Trying to balance food, fitness, and fun!
Day 14, Tuesday: Ten things that make you really happy
Dan and I rang in the New Year in the booming metropolis of Schulenburg (1.5 hours away from where we live). We were going to have dinner at the venue, but prime rib was on the menu and i’m not a fan. So then we’d planned on Frank’s, which is apparently not open on Mondays. So we opted for Oakridge, which was interesting. We stood out like sore thumbs as non-locals, lol! I wasn’t thrilled with the food, but the salad bar was ok.
Concert featured the fabulous Gin Sisters and Fred Eaglesmith at Sengelmann Hall. This may be one of my favorite historic concert venues we’ve ever been to (minus the fact I had to stand because we were a little late). Plus they don’t allow smoking, which is a BIG deal in my book 
Fred was really funny, i’d love to see him again. The crowd was different, which was nice. Older and very loyal fans. Dan kept saying how awesome it was to go out and feel so young!
The night was finished off with a champagne toast and singing. 
Rocking the glow-stick accessory over my wound bandage.
I drove us through the Whataburger drive-through and back to the hotel in the rain. It was only my 2nd time driving the Jeep and i’m still getting used to driving a standard again. We lived and I didn’t run into anyone or anything!
On another note, I CANNOT WAIT until Dan gets back from skiing in 2 weeks and that beard comes off! I HATE THE SKI TRIP BEARD.
A little shopping. Not really for gifts, just because I felt like it (weird, I am not really a shopper for no reason). I went to Bass Pro AND Cabela’s (2x) in one week. I did pick up some fun spice packets and a gun cleaning kit for dad. One of these days I will actually look around the whole store at both places. Christmas isn’t really the best time to leisurely explore a mega-store. The decor alone is enough to take half a day to look at!
A little cooking. Ok, a lot of cooking. I love to cook for my parents. Unfortunately, braising liquid from some ribs poured down my arm and gave me a really big and severe burn on Sunday afternoon. It’s really big and ugly 
I sent Dan and my BFF actual photos. I will spare you that. Neither of them were amused.
Like my Astros pjs? (I am blocking the star on accident) Dan bought me those a long time ago in the Houston airport on a trip home to see me. Back then the Astros weren’t near as bad. Eh, I still love the pj’s and my baseball.
A little time in the country. You know, looking for pregnant cows for 2 hours with your dad, hunting, and making sausage. Simple country folk things. My parents don’t even live in the country, but it’s pretty darn close to their house.
Tamales. It’s whats for Christmas Eve dinner…always. I used to think it was a south Texas thing, but my friend Alison pointed out it’s a Tex-Mex influence thing (she’s from El Paso and they do tamales and chalupas). So it’s a regional thing I guess. Mom buys hers from Central Market, gluten and lard free. I’m weird and this year I crumbled mine over blue corn chips and ate them like nachos with queso and guacamole. Dang I wish I had a Central Market closer to me.
Gift pelicans. Why? Because my parents are trying to sell their house and I told my mom not to bother with a tree this year. Instead I decided they needed to be around the pelican in their nautical themed living room. Hence the gift pelican.
If you listen to Adam Corolla podcast, the pelican thing is even funnier. Yes, a few months ago Dan got me hooked on his man-crush, Adam Corolla, and now I am addicted. I LOVE him. I hope he comes to Texas again soon, because I’d love to see him live. I loved him on Loveline and the Man Show, but his podcast is awesome. It’s definitely not for everyone, but most days I swear he takes thoughts straight from my head.
Santa brought my mom a Garmin 405. She wasn’t all that excited because it’s complicated for her compared to her current 301. I just about have her convinced to just get an iphone and use RunKeeper or something similar. Now trying to get dad to shell out money for 2 smart phones and data plans, lol! They are both anti-smart phones and texting. I’m thinking I see a conversion in the spring 
Spent hours on Christmas day trying to teach my mom how to use an itouch. If you’ve never met my mom, she has talons for fingernails. This does not bode well for itouch. This may be the deal breaker on an iphone for her. No matter how she tried to tap the screen, she kept having issues.
Christmas night was spent curled up in my chair with Missy next to the Christmas tree, listening to the windstorm outside and watching crap tv. Savoring the time off before having to go back to work
Posted in Life
Sometimes you get something you need exactly when you need it. For me, it was a change of pace. A change of scenery. A change in people.
