Here’s A Few Ideas On Where You Should Start Your Backpacking Adventures
So, you’re fed up with mediocre adventures and are ready to step it up in the hiking world. I see you. No matter if you’re ready to conquer small or big backpacking trips, I wanted to drop in today to talk about my favorite ways to prepare for them, as well as list off a handful of my favorite trails to do so! I swear I could add dreads to my hair tomorrow and go for days out into the wilderness. Give me a water filter and a JetBoil and I’ll be good to go. Being fully immersed into nature’s beauty is more than ever at the top of my priority list. I’m all in for making my days easier, more colorful and fuller with any adventure outdoors that I can get my toes in. Where do you stand? Childhood Hikes to Adult Backpacking Exploration I never grew up backpacking or having backpacking adventures. I didn’t even have a single clue about what it was until maybe 5-7 years ago. (I can’t remember the exact date we shopped for backpacks, but I do recall the exciting experience of fitting and finding the perfect pack. More about how to fit a pack later in the post!) When I would go hiking with my parents as a toddler and adolescent, and as a young adult with my friends, I absolutely loved every minute of it. Looking back, I actually don’t think I realized just how much it was a genuinely loved part of my life. I remember distinctly this one memory as a 15/16 year old. I had this tiny child sized colorful backpack that I stuffed full of peanut butter sandwiches (hold the jelly, please), and smarties. (Two of my favorite snacks to this day). My best friend and I actually stayed up all night so that we didn’t miss the sunrise. This has to be one of the first sunrises I actually remembering being present with and enjoying. It’s an amazing thing, our human memory, isn’t it? My Tiny House We started out of my playhouse (a cool little mini house that was more like a shed that my dad built for me near our home), early when the sun was rising. I can still feel that memory so strongly that I could paint you a picture of looking into my tiny home to make sure I remembered everything, pulling the door knob closed after I shut off the fan, and looking out to the east where the most beautiful colors began coming up on the horizon between the woods. I remember smiling to myself as we stepped off the porch into the shale, and started up the logging road to the beautiful nature behind my childhood home. Only now can I recognize what an important part of this life that memory would be. If I had to choose a specific time and place where I truly felt in tune with my hiking aura, it would have to be this morning. Although I have a ton of memories hiking with my parents beforehand, for some reason, going out on my own (with my friend of course), felt truly like it was the first of many to come as an individual. I love that memory. Do you have something similar? At the time I didn’t realize I’d actually been halfass “backpacking.” I had even remembered to bring a safety and first aid kit, besides the snacks and water that I carried in my pack for my friend and I. We trekked out a ways until it felt like far enough, gathered some sticks and started a teeny tiny fire. I enjoyed my sandwiches around the smell of the fire (my all-time favorite smell to this day, ESPECIALLY in the morning), and made sure it was out before heading back down the trail. We were gone for hours. That was the longest of my hikes at that time, something I wish I would have made an effort to do more often as I grew into adulthood. Where To Start and the Lessons I Learned So aside from the sappy teeny me story, it’s that time in the post to share some tidbits about where and how you may consider starting your own backpacking journey. Let’s get into that. I mentioned that about 5-7 years ago is really where it began to transform my adult life. It was at this time that my husband and I decided to start to travel more (for adventure, not for relaxation). We were out in Arizona with our day packs (actually, I believe we had just camelbacks at the time, pssh, newbs…) and trekked down into the Grand Canyon a bit past Skeleton Point on the South Kaibab trail. I knew we could keep going, but knowing the dangers of the Canyon that a lot of people ignore, we made the choice to turn around and try again the next year with better preparation and training. We also booked Angels Landing in Zion National Park (for a daytrip) in Utah the year after. We had Havasupai Falls scheduled as well, but with the flash flood that came through, caused us to reschedule (for two weeks from now, actually, yay!). (Check out the videos below to get a glimpse of the before and after). And we just finished backpacking the Napali Coast in Kauai this past December. Since then, we’ve learned that getting permits is hella hard, backpacking can be intimidating if you don’t plan properly, and preparing your body for carrying 30-40 pounds up a crap ton of elevation is MUCH harder than it looks on paper. Check Out AllTrails for Your Adventure Therefore, I recommend starting out small. Get the AllTrails app and find some fun trails near you that you can practice on. Check out your nearest outdoor store to get fitted for a pack, (something else I never realized you had to do!). Our favorite store is REI, but if there are none near your city,
Have You Embraced The Secluded & Serene Beauty Of Seneca Rocks, West Virginia?
