Go Skiing

Mission level: Success, mostly.

Whiteface Olympic Mountain

My first attempt at skiing was a sort of fail due to weather conditions when my super-hot boyfriend and I went to Lake Placid, New York. I might add, my super-hot boyfriend is not just a pretty face, he is an accomplished skier.

However, due to rain, we never made it to the slopes.

We did go ice skating, though. You can read about that in my Ice Skate post.

Context
I know zero-zip-ziletch about skiing. In fact, I have never been on a mountain, really. Not one with snow on it that is used for skiing. I never participated in winter sports, except the ever popular "I don't care if you have a snow day, get out of bed and shovel the driveway so Dad can go to work" marathon at the Estate.

Inaccurate representation of
Chickies Rock

I did once almost fall off a large hill - it was Chickies Rock in Marietta, PA. My boyfriend at the time did not seemed concerned as I slid careened down the rocky side toward the road certain death.

However, as I mentioned, MacGyver is an accomplished skier and I was pretty sure he wasn't going to let me go careening down some icey slope to certain doom.



The Build Up
MacGyver picked out where we we went, which was Blue Mountain in PA. I was able to borrow a snow-suit from my boyfriend's Mom. That's right, I'm the same size as my boyfriend's mom. While they also had skis and whatnot, I just rented the skis, ski boots and. . .those pole things that you stab the ground with.

I wasn't super keen on skiing. I was curious about it, I enjoyed seeing how happy my guy was about it, but, I can't say I was excited. I can't pin-point why there are certain times I am happy to blow past my comfort zone and why other times I just lack the motivation. I knew I was going to be uncomfortable and I did have a week full of discomfort. I'll say it's that.

The day of, my stomach was also not happy. I don't know why but I thought  was gong to hurl at least twice. That really had nothing to do with the story other than I wasn't feeling great. It passed, however. Thankfully. Being a disaster on a ski slope and hurling is not cool.

I am for cool.

On the Snow

I'm a pro

I did make it out onto the slopes. It was a balmy 20 degrees. Sven (that's what MacGyver calls himself when he is skiing) helped me get into the skis.

And then I started moving backwards. It's ok, I got myself down-ish the hill. I ended up in a rut and then almost went down another slope.

Sven taught me the following:

• Big pizza slice: Putting your ski tips together to form a triangle or large pizza slice to slow down or stop.
• Snake the mountain: Going back and forth across the hill is best. 
• If all else fails, hit the deck.

I hit the deck a lot. I'm familiar with this concept from my horse-back riding days. If your horse ever got out of control that you couldn't get it back, you needed to get off. I took a couple falls practicing this. I never had to use it.

Here are a couple things I learned:

• Snow is slippery.
• Snow boats are funny to walk in.
• Seat warmers are da bomb.
• Falling when skiing is not as bad as falling when biking (at least, at my ski speeds).
• Sven is really hot.
• My cousin works at Blue Mountain.
• Falling repeatedly hurts.
• You use muscles in skiing you might not realize.
• You can never dress warmly enough.
• Know the end of the slope.
• Snowboarders are silly and slightly annoying.

It was fun, the whole thing. I need some practice, I am sure, and I can't say I will have a hard and fast love of skiing, but, I would be willing to try it again. It was pretty cold and I felt my neuropathy flare up a bit. I decided I am not as tough as I thought I was. It's ok, they had a bar. 

I did spend some time at the bar while Sven was out skiing. First, it is obviously his element. Watching him skiing around and him teaching me was really awesome. It's never a bad time to watch someone doing what they are passionate about. I told him to go off and enjoy and warmed up.

I made friends with the bartender (key to life) and I think he gave me a drink free. 

Future Plans

MacGyver, er, Sven and I decided I would take off a Monday at some point and give it another try for me. I did get nervous with everyone around even though there were no close calls. I think I am going to work my core a little more because you do work your obliques. 

By the way, all the buttons on my snow-suit had "HEAD" written on them and I thought it was some cool way for rescuers to figure out where my head was should  be rescued from an avalanch or something. I pointed this out when I saw one of the snaps not anywhere near my head still had "HEAD" on it. MacGyver pointed out it was the brand name, not a clever identification thing. I'm awesome.

Image Credit
Slope from alistairrobinson.co.uk
Whteface from whiteface.com

Rejected Request: Donating Blood

I got a request in - yays! - which was pretty straightforward -

Donate blood.

Vampires

I have to reject this challenge. I have never donated blood products or other body parts and I am not an organ donor. I think if you can donate blood, blood products or be an organ donor, it would be a good thing for the world. Blood donations are used mostly during emergency situations since it's standard practice to bank your own blood if the doctors believe you might lose a lot of blood.

My blood and organs might be contaminated with cysts of my infections. Blood banks cannot and/or do not screen for the types of infections I have had and there is no standard test to determine if I am carrying dormant infections. For this reason, I will never donate.

I don't think I could live with myself if I passed on sickness to someone who needed a transfusion due to a car accident or even because of cancer or other illnesses.

Know Your Blood
Getting normal check-ups and blood tests are the best way to make sure you know what is going on with your health. As I never will donate blood, I never knew my blood type so I did want to find that out. First, it's good to know. Second, I wanted to put it on my tags I use when I go biking that has all my critical information on them.

