Things I Am Thankful For #10

I can be very self absorbed.

I think, or I’d like to think, that this is typical of 19 year olds (typical of perhaps other people as well, but at least excusable and understandable for my age group). Everything seems so dramatic.  Like the floor beneath my feet is shifting and it won’t stop. Every event seems epic. It feels like I alone in my suffering, and woe is me.

Each day has challenges. You encounter an obstacle, rise above it, and then bam there’s another obstacle. It’s easy to scream in frustration, throw your hands up in the air, and sit on the ground and pout. The true test of strength is brushing yourself off, getting back on your feet and overcoming the next obstacle. And then the next one. And the one after that.

No, there isn’t any end. No one gets the easy road in life. There is always another challenge around the bend.

But with each obstacle, I become stronger. I become a better person.

As I said, it’s hard to see that in the face of a new challenge. I hate to admit it, but I still do crumble. Just ask my mom. She had the pleasure of listening to me howling in the phone this afternoon about my latest challenge. Literally howling.

But I am learning. I am getting perspective and realizing how I can use the lessons from this challenge to become emotionally stronger.

In my yoga practice I am becoming stronger. I can see it in every class. It is certainly taking it’s time. After two and a half months of classes twice a week I still can’t do a headstand with wall support. My instructor still needs to help my legs up. I still can’t do a back bend, and I can barely manage a shoulder stand. But my instructor noted today that my chuturangas are becoming stronger. My shoulders and hips are opening up. I see myself in the mirror and relish at the sight of muscles hard at work. With each class they are becoming stronger.

I am thankful today for strength. Both emotional and physical. It is a constant uphill battle, and sometimes I huff and puff, but I am working my way up that hill. And I am thankful for the climb. The constant push towards improvement. It sounds a bit odd to be thankful for such a thing, but when I  stand back and see the strides I made I am thankful for where I have come and where I am going.

Sometimes a brownie can help you overcome an emotional obstacle.

I came home to this pan of brownies after yoga. I had a smidge or two. All for the sake of climbing up that emotional hill, right?

Music also helps overcome emotional challenges:

How are you becoming emotionally/physically stronger?

Other posts in the series Things I Am Thankful For

#1: Running

#2: Healing

#3: Warm weather

#4: Spice

#5: Art

#6: Sleep

#7: Communication

#8: Adventure

#9: Leisurely meals

Things I Am Thankful For #9

I love leisurely breakfasts.

I love them so much that I will sacrifice sleep to make a tasty meal and then spend at least 25 minutes eating it. This might be a bit strange for a teenager–most of my friends will do anything for more sleep and throw something in their mouths quickly for their morning meal.

But I love the calm of a relaxed breakfast. It’s my me time. Sometimes I’ll listen to the radio, or read the newspaper. Since I began reading blogs I usually catch up with Google Reader while eating breakfast.

Blog world has given me a lot of inspiration for meals, especially at breakfast. I am now an oatmeal making maven, topping it with whatever I fancy in the pantry. I use peanut butter for everything and anything, and love a good yogurt mess (especially if there’s a baked good around like banana bread). I will spend up to 10 minutes making breakfast.

So total breakfast time (making+consuming) often equals over 35 minutes. But they are so worth it.

Today I am thankful for leisurely breakfasts. I know it is a luxury that I will not have one day. I might work crazy hours, or chase after kids of my own and so my only option will be scarfing down a granola bar. My me time is precious, and I appreciate every me moment I can get.

This morning’s me time came after my run. I’ve had an almost empty jar of chocolate almond butter I bought at a farmer’s market in San Francisco for way too long, and today I put it to good use. I made pumpkin oats with water, half a banana, 1/3 cup pumpkin puree, and lots of cinnamon. After filling the jar with the oats I crumbled a graham cracker on top for a pumpkin pie like creation. I remembered after the photograph that I have flax practically coming out of my ears, so I added a spoonful for some good omega 3 action.

And of course, all the chocolate almond butter goodness on the bottom:

It seems a bit silly to ask food bloggers if they eat a hearty breakfast, so I’ll ask instead:

How have your breakfast habits changed over the years? What do you like to do while eating breakfast?

