Consistency, Challenge and Goal

I feel bad for neglecting my blog.  I seem to have developed writers block. I used to be really creative, and have all of these ideas flowing through my mind so fast that I couldn't write them down, but since I stopped taking any depression medicine my brain seems to have slowed down.  I'm not having wild ups and downs, although I have been pretty grouchy the last couple of days. I think that having a cat that keeps puking on my carpet first thing in the morning is contributing to the bad mood more than anything chemical though.  As you will learn in the following blog, sticking with things in the long term is something that I struggle with daily.  I don't want to give up on this blog--I love writing and knowing that people are reading it.

In the last 7 months since we moved, I've been doing yoga, Zumba, and water aerobics in attempts to help me stay fit and lose weight.  None of it really worked.  I would eat more in the lunch after going to water aerobics than I would during the class, and I never felt like it was a particularly difficult work out.  Zumba challenged me, but I didn't do it often enough, and the songs started to get on my nerves, because they would stuck in my head for days on end. Yoga, as I've discussed in the past may have been a contributing factor in my back pain, so I stopped it shortly before my semester was going to end anyways.  I like all of these activities, but I need to do them weekly, not one a week if they are going to make a real difference in my health.

Consistency is and always has been my biggest challenge in life. Consistency from studying daily, practicing a religion, not getting bored and giving up on projects, cooking/making meal plans, working out, and even little stuff like routines of taking a shower every day, brushing my teeth, taking medicine.  Yes, I'm openly admitting that at times I forget to do these things. so feel free to mock my occasionally skuzzy teeth and greasy hair (although I'll probably kick you). It is my struggle. My battle with consistency has a lot to do with my difficulty in losing weight and getting/staying fit.  I start something, be it going to a exercise class, making meal plans, working on my elliptical, doing yoga at home, counting calories and I get bored and give up and in the end...don't lose weight.  I'm really frustrated that I am at the same weight I was my senior year of college before I worked my ass off to lose 40lbs.

It is is this weird catch 22 of sorts, because if I don't highly regiment things, I don't get anything done but if I feel like I have too much stuff to do, I just shut down and can't do anything at all.  I start freaking out and thinking of what I can cancel or move around so that I don't feel overwhelmed. I'm not sure what this means or how I can deal with this anymore than simply working hard to have some accountability to myself and other people.

Last week, I joined a gym at the recommendation of a very nice lady I met.  We are around the same age, and live pretty equally far from the place and she really likes it. This gym includes all fitness classes (yoga, zumba, spinning, aeorbics) and obviously cardio machines with the gym membership. I figure if I use them there as often as I have paid for them elsewhere that it might work itself out in the end.  The other costly thing I did to get me actually into the gym is to get a trainer. I started on Monday, and Tuesday, what was left of my pecs after not working out for 6 months were pretty sore.  I think Zumba has kept my legs in pretty good shape, since they didn't hurt much.  My goal is to continue with the trainer at least 2x/week and get in for at least 2-3 classes on top of that. I'd like to do some private pilates lessons as well to learn about the machines and see how my back feels with them.  Some things work, some don't.

I am well aware of how fortunate I am to have the financial ability to do these things, to buy healthy food and eat the things I want, when I want. I am truly blessed, and I thank my husband every day for giving me this opportunity to stay home, and not have to work.  The least I can do is do something with this opportunity.  My husband made me write a list of goals recently and basically told me that my job was to work towards one of those goals every day.

So while I will struggle every day with making myself learn a new pattern of going to the gym, and doing things differently I need to. Most of us do.  I've already made a lot of positive changes in my lifestyle in the last few years. I'm looking forward to more, and making those changes habits to last a lifetime.

On another note, I managed to get distracted from this post at least 5 times...ADD anyone?

