Give of Yourself

There's not much traffic here in the Ozarks, even if you go into the big city of Springfield. As a matter of fact, in less than five minutes you can drive from one end of our beautiful city of Bolivar to the other.  Most roads are two lanes, one in and one out except the highways, we actually get two lanes in and out.  Needless to say I haven't been in a traffic jam in a long time.  Now that doesn't mean we don't get hung up on the road once in a while, just look below.

Beep Beep!

One of the most enjoyable things I have done since moving here is volunteering at Horses of Hope.  Here is a little bit of information about them.

Horses of Hope is a non-profit organization with facilities in Buffalo, Missouri and Baxter, Kansas and is dedicated to providing equine assisted therapies to both children and adults for the last 15 years. they offer equine assisted therapy services to client’s living with various disabilities through their Therapeutic Riding, Hippotherapy and Equine Facilitated Learning programs. Their programs use the horse and its movement, to assist with development of functional abilities that lead to enhanced participation in life experiences. Their clients also benefit from the friendships developed with the horses, peers, and volunteers that make the program possible. Horses of Hope is affiliated with the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship, International (PATH INTL).  For more information check them out at horsesofhope.com

Jan and I volunteer at the Buffalo, MO facility and we both thoroughly enjoy not only the interaction with the riders but also the staff and volunteers, we always look forward to our volunteer days.  The two individuals responsible for Horses of Hope are Shelly and Val , they started it 15 years ago and are the most dedicated, caring and giving individuals.  Give of yourself and you will not only bring blessings to those that you help but also to yourself.  Service to one another makes the world go around!

Shelly (left) and Val (right)

It's not all work!

Waiting for my next rider

Jan loving on Skip her horse for the day

At today's weigh in I lost .6 pounds for a total of 38.8, Jan is yo-yoing, tracking seems to be her problem.  One of my favorite sayings is to track only on the days you want to lose weight and since I haven't missed a day.  She is down from when she started back and has chosen a partner at her meeting to be accountable to.  I must say that I love my ActiveLink, I had three days that I didn't earn any activity points but the other four days I earned 22 points.  I have found it to be very accurate for example one day I ran and then walked for a while and it showed me how long I did each and it was exactly the amount of time that the treadmill showed.  I highly recommend it, for those of you that do not attend a Weight Watchers meeting at least get a pedometer.  Wearing an activity monitor everyday will make a difference in your weight loss journey.  Something else that I am enjoying is eTools and the Weight Watchers mobile app.  Both of these have helped my journey so much.  I have lost weight every week since December.  Sometimes when I'm out at a restaurant I use the snap and track function, that way I don't forget what I've eaten and the cheat sheets for restaurants and certain foods is a huge help in making appropriate choices. So I highly recommend Weight Watchers eTools and the mobile app.

Remember, the only place where "success"

comes before "work" is in the dictionary

The food find this week, are the Kellogg's Special K Popcorn Chips, a great alternative to potato chips.

The recipe for the week is pretty easy and tastes great.

 

Balsamic Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

Servings: 5 • Size: 2 thighs plus vegetables • Calories: 347 • Fat: 17g • Protein: 31g •Carb: 19g • Fiber: 6g

Ingredients:

10 (20 oz) boneless skinless chicken thighs

20 medium asparagus, ends trimmed, cut in half

3 red bell peppers

1 cup carrots, sliced in half long way

2 red onions, chopped in large chunks

10 oz sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp sugar

salt and pepper

3 tbsp fresh rosemary

2 cloves garlic, smashed and sliced

2 tbsp oregano or thyme

4 leaves fresh sage, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Wash and dry the chicken well with a paper towel. Combine all the ingredients together and using your hands and arrange in a very large roasting pan. The vegetables should not touch the chicken or it will steam instead of roast. All ingredients should be spread out in a single layer. If necessary use two baking sheets or disposable tins to achieve this. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes.

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