Sunday Summary: Mother’s Day

Hello peeps!

Check out my mom and me (circa “let’s not go there”). Aren’t we cute! 😀 She is the boss of my life and since I have no kids of my own and no siblings to share her with… well… let’s just say that our relationship never gets boring.

On that note, Happy Mother’s Day to all the amazing women out there who put their needs on hold to meet the ones of others. Mothers are great at that and I know a few that while not being moms they sure are mothers so happy day to you too.

My mom got an iPhone that is proving to be great for her but not so great for me. 😆 I also took her to her favorite breakfast spot, Le Peep, which here in the south serves the best (according to her) grits ever! Alas, this was not enough and she’s also made me promise to try JJ Smith’s 10-Day Green Smoothie Cleanse. We start tomorrow. Wish me luck!

On other news, I ran/walked my fifth 5K of the year (one of my resolutions is to run one 5K every month). For the first time I had to walk some of it because I did not train at all this past month so I definitely need to start training again if I want to do better next month. I’m still pretty proud of myself for completing it and sticking to the plan.

Weekly Words of Wisdom
(courtesy of my Julep box)

As always, thanks for visiting.
And have a fantastic week.
🙂

“F” is for Family & Friends

Every time in the past that I had tried to lose weight I have tried to do it stealthily. I would fantasize about how cool it would be to shock people with my amazing results. This never happened. I would lose 10 pounds in a couple of weeks on a fad diet and no-one would notice and then I would reward myself with food and before I knew it I had gained it all back and then some.

This happened a lot!

So, again, when I started my latest… and ongoing journey I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to share. Since I had moved to a new city and had so few friends around I had to actively share online for them to know. However, I was close to my mom who would be seeing me everyday so she was aware of my efforts and incredibly supportive and that made a huge difference. She was willing to learn with me. And would push me to the gym, invite me to the park, and share healthy recipes and meals. Although my family lives overseas, many were still very supportive. Family rules!

My friends also made a huge difference. Both the old and new ones. My old friends commented on my progress pictures, food posts, and send me the occasional private message to congratulate me on my progress. My new friends don’t pick on me for not drinking alcohol or choosing healthy (or even not so healthy) food items when we’re out. My gym friends keep me accountable and we check on each other when we miss a gym day. And my bloggy friends keep me inspired in more ways than one. Many many thanks to all of you, my friends. 

Although it is true that some friends and some family members may not offer the support that you need, I still recommend that you go public with whatever project or journey you embark. Find your tribe and hold on tight. It will be a worthy ride.

Sunday Summary: Planning Ahead

Well… here we are, the first Sunday of the year. Tomorrow life goes back to normal: back to the schedules, appointments, and structure. I’m actually looking forward to it. Tomorrow I weigh-in and assess the situation. Tomorrow I stick to the program and hopefully continue to make progress on my weight loss journey and start taking steps towards fulfilling this year’s resolutions. That’s the plan, anyway.

These first four days of the year have been pretty great. I had Chinese food as my New Year’s Meal and got some great fortune cookie wisdom: “Compassion is a way of being.” On the second, I finished a beautiful puzzle that I can’t wait to frame, had a super healthy lunch at Earth Fare and then a not-so-healthy dessert at McDonalds: Apple pie. Then I did blacklight zumba with one of my favorite instructors. We took this picture after (we were glistening).

Yesterday was my absolute favorite. My uncle (dad’s brother), aunt, and cousin were in the US on vacation from Venezuela and my mom and I met with them in Atlanta. It was a very short visit but it reminded me of how no amount of distance or time can diminish true love. I hadn’t seen my uncle for eight years, and my aunt and cousin for even longer (I have never been so grateful for social media). My mom hadn’t seen them for about 15 years. We will definitely need to repeat this. Check out my beautiful family… my mom kind of got lost behind me.

Today, I am finishing the first week of the year strong with a strong breakfast of arepa with chicken, and orange/carrot/ginger juice. Lunch was lentil soup and grilled chicken. I already got my workout in with an afternoon zumba session. For a snack I am having some chocolate. Dinner will be fruit, nuts, and tea.

Tomorrow is a new day, of a new week, of this new year. Let’s make good choices. 😀

Weekly Words of Wisdom

Thanks for visiting!

