Travel: Mt. Magazine, Arkansas ~ November 2009

Arkansas is nicknamed "The Natural State," and visiting some of our parks will show you why. There is so much beauty in our state. You can make an incredible vacation by just staying in our state. Throughout the summer we like to visit lakes with our boat and camper, but in the fall you can't beat the beauty in the Ozarks.

In the fall of 2009 we visited Mt. Magazine. We took our cargo trailer with the 4-wheeler in it, a tent, and some camping equipment. Although it was just one weekend, it was without a doubt one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken.

The one bad thing about the trip was that the leaves had already fallen. I can't imagine how beautiful it was with all the fall colors.

Setting up our home:

Cooking in my high class kitchen:

The lengths I'll go to just to get a picture:

Enthusiasm or Fuddy-Dud?

Who is more fun to encounter: an enthusiastic person or a fuddy-dud? Enthusiasm makes life more fun, and it adds meaning to activities and tasks. Test today's motivation on your kids, co-workers, spouse or friends. For example, if your child is struggling with learning her multiplication facts, it may not be fun for you to sit down with her and work on them. She may argue and complain. Now for the test: Try to teach her 6 x 6 by simply doing flashcards, having her write it over and over again, and any other traditional method. Move on to 6 x 8. Make it fun, exciting and enthusiastic. Dance around singing a rhyme of "six times eight is forty-eight!" See which one she learns better. Meanwhile, you will find that you are enjoying the task much more, too.

Enthusiasm is a choice. If you choose to be enthusiastic about a situation, you will truely become enthusiastic about it. Sometimes you may have to fake yourself into it, but you will not have to fake it long. Enthusiasm is contagious, and you'll be surprised at how easily you'll catch it from yourself.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit."

~Gordon Parks

Crafts: New Baby Birth Announcement Door Hanger

My sister-in-law had a baby boy in December. At the time my husband and I were on our 22nd month of trying to conceive, so I knew it was going to be a bittersweet birth. Although I was so excited to get a new nephew, it would tear at my heartstrings to know that I might never get to experience that myself. I decided the best way to deal with it emotionally was to focus my energy on doing something for the baby. I love seeing the door hangers that people get when they have a baby, so I told my sister-in-law that I would make one for her. I searched Pinterest for ideas, but I couldn't find anything that fit what I wanted. So I went to her house and took pictures of her nursery. I wanted to use the colors of the nursery. Then I went to Hobby Lobby, bought some matching paint and ribbon, and I bought a few wooden cutouts and a foam wreath. This was my end result. I was proud of the final result.

Pessimism Not Allowed

Have you ever heard the saying, "If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. Either way, you're right." Believing you can accomplish a goal will put you on the right path to achievement. As General Eisenhower's quote says in today's motivation, pessimism is not likely to get you the win. You must think positively and believe you can. Your results follow your actions, and your actions follow your thoughts. Think like a winner, and you will play like a winner. Play like a winner, and you will be a winner.

Yummy: Tilapia Roll-Ups

I found this recipe in the March 2011 Clean Eating magazine. If you aren't familiar with Clean Eating, it specializes in natural, whole, organic foods. My husband and stepson both used to eat very healthy, but they had gotten into a rut of eating very unhealthy. I decided I needed to find some recipes that would be healthy, yet taste good enough to make them want the healthy meal over the unhealthy one. This was the perfect recipe for that! They both loved it!

Minutes to Prepare: 60
Minutes to Cook: 25
Number of Servings: 4

Ingredients:
~   Olive Oil or Cooking Spray
~   3 to 4 Green Onions
~   10 Whole Wheat Lasagna Noodles
~   1 Carrot Peeled
~   1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
~   12 oz. Tilapia Filets
~   4 oz. Light Cream Cheese
~   1/2 cup Skim Milk
~   1/2 tsp Dried Dill
~   1/2 tsp Sea Salt
~   2 oz Reduced Fat Mozzarella
~   Fresh Dill for Garnish

Directions:
~   Preheat oven to 350. Lightly mist an 8x8 glass pan with cooking spray.
~   Rinse onions well, trim off white tops and discard. Carefully score the connected layers so you have strands. Set aside.
~   Prepare lasagna noodles according to instructions, rinse, set aside. During the last 90 seconds of cooking add strands of onions to soften, then set aside.
~   Grade carrot, set aside.
~   In a large non-stick pan over medium heat add oil. Heat and add tilapia. Shake pan so fish does not stick. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, then flip and cook for a minute more or until fish is no longer opaque. Remove from heat.
~   Mix cream cheese (or ricotta) together with milk, dill, and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk constantly until mixture is melted and creamy. Add half of mozzarella. Stir in carrots and tilapia, and remove from heat.
~   Lay lasagna noodles out on a counter top. Place 2 tbsp of the mixture at the bottom of the noodle, and roll it away from you. Make a bundle that stays together without squeezing out the filling. Tie each bundle with an onion layer and place in the pan.
~   Place remaining mozzarella over bundles and top with dill.
~   Bake for 25 minutes.

