#23: Stroll through Seattle

Seattle Great Wheel at Miners Landing

I've always been intrigued by depictions of Seattle in movies and TV shows. Something about the breathtaking natural scenery, casual lifestyle and plentiful seafood has always piqued my interest. So I was excited to finally have a chance to visit this fall when my organization hosted a roundtable event there.

I was in town less than 48 hours and most of the time was spent in team meetings and the event, but I chose to take an early flight so I could explore a little before we got started. With only about three hours to spare I decided to walk around the waterfront, thru the aquarium and around downtown. I was lucky to be there on a sunny fall day, which I hear is rare in Washington. In fact, everyone was smiling and seemed to have an extra burst of energy courtesy of the sunshine. 

Pike Place Market

Seattle seems like a great city. I especially enjoyed Walking thru the historic Pike Place Market with its unique shops including the famous Pikes Place Fish Market. I went back with a friend/coworker the next day so she could get smoked salmon and we walked thru the marketplace a little further. We enjoyed walking by the kiosks of fresh flowers and even purchased chocolate-flavored dry pasta from Pappardelle’s Pasta.

Pikes Place Fish Market

I think we got a truer taste of Seattle the second day with continuous rain and cloudy skies, but I guess, in a way, that shapes the personality of the city. The frequent dreary weather makes people especially appreciate the nice days.

Experience #23 was just a glimpse of the city, but I look forward to returning to Seattle someday to explore it further with my husband and kids.

#22: Clean Eating 5-Day Challenge

A friend recently sent me an invite on Facebook to join a 5-Day Clean Eating Challenge. I typically eat fairly healthy, but lately I’ve felt like I needed some inspiration to step things up. With diet and exercise, like most people, I always do better when I have a specific goal or program to focus on. And her message said side effects of a clean eating diet might include:

• Feeling better
• Improved digestion
• Mental clarity
• Enhanced mood
• Better sleep
• Weight loss
• Less bloat
• And much more good stuff!

I could use all of these things, so I decided to give it a try. She’s a Beachbody coach and she and another coach created the event to offer support and accountability for participants. They posted some initial details on how to eat clean, and I did some additional research to be sure I understood all of the do’s and don’ts.

Clean eating is about getting rid of processed foods that contain chemicals that can be harmful to our bodies. The idea for the challenge was that NOTHING you eat would have an ingredients label, unless it listed the whole foods that it contained. Everything should be food you can get from nature.

Again, I do try to eat pretty healthy, so I figured this would be easy. My diet regularly consists of vegetables and I primarily eat healthy carbs and grilled or baked meats.

However, it was much more difficult than I thought. I didn’t realize how many unnatural ingredients are in many of the sauces, marinades and dressings I typically use. And almost all of the breads and snack foods in our house were not clean. My favorite Greek yogurt, “healthy” frozen meals, canned veggies and flavored waters were also out of the question.

It was kind of fun though to go shopping and find things I could actually eat for these five days…primarily fresh fruits and veggies. I also hit up Sprouts and Whole Foods for some clean protein and grain options. And it was even fun at first to only eat clean food.

I admit that excitement wore off pretty quickly but I managed to make it through the full five-day challenge.  And with the exception of day two (when according to my family I became very irritable and grumpy), I experienced almost all of the benefits listed above.The challenge also helped me realize a few things:

• Taking pictures of your food can be a great tool. Before this week I thought people who constantly snap pictures of their food were a little strange, but by chronicling my diet I felt much more inspired to make sure I followed the rules and I tried harder to have lots of color on my plate.
• There’s a lot to look at on labels. I’ve been a label reader most of my life, but until now I primarily looked at fat, calorie and sodium content. I had no idea how many artificial ingredients and preservatives were in food I thought was healthy. This experience will definitely impact my future grocery trips.
• Restaurant food can be a mystery. Like most people, my family stays busy. My husband and I both work full time and our kids are in activities almost every night, so we tend to eat out more than we should. For these five days I mostly avoided restaurants to ensure I stayed clean. But I’ll be much more selective and inquisitive about restaurant food preparation and origin in the future.

