Referbished: The Dresser That Wouldn't Die

Nesting is a real thing.  With four weeks left until the arrival of my first baby boy, I have been anxiously engaged in preparing my house for his arrival.  Part of this has included reorganizing ALL THE THINGS and fixing up his room, which would be called "the nursery" if you were someone other than me.  Random craft projects have been abundant around my house lately, mostly to distract me from essential to-do's like cleaning and organizing, but slowly I'm beginning to prioritize those less desirable tasks and things are starting to come together.  My procrastination of the last month has started to really catch up with me, though. 

One of the more fun projects that I tackled lately is refurbishing an old dresser of mine into a changing table/dresser for the boy.  When I first moved to Washington DC, I didn't own anything that couldn't fit inside my Honda Accord, so I found all my furniture on the side of the road, including this hideous dresser.  Yes, its that awkward moment when you see a neighbor in your complex/neighborhood put an ugly, broken down piece of furniture on the curb for the garbage man because its not worth the effort to even post it on Freecyle, and you sneak out of your house at just the right streets-appear-to-be-vacant moment, grab that awful discarded piece of junk and whisk it into your house before anyone sees you picking through your neighbor's trash.  SCORE!

I spray painted it white when I first got it, fully intending to paint it some cool, funky color, but never got around to it.  So, these 5 years later, instead of putting it back on the curb for some other cheapskate, I decided to be even cheaper and just give the ol' thing a facelift.

 I removed the 3 drawers on the left, intending to transform that space into cubbies.  One of the drawers on that side was broken anyway.

 Unfortunately, the tops of those small drawers on the top row (except the one on the far right) are broken, leaving a 1/2 inch gap.  After I sanded them down, it bothered me less, but it isn't ideal.

 Using an electric palm sander, I sanded the crap out of the whole thing. 

 I removed all of the knobs from the drawers and used their screws to secure them to this piece of cardboard to make them easy to paint with no mess. 

 After I sanded the front of all the drawers until they were butter smooth, I painted them.

I used some old masonite panels I had unsuccessfully used as canvases in my college oil painting class to create the floor and sides of the cubbies.  I painted them before I installed them, but ended up putting on another coat when I painted the entire dresser.

I used 3/4 of a quart of satin latex paint (paint/primer in one), and covered the entire dresser in two coats.  The color didn't turn out quite like I expected from the sample, but it grew on me. 

We're getting ready to welcome this little guy into our family, one task at a time.  Now, if we could only decide on a name!

Faith and Pianos

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  ~Hebrews 11:1

Faith is one of my favorite topics to study.  About 4 years ago, I felt prompted to study and learn more about the principle of faith, and how to "make it work" in my life.  I read a lot, prayed a lot, and began to understand better what faith actually is. Applying a true understanding of faith to my daily thoughts and actions changed my life.

Oftentimes, we use the words "faith" and "belief/believe" interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.  To have faith in someone or something is different from believing in that person or thing.  To have faith in God is different than just believing he exists.  Belief doesn't accomplish anything--it is a mindset, an opinion or conviction, that can influence your actions, but it is not requisite for belief to have anything to do with behavior.  

Faith, on the other hand, has everything to do with action/behavior.  The most valuable insights I have read are found in the Bible Dictionary and Joseph Smith's Lectures on Faith.  The Bible Dictionary says:

              "Faith is to hope for things which are not seen, but which are true (Heb. 11:1; Alma 32:21),    and must be centered in Jesus Christ in order to produce salvation. To have faith is to have confidence in something or someone. The Lord has revealed himself and his perfect character, possessing in their fulness all the attributes of love, knowledge, justice, mercy, unchangeableness, power, and every other needful thing, so as to enable the mind of man to place confidence in him without reservation." (bold added)

All of us want a lot of things.  My entire life, I have always wanted to play the piano.  When I was young, my grandmother taught me how to play the accordion, which I mostly enjoyed despite the ready comparison at the time to a certain Coke-bottle-glasses-wearing, suspender-strutting, nerd-next-door from the Friday night line-up of primetime family television.  Accordion wasn't as cool as guitar, so when the same grandmother bought a guitar for my brother, I waited until his attention to the instrument waned and took it up myself.  I've been playing guitar for over 15 years, and my life has been blessed in incalculable ways from my love of the guitar.
The desire to play piano always persisted.  I've never had access to a piano of my own, which I always equated to being impoverished or deprived in some way.  Like I wasn't "high class" enough to have a piano, fueling some deep seeded insecurity.  When I got married and moved into our townhouse with my husband, I immediately designated a little nook by the stairs as the place where our piano would live.  I wanted that piano--I wanted to prove to myself that I could own a piano, and I would learn to play it, and play it well.

