Round 8 - Exercise, Exercise...

For this round I have chosen to walk at least 20 minutes 3x a week around my neighborhood. I seek to really look at the sky and trees and houses as I walk. Take in the fresh air and the quietness of the area.

For ideas and articles I peruse favorite magazines like "Body and Soul" "Real Simple" and the Sparkpeople website.

Round 7 -Stress Free Zones

Some of my stress free zones are:


My 3-person swing in my backyard.

Looking out my bedroom window.

Spending time with my sons.

Round 6 - Stress Therapy

Some of the therapies I tried include:

Art - coloring with crayons

Receiving an inspirational quote every morning - called "Today's inspiration" for instance one quote by Aristotle, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."

Playing games using my DS more often.

Round Five - Workplace Stress

One of the activities suggested from the article in round 5 post: Put aside extra work.

It is simply a catch-22 if I put off what stresses me I'll become even more stressed when certain things were not done.

I did vow to get some exercise daily. Since my son received a scooter as a birthday gift, we decided to both go out everyday - he ride the scooter and I will follow him walking.


Some small things that give me pleasure include:

• Do nothing
• go to bed by midnight
• watch a comedy show
• take a walk in my neighborhood
• quilt
• say a prayer of thanksgiving

Round Four - Stress

Stress...oohhh that word. Yes stress levels are high during this time in my life. With 2 weeks away from 2 class project deadlines and family events booking every possible "free" moment I would have well there is certainly a reason to be stressed.

So what did I do? Checked out various books on stress. I'm learning to meditate two times per day. (Activity #1)

For activity #2 I've downloaded some of my classical music on CDs into my ipod and listening to it as I work at the computer.

So far so well!

ROUND THREE - More conscious eating

Since I'm a coffee lover, reading about caffeine and it's positive effects really encouraged me to have more of the java!



For the 2nd activity I checked out the Food network's healthy meals webpage:



http://www.foodnetwork.com/healthy-eating/index.html



Also, created a new recipe with as few processed ingredients as possible with chicken cutlets.

First, I sliced in half and pounded 4 cutlets to make them thin. Then sauteed diced yellow onions, strips of red peppers and 3 cloves of garlic in about two tbs of EV olive oil for a few minutes until the onions are glazed and shiny. Then I added Mrs. Dash and cracked pepper to the mixture.

I added the cutlets and covered to steam cook it until browned on both sides. The aroma of the cutlets cooking permeates the whole kitchen so my family says! It makes them want to eat right at that moment!


I make up a white sauce with half cup of warm-hot water and 1 Tbl of flour or cornstarch. Then pour over the cutlets and cook another few minutes. Then its ready. Add a green salad or rice and steamed veges and you are in for a delicious meal!!

Round Two-More Conscious Eating

For this round I tried Activity 2 - checked out a book called "Eat More, Weigh Less" by Dean Ornish. Some of the recipes seem easy while other have specific ingredients I do not usually have in the fridge or in the pantry.

One thing I am really conscious of now that I am tracking my food intake is that I drink less water than I should and not eating nearly as much veges as is needed the 5 servings per day. So I am working on these two items.

Also, I'm a cookie monster!!! I love cookies. A box each of Girl Scout Thanks A Lot crunchy fudge coated and Thin mints is wreaking sabotage with my snack intake. The good thing is I am keeping within my calorie range given by the Sparkpeople report.

No more buying GS cookies or donate them!

Activity #6: Familiarized myself further on food allergies from http://www.foodallergy.org.