Another Trip to Manhattan - the Beauty of Fall at Central Park

I have been missing in action, and I apologize, but things are pretty stressful and hectic in my life right now. I am taking an intensive history class, which I LOVE history, but NOT fitting what should be at least a 16 week course into 8 weeks, and so my grades have dropped a bit. Also I am expecting a relative to come and visit, which I have never seen before, so we have been cleaning from top to bottom, and also have been putting the things on the wall where we painted and left the walls bare because school started back up before we had a chance to finish, so I will show you the progress in my bedroom in another posting; however, I have had a bit of fun in the midst of all this stress. I got to go neglected my studies and went to Manhattan last Thursday, and had such a wonderful time. The highlight was that I went to the section of Central Park near 59th Street and just admired the beautiful handiwork of our Creator. Here are the photos.

Blessings,
Kimberly  ♥

Lots of Things - Catching Up!

Well, I have fallen WAY behind in EVERYTHING - Blogger, Facebook, mail and just life. For those of you, who are my friends in Facebook, I know that you must think that all I do all day long is sit on Facebook, and it does appear that way, but that's because I am at the computer for anywhere from 9-12 hours per day studying - and I go back and forth from Facebook to my studies to break the monotony. When I first get up, I do my chores, have breakfast, etc. and then the rest of the day is dedicated to school. Some weeks I don't even take a day off from school and even have to study on the Sabbath. I wish sometimes I were taking technical classes, where I learn to "do" something, but I am taking academic classes - like history, theology and classes of that nature, and it wears me thin - not exaggerating in the least! On top of that, I almost always get to bed late, and some days I sleep only 5 or 6 hours of sleep. This is from a schedule conflict with my husband. Somedays night is the only time we have to share being together too much. He goes out, and in the day I study, and I sure don't want to give up our "together" time. Plus we cook late, eat late and digest late. I can't go to bed on a full stomach. I wish there was some way to turn the schedule around, because I would LOVE to wake up at sunrise or before! Sometimes I even sit and wish that I were living in the pre-electricity days when everyone was forced to go to bed early. I do that often!

But, yes, I am stretching myself, and if you are a Facebook friend then you know that I don't post like I did. Some days I do, but other days I post only a few things and I haven't posted anything today. I think that I may have alot of little or no postings to come. I get my winter break soon (a little over a month, but to be honest - I am thinking about taking a BIG break from FB and the computer during that time.

I was considering leaving Blogger all together, but to be honest, I really like posting here. Now, I will say that I am going to cut down on my postings and just update every once in a while, and share little special things. It's just too much, and by the time I upload my pictures to the computer and then to Photobucket and sit here and paste all the codes and think about what to type a big chunk of my study time has gone. And that's not good. Usually I am an "A student" but my grades have dropped this term. I have to dedicate more time and energy to my studies. And I still have to finish my bedroom redecorating. It's nowhere near done.

But I did want to share this with you. I planted some seeds - parsley, basil and chives, and placed them in a shelf in my kitchen window. (I still have to put up more shelves, but we still have to take the A/C unit out first.) And I forgot to label which seed container was what, but they are coming up - all but one pot of seeds. In one pot of seeds a little clump of dirt stuck to the leaves and they have formed a heart. I love it! New life with a heart!

Here is when some of the seeds just started to come up.



And here is what the heart one looks like now.





Here are a few of the things I have been eating, though I haven't been keeping up with everything.















Now, I haven't been keeping up with my weight either, but I have put back on a few pounds since my water fast. I am definitely planning on doing some more though. It was a blessing!

To end, I have a few friends who would like to say hi. This is a spider who came down in search of water. I gave him some and he went on his way.



And Bitey wanted me to let him say hi...



before he curled up in his food container.



He's such a spoiled little guy!

Blessings,
Kimberly ♥

November 2, 2010

Hi. I hope everyone is staying warm. It's COLD in New York, which caused me to break down and eat something hot and heavy yesterday, which added 2 pounds on me, and which is still causing my stomach to feel rather heavy today. Yes, that's right. Sunday I did really good. I water fasted all day until midnight and then had a salad and a banana. Then yesterday I water fasted all day until about nine o'clock last night and broke down and had rice and a nice fricassee, as I had told my husband I wanted something warm. You see, we don't have a heat, which we regulate. We only have a radiator, which sends heat from the boiler, which the landlord controls and sends at his discretion. Being that it is this early in the winter, the daytime is not in his discretion yet, and so I sat all day bundled up under my comforter in bed with a jacket on, and I was ready to have something warm! Now I regret it, however! I had a little bread and butter for breakfast this morning, but will then have only water until at least tonight... maybe longer.

