It’s the first of the month, which of course means New Month’s Resolution time!

I really do love the first day of every month, it all just seems like a fresh start to me.  All day today, as I wandered Brooklyn in search of refreshing frozen yogurt, and a shady tree to rest my head under, I contemplated what was most important in my life at this very moment.

August to me was about control: reigning in the loose ends of my schedule, my finances, and my career.  July was all about fitness.  Well, September is all about people.

I’m a worker, I’ve got that down.  I’m in a fitness groove, I’ve got that covered.  Healthy eating, for the most part I’m there.  Now, the thing I think I’d like to focus on most is the people in my life.

September Resolutions:

• Compliment one person every day.  People deserve to be appreciated.  Compliments are good for the soul.
• Call my mom (and dad) twice a week.  If you knew me in person (and you can probably tell just by reading my blog), you would know that I’m a wee bit obsessed with my parents.  I love them, I want them to be healthy, and happy, and okay.  I worry about them 100% of the time…that doesn’t mean, however that I call them as often as I should.  I feel guilty about that.  This month I am resolving to touch base with the parentals twice a week.  [My mom reads my blog, so I'm pretty sure there's no getting out of this one ]
• Remind one person a day that they are important to me.
• Talk to strangers.  Not just any strangers, but strangers in my running class.  Sometimes I get in such a game face kind of place when I’m doing something physical that I forget that it’s a great opportunity to meet other like minded folks (who run at the same pace as i do).
• Make plans with friends at least once a week.  I am a fairly social person, but when I started preparing for my impending shoot, I cut a lot of socializing out of my life because of the food and alcohol involved in socializing.  Well, I’m resolved now to steer clear of crazy and obsessive behavior, and as far as I’m concerned calling out of life “diet” is crazy.
• Return emails in a timely fashion.  I used to be so good at getting back to people instantaneously.  Lately that is so not the case.  Sometimes I can go days without returning emails.  I have a list of emails I need to respond to.  This is just getting out of hand, I need to overcome my inbox.
• Lastly, but not least…smile at people.  This goes back to my resolution from a few months ago to smile more.  Now, instead of focusing on smiling  haphazardly (which can make one look a wee bit  off), I’m going to try and direct those unsolicited smiles at people.

This month, my resolutions revolve around the fact that while work is important, as is money, time, and the circumference of my hips in relation to the bikini I have to wear in November; people are more important.  People are the most important resource we have in life.  I can’t think of a single thing in life that can’t be bettered by being a good friend, daughter, or regular ole citizen.

What are you resolving this month?

Kim

I have worked very hard over the years to separate feelings of guilt and food, and for the most part I think I’ve been pretty successful. My goal is generally not to go to extremes–and that seems to keep me from succumbing to food related crazy.

Well, back in June I got a job (one that I didn’t announce here, and one that I’m not completely coming clean about yet). The job is sort of a modelling/commercial/print ad thing. The shoot is in November, and part of the deal is that I spend the months between June and November getting in the best possible shape. And by that I mean, my food intake and exercise schedule is guided by and reviewed by nutrition professionals weekly.

The company has never asked me to do anything I deem unhealthy (or I wouldn’t do it), and honestly have been quite supportive and informative in regard to this process. However, for all extents and purposes I am on a diet.

I hate diets, and with diets come crazy. If you haven’t noticed, let me just say recently my fitness routine has been intense. I’m averaging 2-hours a day, 6 days a week. My diet, which I’ve always considered fairly healthy, is constantly being “cleaned up.”

For the most part I’ve handled this pretty well. The last few months I’ve tried to keep my food intake “rational” even with outside guidance, and I’ve actually welcomed the fitness instruction. But last night, after months of deprivation, and saying “no” to myself, I just lost my mind. I binged.

I’m not a binger, binging in generally isn’t something I battle the urge to do often. It’s happened a few times in life based on boredom, but I wouldn’t say it’s a tendency I battle regularly. But yesterday, oh man I couldn’t stop. Once I got an idea in my head about some food there was no amount of rationalizing that would quelle me until I had it. Four buffalo wings, a bowl of wonton soup, a package of sour strawberry straws, an English muffin with butter and jam, and three slices pizza later, I finally felt satisfied and called it a night with the food.

