Home Remedies

Well, this marathon is trying to kill me! Did I tell you that I have a personal trainer now? He is also trying to kill me. The first time I met with him, he said to me, "Okay, do 15 push ups." I looked at him, decided he was serious, and replied, "I appreciate you thinking I'm capable of something like that, but trust me, I can't do 15." Can I just tell you that this man not only had me do 15 push ups, but he had me do THREE sets of 15. Mind you, I was about to die after the first seven, but I struggled through the others. I am leaving out that this was circuit training, meaning that he had me doing other types of painful resistance exercises in between the push up torture. And at the end of these workouts, which he switches up on me, he always applauds my strength, determination and my not getting sick. I secretly think that he hopes that I will vomit one day. You know that I watch Biggest Loser and that Jillian tells the contestants that if they don't vomit then they aren't working hard enough. Ummm...not sure I agree with that. I've worked pretty hard before and not lost my lunch.

So needless to say, after this first workout, I anticipated that my body would hurt worst than I could imagine. I patiently waited, and sure enough, the next day I could barely lift my arms. I was complaining to my mom about how sore I was and she said, "I don't know why you don't believe me that Vic's VapoRub relieves sore muscle pain." I just shook my head and thought, "people and their home remedies." But nevertheless, I heavily applied Vic's to my triceps, biceps, shoulders and upper back. I slept well that night and was thoroughly surprised when I awakened and could lift my arms! That's right folks, I was no longer crippled by my stiff muscles.

I was reminded of that movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Remember that? In the movie, her dad was convinced that Windex was the cure all to any and everything. You have a zit? Put some Windex on it. And voila! Problem solved.

There is also the Chris Rock stand up, where he talks about his father being convinced that Robitussin is the cure all. He says that his dad used to tell them to put "Tussin" on their cuts and scrapes. "Dad, I broke my arm!" "Boy, you better go put some tussin on it."

I'm wondering now, after my miraculous recovery with the Vic's, if there is any truth to the Windex or Robitussin theory. I don't know if I'm courageous enough to try, but I implore you to do so, if you feel so inclined.

Fireman Bachelor Auction

I got an email from my friend Tiffani, on Wednesday, asking me if I wanted to go to the Fireman Bachelor Auction...."Um..yeah", was my response. Of course I wanted to go. I didn't know that these things really existed. Obviously I'd heard about them, but I just thought they were urban legends or mythical beings...like unicorns. Well, I found my unicorn yesterday and it was FUN!!!

When I got the flier, the first thing I noticed was that there were two levels of tickets: general admission and VIP. Naturally, I wanted to know what VIP included and tried to figure out if it was doable. It was more than reasonable, but I needed 7 other ladies to go in on it with me. The deal was that you buy a booth and you get a fireman server, champagne, appetizers and dessert, a goodie bag and the best seats in the house. Or, you could pay a few bucks less, get nothing and stand for four hours. To me, it was a no brainer. However, aside from Tiffani, I didn't know anyone to ask.

So, yesterday, we're standing in line waiting to buy our tickets and we were still talking about how we wanted VIP. We decided to "work the line" and get other ladies to go in on it with us. Well, being that outgoing people that we are, we were super successful and our night was AMAZING! We had a few issues with the service and the website being misleading, as far as what was offered and included in our package. But once we spoke with management, let them know it was unacceptable and told them what we expected, it was all cleared up and better than we ever could have imagined!

I think back on last night and am reminded that all life is is a series of choices. If I would have decided that it wasn't worth it to ask random people to go in on a table with us, or if I had decided to not tell management we were unhappy, then my night would not have been nearly as spectacular. I met some great people last night, and I'm not only talking about the firemen. LOL. Although, they were great. But, I'd like to think that if I make the most of every situation, then I won't ever have to look back and think "what if". "What if I would have only asked?" My mantra has always been, "If worst case scenario is that someone says 'No', then what is there to lose? A no will only leave you with what you already had. A yes can turn your world around."

Pilates

I can't just disappear for a month and every time I resurface, start my blog off with a surprised statement about how I've disappeared. It's old. I get it.

I finally broke down and joined the gym next to my house, mainly because I live in the dessert and it's freaking hot, and because I was bored of the work out DVDs that I have. My theory was that I could join a gym, and I would have options. I was right! Not only do I have options, but I have HEAVILY air conditioned options. That's the best!

I should also tell you that somewhere between me not blogging and me joining a gym, I decided to run a marathon. No, I didn't already run it...I just started to really think on planning to train for one. Haha. Needless to say, joining the gym was the first step in the 26.2 mile direction.

Yesterday I packed my gym bag, went to work, and then left work and immediately went to the gym. I was very excited to A) start running again B) start running in my new gym, and C) start running in my new gym's cardio theater. What is cardio theater, you ask. I'll tell you. (I was excited about this too.) It's a theater room and instead of comfy chairs, there are exercise bikes, treadmills and elyptical machines. They play a different movie every day! Yesterday was Terminator 3. I would have preferred 2, but I was okay with 3. I did learn something about myself. I learned that I am completely incapable of jogging and watching action movies. I almost fell of the treadmill about 3 times! Yeah. There would be a loud explosion and fight scene, and for some reason, my first reaction was to stand and watch. Well, you can't just stand and watch when you are RUNNING on a treadmill. I had to grab the bar SEVERAL times. It was fun though, despite the many near death encounters. I thought they were brilliant for coming up with that!

