Dietary Observations

So, I came away from this past weekend with an interesting observation.... as of Tuesday I had developed a rash along my stomach, back & chest. Not itchy, just bumply.

Observations: it was similar to a rash that I came away with from MovNat (recap at bottom of original post)... During MovNat, I ate whole, fresh foods that were cooked, but not processed. I also had no grains or dairy. When I came back, I treated myself to a pizza & beer Saturday night, Sunday we were stuck at an amusement park, so I ended up with Fish & chips & mexican food. Monday I had the rash.

For the past three weeks I've been eating 80% whole, fresh, minimally processed, and grain-free. Tuesday, due to schedule conflicts, I had to eat & run and ended up with Filet-O-Fish ^ fries for lunch & a breaded buffalo chicken wrap and battered fries for dinner. Wednesday I had a rash.

This is twice now that I've had a similar sequence of events and come away with a torso rash. From this, I conclude that I was more likely right than my doctor (I figured it was diet affected and Dr. said it was from crawling around in the woods). This lets me form several hypotheses... A) grains are doing it, B) processed fried crap is doing it, or C) potatoes are doing it, listed in order of likelihood (in my opinion). As of lunch time today, I will start back on a whole/fresh diet again, keep at it for a week & then see about reintroducing bread products in quantity. See what happens. If that doesn't do it, I'll try fried foods. Then potatoes, etc....

I want to figure my body out.

Oops and thoughts about the future...

Yeah, so I just realized that I posted the Friday article Wrap-up on Thursday and my sense of time is all off. I thought last night was Friday, but then I thought today was Thursday or Wednesday while I was driving to work. Oh well.

So the post yesterday had something to do with a hint that I'm contemplating teaching again. I am. It'll probably be years down the road. I'm looking into programs. I should get my degree in it this time at some point. There's a fast track program which would be more my speed, but it looks like I'll have the same problem as last time because I won't get classroom management or grade assessment skills until after I'm already in the classroom... but I've found some good resources on my own this time and may look into that down the road. I do need to figure out what prereqs I need though because while I could be fully competent going into the fast track program in Physics and maybe Math, That's not all I want. I'd also like to have the necessary reqs. for health and Phys. Ed.

Why?!? Why would someone who HATED Phys ed want to teach it? How could I teach phys ed if I still have an innate loathing of volleyball? Well, I don't know the answer to the third question, but to the first and second I put this: through my work with MovNat & Exuberant Animal this past year and by being exposed to SPARK (the book) and stuff like this, I think I can best apply my knowledge and positively impact people by applying my science at an early age... It's so empowering when someone tells you WHY you should move and move a lot, rather than when someone tells you that you SHOULD move a lot. It's also better getting the education in WHY and the experimenting and learning it for yourself. I think I can do the most here. That is why. : )

This is why: Physically Active Play and Cognition

Friday Article Wrap-up & Teaching Commentary

• 7 Step Model to (some) cancer
• The Fundamentals of Bodyweight Strength Training

• Clock Ticking on 100,000 teacher jobs
• How Should We Teach our Future Teachers?

OK, I normally refrain from adding commentary on the Friday Article Wrap-up, but this one is near and dear to me since I'd wanted to teach since 7th grade, taught for a year (hellish) and am considering going back to it someday. It's especially near to me because I had an opportunity to be one of those people who gets left behind in school at an early age and I also (thanks to a wonderful teacher who pulled me back from the abyss) went on to excel in school.

Long story short: the more I hear about education cuts, the more I feel ill. I hear people complain about jobs going overseas and worries about the US staying competitive in the marketplace, etc, etc. Then people go on and complain about bipartisanship & spending and we're spending too much, so let's cut education. OK, I admit that's a very simplistic view of what people are expressing, but those sentiments exist. I really WANT people to start thinking about teaching and education the same way they think about doctors and engineers. They are critical. They get paid alot because they are critical. But you don't get doctors or engineers without the teachers teaching them first. Teachers and kids are the building blocks of all other industries. How much they succeed dictates how much our country and industry succeeds later. You can't have an educated voter participating in the democratic process without an initially educated student. And engineering jobs and innovation jobs will continue to go overseas if the better educated people are overseas. Just think about it. END of rant.

Friday Article Wrap-up

• But I Like My.... - whether or not about nutrition, I think this principle applies to a lot of life.
• The War on Children's Playgrounds
  
• How to Store Fresh Produce

New Swamp-Water Smoothie

Ingredients:

• ~ 2 cups washed & loosely loaded spinach
• ~2/3 c. shredded carrots (or the equivalent whole carrots)
• ~1/2 standard pkg blueberries
• 1 medium red apple
• ~2 Tbsp. Almond Butter

Directions:

Put in blender. Blend until ready, put in glass & enjoy.

Nutrition for the whole thing.

Mango Chicken

Made a yummy dish yesterday and thought I'd write it down & post it before I forgot... : )

Ingredients:

• 1 small super ripe mango
• 1 small onion or 1/4 medium/large onion
• 1 Orange pepper (red or yellow would work too)
• 1-1.5 Tbsp. Coconut oil
• 0.5 - 0.75 lb. Chicken
• 2/3 pkg. frozen artichoke hearts
• ~1/4 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut
• ~1-1.5 tsp. cinnamon
• ~.5 tsp. Tummeric
• ~ 1 pinch ground ginger

Directions:

Using a large skillet... Slice onion and pepper into strips & sautee in Coconut Oil with cinnamon, tummeric, and ginger over medium heat until soft. Add frozen artichoke in about half-way through. Cut Mango into small strips. Cut chicken into bite sized bits, & toss into pan to cook. Make sure to mix it around so as to coat chicken in oil & spices. When chicken looks within 5 minutes of being done, add in mango & shredded coconut.

Serves 2. This dish paired well with steamed Asparagus drizzled in lemon juice & seasame seeds.

Friday article Wrap-up

It's been a while, but I want to bookmark this for myself, so here goes...

