Not My Will But Yours

I’ve been MIA. But I’m back, and I want to tell you why I left.

At first I wasn’t updating this blog for technical reasons. Most of my time was spent working on the Charleen’s Angels website (which looks AMAZING thanks to my aunt Colleen and uncle Mike!). That was a lot of work, but well worth it. I was also working on the blog to go along with the site, which is actually a lot of fun! On top of those two things, I had a job that was actually paying me some money 🙂 AND I was making a ton of jewelry in preparation for a festival where I would be selling said jewelry. I had a lot going on, and these things (and the holidays) kept me pretty busy through February.

Then in February came my great adventure. The festival I just mentioned was in Costa Rica. It was a big hippie fest where I thought I could sell all my hippie inspired jewelry. Well, I didn’t sell much (enough to make back the vendor fees I paid at least), but I still had a great time. I got to spend 5 weeks with my boyfriend, my best friend, and many friends I made. I got to surf, run and do yoga on the beach, eat fresh fruits and vegetables every day (some from my very own yard, so local!), and spend a lot of time thinking about the life I’ve chosen for myself…

As most if not all of you reading this know, I HATE being cold. I don’t say that lightly. I hate winter, I struggle to be productive in any way when it is cold and grey and gloomy outside (or if it is cold and bright and sunny outside…). So, in Costa Rica, surrounded by heat, sun, the ocean, nature, and so many people I love (and my little Fred*!), I began to ask myself why I’ve chosen to give that lifestyle up for this. Why have I left the sea and sand and seeing my man everyday and come back to the cold grey that seems to be lingering here?

It all comes down to giving up my personal will to a greater will. If I chose my life based solely on my personal will, I would never experience temperatures below 68 degrees F. I would never go a day without seeing Matu and Fred, my chosen family. I would swim in the ocean every day. But because I know there is more to life than serving myself, I’ve chosen to give up what I want (for the time being) to serve others.

–THAT BEING SAID–

I get frustrated, grumpy, scared, lonely, and COLD at times, and feel like giving up. I need a little extra motivation, especially since Spring seems to be taking its sweet time arriving. I could use some help. Have you ever given up what you wanted to do what you felt you were called to do? And if so, how did you stay motivated in times of frustration? I need some tips people! Because look what I just left…

I watched the sun set almost every evening!

Matu and *our cat Fred

Where Did October Go?

I can’t believe October is almost over! I completed a month of eating (almost entirely) locally sourced and grown foods. The few times that I ate non-local food were going out with family and/or friends, snacking at parties, and the banana incident. This past week, I spent the remainder of my budget on some pork sausage, some squash, more tomatoes, kale, and a second dozen of eggs, but I still have 10 0f them left, and 6 dollars left in my weekly spending. I also still had plenty of apples. That helped with my budget. And I attended two birthday parties, both of which included a meal, so this week was a little off budget-wise. But, that brings me to some things I’ve decided about eating local:

1. It’s great, but if it means being anti-social, it’s not worth it. There is something about sitting down to a meal with family or friends that is possibly more satisfying than eating the meal itself. And it is certainly more satisfying to enjoy a meal with others than it is to enjoy that meal alone. So, if accepting an invitation to a meal with friends means eating something from California or South America, well, it’s worth it.

2. Similarly to number 1, it is more important to avoid hurting others’ feelings than to stick too closely to a certain way of eating. If someone cooked dinner, to turn it down could possibly hurt that person more than it would hurt me to eat something not local (or not paleo). Manners and gratitude first.

3. Eating local does build a community. Interacting with farmers, butchers, and other local eating enthusiasts was my favorite aspect of this experiment (well, second favorite behind the actual food).

4. Sometimes when eating local you do have to get creative and adventurous. I loved the spaghetti squash, and I am proud of myself for handling a whole chicken. I want to try a few other types of squash that I’ve never eaten.

5. Eating local helps you really appreciate foods that are seasonal, or grown elsewhere. I know soon I’ll really be missing tomatoes, and man I wish bananas and avocados grew here. But, when I am in a place where they do grow (like FLORIDA!) I will EAT THEM ALL. Just kidding. But I will enjoy the crap out of them!

