Sandra Smith

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  • The Optimum Health Institute

    The Optimum Health Institute

                                  Mother’s Day 5/12/13

    A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting with my dear friend, Renee. (You can read her guest blog here.) I was feeling desperately helpless in the wake of her increasingly serious health issues. The world simply could not go on without her lovely song.

    I suggested she try to attend the Optimum Health Institute, OHI, to heal. We decided to get more information about it and I opened my laptop. Waiting for me in the inbox was an email from OHI with a special offer to return and bring a friend. It felt like a sign. We decided to go. We got really excited, despite my warning of the “crying days”. Before we knew it, schedules had been rearranged and we were booked to attend one week, starting Mother’s Day.
    This will be my fifth visit in about 13 years. I always vow to go every year for my annual detox/oil change, but life has gotten in the way. I average about once every two years instead.

    On May 12th, I was up by six am, excited to get there to start my detox and transformation. My morning weight was 162-ouch! I gave the offspring an extra week to make their Mother’s Day gifts/cards/loving affirmations even better than planned. By 7am     I was on the road, driving to San Diego with St George and my sugar addiction in the rear view mirror (or so I thought).
    I had brought fresh green juice and fruit to keep me occupied and full while driving. It didn’t prevent me from buying and eating a candy bar at a gas stop but it kept me feeling good otherwise.
    I arrived and checked in just in time for lunch, which was my plan. I wanted to get in as many OHI meals as possible. I told myself I wasn’t going to fall into the “last supper” mentality that I usually do but old habits die hard. I drove off campus after lunch and ended up eating a fresh baked donut from the bakery (it tasted better than it should have due to the last supper mentality.) I also got a one-serving size container of chocolate brownie ice-cream from the WalMart run, which I ate as soon as I got back into my car. It’s a little on the pathetic side but hopefully this trip to OHI will be my starting point to a new way of eating.

    I meandered around campus, enjoying the tranquility, and then unpacked and settled in. Dinner was similar to lunch- salad greens, cherry tomatoes, celery, sauerkraut, and lots of sprouts and sunflower greens. It took me 40 minutes to chew it all.

    The day was complete when Renee arrived and although I knew I should get to bed early and we could visit later, it didn’t go down that way. Friendships add such a sweetness to life.


  • Juliano and I

    Juliano and I

    Renee (my fabulous friend), Soup and Monica (two of my three incredible sisters) and I made a quick trip to LA. We had a great visit with my brother, Andy, and then headed off to crash the Craig Ferguson party at NBC studios. I’m not much of a TV person and had actually never heard of the guy but was excited about being in the audience during a taping. After being “warmed up” and coached on how to be a fantastic audience (they bribed us with chocolate) we watched them put a show together. I’m a fan now. That Craig guy is one funny dude. Thanks, Renee, for getting the tickets.

    After we checked into our hotel in Santa Monica, we explored the neighborhood. We had a great dinner at True Foods and soaked up the artistic, funky atmosphere near the pier.

    Before going to California I had researched some raw restaurants in the area in hopes of trying one out. I wrote down a list of five or six and their locations but then left the list on my desk at home.

    Early the next morning I was drifting in and out of sleep when I suddenly remembered that one of the raw food restaurants was located on Broadway in Santa Monica. I didn’t know which one but realized we had walked down Broadway the night before. I jumped out of bed, eager to start my quest. Monica heard me get up and offered to go with me. So, with about 5 minutes of primping (looking gorgeous in my sweats) we were off on our adventures.

    We walked about ten minutes and found Planet Raw Cafe with the front door wide open, awaiting our arrival. We entered and I explained to the man on the computer that we knew they weren’t open yet but wanted to look at their menu. He kindly gave us the menus and allowed us to sit and peruse. Halfway through the menu I saw references to Juliano and excitedly asked the man if this was perhaps Juliano’s restaurant. (I have read about the famous raw food chef.) He said, “I’m Juliano” which immediently sent me into geeky fan mode.
    “You’re Juliano? REALLY? I’ve read so much about you!”
    Then Monica chimed in, “Picture time!” which was great because although it NEVER crosses my mind, she’s really good about getting pictures of everything. He was gracious and accommodating and spent time explaining the benefits of raw food to us. When I complained to him about my cookie downfall he brought out two chocolate coconut raw cookies for us to sample. Delicious!

