Travel – Life’s A Beach

Posted on October 28, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Life really is wonderful. The way that things come together always seems amazing and miraculous to me!
My bloggy friend Mona is in Miami Beach for a conference and invited me for a night at the Eden Rock Hotel. I met Mona when she was in China this summer and now here. I love how blogging has introduced me to so many awesome people!
We went for a walk on the beach as the moon rose and I didn’t get a single picture, lol. Left the iPhone in the room. We had a lovely dinner beachside and I got this pic of the moon light glittering in the rough surf…

Then a long chat about all the taboo topics and then a wonderful nights sleep listening to the waves crash and the winds blowing in through the open slider.
Up before the sun and down to the beach…

Here comes the sun little darlin’…

And finally, it doesn’t matter how much crap life throws at you, sitting on the beach makes it all better!

Ciao!

Dukan – Sunday Celebration and weekly wrap-up!

Posted on September 17, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Consolidation Phase Day 128 of 500!
Weekly Weight: 146-149
Goal Weight: 155
So Consolidation DOES work 🙂 I can’t believe it’s been 128 days since I met my goal weight! This summer has flown by! I am very consistent with my weight, still weighing every morning and still VERY happy with the results!

This past week has been busy! I am moving back to the States on Thursday after living abroad for 4 years. I have been packed for over a month 🙂 I know, a bit OCD, but what to say. I’ve got 2 large suitcases and a large box as checked luggage (things I didn’t want to risk never seeing again if my shipped boxes disappear into the stratosphere or something.) It’ll be worth paying extra for the peace of mind.

Exercise this past week included running 4-5K 3 times. Walking 4-5K the other 4 nights. I also did 30-45 minutes of yoga 4 times the past week. I hiked the mountain 1 time this past week and hope to do it Tuesday morning as one last hurrah 🙂

I met Hanna and Diana and Jacob (next photo) on the street a couple of weeks ago. They are from Sweden and here to attend the University just down the block from my flat. Jacob had on a Miami Dolphins hat, so of course I stopped them 🙂 They’ve been to dinner a few times and I wish I had met them sooner!

Jacob

The weather in Hangzhou has been PERFECT this past 4 days. Sunny and a cool breeze. I’ve had the flat windows opened and the whole place is fresh. The summer heat was oppressive! So it’s a nice break.

Let’s see… what did I eat this week. Lots of tea eggs, as per usual. Lunches consisted of leftover roasts (both pork and beef), salad, cheddar cheese and almonds. Dinners were steak stir fry, pork roast, beef roast, shrimp stir fry and my new favorite way to cook veggies; veggies (broccoli, asparagus, carrots and garlic stems) steamed in coconut milk… OH MY you have no idea how good THAT is… a must try! I also had a dinner out with friends at a local sushi restaurant and a hot pot dinner… guests for dinner almost nightly, trying to cook up all the food in the freezer AND say good bye to friends, new and not so new.

Pork roast… Mmm!

Out for sushi with Baby Milva!

Out for dinner with Joe, Chiara and baby Nunu!

You throw in the meat and veggies and it cooks in the hot pot… the liquid on the left is spicy, spicy!!! Mmmmmm!

And I did my last water birth lecture in front of a hundred people or so in a nearby town. I hope my message got across to some folks and they have gentler births!

Me and Liang… on our way to my last water birth lecture. She’s the lead midwife supporting water birth at Hangzhou AIMA.

So, that’s my wrap up! How did your week go? Is it cooling down where you live?

Ciao!

Life – Happy Birthday, Baby

Posted on September 11, 2012 by flamidwyfe

My baby turns 27 today… 27! How is that possible? I’m only 48! She is, and always will be, called “The Baby”. And she is the most amazing adult a mom could ask for!

Tiffany was born on September 11, 1985 by planned cesarean section. Early in my pregnancy I was diagnosed with a Class IV pap smear which back then was considered cancer of the cervix in situ (meaning just there). It was recommended at the time that I terminate the pregnancy and receive treatment. I didn’t give that a second thought. I knew in my heart that she was sent to me for a reason. So on with the pregnancy we went.

I was hospitalized several times during the pregnancy, but loved every minute of it. Tiff was due on Friday the 13th and I wouldn’t have minded having her that day, as 13 is my favorite number… but Dr. Holder said he didn’t want me to risk giving birth normally and scheduled me for the 11th. In addition to having Tiffany delivered by c/section I also had a hysterectomy, as that was the only treatment option available at the time. It was a rough recovery period and I am ever so grateful to my mom and to my ex-mother-in-law Pat for their help while I recovered. Pat came to Florida from West Virginia for a couple of weeks and stayed with us… my mom lived next door!

