Thanks to everyone that stayed through the tech issues on the Livestream yesterday, it looks like the replay is working on a computer now and not on a phone. If you weren't able to join yesterday or couldn't get it to work you can always post questions here anytime and I (and others) will do our best to answer them!
We are headed to lunch today with some of our new friends here in Spain. It's a beautiful day here in Madrid and outdoor dining is very popular! Getting a table for 8 people at a prime dining time is very hard here (and our friend made the reservation). I knew we couldn't be too picky about the type of restaurant considering the circumstances.
The restaurant is a traditional Spanish tapas restaurant and the idea is that you get several small plates of food to share amongst everybody. That type of restaurant is typically difficult for us as carnivores as many of the plates are not things that we we eat. In these situations I try to be as proactive as possible and plan ahead so that I can inevitably go with the flow.
Chris and I have already looked at the menu online to see what our food options might be and then with the language barrier what we think could be easily adjusted to work for us. We also have talked about potentially eating before we go so we aren't really hungry, but have decided that we'll just eat what we can there and then plan a larger dinner this evening in case we don't eat very much.
In situations like this, we have to remind ourselves that the people that we are with and the circumstances that we are in are much more important than the actual food that we get to eat. I'm confident there's going to be some meat and cheeses and a couple other things that we can have. But overall I'm not going into this meal expecting to come out really full or even getting my money's worth. 😂😂
But all that being said, it really takes the stress and pressure off of me finding the right thing to eat when I know that the whole point of this meal is not about the food, it's about the experience and the people. Being in situations where I have no idea what and when I'm going to be able to eat is really stressful for me. So feeling very prepared and having some backup plans is how I can go into a situation like this very relaxed and enjoy my time not worrying about the food.
Do you ever look at the menus online before you go to a restaurant? 😂😂 I hope you have a great day!!
Yesterday we surprised the kids and brought home a puppy!! They have been begging for one for years and we felt like the time was right to bring one home.
Meet Angus 🐕 He's a Golden Retriever/King Charles Cavalier Spaniel mix. He's 11 weeks old and currently weighs about 8 pounds, he should be around 35 pounds fully grown. I know it will be an adjustment for a while as he gets potty trained etc but we are so excited. 😂 Wish us luck! 🤪
Cheese is good! I ate a block of chipotle oven baked cheese with lunch yesterday and it was divine. I love it, but know that it halts any progress I'm making, and will even trigger eating in excess to where I'll gain weight. It's sad but I have accepted it. If I eat it in small quantities with a meal, it's ok, but I really have to work to keep it in check.
What's your favorite cheese? How do you incorporate it? Do you see negative results when eating it?
Happy Sunday! Sharing a video today from our week, one of the highlights. This was Wednesday evening church, normally they have a more casual prayer meeting where someone plays the guitar, but they were doing some construction in the fellowship hall so they had their prayer meeting in the sanctuary. No one was there to play the piano so my my Grandma did it, she's been playing the piano in church for probably 80 years.
For context, she's 88, she had a really bad fall 5 years ago now and hit her head and ended up with a lot setbacks, similar to having a stroke. She has a lot of dementia like symptoms also (I am sure related to her Type 2 diabetes), she really can't read music anymore, and she has trouble seeing well, and she needs to wear hearing aids to hear but hates wearing them, so on this night she didn't want to wear them. My 93 (almost 94) year old grandpa takes care of both of them on their farm. Anyway, on this night she sat down on the piano and led worship as people called ...
Happy Monday! We made it to Big Sky, Montana yesterday, WOW it's so beautiful!! It just feels like you are in a movie all the time. We grilled steaks and just spent lots of time outside enjoying the beautiful weather.
The house we are staying in is owned by LMNT, so it has all kinds of electrolytes and wellness goodies everywhere. Plus all kinds of natural soaps and laundry soaps etc. They host a lot of meetings here so one of the walls upstairs is a huge dry erase board so the kids are having fun drawing on it.
We sat in the sauna 🥵 and took turns doing the cold plunge. 🥶 Today we are going hiking and white water rafting.
How was your weekend? What is your non-negotiable for this week?
Happy Sunday! We made it to Idaho Falls last night, it was just a stop over place for us and we had no idea that it would be so beautiful. We got here early in the evening after the hot springs and had a really lovely walk along the river. The weather has been so nice!! We are only 3 hours from Big Sky so headed over there this morning, we are staying in a house there for 5 days. I am excited to stay in one place for a few days. 😂 We are super excited because the house we are staying in has a cold plunge, a sauna, and a gym.
What are your plans today? You doing any prep for the week ahead?
Yesterday we had a PACKED day and some really amazing experiences!! We started the morning in Page Arizona looking at the Glen Canyon Dam, which opens up to the beginning of the Grand Canyon. It looks like you're on a totally different planet!
We then headed up to Redmond, and stopped along the way to take a hike up to some Salt Caves. The drive alone was just amazing as well!
In the afternoon we took a tour of the Redmond Salt mine, WOW what a cool experience!! We went down 700 feet and were completely surrounded by salt! They have 29 miles of tunnels through the mine! I will tell you all about it on a future Livestream! But we all licked the walls and the kids got to mine for their own salt rocks!
We ended the day just south of Salt Lake City. It was a super packed day but thankfully everything went very smoothly.
Today is going to be much more relaxing, and the kids planned the perfect "Mom" day. A slow morning followed by a soak in some Lava Hot Springs this afternoon. ...
