Me, Gwyneth and Dr. Oz

posted by Melissa Baumgart

Margarita, anyone?

While January is Sweepstakes month, and I have been busy finding every which way to rake in the winnings, I have also deemed January as "Healthival!"  If you haven't heard about it, it is simply my version of cleaning up and clearing out, so to speak.  Gwyneth Paltrow may have her Goop Cleanse created specially for her by a detox guru doctor, but leave it to me to be inspired by my homemade margaritas and a Disney movie. (BTW, I may use some of her recipes on that link, they do look good.)

Nine days in and it is going great.  I am not having dairy, wheat, sugar, or alcohol.  These are all items that I am suspicious of being allergens, or perhaps sensitivities in my diet.  If nothing else, I overeat these things like nobody's business (pizza, baguettes with butter, pasta, cheeseburgers) so even if it doesn't help that damn rash on my leg (it has been there for a year and ten topical creams now), I may lighten up a bit.

I guess I wasn't feeling challenged enough by my Healthival festivities, so as I was reading through my latest email from Oprah I found myself clicking on a link to Dr. Oz's "28-Day-Plan to renew your body, mind, and soul."  (I never do this.  I never read Dr. Oz.  I typically am turned off by the popularity, simplicity and mob mentality that he and Oprah incite.  I know, so what am I doing getting her emails then?  Anyway, back to the topic at hand.)

Ok, Dr. Oz, you're on.  After professing my love for the average American during a post-Bingo stupor, I owe it to myself to tune into what those ladies might very well be watching, or buying into as far as their health and happiness are concerned.  Out of the 28 ideas he shared, I settled on 18 of them.  The ones I exclude involved using a scale (which I do not own) or taking supplements (which I do not do), among other things not in my repertoire.

Here is my list of Dr. Oz suggestions that I am willing to take on:

1. Drink green tea.  I can do this.  My goal is one cup/day.  If I get more in, good for me!  I think I actually have a few boxes of green tea just sitting in my china closet.
2. Eat Dark Chocolate  Um, OK.  No problem there, Oz.  Just gotta find one that doesn't have sugar.  
3. Eat Heart Healthy  He says to include wild salmon, tomatoes, garlic and lima beans in your diet.  Done and done.  Salmon once a week (even though I don't really like it except when my friend Keith makes it, and he lives in Baltimore), I already eat tons of tomatoes and garlic, and just add in lima beans.  Simple.
4. Forgive Someone  Wow.  Dr. Oz is going deep, yo.  He says "studies show that forgiveness can lower blood pressure and heart rate and reduce depression, anxiety, and anger."  I'll buy that.  
5. Memorize a Poem  Done.  That was a good month, and I am always thankful that Amy picked it.  I think I'll commit another little poem to memory this month too.  
6. Have More Sex  Really, Oz?  You're going to go there?  
7. Write Every Bite  I do like to do this for a number of days when I am trying out a new eating plan.  I keeps me accountable and dedicated to my intention.  
8. 30 Minutes of Walking a Day  I walk to and from school every weekday, which ends up being about 40 minutes.  It's the weekends I need to pay attention to.
9. Get More Sleep  This I have been doing.  I have been having a cup of Nighty Night tea before bed, reading a good book, and sleeping like a baby.
10. Meditate  Does it count if your husband does it instead of you?
11. Don't Graze at Night  Ok, during the week, I'll do this, but on the weekend I will be likely to have some popcorn with nutritional yeast during a family movie.  (I guess this one goes without saying that I won't be following his "Don't eat popcorn" rule.   But I do pop own!)
12. Portion Size  Be mindful about the portion on your plate.  I could totally be better about this one.  
13. Pack a Smarter Lunch  For me this means, thinking ahead.  And not, under any circumstances eating out at lunch. 
14. Call an Old Friend  This made Dr. Oz's list so we could be mindful of the power of connection.  I can use a reminder in this category, it's even on my list of things about me on the blog. 
15. Floss!  Enough said.  Dental health weighs on my mind like an elephant on a shih tzu.   
16. Practice Saying No  This is hard, even though I don't want to admit it.  I am social, I feel bad if I let people down, and I like to be helpful and part of a community.  All of that lends itself to saying "yes" a lot.  I am not sure if I actually want to do this one.
17. Stretch  This is one I can see me starting, and then letting it fade away.  Maybe I should keep it simple, like touching my toes in the morning.  
18. Keep Healthy Snacks on Hand  I carried a small bag of pecans with me today.  Seems good enough.  But I always have this fear that the more I carry food with me, the more I will eat.  And then I'll still be out there with no snack, cause I ate everything 10 minutes after I left my house.  

There you have it.  I am not declaring that I am sticking to ALL of these suggestions, because I know how that feels...to not follow through with something I say I will do.  (Run a Mile Everyday?  Writing month?  Salsa dancing?)  But I am saying that I will be conscious of these intentions, and I wouldn't mind a few reminders here and there. (hint hint)

To Healthival!!

Melissa

B-I-N-G-O

PowerBall without the PowerPlay

posted by Melissa Baumgart
Here's a lesson for you.  When you play Powerball, always play the power play.  Always.  It could mean the difference between winning only $3.00 and winning a whopping $12.00!  Yes, sadly this happened to me.  Imagine my dismay when I saw "Winner $12.00" on the screen when I checked my tickets online, only to see that I had not played the power play.  That's the last time that will happen.  Well, once I figure out how to actually play the power play on the machine I bought my tickets from.

