Home Again, Home Again

Thinking PEACE on Memorial Day

2011-05-30T12:23:00.000-07:00

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

More about Tacoma Food Co-Op

2011-05-10T13:03:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote about Tacoma Food Co-op. If you are interested in more information, but missed the last coffee talk, no worries, there is another one coming up this Thursday evening. Or you can get a lot of information on their website.

The co-op could use your* involvement! Join us!

Thursday, May 19, 6pm – 7pm

Bluebeard Coffee, 2201 6th Ave, Tacoma, WA 98403

*Bloom in Health would like to sponsor the membership of a few Gritty Tacomans who are willing to invest time and enthusiasm in TFC. Please send an e-mail to Bloom in Health (or comment below if you are comfortable doing so) telling us why and how you would like invest in our community via the co-op, as well as a brief description of the financial circumstances that do not enable you to invest cash in the co-op at this time.

Please "like" Bloom in Health on Facebook here.

Individualized Nutrition for My Body and Brain

2011-05-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

I haven't been feeling great since mid April after I returned from my visit to Philly. When I don't feel great, I don't feel like writing. I'm writing now because I feel very unproductive and like I don't deserve to to take up space unless I do something today. I usually write out of inspiration or because I want to share some information that I think is important. Today, I write out of a pretty dark place and I guess my only goal is to feel a bit of accomplishment and to let my friends that share my issues with depression, food issues, and/or digestive issues know that they aren't alone.

Last Friday, I got the results of my food intolerance blood test and had quite a few surprises. The list of foods that my body does not tolerate is longer than I'd hoped and includes some of my favorite foods. Thankfully there is a list of foods that my body likes and I can eat off of that list until I start feeling good. Then, I can slowly reintroduce some of my favorite foods and see how I feel. I've been eating a fairly restricted diet (but 'cheating' fairly regularly) for the last several months. Some of the foods that my doctor and I thought were safe are actually not good for me, such as avocado, rice, vanilla, cherrries, pineapple, spinach, cabbage, lettuces, and turkey. It will be interesting to see what happens when I get them out of my system. I'm also more allergic than the average person to molds. And I'm intolerant of a few food colorings. More on that some other time.

Good news is that I don't have a problem with Candida Albicans or the entire family of nightshades. So I can add back in more fruit and spicy peppers (as long as it doesn't give me heartburn).

So, here is my list:

Severe Intolerance: apricot, avocado, clam, corn, halibut, psyllium, walnut.

Moderate Intolerance: banana, bay leaf, cabbage, carrot, coconut, cow's milk, garlic, green pea, hops, iceberg lettuce, lime, orange, peach, pineapple, sardine, sole, spinach, tuna, wheat, (plus, because of gluten: barley, malt, rye and oats)

Mild Intolerance: artichoke, asparagus, beet, black pepper, blueberry, buckwheat, cane sugar, caraway, cherry, clove, date, duck, egg yolk, honeydew melon, kiwi, lemon, lobster, mustard, olive, onion, parsley, plum, rice, safflower, sesame, string bean, sunflower, thyme, tomato, trout, turkey, vanilla, white potato.

Acceptable Foods

Vegetables/Legumes: black-eyed peas, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, celery, chick pea, cucumber, eggplant, green pepper, kidney bean, lentil bean, lima bean, mushroom, navy bean, pinto bean, radish, soybean, squash (yellow), sweet potato, turnip.
Fruits: apple, blackberry cantaloupe, cranberry, fig, grape, grapefruit, mango, papaya, pear, pumpkin, raspberry, strawberry, watermelon.
Meat: beef, chicken, lamb, pork, veal.
Dairy: egg white, goat's milk
Seafood: bass, codfish, crab, haddock, herring, oyster, salmon, scallop, shrimp snapper, tilapia.
Grains: millet, tapioca.
Herbs/Spices: basil, cayenne, cinnamon, cumin, dill, ginger, mint, nutmeg, oregano, paprika, sage.
Nuts/Oils and Misc: almond, baker's yeast, beet sugar, blk/green tea, brewer's yeast, carob, cashew, cocoa, coffee, cottonseed, flaxseed, HFCS, hazelnut, honey, peanut, pecan, pistachio.

I still have some confusion since there are things for which I was not tested that I'd like to eat, like kale (can't have cabbage but can have broccoli, so what about kale?). They didn't test for quinoa or amaranth, but my doctor said to go ahead and eat them since they are gluten free. I'm a little nervous about quinoa though, because it is related to spinach and beets - both are on my bad list. We also discussed oats and I'll eat the gluten free kind. Also, I think that some of the foods on the acceptable list might give me heartburn, so I'd have to cut those.

I'll let you know how it goes. Today is DAY 1, since I ate whatever I wanted over the weekend because of two special events. No wonder I feel like crapola today.

DAY 1

Breakfast: Egg Whites

Snack: Juice of crenshaw melon (not on my list, but I already had it here - hoping it is okay) and strawberries

Lunch: Leftover special chili (beef, pureed red pepper, acceptable spices) Delicious. Thank you , Rick!

Dinner? Probably left over pork, amaranth, and broccoli.

Sorry for the lack of eloquence and/or enthusiasm, but hopefully that will change over the next month.

Tacoma Food Co-Op

2011-04-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Do you have questions about Tacoma Food Co-op? Join Mandy Landa on Saturday, May 7, 2011, between 11am – 12pm at The Greener Bean in Fircrest for a Coffee Talk!

The co-op could use your* involvement! Join us!

Rick and I were hesitant to join until recently when we became confident that Tacoma is ready for a food co-op. Why are we so confident now?

~ A great location has been chosen and a transition agreement reached with the owner

~ The co-op has 523 paid members (as of April 25, 2011)

~ Shares in the co-op will be available mid-May offering members a chance to further invest in the co-op and our community

~ The hiring process is well underway for a General Manager

*Bloom in Health would like to sponsor the membership of a few Gritty Tacomans who are willing to invest time and enthusiasm in TFC. Please send an e-mail to Bloom in Health (or comment below if you are comfortable doing so) telling us why and how you would like invest in our community via the co-op, as well as a brief description of the financial circumstances that do not enable you to invest cash in the co-op at this time.

Please "like" Bloom in Health on Facebook here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2011-04-07T13:37:00.000-07:00

"Fast Food" Testing #1

Vega Sequel Whole Food Energy Bar

Sometimes I don't do a very good job planning ahead for meals. I know I'm not alone in this! Before I did my detox diet in February and began trying to do an elimination diet, I always had convenience foods around the house for "emergencies." You know, when your blood sugar gets so low, you get moody and a bit faint. I relied on wheat thins, tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, a sandwich (or just a slice of bread!), dried fruit, Luna bars, and nuts to revive me enough to think of a better meal or give me enough energy to make it to the next meal. I thought my choices were fairly healthy. It turns out the foods themselves aren't awful, but they may have been causing problems for me. I am now exploring the possibility that I am intolerant of gluten, some nuts, corn, and dairy. My former snacks are currently ruled out.

Of bigger concern, according to recent research presented on The Dr. Oz Show, cancer develops in response to the stress we cause our bodies by not eating on a regular schedule.

When you eat meals at different times rather than on a regular schedule, your body goes into stress mode. For example, when you eat breakfast at 7 a.m. one morning and 11 a.m. the next, your body becomes confused about where its next meal is coming from. This causes the secretion of the stress hormone cortisol. High levels of cortisol lead to spikes in insulin, which causes inflammation and can increase the risk of many cancers.

Dr. Oz’s suggestion is to

Create a regular meal schedule and do your best to stick with it. Since life often intervenes when it comes to routines, make a habit of carrying a healthy snack with you at all times, such as air-popped popcorn or an apple, to ward off hunger pangs and insulin spikes.

Many of the foods that I eat now require planning, and I’m still not good at that! For example, my calendar just reminded me that I need to eat lunch, so I went to the kitchen and started looking around. The only left-overs in the fridge were some (under)baked beets and carrots that need some more time in the oven. I popped those in, but felt that I needed something right away. Fortunately, I remembered that a box had arrived on my porch this morning from Sequel Naturals. A few days ago, I went online searching for “super foods,” which I had just heard about through WISH, in an interview with Mike Adams. I found some super food energy bars that sounded good and ordered them.

