The crazy greatness:
I GOT A NIECE! MEH's sister gave birth to BabyBug on Saturday night to much jubilation. She is absolutely amazing. I looked at her mama on Sunday afternoon, while I held that sleeping brand new wonder and said "You grew her! Isn't that amazing?" She paused and said, clearly overcome in happiness,"I know. I still can't believe it. I can't believe she's here." This beautiful wonder has a full head of crazy curly black hair, beautiful blue eyes, and, get this, dimples! Ah! Goodness. I am one proud auntie. I'm even more proud and excited after being at a birth center for 5 hours as I heard the whole ordeal. SuperCoolSisterInLaw did a natural birth at a center set up in a fashion similar to a one bedroom apartment with a midwife. Basically, we all waited in a living room while she was in labor and gave birth. Let me say, SCSIL is amazing barring anything else she does in life, just for going through that (and all with an awesome sense of humor, I might add). All mothers are amazing for going through that. And sometimes more than once! Holy baby.
Because of my crazy great weekend of welcoming BabyBug, I cooked absolutely nothing. Not a damn thing. I made myself a guacamole sandwich on Sunday and that is the only bit of food I prepared for myself at all. No, I did not take a picture of it. Actually, I did bake one thing: another loaf of Chocolate Banana Bread. This time I took out the vegan butter and added extra apple sauce. I also used chocolate shavings instead of the chocolate chips I used last time. I like chocolate flavor much more than I like the crunch of chocolate chips. Always have. Verdict: Good! I will probably try to use Earth Balance again next time, because the texture is a bit off, but it's still yummy!
Last night I came home from the office and was craving starch. I'd been so good all day! All veggies! lots of fruits! Water! But my body was screaming GIVE ME POTATOES! So potatoes it got. Red skin potatoes with broccoli, cauliflower, and lentils, roasted in the oven for about an hour.
I seasoned them all with low-sodium vegetable stock, rosemary, black pepper, garlic salt, ginger, and a half-way through addition of lavendar. Nom Nom Nom.
Here's what it looked like out of the oven-o-love:
Aaaanddddd in the bowl, pretummy love
So the ultimate verdict is that I probably should have cooked them longer, or on a higher temp (not 375), since some of my potats are less than taters but tats. That, and less rosemary. It made for a crazy flavorful dish, but lots of little . . . teeth friends. I think I might actually turn this into a stew/soup next time. Maybe immersion blend/food process the potatoes afterward. Or roast everything in smaller chunks. The lentils were delicious, and the stock was largely absorbed by the veggies and potatoes. Ooo the places I could go with this.
And in my still life today that I shall call Lunch on Tuesday:
From top to bottom, left to right, we have one slice of my chocolate banana bread, blackberry applesauce (same stuff used in the bread), leftover potats and veggies, Stacy's Pita Chips, and an orange!
Much nomming going on today.
What did you have for lunch?!
And now for my soapbox. As I was surfing through several of the blogs I frequent, I came across this one, written by Michal (aka Earth Muffin). I was shocked for several reasons, some of which being 1) that anyone would say this to anyone else 2) it was a stranger 3) the guy would say it to this girl, someone who is clearly fit and incredibly healthy. As a person who has struggled my fair mental share with my body, I relived 8th grade in fits all day. It seems to be a recurring stat that most of us remember the terrible things people say to us far more than the really lovely things. My particular issue was in 8th grade. A boy looked at me in math class and asked
"What do you mean?"
"Like, what race?"
"Oh, I'm Filipino, Aleut, and Polish."
"Jesus. No wonder you're so f***ing ugly."
This happened years ago. YEARS! I was an entirely different (long-hair-donning, braces-wearing, Spice-Girl-Shoes-flaunting, Backstreet-Boy-Loving, Honors-Class-taking supernerd) person then. I am no Giselle Bundchen (so not close) but think I look pretty darn good. I'm active, healthy, and happy. But those seven words are forever ingrained in my head. Why do people say these things to others? Poor parenting? Sadism? Plain meanness? Jealousy? I just don't understand it.
Because comments like that make girls do stupid, stupid things to their bodies. While models are extreme examples, these two come to mind: Luisel Ramos and Ana Carolin Reston, who both died at horrifyingly low body weights. They decrease self-esteem at vital parts of development, encourage depression, risk of eating disorder, and the common (even with adult women) body bashing we all engage in far too much against ourselves.
And lack of eating is not the only thing I point my finger at. The comment that Michal experienced was at her gym. When the people who are supposed to encourage us to health make disparaging comments, it's like a double whammy (at least to me). My one experience was at a gym where I loved the workouts, but the lead trainer, upon seeing my body fat percentage, said "ok."
(Note: I do understand that there are people who are motivated by negative reinforcement like "I bet you can't do that" or saying they are mediocre at something. I'm not one of those people. I also understand that some people would find the body fat percentage that came up on that screen as "ok" but when asked why I had a reading a week earlier that was 12% lower, he entirely ignored me. I also understand that I know many people who go to this gym and love it and have experienced wonderful results. It just didn't work for me).
Anyway. It was completely ruined for the remainder of my time there. I didn't find that motivating. I found it degrading. Not to mention entirely mistrusting of any body fat percentage reader that isn't one of those water drop things that I have yet to do and now desperately want. Comments like that in the past would have resulted in widespread overtraining on my part, working out for hours twice a day, every day. To me, even if the reading was "ok," saying that in front of a group of people is embarrassing. There was no post-encouragement, there was no plan, there was "ok," and here are your suggestions for calorie intake: Go! The soapbox is coming to a close soon, I promise.
I suppose my point is that a lot of women take great care of their bodies or are getting in the groove of doing it. For many, it's a many-fingered path. It's a long one. But it never constitutes hateful comments. It welcomes encouragement and support - sisterhood. Perhaps that kind of empowerment could guard us against negativity from each other and the opposite sex. Or at least provide a background of shoulders to lean on. We never know what other women have gone through or put themselves through when we make body comments. And being women, we know exactly what to say to hurt other women. Whether it is eating poorly or exercising improperly, there are many ways to go about helping (or not helping). Neither one in itself constitutes health. And either one in and of itself can do crazy harm with mis-used. Bottom line, lame as it may be, is: Be Nice! And be mindful.
What are your suggestions for handling negative body comments?
Mantra for the Day: "I am loved and I am safe." MEH and I did this one when we were in Kalalau Valley for a Full Moon Potluck. One of the ladies there is a shaman and led us through a meditation for the full moon, with the mantra being "I am loved and I am safe." I found it invaluable when trying to conquer my hike out of the Valley. I've also found it invaluable when needing any extra boost in believing in myself.
Question of Gratitude Who, or what, are you grateful for today?: I am grateful for Lovely Writer Friend who called me out to take better care of myself many years ago. My dear friend, while we have had our own disagreements, you supported me at a great time of need, in ways I wouldn't let anyone else, and you continue to be such. I love you. Thank you.
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