Monday Meanderings: The 11 Pound Edition

Hey Everyone! Hope you guys had a great weekend 🙂 We are just steam-rolling through March, aren’t we? And to everyone who will have problems adjusting this week to the lost hour of sleep from last night, solidarity my friends. This week will be tough for all of us 😉

So, I’ve mentioned that I am making changes with my eating habits to feel better. I have also started exercising. Not as often as I would like, but something is always better than nothing right? Well suffice to say, I’ve lost weight! 🙂 Since the last time I weighed myself which was back in the middle of January, I have lost 11 pounds!!! Woo hoo! Heck yeah, baby! I totally am not someone who weighs themselves on a religious basis and I also do not think a scale tells the full story. I always judge my weight loss by how my clothes fit, and I noticed that they have become looser and I can finally fit into a pair of jeans I haven’t worn in over a year. *cue all the happiness emojis you can think of* I am still not at an ideal weight that I would personally like, but that’s okay.  I am just going to keep doing what I have been doing and take it day by day. Slow and steady wins the race, right? 🙂

Easter is this month and I need to figure out what we are doing. At least I got my daughter’s Easter basket taken care of, so that’s good. No last-minute runs to the store to get overpriced stuff!

Speaking of the kiddo, we’ve been playing Chutes and Ladders. One of those weird time warp things that happen when you become a parent and are playing board games with your kid that you yourself played as a child.

On the book front, I am currently reading W is For Wasted by the talented Sue Grafton. This book is the latest in the alphabet mystery series which I really enjoy reading. I am hooked so far!

Super glad that baseball season is back, even if it is only the spring training pre-season games 🙂 I plan on making it to an actual game this summer now that I am back in California. Go Angels!!!

What is going on in your world? I want to know!

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Amaze Yourself

There are many sweet moments to parenting and some not-so-sweet moments. But one of the things I am in awe of about my daughter is her self-confidence. At five years-old, there is nothing she can’t do, or so she says to herself. “Mommy, I can help you with that”. “Mommy, I can do this”. “Mommy, I can do that”. She is confident she can do whatever she puts her mind to, because no one has ever told her different.

No one has ever told her different, not even herself.

Because that’s what happens as we get older, right? We are our own worst critic. We tell ourselves that we can’t do something, we tell ourselves that we are incapable of doing something, we tell ourselves that we’ll never be good enough. Why are we so negative to ourselves? Why do we treat ourselves so shabbily, in ways that we would never treat another human being?

Self-confidence is not overrated; it is a necessity.

If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? If you don’t believe you can do it, how can someone else believe you can? If you don’t believe you can be amazing, how can someone else know that amazing person lurking underneath?

If you knew how capable you are, you’d stop worrying and start amazing yourself. -Shannon Kaiser

You, yes you, are an amazing individual. You’ve got it going on and don’t even realize it.

Somehow after childhood ends, and we enter those awkward teenage years, our self-worth begins to take a hit. Maybe somebody made fun of you or you didn’t have the right clothes or you did not have good grades. And then adulthood beams its unrelenting gaze on you, and your self-confidence goes on its epic roller coaster of highs and lows.

However you got here, it is time to get off the worry/self-worth raucous ride, and realize that you are capable of anything that you put your mind to. You have the capacity to be all kinds of awesome. You have the capacity to amaze yourself.

Isn’t that exciting?

You can rewrite this next chapter of your life and start BEING AMAZING.

Lest you think that this girl typing furiously on her keyboard has it all together, know that I don’t. But I desperately want to amaze myself. I know that I am capable of so much more and I know that you are too 🙂

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Spend Now Or Spend Later

Over the course of any given day, I read maybe 5 or 6 health related posts. And they run the gamut of all topics, whether it is relating to how your hormones being out of whack can affect you day-to-day, or how adding hemp seeds to your smoothie adds extra protein. Every day I read articles, not because I have too, but because I want to. Health and wellness are very important topics to me and I want to soak up as much information as possible.

One little nugget of information that I have heard over and over again is “Spend Now or Spend Later”. You are probably wondering how this relates to health. Well, it’s easy:

Spend the money now on good, healthy, unprocessed food, or spend the money later on doctor’s bills.

I realize the statement can be seen as simplistic but I like the simplicity of it. Everyone knows that whole foods are better for you than processed foods and yet… we’ve all been guilty of not eating as healthfully as we should. But here’s the thing: I want to live a long and healthy life and I can’t do that if I am eating bad foods. And honestly, I don’t feel good when I don’t eat what’s good for my body. I mean, have you ever gone through the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant, ate the food, and then thought “Yeah, that was a bad idea”. Yup, we all have 🙂 More times than I care to remember… #roadtrips

I have noticed that as I have gotten older, I want to eat more healthfully. I actually crave fruits and vegetables. I do not crave junk food. Sure, I am not immune to cookies or chips and salsa, but if I want cookies, I make them at home so I know what’s in it. If I am buying store-bought salsa, I double-check the ingredients on the label, so that I know exactly what it is I am buying. I am more mindful than ever, of what I am putting into my body, especially since I have had to go gluten-free. I spend a lot of time in the produce section, more than any middle aisles where the processed food is.

