Three Things I’m Loving This Wednesday

Good morning! I am such a sleepy head this morning. The only thing that entised me out of bed was knowing that I had a cup of coffee waiting for me in the kitchen. Setting the timer on my coffee maker each night before heading to bed is one of my favorite things to do. I love walking into the kitchen and not having to brew the coffee when I’m still sleepy in the morning. I really don’t like those pesky little coffee grinds spilling on the counter!

Today I thought it would be fun to share some items with you that I’m really enjoying right now. I filmed a video with them last night:

You can find more information about them below:

1. Energy Medicine for Women by Donna Eden

2. Physicians Formula “Nude” eyeshadow palette

3. Bubbie’s Pickles

(Random fact: I sometimes call Layla “Bubbie.” I don’t know why or where it came from)

I’m off to get ready for work, do my workout this afternoon and take Layla for a walk in the sunshine.

Please share with me – What are three things that you’re loving right now?

Monday Funday

Hi! Happy Monday. How did your weekend go? Mine was good. Unfortunately, no Cinco de Mayo celebration for me. I am still not feeling like margaritas after our big night out in Cabo. I got the house organized and cleaned out the cupboards. Does anyone else swap out their Summer clothes for the Winter clothes in the closet and put the off-season apparel into storage? My sister used to always help me do that, but I’m a big girl now and somehow manage to do it on my own.

I’m still going strong on my 90-Day Challenge after taking a break from it in Mexico. Smoothies and workouts are back into my daily routine and I am loving it! My regular blog posts are going to focus less on what I’ve been eating and more on healthy lifestyle tips and recipes. Sorry if you liked seeing what I ate every day, but I’m bored of that blog format and want to focus on more fun things. Like, what I’m loving right now!

What I’m Loving on this Monday Funday

1. Walks in the sunshine with Layla. I really missed our daily walks while I was on vacation. It gives me a chance to chill out and enjoy the beautiful surroundings and it gives Layla a chance to get out of the house and have some fun. On the weekends, we usually run into her little friend, Gigi, and she gets so excited to see her. For awhile, I was choosing to leave my phone back at the house while I walked so I could totally disconnect for awhile, but the I realized it was safer if I had it with me. “Careful, cautious Kilee” is always thinking of things like this!

2. Celery with almond butter and raisins (aka ants on a log) for my afternoon snack. This snack is the perfect little mix of carbs, proteins and healthy fats to keep me fueled through the afternoon and as a pre-workout snack. I always try to remember to drink a water bottle full of water around the same time so that I stay hydrated. I’ve found that a snack + water keeps my energy levels up and helps me push through my late-afternoon workouts.

3. Ashley Conrad’s Facebook Fan Page. I stumbled upon celebrity fitness trainer, Ashley Conrad, while watching a television special on how stars get into tip-top shape. What impresses me most about Ashley is that she is very dedicated to sharing as much information about health, diet and fitness with her fans. She is currently teaming up with Adidas to film some sort of exercise video and is tracking her preparation for the shoot with videos and check-ins. So far, she’s one of my favorite fitness trainers to follow. (Besides my Tone It Up girls of course!)

4. Iced peppermint lime green tea. Ahhh, it’s so refreshing. I made this little concoction up myself because I refuse to buy overpriced iced tea from coffee shops. In the evening I’ll bring 8 cups of water to a just below a boil. Then I’ll add 4 green tea bags and 4 Trader Joe’s peppermint green tea bags (I don’t know how I still have any of those guys left from Christmas time.) I place the tea with the tea bags in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I’ll squeeze the juice of one to two limes into the tea and add a little stevia if I want to sweeten it. I keep a pitcher of the iced tea in the fridge and pour a glass over ice to enjoy with my lunch. It usually lasts me about 5-6 days. It’s so refreshing!

5. Pinning wedding inspiration on Pinterest. Now that I am legitimate a bride-to-be, I am pinning inspiration photos onto my new wedding ideas board. We don’t have a date set yet and we’re not planning on setting one any time soon, but it’s still fun to look at different wedding and reception ideas. Feel free to follow my board and let me know if you like/don’t like any of them.

Well, I’m going to finish my coffee (with NO coffee creamer. More on that little change later) and head off to work for awhile. I’ll see you again tomorrow morning. What are you loving right now?

Have a great day,

Kilee

(source)

Challenge Days 39 & 40

Hi! I’m finally getting around to blogging. It’s a lot harder to fit everything in when Blake’s home because we have so much to catch up on. So far we have watched lots of documentaries, gone for walks with Layla, laid in bed with our morning coffee while each on our computers and eaten lots of healthy meals.

I’m trying not to stress about my eats and exercise before Mexico and stay relaxed. I had some of my favorite corn tortilla chips before dinner the other night and went out with co-workers for lunch yesterday and had fish tacos and a margerita. Who’s ready for Cabo already? Me! I can’t help it. I just adore Mexican food and if it’s there, I’ll eat it and love every bite!

My eats over the past two days have included protein shakes for breakfast, lots of fruit for snacks, lean proteins like chicken, quinoa and eggs and a few treats like microwave popcorn with our movie the other night, tortilla chips and a margarita with yesterday’s outdoor lunch. My goal has been eating protein-rich meals with lots of fruits and veggies. Oh, and an emphasis on not stressing because stress increases cortisol, which increases belly fat. My friend, McKenzie, taught that to me a few years ago and has always stuck with me.

We already had our two cups of coffee this morning in bed and took Layla for a little hike out behind the house. Now we’re eating our eggs and applying SPF before laying out by the pool. These super white bodies need to see a little sun before hitting the beach in Mexico. Luckily the weather is absolutely gorgeous here in central Oregon this weekend! I actually burnt my chest while we sat outside during our lunch for two hours yesterday. That was a nice little reminder of how important sunscreen is. I think I might look for a tinted moisturizer with SPF before we leave. I read to Laura Mercier, Aveno and Physicians Formula all have good ones. I also need some tinted lip balm with SPF. My favorites for those are Burt’s Bees and Khiel’s.

What are your plans this weekend? Remember to think positive thoughts, get outside and exercise and treat yourself to healthy, delicious, whole foods. Have a great weekend. I’ll be back on Monday!

Love,

Kilee

Challenge Day 38

Good morning! How are you doing this morning? I’m sitting here at the breakfast table enjoying my coffee and trying to catch up on reading blogs and checking Facebook. It’s amazing how “behind” I get having Blake home. Trust me, I’d rather be behind on social media than conversations with Blake. So far, his time home has been amazing and I’m staying focused on being present and appreciating this time together.

We are so excited because we booked the resort for our trip to Cabo. It looks beautiful and one of my friends stayed at the resort last year and loved it. Poor Layla looked so depressed the whole time we were planning and booking our reservations. Don’t worry, she gets to stay with Blake’s mom and they adore each other.

