Howdy Stranger

Ok, so, I know I've been on hiatus lately. So much has happened...computer on the fritz and went on a vacation to the Dominican Republic! It's only been a month ago, but it feels like ages since I went on vacation. Is that an indication that I need another vacation, pronto? If only my budget would allow!

Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic is amazing. Really. Amazing. The country's quite poor, but the people seem quite educated. At least the people that I communicated with; although, my view might be somewhat skewed, since I really only saw the airport and resort.



The airport was mostly open and had a hatched roof! I began to worry when they made everyone pay $10.00 just to enter the country. Then I really started to worry when I realized that my taxi driver was, in fact, not afraid to die. Thankfully, I survived the taxi ride to the resort...because the resort was pure heaven!





Snack bar to the left and beach straight ahead. I could really get used to this...



Fresh coconut milk? Why yes, I'll give it a go!



Winding down at the bar!


At the casino with our Spanish friends. This casino was where "fun went to die." Somehow, we still managed to smile, though.


The water was cold and the sun was hot. Quite possibly the best pool...ever.


It was a beautiful day at the beach!

Normally, I go for the "rush-rush" vacation. Live like the locals, see everything there is to see in a limited amount of time. By the time it's over, getting back to reality is almost a welcomed relief. As they say, needing a vacation after the vacation. So this relaxing, resort beach vacation was very out of the norm for me. As you can see, I managed a good time. I can't wait to go back! Who's with me?!

I'm What?

This ends the 4th week since I've made a conscious effort to eliminate sugar from my diet. It's getting a bit easier to get used to they way foods, like coffee and oatmeal, taste without sugar. Although, I still use creamer in my coffee. It does contain a little sugar (vanilla silk creamer has 3g), but I refuse to give up my creamer!

Last week, I went to the doctor. Since my old doctor retired, I saw someone else. Seeing someone new always causes me great anxiety. Doctors are not my favorite people. It seems that, although, the industry has certain consistent standards, there is such a huge spectrum of philosophies within the profession. Not to mention some pretty strong personalities. When I find a doctor I like, (easy going, promotes a natural method for staying healthy instead of a chemical method), I am extremely loyal. Anyway, I saw someone new. I liked her straight away. Since she had never seen me before, she ordered a full panel of lab work, just to get a baseline.

Earlier this week, the nurse called me with my lab results. Diabetes and hypothyroidism runs in my family, so I'm always nervous that lab work will show a problem in those areas. Well, she said everything was fine, except that I was very deficient in vitamin D. Um, excuse me? How is that possible? I don't live in London or Seattle...She said that it was more common than people think. Since a number of adults work indoors a majority of the day, they don't absorb enough vitamin D from sun exposure. I thought about it for a minute; I am a firm believer in sunscreen. It's rare that any part of my skin that's exposed, isn't protected by sunscreen. I stopped drinking (dairy) milk about 6 years ago and eat very little dairy. And during the winter months, I'm inside at work shortly after the sun rises and coming home just after the sun sets.

As soon as I got off the phone with the nurse, I immediately started reading about vitamin D. How could I recognize if I'm deficient in the future? I found this article that gives a pretty good overview, in layman's terms. Fatigue - yes, moodiness - yes, always in the winter time (I loathe the winter), more body fat? Hmmm. I also read on another site, that people who experience difficulty in losing weight and/or notice a tendency to distribute fat in the abdomen, should have their vitamin D levels checked. Well, who knew?

It will be interesting to see how supplementing my diet with 2,000 I.U. (international units) of vitamin D will affect my energy level and weight loss. This week, I'm down 2 more pounds. I've been feeling like I'm catching a cold, so I haven't really exercised much this week. Hopefully, I'll get back into my routine next week.

Bumps in the Road

It's been 3 weeks since I decided to (try and) eliminate sugar from my diet. I live on the 6th floor of my building and have become accustomed to taking the elevator. The elevators are old and slow. There's no telling how many minutes I lose waiting for elevator. So, unless my hands are full of heavy groceries, I've started using the stairs. It's actually not so bad. By the time I want to abort taking the stairs, I'm almost to my floor.

After losing a few pounds (3 to be exact), I had to go out of town. Although, I tried to make smart meal decisions, it was difficult. When eating out, I couldn't be sure of how something was prepared, and I refused to be one of those people. You know, the one who makes restaurant servers want to put visine in their food. Needless to say, my weight remained constant over the weekend. But it was better than putting the weight back on!

Once I returned from my weekend trip, I was back on track with my diet. I lost two more pounds! Then. The. Weekend. Happened. Oy vey! Saturday night, I hosted a "Girl's Night In - Game Night."


While we're still somewhat coherent...