• Kids, Paleo and Nutrient Density - the name says it all. Read only if it interests you.
• Study Finds that Low-quality child care has lasting effects into adolescence - I'd like to actually look up the study later, but I've long said that I want to stay home with my kid at least until it goes to school because I don't feel comfortable trusting someone else to form them as a person. I'm sure there are good providers out there, but I want to laythe groundwork myself.
• New "Roadrunner" Dinosaur Found in China - cool!
• Free Portal - also cool
• Virgin Mobile $25 for unlimited text, email & internet - SWEET!
• Nutrition and health in agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers - bookmarking this again so I can find it later.... one day I did find a writeup of the study and that was far more interesting to read, but oh well
• Postpartum depression: When moms feel out of control - I really want to find out more about this "brain protein called monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A)" so I can see if anyone knows by which pathways it occurs & works. That could be helpful someday...
• For once I agree with Dr. Phil...

Project Reminder

I want to put this out there so I can remember to make it and to hold myself accountable, but in addition to making the pieces listed at the end, I hope to make a suit like this:

• Jacket from Vintage Vogue #V1019
• Skirt from Butterick #B4859

This will come sometime after:

• the pseudo regency maxi dress made out of a printed red & white mesh
• retro butterick bolero, halter, skirt & shorts set made out of white Pique & a peach beach print pique
• red lace skirt from Amelie
• Black liquid satin infinity gown
• orange & brown crushed stretch velvet fan-tailed victorian skirt
• a victorian suit made out of a blue-teal sharkskin fabric made from these patterns: 1 and 2
• another walk-away dress
• remake my 1950s cocktail dress that's self-destructing
• make a 50s 2-piece wrap dress

So many things to make, so little time. *sigh *

Copyright updates...

Some of you may remember a post that I had in November of 2008 discussing my exploits with trying to control the use of a Binghamton at Night photo that had gotten used by various sources.

And if anyone is interested, here's a link to the wikipage that discloses the license.

I spoke with Broadway Binghamton and they were totally cool and if you watch the banner ad, when my picture comes up (third frame) it says Photo by Laura Roth in the lower right (YAY!).

Nyseg Solutions originally took the picture down, so I dropped my complaint and left it at that. The picture is now, however, back up and I've contacted them again. [UPDATE: as of 4:27 PM, they've taken it down again...?] This time I will be following up with their photo supplier to see where he got it and why he believed it to be free to use in any manner at all.

This update comes after discovering JUST how viral the use of my photo has gone. *sigh * If I had only known, I could have... I dunno... made $5 or something? eh. Here's a listing of other places that are currently using it:

• Greater Binghamton Airport: contacted & not heard back yet [UPDATE:5/6/10 - they contacted & offered to name me! Yay!]
• Live Music in Binghamton FB page: I contacted them and supposedly they'll work with me on it. The Admin was really nice.
• Binghamton Nightlife FB Page: Contacted, but no response yet
• Binghamton Nightlife, RMC: (beware, has a zillion graphics to download) contacted, not heard back yet, and am completely concerned since it states that it's a FreeArt license which is wrong.
• Scranton Alumni Association of Greater Binghamton: contacted & not heard back yet
• Binghamton, NY FB Page: has the photo in the "around town" album... trying to contact
  

Well, we'll see what happens.... it's coming out of the woodwork now. : )

Just a Thought....

Just a thought...

What IF:

• by making play safe for kids, we're actually setting them up to get hurt more...
• by making sure our children have most of what they need and want, they are developing less ingenuity and fewer abilities...
• by giving children more opportunities, we're actually narrowing their horizons...
• by keeping things clean and sanitary for kids, we're actually compromising their health...

These are literally just thoughts that are popping into my head, but if I am ever considering procreating and/or going back to teaching, these are thoughts that must be considered and addressed so as to form my own opinion. I hope you all, whoever you are, will think about them and go out and form your own educated opinions as well. I know others have discussed these things further, but let me delve into why I started thinking about this. I'm going to ramble, but I'll highlight what I see to be the key points in case you want the abridged version.

I sat down at a pre-interview at a martial arts studio... it was a free "self defense" session and they wanted to get a picture of my movement background first. I got to the part about how I started going back to playgrounds last year and the guy said, "Oh, you mean like with Monkey Bars & Merry-Go-Rounds?" Me: "Yeah, but you can't really find Merry-Go-Rounds anymore at all." "Really?" "Yeah, it's generally a liability thing. They're 'too dangerous' to keep around." Guy's co-worker pipes in: "Yeah, actually, just a month or so ago a kid in my neighborhood fell off the Monkey Bars & is now paralysed!"

I don't know if any of you have been to playgrounds recently, but if you haven't, I suggest you go out and take a look around. More and more of the playgrounds are becoming less and less challenging. The vast majority appear to be formatted like castles and tree houses with elevated platforms, stairs, ladders, and slides. That's fun. But you'll be hard pressed to find slides that are more than 4 ft. high and made of anything other than than stupid plastic that gives you ridiculous static cling and lets the speed top out at, oh... the pace of a caterpillar. Here is what you WILL NOT see, unless you've found a relict from the dinosaur era: 6-8 ft high metal slides, a merry-go-round, and teeter-totters. While I am sad those are largely gone, this is where I have a real issue... these things are HARD to find: Monkey bars, rings, fireman's poles, balance beams, parallel bars and pull-up type bars.

Stairs, small ladders, small slides and platforms are great for make believe and safe play, but it's the hard-to-find items that are really responsible for helping kids build strength (through PLAY) and helping them learn more about how their body moves (subconsciously through PLAY).

When I jumped into movement & fitness with gusto two years ago, it was just to help find myself, help center myself emotionally, and "get in better shape." After trying more conventional approaches, (i.e. gyms, running, etc...) I wanted to get stronger and have more fun. I thought about how I got strongish as a kid and remembered climbing on things a lot, playing on the swing set (I still love swings), using the monkey bars, etc.... so I got a friend and went to the playground. The next day, my arms and thighs hurt from using the swings for 40 minutes. Long story short, I went back & kept playing on the playground, found MovNat, found Exuberant Animal, and started really going beyond fitness and just decided to explore movement and see what my body is capable of doing. I'm now trying to find my limits and push them instead of going for set goals like strength. Strength is a side product of what I can do - it's actually circular. The more I try, the stronger I get, the stronger I get, the more I can try.