PS: I just updated my Who? page to cover my life in Hawaii. I figured it was about time, especially as I’m getting new readers. Check it out!

Things I Am Thankful For #8

I have a wandering soul.

At 8 I began traveling by myself to visit my family in Texas every summer. I soon no longer needed the assistance of flight attendants and could take care of myself. At 15 I traveled internationally by myself for the first time. My French class took a trip to France and Italy, and I left a week early to visit a French exchange student in Nantes. It was a bit nerve wracking, and I must have checked that I had all the right documents a thousand times, but I loved the experience. At 16 I studied abroad for a month in France and spent an extra week visiting above mentioned exchange student at her family home in the French countryside. Not only did I have to travel by myself, I had to take a train at 4:30 am to Paris, navigate the Parisian Metro during morning rush hour, travel to Charles de Gaulle airport, and fly home, which took multiple flights. While I was a bit nervous, my mother was always confident of my capabilities.

My mom is definitely not the overprotective kind. If anything, she practically pushes me out of the nest. But it is because she believed that I could that I was able to sprout wings and fly out of the nest. I know many of my parents’ friends will do anything to tie their children down. Parents who would not let their children who are seniors in high school ride the DC metro by themselves. This was always so bizarre to me. My mother encourages me to seize the day and take advantage of any opportunity I can. She always advocated study abroad programs in high school, and I am so glad I heeded her advice and spent a gap year in Belgium. Some of my parents’ friends thought I was crazy to spend this year before college in Hawaii. Why don’t you just stay home and go to community college here? they told me. Not my mom. I was so apprehensive before coming to Hawaii. I was unsure of my employment situation and how I would manage. My mom believed in me 110%, and her encouragement helped me persevere. She told me that worse comes to worse, I enjoy a month or two in Hawaii, and then I can always come home. Nothing lost. She taught me that life is a journey. Maybe it isn’t always the adventure you expected, but there is still so much to gain by taking risks.

I am thankful that my mom imbibed me with a sense of adventure. Thank you, mom!

Today I had a little adventure in the kitchen. Inspired by the hungry hippie, I purchased sweet brown rice in the bulk bins at a local health food store. I read that it is referred to as mochi and that the sweet, glutinous rice is often used in desserts. I love sticky rice and eagerly cooked a pot of rice. It was certainly glutinous, but it didn’t have the sweet flavor I anticipated. I think I expected a bit too much, as I love mochi, so the disappointment may have been inevitable.

I topped my sweet brown rice with carrot soup infused with ginger, as Elise did.

And like Elise, I mixed it all together.

Would I buy sweet brown rice again? Maybe. Honestly, I didn’t think it was sooo much better than regular brown rice, so long as you don’t cook the rice with the grains separated (and who would want to do that, really?) Sometimes adventures don’t turn out the way you thought. But I tried something new, and it was fun! That’s what really counts, in the end.

Are your parents overprotective or overbearing? How do they react when you embark on your own adventures?

PS: Check out Holly’s blog for some an awesome protein powder giveaway–always great to support small companies!

Things I Am Thankful For #7

I think communication is one of the most important things in life.

I like to think that I am a very straight forward person. I tell it like it is. Of course, I consider other people’s feelings, and carefully choose my words. But I will say how I feel. My belief is that at the end of the day, I’d rather have all my cards on the table. I don’t like spending time wondering how someone else feels, so I try and ensure that others don’t wonder what’s going through my head.

While I won’t delve into too many details, there was not enough communication the first month in my job here as a nanny in Hawaii. I didn’t feel like I knew where I stood and what was going on, or how the family felt about me. This has since changed, and I couldn’t be happier.

A lack of communication also leads to misunderstandings. Someone who is very important in my life thought that I felt a certain way about him/her and I thought she/he felt a certain way about me, when really neither impression was true. We have both benefited from communicating how we feel.

So today, I am thankful for communication, and the fresh starts that communication allow.

