I am joining my friend Judy in a week-long high protein, low fat and NO CARB diet. What on earth was I thinking? I love my carbs. Many years ago, when I went to an organization called Weight and Watchers, I used to try and trade my protein to other people for their carbs. That's how much I love my carbs. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, corn bread, corn, carrots, beets, tomatoes. All those carb-y, sweet, sugary delicious foods. This week? None.
Basically, I am eating lean buffalo, turkey, eggs, salmon and in the veggie department, asparagus, arugula, celery, cucumbers and broccoli.
I am not quite sure why we are doing this, but Judy is like a mesmerizing Goddess of happiness and wisdom, so if she said "Let's do this" I would of course think it was a great thing. Today is my third day and what I know so far is this:
1. You have to plan ahead to make this work!
2. I was more sugar/carb addicted than I thought if we judge from the horrendous headaches I have been having.
3. I miss those fabulous heirloom tomatoes that are all over the kitchen counter! So I am going to just turn them all into a ketchup/chili sauce and not have to look at them. By the time the week is up, there will be a whole new crop covering the countertop anyway.
4. Purchasing items for this diet interfered with my No Plastic Month. But that's okay. I am learning the sad fact that plastic has become the mainstay of manufacturers everywhere. There are a very few brave companies that find a better way to market their product, and those people need to be rewarded by our business.
In other news, the NBA Finals are over. And the trophy is back in Texas! For the first time ever in Dallas, too! Now, you know I would much rather it be here with our glorious Spurs, but it was just Dallas' time to shine. Take that, you fake Dream Team wanna-be's in Miami. It was a great series, and I was so glad to see the Mavs close it out in 6 games. Good job by the whole team.
I have some other things to share with you tomorrow, so stay tuned!
p.s. Let me hear from you on either Plastic or Carb purging if you have any experience with either.
Showing posts with label Chile. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chile. Show all posts
Monday, June 13, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
I am such a slacker, but my friend isn't.
I have been a really bad blogger. I love reading all your blogs and staying current, but I have not been posting and returning the favor. And for that I am sorry.
Life has been pretty busy over here. I have picked up new clients and their schedules and mine weren't meshing well, so I am doing what any good doula would do and am adjusting myself and my schedule to theirs. And for whatever reason they all want to meet at the crack of dawn. Now, you probably know this about me already, but I am NOT a morning person. I am whatever is the polar opposite of a morning person. So, this is a HUGE undertaking getting me and my late-night self all synched up with the morning folks. By 2 in the afternoon I am exhausted! Good Lord!
Anyhoo, that is why I have not had the inspiration to post anything.
Today, I am here to tell you all about my friend Mary Helen and her NEW BOOK! This is a sequel so you probably want to check out the original book as well.
Here is a link to her blog and her post about the book:
Let me tell you a little back story about Mary Helen and me. We met when we were both living in the same neighborhood in Guadalajara. We have kids that are the same ages. We each have a boy followed by a girl and it was natural for our kids to have great play dates. They were so cute together. I will have to dig around and find some pictures of them to show you. I think they had more fun at Mary Helen's house because she always painted their faces and they had great imagination play over there.
So Mary Helen is a journalist and was living in Chile during the Pinochet years and met her fabulously fun and charming British geologist husband down there. That is where she started gathering the beginnings of her first book, Soldiers in a Narrow Land.
There were many times when Mary Helen needed to focus on her writing and research and I had the kids all over to my house so she could focus for just a few hours. We had so many lovely times together having dinner parties, play times, and our husbands played tennis on Saturday mornings.
And who knew that many years later and many moves later, my family would end up in Chile? We lived there just after her book came out. The family who became our very best friends in Chile had this book on their shelves and when I commented on it, she told me that her company had made it required reading for all their employees who did business in Chile.
And just so you don't think this is just me being all biased and proud, click here to read an unbiased review of this book.
It has taken many years and lots of trips back to Chile to complete the sequel of this book. Here is a look at the cover:
Life has been pretty busy over here. I have picked up new clients and their schedules and mine weren't meshing well, so I am doing what any good doula would do and am adjusting myself and my schedule to theirs. And for whatever reason they all want to meet at the crack of dawn. Now, you probably know this about me already, but I am NOT a morning person. I am whatever is the polar opposite of a morning person. So, this is a HUGE undertaking getting me and my late-night self all synched up with the morning folks. By 2 in the afternoon I am exhausted! Good Lord!
