Killer Lasagna . . . really

Tonight my husband made a vegetable lasagna that knocked my socks off.  I just hope I didn't overdo it.  I went back for seconds (a half portion) and then a nipped one more bite before he put the leftovers in the fridge.  Really I practiced great restraint considering that what I wanted to do was submerge my entire face in it.

The lasagna had zucchini in it - not my favorite because it lacks substance and character.  By that I mean that zucchini tend to fall apart and they have little flavor.  So when I saw the zucchini in the lasagna pan I was immediately suspicious, but the amazing smell and my intense hunger were enough to keep me from turning up my nose.  And once I took the first bite, I was hooked.  I spent the next twenty minutes in veggie heaven.  My apologies to the zucchini of the world - I have misjudged you.

So, at this time you will be expecting me to share the recipe.  My hubby found it over at Family Circle, but we cannot get recipes from there to link.  They redirect to a dead page telling you that you are logged in already (or that you are not).  Try this: Vegetarian Lasagna.   If that link doesn't work, go to the Family Circle website and search for "Vegetarian Lasagna."  It will be the first link on the list.  However, be warned!  Hubby says it was a real pain to put together - labor and time intensive.  In fact, he said it had a pain-in-the-butt rating of 5/5.

And on the Portuguese front today, I looked up the history of the names of the days of the week in Portuguese.  Because it is so intriguing when you look at how other languages are so similar and Portuguese is a complete outlier.  There had to be a story to explain that!  And indeed there is . . . .

It seems that in the 6th century Martinho de Dume, a bishop in what is modern day Portugal, decided that the names of the days of the week were too pagan and did not reflect the Christian values of the people, so he moved to change them. 

Patricia Ribeiro at About.com explains it this way:

Portuguese is the only romanic language in which all the days of the week have their origin in the Catholic liturgy. According to a widely accepted explanation, the change from pagan names to the current terms was initiated by Martinho de Dume, a sixth-century bishop of Braga, in what is Portugal today, and based on full observance of an Easter week.

Domingo (Sunday) has its origin in the Latin expression for the Day of the Lord. Saturday was named for the Hebrew word Shabbat. The other days, which mean second to sixth fair literally, would come from the Latin terms for “second day in which one shouldn’t work” (in observance of Easter week). Compare to the Portuguese word for vacation – férias.

I still find it odd.  Maybe during the 6th century it made perfect sense to call Monday "second fair," but to my modern mind that seems very peculiar.  To make matters worse, the modern speakers of Portuguese often omit the feira part of the phrase and just say segunda, terça, etc.  That might make perfect sense to them, but I can see myself easily getting lost when this is used.  Wait . . .  Segunda?  Are we meeting on Monday or on the second of the month? 

Ah well, I'll worry about that if and when it comes up.  It's not as though there are never any ambiguities in English, after all.

Next time you'll see less of me!

--AnneK

Tuesday is Over!

It's a sad state of affairs when it's just Tuesday and I'm already counting down for the weekend, but this week has already been kicking my tail hard!  I'm ready for it to stop but that's not about to happen just yet.

Sadly, I've been so busy today that it occurred to me over dinner that I hadn't thought about Portuguese all day.  I did my audio lesson in the car this morning, of course.  But after that, I was focused hard on my work and no stray thoughts entered my consciousness.

At least I have a long weekend to look forward to.  Memorial Day is one of my favorite holiday weekends because it is at the very beginning of the summer and I am filled with joy knowing that the entire summer lies ahead of me.  Lazy days with no papers to grade and no lesson plans to write, time to be outside with loved ones, sunshine for 15 hours a day, warmth and happiness!  What's not to love?

Speaking of Memorial Day, my Weight Watchers meeting is on Monday, but the center is closed that day for the holiday.  My leader said that she'd see us in two weeks time as she dismissed us last night.  That left me scratching my head a bit.  Do they think I'm not going to go just because the center is closed on Monday?  I mean, it is open on Sunday and on Tuesday - so why would I skip?  I'm not sure how other folks approach this, but I will be attending a meeting this week and wearing my game face.

