Lunch Time Cardio

In my office after my lunch time exercise. I usually run up 300 steps and down 300 steps, and jump rope 300 times at lunch when I am not stuck at my desk finishing a spreadsheet (you know, Pivot Tables are great time savers!)


Anyway, today I thought I was looking especially good, starting to get back to my usual "ripped" self, so I tried to take some pictures. 


I like the vascularity even though the judges don't for a Figure competition.

Shoulders are looking nice and round, biceps are bulging.

And, striations in the chest....love it!


Getting out in the middle of the day is a great idea if you are able, it not only helps you fit in some cardio work but rejuvenates the brain cells and gets you off the butt cells.


I cannot usually fit in cardio during my morning session, I get to the gym when they open at 5:00 am and then have to be at work by 7:30, that doesn't leave a whole lot of time since I lift anywhere from one to one and a quarter hours.


The short period I set aside at lunch gets a good 20 to 25 minutes of hard work in. I know many people who think that because they only have a half hour, it's not worth the time and effort. 


Please, if you are one of these people, change your thinking! It is worth every second! Even if you can only hit the jump rope for 10 minutes it is worth it!


If you scroll back up and look at my slightly blurry, out of focus pictures, you will notice one thing. I look really happy, energetic, alive! I feel GOOD!


And I didn't look that way a half hour earlier. I had been tired, my eyes were dry, I was feeling that I had no time for my work. But, I made the time to run my stairs. I realize not everyone has the freedom to do this, and I certainly appreciate the fact that I do.


I have a drawer in my credenza where I keep shoes, shorts, tops, running bras, a jump rope and an extra iPod. I have no excuses ever. 


Sometimes, when the day is really stressful and I have a meeting at lunch, I will just take off after, late in the day and I feel so much better. I have the added luxury of jumping rope on top of a building, and the view overlooks the city of San Jose, quite a great spot to listen to Guns and Roses while I bust my butt, forgetting about the stresses of the day!

German Volume Training Day 2

I did it! Tuesday was to be German Volume Training- Front Squats on my own. 




I recently talked about my session on Friday with Roy at BodyComp Personal Training Gym, Tuesday I was supposed to repeat the session, with increased weight, on my own.

In the picture above I have just finished, I look pretty slammed, the veins are popping out of my arms!

Above is my favorite rack or "cage" - call it what you will, it is the one I like, old, rickety, but has good safety bars and I like the way I fit in it.

I warmed up, leg stretching, my hams and quads are very, very tight. Then took a look at the clock, if I time this right, it will take about 50 minutes. That means I will not perform the exercises too quickly, as most weight trainers do, and I won't rest too long.

My training log and stopwatch. You can see the hash marks for the sets, I would lose count if I tried to keep it in my head, my body will be exhausted before I reach the goal.

I was to do 10 sets of 10 reps, at a tempo of 4-1 which means lower (eccentric) at the count of 4, and then raise (concentric) up as fast as possible (count of 1), no rest in between reps. I will rest 90 seconds in between sets.


Roy alluded to the fact that Friday we will be cutting the rest down, to 60 seconds I think, and increasing weight a little more. Bring it on I say.

As low as I can go (yes, that means ass to ground) and knees out forward, I tend to forget that part, Roy keep reminding me.

I was dripping in sweat, talking to myself, grunting, shaking my head. As I would reach the bottom I would think about my glutes and quads and chant over and over 'power, power, power, power" till I shot back up.

You do know that is 100 FRONT squats right?

I then did 4 sets of 10 Good Mornings at 85 pounds. Sat on my little stool, looked up at the clock and it had been:

50 minutes.

I am pretty pleased with myself, I just killed that one!

My First Trainer - Baz

Mark really, but we all called him by his last name for some reason. He always wore this hat too! 

I met Mark a couple years after I first started to workout, and I watched as he led a very small group (3) of women in a boot camp. They all looked like they were having so much fun in the basketball gym, I wanted to join. But there was no bootcamp on the schedule, something odd was going on, I think they were all just friends.

So one day I went in and just asked if I could be their "friend"! ha ha

Mark and the girls said "sure I could join in" and I started attending his "bootcamp" twice a week. He had to start an official one with the gym, so we ended up paying a nominal fee, and had so much fun together!


I really enjoyed connecting with the other women and sharing a fun activity together.

Spinning class was also required since his main "gig" was a spinning instructor there, I think we did that once a week at our gym and once at the other gym he trained at. We showed up as "celebrity  spinners", this was back in 2005 to very early 2007 (the pictures here are in 2005 and 2006 so I am 45 and 46 years old) and I think spinning was just getting started.

