What's in my lunch box...

Last week, I had tuna wraps.

I prepared the tuna differently every day to provide a bit of variation, but I have to say that tuna with fresh squeezed lime and some cayenne pepper is my favorite.

In one container I put all the veggies:

• romaine lettuce
• colorful bell peppers
• carrots
• cucumbers
• tomatoes

In another container I had the tuna and pepperoncinis!!

At lunch, I built my wrap and MMMMmmmmm it was tasty!

For snack I had grapes and an apple.

The only downside to having tuna wraps was that it took forever to pack. I didn't really want to cut up some of these veggies for fear that it would get soggy and gross...cucumbers and tomatoes specifically. So I waited until the morning to cut what I had rationed for the day. OMG - my morning was TIGHT!!

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I'm currently OBSESSED with the Biggest Loser. It streams online via Netflix and I have become friends with Bob and Jillian...Just like I became friends with the characters from the book - THE HELP. I talk about them at the dinner table.

Anyway - as I've been told since I stopped eating breakfast in high school due to NERVES and being unable to stomach anything in the morning, they recommend eating breakfast. They go on and on about the instant QUAKER oatmeal...but I am not an instant oatmeal girl. I'VE TRIED!! (Okay - unless it's from McDonald's - what they heck do they add to it? It's GOOD!)

I get the old-fashion oats and whatever I want in my oatmeal ready the night before so I'm not panicking about running late. In the morning, I add water...nuke it...stirring every 30 seconds so it doesn't explode all over the microwave...and then add a tablespoon of honey and lots of BERRIES! Strawberries and Blueberries.

I haven't enjoyed breakfast like this in a LONG LONG TIME! I'll be switching out the fruit. I think I'm going to try mango next week. :o)

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This week I made my favorite bean dip that I've written about once before. Although I made some very slight changes....

In order of what I put in the mixing bowl:

• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Tabasco
• 1 Lime - squeeze the ever living juice out of that sucker!
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 jalapeno (take out the seeds and cut out the veins as much as possible
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2/3 bunch of cilantro
• 1 red onion

Stir/toss to make sure you have the OO, Tabasco and Lime juice all over the veggies.

• 1 small can of corn
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can medium size can of black beans

 Stir/toss (what's appropriate here?) again and EAT to your hearts content!

I also packed some tositito bowl chips (counted to the very last one - packed on the weekend ready to go.)

For snack I had a cheese stick and an apple.

Oh - and one of my friends brought in oranges covered in chili powder (Tajin). OMG! I only ate one slice because I was sooo full from my own lunch. But I ended up craving that so much I had some at home. DELICIOUS SNACK!!

I'm thinking about what to have for next week. Any suggestions?

What's in my lunch box...

A couple weeks ago, sitting through some long meetings, I decided I should make a list of things I would like to take to lunch as an honest to goodness effort to THINK through my meals and avoid excessive weight gain this school year.

In order to spruce up my eating habits at work and my BLOG (since I'm hardly ever here), I'm going to write a weekly post about what I ate and if it helped my efforts to eat healthier & avoiding weight gain.

Here we go:

1. Turkey sandwich with avocado, goat cheese, & baby romaine lettuce on Light Style Soft Wheat Bread
2. Baby Bell Peppers with a LITTLE ranch dressing (seriously - one of my favorite snacks EVER! you could also have them with laughing cow cheese...)

3. Grape tomatoes
4. Baby Carrots
5. Cherries
6. A nectarine or an orange

To drink - mostly water. But I'm a school teacher and it's rough in the afternoons. I used to turn to Coke for a pick me up but I found that Crystal Light has the energy mix with CAFFEINE!! So, I don't do more than one a day of the mixes.

Oh and one other thing...I'm totally into grinding two tablespoons of flax seed and putting it in my water in the mornings. LOVE IT! I don't know if you'd like it, but you should try it. What I like is flax seed, apple slices and a cinnamon stick in my water....TASTY, REFRESHING and SOOO good for you!!

