Eating Humble Pie

Today I came to realization that my thinking that I could carry my own bag each day was stupid and unrealistic. Walking from Roncesvalles to Zubiri, the only reason why I was able to make it was because I didn't have a full pack on my back. My chiropractor tried to tell me this, but I wanted to be able to carry my bag at some point. I cut my stuff to bare bones in order to make a weight I might eventually be able to walk with. Now, I'm finding that I probably cut away a bit of muscle in addition to fat.

I've been trying to ice my feet in the middle of the day at least once, and it has really been helping, along with stretching on a semi-regular basis.

At the same time, I'm also realizing that I can probably go further each day than I thought I could.... walking 22km yesterday and 18km today with soreness, but no pain due to injury has shown me that planning for only 15km a day was very conservative. I also have blisters on both of my big toes, in spite of using bandaid blister protection, but my tendons are actually doing way better than I ever could have anticipated. As long as they continue this way, I should have days that I can use for rest periodically or maybe visiting somewhere else here in Europe when I'm done.

About a half hour before I got caught up in a rain storm, I saw this sign. Side note: my poncho is never going to be sent ahead in my backpack again. I don't like pretending to be a drowned rat.

I'm actually going to use one of the rest days that I have already stored up here in Pamplona (had I have stuck with my original plan, I wouldn't have reached Pamplona until tomorrow or the next day. So, sometime while I am in Pamplona, I will see if there is a cheaper service than Jacotrans, or a discount for booking multiple days. And, I need to buy some things while here, most of which I left back at home.

My upgraded day pack, with bladder. I'm hoping the bladder will help me drink more, as I've had dehydration headaches twice so far on my trip.

What I brought with me as a day pack. The draw strings were rubbing me on the longer days.

Me and the people I've been walking with. Teresa, Marianne, and Carma are sisters from Ireland who are travelling with their cousin Martin the P (he is celebrating his 25th anniversary of ordination later this month) And Keith and Shari are a couple from Austin. Shari is walking the whole Camino and Keith will be walking here and there with her between business trips. Martin and his cousins are leaving tomorrow to go back home. We will all miss them.

The Best Laid Plans (PHFR #11)

You know those trees I planted back in November?  Well, of the three I planted, only one is still living--the digdogs destroyed the two that I planted in the back yard.  I'm probably going to have to buy older trees if I want to plant them in the back yard--preferably at a size that the dogs can't chew up.  I actually thought that all three of them had died, since the one in my side yard didn't begin blooming and putting out leaves when all of the rest of the trees in the neighborhood did.

So, when I saw this, it made me incredibly

Happy

It is blooming and putting out leaves!!!

Pretty/Real

And, the pollen counts and weather have been cooperating lately, so I've been spending more time outside again.  Have I mentioned before that I love my deck?  I do, and I really want to replace it/spruce it up.  Eventually, I may see about extending the roof so that it is covered and I can sit outside when it is raining, but that is a project for another year. :-)  No one told me when I bought my house that I would perpetually have projects that I want to do on it.  Don't get me wrong. I love my house as is, but I keep looking at things and thinking, "this room would be better if..."  One of these days, I'm going to look around and say, "this house is perfect." At least I hope so!

I'm not sure the dogs like spending the afternoon/evening outside as much as I do.

Of course, having the dogs means that at least some of the things I want to change are because of them...See the scratch marks on the screen door?  At some point, I want to change the screen door and back door to a set that has a built in doggie door through both of them.  Then I don't have to play the "I want out. No, I want in. No, I want out" game that they play sometimes, and I don't have to worry about them when I leave for work.

Compost bin update:  

So, the inexpensive option is not going to work for me... The youngest digdogs figured out how to get into it, and had a grand old time playing in the leaves.  Once they were done, this is what it looked like:

This is actually about 2 weeks ago. They have since spread the leaves around the yard further through play.

So, I'm kind of back to square one, and will probably be buying some wood and power tools in order to build something that is dog proof.  I was really hoping that the cheap option would work, at least for a while! I saw some pictures of a 3 bin system, which look like they might be workable. They better be pretty big bins, though, as the leaves you see in this picture is only half of my front yard, and the front trees have since lost the last of their winter coat (what kind of tree keeps hold of its dead leaves until it grows new ones, anyway???), along with boatloads of what reminds me of the pollen stamens of non-bearing mulberry trees.

Funny

Taking pictures of the animals is always a bit tricky: 

Are they real, or are they Robo-dogs?!?!?