Anyhoo, that is why I have not had the inspiration to post anything.
Today, I am here to tell you all about my friend Mary Helen and her NEW BOOK! This is a sequel so you probably want to check out the original book as well.
Here is a link to her blog and her post about the book:
Let me tell you a little back story about Mary Helen and me. We met when we were both living in the same neighborhood in Guadalajara. We have kids that are the same ages. We each have a boy followed by a girl and it was natural for our kids to have great play dates. They were so cute together. I will have to dig around and find some pictures of them to show you. I think they had more fun at Mary Helen's house because she always painted their faces and they had great imagination play over there.
So Mary Helen is a journalist and was living in Chile during the Pinochet years and met her fabulously fun and charming British geologist husband down there. That is where she started gathering the beginnings of her first book, Soldiers in a Narrow Land.
There were many times when Mary Helen needed to focus on her writing and research and I had the kids all over to my house so she could focus for just a few hours. We had so many lovely times together having dinner parties, play times, and our husbands played tennis on Saturday mornings.
And who knew that many years later and many moves later, my family would end up in Chile? We lived there just after her book came out. The family who became our very best friends in Chile had this book on their shelves and when I commented on it, she told me that her company had made it required reading for all their employees who did business in Chile.
And just so you don't think this is just me being all biased and proud, click here to read an unbiased review of this book.
It has taken many years and lots of trips back to Chile to complete the sequel of this book. Here is a look at the cover:
I have ordered the Kindle edition to carry with me AND I ordered the hardback to send to Mary Helen to sign for me and put on my shelf next to the other one.
If you are interested in reading something that is not the usual light summer reading that you won't remember five minutes later, you should definitely check out these books. If you are interested in the very recent history of one of our neighboring countries in this hemisphere, you should read these. And if you ever want to travel in Chile, one of the most beautiful and diverse countries on the planet, I highly recommend you read these just to have some backstory about the culture and the people from the last 50 years.
And sign up to read her blog, she posts some really interesting articles not always carried by the mainstream news.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Christmas
Last year about this time I posted a rant about the Christmas songs I just can't abide. You can see that here if you are interested. I just re-read it and I still firmly believe that those Top 3 songs are an abomination. Horrible crap that never should have been recorded.
So this year, I would like to focus on the really good and fabulous Christmas songs and carols. Just as a quick little review, Christmas songs are new-ish, they are about Santa, snowmen, bells and buying crap. Christmas carols are about baby Jesus, stars, Virgin Mary, faith and are usually found in a hymnal. I am not saying all Christmas songs are bad and all Christmas carols are good. There is good and bad in all these things. There are also plenty of songs that are not recorded to celebrate anything other than the record label's ability to separate us from our folding money.
To me, the good songs are the ones that make you feel something. Joy, love, anticipation or just plain happiness that you can remember all the verses!
And again, in no particular order, here are some of my favorite Carols/Songs.
O Come All Ye Faithful - this has always been one of my favorites. It really makes you want to stand tall, sing out loud and feel how your soul soars. Awesome, in every sense of the word.
Away in a Manger - One of the first carols everyone learns.
The First Noel - when you get to the "Born is the King of Is-rael!" part, you can't help but tear up, can you?
The Twelve Days of Christmas - I love this song! My favorite version is with John Denver and the Muppets. Such a happy song.
Silent Night - This is the traditional song to end all Christmas Eve church services with all the lights out and everyone with lit candles. It doesn't get any more reverent than this.
Holly Jolly Christmas - It does not feel like Christmas till Burl Ives sings this one.
I'll Be Home for Christmas - When I lived in Chile our American Women's group would have a huge Christmas luncheon with silent auctions, quilt raffles and all sorts of festive things. After we ate we would all sing Christmas carols and then finish by standing in a huge circle holding hands and singing this song. Never a dry eye by the end. It was so emotional for many of the long-time residents who never got back home for Christmas. Then of course, we would walk out into the Chilean summer sunshine and get knocked back into reality.
But for a few hours, we were all cozy wearing our Christmas finery and dreaming of cold snowy holidays.
I listen to Christmas music darn near all year long. Actually, my home phone ringer is "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" so yeah, I do hear Christmas music all year long!
There are so many good ones to pick from that I could be here listing them all day. And that makes it all the more ridiculous that they have to play those horrendous Top 3 Songs That Never Need to be Played Again. Hummmppphh.
What are your favorites? Do you have any that you despise? Are they different than mine?