It's a lot of fresh food! Very filling! Very good lunch. Some of it I ate for an afternoon snack. Delicious!

On a scale of one to 5, how did it help in my efforts? FIVE! Thank you very much.

We'll see how this next week goes!

Enjoy your Labor Free Day Monday!

Inspiring new kinds of thieves!

One thing I always try to do is to get sooooo excited about reading in my class that it's almost like I'm  a kid at the entrance of Disney Land! Or Sophia Grace meeting Nicki Minaj for the first time!

Part of the excitement is reading aloud to them the way my elementary teachers used to read to me...using VOICES!! (Yes, I remember Ms. Manuel and Ms. Smith!! And even my college professor Janet Juhlin reading Chrysanthemum!)

Okay...Do you see all the exclamation points??!?!?! It's because I actually want to SQUEAL in excitement when I talk to kids about reading! My hope is that it transmits to my students.

Last year, the last read aloud I chose was Roald Dahl's - The BFG. It is such a fun book!! The only problem is that time ran out and we didn't finish reading it. We had a few chapters left to read. What I should have done was skip some chapters and read the last one to give them some closure. I didn't give it to them, so they sought their own.

I didn't notice one bit, until I set up my classroom library this week, that more than HALF! of my class set of the BFG is missing!

Do you see what I mean? I inspired these kids to STEAL for the finish!

I'm not upset by it. Perhaps I failed on the character department...but if they took these books, I really, REALLY hope they actually read THE BFG!!

Fruit Snack Bribe

LONG STORY…Could’ve been shorter, but I want to remember the details.

Last night, I and two other Americans not on my team, were asked to watch a house full of sixteen boys. The crazy 16 are divided up into three rooms. Two rooms have 3 bunks. The third room has 2. Each bed is inhabited by a very young, highly energetic BOY!

I was asked specifically to go to the house sort of like this:

Mimi – I want you in this house, because these boys are wild. You speak Spanish & you are a familiar face. They might listen to you better…I mean, seriously, they walk all over the Gringos. The past two times we’ve done this the people gave up before their shift was over. Please will you take the house?

To be honest, I’ve spent times with these boys on an individual basis. I’ve tried to keep my distance when they are together because like they said…the boys are wild. It’s a bit intimidating!! Not joking.

I prepared myself mentally and thought of all the possible things we could do to keep them entertained in case it wasn’t bed time yet….and then thought – how the HECK am I going to get them in bed?

Luckily they were in their pj’s and it was bed time when I got there. The two Gringo’s who were also assigned to watch the kiddos were there and started process of getting them settled down…sort of. I mean they were trying!  Let me just say – THEY WEREN’T LYIN’! When they said they’ll walk all over the Gringos. THESE BOYS WERE IN “We’re BOSS HEAVEN”!

I thought I’d go into the wildest room first…but I wasn’t any help. AT ALL! LIKE NONE. Me…walking in…was like…like adding fuel to a flame. I made it an Aggie Bonfire! When I came in one of the boys started making really, REALLY loud farting sounds. Another boy was talking so loudly to the boy who was sitting on the bunk next to him and then belly laughing...And finally – this kid. OMG. This one kid jumps out of bed crawls towards me and starts barking like a dog! He even got close enough to my ankle and pretended he was biting my leg.

Of course, I thought – WHAT WAS I THINKING SAYING YES!!

I had to step out. I went to a quieter room (comparatively speaking) and the only thing I could think of to do was to say – “We’re going to play the quiet game. I want to see who can be the quietest while I sing to you guys. Whoever is the quietest will get a little pack of fruit snacks.”

I started to humming my favorite lullabye – Baby Mine.

These boys ate it up. They fell asleep and I was amazed it actually WORKED! But I was also thinking in the back of my head that this little trick was definitely not going to work for the room middle room.

I go to the back room and you hear the Gringos begging, “Por Favor Duerme.” The boys were on all fours in their beds and just smiling…Just having a good ol’ time!