Along the way I discovered this: I don't know how to move. I'm learning. I'm 30 and I'm learning how to move. I understand momentum and weight transference to some extent. But you tell me to do a pull-up & I try to contract my biceps & expect that will do it. I tried to push myself up & hold myself up on a pair of gymnastics rings and I fell right off because I was trying to use my triceps. I stopped. I tried again. I listened to what parts of my body were affected when my attempt failed. I felt it in my laterals, my pectorals, my shoulders and back. I was ignoring the function of a whole slew of things that needed to work together. Next time, I tried to push up & used those shoulder/chest/back muscles and guess what.... it worked! It makes me feel really stupid. It makes me realize how much I don't know and how much more I need to learn.

So back to the topic at hand.... From my own experience, I understand some basic movements and got some building of strength from playing on this "dangerous" equipment as a kid. If, as an adult, I still don't feel like I know enough about how to move and use my body (can be helpful if you need to save yourself or get out of physical trouble), how are younger generations going to learn & how will they turn out? Yes, there's more prevalence of organized sports, but those result in specialized movements and skills, not general awareness. And what about kids in underprivileged areas where they might not have access to leagues and only have access to "safe," unchallenging playspace. Will this relegate them to a weaker body and lifestyle in the end? I don't know. It's something I'm thinking about. Maybe others should too?

P.S. I've been very lax about the Veg of the Week, but this week I tried Carrot Tops (the greens). Interesting... like a combo of parsley & arugula. It had quite a strong flavor.

More failure. Mood deteriorating.

I've had this incessant whatever-it-is for a week now. Sinus pressure. Tired. Those are the major symptoms. Today I was extra tired (though I had broken sleep, so...) and found a newly swollen, sore lymph node in my throat. Decided: "hell, I'll go to the health clinic downstairs & see if there's anything they can find." Checked my nose & ears & apparently didn't see anything that would scream "sinus/ear infection" to them. Checked out my throat & saw some discoloration & did a rapid strep test. Negative, but they seemed skeptical. Apparently the tests are very inaccurate. The Dr. sat down and filled a scrip for penicillin and said, get this: "You've had it for a week now, there's a possibility that it's strep. Here's a scrip, but it's up to you. You can wait a day or two and see if it clears up before you take anything or you can start taking it right now. Your choice." your choice. They don't normally say that. I liked him. He looked about retirement age, had a very good personality, was super forth coming with the info. I LIKED him. Then I noticed he's a D.O. Google stalking ensued and he's not covered by my insurance and is barely mentioned, so I figured he does not have a private practice.

On the off-chance, I decided to go back & see if he knew of anyone. I talked to the nurse about my medical care philosophy & she understood what I'm talking about but has not found anyone in the area here. Then we asked him. SOOOOO frustrating. He'd be my perfect doctor. He didn't discount what I was saying, he agreed with my approach to care, he understood what I was looking for and then told me that he couldn't recommend anyone. BUGGER!!! What I got from both of them is "Things are different now and you can't make any money as a doctor that takes a holistic approach to care so even though some still come out of med school, they don't stay in it long." CRAP.

Back to the drawing board. It sounds like the best I can hope for is maybe someday finding a doctor who talks to me at least like they think I'm a semi-intelligent person (or pretends at least).

*sigh *

The fallacy of "big is beautiful"

There has been an emphasis in the media lately of being anti-stick-thin-models and pro "normal" models. Just today I found a slideshow from TODAY that screamed "Big is Beautiful!" On the surface, I agree. I think we all need to get more realistic about body image and realize that not everyone is the same, not everyone is a size 00 and not everyone will wear a dress exactly like it is in the hanger. Somehow, as an average woman who's been big and who's been little and who struggles with body image regardless.... somehow I see this all as a farce . Like a three-ring circus act (with the exception of that one model who posed nude a few weeks/months ago - she and the spread were classy and real). I feel like someone in the media is playing around with the concept to try and appease us to make us feel as if we're being catered to... for now. Here's one generic problem I have: the reaction generally is to counter too-thin by using plus-sized models. I don't have an issue with that, other than it seems like going from one extreme to the other. How about we display a wide range of body type? Secondly, and this is a gripe that I find particularly related to the slideshow (go see it now if you haven't), I don't like the fact that they've taken plus sized models and made them do exactly the same thing as the too-thin ones. Study the pictures... Most of them has been put into an outfit that is clearly too tight/small for them, making them look bulgy when they really aren't. Muffin top is not natural. It is only a product of clothing that is poorly fitted. It makes me sad. I comment on this particularly because I just spent this past weekend at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art and walked into one room and was stopped dead by the beauty of a painting... the beauty of this painting by Frederick Carl Frieseke:

It may not look like much on your computer screen (something seems to be lost to me here...), but I highly recommend that you stop by to visit her the next time you're in town. She's beautiful. The painting is beautiful. Something takes you about the human form. She's not a tiny woman.

While searching for this one, I also found a collection of nudes by Kenyon Cox, my favorite being titled Indian Summer. I am in love with his portrayal of the female body because each of his works is quite obviously a real woman. They are put in pastoral settings and given a mythical air, but they are far from being air brushed.

Just my thoughts... take from it what you will. These are good examples of how to show real women.

