DNS #2

Here comes my little confession - I had my second DNS this weekend. (DNS stands for "Did Not Start".) This weekend was the EX2 Off-Road Duathlon out in Rocky Gap and I didn't even attempt to make it to the race. I canceled my hotel while on vacation at the beach a week or so back knowing I wasn't going to do it.


Why didn't I make it? Well, I have a list of excuses a mile long, but when it comes down to it - I just wasn't motivated to train properly. It didn't help that I had 3 weddings 3 weekends in June and then a 10 day vacation to the beach. But, if I had really wanted to train - I could have made time, especially since I wasn't working during the month of June. Looking back, I am wondering what I did with all my time.


I have always had structure in the form of school, sports, work, etc. So, when I didn't have anything to do - I just couldn't get much accomplished. Interesting, I guess.


Oh and I had my first DNS last year for the exact same venue, except I was signed up for the Off-Road Triathlon. Hmmm. I guess this race and I are not meant to be.


Anyone else have a DNS (or two) under their belt?


Instead of competing in the duathlon, Kevin and I took Oscar for a walk/hike/swim in Patapsco State Park.Oscar followed Kevin around as they explored the river.
Once Kevin got too far out, Oscar would swim back to me.
The water was cool and refreshing.
Kevin found a live snail that was pretty cool to see. I took some pictures of the scenery.This was a neat pathway leading to another trail.
Overall, it was a great way to spend a Sunday...since I couldn't make the duathlon. ;)


Tonight (Monday) after work, Kevin and I started out on a 40 min run. It was hot and humid and the sun was beating down on us. We both felt like it wasn't in the cards for the night. Instead of giving up completely - we ran a little under a mile down to the soccer field near our house - all down hill.


I led us through the following workout, trying to stay in the shade:

• 5 sets of 20 yard sprints, jogging back to start, so there was no rest.
• 10 squat jumps to touch the top of the goal
• 10 burpees
• 15 push-ups
• 15 sit-ups
  
• lap around the soccer field, sprint the end lines, jog the sidelines
• 20 walking lunges
• 10 squat jumps to touch the top of the goal
  
• lap around the soccer field, sprint the end lines, jog the sidelines
• 10 burpees
• 15 push-ups
• 15 sit-ups
  

Then, we ran up the hill, back home. It was a tough workout that was SO much more fun than just running.


Dinner was sauteed shrimp w/ onions and Adobo seasoning (the BEST), corn on the cob w/ butter salt & pepper, and roasted brussels. It hit the spot.
Good night everyone!

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Shrimp-Lentil Curry

I wasn't even back a full day from the beach before I was roaming the aisles of Trader Joes - I missed that place. I have finally found an almond butter that I like from there.I had gotten the RAW stuff before and just cant hack that stuff. This kind is great though. I mixed a little sea salt in while I was stirring it which made it taste even better. :)


TJs had these new "Reduced-Guilt"meals that I decided to try since I was having some feelings of guilt from all my great eats on vacation. I only highlighted a few in my last blog post, but there were some late night pizza and ice cream runs that didn't make the camera. I am still trying to figure the best way for me to eat healthier and exercise regularly on vacation.Here it is right before going into the oven. It didn't look that bad, but I was scared because it smelled weird.All done with a side of sauteed spinach and carrots that I had whipped up while I was waiting. Very saucy and not horribly bad. Just sort of bad - I give it a 6 out of 10 for TJ products. It tasted healthy and the flavor wasn't disgusting or anything, but I didn't have that good, satisfied feeling after eating it.
Moving on...anyone else have one of these things? They are perfect for brewing up some iced tea. This was a mixture of 3 tea bags: Ginger Peach, Green Tea, and Yerba Mate. Incredibly refreshing.


Moving on again...I am waaay behind on some restaurant reviews. Especially on one of my new favorite restaurants in Baltimore. A co-worker of Kevin's tipped us off on this place and we have been at least 4 times this year - Samos in Greektown. I have a ton of pictures, so a review is definitely coming. But, the other night, we didn't feel like waiting 20-40 mins for a table(which is TOTALLY worth it by the way), so we got carry out and it was just as good.Huge Greek Salad topped with Grilled Shrimp and their homemade dressing that is finger-licking good. The salad wouldn't be complete with out warm pita on the side.If you live in or near Baltimore - this is a MUST-TRY type of place. Reasonable prices too.


I know this post is already long, but I feel like I have so much to say tonight. So anyways...I made lentils for the first time tonight!


Basically, I had a bunch of ingredients that I wanted to go together and wasn't sure if they would work. I searched for a recipe, but after finding nothing, I decided to just wing it.


