Blood Type

I went to People's Pharmacy this evening to pick up a prescription refill for sweet, crazy T.J. While I was there, a small driver's license-sized card on the counter caught my eye. There were several actually, one for each blood type, and at the very top it simply said "Avoid Foods".

I grabbed my blood type and scanned it: peanuts, peanut butter, catfish, pork -- all, Brussels sprouts. I couldn't believe the things it was telling me to avoid and wondered exactly what it meant I should eat. I put it back and made a mental note of the book the information came from. I have some research to do this evening...

Anyone out there eating based on your blood type?

Does Where We Shop Matter?

My jaw was gaping open the whole time I read this article from MSNBC about more expensive grocery stores having thinner shoppers. The first post I read tried to twist the research to say that shopping at these more expensive stores would make you lose weight. Not likely...

The article starts out like this:

The percentage of food shoppers who are obese is almost 10 times higher at low-cost grocery stores compared with upscale markets, a small new study shows.

Researchers say the striking findings underscore poverty as a key factor in America’s growing girth.

Sad. And scary.

Here's another quote that really got me:

... a calorie-dense diet cost $3.52 a day compared with $36.32 a day for a low-calorie diet.

How can that be? And how can we fix it?

The List

Here's the list we'll be working with as a couple dozen Austin food bloggers dive into the food pantry project. It's pretty close to exactly what recipients walked away with when they visited a food pantry in Pflugerville just last week. They can visit once a month.

(We're each duplicating this bag on our own instead of taking one from the pantry and possibly from someone with a need.)

To supplement their monthly take away from the food pantry, many are lucky enough to also receive help from the SNAP program (food stamps) or WIC. The maximum benefit that we heard about during our meeting Wednesday evening was $200 for a month.

So, since I'm doing this for seven days, I'll use the full list as I plan my menu, cook and eat, and keep my "extras" (like fresh produce and dairy) to under $50.

Here's the complete list of food pantry items some Pflugerville recipients took home last week:

• 2 cans spaghetti sauce
• 4 cans veggies
  
• 4 fruit cans
  
• 1 meat selection (like 1 lb. of ground beef)
  
• 3 drink items (choice of large bottle of cranberry apple juice and/or powdered milk and/or apple juice boxes)
  
• 1 bag spaghetti or egg noodles
• 1 bag of beans
• 1 bag of white rice
• 1 package of jalapeno slices
• 1 ready-made dinner (like Hamburger Helper)
• 1 bag/container of oats
• 1 bag of cheerios
• 5 lb. bag of potatoes

Update: I just finished my shopping for this project, and my "extras," those things someone might use their SNAP or WIC benefits for, came to $28.17.

Breville Juicer: A Review

I've been meaning to blog for a week now about our new juicer. But I guess the good thing about my procrastination is that I've been able to try it several times now before actually writing.

I ordered the Breville Juicer last week on Amazon. When it arrived Thursday, I could hardly wait to clean it up and throw fruit into it. My first concoction: Granny Smith apples and carrots. So sweet, tart and hardy at the same time.

Second try: Granny Smiths and white seedless grapes. A very good combination.

Third cocktail: Granny Smiths and strawberries. (Can you tell that I found a huge bag of Granny Smith apples on sale?) I think I'll have to pass on the strawberries for juicing. They were just too darn sweet. Or maybe it was combining them with the Granny Smiths that made for too sweet a drink. As much as I love strawberries, this just wasn't the juice for me.

My favorite so far has been the apple-carrot combo. And not a bit is going to waste: We're drinking the juice and the dogs are getting the dry pulp mixed in with their dinners. We all love the juicer!

Cupcakes and Customer Service

I love supporting small businesses. And when one goes above and beyond, I just have to let someone else know!

I work from home. It's been a fairly busy day. So when the doorbell rang around 1 p.m., the dogs went crazy and I just about jumped out of my skin.

A sweet face surrounded by beautiful wavy brown hair was on the other side of the door. She stretched her hands out to me, holding a big brown box. "Hi Summer," she said. "This is from Megan."

I was confused for a split second, until I saw the Sugar Mama's logo on the top of the box. This was a box of cupcakes. Just for me. Delivered to my door! If you've seen my flickr page, you know I'm a little obsessed.

Come to find out, this cupcake delivery angel was Olivia herself, owner and master cupcake queen at Sugar Mama's. My dear friend Megan from Nashville had been talking for a while with her about getting some cupcakes to me. Knowing what a fan I am, and knowing how much trouble Megan was going to, Olivia took it upon herself to make the special gift delivery.

