cast iron tastebuds

Well I am glad to say that I survived my encounter with the PORK ON FIRE. To be honest it didn't seem all that spicy to me, I never felt the exquisite balance between pain and pleasure the reviews promised.

My date on the other hand was in quite a bit of discomfort. He got another highly recommended dish, the larb gai, which he couldn't even finish eating. I tried it, but wasn't phased at all by the seasoning.

Therefore I crown myself queen of all hot foods, warrior of the spice. My gullet may not be able to handle too many raw vegetables on any given day but by god I can eat spicy food. Bring on the next challenging dish!!

Oh, and btw yes you did read that I was on a date. So if on a second date the person talks about their job from sit down, thru ordering, appetizers, and then dinner do you think that is much? No varying from the subject either, my job (or life) didn't get a single inquiry. It was so bad that after finishing the main course I excused myself to the powder room and requested that upon my return we change the subject.

Not a good sign, right? Yeah.

To be fair I'm open to the possibility the excessive one sided convo could be chalked up to nerves on his part. So date number three will be in effect. A movie next Tuesday when I'm back from Detroit. Granted we won't get a chance to talk until after the flick...so we'll see then.

be brave

Ah, tonight I dine here. And do not be fooled, I will indeed try the Pork On Fire.

Can I take it? Well I guess we'll have to see...

filler

Well I did it. I ran my nine races to qualify for the 2010 ING New York Marathon.

To be honest I'm kinda 'meh' about it. You would think I'd be all proud, since I couldn't run at all at the beginning of the year and once I could I had to literally run every race (save one I was sick for) that was a qualifier to get where I am now.

This year I ran every NYRR race from July on. Even the last two weekends in the freezing cold weather. This past Saturday was a 20 degree 15k. That is a really cold temperature to run over an hour and a half.

Do I even want to run the marathon? I still don't know. I think I'm just looking for a new goal, something significant to work towards and another 26.2 acts as good filler.

You know, maybe I should make a really kick ass vacation my next goal. Believe it or not I only used half of my vacation time so I could carry the rest over. This means I have 22 vacation days to use in 2010. That is a whole month.

Or I cash out as much of my vacation time (which I can do, $$$$!) when I quit the corporate life to be my own boss.

Or maybe I could make some extra cash on the side as my own boss and still take that month long vacation. But is that the chicken way out? Doesn't everyone say if you want it you have to dare to do it? Conventional wisdom says that only those who take big risks get big rewards.

The naughts are over, seems like I need to get my priorities in check and pick a direction to head in. Enough of walking in circles, I've got places to go.

back to the drawing board

Well, it seems the raw diet really doesn't heal all.

Since doing the raw until dinner I have felt good about myself, proud of eating such healthy foods.

Unfortunately my Crohn's didn't feel the same way. I've had a couple of mini flareups. Nothing to send me to the hospital, just a couple of sleepless nights. Including last night.

So I'm going to back it up a bit. Still going to be as unprocessed as possible (now that I have the knack) but will eat myself cooked meals like the rest of the universe. Ayruvedic methodology never really supported the raw lifestyle, so maybe I'll read up more on that kind of diet.

But before I go back to whole foods I'll need to liquid it up a couple of days to rest the ole' intestines. Kind of like RICE therapy for running injuries (rest, ice compression, elevation) you gotta stay off the gimp leg while it heals.

Too bad I just got a fresh direct delivery...let's see how long that food can keep.

nature vs nurture

Are there certain things about us that are inherent? Great philosophers have debated this idea for centuries.

Me, I decide to give up coffee and start running in the morning and I come to some surprising conclusions.

Coffee makes me happy. There, I said it. This morning I woke up kind of dragging with a slight case of the stupids and I decided to treat myself to a cup of java. Just a small cup from Dunkin Donuts, nothing crazy.

One little beverage later and I am in a terrific mood. My thoughts are clearer and my work ethic has doubled.

Why did I even stop? The detox. And I did the detox was because I was so tired I relied on up to six cups of coffee a day just to feel baseline normal. Once my body was free of caffeine and toxins I promised myself to maintain my new found health. Meaning that I swore off my favorite beverage.

Yes, you read that correctly. I love coffee more than I love booze.

Also against what I perceive as my nature I decided to start getting up early in the mornings to run. So I began going to bed early and doing exactly that.

This lead me to realize that I hate my life when I go to bed early. Really, it is that simple. My life just seems so boring to me if I hit the hay before 10:30. Which just brings me down altogether. Once the thrill of being that person who gets up in the morning for a run wore off I realized I really didn't like being an early to bed kinda gal.

Thus I've decided that my state of mental well being outweighs my drive for certain kinds of ideals. I like being a happy, hardworking, energetic night person.

So is that my nature? Or is my nature to strive to be content? Then again maybe I'm just too judgemental about myself. I tried a couple of things out that didn't stick, there are things that have changed about me over the years. How quick we are to forget our accomplishments.

The key I suppose is to keep trying new things, because amidst the failures we can find the things that indeed will change us to better ourselves.

For me that journey will happen all the while drinking coffee (tempered qtys now, that is new) and staying up late.

if wishes were horses

A long time ago I discovered the advantage of goal lists. Not the kind that you write haphazardly on a cocktail napkin and lose, but the kind that you actually have in a place that you'll go back and check to see what kind of progress you made.

Most likely the reason I'm a fan is because for the longest time I felt like I never accomplished anything. Yet whenever I'd go back to my list I could check off 75% of what I had written!

We so quickly forget our accomplishments and focus on what we lack. Human nature I think.

My favorite place now to log my goals is the Lululemon Goaltender site. It is based online and lets you track your progress towards 1yr, 5yr, and 10yr goals for career, personal, and health. Not too shabby.

Diligently I have been working towards being a yoga instructor. First part-time to make some extra cash, but with future retirement plan potential. So my blinders have been on and I've been investing my time and money. Then today I re-read my career goals:

self. free. flexible schedule. comfortable. friendly. relationships. challenge. change. security. growth potential.

It hit me - right now in my full time gig I have six out of ten. Which is WAY better than I thought for some reason. It wasn't when I started, or even after two years. Heck in the beginning of 2009 I only had one I think.

So this change in my nine to five gig is good, I can let myself off the hook a little bit about the yoga thing. With corporate life going well there is no rush to be a yogi. Just a really great tax deduction on a business that is making a negative profit.

Sweet.

the whole crew

Sunny day, keeping the clouds away...

more muppet love

How long do you think it would take the count to get to 40 you think? Like two days?

worst. notice. ever

This note is posted in my building:

ATTENTION TENANTS

THERE WILL BE NO HOT WATER OR HEAT FOR THREE DAYS, TUESDAY 11/10, WEDNESDAY 11/11, AND THURSDAY 11/12. THIS IS NECESSARY AS WE WILL BE REPLACING THE BOILER BURNER. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.

Oh, that will be a joy. Three days without hot water or heat. Maybe fate's way of encouraging me to get up early and run? At least then I'll warm up in the morning.

little things

My sis just sent me this. *joy*


Happy Friday!

what's stopping you

For a while now I've wanted to be the kind of person who gets up in the morning and goes for a run.

Oh, I have excuses. My current nine to five life means I have to get up too early for my constitution. Heck, I'm a night person! When I get myself into a job that doesn't start 'till the afternoon then I'll be able to run when I wake up.

What a load of bull. When I have a new career that lets me sleep in later I'll stay up later. And still not want to wake up. I will still want to roll over and go back to sleep.

So what is stopping me? It isn't like I go out every night of the week, and when I do go out every night isn't a late one. That was my life a few years ago, not now. Between selling my soul to the corporate devil, training for a marathon, and then getting a yoga teacher certification I calmed down the night life.

Made things a little more disciplined. And healthier.

The choice is mine. Do I stay up later to watch a TV show that I'm barely interested in (or that I can DVR) or do I hit the hay and start becoming a little bit more of the person I want to be?

