Author: charleneaross

Liebster Blog Award #2

charleneaross10 Comments

Yes, Liebster Blog Award #2. In the words of my dear blogging buddy, Tina (and maybe someone else, almost as famous), “You like me! You really, really like me!” Thank you! I’m a little verklempt!

Liebster blog

Once again, the word Liebster means “dearest” or “favorite” in German, and the award is given as a form of recognition and support for smaller, up and coming blogs. Last week my fellow skirt blogger Demetria Foster Gray awarded me with a Liebster Award (#1).

This time I have been awarded by my blogging soulmate Tina Drakakis, known to the skirt blogging world as eyerollingmom. Tina and I started blogging around the same time for skirt and it was love at first word. I really like to think I’m hilarious, but compared to Tina, I’m only maybe a tiny bit funny. I’d be bitter with jealous of her superior wit and mad writing skills  if I just wasn’t so damn in love with her. She really (REALLY) needs to get a blog of her own! I would have awarded her the Liebster, but she awarded me first. I’d tell you to read her blog, but then you might stop reading mine! (I’m kidding. Read her blog. She’s awesome!)

Tina lives in Massachusetts (way to freaking far!) so we have become virtual BFFs. We email. We text. We’ve never actually spoken on the phone. I think we both fear that if we do we’ll never (ever) hang up and our poor husbands and children will have to fend for themselves for days. One day we will meet in person and when we do -watch out world- there will not be anyone, anywhere having more fun than us!

Here are the Liebster Award rules again:

  1. Answer your nominator’s eleven questions.
  2. Think of eleven questions of your own.
  3. Choose a few worthy bloggers (who have fewer than 500 followers) to interview and pay it forward.
  4. Make sure to inform the bloggers they’ve been nominated winners.

Here are my questions from Tina:

1.       What’s the one thing you regret blogging about?

Pretty early in my “blogging career” I worded some things poorly and came across as something I wasn’t and in the process really hurt some people I love dearly. I really do regret that.

2.       What’s the one food that – if taken out of existence – would ensure your skinnydom?

Definitely carbs. (Which I know is more of a food group than one food. But like a politician I can answer any way I want!) Life is short. I’d rather have tight jeans and eat french fries (and pasta and BREAD) than be a super-skinny mini and eat my cheese alone (instead of on a cracker where it belongs!)

3.       You have 2 children.  Which is your favorite?

You have 4 children. I’ll tell you my favorite if you tell me yours! (I’ll give you a hint though – one is my favorite son and the other is my favorite daughter.)

4.       Shower:  hand or washcloth?

Well, that’s a little personal. But as you know, my middle name might as well be TMI. At home, usually hand. (Less laundry that way, and I use bar soap.) But at a hotel – always a wash cloth.

5.       You could spend one hour with someone who’s passed.  Who is it?

My grandmother. Without a doubt. (And I’d make sure she gave Tammy a kiss when she got back.)

6.       What’s the one thing you did in high school you wish your kids NEVER do?

You know my mom reads my blog right? Haha! I was actually pretty tame in high school. I never even got drunk. (For reals!) Now college on the other hand…

7.       Favorite guilty pleasure…

I’m racking my brain for something really trashy that I love, but am coming up blank. (Must be because I’m so classy!) I do still love 80’s music. And chick flicks. Even ones that I know are bad. In fact those stupid teenage versions of chick flicks that are on Disney and Nickelodeon – I do love to watch those with Marley. Even though every minute I’m watching I know exactly what’s going to happen and that I’m totally wasting my time, but I can’t help it. (And after all, I am spending time with my daughter!)

I also really love to have a small glass of red wine with 3 or 4 sea salt dark chocolate covered almonds after dinner. Sea salted chocolate is the new crack!

8.       We’ve all cheated.  Diets, tests, boyfriends.  Fess up to one time.

Again, mother reads blog. (So does husband!) HA! I’m kidding! So let’s just say that maybe, perhaps, I’ve logged onto Scrabble Finder while playing Words with Friends a time or two. (Not that it ever helps me win!)

