Kosher Granola

First Dental Appointment

2012-02-28T20:21:00.000-06:00

Today was Neviyah's first dental appointment. It started with her picking a pair of sunglasses to wear so that the overhead lights would not hurt her eyes.

Then Neviyah picked a toothbrush, and of course she picked a princess one!

She was then introduced to the different items that would be used for the teeth cleaning, like toothpaste! Strawberry. Nevi takes a sniff!

The toothpaste sits on a ring.

The air thingy!

The paper cape...

Someone knows she is cute!

No pictures of the teeth cleaning. It was all tears. :( Broke my heart. Here she is getting flossed. She calmed down a bit for this, only because she found out there was a treasure chest and she was going to get to pick 2 toys for being so "brave."

It Is In the Details!

2012-02-27T19:15:00.002-06:00

If you are sick already of me posting about food and the whole grain, plant based diet I am on to stabilize my blood sugar, let me forewarn you that this is another such post. However, in my own defense, a lot of people have been asking for specifics, so I am going to go over it in detail and give a sample of my menu from today. Please don't tune out! I promise not every post will be related to this!!!

The whole grain part of the diet means just that - with the 1 in 10 rule. I choose brown rice nine out of ten times but if I am in a situation where there is white rice, I will eat it that one time.

Pastas are whole grain as well in addition to not containing any dairy products. I eat a lot of soba and udon noodles because I do not care for whole wheat pasta. When we want spaghetti, we use brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta. Finding a good brand that doesn't disintegrate is important so experiment a bit!

I limit oils, avocado, and nuts. Again, the 1 in 10 rule. I saute everything in water. It tastes just the same. It sounds extreme but once you learn the half-steam-water-saute method, you will wonder why you spent all of that time using oils that just add fat to the dish.

Plant based means as close to the plant as you can get. You can cook them, bake them, saute them, stew them, crock pot them...whatever you please! I don't eat anything animal-based so yes, that means no milk, eggs, cheese or yogurt. I do use rice milk (plain, organic and enriched).

I am staying away from vegan junk food/processed foods like the fake store-bought cheeses, Tofurky (one Tofurky sausage has 13 grams of fat!), fake breakfast sausages, fake sour cream, etc. I use the 1 in 10 rule for tofu which is also highly processed but much lower in fat.

Anything that tastes good with cheese on it, I add nutritional yeast flakes or I make a healthy faux cheese recipe given to me by Brian Roach which contains carrots, nutritional flakes, onion powder and lemon juice.

I look for things that are 3 grams of fat or less. It isn't so hard when you scan the ingredients I am cooking with and eating from above. I even buy store bought pasta sauce for a quick meal. I look for ingredients I recognize and the fat content - that is it! (Well, I also look for an accepted hecksher symbol but you get what I mean!)

I eat as MUCH as I want until I am full. As often as I want so that I am full. I rarely eat salads but when I do, Rob makes a darn good oil-free dressing (soy, honey, Dijon, spicy brown mustard, garlic, apple cider vinegar, lemon). I eat pasta almost every day as part of my dinner. I eat soup almost every day as part of my lunch.

Important: I take a vitamin that contains B-12. This is a MUST as B-12 is lacking in such a diet due to thoroughly washed foods.

What did I eat today?!

Breakfast: About 1/2 cup of Grape Nuts that I pour into a bowl, sprinkled a bunch of cinnamon on it, drizzled with honey, filled 3/4 of the way up the Grape Nuts mound with rice milk, microwaved for 1 minute. Very filling!

Lunch: Dr. MacDougall chunky tomato soup and 1/3 of a box of salt and vinegar rice crackers.

Snack: One juicy pear, sliced.

Dinner: Tibetan noodle soup. (I usually don't do soup twice in a day, but the Tibetan noodle soup was leftovers and delicious so I ate it! Usually, I take veggies, chop them up, saute them with water, add some spices and serve over noodles of some sort.)

Bedtime snack: Although the time hasn't come for that, I will probably have a piece of pumpernickel bread, toasted, with garlic rubbed on it. Or a piece of fruit. Or some carrots dipped in oil-free hummus.

The results?! I have lost 12.5 pounds!!! I have more energy. In the last 6 weeks, I have not had any blood sugar spikes or drops (it took about 2 weeks to stabilize). I feel better. I am not hungry. I am not "missing out." I bring something along when we go to shul or I eat a bit beforehand if we go out so that I am not ravished and tempted to indulge. I have a Vegan app on my phone that tells me what I can order at specific national restaurants.

Since I don't look at portion size and I don't calorie count, it is really simple to eat! I know that looks like a lot, but it really isn't. Whole grain - plant based - less than 3 g of fat! That's it! It has been EASY so far. There have been very few times that I have felt tempted.

