Author Archives: ByCandace

Mother’s Day Celebration

08 Tuesday May 2018

Posted by in Food

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This year for Mother’s Day, I thought it would be a good opportunity to cook lunch for my husband’s and my family. I love to have everyone mixed and mingled all together.

We are looking at about 12 people total for lunch.

Niceties

Before everyone arrives we will arrange things in such a way that everyone has a place to sit to eat, drink, and relax with each other. I will certainly set-up outside seating as well as inside seating, but it may be too warm out. I plan to fresh flowers set around and candles lit strategically.

Drinks

Adult Beverages

White Sangria

White Sangria

1 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, ½ cup White Rum, ¼ cup Triple Sec, 1 can 7-Up, Frozen or Fresh Fruit (strawberries, lemon slices, black berries, blue berries, kiwi, oranges, green apple)

Side Note: Using a sparkling wine is also fun.

Margarita

Margarita

Fresh Margarita Recipe: ½ cup Lime juice, 4 tsp lime zest, ½ cup Lemon juice, 4 tsp lemon zest, 4 Tbs orange juice, 1 tsp of orange zest, ¼ cup of sugar or aprox. 3 oz of simple syrup (depending on how sweetness is preferred; need just enough to balance out some of the tartness of the citrus), pinch of salt, 1 to 1.5 cups of tequila, ½ cup of orange liqueur

Easy Margarita Recipe: 1 large can of frozen limeade concentrate, ¼ to ½ can of water, 1 can tequila, ½ can orange liquor, ¼ can lemon juice, ¼ can lime juice

My favorite thing for margaritas is Twang-A-Rita Unwind Lime for rimming.

Non-Alcohol Beverages

  • Spa Water: Fresh mint and sliced lemon
  • Organic Green Tea

Appetizers

My sister specifically requested these two appetizers.

Candace’s Famous Deviled Eggs

For the Deviled Eggs, I will pre-cook the eggs and bacon the night prior allow them to cool and then place them in the fridge so they are ready to assemble the next day. The keys are to use even amounts of sweet and sour relish, spicy mustard, cayenne pepper instead of paprika, and garnish with crispy bacon. I will post the full recipe of my deviled eggs on its own after the event.

Glazed Sausage & Pineapple

Glased Sausage & Pineapple

For these you can use any link sausage you prefer. Can pineapple chunks reserving the juice. Mix 3 parts teriyaki sauce with 1 part sweet chili sauce, 1 part pineapple juice, 1 part honey, and a dash of ponzu sauce or coconut aminos to cut the sweet. Place the coined sausage on a baking sheet, place a pineapple chunk on top, add glaze to each, poke with a pre-soaked toothpick (so it doesn’t burn in the oven), and bake at 425 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes.

Meats & Taters

Slow-cooker Herb Pork Roast

Crockpot Pot Roast

I have a large pork roast that I’m going to put in the crock pot on top of a bed of yellow onions and slow cook for maximum tenderness and flavor. To get the best flavor though, it is important that you dry the meat, season it liberally with salt and pepper then sear it at a high temperature to get some good color and crust on it. If you feel like it, you can make small cuts all over the roast and place cloves of garlic in them. Then place it on top of the cut up onion in the slow-cooker. Then add ½ to ¾ cup of broth, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, fresh or dried thyme, ½ cup brown sugar, ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar, 2 Tbs coconut aminos, 1 or 2 Tbs of wine, beer, or whisky. Close the lid and cook for a long as you have. I think the lower and slower the better.

Side Note: I tend to no longer put veggies in my slow-cooker, because they over cook and get mushy.

Citrus Roasted Chicken

I’ve been making this dish for years and it is one of my favorites. Not only is it beautiful, but the roasted citrus is delicious. It has a pungent flavor so if you do not like strong tastes, don’t eat the citrus part. This recipe comes from The Comfort Kitchen Herb and Citrus Oven Roasted Chicken.

roasted-red-potatoes

If I have room on the pan, I like to add little red potatoes to cook at the same time as the chicken. If I do not, I’ll use my countertop convection oven to bake some herbed red potatoes. I put them all in a large zip-lock bag, add 1 – 2 Tbs of avocado oil, salt, pepper, garlic, rosemary, thyme, and sage. I’ll cook them at 375 degrees until they are done, usually around 30-ish minutes.

Veggies

I hope my husband was paying attention the other day when we were discussing this event, because he is now signed up to grill veggies for us.

