Done! #37

Last year I did a cleanse during which I eliminated a bunch of things from my diet for a couple of weeks but still ate solid food. It was a pretty painful experience. I mean, literally painful. My body felt wrecked for a few days. Most of the meals were meh. I was following a prescribed meal plan concocted by some quack I'm sure. Just kidding. It was a cleanse published in Whole Living magazine. Look it up, I don't feel like it.

Because I am a glutton for pain, I decided to do a juice cleanse this year. That's not true. I did it because I was feeling like a total mess. I was having a hard time buttoning my pants. My kid told me my gut looked like a walrus. That, my friends, is the honest truth. I felt gross and undisciplined. I'm totally undisciplined; the gross part depends on your feelings about walruses. I know those aren't good reasons to do a cleanse, but that's what pushed me. I also like to fancy myself someone who can do without. Who doesn't easily given in when there's discomfort involved. Even though I'm a lazy ass, I do like a challenge.

In general, I have never been the type of person who cares much about body / weight / appearance issues. I eat what I want. I don't exercise. And I'm happy. Until I wasn't. I felt like I had to do something to reign it in before I got to a point that would make it even more difficult to do so. Especially considering that I'm no spring chicken and that I have a family history of high blood pressure and diabetes. I don't want to equate food addictions with other types of addictions, but I can see how hard it is for people to give up something that provides comfort, that is central to your day and to your mood. Man, I love food. LOVE IT! I think about it often. Mid-day, I'm already thinking about dinner. I am not at all lady-like about my eating portions or habits. I'll eat to the point of being disgustingly full. I chalk it up to (a) being able to eat anything I want now as an adult when I couldn't do so as a child; and (b) plain old gluttony. I sound like a really terrible person right? Watch you plate, dude.

I decided it would be a good time to do the cleanse once I was done with work for the semester. I would have entire days to myself to wallow in my misery. The process of selecting a cleanse was pretty easy. I decided to do the Life Juice cleanse because the company was founded by a friend from college whose judgement I trust. I'm not familiar with what the process is like with other cleanses, but Life Juice recommends a pre-cleanse diet to be started a few days before the actual juice cleanse. So three days prior to starting the juices I eliminated all the joys in life from my diet cold turkey. Here they are in order of most difficult to easiest to give up:

1. caffeine

2. sugar

3. meat

4. wheat / gluten

5. dairy

6. eggs, peanut / peanut butter 

7. alcohol

8. processed foods

9. condiments / processed cooking oils

The last three weren't difficult at all since those aren't really part of my regular diet anyway. For three days my diet consisted of:

Breakfast: gluten-free oatmeal with fruit and chamomile tea for breakfast. Twice I made smoothies with coconut milk. The last time I had oatmeal three or more days in a row was the summer after first grade when I went to visit my abuela in Mexico. She didn't suffer fools, or anyone really, so it was oatmeal or hunger. Perhaps this is where my lack of appreciation for oatmeal stems from.

Lunch: a fruit / vegetable juice and a vegan / gluten-free / fun-free soup from our neighborhood health food store. I had three different juices and two different soups in the course of three days, and they were all delicious.

Monday's lunch: beet, celery, carrots, apples and lemon juice; Moroccan tomato soup (I think this had tomato paste in it which I'm pretty sure has sugar).

Dinner: Monday was quinoa and brussel sprouts. I like quinoa well enough. I like brussel sprouts. But alone, together, they are not a match made in heaven. The next night I had pasta (pretty sure it wasn't gluten free) with tomatoes, chard and shitake mushrooms. Night three was dinner at the a vegan place in our 'hood. Most of their dishes include deep-fried TVP, tempeh or tofu. That's my kind of vegan, yo! I did not partake in the deep-fried goodness, but I forgot to ask for a gluten-free alternative so I'm pretty sure my noodles probably were glutenous. 

Snacks: fresh fruit, raw almonds, dried figs, frozen pineapple, hummus and carrots.

By the third day of the pre-cleanse I had the bad headache that comes from lack of coffee and sugar. I felt lethargic, like I was in a fog. I was dreading the three days of nothing but juice. I couldn't imagine not being hungry and miserable, but the juices arrived nice and cold via Fed Ex on Tuesday and were taking up a good amount of space in the fridge so it was go time.