Thus starts the great experiment. I may aspire to be the kind of person who gets up to run, but when I get there is that who I really enjoy being?

How long should I go at it to make a decision. Three months? A commitment to wake up before work 3-4 business days a week. Will I like that girl?

We'll see. Starting now. (And that scares me a little bit, yes it does.)

Detroit pride

My father was born in Yonkers, New York. Him and his siblings before him. He was born in 1938, and the future wasn't in New York

The future was Detroit.

Our entire Cooney family, grandfather - grandmother - seven kids - great uncle - moved to the motor city because of the promise. The future. The motor city offered a good living for the common man. No special education needed.

This happened before Detroit was great, before unions even existed. There are pictures of my Great Uncle Dick* with Jimmy Hoffa when they were fighting to create the unions. My family was there, they helped build the automotive empire.

While my grandfather and great uncle worked for the big three not all their children followed in their footsteps. A few did. My father was a rebel, he went to college (and grad school) against his father's wishes. My grandfather told my dad he was a fool to go to college, that it was a waste of his time. He could make a great wage at an assembly plant, tuition was a waste of money.

Really.

Despite all this so many years later I graduated from high school and went to GMI and worked for General Motors.

Not out of family pride. Hell no, out of greed. I read somewhere the best wage out of college was in engineering, and I wanted to make money. And also believed I could do anything I wanted, so why not make some green?

Well obviously my life and my goals changed. I realized that money means little to my happiness and that I felt more alive living in NYC than anywhere else I had been.

But despite this by god I still love Detroit. I am obsessively defensive and loyal to the city. Maybe it explains my love of the underdog...or my image of myself as one. I am fiercely proud of having lived in such a tough place, and manically protective of its reputation at the same time .

There are so many amazing things about this city, historical details that still put me in awe. Yet its current economic state prevents the rest of the world from seeing any of it. People visit Memphis because of Elvis, as depressed as it may be. But no one, and I mean NO ONE visits Detroit.

So here I live in gotham loving my life, but feeling such a strong connection to a city with no hope. Then I saw this:


And I took the magazine from my doctor's office. to read the article associated with the cover, and read these words...

"The neighborhood where I lived as a child, where for decades orderly rows of sturdy brick homes lined each block, is now the urban equivalent of a boxer's mouth, more gaps than teeth. Some of the surviving houses look as if the wrecker's ball is the only thing that could relieve their pain. "

My god, if only I was that eloquent. Exactly what I long to say to those who don't understand what Detroit is now.

Yet here is this article, which accurately describes the entire downfall of the motor city. Big and little pieces. The history I live but have such a hard time explaining to the rest of America.

Please, if you are the least bit curious read the article and the month long introspective. Not because of me, but because we all learn from our mistakes.

Here there is a city that within a century was the promise of the world then became the ruin of the nation....I think we all need to learn how to avoid repeating that same history.

(Hello dot com bust?)

* Uncle Dick really his name, Richard Cooney. Dick was the common nickname, and never diminutive when it came to him.

small talk

If you had asked me five years ago I would have told you that I sucked at small talk.

What was I thinking?

In order to be good at socializing you have to be able to sustain a conversation about the weather, last night's TV lineup, or the sports team currently in finals. Heck, I can talk up a storm on those topics and more.

It is funny to me now that I perceived that I was terrible at something I actually navigate with ease. For some reason I tend to have odd things going around in my brain all the time that make for great conversation. Like being on a detox. Or giving up caffeine. Or how Columbus Day isn't celebrated by Italians in Michigan. Or that I hope the weather is nice for the race I'm running on Sunday.

Ever since moving my office from the 9th floor to the 4th floor I've actually gotten completely back into my small talk stride. At the mighty bird I chatted up everyone I even remotely knew all the time. Elevator, walking the hall, pouring coffee. But when I came to S&S for some reason I stopped being social. Until now. If you happen to catch me in the kitchen getting some tea or water - watch out! I'll be throwing witty banter all over the place.

That being said it is a little trickier moving from the small talk to a real sustainable conversation. I've always been a little frustrated when I end up relying on asking about work. The classic "So what do you do?".

Ugh, so boring.

Then yesterday I read something that really made sense. Instead of asking about someones job, instead ask what they are passionate about. (Can't remember where I read this though.)

Interesting.

So lo and behold last night Jules and I went to an urban escapes mixer. A happy hour for people to chat with people they had met on previous trips with the company. That with happy hour specials and raffle prizes.

We bumped into four people who had gone on our tubing and wine tasting trip and talked to them for a good two hours or so. Eventually it had to happen...the conversation slowed...and I asked one girl what she did for a living.

As she responded in a lackluster manner I remembered what I had read earlier in the day. And my next question was "So is what you do what you are passionate about?"

Wow. What a reaction! She perked right up and said "hell no" then went on about what she in fact does care about and what she wants to do. Conversation 110% revived. Another person in the dialogue actually stopped, looked at me in amazement and said "wow, that was a really great question." To which I said "I know, right? It really works!"

Thus now I will add this to the stable of handy convo topics. And of course am sharing the secret with all of you. Because it is the gift that keeps on giving!

Are you still who I raised you to be

My parents are very catholic. They are the people who go to every Sunday mass, follow every protocol. Once as a teen once I asked my mother “why are you here? What is the point of life?

Without skipping a beat and in complete earnest my mother replied, “To know God, to love God, and to serve God.”

Well what the heck do you say to that? That is the definition of true faith.

My parents are wonderful people. My mom carries the weight of the world on her shoulders with grace and ease. My father guides us every day to the positive way of thinking to lead us to accomplish our dreams.

These are good people.

My parents are proud of me for my accomplishments, with is very rewarding. I work very hard, and it is nice to know my parents feel rewarded by that.

I remember the first time I heard my parents were proud of me. It was at a family party, I couldn’t remember which. All I know is that people kept saying how proud my parents were of me, and after three people said that I was in tears.

I also have gotten letters from them saying so much since I’ve been here in NYC. And at this point I believe them.

My parents raised me very well. I was taught everything in the true spirit of Jesus. Love the sinner, the broken, the hurt, and the outcast. Whether it is the taxman, the whore, and the traitor. Love them for who they are.

The sweet irony is that if you love these people in this day and age the Catholic Church kind of rejects you.

My entire twenties were spent appreciating anyone and everyone who was an individual (and not easily defined by Catholicism). Because I see myself as a true individual I seek out and respect others who are special in their own way.

Sadly my parents were afraid of this behavior.

Not without reason. I jumped from job to job….flight attendant, bartender, optician, waitress… all the time just living for the moment. Celebrating life, be it mine or my friends.

This entire time I was celebrating a lifestyle that my parents could not condone nor understand. They wanted to support me as their child but none of my actions made any sense.

Which is pure irony. Because I am the person my parents raised me to be.

I love everyone; Really, I believe we all mean the best.

I forgive. Almost immediately. Grudges don’t come from me, others impose.

I want to help people feel accepted, and will go out of my way to make that happen.

I seek out those who don’t ‘fit in’ because they need my love more.

The most joy I get in any given moment of any given day is by making someone smile. Or laugh. (Making them belly laugh is better)

When I was in my 20’s and living as a waitress and whatnot spending my life as an alternative lifestyle my parents were concerned. Not for my mental health, but for my future. Who would take care of me? How would I retire?

Such irony. Knowing so many people has given me a wider safety net. If I am truly in need I have so many wonderful people to call upon that I trust.

I will say this in all earnestness as a compliment to my parents…everyone I meet loves me. Really, people just like me. Whatever they taught me they taught right.

Often though I wonder if my parents celebrate the true spirit of me, who they raised me to be. When I walk into a room I am well received because of my acceptance of others for who they are. That unconditional love Jesus spoke of.

