Travel for me means planning for all of life’s unknown

Tag: food

2016: The Year In Review

A lot has happened in this twelve-month period. We put our home on the market, after a mad rush to get it all painted and pretty – inside and out.

I started selling photos this year, it’s been a very slow climb but I think I’m gaining traction. I just pray that it continues growing in 2017 (and I hope for a new lens for my landscapes, just saying).

I also started blogging, and that means trying to find ways to monetize it. I’m finding that my health issues combined with my food and environmental allergies have a foot hold in the blogosphere I just need to learn more about how to grow it into a business which means reading more about it.

I can’t help but marvel at how most of my goals are centered on reading more. I often feel like I waste a lot of time reading, when in reality it is the center to my success. It’s official! I can be paid to read! #GOAL

 

2016 the year of stress… Between getting the house ready to sell, and my health issues “stress” is he only word that could apply to 2016.

Mother nature doing her best to keep our expectations in check… we had a huge hail storm in Southern Colorado and that left me unable to get a contractor out to paint our house until the last minute because so many homes were still unlivable that my house wasn’t a priority.

I had over a month wait with most contractors to get an estimate to get the house payment. And even then they couldn’t guarantee that they could get the house painted within the time frame I needed it done if we sold the house before 1 Nov. I was told this in August. We closed early October.
Thankfully I found a contractor who was able to fit me in, the outside of the house looked great when they were done, before we closed.

Every time we had weather move through I prayed it wouldn’t cause more damage anywhere in the city. I never realized just how stressful selling a house could be. I’ve watched HGTV you don’t see them freaking out on the shows about selling houses, but man! I sure did.

 

We finally sold the house, and we had a hiccup in moving into a rental; so we spent a month in a hotel. I can’t say it was a hardship. Having the room cleaned every day was a huge luxury I completely and thoroughly enjoyed. We had moved into a suite that had a small kitchenette so I could cook – somewhat – and so we could carry on as normal as possible.

Finally, as I was settling into a routine at the hotel, we got a rental. So every crazy bit spooled up again as we prepared to move into the house.

Thankfully we were able to space the signing of the papers and the actual move in so that we had time to clean the house, and buy carpets for the living areas that were hardwood. Everything went as smoothly as it could possibly go – well, other than the people who packed up our pods did so in a way that damaged most of our wooden furniture pieces. We are still trying to work out the paperwork for the moving company to fix everything. (See…stress.)

 

Thanksgiving rolled around, we were set up in our new home and all seemed to be calming down.   We had a wonderful Thanksgiving…then we set off on a journey to see my In-Laws. Two day in a car, one way, and then the actual visit. More stress… but this time with good coffee, good food, and a wonderful day with just Hubby, Chaz and I going and visiting the missions in and around San Antonio.

I have shared about the coffee…but I haven’t been able to get to the rest.  

Finally home, we got down to Christmas. Sadly Hubby’s travel schedule, and my poor health, meant that we didn’t get our decorations up. So we carried our Christmas spirit inside our hearts and let our home remain undecorated.

During this trip I started writing reviews for Yelp and TripAdvisor. I’m gaining a following there, so it will be fun to see where that takes me next year.

 

I hadn’t felt well for most of December, but I couldn’t figure out why. I had started Botox injection in the summer for my migraines and received my shots in December and that should have boosted my energy. Sadly it didn’t. My energy continued to be lagging until the week before Christmas when I realized why I felt so badly.

Kidney stones.

The very mention of them often brings people to a halt, with faces twisted in a sympathetic grimace. I had passed a couple without medications, but finally Hubby said no more and insisted I at least call the nurse to see what needed to be done. I called. Hubby was right (I’ve had to repeat that several times so Hubby can bask in the knowledge that he was right) the nurse said a visit to the ER was in order. So, I was taken to the ER and the CAT scan revealed I had three more stones to go. UGH! I left with meds and orders to see my doctor ASAP.

The next day I called my doctor and went into see him for some different meds that work better for me.   It was then that I found out I also had ovarian cysts, something any woman who has dealt with them will sympathize with me over. Since I had both at the same time, hurting is an understatement.
Finally Christmas Eve, I passed the last of them (or so I thought) and I am starting to feel better. I have more sleep that is needed to heal; thankfully my body has no problem in letting me know I’ve done too much.
So I’ve had to basically write off the end of 2016 as healing time, instead of doing a last big push to finish the year strong. I must admit that is a nice aspect to building your own business; you are the only one to suffer if you have to take time off. It’s also a great learning moment.

