Week 1 done....

I like writing in word and then transferring it to my blog because Word has so many more font styles. Like this one for example, or the one I used for my last entry.

It is Sunday after my first full week at Hallelujah Acres in Parkersburg, West Virginia. I have been having a good time. I am over my homesickness and feeling right at home with Ben and Janis. I had a lot of time to myself and with them Friday afternoon and all day Saturday. Yesterday, Saturday, I went with Janis to do her grocery shopping. I thought it was hard to find what I need shopping in the Valley, well we had to drive an hour away to Akron, Ohio for her to find what she needed. And there was one thing she still couldn’t find so we came back to Parkersburg to the one and only tiny little health food store to find that one item.

It was a great chance to talk and just get to know each other better, and a time for me to ask questions and learn more.

Janis and Ben are amazing people, and an amazing couple, and such wonderful, spiritual teachers and examples of living a raw, plant-strong lifestyle. I have been blown over by the things I have learned in one short week, and the foods I have eaten. Things with ingredients that when mixed together taste great even though individually they may be things I never liked before, and never thought I would eat. Now I have no fear of trying new recipes that might not sound good based on their list of ingredients.

I am looking forward to the start of my second week with Janis and Ben and one new guest who is arriving this afternoon.

I will learn more, take notes, try more new things, and drink lots and lots of juice!

My husband and son better prepare themselves for a total overhaul. The pantry is going to get cleaned out, and the refrigerator too. And then their bodies are going to get cleaned out. If John wants to cheat he will have to do it at work and then he will have to deal with how he feels about that.

You hear that honey? We are all going to get healthy. I need people in my house who support me in action not just word. I shouldn’t have to be the only one getting healthy. Let’s take this journey together.

On another note, the sun is out today, and birds are singing, and it’s going to a great day.

I hope and pray yours is wonderful too.

God Bless!!!!!

Danielle

 p.s. my phone is completely frozen so i cannot transfer pictures to my blog. 

Wasn't working, now is....

Well, since the internet connection here is sketchy, I have not been able to log onto my blog since that first night I wrote. Interesting, but fact. I am writing in my Word program and will copy and paste at a later date. Not that that helps anyone today to read my blog. It will have to wait until I arrive home I guess.

I am having a great time here at Hallelujah Acres. I have met some wonderful people while here so far though, except for my hosts, they have all left. I am now here by myself until Sunday afternoon at which time an elderly lady arrives to spend the week.

My hosts, as I mentioned before are wonderful. It has been a pure pleasure getting to know them and about their lives and how they came to live a plant based life. They have shared stories about their families, and themselves that really stand as testimony to this whole lifestyle. It isn’t just a “diet”. How many of those have we all tried with no success, or temporary success at best? And anyway, this isn’t about losing weight, though I have lost weight since being here. It’s kind of a side effect of changing ones diet (as in what one eats) after having eating fatty, processed, refined, sugary foods for so long. I don’t mind that side effect.

It was hard to say goodbye to the wonderful people I met here. By first name only, Cecelia, Andrea, Kelly, and her husband Jeff. They each have a different story and reason for being here, but share the same passion as I do when it comes to wanting to get healthy by putting into our bodies only that which is fresh, living, and unprocessed. It’s amazing how quickly you can bond with others.

Now I am on my own for a couple of days and will get a little down time, but also still drinking every hour. So I carry my phone around with me, it’s my alarm clock…I don’t want to forget a juice, or a smoothie. I am feeling good though! I am exercising each day, and we are rebounding. If you don’t know what that is, it’s bouncing on those little mini trampolines…rebounding (I found out) is really good for your lymphatic system. And it’s super easy on the joints. I can jog in place on the rebounder and still walk around later the same day because my knees and lower back aren’t killing me. I use weights or the stretchy band while rebounding too, so doing some resistance for my arms. It’s a good workout. Well, I better get a few minutes of time to rest my eyelids before my next juice.

Blessings,

Dani

making fresh squeezed orange juice for our smoothies, and juices. notice how high the countertop is? tall people used to live in this house. lol

One of the many salads we made and got to eat. 

Cheesecake made with all raw ingredients. Sooooo delicious!!!!!

Some corn salad, it was too spicy for my mouth. Plus the avocado wasn't cut small enough. hahaha

Ben and Janis's house. 

So far in West Virginia....

So far it has been very good. I finally arrived here today (Monday) around lunchtime. I was supposed to show up yesterday late afternoon but my flight got canceled due to maintenance issues with the aircraft. Got a free 6 hours at the Sheraton. wooo hoo

 I have already learned so much here that I will be able to bring home and teach my family. This is just what I have been needing; hands on, real life learning and application. Reading all the books I have read about diet and healing is great, but doesn't give me hands on experience. I am soaking  up the hands on learning and arming myself with knowledge to bring home and share! 

I was very homesick at lunchtime. Their are two other ladies here who came yesterday (on time), they are wonderful. Then tonight right after dinner, a couple showed up. Great People!!!! None of these people are staying as long as I am though. And I just want to say, none of them have to drink as many juice, and barley max drinks as I do! such is my situation. 