I have no idea what Shanda is "miming."


And the winner of "Guestures Best Performance" goes to....Trina!


I made a vegetarian version of scalloped potatoes. We had plenty of food and sugary cocktails. Of course, I indulged. A LOT. Those two pounds I lost? I found them again. Just a side note...we played a game called, Partini, and it was a blast. The packaging, in and of itself, is fun. I'm such a sucker for packaging.

This week, once again, I'm back on track. Yesterday, though, I had a huge craving for sugary sweets. I had some dark chocolate cooking chips at home, so I had a handful of those. My hope was that if I indulged a little, I would satisfy my craving and avoid it overwhelming me to the point that I would completely binge. It worked pretty well. I wonder if the craving was my body's reaction to the sudden change in my sugar intake. Seems logical, right? Although, I am still getting sugar from fruit each day...but according to the video previously posted, sugar from fruits & veggies aren't so bad, because it's offset by the fiber contained in the food.

This morning, I weighed myself; 2 more pounds gone! That's a total of 5lbs since I made a conscious effort to nix sugar from my diet.

Hey, 10 Pounds...Take A Hike!

Last week, I was talking with a friend of mine about some research I did on artificial sweeteners. What I found was really disturbing. Splenda inhibits the good bacteria in your digestive tract? No thank you. Some of the others were equally bad - pun intended - and worse. One article discussed how, due to the intense sweetness of artificial sweeteners, it was causing us to have a bigger sweet tooth and, as a result, actually making us more overweight. Ugh. I'm sure that last bit holds some truth, but probably depends on other factors, as well. But, still...

I told my friend that after what I read about artificial sweeteners, I completely nixed using them. Instead, I began using honey...loads and loads of honey. And, if a recipe called for sugar, I would substitute (unsweetened) applesauce. As a last resort, I would use sugar, but sparingly. He told me about a really powerful lecture made by a professor/doctor in California about sugar. He sent me a YouTube link that really shocked me. It's about just how bad fructose and high fructose corn syrup is; how our bodies break it down and metabolize the stuff*. Although, it's pretty long - 1 1/2 hrs - it's completely worth sitting through. In the video, this book is mentioned. It was written decades ago and, evidently, much of what is "prophesied" has or is happening due to our over dependence on sugar and sugar substitutes. I'd like to read the book, but it's difficult to find and even more expensive!

After watching the YouTube video, I looked up the chemical properties of honey and, oh boy. It's mostly fructose with a little bit of sucrose and inflammatory properties kicked in. So, while I will still use honey and sugar, both will be extremely sparingly!

When Lent rolled around, I decided that it would be a good opportunity to give up (10lbs by giving up)sugar, even though, I no longer consider myself Catholic. Meh, it's a good time to do something good for yourself and others. I can experiment and share how my journey makes me feel and tell others so that they can, hopefully, reap the same benefits!

So, here we go. So far, I'm beginning to get used to how my coffee tastes like crap without any sweetener. I do still use creamer; however, I moving to Silk brand soy creamer, which only contains 3g of sugar. This week, I've lost 2lbs. That's not completely unusual. I'm more likely to lose or maintain my weight during the work week, then everything goes to hell in a handbag on the weekend. Last night, I had a birthday dinner to attend. I made dessert; orange walnut cake. The recipe that I've found does contain brown sugar, but not too much. I used dark brown sugar and decreased the amount by about 1/4c. My motivation was to avoid ordering something worse at the restaurant!



It was not only edible but very well received by everyone at the dinner. No one's plate had even a crumb left. Which is a huge compliment, as I'm not the best cook.


*read poison

The End Of Life As We Know It

One of the great things about winter (and there are only a few from my perspective) is cuddling up with a hot toddie and a sappy movie. You know, the kind that would not normally be on the agenda if the sun were shining and there were pool parties to attend. A movie like P.S. I Love You.

It's a movie that reminds me, I am capable of feeling profound happiness and heartbreaking sadness. No matter how extreme the moment, perseverance is possible, because it's in those most wonderful moments and miserable times, (that feel they will never end) I realize that - good or bad - those are the moments worth having. That's why we're all here, right?

I suppose I like it when things are not "wrapped up in a bow" at the end. The usual "Hollywood Ending" just isn't much like reality most of the time. But it's nice to have hope; to know that in the most devastating times, something amazing can happen.

Ok, so movies that can warm my - oh so cold - heart, are one of the great things about winter. A few others:

Hot Chocolate;
Irish Cream (my recipe below);
A funny book;
Belted tunics with leggings;
Boots. Lots & lots of boots!

Jeez, I can't wait until warmer weather, but until then, I will thoroughly enjoy those few things I love about winter.