I love this picture except for the eyes--It shows that Ginger is finally warming up to Sassy, and that they could eventually become friends. I keep hoping, anyway. I have other pictures of them together under the table, which is Ginger's safe place, but they are either too dark, or Ginger looks incredibly sad and long-suffering.  

An example: 

See? dark AND sad.

But then they do crazy stuff like this:

I'm really a cat, mom! I promise!

Ginger usually does stunts like this when she feels like I'm spending too much time focusing on something other than her--in this case, it was my computer, as I was working on grading.  

And, when they are just being cute and sweet, it is often so fleeting that, once you get your camera, you've missed it.  I was lucky to catch Ginger cuddling with Bubba, though.

My roommate actually took the picture--I'm quilting in the background.

There is a reason why people should not allow me near gardens: I have the black thumb of death.  The newest proof:

These mini roses were really beautiful before Spring Break, I promise!!!

I thought that making sure it was nice and moist before leaving for spring break would be enough, but this is what I came back to. Thankfully, they weren't that expensive, and I was able to enjoy them while they lasted.  Since I've been here, I've bought 3 plants for my office, and only one is still living--my first orchid died over the summer because I over-watered it while I was working from home, and my current orchid is thriving here in my office.  I may need to give it away before I leave for the summer, or it may be doomed as well!


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Plateaus (PHFR#9)

I have been hovering at around 181 lbs. of late.  I know that some of it is that I've been eating outside my house more, which means I have less control over what I'm eating.  I also know that some of it has been that I've found several REALLY good recipes for GAPS friendly desserts, and I've been going a bit overboard with them.  (Chocolate mousse is made with Avocado, so it's a healthy breakfast, right?!?!?).  I actually made another batch this past weekend, and ended up with like 15 servings--this time around ended up with more a consistency of pudding, though. I ran out of room in my food processor to add all of the cocoa powder that the recipe called for--a triple recipe is a little much, but I didn't want to have to throw out avocados. Well, that, and I kind of added about a 1/3 more coconut milk than the recipe called for.  It still tastes good, and that is what matters.

One thing that this diet is forcing me to do is try out new recipes, and that makes me

Happy

I made some almond flour biscuits this weekend, too.

I was too busy working on my chocolate mousse to get these out before they got a little brown, but it is nice to have some sort of bread-type food available.  The biscuits are actually a bit sweet for my taste--I've always been a savory bread type of girl, and back when I could eat gluten, I would routinely half the amount of sugar asked for in a recipe.  I will likely do that the next time I make these, or maybe even eliminate it completely, since there is no yeast that needs feeding in these.  I also subbed apple cider vinegar for the lemon. 

Sunday was actually a huge baking day for me.  I also made some Cauliflower tortillas.  Based on what people said, and the amount of cauliflower I had (2 heads), I kind of modified this as well--it is somewhere between the above recipe and this one.  So, I used 6 eggs for the 2 heads, and added some Italian spices: garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and basil.  Next time I do this, I may try a mexican twist: cumin and cilantro, maybe.  Then I can make some tacos with it.

I brought the torillas for lunch. I plan to eat them with leftover spaghetti sauce, mostly because I need to find another subsitute for pasta than spaghetti squash.

I also made some chia seed pudding, in spite of the fact that I'm allergic to raw apples.  I just cooked the apples with the cinnamon and the coconut milk from the recipe, then mixed in the chia seeds, a little bit of honey (maybe a tablespoon for the whole batch), and some vanilla (1 tsp.).  I'm thinking that this would be good without the apples, or maybe with cooked pears instead.  I plan to do some experimenting to see what else tastes good.  

One serving of the chia seed pudding.  Next time, I peel the apples before cooking them.

On a side note, buying these little 4 ounce jars had to have been the best investment I've ever made. They make a perfect serving of sweet stuff.  They also make a perfect serving of fermented veggies for lunch at work.  

And, I especially bought some parsnips the last time I was at the store in order to try this recipe for parsnip fries.  I've been making fries out of green beans by baking them until crispy, but thought this might be a nice change.  I just haven't gotten around to it yet.  Maybe tomorrow as a celebration for the end of the week.

Funny

Lest you think that all I can think about is food, I have to share what happened this weekend when I turned on the sprinkler in my back yard for the first time ever.  

Take that, water spray!

I got you now!

Hey, get back here!!!

 Yep, Sassy decided that she needed to attack the water from the sprinkler. And, after she got tired, she would rest a bit and then go back and play some more.  I don't think I've ever seen a dog get so excited about a water sprinkler.