And now for the "thanks." Thanks to my family for being so supportive. Thanks to my friends for being so awesome and encouraging me. And thanks to Hashem who makes it all possible!

Thenthuk -- Tibetan Noodle Soup

2012-02-26T14:25:00.002-06:00

Today for lunch, I pulled out one of my new cookbooks, The 30-minute Vegan's Taste of the East. With just a few changes, I made Thenthuk, a Tibetan noodle soup. Alia and I loved it! Rob hasn't had a chance to taste it because he has been working on the Crappy Van all day. Here is the recipe!

My adaptations in RED.

NOODLES
3/4 cup spelt flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
3 tablespoons water

Make noodles by placing the flour and salt in a bowl. Mix well. Add water and mix well, forming it into a dough. Set aside.

I store bought Udon and Soba noodles and used a little of both.

SOUP BASE

6 cups water or vegetable stock (I used 4 cups vegetable stock and 2 cups water)
1 small onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 hot chile pepper, seeded and diced or 3 dried red chiles (I used Dorot chopped chili, one cube and a healthy squirt of Srirarchi)
1 tomato, chopped
2 cups small cauliflower flowerets
1 cup chopped cabbage
3 tablespoons low salt soy
1 teaspoon sea salt (I omitted this)

2 cups of chopped kale

2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Place water/stock in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add all soup ingredients except kale and cilantro. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally. Lower heat to medium and cook until cauliflower is just tender. If you are using store bought noodles, add them now. Otherwise, pinch off small pieces of dough, flatten with your fingers, and add them to the soup. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add kale and cilantro, cook for two minutes longer and mix well before serving.

Random Outside Ins

2012-02-25T18:15:00.000-06:00

My Morning
This morning, I woke up and did about 3 1/2 minutes of yoga. I'm sorry, but it hurts my back. And some of the stretching scares me because it is stretching that had led to all of my back incidences, including the one that cause my disk to explode.

My Contemplations
I have been thinking, what does it mean to get my OUTSIDE self in shape, to go through the transition INSIDE that led to my name change...what does any of this do for connection, connection to G-d, to the Divine, to the Mysterious One. Does taking care of my body and calibrating my inner-self to be more authentic have any bearing on my ability to connect?

My Awareness
In each moment that I am able to be aware and present, I will try for transformation of negative emotions — fear, depression, anxiety, frustration, loneliness, jealousy and anger — into positive ones, such as courage, joy, calm, patience, connectivity, self-esteem and compassion.

Kidneys, Glasses, and a Craving

2012-02-14T19:56:00.000-06:00

Today was Alia's visit with the nephrologist. If we don't do that again for another 9 years, I would be happy. The anxiety factor on Alia's part is much too high to have a repeat. The bottom line is that the doc thinks that perhaps the pump and grab feature of the kidneys may not be working properly. Instead of pulling the sugars that made it through the filter system back into the kidney area, they are instead not doing their job so the sugars make it to the urine. If that is all that is happening, we have nothing to worry about. The amount of sugars spilling are small. However, if they aren't pulling back other things (like magnesium, amino acids and other random things), then there is a problem. They did some further testing and results will be back soon. Once in, we will know more.

I had my fitting today for my new (old lady) glasses. They are progressives, which means bifocals that blend. The top of the lens is for regular viewing, middle for computer and bottom middle for reading. It is hard to get used to them. I look in the wrong part constantly. Also, apparently at rest, my chin is held up too high so I am constantly needing to lower my head to use the top part of the glasses. I like the glasses I picked out, and hope the adjustment period happens quickly!

First craving as a vegan. I want something sweeeet. I hardly ever crave sweets. I am at the moment, though. So, I sipped on a small shot of Frangelico. It wasn't what I wanted. So I am eating vegan junk food - some vegetable pirate booty. It isn't sweet, but it is satisfying whatever the heck this craving is.

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends

2012-02-12T20:38:00.001-06:00

It is over. Months of planning, preparing, deciding, going over the details again and again and again. The time came and the time went. This year, the Women's Spirituality Retreat had a featured artist this time, Neshama Carlebach. She was authentic, deep and very present in every moment. David played keyboards, and he was funny, laid back and full of wisdom. They played, sang, led workshops and ended the evening with an amazing Havdalah. I met beautiful women, learned deep and meaningful spiritual truths, and was even able to go to a few workshops which I usually don't get to do.

Probably the most practical piece of advice I received was from David and Neshama's relationship workshop. David shared a concept through several stories and Neshama put it into a nice, neat phrase...What can I do to lighten your load? Simple. Beautiful. Thoughtful. Every day - what would happen if every day we made this our mission for our spouse, to find a way to lighten their load?

