A Decade of Losing

I’ve spent the last decade trying to find the solution to my weight loss. While living in Italy ten years ago, I was at a street market and found a soccer jersey of a famous Italian player. It was an XL, and I figured if I lost a few pounds, I’d be able to squeeze into it. When I arrived home, I pulled it out and looped my arms in, and as I stretched it over my head, I realized that it had been mislabeled. I couldn’t even fit it onto my body. At that point, I made it my goal to lose the weight that would allow that jersey to fit me loosely. 

That was nearly ten years ago to The Day. I capitalize “The Day” because it was a day I have been thinking about every single day for the last 14 months. 

That day is today. 

This day was either going to serve me the greatest accomplishment of my life, or one disgustingly massive loaf of depression and defeat. No one is happier to announce that it is the former. I lost 102 lbs in the past 14 months and hit the final goal of a series of weight loss goals all leading up to this day.  See the jersey photo below taken today :)

I was fat for 22 years since the age of 8, when my dad died of an aggressive brain tumor. Emotional eating was my best friend and worst enemy. 

Maintaining this new lifestyle will not be without resistance. But I’m committed to it and the countless people in my family and community that I have inspired now rely on me as a shining example of a healthy lifestyle. 

I’ve decided that I need to share what I’ve learned and my story with everyone interested on a continual basis. So I’m launching a blog called TheSmartLoser.com that will act as a personal and public support system and resource for those looking to lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle the right way. No yo-yo diets or fads, just good old nutrition the way Mother Nature intended. Keep your eyes out for that. 

And as a final note, I don’t post this to gloat about my accomplishment. I do it to demonstrate that overcoming major obstacles in life is doable. It may take a decade, but every failure only gets you closer to success. With persistence, success is inevitable. 

And if you didn't see the video I did for a contest (which I was not chosen for ... but was glad it got me to make this) for Prevention Magazine, it gives you a better idea of why I gained the weight in the first place. And gives you some fun pics to blackmail me with. And I was told to be very happy and energetic in the video ... heh.  View the video.

Mountains, Whirlwinds & Bumps

Hey, if every week had amazing and exciting events to report ... those amazing and exciting events would become the norm, and thus we'd have a more and more difficult time keeping you readers satisfied ... right?

Ok, maybe it's just a poor excuse for not having too much to report on this week. But there were a few points of interest worth mentioning.

1. Banff Mountain Film Festival
If you've never been to Banff, I'm really not sure how you can call yourself a contributing member to society. Ok, maybe that was a bit harsh ... but you've got to get there next year. It's always at the Kent Concert Hall in Logan, or 299 other cities worldwide. The focus is on mountain cultures, sports, or the like. Usually there are several extreme sports films that blow your mind, as well as socially conscious messages in other films. A great festival. You can YouTube (yes, now a verb like "to Google") it and find plenty of cool videos. Here is the trailer:



2. Chaos Night
Every saturday night for 3 hours, we are either the most relaxed or the most stressed in the week. We do a babysitting swap with 4 other couples. So for 4 weeks we get a free date night, but that fifth week is a chaotic night of 10-12 kids running crazy around the house. It's worth it. In fact, I'm exaggerating, I suppose. Especially when you see the images below that make it look like we actually have things under control. They're good kids...generally :)  Last night was quite the whirlwind. Unfortunately we failed to take any photos, so here are a few from last year.

3. 6 Months and Change
Holly's pregnancy was quite rough in the first trimester. But now as we push into the third (28 weeks), things are going pretty well. That's much easier for me to say, of course. For the sake of documentation and those living abroad, here is a quick photo of the current ... breadth. She looks great!

She asked me to mention she's embarassed about these pics :)

And finally, the recipe of the week. I love this one.

All Natural Whole Wheat (Blender) Waffles (or pancakes) serves 5-6

1 cup whole wheat
1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons honey (or agave syrup)
1 teaspoon salt

Blend 1 c. milk with the wheat on high for 2-3 minutes. Then add remaining milk and blend 2-3 more minutes. Add remaining ingredients and blend appx 1 minute. Cook on hot pan or waffle maker.

