My Weekly Words

Back to blogging!

2013-12-21T17:32:00.002-05:00

Well after over a year hiatus from my blog... I'm back at it! Life has been pretty busy this last year and blogging seemed to be the last thing on my mind. But, as I slowly get into a routine and catch up on some of my favorite blogs, I realize how nice it is to have great stories and photos to look back on and document the years as they go by..... especially with a little one :)

So since my last post... we've moved back to Ohio to be closer to family, gotten new jobs, bought our first house and had a baby!

Ok, now that we're caught up... here's a glimpse of life around the Sheldon house hold these days...

We've been watching Oliver grow before our eyes! It's hard to even remember him looking like the photos on the left!

Juno is adjusting to this new human in her world :)

She's definitely a bit jealous of the attention he gets, but she absolutely loves to lick and sniff him! I'm looking forward to warmer weather so we can all play outside together!

Shane ran his second marathon in November! He beat his Richmond time and felt a lot better after. He still been running, which has definitely taken some determination with his lack of sleep and the cold weather. So proud of him!

And Oliver is really thriving at daycare! We were so nervous about it, but we really love his teachers and he seems to be enjoying himself there! We're really fortunate that my mom is able to watch him 2 days a week... he loves spending days with Grammy :) This is Olivers first piece of artwork from daycare.

Much more to come... but it feels good to be back!

Happy Holidays :)

Richmond Half Marathon

2012-11-13T21:29:00.000-05:00

It's hard to believe that I finished my SECOND half marathon this past weekend!! And it was awesome! After my first trail half marathon in September, I was feeling a little down because I'd walked so much and even though I ran past the finish line, in some ways I didn't feel like I'd really "run" a half marathon. So, I signed up for the Richmond half the following week. Shane was already signed up for the full marathon, so I thought it would be fun for us to do a race the same day :)

I was at a conference for work all week, so I had to meet Shane and Andrea in Richmond. We all arrived around 4pm, headed to packet pickup and then out to a local Italian restaurant to carb load! We were wiping our plates clean with lots and lots of bread! It was so fun to meet up with our friends Meghan and Paola for dinner :)

Andrea and I also bought these super cute headbands :) We weren't sure if it was bad luck to wear them before the race, but couldn't help ourselves!!

We were in laying in bed by 9:30pm at our hotel and probably asleep by close to 10pm. Although I think we were all pretty anxious for the day ahead. We woke up at 5am (early!!!) and ate a little. My breakfast of choice before a long run is a banana and an Odwalla bar. It was 34 degrees out, so we bundled up! Shane had gone to Goodwill last week to buy some "throw away" fleece pullovers and gloves for us - genius! (It was amazing to see all of the sweatshirts and gloves along the side of the road during the first few miles. They had people come along to collect everything and donate it to charity.) We left a little after 6am to make sure we could find parking. We didn't want to be frantically searching and late for the start, especially since we'd heard there were about 25,000 people running. Luckily, our first pick parking lot was almost completely empty. So, we decided to get a little greedy and find a spot a little closer to the start. By 6:30am we were parked about 2 blocks from the start line for only $2! What a deal!

So we wandered around a bit, trying to stay warm and loosen up. I don't think I'll ever understand those people who are out running before the race?! But I get the need to keep your muscles warm. Shane hung out with me in the half marathon lineup and we walked almost to the start before he peeled off to get in the marathon line (his race started about 15 minutes after mine). And then I was off! I had no idea what time/pace to expect. In all of my training, I run a certain distance, but never wear a watch or calculate my pace. I had decided before the race that my goal was 2:30, but when I started doing the math, I wasn't sure that was feasible. I estimated that I ran 11 - 12 minute miles. So when we ran by a timer at the 10K split and I saw that I was at about 1:04 - I was really happy! I felt great the whole way. I was definitely a little tired and achy after about 8 miles, but never once did I feel like walking or stopping. They call it the "friendliest marathon", and I can see why! There are people with hilarious signs cheering you on all along the way! There were lots of aid stops (one even had beer - gross!). I decided that when I got to the 11 mile mark, I would pick up the pace. It's so funny the things that go through your mind when you're running (or at least mine!) I was envisioning the 2 mile loop I do here in Blacksburg during those last miles and telling myself it was so short and I was almost there! I would love to know how fast I ran the last two miles -- it felt like 8 minute miles, but who knows?! All I know is that I was bookin' it! I definitely passed quite a few people and my hamstrings were tightening up a bit, but it felt great! For some reason my favorite part of running has always been speeding up at the end. It makes me wonder if I could have/should have been going faster earlier if I still had that much energy? But my goal for this race was to just finish without walking. I ended up finishing at 2:15!! Woohoo! :)

It was pretty emotional for me, crossing the finish line. A few times in the last half mile, I felt myself tearing up - and I'm not even sure why?! I guess I was just really happy and proud of myself. It was a strange feeling crossing the finish line and being sucked into a swarm of thousands of people. In a way it was good - I know if Shane or Andrea had been there to give me a hug right at the end of would have broke down in tears! Haha - but by the time I found Andrea, my emotional feelings had gone away :) I was just so happy to finish and to beat my first half marathon time by 52 minutes - yay! Andrea also set her PR. By the time we finished it was in the mid-60's and sunny! Such a beautiful day.

We were able to head back to about a tenth of a mile shy of the finish line and cheer Paulette on! It was so great to see her cross that finish line! Once we all ate some more pizza (I had at least 3 pieces and was still hungry :) ) we headed back to the finish line to watch the marathoners roll in. It was so much fun! We weren't sure when to expect Shane, but knew he was hoping to come in under 4 hours -- big goal for his first marathon! And sure enough at 3:51, he came around the corner!