I refused to put any furniture in that space, even though it was painfully bare.  We put our Christmas tree there, but cleared it after the holidays.  The blank space was a constant reminder of what I wanted, and that I needed to work to get it.  I visualized our piano sitting there.  I imagined Kyle playing it on Sunday mornings.  I saw the framed pictures resting on its solid top, and heard beautiful music coming from its chest and filling our house.  I was "creating it spiritually", before I could see it physically.  I knew that just because I didn't have it right now, didn't mean it wasn't real.  My piano was somewhere out there in the world, I just had to figure out how to get it.

On Craigslist, there is a "free" section, and I checked it several times a week searching for a piano.  Hundreds came and went, in all different states of repair.  I jumped at a few, but was never able to connect and secure my piano.  Months went by.  At times I was discouraged, especially when  a particularly beautiful and healthy piano barely slipped through my grasp because of a miscommunication.  I checked into buying a new piano, but knew that, with a baby on the way, that expense would have to wait.  I was not deterred.  I knew that my desire was good, and the Lord would bless me if I was persistent and faithful.  I prayed to find a piano.  I knew the Lord cared about what I cared about.  I watched and waited.

"And now as I said concerning faith—faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true."  ~Alma 32:21

Prayers and faith are answered by our loving Heavenly Father every day, whether we recognize His hand in our lives or not.  Oftentimes they are so subtle and incremental that we don't notice He is leading us.  Sometimes they are huge and obvious.  

One day an ad popped up on Craigslist for an old baby grand piano that a man needed to get rid of because he was moving.  It was beautiful!--a far cry from so many free pianos that were no longer functional instruments.  I emailed immediately.  He said he got over 20 emails in the first hour his ad was up.  He responded to me first; he said he didn't know why, but he felt like I should have his piano.  In less than an hour, I made the arrangements to get a truck and a team to move the piano, which was a miracle by itself.  We drove to his house, he was kind and cool, we took the piano apart, loaded it in the truck, and drove it to my house.  We cleaned it meticulously, re-assembled it, and settled it in its little nook by the stairs.  It was a perfect fit.

"Seest thou how works wrought with his faith, and by works was faith made perfect?" ~James 2:21

To have faith is to hope for something, then work for it.  You then receive an assurance that your diligent work will result in the acquisition of the thing you hope for.  There is no reason to doubt.  Faith must not be limited by our expectations of time.  Time is irrelevant.  Time is up to God, whose time is different than ours.  (I am grateful I didn't have to wait too awfully long for my piano.)  I never doubted I would own a piano; nothing was going to stand in between me and the thing I righteously desired.  My faith became knowledge when I saw my beautiful instrument sitting in my living room.  The process had worked.

Bible Dictionary:

"Faith is a principle of action and of power, and by it one can command the elements and/or heal the sick, or influence any number of circumstances when occasion warrants (Jacob 4:4–7). Even more important, by faith one obtains a remission of sins and eventually can stand in the presence of God.  All true faith must be based upon correct knowledge or it cannot produce the desired results. Faith in Jesus Christ is the first principle of the gospel and is more than belief, since true faith always moves its possessor to some kind of physical and mental action; it carries an assurance of the fulfillment of the things hoped for." (bold added)

UPDATE:
9/18/2012--6 weeks of piano lessons!

Pregnancy and the Demise of Veganism: An Illustration

I was vegan for two-and-a-half months, from January to mid March 2012.  I LOVED it, I was gung-ho about it and didn't want to quit.  However, circumstances changed...

One innocent morning, I made my usual veggie/fruit juice for breakfast, a large 30 oz shot of vitamins and minerals that made me feel bright and alive each day.  Today was different.  I was uncharacteristically nauseous.  Surely, I was just hungry, the juice would fix it.  The Juice can fix anything!  I drank as much as I could hoping to settle my stomach.  No sauce.  I vomited the whole lot.  Miserable.

