I have said it many times. Love this life. It’s the only one you have. Choose to live it well.
“Love the life you live. Live the life you love.”
– Bob Marley
Photo by Federico Fioravanti on Unsplash
Traveling is a passion of mine. I have wanted to see the world for as long as I can remember. My sister and I traveled to Poland together in 2008. My goals are to get to all 50 states by age 50, get to all seven continents, and see as many countries as possible. I am on my way having been to 44 states, 20 countries, and three continents. If you have questions about traveling please let me know! I would be happy to help as I am a licensed travel advisor, and I’d love to send you on your next journey! Follow me on Instagram!
Traveling is not a luxury, but an investment in yourself. Every journey is a deposit into the bank of personal growth, so invest in your soul, and the world will pay dividends in wonder and joy.
~ unknown
Photo by Luca Bravo on Unsplash
Why do we find it so easy to blame others? We blame others for our unhappiness. We blame them for our broken hearts. We blame them for our empty bank accounts. We determine it must be someone else’s fault because it can’t be our own. It’s so easy to say they didn’t visit so I am sad. They didn’t call me to say I’m sorry, so now I am upset. They didn’t ask me to come to the party so they must not like me, so now I am disappointed.
Yes, it is very easy to blame others when things don’t go our way. But let’s stop and take responsibility for our actions. Let’s ask ourselves about our behavior. Why am I unhappy? Why is my bank account empty? Why don’t people want to be around me? Am I a person who brings light and happiness into the room? Or do I walk in with a dark cloud over me like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh? Let’s ask ourselves which type of person we are and if others want to be around that type of person. Everyone is dealing with their own personal demons. Let’s be a light for each other.
Depression is a very real disease, and I am not discounting those feelings. But steps can be taken. We can ask for help. We can try therapy. We can read uplifting books. We can search for helpful articles to change our Mindset. We can work hard to change our negative view into a positive one. I believe we can take steps to pull ourselves out of the darkness and into the light. I know it’s hard to see it when you are down but you have to push through.
When bad things happen we immediately want to find someone to blame. We are upset and mad and need someone to take it out on. When most of the time it is not anyone’s fault. It is a bad thing that happened and we cannot go back and undo that action. All we can do is control OUR reaction to it.
I understand how we react with our hearts and emotions instead of with a deep breath and logic. We fly off the handle and usually make the terrible situation worse. Life happens. And sometimes we need to try to remember that it really is no one’s fault. Accidents happen. I don’t believe that people mean for others to get hurt. But does blaming others help? The incident happened. The action has been done. There is no one to blame. Let’s try to take a negative situation and turn it into a positive one. And let’s move on.
Many times we feel hurt because of what is going on inside of us. And many times we project things also because of what is going on inside of us. We need to fix ourselves first instead of blaming others.
When bad things happen let’s take a deep breath. Let’s think is this going to matter in five years? How much of an impact will it have on my life? Is it my situation to get involved in? If I were on the other side of the situation, how would I want that person to react? I think back to when I was single and dating, I would get so upset if a guy didn’t like me. I was crushed and thought I would never find someone. After an emotional breakdown, I had some amazing friends who would help me to think positively (Thank you LP, JW, and MA!). They would help me to see that we were two good people but not good together. They helped me see that God had a plan and that all these missteps would lead me to some bigger and better love. (And it took 10 years but it happened!) Sometimes we need to talk ourselves through bad situations. Sometimes we need some amazing friends who support us. And sometimes we need to let go of the hate and the blame.
Let’s ask ourselves if the hate we pour onto someone else is worth it. Do they deserve it? Is it really hurting them or are we just hurting ourselves with these pent-up negative emotions? If we let go of that person and the blame then can we feel better? Can we logically get past the situation? Can we learn to love this person or let them go? So many times a terrible situation can lead to something bigger and better. It is just very hard to see when we are in the middle of it. Let’s try to look forward and not backward.
It is hard. It is extremely hard not to react with emotion. But we need to try to take the situation and say the incident happened. Now what? How do I get through it? How do I make it better? Is there anything positive to see? Let’s stop the blame game and take responsibility for our actions and our situations. Let’s let go of the hate. I don’t believe it hurts anyone but ourselves.