I was soooo proud of him!!

I could tell his legs were hurting from the way he was walking, and as soon as he had his pizza and powerade, he found a nice sunny spot on the grass and didn't get up for a good half an hour :)

We realized why we had no trouble getting a parking spot near the start of the race.... it was about a mile and a half from the finish. Poor Shane had a little trouble walking back. It was hilarious to see everyone moving after the race compared to before the race. It looked like a zombie world with everyone moving in slow motion and waddling a bit :)

Overall - we all had so much fun and can't wait for our next race! For Shane and I it's the Turkey Trot back in Ohio on Thanksgiving!

Happy running! :)

Wind, Snow & Chili Spaghetti

2012-10-30T18:16:00.001-04:00

I can't seem to unglue myself from NPR and news updates on Frankenstorm Sandy! My thoughts are with everyone on the coast and in New York who are dealing with major flooding and power outages. We weren't sure what the effects would be here in southwest Virginia, but we knew there was a chance of heavy wind and snow(!). So, I didn't go crazy, but I wanted to be prepared. After the derecho a couple of months ago, some people in the area were without power for over a week. So I made sure I had plenty of candles and flashlights. And of course I made sure I had plenty of food :)

I bought some fuel for our alcohol stove and lots of rice and oats. I think I'd be happy living off oatmeal for the next week (did I mention I have a new obsession with oatmeal?!)

I also filled every vessel I could find in our apartment with water.... you never know, right?!

There's something kind of fun about preparing to be without power for a few days. I didn't know what to expect, but could hear heavy winds outside my window all night. I woke up this morning to about a 1/2 inch of snow, light winds and electricity still working! I guess a few hundred people in the area did lose power, but overall we didn't get hit hard at all.

So, I finally made myself roll out of bed (it was COLD!) and I made my typical morning oatmeal. This is my new favorite - pumpkin oatmeal with pumpkin flax granola and sunbutter - YUM! :)

Although we didn't get much snow, our office was closed today. So I got to work from home, which is always kind of nice, but not so great when it's 52 degrees inside! (Yes, we do have heat, but we refuse to use it most of the time because it's ridiculously expensive and we have NO insulation in our apartment, so it doesn't stay warm long anyways) So I spent the day wrapped in a blanket with a little space heater by my side. I was dreaming of chili all day, and decided to make some for dinner. Shane and I used to love getting veggie Skyline Chili when we were in Ohio. There's something about chili over spaghetti that's so delicious! Once we moved to Virginia, we decided to try to make our own (healthier version). So, we started using a can of veggie chili, but more recently started making our own. This is so quick and easy and can be eaten on it's own or poured over spaghetti.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 can diced tomatoes (I use Fire Roasted for an extra kick)
2 cans of beans of your choice, drained (I use one can black beans and one can of tri-color)
1/2 cup of vegetable broth
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Optional:
1 box whole wheat pasta (cook according to box directions)
Sprinkle of cheddar cheese
Oyster crackers (sometimes I can't resist!)

Directions:

1. Heat up the olive oil on medium in a saucepan. Add the diced onion and pepper and saute for about 2-3 minutes until the onions are golden.

2. Add in the tomatoes, vegetable broth and spices. Stir and let simmer for about 2 minutes.

3. Add in the beans (I usually drain at least one can - depends on how thick or thin you like your chili) and cook until heated through.

4. Serve over pasta or by itself :)

Save some for lunch the next day - chili always seems to taste better later!

I'm hoping to end this day of good food with a nice cup of hot chocolate. Looking forward to the 70 degree weather expected for this weekend!

Yard Sale Treasure

2012-10-23T19:53:00.001-04:00

We went yard sale hopping several months ago - one of my favorite things to do - and found the most beautiful old trunk! I've always wanted a big wooden trunk to put at the end of our bed for extra blankets and things, and this one looked perfect for the job! Of course it was a a little beaten up and smelled horribly like moth balls - ew! The man selling it told me his great grandparents had their luggage in this trunk when they traveled overseas on their journey to America --- cool!

After a few months of letting it sit (empty because of the moth ball smell), I finally got around to fixing it up recently!

I sanded it down....

And then put on a fresh new coat of stain.

With Juno's help of course :)

Then, I spent a few days getting rid of the smell. From airing it out in the sun, to letting a bowl of vinegar and baking soda sit inside for a day, to finally putting in a few fabric softeners. But... I think it's gone! Yay for fun projects :)

Running & Oatmeal :)

2012-10-15T18:58:00.001-04:00

So, I mentioned a while ago that I signed up for a second half marathon, but I haven't talked about it since, mostly because I've not been doing much training....

After my first race, I really wanted to prove to myself that I could RUN a half marathon. So, I signed up for the flattest, paved run I could find -- the Richmond Half Marathon. It was also handy that Shane has been training for the Richmond Marathon and doing a much better job than me! --> maybe it's his awesome running motivation board on Pinterest ... filled with things like this :)

So, I took about 2 weeks off from any serious running after the trail race, and have slowly been getting back into it. But as I look at the calendar, I realize I only have 3 more weekends before the race --- yikes! Where does time go? I have been running at least 2-3 times a week and feel pretty good about it, but haven't done a long run yet.

I am excited that Juno is finally running with me on and off leash! Yesterday we did 4 miles together -- it really helps time fly :)

We've had some nasty weekend weather, I've worked quite a few Saturdays, and I always play soccer on Sundays (so I don't want to run 6-8 miles before a game). Beautiful place to spend a Sunday, huh?