Would they love me more if I were a ‘true catholic’ who was married with kids and my church friends? Or am I accepted for loving more?

Do your parents love you for how they describe you or who they wanted you to be?

I love my parents for who they are and who they want to be. I accept them and appreciate them for who they are. Really I only want the same.

miracle cure

On my quest to be healthy it seems I am bound to blog in gross and grosser ways.

Last week I started to come down with a cold. One of those you can feel in the back of your head and throat. Your head feels a bit inflated, you are a bit run down, and your throat is on the verge of being sore.

If you are like me you got for the basics first. Head to bed early, drink lots of liquids.

Nope. Still sick.

Went to kick-ass yoga seminar to twist and sweat all the evil germs out of my system.

Nice try. But no dice.

Thus I finally acquiesced and bought a neti pot.

Since being active in the yoga community I have heard accolades over and over about how good for you this thing is. People swear by this damn thingamajig.

While deliberating the purchase of a neti pot a thought did occur to me. When I have a sore in my mouth or my throat is raw I gargle salt water and it helps me heal. Why wouldn't the same concept apply to my sinuses?

Well of course the proof is in the pudding. How was I the day after I bought and used the neti pot?

All better. The cold is gone.

Yes the first time it feels kinda odd. Not uncomfortable or scary, just weird. The trick is to remember to breathe in and out of your mouth while pouring. To make sure I do this I have found myself singing a little ditty to the song "Lollipop" while pouring. It goes like this...

Neti pot, neti pot
oh neti neti neti
neti pot, neti pot
oh neti neti neti
neti pot
*pop*
bum bum bum

What a cheery way to start the day, no?

Officially I am a convert. I'm using it every morning now because an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. By god if I make it through the winter without getting sick I'm buying stock in a company that makes these damn things.

not so raw

Just wanted to give you all an update on the great raw diet experiment of 2009.

The first week went fairly well save the toxin overload. It isn't as hard to eat raw as you might think. Of course that being said I am a single woman with no kids working a regular nine to five. I have the time to prepare tasty raw food meals and snacks.

Which I also have to point out take less time to prepare than cooked foods. Half the time to be exact. Since when you cook you prep then heat then eat. Living raw you just prep and eat. Very efficient. And half the dishes.

So I am at this point about 65%-75% raw. My colonic hydro therapist and the raw books I read suggested that all raw is too much to spring on a body and that I should do "raw till dinner" instead. So I eat raw for breakfast, lunch, and snacks, followed by a dinner consisting of a raw side plus some combo of cooked veggies, meat, or starch.

Overall I feel good. The first week I was tired all the time thus eating cooked foods at dinner is definitely sitting better with this body of mine.

Am I as energetic as I was while on the detox? Not quite yet. I'm still a little sluggish toward the end of the workday, have to motivate to go to yoga or to run. While on the detox I had so much energy I almost had to go work out!

Of course I'm not going to bed at 10:00 like while on the detox either. That might have something to do with it.

Thus I'm sticking with the raw till dinner for another week or two, to see how it pans out.

playing dead

See if you can spot the rockstar yogi playing savasana...

More fun videos from the creator Bite Size Yoga. Enjoy!

drugged

Am I really the person to be living this super duper healthy lifestyle? I ask myself because right now I have a little bit of a headache.

Not a big one, seriously it is a *hint* of one. Like when I'm busy I don't notice it at all.

Yet my first reaction still is to pop a couple of advil.

Gotta tell ya, I don't understand the people who don't take over the counter drugs as readily as me. I have a couple friends who forget that they could take pain pills at all. Or cold pills. Or cough medicine. They just move through life in discomfort until someone reminds them that there is a magical drug to make them feel better.

Let me tell you, I never forget magical drugs.

Thus here I am mentally reaching for an advil. Every fiber of my being is saying "Why be in any discomfort at all? One little swallow and you'll be right as rain."

But here I am resisting because I've been restricting myself from putting anything in my body that is not all natural and unprocessed. Painkillers are processed.

Oh wait - but asprin isn't! It is tree bark!! Or some dried version thereof.

Ha, that's just me rationalizing again. Dammit. We'll see how long this uber healthy life really lasts...

TMI

With the detoxing and the raw food thing I've been reading a lot of books. One thing that all these books have in common is they stress how important it is for your body to eliminate the toxins, and that you need to aid your body as much as possible.

They all suggest some of the same things to do this. Dry brushing the skin, sweating in saunas, and regular...ahem...movements.

One thing they also all rather strongly suggest is colon hydrotherapy. Yes, that would be a colonic. I mean, every book really REALLY pushes it. All based on the theory that the rate of toxins being cleared out of your body increases with healthy behavior and therefore it is important to give yourself an extra helping hand with elimination. If you don't then you risk the danger of the nasties building up freeform in your system, which will result in you feeling very sick.

Now I don't know about you, but that seemed farfetched. Too woo-woo. And also the idea of getting a colonic is kinda scary, having had all the tummy issues in my life.

But that's what I thought when I read the books. Then the toxin buildup actually happened to me Thursday night.

After eating all raw four days I was beginning to feel a bit off. The lymph nodes under my chin were swollen. I was really really tired. Next I started to feel cold. Cold like when you have a fever. But my temperature was fine. My legs started to ache. And finally the nausea came on. My god I felt terrible. I laid in bed wearing three sweatshirts under two blankets in pain yet so exhausted I actually felt drugged, all while wanting to puke.

What the frick??

No way was it food poisoning, I had been doing all organic super healthy. It hit me - the toxin thing those books wrote about was actually for real. And I was swimming in blech. Which of course meant...oh boy...I would have to get a colonic.

Crap.

(Ha, get it?)

Thus yesterday I bit the bullet and did it. Woods gravity method colon hydrotherapy. Forty-five minutes of flushing out my pipes. It wasn't as embarrassing as I thought it would be, the hydrotherapist was actually really fun to talk to and full of awesome info about different dieting lifestyles and their effects on the body.

It was however as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. But not because of the gear and where it goes. Because it is forty-five minutes of water being pumped in to your colon. Of which your body wants to move back out. You are basically bloated and mildly crampy for almost an hour. Not fun. Nope.

So how do I feel now, was it worth it? Hard to say since I drank too much last night and am hung over. I will say that my tummy is a little flatter today, so much so that I keep looking at it in surprise. As to my state of toxicity and overall health from the cleanse - that we'll have to wait and see. But if it prevents another episode like the other night? Hell then sign me up as a convert.

One last thought did cross my mind though. What if all the toxin stuff is falooey and really you just feel sick because your body doesn't like the diet?

Just a little food for thought.

(My god I'm a pun maniac today!! Good post for it...)

qualify

Okay, some of you may have suspected this already. Being that I've been running so many races and I already volunteered at one this year as well.

For kicks I'm seeing if I can qualify for the 2010 ING NYC Marathon.

In order to pull this off the nine races since July. This takes a little diligence since most people start their count in the beginning of the year.

When I decided to give this a whirl I counted out all the qualifying races that were left in the year, and either I was going to have to run a half marathon this weekend (Grete's Great Gallop) or a 15K on Dec 19th.

Just in case you didn't know, December is COLD. I don't mind running in some cold, but middle of December getting my ass out to central park in below freezing weather to wait for the gun to go off to start the race and then be all sweaty afterwards outside when you stop...not fun.

So I decided to make the half marathon a goal. It was going to be tight; I had just enough time to train responsibly - only increasing my mileage each week by 10%. So I got started. Ran long runs of four miles, six miles, eight miles....

Then remembered how bored I get during long runs. And that even though I loved the feeling of accomplishment with completing a marathon that I HATE all the training. All those long runs. Ugh.

Thus I stopped training for the half. I've been keeping my runs to six miles max because that is the limit of my interest.

As luck would have it I was misinformed on one little point. Just before the half this weekend there is a shorter race, a 1.7 mile Norway Run. Which I thought wasn't a qualifier. But I went out on a limb and actually asked NYRR...to find out it does count towards my nine races!!

