June Foodie Penpal Reveal!

This is the first time I have participated in a foodie penpal and I'm super excited to keep doing it. I found this opportunity on another blog that I read and am so glad that Lindsay@theleangreenbean started this!


Here's my reveal (what I received)

If you love getting packages and eating/trying new things you should join up!


I haven't really gotten to try much, apparently the package was sent back to my penpal the first time and just re-arrived today.  


Thank you however to my wonderful foodie penpal, Terrinda!! You definitely spoiled me so many jars and yummy treats!  Part of me wanted to tear into everything and try a bite of each, but I restrained my inner food demon and tried only 2 things. I did try the watermelon rind pickles, I've never had them before and they were really intriguing to me.  Have any of you ever had them before?  They kind of remind me a little of bread n' butter pickles.


Check out all the yummies I received. Oddly enough my foodie penpal that I sent to lives within 20 minutes of me....and also originally lived in PA, what's the odds of that?!
Came home to this bad boy outside our door! 

 S-P-O-I-L-E-D! Thanks!!!

 Huge fan of those KIND bars! Haven't had the almond & coconut one. Those Do More Bars look yummy too! Tried the cookies expecting them to be crunchy and they were soft- nice!

Of the 4 items below I've only had 1 of them....well I guess I've had BBQ sauce before, but not Herb's.  Looks like I gots to get grilling again! I wonder what I should make. I had to look up what muscadine cider was. Apparently muscadine are types of grapes that have think skin and are noted for their fruity taste.  It is the only alcohol free drink that does not go through the fermentation process. This is immediately going in the refrigerator for chilling. 

 My girl also sent me some recipes! Can't wait to try them!

Thank you again to my foodie penpal, Terrinda for NC!!  You've made my first experience doing this great! 

What I ate Wednesday

So I'm kinda mad at myself.  I forgot today was Wednesday and therefore forgot to take pictures of my lunch. Sadly too.
** Also if you don't like hunting/fishing this may not be the article for you.

For breakfast I had....

with milk




Lunch, here's the tragic part.  Chris, Jess' bf caught a fish, in the morning, a bass filleted him immediately and put him in the fridge.  Yesterday he had caught a catfish- a pretty decent size one and kinda hooked/tied him up leaving him alive and in the water. Sadly and yet good for the fish he got away, but the bass was yummy.  Chris fried him up with some of this seasoning and it was nice and mild. I'm always worried that fish are going to be too "fishy" if you know what I mean.  I also had a chobani cinnamon apple yogurt with grapes, some swiss cheese and bugles. It's a typical vacation snack.  Oh yes, and some cherries.  I wasn't fast enough taking a picture pre-death, nor did I take one after. But I do have some pics of the poor catfish that got away.


Dinner was a meat fest from the great hunter. We had smoked bear chops and pulled BBQ venison(topped with sweet billy rays) and venison roast with some type of sauce.  I am a huge fan of venison. Actually my favorite was the roast. Bear was a first for me and it was pretty tender...those guys are big fatties though.  We also had corn-on-the-cob. A must for vacation.
Smoked Bear Chops

 Venison Roast in yummy sauce

 Pulled Venison in sauce below

 Lovely smattering of meat on my wonderfully retro plate:-)

 Dessert: Coffee Toffee with LOTS of SPRINKLES!!!

Super sore

Yesterday was an active day- although I'm not as sore as you would have thought. Thankfully!

So, vacationing in by a lake enables all sorts of outdoor activities.  Instead of running through a concrete jungle filled with cars and people, I basically ran through the woods. No, I wasn't trail running, I was on the road. I will say that the gravel in certain areas made me go a little slower. I have to say that I do get a little worried about wildlife. It may be my overactive imagination, or stories that I have read.  During the weekends the lake is packed with boats and wave runners, but during the week, not so much.  I kept thinking what would I do if a bear came charging out of the woods.  I know I can't outrun it and I sure can't out climb it. I kept looking around as I ran, what could I climb on, what could I get under where the bears claws couldn't get to me. Would I be able to call Gary? Fortunately I didn't have to use any of my "emergency" plans.  

It's also a lot hillier here, they aren't awful hills, but hills non-the-less.  

The rest of the afternoon consisted mainly of reading down by the water while soaking in the rays. We didn't even go out on the wave runner. It was nice and warm today too.  This required a nice dip in the lake. I get a little paranoid when I'm swimming in the lake, I hope that all motorized vehicles see us bobbing there in the water. 

