Yummy Goodness

So I am writing this post for any of you out there that think maybe we are wasting away and surviving off of PB & J for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  We have been asked several times, "what do you eat?"  So I thought I'd share a little of the day to day with you.  If you know Sean, you know that he would scoff at the idea of eating peanut butter and jelly for lunch or *gasp* cereal for breakfast.  He is the man, after all, that after days of pleading with him, he only went out and bought his pregnant wife pop-tarts because he found them in an organic variety.  In the past year I have slowly said goodbye to cereal (extraordinarily painful for a girl who would happily eat cereal for dinner 3 times a week)  But, I can't complain, because although I can follow a recipe and cook up some yummy goodness, Sean is gifted with cooking healthy meals from scratch with no recipe.  He just makes them up.  Salmon with fresh ginger and balsamic glaze?  Check.  Buffalo tacos with fresh mangoes and homemade to-die-for guac? (Thanks, Mich!)  No problem.  So I gladly have coffee, laundry, and baby duty, which includes entertaining cutie, making his food, changing diapers, etc.  I happily take on these responsibilities when I do not have to lift a finger in the kitchen.  I mean, he actually enjoys grocery shopping!  I have offered to do it, but he always turns me down.  So on our drive to one of our first races, we decided we needed to make a menu and shopping list for the week.  Here is our dinner menu.  Yummy :)  For lunch, we usually eat leftovers (except fish!). 
 

Monday	Grilled Fish	Edamame Salad
Tuesday	Chicken Tacos	Guacamole
Wednesday	Turkey & Cheese	Broccoli
Thursday	Buffalo Burgers	Sweet Potatoes & Salad
Friday	Grilled Fish	Fruit Salad
Saturday	Chicken Tzatziki	Asparagus & Peppers
Sunday	Barbecue Chicken	Veggie Skewers

So Monday and Thursday we make our way to the nearest Whole Foods (if we can find one) and Sean goes in, armed with our pre-made grocery list to purchase our food for the next few days.  We eat the same thing every morning for breakfast...which some might think gets old, but look at it!

The bowl contains plain organic yogurt, agave nectar for sweetening, granola, and fresh fruit which in this case happens to be strawberries, raspberries, and peaches.  We switch the fruit up as the seasons change.

Here is our fruit salad:

Seriously?  In a melon bowl?  Presentation is everything to this man.  It's the little things in life, people.

Mmmmm....salmon night!

Grilled Salmon and veggies, a side salad, and a bonus of shrimp :)

And....

Oh woops :)  How'd that get in there?  Mama can cook too!  We've got chicken, yellow squash, carrots, and bananas, which he won't eat unless they are all mixed together!

 And of course, my favorite part is s'mores.  Unfortunately, we haven't hit a lot of campfire friendly places lately, so we have had plenty of time to perfect our raw s'more technique.  Though Sean and I disagree on this front.  Please see below for what Sean calls the "Squirrel Method."

In this method, you put the s'more together like you would if you had a campfire to make it.  The difference is it doesn't stick together, and you must hold it together very carefully so as not to lose graham cracker in the process.  Thus the "squirrel."  Not attractive, but it is effective.

Then we have Sean's method.  He thinks it is much less wasteful. 

Here, Sean uses one quarter of a graham cracker, one piece of chocolate, and he has since modified it to half a marshmallow.  He puts it all in at once.  Less mess, less waste....but somehow, not as fun.

So, enough about food.  We are still in Salt Lake.  A couple of days ago, we needed to scout out the city to pick out the points for the challenge.  Usually Sean drives us around to check it out.  However, we are staying very close to downtown, and I was going stir-crazy, so we decided to walk around the city with the baby and chicken dog.  Sean warned me it would be about 7 miles, but I didn't care.  He didn't however, warn me about the gigantic, San Francisco-like hill we had to hike up to get to the Capital Building.  But, it was fun, and we really enjoyed seeing the city on foot.  It's a very nice city, surrounded by beautiful mountains.  We really didn't happen across any bad parts of town, and it is very walkable.  Five hours later, we made it back to our home in the dark.  Here are a couple of highlights:

After the long walk up the hill, we made it to the Capital Building!

Please note sign.  They are very safety conscious here.  Orange flags on the street corners to cross the street with.  Safety first!

Giddy-up Chicken Dog!

