Tag: The Interview

I picked up a voluntary tag from my friend Marlene over at "A Country Girl on the Chesapeake Bay".

For this tag Marlene asked me 5 interview questions.

I answered them and it turned out kind of long.

So just in case you didn't already know everything you ever wanted to know about me, please read on and enjoy getting to know me a little better, thanks to Marlene's questions.

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My Blog tag interview questions

1. Being relatively new to Virginia, what would you say are the biggest contrasts to your state of origin?

A.

I’m from Utah, and I think anyone who has spent much time in Utah would say there is no other place like it.

One of the first and most obvious differences between Utah and Virginia is that Utah has a black population of maybe 1%.

While there are many Hispanics and Polynesians in Utah, There were 2 black kids in my entire high school.

Here in VA the black population is much higher. Which adds cultural flavor that I love and think is great for my kids.

The other obvious difference is the presence of religion.

Religion and beliefs are very strong in both states, but manifest very differently.

In Utah, LDS, or Mormonism, is the primary faith, being that over 50% of the state’s population are LDS.

However, I think because Mormons are afraid of offending anyone they rarely discuss or share their beliefs outside of church or related groups.

This also leads to a sense of “Mormon Cliques” because many mormons just don’t know how to relate to others without fear of being offensive.

Here in VA there are different churches all over the place. It is hard to find 2 people who actually attend the same one. But, many people, even complete strangers, will gladly talk with you about Jesus.

It is very common to hear “God bless you”, or “Have a blessed day”. One day I asked someone “How are you?” in passing and received the answer “Too blessed to be depressed. Too anointed to be disappointed!”

If a stranger becomes aware of another’s problem or concern they readily offer to pray for them. One time I had an employee of a store in the mall “lift me up” by praying with me out loud right in the middle of the store. (I wasn’t ready for that one).

I love that people here are so willing to share their faith so openly. It is very welcoming and really, Utah would be an even better place if people did that more.

Oh, and mountains. I miss Utah’s mountains. But I love the beach too.

2. Della, you run marathons and log a lot of running time...Have you always been an athlete? How did you get your start in being physically fit and what advice would you offer us couch potatoes out there?

A.

Have I always been an athlete? Hahahahahahahaha!

Uh, no. I used to hate any kind of physical activity.

I started running, oh, about 8 months ago. In that time I have run 2 half marathons and try to run 2 or 3 times a week. But honestly, I’m pretty new to this.

I got started being active by getting a dog.

That wasn’t really my intention when I got the dog, but I found that my dog was happier and my furniture remained more intact when Toby got walked everyday.

Before long Toby was keeping me accountable. He knew when it was walk time and expected it. So I walked. Slowly I worked my way up from ½ a mile a day, to 1 mile, to 2 to 3.

Then I sped up and walked faster.

One critical component was my Nike+, (read about it here). It motivated me to increase my distance and speed.

Then I was walking so fast I was working up a sweat, so I started changing into workout clothes, and once I was in workout clothes why not run?

I started small, a mile at a time. And even when I increased my distance to 2 and 3 miles, I would still stop to walk every mile.

Someone told me about an upcoming half marathon, I signed up, downloaded a training schedule and stuck to it.

I think the trick to any exercise routine is #1, do it at your own pace. Don’t try to live up to someone else’s standard or compare yourself to anyone else. Encourage yourself to step up the volume and intensity, but only as you are comfortable with, and can stay committed to.

And #2, just stick to it. Find a schedule you are comfortable with and keep with it. No excuses.

Let me add that last year I lost 30 pounds and have kept it off. But I didn’t start running until after I lost the weight. I lost 30 pounds by eating less and walking.

3. You are such a busy "Della", involved in a multitude of activites...can you share with us your favorite healthy eating tips for "life on the go"?

A.

I can tell you what I do, but they are pretty much the same things you have heard already.

I eat 1 bowl of low sugar, whole grain cereal for breakfast every morning. (Honey Nut Cheerios and Rice Chex are some of my favorites).

