As he said, too, I have not compromised those things that are important to me such as doing it in a healthy, high raw, vegan way and that I can walk on the stage knowing that I have done what I can, given the amount of time I’ve had to prepare, and given what I am willing and not willing to do, i.e. chug a half dozen egg whites in a shake or eat chicken breasts or carb cycle or restrict water intake or any of those things many competitors do that I would never do. I feel that I have prepared for the show in as healthy of a way possible and my choices leading up to the show are way-of-life things for me, anyway. I can’t wait to pick another date on the calendar and do another show! We also talked about what to expect the day of the show. I showed him my walk. For the show, I have to do what’s called a T-Walk. I walk out onto a stage and basically walk in the shape of a T and at the points or ends of the “T”, I do some turns. It feels a little pageant-ey, but hey, that’s what it is. The thing about Fitness shows or any kind of pageant or competition which is judged very subjectively, it’s important to “nail” the things I can control. Like my Suit or my Walk. Obviously it’s important for my physique to look good, but it’s just as important to have a big, beautiful smile and eye contact with the judges, and for my suit to flatter me, and for my walk and turns to be spot-on. So my trainer and I went over those kinds of things. I don’t need someone to “train” me. I know how to do a deadlift or a curl. It’s called hard work, on my own, in the gym. What’s helpful for me is someone to give me pointers and that’s where he’s been great. I’ll miss him back in San Diego but we can still do phone session and he’s given me wings and now I can fly on my own path! Moving onto my News… I had another Recipe Published! The nice thing about Tropical Traditions, is that I actually submitted the recipe on my own and it was published. Unlike my “situation” with Hers Magazine, where someone else submitted my recipe, as hers. Read all about that story here. I was ticked then, and still am, but don’t plan to pursue anything further with it. I would actually like to appear in Hers Magazine one day, not just have my recipes appear, so I am just dealing with it. Tropical Traditions Has Preciously Published Two Other Recipes of Mine: The first was Here in This Post And My Next Published Recipe was from This Post: I joked with Jessica and Madeline that you can just call me the Sexy Vegan Betty Crocker of the Fitness Modeling World! I can whip up Vegan Goodies and Dead Lift a Hundred Pounds in a String Bikini. That, and a bag of chips, will get me precisely no where. In the mail, I was lucky enough to receive Vega’s Shake & Go And it’s Plant-Based. I love the “Plant-Based” rather than “vegan” term. I think of myself as a plant-based person, not a vegan per se as I find “plant-based” is more welcoming and open whereas the word vegan sounds a bit closed and feels like such a confining “label”. It’s just semantics, but when I am asked about my diet, I prefer to say plant-based rather than vegan. It raises less looks of bewilderment. People can “get” eating plants. It seems they struggle grasping with not eating animals or animal products. The Shake & Go is also Dairy and Gluten Free is great, too. Thanks Vega for the Sample. I am saving this one for moving day because it will be so convenient to Shake. And Go. When life is crazy! From Yesterday… Glad the Vegan Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Coffee Softserve sounded good And there were Chocolate Coffee Sundaes Good to know I was not the only person who started drinking tea or coffee at a young age. I was surprised at how many of you said you drank tea or coffee as a child, too. To paraphrase reader Naomi’s comment regarding drinking tea or coffee as a child or young person: I would tend to agree! Manual labor jobs and Do you Stress or Not? Also fun to read about everything from shoveling snow off roofs to construction sign holders. Moving on to Green Food: Romaine, Tomatoes, and Brussels. Dressed With Vegan Slaw Dressing using Reduced Fat Veganaise Dessert was Project Cupboard Cleanout and Use-It-Up in advance of the move I had coconut flakes, cocoa powder, and maple syrup burning a hole in my cupboards. It was time for some Dark Chocolate Coconut Snowballs Stir with a spoon and no other appliances are needed. And it’s a one bowl recipe that saves on dishes. Which are mostly packed now anyway. Scott loves the Dark Chocolate Coconut Snowballs…And I love that I am using stuff up and don’t have to move it! I sampled a few pieces of Vegan Cashew Brittle From Chocolate Inspirations that I reviewed in This Post Yoga Today is Tolasana, Scale Pose Gym & Weights Workout: Appointment with my Trainer Tip of the Day: My Naturally Nutty Give Away for 5 Winners! Each Winner Picks His/Her Own Flavor AND Can Choose from 1 Large or 2 Small Jars of Nut Butter! I took a break from packing to play catch with Skylar With all the hair blowing everywhere, actually catching the ball wasn’t working, but that’s ok. She’s 3, no expectations whatsoever! The playtime and packing break was fun! I