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Vitamin D Therapy

One of my favorite treatments to boost my mood and enhance my overall sense of well-being is Vitamin D Therapy.  I find that with even a brief treatment, I feel much better.

Vitamin D is important for building and maintaining strong and healthy bones because calcium can only be absorbed into bones when vitamin D is present.  I think the most fascinating thing about vitamin D is that your body just creates it.  Not out of the blue, but it is synthesized in the skin when exposed to sunlight.  And then it is used to build strong and healthy bones. It’s like photosynthesis for people!

It turns out that there is also a lot of scientific research on the benefit of vitamin D for treating depression and other psychological conditions.  It starts to get really technical, like this article on the National Institute of Health website, but the gist of what I read was that it seems likely that vitamin D can amplify serotonin in the central nervous system, which may lead to treatments for certain neurological disorders (such as ADHD in children). Serotonin is a neurotransmitter used to convey messages between nerve cells and it contributes to feelings of wellbeing and happiness.

Even though it is not fashionable these days, I still like to get my vitamin D the old-fashioned way – by sitting out in the sun. It can be found in certain foods or taken in supplements, but how cool is it that you can get something so good for your body for free, just by going outside?  Totally not scientific, but I sure feel happy and calm after I spend some time in the sun; I like to think that it’s because all of the vitamin D that I’m making is boosting my serotonin levels.

Now, my style of vitamin D therapy is not for everyone.  I am fortunate that I don’t tend to sunburn and if you do, you should certainly limit your exposure.  The Mayo Clinic indicates that the recommended daily dosage is 600 international units (IU) for pretty much everyone (400 for babies under one year and 800 for adults over 70).  I am not sure what that translates into in terms of sun exposure, but I expect that it is not too much.  The way that it is synthesized in the skin varies depending on location, time of year, and skin color and can be inhibited by use of sunscreen.  Basically, if you are more pale, you need less exposure, which is good news for skin safety.  Negative effects are possible with doses of more than 4,000 IU daily, which seems to me would correspond to a pretty nasty sunburn anyway.  So, don’t overdo it!

But if you needed another reason to get up and go outside, think about the fact that not only is nature is awesome, but that you have the ability to create a chemical reaction in your skin that is designed to help you stay healthy and make you feel better.

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Trophy Wife Manifesto

trophy wife toes in yellow shoes

Many years ago my mom was visiting and we went to get our nails done. I picked this pretty metallic teal/turquoise color.  As I was clutching the square, little Essie bottle while I waited for my pedicure, I noticed the name, Trophy Wife.

Yes, I thought, I want to be a trophy wife!

I had never considered myself trophy wife material and I wondered what it was about the idea that was suddenly so appealing to me.  Was I enamored of the concept just because I really liked the color?  What did being a trophy wife mean to me?

I decided to define what being a trophy wife meant to me.  Here is my Trophy Wife Manifesto:

#1 A Trophy Wife Takes Care of Herself

This means that a trophy wife makes time to look after her physical and psychological well-being.  Making a point of taking time for working out, self-care, reading, meditating, creating art, whatever it is that makes her feel centered and confident.  A trophy wife knows that these things are not frivolous, they are critical for living her best life.

#2 A Trophy Wife Prioritizes Her Relationships

This means that a trophy wife makes a point of being available and fully present to spend time with not just her husband, but with those people who are important to her.  She’s not too tired for date night; she doesn’t miss her loved ones’ important occasions because she is too busy.

#3 A Trophy Wife Doesn’t Work Because She Has To, She Works Because She Wants To

A trophy wife enjoys what she does for work.  She has made a choice that if she is going to take time away from looking after her relationships and herself, that it is going to be because she has a passion for what she does.

Even if she doesn’t have the luxury of not working, and/or doesn’t have her dream job, she finds something every day about her work that she appreciates and makes the most of her situation.  She isn’t trapped in a job that she hates because every day she knows that she has made a choice to be there and by doing so she has committed to herself to find something meaningful in what she is doing.  She might not be curing cancer, she might just be making a point of being nice to the receptionist.  That matters too.

If you’re thinking that this must have been the beginning of my trying to crawl out of my cave of workaholism, you would be right.

I bought my own bottle of Essie Trophy Wife nail polish.  It was my nearly constant toenail color and a touchstone for me, for a long time.