    Monica and I eventually let him get back to his work and made our way to the beach. I happily remembered how the ocean soothes my soul and made a note to get there more often.

    Suzy and Renee were game to try the Planet Raw with us at lunch which was no small sacrifice given the abundance of incredible restaurants around.

    It was a new experience for Renee to have an extensive menu in hand where every single item was gluten free. We ordered four different entrees and the avocado chocolate pudding to share. (It sounds weird but is really good.) They gave us a complimentary appetizer sampler plate and we were oohing and aahing our way all through lunch. The best part was how good we all felt afterwards. Or maybe it was the chocolate pudding. Possibly it was the kelp noodles with a wonderfully flavored, creamy sauce. It’s hard to say. But we did feel energized after eating that delicious food.

    I could easily be a raw foodist if Juliano would just move into my house for while and take over the food prep!

    Of course It never occurred to me to take any pictures of the food but that only means we will need to return. The sooner the better.

  • Havasupai Falls

    Havasupai Falls

     

    Incredible and so worth the effort to get there

    Years ago, Audrey and her friends hiked down to the falls in the Grand Canyon. The pictures she took of beautiful waterfalls and dream-like blue green water captivated me. I am drawn to almost any type of water, but Havasupai whispered my name in a powerful way. I vowed to go. I envied the fact that she took all these fun trips while I was tied down with a family business and numerous small children. Even though I knew I could take three days from my life if I HAD to, I never did. Responsibilities and inconvenience to others weighed heavily while making plans.

    Havasu Falls-another time, another photographer

    Last January, without the family business or dependent little people to factor in, we made a plan. I booked a couple nights in March at the Havasupai Lodge and arranged to meet Audrey for my long awaited adventure to the magical waters. But, a month before our scheduled departure I changed the plan so I could join Brandon in California on one of his business trips. I called the lodge and booked the next two nights available which wasn’t until the end of September.

                                      Audrey in front of Havasu Falls

    Audrey knows I am unreliable and flaky (I prefer spontaneous to an inconvenient degree) in all matters of fun activities and was undaunted. She merely kept my original reservation (they are hard to get) invited some of her friends and went without me. She returned with fabulous photos and threatened me with unspeakable consequences if I should dare to cancel on her AGAIN! (Hey Auddie, I’m still sorry about blowing off the reunion after I talked you into going.) Suzy had scheduled two days off which is stressful because of all the work that awaits her when she returns. (The disadvantage of being so good at your job, Soupie.) I knew I had to either go in September or consider myself officially orphaned.

     

    Me and Soup taking a dip at Navajo Falls

    I’m talking about a place I’ve wanted to visit for years so why did I need pressure to go in the first place? Doesn’t seem to make sense, does it? I am indeed a mysterious woman, just ask hubby. He is still searching for the manual. Maybe after a few hundred hours of counseling I’ll know more. But for now I do know this:

    Whenever I plan a trip or a fun activity that requires any degree of effort I always start out super excited. I consider myself an adventurous person. Then as the day draws closer I remember all the negatives about how sometimes traveling sucks. I remember changing diapers in airport bathrooms, vomit, messed up sleeping schedules, poopy blankies at the beginning of a long trip. When my children were young we lived overseas and I took them back and forth across the globe numerous times. All the hardships of traveling with babies has made me dislike traveling. Even if there are no more crying babies to take. 



    Lately I hate driving for more than an hour because my broken down body complains. The start of the hike is a six or seven hour drive from my house.

    The biggie is that I feel guilty when I leave because when I’m gone the teenagers live on waffles and video games. Before that it was about how small babies don’t understand why mommy isn’t there. I have a huge of list of reasons why I don’t need to have fun. 

     
    The hike/climb/caving and ladder adventure required to get to Mooney Falls

                                                              The reward: Mooney Falls
    I tell myself that I can just enjoy photos of where ever I’m going from the comfort of my own home. Or read a really good book about the place written by someone who has already been there. Talk about efficient! I love efficiency, it’s one of my favorite hobbies. Who really needs to go? I could save the traveling money and spend it on a good cause. I could feed the hungry and clothe the naked or feed the naked and clothe the hungry or… you get the idea. By now, most of you are probably encouraging me to go ahead and start in on those hundreds of hours of necessary counseling. Or wishing I would just stop rambling. Or both. So, I will finish this post by saying: go to the falls. Google it if you don’t have a sister/tour guide who’s been there numerous times. There are lots of helpful people in the land of internet. Get in shape to hike. Save your pennies or write it off as therapy. Whatever! It’s worth the trouble. And let me know when you’re going cause I’d love to return.

