okay, so it isn't Tuesday, it's Wednesday. Sue me.
Want to increase your Omega-3 intake but either don't like or can't afford fish? Two words:
Walnut Oil.
One tablespoon has a gazillion percent of the daily recommended amount of Omega-3's without the cost or the mercury. Use it to saute some veggies or add to your salad or add to your protein shake.
Lisa
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Quote for the day
I'm constantly looking for quotes on Perseverence as I've needed a lot of it. I've seen this said a number of ways but I do particularly like equating perseverence with glory. :)
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don't give up!!!
Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Don't give up!!!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
tuesday tip #1
cinnamon is good for lowering your cholesterol (i don't know the science behind it, i just know it's supposed to help). sprinkle some in your greek yogurt with almonds or walnuts and a little stevia for a sweet, healthy snack. yum!
Monday, January 10, 2011
breaking your resolutions....
so the first week of the New Year is over and of course, you've probably already broken at least one if not more than one resolution. what's next?
make it all over again. not next december 31st, but today. the secret to changing your life, assuming that you really, really want to change, is to recommit after you break a resolution. very few people have the willpower to stop (or start) anything cold turkey without slipping now and again. acknowledge the slip and give yourself permission to start over again.
it's amazing how much your life can change if you follow that one tiny bit of advice.
good luck!!!!
lisa
make it all over again. not next december 31st, but today. the secret to changing your life, assuming that you really, really want to change, is to recommit after you break a resolution. very few people have the willpower to stop (or start) anything cold turkey without slipping now and again. acknowledge the slip and give yourself permission to start over again.
it's amazing how much your life can change if you follow that one tiny bit of advice.
good luck!!!!
lisa
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
sneaking in the good stuff
I just finished a 28 day detox cleanse and weight loss program. First off, let me suggest that if you decide to do something this long, go with a program monitored by a nutritionist or dietician or doctor. Don't radically alter your food intake all on your own.
The detox consisted of getting rid of dairy, gluten, alcohol/sugar, and caffeine. The first week I ate only lean protein and lots and lots of vegetables.
I'm an all or nothing kinda gal so this approach worked just fine for me, maybe other people need to ease into it, eliminating one thing at a time. The one thing you can have is oil. Healthy oil, ie. Walnut, Flax, Olive, but you don't have to skimp on your homemade salad dressing.
You learn interesting things about yourself when you undertake a program like this. What I thought would be the hardest (the caffeine) turned out to be a non-issue. (however day 30 I started drinking one cup of coffee in the morning again) I don't think of myself as eating a lot of sugar however, I *craved* something sweet by mid-afternoon. And honestly, I cheated on the alcohol on the weekends, having a cocktail or glass of wine while out.
Nowadays I try to limit my wine/cocktails to weekends only. I'll let you know if I can sustain it. ;)
The basis for the detox program is that we need more fruits and vegetables. What the program did do for me, was give me the impetus to start sneaking more healthy things into my family's meals.
So yesterday I made chili for dinner. I chopped up a little spinach and added it to the crockpot. Last week I made lasagne, I already put spinach in the cheese mixture but I chopped up mushrooms (which are chock full of good nutrients) into really, really small pieces and added them to the meat mixture. No one noticed.
When I make a salad I use romaine and spinach plus sometimes I add just a tiny bit of shredded carrots. I throw in sunflower seeds (lots of health benefits to these buggers http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57) instead of croutons. My kids complained about the seeds the first few times but then they got over it.
So now every day I sneak in good stuff and we're all living healthier because of it.
Lisa
ps. a great rule of thumb which I recently saw several places: if it can go bad in your refrigerator, it is good for you. Happy, healthy eating!
The detox consisted of getting rid of dairy, gluten, alcohol/sugar, and caffeine. The first week I ate only lean protein and lots and lots of vegetables.
I'm an all or nothing kinda gal so this approach worked just fine for me, maybe other people need to ease into it, eliminating one thing at a time. The one thing you can have is oil. Healthy oil, ie. Walnut, Flax, Olive, but you don't have to skimp on your homemade salad dressing.
You learn interesting things about yourself when you undertake a program like this. What I thought would be the hardest (the caffeine) turned out to be a non-issue. (however day 30 I started drinking one cup of coffee in the morning again) I don't think of myself as eating a lot of sugar however, I *craved* something sweet by mid-afternoon. And honestly, I cheated on the alcohol on the weekends, having a cocktail or glass of wine while out.
Nowadays I try to limit my wine/cocktails to weekends only. I'll let you know if I can sustain it. ;)
The basis for the detox program is that we need more fruits and vegetables. What the program did do for me, was give me the impetus to start sneaking more healthy things into my family's meals.
So yesterday I made chili for dinner. I chopped up a little spinach and added it to the crockpot. Last week I made lasagne, I already put spinach in the cheese mixture but I chopped up mushrooms (which are chock full of good nutrients) into really, really small pieces and added them to the meat mixture. No one noticed.
When I make a salad I use romaine and spinach plus sometimes I add just a tiny bit of shredded carrots. I throw in sunflower seeds (lots of health benefits to these buggers http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=57) instead of croutons. My kids complained about the seeds the first few times but then they got over it.
So now every day I sneak in good stuff and we're all living healthier because of it.
Lisa
ps. a great rule of thumb which I recently saw several places: if it can go bad in your refrigerator, it is good for you. Happy, healthy eating!
Monday, August 23, 2010
first day of school
I love the first day of school.
