Beachin it and goals

My memorial day in pictures. My daniel lounging in the sun.




i cannot believe i got all my kids and grands together and we spent the day at bodega dunnes. It's about a two hour drive to Bodega Bay.  The scenery is dotted with small towns, shops and lots of cows grazing and laying in patures.  I thought about the life of a cow... you get to eat what you want, lay around but only to be slaughtered. How sad is that? Sorry, weird things pass through my crazy mind.

We arrived at the dunnes and boy was it cold.   The cold weather certainly didn't stop the grands from enjoying the ocean.




There is something wonderful in their laughter. I'm very lucky to have these little ones. I really think grandchildren are a parent's reward for having survived raising a family and all that it entails.








My oldest grandson isn't too thrilled with my picture taking.

We ended the day with a visit to the sweet shop for pop rocks and saltwater taffy. After our drive home, i showered and prepared for my week.

Then I got to thinking as I prepared my meals for the next day. I have not had any weight loss goals for over a year.  I've semi-given up on weight loss. I don't want to give up.  I exercise. Eat healthier but gone are the food obsessions of counting calories and thinkin 24/7 about weight loss.

It's time I get back to basics and drop some weight.  I will be posting my weight on june 1st.... Wish me luck, okay.

Mezkin food... Yum

Hi friend, happy three day weekend. I thought i would try this spicy mixture with a corona light. Ugh... Not a fan. Will not be making this purchase again.



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i decided to make a quick lunch of tostadas. For a shortcut i bought blended beans from the mexican market.diced up cabbage, cilantro a d avocado.


Just look at daniel plate. Why go to a mexican restaurant when i can make it better myself.


We are just waiting for our meal to settle to hit the river trail on our bikes. I love three day weekends.

This is my first post ever using the ipad. It was pretty easy. Please have a safe weekend all.

I am taking a break from zumba.  Hard to believe, right?  I love this class and it's intense. But the music lately is not my favorite.  Have you ever heard of Banda music?  The dances for banda music is very aerobic.  Check it out here.  It's not my favorite music and there's alot of jumping and moving around. One or two routines and I'm good.  My instructor does about 5 and then I'm not so good. I'll still attend the class but maybe once or twice a week instead of 3 days.

It's always a good idea to mix up your workouts.  I'm guilty of finding ONE THING and burning myself out.  So it's time to spice up the acitity this summer. I believe I've found a way for Daniel and I to spend time together and to stay active.  Last night, was our second time out this week enjoying the banks of the river and the bike trails.  We walked about 3 miles last night.

Just look at the view.

How lucky am I to live so close to the water? It reminds me of my childhood. I grew up in West Sacramento and our home was within walking distance of the Sacramento River. We spent many summers frolicking in the water.  It's unbelievable that I never learned to swim.  Mostly due to an over-protective mother who would shout out "Paula... don't get too close to the water. You'll drown."  Gotta love mexican mothers.

After about 3 miles, I decided to jog.  It's been a months since I jogged.  Not because I don't enjoy it but because it's rough on my knee.  It feels amazing jogging back to the car.  How I wish I  had good knees to run like real runners.

Here I am a hot, sweaty mess after jogging at a steady pace.  Not sure how far I jogged but it doesn't really matter. I was active and I was outside enjoying life. I wasn't just thinking about doing "this" or "that"... I was doing....

Next thing I know, it's getting dark. I just had to look across the water to admire the sunset. How lucky am I to live so close to nature and to be with a person who indulges me now and then in my quest for a fitter more  healthier self.  Yea, tonight was better than bouncing around to Banda.

Here's to hoping you stop and look around and live in the moment. There is beauty all around. Slow down. Take it in...

ttfn.

with change, there's opportunity, right?

My professional life is cray-cray-crazy at the moment.  My employer is downsizing and today,  10 people were layed off today. My heart is breaking for them. I tell self that with change comes opportunity.  I believe this is true in most areas of our lives, don't you? If I'm next, I hope I can  hold onto that notion. I think I've made peace with the WHAT IFs...

Anyways, let's talk about my dinner, shall we?  A few weeks ago, I found this  Dolores Chili Brick at Winco.  Instantly, I remembered my mom using this and so I impulsively bought thinking  I'd use it for chili beans.

The night before last, I cooked some cranberry beans with garlic and onions. I knew I had that in my fridge. I looked in my freezer and pulled out some taco meat. I boiled the crap out of it with salt and onion until tender and then placed it in the fridge to cool for the next day.

Last night, I was exhausted. So much to learn at Office #1 that I was kaput.  But I remembered I had the beans and the taco meat.  So I pulled out the chili brick and cooked it with the meat for 30 minutes.

Then, I added my beans.  It looks fattening,doesn't it?  I added some reduced fat cheese to my bowl and began to chow down.

It's really good. Can I tell you something? I was too scared to look at the list of ingredients in the chili break. Obviously they can't be healthy.

To keep from over-doing it on the chile beans, I protioned out 2 cup servings and froze. 

I think the cooking is helping me to relax.  Hey, whatever it takes, right?

I'm off to celebrate my son's 31st birthday. Gosh... I can't believe I'm that old...

Later, gators.

Chilequilles

Whew what a day... came home from zumba last night super tired and super hungry.  Not a good combination when I have chips and salsa in the house.  I knew I could not be trusted with the bag of chips so instead of drowning myself in a huge bowl, I decided to make a meal out of my chips.