I also very much enjoyed Neshama's stories about her life. She told us a story about the song Am Yisrael Chai that her father wrote. He was in the middle of a performance when he was motioned off stage and told his father had died. He added a line to the song that reads "Od Avinu Chai" which means "My father lives." I believe he went back onto stage and added that line to the song. It was there or perhaps in Israel at the funeral that he sang that song for the first time. This song - that we sing so often and for our family, almost every Shabbat - how touching to know where that line comes from and what a layer of complexity to deepen it.

Neshama's ability to carve out (instantly, I might add) a sacred space, and her deep, soulful voice, combined with some mad keyboarding, is not only an inspiration, but has a presence, a healing, safe and energetic feel to it. Beautiful!

Another star to this trans-formative weekend was Joanna Dulkin. Her ability to lead, inspire and move me and the other women there is not a learned thing - it is a blessing and a gift. She is simply amazing! I am continually in awe of her.

Oh, and I also discovered something Aura calls Moroccan Orange and Olive Salad with Cumin-Garlic Dressing but which I call Crack Orange Salad because just one bite, and you will be addicted! Yes, of course I attended Aura's workshop (duh!). She is amazing and so, too, is the salad AMAZING! Cumin and oranges - the insights from this retreat never stop!

Neshama

David

Joanna

Updates from a Plant-based Eater

2012-02-08T19:11:00.000-06:00

It has been three weeks!

I haven't keeled over and died. I haven't had extreme cravings. I am not missing any particular foods. I gave up eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, any other dairy I have left out, Vegan junk food (pre-made fake sausages, etc.) and coffee. I am eating only foods that have less than 3 grams of fat. I have only messed up once - on Super Bowl Sunday, I had a small bite of brown baked cake that was made with refined flour and eggs. Other than that...I have stuck to it!

I have noticed that my blood sugar is more stable. Also, I feel like maybe I have lost a little bit of weight but I don't know because I don't own a scale! The kids and Rob still have cheese and dairy products they can incorporate into what they eat. The biggest change for them is that Rob is trying to eliminate or reduce the oil used so he is sauteing with water or vegetable juice. So far, so good!

Really nice is that Whole Paychecks has a lot of vegan, oil-free items in their buffet. Not so nice is the price!

I am staying away from using the word Vegan since it can be politically charged, and because I think that plant-based is a better descriptor.

My mother, who is going through chemo right now, has not taken up the plant-based diet, but she has certainly modified her diet to include many more fresh, organic produce and is making a lot of healthy choices these days. Very proud of her for that!

I guess I need a shout-out to my husband, Rob, who has supported this change, incorporated it into his meal preparations and hadn't balked at this endeavor.

Whole Grain, Plant Based a.k.a. FOK

2012-02-04T22:02:00.000-06:00

As you may already know if you troll my Facebook page, I have decided to embrace a whole grain, plant based diet that some may consider Vegan but that I feel more closely resembles a Forks Over Knives or FOK system of eating. I have also taken the FOK one step further by eliminating/sparingly eating avocados, nuts and oils. This is in accordance with Dr. Barnard's book titled "Reversing Diabetes." Lastly, along the same lines, the Dr. McDougall eating system is so close or the same as FOK and I am heavily using his cookbook.

It doesn't seem like such a huge jump to leave out the eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt. The hardest part for me is probably complying with Dr. Barnard's request to make sure that packaged foods are less than 3 g in fat per serving in order to help initially lose weight to stabilize blood sugars. The other part that is a little bit difficult is finding a dairy-free, whole grain pasta that doesn't disintegrate or taste blah.

My food days go something like this:

Breakfast: heap of Grape Nuts cereal, teaspoon or so of cinnamon, drizzle of honey, rice milk...microwave for 30 seconds, take in the delicious smells from the cinnamon/honey combo and then eat!

Lunch: a delicious boxed soup made by Dr. McDougall that has less than 3 g of fat and some rice crackers.

Snack: juicy pear or raw carrots

Dinner: something delicious!

I have not been hungry yet (I think) because there is no limit on how much I can eat.

I noticed last week that there was LITERALLY nothing I could eat at kiddish at shul. I was starving, maybe even ravished, last week by the time I got home. This week, I brought a salad (spinach, chickpeas, carrots, broccoli), homemade no-oil dressing (brown spicy mustard, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, honey, salt, pepper), and fruit (cut up cantaloupe and pears). It was delicious, filling and did the trick! I believe this will be a weekly occurrence!

Kindness on the House

2012-01-26T20:32:00.000-06:00

Today was a special day. My nine-year old daughter chanted Torah for the very first time ever. She read three lines of parsha Bo at school. She did a fantastic job! I was so proud of her - I am so proud of her! It was amazing for many reasons. Here are but a few...

