Real Success

Real success and fulfillment comes from helping someone else achieve their goals.

          ~John Stanton: Founder of the Running Room.

 

It was in one of my Running Room courses that I first learned about SMART (Specific Measurable Achievable Realistic and Time framed) goals. This morning on FaceBook I read the quote above and once again have something to mentally chew on.

 

I can name a multitude of people who have made it possible for me to make more than a few of my goals into realities.  Without my family and my friends I would be in a completely different life.  My family and friends have given me the strength, support, push, and yes, when I needed it, the real kick in the pants that I needed to take the things that were just thoughts and wishes ,and make those things into my current (and future) realities.

 

When I was in Ontario and I first started running I actually didn’t tell anyone back home what I was up to – I didn’t want to tell people what my dream was - just in case I failed. I had a big fear of failure back then, and a big fear of disappointing other people.

 

Don’t get me wrong – I still fear failure and am still avoiding disappointing others like the plague – I’ve just realized over the years that the biggest thing I can do to the people around me to make them disappointed in me is to not be myself and to not trust them to support me in my endeavours. Even when I “fail.”

 

So what am I up to now? Well, I’m trying to live more fit – get more exercise and gradually improve my endurance and over-all quality of life.  This isn’t a small goal for me – this is a big one because it involves learning to feed myself properly, and it also involves follow-through.  It also involves getting out there and exercising and trying to increase and improve things by just a little bit, but every single day.

Healthy-fit isn’t all I am trying to improve upon.  I am also trying to live more financially fit – make more intelligent shopping choices.  Ensure that there is no waste when it comes to groceries. Grow food for my own consumption.

 

This year, 2013, promises to be one filled with challenges – but the challenges I am looking forward to aren’t overly scary ones – they are goals I am excited to face – and ones that I will be thrilled to overcome!

I am also looking forward to maybe being able to help someone else achieve their own goals. Remember: what goes around comes back around threefold – good or bad.

 

Here’s to a GREAT 2013!

 

With love across the waters,

Super Easy Roasted Chicken!

It’s official – I love love LOVE Mark Bittman.  I also love his book How to Cook Everything: 2000 Simple Recipes for Great Food.  You may recall that the book was recommended to me by my friend Nan (at Yambo: Yet Another Mommy Blog) and that from it I had pulled the granola and bread recipes that I am now making on a regular basis.

Last night I pulled it out in order to roast a whole chicken.

What I especially love about his recipes is that he not only gives you a recipe, he gives you a list of variations you can make – and so the recipe I ended up using was for herb roasted chicken and oh my goodness, it could not be easier!

Anyhow, it starts with a cast iron frying pan (yes, you read that correctly!) and a VERY hot oven – 450*F. The instructions say to heat the pan and then just place the bird, breast up, in the pan when it’s hot. After half the cooking time is done (25 minutes in this case) I spooned a mixture of olive oil and herbs over the bird and then put it back into the oven and cook for another 25 minutes. The recipe actually calls for fresh herbs, but courtesy of my girlfriend Megan who is currently living in Paris (and posting about it in her blog, Postings from Paris) I have a bag of Herbes de Province – and so THIS is what I used.


When I put the bird into the pan it started making a delicious sizzling noise right away.  Amazingly enough, nothing stuck to my cast iron frying pan - clean-up was ridiculously easy.  I'm guessing that this is because my cast iron frying pan has been cured and well cared for over the years.  I used my BBQ fork straight into the cavity to lift it out of the pan and then spooned out most of the drippings and grease and made the gravy right in the frying pan - no additional dirty dishes!  Usually, when I use a roasting pan, I have to make the gravy in a different pot.  If I had been making a lot, or cooking a larger bird, I can see how the cast iron pan might not be the best utensil to use, but for a smallish bird, this is pretty much perfect.


The fast hot cook made me a GORGEOUSLY juicy bird – with LOADS of drippings (which I have saved for gravy) and sweet juicy meat.  Add to it a baked yam, carrots and some gravy and I had myself a wonderful dinner.  Leftovers include a fully made plate and some breast and thigh meat with gravy for hot chicken sandwiches, and the carcass went straight into the crock pot with lots of water to make chicken soup stock for my next few batches of soup - it was cooking on the low setting overnight and this morning the house smells wonderful.


