We have a local service here in Austin, TX called Greenling, which is a service that will deliver "organic goodies" right to your door. I don't necessarily want to use the service because the vegetables are organic and local whenever possible, but I do feel that local & organic are huge perks.
We currently have one vegetarian roommate and mid Feb we'll have a second, so I am going to propose to them that we get a "local" basket. They fill up the basket with everything that is currently in season and harvested at farms in our area and drop it off at our doorstep every other week.
I'm very very interested in this idea. I also like that I can get organic/humane meat products from there for Hubby and me, who do love our bacon and are not about to go veg any time soon. We have loads of farmer's markets in town, but because I work nights and weekends, I am usually sound asleep when the farmer's markets are happening.
I think this would be a neat way for our household to support local business and reduce our carbon footprint ever so slightly.
Do any of you do something like this?
Friday, January 30, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
HYC check in.
I just finished a 30 minute workout video, where I actually did about 95% of the actual video with them. When the cool down finished the the lady said "great job" I teared up. I can't believe I stuck with it all the way though.
I huffed and puffed my way through Self: Bikini ready fast. It started with me just sitting and watching the video through one night just before the Slicing of the Finger. I think the workout is geared towards thinner girls who just want to tone up ever so slightly. This means, it's pretty low impact for the lardies.
At target, I found a set of 2lb weights for $6. I have a set of 5lbs, from back when I weighed a full 100lbs less, but they are currently being used as doorstops. I can do more than 5 bicep curls with them without feeling like my arms are going to rip out of my shoulder sockets.
The second time I watched the video I sat cross legged on my bed and just followed along with the arms. I thought "oh my God, I really don't think I can do this. Who am I kidding with these stupid reviews of workout videos that I just did bits and pieces of." Mostly I sit down on the computer chair to try and catch my breath.
Tonight husband is at work and all the kitties are quietly sleeping on the bed. I just finished reading the Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, and thought to myself that miss Dietgirl had 80lbs on my when she started her lard busting and she went to Bodypump class. If she can do it then damn well so can I.
So I found the little purple 2lbs weights under a pile of trashy romance novels on the floor next to my side of the bed and just went for it.
There is lots of squatting, which is hard for my due to being a major fatty and having dodgy knees to begin with. I didn't let it get me down, and just dipped my rear as much as I could manage. I did all the arms and I even did the lunges, but I am not able to do push ups, so I did downward dog instead.
I feel pretty good about myself for actually finishing it. I know it's going to be a long time until I'll be able to wear my most awesome cherry print xl bikini I bought in the juniors section at Target in 2006, but it's all about babysteps and having reasonable expectations, right?
I other news, the scale has been steadily hanging out at 283 lbs for about a week now, so I think it's safe to say I am at 7 lbs lost.
I huffed and puffed my way through Self: Bikini ready fast. It started with me just sitting and watching the video through one night just before the Slicing of the Finger. I think the workout is geared towards thinner girls who just want to tone up ever so slightly. This means, it's pretty low impact for the lardies.
At target, I found a set of 2lb weights for $6. I have a set of 5lbs, from back when I weighed a full 100lbs less, but they are currently being used as doorstops. I can do more than 5 bicep curls with them without feeling like my arms are going to rip out of my shoulder sockets.
The second time I watched the video I sat cross legged on my bed and just followed along with the arms. I thought "oh my God, I really don't think I can do this. Who am I kidding with these stupid reviews of workout videos that I just did bits and pieces of." Mostly I sit down on the computer chair to try and catch my breath.
Tonight husband is at work and all the kitties are quietly sleeping on the bed. I just finished reading the Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl, and thought to myself that miss Dietgirl had 80lbs on my when she started her lard busting and she went to Bodypump class. If she can do it then damn well so can I.
So I found the little purple 2lbs weights under a pile of trashy romance novels on the floor next to my side of the bed and just went for it.
There is lots of squatting, which is hard for my due to being a major fatty and having dodgy knees to begin with. I didn't let it get me down, and just dipped my rear as much as I could manage. I did all the arms and I even did the lunges, but I am not able to do push ups, so I did downward dog instead.
I feel pretty good about myself for actually finishing it. I know it's going to be a long time until I'll be able to wear my most awesome cherry print xl bikini I bought in the juniors section at Target in 2006, but it's all about babysteps and having reasonable expectations, right?
I other news, the scale has been steadily hanging out at 283 lbs for about a week now, so I think it's safe to say I am at 7 lbs lost.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Amira Mor, lady of mystery
So, I tried a new workout. One that does not require me to do anything with my hands and hurt my poor little finger.
