Memorial Day Weekend

It actually turned out to be kinda a low key weekend- which was kinda nice after the pace of the previous week.

Friday I rushed home to take Mikayla to her eye appointment. She broke her glasses last Saturday and was limping through last week with them super glued together.  She got contacts and new glasses and is a happy camper.  Ryan has his appointment in a couple weeks and then I can finally get new contacts and glasses too!

When we got home we tried our our ice cream maker... spoiler alert- its AWESOME!

Click -->> HERE <<-- for the video of us putting together the ice cream base-

 And -->>HERE<<-- for the results! YUM!

 

Saturday I started off with a run with my buddy- he even tolerated a selfie.

 

 

Favorite breakfast- iced coffee and egg sammie

Then this- 

 

While I was out running I got a message with this picture of Mikayla showing this little guy her trumpet. They had a workshop for some 3rd graders on Friday- who will be starting to play instruments in the fall. Mikayla blew through the trumpet and let him push the buttons.

 

The rest of Saturday was spent grocery shopping, and doing laundry.  Mikayla babysat in the evening, followed by another trip to the store. And prepping goodies for our Sunday cookout with the Fam.

Sunday I forgot my phone at home so the only picture is of this vegan strawberry ice cream I made for Owen. (He's allergic to milk and eggs and gluten and almonds.) So I was excited Pampered Chef had this recipe that he could have! It was actually pretty tasty! I would make it again for sure. Most of the family tried it and enjoyed it as well.

 

VEGAN STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS

• 1 can (13.66 oz/403 mL) unsweetened coconut milk
• ½ cup (125 mL) sugar
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut oil, melted
• 1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
• ¼ cup (50 mL) fresh strawberries, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the bowl of the Ice Cream Maker into the freezer for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Combine the coconut milk, sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla extract in a Classic Batter Bowl and whisk for 1 minute, or until the sugar is dissolved.
3. Add the strawberries and stir to combine.
4. Remove the Ice Cream Maker bowl from the freezer and attach the assembled clear lid to the bowl.
5. Set the timer for 20 minutes. Once the paddle starts rotating, pour the mixture into the bowl.
6. When the Ice Cream Maker stops turning, remove the clear lid and serve, or store for later use.
   Note: The ice cream will be a “soft-serve” consistency when it first comes out of the machine. For firmer ice cream, cover the bowl with the Stretch-Fit Lid and place in the freezer for 2–4 hours.

Nutrients per serving:

U.S. Nutrients per Serving: Calories 180, Total Fat 14 g, Saturated Fat 12 g, Sodium 5 mg, Carbohydrate 14 g, Fiber 1 g, Sugars 13 g, Protein 1 g

It wound up being a pretty long day for Chancey. We took him to Mom and Dad's for the afternoon. Then Ryan and Mikayla had youth group, so we took a stroll around the Prayer Trail and then hung out, outside at church while they were there.  He was pretty beat when we got home.  All that fresh air.

 

Monday of course brought more rain. I watched the weather outside as I did yet more laundry and cleaned the kitchen. When a break in the rain came Chance and I headed out for a run.

 

It started pouring again part way through and we got pretty wet! :-P But we were happy. I needed that run! I gave Chancey a good rub down when we got home to help dry him off, which he very much enjoyed.

 

Afternoon- the weather turned warm, sunny and beautiful. Hannah cajoled me into taking her on a bike ride.

I just love our town

 

Almost home! Her legs "felt like noodles!"

I found this saxophone shaped carrot when we made dinner.  

 

We ended the evening with a fire & S'mores. Perfection...even though it rained a bit more. :P

 

 

This week I am working to get back on track. I've been feeling not fantastic, not bad. Just tired and worn. I remember feeling so great back when I started 21 day fix and shakeology. I quit shakeology because of cost and have been hoarding what's left of my last bag. I'm a little at a loss. Isn't exercise and being active enough? Why are shakes all the rage now and so darn expensive? Can't I just eat real food and be healthy and feel good. Another wrinkle- Mikayla is now a vegetarian. Trying to find meals that please her, as well as the carnivores. Plus make sure she is getting all the protein, etc she needs. She's been using a protein shake as a supplement. But isn't crazy about the one she has currently- which is almost gone.

Today I used one more of my precious scoops. But what's the point of hoarding it- its not doing any good on the pantry shelf either. :P I wish I could afford to keep buying it- but bottom line is I can't.  There's a new 5 day challenge group starting and am finding myself wanting to be part of it- but what's the point if I can't end up going back to Beachbody. I have the tools I need.  I just need to use them.

I did run yesterday and Total Body Cardio this morning. Healthy breakfast and lunch . . .

Maybe I should just be content with the way I am.

Honor & Remember 2017

Saturday was the Honor and Remember Run. It was every bit as hard as I remember, although I think I completed it marginally more sucessfully.

 Trail running (at least for me) feels so much harder than road running. I know its better for your knees or wahtever but man it was hard. I don't like running in grass.

I planned to wear my red Old Navy flag tank from last year and my new Superman shorts... but the weather didn't cooperate. But at least I could wear my Run Free socks. :-P

It wound up being pretty chilly at the start of the run. I settled on capri's, my purple short sleeve from Pittsburgh and my long sleeve Good Samaritan T (which I shed shortly after we started running).