Where I’m from: A poem

Taking a break from the regular posts about weight loss, exercise, fitness and food to complete this really cool exercise brought to me by Kat at Mama’s Losin’ It and her weekly prompts. Here’s the template if you wish to make one of your own or head over simply to check out the origin of the poem. Thank you so much Kat for bringing this up to my attention. Please note that the term “poem” is used loosely.

PS. Kat posts her weekly prompts every Tuesday but you may get them a week in advance by subscribing here.

Where I’m from

I am from rotary phones, from Colgate and pleated skirts.

I am from the harlequin dolls (one that I denied breaking).

I am from the ferns, the mango trees, and a black rubber doll that always travels with me.

I am from watching telenovelas and cooking from scratch, from Hugo and Olivia, the Reyes and the Echezuria.

I am from the mind your own business and living in everyone’s business.

From “you are the master of what you know and the slave of what you say” and “you are not a golden coin, not everyone will like you, and that’s OK.”

I am from too many beliefs to stick to any. My mother was of one religion, my father of another, I was given freedom to question and experiment finding myself with none; not a popular choice.

I’m from Venezuela, born in the capital with roots along the coastlines and around the world, enjoying arepitas de anis made as a treat by my aunt, and the traditional chivito (roasted goat meat) made by my grandmother during the holidays.

From my aunt’s shoes that I threw in the trash because my uncle said they had turkey poop, and from the time he made me cry telling me that bunnies and deer were dying as we saw a small fire up on the mountain (they probably weren’t by the way), and the ghost stories grandpa liked to tell about the time he worked as a truck driver.

I am from my grandparents closets and storage rooms where chunks of life from before mine reside, pictures of the first roads, first cooperatives, first schools, of which my grandparents were builders and pioneers; newspaper clippings of events in which one of us was spotted, first edition encyclopedias from a long time before Google; and so many more invaluable things that trace my family’s history. I am from them… and then some.

__________________________________________

Check out my black rubber doll. We’ve been together over three decades. She ages well. 😀

TBT: The Chuck E Cheese Years

Hey peeps… (and Happy Thanksgiving for those of you to whom it applies).

There is no rest for the wicked blogger and Kat at Mama’s Losin It provided some great writing prompts this week. I decided to go with #3 Write about your favorite place to eat when you were a child and make it a #throwbackthursday post.

I realize that we ate out a lot when I was little. My parents arrived in the US in 1978 to go to university and there was a lot of cultural shock. ATM machines hadn’t arrived in Venezuela nor did we have yet the gigantic malls and massive supermarkets that they encountered here. There were no $1 menus yet but that’s because most fast food chains prices were already under a dollar. My parents had come from a place where “cooking from scratch” was the only way to cook and they knew little of the effects of processed foods. Anywho… we ate out a lot. In fact, I remember many Sundays when mom and I would have breakfast at McDonald’s before church, lunch at Rax (roast beef sandwich and endless salad), and dinner at a local chinese restaurant whose owner would sometimes send me home with a full bag of fortune cookies. However, these were not my favorites.

My favorite place to eat when I was a child was Chuck E. Cheese. I have no idea what their pizza tasted like… but it was pizza so I am sure I liked it but what I really loved about that place was their animatronics. When I was little, it was still called Chuck E. Cheese’s Pizza Time Theatre and it was very much like a theater. The one I went to had a full band that would start playing every 30 minutes or so. My favorite show, however, was a solo pianist animatronic that I could watch and listen to for hours.

Since this was a place that once inside was hard to get me out of, my parents usually took me there for birthday parties only. Perhaps it was because we didn’t go that often that I loved it so much too. Oh! How I miss the fun!

Here’s me with old Chuck E. Cheese (circa 1984)

Happy Throwback Thursday (and Thanksgiving)

___________________________________________

PS. Today’s The Daily Post Blogging 101 assignment is to extend your brand with one of the following: a custom Blavatar, a custom image widget, or a Facebook fan page. I already have a blavatar and image widgets… should I make a Facebook fan page?

