How To: Avoid a Plague

I think I may have discovered a way to keep from getting sick. You know that nasty flu bug that was going around? The one that was a cross between a cold, the flu, and alcohol poisoning? Well, I've been lucky enough not to catch it...yet. *Knocks on wood* (Superstitioooon...)

I'm beginning to credit it to a new practice I adopted when all the people around me were falling like flies. Not to mention, my paranoia was tripled because of the fact that I work as a secretary at a church that also has a daycare business. So I'm in contact with little germ hotels wearing snow boots.

Anyway. After being sick two months in a row, I was determined that if I was going to go down a third time with the worst bug yet, I would go down swinging.

I don't consider myself to be an unhealthy eater, but I'm not an obsessively healthy one either. I follow the usual rules: don't drink soda (I'm lucky enough not to like it very much anyway), don't eat fried food (except for weekends), no fast food (except for McDonald's breakfast runs for a strawberry-banana smoothie and fruit&maple oatmeal), and curb sweet tooth cravings with the Extra Dessert Delights gum flavors (my favorites are Key Lime Pie, Mint Chip Ice Cream, and the new Lemon Square). I am a lover of carbs over sweets, so things like pasta, pop-tarts, baguettes, and more pasta make my mouth water over things like chocolate, brownies, and ice cream (though ice cream sometimes wins out). And its definitely been more of a challenge to avoid living off Lean Cuisine box dinners and Campbell's drinkable soups since I moved out again in January (this time, successfully and by myself with only my cat for company. Thank God.). My mother will admit herself that she is not that great of a cook (her strong suits are chili, homemade tomato soup, enchiladas, and corn bread) and doesn't really enjoy it. So the only home maker skills I ever inherited were how to boil water for noodles, scramble an egg and make a sandwich (the essentials for living). On a side note, sewing lessons ended after I learned to sew on a button, do the over-under stitch and a whip stitch. I was a member of a 4-H Club for many years, surprisingly since 4-H is all about cooking, crafts and woodworking; all things my mother dreads and hates with a passion.

So my options for healthy eating were limited to whatever required the least amount of prep work and skill. The next time I went grocery shopping, I avoided the aisles that housed my Lean Cuisines and Poptarts and instead, hit the produce section.

Here is what I've been eating every day for the last 3 weeks or so since that nasty bug that's been sweeping the nation:

Breakfast

Whole Apple
Whole Orange
(ONE piece of fruit can be switched out for a sm/med strawberry-banana smoothie from McDonald's)
Two slices of Cottage Bread, toasted with Country butter spread, or Nutella
      OR
Fruit&Maple Oatmeal from McDonald's

Mid-Morning Snack (I have a small stomach, so I rarely need this, but there are days!)

Greek Yogurt (My favorite is the Peach flavor by Anderson Erickson AE)

Greek Yogurt is a good choice because not only is it a great source for protein, its filling.

Lunch

Turkey (or) Ham sandwich with sharp cheddar cheese slice and Lite Mayo (don't cake it on or it ceases to be light)
Glass of juice (I get pure orange juice or the combo like Pineapple Orange Banana)

Afternoon Snack

Baby carrots with Hummus
     OR
"Ants On a Log" (celery with peanut butter and raisins)
     OR
Pita chips and Hummus

Supper

Spring Salad (Spring greens mix, pineapple, mandarin oranges, fresh strawberries, a few scattered almonds and a lite raspberry vinegarette. You can use canned pineapple and mandarins, but try to find the kinds that aren't in syrup or are in light syrup)

    OR

Portioned spaghetti with sauce and a light dusting of Parmesan
Steamed veggies (get the ones in microwaveable steam bags. Super easy to make and delicious)

**** Only make as many noodles as you need for yourself for one meal. The back of the box of noodles should tell you the serving amount. If you make more thinking you'll use the rest for left overs, you are running the risk of going back for seconds or eating more than you should. Instead, binge on the veggies. They have practically no calories, so you can eat as much of them as you want until you feel full.

