Backpacking!!!

This is info from my 2nd backpacking trip--I've now been on 4. This trip was to Cedar Glen Trail Camp via Icehouse Canyon Trail.

You know what I think about when I am backpacking or hiking?  Just that -- backpacking or hiking -- and I love that!

I watch the birds and think about mountain lions, and snakes and bears.  I look for game trails and observe scat (a couple weeks ago I would have said animal poop).  I even notice the scars on trees, and I know what it looks like when a bear makes those scars.  I look at foliage and wonder if it is friend or foe.

I listen to, and observe, the other backpackers, even if they are newbies like me, because it teaches me.

I was utterly surprised at my excitement level when I committed to the trip.  I can't remember being that excited about anything in a very long time. I was even brave enough to hitch a ride with two other attendees.

I was excited to try out my vintage Kelty backpack that some kind soul, from freecycle, passed on to me.  It was a little top heavy on the way up making me a little off balance (especially near the top) and it bonked me in the head a few times.  But I packed it better on the way down--no knocking me over and no bonking me in the head.

More than 3/4 of the way up the trail I began to wonder if this really was for me.  Not because I was miserable, but because I felt bad lagging so far behind the group.  The trip leader backtracked from time to time to check on me, and reassured me that my pace wasn't a problem.   I did get my first blister (from hiking/backpacking.  It happened maybe half way up the trail and I kept going because tending to it would have made me even farther behind, but it was getting worse so I stopped to fix it up and was bummed I hadn't stopped as soon as I felt it.

I drank half of my water going up and stopped at a creek that crossed the trail to fill up.  This was my first time getting water from a creek to drink.  It was ice cold.  Now I had to decide whether to boil it or to use my pills.  Some of the group drank it straight from the creek and others treated theirs.  I would treat mine this time just to be safe.  Next time, I might try it without treating it. Boiling it meant no aftertaste, but if I were on a longer hike, fuel should be for cooking and I should find start.  experiment so I can see what works for me.  have to have an aftertaste

I felt like a slacker when I opted out of the day hike so I could nap--was 2.2. miles really all I could do? But when 2 others came back to camp shortly after embarking on the day hike I didn't feel as bad.

I discovered a saying , "hike your own hike," (HYOK), and it was one of those moments when you just "get it". I may be slower, but that is okay. I have to find my own groove.

I can't wait for the next trip!

365 Days Project....Again

I believe that I have discovered a project that I can live with, and hopefully follow through.

Since I have been seriously contemplating the idea of full time RVing, I have thought about what I would take in my RV, what I would store (yes, I would have a {small} storage unit somewhere), and what I would give away, sell or toss.

That is when I came up with the idea of getting rid of something everyday.  Certainly there are 365 things in my house that I can get rid of.  It isn't very artistic and I had the idea that when I was on vacation it would be hard to get rid of things, so I thought on those days I would have to make art of something that you would normally get rid of -- a paper napkin for instance.

Then my daughter came up with a more artistic twist of this 365 Day project, saying that I should have to do something artistic with it before I got rid of it.

I haven't set any rules for this, yet.  I know that getting rid of a single pen would be cheating in my mind, and not everyday will be the 'cleaning out the closet' kind of day.

Since I don't like to throw away usable objects, I will put some up on my local freecycle site or drop at Goodwill or Salvation Army once a week.  I'll keep a bag in the garage and whatever I am getting rid of has to leave the house--that is a rule, I guess.

I will start today on my 365 Days of Discarding, and I already have a target--the old makeup in my bathroom under my sink!  I'm already thinking about artistic ways to use it!  I'll post a pic tomorrow.

Why Women Stayed Home Back in the Day

I cooked a great Eggplant Parmesan the other night with homemade tomato sauce.  Yes, homemade with 4 lbs of tomatoes!  I was so busy cooking that I didn't think about taking pictures. Then I was going to take a pic of the leftovers, but we shared with my neighbor and I totally forgot again and now it is all gone. Must have been pretty good--a whole 10x15 pan gone.  I like when grown ups enjoy my meals, but there is nothing better than watching a little one (17 months) really enjoy the food you are feeding them.

This fresh, healthy eating thing is time consuming.  The prep was fairly easy--not as easy as opening up a can.  Cutting and seeding the tomatoes took the longest and peeling the skin was easy; but the clean up!  Geez, I felt like I was in the kitchen all night cleaning!

No wonder women stayed home back in the day--fresh cooking is time consuming work.  I think we've been "sold a bill of goods".  This working and doing the cooking and the housework is a bad deal.  I enjoyed the process of making the meal, and next time the clean up will be easier.  In fact, the whole process will be easier next time. We do have some advantages that women long ago didn't have--like blenders and food processors.