I opened up the package and took my first bite. Hmm, tastes healthy. As I chewed (and chewed) I started to read the packaging. I discovered that the bars had been developed by Brendan Brasier, a professional Ironman triathelete and author, whom I had recently heard speak on his experiences with switching to a raw food diet. “Made exclusively from raw, alkaline, plant-based superfoods.” That sounds good. Oops! Almond butter. Oh, Almonds and wheat grass. The bar had started to taste pretty good and I wanted to eat more. I reacted badly to almonds a few weeks ago, but hadn’t had a noticeable reaction to wheat when I tried it. And I had been avoiding wheat and dried fruit these past months just because my doctor is treating me for a candida infection; theoretically both those foods would ‘feed’ the yeast in my belly. I decided to finish the bar (it was really tasting yummy now, after I had gotten used to the flavor) and see how my body reacts. I sure hope I can eat them; otherwise, 11 of my friends will be receiving samples!

Happiness through Attitude Adjustment - Part 1

2011-04-05T12:04:00.000-07:00

Photographic art by J M Barclay
I bought a 5x5 print of this today. I am grateful.
I found it because a friend posted a link on Facebook.

The universe conspires to assist me. No, I'm not joking!

Yesterday and today, my assignments in my health coaching course were about positive psychology. I got to listen to a lecture by James Pawelski, PhD, Director of Education and Senior Scholar in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania about achieving happiness. The lecture was chock-full of information that I'm still digesting. I'll be sharing some of it soon, I assure you!

Today, part of my assignment was to watch this video from 20/20 that reminded me of my post from a few days ago as well as a book that I read in 2009. Pursuit of happiness has been a recurring theme in my life for the last few years and I haven't been highly successful. Most likely my set point (genetic) for happiness is quite low. What is encouraging is that Dr. Pawelski and the experts in the video agree that even with a low set-point, I can choose actions that will increase my happiness dramatically.

The video, the lecture, and the book have one solution in common, the first key to happiness is a change in attitude gained by attention to gratitude. In 2009, I started writing down 5 things for which I was grateful before I got out of bed in the morning. This habit didn't take, probably because I'm not a morning person. Dr. Pawelski instructed us to do an exercise called "Three Blessings" wherein before you go to bed, you write down three good things that happened during the day and then write down why each of them happened. One of the experts in the video recommends following grandma's advice: count your blessings.

So, step one to changing my attitude (one degree at a time) is now officially to count my blessings before I go to bed. Five of them, in writing, and why these blessings happened. I think you'll be able to tell if this approach works, since I'm fairly transparent, but I'll make sure to post about it through the year.

Roasted Veg Fish Stew Recipe

2011-04-04T20:10:00.000-07:00

Tonight I concocted a stew that is worth sharing! Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures. Maybe I'll snap a shot of my leftovers tomorrow. We had fish and cabbage to use and I wanted to make the stew as anti-inflammatory as I could. Most of the ingredients were from our Terra Organics box.

Ingredients
2 Tilapia fillets (I got ours in a multi-pack from Costco)
1 small head organic red cabbage
1 long organic sweet potato (could substitute carrots or beets)
1/2 onion
1 head of garlic
5-6 cups of liquid (I used 3.5 cups of vegetable broth and some water)
Peeled and grated fresh organic ginger (I started with a chunk about the size of my thumb)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp turmeric (less for those of you who can taste turmeric)
salt and pepper to taste

Turn on oven to 400 degrees. Slice sweet potato into 1/2 inch thick rounds, prepare garlic to roast (see great instructions here), cut off bottom of onion. Place them on baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Cover onion and garlic with foil. Roast for about 30 minutes. While this is happening, you can leave the kitchen!

Pull pan out of oven and allow to cool a bit. Meanwhile, put liquid in large pot, add spices and ginger. Bring to boil, then lower heat, stirring regularly. Chop cabbage and add to pot. Stir. Cut up onion into large chunks and add to pot. Squeeze out garlic and add to pot. Stir. Cut fish into larger than bite size pieces and add to pot. Look at the time. Cut sweet potato rounds into quarters and add to pot. Serve after fish has been in the stew for 5 minutes or less. It cooks very quickly. You can add it frozen and it will still cook in less than 10 minutes in the hot liquid.

I'm not eating bread or dairy right now, so we had this stew as our main course. It would be lovely with a slice of bread and a dollop of sour cream on top. One of the lovely things about this stew is its dark color and rustic, hearty look. The roasted vegetables are sweet and the broth is spicy. You can taste the fish, but it isn't overwhelming.

Serves 4-5.
Prep and cook time, 50 minutes. Actual time in kitchen: 20 at most. I didn't even peel the sweet potatoes - the skins fell off in the soup and blended right in with the cabbage.

Rick paired the soup with Trio Vintners Mourvedre 2007 and it was a lovely choice. Against the spicy and sweet soup, the wine tasted light and sweet. Really nice.

Attitude Adjustment

2011-04-04T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had a poor attitude - not really a "bad" attitude, just sad, unmotivated, a little hopeless. I kept trying to change my attitude, shrug it off, find the silver lining to the dark clouds hovering over my soul. It reminded me of how I've felt when I've been depressed and I was afraid that the clouds wouldn't part no matter what positive thinking techniques I attempted. It helped a little to hear from friends that I wasn't the only one. Some blamed mercury in retrograde, some the pull of the moon, some the shift in the earth from the earthquake in Japan, some the gloomy skies, and others just had some really crappy stuff going on in their lives. No matter the cause, we all have bad days, which sometimes turn into bad weeks or months.

This morning, even though it is cold and raining (again!), I could feel that the storm in my brain had passed. Whew, I did something right! Maybe it was the rest that I allowed myself, maybe the extra vitamins, maybe the loving support of my husband or the cumulative effect of the multiple friends that shared their lives with me during the week. They accepted my slump and shared their own struggles - and we all found something to laugh about. As I think about my past, and my varied approaches to attitude, I realize that during different phases of my 42 years I've experienced a lot of approaches to attitude adjustment.

Watercolor by Wendy Burchill

STAND UP STRAIGHT AND SMILE! This was delivered by my mother often enough that I remember it clearly. And usually said with an accompanying grip of my elbow or back of the neck. This hurt and made me angry. The message from my parents about a poor attitude was consistent: go to your room until you can come out with a smile on your face; if you can't feel it, fake it; if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all. This approach didn't help me feel better, but at least they didn't have to deal with me.

ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: The first time I heard this phrase was in grade school. One of the teachers at our small school used it regularly. "Somebody needs an attitude adjustment." Sometimes it meant straighten up, other times it meant that the paddle was going to be employed. It never worked.

LET GO, AND LET GOD: This one is more subtle, but was pervasive in my life for 28 years. The gist of this approach is that if you trust in God, He will give you peace. If you don't feel peace, you are too self absorbed and not trusting enough. A true believer won't have much discouragement because it is all God's will.

LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE helped me through some really tough times, and has given me some measure of peace, but hasn't really cheered me up. For this to work, you need to wholeheartedly believe that everything happens for a reason. That something positive will eventually come from the negative. For example, my experiences with my second husband taught me a lot about addiction, drug dealers, and absolute desperation, that I hoped would help me later in life, either to relate to others in the same boat or just to make me a stronger person.

FAKE IT 'TIL YOU MAKE IT seems to work sometimes, but I've always found it to be a temporary fix. Faking it can also really backfire as friends can sense that something false is going on even if they can't put their finger on it. Trust is fragile.

DON'T LIKE IT? CHANGE IT! I call bullshit on this one. There are people that like to say that we all have the power to change our circumstances. Talk to my cousin who has schizophrenia or a mother living in a war refuge camp about this one. Even when applied strictly to attitude, I have trouble with this. When a person is clinically depressed, they can try and try and try again to change their attitude without success. Telling a person, to "Just smile! Change your attitude!" is not helpful in any situation. On the other hand, I do think that it is helpful to think of our psychological attitudes like aviation attitude, that is, directional. Even a change in attitude of half of a degree will change a long term outcome. And often a very slight change in attitude is possible and that slight change can make a world of difference in the long run.

My perspective today, as I'm coming out of a rough week, is that advice and forced cheerfulness don't really help someone that is hurting. SINCERE SUPPORT does help. It might take some of your valuable time and energy, but it really helps. If your friend seems down, telling them to 'buck up' isn't going to help; although it might temporarily make you feel better about yourself. The more I think about attitudes, the more I think we need to learn to accept ourselves and those around us, in good times and bad. We are human beings each with a unique combination of attributes that make us whole. And as Dr. Carl Jung said, "I'd rather be whole than good." As whole human beings we have dark thoughts and impulses as well as light. When we deny that part of ourselves, as with denial of any part of ourselves, that part of ourselves won't leave us alone. By accepting and loving the entirety of our beings, we can more easily focus on and share the light. The next time I'm in a slump, I'm going to do my best to accept my poor attitude as part of who I am, a beautiful, moody, sensitive, strong woman. I may try to change my attitude by a degree, but I'm not going to beat myself up just because I'm feeling sad. And when my friends have a negative or sad attitude, I'm going to try to give hugs and let them know that they are beautiful even when they are experiencing pain and that I am so grateful that they are a unique piece in the puzzle of my life.

