Friday, June 22, 2007

Summer Time!!




Wow - I can't believe summer is upon us. Here in Kansas we've had such a wet Spring that it hardly seems real that it's almost the end of June - normally I'd be peeling the clothes away from my skin it's so hot and humid here (the first time I visited Wichita I wondered how anyone could have decent hair.) As you may have already gleemed from previous posts, I'm a hyper goal-oriented person that needs constant and ever-changing tasks to stay amused. Yes, it's a throwback to a childhood filled with a TV for a babysitter, a real dutch babysitter that would feed us milky, sweet coffee and sugar sandwiches for snack (mmmm...sugar...), and an unstable adolesence to say the least (we won't even go there). Anyhooo... I'm not going to use excuses for being a little crazy but instead embrace the fact that I'm always up for trying something new, look forward to challenges, and have a lot of positive energy to keep up with my darling (ahem ahem) children, husband and job.

So..Summer Goals?

- Read a couple of great books - Nothing inspires me like reading about someone else's adventure through life and having a life-altering experience that makes them a changed, but better person - I'm open to suggestions.

- Watch a couple of great documentaries - again, open to suggestions

- Take the fam. to Oceans of Fun in Kansas City - our family LOVES waterparks

- Become involved in our local film commission - it hosts our annual film festival (http://www.tallgrassfilmfest.com/) that is growing every year and it's a great opportunity to meet more film and video folks.

- Learn to relax more and enjoy the moment.

- Do something video-related every day - I need to hone my craft (which is also my passion and fules creativity and happiness).

- Go on more dates with my husband - sometimes the ones dearest to us are the ones we take for granted the most.

- Get the family to try more new things - there are a lot of cool things happening in Wichita (which I learn about thanks to my newspaper and online news site (www.kansas.com). Every weekend is filled with free, fun and interesting things to do. I'm really commited to getting out and supporting local efforts at revitalizing our downtown area.

- not over-plan and over-goal.

yay for summer!!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

1 week Meat-Free

Well it's been one week living meat-free for me. Thoughts:

- I didn't lose a pound, but feel much lighter.
- I have more energy and don't feel as sluggish as I usually do after I eat.
- I haven't had this much gas since I was pregnant (they say this will "pass" - haha)
- overall, I think it's a good start and I've decided to stick with it.

I didn't fare as well on my other goals of cutting out sugar, salt, caffeine and other fatty foods. I've really tried limited my dairy consumption to low-fat or fat-free, and I haven't been adding salt to foods, which is an accomplishment - for me anyways. I feel like I'm cheating since I still eat fish, but maybe I'll start decreasing that too (but not shellfish - never!!). I have certainly eaten more veggies and fiber than before, and my body feels good for it. I also feel good about the switch from an environmental standpoint and ethical standpoint. The only thing that had always bothered me about vegetarianism was the perceived self-righteousness that goes along with it. I'm going to take the advice of the Dalai Lama - he says that buddhists should always practice vegetarianism and look for a vegetarian option, but if none is avaliable, you are to to accept, be grateful, and eat the food that is presented to you - meat-free or not. I like this because my upbringing would never allow me to turn down a meal someone prepared for me as a guest in their home because I decided to become a vegetarian (I know this seems wimpy and I do respect those who feel differently).

Enough about me - Eugene got his Private Pilot's Lisence - hooray!! I think it is so cool that he accomplished something most people just put on their "things to do before I die" list and forget about. Of course it doesn't hurt that he's a flight test engineer - unfair advantage. Maybe I'll get my liscence to and we can be like the "Danger Bay" family (Canadians would get this reference to beloved CBC cheesy favorite) and all fly planes and helicopters simultaneously :)

Monday, June 18, 2007

My little Scientist

I hate to hurt the feelings of all you parents out there but I have to be honest - my son is the smartest kid in the world. The sooner everyone accepts this, the better off we'll all be. Honestly though, I was pretty amazed at him yesterday. After an elaborate treasure hunt my husband concocted (yes, we are those types of parents - crazy), Joshua was allowed to cash in the jar of coins he found and spend them any way he wanted at Toys R Us. Of all the things he saw and could have, he decided on a Junior Scientist kit. Needless to say I was a little surprised - and humbled. This is not MY child. I would have straight for the mini-trampoline and spent the entire summer perfecting my front flip and breaking my back. Eugene, on the other hand, was thrilled with the science kit and told me how jealous he was of his brother's when he was small. They spent 2 hours making "experiments" last night while I cleaned the house (nice eh?). Oh well, there's always Genevieve - she's bossy, over-zealous, loud, and has absolutely zero attention span - come to think of it, she IS my child!!

Friday, June 15, 2007

You Tube, I Tube, we All Tube




I helped teach the video portion of a teen camp last week. I had SO much fun teaching the kids and they made these Awesome Kinetic Art Sculptures that were out of this world. Now that we're in the Internet age of enlightenment, I uploaded the video we made to YouTube. Check it out by going to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSSTyn_8xLo or just go to YouTube and search "CityArts Teen Extreme Art Camp". It's only 5 minutes long but you may have to wait a little for it to buffer (I find the stops and starts very annoying and uusually just pause online video clips and let them buffer at least half way through before playing).

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Ughhh Veggies...