Army of juices, lined up in their drinking order 'cause I'm like that.

Each day started with a water, lemon and Himalayan sea salt drink (solé). I drank it cold though I think there was a recommendation to warm it up if desired. (kid Emiliano does not like this drink.) The kid just hijacked my post and wrote his review in parentheses. He tried all the drinks and ranked the evening Spiced Almond Drink as his favorite. Water, salt and lemon are intended to be tasty, but I like lemony water and it was pretty refreshing. Like a lemonade without the sugar. There is a total of six drinks for each day of the cleanse, and on the first day I tried to space my drinks out fairly evenly between 7a.m. and 7p.m., but that wasn't the best approach because I found myself sipping for long periods of time and not chugging as I anticipated. 

The four raw cold pressed fruit / vegetable juices are great. Positive Balance is sweetened with apple, but not overly sweet and a nice follow up to the solé. Oh My Greens has a rich, sweet and earthy flavor (there are two of these each day). Bodacious Bunny is by far the sweetest as it's heavy on the carrot and apple. I did find that by the second Oh My Greens (the second to last drink of the day), after three other sweet juices, I felt sweetened out. Of course, just as with my plates of food I was approaching it as must drink all of these when I should've just been drinking what I needed. I didn't finish the second Oh My Greens. Got a nice massage the first day of the cleanse and came home to the Spiced Almond Drink before bed. I heated it up, and I have to agree with the kid. Yummy! It's spiced with raw honey, clove, cinnamon and nutmeg. I added about half teaspoon of honey to this when it was warming.

I felt some hunger on the first day, but the juices really were filling. Each bottle contains 16oz., and with the exception of the second Oh My Greens of the day, I drank all of them. I felt lethargic the first couple of day of the cleanse. I found that I'd start to get really sleepy in the early afternoon. I also felt a sensitivity to light but that could have had other causes. I drank water with and in between juices as well as non-caffeinated tea (chamomile) once a day. By the third day I was feeling more energized and alert. I found that the juices were filling, and I wasn't craving food. I mean, yeah, I had my occasional fantasies of pirouetting steaks and cups of coffee, but thinking about food wasn't consuming me. It felt really satisfying to drink that last almond milk on the third day and know that I got through three days without solid food and without losing my cool.

Life Juice has pre-cleanse tips that come with the juices (and are on their website) and these, I think, were super helpful in getting through the juice cleanse. I doubt I would have gotten through the juice cleanse if I had not started the pre-cleanse diet three days prior. I would also highly recommend doing a cleanse when you have a fair amount of down time away from work, family, etc. I know different people react differently to cleanses but I was kind of out of it for a good part of the day and would not have been able to function to my usual sixty percent if I had to go to work. Ha ha. No, seriously.

I admit that I did not ease back into solid foods as recommended in the post-cleanse information for Life Juice. The morning after my cleanse ended I had half a cup of coffee and about a third of a pesto, goat cheese omelet. However, pre-cleanse me would've destroyed that whole omelet so there's that. Since the cleanse ended I feel like I am more aware of not over-eating, of not having three huge meals a day, of eating less sugar. I also feel like my appetite has decreased. I don't find myself feeling especially hungry or thinking about food throughout the day. I would definitely do this cleanse again in the future. The drinks are tasty and filling, and I like that it provides a lot of supportive information to help prepare you for the cleanse, get you through it and transition back after. 

Done! #21

Stack o' Sassy magazines

21. Make a list of my ten most influential books.

This was a meme going around FB a while back, and I wanted to do it, but I also wanted to take a little time to reflect on the books on the list. I wrote up the list for a zine I made recently and added a sentence or two about each item listed. I ended up with sixteen, and just added one title to the list today.

