4/30: An easy way to make money?

Hi Friends:

I hope your week is going well.

So, I can't find the original article, but recently I read a really interesting idea. Often, we have jars we set aside that we have to pay if we violate a rule: you know, put a dollar in the jar every time you smoke a cigarette, or put a quarter in a jar every time you use curse words. Sound familiar? You do this payment in an effort to break yourself of a bad habit.

Here's the interesting idea: putting money in the jar--rewarding yourself--every time you say something nice about yourself.  I don't mean to go around bragging about yourself--but often, we are our own harshest critics. If you, say, forget your keys, instead of saying to yourself, "You are so absent minded. Get it together!" you can say, "Luckily, you are a creative thinker and can figure out how you're going to solve this one." Or, instead of saying, "You'll never get this right!" you can say, "It's all right; try again." Or, instead of saying, "You look bad/fat/tired/old/weird" when you look in the mirror, you can say, "You are beautiful, inside and out." I admit, some days it might be a lot of effort to do this tactic. ; )

And at the end of the month, you treat yourself to something really indulgent with the money in the jar. Hopefully you'll be able to buy yourself a massage and not a McDonald's ice cream cone.

  

Have a great week,

Meredith

4/16: For the RUN of it

Hi Friends:

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great weekend!

Today is the Boston Marathon, and it is also the 40th anniversary of women being allowed to participate in the race. Here is an interesting article from the Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/13/women-boston-marathon_n_1424775.html?ref=marlo-thomas#s868169&title=Roberta_Bobbi_Gibb

There have been varying forms of discrimination over the decades over letting people of varying genders, races, physical or mental challenges, gender orientations, and ages participate in sports, or even be physically active, period.

Now, I'm not much of a runner, but when I see the picture of the woman who looks like some guy is going to tackle her, just to get her out of the race, I feel like I should at least jog around the block once or twice, just because I can.

The women who participated in the Boston Marathon before it was allowed weren't trying to set a world record, or get a shoe contract, or even beat other runners. I'm going to guess they weren't even trying to make a political statement (because who's going to train for months and run for hours just to make a political statement?--Certainly not me). I think they ran because they loved to run--and no one was going to stop them from it.

I would encourage you to do the thing you love, fully and without regard to people who tell you it's impossible or that you can't. If you believe you can--you CAN!

Have a great week,
meredith

4/9: Egginess

Happy Easter Monday, everyone!

 

I hope you had a nice long weekend, full of family fun.

 

I have about seven zillion things to do today, so this letter will be quick. I just wanted to give you a couple of sites with ideas for how to prep leftover hard boiled eggs:

 

http://www.eatingoutloud.com/2009/04/10-unique-uses-for-hard-boiled-eggs.html

 

http://www.kitchendaily.com/easter/easter-egg-recipes/

 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/popular-ingredients/hard-boiled-egg-recipes-00000000055889/index.html

 

Even if you don't have leftover egg hunting eggs, hardboiled eggs are a great snack: they are portable, filling, have tons of protein--and I find them super yummy. The stinky smell is sulphur, and you can see it as the grey coating around the yolk. Technically, this means you've overcooked your hardboiled eggs. Here's a quick primer on how to make perfect, unstinky hardboiled eggs:

 

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/eggsdairy/r/Hard-Boiled-Eggs.htm

 

Hope you have an eggs-cellent week! Don't forget to bring your resistance band on Thursday!

 

-Meredith

4/2: About your time in the bathroom

Hi Friends:

Spring is finally here! Warmer weather, longer days--and all the delicious produce that is available in the spring. Locally, we can easily spot the spring/summer transition with the lychee and mango trees. I went to college in Washington, and one of the first signs of spring was all the fresh asparagus available.

However, for most people, asparagus is not associated with spring time, but with stinky pee. Yup, I said it. Pee. I always took it as a sign that my digestive system was working properly if I experienced an "asparagus pee" after eating the delicious veggie, and it turns out I'm not the only one who keeps track of those things.

Your body sends you messages, and your bathroom output is one of those messages. I had looked up a bunch of websites, but then found this really great infographic:

http://dailyinfographic.com/what-your-poop-pee-are-telling-you-about-your-body-infographic

If you are at all interested in that sort of thing. If you are not interested, I will summarize by saying this: drink a lot of water, and report any persistent abnormalities in function (you'll have to read the infographic for specifics) to your doctor.

Hope you have a great (and very regular) week!

-meredith