Giving it away.

I've been thinking a lot about giving things away this week.  All kinds of things in all kinds of ways.  Let me start with this one:
I'm doing a $40 CSN shops gift card giveaway. To you.  Right here on the blog.  As you know, I just moved.  I'm having a wonderful time filling up our new house with our belongings, but there are still a few holes to fill.  Some bigger than others, and I discovered a great place to help me fill them.  CSN stores has over 200 sites from which to shop.  I love looking through the sites and visualizing how I will fill the holes in my new house that has a kitchen eating area AND a formal dining room - check out the dining room sets!  I've also looked at bedroom sets for my son who's just about ready to get out of his crib, bean bag chairs for the playroom, and have of course spent a lot of time looking over the kitchen items and cookware they have.  Who wouldn't want a free $40 to spend at one of these stores?  Details of the giveaway after these few thoughts.

I've been reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin and re-re-reading A Mother's Guide To Self Renewal by Renee Trudeau as well as signing up for my third round of a Personal Renewal Group lead by the amazing Sarina LaMarche.  I joined my Community Center, and the kids are super excited to go to playcare while I take classes.  I've been thinking a lot about happiness and self-fulfillment and love.  One thing I've noticed in these books and in my own life as a mother, wife, friend, daughter, artist and yogi, is that a lot of times if you're unhappy, the best thing to do is LET GO.  Give it away.  Give away the resentment, give away the expectation, give away the guilt.  These acts open us up to receive great benefits - relief, kindness, love, forgiveness, happiness, contentment, peace, wonder, opportunity.  I want more of those things.  So I'm practicing letting go.

I'm giving away the fear I feel when I want to write about something but am not sure if everyone who reads my blog will like it, or that it "won't fit in".  I'm giving away the guilt I feel when I don't reach my highest expectation of myself on the first try.  I'm giving away the restricted feeling I have in my chest when I think of things I'd like to do - that I'd really enjoy doing - and think there's not enough time/money/energy to do it.  I'm giving away the short-sightedness I have when I'm in the middle of paying bills or figuring out some other adult problem and it seems like I don't have time to play with my kids for 10 minutes.  I'm giving away the need to eat my way out of feelings I don't like, and face them - even when they're scary.  I'm giving away the feeling of disappointment I have when I look at myself in the mirror and see the 27 pounds I put back on after losing them last year.  I'm giving away the fear of asking for what I want.

SO - Join me, won't you?

GIVE AWAY TO GET THE GIVEAWAY.

Here's how you enter:

Subscribe to/Follow my blog.

Follow me on Twitter or my page on Facebook

MOST IMPORTANTLY:  In the comments of this blog post, Give Away a song that makes you happy.  Give a song that makes you dance or smile or sing along.  I will use your suggestions to add to my iPod and play it when I need some help letting go.  I will also use it at the gym I just joined, because I'm working on giving away this extra weight.  You may enter more than one song, but only one song in a post.

From the comments I will randomly pick a comment (with a nifty and fair random number generator) and the winner will announced on Friday.  You have until Thursday at midnight to enter.  Good luck.  We're all counting on you.

EDIT:  ACK!! I forgot - winner must live in the US or Canada.  Sorry, International Readers!!


Photo here 

Back from vacation: Fat and Happy.

This week my family went up to a lake in Northern Minnesota.  It was glorious.  The weather was beautiful, the lake was crystal clear, the cabin was spacious and wonderful, and I got to build two campfires and stuff myself silly with marshmallows.  

While we were up there, we finalized our plans for the Jonathan Coulton Cruise in January.  Bill is performing, along with others, on the cruise and we're very happy to be able to go with him and enjoy the Caribbean in January!  

SO-  Having stuffed myself with marshmallows and hot dogs cooked over a campfire for a week (not to mention ALL the BACON!), and having spent said week in my old-lady swim dress (no, there are no pictures), and having finalized plans to go on a fabulous week-long cruise with awesome people (including, but not limited to, my family), I would now like to drop some dress sizes. 