This last time that I went to get my nails done, took my little, old bottle of Trophy Wife with me and we were able to make it work.  I was reminded about how beautiful the color is and I feel very inspired and empowered when I look at my toes.  Who knew that nail polish could be so powerful?

Do you have anything that serves as a touchstone for you?  What is it and what are you trying to remind yourself of?  Would you want to be a trophy wife?  What would that mean to you?

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Monet at the De Young

monet water lilies

Monet: The Late Years

I happened to be in San Francisco for the weekend last May for Mother’s Day.  My dear, sweet brother-in-law had arranged for my mom and my sister to see the Monet exhibit at the De Young Museum for Mother’s Day and since I was in town, I had the good fortune of getting to tag along.

I thought that it was interesting that Monet was such a prolific and esteemed artist that the 50 or so works in the show were all made after he was established and successful.  The subjects of these paintings were almost exclusively locations in his own gardens on his estate in Giverny.

For great biographical information and a more comprehensive description of the paintings in the show, check out this page on the De Young Museum website.

The earliest painting in the exhibit is Morning on the Seine from 1896.  Unfortunately, I didn’t take a better photo of it.  At first glance, it seems just very grey, soft, and muted.  But when I really took a moment to look at it, I started to notice a tremendous depth to the foliage.  Monet used many different green and purple tones to build these shapes that appear flat from a distance, but up close have an unexpectedly rich dimensionality.  Once I got sucked into this painting, I started to notice the subtle contrast between the way that he rendered the landscape and its reflection in the water.  This is the kind of painting that you could look at for years and notice something new every day.

Morning on the Seine, Claude Monet

More than 20 of the pieces in the show were water lily paintings.  This is such an iconic Monet subject and one that is so often reproduced on merchandise that it seems like something that you think you have already seen and not necessarily special.  But seeing so many different variations on the same subject all together was fascinating.  Particularly when there were multiple paintings in a series that all portrayed the exact same vista from the exact same spot.  When was the last time that you really looked at something that you see every day?  Try it.  And then go back again a few hours later and take a moment to look again.  Think about how it now appears different from what you saw just a bit earlier.  What a wonderful reminder that everyday things we think we have already seen have something new to offer us if we can be bothered to take a moment to open ourselves up to them.

I took many notes on the differences in paintings of similar subject matter, the variations in color and texture and focus and size of various pieces.  Another subject of Monet’s that gives a very explicit example of this were the paintings of the Japanese Bridge. 

One thing that I found even more unexpected and interesting were the paintings where he really just seemed to have to get the idea on canvas as quickly as possible.  These were paintings where the canvas showed through.  There was a raw-ness and an energy to these works that really spoke to me. 

  • I don’t particularly care for day lilies, but I adore this painting






  • Wisteria (1919-1920)

Toward the end of the exhibit was a series of Weeping Willow (1918-1919 and 1921-1922). I think there were more than the three that I photographed.  The later piece just blows my mind a little bit. This is the same guy painting the same thing that he had already painted over and over and it is so different and unexpected!  Now, this was all during the period when his vision was degenerating, but that alone does not explain the difference.

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to tag along with some of my favorite mothers on their special day.  It was a great opportunity to be reminded of how much there is to see if we just take the time to look.

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Anabel is a Work of Art Too!

paintings of Anabel and of Sally Gellis

Last week I received another delightful surprise in the mail from Chewy.com.  This time it was a portrait of Anabel!  Now she is a work of art too.  They really understand sibling rivalry at Chewy.com don’t they?

I had forwarded them the link to the post about Sally’s painting.  The nice gal who responded read all the way to the end and forwarded the photo of Anabel at the bottom of the post to what I can only assume is their pet painter stable.

A different artist from the one who did Sally’s portrait painted Anabel. I love the different interpretation, don’t you?

paintings of Anabel and of Sally Gellis

I don’t have paintings of Emma or Clementine, just some nice photographs in silver frames.  Once I did find a greeting card with the image of a gorgeous cat who looked just like Clementine, so I framed it and put it out as art.

Since I have that bad habit of thinking that since one of something is good, more would be better, I started thinking that I should create a whole cat-art gallery wall.  I could come up with different ways to have portraits of Anabel and Sally made every year…it could be a whole thing.  Fortunately, I don’t have much wall space, so such an ambitious undertaking is not particularly feasible.

