5 tips for a good fall

August 30, 2022 thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

Over the last few years I have learned quite a bit about how to make the fall season go a little bit “easier.” Here are my top 5 tips to have a good fall!

Number 1: be prepared (as much as possible) Have meals prepped ready in the freezer. Have lunch meat, cheese, and bread in the fridge and also extras in the freezer so you don’t have to run to the grocery store during the week. Have easy, on-the-go snacks ready for lunches. Have lots of ice packs!

Number 2: be okay with living in a mess. I’ll be honest, keeping the house clean during busy seasons is HARD. You’re rarely home but somehow, the house still gets dirty! Be okay and give yourself grace. You are doing your best!

Blurry but still a good sunrise picture of a fertilizer plant at another location

Number 3: find the positivity in not-so-good situations. There is always something to be thankful for. Even during breakdowns and rainy days, there is still some positivity to be found! Having a negative attitude is not going to help the situation so think as positive as you can!

Number 4: SAFETY. This is so important and should always be in the back of your mind. If you’re working around large equipment whether it be tractors, grain/fertilizer legs, conveyors, augers, all things moving, you have to be on the look out for dangers. Your number 1 goal each day should be making it home safely to your family every night.

Number 5: give yourself grace. You are trying your hardest and doing your best and that’s all anyone can ever ask of you! No matter your role or position whatever you’re doing is enough. Be kind to yourself and give yourself grace.

Have a smooth & safe harvest! Happy fall!🌱

With love,

Victoria, thehealthyagvocate

Affirmations

May 20, 2022 thehealthyagvocate1 Comment

Affirmations are very powerful. I am a firm believer in affirmations as well. I think they benefit me and help keep my mindset positive.

Save these photos and use them as your phone’s wallpaper for a daily reminder! What you say to yourself matters! Make sure it is positive and uplifting.

With love,

Victoria, thehealthyagvocate

Farming · Fitness

Username Change

May 5, 2022May 5, 2022 thehealthyagvocate2 Comments

After lots of thinking, I’ve decided to change my username!!

Introducing: thehealthyagvocate

I think this username has a lot of potential and I am excited for its future. It describes me for who I am. A healthy Agvocate. I care about my health and well being (physical and mental) along with Agriculture. I love advocating for agriculture and it truly is a huge passion of mine.

The agricultural world is constantly changing and in all honesty, not many people understand agriculture and why it is so important. People are getting more and more removed from the industry. Everyone involved in agriculture has a story that needs to be shared and I will try my best to share my story!

Healthy looks different on everyBODY! Just because I do things doesn’t mean it would work for you! BUT I try my hardest to share my journey with others to hopefully give people ideas and motivation to start their own journeys!

p.s. new Instagram account with the name coming soon‼️

With love,

Victoria, thehealthyagvocate

Life

April Life 2022

April 30, 2022April 30, 2022 thehealthyagvocate1 Comment

Well hello and welcome back! 😀 Sorry I’ve been MIA all winter, but here we are, the end of April.

How the heck did that happen?! Anyone else feel that way too? If you were not aware, April is my favorite month of the whole year. MY BIRTHDAY MONTH!! I was able to celebrate my birthday (my ✨golden✨ birthday) this year surrounded by those who love me!

It has been an odd April to say the least. Rainy and cold. Everyone is kind of just sitting around waiting it out to see if Mother Nature will quit throwing a tantrum. I think God needs to have a little chat with her..

At the beginning of the month, I had a close work friend retire. He impacted my life greatly and I surely miss him. I am bummed he is not at work anymore and I don’t see him everyday but I know he is living a very well deserved retirement and I wish him all the best!

Easter was spent with lots of family and was much needed for the soul. We had a busy day traveling to two grandparents but was a very good day eating good food and being in good company.

Even though it was by no means warm out on my birthday, Hunter and his family put docks in and the dogs got to go for their first swim of the year! Sig loved it, of course because he loves the water and anytime he gets the chance he’s in it.

If you listen closely, you can hear the loons chirping in the background. The dogs had so much fun in the water!

Other than that, April has actually been pretty mellow to say the least. Just one big waiting game for the weather to turn around and for everyone to get into the fields. I think we are all more than ready and just want to get #plant22 underway! Praying for warmer, sunnier weather to come!