I used a company called RoadID to make mine and they have a good guide on what to put on these tags should you be in an accident.

I got the Blood Type Eldoncard Typing Test Kit from Amazon and failed in doing anything right. Mostly the pricking of my finger - I didn't bleed that much. I thought my blood type was B- but, thankfully, I figured I probably did something wrong and asked my doctor.

Me: Can I get a blood type test?
Doctor: Why?
Me: If I am in an accident, I can print it on my ID tags.
Doctor: You know, they never go by that, they will test you even if you have it written down.
Me: I still want to know.
Doctor: Ok.

Ends up, I'm B+. Mofo be positive!

Me and my 8.5% rock

Where You Can Donate
If you would like to take on this challenge for me, I highly encourage it! Only about 40% of Americans donate blood.

Just make sure you are healthy, visit the doctor to make sure your blood is good and avoid giving blood if you have had certain infections that might be passed through blood and are not screened for. Here are some sources:

• American Red Cross
• The Armed Services Blood Program
• The Blood Alliance

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Image Credit

Graphic from wildonfitness.com
Blood from nursing4n00bs.tumblr.com

Diet Challenge - Alterations

I posted these three challenges a bit ago, my Diet Challenges - Three Times the Charm post in which I said I would do the following diets in 7 day stretches:

• Vegan: No animal products or by-products allowed.
• Locavore: Food only can come from the local area where you live.
• Islamic: Diet derived from commandments found in the Qur'an, the Hadith and Sunnah.

I did the vegan thing which you can read about in my Vegan Challenge post, but, I am going to have to take a rest. I need to make sure I am using my resources correctly and doing proper research. So far, I found I basically live a very locavore life which would just take some minor tweaks. 

Unless I am doing the one when you pretend you lived like 100 years ago and need to research what exactly the land offers at this time of the year - winter - and eat only that. That's going to be hard and costly. 

I don't want to give up on these things, however, I will be moving them as a monthly challenge instead of doing them one right after another. Before go tweaking my diet for about a month, I would like to spend some time building up some context.

Besides, gives me time to enjoy the life I do live and the foods I can eat and like to eat. Like cheese.

And I have to figure out where and how I can do this zorbing and zip lining.

Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Read 20 Book: Update

It’s not going well, faithfully followers and random people who came to this page. It is not going well. If you remember, I said I was going to read 20 books in 10 months in my Read 20 Books challenge.

I have estimated I have a good chunk of free time during the week. This time is sucked up with some volunteering I do, wash, getting food, crying, hanging out with friends and cleaning out the cat box. It’s still a good chunk of time and I should be able to get some reading done.

By this point, I should have already finished a book. I have not. Ok, I did read one of these free books of Amazon. I mean, I read it. And it was horrible. I don’t want to count it. 

I am actually 50% of the way through my first book, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. You would think it would have all the elements in it to get me hooked – interesting narration, unique writing structure, Nazis. . .and yet.

I was really into in for a section or two but then I started to lose interest in it. I think it is because I am waiting for action to move more swiftly. I think Zusak does a great job of using few words to describe a lot of stuff and now I feel like I have been reading the same thing over and over and over again.

I am waiting for some event or action to move the story along.

I even like the “spoiler alerts” plastered in the book. I like the character of the narrator. But, I have no desire to continue reading it so it has been a little bit of a struggle. 

Shame, I am not sure why. 

I feel like a failure a lot these days.

My New Toy
So, where is my time going?

After months and months of debate, I did go out and buy a Galaxy Tab 2 for myself. This might be another reason I am not getting any reading done. The idea was that I would have a portable device to help me get some writing done and keep in touch. I'm never that far from wireless and the people I know who have them rave about them.

So, I am now a member of Big Fish Games Unlimited and am tearing through the Dark Parables series in hopes it soothes my heart until Mystery Case Files releases their next game. I'm a sucker for a good puzzle or hidden object type game. I even have been playing some card games to try to keep my mind sharp for when I sit down and play my boyfriend.

Anyhow, all these things are not reading.

What I Have Been Doing
While I have not been reading that much, I have been writing. Here’s sort of what I have been doing in place of reading: 

• Moved my blog to AdventuringAmanda.blogspot.com (have more to do).
• Worked on my series short stories. 
• Caught up on blog post – I don’t just write them the day before, you know. 
• Beat Dark Parables: The Frog Prince (seeking other games).
• Set up my Galaxy Nexus Tab 2. 

Right, busy.

What I Will Do
I’m going to finish this book. I really am. I am still shooting for 20 books in 10 months. I just need to either hunker down and do it or find books that better keep my interest. 

Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Image Credit
Book from npr.org

Vegan Challenge

Mission Level: Success
I was a vegan for 7 days. I ate no meat and almost nothing with animal bi-products.

What Is Vegan?

My daily intake

Most people know what a vegetarian is – someone who doesn't eat meat. Vegans take this to another level and do not eat anything that comes from animals. This includes all dairy (butter, cheese, milk), seafood and items that contain trace amounts of animal products like Lucky Charms cereal and Jello.

I failed because some of the supplements I take are not vegan. I wasn't going to give them up or buy something new just for this challenge. I was aware I would have to if I went totally vegan, though. I have a feeling some of the items I ate might have had animal bi-products in them but were under some chemical that I didn't know.

