Yes, I made a list of things to post about the other day, but today I am going to post about none of those things. That is because I am not motivated to create new content. I am riding this bad blogger streak out as long as I can. Although I will be posting my 10K race recap (race is Sunday!) because I tested out my playlist today and I think I am in love.

I told you all how I signed up for a Humor Writing class at the Gotham Writers Workshop back in September. I took a free one hour course through them in Memoir Writing and loved it. When it came time to sign up for class, however, I had a hard time deciding between Memoir and Humor writing classes. In the end I opted for Humor because I read the instructor’s book, absolutely loved it and hoped to make her my best friend. I also figured that the lessons I learn in Humor would carry over into the memoir sector.

This proved to be true, as the class is modeled on humorous memoirs, such as anything by David Sedaris.  While I do realize in retrospect that Memoir might have been a better option for me based on my needs and the fact that I am hideously awful at constructing clever similes (a key aspect in humor writing), this class has challenged me and forced me to be a better writer. I learned the rules of the funny, and while I don’t plan to write a humorous memoir, I do plan to pepper my more somber future memoir with humor to make it more appealing, relatable, readable and overall better. Since my memoir would certainly be about my illness and possible upcoming surgery — a surgery that is very rare for a 26 year old in otherwise perfect health to get — it would certainly need some moments of funny in there.

I do plan to take the Memoir class at Gotham; just not next semester. After 8 weeks (out of 10) of 3 hour classes taking up my entire Wednesday night, I am ready for a break. I already use one night a week for a GI appointment, so it is hard for me to find time to see friends, work out, blog and relax. I’d like my time back for now, and maybe I’ll sign up for the Memoir class the next time around.

In my Humor class, I had to write two longer pieces that get critiqued by the class as well as shorter one page homework assignments. While I am not comfortable sharing my previous longer piece, I do hope to share my next one that is due next week! I will, however, share with you my most recent homework assignment. The assignment was different than most; usually our assignments are exercises in writing that remind me or writing like David Sedaris. This assignment, on the other hand, was to write a sales pitch for a product I invented. The more absurd the product, the better.

Because I have very few funny ideas of my own (at least none that can be leveraged for this particular course) I turned to my friends. I often turn to my friends for my homework, asking them for examples on funny sounding diseases or any type of simile. This time, my friend Dr. McGriddle (we love IHOP, I used to love Grey’s) came through and helped me with the idea and supporting elements. Thank you, Doctor.

For this particular homework, I volunteered to read it out loud to the class because (a) I was proud of it and (b) it meant I would not be called on to read my in class writing assignment, which tends to be beyond awful. When you read something out loud, the instructor critiques it on the spot. Some critiques I received was that the first paragraph is very strong, but the rest doesn’t fit with it; it is a one note joke and the tone got old very fast; I could have found a better flavor for one of my examples.

Please keep in mind this is very different from the writing I usually to do for this class, which tends to be humorous memoir type stories. Also, I struggle to make the most of the humor writing rules. Being funny is hard work. I have a hardcore newfound respect for these writers. Consider that next time you pick up Augusten Burroughs.

Behold, my writing class homework. My sales pitch.

Twinkie No-Crush

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Have you ever taken a class for fun? What did you think of it? And, what do you think of my homework?

Here is a treat for all you pancake searchers:

Mmmmmmm.

So today was my second and FINAL day of jury duty. I have to say, I absolutely loved it.

Things I loved about jury duty:

• Not getting my name called for Day #1’s case
• Getting dismissed at noon on Day #1 and having the rest of the gorgeous summery day free to nap
• Not having to arrive until 10:00 am on Day #2
• Being able to get up at a normal time to run outside instead of insanely early dark time
• Not getting my name called for Day #2’s case (33 names were called!)
• Having more time to read The Omnivore’s Dilemma
• Getting dismissed at 11:45 am on Say #2 and having the rest of the gorgeous summery day free to stop at Bloomingdale’s and get 40 Carrots frozen yogurt for the first and last time this summer (used to have it all the time last year), buy new shoes at a sale price, pick up my mail and some fall clothing, and pick up my Continental Airlines 5th Avenue Mile bib and chip
• Knowing I can’t be called for jury duty again in NY state for another 6 years (As my friend Melanie pointed out, I’ll be in my 30s – eek!)
• Drinking wine at 4:30 pm on a Thursday
• Having more time to blog and rest
• Getting 2 free days off work!

What can I say? I am proud to have completed my civic responsibility and served in the American justice system!

I am getting more and more nervous and excited about my upcoming Humor Writing class. Every now and then I feel a pang that I’m not taking the Memoir Writing class, because most of the stories I have to tell aren’t the funny kind, but then I think about how funny it will be to spend my Wednesdays in an environment of funny and to learn from Sara Barron, author of The Porn (you need to read her book to understand) and challenge myself. They also recommend devoting about 5 hours a week to the assignments which will take away from blogging time — but hopefully I can share my work as blog entries and kill two birds with one stone. I just hope I can think of funny things. And I can always take the 1 day intensive Memoir Class or take the 10 week next semester. Class starts Wednesday!

I am excited (but sad about not being able to go see Regina Spektor on Oct 14 at Radio City — please let me know if you can buy my tickets from me). I have been struggling lately because I know I need to make some major life changes but being that I don’t know exactly what I want — just that I want something different than what I am doing now — I think Humor Writing class is a great place to start. It is new. It is funny. It is sure to be the most fun way to spend 3 hours a week for 10 weeks. And some people tell me my blog is funny, although I don’t see it myself. So I’d like to cultivate that a little more!

Speaking of funny, I found my funny book! I mentioned in a previous post that I used to carry around a little notebook with an Oscar Wilde quote on the front. I tried to write down all the funny things people around me said. It didn’t last long, but maybe I will start it up again. I also thought of some very funny ideas while running this morning! However, I have no recollection at all as to what they were. Boo!

By the way, another great run this morning. 2.2 miles, very slow pace (just where my body should be right now) and I am excited to push myself on Saturday’s 1 mile race. The reason running used to be hard for me (other than the fact that I am new to it) is that I was always pushing myself to go faster than my body wants. Now I push myself to go slow and I have been enjoying myself much more. For Saturday’s race, I set a VERY ambitious goal for myself — 8:50 min — but who knows, maybe I’ll reach it. On my own runs I’ve been trying to slow to around 11 min/miles so that I can feel good for an extended period of time. But for a 1 miler? Who cares how I feel‽ I am giving it all I have. And yes, I just used an interrobang.

So back to my funny book. On the front there is an Oscar Wilde quote that I love:

Memory is the diary that we all carry about with us.

Love it. Except for the fact that I can’t remember most things, which is why I got it in the first place. My biggest regret in my life thus far is that I didn’t keep a journal, especially when I was working on a teen tour. When I have kids I am going to strongly encourage them to keep a journal. Memories are so important.

Here’s one example from the book. I used to work in the English Department at Baruch College while I was pursuing my masters degree there in Corporate Communication. I had a little crush on one of the professors, and this was our encounter one day (FYI his codename was Sasha)

Sasha: Where are the cookies?
Me: I ate them.
Sasha: ALL of them?!

And yes, I had eaten all of them. I will never forget the look of shock on Sasha’s face — although I would have forgotten if I didn’t write this down. It was embarrassing yet funny. And it portrays my love of cookies.

There is more in here (not much more) that is pretty funny, although most of them are “you had to be there” types. What I never wrote down but reallyyyyy wish I had was all the encounters and stories I have about someone very stupid who I know well. I was trying to search old google chat conversations with people to see if I vented on there about this person, but so far I have not found success. Damn AIM and other programs that do not forever save my conversations in easily searchable format for eternity! It is google chat ONLY from now on.

I also brought back a book I had sitting in my apartment called Comedy Writing Secrets and one called Jewish Humor: What the Best Jewish Jokes Say About the Jews, along with two David Sedaris books I have not yet read (but I LOVED the ones I did read). For research. And my friend Phoebe lent me her copy of Waiter Rant: Thanks for the tip – Confessions of a Cynical Waiter (based on this website).

So much to read and no time to read it! If only I had more jury duty . . .

Since the rest of my recap is moot now that the Open is over and Federer lost, I will quickly show you some pictures I took:

Ahh. Nice. I will spare you the photos of Federer sitting in his chair on the side of the court.

I am excited to go back next year on a weekend and have more time to walk around and see side matches and maybe not freeze like I did this year, and maybe get to stay for the entire thing and not have to leave early since the game goes on past midnight.

Some randomness going on in my life these days:

I took a free memoir writing class at Gotham Writers’ Workshop last night and basically fell in love. I learned some great things in just that one hour and, as they hoped when offering these free classes, I now am obsessed with the idea of taking a full workshop. Sara Barron, who wrote a hilarious book that I love called People are Unappealing, teaches the comedy writing workshop. The only thing that is stopping me from signing up right now is money. It’s not even expensive at all for what it is, they offer fantastic prices there. But, it is still more than I can swing right now. There is a one day full-day course of the same topic I could take, but I have to go to a wedding on that day. Maybe in the Spring I will take a workshop. For now, I am excited for anything free they offer — including the free Dialogue Writing class I am taking next week!

Expect to see more dialogue in this blog after that.

I am reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma and I am finally getting to the good stuff. It took me awhile to get past the history of corn but I hope to have a full review of this along with In Defense of Food for you within the next few weeks.

For the longest time I didn’t understand Twitter but now that I started to actually use it and understand it better, I LOVE IT. I think Twitter just might be my favorite of the social networking sites. I love how information is immediate and accessible and how you can feel like you are friends with celebrities or companies with it. I feel like Jill Zarin and the guy who played Kryten in Red Dwarf are speaking only to me when they tweet.

Confession: Although I strive to live a healthy lifestyle, I have one dirty little secret. That secret is bread pudding from the dessert bar at Whole Foods. HOLY YUM that stuff is amazing. Amazing to the point where every time I am at Whole Foods by the buffet I can’t NOT get a little bit. And the confession gets worse . . . I usually go to Whole Foods on my way into work in te morning. I usually have a tiny bit of bread pudding for breakfast multiple times a week. The best days are when it is extra mushy, like pure pieces of mush. Those are days it really melts in your mouth. Bread pudding is dessert french toast. I even complimented the dessert chef at the TriBeCa Whole Foods personally. Whole Foods is evil.