The DVD promises "an amazing workout in the comfort of your own home". You will also get the opportunity to "wear beautiful, dazzling costumes made of colorful silks, brocades, sequins, and jewels."
I did very little exercise with this video, mostly because I kept bursting out laughing at how ridiculous it is. The studio that the video is filmed in is a large room, draped with golden material on the wall, with loads of little tables with golden tableclothes, straining under the weight of hundreds and hundreds of candles.
Amira does everything very slowly and languidly, and does not really give the viewer direction of what muscle you're supposed to be engaging. She gives several lessons on how to fold and tuck a sheer material around your body and how to remove it as your dancing. While this is interesting, it's really not a workout.
I luckily bought this video and Half Price Books for $4, so it's no big loss. This will not become one of my standby, routine workouts. But I may watch it if I start talking my exercise too seriously.
The DVD promises "an amazing workout in the comfort of your own home". You will also get the opportunity to "wear beautiful, dazzling costumes made of colorful silks, brocades, sequins, and jewels."
I did very little exercise with this video, mostly because I kept bursting out laughing at how ridiculous it is. The studio that the video is filmed in is a large room, draped with golden material on the wall, with loads of little tables with golden tableclothes, straining under the weight of hundreds and hundreds of candles.
Amira does everything very slowly and languidly, and does not really give the viewer direction of what muscle you're supposed to be engaging. She gives several lessons on how to fold and tuck a sheer material around your body and how to remove it as your dancing. While this is interesting, it's really not a workout.
I luckily bought this video and Half Price Books for $4, so it's no big loss. This will not become one of my standby, routine workouts. But I may watch it if I start talking my exercise too seriously.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
tipless finger
On Thursday night I sliced the tip of my right middle finger right off. I bought a brand new madolin slicer and was so excited to be using it to prepare dinner. So excited that I was not paying attention. My finger was all the past the blade and my fingertip on the cutting board before the pain even hit me. I looked at my finger and saw a flat white tip, and a second later blood started gushing. I really didn't think it was all that bad at first, but it hurt like hell and it just would not stop bleeding.
Also, we only have big old bandaids and one tube of neosporin as our first aid kit. Oh, and only over the counter tylenol in the house. DH kept asking me if I wanted to go to the ER and finally he stopped asking and we just went.
I do not deal well with pain, aka I am a sissie, and I have a bit of a needle phobia. I had to get a tetanus shot, and the DR took one look at me and sent a nurse in with one valium and two vicodin. Then they said to hang out, apply gentle pressure and lets see if it would stop bleeding. After two hours it still bled whenever I let up on the pressure, and teh DR decided to cauterize the tip to seal off all those little capalaries. He injected my finger in 3 spots with a hellova big syringe chock full of lidocain. This really took the edge off the pain, and allowed me to ease up on the pressure, which I was applying as a reaction to the searing white heat in my finger as much as to stop the bleeding.
The DR left for a while to allow the painkillers to kick in, which also allowed the bleeding to slow to a trickle. In the end they just bandanged the entire finger up so it resembled a thick white sausage, and gave me a prescription for more vicodin.
I had to miss work since I have a job that involves lots of typing. I am tapping this out with only two fingers on my righthand, and the little sausaged middle finger keeps knocking into the other fingers causing tons of typos and lots of backspacing for me. Also, the vicodin takes care of the pain but does not agree with me at all. I have no appetite, but if I take the meds on an empty stomach I get nauseous and I throw up. I also get really whoozy and sleepy.
So if interested, you can click here to see the bandaged finger, and here to see the finger today, after two days of healing. It's pretty icky but not completely gross, probably because the blade is so sharp that it's a really nice clean cut.
It took me the longest time to type this out! you never realise how useful your finger is until you can't use it!
Also, we only have big old bandaids and one tube of neosporin as our first aid kit. Oh, and only over the counter tylenol in the house. DH kept asking me if I wanted to go to the ER and finally he stopped asking and we just went.
I do not deal well with pain, aka I am a sissie, and I have a bit of a needle phobia. I had to get a tetanus shot, and the DR took one look at me and sent a nurse in with one valium and two vicodin. Then they said to hang out, apply gentle pressure and lets see if it would stop bleeding. After two hours it still bled whenever I let up on the pressure, and teh DR decided to cauterize the tip to seal off all those little capalaries. He injected my finger in 3 spots with a hellova big syringe chock full of lidocain. This really took the edge off the pain, and allowed me to ease up on the pressure, which I was applying as a reaction to the searing white heat in my finger as much as to stop the bleeding.
