My Trip to LA

LA in this case means...Lower Alabama (sort of).  Our 2nd trip of the year was at Florence Marina State Park, about 2 hours south of us, west of Fort Benning, right on the Georgia-Alabama state line, bumped up against the Chattahoochee River.  Still don't know where we were?  That's ok.  It was literally the middle of NO-WHERE.

No problem, though, because...

Of course, we forgot a couple things...and surely there was a town nearby to pick them up.  NOPE!  Jeff coined it, "Lumpkin: Where hope goes to die."  There was barely gas in the nearby town, let alone some last minute meds and creams we needed (ugh, don't ask).

ANYWHO, we had a great site, off of the water.  Not super shady, though, and definitely can see how HOT and HUMID it probably gets during the summer.  The gators don't mind the weather, and that means it's a fishing and boating (not swimming) kind of place if you ask me!

On Saturday, we headed just a few miles down the road to Providence Canyon State Park.  It was magnificent.

You could hike around the rim, or down into the canyone and squish through the sandy, running water of any of 6 canyon hikes.  So cool!  Unfortunately, "someone" (me) forgot the camera so this is the only photo we have.  This is definitely a must-do-again trip.

Finally, on Sunday we picked up THREE geocache logs hiking the nature trail by the water - and also set a new Travel Bug out into the wild.  Travel well good buddy!

Camping Meals

Eating healthy and going camping do not have to be mutually exclusive.  I know it seems counter intuitive (hot dogs, smores, chips) but you can still remain committed to eating healthfully while roughing it. Combine that with my two favorite activities (hiking and swimming, not napping and watching Homeland) and your weekend will be perfectly on plan!

Here are some easy camping weekend meals to get you started.  Oh, and seriously, just buy a Coleman stove and a nonstick pan.  And white gas and a lighter.

Friday night arrival - it's late and you're hungry. Whip these up super fast!

Egg salad sandwiches plus Cheetos (Jeff) and crudites (Jess)
- make with light wheat bread and light Miracle Whip, and boil the eggs on Thursday night with your awesome microwave egg cooker

Shredded pork sandwich plus chips or canned baked beans
- cook a pork loin in the crock pot while you're at work on Friday (1 tsp oil in the bottom plus Rendevous seasoning, dump and cook on low 6-8 hrs), then pack it in a container to heat and shred in a pan with bbq sauce upon arrival!

Ravioli with sauce
- Boil water, add ravioli and cook, strain, add jarred sauce

Beef Tacos
Cook beef and add seasoning...make tacos with all the fixins or just cheese (however you like)

Saturday lunch...trail lunch of nuts and/or protein bar, or one of the below ideas

Saturday dinner...presumably you have some time but who wants to spend more than 30 minutes cooking?

Salmon and couscous - pan fry plus boxed mix and a salad
Jambalaya with brussel sprouts - use frozen already cooked chicken and sausage to speed things up
Spaghetti - see ravioli description
Chili and fritos - the 4 can dump method
Pizza pie irons - advanced technique!  Uses campfire to cook
Bring your own grill or make sure your campsite has one (and don't forget briquettes and lighter fluid)
Hamburgers and hot dogs with popchips (Hebrew National 97% fat free dogs and light buns)
Bone in chicken breasts with wild rice and green beans
Pork chops with couscous and broccoli
Steak and baked potatoes with sugar snap peas

Breakfast is dependant on what the rest of the activities will be...mix and match as you please.
Pancakes, Bacon - use the add water and shake mix
Scrambled eggs and Bacon
Yogurt and fruit
Oatmeal / granola
Bagel with cream cheese

Other snacks!  Be careful with these...
Cheese sticks
Popcorn
Smores
Clif bars / Larabars
Oreos
Nuts
Skinny cow snacks
Apples or dried / frozen fruit

Inaugural 2013 Camping Trip

Well, well, well.  What do we have here?  SPRINGTIME!  (Pine Pollen time.)

We took our camper out for the FIRST trip of 2013 a few weekends back, over President's Day.  Hello FLORIDA!!!  We went to Torreya State Park, just over the Florida Georgia Line (anyone else love that band, BTW) and it was beautiful!