Turns out, I was a few weeks pregnant!  Triumphant use of ecstatic exclamation points!!!  Kyle and I are thrilled.  But, as one could imagine, early pregnancy symptoms put a pretty abrupt end to my vegan goals.  Of course, pregnancy effects every woman in different ways, but after that first expelled juice, I couldn't even think of juice for weeks without feeling queasy.  Food aversions and cravings started immediately for me.  I had incredibly strong feelings of aversion for almost all of the delicious vegan food that had become a steady part of my diet, which was really weird. Think of the last time you had a food craving--for me it usually goes something like this:

This is normal Mel.  Easy going, rolls-with-the-punches kinda gal.  Whilst I was vegan, the internal monologue was a little different, something like: "Pizza would be SO good right now!  But I am determined to make healthier choices so I will look up a delicious veggie-filled recipe online and spend the next hour cooking."  Resolutely goes to work.

However, as soon as pregnancy nausea hit, for those first few weeks of "morning", aka "all day", sickness, it was more like this:

 Chick-Fil-A= a vegan's worst enemy.  Aka, "Cocaine Chicken".

I'm not a fan of "fast food".  I never eat at McDonald's, Burger King, and some of the lower-on-the-totem-pole establishments.  Sometimes I eat at Wendy's, but less and less these days, and when I do I usually get a baked potato and a frosty (cause I friggin love Frosties).  I like Chipotle, but that's hardly typical "fast food".  However, they just built a Chick-Fil-A near my house.  DANGER.

Those first few days of nausea, ALL I could stomach was Chick-Fil-A chicken.  So I gave in, pretty shamelessly.  Truthfully, I am not ashamed of this and do not consider myself a "failure" for "quitting" my vegan diet/goals.  I really have been trying to listen to my body, and eat what I could hold down.  I figured it was more important to get food into my (and the baby's) system, than to operate under such strict restrictions and end up vomiting all the time.  Besides, I hate to vomit more than I love eating vegetables, so there ya go.

Now that I am in my second trimester, most of the symptoms of the first (nausea, aversions/cravings, exhaustion, etc) are starting to abate.  Awesome.  I'm gaining weight at a slow and steady pace (so far), which is good, and I've had a chance to indulge, which is also goooooood.

I fully intend to adopt and resume healthy eating habits, both while pregnant and after this little bundle comes in November.  In the meantime, don't judge to harshly.

Artomatic 2012

Artomatic is a "month-long art festival in the DC area that is "by artists, for everyone." It is absolutely free to the public" (artomatic.org). It is organized by unpaid volunteers, and is the largest (I don't know of any larger) independent, unjuried art show in the country, if not the world.  (If anyone knows of a bigger one, let me know.)

I've been volunteering for Artomatic for the last 2.5 years, getting to know the wonderful community of people who work so hard to pull off this monumental event.  Just to give you an idea of how BIG this art show is, here are some stats: In the last event, in 2009, over 76,000 visitors attended, over 1,000 artists exhibited, over 600 performances were enjoyed, and a 9 story building was full of every variety of art you can think of.

Artomatic 2012 opened last Friday night, with attendance over 3,000 people!  I was there for about 6 hours, taking in art on only 2 floors out of 10!  I'll be back for many more visits over the next 6 weeks, and try to see everything in the building. (over 1,000 artists exhibiting, probably over 10,000 pieces of art).

This is my first time participating as an artist in the event, and I'm very satisfied with how my exhibit space turned out.  Each artist was allowed to chose a space in the emptied DOD (Department of Defense) building.  The building is 11 stories, 2 of which are closed to the artists, and one is reserved for other activities.  I chose a 17 foot space on the 8th floor.  Here is the evolution of my installation:

Here's a map of where you can find my space on the 8th floor, space #377.

The space, raw and office-like.

Ripped off all of the phone wire encasements.

Painting!

Splattering.

Bob doing my advertising.  How nice of him!

Now for hanging!

Finished space, complete with track lighting, an awesome sign that you can't really see, QR code and business cards.  Near Bob's head is a short artist bio, and the grey patch in the middle of the wall is painted to look like sheets of paper with the lyrics of "Case of You" written on them.

I have a few improvements still to make, which I'll do on some afternoon when no one else is around (I need to add a guest book, etc).  Other than that, I think the space looks pretty great.