I took 1 tbs. spoon of coconut oil and added a handful of chips to a small pan.

Then I cracked a couple of eggs. I wanted to use 1 egg + 1 egg white but it fell in.  Next time.

I turned the heat on low and scrambled the eggs with the corn tortilla chips. Making sure I cooked every last bit of egg.

I always keep salsa in the fridge. I made a batch of salsa verde earlier in the week. I chopped up onions, cilantro and pieces of avocado.  I plated my eggs and chips, added a large spoon full of salsa and sprinkled cotija cheese and there you have it... Chilequilles.

My  mom used to make this for us all the time. She called them "migas." Instead of chips, she would fry the corn tortillas.  I had brown rice tortillas and I could have baked them but having chips in the house and knowing how tempting they would be for me, I decided to just make a meal out of them.  It was delicious and satisfying.

I washed down my comida with a diet root beer.

Perfecto!  Then it was shower and William Levy and Dancing with the Stars. Man, that man is absolutely gorgeous... just sayin.

meal in a pan

Doesn't it feel great when you start out your week with lots of veggies and a good work out?

Monday morning, I made me a smoothie of spinch, protein poweder, plain soymilk and some frozen fruit. Then I was off to work at office #1. 

I had hoped to take a walk during my lunch hour but I  had to run to office #2. Whew, it's been 5 months doing two jobs and I've  yet to find a consistent way to get my workouts in at  noon. But I am not giving up... It will happen once I am feeling more confident in office #1.

I went to zumba after work and it felt great to move about. Then it was time to come  home and figure out dinner.  First, I needed to put a load in the washer.  What did I find in the garage?  Remnants of insolation everywhere.... I cleaned up a tiny bit and then headed to look in the fridge to see what I could eat.

I needed to think about lunch for the next day too so I grabbed a chicken sausage, onion, poblano pepper and a zuchini.  Diced them up and grabbed a skillet. Added a dollop of coconut oil and began to cook my "meal in a pan."

Added some fresh garlic as well...

\

I needed a little something more for my dinner and next day's lunch. I found some left over spanish rice that I made with fresh tomatoes, garlic and onion...

Tada.... Dinner and Lunch. 

This was delicious and then I thought, I should make something similar to this and stuff the poblano.... I am so happy I'm starting to create in the kitchen again. It's nothing fancy but it was cooked on my stove and not procured out of a drive through on a late night when it could have been easier.

Well, better get back to work. I'm sneaking in a break.

TTFN

forgive myself the imperfections of my body

Monday is the day I get my arce back in gear. It's been 3 weeks with no activity. Life happens and we roll with the punches.  It's rather warm in Sactown but that did not stop me.  I laced up my shoes and snapped this picture before heading out.

Ummmm--cankles is the first word that comes to mind and the second word is RAZOR... yea, someone needs to shave their legs.

I wore shorts today and my thighs are huge.  I passed a couple of co-workers and was instantly embarassed thinking they must be commenting to theirselves "damn!!! she's got some thights.." Then, I turned off the negative nilly that resides in my head.  The important thing here paula is that you get back in the swing of things and that means a walk, in shorts at lunch.

Off to the park I go... I am going to forgive myself the imperfections of my body.  Instead, I'll concentrate on the lovely latin crooning that that I am streaming through Pandora, and the feel of the cool breeze that comes now and then across my face as I make my way back to my office.  I feel happy that I am not squandering my lunch hour on the computer. I am taking comfort in knowing that I did something good for my soul and heart.

I could have easily gotten caught up in my thoughts and negative body image. I think we all can relate to that voice inside our head... the one that is not so nice and who is really good at pointing out our flaws and perfection. She can be a real "bitch" sometimes.  I kicked her to the curve and just lived. By doing this, I said to hell what others might think---or better yet, to hell with the negative nilly that resides in all of our heads.

Here's to just doing....

what I see behind my eyes

What is that saying?  Eyes are the doorway to the soul?   I can never remember sayings but that is what came to mind as I took my "self-portrait" this morning. I've been taking "self-portraits" this year to monitor how I am aging. Don't laugh okay? I'm gong to be the BIG ASS 50 in a couple of months.  Where did the freakin years go?  Half my life is over.... ("okay, paula, don't go there.  Climb down from the tree.")

Anyways, back to my self-portrait.

First thing I notice is my eyes.  They look sad.  I am tired and a tad weary, but I am not sad. 

or am I?

I have often said "activity and exercise has improved  my life immensely." I equate it with HAPPINESS.  Perhaps my eyes reflect that I have been "inactive" for 3 weeks. 

I do believe your eyes do say alot about you and luckily for me, with all these self-portraits I  have taken in my 49th year, I can monitor my feelings along with my aging process.  But I'll save my "musings on aginig" for another post. For now, I will concentrate on cheering up my soul.  I'm off to make a 30 day work-out plan. 

What do you see behind your eyes?  I challenge you to do self-portraits for a month.  Do a little self-discovery. 

Later, gators.

Dear Paula,

How did it feel moving into a rental after the kitchen fire and being displaced for almost a month?  Yes, I know moving is such a pain, but didn't it feel great to know where your chonies and bra were located as you dressed for work this morning? 

AWESOME is the only word that comes to mind.  With that, I'll end this post with a smile on my face. 

I am so looking forward to routine and setting small goals.  It feels great to be excited again...

peace out.