Lemme hear from you!
So this year, I would like to focus on the really good and fabulous Christmas songs and carols. Just as a quick little review, Christmas songs are new-ish, they are about Santa, snowmen, bells and buying crap. Christmas carols are about baby Jesus, stars, Virgin Mary, faith and are usually found in a hymnal. I am not saying all Christmas songs are bad and all Christmas carols are good. There is good and bad in all these things. There are also plenty of songs that are not recorded to celebrate anything other than the record label's ability to separate us from our folding money.
To me, the good songs are the ones that make you feel something. Joy, love, anticipation or just plain happiness that you can remember all the verses!
And again, in no particular order, here are some of my favorite Carols/Songs.
O Come All Ye Faithful - this has always been one of my favorites. It really makes you want to stand tall, sing out loud and feel how your soul soars. Awesome, in every sense of the word.
Away in a Manger - One of the first carols everyone learns.
The First Noel - when you get to the "Born is the King of Is-rael!" part, you can't help but tear up, can you?
The Twelve Days of Christmas - I love this song! My favorite version is with John Denver and the Muppets. Such a happy song.
Silent Night - This is the traditional song to end all Christmas Eve church services with all the lights out and everyone with lit candles. It doesn't get any more reverent than this.
Holly Jolly Christmas - It does not feel like Christmas till Burl Ives sings this one.
I'll Be Home for Christmas - When I lived in Chile our American Women's group would have a huge Christmas luncheon with silent auctions, quilt raffles and all sorts of festive things. After we ate we would all sing Christmas carols and then finish by standing in a huge circle holding hands and singing this song. Never a dry eye by the end. It was so emotional for many of the long-time residents who never got back home for Christmas. Then of course, we would walk out into the Chilean summer sunshine and get knocked back into reality.
But for a few hours, we were all cozy wearing our Christmas finery and dreaming of cold snowy holidays.
I listen to Christmas music darn near all year long. Actually, my home phone ringer is "We Wish you a Merry Christmas" so yeah, I do hear Christmas music all year long!
There are so many good ones to pick from that I could be here listing them all day. And that makes it all the more ridiculous that they have to play those horrendous Top 3 Songs That Never Need to be Played Again. Hummmppphh.
What are your favorites? Do you have any that you despise? Are they different than mine?
Lemme hear from you!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
World Cup!!!!
Yes, indeedy, it is that time again. Every four years the whole world comes together to back the 32 top teams fighting for the top spot. Too much fun!
Our tradition is to hang the flags of our favorite teams on the days that they play. So tomorrow there will be a Mexican flag, and Saturday it will be Argentina and so on.
And here is a little treat for you.
Lionel Messi. Considered the best player in the world right now. He should be able to lead Team Argentina to victory.
Tomorrow morning is the first game. Mexico vs South Africa. And while Mexico has a good team, there is nothing like home field advantage, so it should be a really good match. Later in the day it will be Uruguay vs France.
Personally, I am most always in the camp of the Latin American or African teams instead of the Europeans. Teams like France and Germany dominate the sport so it's always more fun to see someone else take top honors, isn't it? Especially when there is a good upset and some small country no one really expects much from just takes out the top rated team. That's always exciting.
Good luck to your team. Unless they are playing my team. : ) And happy viewing over the next 32 days!! Goooooooooooooooaaaaaaalllll!!!!!
Our tradition is to hang the flags of our favorite teams on the days that they play. So tomorrow there will be a Mexican flag, and Saturday it will be Argentina and so on.
And here is a little treat for you.
Lionel Messi. Considered the best player in the world right now. He should be able to lead Team Argentina to victory.
Tomorrow morning is the first game. Mexico vs South Africa. And while Mexico has a good team, there is nothing like home field advantage, so it should be a really good match. Later in the day it will be Uruguay vs France.
Personally, I am most always in the camp of the Latin American or African teams instead of the Europeans. Teams like France and Germany dominate the sport so it's always more fun to see someone else take top honors, isn't it? Especially when there is a good upset and some small country no one really expects much from just takes out the top rated team. That's always exciting.
Good luck to your team. Unless they are playing my team. : ) And happy viewing over the next 32 days!! Goooooooooooooooaaaaaaalllll!!!!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Chile
It's been a year since I last posted about Chile which you can read about here. I mostly talked about the food and the landscape then. And that is a HUGE part of everyday life in Chile. With all the notice being taken of the devastation from the earthquake, I thought I would share some more of the good things about Chile.
