I Love My Daddy

I’m a little late, but Happy New Year to you all! I hope that everyone’s had an excellent holiday. My New Year started off quiet; exactly the way I wanted it. I just wanted to spend it at home surrounded by family; reflecting on the year that just passed. I’ve always felt that it is good to stop and reflect about things. Unfortunately, society spends way too much time rushing to the next thing and not really thinking about the consequences of the past. Or, not thinking about how some things can have serious side effects to your future plans. It’s time to stop and smell the roses and perhaps enjoy life just a little.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take very long for me to get sick again this month. I’ve been hit with a very bad bug for the past week and I’m pretty sure it’s the flu as it came on suddenly and I had a fairly high temperature. I’m on Day 7 now and I think for the most part, it’s improved. But I can’t shake the feeling that it’s morphing into something else as I’ve developed another symptom. Although I pray that this is not true, I have a feeling this is the same thing I had last year around this time. And that took me weeks if not 2 months to recover. The only benefit my body is getting from this cold is that I’ve lost weight. Not a healthy way to lose weight but a consequence nevertheless. I think I lost 4 pounds in 3 days and now that we are up to a week, I think I’ve lost a total of 6 pounds and counting. It’s not surprising since I am not able to eat much. These days all I’ve been living on is jello, soup and tea. Ahhh soup.

One of the advantages of being sucky when you’re sick is getting homemade soup from Dad.

I love my Dad. Not only is he the best cook ever, he always knows what makes me feel better when I am sick. He made me his chicken corn egg drop soup. Due to my “whining”, he decided to make me the quick and dirty version. Normally, he would have used homemade chicken stock. Since I hadn’t eaten anything all day except for a small bowl of lime jello, he quickly went to work. After all, he can’t let one of his “babies” starve “to death”. Yes, even though I’m in my 30’s I’m still considered one of his babies. And as true Daddy style, he settled down next to me and had some with me too. Here’s the recipe below. Hope you enjoy it.

Dad’s Chicken Corn Egg Drop Soup

1 can of chicken broth or homemade chicken broth

1 can of cream of corn

2 eggs

cornstarch

cooked plain chicken, minced

salt and pepper to taste

water

1) Pour the broth and cream of corn in the pot. Add 3 cans of water (measured from the broth and cream of corn). You can add more if you like it a little less thick. Heat til simmering.

2) Add in the chicken, salt and pepper, corn starch. Stir until all mixed up.

3) In a separate bowl, crack eggs and mix together.

4) When the pot has started to boil, take it off the heat and slowly stir in the mixed egg.

The soup should be ready to serve immediately. I recommend eating this hot only and if desired a bit of red vinegar. However, if you are sick (like I am at the moment) it’s best to just have it plain with the company of Dad . Enjoy!

Thank you Dad.

Christmas Cookies 2009

This year I didn’t really feel like making cookies even though I kept telling people I was going to make them as gifts for some friends. Although my procrastination might have been influenced by the fact that I was still completing assignments by December 22nd. However, once I was done school for the break I really got into baking and I just couldn’t stop myself. Ironically, the “tradition” of my sisters helping me out with the baking has ended. I wasn’t upset as really the act of baking is something that soothes my soul.

Xmas Cookies 2009

This year was no exception and I was finally able to take a picture of the finished product. This is a picture my sister took on her blackberry of the Xmas cookies that I will be giving to my friends. While I love these cookies I only make them once a year as they are far from healthy and can be quite decadent. I am still fiddling with some ingredients to make more healthier treats. Once I am happy with the finished product I’ll post an update on them. 2009 Xmas cookies are from the top going clockwise, Skor petticoat tails (shortbread), macaroons, ginger bread cookies, candy cane fudge, cranberry shortbread squares and peppermint bark.

Family Records

In the midst of all this family drama, it came to light that it would be a good idea to record Mom and Dad’s recipes. As much as we all don’t like to think about it, sooner or later they won’t be with us. We have to do all we can to keep the memories we have of them when they are gone. LH had requested we all send in any recipes that we collected from Mom and Dad and she would compile it in a book. I thought it would be a better idea if we just posted everything on a blog, like WordPress, but make it private and only available to family members. That way all of us can make contributions as well. It’s a fantastic idea to start making these records and I can’t wait until it’s up and running.

The Kindness of Strangers

It’s been so long since I’ve done any form of exercise and I fear that all the progress I made last year has been lost. I was so proud of myself for losing all that weight and decreasing my body fat %. I was at my fittest last year weighing in at about 125 lbs with a body fat % of 16-17%. It’s not the “thinnest” I’ve ever been in my life but it was certainly the strongest I’ve ever felt. I was able to lift 90 lbs regularly and was well on my way to doing my first ever pull-up. I had never felt so good in my life. I felt like I could do anything if I only put my mind to it.

So you can imagine my dismay when  near the end of last year I was forced to stop working out completely due to injuries, mounting stress and illness.

