Paradise Falls

Last week, my friend Diana asked me to go hiking with her. I happily agreed. I've been needing something like this!

But first, let's rewind to last night.



I wanted to make something quick and easy but didn't know where to start with what we have in the house. The Challenge reminded me to be resourceful.

I took 1/2 cup crushed tomatoes (leftover in the fridge and needed to be used), 1 can chicken broth, 1 can sweet corn, half a jar of black bean salsa, a few dashes of tapatio, cumin, sea salt and dumped it all in a pan with the Chicken Chile Verde.



Topped it with the remaining wedge of sharp cheddar and enjoyed it with some chips and hummus. We buy our Sabra hummus from Costco. It lasts forever! We bought this one mid October.



The soup was pretty good for being made up of odds and ends. I would have preferred to garnish it with sour cream, tortilla chips and avocado but we don't have any of those. The old me would have made a beeline for the nearest grocery store but the new me knew I could live without it. (I love the new me!)



We hiked about 4-5 miles (Right Diana?) through this beautiful area in Thousand Oaks. I had no idea it even existed.



We passed a large teepee. (I was huffing and puffing the entire hike so I didn't take as many pictures as I should have!)



The waterfall we hiked to was well worth it! It was really flowing! I was expecting to see a much smaller waterfall.



Diana and I sat for awhile and talked about life. It was relaxing and so nice. I've forgotten to appreciate nature recently. Who knew this waterfall was only 30 minutes away?



I am totally looking forward to more hikes/more outdoorsy-type workouts. The treadmill is getting quite boring. Plus we are enemies. Have I told you about the girl at the gym yet?

Ugh.

So there is a girl who works out at the gym at the same time as me. She runs like the wind and I am jealous of her. Sometimes I try to compete with her ("if she runs for 20 minutes, you should run for 25 minutes!) and it's ridiculously silly of me.

Do you ever find yourself being competitive? Usually I am not a competitive person at all but I'm totally jealous of all the runners in my life. I wish I could be like that!


Good Mood Gig from SAM-e

Also please vote for Meghann. She is one of my favorite bloggers and is so sweet in person. (We met briefly at the Foodbuzz Festival. This really would be a great opportunity for her. Thanks!