Archive for the Diet Category

Hodgepodge of stuffs

1. I ran the 2nd Annual Rabbit Run 5k Saturday the 13th. Just like last year I woke up sick, only last year it was a sinus infection, this year side effects from a diet detox. Unlike last year, I was able to run the entire race (slow as I am), redeeming myself from last year not making it much farther than a mile before I had to walk. Sadly, I only beat my time from last year by about a minute, and definitely did not PR. However, I seemed to have run out whatever I woke up with because I felt pretty good the rest of the day.

2. I ran the Sanford Fitness Fest 10k Sunday finishing 3rd in my age group. Oh, and I finished dead last overall, so clearly there were a total of 3 in my age group. haha! Only 27 ran the 10k, so it wasn’t so bad. In fact, it was like a typical tribe run. 🙂 I finished, so it was a win. The hubby decided the day before to run with me only he did the 5k since he hasn’t run since last summer. We started together, but there was a point where the 5k & 10k split, so from that point on we were each on our own. I heard he really blew it out from that point to place much higher than when he was running at my pace.

3. I’ve been fighting off a candida overgrowth on my scalp with a candida diet. This is week 4, and I am so done with this diet because my scalp is actually worse than before I started. I knew it would get worse before getting better, and the first week of detox saw the entire left side of my scalp practically explode with hives and blisters. Which is typical for a detox, though the last couple detoxes left me with those rashes on my face. But anyway, I’m going to give it the rest of the week, and if no improvement, I’m just going to get my doc to prescribe me an antifungal shampoo because I cannot buy Nizoral over-the-counter anymore. Petra thinks I am getting glutened. I am starting to lean that direction especially considering the ramen I cleaned out of my utensil drawer on Saturday. :-/

4. Discovered that I would rather “clean up” Microsoft generated html than code it myself.

5. Pretty sure I’m going to attempt a full marathon in October. Pretty sure != registration.

6. Found a Spice Girls song on my iPod. And Ricky Martin. One of those 2 is believable that I put it on there.

Maniacal Monday #16

Why does the weekend fly by so fast while the work week drags?

1. The hubby and I went to Good Friday service Friday night. Oh, man. Talk about being undone. Although I have never seen The Passion of the Christ, I have seen enough bits and pieces that I can recognize it at any point, and know that I am about to meltdown.

2. I finally had a DNR – Did Not Race. I not only registered for the 3rd annual Jelly Bean race 10k, (the 2nd annual Jelly Bean race was my first ever 5k), I also bought a finisher’s medal. With 2 weekends to get that run done, I didn’t get that run done. :sigh: No, I don’t have a good excuse/reason. Actually, I did do some running Saturday morning, but it was to the bathroom. Still paying for that Papa John’s 2 weeks ago… I was, however, highly productive around the house. And at least my first DNR was a free virtual one. Well, except for the finisher’s medal. But I think I will just alter it to say “2nd” and “2012” and attribute it to last year. And by alter I mean tape paper to make it look obvious. lol

3. I’ve cooked 2 weekends in a row. Enough that I have been hooked up with a week of meals. Which is good since as of today, we are broke until next payday. Fun times.

4. I’m going to do a detox next weekend (I finally took my new juicer out of the box after buying it a month ago), and will be giving up sugar and dairy – specifically cheese. I may expound on the why later in the week.

5. In the midst of my cleaning out of clutter Saturday morning, I happened across my taser. (I wondered where it went.) I wasn’t entirely sure it was still working when it went missing, but I went ahead and plugged it in to charge it. Sunday morning, as I was showering (which is a story in itself that I will spare most of you), I heard the hubby comment on the fact that I was charging my taser, and yes, it was plugged into one of the outlets in the bathroom. The following conversation ensued after discussing how long it had been charging (about 24 hours at that point):

J: “Well, it’s shocking me.”
M: “Did you seriously just tase yourself?!”

Sure enough, when I was done showering and opened the curtain, he was still standing there with taser in one hand and touching the contacts with the other while triggering it. And I’m thinking, “What if it had still worked?”

