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

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Another Hotel Paleo Meal!!!

Let's throw together a 5 minute hotel Paleo meal using just a microwave...

Cut up all the raw veggies - kale, squash, heirloom carrots and put into a container.

Add 1 - 2 oz of water and season liberally with your favorite spices - this is my African - Moroccan spice mix.

After 3 minutes in the microwave, take out the veggies and drizzle with EVOO and Balsamic.

Retrieve the deboned roasted chicken and the Hatch Chiles (from the local Randall's)...

And cut up and add to the veggies and nuke for another 2 minutes.

Add your favorite fruit - I've added diced apple and grape with a whole banana diced up on deck.

Add your favorite mixed nuts - pistachios, almonds, sunflower seeds, etc. And mix up.

My wife and I went to Masterson's (Lakeway resort restaurant) where my wife ordered off the menu...

And I ate better...

My food is WAY BETTER than any restaurant food....

Even the waitress remarked how beautiful and healthy looking it was.

And paired with my standard Creatine - Fresca mix with a little Sangria wine, this is the perfect recovery meal following an hour of a weight workout followed by Body Flow at the Bee Cave Gold's Gym.

There's No Doubt -

Paleo is the only way to eat Big, Bold, Beautiful Food that Restores Your Body and Rebuilds it Bigger and Better than it was Before.

What do you think of that Shawn!

Saturday Morning Music... Coffee... Shopping and.... Reflection

Pretty good concept to wrap your mind around at 6:14 on a Saturday morning....

Shopping for Rockports.... my Old School favorite shoes - Feel Light and Fit Right!!!

Maybe....

These look cool but will wait and think about it...

These are the ones I've been looking at for awhile - the old Polo Ralph Lauren look with the strap across the front and for only $49.95....

I'm buying!

It took me a while to warm up to Pharrell....

But love what he's doing with music....

And this song is at the top of my list...

Love to dance to it in Zumba....

And would pose to it or should I say dance pose to it (that would rock the Lake Jackson world!) in the Gulf Coast Bodybuilding Championships....

If I could get this left groin injury to heal.....

6:30 am Coffee Bar at the Lakeway Resort...

Looking the other way at the Lakeway Lobby.

And down the stairs from the 4th floor coffee bar to the 3rd floor balcony and an early morning view of Lake Travis.

http://youtu.be/QP-SBX93yqg

Vacations give you time to think..... to reflect.... to assess....

Your Position, Your Direction, Your Life....

Listening to some Creed this morning - which always seems to strike me a little deeper than the average music....

Thinking about all the things I've Overcome....

And feeling a little bit better about figuring out....

And feeling a lot better about Feeling Young but Growing Old...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTJLJtVlk1U

Young Grow Old"

He said he's falling to pieces
Fighting the boy and the man
Over his shoulder there was freedom
But consciousness has tied his hands
Embodied youth was his distinction
Now inhibition's in demand
So driven by his fear of weakness
That's his key to understand
So far in a distant land
There's a fight between boy and man
See the light through the open door
Sit and watch as the young grow old
Trading places in the circle
Turn the glass, spill the sand
They say that time can make the difference
But age doesn't make you a man
So far in a distant land
There's a fight between boy and man
See the light through the open door
Sit and watch as the young grow old
So young but overblown
So young but overblown
So young but overblown
Take a look now, see the boy is weakened
Watch him fade, watch him fade away
Take a bow and the boy is defeated
Is this the way, this the way?
So far in a distant land
There's a fight between boy and man
See the light through the open door
Sit and watch as the young grow old

At the beginning of the day and

At the end of the day...

The only person you have to answer to...

The only person you have to please...

The only person you have to live with...

Is that one looking back at you in the mirror...

So when you're lying on your back in the hospital bed....

With your Friends and Family gathered around you...

And that Last Breath is Leaving You...

Be Satisfied that You Gave this Life Everything YOU Deserved!!!

Friday, August 29, 2014

So Wills... When You Gonna Stop?

So when am I gonna stop listening to the dark, driving, psychosocial grunge and post-grunge music?

Let's see....

How 'bout NEVER!

Let the Bodies hit the floor.... Let the Bodies hit the floor.... Let the Bodies hit the floor....

Justin should've been playing this today when we were doing Burpees!!!

Seriously, it never ceases to amaze me how people have become conditioned to accept that they should look a certain way or act a certain way just because everybody else around them or society or culture in general, puts pressure on them to do so.

For instance, the Southern Culture is such that it conditions people who are over 50 to think of themselves as "old"....

Capable of only drinking beer and whiskey and eating lots of "Brown Food" and buying an RV and driving around the US in a 10000# gas guzzler.

I see it everywhere around me.... less so here in the Austin area.... which has more of a Cali vibe.... but definitely deeply rooted in the Houston / Gulf Coast area where 70% of the people are overweight and unhealthy - no judgment on my part - I'm just saying what I'm seeing.

The point of this little rant is that you have to make your own way - cut your own path through life.... do exceptional things... unusual things so long as they benefit you and make you better in some way or help or benefit others....