For some reason I did not take many pics of my food this week. It’s really just not me to be like that, taking pics of my food. Mostly because I eat it before I remember to take a photo. Hey, Crossfit makes me hungry! But I did manage to capture the final meal, the glorious pork sausage, squash, kale, bell pepper egg scramble I had for dinner last night. yummmmmmm!

After this month, I feel so good, so healthy and happy, that I do believe I will continue eating local. Who’s with me!? 🙂

I Have a Confesion…

I ate a banana….. It was just sitting there and looking so delicious…. I broke down. I ate it. It was from Nicaragua. Not local. Bad Caitlin.

Bad Llama!

Week three was a good week. I finally faced my fear and bought a whole chicken. I wasn’t able to make it to the farm near my house. Their open hours clash with my work schedule. I mean gosh, can’t they work around me?!? Just kidding. Some day I’ll make it over there again! But, Whole Foods carries local chickens, local from North Carolina, so not quite as local, but local enough. The butcher was kind enough to tell me a little about the chicken. It was a Poulet Rouge. A French chicken. Wait, I thought it was local. Just kidding again. I’m so funny today….. Anyways, Poulet Rouge chickens are not killed quite as young as most other chickens, the butcher told me, so the bones would be harder, but the meat would be tastier. And it was one tasty chicken! I did go two dollars over my budget this week. Had I gotten the chicken from the farm, I would have been right at $40.

My dad taught me how to cut up a whole chicken, and I froze the pieces individually and the chicken lasted me a few days. I learned a few ways to (and not to) cook chicken.

Oven roasted chicken with rosemary balsamic marinade 🙂

Oven Chicken wings! Did you know you have to boil them first?

Grilled chicken (and green beans and sweet potatoes)

I also discovered the Whole Foods has local squash, zucchini, and eggplant. I was a bit tired of eggplant from our huge one that lasted me a while, so I got some zucchini and squash. A third purchase of sweet potato, broccoli, green beans, and two more tomatoes kept me full into this final week, and I still have half a sweet potato and broccoli.

The apples are from a friend, who got them up in NC

This week, the final week, I have the usual, one dozen eggs, two tomatoes, a bell pepper, bunch of chard, three squash, and 1lb of lean ground beef, all for $18.

I still have $22 in my budget this week, and I want to get something new, shake things up. Any suggestions?

It Also Makes You Feel Good

Last week I talked about the farmer who told me that eating local makes you happy. He’s still right. But it also makes you feel good. Or at least that’s the case for me. One of the reasons I started this experiment was the way I had been feeling ever since eating a mostly paleo diet. I suspected that my much larger than before intake of meat was the culprit for my almost always uneasy tummy. It was the only food I had not really tried to go without in attempts to find the source, so it fit. Well, now that I have been eating only local meat for the past two weeks, any uneasiness and discomfort I was feeling has completely disappeared. I’m not exaggerating. Now it could be the meat, but it could also be the produce. Or both. I bet both. And I could go into the details of why I think local food is healthier than the alternative, but I’ll save that for another post. For this post, I’ll just brag about my food, and about how I am still doing well on my given budget 🙂

Week 2 honestly was not as delicious as Week 1. Like I said in my last post, I did not really like the chicken sausage I got. But I did the best I could with it, and just finished it up today. I found ways to eat it that made it better, like this one. I call it Caitlin’s Bi Bim Bap, because that’s kind of what this tasted like…

Chicken sausage, Chinese cabbage, and a fried egg, with some spicy Korean sauce I got on the flight from Thailand… yes, a year ago… it was still good!

I had this same meal again later in the week, but with spaghetti squash noodles…. SO good! I also made some almost Pad Thai with some spaghetti squash noodles. I guess I was just craving Asian food last week. Well, and always. The Pad Thai was not as good, because I did not have all the necessary ingredients for the sauce. I improvised and ended up with something that was almost good… definitely edible. But, the almond butter in the sauce was not local… nor was the fish sauce… or the garlic… BUT the honey is! 🙂

I’ll have to try this again

I did go back to the store a few times (the farm I wanted to visit was closed the only day I was able to go. bummer) and got lean ground beef, a couple more tomatoes (I gave one away. Gotta pay it forward!), some green beans and lettuce, another dozen of eggs (that are going into week 3) and two more sweet potatoes. Right at $40, and some of the food is rolling over into this week. I’m beginning to think my budget is just a bit too high. Then again, I have yet to have any chicken or fish. I’ll try to get some this week and/or next.

