Happy July First!

Gosh, it's hard to believe that the first half of 2012 is OVER! It's DONE. Wow.

How are things going on your goals? I had a bunch of goals for the year and most of them (due to outside circumstances) are not going to be completed as I originally intended. This is not to say at all that I gave up or am not doing them, just that sometimes we have a goal in our head and as we proceed through our life we realize that the goal must be modified. Not necessarily abandoned.

So, overall, I'm feeling really good about my goals for 2012.

Let's revisit them shall we, and do a little update?

1. Complete my Bachelor of Science in Human Communication by the end of Fall Term 2012 (December), including a Certificate in Human Resources Management and a Certificate in Conflict Resolution.

Alright, I've already updated you on this one. Not going to happen because of class availability. I am on track to graduate the end of Winter term 2013 though. And I am super thankful to one of my professors who was willing to do a class for me over the summer term that is typically only taught in Spring term. Thank you Jody!

2. Lose 20 pounds.

This goal is on track! I lost and then gain and have lost again (my typical scenario) but I am on track to make this goal happen! Woohoo!

3. Complete the Helvetia Half Marathon on June 9th, 2012 in Hillsboro, Oregon. 13.1 miles.

DONE!! I completed the half (walking) in just under 4 hours. It was awesome!

4. Exercise at least 20 minutes 183 days of the year.
I am just going to admit that I have done an absolutely horrible job of keeping track of how many days of the year I have exercised. I have no clue how many days, but what I do know is that I have consistenly been exercising. Not every day, but regularly, and this is the kind of habit I need to continue to build upon, which is really the whole point of this goal in the first place, to build consistency. So, even though the number of days hasn't been tracked, I am building consistency.

5. Complete 3960 exercise minutes during the year.
Okay, another admission: I have done a horrible job of tracking how many minutes I have worked out. Here's what I do know: My average cardio workout at home is 50 minutes. My average walk was at least an hour while I was training, with several of them being multiple hours. In order to meet this goal I only need 66 days of 60 minutes of exercise, so I'm fairly confident the the number of minutes I have been working out will mean I exceed this goal.

I actually just did a little figuring based on what is recorded in mapmyfitness and my recent FIRM workout routine and figured I have at least 1772 minutes. It is actually more than that because my workouts from early in the year are not included so, I have well over 2000 minutes so far. So if we just say I have 2000 more to do and divide that by 50 which is my average minutes that means I need about 40 more 50 minutes workouts to reach this goal. This should be no problem!

So there we are. A little halfway point update and it looks to me like I am pretty on track for the main goals I wanted to achieve this year. How are you doing on your goals?

For the month of June I also participated in a 30-Day Salad Challenge where the goal was to eat a salad every day the month of June. While I did not eat a salad every day (I think there were four or five days that I didn't eat a salad) I did succeed in the spirit of the challenge which was to be aware of and increase veggie consumption. I frequently had more than one green salad a day, so I did eat lots of greens and veggies in June.

What's on tap for JULY??

Well, putting an exception in for the Fourth of July this Wednesday, my goal is to eat really clean between now and the 12th of July. No sweets, limit alcohol to only a couple days a week, and eat lots of really good healthy fruits, vegs and proteins in appropriate portions. Goal number two is to continue to exercise 50 minutes at least every other day. More would be awesome, but that is the main goal.

As far as fitness goals go I want to increase my plank time and increase the amount of weight I am lifting for a couple different exercises. I am always working on improving my ab strength and improving my push up performance.

Here is some of what I ate yesterday and today so far to kick this goal off:

Last nights dinner: grilled lemon-dill salmon. I had coleslaw on the side.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with sauteed bok choy and a cup of fruit (strawberries, grapes, kiwi), along with coffee and water.

So good! Heat pan, add a little olive oil, saute chopped bok choy with pepper, salt and garlic poweder. When not quite cooked add eggs and scramble.

Fruit Salad

 I have mentioned many time before that meal planning and prep work are a key to my eating well during the week. Here is the menu for this week (for dinners). Breakfasts and lunches are usually very similar, eggs and fruit for breakfast, greens and proteins for lunch, snacks are usually fruit or nuts or peanut butter.

