BlueprintCleanse Day One

I woke up around 8 o’clock this morning and was faced with a dilemma. Should I drink the first drink BEFORE yoga or AFTER yoga at 9:30? Since I don’t ever eat until after class, I opted for after. No problems at this point with lack of caffeine.

When Last Guy looked in the fridge last night, he joked that Bottle No. 1 looks like something from the bottom of our aquarium. He actually tasted it tonight and commented with a sour face that it was a good thing I like “that sort of thing”! But fortunately, the green juice – which they say is the whole point of the cleanse – is the best for you. Here’s what’s in it: Romaine, celery, cucumber, apple, spinach, kale, parsley and lemon. I got a text from one of my girlfriends who is also doing the cleanse after our yoga class saying that it was like drinking your salad! But so far so good.

I had a few errands to run, so I packaged up another juice in the cute little cold bag with some freezer packs that they give you and went off into the city. Basically, I was OK until the need to, shall we say, get rid of all that liquid! EVERY FIVE MINUTES! Thank goodness I know where a lot of good restrooms are in the city!

Anyway, the other juices were REALLY good. The second one is pineapple, apple and mint. Then another green juice followed by a spicy lemonade. Both these drinks were really yummy. Then another green juice. I’m having trouble finishing this one because I’m FULL! Enough already! The last drink is a cashew nut. I’m looking forward to that one. Everyone raves about it.

Tonight, while walking Rosie with my two girlfriends who are also cleansing, and their dog, we walked across a street where we clearly had the signal. Some asshole in his giant SUV started to turn and almost ran us down. We all screamed at him and I even gave him the finger as I yelled, “Don’t fuck with us, buddy! We’re fasting!” Needless to say, I’m feeling a little wanky right now!

Actually, I was fine until around 7 tonight when I really hit the wall. Even the dog food tonight smelled strangely appetizing! I’ve got a tiny headache, but nothing too bad. Thank goodness Last Guy took himself out to dinner. He’s being SO supportive of this! It’s really not like I need to lose weight or anything. But I know he’s curious to see how this will effect me! Right now, I’m just feeling kind of bitchy and want to go to sleep! But I can’t. I have to drink one more drink and wait a little while to go to bed.

Tomorrow I’m in the recording studio finishing my CD! I’m excited. Let’s just hope I’m feeling a little bit more like myself on DAY TWO!

Tags: BluePrintCleanse, juice cleanse, juice fast

Before The Cleanse

I know it’s been ages since I’ve posted anything here. But I’m feeling inspired!

Tomorrow morning I’m starting a three-day juice cleanse. Three days where I will only drink juice. No food. No liquor. No ICE CREAM! I know a few people who have done a cleanse for anywhere from 3 to 10 days and they always comment on how great they feel after doing this. Personally, I’m pretty nervous about drinking all of my food for the next three days. I truly don’t like being hungry! I’m a total foodie, and spend many hours every day thinking about what I’m going to eat next. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t necessarily eat BAD or too much, but I do love a good three-course dinner and a few glasses of a nice Chardonnay! I’ve been doing yoga classes almost every day for the past year, and I’m a lot more aware of what’s going into my body. So I’ve come to the conclusion that maybe it’s time to flush it all out and start again!

After doing a TON of research on the Net, I decided to try The BluePrintCleanse. It’s a little costly, but it’s a total no-brainer. You sign up and they give you six juices per day – each numbered 1 through 6. The website is quite clever and hip and made me feel like I could actually do this! There are three “levels” of cleanses. I opted for the middle level, called the Foundation Cleanse. Here’s what they say on their site about this cleanse…

I don’t know what I am! I’m not a vegetarian because I eat fish (but not the kind with mercury). I’m definitely NOT, nor will I ever be, a vegan – (I love a good cheese plate…and sometimes a salumi plate). I try to eat a big salad everyday and limit those “bad-starches.”

They’re right about the first part, except I do eat poultry, and after my trip to Vietnam last year, I’ve been experimenting with a few other critters. OK, maybe I’m really somewhere in between the Level 1 and level 2 cleanse…

I know what whole foods are, and I’ve seen people buying them. I would too, but I’m too busy to be choosy – my vegetable intake comes in the form of: Ketchup – “tomatoes” and French Fries – “potatoes.” Salad is found in EVERY cheeseburger I eat: it’s that green-ish color in the middle of the burger.

Either way, I’m determined to try this. I’ve been REALLY good this weekend getting “prepped” for tomorrow. Not like my normal weekend! No booze, no carbs, but lots of salad and veggies. I haven’t given up my cup of coffee yet. I’m not THAT much of a purist! I totally savored my coffee this morning You’re allowed to drink green tea and other herbal teas on this fast, so I’ll start that tomorrow. I got pretty bitchy by around 6 tonight, but after a lovely dinner at Quantum Leap where I had a scrumptious Zen Platter, I’m ready to tackle a few days of food deprivation!

