The Speed of Life

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the speed of life.  Watching Dylan grow and develop and realizing he is almost a year old, makes me feel like things are just going too fast.  Right now, I’m on a plane heading home from a three-day trip to Savannah, Georgia and then I’m driving to Grandma and Grandpa’s to go camping for the weekend.  It is so amazing that I can fly across the country in a day but I’m really glad I don’t have to do this all of the time.  I question whether humans should really be living at the speed that we do. 

I’ve been taking Dylan on bike rides, pulling him in his trailer behind my bike.  We’ve rode with Bonnie; we’ve gone to pick up garlic in Keizer; we went to Walgreens right before I left.  That feels like a speed I can handle right now. 

I remember wanting everything to happen faster when I was in high school and college.  I wanted to hurry up with school.  I wanted it done so I could really live my life.  I guess that was a growth opportunity for me that I might have missed.  I should have been living my life then.  I don’t always live my life now; I still have times when I want things to hurry up so I can do x, y, or z but I’m realizing that hurrying up to do that means I lose sight of that which is right in front of me.  Being present in the here and now.  That’s life.  I’d like to think I’m done with the hurry up and wait syndrome.  I think I’d rather just plod along and deal with the great things around me now.  Take the great opportunities as they come, look forward to the future, but realize that I have everything I need right here.

And, as much as Grandma wants me to work (help-out) at Campout this weekend, I’m looking forward to a lazy weekend.  Enjoying family and friends.  Being close to Dylan.  And, sleep…trying to figure out which coast my body is on while my soul continues to work on being here, wherever I am! And maybe I’ll speed up just a tad, and take Dylan for a bike ride :)

How I Got Here - Part I

I haven't really spoke about my weight and emotional problems on this blog. I have a bit on the blog I share with my cousins. However, I feel it's time to share it here as well. Below is a bit of text that I shared on the other blog. I have edited it to be current. Let's start with that and then another day, I'll tell you a bit more:

I can't point to one day when something changed in my brain. I, however, can point to a personal low...December 25, 2006. My dad, my husband (Andrew) and I were hiking at Coquille Falls. It's 0.5 miles downhill to see the falls. The downhill was just fine. Coming back out my blood sugar got low, I was fat and out of shape, and that half mile was hell. At one point, I just sat down in the rain and the dirt and cried. Andrew tried to cheer me up saying, "You are doing what you like, with people you love." It just didn't matter...it wasn't fun anymore.

I had just left an organization that required much of my free-time. Later that day Dad suggested, if I could devote that much time to the organization before, maybe now I could devote that time to me.

I will never know what my highest weight was...I refused to own a scale. And, it would take another 9 months before I got "serious." I tried counting calories over the summer, although I'm not sure how effective that was. I do think it got me in the right frame of mind. I also know jealousy played a role. At our annual August family reunion everybody was excited about my cousin Mandy losing 40lbs since April. What the hell? I could do that. I didn't want her to be the only "skinny" one!

At the same time we got a dog and I started Weight Watchers. A dog with lots of energy that needed walks everyday. At first we just went around the block. That's all I could handle. Then pretty soon it was half a mile and by the end of the winter we were walking 2-3 miles in the morning and more in the afternoon. The dog had to leave but the exercise and Weight Watchers stuck.

I believe that without exercise I would never have lost the weight. I started riding my bicycle, I've added dragon-boating, I workout to clear my mind during my lunch break, I walk downtown with my husband in the evenings. Two years ago I rode 3 miles to church. As soon as I got there, I called Andrew and asked him to pick me up after church. I just couldn't imagine riding the 3 miles home. Seriously, I thought I was going to die.

What a difference 2 years makes! From sitting in the dirt, crying in the rain in the woods, to a 41 mile bicycle ride a year ago, and competing in a 500m dragonboat race with 19 other people in June. I have more energy and I've lost 60 lbs. I haven't "arrived" and I don't think I ever will...it will continue to be a daily struggle. But, it's one I know I can continue and not end up where I was. And, I can inspire others to make changes in their lives that benefit them - physically, mentally and emotionally! That's a good start for now.

I Didn't Even Realize It!

I worked on my bike yesterday. Cleaned the frame, the rims, the sprockets, and the chain. I also, and this is the really important part, put air in the tires. My tires say to inflate to a maximum of 65 psi. They were maybe 20 psi. What a difference it makes. Between that and putting fresh grease on my chain it was like a whole new ride...and I didn't even realize how bad it was. I also borrowed one of my neighbor's recumbents to see if that is a position I could get used to. And, yes, I do know it's nerd patrol central!

As part of my recumbent trial, Andrew and I rode down to Wallace Marine Park, across the Union St. Bridge, and then back to Riverfront Park this morning. We took our books and read in the sun. While we were sitting there like lizards, we saw two little boys and their dads. The little boys were learning how to ride their bikes. The one boy was doing just fine with Dad running along. The second little boy...not so much. He was crying and screaming just a bit. At one point he kept repeating, "No, more. No, more." I'm getting used to the recumbent but definitely knew where he was coming from. It was great to again see so many people using the public space here in Salem.