Reasons to smile in the last week:
-Took my pregnant BFF to finish her Christmas shopping on Friday. It made my week to see her. Plus we completed her gift list and spent good quality time together.
-I got to feel baby Evan move This auntie cannot wait for the little guy to get here. I am hoping he comes for my birthday
-I had off on Friday. I worked only about 30 minutes, and that’s because people wouldn’t quit texting me. I didn’t use the work iphone but once to look at a few emails. Working 0 would have been ideal, but some of my coworkers apparently didn’t get the memo to not bother me.
-I went hunting with my dad on Saturday. Afterwards got to hang out with some of his old fire department friends at the bunkhouse, which was nice. Met a couple of new people too, younger guys from the department that hunt around there.
-Made sausage with mom, dad, and a family friend on Sunday morning. Making sausage is something we’ve always done at least annually in our family since the beginning of time (hello, we are small town Texas!). I haven’t participated since high school, because I’ve not been around. This was my dad’s 2nd time this year and we had a great time.
-I went to church twice in 2 days. Once on Sunday, once on Christmas eve. Lots of time to think and things to think about.
-Dad and I went to feed our neighbor’s cows on Saturday and got to see a brand new baby calf. We searched for another cow that was expecting for 2 hours and never found her that day. Apparently she was having the baby somewhere, so there are 2 new baby cows!
-I ran Sunday-Tuesday at home. Not terribly exciting but it was different. Nice to run asphalt and not worry about traffic. I just wish my muscles weren’t bothering me.
-I photographed some of my old family photos with my new phone. Looking at the old stuff really made me smile.
-Good family time. Wish my sister had been around, but she is off in NM with her BF. It was nice to just enjoy each other’s company and the time off.
I’m back home now. Perfect drive home, no traffic and no dumb drivers! When I got out of the car, the temperature had dropped 30 degrees. Finally got cold weather for Christmas, even if it did come at the end of the day!
Merry Christmas all!
Posted in Life
I survived the short work week, although jam-packed for meetings. Guests arrived on Wednesday, dinner with my parent’s and Dan’s on Wednesday night (I started pre-Thanksgiving soup night several years ago). I made pasta fagoli with gluten free pasta.
Thanksgiving went fine. My parents went back this afternoon. Dan’s parents are here through the weekend.
Black Friday? I did the annual trip to the Round Rock outlets on Thanksgiving night. It was too crowded and I wimped out on all stores but Ann Taylor. Got some shirts, but nothing exciting. Pretty much just long sleeve tees that I will layer when it’s cold out, they do always fit great. Got home just after midnight.
Slept until 4:30 am. Then I drove into Austin, waited in line at Sheplers for 30 minutes. Was one of the last people to get a gift card for free, 2 pairs of jeans, but no boots. Then off to Kohl’s for a few items and then to the office for 3 hours. No we weren’t open, but I had to get in the office and get some things taken care of while it was quiet. There was 1 other person, other than security. It was NICE.
Looks like a low key evening, I had hoped to get to Georgetown for the lighting of the town square, but Dan and his dad are up to their necks in a project trying to suspend his jeep’s hardtop from the ceiling. I pray this go-round with his dad’s assistance goes much better than the last attempt he tried solo. Hoping they get done at a reasonable hour, so we can do something fun tonight.
Weekend plans? Run, Aunt and uncle’s Golden Wedding anniversary, and probably more work. And hopefully work on my Thanksgiving day recap!
Posted in Life
I enjoyed being off today, but not sure how much I am going to like going back to work. I have alot to do and I am eager to get it done, so that’s not it. It’s the fact that today feels like Saturday. So my mind already was thinking about Sunday type things for tomorrow, lol. More like a 2nd Monday in reality.
Woke up and chilled for a bit. Email, coffee, breakfast. Then I decided to tackle Grand Mesa, which is the part of our neighborhood that has all of the estate homes and giant hills. While it felt good to run at 7:30, I really should have started that route sooner. As soon as I approached the biggest and longest hill, the sun beat down on me. I finished and it was strong overall, but I could have done without the sun.
Then I showered up and went to our neighborhood’s parade.
The new mayor lives on the next street, here’s his sorta-kinda-float. More like a “a creative way to get my kids and pit to the grotto pool taking the long route with a trailer” type of float.
The parade is really for the kiddos, more of a bike and doggie parade.
Plus the Fire truck from the station in Grand Mesa part of the neighborhood always comes.