Game. On. After that only four races to go.

Now I'll have to figure out if I actually want to run another marathon....not quite sure on that one yet.

out of office

Back to the dating files.  Seems 2009 is my year of dating via chemistry.com.

Early August I met someone, we'll call him Drama since he's a playwright/actor.  We hit it off really well at the start.  He was really attentive and affectionate, just the way I like 'em.  When we would go out on dates he would ask "when can I see you again" and I'd get at least one email or text a day. 

Sappy sweet.  So my speed.

Thus I was really excited.  Hell, I even went out and bought some new clothes for our dates.  Which I NEVER do. 

Next all of a sudden Drama got busy.  Really busy.  His day job started throwing projects at him that ate up his weekend and the play that he wrote and was acting in was heading into heavy rehearsals. 

Since we had such a good couple of weeks I was all supportive.  "Sure I understand you are busy, I've been busy before."  But then time moved on.  We only saw each other for an occasional booty call.  No catch up before, a sleep over and then a see ya later.

Then there were the daily emails.  Our fun frequent email exchanges came down to one a day from him asking how I was.  I of course would write back some details and funny stories.  Witty banter.  Then when I asked about his day it was always "busy and tired".

Seriously, I was dating an out of office message for three weeks.  Same thing, over and over.  The response varied in grammar but that is about it.

Listen, I do get being booked and having a lot going on.  But seriously with that much going on isn't there something, ANYTHING to talk about?  At least for me there is.  Activity gets the gears a'turnin, motivates ideas and inspiration.  Gives new perspective and insight.

In a last ditch effort I told him I was tired of dating via email.  So he agreed to go on a date...to see a movie.  The conversation was the same out of office message, saw the movie, then he wanted to hook up.

Oh no.  It doesn't work like that.  At least not for me.  I want someone who is interested in what I have going on and has interesting thing of their own to share.  So that was the end of that. 

On the bright side whatever that was - busy or not that into me - it was my favorite breakup of the year.  All it took was me not returning one email and one text and not reaching out on my own.  No confrontation no issues.  Love it.

Yes I may be a wuss when it comes to breaking up, but when it works out to my favor then I'm much more interested in continuing my dating streak.  Because next time instead of having a breakup made for me I'll have a relationship made for me instead.  Nice.

livin' raw

Okay, I have decided to take a leap. I am going to live raw for a while.


Over the detox I already talked about how awesome I felt by dipping my toe into the raw diet world. Well I've been eating more and more 'normal' foods since then and while my energy is still totally at a high compared to pre-detox I'm not feeling quite as spectacular.


So I 'm going to do it. But with a few rules.


No preachiness. This is how I'm going to eat for a while, that's all. We'll see how long I can go at work and in life just making raw choices and not calling attention to a food lifestyle. I vow not to bring it up as a topic of conversation. If someone asks about it I'll gladly explain, but I'm not going to make this a thing. My blog is the best place to talk this all out, so people can turn away if they are not interested.


Flexibility. If I'm at a party or out to dinner with friends I will eat normally. That means sharing regular appetizers and partaking in cooked foods. If you don't count snacks there are 21 meals in a week, if one or two of those are not raw the benefits of my diet won't be lost. Eating with friends has social and cultural repercussions that I believe are very important and I don't want to miss out on.


Real world. Where I'm still not drinking coffee I'm going to drink tea. And while wine is considered a raw food (never heated over 120 degrees) I will still enjoy a beer or two. Or ten, since you all know me. The idea of this lifestyle is to rotate my meals and snacks around being raw, there are going to be foods and drinks that I still want to consume, and so I will. Thus I'm not 100% raw, the percentage is yet to be seen but I'm aiming for 75%-90% for now.


It won't be hard to make this transition; most of the food in my pantry is unprocessed. I had eaten, given away, or thrown out all the prepared food weeks ago. The biggest commitment I had to make was investing in a good food processor. So I went whole hog and bought the Cuisinart elite die-cast 12 cup that has the additional 4-cup bowl included.

Isn't it pretty? When on the detoxing I was buying my food prepared, but four bucks for a single serving of carrot raisin salad when I could make five servings for the same price doesn't make sense.
Besides, I've always wanted to make my own pesto and hummus. And it works as a blender too, so I can have smoothies all the time! 

*Joy*


Should this be a lifestyle that I end up embracing for a while I'll have to get a dehydrator next. I bought a recipe book and while there are tons of tasty meals I can make with my new toy above, it seems a dehydrator is a key tool in food preparation for living raw. But we'll cross that road when we get to it.

Off I go to buy my groceries for the week! I wonder if it will be cheaper to live off of produce as opposed to processed foods. We'll see.

gentle nudge

Just in case I was considering rolling over in bed this morning and skipping out on running...the jackhammer stepped in and guided me back to the virtuous path.

All new yorkers have had to live through this. Most likely more than once. Being woken in the morning by the dulcet sounds of a jackhammer pounding away. During the week the official start time is 7:00 am, and out of kindness to us poor corporate schmucks they don't start on Saturdays until 8:00 am.

How generous of them right??

One time out of spite I decided I would not let the relentless drilling outside my window disturb my beauty sleep. After being rudely woken from my slumber I ran around my apartment to find the earplugs I had bought for an international flight and never used. Once found I stuffed them in my ears.

And could still hear the roadwork.

So then I wrapped my head in a blanket and put pillows right next to either ear. While not completely blocking out the sound I was able to get back to sleep for probably another half hour.

Yeah, I showed them.

living caffeine free

Yes, you did read that post title correctly. I, Bridget Rockstar, have been living caffeine free since August 5th. That would be seven weeks for those of you counting.

Okay let me qualify that a bit. I have had coffee twice in that time after the actual detox. Quite tasty java sent to me by my cousin Cath and her girly-friend Heath from a Portland coffee house. But both times were on the weekend for no other reason but the enjoyment of really good coffee. Not the drug effects.

Two months ago I never thought I would be able to function without caffeine. A couple of times I tried to power through without my coffee or red bull, only to feel like I was walking underwater with my brain in a fog. Not fun and not conducive to getting work done.

Yet here I am working at top capacity every day without my regular cup (or six) of joe.

Oh, and don't think I've been tempted! If I had one too many the night before or am in the middle of a really stressful day I totally crave a cuppa. But having held on this long makes me think I could have quite possibly kicked the habit for good.

First smoking, now coffee. What's next??

okay, if I HAVE to...

My iphone lost the ability to ring.

Not from old age, but from me being a klutz and dropping it all the time. Specifically the silencer button on the side of the phone broke, leaving it on quiet for all eternity.

Indeed I made an effort, scheduling a mac bar appointment and visiting the genius. But sadly this little switch on the side cannot be replaced. The choice was simple - live with no auditory notice of phone calls or text messages or buy a new phone.

Darn. (Not)

So yay I have a new iphone! The 3GS of course with a whopping 32GB of memory. For the first time since I have had an ipod my entire music library can come along with me for the ride.

*joy*

Watch out world, rockstar now comes with video!

fat lip

This is just a really fun fact about rockstar.

Well, I don't know about fun. Maybe oddly interesting? Or the weird kinda gross where you can't look away?

Either way…to my story. In general when I break out with acne I don't tend to get those little pimples. Oh no, I get the massive under the skin cysts that bulge and grow and take two weeks to go away.

When I'm REALLY lucky one will start on my chin about a quarter of an inch below my lower lip...and give me a fat lip.

Seriously.

Take this morning for example. I woke up to the left side of my bottom lip being swollen - resulting in its being about a half an inch higher than the right side. The zit on the chin isn't puffy, for some reason since there is so little to the face in that area the swelling goes up instead of out.

In the past I've gone the positive route and assumed that no one really notices. I mean, how much can a pimple really do to my mouth??

