A Few of my Favorite Things!

Good morning babes! Happy Sunday. :)

I am up despite my boys being gone. I have this internal alarm that just won't turn off. Grrrr! I am so used to being up at 6 and hitting the ground running that when I have a minute to sleep in and chill, it's very difficult to sit still. So here I am, drinking my coffee and typing to you people!! Haha! I am going to hit the gym in about an hour or so for a great workout. I need one badly! And I can git r done and then  get a little cleaning done but I want to be all done and having some "me" time by early afternoon to enjoy before the boys come home at 5:30. They are usually book-ends on me when we're home. One on either side or fighting over who sits in my lap which I absolutely love but my time to sit by myself is fairly limited as a result! :)

I wanted to talk about a few of my favorite things. Not necessarily health-related but "Tami Life" related. If you are interested, cool!! I know a few of my friends and I are always discussing products and music we enjoy. 

Right now, I cannot get the Pink/Fun duet out of my head. It's driving me nuts. We know I love Fun these days but I am not usually a fan of this kind of thing. Anyone who knows me and my love of Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue and Duff from Guns n Roses will get my conundrum in enjoying this. Evolving is not a bad thing and my music taste has always been pretty eclectic. Anyway, check it out and get it stuck in your head too!I was humming it in my head all week! 

I tried a new facial scrub last night. I have used St. Ives products since I was a teenager but hadn't used this particular product before. I love their stuff. Inexpensive and it works. Especially with something that you are using to slough off dead skin, it seems silly to spend a lot on that. But I used it and wow...my skin felt so soft after. De-Winterized for sure! I highly recommend it. 

The products I love for my hair (especially color-treated and straightening now) are the L'oreal Ever-Pure Sulfate Free shampoo. I use the one for color-treated hair but they have a bunch of different ones. I love it! And for conditioner I love the Aussie 3-Minute Miracle. I put it on from the ears and down (to avoid build up on the scalp and roots) and comb it in and let it sit for a few minutes. It's helping to condition the ends that are color treated and can get damaged easily. And I also use the Moroccan Argon Oil which protects a lot. So far my hair is staying pretty healthy despite the "stuff" I do to it now. Haha!

My favorite coffee these days is the Gevalia Traditional Roast or House Blend. Good stuff and often on sale at my local grocery store! And there are often coupons for it too. Which is most excellent!! :) I get the whole bean and grind it myself on my fancy Mr. Coffee grinder! It's great. Really good coffee and I make it at home. Starbucks is a rarity for me these days and usually for green tea as it's right near my work. Try the Gevalia! 

I hope you all have a lovely Sunday. Get outside and enjoy the fresh air if you can!! 

"Happiness is an inside job" - William Arthur Ward 

Have a blessed day!!

Tam

GMO's??? Eeeeshh!!

First of all, I saw Jurassic Park 3D last night. I was very disappointed. I thought I'd be jumping out of my seat a lot with some of the scenes but it really wasn't that at all. It wasn't much different from watching it at home to be honest. I guess you can only do so much with a movie that is already made but I really was expecting more. Ah well! :) 

I was out of coffee yesterday and bought some at lunch. I forgot to bring it home. Ugh! I do have green tea and am making do with that. But that initial "oomph" I need in the am is not occurring with green tea. The green tea is perfect later in the morning or early afternoon at work. That combined with water is enough to keep me going and alert along with my healthy diet of course. Perhaps I'm just way too dependent on coffee? I do believe I will be getting some on the way to work later this morning. Today is my "Friday". Nice! 

Lunch has been my spinach salad lately and I have blackberries and a plum as well as nuts to munch on later at work. They do the job and make me feel good in the process. I love my produce and eat a lot of it but there are a lot of things going on that make me nervous. 

I mentioned GMO's or "Genetically Modified Organism" yesterday and they have been on my mind lately. They are animals and plants that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering. The thought of anything being "engineered" in any way that we put into our bodies is not a great thought but it appears to be unavoidable as 70% of foods in the grocery store have some form of bioengineered ingredients. 

Unfortunately the ultimate "monster" in all this is the fact that the public really has no say in the matter at this point and foods are not labeled as having GMO's. The greedy companies don't want to scare off the consumers from buying their products. But we really do have a right to know and then make the decision that best suits us. But because they haven't been "proven" to be dangerous they are not regulating them at this time. 

