Our trip to Wakanda

Mike is a Marvel fan. I have never been into cartoons or comic books until I met Mike. So needless to say I've seen EVERY Marvel movie. When Mike knew that Marvel was creating a movie about the Black Panther I knew we'd be in the audience on opening day. What I didn't know is that we'd be in Abu Dhabi!

In January one of our friends here in Abu Dhabi invited us and some other people to pre order tickets and see the movie the day it was released here. We were so excited for many reasons but 1 being that that the main characters and many of those behind the camera are black! How exciting to see black people in a positive light on a large screen. This was a time for us to represent for our culture. We had our outfits picked out weeks in advance. We even decided to make a weekend out of this and do a staycation. We got a hotel for the weekend and had planned to fully enjoy ourselves and celebrate our culture.

I will not discuss the movie because I want to encourage you to see it for yourself. The movie was amazing. As we were coming out of the movie we saw so many people in their African attire. It was such a great feeling to be 7000 miles from home and our people still show out for the culture. This weekend made me proud to be black even though I'm proud to be black all the time. 😀😀😀

Take a look at how we entered Wakanda.

As part of our staycation we decided to ride around. We used a dirham ($1 here in Abu Dhabi) and if it landed on the lamp we turned right if it landed on the 1 we turned left.

This was fun because we got to see parts of Abu Dhabi that we haven't seen AND this led us to a Highway 55.

We definitely stopped there for lunch. The food was just as good as it is back home. As we were riding we saw some amazing views.

After a while all of the streets began looking alike.

This weekend was so great.

We are now preparing for our very first visitor. I'm not going to divulge who our visitor is going to be but you can count on an entire blog about our visitor and our adventures with our visitor.

Be Kind to One Another and Be Uniquely You! #WakandaForever #ForTheCulture #UniqueInTheUAE

Green Smoothie Detox Journey Part 2

Day 8: 

Today I woke up and was excited that I was halfway through with this detox. I drank my tea, made my smoothies and read my devotional for today. Today was great because it talked about powerful positive affirmation. Pretty much speaking things into existence!

I will lose the weight.

I am a conqueror.

I can finish this detox without cheating.

I am honestly ready to be done with this. I want a nice hot meal! 

Today at work a colleague of mine said she could see a difference in my face. I have to admit that I was quite pleased. 

Temptation is still around me. Look what was sent to my phone!

No real revelations to share today just ready for Sunday!

Day 9:

If I'm being sincere, today was very hard. My devotional was about the power of our tongue and controlling what we say and our thoughts that are behind what we say. I told myself this morning that I can do this and that I will lose weight as a way to control my thoughts. Well as the day progressed I found myself doubting me. Could I do this? Was I crazy for even trying this? Was I really losing weight. I was just so discouraged! 

I got home and did an in house workout. 

I talked to Mike about how discouraged I felt. I told him I was going to pray an ask God if he really wanted me to do 14 days instead of 10 or 12. 

I check the mirror every morning trying to look for change. After I talked to Mike, I asked him if he could see a change and I asked him to be honest. At first he was like ehhhh I don't know. Then he said you look like Janelle to me I don't know. So, I looked in the mirror for myself and snapped a picture. Tell me what do you think?

Day 10:

I made it! I did 10 days without cheating! I am soooo proud of myself. If I would not have committed to 14 days today would be my last day! Today I didn't feel discouraged at all. I kept thinking about what I wanted my end result to be.

Today's smoothie wasn't all that great but as usual I drank it. Once I got home I went directly to do my walk/jog.

With 4 more days to go I just keep thinking about how this is 1 step towards my healthy lifestyle goal. I am determined that this won't be a fad and just something that I tried and did well with it. I want to continue losing weight and toning up my body as well. I'm excited and still as enthused about this journey as I was on Day 1.

Day 11:

Today I started my day as I've done the last 10 days with a devotional. Today's devotional was about not reverting back to old habits. I am so determined to keep on pressing! 

Today there was heavy fog so I didn't go to school at the regular time. I was able to relax, reflect, and catch up on a show I was behind on. I drank my smoothie and water at work like I always do.

