Saturday St. Patty Post

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Alright, middle of the afternoon to ya.


That's so not Irish, but it's been a crazy day already and the morning swept passed me way too fast. I don't know about where you are, but here in central Indiana, it's downright gorgeous. Flowers are blooming. Trees are greening. Kids are rolling by the house on their bikes. It's been a tame winter, but spring is still so sweet. I think we might even do a firepit tonight with the neighbors. Hello, outdoors, I've missed you.


Here are the items I've taken noted over the last week or so. Please share any items of interest I miss in the comments.


Luck o' the Irish to ya!


Books

The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay: This is the second book I've read by this gal. Sarah's Key was haunting and thought provoking. The ending was a bit flat for me, but I enjoyed all else. This latest book is also a great read, but I just couldn't get myself to accept what this woman was willing to do for a house. Maybe I've lived in too many places, but I just don't get the extreme devotion to architecture. Otherwise, it was great. I'd recommend it for a solid pool-side read this summer.




Flicks



Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. I promise I watch more than just documentaries about how bad our food supply is, but I just find them SO inspiring, even if I don't agree with everything stated. This one is about a Aussie who does an extended juice fast to treat a chronic condition and improve his overall health. He also recruits some juicers along the way. There a couple of amazing transformations. Not sure I could juice fast that long, but it does show what better eating can do.


Posts
Butterscotch-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies from Diet, Desserts and Dogs


Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies from Healthy Pursuit


Why It's so Important to Keep Moving from Well: More evidence that it's not all about spending hours in a gym. The key is to move often and build from there over time.


Have a great green day!

Saturday Morning Post



Carmel's Coxhall Garden Bell Towers
 from the top of Jill's Hill at West Park.
We spent some time at the park while we waited
for families to get in a bidding war over our house.
I know, but I can dream.

Okay, let's just agree that it's Saturday morning somewhere.

For those who don't know, our house is on the market. The good news for today is that we had five showings between 10AM and 4PM. The bad news is we had FIVE showings between 10 and 4. I have to say that the Sink Reflections book I read last week has really help with keeping the house nice. We haven't had any chaotic mornings trying to clean everything in few hours before someone comes to see our house. That said, it's still a pain. I have fingers and toes crossed we get a good offer by Sunday night.

Enough about me, let's look at what I've liked this week. :-)

Posts

How 1-Minute Intervals Can Improve Your Health: Well Blog from NYT. Further evidence that it really is about the intensity of the workout rather than the length.

Yes, There's Arsenic in Your Rice: NPR's The Salt. I'll be crossing brown rice syrup off my list of sanctioned sweeteners as well now. This report also underscores the importance of diversifying our diet. Eating the same thing everyday can lead to overexposure of any number of contaminants in our modern food supply.

Bulletproof Coffee: The Food Lover's Primal Palate. I'm ordering this stuff today. I mean butter in coffee? That gives me hope that my dream recipe trifecta of bacon, cheese and chocolate could actually be attainable.

Books

The House I Loved by Tatiana de Rosnay. I preordered this a couple of weeks ago on my Nook. Now I'm wondering if it was a subconscious plea to stay in my house.

The Primal Blueprint 21-Day Total Body Transformation by Mark Sisson. I ordered this off Amazon last week for my man. He's been wanting to try the Primal diet, but doesn't have the time to pour through the first book. This presentation of the diet is a bit more direct and user friendly.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

-Melie

Saturday Morning Post - 2/11/2012

I've made it halfway through my husband's business trip to Asia. He's due back on the 18th. The first week is always a blur, but as the days drag on, I miss him more and more. I have so much respect for the military spouses who have to do this for months and years on end with the worry they might not come home at all. I am simply in awe of them.

Okay, enough ramblings from the pathetic one. Let's look at what was interesting this week.

Posts

Wellness Weekend at Diet, Desserts and Dogs: In case you missed it, the Almond Coconut Protein Fudge I made and blogged about a couple of weeks ago was part of Wellness Weekend this week. I'm so excited! Be sure to head over for a slew of other healthy recipe ideas.