My grocery bill may hover at amounts that could be seen as shocking, but our family chooses to invest in its health. We are choosing to “spend now” on quality food and quality ingredients. We do not want to “spend later” on doctor bills and the like.

Health and all of its lovely gifts is not something that I take for granted.

How are you guys doing with your grocery bills? Do you purchase organic foods? Let me know in the comments! 🙂

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Choose Today

The past can be a nasty creature that holds on to you, squeezing you quite literally to death until you are grasping for a breath, any breath that will get air in your lungs and a grasp on reality. But why do we let the past grapple with us so? Why do we give the past life? Why do we give it so much power over us?

The past makes us replicate certain behaviors, sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. Our mind says the past is a good barometer for what is going to happen, right? “Well, if XYZ happened in the past, it is probably going to happen again so put those walls up, put those defenses up, protect, run, hide!”

Some sort of conversation like that happens from time to time, right? But what if that conversation happens more often? What if it is a weekly or daily occurrence? What if you are caught in a cyclical cyclone of anxiety and you don’t want to be tethered to your past?

This feeling is something that I am familiar with, being tethered to my past. And I am working on untangling myself from the tentacles of yesteryear. And although it is going to be a long process, I carry with me the thought that every day is a new day. Every day is a day to start anew. We get a fresh slate when we wake up every morning.

A clean fresh slate.

I am working on not choosing yesterday.

I am working on choosing today.

Because today is what matters. The here and now. Being present and mindful is harder, it is harder than one would think. But it something that I am striving for. To be healthy and well is important to me and I don’t want to retreat into the hollowness of yesterday, of the past that wants to welcome me back into its bosom and suffocate me.

No, it is not going to happen again. Not this time. What happened is not me. What happened does not define me. What happened is the past.

And I am choosing today over what happened.

And so should we all.

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The Smallest Step

You know me and quotes. Or if you don’t know me and this is your first time here, I love quotes. Words speak to me and when I read a quote that resonates, I have to share it. Like this one:

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.

To whomever wrote these prophetic words, bless you!

How true is this one sentence? How many times have you been stuck at a crossroads not knowing which direction to take? When you finally make a decision you take a very small step onto that road that you need to take. But didn’t that one small step just completely change your life?

Everyone has ebbs and flows in their life; after all we are only human. And some people are able to bounce back accordingly.

But for those of us for whom the struggle is a bit more difficult, just even taking the first small step is a huge accomplishment.

That first step. That first small step.

If you are looking to make changes in your life but feel overwhelmed by all of your proverbial steps, know that it is okay. You don’t have to take all the steps all at once. Just take a small step. And then another. And when you are ready…simply take another step.

That is what I am doing. Taking one small step at a time. One small step in the right direction.

We can do this together 🙂

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Moving Forward

Hi Guys…

I know it has been awhile since you have heard my voice here on The Random Path and I apologize for that. I hadn’t meant to take such an extended break from the blog, in fact I hadn’t planned to take any sort of break at all from the blog. I like my blog to have positive vibes so I am not going to go into too long of a detail, but as I have mentioned in past posts, I suffer from depression. January just was not a healthy month for me but I am making my way back and that is definitely a good thing.

So let’s move forward, shall we?

So back in December, I had worked on a post I was going to share about my goals for 2016. It was over a thousand words and I had really put my all into the goals I had mapped out and how I was going to accomplish them. But than January happened…

And I realized that not one of these goals that I had written down seemed as meaningful as I first thought. In fact, one of them I knew right away would never get accomplished by the end of the calendar year. So I said screw it, and deleted my thousand word post.

I had an epiphany.

I didn’t want to have several goals just for the sake of having goals and feeling like I needed to have something on paper showing I was accomplishing something just for the sake of accomplishing something.

I wanted something BIGGER than that.

I realized that all I really want to do is move forward.

Move forward with my life, move forward with my health, and ultimately move forward with my blog.

The past is an evil entity that latches on to you, deteriorating your well-being, trying to break you, memory by little memory.

And I am truly fed up with it. I am fed up with the past and I just want to break free from it. I want to live in positivity and just live my life the best way I can. I know that life is not all unicorns and rainbows; believe me, I know that better than most. But I am tired of the past lurking in my shadows and I am tired of being sick and tired.

Enough is enough.

I also want to move forward with getting my body healthy. Start eating more good stuff and less bad stuff, and meditating and exercising. Stop making excuses and just do the damn thing already.

Blogging is important to me and I want to do more with my blog. I want to stop talking about someday doing something about it and just move forward on it and DO IT.

Move forward.

I am breaking free from the past and moving forward.

Who’s with me? 🙂

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Be Gentle

Be gentle with yourself. You’re doing the best you can.

Isn’t this quote, like the best ever? Especially now during the busiest month of the year???

