Spring Cleaning Sunday

April 29, 2012 by 2 Comments

Thank goodness May is almost here! I’ve been working in the environmental arena for 15 years now, and for 15 years, April has kicked my tail! April is Earth Day month and the beginning of the Spring event season and is easiest the busiest month of the year, work wise. In between daylong school presentations and weekend work events, life in general gets busy. We celebrate Easter, switch out our closets and do our taxes, not to mention try to enjoy more daylight and start the gardens!

My house is far too messy to handle in one day, but today, I dedicated to day to catching up and preparing for the week ahead. It seems like I haven’t had the luxury of doing much in April. Today, I made up for it, though, by:

  • Washing and putting away two loads of dishes
  • Recycling plastic grocery bags that have been in my car for over a week
  • Dropping too big clothes off at donation drop off
  • Buying and putting away groceries
  • Cleaning and cutting 30-something empty soda cans to use for my 52 Windows art piece
  • Cutting 40 stalks of catnip from the herb garden and hanging them for drying
  • Cooking red kidney and black beans in the slow cooker for the week ahead
  • Prepping this week’s meds
  • Cooking sweet potato wedges for lunch, week ahead
  • Cooking ranch turkey burgers for lunch, week ahead
  • Baking a batch of Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins
  • Planting two cherry tomato plants and a citrus mint plant in the herb garden
  • Weeding the herb garden
  • Paying bills online
  • Adding 2012 PINK ETV sticker to my car – been meaning to do this for weeks!
  • Adding new recipes to the blog
  • Making large batches of no msg taco seasoning, ranch dressing mix
  • Making Taco Soup bases — when beans are ready, I’ll just add those and be done
  • Breaking down cardboard boxes and loading them in my car to take to the recycling center this week
  • Changing my bedding and switching my towels
  • Making a large container of my veggie mix to eat for snacks this week; the trail mixes aren’t a good option for me. I can never stop at 1/4 cup.
  • Washing an important load of clothes
  • Taking Mom the iPhone charger she left in my car
  • Laying out tomorrow’s workout clothes
  • Planning tomorrow’s meals
  • All of that PLUS getting to bed in plenty of time to watch what I can of The Apprentice (always fall asleep)

Of course, I still have about 10 things that I’d hoped to get to today, but I’ll just add them to this week’s list.

Other than a full Sunday, the weekend was fairly laid back:

  • Our dog, Cebu, who nearly died from Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis last week, is doing okay. She’s still on the “worn out” side, but I suspect she just doesn’t bounce back as fast these days.(Who does, right?)
  • My Uncle Ray died Saturday just before 5:30 a.m. He had prostate cancer – had it for about 10 years – and his health had been failing for the last six to eight months. He was one of Dad’s brothers, and at one point, we thought he and Dad would probably go within a few days of each other. We’ll be going to NC later this week for a memorial service.
  • Sister had a conference on Saturday, so Mom and I spent some time shopping on Saturday. We tried to go to a few plant sales, but were thwarted; we ended up just going to a few places like Hobby Lobby and Tuesday Morning. Saturday night, Mom grilled out and invited us and the Elliott family. We looked at old scrapbooks and watched one of Mom’s fave new shows, Storage Wars.

A few special Lean Green MP goals this week:

  1. No ice cream or trail mix
  2. Eat at least one vegetable every day
  3. Work out every weekday morning
  4. Do at least one day vegan

Any special goals this week, health or otherwise? Did you have a productive weekend or do you need another day or two? What did you do this weekend that you enjoyed the most? (For me, it was spending Saturday morning with Mom!)

 

 

Filed Under: Healthy Lifestyle, Motivation Tagged With: ,

Thank You Thursday

April 26, 2012 by Leave a Comment

With everything that went on over the weekend with our dog, Cebu, apparently I missed the weather forecast for Monday. I attended the City’s Scott Miracle-Gro 1000 garden dedication wearing a Spring dress and no coat, and thanks to the cooler temps and strong winds, nearly froze! Nearly froze, that is, until Ric Luber, President and CEO for Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism arrived!

Dear Ric:

Just when I thought chivalry was dead, you proved it was alive and well by lending me your jacket at the Monday’s garden dedication! Without it, I don’t think I would’ve been able to stay for the event. Next time there’s an outdoor news conference, even in April, I’ll be sure to pay attention to the forecast. (Guess every day can’t be Famously Hot!) Thanks for being such a good ambassador not only for Columbia, but for Southern hospitality, too!

Sincerely,

Mary Pat

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Presentation is Everything!

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

If what Carrie Latet says is true — that “Pretty is the queen that rules our land“ — then my side salad occupied the throne at today’s brown bag lunch  meeting. Looked pretty darn good for Bibb lettuce, walnuts, carrots, grape tomatoes and raisins. (Traci: I know, I know. It’s teeny. But, they’re veggies nonetheless.)