Foods that have morphed on their own is one thing. When you have a tomato plant growing next to a cherry pepper plant in a garden, you may end up with a spicy tomato. So some might ask what the difference is when it happens in that way? I don't know about you but the thought of someone in a lab doctoring our fruits and vegetables is just scary. I am not completely obtuse to the "Good" that GMO's can do by "engineering" foods to create their own pesticides and thus be more resistant to bugs and also drought and other issues. I hear this and think of the hunger across the world and how something like this could possibly help that. Unfortunately the bad is also abundant. Some animal studies have linked these organisms to reduced immunity, lowered fertility, organ damage, accelerated aging and other problems. 

The best thing you can do at this time if you want to avoid or at least combat the possible ill effects of these products is to eat organic whenever possible, support your digestive system through probiotics, zinc and chromium and even with some herbs and spices like cinnamon, cardamom and ginger. Also try to give your immune system some TLC. I have talked about ways to do this before. 

Now that is some food for thought! :)

Have a blessed day!
Tam xoxoxo

Kind of a Hodgepodge Post! Lil of this, lil of that!

Good mornin!

I didn't have much coffee left this morning and only had enough for half of my mug(vat). It will have to do! I'll get my green tea later. QUICK STORY!! It's funny. Last week I walked into Starbucks to get a simple green tea. At first the girl gave me coffee. I brought it back and said "I ordered a green tea". So the man making everything said he'd have it for me in a minute. It took a lot longer than what you'd think getting a cup of tea would make but I didn't say anything. Then he hands me a drink that he had "made" and said "Sorry for the wait. These green tea lattes are popular. The health benefits!"......eh?? Green tea LATTE?? I took it. This creamy, milky GREEN concoction. OK! I didn't want to wait longer so I just dealt with it. You'd never think putting a tea bag in a cup of hot water would be so complicated. Apparently ordering such a thing at Starbucks stumps them! :D

Today is my 30th post in 30 days. Pretty sweet! I hope my "ramblin" about what I find interesting or what has helped me is helpful or at least entertaining for all y'all! :) I do make it a point to post something every day. I know those on My Fitness Pal continue to email me saying my posts on there inspire them daily and ask for my input on their diets. It's an awesome thing to hear and I love helping.  

Today's theme song is Eye of the Tiger by Survivor. One of the Rocky songs.  I had said something to my friend Shellie yesterday about Rocky and the theme song and we talked about how he inspires us. haha!  (I have a bucket list item of running up the steps of the museum of Philadelphia Rocky style with someone playing that theme. I know I'm not the only one to have that item but it's good stuff!) Sometimes you just have to have some Rocky fighting spirit to deal with the life all around us. Have a little backbone. Speak up when someone is taking advantage. It doesn't have to be handled in a nasty way. Simply voicing it is enough. 

This will be me. Sexy gray sweat suit too?? 

What do you find inspiring?  Sometimes it can be a song, a movie, a person, a place, a story. Whatever it is......... keep making it inspire you and push you forward. If you're having a tough day or week and nothing seems to be going right and people take advantage,  just keep on keeping on. I am very homesick, miss my family a lot and I need to visit them soon. The last few years have mostly been about survival for me and I keep moving forward to make things better and it's slowly getting there despite those that seem to continue to want to add hurdles. But I do feel a need for some Oregon air and people. Even just getting out of CT would be nice. I need to make a plan and soon. I'm sure I will be a different person after. We all just need to decompress at times. For me, being in the plane and seeing Mt. Hood as we circle around ready to land at the airport in Portland immediately fills me with a calm and peace and has the same effect that an hour of meditation would have! :) Even if you aren't an Oregonian, tell me this wouldn't calm you just a bit??? :) All together now...ahhhhhhhhhh!! :) 