Eczema Experiment

Start of a new, crazy guinea pig experiment on myself... I'm wondering if there's a correlation between diet and my seasonal eczema which appeared to be held in check, if not cured, by the liberal use of knee socks last year. As a result, I've resolved to go bare (non-sock-clad) legged this year and see what happens. Unfortunately, up until the past few days, the weather has been too mild and uncooperative (development of the condition usually coincides with the arrival of cold, dry air). Now! It has finally gone cold and dry for a spell, so we shall see what happens. : ) *crosses fingers *

Pittsburgh Steak Salad

SO I needed something QUICK and easy and really good last night for dinner. Here you go:


Pittsburgh Steak Salad

• 3 thin cut NY Strip Steaks


• Ore-Ida Crinkle Cut Fries


• Cherry Tomatoes


• 1 small onion (sliced)


• 2 medium/small carrots shredded


• 1 Pkg Baby Spinach


• 1 pkg mixed spring greens or Spinach/Red Lettuce Combo


• shredded Provolone Cheese


• Minced Garlic ~3 or 4 cloves


• Garlic Powder


• Onion Salt


• Northwoods Seasoning


• Chili Power


• Sauteing oil of choice (coconut or olive or butter) (~ 1 Tbs)


• Ranch Dressing

Serves: 4

I threw half the bag of Fries in a baking pan, and sprinkled liberally with Onion Powder, Garlic Powder and Chili Powder & set it to bake according to directions. Next, I sliced the steaks into thin strips and tossed the pieces in Northwoods Seasoning, Garlic powder and Onion Salt. Meanwhile, I had the minced garlic sauteeing in the oil. Then I tossed the steak bits into the sauteing garlic & oil and browned all sides, careful not to overcook. The salad was assembled by mixing the spinach and mixed greens on 4 plates, adding onions, shredded carrot, and cherry tomatoes. Lastly, top with steak bits, fries, and shredded cheese. Add Ranch dressing to taste. You can probably just prepare the fries and steak without all the extra spices, but what fun would that be? Total time was probably about 30 mins. Enjoy!

Going Gaga

Dang! You know, I don't know if I like her music, and I don't care if someone loves her music or hates her music, or thinks she's crazy, or what.... but one has to admit that Lady Gaga has spunk and guts. I'm betting, if you met her, that she's an incredibly intelligent woman who knows how to "work the system" and has a flawless marketing campaign. I hadn't really paid much attention until recently when I read an article about her beginnings and then just today when I saw this MSNBC SlideShow "Fashion gone Gaga". Regardless of how you feel about her or her music, you really just have to respect how well she knows the system and the effort she puts in for a full production at every moment. Wow! Hope she doesn't burn out. I probably would.

Lemons = Lemonade

Maybe I'm just rationalizing and sugar coating things to make myself feel better, but we've just recently had a life reorganization and one instantaneous impact is that it's forcing me to fulfill my Samhain resolution of "drastically reducing my soda intake". That being that I've gone straight to no soda at ALL. Cool. Not as hard as I had imagined. I've also gone back to drinking tea as a healthful flavored alternative to water. My head is less fuzzy & I'm concentrating better, so.... : ) Yeah, it's all good.

This sums some of it up well...

So I discovered a podcast called "Livin' La Vida Low Carb" the other day during one of my various nutritional forays on the internet and he gets some interesting speakers on the show about health and nutrition. During the 300th episode edition Jimmy Moore is talking with Dr. Jonny Bowden and this one passage struck me as sooo true, so I wanted to share:

Jonny Bowden: "How did you become kind of a crusader for this [i.e. low carb/healthy nutrition]?"
Jimmy Moore: "You know, Jonny, when you change your life and I've met a lot of people since I started doing this who said 'You know what? I changed my life just like you did' and there's just something that happens within you, Jonny, when you make such a dramatic change in your lifestyle? I mean, the Jimmy Moore of 2009 heading into 2010 now, is nothing like the Jimmy Moore of 2003 and before... I don't even think the same way, I have kinda of a... a passion built up within me... it's like 'Hey! I've discovered something that worked for me and it's hard not to be passionate about it, Jonny, when you find out something that has helped you, the biggest thing you want to do is get out there and help other people."

Amen, Brother.

P.S. One of the other things that he goes on to say is that while lo-carb works for him, proper diet & nutrition is not a one-size fits all kind of thing and he's just on about trying to disseminate info about healthy living and nutrition in general to get people information and to get them to start thinking about the choices they make. Amen, again.

Well, that might have gone OKish...

In case you didn't know, I've been working with Kwame Brown in a kinda of apprenticeship to work toward becoming a certified animal trainer (Exuberant Animal, that is). It's been off to a bit of a rocky start, but I think things are progressing. Having taught dance for so many year, I have my stride with that down so that I barely have to think about it. I know well the safety points to hit, the kind of humor that I like to incorporate, the methods that I find effective, have ways to work with different abilities to get the desired results, and have a good feeling for class flow. I started teaching in '99, so it's now a LONG time ago and I don't at all remember what it was like when I started. This has made this learning to lead hard because the methods and skills and MO that I had developed for dance DOES NOT translate 1 to 1 into Exuberant Animal. It's unsettling, because I feel lost, but also fascinating because I am learning a whole bunch of new stuff, new ways to work with people, etc. It's a very good process to be going through. I'm also taking over someone else's class, rather than starting something essentially on my own (with dance, there were several teachers, but we were ALL new at it so there was no established class feel in the beginning). So I've an added challenge (probably mostly in my head) of trying to figure out how I should lead it since the participants are used to Kwame's style and sense of humor and let's face it... I am not him. He is not me. That's just the way things are, so I need to figure out how to get my own stride.

So, on and off, Kwame's been settling me small portions of the class to lead some warm ups or exercises to get my feet wet. It's been a bit awkward because of the issues mentioned above. Last week, he set me up to start the class: "pick 5 things that you want to do and we'll go with that" and then just never really took over again, so last week was my first whole class. It was awkward as hell, especially since I had not enough material picked out, was kinda winging it, trying to figure out how to challenge people but keep them comfortable and safe, and ADDITIONALLY try to come up with what we could do next. Egads! Let's just say that I'm pretty sure the awkwardness that I felt inside carried over. Oh well. This week, yesterday in fact, was my second full class. This time, I was fortunate enough to have a vague heads up about the fact that I'd get the whole class again and so I got some time to prepare, come up with a conceptual theme, and make a list. I felt much better, I think it went much better for the people playing, I know I still have a lot of work to do. I'm not nearly there yet, but it definitely seems like something I can work on, get better at, and actually be able to lead effectively. Yeah, that's the other weird thing about this certification - it seems like one must tread a very thin line between just leading by giving ideas, and teaching. You don't want to 'teach' too much because you want the participants to explore their full range of motion - as far as they're comfortable with, and explore their own creativity. Also, you don't want to leave it too loose because there are certain safety considerations to take into account. It's fascinating. Well, let's hope I keep growing and figuring it out! : )

Wish I had that problem. : )

I've gotten my body (and brain) so used to being active that it's now kinda the norm for me. (So much so that I used Apples to Apples as an excuse to do sit ups last night.... laid on the floor and did "sit ups" to submit my card and to get replacement cards.) So this week has been really hard for me - I'm kinda underwater at work, so it's been stressful, other things have been going on that are stressful this week, I'm working a lot to try and not be underwater anymore, and then there are social obligations.... this left me with about 5 minutes a day to move or get exercise, which is not enough. Thereby, I got MORE stressed because I couldn't move. Vicious cycle. That brings me to today...

