My "calculated age" with my current habits and lifestyle is 90 years. It also gives tips on what you can do, based on your answers, to add years to your life. In addition to the obvious - lower your bad cholesterol, etc, it gives you ones you may not have thought of, such as "Floss your teeth." Weird, right? Here's the reason:
There is a clear link between the inflammation of gum disease and heart disease. Do a good job of flossing daily and you could add a year to your life expectancy.
Ugh... will the sugar cookies, brownies, candies and all other holiday goodies please go away?!?!?
What is wrong with me, you ask? Well, any of you that have talked to me in the last few months or so know that I have been working to phase out certain foods in my life. Processed foods, foods that have "stuff" in them, no fast food, organic when possible, etc. I have been working at this for a while and it wasn't until recently that I had some validation for my efforts.
I was at work, heating up my lunch (that I made at home with REAL food) and two co-workers were also heating their food but both of them were complaining about how awful and tired they felt. I should say that for months I have been noticing what other people eat - not because I am curious, but because it is so noticeable now. How do I explain... it's like I didn't notice until I was no longer doing the same thing. Does that make sense?
Anyway, they were going on about how they felt and then one lady looked at me and said, "You don't look tired at all." And, I wasn't. I have been feeling great... until about 2 weeks ago when all the Christmas goodies started rolling in... then we ate not so good at home... and I could tell.
I have been tired and just "blah" all this week and I think my eating habits are directly to blame. So GO AWAY holiday goodies. I want to go back to proving to myself that what I am doing is doing my body good!!!
11.16.2008
Our garden... just before radish harvest!
Radishes and Rob. He's holding a beer, but of course you can't see it. It's in a camouflage can.
Well, only 13 days into my new garden and here is what we have so far. The radishes continue to come up... you can see they have red stems now. My worry is having to thin them. I'm not sure I'll know how to tell what I'm pulling. But for now, they're looking good!
This is the onion row. Looks like grass, but I'm pretty sure it's not!
Here are the carrots.
This is what the garden looks like. Still very exciting! The celery hasn't shown us anything yet, but it's one of two that take the longest to get going. Our cauliflower also has small greens coming out, and even a couple on the lettuce row. Our sunflowers also have broken ground and hopefully I'll get some good pictures of those soon as well!
A few days later, we had most of the grass dug up and were finishing up the weeding.
After we got what we could of the weeds, we then dug up and turned as much of the existing soil as we could. I was surprised to find worms in it. :)
Rob built a garden box and we filled it with compost mulch and garden soil. The half circle area will be grass again once it grows through the new layer of dirt we put on it.
Rob, doing some watering.
Here is our finished garden. The food we are starting with are carrots, radishes, onions, celery, cauliflower, lettuce, and sunflowers. After this season, we will continue to grow carrots, radishes, and onions, but change the others to potatoes, watermelon, squash, and tomatoes. I would also like to find room for peas, beans, cucumbers, zucchini and squash.
We'll keep you posted with any activity. I'm anxiously awaiting the first glimpse of anything growing. As long as it's not grass. Or a weed. THAT would be disappointing. :) According to my Maricopa County Garden Planting Calendar, I should see radishes and lettuce by late November, with the carrots and onions following close behind. By the first month or two of 2009, we should have our celery and cauliflower.
No, not really... but I did make my own bread last night - granted, with a machine, but it was still home made. I know exactly what is in it and it came out pretty good :)
It's about the size of the bread I normally by at Sprouts for about $2.59 a loaf. Rob and I worked out that this loaf cost about $1.65. He says it will take me about a year to make enough bread to pay for the machine. I like that I know exactly what is in it.
This is a wheat loaf. The next one will probably be plain white, and then I will try zucchini. Yum!
The book is a year long food journey - the author and her family decided to leave Tucson, AZ and head to Appalachia,VA to live on a farm, grow their own food, and eat as locally as possible. Each family member (with the exception of the youngest daughter) wrote parts of the book, each giving the reader something different.
Barbara Kingsolver wrote the bulk of it, documenting each month with stories of how they were able to cut the strings to mass produced food, grow their own food, or eat within the community in which they lived. One might not think this would be at all entertaining, but it was. Her writing style is witty and funny, while being informative.
Her husband, Stephen L. Hopp, who teaches at Emory and Henry College, wrote little sidebars with information on FAO (The UN Food and Agriculture Organization), CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations), CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), The Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976, food sellers, mass farms, etc. Very interesting stuff.
Her daughter, Camille, a student at Duke University, gives us recipes, food ideas, thoughts on types of food you can grow and general stories about being a teenager/young adult in a house growing it's own food.
The book was not only informative, but it was also very entertaining. It was also nice to hear that they used to live in Tucson, just a short drive from Phoenix. Hey, they're just like me! :) Ok, maybe not.
I highly recommend this book to anyone - especially urbanites - as it gives a new perspective on food, knowing where your food comes from, and the impact your food choices have.