Once I got home my body began to talk to me. I hadn't experienced any symptoms as of yet but today when I got home I was quite nauseous. I wasn't sure if it was my body saying we get it now feed us because I haven't been drinking the 3rd smoothie in its entirety because I wasn't hungry or just my mind playing tricks on me. I prayed about it and spoke to God about my thoughts and feelings. I talked to my husbando about my thoughts and feelings. I decided that maybe if I busied myself my nausea would subside. I decided to make the Fat Flush soup I had been looking forward to enjoying. It is said to be a great way to break this smoothie detox. It smelled wonderful as it cooked. Here's the recipe:

Today I broke my cleanse. I ate! I am not disappointed in this because I know for a fact I went longer than even I expected. I know I will continue to lead a healthy lifestyle.  I might jump back in tomorrow and finish off these last days depending on what my body says when I get home.

Day 12:

I started the day off the same way even though I ate yesterday. I got to work tasted my smoothie and quickly realized it wasn't blended well at all! So, I could not even drink it all. I did my very best. I did drink my water and that made me happy.

Once I got home I warmed up some of my fat flush soup. I added a few seasonings and I just knew it was going to be soooo good. I went to move the bowl to the bar where I was going to eat and 

SPLAT!

All of my soup hit the floor. I was devastated but good thing I had more in the fridge. So I put that in a pot (we don't have a microwave) tried to redo the same seasonings and sat it on our bar and enjoyed the soup. Those extra seasonings made it so good! I still feel really good! 

I had to change my monthly menu up since I'm having my fat flush soup now but it will still consist of clean and healthy meals.

Day 13:

 Bring on the weekend! I am so happy that it's the weekend. Today I woke up and since it's Friday that means no work! 

I got up and did a workout using some exercises I have pinned on Pinterest. After my workout I showered and got dressed. Mike was up by the time I got out of the shower. I told him I was going to the store and wanted to be there by 10 to beat the crowd. The stores are always crowded but on Friday mornings it's not so bad. So, I told him I wanted to leave around 9:00-9:15 so I could get to the store by 10. As he was getting ready I made my detox tea, made my smoothie, washed the dishes and took time for my devotional. Yeah, I woke up with a lot of energy which is how I had been feeling for the last few days.

We got to the store and I drank my smoothie as we shopped. I got everything on my list and I was able to shop without having to fight crowds. Felt so good!

We got home and we put up groceries and I tried my hand at trying to recreate Joe's Crab Shack Crazy Crab Dip. It came out pretty good! I love to cook and this meal prepping is reigniting that fire!

After enjoying the dip I watched a little tv and just relaxed. I won't eat again until dinner. For dinner I plan on having more fat flush soup! Feeling good staying on track!

Day 14:

Today was a very lazy day! I woke up with a little scratch in my throat so I took it easy. I did eat the rest of my fat flush soup and it was still so delicious!!!!!! I also took some medicine.

As I reflect on these last few weeks I realize that I can do this. I can lead a different lifestyle and be successful. I am committed to this and I know I can do it. I had the support of friends and family and that made so much of a difference. I will continue to drink smoothies for breakfast and lunch and then eat a clean dinner because I lost a total of 7KG which is like 15 pounds. Talk about motivation!

I will continue to do daily devotionals because that really helped me throughout the day! 

So, I encourage you if there is something in your life that you aren't happy with, take charge and change it! Don't wait! 

So until the next time be kind to one another and Be Uniquely You!

Green Smoothie Detox Journey Part 1

Once we got back from our trip to Dubai, I went to the store to pick up all of the items I would need for my daily smoothies. I had read the book on my kindle this past week,

joined the Facebook group, and saw that the key to being successful was prepping . So, that's exactly what I did. I came home and bagged up each day of smoothies. I had a separate bag for my veggies and fruit.

Day 1:

I woke up and turned on our kettle to make my detox tea. I blended my veggies and water and then added the fruit. I put it in my bottles for breakfast, lunch and, dinner and then sat down to drink my tea and read my daily weight loss/healthy lifestyle devotion. The detox tea fills me up so I don't begin drinking the smoothie until I get to work.