Today I thought I would take it easy and go to pilates for some stretching and "light" strength building. I should have gotten up and left when the instructor said, "my pilates class is different. I like to call my class intense pilates." Intense pilates? Yep, intense pilates. Then, THEN, she asked us to keep and open mind and proceeded to work us senseless. My poor, poor body! My easy, stretch, recovery day was shot by intense pilates. Now I need a recovery day from the recovery day. It was a good ab workout though....I'll probably go back on Thursday.

Oh Wow

I can't believe it's been over a month since I blogged. You would think that with a new job I would have lots to write about, but the reality is that I really don't. I find myself very tired lately and I am convinced that allergies are out to kill me. I woke up several times the other night because my heard hurt too bad to sleep. I know you're wondering why I didn't take any medicine, and it might just be easier to lie than to tell you the truth. The truth being that I'm a tad bit paranoid about having a brain aneurysm and dying, and since that apparently feels like the worst headache of your life, then I don't want to mask that with Advil or something else. Make sense? See...don't judge me. It's a legit fear...that and roaches....

So I love my job. I'm learning a lot and meeting some great people. I love the idea of helping people, and I love even more that what I do can really make a difference. Yay! With all of that being said, I'm gonna try to meet more people and have fun stuff to tell you about. It really is a shame that making friends costs money. I've said this before, but you can be broke and still have your good friends, because your good friends don't mind doing free things with you, like going to the park or watching a movie at your place. But when you're just starting out a friendship, I think we can all agree that it's a tad creepy to have someone ask you if you want to come hang out at their house. Nope. I don't know you, I won't be doing that. Thanks.

Til next time! Hopefully sooner than later. I really did miss this.

The Greyhound

I was gone out of town for a few days to spend some time with my dad's side of the family. I rode out there with my parents, but they came back before me, so I caught the Greyhound home. Can I just tell you that if you just listen to what people around you say, it can make for a pretty interesting ride!

There was a lady sitting a couple of rows behind me who was talking about one bus trip she took where someone sold a sandwich, chips and soda meal for $5. She then said, "Imagine, if you sell 20 of those for $5, you'll make like $75." In my head, I thought, "Hmmm...are you sure it's not more like $100?" But who was I to tell her she was wrong.

There was another woman in the front of the bus who was taking her whole family to Circus Circus, but she kept calling it Circus City. Finally, her daughter in law said, "Circus City is that computer store! We're going to Circus Circus."

So that was just a bit of entertainment for me.

My Twitter

I'm only talking about this because clearly I need to carry a notebook with me to write my blog topics in. I remember lying awake last night thinking of the most brilliant blog ever, but now, now that I'm actually at the computer and about to blog, I am drawing a blank. But I remember how great it was and how easily it flowed in my head last night. Sigh. Alas, it is gone and all I have to talk about is how bad I am at twitter.

For those of you who don't have twitter, twitter is fun at first, but quickly gets old. But I assume...Oh my God! I just remembered what I wanted to talk about!!! Twitter reminded me because I follow Lil Wayne and it's been boring ever since he went to jail. Ding ding ding! I wanted to talk about celebrities who go to prison and what it's like for them on the inside. Man, sometimes if you just talk it out, you will get to where you need to be.

My question is this: When celebrities go to prison, what is the setup? Is Lil Wayne just in the mix with all of the other criminals, or is he somewhere like Martha Stewart was? Does Lil Wayne have protection or is he just exposed and in trouble if he drops the soap? Am I the only person who wonders these kinds of things? I was just thinking about that. A lot of rappers go to jail and I was just wondering what the situation is for them. Perhaps they come out more "hardened" than before, or maybe it's just a publicity stunt. Maybe they don't even go to jail, but if the public thinks that you did, then you sale more records.

In conclusion, hurry back Lil Wayne, twitter needs you.

The Warrior

Today marks the first day of the fourth week of working out. That is right folks, I have been working out religiously since March 1st, with the exception of Saturdays and Sundays. I decided this weekend that my body is probably getting used to my Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs DVDs, and that I should mix it up. Well, coincidentally, there is a treadmill in my house. So today I woke up, put on the workout gear, and hopped on the treadmill. I started off with a "brisk" walk and quickly worked my way up to a jog. Mind you, I hadn't jogged in I don't know how long and I've never been one to do long distances. Today, however, with my Jay-Z CD playing and my pure determination, I breezed my way through a mile and a half. It was effortless and it left me feeling invincible! Mid run, I started to think about everything that had been bothering me and I just felt all of it falling off. I didn't have a care in the world. I'm thinking that jogging may be the way to go, and I'm excited to incorporate jogging into my weekly regiment.

Have you seen this?

I'm a little late on this one, but you'll just have to forgive me. This happened earlier this week and I'm sure you've all heard about it by now.

Apparently there is a 600 pound woman in NJ who is striving to acheive the title of "World's Fattest Woman". She already holds the title for "World's Fattest Mother". Now, I know you guys know that I am a huge advocate for people following their dreams, but this takes it to a whole new level. In my mind, this is just a slow suicide. She claims that she isn't hurting anyone, but obviously she failed to take her two children into consideration. Dear Donna Simpson, if/when you eat yourself to death, your children will be motherless. Is this the kind of future that you envisioned for them? Do you want your children to grow up thinking that it is okay to consume 12,000 calories a day?

