Shot Glass Onions (Whole40, Day 35)

I read someplace that you can grow green onions (read: scallions) indefinitely by sticking the root ends into water and putting them someplace sunny.

Since I use them periodically and am sad I don't have the space to grow a little kitchen garden, I thought I'd give it a try.

Lo and behold, Dana's Hydroponic Shot Glass Onions:

Someday I'll take a photography class. And clean my kitchen window.

I just change the water every day or so, and they seriously grow that long in less than a week. I've cut them for recipes a few times (all the way down to the bulb!), and they keep growing back. This is pretty cool! Now if only I had a way to keep an avocado tree...that would save me boatloads of money...

One More Week. (Whole40, Day 34)

It's been a strange set of days. I'm sad that Spelling Bee has ended...it was a fun show and I wish every weekend could have felt as strong as the first couple (my voice was shot to hell on the penultimate performance and I felt horribly guilty, since I had friends in the audience...it recovered a little by closing night, but was nowhere near as strong as it had been.) Rona was a fun role to play, and I love my castmates. I cried a fair amount the night we closed.

I was also gifted three bottles of booze, which of course I couldn't drink (but I will do, soon enough...). One of Fortino's almond-scented Champagne, my very favorite, and two bottles of Vino de Mocca from the producer, who was just so happy to meet someone else who liked it (it's a really dark red, and it's not for everyone but if you like wine, chocolate and coffee you'll flip your lid.) All 3 will be joining me in Las Vegas in just over...holy cats just over a week now! Panda and I will be there from the 5th through the 9th, eating and drinking ourselves silly. Before that, I'll enjoy a beer and a burger in Portland for my stepbrother's wedding.

For now, things have been picking up at work. I'm doing a lot more writing, which I like, and also a lot more proofing, organizing, and downloading, which...well...it's still better than a lot of jobs I've had!

Rehearsals for Evita are ongoing. I don't think I have too much of an impact on the show itself, and that's all right with me. I'm happy to help my friend (who is directing) take down notes and rehearse language/ dialects/ etc. Occasionally I'll voice an idea to fix a problem...occasionally he'll take it. Sometimes he'll ignore it. He knows what he's doing...and directors are weird anyways.

Oh also, by some crazy chance I was nominated for an acting award for that short film I did. I got to go to their Best-Of screening and see a bunch of the nominated films, and visit with a few friends. No one else from my film came, save the writer/DP's mom, who also had a cameo in the film. We had fun chatting and even though I didn't take home the Best Actress award, I'm still really glad I went.

I also got interviewed on the red carpet...watching myself on the Internet after it was published made me realize two things:

1. I've lost some weight since the last time I was filmed.
2. WTF is wrong with my face and why can't I just look normal when I talk?

I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Panda is working on his own WholeSomething, a Whole20 to be exact. He started on my Day 11 so we could finish on the same day (and then eat and drink ourselves stupid whilst on vacation the following week.) He's handling it really well and I'm curious to see if he'll try a new one once we get back. 

Me, I'm planning on starting my biggest WholeSomething yet, a Whole75, the day after we return. 

. . . that's also the day of the ArtsWalk5K, so I can feel extra fit and grown-up. And get a jump start on the 50 lbs I'll have gained on vacation, hahaha......

Mishmosh (Whole40, Day 27)

I've been doing some more cooking. It's comforting both for the food value (tasty and healthy) and the emotional value (I feel like I'm nourishing/ healing/ being nice to myself.)

Today I brought an extra-big lunch, since it's a long day:

Photo taken right before I stuffed all this into my face.

What you see there is chocolate chili, Melissa Joulwan's recipe to be exact (with added avocado for extra awesomeness) and spicy tuna cakes with lemon wedges a la Nom Nom Paleo.

It's nice, I can eat at my desk like I usually do, and it saves me a bunch of money. Plus I feel all grown up and self-sufficient, which is always a boost.

Two more performances of Spelling Bee. Tonight and tomorrow night. It's always bittersweet when a show closes, but this one's a particularly sad ending. I've really loved playing Rona and this cast is so awesome. No drama, everyone's supportive and nice and so frickin' funny...my heart hurts to see it finish.

I entered a contest at work today to win a trip to Costa Rica (well...a hotel stay in Costa Rica...I'm pretty sure I'd still have to figure out my own airfare and transfer.) I don't find out until Monday, but keep your fingers crossed for me! I want to put my newly renewed passport to good use.

I don't feel like I've gotten any smaller in the last 27 days. Jeans feel the same all the way around. Energy still sucks.

This has just been kind of a dumb week, I guess. Sigh.

Comfort Food. (Whole40, Day 25)

Last night was a rough one for me. I won't go too into it; suffice today I was reminded, several times, of something from a few years ago that really really hurt. So, I came home and cried loudly and raggedly for a few hours, until my face was a mess and I felt a little better.

This morning I made myself a big breakfast for comfort: chicken-and-sundried-tomato sausages, avocado, and eggs.

Breakfast makes me happy. At least until lunch.

If the situation doesn't get better I may need to step back from this production. I'm no use to anyone when I'm this upset, and it's not like it's anyone else's responsibility to make sure I'm all right (it's mine. I take responsibility. And it infuriates me that more people don't take responsibility for themselves.)

OH THE DRAMA. :-/

Frustrated. (Whole40, Day 24)

Excuses and things keep coming up. And it’s pissing me off.

I don’t have the boundless energy described by so many Whole30ers and I don’t know why. I’m eating more vegetables now than I ever have. I eat a piece of fruit when I want something sweet. I drink tons of water, and plain tea or coffee if I want caffeine.

It has to be that I’m not exercising enough (or, some days, at all…which makes me angry at myself too.) But how can I get up in the morning to exercise if I feel like my body’s full of sand in the morning? I mean I seriously have to drag myself out of bed just to get into the shower, and I’ve skimmed every last second off my morning routine so I can shower-dry-sunscreen-clothing-hair-breakfast-out the door in as little time as possible, just to get a few more precious moments of sleep.

Ugh.

Panda and I joined some friends at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom over the weekend (we didn’t have a Sunday matinee) and it was pretty fun, but way too sunny. Not unbearably hot, just a lot of sunshine and my skin and I do not like that. I reapplied my sunblock every 40 minutes or so out of sheer paranoia, but at the end of the day I was still feeling pretty woozy and itchy. Luckily I didn’t break out in hives (that’s only happened a couple of times, and it’s seriously THE WORST.)  It’s worse than when I burn, which is frequent. I like having light skin and dark hair, but I don’t have a lot of natural protection against evil ultraviolet light. Sigh.

The rides were pretty fun. I hadn’t been to that park in ages…not since it was Marine World. The roller coasters are my favorite, and I am happy to say I didn’t have any issues getting buckled into anything.

That’s only happened once, but it was really embarrassing and I really never want it to happen again. We were in Las Vegas at the top of the Stratosphere, and I wanted to ride one of those ridiculously high crazy coaster things they have. I got in and couldn’t buckle the harness, no matter how I tried (and I feel like there were dudes riding who were much bigger than I was…how did they get it fastened?) but after a few minutes I was just like “fuck it,” and left, and didn’t tell anyone about it (none of my friends had come with me to ride. But when I came back to the observation deck so quickly, and probably looked all froggy-eyed, I assume they figured out what happened.)

That sucked. So, I’m glad that didn’t happen at Six Flags, and we had a fun time.

The AC in my car is fixed, so now of course the weather is much nicer and cool and breezy. I’m thinking I should get her washed, so California can finally get some freakin’ rain.

Between my head weighing 600 lbs when I first wake up in the morning, working, commuting, cooking/ eating, and assisting with Evita rehearsals in the evening, I feel like I have to choose between exercise and sleep.

I love sleep. And sleep is important. But fucking hell, nothing is going to happen with my weight if I don’t exercise.

Maybe a late-night thing? Maybe. I’ll find a way.

Hell's Bells and Buckets of Blood (Whole40, Day 18)

I had my first appointment with my new doctor (under new insurance) today, and she was very nice and helpful. I like her assistant, too; we had a good chat (dental hygienists and medical assistants who are nice to people and make nervous patients feel better - I APPRECIATE YOU).

The assistant actually asked me what my normal blood pressure is, and I had no idea. I know I hate getting my blood pressure taken (the inflatable cuff makes me more nervous than it should) so I asked if it was really high, and she said "no, it's SUPER low." I asked if that was bad and she said "not really. If we need to, it's easier to make it go up than to lower it. Maybe you're just super chill."

