No, I'm not going to be eating Cheesburgers in my bed, but Donald Trump is the primaray motivation for the diet that I intend on following from now until the first of December, 2018.
First let's begin with the rules:
While I am in the United Kingdom I will not knowinly consume the following things:
-Food containing refined sugar or added fructose
(energy gels, etc. during long cycles okay, but no cake)
-White flour
-Dairy (with the exception of a small amount of milk in my one cup of coffee)
While I am in the United Kingdom I must do the following things:
-Drink 64 fluid ounces of water a day
-Accumulate no less than 70,000 steps a week
-Exercise 4 times a week
-Only drink one cup of coffee a day
My escape clause:
I am allowed one cheat day (24 hours) a month. However, on months when I am travelling outside of the United Kingdom, I am not allowed any cheat days, but I must still do my best to stick to my step goal, drink water, and eat sensibly when travelling outside the UK. Exercise and step goals still apply for cheat days duing months when I don't travel. Also, I'm allowed 8 cheat days in May (it's my big birthday month-I get to enjoy it a bit).
Where does Donald Trum come in?
If I break the rules of my diet, I need to donate £300 to the Trump fund. The thought of doing that is enough to ruin my appetite.
Let's see how this goes!
Sunday 11 March 2018
Monday 10 July 2017
H NOT in London right now, PT 1
Damn, the Charlotte airport is big! It's a bit like a fancy mall with airline gates, and it just goes on and on and on.
And, that's where I am right now, quickly writing about the first of many parts of my journey through the USA as I wait for the connection to Chicago. I had an amazing twelve days in North Carolina, both at in Asheville and at Topsail Island. Here's some of the highlights.
First, my journey from Heathrow to Asheville was perfect, no lost luggage, no delayed flights, and ever since Delta has paired up with Virgin Atlantic, flying transatlantic is lovely. I was given my seat at the gate, something that has never happened to me before, and I was a bit worried. Not being able to select my seat was a bit disconcerting. However, I ended up in Delta comfort, which completely lived up to its name.
The first two days in Asheville were spent with my parents running errands, seeing my grandma, and getting ready to head to the beach. During this time, my father and I had an amazing lunch at a small little place close to where they now live, called Abejas House Cafe. It's small and from the outside, you wouldn't think much about it and may possibly pass
it by, but don't! It's amazing. All the food is fresh and mostly locally grown and/or organic. Plus, it's reasonably priced. If you follow the hyperlink above, it will take you to their "about" page, and it's clear that they are the type of business that should be lauded. If you live in or are visiting Asheville, go! They even serve chilaquiles, although they don't appear on the online menu.
Okay, I'm done sounding like an advertisement...
On Saturday, my mom, dad, and I loaded up the car and started out for Surf City to the beach house we stayed at the year before (actually it's a duplex and this year we were next door) However, within the first 30 minutes of our journey we were delayed due to a milk truck accident on the highway.
Fortunately, (and also luckily) we were ten cars back from where this occurred, so after the three quarters of an hour that it took to clear the highway, we were quickly on our way.
Once we finally arrived at the house on Topsail Beach, we met up with my hot and sweaty brother, who had been waiting for us in his car for an hour or more, changed into nicer clothes and jetted over to The Bistro. This restaurant, as well as spending a week on Topsail Island, has become a new family tradition. My mother's birthday is at the beginning of July, so last year we did this trip to celebrate it. We ended up loving it all so much, we did it again this year and will repeat it next year. By the way (and briefly reverting to my advertisement tone) The Bistro serves the most excellent food and makes a damn good Old Fashioned.
Other highlights from the week at Topsail beach included:
-Multiple Firework viewings from the towns and businesses near to the house, including a fantastic display from the people in the house next to us on both the 3rd and 4th of July. We didn't have to leave and face traffic and crowds to enjoy fireworks this year.
-Down the beach about two houses, there was a small evening wedding on the beach (it may have put some ideas in my head-haha)
-Amazing weather only broken up by the occasional thunderstorm. The surf was a bit too raucous at times to swim, but we braved the sea a few times anyway.
However, for me the highlight of the trip came on the penultimate night that we were there. My dad noticed a gathering on the beach of about 16 people. They seemed to be forming a semi-circle around a rather large mound. My mom called me to come and see, and after looking for a few moments, I saw the mound move. Realising it was a sea turtle, I flew down the steps to join my dad, who was talking to our next-door neighbour. The crowd included some volunteers from The Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, who were making certain no disturbed this magnificent animal. She was massive, possibly the largest sea turtle I'd ever seen, and she had just climbed from the sea to an area under one of the steps of the house next to us, dug a hole, laid eggs, and now was making her way slowly back to the sea. Unfortunately, I left my phone in the house and was too mesmerised by the whole thing to go back to get it. It was truly amazing to witness.