And now to remedy the No Portuguese Zone that my brain has been in all day - here are the days of the week in Portuguese:

• Segunda-feira Monday
• Terça-feira Tuesday
• Quarta-feira Wednesday
• Quinta-feira Thursday
• Sexta-feira Friday
• Sábado Saturday
• Domingo Sunday

I must admit that the linguist in me had a WTF moment when I looked these words up.  Portuguese is a Romance language and, as such, is closely related to Spanish, Italian, French and the other languages in the family.  If you would like to see how closely they are related, take a look at this Wiki page on the names of the days of the week.  You'll notice that the Romance languages are all lined up and behaving properly except Portuguese.  And, if the Wiki is to be believed, there used to be different days of the week in "old Portuguese" - and those are the ones I expected to see when I started this vocabulary journey.  There must be an interesting story here for me to investigate, but I haven't got time for it now.   I will research and follow up on this soon, amigos.

Next time you will see less of me!

--AnneK

Adeus to Two More Pounds

Monday is weigh-in day for me and I am happy to say that I'm moving in the right direction.  Down two more pounds for a total of seven now!  "Seven" is sete in Portuguese, and that is pronounced /SEH - chee/ for anyone who may be interested.

I have a bit of an injury in my hip at this time which means I'm waddling more than I am walking.  The weight doesn't bother my self image too much, but the waddling does.  I know plenty of heavy women who are elegant and beautiful, but none of them are waddlers.  *sigh*  I'll take it easy and stay on program - it's the best thing I can do for my hip.

The problem with the injury is that it keeps me from getting any real walking done, and that is my preferred form of exercise at my current weight.  One of my life-long goals is to own a real pool some day,  for fun a recreation of course, but for exercise too.  I love to work out in the pool because it's cool and refreshing, and sweat and impact become non-issues.  A gorgeous pool is something I'll treat myself to if I ever become a weight loss celebrity.  *grin*  And I'll put up a fence around the pool and invite all the neighborhood heavy folks to my judgement-free pool parties!

Well, it's fun to dream anyway.

Next time you will see less of me!

--AnneK

Dois Candangos

I was looking through pictures of Brazil and saving them to my Brazil Board on Pinterest to serve as motivation on days when I'm dragging, and I came across this really brilliant photo of a famous monument in Brasilia.

The name of the work is Dois Candangos.  And, if you look that up online, the only translation you get is "Two Candangos," which is not very helpful.  What is a candango, I thought?  Why are they important enough to merit such an impressive piece of sculpture?

This line of inquiry took me on an interesting trek into the history of Brazil and its capital, Brasilia.  Many people mistakenly think that São Paulo is the capital, but it is not.  What even fewer people know is that Brasilia didn't even exist 60 years ago.  It was carved out of the jungle and built by the local tribesmen, the candangos, to serve as Brazil's capital in a mere three years of work.  The statue is the brain child of designer Bruno Giorgi and stands 25' in bronze.  The figures represent the pioneering spirit of the people who left their homes to build the city.

This has little or nothing to do with my weight loss goals or my desire to learn Portuguese but, I found it absolutely intriguing, so here it is on the blog.  Click on the picture above or follow this link to learn more about the history of the city of Brasilia.

Next time you will see less of me,

--AnneK


Photo Credit: http://www.wayfaring.info/2009/05/29/%E2%80%9Cdois-candangos%E2%80%9D-brasilia/#more-9939

The Beauty of Big

I read on the BBC today that African artist, Augustin Kassi, is currently doing an exposition of his work in which he celebrates the beautiful and voluptuous forms of women.  Finally, an artist who appreciates women who look like me!

I've always said that big can be beautiful, and my size isn't really a major issue.  Well, not to me at any rate.  Plenty of people have an issue with overweight people and prejudice abounds!  But my problem is one of health and mobility at this time.  Hence the push to lose weight - not to achieve someone else's ideal of beauty or to find acceptance among the close-minded people of the world.

The picture above is an example of the art created by Augustin Kassi and the picture will take you to a slide show of his work.  The text is in Portuguese, but I will translate a bit of it here for anyone who many be interested.

"Eu queria lutar por essas mulheres que foram criticadas e até feitas prisioneiras da ideia de que não eram bonitas", disse o pintor local Augustin Kassi.

"Decidi tomar uma posição e dizer: 'Não, você é linda - Deus a fez assim. Tome cuidado com a alimentação, faça um pouco de esporte, e nós te amamos'. Eu amo essas mulheres", disse Kassi à BBC.

