My broken window.

Welcome to OAKLAND!

The notion of broken windows has been on my mind lately.

Each time I park my car and walk away—Im  convinced when I return it will either not be there or have a broken window.

More than negative thinking or using law of attraction in the wrong manner—it’s felt like a form of self-protection.

This way, if I return and my vehicle hath been, um, (finger quote) altered (unFQ) it’s neither devastating nor shocking—it simply IS.

As a result it immediately snagged my attention when I saw Gretchen Rubin had posted about broken windows.

I dont typically read her blog—myriad reasons—but I had to see what she was chatting about.

Did Gretchen live in OAKtown!?Did we share my fear o’the smashed glass!?

I practically dropped my ipad I clicked over in such a rush.

Not surprisingly, her blog addressed a different twist on the broken window focus—-and yet *still* related back to my Oakland experience and our healthy living journeys.

Rubin discussed Broken Window theory in general–an idea with which Id been unfamiliar and one which makes a *ton* of sense.

Basically the broken window theory of policing is once we as a community begin to accept small crimes as part of life—see photo above—more serious crime tends to escalate.

Ever the wise writerwoman, Rubin then paralleled the theory to her life and shared:

My “broken windows” are the particular signs of disorder that make me feel out of control and overwhelmed

This resonated with me immediately.

All of it.

From the fact Im beginning to feel we Oakland Peeps are too blase about (literal) broken windows to the fact when I read her post I had my OWN broken window sitting next to the computer.

This:

scene of the crime.

Ive joked for years about the fact I OWN MY SHIT TRASHTASTIC CONSUMPTION.

I frequently tweet/facebook/yammer in your InRealLife face how I have one Mommy Merlot (AKA Diet Coke) a day needed or not….and it’s always needed.

I dont drink. I dont smoke. I dont eat fast food. Im 99.9% sugar free. I exercise.  Im completely ok with one trashy drink a day.

My broken window?

My sign of YEP. Things are slip sliiiiding down the healthy living slope to sluggish, less healthyville?

When I reach for that second bottle of the day *and* I open it. 

(I’ll admit I frequently reach.  Im tired. Im weak. I often have moments of Oh this would make me feel better!!! & remember it will not.  Water, movement or a protein rich snack will perk me up.)

When I open my second bottle is when my window breaks & cascading toward less healthy living begins.

I dont frequently read Gretchen’s blog—but Im so glad I stopped and read that afternoon.

Im a firm believer in awareness and being an informed consumer.  Shifting to framing my second diet coke of the day as a broken window has already stopped me from partaking a few times.

There is something far more powerful about asking myself:

Do you really wanna smash that window?  Is it worth it to trigger the downward cascade?

Than merely thinking:

I probably shouldn’t have a second bottle.

Now you.

Whats your broken window? What seemingly small act actually serves to SPARK a downward spiral in your healthy living?

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I’m not wearing any makeup in this pic.

First, a little background… My face got really bad in November 2012. I was having terrible-terrible breakouts, probably due to me being an old & crusty hormonal woman on the verge of geriatric splendor. Then I started doing my natural face care routine and the breakouts calmed down dramatically.

But wait! What remained was a ton of dark spots & scarring from where I had been picking at my face like a battle rat clawing at its prey. I had to resort to wearing makeup every day to cover those spots & scars — something I never had to do before in all my life. The breakouts stopped, thanks to good face care, but my skin still looked terrible.

Then I started juicing and my face began to clear up at an accelerated rate. It happened very, very quickly. Less than 2 months after the start of juicing, I’m back to wearing NO make up again. Sure, I still wear it on occasion, but not everyday and only when I feel like it.

I’m grateful to be juicing!

Sidenote about my morning meal planning: I drink my Shakeology in the morning and slurp on my juiced greens in the afternoon (about 4X per week). When I was previously drinking the juiced greens in the morning immediately following my workout, I noticed that my post-workout recovery was horrible (ravenous morning hunger & prolonged muscle soreness). I need protein in the morning for adequate fueling and recovery, which is why I re-introduced Shakeology as my morning meal and pushed back the juice-drinking until the afternoon. This is working out wonderfully for me.

Do what works for you and be awesome.

I hope you’re having a Good Memorial Day. I wrote this post while in a food coma (you impressed?), although I was not as greedy as anticipated. Darn.

