Day 5: Operation HOPE

{Day 5: December 16, 2016...I didn't get a chance to post this from yesterday.}

You know the saying, "No rest for the weary"?  Well, don't believe it.  I'm here to tell you that there most certainly is rest for the weary.  I took a melatonin last night, slept well and woke refreshed.  I also didn't have any thing to do this morning but prepare breakfast and sip a cup of tea.  Glorious!  I spent the remainder of my morning listening to Christmas music and working on various things on my computer.  Ahhh...now that's more like it!

Although I was busy, it wasn't like the last two days.  I felt rested, less stressed and my spirits were up.  The pain was bearable.  The pain is mostly in my back, legs and hands/wrists.  I'm trying not to take the pain medications as I have to crush them and take them with applesauce {which isn't part of the plan}.  And, I'm trying not put any unnecessary medications in my body.

I think the green tea was what was causing me not to settle down yesterday.  I was able to space it out and switch out green tea later in the day with herbal {decaf} tea.  I looked in the store today for decaf green tea with mint, but had no luck finding it.  I'm going to keep looking because that by far is my most favorite green tea.

I found dark chocolate without soy!!  {Insert Snoopy happy dance!}  My dear, sweet cousin in California messaged me after reading my post yesterday and told me that Enjoy Life has the best dark chocolate without soy.  I went to their site, but they were all out of stock.  So, I went to Amazon.com to see if they had it.  They did, but I would have had to buy a 12 pack for $30+ dollars.  I told my cousin that I would have to try going to a health food store to see if they carried it.  I happened to run to Stop & Shop for my mom yesterday, and the thought came to mind to see if they carried dark chocolate without soy.  Not only did they carry dark chocolate without soy, they had the exact Enjoy Life dark chocolate my cousin told me about.  And, the best part, it was on sale for $1.82!!  I snatched up 4 bars to try.  Now, I just have to wait for a day that calls for a 4 ounce glass of wine to try it!

I ended my day with going to a beautiful Christmas party at my church.  I participated in a secret prayer partner program this year, and last night was the reveal.  It was a sweet time of fellowship and conversation.  I was so happy to be able to go.  I saved a KIND bar snack and herbal tea to bring with me to eat.  I honestly was pretty full from supper when I got there, so the food they served wasn't really a problem.  Although, I do have to say the chicken wings smelled amazing!

I would be lying if I said this day was hard.  It really wasn't.  I was rested when I got up.  The day, although busy from start to finish, was stress free and doable.  I found my heart filled with joy.

Joy that it was an easier day.  Joy that this nutrition program is feeding my body and soul.  Joy that I smiled and laughed more today than I have in a long, long time.  Joy that Scott and the kids are my biggest cheerleaders.  Joy that my amazing family and friends are praying for me, encouraging me and sending me awesome dark chocolate tips!  Joy because I just plain and simple feel joyful!

To God be the glory great things He has done!

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Day 5: Menu

Breakfast was a half of grapefruit, a hard boiled egg, green tea {but I had Detox tea} and lemon water.  Everything I had this morning was great!  No complaints!!

Lunch was a huge salad with mixed greens, baby spinach, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, 4 ounces of chicken and a half of an avocado with oil & vinegar dressing, green tea and lemon water.  This salad was A-MAZ-ING!  It was filling and so good.  No complaints with this meal either!!

Dinner was tilapia, steamed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots, 4 ounces brown rice, green tea and lemon water.  Tilapia was good.  I liked it better today than I did on Monday.  The vegetables were good.  I squeezed lemon over them and added a little salt, pepper & garlic powder.  I wasn't crazy about the cauliflower but I ate most of it.  And, the rice was perfectly made in our new rice cooker that we bought this week.  All I did was add a little salt and pepper to it.  It was good!  Three for three...no complaints {other than the cauliflower}!

Snacks were two KIND bars.  I absolutely LOVE these bars.  One was almond & apricot, and the other was dark chocolate with cinnamon and pecans.  DANG...just thought I'm going to need to make sure there is no soy on that dark chocolate one since I bought a 12-pack of them.  {It does have soy in it...but I'm not going to worry about it.  I'll just be sure to spread those out over time and use them for special occasion, treats.}