Last year I dropped 27 pounds by doing weight watchers and yoga.  This year I gained it ALL BACK.  Every single pound.  I just stopped paying attention.  But now I have a goal.  And I'm really good with a project.  SO.  I will keep cooking, I will keep eating delicious food.  I will not give up wine or sweets or pasta.  I will, however, be on Weight Watchers, doing yoga (possibly going to a gym! Gasp!), writing everything down, drinking tons of water, chewing gum, and watching my portions.  I will not belabor it here, for this is not a weight-loss blog, but if you have any interest in how I'm doing, or if you're involved with a similar personal project, I invite you to follow my new Twitter Account and play along at home.

Happy eating!

Images Here, Here, Here and Here.  The marshmallow one's the real deal.

Diet? I just met it!

Last year (February - August 2009) I lost 27 pounds.   November 2009 - May 2010, I gained 17 back.  I stopped exercising, AND I stopped watching what I was eating.  Huh. Funny how that happens.  So now I'm back to yoga (though my 30 days of yoga has been interrupted by illness, I'm still committed to do as much as I'm able), and am starting Weight Watchers again.  That's how I did it last year, so I know it works for me.  I always eat well, I have a problem with portion control.  Ok, and snacking.  That's why counting points works for me.  I can plan my portions and snacks and, let's face it, drinks for the day and make my food work better for me.

There is part of me that just shudders at "fat-free" and "light/lite" ingredients, but I have found that there are some that are actually acceptable, and they add up and make a difference.  Prime examples: Light mayo, fat free vanilla yogurt and fat free ReddiWhip. Also, high fiber bread.  And actually measuring things like portions of everything and the butter and oil I cook with.  If I use these ingredients and technique, I can afford to eat bigger bang ingredients in some of my cooking.  Some examples: I will not make a cream soup with skim, I eat real butter, and I will not live without good dark chocolate.  Also, I drink 2% milk and nobody's gonna change that.

So I'm going to plan my meals - every meal, not just dinner.  And plan my snacks. And drink a lot of water (look for my upcoming post about the greatest invention in the world, the SodaStream) and do a lot of yoga.  And walk around some of the 10,000 lakes that are available to me.

Here's my food plan for day one, and a great lunch recipe that kept me going last year and a new one I'm trying from this month's EatingWell.  My goal is 25 points (or less) a day.

Breakfast: 4.5 pts

1 egg, 1 egg white scrambled with 1/2 oz goat cheese served over sautéed greens and scallions.

Snack: 1 pt

1 cup cantaloupe

Lunch: 3 pts

Tuna Chickpea Salad (recipe follows)

Snack: 2 pts

14 baked tortilla scoops and 2 TBS salsa

Dinner: 7 pts

Creamy Garlic Pasta with Shrimp & Vegetables  (Eating Well Recipe)

Wine: 6 pts

(4oz glass x 3, because who drinks a 4 oz glass of wine? It's really 6 oz glass x 2)

Snack: 1 pt

Jolly Time Microwave Kettle Corn, single serving

TOTAL 24.5

I also intend on doing at least 30 minutes of yoga, which gives me 2 activity points, netting me 22.5 for the day. That way I have 2.5 points wiggle room - or a really ambitious start.

I'll let you know how it goes.  Day one is always exciting.  I promise not to make this into a Weight Watchers journal, but may reference points in my recipes for those of you who are playing along at home.

Here's the recipe for my delicious lunch.

Chickpea and Tuna Salad
Makes 4 servings

15.5oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

5oz can of tuna (I use solid white albacore in water), drained

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

1/4 c parsley, chopped

Dressing:

1/8 c fat free plain yogurt

1/8 c light mayonnaise

1/2 TBS Dijon mustard

1/2 TBS lemon juice

1/2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

 Place first six ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, combine dressing ingredients.  Combine with the tuna/chickpea mixture.

SO - What are some full fat ingredients that you won't live without?

*Pictures:
TOP: from December 2008 - this was posted on Facebook by a friend and inspired me to do something.
BOTTOM: August 20, 2009 - In Nashville for Rifftrax Live.