New tricks

I will concede the commentary is substandard, but it is what it is.

Tabata Intervals

A common ad I see in most issues of The Atlantic is one for ROM, The Four Minute CrossTrainer, which claims to provide a complete non-impact cardio, resistance- and flexibility workout in 4 minutes a day. What's the price of this fairy tale exercise machine?

A cool $14,615.

The webpage mentions it has been a marketing nightmare. I wonder why?

The ROM came up on the NY Giants Fan Forum I frequent, and someone mentioned looking up Tabata Intervals, which claim to do much the same thing. Or at least it takes High Intensity Interval Training to another level in just 4 minutes. It's 20 seconds of max intensity followed by 10 seconds of rest repeated 8 times. A random blog post that came up in a google search does a better job of giving background than I would, but Tabata, the Japanese scientist after which the regimen is named, found that interval approach did more to increase both anaerobic capacity and aerobic capacity than would an hour a day of more moderate exercise.

I did see some other random comment to be in good shape already before attempting, but that won't deter me. I'll give it a go on the Concept 2. When I rowed Thursday, I found an inefficiency I was making. When I first started, I read to go strapless on the feet to improve form. I did that for a while, but I went back to straps when I got the C2. I went without Thursday and I found I had to stay more upright (95-100 degrees) to not going flying off the footpad. With straps, I was going to maybe 120 degrees, which increased the time of the stroke without any real benefit. With that improvement, I think I can do 1:45 at max (the lowest I've pulled is a 1:35 pace for 500m). The C2 allows for 6 seconds of drift (ie, still accrue meters with no pull for the first 6 seconds), so that leaves a total of 3:28 to get meters. If I can go 1:45 over 3:28, I'd approach 1000 meters in that time, which sounds optimistic since my fastest 1000 is around 3:50. Then again, doing this workout in terms of trying to achieve a certain number of meters is probably wrong headed. And it wouldn't be a 4 minute workout since I'd want to warm up for 500-1000 meters. It also assumes I have the heart or desire to finish the workout strong. I'll make sure Joanne is around when I try it.

Peace be with you

You may recall a previous post of mine where I explain how Owen was at the age where he must be the easiest to take care of - sleeping through the night, immobile, eating well, etc. You may also recall a more recent post where Keith mentions how I noted how Owen is showing his own personality and becoming more independent. Well, I have a feeling his independence means his "easy" period is coming to an end.

Last weekend he showed the first signs of being uncomfortable with strangers. Marisa came over, and at first Owen stared at her and then turned away and cried a little bit. The good news is I kept holding him and talking to Marisa, and by the time she had to leave, he was smiling at her. Same thing happened this weekend. When Kate and Teague first came over, Owen wasn't sure what to make of them. But by the time they left, they were getting smiles too.

Owen is definitely taking more of an interest in things around him and wants to be involved. He has a hard time breastfeeding when people are over - he doesn't like being covered up, so I end up going upstairs to feed him. He normally falls asleep at church, but today he was very fidgety and too interested in looking around him to sleep, even though he was due for a nap (he finally fell asleep on the ride home).

He is very close to being able to sit up on his own, and could probably turn over from his back to his stomach if he wanted to. Crawling (or at least creeping) can't be too far behind. Which means that we need to start baby proofing. Which leads me to wonder how much do we really need to baby proof? We have one gate for the stairs which we haven't taken out of the box yet. But do we need to worry about the three stairs between the kitchen and the family room? Am I going to have to banish all of my plants to non-reachable places? How about all of the electronics that we have in the family room? Are we really going to have to start vacuuming more than once a month?

I'm also struggling with the move to solid food. I understand what food to offer him and how much, but I am unsure of the best scheduling. How do I adjust his breastfeeding given my work and Ultimate schedule?

I won't even go into how frightened I am of teething.

In the Catholic mass there is a section of the service where we turn to our neighbors, shake hands and say "Peace be with you". It's one of my favorite parts. Today Owen was in the baby carrier during that part of the mass. One woman, after seeing I had a baby with me, seemed to put more emphasis on the statement. It was as if she knew that I would have some not-so-serene moments in my future. While I know that is true, I'm taking it one day at a time, and thanking God for such a beautiful blessing.