I hugged Olivia's neck (she probably thinks I'm crazy), and I teared up a little. First at Megan's thoughtfulness, then for Olivia's generosity of customer service, then at the thought of having a box of buttercream goodness all to myself.

That picture up there? Their seasonal Candy Cane cupcake. I highly suggest you try one! And support a local small business this weekend!

Trying Something New

I'm getting ready to head to the grocery store to pick up a few things for the weekend, and another challenge hit me. (I wonder how many days in a row I can do this?) I'm going to pick up a fruit or veggie that I've never tried before, and try it today.

With fall in the air around parts of the country (we'll hit 90ish today), the produce departments are starting to fill with a beautiful autumn bounty. So maybe I'll roast an acorn squash, or chop up some jicama for a salad. I'm sure something will grab me.

Are you in?

Update: I bought nectarines at the store. I'll give you my review later.

I Have No Concept

Cole and I went to Old Navy Monday evening in search of a couple of inexpensive pairs of shorts to get me through the summer. And apparently, I have no concept of what my own body looks like...

I still have a hard time not grabbing the 12s off of the rack when I look for shorts and pants. (At least I no longer consider the 14s.) Cole even gave me a hard time when I reached for a couple of 10s to try on. I ended up buying an 8 in a cute little skirt. (The skirt is wider than it is long, but it's so cute!!!)

But when looking at a cute little white t-shirt with a tied neckline, I was looking for a medium on the rack. There wasn't a medium, so I took a large into the dressing room. Sometimes I forget that I have Daddy's broad shoulders and that my chest is, well, the size that it is. The large was a bit too tight across the chest and very blousy through the waist. I did not buy it.

So, I need to work on my body image, on the way my mind thinks about my body. My hips and thighs are not as big as I have painted them in my thoughts. And I'm very proud to have my strong shoulders. It feels so weird to write those things down. But I guess the more I can think positively about such things, the better I'll do along my journey.

My day in points...

Breakfast: Quaker Morning Minis: 3 points
banana: 2 points

Lunch: English muffin pizzas: 4 points
cantaloupe: 1 point
snack cakes: 1 point

Afternoon snack: popcorn: 2 points

Dinner: grilled chicken: 5 points
steamed green beans: 0 points
English muffin: 1 point

TOTAL: 19 points.

Bootcamp: Day Three

I can't lift my arms to comb my hair. I can barely stand up out of my chair if I've been in it for more than 20 minutes. My abs scream when I sneeze or laugh... but I am loving bootcamp!!!

As painful and uncomfortable these first few days have been to get through physically, it feels so good to be doing something so good for my body. I'm trying to focus on the getting-stronger-and-hopefully-a-little-slimmer-along-the-way part.

And unrelated: I ran a quick errand to the grocery store at lunch today. Everything -- EVERYTHING -- was more expensive today than the last time I went just this past weekend. Diet Coke 12-packs which are normally three for $10 were three for $11. Blocks of cheese I grate fresh: normally $2.78 were $3.19. Bananas are usually $.39 a pound but were $.48 today. A 12-pack of Diet Lipton Raspberry White Tea cost me $6.49 today where it was just $5.99 last week. I know 33 cents here and 50 cents there isn't a big deal, but there was an increase on seriously everything I purchased today...

Is this just my HEB raising prices, or are you noticing this where you are too???

Breakfast: oatmeal: 3 points

Lunch: chicken-pasta salad: 4 points
peas: 0 points
apple: 1 point

Afternoon snack: peanut butter wrap: 4 points

Dinner: grilled chicken nachos: 10 points

TOTAL: 22 points.

Quick Update and a Plea for Coffee

Well, down 0.2 pounds this morning. A loss is a loss, right???

One of my treats for myself is a stop at Scooter's Coffeehouse on my way to weigh each Saturday morning. I'm greeted almost every Saturday morning by a bubbly and cute girl with strawberry blond hair who was born a little too late to be a true flower child. She's a gentle and sweet soul, and she always provides a great interaction (and vanilla latte) to start the day.