(1) My daughter has anxiety. You can see it in her meltdown, shut down, upset tummy, fear of being wrong-fear of getting in trouble-fear of not fitting in-fear of standing out-etc. That she allowed herself to learn to chant the parsha, that she made it to the bimah to read (her tummy was really upset at the prospect) and that she stayed positive despite small mistakes in the reading of the last line is AMAZING! She showed dedication, maturity, courage and accomplishment! Fantastic job and quite amazing in my book!

(2) The students - wow! As Alia brought the Torah around, students patted her back and said kind words like, "You can do it!" They were unprompted! They just naturally supported her in this big moment. It nearly made me want to cry. Afterwards, as she went around the room again with the Torah, students again patted her back as she went by and said things like "great job" and "good effort." They had smiles and again, supported her verbally with kindness. After the whole service was over, classmates came up to her and hugged her, told her that she was "awesome" and gave her big smiles! One of the girls she buddies, Ellye, ran up to Alia and gave her the sweetest hug ever, held both her hands, and just beamed with the best smile I may have ever seen! Amazing classmates! Amazing!

(3) If you were there, you would have seen that through Alia's smiles, there was disappointment that she messed up. Morah Val and I exchanged knowing looks, and Morah Val commented that she is so hard on herself. So true. Morah Carol (who teaches Torah to the students) stood her in front of the ark and told the students how courageous Alia was for being on the bimah and chanting Torah for the first time. She acknowledged the difficulty with the third line and praised Alia for sticking with it and showing she was a leader. It was an acknowledgement of who my daughter is - a recognition of her struggles and a positive reminder of her accomplishments. These teachers at her school (as Morah Carol showed and Morah Val as well as her teachers, Shannon/Amanda recognize) KNOW the students - they are present, aware and are able to acknowledge the uniqueness of each child. They "get" Alia. For so many years, it has only been Rob and I who got Alia. Someone else - a whole slew of teachers that make up her team of educators - get her as well. Amazing!

So you see...Alia's performance...the students...the teachers...all contributed to the amazing moment of her first chanting of Torah. If only Carol Rose had been there to see it...she would have been so proud! Alia mentioned she wished that she could have come...all the way from Canada!

Video of her chanting Torah to follow sooooon!

Oh Sweet Tequila

2012-01-22T21:10:00.000-06:00

It had been some 22 years since I had a shot of tequila - that is, until today. When the Breakfast'la Club ran out of Peach Mimosas, and Irish Cream coffee became too sweet, a smooth bottle of good tequila made its way to the kitchen and somehow into my glass. I had a "double shot" that was broken down into three shots (what can I say - I am not a hard liquor drinker).

Much sweeter than the tequila was the laid-back atmosphere, the delicious and incredible spread of food, the fresh cool air, and the sounds of children playing and adults laughing. The afternoon ended with a screening of 2011 with the Roash family via DVD, and not to sound too sentimental, but it make me pretty sad to think that some day they may be sending us one of those DVDs because they will be living far, far away.

As an adult, it is hard to find and make close relationships that have the kind of dedication and acceptance that old, old friendships have. As I have witnessed in the past three or so years, sometimes close friendships disappear because they are not as deep or supportive as one originally thought they were. Finding solid friends like the Roashes is a gift and a blessing.

So, even though I support the dream - their dream - it is not without the potential for heartbreak to occur. It doesn't matter what way one spins it, physical distance does diminish intimacy in friendships despite contrary desires. Today we joked or dreamed that we would travel to CA to have a Breakfast'la once a year. From our mouths to G-d's ear!

Speaking of the Breakfast'la Club, I really love the sheer number of children that we collectively have bore, and that they enjoy each other's company, and that there is usually very little drama for the sheer number of them running around! Their smiles are infectious and it is a joy to know that they are growing up together.

Lastly, when I implement this new FOK whole food plant based system of eating, I don't know what I will do about eating at Breakfast'la Club. Will breaking it once a month be a big deal? Is there way to reasonably pick and choose what to eat? My goals with this are to lose 10 to 15 pounds (not because I think I am fat, but because the doc says that will help stabilize my blood sugar), reverse my pre-diabetic state, and to improve my chances at NOT getting cancer or heart disease, both of which run in my family.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

2012-01-18T21:55:00.000-06:00

Today was my mom's second chemo treatment. That makes her 1/3 of the way through! Since her hair has been falling out, it has been uncomfortable so tonight we shaved her head. After that, I took her to Trader Joe's and we did some healthy food shopping for her.

Let the shaving begin!

I knew my mom was a punk rocker! Great mohawk!

Bald and beautiful!

With the new hat!

