Happy Halloween Everybody!

Oh what a fun Halloween it's been.

We carved pumkins. We dressed like punk rockers. I mean, who hasn't wanted to be a punk rocker at some point in their life? It was fun!

Food Diary, October 31st

Happy Halloween!

Breakfast:
Fruit salad with pineapple, apples, blueberries and mandarins
whole wheat toast with cashew butter

Lunch:
A giant green salad with cashew caesar dressing
One teeny, tiny slice of veggie pizza

Snack:
One rum ball at all-employee birthday dessert day. Oh what the heck. It's halloween!

Dinner:
Hummus with baked corn chips
Black bean soup

Brussels sprouts with basil and garlic, from Fat Free Vegan. This was my first attempt - ever - at cooking brussels sprouts. They were wonderful!

I love Whole Foods Market

WOW. I got to go grocery shopping today at Whole Foods Market. What a wonderful place! I won't give you the entire list of things that I bought, but here are the things I that I picked up that are not available at my local grocery stores:

Lara Bars (I've never tried these. YUM!)
Red Lentils
French Green Lentils
Chana Dal
Yellow Split Peas
Adzuki Beans
Goji Berries
Baby Bok Choi
Patty Pan Squash
Broccoli Rab
Broccolini
Chicken Chorizo
Jalapeno Hummus
100% Whole Wheat French Bread

Did I mention that I LOVE Whole Foods Market?

Food Diary, October 29

This was not exactly a good day, food-wise. This was what I would call a JUNK day. But you know what? Even at that rate, it was better than 99% of my pre-ETL food days! I still consider this progress!

Here's the problem: Sunday is family breakfast day at my MIL's. She cooks what she wants and we eat it. And she's very concerned about me since I've been sick with this cold all week, and she's convinced that what I need is to stop eating just fruits and veggies and eat some REAL food. I have had a long week and I'm tired and I just didn't feel like arguing about it, so I ate breakfast.

Breakfast:
Eggo waffle (plain!)
Fruit salad with blueberries, mango, pineapple, apple and mandarin (I brought this)
Coffee with soy milk and Carolan's
What I didn't eat: bacon and eggs

Lunch:
Guiltless Gourmet baked torilla chips and jalapeno hummus
Roasted red pepper and tomato soup
More coffee and soy milk
My first ever Lara bar. WOW.
Portland French Bakery 100% whole wheat bread

Dinner:
Green salad
Black bean soup
One bite of carrot cake
A fun size snicker's bar

Do I HAVE to get in the bath?

(Yes Maisy, you do.)

ETL T-Shirt Idea

This is pretty goofy, but I've always liked H = N/C.

So why not put it on a t-shirt?

Food Diary, October 28th

Today was the annual Children's Fair in St. Helens. I manned the company booth all day and lost my voice doing presentations. It was fun.

Food wise, not too bad. Still haven't been to the grocery so I'm running short on vegetables. I did plan ahead well enough to pack my own lunch, which was a good thing: the only thing they had to offer at the fair was hot dogs, carrot cake and popcorn. (Oh, and TONS of candy.)

Breakfast:
Fruit salad with fresh pineapple, banana, orange and apple
A soy milk latte on the way to the children's fair

Lunch:
Carrots, celery and cucumber with hummus
A little bit more pineapple
A handful of walnuts

Dinner:
Hot and sour spicy vegetable soup with beef at Kuy's
A rice paper vegetable roll
Some hot tea
I passed on the fortune cookie (first time for everything!) and had a coconut date roll at home instead.

Water: four or five glasses
The scale was down a pound this morning!

Miss Maisy, my cow-hocked canine

Miss Maisy went to visit the good doctor yesterday.

Maisy has allergies. She is allergic to many foods and also weeds, dust, mold, yeast, and many other things. She has to take steroids to keep her allergies under control. Steroids are bad, but a miserable, itchy dog covered in a rash and hot spots is worse.

Within the past several weeks we have noticed that Maisy's left hind leg twists out with each step. And she's lethargic, and she limps sometimes (not always on the left hind leg, sometimes it's the right one). Most concerning is the fact that she seems to be less sure-footed - we have seen her jump off the couch and do the splits on a few occasions.

Dr. K said her hip and knee joints feel stable, but after watching her walk he wrinkled his brow. Something ain't right, we just don't know what. So he's going to do some research and get back with us.

Time will tell!

Food Diary - October 27th

Why do I let that number on the scale sabotage my good eating? I got up this morning to see the same number I saw yesterday morning. And for whatever reason, I decided that was the perfect excuse to eat poorly today. What a stupid thing to do!

Breakfast:
Grapefruit, apple, banana
Trail mix at 10:00 because I was really, really nauseous from my cold medicine, and food is the only thing that helps, and trail mix was the best thing I could find.

Lunch:
A giant green salad with some chicken, peas and a little bit of dressing on the side.