Desserts

Whenever I feel the need for something sweet, usually after a meal, I chew a piece of the Extra Dessert Delights gum, eat a yogurt or drink some juice. If I really want ice cream, that means I usually have to make the effort to go out and buy it since I avoid buying the things I know I shouldn't be eating. If I DO buy ice cream, I buy the small pre-portioned Weight Watchers Blue Bunny flavors so I'm not tempted to scoop out more than I should if I were to self-serve.

Going out

Obviously, its harder to eat well when you're going out to eat. If I have been following my health plan well, I usually allow myself to cheat a little. Cheating for me means going to places like Hu Hot, Panera, Longhorn Steakhouse, Famous Dave's, etc. When I go to these places, I always try to make healthier choices.

At Hu Hot, I'll load my Chinese noodles up with green beans and mushrooms and wine.
At Panera, I opt for a salad, soup or a half sandwich (my favorite is the Bacon Turkey Bravo). Don't do the Pick-Two, you will eat too much. Pick-Two options give you enough food for two people.
At Longhorn, they have my favorite spring salad (see above) with feta that is usually seasonal at Panera, but that I try to recreate on my own. Or I'll order chicken. Chicken is ALWAYS better than beef.
At Famous Dave's, I usually get the BBQ chicken, lunch size (or if I get the dinner size, I make sure to save half for lunch the next day), and for my sides, I'll get the coleslaw and maybe splurge with mashed potatoes or mac&cheese.

Sushi is also a great choice, but I usually have to be in the mood for it.

I also try to drink a cup of black coffee every day as its a great antioxidant and keeps things flowing. If I'm not feeling the black coffee, I get a small caramel latte or tea.

Anyway. This is what has worked for me to not get sick, and to also eat healthier in regards to weight. I wish I had the resources to test this out on a group of people and see if its really working, as I credit a lot of it to the apples and oranges combo every morning. But alas, all I can do is share it with you and hope that maybe it'll be of interest and help promote healthy eating for healthy living.

Ciao and Bon Appetit!

You Can't See Me, You Can't Touch Me

Why are people so against being civil with one another?

This is a question I found myself asking for the millionth time after witnessing yet another unbelievably rude exchange of cheap shots take place on a friend's Facebook status. He had posted the status, throwing out a satirical joke about a commercial centered around a type of cancer and it was, in his opinion, a weak awareness campaign that had been running the same one testimonial for many years.

Of course, someone commented, taking personal offense and replying with a negative tone that one of their parents had died of the horrible disease, "but as long as you can laugh about it..."

What ensued was someone commenting that the friend who wrote the post was not laughing, and the offended party responding with a rude response, which was met with a ruder response and it continued downhill from there in a series of cheap shots where grown adults called one another stupid and told one another to "grow up" and stop acting like "a 12 year old girl on her period".

Wow.

The best part, is that I would almost bet money that should these two people have been face-to-face, this argument never would have happened and if it had, these juvenile and destructive comments never would have been said out loud.

First of all, if you are unsure of someone's real intentions, do not jump to the immediate conclusion that they are less than honorable without even bothering to confront them privately, asking for clarification. We all have a tendency to let the little gremlin inside all of us take over and interpret the worst when we are deprived of facial expression and physical body language that are so key in providing clear communication. If you are personally offended by something someone has said on their personal page, it is now your responsibility for how you choose to respond or not respond. It IS possible to express your disagreement without adding your own destructive concoction of written words (that you probably spent a good 10-15 minutes at your day job rereading and editing so as to make your response as clever and cutting as possible) that act as a catalyst, erupting in more discourse.

You know that little saying we all heard growing up? "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all." Nothing could be truer.

Facebook is just another on many social networking outlets that lends a hand in allowing people to semi-anonymously act how ever they please with seemingly no repercussions. Many people follow the idea that "if you can't see me, you can't touch me" and it won't come back to haunt them, because "Hey, this person doesn't even know me, so I'll never see them". While this is usually true, they don't take into account how what they say can not only effect the person they are directing their spew of negativity at, but also destroy any hope for a productive conversation or sharing of ideas as well as any credibility they may have once held.