And also, very very grateful that my mind communicated to my legs how very important today’s long run was. It was a smashing success. (Awkward transition much? It kind of works, so I’ll take it!)

It seemed like today, everything went right! Which is much better than my last long run, two weeks ago, when everything seemed to go wrong.

I got plenty of sleep and ate a hearty breakfast. I filled my water bottle belt with chilled mango coconut water, a sample sent to me from Zico. I am not a fan of sports drinks like gatorade, and I loved that coconut water is like a natural sports beverage. It has more potassium than a banana and provides the electrolytes runners need to refuel. It tasted like watered down coconut milk (not a bad thing!). Thanks Zico!

Because I have thick, curly hair I find it hard to keep it up during a run. Ponytails do not work for me, and a bun always comes undone. Inevitably, I put it up in a ponytail mid run, but then the humidity and sweat turn my hair into a frizzy halo around my head. Today though, I put it in a French pigtail with a band to keep the loose strands back, a great style for running and just in time because today happened to be PICTURE DAY! One of the owners of Kailua Running Company showed up randomly to take pictures. My first pictures of me running! I rather liked them, too!

And….I ran a PDR of 17 miles! After having last week off due to my injury, I needed today to be a good day to be in good spirits for the Honolulu Marathon, because it is less than 5 weeks away! Yikes! Today I had a runner’s high like no other. During my last five miles I felt like I was floating on air.

I haven’t been too hungry today, but I’ve been fueling up with healthy drinks.

I was planning on making an Amazing Grass chocolate drink post run, but there was only whole milk in the Bargiel house. I used water with ice cubes and a splash of said milk instead, which tasted surprisingly good! I also used a coupon Synergy sent me to try Kombucha. I bought the Trilogy flavor, and while it is a taste you have to get used to, I really liked it. Of course, I knew that because it is a fermented tea, it has a vinegar like taste before I tried it. Recently I witnessed a friend buy Kombucha not having any clue what it was (the guava flavor drew him in) and so he hated it. So consider yourselves forewarned. It also helps that I know the health benefits of the drink. It supports digestion, metabolism, immune control, weight control, liver function, body alkalinity, anti-aging, cell integrity, and healthy skin and hair. I don’t really know what body alkalinity means, but that must be a good thing! It also has many probiotics and antixodiants.

It is a bit pricey. In Hawaii it is sometimes over 4 dollars, but I snagged today’s bottle for a little over 3 dollars, with a reduction from Synergy. I would definitely buy it at 3 dollars in the future–my friends often go to Starbucks and while I enjoy the occasional latte, I’d rather sip on a Kombucha from the health store across the street and put those probiotics to work in my bod.

This afternoon I enjoyed an 18 rabbits bar.

While I wasn’t a big fan of the previous flavor I sampled, I really enjoyed this one! Cheeky indeed. The chocolate and cherries worked well with the chewy texture. Trine and Sophie were at the kitchen counter when I ate this, and they kept breaking off pieces of it they liked it so much. Definitely a thumbs up!

Has there been a misunderstanding lately in your life that communication cleared up? Please share!

Things I Am Thankful For #6

This is going to be a quickie. Tomorrow, I am going to embark on a long run of a unannounced distance until I get er done. I took a break from my long run last week because my right knee wasn’t feeling too hot. Nothing major, it’s just that I fell like an idiot and maybe bruised a bone. I took it easy last week, but resumed my midweek running schedule this week, and tomorrow’s long run will be a major indicator of how I’m doing. So I’m a little nervous! Usually I only sleep a few hours on Saturday night before Sunday’s long run. But I realized that that really couldn’t be doing much good. So tonight, I’m tucking in early and I am very, very thankful for…

Sleep.

MegaNerd blogged about this a couple of days ago, but I was planning on doing the same, so I decided to go ahead.

I think it was on David Lebovitz’s blog that I read how grateful he is every night that he has a warm, comfortable bed. This is so true. Probably everyone in blogworld will have a safe place to sleep tonight. So few people have that in the world.

I am very thankful for sleep, and for nice sleeping quarters.

That will hopefully fuel my run tomorrow.