I didn't measure a thing, so I apologize for that, but here were the main players:

• Shrimp (frozen, jumbo, cleaned)
• lentils
• Hunts diced tomatoes in sauce (must be hunts - it is the best)
• zucchini
• onion
• garlic
• Salt, Pepper
  
• TJs Thai Red Curry Sauce (this stuff is spic-AY)
• green onions
• Fage Greek Yogurt
• Canola Oil (just enough to saute the onions and zucchini)

Can I just say that lentils are scary to work with...like really scary to me for some reason. So I researched for awhile before getting started. I took the time to rinse them very well. Then, I measured out the water, brought it to a boil before adding my lentils. The water got really murky.It was taking forever for the lentils to soak up all the water - I must have measured incorrectly, so I decided to just drain them. I was hungry! It made a very messy sink and looked like mush.I was ready to throw them out until Kevin tried them with a spoonful of the sauce I had been cooking up. He said it tasted pretty good, so in they went.Topped with green onions and a spoonful of Fage 0% greek yogurt - it added just the right amount of cool creaminess to the spicy curry.
Overall, I think it turned out really tasty! Kevin loved it too, so I know it was a winner if he was enjoying lentils.


In other non-food news, my new job is going great so far and I really like everyone I am working with....but, I am exhausted...so off to bed for me. Good night!

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10 Days of Vacation

Man! I cant believe how fast time flew on vacation. We spent the last 10 days down in in Ocean City, MD and had perfect weather just about every day. Just like the 12 days of Christmas, I am going to do a 10 days of vacation recap...except I don't have any creative songs that rhyme.


Day 1 was really Night 1 since we arrived down at the beach just in time to meet some friends out at Fager's Island - a great restaurant/bar/deck on the bay side. I made sure to start out with a Bud Light Lime, my favorite summer beer, before heading out.
Lots of good music led to lots of dancing and me trying to sing. I even got a food picture - free popcorn all night. :)Is it bad that on day two, the only food/drink related picture I took was of a Natural Light on a bud light lime coaster? Great beach day as well.
Day 3 included more beach time and then a dinner at Macky's Bayside. I ordered the BBQ shrimp skewers with a mango salsa, rice and veggies. It really didn't have much flavor, the veggies were mushy and was overpriced. I would not get this again.
Day 4 was the only cloudy day, so we spent the afternoon at M.R. Ducks watching the fishing boats come in.
Day 5 we headed back to Fager's Island for a little dinner and to watch the sunset.They play Tchaikovsky's dramatic "1812 Overture" every night as the sun goes down.
Kevin and I split a few things, but the french onion soup was our clear favorite. Case and point - they top it with Gruyere cheese.Day 6 we spent more time jumping waves in the ocean and lounging on the beach before our 2nd annual visit to Fenwick Crab House for the all-u-can-eat crabs. A little tip - they are known for their crabcakes, which looked unbelievable, so we plan to get those the next time we go!This is a GREAT deal and I highly recommend this place for anyone in the MD/DE Shore areas. The special includes all-u-can-eat horseradish cheese dip w/ crackers, hushpuppies (not pictured)jambalaya,fried chicken,corn on the cob, and of course, the CRABS. We definitely got our money's worth - it was an incredible meal. We took a looooong walk and planned out a bike ride for the next day to burn off our meal. Day 7 was spent on our beach cruiser bikes for almost 3 hours. We rode up to Bethany Beach, DE and back - about 17 miles! That called a sweet treat from Candy Kitchen where I picked up my favorite - swedish fish.Day 8 we headed out on the bay for a few hours of kayaking before watching the sunset with Oscar.I got the Christmas card shot...
while Kevin had fun searching for horseshoe crabs.He grabbed one so we could take a look before sending it back on its way. Oscar was scared to death at first, but then tried to grab it from the water. ha!Oh yeah - we also celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Yay us. :) Day 9 - Sunset Island had a cute parade where the kids and dogs dressed up to celebrate the 4th of July. We enjoyed the festive scene with our morning coffee... before heading to the beach.Day 10...driving home...it was a great trip.
Tomorrow is the first day of my new job and I am excited and nervous - all the normal stuff, I guess. Back to the real world I go...hope everyone had a fantastic holiday weekend!

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Beer, Mac&Cheese and Trivia

Since my parents were out of town this past weekend, Tuesday night, we celebrated Father's Day.
We headed to Rams Head Tavern in Savage, MD for Beer and Mac & Cheese. Could it get any better?
This was actually crab mac & cheese, which we ordered for the table, as our appetizer. Yes, this is how we roll.


