Thoughts on a New Year

It's almost a New Year!  I can't believe it!

 I am a resolution-ist -- my own word for people who make resolutions at the start of each year.  Unlike most of the folks I will meet at the gym, however, I actually keep most of mine.  I wrote about my six-word resolutions in my coaching blog; click those green "coaching blog" words if you'd like to read it!  I am going to get to goal in 2011.  My 2012 resolution will not need to include losing weight!

Speaking of New Year's -- I read some pretty interesting advice on holiday eating; I think it works pretty well with my earlier post about maintaining on the weekends.   This author has a radical suggestion -- indulge!  Check it out! 

Here's shocking good news in case you are planning your summer vacation:  Disney World is changing their food image,  introducing more healthful and vegetarian choices, including a gluten-free cupcakeria!  If they stick with it long enough for their consumers to make the shift, it could make a real difference in the world of "family" entertainment!     

Since I am limiting my "screen time" over the holidays,  I do want to take advantage of the opportunity to say, Happy New Year.  I hope 2011 is your best year yet!

Tips, Tricks and Friday inspiration

Chanelle, Dreena, Allison, Gabriel, Maggie Rose, Paul, Bennie
(and I can't thank them enough for the balloon to cry over!)

After a brief hiatus to spend time with my parents, give thanks, and become a mom of FIVE (!),  I am back with enthusiasm. I gained 10 pounds in the 5 or 6 weeks my parents were here.  Oopsie.  So now my head is OUT of the sand and I am back on track.

On to the news!

I often wonder how I can apply more discipline not only to exercising, but to all my weight loss efforts.  Here is a an article on how athletes consistently achieve their personal best -- here is an inspiring article on just what it takes to be the best and brightest.  Maybe it will also inspire you in this inspirational season!

I was surprised to learn that only 6% of Americans reach their daily vegetable targets and we are only a little better about fruit! 

My tip of the week is for those of you who enjoy the Weight Watchers program.  I went to the intro meeting for the new Points Plus system and it looks great.  The website has a better explanation than I can provide; suffice it to say I am enthused.

That's it for this week.  Look for more frequent posts now that life has returned to normal -- whatever that is!

Tips, Tricks and Friday inspiration

Good morning! 

It's a balmy day here in Texas -- I heard my air conditioner kick on about 4:00 a.m. so thank you, 96% humidity!  But it is also perfect park weather so the little kids are getting lucky!

I read an interesting article on running shoes -- it turns out that all that extra money may not buy you a better shoe!  Check it out!   

And in case you, like me, are having trouble finding motivation these days, here is  some info on a very interesting side effect of obesity - memory issues.

My tip today is how to yum-up those low-cal good-for-you  green beans.  Warm 1/4 teaspoon butter and stir it into a tablespoon of mustard (any style).  Stir this GENTLY onto 2 cups green beans.  It's delicious, I promise, and will make you want to eat green beans more often!

My trick of the week is about feeling fuller.  It's not a magic trick, but almost! Studies show that people tend to eat the same VOLUME of food each day -- so if you add water to things and buck up the volume, you will eat less.  Drinking water has the same effect.  I am going to consume a full glass of room temperature water before every meal and snack this week and see if I can rein in those extra calories!

Tips, Tricks and Friday inspiration

Okay -- here is my Friday inspiration.  And I'm not going to tell you WHAT it is -- just how to get it .  If you are reading this you MUST follow these directions!

‎1. Go to Google.com
 2. Type "Who's the cutest?" (don't press Enter)
3. Press "I'm feeling lucky"
4. Smile.

It's true, you know!

I read so many great things this week -- it's hard to narrow them down. 

Here is a short primer on the humble wheat kernel and how to buy bread:

Finally, some health news.  This little piece caught my eye because I am  CRAZY about watermelon.  I eat it every day from May through September.  And now I am REALLY glad I do.  It turns out watermelon lowers blood pressure:

Have a fun and healthy weekend!

Tips, Tricks and Friday inspiration

Sugar is in the news this week.  It looks like our new "front of the box" food label requirements may not require sugar.

Here is a comparison of our favorite sugar to hate:   Corn syrup.  This article compares the high-fructose version with regular corn syrup.  To me the real danger in corn syrup is not the corn syrup but that as a nation, we've become acclimated to so much of our food being sweet. 