How about you? Do you have your meals planned for the week? Do you have a fitness goal for the month? Share with me in the comments and we'll keep each other motivated!!

Growing Season

Despite the fact that our weather has been pretty much the exact opposite of the rest of the country this week (raining and stormy!) our garden is trucking right along! I thought I would take a minute and post some pictures showing some of the amazing stuff happnening out there.

Let's start with the ridiculousness that is was out spinach. Recall that we planted this late last summer in the hopes of a fall crop. That never happened, but early this spring it took off and started to grow...and grow...and grow! I got BAGS and BAGS of spinach off of these plants. I was giving away bagfulls to anyone who would take them!

Yah..ridiculous!! And that is not ALL the lettuce...that is just the spinach!!

Spinach

Bok Choy

Yesterday I picked this mess of greens:

We have also had some success with the variety of peas we planted this year. Last year our peas did nothing. This year I have had to give them away because I don't want them to go bad. (This is part of the dilemma of only having two people and a large garden!)

Now, lets go outside and see what is growing but not ready to eat yet...

Anaheim Chile Pepper

Japanese Eggplant

Sweet Corn

Green Beans

Cucumber

Future Pickles

Monster Cauliflower

Monster Sunflower

Tomato Garden (13 different plants)

'maters!

happy 'mater

We also have picked the first of the blueberries:

No, there isn't that many yet, but they still are delicious!

Other things out there include potatoes, tomatillos, onions, garlic, carrots, radishes, sage, basil, dill, chives, rosemary, cilantro, watermelon, canteloupe, strawberries, acorn squash, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, soy beans, raspberries, lemons, plums, cabbage, broccoli, zucchini, and a wide variety of peppers. Whew!

So that is what is happening in le gardin de Beebe.

Do you have a garden this year? How's it growing?

The Friday Five 6/29/12

1. What I'm Reading

One of the benefits of my college education is that my blog readers get to share in some of the things I find most interesting about my learning experience. Two of my classes for the summer require reading of The Wall Stree Journal as part of the curriculum. I now have an 8 week subscription and will be reading (parts) of the paper each week and writing up various essays about articles I read. I'm specifically focusing on articles relating to business ethics (no shortage of material there!) and articles relating to cultural conflicts. I haven't read an actual newspaper in a very long time as I get my daily news online, and I can see why newspapers are struggling. In the age of instant news availability (regardless of accuracy, right CNN & FOX News??) a newspaper as soon as it's printed is "out of date." An example is from yesterday's paper. One of the "What's News" features was that the Supreme Court was going to rule on health care reform. By the time my paper was delivered in the afternoon the ruling had already occurred and not only had I read about the ruling, but I had read several articles about Justice John Roberts and his role in the final decision. The headline on today's paper is that the court backed Obama on healthcare. This is old news today! We have moved on to some other news. Anyway, what I'm reading is The Wall Street Journal.

2. What I'm Listening To

I should change this one to something else this week because I haven't really been listening to anything all that interesting. In the car I listen to SiriusXM 80's on 8 or 90's on 9, which seriously bring back some memories! Yesterday I heard this song:

Biz Markee "Just A Friend." HA! Right!

3. What I'm Watching



Frontline/World War of Ideas

"...reporter Greg Barker travels to the Middle East to examine the rise of Arab satellite TV channels and their impact on the "war of ideas" at a time of convulsive change and conflict in the region. His report focuses on the growing influence of Al Jazeera, and the controversy around the recent launch of Al Jazeera English, which U.S. satellite and cable companies have declined to carry. Barker also visits the "war room" of the State Department's Rapid Response Unit, which monitors Arab media 24 hours a day, and meets with U.S. military officers whose mission is to engage the Arab news channels in debate."

Frontline/World Requiem: Reporting In a Dangerous World

This one I couldn't find on YouTube, but you can access the 15 minute video from the link above.