Ironically, it started raining the next day, so I could have dispensed from watering to begin with, but seeing how much Sassy loved the sprinkler was worth it.

My dogs are definitely spoiled: behold, their very own staircase.

I was getting concerned because Sassy is just short enough that she can't actually make it on my bed half the time she tries.  I cringe every time she tries and fails, because I'm worried that she will break or sprain a leg at some point.  Even so, I'd gotten a bit sick of picking her up every time she wants up at night (at ~25 lbs, she is also getting a bit heavy to lift when I'm already on the bed).  With my bed reaching waist height on me, it IS a pretty tall bed.  Now, Sassy just heads up the stairs when she wants to get on.  My back thanks her!!!

Pretty

So, I worked on two other projects this past weekend--getting some of the worst of the stains from the wood floors, and building a compost bin.

Before using goof-off in the entry-way

After.  I'm pretty impressed with the stuff, and will be buying more.

I just did a small part of the floor as a test, but really like how it got the old carpet glue up. I imagine it would get more of the paint up, if I were to scrub hard enough, too.  When I rent a sander and take off the old finishing later this month (I'm hoping to do so during spring break), it will mean having to use less sandpaper, since it won't be gummed up by the old glue.

What will become my compost bin...Now all I have to do is rake my front yard to fill it!

The bin isn't as pretty as I'd like, but it should be functional, and it will keep the dogs out of the compost, I hope.  I will post what it looks like once full. And, the actual compost will be nice to put around my 2 trees that survived to this point from November.  Unfortunately, Sassy dug up and tore up one of the 3 trees--the hazard of having over-active puppies!

Real

One of the things I love about living in central Texas is the variety of wildlife that isn't really around in the desert, where I have lived most of my life.  I have seen Blue Birds and Cardinals hanging out in the trees surrounding my property.  I've even thought about putting out a bird feeder, but have hesitated because of my fur-babies.  This is why:

I was able to help this little guy get out of the yard, but I'm not sure if I did so in time to save his life

This guy was on the ground on the inside of my back-yard fence, obviously injured.  Trying to keep the dogs away from him was virtually impossible--3 of our 4 dogs have at least a little bit of hunting or herding dog in them.  I was able to help him (her?) flutter over the fence away from the digdogs, and then I put out some sunflower seeds near him, but he had disappeared when I checked for him a couple of hours later.

While I really like my coloring picture a day calendar, I'm finding that leaving it at my office was maybe not the best idea I've ever had.  Because I have been trying to do all of my grading while at work instead of bringing it home, I'm finding that I have a whole lot less down time than I thought I would have.  Which means I've got a lot of pictures I really want to color laying around my office.

On the left, pictures I really like. On the right, pictures that don't do a whole lot for me, with Padre Pio looking over all of it.

If I can't color them myself, at least I can share the wealth.

So, I hit on a way to help keep my desk from getting too cluttered by pictures to color.  I'm letting students grab them to color themselves.  I wish I could color all of them, but it just isn't possible with all the other things I have to do.  

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Sandal Weather!!! (PHFR#7)

Happy/Pretty

Part of the fun of living in Texas is that it means sandal weather tends to come early.  The days have been nice enough these last few days that I've worn my sandals a couple of days in a row.  Once it is sandal weather, I tend to wear sandals non-stop until it is no longer sandal weather, so this makes me incredibly happy.

I'm not sure they match my outfit, but I love being able to wear sandals!!! It is probably time for me to paint the toe-nails so they aren't naked.

Another pleasant surprise this week was that some flowers started blooming in front of my house.  I didn't even know that the bulbs were there, so when they started sprouting and blooming, it was a huge surprise.  My first impulse is to say that these are daffodils, but the petals seem thicker than what I envision for daffodils.  If you know what kind of flower it is, telling me would be great.

I'm a "live and let live" gardener, so the fact that these showed up without me doing anything makes me incredibly happy!

One of the hardest things about being on the GAPS diet and also being dairy free is that finding things to eat when sweet cravings hit are difficult.  I've been mostly good (I will admit to one last Breve Latte from Starbucks on Monday--my nod to the coming of Lent), although the siren song of ice cream has been rather loud of late. I'm amazed that I have been able to ignore it's pull to date, but I've also been on the lookout for some sort of substitute. This is why I was so incredibly happy when I found this recipe, as it seems to fulfill my craving for creamy/cold.  The only tweaks were to use honey rather than maple syrup and substituting unsweetened bakers chocolate for the dark chocolate mentioned. This made it fully GAPS legal, but you can't cut the honey in half--you need to make a one to one substitution on the sweetener.

