Mid-August Update

Hey there readers (if there are any of you left out there) - I realize I've been absent for a bit and while there are plenty of reasons why, I figured I'd just give you a quick update. (Especially since I really don't feel like working today.)

I think I posted earlier about how I was planning to see a nutrition therapist. I chose to see her mostly because I have a pretty unhealthy digestive system, which I thought was getting a bit better, but now has seemingly taken a turn for the worse. I have really enjoyed my time getting to know more about how my body uses food, and it's starting to look more and more like a Detox is in my not to distant future. If I go that direction, you're sure to read about it here.

The first few weeks of being car-free have been wonderful. I've enjoyed getting to know the bus system, have asked for very few rides, and am more motivated then ever to get a bike. I have a car on loan for the weekend and I may take advantage of that to hit some bike shops and see what's out there. I really want a cute townie bike - one with the fat tires - that I can have baskets put on the back for grocery runs. Once I have that I hope I will feel more mobile.

Burt came to visit the first weekend in August (as evidenced in the above photo above of us in Ft. Collins) and we celebrated Burtapalooza by seeing three concerts in three days. I had more fun than I imagined I could have in one weekend and I am more motivated than ever to get Burt to move out to Denver. Obviously he would love it because Sheralee and I are here, but I think there are many compelling reasons why it's time for a cross country move. :) (are you reading Burt?)

And in a final, more somber note, the brother of a dear friend passed very suddenly earlier this week. She's flown to be with her family, but thoughts of her (and the family) are with me constantly this week, making it hard for me to work today. So unfortunately I'm allowing myself to be distracted. Eh.

I hope you all are enjoying summer :) mg

I Heart the Internet

A friend of mine introduced me to a website today. A website that could quite possibly be written about me. It's call Stuff White People Like. Lest you think I'm racist or something, it's spot on social satire and based on what I read I'm surprised the authors haven't written to ask me to be on the cover of their book or their website. I have been entirely unmotivated this morning and browsed through a lot of this site. There's plenty of content there though, I'm sure I will find many more tidbits :)


For those of you keeping track, my car (or more correctly, The-car-formerly-known-as-Maria's) has made it safely to Michigan. The hand-off on Saturday morning was seamless. I can not say enough about how helpful the customer service people at RTD are. I called there, explained my situation and without looking anything up, the guy on the other end of the line gave me great advice without even hesitating. Not only that, after telling me where to go along I70, he went on to list all sorts of things about Western Michigan, I was almost sad he was a customre service person and we had to hang up! Everything he said proved to be true, the Walmart was right off the highway and two busses pulled up while I was explaining the quirks my car has. I hopped right onto one of them and had no problem getting home. My first car-free weekend was fun. I didn't miss the car at all, and got a couple decent walks in. Next up is my mission to find a good bike and a granny cart.

So Long, Farewell

Today is the last day with my car. I plan to take it to a nice candlelit dinner to let it know how much I appreciate it and how much I'm going to miss it. Well - actually I'm going to wash it and give it a full tank of gas, something makes me thing it'll appreciate that just as much.

I am ready to pass this car along to it's next driver. I've been feeling off much of this week and the only thing I can track it back to is that I think I'm not as ready to be carless as I thought. I'm realizing that deep down, in some core place, I'm anxious that not having a typical form of transportation is going to leave me more isolated than I already am. I realize in my head, that I'm only as isolated as I allow myself to be. That how connected I am or feel has nothing to do with transportation and everything to do with a load of other things. As usual, it's taking the rest of me much longer to accept and live out what I believe in my head to be true.

My Latest Claim to Fame

I've been quoted in the newspaper once or twice. The first time was in Calvin's newspaper - the Chimes, then I was quoted in the Holland Sentinel, then my blog was quoted in the Wall Street Journal Online Edition and now (drumroll please) I've been quoted in the Rocky Mountain News. Yesterday Alison and I went down to Civic Center Park for the Wednesday Farmers Market. I like going down there because I can get lunch and pick up some of the fruits and veggies I need for the week. Last week Meghan and I went, this week I went with Alison. While we were eating our lunch sitting on some benches and enjoying some cloud cover (yup - enjoying cloud cover) a reporter came and asked us about why we were there, what we thought of the park etc. Turns out I'm one of a few people who actually buys produce there - even though yesterday one farmer was selling half a bag for only $5! I got fresh green beans, summer squash zucchini, cucumber, sweet corn and a green pepper all for $5. Total steal! In any case our sentiments of enjoying the market but not feeling safe in the park was communicated even though he chose not to use Alison's great quote about "wanderers". On a separate note the savory crepes he mentioned are absolutely worth the $8 - so tasty.

T Minus 9 Days

I am 9 days away from being blissfully car free. As I've metioned here and here I've been trying to sell my car. I've had signs in the window, posted it on craigslist and talked to person after person who flaked out. After 6 months of trying to sell the car, my Dad has decided to take it off my hands, presumably for my little sister to drive. My job in the next 9 days is to make sure it'll make it across the country and then to meet friends of my parents at an exit off I-70 for the exchange!

Fridge in Heaven

Or perhaps I should call this post Highway to Hell - you decide. In any case, even though this is not a shot of my fridge, I did have one of these beautiful mini-kegs in my fridge until last night. I still have one left, and hopefully I'll be able to grab another mini-keg or two when I'm in Michigan in a couple months. (Crossing my fingers that they're still brewing it over Labor Day.)

I can not say enough that Bell's Oberon Ale is the perfect summer beer. It's refreshing and delicious and last night I, along with a few great friends, savored and enjoyed it sitting on a backyard patio, relaxing, talking, and eating. It was a perfect summer evening.

Even Though Dad Doesn't Belive in Organic Food

Well ladies and gentlemen I just signed me up for some new therapy - nutrition therapy - and let me tell you, I am excited!

In the last few months I've learned through experience that I really don't need to eat as much as I have been eating. I pulled the cabbage soup diet a couple of times, and also had a couple big allergy attacks that killed my appetite. After the last allergy attack, my appetite has never fully returned and I realized I was eating way more than I actually need and have since dropped to my lowest weight since probably college. Paired with that, I began to notice a direct correllation between eating less processed, more local food and feeling so so much better. My digestive issues are much more subdued and I can eat a piece of pizza or a small (small) ice cream cone with not much problem. I was starting to wonder whether I just had a situation where process toxins were building up in my system and making me feel lousy.

As I was making this effort to eat more local food (and a lot less meat) a nutritionist gave a talk at a meeting at work. (Those blasted meetings are a topic for another blog post.) She talked about body typing, and I don't mean that I'm pear shaped. It's more of looking at how your body deals with food and has something to do with how your glands work. From there you can make better choices about how much protien, sugar etc. to have in your diet, and when in the course of the day your body is better ready to deal with food. I'm way oversimplifying here, but this is what I remember from her presentation.

In any case, I was sold, and I'm going to start meeting with her in a couple of weeks. I hope to learn more ways to eat to make my body happy and feel better. Plus - I hope this helps me shed these last few hanging on pounds!