Great Weight-Loss Blog, Great Recipe

Right here: Brooke not on a diet. This young lady, a local celebrity now, went from 372 pounds to 155. It took her 4 years. It took a lot of work. Hats off to Brooke! Check out her fresh, sweet, inspiring blog.

The recipe I found immediately irresistible is for French-fry Tacos, hers is a modified version. For our dinner for 7, I ended up throwing half the potatoes that were in the oven into a frying pan after 30 minutes, because that is a lot of potatoes for one baking sheet. For toppings, we added salsa, grated cheese and sour cream. I ate 2 small corn tacos for a serving and enjoyed every bite.

Weight-Loss Tips from Great Friends

On Facebook and by email, I have had responses from kind friends, sharing their wisdom and tips. I've compiled them here, feel free to add any of your own in the "comments" part below the post. Your remarks are welcome, and I read every single one, every time. Thank you!

1) Chocolate: (of course it comes first!) "Hi! My 'diet' hint is to eat Ghiradeli baking chocolate, 100% chocolate, no sugar, in tiny bites that I suck on. No chewing! I think it helps w/ low sugar problems, and I grew to like the taste somehow. (Other brands cannot compare.) It is not really possible to eat much of this."

2) The Power of Self-Image: "Not going to focus on the amount, just on how I feel. The sun and weather here are totally my friends." from a friend who recently moved to San Diego.

3) The Details: "Good luck! I have about the same amount I'm going to lose. What's worked for me in the past was counting calories. Drinking lots of water helps with hunger/cravings."

Note: I did go back to the "My Fitness Pal" app on my phone. I got very excited the first day; stayed within my calorie limits, but friends came by with goodies and I went over a bit. The morning after, I noticed an alert, telling me that my calorie level was neither sufficient to maintain health nor lose weight; not over! I figured setting it at 1000 calories a day would be a good way to start; 1200 is the minimum for a woman. Life is fabulous.

4) There were emails I can no longer locate about the importance of water and the habit of cleansing or fasting for a day or a week. I've had greatly appreciated offers from friends to walk or run with them; thank you!  

I woke up to a feeling of contentment with the universe, life, myself, including all body parts. This well-being, I believe, is at the root of moving forward. Love yourself. Love the divine in yourself, it is each one of us. When you love and honor the goodness that is you, because you are good, you can then love and give to the rest of your family, to the rest of the world.  

Even as I know this to be a profound truth, I can't help but wonder to whom I may give my extra 25 pounds? 

Gift to Me from a Loved One: Mama Fitness

My husband came home two days ago with groceries and a plan. It seems he does read my blog...who knew! As a birthday gift to me, he has offered to prepare meals and snacks for me with power foods that will help with my weight-loss, and not "because he doesn't find me absolutely beautiful, but because he doesn't like to see me unhappy." I love this guy. And he knows how to cook, too!

For those of you who do not wish to hear about what I had for breakfast (hi Mom), you can skip to the next post. If you are looking for meal ideas, by all means, scroll down. Have a healthy day!

Here is the list of foods:
sweet potatoes
avocados
bananas
pineapple
berries
carrots
whole grain cereals
chicken thighs
hummus
turkey
egg (1 per day)
nuts
salmon

Day One, Meals:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with dried blueberries and almond milk (sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon)
Snack: Almond milk with coffee (that's the way I drink it)
Lunch: Salad: artichoke hearts, tomatoes, roasted red pepper, pine nuts, red leaf lettuce, feta, all with an olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing, recipe below, with an ounce of mixed nuts (pistachio, cashew and almonds) and a shot glass of white wine
Snack: an ounce of mixed nuts
Dinner: out for date night, we split a grilled shrimp dish with onions and avocados, a few chips and salsa

Vinegrette: 3 T olive oil, 1 T balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, stir thoroughly, or make more and shake in a jar before use. Keep in fridge. 

A New Year, New Fitness Moves

I am not a maker of New Year Resolutions. However, the very air and the internet being full of them, I find myself reflecting too, on what the past year brought and what I hope to include in this one...or discard of, such as a number of pounds. Overall, I am fitter than I have ever been; I have increased my muscle tone, my strength, my endurance...the only problem is that it is still hiding under a nice layer of body fat. 