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Workout Motivation: Speed Rope, Cardio Cartwheels and Quads Blast

Video mash-up from two of my recent workouts. Don’t let those Cardio Cartwheels fool ya. 50 cartwheels in a row will damn sure help the fatty parts to melt. I did the squat pulses & sexy(?) legs stretches in-between loads of laundry. Had to squeeze in that leg work somehow. ((winks))

Some of my fitness tools from the video:

NOW GO KICK SOME AZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Blog to Book: Musings from My Weight Loss Journey [Kindle Edition]

 I SO should be sleeping but I couldn’t go to bed with out posting really quick! 

Tomorrow I’m heading to Toronto for TBEX, a conference specifically for travel bloggers. I wouldn’t categorize myself quite as a travel blogger YET, but it’s something I want to learn more about in hopes of growing TheUnworldlyTravelers into a thriving blog giving me more opportunities and reasons to travel.

If you remember, all of this was something I put on my birthday bucket list last year and as you are well aware, I’m not getting any younger. The time to DO is now. :)

My plan tomorrow morning is to go to the 6 a.m. CrossFit class (because I’m obsessed,) run my mile, and head to the airport. It’s going to be quite a challenge considering I’m not completely packed and it’s 11:30 p.m. but you’ll have this. I’ll sleep on the plane.

Anyway, the real reason I’m here is announce my Blog To Book called From Fat to Skinny to Healthy: Musings From My Weight-Loss Journey. I worked with the editors at Hyperlink.com to package some of my archives in book form for the Kindle. The idea is to have a collection of posts that give my story and thoughts on weight loss in a easy-to-access format.

At first I wasn’t sold on the idea considering my archives are all available here and I don’t actually own a Kindle, but then I realized others may find it helpful.

So there you have it, a new book, a trip to Toronto, oh! And I had fun with a new breakfast idea on GreenLiteBites using chia seeds!

I was on a roll today even though I had to put out a few FitBloggin‘ fires and I took the kids to the pool.

I think I thrive off busy. :)

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Raw carrot cake POWERBALLS! (guest post)

Hi everyone!

My name is Kasey & I blog over at Powercakes about healthy eating, gluten free recipes, fitness, & my day to day life!

I am so excited to be guest posting on Carla’s blog.

She is one of the first blogs I ever started reading & she motivates me every day to follow my dream.

I am currently starting my own business with some products launching this year – super excited! I can’t believe it’s only been about 2 years since I started blogging. It has truly changed my life for the better.

I have to say, over the last 10 years I have struggled with digestive issues that have led me to cutting out gluten, some dairy, & other foods that were causing some skin irritants. Figuring out the best options for my digestion has been a long road.

Recently I have reduced animal protein consumption and I have never felt better. My energy is way up, my digestion is on point, & most of my TMI symptoms are no longer an issue.

I’ve learned to embrace the whole plant based foods such as fruits, veggies, legumes, healthy fats, clean carbohydrates, & many super foods!

I truly believe in my motto “Be True To You” because everyone is so different. Not one person’s digestive system is alike. Instead of judging others based on food choices, I love to embrace the difference and become inspired by their choices!

Today I am sharing a Raw recipe with you that is one of my favorites snack any time of the day and can be enjoyed by all. It’s raw Carrot Cake Power Balls with a simply date syrup!

Ingredients:

1 cup Soaked Dates Soak dates in about 2 cups of water over night in the fridge & then removed pits.1/4 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes3 Peeled Carrot Sticks (chopped)1/2 Cup Soaked Nuts I used Brazil Nuts but any soaked nut would work. (Soak overnight in a covered container in the fridge with enough water to cover all nuts in the fridge. Nuts are easier to digest when you soak them & they blend easier for the recipe.)2 tsp of Cinnamon1 tsp pure vanilla extract1 tsp Nutmeg½ tsp Ginger½ tsp Cloves

Blend all ingredients in a food processer until combined If the raw dough is too dry, add a splash of water or syrup (recipe below) from your Soaked Dates until the dough sticks together.

Form your sticky dough into POWERBALLS with your hands. Roll the balls into some more coconut & let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Store in the fridge for a delicious snack any time!

Extra Bonus? The liquid left over from your soaked dates can also be used as a simple syrup!

Soaked Date Simple Syrup:

Soak 1 cup of dates in about 2-2.5 cups of water. Once you drain the dates, you’re left with a simple syrup! This is a great natural sweetener for drinks or other recipes! If you need more liquid in the recipe, you can add back in some of this syrup recipe to make it stick together more.
ENJOY!

