The PH Miracle

So after all this tumor talk and chemo talk I got looking around at "cancer cure diets". Everything I read online talked about ditching the sugar and getting the blood ph level alkaline. I knew enough about acid vs alkaline to know this made sence. I found this book via YouTube and ran out and got a copy. Its not the most fun read. Alot of the same info is online as well. But, I am really glad I got the book as it has a ton of detailed info on why alkaline is the way to go when you are trying to get and stay healthy. Its also got a bunch of good recipes to get ya started.

Alkaline Recipes

As I start to show off some of my alkaline recipes I want to first say that I am not a perfect or fancy cook. I like to keep things simple. I prefer meals in a bowl...often in bite sizes....and in soup form is my ideal. I don't do a lot of measuring. If I read a recipe I almost always alter it. I also cook based on cravings...so you will see a lot of repetition of ingredients....like tofu, tofu, tofu then collards, collards. I let my body tell me what I need. This is something that started to come easily to me after I became a vegetarian.

Also- I am new to being alkaline. I started on Nov 17, 2010. I am trying to be 100% alkaline as I go through chemo but I am not perfect. My recipe ideas are aiming for perfect alkalinity but they may not be exact so don't just trust me on this stuff. Please do your own research.

Recipe Above...
Roasted green beans. Fresh green beans drizzeled with olive oil and roasted for about 10 min.
Quinoa (Keen-Wa). Saute can of diced tomatoes in juice w lots of garlic, onion, basil and collard greens chopped tiny.
This was very, very good. I made this again for a pot luck dinner and it got rave reviews. :)

Quinao and kale

Quinoa is a complete protein. Its kind of ricey. We recently discovered it and I love it!

Here I cooked the quinoa in veg broth. I tossed some tofu, carrot slivers, lots of kale

around w/ some onion in a little oil....just till the kale was limp and carrots tender. Mixed it all together and served with salt or braggs to taste.

This was very good.

Crackers and almond butter

A simple snack.

These crackers are made of brown rice, millet, flax and quinoa I think....hmmm. They are not perfectly alkaline but are super close! Put some unsweetened almond butter on um and mmmm. Good enough!

Salad

Salad.

When you are going alkaline its very important to eat alot of raw foods. I cannot stand cold food all the time so I have a few warm meals a day...like soup for breakfast and a quinoa dish for dinner and I aim for a raw food meal at mid day.

This salad has all kinds of greens, almonds, raw garlic, olives & cucumer. I use the dressing recipe from below.

Cucumber breakfast

This is an easy breakfast or on the go lunch.

Chop up cucumber, avocado, packaged sprouts and tofu. Drizzle with an easy salad dressing...

Dressing...Revised from The PH Miracle
About 1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup olive oil
Tbs Braggs
a BIG pinch of oregano
basil
dried garlic
dried onion.
Shake

Zucchini saute

Zucchini saute

Easy stuff. In this case I just chopped up some left over zucchini, kale, onion, garlic & tofu. Tossed it all around in olive oil till tender. Served with left over butternut squash and vegan butter.

Kale chips

Kale chips.

I was psyched to make these and then less than thrilled with the outcome.

Take pieces of kale, drizzle olive oil and salt over them and bake till crisp. They taste ok but the texture is super crisp and brittle.

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

Broccoli Cauliflower Soup

This soup was good. I used a recipe from the book The PH Miracle.

Here it is....

1-2 C Broc
1-2 C Caul
1 cup veg broth
1/2 cup soaked almonds
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs Bragg Liquid Aminos
Real salt to taste

Steam the veggies in broth. Blend everything in blender till smooth. Heat and eat.

Barley biscuits

Barley biscuits.

I took a regular biscuit recipe and swapped the flour for Barley and millet flour. Some of each. I used vegan butter instead of shortening. They are very heavy on the barley flavor but pretty darn good especially when you are desperate for a bread product 30 days into an Alkaline diet.

Veggy Soup

This is what I like to call "End of Week Soup". I make this soup every 7 or 10 days. Whenever I have an overflow of veggy ends or things are heading towards getting wilty.

Its very easy.

Put a box of organic vegetable stock in a pot. Add carrots, celery, onion or leaks, cabbage, & collards. You can use anything! Add broccoli, spinach, sea weed, scallions....pretty much anything. (I'd skip the tomatoes and peppers for this recipe though)

Toss in some barley or brown rice too.

If you are keeping it alkaline- be sure to leave out potatoes, corn and noodles.