I doubled the recipe and used my food processor to mix it all together (why did I resist getting such a wonderful invention for so long, again???).  It really is incredibly dark and rich for a chocolate mousse--I could probably eat about 1/2 of one of the 4 oz. servings I dished out, and still take care of my cravings. I may see if I can make it a little less chocolatey, the next time I make it, although part of the reason for all the chocolate is to mask the taste of the avocado--it might not be possible. 

Supposedly, the recipe makes 8 servings when doubled--I got 10  4-oz. jars worth.

Who needs a cookbook when you have the internet?

MMMM, Good.  I've found it is best when I cut the chocolate with berries or other fruit. Because it has Avocado, it makes for a healthy breakfast, right? ;-)

Funny/Real

So, I used part of my tax return to replace my dishwasher.  While my old one was standard size, and my new one was too, it ended up being about 1/8 of an inch too tall for the cabinet space.  

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make it fit...

 After quite a bit of hemming and hawing, I realized that most of the issue was the lip on the countertop made by the tile facing.  A trip to Lowes for a chisel, and about 30 minutes later, I was able to fit it into the space just fine.  I kept the tiles, in case I can figure out a way to cut them without breaking them to pieces.  Otherwise, I will probably be replacing my counter-tops sooner rather than later.  I'd really like to get either granite, quartz, or solid surface counter-tops, but don't know if they come in lighter colors that I'd like.  I really don't want dark counters, as it will suck all of the light out of the area.  I've thought some about getting butcher block counters as well, but I'm probably too clumsy for them to stay nice looking.

The finished product. Not pretty, but functional.  I need to figure out a way to make this gap in the tile facing less jarring until I can replace the counters.

I also have to say that I love my new dishwasher.  It is so quiet that you can hardly tell that it is running!  This is such a change, since my old dishwasher made so much noise that you couldn't have a decent conversation anywhere near it.

 Now that it is sandal weather, I'm probably going to transition to more fizzy water and less tea, although it will still be my go-to drink first thing in the morning.  I'm not sure it is normal to have a whole desk drawer dedicated to various types of tea...

This is probably a sign that I should eventually make giving up tea a Lenten discipline...

And, it is very obvious that the main part of the semester has started...My desk is a mess, and it is beginning to annoy me.  I suspect that I will be using part of Friday afternoon to put it to rights so that I can begin using it to its best advantage again.  

Snoopy and purple--this has quickly become my favorite mug, and it makes grading much more enjoyable!

In the mean time, I think I will make myself another cup of tea. :-)

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The Scourge of the Saggy Butt (PHFR #6)

Pretty

I've probably added this before, but I just love this picture of me with my sister.  It is such a joy to have a great family!

Happy

So, I was finally healthy enough to go back to Choir. While this is an older picture, the fact that we have choir practice in the choir loft (AND that we sing from there) is one of my favorite parts about being in it.  In the spring and fall, choir starts right around dusk, and that is when I shot this picture.  Every time I miss a few weeks, I'm reminded of how much I love singing when I return.  It is pure joy to be able have songs stuck in your head the rest of the evening.

My view from the choir loft.

Funny

So, I'm about 1/3 of the way through finishing a quilt for my niece, and it stays on the couch so that I can work on it while I'm watching TV.  Our dogs have decided that it is one of the most comfortable places to sleep, so they take turns on it...

My niece complains that she is the only one who hasn't used her quilt.

At work, my students have been tasked with making Memes to help my future students...This is one of my favorites.

Real

I was able to find a couch set for a steal, and all of us (including the dogs) loves them.  I still need to figure out how to cover/re-upholster them, but they work for now. Sassy actually likes the foot stool best, but she can be found on any of them regularly. In fact, her favorite thing to do when she doesn't want to go out is to jump on the couch and show me her belly.

How is it that I ended up with a white dog who loves to dig???

Nope. No room for you, mom!

In other news, I'm going to have to retire my skinny jeans.  I've lost just enough weight that the back of my jeans won't stay put.  After about 10 minutes, the butt part of my jeans are sagging about 6 inches underneath my actual butt--I rutch them, but they won't stay put.  As I walked back to my car after choir, I was thinking that the name "The scourge of the saggy butts" would make a neat name for a grunge band.  

