Teri Parris Ford's Blog

End of the Week!

It was a long, busy week and I was glad to finally get to the end of the it. Poor Balt has had ear problems for months really and I've tried to keep them clean but I could tell things were getting worse, so I finally made a vet appointment for today. Sure enough he has a couple of bad ear infections and 3 different meds to help remedy his ailment. The vet suspects Balt may have a hormone issue that not only causes ear infections but cause weight gain. If the meds don't work, we'll be in again for more tests. The vet spent some time cleaning out his ears thoroughly (see pic below) and then Balt spent the rest of the day shaking his head around. After the vet visit I ran to an appointment to see my homeopathic doctor, Dr. Ruddy. He encouraged me to read about starting a Paleo diet, prescribed vitamin D and started me on a herbal cleanse. He offered some great advise and inspired me to continue seeking ways to not only take care of my body but my spirit as well.

I had to stay pretty late after school today to finish up our first big final proof deadline. 93 pages needed to be uploaded without any mistakes. Of course the kids had all kinds of changes they wanted at the very last minute. I had to cancel the upload 3 different times as small changes were suddenly remembered! I have already resolved myself to knowing that the book won't be perfect. Luckily, I'm not a perfectionist. No matter what we do, not everyone will love it, but I also know that the book will be better than it's been in a long time.

I got home late and fed Balt, then took him out for a bit to take care of business. We drove to Whole Foods to get my list of things from Dr. Ruddy and dinner. I came home, built a fire and started watching A Dangerous Method on Amazon, but fell asleep about half way through. I'll need to watch the rest tomorrow. The first week of a semester is always taxing as there is so much change, so much to say and much ground work to lay. The weeks from here on will be easier, a bit more quick paced as the winter will fall away and give way to spring. I'm eager for the time to pass, and yet I know it will pass quickly. 

Counting Up & Down

Anyone who follows my blog knows that I like to count days. It's 24 days to Christmas and it's been 29 weeks since Mother's Day. I'm starting a new count down today. 90 days from today is March 1st and I'm hoping to look a little different with the help of Tony Horton and his P90 program. Erika took my "before" photos today but my #100happydays photo is of Balt at sunset, not me, because I love a colorful sky and I'm saving my before pics for 90 days. 

I gained 3lbs. over the holiday but that's not way I signed up for P90. I lost 15 lbs over the summer but now I've stagnated and I know I need to mix things up. I pretty sure P90X is to extreme, so when Tony Horton came out with P90, I did a bit of research. I like my T25 workouts but they were getting old and I know that I'll keep using them occasionally. I am following the diet too and boy, was I hungry today. While in California, for only 4 days, I had In-N-Out 3 times!! I love the animal fries!! Hopefully by summer, I'll be able to splurg again! But for the next 90 days I'm being good. (below; pictures of In-N-Out meals in California)

The Grass is Greener

The weather in Madison has been wonderful since my return. Although the high today did not quite make it to 60, it was still sunny and perfect with a sweatshirt on. I took Balt for a late afternoon walk after dinner this evening and it was wonderful to walk in comfort. I love seeing the green finally.

The school day went fine. The adjustment back wasn't easy but not that difficult either. I presented a new project to my CAMM class-- blogs! I'm really excited to see what kinds of blogs my students come up with. One of my students told me today he read my blog everyday and really liked it-- now I get to read his! I think my students are very interesting people and I am eager to know them better through their postings.

According to my mother, I have some kind of issue with inflammation. She assured me I was not fat, just puffy. I have notice my hands often look swollen and my eyes are certainly most often puffy. (you can really see it in my latest FB profile pic).It is my understanding that for many a high-carb, low-protein diet is inflammatory. I've read that chronic inflammation is a common issue during and after menopause.  My mom thinks I may be allergic to something like gluten or dairy since those are two common culprits that cause a lot of innflammation. While on vacation I actually lost 4 pounds, most likely because I was eating the way my parents do. They eat dinner early and try to eat high protien, low fat and low carb stuffs. While after my juicing failure at the beginning of this year, I had decided to try and stay away from crazy diets. Still I thought I should try out my mom's hypothesis. I'm going to try my best not to eat after six as well as go without gluten and dairy for a while. With summer coming on, it'll be easier. I don't think I'll miss the gluten muc but I've never been able to go without diary for long. I love lattes way too much. 

Soccer Season at Last!

Today was Monika's last first game of the season. It was very cold with slight snow falling. After a pretty exciting Friday, I ran home to pick up Balt, stopped by Joe's to get the lens we call the "long dog" (with super telephoto). We also have one called the "big dog" (telephoto with wider aperature). I made sure to take tons of photos for Monika so she could work on the yearbook.  I walked Balt first, then took photos, walked him again during half time and then took more photos. By the last 15 minutes of the game I went to the car to warm up and wait. It was just too painful. Even though I'm warm at home typing this now, my legs still feel wind burned from the cold. I've created a facebook photo album with lots of photos for the team you can check out.

The most exciting part of today was having lunch with Melissa and Josh. Melissa was in to visit with the student teachers and then bought lunch for us and stayed a while to visit. We enjoyed great conversation and food. It was soo much fun having her in again. While we were eating I tossed my phone at a student and asked her to get a few pics. They are funny to see all of our expressions. We three are quite an animated trio.

