Sunday, December 6, 2009

Cold/Dark/Snow/Etc. but also Things that are the Bomb

Right, so it's now officially cold. Sigh. It would be a lie if I said I liked it. Because the truth is, I kind of hate it. For some reason my nose is particularly sensitive to the cold, and the second I step outside into sub 40 degree temperatures, my nose freaks out, gets all red and uncomfortably prickly when I attempt to breathe in. I hate walking out of warm places, like my house or a restaurant, and feeling like I've been slapped by a really large hand across my entire body. Not to mention biking in said temperatures. The nose issues escalate, I never really get warm, and my lobster mittens are the only thing that work...but work so well that my hands sweat profusely. Sigh.

On a lighter note, it was nice that the weather gods gave us one more wondrous day to play outside on Thursday .

A few things to point out today:

1. Rice cookers are the bomb. Brian got me one for my birthday, and I now cook my gluten free oatmeal in it every morning and steam a banana at the same time in the same contraption - and then mix 'em together and it tastes glorious. My trainer also told me I need 80g of protein per day, so I've been adding egg whites. It makes the texture of the oatmeal just a touch thicker and adds a nice flavor. Delish. It goes without saying that rice & quinoa are also made perfectly in this thing.

2. SAD lamps are also the bomb. Brian got me one for my birthday (he done real good on my Bday...good work B!) and I use it every day. I don't know that I officially have SAD (seasonal affect disorder...or something like that), but I definitely get a little down/lethargic when the sun only stays out for a few mini hours over the winter. So I turn this thing on at my desk while I'm working, and it is almost like hanging out on my balcony in the sun. Almost. It's still a weird looking light on my desk, after all.

3. Eating non-processed foods is the bomb. I started seeing a new homeopathic doctor (thank you Michelle for the recommendation, Dr. Safayan is tops) and we're on a mission to figure out what the heck is wrong with my stomach all the time. I officially do not have Celiac disease, but there are strong possibilities that I have a gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance and possibly an intolerance to soy. So that's super fun and not limiting at all. The good news is that I am now making much better choices about what I put in my stomach. I am pretty much eliminating all processed foods (except for my GF oatmeal, I think it is okay on the tumtum - although the trainer says to limit it to just around my workouts) - so that means primarily fruits, veggies, meats/fish. I eat a lot of sweet potatoes, have tons of frozen cauliflower and broccoli around, spaghetti and acorn squash, quinoa, chicken on the Forman, and so on. While my stomach still retaliates against me from time to time, things have gotten better. The problem is that I am still super addicted to Yogenfruz (even though sometimes they randomly close for no apparent reason as they did last night and made me highly crabby) or Iceberry frozen yogurt and crave it once a week at least. I think it might just be the mochi topping that is the real addiction. I LOVE that stuff. And none of it meshes well with my innards.

4. Dino in Cleveland Park is the bomb. I've eaten there a few times in the past, but it's been a few years. They do a great job with their menu - it's now primarily local foods with some extremely creative combinations. I had the tuna, which came seared with sweet potatoes and some kind of grapefruit slaw. It was friggin delicious, all of it! I have quite a few places on my list these days, however, so sometimes I feel like I shouldn't be returning to places I've already been. This joint made me forget about that concern.

I finished the Help, which was a great read. Highly recommend it. Probably not going to give it the bomb status, but still really worthwhile.

I think that might be all for now. It is still cold and and I am supposed to ride for 3 hours today. Probs not going to happen, as I am a wuss. Going to be a busy week! I like being busy. I hate being lazy. Lazy is definitely not the bomb. The activenetwork posted this on Twitter today: "Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired." - Jules Renard. Truth!



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