                                           Suzy and the stray

    One of Sandi’s observations: If you never find a way to go skinny dipping in the real world (bathtubs and backyard pools don’t count) your life is incomplete. Let me rephrase in case you didn’t get that. Go skinny dipping or live an unfinished life. Just don’t get yourself arrested.

     

  • The Hiking Hoarder

    The Hiking Hoarder

    Last Monday two of my sisters and I trekked down the Grand Canyon to Supai Village (We missed you, Monica). We stayed at the lodge for two nights so we could spend the entire day on Tuesday hiking to the waterfalls. I love to hike but I’ve never carried more than a three-pound water pack around my hips. This time I had my son’s big time backpack. The kind that actually sticks up higher than my head. It didn’t look too bad when it was empty but after I packed, it looked as though I was hauling around a dead body. Or two. 

    I always consider myself a light packer but I had to face reality on Monday night. That morning my pack registered 37 pounds on the scale, which didn’t sound like much to me. I figured my legs were accustomed to hauling around all 150 pounds of me so what’s another 37? I’m tough. I can rally. It’s only eight miles to Supai village. Mostly down hill. No problem.

    It took about 15 minutes of hiking before I realized I had a problem. A big problem. My knees decided that an extra 37 pounds did indeed make a difference. I had to lean forward to stay upright and my back was telling me (loudly) to get the pack OFF! There was really no where to put the pack if I did take it off. Plus it was full of really important stuff that I surely needed.

    It was a long and arduous hike and I seriously wondered if birthing any of my four children was as painful and long as that hike. I thought for sure I was going to end up as the hunch back of St. George.

    The last mile I was in a daze and just kept urging my feet to keep on plodding along. When I passed the camper’s check-in spot they tried to call me in because they couldn’t imagine anyone carrying so much stuff to the lodge. I didn’t have a tent or a sleeping bag or a camp stove so what did I have that could possibly take up so much room?

    We checked in, unloaded our packs and went to order dinner at the cafe before it closed. Then we went back and unpacked and I had an ahah! moment. I am a hiking hoarder. In my defense I will say that I packed a week early and threw in all kinds of snacks. Enough to share. Then I forgot all about that food and packed more the day before we left. Then I put all my healthy raw food in so I could feel good on this trip. Then I packed extra because I was quite sure that Audrey and Suzy would want to eat some too. We could all be healthy and eat raw food while communing with nature. I was so excited at the thought. In my excitement I forgot we wouldn’t be there very long. And that we were going to eat dinners at the cafe. And that my sisters may not want to eat raw food in place of Burritos, Oreos and M&Ms. 

    In our lodge room it was like a magic trick where the magician just keeps pulling stuff out of his hat. Lots of stuff. All three of us were completely astounded at the amount of food I carried in.

    Audrey, the experienced hiker, came in first place in the practical contest with a 12 pound backpack. She packed crackers and cheese, olives to go with her V8 and a small bag with her candy corn/peanut combo.


    Suzy was in second place with a 20 pounder. Her food consisted of nuts, dried fruit, Oreos and her beloved uncrustables.


    And then there’s me. The hiking hoarder. Who somehow brought enough clothes and food to stay two weeks without having to do laundry or forage for food. What was I thinking?


    Just for the record, I ate all the kale chips myself and no one wanted any of my chia seed porridge for breakfast.

    I did know there was no way I was going to carry that pack out again. I was still considering how upset my hubby would be if I ditched the professional grade backpack when we finally solved the problem. Arrangements were made. Cash was exchanged. Our packs would be going up on horseback when we hiked out. It was a gloriously light hike on the way up and out. Now if only I can figure out how to travel lighter in the future…

  • Waikiki Rough Water Swim Race Day

    Waikiki Rough Water Swim Race Day

     

    Hubby Brandon met me in Hawaii and we really enjoyed the week. We did touristy things and hang around and soak up the beach vibe stuff. I have to admit, I am more of a hang around on the beach person. Something about the ocean just renews me. 