I have to report that last night was my first full night of sleep in quite a while. My fitbit noted that I only had a couple of minutes of restlessness and no wakings. I'm hoping this is the beginning of back to normal sleeping patterns. I have always been very blessed to be a heavy sleeper. I don't know how people survive with insomnia. Now I'm working on calorie counting. I've figured out where some of my heavy numbers are coming from which I kind of knew already but I'm now taking note. I purchased some rice cracker snacks from Costco that are crazy dense with calories, worse than nuts; 1/4 cup=200 calories. A couple of handfuls can end up using up more than a meal's worth of calories for the day. Of course the bag is huge and Monika doesn't like them. I'm hoping I can talk my husband into taking them with him to Rochester. 

Slippery When Wet

I let Monika sleep today. She had a fever late last night and gave her a night time medicine that I knew would keep her asleep. There's something going around and I don't want it. I slept in a bit myself but still had time to walk Balt this morning. It was 28 degrees, foggy but comfortable compared to earlier temps. Our afterschool walk was even warmer but wet-- 37 with rain falling onto icy walkways. I slipped and slided quite a bit but it was a great workout not only walking but trying to make sure I didn't fall. We stayed out for nearly an hour and a half in the wet, enjoying the "heat!"

It was another very uneventful school day for me. I know that other teachers in the building are dealing with insurance claims for wet and ruined supplies, but not me. My classes are warm and comfortable, filled with content students as eager for the weekend I am. Student Government met today to prep for January's only backyard meeting of the month. The Philippine fund raising t-shirts are in and the kids did a quick photo shoot -- they look great! Monika did the design for these and I thought it was impressive work.

Erika came in after school to work on a new (used) torch I purchased for her. She can create larger pendants now. It will be exciting to see her demo for my students with this. She ertainly enjoys creating. 

My book, A Short Guide to a Long Life (David B. Agus) came in today so after my walk with Balt, I drank some juice I made last night for dinner and sat to read the book. I got through the whole book in about 2 hours. It's a very quick read with the majority of information offered up in 65 to do and not to do's. I found myself saying, "check, check, check" to much of what was being noted. #14 Get an annual flu shot- check. #22 Take baby aspirin- check. #29 Smile- check #31 Be positive- check. #49 Get a dog- check. #59 Don't wear stilettos- check. There were a few things I said check to not realizing I was doing good-- #21 Take statins- check. #34 Don't forget your teeth and feet- check and I can thank my mom for that. Hopefully I have passed on the same good hygene to my girls.

So here are the items I need to work on; #5 Eat real food. That means nothing with a label. #13 Maintain a healthy weight. Each pound lost is a 4 pound reduction load off my feet and knees. #17 Heat up the heart rate 15 minutes everyday. I have to start jog/walking Balt inorder to jack up my heart rate above 50% of resting.  #57 Avoid sunburns. Ouch. It's an injury that lies hidden deep inside that can manifest years later. Let's hope I don't have to pay too much.

The items that I wasn't happy to see? #37 Eat more than 3 serving of cold water fish a week. Yuck. I don't like fish. I can do tuna, but I'm not sure I want to. #54 Avoid detoxes. Okay, I'm all for staying away from the scary stuff and crazy regimes, but I think a fast is good for you. I was suprised he never mentioned evacuating the bowels-- the best detox that should happen everyday. And of course, #60 Avoid juicing-- he calls it processed food. Really! He calls for junking the new juicer and eating the whole food. 

After reading the book I decided it was time to get back into my CSA in order to eat more than 5 servings of vegetables a day (#38). I see  #13 (maintaining a healthy weight) as a priority at my age. Lots of folks tell me I'm not fat, but I know I'm at least about 20 pounds over reasonable and 40 over ideal.  Really number's 5, 13, & 17 all going hand in hand but getting my heart rate up is going to be my target.

Tuesday Time on My Hands

A second freezing day offered me another day of rest and relaxation, but I didn't want to squander the time. I got up with Balt at 6am and stayed up. I made a fire and hot tea and decided to watch the news. I've started watching CBS Sunday Mornings last year sometime, but that has been the extent of my news watching or listening for months. There was a time in my life when I listened eagerly to the news all day on talk radio. At some point it feels like "nothing new under sun" and all the stories begin to repeat. This morning's local news told me of a woman who left her kids in the car at Walmart and another woman in Green Bay who tried to warm up her car with hot coals. Then on CBS This Morning (I love Charlie Rose!), it was all about the freeze, people stuck on a train and a couple of authors, including the author of a new book called  "A Short Guide for a Long Life" with a bunch of great tips.  I then ordered the book on Amazon.

So according to this author I'm in charge of my own health and the book is going to tell me all the data I should know as a guide. The author is anti- cleansing, against detoxing, and discouraged juicing. Of course I've just begun to do all three of these things.  He also mentioned that inflammation was the root of all disease. I often feel swollen, especially my eyes, hands and feet. Last January I gave up sugar and began a quest to eat more healthy and lost 10 pounds. By Easter, I had fallen off my New Year's resolutions and by December those 10 pounds were back on. I didn't want to do the same thing again this year, so I just set out for a 60 day something, knowing it was all I usually manage anyway. After watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010) a couple of years ago, I've been eager to try a juice fast again. I started juicing on the 4th, with the goal to juice every day until March 5th. It's been easy during the day, but dinner time kills the fast. This evening I fried up a sweet potato with carrots and onions in coconut oil. Oh my, it was so good! That's the best thing about being really hungry-- food tastes so good. For now, I'll keep juicing-- at least for the morning meal maybe lunch too. I made a salad with nuts for lunch tomorrow. I think if I keep things vegan as well gluten free, I'm going to see great changes. The trick is longevity. 