And with the cold weather I find myself doing more of this...

But enough excuses, right?! I'm still determined to finish the race without walking! I don't care how slow I run, I just want to have fun and cross that finish line :) So - here's to my first long(ish) run this weekend!!

How do you get motivated to run?!

In other news, I've recently become addicted to oatmeal. Yup :) I blame my friend (and running motivator!) Andrea. She's been eating oatmeal for breakfast everyday for as long as I've known her and I always thought it'd be fun to try. I never usually eat breakfast (horrible - I know!), but normally just grab a granola bar and banana to eat sometime before lunch. Also, my only oatmeal experience in the past had been with instant oatmeal in little packets. I knew eating real oatmeal would require me waking up at least 15 minutes earlier, and I love my sleep! But let me tell you, it's totally worth it!!! I've been on an oatmeal kick for at least 2 weeks now and already I can't imagine starting the day out any other way! I really enjoy the cooking process and I feel like I have so much more energy throughout the morning.

One of the bloggers I follow has literally hundreds of delicious and fun oatmeal recipes. I'd highly recommend the whipped banana oats. I've been making this with 1/3 cup oats, water and almond milk. Then adding in half the banana for whipping and the other half cut up fresh on top at the end, with a big glob of peanut butter, chia seeds and toasted walnuts. I've also been putting in a big spoonful of pumpkin puree -- yum :)

So, wake up tomorrow and cook yourself some oats... and then go for a run! :)

Book Club & Apple Crisp with Pumpkin :)

2012-10-08T13:51:00.002-04:00

This past week I had my first book club gathering! There's this great group of women I've discovered in Blacksburg, who all got together for our friend Jess's bachelorette party a few months ago. We had soooo much fun and decided we all needed to hang out more! So, we tossed around ideas of a wine/knitting/book reading group and officially just got started on Thursday. We're going with the book club idea (but of course wine drinking and knitting are welcome during meetings!). We hosted the first one, really just as an excuse to get together and to decide what book we're going to read.

We chose Bitter Grounds by Sandra Benitez. Here's the blurb from Amazon: "Spanning the years between 1932 and 1977, this beautifully told epic is set in the heart of El Salvador, where coffee plantations are the center of life for rich and poor alike. Following three generations of the Prieto Clan and the wealthy family they work for, this is the story of mothers and daughters who live, love, and die for their passions." Sounds great, huh?!

I've always enjoyed reading, but don't get around to it very often. I also have never really gotten into discussing or analyzing books (I was a total math & science girl in school), but I'm excited to be reading the same book with everyone, listen to their discussions and chime in when I can!

Of course for our meetings, we thought it would be fun for a few people to bring along something to snack on. So, I decided to try to make a healthier version of apple crisp that I love so much! And I wanted to try adding in pumpkin since I've stocked up and am still excited about eating for every meal! It was a little drier than I was expecting, but was a real hit at the meeting, especially served with some plain yogurt.

Ingredients:
5 small apples, peeled & sliced
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp applesauce
2 Tbsp pumpkin puree
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp. cinnamon (divided)

Directions:
Peel apples and slice them into approximately one inch chunks.

Spread chopped apples into an oiled 9x13 baking pan. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle 1 Tbsp cinnamon. Toss apples with your hands to mix. Preheat the oven to 350.

In a medium sized bowl, combine flour, sugar, applesauce, pumpkin, nutmeg and remaining cinnamon. I use a fork to mix until all of the flour and oats are moist.

Spread topping evenly over apples. Bake at 350 for about 35 minutes. Serve with ice cream or yogurt! :)

Enjoy!

Fall is HERE! :)

2012-10-02T18:47:00.000-04:00

Fall is my favorite time of year!!! (well, it's a toss up - I'll probably say the same thing in the spring!). I love the chilly evenings and changing leaves! I love cooking soup and drinking hot chocolate! I love campfires and snuggling! I love sweet potatoes and all sorts of squash! I love dressing up for Halloween and spending time with family over Thanksgiving! I love putting on a long sleeve shirt to run and wearing slippers! I love fall!

I've only just started to make some fun fall recipes. Here's one (not really a recipe - just a fun thing to whip up for dessert) I made a few nights ago! Thanks to Jess & Chris for sharing this fun treat!

Slice up a butternut squash into moons or chunks, drizzle with maple syrup and bake for about 30 minutes at 400 degrees. YUM! You can also get fancy and add a little cinnamon or nutmeg, too.

I cut it long ways and scoop out all of the seeds (they're great for roasting too!). Then slice into about 1/2 inch moons.

Place on a cookie sheet or baking dish. Drizzle with maple syrup and throw it in the oven!

Yum! I don't have any after pictures, because they didn't last long. Seems to be a common theme with dessert around here...

Another favorite thing about fall is an extra cuddly pup :)

I'm headed to the store tonight to stock up on pumpkin!! I'm going to try to make this spiced pumpkin cornbread recipe! Any other fun pumpkin recipes I should try??

Happy Tuesday :)

Visit with the Sheldons :)

2012-09-23T13:31:00.001-04:00

We had a wonderful weekend hanging out with the Sheldon family :) Shane's parents haven't had a chance to come down to Blacksburg since we moved here, so it was so nice to share our little town and life with them.

