Tag Archives: Cleveland

Anecdotal, Fitness, Nutrition, Personal, Running, Uncategorized

Living the High Life

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I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.

(3 John 1:4 NLT)

This week we are busting through milestones like crazy in the Buckland house. Today was Gentry’s last day of Pre-School/Pre-K EVER!! He graduates on Monday and I remember when I thought he would snuggle in my arms forever. I thought he would never wean from nursing and that he certainly would never be potty trained. My mind had convinced itself that I would be elbow deep in dairy production and poo forever, and then, bam…it happened. They started growing up. Does anyone else feel that from the moment your kids start school, even if it is just pre-school, that time flips a Fast Forward button?

The second milestone is that Reese turned 8. Eight suits Reese rather well. He is developing into his own. There are many things about him that have matured exponentially over the last few months. In addition to revealing his gifting for teaching, admonition, instruction, mentorship, research, memorization, and writing, his basketball skills have gone to the next level. I am very thankful that I can raise him in the truth of Cleveland sports. Nothing teaches you to fight for the fruits of the Spirit in your life and learn resilience like being a Cleveland sports fan. I woke up this morning to him being fully decked out from head to toe in some of his new birthday gear. He wanted to be ready in time to have his morning research and writing time and his hoop shooting practice time before we walked to the bus. You seriously can’t teach that level of dedication!

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You may be shocked to discover that this blog is in part about healthy eating and fitness. Seed-Lead-Run-Eat-Repeat

Sometimes, however, we get stuck in a pattern of eating and repeating things outside of the scope of our meal plan. The meal plan is part time vegetarian but most of the time clean and healthy. I strive for an 80% clean and healthy to a 20% party time ratio. The problem with the Buckland clan calendar is that Easter, my birthday, Reese’s birthday, and mother’s day all pile up on top of each other making my “splurges” seem like they are a way of life. If you are new to this blog, you may have whiplash from the fact that two days ago I was posting about all of the superfoods I am striving to eat regularly and then today I have pictures of Five Guys and Cupcakes. It’s ok though. I googled spring weight gain today and apparently I’m not alone in the fact that when the sun comes out I want to party all night and all day long and enjoy good food and good friends. I am on top of the situation though. Have no fear! Reese did request Five Guys and I was good ordering only the little cheeseburger, even though my heart wanted 2 doubles. Then, I absolutely had to have one of Costco’s famous Chocolate Cupcakes. Literally Costco cupcakes are the size of a small toddler. They have 750 calories in them, and every bite will make you glad you are alive.

As a side note, when looking up the calories, my LiveStrong App computed the calories for an entire Costco Sheet Cake…..12, 567. I am beginning to feel better about myself. I have never eaten an entire Sheet Cake in one sitting. I’m feeling a challenge coming on? 🙂

So, I delivered Reese a happy meal for lunch to school, Five Guys for Dinner, an ice cream social and cultural arts night at his school, and Cupcakes. I think my mom of the year meter is going on up Reese’s end and plummeting to new depths on Michelle Obama’s end. Thank God this isn’t an everyday occurrence. Today has been all health and wellness but I won’t bore you with those details. We will get back on track tomorrow.

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Getting in a workout on Reese’s birthday at Teeball. Reese was burning calories lapping the playground and telling all the younger kids what to do.

 

20130509-175911.jpgMe, my momma, and our reasons for living rocking the party flow.

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It’s my last day of Pre-School. Kindergarten is going to be way more awesome.

What is your best parenting moment?

Do you allow yourself to step off the healthy train periodically? What ratio do you strive to live by?

I will tell you that I NEVER compromise exercise though. I may eat 8 gallons of ice cream in one sitting, but I will lace up the tennis shoes for damage control.

 

 

Anecdotal, Fitness, Inspirational, Nutrition, Personal, Running, Spiritual, Uncategorized

Climate Change

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Fact: Every run counts. Every bit of junk food hurts. It’s not a game. It’s your life and health.

