Monthly Archives: April 2015

J is for Japantown

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Today, included in our walk, was a detour into Japantown.

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 We wanted to try a new coffee shop but couldn’t find one beginning with J but there is a coffee shop in Japantown called Roy’s Station Coffee and Teas. I knew I could make Japantown be in the path of our walk and I’m glad I did. 

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We stopped into Roy’s. It’s a great coffee shop with an awesome patio outside. Where, of course, we sat.

I hate to tell you that I had another almond croissant but, when it comes to almond croissants, I’m weak, y’all, I’m weak. This croissant was so big and so delicious. The first thing I tasted was the butter but the almond taste was so nice. 

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David had a chocolate croissant which he said was really great, too. We both had their house coffee which was yummy. I do so love drinking out of a real cup. 😀

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The people at Roy’s station were super nice and I know we’ll go there again because it was a nice experience. They, too, have a nice menu of not only drinks but food. 

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We then walked to the end of Jackson Street, which I would call the heart of Japantown. 

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I loved how the traffic control system boxes have ninjas 

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and dragons. 😀

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We considered living in Japantown and I really like it, but in the end, downtown won. Still, I’m sure we’ll at least go to Japantown for coffee at Roy’s again , if for no other reason. 🙂

I is for I Java

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So excited to do another downtown coffee shop and it’s not even Saturday! And I had coffee with a friend from Oklahoma who’s here for a convention!

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I picked Amy up at her hotel and we walked around downtown a little bit before we found ourselves at the street that I Java is on. I hadn’t been over to that part of downtown yet so it was fun to see what was there. There are very, very wide sidewalks over there! 🙂

We were going to try another shop but then I realized today was I in the challenge and I had seen a sign for I Java when I was coming back from the grocery a week or so ago. When I looked, I found it was close to Amy’s hotel. Perfect!

I Java is a cute place. I love the tables and chairs on the inside (which I neglected to photograph) even though we chose to sit outside on this gorgeous morning. 

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They have a nice goodie case but I only had coffee today. After the pageant, I do hope to come back and try something yummy from their bakery case. 😉

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 They also have a very nice, large menu of breakfast, lunch and drinks. 

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My coffee was delicious and I had it hot. Amy had hers iced. This is a nice shop, sort of off the beaten path. I’m not sure I would have found it if I hadn’t seen the sign the other day but I will definitely return. 😀

 

 

H is for Hunting

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Not in the traditional sense but I am on the hunt for the perfect dress. And it’s been tough so far.

I thought I had all of my wardrobe picked out for the pageant that’s coming up at the end of June. A couple of days ago, the person I thought was going to be doing my hair and make up said she really didn’t want to do pageant hair and make up anymore so I was left scrambling to find someone else to do that. I’m glad I learned that when I could still find someone!

Anyway, that prompted me to go through and look at my wardrobe again, see how it looked as I continue to lose weight since I purchased everything. I put on the dress I got for my judges interview and I hated it!  I hated it so bad that I’m not sure I will like it any better in two months time and so I began my hunt.

The first order of business was to find a shop here in San Jose that sells the kinds of clothes I’m looking for which I did. I ended up at Designer’s Corner looking through what they had. The girl who helped me, Semra, was so nice and so helpful but, after trying a couple of things on, there wasn’t really anything there that I thought would work. I will for sure shop in that store again, though, because they have great customer service and lovely clothes. 

I then wandered around the mall. With my pageant coach sitting on my shoulder saying, “no black or white” every time I gravitated towards a black dress. I felt like I was on “What Not To Wear”.  I found nothing.

I really detest shopping, too, so a trip to the mall wasn’t any fun. Go ahead, take my woman card if you must.

I then came home and began scouring the internet for the perfect dress. Alas, I found nothing. I don’t even know where else to look. I do know that I’ve only been looking for one day and I will continue to look but I’m sincerely open to any places you might know where I can get an awesome dress. 

You know how you have that idea in your head about how you want to look and you can’t completely describe it and you certainly can’t find it? I’m there. 

So there you have it, the big hunt is on. Share your choice hunting grounds with me, please! 🙂

G is for Glambaby

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Everything is really for glambaby. Not just G.  How I miss that child! We used to spend Mondays and Fridays together.We did all kinds of crazy things but her favorite thing to do with David and me was go to the park. With me alone, she wanted to watch YouTube videos and play with Play Doh.

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But we played a lot and we played hard and she still wants to do that with us.  The last time David was able to facetime with her, she pointed at him and said, “I want YOU to take me to the park soon” before every saying another word. 🙂 We want to take her to the park. Oh how we miss her.

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I think it’s cute how she’s learned to play with me via facetime. She takes me around the house, usually via the trunk on her bike. Sometimes I’m in there with other creatures, most recently an elephant. We have fun even though it’s not the same kind of fun we used to have in person.

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She had her first Wee Ball game last night and I was so happy that Nikki and her family took photos and video so we could share in the experience. Although I know I am supposed to be here in California with David, leaving the glambaby behind is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

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We are going back to Oklahoma next month to watch her dance recital. We’ll also take her all day on Saturday to play. We’ll do all of the things we’ve always done with her and none of us can wait.