You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and on my POWERCAKES blog.

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OMGeeeee. Raw Honey!

Unheated. Unfiltered. Nothing removed. You must get your claws on some raw honey.

You won’t find this stuff in the regular grocery store. I got mine at the Amish farmer’s market.

But do not fret! You can haz yours, too. I stumbled upon the Honey Locator website (run by the National Honey Board). The site helps you locate not only raw honey in your surrounding area, but also the suppliers that have specialty honeys, like whipped, organic, kosher, and even honey combs.

As for raw honey, the texture is grainy, but melts down nice and smooth, and blends well. Raw honey is especially delicious in a hot cup of tea.

Cinnamon & Honey Natural Remedy: I recently became very interested in the benefits of cinnamon and honey together. Every now and then, I take 1 teaspoon of raw honey and sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon. Then I devour it. NOM! Not only is it tasty, but it does the body good. There’s also some talk that the cinnamon & honey combo has weight loss benefits, but the jury is still out on that one.

I will bet you a gazillion-billion dollars (because I’m rich, beyotch) that if you try raw honey you will never want that golden stuff they sell in the plastic bear at the grocery story. Keep your eyeballs peeled back and on the lookout for raw honey. M’kay?

Ps. I confess, dammit! I’m not really rich. Somebody give me a loan so I can buy me some desserts. Anyone? … anyone?

((All I hear is crickets.))

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No electronics at the pool!

For us American-types it’s memorial day. For many of us it’s nearing summertime. I had no plans to rereun this post until a friend shared a near-miss with her daughter yesterday. She said to me pretty much what I share below regarding how THANKFUL she was she never, ever, ever uses her smartphone near a pool.

Note how this photo was NOT taken at the pool.

First, HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY to us American types.

Id imagine, even more than weekends, today is the day where blog posts go to wither & die.

The thing is, more than any other day, Id like to imagine my post today is *highly* applicable to today.

(does that even make any sense? is it like “allow myself to introduce myself” phrasing? sadly it all makes sense to me.)

I have a story to share.

A fleeting, frightening moment which made this highly plugged-in Mama grateful for the fact she UNPLUGS when the child arrives home.

It was a lovely, scorching HOT afternoon in the ATX & friend invited us over to swim.

I eagerly accepted. Part for the water-play & a lot for the friendship-time.

Life is too, too busy & Id not seen my friend in ages.

Life is too, too busy and, despite my best laid plans, the Tornado hadn’t been in a pool in ages.

I clearly remember plopping my smart phone on the passenger seat after I parked (ahhh the safety of the suburbs. some days I miss ye!).

I recall thinking: I dont need this by my side since the Tornado is here.

(Im crazy obsessed with the phone when she’s at school. It’s always with me. Im convinced the moment it’s NOT/the battery dies the school will immediately need to reach me STAT.)

Off we went.

Sunscreen slathered. Kids a’frolicking.  And I happily basked in the grown-up talk-time I craved.

My friend and I were chatting away when out of the corner of my eye I saw the Tornado begin to struggle.

She panicked, and even though there was a ‘noodle’ within her reach, she slid under gulping water as she went.

Within seconds I leaped fully clothed into the pool & dragged her to the side. Thankfully, outside of being terrified, she was entirely ok.

After a few hugs and a popsicle she returned to the water (& hasnt mentioned the experience again).

 Ive thought about it over and over and OVER since the day it happened.

More than anything I keep returning to the fact I left my smart-phone in the car and how thankful I am I did.

When I have my phone with me Im always slightly distracted.

When I have my phone with me it’s always buzzing, vibrating, ringing or lighting up and, no matter how PRESENT I strive to be, I tend to check it.

I like to think I check *quickly* but we all know how easily it is to get sucked into social media distractions.

Again and again and AGAIN Ive thought about how, had I been focusing on the smart phone, I might have missed the Tornado going under water.

Again and again and AGAIN Im grateful Ive made it a policy NEVER to bring my smart-phone to the pool.

I know I could miss a call. I know I could miss a text. Im certain Im missing emails, tweets, DMs & status updates.

Ive made it a policy to NEVER bring my smart-phone to the pool.

Join me?

I promise not to mind if you email, text, call, DM, tweet or status update another time.

PINKY SWEAR.

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