Cooking, Cheese, Food & Awards

I have quite a lot to say today.  It's nearly midnight and I am just getting to this, but that's okay.  I have had a varied but good day.  I woke up this morning not feeling too well.  A bit of the old 'bubbly tummy'.  But I had things to do, so up I got.  I decided to postpone the run and get my shopping done, hoping I would feel better after that.  While I was out I went past a Newsagent that had one of those book sale tables out the front.  I found 2 great books for a total cost of $8.  I was pretty impressed.

By lunchtime the 'bubbly tummy' was still there, so I cancelled my afternoon plans.  I was meant to meeting up with fellow blogger Emz and I was really bummed that I wasn't going to be able to make it.  Not only was it the first time we were to meet, I was going to get some of her Bee Calm Massage Balm that I have been really looking forward to.  But I am sure we will meet soon.

It got me wondering about why I have been getting the tummy pains again in the last few days.  Then it hit me. 

Cheese...

I love cheese.  Really love it.  But I have always had a problem with too much.  When I first switched to vego I was horrified to discover that most cheese is not, in fact, vegetarian.  It contains something called rennet which is an animal product.  I have found a couple of varieties that are rennet-free though.  My favourite is Nimbin Natural.

However, rennet-free or not, too much cheese still makes me ill.  Unfortunately I did not work out this was the cause until later in the day when I had consumed more...  So, now I need to really start cutting back again, or maybe even avoiding it altogether.  I have gotten used to having no tummy pains and would like to go back to it.

Since I was staying close to home for the afternoon I needed to do something.  I decided to make some cookies for my Tupperware Party tomorrow.  I made my Mega Choc Chunk since I had all the ingredients handy.

Throughout the day I have been thinking more about being accountable to myself.  Yes, I am aware I sound like a broken record on this, but it is still in my head.  Now I know that the only person I am accountable to is me, and I am good with that.  My exercise I can look after, but where I am still falling down the most is my food.  So I have decided to photo blog my food each day.  If I have to actually stop to photograph the food, I will stop and think about the food.  The theory behind this is that I will hopefully give more thought to what I am putting in my mouth, rather than just shovelling food in.  I didn't decide this until lunch time.  So here goes for today.

Lunch was some Sanitarium Not Burgers on toast with cheese and avocado.

Followed by some ice cream with Milo mixed in.

Not a great choice considering my tummy was still playing up, but it was what I felt like.  Also not a great choice calorie-wise.

Snack was one of the yummy biccies I made.

For dinner I finally perfected a new recipe I have been working on.  I wanted to do a lentil recipe with a Mexican flavour, and have been playing with the mix of spices.  Tonight, I nailed it!  And I got to use my Mortar & Pestle to grind the cumin seeds which was very cool.

I have called the dish Mexican Lentils, and tonight we had it with toast and avocado (was about to go bad so had to use it).  It was a delicious success and can be used for heaps of different dishes.  I have chilled the left overs and will be serving it as a dip at the Tupperware Party tomorrow.

This was followed by half a cookie and more Ice Cream with a few M&Ms

After dinner a couple of friends stopped by.  Luckily I had made heaps of cookies so we had some nibblies.  Aside from the sore tummy and missing out on meeting Em, I had a good and productive day.

Last, but definitely not least, I got a very pleasant surprise today.  I received a "Beautiful Blogger Award" from Dreaming of the New Me. 

I am feel so honoured to have been selected for this.  I am glad my blog is making interesting reading for someone.  Thank You.

So what I am meant to do now is to share 7 things about myself, then pass this on to 7 other bloggers who I l are Beautiful Bloggers.

7 things about me...

1)  My little toe nails are shaped like claws and if I don't keep them very short they get hard enough to wear holes in shoes.

2)  I feel like my life really started when I turned 30 and finally had the courage to leave my first husband.

3)  I was knock-kneed when I was little and had to wear corrective shoes.

4)  I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge about 5 years ago and began to conquer my fear of heights.

5)  Despite quitting dancing nearly 20 years ago I can still do the splits.

6)  Until 8 or 9 months ago I could only cook about 3 different dishes.

7)  I used to hate outdoor sports and being outside for long periods, now I can't get enough of it.

Now for the hard part, choosing 7 other bloggers.  I read lots of blogs every day, so I hope I do not insult anyone by leaving them out.  But these are the ones I comment on or read the most.

 - Mel

 - Amanda

 - Ali

 - Swayerm

 - Spunkysuzi

 - The Shrinking Violet

 - Em

If you haven't stopped by these blogs, please do, they truly are inspiring.

Sorry for the long one.  It's now nearly 1am so it is time for some zzz's

xox

Challenge Changes

I think I made a mistake.  Now this is not something I usually admit to, but I think I did.  As you know I have been working through my Running Challenge and my Cycling Challenge.  Yet each week I can not seem to get through.  I think the reason is I have set too hard a target and my body is just not ready for 6 days a week of intensive exercise.  That is where I one day hope to be, but I am not there yet.  My body feels completely exhausted and fatigued by Tuesday, and I still have the rest of the week to go.