Beyond that, vegans adopt a lifestyle that involves not wearing or using items that are derived from animals – no leather, no wool and certainly no fur. I didn't go out and buy a new wardrobe, I just was aware of this situation. For example, my shoes are made of leather. Mostly everything else I wear is cotton or rayon or something.

Becoming Vegan

Smarties - Vegan candy

First, it was not as hard for me to get into being a vegan as I thought. It’s an ok place to visit, but, I wouldn't want to live here. I do eat a lot of fruits and veggies. However, I'm very much an omnivore and I like my meats.

I also buy my food on a weekly basis so I just didn't buy any meat. I did have bacon and eggs in my refrigerator and a pack of frozen chicken tenders. Most people make a joke about, “How can you give up bacon?!” but, the chicken really got to me.

So, here is a list of the items I ate for the week:

• Apples.
• Bananas.
• Blackberries.
• Blueberries.
• Bread.
• Broccoli.
• Butternut squash.
• Carrots.
• Coconut.
• Coconut milk.
• Diet Coke.
• Flax seed.
• Garlic.
• Kiwi.
• Lightlife Smart Ground - Veggie ProteinCrumbles
• Onion.
• Pears.
• Pita chips (with VEGAN on it).
• Popcorn.
• Potato chips.
• Quinoa.
• Raspberries.
• Rice noodles.
• Rum.
• Smarties.
• Spinach.
• Strawberries.
• Sweet potato.
• Tomato.
• Walnuts.
• Water.

Really, in the right mind-set of opening food-doors, being a vegan is the way to go because you are limited and have to branch out. I set my brain in the mode of embracing rather than enduring. Obviously, there are a lot of foods I don't eat and this was a good time to eat them – or eat more of stuff I forgot I liked.

Week In Review

I did cry a little in my soul at Whole Foods when I walked through the cheese department. I do love some good cheese. I don't eat dairy too often, maybe twice a month. I like to get my dairy in cheese form. I do have a love of La Tur cheese and a nice bleu cheese.

Just a little. . .

I did actually eat better dinners this week than I had before this process. Normally, I eat some popcorn or bacon for dinner and call it even. This week, I made up some rice noodles, Trader Joe’s tomato basil sauce and the protein crumbles for a nice little pasta dish.

I also cooked for my boyfriend. I made a really pathetic vegan chili – it was pathetic because I don't eat beans and I don't like spicy (as in hot) foods. He ate it like a champ.

I have a Nutribullet so I got a variety of fresh fruit (and frozen) for a nice smoothie. The Nutribullet is an emulsifier so you don’t need to add any dairy to make it creamy – it breaks down everything you put in there into a nice, thick consistency. I like to add a touch of spinach to everything (I go through two bags of spinach a week because of this) for some extra goodness.

New Stuff I Tried

I never had coconut milk, so, that was new. It's very watery but has a nice sweet kick. It's also suppose to be pretty good for you. I got these like boxes of it, each were 60 calories. In my Nutribullet, it added a nice hint of sweetness – almost made my berry blend taste like a tart. It was delicious.

I also tried the protein crumbles. I'm not into fake stuff. Since I was giving up animal products, I wasn't going to go try to find a replacement product. What the hell is in “soy cheese?” Crap. That's what. I am not into tofu, either. I think it can be over-processed. I like my food to be food. Why dress edamame up to be fake cheese – it's perfectly great as edamame.

I just don't trust high amounts of soy or tufu. I couldn't get over this during the week.

However the protein crumbles were pretty tasty and well seasoned. In reviewing the ingredients, I think I might try them again because they are packed with protein. It's a bit if a mind-shift for me, but, what's life without a couple mind-shifts.

Issues

One of my main issues in finding foods to eat was my inability to eat canola oil. Sure, a little isn’t going to kill me, but, I’m not going to buy products with canola in it.

Canola, by the way, is pretty healthy. No reason for anyone not to consume it. It did create an interesting problem as I toured through Whole Foods to find some vegan-approved foods to eat. Even the hot bar marked with “VEGAN” I couldn’t have. Bummer.

I did crave the normal foods I enjoy - I really wanted some chicken. I think part of it was because I could not have chicken. The other part was because I normally make myself a couple plain chicken strips for dinner.

True

I did not plan the first couple days that well when I was at work. I was hungry because I packed some fruit and nothing else – and not enough fruit. I could not go out because the closet café didn’t have vegan stuff. I also couldn’t go to the vending machine because I couldn’t read the back of the labels to see if the item was vegan or not.

I’m going to admit, I’m not the best vegan when it comes to getting the calories I need. I think it would struggle more if I was in training for a cycling event and I would have to rely on others to help me find the foods I need to keep going.

Thoughts

I knew one vegan but I think she used it as an excuse to hide an eating disorder. Others I have met in passing were often more concerned with evaluating food choices than having a non-weird conversation. Walking a week as a vegan (in non-vegan shoes) did offer me some time to think about food choices and people as individuals.

NOM!

I always said, it is truly a luxury to live in a world where you can choose what you want to eat and you can choose not to eat certain foods since everything is abundant. The flip side is respecting that just because we live in a world where we have access to more than enough doesn't mean it's fair to judge those who exercise that choice.

