Three Things Thursday: Get down, Get Down

This probably explains a lot, but there were only three vinly LPs I remember my parents having when I was a kid: The Beatles White Album, St. Louis Jesuits Earthen Vessels and Kool and the Gang, Greatest Hits. Random. I know.

I used to think it was funny to sing "Banana, I love you" instead of "Joanna"  I guess even then I was singing the praises of zero point fruits....

Anyway, I am sure my parents had several albums besides these, but these were the only three I remember. But now it is time to Get down, get down. Get down, get down [trumpet riff].

1. Get down to the basement!  I wasn't going to run last night. But Sarah threw down to me and the C25K grads to see if we can tally up 20 miles between us, and I don't back down from a challenge.  So down to the basement I went.  Phone in hand to txt the grads to  make sure they knew how much this TM workout pained me motivate them to do the same.

Oh man, the treadmill was covered in laundry!

Laundry removed, plugged in, tunes back in.  I may run outside with no music, but there is no way in hello....and the light flashes above me.  David's code that a kid is up and I'm needed upstairs.

Yup, I got one mile in when Izzy woke up, got her back to bed, in our bed (I know, I know!), me dripping with sweat (eewww...my sheets) and then I actually went back down to finish 2 more miles. WHHHAAA????

It was 11pm by the time I was done. Honestly, if it weren't txting Deb saying "We only regret the runs we DON'T do" and her txting back with TM funnies, I don't think I would have gone back down. Thank you Deb. You are my westcoast-TM rockstar!

2. Get down the salad cals. Actually not salad, but dressing. Many people dip their fork in and then take a bite, sure that is all well and good, especially at a restaurant (order on the side!) but I still feel like I will still finish off the rest, say with a chunk of bread or something.  So at home, I eat my salads from a container with a lid, measure the dressing, pour it on (it looks like so little!) put the lid back on and shake that sucker up. Coats all the lettuce and the fixin's. Perfect!

3. Get down the $$$. I love Thursdays for two reasons: Farm share pick up and Supermarket Flyer day! (sigh. I actually used an ! with that statement.)  With 6 grocery store chains in our 5 mile radius (gotta love urban sprawl) there are plenty of options for sale items. And with so many chains now carrying organics, it is easy to find deals to supplement the farmshare. If you want an easy way to know where to go and what to put on your list, sign up for your local grocers flyers to be emailed to you.  It makes shopping with purpose much easier. And cheaper!

Oh, and for the record (groan) my first album: Culture Club.  See.  I toldya it explains a lot.

What was your first record/cassette/cd? Sorry...or 8-track. :o)

Three Things Thursday: Support

The race recap is coming, I promise....I am just waiting for more race photos from the event which assure us they will be up online by 5pm today.  In the mean time, I figured I would jot down a couple things on support.

So for Three Things Thursday, I give you support.

1. A friend in need...
There is just something about community, especially when it comes to weight loss, getting active, or for me, running. I love knowing that there are others that know what I'm going through, give me fresh ideas or talk me off the ledge. My community helps me stay accountable, gives support, creates mini goals and we laugh a lot.  It was the weeks/months/years that I didn't check in when the gains came.

Here are a couple challenges/ideas I like.

• Find a group (real or virtually) to check in; I like online message boards, daily mile, emails to friends, and weightwatchers@work as my go to for check ins. 
• 2500 challenge - Each week we try to burn 2500 calories; we wear a heart rate monitor (I have a Polar FT4) and post our daily/weekly burns
• Tracking challenges - did you track? Um. no.  Well get tracking! 
• Find a work out buddy.

2. Been there done that
Once you reach your goal, whether it is weight loss, or a PR on your race, find someone to help get their goal.  I love how good it feels to help someone else accomplish their goals too.

3. Live at the Improv 

And the winnner for best supporting actress is....random headband! Yesterday, I planned on a 4miler at lunch, but as I took my running gear out to go change, I realized I forgot something vitally important for the girls.

So in a pinch, headbands work to support the girls and keep them in place on a 4miler. I wouldn't recomend it for much longer.

Note, I must have a very large head or....nvm. Sigh.

Three Things Thursday: Double Trouble

Is it really Thursday already?  That means my race is *GASP* only 1...2...21/2 days away!

And my three things...

1. DoubleWhew. NO STRESS FRACTURE!!! Woot! Had the x-rays done yesterday and the doc said it is probably a strain. The taped compression moved the pain away from my tendons and up to my ankle & arch, but he expects it to subside & heal over the next 2 weeks as long as I stay in shoes (not flats) pretty much all the time. So no VFFs for awhile me thinks. Then s-l-o-w-l-y back into them. (Please help keep my honest on this one! My over enthusiastic self got the better of me.) Oh and he said I had strong runner's feet. Ooo la la.