Enough I suppose. People can totally see the difference. Last time it happened as soon as one of my employees saw me he asked me about it. Understandable. It was a fat lip. Anyone would want to know if I had acquired the swelling by knocking myself on something. Or gotten in a bar fight. Or fallen on my face while trying to hit a punching bag.

But I digress. When it happens it is noticeable. So I wake up and desperately ice the damn blemish and take three Advil in hopes the anti-inflammatory action takes effect enough to help the swelling go down by the time I get to work.

Good times.

That's all really, just part of my life. Just thought you'd enjoy the share. Happy Monday!

they had to go there

New York City is littered with advertisements for the new ABC fall season of sitcoms. They are plastered all over subway cars and bus stops, you can't go anywhere without a reminder that they've got these shows.

And every time I see one I find myself uncontrollably rolling my eyes. Just seeing the add makes me cringe.

For what show you ask? Oh, Cougar Town.

Some show starring Courtney Cox as a recently divorced 40 something "getting herself back out there" so she doesn't "shrivel up and die".

Honestly I'm trying to pinpoint why I find the entire premise of the show so insulting. Is it the double standard that a woman in her forties dating younger men is entertainment but reverse the genders and it is romantic?

Maybe it is that I feel that I am the target market and I utterly don't relate or don't care about this material. Which makes me feel like I'm being sold to which we all know is annoying.

Quite possibly it is also a little that if this show was to work for me it would have to be an actress who was more...relatable. Human. Courtney Cox seems kind of plastic and awkward. And not in a good way.

Whatever it is I am curious to see if my reactions translate to Middle America. Being a single never married woman living in NYC makes me kind of a smaller demographic. Is it possible housewives in Idaho dream of jumping into the dating pool again looking like Monica from friends?

Guess we'll see soon enough.

damn you HBO!

The other day I watched the documentary Youth Knows No Pain on HBO.

This movie follows the 38-year-old woman as she investigates the anti-aging markets of the USA. Everything from the effectiveness of creams and serums to the efficacy of injectibles and eventually surgical procedures. She interviews people who use the methods as well as the people who create the products and the doctors who administer them.

Why in gods name did I watch the damn thing? What was I thinking?

It was done well; I have to admit that at least. The problem is that the lead Mitch McCabe in the film is a year older than me and of course obsessed with looking old. She scrutinized herself and everyone around her in such detail that now I'm looking in whole new places for signs of aging. After an hour of watching all I could think was "If she is my age and really needs to have work done, I must too! What am I not seeing?"

Oh paranoia, my good friend. Prior to viewing this film I had exercised my own little efforts to maintain a youthful appearance. I wear bangs to hide my forehead and regularly exfoliate and moisturize to prevent any eye or lip wrinkles. (Years of smoking may have prematurely started pucker lines.)

But wait! There are other signs of aging! The fat in your face moves south, making the top of your face thinner and creating those howdy-doody jowl lines. Now all of a sudden THIS is the most noticeable sign of age I see on others. And the only place I look when I catch myself in the mirror.

At this point I'm actually considering injectables. The only thing really stopping me is the concern that once you start you can’t stop, that you need to maintain. That would be a pain in the arse.

Okay I lie; the maintenance isn’t the only thing stopping me. With the detox I dropped some pounds, and I’m still losing weight. I’m also kinda hoping that if I keep on getting thinner I’ll lose some of the fat from my face. Thus looking younger.

So we’ll see what wins. Gained confidence from being thinner or neurosis about looking my age.

After going the whole detox – all natural route I’m guessing the former.

so frickin' close

Today I ran the Fitness Mind, Body Spirit Games 4 mile race sponsored by the New York Road Runners, and completed the race in 38:18 averaging 9:34 a mile.

Just shy of my personal record. By how much you ask?

Three seconds. Three goddamn seconds.

Seriously, if I had just dug down a little deeper at the end and gotten a good sprint I would have had a new PR!!

And then also would probably have puked. I was on the edge of vomiting already; the last several yards were up a steep hill. Bastards had to go and plan the race that way.

Okay I totally know that I should be reveling in such an amazing accomplishment. Yeah, I am aware that I am totally lucky to be back running again after having my knee surgery and that getting this speed improvement is a bonus.

But runners don't work that way. We want to do better. And when we do hit a new best we look at what we did wrong so we can go even faster the next time. You may be running a race but your main competitor is yourself.

That's one of the reasons so many people will run more than one marathon. Twenty-six point two miles offers endless opportunities to make improvements. After completing the race all you do is look back at oh so many choices you could have made differently.

It is ironic that in my life this is the only thing I really allow myself to "what if" over. My life choices have molded me, and since I like who I am this makes me grateful for my experiences.

Guess I’ll be adding more hill work to my running schedule for that next race…

how easy are you?

Exactly how does one define being a high or low maintenance girlfriend?

Ah, the age old question. As a relatively low-maintenance friend I'd like to say that it translates to dating. But I'm afraid I'm pretty good at looking subjectively at myself and I've decided I am in fact high maintenance.

*Sigh*

It is tricky because I’m not sure how I would define the lower spectrum. As far as I'm concerned I know that I need a lot of affection and attention.

A lot.

The level of flattery of course has to be much more significant in the beginning of a relationship than later on. Just because I like a lot of proof. I need to be reminded often that I am very high on the priority list of the guy I am dating. If the guy I'm seeing isn't dying to know about my day and showering me with compliments at least once every 24 hours I'm so done.

Now you are totally agreeing that I'm not easy to date right?

So if I had to define low maintenance? Okay with a shout out on a busy day. Fine with only going on a date once a week if it is a busy time of year. Doesn't start a fight in public. Not made jealous by a simple conversation with a single girl. Only expects gifts on special occasions, and when a gift is given it doesn’t have to be extravagant.

Granted I'm only needy for attention, not the jealous and argumentative type. Thus I am relieved to believe on the scale of difficulty I'm only medium hard to date.

That's kind of comforting I suppose. I do have to wonder what other tricky girlfriend traits I didn't list however…

conspiracy theory

If you live in NYC and are a fan of Central Park you may have heard about the storm on August 18th.

Supposedly this was the worst storm in park history. At this time the fallen and badly damaged tree count is up to 400, which is a frickin lot of trees.

What strikes me as odd is how localized this destruction was. All this damage occurred north of 95th street, and the park only goes to 110th st. And it all happened in a half an hour.

No damage occurred lower in the park, and no buildings around the north part of the park were afflicted.

Stranger and stranger, right??? After the storm you couldn't walk 50 feet without seeing HUGE trees lying fallen on the ground.

So here is what I'm thinking. No way was a storm that localized. NO WAY.

It was aliens. Like a skirmish broke out with the real men in black.

Okay, or maybe it was a Godzilla type monster war. Some kind of large mutant creature fight that broke out and trees were stepped on and knocked askew.

Oooh! Or it was a wizard fight! Like the death eaters vs. the order of the phoenix!! All those spells flying helter skelter felled some timber.

One of these ideas has to be right. I’m sure there is some cover up about what really happened.

Best of all? The huge piles of wood chips currently hanging out in the park. They smell awful, not at all like normally fragrant shredded wood. Methinks there may be a dead alien corpse or some such hidden under there.

Seriously.

hijinx

Wow, what a weekend.

Last minute this week Hools and I set up some Labor Day weekend plans.

Saturday was to be tubing down the Delaware River followed by wine tasting with Urban Adventures. Sunday would be a trip to Coney Island checking out the aquarium and then a Cyclones game.

The urban adventure went exactly as planned - and was perfect. Ideal weather, incredibly friendly and fun staff, and an altogether perfectly planned and executed outing. This company has only been around 14 months and I have to say the entire day was so impressive Hools and I are chomping at the bit to sign up for our next adventure "out of the bubble".

Maybe Shootin and Drinkin?

Course I've never really been a whiskey drinker. I think maybe this is more my speed.