I wasn't going to be happy until I went for a good run, so I went out at 11:45 to go get lost (which I succeeded in). I've been borrowing a Garmin GPS watch from my friend, Adi, and it's AWESOME! No only does it let me feel more comfortable heading into the woods alone (because I get tell it to get me back to point A), but I can also just go out with a distance in mind and just go & explore without trying to "map a route" beforehand. So yeah, it was fun. I was aiming for something over 4 miles, I got to 4.3 and said "well why not keep going?" and did. In the end I got in a 4.91 mi. run and then called it quits because my knee was muttering at me. For anyone who doesn't know. I've got a weird left knee. I am guessing it goes back to being in a cast when I was 12 - I know I ended up with some muscle atrophy and many of the problems I have now can be traced to muscle imbalances... anyway, that's why I like Pseudo-barefooting in my VFFs - it forces me to pay attention to my body, there's no alternative. So when I run, I'm always aware of that knee. If it twinges, I change my stride ever so slightly until I am moving in a way that keeps it in a neutral state of awareness. I start to zone out, my form goes away, and then my knee usually brings me back to the task at hand. We're partners. : ) So anyway, I got to this point where my knee was not hurting, but it wouldn't stop making it's presence known no matter what I changed, so now it and I are back home and both happy. That's why it came out to 4.91 mi.

So anyway, back to the subject.... I wish I had that problem. At noon it was 55 degrees. I was in capris that are a super-light cotton, like light summer Pajama pants weight. I also started out in a cotton "wife-beater" tank top & a short sleeved shirt over it. After the first 1/2 mile, I was stripped down to my tank. then later, I was hot even in that. Meanwhile I passed people running in warm-up pants and sweatshirts... * sigh * I wish I had that 'problem' - i.e. still being cold while running - only for the reason that it would enable me to keep running over the summers. Oh well. I won't. I will always overheat. That's just the way my body is. Just like my thighs will always touch, no matter how small I am, without getting liposuction (don't worry, it's NOT on my to do list) and I'm OK with that. It just means I'll never ever be able to run in shorts (as evidenced by the mine-field of scabs due to abrasion that my inner thighs looked like after the Run Like Hell, when I WAS wearing shorts (and also ended up overheating).)

Oh, two last things:
1) is that I find the GPS watch cool because I can go back and check my times... I just find it interesting. Today came out, mile# & time: 1 - 9:03, 2 - 9:59, 3 - 13:23, 4 - 12:05, 5ish - 10:51. I find it interesting that after the third mile, I got faster again. Hmmm...
2) I came across a van parked on a side street that looked exactly like the A-Team van!!! Joy!

Have a good one all!

Random Thoughts

Someday I'll get a post up about my experiences with the Exuberant Animal East Coast Jam... someday when I can get it all to come out of my head as something other than the deranged babbleing of a hyperactive pre-teen... ("OMG, OMG, OMG!!! It was like_! and then he was like_!.... and then, like, it was like the coolest thing EVER!)

File under the category of "kids say the darnedest things"...
I was at the pool this weekend with my sister's family and my 5 (almost 6) year old niece commented: "You belly button's a triangle!" Me: "Oh, I guess so." Her: "Why is that?" Me: "... uh 'cause that's the way it is, I dunno..."

Try on the fly explaining to a 5-6 year old that your bellybutton's a triangle because your skins a little lose still after losing weight and gravity's acting on it, while trying not to exacerbate the media body image hoopla about we all must be a super model, or should be, or can be...

I was also driving on the way to hang with my sister when I FINALLY paid attention to the Lyrics of "Vogue" by Madonna and it stuck me that they have an amazing message. Take a look and ponder for a sec. : )

All you need is your own imagination
So use it that's what it's for
Go inside, for your finest inspiration
Your dreams will open the door
It makes no difference if you're black or white
If you're a boy or a girl
If the music's pumping, it will give you new life
You're a superstar, yes, that's what you are, you know it
.....
Beauty's where you find it
Not just where you bump and grind it
Soul is in the musical
That's where I feel so beautiful
Magical, life's a ball
So get up on the dance floor

Fruit of the week

Last week's "new" fruit/Veg of the week was cranberries. Not Craisins, not Cranberry sauce, not cranberry juice cocktail. Tart was an understatement, so I wasn't sure if maybe they just weren't ripe enough... Today I got a bottle of unsweetened Cranberry Juice from Whole Foods to compare. Nope, the berries I have are fine - that's just what real cranberry is all about, I guess. : ) I did find that cranberries did very well in salad and will probably be good for cooking, but I can't handle more than 4 or 5 at a time by themselves. : ) I wonder if they'll explode when heated?

Next week (aka this week): Sugar (pie) pumpkin. Can't wait!

Friday Article Wrap-up

Headlines & Links that intrigued me this week...

