Yearly blood work was sent of today! I should get the results in a week. I’m going to have fun comparing this year’s results to last years! Especially since I’ve been taking Vit-D, and last year I was almost low. Oh! I am also going to get a DEXA Scan to check my bones! Hopefully my bones will be great, but if not at least I know sooner than “too late”. The blood work was fasting, so I was pretty hungry when it was all over. QB and I made the obligatory Wegmans run for a snack. We frequent that store so much that people on all shifts know us. And then last week a new girl asked me if I “like worked here or something”, since she saw me all the time. WOW! You know you are regulars when…..

I decided to get an old favorite for a snack. Jasmine green tea and an olive roll. My appetite is still a bit weird, but it’s slowly coming back. During the ~2 weeks I was sick, I ate 35lbs of clementines. No, I’m not exaggerating. They are addictive! :-p Clementines, bread, saltines, and tomato soup. That’s the bulk of what I ate. But, back to the roll. It, as usual, was very good.

Once I was home, I ran for the carrot juice. I bought a jug of my favorite. I enjoyed it while looking out the kitchen window at the snow. The snow is beautiful around the cabin! It helps that we are prepared, so it’s not an inconvenience. It’s nice to just enjoy the beauty of every thing. I’m really chillin’ out lately. Taking everything slower. Before I was trying to beat some invisible clock in my head. And the clock had impossible expectations too. I could never win. Now, I’m not trying to “win”. I’m just enjoying EVERYTHING! Life is beautiful! And carrot juice is very tasty! :-p

One thing I always seem to enjoy is asparagus. How many times do I mention asparagus? And I always seem to be taking pictures of it. Asparagus is very photogenic. It’s just beautiful food. Beautiful yummilicious HEALTHY food! What could be better? QB and I had  “his and hers” bunches of asparagus tonight because I’ve converted QB into an asparagus freak! Here’s another picture. I’m letting my asparagus freak flag fly proudly! LOL

Alright, I’m over the asparagus. For today at least. But speaking of enjoying myself and RELAXING, I did start my yoga today. Did I have fun? Absolutely! Were my muscles all tight and non-flexible? You bet! I have a LONG way to go. And I am going to enjoy learning all sorts of new poses and becoming more flexible. It was really rather comical. I spread my mat in front of the wood stove. Opened my magazine to the workout I decided to try (the “easy” looking one). And I would read the instructions, then do a pose, remember to breathe, and then move to the next pose. I learned the “easy” workout wasn’t so easy for my non-flexible self. Which, to me, only proves how much I NEED YOGA! I’m looking forward to doing more! I just had to figure out how to do it “my way”.

Yoga is also teaching me to breathe. I have a tendency to get so wound up, and when I do, I don’t breathe properly. Since yoga requires you to pay attention to breath, I am forced to think about how I am breathing while I am moving and stretching. So far my stress relief plan is going well. I’m not rushing around like I’m late. I’m happy with my early yoga efforts, and I am not stressing that I can’t do ANY of the poses perfectly. I’m learning to have fun again. Some where along the way I think I forgot how. I was so caught up with thoughts in my head. Sitting meditation was something I tried, but was to internally busy to keep up with it. Yoga lets me focus my mind on my body while I am treating my poor stressed body with love! My body has felt the effects of my stress over the years. My muscles are always tight. I have knots in my back. My body probably never relaxed unless I was asleep. Now I am making a conscious effort to keep relaxed at all times. And I am doing well, considering.

I am already excited about my yoga session with myself tomorrow! That’s a good sign! I’m talking it slow, noting where I need improvement, and always making sure I am relaxing while I am moving. Mind and body.

In ways of food, I made a new recipe today that is a twist of some of the tofu meals I have eaten lately. But that gets it’s own post.

Here is my food for today! I’m focusing on eating healthy, but not stressing over food. I’m learning at 28 things some never learn. But some have learned these things long ago. I am grateful to be learning these things while I can still do something about it -with both mind and body. And I am doing all this surrounded by our  sweet animals and a loving husband. Living a country life I dreamed of, complete with a wood stove and funny cute chickens. I have a job that I love doing, even if the schedule is rough. Life IS good!

December 17th Eats!

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Jasmine Green Tea + Olive Roll (175)
770g Odwalla Carrot Juice (231)
300g Roasted Asparagus (60)
Easy Chipotle Tofu Stew (190)
Brazil Nut (26)
Hempilicous Berry Sorbet (394)
* 120g Almond Milk, Unsweetened Vanilla
* 360g Hemp Milk, Unsweetened Vanilla (I LOVE hemp!)
* 15g Nutiva Hemp Protein + Fiber
* 4g Organic Flax Oil
* 270g Frozen Strawberries
* 150g Frozen Blueberries
Lite English Muffin w/ Smart Balance (140)
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Supplements:
*3 Tablets Ultra Bone-Up
*1 ovule 5000IU Vit-D
*1 capsule 250mg Vit-B5
*1 capsule 500mg L-Carnosine
===========================================
Nutrition Summary for December 17, 2010
Report generated by CRON-o-Meter v0.9.7
===========================================

General (90%)
===========================================
Energy | 1216.6 kcal 91%
Protein | 49.0 g 86%
Carbs | 199.9 g 103%
Fiber | 39.6 g 159%
Starch | 12.2 g 81%
Sugars | 73.7 g 147%
Fat | 34.1 g 73%

Vitamins (99%)
===========================================
Vitamin A |134048.0 IU 2681%
Lutein+Zeaxanthin | 4373.0 µg 87%
Folate | 553.5 µg 307%
B1 (Thiamine) | 1.9 mg 169%
B2 (Riboflavin) | 2.2 mg 172%
B3 (Niacin) | 17.4 mg 116%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)| 253.8 mg 5076%
B6 (Pyridoxine) | 2.2 mg 140%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) | 2.6 µg 128%
Vitamin C | 358.7 mg 598%
Vitamin D | 5700.0 IU 2850%
Vitamin E | 22.0 mg 184%
Vitamin K | 351.8 µg 391%

Minerals (100%)
===========================================
Calcium | 1764.6 mg 176%
Copper | 2.0 mg 99%
Iron | 19.4 mg 130%
Magnesium | 662.7 mg 207%
Manganese | 4.1 mg 103%
Phosphorus | 966.8 mg 138%
Potassium | 4288.8 mg 123%
Selenium | 87.9 µg 160%
Sodium | 2071.4 mg 414%
Zinc | 12.8 mg 107%

Amino Acids (99%)
===========================================
CYS | 0.9 g 401%
ILE | 1.5 g 135%
LEU | 2.4 g 107%
LYS | 1.9 g 110%
MET | 0.5 g 90%
PHE | 1.5 g 157%
THR | 2.5 g 290%
TRP | 0.4 g 163%
TYR | 1.0 g 223%
VAL | 1.7 g 100%

Lipids (53%)
===========================================
Saturated | 5.7 g 28%
Monounsaturated | 6.5 g 26%
Polyunsaturated | 16.9 g 67%
Omega-3 | 4.7 g 424%
Omega-6 | 10.7 g 97%
Cholesterol | 0.0 mg 0%