Sunday on the other hand did not turn out as planned at all. But ended up being spectacular in entirely other ways.

The day started out sunny and warm, and then the wind kicked up. Holy mother of god sand was blowing everywhere! This caused a mad rush to the aquarium and a line that looked a good half-hour long. So we put the kybosh on that one.

Luckily my favorite thing to do in Coney Island - visiting the freaks at the sideshow - was wide open. We fortuitously arrived just as the show was starting and before the rush. Then we hung out at the freak bar and had a couple of brews before heading over to the Cyclone ball field.

Which was frickin cold. That wind was carrying some very cool fall temperatures and despite the fact I had purchased TWO shirts I was freezing. We did last three beers and eight innings like true troopers though. Then headed back for the city on a search for a nice bar.

And boy did we find it. We stopped at Hibernia, formerly known as the Electric Banana. Remodeled and under new management it seems to have built quite a fun and social community. They had arranged a Met game outing and quite a few clientele returned to the bar afterward to continue the party. And they were sociable. We talked to so many people and had so many laughs, even had a shot or two.

Oh, and I drank a shot out of my shoe.

Yeah.

Some of the regulars were saying that on your birthday there was a stiletto behind the bar that they make you do a shot out of. When I asked the bartender about this tradition he requested that I hand over my flip-flop. You know, the one I wore all day walking around the windy sandy Coney Island and then the subway and the city. So I did.

And then he took a bottle of jagermeister and started pouring some down my flip-flop. Without even thinking...

Yeah I drank out of my nasty disgusting shoe.

Then sat in shock for like ten minutes at what I had done. Obviously I am very susceptible to suggestion. My god, who am I??

Best part? Like a half hour later I did another shot out of my other shoe. And when there was a little jager left in my heel the bartender finished it off.

Awesome. Simply awesome. I think this is my new favorite bar.

side effects

Odd. Last night I had beer and pizza. That would be reintroducing gluten, alcohol, dairy, and processed meat. (sausage on the pizza.)

Talk about really bringing it on.

Today my guts feel fine. I had a lot of beer so am a little hung over, but still feel the renewed energy from the detox. So far one night of debauchery my body can process, awesome news!

But back to the odd. The one thing that is different? I'm back to biting my nails. For the last few weeks I just didn't feel like it, I have some beer and pizza and the old habit just starts back up.

What is that??

self perception

For the last two years I had convinced myself that I have a weak chin.

This is something that never even hit my radar in my 20's. Thus it came as quite a shock to suddenly see that in all my pics my chin just disappeared.

So I started paying more attention to my poses in photographs. Tilt the head, chin up, keep neck straight. In important meetings I made an effort to keep my posture up as well, doing my best to keep my chin as pronounced as possible.

As I mentioned this detox has helped me shed a few pounds. And guess what. My chin is back.

All along I had a double chin. Damn you fat fairy!! It snuck up on me somewhere, those extra couple inches of adipose tissue.

It makes sense to me now, being that I never was so self conscious of my chin when I was younger. But isn't it odd how I deceived myself that it was a permanent flaw instead of a correctable one? Or maybe resigned myself that it was something that was more noticeable with age as opposed to more noticeable with heft?

Guess it just goes to show - I really show weight gain in my face. Lucky me. But good to note for the future.

Now I wonder if I lose five more pounds if I’ll look five years younger, less wrinkles? Talk about motivation to diet!

boyfriend shuffle

What the heck do I want from a boyfriend?

God, I ask myself that question all the time. Well maybe not all the time, just when I think about dating.

A few months ago I asked Ctina the purpose to having a significant other, and she had a pretty good response. To have a number 1. Your automatic reliable fall back person. The one who you run to first with good news or who will pick you up when you are down. (Or in my mind picks you up when you have outpatient surgery.)

That I get. It works with the logic of my life because I've always had a really wonderful network of friends who I rely on for these things, thus my drive for a designated No 1 is lessened.

But what do I actually want from someone I'm seeing? Ugh, that's hard to pin down. Looking at how I've dated lately helps.

Basics include: smart, funny, accepting of alternative lifestyles, good in social situations, moral but not religious, ambitious about some life path, attractive. Oh, and let's not forget the most important - he has to be into me. That's a biggie.

Guy number one this year (we'll call him Mr. Magazine because of where he worked) was smart, funny, and cute. He had the geeky glasses and casual clothing look I go for (aka Rivers Cuomo), and was really up on his current events. We had a good time hanging out.

With Mr. Magazine sadly there wasn't chemistry. We didn't really have a burning desire to spend time together, and the bedroom was more robotic than passionate. So that only lasted about a month.

Fella number two (we'll call him Mr. Layoff since he was laid off of work the day of our first date) was sweet, attentive, and cuddly. He was really into indie music which works for me because I love seeing live bands in small venues, and constantly was emailing me and texting me sweet nothings. Which incidentally I discovered that I really enjoy. At least for the first several weeks.

Unfortunately Mr. Layoff didn't add much to conversation, and my desire to spend time with him fell well below the radar. And where the bedroom was much more passionate at first the frequency of the passion became almost nonexistent right away. We dated for six weeks and there was one night he came over to watch a movie and then slept over - and we barely made out!

No chemistry after all, that had to end.

So I definitely have learned something to put on my 'yes and no' list for dating.

Lust vs. real chemistry.

Sex driven lust is fun and will get you through several dates if the guy qualifies for boyfriend potential. And if the bedroom escapades are really hot then it may last more than a couple dates.

But it is really about the chemistry, that thing that makes you just want to be in the same room as the other person as much as possible. Without that the relationship is doomed.

Now I just need to come up with some kind of gauge to tell the difference.

all about a detox

Free at last! Free at last! Thank god almighty I'm free at last!

Okay - it really wasn't that bad. Not at all.

Overall the detox went really well. As I mentioned the other day I had bountiful energy, lost weight (and inches), and my skin looks fantastic. Best of all the pipes are working better than they have in years. This for me is saying something.

All the promises came true. I wasn't hungry, didn't feel deprived, and only craved something one day there at the end. One odd side effect is that I haven't bitten my nails in three weeks. Which is kind of unexpected and weird. How long will that last I wonder?

So now what do I do with this? Do I slowly revert back to my unhealthy ways, waiting to gradually revert back to being tired so I need another detox soon? Or do I incorporate some of what I learned and continue to eat better?

Ugh, I don't know. What I do know is that I want to keep having this much energy and I would love to lose eight more pounds. So for now I'll just keep eating the same way, testing one of the restricted foods every few days.

Today I incorporated the nightshade veggies. I love hot peppers and adore french fries, here is hoping I don't have to eliminate them 'for good'. Later this week I'm going to try gluten. Hope hope hope I can get back to drinking beer!!

chasing the wagon

Boy do I want a drink.

You were all just waiting to hear that, weren't you?

Oddly enough this is the first time in the whole detox that I've craved alcohol. Even last night having dinner with the petes there wasn't a temptation to imbibe.

Probably the best thing to do is review how good I have felt through this whole thing. The energy, the elevated mood, the clear skin, the weight loss...

Or maybe I'll just keep busy. That might be the best course of action.

Two more days!

livin' raw

Just to get as much out of this detox as I can (day 18 of 21, hooray!) I have been trying to eat as much raw food as possible.

This frankly is not all that difficult considering what is on the list of what I can eat.

Conveniently I not only live in NYC which is exceptionally detox friendly, but I also am a mere four blocks from the Westerly Market which has prepared raw organic foods.

From what I understand the raw food movement contends that heating fruits and veggies above 116 degrees destroys important enzymes. And I guess these enzymes are good for you or some such. Oh, and the life force is stronger if the food is raw. Yeah.

What is on the menu for today's lunch? Raw organic mashed potatoes. And guess what? Not a spud to be seen. Ingredients are: Cauliflower, cashews, thyme, lemon juice, and sea salt.