I’ve heard the saying that, “When you work for yourself, your boss can be a real jerk” Nathan Lowel [1], so this means that I have to remember to take care of my employees (myself) so they are healthy to produce quality work.

Upon writing this I have discovered I have one more stone to go, my right kidney is not happy but hopefully the end is near.

2017 – are you still with me???

I’ve never been one to set outrageous goals for myself. However, since I passed a milestone in 2016 – the age of 35 was given to me as a goal to reach by my allergist, a healthy dose of paranoia got me here and now I’m ready to spread my wings and reach for the stars.

So my plan for 2017 is several things that I have no way of prioritizing.

  • Make money from my blog
  • Make money by writing
  • Make money by editing
  • Make money from selling my photos

Are you sensing a pattern here?

So here the plan… I need to move out of Colorado. When you are allergic to the sun living at high altitude is not a good idea.   In order to move we have to be able to find jobs in the new location, or have a mobile income to take with us. This is where my blogging, writing, editing, and photography come into play. All of these can be done from the road or a new location, so there you have it.

Look for new posts, areas that are allergy friendly, and maybe even recipes…haven’t decided yet.

New health goals…

  • Avoid dairy, and thus kidney stones, at all costs
  • Continue to fight my anaphylaxis
  • Continue avoiding soy at all costs (had to mark a restaurant off my OK list)

Here’s to a brighter and successful new year…2017!!!

To endless horizons in the New Year!

[1] Nathan Lowell (2014) Owner’s Share (Trader’s Tales From The Golden Age Of The Solar Clipper) (Volume 6)

 

 

Nemo’s Coffee

If you dislike big brand coffee shops, that can be found in almost every town. Abhore the cookie cutter chains where every coffee shop looks alike. And if you are looking for a quirky, locally owned coffee place…Then I have the perfect place for you when you come to Colorado Springs.

NEMO’S is the place to you want to go for great atmosphere, wonderful food, and coffee that will keep you coming back for more.

The Anderson’s run the place offering organic coffee, substitutes for milk: soy, almond and coconut. More than most other coffee places in town, trust me I’ve checked.

They also offer a plethora of other goodies to stave off the hunger pangs. Sandwiches,salads, biscotti, and Hubby’s favorite…the sausage breakfast burrito with salsa.  If given the option, Hubby will choose to go to Nemo’s to get me coffee so he can have his favorite.

Nemo’s is a coffee house and your favorite lunch spot all rolled into one locally owned pretty package.

When you walk in mismatched table and chairs greet you, along with a couch for relaxing, shelves ladened with books invite you to pull out your favorite and curl up on the couch or easy chair and read to your hearts content.  All while enjoying your favorite cup of coffee, or tea.

If work is your aim, then pick a table, as I’ve done to write this article. Spread out a bit and let the creativity flow.

Nemo’s is the place I prove to myself just how much I enjoy my creature comforts. Though I have options of things to eat and drink I typically get the same thing…a caramel swirl with coconut milk. The only variation being whether it’s iced or hot.  Another favorite is the homemade biscotti (I highly recommend their white chocolate macadamia nut), they even offer gluten free options.

Hubby’s favorite drink is a sweetened iced latte, and of course their sausage burrito.

When in doubt ask about your allergy. Tracey is very knowledgeable about what exactly goes into the food she serves.  Check out their website, she make most of her offerings from scratch, to the point that she even grinds her own wheat.  Talk about attention to detail!

Go get your turtle power and let me know what you thought of the place. You can go inside or drive through, which ever you choose you won’t regret it.

Nemo’s is located at 2114 E Pikes Peak Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80909  719-635-2745

www.nemoscoffee.com

Joanie’s Deli And Bakery

 

What does a girl do when she is told by her doctors to eat more calories, especially if she is a rabbit food loving freak?  Why she finds places that serve BIG yummy salads!

Can you say fresh?

Can you say fresh?  And can you say YUM?!

OK, so my doctors didn’t want me eating more salads they wanted me to eat more calories than a salad has to offer.  But when you are a rabbit food lover who has very specific food allergies, you do your best to eat what you love…because then you’ll eat more in a day, which is the over arching goal of eating more…right?

Oh. So. Yummy.

Oh. So. Yummy.