Shane and I both took Friday off work, and they arrived Thursday just before dinner. When we welcomed them at the door, they were adamant that we come out and help carry stuff in. We were trying to get them to just sit down and relax and said we can unload the car later, but they weren't having it! So, Shane and I headed out to the parking lot around the corner, and there we found Hannah and Cooper standing by the car! They had surprised us and traveled down with Doug and Diane. Best surprise EVER! :)

We started the visit with a beautiful drive out to Mountain View in Ironto for dinner - Yum! It was so nice to share the mountains with the Ohioans!

Juno wasn't sure what to think of this new center of attention :) She LOVED licking Cooper's toes and face! It was interesting to see how she might handle a baby in our household someday. She was really good with him overall, she just occasionally had to be told to stop licking his face (although he seemed not to mind!) and that the cute toys were not hers. But Aunt Hannah gave her lots of lovin!

We were trying to get in as much as we could in the 2 full days we had with our visitors! We had a fun, lazy Friday morning feeding Cooper and watch him roll around on the ground and get SOOO close to crawling! I could spend all day just watching that cute lil human :)

Then we headed off to the botanical garden on campus with a sleepy Coop!

We went out for a walk at Heritage Park, one of our favorite places in the area. We were fortunate enough to have great weather all weekend.

I had way to much fun pushing Cooper in the stroller and giving him leaves and grass to play with!

And the rest of the family had way to much fun racing leaves under the bridge :)

Cooper loves being outside! We hung out in our backyard and watched Juno and the neighbor dogs play a few times. Anytime Coop starts to cry, if you just take him outside he's so much happier!

When Shane saw what Cooper was wearing... he decided to bust out his Batman shirt too. He loves his little nephew so much :)

Thanks to Matt for staying at home to take care of the animals and letting us steal your cute wife and child for the weekend! We did get to Skype with him a few times, which was really fun!

Day two we packed in even more fun! We started out with some shopping - stopping first at Imaginations, an awesome local toy store in town. Shane and I often go in there because it's so fun and they have the neatest toys and games. But it was definitely way better going in there with a little one! I think Cooper had fun.... especially bouncing on his new cow!

Next stop, Annie Kays, a great natural food store where Doug picked up some fun bulk goodies and Cooper to play with a train set!

Of course we had to swing by the western store while these country folk were in town :)

Followed by a walk around Pandapas Pond!

We had so much fun!! It was a great way to celebrate the first day of fall! We even saw a few trees starting to change color.

We had such a great visit with the family. It's always so hard to say goodbye... Shane and I were sure to soak up extra Cooper hugs this morning before they took off!

We miss you already, Sheldons and Nixons! Come back soon! :)

New Camera Fun :)

2012-09-18T18:59:00.002-04:00

Juno playing with her new friend, Henry :)

Can you tell who our main photo subject is?!

After a couple of years of talking about it and dreaming about it.... we finally did it! We bought a Digital SLR camera! We always drool over them when wandering through Best Buy and love asking anyone who has one what they think about it and of course the answers are always the same - they LOVE it! So, a few weekends ago when we were in D.C. (after my half marathon!), we met a new friend of a friend who had the Nikon d5100 and raved about it. He had past photography experience and showed us some of the amazing photos he's taken with his new camera. Shane and I immediately looked at each other and said "let's do it!". So, a couple of days later we found ourselves walking out of Best Buy with a fancy new camera (that we had no idea how to use!) and a fun little camera bag to keep it in :) Normally I feel nauseous after making such a big purchase, but this time I was just giddy! We love taking photos (Shane's way better than I am at remembering) when we travel, hike, make fun foods or hang out with friends. We debated a while between the Canon rebel series and the Nikon, but after reading some reviews and a great sale price, we settled on the Nikon. So here are a few fun photos we've taken just playing around with the settings. I'm hoping it'll beef up my blog a bit, too :) Looking forward to learning more about our new toy!

Fun setting!

Juno paw :)

Our tiny little kitchen :)

Amazing olive oil from Asheville!

Cute kitchen lights :)

My first fall soccer game

Second time making banana pancakes in a week!


On the road!

What do you think?! I just love how crisp the colors and images are! A big upgrade from our little point and shoot :) Happy snapping!

My first half marathon!

2012-09-11T09:52:00.002-04:00

I did it! :)

The start of the race - 214 women headed to the trail :)

It's hard to believe! It's been a goal of mine for a few years now, but running has never been easy for me. Even during training, the short 3 mile runs were still challenging. Running is so mental, and it seems that no matter how far I'm running, it's always hard and I always want to walk. But I did it! I did it!

I really enjoy trail running over pavement running, but I don't think I'd recommend it for your first race! Or at least not a course as hilly as this one! I'd read online that most women walk up the hills on this course. Before seeing it, I thought that seemed ridiculous! But after running up the hills for the first 3 miles, I soon realized why people walked. In fact, I can almost walk up some steep hills as fast as I can run up them, so it seemed like a waste of energy. By mile 4, I was happily speed walking the hills.

8 miles in! Getting my second wind :)

I think the first half of the race was the most challenging for me. I felt pretty disappointed in myself, not only for going soooo slow, but for walking so much! But everyone I saw was walking the hills, too. I guess it just wasn't what I expected. But at about 8 miles in, Shane was sitting there cheering me on (and gave me a swig of water and a GU gel!) and I really got my second wind. I think I decided not to be upset with myself for walking so much and to just have fun! I mean that's what I paid $45 to do, right?! So I just kept on chugging away and not feeling guilty when I stopped at an aid station for 3 minutes or walked up a steep hill.