This also means I am good to go for the half marathon on Sunday in Newport, RI.  Anyone want to come cheer me and my bud Sarah on? I guarantee a sweaty hug just for you. Remember, I have sex-ay runner's feet. Oh yeah, he said strong. Same thing.  

I wish I had a pic from yest, Simon and Izzy
were in their Thing 1 & Thing 2 sweatshirts.

2. Double Stroller Nightmare. On the heels (heh. I slay me.) of my non-run-threating diagnosis, I took the kiddos (5 & 3) on a run in the new-to-me double jogger. What better way to celebrate than to push 100 lbs of kid + stroller around my neighborhood, right? At about 2.5 miles in we hit a bump in the sidewalk and BAM! the front tire came off, the frame pierced the wheel, the kids jerked forward then back since they were securely strapped in and my shin hit the back frame leaving a hefty bruise (yes, on the SAME leg that just got cleared from the stress fracture.) 

I *almost* let Simon go with just the lap straps; he was struggling with the shoulder belt, but I had both kids in shoulder straps thank goodness! That could have been way worse than just a bruise. (PSA: Always fully strap the kids in and check the tires. This goes for quick release bikes too!)

The kids were so good when they got out so I could fix the jogger. They listened to the iluv player - Dynamite over and over (which Izzy had me sing to her as she fell asleep. Ahh the joys of a mothah runnah play list) while I put the flatten wheel back on (very, very securely) and headed home.

Running and pushing 100lbs of kid + stroller is tough, but doing it with a flat front tire, that is just.....(Enter choice words here.)

Eh, between the adrenaline and the pushing, I burned about 150 more cals than normal on a 4miler. Does that negate the pumpkin pie I ate? :-/

3. Double your batch - Call it carb loading or just plain mmm mmm good. But I am loving LOVING my ho-made chicken noodle soup these days. I snapped this pic and sent to David so he could stop at the store and know which containers to pick up to freeze up some of these bad boys.

Note, these containers totally rock for several reasons. 1. you get portion controlled soup. (2 cups is my meal.) 2. They stack easily. 3. Twist offs are easier to deal with after being frozen. 4. When you give away soups, you can give perfectly portioned and select varieties. Call it soup tithing. :)

Three Things Thursday: Me. Alone. In the office. With Brownies!! *&%$

Probably not a news flash here, but I love sweets.

Especially chocolaty ones. Fresh baked brownies, cookies, cake. Really anything with anything chocolate. Say...nutella. Straight from the jar. With a spoon. Which is why I don't keep chocolate in the house.

Except the nutella.

Sometimes.

And if I bake, I do what my co-worker did to us today. Bake then bring the rest to work.

Wait. That's what I do.

Shoe's on the other foot today. Argh.

Normally, I would say I have some exercise options so a brownie wouldn't be so bad, but I am still working off the freak out, eat everything in sight like spoonfuls of nutella because I am so friggin' frustrated gain from not running for 10 days.

No brownies for you! (Said in my best soup nazi voice)

And I don't know about you, but for me, there is something about being alone with food that is makes it even worse.

If no one *sees* me eat it, it didn't happen right?  The worst eating is the kind that happens at the fridge or pantry in secret.

Which brings me to the three (of many) things that I do to keep from face planting in a plate of brownies especially when alone.

1. Plate it.  If I am going to have a treat, I really should plate it, take it to the table and eat it (and enjoy it) rather that eat standing at the counter, pantry or with the freezer door open and a cold spoon in my mouth licking up all the evidence.

2. Do something with my hands. *Ahem* I don't care what I am doing, but they better not be going for the food.  I cannot tell you how many baby and prayer blankets I crocheted while trying not to think about the ice cream treats that were in the freezer. One friend (check that...hawt friend) said she is working on her sex-ay little Halloween costume. Sex-ay and little is keeping her mind on her goal weight and bedazzling it at night when the cravings hit is keeping her hands occupied.  Of course she is making Katy's cupcakes....Wouldn't that increase your cravings, Em?  Right now I am blogging. So that works. Typing is keeping me away from said brownies. Now I must avoid picking one up on the way out the door.....

3. Gross myself out.  Did you ever read She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb?  (Side note: If ever there was a man that could write like a chubby chick; it's Wally.) There is this scene where she describes how she imagines food she doensn't want to eat. I won't give it away because it is pretty gross, and well, I do like food but I want to like good for me food.  I guess you could argue that all the additives and chemicals and whatnot in box mixes is pretty gross, but if that doesn't work, I think of communal food as covered in cold, germs and ickyness. This also usually works (usually) for my kids pb crusts and other 1/2 eaten things that I go to pop in my mouth.