Photo by Adi Goldstein on Unsplash
I am sure everyone out there has one pet peeve or another. According to the online Dictionary, a pet peeve is “something that a particular person finds especially annoying.” My pet peeve is people leaving their shopping carts all over the parking lot.
I am not sure why, but when I see a shopping cart in the middle of a parking lot, up on a curb, or anywhere other than in the return cart area, I get so mad. It seriously drives me bonkers. I don’t understand why we as Americans are so lazy that we cannot take a cart back to the store that we literally just walked out of. Is it going to cost you that much time? Can you not walk 20 feet to return the cart to a safe place? Seriously, you just walked out of the store. You can’t walk back in?
Whenever we park and I see a cart in a random place, I take it in with me or to the return cart area. Personally, I don’t want a gust of wind to take that cart and run it into my car or someone else’s. Do people not think of these things? Do they not care about their automobiles or those of others? I don’t have many pet peeves but this one drives me nuts.
Our neighbor came home from Home Depot recently and told us a shopping cart had hit his truck. He happens to be a dent repair specialist so he will be able to repair his automobile. But what about others who are not as lucky? I blame the individual who left the cart first and foremost, but I also blame Home Depot. They do not have a lot of safe places for people to return their carts to especially further away from the store. I mean why not put rails up to keep customers’ cars and trucks safe?
I do need to give kudos to Kroger. They have return carts areas about every five parking spaces. I understand this does cut down on parking spots, but I was relieved that my blood pressure didn’t skyrocket because of carts in random places because they were all safely in the return cart area!
It helps a little when the person at least secures the cart on a curb, but it drives me crazy when it’s four parking spots away from the return cart area!!! For example, these two carts are on the curb and the cart return is right on the other side of that truck. FIVE spaces away.
Anyway, whatever your pet peeve is I hope you find a way to get through it. I know it’s hard because my blood does boil when I see this. I try to give the person the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the person was injured or had an emergency and didn’t have 48 seconds to return their cart. I try to put good karma out there by taking as many random carts as I can back to the proper area. I hope this will inspire other people to do the same and maybe we can curb this random cart pet peeve of mine!
I posted recently about What we do at Home. This post is about how we eat and what we do on the Road. Because we are Never Home, we tend to eat out more than we would like to. Therefore, we have to be mindful and make good choices. If we happen to be staying at a place with a kitchen we will buy food and cook breakfast at home. Sometimes lunch and dinner too, depending on our situation.
My Love has to eat out more than I do. When he goes on a work trip he has to eat out for all of his meals including the catering on the plane. He has to make a conscious effort to eat as well as he can when he’s gone. When he orders his meals on the plane he will order eggs for breakfast, fish and veggies for dinner, or choose from a few other options. He doesn’t eat the bread or the dessert that comes with the meal. He will get a salad and a fresh fruit when he can. He takes protein bars and nuts with him to snack on. Eating on the road can be hard but good choices can be made.
When we eat out we have to make the effort to choose wisely from the menu. Salads with protein, fish and veggies, omelets with fruit instead of bread. We will split sandwiches sometimes. We will order chicken or hamburgers without the buns. There are little things you can do to make the meals a little bit healthier for you. We don’t order French fries. We don’t order desserts. We rarely order anything deep-fried. But that is us and that is how try to stay in shape with our gypsy lifestyle.
When we fly we almost always bring a bag of food with us. Usually, we have several baggies full of pulled-off chicken breast, homemade turkey/chicken sausages, fruit, nuts, and protein bars. Remember, you can bring your water bottle and refill it after you pass through security. You can also bring food and protein powder in your carry-on luggage. Just make sure it’s not liquid such as hummus or yogurt over the 3-ounce limit. Just know they may pull your bag to check out the food and protein powder, but it’s worth it to take healthy meals on the road.
This is how we do what we do on the road. Our lifestyle isn’t for everyone. We are gypsies and we love it! We also love being in shape and eating as clean as possible. Therefore, as much as we are “on vacation” we rarely eat like we are “on vacation”.