My old blog template did not support bulletpoints for some reason. They just wouldn’t work, even if I manually typed in the code. That resulted in some stupid looking blogs. I was excited to realize in this post that I do have use of bulletpoints, but I found out today I am unable to make spaces between each bullet. My point is, expect to see more bullets but not as many as I’d hoped, and not when I have paragraphs to bullet.

And finally, my running announcement. As you might know, I am very new to running. I wanted to do it and then couldn’t — I had knee pain, hip pain, felt overall awful when I tried. At one point I said “running is just not for me.” And then I tried again and ran for 25 minutes and felt pretty good. Ever since then I have been slowly and steadily improving, and over the last weeks I ran two 5K races (here and here). Well, as some of you predicted, I have officially caught the racing bug. All I want to do is run in more races, and I am already dreading the winter (treadmill, blech) and looking forward to the spring when I can know I will have months of outdoor running and races.But — race season is not over yet! And after some research I decided to register for two more races this year! On September 26, I will run in the Continental Airlines 5th Avenue Mile, a 1 mile timed race that begins on 80th and 5th and runs right alongside Central Park to 60th and 5th, just a few blocks from my apartment. I am excited to push myself hard in a short run to see how I do!

I wanted to challenge myself in a longer run as well, as I have never run more than about 3 and a half miles at a time. So the next race I signed up for is the Poland Spring Marathon Kickoff, a 5 mile timed race in Central Park on October 25 that ends at the same finish line as the NYC Marathon! I have never ran 5 miles before so this will be a real challenge. I created a training schedule loosely based off Hal Higdon’s 10K Novice training plan, which I am attempting to follow as best I can. It hasn’t been so spot on, but I am doing my best and as long as I get my long runs in I will be fine.

Have any of you ever tried something you never thought you’d do and ended up getting really into it?

I am so excited!

Okay, all better.

Anyway, I had great plans for this weekend and none of them worked out. You would think that after being in constant pain for a year and a half and semi constant pain for 6 months, I would know what medicine to take to stop said pain.

I don’t.

My second GI doctor has given me a number of pain meds. None of them worked. And any doctor I saw following that one warned me to never take any of those meds anyway, as they will cause the underlying problem to become worse. That same doctor also gave me Vicodin, which the following doctors also warned would contribute to the problem getting worse. Although when the pain is bad enough and the others don’t work, that is the one I’d turn to.

So the problem is — if the pain meds I have don’t work and make the underlying problem worse, then what can I take when I am in pain?

I have trying to find out this answer for a very long time. Unfortunately, if such a medication exists for my pain, no doctor I have met with knows about it. I just called my newest doctor and left a message for her to call me back about this. This is because I have been in pain for days now.

Last week I was having a pretty great week, stomach-wise. Monday – Friday all was pretty good. On Saturday, I woke up lethargic and spent the entire day napping. At the height of my GI problems I was constantly lethargic, and now that I am better at handling my situation it has not been so bad. But on Saturday I was just out of it. I was also not able to eat much, which didn’t stop me from eating much at a barbecue at the boy’s family on Saturday. When the food is there . . .

So it is probably no surprise that I woke up on Sunday unable to move. The pain was sharp and the pain was pressure. It felt like little people are punching me all over. My plans to run didn’t happen. My plans to go to Missy’s sister’s wedding didn’t happen. I didn’t leave the apartment all day. I just laid around saying ow and reading books.

The books I read:
Everything Sucks: Losing My Mind and Finding Myself in a High School Quest for Cool by Hannah Friedman
Sickened: The True Story of a Lost Childhood by Julie Gregory
I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

All the above books were great.

And I just started Born to Run:  A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seenby Christopher McDougall — anyone read this? I am so excited about it!

The boy read it and made a unique in response to what he read. He will be writing a guest post soon all about it.

As you can see, I was on a major memoir kick. And I still am. After I finish Born to Run I have two more memoirs I want to get to, including Dumbfounded: Big Money. Big Hair. Big Problems. Or Why Having It All Isn’t for Sissies by Matt Rothschild.

Anyway. I thought for sure I would be fine by Monday morning. So I laid out all my running gear, excited for the perfect weather that they were predicting. I calibrated my Nike + iPod last week and was excited to get a more accurate idea of how far my run is and how fast I run. I set my alarm for 6:00 and went to bed early.

When my alarm went off, all I felt was pain. Intense pain, worse than Sunday’s. It hurt so much. I tried to picture myself running and my vision included lots of pain and going slow and being upset. I knew getting out of bed was not an option. I went back to sleep and had a dream that I was running in a strange marathon that included stops all over and talking to lots of people and going to all these places inside other places. I woke up every now and then to groan in pain and wonder how I would go to work. I considered working from home.

At a little after 7:00, I finally forced myself out of bed. Once I started moving around, the pain wasn’t as bad, but I still keep feeling intense stabs. And it still feels like someone is punching me. Which sucks, because when I went outside the weather really was perfect.

I hope I will be better for tomorrow morning. I want to run in this weather, I want to not be in pain. I want my doctor to call back with some suggestion for what I can take.

What is hardest for me is the realization that just because I feel much better overall these days, I am NOT better. I’m going to feel pain and discomfort and lethargy and there is nothing I can do about it because as good as I might be feeling, the problem is still the problem and that didn’t change. What changed is that I know how to deal with the problem much better. The doctor who will be calling me back is also going to have some other information for me about next steps going forward, so hopefully I will learn something new today. And hopefully the pain will stop.

Let’s wish for a run tomorrow!

Click here for FitnessNYC’s Physique 57 DVD giveaway — but don’t click because I want to win this one.
Click here for Prior Fat Girl’s cookbook and apron giveaway.

And she was nice enough to respond to my email today and offer a full refund. How sweet!

I am sorry BeamGreen is ending because I really do enjoy it! Last night I was so happy to see Missy, Melissa, Gena and Sarah, and my best friend Rae!

Here I am (see the top curls) with Missy and Melissa.

After work, I got to the Upper West Side with plenty of time to kill. I got a much needed eyebrow threading and then wandered in and out of stores. I found myself at Intermix, a very expensive store that I don’t usually go into, although I got a pair of jeans on sale there for very cheap last year.

Needless to say, I walked straight to the sale rack. It was filled with jeans and I took a couple pairs to try one. And one. Was. Perfect.

Ever since my GI problems started, I’ve had problems with jeans. Even though they fit everywhere on my body, they never close around my stomach. And if they do, as soon as I eat a grape I am forced to open them. I am always uncomfortable in jeans and I look at other people wearing jeans — larger people than I — and wonder “how can they wear them?? And feel comfortable and not feel like suffocating?” I just can’t wrap my head around it.

All my old, small sized jeans are too small. The newer, larger jeans also tug my stomach. And then, yesterday at Intermix, I found the perfect jean. According to the tag, they cost $218. After being marked down numerous times, the final price on the tag read $69. Click here to see many views and more details on the jeans. So why are the jeans perfect? Well, I think the fact that their real price is $218 means they are made of silk or something. Seriously, they are clearly a very high quality, super soft denim. They are stretchy. They are comfortable. I can not only breathe in them, but I can sit in them too! I can move around and not feel like I am going to die. All my other jeans, even sizes bigger than what I am, squeeze into my stomach and sides and cause the dreaded muffin top. These do not do that. They just . . . rest. I look like one of the people I envy — who can wear jeans without feeling bound and sausage-like. I love them!

Here is a photo of them. It is not me. Unfortunately.

Although my feet are much smaller and cuter than hers.

OK, so back to BeamGreen. Thank you for allowing me that detour. I was still too early when I arrived at Central Park so I decided to sit on a nearby bench and relax outside with my book. I was literally steps from Tavern on the Green, where the event is held. And about 5 or 6 pedicab drivers tried to interrupt my relaxation to see if I needed a taxi ride somewhere. I pointed at Tavern on the Green and said “I’m going right there so I think I’ll be OK.”

If I wanted a ride, I would have told them! I wouldn’t have sat on a bench with a book. Poor guys, I know it is hard for them to make money, but still!

I waited around and then saw Missy walking in, so I ran up to her. I didn’t want to be insanely early alone, but I had no problem being insanely early with a friend! We signed in and got our raffle tickets and were among the very first people in the room. Which meant we got to get our fresh pressed bottled Liqueteria juices with no line! (Cold pressed juices retain more nutrients because standard juicers like the one I own use some heating to make the juice, which destroys enzymes). I got the Grasshopper juice, which consists of apple, pear, pineapple, wheatgrass & mint. It tastes just as delicious and refreshing as it sounds. It was a nice change for me since I drink straight vegetable juice every day, with the occasional half apple or pear. This was a treat! So much of a treat, that I may have gone back for seconds. And thirds. Although for accountability’s sake I will admit that the third was not a Grasshopper but a Royal Flush, consisting of pineapple, pear, ginger, aloe vera & Liver Kidney Lymph Detox. It was also refreshing and delicious, tasking strongly of ginger which I don’t like in my food but am fine with in my drinks in small amounts.

I also want to add that the reason I don’t get All Greens from Liqueteria, which is the best one for you, is because it contains romaine which I just can’t stand in my juice! But many people love it.

I do want to make a trip to Liqueteria at some point and pick up some bottled juices. Mmmmm.

Here I am at Tavern on the Green before everyone got to the room:

For my meal I had some avocado and cucumber rolls from Whole Foods (SO good) and I even tried a very small amount of raw pasta and raw lasagna from a new raw delivery company called Three Wishes. I only had a small amount because my stomach doesn’t do well with vegetables, particularly those of the uncooked variety. All was delicious.

At each chair was the BeamGreen Summer Newsletter, full of interesting articles written by Gena and some other people, including one I really enjoyed about cold pressed juices. We also received a book, Kabbalah on Green (details below), a pamphlet on Vegetarian Options for School Lunch Programs and one called Diet and Diabetes: Recipes for Success.

Here I am with some other bloggers, Missy, Sarah, Vani, Olga and Diana.