HAH. Unlikely. But it was nice of her to say so. I wish I could remember what she said my blood pressure was...I'll track it down at some point. It was 90/52. Still need to do more research to find out what that means. The new "My Health Online" website will be fun to explore - I guess this insurance remembers me from my past and has some reports dating back to early 1998 (I was in eighth grade!).

Physical exam went fine, doctor said it was normal for fat loss to go slowly and that it was actually a good sign (that my body was losing actual fat as opposed to just water), but she understands it's frustrating and that it could take 2-3 years to get down to 150 or whatever goal weight is. Everything looked normal (actual test results come back soon). Then I went to the lab and got stuck in the arm to get a lipid profile.

Turns out the insurance might not cover a blood type test, which is completely stupid, but I didn't want to risk it. I figure I'll go donate blood at Stanford soon; I hear they tell you your type after you donate. And that's free!

One mulligan from today: as is protocol at a doctor's appointment, I got weighed. But I ignored and la-la-la'd my way through it. One of the rules of Whole30 (Whole40 in this case) is no weighing or measuring during the WholeSomething. So no official weight will be taken until day 41.

Doctor approved of the eating plan, but recommended a vitamin (esp a calcium supplement), since she's concerned my cutting out dairy could mean I'm not getting enough. I *think* vitamin supplements are ok on Whole30, and I don't mind taking them. It's *remembering* to take 'em that's the problem.

And my height is 67.5" (five foot seven and a half). I was right!

On another note, one of the air conditioning hoses in my car was punctured and needs to be replaced. It's been hell on Earth these last few days (when I left the doctor's office at 10:30AM it was 94 degrees. I'm not exaggerating). So.....sigh.....good thing I have emergency money because my little car needs some TLC.

Be Strong and Broccoli On (Whole40, Day 13)

It's Friday, and Day 13, so it's kind of like Friday the 13th. Heh. Uh-oh.

In addition to being a performer, my friend Jen is also a graphic artist. She made me this to help keep my spirits up during Whole40:

New fight song!

It makes me smile. Jen's on her own health crusade, too: she's a breast cancer survivor! She's also been flour-free for a while now, and recently got one of those schmancy FitBits to track her exercise (the kind that measure heart rate and such).

It's interesting to see how differently people approach health, weight loss, and whatnot. When people ask me about the Whole30, I'm happy to talk about it, but I don't jump down their throats with the "omigod you HAVE to try this it's SO amazing it'll change your life and implode your universe and everything you know will be turned on its ear" the way that some people on the Internet tend to do.

Cauliflower "cous cous" with sundried tomatoes and leeks. I added some scrambled eggs for protein.

Some people take an almost evangelical stance on whatever health thing they're doing. Even if you're seeing success on your own plan, they will try to sell you on theirs (sometimes literally.)

I told an acquaintance I hadn't seen in a while about getting healthy and losing weight, and he was all for it. He then immediately handed me his wife's business card and started explaining Shakeology to me. Apparently it's like SlimFast but it's called something else, and instead of buying it in a store you buy it from another person, like Avon, which I assume means they recruit their spouses to sell to their friends who give an impression they'd like to get healthier. He kept saying I really should look into it. I really should join her Facebook group. Because normally he would never consider something like this himself, but he tried it and the shakes are delicious and oh my it was all so easy...

It's interesting because it's not like I said "gosh, I really want to get healthy but I have no idea where to get started...if only someone knew how I might lose this extra weight." Since he last saw me, I've lost over 80 lbs. And he didn't even ask me how I'd done that. He heard I was interested in continuing my health improvements and saw a sales opportunity.

And that made me a little sad and disillusioned. But ah well. I'm glad I don't have to "subscribe" to Whole30; the program is about building your eating plan around healthy foods, cooking for yourself, and learning not to rely on junk food. I like the idea of cleaning up my act, having some treats, then eating clean again. That seems to work ok for me.

If the same thing works for you, awesome! If something else does, that's brilliant too. Everybody's different, because every body is different.

Be strong, and broccoli on!

Yesterday. I Mean, Scrambled Eggs. (Whole40, Day 10)

I did get up and make breakfast this morning before work.

I know it's good for me. I do.

But I am getting very bored with scrambled eggs and black coffee. Man I wish avocados weren't $2.50 apiece. :-(

And now I have the placeholder lyrics to "Yesterday" in my head. Ugh.