After our beach week ended, we returned to Asheville where we ran errands, visited my grandma, took a dip in the pool, and spent a lovely evening with my parents friends, Jan and Ken.
So now I'm in the Charlotte Airport awaiting my flight to Chicago, which boards in five minutes, for the next part of this journey. I'm going to quickly publish and post this, so please forgive my grammar for now.
Ciao for now and see you for part two!
And, that's where I am right now, quickly writing about the first of many parts of my journey through the USA as I wait for the connection to Chicago. I had an amazing twelve days in North Carolina, both at in Asheville and at Topsail Island. Here's some of the highlights.
First, my journey from Heathrow to Asheville was perfect, no lost luggage, no delayed flights, and ever since Delta has paired up with Virgin Atlantic, flying transatlantic is lovely. I was given my seat at the gate, something that has never happened to me before, and I was a bit worried. Not being able to select my seat was a bit disconcerting. However, I ended up in Delta comfort, which completely lived up to its name.
The first two days in Asheville were spent with my parents running errands, seeing my grandma, and getting ready to head to the beach. During this time, my father and I had an amazing lunch at a small little place close to where they now live, called Abejas House Cafe. It's small and from the outside, you wouldn't think much about it and may possibly pass
it by, but don't! It's amazing. All the food is fresh and mostly locally grown and/or organic. Plus, it's reasonably priced. If you follow the hyperlink above, it will take you to their "about" page, and it's clear that they are the type of business that should be lauded. If you live in or are visiting Asheville, go! They even serve chilaquiles, although they don't appear on the online menu.
Okay, I'm done sounding like an advertisement...
 |
| View from the house (taken by my brother) |
Fortunately, (and also luckily) we were ten cars back from where this occurred, so after the three quarters of an hour that it took to clear the highway, we were quickly on our way.
 |
| View from The Bistro |
Other highlights from the week at Topsail beach included:
-Multiple Firework viewings from the towns and businesses near to the house, including a fantastic display from the people in the house next to us on both the 3rd and 4th of July. We didn't have to leave and face traffic and crowds to enjoy fireworks this year.
-Down the beach about two houses, there was a small evening wedding on the beach (it may have put some ideas in my head-haha)
 |
| Sunrise taken by my mother |
 |
| My Topsail toes |
 |
| Panorama from the deck |
After our beach week ended, we returned to Asheville where we ran errands, visited my grandma, took a dip in the pool, and spent a lovely evening with my parents friends, Jan and Ken.
 |
| My pool toes |
So now I'm in the Charlotte Airport awaiting my flight to Chicago, which boards in five minutes, for the next part of this journey. I'm going to quickly publish and post this, so please forgive my grammar for now.
Ciao for now and see you for part two!
Tuesday 8 November 2016
From the mouths of babes on today of all days...
It's the day of the election in the US, and people over here in the UK are worried...all people, not just ex-pats. The hate and vitriol that has permeated this election has affected civility and common decency on what I've seen in the news and social media. This whole fiasco has brought me to the point of despair over the human race.
Until about 10 minutes ago...
If you've read my blog in the past (or you just know me), you know I teach grade 6 at an international school in the UK. The school is approximately 30-40% American with a wealth of nationalities making up the other 70-60%. Earlier this morning one of my homeroom students came to me and asked if she could come in with a group of students and do some filming at lunch recess for a little project she was making for fun. I was a bit annoyed by this because we're in the midst of grading and report writing, and I'm swamped with work. But, I grudgingly obliged, warning that if they were too noisy I would make them leave.
So in they came...quietly...a big bunch of them, and they spread out amongst my desks, taking books from my classroom library and pretending to read as my student walked around the classroom filming them with her iPad. They then all gathered together behind two students who had a notebook with messages on four pages. My student zoomed in on each page, reading the messages aloud, so she could make certain that she was giving enough time for each message to be read.
Page 1- "You see a mixed race classroom. This is our school"
Page 2- "We accept each other for who we truly are no matter of religion, belief or skin color"
Page 3- "Our school treats each other equally and cares for each other because we are a community"
Page 4- "Why can't the world be like our school?"
As I watched this my eyes welled up with tears. This was not an assignment. No one had suggested they do this. They felt it had to be said, so they gave up their recess to say it.
And with that, my faith in humanity is restored.
Page 3- "Our school treats each other equally and cares for each other because we are a community"
Page 4- "Why can't the world be like our school?"
As I watched this my eyes welled up with tears. This was not an assignment. No one had suggested they do this. They felt it had to be said, so they gave up their recess to say it.
And with that, my faith in humanity is restored.
Tuesday 9 February 2016
You've let me down, Gloria Steinem!