Bountiful Basket #2

I waited too long to place my order this week, which necessitated a different pickup location near Lakeshore and Guadalupe. Joanne left early in the morning to go to Tucson for a scrimmage, so Owen got to go on a little adventure with his Pop, which is only the second time we've been out in public solo (I don't count the couple of times I've brought him out to ultimate, since Joanne was there, although not in Owen's mode of transportation). He even got to wear his hat. He's grown into it a bit, so now he looks silly instead of goofy.

That is a move up.

Anywho, this week's haul:

• 1 # strawberries
• 2, 10 # bananas (7)
• 2, 1 # green grapes
• 1, 1 # cherry tomatoes
• 1, 5 #broccoli (2 full heads, not crowns)
• 2 # baby carrots
• 2, 15 # bosc pears (8)
• 2, 6 # mangoes (3)
• 2, 10 # red potatoes
• 3, 11 # red plums (14)
• 1, 11 # green peppers (5)

The basket is supposed to be 50/50 fruits/vegetables. That isn't quite the case. The 29 pieces of hand fruit will be a challenge, but I think we'll be OK. The location I picked up at is a new spot. I doubt that they messed up on splitting everything up, but I wonder if the delivery was mismanaged slightly and the location got an extra pallet of fruit instead of veggies. I was really surprised there was no leafy greens. There also was a basket with random stuff in it. It might have been the trade basket--I'll need to check the FAQ to see if that was it. I do recall one of the groups I looked into have that, but it required a full swap--ie the allotment of strawberries for the allotment of carrots.

Bottom line: 23 pounds of produce of mostly good quality (the pears are on the small side) for $16.50.

Mediocre day made better

Some festering small things at work meant I came home a little unhappy. Or maybe it was the lack of sleep. Anywho, that changed pretty quick!

Zombie

Owen uncharacteristically woke up at 2:30 this morning. Good times. I went to check on him. 40 minutes later I went back to bed. A moderate success. Until he woke up 10 minutes later. I went to get him again, but it was doing very little good, so Joanne came in and did something only a Mom can do. I went back to bed.

I say uncharacteristic, since Owen had been on a fairly consistent schedule of sleeping until 6 or 6:30. But last week, he did 3 or 4 days in a row (Joanne says 3; I thought it was more than that) of waking up at 4 in the morning. That's supposedly a sign that he's ready for more solids. We'll see. During that period last week, I got him once and got him back to sleep. Upon my return to bed, Joanne mumbles to me "nice job."

Really? What's the point of both of us being up, dear? That may be more unsatisfying than having to get up in the first place--that you didn't do a good enough job for Mom to go back to sleep. Or is it a lack of faith that I'll do the job (such as this morning, when you were asleep the first time), so no use in going to sleep? Throw me a bone here! C'mon!

Wearing Owen

New parents have a lot of choices and methods they can choose to employ. Food, sleep habits, waste disposal, even methods of interaction. In the case of the last one--there's the differing levels of babywearing, which can be a component of attachment parenting, or simply a means of transportation. Most new parents do end up getting a carrier of some sort, with Baby Bjorn being the dominant name in carriers, but I was attracted to some of the other benefits that proponents of baby wearing claim. Even if some of the outcomes aren't provable, it was something that felt right. Afterall, everyone likes to hold the baby. What is odd, though, is that when I was looking into this, I felt like we'd be on our own here because outside of a BB here and there at ultimate, I've seen very few carriers amongst friends, but that may be more a function of lack of events in which they'd be required.

We got a hotsling in late March, which allowed Owen to be held cradle style, and keeping Joanne's hands free. The sizing gave us some hope that we'd both be able to use it, but it didn't quite fit me, and since I only tended to have Owen in small chunks of time, it didn't seem necessary to get a sling just for me. In retrospect, Slinglings might be a better deal, as you can get 3 for the price of 2, though that might be more of a commitment than new baby wearers might need.



The sling generally worked pretty well, though it took Joanne some time to become comfortable with putting Owen in and knowing he was in right. Then, when she was used to that, Owen was too big for cradle style, and was ready for a front facing position, which resulted in his feet being squeezed up to his face. There are additional carrying positions, including a hip carry position, but the sling may be close to retired since we finally got a more adjustable carrier.



