Family Picnic and Canyon Drive

On Saturday, we went up American Fork Canyon for a picnic. We drove up to A meadow above the Timpanooke trail head (same place where Michael asked me to marry him).

After our picnic, we decided that since we now have a car that works off road, we would go on a little exploratory drive. The drive was beautiful. There were wildflowers everywhere. We found a few trail heads for hikes that we might go back to. We assumed that the road would come out another canyon, but instead, it took us a little over 1 and 1/2 hours to get to a dead end. So we had to back-track our whole trip. It was still fun and beautiful.

Raw Wednesday #1: a learning experience

Well, last week, I attempted my first Raw Wednesday. I was not as successful as I would have liked. What I learned is that I need a little more prep work. I was eating whole foods, but I completely left out grains, so by about 3 pm, I was absolutely STARVING. I decided to give up and try again next Wed. So I am spending some time making some more hearty raw foods for this coming week. These foods take a little preparation because they have to be sprouted, soaked, and dehydrated. This week I am making Raw Cinnamon Granola and Raw Hummus. This should keep me more satiated. Here is my menu for this Raw Wednesday:

-Breakfast: Raw Cinnamon Granola with Almond milk and fresh fruit
-Lunch: Celery soup with avocado and red bell peppers (I didn't get around to having this for dinner last week)
-Dinner: Green Salad with veggies and hummus
-Dessert: Mango Sorbet (again, didn't get around to this last week)
-Snacks: Raw nuts, veggies with hummus, fresh fruit

If anyone wants to join me for a delicious raw breakfast, here is the recipe for the Granola:

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered raw almonds
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (or more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup pure maple syrup

Combine dry ingredients in plastic container. Add syrup and mix well until moderately saturated.
Cover container and dry overnight in refrigerator.

*Note: I have not yet attempted this recipe, so I'm not saying its good, I'm just saying that I'm trying it. I hope it's good...

My first week of training for my half marathon was quite a bit more successful than my first raw Wednesday. I'm up to 4 miles... Woo-hoo.

Raw Wednesdays/ Half Marathon

It seems like everywhere I turn, there is some advertisement for "get thin quick" or "health in a pill." Although some of these programs might be effective, my question is are they healthy? Our country is obsessed with weight and health, but it seems that very few of us are actually taking the right steps to get there (I know there are times in my life when I fall into this category).

I don't believe in being extreme. I want to be healthy. I want to eat well and live an active lifestyle. I want to feel good. I've decided that for me, health is not a number. It's how I feel. It's having balance in my life.

I am turning over a new leaf. Today I begin my journey for better health. I'm starting with 2 steps.

Step 1 is Raw Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, I will only be consuming raw foods. This is my menu for the coming Wednesday:

Breakfast: Berry Salad
Lunch: Greens and Veggie Salad with raw Almonds
Dinner: Celery and Avocado soup
Dessert: Mango Sorbet
Snacks: Whatever I want as long as it's raw

I have been wanting to incorporate more raw foods into my diet for a long time, and I'm going to do raw Wednesdays until I feel like I've learned what I want to learn: planning, recipes I like, how to use a dehydrator, which raw foods I enjoy and which I would prefer to stay away from, what I can eat as a meal vs. snack, etc.

Step 2 is that today is the first day of a 12 week training schedule to run a half marathon. I will be training with my friend Nichole. I am feeling very excited and motivated to get back into shape (and it wouldn't hurt if I lost a few of the lingering baby pounds in the process, but like I said, health is not a number for me).

So, there you have it... my first two steps of my journey for better health... wish me luck. I'll keep you posted.

Jack's First Peak

I love the mountains. I have a sense of freedom when I'm hiking a trail and a wonderful sense of accomplishment when I've reached the summit. I am so happy to live in this beautiful place where I can access freedom and accomplishment so easily.

On Saturday evening, we thought we'd beat the heat and go to a higher altitude for a hike. We did Sunset Peak. The trail head is above Alta at the Albion Basin. We did get out of the heat, but we did not plan for the bugs. All three of us got quite a few mosquito bites... yipes.

Should

Let's talk about the word should. A few years ago, I had a conversation about the word should with my crainosacral therapist and it changed my life. I hate this word and try never to use it. It promotes guilt. For example:

-I should exercise today (even though I've been up all night and I worked all day and I'm exhausted and I'm not really going to exercise).

-I should do the laundry (even though I have a million other things that take priority over the laundry and I'm not actually going to do it).

-I shouldn't eat this cookie (even though I want to and will anyway).

