MoxiArchive - DECEMBER 2009

Are You What You Eat? - 1 December 2009
Turn Off The Lights - 3 December 2009
The Grinch - 3 December 2009
Surpressing My Need for Speed - 5 December 2009
Pippins - 8 December 2009
My Foam Friend - 9 December 2009
Making My List - 10 December 2009
Why Spin? - 11 December 2009
Die Another Day - 12 December 2009
All Hail the Pomegrante - 14 December 2009
Lentil Soup for the Mommy's Soul - 17 December 2009
Holiday Away from Home - 19 December 2009
Sheets for Me and You - 20 December 2009
A Happy Holiday - 23 December 2009

1 December 2009

Are You What You Eat?

Let's Hope Not

This summer I tried to see the documentary Food Inc. while visiting Boulder, CO, but when my daughter and I got to the cinema I accidentally drove into a parking garage that was too low to accommodate my kids’ bikes, which were mounted on the roof rack of our car. In all honesty, I just forgot that the bikes were even up there until I heard this awful squealing sound of the rubber tires being ripped from the rack, and then the rear glass shattering as my daughter’s bike smashed through the back windshield. “Are we still going to see the movie?” my daughter wanted to know. “Um, no.” The only way it might have been worse would have been if I had backed over my daughter’s bike (now laying on the ground behind the car), but a kind passer-by was nice enough to yell “STOP!!” as she saw me trying to back up and away from the low ceiling into which I had just crashed. I threw the bike through the smashed window and returned to my sister’s house, where we were visiting. As we drove through Boulder my daughter slouched down in the back seat and pulled her hood way up over her head and face. “I am SO embarrassed! This car is a MESS!” I remained calm, outwardly (I think). “Well, good thing we are 1,500 miles from home and you don’t know anyone around here.” That was little consolation. Besides, how did she think I felt? Explaining what happened required letting go of my ego – a lot. My family was pretty horrified, but they tried to mask their disbelief, at least.

My beef was not with the screwed up bikes or the expensive repair work that needed to be done on both the window and the bike rack. I was not bothered about having to wait an extra day before getting back on the road to return to Texas. I wasn’t going to get to see the movie, and I knew it would not be playing in Waco – that’s what bothered me most.

Now, four months later, Food Inc. is available for rent. If you want to know more about how the food industry is regulated and in particular how the meat you may be eating is processed, then this is a movie for you. I found it enlightening and informative, and at times disturbing. Look at it this way: it may help you make some important changes in your eating habits, for the better.

Read a New York Times review of Food, Inc.

3 December 2009

Turn Off The Lights!

It is with difficulty that I admit to yet another instance in which I have become more like my parents: I am constantly telling my kids to turn off their lights as they leave the house or their rooms. I know one mom who charges her kids money when they leave the lights on, and I’ve often wondered how she knows what to charge them. Does she calculate the kilowatt usage for those particular fixtures or just estimate?

I am happy to report that Google now provides a free service called Google PowerMeter that allows customers to monitor energy use in their homes in ‘real time’. This means that you can literally watch your meter spike when you do anything requiring electricity, like blow drying your hair or running your air conditioning. Considering the most information I ever get off of my bill is how much to pay and where to send the money, PowerMeter sounds like a great tool to help me figure out where it would be easiest to cut back on my usage. The figure quoted on CNN tonight (where I heard about PowerMeter) stated that if just 50 percent of U.S. households cut their electricity use by 10 percent, it would be the equivalent of taking 8 million cars off of the road. Wow.

PowerMeter will also be a great tool for people who charge their kids for leaving on the lights. Dataheads will also enjoy being able to account for their personal electricity use, I think. It’s just another easy way to modify your carbon footprint here on the planet earth, so we can keep it clean for our kids, and their kids, and their kids after that. You can read much more about this free service on their website. And don’t forget to turn off your lights!

4 December 2009

The Grinch

This week has been long so far, for one reason: I’ve been short on sleep. We now know, of course, that sleeping fewer than seven hours a night is bad for our health. It heightens the risk for a variety of major illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. The real problem, however, is what being sleep deprived does to my general tolerance for life with small children.

My husband frequently works overnight shifts, so the other night when I couldn’t sleep I called him at the hospital to ask a question. It was just after 2 in the morning, I think. It went like this:

Me: I was thinking we should fly your mom out here next weekend with our frequent flier miles.

Husband: What? What time is it? Why are you awake right now?

Me: I can’t sleep. I am so tired and mad that I can’t sleep.

Husband: Look, just relax. Take some deep breaths. You need to sleep. Relax. We can talk later.

