January 3, 2019
3/365
Self care is so important and fitness is just one part of that. I usually mediate once or twice a day to shut out the noise and quiet the “need to do list” that continually runs around in my mind.
What do you do for yourself relative to self care? I would love to hear from you. Please email me or comment below.
January 2, 2019
2/365
The coolest thing about being up at 4:30 am in the morning is watching the day truly begin with the hustle and bustle of our street.
January 1, 2019
1/365
Over the last year, I watch so many of you share your life moments on Facebook. One of my friends began her 2018 year with a goal of sharing a picture each day. These pictures were creative but it also showed such heart warming family moments that truly made me smile. With that said, I have challenged myself to post one picture a day for this year.
I wish all of you a wonderful new year. Set some goals and hit your road running! You got this!
“When asked if my cup is half-full or half empty,
my only response is that I am thankful that I have a cup”
~ Anonymous
Each day, I journal my thoughts and adventures. It allows me to share my successes and vent my frustrations. I try hard like hell not to have too many frustrations and view each of them with a certain perspective.
The Latin root for perspective is “look through” or “perceive”. That said, I look at each hiccup that comes my way with an open mind, choosing how I will respond to it and making sure it doesn’t effect me long term. Mind you, it is easier said than done.
I have met some amazing people that implement this essential life skill everyday. One person that comes to mind was my Great Aunt by marriage, Aunt Albertine. I knew her for 15 years, but had the honor and privilege to get to know even more these last 8 months before passing just weeks ago at the age of 102.
Every visit, Aunt Albertine would say, “It’s a wonderful day”. Even as her eye sight and body began to fail with old age, she always said it could be worse. She explained that she had been blessed and lived a wonderful and full life. She never had a complaint, never said an ill word about anyone, always saw the light in each person that she knew and said thank you to those taking time out of their busy schedules to visit or take care of her.
Auntie’s perspective and optimism reminded me that I needed to continue to take every hiccup in my schedule or negative interaction with people, places or things as a significant learning experience and turn that poo into something that I am grateful for.
Thank you Aunt Albertine for leaving a legacy of empathy, compassion, kindness and laughter but most importantly, reminding me, your family and friends that life is too short to waste their time on negative thoughts or uncomfortable situations but to put them in perspective. Learn from them, be grateful for them and make that choice to either rise up to make it better or worse.
Until next time, peace be with you.
On June 13, 2018, I lost my sweet “Selfie” girl. About a month ago, Meg zigged and zagged and wasn’t putting any weight on her left hind leg. We immediately sought veterinary care for her. Our vet visit disclosed a severe intervertebral disk disease. Basically, her back was crumbling. The spine was desperately trying to repair itself, but it was only a matter of time before it would become fatal for our Meg.
We tried every avenue to reduce her pain, but other issues arrived. She declined so quickly and with that, we listened to our girl. I would have never guessed that Meg would go see her brother/husband, Trevie so soon but we knew it was time to say goodbye and ease her pain.
We love you, baby girl. We miss you everyday. Rest in Peace.
I have always been a huge bookworm. I grab a book before going outside to spend time with my girls, Meg & Virginia, going on vacation or heading to the beach. This past week, I was heading home to visit my son and of course, I went to Target to find some last minute things and strolled through the book aisle.
Several books caught my eye, but this one, Girl Last Seen by Nina Laurin really intrigued me. First off, when I read “A heart-stopping thriller..”, it pulled me in. Then reading, “Two girls missing girls. Thirteen years apart.”, I flipped to the prologue. A girl escaping from a basement struggling to run as fast as she can with no shoes in rough terrain while completely exhausted, hungry and hurt. Until, a car stops. That person who exited the car hoovers over her and finally ask her if she is ok. That person hoovering over her was a police officer and from their the story begins about a girl named, Ella that eventually leads to another girl that went missing 13 years later.
This book took me only two days to read! I highly recommend it and hope you let me know your thoughts.
I don’t know about you but who doesn’t like brie, cranberry and crescent dough. Like many of you, you saw this amazing recipe on your Facebook news feed. Well, I tried it out and loved it. It’s so simple to make and people will devour them like candy. Win/Win for me.
Here is what you will need to make this simple, yet delicious appetizer.
Ingredients:
All-purpose flour (for dusting the dough and cutting board)
1 (8 oz) tube crescent roll dough
1 (8 oz) wheel brie cheese
1 cup whole cranberry sauce (p.s. I used a can of cranberry and it was just fine.)
fresh rosemary sprigs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°f degrees.
Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray.