Blake and I are doing a parasite cleanse over the next two weeks. With his job, he handles a lot of different animals out in the wilderness. The biologists that he works with run all types of tests and blood work on the animals. Blake has been told numerous times about the widespread amount of parasites found in the animals that he works with. Therefore, we want to be safe and do a little cleanse while we’re home together. We did the DrNatura, the Colonix® Advanced Internal Cleansing Program a few years ago and had good results. However, this time around, we wanted to try something a little simpler and less expensive than the DrNatura. This Parastroy supplement kit came highly recommended by users and was much less expensive ($15 on iherb.com.) Even though parasites are gross to think about, we all are hosts to these little buggers. I promote doing an annual parasite cleanse to help rid your body of them. It’s normal to have them, but sometimes they can get out of hand and cause health problems or you can contract a deadly type of parasite. I’ve tried different types of cleanses from making my own tinctures and chewing a 1/4 cup of raw brown rice every morning to purchasing packaged kits like the one above the taking the encapsulated herbs with my meals. Feel free to ask for any recommendations :)

Yesterday’s workout kicked my butt! I did the month 2 Insanity Plyo Circuit DVD. Anyone who has survived that hour-long workout knows that it’s tough. I told myself that if I completed it and did my best, I’d never have to do it again if I didn’t want to. I’ll probably end up doing it again in the future, but not during the next week. After my workout, Blake did his arm wrestling workout (no, I’ve never done one of those before) while I made an epic dinner. Blake is pretty spoiled and is used to me making big, delicious dinners whenever he’s home. When we lived on Maui, I made a full fledged, restaurant quality dinner each night. I also used a lot more butter, glutenous ingredients and rice. Last night’s dinner was really good and helped our muscle’s recover from our workouts with lots of protein and healthy carbs.

Day 38 Eats & Exercise

Breakfast: Coffee & Peanut Butter Banana Shake: 2 Scoops Vi-Shape Mix, 1 Tbls peanut butter, 1/2 frozen banana, 4 ice cubes, 8 ounces of unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Lunch: Cilantro Lime Chicken Wrap

Snack: handful of pistacios

Workout: Month 2 Insanity Plyo Circuit DVD

Post-workout shake: 2 scoops Vi-Shape Mix with 12 ounces of coconut water , 1/2 tablespoon raw cocoa powder and 1 dropper full of NuNaturals Cocoa stevia

Dinner: mixed greens salad, roasted chicken & mushroom, broccoli quinoa risotto

Post-dinner: walk with Layla

We watched another documentary “Born Rich” last night. It was produced by Jamie Johnson, the great-grandson of the founder of Johnson & Johnson. He was exploring the notion that the top 1% of the nation’s wealthiest people account for 90% of the nation’s net wealth. It was interesting to see how uncomfortable some people are about talking about money.

Today is going to be a day to get stuff done around the house and start digging my summer dresses out of storage. I’ll check in on Facebook and Twitter. Have a great day everyone!!!

Love,

Kilee

Challenge Day 24

Good morning (or afternoon by the time I finish this post.) I laid in bed a little longer this morning and decided to take Layla for a walk before the weather got too bad. We woke up to a beautiful, sunny sky, but within an hour, I could see a large, grey cloud headed our way. Here’s are two photos from this morning’s walk. The first photo is facing East and the second is facing West. I think our weather usually rolls in from the West, so I’m assuming this weather is headed our way.

Challenge Day 24 Eats & Exercise

Morning walk: 20 minutes in the freezing cold and icy conditions with Layla

Breakfast: Pumpkin Carrot Protein Pancake: 2 scoops Vi-Shape Mix, 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, 2 Tablespoons shredded carrots, 4 pecans, finely chopped, 1 Tablespoon flaxseed, dash of cinnamon & nutmeg, 1 packet stevia.

Lunch: Mixed greens with 4 ounces chicken breast and Litehouse Yogurt Bleu Cheese dressing <– I am officially obsessed with this stuff!

Snack: Cocoa Cherry Smoothie: 1/2 cup frozen cherries, 1/4 frozen banana, 2 scoops Vi-shape mix, handful of spinach, 1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder, 1 cup almond milk, 1/4 teaspoon coconut extract, 4 drops vanilla stevia.

2nd snack: handful of pumpkin seeds with dried cranberries and dried cherries

Workout: Tone It Up/Self Magazine Drop 10 toning workout + 20 minute walk with Layla (video below)

Dinner: 1 Thai Turkey Burger (recipe here) stir-fried with sliced mushrooms, spinach, onions, shredded carrots, sugar snap peas and bean sprouts then seasoned it with Bragg’s, sweet chili sauce and lime juice for flavor and topped it with fresh cilantro and scallions.

Then, my sweet tooth snuck in. Seriously! I’ve been doing so well sticking to my clean, bikini-body diet. I have a treat night on the weekend where I’ll have frozen yogurt or something sweet. For whatever reason, last night turning into a little “eat as much sugar as you can find” night. I know from a nutrition stand-point that I should avoid sugar and I have drastically cut my sugar intake over the past two years. However, that does not mean that these nasty cravings go away. I *wish* that I was one of those girls who just “didn’t like sweets.” However, it’s quite the opposite. I adore sweets and love baking gluten-free treats.

I also think that sweets are my little comfort that I turn to when fear arises or I’m having a bad day. Yesterday wasn’t a bad day, it just seemed “off.” I was super tired throughout the morning and my coffee never kicked in. Then I spilt my entire packet of powdered Neuro natural-energy drink on the counter at the office. When I got home, I felt so lazy and tired that I just laid in bed and answered emails until late in the evening when I decided I needed to get my butt out of bed and squeeze in a quick workout.

Doing my workout and getting outside for an evening walk felt nice. I made my dinner, spent some time on Facebook and then talked to Blake. Afterwards I was craving hot chocolate, so I made a cup with almond milk and some Gharedelli mix. After my mug, I decided that I NEEDED more chocolate, so I broke into a stash of peppermint bark from Christmas time. I ate three large chunks and instantly had a tummy ache. I thought to myself, “Why did I just consume so much sugar? Why didn’t I just make a cup of tea?” Hmm, I started to dive into my feelings and sugar cravings…

Blake last thought that he’d be working in Alaska until the end of this month. Yesterday, he found out that there is a *chance* he might come home for a couple of weeks on April 10th. I try not to talk about it too much on the blog, but last night we calculated that Blake has been working away from home for 10 out of the past 12 months. This might not seem like a big deal for some couples, but it has made having a somewhat “normal” relationship challenging. Sure, I’ve had the opportunities to go visit him, which have been amazing, but lately I’ve really been yearning for him to be home and be able to live our lives together.