The Princess and the Thermometer

2012-01-16T11:42:00.002-06:00

You know me. I am an avid breastfeeder. I breastfed Alia until she was three. I was heartbroken and devastated when Neviyah quit breastfeeding at 18 months. I made my own baby food. Cloth diapered before it became re-popular. Made my own butt-rinses for baby's tuckis. I kept the little ones away from sugar, tv, and other influences. I co-slept with Chandler until he was 7, Alia until she was 6 and am still doing so with Neviyah. We are a vegetarian/pescatarian family.

So why does my little Nevi-Nevs get sick ALL WINTER LONG?! Does it mean nothing - these things I do?!

She went from almost a week of flu - to 4 days of croup - to a major cold and fever - to an ear infection - and now 10 days after antibiotics, she goes straight to a fever. Germy kids and germy places and germy germs all seek her out.

It was heartbreaking this morning to have her cry. She awoke with the understanding that she would not be able to go to Small Hands, Big Difference today. Her sobs turned to despair to desperation ("I want to see Adeena...") until she finally calmed down some 45 minutes later. Then it started again, because the crying caused her nose to be plugged and now she couldn't breathe. UGH! My poor baby!

The only good news is no fever at all today yet.

Should have known she was getting sick -- the purple under the eyes becomes more pronounced.

Contaminating the challah pre-Shabbat! :)

The Head and the Belly

2012-01-14T16:48:00.000-06:00

The time has arrived - my mom's hair is falling out in clumps, or pulling right out when tugged. We dropped off to her a few hats and a scarf. All that time I covered my hair came in handy as I was able to show her multiple ways to tie a scarf. She does have a wig but maybe later on, she will let me buy her a kind of fun and whimsical one.

I have been having to confront my belly lately because it is protruding out of my shirts. I am not happy about it! I can't seem to be too motivated even with this reality that I don't have clothes to dress my new body size. I am usually an extremely goal-orientated and motivated person so I am shocked over and over that I can't seem to change anything about my lifestyle to either FIX the belly fat or IMPROVE the clothing situation. Ugh!

If you haven't checked out the newest blogs on the market, some new must-reads can be checked on the right (scroll down to find them) but here are some quick links...

Pomegranates and Honey

Hourman

Out with the Old and In with the New!

2012-01-01T08:25:00.000-06:00

How cliche! I don't usually write a new year entry because the Jewish new year is already in full swing. It is at that time that I write all of those idealistic entries for the future, reflect on my life, and do all of the personal inventory that the rest of the world is doing today or yesterday, or at all.

For me, it is really just another day and one that is a bit more special because of the sheer amount of food we lay out to munch on during the night until the wee hours...fruits, veggies, chips, dips, cookies, breads, cheeses...and the togetherness of moving furniture, laying down sleeping bags, pillows, blankets, and finally, staying up as late as we can watching movies (Cats and Dogs, Scooby Doo, Ponyo). On a scale of 1 to 10, this year would probably fall at about a 2. Not the greatest evening, but it was what it was.

Moving forward, I turn 42 on January 5. I have NOTHING planned for my birthday other than taking my mom for the follow up doctor visit regarding her first chemo treatment. I used to have a yearly tradition of inviting my closest friends for Indian but we no longer have the cash to spring for such a thing. Blame it on Day School tuition and preschool! Last year, we had a sitter for Neviyah, and Chandler, Rob and Alia took me out to eat for dinner. Oh, and I got the best gift ever - Motek, my Great Pyranees/Anatolian Shephard mix. Well, we didn't have her yet, but I did get a big dog kennel and we began the search for our new family member.

Motek at 6 months old

For all of you goal-makers out there, I hope you have a productive and successful 2012! For the rest of us, may our 2012 be better than our 2011, and may it also be productive and successful! May we all remember to send love and kindness out into the world!

Dear Israel

2011-12-29T19:01:00.001-06:00

Dear Israel,

I haven't written about you lately, mainly because it feels like you are so far away. I keep trying to figure out what it is about you that has me so captivated, so connected. When I see the beautiful photographs of the Rose family in Jerusalem, Tzfat, and Tel Aviv, I have an incredible ache to be there. When I look through Alyson and Yossi's Facebook pictures of places in Israel I have never been, I have a twinge of jealousy and a resolve to visit those places. Today, I saw the AISH flyer for the TAG trip for women, and I felt a swelling in my heart.

It is almost like you are a magnet, and I am drawn to you for every reason and for no reason. I fear I will forget you--the parts of you that I love. The smell. The sky. The stairs. The people. The children. The Kotel. The sounds and the energy of Shabbat. The delicious food -- (go ahead, click on it!)

I miss you, Israel, and I hope to be able to see you again soon.

