Self Love Exercises – Part 8

Posted on August 30, 2012 by flamidwyfe

From the Feel Good Tribe
8. Don’t be afraid to change direction if you realize something isn’t working out for you anymore.

Wow… this is a hard one for many of us. Often times we stay where we are because it’s just easier, or we feel committed, or we have kids, or or or.

I had to do this last year when I was MISERABLE in Al Ain working for a crazy person. I SO, SO, SO wanted to stay in the UAE and Abu Dhabi and I hung in there as long as I possibly could and I ate away my misery and put on 25 pounds in 6 months on my already obese frame. It was awful… comfort eating KFC chicken AND McD’s french fries EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. Food I actually rarely ate in the first place!

But sometimes you need to bite the bullet and make a change for the positive. There were a few midwives that I worked with in Abu Dhabi who were so miserable that no one wanted to be around them… they complained about work and their home life constantly (this was at my first job there, the one that I really loved). I said to one of them one day, “if you are so miserable, why do you stay?”… she is still there… going on 8 miserable years, away from her family and home country… odd.

I am making a HUGE change… going home after living abroad for 4 years AND changing vocations… from midwife to health and fitness focus. It’s a big step. A scary step, but I’m doing it unafraid, because I know I can accomplish anything I set my mind to!

Ciao!

A quote from a post a couple of years ago (warning, grab the tissues if you read the post!). The quote is from my dad, who came to me in a dream my first night walking the Camino de Santiago in 2010:
“Sandi, sometimes going right isn´t always the right way to go”. ~ Thomas Sandelier, II

Here’s a pic from that day:

I would love to see how much easier it would be to do this walk without that extra 100 pounds!!! 🙂

Self Love Exercises – Part 7

Posted on August 29, 2012 by flamidwyfe

From the Feel Good Tribe:

7. I’ve said it before & I will say it a million more times: write a gratitude list every morning. It really is the best way to start your day. The simple act of sitting down & making a few notes on what you’re happy about builds up so much positive energy that you can’t help but do something amazing with it!

OK, so I started doing this a couple of weeks ago and it is working. Aside from the “postal” incident, I’ve had more positive days. I have also gotten more accomplished in my daily life.

Today’s Gratitude List… posted on my bathroom mirror:

I am grateful that I still have a living parent… MOM ♥ ♥ ♥

I am grateful that I am going home in 22 days!

I am grateful that I have had the opportunity to travel.

I am grateful for all of the people that support me through encouragement!

I am grateful for the friends that I have met through my blog and the amazing cheering squad that I have, of people I’ve never met in person, but feel I really know!

So… that’s today’s list. I wrote it when I first got up this morning. What are you grateful for today???

Ciao!

Not on my list, but I was certainly grateful that my roast turned out far better than my turkey!

Oh my the flat smelled amazing and the roast was so tender!

Operation Feed Them Roast

Posted on August 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

So I have to start this post with a story and pics from Saturday…

I cooked a turkey for friends on Saturday…

This is what happened to the oven…

The legs on the left side MELTED! About 2 hours into the turkey cooking! I hear a noise, look over and notice its lop-sided and that there is smoke. That’s because it’s doing this…

Um, that was a bed side table 😦

Anyway, today’s a new day and they don’t call me McGuyver for nothing! I’m cooking a roast for friends (it’s been in the oven for 39 minutes and smells amazing already!!!) and I needed a quick fix, so here’s the plan…
Aluminum foil to protect the wood and an Ikea tea candle holder to prop the left side up…

Here’s the roast and veggies before going into little oven…

And so far my plan is working…

Outcome tomorrow 🙂

What’s for dinner at your house tonight?
And have you had a similar dinner disaster you avoided with a little McGuyver thinking?

Ciao!