Recently, I went on a long weekend trip with my spouse of now 10 years. We traveled to a beautiful place in the mountains of West Virginia called Seneca Rocks. If you’ve heard of it before, or have even had the opportunity to visit there in the past, you’ll understand that it has some seriously awesome hikes and scenery. Let’s talk about those. Introduction to Seneca Rocks and Its Hiking Trail So often we would plan these big trips for our anniversary. Other times, we would just let it roll on by if it was in the middle of the week or say “it wasn’t a big deal” to celebrate. But this year, we finally threw in the towel of “not caring,” and decided that since we were lucky enough to have it fall on a Saturday, we’d do our best to spend the weekend by ourselves even though we just went somewhere shortly beforehand. It was one of the best experiences of my relationship thus far. I had high expectations that I tried to squash, (which typically happens if I start getting in my head too much). Seriously, this can be detrimental so I highly recommend going with the flow instead! “A campground” was something I wasn’t too sure of, since we’d been backpacking more recently and got to experience the feeling of being totally alone. I liked that. I also was not super keen about being a hundred yards next to a pack of yelling coyotes 4 times in one dark and quiet night. (We’ll keep that for another post!) *PS! If you’re getting into camping more remote, or just don’t want as many peeps around you, I highly recommend checking out the app, Hipcamp! It’s been super helpful in finding us some next level spots (even for same day booking!) Sign up to get $10 off your first night under the stars! And if you’ve ever thought about hosting on your own property, check it! You can start listing your land on Hipcamp as soon as today. Very cool. Get to the Seneca Rocks Campground Early…Real Early So anyway, I was cool with a campground and let the hubs do the choosing. Seneca Rocks was something he’d brought up in the past. Something I recalled him talking about but alas, a place we never really decided on. When he found the campground, we knew that it would work and planned that we would just get there early to choose a spot. …Don’t do that. For reals, if you’re thinking about going to a campground around this beautiful place, consider Seneca Rocks Shadows. It’s epic. BUT, DO book a site ahead of time!! Or make sure you arrive super early to choose your perfect spot. I have no complaints about ours, but we arrived (for what we thought was early) around 2/3pm, and were lucky enough to snag THE LAST SPOT. Phew! Please note that if you do decide to choose this awesome campground (which you totally should), that you’ll need a 2 night minimum weekend booking if you decide to book online ahead of time (which you also totally should). You can even stay up to 14 nights if you choose to!! Which is really great to have as a backup option if you would decide to do some nearby backpacking and want to use this as a base camp. We definitely plan to do this in the future, since Dolly Sods Wilderness is known for great backpacking trails! So, let’s talk car camping at Seneca Rocks. What is it? And how is it different than backpacking? We Backpacked Rim-River-Rim Of The Grand Canyon In 2 Days: Here’s A Few Things We Learned Car camping is much different than backpacking. 1. It’s so nice because you have so much more stuff to use when you need it! 2. It’s so annoying because you have so much more stuff when you don’t need it! Yes, each statement is true! If you’ve done either of these kinds of camping, you may understand what I mean. I think if I had to choose one or the other, it would be backpacking all the way. Sure, you have to carry things on your back for miles on end and hope to the heavens that there’s some kind of water source along the way (or just research where your water sources are), but over car camping? Sign me up. Why? Because I’m a minimalist in a hoarders body. Because I loathe the idea of possibly forgetting something and I swear that the more space and time I have to fill with extra stuff, the more stuff that makes its way along with us. (Which is why I ALWAYS procrastinate on packing for anything). And guess what? Even with a rented Bronco full of groceries and items we thought we’d need for the weekend long trip, we STILL had to stop at the little store to grab some last minute forgotten items. With backpacking, I KNOW for a fact that I will have everything I need. For several days in the Grand Canyon, I survived on water sources and dehydrated meals. No bars, no extra fluff, just chilling with my weightless packable gear and a tiny packet of hot chocolate. (Because why not). BONUS – Path To Productivity: My Struggle With Planning And The Perfect Hot Cocoa Recipe But I did not have the chance to overthink my items to pack, I did not need to look at my piles and wonder if I had remembered everything, because with backpacking, everything I need for days or weeks even is packed nicely into one solid pack I can carry anywhere. (There’s even a system to packing it correctly, so I literally cannot mess it up.) No boxes of food, no bags for a ton of garbage, no pots and pans and extra camping gear or firewood. Just us, the packs, and the trail. It’s awesome. 5 Must Have Items for Trips to Seneca
Overcoming Negativity On The Scale: How I’m Learning To Be Okay With My Body
A while ago, more specifically last Fall (2023), my doctor told me I’d need to lose 15-18 pounds to reverse my fatty liver and get back on track with my health. Mind you, I am a (beginner level) mountain climbing, BJJ lady that hikes 10 miles for fun on a regular basis. I eat well most of the time (or so I kept telling myself), and I frequent the gym several days a week. Which leads me to believe that A LOT of us humans out there have health issues we’d never know existed if it wasn’t for accidentally finding out. How scary is that? I have put in a ton of work on myself since then, but I’ve only dropped 7-9 pounds. Since I’ve been hovering around the same weight for a few months now, I did an experiment this week. Let me tell you about it. My Experiment For awhile I thought, there has got to be an easier way. How do the girls on Instagram and YouTube do so well? How do they ALWAYS look good and never have to worry about their weight fluctuating through daily life, let alone during hormone spikes, pregnancies, postpartum, and difficult times. …And then I remember that I’m just seeing what they want me to see. I’m here on this blog to be real with you. To be real with myself. I’m telling you flat out how I feel about everything in this universe not only so that you can know it’s not just you, but also to hold myself accountable. I’m not here to spend time highlighting the good and casting a shadow on the bad. I’m here to talk. So, let’s talk. Before my most recent trip out west, I did great with eating habits and exercise. (My version of great, of course. Remember to try not to compare yourself to others, as long as you’re one step ahead of yourself from yesterday, you are growing). I had cut out Red Bulls, (seriously, I’ve tried EVERY other brand. I hate them all.), I increased my protein, ate more salads and spent time consistently in the gym. In my opinion, a barrier was crossed. I had finally made it to the mindset of “I’ve got this.” When we returned, I was a little surprised but pleased to find out that my weight had stayed exactly the same. Even though we did a ton of hiking and activity, I still made sure to eat mindfully and space out my treats. (I may have had an occasional Red Bull and some skittles! Moderation, friends!) So, this past week, I ran an experiment. I indulged in what I was craving and didn’t hold back. I wanted to see just how quickly that weight could go back on. And I was grossly underestimating how fast it could happen. Related: Utilizing Garden Veggies To Save Money While Meal Prepping What I Learned and What My Body Told Me Monday, I had a cheesesteak. Half for lunch and half for dinner. I had soda multiple times throughout the week, a few energy drinks and an ice cream cone. I relished in having pizza for many meals, and focused less on balance and more what my body was saying it wanted instead of listening to my mind. I’ve averaged the same weight for around 3 months. In just 5 days, I gained SIX pounds back. Yes, 6. My mind was blown. I didn’t feel like I looked any different in the mirror, but I did feel significantly more fatigued and lethargic. And those feelings came BEFORE I weighed myself this morning. The whole reason I’m going through these points with you today is to say that I’m going to start focusing more on what my mind and body needs to stay healthy and less on indulging in whatever is easy. It’s easy to order pizza every night. It’s easy to swipe through the dinner options on DoorDash. But it’s hard to plan and shop and meal prep healthy breakfasts, lunches and dinners every week. It’s hard to keep up with finding healthy alternatives to your favorite snacks or recipes that don’t actually suck with newly found ingredients. Finding those alternatives have taken me literal years. One by one I’ve begun to replace my favorite meals and snacks with healthier options and more and more I began to realize that if I hadn’t started doing that when I did, that I may be having an even harder time losing the necessary weight. Why are the options so hard to find? Sure, there are a ton of replacement items stocking the shelves and coolers these days as opposed to 10 or even just 5 years ago. The hard thing for me though is that only a small percentage of those things have any flavor or nutrition to them. Learning nutrition and how to properly and mindfully indulge is still to this day something I struggle with. So, moving forward, I’m going to return to thinking before I eat and start accepting that this weight is okay. It’s my new normal. I have plans for change though and I want to bring you with me through that change. 5 Snack Ideas and 5 Exercise Options to Help You Be More Comfortable With Your Body Have you ever heard of “body recomposition?” This is when you focus more on a tape measure and less on a scale to provide proof of your efforts making the cut. Body recomposition focuses on implementing more strength training and less on counting calories. When I say this body is “my new normal,” I don’t mean I’m giving up on my goals. I’m simply readjusting how I focus on them, so that I can lean into a healthier mindset and eating habits. Even though I feel that I use the 80/20 rule effectively, there is always room for improvement. I want to begin emphasizing more on protein intake and less on removing certain foods. Although
Dealing With Change: An Uncomfortable Shift In Mindset And A Lesson Learned
I was standing in a beautiful stone built shower this evening with clean, hot water running over me. As I washed my hair with what some may call bougie shampoo, a question popped into my head. Why is it so hard to believe that I may have just changed? What is the real problem with dealing with change, anyway? Why does it feel so weird and why can’t we accept that it is a normal, part of self-growth…part of life. I Forgot I Could Change We backpacked through the backcountry for 3 days this week. We experienced outdoor showers, more than one secret oasis, howling coyotes on the hunt and a random horse pass our tent. We trudged through more than 30 miles of hiking, including up the tallest mountain in the state as well as the wilderness, the desert, the tundra, the forest, and a canyon. We viewed sunrise after sunset at some of the most stunning places we’ve ever been together, including great meals and many memorable moments together. We enjoyed talking, walking and even silence during hiking struggles. So, why is it that today, when the first thing went wrong, that my overthinking brain hit the roof? I wasn’t seeing clearly earlier, but since that refreshing hot shower, I’m a little more understanding. You see, I forgot that I could change. I forgot that it’s okay to adjust what you do as you get older, or how you approach new situations, or even situations that you previously were in. It’s okay to feel the hurt when something doesn’t go your way, we are allowed to have feelings when things just plain suck sometimes. But at the end of the day, we have to realize one thing. That thing is that dealing with change is always going to be present in our world, change is always going to happen whether we’re ready for it or not. The thing that hits hardest however, is how you handle the change that comes your way. What change have you encountered lately? Related: What Are Your Pillars? Mental, Physical, Emotional Health Foundations Dealing With Changing Situations and How I React to Them It’s becoming more and more clear to me when I need to adjust my mindset. I often even realize it now in the middle of an actual conversation, where I’ll start to work on self-talk inside my own thoughts. It doesn’t always help right away, but reflecting on it throughout the day is where I find the most progress. Sometimes I’ll talk to my partner about it. Sometimes I’ll put away my screens and just sit to reflect while working on breath work. Other times, I’ll talk to you. As much as I’m hopeful these posts will enlighten another in the world to their potential and understanding of self, it helps me just as much to be able to use this canvas to paint new perspectives on how to adjust my way of thinking or being to better fit into tomorrow. Focusing on the good in our lives is often so much more difficult than focusing on the negative. If I had to keep a tally for this trip, the positive moments would far outweigh the negative ones. Yet, when someone asks me how it went, you know the first thing that will come to mind might just be this one negative one. Why is that? Why does our brain trick us into thinking that those moments are more important to highlight? Human beings like drama, and drama is memorable. My goal this year is to focus on becoming more aware of how I react in changing situations, such as when I was conflicted earlier about whether or not to get another campsite, or a tiny home. After MUCH back and forth contemplation, I decided I was in love with neither and that I should look some more. (All the