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The weather here in the Cleveland Metro Area has finally started to meet my standard of approval. I am not one to complain of the weather, because if you wanted paradise in terms of temperature and weather patterns, you probably shouldn’t live in North East Ohio. However, there comes a point at which when snow is falling in April that you throw your hands up in the air like a child and start trying to call fire down from heaven like Elijah. Thankfully, global climate change caught up with us and we are enjoying pure heaven on earth this week. I took the kids on a bike ride to the park to play with about a hundred of our closest friends. I am doing my best to instill good food and fitness principles into them without making an issue of it. Like in other areas of my life, I am striving to lead by example. I think eating disorders and an odd relationship with food are born by people obsessing too much about the weight of their kids or making certain foods forbidden (Notice my theory in practice in the above photo. Gentry rode his bike two miles round trip and that necessitated the ingestion of the leftover Easter peeps. He needed to boost those glycogen stores). Model good habits and patterns and get your kids off the couch and outside. Since the weather has been nice my children, and just about ever kid in the neighborhood, have been playing in our yard for hours.

On this bike ride, Reese informed me of all of the good things he is learning at school, like how the fact that we own 2 cars is killing the environment. He told me that we need to get rid of our vehicles and ride our bikes or walk everywhere so that we can stop destroying the earth. He was sent on a mission with his classmates to tell their parents all of the horrible things they are doing on a daily basis to ensure our planet is annihilated. These tidbits of knowledge will serve him well. Who needs math and language arts skills anyway when you are armed with these inconvenient “truths”? I told Reese that I will take him up on that next time we have to go somewhere that is beyond the 2 mile radius of our home and see how his little legs keep up.

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Vegetarian can be delicious. To the left is a HUGE pan of Oven Roasted Vegetables I made seasoned only with a little Mrs. Dash. To the right is Organic Brown Rice (Bought in a 987 pound package at Costco) and Stir Fried vegetables. I really do enjoy eating like this as long as I'm not within 3 miles of smelling a Five Guy's Burgers and Fries.

In other news did you know that eating meat is also destroying the planet. Who knew? It’s a good thing that Meatless Monday was turned into Meatless Tuesday and Meatless Wednesday this week. At the end of one month and beginning of another month, Jonathan and I do at least a 3 day vegetarian regime commonly referred to as a Daniel’s Fast. I will write more on this later, but in short, we like to “tithe” a segment of time of our month in a season of more intense focus.(Most months are 30 days, hence a 3 day fast.)  This is for renewal physically, spiritually, and mentally. As mind, body, and spirit, we can’t ignore the fact that life has a way of adding pollutants, a Spiritual climate change if you will, and the only way to break through the fog is for your body to feel healthy and renewed, your mind to be focused on things outside of yourself, and your Spirit to be in tune with God. It sure did not hurt that our end of April/beginning of May vegetarian spree occurred right as I was detoxing from the birthday celebrations. These short little fasts every month always make me feel so energetic in both Spirit and body. I encourage you to read up on this and start implementing it. I will be blogging much more about it in the future. Science has also proven that seasons of fasting can prolong your life, so even if you don’t care about Spiritual renewal and mental focus, your health will thank you.

What do you implement in your life to reset your mind, body, and Spirit?

What is your favorite vegetable?

How do you hand the “Inconvenient Truth” of climate change?

I recycle. I try to be a good steward of the earth. I do not litter. I do, however, like having a car.

 

Anecdotal, Fitness, Inspirational, Nutrition, Personal, Running, Spiritual, The Bridge Church

Body Building

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If you don’t take care of your body, your body won’t take care of you.- @rwchallenge

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A peek at my lunch today. Who says Oatmeal has to be for breakfast? Oats, Cinnamon, Bananas, and Strawberries. Yum!

I saw the above quote on my twitter feed and it was a great way for me to start my week. As you know if you follow my blog, my birthday was last week and I gave myself an excuse to basically not monitor my eating for an entire week. I’m a firm believer in moderation and I am against dieting. I dieted on and off my whole life and even dabbled in disordered eating at one point and I know God did not create our bodies to need nourishment and put us in a Garden of Eden initially so that we couldn’t enjoy His bounty. That is where reality comes in though. We are to enjoy His bounty. I’m pretty sure he wasn’t envisioning a steady diet of Pop Tarts and Burger King when he created our digestive system. So, because I am against dieting and a believer in moderation in all things, occasionally I deviate from the pledge I made to myself to eat clean, eat natural, and run away from processed/man made food. I’m not a health nut, but I am a wellness evangelist and my body operates with infinitely more energy and zest when it has been worked out and fed properly. My clean eating and life long health pledge is back full swing and my stomach and skin couldn’t be happier. I normally only “cheat” a day at a time, or a maximum of a weekend. This is the first time I’ve basically reverted back to horrific eating patterns for a whole week stretch and I forgot how greasy it makes you look and feel!