And to inspire you today -- this little gem came to me on Facebook and -- I apologize -- but that's where you will have to view it.  This little gal really knows how to start her day.  There is nothing like a good look in the mirror!

Happy Halloween weekend everyone.  May your tricks be few and your treats wisely chosen!

Tips, Tricks and Friday inspiration

Today's inspiration comes from a cool blog on celebrating the small things.

I'm constantly inspired by my dear hubby, who is maintaining his 70 pound loss since May.  Recently we talked about how much fat you really need and found this great article to advise us.

On a personal front, my parents have just arrived with their RV for a visit of several weeks.  Traditionally, I throw my health plans out the window when we have guests but I am going to do things differently this time.     I don't want to see a six-week setback so I am committed to staying the course.  Here is what I commit to:

Log all my food
Get 3000+ calories of exercise each week (log it!)
Post a weekly check-in each week after weighing in.

The day of my check-in post may change as I accommodate sight seeing -- but I will weigh in and post each week. 

That's it for today folks.  Happy weekend!

Note:  Can one of my faithful readers please let me know if these links don't work for you?  I'm not sure if SparkPeople works without logging in!

Weekly Check In

Without further ado, here is my weekly check-in which I have decided to resume:

Current Weight: 207.6
Weight Last Week: 209.3
 Weight loss since last week: 1.7 pound

These are Weight Watcher's numbers;  my scale weighs me at almost 5 POUNDS less!  This says to me that I need to get there every week at least to weigh in -- I have been letting family things get in my weigh -- er way -- lately.

On a scale of 1 to 5 with "5" being perfect, here's how I rate my week:

Eating 4
Exercise 4
Motivation 3

It "felt" like work this week.  What I notice is that when the children are out of sync, I get hungry.  Hmmm.  So I am committing to more deep breathing and less stuffing the pie-hole.  Even if what I am stuffing it with is "in the box"  -- somehow my metabolism seems to know the difference!

My creative exercise opportunity for the week was my crazy day in which I had all my friends write my routine.  It was tremendous fun and my muscles are STILL sore!

This week my goal is to get my exercise in early in the week.

Fun and Productive Workout

Yesterday I woke up unhappy because my Wii was out of commission.  I love the Wii -- it entertains "The Littles" so well while I exercise.  So I logged into my favorite weight loss site asked for help for creative ideas to burn the 800 calories I needed to make up for what I didn't finish the day before!

I got 10 or 11 responses and  I decided to use almost all the suggestions. I figured out how long I had to do each to burn about 100 calories at that particular activity.  This was by far the most fun I have EVER had working out!  I think I will re-run it tomorrow!  My Chanelle (age 12) took the pics for me.  I think she thought I'd lost my mind.   We can't show you "The Little's" faces because of foster-care privacy, but we found some creative ways to include them since they were part of the whole workout. 



My first exercise was Hula-Hooping.  I have never hooped more than 5 minutes before, so 10 was a big stretch.  The thing I love about it is that it is IMPOSSIBLE not to smile.  It's just plain fun.  

Next up, stairs - even though we only have 4 steps!  I let the two least sick kids play in the front yard while I did this (the front yard is a rare treat) and it was great.  By the end, they were running the steps too!  Well, running is a bit of an exaggeration since one of them still has to crawl up the steps and the other needs the railing!

There was a  great idea to jog through the house and lift up "The Littles."  This was hilarious fun and WAY harder than it sounds.  They totally loved it and I think I will get 100 calories knocked out this way every day.   For a while the baby chased me around -- that was pretty funny too.  He thought I was chasing him but it was definitely the other way round! 

Next up:  Jillian Michael's Deck of Cards.  I drew a lot of lunges, which are hard for me and I was definitely sweating at the end of the 13 minutes it took me for 100+ burn!  I liked the intrigue and may riff off it with my own little circuit of some sort tomorrow. 

The big girls were outside, so I went with a suggestion for dance.  I put my iPod on "shuffle" and just did whatever came up next.  It was interpretive dancing I guess.  I'm sure I looked ridiculous but I had so much fun.

Then I moved to exercise TV.  My 12 year old is into hip-hop so I entertained her by doing some hip-hop with her.  Pretty embarrassing but she looked good.  Isn't she beautiful? Except for this one, she took all the photos.  You can see I am getting tired by this point!