while missing out on beautiful landscapes passing me by). Low and behold, I found another airbnb that was perfect. We decided to upgrade for the evening and clicked “book.” Changing Rooms and Changing Attitude When we got to the place, there was clearly issues allover. There was soot everywhere from an apparent fire from the person before us, broken things nearly all the places we checked, and just bad vibes throughout the room. The maintenance was kind enough to relocate us to an even more beautiful room, although I was initially upset since that was my perfect aesthetic carefully chosen place. I complained to my husband about the new one, how it was so different and how the patio view wasn’t as nice. I complained about the slowly draining jet tub that I’d longed for after those miles of hikes. I spent so much time complaining that I forgot to look outside and remind myself how magnificent of a place I was already blessed to be in… In that shower, I realized that I was complaining about things that I was taking for granted. Things that I’d grown accustomed to in our travels and things that I was craving so much after missing them for days, that when the slightest thing went wrong, I’d gotten angry, annoyed, even ignorant to my surroundings. Dealing with change is so difficult sometimes. Especially as an adult. We get so used to doing things one way for so long, or being used to how we did things as kids and teenagers, that when that adult life hits us, we expect to continue on with those feelings. I realized that since I’d loved camping so much as a child, that of course I must love it just as much now. And I do. But my back, my joints, my body, the cold, the up at night to walk 100 feet to a half-working bathroom (if there even was one), the constant reminder I was nearly alone in the wilderness, those were things I was not used to. Those things I needed a break
Reclaiming My Life: The Fight Against Anxiety Part 1
Hey guys. We have talked a lot about self-growth on this blog, but I wanted to share with you a little more about my more recent vulnerabilities that I’ve been experiencing. As a human, we all have our flaws. We all have comfort zones and levels to push past on a daily and regular basis. As I sit here with you tonight, I admit that I indulged in some stress gummies to calm my nerves as the later the night goes on, the more my anxiety gets the best of me. These comfort zones come in all forms and start on many levels, so let’s talk about those this evening as I work on some of my own. Shall we? As the Stars Shine, Darkness of Anxiety Sets In As children, we usually feel invincible, we do things without thinking about the consequences, we push past limits on a regular basis without even realizing it, and we typically need help less and less as we grow up. Some of us on the other hand, (like myself), am overthinking every single thing about my current situation because well, my brain has went from relax mode to high alert because it is now completely dark outside and I’m outside of the limits of where we usually stay on vacations. Tonight, we are 5 nights into our trip and staying at a beautiful, secluded off-grid cabin. In the daytime, its views are unmatched. The sands flow around you while the desert vegetation blows gently in the wind. The landscape is so picturesque it feels like you’re in a painting or a postcard. We had dehydrated chicken Alfredo for dinner with sparkling water and cookies that we brought in for dessert. We watched the sunset together and read outside before it concluded. It’s been an amazing evening. But here we are, less than 1 hour into the darkness and I’m having a mini panic attack every time my husband asks if we can go outside soon to view the incredible dark sky with stars all around. …Why does this happen? Does it happen to all of us? Do we have a shut off switch to turn off the panic mode and keep it locked in relaxation? Where do you fall on this scale of anxiety, this fear of the unknown? What is your comfort zone? Related: Breaking Through The Pressure Of Society’s Expectations The Weight of Anxiety as a Child and as an Adult A long time ago when I was a child it was the same. I remember always needing someone to help me when things got just a little scary and I just don’t know why. It’s aggravating now as an adult to think back and wonder why I couldn’t just “grow up.” You see, we all face different challenges in life. We all handle them differently and we all adapt to them as we age. It’s where we’re willing to go to shut down that fear, that anxiety, that unnecessary stress. It’s how far and how hard we want to move past these bothersome challenges that tie us to an anchor of uncomfortable condemnation. Before we even left the airport, before we even checked into our stays, I felt the anxiety creeping in. I continued to push it down deep…but I also am trying something new this time around. I’m trying to intentionally put myself in these uncomfortable situations. Crazy, right? I used to think so, too. Nowadays, I think more clearly about my current standing with fear and with suppressing that angst. Nowadays, I want to push through the damn thing. Because frankly, I’m just plain old tired of feeling this way. Related: Shining Light on Stress and Mental Health Barriers: Lessons Learned From the Solar Eclipse Taking the First Step Against Anxiety What have you done lately that has been uncomfortable? When have you felt like you have intentionally challenged yourself in this life? Most often, we dislike being uncomfy, so we just continue on throughout our day, doing the usual thing over and over and living a (in my opinion), more mundane, boring lifestyle. As the kids say today, (I don’t actually know, because I’m not a kid anymore, boo to that), you only live once. …or not, who actually knows? I’ve decided in these last few years that I want to stop pretending I’m fearless, even though I live in fear in certain situations. I want to start being more of myself around my loved ones, showing my true feelings even when they show my weakness, and start putting myself in places, situations and opportunities that make me move through those feelings. Basically, I want to start feeling totally and completely, free. To be free is to be alive, to be alive is to feel everything, to feel everything is to be okay with becoming more vulnerable. I’m starting to learn that I can handle that better than I’d thought. Try one thing this week to show a loved one that you are uncomfortable, talk to them and hear what their opinions are on how you can move through whatever it is that’s been bothering you. I know you can do this. I know you have it in you to handle whatever vulnerability lies in your way of becoming your most comfortable you. You just need to take the first step. Thank You for Reading Today’s Fight Against Anxiety I want to thank all my readers and supporters who have traveled with me on my journey so far including today’s post about fighting against anxiety. If you need help with your fight with anxiety, the National Alliance on Mental Illness has some great resources. Have you had to fight anxiety in your life? Want more tips? Let us know.
