and I haven't found a good chance until now.  I'm pretty adamant about doing the cleanse during the summertime, therefore I've created a limited time for myself to pull it off.  Summertime = Sun = playtime = hot and sweaty = wants to drink more and eat less = the perfect time for Megan to complete a cleanse.

I'm super excited... I finally upgraded my phone yesterday and so now I have an awesome phone that can take fancy flip pictures like this one!

Why the hell would anyone drink that crazy lemonade mixture for 10 days straight (some people go for longer) you ask?  Well, recently I've realized that, despite being vegan, their is still delicious, healthy whole foods packed with nutrients, and there are still junk foods that are technically vegan, and my habits as of recently have leaned towards the latter.  I've been feeling sloppy, sluggish, and, as I mentioned in my previous post, just in a rut.  Last time I did the cleanse, I was using it as a way to start my body with a "fresh slate" before truly committing to vegetarianism.  I'd been vegetarian off and on my whole life, and for whatever reasons: gaps in consciousness, denial, and/or the fact that I needed to grow a pair and stand behind my values (all of the above), I hadn't yet made that transition official and I felt like a cleanse would be an appropriate way to finally step into my lifestyle.

I use the cleanse to detox from all of the bad foods I've been eating uninhibitedly, as well as clean out my digestive system to clear out toxins and make way for healthier eating/healthier habits.  It also makes me feel pretty empowered to take a challenge and complete it, so there's also the mental satisfaction that motivates me to do the Cleanse.

So, as of right now, I'm on the second day of easing on to the cleanse.  This means liquid juices throughout the day and a healthy plant-based dinner tonight.  Tomorrow will be an all juice kind of day ending with an herbal laxative to start me off on the cleanse on Thursday.  Yesterday I simply started my day off with a smoothie, ate a light lunch, and then celebrated memorial day with friends (with THESE awesome people!).  I admit, I drank beer which I probably should have cut out, but oh well, it was Memorial Day and we were with friends and I used it as a kind of "last Hurrah", so expect me to begin posting a daily (hopefully) journal of the Cleanse and how I'm feeling/faring.

Recently, I won a give-away!!!

 I've entered a bunch of give-aways, but I've never won one before, so I was stoked!  My new friend Bianca, at Vegan Crunk, posted this plug-in for Millie's Savory Teas.  They're Green Tea infused sipping broth and they're delicious!  Perfect for my three days of easing into the cleanse!  When I'm feeling hungry, I have all of these delicious flavors to sip on.  They're awesome.

I'm looking forward to this week and starting the Cleanse.  I may be a bit grumbly, but we'll see...we shall see....

So, to conclude, like last time I'll start with this info...

Start date: 5/29

End date: 6/7

Plus an additional three days easing into, three days easing out.

Starting weight: 131 lbs

(just to be clear, I'm not doing this for the weight loss, though it is a nice side benefit.  Once you're off the cleanse it is extremely easy to put the weight right back on, which is the incentive to begin making healthier eating choices, but my main goal is to get my body back to a healthier place.)

I look forward to writing more and catching up with you!  Talk to you later and wish me luck!

Worst blogger ever, just poppin' up to say hey!

Well, hello there!

Hello to anyone who may still be checkin into my blog here and there... thank you for stickin' around.  I've been struggling lately-- emotionally (feeling lost and without purpose)-- and I was perusing ye ole' blog and realized that I was really happy when I was keeping up with what I'm doing, writing about it, and having a resource to archive and share my experiences.  I have a terrible short term memory and blogging helps me to realize that, even if it seems like I'm moving slowly right now, there is progress being made with the projects/goals that I have begun.  Blogging, though I'm not very good at doing it consistently (hopefully I will remedy that) helps to keep me motivated, organized, and excited about what I'm doing.  So, I'm writing again.  This is going to be a long, catch-up post.

I pretty much left off after having left the farm, so let me catch you up real quick...

The farm...  such a heavenly place...

