Perfect to me....

Behold the fruit from the apple tree that lives so beautifully in my front yard. I'm sure if I could hear her speak, she'd be gasping a long sigh of relief. Her branches were bent almost to the ground with the weight of her fruit...but she held on without a single broken branch, long enough for the apples to reach their sweet-tart, crunchy ripeness.
As you can see, I'm not a fan of sprays....my apples have bug bumps and worm holes and a dusty dingy cast on the peel. Many people might be so bold as to call them rotten and throw them away. Heaven forbid they might take a bite of the delicious fruit, warm from the sun.
But not me..... no way. I knew underneath that ugly skin I would find perfection. I cut into the unpleasant outside and and found beautiful crisp white flesh that can be eaten out of hand, roasted, cooked in to sauce or frozen to be used another day....
It's kind of a talent I have....finding perfection and beauty in things that others would throw away.
It happens almost every day at the gym.... people walk in the door, feeling sad, unhealthy, and well....ugly.
Many have lost the ability to feel "good enough"  and that's where I come in..... my goal is always to get them to look beyond the mirror (and the scale), because when they do- magical things happen.
When you look beyond the surface, you'll often find goodness and joy. It's easier to be healthy when you're happy....it's easier to stick with a program when it's fun.....it's easier to eat good food when it's delicious.
I know my glass-half full viewpoint is probably quite irritating to some of you.... but it's who I am. There is no perfect in this life.....my life is full of dirty clothes, messy counters, stacks of bills and an overfull calendar, but it also includes love and good friends and sunsets and ugly apples.....all of which have the potential to become something sweet and delicious, and.... perfect to me.

Sunday = Prep Day

Hello!!
 Welcome to my favorite time of year!! I love waking up to cold temps, only to end up sweating in shorts in the afternoon.... later sunrises and earlier sunsets.... nature whispering to slow down.
I find myself falling into a rhythm I love... a day that starts out slow and lazy, curled up with a cup of warmth and a book....easing in to productivity around 9.....and winding back down again around 7.
I'm trying to honor my natural longings a little more these days, but I've talked to myself enough during my 47 years to know I need to be prepared if I want to enjoy these days.
So, with my favorite months just ahead and a need to slow down, I decided to give myself one busy day each week to prepare for a stress free week ahead.....
I woke up this morning at 6, made myself a cup of coffee and sat to answer emails from new Transformation Members. I warmed up my coffee at 7, grabbed a Siggie's strawberry yogurt with a Noosa topper and dove into my weekly email.
I was done with emails & scheduled Facebook posts around 10, so I started in on the "necessaries". You know things like laundry and dishes.
By 11, my nose was in the fridge, looking for the raw ingredients that would fuel my week. Veggies, eggs, chicken & apples (yes- apples....100's of them from our un-sprayed tree. They're ugly, but they taste so good!).

I posted a slow cooker steel cut oats recipe in my private nutrition group and decided to make that. I haven't had oats in a while- they just don't scream "summer" to me. As I mentioned, I have apples coming out of my ears, so I decided to jazz the basic recipe up a bit. I tossed 2 cups S.C. oats, 3 small (peeled & diced) apples, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg, 1 tsp. vanilla bean paste and 6 cups water into my crockpot.

Stir it up, seal it up.....walk away....done! Lol, my favorite way to cook!
The oats should be done around 5:00...I'll let them cool and store in an 8x8 glass casserole to use all week. I'll eat 1/2 cup in the morning. Microwave with 2 TBS. water for 60-90 seconds minute to warm... add your favorite HIGH protein vanilla protein powder and 1 tablespoon chopped pecans after warming.
I put some eggs on to boil, to use as an extra hit or miss protein during the week, and sat down to find a marinade for chicken breast. I have pineapple juice in the fridge, so I googled "chicken marinade with pineapple juice" (it's really that easy). I found one that looked pretty good and tweaked it to match my "rules".

1/3 cup pineapple juice
2 TBS. ketchup
2 TBS. coconut aminos (lite soy sauce would work too)
1 1/2 tsp. minced, peeled ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pour over 4 chicken breast. Cover with plastic wrap for 3-4 hours.
Grill til chicken is 160 degrees at thickest part.

So, now I'm pretty set for my meals for the week, so I turn my focus on my non-chicken breast, non-vegetable, non-leftover loving husband..... hmmmmm.....
Time to take a detour....
I have a confession. I've been craving fried chicken....I almost gave in and ordered some when I was on the road with my friend Kaylen last week. I didn't do it, but I DID buy legs and thighs at the grocery store when I got home and made a yummy baked version of fried chicken with the thighs on Thursday.
I have the legs left, so decided to BBQ some for Jeff. I need it to cook itself so I can sit here and chat with you, so I put a grate in my slow cooker, poured in 1 cup homemade veggie broth and placed 8 drumsticks on the grate. Seasoned heavily with 1/2 tsp. spicy smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp. chilpotle chile powder and a smidge (1/8 tsp.) cayenne pepper. I'll let it cook on low for the next 4-5 hours and top with his favorite BBQ sauce 30 minutes before he eats tonight.
Ok...off to fold some clothes, put away dishes & pick the last few raspberries from the garden.
I hope your day has been as wonderfully productive as mine and you have a great week!