Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Goin' to Kansas City

Kansas City, here I come!

We're off to our homeland before the sun even rises, catching a 4:30am bus to the airport. Ugh. Who planned that?

Oh yeah, I did.

I had to, in order to get the most out of our short visit, packed with wedding vendor meetings, a couple's communication class at the church, tux/bridesmaid dress fittings, and squeezing in as much time as possible with family and a few friends.

That's the bad thing about going back home. I love making the trip, but it's impossible to see everybody I want to, or even try to see everyone with all the other items to check off the to-do list. And this time more than any previous, it seems like there's a gazillion to-do items.

It's a weird mix of fun and stress, but I'm excited for it and wouldn't want to spend the next four days any other way.

My brother said we can play Nerf gun war :-)

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day!

Since moving to Seattle, I’ve become more eco- friendly, sometimes without even making a conscious effort to do so. Compared to the Midwest, it seems people here are much more concerned about the environment and aware of taking measures to protect it.
It's easy to see why Seattle is in the top 10 Greenest Cities in the U.S.

I love it. Living here encourages me to take advantage of the beautiful outdoors, eat locally grown and/or organic foods, take public transporation, recycle, etc. I don’t even drive my car (Goldie) but once a week to bible study. Maybe twice a week if necessary, but sometimes Goldie sits undriven so long, I forget where I parked her.

I love being able to walk or ride the bus practically everywhere. Maybe I enjoy it because I was deprived of that option before. I love the bus. Or, as we prefer to call it....BOOSE!! (pronounced like goose)

My preferred method of grocery shopping involves me running to Trader Joe’s— with my cloth shopping bags rolled up and tucked under my arm like a football player—and catching a ride on the bus back home.

I realize in many places it’s difficult, maybe even impossible to walk to the store or work, but there are so many alternatives that you can do to be kind to Mother Earth.
-Reduce your shower time in order to save water
-Use non-disposable cups, plates, utensils and avoid using paper napkins/towels
-Get some reusable grocery bags, and if possible, tell store clerks you can do without a bag. Plastic bags are evil!
-Recycle, recycle, recycle
-Shop at your local farmer's market and buy locally grown produce that wasn't trucked in from clear across the country

It’s simple. Start small. We all have a long way to go, but even by changing just one small thing, you can help.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

no clever title here

1. NASC: I've gone 1 week of being artificial sweetener-free and I gotta say, it hasn't been difficult at all. With my main grocery stores being Whole Foods and Trader Joe's, that practically eliminates any chance of me purchasing products made with artificial sweeteners. The majority of items they carry are made with no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives, no MSG and no added Trans Fats. What did I ever do without a Trader Joe's??? I ate fake food, that's what.

2. Running: Last week was a great week for running, I put in 20 miles. 3 miles on the treadmill, 5.5 miles (around Lake Union, then to Trader Joe's for groceries), 3 miles on Thursday morning, and 8.7 miles on Friday evening since the weather was so nice. I figured I would do my long run on Friday instead of Saturday since we had a busy day planned.

Check out that early hill climb. The elevation chart doesn't even do it justice. It was a killer on my quads, but I knew it would be all downhill after mile 2 so that helped ease the pain.

3. Say Cheese: Saturday we met with our friends Chris and Laurie for a six-hour engagement photo excursion (with a break for Thai food in there somewhere). They have a professional-grade camera and were willing to put up with our nonsense so we took advantage of the lovely spring day and went to a few of Seattle's best locations for photo ops.
(I'll post some more pictures later when I get a chance)

Chris also had two tickets for a harbor cruise that they couldn't use, so Todd and I sailed off at 9 pm and spent three hours cruising around the Puget Sound with a bunch of 40-50 year olds. It was a great evening but we were both so wiped out from the day that we were ready to jump ship after an hour and go to sleep. Still, it was fun to go on a nighttime cruise and we spent some time just talking and entertaining ourselves with a game of who-knows-who best. I don't remember who won. Let's just say it was a tie.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Oh, the Glee!

Day 3 of my 'no artificial sweetener challenge' (NASC)

My biggest fear with NASC was that I wouldn't be able to go without gum.

I'm a gum addict.

I chew gum when I finish a meal or coffee drink. I chew when I'm bored or don't have any food handy. I chew when I workout. When I run. Practically the only time I don't chew is when I'm sleeping. That just seems too dangerous.

My favorite gum is Extra Polar Ice. I keep a stash of it on hand and make sure I have a pack in every purse or gym bag I carry. I frequently find gum in my bathroom, makeup bag, coat pockets, coffee table, shoes....it's like a special surprise everytime I find a forgotten pack.

So I went cold turkey. No gum. Ugh.

But wait! Just when I thought all hope was lost, (ok not even 24 hours had passed) I found this.



Imagine my glee (pun totally intended) when I discovered Glee.

It's all natural, no preservatives, or artificial flavors or sweeteners. Natural means that they use chicle, derived from the sap of a certain tree in Central America, which in turn, helps sustain the rain forest. Glee is good for everyone!

My only gripe with it is that the flavor doesn't last long, but it is good to chew following a meal. At least I won't have stinky breath. And I'm helping the rain forest, which isn't something you do by chewing Extra gum.

Monday, April 07, 2008

I'm not so sweet anymore

I'm giving myself a new challenge. It's part mental, part health-related.

I've decided to go a month without ingesting any artifical sweeteners. I've been known to carry around packets of Splenda with me, but I've been cutting back on my intake recently. And when I had some in my coffee yesterday, I realized what people mean when they say it leaves a 'chemical-like' taste. Plus, with all the possible medical side effects, I figure I might as well cut myself off now.

This means no diet soft drinks, no Splenda in my coffee.

In fact, I found a list of possible 'no' foods: Soft drinks, vitamin & herb supplements, yogurt, instant breakfasts, candy, breath mints, cereals, sugar-free chewing gum, cocoa mixes, coffee beverages, instant breakfasts, gelatin desserts, frozen desserts, juice beverages, laxatives, milk drinks, shake mixes, tabletop sweeteners, tea beverages, instant teas and coffees, topping mixes, wine coolers, etc.

Hmmm...perhaps I haven't thought this fully through. I'm fine with no diet soda and no Splenda, but....No gum?!! No sugar-free Jell-O? No more of my favorite yogurt?

I do like that this presents a definite challenge for me. I'll just have to be more aware of what I buy and I'll have to eat the real versions of certain foods. Because when you think about it, artificial sweeteners just make our foods fake. Not how God intended it.

I started my challenge today and I'm aiming for one month of non-sweetener life*. This could either be a good month— improving my health, eating more natural foods, etc. Or, this could be a bad month— bad breath, crankiness, weight gain....this list goes on and on.

I'm hoping it's the former.


*This does not include meals I can't control: eating out at restaurants and/or not knowing what specific ingredients are in foods.