After an introduction from Mary, the first speaker was Gene Stone, ghostwriter of Engine 2 Diet and founder of Stogo. Stogo Ice Cream uses premium organic, dairy-free ingredients with no refined sugars, no animal products, no artificial flavors, and no preservatives. The ice cream is either soy-based, hemp-based, or coconut-based and sweetened with agave nectar. Brilliant.

The Engine 2 Diet was conceived after an entire firehouse in Texas went Vegan and all their cholesterol and other health problems resolved themselves. The author, Rip Esselstyn, was teased by his fellow firefighters for being vegan. But after his coworkers saw his health improve, they wanted in on it. And that is how the vegan firehouse began. This book is filled with recipes, anecdotes and useful information.

This is Gene. Gene is a pacer.

Back to the Stogo. Some fun facts about their ice cream: Guys love mint chocolate chip.  Not my guy, but guys as a whole. The most popular flavor is Salt & Caramel. Not a flavor I would select as I am not a fan of salt. I am excited to go there and try more flavors! I would not eat the soy based flavors, which eliminates any chances of me having the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie flavor, but I would gladly eat Hemp Cinnamon, Hemp Maple Walnut and Coconut Pina Colada!

Speaking of the ice cream. We then got to taste it..

Stogo vanilla coconut ice cream. One word can describe it and that word my friends is DELICIOUS. They had both chocolate coconut and vanilla coconut and most people got a scoop of each. For some reason I don’t quite understand, I love chocolate but won’t touch chocolate ice cream. It doesn’t appeal to me at all and I always choose no ice cream over chocolate. I wish I could explain why, and I wish I had this problem with cookies and brownies and cake.

So I got 2 scoops of vanilla and to make it extra special I broke up a chocolate chip vegan cookie from Babycakes and OMG THIS WAS THE PERFECT DESSERT — and guilt free! The Babycakes cookie looked and tasted like a homemade chocolate chip cookie, just the way I like it. It was heaven mixed in the ice cream; the perfect combination. Satisfied my sweet tooth and I didn’t feel any guilt since it was all made from good stuff!

And then we had the raffle! Once again, I hoped to win a consultation with Gena. Didn’t happen. Or a book. Didn’t happen. But I did win something — and thankfully it was not a coconut cleaver because what the hell would I do with that! I won an awesome tomato knife from Williams & Sonoma that really could be used as a salad knife, or, in my case, a green juice knife! The boy doesn’t exactly have many sharp knives, nor many that are longer than 3 inches, so cutting my kale, celery and cucumber hasn’t always been the easiest task. And now it is! I used the knife this morning and I am very happy with it. Last week at the farmers market I bought a perfect, ripe, bright red juicy tomato. When I cut it to make my pizza it was very hard to do. I will revisit the farmers market on Saturday, get another tomato, and test out my knife in its true element.

Also, I have been going on and on to the boy all week about how we need to get sharp knives! How funny.

When they called my raffle number, I suddenly got so nervous because I don’t like when everyone’s attention is on me. I sqeaked out “me” to indicate I had the winning ticket but it was barely audible. After the knife was handed to me and I was back in reality, I realized how hard my heart was pounding. Why should a silly raffle at a friendly event evoke such anxiety in me?

Anyway, Melissa won a copy of The China Study, which I want to read when i finish the 4 new memoirs I just bought and another book the boy recently read that I want to read. I was hoping to get a picture of Melissa and I with our winnings, but she had to leave early.

Here I am with my prize:

I need to change the resolution on my camera to take higher quality pictures. I keep forgetting.  Please hold.

OK done. That was too easy.

Off topic: Here is a photo of the pizza I just mentioned. It is a Rudi’s Organic Spelt wrap topped with fresh farmers market tomato (in place of sauce), fresh mozzarella, steamed shitake mushrooms, steamed farmers market electric purple eggplant and steamed zucchini. I am trying to eat small amounts of vegetables more often to try and train my, ahem, parts, to not attack me when they get a dose of healthy.

They raffled off a free nutrition consultation with Gena, which unfortunately I did not win since I won the knife.

The next speaker was Gil Jacobs, founder of Axis, a place I am very . . . familiar with. Gil is an incredibly dynamic speaker and the entire room was enthralled listening to him. He spoke about why people get cancer, the mistakes doctors make in treating it, and how to approach cancer and other illnesses in a healthier way. He also touched on diabetes and cholesterol. It was fascinating to hear him explain why tumors form and why people with cancer lose weight, in addition to how oncologists  fail in trying to prevent the weight loss.

There is a lot of cancer in my family.

I know this is a sensitive and controversial topic (as Gil’s explanation on why tumors develop is not exactly the same as typical medical doctors’ views) and I don’t want to offend anyone by writing more details here, so please contact me if you want me to try and explain to you what I learned. I did take notes, so I won’t be completely lost! I also don’t want to make an error in wording here and skew Gil’s powerful words.

Gil did make some points I do want to repeat on here:

“What heals the body is ceasing import of matter that creates waste and cloggage”– ie, don’t eat crap. Treat your body well and eat real, whole foods, largely from plants. Don’t smoke, drink, etc. If you want to heal, eat as cleanly as you can. For anyone other than me, this should not be out of reach — veggies, fruits, nuts, sprouted grains, etc. For me, with my digestive illness, it is not as easy, but I am trying to get there.

“Specific nutrients won’t heal you” — Gil’s example was about wheatgrass, which I have been writing about lately. Wheatgrass itself, with all its amazing nutrients and vitamins, won’t heal you on its own. You can’t have a hamburger and a wheatgrass shot and think you are treating your body well. It is the entire healthy lifestyle that those who drink wheatgrass tend to have that heals them. It isn’t Vitamin X in this carrot or Vitamin Y in that broccoli, it is the healthy lifestyle as a whole.

Which reminds me I need to drink more types of vegetables in my juices! I want to take in as many nutrients as I can.

“Cleanse is a verb and not a noun” — yes, I did the Blueprint Cleanse (which Gil referred to as Footprint, resulting in lots of laughter from the room) but I didn’t do it to cleanse, I did it to try and give my struggling digestive system a break and take in more nutrients than I had in the prior 2 years where the doctors told me to avoid fruits and vegetables. I did because I wanted to do something amazing for my body.

That said, Gil explained that when people say “I’m doing a cleanse”, they’re not. Drinking juice and eating salad for 2 weeks will not undo years and years of waste accumulation, especially if you are going back to your old lifestyle once you “finish” the cleanse. Cleansing is a process that never ends, a process of treating your body in the best way you possible can, and enjoying it. It is not a cleanse if you are counting the days until it is over. Food for thought.

And speaking of BPC, someone I know couldn’t finish hers and was generous enough to offer me an entire day’s worth of cold pressed juice! More nutrients for me!

Photo break! Here I am with Gena and Diana. They write great blogs and as you might remember, I credit all the good health in my life and improvement in my GI condition to Gena.

The final speaker, David Phillips, was there to discuss Kabbalah’s take on being green. We all received a book called Kabbalah on Green. I learned a little about Kabbalah when I was in Israel two years ago. Unfortunately, this speaker talked in circles and I couldn’t guage the exact point he was trying to make. Something about ego and personal garbage being the cause of something bad. He kept referring to the time when Al Gore conceded the election and how powerful Gore’s speech felt to him at the time, which was all well and good until I found out he was 13 when that happened. I am being cynical and of course he could have been as touched by it at the time as he says. . . but I have a hard time buying it.

I am going to read the book as I am curious about Kabbalah’s take on green, which I didn’t quite learn from David.

And then, at the end, Mary made her announcement of ending BeamGreen. It is too bad because Missy and Rae both enjoyed it and I will miss these meetings; the food, the company and the wealth of information!

Read Sarah’s recap here
Read Dianas recap here
Read Missy’s recap here

(Note: I apologize for any typographical errors. My spell check is not working today, it keeps shutting itself off)

And we all have been disappointed when that happened. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy comes to mind. The book was hilarious, magical, unique. The movie didn’t deliver. And everyone who saw the movie but never read the book now thinks HHGTG sucks. And it doesn’t! I want to scream that to them! READ THE BOOK, IT IS MUCH BETTER.

But sometimes the movie might make you want to read the book. I watched Slumdog Millionaire and was enthralled. And luckily for me, I already had a copy of the book, Q&A, in my apartment. I’d had it for awhile but didn’t know the details about it. After watching that movie, I knew I needed to read the book.

And then there is The Time Traveler’s Wife. When I started working at the book company in 2006, I had to join one of our book clubs as part of my job. That meant that I got to take advantage of the initial deal — 6 books for $1 . I didn’t know what to order so I turned to my coworker Edith for suggestions.

She gave me some amazing recommendations. Some of my favorite books to date are from that initial order, including Jesus Land and The Glass Castle. But the very first one I read, the one Edith had raved most about, was The Time Traveler’s Wife.

As soon as I started reading this book, putting it down was not an option. I was in love. It was the most beautiful book I had ever read. I started telling everyone I knew about it and began giving copies to friends and family as gifts. To this day, over 3 years later, when anyone asks me for a book recommendation, that is the very first one I tell them. And you remember that creepy guy at Barnes & Noble who inquired about what I did to make my hair look so strange? THAT is the book I told him to get for his “little sister”, who it turns out was older than him. He was skeptical, but I can only hope he listened to me for his sister’s sake.

When I found out 2 years ago that The Time Traveler’s Wifewas being made into a movie, I was so happy and excited. When I found out that Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana were playing Clare and Henry, I was even more excited. I was equally excited to hear that Ron Livingston was playing Gomez. IMDB gave a Spring 2008 release date originally for this film. I could not wait.

As the time approached and I had not heard anything more about the movie — no previews, no information on IMDB — I got worried. Where was this movie! Then they pushed the release date to November 2008. Only a few more months! And soon 6 photos from the movie appeared on IMDB. Mostly the same photo, but still. It was proof that the movie was being filmed. It couldn’t be canceled after the work was done, right? Right???

The movie was then pushed back to Christmas day, 2008. In preparation I reread the book so it would be fresh in my mind for the movie. I am so happy I did because I loved it even more. And now I remembered details that I wouldn’t have otherwise.