Mar-teez Irish Cream
1 1/4 c. Irish whiskey, bourbon, or rye whiskey (I like Irish whiskey best)
1 12 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 c of whipping cream (not whipped cream)
1 c of pasteurized egg substitute
2 Tbsp chocolate syrup
1/4 c brewed coffee

Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix well. Will keep up to 3 months (mine never lasts that long!) in the refrigerator.

The thing I like best about the recipe, apart from it being delicious, is that it leaves room for creativity and experimentation. For instance, I've added creme de menthe to the recipe before. Lately, I don't think I've made to batches the same. Please let me know what delicious additions you've made to the recipe!

Lucky Is As Lucky Does

If lady bugs are lucky, then I should head to Rio or at least buy a lottery ticket. What is with all the lady bugs on my balcony? It's such a nice day, and my apartment building tends to be stifling in the winter months, so I decided to let in some of the crisp, fresh air. Well, within about 30 minutes, my balcony screen was covered with lady bugs. Almost every plant I've ever owned, I managed to kill - even the cactus I bought, thinking that there was NO way I would kill that thing. Alas. I. Can. Even. Kill. A. Cactus. Turns out, I'm even deadlier than a desert. That said, this swarm of lady bugs couldn't possibly be after my plants...

Let's Go Ride a Bike - or Fly a Kite...I'm Not Picky

...or ride a bike to the park to fly a kite...or...

As most people know, I am an advocate of alternative transportation. Instead of being grossly dependent on cars, walking or bicycling (especially short distances) are excellent options! Here's a great article about the benefits of making a city "bike friendly."

Cities who have more bicyclists have safer, happier, healthier neighborhoods. Although, there is a great deal of "red tape" in getting bicycle initiatives passed, (based on other cities experience) it's not too terribly expensive to incorporate safe bicycling within the city. The biggest challenge, it seems, is changing citizens and policy makers' mind set.

Season of Giving

Someone gave me a gift card to this organization, DonorsChoose. What a great way to spend a gift! There are a ton of projects to choose from; you can also simplify the project search that you want to donate to, by city, state, area of study, etc. Since, the holidays are (supposed to be) all about thinking of others, I don't know a better way of doing something positive for someone else than this! Okay, maybe being showered in gifts of cashmere would make me feel good, too!

Even though I don't have children, I can appreciate the need for better education and learning opportunities for kids today. Maybe it's selfish of me, but I don't want a bunch of uneducated, thug, nincompoop's running my country and managing my care when I'm old. Hope you enjoy this organization as much as I do!

Cowboys Help "Nix" Crime

A few days ago, I saw this article on cnn.com. It's a wonderful story, in the midst of so much crime and violence. I'd like to see an organization like this in Memphis. Lord knows we could use one - I'd volunteer my time to show kids how to work with horses & ride!! Heck, I'd do that anyway, but if it helped someone avoid succumbing to a life of crime, all the better!

Last Leg

It's been a while since my last entry about my Eurosprint earlier this year. I've been a bit of a slacker...shame, shame.

On June 1st we flew to London. We arrived at around 9am and immediately had to go through customs. Everyone was just whizzing through, until it was my turn. The customs guy asked me a ton of questions, I suppose I looked suspicious, with my dark hair and straight teeth. Nothing too out of the ordinary...How long are you here? Why are you here? Where are you coming from? Can you show me your return tickets (um, yeah, since you can't even print out your airline tickets from the Internet until a day before your flight. He worked at the airport, I thought he should know that. Well, I did have my itinerary - actually, I probably had several copies :-) and he was finally satisfied)? When we finally made it through, Dave told me that he was freaking out a little bit watching the customs guy "give me the business." Especially, when I turned around and pointed out (to the customs guy) that I was travelling with him and his itinerary was included on the paperwork that I just gave him. Dave didn't hear what we were saying, just saw me pointing. We're off to a smashing start in the UK!

When we arrived at our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised. It was located on a nice, quaint, quiet street very close to the tube, market, laundry mat, pubs and Internet cafe's. We were in heaven, if heaven had really small rooms. The desk clerk even let us check in, although we were a few hours early! I was prepared to, yet dreading having to walk around with my backpack all day! As soon as we got to our room, we quickly devised a plan. I'd go to the grocery store and laundry mat while Dave found a place to change money. Mission accomplished, not terribly quickly, but quite efficiently. It was so nice to have clean clothes without having to hand wash and have them "take over the room" as they dried.