But, it got me thinking, “Is this really worth it?” I am not this person. Money is good, the ad campaign is flattering, but I was very close to calling the company and being like, “This whole experience is turning me into a food-crazed maniac.” Seriously guys, I’ve started keeping a list of foods I will eat one day, when I can eat again. I’m not sure how I feel about continuing on in this experience, but I am actually under a contract–so I’m going to try and make the best of the next couple of months without losing sight of my principles and concept of moderation.

Okay, I just had to admit that.

Now on to the good stuff. I’m still on staycation (at least from my jobby-job). I had some writing assignments to finish this morning, but once those were done I took myself on a date to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s one of my favorite places in the world. Here are some of the highlights:

This guy was totally checking me out...

but, my heart belongs to another.

Does anyone watch "Real Housewives of New Jersey"? This picture totally reminded me of Theresa's new baby.

Okay, confession time. There's a room in the Met that houses a painting that is a 360 degree panoramic view of Versailles and the gardens. I've always secretly dreamed I would get engaged in the gardens of Versailles--I only feel comfortable admitting this because I'm not dating anyone. Ssshhh, don't tell

After a few solid hours of museum meandering, I grabbed a snack and took a stroll around Central Park before I had to head to my running class.  It was really a perfect summer day.

I ran 4-miles tonight in running class, we were working on hills.  Afterward I mostly just felt like laying down and icing my knees, plus my stomach was upset so I forwent dinner.

Here’s the food rundown:

Breakfast

I kept it simple with a cup of coffee.  Truth be told I was still full from yesterday.

Lunch

Curried chicken tenders, steamed Brussel sprouts, brown rice

Dinner/Pre-Running Class Snack

Shrimp cocktail–maybe this was why my stomach wasn’t so hot after class.

For a chaser I had some fruit salad.

Kim

I make a mean turkey chili.

One of the reasons I love it is because it’s really lean when it comes to fat, but super high in fiber and protein.  My version has over 40 grams of protein per serving, and almost a days worth of fiber! Also, it’s delicious, and ridiculously easy to make,  so it’s basically the best thing ever.

Just look at these nutritional factoids:

Here’s how I make it…

Kim’s Super Lean Turkey Chili

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 20 4/5 oz package Extra Lean Ground Turkey
• 15 1/2 oz can Black Beans
• 15 1/2 oz can Small Red Beans or Dark Red Kidney Beans
• 4 oz can Green Chiles
• 2 8oz cans of Tomato Sauce
• 1 cup Onions
• 1 tbsp Safflower Oil
• 3 Cloves of Garlic
• 2 tsp Paprika
• 1 tbsp Chili Powder
• Ceyenne Pepper to taste

Directions:

Add oil to already heated pan.  Add diced onions and allow to soften for five minutes, add garlic, and green chilies.  Allow onion, garlic, chili combination to combine and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Add extra lean ground turkey meat.  Use wooden spoon to break up meat.  When meat is partially cooked (should look white instead of pink).  Add spices, chili powders vary, so add according to your own preferences.  Stir spices into meat, and add drained and rinsed beans.  Mix beans into turkey mixture, then add tomato sauce.

Bring sauce up to a boil, then back down to a simmer.  Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Optional: Top with sour cream or cheddar cheese, or serve over brown rice

Oh, and don’t forget the apron…

Kim

My boss, at my jobby-job quit.  This sort of changes my role within the company, and gives me the opportunity to make the job into more of something I want to be doing.  In addition to getting used to an increased freelance load, I’ve been in many, many meetings lately basically redesigning my position.

I had been aiming to leave my jobby-job around this time, but with this change I feel like it’s worth it to stick around for a while and see if I can make my work day a wee bit more enjoyable, if not more fulfilling intellectually.

To celebrate I decided to take some time off from work, and go back to work in September all shiny and new…and because I’ve been really exhausted and just really need some down time.  Today was the first day of an 11 day staycation for me and it was absolutely PERFECT.

I didn’t blog last night because I had a show, then proceeded to maybe drink beer for dinner and get home very late.  So, my first day of staycation started by sleeping in!  Upon awakening from slumber I started my day in my most favorite way possible: meeting up with my friend Sarah for a writing date at “our office.”

Since today was my first day of “staycation” I decided to indulge in a coffee shop breakfast: coffee and cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese

After our respective writing responsibilities were fulfilled we decided it was time for a little Brooklyn style celebrating.

Mid-day sangria break!

So refreshing…

so glamorous!

Of course, all that sangria made us hungry so we split a grilled pizza with prosciutto and arugula:

After a very indulgent lunch I decided to be a bit more proactive about future health choices, and I took my slightly inebriated self to Trader Joe’s for some grocery shopping.

I love TJ’s!  Can’t help it, that place just makes me happy.  It was packed mid-afternoon on a week day, but I stocked up on all sorts of yummy stuff.  While waiting on line to check out the woman in front of me proceeded to turn to me and say, “I believe in complimenting people, and you are beautiful.”

Well, that totally took me by surprise.  Obviously, I thanked her profusely and we got to talking, she’s visiting New York from LA–apparently she was not quite used to Trader Joe’s being quite so busy (the line wrapped around the store).  It’s still kind of a novelty here, so it is always packed.

When it came time to check out, the cashier forgot to ring up my curry marinated chicken.  I told the cashier and he just winked at me and proceeded to continue to pack my groceries.

On the bus, on the way home everyone was just super pleasant.  Young people gave up their seats to older folks, people said hello to one another, and when it was time for me to get off someone even helped me off with my cart (yes, I totally rock the classic wheely cart).

The whole day just felt really happy.  A leisurely lunch with a friend, followed by random acts of kindness and general displays of the innate niceties of humanity.  We hear a lot about how crappy people are, but I think for the most part people are pretty great.

Upon putting away my groceries I got right back on public transportation to meet up with some friends, my childhood acting teacher and his girlfriend.  He’s the guy from that Citibank commercial where the son and dad go to Norway then find out they’re Swedish:

I saw grilled seafood tacos on the menu and assumed they’d be a healthy choice.  Ummm, not so much…

I guess a little indulging is expected on vacation, even if you are staying home.  Three cheers for staycation!

Kim

Can you tell we're related?

Since I couldn’t be home today to celebrate with the family (silly being a grown-up with jobs and stuff), I visited the folks over the weekend.  Every year for my dad’s birthday, because he’s really hard to shop for, I take him and my mom out to a baseball game.  The Long Island Ducks are our team of choice.  There’s just something hokey and wholesome about minor league baseball that makes me happy.  While there I treat my dad to concessions and a new baseball hat.  Fun times are had by all.

Handsome guy, right?

Quacker Jack calling a play

While on “the Island” this weekend I went to a grocery store.  Suburban grocery stores never cease to amaze me.  Perhaps it’s the prices (so much lower than New York City), or the sheer size (how many aisles?), or perhaps it’s just the blatantly bizzaro food choices available to the masses in the suburbs.

I will admit that I live in a quasi-Yuppy neighborhood in Brooklyn.  If you were imagining me living a thugtastic inner-city life, I am sorry to disappoint you.  My ‘hood is basically Brownstones and baby-carriages. Our local grocery stores cater to that population.  Which is great for someone who is all sorts of health-centric, but I didn’t realize how sheltered I was when it came to the freezer aisle (blue french fries?).

I was strangely excited to see that Pepsi is now making “throw back” soda with real sugar.  My mom, who is a fan of soda, bought 4-cases.  I feel way better, for some reason, about her drinking soda made with sugar-sugar, as opposed to High Fructose Corn Syrup-sugar.  I did see another soda that caught my eye:

Now, I’m not a parent, but if I were that would be exactly the wrong marketing tactic to take with me.  “Chubby Kids Soda” does not denote the kind of lifestyle I would wish upon my offspring.  Also, since when did kids need their own soda?  Isn’t most soda marketed to kids?  Methinks there’s an advertising exec scratching their head somewhere wondering where things went wrong.

It’s not all cynicism, for the most part when I go grocery shopping in the burbs I’m in a food wonderland. One drawback of city living is limited options, and there are so many options to be had in the great big food-buying world.  Also, wow, there are a lot more flavors of jello than I’d originally thought.

At least my grocery store has Udon noodles, take that megastore! Where are your udon noodles?  Mmm, Udon noodle soup…haven’t had that in a while.

On another note: Luna Bars=AMAZING.  Why didn’t anyone tell me this sooner?  I don’ think I ever need to date again, because these bad boys totally fulfill me.

Breakfast

Scrambled egg whites, whole wheat English Muffin,
apple sauce

Lunch

I’m a little sick of salad.  No more salad for a while.

Snack

Luna bar

Dinner

I haven’t made this in a while, but it’s a total favorite of mine:
Lentils & peas (cooked in vegetable broth, cumin, coriander, and turmeric)
Brown rice
Spiced yogurt

Tonight is a late night gym night.  I slept late and screwed up my fitness schedule, and since I hate working out during rush hour, I’ll head over there for some time on the elliptical and in the weight room post prime-time.