Dukan – Consolidation Day 108

Posted on August 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Monday was Consolidation Day 108 🙂

Today’s Weight: 146
Goal Weight: 155
Still lovin’ that 🙂

Back to work in Hangzhou. Kind of a frustrating day. Went to the bank to make a deposit and they wouldn’t let me because I didn’t have my passport… to make a deposit… sigh. Then I went to the post office to ship off the last 4 boxes to the States and the guy went through all my stuff to make sure it was packed well enough to not break anything and DROPS the package with my Chinese china!!!! Breathe IN, Breathe OUT… I flew off the handle… I couldn’t help it… I am not perfect, I threw a tantrum. They quickly finished me up, I apologized a million times to my driver, Jerry, who is the most patient person in the world (besides Kitty)… he smoothed things over and got me the hell out of there before, well before I got into trouble!

My granddaughter Sadie represents the 3rd generation of epic tantrum throwers 🙂
My daughter Jenni, however, was the Queen of them!

Then back to work where I managed to upset the apple cart by providing a not so glowing audit about hand washing that had the doctors doing better than the nurses. I was on a roll!

Went home and had me some dinner and felt better 🙂 I also am tutoring a Chinese midwife in Medical English and passing the NCLEX-RN exam. So we worked on that last night.

Sunday I got in a 5K run in under 40 minutes after not running for 9 days due to my bout of food poisoning, but I pushed myself and did it… which makes me feel so good 🙂 I then went up to my flat and did 30 minutes of stretching, yoga and exercise bands. I have SO much energy when I’m done running… it’s amazing!

I also got a few pictures from Rose, my personal assistant in Guangzhou from my multiple stays there this past 5 months. Here’s a couple I want to share:

Water birth training in April 2012. Guangzhou.

Grand Opening of the Water Delivery Center in Guangzhou Elizabeth Women’s Hospital – April 2012

I’ve been saying that I haven’t felt like I accomplished much in the past year. Maybe I set my expectations too high for myself… I’m a perfectionist. But when I look at these pictures I do realize that I’ve accomplished quite a bit. The hospitals keep referring to me as their International Water Birth Expert… and I’ve come to realize, I really am! I mean who better to be called that than someone who has delivered hundreds of babies in the water (all over the world, including on 4 continents!) and has taught water birth all over the world? The 5 hospitals here in China that I’ve done the water birth trainings in have collectively performed over 100 water births in the past year! I am proud of their accomplishments and that the midwives and doctors at these 5 hospitals have accepted water birth as a “normal” way for women to deliver their babies. And delighted for the women and babies who have experienced this amazing way of birthing!

Breakfast: 2 slices of bacon and 2 tea eggs
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with Splenda and flaxseed meal
Lunch: 3 ham slices with 3 slices of Pepper Jack cheddar… Mmmm!!
Dinner: Stir-fry pork with onions and asparagus (cooked in coconut oil).
Snack: Beef jerky… eeek that out a couple little pieces at a time to make it stretch (thanks, Suzanne for bringing me the 3 bags!!) ** Kira… Titters LOVES jerky!

I hope everyone is having a great week! I have 23 days until I fly home… for good… or for now… LOL
What type of exercise or movement did you do on Monday??

Ciao!

Great Way To Start the Day!

Posted on August 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Check out this post from the The Healthy Home Economist… It’s all about the importance of a good healthy breakfast to start the day and some very interesting stats! I’m all about stats 🙂

This is MY kind of breakfast! This is a Paleo breakfast. To make it Dukan take out the fruit on a PV day.

My breakfast this morning was 2 slices of bacon, 2 tea eggs and a slice of cantelope. What did you have for breakfast this morning? Can you remember?

Ciao!

Update and Triathlon

Posted on August 26, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Quick update… Felt 100% today, first time since I got food poisoning exactly a week ago! My weight today was 145 and I did a 5K run tonight in 40 minutes.

The fun news is that exactly one year from today I will run my first triathlon with three fellow bloggers, Anna, Sandra and Cindy. I met them all through our blogs and we’ll be running, swimming and biking our way through the Danskin Women’s triathlon next August! SO, SO excited!

Off to bed… Work in the morning!

Ciao!m

Recipe – Dukan & Paleo – Coconut Flaxseed Bread

Posted on August 25, 2012 by flamidwyfe

I tried to find a recipe with the ingredients that I had on hand, but couldn’t. So I took a bit from a few of them and tried this out. It turned out pretty well. It’s very moist. I think the next time I might add a couple of packets of Splenda to it. This is my very first piece of bread in over a year!!!