Upon re-reading this post, I realized that the majority of what I wrote was negative, or "what not to do," leaving just the last paragraph to emphasize the encouragement part. I thought about changing it, but then decided to accept the process, to accept my feelings and thoughts, and allow them to be seen by you, dear reader. Hopefully my honesty and vulnerability will serve to inspire someone, someday.

Picture 59 - March 27

2011-03-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

First meeting of the Puget Sound IIN study group.

Picture 59 - March 26

2011-03-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

Picture 58 - March 25

2011-03-28T19:32:00.001-07:00

Picture 57 - March 23

2011-03-28T19:31:00.000-07:00

Open Call for Criticism

2011-03-27T00:21:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had a disagreement with a friend that turned ugly. She said some things that I think she has wanted to say to me for some time. It hurt. But I want to hear the truth. So, this is an open call to anyone that wants to let me know how they feel about me. Do you also think I'm self righteous? That I push people away? That I imply all kinds of hurtful things? That I'm mean? Go for it. Let's do some laundry.

Temptation Delivered

2011-03-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

...

When Matt arrived this morning to pick up his dog for the day, he had a little brown bag in his hand. When he handed it to me, he said, "I brought you some breakfast." What a sweetheart, to think of me that way! I was afraid it would be trouble though, as I realized that when we worked together this summer, I hadn't yet connected food intake with the condition of my poor body. After saying a sincere thank you and waving good-bye, I peeked in the bag. YIKES!

How colorful! How tempting!

I had just finished a nice bowl of oatmeal (just gluten free oats, water, and some organic raisins) and was halfway through eating half of an organic grapefruit. I had been marveling at how sweet the grapefruit tasted after my weeks of sugar free eating. I quickly closed the bag, set it aside and went back to eating my grapefruit and looking over the yoga schedule from the YMCA and admiring the list of produce that arrived from Terra Organics this morning.

I decided that my hubby would get a laugh out of the donut, so I pulled it out of the bag, took a picture and sent it off to him. Then, I decided that I could have a bite or two. I mean, I just finished such a healthy breakfast...how much could a couple of bites of processed sugar, processed flour, and a bit of grease hurt when balanced with such healthy food?

I used my spoon, so that I wouldn't wolf down the whole thing. That first bite was so good! Two more small bites and I was done. I'll save the rest for later, I thought, or maybe tomorrow.

WRONG! Holy smokes all that processed "food" hit my system hard! First, I noticed that I was cold, so I went to sit on my bed under the covers to study my GRE vocabulary words (as directed by my schedule). I started to get a headache right away, so I decided that it would be okay to take a little nap. I snuggled down and noticed that my teeth hurt -- no, I'm not joking. Then my tongue started to itch mildly and the joints in my hands to hurt. My schedule alarm woke me about 45 minutes later and told me it was time to start some laundry, clean up the kitchen and make a few important phone calls. I decided (obviously under the influence at this point) that I was too tired for that and switched my schedule around. I pulled out my IIN iPod and listened to the lecture for today. The lecturer was Mike Adams, the Health Ranger. He's tough on foods like my donut, going as far as to call them poison. All in all, the podcast was enjoyable and inspiring, and I'm back on schedule; sort of...excuse me while I run to the bathroom.

Well, I'm back at my desk now and I need to figure out how to best salvage my schedule. I think I'll start with a cup of red clover tea to give my intestines a chance against all the ingredients I just fed to my yeast monster.

Back tomorrow, with more adventures in health!

Questions I'll be pondering in the meantime (your input is welcome!):

If it takes 24-72 hours for food to travel through our systems, how did that donut send me running to the bathroom within a few hours?
What is the simplest, most positive way to relay the long list of "foods" that I can't eat right now to well intentioned friends and acquaintances, without sounding self righteous?
What is the best approach to tell friends that what they are eating may be making them sick and encourage them to consider changing their diet before they turn to medication, without sounding like a know-it-all?

And, finally, a word from one of my favorite authors, Dr. Mark Hyman, Gluten: What you don't know might kill you!

...

Picture 56 - March 21

2011-03-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

Squire was on my lap first. This is Pandora's attempt to push him off.

Picture 54 - March 19

2011-03-19T13:54:00.000-07:00

Picture 53 - March 17

2011-03-18T23:44:00.000-07:00

St. Patrick's Day
Doyle's Public House
VIP room

Picture 52 - March 16

2011-03-18T23:41:00.000-07:00

Nashville, TN

Picture 51 - March 15

2011-03-18T23:35:00.000-07:00

Watching Nashville Predators lose to LA Kings.

Priorities and Time Management

2011-03-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

"There just isn't enough time in a day!" I know we've all said it at one point in our lives, and I'm feeling that way today. But in my case, it isn't really true, it is just that I got off to a mediocre start this morning and didn't have a plan in place to tackle my list.

My IIN supplies include a really great journal and it is already helping me with my time management and wellness goals. Each day has one page for setting intentions, meant to be done first thing each morning, and one page for evening reflection to be done right before bedtime. This morning I didn't get to my journal until after 10:30, after a scheduled phone call with my health coach, Revital. I had time before 9 to eat my oatmeal and do a journal entry, but instead, since I was a little nervous about my first call with Revital, I looked on the student dashboard at IIN for instructions and then I googled her. This led me, you guessed it, to Facebook, the famous time sapper.

My journal entry, when I finally got to it, included four goals for today (there is only room for three): explore fast track, study for GRE, schedule next week, and blog. I included scheduling for next week because I noticed a big difference during the last two weeks between the days that I had a strict schedule set for myself and those days that I did not. That trend continued today. I didn't have a set schedule. I had two set appointments, but the time in surrounding those was just general, get sh*t done time. So here I sit, at 5pm, writing a blog, but not having begun working on my other three goals. I did however accomplish one "fun, relaxation, and adventure for today:" lunch with Janie. There is room to write down three items in that section. Perhaps the fact that I rarely have more than one is a sign of something? Anyway, I consider having lunch with Janie (as well as being flexible enough to extend lunch into getting a girlfriends' mani-pedi) a big success, because developing quality friendships is one of my overarching priorities this year. I'm also proud of myself for making lunch for us instead of eating out. I prefer to eat out, but eating at home is so much healthier for me right now. I was feeling pressured about making lunch here because the house is a mess: suitcase not unpacked, bed not made, dog hair everywhere, and bathroom not clean. Rick was also working from home today and I didn't want to disturb him. I almost called to change plans to eating out. But I stuck with the plan and we all had a yummy healthy hot lunch.

The thing is, I really had time to do all of that and accomplish my goals today. If I'd had a plan, that is! I'm not beating myself up about it, I can do some of it this evening and some tomorrow. I wouldn't have kept up on the news as well, or checked in on as many people on Facebook, but those aren't my priorities. When I work toward my priorities, I feel good. And feeling good is the biggest priority of all! So, while there "just isn't enough time in a day" to do everything, there is enough time for priorities, it just takes setting a schedule and sticking with it!

Next morning update: stumbled across a related quote this morning, "Harmony between your inner direction and outward action will bring you happiness." Elson Haas, MD

.

Nutrition and My Brain

2011-03-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

The first time I was diagnosed with clinical depression was in the 90s. I was in my mid twenties, going through fertility treatments, and living with my non-emotionally involved husband. My depression had gotten pretty severe by the time I admitted my situation to my family doctor. I would have bouts of crying that sent me under the bed or into the closet. I couldn't stop crying and I couldn't make myself leave an enclosed space for hours. My doctor prescribed an anti-depressant and it kind of worked. Since then, I've lost track of which meds I've taken, when, and for how long. It's been a rough road. I don't like to take them, so I wean myself off for a year or two (or 5) and then have to crawl back to a doctor. I've also been diagnosed with Premenstrual Disphoric Disorder (PMDD), which is just a fancy way of saying that I get pretty psycho when I ovulate and before I begin menstruation. If you think about it, that covers most of the month. So, another doctor prescribed birth control pills (BCP) to control those symptoms. But did you know that, for some of us, a side effect of birth control pills is (you guessed it!) depression? Next, I was diagnosed as having hypothyroidism and started taking synthetic thyroid medication. That didn't help with the depression and fatigue (at the time, I was off BCP and anti-depressants) and I had a few really bad mood swings that led to suicidal desires amongst other uglies. Back to the doctor I went and he prescribed an anti-depressant. Didn't work. My gynecologist ARNP changed my prescription to Cymbalta when I dissolved in her office and sent me directly to a psychiatric ARNP. The psych NP prescribed another additional medication. Before I knew it I was taking 4 pills every morning. I started to feel better, but the fatigue and some of my low, pessimistic mood persisted. In addition, I developed microscopic colitis, gastritis, and sinusitis. I felt that things were spiraling out of control and my doctor was not listening to me. I tried an acupuncturist and she recommended that I visit a Naturopath.