Tiffany has grown into an amazing woman. She’s been married for 8 years and has blessed me with 4 gorgeous grandchildren!

Sydnie (8), Jose (2), Shane (6) and Sofia (4)… this was halloween a couple years ago.

All 4 of her babies were born at home and into my hands. I feel so fortunate that she trusted me with that.

She is now pregnant with surrogate twins. She is amazingly selfless. She works hard assisting teenagers with disabilities and raising her brood. I’m so lucky to be her mom!

Happy Birthday, Baby… I love you and can’t wait to see you in 9 days!

Tiffany and Jenni 1992 West Virginia

Tiff and me after Sofia’s birth.

Tiffany and Sydnie with Sofia who is 1 day old.

Me with Tiffany… 2009, pregnant with Jose

2009 the moment Jose was born.

Ciao!

Dukan – Celebration Sunday & Mountain Hike

Posted on September 3, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Sunday was Consolidation Day 114 of 500.
Today’s Weight: 145
Goal Weight: 155

Sunday is my Celebration Sunday day on Dukan. When you enter the third phase of Dukan, the Consolidation Phase, you get one celebration meal a week. You can eat whatever you want. This is in the first half of Consolidation (mine is 500 days long and the rule applies until I hit day 250). In the second half you can have 2 celebration meals a week.

I’ve chosen to remain wheat, gluten and sugar free, so my celebration meals usually include something like french fries (i’m not eating white potatoes) or lots of fruit! That was the case today.

I started the morning out with a 2 egg omelet with onion, asparagus and garlic. I then went on a 5.59 km mountain hike with my friend Tatiana. This is the trail that I try to hike every Sunday morning when I’m in Hangzhou. I have to say that during yesterday’s hike up I realized that I was really going to miss this part of living in China. Moving back to Florida (which I love more than any place in the world) won’t include mountain hiking!

Burned off breakfast and then some!

runkeeper, mountain hike, hangzhou, china

286 meter = 938 feet… not a bad climb 🙂

Tatiana

mountain hike, west lake, hangzhou, china

And I wore shorts… in public. You can see West Lake in the background. It’s a beautiful view from the top of this mountain!

And this was my reward… a fruit salad for lunch, along with a iced cafe latte with Splenda and a TON of water… like 2 liters.

I shared this delicious fruit platter with Tatiana. So fresh and cool after a long hike in the heat.

My driver Jerry met us at the restaurant and took us to the wet market. I’m going to have to go back and get pictures… I’m always so busy picking out my stuff that I don’t pull out the iPhone and take pics! The wet market has the freshest veggies, fruits, meats and live poultry and fish to choose from. I get my veggies, pork and beef there. The stands that I purchase my pork and beef from both have range free farms. The meat is butchered the day before and I can pick my cuts. Tatiana picked out a 1/2 kilo of live jumbo shrimp to make us a late afternoon snack.

We got home, I separated out all the meat and spent time reading for a while. Around 4 Tatiana simmered the shrimp with fresh ginger, sea salt and pepper corns. I made a wasabi & tamari mix and we had some yummy shrimp!!!

Didn’t have dinner, as I was stuffed. I had a couple of bites of cheese and a handful of almonds to round out my evening.

What did you do on Sunday? Were you active?

Ciao!

Travel – Guangzhou Zoo & Safari Park

Posted on September 1, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Last week Rose and Jack invited me out for a touristy day. We started out at the zoo, visited the Canton Tower and ended with another amazing dinner at Hunan Home! This post will be about the zoo… In pictures 🙂 Let’s call it Lions and Tigers and Moon Bears, OH MY!!! I was very pleasantly surprised by the happiness and apparent good health of the animals. The other thing I loved was that it was, for the most part, a no boundaries park, where as, besides a hidden moat, you were very close to the animals.

The little girl in front of us made her daddy wear this hat 🙂

I got to feed this tiger. He was rubbing up against the cage trying to get me to get closer… Um, no! This was before the tiger show.

Yes, even the panda is smirking about my sweat stain… Lol

This meerkat came over to chat with me… Too cute!

I hope you enjoyed the tour 🙂

What is your favorite animal park?

Ciao!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Free Spirit

Posted on August 31, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Taken in England, May 2009.
Sadie in the meadow.
Photo by Aleisha Marie

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!

