I started a cleanse today. I have never done an "all-the-way" cleanse before, meaning I would do some of the things they said, but fudge it here and there. I decided that it was high time to do a bit of detoxing in this body of mine, though. I have many indicators that my body needs it: the most persistent is my continuing psoriasis, most evident on my legs and upper arms, and my occasional struggles with constipation. (Did you know you're supposed to go 2-3 times per day? I had never heard of such a thing! Up till now, I was happy to go once a day, but apparently this is still the symptom of a sluggish liver.) Other indicators are the perpetually runny nose I have, and a recent lack of energy and drive that's been rearing it's lackadaisical head.

I had originally intended to do a raw-fruits-and-vegetables fast from bedtime last night until supper tonight, only. Then, this morning, I looked at the "cleansing kit" box that has been sitting on my counter for over a year, heaved a sigh, and decided it was finally time to take the plunge.

Why such reticence? Well, whilst I have given up many of my former sugar-junkie ways, I still have a certain dependence, shall we say, upon grains in my diet, which the cleanse is requiring me to give up for two weeks—to "reset" the hypothyroid gland and regulate insulin levels in my system. Although I am allowed to eat as much as I want of a wide variety of foods which are already incorporated into my diet, the idea of giving up carbs completely made me want to run screaming in the other direction so fast that I left my panties behind nervous. The only grain or legume on the "okay" list for the next two weeks is lentils.

This is a legume I rarely consume, as it causes some rather obnoxious side effects in my system, making those around me demand that I supply gas masks if that's how I'm going to be, dangit. Oh, and I also have to give up bananas, tropical fruit, and all fruits, in fact, except berries, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. (Glad I have a half-dozen grapefruit and a dozen lemons in the cooler right now. What the heck am I going to do with a dozen lemons?!)

Despite all this, the thing that worries me the most, and was the biggest cause of procrastination on my part, was that I have to give up tea. Not herbal tea. (You know, that stuff that tastes-just-like-hot-water-with-some-colour-thrown-in-to-make-it-seem-like-tea.) Just black teas. But, for some strange reason, I am allowed to drink a moderate amount of coffee, which I usually avoid because it does not agree with me very well.

I can do this, I told myself this morning as I made myself a kefir shake for breakfast (bananaless, of course).

I can do this, I told myself as I was preparing lunch for the passel of kids in the house today--sloppy joes on home-made multi-grain bread. I was proud that I had not even had a craving for tea that morning, but this isn't all that uncommon, and really, I'd only been "cleansing" for a few hours by then.

I intended to skip the bread for my lunch, giving it all to the kids, but in the fluster of dishing up six children's plates, I accidentally gave myself a half-piece of bread, too--I was half-done eating it before I even realized what I'd done.

Dangit.

My first set-back. Still getting in the habit of being grain-free.

I can do this, I told myself again after lunch, but for some reason I seemed to be on a short leash to the hot water kettle. I kept fluttering about the kitchen, not really having anything to do, not being able to settle on anything, but not being able to leave, either. When I figured out that my movements all seemed to settle on the kettle, I decided to go downstairs and move some laundry along.

While down there, I remembered—I can have herbal tea! Maybe that will satisfy the force of habit well enough to leave it alone.

I will drink herbal tea in dire situations; for instance, if my throat is sore, I usually make a concoction of peppermint and licorice to soothe it, and it works wonders. Occasionally, if I really have consumed enough caffeine in a day, but want something toasty between my fingers and in my belly, I'm particular to a naturally-sweet flavour called "Bengal Spice," or Good Earth's "Sweet & Spicy." But it's pretty rare. Most days, I'm drinking tea because I need a little energy-booster at around 2 p.m., and having a cat-nap is not an option.

Nonetheless, I made it most of the way through my Bengal Spice by the time Jason came home--two hours later. It satisfied the habitual hand-to-mouth sipping in my muscle memory, but not the lingering drag I felt. Oh, well.

With the kids sent home, I got supper on the table.

I can do this, I said again, as I skipped the baked potatoes and had liberal amounts of steamed broccoli and cheese with my boiled eggs.

Wait! No I can't! I CAN'T do this! I'm fading...melting! Melting!

The dreaded post-supper drag had hit. I decided to pull out the big guns. It was time for: coffee.

Guess we'll see if it was worth it when I'm falling asleep—at 3 a.m.!

Anyway, Jason went to play squash after the kids went to bed, and I did some practicing on ye olde plastic ivories. I got to fooling around, and discovered that "The Blue Danube Waltz" sounds pretty cool if you play it entirely on the pizzicato strings instrument. So, I thought I'd share!

Have a great weekend!