"I wanted to fight for these women that have been criticized and have been prisoners of the idea that they are not pretty", says the local painter Augustin Kassi.

"I decided to take a position and say: 'No, you are lovely - God made you this way.  Take care with your nutrition, get a little exercise, and we love you.'  I love these women," says Kassi to the BBC.

Thank you, Kassi.  I think I might love you too.  I also think it might be time for me to save a little money and purchase a painting!  His work really does show his love and admiration for women - even those society has declared unworthy of love.  Take a look and see if you don't agree!

Next time you will see less of me!

--AnneK

Busy Week!

It is the time of year when teachers have run out of their yearly allotment of patience and are running frazzled.  Exams are a mere two weeks away and we teachers are struggling to get everything up and ready for the state exams as well as our own personal exams, trying to get all the grades ready for report cards, and dealing with the inevitable wave of projects and assessments that fall during the final weeks of class.  Many of us are so over worked and overwhelmed at this time of year that we're prone to snap at any moment and say something snippy or derisive when we shouldn't.  As for me, I'm trying to live in the moment and not make it all better with doughnuts and cupcakes . . . but apples do not have the same calming effect on my state of mind.  Ahh well, this too shall pass, as they say.

I have the weekly menu made up for May 14 - 18.  This time I remembered to save it as a PDF so it can be viewed properly by most anyone, though admittedly my readership is only at 1 person right now.  (Thanks, sis!)  But who knows what the future holds?  *smiles*

On the Portuguese front, I have been extremely frustrated this week because I have found no time to work in my grammar book and little time for anything else.  Although I have visited a blog or two and I have continued to listen to my audio lessons in the morning.  This weekend the plan is to immerse myself to the greatest extent possible so I don't feel deprived if the coming week turns out to be as busy as this past one was.  (Yes, deprived of grammar.  We linguists actually feel deprived if we are unable to get to that exciting new grammar that will increase our communication skills.  We really do!)

My grammar goal this weekend is to get the pluralization of nouns and adjectives down, including the pronunciation - which can be a bit tricky in Portuguese.  If I'm feeling really ambitious, I might take on some more irregular verbs in the present tense too.  And somewhere out there I'm going to have to find some listening practice activities to do as well.

That's all for now; wish me luck!  Até lago, amigos. 

Next time you will see less of me!

--AnneK

Thou Shalt Not

So far so good with Weight Watchers.  I'm on program, tracking what I eat, and generally behaving well.  However, I have discovered some things that I should not do.  Because I want to make things easy on myself, not hard.  And some of the behaviors I have engaged in this week have made things hard.

Thou shalt not . . .

• Go into the Whole Foods deli . . . ever.
• Drive within 100 yards of a Starbucks.
• Watch Food Network.
• Go into a supermarket while hungry.
• Leave snacks within reach.

Whole Foods is my favorite bakery in the area.  They have an almond croissant there that is dizzying in its greatness.  And then there are also my favorite cookies there - pecan pie cookies.  Do I even need to mention that they sell fresh gelato there too?

Starbucks is a favorite weakness of mine.  And now, Heaven help me, they have a blended drink with chocolate whipped cream on top.  Chocolate whipped cream!  I had one this week and it cost me 11 points and didn't fill me up, leaving me hungry and unsatisfied.

Food Network . . . so many goodies flashing past my eyes and making their impression on my subconscious.  My natural instinct is to hit the kitchen and start cooking, but I have to tamp down that inclination and stay with the meals I have planned.  This is especially hard because I like to be spontaneous.

Staying away from the supermarket while hungry is such a common piece of good advice that it is cliche, but there is wisdom there.  Everything is tempting while you are hungry and having to say no to yourself feels bad.

And for the last one, leaving snacks within reach.  This is just a combination of bad planning and laziness on my part.  Snacks in my sight and within my reach are too much of a temptation.  Better to serve myself one portion and put the snacks away immediately.  Once those snacks are out of sight they will quickly be out of mind too, and my laziness will work in my favor because I won't want to get up and get myself another snack.

Next time you will see less of me!

--AnneK

Week One Update

It has been one week and all is good.  I had to face the dreaded weigh-in today and I was down five pounds!  Most of that was water weight, of course.  I won't be able to keep up weight loss at that rate of speed, but it's okay.  If I average 9 lbs. per month then I get to my goal on time.