1. The Lone Range and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie.

2. One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry

3. Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks

4. Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la frontera by Norma Cantú

5. What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver

6. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories by Sandra Cisneros

7. Love and Rockets by Los Bros. Hernandez (comic book series)

8. The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

9. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

10. People Who Led to My Plays by Adrienne Kennedy

11. Pablo's Inferno by Rhode Montijo (five comic book series)

12. Nepantla: Essays from the Land in the Middle by Pat Mora

13. The Book of Questions by Pablo Neruda

14. Sassy (magazine)

15. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

16. Pocho by Jose Antonio Villarreal

17. Zines

If you want the full annotations holler at me, and I'll send you a copy of the zine. Or you can buy a copy from ye olde Etsy shoppe!

Done! #50. Go skiing!

Things that will help give an idea of what my state of mind was going into this:

1. I don't especially care for the outdoors. I don't dislike the outdoors, but given other choices it wouldn't be at the top of the list of places to hang out or things to do. Unless those other choices involved, say, eating a mouthful of cilantro.
2. This winter has been especially hard on me. Maybe it's the getting older thing. Maybe it's because it got so cold so early. I don't usually mind winter, but this year, I'm feeling strong feelings about it.
3. Sometime at the end of the summer or beginning of fall, we were hanging out with our friends N, C and V who live in Wisconsin. We decided to plan a skiing trip far in advance. We put it in our planners / calendars. I love N, C and V, and would probably follow those cats anywhere. Except into a field of cilantro, of course.

So while the idea of going skiing made me cranky, the thought of getting to hang out with N, C and V helped curb some of those feelings.

We drove to a place called Devil's Head and after about an hour of getting ourselves and our kids into gear we were ready to go. We rode the magic carpet up to the top of the bunny slope and after some instruction from N (whose parents are Swiss and who learned to ski at a Swiss skiing school!) and C there was nothing left to do but go down the hill before the snowboarders behind us freaked out and plowed us down already.

And, wait for it, it was FUN! E got the hang of it quickly and though we had to bribe him to go down a few more time after lunch he ended up having so much fun he went down over and over again past the agreed upon number of required times. Of course, he did try to cash in on the many extra runs. I went down the bunny slope more times than I anticipated. Yes, I fell a few times, but I spent less time laying on the snow that I thought I would.

Me + skis

N, V and E heading back up the magic carpet.

The drive home. A pretty winter sunset through the frosty car windows.

I think it's safe to say that I might be the first person on either side of my family to ski. I couldn't help thinking of that 80s commercial (I'm picturing Spike Lee in it, but it could be one of those Bo Knows commercials) where someone says the line, "We don't surf in Brooklyn." We don't ski in Miami. But there you go, I skied, I survived, and yes, I would do it again. Here's to trying new things now matter how scary they seem or how old you are. I mean, what's the worst that could happen….?

The List: 2014 Edition

Oaxaca, Summer 2013

Tallied up my successes for 2013. I completed thirty-six of the things on my list and attempted fourteen. Of those attempted, I either didn't finish at all or it's ongoing. The list is updated and officially wrapped up. So, a grand total of fifty out of one hundred. Fifty percent is a failing grade, right?

The thing that wasn't on the list but that was accomplished was getting through one full year without my sister. Three hundred sixty-five days. The first year of my life with no older sister. The hardest day by far was my birthday. It felt as fresh on that day as it did in early September of last year. When I think about this year and years to come being easier there's a part of me that doesn't want it to be.

I made a new list for 2014. Some items have carried over from the previous list. I've left some spots empty for filling in later and open to suggestion! What are you doing this year?