9.       What makes you happiest?

Hmmm… I love going to see a band I love, Love, LOVE in concert – like U2 or INXS. (yes, still, even without Michael Hutchence, see guilty pleasure above.) I love going to the beach – I’m ALWAYS happy there. But I think the times I am happiest is simply when I’m surrounded by people I love. I love being with my family at holidays. I love playing board games with my husband and kids. I love getting together with my girlfriends for a night out of wine and gossip. (And if there is a cute waiter to flirt with I’m even happier!)

10.    Favorite Real Housewife or Survivor contestant….or both.

Not a Real Housewives watcher. (I hate people with cleaner houses than me!) Without a doubt hot former NY fireman Tom Westman from Survivor. I Swooned over rooted for him the entire Palau season. And started watching Survivor again when he came back for Heroes vs. Villains.

Tom Westman winner Survivor Palau
Me likey….

11.    What would we be most surprised to learn about you?

Sometimes I’m very shy. (It’s true.)

Whew! Well, that was fun. (I think?) Thank you Tina for choosing me (I really am so touched!)

My Award Nominees…

For my second set of awards I would like to nominate two bloggers I have had the privilege of becoming friends with.

First, Julie Gardner and her awesome blog, By Any Other Name. Julie is a former English teacher (and my go-to grammar coach) who took an extended leave of absence from teaching so she could write. And thank god she did. Here words are gorgeous. She is funny and talented and her writing is just beautiful. Every time I read her blog I think, “I wish I could write like that.” We were turned on to each others blogs by a mutual friend and instantly knew that we must meet. Fortunately we live 15 minutes from each other (ahem, Tina!). We clicked instantly and are now each other’s biggest fans. I urge you to read her blog. You will love it!

My next award goes to my blogging mentor, Kim Tracy Prince and her blog House of Prince. Kim and I met when we were both writing for Patch.com and again – instant writing love and instant in-person chemistry. Kim has been blogging even longer than me (since 2006) and has actually figured out how to make money blogging. (I’m still working on that!) She is super-cool and a great writer. Like all the best blogs, she will often make you laugh or cry. I think she has well over 500 followers, but I’m a rebel and giving her the Liebster anyway!

Here are my questions for Kim and Julie:

1. What is your favorite season?
2. What was your favorite childhood toy?
3. If your life were a movie who would play you? (And who would play your husband?)
4. If you HAD TO give up wine or coffee for a month which would you choose?
5. What book can you read again and again?
6. What was the last film you saw in a cinema. That wasn’t animated.
7. We’re all moms. We’ve seen every single Disney movie. Which villain do you love best?
8. What is one item that is always in your purse?
9. What is your guilty pleasure? (Hey, I had to tell mine!)
10. Always…
11. Never…

Once again, thank you so much Tina! And congrats to Julie and Kim. You ladies are awesome. And I hope you have as much fun as I did!

Leibster Blog Award #1

charleneaross6 Comments

Wow! I’ve been selected for the Liebster Blog Award. The word Liebster means “dearest” or “favorite” in German, and the award is given as a form of recognition and support for smaller, up and coming blogs. (Who me?!)

And the most amazing thing is I’ve been awarded the Liebster Blog Award twice! That’s right – two amazing bloggers have given me this award. I am truly touched and honored – thank you!

First, my sincere thanks to Demetria Foster Gray, a fellow skirt blogger and writer of her own blog, Shaken But Not Stirred for selecting me as a blog favorite. It truly is a gift to be acknowledged by your blogging peers. Check out Demetria’s blog to experience her thoughtful and inspiring viewpoints. She is an incredibly talented writer.

Liebster Award rules:

  1. Answer your nominator’s eleven questions.
  2. Think of eleven questions of your own.
  3. Choose a few worthy bloggers (who have fewer than 500 followers) to interview and pay it forward.
  4. Make sure to inform the bloggers they’ve been nominated winners.