Dukan Update

Posted on August 16, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Been a busy 24 hours and wanted to get a post out before bed.
Weight: 149, bloated and well, more on that later in the post.

I have a wonderful midwifery student with me here in China, Aisha Al Hajjar. Aisha is from the States, but is married to a lovely Saudi man and has 8 kids! I met her in the UAE last year when she came to interview me about water birth at my previous hospital job.

At the end of the day yesterday (433 pm to be precise), my personal assistant came to let us know that there was a lady in labor wanting a normal birth, so upstairs we went to the birth room. First time momma and she had her baby at 533 pm… Nice, quick, fast and an easy delivery. Here’s the little guy a few minutes after I caught him…

Today was packed with working on skills that Aisha needs to do for school and working on a PowerPoint presentation about International Standards of Care. I started my day out with a yummy breakfast…

I am in Consolidation and I’m eating more Paleo like. Still low carb, but added fat. This is pork chunks, onion and garlic powder. Two eggs fried with low fat mozzarella. I cooked it in Macadamia oil… Mmmmm!

I’ve only run twice in the past week. It is very difficult to do in a city of 17 million! Too many people milling about, but I’ve made sure I walk 5K every night. I also haven’t had any yogurt with flaxseed meal (I use that instead of oat bran, zero net carbs, 4g fiber per tsp, same as oat bran but has a nice nutty taste). Anyway, I’ve been a bit ~~bitchy~~ grumpy the last few days, as I’ve been gassy (never gassy on Dukan!!!) and the plumbing isn’t working as per usual. You can’t buy yogurt here in China at the shops and I usually get it in Hong Kong, but I haven’t had the time to go down there.

So today I kind of ~~barked~~ at asked Rose, my amazing personal assistant here in Guangzhou to find me a western grocery store!!! So off I went on the subway to find The Corner’s Deli (yes apostrophe s) in the basement of the Citic building. The kind customer service desk girl pointed the way. Through that door, turn right, go downstairs to BM Street… LOL, BM Street?!? I was sure I heard her wrong… Well, actually…

So off I go, down this quiet stairway and find myself dead end at a Chinese restaurant! I point, I show them the name and address and they take me through the restaurant to an underground shopping mall… It was bizarre! But, tucked around the winding walkway, all the way in the back was a western grocery with FAT FREE GREEK YOGURT!!! And COTTAGE CHEESE!!! AND SALAMI!!!! And MOVIE THEATRE POPCORN, EXTRA BUTTER!!!! Ok, I bought ONE package of that, for my celebration meal on Sunday 🙂 I thought I’d died and gone to heaven… A REAL grocery store!

So I’ve just gotten back from dinner at my favorite Arabic restaurant and dished up a plate of that yogurt with a Splenda and flaxseed… My tummy will be happy again!

And yes, I eat my yogurt with chopsticks… I’m in china 😀

Parting shot… This afternoon I shot a commercial for the hospital to promote water birth. They even recruited one of our nearly due patients! What fun. I decided I wanted to get a shot of one of the camera people…

Exciting life I lead… Ciao!

31 Years

Posted on August 14, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Thirty-one years ago today, I gave birth to my first child. I was a child myself… only 17 years old, a recent high school graduate.

On Friday, August 14, 1981 my dad took me to see my OB, Dr. Larry Holder. It was my due date and I fully expected to have my baby that day… LOL. He told me that most women didn’t have their baby on their due date (it’s statistically around 5%) and that after examining me, he thought it would be Monday or Tuesday, before I delivered. We left the doctor’s office at 1130. My dad dropped me off at my part-time job, a high end chocolate store, where I decorated humongous chocolate chip cookies and chocolate “records” for birthdays and other events. At 230 he came back to get me.

At 400 p.m., after watching General Hospital… LOL, sorry, I haven’t watched soaps in about 10 years, my dad declared me in labor. Labor? I’m not in labor! He told me that for about a half hour I would sit up every 5 minutes and rub my lower back. He called Dr. Holder and said we were coming into the office. <Insert me rolling my eyes at my know it all dad…> We got to the office at 445 and Dr. Holder examined me and I was 6 centimeters dilated! I have no idea how! I truly didn’t feel contractions. I walked the half block to the hospital, my dad not so happy that I was walking, and went to my mom’s office there. She worked in the Cashier’s Office at the hospital and stayed and chatted with her for a bit, then off to the coffee shop for a soda and donut 😀 I truly didn’t think there was any rush.