This jumpstarts my metabolism and holds off hunger during the morning. I also tend to eat a smaller lunch when I’ve had breakfast.

One of my favorite lunches is a can of brothy soup. Campbells Selects Italian Wedding Soup is awesome.

Soup takes a few minutes to eat and has a lot of hand to mouth motion so I feel like I am eating a lot. Plus the warm broth helps my tummy feel full.

One rule I have for myself: If you can get it through a drive through, you shouldn’t get it at all.

One of the critical components to my 30 pound weight loss was that I went from eating fast food 3 or 4 times a week to never.

If I know I am going to be out and busy at lunch time I grab a Special K Protein Meal Bar. I like the Chocolate, chocolate chip ones. It tastes a little like a candy bar supplemented with sawdust, but the chocolate makes it worth it.

They help me feel full and tide me over till I can have that bowl of soup.

I also love Subway.

Subway does not count as fast food.

I have made changes even in my sandwiches though. I now get spicy mustard instead of mayo, and instead of eating the whole footlong like I used to, I eat half and save the rest for another meal.

I do load my Subway with veggies and never feel bad about the oil and vinegar.

How to not snack during the day: Don’t have any snacks available.

You can’t eat what’s not there.

Or make yourself a list of approved snacks. Pick something from the list when you are peckish. This way you still have choices, but aren’t eating things you shouldn’t.

Another good snack is Special K protein water. I get the little powder packets and add it to a bottle of water. (This is much cheaper than the whole bottles).

For dinner: cut you calories in half by not having seconds. It takes a little willpower to not load your plate again, but you really don’t need it.

My last tip goes against traditional weight loss ideas. Some people say you shouldn’t eat after 7, but I always have a bedtime snack, and it’s usually chocolate.

No full size candy bars, no bowls of ice cream, (okay, maybe once in a while). I usually have a small handful of Hershey kisses to savor and reward myself at bedtime.

I can’t speak for you, but I need chocolate. Maybe I would be 5 pounds lighter if I didn’t do that, but it’s a trade off I am willing to make.

4. What motivated you and your husband to become professional teaching parents and do you feel this is a life long calling?

A.

When I was a teenager I received a special blessing from a Patriarch at my church. The blessing gave me a lot of guidance for my life. One of the things he said in the blessing was “You will be called to work with the youth”.

I didn’t really understand what that meant. I thought it meant I would teach the teenage Sunday school class, (which so far I have never done).

I understand now that it meant I would do what I am doing: Being a foster parent or teaching parent.

Because I didn’t know what God had in mind for me specifically I had no plan to get here. But God did and he led me along the way.

It started, I suppose, several years ago with a desire to be a foster parent.

Chris and I went through training and became foster parents. We found out pretty quick that we had a natural knack for it, and really liked it. Enough that Chris started wondering if it would be possible for him to quit his regular job and work with kids full time.

The agency we did foster care through had an opening for teaching parents in one of their group homes. We applied, were hired, and we haven’t looked back since.

We lived and worked in 2 group homes, (owned by the same agency), in Utah for about 2 ½ years. Then one day Chris saw an ad in the paper for an agency in Richmond, VA that used the same teaching model we were certified in. We interviewed, and next thing we knew we were moving 2500 miles away from my home.

We worked at that agency in Richmond for 3 years.

After 3 years in Richmond I got a phone call from a caseworker in Virginia Beach that we had been working with. She asked me if Chris and I would be interested in moving to the beach and opening what would be a pilot home for a new kind of foster home.

We jumped at the chance and have been here for a year and a half now.

There are now 3 homes that are doing what we are doing, which is basically having 2 full time parents who are trained to work with tougher kids. A fourth home is getting ready to open next month.

We love it. There are some really hard days, but we are very happy here.

All along the way, with every step and every move, I knew God was taking us where he wanted us to be. And I tried very hard to do the work as well as I could.

I know I am not perfect and I make mistakes at my job just like everyone does. But I believe that I am doing what God wants me to do.

As for this being my lifelong calling, I think in one way or another it probably is. Down the road God may have different ideas for me, but I expect he will have me use these talents that he gave me to do whatever he calls me to do.

