Day 4 – Blending

Despite a multitude of temptations, I’ve made it through another day.  (Does anyone else begin to salivate at the smell of freshly microwaved popcorn in their work environment?)  Today’s morning weight was 332 lbs.  That’s down about 10 lbs from Sunday (the day before I started the blending fast).  That sounds good for just four days of juicing, until you remember a full belly is about 5 to 7 lbs and excess water retention is another 2 or 3 lbs.  So, 10 lbs is about right for four days of no chewing.  More good news:  I’ve also lost an inch on my waist – as judged by my belt.
The hardest part so far has been a severe kidney pain flair up Tuesday at work.  It was so painful I had to leave work mid-day and come home.  I drank lots of extra water (with lemon concentrate) and stayed off on Wednesday.  I was back at work today, but I feel pretty bruised inside on my right side.  Sometimes kidney stones are like a light switch and as soon as it moves from where it’s hurting you, you are suddenly pain free.  Other times, it’s like today, where it aches.  Still, that is much better than excruciating pain.
For whatever reason, this batch of “juice” isn’t nearly as acidic as some of the batches I’ve made in the past.  Sometimes, I almost get the feeling the juice is burning the lining of my mouth.  Then I have to wash it down more frequently with plain water (which I always keep handy).  It works, but it means having to “go” even more frequently.
I’ve not been hungry so far, but I have gone through the caffeine withdrawal headache phase.  The problem is when I do come off the fast I know I’ll be right back on the java.  I’m afraid it’s one of my last personal allowances and I’ll give up chocolate and salt before I give up my hot coffee with Bailey’s Irish Cream.
Well, the weekend is fast approaching and so a young man’s fancy turns to “Widow-maker” pizzas and BBQ ribs…  Just kidding.  4 down and 26 to go…  After that, who knows.  My better half is already planning the mostly meatless remainder of my life.  Keep me in your prayers.
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On This Day In:
2022	For A While
2021	The Cautionary Tale Of 6 January 2021
	When I Needed Sunshine
2020	65K
	Burst Buds
	Faux News Viewers
2019	Tomorrow’s Bread
2018	Impeach 45: Make America Great Again
2017	Training Shoulders
2016	You Just Have To Care
	Day 4 – Blending
2015	My Slow Education
2014	Great Service
2013	You Really Should Wear More Sweaters
	Here I Am God
2012	The Serenity Prayer
2011	The Victory Of Life

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You Just Have To Care

We sometimes forget the importance of what motivates people, and it’s relationships.  You just have to care about people, and that’s something anyone can do.
—    Dr. Monica Peek
As quoted by Mandy Oaklander
In her article:  “The Diet Prescription“
Appearing in:  Time Magazine;  dtd: 25 January 2016
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On This Day In:
2022	For A While
2021	The Cautionary Tale Of 6 January 2021
	When I Needed Sunshine
2020	65K
	Burst Buds
	Faux News Viewers
2019	Tomorrow’s Bread
2018	Impeach 45: Make America Great Again
2017	Training Shoulders
2016	You Just Have To Care
	Day 4 – Blending
2015	My Slow Education
2014	Great Service
2013	You Really Should Wear More Sweaters
	Here I Am God
2012	The Serenity Prayer
2011	The Victory Of Life

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Both Particle And Wave

Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.
––    Vera Nazarian
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On This Day In:
2022	What You Know
2021	Some Doctors Are Better Than Others
	Lessons
2020	A Liar As President Corrupts Us
2019	Is It Dark And Quiet For You?
2018	Undeniable Requirement
2017	Orange Corrosion
2016	Both Particle And Wave
2015	Deep In Debt
2014	The Difference
2013	My Heart Is Described
2012	Keen To Be Alone
2011	The Ideal Business…
2010	55

