Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Carr

I haven’t updated on weight and such in while, mainly because I’ve had to reevaluate everything with Fibro. Now, with a visit to the Neurologist looming and not much else to be done, I figure now is a good of time as any.

As I get things in order, I’ve had to check my diet. Since the fall I’ve gained a few pounds back, despite walking and yoga. Also, my doc was concerned that I might have problems with dairy and gluten.

I’ve decided not to go to the neuro. What can they do? I can do something with my diet. So why not?

I found Crazy Sexy Diet looking for information about mostly veggie, gluten free, mostly dairy free diet. Still eating eggs and butter, meat only occasionally and almost no gluten seems to be working for me. I think the best part about this book is that the author says, “this is what I do, do what you can”. That in itself made the book for me.

Carr advocates a raw vegan diet, juicing, enemas, mediation and exercise. I will never, never do an enema and won’t stick to raw. Fair enough.

Otherwise, it gives a good direct to head, including recipes and brand names to look for. I tried chocolate avocado pudding and nearly died of chocolate overload. Chia seeds are interesting but don’t hold enough sway.

We’ll see how it goes. It helps, that I work from home so. (also agave nectar, and rice based waffles and English muffins are nummy!)

Green Pants

I have these green pants.

I think I bought them at Target, 3 maybe 4 years ago. They were a whim purchase, on sale an available in a 13. Low waisted, boot cut, cargos. And they were green. A major selling point in anything I buy. Now I didn’t try them on…silly me. You know where this is going, right?

They so didn’t fit. Too tight was an understatement.

Now, however, this is no longer the case. They are too big now. They fall down. I have them sinched up with clips on the inside so I can wear them. I can’t even wear my khakis any more cause they just fall off.

I’m thinking I should buy a size 8. Cause I fit well in a size 9/10 now. So soon? I’m thinking so.

Fortune like the Moon by Alys Clare

Fortune like the Moon is a historical mystery by Alys Clare. Set during King Richard the Lionheart’s reign, the action mostly takes place at a fictional abbey named Hawkenlye for which the series is named. Josse a knight of the realm is sent by King Richard to discover the source of a gruesome murder. Josse teams up with Abbess Helewise to solve the murder.

The story is a straight forward mystery with little action, anachronistic language and a lot of snobbery of which only Helewise is properly repentant. It was good for a quick read, but the book wasn’t extremely memorable nor riveting. Once the mystery is solved, Clare goes on for nearly 100 pages to set up what happens to Josse…which, without spoiling it, is extremely predictable and could have been dealt with in a paragraph. At least then it wouldn’t have been boring.

The Best Laid Weekend Plans

So last week turned into really busy work week, which hasn’t finished. Plus I had strep. Yeah me. So again this means I’m behind. If you’re waiting for updates from me, I promise I’m doing them…really.

We got a new camera. It takes some great photos. The first thing I tested was the zoom.

cloud2

Zooming in on the cloud.

A cloud

A cloud

On the left you see an innocent cloud. On the right is me, zooming the crap out of said cloud during our morning walk. Wait, did I say morning walk? Yes I did! Last week I started walking Aia to school and then walking back to get the car. It’s actually be a great way to get in 30 minutes regardless of how my day turns out. In fact I took a picture of the sunrise one morning during our walk.

sunrise

I also took some photos to test the camera on my minis. One is in process of painting. The other is that dragon I’ve been mumbling about. And yes that wing stayed on.

whizdrag

Stupid wing. This weekend I wrote quite a bit and dog snuggled. Whinnie is Whinnie. Dagny is not doing so well. She’s been diagnosed with bone cancer and has about 3 – 6 months. Sigh. We’ve been trying to make her comfortable by allowing her to sleep on the couch.

whindag

I got a massage on Saturday though it was a last minute change because my appointment got lost a week before and they could only fit me in with this other girl. She was nice and all. However she really likes wax. A lot. Having my feet wrapped in wax was okay, until it got cold. Then my feet didn’t seem to hold traction for a bit afterward. I turned a bunch of stuff in to Black & Read for credit. It was good day.

Sunday was supposed to be ski day. We made to the top of the mountain.

abasin

But Aia, on our second run, fell. Not so bad. However, when she tried to get up her skis were pointed down hill and she started sliding. She ran over my skis and we had to have her taken down on a Ski Patrol toboggan. She has big bruise on her back but is otherwise okay.

At Tarot last night one of the members was paring down his collection. I have a new deck out of the bargain…tarot of the spirit. Can’t wait to trade out my study decks…it’s time again.

101 Method, A Return to IF

My first day of return to IF was less than successful.

I’ve done IF before as I said (in fact iirc, that’s how I found Steve’s site, came for the IF, stayed cause I’m a fan of the novels, stayed longer because the conversation was interesting).  The last form was the JUDDD method with limited calories allowed on down days.  Worked well until we realized something else was wrong with me.    Now that’s under control…back to IF.

The first day the voices were murmurs.  I ended up eating an avocado salad (avo and lemon) and my protein shake.  It was also time to set up another batch of mead (black berry and lemon ginger in three months!)….I did not partake of the ingredients.  Unless you count my sophisticated aeration process, which failed when my thumb slipped and I splashed my front side with must.  So my body was exposed to undue amounts of sugar, just not internally.

So after the voices laughed me into the shower…I was pretty okay.  Go some lower body done last night.  Feel pretty good today.  I drink water and tea most days without fail.  Lunch is salad with artichokes, lemon and pork, raspberries, and blueberries (we have the best farmer’s market ever…cheapest produce ever…if you live in Colorado look for Sunflower Market).  Dinner is unknown…the SO is in charge of dinner on Fridays.  Could be anything.