Me: Yes, I’ve tried relaxing. I’m going to eat some chocolate chips now. Maybe that will help.

So there I sat, in my kitchen, eating chocolate chips at 2:45 a.m. It must have helped because I got pretty sleepy and was sawing logs by 3:15, I think. The last time I looked at my clock it was after 3.

I slept a little over 2 hours that night, and now, at the week’s end I am still thick headed and grouchy. Last night I realized how my lack of sleep this week has affected my parenting; I’ve been more snippety than usual, and less tolerant. A little like the grinch, I’d say. So I’m on a quest to regain those lost hours of sleep, one nap at a time, and in the process, my moxi.

A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. ~Irish Proverb

5 December 2009

Suppressing My Need for Speed

This weekend my husband and I ran a half marathon in the Texas Hill Country that began and finished at a winery. The literature about the race described the course as ‘challenging’. That was an understatement.

When the alarm went off at 6:30 Saturday morning it was very tempting to roll over and remain under the warm covers. We had a major cold snap Friday night, so the temperature Saturday morning was 19 degrees. The race director had sent out emails warning that the start might have to be delayed until noon if there was any frozen precipitation on the ground. Thankfully it did not snow overnight; I was ready to run and move on with the day – my husband’s birthday, no less. We each grabbed a slice of raisin toast and at 7:45 a.m. we set off from our hotel like a herd of turtles to find the winery and the race start.

Because of his erratic work schedule, my husband cannot train as consistently as he would like, and he has not really run much over the last two weeks. I assured him that we’d take it easier than we normally might during a race; I am also nursing some inflammation in the plantar fascia of my left foot. Running hard aggravates my foot problem, so I needed to take it easy this race. In theory taking it slowly makes sense and seems pretty easy to do – a free ticket for an enjoyable jog through the hill country. Not so easy in practice.

After a frantic last minute trip to the bathroom, we ran to the starting line (barely making the race start), and my adrenaline was pumping. I imagine it’s how a racehorse must feel in the gates; I’m ready to take off and challenge myself over the course of 13 miles. There are other women who look to be my age ready to do the same, and I had to suppress my overwhelming urge to race them to the finish.

While I was running across partially frozen streams, chugging up never-ending hills and barreling down the backsides, greeting the dozens of volunteers out on the course braving freezing temperatures to hand out water, I felt thankful for being able to run, for having the strength and the means to be out there, feeling alive and cold and free. At each water station I stopped to take a drink, thank the volunteers, and rejoin my husband. Reaching the halfway mark I again stopped, and the race official said to me, “What are you doing? Don’t stop! You’re in second place for women, and the leader is just ahead of you – get going!” For a moment that competitive drive tugged at my ego, hard. I again resisted the urge to race and reminded myself that how I finished the race did not matter. It wasn’t worth risking further injury to my foot, and I wanted to share the morning with my husband. So I cheered on other runners while I waited, and the third place woman who overtook me in the process shook her head in disbelief.

My husband and I finished the race together and marveled at the beauty and difficulty of the racecourse, then we joined the other runners for wine tasting and an awards ceremony. The first category of prizes was for best elf and Santa costumes; that’s my kind of race! And standing there icing my foot I realized that this was to be my source of moxi for the day, remembering that I don’t need to beat any other runner across the finish line or even worry about what my time would be when I crossed the line. My joy that day only came from suppressing what I thought was my moxi: my need for speed.

Everyone who has run knows that its most important value is in removing tension and allowing a release from whatever other cares the day may bring. -Jimmy Carter

8 December 2009

Pippens

I didn’t fully appreciate apples until I lived on the east coast. Fall in New York brings wonderfully imperfect, just picked apples to farmers markets all over the city. This is where I fell in love with pippen apples.

It’s been at least five years since I’ve been able to find pippens in a grocery store. In fact, after leaving New York over 15 years ago I’ve really only had them a handful of times, until the other day, that is. While visiting Austin over the weekend we stopped in Whole Foods Market on Lamar for lunch, where I always make my way first through the beautiful produce section.

There were at least 20 varieties of apples, maybe more, and the pippens were tucked way back in the corner. I ran over and bombarded the produce associate with questions. He told me that due to customer demand, pippens were back, but only for a few weeks.

I filled a bag with six pounds of delicious pippen goodness, and I’m savoring every bite. If you’ve never tried a pippen you should; they are crunchy and tart with a hint of sweetness. They are somewhere between a granny smith and a fuji, and twice as crunchy. Perfect, in my book.