COCONUT FLAXSEED BREAD
Serves: 8
1 serving = 1 slice

Ingredients:
1/2 c coconut creme powder
1/2 c flaxseed, ground
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
5 eggs
1/4 c coconut oil
1/8 c water
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (not quite sure that’s what I used, lol… this is China, had to guess at it in the little store)

Preheat oven to 325 F. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil.
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix all the wet ingredients together in a bowl.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients together, mixing well.
Pour into loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes.

Cool completely before slicing into 8 pieces.

ENJOY!

Nutrition info per serving: Calories 150, Protein 5.5g, Fat 13.8g,
Total Carb 2.8g, Net Carb 0.4g

Self Love Exercises – Part 6

Posted on August 24, 2012 by flamidwyfe

From the Good Tribe:

>>6. Take time to redefine your boundaries. These boundaries may be emotional, physical or mental; they may relate to work, relationships or your health. You might look at these areas of your life & realize that everything is going swimmingly, in which case, great! But you might examine them & see that you’ve got a bit of work to do.

Do you say “yes” when you mean “no”? Do you take on other people’s work or problems as if they are your own? Do you feel that in your relationship, the only person who ever compromises is you? It’s time to put your foot down & stand up for yourself. No one else can do it for you!<<

So this isn’t a problem for me here in China… but I am heading home in 3 weeks and 6 days and one of my previous problems was saying NO. For a couple of months now I’ve been writing out my goals for when I return home and affirmations to continue on the path of wellness… physically and emotionally. One of the things I will have to practice actively and intentionally will be saying NO. I’m a pushover. Always have been and I LOVE helping others, but often it is to the detriment of my well-being… so here’s an upfront notice to my peeps… I’ll be saying NO more often. It’s not because I don’t love you or have “changed” from living overseas, it’s because I must in order to maintain my sanity and be happy with our relationships… I’ll still say YES at times, but mostly when it’s good for me! Just setting healthy boundaries and loving myself… Got it? GREAT! I think it’s going to be awesome to be home 😀

Do you have a hard time saying NO?

Ciao!

Recipe – Dukan – Chicken Sausage Stir Fry

Posted on August 23, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Imagine for one moment the sheer joy of finding these…

In a grocery store in Hong Kong. Transporting by (much delayed) train to Guangzhou for an overnight and then by plane (which pushed back at EXACTLY the scheduled time) to Hangzhou. I know, they’re available in most grocery stores, but not here.

I fell in love with these gluten-free, low carb, absolutely delicious sausage in January, while home on holiday. Tonight I had them for dinner.

CHICKEN SAUSAGE STIR FRY
Serves 1

1 Tbs coconut oil
1 medium carrot, quartered then cut in chunks
1/2 large onion (I prefer red ones) chopped
2 scallions chopped
4 big mushrooms chopped
2 al fresco Chicken Sausage, quartered and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 Tbs Italian herbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Prep ingredients.
Heat pan on medium, melt coconut oil.
Add carrots and sautée with lid on for 2-3 minutes.
Add Italian herbs.
Add onion and scallion, stir frequently. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add Sausage, cook for 2 minutes with lid on. Reduce heat to medium-low.
Add mushrooms, give it a stir and put lid on for another 2 minutes.
Enjoy!

Travel – Making Molehills out of Mountains

Posted on August 23, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Well, it’s been a crazy week! I’ve had food poisoning since Sunday night. Not fun. I have 10 minutes to type a quick post before heading to the airport for my flight to Hangzhou…

Positives…
Sometimes your train is delayed so that you meet really cool people like Franci. She’s German, has a masters in psychology and is an art lover. At 27, she’s bright, traveled and a wonderful debater!

Positives…
This morning, while packing up my room, I realized I didn’t want to waste some of the food. Not being allowed to use my cooker, I threw together 4 eggs, leftover sausage, Parmesan chunks and a wee bit of mozzarella. This is the result…