CRASH!

Every so often, we experience something that breaks us down, and then we pick up the pieces, and figure out how to put ourselves together. I call this growth. I build a stronger and matured ME, until the next time I am forced to regroup and rethink my personal life strategy, goals, approach, and self.

Every single time I have had a car accident in my life, my sister has always been with me. When we were children my sister and I were in a car and playing a game in the back seat, when our car was smashed between two buses. Then again we were together, returning from college, in my little Toyota Passeo '92, when a guy rear ended us at a stop sign. The Toyota Passeo came to it's end when she was driving it, and I was following in a different car, at a distance, and someone T-boned the car. It was the scarey, for I heard it all on the phone. The car saved her life, and the lives of friends. Then this past Tuesday we were heading up to Cleveland to install some art, protesting against gun violence in the US, with friends, when I drove into a construction cone, the speed and angle was enough to do damage to the car, but we were safe. And we were there for each other once again.

We proceeded to install the art, and driving through Cleveland, without one functional mirror was difficult, and after traveling and working all day, I was about done. I experienced a catharctic moment and all this vile negativity, and darkness was purged from my system, and my sister had to witness it. We forgave each other, ourselves, and I was able to slowly recuperate.

It is only by passing through the darkest night, and the darkest hour, will we ever see a shimmer of light, a twinkle of hope, and smell the magic, of life. My sister and I, like all siblings, argue, fight, don't see eye to eye and have to come to an understanding. We have a lot of healing to go through together, and the journey so far is, although turbulent, lovely. I would not want to go through it with anyone else. I am glad to be there for her.

One day we will be able to look back at our darkest hours together and laugh at it. We will use our love to change the world into a better place, because that is just who we are. We go through touch periods, but we are mindful to focus on love, light, learning, and laughter. We wish to help others and teach this to them too.

The needed $300 worth of fixing, but I will work hard to pay that bill. My sister and I were safe, and material things come and go, but life does not. We mean more to each other, even with out whining, bitching, crabbiness, than without each other, and all the light in the world. After all the crashes, after all the break downs, we have grown so much, and been there for each other, and that's what counts the most.

Breathe!

shattered glass, only to be rebuilt a new

we do love each other dearly!

Kale! : Your New Best Friend

 

 

Crispy Kale Chips Recipe

What you need:

• 1 bunch of Kale (but from this you only need 2-3 leaves. This lasts for a good week- Chips everyday!)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil ( I like to use Kalamata olive oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon-ish pepper (freshly ground if possible)
• 1 lemon or lime (they taste the same to me - delicious!)
 

What you gotta do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet (the holey kind) with aluminum foil. I use my holey pizza pan! :-P
2. Wash and thoroughly dry kale. Then with your hands (or with a knife) tear the kale into bite size pieces. Sprinkle the olive oil onto the Kale, then distribute sparsely the salt and then the pepper. Drip a little bit of lemon juice onto all the pieces. Mmm!
3. Bake up to 10 to 15 minutes. It should not look burnt.
4. Ready to eat! 

What you gotta know about amazing Kale:

Truth about Kale

Cooked Kale - Nutrition

Raw Kale Nutrition

Kale and you!

Kale cooked, raw, broiled - nutrition

Kale Vs. Spinach (I'd still eat spinach though!)

Challenge Yourself

Throughout our lives our body, the body chemistry, changes- for a handful, it just stays the same. Anyway these changes affect our shape, size, etc. Exercise is the best way to maintain a healthy body with a balanced healthy diet.

I lost my consistency of going to the gym since November last year when I began traveling. Then when I got back, moved and had easy access to a small gym I was not motivated enough. I made sure I did something physically active every week, but that was not enough, some fat had just latched itself onto my sexy body. I began running outside with my uncle, sustained a small injury to my plantar's fascia, climbed every now and then, biked and walked with Ryan. It kept me at a stable size. However that wasn't who, or what I wanted to be. not enough endorphins, and too much fat (for my height, and age). So I put myself to a 90 day challenge of working out for atleast an hour a day, with a 24 hour break every 7 days (everyone is coming up with a version of a 90 day challenge!). I want to push myself, but not push myself to death.

Running/cardio for at least 40 minutes every morning at the ungodly hour of 5:30 - 6:30am. Then I do arms. I go to the assisted pull up machine thing, and set the assist to 14 (lbs? I honestly don't know, I should read it next time). I learnt this awful work out from my climbing buddies Munn and Damien. Hold up for 30 seconds (sometimes 20), then arms at 90* angle and hold (30-20 secs), then little more than 90* - hold (30-20secs), Hang with no assist (30 seconds). Rest 30 seconds to 1 minute. Do 10-5 pull ups, if you can not, then do negative pull ups. Next repeat the previous routine of chin up, 90*, >90*, and hang again (I repeat it because I forgot what the actual thing was). Will take a picture next time and post  the entire climbing / hangboard work out.