I have a nice weekend planned. It's the weekend without my boys which I dread and it makes my heart hurt. But I work today and tomorrow and will keep busy with the gym and other things too. And tonight.....I am going to see Jurassic Park 3D! I am wayyyy excited. With all of the 3D movies coming out I've been saying "Why isn't Jurassic Park in 3D??"....to me it's the one worth paying the 3D prices. And it is one of my favorite movies. So good stuff there. I hope you all have a lovely Friday and find something to inspire you today. Just look around. See people. See what's going on around you. Yesterday, I was checking out at the grocery store (self check aisle) and there was a woman with her Autistic son behind me. He was applauding me being able to punch in the number on my plum and get the price fast rather than searching for it and then he went and bagged up my purchases for me. I smiled and thanked him and he smiled and said "You're smart!" It made my day! I love kind, sweet people!! :) 

I've been thinking about GMO's. That may be an upcoming post. Watch out! :) 

I had to post this video too. It's my favorite scene from the Rocky movies. I will be hearing this and Eye of the Tiger! It's good inspirational stuff! Watch it! :) 

"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder" - Henry David Thoreau

Ciao for now! 

Tam

Bless you!! And Gesundheit too! :)

April showers bring May flowers right? Many of us love this time of year because the days are longer, we have more energy, the temperature gets mild and we have hope of a few months of this! Then there are those who dread this time of the year because they sneeze, rub their eyes and have a never-ending runny nose. That's never fun! I have experienced my own allergies. A pretty mild form of hay-fever compared to what others have. And dust seems to set me off as well. 

I sneezed a few times at work yesterday and my co-worker blessed me. I mumbled something about allergies and she looked at me and said "Ahh, these allergies. I had never heard of this growing up". She is Romanian. She said until she moved to the United States she had never heard of a food allergy or hay fever, any of it. Interesting. 

I myself grew up in the country of Oregon and I didn't seem to suffer as much hay fever there as I do here in the suburbs of NYC. Again it is not to the extent of some but I do get the itchy eyes and sneeze at times. Perhaps my body was better equipped to handle the invasive particles living in the country.

There was a study that happened in 1989 when the Berlin wall fell and a team of scientists were taking a look at asthma in Leipzig (formerly East Germany) and Munich (formerly West Germany). According to the scientists, Munich was much more hygienic than Leipzig which is full of factories billowing smoke and the results were that asthma was much more prevalent in Munich which is the opposite of what they had expected. And of these the most allergic were the kids from Munich with one or no siblings while the least allergic were the East Germans with two or more siblings. There was a similar study out of Britain that determined that the younger children with older brothers and sisters who were exposed to bacteria and infection early on were not as likely to have asthma or eczema. 

There are a lot more studies and hypothesis that have happened in the last twenty years or so. It's not that allergies were never around before. There is evidence of ancient Chinese medicines to treat them. But overall they just seem to be so much more common than they ever were. I have always been a firm believer that if you don't expose your kids to dirt and air that has been sneezed in they won't develop immunity to them. I got my kids out and about fairly early on as much as possible and *knock on wood* they don't get sick very often. I can't remember  serious illness and even colds, etc..don't seem to occur regularly. I truly hope I didn't just jinx myself. :) 

But even when I was a little girl, I don't remember hearing about the food allergies we have nowadays. I can't tell you one classmate that had a peanut allergy. I drank out of the garden hose, ate my moms peanut butter cookies and I think all schools allowed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in lunch boxes.  I got very sick once when I accidentally inhaled poison oak that my grandfather burned in a pile of brush. It gave me internal poison oak which is very dangerous. But I survived and ironic I don't remember ever getting poison oak since then. Perhaps inhaling it gave me immunity?? 

And then experts come out with books about what to do to keep your kids safe and hygienic. Don't feed them certain foods until they are old enough. And then the popularity of antibacterial soaps and hand lotions. All evidence is showing that keeping our kids in bubbles and away from germs and certain foods are causing the allergies. My boys both ate peanut butter, eggs and other things on the early side and so far so good with that along with not having any major illnesses. They are 3 1/2 and 6 1/2.

Again this isn't going to be "certain" for everyone. My friend has a lot of allergies and grew up in NYC. So the theory that "dirtier" air comes with fewer allergies isn't going to apply to all. The reason we have allergies starts at birth when we are exposed to certain things. During the first few weeks of life your body is exposed to bacteria and dander and starts to learn what is harmful and what is not and develops a defense to fight the bad. Some babies don't make that switch and end up with allergies and develops allergy antibodies which cause the reactions. Genetics do play a part but scientists have discovered it's not one gene but a whole slew of them. 

