Goals. A First Step

Part of getting back into blogging again for me was to start working on some goals that I have been mulling over for the last little while. In an effort to hold myself accountable, I decided to start blogging about some of my goals or as a means to meet some of my goals.

It's funny how lazy I can get sometimes. I like to be comfortable. I don't like to have to put much energy and effort into things but I always expect extraordinary results from my minimal effort. I know that sitting on the couch eating ice cream will not help me to be healthy or to lose weight, but I do. I know that spending hours on the couch watching tv will not give me a clean or organized home, but I do it anyway. I know that going out to eat each weekend will not help me to find new healthy recipes or try new things in the kitchen, but I do anyway. Yet, I still expect to lose weight, have a clean home and to have amazing cooking several nights a week. That doesn't make much sense now does it?

So I have decided that I really need to write my goals down, be specific and make a plan to try to attain them. This is the scary part. Its the part that I can't ignore or run away from. Once things are down, in electronic ink, I can't pretend they don't exist anymore.

So here goes.

1. I want to be healthier. This is something I have been working towards for a while, but it's so easy to get tripped up. I find this one really hard!!! Why can't cheesecake and pizza melt the pounds away?

I want to do this by losing the 15-20 pounds I have gained in the last few years. I want to get more sleep and eat more fruits and vegetables and balance meals. I will achieve this by going to the gym at least twice a week and by not allowing myself to take it easy while working out. I will buy more fruits and vegetables at the grocery store and find new recipes and ways to eat healthier foods. I will continue to not buy junk food at the store and will begin to wean myself off of some of the many indulgences I enjoy but still allow myself an occasional treat. I will make sleep a priority and not force myself to stay awake when I am really tired.

That's a big one... but there's more.

2. I will read more and watch less TV. I spend a lot of time at home alone. And what do I do most of this time? Sit on my comfy couch and watch hours and hours of TV. It's easy. I don't have to think, I don't have to move, I don't have to do anything but stare at the screen. I am not condoning this, but I am saying it's easy. But I don't want to be a couch potato. I want to be expanding my knowledge and learn new things.

I will do this by intentionally turning off the TV and finding other more productive things to do. I will buy or borrow books of interest to me, both fiction and non fiction. I will challenge myself to read 2-3 books per month. I will challenge myself to be reading books that will stretch my thinking and help me to grow. I will challenge myself to read more of my Bible.

3. I will keep a tidier, more organized house. Let's face it. Andrew and I aren't neat, in any definition of the word. I always envy those people who have the perfect home no matter what time or day you show up at their door. Their floors sparkle, their bedrooms are spotless, everything has a home and is in its home. Those people drive me crazy. HOW DO THEY DO IT?

I will tackle this challenge with baby steps. I will not leave to tomorrow something that I can do today. I will try to clean up dishes and kitchen clutter at the end of each meal or day. I will remind myself that it only take 10 minutes to vaccuum the floor. I will put things away after I use them instead of leaving them laying about. I will try to take a few minutes each day to do a general tidying.

4. I will cook more and eat out less. Let's be honest, eating out is easy and TASTY. But its definitely not cheap or good for your waistline.

I will attain this by finding new recipes online and in cookbooks and picking 1-2 each week to try. I will create a shopping list to ensure that I have all the ingredients needed. I will challenge myself to try cooking things that I have never tackled before. I will try not to get discouraged at failed recipes but learn from these attempts. I will find ways to make eating at home fun by planning a themed menu or making fun/different recipes. I will leave eating out for special occasions and for a treat.

5. I will try to spend less and save more. This is a hard one. I am sure that this is on a lot of people's goal lists. But I really DO want to try to attain this one.

I will ask myself the question, 'Is this a need or a want?' before each purchase. I will make bigger sacrifices to put money into savings. I will spend less money on eating out by finding things to make at home. I will be happy with what I have instead of longing for things I don't have. I will not go to the mall or the store when I don't have money to spend. I will budget.

6. I will go on a real vacation in the next year. Andrew and I didn't go anywhere exotic for our honeymoon (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and we told ourselves we would take a big trip for our 1 year anniversary. Money ended up being tight for our first anniversary so we stayed local (ish) and went to Chicago for two nights. Both of these trips were very memorable and fun, but I want to actually go on an airplace and fly off to someplace not closeby. I want to disconnect for 5-10 days. Go off the grid, explore.

Santorini, Greece. My dream vacation.

I will begin to save more now so that this is attainable. I will research destinations and find the right vacation for Andrew and I (if we can ever agree). I will make this a priority over smaller expenditures that I don't need. I will remind myself that the memories created when traveling will last a lifetime and will be remembered beyond the instant gratification that a new outfit or a meal out.

I could go on, but I think that six is a good number for now. I mean, these are BIG goals.

I plan to try to make small changes in my daily life to attain each of these six things. I will not expect instant change or results with minimal effort. I will try to remind myself that change takes time and that each small thing I do contributes to my goals. I will not be discouraged with set backs, I will simply try agian.

I hope to see noticeable progress towards these goals within 6 months. I think that is a reasonable time period.

Now I can't pretend like I haven't put this out there for all to see and try to convince myself that I will reach goals by sitting on the couch... is it kind of ironic that I am sitting on my comfy couch while I am type this post? :)

So, why am I making goals? Because I am more scared of what will happen if I don't. I am scared that I will stay the same and not become better. I am scared that I will become stagnant and not reach my potential. I am scare that life will pass me by and when I reach the end of my life, I will have more things that I regret not doing than I actually did.