Baz taught me everything, the basics. I knew nothing other than the fact I wanted to get "in shape" that was my goal, not real specific but I wanted to lose some weight and feel better about myself.

Baz taught me that I needed a combination of weights and cardio, that I needed to increase lean muscle mass to increase my resting metabolism and also that I needed cardio to burn the extra calories, and to keep a nice tight butt and shapely legs..He had a good set himself!

Sometimes it would be just the two of us spinning in the basketball gym, the music so loud that the racket ball crowd would complain.

Here he is demonstrating some goofy balancing trick on a bosu ball, I will need to them perform it to perfection after he has demonstrated. 

Below I am doing it, and why I am wearing silly gloves I cannot explain, I have grown since then, I don't wear them any longer, for anything other than tire flipping! 

We learned to use dumbbells, bodybars, balls, jump ropes, spinning bikes (and there really is a proper way to spin you know), and many body weight exercises. I really knew nothing to start and my knowledge grew.

As time progressed I wanted more. The group sessions didn't interest me any longer and the others often failed to show. If we all weren't there, there could be no class. This was not working for me, I was hungry to learn.

I asked Baz if he would be my personal trainer. Just me and him, lifting weights. It was deal between just the two of us.

My life would change completely after this.

I am strong, and even back then I was pressing some good weight, here I have 65 pound dumbbells and I was pressing reps! I am holding them so straight so the numbers can be read....

I got lean, there was no question about that, but I wanted muscles, I wanted to be full and have shape and make people go "wow!" when I walked by. 

I learned how to bench, I can see I am doing 135 here but don't think it was for many reps.

I loved cables then and love them now. They make my arms really look good.

Baz didn't teach me the science of strength training, I wasn't ready and probably wasn't interested, that came later in my lifting career. He did eat a lot healthier though, as we became good friends the foods were discussed more often. 

E-Z-curl bar!


At one time another member asked Baz if I might help her and he encouraged us to talk. We did, she started to follow me, I found that I was being held back by her. She knew nothing and I suddenly felt I knew so much. 


I eventually had to tell her that she couldn't follow me and train with me, I worried about it for weeks and I felt horrible, but she was causing me to focus on her, when I wanted to focus on me. This situation will continue throughout my years in the gym, but I quickly end it now before it can start, unless I want it to continue.

David and I would go to Baz's for parties and BBQ's, he loved to host and always had healthy, lean meats. That is the one thing I really recall is he was a stickler for lean meat, and no fat at all could be on a chicken. In the back of my mind, I think he had a job as a butcher many, many years prior.

I asked David what he remembers most about Baz and his response was "clean chicken, he could strip a chicken of every bit of fat and sinew faster than anyone I have ever seen!"

Baz has two kids, close in age to Cooper, so the kids were usually included, we would swim, BBQ and have fun.

 

Baz now owns a Planet Beach in San Jose, close to Santana Row.

As I wrote this I shot him an email, he and his girlfriend Silke are at Los Gatos Music in the Park, having a good time as always. 

In the end, Baz stopped working at my gym, so we could no longer train together. We discussed me coming to his other gym, but it wasn't close by, so we ended parting ways. I think I trained with him for a little over two years. 


Once we were no longer training together it was sort of frightening. I was nervous about going in and lifting on my own, would I know what to do and in what order? Who would spot me on the bench press? 


Then the thought of being on my own was exciting. Very, very exciting. You see, I had found that I really am a loner, I prefer training on my own. It's me and my music, or me and my trainer. 


I discovered that I do not really enjoy group exercise, I don't want to be held back by someone else, and it seemed I was always being held back, it was never the other way around.


I learned that a woman's place in in the squat rack, and beautiful women have muscles, skinny is not attractive.


I started seeking those muscles with a vengeance after this.

The next year and a half I would be on my own. And this year and a half would encompass more personal growth and discovery than I will probably ever experience again.

Monday Morning Motivation

Sometimes we have to set very specific goals for ourselves, or we won't get where we are going. 

"Well, I just won't eat as much sweets as I used to", or "I will try not to have such a big plate of pasta", or "I won't have too many cocktails at the party".

What happens with that? How can you quantify "as much" or "such a big plate" or "too many"?

If you compare to someone else, well, they may be a professional linebacker and can eat 2 pounds of pasta. It just doesn't work. Also, the above statements are negative. Eliminate negativity from your life, it will not help you at all.