Of course, there is a time and place for everything. Please don’t think that we NEVER eat wings, ice cream, French fries, or pizza. We had pizza for breakfast at my sister-in-law’s over Christmas and took our friends to our favorite ice cream shop The Love Boat. We do enjoy our treats but certainly not every week and sometimes not even every month. I’d say we eat those things a few times a year. And to us we are satisfied.
Anyway, there is always a choice, a good choice, a better choice, and the best choice. For example, let’s say you decide to go to McDonald’s. The choice is a Big Mac and fries. A good choice is a grilled chicken sandwich without the bun or a fruit smoothie and then add your protein powder. A better choice would be a salad with balsamic vinaigrette. And the best choice is don’t go to McDonald’s 🙂
There are always substitutes or omissions. You can always say no bread, you don’t need to order fries, you can have fruit instead of a muffin, and you can add almond milk to your coffee instead of sugary creamers. There are ALWAYS options. You just have to ask for them and sometimes pay for them. The catch is people think eating clean and healthy is expensive. And yes, maybe it is a few dollars more. But let’s think if you don’t make healthy more expensive choices now, you may “pay” for it later when with hospital bills, heart attacks, or loss of a job, etc.
I hope this helps as there is a way to eat healthy while you are on the road and away from home. One other piece of advice is to limit your frequency of fast foods and soft drinks. The only fast food restaurant we go to when we are on the road and don’t have time to sit down and go somewhere local is Chick-fil-A. We get a chicken sandwich or nuggets and no fries and no milkshake. The only drinks we drink are coffee, water, and club soda with our tequila. If we need an energy drink, we drink Celsius or Bang. We believe that bread is one of the most fattening food items. Most American breads are filled with loads of sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
There you have it. Life is all about making choices and these are some of ours.
Photo by About Maps on Unsplash
A friend asked me how My Rock and I stay in shape when we are Never Home. I have written about our substitutions before but I thought I would share a little bit more of what we do when we are home.
I learned from the best trainer, Bill Lawrence, about how to fuel your body with food. What he preaches works for me and my husband. You can try it and tweak it and make it work for you. If you click on my What We Eat link you will find plenty of recipes of food that we eat and love! A nutritious lifestyle is NOT sustainable IF you don’t like the food you are eating. For us, this is what we do and how we eat. We don’t feel like it’s a diet or that it is hard. It’s just about making choices, and we make the best ones we can wherever we are.
Yes, it may take some time for your body to adjust to not eating as much sugar or seasoning with as much salt, but honestly, after you make a conscious effort to eat better, you will find most of your meals taste better!
When we are home, this is what we do. We like to cook together and eat at home. If we do eat out, we try to make the best choices with the options we have. We rarely order deep-fried food, pasta, wings, or pizza. We usually order salmon and a veggie. Or a salad with protein. (I will write more about what we do when we are on the road this month.) But when we are home, we get up in the morning, have a cup of coffee, and head to the gym. We use MCT oil and Premier or Quest liquid protein as our “creamer”. After we workout, we drink our post-workout protein shake immediately which contains collagen, dextrose, protein, and turmeric. My husband also adds creatine, glutamine, and BCAA’s. It is very important to get protein and carbs into your body after a good workout. During workouts, your muscles are broken down. You need the correct foods to build them back up.
We come home and about an hour later we make breakfast. Usually, we have Ezekiel toast with either a little bit of homemade jelly or nut butter and an egg and egg whites. Sometimes I will make a scramble filled with veggies. Sometimes instead of toast, we have sweet potatoes. Sometimes I will make an egg sandwich on a wrap and use a bit of feta cheese. Other times I will make chicken/turkey apple sausage. As Bill told us this meal should contain a high-energy carb and a good protein to replenish your body within two hours after your workout.
We should eat another high-energy carb and protein meal again another hour later but most of the time we start doing projects, and we don’t eat until lunchtime. Here we usually make a salad. I don’t love lettuce so I use the least amount possible of romaine and spinach. Then we add as many veggies as possible…red onion, tomato, carrots, cucumber, and a healthy fat of avocado, flaxseed, and a touch of dressing made from olive oil. We also add protein to it. Most likely leftover fish or chicken from the night before or we will use canned chicken breast or tuna. Many times we will get a rotisserie chicken from Costco. We take the skin off and peel it. Then we have the meat for the week to snack on, make wraps out of, or use on salads. This is also a great snack to pack along for travel.