Interestingly, I had my physical this week and was pleasantly surprised that I did not gain as much weight as I thought I did. In actuality, I think I only gained no more than 5 lbs. However, knowing the things I do now by educating myself academically through school and online made me change my mind. A better way of gauging how “healthy” I am is not to focus on my weight but more with how my clothes fit. Unfortunately, they just don’t fit as well as they did before. I can only estimate that even though I may not have gained that much “weight”, I most likely lost a lot of muscle as I’ve found I am not as strong as I was before.

One site I’ve found useful, is a blog called HealthHabits. I’ve been following it for a while now and have found that the information has some practical exercises a serious and even novice athletes can incorporate in their training. It also contains information related to health, nutrition and even recipes.  I’ve always been interested in food as a child, most likely because of my upbringing (who wouldn’t if they had a Dad as a Chef?!) and ethnic background (Asians are notorious for their love of food). However, it wasn’t until last year that I became more and more intrigued with how the body performs optimally when it is fueled appropriately. This of course means eating healthier. Time and time and again I’ve found myself going back to this site. If not only to motivate myself to eat healthier or get back to exercising. Which brings me to the title of my post today. While I was waiting for my appointment at the doctor, I decided to “reach out” to the internet. I sent an email to the write of HealthHabits to ask him for any advice he could give for a cardio activity for someone in my predicament.

Not Exercising

Uncontrolled Asthma (smog, allergy, high stress)

Unemployed = No $$ for a gym

Limited Floor Space and Equipment

I honestly, only expected him to respond back with a quick one line answer. Never did I expect him to volunteer to write a couple of workouts for me. I’m hoping these will help me to get back on my feet. God knows, I really need it.  Still, it warms my heart to know that the world is not completely void of kindness. Not everyone is out to make a buck off people’s misery. This guy truly cares about making a change for the better in people’s Health. I have the tools; now it’s up to me to do the work.

A Melancholy Fall

Last month was difficult and stressful. Mom had to be rushed to the emergency room twice and the second time they finally admitted her into the hospital. We had all gotten two colds at the beginning of the month but Mom had taken longer to recover because she had heart complications. The first cold was normal with a slight fever. But the second cold was a particularly nasty one that included vomiting, diarrhea and lots of coughing. Even I, myself struggled with it. I was coughing so much that I was vomiting and could not hold down any food. My asthma was at it’s peak and I found I was leaning on my puffer a bit too much. In the end I went and saw my doctor. It was more to renew a prescription I had from before. However, after much “grilling” from my doctor she had decided to prescribe a different medication for me and instructed me to go back to see her in two weeks if things did not improve. She did not like how I was becoming reliant on the puffer I currently had since it is not being used for what it was originally intended for (prevention). I never got the new puffer because when I went to check the price I found it was at least $178!!! FOR ONE! As a person that is still unemployed, and has no medical benefits I just did not have enough money to even pay for it. I’ve found that once my stress level goes up, the severity of my asthma increases. I still had a bit of my other puffer left so I am using that. Tomorrow I will be seeing my doctor and we’ll see what happens. In the meantime, I’ve been trying to find other alternative ways of coping with my asthma. One thing I’ve found to help cope with my stress is a ginseng & royal jelly tonic I’ve been taking daily.
So far, it’s been helping. I’ve learned in school that ginseng is an adaptogen and helps the body to “adapt” to changes in the body. In particular, if your stress level is increased due to physical illness or mental stress.

One of the other things that happened in my life is that I broke up with AS. I had been thinking about it for a while now and we had actually talked about my uncertainty with the relationship. There were many signs and red flags for me. At the same time, there were also many positive aspects of the relationship that I had not experienced before. He really was the first person to ever accept me for who I am, faults and all. As with most relationships that end, the feelings were not mutual. I couldn’t have done it at a worse time… a few days before Halloween and just over a week ago before one of his good friend’s wedding. I felt horrible but I had to be true to myself.

A-ha – Crying In The Rain lyrics | LyricsMode.com
As well, I had so much stress in my life in the past few weeks that I could  not handle the added stress of a difficult relationship. Even though I told him that things were not well with my family he did not exactly respect my request for space. It didn’t help that he never met my parents either and be there physically for me. While I do appreciate all that he’s done for me, financially and emotionally my decision was based on something I was dwelling about for quite some time. I just did not feel we were compatible. He’s a great guy but I don’t think we really saw eye to eye with many things. I tried to be as honest with him as much as I could and told him we could still be friends. A good friend of mine told me that you will go through the motions of mourning the loss of him but in the end you will know that it was for the best for both of you. My head knows that but my heart doesn’t feel it. I miss him terribly. I don’t know if it was the emotional support he gave me that is making me feel this way. I’ve never felt like I could ever talk to anyone and just be myself around except him. I wonder and question myself if it was the right thing to do or if I’ve just made the biggest mistake in my life. I wonder if I will ever find someone again that will accept me for who I am. I’ve always felt that maybe I am better off alone and that it’s best that I be single since I have so much instability in my life. Perhaps I am destined to be alone forever. I used to think that I’ve always preferred that. But now I am not so sure…I find myself missing him more and more each day.