 

Filed Under: Healthy Eating/Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle, Recipes Tagged With: , , ,

What a Week (What I Ate Wednesday Delayed)

April 25, 2012 by Leave a Comment

For the record, the past week is one I don’t want to repeat:

  1. To start out, it was Earth Day week. For environmental folks like me, that week – heck, the entire month of April, really – is THE busy time. Like first week of school for teachers or the week before the election for candidates.
  2. Wednesday, Sister came home to find blood all over the house from Cebu. She had hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, and she almost died. Between Four Paws and the SC Veterinary Emergency Clinic, we spent some major time with vets. We also shed a lot of tears and lost a lot of sleep. (She is now home and recovering nicely, though.)
  3. We attended a memorial service for Dad. He donated his body to MUSC, and every year, they have a memorial service for the families. It was coordinated and all parts of the service done by medical students, and it was surprisingly touching and emotional. I think I cried more there than I did at Dad’s “funeral.”
  4. As if there was not enough chaos in my life, I decided to try a new nutrition and exercise tracking app, Lose It. It’s not NEARLY as good as My Fitness Pal, so I only did it for a short time. Still, what I DID find time to record is in two different programs.

I hate to make excuses, but 1-4 is why there is no “What I Ate Wednesday” posting today. Things have slowed down, Cebu is home and my emotions are back in check, so next week, there WILL be my accountability posting.

 

Filed Under: Healthy Eating/Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,

It’s Thank You Thursday!

April 19, 2012 by 1 Comment

Today, I wore my favorite necklace. It’s actually my all-time favorite piece of jewelry, a necklace created from vintage beads. From the first time I saw it, it took my breath away, and it still does that every time I wear it, although for a different reason. Let me explain.

Back when I was at Keep the Midlands Beautiful, which was at least six years ago, we participated in Sonoco Recycling’s annual Christmas open house for teachers. It was a great event, featuring sustainable snacks, make and take recycled crafts, and a small “Buy Recycled” market.

One of the featured vendors, kjoia, featured jewelry handcrafted from vintage beads. One necklace caught my eye immediately. There were so many things to love about it – the style, the colors, the fact that many women had previously worn the various beads. But it was Christmas, a time to buy for others, and the necklace was a little out of my normal jewelry budget, so I walked away.

Throughout the open house, I went back and forth to the vendor’s table. I’d try on the necklace, ooh and ahh, pull out my checkbook – then my practical side took over, so I’d walk away. I’d think of 100 reasons to buy it, then that darn practical side would raise its ugly head. By the end of the night, my practical side was exhausted from the fight, and I decided to splurge on the necklace. Imagine my heartbreak when the necklace was gone.

“I had forgotten,” said the artist, “but someone actually purchased that online last night. It was a good thing I didn’t sell it to you earlier.”

I told myself that was the best thing. I didn’t really need it, plus, I needed to spend my Christmas money on others, not myself.

After the vendors packed up and the last teacher left, I stayed afterwards to help Sonoco Recycling Education Coordinator Jane Hiller clean up. There wasn’t much to do, but Jane and I were “partners in grime,” and we always helped each other out. With the scrap in the recycling bin and the last chair back in place, Jane handed me a box, which she said was my Christmas present. I opened the fabric pouch inside the box, and slowly pulled out that beautiful vintage bead necklace. I was thrilled to have received the necklace, but more than that, I was so touched by Jane’s thoughtfulness and friendship.

Look at all of those fab vintage beads

To this day, I think of my colleague and dear friend Jane every time I wear the necklace. We’ve known each other a lot longer now, and we’ve both seen each other through a lot: seemingly impossible work situations, family celebrations and milestones, weight gains and weight losses, and this year, even health crises. Jane has grown dearer to me every year, and every year, that necklace grows even more beautiful to me.

Today, Thank You Thursday, my simple navy knit dress needed a pop, and I immediately reached for the necklace. Someone asked about it – as they do every time I wear it – and I explained that it was a special gift that I appreciate more every time I wear it. And then it occurred to me that although I wrote Jane a thank you note years ago, I needed to let her know how special her gift has become to me.

I give to you today’s Thursday Thank You, in picture form since it was handwritten.

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Transparency Tuesday Leads to “What I Ate ” Wednesday

April 18, 2012 by 2 Comments

Not everything in this ongoing lifestyle change has been fun, easy or pretty, and I try not to use this blog as a place to moan about it. But to have an open and honest forum about the challenges of eating clean and working out, I probably need to share some of those bumps in the road. And the last week or so has been plenty bumpy. Yesterday, I was going to discuss some of those bumps, and title the blog Transparency Tuesday, but Tuesday became Wednesday before I could do it. So now it is Wednesday, and while I am still planning to be transparent about the issues I’ve been having, I also have a possible solution: What I Ate Wednesday.

