Here is a recent picture of me without makeup, wearing a cat (Masi). I can't believe I am sharing this publically. I must need to have my head examined! Since I was asking you to share information about yourself I thought I would take a big step and go first, picture and all. ;-)
I recognize most of you from the other blog or from email communication. However I am not sure that you recognize each other. I also know that you all have interesting backgrounds which are very different from each other. These differences should make for fascinating conversation about the books. Since we will be chatting with each other I thought it would be nice for us to introduce ourselves. I will show you what I mean by going first. Here goes:
Name: Alicia, but my nickname has been Ali since I was in college
Sex: Female
Age: 49 (Yikes…how did that happen?) ;-)
Status: Happily married with 3 adorable felines (collectively referred to as “the fur children”), Luca Belle, Massimo and Nicco (aka Binky)
Currently Located In: Baltimore, Maryland, US
Grew Up In: Portage, Indiana, US
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: Italy, it simply feeds my soul and I love it there. On the sailboat is a close second for the same reason.
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Whole Food Vegan, though most of my life I was a very adventurous omnivore (trust me you don’t want details). We also have eliminated sugar at home and use stevia instead. At home we don’t use oil or salt except for special dishes (truffle oil is simply too good to eliminate forever, it is my idea of a splurge). At home I also try to keep my use of flour to a minimum as I consider that to be a processed food. When we go out we relax our dietary restrictions and don’t agonize over the oil and salt though we do try to keep them to a minimum. My husband is a pizza and bread addict but holds his consumption to meals outside our home.
Hobbies: certified nutrition geek, exercise, blogging, cooking, sailing, travel, photography, and anything Italian
Favorite Movie: “When Harry Met Sally” – I know all the lines by heart
Favorite Book: “The China Study” though I will say it was difficult to narrow it down to one because I have so many books that I love. Yes most of them have a nutrition focus before you ask. LOL
Work/Educational Background: Hospital Administration, specifically finance/grad and undergrad finance degrees (yawn)
Other things you should know: I became interested in (okay obsessed with) nutrition after the cancer diagnosis. Now we literally eat to live at our house. Nutrition is extremely serious for us. I did not set out to become a vegan but the preponderance of evidence told me it was the clear way to go in terms of health. At this point we feel so good there neither of us (my husband or I) ever intend to return to our prior diet.
Okay, now it is your turn. Please share whatever you think makes you….you. I can’t wait to read more about each of you. J
Name: Cindy
ReplyDeleteSex: Female
Age: 49 (Me, too!)
Status: Happily married with four children ages 22, 20, 18, and 13
Currently Located In: Slippery Rock, PA, US
Grew Up In: Jacksonville, Florida, US
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: The South, the Atlantic shore
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Nutritarian (ala Dr. Joel Fuhrman) when I'm behaving, the omnivore spin on that, so I have an ounce or two of fish or chicken or beef a few times a week within my plan. My family is very omnivore and loves junk, so it's a challenge sometimes! But they are also good sports and really willing to eat healthy a lot of the time, especially in comparison to the rest of the culture! I'm a good cook but more adventurous with flavors than with presentation.
Hobbies: reading, exercising for health, enjoying the rural countryside where I live, playing Sudoku and Words With Friends whenever we watch Netflix, cooking, sometimes needlework
Favorite Movie: That's a tough one! *Henry V* is pretty great.
Favorite Book: Of nutrition books, I'd say *Eat to Live,* but of other books, again that's a tough one! For everyday reading I like high-quality short stories--Mark Helprin, David Gunderson, Alice Munro, Russell Kirk, etc.
Work/Educational Background: I teach writing online via Writing Assessment Services (www.writingassessment.com) and am nearing the end of a couple of decades homeschooling my children. I have a Master's in English from Florida State University and taught in colleges for several years before "retiring" to have children. I started my online business in 1996--it's been a great adventure!
Other things you should know: I have had a weight problem since childhood and have found this way of eating the most sensible and effective for me, though I still have a way to go to get to optimum health. I am a Christian (evangelical Presbyterian).
Name: Cindy
ReplyDeleteSex: Female
Age: 33
Status: I've been married for nearly 2 1/2 years to my best friend Michael.
Currently Located & Grew up In: Lincoln, Nebraska
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: I can't pick just one place. a homey coffee house just about anywhere, on my bike in Minneapolis, or visiting Chicago, San Francisco, New York, or Lawrence, KS.
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Omnivore transitioning to mostly vegan. I read "China Study" in May and realized I needed to make this change for my health. I am still eating meat and dairy a few times a week, but I have been eating more vegan food and practicing asking for no cheese/sour cream on the Mexican food I like! I've liked vegan food for years, so this transition doesn't feel difficult. I've been doing yoga for about a month, walking at the gym 4-5 times a week, and plan to add meditation and tai'chi in September. I much more clearly understand why these choices matter. My husband is mostly on board, but we both go off the rails at times and want to eat junk food. That happens far less than it used to though.