Simmer -preferably on the wood stove :)- until everything is tender.

Stuffed zucchini

Stuffed zucchini.
Split zucchini up the middle and scoop out seed. Cook wild rice in veg broth. Stir in extra zucchini, minced broccoli, a little basil and some sunflower seeds. Stuff zucs and broil for a moment.
Tofu with grilled garlic slices. Cook a slice of tofu and garlic in a skillet w/ a little oil. Salt to taste.

I was not super impressed with this. It was fussy to make. I would have been happier to have the zucs chunked up inside the rice.

Quinoa w brustle sprouts

This is red quinoa (keen-wa) with brustle sprouts.

Cook quinoa- one part quinoa/ two parts water or veg broth.

Saute quartered brustle sprouts with onions, garlic and a tomato.

Butter nut squash on the side. Split squash open, take out seeds, bake face down on cookie sheet for 45 min @ 400

Vegan butter.

I just made this up. It was really good. A good way to eat brustle sprouts.

Alvacodo Soup

Avocado soup.

This is a really good, simple soup to make. Saute some onions in a little olive oil. Throw in blender with a couple of ripe avocados. Heat and eat with a little real salt. I like this one for breakfast.

Nutrition what?

With all this "C" talk what about nutrition?

According to the doctors nutrition has nothing to do with any of this. They all say visit the American Cancer Society website. Well the ACS site says something like 2/3 of all cases are due to nutrition issues.Yet, no one will acknowledge that nutrition may have an effect on cleaning this mess up. As a matter of fact the morning after they hacked a hunk of my colon out the first thing they offered me was coffee. Coffee? Um.....not so much!

I did my own research and have made some big changes in eating. I have gone totally alkaline. As of today I have gone 36 days without sugar, dairy, meat (well I have been a vegetarian for 2 yrs actually). Being alkaline feels great. I have found and made up several recipes. (see above)

Power Port in.

In preparation for chemo next week I went in the other day and had yet another operation.

Ouch. The power port is in. This port is a convenient spot for the chemo docs to insert the needle.

Now what?

So here I am. Home after having my colon hacked up TWICE!!! I feel fantastic but the docs say that in order to avoid a "recurrence" I have to do 6 mo of chemotherapy. OK. Well, I gotta do what I gotta do, right? Well this leaves me twisted. If they "got it all" then why do I have to dump chemicals in my body to fight what is gone? I guess the answer is "just in case". Just in case they tossed some cells around when they were stirring up my guts.

So that's whats next. 6 mo of chemo.

Sexy scar

Here is the wound all healed up. It runs from my belly button to my pubic bone.

The dots are from the first surgery and the big ol line is mostly from the second.

I lived!

I lived!

The emergency surgery revealed that the resected colon had popped open, leaking all of its contents into my belly. :( NOT good. I nearly died!

But- I did not :)

This time I ended up all patched back together. I had 2 drains a catheter and sadly for me- an ostomy. After my 9 day stay this time...bringing me to the end of Oct... I was sent home with the lovely ostomy and a wide open wound. It took about 2 months for the wound to heal with the help of a wound care clinic and a wound vac. After a lot of tears and several weeks of virtual depression I decided to get my head on straight and get back to real life.

Now I am fine...well, considering :)

Back I go!

After the Oct 12 surgery I was sent home looking and feeling fine. After being home just 36 hrs I started to vomit. My mother (who had come from Florida to help me after the surgery) took me back the hospital for "fluids". Well it turns out fluids is not what I needed. What I "needed" was an emergency surgery. :(

Colon Surgery

On Oct 12 I went in for colon surgery. This was a planned surgery and it went well. They removed the tumor, a fallopian tube, ovary and 37 lymph nodes. They tested the mess and said they got it all. "It" being stage 2 colon cancer. The lymph nodes were all clear and that's a really good sign. I stayed in the hospital 6 days and then I was sent home all stapled up and good to go....

Or so we thought!

Adventure

Life is an adventure. A journey. "A trip man!"
Its nuts.
Twists, turns, crazy corners and cliffs.
Can you find the joy around every bend? Can you find a way to serve around every turn?
Is that the lesson? I think so.

The irony

The irony that doesn't escape me is just how great I feel.

I am so over the 'empty nest' issues of the winter. I am past the house moving & moving & moving again blues from last winter. I have reestablished a little homestead here on our property. Since spring I have been very happy and have had limited stress....really to the point of often being bored. Life has been really great.