Then it was home to wait for Dan to wake up and then off to Rudy’s down south to pick up lunch. It was the idea everyone had! I knew it was going to be crowded, but man, it was insane. There was at least 50 GROUPS of people in front of us. Good thing Rudy’s is usually really fast with their lines and crowd control.
We eventually got to our destination, to see baby Hayes and his mommy and daddy. Hayes was born last Wednesday.
We took them lunch and enough extras for a few meals. I think we got some of everything, we had quite the spread!
Hayes didn’t really like me. No babies like me. He cried as soon as I touched him. I am not maternal at all, unless you are a cat I guess. I am sure all of our other friends who have held him already didn’t experience it. Dan didn’t go within 10 feet of the baby, I could tell he was freaked out.
Lunch was great, got to visit with mommy and daddy while Hayes napped.
I stopped at Central Market on the way back North, since I NEVER get to go. Dan didn’t really seem to be too happy about that, so I did a quick stroll and I bought an apple. Yes, just an apple. I wanted to browse, but I could tell he wanted to go. *Sigh*, maybe next time I am in the area, i’ll be alone and can actually shop.
So home it was. Dan is playing plumber and trying to fix our leaking toilet (internal leak) for the 2nd time. I am sitting around trying to figure out what to have for dinner. Since we have no propane, it won’t be grilled!
After Father’s Day dinner, my dad gave me all of this from his garden…..
Peaches. I cut and froze 4 quarts, left the rest for snacks and desserts. Ate 2 of them yesterday for breakfast in a dessert omelet.
Spaghetti and butternut squashes, with a few acorn.
Tons of different types of tomatoes
A huge bag of jalapenos and some onions aren’t pictured, but will be enjoyed.
I am certainly going to miss this free summer produce if they sell their house
I cooked 2 spaghetti squashes on Sunday and froze them. Cooked another for for Sunday dinner and Monday lunch for me. Regular pasta for Dan, because he won’t eat spaghetti squash. It turned out great! Chicken breast, artichokes, sundried tomato seasoning kit mixed with EVOO, (the tomatoes, onions and squash) are from his garden. It was delish! Not the prettiest dish, but very tasty with so much flavor!
Mediterranean salmon warm salad. Salmon, spinach, EVOO, (tomatoes and onions from the garden), feta crumbles, and quinoa (cooked in chicken broth). 
I haven’t cooked any of the butternut squash yet, I may put that on the agenda for Wednesday. There is too much to eat, so i’ll have to cook and freeze some of that too.
Looks like some kitchen adventures are in store for me on Wednesday evening!
Dan and I haven’t done traditional Easter celebrations for the last few years. Last year we attended a baseball game. This year we decided to have brunch with some of our Austin friends down south.
Hit the gym first, which was nice and empty. My calves are knotty again I am going to blame that on why for the first time EVER, I lost my balance on the Bosu and had to jump off I foam rolled after that, but what it really needs is Trigger Point.
Then it was off to Heather’s house. Dan had to wake up earlier than noon, lol! He a good sport about it though and was a huge help prepping the salad for me while I made the guacamole (this took forever, we added a ton of stuff to the salad). He is so precise and good at chopping, I need to recruit him more. The guacamole which was a kit from HEB was very spicy and chunky (which I loved). Glad I bought 4 of them and froze the others.
We all brought a few things, but Heather really outdid herself! We had tons of different dipping options, dips, 2 kinds of REALLY spicy guacamole, 2 different types of hummus, veggies, pickled veggies, and more! I think I ate most of that pickled okra And she got Baby Zach’s hummus and some gluten free options for dippers! 
Steak and lemon-rosemary chicken for the main dish.
I loved that chicken. Grilled veggies are like crack, that’s why they are spilling all over my plate.
Fun filled Easter. Dan and Devon are in the living room, along with my mega plate.
Cookies and cream ice cream cake for Dan’s birthday for dessert. HUMPF! He just had to pick a flavor of ice cream I can’t eat.
Had a great time! Good call on whoever decided we needed to have a get-together. Hopefully in the near future we’ll have a deck added to our house and be able to host outdoor fun. We just need to convince everyone to drive up to where we live
She said we could take leftovers home. I hope I left enough for our other friends, I didn’t want to make dinner Sunday night OR lunch on Monday.
We’d planned on driving up to Florence after that (hour away) to meet his coworker and his family for some target practice, but we left too late. Instead Dan took a nap and studied for his test. I did laundry, extra-curricular activity work, and cleaned. I tried to pack for our trip, but I ended up with a mess on my bed instead.
