"Letting circumstances or others determine your worth gives them inappropriate control and power."

A couple of my friends had this as their status. I feel like this has been my life for the past couple years. I've let others put me down and have kind of had this poor me thing going on. So this year I decided that I was going to run a 5k. I have been training for almost 2 weeks and I feel fantastic! I love the way I feel after my 20 minutes of jogging. I feel so much better about myself now that I am jogging 3 days a week, running on my elliptical twice a week and then going to the gym and lifting weights once a week. I'm going to try and start running on my elliptical 3 times a week as well and going to the gym at night after the girls go to bed and lifting weights on those days that I run on the elliptical.

This couch to 5k program is just awesome! I've said before that I'm not a runner and I'll say it again. I'm not a runner. But this program that I'm doing is turning me into one. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has wanted to get into shape. It's really gradual and really easy to do. 20 minutes three days per week. I have found that I am happiest and feel the most self worth when I am doing something active.

And since I haven't posted a recipe in who knows how long I will add one below. It's a new recipe that we tried last week and loved. And I got it from my Taste of Home Magazine.

Chicken Tortilla Chowder

• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 2 cups 2% milk
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 can (11 ounces) Mexicorn, drained
• 1 package (10 ounces) ready-to-serve roasted chicken breast strips, chopped
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 3 flour tortillas (8 inches), cut into 2-inch x 1/2-inch strips
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
• Additional shredded cheddar cheese, optional

Directions

• In a large saucepan, combine the soups, milk and broth. Heat through, stirring frequently. Add the corn, chicken and chilies; bring to a boil. Stir in tortilla strips. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Stir in cheese until melted. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired. Yield: 10 servings (2-1/2 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 1 cup (calculated without additional cheese) equals 280 calories, 11 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 42 mg cholesterol, 1,569 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 15 g protein.

I didn't have any green chillies but it still tasted great to me. Emma and Jacob loved it! This will be another one of my fall back recipes if I'm ever in a pinch. And if you want a copy of my favorite recipes send me your email address and I will email a copy of it to you.