I think that I will stick to appreciating what I have and continuing to use this blog to revel in the adorableness of my sweet kittens.  It’s more fun to share after all.

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Indoor Cycling, Summer Edition

I have recently made some changes to my indoor cycling schedule. I’ve traded in my Saturday morning class for Sunday.  I know, I’m surprised at myself too!

I’m happy that I am managing to still get in at least two classes a week, even without having an overwhelming amount of grrrr to get out on a daily basis like I used to.  But every time I go to the gym on Sunday morning, I crack myself up.  Here’s the thing:

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day in southern California.  Around 9am I got in my car, drove one mile to the gym, and spent 45 minutes in a dark room taking an indoor cycling class.  There is nothing about doing that which isn’t at least a little ridiculous. It felt like I was living in a scene from LA Story.

First, it’s barely a mile.  And I don’t think that it is too much to expect that I can comfortably and safely walk there during daylight hours (I give myself a pass to drive when it is still dark out).   Also, after 8am parking enforcement is in full effect.  Either drive around for 10-15 minutes looking for a spot or pay to use the metered parking.  If you’re going to spend 10-15 minutes driving around looking for a free parking spot (like I did), you may as well have walked. 

Second, it was a beautiful day but here I was choosing to do my exercising inside.  Not just inside, but in a dark room.  I really can’t get over my own ridiculousness.  If I had decided to go to the 8:30 class instead, I wouldn’t give myself such a hard time because that still counts as first thing in the morning on a Sunday.  By 9:30, you should have already started your day (unless you had a big Saturday night, which I did not).

One important component for getting habits to stick is to make them automatic.  There aren’t options, it is just what you do.  I don’t spend any time thinking about how I’m going to get to the gym on any other day.  But on Sundays I keep considering all the options.  I should walk…maybe I could take my bike…then I have to dig it out of the garage…do I need air in my tires?  And by the time I’ve run through the whole monologue, it’s late.  I need to either decide ahead of time that I’m going to bike and make sure that everything is ready, or I need to take that option off of the table and just know that I’m going to walk.

The bottom line is that I still make it to indoor cycling at least twice a week and that is what really matters.  But I can’t help but laugh at myself about how I get there. 

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Fried Chicken and Champagne

My favorite neighborhood wine store, the Wine Country, holds regular wine tasting events.  One recurring tasting that I have always been intrigued about is fried chicken and champagne.  I’ve never actually been, but the idea really caught my attention, and I’ve been dying to hold a fried chicken and champagne dinner.

I enlisted some friends who were intrepid enough to sign on even though I hadn’t bothered to explain the concept.  Which I realized when we were sitting down to eat, as there were questions about what this fried chicken and champagne thing was all about.  Naturally, my response was, “guys, it’s a THING.”  Then we took a moment to get all official about it, took bites of our fried chicken, then a sipped our sparkling wine.  It was delightful!

There is something great about fried chicken in the summertime.  Especially if you pick it up from Stater Brothers.  Seriously, it is very good.  I am sure that some people make incredible fried chicken at home, but I’m only southern on my husband’s mother’s side, so I feel that is something that I can get away with not doing.  I also have a “no frying at home” rule.  Well, “rule” is a strong word, but I have yet to come across something that I wanted to make enough to be up for frying it myself.

One of my friends picked up the chicken and made these amazing cheesy biscuits.  I enlisted another friend, who always makes the most decadent things, to bring the carb course.  She made the most incredible macaroni and cheese!  I think she said it was a Barefoot Contessa recipe (I think this is the right link).  It looks like you basically, start with four cups of Gruyere, then add more cheese. I’m drooling just thinking about it, this is the kind of macaroni and cheese that makes your life better.

photo credit: El Jimenez

So, what about the champagne you ask?  Ah, yes!  We didn’t get through all of the options, but the one that was a great pairing was J California Cuvee that another of my intrepid friends brought (what did I do?  I did the delegating, alright!).

The final member of our intrepid group brought yummy fruit and a good dose of flair to the table.  With the fruit and the citrus herb coleslaw we felt that there was a least a semblance of healthiness on the table that night.

By far, the healthiest part of the evening was getting to spend time with great friends, sharing a meal and laughing about life.