Recharging -- thanks to Shane! :)

I finished my first half (trail!) marathon in 3 hours and 7 minutes. Yes, that's really slow! I could almost walk that fast :) But I did it! And I'm so proud of myself. I felt really good crossing that finish line! And yesterday I signed up for my second half marathon (flat, pavement run!) in Richmond on November 10th! Andrea and Paulette are both running it too! It's so nice to have running buddies. So, just when I thought I could take a break from training, I'm already at it again. Here's to another 13.1!

Paulette, Andrea and I before the race

Our cheering squad!

Me finishing!

After!

Love this guy :)

Whole Wheat Banana Pancakes

2012-09-10T20:33:00.002-04:00

You should seriously stop what you're doing right now and go make these pancakes! They are so delicious and melt in your mouth... seriously! Last weekend, we were having a lazy Sunday (one of my favorite things!) and slept in until like 9am and decided to make a fun breakfast when we woke up! We usually just eat something quick and simple like granola or a smoothie. But this day we were in the mood for pancakes! I always make basic whole wheat pancakes, but wanted to try something new. I looked up a few recipes and used my favorite parts of each to create my own and I must say... they came out GREAT! There's no added sugar because I think the banana, vanilla and maple syrup topping make it plenty sweet! The recipe is also vegan - but feel free to substitute real milk, oil or eggs. I hope you try them on your next lazy Sunday... or right now :)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Dash of ground cinnamon
Dash of teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 3 tablespoons water, let stand a few minutes (great egg substitute!)
2 tablespoons apple sauce (healthy oil/butter substitute!)
1 1/4 cup almond milk (any milk will do!)
Dash of vanilla extract
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Flaxseed applesauce mixture

Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
In separate bowl mix together ground flax seed/water mixture, milk. apple sauce, mashed banana and vanilla extract.
Stir flour mixture into banana mixture, batter should remain slightly lumpy and bumpy. Add in the chopped walnuts.
Heat a lightly oiled frying pan and spoon or pour about 1/4 cup out for each pancake. Cook on first side until you see air bubbles on top of pancakes, then flip and cook until golden brown on other side (second side takes less time).
Enjoy with a topping of your choice! Pure maple syrup is great with these!

Flour mixture

Adding in the walnuts

Love my little griddle :)

Love my pancake bowl from Alison & Tim!

Recipe makes about 8 this size!

And... in other news, we just bought a new SLR camera! So stay tuned for more recipes with better photos - woohoo! :)

Pasta with Tomato & Greek Yogurt Sauce

2012-09-02T21:48:00.001-04:00

I LOVE rotini noodles :)

So we haven't been to the grocery store in a while...and we decided to put it off another day. We've been eating a lot of pasta lately, since were both training for long distance runs. Shane decided to cook up a simple pasta dinner, but just as the water started boiling, we realized we didn't have any sauce! So, I quickly began thinking of what we could use (I love this game!). I've never been a fan of alfredo sauce, but I have always wanted to try to make some sort of creamy pasta sauce using greek yogurt. So I rounded up some ingredients and here's what I came up with -- let me know what you think! :)

The first few ingredients I grabbed!

Ingredients:
1 box of pasta (I prefer rotini)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 clove of garlic - pressed or chopped
1 cup fresh baby spinach - chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp of thyme
1 tsp of oregano
1 tsp of rosemary
2 tsp of lemon juice
1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Adding in the spinach & garlic

Summer Squash - yum!

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the box instructions. Meanwhile, start chopping the zucchini and squash into thin slices and then in half. Add the two to a heated skillet with olive oil. Cook on medium for about 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add chopped spinach, garlic and herbs to the skillet and cover with a lid to allow the spinach to wilt. Keep covered for about 3 minutes (opening occasionally to stir). Remove the lid and lower the temperature to low. Add the diced tomatoes, keeping the juice. Add a dash of salt and pepper (or more if you like!). Stir until mixture is heated through.

Meanwhile, drain the pasta and return to the pot or a large bowl. Add lemon juice and greek yogurt to the pasta. Then stir in the tomato mixture and mix until well blended. Serve into a bowl and top with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.

Adding in the tomatoes and heating the mixture

Combined with greek yogurt - has a bit of a creamy consistency

ENJOY!!

10 Reasons to be happy :)

2012-08-23T19:15:00.001-04:00

I used to keep a little journal of things that make me happy, and I thought it might be fun to to a monthly "Happy List" on my blog! So here goes...

10 reasons to be happy - August 2012

World's cutest dog!

1. Juno has begun perching in our windowsill (cutest thing EVER!)

2. We have tomatoes from our 2x2 foot garden under our window! Yum :)

Backyard tomatoes :)

3. Two of my favorite people are getting married in a week! :)

Chris, Jess & Pesto! So excited for their wedding : )

4. I ran 8 miles! My longest ever.... and hopefully will be doing 9 this weekend!

5. My blog went public! (and it looks like a few people might actually be reading it! yay!)

6. I've had several long phone calls & Skype dates with family and friends (need to do that more often!)

7. I got my hair cut! For the first time in over a year -- it always feels so nice :)

New fleece & new hair :)

8. I got a new Patagonia R1 fleece! Woohoo! I still have my first one I purchased in 2008 - that I've worn it a million times (it's getting really thin) and used on our thru-hike... so I thought it was time for a new one! And it was a major sale on Steep and Cheap!

9. I got to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Appalachian Trail in Harpers Ferry with some really great staff and volunteers!

Diana & I at the 75th!

Cute hubby in our tiny little kitchen!

10. My cute hubby has been helping to cook a lot around the Sheldon apartment! YAY :)

What makes you happy this month??

Berry Picking!

