YW Gratitude Journals

Grateful = The Quality of Being Thankful

 

What a great definition of grateful!

It is a quality that each one of us can develop in our lives.

In honor of Thanksgiving, this month I made a gratitude journal for each of our young women. This gratitude journal is somewhat like a smash journal. The idea is that it is a bit crazy with different shapes and sizes of paper, different colors and patterns, etc. 

 

I am happy to report that the girls adored the books :)

I included several quotes on gratitude, writing prompts about gratitude, a pocket containing scripture references about being grateful, and an LDS conference talk entitled  "O Remember, Remember" by Elder Henry B. Eyring. (Click on the title or here to view the talk on the lds.org website.) I shrunk it down and fit 4 on a page then folded each page in half and added it into the front of the journals. It is a 4 page talk.

 These books are a 4 x 6 size. I would recommend that as the smallest size or you can do a 6 x 6 to give them a bit more room to write. The first picture on this post is a 6 x 6 one that I made as a test run. It was less expensive to make the 4 x 6 and they were still cute.

 The idea behind these gratitude journals is that the girls write about as many things as they can throughout the month that they are grateful for. The girls were then asked to being their journals on a certain Sunday to share some of the things they had written.

 This is one of my favorite parts of the journal. It is a page with butterfly sticky notes that instructs the girls to write one thing they are grateful for about each member of their family on a sticky note and then put it on a mirror or door or somewhere that individual would see it.

 Learning to be grateful for that which we have is an important attribute to develop. Empowering the girls to see the good in their lives will help them recognize the hand of God in their life and that will bring peace and happiness.

For those of you interested, I used a machine "the Cinch" to bind the books. It worked like a charm:) Love my new toy.

May we all remember the things we are grateful for this holiday season and see the good in our lives!

Cecret Lake Hike

Cecret Lake in Alta, Utah is an easily accessible, short 1 mile hike. The nice thing about this hike is that hikers can drive most of the way to the lake. This makes it appealing to hikers with limited abilities such as small children or the elderly who still love getting outdoors. It is an alpine experience without having to hike a long distance. The hike itself starts out nice, easy, flat and gets a bit steeper the closer you get to the lake. This is a highly used trail so do not expect solidarity. Even with that caveat it is a wonderful family hike.

We decided to continue hiking and summit Sugarloaf Peak. Once you reach the lake, look across the water and you will see the trail continuing up the mountain towards the ski lift. When you get to the top you will lose the trail. The goal is to get to the top of the lift where you can once again find the trail located on the ridge between Sugarloaf and Snowbird's mineral basin. If you are unsure where that is, head over towards Snowbird to the view area. Once there look to the left up the small hill and you will find the trail that leads to the summit. It gets steep on loose dirt and rocks, but we all did it without any trouble. 

To get there: Head up Little Cottonwood Canyon until you reach Alta. There is an information booth and you will pass through the booth continuing up the mountain for a good 10 minutes. Stay on the road until it ends at a campground and there is a small parking lot off to the left. Park and then look for the trail that is marked on the southwest side of the lot. Follow the trail until you get to the lake.
There is limited parking so going on a weekday is ideal.

90 Day Clean Eating Challenge - Day 4

Menu Day 4 
Cinnamon swirl toast
Green tangerine smoothie
Bowl of clean eating rice cereal
1% milk
Clean eating French toast
Real maple syrup
1% milk
10 almonds
Apple
2 pieces dark chocolate

As you can see, although it was all clean, I didn't do all that well today. Some days are just going to be that way and this was one for me. Easy meals, not enough fruit and veggies. I found myself snacking all day instead of fixing good meaningful meals. Oh well, there's always tomorrow for the chef in me to come out:)

Scout Falls Hike

Scout Falls from the trail

Scout Falls is a beautiful hike located along the Timpanooeke route to Timpanogos Peak. 

It is a nice easy trail. The first half is relatively flat and the last half is a bit steeper, but very doable. 

First half of the trail

Trail begins to get steep at the first glimpse of the falls

 From the parking lot you need to find the trail. We thought this would be easy, but as we passed the restrooms and headed up the trail there were 3 different trails and no sign to Scout Falls. There is a trail to the left, a trail up the mountain in the middle and a trail to the right. Take the trail in the middle near the ranger house and the sign with the map. It is the same trail you would use to hike Timp. Continue along this trail until you come to the second spur in the trail. The first spur is found about .6 miles and looks like it would take you to the run-off of the falls. This is not the correct spur. Continue on the trail about 1.4 miles total and find the second spur. This one is well-worn and heads out to a beautiful view of the falls. 

What a beautiful bowl

Scout Falls

Don't plan on getting in. There really isn't a suitable place to get in without risking a getting injured. These falls are best suited for viewing:) There are several rocks and places towards the end of the hike to sit and eat a snack or lunch.

View from scout falls

Getting there is fairly straight forward. Head up American Fork Canyon or up Provo Canyon to Sundance (remember there is a pay station) about 8 miles to the Timpanooeke Campground. Turn into the campground and continue up the road past the campground. You will come to the Timpanooeke Trailhead parking lot. Here you will find ample parking and restroom facilities. The trail begins to the right of the restrooms.