Consequently, Chicken Dog became quite the guard dog earlier this morning.  There is a rogue dog that has escaped from his site 3 times now, and each time he has made a beeline for Cooper.  He also peed all over the grass and driveway while running around--we don't even let Cooper pee in our clean little area.  The first two times, Cooper was friendly.  However, the third, and final time, Coop attacked.  I had to pull them apart (while the obnoxious owners came lolly gagging behind).  The only difference between the other times Rogue Dog came over was that Beckett was out playing in his exersaucer this morning.  Coop decided he needed to protect his baby.  :)  He's such a good dog!  I rewarded him with doggy treats and told him that we'd take him hiking tomorrow.  He's very excited!  And the best part is that you are allowed to have your dog off the leash on odd numbered days.  Hooray!  Pics to come!

The Adventure Continues...

So much has changed since my last post.  I have been held captive to such things as taking Metro Dash footage and turning it into hundreds of snapshots, searching out gyms in each city we go to to find email addresses for marketing, and of course playing mommy to my little cutie.  So sadly, my blog has been placed on the back burner, but I am back!  While in Houston, we discovered the RV Resort we were staying at had an amazing pool complete with palm trees and a "water feature" as the signs which told us to stay away put it.  It was a welcome respite if you went after 5:00 when the sun wasn't as strong, if you faced away from the field of endless power lines, and could ignore the high-pitched, ear pinging sound that came every 5 seconds to keep the mosquitoes away.  Beckett didn't seem to mind any of these minor annoyances and had a blast swimming away with his mom and dad.

Notice water feature in the background

Our little swimmer

Swimming with mom is the best!

I'm an alien!

Keeping warm when the sun goes down!

The Houston event went off wonderfully with a great turnout--over 260 people.  We even got to meet up with our friend, Emilie, which put the icing on the cake and made the heat of Houston worth it!  I even had a little helper who helped me count the medals when it was all over.

A whole new world has emerged now that little man can sit up on his own!

Denver.  Oh Denver.  How we love you!  Denver was filled with mornings of mom drinking coffee outside, while baby, all bundled up, sat up and played with his toys.  And of course, Cooper snuggled up to mom or baby to make sure everything was going smoothly.  The mornings were crisp and cool.  A sweatshirt and pants were all you needed to be comfortable.  Then the afternoon brought with it warmer temperatures in the upper 70s and low 80s.  No humidity, and we were free from the tiny RV we call home.  It was a wonderful week!

Mama's big boy (and no, I'm not talking about that glorious RV in the background--though I can't tell you how much I wish it were ours!)  Look at that belly!

Our little guard dog

We even made time to read!  Baby's favorite book--thanks Auntie Paula and Uncle Brentee!

As the week in Denver went on, we discovered a beautiful lake at the park we were staying at.  It took about 30 minutes to walk to from our site, but the walk was beautiful, and it was so nice to be outside and not withering in the heat!  We had the beach to ourselves, and Cooper went nuts over the chance to run around off leash.  And of course, he LOVES beaches!  There was a tiny floating dock that we walked out on.  Cooper loves water, but only if he can walk in it.  Chicken dog is NOT a swimmer.  He is also not a fan of narrow, bobbing docks.  But, he did discover that even at the far end of the dock, the water went up to his elbows.  We managed to lure him out onto the end of the dock, where he became a dock-diving dog.  He loved jumping off into the shallow water and doing it all over again.  It must have been quite a site to see from afar.  Beckett also got to enjoy his first time sitting up on his own and playing in the sand.  Amazingly enough, he didn't even try to put it in his mouth!

Chicken dog exploring the water next to the dock

The slow walk out

Chicken dog diving into the shallow water

The view from our private beach.  Downtown Denver and mountains beyond.

One happy doggy

Standing in the sand!