Once our mission was over, we grabbed a quick bite at a cool little corner pub and we set off to explore London! It was a beautiful sunny day. People told me how incredible the London Eye was, especially on a clear day, so off we went! The view was pretty cool. However, with the exception of Big Ben, we had no clue where any of the big landmarks were. It would have been nice to have had some sort of ledge around the radius of the bubble showing the landmarks, so that you knew what you were viewing while on the 30 minute bubble-type Ferris Wheel.




After the London Eye, we met up with my friend Ben at the Glasshouse in Soho. On the way, we stopped off at Trafalgar Square! All I could think about was, "feed the birds..." from Mary Poppins. The battle of Trafalgar took place there. A huge memoriam was at the edge, looking as though it was being guarded by two enormous lions. People were constantly climbing on the lions for photo opts. Then we stopped off at Leicester Square; what energy the place had. There were shops and theaters galore! Glasshouse was just what the doctor ordered. The atmosphere was very Old London Pub. We had delicious pints and stimulating conversation.

On our way home, we stopped for Chinese "take away" 'cuz that's what they do in England and when in England...we ate it like it was the best gourmet food we had ever eaten. After that, my eyes closed before they hit the pillow!

Just 'Cuz I Like it...and You Should Too!

Listen to David Byrne's collaboratin with Brian Eno. My absolute favorite tracks are: Strange Overtones, One Find Day, and Life is Long. I can't get enough...I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Oh, Louis Quatorze!

Today we took a day trip to Versailles. Due to having previously missed an adequate morning dose of caffeine and thus suffering the massive headaches that followed, I woke up early to ensure that I had cafe and croissants before the long day ahead. The plan was to leave at 8am...did I mention that we went to sleep at about 3am? Oy! At about 7am, I ventured to a local cafe for some goods - to go. The problem was, I could order everything in French, but could NOT remember how to ask for everything "to go." It was no problem, the waiter helped me with my French "a portir!" There was a little old man at the end of the bar who started speaking to me in English. Was I that obvious? Yeah, probably. He was very friendly; we had light conversation, "where are you from, how long are you here, must 'sees' in Paris..." When he asked why I wasn't going to enjoy my cafe & croissant in the restaurant, I let him know that we were about to leave for Versailles. He replied, "I am heading to Versailles, today, too." It's a beautiful day to enjoy the gardens and it's only about 10 minutes away. "Really?" "I thought the train ride was about an hour." "Oh, I have a car, it's a quick, easy drive." When my items were ready, I wished the waiter and nice old man a "bon journee" and rushed back to meet my brother and Etienne.

First, I told Etienne about the friendly old man and he replied, "is he driving us to Versailles, then." Um, no, I don't know that guy, he could have kidnapped us and sold us into slavery for all I knew. Then I told Dave, who responded EXACTLY like Etienne. Oh, and Dave *did* see the movie, "Taken." Ha!

So, we left a bit later than we expected, but we all had cafe and croissants and that was a good thing. We arrived at Versailles at about 9:45am to find a pretty long ticket line forming. No worries, the line moved rather quickly. By 10:15am, we had our tickets. Now off to the Chateau! Wait, what? We have to wait in an even LONGER line to enter the Chateau?

Um, yeah...see the people to the left? They're ahead of us and we're not at the end of the line!

We finally entered the Chateau. Impressive? Yes. Decedant? Very. Gold and marble covered practically every inch. And the garden...!

View of the Jardin (garden)

Nothing can compare to the grandeur that was - the Hall of Mirrors. Just as the name indicates, one side of the massive hall is completely lined in mirrors, the other side is a stretch of windows overlooking the garden. King Louis XIV created the hall of mirrors so that when the sun shone into the windows, the sun reflected off of the mirrors to remind everyone that the sun king lived there.

Entering the Hall of Mirrors

The arched ceiling was lined with paintings of different scenes; old Greek scenes; party scenes; war scenes. One thing I noticed, as I meandered through the hall, like rushing water through the crack in a dam (yeah, it was crowded), was that Louis Quatorze was the center piece of every painting. It made me laugh. I hear ya Louis!

Taking a picture of the Hall with the massive windows overlooking the garden behind me.

Jardin from the Hall of Mirrors

King's Chambre

After walking through the Chateau, I couldn't help feeling sad that so much of the original contents were destroyed when the French stormed the palace. Oh, I completely understand...if I were starving, I would be the first to melt down curtains made with gold thread so that I could buy food!

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to take a stroll through the never ending jardin or check out the canal, Petit Trianon or Grand Ecurie, where the horses are kept. To really do Versailles right, it's necessary to arrive as soon as the doors open. Maybe even get there when the gardens open 2 hours before the Chateau opens. Not only can you beat most of the crowd, but can thoroughly enjoy all that the Palace has to offer! Maybe in Euro-Sprint, Part Deux!