Weighty Matters

Weighty Matters — 11 Comments
2
Jan 12

Another Intention – My Health

When I originally set up this blog, I used the Weighty Matters category to talk about my previous weight loss journey and the weightlifting work I was doing. Between a hurricane and my ill mother, my weight loss and workouts got put to the side and have been ignored for just over 2 years. However this year, I noticed there were some changes in how I felt from carrying the extra weight. My joints hurt more and I was back to being out of breath over the simplest of things. My weight has begun to impact my ability to move when I am making photographic images. The impact to move bothers me a lot. Photography is an activity that makes up part of the core of my being. It helps me to see the world. And to not be able to do it because I can’t move is unacceptable.

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So I’m starting from square 2 since I have the knowledge about diet and exercise that I gained from the last time around. My weight workouts will come from Alwyn Cosgrove’s and Lou Schuler’s The New Rules of Lifting for Abs: A Myth-Busting Fitness Plan for Men and Women who Want a Strong Core and a Pain-Free Back and the diet portion will come from Men’s Health TNT Diet: The Explosive New Plan to Blast Fat, Build Muscle, and Get Healthy in 12 Weeks. Don’t let the Men’s Health reference fool you ladies, I’ve had several girlfriends who have had good results on this plan. I’m doing the option that incorporates veggies and lean protein the marjority of the time, with 1 day a week of higher, good quality carbs (no refined sugar, etc here). This option should give R and I a little freedom so we don’t go insane especially since I have a long haul ahead with 100+ pounds to lose.

R and I spent some time cleaning out the fridge this afternoon and taking our measurements this morning. We’ll be taking our before pictures in the morning and going from there. And I made this yummy Taco Skillet for dinner tonight and I’ve got leftovers for the next couple of days!

TACO SKILLET

2 pounds ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped, 4 ounces
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Taco Seasoning (lowest carbs you can find or make your own)
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
16 ounces coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage
Salt, to taste
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
6 tablespoons sour cream, optional
Cilantro, optional

Brown the meat with the onion and garlic in a large skillet; drain the grease. Add the seasoning and tomatoes. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, uncovered, 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt to taste, if needed. Sprinkle the cheese over the top, cover and cook 2 minutes until the cheese melts. Stir in the cheese. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and a pinch of cilantro, if you like.

Here’s what the taco skillet looks like before the sour cream and cheese have been added.
Taco Skillet-3373

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18
Sep 11

Why I Don’t Like the Term “Bucket List”

“Don’t be a spectator, don’t let life pass you by. ” ― Lou Holtz

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In 2007′s “The Bucket List” starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, the main characters of the movie are both terminally ill and they go on a road trip with a goal of completing their personal wish lists before they “kick the bucket.” Since the movie came out it’s popular to have a “bucket list”. But while the concept of the bucket list isn’t new, I’m not a fan of the fact that it centers on what you do before you die.

The first time I heard of the concept was when I was selling Mary Kay and one of the directors mentioned Lou Holtz’s Life List. Holtz was 28, between jobs, and his wife was expecting their third child when he put the 107 item list together. The list is a guiding force in his life and allowed him to achieve numerous things including coaching for Notre Dame, being on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, and having dinner at the White House. Holtz has completed 95 of the 107 things on his list. Here are Holtz’s tips for achieving goals:

1) Decide what you want to achieve and the date.

2) Know what talents you must acquire to do this.

3) Consider who you have to work with to achieve it.

4) Determine what problems you must overcome to achieve this.

5) Have a plan.

6) Share with others why they will benefit.

I like the term life list because it emphasizes that you are meeting your goals while you are still living. That means you can share these events and lessons learned with your loved ones and focus on living in the moment.

I’ve been working on my life list over the past few months (I don’t have 107 items on it yet). Just writing some of them down made these items more concrete for me. I’m creating plans for the ones down the items that I want to work on next. What’s on your Life List and what are you doing to make those things in the future?

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11
Aug 11

Getting Back in an Exercise Groove

There was a time not so long ago that I was regularly exercising. Three times a week I’d lift weights and 2-3 times a week, I’d go on a walk or spend some time stretching. None of this has happened for essentially the last three years.

But as Dylan says “The times – they are a changing.” Not wanting to follow in my mother’s footsteps of dialysis. Tired of feeling crappy all the time. Tired of my body aching from lack of movement. Tired of feeling old.