Here is a 10 minute video of her reading some excerpts from the book:
Ho-ly-cow. What is happening to me? I have always, ALWAYS, thought that I would never be tired of city life. I never wanted to live away from a big city. But recently, something has been switched in my head and I wonder about life AWAY from the city.
Now, it's not like I live in NYC or LA or something. (I LOVE NYC!) But, Phoenix is a HUGE city. I do love my house, my neighborhood, my city - but sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live on more than my little postage stamp... what it would be like to ride my bike without worrying about being sideswiped by some A-hole in an enormous SUV. (I'm not bagging on SUV owners... I have one, too).
I am going to blame my somewhat sudden change of heart on my recent choice of reading material. Most of what I have been reading has been food related and with that comes stories of farm life. Yeah, I said it. Farm life. Don't get me wrong. I don't want to start wearing overalls and a straw hat or anything. (But I do look darn cute in overalls... ha.) And, I have no desire (yet) to raise and "harvest" my own animals. But I wouldn't be opposed to having a vegetable farm.
I have already started buying more organic food, more natural food, less processed food... For the most part, if I don't understand what the ingredients are, I'm not buying it. Most things I buy - bread, pasta, chips, etc - have between 5 and 10 ingredients and I know what they are.
But what REALLY sent me over the edge was my trip to Flagstaff this weekend. We decided to drive up on Sunday morning and go to a Farmers Market. I understand that in many parts of the country, this is something that is easy to do, easy to find, and not at all anything special. But for those of us living in the dusty brown oven we call Phoenix, it is a challenge. I have found a list of markets - some are opening in October and I am ridiculously excited about it!
Anyway, back to Flag... we went to a farmers market that was smaller than I had imagined it in my head, but regardless of the size, it had some amazing things.I grabbed my canvas bag and we started shopping. We did walk through once, just browsing the merchandise to see what everyone had and on our second pass we made our first farmers market purchases: a bunch of radishes and 3 yellow squash that looked like flying saucers. No joke. :) We continued through and also bought hot peppers, green onions that were HUGE, pickling cucumbers, a green bell pepper, hot peppers, a small loaf of zucchini bread, fresh pasta, and some honey sticks. Yum. Looking back, and being over my giddy nervousness, I would have been a bit more adventurous and bought a few more things, like the bread I was eying, the basket of green beans, and potatoes. But I'm going to save that for October when the markets in Glendale and Surprise open.
Are you ready for the next crazy thing we are going to do? We are going to join a CSA - Community Supported Agriculture - which will allow us to purchase fruit and produce from a local farmer whose farm is about 10 miles from our house. We pay a fee and in exchange we get 10 weeks of freshness from his farm. I'm very excited about it. Here is an example of what we might see in one weeks take:
2 apples, 2 lb potatoes, 1 lb tomatoes, 1/2 lb red bell peppers, 1 bunch turnips, 0.4 lb salad mix, 1 bunch red Russian kale, 0.8 lb roasted green chiles, herbs. -OR- 2 Onions, 1 lb Sweet Potatoes, 1/4 lb Green Beans, 1 lb Tomatoes, 2 Peaches, 2 Pears, 1 bunch Herb Mix (Basil, Mint, Lemongrass), Salad Mix.
You basically get a cut of whatever is growing. I'm extremely excited about this and am anxiously awaiting my reply email to the CSA!What I think will be the biggest challenge, though it will also be the most interesting and fun part, is learning to cook with what you have instead of going out to get what you want. It will also give us the chance to learn to eat new things.
No, this isn't a blog about Viagra. While that may be the "little blue pill", it's not the one I am referring to. The idea of the blue pill vs the red pill is from the movie "The Matrix" released in 1999. As Morpheus put it:
You take the blue pill, the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill . . . and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.
I have seen The Matrix about a thousand times and every time I see it, I realize something else about it that I had missed the many times before. It's a movie that makes me think, and a movie that, oddly, makes a ton of sense to me.
Somewhere along the way, I started taking tiny bits of red pill. I've become skeptical of many things, including the medical profession, government, the food industry, and how they all tie together. I feel like if I don't spend a lot of time reading and researching everything I see or read, then I might be getting the wool pulled over my eyes.
I have been doing some major reading lately on food, nutrition, organic farming, FDA... things of that nature. It's amazing what "they" can get people to believe - and how easily they can do it.
I have been listening to talk radio and while I understand that these radio personalities are also getting a paycheck, I also hear what they are saying and what they are not.
I know this post is incredibly vague - I am still trying to work it out in my own mind.
Hey everyone. This is a quick recommendation for you ALL to read these books:
The Eat-Clean Diet by Tosca Reno
and
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
If you are interested in changing the way you eat - more whole foods, less processed foods - and really want to know more about the food industry, check out these books. THEY ARE AWESOME.
Piestewa Peak Peak will forever be Squaw Peak to me. I have called it Squaw Peak for more than 20 years... and it will probably always be that for me. For those of you who don't know, here is a very short explanation of the name change, which was officially approved on April 10, 2008:
Squaw Peak was renamed Piestewa Peak in honor of Army Spc. Lori Piestewa who is thought to be the first Native American woman killed in combat. She was killed in Iraq on March 23, 2003 after the convoy she was driving was ambushed. She was from Tuba City, AZ.