Appearance? Looks about right. Consistency? Yep, just like mashed potatoes. Taste? Not that bad. Not great, but I think the fact that it is cold really is detrimental to the flavor. If I trusted myself to heat to a balmy 110 degrees then they most probably would be pretty darn good!

So far my favorite of the raw foods from the Westerly are the beet salad (slivered beets, sunflower seeds, agave nectar, salt) and the mock tuna sandwich (fake bread made from nuts and seeds, fake tuna from slew of veggies and nuts).

To be honest I'm not sure if the raw foods are really making a difference, whether or not my body is digesting more efficiently or absorbing more nutrients. But if I find some stuff that is tasty along the way it can't hurt, right? If it wasn't for the prepared stuff I probably wouldn't have tried doing some raw at all. Besides salads of course.

This definitely isn't a lifestyle I would do full time though. No way no how. I genuinely love hot meals!!

how to recover

Okay, I'm going to throw something out there that has been bothering me.

Over the years I've read an article or two (or five million) concerning what to eat after a workout. How to recover the best and get the most out of your training. What the ratio of protein to carbs to fat should be, how many calories you need, when you should eat.

Pretty much across the board the advice is to eat less than 90 minutes after you workout to replenish and refuel.

But this doesn't make sense. Look at the foods you are eating and how long it takes to break down those nutrients! The only things that I think absorb right away through your stomach lining are water, aspirin, and alcohol. Almost everything else has to be chemically processed in the stomach and then eventually absorbed in the intestines.

It can take HOURS to break down a snack.

Methinks all this research about when to eat is based off of those super-athletes whose bodies are in hyper drive to absorb nutrients because they burn it all off again so quickly.

As for the rest of us mere mortals? I'm guessing what you eat 12 hours before makes a whole lot more difference to how you recover from exercise.

But that's just my opinion. From an utterly unqualified non-medically trained perspective.

the single life

One other thing of note that has been going on - all of a sudden I've been dating.

My regular readers know that over the years I date here and there, on and off. I'll meet someone, go on a few dates, and then be done seeing anyone for a few months.

You definitely can't say I'm not totally comfortable being single.

But how much of that is comfort and how much is stowing myself away in a 'safe' little nook, not risking any kind of attachment for fear of being hurt? To be honest I'm not really sure.

From my level of personal happiness being single I would say more of the former, but I won't lie I think there has always been a nibble of apprehension on my part as well. Even in my 20s I was fully aware that I dreaded commitment, somewhere believing that nothing is permanent so why lay it all on the line?

Lately the trepidation has dissipated. And it has been nice. Honestly I give full credit to my immersion into yoga; it healed and still heals me in so many surprising ways.

As often happens in life here I am open to something new and what do you think comes along? Boys.

Chemistry.com has recently been batting 1000. I have been a member for years (at no charge to me and with little interaction) with nary a good candidate thrown my way. Over the last six months it has been a flurry of activity filled with actual dating potential.

At one point I was dating two people at once. For more than one date and one week. Which for me is unheard of.

(BTW dating like that is VERY time consuming.)

So more details to come. I'll fill you all in on the boyz, they’ll be getting their own posts.

she never learns

You know I thought I was oh so smart volunteering for the NYC half last weekend. Because I had learned from experience that it was a total bear to run. Always above 80 degrees and above 80% humidity.

As I cheered those 10,000 runners on I couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor saps.

Stupid ass me signs up for a 5k this weekend.

Duh.

Needless to say it was hot and humid. I rained in the morning, stopped before the start. And then the sun came out. You know what that means?

That means all that water on the ground starts to evaporate. Steam rising is always fun to run through. Not.

Overall my time was good, finished in just over 31 mins. And I didn't think about the knee once. That's something isn't it? Time and patience can cure so much.

For this race they used some new disposable chip to track our times and right now I'm not finding my results online - which kinda sucks. Guess I'll have to protest and use the pictures they take as proof.

You know, if I needed proof that I ran a race for something. Not that anything comes to mind. :)

why the detox?

Here I am on day 12 of my detox.

When I tell people the laundry list of what I'm giving up for the 21 one days most of them tend to respond with "What?!? Why?!?" Of course in an incredulous tone.

Throughout my life I have been a high-energy kinda gal. I pride myself on being the life of the party, and was always on the go. Heck I held down two jobs and still went out a couple nights a week for years with nary a stumble in my stride.

Fast forward to the present day where I'm drinking six cups of coffee a day just to feel baseline normal and it is still a major effort to motivate to go out on the town at night.

Hells bells, I'm just 37 living a life of relative leisure. I should not be this exhausted all the time.

On a whim I picked up a book my company publishes, Spent. (As in lack of energy, not money)

The more I read the more I wanted to read. It claimed that if you are feeling worn down, are constantly bloated, can't lose weight despite diet/exercise, get sick often, can't sleep, etc etc then you just need to let your body heal itself.

Reboot.

Having gone on a two week juice fast I am no stranger to the idea of natural healing alternatives. So I took a couple weeks to trim down my kitchen and wean myself off of my coffee.

For breakfast I have a smoothie, lunch a salad or some quinoa/chicken/veggie combo, and dinner the same or back to a smoothie. If I get hungry I snack on fresh fruit or raw nuts.

Not hard right? Especially since I'm just not hungry. Not like before the detox, when for some reason I was hungry all the time - it felt like every couple of hours.

Oh, and the energy? Lord I'm waking up before my alarm, totally ready to take on the day. I've NEVER been that person!

In general so far so good! Granted I've never done something like this for three weeks, so we'll see how my resolve to be healthy holds up.

Then I’ll have to figure out the order in which to reintroduce the foods back into my diet. Any guesses what comes back first? Heh.

she's back!

Boy, do I have a lot of catching up to do.

How have you all been? Feeling good? Livin life? Keepin' on keepin on?

It hasn't been so much that I've been busy as uninspired. Over time I just felt like I didn't have too much to say. And I would add that it seems I've been through a rough patch as well - which I think really affected me more than I even realized.

That being said I have a skip in my step again. You have no idea how much I missed that.

Why am I back? Right now two things - I'm back running again and I'm on a detox.

After a TON of yoga my muscles developed enough for my knee to get back to working order. It took patience and time but I even ran a four mile race last month, and it felt terrific.

The knee will never feel the same, I can tell there is a piece of cartilage missing, but it doesn't hurt. That is the key.

And the detox? Oh, the detox. Currently I am on day 11 of 21 giving up gluten, soy, dairy, sweeteners, nightshade veggies, caffeine, and alcohol. With that list it looks like there is nothing I can eat but don't you worry, there is plenty.

Killer thing about the detox is that all the promises are coming true. My energy is off the charts! One claim I scoffed at was that after a few days you would crave veggies and love the taste.
Yeah, right.
Well lo and behold last night I had some veggies with hummus and found myself eating just the veggies!! Mid-chew I even found myself saying "This celery is delicious! Wait, I hate celery..."

Maybe I should try Brussels sprouts tonight...oh the possibilities!

it's the little things

Today while travelling to grab some lunch I passed by a gentleman walking while singing and playing a ukulele.

Because that is something I'm sure everyone sees all the time.

This city constantly sup rises and delights me to this day. Not that living here nine years is forever, but still.

My god, nine years and I'm still working for the man. Really, I've got to do something about that. Not that it isn't on my radar, I've been using the Lululemon Goal Site to keep track of where I go next.

Of course first on the list is to do a handstand without a wall. So we'll see how that whole non-corporate life thing measures up...

so sad

Yes he was reclusive, eccentric, and clouded in mystery. But all the same I find myself greatly saddened by the untimely death of Michael Jackson.

Like many of you I have been glued to my TV for the past several hours, shocked by his death. I don't know why. Maybe because in spite of all his oddities his gifts of music and dance have permeated our culture to such a point that we can't imagine the world without him.