In the afternoon, many times my Prince will make a fruit smoothie. We use frozen fruit, a cup of water or almond milk, and a scoop of vanilla protein powder. You could also add a handful of spinach here, chia seeds, or a drizzle of honey.
For dinner, we have a protein and a veggie. Our fish is very basic. We love salmon, sea bass, and tuna steak. We spray or rub with olive oil then sprinkle with Nature Seasons. Sometimes we will add a tiny bit of plant-based butter and a little scoop of minced garlic. If we have it in the house we may sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. The same goes for chicken breast or pork chops. A few times a month we will make steaks on the grill with some grilled asparagus. My Valentine has his special recipe for this marinade with olive oil, Worcestershire, and steak seasoning. You will have to bug him for that recipe. Our veggies are very simple as well. Mostly broccoli and cauliflower with olive oil or avocado oil and sprinkled with Nature Seasons. Spread on a baking sheet and back at 400 for 30 minutes. Simple! And they taste amazing!! I love eating the leftovers cold.
If we are hungry at night we will have a cup of nonfat Greek yogurt with a scoop of Podium Peanut Butter Crunch protein powder. Other snacks we keep in the house around include cottage cheese, carrots, cucumbers, and hummus as well as the flavored pistachios. We also have dark chocolate bark thins in case I get a sweet tooth. If you keep chocolate in the house just make sure you don’t overindulge.
So that is our home routine. If you don’t buy it, you can’t eat it. Be conscious when you go to the grocery store and fill your cart with fresh meat and veggies. Stay away from packaged food items. If your weeks are busy then take a day to food prep so you are ready for your week.
Remember, there is always room for improvement. We have been living this lifestyle for over six years. We are constantly trying to tweak it to meet our needs and to make better choices. Fresh fish and meat are better than canned. Fresh fruit is better than frozen. Email me with any questions. I’d love to help you on your health journey!
If you start buying fresh food you will realize you may go to the store more than once a week. And that is ok. Here is what our grocery list looks like each week:
- salmon
- sea bass
- chicken breast
- ground turkey or chicken
- green apple
- red onion
- sweet onions
- mushroom caps
- sliced mushrooms
- broccoli
- cauliflower
- asparagus
- sometimes brussel sprouts
- organic cage-free eggs
- egg whites
- sweet potatoes
- Ezekiel bread
- romaine lettuce
- spinach
- butter lettuce
- plant-based butter if we need it
This is what we do at home. There are several recipes out there and books about eating better in this new year! Check out our list of Favorites! Good luck with making better choices in this new year!
It is hard to take the leap of faith and make changes in your life, whether it be in your marriage, your career, your location, or your day-to-day activities. We get so caught up in routine that we don’t think we can change anything. Or we feel we HAVE to do things a certain way. Although it’s hard and it’s scary, you need to search deep within yourself. What do you want and how can you get there? What conversations do you need to have? What actions do you need to take? You have the power to change the direction of your life.
“Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.”
―Germany Kent
Photo by Javier Allegue Barros on Unsplash
Here’s a little workout you can do anytime during the 12 Days of Christmas. This workout can be done at home or in the gym. Get a head start on your New Year’s commitment of getting in shape!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Equipment Needed
*Remember all equipment is optional and there are several substitutions you can use for “weight”
- dumbbell
- kettlebell
- ab mat
The Workout
In today’s workout, you will start with one movement and add on each round. So in this case, you will start with 1 seal jack. The next round would be 2 thrusters and 1 seal jack. The next round is 3 push-ups, 2 thrusters, and 1 seal jack. Then 4 step-ups, 3 push-ups, 2 thrusters, and 1 seal jack. And it goes on until you work your way from 12 down to 1. The movements are:
- seal jack
- thrusters
- push-ups
- step-ups
- bicep curls
- kettlebell swings
- sit up or crunch
- rows
- jumping jacks
- lunges
- tricep dips
- burpees
How to Do the Moves
Message me if you need help understanding the moves. Also, feel free to change the moves and make this workout work for you!
Don’t forget to warm-up. Make this workout work for you! Don’t be afraid to switch some of the exercises around to meet your needs.