And then the movie was pushed back again. My friends and family and I lamented that this movie might never in fact happen.

Finally I began hearing more about the movie. Previews, TV commercials, more photos on IMDB, giant cardboard signs at movie theatres. It was  finally happening. August 14, 2009. Only a couple years after it was supposed to.

And I found this fact on IMDB:

After filming was done, Eric Bana started filming Star Trek (2009) a role which required him to shave his head. However re-shoots for The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009) was needed, but production was put on hold so Eric’s hair could grow out. It took so long that the movie’s release date was pushed back for nearly a year.

Eric Bana’s HAIR??!!

Okay, whatever, not complaining. Because on Monday, I was looking up movie times for this Friday — the movie’s release date! And I came across something that I could not ignore. An early sneak preview screening of the movie, on Tuesday, August 11, with the director. The Museum of the Moving Image was showing this screening at the Time Warner Center and tickets were available for purchase!

No question. I got tickets for my best friend and me. (When I first gave this book to my best friend, she started reading it and then called me and asked me if this was some kind of joke. I told her to keep reading, and she too fell in love. She too read it again in preparation for the movie.)

Yesterday I just wanted to get through the day so I could see my movie! I checked some online message boards and many people expressed their belief that the movie would suck, that it would not be anything like the book and it would be a huge disappointment. Although I was so excited, these messaged brought me down a little. Everyone judging without seeing! Yes, I knew I might be disappointed. But it was the DAY I WAS FINALLY SEEING THE MOVIE I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR! I was too excited to care.

After a quick dinner at Whole Foods, we went to the movie. They gave out a program with excerpts from Warner Bros. production notes. I am so glad I have this! It really helps you understand what they were trying to accomplish and convey with this movie.

The movie began. I recognized the characters. I recognized the lines — many were taken straight from the book, word for word. I smiled. I cried. I was thrilled. They could not have done a more perfect job.

They left out what didn’t need to be there and included everything that did. Casting was spot on. The movie was wonderful. It really was the best it could possibly have been. As soon as it ended, I turned to my best friend with a giant smile on my face and tears in my eyes and said, “That was perfect.”

After the movie, the film’s director, Robert Schwentke, took the stage with someone from The Museum of the Moving Image for an interview. It was fascinating to hear the director talk about making this movie, the approaches he took, the casting and content decisions he made, the process, the themes he wanted to convey and the mood of each scene. There was a Q&A session with the audience and I learned more from their questions as well. It was such an incredible opportunity to hear the director of the movie based on my favorite book discuss his experience and vision in creating this film!

I’m not sure what the movie is like for people who haven’t read the book. One question to the director showed that either one major point wasn’t made clear in the movie, or the guy who asked the question just didn’t pick up on it or maybe wasn’t that bright. I don’t know. I do think everyone should read this book anyway. So if you’re thinking of seeing the movie, you might want to pick up the book. It is a very fast and very enjoyable read, and then you will have the full experience at the movie.

But for someone who loves the book and couldn’t wait to see the movie, let’s just say it exceeded all my expectations.

Audrey Niffenegger’s new novel, Her Fearful Symmetry, is coming out September 29 — I can’t wait. But first, I want to read The Time Traveler’s Wife again. This is just that kind of movie.

My doctor responded saying he doesn’t think I have any allergies.

I replied and said that I know I don’t have allergies, but this is a test for about 100 food sensitivities and I would like to know if I have any so I could avoid foods that might be making me feel even worse than I already do.

He said OK and referred me to an immunologist on his floor.

When I called to make the appointment, they advised me not to wear perfume or anything scented on the day of the appointment. I forgot and wore perfume and scented deodorant, so I had to leave work even earlier than I planned (after much stress) to go home and shower before my afternoon appointment. I had to miss an entire half day of work.

When I arrived at the doctor I had to wait an hour until she saw me. When I finally got to see her, I explained my situation. And.

She told me she does not DO this test. It’s not even considered a real medical test. I stressed out, showered, missed work only to find out it was all for nothing??!

The real question here is why did my own doctor not TELL me this?

Answer: Same reason he always tells me the wrong information whenever I ask him a question. It is because he doesn’t bother to actually FIND OUT the answer. He just makes one up on the spot.

I was mad at myself for not looking into it further myself, but now that I am thinking about it, why should I? He is my doctor. I asked him a medical question. Why should I always have to be the one to chase around the right answer? It is like this time his office insisted they did not receive a fax of one of my test reports. They put ME in charge of tracking down the report from the radiology place and bringing it to them — the doctor who ORDERED the test.

This has happened at least twice before with this doctor (the one who doesn’t care). I asked him a question about what I can and can’t do during an important week-long test. Instead of speaking to another doctor who would know the answer and get back to me with it — or even instead of simply telling me he doesn’t know, which would have been acceptable — he made up an answer. I believed it (why wouldn’t I? he is my doctor!) and it turned out to be wrong.

And the test was essentially ruined.

I called my doctor crying when I found out but he didn’t care.

And now, again, instead of picking up the phone, typing a quick email or even walking down the hall to ask the immunologist if she does this test, he made up an answer for me. He sent me to her because it was easier than taking 5 minutes to find out himself.

The immunologist turned out to be a wonderful doctor who sat with me and talked. She gave me names of two people I should see. One is another allergist (who does not take insurance) who does more in depthtesting and can even help people eat foods they used to not be able to eat. The other is a nutritionist she thinks might be good for me  since I didn’t learn what I needed to know  from my last one. I haven’t looked into them yet, I need to find what I did with that paper. She also advised me against having the surgery, which is a decision I came to on my own — and the rheumotologist I saw last week advised the same thing.

Despite how nice she was, I left this doctor crying. I was just so frustrated. I wasted an afternoon. I wasted money.

So then I turned back to the blog. I got a comment from Ashley, who told me she used Better Health USA for her food sensitivity testing and it changed her life. Their website was comprehensive and thorough, so I contacted that company — knowing full well insurance would likely not cover it — only to find out they are not yet licensed in New York.

While I know I do not have allergies, and I know that the sensitivity test may or may not be accurate, I wanted to do it just because I was curious. Maybe it will help, maybe it won’t. I’d like to find out for myself. I’m extra curious to see what it will say about dairy. For now, I will wait, as Better Health USA said they hope to be in NY by the end of the year. And maybe I will suck it up and visit the doctor the immunologist wants me to see.

Who knows? What I do know, for sure, is that I am done with the doctor who can’t be bothered to spend 5 minutes to find the correct answers to my questions. Who can’t just tell me he doesn’t know an answer, who instead makes up the answer he likes not caring that I will act on that answer and further disrupt my life. I will not be seeing him anymore.

I did get to speak to the new doctor I recently saw, the woman I liked a lot. She is just so helpful and informative! She is the one who is taking action to see what we can do next. I told her I do not want the surgery, but I am open to other less drastic options and I can’t keep going on the way I am now. She will be calling another doctor I have seen to discuss my situation, my test results and my possible options. Next week she will call me to discuss. She also told me that there are new medicines coming down the pike. That is key.

She does work in the same office as the one who doesn’t care and makes up wrong answers . . . hopefully that won’t cause a problem.

Time Traveler’s Wife Movie Preview Screening
In happier news, I am VERY excited for tonight. My best friend and I are going to see The Time Traveler’s Wife! It is my favorite book of all time. I read it twice, more recently so I would remember it better for the movie. I know movies can never live up to the standard set by the book, but I am hopeful that this will be a nice tribute — just as The Kite Runner was.

The movie comes out on Friday and I am extra excited to be seeing it before everyone else! I am going to a special screening with the movie’s director — and after the movie, there will be a discussion with him! I just want to get through today because I am SO EXCITED!

I’m looking forward to letting you all know how it was — I promise I won’t leave any spoilers!

Running
Some running news. As you know, during my staycation I ran twice! In three days! Both amazing runs. I wore my knee sleeves which I really think worked wonders. The PT had told me it wouldn’t make a difference, but only when wearing them did I feel no knee pain at all after. I ran Monday and Wednesday of last week with no problem, a first for me!

I loved my runs so much that on Saturday morning, I did it again! I wanted to run as soon as I woke up but I was STARVING and wanted to eat.  So I had some breakfast (a couple of small Nature’s Path gluten free pancakes), figuring I wouldn’t run. But after I ate, I really wanted to run. I didn’t want to do anything else. I did wait at least 30 minutes.  I called it a learning experience and off I went!

Yes, I did get a cramp. Almost right away, in my lower left side. I rubbed it as I ran and often my thoughts would wander and I would momentarily forget about it. A little more than halfway through the run, the cramp faded! I was able to run faster at this point. I started doing some sprints, nothing major, but I had never done that before. I figure that if I am running in a race, I should at least try not to come in last place!

I ran my usual route but I finished 2 whole minutes earlier! And this was despite the cramp that slowed me down too! The run lasted 34 minutes and I burned 340 calories.

That was Saturday. This morning, I decided to go for another run. I know. I am overdoing it. But now I actually do love it and understand why everyone else does too, even though I can’t go more than my about 3.2 – 3.3 miles.

I went on an empty stomach. But. I got a really bad cramp. Different from the last one, this one was on my right side, more on the side and slightly higher up, although not at my ribcage like my common cramps. This one persisted throughout the run and did not want to go away. It slowed me down greatly and I couldn’t do any sprints at all. I skipped the very last leg of my route, which is running on the pier. I finished this run in 33 minutes — just 1 minute less than my longer run a few days before. I burned 280 calories and my HR did not get higher than 185. I just couldn’t push myself today.

Towards the end of the run, I felt a tightness in my hip and a pain in my bad ankle (I sprained my left ankle in 4th grade). My body was not happy with today’s run and is telling me to REST! So I will rest.

I’ll take a few days off running and determine how I feel this weekend.

When I bought my HRM in January, I chose the Polar F7 and I am very happy with it. Now, though, I am regretting now getting a model that tracks distance. I am dying to know exactly how far I ran (MapMyRun doesn’t work well for paths/parks/piers which is my route). I had no idea back in January that I would ever run outside or care to know the distance! But now I would love to know so I can set goals and challenge myself, and maybe even sign up for a longer race next year.

