Drink Hot Pink

When Robyn Openshaw says her Hot-Pink Breakfast Smoothie is hot pink, she isn't kidding. I went to one of her green smoothie workshops this week, and she asked how many of us had tried her hot pink smoothie. Only a handful of people raised their hands, and I wasn't one of them. For some reason I just hadn't gotten around to trying it even though I've had the recipe for more then a year now.

Well, I woke up this morning and decided today would be the day of the hot pink smoothie. I even had all the ingredients except for the coconut liquid, so I replaced it with coconut milk. It probably came out much thicker than it was supposed to because of that, but it was amazing! No wonder Robyn drinks 4 quarts of it every morning.

1 1/2 cups coconut liquid (raw or canned)
1 large carrot, cleaned and cut into 3 pieces (or 5 baby carrots)
1/2 medium beet, peeled
1/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup dates, chopped
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 frozen strawberries

Put the coconut liquid in your blender first. Then add everything else except the strawberries. Blend on high. With my Blendtec I put it on speed 4 to really puree the beets and carrots. Then add the strawberries. I ended up adding 15 strawberries. Be prepared to be amazed!

To Be Super Human

True: Today I ran 5.6 miles instead of the 4.0 miles I planned on. (Hey, I felt good and wanted to keep going—I'm not sure that's ever happened before.)
True: My last mile was paced at 7:58 (I was also running down hill).
True: I haven't run 5.6 miles in almost 13 years!
True: I haven't run, period, in 12 years!
False: I could go run another 5.6 miles right now, piece o' cake, because I've got super-human powers.

Although I am not Super Woman, I do have a confession to make. Two months ago I started taking a supplement that resets your genes. That's exactly what I said, but this aint no science fiction. The supplement is called Vitality, and believe you me, I did my research before putting it in my body. I actually refused to try it until I took a bottle to my holistic doctor, to have her test it's compatibility with my body. Her computer registered it very high, meaning my body would greatly benefit from Vitality. So I shed me skepticism and gave it a try. My only regret is that I didn't start taking it sooner—I would've sold just about anything (including my earring tree, which everyone knows is the first thing I'd grab in a fire) to have had Vitality a year ago when I was in such unbearable RA pain.

Vitality is full of all kinds of natural extracts like cordyceps mushrooms, pomegranate, and ginseng (nonstimulating), but the key ingredient is the "Ageloc formula" based on the research of the human genome. The scientists who won the Nobel Prize for discovering the human genome are the same guys who created this Ageloc anti-aging, gene-resetting formula. For more on the science behind Vitality, click on the image below.

So what happens after taking Vitality? That all depends on your body—everyone is different. After three weeks I noticed that the rheumatoid arthritis in my right hand stopped reared it's ugly head!—for the most part, my right hand is the last remaining area of RA in my body. And after about a month and a half I noticed I could not only get by with 7 hours of sleep, but I could function and felt totally rested! To go from needing about 9 to 10 hours every night to 7 is a modern-day miracle. Many of you who read this blog have auto-immune diseases and know all about exhaustion! Others of you have small children, which, I may be so bold to say, is comparable to having an auto-immune disease when it comes to energy level. If Vitality could help give you part of your life back, like it has me, it is worth trying! This is not a shot of energizer bunny for the quick energy fix or the all-nighter, but this is the natural way to get your genes producing energy more efficiently, like they did when you were 20 years old, if you can remember that far back. (Oh, and Vitality helps with mental acuity too, for those of you who can't remember being 20.)

"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing."

At the moment I'm breaking in my new SmartWool PhD light half-cushion running socks and playing around with my new Nike running band, which just arrived, thanks to See Jane Run. What does all this mean?? Go ahead and say it! . . . I'm running again!! Literally and powerfully and joyfully my body is moving like it's never moved before, and this new kind of motion has become quite an addiction. An exhilarating mix of pure gratitude and complete awe at what I'm capable of. Every time I run, the thought comes to my mind, "This is your life!" and I know this is a good life. A good, good life.

In January I knew I wanted to run again, and for the first time in ten years I believed I could. First I bought a pair of running shoes, then some running shorts and running socks. I was painting a very clear picture of what I wanted. I wanted to create some hype for myself, turning 30 years old and all the end of March, and really wanted to be running before that. But it didn't happen. So I patiently waited and health-ified my body even more and officially started running April 21st. But boy was I walking before that and even when I did start running it was about 5 minutes at a time with a lot of walking in between. On Saturday I ran 4 miles in 45 minutes and felt great. Anyone up for doing a half marathon the end of the summer? The best part is, I'm serious.

PS: I will keep you posted on how the new socks hold up after a long run. And once I figure out the running band, you'll be able to follow my running online and know that honest to goodness, these feet are  not just walking without pain, they are running up hills and down. For now, check out my running log by clicking here or start your own by clicking here. Sam will have to give you her running-log info too, so you can see what a stellar runner she is. Watch for her in the next summer Olympics.