I feel so blessed that I have found my calling and that I get to work with these kids. I have worked with some absolutely amazing young men and women and I have seen miracles happen in their lives.

People tell me all the time how much they admire me for what I do and the time and love I give to these kids, but they don’t understand that I am the one who is on the receiving end.

I am so blessed in my job, my life, and my home. I don’t have to do this, I get to do this.

It’s awesome.

5. Tell us something that the average person might not know about you that would completely surprise them.

A.

Do you remember when you were in Junior High there was that obnoxious kid who dressed funny, looked funny, always said weird things and was generally annoying? Kind of a “Screech” from Saved by the Bell?

That was me.

I was the most obnoxious, annoying, geeky, naïve adolescent ever.

I had confidence, so I wasn’t afraid of saying and doing what I wanted, but I really was trying to figure out how I fit in to the world, and had to deal with my share of teasing along the way.

In the end I am grateful for the person I have always been.

I always had good friends and I am glad that I never conformed completely to what others thought I should be.

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That’s my interview.

I hope you had fun reading it. I had fun doing it, even though it took 2 days to finish, (partly because I have been sick).

If you want to be tagged with an interview leave a comment that says “Interview me” and I will send you 5 interview questions for you to answer and post on your blog.

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Love you all.

-Della

Aargh! Darn my forgetfulness!

I got up this morning and ran 6+ miles.

I went to North Landing State Park with the friends I went with yesterday.

It was great, but I forgot my Ipod and couldn't count my miles for Nike+.

Oh well, I guess the important thing is that I am running, getting in better shape, and preparing for my half marathon.

If I have 6 miles less on my counter and lose my first place spot in my nike+ challenges that's not the priority, right?

The other bonus is that running in First Landing is awesome.

I have heard people say that trail running is better than street running. They are right. (Duh).

Here are a couple of pics from the park.

Look at me go!

6 days to go till my half marathon.

Part of my training regimen has been running one long run each week, with 2 or 3 short runs during the week.

By the last week before the marathon, (this week) I have worked up to a 10 mile run.

I went with some friends and ran 11 miles this morning.

That is the farthest I have ever run.

It felt great.

Well, not entirely during the run, especially not near the end, but once it was over I felt amazing.

Since I was with friends I only stopped to walk twice in the whole run instead of at every mile like I usually do.

Since I run with Nike+ I can keep track of all my runs and walks, and even figured out how to post my Nike+ info right here!

So check out my newest blog feature, my Nike+ tag over on the right, so you can keep track of my miles too.

Happy running.

Half Marathon here I come!

I may regret this later, but I am now registered to run the Virginia Beach Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

It's on August 31st. That only gives me 6 1/2 weeks to train.

I guess it's a good thing I'm already running 3 to 4 miles a couple times a week, but I'm gonna have to step it up.

Go me!

90% of statistics are made up (50% of the time)

I feel a need to reply to John E. Garst who left a comment a mile and a half long after my post yesterday.

Mr. Garst, I am certain, used a copy and paste reply in my comment spot about how safe Aspartame actually is and that all of the studies done on rats to prove that it is unsafe were simply done incorrectly and unrealistically.

He aparently did not read my entire post, or he would have realized that I was not attacking Nutrasweet, I was talking about me, and how Nutrasweet effects me.

So please allow me to clarify the point of my post.

:

I don't know if Aspartame, aka Nutrasweet, is safe or not.

I have heard and read many things that say it is not.

I recognize that these things are often miscommunicated, exagerrated, elaborated, or simply made up.

I decided to do my own trial to see if it was effecting me.

I am not a labratory rat.

I did not measure my doses of aspartame and monitor my health, heart rate, and tumor levels over time.

I simply stopped drinking the stuff to see what happened.

What happened was: I was less hungry and had more energy.

In less than 5 days it was clear to me -again, not a lab rat- that aspartame was doing things to my body that I didn't like.

So please Mr. Garst, (who I am certain is on Aspartame's payroll), understand that I am not a Nutrasweet basher.