I just found this whole study to be interesting and it's good to know that they are finding a link with certain things. I always tell a pregnant mother to not be afraid to get her baby out and about. No, don't throw them in a packed area with a bunch of flu-ridden people. But taking the baby outside, fresh air, even for a walk at the mall or elsewhere where there are people...is not a horrible thing and can in fact help the baby develop immunity. I am not one of these experts or scientists but if the cleaner more hygienic kids with nothing around to make them "sick" are the ones who end up allergic to everything...........it does have to make you pause. 

If you do seem to get sick a lot and want to charge your immune system, all it takes are very simple things. Washing your hands is not bad but simple soap and water is fine, get rest (as per my blog post yesterday!!), eat a well-balanced diet including a lot of fruits, berries and vegetables which are chock full of vitamins and antioxidants, drink that water, exercise (Sweat out the yucky stuff!). Also include zinc, ginger and probiotics into your diet. And learn to manage stress through meditation, yoga, etc. Stress is a huge culprit in a weakened immune system. These are just a few things you can do. I love starting my day with the warm lemon-water. 8 oz of water with the juice of half a lemon slightly warmed up. Not boiling hot. Just warm. Lemons are an amazing immunity booster with the Vitamin C and they help to alkalize the body as well. And if you can't handle citrus then berries, kale, bell peppers, guava, papaya and herbs such as Thyme and Parsley are all good sources of Vitamin C. 

"Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint" - Mark Twain

Have a blessed day!

Tam xoxo

Go to bed!!

Mornin' Sunshine! 

You know what helps when making coffee? Water? hehe! I do that a lot. Morning brain fog. And I actually grind my own beans. I do all this prep. Why do I do that to myself? Because it's good coffee damnit! I can't help myself. But yes, water is helpful. :D But the morning grogginess is a toughie. Ironic that it takes coffee to get out of that. But making the coffee is a hurdle in this groggy fog. 

How do you sleep? Do you make it a priority? If you don't then you should. I know there are many that say they are fine with 4-5 hours per night. You might be awake and going about your day but it doesn't mean you are functioning as you should or that you are doing any good to your heath. 

On average, people sleep 20% less than we did 100 years ago.  Obviously this is a result of electricity and TV and computers and cell phones. Back in the day they hit the hay early and usually got up earlier. Most anyway. On top of the fact that our quality of life, productivity and work quality suffers when we are tired there are a lot of other things to think about. 1 in 20 first-year medical residents makes a fatigue related mistake. A fatal mistake. Some major disasters such as Chernobyl, Exxon-Valdez and Three Mile Island were attributed to sleep-deprived workers. And 1 in 5 car accidents are caused by sleepy drivers. Scary isn't it? We are so focused on drunk drivers, texting, speeding and seat belts. But driving while tired is just as dangerous. I'm sure we've all been there. Driving and our eyes are so tired and we need to sleep but keep pushing ourselves. 

So make sleep a priority. It will not only help you and your health (emotional and physical) it will help those around you. Start by getting as much natural light as possible. Luckily daylight savings time and longer daylight allows for that. But even if you can go for a walk or sit outside during your lunch break, that is something. Turn the TV and computer off well before it's time for bed if you can. The light from these things keeps the body from producing melatonin. If you take a nap during the day keep it to 15-20 minutes. Anything more will make it go from increasing productivity to harming your cycle and doing more damage in the long run. And the key for many is to cut the caffeine later in the day. Some say it doesn't affect them in their ability to fall asleep and while that may be true, it doesn't mean your body is getting the healing and your cells are repairing as they should for optimal health. If I worked out in the afternoon or evening, I'd often drink a cup of coffee first to give me a bit more energy. And then I ended up having a hard time going to sleep! So I cut that out. And while the first few minutes of my cardio workout are tough, if I push myself..in about 10 minutes the endorphins kick in and that will give me all the energy I need to keep going. 