    Two days before the race I got in the ocean to stretch out and swim a few hundred meters. I was in waist deep water with people around me and I still couldn’t get “shark week” images out of my head. My overactive imagination is not always helpful. I wailed to Brandon afterward that there was no way I was going to get into the deep end of the ocean when I was having such a hard time in the  shallow end. (Not to self: Do NOT watch shark week programs just days before an open water ocean swim.) He reassured me that it would be all right and I reminded myself that I went all the way to Hawaii to swim this race. No backing out now.

    Labor day morning we walked from our hotel to the race start. It was fun to mingle with the other athletes and to feel the race day excitement again. 
     
    At nine am the cannon sounded and the first wave of swimmers (green caps) took off. There were five groups, leaving five minutes apart, and I was one of the red caps in group two. It was a little crazy at first swimming out to sea but it thinned out after the first marker. It was a rough swim but I found myself enjoying the motion of the waves and the feel of being in the sea. We were out beyond where the waves broke so I didn’t get any of the washing machine tumbling cycle like I had two days before while trying to surf. Brandon didn’t think it was necessary to take a surf lesson but I’m going to disagree with him on that one.

    The water was rough enough that the markers were hard to see. Every time I looked up I found myself off course and needed to swim back out some more. That meant a lot of zig zagging and I’m sure I swan at lease four miles instead of the 2.4 miles. Brandon had walked down to the finish line beach and took some photos of me on the home stretch. I’m number 466 in the middle of the photo:

    After slowly running up beach to the finish line (jelly body) I clocked in at 1 hour and 22 minutes. Out of 900 swimmers I placed 321st. Which was 5th in the old lady division. Next year I’m breaking an hour and winning my age division. Who’s swimming with me?

     

     

  • Waikiki Rough Water Swim

    Waikiki Rough Water Swim

    Doesn’t this look fun?! Only four more weeks until I’ll be swimming this race and hoping the sharks aren’t hungry that day. If any one else decides to swim this thing I don’t recommend you getting on YouTube and watching all the videos of shark sightings at this beach. That really was not such a good idea. (I have an over active imagination to begin with.) There are quite a few people swimming this thing so, statistically speaking, if someone gets nibbled, it won’t be me. I also decided it wouldn’t be worth it to go all the way to Hawaii for just one day. My practical side kicked and and I will be enjoying a full week in paradise.

    I’ve eaten mostly raw so far this month (Rawgust) and woke up this morning weighing 147 pounds. Going all raw the rest of the month so I will be swimming fast and will most likely be a smaller, sleeker piece of shark bait by September.
    waikikiroughwaterswim.com

  • Raw, Raw, RAW!

    Raw, Raw, RAW!

     

    Twenty years ago I was living on Lantau Island (Hong Kong) with my husband and two small children. I was sick, sick, sick. I had asthma, allergies and non-existent energy levels. I could barely make it up a flight of stairs without feeling faint. I was tired all the time but couldn’t sleep at night. I was convinced I was loaded with cancer or some other evil, yucky stuff and would most likely fall down dead in the near future. I even cried a few times thinking of how my two babies would grow up not knowing their mother. The doctor prescribed increasingly strong asthma and allergy meds which had their own set of side effects.
    One day I took a ferry to the next island over, Peng Chau, to visit my friend Laura. I was explaining my mysterious health condition (most likely in a super whinny voice loaded with self pity) when she grabbed the book, “Fit For Life” off her shelf and told me to read it. Although I protested and argued with Laura about the merits of the diet, I was desperate enough to try anything.
    A week later I felt like a new person. My invisible cancer had disappeared.  It was an Ahah! moment for me. I had never before made the connection between what I ate and how I felt.  Over the years I have found that eating a high raw or an all raw diet gives me super powers and rapid weight loss. So, here I go again in my attempt to blog about my raw food experiment. I will not beat myself up for less than 100 percent because I have found that pursuing perfection tends to back fire for me! 
    I am also very inspired because my friend Laura is blogging about her raw food goal of losing 100 pounds in 90 days. She’s nearly half way there! For some laughs, insight and inspiration go to: hundredraw.blogspot.com 
    Keep up the good work, Laura! 
    Raw, Raw, RAW!
  • Independence Day

