Dukan – Day 202 – Lime Shrimp Recipe

Posted on March 8, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Cleaning up my blog and found a few posts that never went through… This one from February with a yummy recipe!!
Update post by the afternoon 🙂
Sandi

Thursday was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 75.7 lb/34.41 kg

I only had to work half a day on Thursday because of International Women’s Day… which was kind of cool. I got to take the morning off and worked the afternoon. I got a promotion at work, which is kind of cool. I have been asking to do the work I will now be doing since I got there in September.

Walked home from work and straight to the gym across the lane from my building. I can see the people working out from my bedroom balcony, but didn’t want to start there too soon in my weight loss. Besides, I’ve been doing my own stuff, C25K, the swiss ball, wii yoga and the exercise bands. I tried to do C25K on the treadmill, but that ain’t happening. I felt confined and not in a good pace. So I did the machines and worked on my pecs, the back of my legs and my triceps.

Then home to make dinner. I thought I had chicken to make the Lime Chicken and Shrimp, but I didn’t, so I just made it with shrimp… Yum!

1 Tbs olive oil
As much shrimp as you want
1/2 onion, I chop mine in biggish pieces
A handful of fresh mushrooms
1 lime, cut in quarters
1 small chili pepper, diced small
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
A dollop of Fat Free Greek yogurt

I threw all of the ingredients, except the lime and yogurt, in a hot pan with the olive oil, stir fry 1 minute and then squeeze the juice of all 4 quarters of the lime on the cooking food. Throw the lime rinds in to the mix and stir fry all of it another 3 minutes. Remove from heat and plate. Take the rinds and squeeze the rest of the juice out of them… mmmmmmm, and then put a dollop of yogurt on top… YUMMY!

Lime & Chili Shrimp Stir Fry

Lime & Chili Shrimp Plated

After dinner, went out for a 35 minute run… in, you guessed it, the cold friggin’ rain… LOL

Ciao!

Dukan – Another milestone Bites the Dust

Posted on March 8, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Wednesday was a PV day…

Daily Weight Loss: 0.9 lb/0.44 kg
Total Weight Loss: 75.3 POUNDS! 34.21 KG

OH MY GOD! I screamed out loud on the scale… I got on, I got off, I got back on, I got off, I got BACK on and it said the same thing… I rushed out to my trusty weight loss spreadsheet created by Charlotte and put it in and there it was 75 pounds… GONE 😀

I am also under 180 pounds for the first time since 1988 AND I put on a pair of Size 12 pants that I have been holding off trying on… and they SLID RIGHT ON! I’m so happy I have no other words… glad I told you guys what I ate by posting recipes 🙂 I will say that it has washed the raining for a month blues away… I hope that lasts! So happy, I’m going to run extra tonight!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Fall seven times, stand up eight. ~Japanese Proverb I’m standing up for good!

Vivien took some shots of me and my happiness today 🙂

Dukan – Day 198 – Back in Hangzhou

Posted on March 5, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Monday was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total weight loss: 74 lb/33.61 kg

I have no idea how I lost weight while out of town in Taizhou. Having eaten pork intestines, pickled octopus and various and assorted other things… I was careful not to eat anything in gravy, and I even had half a piece of fruit that was like an apple and pear together… but the scale was kind to me… thank you scale!

Whirlwind couple of days on a trip that was a surprise… holding on to the fact that I caught 2 babies keep my spirits up. Coming back yesterday was challenging, I’m not sure which event launched me into a “Michael Douglas in Falling Down” mode, but I felt like a volcano ready to erupt… was it the guy hocking loogies in the restaurant? (everyone here hocks up loogies openly… loud and proud, and spits them on the floor, wherever they might be… men, women, children) or was it the fact that my employer forgot to pick me up at the train station and I had to get in a 1+ hour que to get a taxi… Or was it the lady in said taxi que that did the Haitian nose blow onto my FRIGGIN hiking boot… my reaction parted the crowd like the Red Sea and we moved right up to the front of the line 😀 Or, it could have been the fact that I couldn’t get a taxi to go to a friends house because they do shift change at 5 p.m. and it was GOD FORBID 4 p.m…. her flat is a 15 min. taxi ride… SO I WALKED THE 3.5 MILES… or it could have been witnessing, for the 1000th time, a kid who’s grandmother is hovering her over the sidewalk while she craps, then wipes her and leaves the tissue on the sidewalk… Yeah… FALLING DOWN… argh!
I also walked the 3.5 miles back to my flat… so I think I got my exercise in for the day!