Grilled Veggies 2

I typically like to make my own marinade with avocado oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt, pepper, herbs or purchasing a premade marinade makes things faster, here are a couple of my favorites: Citrus Herb Marinade or Balsamic Vinaigrette & Marinade.

  • Purple Onion
  • Zucchini
  • Yellow Squash
  • Okra
  • Asparagus
  • Pineapple Rings or Peaches

Dessert

Individual Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes

Using your favorite oil sprayer grease a 12 cup muffin pan. Drain a large can of pineapple rings in juice into a liquid measuring cup. Cut the pineapple rings in 4s. Using a small pan, melt 1 part butter to 2 parts brown sugar (1/3 to 2/3 or 1/2 to 1). Prepare an organic yellow or pineapple cake mix. Use melted butter (real butter, not margarine) or melted coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and substitute pineapple juice for the liquid in the mix. Also, give it a quick dash of real salt and an extra tsp of vanilla extract. These changes will create a super moist and flavor-filled mini-cakes. Place 1 – 2 tsp of the butter/sugar mixture in the bottom of the greased cups, add 3 pieces of sliced pineapple in each cup, with an organic dye-free maraschino cherry in the middle. Then using a small ladle, scoop the cake mixture into each cup. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow them to sit for about 5 minutes after you take them out of the oven. Using a knife, loosen around the edge of each one. Use a large sheet pan, put it over the top of the muffin pan, and then quickly flip it over to release the cakes. Then arrange on a cute platter for serving.

A second dessert will be provided by my talented baking father-in-law.

I’m looking forward to visiting with the family and eating all the delicious food.

And this menu is sure to please everyone!

 

 

 

Planning Our Summer Vacation 2018 – South Lake Tahoe (Part 2 of 5)

03 Thursday May 2018

Posted by in Travel

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Check out Part 1 on picking where to go and picking lodging.

Now that the big things are chosen and booked, it is time to move on to the most fun part!

Food and Activities!

This is where Google and Trip Advisor will be your best friends.

First Stop Reno, NV

Since we land in Reno, NV just after noon Pacific Time and we can check-in to our lodging after 3:00p PT, I wanted to find us some lunch and something unique to Reno to see before we head south.

One of the first things that popped up on my search was the iconic Reno Arch (located at the intersection of Virginia St. and Commercial Row); selfie time, gotta do that!

We also need to get some lunch….I found a place called The Depot Craft Brewery Distillery that is in a building from 1910 that served “as the headquarters from the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway”.

Between my love of history and gin and my husband’s love of craft beers and bourbon, our quick Reno experience is going to be epic! I will post a review of the food, beverages, and experience here on my other site called: Restaurant Reviews – ByCandace.

Second Adventure

Being from Texas, I have been endlessly subjected to old western television shows like Bonanza and Ponderosa….well, if you didn’t know already….both were filmed on the land that stretches down the side of Lake Tahoe out to Carson City and between Reno and South Lake Tahoe. Which means….we will be driving through The Ponderosa!

How-to Scope-out All the Places!

The first thing I do is pull up GoogleMap of the address where I am staying, I look around on the map for what is close by. The types of places I look for are: grocery stores, liquor stores, pharmacies, hospitals and emergency rooms, coffee shops, breakfast spots, lunch spots, dinner spots, breweries, wineries, happy hour spots, spas, and entertainment and activities. I create a Word document with a list of places for each category.

Since we have a kitchenette in our lodging we are going to keep some snacks, breakfast food, and stuff for morning coffee. We are a little bit of coffee snobs so we are probably going to pre-grind and food-saver our home coffee and pack it in our suit case to take with us. However, I did find a couple of breakfast spots near our place that we’ll probably try out a couple of mornings.

Over the years traveling, Trip Advisor has been my best and most reliable tool when it comes to restaurants. I typically start with their top 10 best rated restaurant list. Then I look up all the places that show up nearby on the GoogleMap. It is also fun to see if there are any nearby Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives spots.

As I’m looking through the places on Trip Advisor and Google under each category, I’m looking at the reviews, ratings, location, menus, and locations to determine if they are places I’d like to go. If they look appealing then they go on the list, including their name, address, phone number, webpage, hours of operation, affordability, type of food served, and any notes that I may have about the place.

The Word document is what I’ll use to make reservations for dinners and will email myself and husband so we have easy access from our phones to the address, phone numbers, and web-pages while we are there and on-the-go.

Activities

Again with the Google and the Trip Advisor…..

Depending on where you go, you can do targeted searches for specific activities (like fishing) as well as general searches (like top 5 things to do in Lake Tahoe in the summer). I did many searches of both types.

