Em
Friday. Sweet and Glorious Friday. How I have missed you.
Something exciting is happening this weekend. Yes, my friends, it certainly is. And when I say exciting, it probably only appeals to me, but I am okay with that. This weekend I have nothing to do. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I don’t remember the day I was able to say this with complete confidence that plans are moot. On top of this, Cory (unfortunately for his sake) has to work all weekend. What does this mean? This means I get to sleep however late I want to (okay, we all know I will probably wake up at 7:00 a.m. but it’s the reality of the matter), I can eat, nap, read, watch bad movies and have me some good me time.  It has been awhile since I last has some ‘me’ time (don’t ask why I put it in quotations. I just feel like it deserves the extra effort).  I plan on catching up with my book reviews (maybe even get ahead of schedule.gasp.), trying out a new recipe (God, I am getting lame), and watching the new Miley Cyrus movie that went straight to DVD or dare I saw a Twilight Marathon (When I said lame, I really didn’t believe it until re-reading what I just typed. don’t judge).

I know. You don't have to tell me what is wrong with this picture.
With all this free time, I have deemed this weekend “The Weekend I start Running”. Confession time: I haven’t run it what feels like forever. Okay, so it was last October, but that is still a very long time. My treadmill broke down in the move so I can either run at top speed (makes for a good show) or at the slowest speed (also makes for a good show) and that mixed in with sloppy weather and no running trails in the area, my running shoes have been collecting dust. Do I feel good about this? No. But I will get back into the swing of things. This weekend. I think. I hope. We will see. I think the temps might be around 30 degrees and no snow, so outside running can probably happen (if any of you have an excuse I can use to not start running, let me know. I am taking excuses at the moment). Okay, so I will be real as to the reason I feel the need to start again: Jealousy. Yes, you read that right. I am jealous. People all over Facebook are talking about training for the Half Marathon that I ran in last year. Due to the fact that I couldn’t afford it that week and the plans that Cor wants to knock me up sometime in the next year, I felt it was best to sit this one out because of all the uncertainties the future holds. All the statues though are bringing me back to last year when I signed up and when I started training and I do miss it. Despite the fact that I tell everyone I hate running, I miss the feeling after I completed a run or the feeling of running as the sun was coming up. It really put me at peace with myself, with nature, and I felt fantastic. What I have decided is that I am going to run another half marathon in October in Ashland, WI. I can sign up a week before the actual marathon, so the future will be more set and then I don’t have to worry about being outed the $80.00. Now I have a goal to be reached and can join the cool people and start talking about training. Yes, jealously is a very good motivator so thank you half marathon runners for posting about training. It has made me set a goal for myself and I am pretty excited about it!
Depite what many of you probably think, This is not me. However, I probably look like that when I run. I most definitely do not breathe like a Hippo and am very graceful.
Man, it feel like I have so much more to talk about. Sorry for the novel folks. It has been a busy week, so I am trying to catch you all up on my not-so-exciting life (hmmm. I really am uninteresting). With the new found motivation to get my big butt off the couch, I also want to start eating healthy. One of my dear friends and favorite running buddy have been talking about a detox they have been trying. She found it on Pinterest and it is all natural and supposedly good for you (I also want to put a shout out to this friend because I saw this on her Facebook posts so if she reads this, I am probably sounding really creepy and stalkerish right now, because we have in fact never talked about it. She has been posting about it and I copied her. Sorry Kat). J
Just to set you all straight, I am not looking at losing weight, but I do love the feeling of being healthy. I was very successful last summer and am looking forward to getting on the horse again. Yes, this means that I have to pay attention to serving sizes and pass on the cheese with extra cheese pizza that my mother-in-law orders, but Me? I love food. Again, I am not going on a diet, I will just be more conscious of what is going into my body and paying attention to the serving sizes. What this detox claims to do is make your insides a bit healthier and it is all natural. Seriously. It is a detox with honey and cinnamon and water. That is all. Instead of drinking tea at night, you replace it with this. My frame of mind is that if it doesn’t work, I am not really out anything. I have copied the instructions below if anyone else is interested in it. They also have some information as to why they think it works.  J Honestly, sometimes all of this is just a bunch a Bull. When they start talking about studies and why it works, I lose interest. The thing that really got me to want to try it is that I have heard a lot of good things about honey and how the natural bacterium in honey is good for the body. It is not a pill and I drink honey tea anyways.  I feel it might be a win!

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Health Benefits of Honey and Cinnamon
◦If you take tea made from honey and cinnamon, it will not only provide detoxification benefits, but will also prevent fat accumulation. This is confirmed by a research done in the year 2010 and published in the Archives of Biochemistry. (See, this is where I lose interest, but read On!)
◦Cinnamon will help lose body weight, even when you will take a diet high in fructose and fats. Thus, fat is not allowed to get accumulated in the body and is instead purged. (Again, I feel this is too good to be true. I don’t necessarily believe that you can still eat high fructose foods and lose weight, but with healthy habits, this might assist in maintaining your weight)
◦Honey also plays an important role in weight loss and prevent fats accumulation. Thus, replacing regular sugar with honey can help in prevention of fats storage and also allow it to pass through the digestive tract without being absorbed. (We will see. Again, it seems too good to be true)
◦Honey contains flavonoids, antioxidants which help reduce the risk of some cancers and heart disease. (I do believe this.)
◦All honey is antibacterial, because the bees add an enzyme that makes hydrogen peroxide (I have heard this.)
Okay, enough about the health perks of this. If you just Google “Benefits of Honey”, you will get a lot more answers which include but are not limited to, better skin, improved athletic performance, and so on. Again, use your own judgment if you believe all the studies or not. Otherwise, stay tuned and I will let you know how it works for me!
 Ways to Detox with Cinnamon and Honey
Detox with honey and cinnamon is very simple as it needs only honey, cinnamon and a cup of water. It should be done in the following manner:
◦Take cinnamon and honey in the ratio of 1:2.
·         EX: . 1/2 tsp cinnamon to 1 tsp honey is recommended but can use more or less as long as in the ratio of 1 to 2. — so 1 tsp cinnamon to 2 tsp raw honey is ok too as an example.
◦Now, put cinnamon in a bowl or a cup.
◦Boil 1 cup of water and pour it over cinnamon and allow it to steep for about half an hour.
◦Add honey, once the liquid gets cooled. Do not add honey in the warm solution as it will kill the enzymes present in raw honey.
◦Take half cup of honey and cinnamon tea before going to bed and the rest of the amount should be covered and stored in refrigerator.
◦This leftover tea should be taken as the first thing in the morning the next day. This tea should be taken on an empty stomach without adding anything to it.
** I also want to note that some websites mentioned that only RAW HONEY should be used, but again, you can do your own research and decide what you think/believe.**
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Well friends. That is all I have to contribute today. I am very excited for my low key weekend and really look forward to spending time with my kitty (who has a very bad leg at the moment L) Yes, this crazy cat lady who drinks way too much coffee is going to have a weekend that any crazy cat would dream of having. (See also previous mentioned lame comments about myself). Happy March, dear friends.

-Cheers!
“Be Truthful, Gentle, and Fearless” - Gandhi


My Poor kitty. At least he has this guy to cuddle with.