So without further ado…bonne nuit!

PS I updated yesterday’s post to include some falafel that I enjoyed post MOMA visit in ‘06.

Things I Am Thankful For #5

I am by no means an artist. But I do, I like to think, have an eye for aesthetics. Many of us bloggers share this interest. After all, isn’t arranging your plate by colors and textures (and then photographing it!) driven by pure aesthetics?

I spend hours in art museums, examining paintings my friends have long since abandoned. I love creating collages, and used many of my designs as binder covers in school. I love fashion and examining the pages of Vogue, though I have yet to truly cultivate a personal style. I often look at design and photography blogs, and post anything I find interesting on my Tumblr page I guess at the end of the day, I love surrounding myself with beautiful things.

So today, I am thankful for art. Sometimes I’m in the mood for something thought provoking, or something that has a powerful impact on me. But at other times, I just want to look at something pretty. I am grateful that there is art in the world.

Today I went to First Friday in Honolulu. In Chinatown, downtown, the art studios stay open after hours on the first Friday of every month. There’s music in the streets, beautiful local art, and lots of great restaurants.

Here are a few of my favorite paintings that I saw in the various galleries and the Honolulu State Art Museum.

Sidney T.K. Yee--'Bridge, Bridge'

The description of the painting read: “The title of the work refers to two types of bridges: “the literal bridge in the painting and the symbolic bridge linking human spirit, past and present. The duality of this painting symbolizes the idea that our present is part of our past and that our lives transcend visual reality.” Love that.

I loved these cutouts by Satoru Abe.

Jean Charlot--'Ko Ke Kumulipo (The Drummer)'

Juliette May Fraser--'Kana Wrestling the Turtle'

It was so cool to see Polynesian inspired art.

And today’s Thankful topic coincides with Flashback Friday! So we are flashing back to December 2006, when I went to New York City to visit colleges with Claudia, the Bolivian exchange student staying with us at the time. She was a couple of years older than me, and we were best friends/sisters.

Check out Maya via three years ago! Excuse the windblown hair from being on the boat.

One day it rained heavily, so we sought shelter at MOMA. Here are a few of my favorites!

Claudia mirroring the painting worked out so perfectly.

One of my favorite Monets.

Christina’s World, by Andrew Wyeth. Such a powerful painting. Quote from the description: “The woman crawling through the tawny grass was the artist’s neighbor in Maine, who, crippled by polio ‘was limited physically but by no means spiritually,’ Wyeth further explained.”

While I appreciate the theories behind many contemporary art pieces, I’m sorry, but some things are just a little too elementary. For example, this electric blue canvas. I understand the statement being made, but really, this artist was paid a lot of money for just blue paint.

Claudia’s work! She earned worldwide acclaim as an artist for this one!

I wish I had some artistically arranged food pics for you blogettes. What I love about this Thankful series is that it truly causes me to reflect and gets my creative juices flowing on a daily basis, but unfortunately, I didn’t think of this topic until later in the day, so I didn’t take a picture of a meal that would be suitable. But just for kicks, I found this photo in my library that I like quite a bit.

Blanched swiss chard leaves with a veggie filling and spicy peanut dipping sauce. Love the colors of the swiss chard. I miss biking to our friend’s nearby farm, where swiss chard abounded. This photo was taken with my phone, not bad quality, eh?

UPDATED TO ADD: I found some pictures of some of the best falafel I’ve ever had, taken in NYC after the MOMA visit. If you’re every in the village, please, please, go to Taim. They also have many delicious vegetable and grain salads.

Things I Am Thankful For #4

Or, Spice Up Your Life!

I love spices. What a simple way to dress up your food. Turn something that is otherwise ok and kick it up a notch with a smidge of this or that. Tomato sauce is fabulous with a sprinkle of cumin. Sprinkle coriander on carrot fries, and dip them in a curry ketchup (a habit I picked up in Belgium, it’s a great combo!) I love adding spices in totally unexpected dishes as well, such as chili in chocolate or freshly ground black pepper in shortbread.

I am very thankful for spices. Because we could all use some spice in our lives, right?