Him working out of state has not been entirely a bad thing. I’ve grown into a much more confident, independent and spiritual person, but we’ve also lost out on growing together. We talk a lot about how we’ve known each other for 10 years and have seen each other at our best and our worst and still love one another through it all. There are all these emotions that come up whenever he leaves for another trip or plans change and he isn’t able to come home. It’s not healthy, but I actually switch off a part of me that hurts when he’s gone for so long. It’s set on a timer, so as his return date comes nearer, I allow myself to start feeling those feelings of missing him and getting excited for him to come home.

Well, over the past week, I thought he was coming home soon, then found out he was scheduled in Alaska until the end of April, then last night heard that he might get to come home in a week. Do you know what this does to my emotions? Throws them all over the place! As I type this out, I’m starting to understand why my sweet cravings have been popping up lately. I want my fears and emotions to be comforted. I want to sooth my internal fear and have serotonin released into my system. Exercise and socializing are great for achieving this, but sugar and chocolate seem to be easier to reach for ;)

After feeling bad about myself and my mini-sugar fest. I drew an epson salt bath, lit some candles, used my sugar scrub and just allowed myself to feel my fears. I told myself that I’ll never be perfect, it’s okay to have these overwhelming feelings of sadness and frustration and only I can choose the way I want to work through these fears because so far, they haven’t gone away.

After my bath, I read some “Anatomy of the Spirit” by Caroline Myss and reviewed a few quotes that I had highlighted:

“This imbalance of head and heart turns people into addicts. In energy terms, any behavior motivated by fear of internal growth qualifies as an addiction. Even behaivor that is usually healthy – exercise or meditation, for instance – can be an addiction if it is used to avoid pain or personal insight.” p. 230

“The goal of becoming a conscious person is not to outwit death, nor even to become immune to disease. The goal is to be able to handle any and all changes in our lives – and in our bodies – without fear, looking only to absorb the message of truth contained in the change.” p. 248

“The greatest act of will in which we can invest our spirits is to choose to live according to these rules:

1. Make no judgments.

2. Have no expectations.

3. Give up the need to know why things happen as they do.

4. Trust that the unscheduled events in our lives are a form of spiritual direction.

5. Have the courage to make the choices we need to make, accept what we cannot change, and have the wisdom to know the difference.” p. 234

Wow! So many meaningful, inspiring quotes in this book! After reading myself to sleep, I awoke this morning with a sense of calmness and a better understanding that I’m here to help others become healthier and happier. By shifting my focus from feeling bad about my sugar cravings and indulgences, I am going to focus on the fact that I’m here in this position to help you grow into a even greater version of yourself. I’m pretty sure that we all have our own fears and struggles that arise throughout the day. What I want to do, is show you that you are not your fears and have the ability work through them.

I’ll leave you with a page I found out of my 2012 Goddess Guide Book that I filled with magnificent mottos that I want to incorporate into this year:

Reading this page made me confident that I’m headed in the right direction!

Love you all,

Kilee

Challenge Day 22

Hi! How are you doing today? I’m excited that I made it through a nice long Monday and managed to get a heart-pumping workout, walk with Layla, healthy meals and work day all fit in. I ended my night with an hour-long audio from one of my favorite, inspirational figures, Ali Brown.

Ali is an amazing, motivational business coach aimed at helping women achieve financial success through entrepreneurism. I love listening to her free podcasts and subscribe to her newsletter.

She’s even offering a $50-off special for her new program, ”Divine Success: The 7 Phases to Realizing Your Dreams.” Click here to get more info. I listened to her free podcast, “Higher Power: Creating Success with Grace and Ease” last night and it really resonated with me. I love how she shared her personal and spiritual development and how that positively affected her business success. I’m a strong believer that you need to focus on your own personal and spiritual development before you can be blessed with all the gifts that life can offer.

I enjoyed a bowl of 1/2 cup Greek yogurt with 2 teaspoos cocoa powder and 1 packet of stevia – pure heaven for this bikini-loving Challenge girl!

Day 22 Eats & Exercise

AM Exercise: 30 minute walk with Layla

Breakfast: Shrek Smoothie – 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, handful of spinach, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1/4 frozen banana, 5 icecubes, 1/4 Chocolate Mint Cliff Bar

Lunch: Salad with mixed green, chicken breast, carrots, cucumbers, mixed berries left over from last night

Snack: Berry Shake: 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1 cup unsweetened almond milk, 1 Tbls flaxseed, 1/2 cup frozen berries, 5 drops vanilla stevia

Workout: 30 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minute free weights workout

Dinner: 4 or 5 ounces Copper River Salmon filet (marinated with Braggs, orange juice, maple syrup, lime juice, chopped scallions and powdered ginger) with a cup of green beans and a smidge of butter and sea salt

Dessert: chocolate Greek yogurt (mentioned above)

And lastly, the little love of my life. My partner in crime. The bratty girl who bosses me around on a daily basis:

I also wanted to share my new Yoga Music Mix that I put together on Myspace:Music. Since taking my hot yoga classes that play contemporary music, I’ve learned that I like doing yoga to songs with lyrics. If you want to check out my mix, check it out here.

I’m off to work on some nutrition plans for clients and clean up my kitchen. The one downside to preparing lots of fresh, healthy meals is that the kitchen always has to be cleaned up and dishes need to be washed. I guess that’s just one of the prices you pay to be able to eat healthy, homemade food.
Take care,

Kilee

Challenge Weekend: Days 20 & 21

Good morning! Happy Monday! Who’s ready for it to be Friday evening? Just kidding! Everyday is a gift and tomorrow is not guaranteed, so let’s make today a great day. Sorry if I’m too cheerful for your Monday morning. I just choose to be happy every chance I get. I don’t want to come across as annoyingly happy though. Blake said that I can be “creepy nice” sometimes because I’m so cheerful to everyone. I’ve had to tone the niceness down when I’m out in public, but here on MY blog, I can just be me.

Onto my eats and exercise this weekend. I’m not going to lie, this weekend was a little rough for my emotions. I was in a funk on Friday and spent a lot of time this weekend working on some fears that kept coming up. By taking the time to actually experience the feelings that these fears were bringing, try to pinpoint what was causing these fears and then work my way through them, I was exhuasted. My body was tired too. I realized that I had done workouts for the past 13 days straight and needed some recovery days. My favorite leisurely activity is walking Layla. We went for a nice long walk on Saturday and a hike on Sunday.

We are so lucky to live somewhere with a hiking trail only a 10 minute walk away. My eats this weekend included healthy comfort foods like: gluten-free garden salad pizza, berry flaxseed protein smoothies, Beanito chips with cottage cheese, nutritional yeast and salsa mixed together, sweet potatoes covered in veggies and mock-Yumm! sauce and lots and lots of “makes Kilee happy” coffee.