In December, I started seeing Dr. Cook at Holistic Health Clinic. She listened, took some lab tests, and started me on some supplements and vitamins right away. In late January, I was really not doing well so Dr. Cook put me on a detox diet for a week. After that, I started on an elimination diet, where I added in a food every few days to see if I had a food intolerance.

The week of my detox diet, my psych nurse recommended that I might like to read "The UltraMind Solution" by Mark Hyman, MD. I found the author's website, and liked what I saw enough to order three of his books. Dr. Hyman treats what he calls broken brains with diet, vitamins, and supplements. In "The UltraMind Solution," he documents his research and successes with various patients suffering from everything from ADD to Autism. His seven keys to balance are: Optimize Nutrition, Balance Your Hormones, Cool Off Inflammation, Fix your Digestion, Enhance Detoxification, Boost Energy Metabolism, and Calm Your Mind. Now, I bought this book because I thought it might lead me to a way to heal my depression. I was so excited when I saw the information about hormones, inflammation, and digestion! According to Dr. Hyman's experience and research, they are all connected. How intriguing! When I was about half way through his book, which is very logical and well documented, I decided to see if Dr. Hyman is on Facebook. Sure enough, there is a fan page. I started reading the comments on his wall and saw one by a graduate of a place called Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). I clicked on her link and within two weeks, I was enrolled. The year long program has two start dates, one in March and one in the fall. I registered just in time and have started classes already!

I'm still on a restricted diet, although I cheat sometimes, and I am feeling much better. I have stopped taking two of my medications, and have cut the dosage of the antidepressant by 1/3. I am still taking a lot of supplements and vitamins every day, but Dr. Cook encourages me that I'll be able to start narrow those down soon. Last week, she added a prescription, Nystatin, that fights the systemic yeast/fungal infection Candida. Candida is an entirely new post; more on that topic to come. So far, everything that Dr. Cook has recommended has fit with Dr. Hyman's theories and I'm feeling better already.

My goal in exposing all of these gory details is to share with you the hope that I've found, the direction, and the healing, while explaining how I came to start my studies at IIN. My hope is that my healing will continue as I learn about health and that I will be able to share with many people a route to wellness. I feel better, I look better, and I expect to live a longer, fuller life all because one person suggested a book and another suggested Dr. Cook. One person at a time, we can help the world!

Picture 50 - March 12, 2011

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Pat is an awesome table hostess!

She brought us headgear, puppy bookmarks, bouncy balls, and art projects!

Wine & Whiskers
dinner auction to raise funds for Coalition Humane

Control Something!

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On Friday, Rick and I drove to Delta, BC and back. On Thursday, Ann and I went to the Supermall during the day and Rick and I went to Gig Harbor for our annual eye exams. Today, we ran a 5K and attended a dinner auction for Coalition Humane. These events may not seem related, but bear with me!

I have had one recurring dream (nightmare?) throughout my life. It started around the time that I turned 11 and the setting of the dream is often Pennsylvania where I lived at that time. The dream involves a car careening down a gravel road, with me not in control at the wheel. I'm the driver, but I'm sitting in the back seat, or the pedals are out of reach, or my legs are tangled up. Sometimes a young child or sick friend is in the car with me. The "deep meaning" of this dream finally became obvious to me in my early twenties. The dream appears to torment me when I feel that I am out of control of my life. Part of my self-inflicted therapy has been to learn to let go, in other words, not care so much about controlling everything. Although sometimes, when I have the dream, it is appropriate to try to adjust my life so that I gain more control. I think that we all have a need to control our own lives, the trick is to not let that bleed over into attempting to control the lives of those around us!

Yesterday, I had a lot of time to think while riding in the car (over 7 hours to be exact) and realized that the limited diet I've been experimenting with has really given me a feeling of control over my life. There are many areas of our lives that we just can't control sometimes, but we each can control what we allow ourselves to eat and not eat. Paying attention to the results of our eating habits allows us to enjoy the results of that control. In the past 3 days, I've eaten at home three times, all of them were for breakfast, and ate out six times. When I ate out, I tried to control what I ate, but it was nearly impossible. My california roll at the supermall had a suspicious mayonaisey flavor. My fish, wild rice, and green beans at Green House in Gig Harbor were amazingly delicious, most likely because of the butter sauce in which they were floating. The only vegetables on the Gari of Sushi menu last night were tempura. Tonight's vegetable lasagna had a lot of cheese and a mystery white sauce. The salad was delicious, but the dressing definitely had something spicy in it that is probably from the forbidden nightshade family.

I really like to eat out. When I started on this restricted diet, I was pretty upset that my eating out would be limited. But, I'm slowly learning that eating home cooked meals allows me such a great amount of control that I think I might prefer it. I'm also slowly learning that eating the delicious food that makes me sick just isn't worth it. I really wish that I'd eaten dinner before tonight's event and that I'd refused a slice of that amazing cake. My head hurts, I feel fatigued, and I'm really having trouble finishing this post that I started this morning because my thinking is cloudy. Now, my next step is to remember when I'm eating out that I really do have control over what I put in my mouth and to not worry what people think of me. Yes, I'm now a picky eater! With pride, I'll say it! I can pick and choose what to eat based on how that food serves me. I deserve to be healthy and I will be!

"When you have your health, you have everything. When you do not have your health, nothing else matters at all." Augusten Burroughs

Priorities and Relationships

2011-03-09T13:26:00.000-08:00

Most days, I create a blog post in my head that never gets written. As interesting as I think it is, I know that when I post, it is likely solely my friend, Ann, who will read it. I get to see Ann at least once a week, and I feel like holding onto the posts in my head will give me something interesting to talk about with her! However, change is in the air! I've begun a journey to become a health coach through Institute for Integrative Nutrition. One of the things I'll be doing during this year long program is writing and learning to market my services. What better way to sharpen my writing skills than to blog! Also, I'm already meeting some lovely people through the course and I think that if I share my blog with them, they may actually read it regularly! Also, one of the first assignments includes determining priorities and establishing a solid schedule to accommodate those priorities. Writing blog posts is one of my priorities and friends are another.

Now, reading above that nobody reads my blog, you may be thinking that I don't have many friends. A few months ago, I may have protested, and it is true that I do have plenty of acquaintances and Facebook "friends." But lately I've been realizing that I spend a lot of time reaching out to the people that I consider friends, but that they don't always respond, nor do they reach out to me. I am very lucky to have a few friends that call me, originate an e-mail discussion, invite me to join them in activities, or post nice things out of the blue on my FB wall. I'm proud to name them: Ann, Yolie, Raquelita, and my husband. I've been trying to focus on responding to them rather than chasing down the elusive ones. My life is definitely out of balance when it comes to relationships. I have a wonderful relationship with my husband, but I spend a lot of time alone, and I'm a social person. This is probably why I spend so much time on Facebook and Twitter. I now recognize that I need to make the development of quality friendships a priority in my life. I bought a stack of books on friendships and relationships and some of them were very helpful. I started putting into practice some of the things that I learned, but mostly I did this with people that I want to be my friends, but whose priority lists do not include me. The difficult part is not having my feelings constantly raw from rejection, no matter how subtle. Feeling isolated and being defensive come naturally to me; I don't need regular rejection or exclusion to help me along those paths! But how do we know when it is time to give up on a friendship? And what is the best way to do that? I've had two conversations this week that have helped me begin to answer those questions.

Conversation #1 was with my therapist. That is how lonely I am. I no longer technically need therapy, but I pay someone to talk to me for an hour once a month. She suggested that I am compulsive about the friendships that hurt me the most because I'm trying to heal a hurt from my early childhood, i.e. my relationship with my parents. Wow! That hit home. I don't want to go into the details of my childhood, but suffice it to say that I felt isolated, alone, criticized, not good enough, outside of, not listened to, and often friendless. One of my earliest memories is from when I was 4 years old and I would make a point of standing by the front fence so that one of the girls walking home from school would stop and chat with me. So, my therapist's theory is that when I find someone that shrugs me off or excludes me, I compulsively pursue that friendship in order to attempt to heal myself. Of course, that is a ridiculous way to live. I just end up getting hurt.