Then this abscess thing happens and whammo~ I am faced with a medical mess. Yet, as this ugly thing is festering in my gut.....I feel freakin fantastic! I have all the energy in the world & my body is working fine as far as anyone can tell.

What is that? A blessing? A joke? Certainly irony!

Surgery

Well folks~ here's the deal. I went in for a follow up colonoscopy after the abscess. They found a tumor. So on Oct 12 I am going to have colon surgery. They will be removing a section of the colon along with veins and lymph nodes. What comes after that is to be seen.

Please keep me in your prayers!

Of course this is huge. I am less than thrilled. It was said that it is very unusual for a tumor to put out an abscess like that. I guess we have to see the previous hospitalisation as a blessing. Had it not been for that abscess we would have never known of the tumor till it was too late.

Strangly wrapped gifts huh?

Admitted to Cayuga Medical

Sigh....back in the beginning of July our entire family contracted a stomach bug.

Everyone got past it within several days. I however, did not. I suffered for 35 days. I did go to the doctor but that led me in circles. I was having alot of pain and finally Jody quietly demanded that I go to the ER.

I finally gave in. They admitted me that night. In the end I stayed 6 days and ended up going home with a cathider coming out of my stomach. The issue was an absess.

The entire experience was traumatising. I felt so scared and trapped.

In the end I healed fine- thank God! I am feeling GREAT now.

Sometimes

Ya know....sometimes people we trust for years are just flat out mean.

And...sometimes you can feel sad that their fear has made them act like that.

And...sometimes you can still be happy for the good that has come to them.

And...Sometimes its time to recognise that the universe is pushing you to make a change.

And... sometimes that's all OK.

Happiness

Happiness.

We are all striving to be happy.

I think that many people are confused about what that is exactly. I know so many people who have unfulfilling jobs they go to all day long. They are not making any kind of contribution, they don't feel significant, they are just getting through for the pay check at the end of the week. Then, they come home each night to watch their 'shows'. Hours and hours and hours are spent watching television. Shows based in murder, cheating, cruelty, human suffering or mindless behavior . Then of course there are the commercials convincing them that they are not enough and they don't have enough. They only see their children for 3 hrs each night. That time is all about an instant dinner, home work, bath, bed. Then back to the job. All this is in the name of surviving till the weekend. Finally, its the weekend. You can have a weekend at home... mow, clean, grocery shop..TV? Then they they are happy....its time to go to the casino, or the bar - Lets go to the mall and mill around until we find the very thing we didn't know we couldn't live without.

I think they are confusing happiness with adrenalin. A quick rush of adrenalin and they think they are happy. They aren't because by Monday they are back to the grind and they are as miserable as always.

That's because happiness is not located outside of yourself. "True happiness is to be found within, in the state of our hearts. It does not exist on the far side of some distant mountains. It is within you, yourself. However much you try, you can never run away from yourself. And if you are weak, suffering will follow you wherever you go. You will never find happiness if you don't challenge your weaknesses and change yourself from within."

(quote from: http://www.ikedaquotes.org/what-is-happiness)

Happiness is is found within. It is said that 'ignorance is bliss'. It often seems this is true but really its not. You have to open your mind, over come your 'issues', find your purpose, embrace your reality then you'll find happiness.

Depression

Ok- I have been meaning to write about depression for ages.

I spent at least 11 straight years very depressed. Yes- I managed to go to college, have children, get married and divorced...have a life....but I was really depressed. There were years I spent drinking ( thankfully, I was always too poor to become an alcoholic because I could have for sure). I spent years cutting off my hair, compulsive eating (gaining 100++lbs), destroying my house in a rage, screaming, having anxiety attaches. I spent years in bed. I spent years on Prozac.

Fun topic.... :p ....not

Here's the thing...I am not that way any more. Nope. I have my ups and downs like everyone else but I haven't been depressed for years.

How come?

Well- and this may annoy some people- I got over it!

My most recent bowt of depression went on for two years following the death of my friend, Blake. One morning I decided to get up and tackle the day. That day turned into two and so on. I found that if I started my morning with a plan of action for that day I could get through it rather cheerfully. Projects became my "monkey bar" plan. For a long time I was 'addicted' to projects. I got a hell of a lot done. :) People just thought I was really, really productive. Actually, I was really scared to be without a distraction. Eventually, I started to eat healthy, walk and get outside on a regular basis. It all sounds simple and easy but it was a long process with many set backs.