This morning as I ordered at the speaker, I noticed one of their large windows was busted out. From the location, I thought it was a car gone out of control from the parking lot. But when I got to the window and asked how her morning was going, she tearfully explained to me that they had been burglarized overnight. People suck. So, if you happen to be in the vicinity of Mopac and William Cannon in the next couple of weeks, go throw four bucks their way and enjoy some coffee. Locally owned and free wifi to boot!!! Plus, their drinks beat the little green logo off of the other guys.

A New Way to Buy Shoes

Here's how I normally buy shoes: I walk into the store, fall in love with a color or a fabric or a little bow that wraps around the ankle or a wedge heel. I request them in my size. I pay and walk out the door happy. But it was a different experience this evening...

Cole and I went to RunTex this evening and talked to a friendly, very helpful and laid-back Justin about the fact that we've started jogging on shoes that weren't cooperating. He got us to remove our shoes, roll up our pants, and jog back and forth across the store. I'm sure it was funny looking to anyone driving slowly by the windows, but we were in a running-shoe store afterall.

But I didn't get to pick the pretty pink and gray shoes from the wall and ask Justin to bring them from the back in my size. Instead, he brought me (and Cole) the shoes that he thought would give us the best support and cushion during our runs, half a size bigger than we usually wear. Three shoes, three different brands, three different feels and fits. Turns out I really jab my heels into the ground when I'm jogging (he told us that Cole was an "efficient runner"), and I need to work on that. Hopefully a cute pair of silvery and purple Brooks will help do the trick for me.

Black Pants: How Hard Can It Be?!?!

So, the Hammock Christmas party is this week. We always have such a good time. Good food, good conversation, good music... And it's my one night of the year to get dressed up. Really dressed up. I'm not talking pearls and sequins, but I am talking fun shoes and lipstick.

I've had my "party shirt" in-hand since October. I have some cute black snake-skin heels (I hope it doesn't snow or something crazy). But I didn't have the right pants.

Sure, you'd think simple black dress pants would work, but no. I had something in mind. Something very specific in mind. Skinny-fit, cropped, black dress pants. That doesn't sound so hard, does it??? I hit no less than eight stores in the 29 miles between Cedar Park and Southwest Austin over the span of two days looking for such a creature. And I didn't just look, I asked. Sometimes I asked two different people in one store just to make sure the first one wasn't just being lazy and rude by telling me they didn't have anything like that. Dillard's, no. Macy's, no. WhiteHouse|BlackMarket, no. bebe, no. Gap, no. Express, no. Cache, YES!!!

I walked in the door of the small store in the mall and was immediately drawn to the displays on the right-hand side of the store. Inexplicably, I walked about 10 feet into the store and went to a rack just behind a table full of folded t-shirts and silver jeans. Yep, silver. It was like a magnet, like all the shopping powers that be lifted me from the ground and dropped me directly at the rack where my pants were hanging. There they were. They were perfect. They were the ones. The ones that somehow no other store in the county had in stock. Now, what size???

I kept myself from even considering the 12, grabbed the 10 to try on, and decided to take the 8 back there just for fun. To my surprise and pure joy, the 8 fit. I bought an 8 in a pair of Gap "curvy" jeans recently, but I really thought that was just a fluke, a wrong label, a company trying to make me feel better about my body. But when this 8 fit too, I was feeling quite proud of myself. I didn't buy it though. I went for the 10.

What if they shrink just a bit??? What if I put on two pounds worth of hips and chocolate before Thursday night when I need to wear them??? What if their magic mirrors made the 8 look good, but my mirrors at home wouldn't provide the same support??? I went for the 10.

The party outfit is now complete.

Black Friday

It was an accident. I didn't mean to. It was not in my plans. But I went shopping this morning.

Just to Target. Oh, and Hobby Lobby. I needed detergent and coffee, and I thought shopping in the grocery half of our new Super Target would keep me away from the crowds and sales. I was wrong. I caved. I went over there. And I actually got a couple of good deals: fleece for my cousin's three kids, a coffee pot for Daddy and his wife (they recently moved after a house fire gutted the garage and kitchen of their old place) and some oh-so-cute wrapping paper. It wasn't planned, but it happened anyway...

Unrelated: Other than an extra piece of pie yesterday, I stuck to my plan. And even though I shouldn't have (man, I'm breaking all the rules today), I stepped on the scale, just to get a feel of how it went. Fine. I even had a little loss when compared to stepping up there a couple of days ago. I don't know if I will get to "officially" weigh in this weekend, but at least I'm not wrestling with any turkey-flavored guilt today. It was a nice Thanksgiving. My in-laws are always great hosts, and the Cowboys won.