Not sure where the evening went, before I knew it, it was time for bed! Great weekend for sure
I’ve pretty much always thought that. I think it’s cute for kids and I like the decorations, but the whole rest of it is phooey to me. Yes, I am a scrooge.
Yes, I decorate my office at work and our dining room at home for it, because I think the decor is cute.
I bought my Girl Scouts little glittery Valentines and fun pencils. Why? Because I think it’s cute for kids. No candy, I figured they’d get enough of that at school. Plus one of the mom’s doesn’t like her daughter eating certain things. Food is NOT love people. The girls were so excited, although, they fought over the pencils, because they were all different. I wasn’t really expecting that.
So Adam Corolla said this Sledgehammer wine was good and is one of their spokespeople. This marketing worked, because then of course, Dan wanted the wine. This wine is impossible to find in this area. Their store locator lists a few stores, but none of them carry it. I talked to the HEB wine manager and he ordered a whole case for me. Problem is, it came in late, past our anniversary last week, but just in time for me to have to wade through the jungle of Valentine’s insanity at the store yesterday. It was worth it, because I knew he really wanted to try it. Hope he likes it, because there are 11 more bottles at the store, lol!
On the way out, there were the chocolate covered strawberries, something else Dan had been talking about after seeing them in the store. I know I could make them cheaper and better myself, but i’m leaving town for work today.
So yes, I bought him wine and strawberries and I left them for him this morning on the kitchen counter. I would have preferred to give him everything last Thursday for our anniversary, but alas, had to settle for today. 
So technically I guess I bought him a Valentine’s Day gift, although the original intent was Anniversary.
So Happy Valentine’s Day, whether you chose to celebrate or not. I’ll be going out tonight in College Station with a bunch of my female coworkers. Hope it’s a blast!
Posted in Life
I bought a new crock-pot right before Thanksgiving at Costco. Finally. The old one was small and had no handle. I was shoving foil into the hole where the handle used to be, so the heat wouldn’t escape. I had to use a fork to pick the lid up. Super ghetto, I know.
I bought a shiny new black programmable version. I didn’t realize just how big it was though! Twice the size of my old one, oops! Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but it needs to be full to cook correctly, so that means cooking bigger quantities. (maybe i’ll restock some of my freezer stash).
Needless to say, I love it. I have used my crockpot more in the last month than I have in the last year! Now that I have a programmable version, I can cook during the day. Before I couldn’t, because I was gone for too many hours during the day. Now, I can have to switch to warm when it’s done. (I haven’t tried cooking anything yet while i’ve been away).
I made Caveman Chili a couple of weeks ago with venison. It was awesome. My parents both loved it as well. Effortless and tasty. It wasn’t pretty food, but it was good and easy. I plan on making it again in the next few weeks.
This was my first attempt EVER cooking Salmon. I’ve always been scared of it for some reason. I mostly just used the method in this recipe Jamaican Jerk Salmon. I used Penzey’s Jamaican Jerk Seasoning I got in my stocking (which is good, but sadly not spicy). It turned out really well! Who knew? Fish in the crockpot is easy and no smelly mess! Served it with spinach and veggie skewers which were roasted in EVOO with more jerk seasoning.
Before the crock-pot:
After:
Why am I calling it Pulled Meat? Well funny. I told my mom to ask my dad for a 2-3 pound pork shoulder. (they have 2 freezers full of meat and other random food, I think they are food hoarders). Plus my dad hunts, so there is often deer and pork. I take the piece of meat he thawed for me, rubbed it the day before and put in the fridge. Then cooked it on low 10 hours (my piece was half the size as what the recipe called for, but took 10 hours to cook). Used Stubb’s BBQ sauce because it’s simple and Gluten Free. Mom, dad, sister, and I were all raving about how it was SOOO good. Best pulled pork ever. My dad looked at me crazy and told me it was venison (communication breakdown I suppose). Well heck, no wonder it was so lean and took longer to cook! It was still very tasty and I will be making it again.
Big-Easy meatloaf was certainly not pretty food, so not pretty I deleted the photos. It was awfully tasty though. I didn’t have andouille, so I used hot italian sausage. Super easy and I never would have thought to put a dish in the crockpot to cook something in.
I’m sure this won’t be the last of my crockpot adventures
Posted in Food, Weight Watchers
