Jumping into the pool

 Beef. it's what's for dinner.

Since I have finally managed to regather the fragile threads of my life and Get back on track, here's a brief synopsis: Between recovering from that liver cleanse and starting a new job (which got busy really fast!) everything in my life went haywire. My life, my hormones, my schedule and habits, all went into a tailspin.

It looks like my body was under so much stress due to cutting out sugar and then the liver cleanse on top of it, that certain vital systems just shut themselves off. Guys, you may want to cover your eyes, but I had a 55 day cycle. So about three weeks of PMS, on top of everything else.  Finally, things have stabilized, I feel much better, my morning temps aren't veering crazily up and down, and I am feeling like my old self again. I am also doing my best to nip the recurring old habits in the bud. When you're stressed and tired and pressed for time and the kitchen is filthy, and you're premenstrual, Cheesecake Factory for dinner sounds like a fantastic solution. And it was the go-to solution, along with any other restaurant, much more often than it should have been.

I am loving most aspects of my new job, and am happy to say that I got a small but important raise yesterday, along with the info that we may be hiring a new person in my territory, which is good, but a little overwhelming. Since my workload doubled the second week I started the job, and seems to be constantly growing, it makes sense.

But yes, back to the whole "pool" thing. In reclaiming my kitchen, I have made a few vows to myself- smaller shopping trips more often, mindful eating (as opposed to chowing in front of the TV or on the run), and tracking everything once again, as it fell out the window while my life was in upheaval. I also want to be able to count on a steady supply of quality grass-fed protein in the freezer, hence, cowpooling. The last go-around, I met up with a bunch of people I didn't know, who were commenters on MDA, and it actually worked out pretty well.  In fact, I feel guilty: we ended up with a grass-fed rib roast (I had requested roasts as part of our share) which would have cost as much as we paid for our entire share, by itself! We didn't realize that until we got home, as it was all flash frozen and doled out in bags. It was a great deal, and a wonderful resource to have access to, as well as a considerable savings. I posted it on Facebook: I have quite a few Primal and Paleo friends who might be interested, but if nobody bites, I'll go back to MDA. Or I think there are even a few websites, although the first one I looked at, cowpool.org, seems to be just for folks in CO.