So the sun is TRYING to peak through the pollution, and it’s time to walk to work and confront them about the fact that they sent me on a 2 night trip, with no extra clothes or panties AND forgot to pick me up at the train station… should be a fun mornin’ 😀

Ciao!

Travel – Stuck away from home in a foreign country – A Quick Update

Posted on March 4, 2012 by flamidwyfe

So a quick update… I was told Friday afternoon that after my all day marketing event at MY hospital, I was traveling 3 hours by train to Taizhou to do all day training and marketing event about their new water birth center.

I’m totally OK with traveling to new places to do marketing for this company, but hey, more than 24 hours notice would be fine. And because we were RUNING LATE for the train, there was no time to go to my flat to get my overnight bag!

So, here I am, far away from my flat with only a change of underwear (smart midwives ALWAYS carry a clean pair in their purse!) and 2 outfits. The jeans and top I wore to work YESTERDAY and the dress I changed into for the marketing event YESTERDAY… And guess what, I’m here for ANOTHER night because they have a lady in early labor.

That said… I just delivered the first ever water birth baby in Taizhou. The media were here, it was a great birth, very fast birth, baby boy who arrived just 12 minutes after I walked in. He came so fast I didn’t even have enough time to put gloves on! Here the cutie patootie gives the camera a smooch pose…

The food has been sketchy. Last night I walked to the grocery and got some greens and a roasted chicken and made a chicken salad. This was after eating nuts and seeds on the train because Kitty (who really is the best personal assistant ever) said we may not be able to get dinner so late. Nuts and seeds are not on my diet, but what to do? Up to that point (we got on train at 515 pm) I had eaten 4 tea eggs for the day and that’s it.

This morning I had tea eggs and beef bacon with the shittiest cup of coffee ever!

Lots of green tea before the ceremonies began in the CEO’s office and I was offered this piece of fruit… I had to take a bite because I’d never seen anything like it… I only took 2 bites and it tastes like a combination of a pear and apple… Not sweet at all and nice texture.

Then time for the news conference and education…

Then we went to lunch. I love the way the Chinese eat, it’s very social. I brought my leftover greens from last night with me and picked at the food. I had some fish and some green veggies, and then I had some cooked beef COATED… GASP… With rice flour. I have to admit it was yummy. The ONLY reason I ate it was that they ordered it especially for me. They had snails, which I usually eat when I’m not dieting, but passed on today…

And everyone but me drank this crap… CORN SMOOTHIE, I KID YOU NOT!!!!

Then back to the hospital to catch the cute little baby. Here’s a pic of the new family…

And despite not having clean panties to put on tomorrow morning, I really am enjoying this unexpected trip…

And let me tell you the nicest thing I’ve heard this week… The nurse in this picture told me she was at Hangzhou last April for the water birth training “with Kasaleen and the other Sandi”. I said the other Sandi? “yes, she says, the big one” I said that was me! And she says, “no, no, I will show you picture” and pulls up a pic of me and her from last year. She was shocked… LOL. How awesome is that?

Dinner tonight was fish broiled in light soy and ginger… I passed on all the gravy laden veggies everyone else was eating and I passed on the duck tongue…

I’m trying not to stress that I have 2 patients due this week 3 hours away… Hold on girls, I’ll be back in Hangzhou tomorrow!

Ciao!

p.s. I guess that wasn’t so quick, 😀
p.p.s. I’m dreading getting on the scale 😦

Dukan – Day 196 – To Shanghai For Boxes

Posted on March 3, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Friday was a PP Day.

