"Hips require time, patience, persistence, inner awareness, and compassion."
Shannon, that was pretty wonderful. I don't often feel patient with or compassionate toward my hips. They're a much disliked body part of mine. But of course yoga is about self-awareness & self-acceptance. When I followed the link you provided & clicked further on it, to the little stick figure doing hip-opening poses, I had a moment of illumination: These are all poses that I've struggled with.
Yoga class has left me with sore hips. At first I thought it was my obliques, but no, it's lower down, where they root deep into the hips.
In any discussion of hips of course I have to quote the late Lucille Clifton, a wonderful poet of the body.
homage to my hips
By Lucille Clifton
these hips are big hips
they need space to
move around in.
they don't fit into little
petty places. these hips
are free hips.
they don't like to be held back.
these hips have never been enslaved,
they go where they want to go
they do what they want to do.
these hips are mighty hips.
these hips are magic hips.
i have known them
to put a spell on a man and
spin him like a top!
And I can't finish off my morning post without leaving you all with four delectable words:
Bread machine whole wheat bread from my neighbor Dave:
3 cups Whole wheat flour
1 and 5/16 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 cup sunflower seed
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons sugar (if the house is warmer or colder than ideal I add a teaspoon more sugar for the yeast to feed on.)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 and 3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons yeast
He says room temp is surprisingly important, 70-80 F. I haven't made it myself but have had it at his house, and it was delicious, and pretty fluffy for homemade ww! Even BF who doesn't like ww liked this bread.
And for pita chips, I looove this recipe from Ellie Krieger at food network. I'm think if you wanted to omit the olive oil and just use a mister the help the herbs stick that would work, too. The herb blend is really delicious!
My niece is cute as a button! She's just starting to say a few recognizeable things. Her favorite is "ee-iii-ee-iii-ohh!" as in Old MacDonald. Her party is this afternoon. I actually got to go to Trader Joe's yesterday which was exciting! I got TJ's oat bran (cannot find it anywhere even in the "big city" near my home, though I could order it online I'm sure), organic pb, raw sunflower seeds (for the ww bread!), and chile-spiced dried mango. Of course I had to stick to things that are non-perishable. I'm so jealous of all the whole wheat/whole grain really tasty sounding breads! I'm totally suffering from Emma separation anxiety so I've been clinging to my parents dog. He doesn't seem to mind the attention.
I could be nicer to my hips, too, so I just looked down at them and told them "thanks for being so strong and supporting my body!"
Neuro, lol about "near fatal flatulence". I don't have problems but I know people who react just like you. Glad you've figured it out!
I've had "forbidden food" dreams occasionally, funnily usually when I'm being really strict about being on a diet and I don't let myself have any chocolate - then the dreams are about chocolate. I don't need a shrink to interpret those! Last night I actually had a "time to face the scale" dream.
Thanks for the reminder that we should honor our bodies and the beauty of our femininity, Saef. (even Bill, who can still honor his feminine side if he so chooses!)
Megan~my MIL gave me a package of chili spiced dried mangos a few months back. i haven't opened it yet. Are they good? It seems a rather odd combination, yet I do like spicy things (including my jalapeno tequila which also sounds odd). Perhaps I should open it and try it, but then I'd have to eat it all which wouldn't be a good idea.
Perhaps I ought to get into yoga. Sometimes I think I'm not "loose" enough. I think I sit too long at work and then when I get up, I'm so stiff and sore. I would imagine yoga would help.
I was unaware that I even had hips (to be more specific, hip bones) until August of last year. You'd better believe I love them now that I know they're there! saef, I love the poem.
Michele - All I remember from my dream is that you were wearing a white shirt. The whole next day I tried to figure out if I was craving a cupcake, but definitely wasn't, so no idea where the cupcake image came from. Something tells me Freud would have a ready answer.
Since I know you're all dying to know about my almond butter decision, I ended up going with the Blue Diamond again, but this time crunchy. I love the texture of crunchy, and my choices at WF were pretty much that or Maranatha - which was $21 a jar!!!! Are the almonds covered in edible gold?