If you want to top it with all natural ingredients, try apple sauce, honey/banana/walnuts or all natural jam. There is all natural maple syrup if you go the traditional route. Yum!

Black Market Hippie Food, Pies Galore, and the Alpine Wonderland

On Saturday we picked up our first ever local pickup of an order of fresh, organic, “black market” produce trucked straight from Cali, Arizona, N. Mexico. Well, not really black market, but it’s ripened on the vine and no herbicides or pesticides are used on them and you pre-order it online and pick it up on Saturdays at Merlin Olsen Park. We were testing it out this month, but now that we’ve seen and tasted it, we are soooo sold! It tastes like we just picked it from our garden. Take a look at the stash!

We had a Valentine retreat this weekend, but not one like you’d expect. Adam’s cousin Sueanne (famed creator of the Pie of the Month Club: www.pieofthemonthclub.org) was visiting from Scotland, so we went and stayed with Sam (Adam’s brother) and Kristen in Alpine from Saturday to Monday, hence the day-late entry. At the family gathering on Sunday we sampled some seriously delicious pies! Yum.

Hanging with Sam and Kristen was fun, as usual. How could it not be fun when they have something close to an amusement park in their basement? Olivia and Ruby had a blast on the climbing wall, the rings, the ladder, the swings (three of them), drawing on the chalkboard wall, the giant beanbag, and playing with toys…and that was just the basement. We loved their company and are grateful for their hospitality. It was really great to get away for a while to reconnect with family and enter slightly warmer temperatures.

Adam ran 13.5 miles today. He wants to make sure he is ready for the half-marathon race in 6 weeks. Looks like he is. He picked a random spot appx 7 miles from Sam’s house and took off. Turned out the exact turn-around point was a random running store called 26.2 mile Running Store. He said he was just pondering whether he’d run a full marathon this fall. Hmm.

Recipe of the week: Spaghettini with Checca Sauce

One of the few Italian recipies Adam didn’t learn during his glory days in Itay … but rather on the Food Network. It’s fantastic!

Ingredients

•                8 ounces spaghettini or angel hair pasta

•                4 scallions (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped

•                3 garlic cloves, crushed

•                1 (12-ounce container) cherry tomatoes, halved

•                1 (1-ounce) piece Parmesan, coarsely chopped

•                8 to 10 fresh basil leaves

•                Salt and freshly ground black pepper

•                3 tablespoons olive oil

•                4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

•                Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the next 7 ingredients in a food processor. Pulse just until the tomatoes are coarsely chopped (do not puree).

Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water. Toss the pasta with the tomato mixture and fresh mozzarella in a large bowl. Add some of the reserved pasta water (about 1/4 cup) if the sauce looks dry. Serve immediately.

Calzones, Bangkok, & Fatty-Pants Video

I am now 26 weeks pregnant, and facing the 3^rd trimester of this pregnancy head-on. It starts with a cold and a pinched nerve in my lower back. Bring it … or not.

This is a photo of Ruby dancing with one of her teachers at Union Bilingual Preschool on the day that some Dominican students came and taught them how to dance the Merengue! It was adorable!

Adam whipped out an old recipe from Italy this week: Calzones. (see recipe below) They were soooo delicious. We made them with fresh ground wheat instead of white flour, and it worked out very well.

I ALMOST had a husband in Bangkok today. He had an important client meeting set up and suddenly had to schedule a flight out with just a few days notice. It got postponed, however, until March, and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not. The closer I get to my due date, the more anxiety I feel when he’s gone.

New music anyone? Mumford and Sons is a band my brother was telling me about. Check out this music video and see if you dig it.