Look, we’re all overwhelmed, exhausted, sleep-deprived human beings subsisting on nothing but caffeine and short tempers. (If you haven’t got to the short-tempered part yet, be afraid. It tends to rear its head at the most awkward of times).

December is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but in reality, it is honestly a mixed bag. Sure the holidays are fun but Christmas and all that it entails can be stressful. I know that it is not supposed to be, but December can kind of throw you for a loop. Especially if this is your first holiday without a loved one. It can be rough…

You are doing the best that you can.

If December has you got you feeling all grinchy and grouchy, and maybe you are thinking that green guy was on to something, take a deep breath.  And then another. Have faith that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Take everything one step at a time. Breathe again. Maybe this year isn’t the year to do all the things.  And that’s okay.

Remember to take care of you. Be gentle with yourself.

Take a bubble bath. Get enough sleep. Drink enough water. Watch Elf for the millionth time.

Relax…

This is advice to everyone, myself included.

I mean, the song says “It’s the most wonderful time of year”, right? I think they are on to something 🙂

 

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Sweet Potato Brownies

Healthy brownies? Is that like unicorns, they don’t exist? Well I am here to tell you that these brownies are totally healthy, and they are real! (The jury is still out on that whole unicorn thing, though) 😉

For real though, these brownies are yummy and chocolaty. These brownies are nothing like the sugary confections in the store that are preservative-laden; these brownies are delicious, and I swear, you don’t even notice the sweet potato at all! These brownies are also good if you are on the road to upping your health game, but are still desiring a sweet treat 🙂

And yes, it is another recipe from Deliciously Ella. What can I say? That girl has mad cooking skills 😉

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-large sweet potatoes (about 10 ounces each)
• 14 Medjool dates, pitted
• ¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons ground almonds (about 3 ounces)
• 4 tablespoons raw cacao powder**
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• pinch of salt

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut them into chunks and place into a steamer for about 20 minutes, until they become really soft.
• Once they are perfectly soft and beginning to fall apart, remove them and add them to a food processor with the dates. Blend until a smooth, creamy mix forms.
• Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl before mixing in the sweet potato and date combination. Stir well.
• Place the mix into a parchment-paper lined baking dish and cook for 20-30 minutes, until you can pierce the brownie cake with a fork and pull it out dry. Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. This is really important, as the brownies need this time to stick together.

**Ella states in her recipe that if you do not have any raw cacao powder, that it is totally okay to use conventional cocoa powder; you will just need to double the quantity.

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Inspiration For The New Year

Hi friends!

I know that we all are knee-deep in holiday festivities 🙂 Between present-shopping, cookie baking, and holiday parties, I know the last thing you want to think about is the new year and bettering yourself mentally and emotionally. But I think it is important, especially when the season begins to knock you down physically and you feel spent and overwhelmed.

So take a read, and if you are knee-deep in egg nog and wrapping paper, earmark this post and come back to it when the fresh air of January beckons 🙂

Last Year’s Baggage: Are you stuck holding onto emotional baggage? Feel like you can’t move forward? Guess what? You can!

If It Doesn’t Open, It’s Not Your Door: “Beating your fists against a door that refuses to open diminishes your spirit”. Maybe that door you are trying to open, is not your door.

A Meaningful Life: “Remember it’s the tiny little actions that steer you towards a meaningful life and impact your life in the best way possible”.  Are you living a meaningful life?

If I Waited For Perfection: Are you waiting for the “perfect moment” to accomplish your goals and fulfill your dreams? Are you still waiting? There is no perfect moment. The time is now.

It Is Not Too Late to Dream: If you feel like you are too old to have dreams or the time has come and gone for you to accomplish your dreams, then this post is for you. It is not too late. I repeat, it is not too late.

There you have it. Inspiration for the New Year.

New Year, New You, right? 🙂

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Almond and Chia Energy Bites

I know for many people, they purchase someone’s cookbook with the best intentions. “I’m totally going to make every single recipe in this book!”, they say. And then the book collects dust…

But trust me when I say that if you make the recipes from Deliciously Ella by Ella Woodward, you will not only make these recipes, you will be richly rewarded with the deliciousness of her recipes!

One her most beloved recipes is her Almond and Chia Energy Bites, and oh my goodness, are these puppies good! Seriously amazing and my husband and I ate quite a few of them before I forced the lid of the container on the rest of them, and put them away 😉

If you are looking for something super healthy to have as a snack, look no further than this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 1 ¹⁄³ cup of almonds (about 7 ounces)**
• 14 ounces Medjool dates (about 20 dates)
• 4 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds

Directions:

• Start by putting the almonds in a food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds, until they are nicely crushed.
• Then pit the dates and add them, plus the other ingredients and 2 tablespoons water, to the processor and blend again until everything has mixed together perfectly and it is all nice and sticky.
• Roll the mix into balls.
• Place the balls in the freezer for an hour to set, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes about 20 balls.

** Ella states in her book that if you don’t like almonds, you can try swapping them with a different nut. But I definitely used almonds in this recipe and it was yummy 🙂

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