How do I feel?

I feel … wait for it … clean.

Honestly, I feel pretty phenomenal.

The biggest changes that I have noticed are (i) my level of energy is extremely high; and (ii) I have a clarity of thought that I don’t always experience.  Both of which together have made me one very productive person in the last few weeks. In the past week, I have started to sleep better as well – longer and more deeply.

At the same time as I am going through Clean, I have embarked on the 60 day challenge in Bikram yoga. For the past several years, I have struggled with an issue in my left leg/hip area and I became determined to remedy it in 2013. On the advice of my chiropractor, I have given up running for 60 days. I also felt that some of the moves in power yoga were aggravating the injury, so I am taking a break from that as well.

So, consider that in addition to being on the cleanse, I am doing 90 minutes of yoga at 105 degrees once a day, and STILL feel full of energy. I expected that I might feel more light-headed at yoga while on the lower caloric intake of the cleanse, but I have not.

As I mentioned in my prior post, we started with one week of the Elimination Diet, and then went into the three-week cleanse portion.  During the three-week period, breakfasts and dinners consist of liquids.  You can eat a full lunch from the Elimination Diet foods.

The cleanse period did take some adjusting. I faced an almost panic the first few nights as to what I was going to eat drink. I now have a refrigerator and freezer full of single serving containers of broccoli soup, cauliflower soup and bean soup.

Dinner is now a no-brainer.

Is it satisfying? Eh … the short answer is not always, but I have gotten much more used to it. I really enjoy having a lighter dinner. I remember the days of going to bed on an overly full stomach and feeling miserable. I believe that also affected the quality of my sleep. During Clean, I go to bed (and wake up) feeling lean.

Over the past several weeks, my approach to food has changed. I look at it more as something that fuels my body and will last, as opposed to something that will really taste good. I am much more conscious of getting the variety of fruits, vegetables and proteins that I need.

I have gotten used to more subtle tastes. I think if I ate something like nacho cheese Doritos now, it would overwhelm me. Through the additives and chemicals that manufacturers have added to so many food products, I think we have all gotten used to such intense tastes – and that is not how food is in its natural state (for the most part). I feel like Clean has reset my taste expectations.

What has been the hardest part for me? Probably the weekends. So much of our social life revolves around going out to dinner, which we have not done during Clean. I don’t want to be tempted – and, probably more than anything, I would miss the glass of wine.

I have eaten lunch out several times. We are so fortunate that through the connections of Savannah Power Yoga, several local restaurants are offering Clean items on their menu. This has made lunch meetings possible. I have also gone to lunch at another restaurant in town and asked for a big salad, with no dressing, and a scoop of hummus on top. A little barren looking, but it did the trick in terms of satisfying me and lasting through the afternoon.

My husband has had a harder time, and doesn’t feel quite the benefits that I have felt. But it is not over yet. He very much misses coffee, and also laments not being able to have (chewable) food for dinner.

We will be done with our Clean journey a week from this Wednesday. Oddly enough, I am a bit sad about it coming to an end. And then I remind myself that it doesn’t really have to end.

There are aspects of Clean that I will incorporate permanently into my life.

Protein smoothies are now my breakfast of choice.

I will remain conscious about maintaining a twelve hour window between dinner and breakfast, to aid the digestive and detoxification process.

I enjoy the structure of a larger meal at lunch and a light and easy dinner. I like taking the emphasis off of eating – what we are having, when, how much to make, do we have the ingredients, etc.

After the three-week cleanse period, we are instructed to slowly introduce foods back into our diet, to see how our body reacts to them.  I am very interested to see how this process goes.

I know that there are items that I will leave out of my diet – such as caffeine. For me, much of the morning coffee routine was to hold a cup of something warm. I have found that decaf green tea fills that need in me (in my husband, not so much).

I also have a feeling that dairy will not make its way back into my diet. Almond milk has become my favorite smoothie additive.  I thought I would miss cheese, but I have not. I have added nutritional yeast to some of my soups, and that has satisfied my desire for a cheese-like taste.

All in all, it has been an extremely informative and positive experience.

I will be doing Clean again.

My husband … probably not.

The key for me is that I have to keep my routines in place and be extremely organized.

So what in the world was I thinking when I signed up to do the Clean Program on top of everything else?

We are in day two of Clean and, without naming names, one member of the Aldridge household is a bit grumpy.