Meanwhile I spent time researching other more dad-friendly carriers, ie not wraps--mei tais and soft structured carriers were the primary styles. In function, they are largely the same in their positioning. The key difference is that mei tais are entirely fabric, while SSCs have buckles. Since this was more of an interest to me, I got to largely pick what I wanted. I had ruled out a good chunk of SSCs like the Baby Bjorn (or some of their models) because of the hold type--the idea to suspend Owen from just the crotch just seemed... uncomfortable. I guess there's some research that it can also affect spinal development. I was more interested in a carrier with front and back carries in a froggy style--with the legs splayed out around the carrier's waist. This shifts the baby's weight to not just the spine, but to all of the butt and thighs.

The initial leader was the Ergo--very popular as the Bjorn alternative, but it struck me as very bulky, particularly for AZ. It just seemed hot and heavy. The next consideration was the Patapum. Very Ergo-like, but it looked a bit lighter, and it was up to $30 cheaper. Still, I never quite pulled the trigger. After becoming a member of The Baby Wearer forum, I came across mei tais like the Babyhawk and the Connecta. The Connecta was especially interesting because it is in between a mei tai and an SSC. It is the highest rated SSC (since it has some buckles, it is categorized that way), and it even comes in a solarveil fabric, but Joanne didn't see a carrier as being worth $120 (it is made and shipped from the UK.

We ended up getting the Action Baby Carrier, largely from comments that it was a very light weight and cool. Although it was new to the market in May, the same company has made other well received carriers, so I finally pulled the trigger about two weeks ago, buying it from McKinley Kidz, even though the Patapum was a little cheaper.



The first reaction we each had was how comfortable it was. Owen's not that heavy yet, but neither of us found it a strain at all--the hip belt works well to distribute the weight. He hasn't been in yet for more than 30-40 minutes yet, but in that time, the only discomfort has been a little heat. I've taken him out once because of it--more to prevent him from getting upset than my own discomfort. Joanne had Owen fall asleep in it once. I also put him in today when he was a little upset, and he calmed down pretty quickly--maybe even faster than if I was holding him. In the pic above, his arm looks trapped, but it's just restrained. The other one is free, and he's OK with that. We haven't used the back carry yet or taken it out on any adventures, but that will change Saturday when Owen & I go to pick up our co-op order. Not too adventurous, I know, but we're breaking him in slowly to the excitement that is our lives.

Oh, that's right. Owen is the excitement in our life.

Die Another Day

If you've ever been to our house, you may, or may not, have noticed our small (2 gallon?) fish tank with one fish. The fish that will not die. It's tucked away in the corner of our kitchen, so you many people don't notice it. I only pay attention to it once a day to feed it (if I remember).

The story starts my sophomore year in college. My friends bought me a fish tank and two goldfish for my birthday. Such a great gift! Fish are my favorite animal, which you would never guess from looking at our upstairs hall bathroom. I faithfully took care of the goldfish until they both eventually died (sometime that year I think). Then a friend of mine gave me some guppies from her larger tank (she probably had 50 or so fish in her tank). From the start of those 5 or so fish, I have had fish in the tank for about 10 years now. They would breed, then die off...breed, then die. They even survived a week in Keith's custody when I was on vacation (well, almost all survived). I finally got down to one fish, who has had the tank all to himself for well over a year now.

I thought for sure that he would be long gone by now. As soon as I got pregnant I thought it would be fitting if the fish died right before LBA was born - the whole cycle of life thing. But no, he hung through even though I'm sure there were days where he didn't get fed while we were busy with the baby. He hasn't even shown any jealousy towards Owen. Just swims around like nothing is new. I also have let whole months (yes, plural) go by without cleaning the tank. I finally cleaned the tank about two weeks ago figuring if I went through all that effort he would make sure to die the next day. But no, he's still around.

I finally searched the Internet today to see how long goldfish are supposed to live. 10-30 years????!!!!! Oh, wait, that's goldfish. I have a guppy. New search: 2-3 years IF YOU TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM. Ha!! I must have the most resilient guppy in the world.

Now the question is what will I do once we run out of fish food. Good thing there is still 1/3 of a container left. He can't possibly last long enough to use that up.

Or can he??

Best dinner ever

I guess the proper format would actually be: Best. Dinner. Ever. And that's a bold statement, even if I limit it to just my dinners. Tonight was clearly #1 for me (and Joanne as well)...

I tried something different with the pork chops tonight. Rather than using my two standard rubs (either a pork rub or one with a lot of sage), I tried something a little different. Along with the normal salt and pepper, I went looking for something different (but not too different) and loaded them up with some rosemary. I asked Joanne what would be a good, different spice and she suggested cinnamon, so I added that as well. We had three ears of corn left, which is a bonus ear. Still, that's a fairly mundane preparation for what was to become the best dinner ever.