Learning To Walk Through Struggle: Realizing My Journey Is My Own
Hey friends. I’m writing to you today from the beautiful state of Arizona. There are countless miles in front of me of flat land accompanied by serene mountains and plateaus in the far spaces. Today I faced one of the most challenging hikes of my life. It made me realize that no matter how much you prepare for something, it can still hit you like a ton of bricks and the only way out of the situation is to go straight through it. Hiking: A Journey of Growth This morning, my husband and I left our AirBnB tiny home to embark on a hike we’ve been looking forward to for years. After passing Humprey’s Peak endless times, we finally made a point to book something near it so that we quite frankly couldn’t pass it up again. Humphrey’s Peak is the highest point in Arizona, an ancient volcano with wilderness all over and lava rock strewn across the highest points. It’s an incredible trek, which I highly recommend if you ever get the chance. Right now in the evening, the skies are a pretty purple, blue, pink and orange fading into one another. It’s breathtaking. But this morning, it was chilly, cloudy, and cold. (If you do decide to do this hike, be sure to layer! We passed so many people in shorts and tank tops. The top was frigid and had winds so strong we nearly fell over). The start of the hike was a telltale sign of how the rest of the trek would go. It was straight uphill, unforgiving, and motivating all at the same time. I couldn’t wait to get to the top. By about halfway through, I was seriously struggling. For some reason I always crave grape bubblegum about this time, so I made sure to arm myself with some! This helped for a little while to keep my mind from hating the uphill, but eventually the annoyance returned. Hiking is something that is a personal journey. I learned this more than anything today. Let me explain how. –Habitual Growth: Looking Back And Moving Forward Facing Challenges in Hiking and in Life Once we passed a bunch of people (it’s surprisingly a busy trail!), we continued on to the top. I got increasingly annoyed as my husband so often treks ahead of me. Not often out of sight, just enough that I know I need to pick up the pace! To succeed, you have to struggle. In my opinion, this can be applied in so many areas of our lives. We as humans constantly look for a way out of difficult situations, quit early and make excuses, or say we’ll come back and try again. Why? I can’t give you the correct answer on this, as I believe it’s a personal journey that we all have to face. Sometimes, we decide to turn around. Other times, we push through. What have you done lately that you’ve needed to make a decision to push through? I’m clumsy. I always have been. I’ve done a little better in my adult life, but anytime I’m near a cliff edge, well, that shit gets sketchy. You need to be on high alert, knowing that any wrong move can send you spiraling downward into the jagged rocks and tall trees. Therefore, I often have to stop to see the sights separately, since I literally have to use all of my focus on the ground in front of me to ensure I don’t misstep. As we got closer to the top, all I could think about was the revolving thoughts going on inside my head. “Am I going to make it? I don’t think I can do this, I’m going to need to turn around…” Luckily, I am blessed with a supportive partner, and most of the time during hikes, he encourages me to keep going, tells me I’m doing great and pushes me to make it to the finish line. It’s not that he was doing less of this on purpose today, but more that he was on his own personal journey…and I didn’t even see that since I was too worried about my own. Oftentimes we can rely too heavily on the support around us, which in turn forces us to make decisions less and think on our own when the going gets rough. This is what happened today. Navigating Hardships: Finding Strength in Slowing Down Struggle is Real, On This Hike, In This Life Why is it easier to lash out onto others when we are in distress? Why is it that when we get uncomfortable as humans that we feel the need to act in a way that we typically wouldn’t if we weren’t struggling. The struggle is real. This is real. Life is real and the struggle is constantly within it. Without struggle we wouldn’t grow, without struggle we cannot form into a better version of ourselves, without struggle and failure and hardship, we cannot become stronger and more adapted to situations in which we need to be. Struggle is always present, in some way, shape or form. Its learning curve is a mystery to me but I thank the heavens for it on a regular basis as it’s helped to mold me into who I am today. I believe I have several areas of improvement to work on in this lifetime, but I am finally beginning to become more comfortable and confident in my abilities to do so. Through tough times and learning opportunities like today, I’ve realized that it takes situations like these to understand others better, or when it’s time to go inward and work on myself just a little more. — This week friend, I want you to do the same. I want you to go inward and realize 3 things that you could improve upon this week. These changes may not happen quickly, but jot them down and repeat them to yourself daily. Each
Utilizing Garden Veggies To Save Money While Meal Prepping
Hello there and happy summer my friends of the internet! The time has come where we are midway through the gardening season in this neck of the woods which means a few things. Canning is upon us, green beans are full speed ahead, and I have more lettuce than I can fit in 3 salad spinners at once. How is your summer panning out? Did you decide on a garden this year? Or are you still in the research and planning stages for the year to come? Let’s talk about meal prepping with garden produce! Balancing Canning, Harvesting, and Garden Upkeep Gardening has always been a passion of mine, but the upkeep is a giant chore in itself. Hence why I huffed and puffed to my husband last week when we were canning because it is SO time consuming!!! I’m typically a few batches in when I start to lose patience on waiting to basically burn my fingers again and heat up the house unnecessarily. HOWEVER. Once the heat of summer and the overflow of veggies is gone for the season, I relish in the canned goods that we’d completed in the summer and am always eager to go to my canning cupboard instead of strolling the aisles at the grocery store. Homegrown goods are so much better for us and also gives us that sense of accomplishment, not to mention the fresh air and peace of mind you get from harvesting, weeding, and just being in the garden to begin with. I loathe weeding, but once I’m in the mix of it, I could literally be there for hours until my hands cramp up. It’s refreshing to not stare