I couldn't exactly transplant Joey and the ladies to Watkins Glen, NY with no opportunity for a job there, however, I can't promise that I didn't seriously consider chaining Joey to a barn when he came up to visit in September.  Nevertheless, I was happy to get home to he and my ladies at the end of October.  It was extremely bittersweet, leaving an experience that you never thought that you would have, but somehow got lucky enough to work in.  The farm, the animals, and the people are constantly in my thoughts.

Coming home has been overwhelming, but it has been good.

While I was away, Joey was kicking ass staying busy with his creative pursuits and I couldn't be more proud of him.  Seeing how incredibly happy he has been with a busy, creative, and productive schedule has me overjoyed to see him so lit up, and creatively energized and motivated for the first time in years.  Simply put, it is fantastic.

Working on the play, Sunset Limited with his friend, and the director of the play, Chad.

Playing a small bit as Charlie Chaplin in one of the movies he and his friends have been working on.

AD'ing the hell out of "Lights, Camera, Bullshit"...

... and acting in 3 of the 5 pieces in the cylce of short plays in, "Claws".  His performance is SO badass.

For myself, coming home has been difficult.  The hard confession to make is that I always thought that I would have moved out of the city by now and, sometimes in my mind, that's where I feel I should be; in another city.  I'm always greedy for new life experiences.  However, Memphis is my home, and I never feel ungrateful to be here and I never get tired of what the city has to offer, as well as it's potential for the city that it can, and what I believe, will become.  I want to be a part of my Memphis as it grows, but it's been difficult figuring out how and where I can fit in to do that while still pursing my passions and interests and keeping a sane routine.  It's a tall order, I know.

So, for now, I'm working that out...  slowly...

I've been working at Imagine Vegan Cafe since November and I absolutely love my coworkers, the customers, and the conversations that ignite on a daily basis there.  Here, I feel like so much more than a waitress; I feel like a resource, a cheerleader, and a friend to so many people who come to the restaurant, and they return that knowledge, support, and friendship to me as well.

In June I will be teaching 3 classes that I have designed at Memphis College of Art's Summer Camp:

• One is based around people, Art for Us, and will cover our relationships with our fellow humans and how we can live compassionately with and towards one another to strive for better relationships, tolerance, and understanding of one another.  

• The second is based around animals, Artists for Animals, and will cover how to love, respect, and care for our fellow earthlings compassionately and steps that we can make to help out our furry friends, domesticated or wild.  The Memphis Humane Society has been amazing and has agreed to come speak to the kids during one of the class times with one of their dog ambassadors and, in exchange, I'm going to go teach an art lesson at their camp!!!

• The third is EnviroArt, where we will discuss how we enjoy, treat, and how we can protect the environment and how, creatively, we can make art that is as kind to the environment as it is beautiful and inspirational.  

I'm excited about being with kids again.  I have missed it.  I'm also extremely excited (and nervous!) about having been given the opportunity to lean towards a Humane Education curriculum + Art curriculum in a camp environment.  Let's cross our fingers that all goes well!

In the meantime, I've been working on a couple of other projects as well...

• I have begun the process of creating my own Art business, starting with stationary and notecards.  Meet Pepper Lou...

http://pepperlou.tumblr.com

I will be updating the tumblr site with current artwork, merchandise, and various other tidbits, so be sure to stop by over there from time to time.  

• I've also been working on an idea for a side project that I'm *truly* excited about.  Like... super excited/passionate about.  For right now it's simply, "The Green Binder Project".  I'm still working on fully realizing the idea and figuring out the logistics of it, but in the meantime, it's been keeping me motivated when I feel lost and useless.  I'm also super excited about the possibility of accomplishing something as a part of a team, and that's very much essential to the success of this idea.  I've discovered, more now than ever, that I very much enjoy being around people, no matter how socially awkward I may be at times, and, with a project built for the people, working with people to create something great for the community is the kind of work I want to jam on.  We'll see... we shall see...

So, that, in a nutshell is what I've been up to since I last posted.  I'm going to make it a goal to post at least once a week (probably on Monday's).  I may have random posts here and there, but for now I think that's doable.  

Hope you all (whoever may still be reading!) have been doing well!  Until next time!