    Independence Day

                          One of the fellow residents at Mom’s home

     
    I spent independence day among dependent people in a skilled nursing facility. Some of the residents were there because of accidents but most were there due to glitches in the aging process like the stroke that sent my mom to bed four years ago. The residents are dependent on oxygen tanks, tube feedings, wheel chairs and other people for everything from personal hygiene to entertainment. It’s hard to be there with my mom. It’s even harder to imagine myself living in a place like that one day. The staff is wonderful and treat mom with love and respect but the place still reeks of despair and broken down bodies.

    Mom taught me how to be independent by example. She left her home country of Germany as a 17-year old and ventured off into a foreign land alone. She learned English by watching TV and was planning her next around the world adventure when she met my dad. Fast forward 50 years and five kids later. She’s an empty nester, socially active in her community, enjoying the peace and quiet she’s earned but trades in for time with her grandkids. 

    Mom was an active, vibrant 70-year old when her life irrevocably changed in a matter of minutes. On 8/8/08 my parents came to visit us at my home in Panguitch. At 1:30 am my dad found her laying on the floor and was unable to wake her up. After a CT scan, Dr. Mooney told us she had had a stroke caused by a brain hemorrhage. It was humungous, he said in layman’s terms. The kind you don’t survive. She was suddenly dependent on machines to keep her alive. Terms like, “vegetative state” were thrown around with what I consider reckless abandon.  

    But she showed them. A few months later she was speaking some, communicating much and slowly regaining some of the movement she had lost to paralysis. We were all planning the day she would be ready to walk out of the hospital, celebrate her recovery, and show the doctors that miracles do indeed exist. 

    That day never came but humungous stroke number two did. Tube feedings, fresh tracheotomies and paralysis followed.

    Although we all hear stories of 95-year-old lifetime smokers, common sense tells us they are not the norm. Based on our family medical history I probably don’t have the live-an-independent-life-till-I’m-100 gene. The thought of someone else having to wipe my bum one day makes me wonder: do I have any say so in the matter?
    If I trade my junk food for greens will it extend my independence? Improve my quality of life? Allow me to keep enough functional gray matter to solve my sudoku puzzles? Will my food choices today keep me out of that place?

    I do believe there is a critical link between nutrition and health. Unfortunately there is often a large gap of time between the two. As a senior in high school I had a pint of Baskin Robbins ice-cream every night for dinner on the way home from swim team practice. I’m feeling it now, thirty years later. Which makes me think that if I want to be a vibrant, independent 70 year old, I should prepare for it right now. 

                                     I love you Mom

  • Dirty Hurty

    Dirty Hurty

    The Dirty Hurty tee-shirt that got me out of bed

    The Dirty Hurty is a half marathon all dirt trail race in Ivins, which is just outside of St George, Utah. 

    When my alarm went off at 5:30 on March 10th, I groaned, shut it off and went back to sleep. Race day had finally arrived and I wasn’t quite ready. I’m not a morning person on the best of occasions and I had slept poorly the night before. I just wasn’t feeling like cranking out 13 miles of trail running.
    I decided to blow off the race. When I signed up two months ago I had planned on being slim and sleek and in awesome shape. Like Rocky at the top of the stairs with the music playing and the camera panning around his super toned bod with outstretched arms raised in the champion position. I wasn’t quite there. Not even close, actually. Besides, my bed was feeling reeeeeeeeeeally comfy. But at 6 a.m. (the time I had planned on leaving my house) I woke up and decided to go and get the tee-shirt anyway. It was only a twenty-five minute drive from my house to the race start. I put on my workout clothes,-just in case-filled my water bottle and was out the door in 10 minutes.

    After collecting my shirt and bag, I took a good look at the other competitors. Oops. Someone forgot to send me the memo.  I was surrounded by young athletes. I felt as though I had accidentally gone to the fitness model competition instead of a “fun” race and I definitely didn’t belong there. Plus, it seemed like everyone was there with someone else. Someone who was equally athletic and beautiful. Feeling lonely, old and fat, I made my way to my car with my new shirt and wondered how fast I could get back home to bed. Before I could make my getaway the practical side of me kicked in.

