Tues. night I was sooo happy to have finished my last day of cleansing. Wed. morning I had an apple for breakfast and was looking forward to eating my first solid food lunch since last Fri. Suki came over and we had steamed fish and veggies, brown rice, organic green salad w/tomatoes and tofu. Aaaah, food never tasted so good! When you do that kind of liquid only cleanse, your palate changes and food is more flavorful. Even the veggies tasted sweet to me.

We worked that night and it was so busy I didn't have any time to eat until 8pm. I brought leftovers just in case the food in the TDR was too heavy. My body had no problems getting back to food. And today we (Suki, her daughter Jade, Haley and Jon) went out to eat sushi =). I had the chirashi sushi and it was good. I feel like having fish now.

I got my hat...probably to be worn only one time. After we picked up Elizabeth, we went to Trader Joe's so I could pick up some oatmeal and fish. I'm thawing it now so I can eat it for dinner before going to a work meeting tonight. The meeting starts at 8:15 so I hope it doesn't last much more than an hour.

I worked out today and it was hard. I felt like I had no strength. So I only did cardio, lats and abs. Hopefully I'll have more energy tomorrow. I missed working out so it was nice to get back to the gym this morning.

I called Gabriel today to see if I could schedule a massage with him.

I went to bible study yesterday. She talked about Abraham having to send Hagar and Ishmael out of the household. He was a rich man, yet he only provided them with a little food and water. Even though he could afford to take care of them for the rest of their lives, he gave them only that. Her observation was that Abraham had tried to "help" God out before, and that's how Ishmael was born in the first place. So maybe this time around, he did only what was asked of him and let God take care of them. For God promised that Ishmael's decendent's would be blessed.

She talked about giving provision to areas in our lives that may not be God's best for us. We feed and tend to areas that God has asked us to cast out in our lives. We need to follow Abraham's example and quickly separate ourselves from what God asks us to and to not offer provision to those areas. Abraham was grieved, but he was obedient.

Sat. I worked out in the morning and then gave my mom a massage in the afternoon. I don't think I did much else that day. My mom's skin and muscle tone are much better from the last time I gave her a massage (which was a long time ago!). For a 70 year old, she's in great shape.

Every Sun. after church, Suki's family goes to eat pho. I asked her if she wanted me to pick her up so she doesn't have to sit there and watch everyone eat her favorite food. At first she said she'd be ok, but later she asked if I could pick her up and then we'd go shopping before going to work. So it worked out since I was working for Miriam Sun.

We went shopping for hats. I don't have any hats except baseball caps and have no desire to wear hats, but Jeannie's tea party for her birthday is next Sun. and she wants us to dress up like old fashion movie stars. Audrey Hepburn-esque. Guys wearing something pink and girls in dresses and hats. We didn't find anything we loved so we just shopped for other stuff and then went to work.

Why is it when one is fasting, that suddenly there's all kinds of food at work?! There was a big cake there for Haley's birthday and some other snacks on the table. But honestly, the cake didn't even look appetizing to me. I really wanted fish and steamed or roasted vegetables. Suki and I are already planning our meals when we finish the cleanse. All we talk about now is food and our poop! She can't talk to me when her husband is around because he gets grossed out (lightweight!). But he wants to do the cleanse when they get back from their vacation. I'm having some good results and can feel the difference just by touching my stomach. I can trace where my colon is and feel the hardness is moving out. It's all...I just got a call from Suki so we could talk about our poop again! I forgot what I was about to write.

I'm also reading "The Artist's Way" and it's written as a 12-week course. I started back on doing the Morning Pages. I think I stopped because it was taking too much time. But this time, I'm going to try to push through my internal censor and write freely. That's the whole point of the exercise anyway - to open up the creative gates. And this exercise is not only helpful for writers, but any kind of creative pursuit. Painters, musicians, dancers have all benefited when they've done this exercise. And another thing she recommends is the Artist Date. Every week 2 hours spent to nurture your creative consciousness or inner artist. I'm not sure how to do this, but she says to think intrigue, mystery, play, fun. "As artists, we must learn to be self-nourishing...Filling the well involves the active pursuit of images to refresh our artistic reservoirs." So I will have to come up with dates to have with my inner artist. Should be interesting.

Okay, I need to get ready for work now.

Michael at work called me "tanorexic" last week. I look in the mirror and don't think I'm tan enough! Well, when I saw those pictures from the party, I realized I was pretty dark! Now I can see I'm dark, but I stopped tanning and from now on will just be fading, unless I happen to be out in the sun.

I went to Costco to pick up those pictures to take to work, and on my way home I was stopped at a signal when a lady I saw cross the street came over to my car. She knocked on my window and I opened it a little (I thought it'd be too rude to ignore her). She asked if I could give her a ride because she left money in her car and she needed it to take the bus somewhere. Even though I was going that way, I didn't want to give her a ride because I had a weird feeling about her. So I said, "No, I'm sorry." I didn't give any kind of excuse and then she said, "Okay...scared?" And I said "Yeah" and rolled up my window. I don't know why, but it made me laugh as the light changed and I drove off. Maybe because it was such an honest exchange.

