Terminal



I Like It When You Smile

Vegas

in the summertime

 

 

Hot Time in the City

oh.was.it.ever.

but it was actually no worse than being at home

where the humidity here

made it feel far more miserable

And when you’re having fun,

you don’t much mind the heat.

We were only there a few days,
on business,
but managed to squeeze in some play time too.

 

(wine flowed freely … a little TOO freely)

 

 

 

 

The Venetian is still my favorite place to go in Vegas.

Beautiful

Fun

Romantic

Magical

 



FNL - Look What You've Done To Me

be still ... my bleeding heart

 

LOOK

WHAT

YOU’VE

DONE

TO

ME

 

 

Classically timeless.



The Glory of Friendship

 

 



CINNABUN Mini Muffins

It's no secret that my favorite brand of whey protein is TruTein.  Although I've heard great reviews on all their flavors, I've never ventured out to try any flavors besides Cinnabun.  (I'm planning to try the chocolate very soon!)

Although Cinnabun makes a really yummy shake for post-workout fuel, one of my favorite recipes to make with this product is Mini Muffins.  I've blogged the recipe in my blog.*  What I didn't mention in that post was the nutrient info for these mini muffins.  They make a great balanced snack at any time of the day, making it easy for traveling when options are limited. 

Just before leaving for the beach in June, I made a batch of these and placed them in two quart-sized ziploc bags to have with me in the car for mini-meals.  When it was time to stop for a pee break, or for gas, I'd buy a cup of coffee and have my muffins instead of buying salt-carb-fat-laden fast food.  They did the trick for replacement meals, keeping me feeling satisified and alert as I drove all those miles. 

I often enjoy a serving of mini muffins with a cup of green tea for a mid-morning snack on my break at work (or decaf green tea as a snack before bed).  In winter months when a cold shake post workout doesn't quite hit the spot, I opt for 1.5 servings of muffins with green tea (sometimes with a side of berries.)

My recipe makes 24 mini muffins.  Below is the nutritional information per serving, depending on the number of muffins eaten per serving.

Nutrients Per 5 Mini Muffins

140.2 cals

2.0 g fat

7.5 g carbs

4.0 g fiber

1 g sugar

25.6 g protein

 

 

Nutrients Per 4 Mini Muffins

112 cals

1.6 g fat

6 g carbs

3.2 g fiber

.08 g sugar

20.4 g protein



* (Adding 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum powder to the recipe helps to thicken the batter and makes fluffier muffins.  This works well for shakes too; I've tried adding 1/4 tsp to my shakes.  A teeny bit goes a long way!)

I Made It Through

The exodus.  I willed myself to stay gracefully strong and controlled.   I suppressed my tears as we said our goodbyes ... well, almost.  I think there were only three tears.  Yeah, I was counting.  But they were silent tears.  With a forced smile.  But a proud one, that is for certain.

His car is still parked in the driveway.  It haunts me. 

My emotions have been all over the place with this, and it's mostly because Japan is so damn far away.  I think if he were somewhere in the contiguous states, it would not be a problem.  I could accept that, knowing that it would be far easier to see him when I wanted to. 

Seriously.  He's been slow in launching, and I've been annoyed about that for how long?  And yet now that he's officially launched, what do I do?  I pace and worry and allow my heart to get ripped and torn and tied in knots.  Silly me. 

So I am gathering all the distractions I can in an effort to focus on positive happy things to help me through these first few difficult days.  A good movie would be nice.  I love a good love story...it's been a long time.  But I can't handle love stories anymore.  So then I thought about a good comedy.  Laughter always is the best medicine.  This I know.  I'll keep looking.

A good book would be nice, but wouldn't you know, the last one I downloaded for my Kindle turned out to be a flop, despite having earned 5 stars by over 300 reviewers (REALLY?) and this caption in the summary:

"SECOND HONEYMOON is James Patterson's most mesmerizing, most exciting, and most surprising thriller ever."