The DR left for a while to allow the painkillers to kick in, which also allowed the bleeding to slow to a trickle. In the end they just bandanged the entire finger up so it resembled a thick white sausage, and gave me a prescription for more vicodin.
I had to miss work since I have a job that involves lots of typing. I am tapping this out with only two fingers on my righthand, and the little sausaged middle finger keeps knocking into the other fingers causing tons of typos and lots of backspacing for me. Also, the vicodin takes care of the pain but does not agree with me at all. I have no appetite, but if I take the meds on an empty stomach I get nauseous and I throw up. I also get really whoozy and sleepy.
So if interested, you can click here to see the bandaged finger, and here to see the finger today, after two days of healing. It's pretty icky but not completely gross, probably because the blade is so sharp that it's a really nice clean cut.
It took me the longest time to type this out! you never realise how useful your finger is until you can't use it!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
The brown cords, baby!
Just a quick note to say, 01/13 is my wedding anniversary. My husband and I went out to a nice Italian restaurant downtown and had a fantastic meal we probably actually can't afford.
The most exiting detail is that I wore the brown corduroys! I tried them on at home and they felt tight, but pretty ok. Just in case, I move the button out by a few centimeters.
We had a fried artichoke hearts appetizer, then I had pear, walnut and Gorgonzola pasta (I swear this is just about the best pasta I ever had), and we finished off with balsamic ice cream for desert.
We each had a few spoonfuls but were so full that we took the ice cream to go. I also had to large mugs of steaming chai tea.
All that food, so much so that I couldn't fit ice cream, and I didn't even have to undo the button on those pants! I am totally chuffed with myself.
The most exiting detail is that I wore the brown corduroys! I tried them on at home and they felt tight, but pretty ok. Just in case, I move the button out by a few centimeters.
We had a fried artichoke hearts appetizer, then I had pear, walnut and Gorgonzola pasta (I swear this is just about the best pasta I ever had), and we finished off with balsamic ice cream for desert.
We each had a few spoonfuls but were so full that we took the ice cream to go. I also had to large mugs of steaming chai tea.
All that food, so much so that I couldn't fit ice cream, and I didn't even have to undo the button on those pants! I am totally chuffed with myself.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Pilates for the uncoordinated
This kind of Pilates happens in the privacy of your bedroom, on a small little stretch of floor, with you cats looking on, and your husband sleeping on the bed directly next to you bit of floor. This kind of Pilates requires you to switch the ceiling fan off to avoid sticking your hand in it when you reach up and lengthen you spine and make "room for your organs". This kind of Pilates causes your sleeping husband to have strage dreams with the instructors voice narrating.
The DVD is called "Pilates weight loss for beginners. Lengthen, strengthen and tone using Pilates to develop a slim, lean physique" and it is really freaking hard.
Now of course the difficulty is a good thing, I know this. I just finised it about 15 minutes ago and can already feel a slow burn between my shoulder blades, which make me wonder in which part I used those muscles. Most of what I remeber was sticking legs in the air and using my poor weak abdimonals to try and keep them from crashing back to earth.
I stuck with the whole DVD but I spent at least 10 of the 15 minutes just gaping at the lady, and at least 15 sort of falling over and realising I am stretching my left hand past my left toe instead of my right hand. Oops.
This is called Pilates for weight loss, and we'll see how well it work. Presenter lady is super super skinny and svelte and says she's a mom of two. I really hope she used to be a fatty and got all skinny using Pilates, but I doubt it.
One thing I thought quite humerous is an exercise where you are laying on your back with both legs up in the air, and you are instructed to "squeeze your inner thighs together until you can't see any light between them". Oh Honey! have you met people who want to slim down? I cant see the light between my thighs just standing up comfortably. I actually have to put my feet hip width apart for any light to be passing between them, and even then the tops of my thighs are still lovingly nestled together.
On Sunday I will be trying out my other exercise DVD, called Gaiam, cardio balanceball. A previous roommate moved out an obligingly left her balanceball here for me. How nice, isn't it?
The DVD is called "Pilates weight loss for beginners. Lengthen, strengthen and tone using Pilates to develop a slim, lean physique" and it is really freaking hard.
Now of course the difficulty is a good thing, I know this. I just finised it about 15 minutes ago and can already feel a slow burn between my shoulder blades, which make me wonder in which part I used those muscles. Most of what I remeber was sticking legs in the air and using my poor weak abdimonals to try and keep them from crashing back to earth.
I stuck with the whole DVD but I spent at least 10 of the 15 minutes just gaping at the lady, and at least 15 sort of falling over and realising I am stretching my left hand past my left toe instead of my right hand. Oops.