Here are my questions from Demetria:

1.   Why did you start blogging?

I started writing little slice of life essays and submitting them to national magazines – like Redbook and Parenting. Unfortunately all I received was a stack of rejection letters. (Really, magazines like that don’t want to take risks on unpublished writers?! Huh!) I stumbled upon skirt.com and applied to be a skirtsetter blogger. They said yes! Hooray! (Although, I’m pretty sure they say yes to everyone that applies. Oh well…) Blogging was a way for me to write and have my voice be heard. (And not get rejected.)

2.   If you could be granted three wishes, what would they be?

First, to have my book published, become a best seller and made into a movie starring Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper. (That’s one wish, right?) Second to win a smallish Lotto, say $10,000,000 -I really don’t want the responsibility of a ridiculous Lotto- just enough money to be able to vacation wherever and whenever I want, send my kids to whatever college they can get into, get a bigger house and have someone clean it, and to get daily private yoga and massages. Third for my kids to become happy, healthy, confident, well adjusted adults who enjoy life and never give into peer pressure to do things they don’t want to and shouldn’t do. (Hmmm, I probably should have listed that one first!)

3.   When you don’t want to be bothered, where do you go to hide?

As a mom of two kids hiding isn’t really an option. And I have a small house, so that doesn’t help. But usually if I go in my room and shut my door I can hide out for a little bit. (Like 10 minutes, maybe.) In my fantasy life I hide at the beach. But that never happens in real life.

4.   Sunny day or cloudy day? Which one and why?

Sunny, without a doubt. Why? I’m a SoCal girl born and raised. We like the sun!

5.   Exercise or TV? Which one and why?

Depends on the time of day. I like to exercise in the morning and watch TV at night. (I almost NEVER exercise after noon. Except for yoga – but that’s pretty rare.) Once the sun goes down I am a total couch potato.

6.   Pepsi or Coke? Which one and why?

I guess Coke. Diet Coke specifically. Or better yet – Tab. (A Coke product.) But honestly, I don’t drink very much soda. As a teenager and in college I was addicted to it. But now I only have two or three a month, if that.

7.   Sex or sleep? Which one and why?

I never seem to get enough of either. (Who has the time?)

8.   If you could ask God only one question, what would it be?

Why do you take children from their parents? Especially violently. It doesn’t make sense.

9.   What is the best age of your life and why?

I like the confidence that being in my 40’s brings. I just wish I had a bit (or a lot) more money to enjoy this time of my life.

10. If you had to eat only one type of food for the rest of your life what would it be?

Cheeseburgers

11. If you could change one physical trait about yourself what would it be?

If you had asked me this question most of my life -from puberty until just a few years ago- I would have said my thighs. I have saddlebags for days that poke out below my hips and don’t ever seem to firm up no matter how much I exercise. But to be honest, I’m now kind of used to them (I’m not saying I like them) and have a whole wardrobe built around how to camouflage them. But my upper arms the last few years – WTF? These batwing triceps have got to go! We SoCal girls need to be able to wear tank tops. And yes I do work out. My arms just haven’t seemed to have received the memo!

 My Award Nominees

I would like to nominate a couple of my skirt sisters for this first set of awards:

First Kim Sisto Robinson of skirt and her own blog, My Inner Chick. Kim and I both started blogging for skirt in 2008 and immediately fell in love with each other. Every time I read her words I cry or I laugh. Sometimes both. Her writing is so beautiful, I think you will fall in love with her too. She mostly writes about her sister, Kay, who was murdered by her husband two years ago. It’s heartbreaking and honest and raw. I think she has well over 500 followers because not only is she incredibly talented, but she is a cheerleader for everyone she reads. But I’m still nominating her because she is amazing. Take the time to read her blog!