P.S. You can't see the island we swam to, it's just that
far away, it's beyond that last dock....and some

I am not a strong swimmer at all.....however today we, Gary, Jess(SIL), Chris(someday to be BIL) and Tim(FIL) all decided to swim to a "nearby" island.  I swam from a closer dock while the rest started from our dock.  Oddly enough I kept my flip flops with me and put them on my hands. I guess they may have helped with paddling a little. It ended up being probably 1/2 a mile....which gives me hope for a future triathlon. I will most certainly not be the fastest swimmer out there, but maybe the biking and running can help me.  I've never tried to combine the 2 before. Perhaps I will try and duathlon, that doesn't sound too bad, run, bike, run.  

Anyway, I don't know how long it too me to do the 1/2 mile back and forth swim, but I felt like I was in the water for awhile, swimming on my back was also very helpful.  Thankfully the hubs stayed with me and kept asking me if I was ok. I think the thought at any moment I would capsize.  I am quite proud of myself. I didn't swim today, but if its sunny tomorrow you better believe I'm gonna tackle that lake again.


Oh also, I am a friend of wild animals. Unlike my "someday" BIL who is killer of them. I was very tempted to try and grab one.

Weekend Update

Did everyone have a nice weekend?  

Did you eat out? Work out? Hang out?

I had a nice weekend, but for me the summer is my glorified weekend. I suppose I should say that summer is my favorite season as a teacher.... It's family vacation time.  Friday was kind of a blur. I worked in the morning and Gary did some errands. We grabbed dinner to go at one of fav grab and go places on H street, Shawafel.  Mmmm....

Saturday we attempted to wake "early" so that we could get on our way for our 5 hour drive to the Poconos.  Gary's family has been renting a place there for the last few years along Lake Wallenpaupack.   We had to pack up Belle and drop her at a co-workers of Garys and then drop Sebastian off at my mom's(her grandson). Unfortunately we hit traffic around Baltimore so we added another hour to our trip.  I however slept most of the way.  I tend to fall asleep quite easily in the car....call it a blessing or a curse depending on how you look at it. If I'm driving, it's a curse for sure!

Gary's sister and her boyfriend were joining us, sadly Eric, their other sibling was still out at sea. He hasn't been able to join us a in a couple years. Hopefully next year! We all went out for dinner to a local BBQ joint.  Now, not being from the south I've never truly had "BBQ."  This was pretty good though, but I do welcome the day when I can officially say I've had southern BBQ with all the fixings.  Gary and I split the whole rack of ribs and also got a side of 1/2 sour pickles and some corn on the cob.  Kinda a messy meal.  I also got mint chocolate chip ice cream. A large only cost $2.60, which is amazingly cheap since a small dish of ice cream in DC is like $4. Robbery I tell you! 

Here are some pics of our smorgasbord....complete with family members chowing down. Flattering I know, I'm sure they will all thank me.

 I think she's drinking smurf juice....

 Chowing down

 I spared you the other 10 shots the hubby took. It's like he wanted a flip book of me consuming meat.

Sunday started off cloudy, but thankfully the sun broke through the clouds.  We spent the morning/afternoon reading, jetskiing and playing "King of the Tube." Which was basically all of us attempting to pull ourselves out of the water and onto the tube. Harder then it looks peeps...this is where my upper body strength would come in handy.  We have yet to be pulled behind the jetski....

The dock....

 Out and about....

 Later that night.....fire, lit with yes, you guessed it, or not, a flare....did you know that you could light a fire with that? I mean it is fire, so I guess you probably do know....it's just it's not the first thing I would have grabbed.

 Deliciously yummy s'mores.  I think my favorite part is completely charring my marshmallow, or as Jess would say, mallow.  I like to have to blow mine out. Gives it that little extra crisp and cooks the whole thing through. It's about the only thing I will eat burned.   This will not be the last of our weekly fires.  

Have you ever water-skied? 

Tubed?

What I Ate Wednesday

WIAW

For breakfast, I know, NOT the healthiest....but come on, it's a homemade poptart. The restaurant that Gary works in makes them homemade, strawberry, nutella, blueberry cheesecake, cherry, peanut butter bacon and their newest peaches n' cream, which I had. Plus, I love my sprinkles. I also had some leche and a nectarine, mmm fruit.

