Backpacking food

Jim is a giant dork! He bought a bunch of backpacking food to test out and wanted to have it for dinner last nite. The rest of the family said no way and had scrambled eggs, pancakes and sausages for dinner. He had freeze dried teriyaki chicken and rice. It looked and smelled good and he liked it. Tonite is lasagna!

30 pounds?

Yesterday Auntie Deb and I went hiking for one hour with our packs filled in an effort to get in shape for the backpacking trip. As I had posted before, we weigh our packs on a hanging scale in the garage. Remember...I stuffed mine full of towels, water bottles and a bible (giggle). So I thought it weighed about 15 pounds. And went off on my hike. I did well, but the front of my toes hurt - which I thought was weird.

When Jim comes home from work, he wants to check out my pack. He picks it up and says - "this isn't 15 pounds". And I think, "oh crap, it must only be 8 pounds and I am going to have to triple the weight of what I carry!". And I think "my poor toes!"

So he takes it into the garage and weighs it.....it weighs 30 pounds!!!! Apparently, I was reading kgs not pounds! (giggle). So - I am in good shape for the trip! I walked about 8 miles yesterday in about 2 hours with about 4 of those miles with 30 pounds on my back. I think I can make 11 miles in one day with no problem....although my toes might hurt.

Stay tuned for the continueing tales of The Dorks go Backpacking!

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

This is a guest blog by my dear friend Fran:

I'm just passing this thought along ....

Have you ever wondered if the one dollar bills in your wallet was ever in a strippers's butt crack?

If not, you're wondering now.

Have a nice day . :)

She is a crazy lady - and always cracks me up!

Backpacking

In an effort to ensure that I am ready to hike 11 miles with 30 pounds on my back in a few weeks, I am hiking with my backpack filled with towels, water bottles and a bible! There is no message in carrying a bible, it was just sitting on the table and looked heavy!

We have a scale in the garage where we weigh the packs. I came home this morning to find my pack hanging from the scale with a wooden gun stuffed in it!It made me giggle....lot of good a wooden gun would do for me!

Mexican Stew

A recipe from my friend, Heather.


2 lbs. beef meat stew (I cut up into smaller bites & trim the fat)
1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
1 cup frozen small whole onions (I leave these out)
1 tsp. chili powder
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can (11 oz) whole corn with red & green peppers, drained (I just use the regular corn)

Mix beef, tomatoes, onions and chili powder in crook-pot
Cover & cook on low for 9-11 hours

Stir in taco seasoning, black beans & corn
Cover & cook on high 15-30 more minutes

Enjoy!

Calories

As a follow up to my posting on tracking calories, we are still having a fun time watching everyones consumption. On Saturday morning, my whole family had pizza for breakfast - which was 800 calories! That is the amount of calories I consume in breakfast, lunch and snacks for the day!

Jim reported the other day - when I got home from work - that he had just finished 380 calories of oreos and had washed it down with 150 calories of soda! Oy Vey....life is not fair. How did I end up living with tall skinny people with hollow legs to store their calories?!?!?

Mountain Biking

This weekend, Drew and I went mountain biking. The last time I had been on the trail we went on was when I was pregnant with Drew! We had a great time. I was thrilled that I was able to do it and did not crash. Drew loved it. He has no idea that it is not suppose to be fun to mountain bike with your mom when you are 13!

Remember my assistant?

After she sleeps all day on the job, she sleeps some more in the leather recliner. She has a rough life!

Twins

Gracie met a girl last nite that looks like her long lost twin. She goes to the school where Mari teaches and Mari has told us before that she looks just like Gracie. But this is the first time they saw each other. Everyone thought it was really freaky!

Calories

As you all know, I work out like a dog and always have. Normally I work out 5 or 6 days a week and do both cardio and weight training. Which sounds great --- but on that schedule, I still gain weight. So after just realizing I have gained 2 pounds since October, I decided I needed to do something about it.

So I have been carefully tracking my calorie intake and my workouts. I have upped my workouts to 2 or 3 times a day and I keep my calories around 1500 calories a day. A normal person would loose about 2 pounds a week doing that ---but not me -- I lose a little less than a pound a week doing this regimen! It's crazy but I have come to accept this fact and just resign myself to having to do it occasionally. Plus I get the added benefit of being in pretty darn good shape after spending a month working out like this.

Anyway....one of the things I am doing to track calorie intake is using a website called sparkpeople. You put in exactly what you eat and it calculates the calories. So the kids have been watching me do this and we have been having great conversations about calories, balanced diets, etc. So a couple days ago, Drew says, "put my food in the tool so that I know how many calories I ate today". So I started inputting: bagel egg and cheese sandwich, hamburger, curly fries, mac and cheese, skittles candy, sausages, pasta pesto, wild rice.... And at the end of the day, he had consumed 3000 calories! And the thing was, he didn't even eat as much as normal that day. I bet a normal day of calories for him is more than 3x the calories I eat! Amazing!