This is a good hike for families.

Happy hiking!

90 Day Clean Eating Challenge - Day 3

As I was trying to find recipes for this challenge I came across something I didn't know existed that was extremely helpful to me in choosing seafood options. Monterey Bay Aquarium puts out a
Seafood Watch pocket guide that helps us choose ocean-friendly seafood. What does ocean-friendly mean? It means that the fish are "well-managed and caught or farmed in ocean-friendly ways".

To get the most up-to-date information you can log onto www.seafoodwatch.org, access their mobile site or use the seafood watch app. I hope you find this information as useful as I did in making good seafood choices.

Menu Day 3
Banana
Whole-wheat cinnamon chip toast
1/2 whole wheat ham sandwich
Clean Kettle sea salt chips
10 Almonds
100% Fruit Leather
Stir-fry veggie/beef tacos on corn tortillas (I found great tortilla's at Walmart of all places. They are not cooked, clean, corn tortillas in the cold section).
1% milk

Exercise
3 mile hike

90 Day Clean Eating Challenge - Day 2

After just two days it is already getting easier to eat clean. It amazes me how quickly I can feel the difference. I love that when I am eating clean I feel satisfied quicker and stay fuller longer. I don't have as many cravings. That is because I am eating foods that have loads of energy value. I am avoiding sugars and refined products and my body likes it a lot. Have any of you had a similar experience or does it take longer for some to feel the difference? I would love to know.

Menu Day 2
Green Smoothie
Whole-wheat toast with small amount of butter
Green Smoothie
1/2 veggie sandwich
Kettle chips
Raw almonds
Clean eating crepes with strawberries, blueberries and bananas
1% milk

Exercise
Walking 60 minutes up canyon

Clean Eating Crepe Recipe

found at sparkpeople.com

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour

1 egg

1 egg white

1/3 cup milk

1/3 cup water

1 tsp. oil

1/2 tsp. vanilla 

Mix ingredients together in a blender. On a non-stick skillet pour 1/4 cup mix and swirl the pan until the batter is thin. Cook until firm then flip to the other side. Keep crepes in the oven on the lowest setting to keep them warm. Serve with fresh fruit, unsweetened homemade whipped cream and real maple syrup.

90 Day Clean Eating Challenge - Day 1

Ok. So last time I attempted switching to clean eating I learned a lot.

1. I learned that I feel much better when I eat clean food. My family feels much better. I have more energy. 
2. I learned that I needed to determine what clean eating meant to me. Some don't do dairy or sugar. For me, we include dairy in our meals. I also used organic sugars as unprocessed as I can find. I mean the point of clean eating is to eat the food as close to the way it appears in nature. I am ok with my decisions. I feel better about eating butter and organic sugars than using other non sugar sweeteners. Decide what works for your family and be okay with it.
3. I learned that when trials come, it can be harder to eat right. If I'm not in my own kitchen just do my best, it isn't the end of the world
4. I learned it is okay to be flexible. I learned that it is a way of life but should not take over every social function my family and I attend. We are okay to "cheat" sometimes...moderation in all things - very wise words. 
5. I learned that it is not more important than relationships with family and friends.  I can't expect others to fix things especially for me and I don't want them to have that burden. 
6. I learned it isn't always easy to find the food products I need to eat clean. It is a process and I am continually seeking new places to shop, new items that are clean or where to get clean meat. 
7. Overall I learned that it is the healthiest way to eat for me and my family. I have seen people do lots of crazy eating things to get the results they want. This seems intuitive and doesn't restrict a certain type of food.

After 2 major floods I am back. During our floods we were in and out of our home and clean eating became more difficult. As a general rule I have stuck with the clean eating idea, but felt fine with moderation of other foods. Now that my home is back and it is summer I am once again trying to reach my goal of going 100% clean for 90 days.

I am doing this so that I can see how I feel after a strict 3 months of eating clean. I won't hold my children to the same standard. They are boys and don't like the idea of "restriction". I see it as empowering, they see it as restriction:) So, at home we will eat clean because I fix the food and truth be known they won't even know. I think it is good to educate kids about healthy food choices, but it isn't something we constantly harp on or talk about. I believe healthy body images and healthy habits are important and can be ruined when there is too much focus on food.

Join me if you can and let's see how it goes. Today is my first day and I will always post my meals for the day and my exercise because it is important to do the two together.

Meal plan Day 1
1 egg and 2 egg whites scrambled with 1 slice whole-wheat bread. (I added a bit of cheese and ham)
1 glass 1% low-fat milk
Clean corn chips and homemade salsa (roma tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno, green onions and salt)
Green Smoothie (coconut water, spinach, bananas, gala apple, tangelos, ice)
Apple for snack
Tilapia with brown rice, pineapple and soy sauce for dinner
Water is my drink of choice

Exercise
Walking 3 miles in canyon
Running/kettleball cross fit workout. (4 rounds: run 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1600m. Each run is followed by 30 kettle ball swings)

Here's to feeling great!
Carri