Anyway... I have recently decided to take up hiking mountains in the area. Some of you might find this ironic if you know that growing up - hiking was NOT on my list of favorite activities. Though, I did hike a lot of places with my parents growing up, this peak included. The Night Before
Let me start this little... adventure... by telling you that as I prepared for this hike the night before, I was really excited. I did a little research online to make sure I knew where to go, what trail to hike to ensure that I did the trail that went to the summit. I did this all before going to bed.
I dreamed about it, and it was a very dramatic dream. I don't know how well I can describe it now, but as I approached the mountain in my dream, I couldn't see it until rounding this house, which was guarded by a GIANT dog. And, as is "normal" for dreams, we could understand the dogs barks. It was basically barking that it was dangerous and not to pass.
Weird, right? Well, it gets better. As the mountain came into view, there was a feeling of loud, swelling orchestra music - like it would be when something in a movie is revealed. I say "a feeling" because I don't remember that I could actually hear anything. In front of the mountain was a long rectangular area - very similar to the reflection pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. Expect this one in my dream was not filled with water. It was a hole. A very deep, rectangular hole and people were losing there balance and falling. From here... the dream jumps a little to people having trouble staying on the mountain and I think that is when I woke up.
So, my morning started off with THAT in mind. Not the best thing to be thinking about when getting ready to hike a mountain...
Morning of My Hike
Anyway, I tried to shake it off and I left for my hike. I got to the base of Summit Trail #300 at 6:20 a.m. and began my trek up the mountain. It was a constant uphill walk/climb. The rocks formed a staircase in a lot of areas. The ascent is quick - you ascend 1,200 feet to the top in 1.2 miles.
Unless you are me and make it to ALMOST the top. I made the mistake - right near the top - of looking down. There is a point near the top that has handrails and after passing that point, I stopped and looked out and down. And I freaked out a little bit, thinking about going back down. So, that is where I stopped and decided to start back. I am disappointed that I couldn't suck it up and finish the last little bit - but I guess that gives me something to shoot for after the summer is over.
Enjoy the pictures I did get. Probably in October, I will do it again and have pictures from the actual top!
TWEAK: growing up on methamphetamines by Nic Sheff
I originally heard about his book while listening to Fresh Air with Terri Gross on my local NPR station. (If you have never heard the show Fresh Air, Terri interviews a wide range of people and sometimes it is very interesting.)
Anyway, back to the book. This is a memoir written by Nic Sheff about his experiences while taking a variety of hard drugs, and the constant struggle to get off them. This book is crazy. It's scary and sad. I have known people who have done these types of drugs, but I never got close enough to actually see what it is like.
The author began his experiences with drugs and alcohol at age 11. Today, he is only 25. After reading this book, I don't see how he isn't dead.
He just put up a website which you can find at www.nicsheff.com to read a little more about him.
Coming up, I will be reading David Sheff's book: Beautiful Boy: a father's journey through his son's meth addiction. After reading the son's memoir, it will be interesting - and as a parent, terrifying - to read how it was for his dad.
I recently started paying a LOT of attention to the grocery store ads and all my coupons to see how much I could save at the grocery store. I was inspired by my friend Tracy who actually does workshops on this, and I plan on going to one to see what she does.
Anyway, last week, I had already done my weekly shopping but I realized that I had a few coupons that were going to expire so I decided to make a quick run and get these couple of things.
My bill before any discounts: about $19.56 My bill after my discounts: $4.51
What? Yes, that's right.
Here's how it broke down:
I went up with my items: Steak for that night - $4.52 Tea bags, 2 boxes - $4.83 each Ice cream bars - $3.99 Pasta Roni - $1.39
By using my Safeway card, I received the sale prices:
The Pasta Roni -$1 The tea bags were by one get one. The steak was 30% off - $2.57
In addition to the savings I get using my card, I also received a 10% discount because my card was fairly new. More savings.
Then, my coupons.
I had a coupon for $0.55 for the pasta roni, which they doubled. Final cost for pasta: FREE
I had a coupon for a free box of tea bags, up to $4. Final cost for BOTH boxes - $0.83. FOR BOTH!!
I had a coupon for the ice cream for $1 off. Final cost for ice cream: $2.99
My Club card saved me: $8.28 My coupons saved me: $6.00
So I saved $15.05 by using coupons and the club card.
After Halloween, Rob and Austin planted some pumpkin seeds... and now...
Our fruit tree is back in full swing. It took a weird break after we built our pool.
This is what the garden looks like. Still very exciting! The celery hasn't shown us anything yet, but it's one of two that take the longest to get going. Our cauliflower also has small greens coming out, and even a couple on the lettuce row. Our sunflowers also have broken ground and hopefully I'll get some good pictures of those soon as well!
After we got what we could of the weeds, we then dug up and turned as much of the existing soil as we could. I was surprised to find worms in it. :)