Lunch, salad from the Shoppers salad bar.....it's easier just to pick something up than bring something from home, plus I do that all year long and my sense of creativity starts to die. It's weigh by the pound, but I do a pretty good job of getting all my yummies without going past 4 buck-a-roos.  Iceburg, spinach, shredded carrots, cheddar cheese, hard boiled egg, chinese noodles, black olives and pickles. I know right?! But so yummy they are bread and butter and it adds an extra crunch and flavor. Drink, starbucks iced passion tea.

Dinner: Gary made his famous penne vodka complete with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and peas.

Belated Manic Monday

Workout: 3 mile run and Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred Video Level 3

My run got cut a little short due to rain.  However, the positives of running before a storm: no sun, more wind blowing, you tend to run faster if you know a storm is coming (maybe, not a guarantee) and the rain can sometimes be refreshing. I did run through a huge bunch of gnats that I didn't see until my face felt them- blech! Thankfully my mouth wasn't hanging open for once!

Got home after my run and grabbed some water. My quads felt really tight during that run. Fortunately I found this little buddy...it was a lifesaver after my second 1/2 marathon. Wish I had had this bad boy from the beginning.

Let's just say if your quads are already tight doing jump squats and lunges may be a little painful.  I do love that Jillian does a lot of plank exercises such as plank rows with leg lifts.  Plank exercises are great for strengthening your core.  

 Oh Jump Squats

This I love, shadow boxing with dumb bells (a few seasons ago on Biggest Loser one of the guys couldn't do all the cardio activities so he shadow boxed and lost a lot of weight. Now, mind you, he was severely overweight, so any form of exercise will help to lose weight).  Gives you a nice work out in your shoulders. As Jillian would say, "Gives you that nice groove on your shoulders."  Along with this we did jumping jacks with the weights and butt kicks with weights held at 90 degrees. Nothing like a little extra muscle toning. 

A Break in the Weather

Well, for the last few days we've had a "break" in the temperatures here.  

Of course this week the temperatures aren't supposed to be too pleasant.  It's quite deceiving really it looks sunny and nice out. I see the breeze blowing and then bang! As soon as the pup and I walk out the door, humidity.  Heat=good. Humidity=bad.  Belle doesn't like it at all. Seems like she might die every time we come home. Poor baby. 

Logged a measly 3 miles yesterday. The morning started off well, it had rained during the night, the shade felt good, but the sun wasn't too friendly.  It's always hard, there are just some good days and some bad days and yesterday was a bad day.  Hopefully today will be better.


We've been watching the Tour de France a lot.  And by a lot I mean EVERY day! We tape it and then fast forward through commercials and "slow" parts.  Thank goodness for DVR, otherwise 3+ hours of our life would be used up.  Like any professional athlete, I am always amazed! The fact that they ride 100+ miles every day, my body would just shut down I'm sure.  But, it's what they do, they have trained for it and know what to expect.  It's not the first race they've ridden that's for sure.  They typically ride about 40 mph on flat road and downhill CRAZY! But even professionals have bad days.  The commentators talk about how so-and-so has been yo-yoing with their performances from day to day. What runs through my head is, "if that's them doing "bad," than what's good?!

 

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Do you ever forget to breath? It's kind of a weird question. I've talked about it with my students when we talk about natural habits.  I ask them if they have to remind themselves to breath. Obviously you know the response.  However, when I'm doing physically draining activities I often think about pushing through. I want to finish and sometimes, just sometimes I forget to breath. Jillian Michaels is always reminding me on the videos. But if I'm doing a lot of burpees, or sit ups or planks sometimes I am concentrating so hard that I do forget to breath and then when I finish I'm left winded and slightly lightheaded.  

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Flipped through the TV this afternoon and so the Ironman Triathlon (2011) was on, unfortunately it was just the last 10 minutes. It was at like hour 16 or something crazy and the oldest woman(76) made it before midnight. For those of you unfamiliar a triathlon is three events, swimming, biking and running.  An Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike  ride and 26.2 run (marathon).  This is not on my bucket list. Maybe a 26.2 someday and maybe a tri, but not the Ironman, not to mention I am AWFUL at swimming....if I could doggy paddle the majority of it I might survive.  However, 100's of people flailing around in the water is a little scary to me.  Since I'm not a strong swimmer I tend to panic if I get too tired.  But.....maybe someday.......