So, Donna, while I appreciate you having goals, I must admit that I don't buy yours. I think that your goal is more of way out and that are clearly some deeper issues at play here. Maybe you see 600 pounds as an obstacle and decided to make lemonade out of your lemon situation. So instead of deciding to lose 400 pounds, you've opted to gain instead. I don't mind that my tax payer money is being used to provide medical assistance to a growing epidimic, after all, I have to pay taxes and the money has to go somewhere.

Donna is 42 years old and fully capable of making her own decisions and suffering the consequences. I do have a problem with bad parents and there is no telling how these actions will affect her children. It's a head shaking, heart hurting situation and the worst part is that someone will see her story and try to top it.

If you haven't seen the article, then please use the link below to check it out. It's really sad that this is what our world is coming to. Have we really run out of options and the only thing left is to out fat each other?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/16/donna-simpson-nj-woman-ea_n_501245.html

Our Family Wedding

On Saturday, my cousin asked me if I wanted to go to a movie. Of course I wanted to go to a movie. I love going to movies, so I went. I had seen a quick preview of "Our Family Wedding", but I hadn't made in plans to go see it. You know how you see previews and think, "Man, I can't wait to see that"? Well, this was not one of those times, but like I said, I love movies.

My cousin and I got our snacks and our seats and the movie began. Within the first ten, or maybe five minutes of the movie, I knew that I wasn't going to like it. The acting was immediately painful and the plot didn't seem to make any attempts to carry the movie. 30 minutes later my cousin asked me if I wanted to leave. Maybe it was me being an optimist or maybe it was me being naive, but I couldn't help but think that the movie would turn around. Clearly, I was mistaken. Always trust your instincts.

It's true what they say, you can't make up lost time. I wasted almost two hours of my life on Saturday. I looked at my cousin in the middle of the movie and said, "I don't love you anymore." Yeah, the movie was that bad. I also told her that if this was a first date, I would have refused to see her again after this movie because she picked it and it spoke volumes about her character and judgment. Of course I realized that taking back my love for her and "breaking up" with her was harsh, so I just told her that she was no longer allowed to pick movies for us anymore.

I hope that I have spared you guys the pain that my cousin and I had to endure, by saving you from seeing that movie. The crazy thing is that there were people in there who were really laughing. Amber, my cousin, was looking around the theater and asked me, "Are they watching the same movie we're watching?" I said, "Apparently not."

Who do you think you are?

Have you guys seen the preview for this show? Well, I saw one the other day and it was of Sarah Jessica Parker finding out that her great grandma, or someone, was accused of being a witch in the Salem witch trials. In the preview, she says, "This changes everything about who I thought I was." As I watched that, I thought, "How?" How does finding out that someone you didn't even know was accused of being a witch change things? I could see if she found out that she was a quarter Asian or something that was actually persona altering.

I can remember the day that I found out that I was part European. I was shocked. SHOCKED. I know that you are reading this and thinking, "Have you seen yourself? You couldn't have thought that you were a full blooded African." Well, in my defense, I was 10 when my granddaddy told me that the slave owner had procreated with my great great grandmother, and that the little white boy that I played with all the time was actually my cousin. When I got to school the next day, I couldn't wait to tell him. "Ben, did you know that we're cousins?!" In my mind, I couldn't figure out what could be better than finding out you were related to someone you were already such good friends with. But reality set in with his response, "Yeah I know, but I can't claim you." I just stared at him. Even at the age of 10, I knew what that meant.

I'm not trying to say that SJP couldn't have been profoundly impacted by finding out that her ancestor was accused of being a witch. I'm not in the belittling people's experiences business; I'm just saying that I expected more. Brooke Shields found out that she stemmed from royalty. I will agree that that has an impact on who you thought you were.

Inspired by watching Oprah today, I set out to find out more about myself. I always knew that I was part European on my mom's side and part Native American on my dad's. I guess it was just a few years ago that I found out that I was also part European on my dad's side. French and English, to be exact. But even with these genealogical discoveries, I'm still left empty. For starters, I only have pieces of information about my mom's mother's side of the family and my dad's mother's side. I don't know anything about either of my grandfather's sides. There is no telling what I could find there. But more importantly than all of that, I would just like to know the story. What kind of strength do I come from? What kind of passions?

As an African American, I think that it's easy to have some sort of sense of where you came from. Not geologically, but capability wise. When you look back at the history of African Americans, you see a group of people who were strong beyond all belief. To be taken from your home, your country, your family, only to end up thousands of miles away in the worst conditions imaginable, and to rise up from that. I think that it is great to have that sort of motivation behind you, behind me. Anything that I am going through is not nearly as bad as what my ancestors suffered, and rose up from. They paved the way for me and I refuse to let their efforts be in vain. I look at my Native American ancestors and I see fighters and lovers of nature and life. I look at my English roots and see people who didn't want to stay in England and live under the king's rule anymore, and decided to leave to make a better life for themselves. No wonder I'm such a nomad; it's in my blood, I'm always looking for the best conditions. And to my French roots: I understand where I get my love for food, especially pastries. Yummy!

Ancestry.com costs about $30 a month if you sign up for the worldwide one. I think that with the little bit that I know about my ancestors, it would be dumb for me to think that I only needed to trace back in the US. I'm looking forward to finding out more about me, and learning about what makes me who I am. Of course, it would be a lot easier if some tv show would just fund it and do all the research for me.