Weight-lifting, yoga, bike and other machines are the winter weather, broken-foot friends I meet with daily. I can do more sit-ups and leg lifts than I ever attempted in my younger life...and yet my weight has plateaued. Forever ago. I have never weighed so much outside of pregnancy. It stinks. I do not, though, weigh any more than this time last year. One small achievement.

So what is the next move?  I have the firm intention of sculpting my body into a goddess-like shape in the coming year. I mentioned this jokingly to a friend the other day, but I think it might just be the very thing for 2014, a goddess my age that is. I am aiming for health and strength above all, so that I do not have to interrupt exercise every other minute because of an injury.

How to go about it? We already cook all of our meals at home, except for the occasional date night out and the occasional coffee out...hmmm, those mocha lattes are really full of goodness...and sugar...and calories. Ditch those, substitute with green tea. 

We eat lots of fruits and vegetables, protein in lean meat, nuts, eggs and beans, almond instead of dairy milk, yogurt or fruit for most desserts, not many grains, an occasional rice cake, and water is the beverage served at the table, (besides dinner which usually means a glass of wine). 

No between meal snacking...or is there? Cooking and cleaning and hanging out in the kitchen are adding up to bites of this, a sip or two of the kids' hot chocolate while making it, handfuls of that (normally Ghiradelli chocolate chips), a glass of wine before dinner, some chips with the wine. 

This is a lifestyle problem. There is a lifestyle solution, I just have to find it. I've tried staying out of the kitchen...my darling husband is a great cook, but I need to do some of it, being the main person at home. I am weak, chocolate is a drug, and I love the whole before-dinner relaxation with my husband or while cooking alone. 

Would the French have a glass of wine while cooking? NO. They might have a drink before dinner, but it would be seated and planned. Do Americans usually have a drink before dinner? Ah, it would seem that some of us have a permanent drink happening in our giant-sized soda cups. 

I have a giant water mug from the maternity ward...the nurses finally took pity on me after being there for so many births in a row that they gave me my own mother-mug. It is equipped with a straw hole,  but it is made to sit by a hospital bed and it leaks when moved. Maybe I need to buy some straws or a fresh water bottle.

I am open to ideas that have worked for you. Do you have weak spots and how did you solve them? What are your fitness resolutions for the year?

Christmas Morning

The magic of Christmas morning...we are grateful. Where are the older two? Cate, in bed with bronchitis and Duncan can be seen off to the side doing what teens do best; texting. They would hate for me to put up pics in pyjamas anyway, sadly, those days are past. Hope yours was a happy day.

Cooking Children?

I may have a recipe for you, let me look in the box...it would seem that my used microwave was previously owned by an ogre. Fumbling in the dark to warm up a rice bag in the middle of the night (we keep the microwave in the garage), I blindly hit the buttons that should have run the Quick Minute setting, only to see this on the display, in an eerie, pre-dawn manifestation in the total darkness, accompanied by a series of beeps and the impossibility of opening up the door or changing the setting. I guess you would need that particular security feature to keep the little buggers in long enough to quit wiggling. The world and its wonders...

Holiday Letter 2013

Really, that's what it comes down to, my yearly December review, doesn't it? When the warm feelings of the season take over, I want to share the joy and well-wishes with friends, family and readers. So, a happy season of whatever you might be celebrating; from Christmas to  Hanukkah (even though I am late with my wishes) to Yule and the rest, humbug or not; may you enjoy whatever beauty you find in life around you.

The children keep growing; they tend to do that. Gael, the baby, 6, is sleepily nestled across my lap as I write under a big, red fleece blanket. He is a bundle of sunshine with more and more contrariness thrown in, that's OK, he is supposed to do that. Charles is in bed, as are his two sisters.