6. The hubby and I went on an impromptu date Sunday for lunch (because my taser didn’t work – lol). We finally decided on Red Robin because while I was open to Sonic tater tots, that would have been my lunch while he would have eaten a burger I want. So there we are at Red Robin, and our waiter decided he recognized me? From that point on, every staff that came by our table spoke primarily to me. At this point I should point out that when I am out somewhere, I really prefer to blend in to the background and not be noticed. I’ve built up this idea in my mind that I give off a vibe to that effect, but apparently I fail miserably at it. Karyn told me flat out that she has never noticed that from me, and my daughter took it a step farther and told me I shouldn’t look so approachable. Wait. What? Ok fine. I outwardly fail at my inward introversion. Probably the whole forcing myself to make eye contact and smile when I really want to scream and ball up in a corner in the fetal position. I have issues, and this wasn’t the direction I intended to take with the date. haha. Squirrel!

We also stopped by the American Tobacco Trail, and walked out about a half mile and back. It was a miserable walk because I needed to pee a little bit before we walked out, and I needed to go so bad on the walk back that I was afraid to cough or sneeze. And once we go back to the parking area and I headed into the hole-in-the-ground toilet, I couldn’t go. Ugh. I really hate that when I have to pee so bad I can’t. But eventually the dam broke, and then I was like “Am I ever going to stop?” And yes, you needed to know that.

7. I was introduced to “The Game” on Friday, and am not appreciative. Don’t ask. Don’t Google. Chad threatened to disown me over it. lol Same guy also introduced me to this:

Petra refused to watch the whole thing, but you should. Seriously.

Recap part deux

I am in a much better mental state than I was yesterday so maybe I will do more of a race recap. Ok, maybe I am not in a better mental state, but I can write more about race day without being snarky and judgmental, and maybe purge some of the angst from myself so I can write about what I really want to write about.

I can’t tell you how much I love having heated seats. You really can’t beat them when you are wearing running tights and your butt is cold. This is one of the reasons I drive us to races. Karyn has fallen in love with my seats too. 🙂 But that really isn’t all that relevant. I just want to express how much I am thankful for heated seats.

I bought a parking pass when I registered, and was so glad because I wasn’t up for a shuttle to/from NetApp to the race site. I get motion sickness, and bus rides are pure torture for me. Anyway, so we head up there and I am thinking that I know what road to turn onto from Hwy 55, but I was wrong and so we had a little not so scenic side trip before I stopped and looked at the directions again. Anyway, so we get there, and the lot was nearly full, and as the guy was directing me into a slot, a car whipped in behind him and got it. It was the last slot, too. The guys manning the traffic at the street had let 2 cars into the lot more than there were slots for. These things happen, and they are just volunteers. I ain’t hatin’. Except on the person who slot blocked me. Anyway, the 2 of us extra vehicles got to park in VIP parking. “Yo, VIP!”

I actually ate some of the gummy fuel things they were giving out. I keep pretending that didn’t happen as I know they are just sweetened chemicals. So really, eating the gluteny pizza was not the only “food” fail. And then there was the stop at Starbucks afterwards. And why can’t every Starbucks make a triple venti caramel macchiato with extra caramel the same? Tasted great last week on post. Tasted like mostly espresso there. Eh, what do you do?

Did I mention I could barely walk yesterday? I’m still sore today, but mainly in my back.

I really really hate this “song” and always have, but since I referenced it…

Race 3 down

Karyn and I ran the Tobacco Road Half Marathon yesterday. My time was 3:20:53 which was about 22 min slower than the City of Oaks Half Marathon last November. But you know what? I didn’t and don’t even care because there is no way I should have been able to run that half. Yes, walkers passed me. Yes, when Karyn met me at mile 12 to make sure I finished, she walked as I “ran.” But I finished it, and celebrated by glutening myself with 2 slices of Papa John’s pizza. Karyn might have heard moaning that shouldn’t have been heard. lol And this is as much of a race recap as I care to do. Oh, and I am sore as heck today because I did not properly train. Not that I didn’t have a training plan. I just missed a LOT of training runs.

