Happy Life

Do you ever have one of those days when something just hits you?

Today is an ordinary day. It started with a brief visit to the dermatologist who examined a "changing" mole I have on my shoulder. "It's nothing" he said. Then Jack and I came home and spent the day together playing with toys, doing laundry, baking, snuggling, etc.

Throughout my day, I just keep having the thought "my life is good." I am in a great place right now. I am young, healthy, happy, in love with the best man, have the sweetest baby, a good job, a nice home, wonderful friends, and I'm near a supportive and loving family. What more could I want?... (maybe a little more disposable cash, but I'm not going to complain).

Jack is 6 Months

Jack had his 6 month photo shoot last week and we just got the pics back. My brother, Landon's girlfriend, Megan has recently started her own photography business, so we wanted to be supporters. She did a great job. I guess it's hard to take a bad picture of such a cute little guy though.

Jack has grown a lot in the last 6 months. He now weighs 16 lbs 12 oz (about 10 lbs more than when he was born). He is a joy to be around and Michael and I are so happy to have him in our family. At 6 months Jack
-Is able to sit up all by himself
-Chews on anything and everything he can get his hands on
-Is growing his first tooth
-Is continuing to develop his funny little personality
-Is starting to eat solid foods
-Is finally mobile (if you count rolling around the floor from toy to toy).

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.