My boys are very curious so they wanted to know what I was drinking and why I was drinking it. I told them that I wanted to lose weight and since I drank them last week I had lost 2 KG. They were like 2 KG miss!!! Miss tell me what you drink so I can drink too. Some of them actually wrote down what I said. I thought it was so funny. They asked me to bring some for them to try.

Today's smoothie tasted ok. It wasn't exceptionally delicious. I was committed to this and was determined to drink it no matter what, and I did. During the day I didn't experience any major symptoms that may come from such a drastic change but I get a small headache during dinner and this is only day 1.  I just decided to drink some water. Dinner time wasn't too bad. I drank my smoothie while Mike ate his dinner that smelled delicious. If you're wondering no I did not veer from my smoothie.

I went on my usual 2 mile walk but I had to cut it short because I started experiencing shin splints. It hurt so bad to walk so for part 2 I went into the weight room and did some weight training. I did part 3 back in the house which was squats and crunches.

I had some apples and peanut butter for a snack.

Here's what else I can have as snacks:

Day 2: 

I started my day the same way that I did Day 1. Today as a whole was a bit different because I went to the bathroom so much and that kind of aggravated me even though I know it's part of the detox!

My boys asked me what I had in my drink today. One of them had his own bottle and told me he was doing it too. His drink looked more like chocolate milk or coffee but I told him that was awesome.

Still no major symptoms today and I'm so happy about that except for a very small headache but once I drank water it disappeared. I didn't do my 2 mile walk because my phone died and because as soon as I started walking my stomach started talking to me and those shin splints veered their ugly head. I came back up stairs and did crunches and variations of plank inspired exercises. I ate 1 apple and peanut butter and then Mike and I went to run some errands. We stopped at the store too because I wanted to infuse my water for bloating. I'm not sure that I'm bloating but I want to do everything possible to give myself the best chance of being successful. Here's what I did...

Once we got home I began to drink my dinner smoothie, I made my detox water to drink while at work, and I made some apple chips which was a super easy recipe. I also made a tuna concoction. In the tuna I put some celery, 1 boiled egg, vegan mayonnaise, sea salt, pepper, and paprika. I used a stalk of celery as a spoon to eat with the tuna concoction and to my surprise, I liked it. It was so good. I made it to be a snack for tomorrow because we're scheduled to have parent teacher conferences and I don't want to have any excuses so I just tasted it to make sure I'd like it. 

Today's devotional talked about sacrifice and temptation. After we went to the store Mike wanted to stop at KFC so we did. I'm not a big KFC fan so this didn't faze me at all. Once he got his food and began eating his fries and that smell wafted over to my nose and my mind began to think about how good just 1 fry would taste. Mike told me they were so hot. He was like you love fries you need to taste just 1 of these because they are so good. He said, "I won't tell anyone and I won't even pick on you. You just need to try 1. I've never had fries from KFC that were this good!" This was my moment of truth. Just this morning I had read about sacrifices and not giving into temptation. I told him so very politely thanks but no. He kept insisting because he knows I love fries and I really do love fries BUT I looked him in his eyes, caressed his face and told him no this is something I must do for me. He conceded and continued to eat his fries. I was so proud of myself! I'm determined to lose this weight and having this mindset is more than half of the battle. I'm going to stop writing now because I must run to the bathroom...AGAIN! UGH! 

Day 3:

What to say today? I am thinking about food; all kinds of food and some food that I don't even eat a lot of. Burgers, fries, milkshakes, fried chicken, you name it! I want to eat something! But so far so good. I just got home from work so I had some of my tuna concoction. I drank my breakfast and lunch smoothie at work. I also drank my detox water. My bathroom count is at 5 not counting the 2 times I went before I left the house for work.

After I ate my tuna concoction I had the taste for something sweet so I ate my apple chips and paired them with peanut butter.

I'm letting my phone charge before I go do my workout. We have parent teacher conferences at work this evening and I plan to drink my smoothie while we are there. I'm trying to do things to occupy my mind but I must admit that today has been difficult but I did not falter!