So, I had a lot of tangles with highly moralistic and judgmental vegans. Do they have a leg to stand on?

While I can't comment on morality, I can see where this lifestyle can wear on you and make you more defensive.

It’s not easy being a vegan, it takes some time, research and work.

I did not attempt to go out to a restaurant this week – I know only of one a bit of a hike away that is a vegan/vegetarian place. Otherwise, I am not sure where I could go. Vegetarian, sure. Vegan, no. I also have to be careful due to my beans and canola oil situation.

I felt a little bad when someone offered me food this week or there was an event and I was like, “Damn, can’t eat that.” How many times can you say, “no thanks, friend,” before someone starts asking you why.

I can see where frustrations can emerge if someone made a nice dish and I started questioning everything about it. I can see how both sides might feel challenged or insulted. 

I know I get scared and frustrated in just explaining to people I can't have vinegar.

Mom: I made you some chicken salad.
Me: I can't have mayo.
Mom: Why not?
Me: It has vinegar in it.
Mom: Oh dear, I didn't think of that.
Me: Sorry.

My boyfriend, might I add, was really supportive. At one point, I said I could just break down and make something that was non-vegan, like pizza with cheese. He said it was ok and I said he wasn't going to let me give up because it was “easier.” I appreciated that support.

I don’t think the vegan lifestyle is for me but I think I will try to incorporate it more into my current omnivore lifestyle.

I would like to think I was never mean or insulted by someone with a special diet or food allergy. I think I am always curious about it and I will think more carefully about how I ask my questions before I do.

Then, well, this also happened.



On the list. . .

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Diet Challenge Research

Me eating a pear

First of all, the vegan thing is going pretty good. I am not sure, but, I am toying with the idea of maybe trying this for two weeks - I have a couple ideas I think I want to explore with the whole food thing. I'll let you all know on Monday.

The point of this post is to sort of outline what you should be doing and thinking about if you decide to change up your eating habits and diet.

When you are going to engage in some type of new diet, it’s important to get some of your facts straight.


What Is A Calorie?
I think most of us think calories are bad – unless you are trying to gain weight or you are in some type of training and know you need more fuel. Then calories are little bits of fear and evil, but, rather important building blocks of success.

In fact, that is what calories are – fuel. So much like fuel for your car, you want to make sure you have a nice, full tank but you don’t want to try to overfill it.

Calories aren't bad. You need them to live. The problem is getting enough or getting too many. This is over a long-term but can be managed short-term. After all, if I end up eating 2000 calories at an awesome party or in front of the TV, it’s not going to impact me that much. Doing it every night is.

Keep in mind, we only know the value of calories in food by setting the food on fire. In the case of very watery foods (like watermelon) scientist dehydrate the food then set it on fire. A calorie is then the approximate amount of energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 kelvin.

Goooo science!

Nutrition
Beyond calories, it’s important to get good foods in you. Good fuel, good calories – yum. I could easily eat all my calories in potato chips and ice cream, but, that’s not the best diet. It’s important to eat nutritional dense foods with vitamins and fiber and protein and carbs and all this good stuff your body needs for energy, tissue regeneration and, of course, pooping.

I also happen to take a good amount of vitamins because my body sucks those things up like a Dyson.

Calories, You and a Diet
Before you pick a diet you want to try or stick too, you want to make sure you know how many calories you need to function. You can find calculators online to help you – just make sure you know this is purely an estimate and nothing is set in stone. It’s a good place to start, not the end-all-be-all of your world. Things can change if you decide to workout more.

For example, at least 2 weeks a month I am in a classroom standing, pacing and doing some occasional soft shoe at work. The rest of the time, I am pretty much sitting at a desk. When I am biking in the warmer months (and going to pick it up again soon, now that the snow is off the trail) I’m going to be burning more calories.

I used this Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) Calculator to figure out how many calories I burn in a day just living.

So, as of right now, I am 5’6 about 140lbs. In the morning I weight about 135, by night I weigh about 137. It’s a normal flux, but, I call it 140.

Using the calculator, (and claiming I live a remarkable sedentary lifestyle right now) I estimate I need about 1710 calories a day to maintain my weight. In whatever diet I choose, I need to eat this 1710 calories in order to maintain my weight. I can break it up anyway I want, for example:

• Breakfast: 174.
• Lunch: 592
• Dinner: 542
• Snack: 402

Obviously, if i wanted to lose weight, I have to eat less than 1710 calories or I need to burn off calories through physical activity.

My Food Story
I have been fat and skinny – I actually weight the lest I ever did right now. I normally was in the 145-150 range but I have weighed as much as 185-195. Eating and food has posed extensive problems from me while sick.
Weight gain issues:

• My thyroid crashed a few times.
• Medications caused me to gain weight.

Weight loss issues:

• I puked. A lot.
• I developed OCD - I could not eat certain foods without anxiety, so, I avoided them.
• I lost the ability to feel hungry.

I learned the importance of food as fuel when I could not eat a lot. I found quinoa was easy on my digestive tract and packed full of good nutrition to keep me going and support my system.

In bike training, I ate more than I ever ate before. The idea that foods that people said were bad (pizza, Poptarts, etc) actually had a real and important place in my diet amazed me. I went from eating anything and everything to learning I could use this hunger to create better rides for myself. I discovered paella and my life changed.