So last night I gave it some serious thought.  I love my cycling.  So I decided to stick with the Running Challenge.  That may sound convoluted, but let me explain...

If I drop the running challenge and stick with the cycling with the aim of doing a run 'when I can', I won't do any running.  At this point in time running is hard and it is painful and it exhausts me.  My natural inclination towards laziness would then see me avoiding this. 

However, if I drop the cycling challenge, and alter the running challenge so I am now doing 3 runs a week instead of 2 runs and a walk, I will improve my running faster which will help me meet my goal of going in the Mothers Day Classic in May.  Plus, I know myself, I will still ride.  I ride to work every day.  Ross & I ride together when we can.  And I still love going out for a ride.  Instead of doing 3 hard cycling sessions a week, I will still do a decent amount on the bike, just not as rigidly.

So that is what I have decided to do.  My running is going well.  Wednesday night I did 4 running (aka shuffling) intervals and they were 90 seconds, 2 minutes, 90 seconds & 2 minutes.  7 minutes all up - my best yet.  And I want to keep improving on that.

On a slightly different note, the Accountability thing is still playing in my head.  I was Reading Deb's Blog this morning and she has just made arrangements with a friend to be Accountability Buddies.  What a great concept.  So now to work out if anyone I know has similar goals to me so we can do the same for each other...  Thanks for a great idea Deb.  :o)

Tonight Ross & I are off to watch a baseball game.  I haven't been since I went with my Dad.  He passed away in 1981 so that tells you how long ago it was!  I am really looking forward to it.

Have a great day all!

xox

Putting it Out There

Last night I gave my 2 posts from yesterday and the comments I received a lot of thought.  I know I am getting stuck 'in my head' which is usually when I collapse in a heap.  The result of discussions with the boy and deep thinking is that I will not be joining the gym - I can not afford it.  Also, I don't like gyms.  Never have.  So would I use it?  No, probably not.  I will save up and buy a treadmill when we are living somewhere more permanent again.

As for all the other accountability stuff, I know that the only person I am accountable to is me.  I know that I constantly let myself down.  And I know that if I don't find a way to fix this, I will never reach my goals.

A few weeks ago when I started my training programs I mentioned a large fitness goal I had in mind that I wasn't ready to share.  I am still not really ready to share it, but I am thinking maybe I should.  This is something I don't know if I will ever be able to do, but something I want to try.  And if you all know about it, it may be the mental kick I need to keep moving forward.

So here it is...

I want to run a Marathon before I am 40 (just under 3 years).

Am I insane?  Yes.  Considering I can currently only run for 1 minute and we are talking about running for 6 hours.  But there you go.  Now you all know so I have to get my butt into gear...

Thank you everyone for the comments yesterday.  I really did listen to what you were all saying and it really does mean a lot to me.

xox

More on Accountability

Further to my post this morning about Accountability, I have been thinking.

I know I said I wouldn’t do it, but…

I am thinking of joining a gym again. I need something to keep me accountable. There is a womens gym down the road from work. They have a personal trainer package which gives you full access to the gym, plus once a week/fortnight/month you see a trainer. You get this nifty little training diary and between visits you are expected to have achieved certain things (based on your goals etc).

I am thinking that this may be what I need to get me doing what I need to be doing. It would definitely give me the Accountability if I know a trainer will be assessing my progress once a month.

The gym also has Pilates & Yoga, both things I was wanting to learn this year. As well as other classes including RPM.

The only thing holding me back, is that it is $24pw for the once a month plan… sigh…

xox

Accountability

Each morning when I get to work I flick on the computer, go and make my breakfast, then sit down to catch up on my favourite blogs over my oats with honey & nuts.  It is a morning ritual I love.  Most mornings I have ridden to work.  Today was not one of them.  The heat has finally broken and it is now raining, but that happened AFTER I left for work.  I now haven't ridden for 5 days.

Anyway, I was reading my blogs, and one of them jumped out at me.  I put it aside and read it again when I was done with my Facebooking and Foruming.

Swayerm over at A Day in the Life Of... has really made me sit up and think today.  I won't repeat what she said, go over and have a look yourself.  But it made me realise I need some accountability in my eating and my exercise.  Ross is no good.  If I say I'm too tired, he gives me a kiss and says ok.  I have tried to make him be tougher on me, but he just looks at me with his puppy dog eyes and says ok.  He doesn't mean it.  Well, he probably does, but he is no good at following through.

I am too complacent, and too quick to find the excuse to not eat well, or not exercise.  Truth is, I hate being this fat.  HATE HATE HATE it.  But I still struggle to do all the things I need to do to get rid of it.  I need to work out a way to become more accountable.  I need to find a way to MAKE me do the things I need to do.

xox