Bad move.  I cannot BELIEVE Patterson is so wildly popular.  He editorializes way too much, to a point of distraction -- cut the cheesey comments!!!  Just shut up and tell the story!  And the story line is all over the place.  Very disjointed.  Choppy.  Just bad.  BAD.  I'd never read Patterson before, and I'm pretty certain I never will again.  Okay.  So much for the book idea, at least until I find a better one.

Pinterest can be fun.  I love looking at photos of beautiful faraway places....oh, and the black and white photography (my favorite), inspiring messages, clever project ideas.  And Tumblr.  Love that even more.  I like getting lost in the images.  Sweet escape.

What next?  What will serve as a good fix from this funky chapter in my life?

Last night I spent about 45 mins doing different forms of cardio -- elliptical, and some Turbo Jam stuff, ab circuits, followed up with stretching.  Not surprisingly, I felt amazing afterwards. YOU REMEMBER THAT FEELING, T.  This is your GO-TO coping mechanism that rarely lets you down.

As the sun was coming up this morning, I poured myself a cup of coffee, submersed in the stillness of dawn.  My favorite time of day.  Then I laced up my shoes, grabbed MY MUSIC (loving this fun song, "Breathe) and headed out the door.  I didn't want to JUST run...I wanted to run and keep running.  Run from the world.  I don't know why the overwhelming need to withdraw.  
To close the door to 

“the noise.”

What DO I want?  Do I even know?

The running helped me to sweat out the negative thoughts, the confusion, the sadness, the frustrations.  Fill the void.  It helped to defeat the vulnerabilities that had taken me captive.  You gotta let it flow.  Let it go.  Purge.  Through the breathlessness and the sweat. 

Whatever works.

And now what?  What's next?  Where to now?  I gotta focus on changes, big and small, that need to be made in my life.  Seek restoration.  It's no small task.  And especially at this chapter in my life.  But I will find it.  I just gotta remember to breathe.

Preparing for the Exodus

My mind and heart have been full with emotions for the past couple of weeks as I wrestle with my oldest son preparing to leave for Japan.  Tomorrow.  For a year.  I've been annoyed with him lately because of his nonchalant approach for this event.  Details.  You don't just up and leave the country for a year without paying attention to the details. 

And if he didn't still live under this roof (sigh), I wouldn't be preoccupied and likely not as annoyed with him.  Because I wouldn't know, would I?  I mean, he's a man.  He's not a child.  This is HIS trip, his adventure, his life.  Let him work through this and suffer the consequences through the trial and error of life lessons.

For instance -- and then I'm leaving it alone -- he BEGINS looking for his passport on Tuesday night.  He leaves FRIDAY.  He's known that he will be going to Japan since, when?  May?  And a couple days before he leaves the country, it dawns on him that he might need his passport.  And does he know where it is?  Hell no.  Does he appear concerned?  Only slightly.  After 30 mins of searching, he says to me, "Oh, well.  It will show up.  See you later.  I'm going out with some friends."

That is all I'm going to say about this.  Oh.  But okay.  He found it Wednesday afternoon.  In the scanner where he'd left it to scan to his PC ... who knows when. 

I've taken the day off so that I can go shopping with him to help him buy a couple of suits, dress shirts, ties, a fresh supply of underwear and toiletries.  He tells me he has to wear a suit every day at his new job teaching.  A suit.  Really?  (DETAILS)  And you tell me this the week before you leave.  He doesn't even OWN a suit.

So I sit here having coffee, tossing these thoughts around in my head.  I slept in a little later and will be going to the gym in a few minutes.  Dire therapy.  Maybe this is God's way of helping me to work through the sadness of him leaving, continents away for a whole year.  If I'm annoyed with him, it's not as easy to be sad, right? 

Does he even have a clue how much I love him?  How much I'll miss him?  How much I'll always and forever worry about THE DETAILS of his life every day of his life. 

He's my son after all.

Time to head out in search of endorphins.

 

At his going-away party.