Hot Mama's Book Club

In keeping with our theme of being "not your ordinary book club", we are having this next book club at a restaurant for breakfast! Our book is Dress your Family in Cordoury and Denim by David Sedaris. http://www.amazon.com/Dress-Your-Family-Corduroy-Denim/dp/0316010790/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1240507036&sr=1-1

I can't give you the details because I don't want to ruin our book club meeting, but overall the book is a thumbs up.

New Do

My assistant

I worked from home today and at one point, looked over to see my assistant sleeping on the job, under the desk!

Easter pics

Forgot to post these after Easter. Here is the whole crew having bruch at the club.

Ahi the Hood Ornament

I love this pic of Ahi. She seems so large and in charge!

Before and After

We have spent the last few days cleaning out the garage and building shelves. Here are the before and after pics! Much improved!

Kayaking

It was a beautiful warm day today so we went down to the lake to do some kayaking and fishing. The boys tried like crazy to catch a bass they could see but had no luck. I cruised around the lake checking things out and Gracie just putzed around.

Bad Ahi day

Ahi had a bad day but didn't really know it because she was having such fun! This morning we were out on a hike and she was chasing a deer scent. We called her and she ran a hundred miles and hour towards us and ran right into a barbed wire fence. She cried and flopped around a little but otherwise came out unscathed.

Then a little later we went kayaking and she went on my kayak for the first time. She seemed to really like it and was really excited when Daisy came swimming towards us. So excited that she fell right in the water! And she was not doing a very good job of staying afloat. I had to grab her to save her from drowning!

A little while later she got a thorn in her foot and let out a little yelp while hopping around.

Like we always tell the kids - an active lifestyle can be dangerous. The best part is none of these things slowed her down!

Pontoon Mama

Jim made some storage areas for the pontoon boat - drawers and shelves. The purpose is to prevent us from looking like such hillbillies! We always have buckets of stuff all over.

Fishing

We went fishing today intent on catching trout and kokanee. In about 4 hours, we caught ONE kokanee! This was Ahi's second time on the boat. The first time was a few weeks after we got her and she was totally freaked out. This time she was a little nervous at first but then relaxed and did some sunning herself. When we took a break on shore, she seemed to understand what she was suppose to do and went pee pee right away. Daisy was thrilled to be on the water. But we kept her quieter than usual because of her leg injury. She seems to be fine but we don't want to push it.

Mountain Biking

We are at the cabin for a few days for spring break. Drew's buddy, Jeremy is with us. The boys and I went on a mountain bike ride today. We left from the cabin and went about 13 miles round trip. The first two miles are downhill which is great - until they are the last two miles on the way home!

It was a beautiful day - the sky was blue and the wildflowers were out.

Happy Birthday!

Today is Ahi's 1st birthday! At least, this is the day we are calling her first birthday. We had cupcakes and gave her a box of dog biscuits as a gift!

Finger Lickin Fifteen

My favorite "brainless read" author, Janet Evanovich, has a new book coming out on June 23rd - Finger Licken Fifteen. I can't wait! My super hip Kentucky Hillbilly Uncle Dave, gave me the heads up that its coming soon. I preordered it on amazon and it will arrive just in time for summer vacation at the lake!

Random Chicken

So, here I am sitting at work;working on serious and complex issues. All of a sudden my blackberry pings and I check it thinking I have a text message from a coworker. NOPE - I have this pic from Beautiful Mari,who is in Disneyland. No message - just the pic. Just when I think I am a grown up, a friend brings me back to reality!

In action....

Making a save!

New Bracelet

This is my new Silpada bracelet and I love it!

Attack Chicken

Where was this sign when mean Maverick was still alive?

World Champions!

Gracie's hockey team closed out the season with a win and in first place! The boys they played against for the last game had PINK tape on their sticks?!?! We are not sure if it was considered girl repellent or was to confuse the girls. But in either case - it did not work!

And during this game, Gracie had her first glove save. It was very exciting.

Go Girls! Girl Hockey Players Rock!

Aero garden drama

A few days after I posted these pics, my aero garden stopped working! We are trying to breath life back into it while watching the plants die! URG! Makes me so mad. Hopefully Jim will be able to work his magic with it today.

Tomato Update

Check out my aero garden tomatoes! They are growing like crazy!

Daisy Update

Daisy seems to be doing ok today. She is sticking close to me and laying around a lot but I can't tell if its because she hurts or because she is depressed that she has not gone on any walks or runs today. This is her laying in the window tonite after dinner. She has not lost her appetite!