• HOW THE MAYA LIVED
• After letdown, solar-sail project rises again
• Vanished Persian army said found in desert
• Dear Mark: Your Brain on Junk Food
• New Ideas for Winter Squash
• Gordon Pirie's 'Running Fast and Injury Free' - actually didn't read the whole thing, but I intend to
• Is Pain Relief Medicine Good for Runners?
• Break It Down Again
• Sugar: The Bitter Truth - can't vouch for it, I only watched the first 30 mins, but it was intriguing.
• The Many Uses of Junk Food - useful DIY natural cleaning tips... also, though not stated in the post, you can put flour on a grease or oil stain in clothing before you wash it. The flour will soak up the oil & then wash right out. : )

Run Like Hell & Samhain Resolutions

After much craziness with preparing for a party, cooking, cleaning, and making my fairy costume, and then other festivities like the Dupont High Heel race in the mix, on Friday, Oct. 30 J & I boarded a plane for Cincinnati. : )


The Cincinnati trip was planned about 6 months ago as a great excuse to see my friend Alex and to commemorate the event that set my running interest in motion exactly two years ago... The Cincinnati Run Like Hell!


We arrived at Cincinnati almost on time, everything went surprisingly smoothly. Got into town, managed not to get lost on the way to our stay-place for the weekend, met up with Alex, got dinner at a super cute cafe called What's for Dinner? and managed to hit the race packet pick up. J & I dropped Alex off to take care of his rental property that he owns in Cincinnati and while he was busy, J & I occupied ourselves with the Cincinnati Art Museum, which was fantastic. The Damascus Room was quite possibly our favorite part, but I always like that sort of thing. J, on the other hand, really liked the intricate victorian "tourist" table. We went back to our stay-place and got ready for the race, with Alex joining us at the last minute.

Off to the Run Like Hell. The traffic stunk, but once we got parked and situated, the atmosphere was very festive and excited. I wore my costume that I specifically designed to be pretty, runable, and going along with the theme of running "barefoot" - I was an autumn fairy, complete with fully boned 18th century stays and gorgeous (IMHO) wings. The wind that night caused a small problem with my wings since the support system was not very robust, so they caught the wind & got blown every which way including into other people and over my head. Anyway, we joined thr group of runners lining up, with me trying to minimize the incidence of my wings hitting other crowd-members, and at about 7:30 PM, we were off. The course was fun, and it started off downhill. During this stretch, I saw a crazy group of 3 guys, two of whom were screaming and running wildy from a third dressed as Jason (who I later found out was truly named Jason). The next stretch was uphill.... a looooong uphill. I mapped it and I think there was a 180ft elevation gain over the course of a mile, so it was long. Please be aware that all the races I've done (all in DC) have had a max elevation change of 40 ft. and most have been completely flat. I was NOT prepared. I made a honorable go of it though since I made it the whole way up the hill, and only walked a little bit once I got back down to the bottom. Half of the hill was into and through a graveyard and that was totally awesome. Did I forget to mention it was a nighttime run partly through a graveyard??? : ) Anyway, the graveyard bit was pretty fun. Nice atmosphere. Well, as I was going back down the hill, I started getting a stitch in my side - result of breathing rhythm thrown off by constricted breathing and trying to figure out how to deal with a hill in progress. I went on, ignoring it until it refused to be ignored any longer. Egads! It let me know it's displeasure with a vengeance and there was nothing to do but walk/run for about 0.25-0.5 mile or so. Grrr. Very frustrating. Anyway, I made it to the end, making good time for the last 0.2 mi. and had a grand time at the post party. It was fun, as always, to mingle and discuss each other's costumes and Alex & I got a lot of questions (as usual) about our Vibran FiveFingers. There was music and free food & drinks, so J & I got to try a Cincinnati delicacy called Goetta which Alex described as "the parts of the pig you wouldn't normally eat, ground up with oats and made into a patty." Absolutely winning description, but as with Haggis, I ended up being pleasantly surprised - it was good! Also, it tasted disturbingly like a Gardenburger Original Patty - a substitution mistake you do NOT want to make when feeding vegetarians! : ) Anyway, a good time seemed to be had by all and then we stumbled home & passed out. Thankfully it didn't rain on us for more than 5 minutes and it was a balmy 64 degrees.

The best part of the weekend, of course, was getting to hang out with Alex and meeting Emily & Tom and their two dogs. It's always the most fun to see a new place with a deignated tour guide, especially if that person has lived there. It's like getting a rosey colored glimpse into their "everyday" lives - seeing their favorite places and local haunts.

Saturday morning, Alex took us for breakfast at Findlay Market - Cincinnati's old farmer's market - and we got AMAZING waffles and crepes from Taste of Belgium. I have to admit that I think Belgian accents are even more fun to listen to than french ones.... *swoons * Next, we dropped him off for an appointment and were going to make our way to the observatory, but got sidetracked at a Blockbuster Going out of Business Sale and at Walgreens. By the time Alex called to get picked up from his appointment, I had acquired several Miziyaki Films, Some Like it Hot, and a 8 in. diameter, orange squishy ball with an interior LED flasher - the latter provided much entertainment throughout the day. : ) After retrieving Alex, we did make our way to the Observatory and found: that they had not removed Pluto from their display of the distance between planets, that the human-powered sun dial really does work (when the sun's out) and came across a deer grazing in the meadow. Next we went up to Ault Park and took in the view. Lastly, we headed up to the Fox & Hound in Mason, OH to watch the PSU game. During half-time, Alex & I ducked out, with squishy ball in tow, to check out the surrounding sights. We hit up the local Walmart, checked out the current movie listings at the Regal, hit Borders to look for the Marge Simpson issue of Playboy and came out sans magazine, but with the addition of half-priced, flashing, fuzzy bat deeley-boppers (and I had thought we made that term up.... nope, it's legit according to wikipedia). Life is good. Unfortunately, all the activity from the weeks leading up to this resulted in me being tired & worn out & really not in the mood to don my costume and mingle with hundreds of people that I didn't know. Weird! Huh?

The trip finished off with a morning Brunch at another neighborhood waffle shop (which I can't remember the name of) with Alex's friend Amanda and a peak at a very unique house right across the street. Finally, we were off to the airport and on our way home.

Samhain Resolutions (my goals for this year):

• eat 1 new vegetable every week or every other week
• run a 10K comfortably
• be able to do a pull-up
• drastically reduce my soda intake (I only drink diet, so it's more a matter of weaning off caffiene & chemicals)
• become a certified Exuberant Animal trainer
• Continue to maintain my current weight-loss.

