The Results

I starved. I may have blacked out a time or two. The 14 lbs I lost actually felt like 50. But in the end, I conquered.

12 days of raw food. That means no bread or crackers, no cookies or cake, basically no meat and definitely no eggs.

It sucked.

By day 3 on, I had a headache that wouldn't go away. In the pre-noon hours I was nervous and jittery. My hands would shake, my temper was shirt and I felt like sleeping all the time. On day 7 something miraculous happened. I had "run a marathon" kind of energy. I was jumping around, jittery in a completely different kind of way if i didn't diffuse some of it.

So was the raw food diet wager a success? Well I won the bet. That means I pick this years charity, $250 ponied up by my friends comes to me AND Ange will be wearing (*amended from earlier in the bet*) a cookie costume while handing out cookies in Waterloo Town Square in the spring. It was a VERY successful wager.

I'm glad I did it (and succeeded) this year. I'm happy to have earned the honour of naming the charity, I'm happy to say I'll be donating half of my winnings to the charity (which I haven't decided on yet), I'm HAPPY I lost 14 lbs and the fact that my friend will be all shades of red wearing that costume? That's just a bonus.

Stayed tuned next January for the reveal of Hardcore Friendship Battle Part 3, I'm going to do my best to make my friends lives miserable for 2 weeks.

The Wager

So yes, I am a *little* competitive. Last year, the bet was about the charity. This year, it's all about saving my name and proving Ange WRONG.

So we upped the ante a little this year. WHEN I WIN, Ange will don the dreaded bunny costume and hand out cookies in Uptown Waterloo for 2 hours. In addition, that $200 from last year... it's been upped to $250 and it'll all be mine (plus the $250 for the charity). SWEET SWEET REVENGE.

IF, the Earth's axis suddenly shifted while I was walking down the street and a chicken wing flew into my mouth (which, be honest, could NEVER possibly happen) this girl will be forced to wear a UNITARD (yes, a là Big Brother) for a week. I'd be worried about having to attend church and business meetings and karaoke and cake deliveries in a UNITARD because if you've ever seen me, I'm pretty sure I don't have the right body type for a unitard BUT as stated before, the chances of this happening are about 6 BILLION to 1, so I am riduculously confident that the unitard will not happen.

But ya know, just in case, if you see me this week, please don't throw any chicken wings at me. I'm not sure I could overcome the temptation.

Going Without For Good

I have 4 friends that I've managed to keep through some troubled teenage years, marriage, children, mental illness, career changes and more. They're like the brothers I don't have and a sister that's close to my own age and like all siblings, much of our time spent together includes harassment, dares, jokes and teasing. I consider myself extremely lucky.

Realizing that long-term friendships are so valuable, we've made a commitment to each other to get together at least 20 times a year. With careers and kids it's not easy but heck, nothing worth anything comes for free. Because we tend to group ourselves with people of similar interests, my friends are very socially minded. They all make time to volunteer, give generously to causes they believe in and genuinely care for others. So about 5 years ago we decided that every time our group got together we would each drop $2 into a fund and at the end of the year donate it to a charity. One year we donated to the arts program at the high school we attended, another it was the Humane Society and the Junior Physicist Camp scholarship fund.

Last year Ange, who's always been a bit of a health freak, was arguing with me about the benefits of a raw diet and then proceeded to state, "There is NO way in a million years you could possibly survive a week raw."

Battle on. Within minutes the bet was on, I declared that I could easily go a week raw... heck, I could even go 9 days. Mike set out the terms of the bet, 9 days no cooked food of any kind with an exception made for tea. If I won, I got to choose the yearly charity and a sweet $200 ponied up by everyone in the group just for myself.. If Ange won, I would be serving dinner to the group AND THEIR SPOUSES/DATES/PARTNERS in a Playboy bunny suit and she would be picking the charity..

Well, I suffer from some pretty extreme OCD. Much of it is now (finally) well controlled but I have an issue with breakfast. Every single day I eat the exact same breakfast. It helps me feel in control, it helps me control my emotions and by keeping that one aspect of my life stable I've been able to tackle many of the other obsessive tendencies I have.  So last year, on day 7, I felt like the Earth was spinning uncontrollably. I was irritable, I couldn't focus and my anxiety levels were through the roof. So i poached myself an egg, sliced a banana and made a cup of tea and allowed my world to relax. And 6 weeks later, with cheeks redder than a Red Prince apple, I wore the darn bunny suit and served dinner to my friends. Ange picked a charity fund for vegan farmers and I vowed revenge.

So this year, it's on. We've visited 25 times this year and the fund is at $250. The bet started yesterday and the stakes are HIGH. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post and find out what's on the line...

50 Happy Teens

It's been 6 weeks since 59 Teens 4 Christmas. In the weeks since the event Jodi and I have decompressed, started planning other events and overall continued working for the greater good in Waterloo Region.

But enough about us, you want to see pictures of 50 Teens 4 Christmas and I promise, these fantastic pics from Christine Reid Photography will not disappoint!

To all of our sponsors, whom I will properly acknowledge in my next post, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you. We didn't just give a party to 50 teenagers, we reminded them that the world is good and that people care about them. I've had the chance to meet with several of the teens who were at the party who are STILL raving about it. Last Wednesday I met a ROOF volunteer who gushed about the event. What you took part in wasn't just a one off event. The effects will be far reaching and the relationship that we have nutured with ROOF means that FoodLove and The 5 Dollar Project will be supporting this great agency for a very long time. Thank you to everyone who retweeted, gave us shoulders to cry on, handed us your money, your time and effort and listening to us complaining... STAY AWESOME!