Overall I enjoyed the challenge and gained a lot of knowledge from the experience. I encourage others to try it as a way to learn more about what you’re putting into your body and to experience the health benefits that go along with clean eating. My 5-day challenge ended yesterday, but what I learned will absolutely impact my future food choices.

Only 18 more experiences to go!

#21: Salt Therapy

I admit I’ve been feeling a little stressed by the 40x40 project. I made a commitment to have 40 new experiences in the year before my 40^th birthday. Forty things in 12 months…should be easy, right? Well, eight months into it and I’m not even half way there, so I feel a little pressure. I only point that out since I’m fairly certain without that pressure I would not have tried salt therapy. But, I needed some new experiences to help catch up and stumbled upon a Groupon for the Salt Cave in Southlake. 

According to their website, salt therapy can help you feel better faster when dealing with common ailments such as Cold and Flu, Asthma, Bronchitis, Cystic Fibrosis, Sinus Infection, Sinusitis, Rhinitis, Hay Fever, Emphysema, Dermatitis, Eczema, Acne, ADHD, and much more.

Luckily, I have none of these conditions. Although I was suffering from some mild allergies, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try. I signed up for a 45-minute session in their Relax Cave. It’s basically a dimly lit room with eight large, comfy chaise lounges and purifying Himalayan Rock Salt circulating in the air.

The staff was wonderful. Before my session they gave me a full tour of the facility. They have a very cool kids cave, a small yoga studio and a private salt bed. They reinforced the significant benefits of salt therapy for people suffering from respiratory and skin issues.

As I entered the Relax Cave, I was given a glass of wine, a warm neck wrap and a lavender eye pillow. It was a very tranquil environment, and the 45 minutes went by quickly, the humming of the salt machine acting as a timer. Surprisingly, I really couldn’t feel or smell the salt, but I trusted it was there.  

After the session, I noticed no real difference in my breathing or skin, though they say it takes multiple times before people truly see results and honestly I’m not the ideal candidate for the therapy. I did, however, enjoy the 45 minutes of sitting still and relaxing, something I rarely have an opportunity to do.

So, I’d say experience #21 was interesting and enjoyable. While the relaxation cave is probably not something I would do again, I plan to try the yoga someday and I can see how the overall Salt Cave experience could have great benefits for certain people.

19 Experiences to go!

#20: Volunteer with a Dog Rescue Group

Anyone who knows me well knows I adore dogs. In fact, I would say my life has been significantly impacted by the presence of a few special canines and their unconditional love, sloppy kisses and unwavering loyalty. Cinnamon, Luke, Abbey and Oliver are the four dogs that have blessed my life so far – each with their own, quirky charm.  I love those animals.

And since I made a commitment to give back as part of my 40x40 project, volunteering with a rescue dog program was a no brainer. I’d love to become a regular shelter volunteer, but I simply don’t have the time at this point in my life. However, when my daughter, Maya (also a dog lover) and I had a free afternoon recently, I logged into Voly and found an opportunity to volunteer at a pet adoption fair for Texas Little Cuties, a nonprofit organization specializing in saving dogs and cats scheduled to be euthanized because shelters lack room and funding.

We signed up for a three-hour shift and enjoyed every minute! We walked dogs, filled water dishes and greeted prospective families. We also had the chance to get to know some incredibly special people who run the organization. I was reminded how much I love spending time with other “dog people.” We may have had nothing else in common but we instantly connected thru our love for animals.

Maya and Marty

Maya even made a special friend, a three-year-old, 6 lb. Chihuahua named Marty (she was found in a Wal-Mart parking lot). Maya really wanted to bring Marty home, and I was so tempted to agree to adopt her. I have a hard time being logical in situations like this – especially since I was just as enchanted by Marty as Maya. But two dogs really is all our busy family can handle, and I have no doubt Marty will find the perfect home soon. In the meantime, she’s lucky to have the team at Texas Little Cuties.

