To achieve your dreams remember your A,B,C's

This is something my grandma gave me years ago in a birthday card. It is hanging on my mirror so that I remember this great advice. 

(the ones in bold my Grandma had highlighted)

To achieve our dreams remember your A,B,C’s

Avoid negative sources, people, places, things and habits

Believe in yourself

Consider things from every angle

Don’t give up and don’t give in

Enjoy life today,  yesterday is gone, tomorrow may never come

Family and friends are hidden treasures, seek them and enjoy their riches

Give more than you planned to

Hang on to your dreams

Ignore those who try to discourage you

Just do it

Keep trying no matter how hard it seems, it will get easier

Love yourself first and for most

Make it happen

Never lie, cheat or steal, always strike a fair deal

Open your eyes and see things as they really are

Practice makes perfect

Quitters never win and winner never quit

Rea, study and learn about everything important in your life

Stop procrastinating

Take control of your own destiny

Understand yourself in order to better understand other

Visualize it

Want it more than anything

Xcellerate your efforts

You are unique of all God’s creations, nothing can replace you

Zero in on your target and go for it. 

Here is my grandma last August at her 90th birthday. I love this lady!

Colorado!

Every once in a while I get tired of the same old thing day after day and want to move as far away for here as possible. I long for the excitement of city life and all the things there are to do and see that we don't have. Even though I want a bit more I have to admit that where I live now is one of the most beautiful places on earth and that I am very lucky to be able to live here. Below are some picture that my sister and I have taken that prove my point. 

This is my view on my drive to work. I wish I had one in the summer because it is truly breathtaking. 

View outside my back door (if you look over the houses. haha)

My sister took this. It is above Mancos. 

Above Mancos

Above Mancos

On Junction Creek road. Feels like the top of the world

Above Vallecito Lake. Those trees are remains of the fire several years ago. 

Red Mountain Pass- beginning of color changing

My friends ranch

at the ranch- One of my favorite pictures

Who could forget the snow! Yes that is my house behind all that snow.  

Hope you enjoyed these!!

Week 9

Week 9?!?! It has been 9 weeks already and I have to say that I feel so great! I am doing and trying new things all the time and I wake up each day with a little bit more energy and zest. I really can't wait for the spring and summer to do so much stuff. I want to go hiking, plant a veggie garden and clean up and fix my yard. I want to do a lot more than that but that is a good start. Here are the new steps for the week. Let me also say that I don't do everything on this list every week but I do the majority of them each week and switch some one week and do others the next week. The main point is doing something everyday to better my health.

1.     Shop once this week to keep my pantry stocked with healthy foods

2.     Stay between 3 and 6 on the hunger continuum and register my hunger and satiety level in my journal

3.     Maintain my food journal

4.     Drink 8 glasses of water a day

5.     ride my bike for 20 minutes at least 5 days a week and increase the resistance and note my rides in my journal.

6.     Squeeze some exercise into my daily routine.

7.     clean 1 drawer/cabinet/closet a week

8.     create and maintain an efficient laundry system.

9.     Eat 3 meals and 1 or 2 small snacks each day

10. Add stretching to my workout routine

11. Take a multivitamin each day – I am actually taking a multivitamin, a fish oil pill and a Llysine pill. (this is for cold sores so that I hopefully won’t get them too often)

12. be aware of my posture. Walk tall and with confidence!

13. Limit alcohol to one night a week and limit number of drinks to 2. Unless it is a margarita from Chavolos then the limit is 1.

14.  When going out to eat or at friends, chose food that is not fried and don’t graze around the food table. 

15.  Replace bad fats with good fats.

16. Add one fun element this week. (going dancing, playing basketball, etc.) This can take the place of one of my bike rides.

17.  discover the benefits of yoga

18.  clear the clutter from a mail pile, front door, etc and maintain a system to keep it clear

19.  Add core exercises and crunches to my workout routine at least 3 times a week.

20.  Start reading the ingredient list on the back of food labels. Watch out for additives and sodium especially.

21. Eat slower, savoring the food and truly enjoying the meal.

22. start a gratitude journal or explore journaling in general.

23. limit processed food and go for whole grains and whole foods.

Here is what is going on for week 9.

24. eat fish at least 2 times a week. – This is gonna be hard. I like fish but trying to make it so that it is not bland will be a little difficult. I better get out my cookbooks.

25. Do not eat after 8 o’clock at night

26. Try some more challenging strength training moves.

Asparagus Fries

I'm trying to get out of a rut of eating the same foods the same way all the time. I have branched out this week and bought some veggies that I normally don't eat but I also bought some I love. Asparagus is one I love. I could eat it at least twice a week. It makes me sad when it is no longer in season but I try to eat as much as I can when it is in season. I found a recipe that looked really good and it satisfied my veggies that I need to eat with my love of fried food. Of course this is not fried and it doesn't need to be. It was delicious! Click here for the original recipe. I omitted the zest of lemon since all I had was bottled lemon juice and I also omitted the red pepper flakes. I actually forgot to put it in by mistake. Next time I will not forget. I bet it would be even that much better. I also did not make the Aioli sauce. I'm sure it is good but I just didn't want to add those extra calories on.

Asparagus Fries

• 1 bunch of asparagus, washed, ends trimmed 
• 1 egg (I used 1/4 cup of eggbeaters) 
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with baking spray. (I use stoneware to cook everything so I skipped lining the pan)
2. Combine egg, dijon and lemon juice in a shallow bowl, whisk together.
3. Combine breadcrumbs, salt & pepper in a dish and mix together.
4. Coat asparagus first in egg mixture and then in breadcrumb mixture. Line up on baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15 minutes until breadcrumbs have turned golden brown and asparagus still has some “bite” left to it.
6. Serve warm out of the oven.

They won't be completely coated in panko which is good because you will have more of the asparagus taste than just breading taste. You get a nice mix of both. 

Enjoy!