As many of you know, Adam (hesitantly) entered a contest in Prevention Magazine called “Picture of Health”. Don’t know if he made it as one of the finalists yet, but to enter, he had to write an essay and make a video explaining why he should win. The idea was to find people who have overcome major obstacles in life and now live an ideal lifestyle of health. Here is his video (that he was a bit resistant to let me show…but I find it VERY inspiring!):

Here is a drawing that Olivia made this week. She explained that the swirl on the forehead of this girl is a Bindi. She got to wear one last summer in a preschool session called “Around the World in 80 Days” when they visited India. I guess it made a strong impression on her, because she remembered and drew it all on her own.

Recipe of the Week: Calzones of Rimini (AKA Cassoni) - Makes appx 4-6 calzones

Dough:
3 cups of Whole wheat flour
2 TB Butter
1/2 c (or as needed) of warm water
1 TSP salt

Sauce:
1/2 to 1 cup of diced ham, sausage, or hamburger (or add zucchini if you want to go vegetarian)
2 bell peppers chopped
1 yellow chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
1 TB parsley (dried) or small handful of fresh
1/2 TSP red hot chili pepper
1/2 TSP ground pepper
3-4 TB olive oil
1/8 cup red wine
1 cup of tomato sauce (ideally not from a tin can, see reason number one here)
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1. Combine all the Sauce ingredients (except the tomato sauce) into a frying pan and cook on medium until the meat is browned and the veggies are softened. Then add the tomato sauce and let it simmer.

2. Hand-mix the dough ingredients until it hold together well, but isn't sticky. Break into racquetball sized balls and roll out into rectangles or circles until appx 1/8" thick.

3. Cover 1/2 of the rolled out dough with your desired amount of mozzarella cheese, leaving a 1/2" edge around the outside. Scoop appx 1/4 cup of sauce out of the pan and place onto the cheese area.

4. Fold the dough in half covering your sauce and cheese and seal the edges with a fork. (see photo)

5. Cover a frying pan with a thin layer of butter and place the prepared calzone onto the pan and cover with a lid (if available). Flip and cook other side. When both sides are slightly browned. If desired, additional sauce and cheese can be smothered atop to perfection. Enjoy!

Holly vs The Mouse & Ruby vs The Toyota

This week was packed with quite a few exciting (and scary) experiences.

Our great friends, Andy and Erin (Redd) Buteau, were flown in from London because Andy was asked to speak at the USU Partners in Business conference as a representative of Google. He spoke primarily about Google Mobile (his dept.) and the growth and ubiquity of mobile devices globally. Quite fascinating, actually. He’s a great speaker and the place was quite full since so many are interested in hearing about Google from an insider’s perspective. 

On Wednesday we asked Jenny to do a quick photo shoot of our little family since it had been a loooong time since we did anything of the sort. Here are a few shots. Jenny does a fantastic job!

Andy and Erin invited Holly and the girls up for a few days to their cabin above Bear Lake. Holly and a few exciting experiences while she was there. 

First is the story of Holly vs the Mouse. A few glassfuls of water coupled with the natural process of the body required Holly to take a journey to the porcelain throne. Upon completing her royal duties, she suddenly heard splashing beneath her. She jumped up and discovered a poor little mouse swimming for his life following an unpleasant waterfall surprise. In a panic, her immediate reaction was to flush ... so flush she did. Little did she know that mighty mouse took state in the bowl-stroke and swam like a champ to avoid the pipes of death. She quickly recruited the household to brainstorm an alternative solution for the mouse’s eviction, and Myrna (Erin’s mother) grabbed some salad tongs and sent the little fur ball to his snowy white exile. 

The other main event was Ruby vs. Toyota.

All the kids were sledding down the snow-covered driveway and slid slowly down the hill ... then little Ruby tried out a new sled. Turns out it was primed with Clark Griswold’s sledding grease and found herself wedged under a parked minivan across the street, only stopped by her cute little noggin! Check out the video to see the event ... up to the point of Holly’s panic! She recovered quickly ... and hopped happily (albeit cautiously) right back on that sled. 