Saturday night I met up with some new girlfriends and attended a new art gallery opening. It was neat to see the different design booths and jewelry peices. They had music playing, drinks and h’orderves. I really liked some of the jewerly by local designer Jamie Israel.

After the art show, I did a little “What I’m Reading” review and taped it to share with you. Sorry about the iPad not working in the film. The display doesn’t work properly when on camera.

Last night was my “treat night.” On my way home from the grocery store, I swung by our local Fro You shop and picked up a container of vanilla and cheesecake frozen yogurt. When I got home I topped it off with the fresh berries. Yum! Layla and I were very content. I always bring her out a sample cup of vanilla and then she gets to lick my bowl when I’m done. I don’t know which one of us likes it more?!

Sunday night was meant to be a relaxing, mellow night, but turned it to a “get a million and one things completed before hitting the sack” night. Luckily, I restocked my fridge with lots of healthy ingredients and set up a little arts and craft area in our living room for a project that I’ll get to later this week.

Well, I’m off to work and ready to start another fresh week of workouts and healthy meals on my Challenge. I’ll check back in with you tomorrow!

Much love,

Kilee

Challenge Day 19

Good morning! How is your morning going so far? Mine has been nice and relaxing. Yesterday was a long day. I set my alarm for 5am yesterday morning in the hopes of going to a hot yoga class. When the alarm went off, I was all ready to go back to sleep and call off my 6am class plans. Five minutes later I remembered that there is a $10 charge for any classes you miss or cancel within an hour of class. Being the cheapskate that I tend to be, this possible $10 charge was enough to get my butt out of bed and off to class.

I’m glad that I went because I would have never known if I liked the class or not. However, I will not be attending any more 6am classes because it made me feel funky for the rest of the day. Some mornings I get up, have my coffee and rock out an amazing workout around 8 or 9 and feel amazing the rest of the day. I learned that 6am workouts leave me feeling tired, overly-hungry and kinda cranky by the end of the day.

So, I will not be waking up at 5am to get a workout in. I’d rather get my beauty sleep and workout later in the day. I also learned that when I eat starchy carbs with breakfast, I crave them the rest of the day. I already somewhat knew this, but I’ve been having my shakes for breakfast for the past few weeks and forgot. The oats in my breakfast cookie inspired my gluten-free chocolate chip cookie with coffee at the office, which then made me crave frozen yogurt once I got home and then something sweet for dessert.

Challenge Day 19

Workout: 1 Hour Hot Yoga

Breakfast: Americano with pre-made Fitnessista breakfast cookie

Morning Snack: Gluten-free chocolate chip cookie with cup of coffee

Lunch: Mexican salad: greens, tomatoes, cucumber, 1/4 avocado, 1/4 cup refried beans, salsa

Afternoon snack: 2 cuties & Passionfruit Chobani Frozen yogurt (just put it in my mini ice cream maker)

Random Dinner: small salad, cottage cheese with Beanito black bean chips, roasted broccoli

Dessert: banana soft serve (frozen banana chunks blended up in the Vita-mix) with sunflower butter melted on top

Note:  I did not have any shakes today because I failed to prepare them and was out of the house almost all day. It also seems like I was a lot hungrier and snacky-er than usual. There might be a correlation?

My night last night ended up being one of those nights where I just didn’t care about anything. I didn’t care about preparing a healthy dinner, I didn’t care if I ate a big dessert after dinner, I didn’t care if I got around to emailing clients back. I just felt tired, lazy and cranky. Then Blake called and said that even though he was supposed to be heading home soon, he got assigned another months worth of work. My spirits just sunk. I’m not telling you all this to try to gain sympathy. I’m telling you this to assure you that everyone has nights or days like this. Most of the time, I can stay in an upbeat, positive mood, but other times, I just feel low-energy and down and out.

I watched Gossip Girl as I ate my banana soft-serve ice cream with sunflower butter on top and tried to relax. I went to bed early and wrote out my plan of attack for today. It sometimes helps me if I write out positive, uplifting things to do the next day. This way I stay focused on the good things in life. My list includes: relaxing while I have my coffee and reading some magazines, taking Layla for a long walk in the morning, doing a cardio and stregnth training workout, painting my toe nails pink and going out to meet a new friend at an event downtown tonight.

By sticking to my “feel-good” list, I’m hoping that I have a fun day. I have also found that even though I’m more tempted to reach for sugary food when I’m feeling down, they actually make me feel worse overall. Lean & green will be my motto for the weekend eats!

I’m going to take tomorrow off from blogging. I’ll be back Monday with a full re-cap of the weekend. Have fun & be safe out there!

Much love,

Kilee

Challenge Day 16

Hey, hey! Happy Wednesday! I had such a great day yesterday. I woke up a little later than usual because Layla has been sick the past two nights and the poor thing has to get up and go outside every few hours. So, we spent an extra hour in bed with our coffee and magazines before starting the day. I was inspired to record this video for you. I am *trying* to get in the habit of doing more videos because they allow me to get my thoughts out in a much shorter time than typing them up. Plus, there’s no room for typos in VLogs.

And, here’s a little playlist that I put together of all of my favorite country music songs right now. I listened to all of these while driving the fuel truck in South Dakota.

Challenge Day 16

Breakfast: 1 scoop Vi-shape mix, 1/2 banana, 2 Tablespoons chia seeds, 1 teaspoon sunflower butter, 1 packet stevia, 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk,

Snack: apple & un-pictured handful of pumpkin seeds

Workout: OneFitFoodie’s new Timed Total Transformation workout + walk with Layla

Post-Workout Smoothie: 1/2 cup frozen berries, 2 ice cubes, 2 scoops Vi-Shape mix, 1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder, 1/2 Tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 cup almond milk, 6 drops vanilla stevai, 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Dinner: Tempeh & Kale salad. Recipe here.

Dessert: One of Detoxinista’s Almond Butter Fudge with cocoa powder mixed in. (I have been loving her recipes!)

Layla and I ran errands all afternoon before I did my workout and took here for a walk. She is such a good little passenger in the car. She loves her sherpa seat that fits between the two front seats.

Then, it rained on us on our afternoon walk. I swear, it could be beautiful, dry weather all day and then we go outside to do our walk and it starts raining! Oh well, at least it smells nice when it rains here.

I’m off to go work for a while then take my new favorite hot yoga class. They play contemporary music the whole class and I leave feeling energized yet calm and grateful. I love my life!

Have a great day! What does everyone have planned for the day today? Any fun new fitness classes to go to?

Peace out,

Kilee

Challenge Day 8

Hi! Sorry I’m a little late posting today. I have had some other household chores and work items to wrap up before I do my *fun* stuff like writing this blog post. I’ll keep yesterday’s recap short & sweet!