I am not making false claims or even accurate reports of how Nutrasweet did in clinical trials.

So don't take it personal and get all crazy like.

Please don't compare me to a lab rat.

I am just a person trying to be healthier, and Nutrasweet has been proven in my own trial, to have adverse effects on my body.

(So what are you going to say now?)

No More Aspartame

I admit it.

I am a diet soda junkie.

Over the last 5 or 6 years I have consistently drank 1-6 cans of diet soda each day.

I went through phases where I tried to drink water instead, or gave up my caffienated Diet Cherry Pepsi for uncaffienated Fresca for a few months.

But in the end I always came back to my favorite additionally flavored (cherry or vanilla) diet cola.

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And lots of it.

I have heard many warnings about the dangers of aspartame.

That it is possibly the cause of gulf war syndrome, that diet soda is actually likely to make you gain weight as this study on soda drinkers shows, and that it has been shown to cause metabolic syndrome.

Blah, blah, blah. Yada yada yada.

All in one ear and out the other.

Millions of people drink diet soda right? We're doing okay aren't we?

So I went right on sipping my Diet Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper with pleasure.

And as I have gotten older and had less energy and more sleeping problems, another Vanilla Coke Zero during the day gave me an added caffiene boost. (And then maybe another one later).

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So a few weeks ago I got yet another e-mail about a mother whose daughter died from illnesses caused by diet soda. Yada, yada.

Please don't think me callous but most of these e-mails are made up or at least embellished anyway right?

But I figured hey, the only way to know something is to find out for myself, right?

So I gave myself a challenge. No diet soda for 2 weeks.

2 weeks. I can do 2 weeks.

Then I realized that my Special K Protein Water and my Propel are all have artificial sweeteners too.

:(

Okay, so cold turkey. I opened a bottle of Dasani and steeled myself for a long haul.

This is about how it went:

Day 1: You know, Dasani is petty good water. And I don't think I have the munchies like I usually do.

Day 2: Still no munchies. Hmm...

Day 3: Hey, I didn't need a nap yesterday. And I'm not tired now.

Day 4: I slept like a baby last night. Got up with energy and had it all day.

Day 5: No munchies. Didn't need a nap again. Had energy.

Who needs this Nutrasweet crap anyway?

Sooo instead of drinking something that makes me tired, and drinking more of it to get a caffeine boost; and instead of drinking a zero calorie soda that makes me hungry I am giving up my diet soda.

I will probably not be gallavanting in to Washington to rally for Congress to ban Aspartame.

I will probably not be spending my weekends passing out "Nutrasweet is Sweet Death" t-shirts in front of Walmart.

But I will not be drinking the crap anymore either.

Decide for yourself. Check out what wikipedia has to say about aspartame. Try a 2 week break yourself, or don't. And keep on lovin' your Diet Mountain Dew.

But as for me and myself, I will drink Dasani.

And I'll do some research to figure out if Sucralose and Splenda are bad too.

And when I do need a caffiene pick me up, I'll turn to my Icebreaker caffeine mints, or a full flavor Cherry Pepsi.

And you thought this was Wordless Wednesday.

I Lost! I Won! I rock!

My family had a weight loss contest. I won it!

There was a time about 2 years ago when I stepped on the scale and realized I was only a bag of flamin' hot cheetos away from tipping over 200 pounds. I was actually about 197 pounds.

I peaked at 185 with both of my pregnancies, so the idea of weighing in at a deuce -unpregnant- terrified me.

I made a few changes, mostly including walking more, and managed to lose about a pound a month over the next year. So when we moved to Virginia Beach last August I was back down to my full term pregnancy weight of 185.

Something about moving here changed things for me. Overall it was a whole lifestyle change:

New house, new city, new job, new schedule, and so on. Changing all of these things made it easy to make some of the changes in my eating habits.

Fewer snacks. Healthier snacks. No more fast food. Healthy cereal every morning. Walking more.

And guess what? These changes changed me!

I never bothered to take "before" pictures, but I happened to be in places recently where I had my picture taken a year or 2 ago. So I took some "after" pictures that go along with the old ones.