But since I just spent good money on my HRM, it is silly to buy another. Polar does have a trade up option which will get me 20-30% off another model, but it is still too much money considering I just spent money on my current model.

When I bought my sneakers at a running store, they told me about Nike + iPod, which I had heard about. But the first thing they told me in the store was about how it would tell me how many calories I burned. I waved him off, since I have a HRM which is more accurate. But I didn’t consider the distance aspect. And I bought Asics (which I LOVE). And now I wish I had gotten Nikes because a $30 Nike + iPod sounds like such a great deal! (For those of you unfamiliar, it is a little sensor that goes in the Nike shoe and tracks your stats when you run onto your iPod, and then your computer.) I don’t want or need new running sneakers though. Mine are fairly new and very comfortable. Sigh.

Maybe next year! Unless you have any suggestions? Please let me know!

**Edited to add:

Thanks to a wonderful reader, I now know you don’t need Nike shoes to use the sensor! I ordered this pouch on Amazon which will hold the sensor. While it may not be as accurate as the Nike shoe, I don’t need exactness — just a general idea of distance. And my HRM will track my calories anyway. This  got great reviews. Thanks Megan!

Misc
Simba laughed — in different tones and sounds — for two hours straight. A combination of hyena laugh, low laugh, high laugh, kackle laugh (grating), laughs that sound like a repetition of the letter e,  and many others. WHAT IS SO FUNNY?!

Oh, and a girl in a store asked me how I “got my hair like this”. Which I guess is better than “What did you do to your hair?!”

Let us all say goodbye to my pink and purple bicycle. When we were getting my grown up bike, my only requirement in my head was that it be pink and purple. Random to want two colors, and likely impossible to find. That is, of course, until we went to Toys R Us and there, on the bike rack high up thing, was my pink and purple bike!

My mom is moving and will have no place for it and I was very sad to say goodbye. Behind it is my brother’s bike.

I think you are wrong and many people will not agree with you…

Ha. Let me know if you are one of the many who don’t agree that I attended Beam Green or that I listened to speakers from different companies or that I am learning how to feel better.

I know it is a bot and spam and all, but it made me laugh. Anyway!

I am back from staycation and it was truly the best staycation of all time. I just had really great days each day. Time to recap.

Monday
I woke up at 7 am (ughhh) partly because the boy said bye to me but I don’t blame him since a minute later my ALARM went off. It is set for “Weekdays Only” and I forgot to change that. Oops. I couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I woke up and made a green juice.
Juicer help needed — A couple weeks ago I decided to juice carrots. I HATED it. But ever since then, all my juices taste like carrots. I have washed the juicer in the dishwasher 4 times since then, and rinsed with it hot water more times than I can count. I still cannot get the carrot taste out of my juices! Any advice? Ughhh.

After my juice I played on the internet a little, checked my work email and then got ready for my Monday morning run. I decided to wear my knee sleeves this time. I used to wear them all the time until my PT told me they won’t make a difference. But after every run, my knees KILL me when I go down any stairs. It is unbearable. So I decided to give the knee sleeves a shot.

Being unable to escape work even on my day off, I sported a visor with my company’s (former?) logo on it.

My run was amazing. I did get my usual upper ribcage cramp early on, which was probably because I had the juice. I was able to run through the pain and it went away. The run felt much quicker than shorter than usual, even though it was the same distance as always. I think I am finally getting better at it and really becoming more of a “runner.” And for the first time, my HR did not reach the 190s! I ran for 36 minutes, burned about 340 calories and my distance was somewhere around 3.3 miles but I don’t know for sure. I wish that I bought the HRM that tracks distance, but back when I bought my Polar F7 (January) I had no idea I would ever be running outside and wanting to know how far I went!

After the amazing run, I came home and had breakfast. Then I lounged around a little, put on a bathing suit and clothes and got on the subway. This girl was on the subway too:

I don’t get which part of this outfit she thought was appropriate.

I went to Penn Station where I was surprised to see a juice bar! It had been a long time since I was there. I got a shot of wheatgrass but it didn’t taste as good as the others I’ve had. And it was more expensive. Then I took the LIRR to Queens where I met my best friend. We picked up wraps at a really cute wrap and juice place and headed out to Jones Beach. They got my wrap request wrong (why does this always happen to me!) so I only ate half of it to avoid getting sick. We laid out on the beach for hours and it felt AMAZING. I felt so peaceful and worry-free laying on the sand with my eyes closed. So much better than being at work!

The birds were bold at the beach. Look at this one standing on someone’s purse:

At 5:45 we finally left the beach and Rae drove me back to the LIRR. I has just missed one train and had some time before the next one, so I stopped at Maggie Moo’s for some ice cream. I had been  craving ice cream all day and I only ate half my wrap, so I was hungry.

I got their Better Batter flavor which was fantastic! I’d walked past Maggie Moo’s before but never went in, so I didn’t realize it was similar to Cold Stone. I got chunks of brownie mixed in. It was perfection.

I was so happy for the rest of the day! It was the most relaxing, peaceful day I have had in a very long time.

Tuesday
I woke up at 7 again because the boy forgot to close the door and I heard him puttering about the living room. Once again, I couldn’t fall back to sleep, so I grudgingly got up and made green juice. I was hungry right after, so I did what no juice drinker is supposed to do — I ate a meal right after. You’re supposed to wait awhile so your body can absorb the nutrients, but I was hungry and it was my vacation and I wanted to eat so I ate! I had cereal and it was yummy. I love cereal. I got into another bathingsuit and took my lounge chair downstairs to the water. There wasn’t much sun at this time, it was around 9:30, but I  found a spot with the sun shining on a point that jutted out into the Hudson.

I set up camp there and enjoyed the sun. I finished my book — Snow Flower and the Secret Fan – which I recommend. It was a beautiful read and I am still thinking about it. Before I finished, though, sprinklers turned on and I got wet! I moved my chair to be away from the sprinklers so I could finish my book and leave. When I finished, it was close to 12:30 and as I was walking away, different sprinklers were going on and I had to walk right through them. It felt amazing.

I made lunch – a quesadilla with scrambled eggs, raw cheddar and red peppers. I topped the quesadilla with guacamole, making it a very Mexican lunch. I have been obsessed with making quesadillas because my favorite bread product of all time is Rudi’s Organic Bakery Spelt Tortillas. They are perfect for me because they contain just 1g of fiber, are made from spelt which is so much more nutritious than anything white (the other low fiber bread choice) and are extremely versatile. I use them to make almond butter and banana wraps for lunch at work, quesadillas and pizza! More on that later.

I was so tired after lunch that I couldn’t imagine working out, which was what I had planned on my agenda for the day. I got into bed — sunblock still on because I figured I’d be outside to work out soon — and promptly fell asleep. Gross! When I woke up it was after 3. I really needed that nap after waking up at 7 for two days in a row. As if I don’t wake up at 7 five days in a row normally, and I don’t get naps then!

After my nap I was groggy but ready to go outside and rollerblade! I was so tempted to run again, but my knees were in such great condition after Monday’s run that I didn’t want to injure myself by upping my frequency to two days in a row. I did want to work out outside. It was a gorgeous day, I love being outside, I don’t have access to the boy’s gym when he has his keys with him and I didn’t want to go to Core Fusion on such a gorgeous day. I only used my rollerblades once this entire summer, so I figured it was the perfect time to try them again! And after examining them, I saw that they did in fact have a brake. I forgot ALL about that when I experienced my terrifying incident in Central Park with Missy. If only I knew!

Since it was so hot and so sunny out, I made a bold move. I decided to rollerblade wearing only shorts and a bikini top. This is MAJOR decision for me. This time last summer I wouldn’t even wear a bikini to the beach, I was so self conscious about my belly. This decision shows how far I’ve come. And I was hoping to get some more Dori color. (Dori color is not the same as regular color. When I have Dori color, I am still drastically paler than anyone who hasn’t even been out in the sun at all).

So I did it! Just like someone in LA on a boardwalk, right! I wore a shirt on my way out, then I sat down to put on my rollerblades and protective gear, took off my shirt and was on my way. I am a terrified rollerblader and I wear a helmet, wrist guards and knee pads. I always feel silly skating by other rollerbladers wearing none of these items. They always seem so confident and free and I wish I could just skate without worrying about every tiny dip.

And I just want to say, I did not feel self conscious at all!

I rollerbladed for an entire hour. I really wanted to skate up to this part of Riverside Park where I go on my runs but I was (for the second time) unable to get there. So here’s the deal. If I skate one way, it is all nice and smooth. Bicycles are not allowed to go there. If I skate in the other direction I am with the bikes. Every few feet there are 4 strips of cobblestone intended to slow the bikes down. It is difficult for me to skate over these. It is not difficult for anyone else to skate over these as I saw people effortlessly glide right through. But for me, it requires extra attention and propelling of my feet to avoid getting stuck in them.

Eventually, there is a very slight hill that I might have chosen to tackle except for the 4 strips of cobblestone directly at the bottom. I could just see myself going too fast, not able to slow down on the little hill and bang right into the cobblestone and topple over. Maybe it wouldn’t happen but I was too scared to risk it. Although I think I might next time.

Although I might walk my rollerblades up there. I will definitely have to walk them back down because there is a loooong downhill on the way back and there is no way I will ever attempt that! I saw a guy gliding easily down a hill, riding his brake. Every time I tested my brake, it didn’t seem to work that well. At least I have one! I feel much more comforted knowing I have a brake. I still can’t believe I had no idea.

After my glorious skate (my right foot used to always hurt in my rollerblade but it didn’t this time!) I went back home to shower and get ready for a dinner I was really looking forward to. In the summer of 2005, I worked on a teen tour. I was responsible (along with a few other people, although at times just one other — hi Marc!) up to 60 kids at a time. One of the kids and I became really close and still talk! She is the sweetest, most down to earth, most fun, brightest girl. I love her! So I was very excited to have  dinner with her since I hadn’t seen her in at least a year. Way too long! What shocks me most is that she was going into her second year of high school when she was my camper. Now she is going into her second year of COLLEGE. I can’t get over it. And she has a BlackBerry! All the kids do these days . . .