Try to create a bedtime routine and stick to it. Warm baths, herbal tea, lavender essential oils dropped on your pillow, keeping the room cool and of course the meditation I talked about yesterday are all things that can help you sleep. Sometimes after a long day I want to stay up and do a few things but if I'm tired I try to listen to my body and just go to sleep early. I don't tend to get more than 7-8 hours which is perfect. They say getting more than that is actually bad too. I'm sure a lot of us have experienced that "Drugged" feeling after too much sleep. 

Ahh, doesn't this look relaxing and peaceful? 

So as much as we want to be out living and enjoying life at all hours, try to make sleep a priority as well. It will help in so many ways and you will just feel better. 

"I shut my eyes in order to see" - Paul Gaugin 

Have a blessed day!
Tam

Ommmmmmmmm!

Are you feeling tired, low energy, bloated, stomach aches, irritable? Then you may need a life lift. I have been writing for a few weeks now and I hope that the things I write have helped you in some way. I am not an "expert" per se but I know I went through my own lift and feel better in my 30's than I ever did in my 20's. That has to count for something. Even just getting new ideas to incorporate into your own life can be helpful but trying to do everything right immediately can cause more stress. So how do you find the way? How to you lift your life in a way that doesn't add additional stress? Those baby steps I have talked about before. 

We can all start with the power of positive thinking. You have to think you can be and live a certain way before you can take the steps to achieve it. When you think of what our subconscious mind is capable of when we are at rest it really does help you to understand that there is so much more going on than many of us allow ourselves to see. Open your mind. Even if you aren't spiritual then meditation and deep breathing and just thinking in a positive way can manifest itself into good energy and feeling more hopeful. Prayer is a form of meditation. It has a calming effect when things are in chaos all around me. Even when my boys are testing me left and right, I pray for patience and help to raise them to be good, kind, and successful men and it does help. Even when I'm out hiking, breathing in the fresh air and hearing the water and just get away from the hustle and bustle it clears the mind and is so calming. 

I would recommend everyone incorporate some form of meditation into your life. I think if every person did we would evolve into a more mindful, happier and enlightened people. Life is hard, it's stressful, it's busy, it's worrisome. And focusing on that 24/7 just isn't healthy for anyone and is certainly not going to help you feel more energetic or hopeful or feel confident that you can get something done. 

There are different forms of meditation. 

The first is: Still or Mindful Meditation. This is focusing on an object or something such as breathing, a visualization, music. You keep your focus on that particular object or process but you are aware of what is happening around you or in your own mind.  

There is also Moving or Walking Meditation. This is what I like to do when out hiking or walking in a park or by the water. Tai Chi and Yoga are other forms. 

The 3rd is Concentration Meditation which is used by religions across the world and you do close out the world around you and focus on a specific prayer. 

If you are just starting out you can read or Google specific ideas on how to begin. But to make it very simple and not complicated just try this: Find a place. It could be your back porch, a bench in a nearby park, the beach, even your own bed. Just try to make sure whatever place you pick is clean and clutter free if at all possible. Clutter has the opposite effect of calm. Then find a comfortable position. There are fancy schmancy names for positions in meditation but who needs things to be more complicated than they need to be? Sitting cross-legged is fine. Or sit on a chair if sitting cross-legged on the floor or bed is not comfortable. Now clear your mind, loosen up and take several calming, deep-breaths. And then sit and let it begin. It doesn't mean not thinking. It means letting the thoughts float through your mind but don't engage in them. Observe them, don't engage. If something makes you feel annoyed or restless then you are engaging in it. Observing it almost as an audience not participating is what you are looking for. Let the thought go through your mind and let it leave. At the end of the meditation, slowly allow your body and mind to come out of it. Ease out. Start with being more aware of your surroundings and allowing outside noises or scents to be more conscious. Then allow yourself to be aware of your own body. You don't need to jump to your feet and go about your day. If you can sit and enjoy the calm for a few minutes, by all means do. 

I guarantee if you incorporate this into your life you will feel calmer and more peaceful. So many of our worries are about things that are out of our control and haven't happened yet or things that really are inconveniences and are not the end of the world it feels like in the heat of the moment. Meditation allows us to be more mindful of the present and to breathe and calm ourselves despite the chaos around us. How can that ever be a bad thing? 