Forget about will power.  This is definitely *want* power.

I want to stay at goal.

I want to eat other things that won't make me feel sluggish and crave even more.  There is no way I can eat just one. uh-uh.  not.gonna.happen.

I want to put energy in my body that is going to help me think, run, and feel good. But dang they do smell good!

What kinds of things do you do to keep from face planting in your treat of choice?

Three Things Thursday: Sidelined

So I am sidelined from running.

My go to activity of choice.

I'm not sure for how long, I have a dr. appointment this afternoon.  But I am on day 7 with no run for me and the longest I've gone without running since I started running in December.  Boo.

Actually "boo" is really and understatement.  How I really feel is more like....

#$%@in' #$%@!!!!!!!!!!! 

Oh my #$%@ing foot.  I can't #$%@ing believe that I can't #$%@ing RUN.

I am going KRAZY and not in the Pitbull "Yo mama, she gets krazy" kind of way.

See, I have a couple races coming up.  Saturday, I am running (I hope) a 5k with a team of First Church Somerville runners in support of the Somerville Homeless Coalition. Every year the team runs it and this was going to be my first year. Last year I remember seeing the runners and thinking how I would love to do it, but I was no way in shape to run a 5k.  3.1 miles?  I didn't think I could handle it and I would completely embarrass myself. So I just donated to the team instead.  But this year I wanted to be apart of the team.  For the last 3 years running (heh) FCS brought in more $$ for the SHC than any other team.

Then there is the big race.  The Newport, RI half marathon on Oct. 17th. It isn't October yet, so I am putting this one out of my head thinking, hoping, praying, assuming I will be completely fine by then.  Yes. Of course I will.  I have to be. Sigh.

Frankly, I don't think I can write about any other alternative, because I don't want to start crying.  This is the race that my friend Sarah and I decided to sign up for and train for way back in July. The race will be our first face to face meeting after chatting and emailing back and forth for the last 10 months or so.

I read recently about how we often pour our hearts out to our running buddies because there is something about focusing on the road in front of you that makes it easier to open up your heart and just let it all go. I feel like that with my virtual running buddies too. Sure, there is a connection that we have all doing weight watchers, graduating from couch25k, or running in general, but it is more than just that. There is something about writing; writing out your thoughts and a willingness to share something that you may not share verbally with a friend over lunch. I feel like we are able to open up to one another so very easily.

As I was thinking about this post, I got a very lovely email/prayer from my frenpastor, Molly. Someone who I have no problem opening up my heart to, and treasure every time we talk, or email or as I read her blog. (Ironically, the last run before sidelining was a beautiful one from my work to downtown Boston through the parks in JP. I wanted to see how long it would take me to do a round trip to Dana-Farber to visit Molly during her treatments.)

In her email she wrote:  "And God heal her foot. But not before she has to learn some other new way to fly."

So, as grumpy and cranky it makes me that I am on the DL (TEMPORARY DL...hear that God?!) I will take the time to reflect and get some lessons on flying. 

I'm not done learning, but here are some things that have been running (heh.) through my head.  

1. Cherish runs. Past and future. Good ones and sucky ones. I wish we can all have "enough" yucky ones to really appreciate "enough" yummy ones. Gratitude. Yeah, I'll take that lesson.

2. There is more to life than just running.  Really? Oh my. Yes, it completes me, like that last puzzle piece, but wait, there are a whole heck of a lot of puzzle pieces in a 1000 piece puzzle than the one that completes it.  I guess you could also put the mama, spouse, christian, writer, cleanER eater, cook, musician, friend puzzle piece in there last and they would all complete the puzzle too. So maybe I have more puzzle pieces that can complete for a spell. I love the Ani Difranco song, 32 flavors and then some.  Totally my theme song.

BUT, I still do need to move. NEED to move. I used to swim, even was a lifeguard.  And I used to bike everywhere I went; no car for years.  Maybe I need to tap into those flavors.  Tri-anything? Tri-something?

3. Funkalicious. I do NOT want this to become a funk. I out-right stubbornly refuse.

Now if only I could tell my stomach to stop growling, my fingers to stop reaching for the carbs and the scale to stay put...

In the mean time, I will *try* to take this (however long this is) as a learning experience rather than something that is messing with my routine. Chalk it up to the price of being a runner and treat my mind and body like I would anyone that needs time to heal. Gently. Flexibly. Time to inspect and adapt.