This is the entrance to Los Domenicos, a fabulous locale for artesania. This was on the short list of places to not only take every visitor, but also a great place to buy things for your own self and gifts. Everything you can think of from Chile is available here. Those 2 green domes at the top? They are weathered copper. Gorgeous!
Copper - Chile is famous for its copper. If you go there you HAVE to come home with something made of copper.
Lapiz Lazuli - the national stone of Chile. Same thing, you just have to have something lapiz to remind you of Chile.
Wool - I bought the most exquisite wools of baby alpaca, and various other wools for knitting and crocheting. Highest quality stuff available.
Antiques - I bought one big piece to commemorate my time in Chile at the big Antique barn. Best prices I have ever seen on antiques.
Pewter - This is the same kind of pewter you find in Mexico and all across Latin America. Love it!
Metro - The Metro is a great way to navigate downtown and not have to deal with parking and traffic. Every big city should have a Metro this good.
Please, please, if you are able, please donate to an organization that is helping in the recovery process for this wonderful country. If you need any suggestions for a worthy organization that suits your criteria, just ask. I would be happy to recommend something.
This is the entrance to Los Domenicos, a fabulous locale for artesania. This was on the short list of places to not only take every visitor, but also a great place to buy things for your own self and gifts. Everything you can think of from Chile is available here. Those 2 green domes at the top? They are weathered copper. Gorgeous!
Copper - Chile is famous for its copper. If you go there you HAVE to come home with something made of copper.
Lapiz Lazuli - the national stone of Chile. Same thing, you just have to have something lapiz to remind you of Chile.
Wool - I bought the most exquisite wools of baby alpaca, and various other wools for knitting and crocheting. Highest quality stuff available.
Antiques - I bought one big piece to commemorate my time in Chile at the big Antique barn. Best prices I have ever seen on antiques.
Pewter - This is the same kind of pewter you find in Mexico and all across Latin America. Love it!
Metro - The Metro is a great way to navigate downtown and not have to deal with parking and traffic. Every big city should have a Metro this good.
Please, please, if you are able, please donate to an organization that is helping in the recovery process for this wonderful country. If you need any suggestions for a worthy organization that suits your criteria, just ask. I would be happy to recommend something.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Things I miss about Chile
This is going under some of my favorite things, but specific to Chile. The 3 years we lived in Chile were some of the best years we have had. We did lots of fun things, went places, had great friends, organizations, shopping, and the BEST seafood in the whole world. Anyone who tells you otherwise is a lying dog.
So, this is a list of things I miss about Chile:
1. Cafe' Helado - in other countries this translates into Iced Coffee, which is okay. But in Chile this is an espectacula'r concoction of cold coffee, vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, whipped cream. Good Lord, I can feel the pounds just packing on my thighs thinking about it.
2. Te' con leche - kind of the same thing here. In other places just a plain old boring cup of tea with milk added. In Chile they heat and froth up a big mug of whole milk and dunk the tea bag directly into the milk, no water to dilute the frothy richness. That is just plain heaven in a mug!
3. Porotos Granados - wonderful summer peasant-y comfort food. Fresh shelled cranberry beans, big winter squash/pumpkin, corn right off the cob and basil. The South American equivalent of the Native American Three Sisters.
4. Basil - Speaking of basil, nowhere have I ever experienced basil like you get in the summer in Chile. The whole grocery store smells like it!
5. Picorocos - these are Chilean barnacles, and they taste like a cross between sweet crab meat and lobster meat. What could be better?
6. Ave Palta sandwiches - This is a chicken salad and avocado sandwich that is so much better than the sum of the parts.
7. Sushi - yes, I have had good sushi in other places, but the fact is the seafood is so good and so fresh in Chile, how could the sushi not be outstanding?
8. Wine!!!!!! Are you wondering why this isn't number 1 on the list? So am I! Wine, vineyards, wineries, it is all so much a part of life in the Santiago area that it can easily be a "given".
9. The Andes Mountains - Please! What could be more breath-taking than looking out your window and seeing the snow-capped mountains of the Andes?
10. Vina del Mar and the rest of the Chilean coastline - Well, if the mountains aren't working for you one day, you can always just drive an hour or two west to the coast and enjoy the complete change of scenery. I guarantee if you were to take pictures of the coast and show them to people from northern California they would all think the photos were local.