I brought everything in around 7. Joanne put Owen in the high chair and we cut into the chops. They were fairly thick, but they were cooked without the exterior being overcooked. That's good. The cinnamon, though, didn't quite work--it was too distinct, maybe burnt, and too separate from the meat. The corn, though, mmm mmm good.

Then it started. Owen was smiley and giggley when I got home. He took a little nap in the middle of his dinner and when we started, he was fairly happy. I started making faces at him, with a little dash of baby talk, and he started laughing. As you probably know, there's nothing quite like a baby's laugh, and, for us, nothing tops Owen's. When he starts laughing we try to keep it going because we enjoy it. We weren't quite ready for this display: about 30 minutes of pure Owen happiness--all smiles, giggles and laughs.



We didn't capture any of it because we were too transfixed to get either of the cameras (the pic above was from yesterday). Joanne even got a little emotional in the middle because of the realization that Owen wasn't an infant any more--he is a person with his own distinct personality. This isn't to say we haven't thought of him as having a personality--he definitely has that. Over the past couple of weeks or so, we have watched him reacting more to us, doing more reaching for things, paying more attention to toys, starting to show signs of mimicking us, and getting closer to sitting up on his own.

I think the better way to describe it is being parents just keeps getting better and better.

Bountiful Baskets

Despite JT's indifference, we went ahead and put in an order with the Bountiful Baskets Co-op this week. As a first timer, there was a $2 surcharge ($17 instead of $15) and we also got a loaf of artisan bread. A delivery fee of $1.50 is also included, making the total $20.50 for the following:

• 1.8 lbs plums (7)
• 3.2 lbs nectarines (8)
• 6 ears of corn
• 1.25 lbs green peppers (3)
• 2 lbs sweet onions (3)
• 1 lb bag of baby carrots
• 1 smallish head romaine lettuce
• 2.35 lbs of red grapes
• 4.7 lbs of cantaloupe (1)
• 2 lbs of celery (1 head)
• 2.4 lbs of bananas (8)
• 0.7 lbs of green beans
• 3.5 lbs of tomatoes (3 big ones)
• 1.5 lbs artisan bread loaf

The process for pickup was fairly simple. As a co-op, in depends on volunteers, which are supposed to arrive ~90 minutes before pickup time (about 6 am on a Saturday!). They receive the pallets of produce and other orders and divide up all the produce into small baskets--this week into two. When I arrived at about 7:50, the Carriage Lane Park lot was mostly full, and I got into line behind 10 or so other people. A check-in person verifies your order (bring your receipt) then you get to directed to the check-out person--1 of the 10 people or so that watch over a group of baskets. You transfer the produce from their baskets to your basket/bag and then you're on your way, unless you got other stuff. This morning there was a station for bread, so I stopped there and put the basket into the car. One favor that was asked was for members to take home some of the cardboard shipping containers to be recycled. Total time from parking to departure was 10-12 minutes.

In terms of quality, most of it looks good. The lettuce was a bit wilted, but it crisped up after being washed. The tomatoes are a bit greenish--that's probably the weakest part. One of the peppers had a funky shape, but there was no blemishes. Joanne has already had a plum and nectarine and gave the thumbs up. I was a bit disappointed to see know lemons, potatoes or berries--those are staple type items for us.



As for the amount, I don't view it as an overwhelming amount, but that might be the recent training of Costco purchases that required us to eat a lot of fruit. 15 plums/nectarines might be pushing it, but if we each do 2 a day it shouldn't be a problem-- we found ways to take care of 18 kiwis and 11 peaches in one week, how hard could this be?

My rough approximation of cost is in the neighborhood of $35 based on the prices this week in the Basha's ad. The carrots are the brand Basha's sells I believe (Rousseau), which may mean BB uses a primary Bashas supplier. Or it may mean nothing at all. The peppers and celery are not things we would buy, nor is the cantaloupe, but Joanne will eat it since we have it (I'll try it, but I'm not really a melon person). Overall, we're fairly pleased with the outcome. One thing that will make it better is when Joanne has enough sleep to come with me and then we can walk around the park a bit with Owen. I suppose we could have made it a Man Morning, but, uhh.... not really. Maybe next time.