I spent some time the past few nights foam rolling (a form of self myofacial release) and tonight I did some step ups and some basic yoga stretches. I feel better for having done it although I’ve officially found out my ass is lazy because my glutes aren’t firing properly. So I will start slowy with some movement every day and keep building on that. And when I’ve got my glutes firing properly and things have loosened up (sitting in front of a computer at work and home has really affected some aspects of my mobility), I’ll start doing bigger work outs.

In the meantime, check out this video about foam roller. It hurts like a son-of-a-gun, but it really does help me feel better (NSFW for work due to language).

Maybe / NaBloPoMO / Weighty Matters — 3 Comments
6
May 11

Assessing where you are

You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself. ~Alan Alda

I want you to try something.

1. Mute/Turn off the radio/tv/or noise inducing piece of equipment that may be were you are.

2. Close your eyes and take a few deep breathes- breathing in through your nose and exhaling through your mouth.

3. Be quiet for a few minutes and listen to what your body is telling you. Is it telling you that you are relaxed and happy? Is it telling you that you are stressed out or tired? Are you feeling like you have nothing in the tank? Are you thirsty? Hungry? Bored? Are there parts of you that hurt?

When I did this exercise a few weeks ago, I was surprised by a couple of things. First I became aware of how deeply tired I was. Second I became aware of the ache in my hips and butt because of all the sitting I was doing. Once I determined how I was feeling after I acknowledged my body, I wrote the items down leaving a bit of space between each item. When I had everything I was feeling written down, I came back and wrote at least one action I could do to make each item better. The end result looked like this.

1. I feel very tired.
Actions to take: Go to bed at an earlier bedtime. Clear my calendar items of things that are going to add to my overall tiredness (i.e. cancelling trips all the way across town when I feel tired).

2. My neck is sore.
Actions to take: Stretch my neck routinely and follow the mobility exercises given to me by my chiropractor last summer. Make sure that my chair/computer is properly positioned for the work I am doing. Foam roll my back.

3. My hips and butt ache from sitting so much.
Actions to take: Talk a walk around the outside of the building at work periodically. Make sure I’m not spending every evening at home in front of the computer. Garden a couple nights a week. Take a walk during lunch or in the evening.

I do this exercise a couple of times a week. It helps me to keep me focused on my needs, gives goals to work for, and gives me some mini-steps that help me reach them. Since I started doing this exercise, I feel much better and more in touch with my needs.

Weighty Matters — 2 Comments
11
Mar 11

What About The Victim?

Right now, I’m mad as hell at the media.

An 11 year old girl was gang raped in Cleveland, TX (about 100 miles from where I live) and what are they talking about?

  1. That some people think she because she was dressed older than she appeared and was wearing make up so she deserved to be raped. No one deserves to be raped. Rape is wrong. Rape is violation of someone’s body. And no one deserves to be violated like that. Especially a child.
  2. That the rape charges are racially motivated because African-American men and boys have been arrested in the rape of an 11 year old Hispanic girl. The fact of the matter is someone video-taped the acts of rape with their cell phone and shared them with others. The arrests stemmed from that tape and a fellow male student of the girl who went to school administrators and told them something was going on.
  3. The family of the girl is now being harrassed because of this. The girl is in CPS protective custody at this time and has been removed from the Cleveland because she’s been threatened. The families of the men and boys (the youngest charged was in the 7th grade) who participated in this act of violence are saying that the girl led the men to believe she was 17. These same famillies are saying that somehow it’s the Mother’s fault for not knowing where her daughter is.

The men who participated in this act had to realize that the girl was younger than they thought, and her classmates who participated had to know who she was. They are responsible. Not this girl. Not her parents.

I’m tired of a world-wide culture that thinks it’s OK to violate women and girls.

Weighty Matters — 1 Comment
26
Feb 11

Are We Smart to Allow Ourselves to be Seen as Objects?

Four weeks ago, I watch the ads on the Super Bowl and I was astounded by the blatantly sexist nature of some of the ads. The ads by Godaddy – particularly the second one “The Contract” -  left me beyond angry at Godaddy and very disappointed in both Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels.   

The anger with GoDaddy was easy to deal with – I voted with my dollars.  I started moving my hosting and my registration the night of the Super Bowl and now everything is comfortably residing with Hostgator.com. But four weeks later, I still find I’m angry at Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels.

While I don’t agree with everything Danica and Jillian do, and I do get that sex sells, I never thought either one of them would let themselves be treated as they did in the second ad. I never thought I’d see them protest about the “stunt” they are about to do, are told they are contractually bound to do it, and then watch the owner of Godaddy.com make overtly sexual jokes about Danica needing double Ds  and learing at both women (you can view the ad here).

