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As you know we try to eat better to move better. We had the best avocado toast at a little breakfast place in St. Augustine called Uptown Swinery. It was so good! Today, I made breakfast at our beach condo in Carolina Beach, NC. I added an over-easy egg to it. So it becomes messy but so delicious! Try it out!

Ingredients

  • 1 slice of Ezekiel bread
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1 egg
  • 5 grape tomatoes cut in half
  • sprinkle to taste Everything Bagel Seasoning

Stacy’s Suggestions and Preparation

  1. Make an over-easy egg.
  2. Toast your bread.
  3. Cut up grape tomatoes.
  4. Cut avocado in half.
  5. Once the toast is done, spread avocado on it.
  6. Add your egg.
  7. Add grape tomatoes.
  8. Sprinkle on seasoning.
  9. Enjoy!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

Yesterday my dad would have turned 71. He has been gone 10 years meaning he was only 60 years old when cancer took him from us. It is hard to believe he’s been gone that long. We miss him every day and wish he was here to spend time with us and his grandchildren. He would have such a blast watching them play softball and baseball.

my dad at christmasMy dad fought lung cancer for 9 years. Again, it’s hard to believe that he was only 51 years old when his battle began. I was in my twenties when it started. He wasn’t old but it seemed he had lived a lot of life. Now that I am four years away from being 50 I realize how young he was and how much of life there was still to live.

I have said it before but the lesson learned from him passing away so young was that I promised myself I would live life to the fullest. I was going to be a Yes Girl! I was going to be responsible with my money but also spend what was needed to travel and see the world as much as I could. I was going to enjoy myself and be as happy as possible. Back in my twenties and thirties, I was probably also a little more daring about how risky I was going to live this life! Oh, how times have changed.

Now in my forties, I have much more freedom from a work schedule to live life to the fullest, but my mind and fear also get in the way of doing things that 10 years ago I wouldn’t have thought twice about doing. I also met my Rock who enjoys life as much as I do. Sometimes I think we have too much fun but I think that’s better than not enjoying life at all.

So today I just wanted to give a shout-out to my dad up there in Heaven. I hope you all celebrated with a nice big campfire. I hope you had a shot and beer. And I hope you keep looking down on all of us and know we are living our lives to the fullest because of you. Love and miss you, Dad.

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

I know it’s been a while since I did a post from our Friday Fixins, but we have been cleaning up our Fort Myers house and our neighborhood for the past two weeks due to Hurricane Ian. Therefore, today’s post is a delicious recipe. Even as we clean up, we try to stick to our nutrition plan. Tonight, we had wild salmon from Costco, roasted broccoli, and zucchini noodles with butter and parmesan cheese. We washed it down with one of our wedding wines, Amici. Tasty!

salmon with wine

We preheat our oven to 400 degrees. We use cookie sheets for both the fish and veggies. We line the baking sheets with aluminum foil and parchment paper for easier cleanup. We use olive oil or avocado oil spray and Nature’s Seasons on everything!

Once the sheets are lined, we wash the broccoli and chop it up into a bowl. We spray with oil and season. We mix it up, spray it again and season it again. Do this a few times until you find the flavor you like. Then spread it on a lined baking sheet and put it in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

Next, wash the fish. We use a paper towel to dry. Then put it on a baking sheet. Spray the top and season with a little bit of butter, a couple of pinches of garlic, salt, pepper, and parmesan cheese if you like.

When the timer goes off, stir up the broccoli and put the fish in the oven. Set timer for 15 minutes.

When there are about 7 minutes left on the time, microwave your frozen zucchini noodles in the bag. Once done, drain and season with salt and pepper. We added a bit of butter and parmesan cheese to ours.

Once the final timer goes off, scrape off the bottom skin of the salmon if you prefer. Pile up your veggies high and eat up!! Enjoy!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

My therapist said to me once that you can communicate your feelings to someone but if their listening window isn’t open they aren’t going to hear you. Communication is the first step but making sure they understand your needs is the second.

I used to think communication was key until I realized comprehension is. You can communicate all you want to someone but if they don’t understand you, it won’t reach them the way you need it to.

~ unknown

Photo by LinkedIn Sales Solutions on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

Two weeks ago, I went to one of my best friend’s daughter’s wedding at the beach. It’s hard to believe my friends’ children are now old enough to be getting married. But I guess the older they get the older we get. How can it be??

There are four of us from my home town who are very close. We have known each other since Kindergarten, and we have kept in touch throughout the years. Even though our paths have gone different ways when we get together it’s like nothing has changed. And honestly, even though it’s been 28 years since we graduated high school I still feel like we all look and act the same! So how any of us have young adult children is beyond me.

wedding ladies

When I moved back to my hometown in 2016 I had the pleasure of coaching two of my best friends’ daughters in softball. It was a lot of fun to get to know my friends again and to get to know their mini me’s. I am so proud of them for raising such wonderful kids. Their children are happy, confident, and funny. I know they had hard times and probably thought they would lose it now and again, but I hope they feel a sense of accomplishment and hope for their little ones. I feel like their children are some of the sweetest, smartest, and most compassionate people I know. And hopefully, my friends know it’s because of the hard work they put in. And I like that the kids like to hang out with us! (Even if we embarrass them a time or two!)

It’s amazing how fast time goes! I remember when they were born! And now they are growing up and starting their adult lives. I am beyond happy for all of them.

wedding on the beachThe wedding was in Sandbridge, Virginia. The weather was absolutely perfect all weekend. The sky was breathtaking and the pictures were amazing. The bridal party and families stayed in a huge house right on the beach. We stayed in another one called the “Stupa.” A few other family members stayed close by. It was such a nice relaxing weekend. (For us anyway:))

I also realized as old as we get, we will probably never grow up. We had so much fun at the reception around the pool that evening. We sang we danced, we laughed, we gasped when the “kids” played some songs with some very shocking lyrics, and we even shed some tears. One of my friends and I sang one of our favorites by the Jets called “Crush on You“. Everyone must have been a little tipsy because no one told us how awful we sounded! We knew every word by heart and decided we need to repeat the performance at the hometown reception later in October. We might even add some dance moves.

I can’t say enough how much I appreciate these friendships with these amazing women. We have been there for each other through thick and thin. We have suffered loss, had health scares, had weddings, and been through divorces. There is no one I would rather do it with than these three. Love you, ladies!

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy

 

It’s hard not to have hurt feelings when someone doesn’t like you or someone has done hurtful things to you. But keep your head high and know that you don’t need hurtful people in your life. Get rid of the toxic relationships and cherish those that love you and lift you up.

Don’t worry about the people who hurt or hate you, worry about the people who love you, because that’s where your happiness is.

www.yourpositiveoasis.com

Photo by D Jonez on Unsplash

Stay Strong & Be Inspired, Stacy