A friend told me I should publish this letter every year so I thought I would share it again for those who missed it the first time or for those who may need to read it again at this time of year. Even though many of us have family or friends who are no longer in our lives for a variety of reasons, I hope we can rejoice and celebrate those who are. Celebrate each other and your relationships whether it’s someone you talk to once a day, once a month or once a year. If they bring joy and light to your world, tell them how much you appreciate them. For those who shed a shadow of darkness on your light, let them go. Live this life that’s meant to be lived this holiday season and the upcoming new year.
Prior Post
The Holidays. We all seem to love them. We have many expectations for them. Some of us have a lot of anxiety for them. Some of us have lost loved ones through the years, and we seem to miss them the most during the holidays. Let us try to rejoice and be happy this holiday season. Let’s honor our lost loved ones by keeping their spirit alive with love and laughter. To try to deal with loss and anxiety I decided to write a letter from above. Imagine this letter being sent to you by your lost loved one.
Dear loved one on Earth,
I know this is a difficult time for you. You want me to be there in person and not just in spirit. You want to hear me laugh and give me a big squeeze. I, too, want that more than anything. But I also want you to understand how much I want you to be happy even though I am gone.
I feel like you are holding yourself back. Maybe you are afraid that you will disappoint me if you are too happy without me down there. Maybe you feel I will be disappointed if you have too much fun. Maybe you are scared that my memory will fade if you enjoy yourself and other people around you. Please know that is the furthest thing from the truth.
The way you can honor me the most is by living your best life!! As you know time on Earth is limited and you never know when your time will be up. I am at peace. I am happy. I am having the best time reuniting with all of our lost loved ones. I am no longer in pain. I am free. I am young. I am waiting for you. You, too, will see when your time comes how wonderful it is here in Heaven.
Please know I have not forgotten about you, and I still hold you tight whenever I get the chance. I am by your side every day. I hold your hand when you are lonely, and I pick you up when you have fallen. I send you signs from Heaven. But I see your struggles, and I know it is my fault you are so sad, and I don’t want you to be sad. I want you to live! I need you to search your soul and find yourself. Who are you now? Who can you become? How can you honor me and my spirit?
Even though it may be hard, please know that I am ok. And now I want you to be ok. I want you to find a companion or partner to make you happy. I want you to find friends where you can laugh and giggle until all hours of the night. I want you to take chances and travel. Go on a wild adventure. And when you think of me, think of me and smile. Don’t feel guilty. Life is meant to be lived and you need to start living again.
So for the upcoming holidays, give yourself grace. You are not alone. I am by your side and I love you. Talk about me, smile about the amazing memories we shared, and start this new year by living your best life… without me.
Love,
Your Loved One in Heaven
Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash
Last week I wrote a post wishing my sister a Happy Heavenly Birthday which also was Why I Launched on August 8 three years ago. Therefore, my blog is now three years old! Happy Birthday to me! We have made some changes over the years as I started with Daily Inspirations five times a week, Weekly Wednesday Workouts, and Friday Fixins. Those posts are still there and there are plenty of workouts to get you started on your fitness journey as well as recipes to help you eat better and feel better!
After about a year of blogging and after Gram passed away, our lives got a little busier. I wasn’t home taking care of her, and I was going on more adventures with my Prince. I continued to try to get posts out every week. I started doing posts on Tuesdays about Family, my Adventures with Gram, our Travels, and being a Pilot’s Wife. I also started doing Weekly Wednesday Words just once a week instead of daily.
This third year has been filled with even more adventures and the blog has been less consistent. I know I should be capturing our adventures but sometimes it’s so hard to find the time to write! Thank you for continuing to follow me.
As you know I had a meeting with the Medium. He told me I needed to start writing and working on a book. I hate to not do my blog because I love writing these posts for you. But I also would like to write a book, too. Therefore, the posts may be even more inconsistent. Thank you to those who already have but, I suggest subscribing to the blog by going to the main page here and scrolling down about halfway. Look at the right side and you will see where you can put in your name and email and Subscribe! That way you won’t miss the posts whenever they come out!
I wish you the best of the rest of your summer and those who have started school already, I wish you a happy, healthy school year!
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash