Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
Equipment Needed
- Dumbbell or some type of weight for front squat
- ab mat
- stopwatch or clock
Weekly Wednesday Workout
In today’s workout, you will have three minutes to complete 50 jumping jacks, 10 abs, and 10 front squats. Once you finish, you rest until the next three-minute interval starts. If you finish too quickly (meaning you have over 1 minute of rest) then add on another 50 jumping jacks. If you don’t finish within three minutes then cut the number of jumping jacks. You should have about 45 seconds to rest. You will start the workout at 0:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00, and 12:00.
- 50 jumping jacks
- 10 abs of your choice
- 10 front squats
How to Do the Moves
Click here. Remember there are always modifications. Let me know if you need help or suggestions. Don’t forget to warm-up. Make this workout work for you!
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.
– Albert Einstein
I don’t remember where I was when my sister told me she had cancer. She was 37 years old. She felt a cyst. The doctors removed it and that’s when they discovered it was malignant. We were all in shock. We couldn’t believe this was happening. Our family went through a nine-year battle with lung cancer with my dad from 2003-2012. We couldn’t believe it was happening again.
The doctors could not find the primary source of my sister’s cancer, yet they wanted to treat it aggressively. She started treatment at the beginning of 2017. She had two major surgeries that spring. One which was over 20 hours. But she was so strong she pulled through and went home just a few days later even though we almost lost her on the table.
I couldn’t believe how strong she was as she battled cancer and went through treatment. She would have surgery and be home in the next few days taking care of her kids, working as a nurse, and being a great wife.
We all thought and prayed that she would kick cancer’s ass. She fought so hard but it seemed the more surgery they did, the more aggressive it became. In the end, she was hospitalized and became jaundice. She came home, and we tried to get her hospice care. She was coherent, loving, and talked about continuing the fight but she was very weak and her body was ravaged. I thought for sure she would get stronger. We talked about future plans and possible treatment options.
Although at times I regret I didn’t pack up Gram and leave PA sooner, I was glad we got to spend her last six days with her. My boyfriend (who later became my husband), and I tried to distract the kids from her failing health by taking them to the park. We continued to try to make life as normal as possible, but they knew something was terribly wrong.
Less than a week after she came home from the hospital, we lost her. We were all there by her side as she took her last breath. Her son was only two and a half so he didn’t really understand. Her daughter who was five was crushed as we all were. It was the most difficult thing I have had to watch. Even though we were there when my dad and my grandfather went, seeing such a terrible disease take such a young life was devasting.
Looking back I wonder if I could have or should have done something different. With my dad, I had nine years to process it. I came home as often as I could from Virginia to spend time with him. I went to Virginia as often as I could from Pennsylvania to see my sister, but looking back I wish I would have gone more. I just thought I would have more time. I never thought she would be gone in just 18 short months.
My advice to you is to take the time to do the things that are important to you. Don’t miss visiting family or friends because you are too busy or you are holding a grudge for some reason. Make the time. Seize the moment and enjoy it. You never know when that moment to see them will be gone.
Certain things in life simply have to be experienced – and never explained. Love is such a thing.
-Paulo Coelho
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.
-Bernard Baruch
Because my husband graduated from The Ohio State University, we usually get together with other alumni to watch football games. Usually, we go to the restaurant where the alumni club meets but this year was a bit different and instead of going to the club we rotated watching the games at each other’s houses. One Saturday afternoon, my husband made Cowboy Caviar, and it was delicious. I am not sure where he got the recipe, but this is what we did. Check out other options for Cowboy Caviar here.
Ingredients
- 1 can of black-eyed peas
- 1 can of other beans of your choice (we did black beans)
- 1 can of corn
- 1 bunch of green onions
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 2 large tomatoes
- 2 avocados (optional)
DRESSING
- 1 Tablespoon Tabasco sauce
- 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons salad oil (the recipe said not Olive Oil but we used Olive Oil)
- 2 Teaspoons garlic salt (we used garlic powder)
- Black pepper to taste
Stacy’s Suggestions and Preparation
- In a large bowl, whisk tabasco sauce, red wine vinegar, salad oil, garlic salt, and black pepper.
- Drain and rinse black-eyed peas and corn kernels.
- Chop green onions and cilantro.
- Dice tomatoes into 1/2″ cubes.
- Add all dressing mixture and gently stir to coat- do not overmix!
- We added the avocado right before we served the dish to keep it from getting brown but you can add it to the dressing mixture if you like.
- Chill for two hours.
- Service with chips of your choice. We like whole-grain Tostitos Scoops.
- The next day we put the leftovers into a crockpot with more diced tomatoes and grass-fed ground beef to make a chili of sorts. So good!
- Enjoy!
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.
-Mother Teresa
Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.
-Winston Churchill
Equipment Needed
- ab mat
- resistance band or dumbbells
Weekly Wednesday Workout
In today’s workout, you will do three small workouts moving right from one into the other. You will do 21-15-9 reps of squats and lunges then 21-15-9 reps of bicep curls and tricep dips right into 21-15-9 reps of standing abs and plank taps.
21-15-9 reps of:
- squats
- lunges
21-15-9 reps of:
- curls
- tricep
21-15-9 reps of:
- standing abs
- plank taps
How to Do the Moves
Click here. Remember there are always modifications. Let me know if you need help or suggestions. You can always add weight to make the movements more challenging. Don’t forget to warm-up. Make this workout work for you!