Energy Meter

O.K. I think the energy meter is running on low. Feeling like the energizer bunny that finally ran out of batteries. My daughter says it was the double work out last week and I have not recovered, hahaha! Though it could be. I am trying to "rest" up for the big week next week. I will be starting the Leadville heavy half marathon training. I found a training program that should work with my "schedule". By schedule I mean is not too hard, does not include speed work, or anything that might get me hurt :)

I have incorporated lots of hiking into the program, hiking uphill to be exact. I will be hiking up a hill to Monte de la Cruz and hope to be able to hike all the way up by the end of the next few weeks. It will be a doozy, as my ears already pop when I start hiking up, it is steep.

It will not really satisfy my need for altitude, but that is about all I can come up with. I have been having a few anxieties about the whole 11,000-13,000 ft. elevation thingy, but hey I can always walk. That is the advantage of being on foot instead of a bike. I would die before I would ever, ever, ever walk a bike up any hill! But I am not too proud to walk when I am on foot. Sometimes I can walk faster than I can run anyway on the really steep hills.

The good news is I had a great workout, and my daughter made some most excellent granola today, four bowls later I am ready to crash.

Granola Mom

I was trying to explain in my limited Spanish what a "granola" is. I finally had to settle on "hippie", which they understood. In my explanation I was trying to tell them that a person who is all natural eats lots of granola, and makes their own. I used to make lots of granola and just started up again.

We have been trying to eat less processed food and more fresh. It really is not too hard when you compare import prices here. I can't imagine spending 8.00 on a box of cereal? Crazy. So we have gone back to making our own. I am still getting to making my own tortillas, that is the next goal.

Granola recipe:
4 cups old fashioned oats
1-2 cups coconut
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 cup any kind of nuts you can find for a decent price
1 cup raw or brown sugar

Mix the above add:
1 stick melted butter
1/2 cup molasses
heated together
Mix all well and spread onto two cookie sheets. Bake 300 for 10 minutes. Stir. Bake 10 more minutes and take out stir and cool. Enjoy!

When my kids were younger, I mean when the majority of my kids were younger, I used to make all of our own granola. I have not done it in years, but had some stuff I wanted to use up and made a batch today. This made my hubby very happy, he loves homade granola. My Mom gave me the recipe and it makes a good pan full of granola. It is best to keep it in an airtight container so that it stays really fresh. Mine usually does not even make it to the container. I had to include in the pic our raw milk that we get from the milk man three days a week. He delivers it to our house and it is sooo good. I have recently started taking the half inch of cream off the top as Rick has kind of high cholestral. Kind of defeats the purpose of the granola to pour cream on it I guess, but sure sounds good :)

In a large bowl measure 4 cups of oats. You can use quick, or old fashioned depending on how chewy you like it. Add one cup of dried coconut, one cup of raisins, and one cup of coarsely chopped nuts. In a saucepan melt one stick of butter and 1/2 cup of honey just until melted. Add one teaspoon of vanilla and stir into the dry ingredients. Bake in a 300 oven for about 40 minutes or until golden brown, stirring every 10 minutes to keep from burning. You can add any other dried fruits or nuts you like and use 1 cup of brown sugar mixed into the dry ingredients instead of the honey if desired.