Conclusions
Whatever you reason for trying out a new diet or taking on a challenge to learn something, be sure you are safe about it. Visit a registered dietitian or nutritionist to help you come up with a plan. Make sure you know what you need to keep you going, make sure you try new things when you can and find things that are delicious and good for you.

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

7 Day Core Challenge: Complete!

Mission Level
Success!

This is my second (actually my third) 7 Day Core Challenge attempt. The first time was a couple months ago and I actually just forgot to keep doing the exercises. The second time, if you remember, I got sick (you can read about that in my Sickness Strikes the 7 Day Core Challenge).

The Challenge

Six pack not achieved

Well, seems simple enough. I found the swanky graphic to show you what I have been doing every night while watching the Jeff Probst show.

I found by staying healthy I avoided my last inability to complete this challenge. By building in the 15 minutes or so into my nightly routine (JeffProbst makes me think of my core) I avoided forgetting to do it. Routine is often key when you are doing something new or trying to form a good habit.

Before You Start
First off, it is good to do a little research before you do an activity like this. You want to make sure you are doing the motions correctly and avoiding any potential injury. For example, I use to think you preformed the plank with extended arms and wondered why I hurt my shoulders so much - that is a raised plank, I learned. A normal plank is done on your forearms.

I did not measure myself before to see if I lost some inches or anything. I don't think in a week there would be that dramatic of a difference. Plus, I have a little adrenal fatigue belly going on that I hope will go away soon. I was interested in the challenge not in my actual waist line.

Evaluation
I did feel a difference pretty much after the first night. Nothing super-painful, just a dull ache that proved I did something. The key to working out is not to kill yourself - there is not truth to "no pain, no gain," you never want to hurt yourself. A dull ache isn't to bad, though. I found I wanted to stretch out my obliques and stomach muscles more. And that's what I did at work. .mostly in the bathroom, in the stall, when no one could see me doing belly dance moves.

So - how did it go? I was surprised how easy doing the crunches were. Enough so that I looked up how to do a good one online. I do them correctly and I did feel a little bit of a burn. I was impressed that I could pull off 150 crunches a night without much issue.

On Thursday night I held the first plank for the whole minute. That was a pretty good feeling! I had been able to hold a plank, at most, for about 45 seconds I will say, I could have done better and pushed through it sooner. Sometimes you got to know when to push, sometimes you got to know when to just not give it. I felt pretty awesome when I held the plank for a minute so I think I will push myself a little more. Progress does that.

I was doing the side plank wrong for two nights by using an extended arm instead of on my forearm again. That was painful. My wrists are not great at supporting my weight. When I did it correctly, the first night it was a struggle to keep my balance. By the night after that, I think I trained my muscles to stabilize me and I got over the minor joint discomfort of holding up my body. After I am done everything, then I feel it in my obliques - which is great!

One of my major weaknesses is my upper body. I cannot do a push-up - I can do a girl push up where you are on your knees rather than your toes (dirty description, much?). I also have issues with my wrists and holding up my upper body on them. Anyhow, I did my girl push-ups and I did 15. By Thursday, I was able to rest more of my weight on my arms and I made sure I was working hard to complete all 15. I think in another week, I might be able to actually do a push-up.

I am not sure about the bridge. This was a huge break for me. By Wednesday I felt a little ache in my back and the outer sides of my thighs. I suppose my gluts and hams are pretty strong because I can hold the bridge position all day without an issue. I just used the time to play the bongos on my tummy.

Future Plans
I think I am going to continue doing this routine.

I have noticed my posture feels better. I feel like my core is getting stronger from my stomach to my obliques to my back. It's a great feeling and I'm pumped that I do actually feel better. Little things actually can make a huge difference in a variety of ways. I feel pumped over my slight improvements, even if they might be viewed as failures or weakness. I almost can do a real push-up and that's big for me.

I am always amazed when my body responds normally and gets stronger. Once, when I thought I was healthy and in a little denial after my second relapse, I went for a three mile walk-run and ended up not being able to function for days. Even my doctor was out of his mind when I told him what I had done. My body just collapsed after any activity.

When I started biking and struggling through those miles up until I completed my century, I wondered why more people weren't doing physical things. It really is a joy to work through something that is difficult and then see results - even if they are minor, like my minor improvement with push-ups.

I was held back from doing anything for 15 years of my life. I couldn't walk up stairs or walk more than a few steps without needing to sit down and rest. It's a joy to put my body to the test and feel it change and grow stronger.

I think I will keep doing this little routine and see what changes I can get in my core area.


Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.


Image Credit
Image from smashem.wordpress.com

Diet Challenges - Three Times the Charm

Chips in the back!

Someone who knows me probably suggested this one.

Eat a normal, healthy diet.

Yes, this is from someone who knows me. I suppose a pot of coffee and bag of potato chips is not "healthy."  I @#$%ing love potato chips.

Define Healthy
The question this request begs is, "what is healthy?"

I actually also have friends who choose to be vegan or vegetarian - and even some friends who are more militant about it than others. I happen to eat pretty much anything, just not a lot of processed food, fast food or prepackaged food.

An appetizer, if you will, of World Eats

In my travels on the Internet, I did find the What the World Eats which shows families around the world with the amount of food and types of foods they eat in an average week. I don't tend to look at it as if everyone must have access to certain foods in order to be happy, I look at it as how "normal" is different for everyone. It probably isn't a bad idea to learn from others.