Tomorrow I’m preparing better.  Teapots are clean.  I do have party to be at, but no one will expect me to eat or drink there (bowling alleys are good for this).

I’ve spent some time on goal visualization today.  It’s interesting and important.  Keep it up say the voices.

What would you attempt in life if you knew you could not fail?

I would just go.  Travel.  Failure is having some thing stop me (money, etc).  If nothing can stop me there are no limits.  I once played a game where my only instruction was “You can do anything.”  So when the gm asked me what I wanted to do, I told him I set my enemies on fire and fly up to a safe vantage point.  He said, “how can you do that.”  I said, “Does it matter?  I can do anything!”.

Power is truly limitless.

So I think of what is stopping me from my goals:  Weightloss…my own body, but I am fighting it.  Writing…nothing but time.  Relationships…nothing but time.  I am excited.  Because I can do this.

This Week, This Year, This Time

Aia is coloring wooden blocks in art class. Why? So she can make dice. She’s also concerned for the Huntress’s love life in the Justice League. I’d say my daughter needs a hobby but she doesn’t.

I’ve decided join up on the beta of The 101 Method put together by Steve Barnes and Mushtaq Ali.  The system is a combination of body, mind and spirit exercises to focus you on your goals.  It mirrors and compliments Steve’s Life Writing program, which is a year long program to train writings in the art of writing.

One of the first things you do is come up with three goals.

1.  Lose another 40lbs.

2.  Finish the damn novel.

3.  Dedicate a part of every day to things that make me whole (I know, nebulous much?). This is a variety of things I would like to do in a day, meditate more, spend time with the daughter, with the SO.  Relax, play, paint.  Need more fun.
So that’s where I’m going.

Exercise, Check.

Doing things to make them happen, Check.

Diet.  Utoh, time think.  I’ve been all over the place in the last year.  Low Carb is key.  Barnes’ advocates IF, which I’ve done in the past with success.  Lets see how this goes.  Today is the first IF day.

Clarify my goals.

1.  Exercise is key.  I have have been going through the program on My Fitness Coach with success.  I faithfully follow the exercises and ask to up the intensity if a section proved easy.  I’ve combined this with the Tibetans and beginning Tai Chi.  I’m a skier, flow is important.  Can’t lie to the Wii.  It has no problem telling me what I should do and when and why.  It expects me.  So stay on target with IF and Exercise.

2.  SBICaW.  Really, I’m more than halfway done.  Just Write.  I’ve got support, I’ve got time, I’ve got ability.  Go.

3.  Spend at least two hours a day doing some thing fun with people.  Easy, games, cooking, movies, painting, meditation (seriously, when you do this with a young child who wants do what her mommy does, it’s just enlightening and more than fun).  Not so easy…still have to clean the house, keep the animals sane, and drill in spelling words…did I mention I’m a girl scout leader?


Things that Kick My Ass: My Fitness Coach

Ow, this Wii “game” kicks my ass.

It doesn’t use the Wii Board, but dang the workout is instense!  It adjusts as you go and depending on how you do on your goals and commitment.

Totally fun and it goes through a whole work out…you have to bring your own equipment (weights, balls, step boards and such).

You also get the choice of music and background.

I also got the Jillian Micheals game for Christmas.  This one does everything on the Wii…there’s a diet portion too but you have to unlock it.

Starbucks, thank you for keeping me on the diet

I gave in today. I headed for the Starbucks next to my work. I intended to get a grande raspberry white mocha.

But unlike last week that Starbucks no longer existed this week. Bad economy affects so far: keeping me on my diet and $3.20 a gallon on gas.

Anyway, I’ve mentioned before that my big beautiful computer is dead. It’s not just dead, its limited to the Paperweight 2008. That’s right, it’s unrecoverable, and totally gone. On the verge of tears this Saturday, I sat on the phone pushing the on button again and again at the urging of the tech support guy. He finally said he’d send a tech out with new parts to try that.

“Okay,” I said. “What are they going to replace? The LCD, Video card, memory, harddrive, processor and motherboard have all been replaced already.”

“Give me a minute to talk to my supervisor.” He put me on hold. I kept thinking thank gods I bought that passport drive. My data lost is minimal and nothing I really need. Then he came back.

“Miss you qualify for a computer replacement.”

“What?” I asked him what he thought he would be sending me. Images of old refurbished m170′s rattled through my brain.

“No,” he said. “Dell policy is VERY CLEAR on this. You will be getting a new computer, the same specs or better.”

Needless to say I told everyone I saw that day.

So yesterday I had a mild panic attack and called techsupport back. Was I really getting a new computer? The answer: Yes. It was approved Monday. I should see it in ten to 21 days. HFMOG. It’s a wait. I will have been without a computer (large, to do big things such as game) for two months. But then I will have a new computer.

I’m sooo gonna keep buying Dell.

Weight Changes

I’ve been tracking my weight daily for almost two years now. The pattern that has emerged since last December has been an eye opener.

I drop a few pounds, then flatline, dip then back up then flatline. Rinse Repeat. Then suddenly and without warning, I dip and flatline at the dip and then do the above for the new weight.

It’s like my body is testing the waters for the new weight. What follows in my chart since January 2007. The ups are usually sick time. The large up was just before we figured out the PCOS. The large downward spiral is since being on medication for PCOS.