Next I would like to nominate another skirt blogger Elizabeth Cassidy. Elizabeth truly has a unique outlook on life and makes me laugh (out loud) every time I read her funny words. She is a brilliant artist and former stand-up comedian. Her blog is called My Views from the Edge and is definitely worth checking out.

Here are my questions for Kim and Elizabeth:

1. What would you do if you won the Powerball Lotto?
2. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
3. If you could trade lives with anyone (from any period of time), who would you trade with?
4. Morning person or night owl?
5. Do you listen to music when you write or does it have to be silent?
6. What do you love most about your husband?
7. What is it about your husband that drives you absolutely insane?
8. What accomplishment are you most proud of?
9. If your life were to become a movie, who would you want to play you?
10. Your desk – messy or neat?
11. What are you reading right now?

Again, thank you so much Demetria for choosing me. It is truly an honor. And check back tomorrow when I accept Liebster Award #2 from another skirt! blogger – my bestie Tina. Her questions are kind of mean. (I would expect nothing less!) I think you’ll enjoy watching me squirm as I answer them!

Why Small Business Saturday Is Better than Black Friday

charleneaross3 Comments

Forget about Black Friday (please)! It’s all about Small Business Saturday. What is Small Business Saturday? It’s a brilliant marketing campaign by American Express encouraging people to shop local.

And while it is a marketing campaign, I really do like and agree with the message of it – let’s spend our money in our own town and with the small businesses that support it. Instead of heading off to Target or Walmart or Macy’s, why not look around your city at the little shops owned by locals and see what wonderful and unique things they have to offer?

Another great way to support small businesses is to shop online. It’s not quite the same thing as shopping local, but it is a great way to support a small-sized business with unique products and not pour even more money into mass merchandisers.

Here are a couple of small businesses I love that offer their products online:

Tomboy Vintage

I’ve already written about my friend Jeanne’s awesome new tee shirt company Tomboy Vintage. Her shirts are adorable and perfect for the tomboy in your life. She has six different styles for women and two styles for little girls. The only problem is picking out just one. (So go ahead and buy two or three!)

Here I am (as requested by Kim) in Jeanne’s latest design. (Is it me or is this picture really big?)

Tomboy Girl Power Tee Shirt
Girl Power!

Please note if you do buy a Tomboy Vintage tee shirt that they are sized for juniors and run a bit small – you may want to order a size up. (I usually wear a medium and am wearing a size large.)

Betty Belts

Betty Belts is another great company owned by a really cool woman named Donna von Hoesslin. I met Donna when I wrote this article about her for skirt.com. Talk about an incredibly interesting person – Donna went surfing for the first time at age 31 and it literally changed her life. So much so that the California native, who was living in Berlin, ended up moving back to California so she could surf all the time.

Donna is not only passionate about the environment, but about the people on our planet and treating them fairly. Donna creates environmentally friendly jewelry – her sea glass jewelry is her most popular- and has her jewelry made in Bali by artisans who are paid a fair, living wage.

sea-glass-necklaces
Sea glass necklaces designed and photographed by Donna von Hoesslin

Donna’s store, Betty Belts, is located in the Main Street area of Ventura, CA, but you can also buy her products online. In addition to the sea glass jewelry Donna also sells really cute earrings made from the leftover resin from making surfboards, silver jewelry, and super-cute belts.

surfboard resin earrings and necklace
Surfboard Resin Earrings and Necklace photographed by David Pu’u

Why buy costume jewelry made in China when you can buy something truly unique designed by a cool chick and made by a Balinese artisan who was paid a fair, living wage?

So that’s my Small Business Saturday plug. This holiday season why not shop small? (It’s so good for the soul!)

BTW – I was not compensated in any way for this post. These are just two really great companies (that happened to be owned by two amazing women) with fantastic products.

What small businesses do you plan on shopping at this holiday season?

Happy Thanksgiving

charleneaross2 Comments

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Today (and everyday) I am thankful for so many things… good friends, laughter, music, books, wine, coffee, my blog readers (all 10  of you – thank you so much!), living only 20 minutes from the beach, waking up to watch the sunrise every morning, beautiful sunsets, and our wonderful Southern California weather.