You will have a ridiculously yummy, clean dinner the whole family will love!

Pessimism

"I never saw a pessimistic General win a battle."

~General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Cheer Up! An Anti-Depressant with Positive Side Effects!

With the pressures created by today’s economy, even typically happy people are fighting depression. For those who already struggle with clinical depression, some of these added stressors may be more than they can handle. So how do you alleviate the symptoms without the many side effects caused by antidepressant medications? Psychotherapy has shown to be a successful method of decreasing depression, and when combined with antidepressants it can be even more successful. But emerging research is turning to exercise as a treatment for many forms of depression.

How does moving your body correct your mind? Both psychological and physiological effects are being studied. Psychologically induced improvements can be explained by changes in the body creating increases in self-esteem which, in turn, cause the individual to feel happier and more confident. Another confidence booster is the sense of mastery that is created by accomplishing goals.

Now for the physiologically scientific explanations… Depression is a disorder in the brain that is caused by levels of chemicals, namely neurotransmitters such as beta-endorphin, serotonin, and dopamine, being out of whack. These neurotransmitters are linked to mood and pain interpretation. When you exercise, these chemicals are transmitted and secreted at a much faster rate. This reaction may normalize the levels of the chemicals in the brain causing mood to increase and, thus, depression to decrease. Although exercise may not take effect as quickly as antidepressants, after 16 weeks of continuous exercise it may reduce major depression equally as effectively as antidepressant medications. Plus, exercise has many added benefits! If you’re worried about side effects of medication, the chief side effect you may experience from exercise is fitting into those skinny jeans again. It’s a win-win situation!

Are you ready to get started but don’t really know where to begin? Lace up those walking shoes and hit the pavement. Cardio exercise and strength training have equal effects. So whether you hit the weights in the gym, take up a kickboxing class, or walk the dog around a few blocks, the key idea is that you get moving!

The only rule: Don’t overdo it! Overtraining can cause an adverse effect, so be sure to start slow. Find an activity you will enjoy, and consider teaming up with a friend or hiring a personal trainer. Whatever method you choose, get moving!

Attitude

"Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill."

~ Charles Swindoll

Travel: Cozumel, Mexico ~ 2009

Our first trip as a couple was to Cozumel, Mexico. We both love to scuba dive, so we thought this would be a good vacation for us. It still blows my mind to think that I went on a trip like that with a guy I'd only been dating for 6 weeks. I had known for 6 weeks, though, that I was going to marry him.

We got the deal through cheapcarribean.com. Our trip was a 7 days/6 nights, all-inclusive stay at the Palace Resort in Cozumel. When I saw all-inclusive, I mean all-inclusive! All room service was included! All adult beverages... included! All meals at any restaurant in the resort (and they served GOOD food)... included! All that, and it only cost us $1100 total INCLUDING airfare!!! Now THAT'S a deal! But... it gets better!

If you've never been to Mexico, let me warn you. When you get off your plane and get through customs you will be greeted by some locals that seem very helpful. I think they wear blue jackets. I can't remember the color for sure. You will see a lot of them, though. They are NOT there just to help you. They work for timeshare resorts and they are trying to draw you in to sit through one of their presentations and use high-pressure techniques to sucker you into buying a timeshare. Now here's where I'm going to give you different advice than some would give you. DO IT! If you don't have a schedule while you're down there, do it! We did, and we are so glad we did. If Tim would have been alone, it probably would not have been good. He's a pushover, and he probably would have bought into an expensive timeshare. I'm stubborn and outspoken at times, though, so I kept us from spending the money. For agreeing to sit through their presentation they gave us 2 days of 2-tank dives each for FREE, 2 days of a motor scooter to ride around the island for FREE, and a day's trip to Playa del Carmen to sit through the presentation with FREE transportation, FREE breakfast, FREE adult beverages while there, and FREE lunch. GOOD food! To top it off, we were given a FREE week's stay at the resort we visited. It had to be used within 2 years, and used it was! You'll see that post later.

Now... we did buy a type of timeshare, but it wasn't the full-blown timeshare. We got 10 years of 4 weeks per year stay at any of their resorts in Mexico, Spain, Dominican Republic, or one other place that escapes me. We paid $3000, and each time we go we only have to pay the all-inclusive fee of $37 per person per day. That means all your food is included. You would spend at least that much at home if you ate out every day.

Check out our pics, and feel free to holler at me if you have any questions or want any advice on how to score some awesome travel deals!

Dinner at one of the fabulous restaurants:

Heading out to our dive site. Isn't he cute?!?

One of the all-inclusive poolside bars: 

Margaritaville ~ Cozumel: 

Getting ready to board the ferry for our day trip to Playa del Carmen: 

Being silly in Playa: 

Our scooter we got to use for free for 2 days:

We forgot to mention... we got a FREE upgrade to first class!

Our awesome room! You can't beat that for the price!

Tim enjoying the hammock on our balcony:

The view from the resort in Playa that we visited:

Senor Frogs in Playa:

This was some of the most beautiful diving EVER!!! It's all drift diving, and it's awesome!