Getting Healthy, Part 2

Ok, so we're still working on Part 1, which is getting more fruit in our diets. Trouble is, I've been eating the fruit AND the snack bars and other lingering bad things in the house. Once they're gone, no more. In fact, this morning I brought a bunch of S'more snack bars into work to get them out of the house. Good me!

So, Part 2 is cutting out french fries and chips. We know cutting out fast food altogether is just asking way too much of us. So, to cut out the worst of the fast food is what we can handle at this point. The Husband wanted chips to go with his sandwich last night but fought the urge to stop at the gas station to get some. Good him!

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My Mind's Eye

Hey!

I've been reading an Italian mystery series for a while now. They're written by Andrea Camilleri and the main character is a grouchy but brilliant Sicilian police officer named Inspector Salvo Montalbano. He gets away with all kinds of things I wouldn't put up with in real life. But he's also got a gruff charm and a soft spot for old ladies and good food, so he's got an odd kind of behavioral balance.

I highly recommend these books, as much for the Sicilian atmosphere as the varied cast of characters in the Vigata police department.

Anyway, you know how you see a character in your mind's eye? Well, I saw a rather grumpy Remington Steele, tall and slender with classical features. Yesterday I found out that the books have been turned into a TV series in Italy (and apparently they're big in Australia...). So I Google Imaged "Inspector Montalbano", expecting to see an Italian derivative of Pierce Brosnan.

But this is what I got!

Yikes! They certainly came up with a much different image of Montalbano than I had.

Just had to share...

ps~his name is Luca Zingaretti and he actually looks quite engaging when he smiles!

C’est la vie!

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My Twitter Dilemma

Hey!

Twitter, for those of you who don't do the social e-networking thing, is a website where you write little mini-blogs, basically saying what you're doing, dishing with friends, throwing in links to your latest item for sale or blog entry, whatever comes into your mind. It's fun and somewhat addicting, reading the highlights and lowlights of peoples lives and seeing what they're up to in their work lives. I follow Brent Spiner and Levar Burton from Star Trek: Next Generation. Just had to throw that in to impress y'all.



Anyway, here's my dilemma. The best way to Twitter is to be jumping on all day, presenting little bits of your life for the enjoyment of all cyberdom. Then when you throw in the occasional link to something you want people to buy or read so they might be tempted to buy, it doesn't look like you're just there to sell. Also, I understand it's somewhat rude to jump on, write a bunch of twits in a row, then jump back off.


I can do the every once in a while all day thing on the weekends, but my Evil Employer blocks most of the social networking sites, so I'm stuck Twittering in the evening, between cooking dinner, making jewelry, playing with cats and husband, showering, basically doing the LIVING thing. During the week, I get on later in the evening (the first chance I get) and I'll write something, then look at new followers or go to some of my favorite Twitterers and see what they've been doing all day, then go back and write something else, maybe with a link to ArtFire, Etsy or my blogs, piddle around some more, then write a little something else. It's not really the best way to Twitter, I must say. But it's the best I can do at this point. I'm thankful to have a full time job so I really can't complain.



At some point, the Evil Employer may put me back to part time. That was the plan last summer when they bumped me to full time again after smacking me down to part time last spring~I'd be full time during a bunch of projects they needed warm bodies for. The projects are taking longer than expected (yeah, more money in the bank for me!) and there are more projects coming up after those. So I don't know when (or if) I'll be going back to part time. If I do get smacked down again, I promise I'll be a much better Tweeter. But while I can still work full time, I hope my fellow Twits will have patience with me and my limited Tweeting time. Please don't think I'm a hit and run Twitterer! Doin' the best I can here!

Not on Twitter yet? Wanna follow me on Twitter? Here I am:

http://twitter.com/bearchick

C’est la vie!


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A Healthy Start

Hey!

The Husband and I were lamenting our big bellies this morning, post-huge ass Valentine’s dinner. We both want to eat better but (list excuses here).

So, after talking about the Jack LaLaine theory of not eating anything made by man and deciding our bodies would go into permanent shock if we cut out food in boxes and cans, we decided to start this healthy eating thing one step at a time.

Step One: Start eating only fruit or yogurt for snacks. Of course, we have to eat our way through the “healthy” bars and Valentine candy first… Well, we can throw in a banana during the day and an orange at night. And The Husband is back to drinking fruit juices and vegetable juice with a hit of Tabasco, and, even though whole fruit is the ideal, juices are better than sugar filled soda.

My eventual goal is to cut out foods with ingredients I can’t pronounce. All in good time, my pretty. All in good time!

C’est la vie!

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Mare's Favorite Author/Book Series-Julie Hyzy

Hey!

Ok, I'm really too discombobulated lately to pick a day of the week for author articles, so I'll just put them out there when I'm inspired.

Julie Hyzy writes the most focused thrillers I've read in a long time. There's no fat on these novels-no distracting romantic diversion, no meddling mom or needy cat. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of cozies, which are rife with lots of sweet characters and diversions not directly related to the plot at hand. But these are thrillers, books of action not comfort (as much as murder mysteries can be comfortable...) and I like changing gears to read her fast paced yet pleasant stories.

Her character, Ollie Paras, a White House chef, somehow always finds herself right in the middle of T-R-O-U-B-L-E. In trying to do the right thing, Ollie ends up in some complicated messes but is compelled to keep digging or talking or thinking, whatever the situation demands. And the White House setting is ripe for all sorts of terrorists, intrigue and gingerbread men, so there should be plenty of plots to come.

