A quiet day at last...

Finally, with a good night’s sleep under my belt, I awoke ready to face the day. Sleep is essential for me to be at my best, and when I haven’t slept well in a few nights, it really wears on me during the day.

Made Norwegian pancakes served with fresh organic blueberries (a special treat) and strawberries - yumm! for me and the boys to break fast with.

Then out to the yard for a bit of weed pullin’. It rained quite a bit while we were gone-yea! but that also brings vegetation in unwanted places-boo! So the fam spent the day getting at least a portion of the yard under control. It wasn’t so daunting with all of us pitching in.

Lunch was turkey hot dogs sans bun, organic cherries and rice crackers. The Man and I made pizza for dinner. We use the dough recipe from Cook Right but we make it with all whole spelt flour instead of half white spelt, half whole spelt. We top our pizza with basil pesto, which we buy by the case and keep in the freezer and then thaw for when we need it. I don’t like to freeze many foods but pesto deteriorates rapidly in the refrigerator. On top of the pesto went chopped onion, steamed veggies - carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, summer squash...and olives, my biggest nemesis- more on that later. Everyone likes mozzarella cheese so we added that too. I also marinated some beef fajita meat (skirt steak) in a BT friendly teriyaki sauce for the carnivores, well, omnivores. A very satisfying meal I must say.

I do need to eat snacks during the day and today I had a couple pieces of delicious rice cinnamon rice bread spread with organic cream cheese, tamari almonds with dried cranberries, rice crackers, and frozen pineapple. I have resorted to frozen organic pineapple because the fresh ones are almost always rotten in the center.

While I am rattling on about my food choices, let me just say that I cannot overestimate the value of keeping a daily food log. The days that I actually write down what I eat makes a huge difference in what I choose to eat. I guess it ‘keeps me honest’. If I know I have to be accountable for my choices, food that makes it into my mouth is most often consciously chosen. It really does make me think,” Now, do I really need this corn chip or is there a better choice right now?” I know it is a commitment to keep a daily log, and I do not do it every day, but I am amazed at how compliant I am when I do.

My first hike upon returning home from vacation was with my friend the mountain goat. She is getting in shape for leading some day hikes in a nearby mountain town. We went on a trail that I have often heard about but never tried. It is rated fairly easy since it doesn’t have much elevation gain, but I found it quite difficult. I have since taken my family there and they thought it difficult as well. We have hiked trails rated moderate to difficult that we found quite easy. Go figure. This trail has some beautiful over looks on unspoiled redrock formations that are breathtaking. It also has a side trail that climbs to an ‘intermittent waterfall’. I thought all water in Colorado was intermittent, but this waterfall was indeed magical. It was set back in a small canyon, and was a small trickle of a stream that spread across the surface of a huge rock face about a couple stories high covered with green moss, a rarity here in the Southwest. The waterfall reminded me of those desktop Zen water fountains where the water flows over a a slab of sandstone. Very peaceful and relaxing.

One of my (very) long-term goals is to get in shape enough over the next few years to join the Fourteener’s Club, a hiking club that hikes the Peaks in Colorado over 14,000 feet. There are about 26 mountains here over 14,000 feet, most of them accessible to the summit by trail. It is a big dream for me, but it is something I always wanted to do.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blogs. I truly appreciate all the questions and positive comments I have received.

Be Well.