Last night was my last meal of Week 2, and it was pretty.

Meatless, but delicious

As for Week 3, I still have 8 eggs, some leftover spaghetti squash, some left over Chinese cabbage, so I only got a couple things. One tomato, a bag of lettuce (on sale, score!), and yet another type of sausage to try, this time beef. I really want to get some chicken, and local chicken seems to only come at a reasonable price if it is whole, so I will adventure into preparing a whole chicken…. I hate touching raw chicken. Should be interesting…

First groceries, cost: $12

Many people have been asking me for updates on Charleen’s Angels. And rightfully so. I will dedicate my next blog post to what’s going on with out non-profit, so be sure to check back soon! I have been getting a lot of encouragement and advice/tips from many people, which I love. So if you have any, either for eating locally or for Charleen’s Angels, please do share! ❤

 

Eating Local Makes You Happy

That is an understatement. But it’s what a local farmer told me the other day as I was shopping for week 2’s first groceries. I was in Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, in the cold room where all the vegetables and eggs and beer are kept (it’s one of my favorite places in Greenville I think). I was reading about the different farms all the eggs come from, and noticed bunches and bunches of bok choy being unloaded right next to me. This time last year, I was in Southeast Asia, and eating a TON of bok choy. I love it. So I started talking to the man unloading the greens. His name is Jeff, from Iszy’s Heirlooms and man was he enthusiastic about this bok choy, and about a new plant he tried out, some sort of Chinese cabbage (the name escapes me right now…). After talking for a bit, he insisted I try the Chinese cabbage and the bok choy, told me to be sure to come to the farmers’ market Saturday (but I’m working… 😦 ), and simply stated, “Eating local makes you happy.”

Well Jeff, you could not be more right.

Leaving the store, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Here is what my first grocery run for week 2 looks like:

First round of groceries

One dozen eggs, 2 sweet potatoes, one tomato, one apple, one spaghetti squash, sun dried tomato basil chicken sausage, and the bok choy and Chinese cabbage, all at a total of $20. Nice! I was a bit skeptical of the sausage at first. For some reason I began to think that the chicken used was not local, just that the company that makes the sausage is local. But after doing some research, I discovered all the chickens come from family farms in the southwestern region of North Carolina. Yes!! BUT, it is a bit salty for my taste, so not my favorite. Ah well, I’m eating it anyway. I need more meat though. I was planning on going to a farm near my house to buy a chicken, but they are closed on Wednesdays (the only weekday I can go) so I’ll have to find more meat elsewhere for now.

So far, I have LOVED the Chinese Cabbage. I sauteed 3 big leaves (stems and all) in some coconut oil, added some radishes from last week, and some chicken sausage and had a very decent meal, with leftovers for my lunch today. WIN!

So, does eating local make me happy? Um, just a tad 😉 My belly is pretty happy too!

Week One Done and Done

So my first week of local eating went so well. I have to be upfront about the exceptions to my local diet though. As hard as I try, there are two things commonly found in my house that I just cannot resist; cashews and chocolate. I just can’t not eat them if they are around. I just can’t and I’ve accepted that about myself. Another exceptions was one day I went out of town with my parents, and they bought me a completely non-local meal.

But back to the positive, my budget was pretty much exactly correct. After my dinner tonight, I will have 3 eggs and a few radishes left over. You saw in my first post that I spent about 30 dollars on my first grocery run. I had to go a second time to Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery (it’s just so close to where I work!) and I spent exactly $9.98. Perfect. Here’s what I got:

Yes, our Siamese eggplant looked like a butt. Too bad I started choppin it up before I thought to take a pic.

another dozen eggs (I eat a lot of eggs…) a bunch of radishes, and two tomatoes. The big eggplant came from our home garden. It doesn’t get more local than that!