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Day 2 – Blending

Today is the end of day 2 of my blending fast.  Basically, I run a bunch of (mostly) vegetables through a juicer, then I take a blender to the roughage and add juice, beans, some walnuts and a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seeds.  The vegies were: 2 bunches of kale, 2 bunches of spinach, 2 bunches of celery, 1 red onion, a half-pound of frozen broccoli, 1 avocado and 2 large (18 inch) cucumbers.  The juices were: pineapple, apple, Naked Green Machine, Bolthouse Carrot juice and about 4 fluid ounces of lemon concentrate.  Most times, I’ll throw in bananas, tomatoes and some frozen mixed fruit, but I didn’t in this batch.   I make seven 64 FL OZ bottles of blend, which tends to last me from four to six days depending on what else I mix in during the week.  Sometimes it’s just 4 oz. of lemon concentrate in 60 oz. of water.  Sometimes I’ll mix in a bottle of cranberry or one of the other “Naked” juices.
When I did my first juice fast a couple of years ago, I lasted about 10 days on “just” juice.  Then I got tired of feeling like I was wasting all the perfectly good roughage.  I also found by including the roughage I didn’t have to worry about enemas or hemorrhoids.
My longest blend fast was 21 days, which I’ve done twice.  I’ve also done a hand full of less than a week.  I’m not good at coping with more than one “big” thing at a time, so if my heart (AFib) or kidneys (stones) flare up, I pretty much drop the fast and just try to feel better.  Of course, this results in a weight yo-yoing, but it is what it is.  My goal this time is 30 days.  As this is only day 2, it feels like a long ways off, but in the grand scheme of things it’s only ’til the end of April.  So, we’ll see…
Sunday night (before I started), I weighed in at 342lbs.  My waist is 50 inches.  I am compulsive so I will weigh myself everyday.  I know I’m not supposed to, but like I said, I don’t like to fight on more than one front at the same time, so for now I’ll blend and I’ll worry about my obsessive behavior later.  I’m walking 30 – 45 minutes each day and after about a week, I plan to start adding in a bit more vigorous exercise.  (But again, one thing at a time.)
Wish me luck and keep me in your prayers (or positive thoughts).
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On This Day In:
2022	Completely Reasonable To Worry
2021	Seeking Happiness
	Check Your Watch
2020	Expectation For The Near Future
2019	Indian Myth
	Did He Even Have The Courage To Ask?
2018	Nothing
2017	Approval First
2016	In Search Of Words
	Day 2 – Blending
2015	At What Price?
2014	Intricate And Subtle Order
2013	Attention To Detail
2012	Aequanimitas!
2011	Consider This

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In Search Of Words

No Words
I spent some time in search of words
To explain what it is I feel
They continue to elude me
Though I long to express – and not conceal
How completely it is you move me
With everything you are
Unmatched – your beautiful soul
As it touches those both near and far
I called upon all poets
With hope I could define
How it is that you have changed me
By sharing your heart with mine
I realized that perhaps
The words simply haven’t been created
And recognized this lack of words
Is indeed how it can be stated
To love beyond words
[Quoted from one of the blogs I follow:  http://busymindthinking.com/
The specific post is at:  http://busymindthinking.com/2016/02/17/no-words/
Well worth a view and a follow.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Completely Reasonable To Worry
2021	Seeking Happiness
	Check Your Watch
2020	Expectation For The Near Future
2019	Indian Myth
	Did He Even Have The Courage To Ask?
2018	Nothing
2017	Approval First
2016	In Search Of Words
	Day 2 – Blending
2015	At What Price?
2014	Intricate And Subtle Order
2013	Attention To Detail
2012	Aequanimitas!
2011	Consider This

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One More, Please

Realize deeply that the present moment is all you will ever have.
―    Eckhart Tolle
[Happy Birthday to me!    —   kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	The Air Is Thinner, But It’s A Killer View
2021	Staying Young While Getting Old
	Mid-Afternoon (Hopefully)
2020	Still Measuring
2019	Living On The Couch
	Who Am I – One Interpretation
2018	A Gardening Goal: Feed The Flowers
2017	Freakishly Happy Cowboy
2016	One More, Please
2015	Infinite Adventure
2014	Unpaved
2013	Headstones
2012	Keeping Young
2011	Lessons Well Learned