I put in a weight tracker at the very bottom of this page.  I struggled with the code a bit and I can't seem to change the color of the lettering, nor can I center it.  I went into the html and typed in my choices by hand, but they is being overridden by whatever is going on at the host site.  Ah well, I'm not going to stress about it.

After my job, my part-time job, and my Weight Watchers meeting, I came home and the crock pot had not cooked the beans to done.  They were still starchy and somewhat dry and I was disappointed because I did not want to have to cook at 8:30 at night when I was already so hungry and so tired.  I threw together a can of kidney beans, a can of tomatoes with green chilies, and some fun spices.  After heating it to boiling I served a half a cup of it over a cup of white rice.  Nothing to crow about, but it was tasty and easy enough.  Hopefully tomorrow's crock pot dinner will go better.  *fingers crossed*

Now I am off to a quiet space to spend some quality time with my Portuguese textbook.  This makes me happy.

Next time you will see less of me!

--AnneK

Astral Toads and Crock Pot Miracles

"Praise the Lord for small miracles," is what my grandmother used to always say when something tiny but critical would go right for her.  Today that small miracle is that the crock pot, hidden away in the garage for countless years, still works.  My husband and I both have very late days Monday - Wednesday and I didn't want my mother to be stuck with toddler care and dinner preparation for three days running.  The obvious solution was to throw ingredients into the crock pot and let the cooking miracle happen without her having to be involved.  I selected three crock pot recipes for dinner this week and I'm hoping that this will be just the thing to solve the who's going to cook dinner problem.

I allotted myself points for one or one and a half servings of dinner this week.  I've never been one to really junk up too much on unhealthy foods, but I have a habit of eating too much.  My portion sizes have been way out of control and I'm quick to go back for seconds, and even thirds.  Old habits die hard, so I figure I can give myself the option of getting a second half-portion if I feel the need.  That will satisfy my internal desire to get more food once my plate is empty.  (Well, that is the plan anyway.)

On the Portuguese front, I am making good progress with my reading comprehension and I found a station that streams Brazilian television online too.  It is in the links section to the right, if you are interested.  My listening comprehension is very bad right now.  I catch a few words here and there and I might have and idea of the topic being discussed, but I am not getting any of the specifics. 

I went to the Aprender Português page and clicked on the Nivel Inicial link (beginner level).  This took me to pequenos textos - small texts.  The first couple of activities were easy as pie and I was feeling quite good about myself until I hit the grammar section.  "Complete the following by supplying the imperative form of the following verbs," they said, as if that had somehow been covered in the little reading about horoscopes I had just done.  The imperative forms?, I'm thinking.  Okay, let's see if this is anything like Spanish . . . .  The answer, as it often is when comparing Spanish and Portuguese is yes and no.  The subjunctive endings are used for imperatives and are similar to those in Spanish.  The next activity asked me to supply the future indicative and again I had to scratch my head and wonder how they figured I was supposed to get that from the little text I had just read but, I am a linguist so I forged ahead.  It seems the 3rd person singular ending is á and the plural ending is ão (both attached to the infinitive, as in Spanish).  It took me a couple of times, but I have it down now.

 But the real fun was in an external link to a Portuguese language astrology site.  I enjoy horoscopes even though I don't put much credence into them - they are fun.  Horoscopes are especially fun in Portuguese because I get to practice language and look into the future all at the same time.  And, the name of the website is Sapo Astral - which I translate as "Astral Toad."  Seriously, who could not love getting their future from the Portuguese-speaking Astral Toad?

Life is good!

Next time you will see less of me,

--AnneK

Cost of Being Overweight

Recently a good friend of mine has been struggling with being childless.  His wife has not been able to conceive and, even after a great deal of expense and invasive medicine, the last attempt was not successful.  He told me that he had believed he would be okay if there was a miscarriage, but confessed that when it actually happened he discovered that he was really was not okay at all.  It looked like there were tears in his eyes, though I know he was trying to be strong.  After suffering from two miscarriages myself, I know that pain too well.

It occurred to me shortly after my talk with him to offer myself as a surrogate.  I have had three healthy and beautiful children and, though I am no longer a spring chicken by anyone's measure, I believe I could carry a baby with no trouble at my age.  And then it hit me . . . no doctor would consent to the procedure because of my weight.  My own doctor was very concerned about my weight with my last two pregnancies.  Issues with preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and other pregnancy complications are far greater with an overweight mother.  And too would be the concern that I would gain more weight myself.  I can't diet while pregnant, of course.