Luke, Abbey and Oliver were rescue dogs, so I’m especially grateful for organizations like this who focus on saving animals that might otherwise be discarded. Although we only volunteered for a few hours this time, Maya and I felt good about offering our afternoon and energy to make a small difference. We look forward to future opportunities to help this great organization. And we’ll be saying a special prayer for Marty and her future family.

Experience #20 was rewarding in many ways. Only 20 more to go. Half way there!

#19: 500K Meal Marathon

Our church recently participated in the 500K Meal Marathon, a project to package 500,000 rice-based meals to send to Haiti. My daughter, Maya, and I were excited to put on gloves and hairnets and donate our time to help.

The event was incredibly well-organized with scheduled shifts, stations and teams each working specific areas of an assembly line. Volunteers measured dehydrated vegetables, vitamin powder, soy protein and rice into plastic bags and sealed. During our two-hour shift, Maya and I each had responsibility for heat sealing bags in our group and placing them on grids to be packaged. It was a pretty easy job, but so cool to know we contributed to helping feed hungry families around the world.

I heard there were over 1,000 volunteers who participated in the event and it was awesome to be part of that and experience the energy of the day. It was especially meaningful to experience it with Maya. It provided a great opportunity to remind both of us how fortunate we are to have the resources we often take for granted and how important it is to help others. We pray the generosity of volunteers will not only feed hungry stomachs, but also open the door to share God’s love throughout the world.

> See local news coverage about the 500K Meal Marathon

#18: Knitting Class

When I first decided to embark on the 40x40 project I made a list of things I wanted to try. Some of my top picks included starting a blog, parasailing, eating sushi, flying somewhere for lunch and knitting.

I mean, how cool would it be to know how to knit? I could make handmade Christmas gifts…hats, scarves, gloves, maybe even a cool dog sweater.

Me & Maya

So,I recently signed up for a beginner’s knitting class at Jenning Street Yarns in Fort Worth with my 11 year old daughter, Maya. My husband had taken our youngest daughter on a “Dads and Dolls” camping trip, so Maya and I had an entire weekend to spend together. She’s very artsy and a bit of a fashionista, so it was easy to talk her into the two hour knitting class. She was a great sport – even after we entered the class and she realized she was learing to knit with a group of 39-70 year old women.

The class had five students, including us, and we began with introductions. I briefly explained my 40x40 project and that learning to knit was on my “list.” One lady had recently quit smoking and thought knitting would be a distraction and give her something to do with her hands. She hoped to learn enough to knit caps for babies at a local hoapital. Another lady had recently left her job and was exploring hobbies to keep her busy. Her friend, also in the class, had crocheting experience but had never knitted. When they got around to Maya, she politely smiled and said “I’m here with my mom.”

Maya Knitting

And I’m so glad she was. It turns out she’s MUCH better at knitting than I could ever be. I had high hopes that I would leave the class with at least enough competence to knit a simple scarf, but that was far from the case.

Linda, our teacher and the shop owner, was great and very patient. She told interesting stories about the history of knitting while showing us the basics and then went around to each student to help us get started. I admit that I struggled to get the basic concept. The goal was to finish a row with 10 stitches. Mine always had 12…or 11…or 9…but never 10. Linda called some of the shop workers over to help the class, and one lady in particular tried to help me. She apparently found my lack of talent exasperating since she snapped at me several times and decided to take over my test piece so it would have some hope.  I’m sure she meant well, but her unpleasant tone pretty much killed my desire to knit.

This was my first 40x40 adventure that didn’t quite live up to my hopes. I left more discouraged than inspired, but I suppose it's unrealistic to expect all 40 experiences to be fabulous. Afterall, this project is about trying new things and enriching my life. Knitting might not be for me, but at least I gave it a shot.

Future Scarf

Maya, on the other hand, charmed the teacher, classmates and the helpers. They were impressed by how quickly she picked up on things and her overall politeness and personality. I must admit, she is pretty spectacular. In fact, I’ll be relying on her to tell me what to do with the knitting needles and yarn that we brought home. I have a feeling her scarf will be finished long before mine ever begins…

Experience #18 could have been better, but at least I tried….22 to go!