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Priorities in order?

Yesterday was my son Jake's first Birthday and it was one of the best days of my life! Not because we had a big party, ate cake, or did anything crazy, but simply because I spent the day with my family and I took some time to really appreciate and celebrate life. There have been so many times in my life when things have gotten so far out of balance and priorities get really thrown off track. During those times are when I've been the most unhappy. It's not easy to put priorities in place and stick to a plan to keep them priorities.
Yesterday, I took the day off from work (mentally and physically, which I've learned are both key!) and spent the day with my husband and son. We started off with breakfast at our favorite little cafe in Seal Beach and then went to the Aquarium in Long Beach.
I have never been so happy as I laughed and played with my family. I've got crazy amounts of work to do, endless emails to answer, yet I was 100% with my family and not thinking about any of it. It felt so amazing to know that my family, my number one priority, was happy. Truly happy and complete. I'm so thankful for that I don't take it for granted for one second.
I thought today would be a perfect time to remind you all of your priorities and give you a few steps to help you get them and keep them on track!

1. Write down your priorities. Here are mine: My Family, My Health, and my Job. Keep in mind everyone's are different and that's OK. Be careful not to list too many. For example, my friends mean the world to me, but if I'm not balanced with my first priorities I'm not a happy camper and not a good friend. If I'm not healthy, I can't do my job! So for me, these are my top three!

2. Assess where your priorities are. BE HONEST! Do you spend more time on facebook then you do talking or spending quality time to you family? Do you skip workouts to take care of friends? Do you work overtime and miss meals? If the answer is yes, then it's time to make some adjustments.

3. Take action. Don't wait for life to balance out. Instead put down your fist and make it happen. There is not a single boss or coworker that wouldn't understand if you said, today is a special day, I need some family time. If they don't understand, it's time to reassess your job or your priorities!

Thanks so much for being fans, you make my job fun, easy, and always a priority!
Cheers,
Kim

Back in action!

Hi Everyone! I had such a great weekend. I spent so much time relaxing with my family. I have to admit, it was really hard for me to get out the house, I was stuck on chill out mode with my family! It’s so easy to get lazy and not get back into your workout and nutrition routine after a long weekend, however I have to use analogy if you get a flat tire you don’t slash the other three tires, instead you fix it and get right back on the road. The same applies if you fall off the nutrition of workout bandwagon!

Here are three tricks to get back on track and off the lazy vacation/weekend mode!

1. Clean out the fridge! Having a nice clean fridge somehow seems to help you want to fill it up with healthy fresh foods.

2. Set up a new or unique workout or activity that you’ve been wanting to try. It’s best to set it up before the long weekend or vacation. Having the prior commitment will make it easy to get moving after a break. Gunter and I went and test drove the StreetStriders. Although this was “work” for me because I was testing it out to be a possible spokes person for the company. But setting the meeting up for first thing Tuesday morning, pure strategic planning! Little did my boys know, they were in for a ride too.


3. Fire up the grill. With your workout complete and your fridge clean and ready to go, now it’s time to fill it with a weeks worth of healthy food. I bought a ton of different veggies, chicken and shrimp, spent 30 mins. chopping then tossed them on the grill with a little seasoning and a spray of olive oil.

Any other ideas on how to get back on track after a lazy spell, please share! I love your comments!

Fresh Greens!

Hello everyone! It's another late night blog from the crazy mama! So many people ask me how I come up with ideas, recipes, and stay motivated to eat healthy. I have to confess, I have a little help! A few months ago I found this site www.farmfreshtoyou.com and decided to give it a try and I love it. A few time a month I get a box on my door step full of fresh organic fruits and veggies. It's a great surprise to wake up to a little box that's packed full of in season fruits and veggies that are crazy fresh. It's the little things that make all the difference! I never know what I'm going to get and it really forces me to try new things or foods that I don't usually buy.
Now I know you don't all live in CA, but I really encourage you to do a google search for fresh produce delivery in your area. It's super fun and a great way to get excited about veggies!
It also comes with some great recipes and the nutritional highlights of produce. So here's the recipe that I got today, I can't wait to try it, it looks awesome!
Strawberry Salsa into Avocados
1 or 2 TBSP balsamic or raspberry vinegar
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Teaspoon minced fresh jalapeno peppers
2 ripe avocados
2 Tbsp chopped roasted walnuts
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 TBSP olive oil 1/2 teaspoon honey
2 Tbsp finely minced red onion
1 pint strawberries, sliced