Friday was Foodie Night for the group we’ve been forming of peeps looking to be more educated about eating healthy, eco-friendly foods. You can get an update at this site: cachefoodies.blogspot.com

Lastly, we have new roomies at our home for a while. Wendy, her mom Barbara, and her son Nicholas moved in to our basement as they had just sold their home and needed a place to stay for a few months. Olivia and Ruby are excited to have a little amigo to play with who is so nearby.

And lastly lastly, our Recipe of the Week. 

No-Sugar Yes-Tasty Peanut Butter Cookies 

 1 cup unsalted butter

 1 cup all-natural crunchy peanut butter

 1 ½ cups honey / agave syrup

 2 eggs

 2 1/2 cups flour (preferably wheat flour)

 1 teaspoon baking powder

 1/2 teaspoon salt

 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3-5 chips per cookie of SunSpire All Natural Chocolate Chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream together butter, peanut butter and honey. Beat in eggs.

2. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir into batter. Put batter in refrigerator for 1 hour.

3. Roll into 1 inch balls and put on baking sheets. Add all-natural chocolate chip cookies (about 3) on top, if desired. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F oven for about 10 minutes or until cookies begin to brown. Do not over-bake.

Regular is the new Ginormous!

We finished working on the "kitchen" in the basement. We think it looks soooo much better than when we first moved in. It used to look like a place to hide dead bodies. It's nice to have that project finished. Now no one will ever find the bodies :)

Adam spent part of Thursday, all day Friday, and Saturday in SLC attending a design conference. It was 200 female fashion and design bloggers, and a few token male designers like him ... but he should be used to being surrounded by girls by now. The conference gave him a free lift pass to Solitude, so he dipped into the deep powder for part of Saturday and refueled his adrenaline engine.

I joined him with the girls on Saturday afternoon. The ride down to Layton was scary through Sardine Canyon. As I was entering the canyon an ambulance and police cars raced passed me. When I finally got to the accident, it was very icy, snowy, and foggy. Someone had gone off the road and rolled their car upside down. It was helpful in reminding me to drive very slowly and carefully! We decided to go down to Layton so that we could redeem a Christmas gift from Wendy and Steve (Adam's sister and her husband). They gave us a gift card to a movie theater with babysitting included! Our girls had a blast playing with their cousins, and we had a fun date night at the Sonora Grill in Ogden, then at the movie, Sherlock Holmes. We had the gift card, so we had to get refreshments in the theatre. We asked for a "regular" popcorn and got handed a massive bucket of popcorn. How insane are we as Americans when the bucket in the photo is "regular" (as opposed to ginormous)? So, yes, we ate horribly (horribly delicious) processed popcorn (one of Adam's few "cheats" recently) ... and way too much of it.

My sister, Kristen, and I are still working with the Union Bilingual Preschool (www.unionpreschool.com) here in Logan, which is where are girls attend preschool. Part of that means that we must carry out fundraisers to help gather funds for financial aid so that children from lower income families can attend. This week we held a fundraiser at the Beehive Grill. They kindly donated 20% of their profits that night and we agreed to get as many people there as possible so that it would be a win/win situation for everyone. We raised $600 and everyone had a good time. Yea!

Recipe of the Week:

Cauliflower Carrot Curry

Steamed rice (preferably basmati rice)
1 medium head of cauliflower (about 2 pounds)
1 tbs olive oil
4 large carrots, peeled and cut in ½ inch rounds (you can also add potato)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves minced (or more to taste – be generous)
1 tbs Madras curry powder
2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
1 cup vegetable broth
½ cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
¼ tsp salt

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the carrots and onion and cook stirring often until the onions are golden, about 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the curry and cumin and stir for 30 seconds. Add the cauliflower, broth and coconut milk. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes until vegetables are just tender.Add the peas and cook until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt. Spoon rice into individual soup bowls and top with the curry. Serve immediately.
Source: On Rice by Rick Rodgers

Thought Smog

Neighbor Nan Schmidt gets a great photo from above the toxic air in our valley.