After watching the news, I took Balt to daycare even though I didn't have school today, he needed some fun. I came home and finally worked out with T25 DVD. Erika came home from work early and then she worked out (with her hoop). I went upstairs and started rearrainging things. Erika wanted to get rid of Jessi's old desk from her room, so I got rid of my old desk and put Jessi's nicer one in my room. It took a while to get things organized. I put both Jessi's and my old desktops in storage since neither of us use either of them. I went to pick up Balt and gave him a bath (he hates baths and cries like a big baby everytime). I came home, fried up a vegan dinner and watched the first episode of the fourth season of Downton Abby. The end of a wonderfully extended Winter break. I'm ready to get back to work and look forward to warmer weather!

Comfortably Numb

I went to the dentist today-- session 1 of 3 to get my 9 cavities filled. Today Dr. Ducommun worked on my bottom left teeth, pulling out an old silver filling and refilling it with a shiny new white filling. I'm happy to report that it was a pain free experience. The assistant was great at getting my gums numb enough topically to handle the large injections of anesthesia that were shot into my mouth-- not once or twice, mind you! I was injected 4 or 5 times to make sure I would not feel anything. Dr. Ducommun chatted with me about Jessi's visit over Thanksgiving as he watched to see my lips go numb and then injected some more. Once assured I would not feel the massive drilling, I was offered safety glasses. a warm neck wrap and large head phones to listen to the Pandora channel of my choice-- John Mayer. I wished I had turned the volume up more once the drills started. Occasionally I would peek to see what was going on, but in general kept my eyes shut and tried not to think about drilling. There was a very comfortable rubber apparatus that fit into my mouth to keep it open and to suck out the debris being excavated. I was in and out in about an hour. When I got back to school I was still kind of numb but all was well and no one even noticed I had left or had been to the dentist.

After school I shot the boys swim team photo. They are the state champion team from last year on their way to being the state champions again this year. I was a bit surprised by what a goofy group of boys they could be, knowing they work harder than any other team at our school. I dropped off Monika to play tennis and then I did a bit of Christmas shopping before picking up Balt from daycare. At 6:45. Monika and I met up with my husband for dinner at Laredo's. I'm in bed early tonight. 

The Magic Bullet

I contemplated an elaborate April's Fools post but decided against it. There were plenty of pranks on line today and I even caught one on the news this morning about humans being able to communicate with gorillas. I decided not to spend the extra energy on it. I had so much to do that I ended up not having the energy or time to deal with.

I started the morning trying out my new "magic bullet" blender that I got at Costco as a personal Easter gift for $40. I decided to have a protein shake for breakfast every day this month. I thought about only drinking shakes and smoothies all month until about 2pm when I was so hungry I made myself a turkey sandwich. So now my diet is "shakes, smoothies, salad, soup and sandwiches" for 30 days. I think that will be very doable--I might even gain weight on it. My no sugar diet has helped to keep me from sweets, but I've replaced the calories in my diet with other carbs. Either way, I'm hoping this blender breakfast will help.

I took Balt to the vet this morning and he's got to lose weight too. Last year my vet told me to get him lose 6 pounds and one year later, he's gained 8 pounds. So now we need to lose 15lbs! Jessi asked me to get him a harness so she could take him running. I'm going to try to take him for 1/2 hour walks in the morning from now on and she is going to try to talk him for a run after school. When I lessen his food, he tends to wake me up early early in morning hungry and whine for an early dinner, but I assume, like people, he'll get used to less if I just keep it up. Once it gets warmer, it will get easier, I hope, for both of us.

Slow Going

I weighed myself this morning. I have been sugarless for 4 weeks now and I must say I had hoped for faster results but I am down 2+ pounds. I need to get a new scale as the one I have is unreliable, cheap and changes everytime I step off and on. I saw an interview with Al Roker about his diet book, where he shared he wieghed himself in the morning and in the evening in order to be vigulent. He also shared about pooping his pants in the White House.

Today was the first day of the second semester. I had all new classes. Jessi is very excited to be a "second semester senior" but I keep telling her it should not make any difference. She still has to do well, but she does have a great schedule. She's done after 5 classes with 6th and 7th hours off at the end of her day. Today she came home and took Balt for a walk. 

Joe gave me my Christmas gift today (see pic). It's a collector's cup from Canon of a big lens I use to take pictures of the girls at their sporting events. The lens cost 3 grand, brand new (I didn't pay that much because I got it used), so the cup is pretty special. I've been keeping the hot water on all day so I will drink hot tea instead of cold drinks. It's nice in the winter time, but I won't keep it up once the warm air returns.

After school I took Balt for a walk (I didn't know he'd already gone for a walk) and then picked up Jessi. Monika stayed at school until after 9pm because it's "Tech Week" for the musical. I went to a 6:30pm yoga class that I usually avoid because it is the most popular and most crowded. I came home after and had left over chili with corn chips. I sprinkled cheese on top and I know it's the cheese and occasional cream in my weekend coffee that is keeping me from going full on vegan.While I know the sugar-free diet is helping, I would like to get rid of more in February.

Vegucated (2010)

I stayed up late watching the documentary Vegucated about 3 people who go vegan for 6 weeks. At one point I had to take off the headphones and lower the screen to avoid the horrific images of animal cruelty being shown in order to educate the 3 volunteers about how meat is "processed" for consumption. I have seen some of these types of scenes in other food documentaries, but the thorough nature of going from one animal to another, from one process to another was too much all at once. I wept understanding all the pain involved for the pleasure of 99 cent hamburger. The documentary goes on to show the passion of swearing one will never eat meat after understanding just how terrible the industry is to the wavering after the scenes and pain is forgotten and the practicality of life sets in. Believe me, I was ready to swear off all animal products after watching the movie last night, but then when I realized that tossing out the half used pint of half&half would not help anyone, I went ahead and poured some into my coffee this morning. 