Conversation #2 was with a new friend. She agreed to meet with me once a week to just chat over a cup of coffee or tea. What a gift. I was telling her about the latest time that I felt rejected by a "friend" and she said, "Why do you care?" Something about her tone made her words sink in and I've thought about it a lot since I saw her. Why do I care? One thought (defensive, imagine that!) is that I am just a caring person. hmpf. Another thought is that I had strong hopes that this particular friend would be a "forever" friend, like you read about in books or see in movies. She is smart, educated, fun, down to earth, funny, and clever. I can relate to her struggles, appreciate her strengths, and admire her goals. But I'm trying to keep the dream alive when it is obvious that I'm not even an honorable mention on her priority list. And, once again, my behavior is ridiculous.

But giving up a dream, letting a relationship go, is tough. And, as my friend pointed out, probably tougher when I'm feeling rejected. I keep thinking that maybe I did something that upset her, or she is avoiding me for a reason, or she is just so busy! Then I mull over in what manner should I let it go? Cold turkey? Just never reach out to her again? Do I warn her? Explain? I've decided yes and no. I am explaining - right here and now. If she ever decided to read my blog, she would know how I feel.

Going forward, I am dedicated to being a better friend to my true friends and working on building healthy (non-compulsive) relationships with a few more people, when they come along. I have two in the works right now and you know who you are! I hope you'll be part of my life for a long time to come.

As a reality check, I'd like to end this post by stating that I have been a really poor friend several times in the past, this becomes clearer to me each day, and I possibly deserve the angst that I am experiencing now.

I am grateful that my coursework at IIN includes not only learning about the food that we put into our mouths, but what they call primary foods, those things that make our life balanced and complete: exercise, relationships, career, and spirituality. I'll be blogging about all of these, in addition to nutrition through the next year, as I learn and grow. I hope you'll come along with me for the ride!

Picture 49 - Vinegar Black Bean Soup

2011-03-08T18:23:00.000-08:00

Those who know me well are aware that I've been battling some physical problems for the past year or two. Because many of my issues are caused by inflammation (colitis, gastritis, sinusitis) my Naturopath put me on a detox diet for a week and now I am slowly adding back foods to see what might be causing the inflammatory response. Rick has been so supportive, making the same foods into delicious meals. Last week, Dr. Cook and I decided to treat me for Candida, which means not adding back any products containing yeast, gluten, sugar, or foods that have been fermented, including vinegar! We recently bought some raw apple cider vinegar and I really enjoy it on my spinach and salads.

Yesterday, I experimented with some leftover black beans, organic peeled carrots (I bought a monster bag at Costco - what was I thinking?), and organic spinach. I threw the beans in a skillet with some olive oil, added the carrots and heated it up until it was spitting at me. Then I decided to add a little water and toss the spinach on top, covering it all with a lid. The result? Vinegar soup with great texture: crunchy carrots, wilted spinach, and the unique smoothness of cooked beans. If you like vinegar as much as I do, I'm sure you'll want to give this quick dish a try. I'm not sure there are many out there that appreciate hot vinegar like I do though!

Picture 48 - March 6

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Ann and Paul dancing just after midnight

at Barb's Westgate Inn

Picture 47 - March 5

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Rick running at Pt. Defiance Park

Picture 46 - March 4

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This is where I go for massages from the talented Lisa Clark of Lissette Massage.

She also has an infrared sauna which I use regularly to sweat out toxins.

Picture 45 - March 3, 2011

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The sun came out for a moment, I swear!

Picture 44 - March 2, 2011

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I'm so disappointed that this picture isn't better.

While I was running around the track at the Y, I noticed an adorable elderly lady walking around the track. She left and I was disappointed. Then I noticed that she had gone downstairs to try out the kick boxing aerobics class. She stood at the back and participated for about 10 minutes before she came back upstairs to walk again. May I be as healthy and adventurous when I reach her age!

Picture 43 - March 1, 2011

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This is how I start every morning these days!

Picture 42 - February 26, 2011

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Tacoma Boys :)

Picture 41 - February 25, 2011

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Hmm, not the best picture, but it sure was delicious. This was the day I added yams into my diet. They tasted so very good. Rick made the "salsa" that is on the chicken from ingredients that I am allowed at this point in my elimination diet: black beans, papaya, cilantro, and onions. The whole meal was really yummy.

Picture 40 - February 24, 2011

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Picture 39 - February 23, 2011

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It begins... again

Picture 38 - February 20, 2011

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Rick and I went to the Auburn Symphony on Sunday and then met Christine, Chris, and Dan for dinner. This is the only picture I took all day. Silly.

Picture 38 - February 18, 2011

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Gorgeous day for a walk!

Cold and windy, but crystal clear.

Picture 37 - February 17, 2011

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Mmmm, lunch. As I've been going through my detox and then elimination diet, this lovely concoction has been my main food source. I think that on this day it was mixed with plums and sour cherries. It's a little gritty but tastes pretty good.

Picture 36 - February 16, 2011

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Oh dear. The only picture I took on the 16th was taken with my phone

and sent to Rick to say, "Good Morning." Lovely.

Picture 35 - February 15

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Picture 34 - February 14

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I got up to exchange some laundry and somebody took my spot!

Picture 33 - February 10, 2011

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my first picture taken with my new iPhone

Picture 32 - February 8, 2011

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Picture 31 - February 7, 2011

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Picture 30, 2011 - February 5, 2011

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Picture 29 - February 3, 2011

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Picture 28 - February 1, 2011

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Tuesday was such a beautiful day. I took this picture of the Olympic Mountains through my windshield as I was leaving our neighborhood.

Picture 27 - January 30, 2011

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Picture 26 - January 29, 2011

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One of my goals for January was to clean and organize the office.

It is definitely cleaner and more organized, but could use a bit more work.

Picture 25 - January 28, 2011

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Picture 24 - January 27, 2011

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Sick and tired of being sick and tired

(this is what a migraine with a cold looks like)

Picture 23 - January 26, 2011

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Today's lesson: my phone takes crappy pictures. This sushi was beautiful and delicious!

Gari of Sushi with the girls

Picture 22 - January 25, 2011

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Picture 21 - January 24, 2011

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Picture 20 - January 23, 2011

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Picture 19 - January 22, 2011

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Picture 18 - January 21, 2011

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Friday Night

Day 17 Pic

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January 20, 2011

Day 16 Pic

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January 19, 2011

Clean, Launder, Organize, File... It was a productive day.

Day 15 Pic

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I love spending time in kindergarten!

Day 14

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Monday, January 17, 2011

Okay, I'm cheating, this picture is from the previous week, but this is a pretty typical part of most of my days.
On this particular Monday, I spent quite a bit of time on my laptop with Cat by my side, so this works well as a representation.

Day 13 Pic

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Sunday, January 16, 2011

Watching Seahawks game in Michaels at the Hyatt La Jolla

Day 12 Pic

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Saturday, January 15 , 2011

My aunt and uncle, sitting on my mom's rocking settee in San Diego.

FAIL: I missed taking a picture on Friday. Rick and I were travelling to San Diego during the day and spent the afternoon and evening with my parents, Ming & Pop, and Gramps.

Day 11 Pic

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January 13, 2010

This kimono is part of the permanent collection at SAM. Ann and I went to see the Picasso exhibit, where picture taking was prohibited.

Yes, I missed a day (Jan 12). I spent a day sitting on the sofa with my swollen knee elevated alternating ice and heat and completely forgot to take a daily photo. The rest payed off though because I was able to go to SAM with Ann!

Day 10 Pic

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1/11/11

Day 9 Pic

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January 10, 2011

Day 8 Pic

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January 9, 2011

My knee, post fall, while waiting for Rick to buy first aid supplies. Can you see the black speck, that looks like dirt, in the middle of the bloody patch?

My knee after Rick pried out the gravel (not dirt) embedded therein. OUCH.

Day 7 Pic

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January 8, 2011

Seahawks beat Saints in Wild-card Playoffs

Day 6 Pic

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January 7, 2011

Spent most of the day out of the house and when I got home both Pandora and Cat wanted OUT!

Day 5 Pic

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January 6, 2011

Day 4 Pic

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January 5, 2011

Taking a taxi home from Top of Tacoma

Honesty in the New Year

2011-01-05T17:08:00.000-08:00

No, being more honest in the new year is not one of my resolutions. I already consider myself an honest girl. However, I do not consider myself to be good at appropriate honesty. I feel that I already wear my heart on my sleeve, embarrassing friends and strangers with my honesty; but have been told lately that I do not, that I can actually be hard to read. But when and where is it appropriate to share those feelings? And with whom?

As I'm trying to compose my thoughts and this paragraph, I'm sitting in a busy coffee shop. In my line of sight a couple is arguing. Or rather, she is giving him a piece of her mind over something that he just did or said. Just as I was thinking, "not appropriate," she stopped. Now they are huddled over their laptop in apparent harmony.