I’m not a rabid feminist by any means of the imagination. But I think about the women who fought for the right to vote, who are breaking new ground being CEOs, fighter pilots, and astronauts and I get pissed at these two – especially Patrick.

Patrick in her own way is groundbreaking. She the first woman to win an Indy Car Race and hold the records as the highest finish for a woman at the Indianapolis 500 (she finished in 3rd place in 2009).

While I don’t agree with Michaels’ training techniques on shows she participates in, she is to be admired for being a formerly overweight person who has changed her life through diet and exercise, and kept that weight off. As someone who’s struggled with weight all her life and knows how difficult it is to make permanent changes, I can appreciate the work Michaels has done in maintaining her physique through diet and exercise.

Both of these women should be admired for their accomplishments and someone our neices and daughters can look up to. Instead they take the easy way out.

Financial Freak / That's Life / Weighty Matters — 2 Comments
27
Jan 11

What’s Next

As of today, I’m officially 31 days in to the Polaroid Project and I’m raring to go for the next 334 days. But one of my goals this year is to work on making life changes one month at a time. By focusing on one thing a month, I start building a habit – the experts say it takes 21 days to jan122011change your habits so I figure an extra few days will be good for each habit. And I can get the change integrated into my schedule without driving myself crazy.

I’m seriously considering making next month Frugal February. I don’t see frugality being a bad habit – especially during these uncertain times. And I don’t think because you are frugal you have to come across as a cheapskate. I like the definition of frugality that I found on Wikipedia:

Frugality is the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal.

In some regards I already practice frugality at some level. I reuse things where I can. I try to find the best bargins I can. And I raise/can part of my own food. But I think I can do better. This last year, I’ve wasted a lot of money on parking (I could have ridden the bus), eating out (I could have carried my lunch), and other things. And I’ve purchased things that I haven’t even used. But it’s time to make some changes, get some dollars back in my pocket book, and use some of the things I’ve been stockpiling to better my life and the lives of ones I love. So look for Frugal February coming your way.

Weighty Matters — 1 Comment
9
Jan 11

A Very Wierd Intersection of Photography and Faith

I decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather here today in Texas so I spent the afternoon checking places out around the area. Because I’ve finally got the Polaroid Project up and running, I headed down to Dickinson to photograph one of the churches there. As I mention on the Day 13 Post of the Polaroid Project, I’ve been intrigued by this particular Catholic Church for a long time. It looks like a Spanish Mission and on the front building is a large plaque listing the times of the traditional Latin Roman Catholic Masses performed at the Church on a weekly basis. I’ve always wondered what a traditional Latin mass looks like.

After parking, I went into the vestibule. It was quiet and I looked in to see one person praying in the sanctuary. I took a few shots in the vestibule and was about to leave when I saw a framed piece of paper on the wall next to the front door. Here’s the text from that paper:
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DRESS CODE:
According to Apostolic Custom and Church Law, women and girls are requested to have their heads covered in the Church. Out of respect for our Lord and for mutual edification, men and women should dress modestly. Slacks, shorts, sleeveless tops, and low-cut dresses do not meet the norm of Christian modesty. Dress which is too casual is inappropriate. Your dress reflects your love for Christ in the blessed sacrement.

HOLY COMMUNION:
Holy Communion may be received only by Roman Catholics in the state of sanctifying grace. Non-Catholics and those who do not accept the traditional teachings of the Catholic Church in matter of faith and morals are not to receive Holy Communion at this mass. A three hour fast is recommended although a one hour fast is presently binding under church law.

I have to admit I was a little shocked and surprised to see these rules posted. The communion part of it I understood since I was exposed to the idea that you didn’t take communion if you were not following the morals of the Church at a very young age. My mother did not take communion because she married a divorced man, my father. And I understand the idea of not going to mass looking like a hoochie mama. But the casual dress and the head veils parts threw me. Why would this matter in this day and age? And I wondered why this Catholic Church was so different than the one I grew up in?

Then I saw a sign that mentioned the Society of St. Pius X. There are different orders of priests that can run churchs and I’d never heard of this particular order. It wasn’t until after I got home and did some research on the Internet, that the differences became clear.