A Slow Week

There's not a lot going on with me, but I'm so very back in the mood to blog on a daily basis, so you'll just have to be bored along with me. :)

The only bit of excitement I have in life these days is eating and working out, and I think that we can all agree that hearing about what someone ate is more exciting than hearing about someone's exercise. With that being said, I will promptly take you on a guided tour of my meals for the day...or maybe not...that is a tad bit excessive...I'll just tell you about dinner. It was an Edrei original that was inspired by an old favorite. I had my version of a taco salad; Tada! I can tell that you are all intrigued but not sure if you should be; trust me, you should be.

What I did was: I made regular taco meat; you know, the ground beef and packet kind. I placed a whole bunch of mixed greens on a plate, topped it with salsa (yum), placed the ground beef on top of that, then I took fat free cottage cheese...I know I lost some of you, but I beg you to come back. I promise that it's not bad. The purpose of the cottage cheese is that it kills to healthy birds with one stone; you get the cheese and sour cream effect without the fat. Yep, your girl's a thinker. I thought that up all by myself! Then I topped it off with some diced tomatoes and onions. It was comfort food but with a healthy twist. I loved it and will certainly eat it again.

Hopefully tomorrow I will have more to talk about than just food....

Yummy

How do I love to eat? Let me count the ways! Allow me to tell you about the delicious, yet healthy food that I gorged on today. I'm thinking that I may just go ahead and share great recipes with you as I continue on my healthy eating adventure.

Today, I was about to work out and my cousin called and asked if I wanted to have lunch at Joe's Crabshack. Ummm...yeah. She said that she would ready to go in about an hour and a half, which was perfect, because it still gave me enough time to work out first. I did my 20 minute cardio video and my 20 minute ab video. She picked me up, and then we headed off to seafood bliss. We both ordered those seafood steamers that you see advertised in the commercial. Mine was snow crab, dungenous crab and shrimp. I subbed out the sausage for more shrimp and the corn and potatoes were subbed out for a side salad with oil and vinegar dressing. Eh, eh, you like the healthy? We "split" a pound of crawfish too. (What I really mean was that my cousin had about five and I tore up the rest.) My food was SO good that I couldn't help but dance along to the music as I muscled my way through hard exteriors. Stupid crustaceans and their protective gear. "Best day ever," we agreed as we ate with smiles on our faces.

I returned home and spent some time walking the puppies and applying for jobs, and then it was time to start dinner. What you don't know is that last night I began to marinate my chicken breasts for dinner tonight. Being healthy takes a lot of preparation, but lucky for me, I have all the time in the world. Needless to say, my dinner was so good, that I felt the need to share it with you. I panned fried some okra and reheated some brown rice from yesterday and ate the chicken with it. Check out the recipe and please feel free to make it. Delicious!

Ingredients
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, minced
2/3 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons white wine (optional)
1 1/3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Instructions
Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Combine the rosemary, garlic, pepper, and salt in a small bowl and mix well. Place the chicken in a large bowl. Drizzle with the oil, and rub with the spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Spray a heavy roasting pan or iron skillet with cooking spray. Place the chicken in the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Turn the chicken over. If the drippings begin to stick to the pan, stir in 3-4 tablespoons water or white wine (if using).

Bake about 10 minutes or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion registers 160°F and the juices run clear. If the pan is dry, stir in another 1-2 tablespoons of water or white wine to loosen the drippings. Drizzle the vinegar over the chicken in the pan.

Transfer the chicken to plates. Stir the liquid in the pan and drizzle over the chicken.

Nutritional Information:
183 calories
6 total fat (1 g sat)
65 mg cholesterol
4 g carbohydrate
26 g protein
0 g fiber
270 mg sodium

"Fast Track To Fame"

Hello! Friday night I got booked for a gig having to do with NASCAR. I didn't really know anything about it, aside from it being associated with NASCAR. Well come to find out, it's a new game show that is being filmed at all of the NASCAR races. So, I didn't even see any car races or anything like that. I was at a separate track watching people perform. The show is called "Fast track to fame" and it is a lot like "America's got talent". There are a variety of "skillful" acts and three judges who rate them. I was cast on as a audience member. My job was to clap and be VERY enthusiastic about the performances. Allow me to remind you that all of this took place outside and at night. My poor little fingers were so cold! I was wearing my beenie, scarf, puffy coat, leggings on under my jeans, gloves....and I was still kinda chilly.

All in all, it was pretty fun. The people who performed were pretty entertaining, so it was easy to "fake" excitement. However, the cue to clapping was something else. Earlier that day, I decided that it would be a good day to lift weights. So I did my 45 minutes weightlifting video before I headed out to the shoot. Fast forward six hours to me clapping over and over and over again. Fast forward two days to my still aching biceps. My poor arms, they hate me!

The show is supposed to premier tomorrow (Monday) night on some channel called "SPEED" at 8 pm ET. Since I have no idea what that channel is, I assume I will not be watching myself. I'm attaching a link to an article about the show and some more info, if you feel so inclined. So yeah, your little Edrei was quite a busy bee this week. :)

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/fast-track-to-fame-debuts-monday-night-on-speed/

Almost Famous

I know you guys have just been dying to know what I've been up to for the past couple of days. Well, wait no longer, my friends! When I first moved to Vegas, I signed up with a casting agency. I figured that I had no job and a ton of free time, so if someone needed me to go be on the set of CSI in the middle of the day, I was their gal. Needless to say, the days turned into nights and the nights turned into days, and I forgot all about it. Until I got an email last week asking if I was available for a commercial. Ummm, yeah! So I submitted myself for the commercial and didn't get called in for it. I was a tad bit sad, but in typical Edrei fashion, I forgot about it. Then, out of nowhere, I got another email this week asking if I was available on Friday night. Ummm, yeah! So I submitted myself for that project and got an email back immediately asking if I was available on Wednesday and Thursday for something different. Ummm, yeah!