The practicality of going vegan is in some ways very easy. I have support from a husband who said he would go vegan with me for a while. He did it a while back and lost 20 pounds in time for an important Army physical test. I've been a vegan for short periods of time and understand it isn't bad at all, but I do miss dairy. I already have a very strict vegetarian living at home--Monika. Erika has gone gluten-free this year but naturally doesn't eat a lot of meat. Jessi on the other hand is another story... she's the queen of white meet, white bread, white rice and white potatoes. She starts her morning with bran cereal and white milk, eats lots of fruit and an occassional vegetable, so she's not totally unhealthy but I could never see her surviving a full vegan diet, BUT that doesn't mean I can't. The girls are old enough to fend for themselves when I make healthy foods they refuse to eat. My temptation comes when we go out to eat.

The irony is that Oreos are vegan... so I know that just going vegan doesn't make for a healty living. I researched vegan meals at a few restaurants I frequent. There's nothing at Jimmy Johns, but between Qdoba and Panera, I could survive happily. After watch Hungry for Change, I am off diet coke! But I'm keeping coffee in for weekends and holidays. For this week I am continuing with many of the Ayurvedic cleansing meals but lightening things up with more juice and vegetables, less grains. I made enough lentil soup to last all week. I'm still staying off sugar, so even with a mostly vegan diet, I won't be eating oreos. 

 

Grocery Store Items that  are Vegan:
Doritos Spicy Sweet Chili Flavored Tortilla Chips
Fritos (Original)
Frozen Edy's Whole Fruit Bars
Fruit By the Foot
Healthy Choice Garden Vegetable Soup
Hormel Vegetarian Chili
Keebler Club Crackers
Lay's Potato Chips (Plain)
Life Cereal (use almond milk or just snack)
Nabisco Oreo Cookies
Nabisco Saltine Crackers
Nabisco Teddy Grahams (Chocolate and Cinnamon)
Nature Valley Granola Bars
Progresso Soups (Lentil, Hearty Tomato, and Tomato Basil)
Ritz Regular Crackers & Whole Wheat Crackers
Ruffles Potato Chips
Simply Asia Sesame Teriyake Noodle Bowl
Sun Chips Original flavor
Thomas New York Style Bagels
Thai Kitchen Noodle Bowls (Thai Peanut and Roasted Garlic)

Hungry for Change (2012)

In some ways I feel like I've been on auto-pilot for the past year-- maybe several. In many ways, life has just been so busy and the juggle of all I do has just become intuitive. Sundays are days to rest, catch up, maybe think and certainly enjoy. I stayed up late last night watching a documentary on Netflix (see below), so sleeping in until after 9am was needed. I've always known sleep was essential to good health, but I've learned that lack of sleep makes you fat. I used to think that if you slept less, you'd burn more calories, but it's the opposite. It's stress that makes one fat and sleep is the best way our bodies know how to process stress. I allowed myself the morning to "process" instead of doing laundry. 

I waited until it was 10 degrees to walk Balt this morning-- that was at 11am-- but the wind chill made it feel like negative 2. I made it to a noon hot yoga class that did magic. I hadn't eaten anything all day, still wondering what I might be doing. After watching Hungry for Change I was thinking about juicing. I would still like to but I won't start today. I continued with Ayurvedic diet and made a delicious lentil soup. But I did make it to the grocery store. I purchased lots of foods for juicing as well as salad stuffs. I was a little taken back by my total at the end-- healthy food costs a lot. An asparagus bunch cost nearly $7 and grapes were $10 for a small bag. The rest of the evening was down time. Jessi recieved a call from the head swim coach of the Naval Academy assuring her that good news was coming and an invite to the campus would be soon. It made for a bit of excitement.

Down Hill

I am half way through this Ayurvedic cleanse. While I have followed quite a bit, I have not been able to stay true to the whole program, which only means I'll need to give it another try sometime. I have been light on the spices and I haven't been able to make lunch my biggest meal. BUT I have kept to the morning rituals, and kept eating only whole grains and cooked vegetables. Also I have replaced coffee with herbal teas and stopped drinking cold drinks all day. My iced slushy drinks have been replaced with flowing hot water.

Yesterday, day 3, I woke up with a sore throat. Jessi had warned me that her illness started that way. I feared for the worst but by lunch it had disappeared completely and my horrible headache of day 2 never returned. I have felt tired at times, but I have tried to eat what I can eat heartily. I purchased donut holes for a meeting this afternoon and I was able to resist the temptation, but it was hard. 

Although Jess had tried to not miss school this week, but since she was told by so many folks to stay home, she did today. I came home at lunch to check on her and make her some food. By the end of the school day she felt good enough to go to basketball practice. I gave Balt a bath after school today and did a lot of picking up & dropping off. Jessi, Erika and I ate dinner together while watching Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer (2012). While entertaining, it was not the epic of Lincoln. Monika came home late because she was working on the set of the school musical. It made for a relaxing evening. I'm supposed to be keeping things easy & I know that rest will keep illness away... so I'm off to bed.

Understanding Ayurveda

I'm jumping into an "Ayurveda" cleanse, which is to say I am taking on a traditional Indian (Hindu) cleansing practice for a week. Ayurvedic practices are sister practices to yoga. I know I have a reputation for trying crazy diets and doing some weird regimens. A teacher at the yoga studio I belong to does this cleanse three times a year. I knew this was a good time for me. I think it officially starts on Monday, but I got started this morning.