The Church changed radically with Novus Ordo Missae — what most Catholics my age call Vatican II. As a child of Vatican II, I didn’t have to follow the same rules that my mother did growing up – head veils for church, no meat only fish on Fridays, communion put in your mouth by the priest. When I attended the Catholic Church growing up, there were Lay people who lead the hymns, performed the readings, and helped with the handing out of the sacrements. The Society of St. Pius X which runs the particular church I was at today, does not recognize the Novus Ordo Missae and they believe it dilutes the message of the Church. This particular order within the Church are ultra-Orthodox and wish to maintain the long maintained customs of the Roman Catholic Church. Once I dug into the history of the Society of St. Pius X, I had a better understanding of why the sign was posted.

While a part of me misses the rituals of the Church and the sense of community that it brought me, this visit reminded me of my own clashes in thought with the Church Doctrine. There’s the part of me that wonders if God/Jesus/The Holy Spirit would care if a woman was wearing a proper headcovering or not; or if a man’s clothing was too casual. I think God/Jesus would be happy that you were at Church and not so worried about whether you had on a veil (women) or if a man were dressed in a suit vs jeans and clean shirt. There’s a part of me that still doesn’t want to have to confess my sins to another person, although I understand it better now than I did in the past. And I think God uses all kinds of messages and methods to draw us closer to him. It’s not just the rituals of the Church that make us close to Him.

But what do I know, I’m just an apostate.

Paula's Picks / Retro Kitchen / Reverb10 / Weighty Matters / Zeitgeist — 2 Comments
26
Dec 10

Soul Food

Today’s Reverb10 Prompt

December 26 – Soul Food -What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul? (Author: Elise Marie Collins)

I try not to think of food as anything other something that sustains me. I believe that the ideas of “soul food” or “comfort food” are misplaced. Food is not something that feeds my soul. My soul is fed through exploring the world, reading the Bible, writing letters to God in my prayer journal and relationships with people whom I love and respect, and sharing my thoughts with others. Food does not provide me with comfort. Comfort is something I receive from being held by R in a tight hug, being held while I cry, or talking with my Grandma Pauline when I’m blue.

So with that being said, I’ll share my favorite recipe with you for Tandoori Chicken. It’s quick. It’s easy. And it’s full of flavor whether you grill it or bake bit in the oven. And it’s one of my go-to recipes that I make on a regular basis.

Chicken Tandoori
4 Chicken quarters skinned
3/4 cup Plain Yogurt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ginger pulp
1 tsp garlic pulp
1.5 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp tumeric
1 tsp ground corriander
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp oil
(you can add a few drops of red food coloring if you want to have the red color you get in Indian Restuarants).

Rinse and pat dry chicken quarters. Make two deep slits in the flesh of each piece. Place in dish and set aside.

Mix together the yogurt, garam masala, ginger, garlic, chili powder, tumeric, corriander, lemon juice, salt and oil. Beat until well combined.

Pour the yogurt spice mixture over the chicken and marinate for at least 3 hours (I did mine over night and had no problems)

Preheat the oven to 475 and bake until chicken is cooked through and evenly browned on top.

Garnish with salad leaves and lime wedges.

NOTE: I did mine on the grill and it was nummy. I did about 15 minutes on one side and then 10 minutes on the other.

Chicken Tandoori

That's Life / Weighty Matters / Zeitgeist — 3 Comments
15
Dec 10

A Prompt of My Own

While I’ve been answering Reverb10 Prompts this month, I’ve also been pondering something my manager asked me at work. I thought this question might be a good one for others to contemplate as well.

“How can you be more effective in 2011?”

I’ve got normal business related ideas:

  1. Using lessons learned as a stepping point to improve performance.
  2. Communicating better with my co-workers.
  3. Getting over my fear of confrontation.
  4. Keeping clutter at my desk down.
  5. Not overscheduling/commitin myself.
  6. How I present myself.

But I also realized that there are things outside work that can affect my effectiveness as well.

  1. Quality of the foods I eat.
  2. Quality of the sleep I get.
  3. How scheduled my weekend is.
  4. What are my commitments at outside my normal work schedule?
  5. Am I exercising?

My challenge to you is to think about how you can be more effective in the New Year. Not only in terms of your business, but how things that you do in your home life maybe carrying over into the workplace. Start developing a plan on one item you need change to be more effective. For example if you identify that you’re not getting enough sleep to be effective, put together a plan to improve your sleep. What are your sleep habits? What may be influencing them? Do you need to go to bed earlier? Are you over-committed? Are you zoning out with the computer/television? Are you drinking too much caffiene late in the afternoon? Once you have the plan, start implementing it one step at time.

And please, feel free to let me know if you post in response to this prompt. Like Mary Beth, I’ve found that other’s responses widen my own personal perceptions and may help myself and others.

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