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food

Create Your Own Happiness

Food , Health • Mar 27, 2023

One thing I’ve learned in my wellness journey is that you truly have to create your own happiness. Only you can create your own happiness.

You can’t rely on others to make you happy or you’ll face nothing but disappointment. This is truly a hard lesson for anyone to learn. But, once it’s learned there won’t be any going back. I’ll be honest and say I’ve tried to get happiness through things like alcohol and medication and it’s just not the same.

How exactly do you go about creating your own happiness? Seems silly but the possibilities are endless. My suggestion is to start small. Just do little things that are going to bring you joy.

In our home we love cooking! We make most of our meals at home and generally enjoy doing it. So, I bring that into my joy by doing something small on occasion such as making my own latte. It’s simple, cheap, takes just a few minutes, and it tastes so good!

Ingredients to make your own latte.

We switched from Keurig to Nespresso a year or so ago and have NEVER looked back. If your a big coffee drinker then do your homework because your going to lose some benefits by giving up your Keurig but you’ll gain some with Nespresso. One thing in particular that you’ll gain is the ability to make a great espresso.

Keurig has hundreds if not thousands of KCUP pods available to buy. Keurig also has the ability to use your own coffee and basically make your own KCUPs. Nespresso on the other hand has maybe two dozen options (for coffee) and that includes some great options for espresso. The perk in having the ability to make a great cup of espresso is that you can make yourself a bomb ass latte! How? It’s easy.

You’ll need only a few things –

  • Espresso
  • Ice
  • Milk (I prefer the creaminess of oat milk)
  • Flavor (Optional)

You’ll also need the ability to whip up the milk. We have the frother that came with our Nespresso but we have a handheld one as well that we got HERE on Amazon. We’ve used it plenty of times to froth up some milk but it’s also great for quickly whipping up eggs or blending liquids together. I highly recommend it.

Once you have all the ingredients it’s SUPER simple to make! Just brew some espresso over ice (I always fill my cup all the with ice to make it nice and cold), whip up your milk and add in a dash of your flavor flavor, pour it into the espresso, and then finally… enjoy it! So good and you save the $5 that you would have spent at Starbucks. Nothing against Starbies by the way.

It’s the small things like this for me that allow me to create my own happiness. This small latte cost me just a few dollars, took only a few minutes to make, and brought me an afternoon of joy. What other small things bring you joy?

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Weight Watchers – Round 3!

Good Eating , Health , Personal , Weight Watchers • Aug 15, 2014

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I have been a LONG TIME fan of Weight Watchers. Long before Jessica Simpson or Jennifer Hudson became representatives for the organization. In fact, I think i was joining Weight Watchers for the first time when Jessica Simpson was at her peak filming The Dukes of Hazard. I was at my fattest when she was at her best, ironic!

Anyway, I’ve been a fan. I’ve done two successful ’rounds’ of the program and i’m excited to say i’ve basically battled through round 3! I haven’t gained any of the 150lbs back that i lost 10 years ago (thankfully). I’ve just never fully completed the program. I’ve never gotten down to my ideal goal weight. To be honest.. i don’t even know what that number is! I don’t have a desire to look down and see a six-pack (although i wouldn’t complain) i just don’t want to feel unhappy with my body.

Body image is something that i’ve struggled with my entire life. Entire. Life. I was always the fat kid in school. I had amazing friends and went to a great school that wasn’t concerned with cliques, groups, and social circles. I was never made fun of and i’m grateful for that. I just never had a confidence to not feel self-conscious in the my own skin. I’ve always felt like the fat kid when i’m truly not anymore. I’m not proud of where i started but i’m proud of the fact that i’ve come so SO far!

In a nutshell the Weight Watchers system is pretty simple. Based upon sex, age, and average daily activity you are given a set number of ‘points’ that you can eat each day. Each point value has (or in the case of fruits/vegetables do not have) a set point value. Every time you eat something you must subtract the points consume from your overall daily limit. Nobody is perfect so there is a catch for that! You are also given a weekly point limit. Personally, i save these points for Adult Beverages and Junk Food! I can’t live without either.. lets be honest!

There have been good weeks and there have of course been VERY BAD weeks. I own it. Not everyday or every week for that matter will be a success. Sometimes that Krispy Kreme donut is just calling my name. Donuts do have a tendency to seduce their victims. I’m hungry just thinking about the damn things. When i’ve had a bad week i simply pick up the pieces and keep moving. I know they say in the program that you should still weight in but… i don’t. If i have a bad week i don’t even want to look at the scale. I’m going to just move on the next week and start over again!

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Farmers Market 2014

Good Eating , Personal • Aug 14, 2014

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Let me be the first to admit that I could really care less about going to local farmers markets. I LOVE the idea of the farmers market (locally grown, etc) but sometimes the prices are just way to crazy. I understand its just the type of market but why would i want to spend all of my money on an expensive bag of spinach when i could go down the street to my local grocery store and get the same things for about 1/3rd of the cost? … other than wanting to help a local community?!

I know, I know, I sound a bit bitter about it, lol. I’ve learned going to the farmers market, we have quite a few in our area, is more about the experience. My partner Brian has been a longtime fan of the market. He goes every Saturday when he’s not working and even visits a smaller version that comes closer to our house on Thursdays. They always have a large selection of quality (quality meaning expensive) products and a lot of vendors know him by name. That helps the entire experience a bit more personal. Nobody at SAMS CLUB knows my name!

The experience is great. It’s always busy, the sites to take in are amazing, and it just makes you feel good. Does that sound to cheesy? A bit? No worries. I’m still a fan (when i actually go of course). And of course, that means when my wallet will allow me to go!

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