WTF?

Since when did wizards start creating yellow watermelon?


I was at Whore Foods yesterday and grabbed the first of the season (that I'm aware of) California-grown organic watermelon and chopped it open as soon as I got home only to discover it's lemon colored flesh. Where have I been?
I'd like to think that I am a reasonably educated fruit and vegetable consumer. Thanks to the CSA, I've got frigging AGRETTI (a rarely seen, strange Italian vegetable of sorts) in my crisper right now. But I've never heard of this yellow watermelon business.

FYI: it pretty much tastes just like pink watermelon.
I don't now why I'm so worked-up/perplexed.

Weight? Wait!

Just saying that I haven't weighed myself in quite some time.

June has been a nutty one in the SeriouslyTMI household. Mainly because in the entire month of June I will have slept in my own bed around 10 or 11 times. Lots of on the road action. (Just my usual west coast rotation, but seemingly on crack. How many times does one need to go to AZ in a month? Apparently twice. Plus San Francisco. Plus LA. Plus Seattle. Plus San Diego. Plus Portland with my boss.) At least my numbers are up!

Things that have been going well:
1. I have been getting 4-5 super sweaty workouts in per week
Yes, I'd like to bump that up to 5-6, but let's start somewhere. I'v even done a couple of double deckers: 60 minutes of crazy cardio in the am, followed by 45 minutes of sweaty weights in the pm. This will not impress my ridiculous tri friends, but it is a feat of strength for me.

2. I've been a decent on the road eater, opting for grilled portobello sandwiches (hold the cheese, please!), mixed greens, veggie wrap w/hummus, grilled fish with steamed broccoli, etc.... not too shabby!

3. I've noticed that my general mood and energy levels are UP. I know this happens whenever I'm exercising regularly, but still, it is one super fabulous side-effect.

Needs improvement:
1. DRINKING! Whenever I travel, I am usually dining with colleagues/clients/prospects and these people are DRINKERS! Which... I am too... so it makes resistance tough. Do I get extra points for getting up at 5:45am WICKEDLY hungover to go hiking before my conference in Flagstaff Arizona? Well I did. I puked all afternoon afterwards, and ordered a grilled cheese from room service that night, but dammit, I hiked.

2. Let's up the sweatfests, eh? New minimum: 5X week

3. Homegirl needs to drink more water. I would bet that I only get about 32-50 oz daily. I feel guilty buying bottled water on the road, so I bring a Sigg, but some places have some seriously bad tap water (LA and Scottsdale, I'm talkin' to you!). I try to remember to take the Sigg into to Starbucks with me to get my Venti coffee, as they have triple filtered water at every 'Bucks location, but I am forgetful. Maybe I should buy one of those Sigg-like contraptions that have a built-in filter??

4. I stopped journaling somewhere in there. Yeah, a doozie.

5. Note to self: you do not, I repeat you DO NOT have to buy a coconut-chocolate chip cookie each and every time you pass a Paradise Bakery. Really, you just fucking don't.

So there you have it.
I haven't weighed myself in a LOOOOONG time. How 'bout I do in on Friday, mmmmmkay?

Dudes!

I haven't blogged in so long. Not that you expect daily blogging from MOI, an obvious blogging slacker, but still.

I have a peace offering: a grossawesome recipe

I present to you: AVOCADO CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
My husband literally gagged when I told him what I was about to make.
If you are a vegan you already know about this secret, but if you aren't, then read on, my friend.


It's been a hyper-productive year in the yard of Ma & Pa Inlaw. Their avo trees are HEAVY with tons of fruit and though I am an avo addict, I can't eat at the same pace as production. Add to that, PaInlaw is allergic, and even though MaInlaw knows avocados are 'good fat' she still can't bring herself to eat them. Why this duo has a half dozen gigantic avocado trees on their property is beyond me, given the circumstances, but Huz and I are doing the best we can to eat these babies before they go bad.

Grossawesome Avocado Choco Mousse

2-3 ripe avocados
Sweetener to taste (I used agave)
1/3 to 1/2 c. quality cocoa powder
Soy/Almond/cow milk - amount depends on consistency
Vanilla extract

Scoop out the avo flesh and place in your ultra-handy dandy food processor (my BFF!). Add sweetener and a healthy splash of vanilla. (Maybe a tablespoon?) Gradually add cocoa powder until mixture is a deep chocolate color. If it is too pasty, add some milk. I used almond milk and it worked a-ok. Taste it. Don't be scared. Decide if it needs more _________ and then add that.

Put in the fridge and let it chill for an hour or so.
Serve scrumptious avocado chocolate mousse to some unsuspecting sweet-toothed friends. Dance around. Pat yourself on the back, you know, because you're awesome.

It is awfully rich, so just a few bites cures my always-throbbing sweet tooth.
Huz actually ate most of my last big batch so I foresee making more tonight.
This time we are out of cocoa powder, so I'm going to melt unsweetened baking chocolate with some brown rice syrup and almond milk before adding it to the avo.
Go forth and experiment!

Remaining Calm

So my last weigh-in was 5/17. Even though I know from experience that Mondays are probably the worst possible day for a weigh-in, I'm going to stick with it.

As of yesterday (1 week), I'm down 5 pounds. Not loving 186, but celebrating the fact that I'm taking control of this sitch.