I wonder what kind of desserts he has in there…?


With love across the waters,

A Little LESS Ambitious…

Including yesterday’s exercise walk, this past week I completed 58.29 KM and walked (with a teensy bit of running) that in 10 hours over 7 days.  Yesterday (the last 7 KM) it took me almost 2 KM to loosen up my calf muscles (granted, I’d been wearing low heels all day at work) and today, after using “The Stick” my calves are still a little tender… so I think, perhaps, 58 KM is maybe a bit more than I can handle just yet. 

So this week I’m going to be a little LESS ambitious exercise-wise and keep it to 7.25 KM per day for a total of no more than 50.75 KM this week.

Part of this desire is to preserve and loosen up my calf muscles, and part of it is to do with the fact that I am also going to be working six days this week… the extra money will be nice (though quickly spent) and daylight savings time will still let me get out there and have my walks with Jasmine… A few other things will have to be postponed and/or cancelled altogether.

This desire to ensure I have a less ambitious week comes, part and parcel, due to an article I ready yesterday offering tips on how to simplify things.  A couple of the suggestions involved taking on less and, much more difficult for many people, saying “no” to some things in order to ensure sanity is preserved.

I was invited to an event (I’m still not certain what it is all about even after looking at the woman’s website, but I *think* it involves direct marketing – something I’m not terribly interested in anyhow) tomorrow night and will be calling to cancel as soon as I finish posting this blog entry.  Tuesday night Jasmine and I have another tricks class – which I *will* be attending.  Wednesday after work will be a “do nothing” evening – as will the rest of my evenings this coming week.

I do have a couple of things planned through the week – Thursday, for example, I’m dropping my car off to be serviced and will pick it up after work.  No stress on me for this one since they are within walking distance to my work.

I used a fair amount of my time today in cooking.  Soup – a big pot to freeze into individual portions for lunches. I also cooked up a pan of lasagna – which I have now also divided into dinner sized portions and also frozen.  The only thing left in the kitchen at the moment is the pork roast I’m cooking right now.  That will be dinner tonight (and tomorrow night) and the rest will be divided up and frozen too.

This week I’m going to need to make some more granola, and I’m thinking I will also need to bake up another loaf of bread, but these will be done on my “stay at home” evenings and won’t cause me too much extra work since both recipes are basic and easy to manage.

So how do you plan for your busy weeks…? I’d be interested in hearing the stress busting tips as well as the time management tips that you use in order to help your week go as smoothly as possible.

With love across the waters,

Sugar Hangover

Last night's Feng Shui workshop was fun & provided me with new "Feng Shui Food for Thought" - which I will write about later today... but for now, I'm suffering with a small sugar hangover.  I overindulged a little in the treats last night - nothing TOO terrible, but still, a little too much sugar for one sitting and today I'm feeling a little ooky from it.

Today's plan?  10 - 11 KM walk with Miss Jasmine and then after my shower, some housecleaning, a little bit of yard-work (a-la the workshop last night) and some computer work. Have a wonderful day!  

With love across the waters,

Fifty Kilometers

On Saturday afternoon I sent my “Live Right Now” check in to my mum – it was a pretty good week (if I do say so myself) and I had a recap of how I had done and then I went on to set a few goals for myself…

• I was down two more pounds
• I Walked 7 out of 7 days this past week for a total of 48.77 Km (hours total) & burned off 2976 calories (1 pound = 3000 calories) (damn – still under 3000!!)
• I had one “blow it” meal this week but didn’t actually enjoy it as much as I thought I would.  Hm.
• Continued with the vegetable goal
• Made my own granola – from scratch
• Made my own naan from scratch

So the goals I set for this week (the one currently in play) were to:

• walk every single day for at least 1 hour (about 6Km) & aim for breaking the 50 KM mark
• to do 10+ Km walks
• have one “blow it” meal only
• continue with veggies at every dinner & start including them for my snack at lunch for work (I didn’t succeed so well every day the previous week with this one)
• keep on going with the no Tim Horton’s coffee
• bake my own bread & maybe tackle something like meat loaf (which I have also never made)

Today is Thursday – and including today’s walk I’m most definitely on track to break my 50 KM goal.  What about the other things? I have done one of the 10+ KM walks (actually, it was over 11 KM) and will be doing the other one tomorrow. I had a “blow it” meal on Tuesday night – and yes, the dessert was awesome.  I didn’t count on tonight – a Feng Shui workshop at which there will be many nibblies of all kinds – but as long as I keep my meals under control I should be pretty good for sticking to a VERY SMALL portion of some sort of dessert. I baked a pan of gingerbread and just finished icing it...