Well I'm back home now. On the way to school I ended up drinking my entire dinner smoothie. I got to school and sipped on my 2nd liter of water. I didn't think about food too much because I was occupied with talking to parents.

Now I'm in the bed and about to go sleep. 3 days down 7 to go! I can conquer this 10 day smoothie challenge! I am determined!

Day 4:

Well I can honestly say food has not been on my mind today. I've been consumed with making sure I'm drinking enough water and finishing my smoothies.

I'm feeling ok. I can't tell that I'm losing weight at all but a colleague of mine said she could see it.

My friends back home are doing the cleanse with me so I was telling them about this beautiful snack that I had prepared and one of them busted my bubble and said you can't have that, this is a meatless detox. All this time I thought tuna was approved but nope, it's not. That means the list above is incorrect.

But I still ate my snack and told them I'd do no tuna for the remainder of our 6 days. I also decided I'd go an extra 2 for the tuna mix up. So I really have 8 more days to go!

My bathroom trips haven't slowed down but I'm getting used to going every hour and a half or so.

As I'm typing this I'm thinking about what snacks I'm going to have now. I have been killing apples and peanut butter and I guess I'm going to go back to that as my go to snack. I'm actually going to try to go the last 5 days with having minimal snacks and increasing my water intake. Yes, I know I've been complaining about going to the bathroom but I really want to maximize this detox. I also plan to do a salt water flush on Friday which should be super interesting as well.

I'm going to sign off now because the Husbando is making crescent rolls (I absolutely love his crescent rolls!) and I refuse to set myself up for failure since I'm about to be at the half way point!

PS: Today's devotional was about are you willing to persevere to actually accomplish your weight goals even though it might be a slow process! Yes, I'm going to persevere and I'm not going to eat any crescent rolls no matter how good they look!

Day 5:

Today I woke up feeling great. I felt like I had so much energy. I was actually awoke before my alarm went off. I did my usual routine and I was out the door earlier than I have been all week. The amount of bathroom trips has not decreased and I think I can see my stomach slimming but I'm not really sure.

Today during the last period of the day 1 of the cleaners came around with a box of what looked to be and smell like pizza. I thought he was passing it out to the boys. But no, he said, "Madam, take." I looked like Seriously! Seriously! I took one and the smell hit my nose and I started thinking about pizza. I'm not exactly sure what it's called, it reminds me of a calzone. Inside it is a red sauce, tomatoes, and some kind of meat. It really smelled delicious! I put it down on my desk and it tortured me for the remainder of the class and the entire ride home.

I didn't eat it though. I brought it home and gave it to my husbando. As soon as I got home I opened up my unsweetened peanut butter and apple rings that I had cut and started eating! I also drank more water to satisfy my hunger. After about 3-5 apple rings I didn't want anymore.

I did an in house work out today because my last period class was a doozy. Later on, I'm going to go to the store to get ingredients for my next and final 7 days! I thought about going to the store tomorrow but after I drink the stuff for the Salt Water Flush I don't think I'm going to be able to leave the house. 😝😝😂😂

I went to the store to get all of my ingredients for the rest of the smoothies and the fat flush soup that is going to help me break the detox. The book speaks about not jumping right back in to whole foods. It suggests easing back in since your body has rid itself of all of the toxins. So on day 13 of my lifestyle change, I'm going to do a smoothie for breakfast and lunch and then a fat flush soup. I have decided that I'm going to continue this smoothie journey but for dinner I'll eat clean. Clean meaning a grilled or baked chicken breast or some kind of salmon and a vegetable. I'm still going to minimize my bread and starch intake and continue working out.

After I got back from the store, I ran myself a nice hot bath and prepped the rest of my smoothies. That bath was so relaxing and just what I needed. It was a reward for me for staying true to the detox.

My glass has water and lemon...ONLY

Day 6:

As soon as I woke up I got dressed and went for my 2 mile walk/jog. I was just so happy to be back out and exercising. I took a few days from going out because of the shin splints. They just wouldn't let me great.