Gloria Steinem has been an iconic figure for me ever since I can remember. I even subscribed to Ms Magazine for a while. On the 4th of November, 1992, the day after Bill Clinton was elected president, Gloria Steinem spoke in Grand Rapids for a YWCA benefit. My mother was one of the organisers for the event. As I was living in Seattle at the time, I didn't attend, but my mother sent me a picture of herself and Gloria. I've had that picture in a frame and in a prominent place wherever I have lived. But, today I gave some serious thought to taking it down.
There's been a lot of chatter about what the old guard feminists are saying about younger female voters, and from it I came across Bill Maher's interview with Gloria Steinem on YouTube. The interview starts with him gushing over how good she looks for 81. Then he goes on to ask Gloria if she thinks, as some other feminists have said, that young women today are complacent about Rowe v Wade because they weren't around when abortion was illegal. Gloria answers in defence of today's young feminists saying that she finds them to be far more activist way more feminist than the women of her generation and goes on to say that "...gratitude never radicalised anybody." She continues on to explain that she "...never said, "Thank you for the vote,'" and adds, "I got mad at the basis as what was happening to me, and I think that's true of young women too. So they're mad as hell because they're graduating in debt, and they're going to earn a million dollars less over their lifetime to pay it back...they're mad about what's happening to them."
So good. It sounds like Ms Steinem really understands the issues of the youth (and some of us who are not so young) today. But then in one fell swoop she dismisses and alienates an entire generation of women. When Bill Maher points out that the younger generation of women support Bernie more than Hilary in this presidential campaign, Gloria says that women tend to get more radical as they get older, and "When you're young you're thinking where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie."
Wait. What???
So, this entire generation has gone from being way more feminist and activist and "mad as hell" to boy crazy??? For someone who claims to be more radical now that she's older, she certainly seems to be using a rather old school argument some men may have even used to belittle women who had stood up in the past.
Actually I think these women who are angry about the situation they find themselves in economically are more apt to be thinking of the two candidates who is really going to stand up to the bastards that have really set most of my generation (men and women) in the position we find ourselves? Of the two candidates who consistently votes his/her conscience and doesn't pander to big money corporate America? Who does that? Not Hilary Clinton.
When women fought for the right to vote, they did not make an agreement to always vote for women. They wanted the right to speak their minds and vote their consciences and to have their opinions be taken seriously. Instead of taking the opinions of the young women of today seriously, Gloria Steinem has trivialised their beliefs by saying they are supporting Bernie simply because they want to meet a man.
So today after I saw that interview (which by the way has now been removed from YouTube but you can still find it here), I thought about taking down that picture of my mother with Gloria Steinem.
But it's a really good picture of my mom.
There's been a lot of chatter about what the old guard feminists are saying about younger female voters, and from it I came across Bill Maher's interview with Gloria Steinem on YouTube. The interview starts with him gushing over how good she looks for 81. Then he goes on to ask Gloria if she thinks, as some other feminists have said, that young women today are complacent about Rowe v Wade because they weren't around when abortion was illegal. Gloria answers in defence of today's young feminists saying that she finds them to be far more activist way more feminist than the women of her generation and goes on to say that "...gratitude never radicalised anybody." She continues on to explain that she "...never said, "Thank you for the vote,'" and adds, "I got mad at the basis as what was happening to me, and I think that's true of young women too. So they're mad as hell because they're graduating in debt, and they're going to earn a million dollars less over their lifetime to pay it back...they're mad about what's happening to them."
So good. It sounds like Ms Steinem really understands the issues of the youth (and some of us who are not so young) today. But then in one fell swoop she dismisses and alienates an entire generation of women. When Bill Maher points out that the younger generation of women support Bernie more than Hilary in this presidential campaign, Gloria says that women tend to get more radical as they get older, and "When you're young you're thinking where are the boys? The boys are with Bernie."
Wait. What???
So, this entire generation has gone from being way more feminist and activist and "mad as hell" to boy crazy??? For someone who claims to be more radical now that she's older, she certainly seems to be using a rather old school argument some men may have even used to belittle women who had stood up in the past.
Actually I think these women who are angry about the situation they find themselves in economically are more apt to be thinking of the two candidates who is really going to stand up to the bastards that have really set most of my generation (men and women) in the position we find ourselves? Of the two candidates who consistently votes his/her conscience and doesn't pander to big money corporate America? Who does that? Not Hilary Clinton.
When women fought for the right to vote, they did not make an agreement to always vote for women. They wanted the right to speak their minds and vote their consciences and to have their opinions be taken seriously. Instead of taking the opinions of the young women of today seriously, Gloria Steinem has trivialised their beliefs by saying they are supporting Bernie simply because they want to meet a man.
So today after I saw that interview (which by the way has now been removed from YouTube but you can still find it here), I thought about taking down that picture of my mother with Gloria Steinem.
But it's a really good picture of my mom.
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