Gracious

Today I am reminded of how lucky I am that my child can grow up near the ocean.

What's good for the soul

July and August are chaotic at work with events. For 6 weeks in a row, I'm off on Friday because I've worked so much before Thursday. Usually, I spend those Friday days  grocery shopping, cleaning, doing laundry because Lil B is at pre-school. Fun times!

On the 6th Friday, I asked my Linda if she wanted to head for the mountains and go for a long hike we me. I love Linda because I learn so much from her (parenting, eco-friendliness and tips about life in general) and we always have a great time together.

Our hike ... Tam McArthur Rim ... 2.5 miles up switchbacks to a beautiful view of Three Creeks Lake.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Three Creeks Lake from Tam McArthur Rim Trail"][/caption]

The whole time we were hiking, we kept saying ... "Why didn't we do this every Friday?" Yea, that's what I should have been doing -- enjoying the great outdoors with my girlfriend -- that's good for the soul! At the top I exclaimed in Dora the Explorer style "We did! We did it!"

After about three hours, we were back to my Jeep and off the Three Creeks Brewery for some beer and burgers.

I realized on the way home that I need these mini breaks to keep life in check.

To view photos from our hike, go here.

Where have I been? Confession time

Has it really been since Mother's Day that I last posted? Sheesh. Bad blogger. I missed posting about Lil B's 2nd birthday, Lil B starting a new pre-school and Father's Day. Wow. I promise those posts are coming.

Life has been hectic. I ran into some friends over frozen yogurt who commented they haven't seen me lately. The truth of the matter, my family has been my priority and well, my health. I was on track to run a 10k and then I started having a ton of ankle pain. I was taking that training time as "me time" which left little "girl time" unless it was lunch or coffee during the work day. Since I work full time, I get to see my son in the morning before work and then after work like a lot of working moms. Most of the time, I get up with him with no gripes (most of the time) at 5:30 a.m. He usually goes to sleep at 7:30 p.m. (I pick him up at 5 p.m. from pre-school). So my me time was spent running and running until I started having awful ankle pain which would swell up and keep me up at nights. The verdict from the doctor … stop running and walk instead. ARGH. Really? I mourned the loss of running for about a second. So I started walking … 3 miles takes me 45 min vs 30 min running which equals less time with my child. I know it's only 15 min but still. I have moved my weekday walks to the morning at 5 a.m. (cuz I was up already) and I have no ankle pain. I do wish I did have a walking partner but the solitude of the Deschutes River at 5:30 a.m. is nice too.

What else? In true copycat style, Onenjen has inspired me to confess a few things I've been guilty of as of late so here goes:

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I'm addicted to the Real Housewives shows on Bravo. Those Jersey girls are so over the top, they make the OC ones look like Girls Scouts. I can't stand Bethenny but I still watch her show (and *gasp*, follow her on Twitter -- she has great recipes). I should probably take that time each night to do something like blog or read a book or do yoga but alas, it's trash TV and it sucks me in. Don't get me started on the Kardashians as I'm a sucker for them as well.

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I don't like Swiss Chard and kale. I get it each week in my CSA and it goes bad. I should probably give it to someone who does enjoy it as it's going to waste.

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I have a few things in the works but none I can talk about. It's killing me.

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Each week, I allow my son to get chicken McNuggets as a treat for dinner or lunch. After reading this, I will never let him have them AGAIN. He eats chicken nuggets (frozen kind from Costco) on a regular basis. I do make him try what we eat for dinner but he usually spits it out. I know, keep trying and I will. Until then, he'll survive on a diet of nuggets, quesadillas and pb&j. Why did Morningstar stop making veggie nuggets? Can someone solve this mystery for me?

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I've been looking at my food labels more and more esp. after watching Food Inc. Years ago, I was really good about it but then I had a kid and got lazy. I am proud to say that I only had to throw out a container of Heinz because it contained HFCS. We barely eat processed food at home though I eat Health Choice frozen dinners for lunch. They are easy to make, taste good and don't contain preservatives but they are processed.

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Speaking of labels, I saw this video and I'm looking at all labels on cosmetics. My husband's Old Spice contains propane. I'm buying an organic twin mattress for Lil B  and I'm thinking of stopping the use of shampoo and switching to baking soda. I'm experimenting with natural forms of deodorant but the two I have tried get a big old FAIL. Can you tell I'm a big obsessed with labels? One friend's advice … make these changes in moderation. So, in moderation, I'm making some changes to beauty, cleaning and other stuff that contains yucky stuff.