11. Public transportation - taxis anywhere, anytime. Buses all the time, subway that is easy to navigate and use all over downtown. Easy, peasy.
12. The Lake District - Just across the mountains from Bariloche in Argentina is the Lake District of Chile. Seemingly every tiny town has it's own German Club where you can get the best German food outside of Deutschland. From Mount Osorno to the lakes to the bright turquoise rushing rivers to the German architecture, this area is like its own little world. A tiny little Europe smack in the middle of Chile. I don't think I have ever seen anything as breath-takingly beautiful.
13. Asparagus - back to food. Sorry! But there is something about the asparagus in Chile that is almost addictive. Way more flavorful than the stuff I get here, or have had anywhere else.
14. Machas a la Parmesana - Machas are a razor clam and when baked with a bit of white wine and Parmesan cheese on them, they will truly make you want to sit right up and slap your mama.
15. Scallops with the coral attached - why can't we get these here in the US.? Beautiful and delicious, I love the scallops in Chile.
I know, it looks like all we did was eat our way through the country; but this is just a few things off the top of my head that I miss. Maybe next time I will list places to go, or things to do. Right now, this is what came to me. Maybe I shouldn't be posting when it is dinnertime?? Hmmm?
Next post will be things I miss about Argentina. I am already getting my mental list ready for that one!
So, this is a list of things I miss about Chile:
1. Cafe' Helado - in other countries this translates into Iced Coffee, which is okay. But in Chile this is an espectacula'r concoction of cold coffee, vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup, whipped cream. Good Lord, I can feel the pounds just packing on my thighs thinking about it.
2. Te' con leche - kind of the same thing here. In other places just a plain old boring cup of tea with milk added. In Chile they heat and froth up a big mug of whole milk and dunk the tea bag directly into the milk, no water to dilute the frothy richness. That is just plain heaven in a mug!
3. Porotos Granados - wonderful summer peasant-y comfort food. Fresh shelled cranberry beans, big winter squash/pumpkin, corn right off the cob and basil. The South American equivalent of the Native American Three Sisters.
4. Basil - Speaking of basil, nowhere have I ever experienced basil like you get in the summer in Chile. The whole grocery store smells like it!
5. Picorocos - these are Chilean barnacles, and they taste like a cross between sweet crab meat and lobster meat. What could be better?
6. Ave Palta sandwiches - This is a chicken salad and avocado sandwich that is so much better than the sum of the parts.
7. Sushi - yes, I have had good sushi in other places, but the fact is the seafood is so good and so fresh in Chile, how could the sushi not be outstanding?
8. Wine!!!!!! Are you wondering why this isn't number 1 on the list? So am I! Wine, vineyards, wineries, it is all so much a part of life in the Santiago area that it can easily be a "given".
9. The Andes Mountains - Please! What could be more breath-taking than looking out your window and seeing the snow-capped mountains of the Andes?
10. Vina del Mar and the rest of the Chilean coastline - Well, if the mountains aren't working for you one day, you can always just drive an hour or two west to the coast and enjoy the complete change of scenery. I guarantee if you were to take pictures of the coast and show them to people from northern California they would all think the photos were local.
11. Public transportation - taxis anywhere, anytime. Buses all the time, subway that is easy to navigate and use all over downtown. Easy, peasy.
12. The Lake District - Just across the mountains from Bariloche in Argentina is the Lake District of Chile. Seemingly every tiny town has it's own German Club where you can get the best German food outside of Deutschland. From Mount Osorno to the lakes to the bright turquoise rushing rivers to the German architecture, this area is like its own little world. A tiny little Europe smack in the middle of Chile. I don't think I have ever seen anything as breath-takingly beautiful.
13. Asparagus - back to food. Sorry! But there is something about the asparagus in Chile that is almost addictive. Way more flavorful than the stuff I get here, or have had anywhere else.
14. Machas a la Parmesana - Machas are a razor clam and when baked with a bit of white wine and Parmesan cheese on them, they will truly make you want to sit right up and slap your mama.
15. Scallops with the coral attached - why can't we get these here in the US.? Beautiful and delicious, I love the scallops in Chile.
I know, it looks like all we did was eat our way through the country; but this is just a few things off the top of my head that I miss. Maybe next time I will list places to go, or things to do. Right now, this is what came to me. Maybe I shouldn't be posting when it is dinnertime?? Hmmm?
Next post will be things I miss about Argentina. I am already getting my mental list ready for that one!
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