Lately people have been extolling the health benefits of eating apples, chiefly their propensity to keep you from overeating (because they are so filling). They also have plentiful antioxidants and flavonoids that help to reduce inflammation and risk for certain cancers, but I just eat them because they are delicious. Ask for them at your local market. Enjoy!

9 December 2009

My Foam Friend

I’m writing to recommend a fabulous way to give yourself a very inexpensive treat – a self-massage using a foam roller.
You might also hear this referred to as self-myofascial release, and you can find a short video clip demonstrating how to use a foam roller right here in the MoxiFit video archive.

Using the weight of your body, simply roll across the foam to release muscle tension and prevent scar tissue build-up in muscles and tendons. Over time regular use of a foam roller in this manner will result in more pliable muscles, and this in turn will promote longevity in any fitness activity you chose to partake. Muscle strength is desirable, but without flexibility injury is inevitable. Foam rolling will do more for your muscles than stretching alone can, and even more than massage in and of itself.

Long and short foam rollers are widely available for purchase either online or at sporting goods stores, like Sports Authority. They are usually located near the yoga products. If your muscles are pretty tight it will feel a bit uncomfortable at first, but if you stick with it for a few minutes each day you will become more supple and actually look forward to the self-massage experience. You can read more about using foam rollers in the New York Times article. A foam roller would also make a unique, thoughtful and inexpensive holiday gift, and if you are lucky your child just might pick up a marker and decorate your foam roller, like my son did to mine!

10 December 2009

Making My List

My kids are like any others this time of year; they are talking about Christmas and what they want. There are lists in production. What strikes me as different this year, though, is our collective increased awareness of how commercial Christmas has become over the years, and how we get many conflicting messages related to holiday spending. On the one hand we have the usually commercial Christmas craziness in every store before Halloween, and on the other there is the sagging economy supposedly keeping people from splurging for the sake of gifts under the tree. This morning I heard a radio news piece about out of work parents who are using Craigslist and other websites to solicit donated gifts for their kids.

Last year we took our kids to the Salvation Army on Christmas Eve to serve a meal. All the way there my kids protested, but I felt strongly that it would be a valuable learning experience. We arrived and the diners were lined up outside, waiting in the cold for a warm bowl of beef stew. Celia and Rene were nervous; some of the people were obviously homeless, some very loud, others seemed either to be on drugs or in need of some. We stuck together and helped the kids serve, and when it was over my son ate two bowls of the leftover stew, saying it ‘wasn’t too bad, but it looks gross.’ When you are hungry, you will eat. How many times has he heard that come from my lips? Several hundred by now, I think. That night it had new meaning.

Tonight my kids asked if we would be going back to the Salvation Army to serve, and said they wanted to. I am glad, because I feel like one of the best gifts I can give to my kids is an understanding of the difference between needs and wants. So we will return to the Salvation Army to serve a meal, and we will use it as an opportunity to remind ourselves that we have much more than we really need. Revisiting how others will be spending this holiday season is a simple step to cultivate compassion and appreciation.

When a poor person dies of hunger, it has not happened because God did not take care of him or her. It has happened because neither you nor I wanted to give that person what he or she needed. ~Mother Teresa

11 December 2009

Why Spin?

I’m packing my gym bag to teach a spinning class tomorrow at the YMCA, and I want to take a moment to sing its praises. It’s an awesome workout, and it all happens in a class where participants are all ‘riding’ on stationary bikes, lead by an instructor with (hopefully) great music.

One of the best things about spinning is that it’s a class both beginners and fitness buffs can enjoy. The workout you get in spin class all depends of the amount of resistance you choose to use on your bike; it’s very subjective. Classes typically last from 45 to 60 minutes, most of which will be a challenging cardiovascular workout. Make sure you take a small (or large) sweat towel and a bottle of water with you to class. Some people wear special cycling shoes, but regular gym or running shoes are just fine.

If you’ve never been to a spin class before, just show up to class a few minutes early and ask the instructor for help getting your bike set up properly. He or she will help you select the proper seat height and position, as well as the handlebar height. When I am teaching I always remind participants of my challenge by choice philosophy, which is that if what I am telling you to do feels too difficult or uncomfortable, don’t do it. When you catch your breath you can always rejoin the workout in progress; nobody will mind you just spinning your pedals for a few minutes. The other great thing about spinning is the lack of complicated choreography, so it’s great for those short on coordination (like me!).

Really the only thing you have to lose by trying a spinning class is about 500 - 750 calories, and around this time of year most of us have that and then some to spare. The instructor you have makes a world of difference, so if at first you don’t enjoy, try and try again, until you find an instructor whose style and music you like. Remember that in the end it is YOUR workout, so make it worth your while and enjoy!