Today, I don't "DO" depression anymore.

I found that it really is a choice to delve into depression and make it a part of yourself.

Depressed people speak in depressed language. "MY depression", "I HAVE to have my pills", "I cant", "I'll never", "I have an imbalance".

Well apparently 3 out of 4 people are imbalanced these days. That has to make ya think. There has to be more to it. A culture of sitting, TV, cruddy- processed- garbage food. A culture that encourages misery, lethargy and apathy.

When it comes down to it- we all have a choice to take life's inevitable pain and turn it into- and embrace- an option of suffering.

Two Paths

I recently heard it said that in life we are always on one of two paths....

EITHER- the path of LOVE or the path of FEAR.

Then there are only two fears...."I am not enough" and/or "I am not lovable".

This is interesting.

If you look at your own behaviors/ actions and the actions of others its VERY easy to see that most of the time we are just acting out of fear.

If we can learn to dance with the fear and live on that path of LOVE then we will stop suffering and struggling.

Projection

I was recently talking to some moms about projection and/or intergenerational transmission.

In other words....the baggage we carry thanks to our dear mothers....the baggage our children carry thanks to us!

The age of eight was a big one for me. When my daughters were eight I began to struggle with a desire to pull away. When this happened with my first daughter I was loud and angry about it. With the 2nd daughter, I was starting to see it as a pattern and was calmer but still felt very compelled to create distance. When it happened the 3 rd time I clearly saw it as a pattern and went out of my way to avoid doing it. This pattern made me reflect and ask myself....

What happened when I was eight???
I remember the summer I was eight. Up until that summer I was a free and happy child. I ran around at home with my step brother (age 7) shirtless. I was happy. Then several things happened. First, my mother informed me that I was not to go shirtless anymore. That made me sad. It made me feel like there was something shameful about me and I had to cover up. (now I understand that maybe I was beginning to develop but that was not explained to me) I just felt like I did something wrong. Then my mother stopped hugging me all together. I am not sure why that is. And finally, one evening in the tub, my mother was bathing me and she pointed out my chubby roles on my belt and told me she'd pay me $1 for every one I lost. That just flat out messed me up! That was the moment that made this blog possible. Really. Shortly after that I was punching myself in the face, in the mirror, screaming "I hate you"- "I wish you would die". Not cool. So reflecting on this...and knowing that my mother was doing the best she could with what she had I have to say.....

What happened to my mother when she was eight???

Well I don't really know exactly what happened to her. I have heard stories. There are stories from about that age where my mother and her brother were hiding the belt so they wouldn't be beaten with it. I know there were times when my grandmother proclaimed that she wished my mother had never been born. I know my grandmother made statements like "you kids ruined my life". I know that it was at that time that my mother felt very second best to her younger brother. I don't know if she felt close to her mother and then pushed away. I am just not sure but I do have a vague impression that that was tough time for my mother.

So- of course that leads me to ask what happened to my grandmother when she was eight???

Well, I know of one story only and that story changes depending on the telling. But, when my grandmother was eight....her mother killed herself. That was the ultimate grand rejection by a mother. This left my grandmother, an only child alone with her father, who died not long after.

I have NO idea what was happening for my great-grandmother at that time. What lead her to kill herself. Did she loose a baby?, was she in a dangerous marriage?, was she simply very depressed? I have no idea. Regardless, that particular act really impacted a lot of people.

On a pleasant note....because I have made an effort to encourage my daughters to work through this garbage I have real faith that they will do better than I have. I am happy for my potential grand-children. They are gonna have great moms ;)

Empty Nest Shame Game

So - I have been thinking a lot about the life phase of empty nest.

From what I have figured out this phase of life is normal and we all go through it eventually assuming we've had kids. But, at least from where I sit, people don't talk a lot about it.

Why is that? Well, it seems its just like most women's issues....

its judgable, blamable, shamable.

Isn't this just how it goes. Here's my take on that....

Women have been the brunt of male oppression since the beginning of time. I suppose that is because men were the strong and women the weak. Back then brute force was the greatest commodity. Regardless, the oppression of women has gone on in every culture since the beginning of human history. So- here in America...though of course there is still plenty of oppression to go around....for the most part women have a good shot at a peaceful life with equal rights. So now that (hopefully most) of us are not being brutally oppressed what do we do?....we women do it to ourselves and each other.