We went to my favorite restaurant that uses healthy ingredients Citrus – and it was fantastic. After eating we walked over to Amber where the boy was having pad thai with a friend and she got to meet him! I love it. Another relaxing, perfect, fun day.

Wednesday
I woke up once again at 7 am because the boy was talking, with the feeling of dread I normally feel on a Sunday — but to a MUCH lesser extent. I made a green juice. Thunderstorms were in the forecast and I had to decide what to do with my day. I really wanted to be outside again. I had Core Fusion during the day on my original list of things I wanted to do during my time off, but I thought about it and realized I could go to CF at any time, after work. I can’t run after work. I can only run on an empty stomach, ie, first thing in the morning. It wasn’t raining and I really wanted to run again, that is just what I did! My knee felt totally fine from Monday’s run and while running outside twice in a week is something I have never done before and I was worried about injuring myself, I decided to just do it. I wanted to. I felt great. I had this free time.

So I ran!

Another really great run! I even came across some kind of doggie meet-up, as many owners and their pups were all gathered in a section of Riverside Park. Very interesting. Although towards the end I got a ribcage cramp in a new place — higher up and on the other side. Blah. It went away. I finished this run in 36 minutes (same exact route as the last one) and burned 340 calories. My HR did get to 191 but that is still much better than 199, especially since it was hot and humid and I came back sweatier than ever.

After my shower I made breakfast and sat down to watch The View, just as I had planned. Speaking of The View, our building gym made it onto the show the next day! I recorded it since I knew it was coming because the boy was working out when they filmed there. How cool!

My toes were in desperate need of a pedicure. I had to go back to the east side for a doctor’s appointment and I figured it was a good time to pick up my mail as well. I walked all the way home (about a 45 min walk) and got a pedicure and a clear manicure at a brand new place that opened around the corner. It was very strange being back in my neighborhood because SO many stores and restaurants were gone! Very sad . . . this nail place actually took the spot of a restaurant that had first shrunk in size and then closed altogether. But it was 20% off because they are in their first month. The pedicure chair was the most comfortable I have ever been in, with a squishy pillow and all, and the price was really great. I had some time to kill before the doctor so I went to the health food store. I was making my purchases (one which included carob clusters with peanuts — just like a Mr Goodbar but better!) and at the last second a healthy raw chocolate bar caught my eye. I grabbed it and bought it and realized later when I looked at the label that it has 14 grams of fiber. Um. One bite of that and I would probably drop dead. Fiber is usually the first thing I look at when buying food but in this case I was more into the ingredient list, which is my newest priority.

Anyway, I don’t have any wishes to be rushed to the emergency room because I ate a bar. So I’ll give it to someone.

I still had some time so I stopped in to this great jewelery store that my mom recently discovered as well and loved. Even though I didn’t have much time to spend there, I was in love with everything and ended up walking out with 3 purchases! My favorite is this ring:

I have the skinniest fingers and have an impossible time finding cool rings that fit me, so I was thrilled to find the perfect ring that was adjustable! I had to get it.

Finally it was time for the doctor. I had to get tested for something that House would say I don’t have — and he is likely right. But, we had to officially rule it out.

 I wanted to walk back to the boy’s after that but I was scared that it would start to rain. I have this intense aversion to rain that makes practically no sense. I was walking around all day with my giant umbrella and everyone who asked me about it seemed surprise that rain was in the forecast! Earlier, I had considered signing up for an evening CF class with my favorite teacher, but I couldn’t commit to it because I didn’t know what the rain would be like. I don’t like having to decide so far ahead of time if I have to attend a class in the evening. Maybe on a day without rain in the forecast! And it was better to rest my knees anyway.

I decided to be safe and cab it back. It never did rain. But I think I made a good decision for my knee and hip. My hip was tight from my run and then my 45 minute walk, and I didn’t want to overdo it with my knee either when it was behaving so perfectly.

 And that night for dinner, I used my spelt wrap to make a pizza with this delicious, sweet organic tomato sauce I got (and I generally don’t like tomato sauce), fresh mozzarella and red peppers. Perfect end to my staycation.

Let’s look back on my original staycation list and see if I accomplished what I planned:

Relax – check
Read a novel (not a food/nutrition book) – check
Sleep – didn’t do so well with this one
Lay out in the sun on water by apartment – check
Take a Core Fusion class during the daytime hours – no
Rest – check
Watch The View – check
Nap – check
Go to pool/beach with best friend – check
Check work email (message overflow upon return is stressful!) – check, every day
Go for a run outdoors – double check, triple if you count my rollerblading

Not bad at all! I completed all but two of my goals for these 3 days and I ran outside more than I planned and even rollerbladed, which was not in my original plan. I am content with what I accomplished.

On Thursday, I came back to work. And I was brutally reminded of the absolute best part of not being at work:  not hearing Simba. Not even THINKING about him once or remembering his existence. WHY IS HE SHOUTING SO LOUDLY. Does he really not understand that just because someone is on the other end of a phone line, they can still hear you when you speak at a normal volume? You don’t actually have to yell for them to hear you. Or shriek. Or howl. Or say HMPH.

Also, when you sit in a cubicle, you DON’T use speakerphone. Especially on personal calls! WTF. You also don’t leave your conference call on speakerphone and walk away from your desk.

He hasn’t gotten off the phone once since I’ve been back.

Currently reading: The Next Thing on my List. I actually didn’t want to buy this book originally. I was at a buy 2 get 1 free table at Barnes & Noble and really wanted Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and People are Unappealing, so I needed a  third book since it would be free. There wasn’t much else on the table that appealed to me. I had seen The Next Thing on my List before and while it sounded like it could be cute it also sounded . . . I don’t know the word. Shamltzy? I don’t know. I thought it could be maybe cute but it could also not.

Now I am reading it and I am SO glad I got it. I am really enjoying this book! It isn’t like what I had worried it would be like . . . it is just very good, very funny, very cute and a great easy, summer read. I am excited to finish! And I heard it is being turned into a movie, which I can definitely see happening.

Yesterday I was at Barnes & Noble again and I picked up a random book and glanced at the back cover only to see the name Dori on it! That is the name of a character in the book. Not knowing anything more about this book other than that it is in the New Fiction section and has a character named Dori, I bought it. I had to! Right?

It’s called More Than It Hurts You and upon reading the back cover when I got home, it actually looks  good! I am excited to read that next and see my name throughout an entire book. Wonder where the author got the name from!

Oh! And I got Regina Spektor tickets for October at Radio City! I didn’t realize she was at the Beacon in June, so I am VERY excited to see her live for the first time. Any other Regina fans out there? And now it is the weekend again! I’m excited for brunch and kayaking with my closest girlfriends on Sunday — one who just got back from birthright and I can’t wait to hear all about it. And I owe you another frustrating doctor story next week.

I leave you with my sister and good friend, Nicole and Doggie. Since my mom is moving, I had to go there last weekend and will be going again tomorrow to clear out my stuff. I kept Nicole with me through college and on, but Doggie stayed at home. Now they are finally reunited:

According to the website,  BeamGreen is an eco-educational community dedicated to The Green Baby Movement! BeamGreen is a Green Social Club for MEN & WOMEN OF ALL AGES – a forum created for the sharing of Green knowledge and wisdom in order to guide people towards superior health and wellness.

You might be wondering why I — young and unmarried as I am — would be attending an event from an organization dedicated to the Green Baby Movement! Well, let me just say, BeamGreen is so, so, SO much more than that. It is a community where like-minded people (and those who want to learn more) can come together and share delicious food, listen to inspiring and motivating speakers, win raffle prizes and come home with a wealth of new knowledge and information.

At least that’s what it was for me.

I wanted to attend last month after a number of events: reading about the meetings on Gena and Heather’s blogs, meeting the founder’s mother and learning more about it, and getting even more encouragement to attend from another friend! Unfortunately, I had a work event the same night and was not able to attend last month, which was unfortunate because Gil Jacobs was speaking and I wanted to hear what he said, as I am quite familiar with his business. Luckily I got to hear all about it from Diana. And Gil will be speaking next month, and every month through November!

I held the date for July’s event and last night was the night! I arrived at Tavern on the Green at 7 (my first time there!) and Diana arrived seconds after me! And seconds after that? Gena showed up! It was so nice to catch up with the bloggers. I hadn’t seen Diana since our last painful Physique 57 experience and Gena since March at the blogger brunch!

We entered the room where BeamGreen was being held and I was impressed by the array of foods available! There were fruits, veggies, veggie sushi, vegan cookies from Babycakes and fresh juice from Liqueteria. I got a few avocado rolls, a chocolate chip cookie and a green juice. There were also wheatgrass shots, but I wasn’t brave enough (yet) to try them. Later in the night? Well, that’s another story! More on that soon.

Diana and I sat down and snacked on our foods and then the founder, Mary Boehmer, took the stage. Let me just tell you — this woman is my age but from her poise, personality, drive and presence, you would think she was older. I’m not saying she looks old (far from it!), but she just carries herself in a way that is so . . . different from myself! And keep in mind, she is my age and started this amazing foundation. I forgot to take a picture of her but here is one Gena posted from a previous event:

Some information about Mary, from the website:

Mary K. Boehmer, HHI, CEC, ICF, founded Beam Green, LLC in January 2009. She has dedicated her life to the creation of children who are strong, vibrant, and healthy who will contribute to the world in countless ways. Her belief that through love and proper nutrition all of humanity can grow stronger motivates her to research and bring the best to The Green Social Club.

Mary spoke for a few minutes and gave us rundown of what our night would be like. She introduced the first speaker, Jared Koch, author of Clean Plates NYC, AKA my new favorite book that I won’t leave the house without. If you live in NYC, please get this book!

Jared, a wellness counselor and nutritional consultant, decided to create what no one had created before — a guide to NYC restaurants based on quality of ingredients (what types of oils, free range chicken, grass fed beef, etc), taste and overall health. There are many guides to vegetarian eating, but they don’t necessarily give the healthiest or best tasting options. Jared, along with food critic Alex Van Buren, set out to hundreds of restaurants in New York City.