More Fit TV.  The Littles were up by then so I did Family Walk Strong -- it was fun and awesome.  Two of the babies came in and out of it -- I will definitely do it again!  Here I am with my 9th grader (well her legs anyway!)

Another round of  "Dance."  This time I did a crazy dance thing on Exercise on Demand.  I had to laugh at my lack of skill!  Yikes. 

This was absolutely the most fun and with the exception of Jillian's cards, they were all high burn rate too.  Next time you are looking to mix it up, take orders from your friends -- it was the most I have smiled working out in ages.

Here's my recap:
Hula-hoop, 10 minutes, 100 cals
Run stairs, 8 minutes, 101 cals,
Jog and lift, 11 minutes, 104 cals
Jillian's cards, 13 minutes, 101 cals
iPod dance, 10 minutes, 101 cals
ABCs of HipHop, 11 minutes, 101 cals
Family Walk Strong, 21 minutes,, 101 cals
Jive Dance - 11 minutes, 101 cals

Grand total 817.  Try it yourself!

Tips, Tricks and Friday Inspiration

Woo-hoo another weekend!  Good for the soul -- but will it be good for the body?  My "default" weekend plan is to stay the course but I recently heard an idea that is now in my "back-up plan bag." 

Consider maintaining for the weekend, particularly if you have some type of social event or on holiday weekends.  Why?  Most of us have had the experience of going into the weekend with a vague promise to "be good," making some impulsive poor choice, then throwing the food plan out the window with a vow to start anew on Monday.  The trouble is, this happens weekend after weekend.  Plus, we all know the "weekend" actually starts with Friday lunch.  This is how it looks graphically.

Progress Toward goal Monday through Thursday: 
+ + + +
Back-tracking from goal Friday through Sunday:
- - -
Assuming you do no more damage on the weekend then the progress you made on the other days, you are actually only making progress on ONE day:
+

When I look at it like this, no WONDER I fail to lose some weeks!

If we maintain our weight on the weekend, it looks like this:
++++ = = =
so 4 days net progress, 4 times the results for the week.

I am putting it on my calendar each Friday morning to look at the weekend and make a conscious decision to either lose or maintain.  How about you?

PS:  Here's a link to my favorite article this week - it's on corn syrup.

Light-bulb Moment

Lately I have been struggling with my weight loss.  Weight Watchers, says that 90% of plateaus aren't caused by metabolic problems or "water weight"  90% of plateaus are caused by lessened effort.  I am sure that is true of me -- sometimes I wait too long to eat and then just grab whatever is fastest, within reason, of course.  But I knew that I have not been lax often enough to account for this long plateau. 

I mentioned this to my support partner, along with my contention that it was my emotional state causing the plateau.  He placed a question mark over this assertion.  How would that work?, he wondered. He was very quiet and subtle about it, but I ended our call on Thursday with that question mark hanging over my head where the light-bulb  is now.

So . . . back to the drawing board I go.  I recalculated my BMI - Body Mass Index -- (yep, still overweight) and my BMR - Basal Metabolic Rate -- based on today.  Then I calculated my desired BMI and my BMR at my goal weight.  Looks like my goal weight (165) is a good one -- that will put my BMI at 23.  I will probably never be a 20 again, 145 will just seem too skinny on my 5'11" frame. 

There are lots of good calculators for these two things, but I quite enjoy doing the math myself.  I use the SparkPeople guidelines for this.  If you are curious as to what the math looks like, my calculations are below.  I just copied them off my virtual sticky note, so they are a bit cryptic.

Surprise!  It turns out that at goal, my BMR will be around 1400 calories/day.  And right now, it's around 1600.  My guidelines have been to eat 1200-1400 calories and burn 2000 with exercise. So I am eating too much and not exercising enough.  If I can bump my exercise up to 3000-4000 calories a week, I can lose 1 to 2 pounds a week.  At my current rate, I can only lose about 1/2 to 3/4 pound a week.  Of course it is really not only simple math; weight is impacted by more than calories in, calories out.  But those things (metabolism, medicines, etc.) actually have a relatively small impact, percentage wise.  I am going to bet on these numbers and start tomorrow by planning where the time for all that extra exercise is going to come from!

If you are struggling as I was, maybe it's time to get out the pencil and slide rule and go for your own light-bulb moment.  But as for me, it's time to turn off the light-bulb and go to bed!