Veggies are still a little bit of work to incorporate into snacks – I prefer fruit and yogurt to be honest, but am trying to have at least a half cup of extra veggies as part of a snack.

I baked bread – and tomorrow night I’m going to cook a pork roast and all of the trimmings – something I haven’t cooked before.  I’m not certain exactly *how* I will be preparing the pork roast – but I’ll be able to make that decision tomorrow!

I’m still succeeding where Tim Horton’s is concerned (no stops there this week) and I’m adding extra water to every day for drinking.

So all in all, I’m feeling pretty good about how this week has been coming along!

With love across the waters,

Bread Making – Part II – That Really WASN’T So Hard!

OK – last night I spoke with my mum again & this time, and with her encouragement (and some research) I decided that I actually COULD bake bread, using the “No Knead” recipe and my Pyrex casserole dish.

So… I started the dough last night.  The cool part of using this particular recipe is that it required almost no effort and absolutely zero kneading.  My kind of effort!  The dough is simple – flour, salt, yeast & water.  Yes, really, that’s all!   You stir it up until it’s just mixed and then you cover it and literally ignore it for about 20 hours.

This morning I took a look at the bowl and holy SMOKES – it did something cool overnight!  The dough – yes, it was really dough after all of that sitting – it even smelled yeasty like bread dough should!

 Jasmine and I headed out for today’s walk – 11 KM – and arrived home a couple of hours later.  Still not time to touch the bread dough – so I had my shower & then some lunch and then took herself off in the car to get some groceries.

Home again, and still not time to touch the dough, I made up a pot of spaghetti sauce – some for dinner tonight, the rest to freeze for making more spaghetti as well as lasagna. 

FINALLY… time to touch the dough.

Hm.  First I had to turn it out onto a “lightly floured” board.  First question to myself was what is lightly floured? It turns out that lightly floured was actually a little more flour than I had on the board – but that’s OK, I just added more.  I was to fold it a couple of times and then let it sit and rest for 15 minutes.

Resting done, the next step was another 2 hours of rising time, this time after coating the outside with flour or cornmeal.  I couldn’t find my cornmeal and so this time I used wheat germ – can’t hurt, right? Oven AND Pyrex container heated to a toasty 450*F, the dough gets “flipped” into the container so that the seam is pointing up.  Lid back on, into the hot hot oven it went for 30 minutes.  Then the lid came off and it baked for another 20 minutes until it was lovely and golden brown.

It’s now cooling on a rack in the kitchen and I’m VERY excited to see how tasty it is!  I think I’ll be having home made bread with my spaghetti dinner tonight!!

With love across the waters,

Next New Project? Making Bread

I’ve never made bread before. Yes, its true – at 41, I’ve never made bread. What prompted this insane plan? Well, I make soup all the time – but end up buying buns to have with the soup… and I had this utterly insane idea (the day before yesterday) that it might be smart to start baking my own bread and buns to ensure that I am consuming as much healthily made food as possible.

Plus, I thought, wouldn’t it be cool if I could actually bake my own bread???

At Christmas, when I was home, my Mum gave me her old grain grinder thingy (a Bosch something-or-another) and this is part of the reason I want to start baking bread – so I can use the grinder I already have.  This particular batch of bread and buns, though, is made with store bought all purpose flour.  I need to figure out where to buy wheat if I want to make my own flour…

A number of months ago my friend Nan (whose blogs I follow at Yambo (yet another mommy blog) and From Here to Habit in 90 Days) told me about this absolutely amazing cook book that she has called How to Cook Everything – it has two thousand some-odd recipes in it.  It is, in fact, the book I found the granola recipe in.  One of the great things about this particular cook book is that not only does it have the recipes themselves, it has very easy to understand, step-by-step directions in it that are to be followed.