    Practical side: You’re already up and here and in possession of a cool Dirty Hurty shirt- just do the darn thing!
    Lazy side: But I want to go home and go back to bed.
    PS: You won’t be able to go to sleep so you might as well do it.
    LS: But I’m too slow to be here.
    PS: You don’t have to win (as if!) Just finish it and call it a challenging workout with water support.
    LS: But I don’t wannnnnnnnnna!
    PS: Quit being a baby and just do it!
    LS: No!
    PS: Yes!
    LS: Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!
    PS: You can eat whatever you want for lunch and not feel guilty about it.
    LS: I can?
    PS: Including desert.
    LS: Okay (Once in blue moon I find it advantageous to be a sugar junkie.)

    And off I went to board the bus to the starting line. While on the bus I met three delightful ladies who invited me to join their little running party. Chris, Donna and Dawneen from Odgen. I’m so glad I did. We had a lot in common and were in similar life stages. I got to know them while we jogged and hiked a half marathon. We stopped to take pictures and to refuel at the support stops. We swapped stories about mommyhood and trying to get into shape. We laughed more than most people do while racing.
    Toward the end there was a shallow river crossing. I was ahead because I’m like a lab around water and couldn’t wait to jump in the river. (It was only ankle deep but still fun to get in.) When I looked back Donna was in the middle of a strange gymnastic move. While descending the rocky slope to the river, she lost her footing and somehow ended up in a very contorted (yet graceful) position involving splits and an upside down torso with shoulders wedged between two boulders. I didn’t realize she had slipped so when I looked back to see her in said position I couldn’t figure out if she was in an intense stretching position or just showing off. (A retired cheerleader having a flashback to the good old days, perhaps?) She was a little shaken, but fine, and we had a good laugh. She finished like a trooper. We made it back to the park in 3 hours and 7 minutes. Next year we’re doing it in two and a half!

    Between Donna’s half time show, the beautiful scenery, the awesome volunteers and the wonderful new friends I made, that was the most enjoyable 13 miles I’ve ever covered. (Except the last three miles which somehow felt much, MUCH worse than the first 10.) The race shirt was great too.

    I really enjoyed getting to know these remarkable ladies who all had impressive life stories of raising families, loosing 100 pounds, running marathons and preparing for more. Equally impressive was the way they recognized a sister who was feeling a little lost at the back of the bus and swooped in with kindness. I am so grateful. And to think, I almost slept through it all!

                          Chris, Dawneen and me before the start.




         The first section-making our way to the Barrel Roll trailhead.

     
     


                           The view from the top of the Barrel Roll




                         At the river before Donna’s half time show.






         The last photo stop about a half mile before the end. (We hadn’t started our sprint to the finish yet!)




    The end! We’d already been to the refreshment table and had a nice sit on the grass. Left to right is Dawneen, Debbie, Chris and me. I’m trying to do the Angelina Jolie leg thingy but it really wasn’t happening!

  • Test Results

    Test Results

    More good news! A few days after the raw food cleanse I got some blood work done to see what happened on the inside. I really hate needles so for me to just volunteer my arm up for puncturing was pretty amazing. I got my lab results back and I’m pretty excited. My cholesterol was 189 which is down 55 points from a year ago. In fact, this is the first time in nearly 20 years that it’s been under 200. Some other numbers that had previously been out of the normal range (for kidney function) are all now wonderfully normal. I don’t normally seek out normalcy but in the case of lab results I’m abnormally happy with normal! I’m still a little anemic, which is something I’ve struggled with off and on for years. That will explain why I had more energy after the cleanse but not as much as I had experienced in the past after cleansing at OHI.

    It was exciting to see that even though I wasn’t perfect 100 percent raw (and did have the occasional really bad slip up) I still saw a big improvement in my health. Baby steps, Sandi, baby steps. Perfection is still an elusive, frustrating concept for me so I’m going for progress, not perfection.

    The plan is to focus on getting out of the anemia zone, getting in some quality workouts and continuing with a high raw diet with small amounts of high quality (cooked) meat. I need to lose more weight because right now it’s a REAL handicap as far as swimming and running go. It’s me and my extra 20 pounds, just plodding along...