For the South Tahoe area, there are tons of activities to explore:

Once there is a list of activities identified, then you narrow them down to what interests you the most and what you can afford to do. Then I typically check out all the reviews of the companies so that I can pick the best one for the activity I want to do. I add the activities that I want to do, by category, to the Word document, including the name, address, phone number, webpage, and costs for each.

Some activities like fishing excursions for my husband and spa days will likely need to be booked in advance during a holiday week. While some things like renting a kayak a reservation probably won’t be needed.

Day Trips

It is always good to research what else is around the area you are visiting. While we want to experience all that South Lake Tahoe has to offer, we also want to be open to experiencing surrounding areas as well. During my Google searches I also found two places (Nevada City and Markleeville) not far from S.L.T. that might be worth visiting that offer something different (like Hot Springs) that we may decide to experience.

Making Reservations

This is where things can get tricky. Part of the fun of vacation is to not be overly scheduled so that it allows you the freedom to come and go and move around as you please at the time and mood strikes you. However, some things need to be reserved, particularly during a holiday week.

Since we are traveling to a popular area during a holiday week, we will make reservations for dinner for 4 of the 7 nights at the nicer places that it may be difficult to get into. If you can make reservations on OpenTable that is great, because you’ll earn points, but not all restaurants are on OpenTable. I’ve found some restaurants allow Yelp reservations now; I don’t like Yelp personally. We will for sure make reservations for my husband’s fishing excursions and the spa treatments and massages.

The key is to plan and reserve the activities you want to make sure you do and leave room in between to go with the flow and do what you feel like…..like hit the pool, beach, take a nap, go to a brewery, have lunch, or check out local shops.

The best way to do this is to spread things out so there is plenty of room in between activities. Use your calendars folks! For my example below, I’m going to list out the days.

Saturday:

  • Arrive @ 12:00p PT
  • Reno Arch & Lunch
  • Drive to S.L.T., Check-In
  • Go Check Stuff Out, Have Dinner, Hit Grocery Store

Sunday:

  • Exploration Day
  • Reservation for Dinner – Assign a Restaurant & Time

Monday:

  • Hike Eagle Falls – Lower hike is 30 mins
  • Reservation for Dinner – Assign a Restaurant & Time

Tuesday:

  • Husband to Fish AM / Me to Kayak AM
  • Reservation for Dinner – Assign a Restaurant & Time

Wednesday: Independence Day!

  • Spa Treatments/Massages
  • Casual Dinner

Fire Works!

Thursday:

  • Heavenly Resort Activities (Gondola, Zip Line, Hike)
  • Reservation for Dinner – Assign a Restaurant & Time

Friday:

  • Husband to Fish PM
  • Low Key Evening, Pack-up

Once you have an outline of what you want to schedule and on what days, then buy tickets and make reservations. Update the information to the Word document and to your calendar with time reminders, addresses, phone number, webpages etc. for easy information access.

It is also a good idea to print and take multiple copies of the Word document. One for the rental car and one to leave in the room. Then email the data from the Word document as well, so that it is accessible on your phones with clickable links and phone numbers. The document will have more information on it than what you’ll put in calendar invites, as the calendar will only have reservation information.

Part 3 on Packing Lists – Coming Soon!

Introducing: My New Favorite “Age-Defying, Skin Perfecting” Foundation

19 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Beauty

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Going into the spring and summer months in Texas, I tend to want to wear a lighter foundation, so that it feels like a second skin and not melting down my face in the heat and humidity.

While I still love Araza Natural Beauty’s 7-in-1 Coconut Cream Foundation and Green Tea Cream Concealer, it is full coverage and feels better for me to use during the cooler months when the air is dryer vs. the summer months. If you didn’t know already….in Texas we only really have two seasons….summer and winter-ish.

I recently found / was introduced to (thank you Ulta sales girl) a brand called juice BEAUTY and their Stem Cellular CC Cream. 

CC Cream

Off the webpage linked to above:

Stem Cellular CC Cream

Side Note: This is my choice for a better and organic ingredient replacement product for BareMinerals’ Complexion Rescue Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream, which I had been using for years.

I’m finding that this new juice BEAUTY CC Cream is the perfect product for me. It is light, doesn’t sit in my fine lines and wrinkles, it has SPF, it has antioxidants, moisturizes, and it blends perfectly into my skin. I do not feel it on my face and my skin tone looks very even with it on.