And tonight, on our way home from dinner, we spotted the “official” BlueprintCleanse delivery truck! IT’S A SIGN!

I have a couple of girlfriends who are also doing the same cleanse at the same time as me! So it looks like I’ll have a good support group. Unfortunately, my husband is NOT doing it, and I’ve warned him that he can’t be cooking up the bacon in the early morning while I’m still in bed before he goes to work, or the smell will kill me in my sleep!

Wish me luck and see you tomorrow on DAY ONE!

Tags: BluePrintCleanse, juice cleanse, juice fast

Deni on the Nate Berkus Show!

Last month, I went to see a filming of the Nate Berkus Show here in NYC. I went with a couple of good friends who had called in for tickets. It was kind of a fun, out of the ordinary, thing to do in the middle of the week.

During a break in the filming, the MC explained to us that sometimes they get their studio guests from people who are in the studio audience, and if anyone had any “home holiday decorating dilemmas” to please raise your hand. The woman behind me lifted her hand and one of the producers came over to talk to her. I couldn’t help but overhear her comments. She was saying that her daughter was coming to visit for the holidays and she really didn’t know how to get ready for her… or something like that. Kind of lame! I thought to myself, “I can do better than that even on the fly!” So I raised my hand. It wasn’t like I even really wanted to be ON the show. It was more like I was up for the challenge of convincing the producers that I was PERFECT to be on the show!

When the producer came over to me, I immediately started to blurt out my story. Similar to the one you will hear on the video! They called me the following day. And the next day. And the next. Until they worked out the angle of the how we’d fit onto the show. Check it out…

They cut out the bit where I was about to talk to Nate over by the mantlepiece, and he said, “Well Deni, you have an English husband?” And I burst out singing “I HAVE AN ENGLISH HUSBAND… LA LA LA LA LA LA” – to the tune of “Dreidle, Dreidle, Dreidle”! He sang along with me. Guess it didn’t fit into their format! Either way, it was a lot of fun. They gave me a cashmere robe and slippers, and a $200 gift certificate to One Kings Lane. Not a bad way to spend a morning with my husband, and it gave us a good excuse to put up our holiday decorations the day after Thanksgiving!

Tags: Nate Berkus Show Deni Bonet Home Decorating Doggie Elf

Brand New Single on iTunes!

In this season of goodwill and giving, I want to thank you for being such a great friend and supporter of my new CD, IT’S ALL GOOD! As you probably know, the CD has been recorded and mixed, I’m working on the album art as I write this, and I’m hoping the final mastering will happen soon. BUT in the meantime I’m happy to announce to the world that I’ve got a BRAND NEW SINGLE that’s just been released! I’ve chosen the super-fun, ultra-poppy party song, GIRL PARTY which features the one-and-only Fred Schneider of the B-52′s, and is produced by Richard Barone of the Bongos. We’re very excited that for now it’s an iTunes Exclusive Single. Wow! This single is out just in time for you to add it to your New Year’s Party playlist!

You can click THIS LINK to go directly to iTunes and purchase the download for only 99 cents and every penny earned will go towards finishing my CD! If you like what you hear, please send EVERYONE you know to THIS LINK and help me get my single out there. And while you are there, please leave a comment and rate the song. I would really appreciate it!

Wishing you and your family a fantastic 2011. Enjoy the rest of your holidays!

Much love,
Deni

I Am My Dog

A few days ago, my dear friend Paul (who some of you may remember as “BRIT BOY”), was sworn in as an American Citizen. He invited me to go with him to share this remarkable experience. I was happy to oblige!

I got up WAYYY too early for my taste, and headed downtown to the Federal Building in New York City where the Naturalization Ceremony was going to be held.

When I got there, I met Paul outside. I took a couple of pictures of him, and then we got in line to go through security. The first stop was the main guard at the front entrance who was checking ID. I pulled out my wallet, and much to my horror discovered that I couldn’t find my drivers license! I got out of line and proceeded to pull my whole wallet apart, and then I ransacked my purse to no avail. The license wasn’t in there.

The guard came up to me and said that as long as I had ANY picture ID I could go in. I told him that I only had credit cards and some mail with my name on it. But I DID have my dog Rosie’s Therapy Dog ID card with HER picture on it! I was desperate. I asked the guard if that would do. He looked at me like I was nuts! But I guess because he knew that I was there for a positive, happy occasion, he whispered in my ear, “Next time you come to ANY Federal Building, make sure you bring proper ID.” DUH!!! Damn, I have nerve!

It was quite a moving ceremony, Paul is all sworn in, and I found my license. All in all, it was a very good day!

Tags: approved identification card, citizenship, Dog, Havanese, immigration, therapy dog