at a screen the entire day or to hear birds chirping instead of people talking. Weird, isn’t it? It’s still noise…just different. We talked earlier in the year about how we stuck with more root veggies this time around instead of more tomatoes and peppers, although we’ve had quite the batch of volunteers that I so hate to remove. Seriously, I feel bad about way too many things including plants. It’s a problem. Don’t be like me, thin your seedlings and let those babies breathe!! What’s your favorite thing to plant? Do you prefer harvesting more or maybe you actually enjoy canning (weirdo). I’ve come to realize that gardening overall takes a ton of patience and learning when to lean into what tasks should be spent more time on and what could be let go a little. Let’s talk about that next, shall we? Dive Into Our Autumn Gardening Like a Pile of Scattered Leaves Streamlined Gardening: Meal Prepping with Garden Produce I used to spend SO much time on every task. It would takes hours just to plant, then weed, then tend to, tie up, harvest, wash, can, label, date, organize, and repeat. Then, I realized, why am I doing all these things? Of course it would be different if I spent every day just spending time on my garden, but that’s just not realistic in todays world. We all have other things to accomplish in the day including a full time job, a side gig, a blog all about your journey through life, pets to take care of, a spouse or kids, parents to help, you get my point. Ain’t nobody got time for that. So, nowadays, I simply spend time on the things that matter most (in my opinion of course), and less on those that I deem well, not worthy of my magnificent minutes. Sure, you may disagree and that’s okay. Spending time on things you feel are most important will work for you, just as these things work for me and my family. Some of the things I’ve changed throughout the years include the following: Investing in an electric fence because fixing holes in a normal fence 10x per season gets REALLY old. Letting my tomatoes thrive in their natural state. AKA, foregoing the tying up. Mine are growing beautifully so far and it’s WAY easier to harvest them when I’m not trying to squish my hand in between old tomatoes and 20 inches of vines. I used to spend a lot of money on pretty labels and taking time to write nicely on the jars once canning was finished. This may not seem like that much time but trust me, it adds up. Add your date and move on friends. Thinning. I know it’s proper gardening to thin your plants when they’re small, they grow better, bigger, etc. However I am not trying out for the Guinness World Record so I’m cool with letting them take up more space and harvesting when they’re smaller. When it comes to weeding, we put black plastic down this year and it’s been doing a great job. We also experimented with another section where we just use grass clippings. It takes way longer to weed that tiny section than the rest of the garden. Definitely not doing that again! Next year though, we’d like to try something more natural so that we’re not adding plastic to our garden that doesn’t need to be there. Washing has become easier since dishwashers included a cycle for such, although I don’t have one of those, I do find that a quick rinse with vinegar water has done us just fine. I’ll fill up the sink and dip everything in, instead of washing them individually. Oh, and get yourself a MEGA salad spinner so you don’t spend oodles of time on one veggie. Meal Prepping with Garden Goodies One thing I started doing this year was adding meal prepping into our lives. I’ve attempted a million times but finally it’s starting to stick. Woo! I usually stick to meals that I can use my freshly picked veggies in, so I’m saving doll hairs from shopping at the market. AND guess what. When you’re waiting for eons to water bath those beautiful beans,
Beauty and Beginnings, Rooted in Health: Starting Your Garden With Root Vegetables
Hello friends from all over! Have you started your garden yet this year? Do you have any plans that you’d like to share? Today we will talk about how our garden differs this year from others and what we’re doing to keep a little more for when everything is done growing. Let’s grow! Shifting to Root Vegetables: Our Decade-Long Garden Evolution and Techniques for a Bountiful Harvest We’ve had a substantial garden now for nearly a decade. Each year it’s been adjusted slightly and reorganized, but mostly it stays the same with the exception of moving around the veggies. This year though, we’re looking to harvest more crops and store more as well, which means we’re trying out some different ways of organizing and growing. Usually, we have a large portion of tomatoes and peppers, (shout out to the nightshades fam!), but this time we’re more into the root veggies and stocking up. Since we have realized that we never tend to use all of the tomatoes or peppers, we’re going to save room in both the garden and storage area for other goodies this time around. Starting us off in the root veggie arena, we have beets, as well as carrots, onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were a challenge (and still are) since the last time we failed to produce anything but tiny inedible potatoes. Boo to that! This year, we started some slips in a container, so that they had some time to produce roots before adding them to their soil. We purchased a bag from a local farmers market, added some soil to a large plastic container, and placed them on top. After a few weeks, roots were forming and leaves were beginning to grow! (The purple ones worked MUCH better than the orange ones for us). Each slip should produce approximately 10 potatoes each! Fingers crossed! Related: How Gardening Is Good For Your Soul Mastering Beets, Carrots, Onions, and Potatoes: Tips and Tricks for a Successful Harvest Beets have been something we’ve grown for years, each time getting a little better. We love to juice these (with their leaves) and store the juice in mason jars in the freezer to add to smoothies! However, this year we’re going to can them so that we can keep that healthy fiber inside! (Make sure to thin your seedlings so that you can grow hearty bulbs!) Carrots have been tricky, but we finally made sure to add some sand this year to the soil! (Adding sand can help to create a better well-drained soil). I’ll keep you in the loop on how they turn out! Red onions are my personal favorite, although sweet are the most popular. We were lucky enough to be gifted some walking onions last year however, so those have been fun to watch grow! Check them out if you’re not sure what a “walking onion” is! If you’ve ever grown regular potatoes, you’ll know that a little can go a long way! We try to keep some of what we grew from last year that have grown eyes to plant again, but if you run out that’s