Science and dietitians still struggle to find out what is the "perfect" diet. It changes yearly, monthly - daily? Carbs, no carbs. Meat, no meat. More of something, less of another. Diets - complicated. And I am not even talking about "diets" just to lose weight, I'm talking about diets as in the habit of eating.

My Diet
I boiled down my average weekly food consumption - the items I eat and quantity if memory is correct.

• Almonds (rarely).
• Apples (daily).
• Bacon.
• Blackberries/strawberries/raspberries (frozen).
• Beef (rarely, not by choice).
• Butter (for cooking and popcorn).
• Cheese.
• Cheese doodles.
• Chicken (breast meat, strips/roasted).
• Eggs (2-3).
• Flaxseed.
• Ground turkey or beef.
• Green beans.
• Pears (daily).
• Pineapple (frozen, rarely)
• Potato chips.
• Potato.
• Popcorn (air popped).
• Onions.
• Quinoa.
• Rice noodles.
• Sea salt (helps adrenal fatigue).
• Smarties (candy, rarely).
• Walnuts (rare).
• Wine.
• Vodka (woo!).

Nothing unhealthy there, right? I mean, sometimes I throw in some other stuff, but, not to bad. If you remember the Egg McMuffin challenge, this might answers some questions on what I can handle.

My Edit

My fridge

First, there are certain things I cannot or should not consume because I have sensitivities to certain foods. A sensitivity means I will not die if I eat them, I will just want to die. An allergy would mean I would have to go to the hospital if I ate these things. Anyhow, the items I don't eat are:

• Canola oil (I avoid fried food and most processed food).
• Vinegar (no sushi or condiments).
• Beans (you know, beans).

I did some research (I went to the Wiki) and chatted with some friends who have different diet types. Since I can't really demand a meal plan, I decided to divide this challenge into a couple weekly chunks. I think it's a good span of time that includes weekends and weekdays.

I also decided to add some flair to this diet challenge by including a range - here it is:

• Vegan: No animal products or by-products allowed.
• Locavore: Food only can come from the local area where you live.
• Islamic: Diet derived from commandments found in the Qur'an, the Hadith and Sunnah.

Stay tuned for my report on this! I will be starting with the vegan diet today - report to follow in a week!

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Image Credit

Cornucopia from emilyinthekithen.blogspot.com

World Eats thumbnail from cominganarchy.com

Read 20 Books

Time to accept an adventure or challenge - whatever you want to call it.

Read more books! A lot more books!

What's a lot? I consulted a friend and a lot was determined to be 20.

Reading is Fun
I never disliked reading. Back in high school (that's four years) I ended up reading 100 books. That's about 14 books a year, a little more than one book a month. I ripped through those things and read everything and anything I could. When I was in high school, there were no electronic books, by the way, only physical books. Acquiring them could be a little difficult so I just focused on reading everything I could find.

Must consume words

My Book History
My Mom read mysteries so I got into the whole Brother Cadfael and we had a bunch of classics like the Prince and the Pauper and the complete works of Shakespeare, and I did read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, the dictionary and the Thesaurus. I read all of Sherlock Holmes and more informational items like Bananas B-Guide to School Survival and the Anarchist Cookbook and the Book of Lists.

I stopped reading in college when I had to do more stilted reading of text books and things for research papers and whatnot.

I think a lot of people lose their love of reading when they are they have read a lot of stuff with heavy constrains  pressure and little freedom.

I couldn't find anything that really impressed me. I use to sit and read and lose time when reading - the words effortlessly translating into a movie in my brain.

Sickness also stole my reading habit. There was a point that the infection in my brain was taking up so much space when I tried to read words, my vision was bouncing around due to the pressure of my brain on my eyes. I also began losing my short-term memory so books didn't make sense.

Current Reading
I think some of that is based on your own enjoyment of the material and the quality. I think the last two series I read were Warlock of Gramarye and the Anita Blake series and the last single books I read were The Lovely Bones and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Oh, and, Hunting Down Amanda and Animalia,which was too much fun. And a friend gave me Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin which was surprisingly good.

I don't own many books.

I always kept maybe one or two books myself or a couple to prop up lamps. I would always give away books I finished reading or donate them to the Universal Library (something like Book Crossing). I never understood people who hoard books, many they have never read, just to prove they have books.

The Challenge
Anyhow, reading 20 books shouldn't be that hard these days, right? 20 books at 2 a month will take me 10 months. I will start counting as soon as I acquire a book. I don't have a fancy reader or anything - old fashion books will have to do.


I might have to get some type of tablet or something - an e-reader. I can get some free books on my phone, but, that is a bit of a strain. I have wanted to get a tablet.

So everyone knows I am doing this, I will write a little review for each book and post it on my blog.

The did decide to apply one rule - I cannot count books I already read even if I cannot remember the story. Books I read when sick, like the Brief History of the Dead  or Geek Love, and would like to read again since the brain infection made it hard to understand, cannot be counted as a book read.

The List
I asked people what books I should read and, frankly, vetoed a lot of them.

M: I'm not reading crap. I maintain my veto power.
R: Isn't the point of this exercise to expose you to new things?
M: A lobotomy would be a "new thing," but I'd probably veto it.