When I go in I say the same thing except no humming this time. They just did it. The fruit snacks sold them quick!

I went back to the middle room and told them the same thing. One of them said – “You mean, that little pack of fruit snacks will be just for me? I don’t have to share? Like are when exactly are you giving this to us? Are you sure?”

They were a bit more skeptical. It took some serious hummin’ to get these boys settled down. Even after I left I could hear some rustling…giggles…steps back and forth to the restroom, even though they had just finished going.

After lunch, this afternoon, I went over and I had them count out with me in English sixteen little pouches of fruit snacks.

When we finished counting is when I heard a million things at one time:

WHOA! SHE KEPT HER PROMISE!

OF COURSE SHE KEEPS HER PROMISES!

WOW – WE ALL GET ONE!

DID YOU HEAR THE LULLABYE LAST NIGHT!

SHE SINGS!

THAT WAS THE BEST SONG I’VE EVER FALLEN ASLEEP TO!

A flood of hugs from every direction were coming at me. It took everything in me to keep from bursting out in tears of joy. I’m so thankful that I had the opportunity to keep this sacred promise and to gain some trust from these boys. It’s a big deal. It’s a HUGE deal.

These boys were just craving some TLC and I was there to give it to them. I'm speechless.

Books for Orphans, Part 2

To date, I have received $80.

I went ahead and placed an order on AMAZON and this is what I can't wait to get in the mail:

YAY!

Books for Orphans!

It's finally summer time and I have the chance to really focus on my 34 day trip to Guatemala.  I leave June 16 and return to the States on July 19. I know this is really short notice, but I'm trying to help Casa Bernabe start a library. I'm going to start now...take what I collect on my trip...and continue collecting books for the next time I go.

If you go to any school in America - you will find children's books. If you go to any household in America - you will more than likely find children's books. (I would like to say all households in America have children's books! Believe me I would!) I go down to Casa Bernabe and the only books I see the kids have is either their Bible or the workbook from school.

There is more reading to be had!!

I would love to collect the Spanish versions of our popular children's books.

For example - Who hasn't read Eric Carle's The Hungry Caterpillar? I'll bet you $20 bucks these kids haven't! Did you know that there's a Spanish version? YES! There is! It's called La oruga muy hambrienta! I want to get that book in these kids hands!!

Or how about a copy of Max Lucado's You are Special for kids who are really struggling with their status as a family of one. This book comes in Spanish, too - Tu eres especial.

AND O.M.G. - Even my 4th graders love when I read Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day in an exaggerated story voice. They'll even ask if they can read it to practice their reading voice during their free time. Yes, it comes in Spanish, too!

Don't forget chapter books. Even those come in Spanish....Because of Winn-Dixie and Charlotte's Web!

There's all sorts of things to learn from Children's Literature. So I'm asking for you to help me share my love of literature with these kids.

Here's how you can help:

1. Purchase Spanish Books and send them to me...(or I can meet you somewhere if you're in Houston)
   (Amazon, B&N, Target has a small selection of Spanish books)
2. Purchase Amazon Gift Cards and send them my way. I'll post the list of books I purchased.
3. Contribute to my mission trip via www.houstonsfirst.org/missions

Send me an email if you need my address: mimi.marquez@gmail.com

Thanks so much for your contribution!

Sick of the Roller Coaster I call - WEIGHT!

If there is anything I would like to teach my future daughter (if I have one ever), it is to love the skin she is in! Love it so much she talks nicely about it and she does everything to take care of it! That God the Creator of the Universe decided she would be the only person that was HER!

In order to do that, I have to set the example...and BELIEVE IT!

In high school, I overheard some guys talking about the girls saying that they actually thought I was prettier than one of the popular girls in the face, but I needed to lose weight! (I WASN'T FAT!) So I observed what people ate and how they ate it. I'd make mental notes of those who were overweight and those who I thought looked perfect - and then I'd put the notes to practice by asking: What do I want to look like? What should I eat? How should I eat it? Truth be told - I've never really been able to eat like those I think look perfect! I LOVE FOOD WAY TOO MUCH!