I don't play poker at all, but a couple of my friends do and I'm semi familiar with how it all works. What I was not familiar with, was the North American Poker Tour. Apparently this tour had been going on since Wednesday and was being held at the Venetian. My job, for two days, was to be a seat filler at the tournament; this was so that the audience appeared full and attentive for the people watching it on ESPN. Who knows, you may have seen me.

There were lots of fun people there and it was definitely more like fun time than work. My job tonight should also be pretty fun. The qualifying round of NASCAR begins tonight and I will be there...getting paid. I know that this is not a speaking role on CSI, but it has to start somewhere, right. And for right now, I'm excited that I'm getting paid to have fun!

Alive and Eating

Well, well, well. I am alive and eating and happier than I've ever been! That may be an exaggeration, because I've had some extremely happy times, but I say that this makes it in the top 100 of happiest times.

You know how I did the detox for 10 days and then I was supposed to do orange juice for a day and vegetable soup for two days...do you guys see where this is going already? So yesterday, I did orange juice until dinner, when I decided to eat soup. I ate soup and my body was fine. I went ahead and took that to be a sign that I should just go ahead and commence eating. This morning I woke up and made scrambled eggs with peppers and onions and topped it with salsa. My body seemed to like it. I'm now contemplating a work out. Today should be lifting weights day.

Yesterday, I took the liberty of making a grocery list. I hope my parents are in for the healthy eating surprise that will be tossed their way! I don't think they realize that their world is about to be turned into skinless and whole grains. I'll let you know how that goes.

Day 10

Sorry I didn't post this last night; I was out being productive! No worries, I'll post about that later. Okay people, guess who is done with lemonade!!! I am! I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done, I'm done (please sing to the beat of High Ho from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs). Now that I have successfully made it through that, I can say that I will NEVER do it again. Boy did that suck! So today is my orange juice day. I need to go get juicing because I'm already ready to "eat" something.

I noticed the other day that the white of my nails is brighter and my nails are stronger. Interesting...I wonder what caused that to happen.

Day 9

Oh my God! I have made it to the end of day 9. I can not believe it. I'll be honest, towards the end of the day, I started thinking about food. I was watching Diners, Drive Ins and Dives last night...you know what that means: food on the brain! Oh boy, oh boy. And we all know, that is not the kind of food that anyone should be eating, ever, but watching it last night, it all looked so delicious.

So tomorrow is my last day of this, and then I get a whole day of orange juice. I am just looking forward to something different. The hardest part about this whole thing was the repetition and lack of variety. You would think that it would be the absence of food, but surprisingly, not eating gets easier with time. Who knew? Certainly not me. I've never made it this far before.

So excited!!!!!!!

Growing Pains Part 2

Remember how I was all torn apart last time, wondering if I did the right thing or not? Well, I found out today that I definitely did the right thing! In fact, I almost wish that I would have done the right thing sooner, rather than later. And even more than that, I wish that I would not have wasted all of that time second guessing myself. I need to learn to trust my instincts. My instincts were right about it in the beginning and they were right about it in the end. I am the only thing that was wrong, for not trusting what I knew was right. Done and done. I've spent more than enough time wasting energy on something that was never worthy of my energy to begin with. I am so much better than some of the things that I deal with. The sooner I commit that to memory and start to enforce it in my life, the better off I will be.

And just like that, it was gone....

Day 8

Hello there! It is day 8 of the lemonade detox, and I must say, I have been quite the little blogger. I do it all for you. I know that you tune in everyday, wondering if I'm still holding out and how I'm doing. Surprisingly, today was even easier than yesterday. I'm finding that the discouraging part is the laxative tea. I don't know if I disclosed that I have to drink the tea when I wake up and before I go to bed. Apparently, the lemonade is the equivalent to sweeping up dirt, and the tea is putting the dirt in the dust pan and tossing it out. However, I am not a tea drinker. I never have been, and I honestly don't think I ever will be. So, I find myself staring at the clock every night, thinking that I need to hurry and drink the tea so I can go to bed. Between you and me, I didn't drink it last night, and I'm so tempted to skip it again tonight. What could it hurt? I already pee every 30 minutes as it is; I don't think the tea adds anything extra to that. Was that too much information? Sorry!

I only have two days left. I am so excited and so proud of myself. Really, this detox couldn't have come at a better time. I needed a little something extra in my life, and this has just reminded me that I can do anything I set out to accomplish. I feel so strong and so confident in my ability to achieve anything. Wow. What a great feeling.

Day 7

Alright kids, it is end of day 7. So, what that means is, I have not eaten since last Sunday. Crazy! Who does that?! Much like yesterday, today was pretty easy. I would like to take this time to thank everyone who sent me words of encouragement and positive thoughts. Tomorrow morning, I will weigh and measure myself and see what new stuff has happened with me. I feel like I'm on my way to super healthy. Go me!

Day 6

At this point, I just don't even know what else there is to say...I haven't eaten since Sunday; my house smells like delicious food; today was easier than yesterday; I may end up just going to bed.