"Life does not have to be perfect to be wonderful" - Anette Funicello

Have a blessed day! xoxoxo

Tami

To Thine Own Self be True!

Good morning! Happy April! 

I hope you all had a great Sunday whether you celebrate Easter or Passover or just celebrated the weekend. 

I have to confess, I drank a ton of soda yesterday. I just can't help myself when it comes to Dr. Pepper. Ughhh. And it made me feel crappy as I knew it would. I am so embarrassed but these things happen. 

Annddd......April Fools!! Hehehehe!!...................I know that was lame and corny....eh, I own it. I had to do something. I think I might be wary today. People get sneaky on this day. :) 

I had a great day yesterday. Low key but nice. I took my boys hiking around 11am. It was soo nice out. Perfect hiking weather. Cool but comfortable in hoodies. My goofballs. We have a little bit of fun together. And they love being outside. 

And then we watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and I made a nice dinner. The chicken went over very well. My oldest devoured it and said I make the best chicken ever. If you want the recipe it's in yesterdays blog post. They didn't care for the risotto much but I loved it. It was a nice indulgence. There was butter and a little Parmesan cheese but it was still clean, real food. Very rich but the lemon juice and zest added a nice acid to it. 

Today is a exercise hard and eat like a rabbit day to balance out the treats of yesterday. I can't wait to get a good sweat at the gym. The hike was great and worked my lower body well but I'm in shape so it doesn't get my heart rate up as well as pushing myself on the elliptical even when going up the hills. I had to keep it somewhat reasonable for the boys to handle it too. They are balls of non-stop energy but they were both dragging their feet with "I'm tiiiiirrreeed" by the end. Haha! 

It's Spring and with that comes the feeling of getting out and enjoying time with friends, etc. I have gone on some dates recently and have more potential ones. I am so careful though and it's difficult to find the right people who can be patient with my schedule. I work a lot and I have my boys a lot (which I love) and the priorities limit my free time. Some seem able to work with that, others not so much. And I am careful about bringing anyone around the boys too soon. They have been through enough and their needs need to matter more than my own. 

So finding that right guy to understand this and accept it and just be patient is difficult. I guess I should be flattered that they want to see me as much as they do but they make wrong assumptions when I can't. Or don't invite them here with my boys right away. Also, being alone has been very cleansing for me. I really need it to clear my head. I was married (a lot unhappily) for 7 years and then separated and divorced with an infant and going back to work. It's a lot and I just needed a breather. I did get into a relationship for a few months in 2012 which had some good elements and I have great memories it but just wasn't the right fit in the end. It actually gave me stomach issues through his inability to trust and constantly assuming the worst and questioning. I just felt like everything I did was wrong. Since we ended, my stomach issues got better. That's pretty telling. That listen to your body, listen to your intuition/gut feeling is very right! 

So here I am, active, healthy, energetic with two amazing little boys. Hopefully the right piece to the puzzle comes along now that I feel ready. But I am perfectly content being by myself until then. I've never been the co-dependent type but taking a break is not going to kill you even if you are. If you can stay in an awful relationship for years, taking time to devote time to yourself a beautiful thing. And refusing to settle and raising your standards and also paying attention to patterns can help you make a better choice. Perhaps some of these dates will lead to more now that I am actually getting out there again after a Winter hibernation! haha! I am sure I am not the only single mother or single parent in general that feels this confusion over how to balance it all out and please everyone. In the end you just can't please everyone. The boys come first of course...and I guess the one who is patient enough will show himself. 

I am not a relationship expert by any means but I know there are many people in the same boat and I thought if I shared then maybe they wouldn't feel so alone in this struggle to balance it! I am happy and don't feel alone. But I am a loving woman and would like to share time and fun experiences with a great guy. That's why I asked for a divorce at 6 months pregnant. I just knew it wasn't going to get better and he made me so miserable that it just hit me that I could not live the rest of my life that way with someone I didn't even want to touch me. It was like being in jail and I had given it 110% by the end, trying everything possible and I know that. I would rather be alone than experience that ever again. 

I hope you all have a great day! It's a new week and a new month! Pay it forward in some way today. That always makes me feel great! 

"Nobody who is somebody looked down on anybody" - Margaret Deland

God Bless, 
Tami