Suki and I have started the colon cleanse. We started Tues. and gradually cut our food intake until Thurs. I don't know how many times I had to hear her say, "I'm hungry!" Wed. she came over and started teaching my mom Korean and I made somen for lunch. But I limited her to one serving because we were supposed to be eating only half of what we'd normally eat. And then after work, we were eating in the TDR and Gil comes over and brings a slice of cake (he knew we were starting the cleanse). So even though I probably should have passed on it, I ate half rationalizing that I would have normally eaten the whole thing. It was a chocolate mousse cake and it was sooooo yummy!

Today was the first day of liquid only. I also went for my first colonics treatment. It wasn't painful at all - just a weird feeling at first. I might make another appt. next week after I'm done with the cleanse. I think I can see a difference in my complexion. I think my face is less bloated - not that I feel bloated normally, but in comparison it looks different. Suki thinks her face is becoming sunken in like a starving Ethiopian child. Only 4 more days to go!

The weather has been wacky lately. Last Mon. I think we set a record for the highest temp. for that day - around 104. And then today I think we set a record for the lowest high of the day - around 64ish. A 40 degree difference w/in a week! It rained today, which was a nice change.

While I was at Costco, I also bought some organic peanut butter and organic snacks that I'll try out next week. And I bought "You: The Owner's Manual" by Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen. I want to learn more about how our bodies work. I haven't been reading as much lately. I never thought I'd be a "health nut", but I can see myself going that way now. The idea of too many chemicals and unnatural things in my body is beginning to bother me more. Maybe because I'm getting older and I don't want my body to have to work harder at eliminating those things. I told Laura the colonics lady that I'm very interested in poop and she said that most people are, but won't admit it! I'm only interested in it because I think it gives clues to what's going on in my system.

I found this on someone else's channel and I must have watched it 15 times already. I love when he smiles at the end =). This is an original song by Chris Cendana - I like his style. http://www.youtube.com/ccendana

Here's his version of another song I like...I actually like his version because it's more soulful.

And here's the original by Marie Digby. I heard this song on the radio on Sat. when I was driving to Michael's house and I was happy to hear she's getting played on the radio.

Francis, I love the pose!! Has he done this before?!

Suki and Jeannie (she's half Vietnamese, half Hungarian)- Asian Persuasion what could be cuter?!

A picture with Jo in the background! =D Ali tried to get in too, but we stopped her because she's not asian (I know, so mean!)

Alex (right) and her friend she designated as driver for the night

Shelli and her husband Randy, who was chef of the night. He made sheshkabobs with killer meat and all kinds of veggies and pineapple too!

The grapevine in our backyard is actually growing grapes!

Still practicing taking my own picture with my camera...got both Brad and myself in the frame!

Jon shaved and looks 10 years younger and said, "Only for you JoAnn!" before sticking out his tongue for the picture.

Haley, too, is sticking her tongue out at me!
Suki and Michelle - 2 wild ones
Me and Suki - I told you she's wild

Sat. morning I went to work out and then took my mom to Costco so I could join and she could have her own card. We both signed up for the American Express card too. Suki talked me into joining - I had a membership a long time ago but let it lapse. While we were there, I got a call from work to see if I might come in, so I did. Some co-workers were going to the Blue Martini at Town Square afterwards, so I decided to go since I wanted to check it out. I got there around 9:30.

Jon and Haley
Me and 3/4 Jon =)
Caesar, Natalie, Gil and Jeannie
My Steak Sandwich and Expresso Martini

I only stayed for an hour. Pretty much just ate, walked around the big ol' place, sat for a bit, then took off. It was a bit too crowded for me. I thought there'd be dancing, but it was just a tiny, tiny space and the band wasn't playing my kind of dance music. But it was nice that they had nice outdoor seating on the balcony surrounding the place. The weather is great now to be outside at night. The food was really good. I'd go there to eat again, but maybe earlier and on a weekday.

I finished "Eat, Pray, Love" and I really enjoyed it. At the end, she talks about a man she falls in love with and I thought how great it would be to find that man who wants only to love and cherish me! He was an older man who had accomplished much in his life, experienced heartache, raised children and was ready to love again after his divorce.

People who have so much love to give amaze me. I want to be more like that. Open and caring. I guess I just need practice in being able to express it more freely. I tend to be very guarded with my heart.

Last week's bible study was about waiting again. Us waiting on God, and God waiting on us. Hannah waited to give birth to a boy. She had finally reached the point of total surrender when she told God that she would give the boy back to Him if He would only give her a son. Samuel was born, and Hannah took him to stay with Eli after she had weened him. If Hannah had a son right away, most likely she wouldn't have given him away to be God's servant. Sometimes that surrender needs to be cultivated in us through time and longing.