Memorial Day Weekend, baby showers, and birthdays...

Once again another busy weekend for this girl. It started off with a long drive to CT friday night. I got to my in-laws around 9:30 pm and enjoyed a nice bowl of penne with vodka sauce.

Saturday morning was filled with preparations for my cousin-in-laws baby shower for twin boys!! God bless her, she is going to need all the help she can get. The dogs were also able to get some swimming in before the guests arrived. At one point there were 5 dogs chasing frisbees and tennie balls around the patio and in the pool.

The baby shower was very nice. The sun came out and it turned out to be a beautiful day. We decorated onsies, enjoyed drinks and food, and the Mom-to-be opened presents. Her sister also made some awesome diaper cakes.

Sunday I spent the day with my family and childhood friend. We headed to Abbott's for a LOBSTER feast,

had german chocolate cake,

and went to bingo at the casino. We had such a great time and it was another beautiful day.

It was exactly what I wanted to do, just hang out and relax...

Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day weekend everyone!!

It seems as though things just aren't slowing down around here. This weekend is a busy one filled with baby showers and birthdays. My birthday to be exact!

 I have the car packed and ready to head to CT this evening after work. I just have to go home, feed, and pack the pups.

This was actually taken at Salt Lake City.

I realized this morning when I went to make breakfast I have no bread. So breakfast was a smoothie filled with frozen blueberries, a banana, 1 cup of skim milk, and 1 scoop of protein powder. For lunch, I headed to subway. I try not to eat out but when I do I usually go for subway (for lunch at least).

 I must say I am looking forward to a 3 day weekend, German Chocolate Cake, and lobster. We might also take a trip to the casino. BINGO anyone?


Marathon training officially starts Sunday... well monday because sunday is listed as a rest day. Stay tuned for updates. This might be a long process because I haven't been running as much as I would like.

Yummy egg sandwiches...



For those of you that don't know. I <3 breakfast foods. One of my go to breakfasts would be the egg sandwich. Today I had 2 fried eggs with provolone cheese and 2 slices of toasted whole wheat bread and a few dashes of Franks Red Hot. I also enjoyed a cup of cofee... or two this morning.



After breakfast was dog walking time... I just didn't have the energy to run this morning, but at least the pups were able to get out. Tonight I work late and have a manadatory meeting afterwards so they will have a long day in the outdoor pen, at least the ran has finally stopped.

More good news... Wally and I are officially land owners! We closed on the property yesterday morning. We were also given the old deeds dating back to the early 1900's.

More updates later, Wally took the camera with him for work and I have pictures to upload and share. Including: Sheep and Wool festival and homemade dog treats.



Rock n race results...

My final time was 30:35. I was initally disappointed with myself because I have been wanting to get under 30 minutes. But Wally reminded me that I did stop for Calvin to go to the bathroom, which probably added about a minute to my time when looking back at my watch.

This was also the first race in my five fingers! So overall I am pretty pleases with myself. Things will get better. Wally and I both ran with both the dogs. We technically weren't supposed to have them on the course but none of the officials said anything. We only have 2 people say something. Both of the dogs were very well behaved and stayed by our side the WHOLE time.

The weather was nice, considering it has been raining the last 3 days. The race was very well organized. There were 3-4 bands along the race course as well as one at the end. The FOOD... oh my goodness. There were pulled pork sandwiches (my choice for dinner), hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, caramel popcorn, cookies, and brownies. I also had a sampling of all the desserts :)

Also, fun giveaway from Lunges and Lashes. Click the link to get there. She has lots of healthy goodies.

So it seems as though life never really settles down. My big news is that Tuesday morning I ran 3.1 miles in less than 30 minutes. I had gone out with the dogs which is always an adventure, but they were pretty good, after going to the bathroom 3 times.

Today is the first race of the season...

A 5K to benefit Concord Hospital. Apparently there is music and food along the race course. A lunch today I went down to register my husband and I. This is also the first race I will be doing in the Vibram Five Fingers.

 I will keep you all updated on race times. Back to work...





Leftover lunch!

Leftover lunch!

Barefoot running...almost

As some of you may know, for christmas I got these... vibram five finger running shoes.

Yesterday  I had a meeting with my boss, he asked if I would be interested in training for a half marathon using my five finger and writing about it for the company newletter. I immediately said yes, it would give me a good reason to really train in these babies. I think that I am a little too comfortable in my sneakers. So after work I slid my feet into these and leashed up the pups for a 2.6 mile run. It felt pretty good. The plan was to do 2 miles to ease into it, but I was feeling pretty good, then around 1.2 my calves started to feel it and I decided it was time to head back.


2.6 miles in 25:43 - not too bad, that includes stopping for the dogs to pee and poop.


