Cooking For One

I've been missing this handsome fella something fierce here lately. Time is creeping by and its got me going stir crazy. I feel like there's still so much time to go and so much happening before he gets home. I'm swamped with work and school, on top of trying to maintain a healthy well balanced diet and work out plan. I'm managing I am, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't have my bad days. 

Hurry home baby I miss you, to pieces and your dogs are driving me crazy!!!! 

This is one of the pictures from the night he left, which I never posted because they break my heart every time I look at them. 

While G's been away I've completely changed my eating habits.... for the better. I'm by no means converting to going 100% clean but I am happy to say that I am now eating 75-80 % clean meals which is a huge change for me. I did a straight 15 days clean eating the last part of March and well I only caved twice during those 15 days. Progress and Practice People. 

I've enjoyed making some yummy new meals and even revamping some of our favorite meals into a healthy cleaner version. 

Scrambled Eggs, Grilled Chicken and Spinach for breakfast. 

Baked Apple Slices for a afternoon snack. 

Turkey Taco Salad w/ Fresh Canned Salsa for dinner.

 Are just a few of the yummy dishes I've been cooking up here these past few weeks. 

Speaking of being swamped with School, My friend / Co-worker / Classmate and I met up at Starbucks last weekend for a study date and spent a good 3+ hours working on one paper, ONE!!!! Only to find out a few days later we still needed to add to it. Not much but still, the fact that I had it or though I had it done and now its not is so aggravating. This whole back to school thing is still new to me, but I'm making it work. I'm so blessed and glad to be back in the classroom, but ready for summer break. (did I mention I might be taking a summer class aahhhhh)

Oh and I'm officially back on the streets!!! I took the winter off from running, why well because it was freaking cold out and I'm a wimp. I feel like a new person out there running. I was worried I'd struggle a bit at first to get my grove back but that hasn't been the case and it just makes me want to push and strive that much more. It just goes to show that this new life style I've created for myself has really benefited me in more way's then one.

 It's My Birthday Month!!! Holla!!!! 

And I've set a goal to run 29 miles in the month of April to celebrate my (soon to be) 29 years of life!!! 9 miles down and only 20 to go, I'm off to a great start!! 

And just for fun.....we got new jump ropes at school this past week and I had so much fun getting out there and breaking them in with the kids. I seriously felt like I was back in middle school gym class. Anyone looking to get me a birthday gift, here's a idea!!!! lol. No but for reals!!! 

Just a little bit of Life Lately!

* When we lived in the South I went home every day for lunch just about. Here in Music City State its not exactly convenient for me to go home for my lunch. I found a great lunch spot down the street from were I work. Its called Dunbar Cave Park. 

There's picnic tables surrounding the lake, a couple different walking / running trails, and some old Caves with lots of wild life full of nature. Makes for some relaxing lunch breaks. 

I've managed to take a couple run's through the trails on my lunch which is the perfect way to clear my head. 

     

*Hubbs and I went for a random date night drive a couple weeks ago. We kept driving North towards Kentucky and eventually crossed the boarder. Hey who am I kidding we live like 15 minutes away from the state line. Hubbs said he figured we'd head this way and check out the area to see what we could find. Let me tell you we found a pretty darn fabulous Mexican joint. We left stuffed to pieces!! So Bueno!!!! 

*We found a local German Bakery / Deli near down town and decided to stop and check it out one afternoon. We picked up a couple different loafs of bread and made a few delicious bites with them. One of our favorites was Bruschetta. This was a first for me, making homemade bruschetta but it turned out fabulous and we finished the whole loaf off in one night. Not to worry we turned it in to our dinner and I ended up not cooking that night. 

*I made a pit stop on my way home the other evening when I got a FaceTime call from these two beauties!!! I was so excited to see them and talk to them both. Sweet Little Lu is getting so big and really starting to talk so well. Its crazy that she was so tiny when she started in my class almost two years ago now. There may be miles upon miles between us now but I'll always love them to pieces!!! 

*I start most my mornings here before heading to work. I generally get up, get ready, make some toast or a bowl of cereal and enjoy it out on our back deck with the pups. Watching the sun coming up, the birds chirping and the pups running around the yard. Its my "ME" time before my day really gets started away from everything just out our back door. I can't wait to add more flowers, outdoor decor and seating to spice up the deck. Its one of my favorite parts about our new home. 

2nd Half 1st Trail.....Race

After a week of nagging and sweet talking me in to doing this race with her I finally caved and said yes. I was hesitant at first because I haven't ran long distance since my first half last month. I've only ran 3-5 miles at a time to keep up my speed and endurance. But with a little twist and pull and convincing I said YES. Just two days before the race I signed up for my 2nd Half Marathon, My 1st Trail Half Marathon. My only dilemma was that the race was in Charlotte, NC which was about a hour & half drive away. I had the option of going up with Kelly Friday night and staying with her at her families farm in Rock Hill. I didn't mind the drive but with the hubs being away I would be left having to find someone to look after the pups over night if I decided to go up that night. Just getting back from Vacay a couple weeks ago and having to ask some one to watch the puppies I didn't really want to have to do that again. So I decided to stay home and just wake up early Saturday morning and drive up. Thankfully the race started at 9am so I didn't have to get up crazy early. 