We had a great spot, super secluded, and had fun with each other and the outdoors - we went hiking and geocaching (of course), drove about an hour Wakulla Springs State Park to see a super deep spring and a boat tour.  GATORS!  OSPREY!  HUSINGA?  OTHER STUFF!  SO COOL!

We also met up with our friends Jed, Anna, and little Owen and hiked some more, then headed into Tallahassee for dinner with them.

Most importantly - we did not freeze our butts off at night, got to sleep in a real bed, and had a wonderful time.  More camping trips are coming...it's SPRINGTIME!

I Deserve It.

Do you get to the end of a long day or a long week and look at wine / pizza / cookies / brownies / cheese / crackers / etc and think, "Yep, I worked my ass off. I deserve this"? 

I do. 

But I'm working on this.

Because I also deserve to go up a flight of stairs while chatting with a coworker and not huff n puff.

I deserve the chance to carry a baby.

I deserve to shop at Macy's.

I deserve to learn to ride a horse without worrying I will hurt it.

I deserve to provide emotional support to my family and friends without being physically exhausted at the end of the day.

I deserve to buy sexy stuff at Victoria's Secret.

I deserve to breathe better, even with stupid ass-mar.

I deserve to be the person I see in my head.

And hopefully all of that outweighs deserving to have cookies. 

(Like I said, I'm working on this...)

Smoky Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

We are NOT snowed in here in Atlanta - hahahaha Mom & Dad - but even so, Sundays are my favorite days to put something in the crock pot regardless of the weather.

Last weekend I made a version of Weight Watchers veggie soup - chicken broth plus all my leftover, soon-to-go-bad veggies in the fridge.

This weekend I'm trying a recipe from Fitness magazine...it smells sooooo good....can't wait to eat it for lunch this week!

Smoky Black Bean & Sweet Potato Chili

Makes 6-8 servings...7 servings is 7 Points Plus Values

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 15-oz cans low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1-1/2 cups frozen corn
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
maybe a little water if everything looks too dry

Coat the inside of the crock pot with olive oil.  Combine everything, stir, and cook on low for 8 hours.

You can top it with cheese and fresh cilantro (1PPV) if you want.  YUM!

Vacation Planning

I have the Travel Bug!!!  One of the great benefits of working for an airline...you can fly and vacation pretty last-minute.

We haven't taken advantage of the travel perks that much this past year, since we have been camping and hiking, and hanging out in our camper-investment (hello, we do not have infinite disposable cash-ola!).

But...sometimes you just gotta get outta town...and now that Mom and Dad had their grand adventure in Hawaii (!!!) it's really gotten me jealous...and wanting to go somewhere!

I think the Tulip Festival in The Netherlands countryside / Amsterdam in early April is on the docket, but probably as a full Kienow trip (even AMY! possibly. maybe. although I haven't asked her yet.).

But where else should we go?  NOT domestic.  NOT Mexico.  NOT too cold.  NOT too far (less than 9 hours flight please).  DIRECT from Atlanta. 

My initial thoughts - 1) Madrid; 2) Turks & Caicos; 3) Costa Rica; 4) Belize; 5) Other suggestions?

What do ya'll think?  Or should we go somewhere else in Europe (in the winter (brrr))...maybe London?  This does look wonderful though, huh?...

What to NOT have

I'm trying something a little new.  I believe I have come to rely a bit too much on pre-packaged foods...even though I was tracking points, etc, I have NOT been seeing the results I wanted.  And I'm not just talking loss, I'm talking overall more awareness of healthy-ness!

And - since we are trying to increase our fertility, I'm being a lot more sensitive to all of the added toxins, hormones, antibiotics, pesticides, obesogenic, estrogen dominant environmental factors, and anything else that might help me out...

