Red Rock Bash

What a perfect day, visiting Las Vegas, to drive out to Red Rock Canyon near Lake Mead.

After hiking for an hour, I lost my footing on a rock & my leg came to a serious halt on a pinnacle of sandstone.  My shin was slashed down to the muscle.  A deep little 2 inch slit that would make us turn back.

No summit, but a blood-dripping hike back down & an new adventure in applying liquid rubber bandage to seal the "larger than recommended" gap with accompanying butterfly stitches, all for sale at the nearest Rite Aid.

Come on mom, keep jumping!

I jump on my trampoline 3-5 x a week with my kids.  As they jump around, I try to jump hard without stopping for 1 full minute, 5 different times.  It's hard!  My kids just keep jumping & jumping & jumping & flipping & it drives me to keep up with them because they are so happy!
 
Jumping definitely helped my endurance & pain tolerance of burning quads when I competed on Wipeout.  (I was able to make a few leaps with confidence after jumping over & under my kids all the time!)

I have to stop & rest every minute...but hearing them say "mom keep jumping with us!" is music to my soul.  Jumping, looking at them jumping, all of us smiling at each other jumping inside this protective net wall around the trampoline.  This is my heaven.

I "Got Sugar" today in a different way ~ sweet, pure love from my kids!

Minute to Win it

Yesterday I got up at 5am (straightened my hair, tried on 4 different outfits & walked the dogs) & drove to Studio City for my 11am audition for "Minute to Win It" Game Show.  I was excited, nervous, sticky with perspiration, felt jittery but pumped & my brain was like a washing machine of ideas on how to "sell myself" to the casting company.  NONE OF WHICH came out of my mouth when they were filming my audition.  I couldn't believe I forgot to tell them I was an event photographer!!!  They asked me about my home town & why No. Cal. was better than So. Cal. (which distracted me & was not what I had planned for my 1 minute of character development.)  Then my 36 cup pyramid crashed partway & I didn't take them down in a "minute to win it!"

I had glimpses of how much fun I was having ("feeling" things I don't normally feel... giddiness, anticipation, butterflies...)  Then the desire to be chosen & the fear of not being entertaining enough overtook those fun feelings.  But still, this is why I was auditioning, to really feel alive!

3/4 of the way through the audition I was not chosen & told to go "enjoy the rest of my day."  I hadn't eaten all day so I quickly found a Taco Bell to fill my sorrows with 3 crunchy fresco tacos!  If anything, this audition kicked my sweet tooth & it's day 1 of no sugar or high fructose corn syrup (I'm not counting 2 glasses of red wine for dinner).

Monster Pancakes!

Regular pancakes are getting boring.  So the kids & I got creative this morning!

My healthy start was 1 cup "Heart Smart" Bisquick (adorned with a Box Top for my school), 1/2 cup wheat flour, 1/4 ground flax seed, 1 grated apple with skin, 1 egg + 3 egg whites, 1/4 cu 1% milk, 1 pat melted butter, 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt.

Then we added Chocolate Chips & Butterscotch chips & cereal!  Zoe added Lucky Charms & Nate smashed up Chocolate Mini Wheats!  They were lumpy & chunky & the kids picked them up like monsters (no syrup, no forks, no mess)!

A new breakfast favorite with fruit, dairy, fiber & protein!  I feel like Tony the Tiger "They're GRRRRRREAT!"

Getting this apron from Amazon might be in my future~

Ribbit Chirp Chirp

It's like living in the tropics in my upstairs bathroom, the sounds of nature ...well really 30 crickets living in a plastic tub.  We got 2 new low maintenance pets...Chubby Tree Frogs!


They sit sleeping in one spot all day & sit awake in a different spot all night.  They wait for crickets to hop by them to nab for a meal.

I can't imagine such a limited menu!

Grocery Items

After an hour 'strength training workout' in my living room, (while watching my favorite shows "Modern Family" & then "Minute to Win it") I headed out for some fresh groceries.  As I loaded the conveyor belt to the cashier, I smiled at my selections!  Raw beets, cucumbers, carrots, sweet potatoes, organic mixed greens, peppers, tomatoes, fresh strawberries, whole grain bread, oven roasted turkey, skim milk, free range eggs....& 2 tubs of chocolate peanut butter swirl ice cream on sale: 2 for $5, plus 2 tubs of Cool Whip for mixing with my low fat cottage cheese & strawberries...yummy!  Boy do I know good health AND good SUGAR!

For lunch I baked the raw beet - wrapped in foil for 50 minutes at 400 degrees & it was delicious!  It tasted like corn with a firm potato consistency.  I liked it much more than I thought & I didn't need to wear lipstick after it dyed my lips pink!

The ice cream I saved for after dinner (Amy's Fire Roasted Southwestern Vegetable soup was delicious & spicy.)  Ribbons of peanut butter in the chocolate ice cream felt heavenly in my mouth - definitely worth the wait!

Chocolate Fiber Crunch

Okay, I am on a roll with this healthy chocolate thing & have just melted semi sweet chocolate chips with fiber one cereal to satisfy my sweet tooth & get some vitamins, minerals & fiber!  I remember seeing The Chocolate Bar in Texas sell blobs of Lucky Charms tossed with chocolate, but I'm upping the ante & adding some roughage!  Bon Appetite!