Next time I am not seeding the tomatoes and I will puree them in a blender as well.  I need to find a way to reduce the amount of time fresh cooking takes and the clean up too.  I will also use more cutting boards.  I used way too many bowls for peeling and seeding the tomatoes.  Cutting boards are easier and faster to clean and dry.

I really enjoyed making the sauce, but I think to make it more of a habit than buying the sauce from the store, I will need to make larger batches when the prices of tomatoes are good and learn how to can.  I'll talk about canning soon.

Here is how to make homemade tomato sauce: Click here for a printable copy.

1 medium pot or stock pot
4 lbs of Tomatoes (I got the tomatoes that were on sale)
Boiling Water
Bowl of ice water (I hear you can use plain old cold water too)
4 T olive oil (or any other oil you prefer)
1 onion
2 carrots
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks of celery

Slice an X in bottom of the tomatoes (practically makes the tomatoes peel themselves).  Put tomatoes in water for 30 seconds to a minute (I split it in three portions).  Take the tomatoes out of the boiling water and put them into the ice bath.  Peel the skins from the tomatoes.

If you want to remove the seeds (I hear they can be bitter--but I am trying it without seeding next time) slice the tomatoes in half for oblong tomatoes and in quarters for round tomatoes.  Then pull out the seeds over a strainer and bowl to capture extra juice (I got between a half cup and 3/4 doing it that way). I also used a cutting board that had grooves around the edges to capture juices.

Heat the oil.

Puree the onion, celery, carrots and garlic (you can use half the seasonings that I did) and put them into the oil to saute for about 10 minutes. (You can also add other spices as you would a finished sauce, but I did it at the end. Next time I will use the sauce in my chili and will add some Jalapeno, Serrano and Habanero (1) peppers with the puree.)

Then add the pureed or sliced tomatoes and the salt.  (You can mash them with a masher in the pot too for a chunkier sauce.)

Cook for 45 minutes (could be as little as 30, but I cooked mine for an hour) over medium low heat.

Eat away!

Juice Fast Completed

I finished my juice fast and didn't cheat once!  I was even in Laughlin, NV and still stayed on the fast--I had two days left.  I broke my fast in Laughlin with a banana...and then Mickey D's.  It was the cheapest and I was on a budget.  I know that wasn't ideal, but I continued to juice and eat fruits and veggies.  Even made a tomato, kale and avocado croissant.  Yum!

Juicing isn't really this messy--it's a double exposure photo.

Back home, still working on juicing for morning and afternoon and veggies for dinner.  Made bean chili, my daughter made an incredible vegetable soup, and we have been doing stir fry.  I never thought an entire plate of veggies would be so delicious, but it is. The fast was successful in helping me change the way I eat. The fridge still looks like a farmers market and my portion sizes have gotten smaller.

I still haven't had Diet Coke...or any type of soda!  I wanted something other than water to drink yesterday so I made lemonade.  It was refreshing, but of course it is loaded with sugar, so I'll keep that to a minimum.

I don't have the stats for my weight when I finished the fast, but on Day 8 I had lost 8 lbs.  I am now 163.5.  Not bad--especially considering that I ate junk food and drank alcohol (including a delicious fresh pineapple/orange juice with Malibu rum yum!) for a couple days on my trip.

Here are the before and after (a week after completing the fast) stats:

In/Lb Lost 4/5/2012      4/23/2012 Weight:   9 172.5 163.5 Chest:  2.5 45.5 43 Waist:   3 43 40 Hips:   2 45 43 Arms:   1.75 12 10.25 Thigh:   2 21 19 Calf  0.25 15 14.75 Total Inches Lost 11.5

Observations on Day 5 of the Juice Fast

I've made it half way through the 10 days!

It is quite interesting to observe the cravings and also the lack of cravings.  For instance, I haven't craved Diet Coke.  I might have thought about it once or twice the first day, but until Marisa mentioned it on day 4, i hadn't even thought about it.

I did however have a craving for Egg Noodle Dinner.  I loved that dish!  I haven't seen it in stores in a very long time.  I can't even remember the last time I had it, but my senses could almost taste it the other day.  That and 7-11 nachos.  I've thought about those more than once.

I have had a craving for grilled zucchini--go figure--and I can't wait to use portabello mushrooms as a meat.