Here is my current list in no particular order. The first books I vetoed where upwards of $20:

• Dopefiend: The Story of a Black Junkie by Donald Goines
• Magical Thinking: True Thinking by Augusten Burroughs
• The Night of the Pussy Willows by Kimberly Dawn Bickford
• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
• The Art of War by Sun Tzu
• Unwind by Neal Shusterman
• A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
• Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
• Snow by Dr. Seuss
• Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr. Nick Trout
• The Swordless Samurai by Kitami Masao
• Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes

Since this is the sum total of my list, I found myself a site that tells me where I can get free digital books - that would be Free Book Sifter

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Image Credit
Books from harvestbooks.com
How to Read from funmeme.com

Accepting and Rejecting Adventures

When you lose your ability to do something, however minor, it can change you outlook on life. Think about the last time you had a cold or sore throat and how that sucked and then how much better it felt to breathe through you nose and eat and drink normally.

If you haven't thought about it, you should.

I still get excited when I walk up stairs.

My Point
Even though my life has been weird and limited, it doesn't mean I am going to go off the deep end now that things are better.

I am going to reject adventures suggested to me. There are times I am simply not going to do things. Some of my rejections of adventures are purely based in financial reasons. Sure, who wouldn't want to live a life with unrestricted resources - but how many do?

I am sxtremely lucky, happy and comfortable because I try to be responsible and plan ahead for things.

Not fun

Relapse is always a factor in my day-to-day. I would like to say the fear of it has lessened now that I am two years out of treatment, but the concept lives with me at all times. Every ache or dizzy spell or bad day begins with the question, "could this be relapse?" After all, I have survived four relapses.

Once the sum of all fears comes true, every fear becomes a possibility.

I like to look at the things I fear dead on. Not everyday and not at all times but eventually, I want to look at it in the face. The more you look at or think about things you fear and come up with plans to "outsmart" it, the less of a monster these thing can seem.

Being sick was expensive. It's good to have a nice backup. After all, you need to look out for yourself rather than expect someone else to do it for you. Besides, the better you look after yourself the more you can help out those who need it.

After all, part of our job as humans is to take care of others.

Back to Now
I gave up on several adventures due to cost. A lot of traveling overseas or even to the Kentucky Derby are going to be out for quite a long time because I can't really afford it. They still exist, of course, they will always exist and some of these adventures will be based on my ability to find a great deal or unique way to get there.

Requests sent to me here are up to veto due to cost or danger. However, I'm up for trying just about  anything as long as my body doesn't give out. I will write a little entry about any adventures I must reject and the reason why.

So, write me what you would like to see me try!

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Sickness Strikes the 7 Day Core Challenge

After I said I was going to do the 7 Day Core Challenge I ended up getting sick and nothing got done. This was not some blow New Years Resolution type thing, just couldn't move off the couch or bed. Anyhow, I am back to full health and will actually report on this next week.

I don't remember the last time I was "sick" with some type of flu or temporary illness that lasts a couple days or a week rather than 10 years. However, the first chills first made me think it was anemia - I had that before. I thought maybe the Babesiosis had come back and was making its presence known. 

Babesiosis

Two days later, I was better, so, that was nice. I'm glad most of my fear remains in the back of my thoughts not the front.

Sick Time

Being sick sucks - having people care about you can actually remove a lot of the loneliness of being cooped up and not able to do much. Ultimately, if the sickness becomes a more drawn out thing, emotions and feelings getting cooped up as much as the body and start to shred the spirit without an outlet. 

The trick to dealing with sick people, flu or cold to something more intense is to do things without expectation. If you know someone who is sick, reach out even if you don't get a reply. Let the sicky hate you, ignore you or cry on your shoulder - when you are getting a reaction (yes, being ignored is a reaction) you are letting some of that emotion that is cooped up out. Don't take the reaction personally. Yeah, it takes a pretty big person to stick by someone who is really long-term sick. 

When dealing with people who have a chronic condition or what is known as an "invisible condition" - if it is you or you know someone - you might want to check out this site, But You Don't Look Sick which gives some good advice. It's not bad advice for someone who might actually just have a bad flu, by the way. Empathy is always a good thing.

Manda and a Mild Flu

I did go a little stir crazy with a mixture of anxiety and loneliness. I wasn't about to suggest anyone come over since I was miserable and didn't want to pass what I had on. 

I rearranged my living room to a set-up I thought would work a lot better than what I had for the past four or five years. I don't know why I waited so long to do it. It wasn't that hard and I got to clean some spots I couldn't before because of where my furniture was. 

I also had to disconnect my TV and then hook it back up.

So bear with me a second - this type of thing is something I never thought I was good with. I think part of it is because I am a girl and part of my upbringing was moving furniture and electronics was a male thing and part was my own "I never did this before," and the fear of the unknown. I can still remember when I had to take two breaks walking up 13 stairs. I remember not buying things I needed because I knew I would never be able to retain the directions or have the mental strength to put it together.

And I felt like a loser turning on my TV after the move.

Crippling depression. . .

But I even figured out and with a little dedication, I was able to figure out I plugged the cable into the wrong input. Vola! I have a new living room. 