Most kissable cheeks EVER

As the week in Denver came to an end, I knew it was time for the trip to my favorite place (no, not the showers!):

Now these particular laundry facilities in Denver were outside under a covered overhang.  There were three washers (YES!) but one was broken (BOO!).  Not such a big deal, because I had four loads to do anyway.  I passed the time by reading Beckett my most recent book, Marley and Me.  Now I am pretty sure I am the only person this has ever happened to.  As my two loads of wash were coming to an end, and while standing next to a pile of dirty towels and sheets and a pile of dirty baby stuff, I was approached by a man and woman.  Their smiles of greeting quickly dropped from their faces when they saw me and all my stuff.  Over the sounds of two machines spinning, they asked me if I was still doing wash.  Despite all the sarcastic comments that flashed through my mind, I told them that I had two loads about to go in the dryer and two more to be washed.  They then informed me that they were there to unhook the washers and dryers because the building was going to be torn down.  Imagine the look of dismay sheer panic on this mama's face with dirty sheets, no clean baby clothes, washcloths, bibs, etc., and two loads of wet laundry.  Thankfully, they took pity on me and told me that they would let me finish my laundry before they unhooked anything.  Sometime during this exchange two things happened: the laundry in the washing machines finished and my once pleasant baby began crying.  So now, feeling guilty for making them wait, (even though there was no sign posted or park staff announcement about this catastrophic event) I began frantically transferring my wash to the dryer.  Don't forget about the fusser on my hip!  And my new laundry friends just stood there and watched me.  They WATCHED me, and they watched my purple undies and black bra, which of course HAD to fall on the ground amidst my frenzied clothes transfer.  WHY did it have to be the underwear?  No, it couldn't possibly be Sean's t-shirt or my running shorts.  And why are they staring at me?  Why is Beckett screaming?  How did I get to this place again????  So, even though there were now two free washers for my two loads of laundry, Washer Machine man asked me why I wasn't using the washer with the large sign that said "OUT OF ORDER."  Yes, that is how my day was going.  When I explained to him my reasoning, (it was crazy, I know) he threw some quarters in it, looked at the stream of water, declared it a functioning washer, and told me to use it.  With great hesitation, I put the detergent and clothes in and closed the lid.  My clothes promptly started spinning.  For those of you who aren't laundry experts, the spin cycle is the LAST cycle of a load of laundry.  You know, after the washing machine fills with water, after the clothes have been washed, and after the clothes have been rinsed.  Lucky for me, I had a free load of wash from my washing machine friend.  However unlucky for me all I was going to end up with was a bunch of dirty, dizzy clothes.  Thankfully, he made some adjustments and fixed it--I think the look I gave him made his life flash before his eyes.  After about 3 hours, my laundry adventure was over and all washers and dryers at Cherry Creek State Park were out of commission for a few months.

So now, here we are in Salt Lake City, enjoying "unseasonably hot" weather.  Thankfully, it is nothing compared to the oppressive heat of Houston.  We are looking forward to some fun times here--we are getting together with Kimberly, a friend made in Kindergarten that I haven't seen in years.  Looks like baby is going on his first hiking trip!  Stay tuned for pictures! :)

Crematoria, Crazy Costumes, and Cruising

Sean and I watched a movie last night—Chronicles of Riddick.  Cheesy, but entertaining enough.  In the movie there is a planet, Crematoria, whose temperature rises to 700 degrees during the day.  Clearly, nobody goes outside during the day.  I’m pretty sure we are on Crematoria here at the good old Lakeview RV Resort in Houston.  

Our good ole' not-quite 6 foot wide home.

Nice little walking trail around the lake except it's hotter than Hades and dogs aren't allowed.  Such hooey.

  

Our home from behind with nice views of our neighbors and power lines.  We are missing the "campground" experience when compared to the "resort" experience.  Except for one little exception....coming up--keep reading!

Because it’s 700 degrees here, we stay in the RV during the day with all the sun shades drawn and the AC continuously running.  The AC never turns off because there is no shade here and the sun beats in on the RV all day long from every direction.  And there’s not a cloud in the sky.  You always wonder what’s wrong when pulling into an RV park or campground when NOBODY is outside.  Well, here it’s the heat, we figured.  So we decided we would tough it out in our TINY home all day, watch a movie, drink some wine, play with the baby, do some work, and then wait for the sun to go down.  And wait we did….wait, wait, wait, wait.  

Home, looking back.  Wait, wait, wait. Swing, swing, swing.

Home, looking forward.  Still waiting, and waiting, and waiting.  Come on sun!  Set already!