Day 5

Okay, so I have almost finished day 5 of the lemonade detox. Wow. That means I have now gone 5 days without eating. So...what effects has this had on me? Well, today I didn't want to get out of bed, mainly because I didn't feel I had any reason to. My tongue is now completely white. My teeth won't get clean no matter how much brushing, flossing, mouth washing and teeth scraping I seem to do. All of that stuff is pretty bad! But, on a brighter note, I have lost a few pounds and inches. My toes look skinnier, my hands, wrists, shoulders and ribs feel different. I know that it is probably just water weight, but my body does feel different and despite my lack of enthusiasm for my life at the moment, I do have some great energy.

I'm trying not to psych myself out about me only being halfway done with this. So, five more days of the lemonade concoction and then I will have a day of orange juice and 2 days of vegetable broth/soup.

I tried this detox twice before and the first time I made it halfway through day five and decided that I was tired of lemonade and wanted hot and sour soup. The second time I only made it 3 days and decided that I never wanted to do this again. I have always known that I have amazing will power, but I am very proud of myself for making it this far. Tomorrow is a new day! Once I finish tomorrow, I will be on the downward slope to victory. Keep me encouraged y'all!

Looks like Tiger is Back

Okay, let me just tell you that I woke up this morning, because my mom came in my room to tell me that someone had flown their plane into the IRS building in Austin. When she told me where, I knew that my friends were okay, because none of them are in that area. After making my lemonade and taking my walk, I sat down and turned on CNN to follow the story...Only to find that surprisingly, we weren't following the story in Austin; we were following Tiger Woods. Seriously? SERIOUSLY people? Someone flew a plane into a building and you are opting to follow Tiger Woods!

So I went to CNN online and read up on the story. If you haven't read the letter, I fully encourage you to. It is 6 pages long and will take up a tad bit of your time, but it's true. It's all true. And the unfortunate thing is that nothing will change. He spent his whole life trying to change things and nothing happened. The scariest people are those who feel like no one cares about them and that they have nothing to lose.

I'm not saying for a second that I condone this man's behavior. I am saying that I am so sorry that our country failed him so badly and so many times, that he felt that he had no choice but to crash his plane into a government building. Our country is what it is and unfortunately, because of the people who run it, it will not change. But do read what he said. It was very intelligent and well thought out. I just wish innocent people didn't have to die for him to be heard.

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/18/stack.letter.pdf

If the link doesn't work, you can find it on the CNN website by clicking on the link to the story.

Day 4

Why has it only been four days!!!! This feels like an eternity. Boo. Anyway, today was fine until my dad just came home from work and made the world's largest and most delicious looking taco salad. And then he said, "Well Edrei, I hate that I have to eat this in front of you." LOL. Evil. That was pure evil. But, I've made it four days. After tomorrow, I will be halfway there. Like I said, I'm taking it one day at a time, which is all I can do.

Day 3

Okay...today was day 3 of the lemonade detox, and it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Hooray! All I can do is take it one day at a time though. I'm hoping that day 4 goes as smoothly as days 2 and 3. Wish me luck guys!!!!

Shani Davis

I was watching the Olympics with my parents tonight and we were all shocked at what we saw. Here is this guy, Shani Davis, who was about to do something that no one had even done in Olympic history; he was defending his gold medal for the second Olympics in a row. Have you guys heard of him? I'd seen glimpses of him on commercials, but I never saw a commercial for him like I saw for Apolo Ohno or for Shaun White.

This guy trained himself and the commentators said that he has the best turn of any speed skater. Those two things alone, say to me that this guy should have gotten some publicity. My mom told me that last night, when she was watching the Olympics, the commentators were listing who we should watch tonight, and they said Shani as if it were an after thought. I know that sometimes I'm easily confused, and this may be one of the times, but why wasn't this guy shown more.

So let's recap: first person ever to win back to back gold medals in speed skating, best turn of any speed skater and he trained himself. I'm not alone here, right? Well, maybe now he'll get some sponsors. Perhaps Gatorade....

Kevin Smith

By now, you have all heard about Kevin Smith being kicked off Southwest airlines for being too big. For those of you who are not familiar with Kevin Smith, he is a writer and a director. I used to watch his movies in high school: Chasing Amy, Clerks, Clerks 2, Mallrats, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dogma, Jersey Girl...I may be leaving out a couple. Oh, he also acts in those movies. He plays the character, Silent Bob. My point being, Kevin Smith is not working with the same kind of money that I'm working with. He is working with the kind of money that I WILL be working with in about five years.

So this is all in the media that Southwest is evil and they kicked him off the flight for taking up too much space. My question is this: Kevin Smith, why didn't you purchase two seats, if you were that adamant about flying on Southwest? Or, why didn't you fly first class on another airline or charter a plane? Did you just feel the need to slum it? Who knows, maybe he is just a down to earth guy who likes to keep it real. Who am I to criticize? I just don't understand why someone would subject themselves to that sort of treatment. Apparently this was not the first time either. It's almost as if he didn't learn his lesson the first time, or he's trying to bring negative attention to the airline that treats me so well. In which case, I choose Southwest. Sorry Kevin Smith!

Day 2

Well, well, well. For those of you who are skeptical about what I'm doing, I'll have you know that I have made it through day number 2! Just as I predicted, today was way easier than yesterday. Mainly because the parents weren't around me indulging in deliciousness. Tomorrow will probably be pretty difficult. I've done this detox before and day 3 usually takes a tug at my will power. We'll see what happens.