Secondly, publicly calling someone out and trying to portray them as a fool is not the way to get your point across. It makes you look like an ass. And that is going to draw more attention than to the point you may have been trying to make, or personal connection, story and/or factual statistics you may have been trying to share. By the end of the thread, I found myself thinking only of the argument at hand, and not the actual topic of conversation. I was also wary about joining the conversation and asking any questions of the people who had personal connections to the disease that the lame commercial was trying to draw awareness to and what the Facebook status had been originally about, for fear of sparking more discourse or unintentional offense.

I'm not trying to tell everyone who disagrees with someone that they have to write a private message to the person who offended them. Only it would be nice if people could be more gracious with each other in their public (and even private) disagreements, and when they cannot do that, that they refrain for poisoning the rest of the world who happens upon it. Its arguments like the ones above that destroy any hope for productive conversation or shared interest. It scares other people away from joining the conversation for fear of being targeting themselves. And it makes you look like an arse and have people remember you as an arse, should you comment on something farther down the road. It may also negatively and fatally effect your friendship (whether that friendship is an actual physical thing or just a cyber reality) with the friend who's status you are polluting.

It may well be that nobody cares about this. But for some reason it really get's my goat every time and I see it in black and white, as I do with most things. When I asked my friend why people are so against being civil with one another, he responded saying simply "They're bored". And while this may be true, what a twisted and destructive form of entertainment and a sad excuse.

Maybe I'm naive. But I just don't understand how people can conduct themselves that way with no remorse or second thoughts about what they are saying or what it says about them as a person.

I tried mentioning these things on the thread, but was of course met with jeering. How characteristic and proving of my point, even in the face of logic.

And people wonder why I'm so cynical, why I believe without a doubt that the human race is inherently evil, and that World Peace is nothing but a pipe dream. For how can there be peace world wide when there cannot be peace among our own nation or those whom we brush shoulders with on the street...or call friend?

Listen...

Just when everything is going well and you couldn't be happier, life throws you a curve ball.

Its funny like that. And the outcome always rests on your inner strength, your ability to "roll with the punches", assess the situation, and find a way to survive it and come out on top. Sometimes it may feel hard to breathe, hard to feel, hard to keep your sanity; hard to believe that you can still be the happiest you've ever been, and this may actually aid in that and make that feeling greater rather than viewing it as a destroyer. And although to some, it may seem like its easier to battle these changes and experiences alone (Lord knows I try this because I don't like to burden others with my troubles, emotional dips and peaks, or to show my vulnerability), there's a sort of salvation, release and a method of self discovering/revealing that comes from confiding, but not transferring, your thoughts, emotions and feelings to someone else. Someone who can hopefully take it and understand that you don't need them to fix things. You don't need them to share your burden's weight or fight your battle or take the punch. You just need them to hold on to you. To validate what you're experiencing. To make you feel real and worth something. 

To listen. 

To believe in the silver lining and believe in you. To accept you as you are. Imperfect. Broken. But still breathing and healing and changing and growing. Just as we all are. 

We walk these streets, side by side, believing we're the only ones going through something like this, feeling this way, that no one could ever possibly know the extent of our inner demons. The shadows that lie in our pasts and haunt our present and taunt our future. But we are not alone. We are not the only ones who battle. And although we may battle different foes, we battle side by side and we are still united in our struggles. We all need a rock. A shoulder. A hand. We all need someone to believe. To believe you can weather this storm, and that you are not standing alone in it. There are those behind you and beside you, to lift you up when you start to fall, to support you and the steps you take. To love you for who you are, who you will be. To find the humanity in your shortcomings and your past transgressions, failures and wounds. 

Someone to listen. To accept. To believe. To love. And all that, combined with your own inner fire, kindled and fed by your desire to live, to succeed, to be happy, to love and be loved; the Soul, the Phoenix that burns with in, is what will get you through and what will set you free. 

What will be will be. The secret is to find the balance between holding on and letting go. And the inner peace that comes from being in that place.