Finally the sun set!  Hallelujah!  Even the chicken dog was chomping at the bit to get out of this thing for the great outdoors.  So we hopped outside, sat down, kicked back, (it was only 300 degrees now), and started to enjoy being outside.  That is until the mosquitoes discovered the only 4 living beings brave dumb enough to exit an air conditioned/bug free dwelling.  Ahh…the second reason nobody was outside.  And they started to feast.  I tried to tough it out.  Really, I did.  But after 5 bites on me and even Sean being attacked for once, we ran for cover back to our home, sweet, home.  All that anticipation of a nice evening in the great outdoors was squashed.  So Sean proceeded to cook dinner inside (he usually cooks outside on the grill)—and what is the only thing we had?  Tacos.  So now we smell like a dirty Mexican restaurant and we’re itchy.  But you know what we trade for loss of shady goodness and cooler temps?  Take a look below.  Pure bliss. 

Dear shower, you are the cleanest shower I have set foot in on this journey.  I don't even have to wear shower shoes when I step into you. (But I still do, cause you never know what kinda foot fungus these strangers might have.) I love you.  Please let me put you in my pocket and take you with me wherever we go.  Love, Jo

Just in case you need a reminder of previous bathrooms.  Note hole in wall by knob and chipped paint.

 Alright, so enough complaining.  I would like to rewind a bit to share some highlights of our Labor Day weekend.  It started with Metro Dash Atlanta right in the heart of the city. 

Awesome backdrop for the race.

Little did we know that Dragon*Con, “the largest multi-media, popular culture convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics, literature, art, music, and film in the universe!"(dragoncon.org), was actually starting their parade on the street bordering our start/finish.  We are talking 35,000 people dressed up in costumes ranging from Star Wars characters, comic book heroes, Shrek characters, Spartans, girls in costumes that left nothing to the imagination, etc…  I even saw the Ghostbusters car.  It was CRAZY!  I mean these were 35,000 grown adults dressed up in costumes marching around.  As the competitors ran through the streets, the convention-goers jumped out the way and cheered them on.  In our survey feedback, instead of competitors being annoyed about being slowed down, they actually thought we did it on purpose and thanked us for the quirky distraction.  Thank you Dragon*Con, ya big bunch of weirdos!  (No disrespect intended if you’re into that sorta thing!)

Not quite sure where Shrek was.

10 points if you can figure out who the lady in white is. (besides scary)

And no parade is complete without the man on his ostrich.

Pinky and the Brain hours later having trouble hanging up the costume.

On Sunday, we got a big treat.  Sean’s good friend from his childhood days, Jen, invited us out on her boat with her husband and adorable 4 year-old daughter.  Our only problem was what to do with chicken dog.  He was invited on the boat, but since he’s scared of deep water, we were scared of what he’d do to the boat.  So Sean walked up to the camp store to talk to Marcia, our new friend, the campground manager.  He asked her if she knew of any kennels we could bring Cooper to for the day.  We technically could leave him in the RV, since the AC runs all the time—we were just worried about leaving him alone all day.  Marcia and her husband took a liking to Sean the week we were there, and she enthusiastically offered to watch Cooper, while she worked in the store.  So we had a date with a boat, and Cooper had a date with Marcia in the camp store.

I'm ready to go on the boat!

 So when it was time for our fun in the sun, I’m talking right to our doorstep kinda service.  They picked us up in the boat pretty much at our campsite.  We hopped on the boat, and headed out for some fun in a quiet little cove on Lake Lanier.  As soon as the boat started moving, Beckett passed out, despite the life jacket that he HATED wearing.

I'm on a boat!

When we arrived at the cove, baby and daddy enjoyed swimming around in the water.  Beckett even made a new girlfriend who made him laugh uncontrollably.

Ready to go swimming, Mama, but can you take this dumb thing off of me, please?!?!?

Can somebody get this thing off my face, please?!?!

My boys bonding

Beckett makes a new girlfriend.  A girl in every state is his goal.

After a great day on the water, we returned to our campsite and grilled steaks and veggies while slurping down fresh summer fruit.  And we can't forget the s'mores.  Oh, and of course we got Cooper back--and all the campers kept coming up to our site to say hi to him.  He was quite popular after spending his day in the store greeting all the customers.  And Charlie, Marcia's husband, kept saying something about Cooper eating a peanut butter granola bar.  Now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure he snagged it off the shelf as opposed to being offered it.  That's our chicken dog, always the gracious guest. What a perfect weekend it was!

So, I will be reflecting on the cool lake waters while I shower in delightfully clean showers and hide out in the RV to escape the Crematoria like temps. and blood-sucking mosquitoes.