‘Cause I like to eat

I think I have made 2 contradictory statements about cooking before. 1, that I hate it, and 2, that I kind of like it. They are both correct because while most of the time I hate cooking and will only do it because I want to eat real food and not processed chemical-laden stuff, sometimes the mood hits me, and I actually enjoy the sights and smells of preparing food. And either way, I like to eat. 😉

So after mentioning that I made my own cream of chicken soup to avoid gluten (even though I glutened myself twice that day), MacBros wondered how I did it without flour. And through some Googling, he found a site selling all kinds of gluten free stuff and blogged about it: Gluten Free Noodles? Me, being me, I felt obligated to link whore, and explain how I did this.

First off, I will produce the original recipe for what a friend from way back in the mid-90’s at Tinker referred to as “rice shit.” He loved it, and was going around asking “Who made this rice shit?” I thought it was hilarious, and, yes, that is what I call it. Anyway, I got the recipe from a cousin at one of my wedding showers because the cousin who hosted it thought it would be a great idea to have everyone attending to give me a recipe. My whole extended family likes to eat. Both sides. 🙂

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First translation, “oleo” = margarine. That is a pet peeve of mine that my parents heard me complain about for years because they would not drop the “oleo” label and call margarine margarine. And having looked it up, perhaps I will stop complaining about that word. After all, I have been known to call margarine “butter” which is most certainly is not. Anyway, I used real butter instead of margarine, and locally produced butter at that. 😉

This is the recipe I used to make cream of chicken because of that pesky gluten intolerance I have: Cream of Chicken Soup Substitute But I used Bob’s Red Mill GF All Purpose Baking Flour as opposed to ordinary bleached wheat flour. Yes, I realize I admitted earlier in the post to having glutened myself otherwise twice that day. And yes, I am paying the price, but thankfully I don’t get migraines with a glutening. And it isn’t so bad as I expected so maybe praying over the communion bread did help. I didn’t pray over the movie theater popcorn that I wouldn’t have eaten had I not been the keeper of the bag due to keeping my children separated in the theater because they fight. But I digress.

Next came the Homemade Cheez Whiz. I didn’t alter that recipe in any way, though I only buy white cheddar because cheddar isn’t naturally orange, and the stuff they use to make it orange bothers me. I know, who knew? I did not, however, use my food processor as it was not clean, and so I used my blender as a food processor. I should have just cleaned the food processor right then and charged on because blending cheese is tricky. But I made it work without injury. 😉

And I used brown rice, but rather than buying fresh broccoli, I followed the recipe and bought it frozen. Stop judging me. lol

Maniacal Monday #15

1. I went grocery shopping Friday night. With. A. List. But I had the hubster with me so there were things picked up that were NOT on the list.

2. The hubby has been asking me to make my rice…stuff. It’s official name is broccoli casserole, and it calls for cream of mushroom chicken soup, most of which contains gluten and so I can’t eat it. It also calls for Cheez Whiz which I won’t eat. I substituted real butter for margarine also because I won’t eat margarine if I can at all avoid it. Anyway, so I had to make my own gluten free cream of mushroom chicken soup and my own cheez whiz. Oh, man, cheez whiz is much better with real cheese. 😉 Overall, the casserole tasted way better, but without the processed stuff, it needed salt, and even after adding salt, I didn’t get it salty enough. That said, I’m ok with that because I am not supposed to use a lot of salt, but when I think it needs salt, it is probably greatly lacking.

3. Petra and I went out partying Saturday night. By party I mean dinner and a movie because that’s how we roll. Anyway, we saw Oz the Great and Powerful. And Sunday night I saw it again with my kids. My kids did not provide me with quite the entertainment Petra did because they didn’t get my side commentary and quoting from The Wizard of Oz, Galaxy Quest, and The Fellowship of the Ring.

