Coming down to the wire…

Yesterday I had one of my favorite suppliers for work come visit from Chicoutimi, Canada. Marc has been one of the people that I have really become friends with since I started with the company almost 3 years ago. He speaks French and has a very European “way” about him, which I really enjoy. I always love to talk to people who are from different places. I went to visit him in 2009 in Canada and it was such an experience. It was literally as far North as you can possibly get in Canada. A whopping 10 hour drive from where I work in Connecticut, but well worth the trip! As you can see in the picture, it is so gorgeous up there.

They also  have some really amazing restaurants. Marc is one of those people that loves to eat and drink wine and socialize. He doesn’t like to be rushed. I feel like whenever he comes to visit, or I go to see him that he really shows me that it is OK to slow down once in a while and really enjoy things around me. Most people I know are always running around, doing, being, making, etc. Certainly I am no exception! For those of you who are regular readers of my blog, you know that I am always running around doing something, haha.

This next picture kind of shows you what Marc does for the company I work for. He makes and sells parts that are made of ductile iron. Without getting into too much detail, that flaming red hot lava stuff you see, that is the ductile iron being poured into a mold to make a certain part that we need for a coal fired power plant. I just wanted to show that picture of sparks that fly when they pour that hot juice. Really is an amazing sight to see!

Having Marc here and being on the detox was really a challenge. He normally takes me out with some of our colleagues to a nice dinner. Filled with breads, appetizers, wine, salads, main course, desserts… sticking to a detox when you go out with one of the people who you LOVE to eat with is very hard! He tells me “Rav-en, why do you detox, eh? You arhe beaut-i-ful just the way you arhe, yes?”. I’m not sure he truly understood the purpose of the detox, haha. Oh well.

Last night we went to Maine Seafood Market. This menu has so many gorgeous things to eat on it. I was actually very happy that we decided to go to this particular restaurant because I knew I would be able to find something I could eat on the menu. I decided to go with a small cut of salmon that was broiled with a side of steamed beets. The salmon was cooked to absolute perfection. I hate going to a restaurant and end up paying $20 for a piece of fish that is dry and overcooked. They did a beautiful job! Side note: I don’t like beets…shhhhh! I know! I ordered them but I don’t like them. Really Raven? They were great! I loved the flavor of them steamed like that. Maybe I just don’t like pickled beets…

The meal was fabulous; the company even better.

Day 12 of the Detox! Getting down to the wire now. Can you believe it? I feel like I have been doing this detox for an eternity and it has only been 12 days haha. I don’t mean that in a bad way either. It just seems like I put so much effort into it that it seems longer. The results have been really fantastic! I am a coffee drinker…I love coffee…especially after a nice meal. I haven’t had a drop of coffee for 12 days now, just hot tea. I haven’t missed it, not one bit. You know what the real shocker was? I feel more alert now then when I was drinking my coffee everyday in the morning. Amazing right? It is almost like the food that I have been eating is giving me more energy than when I was actually drinking caffeine. That is amazing to me. What else? Well, I just mentioned my energy level is much better. Which I love because I am a very busy person. Another thing I have noticed is that I find myself getting “full” now. Instead of eating and eating and eating, which I love to do believe me, I am starting to get full half way through my meals. I really liked the fact that the detox had frequent meals but they were really portioned. I really want to continue doing that when the detox is over. I seem to just function much better when I have a lot of small meals throughout the day.

I wanted to make sure to say thank you to all of you…each and every one of you has been so supportive of my detox adventure. That really means a lot to me. Having the support and backing has really helped me to stay on track. I didn’t want to have to come back tell you all that I had cheated on the detox, haha. So thank you all very much for the continued support ::big hug::

Here is my menu for day 10 & 11, for those of you who like to see it.

Sunday will be my last day. I can’t wait to bake something this weekend! I have already been making the plans and looking up recipes. That is one thing that I really have missed, is all the cooking and baking. While I did cook some things most of the meals I was having had raw veggies, raw fruit, raw beans. I am really looking forward to making something as a celebration to the hard work for 14 days…I am thinking banana turnovers…..

What do you all think I should make?