2012-08-19T12:48:00.001-04:00

The berry farm

If you haven't been... you need to go! There's something so fun about going out and picking your own berries! This past week Shane, Andrea, Lara and I headed to 3 Birds Berry Farm in Blacksburg. We had been earlier in the season to get blueberries, but right now they have blueberries, blackberries and raspberries! YUM! Thursday night is the only weeknight they have pickin' hours, and we got there about an hour after the start...so a lot of the raspberries were already harvested. But, if you're patient and willing to do a little searching, you can still fill a pint! Shane and I got a pint of raspberries and then headed over to the blueberry patch (where we got 2 pints!). I don't know much about different varieties of berries, but it was interesting to see the difference in the blueberries we picked last week compared to the blueberries in June. They were much smaller this time around and seemed a little shinier. After picking at the farm, Shane and I joined Lara at her neighborhood community garden to grab a few handfuls of blackberries, too! Check out some photos from our fun evening with great friends :)

What a cutie :)

Raspberries - check! Onto the blueberry patch :)

One happy berry picker!

Checking out!

Proud of our loot!

Lara & Zelda at the community garden

Finishing off the night with some blackberries - thanks Lara!


Delicious berry recipes coming soon!

Root Roast

2012-08-10T17:56:00.003-04:00

Our friends Abby & Randy introduced this meal to us a couple of years ago and now we make all the time! So easy and delicious! It's great as a side or the main dish. You can use a variety of roots - my favorites being: beets, turnips, sweet potato, potato, carrots and onion! When I made this a few days ago, I was limited on ingredients... but they were all straight from our garden :)

Root Roast Deliciousness :)

A quick rewind back to February... when we decided to try to grow onion from seed this season! It was maybe a little ambitious since we'd never grown anything besides tomatoes and cilantro, but it was such a fun adventure. Shane built a wooden structure for us to hang a grow light (aka a fluorescent shop light) where we could start our onions. This was our first little onion seedling to sprout! I was like a little kid on Christmas the day it popped up out of the soil! It's so neat to look back and see where our little onions started and how well they turned out :)

Onion seedling popping up!

Harvesting roots!

Onion

Here's me harvesting our beets, onions and potatoes last week! It was another exciting visit to the garden expecting weedfilled disaster and instead finding edible produce (along with lots of weeds). I was drooling thinking about the root roast I could make with these ingredients... and finally a few nights ago I did - so I thought I'd share....

Ingredients:

Any roots you want! For a 9x13 inch baking pan, here's a guesstimate of quantity:

5 beets
4 potatos
1 small onion
2 cloves of garlic (minced)

(if you have it, I highly recommend sweet potatoes, carrots & turnips as well!)

Olive Oil
Rosemary
Thyme

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375. Chop all of the roots into approximately 1 inch pieces. Combine all roots in a sprayed 9x13 inch baking pan. Add minced garlic, rosemary and thyme. Drizzle olive oil over the mixture and then toss with your hands to mix in the spices and coat with oil. Bake for about 20 minutes, then remove from oven to mix so roots don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Return to the oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes until roots are easy to poke with a fork (I've noticed soft beets are a good indicator). Let cool and enjoy!

Beets!

Chop about an inch square

Our potatos

Adding garlic... you can never have too much, right?!

I love rosemary :)

Before baking...

After!

Happy Roasting :)

My running journey...

2012-08-09T12:34:00.000-04:00

After my longest run to date - 8 miles :)

I've always enjoyed running, but have never been one to go out for more than 2 miles at a time and usually never run consistently throughout the year. I'm definitely a fair weather runner :) Somehow for the past 3 years I've mustered up the energy to run in the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving when we're back in Ohio visiting family. It's a 5 mile race that always makes me want to puke/cry by the last mile! All this being said - I've had the dream of running a half marathon for the past couple of years. Crazy, right? Last year I really started training, but never made it to race day. I'm not the best at pushing myself - sometimes when I feel like walking, I just stop and start walking. But this year I am determined!! I've officially signed up for the VHRTC Women's Half Marathon. I'm excited that it's a small, all women's race AND is on trail :) And the best part is that I have an amazing friend joining me for the race! :) So, now that Andrea and I realize we have 4 weeks until race day - we've been getting our butts in gear. It's so great to have a running buddy waiting on you at 7:15 every Tuesday morning. As tempting as it is to hit the snooze button, I know she'll be out there stretching and ready to go -- such good motivation! It will be both of our first half marathon's and as nervous as I am, I know it'll be such a great experience.

Any advice for my first half??

Strawberry Lemon Bars

2012-08-07T18:05:00.001-04:00

I loooove lemon bars, and recently found an amazing recipe. I was planning to make them a few nights ago, but when reaching into the refrigerator to pull out the ingredients my eye caught the 2 pints of fresh strawberries we'd recently bought (and needed to eat!). So I decided to invent (well not really, because there are plenty of other recipes out there) Strawberry Lemon Bars :) They're like fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade on a hot summer day! They are really simple to make and only take about an hour from start to eat (maybe a little longer if you let them cool completely!). I also decided to nearly half the sugar from many regular lemon bar recipes since I was adding in sweet tangy strawberries. Here it is...

Ingredients:
Crust

I chop up the butter into thin slices before working into mixture

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 stick cold butter

For the strawberry lemon filling:
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 eggs
2 tsp lemon zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
5-6 large fresh strawberries (pureed)
additional confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. To make the crust, combine the confectioners sugar, flour and sea salt in a large bowl. Cut in the cold butter and work with your fingers and a fork until it's well mixed and crumbly. Press into a greased nine inch pan and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until golden.