The Problem with Serving Sizes from the Well blog at NYT: This is an old article from back in August, but if you missed it, give it a read. We all know the serving sizes on package goods are a joke, but it's still startling to examine.

Muffin Tin Crayons from Our Best Bites: These are so cute! I'm hoping I have time to make some of these this weekend.

Books

Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley: I mentioned I would be picking this one up on my Nook last week. I did and it is really worth a read. It's a bit hokey and repetitive, but it has some really sound advice on keeping your life organized. I've already started noticing a difference in the house and my stress level after implementing just a few of her tools.

Paleo Pals: Jimmy and the Carrot Rocket Ship by Sarah Fragoso: I'll be ordering this for my youngest who just went GF a couple of weeks ago. I'll be blogging about the experience and how we're doing it fairly soon. She's already watching her food on her own because she feels so rotten when she has gluten. This book looks like a colorful and fun way to get her even more excited about making better food choices.

That's it for this week. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

-Melie

*For whatever reason, Blogger didn't post this as scheduled yesterday. Sorry!

Saturday Morning Post

Well, it's morning somewhere, right?

I don't want to be a hit-or-miss blogger, so I'm doing my best to post at least a little something each day. Saturday and Sunday are definitely going to be on the lighter side, but, hopefully, still give you something to think about. To that end, here are the posts, reports and books I'm into this week.

Posts

Paleo Friendly Super Bowl Treats from Wellness Meats: I've not ordered anything from this purveyor of grassfed, organic meats, but they are touted all over the primal universe. After reviewing this post, I'm a bit more tempted to try them.

Almost Instant Cherry Frozen Yogurt: Carol Kicinski always has some amazing recipes. More often than not, they don't jive with the food choices I'm making beyond gluten-free. She's not into primal or sugar-free on a regular basis. However, I keep her in my rotation of favorite blogs because when she does fit my bill, it's usually with something outstanding. This frozen yogurt looks right up my alley. I can't have it now on the ACD, but it will top of my list to try this summer.

Meal Planning from Simply Sugar and Gluten Free: If I am managing to get you to take even the smallest second look at your pantry and what you have in it, this is post to check out. Amy has done an outstanding job of compiling a doable plan to makeover your kitchen staples. Trust me, this post will save you tons of aggravation and some money.

Texas Caviar from Simply Recipes: My buddy Bill forwarded this as a fantastic idea for a healthy Super Bowl snack. Note that this recipe proves you don't have to stick with just the 'Granola' sites to find good healthy recipes. I plan to make this and serve in lettuce wraps. Yum!

Reports

Should Sugar Be Regulated? from Time Magazine: Add sugar to the taboo topic list with religion and politics.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup May Be Worse Than Sugar from the Huffington Post: If your only take away from blog is committing to excluding HFCS, I'll feel pretty good about all the time I've invested. I'd like you to commit to more, but HFCS is so diabolically bad and unnatural, it should never cross your lips.

Books

Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley: I just ordered this on my Nook and plan to read over the next week. If I'm going to keep this blog up, I'm going to have to get better organized.

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins: Oh, yeah, I'm going there. I totally own that I love me some teen fiction and this may be the only series that can give Harry Potter a run for first place in my mind. I'm reading the series for the second time in anticipation of the movie next month. Do yourself a favor and check out Winter's Bone on Netflix Instant. It's practically Jennifer Lawrence's full length feature audition for The Hunger Games. I cannot wait to see this chick nail this role.

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer: I read this over the summer and highly recommend it to anyone. If you have any doubts about the impact medications or food can have on our lives, read this book. It isn't even about food, but it will make you reconsider how sound the decisions you make are if your body is working optimally.

One Week Check In

I've been doing the Arbonne 30 Day Fit Kit plan for one week. Following is where I stand. Drum roll, please:

• 3 pounds lost
• Dropped 2.2% points body fat measurement (I use my scales reading which isn't accurate, but I use it as indicator that I'm at least moving in the right direction)
• Energy way up
• Tongue still has some film but half what it was last week.
• Skin is clearing.

All in all, I'm digging this kit.

Have a SUPER weekend and take care-

Melie