guess eating all those plants and pumping all that iron is really paying off. Just call me Guns. kidding. But shoutout to my girl, Crafty Katie, who’s really pumped up her arms lately! Questions 1. Do you feel like your parents put expectations on you as a child? Either overtly or tacitly? I felt extreme pressure as a child to please my parents and excel, both scholastically and academically. Part of the pressure, yes, I put on myself because inherently, I am a perfectionist, an over-achiever, a goal-setter, and a do-er. And I probably would have done much of what I did anyway, and with no bearing on my parent’s expectations or lack thereof. However, the pressure was there and I definitely felt less than worthy with an A- not an A. I am trying so hard with Skylar to find the balance of having expectations and guidelines for her, i.e. I expect you put all your toys away every single time you are done playing with them but I would never, ever quiz her on things, i.e. what letter comes after C. What happens if she doesn’t know, or is feeling shy, or doesn’t want to be a circus animal performing on command? Would she feel badly about herself if she doesn’t know the answer? Would she resent me? Yes, probably, to both those items. So, it’s a very fine line of setting boundaries and expectations but not going over-board, either. How much pressure did you feel as a child? Who put the pressure on you? 2. What temperature do you turn your A/C on? Do you have A/C in your house? This weekend because we were in and out so much and the doors were open, I just turned the a/c off. When I was pregnant, we lived in San Diego in a 1920s re-habbed house, but there was no A/C, not even a window unit. And it was a record-breaking heat wave summer. And I was so sick with horrible morning all-day sickness for months. If there is ever a time not to want to be hot, it’s when you’re pregnant and sick. Ugh. But here in Phoenix, I keep my thermostat set at about 80F. For some people that sounds hot, but up til 80F, I am fine. After that, I let the A/C click on. Except when packing and the doors are open anyway. I also detest the meat-locker, over-A/C’ed effect in movies theaters and public places, too! What’s your temperature comfort zone? Do you have date on the calendar you “won’t turn your a/c on until…” I know some people are like that! 3. Laundry Detergent. Remember when I asked how often you wash your clothes or do laundry? Well, I do a lot. And go through tons of laundry detergent. Does anyone actually only use a capful? I mean, really, that would not cut it around here. I pour it in using the steady-stream method. And therefore, it’s like pouring money into the wash. What are your fave brands? Maybe if I found one that I liked, I wouldn’t have to use so much. 4. What’s something you’ve accomplished lately that you’re really proud of? Brag a little, it’s good for your psyche! Me = my Training Progress and my Photo Shoot & Modeling Pictures 5. Recently I was made aware that an acquaintance may need a blood donation from a person who’s dairy-free (new research suggests that in very sensitive individuals, getting a blood donation from someone who consumes dairy is a big no-no because the dairy protein is present in the donor’s blood and can have serious ill-effects for the recipient). Anyway, I volunteered to donate because I am dairy-free and gluten-free, but I don’t have the right blood type for this person. In my research I came across this little chart from here about Blood Type & Personality: I am Type A+. Don’t feel bad if you don’t know your bloodtype. I didn’t know mine til I was pregnant. But every single thing on the chart defines me. Totally 100% accurate. Which led me to wonder how accurate things like this are? Is there really something to this? For those of you who know your blood type, is it accurate? For those that don’t know your bloodtype, how much stock do you put in things like this? Remember my Protein Post about why it was easy for me to become vegan (i.e. I believe my protein requirement just isn’t that terribly high), and I’ve read about Metabolic Typing. I believe that I possess traits of a Slow Oxidizer and because of that, it’s common to have lower protein, but higher carbs, needs. Click Here for a Quick-n-Easy Test. I’ve always said I need carbs over protein or fat. Turns out, I was onto something! Anyway, just wondering how Blood Type and Personality are Related? Or how Blood Type and Diet are Related. There are many books about “Eat Right for Your Blood Type“. According to this Quiz, it’s mostly correct for me: Limit dairy and red meat, eat lots of plants, but light exercise. The exercise part is not me but the rest fits. Has anyone tried “eating for your blood type”? Would you be interested in trying it? Or Blood Type and Personality? Is there something to this stuff or is it hocus pocus? What do you think? Stay Tuned Tomorrow For The Winners of the Naturally Nutty Give Away… And I just noticed that this post has tons of Chocolate in it: Vega Shake & Go, Coffee Chocolate Ice Cream & Sundaes, My Chocolate Snowballs, and the Chocolate Cashew Brittle. This should make the chocolate lovers happy!