I will admit that the mac & cheese was disappointing. It was cheesy, but tasted like they used powdered cheese for the sauce. I wanted the real stuff. Plus, it was hard to find any good lumps of crab meat in there.
For my main meal, I ordered the fish tacos and was sorry to see they threw some cole slaw on there. Umm..it did not say they came with cole slaw on the menu because I definitely wouldn't have ordered it. I had to scrape all of that mayo drenched stuff off. The fish was beer battered, but it was such a light coating - it tasted great on its own.


After dinner, we headed down to the bar for a little Trivia! I love trivia...SO fun. I am proud to say that our team was in first place for all 6 rounds. Well, except the final round where we lost on this question:


Which US State had the first National Park and the first female governor? Anyone know it without googling it?


I am skipping over Wednesday because I didn't bring along my camera to document the afternoon with my niece, Princess Jenna. Although, I don't think the pictures could do all her talking justice. She has a lot to say! :)


This morning, sfter a steamy walk in the park with Oscar, I whipped up some oats trying to clean out the cabinets and fridge. In the mix: oats, water, massive amount of blueberries, TJs PB filled pretzels (crumbs from the end of the bag), spoonful of PB, cinnamon, bee pollen.
I thought the crunched up pretzels would be great for a little salty flavor, but I didn't like them with everything else and ended up trying to pick them out. yuck.


After a 45 min session on the elliptical...lunch was a continuation of my mission to clean out the fridge of some veggies since we are leaving for the beach tonight for 10 LOVELY DAYS.
I whipped up this box of Mediterranean couscous in 5 mins flat and then topped with sauteed veggies, field greens, and reduced fat feta. Veggies in the mix were onions, carrots, yellow squash, and mushrooms.
It was a delicious, filling lunch. Off to finish packing!

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Full Day

Lately, I have been on an egg kick in the mornings. But yesterday, I wanted some good old OATS. In the mix: oats, skim milk, cinnamon, bee pollen, blueberries, 1/2 banana, spoonful of natural PB.

I needed all that good energy for the hour and fifteen minute Total Conditioning class that I took with my sister at her gym (Lifetime Fitness in Columbia, MD). That gym is HUGE and AMAZING. The class completely kicked our butts - I had no idea that my body could produce that much sweat. I munched on a Peanut Butter Larabar on the way home.


This is what I saw when I walked in the door after class. Oscar was ready for his walk. For lunch, I knew I wanted to have a salad because we had SO many veggies to use up, but I wanted something HOT. I sauteed yellow squash, mushrooms, and onions in a little EVOO. Seasoned with oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Placed on top of field greens and topped with feta cheese.
Oh wait, what are those things on the side? Oven roasted potatoes. I sliced up potatoes and tossed in EVOO, salt, and pepper then baked at 450 degrees for 30-40 minutes, flipping once or twice.
Later on, my sweet tooth hit me, so I combined a container of Honey Oikos Greek Yogurt, grape nuts, and blueberries. That hit the spot.
Later that night, even though my entire body hurt from Total Conditioning, Kevin convinced me to go mountain biking. It was a beautiful night - check out that sky!
Unfortunately, the trails in Patapsco were not that beautiful. They were extremely muddy from all the rain we have been getting. After falling in a mud pond and then a stream - I was irritable and ready to go home.

We stuck it out and eventually got back onto some trails that weren't as muddy - that is when it became fun again. Kevin got this video of me biking through a stream. Wheeee!

By the end, I was tired, but felt good to get back out on my mountain bike - it had been awhile. We have the Off-Road Duathlon in a few weeks, so we HAVE to get ready.
For dinner, I had made a Beef Vegetable Soup earlier in the afternoon that turned out better than expected. I say that because I just sort of threw a bunch of stuff in a pot and hoped for the best.


What Went into the Pot:

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 white onion diced
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1-2 cups shredded cabbage
• Beef Stew Cubes
• 2 splashes of red wine
  
• 1 package frozen soup vegetables (okra, green beans, corn, potatoes, celery, onions, carrots, lima beans, and peas)
• 2 cans Hunts Tomato Sauce (14.5 oz each)
• 2 cans Beef Broth - fat free (14.5 oz each)
• 1 can Hunts Diced Tomatoes in Sauce (14.5 oz)
• 1 bay leaf
• lots of ground black pepper
• salt to taste
• splash of Worcestershire sauce
• a bit of dried oregano
• a bit of dried basil
• about 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley

We picked up some cheese bread from Panera on the way home that was perfect for dunking.
I topped mine with feta cheese because I am a firm believer in that fact that cheese makes everything better. :)


Hope you are getting out there to enjoy this wonderful summer weather!

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