After speaking with my Mum last night, then my brother, I have settled on a no knead kind of bread.  One small complication, though, the bread is cooked in this closed lidded container – the best ones you can get are called made by a company called le Creuset® and they run somewhere in the neighbourhood of $265.00 (Canadian) they are enamelled stainless steel – very solid and heavy – and they, like the good old fashioned cast iron frying pan, are mean to last a lifetime and then some.

And yes, $265 is what I priced one out at today when I was having a look around to see what they cost.

OUCH.

So… no cooking container in hand, I decided that, instead of a loaf of bread (or some buns) that I would make some naan to have with my dinner tonight instead. 

How hard can it be, right? Turns out that, as long as to actually follow the recipe properly, it shouldn’t be all that hard.   I *mostly* followed the recipe properly – screwed up a little where I was supposed to add the water & didn’t half that mentally before I added it to the mixture - so had to add a WHOLE LOT more flour… but when all was said and done, they turned out just fine and were actually pretty tasty if I do say so myself.  Maybe next time, though, I'll make the WHOLE recipe - I bet it will taste even better!

This counts as bread, right?

With love across the waters,

High Fructose Corn Syrup – in Canada, AKA Glucose-Fructose Syrup

As a part of a healthier lifestyle, I am working to incorporate better eating choices and, in the process, a less “processed” diet… well, with the exception of the one meal a week where I get to really and truly blow it.

The other day I read an article about the evils of sugar in all forms, but most specifically, in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup (in Canada this has been branded Glucose-Fructose Syrup) and, this in mind, I opened a dialogue with some of my girlfriends – one of whom has mentioned this evil little thing (and the effects of it) a couple of times before. 

Something you may not know is that HFCS or GFS is added to almost everything that is baked (think desserts) and juices for sweetener – it’s even being added to honey to stretch the production!!! When we spoke about it the other day, one of my girlfriends looked at the box of HEALTHY cereal she has been eating (major name brand) and it has even been added to that!

Yes, I have items in my cupboard with this in it – and no, I’m not going to throw it all away, but once those items are finished and gone, I will VERY carefully be looking at the labels of all of the things I buy to be certain I am consuming as little of this as possible!

So… I have decided to take action. Yesterday, I made my own granola. Instead of using honey as the sweetener (I only purchase pure, unpasteurized honey) I opted to do a half and half split between maple syrup and molasses – and oh my GOODNESS is it ever delicious! Unfortunately, the maple syrup I used, yes, you guessed it – DOES have GFS in it, but the next bottle of it I buy will NOT.

I will never go totally sugar free – but if I can change a few simple things, make my own foods – like granola and so forth, I can certainly cut down on the sheer volume of processed sugars I have been eating and, in the process, reduce the amount of sugars in my day-to-day diet.  I’ll still have the natural ones - the ones in fruit and vegetables, and yes, the odd amount of processed sugars in my once a week naughtiness… just not as much. 

Each step we take away from sugars also takes us a step away from the possibility of diabetes. Just something to think about…

With love across the waters,


PS: Molasses makes your milk turn brown - if you try out making your own granola and use molasses for flavoring, don't be surprised by this  :-)

Canine Diabetes Mellitus Caused by Pancreatitis

A normally functioning pancreas produces chemicals that are crucial to proper digestion and blood sugar regulation. It secretes enzymes which are needed to break down the components of food, and also helps to regulate blood sugar by secretion of glucagon and insulin. Insulin is a hormone needed to allow sugars (glucose) from food to enter cells. Once in the cells, it is broken down to produce the energy needed for the cells to work properly.

If the pancreas is not functioning normally, the body does not process sugar properly, blood sugar levels in the body rise, and without enough insulin sugar cannot be absorbed and used by most of the body cells. Therefore, despite the fact the blood glucose concentration may be very high, the cells starve. When this happens, the body seeks other sources of energy, eventually leading to the breakdown of fat and the production of harmful by-products called ketones.

What do diabetes symptoms look like?