But above all, I am most thankful for this…

The loves of my life

What are you most thankful for?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Cabbage Soup Diet: The Day After

charleneaross11 Comments

It’s the day after the Cabbage Soup Diet and you know exactly what I did, don’t you? I did this:

Morning coffee
Hello precious!

That’s right! Coffee! (Can you hear the angels singing? Trust me – the did!) But I only had one cup instead of my usual two, so you’d better believe I savored every sip.

I re-lost that pound and a half that jumped back on me after my one cheat, making my total weight loss six pounds. Six pounds in seven days? I’ll take it! And I know, I know, now the trick is to keep it off.

I really do think I can do that. Like I said on Day Five of the Cabbage Soup Diet, I really noticed all the little things I was eating throughout the day that add up. Today I only had one cup of coffee instead of two. I never really enjoy that second cup of coffee as much as the first, so instead of having a second I switched to green tea.

At lunch I usually have half a sandwich and tortilla chips. (Followed by a second serving of tortilla chips.) Today I had half a sandwich and a cup of tomato and roasted red pepper soup from Trader Joe’s. (YUM!)

We had pasta for dinner, but I only had half a cup and put it in a bowl with a heaping serving of broccoli and marinara sauce. (And just a teaspoon of olive oil on the broccoli – it was delicious.) I didn’t put blue cheese crumbles in my salad and ate my salad with lemon instead of salad dressing. (I think I will usually eat salad dressing instead of lemon on my salad, but since I am going to not one, but two Thanksgiving dinners this week, I figure I’ll save my calories where I can.) Also, I had water with dinner instead of wine. Shockingly enough, after a week on the Cabbage Soup Diet, I got used to having water for dinner and kind of lost my craving for wine. Again, I’m not giving up wine with dinner forever, but don’t think I’ll have it this week until my Thanksgiving food orgies on Thursday and Saturday.

I won’t lie, last week wasn’t fun. Sometimes it was even rather hellish. But I do feel lighter. My stomach is flatter. My pants fit better. I’m happy with the results. But would I do the Cabbage Soup Diet again? I hope I never have to.

Today my Yogi Green Tea fortune said this:

Yogi Green Tea Fortune
You’re beautiful!

But I’m not sure if it was talking to me or that glorious cup of coffee.

By the way, in case you missed it, here is the complete diary: Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, Day Seven

Cabbage Soup Diet Diary: Day Seven

charleneaross2 Comments

Hazzah! Day Seven of the Cabbage Soup Diet! Do you know what that means? It means tomorrow I get coffee!

First the bad news. I gained back a pound and a half from my dinner-with-friends-cheat so now my net weight loss is 5 pounds. I know that’s still really good for six days, but I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t bummed. However, I believe in living life to the fullest, and I’ll take a pound and a half hit in exchange for a fun evening with good friends any day. I just know that today I have to be really careful.

And I will also confess that I’m a bit scared – today is brown rice and vegetables. The dreaded carbs! I’ve done this Cabbage Soup Diet before and gained back weight from Day Seven. But I think that perhaps I was a little lax on Day Seven in the past and also probably dipped a little too much into the rice. Cabbage Soup Diet Tip #7: Don’t stick your face into that bowl of rice. Try to eat more vegetables than rice. Also, ignore Diet Tip #3 – stop being lazy!

Yes, if you haven’t started working out again, today is a great day to start. Today I took my dog on a two mile walk first thing in the morning, came home and had some brown rice, butternut squash and spinach for breakfast, went to the gym and worked out on the treadmill for 40 minutes, came home and had lunch (the same thing I had for breakfast) and then before dinner I took my dog for another walk. (Only a little over a mile this time.) That may be a little extreme, but I wanted to be sure to walk off that cheat dinner and make sure the brown rice didn’t stick.