Hobbies: yoga, biking, reading, cooking, going to concerts and movies, visiting with friends
Favorite Movie: Ghostbusters is my all-time favorite. More recently I would say "Harmony and Me."
Favorite Book: I like to read a lot, but I don't have many favorite books. I keep coming back to Henry Rollins and Thich Nhat Han though.
Work/Educational Background: I hold a Bachelor's in Film Studies, but I am going back to school this fall to get an Associates in Pre-Dietetics, that I will transfer for a Bachelor's in Dietetics. I work full-time in organic certification and will go to school part-time, so it will be quite a long road to the degree, but I want to combine my love of organic agriculture with my interest in nutrition.
Other things you should know: I am a pretty relaxed laid back person, and I get along with most everyone. I'm pretty tough when it comes to my job, as organic certification involves a lot of responsibility, but in the other parts of my life I prefer to kick back and let people be who they are. I don't argue, but discussion is fun. I figure everyone has their reason for seeing things as they do, so if I don't agree, that's alright.
Isn't it interesting we have so much in common yet we are also very different? It is nice to get to you better. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi, everyone, I'm 33 & have been married for 9 years to my sweetie Ryan.
ReplyDeleteI'm currently located in Fresno, California. I grew up about an hour south of here in Visalia, California, and went to college in Santa Barbara. The place I feel most at home is anywhere my husband is--but I also enjoy visiting San Luis Obispo (on the beach here in California), San Francisco, and anywhere in Europe. I love to travel & wish I was independently wealthy so I could do it all the time. Instead, I limit my travel to summers, which I have "off" because I'm a high school teacher.
I've been vegan or vegetarian for 8.5 years. I've found that while traveling it's best to be flexible, especially when I don't speak the language. One summer in Ukraine I nearly lived off of Bounty bars, because they didn't understand that fishing the meat hunks out of the soup didn't make it vegan. :)
I've recently discovered the fun that is Zumba. I don't love to exercise but I do it. I'd much rather read--I'm currently addicted to Harlan Coban. I always like to read through cookbooks, as well. I finished The Engine 2 Diet last week, which was a nice blend of information/nutrition/recipes.
I'm looking forward to our book discussions.
Hallo everyone!
ReplyDeleteName: Carol
Age: 42
Marital Status: Happily married with a 20 year old daughter and two rescue cats.
Lives: Redcar, North Yorkshire, England, a seaside town about 20 miles north of Whitby (of Dracula fame).
Place where I feel most at home: well, home is where the heart is so I suppose wherever my family are. I am a bit of a francophile but really one of the great things about going on holiday is coming back home again!
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Mostly vegan (about 90%) though I do give in to the temptation for pizza with cheese and the odd bit of chicken sometimes. I'm aiming to transition to a completely vegan diet with about 80-90% being made up of whole foods.
Hobbies: reading, travelling (if only I had the funds), walking in the countryside, watching good movies, occasional knitter.
Favourite Movie: Shirley Valentine. Like Ali, I can recite most of this movie off by heart. Love it.
Favourite Book: Couldn't possibly pick a favourite book. I really couldn't. There are too many. I love Daphne Du Maurier, Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell, Harper Lee, the list goes on and on and one and on.
Work/Educational Background: Varied. I've mostly worked in admin although I did go to university to study nursing several years ago but quickly realised it wasn't for me. I would have found it emotional draining. Currently I work from home as a self-employed remote transcriptionist and I love it. You learn a lot about all kinds of things. I love transcribing university lectures especially. I'm very much into self-study and am always reading history books and travel books.
Other things you should know: My main motivation for veganism is to do with my spirituality rather than health. I'm interested in Buddhism (though I wouldn't call myself a Buddhist per se) and I believe that we should all be personally accountable for our actions and the impact those actions have on the world around us. Put simply, I don't feel that I should cause any living creature suffering if I don't need to to survive. Having said that, obviously health is also important to me otherwise I wouldn't be here!
Name: Simona
ReplyDeleteSex: Female
Age: 31
Status: married
Currently Located In: Arlington, VA but I am going to move to Albuquerque, NM in October
Grew Up In: Italy, I was born in Rome and I moved from town to town because of my father’s job. I lived mostly in the south. For short periods of time I lived in Spain and England
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: As I said I used to move a lot so home is wherever my family is.
Current Diet/Lifestyle: I try to follow Eat to Live diet, but sometimes I have pizza or some other unhealthy stuff…
Hobbies: I love cooking and I started right after quitting my carrier as a restaurant manager ;). I also love making jewelry.
Favorite Movie: “as good as it gets”
Favorite Book: I like many books and many author: Fallaci, Pirandello, Coehlo, Grishman….I cannot choose
Work/Educational Background: I work for a construction company and I used to be a restaurant manager, a wedding planner and an insurance agent. I have a bachelor degree in Business and Economic with a specialization in Tourism
Other things you should know: English is my second language…I hope I didn’t make too many mistakes
Hello, everybody!