With love,

Victoria

Life

Winter 2022 recap

April 27, 2022 thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

Winter is coming to an end and I have been terrible about updating and posting blogs. 🫣 *whoops*

In all honesty, this winter flew by. Blinked and it was GONE. I won’t lie, for as long as it was, I still don’t think I am quite ready for it to be over, and spring to start. Don’t get me wrong, I am beyond excited for sunshine and warmer weather. But I am not quite mentally ready for spring planting. I will get there though. I am getting by for posting this winter recap so late because honestly it still feels like winter outside. 🙄

This past winter has defiantly been a busy one. We got Oz, our new Australian Shepard in December and he as been growing like a weed, not so puppy anymore. 😦 We had a very mellow winter with not much action. In March, my sister and I went to Colorado for a little less than a week during her spring break. It was a very much needed trip! It was even better because we brought my fur babies with! 🙂

I have been soaking up family time lately and have spent the last few weekends doing fun things. Wineries, plays, bingos, and plenty of suppers.

One of my kicks lately has been wanting fresh flowers and plants. Potted plants and fresh flower arrangements make me feel like spring is actually here. Succulents should be an easy pot to keep alive, fingers crossed.

Easter bouquet to make it look like spring.

Right now I am really wishing I would have posted this earlier when I originally typed it out cause that post was much better but it is out of date now. Stay tuned for an April update post coming soon.

With love,

Victoria

Fitness · Life

The Comfortable Road Will Never Lead You to Your Dreams

January 5, 2022 thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

The comfortable road is a tough one to venture off of. Most of us would much rather stay in our comfort zone and not put in the work to move on from where we are. Chasing our dreams causes us to get uncomfortable and sadly, there are a lot of people who choose to stay comfortable because they don’t like that uncomfortable feeling.

I don’t like feeling uncomfortable either but guess what? How are you supposed to grow, change, and live the best version of your life if you don’t get out of the comfort zone? I would much rather push through and do the uncomfortable things to get to my dream self, than one day wish I would have done it. I am already wishing I would have started sooner so why would I give up now? No way.

Getting out of your head, and stopping those limiting beliefs and fear will help you get out of the comfort zone. It is scary to get uncomfortable and do some of the things you don’t think you are capable or worthy of doing. WRONG. You are so capable and worthy of changing your life and doing the things you want to do. Who cares what other people think? The only opinion that should matter is your own. Do what you want to do. Stop letting those negative thoughts, limiting beliefs, and fears control your life. Get out of your comfort zone.

With love,

Victoria

Fitness

Goal Setting

January 2, 2022 thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

Goal setting is for go-getters. The ones who see something they want and go after it.

I am hugely goal orientated, maybe have too many goals, but I honestly don’t think you could have enough goals. I think some people have a hard time setting attainable goals because they’re not sure where to start. Here are some tips that I use that might be helpful for you:

Take a few minutes to get into a positive, calm mindset.

Reflect on what you want your dream life to look like and what you need to do today to get there.

There are no goals too small or too large.

Look at goals of those who you idolize. Maybe they have similar goals you want to achieve.

Setting goals is important because it will help you put your dreams into action. Dreaming of a life you want is fun and all, but setting goals and working hard to get to that dream life is even better. Sharing your goals will make them become real. Once you share your goals to the world, you now have the extra accountability. I encourage you to set goals and share them with a friend so they can help hold you accountable. Even share them with me and I will help hold you accountable!

With love,

Victoria

Life

November Life

Featured thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

The Christmas tree was up at the beginning of the month. Hunter and I are forever thankful for each other and Sig. I am so happy Fall ’21 is OVER.

We are finally past the busy time of fall. Wow. Fall ’21 was a looonnnngggg season. I am so blessed that we were able to do as much as we could but I am so happy we are finally over the long hours, days on end of working, and time away from those we love the most. I made it through another busy season and I can’t help but feel so blessed and grateful for all the opportunities and lessons I have encountered along the way. I truly think this season will be one of those I won’t ever forget due to the extended period of time.

Hunter was able to finish up field work and get a majority of equipment washed up before Thanksgiving. He was also able to go both weekends of deer hunting which I know he enjoyed. I have just enjoyed getting home at a decent time and actually spending more time at home than at work.