I won’t bore you with details of my every meal… but I will share some of the delicious meals I made. I’m becoming a pretty amazing chef I must say. Although, I’m only cooking for myself, so no one can back me up here…

starting the day right

Three eggs and sauteed zucchini, one of my favorite breakfasts

Kind of random, but good

Sauteed kale, bell pepper, and sausage (this made a few meals

This was my favorite meal.

I cooked all the ground beef at once by making little hamburger patties and baking them. Look for the recipe soon on the Charleen’s Angels Facebook page. This was one of my best ideas and made many meals, including this one, two patties, Paleo fried eggplant and quinoa. MMm MMm!

Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Running low on lettuce, but still so good

I made a lot of salads too, and added whatever meat I had on hand or an egg to make it substantial. I also added chia seeds and/or quinoa a few times.

This was fun and to avoid monotony I had to get creative with what I had. I was very careful about saving leftovers to create new meals. I did not waste any food. Not one bit. I did learn that I do not really care for Asian pears… good to know I guess.

So far I am really enjoying this experiment. I’m not sure why, but I find it oddly satisfying to sit down to a meal that has come completely from this area of the country. Maybe it is because I am now slightly more conscious of where my food is coming from. None of the food has been flown or shipped in mass quantity, but driven from farm to grocery by the farmers themselves, sometimes even by bike! I have some new ideas for week two, including venturing to a local farm for some free range organic chicken, and meeting more farmers at the Saturday farmers’ market. I’m weirdly excited about this 🙂

Going Local in October

Just the other evening, I was sitting outside  reading while my dad grilled our steak dinner. The book I’ve been reading, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Micheal Pollan, is eye-opening to say the least, and life changing for me. It has inspired me to try a month of almost entirely local eating. I had been toying around with the idea for quite some time, but I did not commit to it until that evening outside. As I began to smell the steak on the grill, I read to a part of the book in which the author describes the process by which CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations) are able to kill 400 cows in an hour. I wondered if I could continue reading without ruining the dinner I had been looking forward to all day. Well, I did enjoy the steak, mostly because it was already bought, cooked, and I was quite hungry. But I questioned, where did this cow come from? Was it a green pasture where it could feast on grass (it’s natural diet) and get some sunshine and exercise, or was it from some CAFO somewhere out in the middle of the country (much like the ones I passed on my road trip out to New Meixco) where it stood in a crowded shed with many other cows, knee deep in their own manure and ate grain and mystery ‘by-products’? When I asked my dad where this cow came from, his reply, “The grocery store,” left me assuming the latter. So I declared the month of October local food month.

To be completely honest, there is another reason why I wanted to try eating only local food. During that first month we decided to do the Whole30, and since then while continuing to eat almost entirely paleo (almost…), I never felt 100% good. I could never quite put my finger on it, and could never figure out if it was one specific food that was keeping me from feeling my best. I tried eliminating certain foods one at a time only to find no one food guilty. After reading the differences between local foods, meat in particular, vs mass produced foods, I started wondering if this was the culprit. On the Paleo diet, I certainly began to eat a lot more meat than I had previously. And the meat I was eating was not the highest quality, but the best for my small budget. So I am also doing this local food month to see if local foods, especially meats, really make a difference to me, to see if my body can tell the difference.

I just mentioned my small budget…. That is one of my concerns about this. I have given myself a budget of $40 a week. It is sad but true that local, sustainably raised/grown food tends to cost more than food from across the country or even around the world, but I’m hoping the difference is worth it. I will be keeping track of my weekly costs and sharing some of my local meals here, so be sure to check back!

There are a few things that I will still eat that are not local, including olive oil and coconut oil, spices, coffee, tea, and almond milk (for my coffee and tea), protein powder, maca, and quinoa (a grain I have reintroduced to my diet). I will not include these items in my budget, but since I buy them so rarely (except maybe the tea), it really shouldn’t throw off anything.

Here is a pic of my very first 100% local groceries

Will this be enough…?

