Nuun Support for **Goethals 24 hour Challenge**

Hey Folks;

As many of you know, the Goethals family doesn't give up. 

In light of recent happenings surrounding Diane's illness, the family and community are rallying.

It's when the going gets tough.... that the tough get going.

Because there is so much love for this family, people are really willing to participate in the event (a 24 hour soccer game), and a large portion of funds are being raised! Please, if you are able, think about how you can help as well.

In order to raise money, the event 'Goethals 24 hour challenge' is soon to take place. To find out more about this event see HERE

In order to make an actual donation see HERE

Another way to make a donation is through the company Nuun who is partnering with the 24 hour challenge. Any time you make a 4 pack purchase through the month of August, you will receive a Susan G. Komen water bottle, and  50% will be donated to the 24 hour challenge as long as you use this code:

 NuunGoethals

It is honestly amazing to see the community rally in support of this family. It's my understanding that Diane has given so much of her life to others, and it shows by how much support she is now receiving. All encounters I have had with the Goethals family have been wonderful, and I hope we can all work together to raise the money needed to cover the medical expenses!

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“Women are not meant to be helpless creatures. God has given us a fierceness that is holy and is to be used on behalf of others.”

Stasi Etheridge

"Our girls have learned that sweat is sexy, brawn is "beautiful and a little dirt never hurt anyone."

Louise Slaughter

Lovely Boulder eatery finds.

Pizzeria Locale

We ordered a prosciutto corn 'white' pizza but everything else looked quite nice as well.

Rueben's Burger Bistro

It's taken me a while to find the 'best burger' in Boulder. But after visiting this joint I am not hesitant to say the loaded tap of local beers, sweet potato fries, and pretzel buns are great accents to one hell of a burger menu. The cyclist themed burger bistro had lots of options. I went with the Hampsten named after this fella.

Under the Sun

The creators of Mountain Sun and Southern Sun are at it again. And this time in better fashion than ever before! The new eatery and taphouse happens to be directly across the street and features a fresh updated menu that is sure to please everyone. The atmosphere and vibe are perfect and the pairings perfect. Who will walk across the street with me?

Those are the recent eateries for now! I am spoiled with all of these, and an endless list of more to try. Let me know what you think!

'You do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes.'

James 4:14

And, (to me),this doesn't mean not to live, but to live fully. We do not know what will happen tomorrow. But we can do everything we can do today with hope and eagerness and passion and love. And the world does not revolve around us. (To me), I must have enough humility to forget about myself and forget about worry. To chase dreams to become the best version of ourself while knowing, trusting that there is already a beautiful plan in place to get us there.

The best type of day.

I'm on fire.

I hope your day is lovely!

French Tart

I made this:  Swiss and Mushroom Quiche

It is French; It is wonderful. You should make it.

I used 3/4 cup of ricotta for the mozzerella and used a store bought organic whole wheat crust (don't judge- homemade crusts take time!)

If you haven't already, you should also read MOOSEWOOD cookbook and glimpse the free recipes on their site. I hope you love them as much as I do!

C'est tres bon!

seek. believe. be.

JUST BREATHE- WILLIE NELSON

IF I HAD A BOAT- JAMES VINCENT MCMORROW

Happiness is not decadence or ignorance or numbness.

NPR's 'the pursuit of happiness'

I don't think I can' tell you what happiness is but I can tell you things I have learned about it. 

It is in the simple things. Like coffee and cream and sleep and old fashioned newspapers and mountains.

But that these simple things can not be fully enjoyed if you have them all the time. So it's also in the hard exciting things. Like embracing fear and feeling pain and being selfless and giving love that you don't have. In being uncertain and uncomfortable often.

The happiness can not be predicted or manipulated.

I never know when it is about to come; or leave.

I try to enjoy the simple things always and feel empty.

Then I try to do the hard things all the time and feel empty.

And feeling nothing at all is worse than feeling sad.

But when then happiness comes it is good and I am thankful.

Philippians 4:11-12

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I havelearned the secret of being content in any and every situation,whether well fed or hungry,whether living in plenty or in want.

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Today I made a significant life decision that was this:

Today I decided I am going to be awesome. 

