aleahhelton

[aleahhelton]

Willie Nelson and Family at Ozarks Amphitheater

It was a beautiful day. Mid 80s, only slight humidity, and a nice cool breeze. Tour busses full of crew members started pulling in at a slovenly 10am, instead of the regular 7 or 8 am. Excitement hung in the air. Willie Nelson would be gracing the stage of our beautiful amphitheater. I say “our amphitheater” because it is ours. As an employee and a fan, it belongs to us. The concert goers, the…

[aleahhelton]

Life is Good

A few night ago, my husband and I drove through the field just before dark. That collection of fields, our property, our forver, is one of my favorite places in this world. That night, as I scanned the field, thousands of fireflies twinkled. And peace washed through my veins. The world is so busy. And tough. And life bears down on us on unthinkable ways sometimes. I’ve spent months fighting to…

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Writing Fire

As summer approaches, I realize it’s been half a year since I’ve written on this site. Why? Life, man. It’s crazy. It’s busy. It’s all consuming. I’ve told myself a million times that I need to make time to write. And I have, on another project I’m working on. But writing here seems so… useless. I feel like I don’t have anything to say that anyone wants to hear. I feel like the words just aren’t…

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Excuse me, while I panic just a little... okay a lot

Excuse me, while I panic just a little… okay a lot

Yesterday, after a stressful couple of days, my body revolted. I left work and picked my daughter up from school, and on our 25ish minute drive home, I started to feel the signs. I was brain foggy. I was getting overstimulated by the music she was playing… musicals, my favorite, but in that moment it felt like trap music. By the time we got home, it was all I could do to walk into the house from…

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Life in the Aftermath

Life in the Aftermath

Today is my dad’s 65th birthday. Only, he’s not here to celebrate because 29 years ago, he took his own life. I have days where I am okay with what this means. Days where I find the part of me who wants to believe the best in everyone. Days where I believe that no matter how bad the person, there is always something good. Days where I tell myself he loved me the best he was capable of loving me.…

[aleahhelton]

Poached Eggs Made Easy

Made some bomb poached eggs today. Poached is my favorite way to eat eggs. I think they taste so much better. But, man-oh-man, if you don’t know the secret, they are hard to make. I’ve been trying and trying to figure it out, and I think I finally did. I used the magic of Google and a tip from my friend Kayla (and my brother) and I got it perfect. Check out my steps below. Bring a pot of water…

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Recipe: Spicy Veggie Fried Rice

I’m not going to lie, as I was making this, I wasn’t sure it was going to turn out. But, man oh man, was it good in the end. Recipe (the amounts you use will be determined by the serving size you need. This is for 2 servings.) 2 cups cooked rice2 eggs, scrambled3 Sprigs Asparagus, chopped1/2 c Broccoli, chopped 1/4 c summer squash, sliced1/4 c zucchini, sliced1/4 onion, sliced thinly1 tbsp…

[aleahhelton]

Recipe: Rib Rub

My husband and I bought ribs this week to cook for dinner before we send the youngest of our four off to church camp in another state for a week. As is expected, at the last minute, we realized we were out of rib rub. So… off I went to try to concoct something. The recipe I used needed some tweaking, so here is the final recipe we came up with. 1/2 tbsp cumin1 tbsp paprika1 tbsp garlic powder1…

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Recipe: Summer Tacos

This is a recipe I came up with in my kitchen on a whim. I was looking for a healthy lunch using stuff in the fridge that needed using up… and this was born. It’s packed with delicious summer veggies and lean ground meat. Check it out! RECIPE: 1 small Summer Squash, chopped1 small Zucchini, chopped1/2 – 1 green pepper, diced (amount depends on preference)1 cup mushrooms, chopped1 small…

[aleahhelton]

Why You Should Be Taking a Collagen Supplement

When talking about health and wellness, my biggest tip for others is always, first and foremost, collagen. If you’re not taking a collagen supplement, you should be, and here is why. First, what is collagen? Collagen is a protein that is one of the main building blocks for your body – skin, hair, muscles, tendons, ligaments. Collagen plumps your skin – hello less wrinkles and more youthful…

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Would You...

Would You…

Last night, my husband and I took our 3 youngest teenagers to the church my brother pastors and watched a live broadcast of Jesus from the Sight and Sound Theater in Branson. The story chronicles the life of Jesus as a young adult when he first meets Peter and James and sets out in love on his journey. As I watched the performance, seeing Jesus perform miracles, show love, and speak wisdom, I…

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The Ghosts of... you know what, nevermind...

The Ghosts of… you know what, nevermind…

My husband and I got married 10 months ago.

[aleahhelton]

A Failing System

I’ve gone back and forth for a couple of days on whether or not I should speak what is on my heart. Ultimately, a conversation with my daughter yesterday afternoon hit straight to the pits of my soul and without question I knew I had to write. Driving home from school yesterday, my daughter asked me about the recent scandal in her school district. A scandal in which a well known administrator…

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Winter Pause

Last week, we got hit with a weird winter storm system that we haven’t seen in a while. We had freezing rain which turned into ice and everything shut down. Y’all, even the Wal-Mart closed at 5pm. It was serious. However, something glorious happened in that snow storm. Rest. I was at home for a week solid – outside of covering a couple of shifts at the restaurant I work at (which is a mile down…

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Square One: Restarting My Wellness Journey

2 years ago, I was almost at my goal weight. 15 pounds away to be exact. I had spent months working out, eating right, working with a trainer, and trying so hard to improve my health. My main goal had been overall health, with weight loss as a bonus.

My pants were smaller, I didn’t have a triple chin and 87 stomach rolls. I had confidence I’d never had in my life. I looked good and I felt…

[aleahhelton]

The Black Cloud of Grief

This holiday season seems daunting, and today, I’m sad. On Halloween. It’s stupid. Halloween has never been my holiday of choice. Sure, I like to dress up and have fun, but I prefer the turkey and the fat guy over ghosts and goblins. But today, I’m sad.

This Halloween, and the holidays that are creeping up on us in the next couple of months are bringing with them a cloud of grief and sadness…

[aleahhelton]

Quarantine Day 1

Today, started day 1 of a quarantine for me. Yesterday, I left work fully expecting to return today and within a matter of minutes my entire building was shut down… much like it was in March when this all started. Why? A small outbreak of COVID-19 cases in our tiny school during our last week of Summer School. The week prior to this.

You guys. We almost made it. We literally had the finish…