BMI/BMR Calc  Now v. Goal, 10/2/2010
Multiply height in inches by 2.54 to convert inches to centimeters. (180.34) 1.8 meter
Divide weight in pounds by 2.2 to convert pounds into kilograms. (95)

Divide weight in kg by height in meters squared to find BMI
w/(h*h)=bmi (current 29, goal 23)
h*h*bmi=w  (goal 145-165)

Female BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg.) + (1.8 x height in cm.) – (4.7 x age in years)
=655+(9.6 x 95) + (1.8 * 180.34) - (4.7 * 51)
= 655+912+324.612 - 239.7
= 1651.912 (current) [w/ 2000 cals exercise 1938)

w/4000 cals/wk ex = 2223.34

at Goal:
=655+(9.6*75) + 324-239.7
=655+720+324-239.7
1459.3/day (bmr at goal)

assuming 2000 cal ex a week, [2000+(1459.3 * 7)]/7 = 1745/day (bmr w/ ex)

As I write, the smell of Swiss Steak slowly simmering in the crock pot is wafting through the house. I have been on a cooking jag. In the past 3 days, I have cooked $600 worth of food and put it in the freezer for my family.
Cooking is my creative outlet -- some folks paint, I cook! Of course, it's not just about me. I really want to know what my loved ones are putting in their mouths.

It's not only that I wonder what price we will eventually pay for all these chemical cocktails we consume, but also because of how that manufactured food affects our brains. We are created to respond to the most striking impetus so that we can pay attention to what truly matters and thus prioritize that the mammoth or saber-toothed tigers chasing us is more urgent than how absolutely beautiful the sunrise is. Food manufacturers trade on that impulse by using chemicals to create extra-palatable foods and before we know it, we're hooked. They cry out to us, "pay attention" and unless we are very disciplined, we do. In addition, highly processed -- aka manufactured -- foods speed through our digestive system, so our "full" sensors don't go off and we keep eating long after we've consumed enough calories. With processed foods being such a major part of most contemporary Western diets, our mind-body connection is in imminent peril.

Processed foods and fast food were not part of my childhood and as a young adult, I did not realize the dangers. I did not know that a steady diet of these foods would skew my sensory perceptions of food. I don't want my girls or my young foster kids to be hooked on these food substitutes. I reason that if I am able to keep them mostly off the road of manufactured foods, maybe it won't become a super-highway. Maybe if they aware of the dangers, as I was not, they will choose a more wholesome and health-some route.

I also want them to have the joy of eating! I want them to know the crispness of fresh vegetables and the depth of flavor in olive oil. I want them to have to chew their steak and to know the natural sweetness of milk and of bread. I want them to have the sense of "enough" that I had as a youngster. But more, I want them to know the joy of anticipation, of smelling a meal for an hour as it is prepared, and to enjoy its unfolding at the table. I want them to have "slow food;" food that is lovingly and thoughtfully created and then enjoyed with conversation and reflection.

So I cook. And with seven people currently in the house, I cook . . . and cook some more. And in the process of creation, I find that I am re-created. Cooking is a sensual experience. The fragrance of fresh herbs and sauteing vegetables is intoxicating. Chopping and mincing is meditative - it nurtures in me some ancient inner longing. Tending a pot of simmering, thickening sauce is prayer. As each dish is parceled, wrapped and frozen, it is filled not only with a short list of whole foods (every ingredient of which I can pronounce and identify), but also with hope and with love. It's me, being faithful.

The point of all this is to inspire you, dear reader, to this week be faithful. Do whatever it is that makes the most of you -- that nurtures your inner longing -- that fulfills and sews together whatever is becoming fragmented in you. It doesn't matter if a masterpiece is created or merely table scraps. What is truly created endures -- regardless of how long the artifact lasts.

PS - Just in case you want to know, here's what I created this week (all in 8 portions per package):

3 Pasta e Fagioli Soup
3 Marinated Flank Steak
3 Flank Steak Fajitas with Artichoke Chick-Pea Hummus, Sweet and Spicy Salsa, and Steak-Sauce
4 Chicken Cacciatore
4 Taco meat
4 Sausage gravy (occasional special breakfast for the kids)
Everta's Sourdough Starter for pancakes, biscuits and breads
4 Red Beans, Cajun style
3 Nancy Lee's Chicken Pie
4 Swiss Steak
3 Refried Beans
Molases Cookie dough - enough for 12 dozen

To these I just add some fresh veggies, fresh fruit and memories! Mangia, mangia!