The worrisome thing about letting it all hang out on a blog is that you don't really know who is reading. The people that I really admire, though, like Maya Angelou, publish their deepest feelings and we are all grateful. I suppose I'm afraid that I'll lose one of the few friends that I have, when they discover that I'm a bit wacko. But do I really want friendships in which I'm required to be guarded? How much empathy and patience is appropriate to expect from friends? I know that when I am in the deepest times of depression, my emotions and much of what I might write would be inaccurate and highly embarrassing later. Also, my writing is not as skilled as Maya's; how much of what I write will be misinterpreted?

The fact is, I like to write, I want to improve my writing skills, and I don't write unless I have a potential reader. I've tried writing this blog, off and on, about various things, all relatively mundane and discovered that even if I have a couple of readers, the writing feels, to me, well, mundane. When I try to write about personal, more important topics (like "The Happiness Project"), I feel afraid, worried of being judged not only for my writing, but also for my thoughts and feelings. And here we arrive at my resolutions, one of which is to live with less fear, to act with energy and in love.

Day 3 Pic

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January 4, 2011

At Farelli's with Amy on the anniversary of the fateful day that Rick and I crossed paths at Farelli's 4 years ago. Rick surprised me by calling on Amy's phone to say "Happy Anniversary" and also gave Amy money to pay for our "date."

Day 2 Pic

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January 3, 2011

365 Days of Photos Begins

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Jan 2, 2011

I'm joining the trend and will be posting a picture a day. The goal is to find a way to remember and treasure each day of 2011 and improve my photography.

This first photo is my friends, Justin and Amy, with their dog, Libby, during a lovely walk through the woods near Ashford, WA.

Home from Finland

2010-06-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

I write this sitting in Amocat Cafe, back in Tacoma from our trip to Sweden and Finland. We returned on Sunday and I've been so relieved to be home. And yet, this morning, when I woke, my first thought was that I wanted to throw on some clothes and walk down the block for some kahvi. Boy was I confused. The wonderful cafes were around the corner from our sublet in Stockholm; kahvi is the word for coffee in Finnish. Either way, I found myself disappointed that I couldn't just roll out of bed and walk to coffee and a pastry, sit outside and play around on my laptop. Truthfully, there is a cafe just one mile away from home, but I don't really like their coffee and I don't particularly like the walk either. The walk from our place in Stockholm to the nearest, fabulous, cafe was along a wide sidewalk sandwiched between a busy bike lane and interesting storefronts. Along the way, we passed by the also busy entrance to the tunelbanna, several parents pushing strollers, and a few people walking their dogs. The cafe had an orange juice machine, beautiful pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and decent espresso. Their outside sidewalk seating was usually full (it was cold, but the heat lamps under the awnings were warm) and people crowded the counter ordering coffee and sandwiches to eat on their way to work. The pastries all seemed to be seasoned with cardamom, which I woke up craving this morning, and the sandwiches, made on whole grain, fresh breads, usually contained tomato, cheese, and sliced meats.

It was a different story in the small towns we visited in Finland. he cafes were still walking distance, but rarely was espresso available, and never a mocha. Straight coffee is very popular in Finland and people drink it all day. Keitele, a town of several thousand people, had just one cafe, where each morning a group of 8-10 men sat and smoked, talked and drank coffee on the patio under the umbrellas. The families and women tended to sit inside. The pub patio around the corner was also busy each morning, when the night shift finished at the truss plant down the street. Very few cars were parked outside either, as everyone walked, biked, or scooted around town. The older generation used the scooters, which are genius non-motorized contraptions whose wheels are converted to skis if needed. I would try to describe them, but a picture will be better. I'll add one as soon as I get them downloaded!

Okay, where was I? Oh, yah... In Tacoma, at Amocat, drinking a Valhalla mocha and eating a blueberry scone by the window (it is rather cold today and my wireless works better inside, but the outside seating is awfully tempting). A group of 5 men and a woman are smoking outside after holding a meeting in the cafe and I can hear a few girls chatting at the front counter. There is a dude behind me on his laptop and I've actually seen a few people walking, and a bike or two while I've been writing this. I guess Tacoma isn't so bad after all. I'll just have to learn to ride my bike the four miles down here with my laptop strapped on my back.

Happiness

2010-04-13T14:42:00.000-07:00

Some time last fall, I read "The Happiness Project" by Gretchen Rubin and decided that in 2010, starting January 1, I would start my own happiness project. Now, here it is, the middle of April and I have not started. Why not? Well, mostly because I didn't want to do it alone. So I recommended the book to several people and promptly set about procrastinating. Finally, last month (yes, 3 months past my "start" date), I bought a copy of the book for my husband and another one for our friends. My copy is on my Kindle and I knew I'd never give it up long enough for my husband to read it. (And let my Kindle leave my sight? Right.) Then, I commenced to procrastinate some more. Fortunately, my friend started reading her copy and telling me, almost daily, how much she liked the little bits she had read the night before. Beautiful, I thought... now I can manipulate my husband into reading it and joining me on my project. You do see where this is going, right? Why the hell do I need someone to join me in my project. It is MY happiness we are talking about right? Is that really a team sport? Perhaps, but most likely, no. So, today I started re-reading the book from the beginning, which is not boring at all, as I've managed to forget (as is typical of me) 99.8% of what I read last fall. Concerned by this lack of memory, my lack of focus, and overall malaise, I decided (with the encouragement of my friend - I really need to get permission to use her name!) that if I blog as I read, I will remember more and, hopefully, be held accountable by my many (is it 2 or 3 now?) readers.

If this is your first time reading my blog (and you can stand all of these parenthetical insertions), welcome! Please stick with me, give me your insights, let me know if you think it is important for me to continue this, MY, happiness project!

My Artsy Friend

2009-11-18T13:07:00.001-08:00

Yes, I'm alive. But it has been so long since I've written that I'm not sure I remember how. Consider this a practice run and a chance to share my friend's artsy gifts with you. Jennevieve is giving away some of her really fun gift tags through her blog.

You can also view, and purchase, her fun and funky work in her Etsy shop, Raven Meets Crow. Her ornaments are darling and unique; you'll adore the way their legs dangle and swing.

Remembering Reininger

2009-05-21T15:56:00.000-07:00

Sometime last year, Rick, Justin, and I attended a great wine dinner (at Il Fiasco, one of our favorite local restaurants) that showcased Reininger wines. The food and wines were amazing and the wine rep was knowledgeable and fun. We bought some wine and promptly drank it all over the next few months. I kind of forgot how amazing their wines are until last night. We had some friends over for dinner and they brought a well cellared bottle of 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon Ash Hollow Vineyard. We had already decanted a "weekday" bottle of wine, so we finished that before starting the Reininger. Wow! It was amazing. Too bad I got the end of the bottle short pour. I'm looking forward to tracking down another bottle and being able to describe it properly. If you see a bottle, snag it! I doubt you'll be disappointed, especially if you share with me! ;)

Produce!

2009-05-21T14:22:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the season for the Broadway Farmers Market. I was hesitant to attend, because of my former association with the market, but I really couldn't stay away. I did tag along with Ann; I knew she'd protect if necessary.

I'm so glad that I went. I got hugs and updates from my vendor friends, and ran into the beautiful manager of the Proctor Farmer's Market, who I adore. I also got a hug from my smartest best girlfriend and was able to momentarily (and unintentionally) render Marty Campbell speechless by my vow to talk shit about his opponent in the City Council election all over town. I might have said shit a little too loudly. Oops.

In addition to scoring half a dozen hugs and making a fool of myself, I also snagged some great produce and starts. Rick made a quick run to the Proctor Market on Saturday and got some great stuff, but there is really nothing like shopping for yourself on a beautiful spring day like today. Ann took a bunch of pictures, so I'm sure she will post a lovely blog about the opening.

When I got home, I put the starts in some dirt alongside the starts from the Proctor Market and Watson's. Now I just need to figure out how, exactly, I'm going to use my food purchases over this long weekend. It is so nice to contemplate spending the long weekend at home, relaxing,working and eating with my sweetheart. Life doesn't get any better than this!

So....rhubarb, green garlic, spinach, kale, asparagus, smoked salmon, red pepper goat cheese, and bok choy. And in already the fridge, needing to be used: cottage cheese, beautiful fresh local eggs, and lettuce from my garden. Mmm, mm. There will be good eatin' in this home this weekend!

On an entirely unrelated, but highly necessary side note, my neighbor ROCKS. Not only did he clear the weeds from our parking strip, he took a few minutes to chat with me about his family and remind me to "clutch" my husband "close."