Neurology Appointment

2011-12-27T17:32:00.001-06:00

Today was Rob's neurology appointment. We found out many things, and have a solid strategy for going forward. The headaches have been diagnosed as migraines, not clusters. They fall into the chronic category. They are treatable, and the doctor has set forth the following as the first phase of headache treatment:

(1) Every morning, record on the Headache Log the severity of the headache the day/night before. A rating scale will be used from 1 to 10.

(2) Cut out all soda, coffee, tea and chocolate. The key here: No caffeine! It takes about 25 to 30 days to detox from caffeine and headache medications previously taken. The former drugs prescribed may have exasperated the headaches because they contained two of the three major triggers for migraines. Oy!

(3) Take a combination of three drugs. The first is to help him over the initial hump of cutting caffeine and headache meds. This drug will be taken for only two weeks, two times per day with food. The next one will be a preventative medication. It will be taken daily and is actually an anti-seizure medication. The last is a med that can be taken up to two times a day, 10 days a month. That will be taken at will, when needed.

The doctor expects in week 5, Rob will have noticed a big change in the rating scale for his log. At the five week follow up, we will see what will be done for phase two.

Where Do I Start?!

2011-12-21T19:21:00.000-06:00

Hrmmmm, I could start with the ~~large scary cut down my dog's back~~ story of Neviyah coloring a red line down the white dog's back, and then the subsequent artwork in the hallway. Or, I could begin with ~~my blaming Rob that he wasn't taking the countertop composter out to the compost bin frequently enough~~ Neviyah taking an apparently really old yogurt out of her pretend microwave and thus releasing a swarm of fruit flies (a.k.a. sewer gnats) into the house. Oh, I could get the ball rolling with ~~the dog getting reprimanded for pissing in the hallway~~ the hallway peeing incident, the one where I am yelling at the dog and Neviyah says, "No, Mama! I did that!" I ask why as I notice she is bare-butt. "Because, Mama, I didn't want to sit on the toilet." Oh, it all makes sense, now. Of course!

It is always an adventure here!

Special!

2011-12-08T19:21:00.000-06:00

That is the name. Of the horse. Special. A paint horse. She is beautiful. Smart, friendly. Likes to whip her tail - constantly! Tonight Alia had her first horse riding lesson. She received six lessons last Chanukah and we just now got around to setting up the first one.

Alia had to do a lot of work before she could ride. First she had to use three different brushes to brush the horse. Then she had to clean the hoofs. Then she had to learn how to put the saddle on and make the t-knot to hold it on. She bridled her and then walked her to the arena.

From there, Alia learned the proper position in which to ride, how to stop, turn, slow, trot. She learned how to do these things with her voice and with the reins. She also learned how to mount and dismount, and warm up and down the horse by leading her, walking, around the arena.

Afterwards, she lead the horse back to the starting point where she had to take the saddle off, and put two layers of blankets on. Lastly, she had to walk Special back to the barn.

Alia did a great job! At first it was a little hard to make Special stop and stay stop, but as her confidence and authority grew, she was able to master it. She found cleaning the hoofs hard, as well as turning while trotting to be the most challenging part of it. The easiest part was turning/walking in a circle.

Unfortunately, we forgot the camera. These were taken with Rob's cell phone just before it died! Better and more photos next time!

Here Alia is cleaning the hoof.

More hoof cleaning.

Yes, the hoof cleaning took a while!

Alia learning to walk behind the horse.

Resident pig.

More learning.

First Oncology Appointment

2011-12-07T19:27:00.001-06:00

We learned more about the cancer today at the oncology appointment. The cancer is rated as high grade. There was vascular invasion and the tumor measured 1.5 x 1.0 cm. The oncologist staged the cancer at Stage II.

The chance of re-occurrence with only local radiation and hormone therapy is approximately 30 to 35%. With chemotherapy and radiation, that percentage is cut in half. After five years of a hormone inhibitor, the percentage is cut in half again.

The treatment plan is as follows:

Bone scan, echo heart test and CT scan will happen this Friday as a precursor to check for heart health prior to chemotherapy (since one of the drugs can affect that area) and to check for metastasis since my mom had an incident of severe unexplained back pain that lasted 10 to 15 minutes the other day.

A port insertion is being scheduled so that her blood work and chemo treatments can be administered in a safe, clean way and without multiple sticks.

18 weeks of chemotherapy in two groups will begin on December 28th. It will consist of 3 drugs every three weeks for 3 doses. Then 3 doses of a new medication every 3 weeks. One to two days after each treatment, my mom will receive a shot of a growth factor called Neulasta to improve her white blood count, red blood count and platelets. The first round of chemotherapy drugs are FEC (5FU, Epirubicin, Cytoxan). Radiation will begin after chemo is complete and will consist of 33 treatments (6 weeks).

The oncologist said that she can expect to lose her hair a few days after the first dose. My mom is considering a cancer-cut and a shopping spree for hats or scarves or a wig – to be determined!