Instead do this:

"I will eat only one piece of candy a day" and "I will have no more than one cup of cooked pasta at a meal" and "I will have two glasses of wine, no more".

Do you notice these are more positive statements" "I wills" instead of "I won'ts"

It works, and you can do it!

"Instead of giving myself reasons why I can't, I give myself reasons why I can."

`Unknown

"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."

`Confucius

"When the world says 'Give up,' Hope whispers, 'Try it one more time.'

`Unknown

"Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles and the bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else."

`Brian Tracy

My Heart, My Body, My Soul

I am a thinker, I think about everything and probably over analyze it all, I am a very critical thinker- details, steps, process, it all needs to fit.

There are some people at work who absolutely LOVE my way of working, and, unfortunately I tend to drive others CRAZY!!!!

But, I can take an abstract idea and turn it into reality in a split second, complete with detailed steps, process, procedure and expected outcome. I love it when someone throws a concept at me and I can turn ideas into reality. My staff knows what is expected of them, and they also know that I will provide them with every necessary tool or training to get there. No surprises.

I was thinking about my own training and how I ever arrived at my present state. I believe myself to be well rounded, knowledgeable, current, tolerant and practical.

I have ideas, and they become works of art, functional working pieces of life.

I strive to be the best I can be, yet like most others, I also enjoy the fine things in life, the good foods, the wine, the sweets, lazing around in bed late (OK, I am lying, I never sleep in), and sitting in the sun doing nothing.

Yet, no matter what, my alarm will sound at the allotted time so I will be at the gym when they open, everyday. Even when I am not working and don’t have a schedule to adhere to, it drives David nuts!

What makes me tick different than others? Why do I have a drive that stuns so many other people? Why do I feel invincible when others feel defeated? Why do I feel I can continue when others feel they will drop?

Vision

Goals

Celebration

Rejuvenation

Entitlement

I have a VISION of the muscular and lean body I can be, and that I have been.

I have a GOAL to be bigger, leaner, and shapelier than before.

I CELEBRATE when I have pushed myself hard and know I will reap results.

I feel REJUVENATED when I lay in the steam room after a long, hard session, just clearing my mind of all clutter and cares.

I feel ENTITLED when I enter any club or gym and and I have every right to be there, using every piece of equipment that I choose, wearing what I feel comfortable wearing. I have a right to train how I want to train.

I have also trained and learned from many wonderful and talented individuals. I have read numerous text books, training books, journals, medical logs, and research and silly magazines.

I have learned so much of what to do, and what not to do, from all of my trainers. And when I say what NOT to do, I mean only what doesn’t work for me. I feel that all of my trainers have been well qualified, experienced, caring individuals, and were right for me at that time we were training.

I recall something very fun and interesting about each trainer, I have had four in my life, yet I only started training seriously 10 years ago. I would never replace any of them for anyone else, and I value my lessons from each.

I approached each session with a goal. I wanted to learn, I wanted to grow, and I also wanted interaction with someone else. Someone who could help critique me, motivate me, help me to self critique, self motivate and set goals.

I have never relied on anyone to motivate me day to day, yet when training intensely, I could always use a boost from someone else to remind me to stop being so critical of myself, to help me see that I am indeed growing, to help push me that extra bit.

Today? I trained my usual 2 hours on Saturday at 6:00 am and then went home and ate, did some things around the house, then back to the club to meet Stacy for cardio. We were texting the night before, she said she had an hour of cardio to do, I said I NEVER do that much cardio! Her reply? “Yes you do, that’s how we met!”

She was right, after I broke my rib that’s all I was able to do, so I would walk on the stairmill for an hour a day. I met her one day as she was doing the same. I blocked it out of my mind I guess.

Stacy and I met, talked as we sweated away on the stairmills (only 30 minutes though) and then to my house for Greek salads and David’s homemade rose in the backyard. I think we talked for about three hours!

Every time I got up, my legs ached, but nothing too bad, the next day would surely be the worst.

We had a great time, talking about everything under the sun. Having relationships with people who have similar interests can be so invigorating and exciting.

Coming in the next few days: My past and present trainers and what I learned.

German Volume Training and Moby

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Friday! I arrived at BodyComp Gym and Roy was there waiting. I asked what the plan was today. I knew it would be legs, quads or hams, but not sure exactly what we would do.

German Volume Training. The best for adding mass, just what I like.