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I cut off my hair and LOVE it. What I don't love is the products I have to put in my hair to make it look cute. See the confession above.

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There will be a lot of weekend staycations happening this summer as my husband doesn't have any vacation time at his new job. This makes me sad but it means I get to explore more of Central Oregon.

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I thought I would be ready to have another child but as of right now, I'm not ready though my grandma reminds me I'm advanced maternal age.

OK, now that I got that all off my chest, you can tell my life is rather boring. I promise I will post more so stay tuned.

Artificial tears = my BFF

It has now been 11 days since I had my LASIK surgery and I’m happy to report that I A) survived and B) I have 20/15 vision. WOO HOO.

I was a whole lotta nervous for nothing. I took two .5 mg of Valium and they sat me down under this machine (obviously the laser) and just stared at it while it worked its magic. There was some pressure but only for a nano second and I had no idea when the laser was “doing it’s thing.” At the end of both eyes, the machine made this weird noise and I smelled smoke but I was warned that would happen and was normal.

Recovery was sleeping from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.  My husband picked me up from the surgery and I could see on the way home which was amazing and an hour after surgery. I went for my post-op the next day and could see 20/20 but the flap had moved a nano millimeter so I had to come back in a few day and then it was proclaimed I could 20/15. Woo hoo.

My eyes were not too dry at first but today I’m experiencing it big time (I think it’s because I went to our new Redmond office and the dust was flying all over the place). Artificial tears have been my best friend today. I have anywhere from two weeks to six months for the dry eye to go away. I guess it’s better than wearing glasses or contacts. Good thing Costco sells them in bulk.

I keep wanting to go take my contacts out before bed and I grab for my glasses on the night stand. I have to sleep with a stupid sleep shield for a few more days (I busted one already).

I realize I need to blog more. I have some exciting topics coming forth so stay tuned.

Week 4 - The sodium chronicles

At my week three weigh-in of the Biggest Loser at work, I came in two pounds under the last time I weighed in. I can not weigh-in daily because it's frustrating to see the scale NOT move. In talking with my doctor, you should lose more than one pound a week so I was happy with those results.

A few weeks ago, I started having ankle pain in the ankle that I twisted over the summer. Turns out, I tore the muscle and the scar tissue is causing the pain after I run. I was ordered to three weeks of physical therapy and to back off on the running. FABULOUS. PT isn't so bad though I get to lay down for 30 mins while my ankle gets massaged, then scrapped and then fun exercises. YAY! I usually feel pretty relaxed after but after running lately, my ankle hasn't been in pain at all. I just have to remember to do stretches and just take it easy when I run. I was hoping to add .5 mile this week but I decided not to push it. Maybe next week?

The physical therapist also recommended I don't spend all my energy running and add something to the mix. I've been intrigued by the water running class and gave it a shot. It's harder than it looks but at the same time was pretty low-impact on my ankle. The instructor and swim mates were welcoming and the next day I was so sore. Maybe I can run down the Deschutes River during the triathlon?

I'm beginning to doubt my triathlon abilities. I know it's in July but I'm getting pretty scared -- mostly of the swimming part. Good thing time is on my side!

As for food, I've been doing pretty well and the weekends are really really hard though but I allow for some fudging but in moderation.

We'll see!

Mary Lu's Enchiladas

(I'm doubling up on posts to catch up for the two days I didn't post this month. Bear with me)

[caption id="attachment_336" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Mary Lu's Enchiladas"][/caption]

As I mentioned before, my brother said his favorite meal my mother made was enchiladas. She found this recipe on the back of an Old El Paso Enchiladas sauce can (the red sauce). I looked in the store the other day to notice the recipe has changed. Good thing I have a copy in my recipe cards. This one is for my brother Christopher.

Mary Lu's Enchiladas (ala Old El Paso)

1 lb of ground beef

1 onion chopped

2 cans red enchilada sauce

1 can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon

2 cups jack cheese

8 flour torillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook onions until translucent (5-10 mins), then brown beef. In a sauce pan combine enchilada sauce, tomato sauce, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a boil and set aside.

Combine beef, 1 cup of cheese and 1/2 cup of prepared sauce. Dip tortillas in sauce, fill and roll. Top with one cup of cheese. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.

Enjoy!