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Maiden

A few weeks ago, a dear friend and I went to see a documentary called Maiden.  It was the story of the first ever, all-female crew of a boat in the 1989 Whitbread Round the World Race.  This friend is excellent at always being prepared, and to get us ready for the movie, she found this great interview with the skipper of the boat Maiden, Tracy Edwards, on NPR.

The Whitbread, now called the Volvo Ocean Challenge, is a yacht race that happens every three years.  It began in 1972 when the Whitbread company and the British Royal Naval Sailing Association agreed to sponsor a regatta that circled the globe as a sort of tribute to Brittan’s maritime legacy.  The original course followed routes of 19th century square riggers and began and ended in England until Volvo became the title sponsor in 2001.  A major leg of the race takes place in the Southern Ocean, usually leaving from South America somewhere and winding up in Australia (that is a long stretch of rough and icy water my friends).

Tracy Edwards did not set out to crush the patriarchy.  One of the clips in the film is an interview where she is mortified by the reporter’s asking if she is a feminist. She was a young girl, with a rough childhood, who discovered and fell in love with yachting.  She first participated in the 1985-86 Whitbread as a cook, the only crew position that she could get. After proving herself in that capacity, she was determined to find a sailing position on a crew.  No one would hire her.  Because she was a girl.  So, she did what any girl with a dream of competing in a man’s world would do, she put together her own program.  Now, saying that yacht racing is an elite sport is putting it mildly and this was not a girl of means. But she was scrappy and frankly, I don’t think that it occurred to her that she shouldn’t be able to compete – from either a status or gender perspective.  I’ll tell you what, in 1989 (and probably the entire 1990’s for that matter) it never occurred to me that any of the challenges that I faced were based on my gender, I really had grown up thinking that women had achieved equality (what a precious, naïve little thing I was).  I get the sense that Tracy Edwards and the crew of intrepid women who she put together all shared that perspective at that time as well.

Maiden finished the race second in their class, an outstanding accomplishment considering all of the obstacles the crew had to overcome (like taking on water) but a bittersweet ending for this highly competitive crew who weren’t just hoping to finish, they were in it to win it.  They also won two of the legs of the race outright, including the brutal Southern Ocean crossing (I think in the film they said that they were at sea for five weeks).  Tracy, the skipper, received the “Yachtsman of the Year” trophy (the first woman to do so).

And then the story ends the way that things did in those days – not with a bang, but a whimper.  They competed and they succeeded and what was next?  Um…the crew of Maiden went their separate ways.  These days, there would be a whole media machine waiting at the dock for those gals to make land – interviews, merchandise, speaking engagements, a foundation dedicated to developing sailing programs for girls, a Netflix original series inspired by…you name it.  But it was a different time.  Tracy did write a book, which was published in 1990 and now has a career as a motivational speaker.

I fully expected that I would be boo-hoo sobbing by the end of the film (like I was at the RBG documentary), but I left that theatre feeling pretty pumped up.  Like if I had a big enough vision, all I’d have to do is bring together the right group of women and we could go out there and just freaking crush it.

I’ll let you know if/when I come up with something, but if anyone reading this has a BHAG that I can sign up to crew for, let me know!

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Citrus Herb Coleslaw

I pretty much like any slaw: KFC coleslaw, ramen slaw, fancy Asian-style slaw with Napa cabbage, mango and jicama slaw from Trader Joes, the list goes on.  It’s the sort of thing that is easy to make at home too. So, last night I made a Citrus Herb Coleslaw.  Yum, right?  Ok, maybe not your thing, but this combines three things that I really like: lemon, parsley, and slaw. 

I had a little bit of some-timers when I was getting ready to make this.  I have made it before, but it’s been a good, long while.  I remembered the gist of it, but when I went to find the recipe in my Pinterest recipe hoard, it wasn’t there.  I think the last time that I made this was before I started hoarding all of my recipes in Pinterest!  Yikes!

Ok, let’s google that thing up.  Hmmmm…

I found something close, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted.  Good thing that I don’t care that much about following recipes.  I made up my own version and I’m going to post the recipe here for two reasons:

  1. In case you want to try it (it’s super healthy and delicious).
  2. So that I can find it the next time I want to make it again!

Cynthia’s Citrus Herb Coleslaw

Ingredients:

  • Non-fat, plain yogurt (Greek or other)
  • One lemon
  • One bunch of parsley
  • One bag of already shredded cabbage
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Apple Cider Vinegar

First make the dressing. 