The stage of 'empty nest' is just another venue to judge and blame each other. We don't talk about this for a good reason...its a no win situation.

Its another way to point a finger at 'others'.

If you are pleased that your kids are grown and out of the house- if you are enjoying your freedom then you are a heartless, cold women who never really wanted kids to start with. "How awful you are". But- if you miss your kids- you are sad and wish for the buzz of family and the commitment of children then you never had a life of your own- you were living through your children- you were dependant on your man etc."What a looser you are".

You just cannot win.

This is not one bit different than all other women's issues. Women judge each other over EVERYTHING right from the start of parenthood. Cloth vs disposable diapers, breast feeding vs bottle, working mothers vs stay at home moms, public school vs home school.

These are just a few of the topics to torture each other over.

This doesn't make sense at all. We need to support each other. We need to hear each other. Allow each other to express our hurts, worries, pains and joys...with no shame.

Spring is Sprinin!

Cannot say its actually sprung yet but Spring is Sprinin!

This makes me soooo happy. I need to shake the winter cob webs out of my head and get my hands in the dirt. Thank you for the sunshine, Thank you for the tulips pushing up, Thank you for the birds who remind me that no matter whats going on in my little world life is an endless circle...it still moves along and never misses a beat.

All this reminds me to ask...

What can I give, Who can I serve, How can I add to the beauty in this world.

Happy sigh :)

Abundance- Ding!

Abundance unto you! lol

A little story about Abundance..... Well a few weeks back I came across a chime I wanted to hang in my living room. I found a place for it but that displaced another little bell. That bell looks much like the one shown here. So...because I had no place to stick the smaller bell I put a tack right in the door casing in the living room and hung the bell on it. Its right above your head when you walk through the main two rooms of the house.

Then, one day shortly after, that I was feeling frustrated with our financial situation and looked up and saw the bell. I gave it a brisk *swack* and said "Prosperity Already!". But- right then I had a realisation.....its not prosperity that I actually want....its ABUNDANCE!

Abundance of love, Abundance of connection, Abundance of community, Abundance of good health, Abundance of inspiration, Abundance of particular material items!!!!!!!!!!

So right then, I hit that bell and said "Abundance!" The bell was promptly named our "Abundance Bell"

Now every member of the family hits the bell as they pass under it and say "Abundance". We all say Abundance every day. We wish people Abundance and we live in gratitude.

So- is it working? Y-E-S!!!!! Oh God YES! We are rolling in Abundance! We have always been broke (raising 7 kids on a therapists income) and we've always maintained an attitude of Lack. "If only, we wish, we'll never, boo hoo" Now we have a family wide WE CAN AND WE WILL attitude! We are reaping all kinds of material benefits too......the universe has given us 3 amazing new cameras, a new mini van, a fancy new bike for Jody, free braces for Vayda just to name a few. These blessings are coming so regularly now that I am forgetting some of them.

Its been truly amazing.

Because I want everyone I know to enjoy an abundant life as well I have been making little beaded bells (not a thing like the one above) and giving them away to friends and even strangers I meet. If you want one please just let me know. Email me at fineartbycarrie@hotmail.com and we'll work it out.

Wishing you Abundance!

My nest is empty

I have been a parent since I was 21 yrs old. That's just shy of 18 yrs now. For the last 13 I have been mother/ step mother to 7 children. Things have shifted a lot over the last years and now its like this.....

A few years ago I had 7 children. It was all very loud and overwhelming most of the time but I did love the energy of the home. Then for years we had just 5. Just several months ago I still had 'just' 4 kids. Then in December my (bio) oldest left home to do service in California. She was 17 and now as I look at it, though I am so very proud of her, I was not ready to let her go. Then a month or so later my 19 yr old step son moved out. Hes been in my world since he was 6. Now my 16 yr old attends a school 40 min out of town so she is only home late in the evening and because shes a teen she spends every possible moment with her girl friends. And finally, just a month after that my baby hit puberty all at once.

All of these big changes took place over the last 3 months and all of the sudden I started falling apart. I have been soooo sad. Deeply sad.

Not depression sad but mourning sad :(

I feel lonely, bored, aimless. Its all rather awful feeling. I just spend a lot of time feeling the misery and crying. I have what is called "empty nest syndrome" I suppose. I feel all messed up. I feel like society says I should be happy to be 'done' with this phase of my life. Now I can head back to that career that's been waiting or travel or something. But, I don't see it that way at all. I didn't put my life on hold to raise my kids. Raising my kids, creating a home was/is my life.