Thank you, Bob!

Jam and Bread

2009-05-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Ravenous Book Club met last week to talk about Plenty, Eating Locally on the 100 Mile Diet by Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon. The discussion was good and centered around what local eating would look like for Tacomans. Would a person want to define the area geographically, as in west of the mountains and east of the Sound? Or would a 100 mile diet be appropriate, which would include, just barely, Yakima and all of the goodness of the arid central WA climate? Or would a statewide limit work? That would allow us to get flour from Bluebird Farms in NE Washington.

As much as I'm beginning to believe in the merits of local eating, I think I'd have trouble excluding Tillamook on the Central Oregon coast. Mmmm, butter, cheddar cheese, yogurt, and sour cream. But who am I kidding? I'm just starting to get used to the concepts of eating local and am definitely not ready to commit to restrictions. One of the ladies at the book club meeting asked if anyone was going to commit to a local diet for a few months or a year and if we'd like to start a support group. I was honest, at least, when I said, maybe next year. I'm doing the best that I can to change my ways, but it is a gradual process.

But for now, here is a glimpse of a breakfast of which I refuse to be ashamed!

Leftover homemade cornbread (sure the cornmeal, flour, and sugar are from mystery locations distributed by mega-corporations, and don't even get me started on the baking soda and salt! But the egg is from our CSA!) The jam is homemade, made from local raspberries last summer by my dear friend, Whitney. Yum!

My daily coffee is another compromise. The coffee is Tully's fair trade french roast. Tully's is/was a Seattle based company and is now (partially?) owned by a socially responsible company, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and I like the coffee (especially for the sale price at the local grocery). But the creamer*, oh dear, I don't even want to know it's ingredients! Let's not talk about it right now. Actually, I kind of wish I hadn't looked at the labels on all of my baking ingredients. I can't believe we have cornmeal in the cupboard distributed by Nestle. I guess the best we can do is use what we have and then pay more attention to future purchases. I know I can at least do better with the cornmeal and flour! Even if the products at Bob's Red Mill aren't grown locally, at least I'm not supporting an evil mega-corporation.

*The actual (delicious!!!) creamer may not be healthy (water, sugar, palm oil, corn syrup are the top four ingredients), but a little research on the corporation is making me feel a little better. International Delight is owned by White Wave Foods, which actually has won at least one award for multiple years from the EPA for their efforts to use green power.

Barons V 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley

2009-05-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

With last night's spaghetti, we opened a bottle of Barons Cab that we won in the Tacoma Wine Classic on Saturday night. Rick bid on a mixed case of wine that was donated by a friend's boss. On Sunday, we went through the case and researched value and reviews. This bottle of Barons remained somewhat of a mystery. It was produced and bottled by Vine & Sun, LLC Woodinville, WA. Their first vintage was 2001, so we didn't expect much from the 2002. Reviewers on snooth.com gave it 4.25 wine glasses, but the value was listed at $6.95. So, I marked the bottle with a question mark. I also made some notes under the back label that the '03 got 89 points (from somewhere) and sells for $48. The '05 sells for $65. However, last night, when we were looking for a good Monday night wine, I only saw the question mark, so I decanted it to drink with our spaghetti.

It was very dark in the decanter; completely opaque and a slightly brown shade of deep red. After my first few sips, I knew this was a wine that should be shared, so I poured a glass and walked it up to my friend and neighbor, who is a fan of big non-fruity reds. She had a large piece of leftover Metropolitan Market chocolate cake that she traded for it. Oh my. I thought the wine was good with the spaghetti, but it was divine with that dark chocolate cake.

I'm just learning to describe wines, and I'm not sure where to start with this one. I didn't get much on the nose. My husband and neighbor both described it as oaky. On my first taste, I thought spice, but it was not peppery. I also thought leather and, then, this tastes like we shouldn't be drinking it on a week night. This is a substantial wine, perhaps too big to drink without food although it did get smoother throughout the evening as it got some air. It could never be described as fruity.

If you see this wine for $6.95, buy a case, or two, bake a few dark chocolate cakes and host a big party.

Delicious!

Plans for the Front Garden

2009-05-06T21:01:00.000-07:00

Oh my. Susan, our local landscape designer, came by with the plans for our front yard. She lives just up the street; I met her after she and her partner moved into and completely transformed the house on the beginning of our street. The design is really good. But not what we were expecting.

When I talked to Susan a few weeks ago and asked her to put together a design for us, I talked a lot about bamboo. I told her that I knew she specialized in native plants, and that I knew we probably should plant natives, but that we really like the look of grasses and bamboo. So, last night, when she showed us the plan, sans bamboo, I was surprised. However...the design is pretty awesome. It makes sense and we can see that it will be stunning and fairly low maintenance. Plus, using some native plants is more environmentally responsible and the plants she chose are stunning. She utilized beautiful colors and textures. The shades of green (with some black and yellow culms) bamboo and variegated (white, green and yellow) grasses that we had envisioned sound kind of blah now.

Right now, our front yard is a mud mound, anchored by a scattering of weeds. We stripped everything from the front when we did the remodel so that we could work with a clean slate. I'm still a little sad about some of the plants that got torn out, but none of them were healthy so they had to go. The huge spruce had a split top so it was the first to be removed. After it was gone, the smaller plants quickly went downhill in their new full southwest sun exposure, not that they were in fabulous shape before then!

George will be building our front step this weekend and we will be renting a small bobcat to eradicate a ton of bad soil and rock from the front and side yards. We aren't exactly sure what we want to the south of the driveway, but we will remove some dirt and put down crushed gravel to start. We can park the truck there until we get the garage cleaned out and maybe later we can put some vegetable garden boxes on top of the gravel to take advantage of the full afternoon sun that our back yard lacks.

After the dirt is removed, we can start working on the hardscape elements of Susan's plan: two screens, continuation of the fence on the north side, lots of pavers, and some gravel. So, we have some time to think about the plant choices.

Susan's plant list:

1. Blue Oat Grass (4)

2. Heuchera "Silver Scrolls" (11)

3. Lemon Beauty Box Leaf Honeysuckle (2)

4. Dwarf Mugo Pine (1)

5. Elegantissima Red Twig Dogwood (4)

6. Japanese Stewartia (1)

7. Spring Bouquet Viburnum (2)

8. Mops Goldthread Dwarf Cypress (1)

9. Red Edge Hebe (3)

10. Coral Bark Maple (1)

11. Ogon Japanese Sweetflag (7)

12. Slender Hinoki Cypress (1)

13. Summer Ice Daphne (2)

14. Vine Maple (1)

15. Japanese Pieris (2)

16. Limemound Spirea (1)

17. Pinocchio Variegated Hebe (1)

I have admired many of these plants over the years. A few of them are new to me. Not a single bamboo in sight. Rick and I discussed using bamboo in the back instead and that is a viable option.

What do you think? Should we stick to our original grass and bamboo plan, or use Susan's plant list?

Steps in the Right Direction #1

2009-05-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

Part 1 in a Series

Reducing Water Consumption

When I start the water for the shower, I put a pitcher under the spout until the warm water gets there. I use the water for my houseplants and the dog's bowl. The pitcher is ugly, but it is what we had on hand and it works.

Last summer we installed a rain barrel that collects rainwater from one of our rain spouts. We use the water on the lawn and in the vegetable garden. The rain barrel was made here in Tacoma by Dan Borba from a recycled food container. We need to put a few more blocks under it, as originally recommended by Dan, to increase the flow when the water gets low.

Steps in the Right Direction

2009-05-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

This week, I posted a link on my Facebook page about livestock farming's effect on our environment. The article was interesting and I wanted to share it with my friends. I've been trying to eat less meat, both for my health and for our environment, but, honestly, it isn't my highest priority. We had flank steak for dinner on Sunday and I bought deli roast beef for sandwiches this week. When I go to a restaurant, I do look at the vegetarian selections first and quite often I order one of them. Eating increasingly less meat is on my list of small steps in the right direction.

So, when one of my favorite professors and friend (who rarely comments on Facebook) commented back, "Need any more reasons to stop eating meat, especially cows? Here's a message from a friend working at the FAO in Rome studying animal production and global warming:Jeremy Rifkin nicely articulates the livestock GHG problem - he gets his most of his numbers from the FAO study that we are doing a follow up on: video. This, sadly, applies to cheese, milk, etc,. as well...." I went into a little funk. I was thinking about all of the things I learned in his classes about poverty and development around the world and how the choices we make have effects around the world. I thought about how he rode the bus and his bike from his home on Capitol Hill to teach in Tacoma. I thought of some of my former classmates who purposely do not own cars because of their negative impact on the environment.

