Maine - Owl's Head Lighthouse

Owl's Head Lighthouse

It was a short walk, which wound upwards along the coast, from the parking lot up to the lighthouse . This lighthouse was smaller than most I have seen, but beautiful & from the vista there were stunning 180 degree views of the water & distance land masses. 

Book Review: Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss

From a Pulitzer Prize–winning investigative reporter at The New York Times comes the explosive story of the rise of the processed food industry and its link to the emerging obesity epidemic. Michael Moss reveals how companies use salt, sugar, and fat to addict us and, more important, how we can fight back.

I picked up this book on tape from my town library to listen to with Jon along our road trip up & down the coast of Maine. We loved it & learned so much. The book goes deeper than just telling you how these three things are unhealthy & explores the history of these staple processed food ingredients. Moss digs even deeper & explores the major companies who's foundations & profits relay on salt, sugar, fat; showing how they have used both science & chemistry to insure our attachment to these ingredients. Education is key to being able to make the best decisions & the more you know about the inner working of things you encounter during your everyday lives the better decisions you will be bale to make. This book is a definite must read!

Salt Sugar Fat <---  click to read a more detailed summary of the book & bio of the author + to order the book

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Ironically, some of the lectures this week for my nutrition course, with Integrative Institute of Nutrition, were focused around sugar & they included these two video clips which I found very informative. They are not too long & packed with knowledge.

1. Sugar Expose: 60 minutes interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta 

2. The Real Bears: The truth about soda...this one is a spin of the classic coca-coal bears  

new york - stokes state forest for the perseid meteor shower 8-11-13

A few people from work & I decided to head up to Stokes State Forest in NJ to camp & watch the Perseid  Meteor Shower & I'm really glad we did because Stokes State Forest (which is only a little over an hour away from where I live) is beautiful! Our campsite was spacious  & secluded, had a platform, fire ring, & was situated right along a stream. I can't wait to to go back & if you live close or are traveling by the area I definitely recommend stopping by.

I attempted to capture the stars, which were so vivid & beautiful deep in the woods, but without a tripod it was quite difficult hence the "shake"....I will be investing in a tripod in the near future & if anyone has any recommendations I'd love to here them :)

Tents...the stream is right to the left.

This is my tent: A Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3...I love it
I'll do a post soon about the gear I use in more detail.

I loved hearing the water flowing by at night & when I woke up.

Woke up to a beautiful morning.

This lake was seconds from our site.

Beautiful steam rising off the lake in the morning.

Both of these sites were awesome & I recommend both...we had 25, but 26 was vacant so it was like we had the area all to ourselves.

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p.s. Jon & I have been on vacation road tripping through Maine for the last week...hence the absence 

posts to come about our trip in the near future...hope everyone is enjoying the last weeks of summer!

purple carrots

how beautiful are these! oh nature I love you so :) 

The organic farmer at my local farmers market had these beautiful purple carrots & I couldn't pass them up. I wanted to keep them simple, so I referenced a post I remembered from one of the blogs I follow, The Fresh Exchange, which does these simple just 5 recipe posts. You can find the carrot recipe here. I made a few adjustments to my recipe based off of what I had available & also decided to cook mine on the grill. Adjustments: mango orange juice because I didn't have a fresh orange & turmeric sprinkled on top because I love the health benefits it has...I add it to a lot of stuff. 

Mine came out pretty charred on the grill, but they were still delicious :) 

live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air - ralph waldo emerson

 It has been awhile since I have spent time by the ocean & by doing so I have re-discovered my love for this place. 

I love... 

How when I look at the ocean it  makes me feel small, which to me puts things in perspective. We are after all specs in a vast universe & I believe that is important to remember as we go about our lives.

Running on the beach. I have never been a runner because there has never been anywhere that I actually enjoying running. The pavement is harsh & so unnatural to me, all the trails around where I live are rocky which does not mesh well with my body, but the running on the beach is bliss. I love looking a head & being able to see for what seems like forever, listening to the waves crash next to me, the breeze of the ocean, and the soft yet hard sand close to the water which allows me to run barefoot. Also after running when I am all sweaty & hot I have a refreshing ocean to jump right into. To me it's just perfect.

How the salt water does wonders for my skin & hair :)

Reading, soaking in Vitamin D, & feeling the sand between my toes.

Strolls of the beach in the early morning & at dusk.

Watching the sun rise from the horizon.

Doing various yoga poses as the waves rise up gently washing over me...this also gave me the though of how cool it would be to become a yoga instructor & teach classes on the beach, who else wouldn't love doing yoga here? :)

Mediating & thinking on the beach, my mind feels so at ease here.

The fresh seafood.

The water sport possibilities...I would love to have a stand up paddle board & kayak.

I'm sure more things will come to me & that I have left things out, but this is my list for now.
Do you have any thing you love about the ocean/beach?

One day I just sat by myself looking out, thinking, my mind wandering & I felt so inspired. So inspired that I wrote this poem to capture how I felt & what I had discovered.

waves crashing on the shore
calling us to something more
the vastness of the sea
stirs us to be more than we can see
beyond the horizon something calls
a path that we have yet to solve

Also, I though of this metaphor.

At the shore waves crash in which could represent people, events, moments ect.. crashing into one another
& as you venture further out, beyond what is right in front of us there is a clam, a settling.

.......

I now have this strong desire to live near the ocean, I believe I would thrive there. A dream location would include: seasons...I grew up with them & could never give them up, plus autumn is my favorite & I need to see those leaves change colors :), I also want be able to grow food, & remain on the east coast so to not be too far away from family. I'm thinking somewhere in New England or Maine (is Maine included in New England? I don't know). This revelation could not have come at a better time because it just so happens that in two weeks Jon & I are venturing from Vermont east to the sea & driving along the coast stopping at various places along the way all the way up to Maine...not sure yet how far up Maine, but at least to Acadia National Park. I'll make sure to take lot's of pictures & take notes of places one must go if they make a similar trip. Maybe when we return we will have a dream town in mind where we wish to live in the near future. 

new jersey - brigantine

Mini golf with the cousins. 

 I love how life at the beach goes hand in hand with cruiser bikes. 

Sunset at the bay. 

My grandparents stayed at the Revel casino for a night in Atlantic City & a bunch of us went to pick them up the next morning.

<3

 View from their room of Atlantic City. 

Cool art at the Revel. 

There was the best view from the roof :) 

Every day, without fail ,white fluffy clouds would float onto the beach from behind us...they were lovely. 

Sunset at the bay, take two. 

Bow ties with pesto.

Fresh seafood from the local market a block away 

including: blacked tuna, fried scallops, fried shrimp, salmon *not pictured clams, seared scallops, mussels

Cousins + Atlantic City sky line in the distance. 

Top floor of the house we rented, I love open floor plans.

Spiral staircase up to a top deck 

So close to the beach, very grateful. 

Garage filled with bikes, ping-pong table, & beach necessities. 

The house <3

Beautiful dunes. 

sister <3

cousins <3

brother & sister <3

So my moms side of the family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, & cousins) all decided to go in & rent a house down the shore for a week. It was a blast. It was so nice to spend time with my cousins & everyone in  this type of setting.  I also got to do some much needed relaxing & have fallen in love with the ocean all over again.