Tonight I'm getting together with a family that has expressed an interest in moving to China to teach. The placement organization I went through has asked me to meet with them, answer questions, and get a feel for their overall readiness to take such a big step. It's kind of like an informal interview. I let the family choose where to go, and they've picked a local Atlanta spot that's been featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives (Shannon, it's the Marietta Diner, if you know it). I checked out the menu online and healthy options are practically non-existent. I'm bummed by this. I know I'm going to have to get something "boring" (grilled chicken salad or egg white omelet) instead of trying something new and creative, yet still healthy. I hate paying money for food that I can make better at home. OK, rant over.
Jen - The Marietta Diner has a chicken and veggie skewer that serves over rice on their in restaurant menu that is fantastic, and not too terrible for you I believe. Big chunks of white meat chicken, peppers, onion, tomato, nice season blend on the chicken. Yummy. I think they may have a seafood skewer, too, though it may have been a seasonal item. They will give you servings of a Greek pie and bread at the table and they have huge cakes and desserts in the case when you first walk in that stare at you the entire time you are there. It is fantastic, and worth a little splurge. I got my Maranatha at Costco, and didn't pay nearly that much for it and it was a huge jar.
Allison - the dried chili spiced mango are fan-freaking-tastic. Not exceptionally hot, but a nice spice. I could eat the entire bag.
Saef - love that poem. Even with hip opener yoga I need to appreciate my form more as well. And I am seriously jealous of your figs, let me tell you.
Megan - thanks for the bread recipe!
Going to my aunt's wedding tonight, on campus at Auburn University. 5-6 hour drive round trip, that is going to be joyful. The wedding should be nice though.
Last edited by Shannon in ATL; 07-09-2011 at 02:43 PM.
So I've been driving Laffie around doing my errands for about 3 hours now. Hmm. Love the A/C (even has a "super" AC mode), love all the nooks and crannies for storage and the rest is fine too. But performance - nah.
I have never been obese or more than 25 lbs. overweight but I picture this car as an obese person. That is how it handles in comparison to my wiry racy Raakii. But I needed a doggie bus and I got one - the "Silver Bus" (the Corolla was the "Silver Bullet").
This car will force me to drive like a suburban mom, rather than a race car driver. And that's a good thing. (Also, DH has said I can still "race" Raakii on the weekends while he does "cargo" with Lafayette)
Just had an iced cappucino - I will pay for that later.
Shannon,
Sigh-- yes... she is obese. She is trying to lose but not trying nearly hard enough. I pray she eventually loses the weight. I can only set a good example for her. I'm getting up each morning and using her elliptical. She has used it once since I've been here.
I leave tomorrow. I will be sad to leave but I miss my house, my bed, the gym, my family and my pets!
Back from the restaurant. I did, indeed, have an egg white omelet. Shannon, I would have considered planning a higher-cal meal, but I already have a dinner with friends next Tuesday that I've been planning to splurge at, so today had to be pretty on plan. I'm grateful, though, that no one at my table got a dessert. Those things looked AMAZING.
Michele - How old is your daughter? My mom is overweight herself, but I know that it was hard for her seeing me as an overweight/obese teen and young adult. I think that your healthy example may be all you can do. I'm sure you know this, but daughters are quite good at hearing anything helpful and insightful that their mothers tell them and interpreting it as intrusive nagging. Such a tough, sensitive issue. I don't envy parents, that's for sure.
As a parent of an overweight (obese?--not entirely sure) young woman, it is hard to see her like that. My Mom was never heavy. I know she didn't like it when I gained. She used to say things like "that would look good on a skinny person" when we'd be out clothes shopping. I thought, really, really thought I was checking myself when shopping with my daughter, but once, several years ago, she said she didn't want to shop with me any longer because of things I said. She has since "moved on" and will shop with me, but I bite my tongue (hard!) some of the time. I will be truthful that some things look better than others, but I refuse to comment on her weight. She'll be home from Portugal in the next day or two and has already decided to join Jenny Craig. That said, she knows she has a problem and already has an idea to take care of it. I wish her all the best. I know for a fact that she got up to 200 (she is 5'6") and lost 13 pounds doing PX90 diet and exercise. But going back to school she lost interest in the 60 minute daily routine and I'm sure the excess cooking was taking a toll (seriously? those things could be EASILY made simpler and less time consuming to make).