I'm just half joking but it's been almost 2 days of meat-free nutrition for me! I've been sticking to it (I know all of you were dying to know). I have also virtually eliminated sugar, salt, and am down to 1 cup of coffee per day.

the Pros:

- Wow - you are really regular when you get your full recommended dose of fiber on a daily basis
- The bloated icky feeling has gone - my sotmach feels flat.
- I think I've lost weight already.

the Cons:

- Eating a Boca Burger patty while the rest of your family and friends dine on marinated steak kind of (really) sucks.
- I'm hungry.
- I'm hungry.
- I'm hungry.

Now it IS almost 5pm and the tuna salad and apple I had at lunch have long since vacated the premises. I'm going to a co-worker send-off at a bar and grill after work so that should be interesting. I need to find more things to eat besides pasta and salad.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Go Veggies!




I'm pondering becoming a vegetarian. I have always been attracted to the idea and admire people who have "crossed over" to become plant-eaters (aren't they always the nicer of the animal species? I think of the Brontosaurus - so big and gentle, like a big dog and well, kind of dumb but that's another topic altogether). I got an anti-cancer diet email from my sister and it highly recommends switching to a plant-based diet. Now I'm not talking about giving up dairy or fish (being an islander that's crazy talk), but I've realized there are huge benefits to eating a plant-based diet, and they all jive well with my belief system:

- Vegetarians have much lower cancer rates - red meat and the like expells a lot of toxins and linger in your body a lot longer - not to mention the hormones, antibodies and other gross things in cows these days. With a history of cancer deaths in my family, the plethora of info out there supporting this is compelling enough to make the switch.

- Saturated fat is bad. Period. There is nothing good about this type of fat.

- Vegetarians are good for the environment. It takes a lot less space and resources to plant a field of grains than to raise a field of cattle. And the grains grown can feeed about 100 times more people than the beef.

- Animal Protection - I'm not a huge animal-rights activist but all you have to do is drive out to western Kansas and see the sea of cows being penned up in their own filth with no room to even turn around and the only other thing there is a steel metal trough that pumps out food (there's no such thing a farms or even farmers out here man) and you realize that no living creatture needs to endure a life of misery and pain just to end up on our plate. Wrong is wrong.

- Leaner, meaner bodies - Vegetarians usually have less body fat and live longer than their meat-eating counterparts (no, this is not always true and I do know chunky vegetarians that snack on chips all day but we all have our exceptions).

- Cheaper groceries - a steak costs a heck of a lot more than a box of tofu.


Now the challenges:

- Family: Ha! Like my Philippino husband is going to jump on board this whim-of-the-month bandwagon. He was called "mr. hotdog" as a kid for a reason. My mother-in-law would also never let me convert her grandkids to vegetarians. I've seen the treatment she's lashed upon my sister-in-law who is a vegatarian and raises her kids as such. My kids won't even eat veggies except the odd raw carrot and a corn on the cob. I'm hoping we can compromise to eating veggie meals twice a week and I'll just sneak the fake meat in the other days (if you're reading this honey - just kidding - honestly!)

- Kansas - enough said - In this state vegetarian means "not the Porterhouse steak, just the small fillet". You're a complete freak if you don't eat meat and have to put up with restaurant fare that serves "veggie burgers" as a bun with lettuce, tomato and condiments. Really, I'm joking, but any barbeques I attend will not have an abundance of Boca Burgers on the grill.

- Cravings -Can I really do it? I really do like meat and let's face it - it tastes good. The only problem I've noticed lately is that meat doesn't like me. I had a burger on Saturday and I think it's still sitting in my stomach, waiting, making me feel bloated, full, and generally uncomfortable.


- Overall diet change - In my research, I've resentfully realized (is that correct verbage?) that not eating meat is only one component to an ultra-healthy diet - other criminal foods out there include sugar, salt, white bread, coffee (God no!), milk chocolate (God no X2!) and hydrogenated oils. These also must be banished to achieve the ultimum cancer-fighting effects on your body. sigh - thank god I've still got red wine and dark chocolate to comfort me (moderation my ass).

I'm going to try it out for a week (you can commit to anything for a week - except not peeing). I'll keep you posted on how it's going and use the blog to keep myself accountable. Wish me luck!!

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

My authentic self

Wow, sorry for leaving the whiny blog up there for so long...have you ever read something you wrote and thought "what was I on?" I had a great weekend in Vegas overall - missed the fam like crazy and spent most of my time holed away in the basement of the Flamingo listening to arts speaker after arts speaker (it was the Americans for the Arts Annual Convention). Some were OK, some were pretty lame ("let's all hold hands and dance on the balcony of life together" - huhh??). There was one standout though - Rhea Godess. This was possibly the coolest, most inspirational chick I ever heard speak in person. Besides being a performance actor, mother, motivational speaker, and community arts activist, she heads-up a non-profit org. in Brooklyn that helps disadvantaged african american girls enroll in a private arts camp that builds confidence, teaches arts training, and most importantly, helps these girls realize the power of their "authentic self". I love this term - it encompasses everything you want to be, but lack the courage, time, resources, etc, to be. I made a pact this weekend to work towards this goal - to stop worrying so much about everything outside of me and start working on what's going on inside of me (I know, hokey as hell but you get the drift). I already notice a change - I speak up more (which is freaking my boss out because I'm no longer the cute mute girl that just tags along), I'm saying no more (which also freaks him out), I'm more confident and am investing less in what others think of me (I'm horribly vain which ambasses me and annoys me) and more on what I think of me. I have a feeling everything else will start to fall in place! I know - riiiight.