The neti pot has it's roots in Ayurvedic practice and has become common place in "Western Medicine." I was prescribed one when I had sinus trouble several years ago but this week I will be using my neti pot everyday as part of my cleansing routine. I will also scrap my tongue which I found to be difficult this morning because I have a very sensitive gag reflex. The morning routine is key for oral, nasal, lymphatic cleansing daily. There is a lot of oil involved... oil in the nose, mouth and all over the body. 

Ayurveda medicine claims that sickness begins (or perhaps ends?) in the digestive system. Not that I am in particular need of healing but I know that by changing my diet, I can make some major improvements-- not just lose weight. I am supposed to eat nothing from a can, box, vending machine, or drive-thru and that alone will be difficult. I am to have only fresh, cooked, warm, whole, organic foods, properly spiced, and lovingly prepared food-- simpler is best, as few ingredients as possible. The diet is heavier on grains, but no bread, very little dairy. I made a muesli type mix for breakfast with almonds and apple, rice with sunflower for lunch and quinoa with a little bit of chicken and broccoli  for dinner. I have to admit that raisens and dates are my go to snack this month and keep me feeling very sane. 

After my walk with Balt, I went to my favorite slow flow yoga and meditation class this morning. Monika had a soccer game so I waited until she returned and then went to Costco for fruit, more dates, milk and oj. I came home and handed off the car to Jessi who went swimming. I made dinner and cleaned the kitchen. I still need to purchase a few spices and few vegetables for the cleanse. This morning was quite leasurely, but tomorrow, I'll need to get up a bit earlier to make sure the routine continues.

Sugar-Free Me

I have survived the past 4 days giving up sugar. All natural peanut butter with flax seeds on rice cakes with honey has saved me from temptation. Last night at Jessi's game I saw a teacher friend I hadn't seen for a while. She looked very different and after a couple of double takes, I realized she looked thinner. It ended up she was 28 pounds thinner. Of course I had to ask how. I was dumbfounded when she told me she gave up sugar 4 months ago. She told me her secret weapon to keeping her on track was grapes.  I purchased dates (and grapes). I got bananas too. There are times when I feel like I can't go through the whole year and then I realized I didn't have to. Once a month, I can celebrate. Valentine's, Easter, my birthday, Thanksgiving, etc. 

For my last day off I slept in and finally paid bills. I went to a noon yoga class that was amazingly blissful. I went grocery shopping to load up on rice cakes and corn chips. I offered to take my girls out to dinner and a movie since my husband in in Milwaukee with Army business. Erika had to work, Monika had a birthday celebration and Jessi had basketball team dinner. I sat alone at home by the fire in my pj's with plate of sugar free nachos and a watched more episodes of How I Met Your Mother. Vacation is over.

2012: A Year of Failure Sprinkled with Big Chunks of Triumph

Really. Isn't every year like that? There are good things, a couple of great things, a few really bad stinker items, and a lot of failure. My New Year's "30 Day Challenge" resolution was a big failure for the most part. My first challenge of going to yoga for 30 days in a row failed but I had a few successes. I stayed off Facebook for the month of February, but then I was reunited with Twitter in the process. And now I need to layoff Twitter.   2012 was for me not a great year. I struggled with my health, my faith, and my understanding of who I am. On the other hand, all three of my daughters had HUGE accomplishments this past year. My husband's amazing performance at his part time job finally gave him the full time job of his dreams-- 12 years of trying finally paying off. Back when I was having all my trouble with Erika (2008), I came to realize that I could not take credit for my children's success, not if I wasn't going to be blamed for their faults. While I can't take any credit for anyone else's feats, I can sit back and enjoy the blessings around me. For someone who can't really name any personal achievement for the past year, I'm surrounded by it. 

This morning I worked a bit on the January issue of the school paper, emailing and posting reminders. I went to a yoga class with Erika this morning. I picked up Jessi from basketball and we all had lunch together as a family, enjoying fresh tamales and left over black beans. My husband and I made our way to Indian Lake for an afternoon walk with Balt. I talked about an idea I have for a grant that I might write in 2013. After our walk, we made our way to a few stores. We got a few treats for our party tonite. All three girls will be gone-- out with their friends-- so I'm living it up at home with music, a fire and homemade cookies.

I decided my big New Year's resolution will be simple-- one item off my menu. Sugar. I've never given it up completely, at least not that I can remember. My husband gave it up for a year quite a long time ago and I recall it being a pain. I've already purchased a few items to get me through tomorrow -- sugarless cereal, peanutbutter and ricecakes. I can drink my coffee still. I can eat pretty normal-- but the temptations of sweets will not be an option. Every year I try to lose weight, I try to workout, I try and try but every year I continue to struggle. I don't expect anything magical to happen in 2013. But if I can replace just one ingrediant in my diet- I think it should be sugar. I'll find enough other sweet things to eat, I am sure. 

I(t) got (c)old fast!

Today's temperature high was 69^°F at 12:05am! It was all downhill from there. By the time I was done at work it is in the 40's. The girls got to stay home but I had meetings all day. Melissa does a great job at keeping things fun. If not for her, I dare say it would have been a nearly miserable day.

I had a doctors appointment this week and I got loaded up with drugs. When you're young you take drugs only when you're really sick, when you're old you take drugs to keep you healthy. I got thyroid stuff for the morning, an anti-diabetic something to have at dinner and my cholesterol lowering pills for before bed. I'm not excited about all this, but the goal is to see if it helps with lowering my weight and then reassessing later. 