In college, I gained weight. I don't know if anyone escapes the freshman 15! Do you know of anyone? Anyway, I overheard some guys, my supposed friends, say to each other that I would be pretty if I lost a couple pounds. One guy even suggested I put on his belt just so he could see what hole I'd use...JERK!

In Korea, I gained weight. My piano teacher told me straight up that I had a pretty face, but my body was horrible. Post Korea, I lost weight (I was depressed) and then gained it back when as I was feeling happier. My brother told me that some guys told him, that I would be pretty if I lost some weight. I ended up gaining more!

I lost a bunch of weight in 2009, after I left a job that was going south and even more when I started working retail! I know for a fact that retail got me thin quick because I couldn't stop working even though I was hungry and also because I moved, lifted, carried, sorted so much crap in such a small amount of time. It was seriously four hour workouts every time I went in.

Unfortunately, I gained it ALL back (plus more) when I became a teacher. I stopped working out as often because I am so doggone tired at the end of the day or I'm always doing something or meeting up with friends that involves FOOD!!

I also gain every time I travel even if I'm not eating every carb that comes in sight. For whatever reason traveling makes me gain! I hate that bc I do enjoy traveling! So - I have to figure out WHY!!

For the record, I want to say that I never once cried about what these people had to say. Coming from a straight shooting Mexican family, I took it in, shrugged my shoulders and kept walking. I've always thought that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. They were helping me get stronger because people will always say what they want about me and I'll never be JUST right for them...People always have their opinions and they are always changing. I did actually chew one person out for it! I think by that time I was tired of hearing the same comments from people who say they "care" but have no idea what's going on with me.

Unfortunately, in my late twenties - and in a week, my thirties - I've not only gained weight, but grew a belly! Every year, I set a goal to lose weight but never ever set a plan to accomplish it. For me - a list maker - it DOES NOT WORK. Doesn't even work short term....Setting a goal without a plan is like waiting to do it tomorrow. We all know that tomorrows like that never come! So, after having a good solid SOBBING session this weekend, I sat down and made a plan.

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People who soar are those who refuse to sit back, sigh and wish things would change. They neither complain of their lot nor passively dream of some distant ship coming in. Rather, they visualize in their minds that they are not quitters; they will not allow life’s circumstances to push them down and hold them under.
-Charles R. Swindoll

My goal –
*To lose 40 pounds in one year!
*To look great on my wedding day.
*To add another Half Marathon to my belt.

What I hope to gain by reaching my goal –
*To feel comfortable in dresses
*To have clothes that fit nicely
*To have healthier habits
*To look and feel as pretty as I did when I worked at the LOFT

What is the cost?
*~3 pounds per month (~2 pounds per two weeks)
*No coke, More water
*No dinner after 7:30
*Go to bed earlier
*Prepare food for lunch
*Exercise!
*Small treat twice a week
*Eat fewer processed foods – MORE FRESH FOOD!
*Pack good snacks for work – nuts, fruit, veggies
*Eat until I’m SATISFIED – not full…STATISFIED!!

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This my friends is very personal, and something I would prefer NOT to share, but I'm fed up! I'm completely fed up and I'm trying to figure out a way to change my eating habits, change the way I think about myself because I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE, change the way I think about food, and be intentional about the things I eat! I suppose that having a monthly report on my progress and recipes of what I prepare for myself is something worth posting and exciting to share...not to mention something to hold me accountable.

I started this up on Monday and I've cheated twice! :o( I'm trying to not beat myself up about it because it is new, but I'm also not making any excuses. First cheat was because it was in front of me and I didn't think before putting it my mouth. Second cheat was because I was officially hungry and I was stuck without any snacks (I hadn't packed any that day).

Anyway, all that to say is that I'm excited to put this plan into action...Visualising myself a year from now I get so excited! Even 2 months from now! Heck - for a 5 foot tall individual 4 pounds is like 40! NO JOKE!

Looking forward to a healthier ME!