-I should cook more often.

-I shouldn't take a nap.

-I should work more hours.

-I shouldn't buy this item.

-I should etc. etc. etc.

Bottom line... If you're going to do something, do it. If you're not, don't, but for Pete's sake, don't waste your time "shoulding" yourself and feeling guilty about all the things you should be doing. It'll just make you feel worse about yourself and your life.

Our Trip to Colorado

Well, the original plan was to hit both Thailand and Peru before having a baby, but now that Jack is part of our family, we wouldn't trade him for a trip around the world.

Anyway, our big trip for this year was a trip to Erie, Colorado, home of my sister, Tara and her family. Tara had a new baby, Blake, at the end of May, so we went out there to let Jack meet his new cousin. We had a fun time while we were there. Here is a picture of the cousins: Blake, Josh, Halle, Jack. Above is a pic of Blake and Jack. They happened to have matching outfits... we couldn't resist.

On Wednesday, Tara and I had a girls night out. We went to the awesome venue Red Rock Amphitheater and saw Celtic Woman preform. They were fantastic. They had some of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. There was also a fiddle player who was very entertaining, dancing and jumping all around the stage as she played her instrument. While we girls were enjoying our night out, the men took the children on a little hike. Apparently there was a lot of complaining and crying... sounds like fun.

Thursday we packed up the beach bag and went to Boulder Reservoir. There is a fun little beach area. The kids played in the sand and we all swam around in the water.

Friday, Michael, Jack and I went to Chautauqua Park and hiked around. The Flat Irons Area is beautiful. After a hot afternoon of hiking, we headed over to Pearl Street to get some lunch and do a little shopping. We had gyros from a fun little Mediterranean place.
Later that evening, we enjoyed a neighborhood BBQ in the park and in the Erie tradition, celebrated our country's birthday one day early with fireworks at the golf course. The kids really enjoyed the fireworks... especially Jack and Blake who slept right through them.

Saturday, Michael and Rusty went for a hike. They summited Mt. Bierdstadt at 14,060 feet. This was Michael's first 14er, but I'm sure it won't be his last. While the men were hiking, Tara and I took the kids to a farmers market in Boulder. We enjoyed sampling delicious organic treats and walking around the park. We topped off our outing with lunch on Pearl Street from Old Chicago Pizza. Wow, was it delicious.

We just hung out on Saturday evening and Michael, Jack and I flew home on Sunday. What a fun trip.

One Little Thing

OK... I have a complaint to post...

I like to be kind to the earth and to my pocket book as well, so, recently I've been practicing the art of reusing. Over the past several months, I've purchased several used items including my kitchen table, a pump for my baby's milk, a jogging stroller, and a backpack baby carrier.

I like the idea of reusing something that someone else would have otherwise thrown away. And, I like the concept of paying a fair price for a used item. The problem with several sellers of used items is that they are not selling these items for a fair price.

If you have had something for several years and it has visible signs of your use (even if it doesn't), don't try to get only a few dollars less than the current retail price of the new version of the same item. People act like they are giving you such a good deal... I"m selling this whatever for $10 less than retail (sure, I've been using it for 10 years and I've beat the crap out of it, but hey, it's cheaper for you). I think it's fabulous that so many people are trying to make an extra few bucks on things that we do not need anymore, but don't get greedy... even if the item is in great condition, it is still used and not worth as much as a new one.

Maybe I'm just being cheap...

A Busy Blogless Month

I pretty much dropped off the face of the blogosphere last month. Here's what we've been up to:

We celebrated my niece, Maile's 3rd Birthday by going to the zoo.
You might notice Jack's head popping out of Michael's jacket in front of the giraffes. We had a good time until the flood started. It rained like crazy and we had to wait it out in the cat house.

We celebrated Father's Day by taking Jack for his first hike in Michael's new baby-carrier-backpack, which will from this time forth be known as the Jack-Pack.


I celebrated my 26th birthday. Michael got me a jogging stroller (exactly what I wanted). Then he took me out on a fun date of Indian food (my favorite) and a movie. We also had a little party with my family.

We also had quite an experience when Michael was asked to be in charge of a concession stand at the Lehi Roundup Rodeo. He had to staff it with 15-18 volunteers each night for 3 nights. I worked one night and that was enough for me. We didn't really see each other at all for those 3 days. Thank goodness that's all over.

The last day of June we flew out to Colorado to visit my sister, Tara and her family... post of fun filled trip to Boulder coming soon.