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When the Going Gets Tough (PHFR #5)

So, I'm currently working on stage 4 of the intro diet, and I'm trying to accelerate the process so that I can be on full GAPS by the time I go to Kansas City for one of my nephew's wedding.  So, the add-ins are accelerating, and I'm afraid that I'm kind of mixing and matching the additions.  But, I am still trying to go as slow as I can.  No matter what, I'm going to switch to full GAPS when I get on the plane to Kansas City next Friday.  It is just too hard not to be on full GAPS while travelling. I may cycle back and do the intro again this summer.  We shall see how I feel, and how my gut is doing.

In the meantime, I've lost about 8 lbs. since starting the Intro. I suspect that it will slow down/stop now that I'm adding more foods, but it is still nice to see that at least some of the weight is coming off.  I've decided to do pictures for every 10 lbs I lose, so hopefully I can give you another picture of what I look like in a week or two.

Some observations about so far--one of the things that are recommended to help eliminate some of the die-off symptoms is a mixture of honey and ghee taken in small quantities over the course of the day.  As I look toward (hopefully) getting back into running, I'm thinking that this mixture will work really good as a goo substitute on long runs, especially if I add a bit of salt to it.  I just have to figure out what to put it in, as my 4 oz jars are a little heavy to put in my pockets during a run.

Now, on to PHFR (Pretty, Happy, Funny, Real through Like Mother, Like Daughter, in case you are wondering)

Pretty

The sun setting over some nearby open fields.

So, I've been walking every day with the puppies since we got back from Christmas, and this is what greeted me on one of those walks. Little Miss Sassy Pants is still learning not to pull on the leash, but we are all getting the hang of walking daily.  I'm finding that my feet do better in the evening than in the morning, so I've changed our time.  It has been really nice because I was able to run about 1/4 of a 2 mile walk earlier this week.  I'm hoping and praying that the trend continues.  It feels SOOOO good to run--my body has really missed it.

Happy

This is MUCH better than our old couch, Mom!

So, I was able to buy a new couch set from Craigslist about a week ago (for only $70, too!).  The dogs love it, and so do I!  It is incredibly comfortable, although I really don't think my living room is big enough for a couch, loveseat, and an ottoman.  I'm not thrilled with the upholstery, but it is very sturdy, and very comfortable, so I'm planning on getting some sort of couch cover for it in the near future.

Daisy enjoying the couch and the quilt
I am currently working on.

Space wise, It helps that I don't currently have a TV. That frees up some of the placement issues.  I will figure it out eventually, but I need to think on it some more.

















Funny

My lunch today: Fermented Ginger Carrots, 2 GAPS pancakes made from the linked recipe, and some Smucker's fruit and honey spread to put on the pancakes.  You can tell I was running late this morning because I didn't spread the jam on my pancakes before leaving home.

Now that I can make something other than soups, I'm working on making sure I bring my lunch every day.  It is less expensive, and it keeps me on track with GAPS. I does make for some weird combinations, though.

I have a full set of  4 mugs like this (purple, orange, blue, and red), and I lost the purple one during training this week.  Thankfully, a friend picked it up, and I will be getting it back.  I lost a mug last semester that I was really sad about. I need to put my name and office # on the bottom, I think.

I'm not the only forgetful one.

 While I'm forgetful of my mugs, my students keep forgetting their thumb drives in classrooms after giving their speeches.  I'm starting a collection of them here in my office.  I'm not sure what I will do with them if they don't get claimed.  Some of them are really nice, too.  If I remember right, both of these are 16 GB.















Real

With the start of the spring semester around the corner (only 5 days left!!!), I'm scrambling to get everything done that I need to.  Grades for my winter-mester course, cleaning up my office in preparation for the spring, and making copies of everything for the first week are at the top of my list.  The race to the beginning is going full tilt in my world.

Once I'm finished grading my mini-mester, I have to deal with this mess--all of the extra handouts from last semester. Filing is never a high priority until right before the next semester.

The animals are both much needed and sometimes unhelpful distractions.
I still love them to pieces.

The cats helping me grade. Candles and Tea make
everything more enjoyable.

Now, if only I could keep them from hurting themselves or the furniture.

I suspect this gash is the product of some rough-housing that got
a bit rougher than usual.  Sassy is on antibiotics, and I will never
know for sure, since it happened while I was at Mass.

The real reason I need slip-covers--dogs are hard on furniture. Sassy is the culprit for this, and it was the day after she had gotten a bath. I've resigned myself to never having a clean dog: she likes digging too much, and she is all white.