Dinner:
I made up for my bad lunchtime behavior by eating pretty darned well at dinner, considering that I was at our favorite local steak and pasta joint. We decided to go out because I am still fighting this cold and we have no food and home and I'm too tired to cook anyway. I tried to talk hubby into the thai place, where I could get hot & sour spicy veggie soup for my cold, but he wanted spaghetti and meatballs. So I had a giant green salad and some steamed vegetables in marinara, and one small piece of garlic bread. Not bad, all things considered.

Now I have to decide whether to start a new five day challenge tomorrow, when I'm spending my day at the children's fair and finding good for you food will be a challenge and there will be junk everywhere. Or, do I wait until I'm past this cold and feeling better, and I have the energy to shop and cook?

Food Diary, October 26th

Day two of the 5DC. I'm also still fighting this bug, and today was a big retirement party for two of my co-workers. I helped organize it but since I have been sick all week I didn't get to help out as much as I would have liked. My head is really pounding today!

Breakfast:
Fruit salad with banana, grapefruit, blueberries and apples

Lunch: (at the retirement party)
Romaine, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms and a little tiny bit of thousand island (it was the only dressing there was and I haven't learned to eat salad without dressing yet)
Fruit salad with oranges, grapes, pineapple, honeydew and strawberries
I did NOT eat any retirement cake or sandwich fixings. Willpower!

Dinner:
Carrot and beet salad
Green Machine (steamed kale and collards with onions, tomatoes and garlic)
Fresh pineapple

Dessert:
Coconut date roll

Water: Four or five glasses

Exercise: None, except for fighting a headache.

Food Diary - October 25th

It would have been a good idea to start the 5DC after going grocery shopping... instead I am stuck eating all the food I bought that I thought I would be eating before I knew I was doing it. So you will see that my food choices are a bit different, but I'm still following the same basic principals, so I think it counts.

Breakfast:
One orange
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup strawberries (Frozen strawberries are icky and mushy!)

Lunch:
Healthy Slaw made with 1 apple, 1 carrot, 1/4 head of cabbage, rice vinegar, orange juice, currants and celery seed. (I shared this with Rick. It was ok, but it made me miss "real" coleslaw.)
Mixed greens with balsamic.
3/4 of a banana (Mac and Maisy split the rest of it)

Dinner:
Steamed greens (kale and collards) with onion, tomato and garlic, and a little low-sodium veggie broth because it kept sticking. This was much yummier than I anticipated! I ate a portion, then had seconds, then after everyone else had their fill I stood over the skillet with chopsticks and ate the rest. Did I say yum?
Asparagus with orange sauce (minus the olive oil) from my new "The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen" cookbook
Mixed greens with balsamic and sesame seeds
A few hazlenuts and cashews
And for dessert - a date roll. YUM!

Water: Five glasses so far
Exercise: One very slow walk with three wild dogs. They hadn't been out all day and they needed the exercise.

You've come a long way, baby!

This past weekend I did something that I've been meaning to do for a long time: I sent a thank you letter to the Oregon Humane Society.

Our girl Suzie came to us from OHS. She was one of over 500 dogs rescued from an animal hoarder in eastern Oregon in January of 2003. OHS was one of several shelters that took some of the dogs, and Suzie was one of their worst cases. She was emaciated, completely feral and utterly terrified, and not afraid to use her teeth to defend herself. She was sent home with a very capable foster family and lived with them for several months. In the meantime, I just couldn’t stop looking at the photo on their website of the cute little brown Suzie dog, who looked so much like Sadie, the dog I had as a child.

In August of 2003 I finally emailed Suzie's foster mom, D, for details. She cautioned me that Suzie was a special case and would probably never be a dog you could take for a walk or a car ride, much less share a couch with. I assured her my whole goal would be to provide Suzie with food and shelter, but that I really didn't expect anything in return. Once D was certain I understood what I was in for, we brought her home. When we turned her loose in the back yard, she immediately crawled under the garden shed and stayed there - for a week. I think she snuck out at night for food and water, but we didn't see her.

Gradually, over time, Suzie started to explore her new surroundings. We left the back door to the house open and just went about our business. If we so much as looked in her direction, Suzie would panic and head for the furthest corner of the yard, so we just ignored her. By Christmas time, she was even venturing into our living room, where she determined that the couch was the best place to hang out when no one was looking.

About a year after we adopted Suzie, we moved. The new house had a tall cedar privacy fence around the yard, which we thought would be sufficient, but Suzie had a very hard time adjusting to the new digs. Whenever we would leave, even though she had our other dog to keep her company, she would panic and either eat a hole through the fence, or just jump it. (Both of these are pretty amazing accomplishments for a 25 pound little brown dog!) I spoke with the OHS animal behaviorist on a couple of occasions... we weren't sure we would ever get her settled in, but we built a new, taller, less chewable fence and just kept hoping, and it finally happened.