During my first 6 hours at the event, I took a lot of pictures of images, techniques, and ideas that were inspiring to me.  I plan to do this on each visit, and will post them as an update to this post as I get them.

If you're in the DC area, visit www.artomatic.org to get directions, hours, and a calendar of events.  There is NO REASON to not experience this most-amazing of art shows.  I can't really express how incredible and mind-blowing it is.  It is very RICH, very REAL.  You must see it to understand.

Also, I'll be playing a solo/acoustic set as part of the Songwriter's Association of Washington's showcase on Wednesday, June 6th at 7pm!

"Zombies, Run!" iPhone Game Review

I'm trying to get back in shape.  I'm trying to stay motivated.  I'm trying not to hate running (a conclusion I inevitably come too).  I'm trying to get my lazy bones out on the streets.  And now, thanks to Zombies, Run!, I'm trying to save the world, and myself, from the Zombie Apocalypse. 

Here's what it says on their website:

I found out about this game a few weeks ago when I searched for running apps to help keep me motivated and track my runs.  I wasn't on the bandwagon soon enough to donate to their Kickstarter (which earned $60,127 over their $12,500 goal--amazing), but I did wait anxiously for the release.  The app (which is out on iphone and ipod touch, but not android) is $7.99--GASP!  Now, before you balk and write it off as the Cadillac of apps, just consider that the world of $.99 apps is dying, and we all knew they couldn't stay that cheap forever.  Its not really fair for the developers (in this case, independent developers, designers, writers, etc) to sell such a well-made, thoughtful, useful, creative, and fun product for nickels.  I took a leap of faith on the $8 price tag, and couldn't be more happy about it.  (Besides, $8 is less than the price of 2 trips to Starbucks.)

Here's how it works: You start the app, start your first "mission" and chose a playlist (which you make in iTunes).  The game begins with audio narratives that tell you who you are, what you're doing, and fills you in on a bit of the back story of the world you're about to enter.  The first song on your playlist starts, you run through it, and between songs you get another audio narrative.  While running, you "collect" supplies--a voice interjects "collected a first aid kit/overcoat/axe/etc")--that you use in the game after you're done running.  With every narrative, you get deeper into the world and the game--you meet people, learn about the geography, and you get chased by hordes of the undead.  Yes, occasionally, guttural gurgling and moaning will rise from the back of my earbuds, getting louder and louder as flesh devouring zombies lumber behind my pitter-pattering feet.  I was truly surprised at how effective that was to light a fire behind my tush!  It was pretty nerve wracking.  If you "outrun the zombies", meaning if you run 20% faster for 1 minute, you don't get your brains eaten.  If the zombies catch you, you lose all of the supplies you've gathered on your run.  Bummer, but your brains remain in tact.

Each mission (there are 13 in this first download, and 17 more promised in future updates) lasts about 25-ish minutes.  When you return to "base", you distribute the supplies you've collected to various parts of "Abel Township"--this place where you live with a small group of people struggling to survive amidst the "Zombs".  As you distribute the supplies, various parts of the town grow bigger, and can support more human life, which is the goal.

I finished my 3rd mission today.  I am not kidding when I say I wish I could have gone running twice today.  I finished my 40 minute run and wondered how long I should wait before I took off again.  I resisted, but THAT FACT THAT I HAD THAT THOUGHT proves that this app is amazing!

Here are some screen shots from today's run:

I've encountered some more interesting things about the world of Abel Township: twitter accounts, websites, and a few questionable characters.  Its like being a character in a novel!  The writing is excellent, the voice-over work is really compelling, and the mix and sound effects are great--all of these elements work smartly together to create a very engaging story.  That engagement gets me RUNNING! I even woke up early to run today, something I haven't done in over 8 years.  Wow.

I'm also really excited for the forthcoming updates.  Bugs will be fixed and features added, as well as extensions of the story. 

To keep track of all of my essential running stats, I use Runmeter in the background.  It sucks away my battery, as both apps use GPS.  Future updates of Zombies, Run! will integrate stats like distance, time, pace, calories burned, etc.  For now, Runmeter is great for me.

I am a total nerd for this game.  I hope they create other seasons and stories, because at this rate, I will definitely reach my fitness goals for the year.  And as my body gets stronger, I am surely going to outrun the zombies.  Win/win!