Cabbage Soup Diet Brown Rice and Vegetables
Breakfast (and lunch) of (Diet) Champions

For dinner I made Mandarin Orange Chicken from Trader Joe’s (a staple in our household) with broccoli and brown rice. Of course I didn’t eat the chicken. I also realized that I hadn’t had any soup today and ate the last of the soup. (Thank god!)

Today I felt really great. Working out made me hungry, but not famished. I had all of my energy back – which admittedly at my age is marginal at best. But I was able to tidy up the house, clean both bathrooms and do three loads of laundry and I didn’t need a nap. (You are jealous of my rock star life aren’t you?)

Be sure to check in tomorrow when I give a Cabbage Soup Diet recap and let you know my total weight loss. (And thanks so much for reading about my crazy crash diet ride!)

Cabbage Soup Diet Diary: Day Six

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Cabbage Soup Diet Diary Day Six: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: I lost another pound from meat day and have lost a total of six pounds –6 pounds!- in just 5 days. Hooray!

The Bad: Still hard to sleep. I’m hoping it will go away after this Cabbage Soup Diet is over. It’s weird though, I really did think it would stop after adding protein. (Maybe it really is the fat melting away!)

The Ugly: I cheated.

Sigh… I didn’t want to, but we had plans for dinner at some friends’ house, so I didn’t really have much of a choice. Cabbage Soup Diet Tip #6: DO NOT SOCIALIZE while on this diet. It is impossible to stay on it if you do. I don’t think it would have been the best manners for me to call my hostess and ask her to only serve beef and plain vegetables at her dinner party. And I couldn’t postpone because these are friends that we haven’t seen for years and this was the only date that would work.

I didn’t do too badly. Of course I should have turned down the champagne that was offered to me. But I felt like celebrating. Once we got there we realized that we hadn’t gotten together for dinner in almost ten years! (That’s what happens when you keep in touch via email and run into each other at the soccer fields and grocery stores – you feel like you actually see each other.) So I had a few glasses of champagne (champagne flutes are small) before dinner and a glass and a half of red wine at dinner. (Yeah, yeah, I know, mixing red wine and champagne – not the smartest choice!) For dinner I had Asian barbecued beef (yay!), vegetables stir fried in soy sauce and a sweet chili sauce (okay, close) and some rice noodles (I should have skipped that, but it was just a small serving). I brought a lemon cake for desert and had one very small bite and my girlfriend had a flourless chocolate cake and I had one teeny tiny bite (even though I really wanted more). That’s it. Like I said – not too bad. But I am afraid to get on the scale tomorrow and see if I’ve gained.

I knew I’d end up cheating, so I actually went to the gym in the morning. I know that one of my diet tips was to be lazy, but since I’ve added meat back into my diet I have more energy and knew I could handle a trip to the gym. It actually felt great to be there, but when I got back I was really hungry and probably ate more beef than I should have. Especially since I knew I’d be going out to our friends’ for dinner.

Oh well.

Tomorrow is the last day. Thank god!

Cabbage Soup Diet Diary: Day Five

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Cabbage Soup Diet Diary Day Five – first the good news: Hello Meat! Now the bad news. I only lost half a pound on banana day. I know, I know, that’s still a lot and I’ve lost 5 pounds in only four days. But I always want more! More, More, MORE! (Usually more food!)

But Cabbage Soup Diet Day Five – Meat Day! Meat Day! How I adore you Meat Day!

This is what I had for breakfast:

Cabbage Soup Diet Day Five Beef
Even better than a baked potato!

Roast beef rolls with horseradish (horseradish as zero calories so I don’t think that’s cheating) and tomatoes. Delish! I didn’t need to eat again until lunch. For lunch I had a bowl of soup and a couple more roast beef rolls.

After lunch I went out and ran a bunch of errands and was gone for five hours. This was the first time this week I’ve gone five hours straight (except when I was sleeping) without food. And I wasn’t hungry! The only problem was I left my water bottle at home and was really thirsty. Cabbage Soup Diet Tip #5: Drink lots of water. Especially on meat day. (And don’t forget your water bottle!)

Also the great thing about today was I got to eat the same dinner as my family for the first time in five days. That was nice. (I think they liked that too.) I barbecued hamburgers. Mine was six ounces! The bummer was I didn’t get to put cheese and mayonnaise on it like I usually do (probably has a lot to do with why I need to lose weight in the first place) but it was still delicious. I did put on Gulden’s brown mustard and dill pickles. I guess that technically counts as cheating – but we’re talking an extra 10 calories and no fat so I don’t care. (And no, I didn’t have a bun. I actually almost never have a bun when I eat hamburgers at home.)

I guess I also technically cheated as I made a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers when I was only supposed to be having tomatoes. But I figure if I’m supposed to eat the soup, which is all vegetables, I can have a salad. I did not put dressing on the salad – just squeezed some lemon juice on it. It was actually pretty good. We eat salad most nights with dinner. I always make my own balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing because it’s healthier and tastes better, but I might try the lemon trick a couple of times a week to keep the weight off. Of course I usually throw some blue cheese chunks in the salad too. Might have to also stop doing that. GRRR!

The strictness of this Cabbage Soup Diet has actually made me hyper aware of all the little things I usually eat throughout the day that I don’t think about. In the morning when I put cream cheese on Marley’s bagel I’ll scrape the excess cream cheese off the knife with my finger and lick it off my finger. (Mmmm… cream cheese!) When I put cheese on cheeseburgers, if I’ve cut  a little too much I’ll eat the extra. Yesterday a pretzel fell on the table when lunches were being packed and usually I’d just pop it in my mouth. These are all very small things, but they all add up. I’m going to try very hard to stop doing those things when this diet is (thankfully) over.

The achy pain is getting better, but it’s still there and it’s still difficult to get to sleep. I have a new theory though. I think it’s the fat just melting away. Hmmm… not likely, but to make myself feel better I think I’ll stick with that!

Just two more days to go. (And more meat on Day Six. Hooray!)

Cabbage Soup Diet Diary: Day Four

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Cabbage Soup Diet Diary Day Four – I made it over the hump.

The Good

I lost another pound and a half which puts my three day total at 4.5 pounds! Four and a half pounds in three days – that’s better than the flu. (And for the most part not quite as unpleasant!)

Also, today, for the first day I wasn’t really hungry. I woke up and had a banana milkshake made with two bananas, one cup of fat free milk, a little bit of cinnamon, a dash of vanilla, and some ice. Yum! I ate a banana around ten o’clock, the soup for lunch, another shake around three o’clock (which actually made me really full), and another bowl of soup for dinner. You can have up to eight bananas and as much milk as you want, but I only had four and a half bananas and two cups of milk.

Cabbage Soup Diet Day Four Banana Shake
Oh yes, my shake was overfloweth!

We did eat an early dinner so we could attend a high school concert and got home late and I will admit I was pretty hungry when I went to bed, but I didn’t want to eat a banana at ten o’clock at night so I just fell into bed and actually slept like a rock.

The Bad

I don’t really like bananas. Well, I should modify that – I don’t completely dislike them, I’m just very picky about them. If I’m going to have bananas in a shake I like them very ripe. They are much sweeter that way. If I’m just going to eat them, they need to be the perfect shade of just-a-little-bit green. Cabbage Soup Diet Tip#4: Buy your bananas so they’ll be at the ripeness you like on Day Four. (So if you do your shopping on Sunday to start the diet Monday and like very ripe bananas buy yellow ones instead of green ones. If you like green bananas shop just a day or two before.) In fact on Day Two I hid my ripe bananas so no one else would eat them. (Look, don’t mess with a cranky diet lady’s diet food!)

Cabbage Soup Diet Day Four Bananas
Shake bananas on the left and eating bananas on the right!