I like Ollie. She's got a lot of heart and integrity and she's someone you'd want to befriend, if only she had the time. She has a boyfriend who's a Secret Service agent but with their crazy schedules, their time together consists of quick meetings, missed phone calls and the occasional overnight stay. Most of the people in the White House kitchen are hard working and fun, with a curmudgeonly assistant to keep things from getting, well, too comfortable. Glimpses of the First Family do not resemble the current residents, or even their recent predecessors.




The plotting is complicated and thoughtful, so you're not sitting there thinking you're smarter than they are 'cause you know who did it from the git go. And the "glimpses" of the White House and Camp David feel like history in the making.





You should read this when: you want to spend some time with an intelligent Girl Scout (and I mean that in the nicest way!) who can cook

Sequence (I like to read series in order): State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef

C’est la vie!


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Daily Pills List

Hey!

I never thought I’d need TWO of those old people’s medicine holders… But here I am, taking 12 pills a day, fighting old age and the creaks and aches thereof.

Here's the supplements I take on a daily basis and why:

AM

Two prescription drugs - don't feel like revealing what they are. I'll just say I'm not having a sex change and leave it at that...

Ginko Biloba to help me remember. I guess it‘s working. I haven’t forgotten anything lately. I don’t think…

Glucosamine and Chondroitin - to keep my joints lubed. I get creaky without it.

PM

Vitamin E to keep my boobs smooth and supple. I've always had lumpy boobs.

Black Cohosh to keep away the hot flashes, although it‘s been in the 30‘s lately. Maybe I should cease those till spring…

Women's vitamins since none of the food I eat has any.

Flax Seed Oil to boost my immunity. I can attest to the fact that this stuff works. In the first six months of 2008, I had the flu twice and the rest of the time, I had a cold. Since I started taking the FSO, I've hardly been sick at all.

St. John's Wart is supposed to keep me calm. We shall see. I've only been taking it for a week. Inanimate objects still quake in terror when I pass.

Baby aspirin, chewable, usually orange. Lots of heart conditions in my family, so I figure it can't hurt.

Calcium with Vitamin D for absorption. I'm old. I need to strengthen up dem bones.

Vitamin C for more immune system shoring up, chewable. The ones we have now should be in the shape of comic characters or something, they're so fruity tasting. Hmmmm, vitamins in the shape of Eddie Izzard… That might be a big seller!

C’est la vie!

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Psycho Hair!

Hey!

No, my hair's not psycho. I'm psycho about my hair.

Right now, it's really long. Almost down to my waist. When I get a little crazed with life, the first thing I want to do is cut my hair. Anyone else?? It's the easiest thing to change about myself. Hey presto and you suddenly look so different! Nearly crashing cars, admiring the new 'do in the rearview.

But then reality sets in and my long locks aren't there anymore to throw over my shoulder. I really like my hair long. It feels feminine and rich. So I don't really want to cut it.

But I just don't take good enough care of it. It's lank and doesn't hold a curl for longer than a breath or two. So I stop curling it. It lays along my back like a mess of red/brown jungle fur.

But it's so versatile to have it long--pony tails, pigtails, pull it back, pin it up. Barretts, head bands, scrunchies.

But it's so hot in the summer that I have to wear it back and up off my neck.

But when I get chilly in the winter, it's like a big, warm blanket.

I'd like to let the gray grow out but it's not gray enough. There's just enough gray to make me look old.

But, the last time I colored it, I held up my bangs to see how much gray there was and along the hairline, there's a lot. And it's really light. And I look awful as a blond. So maybe the letting the hair go gray thing needs to be rethunk.

Psycho? You betcha!

C'est la vie!

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Ruminations on Being Fat and Lazy

Hey!

The Husband and I recently have a running dialog about how lazy and fat we've gotten. If only all this talk burned calories...

My interests have always run to the sedentary--reading, crafting, movies/tv. And I always have exercise equipment in the living room, that I really do use. No, really! But the stress eating of the last year or so has taken it's toll on both of us. The Husband has never been a sweet eater. EX: If I bought two pints of Ben and Jerry's, one for him and one for me, mine would be gone in a weekend (or maybe by Saturday...) and his would be half eaten, covered with those unsavory ice crystals, three months later. But lately, he's succumbing to sweets and salty and everything in between. So we are bad influences on each other.

We used to walk every morning or evening, so we have to get back to that. And I do great when I don't keep munchies in the house. Lately, I've fooled myself into thinking that a sleeve of Saltines a night is ok. They're not sweet so their calories don't count... Right?

This is bad--we're going to our storage space this Sunday to do some cleaning and we've dangled Panda Express as a motivator to get ourselves out there to work. We freely acknowledge that rewarding ourselves with food is BAD. But, we've got a coupon...

I refuse to buy bigger underwear! I've already broken down and bought fat pants--you know, elasticized waists. Feeling like an old lady... I keep praying for will power but all I get is cravings.

And the thing is, I feel like my health is going to start suffering. I don't want to get to that point where I'm borderline diabetic, hauling myself around like I've got a sack of cement on my back, huffing and puffing.

What really kills me is that 5 years ago I lost a lot of weight--my stomach was totally flat, I was wearing short, flirty skirts. I looked better than I did in my 20's. And now I've gained it all back. After I said I'd never put myself in this position again. I hate this! I'm a firm believer that you have to be ready-in your mind and heart-to tackle weight loss. Being this big bothers me every minute of the day. But I'm just not ready yet to make the culinary and lifestyle changes I need to make. I count calories long enough to lose a few pounds. Then I'm off and eating again...

Enough venting. I should take a walk at lunchtime but I'll probably read...

C'est la vie!

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