Five Things

WOW! Time sure flies when you’re having fun. It’s already Thursday… again! Thursdays are also the day I link up with Kat from Mama’s Losin’ It and her wonderful readers and we share our take on her weekly prompts. This week I chose #4 Five Things. List 5 things we don’t know about you, 5 things you’re knowledgeable about, 5 things you know nothing about, and 5 things you believe.

This should be fun.

FIVE THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT ME

1. I have never broken a bone in my life. I got my fair share of bumps and bruises growing up but never actually broke a bone.
2. When I was a teenager my orthodontist discovered that I was missing one of my adult premolars. Since I was having trouble with my last molars he decided that in order to open up space they would take out the other premolar (to make it even) and only two molars. So today, instead of 32 teeth, I have 28. 😆
3. Although I am fully bilingual in English and Spanish and I have taught both, I didn’t know what studying a foreign language was until I was an adult when I took French for the first time. I just recently restarted my French studies… and boy is it hard to learn a new language. I am grateful to my parents who made sure I learned both languages as I was growing up and then helped me keep them.
4. I am an only child, the first granddaughter in both my mother and father’s side of the family, and I only have one older male cousin on either side. Although my parents both came from big families they stopped with me but I have over 30 cousins, many of which I keep in close contact with (thank you social media).
5. Before graduating with a B.A. in Communication and an M.A. in Integrated Marketing Communication (Ph.D. incomplete in Multicultural Marketing Communication) I did one year of Psychology, and two years of Chemical Engineering (in Venezuela you start on the major, no pre-req). I may or may not be in the verge of changing disciplines again. This is my biggest problem in life. I probably should’ve been an actress.

FIVE THINGS I AM KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT

Let me first say this… I am what many people call (including myself), “an infinite source of useless information.” I know a little about a lot of things but not a lot about much.

1. My professional training has involved studying multicultural markets in the US. So, I would say that I am pretty knowledgeable about the cultural makeup of this country and its social and marketing implications.
2. Although I don’t have a degree in computer science nor do I consider myself very good at coding I have fixed my own computer several times. I am very proud of that. I have also fixed a few home appliances on my own.
3. I am an excellent researcher. I have always done very good on my papers and been commended on my ability to summarize findings.
4. Packing: I am really good at packing. I am also really good at getting rid of things and that has helped me a lot the many times I have moved.
5. Blogging? haha… I’m going to say that I am now pretty knowledgeable about blogging although I probably have quite a bit to learn still.

FIVE THINGS I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT (but wish i did)

1. Astrophysics: I am fascinated by this and I wish I could understand more about it.
2. World Religions: Although I am not religious myself, I love to understand how religions came to be and how they change overtime. I’d say I’m an amateur religion scholar. But there is so much to know… I have barely scratched the surface.
3. Gardening: Well.. really about plants in general I have no knowledge. My mother will walk through a park or drive through places and is able to name many plants… I have no idea what they are. I now have a huge backyard that I would love to fill with food and flowers but I have no idea how to do it.
4. Make-up: Honestly… it’s laziness. I love to see my friends in pictures looking all made up and I wish I did the same but the time comes to get ready and all I do is fill my eyebrows and apply some lipgloss… that’s all I know how to do.
5. World History: I know quite a bit of Venezuelan and US history but I know very little of the rest of the world. Again… there’s just too much to know and so little time. I’m considering making a 2015 new years resolution to read as many history books as I can. We’ll see.

FIVE THINGS I BELIEVE

1. I believe that most people in the world are good.
2. I believe that being honest is always the best policy.
3. I believe in true friendship and true love.
4. I believe that this is the only life we get so we better make it a good one.
5. I believe that little ol’ me can make a difference and so can you.

 Hey readers… anything we have in common? Anything surprised you? Let me know.

TBT: Being a Kid

It’s that time of the week again. Kat from Mama’sLosin’It provided some really great prompts this week (as always) and I decided to go with #2 List 7 things you miss about being a kid. Just in time for a #throwbackthursday post. Thanks Kat!

 

SEVEN THINGS I MISS ABOUT BEING A KID

Background: My memories of being a kid are mostly good. I did not have the traditional childhood but I am so very appreciative of what I got. I am an only child and was born in Venezuela but moved with my parents to the US when I was one year old and we lived in the US until I was nine while both of my parents pursued higher education in the US. I spend the rest of my childhood in Venezuela. Most of my childhood was spent with mom since dad traveled a lot and then they were separated. However, while my mother was certainly my primary parent, and to this day, my solid rock; dad was always loving and caring just not as present.