The oncologist was friendly, explained the results well, and she seemed supportive in a physical and emotional way. We both really liked her. I have my friend Jerri to thank for that recommendation.

My mom is not feeling overwhelmed, but she is definitely shocked and it seems surreal to her. She seems up for the challenge, and has a positive attitude. She might even get a long blonde wig so she can fish for a companion amongst the doctors at the hospital!!! Heheh

Ideas for a Meaningful and Fun Shabbat with Children

2011-12-03T18:16:00.001-06:00

There are times that we are wonderful about creating a meaningful and ideal Shabbat experience for our children, and there are times when we fall down on the job. Every blah Shabbat we have tends to be followed by more and more of them. My conclusion is that blah Shabbatot should be avoided! As children get older, it is easy to forget that one's home Shabbat practice might need to progress as well.

Recently, we have revamped out home Shabbat practice just a little, and here are a few of the things we have done.

1. Empowered Alia and her unique/original ideas by having her prepare and teach us Torah based on that week's parsha near the end of dinner. WOW! She is a fantastic teacher, and she is full of ideas, perspectives, etc. Last week she taught us about why Esau was offered bread and lentils, and what that means for our values today. This week, she spent Shabbat with a friend, but before she left, she chanted in trouped English a summary of the Parsha. It was amazing! To see her smile and confidence makes Shabbat extra special.

2. Our re-introduction of special games has been a great success. We used to do this every week when Chandler was younger and Alia was Neviyah's age. We used to play Red Light Green Light, board games, acting/drama games, etc. The only way I can describe it is that we got lazy about making sure this was part of what we do for Shabbat. The children really value it, and we essentially stopped doing it. Well, it is back on, and the kids really look forward to dinner being over so we can play! With Alia, we usually play Racko, Uno or Life. With Neviyah, it is Candyland, Chutes and Ladders or puzzles.

3. Singing! Our kids love to sing! After the challah, we now sing -- since we are not musical people, we don't know a whole lot of songs. It doesn't seems to matter. Neviyah and Alia love to sing Bim Bam/Shabbat Shalom, Am Yisrael Chai, Oseh Shalom, etc. There is joy in singing. Neviyah usually cannot resist dancing around while we sing, or delving into a spur-of-the-moment creative solo!

4. We have a Shabbat question box that we used long ago but haven't used in a while. Alia loves to pick a question, and then we go around the table and whomever would like to participate does. Questions range from the simple (What are your favorite Shabbat foods?) to the more thoughtful (If you could have one historic or modern figure for dinner, who would it be?) to the personal (What did you do this week that was kind to someone else?). When it is time for Neviyah to pick, she pretends to read it. Last night, she picked a card and said, "I love Shabbat very very very very very very much, and I like to eat sweet challah, and drink grape juice and smell the beautiful flowers!"

The next thing we are going to incorporate is a Shabbat Show and Tell. All those projects from school that come home during the week will have an opportunity to be shown to the family in show and tell style. Each child can present her "work" or "art" or whatever it is she would like. I anticipate this being a fun and special touch to our Shabbat.

My Mom's Follow Up Appointment with the Surgeon

2011-11-29T16:58:00.000-06:00

[This medical update is posted with my mom's permission.]

We just returned from my mom's follow up appointment with the surgeon. There was good news and not so good news.

The appointment started with the doctor noticing that there was a lot of fluid at the node removal site under her arm. He manually drained 19 cc of fluid, applied some antibiotic, and covered the site with a band-aid.

The margins were negative. This is good news! It means that the surrounding tissue from the lumpectomy site are clean and free of cancer. That is good news! However, the sentinel node that was removed and sampled from under her arm show that the cancer had spread there. An estimated 20% to 30% of the gland was filled with cancer.

The results of the testing of the original tumor are in. If you remember, it was tested for the following:

*Hormonal Status: The tumor is tested for estrogen receptors and progesterone receptors. This is important when chemo drugs and hormones are picked. Example: One doesn't want to use a product that encourage or raises estrogen if one's cancer responds positively to that hormone. RESULT: The ER (estrogen receptor) is positive at 92%. The PR (progesterone receptor) is negative.

*HER2: Certain cancers make human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cell. Such cancers tend to be more aggressive. Again, when it comes to chemo drugs and such, one would use a medication that targets HER2 or is at least effective against it. RESULT: The HER2 is negative, and that is good news!

*DNA: Determining the DNA identity of a tumor can give specific information to the doctors as well, such as how nasty or bland the tumor is. This biological makeup has predictive values to it, such as occurrence statistic, fast or slow growing, etc. High levels of Ki-67 indicate an aggressive tumor. RESULT: Ki-67 was 45%. A score of over 20% is considered on the high side. This is only a small part of the puzzle so the result should not be taken out of context of the entire picture.