And another case of the ironics...I *JUST* talked about change, transition, and transformation and how much I luuuuurrrve it. I don't know what stage I am in at this point and I don't think it really matters. What I do know is that I will keep on going, moving forward towards transformation. So no funks, just transition.

There. Three Things.

The truth is, this is probably just tendinitis in my foot from going to hard too fast with the Vibrams and running too many days in a row.

(Mer, don't roll your eyes at me! But yeah, feel free to give me a big 'ol "toldyaso" this weekend. :-/ )

Yes, the irony is that I started running in the VFF to prevent injury.  Anyway, if it is "just" tendinitis, I am *only* looking at 10-14 days rest according to my self-diagnosis via the interwebs. 10-14 days in the grand scheme ain't nothin'.  So I really should just suck it up be done with the dramatic vent.

Not quite the same lunch break sweat session as I would like, but I did work my fingers a bit with this here post. Oh shoot!  Tendinitis, stay away from my hands, you hear?!

What do you do when you are faced with a set back in your life, work, exercise program or food wise?  What did you do or wish you did?

Three Things Thursday: Good Reads

When I first made the switch to cleaner eating, I was a sponge searching for information and I did what a lot of people do...I read anything I could get my hands on. Anything to help the S in the ISFJ in me!

So I headed to the library started off with Pollan, worked my way over to Jillian, picked up some cookbooks, got some new cookbooks from my fam as prezzies, went online, found message boards anything and everything to find other people that had the same enthusiasm as my new found discovery of food.  Actual food!  So today I bring you Three Good Reads from my adventures in forsaking franken-food for real food.

1. The Omnivore's Dilemma, Young Reader's Edition. Michael Pollan is clearly the go-to it-boy when it comes to writing about, documenting and being a change agent for back to basics real food.  Between Food, Inc., In Defense of Food, and the quite funny, but oh so true, short and sweet Food Rules, you cannot go wrong with anything with Michael Pollan's name on it.  I particularly enjoyed the Young Reader's edition of the Ominvore's Dilemma.  It was basic enough for me to read after a crazy day at work, but not condescending in any way.  I loved the graphs, pictures and facts. They kept me engaged and stuck with me months after reading it. It took me time to watch Food Inc.  I wasn't sure I was ready to, and if you are like me in that respect, having a book that you can pick up and put down when you are ready to helped.   I bet after you read this, though, you will want to go out and see Food Inc. and devour all of Pollan's other books.

2. Master Your Metabolism. I am not a fan of diet books. I think they are a total waste of money and hype. And this one looks and is marketed right out there with all the diet books lined up at your local grocery store.  That said, it came recommended to me by a fellow WeWa kickass chica, I did pick it up (at the library!).

What I liked about this book was that I related to it instantly.  I lost all this weight (Like Jillian) eating franken food and was obsessed about "fat" in my diet - Fat makes you fat right?  Wrong.  And when it came to keeping it off, I had to either eat so little or workout like mad-woman to keep the pounds off.  And the minute I would stop eating Lean Cuisines, insta-gain. Like her, diet cokes were my beverage of choice.  4-8 a day. Yikes!  In the book she goes through her own transformation, shares a lot of the same ideas as Michael Pollan but relates it back to hormones and how your body processes food.

The organization of the book was a little all over the place. For example, I couldn't tell you what the 3 diet secrets are as advertised on the jacket cover. And I also am not a fan of....this worked for me so it must work for you too...mentality that was throughout the book. But in the end, I do think she has some good ideas, and she got me thinking not just about the food I make, but also what I make it in (i.e. plastics, teflon, cleaners, etc.)

3. More with Less. When it comes to food, I am very grateful for all that we have.  There is something about experiencing this gratitude and grace when I think about all the animals, people and plants that are involved in providing this food that I am about to put into my body.  When I look at it that way, I do want to do more with less.  I want to leave as little a mark as I possibly can.  I like this particular cookbook because it has recipes, but also stories, passages, feelings and memories about the recipes that people share.  I think I also like this book because every once in awhile I come across a recipe that I completely remember my mom making for us and it brings me to a whole new level of gratitude.

Three Things Thursday: Food Confessions

As the product  mainline protestant household...ok, more than just that....a double pk (preacher's kid) from the UCC ('slpains a lot, eh?)....I never had to go to confessional like my catholic-raised spouse did.  Confession was like a herd, everyone does it at the same place, same time.  

At my current, most awesome-est welcoming community in Somerville, MA, we put a little spin on confession time and it is one of the things that I like the most about the service.  The liturgist shares a story based on the the theme for the day that leads up to the unison prayer of confession. We get to hear a little bit about the life of one of the people we smile at or talk to at coffee hour, a transparent moment that is moving and helpful and then we all together get to read words related to the theme of the day/service. I like that we are all in it together and that the words are there so I don't have to think about it and can just reflect.  If you think that people wouldn't share, we actually have enough people in rotation that we only get to go up there about once a year!