Some stretching and chatting, I told him I would be helping a friend move some stuff afterward, I think it was lumber but not quite sure. He said "hmmm, good luck after this!"

Front squats 60% one rep max, 10 sets of 10 with a 90 second rest period in between.

Sounds fairly easy, only gets harder as you go though. 

I was sweating after the first few sets, my top was getting soaked and I was breathing hard. These are front squats, as low as I can go, ass to ground, knees out in front, slowly descending, concentrating on the "time under tension", then shooting up, thrusting the hips forward.

Nice.....

Roy said I would get a burst of energy near the end, I told him they said the same thing to me during childbirth and that's about when I screamed "give me drugs!" and they said "no, you said you wanted natural child birth". Jerks, how dare they remind me of what I said days and days ago!

I was doing 95 pounds, he said Tuesday I should be able to do 100. OK!

A long nice rest then we went into Good Mornings to hit the abs, lower back and hams.

70 pounds, lower to almost parallel with the ground, keeping the abs pulled in tight, slight curve to the back and then come up, but not all the way, never lose the tension on the weight, coming all the way up to a standing position is simply allowing a rest period, we don't want rest we want as much "time under tension" as possible. 

4 sets of 10, again, I could feel the muscles straining as I slowly lowered the weight, it was pulling on my hamstrings. Widen the stance and go duck foot to hit the lower back a little more.

50 minutes, that's all it took, but those 50 minutes flew by like I just got there, it seemed like 10.

I quickly drank my R4 and took supplements, and off to help Mark move the lumber.

Moby?

My 1 ton 30 year old Chevy. My son got in it yesterday, hooked a U turn in front of the house and it broke down, right in front of the house but across the street, pretty convenient place to stall huh?

I needed to have AAA tow it to the end of the street, to the Chevron station so Michael could check it out. David said it was way too heavy to push and it is  an automatic so it just needed  a short tow.

The tow truck driver easily pushed it up on the harness, I told him had I known it was that light I could have pushed the darn thing. He looked at me and said "Well from the looks of you I would say, yes, you probably could have".

The driver hooked up Moby, and we drove the 10 houses down to the Chevron station. As he finished backing up, he said "Kristy" and stuck his hand out to shake mine. "It has been a pleasure! My name is Glen, If you can wait while I unhook the truck I can give you a lift home". 

"Thanks Glen, but I think I can use the exercise, I will just walk".

I walked back, it took me all of 2 minutes and I was thinking how difficult this short walk might be tomorrow. I might just be re-enacting the child birth scene "give me drugs!!"  ha ha ha


As a follow up- I wrote this at about 3:30 and later, at about 6:00, I sat at the kitchen table with David and our friend Jay having a glass of wine. The exhaustion just washed over me, a feeling that I don't recall ever having after weight training, at least not in a long time. 


My body felt relaxed, but as though every ounce of energy had been used and there was nothing left in my stores to help me move my arms, my legs, my head. I had refueled with a carb- protein drink (4-1 ratio) and then a full meal, with dinner still to come, so it wasn't that the glycogen stores were empty, it was the sheer volume of the session.


The thought of repeating this with a slightly heavier weight on Tuesday is exciting and daunting at the same time. Exciting because I know I can do it and it is pushing my body to the limit, daunting because I know I can easily stop and tell myself that I have had enough, I cannot possibly continue.


But I remind myself that it only took me 50 minutes, I can't use time as an excuse. 


Tuesday weighs on my mind.

Comments on my Physique

I write all the time about comments  others make about me and my look. I recently decided to keep a mental note of comments. Please don't get me wrong, I love it! I just don't understand what all the fuss is about though. To me, I look fit but normal. it seems though, by all the comments that I seem to generate, I appear to others far from "normal".


Saturday:


"You are a VERY strong woman!" (said by the wine maker pouring wine into my glass at a tasting in the Santa Cruz Mountains.)


Tuesday:


"Mom, you scare me! Every time I look at your arms I get frightened."  (My son's plastic surgeon as he is examining his finger in his office.)


Wednesday:


"Do you lift weights?" (Grocery clerk asks as she bags my purchase).

Friday:

"Are you a bodybuilder? You look great and work so hard! You look very feminine though......"(conversation with me and two women takes place at the coffee counter at the club at about 5:45 am, I am leaving, they are arriving.)

"When you eat that are there any carbs in there or just protein and vegetables?" (asked by co-worker who followed me into my office from kitchen after I heated my lunch at 10:00 am. I have to eat early to lift heavy at noon with Roy.)