We’re also excited about having her come to visit us here in California. She really wants to ride a train and a bus, two things that are super easy to accomplish here. But we view our landscape all the time for things to do when she visits. 

Have I mentioned how much I miss that little girl? At the end of our conversations now she always says, “I love you, Glammie. Have fun in California.” So cute. I miss her. 

F is for Fruitbat

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If you follow me on instagram, I’m sure you’ve seen me tag photos #fruitbat. “What is that?” you ask. I got the term from Freelee the Banana Girl. 

Freelee is the person I found when I was getting ready to become a low fat, high carb, raw vegan. I found her video about Banana Island and have been watching her ever since. She’s a great source of information and inspiration and she calls her followers fruitbats.

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I eat a huge number of my calories in the form of fruit so I think the tag is appropriate. I follow the 80-10-10 plan of eating where I shoot for a breakdown of 80% of my calories each day from carbs, 10% from protein and 10% from fat. 

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This makes me feel AMAZING! Actually, amazing isn’t really a strong enough word. I don’t know that there is a word to describe how awesome I feel when I eat this way. I have no joint aches, my skin is SO clear, I sleep well, life is so good.

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Fruit is amazing. And, honestly, if you had told me that I would one day replace sugar with fruit, I would’ve laughed at you. Of course in diet books they always suggest that but I was such a sugar addict I couldn’t fathom how it could work.

I haven’t had a whole lot of processed sugar since I began eating this way on September 1 of last year. I chose to eat an almond croissant on Saturday in honor of my half birthday and I felt sincerely wasted. Like I was completely drunk. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to walk home and we were only two blocks away. I don’t think I’ll be doing that again because I just didn’t care for the feeling.

Fruit makes me feel clear and clean and joyful. It’s what I love and eat the most of. I am most assuredly a fruitbat. 🙂

 

E is for Exercise

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I do a lot of exercise. Believe it or not, I even like it! I’ve been a walker for a lot of years. For most of my walking miles, David has been with me and I think of it as our alone time where it’s just us and no distractions. But even when David hasn’t been home, I still walk. 

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I was waiting to lose down to a certain weight to start running again. I used to run a lot in the early 1990s but felt like I was just too heavy to run now even though my walks were getting faster and faster and I had friends on the runkeeper app encouraging me to just run.

When we moved here, I left the scale behind. Because I had no idea if I was at the magical number that would allow me to begin running, I just started running. And it was hard. No, it was HARD. 😀 I ran quite a lot of distance back in the day and I just don’t remember it being so hard back then. Of course I was 25 years younger so that could’ve had something to do with it. But I persevered telling myself, “pretty soon, this will be your warm up”.

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Now, I’m not there yet but I have been able to to gradually increase my mileage and I’m now up to two miles a day. Best of all, I’m getting air all the way down to the bottom of my lungs the whole run. Which is great since I like to breathe.

And cycling. How I love that. I’ve been doing that twice a week since I got my bike. I go a little further each time and it’s just fun. 

Every day living here in Downtown San Jose, involves a lot of exercise. Unless I have the dog or  something really heavy, I always take the stairs. Our apartment is on the third floor and the garage is even one floor further down. I walk every where downtown. Library, grocery store, post office, dinner. It’s great. I’ve been more active here than I have been in a lot of years.

And I like it. I really do. I love feeling strong when I’m walking down the street. I love feeling accomplished when I get done with a run or bike ride. I know this is good for my health but it’s also good for my mind. I am a rare person who doesn’t wear headphones while exercising. I have deep discussions with my inner self and I come to a lot of conclusions, make a lot of plans this way.

If you don’t exercise every day let me encourage you to give it a try. Even just a ten minute walk to start is better than nothing at all. Then work your way up little by little until you are enjoying more physical and mental well being. You’ll be glad you did! 😀

D is for Devine Grind

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I was excited when I learned that for the Saturdays in April’s A to Z Challenge, I could find coffee places to visit. Today, the first Saturday, is D and Devine Grind is right around the corner from where we live. I walk by all the time and was happy to finally go inside.

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We were greeted by Winifred, the owner. I was excited to see an almond croissant and told her that I was going to have one in honor of my half-birthday. She asked me what a half birthday was and seemed tickled at the idea and wished me a happy half birthday. Noticing her accent, I asked her where she was from. She told me Nigeria. At that point, David jumped in because he’s done a lot of work in Nigeria and they chatted about that for a little bit.

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We placed our order which Winifred offered to heat up for us. Then we took our coffee outside to sit. It was such a lovely morning and I’ve felt “outside eating” deprived for a long time and sit outside every chance we get.

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The almond croissant was delicious! I haven’t really eaten sugar like that since before September 1, 2014 and it made me feel a little wasted but it was such a nice treat along with the delicious coffee.

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David got a breakfast burrito that had eggs, sausage, hash browns and cheese, served with a side of salsa. He said it was really good, too.