Here's what I had Sunday night (and a banana, which is not shown). It had actually broken my barrier, as Monday morning I was down 31 pounds.



And this took me up two pounds (maybe - I have on extra clothes today as it is cold in here).



No further symptoms. I guess the day time water fasting hasn't been brining out any toxins. My asthma has improved a bit. I woke up today with my lungs burning from the cold air, but the smotheriness went away.

I'll be back soon with another update!

Blessings,
Kimberly ♥
Down 29 pounds

October 30, 2010

Well, strange things are happening. Now, I have a rash behind my right ear. I mentioned the other day that I was getting eczema on my fingers. Well, the watery rash went away, thanks to some cream that I put on my finger, but now my finger tips are splitting open, which is also a symptom of eczema. Since I ate those deviled eggs my asthma has again been relentless, and my constant allergies (stuffiness in the head, sneezing, etc.) has returned. I have ate a couple more cooked things, which I will show you in a minute. It's been hard, as it's turned colder in New York and the warm food cravings are a force to be reckoned with, but as I am seeing, with the cooked foods returning - so does the illness. I just don't know if I can stand being 100% raw all my life. I doubt it. Even if I give up meat, I still crave the veggie burgers, which I have grown to love. I love bread, and occasional sweets - like the banana breads and other sweet breads that I make, and I just love bread period, though I have for the most part switched to the healthier breads like whole wheat and rye. Well, time will be the judge of my life-long diet, but for the moment I am back on water. I am HUNGRY, but I have to get this asthma back manageable like it was last week. It was so peaceful not really have any asthma symptoms, and these allergies kill me! Enough is enough! I don't know how long I will last on water. I may eat tonight, or I may last two or three days... who knows, but I am going for it as long as I can, and have instructed my husband to eat only foods that I don't like or to eat outside.

Here's the strange things happening to me.

The rash behind the ear...



And the split-open fingers. (It's the pinky finger and the ring finger on my right hand.)



Hopefully these things will pass.

Even though I haven't been 100% raw, I have been eating healthy. Here's what I have had.

Friday night for supper I had a salad with cilantro, spinach, tomato, onion and broccoli - oh, and garlic.



I also had a baked potato. Every topping was natural... olive oil, spices and herbs - no butter, which is my normal topping.



And I had grapes later for a snack.



Saturday, I didn't even have breakfast... only lunch, which was more grapes.



For supper I had a piece of steak and some plantains. Now, this isn't a regular sized plate. This is a desert plate, so you can see the minute amount of food that I ate. It doesn't even take up but barely half of the small plate. My husband really just gave me a piece of his steak and a few slices of plantain. It wasn't what you would call a whole supper.



After that I was still hungry so I had a big salad. Now this is a regular sized plate.



I have lost 30 pounds now! :) Losing weight isn't a problem. It's the symptoms of being sick that I am dealing with... so that's why it's back to the water for me - or at least an attempt to go back to the water. No promises, mind you.

I will be back tomorrow or the next day with another update. Oh, and instead of counting days or calling this a detox or whatever, I have just decided to put the date on top of each post. I think that's the best way to keep up with it.

Blessings,
Kimberly ♥
30 pounds down

Detox Day 8 - Beware of salad dressings or sandwich spreads (EDTA)

Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I lost another pound, and I am down 29 pounds now for a grand total since June, 12 pounds since last week. I am excited about that - two more pounds and I will break the barrier of 30 pounds! The bad news is that last night my husband asked me to make him deviled eggs, so I just made the whole carton (there were 8 left in the carton) and I decided to eat some too. I love deviled eggs, and all I had had all day was the watermelon, which I showed in yesterday's post, so I was ready to eat. There really wasn't much here to eat... just some onions and a couple of handfuls of spinach (both of which I used some of to put in the eggs) and that's about it, so I was hungry and I ate the eggs, thinking that I would go on a water fast today anyway and that no harm would be done... Now, normally, I can eat just about anything and I don't feel any side effects. I might get a headache or something later, but I just attribute it to stress, and of course, asthma has been a constant thing for me so I don't really know what causes it and what doesn't, but last night was different. Within 15 minutes of the time that I ate those eggs I developed a headache. That's not all. Right after that my throat started itching and I developed a sore throat and it gets even worse! Last night my breathing got worse, and for the first time in six days I had to take a nebulizer treatment because my lungs were closing off. I took two puffs from the inhaler, and it helped slightly, but did not take care of the problem. There is even more. I have eczema, but it has not really acted up for a while. Last night I started to get two watery blisters on my finger. Oh and I was trying to study and also got a slight dizziness, but pretty intense brain fog, which lasted for a few hours. Is this bad news upsetting me? No. Because this is a blessing for me. Since I have been water fasting or either eating raw just about all week, my body is very sensitive right now, and I can tell more about what bothers me. This allowed me to determine either the eggs or the ingredients in the eggs were what activated my asthma, caused my headache and skin rash, etc. The first think that I did was look at the mustard and mayonnaise jars for their ingredients, and the mustard only had natural ingredients, however the mayonnaise (Kraft) had Calcium Disodium EDTA as a preservative. So I decided to look it up. It is otherwise known as EDTA, and here is what it causes: short dizziness, nausea, joint ache, abdominal pain,kidney failure, thrombophlebitis, fatigue, fever and excessive thirst, suddenly, followed by creating serious headache, muscle pain, and appetite. Now, these symptoms, which are listed here are describing the indications after the patients have been injected, but I am saying right now when you haven't been on additives for a week or longer it doesn't take hours after being injected to feel these effects. That's not all. This page says this, pertaining to EDTA: Calcium Disodium EDTA. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, or simply known as EDTA, is a preservative found in many foods, including sodas, sandwich spreads and sauces. It's also found in many cosmetic products, including shampoos, body wash, deodorant and skin creams. EDTA may cause allergic reactions, asthma attacks, skin rash and possible kidney damage. Studies have also found that sustained intakes of calcium disodium EDTA can lead to essential mineral depletion in dogs. And, if you remember, in this post, I was complaining about asthma after eating Ken's Blue Cheese dressing, and then the next time I ate I switched to olive oil and spices, which was just as yummy. So beware of your salad dressings and sandwich spreads! Use something natural instead, because with these two experiences this week, especially the one from last night, I have learned that salad dressing and mayonnaise are NOT your friends!

With all that being said, here's what I ate yesterday, besides the watermelon that I had for breakfast, which I listed in yesterday's post.


(I did not eat all these eggs. I deviled 8 eggs, and this is the outcome, but my husband and I split them, having 4 eggs each. That was our complete supper...)





And that was all that I had to eat yesterday until I had a few frozen blueberries for a snack.





Regarding my husband, he has not been fasting, and he has been eating raw with me (but he's also been eating lots of cooked foods too), however, since last week he's lost nine pounds, which makes him at a grand total of 17 pounds lost.


Oh, and I accidentally lied to you yesterday - sort of. I told you that I hadn't had meat in at least a week, and I thought that it had been a couple of days before that. Well, I was looking back through my posts, and actually the night before my fast I had some delicious lamb, which I posted here. 


Blessings,
Kimberly ♥
29 pounds down

Detox Day 7

I am still feeling great! At night my asthma decides to show its ugly head a bit, but that's the norm for ashtma, I have read... it's always worse at night. I never could tell that until this week, because mine was bad all day long! I am taking my Advair once or twice a day (sometimes I forget to take it in the morning). And then I am taking a puff of my  inhaler really just once a day -- one day I took two - but even two is great for me. I haven't had a nebulizer treatment for 6 days now (at the end of today).

I really am not having any detox symptoms. Even though I am not strictly on water now, I am still detoxing, as I am completely raw. I just have a backache in my lower back. That's really what is plaguing me the most, and I don't know if it's detox or if maybe it's because we moved the bed and its sleeping a bit different. I am doing really good with the water. My husband bought some Mott's apple juice yesterday, which is one of my favorite things to drink, and he offered me some, but I told him that is just unnecessary calories, and I have been sticking with my water, and I have actually been enjoying it - which I usually do drink A LOT of water, but I haven't never drank STRICTLY water. I always have juice, as well, and sometime an occasional soda too. I know -- bad! I really am not having any cravings at this point. When I was on a water fast I was craving potato chips, but I think it was because I wanted the salt. Since I have been eating raw, I have been eating some salt on my food so the craving for salty foods went away. I haven't had meet in - well, I know it's been at least seven days, but it seems like I didn't eat meat for a few days before that - and it's not bothering me TOO bad. I would kind of like to have a hamburger (one of my favorite foods), but I could replace it with a veggie burger and be just as satisfied, but I am on a focus to stay raw or or water for a while at this point, so the veggie burger will have to hold off.