In preparation for Clean, I concentrated on what I would eat for breakfast, as that is my favorite meal of the day.  I usually rotate between oatmeal, cereal with Greek yogurt, or a delicious wheat muffin of some variety.

Under Clean, I can have exactly … none of those things.

Over the years, I have tried to like smoothies. I have only one small problem with them.

They don’t have ice cream.

Seriously, anything else is just a fake milkshake.

But faced with either quinoa or smoothie for breakfast, I chose smoothie.

I started experimenting with recipes, and our blender broke. Hubby and I researched replacements and decided to bite the bullet.

We purchased a Vitamix and I highly recommend it.  This must be what Dairy Queen uses as all of a sudden my grainy, chunky smoothies were a big step closer to milkshakes.

Now that the texture was down, I struggled with the flavor. I wanted a bit of sweetness for my morning drink, but knew that sugar, honey, maple syrup and even agave syrup were not allowed. Stevia, however, is allowed as it is made of herbs and has a negligible impact on blood glucose.

On the first morning of Clean, I placed the following ingredients into my Vitamix: about a cup of frozen cherries, a cup of unsweetened almond milk, a tablespoon each of pure almond butter, ground flaxseed, chia seeds, raw cacoa powder, and protein powder (made from brown rice). Lastly, I added a packet of stevia.

I pushed start and the final product was a delicious, nutritious and Clean breakfast. The stevia made a huge difference. It really tasted pretty close to a chocolate milkshake.

At lunch time, I came home to make lunch. I put on pots of lentils and brown rice. Usually I make both of these with vegetable bouillon, but after looking at the bouillon ingredients, I cursed and used water. I cut up cauliflower and broccoli and tossed the florets with olive oil, garlic salt and ground ginger before placing them in the oven at 400 for about 25 minutes.

Once everything was done, I layered a bowl with fresh locally grown greens, brown rice, lentils and placed cauliflower and broccoli around the bowl.

My lunch looked lovely.

It tasted like dirt.

I immediately reached for the Texas Pete’s, low-fat sour cream and grated cheddar cheese to add, and then remembered that damn book. I drizzled balsamic vinegar over it instead.

Lunch was a fail, but I was still feeling pretty upbeat about my breakfast.

And then came dinner.

I had plans to meet my girlfriends at Your Pie, which is a local pizza place where you build your own pizza. They have healthy alternatives, I thought, this will work.

I prepared ahead of time by looking at the website and the ingredients.

Oh boy.

Here is how the conversation went:

Your Pie Employee (YPE):  Hi, what would you like?

Me: a salad, please.

YPE: What kind of bread bowl would you like it in?

Me: I can’t eat bread.

YPE: What kind of cheese do you want?

Me: I can’t eat cheese.

YPE:  Meat?

Me: I don’t eat meat.

YPE: Dressing?

Me: I can’t have dressing. [I think I was crying at this point.]

My girlfriends were very considerate and tried not to gloat too much over their delicious pizzas and cold beer.

After dinner, I went to the first meeting of the Clean Program and learned  (i) stevia is to be used only occasionally AND (ii) the Clean Program started the following day.

I decided not to tell the grumpy one that last little tidbit.

It is a book written by a doctor who completed his training in Internal Medicine at New York University Downtown Hospital and received his fellowship in cardiology at Lenox Hill Hospital, also in New York City.

The Clean Program is designed to restore the body’s natural ability to heal itself. The theory is that there are so many toxins in the foods that we eat that we prevent our body from doing what it is designed to do. Dr. Junger identifies two causes for this problem:  (i) obstacles that block cell functioning and chemical reactions; and (ii) lack of the ingredients needed for this process to occur.

While food is only one source of obstacles – others being air, water, buildings, cosmetics, cleaning chemicals, etc. – it is the main focus of the Clean Program.

Dr. Junger explains the detoxification process in the body – so much so that, to be honest, my eyes glazed over at several points.  But two key points stuck with me:  (i) the body works first to neutralize toxins before it works on digestion; and (ii) if your body is busy digesting, then it doesn’t have sufficient time to detox.

Cleanse programs, in general, restrict the amount of intake and type of food so that the body has more time and energy to concentrate on detoxification.

The Clean Program consists first of an Elimination Diet, which focuses on eliminating hard to digest or highly allergenic foods from the diet. The book recommends taking one to two weeks for this stage, depending on the state of your diet. The next step is a 21 day cleanse, which involves a shake or soup (in other words, liquid) meals at breakfast and dinner, and a full meal (using the allowed foods in the Elimination Diet only) at lunch time.