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When we came back inside to drop off our dishes and say good bye, we got a chance to meet Winifred’s husband, Joseph. They are such nice people and our experience at Devine Grind is one I’ll look forward to replicating many times in the coming months! 🙂

 

C is for Cycling

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I had two conditions for moving to California. One, that we could live downtown and two, that I could have a bike. Well, I’ve got them both. 

I love, love, love living downtown and I also love this bike. Even though I’m pretty sure it’s the wrong kind. I went to get a bike a week or so after we got here. I was actually looking for a different one but they didn’t have it. So I chose this bike. 

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I chose it because it’s pink and black, it was there, it was a good price and it didn’t have skinny little tries on it. I must admit that at my weight, I’m terrified of those skinny little tires. I’m pretty sure they make Fatties for folks like me. 😉

Anyway, I do like this bike. It’s pretty and it’s a nice ride except it’s almost too easy. I understand, from my novice point of view, that there must really be a difference between a bike made for the street and a bike made for off road. I really would like a bike that is a little harder to ride. 

This morning, as I rode into a strong north wind, I got the resistance I wanted although my fingers about broke off from being so cold. I try to hit all of the hills I can find to give myself a little bit of a tougher workout.

I do know I will get another bike some day soon. When I get that one, I will go to someone knowledgeable, tell them what I want to do with it, share my fears about the tires popping and let them help me select a bike that’s appropriate for what I want to use it for. 

Until then, I’ll continue to ride the bike I have and love every minute of it. Because riding this bike now is just as fun as riding one was when I was a kid. 🙂

*This was written after my Tuesday a.m. bike ride. 

 

B is for Bananas

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It was about a year ago that David and I went to Banana Island. Banana Island, you ask? Where is that? Well, Banana Island is essentially a cleanse where you eat only bananas. We did it for three weeks and we felt amazing. 

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I figured it was an easy way to get started on the high carb, low fat, raw vegan lifestyle and I was right. It’s the only thing I ever did where I didn’t have sugar withdrawal.  Now, bananas are a HUGE part of our lives and we go through a lot of them each week.

Because we eat so many bananas each day, we always have to have some ripening. Since we moved, we still haven’t gotten far enough ahead of the game to have some to freeze and make ice cream out of which is a deficiency I need to correct. Soon. Spooning banana ice cream (frozen bananas put through the juicer with a blank = soft serve) off of celery sticks is a taste treat like no other. I also saw a recipe for mint chocolate chip ice cream yesterday that I’d like to try. Anyway, I digress.

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Bananas are super good for you. We wait to eat them until they have brown spots on them. This makes them easier to digest and gives you a whole range of health benefits. 

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The other day, I got the surprise of a lifetime when I opened a banana and found twins inside! Trust me, I’ve eaten a lot of bananas in my 54 years and I’ve never seen this before. I was so weirdly excited. 

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I have blogged about bananas before but in the event you missed why I eat so many, the reason is because they are calorically dense. I’m a pretty large (5’11’ on a large frame) and extremely active person. If I eat a pound of lettuce, which is a lot of food, it’s still only around 100 calories which isn’t good enough. The bananas help to keep my calorie levels up. 

They are also a good workout. When I buy a case of bananas, 15 bunches, it’s somewhere around 40 pounds. I have to squat those babies eight times to get them from the car to the apartment. 🙂 

So, anyway, that’s the story of bananas in my life. I love them, they fill me up, they’re delicious. 🙂

A is for Athletic Mission

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After a rough start, our gym Athletic Mission Baseball Academy is off and running.

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It’s finally an actual school baseball season and it’s so exciting to hear reports of how great our clients are doing every day. 

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Geoff employs techniques in training that are very different from the information that’s been taught by everyone else. After being injured in college, he spent years educating himself on what causes injury and how to improve as a player without injury. These are the techniques he’s using to train our clients and they’re working!

Even at a young age, kids come in expecting that their arm is going to hurt after a game. But it doesn’t have to be this way. As they learn the new techniques, they are able to put them into practice  and see improvement quickly. Which is awesome if you’re someone like me who gets impatient waiting for anything. 😉

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One of my favorite things we have is the Neurotracker. Although it was originally designed to help kids with ADHD focus, it’s been shown to help with athletic performance and many of the professional hockey and football teams use it. We’re actually the only facility in the midwest offering the Neurotracker to youth athletes and I’ve been sitting on pins and needles waiting to see the outcome. And not on the field. As a mom, I was really curious to see how it would help our athletes in the classroom. Geoff says that it’s been really great for our pitchers on the field and that many of the kids are reporting better grades. While we can’t absolutely prove the Neurotracker helped in the classroom, it’s one factor that wasn’t there before so it makes me happy to see it helping that way, too. 

It’s great to see Geoff’s passion for the game  (and for the guys) coming through when he talks to me. But it’s even more exciting to sit back and read the reports from parents and kids when they have a really good game and their improvement is so evident. 

Walt Disney said, “Observe the masses and do the opposite.” 

“This defines us,” Geoff says.

I love it. 🙂