In a bowl, whisk together vinegar, olive oil, honey, garlic, onion, and jalapeno.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and combine the strawberries. Peel, halve and pit the avocados
Sppon some strawberry salsa in the avocado hollow and serve on lettuce garnish with walnuts

Super yummy salad dressing recipe

Hi everyone,
Gunter is still in Europe and life has been a bit nutty for me to say the least. To be honest, I'm loving spending time being mommy. I have been a cooking, cleaning, and being a full up mommy! OK truth is, I've been up till 12-1am getting work done too, but I figure I can make it on a little less sleep for a another week so I don't fall to far behind!
Although my workouts have not been structured I do have to say I'm getting my workouts in in unique ways. Today I put Jake in his Baby Ergo on my back and vacuumed, dusted, and picked up. He's only 21 lbs now, but wow, what a great workout. He was so happy and I we really had fun. When I took him off my back I couldn't believe how light I felt, I should have gone and run a few miles!!
So after I got done cleaning up, I got creative with the salad dressings and came up with a super yummy recipe for you. I thought it was a great add on to my last salad tip:)
Here it is, let me know what you think!
Strawberry-Balsamic Dressing
2/3 Cup sliced strawberries
14 Cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 shallot, chopped
2 Teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 1/4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients until smooth. I love it on spinach or arugula with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and almond slivers

On the run!

There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in my days!!! Gunter is in Europe for the next few weeks so I've been crazy solo mama and wow am I pooped! It's always good to be left to remind me how much he does around here to hold my wacky little life together! So today I'm sharing one of my super fast and easy meal tricks with you.
This tip will really help you avoid the drive thru and the 911 pizza call when life is too crazy to cook a healthy meal. I've been doing this for years and it comes in so handy.
Many grocery stores have soup and salad bars, but instead of getting the whole salad at the bar just fill up the container with a bunch of fresh toppings. Avoid the bacon bits (ok, just a few), croutons, pasta salads and other creamy stuff and stick with the all colorful veggies, chicken, and eggs.
Then go grab a bag of spinach or other mixed greens. When you get home toss it in a big bowl and there you have it, the perfect meal. No chopping, dicing, slicing, or buying 15 different ingredients. My last salad was HUGE and cost me $10. It could have easily feed four people.
Let me know what you guys think and stay away from the drive thrus!!!
PS-How crazy cute is my little guy, Jake in this video!?!

A tip from Costa Rica!

Hello my Oxygen blogger fans! I'm just back from a fabulous trip to Costa Rica! When I say fabulous I'm excluding the travel days that were far less then fun. Getting to Costa Rica from LA is surprisingly challenging. Add an 11 month old in the mix and wow, one word, exhausting! In the long run it was well worth it.
I went to pick the brain of one of my mentors about a new and larger then life project that I'm working on. I'll tell you all about it soon. I am such a sponge for information and I'm ready to expand my wings and do the only thing I have yet to conquer in the fitness industry. (Hint: You can all come train with me there!) Sometimes I have to laugh at myself and I wonder why I can't just chill instead of conquering the world. I guess that's just not in my blood!
I was in Costa Rica for my B-day, I can't believe I'm 38. I feel like I'm 25 only a lot wiser! We also celebrated my first Mother's Day while we were there. I think I'm officially a grown up now, 38 and have a kiddo!
Here's a few pictures from my trip.
!