Challenge Day 8

Breakfast: Coffee & Vanilla Cinnamon Shake – 8 ounces So Delicious unsweetened coconut milk, couple dashes cinnamon, 4 ice cubes, 1/2 frozen banana & vanilla stevia

Snack: *NEW* Caramel Fudge Think Thin Bar – loved this flavor!

Workout: 30 mins on treadmill: 5 min warm-up jog, 12 minutes of (1 min sprint/1 min jog) 8 min of (1 min 15% incline/1 min 10% incline walk) 5 min walking cooldown + Tone It Up Lean Abs pyrimid

Post-Workout Smoothie: Strawberry Banana Orange Julius (still perfecting the recipe before I share it)

Pre-Dinner Snack – small bowl of broccoli slaw – recipe here

Dinner – left-over meatloaf with grilled lemon pepper asparagus – recipe here

Dessert – Pumpkin Protein Mousse – recipe here

I was so proud of myself last night for two reasons: A) I found Vanilla Kahlua coffee grinds that were hiding in my freezer behind all of the bags of frozen fruit & B) I figured out how to set the timer on our coffee pot. Guess who woke up to the aroma of fresh coffee this morning? This girl! Layla and I relaxed in bed for a half an hour reading The Daily Love and looking at blog posts. It was perfect!

Another fun thing happened yesterday. Self.com and Karena & Katrina launched their new Self Challenge: Drop 10. This is the perfect addition to my 90-Day Bikini Body Challenge! I have already checked out the workouts and will be incorporating them into my plan.

Don’t forget about the fabulous Gluten-Free Gratitude Giveaway that I’m hosting on my Facebook Page. Leave a comment on the giveaway post to be entered into the contest. A randomly selected winner will be chosen at 9pm Pacific time tomorrow (March 21st.) Enter now to win a gift basket of my favorite gluten-free goodies and a batch of gluten-free cookies baked by moi.

Okay, I need to go get my sweat on, finish up some work projects and get the house ready for some house guests. Blake’s little sister and her boyfriend are coming to stay with me – yah!

Have a fabulous day and remember to practice gratitude throughout the day. It makes life much more enjoyable.

Love,

Kilee

(source)

Challenge Day 4

Hi! I’m going to make this post quick, because I have lots of work to get done today, plus fit in my workout and make my nummy smoothies. Sounds like the perfect Friday to me!

Yesterday’s eats:

Breakfast: Coffee with Kris’ Shamrock Shake

Workout: 30 minutes on treadmill – 5 min jog, 10 min of 1 min sprint/1min jog, 10 minutes of 1 min 15% incline walking/1 min 10% incline walking, 5 min cool down – whew, was I sweaty!

Post-workout: Almond Joy Mocha Smoothie – 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, 1/4 frozen banana, 2 scoops Vi-Shake mix, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract, pinch of espresso powder

Snack #1: celery with Trader Joe’s Queso dip with Chipoltle Cholula sauce – heavenly and surprisingly super low calorie

Snack #2: sample plate with baby carrots, cucumber, 1/4 ripe avocado & few slices of turkey breast

Dinner: gluten-free meatloaf (recipe below) & broccoli

Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Dairy-Free Meatloaf

Adapted from this recipe

Serves 4-5 hungry adults

Ingredients

2 lb ground meat of choice (I happened to have 1 lb bison, 1/2 lb beef & 1/2 lamb on hand)

1 ½ teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 eggs

1 large shallot, finely chopped

1/4  cup carrot, finely chopped

1/4 cup celery, finely chopped

1 cup white button mushrooms, finely chopped

1 teaspoon chili pepper flakes

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (or similar seasoning of choice)

½ cup ketchup

1 Tablespoon honey

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 Tablespoons olive oil or butter

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF.

2. Put a medium-sized skillet on a medium heat, add the olive oil or butter, add the shallot, carrot, celery and mushrooms and cook for 10 minutes or until they are soft. Add a little salt and pepper if you wish.

3. In a large bowl combine the meat, eggs, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and chili pepper. Use your hands to really mix and combine everything thoroughly. Now add the cooked vegetable mixture to the bowl.  It is very important that you distribute the vegetables evenly as this helps hold the meatloaf together.

4. Lightly grease your loaf pan with cooking spray and fill it with your mixture. Place it in the oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes.

5. While you’re meatloaf is cooking in the oven, get a small bowl and combine ketchup, honey and Worcestershire sauce to make the sauce that you are going to spread on top of your meatloaf.

6. After cooking for around 15 minutes you need to gently spread your sauce over the top of your meatloaf.

7. Continue cooking for around another 40 minutes and serve with a a green vegetable for a well rounded meal.

After I was stuffed from dinner, I went upstairs and started working on a new inspiration board. You may remember my past inspiration boards. Well, it’s time for a new one.

Layla snoozed while I clipped out photos and pasted them to the board.

We’re excited because my mom and sister are coming to visit for the weekend. My mom wants to try eating gluten-free all weekend. We’ll see how this goes ;)

Check out my good friend, McKenzie’s blog for fun gluten-free recipe ideas. She just posted a mexican corn cake recipe that looks devine!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Take care,

Kilee

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Come Together

Good morning! Did you take any time to work through any of your fears? I’m feeling very refreshed from letting go of mine and we had a half day of flying yesterday. The helicopter needed to have some maintenance work done and this gave Blake and I time to run some errands and catch up on some work on our lap tops. It included a little Starbucks too!

A few nights ago, we went over and had dinner at one of the biologist’s houses. It was so nice to have a home cooked meal. We had cheddar broccoli, baked beans and deer meatloaf. It tasted so good! The biologist is an avid hunter and had about 30 animals mounted in his house. My favorite was a buffalo. Look at how huge this thing was:

Connecting with Others

Today I wanted to share with you something that I was thinking about recently. Over the past few years, I have been working on shifting my thoughts and aligning myself with love instead of fear. One of the most influential ways that we can step into a more BRILLIANT version of ourself is to open up and work with others.

I used to be pretty shy. I was nervous to talk to other kids my own age and just assumed that they didn’t like me. Once I decided that I needed to be more outgoing and less shy, I made some amazing friends who greatly impacted my life and happiness. By opening myself up to others and overcoming my fear that they wouldn’t like me, I was able to bring a lot of joy into my life through these friendships.

When I lived on Maui, I felt very isolated. I didn’t have many friends on the island and I was an ocean away from my family and friends back at home. I used to look at Facebook profiles and be too afraid to post anything because I didn’t want to look stupid to others. Now, when I think back on this, I can’t even imagine feeling that way, but that’s the mindset that I was in at that time.