okay! You can grab a bag from your local market just like the sweet potatoes and cut them up before planting in mounded rows. We’ve always had great luck with regular potatoes, I love that they’re more of a “set it and forget it” type of veggie! Why We Are Switching It Up This Year Why are we switching it up this year? Not only are we shying away from more peppers and tomatoes, but we also want to get a higher dose in our diets of additional vitamins that may not be as prevalent in other veggies. Did you know? Root vegetables have….”high nutritional value due to their richness in dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals.” And guess what?! Garlic and onions have great benefits as well when it comes to being anti-inflammatory. (If you’ve been keeping up with these posts, you’ll know that I can use all the anti-inflammatory I can get these days! Not to mention that the Standard American Diet also plays a huge role in causing the inflammation in the first place.) By growing, harvesting and ingesting more root veggies, we’re doing our bodies a solid in dumping in some more vitamins that we would otherwise be missing out on. Related: 5 Steps to Achieving Your 2024 Goals Efficient Garden Organization and Canning We’ve organized our garden a little differently, so that we can keep things separated and have more space to walk around to harvest them. We’ve also created a little screened table next to the garden so that we can easily wash these veggies right away instead of in the tiny kitchen sink. Effective and efficient! Yay for that! Because we don’t have a lot of freezer space like we did in the past, we’ll be canning many more veggies than we ever have before this year. Not only because our lack of space however, but each time the power flickered our freezer would reset and therefore give us anxiety about everything in it getting freezer burn! To lose those veggies that were time consuming to preserve was a huge let down and we’re trying to avoid that happening again. Whether you pressure can or water bath, (I prefer the water bath method like my mother-in-law, but my sister-in-law likes pressure canning instead, both are okay!), I suggest doing them in small batches so you don’t get overwhelmed. I’ve noticed in the past that I would wait too long to can a bigger batch, and then be upset that it would take the entire day. Enlist the help of your significant other and work together to move quickly through small batches so that you can not only can right after harvesting (the sooner, the better!), but also so that you don’t feel stress about it being all on your shoulders. Gardening can be a huge task if you’re in it
Lost and Found: Finding Yourself and Gaining Clarity In Life
We started out November with some self-reflecting and observations. These observations could have been of yourself, of your loved ones, or maybe even of your so-called friends. Those things tend to change drastically over the years, and although we ebb and flow through them, there are some things that never change. My advice is to not get caught being one of them. Let’s take a look at finding yourself and gaining clarity in life through my story. Finding Yourself and Gaining Clarity Starts as a Child As we grow up and find our way as small children and then teens into young adults, we find a bunch of friends along the way that “have our back.” We find relationships and lovers with whom we think may last a lifetime, but perhaps may only be in our lives for a season. How is it that we remain blind to some things along this journey? And better yet, how is it that we can remain free of that blindness? During our formative years, some things set in, leaving us the fondest memories (and expectations) of how things “should” be in the future events to come. We find ourselves holding higher and higher hopes about what our friends and loved ones should be doing, while really, we should be focusing on the growth and changes that we ourselves have been making along the way. How do we overcome these obstacles during our youth, so that we can better navigate the realms of adulthood during the years where we’ll be challenged the most as an individual? How do we find who we really are without having to go through finding who we actually aren’t? Finding Out Who I Am The hard and real truth is however, that we simply don’t. Of course we all differ in our human experiences, and we may go through different truths of our own throughout life, but in my own personal journey, I’ve found that finding out who I actually wasn’t time and time again, has truly proved to myself now at 32 years of age who I actually am. I’m a writer, a better listener, a dog lover and adopter, a wife and a daughter. I’m also an entrepreneur, a fun-seeker, a (semi-adventurous) thrill-finder, beginner rock climber, moderately experienced hiker, semi-understanding gardener, and a lover of all things nature. I relish the days like this one where I get to enjoy my birthday in an off-grid location at a teeny tiny cabin settled into the autumn colored fall woods. I hiked in the rain with my husband and dogs, enjoyed meals cooked on a propane stove looking out into the trees, and walked down into the nearby creek to enjoy my morning tea. These are truly the moments that I love to fully immerse myself in. Related: Why I Chose Courage & It’s Endless Reservations Looking to the Past to Grow in the Future 3 years ago, 5 or even 10, I would have made the Mr. Yuck sticker face towards a day like today. You see, I’ve always loved things like this deep down, but for some reason it’s taken me until now to realize that birthdays can be anything you want them to be, and they don’t always need to be spent by pleasing everyone else. So often we spend our well-earned time off checking things online, ticking off tasks that others ask of us, or using our hard earned dough to spend on ourselves “because we deserve” whatever material thing it is that we’re longing for. If we would just simply offer more experiences to our physical being, perhaps our mental one would be in a much better state. Using Reflection When Finding Yourself and Gaining Clarity Reflection is about change. For years and decades I used to think that change was notoriously bad. If you changed, well then you must have gone to the dark side. Forgotten your truest self. Adjusted your ways for another. But as you reflect upon who you were this year, think about these things. Did you change something for the better? Or maybe for the worse, but can reel that in now and understand what needs done to adjust things moving forward? Perhaps you quit drinking, maybe you even made it to your 1 year sobriety coin. Or maybe you’ve decided to be a better listener to your partner to encourage a healthier and happier lifestyle as a partnership. Is it something that you’ve done for them…or for you? If