My wonderful neighborhood yoga studio has been leading groups on the Clean Program for some time.  They even skype with Dr. Junger. A number of my friends are devotees of the program. “Clean changed my life,” they say.

I always smugly said to myself – Being a vegetarian, I don’t eat toxic foods. I have no symptoms of toxicity.

My gift to myself in 2013 is that I am calling bullshit myself on that little fallacy.

I don’t sleep. I get stomach aches that sometimes incapacitate me. I could go on, but you get the idea (and it could get undignified).

So, I have signed up for the program. I have read the book. I have printed the list of allowed and prohibited foods. The program starts on January 9th, and I have already started decreasing and eliminating foods from my diet. I am down from four cups of coffee and ice tea throughout the day to one cup of coffee a day.

The real shocker?  My husband is going to do it with me. Although, I can promise you that after he reads this, he will turn to me and say “I didn’t say I would do it yet!”  But he is going to, I can tell. Several times already he has turned to me and asked, “so does that damn book (sorry Dr. Junger) let us eat that??”

You may remember from a post a while back that I did a three-day fruit fast with my yoga studio, and that it made me very grumpy. You might wonder then about me doing a 21 day cleanse. And you wouldn’t be alone. My parents are talking about leaving the state.

The difference? I am seriously preparing for this one. I am reading the allowed recipes and testing them ahead of time. I am going to stock my kitchen. I am determined (I think).

So, it will be an interesting start to 2013 for the Aldridge family. Hopefully it will change our lives, too.

I promise to keep you posted.

Sometimes it is a little more obvious than other times.

Someone asked me if I staged this picture. All of you who have cats can laugh with me about that idea.

Other times, finding the humor is a little more of a challenge.

A couple of months ago, my car radio started malfunctioning so the dealership ordered me a new one. They installed the radio into the car and mentioned to me that I needed to call Sirius to switch the service to the new radio.

Right away, I recognized the potential for disaster. I remembered my long and painful conversation with Sirius when I set up the account.

Knowing from the previous experience what information was needed, I retrieved the number off the new radio and made the call.

Of course I first went through about five minutes of a combination of choosing options and being on hold.

Eventually a representative answered and gave me his name as Alex. I am pretty certain that is not his real name.

Alex and I then proceeded to have a forty-five minute discussion.

Alex: To whom am I speaking?

Me: LeeAnn.

Alex: Leon, how can I help you?

[This was my first indication that this was not going to go well. I plowed forward regardless.]

Me: Alex, I have a Volkswagen and the dealer replaced my radio as the old one was defective. I now need to transfer my Sirius radio from the old radio to the new one.

Alex: Ok Leon, what is the radio id number for the old radio?

Me: I don’t know, I don’t have it.

Alex: Where is it?

Me: Uh, I guess at the dealership.

Alex: Ok, so you got a new car, Leon?

Me: No, Alex, I got a new radio.

[At this point, the simultaneous internal dialogue with myself starts. Hold it together Leon. Do NOT lose your temper.]

Alex: What kind is it?

Me: The car or the radio?

Alex: The car.

Me: A Volkswagen.

Alex: Oh ok, where is the Volkswagen?

[I start looking for the nearest wall to bang Leon's head against.]

Me: In my garage …

Alex: Can you tell me the id number for the radio that was first in the Volkswagen?

Me: I have the id number for the new radio, but not the old one. Can’t you get that from my account?

Alex: Well Leon, I am looking at your account now. Why do you have two Sirius radios on your account?

Me: Uh … because my husband has one as well.

Alex: Oh, very good. Well do you drive the Ford?

Me: No, I drive the Volkswagen. My husband drives the Ford.

[Inexplicably, I become annoyed with my husband.]

Alex: Leon, do you know the radio id number for the Ford?

Me: No, I do not. Don’t your records show what the radio id number for the radio that was in the Volkswagen is?  I distinctly remember having to give that information when I set up the account.

Alex: Yes, but I just wanted to make sure, Leon.

[Leon recognizes the need to wave the white flag.]

Me: Alex, you know, I have changed my mind. Can you please just cancel this order instead of transferring it?

Alex: Ok, but I have to send you to another person for that. Before I do, though, may I ask for the reason for canceling?

