2011 Races

This week I've found that going to the Y in the evening, after Olivia goes to bed, is wonderful. I have guilt-free "me" time and I've spend the last few nights speed-walking 5Ks to get back into the swing of running. I also spent some time tonight finding races for the first 1/2 of 2011. Here's what I'm planning to do; let me know if you'd like to join me!

January
16th - Fort Ord Foray

March
13th - St. Patrick's Day 10K in Los Gatos

April
10th - Santa Cruz 1/2 Marathon

May
1st - Big Sur 9 miler
15th - Bay to Breakers in San Francisco

Self-Esteem

In September 2009 my friend Quinn and I listed all of my extra-curricular activities, including boards I sat on, events I co-chaired, campaigns I worked on, etc. There were 14 things on the list at that time and I was burnt out. Over 2010 I’ve worked hard to make good on what I’d committed to, all the while checking off the list and I’m blissfully at 2 as of today. I’ve already signed up for a couple of new positions in 2011, but I’ve made a promise to myself that from now on I’ll never do more than 5 so that I can focus on my family, friends and other priorities at all times.

And one of those priorities, as you all know, is my health. I was reading an article last week about exercise and weight. It said that maintaining a healthy weight through exercise actually helps our brains and memories retain and make decisions. Additionally, the more extra weight we carry not only weighs down our bodies but also weighs down our ability to be quick on our feet mentally.

Last week I also had a conversation with a person in the industry for whom I have great respect. He was commenting on my ability to retain information and said “Just wait 15 years…it’ll change.” I know he was joking (kind of) but that jolted me.

My self-esteem isn’t tied to how I look, my ability to run a 10-minute-mile, or how much I make. It’s tied to how well I do my job. I don’t know if that makes me odd, but for me it’s all about excelling professionally. All of those other things are good and can make me happy, but the bottom line is that when a grower tells me they feel I’m representing them well on an issue or a shipper calls me because they know I can get them the answer they need I FEEL GREAT. The idea that I may not have the ability to remember, retain, and basically keep on my toes in 15 years scares me.

What I’m getting at here is that I now have another reason to be healthy. And I’m realizing that by becoming healthier I may be better at my job not only 15 years from now, but today. That, coupled with being the best mommy I can be, is what my self-esteem is tied to, what gets me up in the morning, what makes me feel good about myself. I now have another reason to make sure I get to the Y, or take Olivia for a walk every day. Doing so makes me better at everything that’s important to me.

Butternut Bisque Shared

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite ways to get at least 2 servings of vegetables in a sitting. This is a soup that I make regularly during the fall and winter and I can't count the number of times I've shared a bowl of this soup, crusty bread, yummy salad and a glass of wine with good friends. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Bisque

6 C. Chicken Broth
1 large butternut squash – peeled & cubed, about 6 cups
1 medium sized tart green apple – peeled, cored and chopped
1 large onion – chopped
1 ½ t. sugar
1 t. salt
pinch of rosemary
fresh ground pepper
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
3 T. dry sherry
2 egg yolks
1 pint half & half

Combine stock, squash, apples, onion, sugar, salt, rosemary and pepper in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is tender – about 1 hour. Puree squash until very smooth. Return to pan and bring to a boil. Melt butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and puree. Simmer 5 min. Mix in sherry. Beat yolks and cream in a small bowl. Blend in some of hot soup. Whisk mixture back into soup. Serve!

Re-warming is fine, but do not boil.

A Brand New Day

Halloween night - so much candy. And of course, in the midst of it I got an itch to make a mango-blueberry pie with all of the fruit in my freezer. Our house is filled with sugar right now. We need more trick or treaters! This weekend I helped co-chair a great event, the annual YF&R Harvest Dance (see attached picture of Livey in her firefly outfit). I loved doing it (especially since our committee was filled with great friends) but it's a relief to have it complete. One more event (CWA's Annual Bus Trip, also put on by great friends) in 2 weeks and I'm going to step away from co-chairing special events for a little while so that I can focus.

Paul and I have decided we want to try again for a baby mid-2011. That means I need to focus on my health as a priority. Hence today's blog title. I've done a lot of good work this year, but October wasn't the best month. After the mermaid I lost some of my gusto and haven't been running as much as I'd done before. Today at lunch I'm going to speed walk a 5K at the gym. I also brought 5 produce items for my lunch/breakfast today to reinvigorate my 10-a-day challenge.

I got an e-mail from a dear friend who I've called my cousin for years as her parents are my parent's closest friends and essentially family members, Allison (Silveira) Ribaya. About a year ago she learned that her 15-month old son Gavin had a Wilms Tumor on his kidney. He had surgery to have it removed and immediately went into chemo. Thankfully a few months ago he was given a clean bill of health, although he will have to be tested every six months until he is six, at which time we hope he is declared officially cancer-free. To learn more, visit their blog.

She and I were commiserating about the difficulties of weight loss and she said something that is so true, it was (forgive the Oprah reference) an "aha moment". She was saying that as she loses weight it's as if she is shedding the stress, anger, fear and sadness she had felt over the last year. What an incredible statement.

There's a reason we gain weight. Sometimes it's the way we know to quell our day-to-day worries, even our happiness's (who hasn't celebrated a victory with a big slice of cake?). But I'm learning that I've used food to help me through my emotional ups and downs for the past decade and I really don't need it. Exercise is so much more effective. And I know it will get easier as I go along. Going to the gym isn't going to be such a chore if I keep doing it.

Thank you to Allison for letting me share our conversation, it was enlightening for me and I hope it is for some of you as well.