ReplyDeleteName: Karena
Sex: female
Age: 39 (ummm... what???)
Status: happily married to a grumpy old man :); two little boys, ages 7 and nearly 4
Current Location: the Walloon region of Belgium
Grew Up In: Northern New York State
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: the Highlands of Scotland
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Whole Foods Vegan - a whole week now :) Prior to that, I've been vegetarian for a few years. My goal is an ETL-style diet, with room to maneuver for eating out, birthdays, etc. Currently our household is mixed - the guys in the family still have dairy, and more chocolate and ice cream pass their lips than I'm happy about. It's a work in progress, and slowly coming around.
Hobbies: gardening, biking, cooking, reading
Favorite Movie: Bienvenue chez les ch'tis
Favorite Book: Le Comte de Monte Cristo
Work/Education Background: I have a degree in British lit. I'm a SAHM, but also go to a French immersion school. In another year or so, when my French is nearing a fluent level, I plan to get a degree in French literature.
Other Things You Should Know About Me: I don't have a scientific bone in my body. Although I am extremely interested in the information in The China Study, and have read it previously on my own, things like this are very difficult for me to absorb. I'm hoping that the book club setting will help me to really "get it" this time around.
what a cool group of folks so far! I am looking forward to this. :)
ReplyDeleteName: Kit
ReplyDeleteSex: Female
Age: ahem, late thirties
Status: Happily married with 1 cat named "Nine"
Currently Located In: Southern California
Grew Up In: Midwest America
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: My house, to the point where I rarely leave it!!
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Plant based, minimally processed, though I still struggle with breads and refined carbs. I occasionally eat seafood.
Hobbies: Gardening, learning about health/nutrition, traveling, blowing money on fabulous shoes. I loooove to cook and learn about other cuisines.
Favorite Movie: "Army of Darkness" is the greatest movie known to man. All hail Bruce Campbell.
Favorite Book: Probably "Anne of Green Gables"
Work/Educational Background: Engineer
Other things you should know: I'm paranoid, and hate sharing things publicly on the internet!!! I'll share more about personal health challenges if we teleconference.
"Anne of Green Gables" - good choice! I love the first three Anne books a lot!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading everyone's introductions when I came here this morning -- hi! I came to see if our first chapter discussion is ready to go, because I have a comment/question right off the bat! :-) I'm also going to mention this blog on a particular thread on the Dr. Fuhrman site, and on an ETL Yahoo list, because I think some folks there might be interested in the discussion. I hope that's okay, Ali! I think these are self-selected groups that will have members who can enhance our discussions here. :-)
ReplyDeleteCindy,
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great idea!
Ali
Intro:
ReplyDeleteName: Marky
AGE: Older than any of you... 59 11/12
Status: Married for 28 yrs. to the love of my life.
Local: Currently living in Lake County, Northern California. Raised in San Francisco. Lived early adult life in Pacifica (few miles from SF) In short a City Girl pretending to be a Rural Girl.. (or lol..before the internet lol meant little old lady)
I have four grown children. 6 grand children.
I work as an RN in the ER and ICU. One of our local Family Practice docs strongly recommends that all of his pts. read The China Study. I bought it about a year ago... scanned it... looking forward to this book club so I will actually read it!! marky
Thanks for letting me join!!
Name: Brandy
ReplyDeleteSex: Female
Age: 35 (feels more like 60)
Status: Married just over a year to an amazing mam
Currently Located In: Palatka, FL, US
Grew Up In: In and around the same area
Place Where I Feel Most at Home: Palatka, since I've been here my entire life, but I have visited Washington D.C. several times and LOVE it.
Current Diet/Lifestyle: Being dragged behind that wagon that I fell off. Since reading "Eat to Live" about a month ago, I have drastically changed my eating habits, although overnight travel a week ago has set me off-course again. I'm hoping this new book and the accountability of the group will get me back in line. By the way, THANK YOU for sharing that you sometimes eat pizza or indulge when you go out. That makes me feel better to know that you all struggle too.
Hobbies: Wii-love the games, especially Wii Fit. Singing and attempting to play guitar. Reality TV is a guilty pleasure. Riding my motorcycle.
Favorite Movie: Color Purple
Favorite Book: Angela's Ashes
Work/Educational Background: I have an M.Ed. in Reading Education from UF, and I work at a non-profit consortium for small, rural school districts.
Other things you should know:
My newfound interest is dropping almost all the foods I love, including wheat gluten-is for health reasons. I have four auto-immune diseases: psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, both treated with Humira (which cost my insurance nearly $2000 a month and weakens my immune system), IgA Nephropathy (which can't be treated, but I am on dialysis-also costing insurance several thousand dollars a month), and my most recent addition is Sjogren's Syndrome, which causes tear ducts and saliva glands to stop production. I'm hoping I can stop this one in its tracks before it progresses too far. I am genuinely trying to "Eat to Live".