During some of our weekends –  when we have to be out the house so people can look at our house – we would go up to Woodland park and stop for lunch at Joanie’s before heading back to the house, or out into the mountains for some light hiking.

Woodland Park is a nice drive up Highway 24 from Colorado Springs, not so long that you feel as if you’ve been in the car all day, just for a salad…but also not so short that we couldn’t be out of the house for the  2-5 hour window needed.  The longer we needed to be out the more we would do, after eating.

One great thing about Joanie’s Bakery and Delicatessen, other than the fact I can eat what I like even with my food allergies, is that we can take Chaz with us and sit on the covered patio.  It’s away from the street, and well protected. So it pet friendly, provided you don’t take them inside. (Though we have been told that they just might make an exception for Chaz…”because he’s so cute”. However, we don’t want the health department to close them down, so we keep Chaz outside.)

He's ready to eat. I share the egg yolks from my salad with him.

He’s ready to eat. I share the egg yolks from my salad with him.

I can actually sit outside, kind of, and enjoy my meal. A very rare treat for me.

See that first seat on the left? Yep that's my favorite spot at Joanie's.

See that first seat on the left? Yep that’s my favorite spot at Joanie’s.

Plexi glass protects us from the smoke the wind might bring in, and the over hang keeps the afternoon sun from reaching me.   I couldn’t eat breakfast there, with the dog, because I wouldn’t be able to sit outside. But once the sun reaches noon the porch is shaded and lovely.

Joanie’s is located at 110 East Highway 24, Woodland Park, CO  719-686-9091.  They only use Boars Head meat and cheeses for their salads and sandwiches, and their staff is very knowledgable about what goes into everything – even their salad dressings.

So if you have questions go in and ask, they’ll tell you exactly what they use. For example…knowing that soy is in practically everything, but not in most mustards, I get their honey mustard dressing.  They only use canola oil in their dressings, but if there is mayo or soy sauce (duh) in the dressing it’s a non-starter for me. So that takes their ranch and asian fusion style dressings, and the blue cheese, out of the equation (I just don’t like blue cheese) leaving their honey mustard or vinaigrettes for me to enjoy.

Now their vinaigrettes are lovely, but since I typically get a Chefs salad,  there is lots of protein to be had – a must for my picky body – I get the honey mustard.  It is a better paring with the bacon.

Once I had the Chef with their raspberry vinaigrette… again the vinaigrettes taste great, but for me they aren’t the best paring with the bacon.  The honey mustard gives you a nice zip and zing without over powering the meat…bacon.

Hubby loves their sandwiches, he’s had their version of grilled cheese, the Roast Beef Melt and many others that I don’t remember. Why?  I’ll let you ask.  Because I can’t eat them.  I cannot envy something I’ve never tried, and thus I find them unmemorable.  However, my I can eat anything hubby enjoys their sandwiches.

So if you fall into the I can eat anything category, be sure to check them out also.

I have even gone with a vegetarian friend of ours, and she was able to get exactly what she wanted…catered to her liking.  We both left satisfied, and ready for our trip back down the mountain.

For Labor Day hubby and I grabbed the dog and headed out to get a late lunch and so I could get photos for you…in case you are like me and need a visual aid from time to time to ensure you are where you think you should be.  Though Woodland Park isn’t that big still I want to be thorough.

And since I am a foodie who forgets to take photos of their food…I had a purpose in going there…I took my phone and my camera.  Try not to drool on your electronic devices.

 

Next time you are in Woodland Park, checkout Joanie’s if its time to eat.  Let me know what you had and what you thought.

 

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Modern Market

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If there is one place in town that is my ‘go to’ place when I need food Modern Market is that place.

The place to go for a quick healthy meal.

The place to go for a quick healthy meal.

While not nationwide, it has a number of locations in Colorado, Texas, Arizona, and on the East coast in the Washington D.C. and surrounding areas.   Their motto is eat good food, but not too much.  However, if you are a freak like me who is often told by my doctors that I need to eat more, it is a haven of food I like that I can eat a lot of.

If you have food allergies let them know when you get the counter, they have a three ring binder that is filled with each ingredient used in every single one of their dishes.  I was so happy the first time I went into the restaurant, because of this binder.  While I have two favorites, their BLTA and their Roman Salad (no tomatoes).

Click here to find one near you! Hopefully you are able to find one, I have yet to find something I didn’t like.