The one thing…..it doesn’t smell good. I’ve smelled worse, but it isn’t “fragranced”, which is a good thing BUT it doesn’t smell good. I only notice the smell when I’m applying it to my face.

At this time, this is the only product that I’ve tried of this brand, but after exploring their webpage; I think I’ll be trying some other products!

I was told that their PHYTO-PIGMENTS Flawless Serum Foundation is also a very good product and is a medium to full coverage make-up that can be built-up for as little or as much coverage as you prefer.

Phyto-Pigments Serum Foundation

Off the webpage linked to above:

Phyto-Pigments Serum Foundation Benifits

Go to Ulta and color-match the product to your skin and then……if you go to their webpage (I linked it above and below) there is a little button that pops up on the bottom of the page that says “Get 15% off your first order” – do that!

It is very important to me that I use organic, clean, non-poisonous make-up on my skin.

The performance of a product is important, but so are the ingredients used and where they are sourced from.

Finding a brand that is committed to the safety of their products to people, animals, and the environment is truly unique. Check out the links above for more information. Side Note: Beauty Counter is also one of these brands.

I feel good supporting brands like juice BEAUTY, Araza Natural Beauty, and Beauty Counter (I buy through Hayley Mason). They are doing things right!

I hope you choose to check out juice BEAUTY products; I’m loving them!

Lifting Weights / Resistance Training (Part 2)

17 Tuesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Fitness

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Please check-out Part 1 of Lifting Weights / Resistance Training post where I covered:

  1. Why lifting weights is important to me
  2. Misconceptions women make about lifting weights
  3. Things to-do
  4. Lifting program weeks 1 – 5

I completed 5 weeks of the workouts in my Part 1 post with modifications each week on number of sets, reps, or weight so that each workout continued to challenge my body to adapt (aka: change).

Then I was stupid while kayaking and got a really bad sunburn down the front of both of my legs and left arm, which prevented me from working out for a full week. You can check out my pictures on my Instagram page. My knees were swollen for 3 days and my ankle was swollen for 5 days, which made it very painful and difficult to walk…..much less exercise. Soooo, had a rest and recover week.

Below you will find my next 5 weeks of workouts (weeks 6 – 10).

Side Note: I like to super-set my workouts so that I can get them done faster and it keeps my heart rate up throughout the whole workout to obtain the cardio benefits. A super-set is when you move from exercise to another exercise without a break in between. When starting out I usually can only do one set of each before taking a break. Once my ability increases, I’ll be able to multiple sets of each before taking a break. I’ve colored the text below to show you my groupings for super-sets.

Week 6

Tuesday – Lower Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

Thursday – Upper Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

Sunday – Full Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

Week 7

Tuesday – Active Recovery Day  (I was still sore from Sunday’s workout)

  • 15 minute revolving stairs
  • 15 minute treadmill walk
  • Plank
  • Mobility Work & Stretching

Saturday – Lower Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

  • Warm-up: 10 minutes revolving stairs
  • Wide-Stance Squats – 50 lb dumbbell
  • Goblet Squat – 25 lb dumbbell
  • Hip Thrusts – 40 lb barbell
  • Hamstring Curl Machine – 50 lbs
  • Traditional Leg Press – 90 lbs
  • 10 minute walking cool down

Week 8

Tuesday – Upper Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

  • Warm-up: Assisted Pull-ups and Chin-ups
  • Incline Press – 20 lb dumbbells
  • Wide Grip Cable Row – 50 lbs on cables
  • Dips/Press-Down – 50 lb
  • Under-hand Grip Lat Pull Downs – 40 lbs
  • Arnold Press – 15 lb dumbbells
  • Wide-grip Drag Bicep Curl – 30 lb barbell
  • Lateral Raise – 5 lb dumbbells
  • Paloff Press w/ Oblique Twist – 10 lbs on the cables

Thursday – Lower Body (3 Sets of 6-10 Reps)

  • Warm-up: 10 minutes treadmill walk
  • Wide-Stance Squats – 50 lb dumbbell
  • Goblet Squat – 30 lb dumbbell
  • Seated Leg Press – 115, 125, 135 (pounds)
  • Hamstring Curls – 50 lbs
  • Glute Bridge – Bodyweight (1 set)
  • Garhammer Raise (1 set)

Week 9

Tuesday – Upper Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

  • Warm-up: 10 minutes revolving stairs
  • Incline Press – 20 lb dumbbells
  • Bent-Over Row – 45 lb barbell
  • Dips/Press-Down – 50 lb
  • Under-hand Grip Lat Pull Downs – 50 lbs
  • Arnold Press – 20 lb dumbbells 2 sets, 15 lb dumbbells 3rd set
  • Wide-grip Drag Bicep Curl – 30 lb barbell
  • Lateral Raise – 5 lb dumbbells
  • Paloff Press w/ Oblique Twist – 10 lbs on the cables

