Healthy Eating

I've spent the last four weeks eating healthy. Healthier that I've ever been in my life. I mean when I lost 70 pounds after college with Weight Watchers, I don't think I was eating this healthy! And, it's working. I've lost 10 pounds in 4 weeks.

Preparing healthy foods is not only expensive but it's so time-consuming! I feel like I spend hours in the kitchen everday! In the evenings, I make Eric and I breakfast smoothies and salads to bring to work. I pack healthy snacks that don't come out of a package! Stuff like carrot sticks and hummus and lots of fruit.

On a side-note, I think I've consumed more bananas this week than this guy!

Yummy Vegan-ness

No, I'm not a quite a vegan but I'm pretty close to it. At least, I'm trying. I've found some really amazing vegan food blogs and a book I've seen mentioned numerous times is Veganomicon, a vegan cookbook from these people. It includes 250 recipes of some really yummy sounding things. I perused it at Barnes and Nobles yesterday but opted not to buy it right away.

Last night, Eric got home, and I would say he's a good munkee. After spending a few days nervous that I was joining a vegan cult, he decided to purchase the book for me online. Yay! I can't wait for it to come.

There are a few recipes available online on their website. Tonight, I'm trying the vegan caesar salad.

Eat to Live

About three weeks ago, I went back to Weight Watchers and have been really motivated about eating right. I'm trying to not only eat less, but eat more veggies and natural foods and less processed garbage.

A food blog that lately, I've been enjoying is called Fat Free Vegan. From that blog, I learned about the Eat to Live Diet.

The next day, I went out and bought the book.

I'm going to do the six week plan in which you get most of your calories from nutrient rich vegetables and fruits, some whole grains, beans, tofu, etc. Animal products are to be used minimally or not at all. Sugar and salt intake is limited as well. Yes, I'm a vegetarian but I like cheese. But I'm excited about this new way of eating and I want to see if I can do it.

Progress!

I'm so excited to say that, for two weeks now, Norton has been doing utterly fabulous! We wanted to see how he would do if we stopped crating him. See, we had little choice; Norton basically ate his way out of his second metal crate. Well, he's been doing great! He is still on his meds but hasn't been getting frantic when we leave him alone. It's such a relief. We can actually go to work and not only that, but have a life, without feeling guilty about leaving the dog. We can go out without worrying the whole time! It's wonderful!!!! But when we get home, we still "check for damage." And when we find no damage everyday, we praise Norton for being the best doggy ever!

So, here's what happened when we got home from an outing yesterday. As we finagled the key in the front door, I wondered what toy would be in Norton's mouth when he came to greet us? Would it be the talk to me treatball? Or the kong? Or the toy cell phone?

None of the above. Norton met us at the door with a slice of bread in his mouth. Apparantly, Norton jumped up and grabbed a loaf of Weight Watchers bread off of the counter and ate half of it while we were gone.

I was relieved that he ate the bread and not a wall.

Eric was relieved that he wouldn't have to "eat that dry bread anymore."

So it was a happy day for all of us!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

...won't you wear a sweater?

March 20th would have been the 80th birthday of Mr. Rogers. As a tribute to Mr. Rogers (who died of cancer five years ago), everybody is being asked to wear a sweater on that day.

Remember when, at the beginning of every show, Mr. Rogers would put on his cardigan sweater and change his shoes?

I mentioned to a fellow teacher I work with the idea of promoting this in our school on March 20th. But the sad part is, I bet our young students wouldn't even know who Mr. Rogers is.

Instant Karma

Today, while Eric was making a purchase for himself at the Sharper Image, he surprised me and bought me the cd, Instant Karma, the Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. Long title. Instant Karma is a two disc set of John Lennon covers by artists from Aerosmith to Jack Johnson. According to the website, "it seeks to mobilize millions around the urgent catastrophe in Darfur, Sudan. It combines the power of John Lennon's music recorded by some of the world's best-known artists, together with cutting-edge forms of instant activism enabled by Internet and mobile technologies. "

The back of the cd reads this...

The conflict in Darfur, Sudan, has led to some of the worst human rights abuses imaginable, including systematic and widespread murder, rape, abduction and displacement. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed by deliberate and indiscriminate attacks, and over 2.5 million civilions have been displaced.

Click here to take action...

Ever sleep in an igloo?

Last night, we watched a special on the Icehotel in Sweden. I'd heard of the Icehotel before but the show we watched was fascinating! Everything in this hotel is sculpted of ice. In your hotel room, you're sleeping on some animal skin on a bed made of ice and snow. The hotel bar, a happening place, is made of ice. Instead of having some ice in your drink, your drink goes in a glass made of ice. Amazing! In the morning, you're awakened with a glass of hot lingonberry juice. According to the website, they suggest you spend one night in the icehotel and all remaining nights in a heated chalet type hotel.

Activities include ice sculpting, dog sledding, car racing on an ice track, snowmobiling, and northern lights excursion tour.

They even have an icechurch for people who would like to get married here.

Every year, they must rebuild the hotel. Of course, it melts when the weather warms up!

I clicked on the availability on their website just out of curiosity. I tried a couple random dates--for the year 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. And they were all booked up! This place isn't cheap but isn't as expensive as you'd perhaps think. After you convert to the US dollar, the iceroom runs about 300 per person, per night.

I think I might add staying at the icehotel to my lifelong list of places to see.