July Audio Book: The Power of Your Subconscious Mind

Starting last month, I've begun to listen to at least one audio book a month. Typically these will be self-improvement books or, for now, I am listening to at least one self-improvement book. I may listen to additional fictional books if I have the time. I know that I am tired of listening to the same music on the radio all of the time and the constant commercials.

Sometimes, I'll feel inspired to write an essay about what I think the information from the book means to me. Additionally, I may feel compelled to write a journal about how I feel after hearing the opinions or information from the book. This blog is not for that so I'll stick to documenting the book I've completed for the month and give a short explanation of it in my own words.

This month's book was The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy.

Even though this book was written decades ago, the techniques can still be applied today. The author explains how to shape your mindset to live the life you desire, find healing through mental exercises, and how to accomplish virtually anything else in life. After listening, I can understand how this can be effective even if the desired results may seem fantastic based on the techniques. This is just one method of shaping your mindset and I've heard similar versions of this explained by speakers like Tony Robbins. Its all about mindset but different authors will have variations of this technique. I have an open mind and am interested in hearing what each has to say. I was satisfied listening to this audiobook and will be considering using this technique to achieve goals I set for myself.

My New Tilapia Recipe

Some have asked for my simple tilapia recipe. Well it is actually my mother in-law's recipe. I thought I was doing it right but knew something was off. I watched her cook it one night and figured out the recipe as she explained while she cooked.

Yes, this is not a professional blog. I can't seem to rotate this image. 

Ingredients:
4 fillets of tilapia
1 red onion
4 plum tomatoes
1/2 clove of garlic
Cumin
Salt
Paprika
Oregano
1 lemon

Dice the garlic for a sautee. 

Slice (not dice!) the onions and tomatoes. 

Keep the fillets whole and dethaw as best that you can. They can still be partly frozen but dethawed is best. 

Have salt, paprika, cumin, and oregano ready. Season to taste (this is where I always mess it up)

Sautee the garlic, onions, and tomatoes until the onions are soft and no longer crunchy

Next season the sautee and mix in the seasoning. Only a bit of cumin, oregano, and paprika is needed. Keep adding salt as you cook and season to the flavor you prefer. Maybe add a little extra of the other stuff if you really need to. 

Next, put in the tilapia fillets. Put them on the bottom and cover them with the sautee as much as you can. 

Bring it to a simmer

Finally, squeeze a lemon into the mix. This will make the entire dish boil in lemon, onion, tomato, and fish juices, mixing the flavors together. Do not add water. 

Cover and let simmer until the fish is cooked. 

Don't forget to taste as you cook! I always forget this and end up with perfectly cooked, bland food. Argh!

Serve on a bed of rice. I like to serve with a mix of brown rice and wild rice. 

So because I was asked, here is the recipe. This is something light and healthy even a vegetarian could enjoy ;) Ethan's favorite is the vegetables and rice anyway. Lots of flavor here!

4th of July 2019

This was now the third 4th of July we celebrated since Ethan was born. As usual, we went to the park behind the house for the big celebration. Of course it was hot all day so we waited until night time when it was cooler. By this time we had already eaten dinner and parking was so full, it was easier to walk to the park than to drive, even with all of Ethan's stuff.

We got there with enough time to get a place to watch the fireworks. This year Ethan didn't fall asleep and watched fireworks for the first time.

I had to put something with fireworks as the first picture. This is the picture that will be associated with this blog post. 

I left before sunset for the park. It was not hot but maybe high 80s by the evening. 

Beautiful sunset. 

The park was packed. Lots of people showed up. It was dry and not very hot so the park was definitely full of people. 

When the fireworks started, we were at the playground. Ethan kept running and running. It was the first time he didn't sleep through them. 

He ran so much he was a blur. Now you see why the pictures aren't that great. I had to chase him the whole time in a massively crowded park. 

I snuck a selfie in. Good thing the fireworks show was 30 minutes long!

Look, he stopped for a few seconds!

His 4th of July outfit. Lots of patriotic clothing here today. 

This was the best I could do of pictures of me ;)

He enjoyed some of the show and watched for maybe a minute.

If someone were coming from out of town to visit, coming during the 4th of July would be a good time to come for a weekend. Yes it is hot! But a nice long weekend of cooking on the grill and fireworks is a great time to have in the middle of the summer. The 4th of July always seems to be a great time anywhere though. A nice day off with lots of activities and an early fireworks show around 9pm in most places. I enjoy 9pm summertime fireworks much more than New Year's fireworks at midnight in the cold. Fourth of July fireworks are often played to music which is better too!

Shopping for 5.11 Work Pants

I was tired of having work pants that didn't fit. After losing some weight, I decided to go shopping for some more clothes. Like I've written before, I like 5.11 pants for work and there is a new 5.11 store in town. I've bought some pants recently online but didn't like the fit so I went in person this time to try some on before buying.

I took a picture of the sign. Proof, I was here :)

I have a lot of khaki so I was looking for some more color. 

Also, I have a lot of cargo pants so I was looking for other styles.

This style was something I was interested in. Not, cargo, slim fit, and black.

No shorts or shirts today. 

The nice thing about black is that you can barely see the cargo pockets. I am also wearing black sneakers until I get some black 3/4 boots in the fall. 

Those cargo pockets are very well hidden with the black pants. I ended up buying this pair. 

These were a slim fit and felt a lot like material I wear at the gym but thicker. 

I ended up getting this pair too. 

These were too thin. 

Jeans style with hidden pockets.

I can't wear jeans style to work so I had to pass. 

Still looking nice though. 

Really khaki and not slim enough. 

Wow! That is really khaki. 

Gray was a color I was interested in, even if jeans style didn't fit in for work. 

Just seeing how the color looked. 

Well, a classic khaki.

These khaki pants fit well, are the style I like for work and were not too khaki. I got these too.

OK, so I left here with three pairs of pants. I got black work pants for the first time. They all fit well and I'm glad that I have pants that fit for work. Another color other than khaki is a breath of fresh air. I also like black better than other options like navy blue and olive (#black #allblackeverything, right?).