1. My main chore was to learn – everything was learning and making mistakes was not so severely looked upon as I feel it is now. I have had to relearn to be OK with mistakes.
2. Be fearless – I rarely go on roller coasters anymore and I am much more aware of my own mortality which I had no clue about as a kid.
3. No planning required – When you’re a kid… at least for me… my life was planned for me: when to get up, go to bed, go to school, take a bath, etc. My meals were planned and clothes miraculously appeared clean and ironed in my room; and while I was tasked with cleaning my room I now know that mom did some extra cleaning after me.
4. Coordinated vacation-time – It would be years before I would truly appreciate how great it is that all your friends’ and cousins’ vacation occur at the same time. Now that we all work, it’s harder and harder to meet.
5. Cartoons – and I mean, my cartoons… 80s cartoons.
6. Diet -free – I didn’t have to worry about calories or working out. Mom made sure I had a balanced diet and school and friends made sure I moved a lot. I wasn’t thin though… I was always (and am) a little thick but never enough to raise a red flag and I didn’t ever feel inadequate as a child… my body would not become an issue for me until my mid-teens… and even then, it wasn’t bad.
7. and my favorite… imaginary friends were totally appropriate and welcomed.

~ It sometimes feel unreal that I once was a child, I hope it’s not just me. ~

 

Sunday Summary: 7 days Happy

It all started with a choice. A choice to be happy. Can one be happy for 100 days? That is the challenge presented by 27-year-old Dmitry Golubnichy who started this whole social phenomenon. Earlier this year I came across the project and thought that it would be neat to start the challenge when there were 100 days left in the year therefore ensuring that I finish the year on a high note. Will it work? No idea… but I will try nonetheless.

Here are the things that made me happy this week:

• Day 1: Life is short, choose happiness – because if happiness is a choice why would you choose anything else?
• Day 2: I had a gig on Tuesday and was received with a small piece of cake… I have no idea what the cake was made of but I am pretty sure it’s what heaven (should it be edible) taste likes. It was one square inch of happiness. Also, Fall started.
• Day 3: I celebrated the fact that all my geeky, nerdy, and pop-culture tees fit. Most I bought 3-4 years ago. I am so happy they fit now. Here’s a collage of them (there are more).  On that note I’d like to send a shout out to threadless.com where I get most of my fun tees.
• Day 4: On Thursday I was woken up by a facebook message from a very special person who wanted to say thanks for my support. It was such a sweet message (read some of it here) that totally made my whole day… maybe even my week. Being there for someone else is what happy lives are made of.
• Day 5: On Hug a Vegan Day I spread some blog love by sharing some of my favorite recipes from the blogosphere and sending virtual hugs to all my friends.
• Day 6: I watched Doctor Who – #nuffsaid (proof here)
• Day 7: I spend the day with mom starting with a research project on arthritis to put together some food and nutrition recommendations for her sister (helping always makes me happy), then we took a 5-mile walk by the river (pic here), and had a healthy lunch at our local Earth Fare store.

A very happy week I say… I exercised 8-9 hours which was pretty good considering I took two rest days (it was a busy week). I am recovering well from shark week which made me cheat a bit and retain water so I gained 1.8 lbs (about half is gone already). I am nearly done with my philosophy book Plato and a Platypus walk into a bar which took a little to get into but I am now really enjoying. And, I made yummy food all week. #forthewin

I trust you had a great week too
but in case you didn’t… keep in mind that
we start a brand new one tomorrow ready to be conquered 😀

Weekly Words of Wisdom

Foodie Friday: “Food is Memory”

Last night I went to the movies with mom and we watched The Hundred Foot Journey, the movie adaptation of the book of the same name. It’s a story about a talented chef with no formal cooking education and his family, and their journey from India to Europe eventually settling in the French Alps. I won’t say anymore because I don’t want to spoil the movie but there are two things that made me want to write this post. 1. Early in the movie they talk about “food” being “memory” and 2. There’s a scene where the young chef is emotionally overwhelmed when eating home cooked indian food. As an expat myself I couldn’t help identify. Food, most definitely, is memory… and memory is a b*tch!

