Happy Birthday to Me!! Proving that I am alive

I can not believe that another year has flown by!  When they say time flies the older you get they are not kidding.  I had wonderfully relaxing day doing what I love.  The morning was spent coaching gymnastics at our Spring Camp.  Came home to snuggle into bed for a much needed and very rare nap. Woke up ready to checkoff bucket list item number 1 for the year, actually committing to try CrossFit at Wellington CrossFit. This was only my 2nd time. I had tried the class once before but did not go back. When I got home McKalyn sang Happy Birthday over a cup of celebratory Mousse Tracks Ice Cream. At around 9:30pm her and I cuddled into bed for a somewhat restful night's sleep.

The The 8's are usually a turning point year for me and I have a feeling 38 will be no different.  Being 38 gives me only 2 years to check off some bucket list items I want to achieve before I hit 40.  I have decided to take these next 2 years to enjoy being alive and doing things that are scarey, physically challenging or that I just plain do not want to put off any more.  I am especially focusing on things that I may not be able to do later in life. I do not want to look back and wish I had tried something or feel that I missed out.  I am a huge procrastinator, not because I am afraid to do things but because I am forgetful. That is why I have such an extensive planner system. For my birthday I have promised  myself to check one item off  a week.  I have already scheduled my bucket list items into my planner so that I will be sure to stay on track somewhat, life permitting. 

On a more fun note, I am also going through my Pinterest and selecting one activity a week (or so) to try.  Why am I pinning all these cool and amazing things and not doing them?  It is like virtual hording! Check DIY Trophy Wife later this weekend for a peek inside my planners and my Pinterest challenge and my life.  

St Patty's Day Green Smoothie & Juice & Cocktail

Instead of going out for green beer and green eggs and ham, let's make today all about the real green stuff!  Today I will be making 3 green drinks to enjoy.

St Patty's Day Green Smoothie:
2 c spinach
1 green apple
1 banana
Juice of 1 lime
Vanilla Protein powder (I use IsaPro)
1 fresh mint sprig

Blend with ice until smooth.

St Patty's Day Detox Juice
4 celery stalks
1/2 cucumber
2 green apples
1/2 lime
1 mint sprig

Ok, Ok, if you really must have a cocktail here is a yummy one to try:

St Patty's Day Cocktail
1 oz vodka
1/2 cucumber
1 apple
1/2 lime
drizzle of honey

SuperFood of the Month: Spinach

Food science studies continue to show that eating spinach helps improve health and reduce the risk of many health issues, from cancer to memory loss to strokes. Here’s just a short list of what makes Spinach a SuperFood!

• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes
• Protects against the occurrence of cancer, including colon, lung, skin, oral, stomach, ovarian, prostate, and breast cancer
• Helps regulate blood pressure
• Builds muscle and strong bones
• Helps prevent memory loss and cognitive decline
• Protects against skin problems such as eczema and psoriasis
• Acts as a natural diuretic and laxative
• Performs as an anti-inflammatory
• Reduces migraines
• Prevents cataracts and macular degeneration

What’s in Spinach?

One of the more exciting recent discoveries about what’s in spinach is the presence of glycoglycerolipids. You may not have heard glycoglycerolipids before because people are just starting to talk about them. Glycoglycerolipids are the key players in plant photosynthesis, and new research shows that they can prevent inflammation and damage in the digestive tract. What else are you getting in a cup of spinach? Here’s how it stacks up by percentage of Daily Values:

Nutrient DRI/DV

Vitamin K 987.2%

Vitamin A 628.8%

Manganese 84%

Folate 65.7%

Magnesium 39.1%

Iron 35.7%

Copper 34.4%

Vitamin B 232.3%

Vitamin B 625.8%

Calcium 24.4%

Potassium 23.9%

Vitamin C 23.5%

Fiber 17.2%

Vitamin B 114.1%

Vitamin B 35.5%

Source: www.wholefoods.com  

Trusting in our plan

In my morning devotional Joyce Meyer compared change and trusting God with planting a garden. Reading this also made me realize how similar planting a garden was to setting and reaching our goals.  We have the ability to look at a plot of dirt and see something beautiful and amazing.  We decide what we want the end result to be, then we take the steps to make it happen.  We plow the soil, fertilize if needed, plant the seeds and wait.  We wait patiently and TRUST that flowers will come just as we imagined they would.  Maintenance is still needed even before we see the fruit of our efforts. We need to water regularly.  We may need to pull out unwanted weeds. Before we know it, as if over night, we see a tiny little bud. It is not much but it is progress.  That bud will grow and develop into a flower which is the part of a beautiful garden.  Even after the flowers have bloomed we still need to maintain and prune the garden to keep it beautiful.  We will repeat this process as needed year after year always improving and changing our vision.  So why treat our goals any different?  In March most people have lost site of what their New Year's goals were and have fallen back into old habits.  I always found it ironic that Lent falls this time of year. As if God was reminding people of what they had promised themselves. This week take time to review your goals for the year and pick 3 actions you can take this week to take you towards your goals.