Daily weight loss: 0.2 lb/0.10 kg
Total weight loss: 73.5 lb/33.41 kg

So I’m sitting on a train writing this. Taking an impromptu (at least I wasn’t aware) trip to Taizhou to be the guest speaker, presenter and media darling for the opening of their water birth room. This is what Kitty is doing…

Dukan – Day 195 – Cruisin’ Along

Posted on March 2, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Today was a PV day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0.4 lb/0.20 kg
Total Weight Loss: 73.3 lbs/33.31 kgs

Just cruising along here. Little tiny bits at a time. When I’m out running I imagine it all flying off of me and getting fitter and healthier.

It’s been a rough week, but I’ve hung in there. Usually when I hit a rough patch I eat things that aren’t good for me. That was the old Sandi… the pre-August 20th Sandi… I am so proud that I haven’t back slid into the bottomless pit of feeding my rough patches. To be honest, it feels good not to do it!

Overheard, by me, while running last night… “You’ve got this girl”… “Woo Hoo, that’s 5 minutes!”… “You WILL be fit and healthy”… “Yes, Yes, Yes… I think this is the last patch of run for the night”… “oh wait, nope… this one is… ugh”… “Put on your big girl panties and get on with it”… and finally, “Yes… I DID IT!” When the C25K lady tells me “1 minute to go” I rejoice and last night shed a few tears, during the cool down… last night I was pounding it out in the pouring rain in my waterproof jacket and a crocheted hat that Sandy O’Connor Huntley made me and loved that I was soaking wet. Running in the rain is cathartic… as I passed the gym in my complex for the 3rd time and the people were in the heated room on treadmills I thought, “girl, they ain’t got nothin’ on you”… LOL A bit cheeky I am these days.
So awesome workout… I preceded my run last night with a 20 minute yoga routine on the wii and 20 minutes of balance exercise, then a kick ass game of wii bowling… I scored a 172 🙂

Breakfast: 2 Tea Eggs (what else would I have??)
Lunch: 3 ham slices and a tea egg
Dinner: Pollo Saltado… damn was THAT good… I’ll do a recipe blog while on the train tomorrow night… don’t ask… part of my rough week b.s.
Snack: Didn’t get my yogurt in… it was too late when I realized it and I wasn’t hungry
Water: 2.6 liters… woot!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: “Put on your big girl panties” ~ First heard by me years ago by my midwife friend Deb Wage of Nashville.

Dukan – Day 194 – Well, now, that’s better!

Posted on February 29, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Wednesday was a PV day.

Daily weight loss: 0.9 lb/0.44 kg
Total weight loss: 72.8 lb/33.11 kg

Well, that has me feeling a little bit better! I was beginning to think that I was going to be in a plateau for a week or two. Phew!

For those following the visa saga… it looks like I’ve been granted a 30 day extension. I will get final word next Wednesday, and that’s good enough to get my 2 ladies to their due dates. Everyone is very relieved and a little less stressed 🙂

Breakfast: 2 tea eggs, coffee, lots of water
Lunch: 3 slices of ham and a tea egg, lots more water
Dinner: Stir fry steak chunks with zucchini and onion
Snack: FF (Fat Free) Greek yogurt with flax seed meal and splenda

I did 30 minutes of yoga and 25 minutes of bowling, both on the wii. It was pouring down rain last night and I didn’t want to get soaked while running… hopefully it’ll be drier tonight!

Dinner recipe:
Sauteed 1/2 a red onion and 1/2 a zucchini in 1 tsp sesame oil (ran out of olive oil 3 days ago, none to be found in the little shops, will get some on my trip to Shanghai tomorrow). I added Italian seasoning, ground garlic and cumin. I sauteed for 2 minutes.

Sautee onions and zucchini for 2 mins. in 1 tsp of oil

I then placed those to the side and stir fried steak chunks for 5 minutes, about 2 1/2 minutes each side. I didn’t add any more oil, I did shake on a little Italian seasoning.

I then tossed the veggies back in, simmered together for 2 minutes and done!

Fast, simple, tasty and Dukan Friendly!

Total time to prepare: less than 15 minutes!

I hope you all are having a good Leap Day!

Ciao!