(Or my version of awesome, that is.)

And shouldn't we all be? Though we can't always choose everything that happens to us in life we can choose most things, and the things we can not choose we can choose how to respond to.

Being awesome does not equal being happy all the time.

How to Be Awesome:

To make up your mind about what you are passionate about and chase it fiercely.

To be patient and persist through hard times knowing they are part of any process.

To forget who you were five years ago or yesterday and keep your eyes on who you want to be.

To embrace cheesy quotes full on and not give a damn what anyone else tries to define you as.

To not care or waste energy on things that don't matter.

To live fully in the present moment as much as possible and know it will help you in the future.

To accept that the people around you have so much more to teach you than you have for them.

To invest in people.

To take opportunities.

To not complain about situations but instead see how much more positive you can make them.

To trust that there is a greater plan.

To love.

To never give up even if it means pushing restart every single F***ing day for a year.

To do the things YOU want to do because that is the best way you can help the world.

To share yourself and your time.

To be afraid of things and do them anyway. Twice.

To be able to say no to things you don't want to do.

To create.

To live in a way you will enjoy remembering.

To surround yourself with the best people, not ones you only feel obligated to.

To have pink hair and tattoos if you so desire.

My awesome looks incredibly different than your awesome which is what is so great about this whole new mindset! I can say for certain I know I will forget this at times or get caught up in being hungry or tired or irritable or upset. But I can also say today was life changing, and it happened while I was sitting on the couch. Say what?

And with these words I will conclude:

GET IT.

This is Not the End

I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven

Chai Spiced Butternut Squash

Maybe I'll stop making up recipes after this, maybe I won't.

WHO'S TO TELL?

Need:

1 medium organic butternut squash

2 tsp. Olive Oil

1 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon black peppercorn

1 teaspoon clove

Directions:

Slice the butternut in half and scoop out the seeds.

Divide the olive oil and spices evenly between the two halves

Roast at 350 for forty minutes

Take out, add the seeds, sprinkle with salt, and put back in the oven for twenty more minutes.

Let cool.

Now, it's up to you? What will I do with my chai squash?

Half will be used in a salad with plum, feta, spinach, and the roasted seeds,

Half will be prepared with slow cooking steel cut oats and cream.

Mmmmm.

Salted Coconut No Bakes

What to do when coaching is over and work is half as long?

Make up recipes. Duh.

Salted Coconut Cookies (no bake)

Makes 10

Need:

1 cup cashews

1/4 cup almonds

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup coconut

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons agave

2 teaspoons salt

(It is also appropriate to just use whatever you have in your kitchen. If you want to substitute walnuts or dates or honey or raisins, no one is stopping you.)

Directions:

Put everything in the food processor. Process.

Stir if needed. Stop when they look ready (about 1-2 minutes).

You should have one big chunk of 'cookie' at this point so form it into ten mini balls with your hands and flatten. Then make a criss cross design with a fork. 

I like to put mine in the freezer and eat for dessert or add to oatmeal or smoothies but it's up to you!

Done.

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Right now it feel like this outside:

Which is all the more reason for me to make these:

How? It looks like this: 

Last week I was babysitting and the family introduced me to the best homemade granola bars to date; OATY BARS.  If you want the vegan version, sub almond milk for milk, and 1 TBS ground flax w/ 3 TBS water for each egg. The best part of OATY BARS is you can add whatever you want.  Coconut, cacoa nibs, pumpkin seeds, flax, chia, hemp, almonds, dried fruit, yogurt covered fruit, chocolate covered fruit, almond butter, cashews, dates, dried figs, walnuts. Okay, okay, you get the point. Mix it up and let me know how it goes!

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"I didn’t want to kiss you goodbye — that was the trouble — I wanted to kiss you goodnight. And there’s a lot of difference."

LISTEN

If you play with my hair until I fall asleep I will probably fall in love with you

"Don’t settle. Know what you want and reach for it. And if you don’t know what you want, be patient. The answers will come to you in time, and you may find that your heart’s desire has been right under your nose all the while."

"There is nothing more beautiful than seeing a person being themselves. Imagine going through your day being unapologetically you."

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