1. Go fruit picking.
2. Throw a party.
3. Make things and send them to friends.
4. Start a conversation with a stranger.
5. Renew my passport.
6. Firecakes Donuts!
7. See the seasons mural in the kindergarten classroom at E's school.
8. Take a class / learn something new.
9. Teach E to write in cursive.
10. Make a cootie catcher. Ahem, "fortuneteller."
11. Learn to identify midwestern leaves.
12. Develop an exercise routine and stick with it.
13. Try a new food.
14. Read a classic children's book with E. I'm thinking The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
15. Explore Miami with Gina.
16. Go on a haunted Chicago tour.
17. Read and watch East of Eden.
18. Try all the fare offered by the street vendor that sets up outside E's school.
19. Read the entire Love and Rockets (or as much as I can get my hands on).
20. Do some guerrilla art.
21. Make a list of my ten most influential / life-changing books.
22. Go to Portland.
23. Pie-baking with Karen!
24. Eat one of those Ninja Turtle ice cream pops. Mmmm, bubblegum eyes!
25. Make ceviche.
26. Play a game of Risk with B.
27. Wear glittery eyeliner.
28. Make one article of clothing.
29. See live music.
30. Listen to records more often.
31. See "It's a Wonderful Life" at the Music Box.
32. Try to grow a pumpkin…yet again.
33. Volunteer with E.
34. Make a flan.
36. Make a joint zine with la Jenna.
37. Juice cleanse!
38. Read the 50 best back to school articles. For real this time. One a week should work, right?
39. Watch the entire run of the new Degrassi.
40. Read one story from The Golden Book of 365 Stories every day. (In progress)
41. Send someone a pigeon post.
42. Table at the Chicago Zine Fest.
43.
44. Read A People's History of the United States.
45. Zine anthology!
46. Eat a Philly cheesesteak in Philly.
47. See Cy in Vegas.
48. Grow garlic.
49. Make an advent calendar.
50. Go skiing.
51. Give up sugar for a TBD amount of time.
52. Teach E to make coffee.
53. Read Pura Belpre winners.
54. Learn more about coffee (roasting, drinks, etc.)
55. Finish a draft of my book.
56. Submit writing for publication.
57. Send out holiday cards.
58. Record mom talking about her life.
59. Speak Spanish to E.
60. Complete at least one zine.
61. Catch up on photo ordering. Snore.
62. Bake bread again.
63. Switch up photos currently on display.
64. Start an art journal. Be better about taking my time and being more patient when drawing.
65. Take the Empire Builder west.
66. Write thank you notes.
67. Sit outside more (as much as I feel indifferent about the outdoors).
68. Read Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea books.
69. Make a lechon for noche buena.
70. Get a new winter coat.
71. Write or draw at some point each week.
72. Make birthday cascarones for someone! Maybe you?
73. Get rid of clutter (ongoing).
74. Watch the entire "Twin Peaks" series again.
75. Discover one new musician / band.
76. Read the Mexican "Vogue" special issue on Frida Kahlo en Español.
77. Go dancing. Somewhere! Anywhere!
78.
79. Read more fairy tales.
80. More letters and postcards out into the world. Who wants mail?
81. Light a candle on the feast day of la Caridad del Cobre. (September 8)
82. One work week: no headphones on the train.
83. Eat a burger at Kuma's Corner.
84. Do something with my TIAA-CREF account already.
85. Read a George Saunders book. All the cool kids are doing it.
86. Make tamales.
87. Stockings and / or handmade gifts for Christmas (except maybe E).
88. Watch two classic films. What do you recommend?
89. Go to the top of the Sears Tower.
90. Visit Vivi's treehouse!
91. Set up a lemonade stand with E.
92. Read books from the Mexican American Studies Department's (Tucson Unified School District) reading list.
93. Get a massage.
94. More love, compassion and gratitude toward others.
95. Light fireworks!
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.

Happy new year!

#85. Done?

Time to poach an egg, chickens. I'm not sure why I feel the need to attempt this seeing as how the idea of cooking an egg in water is kind of gross to me.

Julia Child says to use vinegar. I'm assuming white? I dunno. B brought how white balsamic vinegar. I also don't know if that's okay for poaching. I don't know much.

Oy vey.

You're supposed to drop the egg into a combination of simmering water and vinegar for four minutes. Four minutes later this is what I had.

Then you put the egg in cold water to rinse of the vinegar and stop the cooking.

It looks pretty, but the white wasn't as cooked as I think it should be. It was kind of a watery mess overall. I will leave egg poaching to the professionals. It requires the amount of patience I don't have. I prefer fried eggs anyway.

Done! #63

♡ 63. Go to Oaxaca. 

We went to Oaxaca!

Hecho en Oaxaca Street Art exhibit at the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca (MACO)

Papel picado. Our view from where we sat to have our daily ice cream from La Michoacana.