Thursday – Lower Body (3 Sets of 6-10 Reps)

  • Warm-up: 10 minutes revolving stairs
  • Wide-Stance Squats – 50 lb dumbbell
  • Goblet Squat – 30 lb dumbbell
  • Hip Thrusts – 50 lb barbell
  • Hamstring Curl Machine – 50 lbs
  • Seated Leg Press – 120, 130, 140 (pounds)
  • Stretch

Side Note: My menstrual cycle threw me for a loop so my 3rd workout this week did not happen…..and that’s ok.

Below are some article that discuss general guidelines about training and the menstrual cycle:

  1. How to Train with Your Menstrual Cycle
  2. The Underground Guide to Planning Your Exercise Around Your Menstruation Cycle
  3. Training & Recovery During Your Menstrual Cycle

Week 10

Wednesday – Lower Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

Friday – Upper Body (3 Sets of 8-10 Reps)

  • Warm-up: 10 minutes revolving stairs
  • Incline Press – 20 lb dumbbells
  • Bent-Over Row – 50 lb barbell
  • Dips/Press-Down – 50 lb
  • Under-hand Grip Lat Pull Downs – 60 lbs
  • Arnold Press – 15 lb dumbbells 2 sets, 15 lb dumbbells 3rd set
  • Wide-grip Drag Bicep Curl – 30 lb barbell
  • Lateral Raise – 5 lb dumbbells
  • Paloff Press w/ Oblique Twist – 10 lbs on the cables

Here are some of my other blog posts that discuss exercise.

If you have any questions please feel free to comment on this post and I’ll get back with you as soon as I can.

Planning Our Summer Vacation 2018 – South Lake Tahoe (Part 1 of 5)

12 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Fun, Travel

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I am a planner by nature so planning vacations comes pretty natural to me. Some folks are not planners and have to work harder at it or they do not do it at all. I’m a bit biased towards planning and being prepared. Flying by the seat of my pants is not my style and tends to produce anxiety in me.

I decided to share my travel planning tips and suggestions with you, in hopes to make your next trip smooth and anxiety free.

Our last and first vacation was in the summer 2014 for our honeymoon. We went to Park City, UT. It was a great town; I highly recommend it. We decided early in the calendar year that we were going to make a vacation happen for us this year.

Step 1: Determine where you want to go

We want to stay in the states with easy and fast travel, to maximize our time away on the vacation part not the traveling part.

  • We live in south-east Texas so escaping to some place cooler during the summer is ideal for us.
  • We tend to travel during and around the 4th of July holiday week because I already get a day off work, my boss goes on vacation at this time too, it is close to my husband’s birthday, it’s not far from our wedding anniversary, and it is a good time to get out of the Texas heat.
  • We lean towards going to the mountains for vacation for all the aforementioned reasons.

When figuring out where to go, I make a list of activities I’d like to do or see. For this trip the draw is variety….which, as you know, is the spice of life!

  • Good Food – I don’t think I need to explain this one…..cause GOOD FOOD!
  • Breweries, Distilleries, and Wineries – Local brews, wines, and spirits are a fun way to meet people and experience the local culture.
  • Water Activities – Fishing (husband), Kayaking (me), Boating, Jet Skis, Parasailing, Swimming, Floating
  • Mountain Activities – Nearby hiking trails and natural wonders to experience.
  • Nice Spas – Relaxation

Initially we were looking to go to Washington state or Oregon and explore the beautiful mountains up there. After GoogleMapping (I don’t think this is a real word/verb), I realized that we’d fly into one of the major airports in the area and the have to drive 4-6 hours away to get to the beautiful mountains that were interested in seeing. Once we’d get there it is pretty desolate with not a ton of activities nor people around. I personally didn’t want to drive 4-6 hours somewhere…..seems like a bit of a waste of time. One day I will do that trip, but it didn’t sound very appealing to me for this year.

I then looked around the Yellow Stone area and Wyoming….same sorta thing, but a whole lot more expensive! So, that was a no (for now).

I thought about Colorado, but I spent many summers in Colorado growing up and really wanted to go somewhere I’ve not been before as an adult.

As I was drifting around the map I landed on Lake Tahoe. “YES!”, I thought….it has all the things we are looking for in a summer vacation location.