The book is combined into two sections. After an introduction which explains the restaurant criteria for appearing in this book and an explanation on why we should eat healthier, part 2 consists of Jared’s five precepts that he believes will help us all find the best diet for ourselves. The second section includes 75 restaurant reviews, written by Alex, the food critic – these are the 75 tastiest, healthiest restaurants in NYC. I plan to use these as my guideline for going out to eat from now on. Luckily for me, the boy is on board! I haven’t read the entire book yet (I just got it last night, sheesh!) but from what I have read, the reviews are fantastic. There really is something for everyone, as each restaurant is marked by a number of criteria, such as price (the restaurants range from fast food to super fancy), vegetarian friendly, flexitarian friendly, meat-based, vegan, macrobiotic, raw, naturally swetened desserts and more.

After the reviews (which include Citrus & Josie’s, two of my fav restaurants!) are lists of restaurants that didn’t make the cut for the main list, but are still better options than most restaurants. These are divided into two lists:

1. Restaurants that passed the health standards but didn’t make it past the taste criteria (hey, they can’t ALL be featured as the “best in NYC!”)
2.Restaurants that tasted great but didn’t meet all the health requirements (ie, some of their meat was sustainably-raised, but not all. Or not enough vegetables on the menu)

There is also a list of great health food markets. In addition, there is a helpful glossary of terms and a comprehensive appendix so you can easily find whatever it is you are looking for.

This book is my guide! I even bought a signed copy for my best friend (oops! just ruined the surprise!) because we never know where to eat when we are in the city — and now we will always know! It is nice to have a friend who is interested in this — and she plans to join me at BeamGreen next month!

Anyway, I just want to say — get that book! The more we demand high quality, healthful ingredients, the more restaurants will serve them!

Something else Jared mentioned stuck with me. He talked about how he went through this panel of food sensitivity testing, where they tested like 80 foods and gave him a list of what foods caused inflammation for him that he should avoid. Once he started avoiding these foods, he felt so much better. More energy, less medical problems. I had vaguely heard of this before, but once Jared said it I started getting angry that none of my doctors mentioned this. I am not saying my GI problems are because of a food allergy – because they are most definitely NOT — but because if there are foods I eat every day that I am sensitive to and make me feel even worse, I don’t want to eat them!

I called my doctor today and he wasn’t thrilled about my request, since we already know I don’t have a food allergy. I responded to him: I don’t think I have a food allergy, I just think that if I can avoid foods that cause inflammation for me and make me feel even worse, maybe I won’t suffer all the time as I do now.

He gave me the name of an immunologist, and I have an appointment to see her next Thursday!

Moving forward.

After a short break (where I got another juice!) we sat back down to hear from Green Depot, a company that sells anything you need for the home — all environmentally friendly and affordable. It’s like Home Depot, as they said, but smaller and better for the environment. Whether you need cleaning products for your home or you are redoing your house or building a new one, this is definitely the place you would want to shop at and support. Especially if you have or plan to have kids.

After this, Mary announced raffle winners. We all received a ticket when we came in, and had a 1 in 6 chance of winning something! People walked away with prizes such as really cool wheatgrass shot glasses (okay, regular shot glasses but they should be used for wheatgrass!), books such as The China Study (which I really want to read!) and the Engine 2 Diet, (author speaking at BeamGreen next month!), organic bath products, gift cards to Liqueteria, a coconut cleaver, a tomato knife, yoga toes, wheatgrass from Greengrass Life and more. Not to mention the prize I really wanted to win — a complimentary food coaching session with Gena! (I forgot to take a picture of her when she got up on stage. I’ll steal Diana’s later.) I kept hoping I wouldn’t win the other prizes so I could have a chance to win Gena’s. But then I didn’t win anything! Maybe next time.

The next presentation was absolutely incredible. Husband and wife team Melissa and Jovany spoke about their company, Greengrass Life (website under construction; it will be up and running on Monday!) They plant, grow and delivery wheatgrass all around the NYC area. Jovany and Meliza both come from Hispanic backgrounds, where they grew up on feasts of rice and beans and beef and chicken. Jovany questioned this food from an early age, seeing how it made his uncles feel after meals. He became a personal trainer and eventually met his wife-to-be, Meliza, who was overweight herself.

Someone close to Jovany suffered from Hepatitis C which led to cancer. He watched this person become worse and worse, and after the doctors told Jovany (who, by the way, bears a striking resemblance to Dave Matthews) that he could not donate his liver, and in fact there was nothing he could do, Jovany took matters into his own hands. He gave this person a shot of wheatgrass every single morning. At her next blood test, all her stats had stabilized and she was doing MUCH better — and feeling much stronger.

From there, Jovany began to realize the wonders of wheatgrass. His wife, Meliza, had a slew of medical problems from being overweight. She lost the weight (in a fairly unhealthy way) and her medical problems remained. She began taking wheatgrass twice a day, every day. Six weeks later, her medical problems were  gone.

This couple saw firsthand the healing powers of wheatgrass, and made it their mission to heal others in this way too. They started Greengrass Life and set out to find the perfect wheatgrass to plant. As you might know, wheatgrass often tastes bad and does not go down easily. It can also make you nauseous and not feel great. They and their two year old daughter tasted different types until they found the perfect — sweet — type. This is what they plant — and by the way, when they do plant it, they think of the sick people they know, think of positive healing thoughts and inject positive energy into each batch. Each tray is personalized to the individual getting it — their names are on it — so it truly is a caring and personal company. While they have employees working for them — weighing, messengering — Meliza and Jovany do all the planting themselves. They truly believe in their product and put so much care and thought into it, I knew I had to try it.

And I did. And I loved it! So much that I bought a wheatgrass shot today at my local juice bar — expecting it to not taste as good — and was pleasantly surprised when it was sweet as well. I am considering joining Greengrass Life and making it every day for the boy and I (he expressed an interest! but first, he needs to try some this weekend) and see if we can improve our own health. I am considering it, but for now, I am happy to buy it at Elixir.

Greengrass Life works like this: You buy a wheatgrass juicer (Greengrass Life will deliver it to you with your first greengrass delivery if you want) which run as low as $45. Every week, you get a fresh delivery of wheatgrass to your door from a messenger. It costs about $23 a week, which is about $3.25 a day. While that was the price I paid at Elixir, I didn’t have it first thing in the morning when it is most beneficial, and that was only one shot. I am not totally sure, but I think you’d get more than that each day with Greengrass Life’s delivery. Also, Greengrass Life uses only organic soil and organic seeds. Who knows what I am getting at Elixir? The price is definitely worth it if you are committing to drinking wheatgrass. (And Gena was generous to offer me her wheatgrass juicer!)

Of course, they spoke about the benefits of wheatgrass and I came home and researched it some more. Once the Greengrass Life site is up and running on Monday, it will explain their growing process and benefits of wheatgrass. For now, read the benefits of wheatgrass here. The chlorophyll is particularly a healing agent for diseases such as cancer. And Jovany explained that 2 shots of wheatgrass is the equivalent of 5 pounds of salad. Think about eating a 5 pound salad! And as I can’t eat salad, you will be sure I will be taking my wheatgrass!

I have the pamphlet here but I can’t transcribe it. I will link to the website again once it is up and running so you can read the history of Greengrass Life and more nutritional benefits.

We also received a folder full of information. There were pamphlets and fact sheets about wheatgrass and Greengrass Life, a Nutrition for Kids pamphlet, a guide to when fruits and vegetables are in season by month, and a Nutrition Rainbow from The Cancer Project, which shows what essential nutrient each color fruit and vegetable contains and what it protects against.

Very cool, right! I love all the contents of the folder and sat with the boy when I got home (close to 11!) and went over all the material with him. I am SO excited to go back next month, and I am strongly considering joining. The boy might come with me next time, and my best friend will. If you are in the NYC area and would like to attend, I think you should really give it a try.

A large part of the reason I am so into this is because of my chronic GI illness. Thanks to the blogging community, I have come across incredible resources that will help me achieve the best health I can. Not only do I want to feel better, but I want to give my body everything it is missing from 2 years of not being able to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Thanks to Gena, I now drink green juice first thing every morning and see a friend of hers who helps me improve my condition. Thanks to Gena, Heather, Melissa and Diana I attended BeamGreen, where I will continue to learn more than I could ever imagine on my own. Thanks to BeamGreen, I will now be adding wheatgrass to my diet on most days. Thanks to BeamGreen, I am seeing an immunologist next week and might learn what foods to avoid in order to feel better.  Thanks to other bloggers, I saw Food, Inc and read books like In Defense of Food and Real Food and Naturally Thin and Rethinking Thin and The Omnivore’s Dilemma and The China Study. I am taking my health into my own hands, learning what is best for my body (which no doctor has advised), doing what I can to prevent cancer and other disease, doing what I can to improve my own unfortunate medical condition, learning as much as I possibly can about how to get vital nutrients into my body, how to eat REAL food and how to thrive. The more I learn about health and nutrition, the more I feel like I am in control of my body and my illness.

I look forward to more BeamGreen events!

Oh and a few of you recommended I pick up The Omnivore’s Dilemma– I actually wrote promotional emails about that book during its peak of popularity when I worked at the book company, so I got my copy that way back in 2006 or 2007  Although I am beginning to worry that when I got rid of a zillion books last year, I identified that one as “one I will never read” — not realizing what exactly it was. I have to check at my mom’s to see if I brought it there . . . if not, a second copy will have to be gotten! And I picked up Real Food by Nina Planck this weekend! And I just want to add that I love the Amazon app for my BlackBerry!

As I said, I have so much to say about In Defense of Food, but today isn’t the day because I need to put a lot more time and thought into the entry than I can give today. I hope to give my review this week. But for now, I will just say go read it. It already changed the way I eat. I’ll explain more during my review.

Food Updates
Today was free pastry day at Starbucks. I was excited to try their new banana bread since I LOVE banana bread so very much. Their new version contains 30% REAL banana.

It did not taste good.

I was really surprised first that it was not moist at all, and then that it had no flavor. It was almost like cardboard. I couldn’t finish it, which says a lot because I always love to overdose on banana bread. I can eat an entire loaf in one sitting. And I have. But this new Starbucks version . . . not good. And not worth 480 calories.

See how dry it is? My recommendation: skip the banana bread.