The holiday season is upon us and I absolutely love Christmas. I love the beauty, joy, and giving that this time of the year brings. I wish we could see some colder temps and maybe even some snow but I can probably wait a little bit longer (I have a feeling it is going to be a long winter).

This winter is going to be a fun one because we are getting another puppy! His name is Oz and he is a blue merle Australian shepherd. We can not wait to love up on him and know Sig is going to be the best big brother ever!! I just can’t wait for all those puppy snuggles.

This is him at 3 weeks old!

Towards the beginning of November, I finally received my MYX bike by Beachbody and am so in love with it! It has been the best addition to my little home gym and I love the options and flexibility it gives me! I have done quite a few rides and I just can’t believe the type of workout you can get from it! Honestly one of the best parts of being done with the busy season is finally getting to dive back into my personal development and workout routines. Both of these make my days turn out so much better! Be prepared for lots more sweaty selfies!

There is my November life update for everyone. This month has flown by and has been so full of busyness, gratefulness, and positive vibes. Wishing everyone a great holiday season and a safe December. I can’t wait to finish out the rest of 2021 strong and start the new year even stronger!

With love,

Victoria

Food

Chicken Pot Pie

November 27, 2021 thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

This recipe is extremely quick and simple. Bonus, it tastes amazing!

I found this recipe one day a while back when I was trying to find a quick simple supper idea. I came across this recipe and knew right away I had to make it. I love chicken pot pie but I usually don’t have pie crust around and hate how long it usually takes to make a full sized regular chicken pot pie. The thing I love most about this recipe is that you can do single servings and it stores very nicely in the fridge. Plus, it has biscuits and I love biscuits. One of my favorite cooking hacks is buying rotisserie chicken from the deli part of the grocery store and deboning it and freezing the meat for a different day. Another freezer hack I use all the time is always having chopped onions in the freezer. (I’ll do another blog post at a later time talking about all my freezer hacks)

Here’s what you need and how to make it.

Your favorite biscuits
2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken (or just shredded chicken breasts)
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk (whole is better but I didn’t have any so I used 2% and half & half)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 chopped small onion (one of my hacks, I used my chopped frozen onions)
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables of your liking
3 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of parsley

Directions to goodness

Prepare your biscuits according to package.
In a large mason jar, shake together chicken stock, milk, flour, and poultry seasoning. Add your butter and onions to a large (must be large) saucepan over medium heat and cook until soften, roughly 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in your milk and mixture and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer until thickened, roughly 6 to 8 minutes.
Add in your chicken, frozen veggies, and parsley and cook until it is all heated through.
Time to serve. Serve in a bowl with as much salt and pepper your heart desires and top it with a biscuit.

If you give this a try, let me know how you like it!

With love,

Victoria

Fitness

There is always something to be grateful for

November 11, 2021 thehealthyagvocateLeave a comment

A girl who is exhausted but still shows up for herself everyday.

The title speaks for itself. There is always something to be grateful for. In any situation. Even the hard ones that everything seems to be fighting against you. This season of life I am currently in right now depends on me finding the little things to be grateful for and reflecting off of that. I try my hardest everyday to be in my best mood and have a positive attitude. Some days are harder than others to keep that up, but I always find something to be grateful for. Just by finding a minimum of 3 things to be grateful for has changed how my day goes.

This season of life has been getting long and hard. I’ll be honest, I am exhausted. Mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. I continue to show up everyday for myself and for my coworkers because they need me just as much as I need them. We are all in this together and it doesn’t help anyone if we are all negative everyday. Writing out 3 things I am grateful for each day has helped changed my mindset and set me on the right track to having a better day. Trust me, it can be hard somedays to find things to be grateful for because you feel like you’re fighting the whole world by yourself, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Lean into your grateful finds. Lately for me it has been Hunter and Sig, my family, and my coworkers. Each of them push me to be my best each day and without them I would be in a totally different place mentally.

It also doesn’t hurt to stop every now and then and think about how far you’ve come and how you’ve gotten there. That will give you a lot more to be grateful for. I encourage you to pause today and think about 3 things you are grateful for right now. I promise it will change your mindset.

With love,

Victoria