When I started reaching out to others through Facebook, blogging and meeting up in person, I became more relaxed and felt good about myself. I started to realize that the more I connected with others, the better I felt. I learned that I brought just as much joy into my friend’s lives as they brought into mine. By reaching out and connecting with others, I created more love and abundance in my own life.

Then, I started to see this theme of connectivity and positive results when it came to my business. I started out being embarrassed to share my business and goals with other people. I wanted to do everything on my own and not have to rely on anyone else to get the job done. Then, I encountered a shift. I started asking others whom I admired for advice. They happily offered it. I started to reach out and try to develop new ideas with other business owners and people in my industry. More positive feedback started to develop.

Being part of two major online communities has really shed light on how much of a positive impact can come from joining forces and working together. Tone It Up is an amazing example of how thousands of women can create a healthy, supportive community. I am always in awe of how strong of leaders Katrina and Karena are and how much support and dedication they offer their TIU community. Another favorite online community of mine is The Daily Love. I have never learned as much personal development and positive life lessons in a year’s time since I started reading posts and tweets from TDL.

At this point in my life, I better understand the need to reach out and connect with others. It can be online, but few things are better than a girls night out (or in) with your friends or connecting with other like-minded individuals in a group setting.

How can you build and cultivate more relationships in your personal and professional life? Is there a local women’s entrepunuer group you can join? Is there a running club you can participate in? Can you start a book club with your friends? Do whatever appeals to you. Step OUT of your comfort zone and experience the magic that happens when you connect with others. It may be scary to put yourself out there, but I promise that the joy and happiness you will experience will outweigh any hesitations you currently have.

Let’s focus on stepping out of FEAR and creating more LOVE and RELATIONSHIPS in our happy, healthy lives. I’m here to support you every step of the way.

If you feel like you could use a little extra one on one support, I have a few openings for some “Coaching with Kilee” calls. We can work together to help you recognize any fears that may be holding you back from your happy, healthy life. Email me at Kilee @ kileejohnson.com for more details.

I’m waiting for the weather to clear before we head out to the job site this morning. The wind and snow kept us inside longer than normal.

Someone isn’t complaining over here. She has gotten quite accustomed to hotel living!

Well, I’m going to respond to some emails and see if it’s time to drive out to the job site. Have a great day!!!

- Kilee

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Grain-Free Pumpkin Brownies

Well hello! Are you excited about this grain-free dessert that I promised you. I almost wish I hadn’t  made a full batch of these brownies because every time I went into the kitchen yesterday, I had to sample a bite or two. I have been baking gluten-free desserts for four years now, but haven’t experimented much with grain-free baking. After seeing all of the delicious grain-free recipes over on Detoxinista’s and iheartwellness’ blogs, I was inspired to get started.

Grain-Free Pumpkin Brownies

Makes 16 brownies

1 cup canned pumpkin

2 eggs

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tablespoon vanilla

10 drops liquid vanilla stevia

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup semi-sweet, milk or white chocolate chips (optional)

1/2 cup toasted walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºf.

Place all of the wet ingredients in a blender and blend on medium speed. Once the wet ingredients are completely blended, add all of the dry ingredients besides the chocolate chips and walnuts. Blend on low speed until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and walnuts and incorporate them into the batter with a spatula.

Spray an 8″x 8″ or 9″x 9″ metal baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (make sure it does not contain flour.) Pour and spread your batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the pan comes out clean. Once the brownies are baked, allow them to cool for about two hours before slicing and removing them from the pan. I found them a little hard to get out of the pan I used, but I think if you slice them with a sharp knife and then use a spatula to remove them from the pan, they should stay together better than mine did.

Do not try to bake them in a special triangle pan like I did, because they will be a royal pain to get out!

I was curious to see the nutrition stats on this new brownie recipe, so I calculated it out online:

Not too bad for a brownie, right? However, don’t get carried away “testing” these brownies, because half the tray will be gone by the time you know it!

Look at the beautiful sunrise I woke up to this morning:

It snowed a little bit here last night. I was really surprised to see snow when I took Layla potty outside last night. That little sleepyhead is snoring on the couch as I type this. She usually likes to sleep until around 9 or 10 and then get up to start her day. Haha!

I’m going to go doing my treadmill workout at the gym, run some errands in town that I forgot to do yesterday (sometimes I get flustered and sidetracked when I’m running errands only to end  back up at the house with only half of my items completed!) and work on some client nutrition plans at Starbucks.

Have a great day today!!!

Much love,

Kilee

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January Cleanse/Weight-Loss Week 4

Can you believe that we’re already 3/4 of the way through January? This month is flying by! Speaking of flying, I will be flying out to visit Blake in Reno, NV today. His helicopter is down for maintenance right now, so I get to go enjoy some time with him in “little Las Vegas.” My sister agreed to watch Layla for the weekend, so we will be doggie-free. I can’t wait to see what Reno is like. I guess we’re staying at a casino that has an “all-you-can-eat” sushi bar. Can you trust a sushi restaurant that’s not on the coast? We’ll see!

Did anyone try the Cleanse-Friendly Cookies I posted this week? I may have had one (or two) each day since I made them.

How are you feeling? Have you continued to eat vegan or have you reintroduced animal proteins back into your diet? Take some time to think about how you have felt over the past week and adjust your diet as needed. Some people feel great as vegetarians, some people prefer to eat fish while others thrive as full-fledge omnivores. Play around with your animal protein intake until it feels right for you.

This week, you have the option of adding dairy back into your diet. I recommend starting with a goat or sheep cheese or yogurt. Some people, like myself, have an easier time digesting pure sheep or goat’s milk products than cow dairy. If your stomach feels good enough with these two and you want to try adding cow’s dairy back into your diet, go ahead. Pay close attention to how you feel in the hours after you eat your dairy. Is your stomach cramping? Do you feel gassy? If you feel fine, you can choose to continue to eat dairy products. If you feel somewhat sick from it, keep it out of your diet.

Week 4 Daily Meal Guide:

Upon Rising: 16 ounces of water with 2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice

Breakfast: Green Smoothie (see recipe)

Snack: LARABAR (store-bought of homemade) or 4-6 ounces plain greek yogurt with some fruit or gluten-free granola

Lunch: Salad (see recipes for weeks 2 & 3)

Snack: 1-2 cups fresh vegetables and 3 ounces deli meat or ¼ cup hummus or dip

Dinner: Any of the recipes from weeks 1-3 or try one of the linked recipes below.

Post-Dinner: Cup of herbal tea

Week 3 Dinner Recipe Ideas

Quinoa with Poached Egg, Spinach and Cucumber

Lentils and Brown Rice

Grilled Chicken Ratatouille

Mushroom Shichimi Rice Bowl

Detox Lasagna

Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Mustard Glaze

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Lifestyle Tip of the Week:

Taking some time to do something special for yourself is very important. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in taking care of others and not focusing on your own needs. You are not a selfish person for choosing to do something that you enjoy each day. It has been proven that it is beneficial to you and you health to treat yourself to something you enjoy daily.