And yes, I loved it and will be getting the DVD. And need to watch The Wizard of Oz again. 🙂

I want to see this just on GP.

4. I did something Sunday that felt so rebellious and unbaptist. I took communion at a church where I am not a member (going against my closed communion upbringing), it was regular bread and not unleavened (going against the whole unleavened bread with communion “rule”), and ate the bread knowing full well it was gluteny bread. It has been at least a year since I had bread with gluten, and oh, man. It was soooo good. Just that little bitty bit was enough to reignite the flames of gluten craving. And enough to have me all bloated today. :sigh:

5. And, since Karyn went to the beach over the weekend with the extended family, I set out to do my 12 mile run alone. And oh, was it ever an epic fail. I made sure to dress appropriately for the warmth and sun, but forgot to take water with me, and started off entirely too fast. I didn’t do a full 4 miles before I got so sick that I not only stopped running, but called the hubby to come and get me. :headbang: I may or may not have cried. And I may or may not be able to run the half this weekend.

6. Sunday afternoon/evening I told the kids they had 15 minutes before we left for the theater. I then proceeded to eat one more time, and they came up to my office to rush me. Jamie picked up my acoustic and started playing, and she is really doing well with the guitar now. Then she said to me, “Give me a song to play.” So I played this:

She was like “No, that’s too much stuff to do.” I told her it was not, and to give me the guitar where I proceeded to start playing it (with great difficulty because it’s be a WHILE and I couldn’t remember the chords right away. Had it crossed my mind, I would have told her to learn this one:

As if I have ever mastered it. 😉

7. I really don’t have anything else (that is for public consumption).

Tuesday randomness

1. I had the flu a couple of weeks ago. The last time I remember being that sick for that long was when I was 16 and had a ruptured appendix. It was the flu my parents used to get when I was a kid that would put them each down for a week while I managed to avoid it, or just have a 24 hour episode of it. The 4th day, I stood in the shower praying for death. Then I went back to bed, had a meltdown on the hubby, started coughing, and nearly puked on him. He ordered me to stay in bed the rest of the day, and I didn’t argue. And he made me potato soup for 2 days. He also twice picked up food from La Dolce Vita for me.

2. The weekend prior to getting the flu, I made a spontaneous decision to get the kids up and go to Wilmington for the weekend. Since Karyn and I are running the Bay Six Half Marathon, and are in training for it, I had a long run that was supposed to take place that weekend. 7 miles to be precise. So I got up that Sunday morning and headed down to the fitness room in the hotel confident that I could easily do 7 treadmill miles. I did about 4.25 miles and fast walked nearly another mile in a futile attempt to get the full 7 in. However, it was at least 200 degrees in that room. Celcius. That may be an exaggeration. 😉 Later I went back down and noted that the thermostat was turned off which explained why it got so flippin’ hot in there.

3. This past weekend, Karyn and I ran a 10k. It was 17 degrees (fahrenheit) when I left my house. It was 22F when we left Karyn’s house. After the race, and after we had gone into Fayetteville to get me a vanilla spice latte from Starbucks, the temp got up to 34F. Yeah, it was cold. I hadn’t run in 2 weeks, and I was done at mile 2. I don’t know how I kept going, and I sure don’t know how I managed to run the full 6.2 miles especially going up that last hill. But I did, and Karyn got to see me have an asthma attack from the finish line through the shuttle ride back to the high school where we parked. She says I am a machine for being able to run like that. I really cannot fathom how I am able to do a long run after not running at all for 2 weeks and the previous run being a DNF. I should not be able to do it. And Anderson Creek should be renamed Anderson Hills. Just sayin’. 😉

4. The hubby and his friends finally got the roof done, and all the broken out windows have been replaced/repaired. They are nearly done with Chad’s bedroom, and are working on the suite bathroom upstairs.

5. I am almost finished with the scarf I have been knitting for Chad. He may or may not ever wear it, but it’s the same shade of blue as his beloved hoodies.