Spread a little flour out onto your counter and then roll out crescent dough and pinch seams together. Cut crescent roll dough into 24 equal-sized squares. Place squares into mini muffin tin slots. I used Pillsbury crescent dough. I haven’t tried phyllo dough, but that will be my next cooking adventure. 🙂
Bake until the crescent dough is a light golden-brown color. I followed Pillsbury crescent roll cooking time and watch very closely. My cooking time for these mini delights were about 10 – 12 minutes.
For more information or a video, press the link below.
Gratitude is defined as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” Dictionary.com
I saw a quote by David Bednar about gratitude. He stated that “a grateful person is rich in contentment.” For me, this quote got me thinking about those two words and how I apply them in my life.
See, I am grateful for many things in my life. To be honest, I don’t have any problem coming up with a huge list!
Contentment is defined as “the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind. Dictionary.com
I hate to admit any of this part, but I am not content with certain things in my life right now. Yes, I am content for not needing more material things to be happy and being grateful for my list above, but it’s a challenge every day to be at peace.
I guess the important part to remember is that I am human and finding a way to accomplish that internal peace may take time, but I will continue to do the best I can with what I have.
Do you struggle with gratitude and contentment? Let me know your thoughts. I would love to hear from you!
UPDATE: My sweet girl, Virginia Kaylie passed away from complications of heart failure and collapse trachea on 3/16/2020. Thank you for fun, laughter and snuggles. I miss you to the moon and back.
As many of you might know, my Mom is a huge animal lover and thrives on rescuing any animal in need. On August 4, 2017, my Mom received a text from one of her girls about a Craigslist ad. It said Re-homing a Senior Chihuahua, (21 years old). I was shaking my head and, with a firm paw, said nope, nope, nope. I knew in my heart that I had nothing to worry about because she repeatedly told my Dad that it was so much easier with one baby. Plus, she doesn’t normally respond to those ads. I did watch her forward an email to a small dog rescue but then, I saw it. The look and knew that she was taken in by the picture and the story.
Mind you, Craigslist can be a very scary place for animals and humans. With that said, my Mom responded to the ad via text and email. The dog owner responded quickly and the conversation began. I was apprehensive and scare for my Mom but, after each bit of information came to light and verified to be true (internet is a great tool, btw), I knew that my Mom had opened her heart again. I was doomed to have another permanent roommate.
See, this is the one time that I think Craigslist did a good thing. My Mom was able to convince the dog owner that she was the best match for her dog. The dog owner, who was rehoming her daughter’s dog who passed away four years ago, didn’t have enough time to properly care for her and felt at ease that my Mom was the best match. To this day, we stay connected with the former owner and share her dog’s new life.
So, please welcome the newest addition to my family, Virginia Kaylie.
I am sure that many of you on your fitness journey get some crazy comments or questions. I frequently get.. “Why track your food?; that seems too much work. Plus, live a little, would ya? Like a hamburger is going to hurt you!
So, I pose questions to those individuals. Do you watch your bank accounts, your 401K, your IRA, your expenses or taxes deductions? Do you know what is being taken out your paychecks each pay period or with your investments?
Well, I consider myself an investment. Tracking my numbers allows me to have profits (muscle gain, fat loss, increase stamina, restful night sleep) and manage my losses (fat gain, muscle loss, fatigue or other medical issues). Fine tuning my food intake, understanding which food fuels me better and creating fitness challenges is like smart money management that yields a big return and enables you to pursue the retirement of your dreams.
Marcus Lemonis of the Profit believes in the three Ps; People, Process, and Product. I surround myself with like minded people that inspire me to keep my dream alive without judgment or criticism. The process is the hard work (watching your macros and working out) and the product is my health, my stamina, and how I feel in my mind, body and spirit.
Here is a few quotes from Marcus that I have on my vision board to remind me to keep going and trust the process.
“If you don’t know your numbers, you don’t know your business.”
“If you’re not evolving, you’re dying.”
“At the end of the day, numbers don’t lie.”
“Performance is the best way to shut people up.”
If you are interested in how to start tracking your food, there are many food count apps that will help you. I use My FitnessPal.com, Carlorieking.com and all can be easily found on the internet or in your Apps locator on your phone or Ipad.
Want to find someone to help you understand and guide you through that process? There are many registered dietitians and nutritionists ready to help. I work with my personal trainer, Kandace Platts, who offers nutrition consulting through Diet Doc. Right now, I have challenged myself with Diet Doc’s 3 month program. I am learning quite a bit about planning my meals and knowing my numbers. To find out more about her services, you can connect with her through her website, http://thedietdochaverhill.com.
Note: I do not get any kick backs for my mentioning my trainer or the Diet Doc system. This is merely based on my experience.
Thank you for reading. Let me know how you feel about tracking your food or how your fitness journey is going! Comment below or send me an email. I would love to hear from ya.