Me: Yes, Alex. … I don’t really listen to the radio.

The end result?

Leon felt I felt pretty good about myself and laughed the rest of the week about the exchange.

The humor is there in all of our lives; sometimes you just have to look for it.

For some reason, posting on the blog became a bit insurmountable. The longer I was away from it, the more stressful the idea of getting back on it became.

And yet here I am. It feels good to be back.

As we approach the new year, I find myself thinking about what 2013 will bring, and the journey I have travelled in these last several years.

A few years ago, I felt tired. Many things in my life felt old … and worn … and blah. I remember feeling like I had nothing interesting to contribute to conversation. Who wants to hear about commercial finance at a cocktail party (or ever)?

Over the past few years, my horizons have broadened. My life is full of different interests – still some commercial finance, but also yoga, and its physical and mental accompaniments.  Together with my friend, I am starting a new business. We are opening a Great Harvest Bread bakery in Savannah. I am so proud of what we are accomplishing. There are many aspects of the new business that ignite my passions - healthy living … marketing … social media … involvement with the community.

This past year, I worked to overcome some paralyzing fears.

My love for animals defines me. It is a huge part of who I am and, in many ways, I live my life in accordance with this passion. Yet I have avoided becoming involved in the causes due to my intense fear of animal cruelty stories.

My excuse has always been that I don’t want to know that such cruelty exists.

Interestingly, by finally acknowledging and facing the harsh reality, it has allowed me to witness and participate in such incredible acts of kindness and love.  I am now on the board of directors of the local Humane Society and am an avid follower and supporter of the Georgia English Bulldog Rescue organization. In my opinion, there is a special place in heaven for people who are active with animal rescues. Especially with recent events, it is so important to be reminded that such goodness exists.

At the age of forty-five, I feel a bit like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon.

There are still struggles.

I catch myself setting goals, or focusing on obstacles, and thinking that once I reach that goal, or overcome that obstacle, then my life will be perfect.

I try to recognize these thoughts, and set them aside. Such thoughts cause me to focus on what I don’t have or on something that is not pleasant. In doing so, I tend to miss the incredibly positive aspects of life whirling around me.

So I continue with two steps forward and one back occasionally. Slow and steady progress is ok with me; I never expected to change myself overnight.

Finally, though, I am looking at a new year ahead of me which will be different.

I anticipate high-highs and am sure that there will be some low-lows as well. But I will be living … feeling … and growing. I will no longer accept the status quo out of fear of change.

I see a year of vibrancy, intensity and emotion, not one that is tired and grey.

It is hard for me to adequately describe the feeling for me personally of finally moving forward.

I think it may be peace.

May you all have success in finding your own peace in 2013!

I have made progress though.

Several years ago, a friend tried to convince me to read The Secret. I asked her about it. “It is based on this premise that if you picture yourself having something that you want, you will eventually have it. In other words, if you put out in the universe that you are going to have X, it will come to you.”

I don’t remember what I said to her. I think I might have gone into some kind of coma – like a drug addict who overdoses on the drug of choice. My need for cynicism was just fed a goldmine. I may have started to shake and froth at the mouth.

Based on her recommendation, I even bought The Secret. I tried, I really did. I just couldn’t get through it.

What I see in retrospect, though, is that I needed to ease my way into it. Going from being a cynical person to embracing The Secret would have been like a life-time smoker giving up cigarettes cold turkey. It could be done; I apparently just wasn’t strong enough.

And so I worked, slowly, on being less cynical and being more open to “the Universe.”

Honestly, it took me two or three years to notice a difference.

One of the clearest examples of my progress is the way in which I reached the decision to open a Great Harvest bakery. By being open to ideas and changes, and being mindful of themes (and yes, perhaps, “signs”) in my life, I was eventually led to Great Harvest and its franchise opportunities.

In reading back over that last paragraph, I realize that I have made the process sound very gentle … very lyrical … very gradual.

I think the Universe is much more forceful with me. Perhaps to some, the Universe taps you on the shoulder. To others, maybe it whispers in your ear. With me, I think it bonks me on the head.

That may say something about my personality.

There is a very recent example.

Like all of us in our everyday lives, I have been a bit stressed. And I have been feeling the added pressure (added by myself) of doing another blog post. The posts that I like the most just come to me – and they feel right. Nothing had come to me, so I sat down to force a topic. I thought of how I had addressed topics very difficult to me so I searched for another challenging topic. All I needed to do was turn on the tv to find the answer. Politics.