I look back and try to figure out if my own mother went through this and I think I do remember it. I was about 13 and my step bro 12. We went to my grandmothers house and my mother tried to talk to her about it. My grandmother brushed her off and said "you just have empty nest- you'll get over it". I remember feeling hurt for her there in the kitchen. My grandmother had no mother and limited support so I suppose that was the best she could do....but it stunk.

So- I feel embarrassed because I feel like I am SUPPOSED to be excited to be done or happy to 'have my life back'. I think that many women look at other women and judge them for not wanting more than their children and husbands, homes and hobbies. I know I have received that judgement.

I am not sure were I am headed now. Just having Faith that it will all become apparent soon.

Consumed

So.... its been months since I have posted here. Where have I been? Well, if you follow my family blog.. http://roosterintheroaster.blogspot.com/ you know I spent the spring and summer trying to sell our house. Then we leased it instead and moved to Ithaca, NY. We then managed to move our family of five 3 times in 4 months landing right back in our original house (after the renters trashed it and vanished)! It was an adventure. Everyone said, "You poor things. That's sooo terrible." My husband and I didn't choose to make it terrible. It was indeed challenging but it was NOT terrible. Over all though I have been consumed by life.

Now I am back to post and I have lots to say. Thanks for checkin in :)

Before and After shots

Well here is the real 'skinny'....

Check this out. I wasn't lying when I said things have changed.

Lookin good :)

Smaller Jeans

Smaller Jeans!

I have been wearing the larger jeans since March but as of yesterday I fit very nicely in the smaller pair. They are one size smaller. Yippee! Guess its all the bikin and walking I am doing lately.

Heres aimin for smaller yet. :)

Shrinkage

Finally~ Visable shrinkage!

My head looks aweful in this shot but, hey, what do you want? I just got out of the shower, lotioned my face and decided I looked a little thinner so I tried on this pair of jeans that have been waiting in a drawer. They are one size smaller than my regular jeans.
Heres the side view.And the butt. This is the first time the butt has been within reason to show.

Now heres the other deal. I cannot see with my eyes what I actually look like. My head is so messed up from 38 yrs of being fat that all I see is fat. Ugh. Maybe in time my head will catch up and catch on. Its a process- not an event.

Biking to Watkins Glen

The big plan of biking to RI is coming up in 5 weeks!

I have been working out every day to prepare for this. Jody suggested that we do a test run to Watkins Glen and camp for the weekend. Thats a 32 mile bike ride.It took all day but went well. I did pretty well for my first BIG ride. With my newly rebuilt bike I was able to take a lot of the hills. I prefer downhill however- dur. I found that after 10 miles I needed lots of short breaks but I recovered very quickly. The next day I was not sore and the day after that we hiked a gorge. Lots more ahead!

Alternating Walking and Biking

After the NYC trip and the gorge hike I got into a groove. I spent the entire week working out- alternating biking and hiking. Each hike was easier. Each bike was more fun. One day we put in 18 miles! Thanks to Vayda- my little work out buddy- it was fun stuff.

Walking the Gorge

The day after the big trip to NYC I went to Tauganic Falls with my husband, daughters and neighbor and walked the gorge. We tried a trail that was new to us. There were a lot of step and it was all uphill on one side. I found the steps to be a killer. It was beautiful and we had fun with the kids.

Bikin in NYC

Last weekend my husband and I went biking along the Hudson River in New York City.

We biked along the river down to the George Washington Bridge. 13 miles in all. We saw wonderful sites and ate great food. Most of the biking was pretty flat. I found that my legs were weak but my heart was fine. It was a good first long bike ride for the season.

For the entire story see... http://roosterintheroaster.blogspot.com

Good for the heart

Hangin with my girlies- Good for the heart!

Rockin the Kareoke- yo!

Who knew? Kareoke is FUN and a great work out. Now- I have to admit I suck bad but this is now my next goal. I want to get to a bar or club and do this on stage in front of people (preferably drunk people ;). How empowering will that be??? Cool beans!

Hey- if I can walk on fire I can do anything.

Just cause I can doesnt mean I should but I'm gonna.

A work out for the mind and spirit

I recently joined my friend, Heather, in Rhode Island and we went to see the Dalai Lama in person. Hangin with the Dalai Lama man. It was great. There were 17,000 people there.

Hes cute, funny and deep ;)

This was a work out for the mind and spirit :) Well worth the drive.