Yet more food stuff

The Republic had a feature in the Food and Drink section this past Wednesday on food costs and how to control them through purchasing decisions and developing better cooking habits (as in actually prepare and cook as opposed to just heating). I think the reporter could have done a better job in selecting a subject for how to save money--a family of four that spends $400/week on groceries isn't typical, i wouldn't think. That lends itself to a lot of fluff that is too easily trimmed. Granted, the 2 kids were 15 & 17, but still. I went back and looked at our bills for the first 7 months this year. Joanne and I averaged roughly $100/week (all grocery charges; about 3/4 of costco and a small bit at target), and I splurge a bit on meat and seafood, not shying away from stuff in the $7-10 a pound range.

As part of the feature, a list of tips were included, a lot which we already employ, some oddities (olives are a staple of a well stocked pantry?), but others were good reminders or things we hadn't considered:

To save money on produce, consider joining a community-supported agricultural group, or CSA. Consumers pay a monthly fee to farmers and receive baskets of locally grown produce, from kale to lemongrass, each week.

Wean your family off boxed cereals, granola bars and other high-priced convenience foods. You can make 30 bowls of oatmeal for the same cost as one box of cereal. Or make your own granola, or buy less-expensive cereal and trail mixes from the bulk bins.

Limit beverage purchases. Loading the cart with soda, iced tea, orange juice and Merlot quickly inflates grocery tabs.

Learn to make your own salad dressings and marinades. They take just minutes and cost at least half the price of prepared versions

Be energy efficient. Plug in your toaster oven out on the patio in the summer. Use a slow cooker. When using the oven, load up with as many trays of food as possible. For example, if roasting potatoes, add extras for hash browns for breakfast.

Comments in random order: It never occurred to me to put the toaster oven outside--I am slow sometimes (like how it took me almost 3 months to figure out the best way to put on a Onesie).
In another example of slowness, I am a big fan of Minute Maid's Low Acid OJ--all the great taste of OJ, but no acid. It didn't really dawn on me for a long time that it's over $5/gallon. I am sometimes shocked by how much beverage bill can be--a container or two of Naked (much cheaper at Costco), milk, a couple half gallon cartons of OJ, the Dew, maybe gator/power-ade. It all adds up. Not that it's had an effect on our purchasing decisions yet.

The making your own stuff--it never seemed like a bother, but I am reassessing. The last time I shopped for a red wine vinaigrette, i spent too long comparing ingredients--sugar or corn syrup, was the sweetener first, does organic matter, does it have some ingredient I don't like but wouldn't notice. But that's more me being a bad shopper. The anti cereal/bar thing was new in concept, as I grew up a cereal or bagel person. I think I know one person that's an oatmeal for breakfast person (not that it's a topic that comes up much). In that search, I found a site operated by the world's self-professed expert on your morning meal, Mr. Breakfast. Lots of good stuff there, particularly on the oatmeal front--in addition to a lot of recipes, there's the top 10 reasons it's an ideal breakfast.

Last, the CSA produce. I've looked into this twice in the past year. The first time was curiosity; the second was with more purpose after we found out Josiah and Monika had bought a share. My initial impression was that at $20-25/week, it isn't actually a cost savings, though the food itself is probably better. Joanne asked how much I spent on the last Costco produce haul ( 18 kiwis, 11 large peaches, a dozen bananas and a 5 lb bag of carrots), which was about $23. My impression is that the latter is a lot more than the a CSA share. Still, we are likely to try one out. The feature mentioned four in the Valley:

• Crooked Sky Farms based in South Phoenix, a share is $20 a week for 12 weeks. The pickup best for us is Thursdays just south of ASU.
• Desert Roots Farm is based in Queen Creek. This is the one I looked at twice and that JoMo joined. They are adding a pickup spot at Riverview on Tuesday afternoon/evenings that is ideal. A share is $23 for 12 weeks, but they have a 4-week summer session starting soon that would work as a trial. Home delivery is an extra $5/week.
• Whole Earth CSA: they use the blog as their website, and it seems to be lacking a bit in terms of easily finding useful info, so not a contender.
• Bountiful Baskets: this is a food co-op, not a CSA, so it uses a group purchase to cut out the store markup in dealing directly with a produce warehouse. For us, there's a pickup at Carriage Lane park, but I saw a note that there is only a 15 minute pickup window. It's 7:45 am on Saturday mornings, so that might be doable. And $15 looks to go a long way.
  

For my wealth of non-local readers, you can find your own CSAs at Local Harvest.