Co Springs and Estes Park

So we went to Estes Park, Colorado, which took us two days to drive. On the second day, we knew we were running a little bit early to be let into our cabin, so we stopped in Colorado Springs for a little bit.

On our last visit to the Garden of the Gods, we didn’t have very long to get out and walk around, so we feel like filled in those gaps last week. 

Enjoy the pics.

Tiny red dot in the middle of the pic below is a rock climber. Crazy.

WE on the other hand, stayed on the sidewalk. ; )

We arrived in Estes around 2 and were able to check into our cabin. We stayed at a small group of cabins/resort sort of thing called Solitude Cabins. In a word, they were great. Super clean and comfortable. With everything we would think of needing plus a little bit more.

The kitchen from upstairs.

Dining area…and hubs mapping out our day.

Living area…the only thing I wasn’t crazy about was the direction our cabin was situated…the sun was a bit much sometimes.

Our cabin was called…

…Black Bear Cabin. And the owners carried that theme subtly throughout. Cute.

Our little cabin from the outside. : )

Mule deer are common around town. I spied this little sweetie right outside our cabin.

And so are ELK. This pic was taken a couple of blocks from our cabin. And the next one was taken in the yard right outside. There were several mule deer and elk together, but this one was content to just lounge in the yard. 

And that doesn’t even count what we saw in the park!

I walked around to the front of the resort to take the pic from this post, and had to be careful not to step in elk poo. You know you aren’t in Texas Kansas anymore when you have to watch for elk stuff.

We stayed in Estes but several of our days were spent inside Rocky Mountain National Park. More to come…

mountain morning

I woke up Thursday morning before anybody else. Which isn’t unusual for me. I like the quiet.

On this day, I slipped out of my warm bed and went into the living area, determined to take it all in. I wanted to savor this place. I raised the shade on the back door and looked past the trees and curved road to the mountains in the distance.

I loved the blue hue they gave off in the early barely-day light.

I looked around our small cabin and took in all the sweet touches that made this place a wonderful vacation home in in the Rockies.

I wanted to remember not just how it looked, but how it felt. The bags were packed and I knew within an hour or two we would be leaving for Texas.

My heart felt light and happy. I felt something I had not felt in a while.

Solitude.

I was ready to come home. 

Pics and stories to come…of course. ; )

From two big messes…

…to one neat and organized cookbook.

It used to be this…a notebook of loose clipped recipes. Some were in the folder pocket.

And some were taped to printer paper.

And another book of printed out recipes inside plastic sleeves.

I took apart two cookbooks recently. The taped together one. And the printed one. I weeded out recipes I will NEVER cook again from both books, and made a stack of the healthy recipes I will continue to use from here on out. I am a little bit ashamed at how big the toss pile was. But not surprised. : (

Now it’s all done and I have one place to go for all my recipes. And since I am finding new recipes pretty frequently online now, I am printing them and adding them to THE BOOK.  Just a little bit of effort made things a lot easier at meal planning and meal prep time. Love it!

And it’s cute too. : )

reading the book

It’s no secret that I’ve been down in the dumps lately. Not at all.

I know I have so much to be thankful for, and yet my heart aches for reasons unknown to me.

So I did what I have done in years past. I went searching for something to sooth my soul. I found a book that sounds very good. I searched online to see if I could pick it up at my local Christian book store. I wasn’t sure from the website. So I thought perhaps I could call and see if they had it in stock.

I’m all about instant gratification, so things like this, even though petty, really bug me.

But before I could pick up the phone or whip out my credit card, something stopped me.

I didn’t need another book to read.

I already have a Book to read.

And the one who wrote it thinks I am precious and had me on His heart when He penned it.

What better Book for me to read when my heart is crying out for something.

Something that only He can fill.

Disclaimer…I don’t have a problem with books. I love books and know they can be very helpful in our walk with God. But for me, for this moment, another book isn’t what I need. I need Him.

pancakes…yes I said pancakes! {allowed and delicious!}

I know I’ve talked about food a lot. How I eat..what I eat..what I don’t eat. bla bla bla. There isn’t anything magical about eating better. You just need fresh ingredients and an imagination. I can get my hands on the first part pretty easy, but it’s the imagination part that stumps me. So when something a little bit out of the box is presented to me…and it’s amazing…it’s a pretty thrilling thing.

So I present to you..healthy pancakes. Oh yes. It’s true. Granted there is no sugar, thus no syrup. And at first, that was a big heart breaker, as in the past pancakes were just a fancy vehicle for syrup delivery. So I had to rethink my pancake motives. Anyway…here goes.

This recipe/method makes two good sized pancakes. I will tell you what I do and why I do it. I’m not by any means saying that I know everything I’m talking about…just telling the how and why of what I’m doing.

Anyway..the cast of characters. First of all…four eggs. I use three of what I call ‘cheap’ eggs…just regular brand at the grocery store. And then one of either Egglands Best or organic.

And here is why…I crack the three ‘cheap’ eggs in a bowl.

