Hot Buttered Rum Batter

We did healthy all week.

Time for a cheat meal this weekend. If you are going to go, then go all the way right? How about some hot buttered rum.

This makes for a great holiday gift.  It is quick and easy, you can package it in small canning jars like Ball jelly jars, or you can find something more interesting at a craft store. Another bonus… while it’s full of all the fun cheat meal stuff, namely sugar, it is entirely gluten free.

2 cups of brown suggar

1 cup of butter

1tsp cinnamon

1tsp cardamom

1tsp nutmeg

1tsp ground clove

Take all the ingredients, put them in a mixer, and mix till it has an even consistency. This should be refrigerated until use. To make up a cup just put a hefty dollop in a mug, add a shot of rum or not, and top with hot water from your kettle.

Sip, relax, enjoy!

Find What You Want, Then Give It Away

“…When we give in the world what we want the most, we heal the broken part inside each of us.”

• Eve Ensler  From her TED Talk “Happiness in body and soul”

When I heard Eve say this phrase a light went off. It is so simple, so true, so obvious. How had I forgotten?

I was not raised Catholic, but I the words of St. Francis still found me and I memorized his peace prayer years ago. It contained a line stating that “It is in giving that we receive.”

This time of year is often filled with giving of gifts. Sadly it is also filled with the feeling of giving out of obligation rather than out of kindness, love, or compassion. This year I am considering my giving thoroughly. The obligations are to be transformed by love, or they are to be done away with. No one wants a crappy gift anyway.

Okay, that may not be true. I can think of some people who want gifts, no matter how lacking in heart they are, so long as they are of high dollar value and in large quantity. Well… there is only one thing that can help that person find what they really need. Nothing. Seriously, the gift of nothing. When a person is not happy with anything, always asking for more, more, more, then I say “Give them the only thing that will ever fulfill them: Nothing.”

While I believe giving is essential to our happiness, I believe giving well is more important than simply handing all your things over to the next person you bump into. I feel in this time we should focus on what we really want. Things like Love and respect. Find a way to give that to someone, and give it freely. Even if you don’t get it back from them, you may just get it from someone you may have forgotten. Someone who really matters. Yourself.

The Holiday Run Around

I consider the Tabata method to be Dr. Izumi Tabata’s gift to the world.

It is an intense method of metabolic conditioning. What does this mean to us? In a workout that ranges from roughly 4 to 16 minutes, depending on fitness level, we can shed fat like it is going further out of style than it already is. This method also permits resistance training to become what many call “intense cardio.” If you want to make me cringe you can say that too. Metabolic conditioning is more accurate AND it will make you sound cool around the water-cooler. Go ahead, say it. No one is listening “Metabolic Conditioning.” Again, out-loud. “Metabolic Conditioning.” See? It just makes you FEEL smart. Go ahead and flex your brain a bit by googling metabolic conditioning. The first link will probably be to an article by Greg Glassman. It is worth your time.

Today we will be doing a Tabata style run for 8 minutes. This will consist of 16 20 second sprints followed by 16 10 second periods of rest.

Thats it. Really, that is all. It’s only eight minutes, or four if eight is too intense for you to begin with. The key is to go as hard as you can without hurting yourself (Push, but be cautious if this is new. Injuries suck. Try not to suck.) for 20 seconds and to spend the 10 seconds intensely focused on breathing and recovery.

If you can do more and want to go for 12 or 16 minutes, go for it! Remember that this is basically strong medicine. You need to watch your dosage, especially at first when this is new. Once you know your body, edging your boundaries is awesome!

Today’s workout is best done on a very industrial strength treadmill that can handle a sprinter. Unfortunately most treadmills that I have encountered don’t hold up well unless they are very high end.

Another option is to have some kind of chronometer (fancy word for a time keeping device, be sure to say that one soon after you throw out “metabolic conditioning” as you are B.S.ing over morning coffee) that you don’t have to look at. I know lots of higher end cell phones have apps you can download that have Tabata timers and you can listen to the start and stop cues through your headset.

Last on my list is the stop watch or wrist watch. Unfortunately if you are going all out it is a pain to use one of these devices. Use what you have though. There should be no economic boundaries to fitness.

If you don’t know about Pose Method, Chi Running, or Barefoot Running I suggest you check it out, though it is not necessary for todays activity. If you gradually embrace these methods of running, which eliminate a heal strike, you will once again save yourself from the suck.

Knowledge Workers Guide to Giving

With the high potential for physical marketplaces to take a person out of a centered state of being, some may opt for the digital shopping experience. Guess what… it is more different than better. Still, the option to send someone a book on Kindle that they can read anywhere, or an app for their mobile device that can add entertainment or productivity to their life, all while never leaving your desk, is an amazing thing.

An unfortunate drawback is that sometimes it can be difficult to do digital without losing a personal touch. While it may take a little bit more time, there is a remedy.

With a webcam and basic recording/editing software, or even just a simple voice recorder, you can give a gift that will always be treasured. You can create a gift that is an extension of yourself and your feelings rather than just another object to add to the clutter.

If you are going to go with one of the digital gifts mentioned above consider sending it with a personal video. Tell them why you thought of them when you saw the gift. Tell them how you hope it adds value to their life. Show that you care.

Maybe you want to do something even more personal, and maybe you need to do something less expensive. You can do both.

Think about reading a story, a poem, or, for the more ambitious, a book to someone you care for. Remember that content and intent are more important than quantity or often even quality of your recording.

Do you want to take it even further? Think about teaching someone you love how to do something through a personal video. Can you help a young writer learn to flesh out a character? Maybe you can teach a camper how to sharpen a knife, build a shelter, make a fire. Do you have a special recipe that you could show them how to cook?

Think about the potential and let your creativity run wild, then bring it back in check with realistic time constraints so it is a pleasure and not a chore.

Finally… give with your heart. It is the only thing you really can call your own and the only thing you really have to give.

For more thoughts on giving be sure to read this weeks other posts.

Object or Experience

This is a big week here in the US. The holiday shopping season is just about to officially get underway. If you are reading this stateside you are probably already getting bombarded by advertising for all kinds of cool stuff. I know I am. This season let’s try and be mindful of whether we are giving objects or experiences.

My apartment was burglarized many years back and it emblazoned in my mind that stuff is just stuff. It also clued me into the concept that experiences could never be taken from me. We all have those mindfulness bells in our life. It is my hope that yours don’t need to be quite that loud for you to hear them.

How many items do you have in your house that are gifts you don’t want to throw away because of an emotional attachment? How many of those add to clutter in your space more than they bring you joy?

How many amazing moments can you look back on in your life and feel a sense of fulfillment, peace, wonder or other amazing feelings from having experienced? How can you give THOSE to people in place of well intentioned clutter?

This week when you are out looking for ways to show your loved ones you care take a moment. Let every transaction be a bell of mindfulness for you. Object… or Experience?

Our New Home. Welcome :-)

Glad to see you all made it over!

WordPress.com looks like it is going to give me much more versatility to manage this blog and take our conversation to the next level. If you are interested in older posts… I will do my best to keep them accessible, though I am not sure of my long term plan for previous entries at this time.

Biggest and best change? From this point on there will be consistent weekly themes and you will be able to search posts by categories and tags.

Explore, have fun, and share your suggestions with me. This is a new medium for me, with lots to learn. Looking forward to it.