Day 1

Well, my day began just as any day would. It wasn't until I'd laid in bed for a while that I realized my parents weren't going to work. "Ah, President's Day is today", I thought as I laid there preparing to get up and begin my detox. Now, normally it is fine when they are home. But today, today is day one of not eating for two weeks! So, when they had their matching bowls of chili for lunch, I quietly went into my room and drank my lemonade concoction. And now that they are in the living room eating crab legs and shrimp, I am in the office, drinking water and writing you. I am not bitter. I am not bitter. I am not bitter.

Hey There Lemonade Detox

Oh Master Cleanse, how do I hate thee? Please, allow me to count the ways!

For those of you who are not familiar with the Master Cleanse aka Lemonade Detox, please know that I will be irritable for the next two weeks. For ten days, I will be fasting/detoxing by drinking a lemon juice, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and water concoction. I will consume this "lemonade" at least six times a day for ten days. On the 11th day, I will drink orange juice; fresh squeezed, of course. And to follow that up, I will have vegetable broth for days 12 and 13.

I know that you are wondering why I'm doing this. Truthfully, it's a combination of things. I gotta do something about this belly before I develop diabetes, heart disease and/or high blood pressure. Plus, I just want to live healthier. I really enjoy the healthy eating and all of that, but lately, since I moved from Philly, I haven't been eating nearly as well as I used to. So, it's time to get back to the leafy greens and whole grains. However, I need to jump start things and rid my body of all the toxins that I've been mindlessly pumping into to it, and detoxing is a great way. I've done it before and it works. Honestly, I can't wait! I miss the way my body felt when I had tons of energy from eating right and exercising.

Of course, I say all of that now...I haven't even started the detox. Monday is day 1, so stay tuned to find out how I feel. I'm pretty sure that it won't be all butterflies and bunny rabbits when day 10 rolls around!

Growing Pains

No, not the tv show, I'm talking about in real life.

Now, it is one thing for me to talk about my brushes with death on a motorcycle, or the accidental murder of a spider in the shower, but it is quite another for me to delve into the darkest parts of my mind on a public forum...that is what journals are for. However, this has been on my mind and I want to talk about it...but it will be vague. It will be very vague.

For the past couple of weeks, I have found myself stumbling to make sense out of something that had once seemed so effortless. In true Edrei fashion, I got lost inside my head, running circles around this thing, and then as if I hadn't given it any thought at all, I cut the cord. To the untrained eye, I am someone who makes rash decisions. But what everyone doesn't know/understand about me is that I'm meticulous. I'm an over thinker. I think something out at every angle, almost obsessively and then I make my move. Even after it is done, I'm still thinking about it. Not only wondering if I did the right thing, but wondering what making that move has taught me.

I was being eaten alive by my thoughts for weeks, and then last Monday, I did what was right. Since then, many different things have been presented to me, causing me to rethink my choice while also confirming my decision.

I've always taken pride in knowing that I knew who I was and what I believed in. I wasn't always that person. It took a lot of time and energy to reach that point, and by the time I was 23, I was confident that I knew all there was to know about me. So naturally, at 25, I learned something else. I had another breakthrough at 29. And after having only been 30 for a day, I learned something else. In all of my self discoveries, I've learned things far more valuable than I ever could have imagined. But I think that the really important lessons are learned at an early age; one of the most important being that you can't undo something that has already been done.

I'm not suggesting that I want to undo something, because honestly, with this thing eating at me the way it was, I had to do something. Now, I'm tasked with figuring out how to amend this semi-permanent decision. It's a vicious cycle....

Frame of Reference

It is always so funny to me, whenever I am reminded about how much a frame of reference plays in every day activities. It seems to me, that this is phenomenon is most apparent in children, and is often times quite comical.

When I was younger, I used to walk around singing Madonna songs. When I was five or six, one of my favorites to sing was "I'm a Cheerio World". You may be asking yourselves what song that is, but I promise that you would know it if you heard it. "Living in I'm a Cheerio world and I am I'm a Cheerio girl." Yep, those were the lyrics and I would have sworn to it. It wasn't until I got older, that I realized that it was in fact "Material World". But at five or six, what was a material world? What was materialism? That was not a part of my frame of reference...but you know what was? Cheerios. On a daily basis, I would suck down Honey Nut Cheerios like they were going out of business, therefor, Madonna was clearly singling about Cheerios, because she obviously loved them too!

Well, on Sunday, I was reminded of this when I was sitting in church. The children's church portion began, so all of the little kids were sitting up front learning a valuable lesson about God and Jesus. The lady conducting children's church was explaining something about God, and one of the kids raised his hand. She called on him. "It's like God is the principle of the world," said the kid. And everyone laughed. Even after we had all finished laughing, I still continued to laugh to myself. This kid was around six or seven and his frame of reference was that the principle is the biggest and the toughest. I loved it. I think that one will make me laugh for a while.

Darren Sharper

Well, the Super Bowl is just around the corner and for some of us, that usually doesn't mean anything. But this, year, somehow, I find myself linked to it in two separate ways.

The first one being that it falls on my 30th birthday. In all of my 30 years, there has never been a Super Bowl on my birthday. I'm not too thrilled about it, seeing as how I would like to have the day to celebrate as I see fit and not just sitting around watching a game, eating wings and nachos. Apparently I am still in my terrible twos...I like to run around saying "No" and "Mine".