Duncan, 15, has already left for high school, where he seems to have a ball most days, and plays lead guitar for the varsity show choir. He also played football this year, and this mother has mixed feelings on that, but he had a goal, he worked hard and met it. Who knew with raw determination and work he could go from really slim to a broad-shouldered, muscular young man in just a year? When I worry about football, I just remind myself that I was also skeptical about show choir last year, and ended up loving the fabulous production the kids put on...and seeing my kid in the back with his black shirt, white tie and guitar. He is such a good person too; standing up to bullies and ready to soothe a tired toddler or calm down a struggling child.

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Cate turned 17 last Friday. She published her first book this year, an incredible work of fiction; Alyssandra, Defenders of the Universe. She took the ACT on Saturday and narrated the Christmas pageant in church on Sunday. She is in love with tall ships, sailing and seeing the world. She spent a week navigating the Great Lakes last summer on the tall ship, Unicorn. Imagine a 2-masted giant from another era, or go here to see photos: Unicorn. Poor homeschooled child with nothing to do and no life. Since she began driving on her own, I have understood the need some families find to own three cars; up until the month of May, we were a one-car family! Her favorite winter activity, besides kung fu and indoor archery, is curling up with a book.

Then there is Valentine; my littlest girl, who turned 12 in November! She is incredible; full of vitality and kind-hearted. When she is not arguing with her younger brothers, she is helping them with their school work or staging plays with them in the basement. She is in 6th grade, and in our world that means the Romans, the Medieval ages, geometry, physics and business math. In reality, that is what she centers part of her day around, the rest is spent reading, playing with friends, dancing and at kung-fu. She is officially the best baker in the house; her cookies are fabulous, especially the ones with white chocolate and dark chocolate chips, or maybe it's the ginger snaps...

Charles is 9. He is my most kinetic learner. Boredom is just another word for "I gotta get up and play Legos." He has a gang of neighborhood kids that regularly show up to play outside. He is thoughtful, knits like nobody's business and draws fabulous pictures. Kung-fu has been something he loves and at which he excels, but he is ready to stop for now. Since this has been a pattern for my children around 9, I no longer why, it is a age of change. Dance, Girl Scouts, ice hockey, violin; these have all had their eras in our house. 

Thierry is well. He keeps himself in great shape biking 9 miles to work, rain or shine. His reading inspires me. He reads such a wide variety of books and articles that he always has something interesting to share with us. He is my exercise partner 3 times a week at the Y. It is so good to have someone else get out of bed at 4:45 too for that early morning class, especially on these dark and cold winter mornings.

As for working out; an exercise class (non-yoga) marks a new era in my life. Or at least it did, until a stress fracture in my foot stopped me in my tracks. It's healing nicely, and the frost bite on one toe is better too (honestly, the heavens have a great sense of humor).

I have only ever broken one bone in my life; a pinky toe, so this experience of sitting more is new. We have played so many games this past month; card games and Rummikub are favorites. I can't knit while playing "speed", but then again, it is so fast, you don't want to do anything else. Gael loves chess, and playing with him is quite the experience. Scrabble is my favorite; words rather than numbers, and hours of time between plays to knit.

My job has yielded good friendships and opportunities to be of help this year. Reading King Peggy and attending lectures on West Africa have given me more insight into the people I work with as a French interpreter. I wish I could spend some time in Africa; it is a world apart. Maybe someday. 

In the meantime; best wishes of joy, love and peace for the rest of these days of Christmas and for the new year!!! Think kind thoughts and be well,

Angela

PS. If you are feeling the spirit of the season and want to help one young lady succeed in her education, the "Donate to Angelique in America" button is an active one to the right. Angelique, whose story you can read at this link, arrived in the area last week from Africa; what a lovely girl! When she has enough for the first semester of college in the US, the button will be deactivated. Thank you!

Lousy Photography, Simple Joys

Some days just start out beautifully, and sometimes, if you look, there is always something to find beauty in. Today: a perfect travel mug for my chai tea; leak-proof with a pleasant sippy-sip, and purple to boot, against a background of snow! The Christmas tree sparkling and smelling like pine, and a sweet nature table with a pretty stone spiral, at the center of which stands the candle that, though forgotten last night, did not catch anything else on fire.