• Your dog may lose weight – and in some cases, rapidly
• Your dog’s coat may feel greasy and sticky
• Your dog has a ravenous appetite or loses appetite
• Your dog seems to be drinking or urinating excessively
• Your dog may become disoriented or groggy
• Your dog may be suffering from persistent urinary tract infections

How will my veterinarian diagnose this condition?

Your veterinarian will review your dog’s medical history and then, with your permission, execute a series of blood and urine tests that will show glucose levels. It should be noted that some dogs are able to raise their blood sugars from stress (such as might occur when a sensitive, sick, and anxious patient goes the veterinarian’s office). This could create misleading test results, and so, if there is any question about the diagnosis, a test called a fructosamine level may be requested. This test reflects an average blood glucose level over a series of hours, days or weeks - so if this is also elevated, a one-time elevated glucose can be distinguished from the persistent elevations of true diabetes.

To determine whether dose adjustments are needed (or even a different type of insulin would be more appropriate), your dog will need a glucose curve test. This is when blood sugar levels are monitored every 2 to 4 hours (or so) for 12 to 24 hours. This kind of testing tells the doctor how long the insulin injection is lasting as well as what the lowest and highest glucose levels of the day are. It is important to find out when your pet's curve is due. Often in the beginning, it takes several doses selections and several curves before the right dose is determined

What is the recommended course of treatment?

Regulation is achieved via a balance of insulin, diet and exercise.

• Insulin – administered via injection – see Follow-up patient Care for more information
• Diet – high fibre diets are still in favour, as fibre seems to help sensitize dogs to insulin. Scraps, breads and treats should be avoided unless they are specifically created to cater to the dietary needs of a diabetic dog. Your veterinarian will be happy to recommend specific diet changes.
• Exercise - exercise is just as important for diabetic dogs as it is for non-diabetic dogs. Exercise utilises energy and helps to avoid high blood sugar levels. In addition, the increased blood flow produced by exercise may improve insulin absorption, helping to further lower the blood glucose concentration. Any changes to his or her activity levels should be done gradually. If a dog is suddenly very active (e.g. longer walks or excitement about visitors) it uses more glucose (energy). In diabetic dogs, this can result in very low blood sugar (glucose) levels. Again, your veterinarian will be happy to recommend how to make these changes.

Follow-up patient Care: How will I take care of my dog when he or she comes home?

You will need to learn how to give insulin injections to your pet. The technique of subcutaneous insulin administration should be thoroughly demonstrated by your veterinarian or an assistant. The most common reason for a pet having difficulty achieving regulation is that the owner is not giving the injections properly. Be sure you know how to hold the bottle, manipulate the syringe, hold your pet, and give the injection. It is important that you follow dosage instructions - never alter the insulin dose recommended by your doctor.

You will need syringes and a bottle of insulin to begin home treatment. Your veterinarian office will provide you with supplies and instructions on how and where the insulin should be stored.

Other Important Considerations

Dental Care: It is important for diabetic pets to have their teeth cleaned annually. Dental tartar seeds the body with bacteria, and when blood sugar levels run high, infections in important organs can take root. The kidneys are particularly vulnerable.

Insulin Shock: When the insulin dose is too high relative to the pet’s activity or appetite, it is possible for a dangerous level of low blood sugar to occur. The pet will become groggy, listless, cold, even uncoordinated and drunken. First aid at home can be life saving.

• Immediately offer your dog some food. If he or she will not eat, you will need to give sugar. The easiest way to do this is with light corn syrup - spoon some syrup directly into his or her mouth – your dog should revive with this procedure.
• Contact your veterinarian at once, as sometimes IV sugar drips are needed for a few hours after such an episode. Your veterinarian will need to determine what threw your dog out of balance in this way.
• Do not give more insulin until your veterinarian tells you to.

References
Websites:

1. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-the-pancreas-do.htm
2. http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080813191709AAgeLF8
3. http://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/PrinterFriendly.aspx?articleID=6660&categoryID=AZ1p
4. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&A=2214
5. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=31&A=505&S=0
6. https://secure.vlsstore.com/Media/PublicationsArticle/PV_30_03_166.pdf
7. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=631
8. http://www.cat-dog-diabetes.com/dogs-managing-diabetes.asp

Books

• Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary
  D. C. Blood, V. P. Studdert, C. C. Gay