Some side goals where I am just going to talk to myself...
*Get better with meal planning, and snack planning so I don't ever feel like there isn't something I want to eat in the house.
*Keep a list posted on the fridge with snack suggestions of things I actually know I like.  (When I'm hungry I want everything and NOTHING at the same time and have no decision making skills.  Plus, I turn into a demented dragon. It isn't pretty.)
*Figure out what I can do with this crazy sweet tooth.  The popcorn at night seems to be a pretty good snack, but is it the best? I'll post the recipe.
* Make hardboiled eggs to have in the fridge--come on, I've got 4 dozen farm fresh eggs (thanks Andy!) that I need to use.
* Look in the pantry! I've got quinoa that I want to eat, but I'm not sure in what recipe.  I am thinking some shredded chicken, finely chopped celery/carrot, tomatoes, and some herbs and spices might work.  I'm craving the food that Lily's mom used to make.  Read some of your magazines, and start to explore with cooking again instead of being all lazy and tired.
* You aren't 'treating' yourself by eating crap, you are HURTING yourself.
* Your elliptical isn't a lawn ornament parked in your room. Use it. I know it isn't the arc trainer you want but...get over your spoiled self.
* Seriously--send some of those awesome people you met an email before they think you are blowing them off.  Not cool Ms. Procrastination.

I wish I could send you a smell... (an adventure in homemade granola)

No, seriously.  My kitchen smells AMAZING right now. Why you ask?  Because I embarked on yet another food making odyssey to make homemade granola. Granola cooking might be the best smell ever. It might actually beat baking bread for me right now, and I love bread.  My mom swears she made this stuff when I was a kid, so maybe that is where that ingrained love of the smell of baking granola comes from.

I have been struggling lately with being really tired and having no energy. I'm not sure if I'm sick, or if it is diet (all the crap I ate on 'vacation' catching up with me)or getting used to a new routine of working out, but today by the grace of God, and a lot of caffeine (chai at lunch...they really should cut me off after the fifth mug of it...the mugs are little though) I managed to get my house cleaned, laundry done so my husband has pants to wear to work, and some cooking done.

I think I was laying in bed this morning when I started thinking of the nuts and such I would need, that I didn't already have, to make granola.  It was time for a trip to Trader Joe's.  I think the clincher was that I was out of raisins, and that just wouldn't do.

I figured the recipe couldn't be that difficult (it isn't) and that as long as I didn't let it burn into a molten mass on a cooking sheet, it would be edible enough to pass off to my husband.  I picked up some cashews (roasted but unsalted), two different  types of raisins; since I like them on everything, and some pressed dried mango to chop up to put in the granola when it was done.
Tonight I was planning on making yogurt, since my landlady gave me a starter of her amazing batch, but instead started cutting up nuts and throwing things into a bowl.  This is the recipe that I 'sort of' used, but since I had walnuts, cashews, pecans and almonds I added them all. I also put in the dried cranberries (my addition) and raisins before I read the recipe and saw that it said to put them in at the end (woops), so then I proceeded to attempt to pull as many out as possible.  That would be why in the picture there are very few raisins.  There will be loads in the finished product. I like raisins...a lot.  The whole thing took 5 minutes tops to throw together.  The only 'tough' part is sticking around to stir it every 15 minutes.
Dear Alton, thanks for a great recipe.  I think the maple syrup base instead of another type of sugar won me over. Maybe you could make this a little healthier? Maybe next time I'll throw some stevia in the syrup instead of the brown sugar.  I also sort of fudged on the measurements since granola is NOT an exact science.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1 cup cashews
• 3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut (I used unsweetened)
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar.

In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color.

Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

My advice in making granola--shake it up!  Put in your favorite nuts, not just what the recipe says.  I didn't add salt...it didn't need it and neither do we!  My other advice and the most important advice is STIR THE GRANOLA while it is cooking, otherwise you could end up with the molten mess discussed above, and no one wants to clean that up.   

before cooking...looking yummy!

On another fr ont...my cat is hilarious.  What you thought you'd get through a post without reading about the infamous Newton? Come on people.  

So my kitty has this ratty old teeny hairband that he stole from my cousin, and since he drooled all over it, my aunt wasn't exactly clamoring to get it back, although I did offer.  This little teeny pink hairband has moved with us from WV and just randomly shows up until Newton yet again, loses it.  He found it again this morning when I lifted up a laundry basket and it was underneath.  How did it get under the laundry basket? Your guess is as good as mine.  Anyways, here are some pictures right before he once again lost it under the couch. I was going to ask my husband to get up off the couch so I could get it out, then I remembered that my husband is working and my cat is...spoiled.  He will have to do without for now.  

See the tiny ratty pink hairband? It is almost gray now because of him carrying it around and spitting it back out.  

The second he realized he lost it (and part of my husband's leg..sorry hun).  He spent the next 5 minutes staring at me, under the couch and back at me sadly.  He is pretty pitiful when he wants to be.