Let me give you a list of my "divergent" NEVER GONNA STOP items:

I eat a healthy Paleo diet - looks weird to a lot of people eating only meat, eggs, veggies, fruit and nuts - you know what - it looks weird to me when I see people with a half a person hanging over their belt shoveling in plates of unhealthy food - guess it depends on what you want - 44 waist pants or 31 waist pants.

I work out often and with intensity, focus and purpose - I'm pushing my body every workout to do better, go further faster, be stronger, more flexible and look more muscular and ripped than the previous workout.

I do Body Pump, Boot Camp, CrossFit, now Gold'sFit, Zumba and Hip Hop because they challenge my body in so many different ways of cardio, strength, balance, coordination and rhythm - might seem stupid and silly to a lot of folks to see a 52 year old guy ripping out a set of pull-ups or box jumps or cleaning 135# over and over or doing a 150 rep set of squats or stepping lively to Ariana or Iggy Azalea or Jason Derulo.... but you know what?

I'm doing it and it makes me feel better, look better and be better than folks 25 years younger than me so No I'm never gonna stop.

I drink Coffee like water and mix up Creatine like Sweet Tea.

Are there risks to each?

Yep.... and there's risk to smoking and working too much and texting while driving and eating a plate of enchiladas 3 times a week.

Next.

I sleep as little as the recovery of my body from the previous day's activities allows and I do as much during the waking hours as I can.

I run and gun from sun to sun plus.... all day every day.

Cause Life is Short and it's Shorter for me than someone who's 25.

I drive fast, walk fast, talk fast and think fast..... sometimes wrong but as my daddy used to say "Do something boy - even if it's WRONG!"

So when will I stop?

I'll stop when I'm looking up at the inside of a casket.

Let's talk about perspective.....

Nice view of Lake Travis right?

Holy shit!!! What happened? Exact same view but with the exposure darkened significantly.

It's all about seeing what you wanna see..

Beautiful lake or drought victim....

It's all about perspective...

So the next time you're doing something to make yourself or your life better or happen to be viewing something from a different angle from the rest of the world and the World says....

"Hey - You better stop that!"

Don't be so quick to Give Up Your Guns!

You might be RIGHT and....

The World might be WRONG!

A Rare Indulgence... A Visit to the Lakeway Resort Smoking Deck!

My 2 Faves -

Sunset Rum and Ft Worth Supreme!

Nice Views from the Smoking Deck...

Gotta have the Cowboy Hat when I'm smoking my pipe... Don't know why...

Just seems to go together.

Taking a stroll down the stairs...

Hmmm... Looks like a nice place.

Yep...

Think I'll smoke a couple of bowls and enjoy the view!

No Meat Paleo Pre GoldsFit Meal... Post Workout Meal at Maudi's... Just dessert

Wanted to get some carbs under my belt before I went to the High Noon GoldsFit workout but didn't want to eat anything too heavy so....

I cut up a good portion of kale and a squash and sprinkled it with my African - Moroccan seasoning which consists of equal parts of:

Salt

Pepper

Ras al Hanout

Hot Madras Curry Powder

Garam Masala

Curry

Cumin

1/3 part Turmeric

It's an incredible blend that I use on all meats and vegetables.

I also added 2 roasted hatch chile peppers and some sliced mini heirloom carrots.

Here's what the mix looks like after steaming with a little added water for 3 minutes in the microwave...

Note the boiled egg on deck with the Creatine - Fresca mix on the left...

I cut up the egg, added grapes, banana chips and almonds...

And fig infused balsamic vinegar...

Beautiful nutritious meal that gave me plenty of energy for the GoldsFit workout...

Happy Caveman!!

Worshiping at the altar of Maudi's Basil - Cucumber Margarita....

For my wife...

I ordered beef fajitas with portabello mushrooms and extra veggies, no beans no rice no cheese no sour cream and extra pico de gallo and guacamole and a side of fresh sliced jalapenos...

That's a Paleo Plate if I ever saw one!

Nice Sides...

And the ever present Jalapenos....

I eat at least 5 - 6 peppers of different varieties a day....

Hatch Chile, Poblano, Red Bell, Jalapeno, Serrano, Rehydrated Ancho Chiles....

I'm convinced they are a tremendous immune booster and definitely increase the metabolic rate!!

Combine all ingredients into a heavenly plate of meat and vegetable goodness!!

Looking ahead to tomorrow's Gold'sFit workout....

Looks like a 9:00 am start is on tap for Saturday...

After the meat and veggies at Maudi's, I had to have my dessert....

This has been a week with a lot of workouts - sometimes 2 a day - I rode my bike an hour this morning and then did the rigorous 1-hour Gold'sFit workout led by Justin.

I've been hammering my body but I've been keeping it fueled with a lot of Clean Paleo Food to recuperate, restore and rebuild...

And it's been working.

So I diced up a small red delicious apple and sliced up 8 - 10 red seedless grapes and covered with banana chips, almond mix, pistachios and sunflower seeds and then drizzled the mix with Organic Honey and dusted with a good bit of Cinnamon and mixed....