 

Knitting: Shawl Detail

This is a shawl made for a friend with love. I knit and unknit (frogged), ordered more yarn; wrong dye lot, but the last skein available in the USA. I learned to crochet to make a pretty edge, spent 2 hours in a yarn shop looking for just the right color for the edge, as I'd run out of the red I was using half-way through. It lasted for 2 years, it had to be just right! It was a wonderful experience, for this wonderful knitting mentor and friend. 

Help for Extreme Eczema

I have been suffering from ever-worsening eczema for 11 years. Finally, after consulting the University of Iowa's top specialists and hearing that they cannot test for allergies on an adult beyond the normal panels (already done) and the patch panels for topical sensitivities (that done too), and that sometimes skin just reacts to something undetectable, I followed the last recommendation. This one came after cortisone creams, allergy pills, glove-wearing and prednisone...oh, and bleach baths. Being super-sensitive to bleach, I did not think this was the best idea ever, but they were the specialists, right? Ouch.

I have also been on every supplement ever tried, some helped for awhile, had acupuncture, chiropractic care and many cleanses, some of those helped too.  Here it is, the last-ditch, MIRACULOUS treatment (it is also prohibitively expensive without health insurance, I am sorry to say.)

Light therapy; wherein you stick your oil-coated hands into a little box, sporting sunglasses and a little patience, and wait for 20 seconds while you toast. You can read about it here: http://www.uchospitals.edu/specialties/dermatology/light-therapy/. I am up to a 3-minute slot, and if you wish, you may click on a link that will take you to my before pictures. They are rather graphic and I do not want to be reminded of how bad it was just a few months ago, so I am not including them here, see below. I will put in an "after" photo.  If you live around here, Dr.Kumar at: Eastern Iowa Dermatology has the machines and knows how to use them. He has carefully calibrated the therapy from very mild to increasing doses and the results have been life-changing. Thanks go out to him and his lovely staff, especially Heather and Wendy who take care of me 3 days a week.

Here is the inoffensive, little machine in Dr.Kumar's office:

And, here is my "after" photo:

Before photos can be viewed here:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/104797021480212709688/posts

Bennedicto; "Café" An Ant's Eye View of the Coffee Harvest

Bennedicto

Poodles, by Poodles in Provence

Poodles in Provence

In the World of Art/ and Art in my World

Put a thought out there and the universe will answer...and it did! I've been longing for ways to experience more art in my life. I wanted to spend time with paintings, pottery, tapestry and the people who created them. The answer came in real life time this weekend; painting it would be; twice!

Saturday, I spent a lovely evening with a talented painter of two of my great loves; France and poodles. This artist,  Maureen Broussalian, does whimsical portraits of your dog in Provence and Paris. Her aim: "send your dog on vacation." She has had recent requests to send chickens and husbands to France as well. Delightful work, fun colors and images that remind me of Toulouse Lautrec. The above link will take you to her Facebook page and a photo gallery of her work and her beautiful poodle, Benji.

Speaking of art with Maureen is to speak of vision as well as of personal growth, and a thirst to learn. It is also about making space in one's life for what you as a person, a little independent of your children and husband, love to do. I get that, as writing and knitting fill that creative space for me. She makes the world more beautiful through the art she makes and the art she chooses to collect. Her family is really pretty too.

I fell asleep Saturday night with thoughts of adding beauty to our living space. A new sofa will be making its debut soon; the first one we have ever actually purchased, quite the event. It was the occasion to give some thought to my environment beyond picking up and cleaning. I did not want a simple vase or poster from the hobby shop down the road, no, I wanted  an object or work by an artist. It might take months, and I always do end up missing art shows for various reasons...kids tend to run amok in the middle of these events, when they do not have something they need to be driven to. I was prepared to wait. However, Sunday morning I walked into our church social hall and saw color everywhere. I recognized the work immediately; it was Bennedicto, an artist from Guatemala with ties to our church.  We were introduced and then he gave me the most fascinating intro to his work over the following hour, in Spanish.