6. I am going to try crocheting some doilies after Opal said she tackled round crochet before getting squares down. And anyway, doilies are what I want to crochet anyway.

7. I need to do another food detox. :sigh: I also have to accept that I have to give up cheese. :wail: And I got glutened again, probably while I had the flu and was too sick to do the dishes resulting in cross-contamination. But, it could also be the Harris Teeter sushi. So I have to lay off of that for a while because even though I get the ones that do not contain wheat on the label, I am sure cross-contamination still occurs.

8. Jamie is taking guitar this semester, and so she demanded an acoustic that doesn’t buzz. While I was sick she talked me into giving her mine. So I went and bought a new acoustic last week, which was no easy task for me to choose. However, I picked one with a cutaway rather than the one with the better tone, and then ended up regretting my decision all the way home. But then Jamie saw the new one and wanted it, so it was a win since I got my Alvarez back from her.

9. Somehow we ended up with a house full of teenage boys Sunday. It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Connor came home from church with us, and at some point Jamie was out of the house, and when she came back, Aaron and Alex were there and she started yelling, “Get out of my house!” Of course no one left. lol

10. Did not watch the Superbowl.

Welcoming in the New Year

Molly told me I need to blog. Funny thing, I wrote 3 paragraphs yesterday, and deleted it because I just wasn’t really into it. I’m still not, but I will anyway. I suppose since I did an end of year post for 2012, I should do a beginning of the year post for 2013. That, of course, infers that I have resolutions, but I don’t. Goals, yes, but those started prior to the end of the year.

Goal 1: Learn to rest.

One wouldn’t think this would be difficult, but when you can’t remember how long you have been working 7 days a week, it is hard to take 1 day and not work at all. I tried last Sunday, and while it was not all that hard to stay off of email and Facebook, and 1 of the 2 times I got online was legitimate (auto insurance id cards), I had to make myself not do a load of laundry or watch a movie. I know, movies aren’t work, but there was a purpose. Part of the rest is “no screens.” But aside from having to pick up some groceries because I had no food (poor planning), and then cooking (because I had to eat), and cleaning the toilet in the master bath because it was just nasty and I couldn’t stand it, I did my best to just sit and relax. Did some reading, and attempted some crochet, but the latter was just pissing me off so I left it for another day.

Goal 2: 13 races in 2013

I saw this 13 in 2013 challenge and signed up for it because it is “easily” attainable. I mean there are 5ks all the time. I am signed up for this half-marathon, and have already said if it goes well, I want to do a full marathon.

Goal 3: Crochet

In a sense, I have already met this goal because I made an ugly dish cloth this week. The reason I call it ugly is that it was my first project so my stitching was inconsistent (and wrong) for the first few rows. Actually, I did the single stitches consistently wrong, but whatever. I started at least getting the stitch count right and the knack of the single stitch down by the last 4 rows. Below is my progress from the chain to first row of single stitch to half way to done.

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And really, the crochet will fall under the resting because I chill out when I am doing it. My mind doesn’t wander all around and everywhere when I have to concentrate on counting stitches and rows.

Goal 4: Pushups

This was a goal I had and failed last year. I haven’t been able to do even 1 pushup in at least 10 years. I want to be able to do at least 10 by the end of the year.

Goal 5: Make my marriage and family priority

I also started on this one before last year was over. We have issues, and those issues need to be worked on instead of ignored while focusing on other stuff. And that’s all I have to say about that.

Goal 6: Journal every day.

With the caveat not to obsess if I miss a day. But 3 days in, I have done ok with this one so far. Since there is some daily tracking involved with Goal 5 for now, it really shouldn’t be that much of a problem to do. Shouldn’t.

Goal 7: Eat healthy.