Although I was born in Venezuela, I came to live in the US at age one and returned to my home country at age nine. I lived in Venezuela from ages nine to 26 when I returned to the US and have lived here since. To date, I have lived in the US longer than in Venezuela but I have been eating Venezuelan food my entire life and although I don’t really eat traditional Venezuelan food or comida criolla as we call it, there’s a feeling I can’t quite describe that comes from eating arepa, frying plantains, cooking black beans, or making chicken salad. Cooking with ingredients and spices from home remind me of my grandmothers in the kitchen, of the music we listen to while we cook, of the holidays and our stories and what makes us, us… always dysfunctional but also loving, and now so far away.

Back to the movie… as an expat we learn quickly that in order to succeed, we must adapt. The young chef-to-be realizes that early on but as expected, the call from home is always strong and relentless. I too find that as much as I love this country and as adapted as I am to it (so much so that when I go to Venezuela I no longer really fit there), I still long for having coffee at a Venezuelan bakery, grilled meats with guasacaca with friends and family at the beach, and a good sancocho (soup) after a particularly heavy-drinking night. And now I realize that it is not really the food I miss because I can make them all here, in fact, I have. I miss the events that surrounded the food. I miss the language, the jokes, family and friends. I miss fitting-in… there. And I conclude, as the movie does, food is memory. When I eat Venezuelan food I am reminded of the room I was in, the house, the people, the smell, music, sounds, and emotions that I shared at one particular moment in time. And that’s why I love to eat it and hate it a little too.

I leave you with the trailer and strongly recommend the film… I’ll be picking up the book soon and have a good cry for sure.

Do you have a “food is memory” meal? Care to share?

Sunday Summary: A week of better choices

Hello peeps! I made it! One week of better choices. #soproud

For starters I took all my supplements, had a cup of warm water and lemon every morning, and slept at least 6 hours. YAY! Overall, I clocked about nine hours of exercise. I only made two poor, not bad, choices when it came to food: on Thursday I had a small serving of goldfish crackers and on Saturday I had a bag of nacho cheese Doritos. #ithappens The important thing is that I ate all my meals at home where I could better control, sugar, fat, and sodium levels. I tried some really cool recipes and reminded myself that I do love cooking and that I am not half-bad at it. And the scale collaborated too. I lost 3.4 lbs #forthewin 

However, I love that I lost weight but my biggest accomplishment this week was sticking to the Couch to 5K schedule and doing really great. Today, I started week 5 which had me running six minutes straight and I just let my mind wander and didn’t even look at the timer. Things are about to get real though. By the end of next week I should be running 10 minutes straight. We’ll see.

How did I end my 7-day Pledge? I woke up around 9 am, had a cup of warm water and lemon. For breakfast I had a tuna, tomato, and avocado sandwich (my bread came out great; here‘s the recipe). I went to the gym, did my run, then had a chia bar, and then took a Zumba toning class. It was awesome. I got home and had spinach pesto (recipe here) pasta with a quick salad… I was starving. That was around 4 pm so I don’t see having any dinner tonight. I am stuffed! I already had a cup of tea but I’ll have another one before bed.

What’s next? Although my pledge has ended, the behaviors will not. I will continue with the water and lemon in the morning, strive to complete the Couch to 5K program as scheduled, make better food choices and clock at least 8 hours of exercise a week. I am making one new commitment though, just for kicks, to do CarrotFIT everyday. I only did it 4/7 days this week. Tomorrow is the first official weigh-in day on Dietbet and I’ll share all the details then. Click here to learn more about the upcoming game.

What else is happening next week? As a reward for finishing my pledge I am taking myself to the movies tomorrow. Not sure what I will watch though, I am considering Dawn of Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Age of Extinction, or Maleficent. Any recommendations? I have a book club meeting coming up to discuss Reconstructing Amelia which I am almost done with and it has turned out to be pretty good (I hope the ending doesn’t disappoint). And I have to pick up my mom at the airport so I see some mother-daughter bonding time in the near future.

Weekly Words of Wisdom