Beware the Berry

You may have seen adds on the internet, or things on TV that sound like this:

"I lost 25 pounds in 4 weeks following this one simple rule..."

And then there are some links to free trials of two supplements that helped them achieve this seemingly miraculous feat. Since one of them was a berry, and I have always been fascinated by the things that the Lord has put in nature, I thought, "Hey, if it's free-ish, I'd like to try it!" There were other good affects boasted as well, but I was mostly curious to see if it would do what it claimed.

So, I ordered the Acai Berry and the Colon Cleanse product for their free trials. (The scam of 'free' trials could be a whole other topic...). When they finally arrived, I began taking them as suggested.

Those next days seemed really hard--you know, things piling up at work or stress from moving, or whatever, until by the 4th day, I was a weepy mess. Small things felt overwhelming and out-of-proportion. It was constant. I don't know what it's like to be depressed, but if I've ever been close, I would guess that this was what it felt like. Tense and dreary all the time...

Once it dawned on me that all this uber emotionality coinsided with when I began taking these suppliments, I thought, "I'll try not taking them tomorrow and see how I feel."

It was like night and day.

I couldn't believe how different I felt after not taking them. I was easily happy again. Things felt back in their proper proportions, and poor patient Travis I think felt relieved that his wife was back to her normal self. Incidentally, I did not see one bit of the affects that were advertised: no weight loss, no improved energy or focus, no 'light' feeling.

I know that some products are higher quality than others, and I don't know if it was the berry or the cleanse product, or both. (And lest anyone think I was scammed too bad, the whole experience only snatched about $10 from our wallet.) It might just be me, and I'm not discouraging anyone from trying it. I'm just saying: beware the berry.

The Most Awesome Book Club

Mom (Lynda) has invited me to be part of her book club. I have always loved to read and recently have wanted to read some more meaty literature. Well--I got my wish! This month, we read:
750 pages of raw meat! While truthfully, I didn't finish the book (moving has a way of hogging all your time), I love meeting together with these intelligent, thoughtful, beautiful women and discussing literature and characters, our reactions to them, their lessons for life...It's something I look forward to every month. Thanks for inviting me, Mom!

Homeless!

...but only temporarily. See, the landlord of our new apartment said they would need a few extra days to fix some things, so instead of moving in on Saturday like we'd planned, we will have to wait until Wednesday.

In the meantime, our current landlord had already signed contracts with the couple that will be living in our apartment promising them a certain move-in day, which really can't be moved. So, we still have to move out on Saturday and from Saturday to Wednesday, we will technically be--

homeless.

There is a blessing in it though. :) We decided to rent a U-HAUL and keep our stuff in the truck for the four days (so we don't have to pack and unpack twice!) and the kind man at the U-HAUL store gave us all kinds of discounts.

Chip and Beth Lynn have taken us into their home. (Thanks a million!) The Dishman hotel rides again! It is so great. We have a comfy bed to sleep in, a cat to play with, and so I am happy to say that we are no longer homeless. Thank you, thank you, thank you both!

Thanks, everyone! We love you! We'll write to you from our new address soon!