It could be reading your favorite book, taking a walk to the park, getting a manicure, turning off your cell phone in the evening, taking a bubble bath, buying a scarf in your favorite color, looking at puppies at the pet store or pound or giving yourself a face mask. Whatever you like to do… do it! Unless it’s shoving handfuls of potato chips and chocolates into your mouth. We’re on a cleanse, remember!

This week, please remind yourself to treat yourself to something special each day. I promise that it will have a positive impact on your life.

I hope that you are feeling amazing! I’m off to finish my packing and hit the road. See you from Reno!

xoxo,

Kilee

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Life Lessons from Stand Up Paddleboarding

Hi! I hope that you are having a fabulous day so far! I wanted to share some inspiring lessons that I’ve learned from stand up paddleboarding (SUP) over the past few years.

Suzie was recently featured in the July issue of Self magazine.

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I was introduced to SUP by the lovely, Suzie Coney, of Suzie Trains Maui. She was my trainer when I lived on Maui and she taught free women’s SUP workshops on the weekends. All that you had to do was bring your board and paddle and she would instruct us on proper warm-up exercises and SUP techniques. I gained some major confidence and camaraderie with the other women out there on the water. I want to thank Suzie for introducing me to such an exciting and invigorating sport!

Life Lessons I’ve learned from Stand Up Paddleboarding

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1. If you fall off your board, get back on

This is true at every point in your life. We are constantly “falling off our board,” whether it’s not getting the job we applied for, being dumped by our significant other or eating a bag of Oreos after we swore off of junk food. What’s important is that we pick ourselves up and get back on our “board.”

When I first started SUP, I was in the water half of the time that I was out there. Instead of calling it quits and swimming back to shore, I pulled myself out of the water and back onto my board. I continued to work on my balance and learn the best ways to maneuver my board in the choppy waters. The last time that I went SUP on my trip to Maui, I went out for about 30 minutes without falling once!

I know that we all have times when we’re feeling down or have gotten off track. My best advice is to stick with our goal, get back up, and keep working towards it. Our hard work will pay off!

2. Keep your eyes ahead, not beneath you

This one is especially important, both when your on the water and in life, when your striving towards large goals. I realized that when I looked at the ocean beneath my board, I was more likely to be wobbly and lose my balance than when I focused on a point in the distance. I liken this to staying focused on your overall life goals instead of worrying about the issues that arise on a daily basis. There will always be little problems that come up along the way, but if we work through them, everything will all work out.

Next time you find yourself panicked about a current “crisis” remind yourself that “this too shall pass” and that you will eventually achieve your goal.

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3. Go with the flow

This is one that I am constantly working on! When you are out in the choppy ocean waters, your board is continually bobbing up and down with the waves of the ocean. If your legs are locked straight, you are more likely to get tossed off your board. However, if you slightly bend your legs and allow the board to rock beneath you with ease, you are less likely lose your balance.

In life, it is easy to get caught up in the day to day drama, but if you roll with the punches and don’t worry too much about the little things, it will all work out.

There you go. These are my life lessons learned through my experience with stand up paddleboarding. Readers, I have 2 challenges for you: apply one of these lessons to your week this week and if you have the opportunity to try SUP, do it!

Have a great day today!

Much love,

Kilee

Weekend Shower Fun

Today I wanted to feature my friend Laura’s bridal shower. Remember a few weeks ago when I was making mini quiches? Her shower was recently feature on the blog, Hostess with the Mostess. The amazing fête was planned by Lindsey, Laura’s twin sister and our friend, Jessica of Modern Moments Design designed the invitations and printed decorations. It was amazing to say the least. Lindsey and Laura need to start their own business because they are the most talented decorators/hostesses/interior designers I know! These photos speak for themselves.

Lindsey, the bride, Laura and I

Are you speechless of how beautiful it was? You can see more of the professional photos here. I’m thankful that I got to spend time with my friends and celebrate Laura’s upcoming wedding. I didn’t get to try my quiches (the crust had flour,) but some of the shower guests assured me that they tasted good. I advise anyone preparing mini quiches the day before an event to place a paper towel in the the container that they’re storing them in. This will help keep the quiches from absorbing moisture becoming soggy.

I did help myself to quite a few of the coconut french macarons. Such a delish gluten-free treat! What’s your favorite party treat to enjoy?

4th of July Menu

Happy 4th of July Weekend! I hope that you are having a fabulous weekend so far. I started off my Friday with a 6 mile run after work and then headed to my friend, McKenzie’s house for a delicious gluten-free dinner. She made gluten-free pasta with grape tomatoes, broccoli and chicken sausage and served it with a spinach salad and some yummy wine. To top it all off, she baked strawberry shortcake with Pamela’s baking mix, fresh strawberries from the farm near her house and homemade whipped cream. It was an amazing, relaxing, fun and much-needed girlie evening. Love you Kenze!

This 4th of July, I will not be cooking or baking anything, but I have a little menu planned for what I would have made if I were to be hosting a party. Here’s what my party menu would include:

Spinach and Strawberry Salad by Whole Foods

Caramelized Onion Stuffed Turkey Burger with Guacamole, Fresh Spinach & Feta by Broke & Healthy

My Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Vegetarian Maple Baked Beans by GF-zing

Summer Berry Trifle by Unconventional Kitchen

Don’t all of these recipes sound delicious? I have a nice, fun-filled weekend planned. After I finish up with work tomorrow, I’m dropping Layla off at the doggie hotel and headed home to Gearhart, OR for the 4th. I’ll be following some of my tips while celebrating this patriotic holiday. I hope that you have a happy & safe 4th of July.

Reader: What are your plans for the weekend?

Wednesday Meals

Hi! How is your day going so far? Mine has been wonderful; partly because I realized we were already half way through the week. Gotta love Monday holidays! I thought that it might be fun to show you my meals today because I just happen to have my camera sitting on the kitchen table all day. These are all one-dish meals that I threw together in 15 minutes or less.

Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito Scramble

I cooked organic scrambled eggs, cut-up brown rice tortilla, veggies with Mexican blend Mrs. Dash and topped it with some pico de gallo. A very healthy and filling way to start my day!

Lunch: Salad

Arugula and mixed greens with chickpeas and my new tahini-lemon dressing recipe.

Dinner: Orange Chicken Stir-Fry

Organic chicken breast with veggies and a little oriental orange sauce that I mixed up.

I spent a total of less than an hour in the kitchen today and enjoyed three homemade meals. As you can see, eating healthy, gluten-free meals can be easy, quick and oh so good!