Since this is a food blog and not church, you don't get to hear my transgressions (unless you come to church on Sept 19th, when I am the liturgist of the day) but instead my three food confessions.

1. Tuesday Dinner. Or lack there of. Tuesday night, I had a fridge full of yummy CSA veggies and a freezer full of pre-made single serving dinners.  Yet, my dinner was 1 1/2 McDonalds 49-cent ice-cream cones (I finished Simon's) and two pieces of toast (the bread the kids left from their dinner).  See how I threw in the $.49 to make me feel better about being cheap. Yea, that didn't help the sluggish run on Tuesday night from lack of good food in my bod. 

2. I never used a grill ever in my life until yesterday.  Yup. 30-something, self-reliant, gender-studies major, feminist that always had her spouse use it and never actually ever fired up a grill until I finally made that grilled eggplant, tomato basil salsa recipe yesterday.  You would think my first time using the grill I would cook up some MEAT.  But it was tomatoes and eggplant for me.  How did this happen, I have no clue, but I can guarandamntee I will be like Dr. Huxtable using the grill in the middle of the freakin' winter!  

3. I cut my kids crusts off a little to close to the sandwich part just so I can get a little bit more of their pb&j.  I know. I know. Oh and I fail miserably at "you bite it, you write it" when it comes to their "crusts."

So here is my unison prayer of food confession:

Gracious and loving God of all things including food,  we open our fridges to you.  

We confess that there have been times that we avoid the veggies, turn our noses up after sniffing 3 day old ricotta that should have been eaten 2 days ago and head for the pantry for cookies instead.  

Sometimes we chose the golden arches instead of golden raisins. 

Forgive us for not always going organic, trying new things or new methods of preparing your food especially when all it takes is a twist of the nob and a push of a button. And forgive us when we suddenly remember while blogging that we forgot to shut off the propane tank and have to text our spouses so that they can do it for us.  

Help us see that our children need their sandwiches whole and that our bootays don't need the extra crust calories.  Heal us from the colds we inevitably catch when we hastily chose to what is left on their plates...ewwww...rather than give them a proper compost send off.

Make us willing to eat food.  Real food. With the occasional dollop of nutella. mmmm...nutella, written down of course. And help us create peace, justice and fabulous new recipes for us, our families and our friends. 

Amen.

Anything you would like to confess?  I'd love to read your comments!  

Three Things Thursday: BJ's Tips

Heh.  Made ya click. 

I admit it. Every week giggle at the "BJ requests?" text David sends before heading out to our favorite warehouse store. Why would I go to Costco when I can be a BJ club member?  *giggle*

Since I like to keep the dirty for the mind and out of the pantry, I like to stock up on clean eats. And if it's cheap, even better.  

So for my inaugural "Three Things Thursday" I bring you my Cleaner BJ's List:

1. Greek yogurt.

I love me some greek yogurt. Nothing packs the protein (14g! and 0 fat!) in for the morning than my 6 oz of Chobani!  Add a little ho-made granola and you have yourself an awesome start to the day.  Love this stuff.  Hate the price.  Usually it retails for about $1.39, but I won't buy it from the store unless it is a buck each.  Because....BJs sells a peach/blueberry/strawberry 12 pack for $11.99.  Now if they would only start carrying 12 packs of honey....

2. Salad. Salad. Salad.  

I eat at least one, usually two salads a day.  If it isn't from the garden or the CSA, then it is definitely Olivia's. A big tub of Olivia's Organic salad makes up about 8-10 containers for me.  I add in a hand full of cherry tomatoes, a few craisins and pre-measured itty-bitty glad container of dressing and I have stacks of salad-to-go for lunch and dinner.  The night of a BJs run, there is a little salad assembly line going on in my kitchen. Quick and easy.  I like easy. I think these are about $5.99/1lb box. (have to double check with the shopper....) So worth it. 

3. Coffee 

And lastly, I NEED coffee.  Cleaned up coffee is pretty easy.  Look for fair trade organic. We take turns buying this big 'ol 2.5 lbs bag of coffee for the office. I like the taste of the Earth's Pride Organic Sumatra.  Usually I get sick of the same kind of coffee over and over, but after going through 5 bags over the last 6 months or so, we still like it. 

If these BJ tips don't put a smile on your face, then get me something stronger than coffee and I'll dish then, go google Camille Crimson, (NSFW!) and she'll give you her own.  Um....not that I would know anything about that.