Is it a sin to…


…have no motivation whatsoever? This isn’t about me committing sins either lol.

I’m feeling guilty because I have got next to nothing done today. In all fairness, I had a little incident at work the beginning of the week that put me out of commission for a few days. But, don’t we all once in a while? Is it the end of the world? No.

That’s neither here nor there because I can still function to a degree and I thank my lucky stars that it wasn’t worse.

I was off for 3 1/2 days. It set off total flashbacks for me. Covid quarantine flashbacks. Like most of you, I never ever want to experience that again.

That is the type of jolt we all need once in a while to make us appreciate life. It certainly gave me a wakeup call. That wakeup call is not letting events or people control my happiness.

Everyone gets into a funk periodically because of outside factors. I let this, whatever you call it umm stupid state of mind put me in a funk. I usually practice what I preach but for some reason this one was hard for me to shake off.

The time off gave me a chance to think about things though. Downtime to think is sooo important, but I will save that for another post.

There was a great article I read about not letting your emotions control you. It is like a built-in instinctual habit when a person lets their emotions control their cognitive thought process. It can ruin everything or it can make everything perfect. It all depends on you and your brain.

You’re bummed because you didn’t get the job, you didn’t pass the test, or someone hasn’t called or texted you back etc.

There are so many influences that affect our emotional state. The question is, how do we turn on and off those emotions? How can you reflect or intersect whatever is making your emotions go haywire?

It boils down to your brain. Conditioning your thoughts to recognize that emotions are feelings and feelings can be altered literally in a split second. The key is to learn how to change your reaction to the actions that are affecting your emotions.

It sounds a lot more than it really is. I’m not saying that it is easy to turn off your emotions but controlling them with your thoughts, can be done.

Over the years I have learned how to not let certain events or people control my emotional state. I am not perfect at it but I’ve come a long way.

Emotions, the bad ones, can wreak havoc on your health. Depression, anger, and sadness, especially for a long period of time can really do damage to your overall well-being. It is worth it? The sadness or anger you went through and probably eventually got over, was it worth your time slighting yourself of happiness? Not only your happiness but the happiness of those around you as well.

There isn’t anything in this world worth not having peace of mind. Life is always going to happen no matter what you say or do. It is inevitable.

The one thing you do have control over is your mind. Keep it strong. Practice deflection. Those small idiotic things that you encounter that get your pissed or make you sad, shrug it off and ask yourself, is it worth bringing me into a bad emotional state? When you realize that there are no major catastrophes in life, only then will you start to feel peace.

Your time on this earth is so precious. Don’t waste it. Be at peace with yourself and those around you.

Okay, enough gibberish. Have a great weekend everyone. Enjoy life!

Holy sh*t! I did it!


I did it. I booked a campsite for the boys and I. This is one step closer for me to actually get to go camping solo. Over the past 2 years we have been going with my sister and her husband. This year we kind of graduated. We are going camping at the same campground with them but at a different campsite.

Then…. I took it upon myself to book a site just for the boys and I at a different time and place all together.

The campground we are going to is called Limekiln and it is up in the Adirondacks of NY.

I am actually looking into investing in a small rv that sleeps 3. Since my boys are turning 17 and 18 in September, I think I will be going on my own next summer. I think that a small rv might be better when I am alone as opposed to tent camping. Gotta have room for my dog! haha

So here is our site that I booked in July at Limekiln.

I am beyond excited.

All it takes are baby steps when it comes to accomplishing anything you want. Life is too short not to take a chance.

Sick Day


Yeah well I did it. I called in sick today. Thought about it all night while I was fighting a headache and woke up exhausted but the headache is going away haha.

I went back and forth deciding on whether or not I should call in sick. Thinking of what my future may hold if I do take a sick day. Calculating the days I already took off. Feeling that nervousness in my stomach and then…..a meme popped up on my Facebook feed. Shit you not……

I say hell yeah. So I did. My kids are home from Florida and might be going back again soon. The sun is shining and I just felt like I needed a day off mentally and physically.

Life is for living right? That includes making a living, spending time with the people you love, enjoying every little and big moment. Take the day off.

Not only that but don’t be afraid to do what it is that your gut is telling you to do. What’s the worse that could happen? Seriously, will you be beheaded? Stop the madness.

Worrying gets you no where. Worrying is a useless way to use brain energy. It depletes you and robs you of precious time.

Enjoy your day please I’m begging you. Tomorrow is not promised.

Gluten Free Banana Bread, YUM


Okay, so now that I entered my 50’s, I realized that your body definitely changes over time. This means that you have to put in extra effort to take care of yourself. I was always able to eat whatever I wanted but as of late, I noticed certain foods are affecting me differently so I have been doing trial by error and the elimination process. I find that gluten free foods are definitely beneficial to my diet. Oh how I love banana bread!!

Every little bit helps!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups gluten free flour mix
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp nutmeg
  • 3 eggs
  • ¾ half and half
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp maple syrup
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 3 bananas, ripe and mashed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

You can use either a 9 inch loaf pan or 4 small individual loaf pans (I like the individual ones so I can freeze them and take them out when I need one or give to a friend).

Whisk together the dry ingredients of 2 cups gluten free flour blend, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp of nutmeg, 1 tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, mix 3 eggs, ¾ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 tbsp of maple syrup, and ¼ cup sugar.

Combine the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients then add the 3 mashed bananas to the batter. Stir until well mixed.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until the top of the bread is lightly golden.

Check the bread after 40 minutes. Take either a tooth pick or butter knife and pierce to see if any batter sticks to either. I usually watch to see if the top of the loaves turn golden brown and base my cooking time on that.

Awesome when served with butter!!!

This is my third time making these but it finally came out exactly how I anticipated it would!

Nutrition Information:

 SERVING SIZE:

 1 (12 servings total)

Amount Per Serving: 

CALORIES: 226TOTAL FAT: 11gSATURATED FAT: 1gTRANS FAT: 0gUNSATURATED FAT: 9gCHOLESTEROL: 48mgSODIUM: 310mgCARBOHYDRATES: 28gFIBER: 1gSUGAR: 8gPROTEIN: 5g

This data is provided by Nutritionix and is an estimate only.