Should look something like this before pressing into your pan

While the crust is baking, start on the lemon filling. Whisk together the granulated sugar and flour in a bowl. Add the eggs and whisk well. Add the lemon zest and juice and mix until everything is smooth and combined.

Puree strawberries (I just used a little food processor for this) and keep in a separate dish for now. Pour lemon filling over hot crust. Pour strawberry puree over lemon filling and use a knife or spatula to swirl. (You could also just mix the strawberries in with the lemon mixture before pouring over the crust. I just like the swirled look!) Return to oven to bake for another 18-20 minutes. When done, the filling will no longer jiggle. Let cool completely in the pan, then dust with powdered sugar and slice!

I cut the strawberries in half and throw them in the food processor

After :)

Pour into lemon mixture

Swirl!

Swirled conconction before being baked! Last picture I took because we inhaled them so quickly once they were done :)

Happy Summer!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2012-08-05T15:43:00.001-04:00

Ingredients

This is so easy & fun AND saves you a lot of money! So all you need are few simple, easy to find ingredients and a cheese grater!

Ingredients:
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
1 bar Fels-Naptha (grated)

Grate the soap --- looks just like cheese! And smells amazing...

You can find everything you need in the laundry aisle in any major store. The large boxes of washing soda and borax are only about $3 each! This conconction makes enough detergent for about 64 loads of laundry! Looking on some other websites, people have estimated that it only cost about $0.01 per load. What a deal :)

Mixed ingredients

So, all you do is grate the Fels-Naptha - I just used a simple cheese grater. And then mix all of the ingredients together - ta da! I've even tested it on a load of laundry and it worked great! If you like your laundry to have more of a scent to it when it comes out, you can try using Zote instead of Fels-Naptha. (it's also pink!)

You only need 1-2 Tablespoons per load :)

Put some in a Ball jar for a cute, simple gift :)

Has anyone else ever made their own detergent??

Returning to Katahdin...

2012-07-24T21:18:00.002-04:00

My first time on Katahdin!

Shane & I after our 2,178.3 mile journey!

I have a horrible memory. But one thing I'll never forget is the day I first hiked up Mount Katahdin in Maine. In 2009 I was fortunate enough to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail with my wonderful husband (fiance at the time). You can read more about our hike on our Trail Journals site. Katahdin was the final climb along a 2,178.3 mile journey from Georgia to Maine. I remember the strange emotions I was feeling with every step I took. I remember being so excited to complete this journey I'd been dreaming about for years and at the same time being so sad for it to come to an end. We hiked up with a group of people we'd been traveling with since North Carolina. We laughed and shared inside jokes. We talked about what we wanted to eat when we got down. And we cried a little (at least I did!) when we got our first glimpse of the famous Katahdin sign. You can see it in the distance for over a mile on a clear day. From that point on, you're no longer climbing over rocks using rebar holds or surrounded by forest. You're well above tree line and can't be slowed down by the gradual elevation gain. When I finally got the sign I hugged it and had a photo shoot with every angle of the sign and the various people up there. And then I sat up there.... for nearly 3 hours just basking in the sun and never wanting to come down. That's the strange thing - you always hear about Katahdin being the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, but you never really hear about the 5 miles after that. The long, slow down hill giving you time to soak in what just happened. Allowing you to recall highlights from the past 5 and half months. Think about how excited you are to call home and tell them you did it! To share with friends and family endless pictures and stories and thank them for supporting you along the way.

My second time with this sign :)

I often relive September 2, 2009 in my head, but last week I got to relive it in my trail runners :) After an amazing week long work conference in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, I had the opportunity to return to Katahdin with 5 amazing people. We camped at Katahdin Stream Campground the evening before summiting, and got to stare up at the mountain dreaming of what tomorrow would bring. We headed out early and were lucky enough to have a warm, clear day to spend on one of the best hikes I've ever been on. We started out laughing and chatting, but quickly the rolling first mile turned into a 2 mile rock staircase. I took about an hour to hike on my own, which was so nice. It was a great time for reflecting and remember the individual hand holds and challenging scrambles where 3 years ago Shane had definitely given me a boost to get up! Once above treeline I sat and took a break, but couldn't sit long because I was soooo anxious to get to the summit. And, by the time I arrived to the plateau and last mile, I was booking it! It was such a great feeling to be on top of that beautiful mountain again! We spent some time up there talking to other hikers, eating lunch and deciding which trail to take down. In 2009, Shane had gone down the Knife Edge trail, which is a narrow trail with steep drop offs on either side. I had taken one look at it and decided to head down the Saddle Trail. But I always somewhat regretted not doing the Knife Edge. So this time I was determined! All five of us decided to do it (although I'm not sure they all are happy with that decision! :) ). It was AWESOME! And actually not quite as scary as I expected. I know my mom would be so disappointed in me for even considering it, but there was only one section that truly had me questioning my decision to take this path. But after some help from another hiker, I made it down the scary scramble and to the end of the Knife Edge! The rest of the Trail down is just that... DOWN. Not too steep, but 4 long miles of down hill.

Knife Edge - if you look really close you can see Julie!

I have a horrible memory, but I'll never forget the first TWO times I climbed Mount Katahdin... and hopefully the next 10 times :)

Happy Trails!