Union St. Bridge and Cherries

Satuday, Andrew and I helped get the dragonboat across the Willamette for the season. To do that, we rode across the "new" Union St. Bridge. We were both so surprised to see how many people were using the bridge. Lots of people with kids and dogs. It wasn't even a nice day and it was getting a ton of use. Very cool. After getting the boat across the water, we went to the bike shops downtown and ended up getting Andrew a new bike that doesn't suck!

If you haven't seen the cherry blossoms at the Capitol Mall and live in Salem, get down there NOW! They are so quick to pass. The wind and rain are taking them away!

Ummm, it's like busted!

You know that "Thing" (yes it's thing with a capitol T) that you never think you could ever do.  Never in a million years. You know people who do "it" but not you. These people are called freaks, by the way.

I managed to conquer that "Thing."  My "Thing" was getting in good enough shape to ride my bicycle to Burgerville in Monmouth (approx. 32 miles round trip) for a smoothie and french fries. Those who know me, know I've been losing weight and so far, I have lost about 47 pounds.  That's great but it wasn't getting me my smoothie!  

On Labor Day, four of us set out to conquer my "Thing." And, rather than just complete the task and say okay that's done, I  decided I could add on a bit.  Instead of a nice out and back, we rode from my house in Salem, to Dallas, to Monmouth, to Independence and back on River Road. This ended up being 41 miles.  I'm not going to lie, I'm slow.  But I made it.  And, as I kept telling everyone, if I were a guy, I would be officially sterile!  But I didn't die and a blackberry smoothie never tasted so good.  So below are photo's from my epic journey.  Hopefully, you too will one day conquer your "Thing," with a capitol T of course!

What do you think...maybe a front basket for fruit?

I guess I like a challenge. Or I just don't think these things out. Below are pictures of tonight's shopping trip...by bike. All 64lbs of it. I actually didn't fill my panniers too full this time but almost everything was heavy. Canned refried beans, giant thing of lotion, face wash, and yes that is a 20lbs bag of cat food bungeed across the top of the bike rack and the panniers. I made it home in one piece but went a lot slower than normal. And, I'm again so grateful for losing that 45lbs. Can't imagine what this would be like with that and the 64 lbs of stuff!





It can be done though! I'm living proof.

Gluten-Free Pizza Dough...or Focaccia

This week was a busy one. I can't even remember everything that happened it was that crazy. Tuesday and Wednesday night I went to a friend's orchard and picked cherries. Each year, I tend to go so crazy on cherries that I get my fill. Meaning I don't care if I never see another cherry. Well, almost never. About the time a year has rolled around, I'm craving them again. If you didn't already know, my cravings are seasonal. I picked enough Vans (dark cherries) to can seven quarts for Grandpa. I also picked enough Royal Anns (light cherries) to freeze 5 quarts, eat too many, and dry 2 quarts worth. This I did on Thursday evening after work.

On Friday, I went to my first Happy Rider's event. Basically, a bunch of people who like to ride bikes meet on Friday afternoon and go to a few different bars and have a pint of beer. I don't drink beer so I had water at the first one and a fruity drink of unknown name at the second one. After waiting for everyone to order their pint, I told the bartender I wanted something sweet, fruity and under $4. He wouldn't tell me what it was so I think he just made it up but it certainly hit the spot. Andy met me there and we went upstairs afterwards to a Mexican place for dinner.

Yesterday, I had a table for work at the Portland Farmer's Market. Everyone was great and I found some goat mozeralla. Andy did a chicken on the rotisserie in the barbie. He has had to work both days for the last two weekends so his weekend wasn't so great. But, this brings me to the title of this post. A friend of Andy's from when he was in high school called and wanted to come talk about old times. He came over and stayed for dinner. We had the chicken, a salad, and my new gluten-free focaccia bread. Everyone seemed to like it so I thought I'd share. I used the same dough to make a pizza for Andy and I last week.

Gluten-Free Pizza Dough (Joy of Cooking, 1997)

Mix on low speed in a heavy-duty mixer bowl with the paddle attachment for 1 minute:
1 c. brown rice flour
1c. white rice flour
1 1/2 c. tapioca flour
1/2 c. potato starch
1 T. xanthan gum
1 T. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 T. yeast

Add and mix on low speed for 1 minute:
1 c. buttermilk (I used lemon juice and almond milk)
3 T. olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
2 eggs
1 egg white
1/4 c. very water (115-125 degrees) water

Increase speed to medium-high and mix for 4 minutes. Grease a 12" round nonstick pan (for thick crust) or 14" round pizza pan (for thinner crust).* Sprinkle with:
2 T. cornmeal or polenta

With wet hands, press the batter onto the pan and spread evenly. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise at room temperature until puffy, about 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick the crust all over with a fork and bake for 15 minutes. Cover with sauce and other toppings (except cheese) and continue baking for 10 minutes for the thin crust or 15 minutes for thick crust. Cheese may be sprinkled on for the last 5 minutes of baking.

* I used a square cookie sheet for the pizza crust. It was thick but good. I think next time I would split it in half. For the focaccia last night, I did split the dough in half and pressed it out pretty thin. Don't be afraid to keep your hands very wet to do this. I let it rise and then poked it, spread a little bit of olive oil and pesto, and salt on top before I baked them. Then I probably baked them for about 20 minutes or so. It got golden on top and was done in the center. Getting it done in the center can be tricky with this dough. Be patient and watch it!