Combine:

  • 4(ish) tablespoons yogurt
  • Zest of the lemon
  • Juice of the lemon
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (or 2 pinches if you don’t feel like measuring)
  • Good bunch of grinds of black pepper (less than the salt
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1-2 tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

Wisk it together.

Assemble the slaw:

  • Add 2(ish) tablespoons of snipped chives (optional)
  • Add 1 bunch parsley leaves, roughly chopped (I like curly parsley, I know it’s not fashionable, do what you want).
  • Add bag of shredded cabbage
  • Combine thoroughly
  • Cover and refrigerate for at least a little while

Enjoy!

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The Book of Mormon, the Musical

Mr. Man and I recently had the opportunity to see The Book of Mormon, the musical, with our dear neighbor friends.  They are big musical aficionados and enjoy sharing their love of musicals with us.

Mr. Man and I have enjoyed South Park for years and years and were looking forward to Matt Stone and Trey Parker’s irreverent take on Mormonism.  Something that I didn’t expect was how sweet the musical was.  Don’t get me wrong, it was CRUDE and it was corny; it was everything you would expect the South Park guys to do to a musical.

After I had a chance to think about it, what I realized is that although the show makes fun of Mormonism (as in it SKEWERS everything about the doctrine), it doesn’t make fun of Mormons. One line that comes up at different points in the show is the Mormons saying that they just want to be nice to everybody.

I was speaking to a friend of mine who had also seen the show at one point, and I was not surprised by her reaction.  She HATED it.  I knew why.  There is a whole, big, show-stopping song-and-dance number in the first act in which practically every other word is an f-bomb.  I mean, my first reaction was to clutch my pearls.  Then I remembered that I had left my pearls at home and just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

There is a lot of graphic language throughout the whole show, things that belong to the category of “polite people don’t say those things.” But this show was created by the South Park guys and they have made their career on throwing those things in your face.  Why would you expect any different?

The things that I loved about the show were:

The campy choreography: particularly, the big, corny, old-fashioned tap number in the first act.  So many jazz hands!  So many shuffle-ball-change!

The twist: when the anti-hero is forced to act heroically and the way he goes about it.

SPOILERS (maybe): the part when the villagers tell the disillusioned heroine that, “it’s a METAPHOR!”  This especially tickled me because I had been working on my post about how I think of the Tour de France as a metaphor for the human condition.  Also, because in general, I am terrible for recognizing symbolism so I could sympathize with the character.

I have to say that no matter how mercilessly the show trolled the Mormon Church, the Church did a great job at winning.  The inside, front cover of the program had a full-color ad that read, “you’ve seen the play…now read the book,” along with four different contact options.  As a communication strategist, I couldn’t imagine a better way to turn negative publicity around.

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Cat Bag

There are few things that Anabel and Sally like as much as a bag.  They actually prefer a shopping or gift bag to a box any day.  And no, the bag does not have to be empty to qualify as an excellent cat bag.

The most appealing cat bags come with a bit of tissue paper to shred, but the bag itself is always the true prize.

A friend recently brought me something in a brown, craft-paper bag with bunches of tissue fluffed on top.  Sally was so excited by his new bag that he couldn’t be bothered for me to remove the gift before he started in on his cat bag.  You see, it isn’t just about getting inside the bag, but pouncing on top of the bag and attacking the edges are also great ways to utilize a new cat bag according to Sally.

We were getting ready to head out, but Sally was enjoying himself so much that I couldn’t bear to take his new bag away.  I also didn’t dare leave him along with it; I could just imagine him getting one of the handles caught around his neck.  Not because I thought that he would hurt himself (it’s a paper bag, it’s going to tear), but because that is the sort of thing that Mr. Man would bust my chops for until his dying breath.  So, I tore the handles off and left Sally to enjoy his kitty-proofed cat bag.

Another time, another dear friend presented me with another craft-paper bag full of kitsch signature.  Again, I had to battle Sally to remove the items from the bag before he inserted himself into it.  A bit later, I came across this scene:

Why is Anabel staring at the bag?  What is that sticking out?  Oh, a Sally tail!  Aren’t they cute?

About ten minutes later, there is a commotion.  When I go to investigate, I find this:

Sally is pouncing ON the bag in which a different cat tail is sticking out the end of.

I see.

Sally is going to need a lesson on sharing his cat bag.