Eating Cleaner

The lifestyle changes I have been most looking forward to with my new job are related to health. Having more time to walk and exercise outside really helps me manage stress and improves my mood overall. I'm trying hard to adopt some new habits and eat cleaner. 

So on weekends, I'm not making pancakes. I've mastered great creamy scrambled eggs and on the weekends we almost always have eggs and fruit salad and I add toast or muffins for hubs and baby girl.

Some variation on this salad has become a staple because I'm addicted to arugula. I've made the salad at least five times in the last two weeks, including for a casual Sunday dinner party. I never used to eat poached eggs, but I love them with salads. This is the super-easy method I use for poaching eggs.

And what is really changing things up is gazpacho. I've enjoyed gazpacho before but never made my own. Having it at my mother-in-law's over the summer + the arrival of my new juicer + growing my own cucumbers = inspiration. I've been experimenting with both the juicer and my immersion blender. Now, I have about 10 quarts in my freezer and have been having it every day for lunch. I'm always playing around with different versions, but I have not been adding bread, which is called for in many gazpacho recipes. Again, trying to keep in clean.

With that being said, I did make a peach blueberry crisp and honey thyme ice cream for the dinner party this weekend. But the gazpacho and salad canceled it out, right?

Infused Water: A Love Story

Last week on a lark, I bought this Rove water infuser bottle at Marshall's for $5. I am in love with it. These are the combinations I've tried so far:

• cucumber slices and fresh basil
• raspberries and fresh mint
• peach slices and fresh tarragon
• herb mix including rosemary, oregano, mint, and basil

My favorite has been the cucumber and basil. The rosemary in my herb mix was a little overpowering, but I'm determined to find the herbal right mix. You can check out more recipes at The Yummy Life or Nutrition Stripped but I think experimenting is the best part.

On mine, the infuser basket screws from the bottom, so if it isn't on super tightly it leaks. I may look for one that has the infuser basket attached to the top. I encourage you to try one.

Standing Desk Testimonial

About a month ago, I got a standing desk at work. I was excited, but also a little nervous. What if I couldn't take it? I'm not exactly fit. Well, after a month, I think I can safely say I love it. I usually sit during phone calls, lunch, and then maybe 10 minutes an hour. Colleagues were pretty intrigued in the beginning and still come by to ask how I like the desk. 

Pros

• I feel much more alert and focused.
• My back pain has been virtually eliminated and I know it is better for my posture. 
• The thing is ridiculously easy to adjust.
• I didn't have to install it, but the person who did claims it was pretty easy. 
• The Ergotron WorkFit-S Single LD with Worksurface+, is designed to work with almost any existing workstation/desk. So I didn't have to buy a new desk or compromise my desk by drilling into it.
• I've lost over 6 pounds in the last month.*

 Cons

•  I usually do have to slip on some quasi geriatric looking comfort flats after a couple of hours. This isn't a big deal, because I typically don't deal with customers, but if I'm wearing something cute and then need to run to the restroom or out to lunch, I have to decide if I want to change my shoes. 
• I do feel a tad more physically fatigued at the end of the day.  
• I need to get a foam mat of some kind. I think that will help me stand longer. 
• I feel guilty every time someone catches me sitting.

Final Words

If you are at all considering a standing desk, I would highly recommend it. I should mention that I only work three days a week. If I worked five days a week, I suspect I would need more frequent breaks or longer breaks. I'm lucky in that my work paid for the desk, which was around $500 with shipping. When we move, I may consider a standing desk for my home office as well.

Resources

• Wired Magazine article
• More testimonials
• Great tips if you are considering a standing desk. This helped me a lot with managing expectations.

*I'm also a Weight Watcher and have lost 50 pounds since February. However, I had hit a plateau and it seems like the standing desk may have helped me get past it. I have no way to prove this, but not much else has changed in my habits, so maybe...

Mirror Mirror

{André Gelpke - Christine au miroir, 1976}

My weight loss journey has not been a predictable one. When I started at the end of February, I thought it was going to be monumentally difficult. But I had some early success and have been able to stick with it and it actually has been easier this time than ever before. I guess at 45, I was finally ready. The biggest change has not been in what I eat, but how I think. Now 43 pounds later, I recognize myself in the mirror for the first time in a very long time. I have 37 more pounds to go to reach my goal. But I feel fantastic and have every confidence I will make it. Actually, I don't even think about it much anymore. I am in some kind of zone that I don't even recognize. I think it is the zone that normal people without food and weight issues live in. (Have I arrived?)

From the middle of the summer to now, life has been especially stressful as we prepared our house to put on the market, shopped for a house, went on a long vacation, started a new job (Lindsey) and started school (Audrey). I haven't had much time for myself. In fact, most weeks, controlling what I ate seemed to be the only thing I had control of. But I have only missed one Weight Watchers meeting in six months. It has been the one constant, the one way I was determined to take care of myself.

Now that Audrey is back in school and we have postponed our house sale and house hunt until spring, I feel like I can maybe, just maybe, start putting together the rest of my life. Make some art. Take some pictures. Write. Make some new connections. Oh, and buy some new clothes. We packed all of our winter clothes in a pod, thinking we would be unpacking into a dream home right about now. I know none of my old pants would fit anymore. But my sweaters! My boots! Learning to live with less (of everything) over the next 5-6 months is going to be outrageously challenging and fun. 

Natural Beauty

 

Yesterday I was supposed to get a facial. I was really looking forward to it. I've been noticing a lot of changes in my skin over the last year and since I just turned 45, well, I thought I was due. But it wasn't meant to be. The spa screwed up my appointment. They admitted fault yet their only suggestion was that I return on Tuesday, the day they had mistakenly scheduled the appointment. Convenient for them. For me? Not so much.

So, I went to Sephora and got a foundation consultation. I've been using the same foundation since high school, so again, I thought I was due. He hooked me up with Bare Escentuals bareMinerals matte foundation and some of their other basic products (lip gloss, eye pencil, etc.) and I left feeling rosy.

Since my pregnancy, I've been paying a lot more attention to cosmetics and toiletries. I've been wanting to make the switch to healthier cosmetics for a while. It has taken some diligence to find the products that meet my needs for price, performance, and convenience. Here are some of my favorites: 

• Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash: This is so economical and seems to work well with my skin type. Not overly drying and leaves a very clean feeling.
• Desert Essence Jojoba Oil: I use this as a body moisturizer in the winter and I use it on Audrey all year long. 
• Avalon Organics Lavender Moisturizer: I only use this once or twice a week on my cheeks.
• Yes To Cucumbers Shampoo & Conditioner: I finally found shampoo and conditioner that I like and is carried by Target. Often, I love the way something smells, like Avalon Organics Rosemary Shampoo, but it just doesn't work well for my hair type. Yes To Cucumbers is perfect. I still color my hair. I don't even want to think about all those chemicals. I'm closing my eyes to that topic for now.
• Tom's of Maine Toothpaste: Easy.
• Soapwalla's Deodorant Cream: So far, I like this. We'll see what happens come summer.
• For Audrey, I primarily use California Baby unscented body wash and shampoo, since she has sensitive skin prone to rashes. When she was younger, I used California Baby or Badger Sunscreen. But last year I switched over to Coppertone Water Babies because it has a good rating on Skin Deep's Cosmetics Database and is way cheaper and easier to find.

Since I wasn't able to get the facial, I'm going to try some home recipes for facial scrubs and/or masks. There are hundreds of online resources for this and they have to be healthier. Also, my skin would look a lot better if I got more sleep, fruits, vegetables and less dairy and meat. Easier said than done. But I'm going to try. Natural beauty, indeed.