Step 2: Determine if you can afford to go there

This is where I’m really not the best. I’m not a travel bargain shopper. I’m sure this is my misfortune. I think that if I were trying to go to Europe, Hawaii, or Alaska or somewhere far, I’d be more apt to find deals, even at the expense of my convenience. Since I’m traveling close and I can cater to my convenience.

Keep in mind that things typically are more expensive when it is a holiday week.

Step 2.5: Settle on what days you will be traveling/stay for

The flights and lodging are typically the most costly part of any vacation.

United Airlines has a hub in the Houston, TX area and I determined that we could get a direct flight into Reno, NV. There is only 1 direct flight per day in to RNO from IAH and only 1 direct flight per day from RNO to IAH. Soooo that didn’t leave very much wiggle room; we’d need to book the flights right away to ensure that we can get back and forth on the days we want.

I checked our credit card points to see how much we could apply towards our flights. It wasn’t a lot this time because I kept using my points on Amazon for my dog, but every little bit helps. My Mom also hooked me up for my birthday….chipping in towards the costs of our flights (thanks Mom!).

I then started looking on VRBO.com and AirBNB for places to stay. I originally was looking at North Lake Tahoe, it was not super expensive, really close to Reno, BUT it was far from the mountains. Then I started checking South Lake Tahoe, which apparently is “the place to be”. I found a condo for rent that was within a reasonable price range per night.

Next was checking the rental car prices. Thankfully, I get a corporate discount through my company and it is going to be around $300 for 8 days.

The financial part was looking doable…..sooooo let’s do this!

Step 3: Picking & Securing Lodging

Do not drive yourself nuts with all of the millions of options. I made a board on both VRBO and AirBNB webpages and saved the most appealing ones to the boards. Once I felt like I had seen most of what was available in the area, I started narrowing them down based on the location and amenities that are important to me.

  • Location – Can I walk to things? How close to the water or mountains am I?
  • Kitchenette – Coffee, Snacks, Perhaps cook breakfast.
  • Laundry Facility Access – For an 8 day trip, this is important.
  • On-Site Pool and or Hot Tub (other/more amenities a plus)
  • Patio or Balcony
  • Size and Luxury

Once you have a list of what is important to you in lodging you can easily and quickly narrow down the options in each board. After I narrowed it down to 2 or 3 options, I provided them to my husband to obtain his preference. He chose the same one that I did, so just like that….bam! We had a place to stay.

I booked the room for the dates I had picked and immediately went online and booked our flights. Then immediately reserved a rental car, which will be a small SUV. All the big things are booked and paid for……..

Now the fun part of planning a trip really begins!

Part 2 on Food and Activities – Coming Soon!

I will re-cap our trip and experiences and I will review our lodging location.

I will do restaurant reviews and post them on my other site called: Restaurant Reviews – ByCandace

Do You Need Motivation?

09 Monday Apr 2018

Posted by in General

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Throughout my many readings during the past few weeks, I’ve noticed a lot of articles around the idea of motivation. How to stay motivated. How to get motivated.

Do you think to yourself that you can achieve a specific goal if you could just get motivated? Or just stay motivated?

If so, this post is for you.

I know the feeling all-to-well of not feeling motivated to physically do something; even if it is something that I want to do or want to enjoy the benefits of after said thing is done.

So, what’s the issue? Why is there a struggle to do “it”?

It is not about motivation….not the way that we typically think of motivation or the lack thereof preventing us from achieving something that we want.

The Nitty-Gritty

You do not need motivation. You need discipline.

Naturally it isn’t quite a simple as that. Discipline isn’t easy.

Find your Why

If you want something bad enough you will prioritize your life and choices to achieve what you want. If you do not make that goal a priority then you do not want it bad enough. Perhaps the timing for achieving that goal is off and going after that goal at a later date may be a better option for you.

Ask yourself why you want the goal. Then ask yourself why 4 more times to each answer you give yourself. If your why answers are strong enough and you are attached to the answers, then the why will drive you / motivate you to make the necessary actions to make the goal a priority in your life.

 

Take Action

If your why is strong and your goal is a priority, then you develop an action plan to reach your goal. You will create discipline around those actions because you will be driven by your why. You will go do your action steps regardless of if you feel like doing them or not, because you are intrinsically driven to do it.

Reassess

Do not allow your feelings and excuse of “not feeling motivated to” prevent or derail you from the action steps you created. If you are feeling a lack of motivation, I encourage you to determine if your goal is a real priority to you and your life at that time.