Follow Zombies, Run! on Twitter
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Plant Based: 30 Day Vegan Challenge--COMPLETE!

On February 1st, 2012, I successfully completed my first month of eating a plant-based, whole grain diet.

Epic Winning!

RECAP:

Physical~

• total weight loss: 4 lbs
• total inches lost: 6
• More restful sleep; easier to fall asleep/wake up. (Still have progress to make.  Monday mornings are torture, and I'd still like to go to sleep earlier.)
• INCREASED ENERGY!  After my morning juice, I feel energized and bouncy.  I know this is a result of both my diet and my workouts, and was definitely what I had been missing.  It feels awesome!
• My tastes have transformed quite a bit.  I don't crave super sugary food or greasy food (ie cake, candy, sugary drinks, burgers, fried food, etc).  I never really ate very much of that food anyway.  My cravings for cheese have not yet waned, but I've been shocked at my ability to resist it.   I don't crave milk at all; soy milk and rice milk have kept me very satisfied.
• The first 2 weeks of working out, I didn't feel much transforming, just a lot of discomfort.  It was HARD.  The 3rd week, I felt my body changing--running farther without stopping, less winded, less soreness, lowered resting heart rate, etc.  
• At the end of the 3rd week, I felt the first real endorphin boost while working out.  I get a good kicker in the middle of most workouts now--it feels great and is super motivating.
• Clothes fit better.  That's nice.
• Significant decreases in feelings of "bloating".  Awesome.

Mental/Emotional~

•  Eating this way is not nearly as "extreme" as people think it is, or as people told me it was.  Now, it seems like the "typical American diet" is a lot more extreme and a lot scarier.  I'm not really talking about people who eat fast food every day, because I've never done that, and we all know that is an extreme way to live.  I've increased my awareness of ingredients, I see processed foods that I once thought of as "healthy" in a different way now.   It has become increasingly prevalent to me that most of the processed food we eat is just corn, fat, and sugar pressed into different shapes.  Take away the color and a few different sweeteners and a pop-tart is the same as an oreo is the same as Coco-Puffs is the same as Chicken nuggets is the same as Grape soda....etc etc.'
• I realized how many vegetables I wasn't eating before.
• I proved to myself that I can make significant changes in my habits and lifestyle, and that 30 days is long, but not long enough to permanently change habits or thought patterns.  It is going to take much longer than 30 days to erase years of false info, misconceptions, and acquired tastes.
• I feel pretty jerked around by the scale.  I'll be down 4 pounds one morning, and up 5 the same night, then down 3, then up 2, then up 4, etc etc.  I wish I weren't so concerned by the numbers, but you know, I'm a woman, so, there's that.  Pretty lame.

I could continue to pontificate, but I think you've got the gist.  I've decided to continue with this new way of life.  I did allow myself a slice of pizza, a looser approach to vegetable oil,  and a few deserts since I completed my 30 day goal, but those were just rewards for a job well done.  I'm refocused now, and have no intention of deviating.  (I proved this to myself last night when I could have ordered my favorite chicken dish at the Indian restaurant, but ordered vegetarian instead. That is dedication!)

My friend Kim has an awesome blog, where she has written about a lot of topics related to a vegan lifestyle.  She writes about recipes, projects, workouts, and informative pieces about everything from protein to high fructose corn syrup.  READ HER BLOG!

Thanks for following my little experiment!  Its been great, and will continue to be great.  My next experiment, a 10 Day Juice Fast!  More on that later....

Plant Based: Days 13-25

As I write this, I am nearing the end of my 30 day goal.  I'm excited to make my final report and assessment of the 30 Day Experiment.  To recap days 13-25, I will break from the pattern of the last few posts, and refrain from making long lists of day-to-day mealings.  Instead, I'll give you some lists and other more general impressions....

I experimented with recipes a lot more the last few weeks.  Most notably, I started doing something I've been meaning to do for a very long time, but was always a little too chicken (haven't seen that word for a while)--I finally started experimenting making INDIAN FOOD!  I LOVE Indian food, but that long list of spices always intimidated me.  Last week I decided to just buy all the spices and go for it, and it has been amazing.  Seriously.  Lesson learned: Cook the food you love!  When I know I have delicious Indian food to come home to, I am not tempted by anything else.  Make enough for LEFTOVERS.  I had two or three "leftover days", when I didn't have to make anything new, and those were some of my favorite days.

