Odacava

I am grateful for:

Creativity. I believe everyone has the capability to be creative. Artists, sculptors, writers aren’t the only creative people in the world. A teacher, a financial planner, a janitor are all creative. They can be creative in how they do their job, in finding solutions, or they express themselves. I love it when idea’s and creative solutions come at unexpected moments.

Our treadmill. When my husband originally proposed getting a treadmill I shut it down. I did not see us using it. Thankfully, he ignored my concerns, found a great deal on Kijiji and got  a treadmill. After being pregnant and having a baby, I am loving it!! There are a lot of days I can not make it to the gym. But if I get on the treadmill for a half hour (as early as I can in the day) I feel great.  I am energized, I see clearer, I am calm in my decisions,  and I have better focus through out my day. I am not a great long distance runner. I try to run as long as I can, when I get a cramp I just walk uphill on the steepest incline my treadmill goes to. I sweat it out for half and hour.

A night in to myself: Alone chill time is healthy every so often. I am loving it tonight!!I’m going to go to sleep

Well, Sorry I missed the last couple days. It’s been busy, however I find when I have the attitude, “I have a lot of time” I am at ease with what my plans are and confident that I can accomplish them. The last few days I’ve had the attitude, “I’m so busy” so I’ve felt a bit overwhelmed. Non the less, I am grateful for time. Time with family, friends, my daughter, husband, myself. Time to enjoy the outdoors, media, events, great food, and the list goes on and on. Time is so valuable.

I am also grateful for old/new friends. We have friends that my husband has been friends with since they were young boys. We rarely see them since we moved to Calgary, however they are moving here!! So now it feels like we have new friends We had them for dinner Sunday, it was great to visit with them and we played the board game Ticket to Ride.

I made spiced chicken with mango salsa, here is the recipe:

6 servings: The sugar in the spice rub caramelizes as the meat, forming a delicious brown crust.

Mango Salsa:

1/2 cup hot jalapeno jelly
3 TBS fresh lime juice
2 1/2 cups chopped peeled pitted mango (from 2)
1 1/4 cups chopped red bell pepper
3/4 cups chopped red onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno chile, minced

1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 TBS ground coriander
1 TBS sugar
1 TBS paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
12 4-ounce beef tenderloin steaks (each ~ 1/2 inch thick)
Olive oil

Whisk: jelly, and lime in large bowl to loosen. Mix in next 5 ingredients. Season salsa to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare: Mix cinnamon and next 5 ingredients in small bowl to blend for spice rub. Brush chicken breasts all over with oil, then sprinkle each side with 1/2 teaspoon spice rub (I drowned the chicken in the spice, it was great!).  Cook chicken at 350 for 20 mins. Serve, passing salsa separately. I served this with sweet potato fries and spinach salad with mandarin oranges, almonds and craisins.

I am also grateful for adventure. This past Family day our friends took us ice fishing. It was quite the adventure, I appreciated every moment though. Here is a photo on the lake, mountains in the background. The weather was awesome!

My computer froze last night when I published this so this is yesterday’s post

I am grateful for community. Every Monday and Wednesday morning our town hall has a drop in for toddlers and parents to come play in the gym from 9:30 – 11:30 am. I’ve tried to take Taylor to this since the New Year, but she naps at this time. Today, she slept in and I was finally able to take her!! It is great to get out of the house give Taylor the chance to interact with other kids and for me to visit with other parents in the area.

I am also grateful for the mountain views from Calgary. On our walk to to the town hall we took a path that has a high elevation. Luckily it was  a clear day, with blue skies so we could enjoy the majestic mountain view.

Lastly I am grateful for movie nights with my husband. I have a long to do list but my hubby got me to put it aside and chill out for the rest of the night. I had a terrible sleep the night before (coffee at dinner time was not a good idea) so I fell asleep as soon as the movies started. Laying in my husbands arms is the best feeling.

Please feel free to post what you are grateful for too!!