I got home and prepared the... dun dun dun... salt water flush. I put 2 teaspoons of uniodized sea salt in 8 oz water and drank it and followed it by lots of water. The book says I should be going to the bathroom within the hour. It is supposed to help get rid of all old and any fecal matter that may be built up in my colon. I wanted to do a hydrotherapy colonic but they only have openings sun-thur and it's not something I want to miss work for. If my schedule does allow it though I will get one. So now I wait to see what this salt water flush does. Here goes nothing...

Well 2 hours has past and nothing! Seriously nothing! I drank my detox tea and more water and nothing! Colon has seen no action. I'm going to keep drinking water and hoping for the best. I'm so full that I can't even drink my breakfast smoothie.

I thought moving around and massaging my abs might help but nope! I cleaned the kitchen, cleaned up our bedroom and my night stand. Now I'm going to plan my clean meals for the month. One thing I've realized is I MUST prep and plan. Prepping my smoothies for the week was helpful. It made me hold myself accountable.

Well nothing has happened. I had my breakfast and lunch smoothie, water, walnuts and still nothing. I think I'm going to go the GNC store and see if they have some Mag 07. I heard that definitely works. I'm willing to try any and everything!

Well I decided to go to the mall and see if the GNC had the Mag 07. The answer is no they did not. So, to take care of this bloating feeling and to push this salt out of my body that did not come out, tomorrow I'm going to be drinking a glass of water every hour in addition to my 1 liter of detox water that I just made. I don't want this bloating to affect my progress. I haven't cheated on this cleanse so I want to maximize my benefits. I just finished off my dinner smoothie and have no desire to eat. The only snack I had today was maybe 5-7 walnuts. I don't want to snack too much but to be honest I've not been hungry. The only thing that is getting to me is the thought of food and I'm doing very well conquering those thoughts.

I think I'll have some more water, shower, read a little bit and get in the bed.

Day 7:

To get my day started I went on my 2 mile walk/jog and then went to the weight room. Once I got back to our flat I prepared my smoothies for the day and began to prepare my tea. While my smoothie was blending I washed dishes and cleaned the kitchen. Usually after Saturday exercise I drink water, shower, and get back in the bed but with this extra energy I didn't feel like getting back in bed. So after washing dishes I drank my tea and read my morning devotional, which was right on point. Because of all the energy I had, I put a load of clothes in the washer, and folded up and put away the ones that were hanging on our dryer rack.

The devotional was about temptation! Just what I needed to read about. It pretty much asked what will you do when you're faced with temptation. Will you revert back to old habits or pray and ask for strength to overcome and not give in to the temptation? I'm deciding to pray for strength and face temptations head on. What's your choice? #IAmAnOvercomer

Before starting this detox I prayed and asked God to not only guide me but push me. Shortly after praying I was told that I should do 14 days as a commitment to God and myself, which is what I was told before the cleanse even started. I've tried different weight loss trends and fads before and have given up after 1-3 days. I tried no carbs for a certain amount of time that wasn't successful. I tried exercising every day for an hour but I made the excuse that my schedule didn't allow for 1 hour a day. I tried no bread and starches but my excuse was since I dance I can eat whatever I want and it will have no effect. Yeah, that wasn't true AT ALL. But this detox I am determined to see it to the end so yes, I'm going to be obedient and do 14 days which means I'm halfway there! After completing 14 days I will show God and myself that I am committed to this lifestyle change. This will also serve as a reminder that whatever I truly put my mind to I can accomplish. I put my mind to starting a dance company, starting a sewing business, and moving 7000 miles away from friends and family so I know that I have this in me. The difference here is that this change is going to be solely about me! The others were to make others proud, serve the community, and even help my finances but this - this weight loss and lifestyle change is all about Janelle. I get to be selfish and do something that will be beneficial to me! So bring on the next 7 days! I'm excited to see my body on Day 15.

As I'm sitting here proofreading, the doorbell rings. Mike goes to the door and comes back in with KFC. Bruh!

Welp I'm facing the temptation head on. I'm about to shower and pray for strength to see these 7 days through.