Mid-Month Favs:

Breakfast:  

I make a fresh juice or smoothy every morning and it keeps me going until noon or 1pm.  This always includes green veggies and enough fruit to make it sweet.  My body has adjusted to the intense blast of vitamins (it made me a little queezy in the beginning), and, I've never had coffee before, but the blast of wakefulness/vitality/energy I get from that juice is what I imagine its like to drink coffee in the morning.  Its awesome!

Lunches and Dinners:

Rips Big Bowl--one of my favorites.  I look forward to eating this!  You can add or replace or change the ingredients to fit what you have and what you like; it is VERY fiber rich, very filling, and very delicious.  And I love cereal, so its amazing.  I probably never have to eat cereal from the box again.

Eggplant Stew--This recipe makes a big batch, and, the 5 year old that I nanny LOVED it.  He asked for it all week.

Chocolate Banana Ice Cream-- This stuff is wicked good, and perfect for satisfying that sweet tooth.  I can't live without ice cream, and I don't feel like I have too.  WIN.  (I omitted the sugar; with the vanilla almond soy milk it was sweet enough.)

Hot and Sour Soup-- I love Hot and Sour soup.  This recipe was pretty good, but surprisingly better with age; I liked the leftovers better than the first bowl, but I have no idea why.  It was really easy.  I obviously omitted the meat.  I added mushrooms and water chestuts because I didn't have bamboo shoots.

Aloo Gobi (Potatoes and Cauliflower)--This was my first attempt at Indian food and it turned out great.  I love cauliflower, but it is hard to eat a whole head of it with only two people, so I used the entire head and had awesome leftovers.

TIP for Indian cooking: Turmeric is a very commonly used spice and adds a lot to a dish, but stains everything it touches yellow.  I use quite a bit of it in my Eggplant Stew and now have "special" yellow wooden spoons reserved for cooking with turmeric.

Chole Palak (Spinach and Chick Peas)-- This is mine and Kyle's new favorite dish.  Fo rills!!  It is so amazing I made it twice in one week!  It is my new favorite way to eat spinach.

Aloo Paratha (Potato stuffed flat bread)-- I love Naan and other Indian flat breads, and this one seemed easy enough to make.  It is easy to make, and very tasty.  I made this one twice too.

Chick Peas and Red Pepper with Couscous--My BFF gave me this recipe with her enthusiastic endorsement.  Chick peas, red pepper, carrots, and about 10 delicious spices.  It was really flavorful and I love couscous.

Aloo Baingan (Potato and Eggplant)--Even though I had to use canned tomatoes instead of fresh, this dish turned out thick, creamy, and tangy.  A great way to eat a potentially useless eggplant!

First time tries:

Bocca Burger-- My wonderful friend Judy made these for Kyle and I.  They were super tasty, and could easily be used as a beef patty in a hamburger.

Veggie Pizza at Epicure Cafe--since my beloved art gallery closed, Epicure Cafe is my new hangout.  Their food is really quite exceptional for a small, independent cafe in a random strip mall in Fairfax, VA, and their pizza menu is diverse and delicious (and written on a vinyl record in silver sharpie=awesome).  I had this veggie pizza twice in two weeks, and Kyle was able to get his meat fix by putting whatever toppings he wanted on the other side of the pizza.

Cajun Lentil Patties--I tried these, they looked interesting, but we didn't like them enough to make them again.  It also took far more oil than I wanted to use.  I would like to find some kind of "patty" as a meat substitute (besides Bocca Burgers).

Lobia (Black Eyed Beans)--this could have been good, but I used canned beans that had their own smokey kind of flavor, so it didn't turn out very well.  Kyle liked it though.

Best Quick Snack:

• Sugar snaps/mushrooms/cherry tomatoes in homemade hummus

• Granola

• Nuts and dried cranberries/apricots/raisins

During these middle weeks, my body was still adjusting--trying to shake sugar cravings, increase my endurance through feelings of hunger, and getting used to working out 4x a week.  Its hard to tell if my increased energy levels, easier sleeping and waking, and general increase in positive feelings is due more to my changed eating habits or to exercise.  I'm pretty sure its a lot of both, and its a LOTTA good.