After a run on a red air day, the kids wrap Adam up in bibs and cloths to heal him.

The kids in the basement enjoying their inside playground.

Shot of our back kitchen area in the downstairs.

Hi all, we switched to a blogspot this week because we learned more about the Facebook rights of privacy and whatnot. It was not cool, so we are privatizing just slightly with a blogspot. We chose Thought Smog for two reasons. 1. Everything on earth was already taken. 2. We're really just dumping our muddled thoughts across the page with every post.

We also recognize that some of you may not care to get a weekly update on our familial events (no offence taken there, as we fail to follow many-a-blog ourselves). So, if you would like to continue to receive updates, subscribe, and you’ll get your weekly dose of whatever we can come up with.

This week I started teaching at USU again after a month long (it was lovely) break. I’m just teaching one speaking class called “Cross-Cultural Talk”. I’m excited about it as it is a large class with a lot of diversity. I learn so much from the students. I really love my job, and it helps take the edge off my craving for living abroad again!

Adam has been convinced to enter a contest through Prevention magazine, mostly to win the 5k to pay off some bills accruing with this new upcoming baby, plus $5k to the charity of his choice. The contest is to highlight 5 people in the nation who have lost weight and inspired others by living a balanced, healthy life and overcame a major personal challenge. He seems like the perfect candidate! We’ll see if they agree J

We spent a good amount of time fixing up our basement this weekend. We’ve been living in this house for 2 and a half years now, and we are still fixing it up! We are trying to make one of the rooms look more like a finished kitchen. Baby steps… baby steps.

Another room in our basement has been converted into a playground, of sorts. Because winter is 6 months long in Utah (shudder), we decided it would be worth investing in a swing and a rope ladder ($20 at IKEA) for the kids to play on. We got the idea from Sam (Adam’s brother), whose basement is even more of a swinging playground than ours (a zip line and what have you). So far, it has been a fabulous investment. It’s especially fun when we have a bunch of kids over like last night. We participate in a babysitting exchange with some couples in our neighborhood. Every 5 weeks we babysit a whole slew of kids (11 or so) so that we can have the other 4 weeks for date nights. It’s a sweet arrangement, but as you can imagine, it can be quite challenging at times!

Speaking of Utah winters, the air here is literally killing us! If you haven’t heard, our air was the worst in the nation multiple times this winter. We hold our breath most of the time, but now and then we can’t help but inhale the toxic vapors of death (gasp). It is no joke. We’re not fans, and my kids keep coughing. Bleh!

As you know, we are trying to eat more healthily, and so we are running into a lot of new recipes that we think are worth passing on – if you like that sort of thing. So… Recipe Of The Week:

Carbonara alla Tastyana (my carbonara recipe from the Italy days)

500 g. penne pasta

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (not the cheap-o processed stuff!)

1/3 cup Mozzarella Shredded/Grated

2-3 Bell Peppers (for aesthetic appeal, I use 1 yellow, 1 green, and one red) chopped

1-2 cups of chopped Ham or Bacon

6-8 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 white onion chopped

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1 Tbsp. Dried Basil or 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil

1/2 Tbsp. Dried Parsley or 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. red hot chili pepper

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup heavy whipping cream

Put pot of water to boil. When it comes to a boil, add 1/6 cup of salt (yah, it seems like too much, it’s not). Then throw in the penne pasta (Farfalle (bowtie) pasta works well too).

Chop up veggies and meat and toss in frying pan with Olive Oil. Add all spices. Cook until veggies soften a bit and meat is browned, then add the heavy whipping cream. Put on low for 5 mins until cream thickens a bit. (If desired, Carbonara often also includes 2 eggs stirred in at the end while still on low to ensure it’s cooked in)

Drain Pasta and toss into frying pan with the sauce. Mix. Turn off burner and add all the Mozzarella cheese while mixing to distribute evenly. Sprinkle Parmesan atop each serving and serve.

Enjoy!