Watch this short instructional video clip from the Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong website for more information about spinning.

12 December 2009

Die Another Day

Today my family and I donned elf costumes and ran a jingle bell race. My kids participated in a 5K event while my husband and I ran a half marathon. It was 42 degrees and drizzling – perfect running weather. The skies were grey and cloudy.

Part of what I really enjoy about distance running is how highly psychologically challenging it can be. I spend the first half of every half marathon counting down my distance to the halfway mark (6.55 miles), and the second half of every race counting down to the finish (13.1 miles). Using this method I never really have to say to myself ‘only 12 more miles’, instead I tell myself ‘only six, five, four, three, two, one miles to go’. Okay, so I do it twice during the race, but it works for me. Beyond this I am generally in my own realm of time and space, focused on the task at hand and not much else. It’s a beautiful thing. Usually.

Today as I was zipping through mile eight in my elf dress and hat I smiled at a racecourse volunteer as I stepped into a major intersection, crossing the street. I got just about to the median, across two lanes, when I noticed a maroon van coming straight at me doing about 50 miles and hour and not slowing in the least. This snapped me right back into the real world, and I high tailed it, sucking in my backside just enough to avoid getting creamed.

It’s hard to imagine that the driver could not see me; I was wearing a bright red and green elf dress. Even with the dreary day I’d be hard to miss. My initial reaction to almost being killed was anger. I stopped running and yelled expletives at the top of my lungs. When I got that out of my system I jogged a bit, and then the tears came. For a little over a mile I cried, and I scolded myself for being so unaware of my own safety. For the past eight years I’ve been reminding my kids almost daily about watching for cars and looking both ways before crossing a street for crying out loud!

My mistake was assuming the race volunteers would be stopping traffic for me, and of course not looking before I went into the street. The responsibility was mine alone; the van was driving through a green light. In the end it is a wake up call for me to follow the rules that I give to my kids, and be more aware of my surroundings.

It is the mind that rules the body. - Sojourner Truth

14 December 2009

All Hail the Pomegranate

One of the best fruits in season about this time is year is the pomegranate. If you’ve never tried one now’s the time. They are worth the effort of cleaning and the risk of staining your clothes.

Pomegranates are nothing short of a nutritional powerhouse, with loads of vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties. They are also known to stave off heart disease. If you eat the seeds (as you should) you’ll also get bonus fiber points.

Cleaning a pomegranate to get the seeds out is a bit of work, but it’s made infinitely easier if you clean them in a bowl of water, as follows:

Slice the crown end of the pomegranate off.
Score the rind in several places around the fruit.
Break (or cut) the sections apart.
Put the sections in a bowl of water.
Pry the seeds out with your fingers (underwater).
Strain the seeds using a colander.

The seeds can be used immediately, refrigerated, or frozen for later use. They are really beautiful in the bottom of a glass of sparkling wine or champagne this time of year, too.

Here’s a short video demonstrating the cleaning technique described above.

Enjoy! Try something new; eat a pomegranate today!

17 December 2009

Lentil Soup For The Mommy’s Soul

Lentils I’ve been reminding my coughing 10 year old to cover her mouth for about a week now, but it hasn’t prevented me from catching her terrible cold. At 4 a.m. yesterday I awoke with the feeling of knives stabbing into my throat and ears, congestion and general malaise. It was a good day for feeling puny – drizzling and 40 degrees.

And it was also a perfect day for making one of my favorite soups: lentil. Health magazine has ranked lentils as one of the five healthiest foods, and they date back thousands of years. You can find yellow, orange, green and brown or black lentils. They extremely high in protein, and also contain loads of fiber, folate, iron and amino acids, and when mixed with grains (like rice or barley) they make a complete protein. They are grown throughout the world and are an important part of vegetarian diets, especially in countries where many people cannot afford to buy meat for protein consumption.

One of my favorite lentil soup recipes comes from Alton Brown of Food Network fame. Click here to go to the link for Alton’s recipe:. Note that pepper can be substituted for grains of paradise. I also like to add lemon juice and a bit of hot sauce or red pepper flakes to my own version of Alton Brown’s recipe, and I serve it with a dollop of sour cream or goat cheese on top.

My kids love to eat lentils with toast, and I’ve served it to their friends, too. Last year I took dried lentils to my son’s second grade classroom and did a world history lesson around lentils, and then I served lentil soup afterward. While none of the kids had ever tried lentils before, many of them were literally licking their bowls and asking for second and then third servings.

