Five Things I Am Loving!

Happy Friday! To copy one of my favorite blogs The Peanut Butter Runner (www.peanutbutterrunner.com), I am posting my 5 Things I Am Loving list.

1) Biking! I LOVE to ride my bike, but I used to feel guilty taking the bike and leaving Bows at home. So I splurged on a Pet Snoozer bike basket and she goes where I go. It holds dogs up to 15 pounds, so I've taken her on 4 bike rides this week, including two to visit her favorite person "Cookie Grandma", who is my Grandma Lois. Every time we stop, Bows gets a treat (aka "cookie").

2) Motorcycle Rides! My husband has a Harley Fatboy, so we take it for rides in the summer. However, it's been above 90 degrees for the past two weeks with a heat index in the 100's, so we haven't taken it out too much yet. I am hoping for a nice fall so we can get some rides in.

3) Vacations! We have two mini vacations lined up for August. One involves visiting a brewery and vineyard with my brother and another involves a certain red-headed country twanger at the state fair. We'd like to take a longer vacay over the holidays when Matt has a break from school and lawn mowing, and I will want a fun vacation then. I think I want to go sit on a beach somewhere. Can you recommend any great beaches?

4) Exercise! I used to attend exercise class every Monday-Tuesday-Thursday, but during the summer I'd rather be outside riding my bike (see above) or walking or running or hiking. Well, you get the picture. But that means I slack on my strength training, so I started the 30-day Shred with Jillian Michael's yesterday. I am going to do 10 days at Level 1, 10 days at Level 2 and 10 days at Level 3. I even woke up early today to do my second day of it since we have plans tonight. I like that it's only 20 minutes so I can squeeze it in and I definitely feel like I am getting a good workout. I took my before measurements and will share my after when I finish the shred.

5) Smoothies! I love smoothies in a bowl for breakfast. You see, I have major digestive issues thanks to losing my gallbladder, going through chemo, and getting older. :-) So, I have found that I can't digest greens like brocoli, lettuce, spinach and kale when they are by themselves, but if I blend them up in a smoothie my body loves it and it helps my digestion. So each morning I make a smoothie and even Matt likes them. See the recipe below.

Smoothie in a Bowl

1 frozen banana

1/2 c. frozen fruit (any kind)

1 c. Chobani 0% plain yogurt

3/4 c. skim milk (lactose free) or light vanilla soymilk

cinnamon

1 t. honey

Blend together then add a huge handful of spinach, kale or some kind of greens. Top with chia seeds, a few chocolate chips, granola or peanut butter drizzle. Enjoy!