"Great butt!!!!" (shouted out a car window from a woman leaving the high school parking lot across the street from my house, as I got out of my car in front of my house. I think she was a student.)

Saturday:

"Hey! Last time I saw you, you were getting ready for a competition!" (Guy shouting across lobby of gym to me at 6:00 am in the morning. I have been there everyday, where has he been?)


"You look like you spend an awful lot of time in the gym!" (man hosting a party I am attending). 


Sunday:


Random guy "You come in here everyday don't you?" 
Kristy - "yes" 
Random guy "How long are you here?" 
Kristy- "one hour on weekdays, and two hours on weekends"
(Guy I have never noticed before who walks up to me as I am sitting in the cafe having coffee, watching a tennis game after my Sunday shoulder workout.)


"Oh my god look at those arms!" (Girlfriend I haven't seen in a few weeks)


I get comments constantly, and I think it's odd because if you stand me up next to other Figure competitors, we all look like this! I guess the real novelty is you rarely see us walking around in public, at least I don't see many other women like me, even at my gym.  


It's unfortunate that the fit bodies are the minority, and the overweight or unfit are the norm, wouldn't it be better if it were the other way around?


It is a rare occasion that I will see a women that appears to be a competitor, or at least looks the part. I think that may be because there aren't that many of us really, and then so many allow themselves to get fat in the off season. But what I realize as I write this, when I see another really muscular, fit woman, I want to walk up and ask her about her smoking hot bod too! ha ha ha

Observations at the Gym and Life Lessons

I was staying at my father in laws house last week, and of course didn't want to skip the gym, so I visited the one in his area. I had been there before with Alicia, she lives across the street with him and has been taking very good care of him since my mother in law passed away in February.

When Alicia and I went, we had only chatted over email and Facebook, it was fun to meet her in person, she was filled with excitement about learning something new. I remember as we pulled up to the gym she looked at me and said "I have a feeling we aren't going to the ladies part of the gym" and I exclaimed that I had never been to a gym that had a separate men's and women's section, so she can rest assured we will NOT be going to the ladies section!

On Friday I walked into the "men's section (and by the way, it is Alicia's regular part of the gym now!) and started lifting, it was back and bicep day for me.

I noticed two men, huge chests, spotting each other as they did set after set of bench press, and with some really good weight on the bar. Both of them had wide, massive, impressive chests.

Then I did what I always do. I looked at their butts.

They had none. Not one between 'em!

I see so many men who spend so much time on developing a massive set of pecs, only to ignore the rest of their bodies, sad. 

It's like women who think they can go out and buy silicone breast implants and not worry about their rolls of fat on their stomachs, or their huge saddle bags. They will run around in a tight t-shirt but wouldn't darn don a bikini.

Sorry, it's a package deal and good packages are compact and tight.

I notice a woman on the decline bench, doing ab crunches. She has a cell phone in one hand and transfers it back and forth as she crunches.  What on earth is going through her mind? 

As I put on my clothes in the locker room that same women looks at me and speaks. She nods her head at me and says:

"How long do you have to work so your arms look like that?" 

For the first time in my life I don't hesitate. 

"10 years" I said.

I wasn't trying to be mean nor was I trying to discourage her, but I have worked hard, and I continue to work hard. To have someone hold their cell phone while they do "crunches" and then even ask me how long it took me to get where I am was just too much. 

It's not just the time, it's the effort, the dedication, the passion, the diet, the self critique, the constant criticism (upon request), it's so much more than a couple crunches on a Friday morning. 

It's my life.

The day before we had rested my mother's ashes in the niche. It was a beautiful military memorial in a quiet cemetery. Smooth, cool Italian marble and a rough, strong rock on top. Then a bronze bayonet and helmet embedded in the rock. A fitting place for a strong woman.

There was a saying on one of the niches that has stayed with me.

Cherish yesterday

Live today

Dream tomorrow

This helped me through the rest of the day, and I continue to think about it still. We can all use this as we live, as we mourn, as we lift.

Sunday with "R"

Ever have one of those days when you put your clothes on inside out? Here I am still smiling with my shirt on inside out! This was actually taken Friday right after I left Roy's, I was so high I didn't notice!

"R" came over on Sunday and as usual, we sat in the backyard and sipped some white wine. Seems like there is a lot of that going on here, but I do have a beautiful backyard and my husband makes wine, so.....

I hadn't seen "R" in quite some time, she no longer trains in the mornings. We met over a year ago, I recall she once told me she watched me come in every morning and I would go onto the treadmill and walk. 