Although the doctor did not stage the cancer, it would appear that she has Stage IIA breast cancer.

Remember that all of this information is painting a unique picture that the oncologist will use to determine the correct type of chemotherapy to use. None of the information by itself is valuable - it is the entire package which has both good and not so good parts to it.

The next step is that the surgeon's office is sending the message to the primary doctor's office to make a formal referral to the oncologist so that we can have our first appointment with the "Team."

Israeli Couscous with Butternut Squash, Leeks and Corn

2011-11-28T19:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight, we surveyed what was left from the farmer's market and we came up with butternut squash, leeks, corn, and parsley...we had the choice of Israeli couscous or quinoa, and we decided to go with the couscous. This simple dish was delicious! If I were to make it again, I would substitute half the water for a dry white and add some garlic.

Ingredients:

    1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous
    2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
    1 butternut squash cut in 1/2-inch cubes and
    3 tablespoons olive oil
    4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup of water
    1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil
    1 1/2 cups finely chopped leeks (white part only)
    1 1/2 cups frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed
    1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation:

Prepare Israeli couscous and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil a rimmed baking sheet. Toss squash cubes and enough olive oil to coat in a medium bowl. Spread squash in single layer on prepared sheet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast just until tender but firm enough to hold shape, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Transfer squash to bowl. Cool.

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and 3/4 cup water; simmer until leeks are tender, about 7 minutes. Add corn; simmer 2 minutes longer. Add couscous and butternut squash; simmer until heated through and liquid is absorbed, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Don't Pay the Ferryman

2011-11-27T15:50:00.000-06:00

Don't pay the ~~ferryman~~, er, dry cleaner...?

We took almost every stitch of dry cleaning we had, and dropped it off at the organic cleaners from down the street. A month went by, and since we had so many clothes out to the cleaner, we decided to wait another week or two before picking them up since, of course, we are poor and had no extra money that pay period. Another couple weeks went by and we pretty much forgot about it. Before Shabbat last week, it became apparent that neither of us had any clothes to wear and so Rob swung by the cleaners.

HUH?!

No lights. Locked during working hours. No product inside. Yes, friends, the dry cleaner went out of business, and took with it almost our entire dry cleaning wardrobe with it.

We have driven by several times now, each time hoping that by some strange miracle, they will be open and our clothes available. Doesn't look like that fantasy is going to happen any time soon!

What's Thanksgiving without a Haggadah?!

2011-11-23T09:38:00.000-06:00

Yes, friends, I have located a haggadah for Thanksgiving, and it is an amazing compilation of the experiences and stories of those who have joined the American community and are thankful! Unless you are an American Indian from one of a variety of tribes, either you, your parents, your great grandparents, your great-great grandparents or someone even further back traveled to America to seek out a new life. This haggadah tells the story of a diverse group of people and their contribution to America today. It is a beautiful way in which to help celebrate Thanksgiving - by reading about, learning out, understanding the diversity of those who make up the members of our American community, and remembering our own family's journey to this place we call home. Enjoy!

Click Here for the Haggadah

Goals, Goals and Goals...

2011-11-18T08:45:00.000-06:00

It is never good when the neighbor crosses the street to congratulate you and ask if you are 5 months pregnant! Yes, it happened the other day. While I know my midriff has been growing, generally speaking I like to pretend it isn't such a big deal. Yes, the clothes are getting tighter. Yes, it is getting harder to hide under clothes. Still, I enjoy the benefit of having a normal (albeit is small) bust size that comes with this additional weight. Cut me some slack! It is hard to be the flat girl!

However, clearly the time has come to get off of my tuckis and do something about it! I am waiting until after Thanksgiving (no reason to set myself up for failure!). I am meeting with a person who is going to go over my nutrition, show me how to workout at home (since being able to do that will cut any excuses I might have about not being able to get to the gym), and get me started on the right path. I am looking for a free logging system to track my exercise, food intake and weight. I don't really care for Sparks People. I want something simpler, cleaner, without bells and whistles. Suggestions welcomed!

Once I have everything figured out, I am going to post my goals so that I am accountable.

Rabbi Max Weiman told me via Facebook that there are three mitzvot associated with my commitment to get back into shape! He wrote, "Deut. 4:9 and 4:15 are commandments to guard your health. Maimonides has a lengthy health manual based on the mitzvah to know there is a God. If you're not healthy, you can't think straight. And the Chinuch considers taking care of anything of worth (like your body) the principle behind the mitzvah not to cut down a fruit tree at war." So there you have it! Additional motivation because I will be engaging in mitzvot!

Wish me strength, control, motivation, and success, please!!!