I was surprised at the difference.

Me at the DC Temple, Fall '06

Me at the DC Temple May '08

Me at the beach August '07 Me at the beach June '08

Ok, sorry for the flashy bikini pics, but I am SOO proud of myself.

And seeing the difference in the pictures really showed me how far I've come.

How far exactly?

My family only started this contest in January. I was 172 then so I have lost 17 pounds since the beginning of our contest.

I weighed 185 when we moved here, so I have lost 30 pounds since August.

I was 197 a year before that, so I have lost 42 pounds in 2 years!

If you can do math, you have figured that I now weigh 155 pounds! Which for being as tall as I am is a very healthy weight. (WiiFit even says so).

If I lost another 10 pounds I would be at my wedding and original pre-pregnancy weight. But if I don't lose any more I will be thrilled with what I have accomplished and be proud to wear a swimsuit at the beach this summer.

Hooray Me!!!

The secrets of my success

I posted recently about my recent weight loss. As I said then I have lost just over 20 pounds in the last six months. I thought I would share what I am doing that is making the difference. In whole I made a big life change 6 months ago. I moved to a new city, in a new house, and got a new job, so it broke me out of my habits and it was easier to make some other changes too.

This is what I am doing differently than I was before that I think has made the difference:

1- I eat a bowl of whole grain cereal for breakfast every day.

I got out of this habit a couple of months ago and my weight loss stopped, I started again, and started losing again. And that's one bowl, not more.

2- I am simply more active.

I still walk my dogs every day and try to jog a couple of times a week. But in addition to that I am just on my feet more. I do housework, I run errands, I spend way more time pushing a cart around Walmart than I should. I look for excuses to be moving.

3- I eat smaller portions, and fewer snacks.

I never feel guilty eating fruit and I keep it around always, so when I feel peckish I pick up an apple, or orange, or grapefruit. I only eat 6" of my Subway now and save the other half for lunch tomorrow. I almost never have second helpings at dinner. (Unless Chris makes me Cajun Chicken Penne, then I definitely have seconds -and don't feel guilty about it).

4- I try to stop eating by 7 or 8:00 pm.

I only started this about a month ago, but I think it's making a difference.

5- I have pretty much completely given up fast food.

If you get it in a drive through, I don't get it. 2 Exceptions: I snitch about 6 of Chris' fries when he goes to McDs (the only thing worth eating there at all, even if you aren't trying to lose weight). And once every couple weeks I'll get a small Wendy's frosty. (Ooh, Frosty).

I don't count Subway as fast food. And at Subway I only get subs from the 7 grams of fat or less list, and I don't get mayo anymore.

Hey, if I can do this, anybody can. -Della

Best DMV moment ever

Yeah, I know, that's gotta be some kind of oxy moron, but I acually had something great happen at the DMV.

In fairness I have to recognize my last DMV trip as a pretty good moment too, because I had been told I would have to start all over and start with a 30 day driving permit and take the tests all over again because I had lost my license and was in a new state. Then after a short silent prayer in the waiting room they were magically able to pull up my driving record and give me a legitimate license without the wait.

So this time I went in to get a license with my new address (I probably wouldn't have cared about this, but parking at the beach is cheaper if you can prove you're a local) and to register to vote, (we haven't had our primaries yet).

Last time when I filled out the paperwork at the DMV I was in denial of my real weight which was somewhere over 190 at the time, so I put 185 which was the most I was able to admit to without an emotional upheaval, and intense feelings of guilt and inadequacy, which probably would have triggered an eating binge.

Yesterday when I was filling out the form I proudly printed the exact weight the scale had told me when I weighed only 2 hours earlier.

(Please recognize this is a "self recognition" moment for me, which means I am recognizing that I have accomplished something and am giving myself praise, to enhance my own feelings of self worth, and build my self esteem. -But you can call it bragging if you want to).

The weight I entered was 162. That means I have lost 30 pounds since the last time I went to the DMV. About 20 of that has been over the last six months.

I rock!