That said, we went to see Horrible Bosses today. OMG, hilarious, if you like a bit of raunchy comedy. If you saw the first Hangover, this is (IMO) 10 times better. Then we came home and I made a lasagne Bolognese. I've never made one before. Very time consuming but it was met with rave reviews from DH and DS who each had seconds (I didn't). We have enough for one more dinner and DS can have leftovers for lunch. Tomorrow we'll have the Greek nachos--last night we had gyros, so we'll use the leftover meat for the nachos. And just to let you know, I'm now down 14.5 pounds. DH is down about 17, I think. He's no longer on the total Medifast diet, just a snack here and there, but for the most part he is understanding what a meal consists of and stops when he is full (well, except for tonight!LOL).
Okay Shannon, you've convinced me. I will open my packet of chili mango slices in the next few days. Just not right now as I'm enjoying a post meal drink of Limoncello Crema (I figured if I had some Italian for dinner, I ought to follow it up with an Italian appertif).
Dagmar~I have to agree that the Hyndai isn't the most peppy of cars, but it is the same as my DD's Honda Civic. 4 cylinder is 4 cylinder. My current car is the first 8 cylinder I've ever owned (although DH and my parents have always had them, and I've driven them). I feel, well, privileged to have it, but have to pay the consequences of paying more for gas and not getting better mileage.
Allison My Corolla (DH's car now) is a 4 cylinder and it goes! Touch the accelerator and Raakii roars forward. I have smoked many expensive cars pulling away from stoplights (much to their driver's horror ).
I knew what I was getting when I bought the Hyundai - I just hoped they had improved the performance a bit since DH's 1998 Hyundai was made.
Apparently not.
But one month from now, when I can put that fifth dog in the back compartment and don't have to drive an extra 15 minutes I will appreciate that I now drive a bus.
And I will take Raakii on the weekends and let DH have the bus (his request).
I think I was just saddened that an era in my life has passed. Not something I can explain on an intellectual level. For me, and only for me personally, I now drive a "mom" car - something I swore I'd never do. I will use Laffie and he will be a good cargo/business vehicle, but I won't ever take him out to just drive him for fun.
I wish my reaction to emotional events wasn't the same every time. Instead of having a good cry I ate a bunch of stuff while watching TV.
I need to come up with a solution to my habit of falling deeply into ruts and staying there because they are comfortable.
Right now maintenance is a form of that. I am not getting any closer to goal because I am comfortable maintaining where I am. I know I could look and feel a whole lot better with 5 less lbs. to carry around but I just can't bring myself to make the extra effort required.
I think this might all be a reaction to the constant stress of the last 2 years.
Jen,
My dd is 20 and just finished her junior year in college. While not meaning to, we (her parents) unintentionally said and did many of the wrong things. I try very hard not to do that now and I hope I didn't say much wrong. I'm sure I still did. She tried on some shorts with me (they didn't fit her and they were the largest size in the store) and she seemed motivated to be able to fit into that size. I gave her a good pep talk about the cute clothes she could get if she was a little smaller.
Shannon, I would have considered planning a higher-cal meal, but I already have a dinner with friends next Tuesday that I've been planning to splurge at, so today had to be pretty on plan. I'm grateful, though, that no one at my table got a dessert. Those things looked AMAZING. 
).
that an era in my life has passed. Not something I can explain on an intellectual level. For me, and only for me personally, I now drive a "mom" car - something I swore I'd never do. I will use Laffie and he will be a good cargo/business vehicle, but I won't ever take him out to just drive him for fun.