At around 545 the nurse came looking for me and took me upstairs. Nick was born, direct occiput posterior (face up instead of face down) at 626 p.m. All 7 lbs. 15 ounces of him. The only “pain” I had was the feeling that I was pooping a watermelon out… It was awesome (the lack of pain, not the watermelon part!). My mom, who brags incessantly about this, was the FIRST person to hold him. The doc handed him to my mom! My mom handed me the poloroid camera to take a picture of her holding him moments after birth, it’s pretty funny. I don’t have that picture to upload in this post. After the pic, she handed him right over to me.

Nick and I have been very lucky. Even though I never married Nick’s dad Joe, he always supported him. His family has, as well. Joe and I still have a good relationship. Which is awesome. My mom and dad were awesome in that, until I married the following year, they helped keep a roof over my baby’s head. I worked full-time and paid rent, but I couldn’t have done it without them. And they ADORED my little man 😀

Although I have a lot of fun memories, one of my best is that even when Nick was a bitty baby I would wake up to him smiling at me. I co-slept with my babies (meaning they slept in my bed with me) and even as young as 4 weeks, I would wake up and Nick would be staring at me with a grin on his face. His teachers used to say how precious that smile was… his smile is charming!

So, here’s some pics of my “boy”… he’s a man now… 31. I have NO idea where the time goes… At 48 I don’t feel old enough to have a 31 year old!!!

The day we brought Nick home. With my mom and dad.

Nick with his Pop-Pop and my Pop-Pop.

14 months old

Nick with Jenni 1984

Nick with his cousin Tommy

Nick with his dad and brother.

Me and Nick in Venice, Italy 2009

Nick, Tiffany, Me and Jenni – Jenni’s wedding weekend

Rockin’ the Tiara that his nieces made him wear at Jenni’s wedding reception 2009

Being “Unkie” Nick… with his nephews Shane and hours old Jose.

So, that’s my boy… HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON… it’s been a wild, wacky and wonderful 31 years!
~Mom

Dukan – Consolidation Day 86 – Sunday Runday

Posted on August 7, 2012 by flamidwyfe

Sunday was an awesome day… food wise, Dukan wise and exercise wise!

Daily weight: 148 lbs/67.2 kgs
Goal weight: 155 lbs/70.5 kgs

I started my morning early with a half hour of yoga and some housework. Then at 0900 out for a walk/run. It was HOT! Here’s how hot…

Feels like 101F… bring it on!

So I did this route… which the GPS is off a bit… I walked along the little river, across the bridge and back… so just move my route (in your head) down a bit… LOL

And these are the scenes along my walk…

The path leaving my complex going towards the river.

The construction site has taken over 1/2 the Buddhist Temple and torn it down… they moved the Big incense burners across the walking path to the river side.

The construction site hasn’t taken the temple half… yet… I sure hope they don’t!

A real working lock!

Guarding the lock.

I could smell a funky smell, like manure, and couldn’t figure out where it was coming from!

This lovely lady was fertilizing the lush greenery along the river walk… Thank you! You make my walk much more beautiful!!!

Continuing on…

I then crossed over the river to come back on the other side.

Incoming barge… an old way of transport with all new construction in the background!

Close up of the wake from the barge.

As I crossed over the bridge once more, I got wolf whistled at… LOL. That made me feel good and gave me the energy in the melting heat to finish…

Out of the 1:20 I only ran 35 minutes. It was just too darn hot… but it gave me the chance to slow down and enjoy the scenery!

Food:
Brekkies: 2 tea eggs… good protein fuel to get started!
Snack when back from walk/run: 2 ounces of an amazingly good aged cheddar that crumbles when you bite it… Mmmmmm and some Jerky… thanks, Suzanne for bringing that!
Dinner at 430 p.m. at Surbhi and Andy’s… OH MY GOD!!! My very favorite Indian dish, Palak Paneer, made just for me! Yummy, authentic Indian food. I am SO grateful for the people I have met on my 4 years of living abroad! I also had a little bit of rice, dal and aloo! Of course this was a celebration meal 😀

When I got home from my 1 hour 20 minute bus ride… standing (now that must have burned some calories) and dancing to my own tune (Rocking out to Rock of Ages soundtrack in the bus… smiling and dancing, sure makes the locals give me a little space) I opened my email to this picture…

Yummy, juicy, delectable Helena… who is almost 5 months! I am SO lucky that I get to be there when these little cutie patooties are born! Can’t wait to make a trip to Boston to cuddle you!

And before bed a pot of 2% Greek Yogurt with Splenda and flax seed meal. Yum!

Awesome day all around… How did your weekend go?

Ciao!