Then sometimes I use some of the fancy machines for arms, back, and legs, but I mix it up for now. I will change this as the weeks progress. Also I will begin spinning classes, yoga, and some sort of major cardio work out in week 4. This is currently week 2 and day 8! Woot woot!

Bicycling to work every now and then (or to wherever), and walking up and down the stairs at work, hikes, dancing, I just remember to engage my core muscles, since I can feel them again! Crunches! I go to this other hanging machine, and do leg lifts, straight, to crunching my knees up. Also some legs straight up. your arms are working, core is engaging and crunching! Yay!

Food, I have been putting chia seeds in my shredded frosted wheat cereal which I have with almond milk (which froze - so its more like a slushy breakfast). Then kale is my new mate, and I bake it with a little bit of olive oil, pinch of salt, pepper, and drop of lemon juice. Apples great for women and provide fiber. lots and lots of water. Fish grilled, and chicken - protein of choice. Fish helps hair grow, and I have to have it atleast once a week. Salads, and Subway sandwiches (flat bread- toasted), say no to cheese, yes to guac/avacado, no to any sauce stuff, mustard is an OK. Sandwich at home- whole wheat 12 grain bread (so gross but so healthy), turkey, mustard, ultra thin sliced swiss, colby jack(?), Enjoy!

After a week of working out - I feel a definite change, pulling up my pants was way easier. I doubt anyone can visibly see a change except me. I read somewhere - 1 week you can see the change; 1 month you family can see the change; 2 months you friends can see the change; 3 months (90 days) and public can see a change!

The kale stuff is great and awesome crunchy snack, highly recommend it. Will post the recipe.

Till next time!

Breathe!

Let's work out! Get stronger fingers!

kind of like what Munn was following... this is "easy"

I forgot burpees - jump, squat, plank, pushup, plank, squat, jump! x 10! :-)

Breathe! and cursing is allowed, but DO IT!

do this too! you can also use a paper plate instead of a ball, if the angle scares you. 

Or do it like this!

Crunching the abs

the hanging leg lift!

Breathe!

From Blogging to Writing: Transformations

The transformation occurs:
from blogger to writer.

From singing in the shower to composing on the piano and guitar!

Dreaming of the dress, to being able to fit in the dress comfortably so!

From wanting to be fit, to feeling the muscles build and the fat burn.

Thinking healthy to being healthy - 1 french fry is yummy, 2 french fries reminds you of how gross that made you feel!

Planning trips and finally making them happen... even if it is just you, travel solo, the adventure is more amazing.

From accepting advice, and actually acting on it and learning from it.

This power to transform in a positive manner, is all yours.
You control it.
Find out how to do it, and do it!


Breathe!

Falling Water - PA, Frank Lloyd Wright

Creating: Music, Lyrics, Writing

Once the fire of creativity makes its way through your veins and nerves and senses...
it's hard to make it stop. It is hard to go back to being a machine.
You're on bursting with ideas, potential, and it flows through you.

You can feel more, hear more, sense more, taste more...
Appreciate more
And then you meet the brick in the wall.

You can't make them see your light, your spirit; they are stuck.
Once you set a spark of creativity and imagination on to them, however you do it might be tricky...
It will slowly carve it's way through them... if left un-nourished it may diminish once again. So keep the fire of life, imagination, creativity burning.

Some of us get jaded, and like a smoothed rock we sit. We have become passive and complacent. We forget how to fight. Life threw too many difficult hurdles our way, too many loses, too many defeats. The bar was set too high, or the road was too long and winded. The task was too complex and difficult, we lost the battle of the wits. We gave up. Where did the fire go?

Like the Olympic flame, like the Olympians, we can not let that hope fade away.... If we fall, we get up, in time. We must learn from these creatures... and keep trying till we perfect ourselves. Not get distracted by the shiny objects that are there to throw us off the balance beam, not slow down to give into some temptation, not err just because we made a small mistake previously.

We can get back up. We can feel renewed, stand up, and start imagining; then creating.... then actualizing, achieving.




I once asked a very famous Indian music composer and a very famous Indian lyricist, "how do you know which song to put to this tune or that tune?" It is the strangest stupidest question ever however I now know the answer. And to those of you who didn't understand my question, I meant to ask when writing lyrics, how do you figure out what tune to put it to? And when writing a piece of music how do you know what lyrics to put to it. That is for the artist to decide. I know now the secret to this special ability. I won't forget their quizzical faces, or the music producer's reaction!


Breathe!