While eating lentils won’t cure the common cold, they are one of those comfort foods that just make you feel better. It’s my substitute for chicken soup and I hope you try some soon. You’ll be glad you did!

19 December 2009

Holiday Away From Home

Snow covered slopes When we told our kids about spending Christmas in the Colorado mountains this year I was pleasantly surprised by their reactions. “COOOOOOL!” shouted my 10 year-old. The only thing my 8 year-old son wanted to know was if Santa would be able to find us in Colorado, and if there would be gifts involved. Their flexibility gave me great joy and satisfaction, although I wasn’t really sure why at the time.

Christmas ornaments Telling some friends of our plans has been met with different reactions. Several adults I know were shocked that we’d be away from home on Christmas day, by choice, no less. One friend’s reaction was something like, “So you’ll be spending Christmas in a hotel?” Maybe that contrast to my own kids’ reactions is what I find so refreshing – their willingness to try something new and different. My kids are open to the experience of being away from home at Christmas, whereas many adults I know are not. This is the beauty of youth, in my mind, and Europeans, who travel more than pine beetle blight.

Today we pulled down a few decorations, like our stockings (which we’ll take with us), and a tiny little Charlie Brown-esque Christmas tree. We put on some Christmas music and decorated for a while, happy with the scaled-down effort. I thought about why those adult reactions bothered me. Was it a judgment about my choice to travel for Christmas? Even so, why do I care what they think?

Honestly, the trip will be an experiment. We talk to our kids about how what is really important does not amount to gifts under a tree. Being together and taking care of each other is what is important; this is what we tell them. Traveling and cutting way back on gift giving is going to be the moment of truth; we will be walking our talk, so to speak. And maybe in the process we’ll help our kids realize that every day, holidays included, is what you make of it – no matter where you are in this world.

"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living." –- Miriam Beard

20 December 2009

Sheets for Me and You

My husband and I are typical when it comes to thermoregulation; he’s usually warm and I’m a bit cold natured. We’ve come closer to meeting halfway since he’s lost about 25 pounds over the last year, but we still typically go to battle over the thermostat, especially at night.

When we lived in Alaska we used a dual control heated mattress pad, which was great, but I never really liked sleeping with electric currents running under me. What if I wet the bed? Electrocution and other crazy thoughts were always floating in the back of my mind, so while I enjoyed the warmth it wasn’t really a perfect situation.

We are now the proud owners of a set of ‘split the sheets’, which are half polar fleece (my half) and half regular cotton (his half). Even the pillowcases are dual sided. I had my doubts, but these sheets are the cat’s meow. Fleece for sleeping is twice as nice as flannel, and I suppose that’s why I love them so much. Even my husband comes over to my side, where he can enjoy half of each side, since he’s now decided the regular cotton sheets alone are too cold. (!)

You might also consider trying straight polar fleece sheets if you sleep alone or if you happen to be in alignment with your partner’s internal thermostat (lucky devil you). You’ll save lots of money by not having to heat your house all night. The only problem is getting out of the delicious coziness in the morning!

These ‘split the sheets’ will make a great gift for those people in your life (and you know who they are) who either have everything or are difficult to please. Check them out on this website, and stay warm!

23 December 2009

A Happy Holiday

We’re spending the week at a YMCA lodge in the Colorado mountains. Our room is very simple; it consists of two double beds, a fold out sofa bed, a small table with two chairs, and small refrigerator with a microwave oven. Best of all, there is no television.

There was at first some concern (on my kids’ part) about our Christmas celebration. Would we have a tree? No. Would we open gifts? A few. My son in particular was preoccupied by this notion of minimizing the commercialization of Christmas (my term, not his). He thought it might be better to stay home in Waco and wait for the gifts to rain down upon him, as they have in years past. I assured him we’d be very happy in Colorado together, but in the back of my mind my fingers were crossed since I had never seen nor heard much about YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch, where we are staying. When I made our reservations, everything I knew about this place I had learned from its website.

Our first day here we went snow tubing (sledding on an innertube) and had a major snowball fight. As we were walking across the hill to return our tubes my son looked at me and said – and I’m not even joking, “I feel so alive.” I smiled at him and he followed it up with, “I mean more alive than ever before.” That was about all the validation I need to help me realize that I had made the right decision about coming here for the holiday. It’s been a week filled with snow and play and outdoor recreation, and we’ve created memories that will last a lot longer than any gift under a tree would, in my book, anyway. My son might have a different opinion, but I choose to stick with his ‘feeling alive’ comment, fleeting as it was. Happy holidays!