I'd started reading Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating with More Than 75 Rec ipes, by Mark Bittman, last week and decided to pick it up again. He advocates cutting back on meat and meat products, and provides recipes in the process. Reading Bittman's words, I started feeling better and started thinking about all of the things that I am doing to improve my impact on the planet.

Last week, I finished reading Plenty: Eating Locally on the 100-Mile Diet, by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. It really stuck with me how well they described the difficulty of balancing reality with idealism. They were already practically vegetarians when they started their local eating project; they were focused on eating healthy meals using products grown within 100 miles. This was not an easy task. When they finished the year, even as idealistic and dedicated as they are, they admitted that they would go back to getting a few items from outside their local area. So, with this in mind, and trying not to be snarky, I commented back to my friend, "Great. Well, I haven't had any meat for the last few days. One day at a time I guess. I'll just have to apply my "cutting back is a good start" philosophy until I'm ready to take the next step. We have been trying to eat mostly local meat and cheese, at least, of which we know the farms. And just soy milk. Made it through the last year only using biodiesel in my car, but definitely need to self ambulate more. Anyway. Thanks for your comment and the link...."

Today, I was still thinking about this, and still feeling guilty about some less than environmentally friendly choices I'd made lately, so I decided that I would start posting short blogs about what I am doing right. I'll write about the efforts that I'm making that I believe are steps in the right direction. Because I think that if we can each take a step in the right direction, acclimate, and then make another adjustment in our lifestyles, collectively we can make a difference. I am that idealistic.

As I was writing this blog, I went to Facebook to make sure that I quoted correctly. Lo and behold, my friend had added another comment, "I still buy a little prosciutto now and then. It's the Mark Bittman approach to reducing meat consumption." I almost teared up.

Memories

2009-04-30T16:54:00.001-07:00

I need to clarify something.

In my previous post, about Grandma Dot, I mentioned that I have richer childhood memories of her than my grandparents. I phrased this very carefully, but on review, I don't think it is clear enough. I have wonderful memories of my grandparents on both sides of my family. I don't have many memories from my childhood though because of the 3000 mile distance between us when I was growing up. BUT, I have really terrific memories of times spent with my paternal grandparents as an adult and we are building those every year, the best we can. I'll write more about my Ming and Pop when I have more time; I just wanted to clarify that statement right away. I have less memories with my maternal grandparents, Gramps and Grammie, but I spent some quality time with my Gramps last weekend and I'll share about that too.

Friends

2009-04-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

I'm having a tough day in a tough week. But my friends, well, they are the best in the world. I don't know how I got so lucky.

Yesterday, one of my friends took me to dinner and drinks at Pour at Four followed by a fun presentation on food blogs at the local library.

Today, another friend dropped off flowers and cupcakes at my door, with the sweetest little card attached.

It says, "You don't have to share"

Then, a third friend told me to get my butt to The Rosewood (where nobody, including her, really cares if I've showered) for a bite, some company, and to support Dine Out for Life. I'm going to eat some leftover pizza at home because it is so delicious and I'm still feeling anti-social. But I am going to head to Rosewood at 6:00 for dessert and glass of wine.

Yes, that means I'll have had like three desserts today. You got a problem with that?

Simple Sunshine

2009-04-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

The skies are splotchy gray now and spitting small drops of water, but there was sunshine this morning and it made me smile. Well, the sunshine and the act of pouring Organic Pulp Free Orange Juice (not from concentrate!) into my new New Belgium glass.

To combat the gray skies, I'm eating a slice of toast smothered in Whitney's homemade peach jam. Maybe smothered isn't a strong enough word. It is so delicious, I just couldn't stop adding more jam!

Sometimes it is the simple things that make life worthwhile.

Grandma Dot - Part 1

2009-04-29T01:35:00.001-07:00

On another blog that I'm writing with a friend, I started to write about my grandmother's chickens. Memories of Grandma Dot started flooding my mind and I decided to write about her here.

If I were challenged to list the top 5 people in my life that I feel love(d) me unconditionally, Grandma Dot would definitely make the list. And it is funny, because she was in no way related to me - technically. My real grandmother, Ming, was adopted by Great-Grandpa Adams (Theodore Roosevelt Adams, isn't that a great name?!) and Great-Grandma Dot was his third wife. And yet, my childhood memories of Grandma Dot are richer than those of my grandparents. The main reason is that when I was 7, my parents, my little brother, and I moved from San Diego (home to both of my sets of grandparents) to Polk, PA. Don't know where that is? No worries... just think rural Western Pennsylvania. I think the population of Polk, in 1976, was somewhere around 3000, half of whom were residents at the state mental institution. We lived in the house that my Grandpa Adams built by hand with Grandpa and Grandma for a few months while my parents picked out a single-wide trailer to install on the 3 rods Grandpa gave them in the hay field up on the hill, 1/4 mile up a gravel road. I experienced my first summer of thunderstorms in that house, safe under Grandma's blankets.

Grandma let us help her in the garden and didn't mind when we wandered over to the rope swing hanging from the nearby cherry tree. I don't remember what she grew in that garden, although I have a vague recollection of bushels and bushels of zucchini.

Grandpa and Grandma also had a goat, on a chain. Somehow, this goat would escape regularly. As I remember it, the goat chewed through the chain. Could this be possible? I do know that it ate anything, including tin cans and cigarette butts. But I'm vague about the purpose of the goat. No one milked it, that I know of - I think it was a boy, come to think of it. Or maybe Grandpa just called it "that son of a bitch goat" enough that I got the impression it was a male. Although...Grandpa didn't let the gender of his animals effect his name calling; he named a new bull after me shortly after our arrival.

Since long posts can be tedious, I'm going to continue this train of memories later and maybe I'll find a moral to this story, or at least a theme, by then. And wouldn't it be super cool if I could somehow get some old pictures from my parents and scan them?

Local Dinner (almost)

2009-04-21T18:54:00.000-07:00

We have made it to the Proctor Farmers' Market once this year, so far, and picked up some pork from Cheryl The Pig Lady, along with some other yummy items. For dinner tonight, my sweet hubby grilled some of Cheryl's pork steaks and I picked some lettuce from the garden for a simple salad. I bought some lettuce, spinach, and kale starts from L'Arche last fall and the lettuce over-wintered really well. It is perfect for eating now. The kale and spinach is going to seed already though. I'm going to go ahead and let them flower since I've heard that the blossoms attract beneficial bugs. The only other items in the garden box, so far, are 6 pea plants, so there is no harm in leaving them in place until we get some other starts. Or maybe I'll get some seeds germinating soon. But, anyway, back to dinner! It was delicious and local, except for the organic basmati rice, which came all the way from India (gulp). I really crave plain basmati rice sometimes. The pork was lean and had great flavor. The steaks have bones, so I ended up eating mine by hand, just like my grandmother taught me. When you grow up on the farm in Pennsylvania, like she did, you learn to get every last bit of meat off that bone!

We paired our simple dinner with a Winter's Hill Willamette Valley Pinot Noir that Bill at Tacoma Wine Merchants recommended. It was a good price for a weeknight wine and it tastes, well, it is unique. In a good way, I think. It is pale, even for a pinot noir, but sweeter than I expected. Kind of tastes like a SweetTart, now that I think about it. I didn't get anything on the nose, but with all the pollen in the air right now, it isn't any wonder. It may taste better as it opens over the course of the evening; we probably should have opened it sooner and maybe decanted. But, honestly, for the price, it is pretty good.

This afternoon, we cleared a space on the sunny side of our garage and set up a shelf for some tomato plants in pots. Last year our tomatoes just didn't get enough sun, so we are trying a new spot, and using pots so that I can move them around to . I'm already looking forward to some plump, warm off the vine, tomatoes...in four months that is.

I heart The Red Hot

2009-04-21T15:18:00.000-07:00

I have approximately half of a growler of The Dissident in my fridge. I'm trying to pace myself, but this fabulous sunny weather is making it really difficult!

Chris scored the last keg of last year's The Dissident from Dechutes Brewery and sent out an e-mail early Sunday morning to let his fans know about it. My sweet hubby and I decided to reward ourselves for finishing some chores by having a late Sunday lunch at The Red Hot. Nothing like a hot dog, some filthy nachos, and a cold beer on a beautiful Sunday afternoon to make this girl happy. Since The Dissident is one of my top 3 favorite beers in the world and not often available, I brought home my first growler. I didn't know that it would call my name all day long!

I have to admit that a glass (or more) of The Dissident a day has made this a pretty sweet week so far! I think it will be gone by tomorrow evening, just in time for another trip to TRH to win that bike in the window.

P.S. Is it legal to drink a sour from a Guinness glass?