And then separate the eggs to get rid of the yellows. The reason I do this is because presumably the toxins that might be in an average egg will reside in the fat…the yolk..so I get rid of that. (this is a theory presented to me, so I’m just going with it..since this is that person’s recipe) Times three. With a spoon. Yep..a spoon. Just scoop it out. Works like a charm!

And then some dry ingredients. Rolled oatmeal, wheat germ, ground flax seed, steel cut oats and oat bran. (excuse the eggs again)

I put two tablespoons each of the wheat germ, ground flax, steel cut oats and oat bran.

And this is where the measurements get a little shaky. I add *some* rolled oatmeal. *Some* because I put a little and stir things around to see if it starts to have the right consistency…again it’s a ‘feel’ thing…if it begins to have a semi-thick/thin batter feel.

After that is all mixed up..actually I wait until after this next few ingredients to mix, but to start out, I mixed the oats etc first so I could tell when I had enough. Anyway..after all of that is mixed up (or before, whatever floats your boat), I add some more ingredients. Honey, salt, stevia, vanilla and cinnamon.

I don’t have exact measurements for these..I just squeeze, shake, pour or smack the bottom of the bottle until I think it looks ‘right’.

And if you haven’t already, mix it all up with a spoon. During all of this mixing, I preheat my iron skillet with some refined coconut oil…probably a tablespoon or so. After the skillet heats, I pour off a little bit into the bowl and stir it into the batter. And now it’s time to make pancakes!

Start spooning the batter into the skillet.

 

It makes a mound..this is not a pouring kind of batter.

It’s more of the spreading kind.

Freshly flipped. Ain’t she a beaut?!

The first pancake is usually more perfect because the dry ingredients have not started soaking into the eggs. Sometimes I have to add another egg white..or remember to go a little lighter on the rolled oats next time.

And the first pancake is usually for the girl. And since it’s summer, she’s usually not up just yet. So I cool her pancake on my make-shift rack so it doesn’t get all sweaty on the bottom.

While the pancakes are cooking, I start on the topping. Yes, there is topping. It’s not syrup, but it’s pretty tasty and super delish!

So here goes…I take two tablespoons of flax oil and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese (I usually get organic, but they didn’t have any this week, so I had to get ‘regular’) and put them in the cup of my mini food processer.

And I add fruit to that to give it more volume and hello…flavor. Our current favorite is two ripening bananas. I also add a dash of vanilla, some stevia and a tiny drizzle of honey.

And then I pour it over the pancake. It’s so good!

Our favorite breakfast. It looks like chicken fried steak but it’s a lot healthier! : )

Ps…doing this post has given me fresh respect for Pioneer Woman..this kind of post takes forever. And sorry, but I don’t have a handy printable.

The end. : )

in a funk

So last night, I cried myself to sleep. And I don’t even know why.

As I mentioned in my last post, we would really like to just get in the van and GO. Get out of here and be somewhere else and enjoy some down time. But as I said, we have no idea where we would like to go. It’s a bummer.

But I think the real crux of it is some sort of strange let down reflex after going through dealing with those little bumps. And not really knowing what was going on there for a little bit. Both my doctors were confident that I was dealing with scar tissue. But in the end, both of them felt it best to get them removed. But it was a lot of here there and everywhere and then surgery…very minor, but still surgery…and then sitting in the recovery room and hearing my nurse tell somebody that she’s the girl that ‘just’ had some scar tissue removed. THAT is how I found out that all was well. Weird. Yes, I had asked for my husband, but I was feeling a little weird so they waited for me to feel a little better to let him come in. I hate that.

So maybe that is why I cried myself to sleep. Just a release from everything that has happened. But I know there is a frustrated-ness too. We have had a pretty bummer few months and now things are good. And yet our routine is just so monotonous at times. And unlike my sweet friend Karen who commented that summer has not arrived in the pacific northwest, there is no doubt that summer has arrived here. It’s been over a hundred for the last several days. Just going outside takes my breath away and makes my skin burn. So the thought of a ‘stay-cation’ kind of makes me laugh. Or melt.

I know that our trip to Tennessee last year was a gift. It was beautiful there and we thoroughly enjoyed the low key trip (but we don’t want to go back). It was a great trip to have fresh on my memory as we dove into dealing with my health for a bit. And now I guess I’m just searching for the next gift after the past few months of rough stuff we’ve dealt with. A fitting bookend to all that has happened, if you will.

a week ago today…

…I got my stitches out. I left to buy groceries earlier that day and when I got home, there was a car in the driveway. We expected company, I just didn’t know what time.

So I had to cross the awkward bridge before I was even in the door. 

The awkward you’re flat. And later you won’t be awkward.

But it went ok. I think it was me more than anybody else, so I guess it was good I had to dive in feet first so to speak. And sort of get it out of the way.

I have been able to jump right in to wearing my foobs again, pretty much full time. I am so thankful for that! : )

We are in discussions right now as to where we would like to go on vacation. We’ve toyed with different parts of Colorado. Thoughts? Anyone…anyone. Bueller. (sorry, couldn’t resist!)

It’s nice to be able to think about something like a vacation after getting all that other stuff over with. I just wish we could come up with something.

Ideas are welcome. : )