I'm tracking my eats on Livestrong.com and I've been reunited with REGULAR (as in DAILY) exercise. This has included A LOT of running, a bit of gymming, a couple of strength training Exercise OnDemand vids (I specifically love Jackie Warner - I think she could "turn" me) and this challenging yoga vid whose host totally annoys me but the routine makes my arms sore... so it's a keeper. Plus the usual - 30 or 45minute walks with the pups 4+ days per week.

In other news: my mother in law might be driving me a bit crazy.
That is the price I pay for moving into a lovely home that happens to be 5 minutes away from her instead of a 12 hour drive.

One. Ninety. One.

I haven't blogged in 3 weeks. This is the post that I've dreaded posting.
But here you go, my one reader: I have fallen off the wagon BIG TIME onto a heavily padded ass. I weighed myself on Monday 5/17....and it ain't pretty.

Yes - I've worked out, here and there, twice-ish per week (maybe less?) since my wedding 9 months ago. (I don't count our almost-daily dog walks as exercise because sweat is not involved and we only go for around 30 minutes.) I knew I was gaining, but I didn't think it was drastic.

Afterall - I've been eating healthily - organic, vegetarian, mainly unprocessed, etc.
But you know what? Unfortunately, even with the healthy stuff, apparently one still needs to eye their portions like a freakin' hawk, and be careful not to over-carb, even if your carb of choice is quinoa.

On 8/22/09 (the wedding day - isn't it sick that I weighed myself on my wedding day?) I recall weighing 164. I remember thinking that I wished I had worked out a bit harder leading up to the wedding, sweating my way into the 150s, but really, when I look at the pictures I look healthy and happy and I have no regrets.

So where am I now? Oh, only TWENTY SEVEN POUNDS heavier. And you want to know what really sucks? I wish I could say that I've been TRULY enjoying myself, eating ice cream and cakes and never turning down a glass of wine, or bread with butter! With the exception of our honeymoon (which was truly gluttonous - who knew South Africa had such AMAZING food!?!?!) I really haven't been going berzerk. Yes, the occasional treat, but really - only occasionally!

A lesson I've learned too many times to count: it's all of the little shit that adds up to a fat ass for me, combine that with reduced exercise, and that could easily equal a 3-pound-per-month gain, EASILY.

I wish I'd put the hammer down sooner. But I think I needed to see that "9" as a second digit. This is the highest weight I have EVER been. My last "record" of the sort was 184.5 and I steamrolled that one!

So there you have it. Today will be the 6th day in a row that I've sweated my ass of for an hour or longer. I'm back in the saddle.

Best Weekend in Recent Memory

Friday: lovely local friend over for dinner. Laughter + wine = fabulousness
Saturday: Morning lounging w/huz and dogs, working in the garden, planting two new lemon trees, plus, Portland friends in town - arriving just in time for some strawberry ricotta tart made with our first local strawberries! Yumskis!
Sunday: Super scenic AM run w/Portland friend (while her huz ran the Big Sur Marathon!!!) followed by lounging in the yard while reading an entire book and working on my tan, impromptu date for fish tacos + beers with adorable huzbo, and capped off with a leisurely flip-flopped walk (plus additional sun bathing) on the beach with the worlds cutest k-9 companions.

I was truly born to be a woman of leisure. I would like to bake, decorate, garden, read books and go for walks all day, everyday. Not all at the same time. Sigh.

Earth Girl Falls For Not-So-Earthy

So, my 6th grade teacher was a hardcore environmentalist. And he really impacted me, as an impressionable 12 year old, and it all kind of stuck with me. And then I married an environmental attorney. We compost or recycle the vast majority of our garbage. We get organic veggies from one of the local farms delivered every Thursday. We quit eating meat, mainly for environmental reasons. We drink tap water and carry Siggs with us at all times. We only buy hippie-dippie cleaning products (or make our own) and we try to repurpose as much "stuff" as we possibly can. Blah, blah, blah, you get the point. Plus I spent the last 9 years of my life in Portland, where all of the above just kind of goes with the territory.

Anyhoo, all of that, and I am about to tell you about a mop that I love. With disposable (gasp!!) maxi pad thingies that you stick to it. With cleaning fluid that is definitely not hippie dippie. (Though to my credit - when we run out of the potentially toxic cleaning stuff that comes with it, I will refill it with my own earth lovin' mix of cleaning solution.)

This, my friends, is my cleaning vice:
Meet: the Swiffer WetJet


Ever since the giant dog came into our lives, the need for mopping has SKYROCKETED.
She sheds, slobbers and makes a mess of her lunch, but she's ridiculously lovable so we certainly don't mind her slovenly ways. I was dragging out a mop and bucket daily (for use in the kitchen) until I was at a friends house and noticed her super tidy WetJet, at the ready, no icky bucket water necessary. (I also noticed this friend drinks only bottled water eventhough her tap water is fine and she THROWS AWAY THE PLASTIC BOTTLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly had a heart attack.)

I am going to find some kind of substitute for the disposable maxi pad thingies that attach to the bottom (maybe I'll cut up some microfiber rags that will stick to the velcro parts? I dunno - but I'll come up with something). I can mop the kitchen floor in about 5 minutes, top, no gross bucket to rinse out, no clean-up whatsoever. It was the best $16 I have ever spent.

Did I really just write a blog post about a mop? I guess you now see the extent of my OCD neat-freakiness. I seriously think I am becoming more relaxed about things...but maybe not so much.

I have become June Cleaver and get excited about mops.