This is called Pilates for weight loss, and we'll see how well it work. Presenter lady is super super skinny and svelte and says she's a mom of two. I really hope she used to be a fatty and got all skinny using Pilates, but I doubt it.
One thing I thought quite humerous is an exercise where you are laying on your back with both legs up in the air, and you are instructed to "squeeze your inner thighs together until you can't see any light between them". Oh Honey! have you met people who want to slim down? I cant see the light between my thighs just standing up comfortably. I actually have to put my feet hip width apart for any light to be passing between them, and even then the tops of my thighs are still lovingly nestled together.
On Sunday I will be trying out my other exercise DVD, called Gaiam, cardio balanceball. A previous roommate moved out an obligingly left her balanceball here for me. How nice, isn't it?
Friday, January 2, 2009
In the land of non-scale victories.
I recently bought a pair of size 20 corduroys from Old Navy that fit just dandy over my thunderthigs and bubble butt, but there was no way I could stuff my tummy into it.
I put them in the closet and told them "just you wait". On Monday the 29th I pulled them out of the closet to pep my weighloss resolve up and remind myself how good they look on my ass, and lo and behold, I could zip them up!!!
Now don't get me wrong, I am not able to zip them up and actually wear them. I have to stand still and not breathe if I have them on. I showed husband in great excitment that I could zip them up and he pronounced my muffin tops "not that big", bless his heart. I told him that wearing the pants would be automatic portion control. I'd eat a quarter of what I usually pack away and then I'd have to stop to keep the zip from unzipping itself and my belly from oozing out of the zipper opening. I do think however, that if I move the buttons slightly out, I could potentially wear them to a standing-up activity - such as a concert, for example.
Here is, for fun, my food intake for last Monday:
2 Bananas
4 pieces Turkish delight left over from christmas
1/4 cup Hazelnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 serving Cadbury's solid milk chocs (it was probably two servings and I didn't write it down)
Huge sala made of cherry tomato, zucchini, romain salad with raspberry blush viniagrette
1 bag Asian Medley Birdseye Steamed Veggies
1 Michelina's past penne zucchini
water
Today's food
Banana
1 can Brisk Ice tea
2/4 cup emerald glazed walnuts
36 fl oz Gatorade
2 servings Beefed up Barley soup
4 cubes cheese
1 1/2 servings chocolate
24 fl oz water x2 - that 700 mls times 2. So almost 1 1/2 litres!
1 orange
1 kaiser roll (eaten while searching for missing kitty)
1 sugar cookie
husband's left over vegetables and speck of chicken from Italian restaurant the other night.
I am eating better than I used to, you'll notice no fizzy drink on either day. I've cut down on sugary sweet drinks quite a bit. If I'm going to do heaps of sugar, it'll be in chocs I adore, dammit!
I put them in the closet and told them "just you wait". On Monday the 29th I pulled them out of the closet to pep my weighloss resolve up and remind myself how good they look on my ass, and lo and behold, I could zip them up!!!
Now don't get me wrong, I am not able to zip them up and actually wear them. I have to stand still and not breathe if I have them on. I showed husband in great excitment that I could zip them up and he pronounced my muffin tops "not that big", bless his heart. I told him that wearing the pants would be automatic portion control. I'd eat a quarter of what I usually pack away and then I'd have to stop to keep the zip from unzipping itself and my belly from oozing out of the zipper opening. I do think however, that if I move the buttons slightly out, I could potentially wear them to a standing-up activity - such as a concert, for example.
Here is, for fun, my food intake for last Monday:
2 Bananas
4 pieces Turkish delight left over from christmas
1/4 cup Hazelnuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 serving Cadbury's solid milk chocs (it was probably two servings and I didn't write it down)
Huge sala made of cherry tomato, zucchini, romain salad with raspberry blush viniagrette
1 bag Asian Medley Birdseye Steamed Veggies
1 Michelina's past penne zucchini
water
Today's food
Banana
1 can Brisk Ice tea
2/4 cup emerald glazed walnuts
36 fl oz Gatorade
2 servings Beefed up Barley soup
4 cubes cheese
1 1/2 servings chocolate
24 fl oz water x2 - that 700 mls times 2. So almost 1 1/2 litres!
1 orange
1 kaiser roll (eaten while searching for missing kitty)
1 sugar cookie
husband's left over vegetables and speck of chicken from Italian restaurant the other night.
I am eating better than I used to, you'll notice no fizzy drink on either day. I've cut down on sugary sweet drinks quite a bit. If I'm going to do heaps of sugar, it'll be in chocs I adore, dammit!
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