"At a time when fair and accurate news coverage is more essential than ever, 2006 marked one of the deadliest years on record for journalists. Surprisingly, despite the fierce fighting in Iraq, most of the slain journalists did not die in combat. They were deliberately targeted, hunted down, and murdered for investigating corruption, crime, or human rights abuses in countries around the world. In Requiem, FRONTLINE/World essayist Sheila Coronel looks at the dangers journalists confront as they try to tell their stories and pays special tribute to reporters working in the Philippines, Russia, Turkey, Zimbabwe, China and Iraq who have been killed, jailed, or exiled for daring to speak truth to power."

These, too, are part of a class I'm taking. I found them to be fascinating. For those that think the media portrays an unbiased view of what is happening in the world I encourage you to view the first video in particular. Yes, it is fairly long at 40 minutes, but it is a fascinating view on the world we don't get to see here in the United States. And remember, the majority of the news we see is actually propaganda. Interesting stuff!

4. What I'm Eating

Enough of the heavy! Let's get on to the food!

Who loves onion rings?? I love onion rings, especially when they are really good!! Last weekend Chris and I stopped at Ken's Roadside Cafe in Canyonville. It is a greasy burger joint with super delicious onion rings. SO GOOD!! I don't often eat onion rings, but once in a while they are an awesome part of that 10% indulgence in my diet. Yummmmmm!

(source)

5. What I'm Pinning

Source: thegardenerseden.com via Corrie on Pinterest

This is fresh herbs frozen in olive oil...just add to a pan when ready to use! This is a great way to preserve your fresh herbs!

Source: a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net via Corrie on Pinterest

Source: shannonos.polyvore.com via Corrie on Pinterest

And just because she is adorables here is bonus # 6!

Invitation to Live

 

“Do you need an invitation to live?

You have one, it is called your birth certificate!”

~Joshua Estrin

My friends...what are you waiting for?

I think so often we forget or are in denial about the finite amount of time we have in this life.

We just have this ONE life! This ONE time here to be and do and live!

You only get this one opportunity to fulfill your wildest dreams, turn imagination to reality and be who you really want to be.

Do you want to move to Alaska? What are you waiting for? Are the logistics really that impossible to overcome?

Do you want to travel the world? Why can't you?

Do you want to grow more of your own food? What stops you?

How can you find a way to make your dreams come true?

Don't wait my friends.

Don't wait for the someday that may never be.

As one of my dear college professors says as a benediction at the end of every class session:

"Go forth and use wisely every heartbeat!"

 ~Dr. Alena Amato Ruggerio

Wildlife Safari

Here in Southern Oregon in a town called Winston is a very cool place called Wildlife Safari. Wildlife Safari is home to over 600 animals from 80 different species, according to their website. When we lived in Portland I heard about Wildlife Safari and wanted to visit, but it was about a 3 hour drive. Since we have moved to Southern Oregon I have been waiting for the right opportunity to go. We live just over an hour or so to the south. My birthday weekend turned out to be the perfect opportunity.

Wildlife Safari is not a zoo. For the most part the animals are not caged or corralled. A few of them are, for safety reasons, like the bears, tigers, lions, etc. But the majority of the animals are allowed to range freely on the property.

The park is segmented into two areas. The first is the drive-through, which is what we did. The second (which we did not do) is the Village. The drive-through is exactly that. The people stay in the car and drive slowly through the park property. The animals are all around in the fields, ranging freely, hanging out, eating, etc. They can come right up to the vehicle. We took a bunch of pictures and it was a really really cool experience!

I am SO glad we went and did this. I would recommend this to anyone if they are in the area or driving through. It takes about an hour to visit the drive through part of the park. Here are a bunch of pictures of the animals we saw. Remember you can click the images directly to enlarge them.

American Bison

Asian Yak

Cheetah

Siberian Tiger

There were many other animals, some pictures turned out better than others. We saw rhino's, too, but they were pretty far away. There were several monkeys, several different kinds of deer-type creatures, various goat species, elk and much more. It really was amazing and such a great way to see a variety of animals.

Wildlife Safari is all about animal conservation and education. They have one of the most successful cheetah breeding programs in the US. To find out more about the great things that you can do and see, or ways to help Wildlife Safari, visit their website.

And, if you are ever driving on I5 in Southern Oregon, put an extra hour or so in your schedule to go and check out the amazing animals at Wildlife Safari!