Tonight I want to feature some of my favorite websites that inspire me to be my best each day. I think that I’ve mentioned some of these in the past, but they are each so fabulous, that I want to remind everyone to check them out!

The Daily Love

I subscribe to their daily newsletter and it truly is one of the best parts of my day. Mastin Kipp writes amazing and inspirational advice and I love the quotes section of the newsletter. This is one to check out a.s.a.p. and sign up for the daily newseltter. I promise that it will add joy and happiness to your day!

Tone It Up

These are my favorite celebrity trainers! I wish that I could work out with them everyday. Karena and Katrina are so positive and fun to listen to. They have awesome workout videos that are set on the California beach. One day, I’m going to go visit their studio and work out with the ToneItUp team!

I Heart Wellness

Kris Britton has a lovely blog dedicated to allergy-free recipes and inspiration to follow your passion. She is always coming up with new yummy, allergy-free recipes. She also offers a lot of advice for following your passion and living your dream. And, she sells her gluten-free cookies on Etsy. She is one busy girl!

What are some of your favorite websites? I’d love to hear what ones you check out regularly. I’m off to clean up the house for a little get-together that we’re hosting tomorrow night. Have a great evening!

How to Not Feel Like You Have to Accomplish a Life’s Worth of Goals This Instant

Hi! I hope that you are having a fabulous Friday so far!  Here’s a pic of my cute little wheat grass pot in my kitchen. I juiced some the other day and cannot believe how much instant energy it gave me :)

I have spent the last few days re-prioritizing my goals and how I spend my time.  As I reflected over the past year, I started to realize that I have been putting so much energy into *making things happen* that I haven’t stopped to smell the roses along the way.  My goals that I plan to achieve are grande in size and I have spent the past few years in the mindset that I have to work non-stop, spend all of my free time building my business and go-go-go to accomplish these goals.  After taking a few weeks off from this mindset, I have realized that it’s unhealthy to always be in this mode.  My mind was constantly thinking of what I should be doing or how much I need to accomplish to create the life that I want.  I was striving to be be a super-human.

Then it hit me.  I’m never going to be super-human.  None of us are.  Even Martha Stewart, one of my long-time idols, is not super-human.  She built an awe-inspiring media empire, but was not super-human enough to avoid jail-time.

Looking back on different times in my life I started to see a theme.  I wish that I would not have worried so much and just gone out and had fun.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had lots of fun, but there has always been a part of me that worried that I wasn’t doing enough to work towards accomplishing my goals. What am I going to do about this? I’m going to change my mindset. Instead of continuing my theme of worrying and always feeling like I need to be doing more, I’m giving myself permission to go relax a little and enjoy life.  Even the most accomplished individuals have some fun now and then, right?

The reason why I wanted to share this with you is because leading a fulfilling, healthy lifestyle involves balance.  Work and play, healthy, alkalizing foods and indulgent treats, working hard to accomplish your dreams and relaxing.  I pledge to keep a more balanced mindset when it comes to achieving my goals.  I trust that the universe has an even greater plan for me than the one that I strive for.

Because I just spent the past year working my buns off and am now realizing that it’s beneficial to slow down and enjoy the moment you’re in, I want to share with you my tips on easing off of over-drive.  If you are on the other end of the spectrum and feel that all you want to do is lay back and not set any goals, wake up and use these tips to get motivated!

1. Identify your top three goals.  Write them down in a notepad or on a dry erase board.

2. Remind yourself that you will accomplish these goals at the right time for you and your journey through life.

3. Trust that the universe has an even better life in store for you than the one you have planned.

4. Create an action plan of how you are going to achieve these goals. Do not become fixated on achieving them a.s.a.p. but instead recognize that you will accomplish your goals when the timing is right.  Remember my favorite life quote that I’m sure my friends are sick of hearing from me, “Everything happens for a reason.”  If something doesn’t happen exactly when you want it to, trust that there is something greater that is meant to happen.

5. Make time to relax, hang out with friends and family, have fun, treat yourself.  Life is too short to only focus on your goals and not enjoy the wealth that you already have: health, loved ones & purpose.

So, I just wanted to remind myself that I’m not super-human.  Even though I would LOVE to write a new blog post everyday, at this point in my life, I cannot accomplish that goal.  It doesn’t mean that it won’t happen someday, just not today.

Please remember not to be too hard on yourself and realize that your goals will come true if you progressively work towards them.  Take some time to have fun and be with the ones you care about.

And, for daily inspiration delivered right to your inbox, check at http://thedailylove.com.  I always feel so inspired and enlightened when I read Mastin’s daily email newsletter!

Goal Setting Site: 101in365.com

Hi!  Happy almost Friday!  I wanted to share with you a great website to help you make, track and accomplish your goals this year.  Sometimes it can be difficult to make goals because you might feel that they need to be these huge, life-changing goals.  This is so not true.  My sister let me know about the website http://101in365.com.  The premise is to lock in 101 goals that you want to accomplish within one year.  They can be big or small, fun or serious.  The point is to get you thinking about what you want in life and what you can do now to make those things happen.  You can also view other people’s goals for inspiration.  Start thinking about what you want on your list.

Check out the website here!

Happy goal-setting :)

Whole Nutrition Words of Advice

I’m in the process of building “Whole Nutrition” to be my vehicle for sharing information about how to lead a healthier and happier life.  Therefore, I will be doing quite a bit of updating and adjusting to this site in the coming months.  I have spent hours upon hours of learning, listening to and reading about health. I continue to explore how our foods, activity and mindset affect our health and happiness.  My goal is to help others feel their best each day so that they can achieve their dreams and goals.

Here is “Whole Nutrition’s” manifesto:

I will be sharing with you ways to cook healthy meals, properly fuel our bodies and how to create the life that you want to live.  In the mean time, here are some things that I am loving right now:

This is an inspiring email newsletter, blog and twitter account dedicated to spreading love and encouragement to all.  Creator, Mastin Kipp along with guest writers offer a daily shot of inspiration.  Be sure to sign up for their newsletter at http://thedailylove.com.

Mountain Rose Herb is an online retailer who provides the highest quality organic herbs, healthy foods and natural care products. They are based in Eugene, Oregon and have an amazing selection of products in varying sizes. I like to purchase my bee pollen, extra-virgin coconut oil and Himalyan sea salt from http://mountainroseherbs.com.

Throughout college, I used black Moleskin journals to jot down notes in and out of class.  Their new “Passions” series is a line of journals dedicated to particular subjects. You can use them to jot down your ideas or paste clippings from magazines.  I bought the “Recipe” and “Wellness” journals, but they come in other subjects ranging from “Travel” to “Gardening.”  Whatever you passion is, pick up one of these journals to keep track of your thoughts and inspirations.  Moleskin Passions Journal

Let me know what you think of the manifesto and suggestions.  Take care,

Kilee