The second way I find myself connected to the Super Bowl this year is through Darren Sharper. Allow me to explain that I do not watch football. I could care less about what is going on on the field. But somehow, one day, I found myself watching a New Orleans Saints game and Darren Sharper was interviewed. Now, normally I don't believe in love at first sight...I feel like you need to a know a person's personality in order to be in love, but I saw Darren and I was smitten. Apparently not too smitten though, because I forgot all about him and was living a normal happy life, when I found myself unintentionally watching the Pro Bowl last night. For those of you who saw the Pro Bowl, you remember the moment when they interviewed Darren Sharper. You remember thinking to yourselves, "Look at those great teeth and amazing dimples." You also remember thinking, "That man is great marriage material and would be perfect with Edrei." You know how I know that you all thought this? Because I thought this too.

Needless to say, I am now contemplating a move to New Orleans. I mean, I already love it there; I have a good friend who lives there; and my soul mate is waiting for me!

It Never Rains in Southern California

I don't know about y'all, but I think I was lied to!

So, last we spoke, I was on my way to Denver. Can I just tell you that I have never, NEVER, moved so quickly through security in all of my life. I fly. on average, around four times a year, and this time was so smooth and perfect! I now only fly Southwest Airlines, because they are the most customer friendly and don't come with all of the other nonsense that surrounds the other airlines. I changed my flight to fly out of Vegas instead of LA, and they didn't charge me a fee. I only had to pay the difference, which is incredible compared to how all of the other airlines want you to pay a $150 fee to switch your flight. Not to mention, that Southwest doesn't charge for checked bags. That is just great service!

Anyway, I printed out my early check-in and I carried on my luggage. I also didn't wear anything that would set off the metal detector and voila! I was in and at my gate in about 5 minutes. Honestly, the part that took the longest, was walking to my gate. The Vegas airport is big y'all. Texas sized.

I went to Denver and had a lovely time. I did some site seeing and spent time with great friends. It was much needed and very welcomed. The weather was great, and then I boarded a plane and landed in LA, where the weather is admittedly, not so great. I don't know if you guys have been watching the news or not, but wow. Wow! This rain is serious. It's raining like it's April in Philly. People are being evacuated from their homes because of mudslides. It's really a lot to just walk into. I didn't know that it was this intense. Oh well, I'm only here for a couple of days and then it's back to Vegas. Although, I hear that they are getting the same rain.

Well my friends, I trust that you all are dry and warm. PS - Is any one else concerned that January is already almost over?!

Going to Denver Tomorrow

I have two friends who live in Denver, and I will be going to visit them tomorrow. I haven't been there to see them since Thanksgiving, 2005. This is not be confused with not having seen them, because I've met up with them in different cities in the past few years.

I'm a little interested to see what travel entails these days. I haven't flown since the beginning of September, and as we are all aware, someone has since tried to blow us up. Due to this recent event, the security has been heightened and now new procedures are put in place. Well, I had the last system down to a "t". I mean, I didn't wear anything that would set the metal detectors off, I had the easiest shoes to slip off and on, and my outfit would still be cute, yet comfortable enough to sleep in. (Yes, I sleep on the plane. For those of you who are not aware of my gift, I will blog about it one day.) I had mastered flying. And now, I'm told that the new security system is a bit invasive. Invasive how? Should I wear the nice panties? That kind of invasive? Or should I suddenly become aware that I slacked on the crunches for the past two weeks? I'll let you know and keep you posted. Either way, I'm wearing nice underwear and sucking my stomach in, just in case!

With that being said, I doubt that I will be blogging for a few days, but I will let you know how the Denver, Colorado trip goes. Hmmm.....you know, I am in sunny Vegas and have been enjoying temperatures in the 60s all winter. Perhaps going to visit friends in Denver in the mid of winter was poor planning on my part. Luckily, having spent the past four winters in Philly left me prepared with proper winter gear. Yes, the scarf and gloves are packed! Talk to you in a few days!!!!!!

Solving Murders in My Sleep

Have you ever found yourself in the middle of an activity and just stopped and said to yourself, "what am I doing?" Well, that was me all last week. You see, the computer went away on a week long hiatus to be outfitted for more memory, and I was on the end of my illness and confined to my home. That left very little for me to do, outside of read, text/talk on the phone and watch back to back to back episodes of CSI every day. And not one of the lame knock offs; the real one that takes place here, in Vegas. Needless to say, I would sleep in, and when I woke up, I would turn the tv on to the Spike channel and proceed to help the crime scene investigators find their murderer. Come to find out, I'm pretty freaking good at it.

So this was my routine for four days straight: wake up, CSI, other tv, bed. Pretty lame if you ask me, and I was the one doing it. And as it happened, I was the person having the out of body experience staring back at me wondering why I was wasting my life away like that. If I was in the movie "Seven" or "Saw", I would have been targeted for being so lazy and for my lack of contribution to society. It was disgusting. I was disgusted, but I couldn't turn away. It wasn't until I dreamed of solving crimes twice in a row, that I decided to take a stand.

The computer found its way home on Sunday, which allowed me to continue the job search and do some creative writing this week. I feel so much better about myself now that I am not parked in front of the tv. My dreams have returned to their normal state of creative confusion, which I will welcome anytime over solving murders in my sleep.