Seems that everyday Marisa and I will talk about some sort of food and that gets us going.  We don't go on for too long though.  We do talk about what we will want when we break our fast.  I want a big salad with croutons and ranch dressing, (restaurant ranch dressing--I haven't found any ranch dressing on the shelves that is as good as restaurant ranch) at least that is what I want today.

Still not sure if I will be continuing the fast after 10 days.  At the very least, I do know that I will continue with juicing 2 meals a day and eating one at least until I reach my goal weight.  My long term goal is to continue to have green juice on a regular basis just to get the nutrients I need from vegetables without having to eat ginormous portions.

I am looking forward to making pulp crackers, fruit leathers, and adding the pulp to meatballs and hamburgers.  Heck, I might even try to make my own veggie burgers. Don't get me wrong, I love meat, but I want to have more veggies in my meals than meats because of the health benefits.

Juice Fast Day Four

This just might get boring talking only about the juice cleanse because it is going very well. No weight loss yesterday, but I am an inch down in my chest, waist and hips.  Again, I need to remind myself that I am doing this for detoxing my body and the weight loss is just a benefit.  I know I shouldn't be using the scale as a gauge, but I think it is only natural to want to do this.  My skin does feel a little softer.

Easter Juice - Carrots, Oranges, Pineapple, Strawberries, Ginger

Day four was Easter.  It was a little tough driving by restaurants (especially Lawry's) and seeing families out dining together.  By the end of the day we were both a little grumpy.

It seemed like Marisa was about ready to give up yesterday, but she found a juice that satisfied her craving, and all was right with the world.  She is calling it Caprese Juice. Tomatoes, basil and garlic.  She added a splash of balsamic vinegar to hers, and I added a half a zucchini to mine.  

We decided to use fresh veggies and not just pulp for some of our broths.  I made one to get a similar flavor to three flavors sizzling rice soup (without the meat juices of course) and it is delicious!  Marisa made one using the pulp from the dinner juice and it tasted like meatball soup, also delicious.  Really felt satisfied.

By the end of the day I still had about 6 oz of my green juice left (started with 28) and after my small dinner juice (about 6 oz) I was pretty much full, so I waited till bedtime to have my broth.

Here are the vegetables I used for the broth (guesstimating on the amount of veggies:


Three Flavors Sizzling Rice Soup Broth
1.5 C Mushrooms
1 C Snow Peas
1/4 small yellow onion
2 cloves garlic
2 t crazy salt (sea salt is fine)
2 t pepper
2 t sesame seed oil

Saute vegetables in oil then add 8 cups of water and spices.  Bring to boil and then simmer for 2.5 hours.  Perfection!

Juice Fast Day Three

Down 3.5 lbs!!  Woo Hoo!

Day three wasn't bad.  Seems that day 2 was the worst for me. If the first three days are the worst, then I'm cruising now.  I did have a mild headache off and off throughout the day.  I splurged on a Orange Mango juice from Jamba Juice. Not something I want to make a habit, but we were passing pizza shops (which smelled delicious) and other restaurants in Belmont Shores and I needed a pick me up (mentally and physically).

This isn't me--this body.  I struggled yesterday with my self image.  This is NEVER how I pictured myself.  I've battled with weight since my teens, but at this weight I feel so awful about myself.  My weight and my teeth.

Appearance.  Sure, people say it is the inside that counts, but when the outside is just so out of whack with the inside, the outside begins to overwhelm the inside.

Inside I am a confident, witty, outgoing (although a bit shy at first), and still a size 6.  Most days I think that girl is present, but days like yesterday, there is a voice or a force--the evil part of the mind--that reminds me what people are seeing is something very different.

This time around (weight wise) I have an added distraction--my teeth.  They are spreading apart and I am missing one in the front now.  Back when I had dental insurance my teeth needed serious work.  I didn't want 20 root canals and caps in my mouth and I couldn't find a dentist willing to give me dentures.  Now, that my teeth are in bad enough shape that dentists are willing to give me dentures (albeit reluctant), I can't afford the dental work.

So even when I forget that I am larger when I smile at people in public that evil reminder voice says, "hey, you are missing a tooth--don't smile," and then the contortions to hide the missing tooth begin.

Anyway, yesterday was a bad day for me in terms of how I felt emotionally about myself.  Perhaps it was the reality of the before pictures that I took on day one.  I will post them eventually, but not until I lose a little weight and can show some progress.  I never really understood people not posting before pictures, but I guess I can now.  A photo is very different than passing by a mirror.  Also, the clothes I chose to wear for the photo are very different than the clothes I would wear in public. Not that the clothes I wear in public hide the fact that I am larger, but they don't accentuate all the bumps and bulges.

Onto day four and feeling better about myself.