After taking up the extra drugs the only adverse effects I felt were leg cramps and I'm not there's a connection. I went to yoga tonight and got some great stretching in. I think I was just sore from yoga this weekend or maybe from sitting all day instead of my normal run around. When I told my doctor about my detox diet, she didn't seem the least bit concerned. I'm down 5 pounds from my last visit (not sure when that was) and losing more will only help my health. While she didn't think I needed to go gluten free, my doctor said it would be helpful to lessen my carb load. As for my feet, she did not offer any drugs to help (although I asked for a cortisone shot). She suggested I purchase a special sock and insisted if I'd just lose weight, it'd help.

No snuggles, no snickers

I took Balt to daycare today and tried to use the day to get some work done. I have a chunk of time for prep in the morning that I find awkward for errands since most art supply type places are closed still. I hate having to go after school in the traffic, but I ended up doing that today. After Jessi's swim team practice I had to drive her to Dodgeville to catch up with her Rocks & Ropes Adventure class who were camping out today and tomorrow. That kind of sucked up the rest of the evening (it's an hour to Dodgeville from Madison). 

Today was day two for my detox. I feel good until about 3pm and then I feel quite hollow no matter how many celery sticks I snack on. I had a late dinner tonight of dark green salad with corn and chicken that was filling. I will sleep well. 

Detox Day One

Four years ago I picked up a detox book and successfully flushed my system. I lost 9 pounds and really turned things around from feeling terrible to feeling good. I figured I give it another go. I didn't realize it had been 4 years ago until I looked it up on my blog-- time flies. So day one was predictable. I craved all the things I could not have but kept celery and carrot sticks plentiful, within reach always. I'd given up diet coke  a while back, but started it back up this summer ($1 Mc Donald's runs) and was going too often during lunch. So by lunch, I had a head ache but flushed it with some unsweetened iced tea with lots of lemon. I ate an apple while walking Balt after school and felt extremely empty. I made a stir fry for Monika and I with rice which was so extremely delicious. Food tastes so great when you are hungry. A bit of popcorn saved me this evening. No gluten feels little easier than no dairy. Either way, I know the sacrifice will be good for me and I'll feel so much better. 

Today was a warm, wet day for October. Balt and I got walks in the morning and evening before and after downpours. I am amazed by the glow in the air this fall season. I punched the picture up below with a little saturation, but still... just coming home from my walk this morning, my front lawn seemed magical.
 

And then it just hits me...

I have to admit that yesterday I totally binged on pasta salad and ice cream. I woke up this morning realizing I've gained weight in July and it wasn't just because I had two bowls of ice cream yesterday. I've been grazing on summer food all month, lots of fruit and veggies, but ice cream and smoothies too. I assumed that swimming everyday would just take care of my diet but according to an article in the NYTimes, "people who begin an exercise program lose little or no weight. Some gain." Well, I'm a gainer.  According to some guy in Louisiana, "it’s easier to lose weight by dieting than by exercise,” and I have to agree. I'm pretty sure that my daily swim just makes me hungrier.

I had decided to take August off of any 30day challenge, but today I realized I needed to start counting calories. At first I wanted to do a juice fast but by 4pm, I was hurting. I had a wonderful lunch of kale, beet and apple juice (suprisingly delicious), but I needed substance for dinner. I took my husband out to Roman Candle where Erika was working. I ordered salad and he got a small pizza, we shared bread sticks. It was delicious and I was stuffed. Of course I saved nearly 1000 of my daily 1200 calories for dinner, which makes for a guilt free dinner fun. I'm using "My Fitness Pal" ap on my phone to keep track of calories. I have used it before and love the bar code scanner on it. 

Sunday Crazies

Balt went to the Vet last Thursday for an annual blood test and to get his heart worm meds. He was weighed again and was at the same weight as several months ago when we went to the vet. They asked me to pull back on his food so he would lose wieght. He needs to lose 6-8 pounds (he's 78 pounds). It was explained that would it be really good for his joints and general health to stay at a lower weight. I understand, but when I lessen his food he reacts badly. They suggested spreading it out into 3 meals. I was giving him a cup and a half, twice a day; any less and he starts foraging for more. I was told he should be fine on two cups a day. No way.

Last night I was in Milwaukee so I'm not sure how much he was fed, but he woke Jessi up at 5am according to her and went berserk. I was home by 9am and took him for his walk and noticed a much more active dog then the Balt I was used to, but I was hoping that since I was home that was the end of his craziness. I went to the pool and enjoyed a near perfect day relaxing. At dinner time, I saw Balt go nuts. He was fed but I think he's upset at the amount and becomes purposely naughty! He ran out into the street, taunting me. I think it's the one thing he does that literally gets me over the top upset-- with good reason. I think It'll be the death of him. I gave him a little extra food after he settled in. I'm not sure what to do. Balt and I have such similar issues-- we need to exercise more and eat less, but it's hard. I wonder if I'm reading into his reaction of less food because of my own feelings to less food? ]

 

A Fine Friday

Today was another great day-- gorgeous out side and pretty nice inside. We had visitors from Edgewood's art ed program. I gave them a tour of our department and then school. I made copies of the backyard sheet for our lunch meeting during the tour. I met with student government during the lunch hour and got in a quick photo shoot of the sophomore officers after our meeting. Elections for next year's officers are next week. This years officers did such a great job but they are still nervous about being re-elected. I'm in the awkward situation of being both the mother of the kid running for the junior class president and the advisor of the junior officers. I normally stay out of the process. Well, I more than slightly biased this year.

After school Balt and I went for our walk and then my husband took me out for dinner. I got vegetable fajitas with corn tortillas-- I couldn't eat even half of what was served. I brought the left overs home for another day. I'm not quite half way through my vegan challenge and while I'm convinced it's a healthy way to live, I'm not convinced I can eat this way forever. I purchased "silk" creamer, a soy alternative to half and half. It was disgusting. I couldn't drink my coffee with beads of palm oil floating on top of it-- too gross and I'm positive it isn't more healthy than half and half. 