The Ugly

Remember that weird pain I talked about on Days Two and Three? Well, last night it came on with a vengeance! My lower back and legs were killing me. I could not sleep, I was in so much pain. My poor husband. I don’t know how he slept (but he’s a man, so he did) with all the tossing and turning I did. Even with three Advil and a Melatonin it took me forever to fall asleep on Night Three into Day Four. I do not know if it is due to lack of protein or my body detoxing, but I will tell you this – it hurt and I did not like it one bit. (BTW, if it was my body detoxing, my body must have been pretty “toxed”!)

I really do think the bananas and milk helped though, because I’m feeling much better today.

And tomorrow – tomorrow is meat day. Can you hear the angels sing? (I can and they are singing Hallelujah!) I have rare roast beef sitting in my fridge, waiting for me. (And you’d better believe I’m waiting for it. Hello Mr. Beef. Get in my belly!)

Cabbage Soup Diary: Day Three

charleneaross4 Comments

Stupid Cabbage Soup Diet! Yesterday I woke up to a yummy buttery baked potato. Today I get butternut squash and pomegranate seeds. I like butternut squash and pomegranate seeds, but I’d rather have a buttery baked potato. I’m already dreaming of the banana milkshake I’ll be having for breakfast tomorrow.

Also, I miss coffee. Yogi Green Tea is fine. In fact I really like it and it gives me (some of) the caffeine boost I need, but it’s just not the same as my decadent hell-of-a-lotta-cream-and-sugar coffee. I know the cream and sugar isn’t great if you’re trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight, but I only drink 2 cups a day and it makes me happy. I’m 47-years-old. I like things in life that make me happy. I’m not giving up my damn coffee. Well, except for this week.

Yogi Green tea fortune
The only thing multiplying is the hunger in my stomach

I lost another pound and a half, so that’s three pounds in two days. That might be worth giving up coffee for a week. Maybe. (Oh and if any of you are wondering if I’m ever going to disclose how much I weigh – forget it. I’ve already told you how old I am. That’s all you get to know!)

It was a little harder to sleep last night. I forgot the Melatonin because I was so tired (probably from depriving my body of calories) I just sort of fell into bed. I woke up in the middle of the night with that achy muscle deterioration/body detoxing whatever it is pain, but it wasn’t too bad.

I’m not going to lie. I thought this would be a little easier today because of the variety of fruits and vegetables, but it’s not. I’m never tempted to cheat, but I’m conscious almost all day long that I really don’t have enough food in me. At least not the right kind of food.

The morning wasn’t too bad. I had my pomegranate and squash for breakfast, then about an hour later I had some mango, avocado and grapes. That held me over until my delicious (notice the italics to emphasize my sarcasm) cabbage soup diet soup for lunch. Okay, so lunch was at 11:30. But still. That’s not too bad. I snacked all afternoon on snap peas and mini peppers.

Gas-X continues to be my friend. (For the most part.)

Cabbage Soup Diet Tip #3: Do not work out. Be lazy! One of the biggest bummers for me about this diet (you know other than the extreme hunger) is that I can’t work out. Well, it doesn’t say that you can’t work out, but I just don’t have the energy. Or the strength. I know that some of you will look at this as an advantage, but I actually like going to the gym and it kind of seems ironic that to lose weight quickly I have to give up working out for a week.

For dinner I roasted some vegetables and okay, okay, I cheated! I put on the tiniest bit of olive oil on my vegetables. I couldn’t help it. I wanted my roasted asparagus to taste good. (And it did – it really, really did!) But I didn’t slather it on like I usually do. I just sprayed some on with one of those little Misto Olive Oil Sprayers, so even though it is oil, it comes out more like Pam and it’s really just a tiny bit.

Tonight I made my family breakfast for dinner – scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese, bacon, hash brown patties and toast and I did not lick my bacony fingers or sneak one bite. So that has to count for something right?

Again, off to bed early. I think I’m going to dream of the bananas smoothie I’ll be having tomorrow!