The work of Swoon in the Hecho en Oaxaca exhibit.

Bowl of atole and lunch at a little street stand. The ladies cooked the food on a wood burning stove while a telenovela played on their little television. 

This is Roberts the Sock Monkey at poolside. He was the privileged stuffed animal that got to accompany us on the trip.

Guelaguetzal procession before an afternoon rain.

Giant puppet!

The house across the street from where we stayed. This dog was quiet all day, but come nightfall it was non-stop barking.

Chocolate stand at the Benito Juarez mercado. Of course, this is where we got some of our chocolate. (Gloria is my mom's and sister's name).

Breakfast at the inn: fresh fruit and orange juice, coffee, Mexican pastries, yogurt and eggs any way you want them.

Monte Alban

E at Monte Alban

Guelaguetzal procession. Guelaguetzal is a celebration of the indigenous cultures of Oaxaca that takes place in July. Every afternoon we would come across a procession of dancers and musicians in their traditional costumes.

Attack of the giant Cantinflas!

Oaxacan food sampler. The little dish in the center contains dried chapulines (grasshoppers).

Cartas!

Collection of Frida Kahlo letters at the Museo de Filatelia de Oaxaca. There's one with her lipstick print!

More Guelaguetzal procession!

Just as they finished erecting, this strong winds and rain rolled in. This is a frame for fireworks, by the way. Bummer.

Last meal in Oaxaca. Mole negro. So good we ordered more after we at this!

Hecho en Oaxaca MACO exhibit sign.

Done and More Done

A friend reminded me yesterday that it's been a while since I updated this thing. Damn you, laziness! Here are a few updates since March?

♡ 1. Make a red velvet cake. 

My sister liked to celebrate the 4th of July by baking a cake decorated like the American flag. In her honor, I made a last minute decision to make red velvet cupcakes yesterday.

If you have never made a red velvet cake you would be shocked and dismayed to find out exactly how much red food coloring goes into it. I cut the amount by a two thirds not out of health consciousness but because there was one lone bottle of red food coloring left at my neighborhood supermarket. 

Did you know that red velvet cake is actually a chocolate cake? It is! I won't even tell you what else is in there.

Instead of a three layer cake I made 34 cupcakes. If you live in Chicago and like red velvet, hit me up for a cupcake.

The frosting, of which I made about ten pounds worth, is cream cheese, whipping cream, mascarpone, and vanilla. Blueberries for the blue.

♡ 2. Take a dance class at the Old Town School. (Latin Dance 1 in progress)
This was kind of a bust. I took a few and then lost interest. It's the whole lack of discipline thing. That's sad, right?

♡ 5. Get glasses adjusted or replaced. 
Holy crap! Adjusted they are. So tight I think they're squeezing my head into a Bart Simpson shape.

♡ 24. Complete at least one zine. 

It's I Dreamed I Was Assertive #14! Get your copy over at my Etsy shop.

♡ 44. Go to the movies with Karen.  (3/2 "Beautiful Creatures") We are always on the lookout for more YA flicks, so not the last of the year!

♡ 50. Wear something leopard print. 

Leopard pattern Vans, of course.

♡ 53. Discover one new musician / band. (Best Coast; Waxahatchee; Mati Zundel; Las Cafeteras; A Tribe Called Red; Lemuria)

♡ 57. Go dancing at Mary’s Attic. 

Oh yes we did! Even though we were fooled into thinking it was Brit Pop when it was something not even close. Thanks to A and D for indulging me! 

♡ 64. Submit writing for publication / enter a writing contest. 

♡ 73. Go to Hot Doug’s.  5/15/2013 I had the celebrity offering. I've already forgotten who it was named after. Eh. It was not all that. I should've gotten the plain old Elvis as I'd planned.

♡ 75. Make maki rolls with E. 

They ain't pretty, but they're maki! Salmon and avocado.

♡ 76. Play kickball. 

Sunday morning family kickball at the schoolyard!

♡ 87. Take another stab at growing a pumpkin. 

Admittedly, my gardening "technique" consists of planting a seed and then checking in on it a few months later so if no pumpkins grow I have mainly myself to blame, right?