you can help yourself by helping others, I don’t see that as being selfish in any way. Although, it’s okay to be selfish. It heals you internally when you do things that feel good to you. When’s the last time you had your favorite snack? (Without turning the TV on or scrolling through your latest YouTube shorts). Have you spent any time taking a relaxing bath or joining no one but your thoughts in the sauna? Look For Introspective Opportunities Being off-grid this weekend has been something I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time, and it’s perfectly suiting my feelings as well. We all live in a hyper-active and overworked lifestyle in 2023, and so I’m shooting for a little more slow down as we roll into 2024. My challenge to you this month is to really look inward and find what it is you have been searching for. Is it freedom from something, from someone? Is it finding a way to improve your own well-being to create a better you for the long run? Whatever it may be, just get started. Start reflecting more and taking a moment to pause and truly absorb whatever it is you’re doing. Enjoy life, by really living it to the fullest the best way you know how. Thank you for reading “Lost and Found: Finding Yourself and Gaining Clarity in Life”! Thank you for reading today’s post about finding yourself and gaining clarity! Let me know what resonates
How To Overwinter Your Garden & Maintain Crops Throughout The Year
Hey guys and gals! So, it’s the end of October already and that means a few things. One…winter is coming!! And two, it’s just about time to overwinter your garden!! Are you ready to learn more about how to do so and maintain some bonus crops throughout the year? I’m hearing yes…let’s go! Finding Balance Through Gardening Overwintering simply means prepping your garden for the cold season ahead. It is also about preparing what you can for the seasons to come. In my neck of the woods, I’m just starting to see the effects of the first frost on the leaves and plants around my property. It’s blissful and beautiful. But also time to start really getting more done outside before it gets too chilly! One of the things that we like to do ahead of the cold season is to pull out any remaining plants that will get frosted over and die. If you can do this before that happens, then great! If you’re like us and have a hectic schedule, try and get out there this weekend and do what you can. Remember life is all about balance my friends! We’ll be tearing up the remainder of the black plastic that we put down in spring for weed control. Then we will look at removing anything that can’t take the cold season. (Basically meaning for us this year, anything besides garlic and spinach!) We will however be leaving the established broccoli plants a while longer to ensure they’ve reached their maximum potential before we pull them out. Cole crops like this one can withstand the cold a little longer, so let’s give them their best chance, shall we?! Some of the plants and crops that can be moved indoors should be done so if you’re able to before the first frost. Obviously this day can come sooner for some people, so make sure to check up on which zone you’re in to ensure you’ve got enough time to do so! Related: Fall Into New Crops For Your Garden Winter is Coming…. A few years back, (well maybe actually a lot of years back)…we built a cute little cold frame next to our house. At this time, it’s definitely seen better days and may need some upgrading next spring, but for now it still works wonderfully to enclose any crops that will be okay through the chilly season and hold off the snow or ice from crushing them! If you’re looking to build a cold frame of your own, check out your local hardware store for some material or try using what you have around the house! You’d be surprised what you may have on hand that would work well for a make-shift cold frame. However, if you’d like to take the quicker route, check out this affordable one I found on Amazon that could be shipped to your door before the winter sets in! Cold Frames and Root Cellars If you don’t have a cold frame and don’t particularly care for one, don’t worry, there are plenty of other options! Something else we’ve done in the past is block up our window under the staircase. This is so that the space under our stairs was no longer just storage, but a canning closet and food storage area! The best rootcellars are underground of course so that they stay nice and cool throughout the years. However, this option has worked great for us to keep things just cool enough to last the time we’ve needed them for. We’ve stored potatoes, carrots, onions, herbs, seeds, garlic, and several other dried crops there for months at a time with no problem. Related: Dive Into Our Autumn Gardening Like a Pile of Scattered Leaves Do you have a storage space going unused that could be repurposed?? If you’re interested in learning more about how to start a root cellar, this Kindle option is on sale for just $4! How to Overwinter Herbs are something we use *all* the time in our home. Cooking, cleaning, medicinal, you name it. We love learning about these wonderful and incredible little plants. We also have acquired a handful of knowledge regarding them over the years. Cooking is something I currently have the most experience in with herbs however, so I tend to keep those nearby the most. My favorite herb of all time has got to be Oregano. It smells fantastic and goes good on basically anything. We also like to keep sage, thyme, basil, parsley, chives, cilantro, dill, chamomile, spearmint and lavender. Some of these will die out over the cold season, so feel free to dig them up (or start them in pots!) and bring them inside over the winter. Challenge yourself to keep them alive until they’re ready to be put back out there in spring! Some of these you can dry, but we’ve found that others are best frozen. For example, we now make room in our freezer for things like basil, dill, and parsley. We dry the rest either by hanging in a dark space for a little while or in our dehydrator. You can even make use of those pesky ice cube trays by freezing some in there for use in soups and cooking! Pruning for Winter Crops Although herbs thrive over most of the year, it’s best to keep in mind that you need to continue to prune them properly so that they don’t die off when the frost comes. If you see a woody stem starting, be sure to leave that on the plant and cut above it! This is the plant’s way of “hunkering down” for the season ahead. Allow the plant to go into its dormant state instead of harvesting too late in the season and encouraging it to work on new growth. What is Your Current Plan to Overwinter? So, what’re your plans to overwinter your garden? Have you done something similar in the past, or is this a new adventure for you?! Let us hear