So I am going back to "mostly" whole foods:
- Soy Free
- Gluten Free as possible, aka Limited Gluten
- No artificial sugars
- No added colors, especially Red #40
- No MSG
- BPA free water bottles
- BPA free rubbermaid storage containers (for all my leftovers!)
- Glass or tetrapak containers of packaged stuff when possible (especially "canned" tomatoes)
- Organic Chicken
- Organic, Free Range Eggs
- Organic, Grass Fed Beef
- Sustainable fish, if possible, and pouches of tuna
- Organic "Dirty Dozen" produce (and Non Organic for all other fruits & veggies)

• Apples
• Celery
• Bell Peppers
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Nectarines
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Blueberries
• Potatoes

I'm actually REALLY surprised how easy this has been so far.  Although the list is kind of long, it's not that much more expensive to swap out a few items, and is being offset by saving on a lot of the prepackaged stuff I was having.  I think these guidelines will also encourage me to eat more whole foods, and hopefully cook more at home as well, as that's how I truly know what I am getting.

We'll see how it goes!

Try Living a Cliche

You know I love me some Jillian.  As in Jillian Michaels.  Yes, the Biggest Loser trainer / yeller / motivator.

But I truly am beginning to subscribe to her way of thinking (more on that later).  I listen to her podcasts while commuting to and from work...and really loved this concept she talked about, "Try living a cliche" (the September 15th episode if you want to download it).

It got me thinking...what if we really did live out common cliches?  In a totally not ironic, not sarcastic, not cynical, not attitude-y way?  Just for a day?  Or a week?

Live each day like it's your last.

You get out what you put in.

Each day, each moment, is a choice.

This week, I'm going to hang up my snotty remarks, and try to be my better - MORE POSITIVE - self. 

The Dreaded Holiday Weight Gain

Well, I gained over the holidays.  I'm talking about the period from early December to mid-January...cuz who celebrates ONLY Christmas Day?

My gain was 6.4 lbs.  SHEESH.  That's a lot.  (I did swinging things with kettlebells yesterday and the 10-pounder was torture!)

My loss at my weigh in last night was 2.4 lbs. 

I've been back ON the wagon (mostly) since right after Christmas but for a variety of reasons have not been officially able to weigh in.  So it's possible my post-Christmas gain was even more...which makes my loss even more important!

So far this week I've been able to stick to my plans pretty well - working out over lunch, and eating ONLY what I have packed in my lunchbox (ahem, not sneaking my samples out of procrastination).  (But just LOOK at the temptation!)

This weekend will be cold (for Atlanta), so I'm looking forward to Zumba tomorrow morning, and a few naps with my kitty!!!  What are your plans?

My first 5K!

Many of you might know that I signed up before Christmas for the Hot Chocolate 5K/15K run in Atlanta.

Thinking it would be motivation to keep on track and work out over the holidays...was a good plan...

But I knew if nothing else, I could WALK IT!.  AND SO I DID!!!

It was so close.  On Saturday night, I nearly - NEARLY - chickened out.  I was so, so, so nervous...about driving, parking, logistics, getting there on time, being early, checking my gear, meeting up with friends, finding my corral, and getting done in my time allotted.

Actually, we went to bed and Jeff still wasn't sure if I would be up at 5AM for it.

But thanks to my great co-worker Kathy and her daughter Lola, I knew I would have walkers waiting with me to do it.

Aren't we excited!!  We were at like, mile 2.9 and at the top of the LAST HILL!!

Guess who else I knew was waiting for me?  ADPI girls!  They were all runners though...

The race started (and ended) at Turner Field, home of the Braves.  The 5K folks went first by corral (I was in G), with the 15K folks following.  As our corral approached the start line, I was so grateful to see my friends Elaine, Scott, and Matt cheering us on and high fived us as they waited to start the 15K.

When you crossed the start line, your bib registered your start time, so it was a bit of a mad dash but not too bad.  Then the first hill!  WOWZA!  I didn't train well enough for the hills...but got an amazing view I will never ever forget...looking up the hill and see this huge mass of 20,000 people of all shapes and sizes running under the Olympic rings.  Amazing.

The best part of the race - other than finishing - was this super yummy finishers mug!  Complete with lots of Ghirardelli melted chocolate, whole chocolate, chocolate in liquid form, and dipping stuff (marshmallows, rice krispie bar, pretzels, banana)...YUM.

I was nervous, excited, cold, anxious, sweaty, happy, and PROUD of myself for finishing!!!  I think I'm hooked!