Registration was $35 so really what did I have to loose. It was the day before my birthday and I would be able to have another Half under my belt. Great way to kick off my b-day weekend, sure thing!!!! 

The Trail Half Marathon - Tuck Fest was located at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. I've never been here before but have heard great things about it. And I'm looking forward to going back with the hubs to take advantage of some of the awesome activities they offer. 

Before I left my house I had to snap a pic for the hubs of course!!! Kelly's so sweet with her birthday treats, love her!!!! 

At the start line waiting for the "Ready set GO"!!!!!!!! 

This was by far one of the most challenging runs / races I've ever done to say the least. The scenery was great and the weather was perfect but the terrain was crazy. I've never enjoyed running on dirt or a soft ground and this definitely just proved once again that I wasn't a fan. I absolutely LOVE hiking though the mountains and wooded area however running a race through it is totally different. 

We decided at the beginning of the race we weren't going for time. This was a first for both of us, (a trail run) so we were just taking it as it came and having fun with it. We wanted to get another long run in before it got to hot out. South Summers are KILLER. We took advantage and had some fun with it snapping a few photos along the way. At about mile 9 we were completely DONE. We had agreed that trail running was NOT for us and we'd be happy just getting this race over with. There were only 3..THREE..3 water stations through out the whole 13.1 miles and they were very pouring placed. The route was poorly marked, I think if I was doing it by myself I would have been so lost. We had fun and there were lots of laughs through out the morning along with a few frustrating moments. We each took a fall during the race and we most def. did not run the entire thing, it just wasn't possible. We went in to it blind not knowing what to expect. We had a great time but both agreed NEVER AGAIN. At least we can say we did it, got another long run in and marked off the miles. Even if it did take us 3.08 hours to complete it.

 Unfortunately I had to be back in the South by 1:30 that afternoon (totally didn't happen) so we weren't able to get any after pictures. I was kind of bummed but didn't realize it till after I was on the road headed back home. I crossed the finish line running and just kept running to my car. It was definitely a race I wont forget, and what better way to start off celebrating my 27th Birthday. 

Hot Air Balloon Festival

One of the things on my "30 b4 30" list was to ride in a hot air balloon. So when I heard about the Balloons over Anderson Festival coming to town I new it was the perfect opportunity. And what better way than to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary that was coming up the following weekend. Thankfully the hubbs managed to get out of working the Jane Wayne day our battalion was putting on so we could go together. We made the drive to Anderson which is about 2 hours away from Columbia just in time to check out the festival before our check in time. The festival its self was pretty small didn't have a whole lot to offer. It didn't really bother me though, we were there to see the balloons.
We checked in and met our pilot, his name was Kenny and seemed really nice. He informed us that we would be riding with the Mayor of Anderson. Thank Goodness we weren't from there or living there, I didn't have to worry about the hubbs saying anything crazy, lord knows he would lol.

Finally just after 4pm all of the pilots and their crew split off and started setting up there balloons. It was really neat to see all of the different designs and colors.  

This is our balloon going up! The inside had a smiley face at the top. 

Here we are up in the air, absolutely loving it!!!! 

Happy 5 Year Anniversary Baby!!!!!

The Clemson Balloon went up next to us, had to take some pictures and share the love for all my Gamecock fans. 

Just a few of the 20 balloons that set off with ours. This was the smallest flight for the festival from what we were told. Apparently another city put a lower bid on the festival a few years back so its been moved to another city but Anderson still puts on a small festival every year. 

 Seriously this was the best day ever, we had so much fun. I couldn't stop smiling and the best part was that the hubbs enjoyed it just as much. I love being able to do things like this with him. I can't even begin to think of what we are going to do next year for our anniversary to top this one.

These are just some more balloons from the flight. Along with the reflection of our balloon when we were up in the air. The sky was filled with tons of color, there were cars stopped along the highway watching the balloons pass over and people standing in their drive way wavy at us. It was so cool. I was like a kid in a candy store :).

We had a slight scare, (well I did) before we landed. The pilot was communicating back and forth with the pick up crew on were we were going to land. In the process a tree popped out of no were and we had no choice but to take it out. To say I was a little nervous would be a understatement. Pilot Kenny didn't seem to concerned though, and thankfully if didn't hit the balloon only the basket but it didn't do any damage. Finally after a wonderful ride over a beautiful city we were back on the ground. The landing was a bit hard but I guess that's normal. We finished off with a little champagne toast and a story on the history of the hot air balloon. It was the best way to finish out our first five years of marriage, reaching new highest and moving up in the world. I seriously love this man so much!!!! 