Peanut Butter in my Belly

I'm surviving because of peanut butter. I had plan coffee this morning and realized that now that it's getting warm, I'll just pass on it altogether. I'd rather have a diet coke or iced tea than black coffee. My cereal taste great with rice milk, so no complaints there. Yesterday I had steal cut oats with apple and that was great too. Lunch for the past two days has been a peanut butter sandwich with bit of honey and I love it. I eat a grapefruit as well and am stuffed. Dinner has consisted of soups with bread... but I'm not sure how sustainable this is for my life. It seems the basis of a vegan diet is grain and legums. I'm not sure I'm going to lose weight on that.

The paper got finished and posted today. I met with student leaders during lunch to discus backyard sheet, Friday's meeting and Prom. My juniors sold nearly 300 tickets now which only leaves 200 for tomorrow and we'll have a good showing. After school I met with the technology committee to discuss a grant for the school. I checked out a bit early to pick up Balt, then Monika and meet up with Jessi, who'd gone to swimming. We had dinner together and ran errands. It was a balmy evening and kind of fun being out and about. Erika was waiting once we got home. I made her a quesidilla, caught up and then she was gone again. Now that she's well, we only see her once every couple of days agian. I kind of feel like tonight is the calm before the storm... it's only get crazier.

The Highlight of the Day

I saw a facebook post over spring break that said, "Is it wrong that mealtime is the highlight of my day?" I know the person was a kindred spirit. The highlight of my school day is lunch of course, as it is for most every one of my students. I used to go out to eat a lot early on as a teacher at JMM. There are so many options so close by. BUT those days are gone. Although I'm constantly dieting and budgeting, what keeps me in are lunch meetings 3 times a week. Monday I meet with my class officers, Wednesday I meet with student governement leadership and Friday I meet will backyard reps. Tuesday and Thursday I try to get in the pool but that gets interupted with meetings also.  

These days I'm keeping a diet of 1200 calories and am down 10 pounds since starting nearly 2 months ago. Calorie counting offers  some flexibility-- I can shoot my wad all at once or spread it out thin all day. Today I was very hungry for dinner but only had 400 calories left for the day. Vegitable stir fry from Chins is about 300 calories and brown rice is about 100. I was stuffed and still had 47 calories left for my day. I admit there are plenty of days I go over, but I try to balance them off with days like today when I keep it under. I'm learning that I don't need to do anything crazy. Some have told me that 1200 calories is very low but my metabolism is just that slow. I can't lose wieght unless I keep it that low, even with exercise. Food taste so good when I'm hungry. An orange for my mid-day snack keeps my energy up and oranges are feel alot better than chocolate after I'm done eating. 

After school was just crazy time. I ran a few errands, picked up Jess from track and took her to swim, then picked up Monika from soccer, ran an errand with her quickly before having to pick up Jessi from swimming. We went to Chins for dinner and then popped into Old Navy to get 40% off (today only). I got home after 8pm exhausted and it's another late night!

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful holiday. I woke up early and started working on breakfast and dinner. I snapped a picture of my husband's handiwork with the Easter baskets. Once I had everything together, I took Balt for his morning walk and then off to a yoga class. We had an early dinner (or late lunch). All three girls were home. Erika had been scheduled to work but after going was sent home and told she would be called if it got busy-- it didn't. After our meal we all sat around together, reading and napping. We watched Kicking & Screaming (2005). I took Balt for another walk and spent some time on an essay I had started earlier in the week. 

We watched a documentary on food, Forks Over Knives (2011). Both my husband & I are struggling with middle-aged middle section weight gain. We had recently started doing a high-protien diet, but this documentary advocated for a whole-food, vegan diet not only to loose weight but reverse health problems and prevent cancer. I must say this is not the first time I have heard this message. It is a compelling documentary with amazing documentation on real reasons to give up not only meat but dairy, but oh, so hard to think that that is what we need to do.

Tuesday?

I was out the door by 7am and got home after 8pm. Today was one of those days that was long, semi-productive, but left me exhausted. I made a cup of tea with a little cream and was out cold before finishing it. When I dropped Balt off at daycare, they noticed his smell right away. I asked if they might take care of it and when I picked him up, I paid for the $14 bath and could still smell a bit of "bog" on him. After school I met with my newspaper kids and got dinner for everyone. Monika had soccer and then a parent meeting that she just texted info & q's to me. Monika was made captain of her team which made the disappointment of not making varsity not so bad. She's now in charge of getting warm ups for the team. Jessi had track and her ACT class. All 3 of us were weary from the day when we got home. 

The best thing about the day was that I finally weighed myself. I rarely do anymore as I feel that I start getting obsessive with it, so I leave it. That's how 20 pounds can creep on me after several months. At the end of Febrauary I started counting calories with the help of a phone ap. I'm 8 pounds lighter a month later. I still have 12 more pounds to get down before feeling a bit more "normal" which is about 15 pounds more than I want to be but now I know I'm progressing -- 2  pounds a week is good progress. 

Not quite Friday

Today had a Friday feeling, but it wasn't. I was tired and hungry for much of the day. I decided I would not go out and buy anything for my diet, instead I'm finishing up all the leftovers-- turkey for dinner is pretty healthy. Yesterday, I had a cup of pineapple that was a good 4 months old and cottage cheese on the verge of going bad, but not bad. Today I had a yogurt, not that old but with a granola bar that was about 3 months old. I've finished the chocolate protien and now working on the vanilla. I might call this one the "don't-buy-any-new- food-to-go-on-a-diet" diet. 