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Ripple

Empty your mind, be formless.  Shapeless, like water.  If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup.  You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle.  You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot.  Now, water can flow or it can crash.  Be water, my friend.
―    Bruce Lee
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On This Day In:
2022	One Hour Per Year
2021	If You’re A Lucky 11 Year Old
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	Masked Countdown And Gratitude
2020	Democratic Aspiration
2019	Soul Before Will
2018	Small Things
2017	Clear And Warm To Me
2016	Ripple
2015	Amazing Or Full Of Wonder?
2014	Are You Confused?
2013	But The Odds Are Against It
2012	Far Better Off With Books
2011	Timid And Fainthearted

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Wavelengths Of The Earth

Only when there is a wilderness can man harmonize his inner being with the wavelengths of the earth.  When the earth, its products, its creatures, become his concern, man is caught up in a cause greater than his own life and more meaningful.  Only when man loses himself in an endeavor of that magnitude does he walk and live with humanity and reverence.
—    Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas
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On This Day In:
2022	A Whole New Kind
2021	Yea, Spring!
	Smile On Your Brother
2020	Spoken And Shared
2019	Real Tools
	Three Cruelties
2018	United States
2017	Out Of Luck
2016	Wavelengths Of The Earth
2015	God Said What To You?
2014	Not Saying
2013	Ears And Tongue
2012	The Story Of Joe (Middle-Class Republican)
2011	Happy Birthday, Diana
	Depending On Kindness

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Punishing Red Binge

Daredevil: Season 2  —  Netflix TV Series Review
This week I completed my mini-binge of “Daredevil:  Season 2“.  (For my review of Season 1, click here.)  I say “mini-binge” because the season is only thirteen episodes (roughly the same number of hours) long.  I promised myself I’d mini-binge the entire first season to get myself in the mood for Season 2, but in the end, I didn’t.  I just jumped in.  I must also admit I really enjoyed seeing DD in his own TV series.
Season 2 is a lot more of the same…  Dark and very violent.  Once again, this is not a series for children viewing.  And I emphasize, very violent.
Having said that, is it any good?  And, is it interesting?  All the stuff which made year one a good-to-great show are back in Season 2:  great martial arts choreography and very good character development.  The down side?  Sometimes the dialog felt more like monologues and kind of dragged.  The season introduced two new characters:  Frank Castle (Jon Bernthal) aka “The Punisher” and Elektra Natchios (Élodie Yung).  Both of which were pretty awesome.  Of the two, Castle is more fun to watch and root for.  Yung makes you almost completely forget the “other” Elektra (Jennifer Garner).  Bernthal is powerful and Yung is almost campy.  Both are deadly, but one is brutal while the other graceful.  The contrast is truly Yin / Yang.  And the over-arc story of each with the “no-kill” philosophy of Daredevil is equally stark.  This contrast is what leads (ironically) to the dull-ish dialog.  I guess “dull” isn’t the correct way to analyze the writing, but we had to listen to the same arguments in every single episode.  Enough already.  Daredevil, although a vigilante, is a hero.  He saves lives and doesn’t kill.  We get it!
Last season, DD got his uniform / costume.  This season, DD gets his baton.  We don’t know all of what it does, but it’s very cool so far!
So, final recommendation:  very strong!  This is an excellent adaptation of the comic book character into a TV series.  I highly recommend you watch the whole of the first season before trying to dive into season two.  It’ll make a lot more sense.
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On This Day In:
2022	Understanding True Achievement
2021	Avoiding Corners
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2020	First Buds
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2019	What If Nobody Believes Them Either
2018	It’s About Heart Not Skill
2017	Winning So Much I’m Already Tired Of It (Not)
2016	Punishing Red Binge
2015	Bits In The Soup
2014	More Beef, Less Bull
2013	Where Are Your Mountains
2012	Spherical Knowledge Of Hamsters
2011	Taking Stock Over Time

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60, Little Bro!