Kim

For the last few months I’ve been leaving running class feeling like a rock star, so much so that the instructors pretty much ordered me to move up to a new level last week.  This week was my first week as an “intermediate” level runner.

Here’s the difference between intermediate and my prior level as basic-intermediate:

• In my last class we ran 1.5 miles.  Tonight I ran 5 miles.
• The last class was aiming at an 11-minute mile.  My five miles tonight were all at a 9-minute mile pace.
• Basic-Intermediate: no hills.  Intermediate: 4-hills
• As basic-intermediate level runner I hardly broke a sweat.  By the end of my first “intermediate” run I wanted throw up my lungs.

Well, they were nice while they lasted but it looks like my rock star days are over.  I know that there are many people that run much longer runs at much faster paces–but this was definitely a personal record for me in both time and distance and I am very proud of myself if not considering spending the rest of the week in the fetal position.

Breakfast

Egg white omelet with spinach, tomato, onion
Whole grain toast

Lunch

Salad with lettuce, tomato, celery, carrot, onion, chickpeas, tuna
Lemon vinaigrette

Snacks

Grapefruit

Apple Pie Larabar

Dinner

Broccoli, shrimp, teriyaki sauce, brown rice

Kim

Sorry I fell off the face of the planet there for a while…I was busy being completely overwhelmed by my life choices.  I really should work on that.  I think I might actually have a responsibility-addiction.  Is there a 12-step program to get over hyper-productivity?

Last week as I tried really, really hard to fit in exercise, work 5-jobs, visit friends, and get adequate sleep–I realized something:  contrary to popular belief (and really, I’m the only one who has this belief) I am actually not capable of doing everything to the best of my ability.  Really.  I came up with a formula.  I can do everything mediocre, but really I can only do two-things at one time to the utmost of my skill-level.  I can exercise, have a social life, and eat well, but work is going to take a hit.  I can get a full night’s sleep and work, but the gym is going to fall by the wayside.  I can exercise and work, but sleep ain’t going to happen…and chances are that’s when I pass out in yoga class.

This realization seems to come second nature to some folks.  Some people have no problem saying, “I’m sorry, my plate is full, I really can’t take on any more right now.”  That has never crossed my mind–I literally consider every opportunity a challenge.  What if I don’t do it, and that ends up being the experience that makes me [insert goal word here: happiest, famous, homecoming queen, a contestant on 'Are you Smarter than a 5th Grader?']?

This realization was a hard pill to swallow for me.  Really, it was quite upsetting–but at one point this weekend I said to my mom, ” I need to stop treating my body like a machine.” And she was like “YES!  Yes!  YES!”  Apparently, she’d been waiting a while for me to come to this conclusion.

So, I did something I haven’t done in a while–I stopped trying at everything.  I took a weekend off from responsibility, from work (I even put an away message on my email), from exercise, from contemplating the health benefits of almond milk over hemp milk.  I just existed–and hung out with my parents, who turns out are very cool people who think I’m totally insane, but lovable.

Now it’s Monday, I got a full night’s sleep.  I got all my work done today, albeit later than usual, and I hit up a yoga class to get bendy, strong, and centered.   I ate some stuff too.

So, today was productive, but tomorrow might not be.  I’m going to try really hard to focus on listening to my body when it says, “I can’t work/run/spin/stay up till the wee hours of the morning…anymore.”  I don’t think it will come easily, in fact, I think it goes against the very fiber of my being, but I think it’s important that I stop and smell the roses once and a while.  When I die, I hope there’s more on my tombstone than “She was very productive.”

Breakfast

Shredded wheat, strawberries, almond milk

Lunch

Salad with lettuce, tomato, onion, carrot, chickpeas, grilled turkey, celery, lemon vinaigrette

Snack

Grapefruit

Dinner

Smoothie with almond milk, vanilla whey protein, banana, peaches

Kim

I’M IN A BOOK!

Last year I was asked by Katharine Sise, the author of said book, to contribute to the sections on making a living as a creative girl in the areas of blogging and web shows.  I have to say, it was a pretty cool feeling getting my book in the mail and seeing my name in print (and not attached to something I wrote)!  It makes me feel like I might even know what I’m doing.

The Kim Challenge even got a shout out:

…a little trip down memory lane:

Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, it’s a great book.  It doesn’t only focus on blogging, the book touches on all sorts of creative careers, and features artists, actors, designers, shop owners, etc.  All sorts of women who have made a career out of their creative passions.  If you’re interested in picking it up, here’s a link to the Amazon page.  Also, many of ya’ll email me asking for information about how to start working as a blogger.  In my little “Blogging Appendix”, I discuss soliciting work, getting ad revenue, and negotiating contracts.  Of course, you can also still just email me

Now on to the food:

Breakfast

Scrambled egg whites, whole grain toast, mango

Lunch

Salad with lettuce, turkey, onion, carrot, edamame, avocado, and balsamic vinegar

Dinner

Egg drop soup

Steamed shrimp and broccoli over brown rice

Kim

I hear other people do this regularly, but I am not other people.  I have always found great solice in my superhuman ability to function on half a nights sleep.  Well, no more, my body says it’s nap time—so yeah, I’ve been sleeping a lot.

This new “hobby” of mine means I didn’t get up in time to pack lunch this morning, so off  I went to Whole Foods for lunch today.  I love lunch at Whole Foods for a number of reasons, and trust me it’s not the price.  I love being surrounded by so many natural, healthy, locally grown/baked/prepared foods.  I also love people watching.

One of my most favorite things about lunchtime at Whole Foods is the fact that it gets really busy and people have to interact with each other.  I don’t know why, but it just tickles me pink when someone goes up to a stranger and says, “Would you mind if I sit here.”  Then, they sit together.  Sometimes they talk, sometimes they don’t, but in this totally hands-off, digital age, I love seeing people interact.  I’m a little weird.

Speaking of strangers, there is one less stranger in the world…at least to me.  I met Lindsay (who lives in Brooklyn, and reads this blog) over the weekend for a run in Prospect Park.  Lindsay is a much better runner than I am, but she was forgiving of my spazitude.  It was nice to have some running/talking time—even though I was mostly gasping for air so my talking sounded something like a mild cry for help.  I’ll get better at running (I had running class tonight!), and hopefully Lindsay will go running again with me soon.

Now, I didn’t blog yesterday.  Instead of being all sorts of responsible and going home to workout and do work…I played hookie on life and went to Queens to visit my very good friend Yos, and her very brand new daughter Abigail.  I am so totally in love with this child.  She really is the prettiest newborn I’ve ever seen.  Okay, I’m kind of partial, but it’s still true.  Yos’s aunt was over helping out with the baby and made us dinner.  So basically, I got to hang out with a girlfriend, play with a baby, and someone made me dinner.  Life is kind of awesome.

Monday Breakfast

Favorite milkshake smoothie: almond milk, peanut butter, chocolate whey protein, frozen banana

Lunch

I hit up Pump Energy Foods for lunch and had their turkey burger pizza style for lunch
Whole wheat pita, turkey burger, tomato sauce, fat free mozerella

Dinner

Salad, rice, steak with potatoes and vegetables

Tuesday Breakfast

Oatmeal with almond milk, almond butter, strawberries

Lunch

Salad with a bunch of stuff

Snack

Luna Bar

Dinner

Grilled turkey breast, brussel sprouts, whole wheat spaghetti and tomato sauce

Kim

There’s very little of interest going on in my brain today, instead, I’ve decided to provide you with useful Facebook fandom.  I’ve been following Jamie Eason’s Facebook fan page for a couple of months now.  She is a fitness model, and sometimes contributor to Oxygen magazine.  This woman is in unbelievable shape, and really knows her stuff in regard to nutrition and  training.  Unlike most fan pages, she really uses her page as an avenue to interact with people, answer questions, and provide really interesting information about clean eating, and strength training.

I don’t know her, so I’m not plugging a friend here.  I just happen to think that this is a really useful tool, and  there’s a lot of information to be had from following her–if you’re a fitness aficionado.

Click me, I’m a link.

You’re welcome, now I’m going to go sleep and rest my weary brain.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Breakfast

I decided to make a very regular breakfast for me “benedict style”
Whole wheat English muffin, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 cup egg whites, salsa

Lunch

Jamba Juice: Berry Protein Smoothie
(soy milk, strawberries, banana, whey protein powder)

Dinner

Chicken kabobs (I tossed them in a dry rub of cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper, garlic powder)
Roasted asparagus, brown rice, lemon

Exercise: 60-minute spin class, 60-min conditioning class

Kim