I met my brother and his wife at their house and Becca drove us to the race.  We checked in and got our shirts, bibs and these Frozen cookies -- which I was overly excited about but ended up giving to Hannah anyway.

  

Nathan adding songs to his playlist last minute

Start line selfie-

 

I lost Nate and Becca pretty much the second the air horn sounded. I did see Becca after she hit the turn around and one other spot where I had a moment of panic that I had taken a wrong turn. I hadn't, its just the trails kinds crossed shortly after that, a little confusing but the kindly man stationed there just smiled and pointed me in the right direction.

This was just before Schneider Hill, as it was named last year.  I wish there was a way for the pictures to accurately show just how big and steep this crazy hill is.  I did make it to the top- it was still super hard! But I made it.

This is on the back side heading back down.

 

Hill from the finish line-

And from the parking lot by our car

 

Finished and happy.

I'm pretty sure we all did better than last year. I shaved around 4 minutes off last years time. =)

awards, pizzas and BEARS

Last night was Senior Awards at the High School. Mikayla received scholarship given in her 7-8 grade social studies teacher's honor.  You may recall this teacher was killed in a car accident, on her way to school one morning. So tragic. This class dedicated their yearbook to Ms. Hyland last night. Ms. Hyland's sister was there to accept the honor.

How is it possible these girls are SENIORS!
Graduation less than a month away!

"I am truly honored to have been the recipient of the Colleen Hyland Memorial Scholarship. Thank you so much Ms. Hyland for being such an amazing and wonderful teacher. I promise to do my best to be as eccentric and inspiring as you were and I hope someday I can prove to be worthy of this award. Thank you Ms. Hyland for all you have done." ~ Mikayla

I am beyond proud of Mikayla. I know she has a bright future ahead of her. I know Ms. Hyland would be proud of her too. I'm sure Mik will be following right in her footsteps <3

Before the awards night we had our weekly pizza night! We broke out the grill pans for our first grilled pizza of the season! =) Check out our Live video --->> HERE <<---  They came out every bit as delicious as I remember. Grilling is the best way to make pizza at home.  Makes the crust so perfectly crispy.  We made Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza and Three Cheese Garden Pizza.  Three Cheese Garden Pizza is also in the All the Best Cookbook, which has been discontinued- but is currently up in the outlet section. For only $6. It's one of favorite cookbooks ;-) There's lots of other goodies in the OUTLET right now too, if you're in the mood for some bargain shopping ;-) Check it out! 

 

 

I got my ice cream maker! Hopefully we will give it a try tonight! 

 

ToL 5.25

My devotional this morning. So appropriate. This is what I have been working on the past few days.  Clearing out the negative- filling up with the good. From The Confident Woman Devotional by Joyce Meyer.


Got to see Ryan throw discus last night- took 1st place and personal PR at 90 feet.

 

 

Right after the Track Meet was Hannah's spring concert. So we had a little track picnic. Thankfully both were at the same school.

 

Band portion of the concert-

 

 

Found this picture on my phone this morning- made me laugh...

 

Did some prep for tonight's supper- any guesses on what we are making tonight? Stop by Amy's Pampered Kitchen around 5 to find out ;-)

Linked up today with Amanda at Running with Spoons

Weekend Wrap-up

What a gloomy day it is outside- working really hard to keep my attitude from mirroring it.

It was another jam packed weekend here.

Friday night Mikayla went to the junior prom with one of her friends.

Saturday morning I ran the Honor & Remember Run with my brother and sister-in-law...more on that in another post... 

Saturday afternoon we had our family pictures taken for the new church directory. We ended up buying one trio of pictures for our house (which were way, way over priced). Also looking at the proofs, I noticed I have somehow become the smallest member of our family.

Saturday night I had my first burger and shakes pampered chef party... It was pretty OK.  There were a couple things I would probably do different- if I do that theme again but it was fun over all! =)  Its the first time I have done an outdoor party too. My hosts had a really cute little back yard.  We made shakes in the manual food processor and it worked great! I may feature that on an upcoming What's She Makin' Weekend ;-)

Sunday morning I threw a package of cinnamon rolls in the oven for breakfast. I enjoyed one with my 2nd cup of coffee. :P Hit. The. Spot.

My husband tagged me in this post on FB- its pretty accurate. ;-)

Yesterday was my brother's birthday.  We celebrated with a cookout at Mom and Dad's.  Becca made him a Captain America cupcake cake.

I almost made PBJ for lunch but Mikayla reminded me off all the lettuce that needed used up. We also bought a plethora of berries last night, so I used those too. My salad is so pretty, it made me happy on this gloomy morning.

I have been struggling with this lately- it was bittersweet to have this come up in my memories this morning. I miss working at my church so much!

 

But today I am choosing to be thankful for the time I did have there, and thankful I am still apart of this wonderful body.  This past week our new youth pastor started. (He has also taken over in the office). My kids could not say enough about Pastor Ben and Katie on the drive home last night. It was so awesome to hear their excitement.  Last night was also our annual meeting at Church. It was great to sit and hear all God is doing in our Church, also to hear a few testimonies. It made me happy to sit in a pew with my mom and dad and brother and sister-in-law. I'm so happy my family is a part of my church family <3

Things I am reminding myself of today. To be thankful. God is in control. I am where He wants me, for today. It doesn't mean I will always be here. He can supply all my needs. <3