On March 7, I had the last meeting with my fab nutrition counselor and friend, Traci. I continue to work out with Daniel twice a week and put into practice what Traci taught me, I just don’t meet with her every Wednesday. Instead of asking her to help me face challenges, I’m figuring out how to face them on my own. Instead of having her as a sounding board, I’m having to be my own sounding board. And instead of having her review my food and exercise logs, I’m…uh, well, I’m…not providing the same oversight she did, how about that?

I am still using My Fitness Pal to log my food, water and exercise. Every day except one, I was faithful to the log, writing it all down, the good AND the bad. What I am missing, though, is the accountability; Traci isn’t there to tell me to eat more vegetables or that I’ve had one too many splurges. This has made it easier for me to “loosen up” a little. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, I am determined to 1) stay healthy by maintaining my weight loss, workout schedule and healthy habits; and 2) lose about eight more pounds to reach a final goal weight of 132, exactly 100 lbs. lighter than the 232 recorded on my driver’s license.

Relaxing After Vigorous Evening Lakeside Walk

So, you may wonder, how bad has she blown it?? Not nearly as bad as I would have you think. I did take a trip to Wisconsin that threw me off a little. I ate well there, and I exercised, too. But the time change, along with exercising at night instead of in the morning, threw me off when I got home. I missed a training session or two, and I didn’t do cardio five to six times a week. The most interesting thing? When I don’t exercise in the morning, everything else is thrown off. I don’t get my eight to ten glasses of water in, because I usually get most of those during that morning workout. My energy level is thrown off, and I’m more apt to sneak an ice cream or extra piece of Dove.

Badger State Birthday Cake Ice Cream

While I’m being transparent, ice cream really deserves its own paragraph. I treated myself to one heck of a fabulous ice cream in Wisconsin, produced with local dairy and other ingredients. And while an occasional treat is good, all of a sudden, I became an ice cream monster. I went to Baskin Robbins a time or two (or three), and I even bought a half-gallon for the house. I even caught myself saying that I would have just one more before I “got back on track.” That was the old me talking, not the Lean Green MP.

The exercise suffered a little over the past couple of weeks, but there is still some accountability since I do see Daniel twice a week. The third time I overslept and asked for advice on how to reset my internal clock, Daniel politely, but firmly texted, and I quote, “Man up…because I know you can.” (And I have!)

So, since I apparently miss the accountability, my solution is “What I Ate Wednesday.” Starting next Wednesday, I’m going to publish my weekly food/exercise logs. Not that I expect anyone to read them, but by publishing them on the blog, I am a little more accountable. I know I will be less likely to have ice cream three times in one week. (Yes, Traci, I did really have ice cream three times in a week. But I DID write it down.) Why Wednesday? Wednesday is the day that I met with Traci for 16 months. I’m used to a Wednesday to Tuesday week, so I’ll stay on that schedule. Hopefully, this will provide me a little more accountability and get me fully back on track.

On a related note, Traci hasn’t gone AWOL just because I’ve finished her part of the program, and that really means a lot to me. We email back and forth several times a week and have chatted on the phone regularly, too. Yesterday was her early morning, and while I was outside pulling a weighted sled, she walked with me and reminded me that I could do this. We’re even working on a few Doctors Wellness Center projects together. So while I may have officially her as a nutrition counselor, I’ve kept her as both a supporter and a friend.

We’ve all had slip ups and setbacks. My weakness has been ice cream; what is yours? How do you get yourself back on track? How do you keep yourself accountable with your eating and exercise?

Filed Under: Fitness/Exercise, Healthy Eating/Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle, Motivation Tagged With: , , , , ,

Coming in Second to White Flour (or Why I Will Never Enter Another Healthy Recipe Competition)

April 18, 2012 by 1 Comment

Is a recipe that uses white flour as a main ingredient something that you would consider “healthy?” A quick Google search would indicate that conventional wisdom is no. Every entry on the first three pages – I didn’t bother to go to a fourth – explains how white flour negatively impacts your body and overall health. Imagine how crushed I was when back in December, still a relatively new healthy cook, the  organic, healthy and did I mention delicious dark chocolate salted figs were trumped by a recipe containing, gasp, white flour!

Last year, in what was highly out of character, I entered two recipes in a local “Famously Hot and Healthy” recipe contest. (Famously Hot is the tagline for our region, a play on the temperature and all of the great things we have here.)  I had been meeting with a nutrition counselor every week for over a year, given up fast foods and processed foods, and lost over 60 lbs. I was especially proud that I had gone from heating Spaghettios in the microwave to cooking full-fledged clean and delicious meals. I took great care to enter recipes that were clean, organic, vegan, gluten free and tasty, and both of the recipes I submitted made the finals.

