I have been reading a delicious book that I encourage foodies and the socially conscious to check out.
Can’t wait to make the recipes I am reading about but I am loving the themes of healthy eating, loving yourself, and caring for the world around you.
It only makes sense that the longest break I get is also the first time I get sick in forever. Go figure! I used to joke that the reason I never took a vacation was because my body wouldn’t get a chance to get sick because it was too busy. Despite it being totally unhealthy, I think there may have been some truth to it.
Aside from sleeping tons, I am also drinking a fair amount of tea, making sure I take my vitamins, and eating an umeboshi plum a day. Hoping to be better by tomorrow so I can get some more cleaning done. Would love for this place to be shiny before I head back to work on Monday!
What are your non-drug cure-alls?
There are many things I am thankful for this season. In celebration, today we will drive to Lodi to feast with the family. After a couple months of eating mostly vegan with a couple of cheats, I decided to plunge in for good this week. What a time, right? Thanksgiving? Well guess what! Today’s meal was fabulous!
What is your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Schedule for today:
What a short short list! Can you believe it? Aside from cleaning house and budget prep, I have five fabulous days of freedom!!! I am off to enjoy it while it lasts. This is the longest block of time off I have had since June!
So today we were supposed to go into Chicago to explore. The students were excited about the opportunity. However, with so many of our chaperones needing to fly home last night to make it back in time for Parent-Teacher Conferences (which the coaching staff misses because the tournament doesn’t finish until tonight for some participants), we were going to have to do multiple shuttle runs to the commuter train station and then would be walking all over the city.
Mother Nature was not a fan of this idea. The rain, thunder, and lightening woke us up long before our planned meeting time and the two of us taking the kids on this expedition needed to change up plans and fast. Our third coach was already at the tournament, so anything we did with our students, it couldn’t be far and it couldn’t be expensive.
So I hopped on Yelp and got to work. I love using Yelp to find food options but it also worked in this case for entertainment. We quickly found a bowling alley/arcade nearby and a movie theatre just a couple blocks from that. So we took the kids to the bowling alley where they had inter-squad challenges and when they got bored they wandered into the arcade or got to play pool with each other. The onto the movie theatre for two and a half hours of Harry Potter. Not quite the day we had planned but one the students hopefully enjoyed.
The following list is the food I purchased, prepared, and consumed during the long tournament days at The Glenbrooks. Hopefully it will give you some ideas on what you can pack to maintain wellness in the future. I usually pack the items in one brown paper grocery sack and leave it somewhere to return to during the tournament instead of toting it around all day.
Good luck to any teams competing on Monday!
This will be the first of many odes to one of my biggest vices. But as the first day of competition at the Glenbrooks wraps up and I desperately seek some sleep, I wanted to pay homage to the over priced frilly beverages that brighten my debate-ridden days.
green and white paper cup
filled with joy, sugar, soy, and love
you kept me sane today
Seriously. The baristas at the Starbucks near campus know me. In one day. Because only a debate coach makes multiple (*cough* three *cough* plus one someone offered to do for me *cough*) trips in one day. It’s a bad habit. But probably not the worst habit I could have.
Drinks I had today:
Now to get some sleep because tomorrow will be another long day!
I wanted to take a picture of the good eats I bought for the weekend but I haven’t had a moment of downtime. So instead of a post about the food, which will have to come later, I decided to tell you a bit about what I pack in my carry-on for these plane trips. It’s funny to me when friends who aren’t involved in debate freak out about flying and ask tons of people for advice on what to pack. My carry-on is in a virtual state of preparedness. I am never *not* packed for a trip. Probably because I don’t have time to unpack from the last one.
I bring two carry-on bags and neither of them are a suitcase. I understand that airlines charge for luggage, and that sucks. However, I also recognize the stress that carrying everything on entails. Especially when you have teens in tow. Until I made elite status on Delta, I always carried on luggage for my personal travels and I was paranoid about overhead space and fitting everything into smaller bags. However, now my bags fly for free. And my students always check bags, so there is no time savings for me to carry on mine. So, as I mentioned before, I carry on two smaller bags.
The first bag is my camera bag. I love my DSLR. It’s my baby. I have two bags I alternate for it. One is a Jo Tote which doubles as a purse. The other is a basic small camera bag that just holds the camera and an additional lens. I have a strap attached to it for one of my pillows, which will be discussed later, and it has a pouch for my cell phone. But that’s it. Small and simple.
The second bag varies, depending on how long the trip is. However it always holds my laptop. I have a Camelbak that has a laptop sleeve as well as a Mobile Edge bag which holds my laptop and small travel printer. The Camelbak is great when I want to throw my travel pillows and a blanket in for a red-eye flight but it isn’t as protective for the printer.
I mentioned pillows. I have one for my back (not this exact one but close) and this neck pillow I LOVE! It is bulkier than an inflatable but so much better for sleeping. Seriously, if you travel and like to sleep on planes, you need one! When I bring a jacket on board, I forgo the blanket to save space.
In addition to the tech and the pillows, I have a set of headphones and my iPhone which doubles as a music player and e-reader. And snacks. I always have snacks for the flight. Whether it is fresh fruit, pistachios, a single energy bar or a sandwich and fresh veggies. One thing to note though is that I never pack more than I plan on eating. Because when boredom hits, I am tempted to eat it all. So portion control is key.
What is in your carry-on? Any unique tips? Would love to hear them!
I started this blog after a number of conversations with coaches in the high school and college community. When I was in college, there were coaches studying and writing about how unhealthy the lifestyle of debate can be on it’s participants. That was almost a decade ago. However, even today there is a push to increase the focus on creating a healthy environment.
While no one may be reading my blog yet, a college debater who knows I am attempting to live healthier, directed me to a college debate forum focused on the Healthy Debater Initiative. To my surprise, I found an email I had written to another coach had been shared with the community about healthy eating tips. How cool is that! While my eating habits have changed (I rarely eat animal products), I still follow most of the guide.
It is good to know that there is a movement at the college level for a healthier debate community. I hope the high school community will take notice and work to improve our environment as well. I am probably on a plane to Chicago as this post is being auto-published. After we check-in to the hotel, my students and I will had to the grocery store. I have a shopping list from my assistant coach who arrives later in the evening and will create my list on the plane. Tomorrow I will share the stash with you, so you can get an idea of what this Healthy Academic is eating.
The Healthy Academic 