While browsing the aisles at Jubilee recently, I discovered gorgeous, shiny, fresh looking loaves of challah. The best part? They had whole wheat! I knew what I had to do . . .

CHALLAH FRENCH TOAST!

The first weekend opportunity I had to make this amazing treat was Sunday. When I woke up I ran down to Jubilee and bought the challah, some more eggs and a very ripe banana. I meant to take a picture of the egg information to show you, but I forgot — and my camera is having a problem. I couldn’t find the battery’s charger so I went to Best Buy to buy a new one but they don’t sell the chargers that come with the camera — instead, they sell travel chargers. I bought one that the salesman said he would trust with his kids, whatever that means. Problem is, it doesn’t work. Yes, my battery fits in one of the size charger things, and yes the green light is on when the battery is in there — but the green light never turns to red to indicate the charging is complete. And my battery becomes more and more dead each time I use the camera.

And I don’t have the receipt or the box because I stupidly believed the salesman.

Anyway, the eggs I get are organic, omega 3, from antibiotic and hormone free chickens who wander freely all day long, according to the packaging. I can’t remember the brand name right now. I believe this is the best I can do. I did see eggs at the farmer’s market on Saturday but I was carrying too much. Maybe next week!

Anyway, I brought the products home and cut up the challah (all while the boy was still asleep!) I threw 5 eggs, half a cup of organic whole milk, cinnamon, a tiny drop of vanilla extract (it has corn — boo. Won’t use more than a tiny drop until it is finished, then I will not buy it again) and honey into a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl I mushed up the very ripe banana. I also tasted the challah and it was amazing as it was, so moist . . . so I was very excited to taste in it’s french toasted form.

And then I made two batches of french toast, using the entire challah. I dipped the challah into the large mixing bowl and threw it on a big pan, tossing more cinnamon on while I cooked it. For two of the pieces, I soaked them in mushy banana before putting them on the pan. Those were my pieces. I got this idea from Heather and knew I had to have it!

It came out AMAZING. The best french toast I have ever made. I had my 2 banana pieces and one regular piece. The banana ones were much better! But of course I loved it . . . the real question was: what did the boy think?

He LOVED it. He couldn’t stop saying how great the french toast was! He ate most of the loaf and was full and satisfied after, which is a big thing since he is usually still hungry!

French Toast                                                                                                            Banana French Toast

 We also used Whole Foods Organic Maple Syrup. Perfect breakfast!

Both days this weekend I laid out on the water. This was my view:

It was gorgeous! My best friend came on Saturday and I met her at a little farmer’s market where I picked up some peaches, kale and cucumbers. Then we walked down to the water and used cool looking swirly lounge chairs that are chained to the ground. We talked about In Defense of Food and just relaxed. That night I met my friend Jen, who lives in the DC area and who I haven’t seen in a year (not counting last week when I ran into her in the mall) at a wine and chocolate bar called Ayza. The food was blah but I did have a chocolate martini! We sat outside and had a lot of time to catch up!

On Sunday, after my big french toast breakfast, I went back to the same spot as Saturday to lay out. Only this time I messed up applying my spray sunblock, and the entire inside of my right leg is a swollen, painful burn. But I’m glad I got to lay out! I had planned to work out after (the day before I did elliptical for 45 — yay for flows!) but my stomach wasn’t feeling great because I can’t really eat big meals, and I ate 3 pieces of french toast. Not a big deal, I was so happy with the food! So I rested and resting was nice.

Medical Updates
Last week I saw a new GI doctor that my regular one referred me to. He actually sent me to her months ago but the soonest I was able to get an appointment was July 14! Finally the day arrived and WOW. This woman is the doctor I have been waiting for. She sat with me for 2 whole hours, creating a timeline of my entire history and going through literally EVERYTHING. When we started discussing surgery, she told me that there are actually a couple other surgical options that are not as invasive as the only option I had been given — and are reversible. That is so important to me. Part of the reason I basically decided not to get the major surgery was because there is no turning back — and what if a pill is invented in 10 years that will cure me if I take it once a day? But it is too late for me? And what if this major surgery doesn’t even work, since it is not guaranteed? It was so refreshing to hear these other surgical options.

The doctor thinks I ahould go see a surgeon she highly recommends who deals with this all the time. She said she would write him a note and provide him with all my information, and when I meet with him he can go over my case and provide his opinion — do I need surgery, what surgical options do I have, can I get better without it, what does he think overall? These are all questions I would love to hear his input on, as he sees cases like mine all the time.

The topic of autoimmune diseases was also brought up, and she mentioned I would need to get tested for those (It’s not Lupus?) before surgery could even be considered. We would also need to rule out a couple other diseases and problems as well. I am really glad I found a doctor who really understands and wants me to do the best I can. She insisted — as I learned on my own, the hard way — to eat a low fiber diet. I love that she understood my case so well as to advise me on the best food for my condition. If only my initial doctors told me this, I wouldn’t have suffered nearly as much and as long in the beginning.

In other medical news, I received this very scary letter in the mail, about my shoulder injury:

Our review of your medical bills received by our client indicates that your medical condition/injury may have been caused by an accident. Should this be the case, your health plan may be entitled to recover from a responsible party and/or have another party assume the primary responsibility for the payment of your claim. We may notify your insurance carrier to deny your claims.

To give you a brief summary, one day out of nowhere my shoulder was hurting very badly. The pain never went away, and now, 7 months later, it is still not in perfect condition. I have AC joint osteolysis, otherwise known as Weightlifter’s Shoulder. Except I don’t lift weights, and I never experienced any trauma to the shoulder. Also keep in mind I pay $500 a month just to HAVE medical insurance.

And now my insurance doesn’t want to pay!

I called the company and told them that I don’t know how I hurt my shoulder; it just started hurting one day. The woman on the phone asked me what my doctor said caused it. I said he couldn’t know since I didn’t know. She said surely he must have said something (trying to get me to admit an accident?) and I said, again, that there is no way he could know how I hurt myself if I couldn’t tell him this information myself. She asked me if I am getting treatment and I  told them my insurance ran out for PT. The woman sighed and said she would make a note on my record.

I really hope my insurance pays for my shoulder MRI and office visits! I had a followup visit scheduled for July 30. I canceled this appointment because I can’t be sure it will be covered. I don’t think I can  go back to the orthopedist anymore. Hopefully my shoulder pain doesn’t flare up again . . .

Nothing is ever easy, is it?

Speaking of nothing being easy,I got my first Verizon bill since having my new BlackBerry and I was shocked to see that the salesman in the store lied to me about all the costs! In the store, he had asked me if I would use the BB for work. I said no, and he said “OK, then your data plan will be $29.99 a month.” Great! In addition, I told him I wanted to lower my calling plan to the cheapest one ($39.99). He said that would be done as well.

You can imagine my surprise when my bill came and my calling plan was $59.99 and my data plan was $44.99.

I have to think that this guy knew exactly what he was doing, wanted a big commission, and assumed a silly little girl like me would never notice the price on the bill.

I noticed. I called Verizon and got it all fixed. While they can’t do anything about the time that passed, and I did lose money because of that guy (GRRRR), going forward I am paying the correct amount. The nerve! And when the boy and I went back to that same Verizon store to get him the NEW BlackBerry on Sunday, they were not nice! We walked in and were immediately greeted by someone. We told him we were there to buy the new BlackBerry and he signed us in. We were “next” on the list for sales. 30 minutes later, we were still next and still waiting. We had a movie to catch and we asked them how much longer it would be. The guy looks up at the screen and says “Good news! You’re next!” I told him we were next since we got there a half hour ago. He didn’t seem to care. We told them we were leaving — keep in mind we knew exactly what we wanted, it is very expensive, and we were prepared to buy it right then. And I thought they get commission but no one cared that we were leaving. They said “bye” and we walked out. And they lost a $250 sale.

Like I said, nothing is easy!

But some things are pretty. Look at the sky the other night:

Running
I just wanted to tell you all that I went for a run early yesterday morning again! It was the best run of my life! I know I say that every time, but that is because it keeps getting better. Early morning is definitely the way to go for me since I don’t think I can run with any food in my tum. I woke up at 6, got ready and was out the door! I started my run as soon as  I stepped outside and went down my usual path. I felt amazing! It was a gorgeous morning, it was warm out, the path wasn’t crowded and I didn’t feel any pain. A few minutes in a song came on my iPod that I wanted to sing out loud to — so I did! That made my run SO much more fun! I was singing The Steps of Saint Patrick by Jason LeVasseur, one of my favorite songs that always makes me feel happy. It made running even less painful and so much better. I stopped whenever anyone got near me though — I do have some shame!

I also sang a DMB song later in my run which also felt so wonderful! I can’t remember which one now but I think it was Old Dirt Hill. I’ll have to go back and check my running iPod for a reminder. But I loved it!

Usually when I run, it is more like jogging in place with a little forward movement. Yesterday I was surprised to find myself actually propelling myself forward a few times! Actually running! With no knee or chest pain or cramps! And I even passed 2 different people, which never happens! I felt amazing. My run took less time to finish, but I also started it earlier and ended it later than I had been, so my time was 31 minutes. Max HR was 196, average HR 176, calories burned 300. Not bad!

And the best part? My left knee felt GREAT! However, throughout the rest of the day, I could not walk down stairs without crying in pain from the the outside part of my right knee. Looks like my patella femoral pain syndrome (along with my bursitis) has left my left knee and taken up residence in my right. The same thing happened last week. Luckily, it didn’t hurt until after my run.

I will continue to run no more than once a week so it doesn’t get worse. I need to actually do this 5K!

This Week
My camera battery is officially dead. I am very upset! I do have to say that the battery has lasted MONTHS without being charged, which means that Canon is a very good company. I’ll have to make it into Best Buy on Thursday or Friday. That is because tonight I have my last session at the very cool NYC boutique gym that I can finally review for you this week and tomorrow night I am attending Beam Green with Gena and Diana and I don’t know who else. Anyone else going? I am very excited!

I am reading a hilarious book right now that had me laughing on the subway and outside while laying out. It is called People are Unappealing: Even Me by the witty, fantastic writer Sara Barron. While I haven’t finished the book yet, I already recommend it to you all because of Chapter Two and something called The Porn.

Enjoy!