Discovering New Places

One of this weekend's cycling expeditions started in Midtown. We made our way downtown and stopped of at Bluff City Coffee Shop, on South Main, for a refuel of light snacks and caffeine!



We then made our way to Harbortown. I had the opportunity to climb the Auction St. Bridge for the first time on my bike. It was even much harder than I anticipated. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to show the severe steepness of the bridge. I was too busy peddling! After biking through Harbortown, we rode down Second St. for the trek back to Midtown. Along the way, we noticed the house that was once a slave haven and stop on the Underground Railroad. I knew it was somewhere close to Second St., but never saw it before. It's amazing the new places (right under your nose) that you discover atop a bicycle!

We didn't have time to walk through the museum, but did take a breather long enough to pose for a couple of pictures.







Until Monday (which was a whopping 22 miles), this was my longest ride yet - 18 miles! But aside from that accomplishment, it was so much fun. Can't wait for future discoveries!

Five Senses Friday

Seeing - In honor of bicycle month and, especially, bike to work day:















Tasting - As the days get hotter, stawberry ice cream cravings are more frequent!

Feeling - Content and grateful to spend the holidays with family and friends.

Hearing - Comedy by Megan Mooney!

Smelling - One of my new favorite scents; Banana Republic's "Republic of Women" perfume

Happy Friday to all, and to all, a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

It's All a Blur

This weekend was fun filled, but quite busy. As soon as I get a chance to stop and smell the pollen, I realized that the weekend's almost over. It's a conspiracy, I tell you, a conspiracy. Monday's definitely in on it...

The weekend kicked off with my volunteering at the Brooks Museum for the annual "Bicycle Film Festival." One of my fan club members showed up - but that's a different story. He's not only a member, he's the President. :-) It was such a great event. Memphis had a cycle to B.F.F. meeting point at Court Square downtown. Early in the evening, there was a wave of cyclists approaching the museum. It was pretty cool to see. Some bikes and cyclists were especially fun to watch.


The most creative bike of the night, definitely went to this guy. You can't make it out, but the neon lights of his bike say, "Burn Fat, Not Oil." Love it.

After volunteering ended, I was able to stay and catch some of the movies. A few of my favorites included the Scraper Bike King. I was able to find some youtube stuff:

Here's a clip from the movie:


The rap theme:


Saturday, a couple of my friends and I biked to one of my favorite places on earth (second to Paris), Stax Museum.


The ride wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. The roads were good and only one car, that I remember, passed us really closely. The museum...it was awesome, as usual.


Me with my friends, Robert and Trina. How fly would my bike look as a scraper bike? Yeah, I want one.


Trina and me (aka, Miracle Grow)


The funniest thing, that I don't have pictures of, was the group of 14 Asian tourists who wanted pictures posing with us and our bikes...one at a time. They were so hilarious.

When I got home, I had a message from one of friends from college. She was going to be in Memphis participating in her first triathlon: the Memphis in May Triathlon. So, this morning, I made my way to Millington just in time to cheer her on as she approached the finish line.


Here she is afterward...still smiling. I was hot and tired just standing in the heat!

Five Senses Friday

An idea borrowed from one of my favorite sites, Pink of Perfection...here are mine...

Seeing: Signs of new life. Trees in bloom.















Tasting: BBQ, in honor of Memphis in May.

Feeling: A cool spring breeze with the return of happy hour...outdoors!

Hearing: Rediscovering a classic. I find, "Honey Hi" relaxing when spring fever tries to get the better of me.


Smelling: Lush jasmine shampoo bar.

Bike for Brunch

This past weekend a small group of my friends and I biked from Midtown to Downtown Memphis (about 10-12 miles) for brunch. We figure it's a good way to enjoy the weather, friends, get exercise and check out a new eatery...even if it's only new to us!

Apart from being windy and slightly chilly, the weather was beautiful. One thing we didn't factor in, was area colleges' graduations. U of M had two ceremonies at the FedEx forum, back to back. Luckily, I was with seasoned cyclists who knew, immediately, how to tweek our route to avoid heavy traffic.

We decided to give Beignet Cafe a try. I had been there for drinks previously and loved the atmosphere. Also, I heard that they expanded their menu and were now offering breakfast/brunch items.







They really have done so much with the space that they have. A sitting area to read, work on a computer or chat with friends while enjoying some chicory coffee. An upstairs and downstairs dining area as well as quaint, little patio.

We decided to enjoy the sun and sit on the patio. There were very few diners there and right from the start, the service was much to be desired. When we finally received breakfast menus, there were very little choices. Two breakfast options to choose from and a side menu that included: biscuits, toast, grits, bacon, sausage and fruit. When the waiter returned, we asked if we could order off of the lunch menu. He returned with the menu, which was MUCH better. Shrimp and grits, club sandwiches, salmon blt, a pletherea of salads, just to name a few things. Our waiter took ages to come back and take our order. Then, when our food arrived, one of the orders was wrong. The waiter apologized and said that he would have the kitchen correct it immediately. At least 15 minutes went by, the waiter delivered food to tables around us, without as much as an update on my friend's food. We all offered her portions of our plates, in the meantime. It took at least 30 minutes for him to bring her corrected, club sandwich to her.

The waiter was very friendly; however, seemed unaware at how poor the service was. Once it arrived, the food was amazing. When our food arrived, we even ordered beignets for dessert...because 1) we didn't know when we'd see our waiter again and 2) heaven knew how long it would take for us to receive the beignets. Well, our timing was perfect. The beignets arrived just as we were finishing our meal. They were just like the beignets you would be served in Louisiana.

All in all, Beignet Cafe's food was delicious, the atmosphere was authentic and hip, but the service was atrocious. I would love to take a book and sit in one of the comfy chairs while enjoying a fresh cup of joe. But would hate to try and eat a meal there when I'm hungry and they're busy.

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.