Last Christmas, we went on a week-long ski trip and left Suzie and our other dog home with a house sitter. Suzie took that opportunity to eat an entire wad of used Swiffer cleaning cloths, which were covered in dust and dog hair. Unfortunately, since she's such a stoic little thing and she always goes on a hunger strike when we are gone, we didn't realize for several days that she had a problem. When we returned home and she still refused to eat, we took her to the vet. I knew she was very, very sick when she didn't try to escape when I picked her up, and then she rode on my lap for a half an hour in the car without complaint. She had never tolerated any handling before, much less that much attention.

Suzie went a total of 17 days without food before her blockage was diagnosed and she had emergency surgery to remove it. Her weight dropped by almost 11 pounds. She then started having grand mal seizures and had five of them in two days. We really thought we were going to lose her! Fortunately, the very capable doctors at Dove Lewis Animal Hospital and Scappoose Animal Hospital were able to nurse her back to health. After her near-death experience, Suzie is a new dog. Wherever we go, she goes with us. She is friendly and talkative and always up for a chin scratch, a walk through the neighborhood or a car ride. She loves to go to the beach with us, and on our last trip there she took it upon herself to greet everyone else we passed. The dog who once hid under our shed is now off getting back scratches from strangers! She is funny and clever and sassy and far too smart... probably the smartest dog I've ever known. I swear the dog can speak English!

When we first brought Suzie home after we adopted her, my whole goal was to keep her safe and well fed. Nobody really expected that she would ever be a "happy" dog. But thanks to the good people at OHS, and one fantastic foster mom who put up with a crazy brown dog for months, and also to the very capable staff at Dove Lewis and Scappoose Animal Hospital, we have a happy, healthy brown dog to share our days with. She still has her moments and her little quirks, but I wouldn't trade her for the world.

Day One, Dr Fuhrman's Five Day Diet Challenge

The beautiful and talented Bree over at veggilicious has decided to take on Dr. Fuhrmans Five-Day Super-Diet Cleans Challenge. Considering that I have been sick since last Friday, and I was supposed to be eating nothing but fruits and vegetables to feel btter, but I've been eating whatever I damn well please and I don't feel better, it seems like a good idea.

So here's The Plan:

Breakfast: One grapefruit or two oranges, blueberries and strawberries

Lunch: Baby greens with one orange and lemon juice, Healthy Slaw made from cabbage, beets, carrots, apple and raisins

Dinner: Salad made from spinach, red onion, sesame seeds, flax seeds, blackberries and flavored vinegar; the Green Machine with kale, box choy, broccoli rab, tomatoes, garlic, mushrooms and onion; and Apple Stuffed Bell Pepper

Obviously this is more food than I need for six days, but at least I won't be hungry.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Are you ready for this?

Do you have a home emergency preparedness kit?

You should!

Boring topic, I know. But really, you should have one. No matter who you are or where you live. And you should have an abbreviated version in the trunk of your car.

You could start one right now... go find an old blanket, some old warm clothes and shoes, and put a big plastic tote on your shopping list. Go! Now! Read this blog later!

Here are the Red Cross recommendations on what you need to keep.

Food Diary - October 24th

Breakfast: Frozen cherries and blueberries, kiwi and orange in soy milk, with a cup of coffee with soy milk.
Lunch: Vegetable Vegetable Vegetable Beef Barley Soup, a piece of toast. Kung pao chicken and veggies over rice.
Snack: More of the same fruit and a little soy milk. And then a pumpkin cranberry cookie.
Dinner: Roasted red pepper & tomato soup, a piece of toast.

Water: 4 big glasses
Mood: Irritable. I'm tired of being sick with this damned cold!
Exercise: None at all, unless blowing your nose repeatedly counts :-(

Mood Lighting

Did you know that sometimes the sun shines in Oregon? This is a fact, and I have the photos to prove it.

Then again, this phenomenon occurs most frequently in the summer months, and it is now the end of October. And the beginning of The Rainy Season. I get a little cranky sometimes during The Rainy Season.

So I recently invested in Mood Lighting! I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my new "Major Depressive Disorder Therapeutic Mood Light". (Who does the marketing for these people? What a depressing name!) For $175 and 30 minutes a day, I aim to be freed from my winter of discontent.

You can read more about it here.

The other thing I am planning to do is to exercise more this winter. I wonder if I can do my 30 minutes of light therapy on a treadmill? How efficient that would be!

Everyone else is doing it...

So here it is - my very first blog entry in my shiny new blog. Why, you ask? I'll give you three reasons:

• I needed a better way to track my diet. I've used Diet Power for some time and I like it, but I'm too obsessive about calories. I need to pay more attention to what my body needs, instead of what the graphs says.
• All the cool people have links to their blogs in their signatures.
• I like to ramble.