The Whole Ox

My best friend from high school lives in Hawaii.

Jealous, right? I know, me too.

She’s also a surfer. And just posted on Facebook that she paddled out at 4am to see the recent lunar eclipse.

Even more jealous, right? I know, me too.

Not only that, but she’s married to this super cool guy named Bob McGee. No, not Bobby, although he’ll only roll his eyes at you if you call him that…he’s pretty tough to annoy. I know, I’ve tried. . They moved to Hawaii for the lifestyle. She surfs and he cooks. And they’re both awesome at what they do.

She also owns a coffee shop and he’s opening up a deli. And not just any deli, a deli that will make its own local, grass fed, WHOLE animal deli meat. How cool is that? If you’re any sort of green/primal/environmentally conscious person (or just someone who loves good food) you understand how important this is. Especially if you live in the middle of the Pacific where it’s pretty hard to get food shipped to you.

So, here’s the deal. He’s trying to raise funds to purchase a smoker. Not just any smoker but tha BOMB smoker (I guess…I don’t know a whole lot about smokers but he seems to think it’s the cat’s meow so I’ll take his word on it.)

Take a look at his fundraising page. If you live in Hawaii, I’d encourage you to support a budding local business. If you’re not an islander, I’d still suggest supporting him. I think what he’s doing is pretty amazing.

The Whole Ox Deli

And, while I’m only *slightly* jealous of their lives I do want to do my part to support them in any way I can. That way, I can go visit them and have a free place to stay, a built in surf instructor and chef.

Now, you’re jealous of me, right? I know.

Drinking the Kool-Aid

Have you ever heard that phrase?  For some reason I’ve been hearing it a lot recently.  So, I decided to do a little Wikipedia research (have I mentioned I’m a big fan of Wikipedia?) about where it came from.  I always thought it came from Tom Wolfe’s “The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test“.  Turns out I’m wrong:

“Drinking the Kool-Aid” is a metaphor, used in the United States and Canada, that means to become an unquestioning believer in some ideology, or to accept an argument or philosophy wholeheartedly or blindly without critical examination. The phrase can sometimes have a negative connotation, or can be used ironically. The basis of the term is a reference to the November 1978 Jonestown Massacre, where members of the Peoples Temple were said to have committed suicide by drinking a “Kool-Aid”-like drink laced with cyanide.^“

Sweet.  Glad I’m using it in my day-to-day vocabulary.  And I always thought it was such a positive phrase.

But…since I am using it…and since I like the phrase, I decided to do a list of all the non-cyanide laced Kool-Aid I’ve been drinking recently.

• Working out at 5:30am in the morning with J.  Man, is it tough, but boy is my day great afterwards
• Not drinking (see above)
• Meditating
• Being Present (see above)
• Living Primally
• Vibram 5 Fingers (see above)
• Yoga
• Social Media
• Summer in Colorado
• Writing
• Pottery
• Taking time for myself
• Taking time with friends

What about you?  Drank any Kool-Aid lately?  Let me know what you’re inspired by!  Maybe if we get enough peeps talking about positive Kool-Aid drinking, it’ll debunk the negative connotation…thereby allow MBA Mommy to enjoy using the phrase without feeling guilty.

I Hate It When He’s Right

I will never ever ever ever live this post down.  Ever. 

I have a brother, let’s call him Bubba (my kids do).  I love him to death, he’s one of my best friends (although I admit I probably like his wife a little more).  He’s always there for me, supportive, questioning, loving and fun.  He’s an amazing uncle and brother in law and I hate that I don’t live closer to him.  But, he’s also my big brother and my constant torturer.  To this day, (I’m 36 and he’s 38) he will still tease me relentlessly.  He still pulls the “Not touching…can’t get mad” crap that drove me insane when we were kids.  But, I guess that comes with sibling territory.

He also has this annoying habit of getting something in his head and absolutely running with it.  And then he’ll get on his soap box and lecture anyone who comes within 10 feet about what it is that he’s into…either the positives or negatives, depending on what he thinks.

On a rare occasion, my brother turns out to be right.  OK…..not a rare occasion….a semi-often-ok-I-grudgingly-admit-it-often occasion.  He’s a doc and my go to guy for anything kid related which certainly keeps my co-pays down and 1am trips to the ER at a bare minimum.

On this occasion, he was right about two things: Crossfit and Mark Sisson’s book, Primal Blueprint.

Now the only caveat I have about Crossfit is that I’m not currently doing it.  But, that’s only because I purchased a bunch of Groupon’s for a variety of workout classes (yoga, kettlebell, TRX) and I’m thoroughly enjoying them.  However, when they expire, I plan to join my neighborhood Crossfit box and get my a$$ kicked day after day.

If you haven’t heard of it, Crossfit is a type of workout that was created by in the military.  It’s extremely functional in nature.  It’s not long, drawn out cardio work but short intense interval training.  You lift heavy things.  You sprint.  You jump.  Sometimes you do them simultaneously.  It’s an amazing workout.  And an amazing community.  Folks who do Crossfit live and die by it.  Check out this awesome blogger, Andreanna,  to learn more about her experiences…she’s a total stud.

Oh, and my friend Sara?  She’s religious about Crossfit and after 3 kids has a 6-pack.  I’m not kidding, the girl is in ridonculously good shape.

As far as Mark Sisson and Primal Eating….well, that’s all about getting back to basics, eating the way we were genetically programmed to eat.  No grains, no breads, no crappy carbs.  Lots of good fats and proteins.  Even more importantly, eating things that aren’t filled with GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and don’t come from the other side of the world.  Eat local, eat healthy.  I was a total non-believer forever.  There was no way you were gonna get this girl to give up her crackers and cheese.

But then Bubba sent me (unsolicited I might add) The Primal Blueprint.  And, after I got over being incensed that he was STILL trying to tell me what to do, I decided to give it a shot.  I figured that with all these new things I was trying: meditation, exercising, etc etc I might as well try to clean up my eating.  The first week was awful.  I had a total carb hangover.  And then all of a sudden, I started feeling better.  I had more energy.  I slept better.  I didn’t have digestive issues (let’s just leave it at that).  I used to be tired all the time with really bad mood swings.  Now…well…I still have mood swings but they’re a lot more moderate.  And there are days when I can barely contain my energy.

What’s probably more interesting to me is that when  I “cheat” and let myself eat grains (read: pizza…my downfall) I feel terrible  the next day.  Sluggish, grumpy, stomach aches….it’s fascinating.

So….while I’m not 100% primal or 100% Crossfit, I’m pretty darn close to it and I have to thank Bubba for that.

Just….please….don’t tell him I said that?  Thanks, I’ll never hear the end of it.