GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

NaBloPoMo #2 – How Do I Wish I Ate?

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The purpose of food is to nourish our bodies so that we can live and be healthy.    I believe that nourishment is an individual pursuit and we should not get distracted in the feeding patterns of others that have a certain desired physical appearance.   It is important for me to discover and maintain the eating pattern that provides a healthy lifestyle for me.

As I mentioned in the previous post, my daily eating routine is a 3-meals-with-a-snack pattern.    I have tried eating smaller meals 5 – 6 times a day but this did not work for me.    For some reason, when I eat more frequently I am hungry all day long.   My ideal eating pattern is 3 meals a day with the largest meal in the middle of the day and no afternoon snack.    I am weaning away that afternoon snack and actually did not have one today.

I also believe that “where” we eat is important to a healthy lifestyle.   In my childhood, it was required that the family sit down at the dinner table together for meals.  There was no eating on the run or in front of the television.   It seems food is more enjoyable and a person is more cognizant of what/how much they are eating when in this type of setting.   So, my ideal eating pattern is to experience each meal in the manner of my childhood.

NaBloPoMo #1 – Nourish – How Do I Eat My Daily Meals?

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Food is my nemesis.   It is difficult to live with it and impossible to live without it.  Living in Houston where there are great restaurants around every corner makes it very difficult to prepare food at home and then there are those Texas-sized portions.    You can feed 2 ½ persons from 1 restaurant entrée in Texas.   Recently, a colleague was here from Budapest for a month on expense account and he told me even though he was working out every day at the hotel he still gained 6 kilos! (I still need to convert that to pounds in my mind.)

How do I eat my daily meals?   Normally, I eat three meals a day with an afternoon snack – during that 3pm lull.   I sit down to eat lunch, dinner, and breakfast on the weekend but breakfast during the work week is eaten in the car driving to work or in the office while checking email.    I know this is a bad habit but it seems so hard to break because I am always crunched for time in the work week mornings.   Writing this blog post has helped me to see that I really need to make this change.

NaBloPoMo #17 – The Last Thing I Was Convinced to Buy Was………

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NaBloPoMo November 2013Women Having Coffee

Earlier this month I blogged about my excursion to the annual Houston Ballet Guild Nutcracker Market at the Reliant Center.   Even though I am a native Houstonian, I had never attended the market.   I invited my good friend and writing colleague from Austin to accompany me.     Our plan was to spend the day browsing through all of the national and international vendor booths.

The booths that were jewelry related I skipped because I wanted to focus on Christmas-related items and other unique items.    I was tempted by the holiday decorations especially the turkey platters and candelabras but I was able to skirt by those items.    The food items were very tempting especially the food at the Cherry Republic booth (http://www.cherryrepublic.com).    There were many items made with cherries from such as:

  • Mustard
  • vinaigrette dressing
  • Nut mix
  • Salsa
  • Syrup
  • Coffee
  • Granola
  • Peanut butter
  • Wine

I tasted the salsa and it was fabulous!   However, there were so many people around the booth that I decided to grab a catalog and order some items later.

Finally, we reached a booth that got my full attention.   It was the Stafford Enterprises booth.   They were selling the Casada Massage Device (http://www.casada.com) which is portable and can be placed in any chair for use.   My friend and I decided to test it.   I sat down in the chair and was instantly captivated by the heated relaxing massaging motion on my back and neck.   The salesperson came over and explained everything to us along with the pricing (several hundred dollars).   She informed us that the device can also be used in your car seat as it has an adapter to be powered by the cigarette lighter in the car.    Since I had only come to the market to browse, I decided to give it some more thought.

My friend and I walked around as we discussed the massage device…   She actually has a wonderful full massage chair in her home office and commented that she liked the Casada device more than her home massage chair.   I thought about her chair since I had used it while visiting with her and agreed the portable device was a tad superior.   Also, I thought about how I sit all day in my dual-career life and a back massage at the end of each day would be great.

So, we returned to the booth and I purchased my massage device.   My friend purchased one as a gift for her brother.  The salesperson gave us a discounted price and gave us a giveaway of either a hand massager or a massage pillow.   I chose the pillow so that I can place my feet on it while I am enjoying the back massage.    Overall, I am pleased with my purchase and really appreciated the perks given to us by the salesperson.   I was surprised to find such a device at a Christmas craft market.

NaBloPoMo #10 – Morning Person or Night Owl? I Am A…….

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NaBloPoMo November 2013Women Having Coffee

When I hear the sounds of birds chirping and see the dawning day creeping around the edge of the blinds in my bedroom all I want to do is snuggle down in my bed and get a couple more hours of sleep.   That early morning sleep is the best kind but the reality is I have an 8am – 5pm day job.

I have all kinds of alarm clock schemes to wake up early to go to the day job.   I set the clock 1 hour ahead so when it does alarm at 6am I breathe a sigh of relief because I know it is really 5am when I hit the snooze button.   Then I play tag with the snooze button every 10 minutes until the clock reads 7:30am which is an acceptable hour to wake for my mental state even though I know the clock is 1 hour ahead and it is really 6:30am.    I play this game every week, Monday thru Friday.   These are not the actions of a morning person.

Now, in the early evening, I arrive home from the day job and have my dinner.   At this time, I enter into my “writing life” state of mind.  During the weekday evenings, I am working on my novel project, composing a blog post, reading my latest Writers’ Digest or The Writer magazine or continuing with an online monthly writing class.   Writing is my passion and the “work I love” so it gives me a burst of energy whenever I am engaged in it.   Therefore, I am usually working on my writing projects until after midnight and on the weekends I can stay up until 2am – 3am.   Since I don’t have to wake early on the weekends, I can sleep until my body is ready to wake up.   There is no need to play the alarm clock game.    So, I am a person who revels and produce in the nighttime hours – – – definitely the actions of a night owl.

NaBloPoMo #9 – My Favorite Hour of the Day Is…….

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NaBloPoMo November 2013Women Having Coffee

I really don’t have a favorite hour of the day but I do have a favorite timeframe of the day.      The time period 2 to 5 hours after I wake in the morning is the best timeframe of the day for me.   If I am following my healthy routine, I have more energy and clarity during this period of my day.

The most important step of my healthy routine is to get at least 7 hours of sleep the night before.    I am a person that requires an adequate amount of sleep.   I understand from my mother that as a child she never had to tell me to take a nap because I would just climb in the bed whenever I felt tired.   This is still my process now to listen to my body’s needs.

After waking from a good night’s sleep, I like to do a 30-50 minute cardio exercise workout before breakfast.    This usually includes a combination of working out in my home gym on my treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical and Leslie Sansone’s Walk-at-Home DVDs.  Normally, I break the workout up into three to five 10 minute segments on different exercise equipment because I get really bored doing the entire workout on one machine.   I use a Polar Heart Rate monitor to make sure that I am working out in the fat-burning zone and don’t over-exert myself.  (Also, I want every one of those exercise minutes to count!)  After the workout, I take a hot shower, prepare and eat my breakfast with my favorite flavored decaf coffee.

Now, I have entered the best timeframe of my day.