This one is the first that caught my eye. A fish-eye's view of the crabbers hauling in their catch on ropes. If you go to Bennedicto's  blog you can find at least four more sorts of painting, from naive to bird's eye to cubist.  I brought home a wonder of a painting; an ant's view of the coffee harvesting...I am thrilled. He talked and explained and wove stories of his home land and people; those who turned into birds and watch over the town yet today, brothers who turned to fish to save the world. His mother taught him, as a child,  to cultivate the flowers for the dyes she used for weaving. Colors are his world. He is a Mayan artist. His eyes sparkled as he showed me his vision for the future; creating the first cultural periodism in art, a concept that does not yet exist. He wants to initiate conversations about art and cultures from around the globe. He is full of life and the joy that comes from loving what he does. 

 

Tomorrow I will post a photo of Maureen's work and also of Bennedicto's painting hanging in my house today. (Maybe I'll even shoot the new couch too.)

Beyond Doubts: Homeschooling After 10 Years

So, after my last philosophical post about not offering opinions or predictions about your family's homeschooling aside, there are a few things I can say about allowing children to follow their own paths learning at home. It has been over ten years since we first put a big toe into the pond of home education, jumping right out of school and into life. Was it scary? Yes! Did I make many mistakes? Probably as many as can be made, and then some. After all, I do have five kids, all those chances to goof up. 

Did my children turn out to be, as in the words of a slightly inebriated young man at a brewery the other day, "anti-social, nerdy loosers?" Ha! Not likely. Or as he also asked me a few times, "but, um, are they cool"? Yes, they are cool, and warm and lovely people. This, we owe to the community of people who have helped me raise them, from neighbors, friends and relatives (wonderful grandparents, aunties and uncles on both sides of the ocean), to the great librarians, teachers of dance, archery, art and kung-fu and our incredible church family who see and welcome them each week.

Questions like the above might have given me pause ten years ago. After all, the children were very young and I had no idea if education out of school would be the right choice for us. Would I have the patience and fortitude? Would they learn what they needed to learn? Would they be...socialized?

The fact of the matter is, the questions will continue to be asked, sometimes by professionals who may be in a position to make you feel that you are making the wrong choice concerning your child. You will ask yourself more questions than anyone else ever will as well. Most of the time now, the questions take a back seat to the doing and learning and cleaning and cooking. But the questioning is good, it keeps you on your toes and allows your mind to explore the possibility of change, of improvement. Just don't lose sight of reality for the cloud of doubt.

What is the reality? It is this; no matter where you choose to send or keep a child for schooling, there will be good points and bad. There will be conflict and harmony, moments of genius, enlightenment and creativity. For some children, school is a great place to be; they thrive on lots of activity and the interaction or the discipline of a classroom setting. For others, home is the place where they feel safe being themselves or have the time to delve into their passion for music, art, math or reading. When someone outside of the world of homeschooling assumes that your child would be better off in school, you may take their point of view into consideration, but don't forget to weigh it against the truth of all the factors. If conflict at home is cause for angst, should they not learn to deal with stress first at home, where they are loved, before heading out the door to try it out at school? If needing more space seems to be the problem, is a classroom with 30 other children in it the place to find that space? How about a child not feeling motivated to get up in the morning for homeschooling? After the initial honeymoon of school has worn off, I could tell you, from experience, that the lack of motivation will be even harder to deal with. Now, you will need either to answer to school officials for a perpetually tardy student or engage in a daily battle that starts off everyone's day in an ugly way. And the day will most likely be interrupted another time or two for a forgotten item to be brought to school or a ride home from a kido who missed the bus...again.

I am at ease today in the choice we made to homeschool all those years ago. There is nothing I would trade for this accumulation of moments spent together, neither all the free time nor all the gold in the world. I am also ready to let go and send an older one to school when the moment comes, after all, our home is based on freedom to learn as best suits each of us. Find your family's happy place and live there...until it comes time to move on. Then rearrange the furniture and settle back into harmony. Peace.

Martinmas Celebration

It was a perfect evening for our annual Martinmas pilgrimage around the dark neighborhood. It was cool, but not cold and it was neither windy nor raining, for the first time in our history of celebrating the feast day of St.Martin. Dinner was improve upon pasta and veggies (see below).