As my supply of exotic spices such as cardamom and star anise is currently at home in Maryland, I have been relying heavily on the basis the AP family has, such as cinnamon. No complaints here! I douse anything I can in cinnamon, like pears and apples. Don’t worry, my mom has been putting the cardamom to good use, she told me the other day she baked a pear cake with cardamom. Me want now!

I get my love of spices from my mom. I seem to be in a nostalgia mood lately, and just the word ginger makes me think of Mom. It is her favorite spice, and it is now mine as well. We are unable to resist anything with the tantalizing addition of ginger. My mom literally swoons.

When I buy ginger, I like to imagine people or animals based on the crazy formations. Kind of like with clouds.

This one is kind of like a rhinoceros (see the horn on top of his head) standing up, who for some reason has an extremely large tumor coming out of the bottom of his head. Maybe that’s too big of a stretch?

I recently received an extremely generous package from the Newman’s Own Organics angels. Thanks Sally! It includes cookies galore, pretzels, soy crisps, chocolate, mints, and so many other goodies. You will be seeing many appearances of these treats.

What excited me the most was my beloved ginger in cookie form.

While I am weak at the knees at any cookie with peanut butter or the words double chocolate, I could live with or without oreos. But a ginger oreo? Yes, yes, yes!

See that halo over the Newman mark? So fitting.

What are some of your favorite spices?

Other posts in this series:
#1
#2
#3

Things I Am Thankful For #3

I hate the cold.

I am convinced that I am cold blooded. I seek heat like a lizard. I love getting into a car that baked in the sun (with limitations! it’s nice up until about June). I will drink my tea hot until early June. I keep the blanket on my bed until late spring.

Needless to say, I am thriving in Hawaii. It is November and it’s 75 degrees! This is my ideal climate. I can hardly believe it’s already November–not because the time passed by particularly fast, but because I feel like I am in eternal summer.

So I am thankful for warm weather. Very, very thankful. I really don’t like the cold.

But that isn’t to say there aren’t certain things I miss about the change of seasons. Like foliage.

Medfield, MA 2006

Krakow, Poland 2008

And admittedly, I think I will miss the snow. Just a little.

Brussels, 2009

But despite the consistent summer ambiance in Hawaii, I have still been enjoying the foods of autumn with gusto. Kabocha squash. Pumpkin puree. Butternut squash. Dried fruit.

I have also been craving autumn meals, like stews and chilis. So yesterday, when there was a slight chill in the air (and by chill I mean just a little below 70 degrees) and a scattering of raindrops, I wanted nothing more than a nice vegetable stew. On a whim I sauteed garlic and onion, then added cubed butternut squash, white sweet potatoes, and carrots. Once they were cooked, I added vegetable broth, green beans, and several spoonfuls of tomato paste. It was missing a certain something once cooked, so I added hot sauce and herbs. Perfect.

Soup craving satiated.

I also had a slice of bread with a little cheddar cheese broiled on top and Pop Chips. I received Pop Chips samples some time ago, and this is my first taste. I am not a big fan of potato chips, but it’s usually the grease that turns me off. Not to say that I don’t indulge in other ways, but fried foods just don’t appeal to me. I usually enjoy salty/sweet combos more than just plain salty. Plus, if ever given the option, I would much rather have a sweet potato than a regular potato. However I loved the Pop Chips! They taste just like regular potato chips, and I did enjoy them more knowing there wasn’t tons of grease. Baked potato chips are not the same, while they are enjoyable in their own right, they do not really taste like potato chips. The salt and vinegar flavor worked for my comfort meal–my mom often douses her french fries in malt vinegar, a habit she picked up while studying abroad in England. Hot soup, cheesy toast, and chips that remind me of my mother and made me think of her embrace. Perfect comfort for a chilly 70 degree day.

What’s your ideal climate? Do you thrive in the heat or cold?

Things I Am Thankful For #2

Sometimes, I can be a little… err hazardous…to myself.

