what's been going on...

i will get back to my vacation recap soon.

here's what's been happening since friday.

mckinlee got the first fish award in her class for the year. the fish award is given to the person who showed a good attitude, was helpful, etc. her teacher called me the day before so chris and i would be sure to be at good morning riddle the next day. he said she is so respectful and comes in everyday with a smile and a great attitude. (i asked him if he had called the right parent. no, i didn't really. but i kind of thought it. apparently her great attitude starts when i drop her off at school :) anyway, we were proud of her and got some cute pictures of her.

here she is in line before they called her name
waiting for the dance to begin. they play wipeout and the kids who have received the fish award are supposed to dance

when mckinlee has gotten the fish award in years past, she won't so much as move a muscle when the music comes on. so here her friend olivia has apparently decided to take matters into her own hands and make mckinlee dance!

looking back at us

she will, however, dance when everyone else does. after all the announcements, etc. they play cha-cha slide and everyone dances--even the teachers and parents. (if you're wondering, no. chris did not dance!)

that brings me to friday night. this is the second year that we have done the standard process purification cleanse.
basically it's a 21-day organic detox for our toxin-filled bodies. on days 1-10 you drink these protein shakes that i must say are pretty good. (so good, in fact, mckinlee asks for them for a snack! that should tell you something.) you can also have all the vegetables and fruit you want, brown rice, lentils, green tea and 7 raw almonds a day. days 11-21 you can add in organic chicken and wild caught fish. (you are also taking between 9-11 supplements in pill form 3 times a day.) it's amazing learning about everyday things that you don't even think are harmful that are actually toxins affecting everything from your skin to digestion and headaches.

so...saturday evening we were going to a presentation at a friend's house to help us prepare for our "fun" 21 days.

but...before we made it to his house, we had to stop for one of these.

since we knew we wouldn't be seeing one of these anytime soon, we met some friends, who are also doing the cleanse, at jc's burger house. i don't know if that was the best burger i've ever had or the one after the cleanse i'm looking forward to eating, but it was pretty good!

did i mention their onion rings are to die for?

pat and mindy waiting to sink their teeth into all that beef and cheese...yum!

so our first day of cleansing, saturday, went pretty good. i made a vegetable jambalaya for dinner and we even all went for a walk.

i will not even discuss sunday and monday, except to say that apparently i have a boat-load of toxins in my body that were trying to get out however they could. sunday and monday were not good days.

and that, my dear friends, brings me to today.
finally, i feel good and energetic and ready to cook vegetables!

here was my lunch and i must say, it tasted just like corner bakery's chopped salad. well, minus the feta crumbles, bacon and dressing :)

i don't anticipate anyone trying to get the recipe for my meals this week, but here they are:

tuesday~~spaghetti squash and homemade, organic marinara (i have never in my life cooked spaghetti squash, but i've been told that after you bake it and shred the insides, it looks like spaghetti. i told mckinlee that and she said, "i don't think i'll be having spaghetti for dinner. hee hee!)

wednesday~~vegetable soup

thursday~~mushroom salad (this really sounds good. the mushrooms marinate all day in a vinaigrette sauce. yum.)

friday~~lentils (chris loves these. me...not so much.)

saturday~~sauteed veggies, garlic-chili-roasted broccoli

i'll let you know how it turns out.

have a great week!