Friday, May 11, 2012

FROM NINE YEARS OF FULLTIMING, A LESSON. (AND A VEGAN RECIPE ANYONE WOULD LOVE)

Each morning when I awake, my thoughts turn to my plans for the day.  Maybe we’re moving to a new spot, or have a hike planned.  Maybe we’re meeting friends.  Food always plays a big part.  Are we eating at home?  What am I cooking?  Do we need groceries?  

Whether we already have plans or they are being formulated as I turn over to peek out at the weather, I always have some expectation for the day, my Plan A.  Sometimes flexible; sometimes not so much.

On Wednesday, leaving Wells, we had a relaxing Plan A: a short (well under 150 miles) drive north to Twin Falls, ending at a previously researched campground that sounded very appealing.  Phone a couple of friends in town and arrange a meet-up once we arrive, then kick back and relax.

Of course, our blowout was not part of Plan A!  When it happened, and particularly when we learned that it would take the tow truck an hour to an hour and a half to reach us, we did what nine years of fulltiming has taught us to do: let go of Plan A, the sooner the better!

Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, IdahoOver our years of travel, due to breakdowns (yikes, everything in the freezer has thawed out!), illness of people (sorry, but I really can’t leave the motorhome this morning) or pets, or weather (OMG, what just blew by the window???), we have had to throw Plan A out the window many times.  Eventually, it dawned on us: no matter how our day existed in our imaginations, holding on to that plot line in the face of a new reality simply adds stress to the current, unexpected situation.  The sooner we let go of Plan A, the easier it is to find the solution to a challenge – and maybe enjoy (or at least somewhat appreciate!) whatever this unscheduled, unimagined new reality has in store.

For me, it is usually NOT fun to have a problem throw a wrench into my Plan A – yet my enjoyment of fulltiming has a lot to do with encountering the unexpected, the serendipitous, the unknown.  Throwing away our travel plans because we lucked into the most fabulous site in the campground (with the great view and no mosquitos) or found an unexpected gem of a town, is easy.  The trick is in learning to throw away Plan A when the unexpected and unwelcome strikes. 

Funny thing about Wednesday… we left Wells as planned, and we ended up in Twin Falls as planned.  There was a lot of “the unexpected” in between!  :)  Letting go of Plan A made the in-between experience much less stress-filled.  It’s a lesson I need to keep in mind.

On a completely different subject:  judging from the number of comments left on my blog, most of you readers are interested in FOOD.  I don’t do much baking, but recently came across a recipe (pulled out of a magazine, and I don’t know which one) that has got me firing up the oven once a week: Banana Oat Breakfast Cookies.  No dairy, no eggs.  Ingredients healthy for diabetics and for those trying to keep cholesterol down.  Big, chewy, moist and yummy.  And very filling. 

One cookie (they are big, and around 200-250 calories each) makes a good breakfast for those who don’t like a big breakfast, or for breakfast as you are heading out the door.  Great to take along on a hike or a long day of sightseeing when you’re not sure where/when you might catch a bite to eat.  It’s a keeper.

18 comments:

  1. I call them my expectations. It's hard to be happy if you can't let them go when "stuff happens" that's for sure. Full timing has taught me a lot of things almost all of them good and most of them having to do with expectations.

    The cookies look great. I'm always up for new Vegan breakfast ideas. Since it requires the oven, this one will have to wait until we can either get out of Florida or the heat is over.

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  2. Yup..".Adjust and overcome", that is a great motto...I also like "that which does not kill you makes you strong"...Oh, and I just thought of another one.."WIT..Whatever It Takes"....Now I gotta get to that cookie recipe and copy it...Thanks.

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  3. Yup, always great to have a Plan B and in some cases even a Plan C. I always like something to fall back on. It's a for sure I am going to try that recipe. Thanks.

    Be safe....

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  4. We are on Plan C or D after our window was broken. We figure if we can sightsee and eat it doesn't matter where we are or how long we are there.

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  5. You know, Laurie, your post was a great lesson in life in general, full-timing or not! Now I need to go look at banana cookies and read the post I missed about the blowout! geez. stuff happens too fast around here.

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  6. Thanks for the cookie recipe! I sent it to Annie, which is my way of contributing to the cooking around here.

    Roxanne
    The Good Luck Duck

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  7. Too funny Laurie. I have been making that same recipe for a few years now. They are good aren't they? These are our go to breakfast when we want to get an early start to the day. Just grab and go! I always make a double batch. They stay fresh for a couple days on the counter, but then I put them, two at a time, into freezer bags and freeze them. They freeze wonderfully and then you will always have breakfast cookies at hand. Just take a bag of two cookies out the night before and wallah! Breakfast is served.

    BTW...these are husband (meat and potatoes guy) approved. Just don't tell him how healthy they are ;)

    Good advise for keeping your cool and being flexible with "plan A". It always makes the day go better when you can keep that in mind.

    Thanks for sharing.

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    1. BTW...I found this recipe on www.hearthealthyonline.com. One slight difference is my recipe calls for powdered milk. I never have any, so I've never used it. They still come out perfect. YUM! Now I want some. I'm going to my freezer right now and pulling out a couple.

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    2. Brenda, my recipe called for powdered milk, too. I never keep it on hand, and can't believe how costly it is (maybe because you have to buy such a huge box!). So I replaced that 1/4 c. of powdered milk with the flax meal. It seems to be a very flexible recipe.

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    3. Agreed. I add a little flax into it to. Just don't tell David ;) If you hears it's healthy for him he automatically hates it. Hee hee.

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  8. oops...hit send! Great advice. Living on the road for a length of time teaches us many lessons that we would not otherwise have learned. We had to wait on US 50 in Nevada for about five hours. We had fun and explored while we waited. Had everything we needed. Cold drinks, lunch, etc.

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  9. Laurie, you and Odel always have the best attitudes... and make lemonade out of the lemons. I'm going to attempt to convert those breakfast cookies to gluten free. Also, TJ's has a peanut butter that has toasted flax seeds in it already, and it's so yummy, I've eaten it off the spoon.

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  10. I've been looking for a good "energy Bar" recipe to take along on hikes, this might just be it!

    When my kids were in grade school they both hated breakfast so I would make yummy oatmeal "breakfast" cookies that did the trick with a nice glass of milk. They weren't allowed to eat them any other time so they looked forward to getting a couple each morning. This was before we had granola bars and 100 different packaged products. The plus was they were not full of sugar! Now it's time for me to make some for myself.

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  11. The Breakfast cookie recipe looks yummy, but it's really got too many carbs in it to be good for diabetics. I know many diabetic educators are still pushing the carbs but it's just a sure way to keep diabetics on medication, gaining weight and spending their money at the doctor's office & hospital.

    It's good you're flexible enough to be able to enjoy your traveling life even when things go wrong.

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    1. Hey, Library Lady, thanks for your reply. I'm sure I should not have said "healthy" for diabetics. I've been under the impression that "whole" carbs are considerably safer for diabetics than "processed" carbs - so the whole wheat flour and flax meal are ok? - and that agave syrup is a recommended sweetener due to it's glycemic index. Is it safe to say these cookies are a better choices for diabetics than the usual baked goods? I'm out of the loop on current thinking on this.

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  12. Pretty waterfalls!! thanks for the yummy cookie recipe!

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  13. And then sometime it is impossible to have a plan longer than a few minutes or hours ahead. I think I will check to see if I have the cookie ingredients. Thanks Laurie

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  14. Printed off that recipe right away! All ingredients are things I like and I'm looking for something to make ahead to take along on hikes for a snack. Thanks!

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