Ponderings

I think it is very easy to accept things that are ok but not super - like my living room. I think it is easy to dream about something better without putting it into practice - like me thinking about this new arrangement for the last four to five years. I think giving it all a try, however, even if it fails a bit or is harder things can be a lot better. I did mix up some cables and I needed some tools and I got dirty. All these things, easily fixed. 

So, I failed at the core workout. I gained a new living room which makes my soul happy. And my neck. I think more people should try for things. Not always HUGE thing like world travel or quitting you job to join the circus but little things that you touch everyday.

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Ice Skate

Mission Level
Success

Ever ice skate? I never did. Not until December 22, 2012! Now, if you are going to try ice skating for the first time, you are going to want to pick an awesome spot. How about the James B. Sheffield Olympic Skating Rink in Lake Placid?

This would be the rink used in both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Eric Heiden won five gold medals and set a world record on this ice. I'm on the ice of champions. Up to this point, ice was what I used to keep my vodka chilled.

And how about we do this all in a blizzard?

Go ice!

This is a huge ring which is refrigerated and super-well taken care of. Actual speed-skaters train here but they have public skating a few hours a day. Tickets are pretty cheap, actually, and the money goes to keeping this rink up and running so you can't feel bad about throwing down a couple bucks for a couple hours of skating.

Then again, I didn't pay for the tickets.

The ring

My awesome and super-fantastic man-friend had his own skates, I rented mine for a staggering $3. I was expecting a thin, sharp blade - stiff, heavy leather boots. The blade was not as sharp as I thought - hey, I never even handled skates before.

Fashion is my bag

Preconceived Notions
I use to rollerblade when I was a teenager. I never learned how to stop other than running into things like walls and cars or running on the grass until I could stop moving. Someone once said that rollerblading was like ice skating and if you could do one you could do the other. This is. . .accurateish..

It is easier to move on the ice both forward and back. I think it is easier to fall, too. I found I could stop myself by turning and using angles. I think if I used my toe pick I could stop and probably fall over. I think trying to run on the ground with ice skates would be a baaaad idea. I did not try this.

On the Ice
Being on the ice was actually really great. At first, I was pretty unsteady. I had a lot to worry about - falling, other people, other people falling, looking cool - you know, important things.

Looking cool

Skating is fluid and smooth and once I got my confidence up a little, I got into the gliding groove. There is some magical about ice skating. It's ice and metal. I'm on frozen water with a strip of metal attached to a boot. Yet, every effort and twist of the body produces motion. In a conceptual way, it is like swimming where a couple strokes produce far more motion than the body is use to.

Trust me, though, you use some muscles to keep going and I like going fast at a lot of things. I did hit a couple patches where I almost took a tumble, but, I recovered.

Skate, scream, bobble, skate, bobble, scream, triple lutz.

I did have to stop before I wanted to. My knee was bothering me and it's a type of bother that told me to take a break. I love the cold but enough of it somehow can get into my core and fare up my neuropathy.

True story: The first time the neuropathy started, it was numbness so I started clawing and poking at my skin to get some feeling back. Then it turned into heat - burning like hot oil rippling over my skin. I went outside and laid in the snow to try to stop it. Hypothermia does not cure neuropathy. Then my doctor called and got me back inside, explained it all and I found heat works a lot better. Funny nerves.

I did enjoy watching people skate. The kid were fun because they grew up doing this and they were pretty amazing. They also fell a couple times which was more humorous than painful - don't worry, everyone popped right up.

I did get back on the ice to try to lap my guy - he was having a blast zooming around - but I never caught up to him. I blame the blizzard wind which caught me in the face and brought me to a complete stop.

Yeah - stupid nature!

Kidding, nature is cool. (get it?!)

Future Plans
I would totally go ice skating again. I suggest anyone who has not tried it to give it a shot. There is something liberating about slipping around.

I will also mention I fell twice this day just when walking and hitting a patch of ice. I'm that cool.

Be Part of the Adventure
Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Do the 7 Day Core Challenge

I decided to give the Core Workout 7 Day Challenge a try. This is what I will be doing attempting to do everyday starting today for a week, if not longer. The challenge is 7 days, might I add. I write "attempting" because I don't think I have enough core strength to do the requirement, but, I shall try.

Also, my boyfriend is super-hot right now but he is going to get all cut through running and lifting. I should probably up my game.

I think the timing is pretty right - people like to make resolutions to be health and do stuff. Right?

What? Drinking. . .

The Core Workout 7 Day Challenge

• 50 crunches
• 15 push ups
• 1 min plank
• 30 secs side plank each side
• 1 min bridge
• 15 push ups
• 1 min plank
• 30 secs side plank each side
• 50 crunches
• 1 min raised plank
• 2 mins bridge
• 50 crunches

Rules

1. No stopping between exercises
2. Not all types of physical activity are suitable for everyone. Users take Challenges and training advice at their own personal risk.

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a happy (and safe) new year! I have never been one to really celebrate or do anything on December 31st or January 1st. This year, I have an awesome guy to curl up with, a bottle of cookies and cream vodka and nachos.

It's going to be a trippin' night.

Thank you 'net, for providing this

Be Part of the Adventure

Do you have a suggestion or want to see me attempt something? Drop me an email at AdventuringAmanda@gmail.com with your suggestion.

Image Credit
Image from g2.oswaldroad.net