I wrote a post about politics. It was a nonpartisan post. It bemoaned the lack of respect and civility in our nation and talked about how people in general have changed.

We have all heard it before.

It didn’t feel good. It was a depressing view of humanity.

And then the Universe bonked me on the head.

On my to-do list for the next day was to set up a Facebook page for the new business. I did it, and then watched as friends and family and even people who I did not know responded with encouragement and support.

An old friend responded to a happy birthday wish with the most kind and heartfelt message – a message that has remained with me.

Four of us on a non-profit board in town met and together worked out a very difficult problem we had encountered. And we did it by truly listening and caring.

Civility is not gone, nor is respect and kindness. People are still inherently good.

But you have to be open to it. You have to look for it.  And we need to remember what is truly important.

If you don’t, the Universe may bonk you on the head.

Everyone has issues.

For me, this understanding has changed my life.

It has helped me to build meaningful and deep relationships with some incredible people.

In the past, there have been times I have looked at someone and thought that he or she had the perfect life … or body … or job … or relationship. I am not proud to admit that there were times I felt envy or jealousy with those thoughts.

Envy and jealousy are not emotions which are conducive to friendships, relationships or happiness (or really anything positive).

Through experience, I am now more apt to recognize struggles, insecurity, hardship, unhappiness or tragedy in a person.  And instead of envy and jealousy for the positive aspects of their lives, I feel empathy … compassion … a desire to assist … and admiration for the way that people deal with these issues.

Please understand that I am not saying that I take pleasure in the problems of other people. I am not and I do not.

Instead, it has provided a basis on which to connect with others. It has, in a sense, leveled the playing field for me. Despite what it may seem at first, we are all so much alike, and we all have so much to learn from each other.

I also realized that, in order to truly connect with another, I needed to share my own struggles, insecurities and hardships. That is not something that I had done in the past.

I like to think that maybe this is growth.

I have found that there is so much strength to be gained not only from helping others, but also from making yourself vulnerable to another, and receiving advice and assistance.

As you may know from an earlier post of mine, I am entering into a new business venture about which I am very excited. My announcement of this to my friends and family was met with enthusiasm, for the most part.

There were a few, though, who were less than enthused. I pushed them on the issue, because if the reaction was due to a fear that I could address or prepare for, I wanted to know.

Instead, what I felt was resentment and a bit of anger.

I have thought about those reactions quite a bit in the past month.

And I wonder if my inability to share my issues in the past has left some with the false impression that I don’t have any. That perhaps life has come very easily to me.

If so, I want to set the record straight. My life has been very good and I am blessed. And I try to be grateful of that constantly. But it has not been without struggles.

Hello, my name is LeeAnn and I have issues.

I have struggled with eating disorders, with balance, and with periods of unhappiness. I have endured relationships that were hurtful and break-ups that almost crushed me. I have been sad, scared and angry – and I do not mean fleeting emotions. I still experience insecurity and doubts on a regular basis.

I have worked very hard for my achievements – sometimes too hard and have possibly sacrificed too much.

Knowing the above, I hope and pray that it enables you to have compassion for me and to truly share in my successes and hold my hand through the failures.

Because I so want to do that with you.

His request set off a battle of conflicting voices within me.

The immediate – “OMG, I have to stand in front of 60 attorneys and talk about ME???”

Then, of course, the responsible … “LeeAnn, this would be good for you. You need to do this.”

And the rebel, “I am 45, I don’t need to do anything I don’t want to do.”

The insecurity came out with “no one is going to find this interesting.”

Apparently, the pleaser won the war, as I heard myself say, “if you would like me to do this, I will do so.”

In six (6) days (not that I am counting), I will stand in front of a large (in my opinion) group of attorneys and, for twelve (12) (not that I will be counting) minutes, their attention will be focused on … me.

I can hear many of you saying, “piece of cake” … “no problem” … “twelve minutes is nothing.”

Something is wrong with me then.

Seriously, even typing out this blog post is making me nervous.

It is not like I haven’t done it before. I have given speeches in the past on numerous occasions.

Some have been on topics absolutely foreign to me, such as the Georgia ad valorem taxes. (Thank you Marvin Fentress.) I prepared for months for the presentation and somehow muddled my way through it. I don’t remember anything about what I said, but I do remember having an out-of-body experience for much of the forty-five minutes.