Ben, the husband is great. He gets my barley max, and enzyme supplements and my carrot juice to me each hour that I need it. He takes care of that stuff. Janis, his wife does all the informational teaching. She instructs us in the kitchen while we put together meals, shows videos, leads us in exercise...She is great that way! We prepare the meals, Ben cleans the kitchen! It works great! 

I am so grateful to each and every one of the people who have made donations to my gofundme.com site!!! Because of your generosity I am able to be here right now. To continue what I am doing though, I will need supplements when I return home, and while they aren't nearly as expensive as medicine, they aren't cheap. Once i have been doing this for several months I can cut back on the supplements, and continue with everything else. I am so excited. 

Blessings to each of you!!! 

Dani

New Day

Hi everyone!

My last flight of the night got cancelled, so I was put up at the Sheraton hotel and am presently back at the airport early this morning to catch a new flight. This time to Charleston, WV. My hosts will have to drive 1 1/2 hours one way to pick me up, but at least I should get there this time. I could have resumed my reservation on the same flight to Parkersberg, but with the plane having mechanical problems, there was no guarantee it would be fixed this morning. I didn't want to take any chances. I want to be there by lunchtime. I have already missed orientation last night, and will miss all morning of juicing, and information. Hopefully they will help me catch up to speed. After all, it wasn't cheap to come here, and I am here only because of the generosity of friends, family, and friends of friends! I want to get their money's worth right?!!!!! Absolutely!
No Jamba Juice here in cleveland airport, so i will have to wait. I don't feel too hungry so that is good. I caught up on about 5 hours of lost sleep, I am sure i will sleep very well tonight! And each consecutive night I am there.
Updates coming as I have time.
Happy Presidents Day!!!!
Danielle

traveling

I am now in Cleveland. It's been a long 24 hours and it's not over yet. I spent Saturday at home doing laundry, packing, getting some last minute things done around the house, and spending time with my guys. We then headed into Anchorage to take care of a few things there and have dinner with my wonderful friend Lisa and her family before heading to the airport. Saying goodbye to my guys was not easy...Damon cried and clung to me, not wanting me to go. I continually reassured him I was going to a good place to learn good things and I would miss him so much in return. I think he understands that I am going for good reasons, yet still doesn't quite understand why I have go away to learn those things. He first wanted me to stay, then he wanted me to sneak him with me, then back to wanting me to stay. He is fine though, and while I know he misses me, as I do him, he is being good for Daddy and having a good Sunday so far.
Last nights flight was long and rough...literally. There was so much turbulence! It was almost non-stop. A very bumpy flight. I love the Denver airport though. It had a Jamba Juice so i was able to get a healthy breakfast. They also had a croc store where I was able to get some much needed comfy shoes. My danskos all of a sudden were feeling 2 sizes too small.
Funny thing, there were birds in the airport in Denver. So cute, providing they don't poo on your head, or in your food. Oh that didn't happen to me, but I did wonder if it happens to anyone.
There are also birds here in the Cleveland airport. so funny.
On to the flight to Cleveland. What a bunch of whiny flight attendants. They sat in the back behind their curtain complaining about situations with customers they didn't like. Not even trying to talk quietly. Then upon landing, the maintenance people opened up the back door to offload and then load items and the flight attendants in the back kept griping about the cold. Then it went into their own little sidebar about how people tell them their job must be so glamorous. And they were like "oh yea really glam. Getting hardly any sleep, working the hours of a two day job into one day"...etc...I was thinking, hey!!!! Have you got your health? A wonderful family? Travel perks? Then so what if you work a lot of hours in a row and stand on your feet a lot. You chose this! Quit if you don't think it is glamorous enough for you. Or at the very least quit complaining about customers and other people in front of customers.
Now I am just complaining about them. That's right. But I am not working and people around me can't hear me, only you who read this. I know I really have no idea about their lives, but am guessing they aren't so bad. I almost turned around when they compared the hours they work in one day to those of someone putting in two or three days of regular hours, and saying how that just isn't glamorous or a cakewalk, i wanted to say, "Try having Cancer and going through the emotions and the chemo, and all that!" But I bit my tongue. I didn't even turn around. Just patiently waited to get off that plane.
And here I am waiting for the connection to my last leg of the trip. It's delayed and keeps getting put off. By the time I get there it will be past my bedtime. But I might find time to sit in the sauna anyway! haha
Well, I will leave it at that!!!!

Getting Close

Well It is getting close to time for me to head to West Virginia and Hallelujah Acres. I am so excited and also nervous. I have never been much of a vegetable eater,  into eating out of the ordinary things. I will be learning a new "ordinary" I guess. I am looking forward to it. 

Last night I hosted a Thirty One party. Those bags are cute! versatile! fun! fashionable! 

I want one of each! well maybe more than one of the organizing bins. After all, I have a lot to organize. I am actually thinking I might become a consultant. I think people, ok I mean women, love bags and organizing tools. We like to organize our kitchens, our closets, our shoes, our laundry rooms, our kids rooms, right? Well we Would like to anyway even if we haven't done it yet. This product has many tools to help organize. And fashionable bags to carry too. 

I will have to pack in the next few days, and I wish I already had my bag(s) from Thirty One for the trip. I will keep you updated on my journey! 

Thank you to all who read and support me!

Love, Dani