As a side bar, Sunday’s are my day “off” running. I always run 2 miles at 5 AM so that I’m warmed up and awake for church and to keep my run streak alive. In order to stay injury free on the run streak, you have to have a day or two a week with very low miles. I call this a day “off” because I do not care about pace at all and I never go farther than the 2 miles. I can’t imagine my Sunday without this short run. It enables me to be refreshed and have quiet minutes to get my mind on the worship set for the Sunday and align my Spirit with the mind of God. I got my 2 miles in yesterday and did  4 miles this morning followed by a 1 mile walk. I was so ready for this week running wise. I am very excited for the Capital City Half Marathon this Saturday and my tired legs are getting rested up so I can try to OWN the day Saturday.

20130429-075140.jpgI started eating clean again on Saturday. Here is an example of “Fast Food” you can allow yourself that is way tastier, less expensive, more filling, and will fuel you far better than the engineered ingredients you will find slapped on a bun and in a bag at a Fast Food establishment. I was very busy on Saturday so I didn’t have time to plan a feast, but with some forethought and a decently stocked pantry you can put together good meals quickly. I always keep some sort of whole grain pasta on hand. Notice that there is a lot of protein and fiber in it. Don’t run away from pasta. It is your friend, but you definitely want 100% whole wheat pasta or 100% whole grain and not white pasta. I sautéed a large pan of fresh spinach with garlic, bought a $4.99 whole roasted rotisserie chicken from Costco when I was loading up my cart for a week of fresh, clean eating (Giant Eagle also sells these. Eat them without the skin), and served them all together with some tomato sauce. The pasta was probably $1.30 for the box and the spinach was a couple of dollars. So, basically for less than $10 a family of 4 ate a healthy, vitamin packed meal. This same family of 4 could not have eaten at Taco Bell, McDonald’s or any other such joint for the same price. Healthy eating does not equal pricey eating if you plan well.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure I will tell you two things:

  • My kids will not touch spinach, so that made getting them vegetables at dinner challenging, and
  • I will never buy animal crackers again. I have found that I “buy” them for my “kids” and then am tempted to eat the whole allotment by myself. Truth be told, my kids could take or leave them so I will buy them things they like that I’m not tempted by instead of things they are iffy about that if I’m honest I buy for myself.
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20130429-075035.jpg A peek at the Costco Bounty. Pears, Strawberries, Bananas, Spinach, Plums, Celery, and Toilet Paper are all geared for a Clean week of eating 🙂 You may have a house full of runners if your banana corner looks like that.

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At a birthday party yesterday I realized how Reese is the ladies man of his second grade class (Help me Lord) and that boys think Barbie’s are totally gross. Gentry thought the birthday girl wasted her entire party because she didn’t get any sports gifts.

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My theory that Gentry was in a growth spurt was confirmed this morning by the pants that fit him just a week or two ago. Babies turn into men when you’re not even looking. Make it stop!

What is your favorite healthy  meal?

What is one snack that you need to stop buying because you are too tempted to dive into it?

I am addicted to Costco! What is your “go to” store to load up?

Anecdotal, Fitness, Inspirational, Nutrition, Personal, Running, Spiritual, The Bridge Church

Citizen of the Year

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WARNING: Daily Bible Reading, Renewing of the Mind, Fresh Air, and Exercise Induced Endorphins will lead to Joy, a continuous state of happiness, and overall contentment regardless of the circumstances!

So I weighed today (and truthfully everyday)….I’m happy to report I am only up 2 lbs from all of the festivities and at least 1 of those 2 lbs can be attributed to the much higher than average sodium I’ve been consuming. I normally really do eat clean and at home. I’m not making that up, and because of that, eating out and eating salty/processed food really reeks havoc on me.