At age 20, we worry about what others think of us.  At 40, we don’t care what they think of us.  At 60, we discover they haven’t been thinking of us at all.
—    Ann Landers
The old believe everything;  the middle-aged suspect everything;  the young know everything.
—    Oscar Wilde
[Happy Birthday, Bro!  We aren’t really getting old, but I believe we’ve forgotten most of what we used to know for sure.  I suspect those wrinkles are just where all the smiles and laughter were.  And, there are a lot more (wrinkles AND laughter) to come…   Love ya    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Following His Own Path
2021	Show A Brother Some Love
	Beyond Words
2020	Especially You, Bro
	Words Without Explanation
2019	Enjoy!
2018	Happy Birthday, Bro!
2017	Love Can Change The World In A Minute
2016	60, Little Bro!
2015	Vision and Courage
2014	58 – Little Bro
2013	New Adventures And Old Hopes
	Caving In
2012	Bits And Bobs And Birthdays
	Always Hope
2011	Wet Snow And Long Hills

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Don’t Default

It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.
―    J.K. Rowling
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On This Day In:
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2020	And #IncompetentDonald Weakens It
2019	Morning Mirror
2018	Wondering About #45
2017	A Prayer For London
2016	Don’t Default
2015	Her Pilgrim Soul
2014	Three Observations
2013	Robbed Again
2012	Good Hearts
2011	Interesting Reading
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Beyond The Foundation

Keep reading books, but remember that a book is only a book, and you should learn to think for yourself.
––    Maxim Gorky
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On This Day In:
2022	Make It Easy
	On A Lighter Note
2021	I Hope Not
	Diggin’ It
2020	Organized Skepticism
2019	An Interest In Life
2018	Two: A Current President With Both
2017	Watch This Space
2016	Beyond The Foundation
2015	Become An Affliction
2014	Just Setting Out
2013	Scott’s Inscription
2012	Good Knowledge
2011	Social Safety Nets

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Growing Worlds

There are many little ways to enlarge your child’s world.  Love of books is the best of all.
––    Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
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On This Day In:
2022	One World (Our Only Place)…
2021	Move The Heart
	Join Hands
2020	He Broke Even
	Whoever / Whatever
2019	The Right Anger
	Another P&P Review
2018	Does Fatalism Equal Mental Health?
2017	Choice
2016	Growing Worlds
2015	Change The Tide
	Martyr, n.
2014	You, Too!
2013	Bitter Stand
2012	Lost For Words
2011	On Market Reactions…

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Same Old, Same Old

If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.
––    Haruki Murakami
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On This Day In:
2022	Seek Good
2021	Aging Well
	Now And Forever
2020	Always
2019	#45 Is More Of A Piddle Than A Puddle
2018	Found Out
	A Message To The “Wanna Be” Dictator On Leadership
2017	Still Waiting…
2016	Same Old, Same Old
2015	Shout!
2014	I Hear Voices
2013	Ethics And Standards
2012	Swing Higher
2011	Convicted For Life

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Not Yet, Anyway

I think of life as a good book.  The further you get into it, the more it begins to make sense.
–    Harold Kushner
[…Reminds me of:
“For love is such a mystery,
I cannot find it out;
And when I think it’s best resolved,
I then am most in doubt”.
Of course you have to substitute “life” with “love“.    —    kmab]
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On This Day In:
2022	Be Someone For Somebody
2021	Genius (And Other Details)
	I Don’t Know Why
	Going Into The Deep End
2020	Repercussions For Health
2019	Chained To #45
2018	Some Men Make Their Office As Small As Themselves
2017	Too Many
2016	Not Yet, Anyway
2015	On Pornography
2014	Nudge, Nudge
2013	The Journey Will Be Joy
2012	Hopeful Flights
2011	Irrationally Predictable
	Lawful Restraint

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