I’m already working/caving on this one, but I haven’t been to Starbucks all year. LOL!! Maybe they are done with the holiday beverages and I can leave off the pumpkin spice lattes. Yes, I know that you can actually get them year-round, but it isn’t as tempting when it’s not printed on the menu. Anyway, by healthy I mean less processed and less meats (especially red & pork), and more fruits and veggies. This was last weekend, btw…

That's a lot of meat!

That’s a lot of meat!

I guess that is all for now that I am not already working on and/or am willing to put out publicly. Maybe I should add blog at least once a week?

The last Monday of 2012

It’s amazing the difference having a restful Sunday makes on a Monday. I still wanted to sleep in, and wish I had taken today off instead of boxing day, but I don’t feel emotionally drained. More on that later. Seeing as how it is the last day of 2012, and a recap of the year seems to be the thing to do, here goes a quickie:

    Came out of the worst depression ever.

    Accepted a challenge to eliminate artificial flavors/colors/preservatives from my diet and went through awful physical withdrawls. Twice.

    Failed at my exercise and reading challenges…and still can’t do even one pushup.

    Figured out a bunch of food sensitivities in addition to gluten.

    Found a metal rooster that dwarfed Beyonce.

    ROOSTER DOWN!!!!

    Had surgery to remove a nasal polyp. 2nd time.

    Learned that I can take Vicodin without getting sick if I take Phenargen first. The better option would still be Percocet.

    Lost over 30 pounds, went down 2 trouser sizes, and 1 shirt size.

    Running: First managed to run a full mile, then a 5k, then a 10k, then a half marathon, and then a Thanksgiving 8k to redeem myself from the Labor Day 8k.




    Discovered (the hard way) that I am super allergic to hair dye now.

    I learned that I can really open up to my friends and share my skeletons and that it really helps to heal from past issues.

    “Had” to buy a new riding mower. And a new push mower.

    My mom turned 80.

    Flew sober.

    Had a 29 day period.

    Nearly went vegan. Twice. Didn’t make it past 2 weeks either time.

    Our cat Simon got hit by a car and killed.

    My dog escaped one too many times, and met the same fate as Simon.

    Mittens went missing after the second to last Darci escape and is presumed dead since she hasn’t been seen since August.

    My youngest started high school.

    Took 3 of Petra’s cats.

    Was surprised with a large sum of unexpected money and was able to pay off all credit card and vehicle debt.

    Broke down and got glasses.

    Got another mammogram (first since 2006) which resulted in another biopsy (just like 2006).

    Rehab, DWI, and a totaled van.

    Mourned the sudden death of my first love.

    Complete emotional breakdown that I let spill onto others, and not in a good way.

My phone doesn’t really do it justice, but I got to see a beautiful sunrise this morning.

Oh the pain

It’s funny. Sometimes I can connect the dots right away, and sometimes it takes me a while. And, yeah, sometimes it’s after the fact. With the exception of a couple meals last week with cornbread, I’ve been eating vegan since the 5th. I know this would involve detoxing, much like I did back in January, but I didn’t expect it to be painful. Sure, I am probably reaching, but the migraine last week followed by joint pain this week is almost the same as I went through back in January when I gave up the artificial flavors/colors/preservatives. Which makes me wonder just how bad was I really eating since I didn’t give up meat back in January. Regardless, Monday and Tuesday I had awful leg pain without having been on my feet enough to justify that kind of leg pain. Yesterday, it was concentrated mainly in my left leg, though it was in general the entire left side. Today it is the right side. Weird.

Anyway, so I am now losing the 5 pounds I gained thanks to the Halloween candy container that is located in my office. I have noticed another benefit of giving up meat, but I will spare you that despite the fact I shared it with Petra already. She was very appreciative that I told her. hahaha! I got on pinterest again and found a few more recipes that were either already gluten free/vegan or were easily modified. It would be great if I actually liked to cook, but alas, I really would rather heat up a box or bowl full of chemically enhanced “food” than prep. :sigh:

So really this point of this post is just to whine because I want a bacon cheeseburger. And I want it on a gluteny bun. And the hubster wants me to cook the usual big Thanksgiving spread. :sigh: