Chocolate and Willpower

Posted on by stilllearning2b

According to a new study, those who eat chocolate tend to have a lower BMI.  My guess is that it all comes down to willpower.  You see, we only have so much of it.  If you use it all in one area, it tends to be lacking in another.  For example, people that exercise the most also tend to drink more; their willpower was used up going to the gym and they have a more difficult time resisting that glass of wine.  So, it follows that those who give in to a bit of chocolate may have more willpower left over for other areas.

Apparently my willpower was spent at the gym, as I am writing this while enjoying some dark chocolate and a glass of red wine.

This image was selected as a picture of the we...
This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Czech Wikipedia for th week, 2007. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Related articles

Marital Treason

Posted on by stilllearning2b

Caution: Rant ahead.  Proceed with care.

An yellow orange warning sign with an ! . Re-u...
An yellow orange warning sign with an ! . Re-uploaded because someone on the English Wikipedia wanted it again. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is so much about the legal process of divorce that is just not fair.  I’m feeling that very acutely right now, as I received an email from someone in my life who is now in the same no-win property situation I found myself in.  In both cases, the spouse was dishonest and actively hiding information.  In both cases, the judge awarded the marital home to the partner with the agreement that they would assume the full note and make payments.  In both cases, that failed to happen.  This puts us in the position of owing money on a home we do not own and cannot sell.  Speaking for my case, I truly felt as though I had no option other than foreclosure.  My ex had disappeared again, I could not afford to pay lawyers any more, and the courts could only change the ownership of the house, not the names on the loan.

I am disgusted by the fact that actions that would be deemed illegal against a stranger are allowed against a spouse.  It is not unlike the way it was (and still is in some cultures) where a husband could forcefully take his wife without it being termed rape because of the legal contract between them.  Why is it that a marriage contract makes despicable behavior tolerable in the eyes of the law?  Why is it that just because I called him,” husband,” he could embezzle my money, steal my files, and abandon joint responsibilities without more than a slight slap on the wrist?  If someone came into my home and did the same, they would be sitting in a jail cell, learning how to do pull-ups on a bunk bed.

I propose we need a new law: marital treason, the act of betraying one’s marriage (there used to be a similar law called petty treason).  This would include adultery, deception (financial and otherwise), and acting in a way that is in opposition to a marriage.  Once convicted, the treasonous spouse would be required to pay restitution (enforced by payroll deduction) and forced to serve community service in a cause chosen by the spouse.  For those, like mine, who like to run, their passports would be confiscated until the requirements of their conviction had been met.  It seems as though the only time the law takes divorce seriously is in the case of child support (don’t get me wrong here, I strongly support hunting down deadbeat parents).  Also, please understand I’m not whining for alimony or excess; I just want what was stolen from me.  The marital treason law would seek to identify and hold responsibility to those who chose to betray their marriage through deception.  It’s only fair.

Okay, I feel a little better now.  Just had to get that off my chest.

Related articles

What’s Up with Breaking Up?

Posted on by stilllearning2b

There is no way to sugar-coat it; the end of a relationship is hard.  You are mourning the loss of what was and the possibility of what could be.  You may be faced with sides of your partner or even yourself that are strangers to you. You may be facing the fact that the person who swore to love and protect you was actually the one from whom you required protection.  Your whole world and your place in it folds in on itself like some sort of mutant origami, only flashes of the old life still visible.  In is this complete and total devastation, hides the power of a break-up. You can fold your new life into beautiful new forms.  After the crying and screaming, of course.

What’s Up with Breaking Up?.

On the Menu: Lemon Pepper Pasta and Verdant Sides

Posted on by stilllearning2b

This meal is a true vitamin C bonanza.  I think it would offer one protection against scurvy for at least a year or two.  In fact, this is the meal Blackbeard’s mum should have made for him before he set off to pillage the seven seas.

Lemon Pepper Pasta

This comes from my first vegetarian cookbook, Lean and Luscious, and Meatless (out of print now, unfortunately).  When I first started using this cookbook in high school, I had fallen hard for the low fat, high carb craze.  It is funny to see my notes on the pages where I used only nonfat dairy products and shunned even the smallest amount of olive oil, while eating huge quantities of breads and pastas.  Fast forward to today, and I rarely eat bread or pasta, mainly because the gluten-free varieties are not very good and full of simple carbs.

This recipe is super easy.  I now use spaghetti squash for the pasta, but any sort of spaghetti will do. The amounts are variable; I never bother to measure for this one.

2-3 cups spaghetti of choice, cooked

2 tsp olive oil

3-4 red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, cut into strips

1-2 tbsp grated lemon peel

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup skim milk

1-2 cups reduced fat sharp cheddar, shredded

Saute peppers in oil for 5 min over medium-high heat.  Add lemon and pepper and stir. Reduce heat, add milk, cheese, and pasta and stir until cheese is melted and ingredients are blended.

Roasted Asparagus with Mustard Cream

Sounds oh-la-la, doesn’t it?  It’s actually really easy and really good.  This one came from my newest cookbook, 125 Gluten-Free Vegetarian Recipes.  I made one small adjustment, subbing nonfat Greek yogurt for the sour cream.

Steamed Broccoli

Uhh…broccoli.  Steamed.  Added a little pepper and leftover lemon juice.  ‘Nuff said.

And for dessert…

Citrus, of course!

I am now set to sail the world with only a bit of hardtack to tide me over.  Or not, actually.

Taming the Monkey Mind: Day 11

Posted on by stilllearning2b

Today is one of those days that deserves a name, a title that anchors it in my mind and lets me retrieve the file at will. I dub today, The Opening.

I have recently developed my own Sunday ritual. My morning begins with a 90 minute power hot yoga class. Now that spring has arrived, I follow this class with a visit to the nearby botanical gardens for an hour or so. It is a perfect combination, as it makes good use of drive time and the plants don’t seem to mind the fact that I am sweaty and stinky from yoga (or at least they are too polite to say so).

This particular yoga class has been a delightful challenge for me. Every week I learn something new about a pose or about myself. It pushes me beyond my comfort zone in so many ways. My biggest obstacle in yoga has always been my hips; they are tight from running, lack of stretching, and my natural biomechanics. But, most of all, they are tight because it is where I hold tension. Those hips are starting to open. As those binding ligaments loosen, I can start to feel my mind relax as well. Stress moves out and acceptance moves in to take its place. My yoga instructor says, “Open hips, open heart.” I think she may be on to something.

I had to smile when I entered the gardens today. On my last visit two weeks ago, The petals on the tulips were closed tight, rigid and upright. Today, they were splayed open, faces towards the sun. Those tulips mirrored my own feelings.

The gardens were beautiful today, full of riotous color and fresh verdant growth. Of course, that also means they were full of onlookers; the quiet solitude of the early spring a thing of the past. I decided to approach my visit a little differently today. I pulled out my phone, interested my headphones, and started a track that contains meditative music that follows a diurnal rhythm. This allowed me to be in my own world and not be aware of the people filling the garden. I took a different route through the planting, maintaining a calm mind. This was my meditation today. I had no goals, no destination. I allowed myself to just be in the space. It was wonderful. Restorative.

I now feel open, face turned towards the sun.

Related articles