Saving Dinner (and Myself)

At first glance, this is not going to look like a weight loss blog! And I suppose, on the face of it, it's not. It is about meeting two main objectives in my journey: 1) Giving my kids a good start in nutritional health (aka helping them avoid the addictions and dangers of highly processed foods). Instead of corn syrup, fillers and preservatives, they are getting intact foods like fruits, vegetables, brown rice, oats and whole-wheat flour.

(2)I am moving my own needs up the priority list so I'm not so distracted by feeding my large family that I just shove whatever I can find in my own pie-hole! A side benefit is that I'm not heating up my kitchen as much every day since the initial stage of cooking has been done already on all these foods!

Hence, I decided it was time to put some yummy home-made meals in the freezer. I took about a week to complete it all, but I did the bulk of the shopping and cooking in one 24 hour period with a lot of help from Chanelle (Allison was out of town at the time).

To put the sheer volume in proper perspective, Chanelle and I bought the majority of the ingredients at a warehouse club and it filled TWO carts and rang up a $550 bill! One of the carts was so heavy, it was exercise to push it! I estimate that by buying most of the ingredients in bulk, I saved 30% to 50% of the cost of producing each of these dishes individually.

Here are the results:

3 Meals of Shepherd's Pie
3 meals of Parsley Parmesan Chicken
24 cups of Spaghetti Sauce (about 6 meal's worth)






4 meals of Cheesy Taco Rice
3 batches of No-Bake Cookies
7 batches of Oatmeal Cookies
24 cups of Granola








6 meals of Mac and Cheese (bye, bye blue box)
12 cups of White Sauce (to go into the mac)
4 meals of Freezer Slaw



12 Breakfast Sandwiches (quickie breakfast for the girls for school)










4 meals of Pulled Pork
2 quarts of Barbeque Sauce
3 meals of Baked Ziti (not actually baked yet!)

Tips, Tricks and Friday inspiration

Today I need some inspiration, so I decided to assemble in one place some of my favorite tips and tricks. Maybe they will inspire you too! (The colored phrases are clickable links)

There are lots of useful reminders in Weight Watchers "25 Little Tips for Big Weight Loss"

The End of Overeating (Kessler). A fascinating story of what makes a craving tick and how "big food" is contributing by working hard to feed my cravings. I have started re-reading this book this week.

Here is a PBS Documentary, "Fat, What No One is Telling You." It's very thought provoking and full of news from research, but don't watch it if you're feeling hopeless. It's food for thought but not edited in an encouraging manner. Therefore, I'm recommending it with some reservations.

I have a favorite podcast - Fat 2 Fit Radio -- which segues perfectly with Spark. They have a good BMR (basal metabolic rate) calculator. I found instructions for calculating this in lots of places on the web, but the simplest way was to follow the instructions I found at Fat 2 Fit.

My commitment through the weekend is to review all these tools and to stop moping about. I'm healthy. I'm halfway to goal. It's within my control. Time to stop whinging and start fighting!

Top Ten Reasons to Dive in and SWIM!

I love swimming. I never thought I would. I loved it as a kid but as an adult --I felt clumsy and it seemed inconvenient. However, 18 months ago, I challenged myself to swim because I was trying to mix up my cardio. Holy cow! In a very short time, I was hooked! It's fun, it's efficient, it's cheap, it's cool.

Now I am on a mission to recruit more swimmers! Hence, my top 10 reasons to try swimming for your exercise.

NUMBER 10:
Showering is less trouble because you're already wet and have to dry off anyway

NUMBER 9:
You get to wear goggles

NUMBER 8:
With your head underwater, you can't hear the kids yelling (yours or anyone else's!)


NUMBER 7:
You have lots of meditative time to compose your next blog post

NUMBER 6:
You get over your issues about people knowing what your body looks like (face it -- they know anyway and, what's more, they DON'T CARE!)

NUMBER 5: It's cardio and strength training in one. AND it works your core.

NUMBER 4:
It's the one sport where having some body fat is an advantage (think buoyancy!)

NUMBER 3:
You don't sweat

NUMBER 2:
It lowers your core temperature and the effect lasts a couple of hours (helpful if you live in the sunbelt like I do!)