I think God created us to have goals and to have the motivation to use the gifts we have been given. I think sometimes we have goals to attain the wrong things, but I think God will show us when we get off track when we are willing to listen.

Here's to the first step towards my goals. Wish me luck

C

Coconut Breakfast Quinoa

I've recently been obsessed with a new food blog that I found and I must share the goodness with you.

It's called How Sweet It Is and can be found here:

Before I start gushing about how much I love this blog and the crazy food cominations that this girl comes up with, let me just preface with saying that I love food. I like to eat it, I like to cook it, I like to try new food, read about food and I spend way too much time thinking about food. If you scroll down a few posts, you can read my confession about my love affair with food and how I need to stop myself from constantly eating. That said, I am always up for new and different recipes outside of the whole meat and potatoes thing and this blog delivers.

This blog offers recipes for food combinations that I never would have considered: Hot Blueberry Cheddar Dip, Bacon, Peanut Butter Banana Bread, Thai Chicken Enchiladas are just a few! And no matter how weird the recipe, the blogger, Jessica, has amazing photos and descriptions of the food that make you want to run to the store and try the recipe right away. I wish I had this girl's brain (and metabolism... I don't know how she is still skinny) to come up with these recipes. But, if you can't beat em, join em! So I am sharing this blog with all of you so you don't miss out on the deliciousness.

I adapted my Caramelized Onion, Capicolla and Peach Pizza from her Summer Pizza recipe (who would have thought to put fruit on pizza? Not me!) and it was great!

I see her latest post is 135 Recipes for Football Season that I am so pumped about. Not only can this girl cook, but she understands the love of football! Is anyone else excited for the Season Opener on Wednesday? (I hope to try 1 or 2 of the 135 football recipes to celebrate!)

So this past weekend I decided to try out her Breakfast Quinoa Recipe and fell in love! I have tried breakfast quinoa before and I found it very boring, and very similar any oatmeal I have tried, but this recipe knocks it out of the park. The combo of coconut milk, bananas and the nuts really make it amazing. I added in some frozen blueberries because what breakfast isn't better with blueberries? They added a nice tartness and flavor to top off the breakfast.

I've eaten this for breakfast twice this weekend and will likely make a batch to put in the fridge for breakfasts this week.

You need to try this! It's way better and more filling than oatmeal!

That's my food love rant for the day. Check out How Sweet It Is online and try some new recipes. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Happy cooking and eating!

C

A Salute to Summer

In honour of Labour Day and the unofficial end if summer I thought I'd reflect a little on some of what I've been up to and why I love enjoying the summer as a Southern Ontarian.

 

I love living in Southern Ontario in the summer! Sure, sometimes I can't stand the heat (the hot weather and I reconciled once we go A/C in our apartment) or the construction, but I think that the perks outweigh the downsides of summer.

 

Port Stanley - A sunset walk

First, there's the beach. I love being by the water and having grown up less than a 10 minute drive from Lake Erie, I honestly can't get enough of it! Living in land locked London has been a difficult transition for me. I have been used to an evening drive out to the water to clear my head or to enjoy the sunset. Luckily there are several beaches within an hour's drive of here. This year Andrew and I made it to the beach twice. We should have went more.... I resolve to do better next year.

I love spending time in my lawn chair at one of our many parks.

There is just something about disconnecting from the TV and the noise at home and finding some solace in nature. There is much to be said about being outdoors and listening to the silence it really helps me to sort through thoughts and get a better perspective on life.

 

You know what Summer means? Baseball! Andrew and I got official Jays jerseys this year and went to a game on possibly the hottest day of the year. It was so much fun and cheering for Bautista is definitely more fun live. We even were on TV (Sportsnet) when the Jays came back from behind.

The hubs and I love to eat and prepare food outside. Since we don't currently have a balcony or any outdoor space in our apartment, we can't barbeque or eat out on the patio. This has led us to have to improvise... meaning spending too much time (and cash) eating at restaurants so we can sit on the patio. We've also tried grilling indoors with our cast iron grill pan that is impossible to clean (I might hate cleaning it because it doesn't fit in the dishwasher).

Our many attempts to savour the taste of BBQ has unfortunately led to many evenings with the windows wide open and fans running trying to get rid of the smoke. We are very excited about our new condo (1 month til we move!) which has not just 1 but TWO balconies! We look forward to many nights of BBQ and dinner on the patio. I just hope the weather stays nice into October like it has in the past few years. A post on our new condo to come.

 

Finally and definitely not least, I love living in Southern Ontario because of all the fresh produce you can get. There is nothing like having fresh corn on the cob or finishing your meal with amazing watermelon or seeing pints and pints of blueberries for sale at the farmers market. I love that summer is an excuse to eat healthy local ingredients.

Loot from a trip to the Farmers Market

 

 

Lately I have been in love with peaches. I have made a blueberry peach cobbler, Chicken with Goat Cheese and BBQed peaches (I took over my parent's kitchen and bbq for that one), Grilled Chicken Kabobs with Peaches and Chipotle BBQ Sauce (see the above pic) as well as Peach, Cheese and Bacon Paninis (which have to be one of the best flavor combinations I have ever had)

and Peach and Capicolla Pizza .

Who knew that peaches were so versatile and so yummy!

 

All in all, I have to say that I love summer, and this one in particular has been a pretty great one. As I celebrate the unofficial end to summer, I think of all of the memories created and am thankful for great friends and family who made it so wonderful.

 

Here's a salute to all that summer is and all that I will miss in those cold winter months.

 

Happy Labour Day all!

C