For 30 dollars and some change, I got a dozen eggs, a bag of mixed greens, a bunch of kale, 2 zucchini, 2 green bell peppers, 3 little red ones, 5 tomatoes, one apple and one pear, about a pound of ground grass fed beef, and 5 pretty big sausage links. I really wanted some chicken, but the store I went to (Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery, a store that specializes in local foods from South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia) seemed to be all out of what I wanted. I fear I will have to learn how to handle a whole chicken… In any case, this doesn’t seem too expensive for what I got, and I am 10 dollars under budget so I have some room to buy more when I need to.

Stay tuned for more updates on how my month of local food is going, what I’m eating and how much I’m spending, and where I’m getting all my food from. I plan to try a few different stores and visit some farms around the area. Let me know if you have any tips, or know of any places to get local food here in Greenville SC 🙂

CrossFit, I’ll Never Leave You Again

So really, this post is to update everyone on how my trip went, how visiting other Crossfits went, what I learned from another non-profit for children of a parent with cancer, and insights I gained from all the amazing people I met and hung out with along the way. But first, let me just say, doing Crossfit 3 times in 3 weeks, and then getting back into it, is painful. Very painful. On both the body and the ego. I’m hurting right now. My muscles are sore, but my endurance has been hit way harder than my strength. Luckily, a few people at my gym have been nice enough to run a mile with me after each WOD. Thanks guys!

This post is long, so if you are short on time, or get bored easily, here it is in a nutshell: I went to some different CrossFit gyms, I met some of the most talented and most generous people quite possibly in the world, I spoke with the executive director of a non-profit similar to Charleen’s Angels, and I rediscovered my passion for creating jewelry. Oh and I got to spend some amazing time with a few family members and my best friend Marisa. In no way could this trip have been better ❤

Other CrossFits were cool. Each place had something different to offer. In Baton Rouge I went to Geaux CrossFit. I mentioned this on Facebook a few weeks ago. And perhaps in my last post, so I’ll be quick about it. There’s really only one thing that stood out in my mind. It was air conditioned…………. yea. In Albuquerque, I went to Sandia CrossFit. This place I loved. It was a pretty big box, and the people there were awesome. Very friendly athletes and very helpful coach! In the Woodlands (right outside of Houston), I went to a new box called CrossFit 105. Each week they take one day to work on a specific part of the body. I got to experience arm day. It was rough, and my arms felt like jello the next day, but it was great and I got to try out the battling ropes for the first time in my life. That was fun, however difficult.

In Albuquerque, there is a non-profit organization called the Children’s Grief Center, a safe place for children and young adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. I was lucky enough to speak with Jade, the executive director, and she gave me some really great advice. Something that she told me that really stuck out in my head, was to be sure to talk to any and everyone about what we are doing. It’s the best way to generate interest and find lasting supporters. So that’s what I’m doing. Everyone I meet gets to learn about Charleen’s Angels 🙂 and so far, reactions have been so incredibly positive. I’m also planning meetings with other cancer support groups around Greenville to get word out on what we want to do, and see how many children of a parent with cancer we can reach. I’d like to get at least one program up and running by this winter!

Another thing I realized while on this trip is that I have not been practicing what I’m about to preach to others. I was not taking any time to do something that I love, make jewelry. Making jewelry, or any kind of art, is something that allows me to escape to this great place in my mind where I’m not thinking about cancer, or the millions of things I have to do, or what healthy or unhealthy food I’m eating, or how well my workouts are going. Instead I think about creating beauty. Actually it’s less like thinking and more like meditating. I don’t feel like I’m thinking at all. And that is a hard state to achieve! Being around so many artists, including my best friend and talented jewelry designer/leather worker Marisa, I was overwhelmed with desire to create, and I’ve taken that home with me. So far I’ve made 3 new pieces that I am so proud of, and I don’t feel like stopping 🙂

Marisa, my best friend and inspiration.

What’s Goin’ On

So the event has come and gone, and we have been a bit MIA, so I thought it would be a good idea to fill everyone in on what we are up to. Lauren has started her final year at Clemson University. We moved her into her new apartment last week, and classes started a couple days ago. So she is pretty consumed with that. But she is in charge of our new social media accounts, including a Twitter account, Pinterest, and soon a Facebook page for Charleen’s Angels. While she is managing that, I have been writing articles for the actual website for Charleen’s Angels and our aunt Collen and uncle Mike are building the site for us. I am slowly realizing just how many intricacies there are to making a website…. which leads me to my next point.