Repercussions beyond me or you....

Just something I've been pondering. On doing lotsa, lotsa research on "Paleo/Primal" eating theory, one thing that's a constant is total and Rampant anti-grain sentiment. Some of the arguments are interesting and may be legit, but at times it's hard to pick through the all out anti-grain rage and really determine what I think for myself on the subject... Also, I'm in a bit of a funk today, so it's hard to go much of anywhere mentally... I'm still about at: "my guts grump at me when I eat breads, so we'll try to keep it to a minimum."

Now I was pondering today: IF there's really something to Paleo and it should be applied to everyone, and IF there was a massive paradigm shift and everyone stopped eating them,.... holy _(fill in the blank)_, a large sector of commerce across the globe would collapse and where would we all be and what would happen to all those people who made their livelihood through grain farming and ..... keep going - there's a lot of 'what will everyone do' that feeds off that. Like the environmental impact of having a major crop shift and population impact because the vast majority of the world's population subsists on grain products because they are very calorically dense and cheap. Would we have more problems with starving people around the world because we would not have enough food for everyone if we switched all grain fields to pastures and green leafy veggies? i.e. Could that kind of agriculture support the current world population?

Sorry, I'm feeling a bit catastrpohic-dooms-dayish, so I'll go away now. : )

Beets Can't Be Beat!

Yup, so I'm not going to share the recipe I need to work on it some more because all the flavors blended together and turned into a very flat taste. (Actually, that's probably good for some people...) Anyway, I'll post the full list of my Samhain resolutions later, as well as a recap of Cincinnati and the Run Like Hell. I need pictures to do it justice though and I keep leaving my cable at work. argh. So one of my Samhain resolutions will be to try a new vegetable every week or every other week. It's partly spurred by how limited I feel in what I eat and partly by things like this... Either way, I need to get around to 26-52 new vegetables this year. This week was beets. Not just the beet, as I've had that before, but the WHOLE beet including beet greens and t he stalks. AWESOME!!! Do NOT throw those stalks away! They are super yummy! So last night I made spaghetti squash as a base and then sauteed the beet greens and stalks in olive oil & white Wine vinegar and garlic and dried mint and chili powder and Galena st. Seasoning and sauteed some Pork tenderloin in it at the end. I scooped all that onto the spaghetti squash. It was good, though the flavor was not as complex as I had been hoping. The three things I loved about it was that I got at least 3 servings of vegetables in one dish, it was colorful, and by using the beets, stalks, and greens, I got 3 veggies for the price of one. : )) the pics don't really do it justice, but ah well...

Friday Article Wrap-up

Alrighty!


So I read a lot of articles and come across stuff that I find fascinating all the time. Lately, it's been within a very narrow genre and since I've been sharing those articles regularly, some people are getting irritated or taking it the wrong way. As a result, I've figured out a way to present the articles that I've found intriguing this week without constantly spamming people. Also, if you aren't interested, don't read them or pick and choose.



Without further ado, here's this week's list in no particular order:

Fun stuff:

• The 25 Best Costumes At The 2009 NYC Marathon



• SEASONAL: Zombie Attack Preparedness (ZAP) Workout

Informative stuff:

• Omega-3 deficiency may be hurting our hearts


• Feeling grumpy 'is good for you' - finally, after untold stories about how J's gonna live 12-14 years longer than me because he doesn't stress.... ; )


• Collins: Letter to young American women


• Animals make the perfect humans - an OpEd that scathing, yet amusing


• Depression link to processed food - I'd like to see the controls on the study, but I've heard enough anecdotal evidence to buy that it's a contributing factor


• Chris Rock on the billion dollar black 'good hair' industry

• 'The myth of the chemical cure' - also something I've heard a couple of different places and worth noting perhaps


• To Meet Your Nutrient Goals, You May Need to Expand Your Food Variety - I want to look up this study too.
• Not So Happily Ever After

Random Pet-Peeve

So.... you know how you go to a store & check out at the register and they all have these little card swipe screen boxes now? Right. It really irritates me when the screen says "Amount OK?" with options of 'yes' or 'no'. I hate that. I always want to hit "NO". No, the amount is not OK, I think all your stuff is overpriced. Do NOT ask me if it's "OK"... The machines that say "Is the total correct?" are much better. That's not an opinion question & I can honestly give a yes or no answer.

That's my random for the day.

No, wait... I lied. Another random thing... I did an experiment in advertising this weekend. Two years ago I made Lychee Punch for our Halloween Party and nobody touched it:

This year I made "Lychee Sangria". It actually tasted worse (the Pinot Grigio I got ended up being way too dry), but people drank more of it. I am convinced that it's because I called it Sangria, which seems to be trendy right now. Ah well. *sigh *

Unexpected (or rather, un-thought-about) effects of going Pseudo-Paleo/Primal

When I signed up for the MovNat Seminar in August, I was a bit wary because they said we'd be on a "Paleo Diet" and I was thinking: ?!?! "Are they going to try to feed me raw meat slabs or something?" No, not really and the food was all exquisite. I'm not going to go about trying to explain Paleo/Primal here, you can go follow links if you'd like some surface explanation or some more in-depth "science" explanations...

Long story short, I heard a first-hand account of Paleo from a fellow attendee, Greg, who's been following it for a while now. His story was intriguing. Next, I came home, went back to eating my normal crap, and suddenly was ravenous all the time felt sluggish and my guts were hating me. After 48 hours of eating "normally," I whipped together a fresh spinach & basil salad with nuts & olive oil & tomatoes, had some steak, maybe another Veg & finished up with a coconut milk, banana, blueberry, almond dessert and half way through the meal I felt a whole lot more real. Let's combine this with my observations from doing calorie restriction with the Daily Plate all last year - I could eat 1600 calories... if I ate a LOT of Veg, I'd lose weight, if I ate 1600 cals worth of sandwiches & potatoes, I'd stay put. Hmmm... not all calories seem to be the same. Additionally, it's a well known fact that my body does not like digesting grain products (i.e. bread-like things). Put all this together and I decided to start researching and attempting pseudo-paleo.

