The 3 day diet, and a general update

Absolutely gorgeous day here in North Carolina. While it's not as warm as I would like, I am reminded that my Maine friends are still under several feet of snow and I am looking at these:

So, what's going on at the Cliff house? Life has been fairly routine lately, and who can complain about that? We did have a little scare a few weeks back. Lee, my youngest, fell and cut his leg, requiring 10 stitches on his left shin. That wasn't the scary part, however. When they x-rayed the leg to make sure there was no chip in the bone, they discovered a "suspicious lesion/tumor." Thankfully, it turned out to be a non ossifying fibroma...which is benign and generally causes no problems. What a blessing!

On the frugal front there is too much to report, so let me just tell you what is planned for today:

1. Planting tomato, cuke and pepper seeds inside that will be transplanted outside in less than a month.
2. Hanging 3 loads of laundry on the clothesline.
3. Baking homemade cupcakes and cookies.
4. Making a crockpot of homemade granola.
5. Going for a 2 mile run.
6. Making a menu and grocery list for the coming week and checking out the deals at http://www.southersavers.com/ (not just for southerners!!)
7. Cleaning out one closet to get ready for a yard sale.
8. And last but not least, ending my 3 day diet. There are many variations of this out there and it's been around a long time. It's time to get the winter weight off and this is how I jump start. I'll follow it by a cleansing soup routine (more on that later). Here are the basics:

3 Day Diet Menu:

Each meal (3 meals a day only) for three days eat:

One of these: medium apple, orange, kiwi, grapefruit or cup of melon
One of these: regular size can of tuna, hard-boiled egg, 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, one ounce of hard cheese, Tbsp peanut butter
One of these: slice of toast, 5 saltines, half a bagel
4 cups of these, raw or cooked: carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, lettuce, cabbage, celery, onions, any greens (I don't usually have these at breakfast, although you can)

Only condiments are herbs, vinegar, lemon juice, hot sauce and salt (minimal)and pepper.

Drink 8 glasses of water.

You may also have 1 cup of black coffee or tea with every meal, no sugar or creamer, but you may use sweetener.

You may have a half cup of vanilla ice cream or vanilla or plain yogurt (frozen or regular) with supper.

When I did this the first time I was in college. I guess my metabolism was much higher then, because I was hungry a lot and I would easily loose 6-7 pounds. Now, I do this and am never hungry and I only loose 2-3 pounds. As you can see from the menu, this is hardly a starvation diet and it always gets me motivated. I absolutely love the soup cleanse, my own version of a cross between the cabbage soup diet and the Mimosa/Leek soup that Mireille Guilano uses in her best seller French Women Don't Get Fat. Stay tuned...I will tell all.