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This morning I woke up pretty pumped so I decided to throw an immediate party with several of my best friends. I invited Claritin, Chobani, Mrs. Banana, an entire pot of coffee, sunshine, my Garmin Watch, a hug from all 3 of my men, and a sunny outdoor 8 mile run/1.5 mile walk into my life and started the party early. The extreme pleasure evident from the above photograph has less to do with my pot of coffee, and infinitely more to do with the fact that I was able to run outside today. My 8 mile run today felt easier and was done at a faster pace than my miserable 4 mile run yesterday. While I only averaged 9:28/mile, I am in taper mode, which means taking it easy and no speed work, so I deemed the run a great success. My favorite part was the walk at the end of the 8 miles though. It gave me ample time to breathe pollen deep into my lungs and enjoy the side effects of a freshly mowed lawn on my eyes and nose.

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Below: Peace, Love, and Donuts (Sounds like very good philosophical advice)

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My clean eating is going super well. Between last night’s community event (more on that below) and my post run work lunch dates, I am managing to keep my calorie consumption well below the 9,000 calorie a day mark. I count this a great success on a birthday week.  The best Gyro you will ever eat is at a little hole in the wall in Lakewood, Ohio called the Greek Village. Their Chicken Gyro and Fries will definitely change your life. I definitely need to make a stop there this week in order to celebrate God’s goodness and another year of life. (At what point does the week long birthday celebration turn into gluttonous excess? I really don’t know the answer to this. I am trying hard to find out though and I will report my progress back to you.)

We made a pit stop on the way back at a place we’ve wanted to try at  Kamm’s Corner  called “Peace, Love, and Donuts”. This was a very unique spot with INSANE donuts. Gentry had a dirty worm. Jonathan had a M&M donut, and I couldn’t decide, so I just chose a basic powdered donut. These donuts were amazing. They are made right there on location and are consistently rated best donuts by Cleveland magazine. Everyone that lives in the Cleveland Metro Area should also spend their birthday week exploring local places. It doesn’t take long, and you are completely justified because it is your birthday. Also, be sure to sign up for all the free birthday coupons at all of these places. All of my celebrating has cost me very little $. Don’t let me fool you. I explore and have fun on like $1 a day.

In the middle of all of this goodness and partying and play, I have been doing lots of seeding and leading today. For example, we don’t just visit these places to eat and explore, but we plants seeds of the gospel and invite people to church with us. Today the lady at the Greek Village told me that I was a ray of sunshine and how she was energized by our encounter and how I uplifted her soul. We have invited them to church, in fact, my husband even preached about the amazingness of their Gyro’s, so we are believing that at some point the Seeding, Eating, and Repeating will result in harvest.

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So last night was super fun. We took the boys to karate, watched them name names and take prisoners, and my mom picked them up there from us so that we could network, lead, seed, eat, and repeat. We went to the Citizen of the Year Banquet with 400 or so of our closest friends. The food was predictable banquet style high sodium, high fat, medium taste, maximum bang for your buck, and maximum caloric content. I also ate a bacon wrapped water chestnut ( or 12). This was a first for me. I like water chestnuts and anything involving bacon is always a hit, so I figured it couldn’t really fail as an appetizer item.

In all honesty, it is an honor to live and serve in our community and God did some amazing things at the Citizen of the year Banquet last night. We went to represent the Bridge Church and continue to network with the officials and friends that we have made and be the “Johnny Appleseed’s” of the gospel that we are called to be. You wouldn’t even believe the doors that were opened and the conversations that we had. Great things are in store and God keeps laying bricks onto our foundation: Line upon line….precept upon precept…here a little, there a little. Serving God and living for him is the best. One person said “Every day is a holiday and every meal is a banquet.”We sat next to and dined with the Director of Law and the Director of Finance for the city, as well as with a former citizen of the year. I’m pretty sure that was divine strategy. I also saw my friend, Reese’s best school friend’s mom, who serves on City Council and is up for re-election (friends in high places), the president of the women’s charitable league that I have been serving in, and hung out with the mayor again.

In addition, we dined with Andrew Bernard (Ed Helms) from the Office. We are bonafide celebrities now. His company was very enjoyable and he removed his face tattoo and black tooth to be in our presence.

How involved are you with your community?

Do you see value in investing in people even when you have no guaranteed return?

How much weight do you usually gain the week of your birthday?

I am voting for myself as Citizen of the Year next year. I deserve it because I keep trash out of my front yard and the lawn stays in a moderately pleasing state.