In memoriam a re post of my brush with his greatness back in early 2001. R.I.P Michael Jackson.

_______________________________________

I got to meet Michael Jackson once. I spent two hours with him, as a matter of fact. As his waitress.

Fresh off the metaphorical boat to NYC, I was working two jobs, publishing assistant by day and server at a swanky restaurant by night. The wait staff had a mix of experience, newbies like me who had been on the island for five months, and a score of actors who had been slinging drinks in between gigs for years. Imagine my surprise when I go into work and found out that I was to be the lucky person to wait on MJ and his production crew. They were in town to record his last album.

They were late; they had to lose the paparazzi on the way to the restaurant. He came in, his foot in a cast and wearing the facemask. Once in the banquet room the mask came off and the party of six relaxed a bit.

Michael Jackson was very pleasant, polite, and subdued. He ordered vegetable broth and orange soda. The rest of his party ate and drank like kings - on his dime. They whole meal they pandered for his attention, trying to engage him in conversation. I have to admit, he did his best to comply.

There was definitely something off about him. It was like there was a heavy fog surrounding him, emitting this weird "please, just let me be" vibe. You could sense that he was so tired of always having to give something to everyone. Really, every single person who met him wanted to be acknowledged, noticed, touched. I realized the greatest service I could give to him was to let him alone as much as possible.

I felt profoundly sorry for him. You could just tell that fame had scarred him so deeply there was probably no recourse. He would have to be completely un-famous for at least twenty years to even regain a semblance of normality. This man did not just give the world music, dance, and culture. He gave the world his life and his sanity. Was it worth it?

proof of age

Oh, I've got one for ya.

On occasion after a tough day I'll have a beverage at home before I hit the hay. It doesn't have to be much, and for a nightcap I'm not going to be picky.

Often I've done various mixed drink variations, If there is vodka on hand I'll make do with lime juice, soda water, some kind of drink mix. Several things will work to make straight liquor a cocktail.

Tonight? Well to mix with vodka I had my orange flavor Metamucil on hand as well as some soda water.

Everyone can use a little fiber, right?

Right?

Dude.

Oh...

Dude.

But really, is it so wrong to ask for intoxication and regularity at the same time?

**Question you will never hear posed by a 20-something**

BTW - Tasted pretty good. Note for retirement parties....

rollover

So I signed up for rollover minutes with my cell phone plan.

I don't talk on the phone much.

Guess how many anytime minutes I have.

4,507. That's 75 hours. Three days uninterrupted. Who wants to guess how quickly I burn through these in April once my yogi plan goes live? Ha.

c'mon

This morning I think the NYT is having a joke on me.

In the article that states that we are just steps away from the cure to a common cold, the picture of the nasty rhinovirus is posted...



Dude, its a soccer ball. With stars on it.

Gotta be a prank, I swear...

pushing yourself

Howdy readers! Sorry for the radio silence. You know when I started this thing I couldn't wait to write another post. I would think about it all the time, obsessed with coming up with good material and getting it on the World Wide Web. But now? Not so much.

Hmmm. Wonder why.

Anyhoo the other day I was in a yoga class and I discovered something. I can lower myself from plank position and hover halfway down (known as Chaturanga Dandasana) for days on end. That wasn't the discovery; I've been building that strength for months.

The discovery was that the teacher asked us to reverse the flow and come up from the hover I couldn't do it. Not even one.

My god. I have become a freak of nature with built triceps and no biceps at all.

Fortunately I am not one to resign myself to my fates. In discussing my revelation with friends last night a game plan was hatched. In the form of a challenge. My friend Ctina had told me a while ago about a website that has a program to reach 100 push-ups in just six weeks.

(At the bar I was remembering incorrectly that it was 100 push-ups in 100 days, but 42 days is even more impressive!)

Luckily I'm not the only person I know who likes to set crazy fitness goals and work with elaborate training plans. My buddy Squirrel heard the idea and was sold.

Thus this Monday starts THE CHALLENGE. I don't recall if there was any kind of wager as to completing said gauntlet, but I'm pretty sure when I kick Squirrel's ass I'll be able to tease him mercilessly for months. Years even.

You know, I'm willing to bet that we can get quite a good group together on this one. I'm totally tagging Ctina, Seattle Girl, my sister and her husband, Spaghetti, Colorado Dman, GM Paul, and Vegas Dawn. One because I think they would enjoy joining in our little adventure, two because I will love torturing them should they fall short of the goal.

Who's in??

torn

So besides loving destination NYE (which I still will post about!!) I also adore destination birthdays. And being that my birthday is four days after Vday if I can be gone then too it is a major bonus.

Of course now that I am a proud owner and user of a Passport I am itching to get some more stamps.

One idea I had was to go to a week long yoga retreat in Costa Rica. All inclusive vegetarian meals and two classes a day. Problem was that it was two grand before airfare. Ouch.

Today I received an email with London airfare sales. Total round trip with two free nights in a hotel for five hundred bucks. This I could do in more of a long weekend, four or five nights.

Then on a whim I checked the yoga retreat and they are having a recession special - it is down to nineteen hundred bucks WITH the airfare.

I'm torn. Right now I'm leaning toward London because it is shorter and cheaper. But on the other hand Costa Rica is warm and sunny this time of year. And yoga is good for you.

Decisions, decisions.

soooo cold

Okay, so this morning I woke up to no heat.

Again.

Second time this week, maybe the fifth or sixth time since I've been here. Always on the really cold days. And when there is no heat there is no hot water either, so I can't even warm up in the shower.

Aren't there laws about this???

During the week my saving grace has been this amazing invention, Ojon Rub-Out Dry Cleanser.

This stuff is AMAZING. Sadly my hair gets visibly greasy in a mere 24 hours. Thus the need to wash my hair daily. Which is torture in a cold shower when my apartment has no heat. But with this product a mere spray, rub, and brush later my hair looks fantastic. Good as new. And fullness and body?? Gorgeous.

Methinks with curly or already too-full hair this might be a bit much, but if you have those problems do you really have to wash your hair everyday anyway?

Anyhoo, this stuff rocks my world. So much that if you are getting gifts from me this year you already know it will be one of those wrapped items.

Now if my heat would be just as reliable as this hair product...

what to do when it is cloudy

Day two in the canaries we woke up to overcast skies somewhere just shy of noon. After a short walk we were able to find a place that served English breakfast (baked beans anyone?) and hit the beach.

It was cold without sun.

Luckily that's when TJ and Chris showed up. TJ is a friend of Kzoo Jen's from Kellogg and Chris is his boyfriend. They had already been in the islands for a week, and wanted to head up to the coast to see the cliffs. We were game, so we headed up to Los Gigantes.

Do you see that spec just a little bit left and below the first cliff? That's an entire pirate ship. (or what looked like one.) The cliffs were big indeed. Driving to them was reminiscent of driving highway 1 in California, and Kzoo Jen felt a little bubbly in the tummy so we headed next for some soda. Warm soda of course, since they don't really try hard to chill beverages on Tenerife.

Los Gigantes itself was nestled in the valley of some cliffs, complete with tiny winding one way roads that snaked over and around each other all the way to the water.

That would be an unsuspecting TJ in the bottom left corner.

The next day was overcast as well, so we all spent the most of our time eating, sleeping, and drinking the night away. We pretty much spent the most of our time in an Irish pub.
Yes, I know. We travelled across the world and I still ended up in an Irish pub. But you don't understand!!! There was a live band!! And even ten year old kids were dancing on the tables!! Just look at that crowd!

We danced with the Irish, the English, and even some locals. Oh, and I suppose it was a bonus everyone automatically spoke our language. Didn't notice that at the time.

We also got to help celebrate TJ's birthday, which was the 30th. Here is a picture of TJ and Chris in front of the birthday dessert feast that Chris put together to celebrate. Note everything is chocolate. Joy!!