If not, fine; readdress the goal at a later time. Make a different goal that is a priority to you now.

If so, then go back through the “find your why” questions and re-prioritize your life in such a way that will allow you stay on-track towards achieving your goal.

I wrote a post called Pure Gold Nuggets! a few years ago that touches on a similar subject.

 

Fashion: Looking Good & Feeling Good (Part 2)

05 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Fun

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It has been since 2015 since I’ve written about fashion (see Part 1 by clicking on this link), but now is a good time to bring it up again.

I take walks around my office campus a couple of times a day, as part of my daily movement commitment to myself. On these walks I see people, different types of people (gender, race, cultural background, etc.) with all different body types.

What I notice is that a lot of people are, in my opinion, not dressing correctly for their body type to look the best their body can look, regardless of height, weight or body-fat levels.

Here are some of my thoughts and guidelines to consider when shopping for clothes and getting dressed.

#1 – Not everyone is built to look their best in low-rise pants.

I actually want to say that most people are not built to look their best in low-rise pants. The fashion powers-that-be made a mistake in popularizing this trend to main-stream shoppers.

This trend often will make people’s (they have low-rise pants for men! WHAT?!?!) proportions between the legs and torso look out-of-whak. The same goes for high-waist pants; they aren’t for everyone….but generally a better option than low-rise.

My Suggestion: Buy and wear mid-rise pants. A mid-rise pant will hit just under or at the bellybutton. Mid-rise pants tend to be most flattering on the majority of body shapes. I personally think they are the most comfortable rise option.

#2 – Ill-fitting shirts.

I see men and women alike wearing shirts that are too small. They stretch, crease, and wrinkle across the chest and back looking uncomfortable and unattractive. Buttons pulled apart etc.  Let’s also touch on shirts that are too short (not on purpose, not talking crop-tops here) that allow your goodies to show. Typically the shirt is old and has shrunk over time through the washing and drying process.

My Suggestion: Please throw these shirts out and get new ones. They don’t have to be expensive, go to Wal-Mart or Target. Then make sure you don’t wash them in super-hot water and either hang them up to dry or dry them on low heat.

#3 – Length of pants.

Folks I’m a short girl. I’m 5’2”. A ‘Regular’ length is too long for me. I either buy ‘Short’ lengths or I take my pants to get hemmed. Almost nothing will make you look sloppier than pants that are too long.

My Suggestion: Buy the correct length or hem pants to the correct length for your legs.

Two Lessons:

  • Just because a style is sold in stores doesn’t mean you should buy it.
  • Just because something is a trend doesn’t mean you should wear it.

Generally speaking, if you are squeezed into clothing with body parts squishing out, you aren’t dressing in such a way that makes your body look its best. It even looks uncomfortable, not to mention unattractive. To my point in Part 1; wear clothes that fit your body.

For the people reading this that know me personally, know that I’m no fashionista! BUT, regardless of my size I do buy and wear clothes that fit my body well. Garments that make my body at that time look the best it can. Mostly I wear them so that I’m comfortable and can move around without my parts popping out.

 

Recipe: Main Dish – Cajun Shrimp, Sausage & Rice

03 Tuesday Apr 2018

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This recipe is one of my go-to weeknight meals, because it is so fast and easy. The best part of this recipe is you can use whatever type of sausage floats your boat and any type of rice you like. I’ve linked to the ones that I like to use for this recipe.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Peel the shrimp, place in a bowl and set aside.

Cook the rice, in the chicken broth, according to the package instructions. This allows for more flavor in the rice and more nutrients for your body.

Side Note: If you decide to use a quick-cook form of rice or pre-cooked rice, this recipe takes even less time and you’ll need to adjust the time when you cook or warm-up the rice accordingly. You can also use cauliflower “rice” as a low-carb substitute and way to get in more veggies.

While the rice is cooking, slice the sausage and brown in a large skillet. If you want to add spice to the sausage you can sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning. Once browned place in a bowl and set aside.

Once the rice is about 10 minutes from being complete, in the large skillet you cooked the sausage in (leave the sausage remanence), add butter, squeeze the juice of 1.5 limes, pour in the tequila, and add in the shrimps. Sprinkle liberally with Cajun seasoning. Cook for 4 minutes, flip over, sprinkle liberally with Cajun seasoning, and cook for 4 more minutes.

Rice should be done by the time the shrimp complete. Pick either the rice pot or the skillet to mix everything together in. Adding the rice and shrimp with sauce together, Rotel, lime juice, lime zest, sausage, and stir together.