I argued in front of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia as a second year attorney. Talk about stressful.  It might as well have been in front of the Supreme Court. It was me, in front of a panel of old distinguished judges, with a full courtroom behind me. I threw up both before and after the argument. (Luckily, neither time was in the actual courtroom.) I also tripped over someone’s briefcase on the way out. I ended up winning, but let me assure you, with no modesty involved, that my then three-year old nephew could have won the argument. It was a slam dunk case – which is why it was given to a second year associate.

I have spoken on topics dear to me, which is a little bit easier, but still incredibly nerve-wracking. Ironically after I decided that trial work was not for me, I gave a speech in front of the Michigan State Supreme Court Justices, the Governor of Michigan, and other politicians, accepting an honor on behalf of a loved one. I am pretty sure I visibly shook.

I am hoping that these past experiences make this one easier for me.

It is on a topic I know.

There will be no elected officials or esteemed jurists present.

I have learned my lessons and will not eat beforehand. I will clear my paths of obstacles.

I have tried all of the standard tips including employing yoga breathing and talking directly to one person. Frankly, there are only two things that seem to help me:  (i) beer; and (ii) if people ask questions. For some reason, beer gives me strong nerves. I probably shouldn’t disclose this, but after a beer or two, I will pretty much do anything, with no fear.

Since beer is not an option for next week (or at least not one that I want to pursue), I am hopeful that my audience will be interactive. For some reason, that works to calm me.

Maybe it is because it distracts me.

Although, of course, that assumes that I know the answer to the question posed. (Maybe I should request that you ask me an easy question.)

I used to think with practice and/or age, this would get easier.

Here’s hoping that it finally will.

I turned forty-five this summer. For twenty years, I have been an attorney. For forty years, I have known I was going to be an attorney.

Who decides at the age of five what they want to be when they grow up? I adored my grandfather, who was a lawyer, and decided that I wanted to be like him. Decision made, with no other thought or analysis.

I spent my career as a lawyer representing large financial institutions; first as a litigator, and then as a transactional attorney.

In hindsight, it is clear to me that I devoted too much of my life to these institutions. While the relationships with the people with whom I worked daily are very important to me (and always will be), I eventually realized that my loyalty to these institutions was not returned.

About five years ago, there was a perfect storm of events that occurred which really caused me to question my path in life. The economy tanked and some might say that the institutions for whom I was so proudly working helped to contribute to the difficulties that our country now faces. I lost one of my clients. I turned forty. I wasn’t particularly happy with my life and who I had become; I was stressed, tired and grumpy much of the time.

For the first time, I asked myself what I really wanted to do with my life; or, as some have put it, what I want to be when I grow up.

Here I was at forty, going through the analysis I wish I had done at eighteen.

I met with a life coach. I spoke with everyone in my life seeking advice. I read everything I could put my hands on that could be remotely applicable to discovering my path.

I worked on improving myself – inside and out; one of my favorite posts, Fortytude, chronicles some of my efforts as to the “inside”.

I started competing in races and triathlons. I committed to a regular yoga practice and, in doing so, I fell in love with yoga;  not only with the physical aspects, but also with the gentleness, kindness and compassion of the yoga community and the healthy living community in general. I found it so appealing that people could do something for a living that they were passionate about, and at the same time contribute in numerous ways to the greater good of the community.

Over the next several years, I struggled with how to combine my passions of being healthy and doing something meaningful in the community. I became active on a number of boards in Savannah. At the same time, because of my background in franchise finance, I found myself coming back to the idea of owing a franchise.

I couldn’t figure out a way to satisfy all of my goals and use my experience and skill sets I had developed. Being a vegetarian and a believer in non-processed foods, I could not be passionate about many of the franchises with which I had worked.

Early in 2012, I was reading one of my favorite healthy living blogs, Peanut Butter Runner, and was looking at a picture of a lunch that Jen had prepared. The bread used was Great Harvest Bread, which triggered my memory of the Great Harvest that I used to regularly visit in Wayne, Pennsylvania fifteen plus years ago.

Curious as to whether I could order the bread by mail, I went to the Great Harvest website.

I re-educated myself on the quality of their product. Great Harvest whole grain breads are made from five ingredients: wheat (which is milled in the store that day), water, yeast, salt and honey (or other natural sweetener).

The Great Harvest mission statement jumped off the computer screen at me. “Be loose and have fun! Bake phenomenal bread. Run fast to help others. Create strong, exciting bakeries. And give generously to others!”

And then I saw the tab that would change my life … “Franchise Opportunities”.

I still struggled a bit though. Could I manage this and my law practice, which although reduced, is at times still demanding? Is Savannah, home to Paula Deen and fried foods, ready for this healthy alternative?

The last piece of the puzzle fell into place when I decided to speak with a friend about the idea. It feels woefully inadequate to refer to her as a mere friend. I am so fortunate that I have several women in my life who are beyond that to me. This particular friend is one of those.

I knew she was in a transitional phase, as was I. What I didn’t know was that for years this friend had dreamed about owning her own business, even to the point of driving around Savannah and looking at locations. What I couldn’t have realized was what a blessing she would deem this opportunity to be, and the incredible enthusiasm she would contribute.

And so, with much excitement and a little bit of fear, we move forward.

Savannah – are you ready?

Great Harvest is coming to you in 2013!

I do have an excuse. This summer has been crazy busy.

Lets start with the crazy part. I basically spent a month in a self-induced self-analytical coma. I never thought that one could go over the deep-end on the self-improvement front. Trust me, you can – and I almost did.

It all started when I met this very wise and gentle spiritual healer. I became convinced that I needed to pretty radically change my life in order to live consistent with my life’s purpose. This, by the way, was totally my conclusion – not his. I started to question a lot about my life and my decisions thus far, and it made me, frankly, not a happy person to be around.

My dear friend Sarah became convinced that I joined a cult. And I probably walked around with a vacuous look in my eye.

Thankfully, because of some big family events occurring, I forced myself to not concentrate on myself, and I gained some perspective and realized, again, how LIFE IS GOOD. That does not mean that I am turning away from some of the lessons learned or ideas explored, but I am going to approach them much more thoughtfully … and slowly … and not think about them 24/7.

On to the major family celebrations that occurred this summer …

First, this little girl graduated from high school.

So, so hard for me to believe. For a refresher on my relationship with Samantha Kay, you may want to read Wynonna is Crying.

We all celebrated Sam in Jacksonville at the amazing party put on by her parents.

Next on my summer agenda was a surprise weekend honoring my parents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary.

My parents have known each other since the age of fourteen.

About a year ago, I told my mom to mark off their anniversary weekend on the calendar and not to plan anything. I would tell her when and where to show up, and what to wear. My brother, sister-in-law, husband and I planned the entire weekend and it was absolutely magical.

My husband and I had then planned to spend the entire month of July in the North Carolina mountains. We had never spent that amount of time there before, and we prepared well in advance so that we would be able to do so.

The day after my parents’ anniversary weekend, we loaded up all of the animals and headed to the mountains.

And then, ten days later …. I drove back to Savannah. My husband followed three days later.

What brought us back? A couple of things.

I had a large deal closing at the end of the month and it was pretty stressful trying to manage it from afar. I struggled with whether or not to come home, and then I received a sign that convinced me that I needed to be back in Savannah.

It was a very subtle sign. I was working in our small office in the mountains. Both kittens came into the office, got up on the desk, stood up against the wall, and looked towards the ceiling.

That’s odd, I thought.

And then I heard it too ….

Something was up there. And the ceiling is a drop ceiling with tiles that are not very thick. We (the kittens and I) became convinced that something was going to join us in the small little office soon.

They wiggled with anticipation.

I, on the other hand, packed my bags.

As a completely unnecessary side note to this little anecdote, my husband opened up the ceiling and tried to retrieve the creature(s) after I was on my way to Savannah. He could not get them, so he asked our contractor to do it. Later, in Savannah, he told me that he had talked to John and that it was all “taken care of.” I asked him what was up there and he looked at me and said “I am not going to tell you.”

That same night, there was a story on the national news about this creature that had washed up in New York City. Experts were freaking out about it because they couldn’t identify the species.

I am convinced that there were three of these in the ceiling of our mountain house.

Throughout all of this craziness, our little Maine Coon kittens are getting BIG and we are amazed by them everyday. These cats are very much like dogs, even to the point that I caught Mosby (the girl!) drinking out of the toilet this past weekend. They make me laugh every day.

Although my sweet Gracie continues to age rapidly in front of my eyes, she has adjusted wonderfully to her new siblings and will even play with them on occasion.

I hope everyone is having a great summer!