For 5 minutes only. 

She couldn't believe that I looked the way I do and that was it for my cardio so she had to meet me. She talked to me and we have been friends ever since!

Before I met "R" she was heavy - she told me and I have seen pictures. She worked very, very hard to lose all of the weight. When we first became friends she only did cardio, she told me she had done it for years and never saw the results she wanted.

First we started discussing diet and did an overhaul, she ate healthy and only needed a bit of tweaking, I think she was actually not eating enough everyday as I think back.

Then one day, I finally convinced her to get off the cardio "treadmill" and learn to train with weights. She hired a trainer, one who helped her learn technique and various exercises. "R" quickly outgrew this type of training, she was ready for more hardcore stuff.

She then started training with a different trainer, one who taught her how to squat and deadlift and use all the free weights, she trained with him for a very long time and looked better and better everyday.

She still always felt she needed him I think. She didn't quite have the confidence she needed to go on her own, but work forced her - she had to start training on her own due to her schedule change.

"R" took up Crossfit.  We talked quite a bit about it on Sunday, and I saw a glint in her eyes, a passion that I had never seen before. 

It's like she has been re-born, as a sleek, lean and strong woman, who is completely assured of herself and what she is doing.

Now I have never done Crossfit and I really have no desire to, she knows much more about it than I do. But it was so fun to see the way she talked so excitedly about something, and that is the passion that we all should have for our training.

Oh- and she finally ditched the gloves! She held out her hands to proudly show me her callouses.....

"R" has arrived and she might just be teaching me a thing or two soon!

Soul Food

Today when I came home there was an envelope on the counter from the British Embassy. I knew what it was but I didn't open it, it was for my 17 year old son, Cooper.

It was his official certificate of his British Citizenship! We applied last year, it is quite a lengthy process. Now we just need to go through the entire process again to get a passport!


We spend a lot of time with our son, and I believe that is why he has grown to be a successful, caring young man.  He has great friends too who also seem to enjoy spending time here with us!


Today, his friend Adam came busting through the door with a prize in his hand. He presented it with a flourish: a package of Iberico ham from Spain.

He also had some Manchego cheese and chorizo. He and his Spanish father had visited the Spanish table in Berkeley the day before and he wanted to share this with us!

David and Cooper had LOOKED at the ham last time they were there, but it seemed way too expensive, and now here was Adam bringing it to share with us!

Here are three friends in our kitchen celebrating and having a great time. Adam, Cooper and Timothy. They have olive oil, bread, ham, cheese, and sausage.

For dinner we all had "soul food", a farm raised, organic chicken from Soul Food Farms which I had purchased from the farmers market.

I  brine it overnight in sugar, salt, water, peppercorns, clove, allspice, thyme and red pepper flakes. 

It is a Chez Panisse recipe and I always make my chicken this way. We then put it on the rotisserie and it will slowly spin over grape wood fire (from the yard out front) for almost 2 hours until the meat is falling off the bone

We had it with roasted new potatoes from our CSA delivery, artichokes and homemade aioli (garlic mayonnaise). 


For dessert Adam and Cooper had a new treat that Adam just introduced Cooper to. It is a whole milk artisinal yogurt called Saint Benoit. I don't normally eat yogurt and if I do I stick to low fat, but this stuff is alike candy. 

It comes in plain, strawberry, meyer lemon and honey. I bought several today at Whole Foods, it comes in these great crocks, which have a deposit of $1.50 on them, or you can use them as cups!

The boys all say the honey is the best.

I think that we are lucky to have 16 and 17 year olds who want to hang around with us, who appreciate fine foods and the joy of sharing them at the table.

The dinner can be tailored to a "dieter". I had only one tablespoon of aioli (120 calories), chicken breast, artichoke and half a new potato. Washed down with copious amounts of water, it was wonderful sitting outside and talking with the men. 

We have yet another 7 foot table outside, so that's where we are in the summer. They all had lots of chicken, bread dipped in the aioli and talked about all the ham they will eat as they travel through Spain together next summer, on their European Union passports...

It is important to spend quality time to teach young people to appreciate the importance of good, natural whole foods and travel. These guys all appreciate the homemade mayonnaise I made them, they know they cannot get it at the store and they know I made it just for them, not myself.


Just because I shouldn't be eating it all doesn't mean they have to diet too. Be adventuresome with your foods, invite the kids to try new things, open up a world of wonder for them.