It's a new year, fraught with potential. New teachers are like new crushes. Shiny and perfect. Maybe this year the kids will discover a passion for a new subject or rejeuvenate interest in an old one, try a new sport, read a book that completely captures their imagination, realize their potential, gain confidence, grow taller, find a direction for their life. The possibilities for new experiences are endless, shimmering in the air like sparkly dewdrops.
Even for me the possibilites are spread out like a banquet. With all this extra time I'll be able to clean out the garage, write an an additional book, paint the laundry room, lunch with friends, cruise into the city to go shopping, do some hands-on research, whip my garden into shape, finally get the house clean, write more blog posts, cook healthier more nutritious meals....
But the first day is the sweetest. The house is silent. I can do anything I want to for a few whole hours and no one will interrupt me. No one will need a ride, or money, or lunch, or to show me the funniest video EVER on YouTube. I have the whole house to myself. So I'm going to enjoy the solitude while it exists and then savor the chaos when the kids get home...ready to tell me about *their* first day of school.
Lisa
It's a new year, fraught with potential. New teachers are like new crushes. Shiny and perfect. Maybe this year the kids will discover a passion for a new subject or rejeuvenate interest in an old one, try a new sport, read a book that completely captures their imagination, realize their potential, gain confidence, grow taller, find a direction for their life. The possibilities for new experiences are endless, shimmering in the air like sparkly dewdrops.
Even for me the possibilites are spread out like a banquet. With all this extra time I'll be able to clean out the garage, write an an additional book, paint the laundry room, lunch with friends, cruise into the city to go shopping, do some hands-on research, whip my garden into shape, finally get the house clean, write more blog posts, cook healthier more nutritious meals....
But the first day is the sweetest. The house is silent. I can do anything I want to for a few whole hours and no one will interrupt me. No one will need a ride, or money, or lunch, or to show me the funniest video EVER on YouTube. I have the whole house to myself. So I'm going to enjoy the solitude while it exists and then savor the chaos when the kids get home...ready to tell me about *their* first day of school.
Lisa
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Cleaning up, cleaning out, and tips for submissions
Yeah, so I know it's been awhile. Sorry! I've been struggling with this as I adamantly informed my writer friends, it's important to brand. In other words, if you write mystery, don't talk about your dog unless you write dog mysteries. Except I can't bring myself to follow my own advice (yes, Soph, I know you are laughing at me right now). So I decided instead to focus on the things that occupy my time when I'm not writing espionage or most recently angels. And, maybe, possibly tie it back to writing if at all humanly possible. :)
My daughter and I volunteer regularly at a Hospice Thrift shop. One of my jobs is to go through the donation bags/boxes/whatever when they come in and sort what is possible to sell and what is not. One little note, for most places that request donations, they are going to turn around and sell the item for cash. It won't go directly to someone in need. (Yes, there are some places that give directly to the needy, but most DO NOT)
So let me give you a few little guidelines:
* No stains. NONE. If there is even a tiny speck of a stain, it's gone. No armpit stains, no collar dirt, no one little spot that if someone just took a little time and cleaned up this Versace dress would be a huge find. It will go straight in the rag bag.
* No rips or holes. That darling little boy t-shirt except for that one tiny hole where the cat's claw poked thru and it's expanded a tiny bit, but the shirt is still wearable? Two words. Rag bag.
* They need to be clean. If you have something that needs to be dry-cleaned make sure it is before you donate. Otherwise. Rag bag.
* Metal hangers. Garbage.
* Gorgeous china plate with that tiny chip on the edge that no one ever sees. Garbage.
* Matching coffee mugs with coffee stains inside. Garbage.
Polishing a manuscript is a lot like sorting through your donations pile. Make sure there are no dangling participles or run-on sentences. Fix that one paragraph that you think, 'oh, it's a bit rough but no one will notice'. Or maybe that section of the plot is like an insubstantial metal hanger, unable to bear the weight of the twists and turns, but I'll leave it there anyway. Just don't. *Don't* put in the bag and send it off.
Otherwise that editor or agent will do the same thing we do with unacceptable submissions.
My daughter and I volunteer regularly at a Hospice Thrift shop. One of my jobs is to go through the donation bags/boxes/whatever when they come in and sort what is possible to sell and what is not. One little note, for most places that request donations, they are going to turn around and sell the item for cash. It won't go directly to someone in need. (Yes, there are some places that give directly to the needy, but most DO NOT)
So let me give you a few little guidelines:
* No stains. NONE. If there is even a tiny speck of a stain, it's gone. No armpit stains, no collar dirt, no one little spot that if someone just took a little time and cleaned up this Versace dress would be a huge find. It will go straight in the rag bag.
* No rips or holes. That darling little boy t-shirt except for that one tiny hole where the cat's claw poked thru and it's expanded a tiny bit, but the shirt is still wearable? Two words. Rag bag.
* They need to be clean. If you have something that needs to be dry-cleaned make sure it is before you donate. Otherwise. Rag bag.
* Metal hangers. Garbage.
* Gorgeous china plate with that tiny chip on the edge that no one ever sees. Garbage.
* Matching coffee mugs with coffee stains inside. Garbage.
Polishing a manuscript is a lot like sorting through your donations pile. Make sure there are no dangling participles or run-on sentences. Fix that one paragraph that you think, 'oh, it's a bit rough but no one will notice'. Or maybe that section of the plot is like an insubstantial metal hanger, unable to bear the weight of the twists and turns, but I'll leave it there anyway. Just don't. *Don't* put in the bag and send it off.
Otherwise that editor or agent will do the same thing we do with unacceptable submissions.
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