I have had a list of about 10 things to do this week and I've able to knock about 2 a day off the list. It's been slow going and had thought about taking a day off to get it all done. It seems silly to take a day off work in order to get work done for work, but I won't have to. I haven't made it to a yoga class all week as a result, but I'm kind of giving my feet a break. I'm still getting a walk in with Balt both in the morning and the evening. Tonight I rushed out to get walking before snow was forcast to fall but other than a couple of flakes, it didn't materialize. It still has been very cold all week. It's totally hot chocolate weather. 

At work kids are transitioning from metal into glass in my afternoon classes. My first stained glass ornaments are getting done. It's been a fun transition. I got a new camera so I snapped a few pics in my class. Also this evening I took Jessi finally to get her hair chemically stripped (of chlorine mostly), deep conditioned  and cut. She hasn't had it done since last year and it was starting to look very snarly. Tomorrow's her first basketball game and I want her to look pretty out there. I'm not sure I'm going to get to see her play as I have to work the hockey game. I'm trying to get someone to trade with me as I'd hate to miss out on seeing her play for the first time this season, but I know there'll be plenty of opportunity.
 

Running

I wish I could run on empty, but I can't. I seem to always find time eat, no matter how much running around I do. I had a newspaper club meeting this morning at 7:30am. I have been bringing donuts to these meetings and even with one sugar donuts left at the end, I didn't even have to smell it. Not that I didn't want it, I just refused to let it tempt me. My "no sugar for a month" diet has been cheated on, but in general, I'm doing fairly well. I've learned to snack on salty foods instead. 

My classes are great, but the energetic ones keep me on my toes. That's not bad. I had an appointment today to have Balt assessed for daycare and he passed. I signed him up for 2x a month-- at $22 a day, I thought it would be a nice treat for him in the winter months especially. After school, I had to take Monika shopping and make some purchases for Jessi before taking Balt out on his walk but it did happen. It was a beautiful evening, but very brisk-- below 50. 

It's easy to love vegetables in the summer!

I made a broccoli salad today. I had a couple of bunches that were starting to bloom, so I needed to eat it all up fast. The broccoli slaw recipe I had used ramen noodles, so that was a no go. I found other recipes with mayo and I can't do that either. I finally found this recipe that I love:Chopped up broccoli heads with stems, Red onion chopped up, Chopped pecans, Raisins, Apple vinegar cider and oil- I used walnut oil. I threw in some soy sauce and ginger just to spice it up a bit more. I loved this salad. I ate some for lunch and dinner-- it was quite filling.

With a high of 95 & 80% humidity, it's even too hot for the pool, but it's never too hot for hot yoga. With all of my fruit and veggies I'm eating, I knew it would be a good time to detox, so I did a Bikram set at noon. I sweat so much my face hurt from the constant pouring out of liquid. I got a little shaky, knowing my plum-grapefruit smoothie for breakfast was not enough. I feel frustrated at times that after a solid year of yoga practice,inconsistently consistent as it is, I still feel like a beginner at times. I still struggle with balance and strength--made worse because of my feet. Still, I left today invigorated

The Ford is in the shop so I had to do a little extra picking up and dropping off today. I don't mind it at all, and sometimes wish we could go back to being a one car family, but I know others are much more bothered than I am.  Monika had a school planning meeting today and Jessi is working all week at her pool. I decided to go to Costco for dinner. I was craving strawberries and I could get a roasted chicken and cheese pizza for the family. Everyone was happy. I made a strawberry lemonade for dessert. Heaven.

Summer; Week 8, Day 1

There's only 4 full weeks left of summer but next week both Jessi and Moni have tryouts for their sports, so the school year will feel like it's starting then. I have a long list of things to do to get ready for the school year and while there's plenty of time to get it all done, it's still not quite the way I really want to spend the end of summer. 

I had two big projects today I needed to deal with: 1, get my computer fixed and 2, figure out what my new August diet will be. I started with iced coffee this morning and decided not to eat anything until I knew what the plan was. In the mean time after I walked Balt I ran into school. I made the rounds talking with Joe, Geof, the custodian and finally the computer tech. I was lucky he was available (he showed me the stacks of computers he needed to deal with while he was looking at my laptop). God bless him, he spent about half an hour with me explaining that I had overheated my motherboard badly. Luckily after a day of cooling off, it started right up for him. He installed a gadget to note the temperature of my cpu on my desktop and told me to get a fan lap pad to use under the machine, especially when I use it on my lap. It had kept me nice and toasty during the winter, but this summer heat literally killed it. 

That left me with my diet. I have found I need to have limits or else I get myself into trouble when it comes to food. I had thought of doing a liquid fast, but I have a lot of Wisconsin grown organic vegetables that need to be eaten and I don't like cold liquid vegetables-- it's way too hot for soup. Melissa told me about a movie called "Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead" where a guy from Australia completely overhauls his health by juicing. I love juicing, but not the way that pulls out pulp (fiber). I have a juicer that I never use, instead I use a blender. I need fiber and the more the better.By noon I was starving and wanted to get to an afternoon yoga class so I threw a grapefruit and plum into the blender with ice and lemon and made a nice fruit juice to get by. I wanted a diet I could do all month, not just a couple of days. Juicing would not be enough. So I'm doing all friut, nuts and vegies (no beans, no grains). I am allowing milk in my morning coffee, but no other dairy, esp cheese! I allow olive oil for sauting vegies and salads. For dinner I made a sauted zuccini, onion and tomatos. It was delicious. I made a cucumber salad for desert. Day one was a grand success!