HAPPY 5 YEAR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY BABY!!!! I LOVE YOU ALWAYS & FOREVER & THENSOME!!!!

Artsy Fartsy Board

Its teacher work week at school right now, we start the school year on Monday. I'm excited for this journey ahead and what's to come. We have been getting our classrooms cleaned and ready for the first day of school this week. I haven't done much in the decorating department yet, we've been cleaning and organizing the last two day. Oh and putting up our bulletin board. 

For some reason this one gave me more trouble than any of the others in the past. I put the wording up 3 different times and took it down only to put it back up. Some of the letters are still slanted but you know what it's ok because It's done. I'm not changing it or redoing it again. Did you catch on my to our new theme??? We are going with Frogs, they are funky, fantastic froggies and there so darn cute!!!! 

~DAY 306~

"Let's Cook"

Tonight we went to our first cooking class together. I was super excited about it, because this was something completely new for the hubby & I. I've never taken a cooking class but so badly want to. Now after taking this one I want to start taking more.
The class took place down in the Vista at "Lets Cook". Including us two there was a total of 8 people in the class. It made things nice because we got more one on one time and didn't feel as if we were rushed.  Your able to bring in wine or beer of your choice if you'd like so that's kinda nice, although we didn't and just stuck with water.

On the menu for the evening was:

*Pizza

*Fettuccine Pasta
*Stuffed Ravioli
*Broiled Peach w/ Mascarpone Cheese

We got started making our pasta dough first. Which turned out to be much easier than I had though. Using a Kitchen Aide we stretched out the pasta, cutting half of it into fettuccine. We used the other half to make the ravioli shells, which we stuffed with pork & ricotta cheese. The hubbs was such a sport and really in to everything. It made my heart warm to see him enjoy the class as much as me.

On to the pizza's, the chefs had already prepped our dough. We had to roll it out into a pizza pie shape and load it up with our choice of toppings. There was everything from pepperoni, black olives, fresh basil, chopped onion, sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, egg plant, bell pepper, different cheese's & seasonings. Every body raved about how good my pizza look. Hey what can I say, I love a good pizza.

After we had our main dishes prepared and ready to go in the oven we started on dessert. Peaches must be in season all over the South because they are serving them up every were. Neither of us are huge peach fan and weren't overly excited about dessert but we gave it our best shot. We covered the sliced peaches with brown sugar, butter, cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg. They were then cooked in the oven and topped with mascarpone cheese. I was nervous about trying it with the cheese on top because I've never had it before. But I guess you don't know if you like it till you try it right.  





















While waiting on our pizzas to cook we enjoyed a fresh salad that was prepared before we got to class. A mixture of several greens, a homemade dressing topped with some black olives, a dash of salt and pepper. It was pretty tasty, I'm picky when it comes to salad dressings but this one passed my test. lol.
Our pizzas turned out so good, I kept wanting to eat more and more. But reminded myself we still had our pasta / ravioli dish to try. We decided to only cook a little of ours and bring the rest home to freeze for later. Everything turned out so good, the food was fabulous. The other couples in the class were really nice, offered suggestion on other outings around the area. We will definitely be going back again for another class in the near future. I think I might look more into regular cooking classes, after all it is on my 30 before 30  list.

PS: the dessert tuned out ok, the cheese on top was better than I though it would be. I still don't care much for peaches, lol. But at least I stepped out of my box and tried something new.   

~DAY 280~

American Pickers South Carolina Style

I came across this really neat place on line a week ago and we decided to check it out today. Its called the Peach Festival Garden. Its only about 45 minutes away from us so we decided to check it out this afternoon since the hubbs didn't have to go to work. It was really neat, although a lot smaller than I had in mind. We were the only ones there at the time so we had a chance to talk with the owner. Its not your typical "garden" its a old farm house with a barn. Surrounded with loads of old antique furniture, doors, buckets, pails, tables, chairs, sign, bottles, sewing machines. The list goes on and on, I mean you name it they got it. The owners go all around the state of SC and some in to NC and purchase these items and bring it back to sell. He said a few of there sellers they have gotten to know pretty well. From what he said many of them have been collectors for a good number of years and are now looking to clean out there collection. It reminded me so much of the show American Pickers, this couple goes out buys things from all over and turns around to sell it.  

We didn't end up buying anything while we were there. We just really didn't see anything we couldn't live with out. The hubbs did really like this piece about but it was spoken for already. I'm sure we will make another trip out there in the future. They did have a large collection of all different potted plants that we were interested in. 

It was something new and different for us, so regard less of the fact that we didn't do any purchasing and we drove 45 minutes we still have a good time. 

On our way home we stopped off at Cupcake for a little sweet treat. We've been wanting to try this place out since we found out about it but we always for get when we are down town. We went with 4 different flavors and they weren't to bad at all. I can't wait to go back and try some more. I'm always up for a yummy cupcake!!!!

~DAY 269~