Summer living...and the weight gain is easy.

Hi everyone,
We are back from a great vacation to Colorado. We visited with family and ate at a cool Mexican place in Greeley. We went sight-seeing and ate to-die for cookies in Estes Park. We celebrated my daughter's new Master's degree with an Italian meal at a wonderful place called Johnny Carino's in Longmont. (Our waiter was a delightful young man training for the next summer Olympics in Bejing.) We also got to spend some time in Boulder wandering the shops on the Pearl Street Mall and ate at the Lazy Dog Saloon. Just for fun, we went to the New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins and sampled their beer.
Now that we are back home and the waistbands are a little tight, it's time to seriously think about losing some weight. So here a few tips I found in Woman's Day magazine (womansday.com/fitness). If you're like me, these ideas need to be simple.

*Skip the sugary fruit-on-the bottom yogurt. (I usually have this for lunch.) Instead make your own with 6 oz. of nonfat vanilla yogurt and add your own fruit.
*Replace your bowl of granola cereal with a bowl of cheerios topped off with granola.
*Substitute the oil and eggs in your brownie mix with 1/2 cup of plain nonfat yogurt. (I haven't tried this one yet but it sounds really simple!)
*Cook an omelet using 1 full egg and 1 egg white instead of two eggs.
*Eat an orange for breakfast instead of a glass of orange juice.

Of course, no weight loss program works unless you exercise. Since it's been so unbearably hot we've been walking at the mall. We keep cool and we get to see the latest fashions in the store windows. We've been really good about not stopping at the DQ for a treat when we're finished!
I also think everyone needs a little reward now and again to keep motivated. Gathered From The Garden has some great treats to pamper yourself whether or not you shed those pounds. Check out our website and indulge the goddess in you!! Gatheredfromthegardenllc.4t.com
Let me know how the weight battle goes. My goal is to lose at least 5 pounds by Sept. 1.

Rain,rain, don't go away!

We are finally getting much needed rain. My flowers all have their heads up trying to catch every last drop! It has been very hot and humid here much like many parts of the United States. So here are some ideas to keep cool. How about a White Sangria recipe?

Lemon Herb White Sangria

Iowa State Fair winning recipe by Jo Ellen Whitney

2 bottles (1.5 liters) Reisling or Gewurtztraminer
1/2 cup macerated lemon balm leaves
1/4 cup macerated lemon verbena leaves
2 tbsp. macerated orange mint leaves
2 oranges, coarsely chopped
1 lemon, coarsely chopped
1 lime, coarsely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and allow to steep overnight in the refrigerator. Strain and serve with frozen lemon, lime, orange, and herb garnish.

Super-yummy, cooling, and SO delicious! enjoy!

Now if you are not an "herb" person and don't have access to the lemon balm, verbena or mint I bet the rest of the ingredients would still be delicious. This would be great to sip on while you are giving yourself a clay mask facial or treating your feet to some extra attention. Gathered From The Garden has some great products to help you pamper yourself! Check out our website at www.gatheredfromthegardenllc.4t.com

Try the Sangria and let us know how it turned out.

Kindness...the golden rule in shorthand

I was reading an article in Body and Soul magazine (bodyandsoulmag.com) on kindness. A simple, short article on showing kindness to others. Obviously a wonderful concept. But how many times have we been truly kind to ourselves? Pampered ourselves? My goal this summer is to do something nice for myself each day (well, at least several times a week.) I've done things like bought some Dove dark chocolates, got a pedicure, read an inspirational book, slept a little later on Sat. and put fresh cut flowers in my kitchen. I'm also working on a facial product to pamper my "mature skin". What have you done for yourself lately?