Hello from the edge

First off, apologies as i know that the format of this post will be
wonky at best. I'm not even sure all of the photos will appear as this
is the first time posting multiple photos on Blogger via email. Oh
well, everyone will survive I'm sure.

I'm near the edge of the earth in Patagonia (it's flat, right?) and
the edge of my wits. I'm supposed to be getting on a ship to go around
the Cape Horn in a matter of two hours. At the moment I'm lying sick
in bed with mismatched Jammie's and really bad hair.

In the past three days I've gone from feeling fine to awful to fab to
terrible x2 or 3. I had a 'real' post 80% written with photos & links
but I got clobbered yet again with aches, cold/hot, head & tummy aches
& I had to stop. Bummer, as it seems the best time for me to write a
post is when I am several thousand miles from my To-Do list and
surrounded by four unfamiliar walls.

Assuming I make it on the ship (Derek is out buying me Dramamine)
we'll be without Internet for days (Derek is out buying himself
Ativan). This should be interesting!

Here are some photos I already had in my phone library... Things to point out:

The first collage is from Buenos Aires: we walked around "The Paris of
South America", took busses & trains, gawked at the fanciest McCafe
I've seen & went to a "milonga" where real people gather to do the
tango.

The second shot showed two highlights from El Calafete in Argentine
Patagonia: eating ice cream and visiting Perito Morena Glacier (not
necessarily in that order, maybe).

The third photo is our hotel in El Calafete called Design Suites (a
living, breathing art gallery). You'll undoubtedly appreciate the
photo of me sick in bed just in case you don't know what that looks
like.
Finally and most importantly, someone needs to bottle and sell
Patagonian water for use in conditioners. My hairs' glory peaked in El
Calafete and it's all downhill from here. El Sigh.

Have a wonderful New Year to all of you!

A night out at the ballet

Main points:
* We are far, far away from home
* We try to expose ourselves to culture whenever possible
* We travel in style. OK, that's a lie: we love to take public
transportation. The grottier, the better.
* I might have lost the heel to one of my oldest and most beloved pair
of shoes right outside the Opera House in Buenos Aires.
* I might have busted into an "alfajor" (the national cookie) in an
intermission. And enjoyed every morsel.
* I'm wishing my readers a wonderful holiday & thanking you for
reading my little corner of the Internet. ��

Inspirational

Sometimes, when I see young people with walkers or wheelchairs, the very first thing I think about (just after: "Why?") is "How would I handle that?" Would I sit on the couch and feel sad? Would I try to get on with life as best I could? Would I be one of those marathon wheelchair racers? Honest truth: I don't know.

When I was on a cruise over Thanksgiving, I saw a guy with a walker every day in the gym. On the final day, I sneaked a note in his backpack that read: "You are awesome " (No, I didn't have a yellow marker on my person but that would have been all sorts of fabulous).
 
So it's pretty obvious that I get inspired by people like this. This week, I saw another impressive gym-goer and decided to talk to him. This is someone who has overcome huge challenges and thrives because of his determination.

Alistair Dutson

This is Alistair Dutson. About 20 years - ago at age 18- this Canadian elite multisport athlete was 'thisclose' to becoming a Motocross Professional racer when a devastating accident during a practice ride broke his spine and rendered him paraplegic. After a week in a coma, 6 months in hospital/rehab and 18 months of deep depression, he somehow pulled himself up and forward. Fortunately, his spine was not damaged quite as badly as originally believed and he regained a small amount of use of his legs. He is now able to stand and walk with braces and a cane for limited distances.


He formed a foundation called Team1 (both USA and Canada) and has spent his time training, chair-racing (on the road and snow) and public speaking to youth about knowing one's limits, setting goals and overcoming obstacles. You can check out his impressive racing accomplishments (including several Boston Marathons) here.


This guy trains like a beast! There isn't enough internet space to show his entire workout (kidding!) but I wanted to share just a snippet of a typical training session with you.

Assisted Pull Up

Triceps extension

Alternating Rows

Pushups against bar

Bench press. This is 225 pounds!

Resting, stretching, calf raises

Alistair in front of the "Prison yard" at Gold's Gym (one of his sponsors)

When I asked him about the keys to his recovery, he listed:


• Determination & Perseverance.
• Sports & Recreation + Health & Fitness.
• Knowledge that there is a greater purpose for his life.


For the stat nerds out there, here are some details about his recent workouts:


Since the start of 2010 he has completed a minimum of 1000 Reps per gym workout utilizing a mixture of cables, free weights and machines.  He cranks out 5 to 6 workouts a week and walks 1Km on the treadmill each session.


• Annual minimum reps he completes in gym workouts: 240,000.
• Annual minimum Kilometers he walks on treadmills: 240.



Somehow, I can't imagine Alistair sipping a latte and licking an ice cream cone between sets, but I'll try not to hold that against him

Q: Have you overcome any large obstacles or know someone who has? What helped? What did not? If you have any questions for Alistair, I'd be happy to pass them on to him.

My current favorite cracker: Wasa Rosemary Flatbread

Leave it to my awesome reader Missy to keep me on my toes here on the blog. She asked if I had ever tried Wasa's Rosemary Flatbread and I replied with "Doh...I've had photos uploaded for a post about them for a year!" Thanks for the reminder, Missy!

It says "New" on the package because this photo has sat in a Picasa album for a year.

Look, my beautiful mom hailed from Sweden, so really it should be in my genes to adore Wasa crackers. Truth be told, I find almost all of them extremely 'meh.'  The one exception is a magical hard cracker called Frukostknäcke (breakfast cracker) and is only available in Scandinavia. Bummer for me. 

These have some unknown-to-me tiny amazing white seed that makes my heart cry a little bit that I don't live in Sweden

For a fun interactive snapshot of a typical Swedish breakfast, click on this Wasa link. (Hint: You won't find any Fruity Pebbles!) They just seem to be missing the herring and the amazing "filmjölk" a life-changing, fabulous soured yogurty-milk that tastes like a love-child of buttermilk and Greek yogurt. Another reason to move to Sweden.

Speaking of Sweden...

Biscoff's 2nd cousin

And since I'm tooting Sweden's horn, I may as well point out that I've been eating Anna's Ginger Thins (known as pepparkakor in Sweden) from the time my first teeth appeared as a baby. For my taste buds, all-the-rage-Biscoff cookies are very similar, only they seem to be more expensive, and not quite as ginger-y as Anna's. I have found Anna's at numerous supermarkets, Cost Plus World Market and Amazon on the cheap.

Great. low calorie stats: there is even a tiny bit of protein and fiber in them!

OK, back to the star of the post: these rosemary 'flatbreads' are incredibly flavorful. Not to be discounted are the stats: 35 calories apiece. They are wafer thin, but quite large. A serving is 2 crackers.


Good paired with...

Love me a good, low-cal cheese 'product', don't you?

Another shockingly tasty faux cheese item- it really is bluecheesy in flavor!

Top with ham and (wilted?) arugula

 So there you have a really tasty, low cal snack or appetizer.


Q: Have you tried this Wasa cracker? Are there other great crackers I need to discover (aside from the incomparable Akmaks)? Any other good faux cheeses to share? Are you crazy about Biscoff cookies? Have you tried Anna's?