Once again I find myself wishing things were different.  Not for silly reasons like being embarrassed trying to go through a turnstile, not finding my size in the store, or having someone give me a pathetic "why bother?"  look when I order a diet drink with my food.  Those things are all a hassle and can be killer on one's self esteem, but this is something deeper - a limitation that prevents me from offering what might be the only hope my friends have.

I had to cry about it for awhile last night.

Next time you will see less of me,

--Annek

Next Week's Menu

Hubby does the shopping around here so I have taken it upon myself to do my meal planning Friday evenings so that everything can be purchased on the weekend.  I highlight the items he needs to purchase and email the menu off to him so that purchases can be made.

I'm using the new Weight Watchers Points Plus system and it looks solid - very healthy and balanced as long as I follow the rules.  I went ahead and totaled up all the points on my weekly menu too so that makes tracking a . . . well, a piece of cake.  (Maybe I need to come up with a new metaphor?  Easy as pie doesn't work either.)

Eventually, just to make things fun, I am going to learn some Brazilian recipes and figure the WW points on those too.  But for now I will stick with family favorites such as Taco Soup and Baked Broccoli - decidedly un-Brazilian, but Rome was not built in a day.  (I sense the need for another metaphor . . . ).

On the topic of Portuguese today, I managed to add the "Portuguese Word of the Day" widget and some language learning sites to the page.  I finished Pimsleur's Lesson 12 today and, as soon as I finish this post, I am going to do a little practice in my workbook as well.  This qualifies as fun for me - just so you know.

You will see less of me next time,

--AnneK

Here Is Where It Begins

For anyone who happens to stop by here accidentally, this blog is about two personal goals of mine and a reward I have set for myself if I reach them.

Goal 1: Lose nearly 200 lbs. and get back into shape

Goal 2: Learn to speak Portuguese

And the reward?  I have always wanted to go to Brazil to see the Amazon river, the rain forests, and the unbelievable beaches of Rio de Janiero.  So if I am able to accomplish the two above goals in the next two years, I plan to reward myself with a trip to Brazil.

Background Story on Goal 1 - I have struggled with my weight the entirety of my adult life.  At different points along the journey I have engaged in self-loathing, avoidance of social contact, dieting, and acceptance of who I am.  Acceptance is a good thing but the health problems I was having were not acceptable in the long run, and I have decided that I have to do something about the excess weight - 200 pounds of it.  I have been successful in weight loss before, and even reduced my weight by over 100 pounds once, but I get distracted when tragedy or severe stress occur in my life.  (I might blog about the specifics another time.) And once I fall off the wagon, I can not find the strength to get back on.  But I'm back now and this goal is doable.  I have to average a loss of about 8-10 pounds per month to reach this goal, and that is a reasonable rate of weight loss - healthy.

Background Story on Goal 2 - I am a linguist and a Spanish teacher.  I have always loved language and learning Spanish was an enormous achievement that has been worth every minute of effort I put into pronunciation practice and verb drills.  It is so rewarding to be bilingual.  In the modern world, speaking English and Spanish just makes good sense.  But, in my heart, Portuguese is the language I really adore and want to speak.  I think it sounds melodious, lyrical and even poetic.  I love the bossa nova, the samba, and every bit of wonderful music that comes from Brazil too.  The chances that I will actually ever need Portuguese in my day-to-day life are minimal, but I want to learn it for me.  Can a person learn a language in two years?  Well, for many people that answer might be no. However, I already speak Spanish and it is very closely related to Portuguese.  And I have been blessed with a talent for languages, so I feel like it is a goal I can reasonably reach.

I think my goal of taking a trip to Brazil is a very logical one, because once I am in shape enough to enjoy trekking around the country, walking on the beach -and- I can speak the language, then that is where I feel I want to be.   It's the sort of reward that will inspire me in my twin goals.

So this is the place where I will post updates on my progress on my weight loss and my acquisition of the Portuguese language.  I will also post related content like motivational pictures, recipes, sub-goals, and reflections.

Here's to going down and away!  (Down in weight and away to Brazil.)

You will see less of me next time,

--AnneK