The “cook off” was held within a week of my father passing away, but I still participated; I thought that it would be a good distraction and Dad had been so proud of my conversion to clean eating. It was tough, but I prepared my recipes and transported them across town for the tasting. When the winners were announced, the coordinator hesitated a little on the winning dessert. She said that because the Apple Nut Bread was made with white flour, there was some concern that it didn’t quite fill the healthy bill, but that the inclusion of “spices” technically fulfilled the healthy part.

Huh? The fabulous dark chocolate salted figs I made came in second to a white flour recipe? Really? I was really surprised, and more than a little annoyed. But in a stressful time, it really brought many laughs to my family. Weeks later, I would just utter the phrase “White flour, hmph,” and we would all just explode into giggles.

Truth is, I’d all but forgotten this recipe contest foolishness until today. I received an email requesting that the winners cook a batch of their winning recipe and bring it to a City Council meeting where the winning recipes would be presented. (Of course, I received the email by mistake because my recipe lost to a recipe that contained flipping white flour!) And you know what? That email brought the whole thing back – the sting of my recipe being beaten by one containing, hmph, white flour.

I knew the staff member who coordinated the contest, but I never expressed my feelings to her. I’d just lost my dad, after all, and I was emotional. I also didn’t want to be seen as a bad sport. But after receiving today’s email – did I mention by mistake – I figured enough time had passed to give her some constructive feedback. I suggested that if there is a next time, they carefully define what they consider healthy because it was frankly way too much work to come in second to a recipe that used white flour.

White flour. Hmph.

Filed Under: Healthy Eating/Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,

Bonus Blooms, Morning Metaphor

April 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment

For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30: 5

Regular readers know that I have a thing about morning glories. Some 18 months ago, it was the warm greeting from the back door morning glories that kept me going. I didn’t see them at dark o-thirty when I left for the gym, but when I returned from those excruciating workouts, they were my reward for having survived another workout with the trainer. Many days, those morning glories brought about the morning’s first and only smile.

Last year, I was 60 lbs. lighter, but still working out early. I planted morning glories again, this time to remind me of those days and how far I’d come. When I returned from the gym and saw those prolific flowers, I smiled to think of the progress I made and was still making. When the last of the flowers bloomed, I let them go to seed and harvested them for this year’s planting, which I haven’t yet done.

Today, I received a surprise greeting from two absolutely perfect purple morning glories. Apparently, when I was harvesting the seeds last fall, a few made their way to the ground and quietly took root. After I ooohed and ahhhed over them – and took a couple of pictures with my iPhone – I realized that those morning glories were the perfect metaphor for where I am right now. Today, I am 93 lbs. lighter, healthier and more physically fit. I’m working on those last eight lbs., but those behaviors I was cultivating over the last 18 months have become part of my lifestyle. Like the morning glory seeds that took root on their own and produced the blooms that greeted me today, those behaviors that I worked so hard to adapt are now yielding some beautiful results.

I’m planning to plant those second-generation morning glory seeds this weekend, and I will look forward to those knock out back door blooms. But for now, I’m thankful for this morning’s bonus blooms and the unfolding life changes they represent.

Filed Under: Fitness/Exercise, Healthy Lifestyle Tagged With: , ,

Introducing Food Day

April 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I wanted to share some information with you about Food Day!

In its second year, Food Day (October 24) is a nationwide celebration of healthy, sustainable food and a grassroots campaign for better food policies.  Food Day will see thousands of events all over the country in schools, homes, farms, fairgrounds, city halls, and state capitals—all aimed at celebrating the things about our food system that are working, and fixing the many things that aren’t.

Please watch this very short video introduction to Food Day, and LIKE it on YouTube and SHARE it on Facebook and Twitter.  You can also help show your support by ‘liking’ Food Day and CSPI on Facebook and by using the #FoodDay hashtag when you talk about your Food Day plans on Twitter pages.

Last year, I wanted to do something for Food Day, but only heard about a week or so ahead of time. With more than six months, hopefully I can come up with something fun and easy. If you’re in Columbia, do you have any ideas on how we could celebrate? I’m thinking of hosting a covered dish dinner or inviting some friends out to a local restaurant. Please share your thoughts…

And for more information, visit FoodDay.org.

Filed Under: Go Green!, Healthy Eating/Nutrition Tagged With: , , ,

Thank You Thursday Follow Up

April 16, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I went home for lunch today and had the nicest letter from Delta! They said they would be forwarding my comments about Rodney to his leadership team so he would receive appropriate recognition. Yay!20120416-133917.jpg

Filed Under: On the Go (Post from Mobile), Thank You Thursday Tagged With: ,
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