~ We are back from SAN ANTONIO! ~
Josh and I were both blown away at the luck of timing (time as in having been on our side)...while in San Antonio it was FIESTA week. You know that week long city wide party where they celebrate their history and the Alamo! Not only was it a week long party, with carnivals, parades, busy streets full of Viva Fiesta spirit...but the Spurs were also winning some important basket ball game which only increased the spirit of the San Antonians! Now I am playing catch up from all the time we were out and about, which is all doable. We hear our selves saying, "Sure do wish we could take a walk on the River Walk right now". Even though we are missing San Antonio there is plenty to do here in upstate New York, we have managed to make some headway on the yard and some house repairs. We really need to redo the bathrooms, so with the yard (a possible deck ...sigh...how many years have we wanted one), and the bathrooms I think we will busy right up till next winter with things to work on. Noah now works at Subway!!! Bowl For Kids Sake is currently happening. BFKS is an annual fund raiser to help children between the ages of 6 -14 get mentors who spend time with them, work with the family to encourage a child, build self esteem, teach life skills, and be a positive role mode. I managed to raise like $70.00... errr... which was far below my goal, but I have already asked folks to donate to things through out the year.. I can't expect everyone to just jump towards giving ... yadda yadda... staying positive ....onward... I will be puppy sitting for the BluePath service dog organization soon! I am super excited about having a puppy around the house! Mothers day is this coming weekend, I was really hoping to get a bike so that I could start riding it to work to cut down here and there on the amount of car driving I do and to combine outside time, commuting, and a work out. I had my mind set on getting one on Mothers Day weekend, New Paltz is having a bike swap event...my mind was just dead set on making the bike thing happen. So I was extremely delighted a week early when we went to some estate sales this past weekend and the very first one, had a 1990s Columbia Metro Bike! Perfect at $25.00 and in super great condition, stored inside hardly ever ridden. I am pleased as I have already put over 20 miles on the bike and it is working out so great. We will go to the bike swap and now I will be looking to add some accessories like you know... a basket or something ;0) Some other things I am working on: a new tattoo, hoping to schedule an appointment for late August for the tattoo for my birthday. Speaking of birthdays Josh will be 40 in 9 days! We have a few fun things planned including the BrewFest, going out to eat with a few dozen folks to the Old Brian Inn... Tonight I am excited about the dinner I am going to make for Josh and his band, it will be Spinach and black bean enchiladas, spicy chick pea soup, and a green salad paired with some amazing cheese I picked up at the co-op... just really super. I am going to post the recipe and photos if everything turns out. We have had a lot of great meals lately, I have just been to introverted lately and haven't been sharing all the great food. Plenty of the food we have had has been plant based of late, due to some great books I am reading which have inspired me. Books about ultra runners who are vegan, books on the chakras, books on the environmental impact of meat eating. I tend to really dig Plant Based Paleo, lots of healthy fats... LOTS of low carbs...slow absorbing carb veggies with fiber... some great plant protein with eggs, but I am still eating cheese, still eating sprouted grain bread...so I don't fit in any label and certainly can't claim to be Paleo or Vegetarian. The boys still get lunch meat on sandwiches, local farm with no nitrates used lunch meat. We aren't giving up meat fully...we just aren't there in our minds on it, but we are eating only 2 meals a week with meat I have managed to make this happen with diligence to doing most of the food shopping and making food. Of course when we go out to eat I can't control what Noah and Josh eat, nor do I really want to stress about it as I already stress so much on almost all things to the point of being a necrotic annoyance. But as a lover, partner...mom... it sort of is my job, to you know... help my clan have as many opportunities as possible to consider healthy eating options and to care about how their food is produced, which will ultimately become part of their body. One thing I wanted to bring up, but will post under the recipe category in its full glory, is the discovery of lentil and amaranth protein patties! Josh and Noah both ate these "burgers" I made with not one complaint but with plenty of positive compliments that gave me a boost in confidence that we can as a family eat less meat and help the environment, be healthy, and make more adjustments to our ever evolving family and family home life culture. Easter and Beltane has passed, we were very low key on these holidays this year. No fire jumping, no Easter egg dying (though we did each paint an egg with nail polish at my moms in Florida)... we were at the Ocean on Easter, and I was in Denver Colorodo in a long lay over on Beltane... So I did not jump over a fire... i jumped with the jet fuel through turbulents. It's been hard to adjust back to the regular routine, but also exactly what we needed to get back to our day-to-day things... Seems the right balance of exploring and being home has been accomplished, I hope to be on our regular routine for a few months before we attempt more traveling, I feel pretty content about all of it at this point... the balance is good. Podcasts we dug in April : S Town ! The fact that it is so popular is not a fluke...there is something worth listening to in each episode as it draws you in. listen listen listen away. Podcasts currently on my daily or weekly listen: (I can't listen to them all every day but I do try to listen to them as often as possible) NPR Up First World Organic News Middle East Weekly
Middle East Matters Beyond Belief
The Writers Almanac Get Fit Guys Quick and Dirty Tips Grammar Girls Q & D Tips Money Girls Q & D Tips Get it Done Guy Q & D Tips Kabbalah for everyone Talk 1300 Albany Hidden Brain Candidate Confessional Bernie Show Vox's The Weeds Decoded DC Lectures from Gnostic Teachings The Rich Roll Podcast Marathon Training Academy Endurance Planet Smart Drug Smarts Dog Cast Stuff You Should Know Ben Greenfield fitness ~~~~ be blessed.
peace