And the NUMBER 1 reason:
It burns a lot of calories/minute compared to other kinds of cardio!

Can't wait to hear how much you enjoy it!

Back in the Saddle Again

Spring has sprung. My heart is lifted. I don't know why it is but spring definitely puts a bounce in my step. So here in crazy-land, life is a little brighter. I'm back on the horse -- working my program, committed to exercise, keeping my health a high priority.

Our three little foster kids are settling in well. We are getting each other's "number" so to speak so we are all happier more of the time. I am finally getting enough sleep and everyone else is, too. I have figured out how to keep up with the housework better and even the laundry is (almost) caught up.

What this means to me now is that I can get back to regular exercise. Oh, fear not, I've been getting exercise, just not much cardio. Before the kids got here, my regular number of non-exercise steps per day was around 3500 on a "good" day. Now I am averaging 8500! They have an average weight of 25 pounds, and I carry someone around for over an hour a day. I also change 18 diapers a day, so that's 36 extra "lifts." That does not even factor in all the hauling of strollers up steps, running around the lawn, lifting people in and out of cribs and highchairs, etc. I now live in a physical world.

Partly as a result of the children being here and partly as a result of my weight loss, I feel 10 years younger. I am not only in my "goal outfit," it's big on me! My 2002 pants are very roomy. I have hung a new goal outfit in the front of my closet -- whoopee! I have not weighed on my "official" scale at the clinic since the kids got here but I will be weighing in next Wednesday. According to my home scale, I've lost 36 pounds. I think the scale is "heavy" but I'll go with that until my official weigh-in next week.

My commitment to myself for this week is to do 15 minutes of Wii Fit every day, and 15 minutes of gardening. I want to get that regular exercise back on the books and get in the habit of making that time for myself. I have been doing really well with giving myself "quiet time" every day so now I am shifting my focus to "active" time. Back in the saddle. It's a good seat.

Doors: Opening and Closing

Today's post is actually a link to my other blog, Bright Life Living! Thanks for reading!

Please Help me Make A Difference!

In 2007, my dear friend Martha Edgemon told me that her daughter-in-law, Karson Beaty, had breast cancer. Karson was 30 years old when diagnosed. I clearly remember the exact moment Martha said the word, "cancer." I remember how my heart felt heavy and I had a queasy feeling in my stomach. What can I do?," I wondered, "How can I help?"

As I followed Karson's journey over the next many months, her battle was never far from my mind. I barely passed science in school; creating my own cure is probably out of my reach. One day an online friend wrote me that she was doing a breast cancer walk. I realized that while medical science is not my forte, endurance certainly is. I started researching the walks and found one that seemed ideal for me, The Avon Walk. It covers 39 miles in two days and a Walk is held annually in Houston, only a 3-hour drive away. In Texas, that's close!

Last fall, it was finally time to begin my training and now my walk is only 77 days away. My training (at this stage) consists of a 13 mile walk Saturday followed by a 7 mile walk Sunday and a 3 and 5-mile walk through the week. 8 weeks from now I'll be logging 45 miles a week.

A lot of great things have happened to me in this training. I've lost 25 pounds. My legs are strong and my steps are sure. My family have become my support-team with Paul on foot at my side for the "long" walks and the girls on bikes. We are all doing this big thing together.

But the greatest thing is that I am making a difference. As a participant, I boldly agreed to raise $1800 in donations before the event. this money will help fund breast cancer research and screening for those who can't afford it. The research is what most thrills me, because, as my shirt says, I'm "In it to END it."

I'm dedicating my walk to Karson, who is still fighting her battle. I'm also walking for my mom's best friend, Joan, still fighting. And for Kathy A and Irene S. who won their battles, and for Mary Pearl and Paul's Grandma Florene, who not only won their battles but lived on to old age. And I'm walking especially for each person who will lose their battle to breast cancer every 14 minutes of every single day, every week of every month of every year -- until a cure is found. I'm walking so that should this disease ever touch either of my beautiful girls, their odds will be better.

Will you Help Me?

Every donation of any size will help me reach my goal, which in turn can change the future of this deadly disease.

• To use a credit card, click HERE!!
• To write a check or donate cash, please email me (dreena@gmail.com) for instructions.

Thank you so very much.