I'm currently reading the book The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain an plan to eventually move on to The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson The problem with both of these books is that they LOOK like and are formatted as "Diet" books because that's what sells. Eventhough Cordain has a ridiculous number of references in the back of the book - journals, papers, and other science publications to support his findings, I get irritated because he'll make statements about fact X or Y and not reference it. I'd like to know more. Oh well. And for the record, I get a lot of good info out of Mark's Daily Apple.

Anyway, so I'm trying it in bits & pieces and in addition to generally feeling better and learning about myself (like, I didn't know I didn't feel particularly well until I noticed I felt better. weird.), I've been forced out of my normal comfort zone. Let's face it, the Binkle cannot live on just Broccoli, Lima beans, Peas and chicken alone. I've been expanding my visions from Spinach salads to Spring Mix and Romaine & this has led me to start looking at the produce section differently... For instance: endives and Leeks... What are they, how can I use them & cook them? Beets - what should I do with those? After finding just beets and then bunches of beets (complete with leaves), should I buy the bunches and then eat the greens too? I've also been pushed to try more meats too. J's always wanted to eat more fish, but I avoid it since it stinks up the house & I dislike white fish generally. Well, I've been trying for more fish... found that my Shoppers carries bags of individually wrapped fish fillets that are flash frozen at sea and some of it is wild caught. This is great for me since then I don't have to worry about going out to buy fresh fish everytime, I can grab it out of the freezer for a quick meal instead of the frozen ravioli or other freezer "food product" and if baked in a sealed tinfoil pouch, the fish smell doesn't permeate the house totally. It's like rediscovering food. I found that I love raw red pepper as a snack, raw almonds taste amazing if your body needs them, and grapes are fantastic after a run. This is awesome.

Nature Girl and 2009 Recap

I just found this article on MSNBC today: Looking at Nature Makes you Nicer. Cool. I've known for a while that I'm at my happiest when I'm around trees & rocks & water. In fact, when we first moved to the DC area, I started suffering from a Nature deficit - I found that I had to go run out and find a small naturey park and spend some time out there. It's like a reset button. I need it. This year has been wonderful because I've been pushing to be outside more. Getting more sunlight is good, sure, but also explore outdoor exercising opportunities, since I've always been prone to thinking exercise sucks. Sailing was wonderful because it really centered me and felt really primal, just shutting my mind off, listening to the water and paying very close attention to the wind on my skin (I was using that more than visual cues to tell wind direction). There was something very basic about being totally dependent on the weather, wind & water to get where you need to be. I've also been busy exploring all the parks I can find in the area as I figured out my need for trees to keep me interested in running. I'd like to become one of the Running People, but I don't think I'll ever free up enough time in my schedule for that. Now here's the rub. I live near a city, in a pretty densely suburban area, and I think I might currently have more actual access to nature than in rural Pennsylvania. Huh? That's right. This past weekend I went to visit my parents who live about 30 miles +/- southwest of Pittsburgh. The whole area is either farms or suburban developments that used to be farms. I figured I'd find a place to go for a run since there's so much more nature around there. Boy, was I ever wrong. There weren't really any parks within a 20 minute driving radius, other than recreation parks that are open fields and baseball diamonds. Though there were hills and trees and forests all around, they are all owned by someone, and not available for common use. (DON'T get me started on my rant about how Scotland was awesome because of their Land Access Rights... you have rights to go onto, use, pass through, and play on any land even if you don't own it as long as you leave it in the same condition you entered and the owners have a responsibility to maintain access to their land by providing gates or steps over fences.) It disturbed me to realize that in a rural area, full of natural beauty, one does not easily have access to it and that we only seem to regularly get access to it if you live in an area where it seems to be hard to come by and thereby requiring setting aside "nature reserves" and etc. Seems kind of wonky and messed up to me. That's just my thought for the day.

Also, for the record, I now have David Bowie's Version of "Nature Boy" running through my head on repeat.

So I figured it was time to evaluate my Samhain resolutions from last year. All in all, I think I did OK on the stuff that really mattered. I sucked at wearing more hats. I decided not to do the Boo!10K, but am training up for the Jingle All the Way 10K in the beginning of December, so that one kinda worked out. I JUST got a dentist appointment (next Tuesday argh!) because I realized I was running out of time. I ditched those last 10 lbs and toned relatively well. I got better at balancing work, play, relaxation and social, but it was at the expense of housekeeping, so I think I still have a bit to work on there, and I've been much better about the eating better and cooking more part in the past few months. An upward trend is what we're looking for. I kinda let the clothing business slide, but that's because I've kinda let the sewing slide, did a cost benefit analysis on the stress levels that would ensue and started going another direction with trying to figure out how to work on a health and mobility career. Now I'm pursuing certification for Exuberant Animal and things seem to be working out, so we'll see how it goes. : ) I'm pretty pleased. Now to just figure out what to resolve to do this coming year....

"damn having a scientific mind & a compulsion to experiment on myself!"

Just got my blood panels back from my physical - from Jan 08, my Cholesterol is down, the LDL is SIGNIFICANTLY down and I find myself wishing I had another panel from July or August '09... that would indicate whether it was strictly due to weight loss or due to healthier eating (have kinda gone half-paleo the past 5-6 weeks and wonder if/how much effect that might have).

Also, tested negative for Celiacs = yay, cake won't kill me! (if had in moderation)

Also, started training on the Couch to 5K program with my friend for Cherry Blossom. Since 30 sec jog to 90 sec walk is, well... kinda a cake-walk for me, I'm using it as an opportunity to start out slowly with running TRULY barefoot.... not too bad, though it's truly evident that I don't have a callus base yet. I really want to see if barefoot vs. psuedo barefoot has more of an effect on foot arch strength... Though you can feel rocks & etc through the Virbam Five Fingers, I can say with complete certainty now that it is WAY different without shoes - after doing a 30 second jog on a sea of shale-like gravel and acorns, going "OUCH! OUCH! OUCH! OWWWIE!!!" That was a bad trip plan on my part and will wait to attempt that again until I have some calluses built up. : ) Onward with the experiments!