I also entered more sweepstakes online.  I entered to win the same trip to Palm Springs that Amy did, as well as multiple shopping sprees and various little prizes like books and kitchen gadgets.  There's a sort of thrill for me at first, like I am throwing caution to the wind and doing the unthinkable...sending my info into the ether waves for all to find, anything could happen, don't people warn about doing this kind of thing?  It feels risky and promising, hopeful even.  I have these moments where I picture myself winning, holding or using the prize, walking around in my new dream home on Provo River in Utah, depositing a big check (yes, I picture the one that's actual size is bigger than my body) into my local credit union.

Then at some point all that imaginary fervor gets wiped away by obsessive key clacking and google searching.  Entering the same info over and over, I start to feel like a junkie, like some lonely person sitting in front of a computer screen all day, unkept and smelly.  Thankfully, given the fact that I have school at 8am every day, a family to take care of and more school to attend throughout the day, this is not my life.  But I do wonder if there are people out there doing this all day.  And what's more?  Do they win?

Does anyone win?  Is this some wild goose chase?  I mean you should see some of these sites loaded with lists of sweepstakes to enter, they do not look reputable.  If I can pass that judgement to an internet site, the way you would to a brick and mortar business.  I try to keep my entries to places I have heard of, or people I know...like my good friends Oprah and Rachel Ray, HGTV, The Food Channel.

Clickity-clackity

So, after a week of online sweepstakes and lottery play, I am heading into something more hands-on.  I am going to go and play Bingo!  I remember playing Bingo when I was younger, and for the life of me, I can't remember where.  But I am sure that in the Ohio Valley there is no shortage of Bingo games to be found.  I do remember in college, going home with a girlfriend to her family's home in WV, and her Mom took us to play Bingo.  At first, I thought it couldn't be more lame...a weekend night spent in a Bingo hall with all these old ladies?  I was used to clubs and dancing, looking for guys to hook-up with.  Wasn't going to happen here.  But I did win some nominal amount that felt larger than life at the time.  And I ended up having a great night, despite my judgements going in.

Also, Healthival is still going strong.  I feel great.  Walking is good medicine, quiet and filled with thought.  I like to take note of what I choose to think about, and shift that pattern when necessary.  Driving doesn't offer that same opportunity, too many distractions and things to pay attention to outside of yourself.  I don't miss wheat, dairy or sugar.  But after a harrowing day with the Worker Retraining office at my school, I did kinda miss the alcohol, and on a Friday night.

Coupons are a challenge.  As I mentioned before, they tend to be for processed foods, of which I try to avoid as much as possible.  I am still working on how to save money on whole, healthy foods, and will keep you updated as to how that unfolds.

Cheers!
Melissa

If I do get killed by an animal

posted by Melissa


After a yummy dinner with good friends, we set off for an urban hike.  The sun had just set, so there was still enough light in the sky to make out the silhouette of mountains.  Yet it was dark enough to take in the city lights and do that cool thing where you let your eyes blur and everything looks sparkly and you feel like it must be Christmas.

The weather this morning in Seattle could be December weather.  My heat kicked on at around 11am.

Urban hiking is great.  I get my heart pumping, I get to see some plant life by going to one of Seattle's many parks.  And just when I thought I was safe, I got see some wildlife too.  We were headed home after our climb and descent of the Volunteer Park water tower.  As we were walking down a lovely little street in our neighborhood, chatting about what house Jamie had just put a painting bid on, my friend says calmly,

"A raccoon."

"What?"  I replied, thinking I must have misheard her.

"Oh, there's just a raccoon right there." and she pointed to our left.

I looked over, apparently hoping it would be far away, because I did not see anything but a house and some nice landscaping.  Then I drew my sight in closer and there it was.  Huge and looking right at us, only maybe 3 feet away.  I screamed.  Of course.

Everyone else stops to look as I made my way quickly across the street, jaywalking and not caring.  Sooo not Seattle.  Crosswalks, people.  Seattlites love them some crosswalks, and that flashing white guy that signals when it is the only acceptable time to cross.  Even if it is raining and there are no cars in sight.

"Watch out.  That's the mama."  the homeowner hollered over to us.

At which point, everyone else crossed to meet me on the other side.  We all moved along on our merry way.

Is nature trying to tell me something?  Are animals out to get me for real?  Or am I paranoid?  I have decided it is best to take some time to work through my fears.  I am going to sit down and just imagine the worst case scenario.  If a bear, or I guess a mountain goat, attacks me, I will know the safety tips and rules and handle it as best I can.  But if it gets out of hand, and it is going to kill me,  I am going to be OK with that.  Just really work at letting that be OK.  I mean, if it happens, it is just what is going to happen.  I feel I have to accept that to be able to do this hike.

And if I do get killed by an animal, Amy and I have already decided that it will make one hell of a blog post.  I told Amy, she may even have ended up on Oprah if she was still around.  By the way, where are people going to strive to make it from now on?  Who is the heir to the Oprah throne?

Back to hiking:  What is wrong with me?  Does everyone go through this when about to go on a backpacking trip?  Is it normal to work through a scenario of being killed by a bear, gored by a goat?  Am I being too dramatic?  Possibly pragmatic?

Whatever.  As I discovered with the posting of the poetry recitation, I am who I am.  And, I also learned in psychology class that people's personalities aren't going to change much throughout their adulthood.  Although, on this one, the fear of being in the woods...I'd like to prove that theory wrong.

Here's to all the backpackers out there, you brave people.  I salute you.
-Melissa