Becoming Coco

I made it! I'm in Beijing airport at an Internet Cafe alone drinking Cappuccino and listening to C-POP. I think that officially makes me a World Traveler. I even took artsy pictures of my coffee with the background blurred to upgrade me to Eccentric World Traveler with a blog, because everyone knows once you start taking pictures of mundane objects in your travels you naturally start a blog about them. I could have an entire blog full of pictures of Failed English. I think I will include those here. On the plane I really wanted to photograph the in-flight television show "Spongebox Squarepants." Unfortunately you are not permitted to use your phone during the flight and a camera would just be rude to others around me. You will just have to imagine the fit of girlish giggles I had to repress at the sight of the intentional typo made by mis-translation. If you ask me the Chinese translation makes more sense, he is rather box-y. View from my window ...

Me singing for my students on a "fun" day of Business Ethics Is this really as Easy as this Looks? As I get closer and closer to completing my credential program and head into the world of teaching, I can't help but to feel a little scared. I am excited for the future and for finally being able to do the job which I am most passionate about, but the world of public school today, is a little intimidating. Sometimes school feels more like a war zone than the equalizing opportunity play field its supposed to be. Kids, teachers and schools are under the pressures of meeting high expectations in order to compete with the worlds statistics. Schools, districts and states are compared by percentages and data to show whether the U.S. lives up to the education standards of the rest of the world, when we don't new tests are created. New curriculum must be made to fit the new tests. Sometimes the curriculum expectations feel like they are set by warlords who imagine st...

(Cool picture from my hike, more on that later) Overall the first week went pretty good. With my BMI range I shouldn't be losing more than 1 pound a week and I didn't so no surprise there. The positives: I went down 4 pounds, but only 1 is verifiable (see previous post on why scales suck). And I went down 1 body fat % point.  The negatives : I had a headaches and cloudy thinking. However if you read my notes there were other possible explanations for those phenomena.  Overall a good start and if the trend continues I may be a believer of GC, but it really depends on if the trend continues.  (Well work night technically, but I do work at school during the day. I'm a secret agent by night.) Day 4 GC Today I feel tired and cloudy headed, but I think it's because I just woke up from a nap. I was tired probably because I got to bed at 3 am. I couldn't sleep last night because I had coffee at 10pm.  Note to self: don't have coffee at 10 pm no matter how cold and ti...

I just got my groceries in the mail! Lately while I've been trying to finish my credential, work enough to pay my bills and budget like crazy to live on my meager pay- I just haven't had any time or really desire to do things like grocery shop. I thought I'll try one of those diet plans that send you food every month. But they cost like $20-30 a day! Ridiculous! So instead I went with Schwans. It was fun to see all the options online, suggested recipes and nutrition information. I got my shopping done super quick right from home.  "Schwans, the online grocery store and food delivery service started in 1952 delivering ice cream but expanded to all sorts of frozen food options from meats, seafood, pasta, fruits, vegetables and other ready-prepared meals." I found from another site: *http://www.nutritiouseats.com/schwans-home-delivery/ "They pick fruits and veggies at the peak of harvest and then flash freeze them which is often more nutritious that “fresh” prod...

  So I did some research and apparently scales commonly suck at life and get things wrong all the time! ( http://www.liftingrevolution.com/10-reasons-the-scale-isnt-budging-yet )( for a great article on this )   I tried to see if I'm losing weight from the supplement, but my  scale says I've gained two pounds! Then  I realized if I move it to a spot on the floor a few feet over it says I've lost two pounds! Apparently this is common with digital scales. You have to measure yourself on the scale using the same exact position and never move the scale to a new location. It's best to wear the same exact clothes every time or be naked. And you should measure your weight several times until the scale gives you the lowest weight or the same reading several times in a row. You may have to adjust the way you stand and practice standing the same exact way every time. So I may never know my actual exact weight, but if I stand right I'll have a measurement to go off of to ...

So this supplement "Garcinia Cambogia" according to Dr.Oz and Oprah and all these "health gurus" is supposed to be the magical weight loss cure we've all been waiting for. I have no real desire to lose weight at all, but I love testing a theory or product for validity, you know in the name of science.  Also some other claimed benefits sound appealing. If you regularly take this supplement the benefits are: - Suppressed Appetite and better able to control cravings  - Increased serotonin levels  - Feeling fuller longer - Prevents fat from being produced by forcing carbs to be used as energy rather than stored as fat - Curb emotional eating - Increase in Serotonin levels  - Improve mood - Deeper more restful sleep - Losing weight rapidly with no other changes to diet or exercise (average weight loss of 2-4 pounds a month) - Possible Immunity boost and immune support *** I'm all about that possibility  So why not try it. If it works on me then I'll suggest i...

My lunch was just too simple and delicious not to share. Prep time: 20 min  (assuming you like me use left over pasta) I wanted to eat deliciously and healthy and I feel this lunch satisfies that really well. Ingridients: - Kale - pre-washed and pre-cut packages are awesome  - Berries (your choice) I used blueberries and raspberry -  Almonds (unsalted) - Raspberry vinegrette- Marketside all natural brand is really really good! - Maple Bacon - I like Black Label - Pasta and your choice of sauce  - Olive oil - Salt Optional seasonings : curry , oregano and honey (ok that's not really a seasoning, but it is optional) All I did was wash the berries in a cute little strainer, mix them with almonds and the kale and then add the vinegrette. Then the simplest little addition made a huge difference. Trust me! Sprinkle a tiny amount of honey over it all at the end. Yum. For the pasta I just made noodles with canned red sauce. To make the sauce a little more flavorful and add a...

Save bacon fat in a jar and then use it later to sauté your veggies . It's only a few calories more than butter and tastes way more flavorful and delicious. Bacon is not as bad for you as everyone leads us to believe. All in moderation I say! 

I absolutely detest being sick, which is very unfortunate for me, because in my line of work (elementary school teaching) and with my shoddy immune system I get sick 1-2 times a month. No exaggeration here, ask my friends and they will tell you "that girl is always sick." To be fair often it's just one same cold or sickness that for whatever reason is prolonged in my body. While the average person gets sick 2-4 times a year and the sickness last for 7-14 days. I will get sick 6-9 times a year with my colds persisting for 7-21 days. Last October I got a cold that lasted until thanksgiving. My co-workers thought I was dying and offered to get me antibiotics from Mexico. Unfortunately antibiotics, even ones from Mexico, don't do anything for viruses. I know you may think Coco, go to the freakin Doctor you sickly human being! But trust me I have. I went to the doctor when severe stomach pain had me crouched in the corner of my room for hours on end unable to move. I th...