Discovery - One Man's Struggle with Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness...: August 2014

Last Supper... I Mean Breakfast... Back at La Casa!!

I've only eaten about 3 or 4 restaurant meals this whole week of vacation and had completely depleted all the groceries I had with me so decided to have a "Binge Meal" at the Lakeway Resort Masterson's Restaurant Breakfast Buffet....

And what a day for a buffet!

Sunday - they have Smoked Salmon, Eggs Benedict with Lobster sauce, Eggs And Chorizo, Bacon....

The next plate I went to the egg omelette making bar and had the cook dish up some fresh spinach, tomatoes and peppers and put some salsa on that for dressing and then another round of salmon, eggs and watermelon and cantaloupe.

A last view of Lake Travis as I was loading up everything from the room...

And the flowers I bought at Randalls last Sunday are still looking pretty!

The Red Mare is loaded up.... I decided He was a She...

And 3 hours and 200 miles later....

Boom - back at la casa!!!

And a meal of grapes, Medjool dates, Cranberry nut mix, pistachios and sunflower seeds drizzled with honey and sprinkled with cinnamon -

How many times have you heard and seen this?

Hey - it's great and my taste buds and body loves it so why change???

And a glass of my favorite HEB Cul-de-Sac Sangria!

Speaking of HEB....

GROCERY RUN!!!

Paleo Wagon - Meat, Eggs, Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts....

The HEB clerks have gotten used to seeing me with this basket and often comment on my healthy selection.

Great to have some positive reinforcement....

It's interesting..... People know healthy food selection when they see it....

So why don't they do it themselves?

Beats the hell out of me!

And you know how I love flowers!!!

The proteins in the top tray from left to right are:

Adobo seasoned chicken leg quarters on which I peel the skin back and add my African - Moroccan seasoning under the skin.... I sear these in a hot cast iron skillet and then bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Salmon fillets - these have to be removed from the outer package and the individual vacuum wrap and allowed to defrost - then I hit 'em heavy with the same African - Moroccan seasonings.

Flounder fillets - Ditto

Miss the Hill Country already and especially my workouts at Gold's Gym....

But good to be back home too....

No.... on 2nd thought.... I'd rather be in Austin!!!

Who do you Wannabe? To Protect and to Serve... Last Night Last Day

Still One of My Favorite Songs of All Time -

Not only because of the Aggressive and Driving Rhythm but Most Importantly because of....

The Message!!!

I mean - Come on - Who Can't get fired up about these lyrics?

"I Don't Want To Be"

I don't need to be anything other
Than a prison guard's son
I don't need to be anything other
Than a specialist's son
I don't have to be anyone other
Than the birth of two souls in one
Part of where I'm going, is knowing where I'm coming from

[Chorus:]
I don't want to be
Anything other than what I've been trying to be lately
All I have to do
Is think of me and I have peace of mind
I'm tired of looking 'round rooms
Wondering what I've got to do
Or who I'm supposed to be
I don't want to be anything other than me

I'm surrounded by liars everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn
I'm surrounded by identity crisis everywhere I turn
Am I the only one who noticed?
I can't be the only one who's learned!

[Chorus]

Can I have everyone's attention please?
If you're not like this and that, you're gonna have to leave
I came from the mountain
The crust of creation
My whole situation-made from clay to stone
And now I'm telling everybody

[Chorus]

I don't want to be [x4]

But let's focus for just a minute on the song's theme....

I make a point on this blog and in many of the posts to Seek Out, Discover and Make Your Life and Lifestyle into What You Want it to Be!

It sounds Selfish to focus on Yourself and What You Want and What Makes You Better BUT....

It's the MOST UNSELFISH thing you can ever do!

Because You can't help anybody else.... especially the ones you love most - Your Family - if you're not at your Best.... Being Your Best... and continuing to Grow and Progress Mentally, Emotionally, Spiritually and Physically!

My wife and I were talking to a guy in the Lakeway Resort Hot Pool last night who began the conversation by remarking about my fitness and asking what I was doing....

I talked about my exercise regimen - CrossFit, Boot Camp, Body Pump, Zumba - the importance of mixing up the workouts and being consistent...

But then I turned the conversation to the most important element of a Healthy and Successful Lifestyle....

My Diet - which is a Paleo diet - short for Paleolithic aka Caveman diet...

Here's my standard Wikipedia link for more info on the Paleo diet....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet

Here's a couple of shots of a throw together Paleo meal (Ok - the Imperial Java Stout Beer is NOT Paleo but I talk about Picking Your Battles.....) consisting of:

Roasted Chicken Breast

Boiled Egg

Radishes

Diced Apple

Banana Chips

Mixed Nuts and Seeds

As the conversation continued with my new friend, Shawn or Sean, my wife and I learned he was an HPD (Houston Police Department) Sergeant Supervisor who dealt with a lot of the bad elements of society in the Houston population.

We talked about the challenges of shift work and dealing with the 0.2% of the BAD population and the scathing and critical perspective of the general public on the role of the Police Officer....

Let me just say I was impressed with this young man....

10 years in the Houston Police Force -

Doing his best to Protect and to Serve -

While managing the everyday demands of marriage, family and life in general.

Much Respect to you Shawn and to all that take on the Valuable and Vital Role of making Life safer for us all!

Peace, Prosperity and Good Health to You and Yours!

And speaking of Peace....

Here's a few Peaceful images of the view of the last night for my wife and me from the Lakeway Resort.

And of course, my Night Cap of Grapes and Mixed Nuts drizzled with Honey and sprinkled with Cinnamon!!!

Woke up this morning and went straight to my "Dance" playlist!

Last morning's sunrise over Lake Travis....

As with all things.... especially Good Things....

It must come to an END...

But we'll be back....

This area of the Hill Country has an irresistible draw and appeal!!

More of the Austin Gold'sFit Competition and the Bee Cave Tx Gold's Gym

A Few more images of the Austin Bee Caves Tx Gold'sFit Competition and a Tour of the Facility....

There's an entire corner of the facility dedicated to the Gold'sFit program!

They had portions of the Workout area taped off for the competition...

Racks of Wall Balls, Weighted Balls for Ball Slams and lots of Kettlebells!

And of course.... the Cage!

I took a stroll around the facility and snapped a few pics...

Every Workout Machine you could possible ever want...

And the GGX Studio - Gold's Group Exercise - where a variety of classes take place -

Body Pump, Body Combat, Body Flow, Yoga, Zumba.... and many more!

http://www.goldsgym.com/austinbeecavestx/wp-content/uploads/sites/94/2014/07/Summer-Beecaves1.pdf

From the upper deck where the cycles and other cardio equipment are located....

Love this Life Fitness area with TRX straps, Pull Up Bars and every other exercise angle and station!!!

Here's a Video Clip that gives you a panoramic view of the facility -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9boa8tAhTsg

Back to the Gold'sFit Competition that moved indoors for the final Workout!!!

What a Great Event and a Great Facility to Host the Event!

And here's my A-Team: Mike, Sherrie and Justin!

If you live in Austin or are just vacationing here and are looking for a GREAT place to workout, I couldn't think of a better place!

http://www.goldsgym.com/austinbeecavestx/

Gold'sFit Competition at the Austin Bee Caves Tx Gold's Gym

Rode my bike up to the Gold's Gym in Bee Caves Tx - http://www.goldsgym.com/austinbeecavestx/ -

And found the 1st Annual Austin / San Antonio Gold's Gym Gold'sFit Competition in full swing!

Check this out!!

In a nutshell, there were some 12 - 14 Gold's Gyms Teams from Austin and San Antonio in the competition with several Workouts for them to go through with several exercises / movements per workout.