Go to HEB and Go Green

Today only (as far as I know) the HEBs in Austin (not sure if other Texas locations are participating) are giving away reusable grocery bags when you bring five plastic bags in for trade. Limit two per person if you have 10 plastic bags to recycle.

If the bags they're giving away today are the same ones that I have, the quality and size are superb. Two take care of my grocery runs with no problem at all.

Today only between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Go!!!

It's in the Bag!

I don't know about you, but when I go to the grocery store I'm very careful about where I put things in my basket. Maybe it's my OCD coming out a little, but I truly think it's just smart shopping.

I always hit the produce section first and put the bananas, lettuce, apples, carrots, and whatever other fresh fruit or veggie grabs my eye into one corner of my basket. All of my cold goodies -- deli meat, sliced cheese, yogurt, butter -- go into another area of my basket together. Boxes of cereal, muffin mix and crackers are lined up neatly and nicely up front.

You get the picture; I handle my whole trip this way.

Even when I get to the conveyor belt at the checkout, I take things out of my basket the same way. Boxes are placed on the conveyor belt together; frozen things together; produce together.

Why is it then, when I get home, there is a single bag containing a box of dog treats, a bunch of bananas, and a bottle of dishwashing soap?!?

Snakes and Bras

Two food things on my mind this evening...

Did y'all watch Survivor tonight??? Yes there were fish and coconuts and rice, nothing new about that. But there was one point in the show where a sea snake (at least I believe that black and white striped icky thing was sea snake) regurgitated a polka-dotted snake. I saw it, grabbed my throat making gagging noises and squealing like a little girl. Cole missed it, so of course he had to rewind (isn't DVR super?!) and watch it again, and again, and again. In slow motion. We almost got to see my chicken salad from Chipotle... again. Sometimes technology is a bad thing.

But at least we know that snake eats, which is more that I can say for the girl in the yellow in this ad from Victoria's Secret. (This picture was in my e-mail inbox today. Those Secret Embrace bras are GREAT by the way!!!) Anyway... I have always thought that VS did a good job with their models. Yes, they're models. But Heidi Klum and Tyra Banks have bodies, real bodies. This girl is frightening. I mean, look at her arm!!! I literally shuttered when I saw that in my inbox. Please, VS and Limited Brands, if you're listening to your buyers at all. Thin is fine. Real bodies are even better. But skeletal is just plain scary. Pass that girl a pizza and a beer!!!

Our Saturday

We spent more time running around yesterday that we had originally planned. Cole's folks came into town, so we grabbed some lunch at the Galaxy Cafe, visited at the house for a bit, then decided to head up north to More Space Place. (I've decided we should add a Murphy bed and built-in desk/crafting area to our space bedroom. I'm still trying to talk Cole into it.) We ended the day with a fabulous dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse. Our waiter, Trent, was the same we had last year for our anniversary dinner there, and he is wonderful all the way around. But, back to the shopping part...

After we left More Space Place up on Anderson at the intersection of Burnet, we decided to run into this cute little hardware/housewares/gift store in the same shopping center. Zinger's. They have nails and pet supplies and dishes and wine racks -- one of those kind of places. Please. Don't shop there. Don't give them your money. Go to one of the two Breed and Co. locations in town instead.

I've never been so uncomfortable in a store in my whole life. They followed us around. Two of the folks who work there followed our every move. And they weren't sly about it at all. The one tall guy with the beard and mustache stayed within about 10 feet of us from the time he spotted us. We were talking about how cute some of the things for the dogs were; noticed a brand of cleaning supplies we've been wanting to try. But this guy could probably tell the time on MY watch he was so on top of us.

Cole and I finally got tired of it and headed to the front of the store, just to have an older lady do the same thing in the front half of the store. We waited for Dee Dee to catch up with us and headed out to wait for Randy. As we were getting in the truck, one of the employees came out the door to look at us. I couldn't believe it...

I love supporting small local businesses. I work for a small business, and I'd rather do all of my business with little shops like this one when I can. But Zinger's is off of my list. I have no idea what we did. Or maybe, this is just they way they like to make their customers feel all fuzzy inside.

If Santa Were a Rich Man...

Cole was telling me earlier this week about a blog he was reading with a Christmas list which included items that only a rich Santa could fulfill, and it made me start thinking about what my wish list would be if money were no object. Here's the top five that I came up with...