In other words, I am a klutz. I completely lack grace. My legs usually have various bruises from incidents I can’t remember. I have various misshapen scars–from the time I dropped a pan while cooking scrambled eggs and then attempted to catch the fiery hot pan (smart move) to a bike accident at 8 years old. Is this normal? I sometimes look at my legs and feet and wonder if others have such a visual record of their trips, falls, and just plain stupidity on their legs.

Evidence A: My right foot.

I decided to break into my new Rainbow sandals by walking roughly 10 miles around San Francisco. Without alternative shoes. My feet were practically raw. Then I didn’t treat them properly, so now I will probably have a scar. It’s been about two months, so I hope that some of the purple will fade, but I’ll have to see.

I suppose my scars tell the story of my life?

So often, I curse my body for these blemishes. However, I need to be thankful for my body’s ability to heal itself despite my abuse. After all, I do put that poor body through a lot.

I recently cut a sweet potato for cheetahs without the best of knives. And consequently cut myself:

I hope no one reading this is sensitive, but guys, blood was gushing. Flowing like a fountain. I applied a lot of pressure, wrapped a bandage around my finger tightly, and about 45 minutes later, my finger stopped bleeding. It is doing much better, and I hope that it will heal itself like this middle finger did:

Last year while baking Christmas cookies my friend reached for a knife I was using and cut my middle finer, causing a similar injury I am now sporting on my ring finer. And today you cannot see the wound at all. 100% healed.

The body has amazing capabilities. There are countless stories of amazing recoveries on a much larger scale. When treated well, your body will treat you well.

And I treated my body will with a nourishing lunch post run this morning.

First I grilled up a couple of tortillas straight on the burner:

I reheated some vegetarian refried beans to place on top, and topped my tortillas with homemade pico de gallo and delicious salsa, both made by the father and daughter in the AP family (the new moniker I will use for the family for whom I nanny).

I ate the tortillas rolled up like a burrito:

I love how corn tortillas look so unappetizing cold, but heated up they become a carby delight. If only I could say the same about cookie dough, then I could resist it more easily!

The pico and salsa were so spicy I just had to have this delicious, juicy pear afterward.

What do you think about the scars on your body? How do you help your body heal itself?

Everyday Thanksgiving: Things I Am Thankful For #1

Happy November!

I recently read about an idea that I love on MegaNerdRuns, a blog I’ve recently started to read. As I shared with you before, because of the emotional turmoil lately, it’s been a bit difficult for me to blog lately. However, there is a lot in my life that for which I am grateful.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love that anyone, despite religious denomination, ethnicity, etc., can celebrate. Everyone can express gratitude in their lives.

With that in mind, I would like to, like Megan, express what I am grateful for every day until Thanksgiving.

The gratitude I express in the next few weeks will cover many topics, but today is one you hear about a lot, because I thought about it quite a bit over the weekend.

I am grateful for my runs.

In the past, I thought of exercise as a chore. As in, ugh when this elliptical reaches 45 minutes I can FINALLY get off!. Running does not feel like a chore. In fact, on some days, it keeps me sane. This week I took it easy due to a right knee injury (I should make a full recovery though! I am definitely grateful for that). I wasn’t going to run yesterday, but I needed the release. So I ditched my shoes and ran barefoot on Kailua beach:

I enjoyed every second. Although it was a form of exercise and I definitely worked up a sweat, it felt more like a meditation. I chased the tides and let them chase me. I loved the refreshing water lapping my feet, and watching families and couples enjoying a beautiful beach day. I especially loved seeing parents leading their babes who could barely walk into the shore break. I think it’s such a wonderful thing to raise a child to appreciate and love the water from literally the time he/she can walk.

I am definitely not someone who enjoyed running before. In high school cross country it was such a hassle and burden. But I love that I am cultivating such a genuine appreciation for running. After writing the first draft of this post, I read the latest Running Shorts post, which relates to this subject. It’s a great post to read! I love the idea that humans are born to run, I feel that with my runs I am reconnecting to something that is elementary and natural for us.

Looks like I have another book (Born To Run by Christopher McDougall) to my epic running book pile.

How do you express your gratitude?