PHP Grant

The grant for PHP is completed and officially submitted. Now we wait until mid-May for the interviews. Fingers crossed!

Who is that man?

I am working in my home office and I keep thinking "who is that man's voice in the kitchen". Turns out it is my son....his voice is totally getting deep! So not only is he a giant, but now he sounds like a man.

Run Chris Run

After taking 6 months off of running to try to heal my plantar fascitis, I am back to running!!!!! I have run once a week for the last three weeks and so far so good! I don't run fast or far but I was thrilled when I went out and ran 2 miles without pain and without dieing!

My plan is to continue the cross training I am doing and just not go back to running everyday. It's too hard on this old body. But if I can run a couple times a week, I think it will satisfy my warped need to run. :-)

Almost....trip to ER part 2

This time it was not the people ER but the dog ER. And this time, it was not the chiweenie....it was the labrador!

Last nite after dinner, we took both dogs over to the school to let them run a little bit. We spent about 10 minutes running around, tossing a ball, chasing the dogs, etc. All was well. Then, Drew threw the tennis ball and Daisy turned to chase it. We are not sure exactly what happened because it was dark and hard to see but she did something to her back right leg and it was flopping around like it was broken. I was closest to her so I grabbed her to help her stand up. She seemed to struggle and then got her leg underneath her. We then picked her up and carried her to the car. When we got her home she was clearly hurting but could walk. She could even walk up the stairs.

We got some dog pain meds from the great dane family across the street and watched her thru the nite. She seems stiff today but is walking. And of course, being a lab, she thought she was going to go for a run with me this morning! And now she is depressed that I went without her!

I hope it turns out just to be a tissue injury and not ligaments or bone.

A trip to the ER

On Saturday nite, we took a little trip to the ER because Gracie was having trouble breathing. She started having trouble while playing ice hockey so we pulled her off the ice. An mom of one of her team mates is an EMT and she checked her out. She thought that her cold/cough, the high pollen count and the physical activity might be effecting her lungs. She seemed to be ok and we headed home. But on the way home she started having a hard time breathing again so we went to the ER. They triaged her and her oxygen saturation was fine so we waited....

When we were finally seen, she was better. But just to be sure we got an inhaler. She used it a couple times today when she felt short of breath. She had a little trouble at her soccer game, so she stopped playing. Then nothing else the rest of the day.

Hope this turns out not to be anything.

Carrot Macaroni and Cheese

We tried a new recipe last nite and it was really yummy. But if you decide to try it, make sure you don't have the expectation of the normal heavy mac and cheese. This is light and fresh and has a sweet taste.

3/4 pound of carrots thinly slices
zest and juice of one orange, zest removed in wide strips with veggie peeler

Simmer cut carrots in orange juice with zest and about 1/2 cup water for about 30 minutes or until soft. Then when tender, place carrots and liquid in blender - remove zest before blending. Blend til smooth.

While the carrots are cooking, cook 3 cups of pasta (I used macaroni noodles, but the recipe called for rigatoni) and save 1 cup of the cooking water.

When noodles are cooked, drain and return to pot with 1 cup of cooking water and pureed carrot mixture. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes while stirring to coat the pasta and make it thick. Stir in about 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, add 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon or 1 tablesppon of fresh, salt and pepper. Pour into medium baking dish. Top with about 1/2 cup shredded cheese and bake 20 mins at 350.

YUM!

Camo Undies?

I had an interesting experience this week. My normally white undies are now a lovely shade of camo green and brown mixed together. Jim went turkey hunting last weekend and when he washed his head to toe camo gear, some how one pair of my white undies ended up with his gear.

My first concern was that a favorite pair of undies was ruined....however on further thought...my next concern became - why were my undies with Jim's camo gear? Was he wearing them? Did he have them in his pocket? Hmmmmm?

OK - big drama could follow. But in reality, he threw his camo gear down the laundry shoot and it got mixed with other clothes!

It has become the latest thing to giggle about at our house!

1st Scholarship

Drew is applying for a scholarship at school. This is one of the benefits of a private school. They are giving out $4000 in $150 increments to assist in fianancing supplemental activites of students, such as camps, seminars, etc. Students are chosen for showing excellence in the different areas of arts, science, athletics, math, etc.

Drew is applying in the area of athletics! He had to write an essay about his area of interest, why he should be considered for the scholarship, how it will effect his life and how he will apply it to his family, community and school. He did a nice job with the essay. He also had to have a teacher write a letter for him. He asked his soccer coach to write it.

Regardless of whether he is actually awarded a scholarship, I am pleased that he went thru the process. Just writing the essay and asking his coach to write a letter is a valuable learning experience.