Done. Eat. Enjoy.

I highly encourage you to Sign-up for Thrive Market.

Thrive Market allows you to shop for all the healthy food items you know and love at discount prices, because they cut out the middle man, and it gets delivered to your door so it also saves you time. Not only to you save money, but for every paid membership Thrive Gives a membership to a family in need.

The second best part, aside from saving money, is that all your favorite pantry items will be delivered to your door and you don’t have to go to stores which also saves you time and energy. And who can’t use more money, time, energy?!?!

Recipe: Protein Pancake

23 Friday Mar 2018

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I realized recently that I was not getting enough protein in each day to maintain and or grow muscle. Since I’m moving more these days (walking 10k steps and lifting weights 2-3 days per week) it is important that I put forth more effort to make sure I’m getting more protein into my diet. See my post(s) about my weight lifting pursuits here.

So to that end, I decided to bust-out an oldie but a goodie protein pancake recipe that I used many years ago. It is easy, fast, and delicious!

Side Note: The consistency isn’t that of a traditional whole egg and flower based pancake. It is spongier and less like a cake.

Tools:

  • Blender
  • 6” Skillet w/ Lid
  • Spatula

Ingredients:

  • 4 Egg Whites or ¾ Cup Liquid Egg Whites
  • 3 Tbs Low Sugar Preserves
  • 1/3 Cup Oats
  • ½ to 1 pkg of Organic Stevia
  • 1 tsp Grass-fed Butter or Avocado Oil

Directions:

Place the first four ingredients in the blender and blend into a liquid. Heat the pan on a medium-low heat and add cooking fat of choice to prevent sticking. Once the pan is warm, pour the blender content into the pan and cover with a lid. Cook on the medium-low heat for approximately 4 to 5 minutes, until the center is no longer runny. Then flip it over and cook for another 2 minutes, it will puff-up.

Either eat it immediately or do what I do and make it the night before, place on paper towels in front of a little fan to cool, then place in a zip-lock bag and put in the refrigerator for the next day’s breakfast or afternoon snack.

No butter nor syrup is needed. Tastes good cold or warm. I like to warm it a little (not cook it more, just knock the chill off) and eat it with ¼ cup of cottage cheese on top.

The pancake provides about 46 grams of protein and the cottage cheese adds an additional 6.5 grams = 52.5 grams of protein.

In addition to adding the Protein Pancake to my diet, I’m including Primal Kitchen’s Primal Fuel, Vanilla Coconut whey protein isolate powder, which I purchase through Thrive Market at a $6.97 discount + free shipping with purchases over $49.

Good Enough is Good Enough

20 Tuesday Mar 2018

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As a recovering protectionist, it is actually is shocking to me that I’m able to even say these words…..

Do you find yourself overwhelmed, anxious, stressed-out, defeated or beating yourself up about the ideal, idea of or the desire for perfection? Getting things just so, making things “perfect”?

If so, I have two words for you…..STOP THAT

The other day Robb Wolf posted on Instagram the following: “Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good enough…”

Robb Wolf - Good Enough

Today, I listened to the latest Well-fed Women podcast #162 where they had a short discussion about “good enough” and not killing yourself striving for perfection. This discussion was held somewhere between 7:00 – 13:00 minute marks. It is worth a listen.

They got me thinking…..

So many of us are harming ourselves and our relationships by trying to reach an ideal of perfection that is not going to get us any further or any happier than good enough will.

While many people could stand to step-up in many ways in their life to peruse things with more dedication and discipline to achieve goals; doing those things with the idea of reaching perfection is in vain. 9 times out of 10 good enough will get you where you want to be.

We are what we do and think the majority of the time. In my mind, 90% effort is good enough. 90% consistency will get you to your goal. There is no such thing as perfect, so take that word out of your vocabulary. Be good enough.

Having Standards, Having Goals

I do think it is important to have goals. If you don’t know where you are going, you won’t know how to get there. I think it is also important to have high standards. Don’t have-azz things. Do everything to the best of your ability; do it good enough. If you are lacking in ability, learn more, then do it.

There is a false since of failure associated with the idea of perfection and having high standards and goals. Thomas Edison said “I haven’t failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” That tells me that 1) Edison made a whole bunch of attempts 2) He didn’t quit 3) He didn’t waste time beating himself; he kept moving 4) Failure doesn’t actually exist or we wouldn’t have light bulbs right now.

So now there is two more words to remove from your vocabulary and thoughts…..”perfect” and “failure”.

Be and Do GOOD ENOUGH