Quinoa with Black Beans

2012-07-10T20:22:00.001-04:00

Yum! This was my first time trying this recipe and it was soooo good I have to share! I'm obsessed with quinoa and I'm always trying to find new ways to eat it. So, after some searching, I found lots of mexican quinoa dishes and decide to concoct one of my own :) Shane even said "I think this is the best meal you've ever made" -- which maybe isn't saying much for my cooking, but still made my day!

Ingredients:

Chopped fresh ingredient that go on last

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped or pressed
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
a couple of dashes of salt and pepper (or more to taste)
1 can (15oz) sweet corn, drained
1 can (15oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
a few squeezes of fresh lime juice
1 small tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped

Boiling veggie broth and quinoa mixture

Directions:

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute for a few minutes until lightly browned.
Add the rinsed quinoa into the saucepan and pour in the vegetable broth. Add all spices and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
Stir corn into the saucepan, and continue to cook on low for about 2 minutes until heated through. Then, add the black beans and cook for another minute. Try not to stir too much to avoid making the black beans mushy.
Dish out the quinoa mixture into individual bowls and squeeze a little fresh lime juice on each serving.
Top with cilantro, tomato and avocado.

Final hot mixture


Final product -- delicious!

Enjoy! :)

Our Garden :)

2012-07-03T08:32:00.003-04:00

We live in an apartment in town, so we don't really have space for a garden. Last year, we grew a few tomato plants and herbs outside of our window and became members of a CSA. But this year we really wanted our very own garden :) So we rented a plot at our community garden (only $35 for the year!). We started work early in the spring prepping our beds and starting all sorts of vegetables, herbs and flowers from seed in our apartment under a grow light. At the beginning of the year, we were out at our plot a few times a week. I remember walking by all of the plots (there's about 40 total) early in the season just baffled that some people hadn't even touched their plot by early May! And here we are a few months later praying for rain so that I don't have to go out this week. It's not that I don't absolutely LOVE being in the garden - I truly find my zen there and "a quick trip to water" turns into several hours of basking in the sun and admiring all the beautiful plants we grew from seed... oh yea and a little weeding :) The problem is this cute little puppy named Juno :)

Building our raised beds

My pea trellis :)

Row cover -- this stuff WORKS!!

Our enemy!!!

Peas!

Can you blame us??

Our first little garden :

Since dogs aren't allowed at the garden, it's really been put on the back burner. Since Juno's crated all day (except for a lunch break), the last thing we want to do when we get home from work is put back in the crate so we can go garden. It really makes me anxious to have a house of our own with a garden out back, where I can be pulling weeds and throwing Juno a tennis ball all at the same time...

Kale

But even after literally a full month of not visiting the garden, I went out to find how amazing it was still doing all on its own. I almost teared up when I walked out to our plot to find so many greens and peas and radishes and broccoli and flowers doing so well! Here's a few photos of our plot this year.

Harvesting Radishes!

Lettuces!

Radishes

Broccoli

Radish

Sugar Snap Peas

Future Tomato!

Tomatoes

Happy Gardening :)

Baby Wrap

2012-07-01T13:13:00.001-04:00

My cute nephews (and husband!)

So, I have the two cutest nephews in the whole world! I'm one proud aunt, that's for sure :) When Cooper was born, I really wanted to make a baby wrap for my sister-in-law, Hannah. I searched and searched for different patterns. This is my favorite one I came across - it's easy, has great step-by-step instructions and photos and it's affordable to make! It only requires 3 yards of fabric, where many others call for up to 6 (at that point you might as well buy one). So, save your JoAnn Fabric coupons (or wait for the knit cottons to go on sale) and make a cute baby wrap for yourself or cute babies in your life!

Cooper in his wrap

Side view - look at that cute face :)

Fabric for JJ's wrap - excited to get started!

I got the pattern from a great blog - Five Little Ladies. Check out the instructions for making the wrap here. I'm so happy with how my first one turned out, that I'm getting to work on my second for little JJ.

Homemade Granola Bars

2012-06-24T13:47:00.001-04:00

Yum - this is hands down one of my favorite recipes to make! It's quick, easy and delicious (and healthy!)! This recipe was passed down to my mom from Grandma Sullivan and as with a lot of Gma's recipes, it originally included lots of sugar and butter, but I've messed around with the recipe and trimmed down those ingredients to my current version. Another thing I love about this recipe is that it's so easy to swap out ingredients so that you can make a variety of granola bars and never get sick of them! Here's my go-to recipe, but I've included other options in parenthesis if you want to mix it up. Enjoy :)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans, sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or dried cranberries, craisins)
1 egg white
2 Tbs honey
~1 cup unsweetened applesauce

In a large bowl, mix together brown sugar, oats, flour, flax seed, baking powder, cinnamon. Add chopped nuts and chocolate chips. In a small bowl, mix together egg white, honey and 1/2 cup of applesauce and then add to the dry mixture. With a fork (or fancier kitchen utensil) press the mix until it becomes fairly moist. You don't want big areas with clumps of flour mixture. Add applesauce a little at a time until you get the desired consistency. The less dry your mix, the more gooey/chewy your bars will be.

Press mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking pan until it is evenly spread. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes.
Let cool and then cut into yummy squares :)

What's left of my last batch - they don't last long around here!

Welcome.... AND come back!

2012-06-15T12:25:00.002-04:00

Welcome to my blog! I've been such a blog follower (mostly on food, diy projects, fitness & gardening) and have dreamed of creating my own - so today, I'm taking the leap. I thought I'd also include information about other things going on in my world and hope to share at least one useful tidbit a week on a wide array of topics. So if you have the patience.... follow me and maybe pick up a new craft idea or recipe along the way.

Thanks for stopping by :)