Now that it is summer time we are discovering Tiger Lilly’s love for sprinklers!
If she encounters a sprinkler on a walk, she wants to put her face in it and drink. One day last week after a long walk she just laid down and got comfortable while lapping up the cool water.
When is the last time you played in a sprinkler?
This weekend two new products caught my eye at the grocery store.
It’s no surprise why these were interesting. Kashi? Chocolate? Say no more.
I was a bit put off by the nutrition information:
With 160 calories per serving, they are much higher than my go-to chocolate fixes: Cliff Chocolate Brownie Z-Bars (130 calories) and Deep Chocolate VitaMuffins (100 calories). Although the fiber content is high for a snack bar, so is the fat content, and the ingredient list is long. Still, they are from Kashi and they were on sale, so I tried them.
Honestly, I was not impressed. There is an off taste that screams “I am a ‘healthy’ food trying to taste indulgent.” (Maybe it’s the sweet potatoes?) I would never attempt to get my family to try them, and I’m not even sure that I would recommend them to my Kashi-loving friends. I can’t even see myself choosing to have one again instead of a Cliff Chocolate Brownie Z-Bar or Deep Chocolate VitaMuffin, so I probably will put the rest of the box up for grabs in my office kitchen.
When I got to the dairy aisle, a woman was sampling new Keurig “iced” products, including Celestial Seasonings Half and Half Black Perfect Iced Tea (black tea/lemonade).
I don’t have a Keurig machine, but we have them at work, so I decided to give it a try. It was sweet, but not too sweet, although the ingredient list explains the 70 calories and 16 g of sugar per serving.
Evaporated Cane Juice, Black Tea with Tea Extract, True Lemon, Hibiscus, Natural Lemon Flavor, Citric Acid, Rebiana (sweetener from Stevia) and Tricalcium Phosphate (a natural free flow agent).
(It is gluten-free and Kosher if that matters to you)
I didn’t buy any yet, but if I find myself tempted to go to Starbucks for Shaken Iced Tea Lemonades this summer, I should stock up on these instead, since they would save me money and calories (a tall Starbucks Shaken Iced Tea Lemonade has 100 calories and 25 g sugar).
Have you tried any new products lately?
Is your office a kitchen a dumping ground for unwanted leftovers?
After being fired by my chiropractor and getting a referral from a doctor, I finally had my first physical therapy appointment last week. After 60 minutes of bending, reaching, pushing and resisting, being pushed, being pulled, being pressed and being palpitated, the physical therapist diagnosed me with a misaligned pelvis. She tugged on my right leg to adjust me, reassessed me, and sent me across the room to work with a trainer.
The trainer explained that the first order of business is to strengthen my core. Between all my crunches and #plankaday efforts, I thought I had a strong core, but I clearly have not been working all of my core muscles. Apparently, my transverse abdominus and multifidus and erector spinae need help. I also need to strengthen my glutes, which comes as no surprise given my piriformis issues.
One eye-opening exercise he had me do involved lying on a partially inflated blood pressure cuff and trying to move one leg at a time while holding the pressure needle steady. Not only was it interesting to see how hard that was, it also was interesting to see how having that visual feedback really helped me figure out what I needed to do and do it.
My daily homework includes easy range of motion exercises like cat/cow and more difficult gluteus medius exercises like side leg raises with an 8 second hold and prone heel squeeze/glute lifts, also with an 8 second hold.
All this focus on my core has made me realize that I have horrible posture at work. I slouch. I lean. I sit askew. Hopefully I will develop better habits as I practice contracting all these core muscles.
I agreed to refrain from running for a short time so we can see if the adjustment and exercises keep me in alignment and pain-free. Since my chiropractor “fired” me because she felt that I should not need to be adjusted as often as I was, this plan makes sense to me, as hard as it is to be sidelined when we are having such gorgeous weather. (Morning temps in the 50’s–my perfect running weather!) Since I don’t have any races on the calendar until October, this is a good time to take the time I need to fully recover.
Have you ever had physical therapy?
What is your perfect running weather?
Last year was my first Father’s Day after my Dad passed away. I was feeling a bit sad, but I had happy things to distract me. This year I am not feeling the absence of my Dad very strongly, although taking the time to write these reflections on Father’s Day may change that.
Instead, my focus is on my husband, and what a wonder father he has been to our children.
Now that my son has graduated from high school and we are coming to grips with the reality of our soon-to-be empty nest, I hope my husband takes some time to reflect on what a great father he has been to both of our children. He was an enthusiastic, involved Dad from before they were born and continues to go the extra mile to show them how much he cares for them.
I also am reflecting on the Love of our Heavenly Father. Last week I worked hard to turn my worries into prayers, and my prayers were answered with my son’s successful surgery. Matthew 7: 9-12 provides another reminder of the generosity of Our Father, Who art in heaven, and a call to similar generosity in our relationships with others (a/k/a The Golden Rule).
“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
Happy Father’s Day!
Were any of your prayers answered last week?
Lately I’ve been craving carbs for breakfast, but I know I do better when I start my day with protein. I’ve discovered that I can have my carbs and my protein too if I use plain Chobani yogurt as a topping.
(Kashi 7 Grain waffle, Chobani, strawberries)
(Banana bread, Chobani)
(Toast, Chobani, my Mom’s homemade strawberry jam)
What else should I try?
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