I am glad that I am not afraid to fast anymore. On Yom Kippur I literally counted the hours until the fast was over, and I was so hungry, but having fasted for 4 days now has really given me some freedom in the area of fasting. I didn't count the hours because I knew that after 24 hours I wasn't getting food, and it really wasn't that bad, and I think I would have continued with water only had it not been for the intense nausea, which I got. I still plan on doing some more days of water only though. I am also down 11 pounds now from last week, a grand total of 28 pounds from June. Two more pounds and I will break the barrier of 30 pounds, so I am excited about that.

Here's what I ate yesterday... after you saw the salad and grapes.

I had a cucumber. Usually I don't even peel them for the extra fiber, but this one was going bad, so I really had to pare it off.



There was another cucumber in the crisper, which looked good too - I was still hungry after eating the first cucumber, so I made "chips and salsa" with it.

I placed spinach, basil, tomatoes and vidalia onion in the food processor and whirred it up a bit to create the salsa. On hindsight, I forgot the garlic. I also spiced it up with turmeric, salt, pepper, curry, paprika, and dried herbs. (My husband doctored his up with honey and vinegar and it tasted like a relish - I prefer mine plain.)





And I just put some in the midst of my "chips" - raw cucumber slices.



I had lots of grapes - my favorite food...



Maybe a handful of nuts (my meat for now)...



And for breakfast today I had some slices of watermelon.



And that's been it besides my water.

I will be back tomorrow or soon with another report... I have to get to my American History class for now. I love that history! It stands for HIS STORY. :)

Blessings,
Kimberly ♥
28 pounds down

Detox Day 6

Well, with the exception of the soup and oatmeal Monday night, for the past six days (counting today) I have either been on a water fast or raw. My asthma is still feeling fabulous - almost non-existent. I did say ALMOST. Last night I had a salad of cilantro, mushrooms, spinach, red pepper, tomato, onion and garlic, but the thing is that I used Ken's Blue Cheese dressing on it. Bad move! This morning I woke up and my lungs were burning ever the slightest and my asthma was acting up just a LITTLE bit. Wow! What a difference one ingredient makes in health! Other than the salad I had a piece of watermelon and only water all day yesterday. I didn't get a picture of anything I consumed yesterday, because the battery on the camera was dead, but I did today!

I had the same salad...



But instead of Ken's Blue Cheese dressing, I used olive oil with paprika, salt, curry, pepper, turmeric, paprika and herbs, and it was yummy!



Right now, as I type, I am enjoying this bowl of grapes. That is all I expect to eat today. I may crack a few nuts later. I know... I am not soaking them first. :(



I lost one pound last night, making my grand total of loss 27 pounds. That was the pound that I gained back from the oatmeal and soup. I am staying well below 1000 calories a day, so I expect to see some major changes soon. I was going to try to stick with water, and I may yet have some days with pure water only, but I was looking at foods that detox, and I think as long as I stick with raw that I will do good too - especially if it's mostly greens, onions and garlic. Grapes are good too. This lady cured stomach cancer by eating grapes alone. So is watermelon, because it is mostly water and flushes toxins out of he kidneys. I am just proud that I made it four days on water only. Noe everyone can do that, and it was hard! Bless anyone that can make it 40!

I feel really good today for the most part. I have a slight backache, and I am very sleepy. The sleepiness came on after I ate my salad, which is weird because raw foods is not suppose to cause sleepiness. I have been having some weird pain in my right side. My husband says he can tell my tummy is going down. I am not really having too much detox symptoms, and neither was I when I was only partaking of water. I guess this is because I have always included lots of raw foods in my diet (always meaning for the past two years).

I will be back later with another update. Eat your raw foods - especially those dark, leafy greens! :)

Blessings,
Kimberly ♥
Down 27 pounds