Quote of the day: Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement ~ Brian Tracy

Final word: RIP Davy Jones… you were the silly Monkee 😀

Dukan – Day 193 – Peace On Earth, Begins With Birth

Posted on February 29, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Tuesday was a PP Day.

Daily Weight Loss: 0
Total Weight Loss: 72 lb/32.71 kg

This is Day 3 of my weight being the same 😦 I didn’t have the chance to write a Dukan Blog on Monday morning, but it was the same that morning, as well. Funny thing, it is happening to a fellow blogger, Mel. We are both eating what we’re suppose to, and frankly, my carb consumption is below even Dukan standards… so what gives?

Breakfast: 2 Tea Eggs
Lunch: 1 Tea Egg and 3 ham slices
Dinner: Pork chunks and onion cooked in dark soy sauce with soy and wasabi to dip in… yum!
I did C25K for 30 minutes, plus added 10 extra minutes of walking at the end
Snack: FF Greek yogurt with bran and splenda

Here’s dinner:

The dark soy sauce smells so yummy!

The wasabi and soy dipping sauce - divine!

Now for the part about birth 😀 Earlier today (and your night time in the States) I was chatting with my friend Miri who is also a midwife. I was telling her about a PowerPoint I was given 3 hours to develop today (I banged it out and it’s top quality, btw) and she shared a 7 minute birth video with me. Watching her midwife this woman, completely hands off and listening to her voice, it was like watching myself. My comment to her, after this gorgeous water birth was, “isn’t it sad for the momma’s and babies that don’t get to experience gentle birth like that”… It left me a bit melancholy.
Peace on Earth, Begins With Birth… being “with woman”, the meaning of midwife, during her pregnancy and labor and birth, is an honor. Honoring a birth with peacefulness can transform a woman into a powerful mother who knows that she alone birthed her baby… with HER strength, HER perseverance, HER power. Midwifing a woman with peace allows the baby to be born into quiet sacredness… to open and breathe in a peaceful setting, where there isn’t fear at the first moment of life… that is the kind of births we should be empowering women to have. Thank you, Miri, for being that kind of midwife.

Peace on Earth, does indeed, Begin With Birth.

My beautiful daughter Tiffany, her amazing husband Joey, and their children Sydnie and Shane at the birth of Sofia… May 17, 2008… born on her great-grandma’s birthday.

Ciao!

You Deserve Love

Posted on February 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

So, I’ve had a crap day at work… LOL. I know, not my usual optimism, but I really have had a crap day at work. It has to do with yesterday’s post in regard to being “someone else’s world”. The good news is tomorrow I see if I can get an extension on my visa, so it’s not an issue of going out of town.

So, what am I doing this evening? I’ve had a lovely dinner, a cup of tea and I have all of the lights out and the candles burning all over my flat. I have love songs on… the last, one of my favorites; Joe Cocker singing just to me, “You Are So Beautiful”. And I’m loving it. And loving MYSELF and remembering that I deserve My love and attention 🙂 I’ll do this until 8:00 p.m., then I’m going to love myself even more by going out and running!

You May Be the World

Posted on February 27, 2012 by flamidwyfe

We often forget this in our lives. As a midwife in the States, I was on call 24/7/365, as you are when you are an independent midwife. One of the benefits to moving to Abu Dhabi was shift work. I worked 14 12-hour days a month. Bliss.

I am now in an administrative position at a hospital in China. However, I have a handful of patients and this quote popped out at me today because of a sticky situation I’m in. Two of my amazing women are due March 8 & March 12th and I HAVE TO DO A BORDER RUN… no later than March 10th! And you might say, “well priority says you do your border run”… but this isn’t what is best for my two ladies that are depending on me being at their birth, protecting them from an 80% c/section rate, and providing them with the compassion they’ve come to appreciate. And I, of course, want to be there for them.

Needless to say, we’re going to see if I can get an extension on my visa tomorrow, that will give me a month more to have to worry about it, which would be IDEAL… putting that out to the universe 😀

So, this is a reminder that we may just think we’re “someone” in this world, but we may mean the world to someone else!