1. The new Land Rover LR3 in Buckingham Blue.
2. About 50 acres of land with a small weekend home so we could adopt animals and they'd have room to run and play.
3. A nose job. My nose is the first thing I see when I look in the mirror, and I'd like it to be smaller. I say that, but I'd actually never do it, for two reasons: First, I can't handle the thought of the pain and blood and bruising. But also, I've recently realized that my nose is Mom's nose, too. I have my Daddy's shoulders, eyes, dimples and large hands. And I have my mother's nose.
4. A closet full of Jimmy Choo shoes. Even just a pair for every day of the week would be nice!
5. A state-of-art, stainless steel chef's kitchen. Oh, and a personal chef!

Why not?!?!

Country Ham and Moon Pies

We got home from Nashville last night a few minutes before 8 p.m. I don't have the energy this evening to do an eloquent wrap-up post of any kind, so this will be what Stacey calls "one of them bullet posts."

• I landed in Nashville late Tuesday night. I've started going late at night instead of waking up and taking the first plane out. I just do better when I get a good night's sleep.
• Wednesday I worked a full day.
• Thursday afternoon Cole flew in and we attended the annual Hammock Publishing Christmas party. View pictures here. Dinner was great. Rex was as generous as ever. And the party bus was a scream. I think it got to about 17 degrees while we were out that night, so I feel like I've officially seen winter.
• Friday I worked half a day, then Cole and I grabbed a bite to eat at the Flying Saucer and visited the Tennessee State Capitol. It was a little cold to be strolling the grounds, but we did it anyway. It's a beautiful building. Visit if you get the chance.
• Friday evening we drove to the Loveless Cafe for dinner. Well, we ate breakfast foods at dinner, so I guess it still counts as dinner. Again, it was incredibly cold! We got there during their last hour of being open, and we wanted to do some shopping in the "Hams and Jams" giftshop. Our waitress called the giftshop to see if they were still open, and they were actually trying to close up. But the kind lady at the giftshop stuck around for us to do some shopping. Biscuit mix, t-shirts and a magnet, and we were on our way to get lost in rural Tennessee.
• Saturday morning we slept in a bit before hitting the road to Lynchburg. We did the touristy thing and took a tour at the Jack Daniel's Distillery. Our guide was a hoot. I didn't understand every word that came out of his mouth, but he made the tour very entertaining and educational. Maybe one day the hair in my nose will grow back. Sniffing that stuff in the middle of the mellowing process will clean your sinuses right out!!!
• After our tour, we headed out of Lynchburg looking for a speck on the map called Lynnville. Laura had tipped us off to the Southern Living article about a gentleman named Colonel Littleton. I think we drove for probably an hour, winding in and out of the hills of rural south Tennessee. There were miles and miles of the drive where we couldn't pick up cell service. And you know you're driving through really small towns when there is horse poop on Main Street. When we finally hit Lynnville, we stopped for directions and ended up having a late lunch at a place called Soda Pop Junction. It's apparently pretty famous in those parts. After shopping at the colonel's place and visiting with the sweet ladies there, we took our mini Moon Pies (order something from him and you'll get one too!) and headed back to Nashville. This time on the interstate. We were drained enough from our day if whiskey-sniffing and driving winding roads that we ordered room service and stayed in.
  
• Sunday morning we got a fairly early start and fueled ourselves with breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. We timed our visit perfectly because by the time we sat down, the line to come in and eat was down the sidewalk. It was a little warmer on Sunday, so we walked around Centennial Park and enjoyed the Parthenon and the squirrels.
  
• Side note: If/when you shop for Christie Cookies, shop at the Village Green location. We stopped by there for our regular Christie fix. The place looked open from the parking lot; there was a gentleman inside working. But upon sticking our heads in and asking, he was he was in fact closed and asked what we wanted. We only wanted a couple, so he hooked us up and would only take about half what a register would have told him the total was. He was so kind to us, and never made us felt like we were ruining his day or not moving fast enough for him. That is now officially my favorite Christie location!!! Visit there soon and do your cookie business there.
• Although I didn't have room for it, we had lunch at Maggiano's. That's the same place where we had the Hammock Christmas party last year, so we knew it would be good. Then we headed to the airport to catch a flight back to the Lone Star State.

See all my pictures of the trip here. I'll let you know when Cole's are up. I'm sure I'm probably forgetting something, and if I am, I'll fill in the blanks later. G'night!!!