I have been feeling a huge amount of responsibility, which is great, but also stressful. We raised a lot of money, and I want to have something great to show for that as soon as possible. But I had also been feeling like I needed a break, and planned a trip to the mountains of NC after our event, a way to de-stress and reflect. Because of this responsibility I’ve been feeling, I almost cancelled my trip. But many people reassured me that it was just fine to take a break, recharge my batteries, and come back feeling refreshed and ready to get back to work. And I am so glad I went. I met so many great and talented people, I learned about some medicinal plants, I milked a goat (!!), and I formulated a great idea for my next steps in this whole non-profit journey I’m on. It involves Charleen’s Angels, The CrossFi(GH)t, AND my love for travel. It’s a win-win-win 🙂

So here I am in Louisiana. I just arrived here last night, and today Colleen and I are going to go over the website for Charleen’s Angels! And I will get a good amount of writing done as well. The reason I have not started writing already today is because I went to check out a local CrossFit gym, Geaux CrossFit. The were so incredibly accommodating and friendly. I think it is interesting to see how other gyms do things differently. The snatch progression we went over before starting the WOD was slightly different than what we do at our gym, and it really helped me focus on a few steps I sometimes struggle with. Something that really stuck out about this place was the AC…. yes…. a CrossFit with AC…. not sure how I feel about that, but overall I loved the place and will definitely be back on my way home if time permits.

Tomorrow I am making the long drive to Albuquerque, NM to see a dear friend. I plan to visit some CrossFits there as well, and spread the word on how well our fundraiser went, why we did it, and just show how Crossfit can be great not only for health, but also to better a community. I also plan to check out a couple of non-profits that are similar to Charleen’s Angels, so see if they have any tips for us 🙂 So stay tuned!!

Final Results!

The event went so well. At least I think it did. I was completely all over the place, super stressed and excited, and I can barely remember much other than how hard to workout was. But everyone keeps telling me how great it all was, so either people are telling the truth, or they are being very very kind with their lies 😉 Despite the stress of putting on an event, I had a good time. There was plenty of food and beer, plenty of socializing, plenty of exercising, and plenty donations. What more could we ever ask for?

For those of you who could not make it to the event, here are the results! Drum roll….
Kyle: rope climbs-15
hand stand push ups-31
squats-51
pull ups-32

Kyle sent us a video of his workout! check it out here!

Caitlin: rope climbs-8
hand stand push ups-9
squats-39
pull ups-30

Lauren: rope climbs-6
hand stand push ups-20
squats-33
pull ups-7

At first I thought I would hate working out in front of a group of people. But I soon realized that having everyone there to cheer us on was just the push I needed when I started feeling tired. That and Brandon, my coach and counter, telling me not to quit. At the very end of our workout, during the pull ups, another coach at the gym, Jake, got everyone to crowd around us and cheer us on. It was so amazing to see and hear all the support. It really kept us going when our minds and muscles protested!

Final exercise, pull ups

So far we have raised over $6,000!! And donations are still coming in! That number seems so surreal! We are blown away by the amount of support we are receiving. I guess you might want to know where all this money is going 🙂
Most immediately, we will build a great website for Charleen’s Angels, so keep your eyes on the lookout for that within the next couple weeks. We are also going to start getting word out in Greenville about Charleen’s Angels, and find children of a parent with cancer by talking to some high schools, Clemson University, Furman University, and some churches. We soon will start some of the programs we want to offer, including discussion groups, exercise groups, and creative outlet classes. We hope to also start our nutritional education program soon, which will most likely be the most time consuming and expensive program. On top of all this, we are already working on the next fundraiser! We have a lot to do, but we are so excited to start and really make a difference!

With the risk of sounding way too redundant, thanks again for supporting us in so many ways! We really could not have done it without all the help and encouragement we have and continue to receive. We are so incredibly grateful.