Anyway, while catching up on some blogs I came across this, a The hungery runner girl shoe giveaway! She has a new pair of New Balance minimalist shoes which are super cute.

Well check it out!



Recap form a busy few days

So naturally summer time comes and things get busy for work so Wally and I spend our free time almost always doing something.

Cinco de mayo- Wally happened to be away and I had plans to go out with my friend Lindsey and her husband. We went to a restaurant called La Carreta for dinner and margaritas!!





 Calvin is the Cinco de Mayo dog wearing the free shirt that I got from the restuarant. We also got light up bracelets! (not pictured).

Saturday's plan was going to be a busy day. Wally was supposed to go into work for some training, he thought would last 1/2 a day, then we were going to head over to the property to look around more and decide where to put a house. So to start the day off right I made blueberry pancakes, something wasn't right and I burned the first batch, the burner was probably too hot. I was also trying to do laundry at the same time. When Wally was at work I got lots done, cleaned the house, mopped the floors, and 3 loads of laundry, and played with the dogs outside.

Also learned Calvin isn't a very strong swimmer yet and had to go rescue him because he couldnt get back on the dock :( . Forest on the other hand is an old pro and LOVES the water.

Around 4 I got a call from Wally asking if I wanted to go for a helicopter ride... Who wouldn't? So I headed to Concord and went for a ride to MA with hime.

 The inside controls, so many gauges to look at.











Wally doing his thing....

The view from up above...

Once we landed in MA, we waited for about 30 minutes for his boss to pick us up. We had a nice cushy ride back to NH in a GMC Yukon, with DVD player and heated seats! We also stopped by Chateau for dinner, somewhere in southern NH. We ordered the Ultimate Nachos for an appetizer! Yum! and had Eggplant parm for dinner.

Needless to say we got home around 11 pm and didn't make it to the property on Saturday.

Sunday, we did! The dogs enjoyed it, running through the fields, chasing the birds, and wondering through the woods.

Afterwards we headed up to the White Mountains to start checking hikes off our 4000 Foot peaks list.

Calvin running back (loves his backpack)



 It was a pretty hard first hike of the season. I am sure things will get better. It was a beautiful day for a hike.

After we got back I got dinner started. First with broccoli slaw, modifed from Sandra Lee

• 3 stalks of broccoli (grated the stalks in the food processor, and small pieces of the florets, the dogs got the extras)
• 1 cup of craisins
• ~1 cup of sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup of light ranch dressing

 



 I must say this came out pretty good and Wally raved about it. He said this was one of his favorite meals. Also, the sliced almonds we got in the bulk food area of the grocery store, which ended up being about $1, if you got the bagged version it was $2.50 for a small bag! I will definitely be utilizing this more.

Next Sweet Potato Fries:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• slice 4 small sweet potatoes
• spray with cooking spray (instead of olive oil)
• salt, pepper, and paprika
• cook for about 40-50 minutes

I also put them under the broiler for 3-5 minutes for a little extra crispiness.

the complete meal

 It looks like a lot, but I use a small plate so I don't over pile the food on.

Hope you guys had a great weekend. Now it's back to work.

So last night was a celebratory night. We officially put a deposit down on a pie

So last night was a celebratory night. We officially put a deposit down on a piece of land. So to celebrate my husband took me out to Longhorn's steakhouse for dinner. Had a shot of Patron. Baby back ribs. And soft serve ice crean with cherry dip for dessert. :)
Now that the land process is almost done we can start working on the house building. : O What a project that is going to be... Now I am waiting at the hanger for a helicopter ride to MA.

Date night!

Since Wally has been working a lot lately and will probably be pretty busy over the next couple of months (and I didn't have anything to cook), we decided it would be a good night for date night.

We choose The Flying Goose in New London, NH. It is close to Colby-Sawyer College. The town of New London has a few cute shops and restaurants that we plan to go and check out another time.

For a small town it was a pretty nice restaurants. We were seated in an enclosed patio area and while passing the bar noticed that there was a TON of taps. The menu was pretty diverse, including soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, and some home-style type entrees.

Wally ordered the meatloaf with rice pilaf and steamed veggies. He also ordered a cup of potato broccoli soup to start (yum!). I was in the burger type mood and ordered the beefalo burger with sauteed onions, Gouda cheese, and bistro sauce with onion rings, also a side salad (for the veggies ;) ). Dinner was delicious, sorry no pictures, I forgot my camera and phone). Even though we were stuffed we had our hearts set on dessert. Once reviewing the dessert menu we came down to two options; carrot cake or choc. chip cookie pie with homemade hot fudge and whipped  cream.

We choose the choc. chip cookie pie. It was warm and gooey and a perfect end to our dinner.

Oh and the beer; Wally ordered the Milk Chocolate Stout.

Its going to be a beautiful day out today before a few days of rain, I'm going outside and enjoy myself!