All Good Things Must End

Dear Stacy,

Yes, it's true. As I begin wrapping up my 90 days of raw, I believe that the mutual infatuation Robert and I have shared has run its course (and I swear it isn't because of this picture!!)

Okay, the picture doesn't help.

We've had some good times in this blog. The best moment for me, hands down, was when my sister informed me that my Mom was in a snit because I was dating this "Rob" person.

Oh yeah...I'm serious.

As far as raw is concerned, I get asked daily if I will continue to eat raw after my time is up. It's a fair question, and at this point I want to continue mulling it over before I make a commitment.

You wanna know how I felt the day after last weeks victorious 3 mile run? I needed a wheelchair for 3 days to recover!!!! By day 4, I was feeling better and ran for 3.5 miles, stopping only because I don't want to sadistically push myself anymore. I am focusing hard on being happy with 3 miles, and accepting that I probably won't ever be a marathon runner. I am more than a little amazed that I don't have any aches or pains after running these last few days. I wonder if the supplements I started taking have contributed to that...

So here I sit in my kitchen, on day 78, feeling a little melancholy... puzzled over what life will be like outside the confines of this blog and these 90 days.

Maybe it won't be any different at all. I know that I will still use my Edward Cullen cup for my green smoothies (some rituals are worth holding on to.) But the truth is, much like the way I felt after seeing Robert in his scarf and little black socks, I'm afraid it's not gonna feel the same.

'LICIOUS DISHES

Steve decided that all he wanted to do on Saturday was see Inception so we took the number 19 bus to the Dole Cannery which turned out to be this really surreal empty mall/office building hybrid. Despite it being the weekend - the only people we saw - sat at tables playing some kind of D&D game. No one was talking - just slapping cards down. We walked down empty halls - passed weird closed stores while creepy music played. I swear if zombies had suddenly came slow walking towards me - it would've totally made sense. We had planned to grab lunch before the movie but didn't count on the only food being in the half closed prisony looking food court. Suddenly Steve let's out a whoop and says "LICIOUS DISHES! LICIOUS DISHES!" What the hell?

Turns out he had read (and forgotten obviously until that moment) that "Licious Dishes" - the the only raw food place in all of Oahu just happens to be in the Dole Cannery! SCORE!

We opened the door and walked straight into a kitchen with two women prepping food -

Turns out - it's not a restaurant - more like one of those raw delivery services (like Rawvolution)

We got to meet the wonderful owner Sylvia Thompson (right) who first discovered raw in 2005 when she ate at PURE FOOD & WINE (my fave raw books are by those guys.) Despite being really busy prepping orders - she took the time to show us what they were making - we got an up close look at the AMAZING raw burger patties. (drool)

LUCKY for us they have a fridge chok full of raw goodness -

We wanted to try everything!

We got a veggie burger, lasagna, a tomato salad, flax seed crackers and a layer bean dip (did I mention we were starving?)

We also got this Kombucha stuff they serve in a cool mason jar but I aint gonna lie - it looked thick and scary.

By the time she threw in a free bag of kale chips, I was shaking with joy. We took our raw booty and found a table next to the weirdos -

And lemme tell you - it was crazy good. The burger wasn't just the best raw burger - but the best burger EVER. The raw mustard & mayo - DELICIOUS! The layered bean dip was party worthy. And that Kambucha was the best damn beverage I've ever had. It was fizzy and sweet and not like the commercial Kambucha I've tried from Whole Foods. Steve - after just a few bites and sips turns to me and says - "You can really feel the energy!" (which was saying a lot considering the exhausting hours he worked that week) It was true - each bite seemed to fill us with this crazy good energy and joy. We hadn't felt that with any cooked meal we'd had so far. Ya know Jill - I broke the raw experiment thinking that I would feel relieved - that cooked food would taste SOOOOO GOOOD after so many weeks of raw... but it didn't. (okay maybe the spicy garlic shrimp plate - that was nuttygood) But for the most part - nothing did it for me like this meal did. Nothing after that tasted that good. Raw food TASTES better than cooked to me now. I guess you can call that progress.

Run Bitch, Run!

Dear Stacy,

I seem to have run out of things to say about being raw, and just when I was ready to give up on this weeks post, something marvelous happened. I have been waking up around 5:00 am every morning to walk on my treadmill, and it's interesting because I keep very late hours and should be too tired, but this pre-dawn ritual has turned into the second best part of my day!

Todays walk was different. I had covered about a 1/4 of a mile when I had the bright idea to start running. It felt pretty good, so I made a pact with myself to run for 1 mile straight without stopping...just to see if I could do it. It started to wear thin about 1/2 mile in, but I'm pretty stubborn, so I pushed it. By the time I reached the mark I was seriously starting to percolate!

Oh Yeah!!! I'd forgotten that running is a nightmare for the first 15 minutes, but if you stick it out everything just opens up and you can fly!! I figured that I had come this far, I might as well do another 1/2 mile...or hell, maybe a whole one. I was beginning to remember all of the handpicked running songs on my Ipod that had been neglected for two whole years.

My very favorite: Eminem's "Lose Yourself."

"Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted, one moment, would you capture it or just let it slip away?"

Well, Hell YES, Eminem, I'm gonna capture it right here in this moment!!! As I pass the 2 mile mark I start contemplating going for 3...all I have had to eat is a green smoothie but I am feeling it, so why not? My whole body is tingling from the endorphin release, and yet I'm conflicted because the obsessive compulsive in me KNOWS that I walked the first 1/4 mile. If I want to say that I actually ran for 3 miles straight, then I'm gonna have to stretch it to 3 1/4 miles.

Dammit! This is how I have always run....stupid mental mind games!! So I said, "shit, I hate myself," and kept going.

I was seriously laughing when I finished, and I couldn't help but think of all the unexpected ways that these 71 days of raw have changed me. It's been pretty well documented on the pages of this blog that I desperately wanted to find my power, and I can't believe that I am about to say this, but that is exactly what I have found!

So in honor of the great Eminem, I leave you with these words of wisdom..may they inspire you as they have me:

You better lose yourself in the music, the moment

You own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo!