Weekend in the motherland.

Before I became a Charlottean, I was a long-term Northeast Ohian.  I had a brief stint in Cleveland and a few years in Kent, but I’ve spent the bulk of my years to date split between two very different areas: the Portage Lakes and West Akron.

My dad lives in the Portage Lakes area, where they’ve got a burgeoning population of hillbillies, which he is oh-so-proudly apart of.  My mom lives in West Akron, which has a hodge podge of artsy and eclectic mashed up against hoity toity types with big fancy houses I like to drool over.

I can’t believe it has been four months since my last visit home.  The summer heat just melted the months away right before my eyes.  The time flew but four months is really far too long to be away.

This past weekend, I FINALLY headed back to OH (i-o!!) to celebrate my pa’s 50th birthday!

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Age.  It’s so bittersweet.  On one hand you become wiser and more mature.  You’ve seen more, travelled more, and gotten to spend more time with the ones you love.  But on the other hand, aging means you are one step closer to not being able to have and do these very things.

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It’s no secret that I’m sort of a sap, but something about my dad turning 50 really struck a chord with me.  It’s just crazy to think my dad is now 50… but at the same time it’s also crazy to think that my dad is ONLY 50.  I’m quite lucky to have such young parents, and I sure as heck need to do a better job of spending time with them.

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For dad’s big day we decided to cook up some half chickens.  THIS is how we do things in our neck of the woods:

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Serious backyard grilling:

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Bart (my dad’s BFF) was the master of the grill.

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Don’t act like you’re not impressed with this craftsmanship.

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Toby (my dad’s other BFF) took her usual role of being the master of all things lazy:

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Dad opening presents:

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My sister Jenny, brother-in-law Jon, my nephew Dylan, and one of the three million balloons he popped:

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Mmmmm cake….. Chocolate, of course Smile

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Family Photo Op!

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After hanging with the hillbillies all night, I headed back to my mom’s to hang out and share yet another slice of chocolate cake… and perhaps a slice of cherry cheesecake.  Perhaps.

The next day I busted out a six mile run then ransacked mom’s cabinets in search of grub.  I came up with this tasty combo for breakfast:

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Oatmeal with some warmed up frozen berries.  It’s that time of year again… bye bye overnight oats.  Bring on the hot stuff!

After breakfast, I took a quick stroll through Highland Square..

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I’ve always loved Highland Square, and honestly it’s hard not to.  It’s basically the cultural mecca of Akron.

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It’s also home to one of my all-time favorite coffee shops:  Angel Falls!

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Ahhhh.. I’ve sipped hundreds of coffees and nibbled on many a baked goodie in this green building.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE their biscotti…. Sadly I didn’t have time to grab any this visit.

Down the road from Angel Falls are lots of random shops, bars, and restaurants including a Chipotle and Metro Burger across the street.

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Later in the day, I had lunch with my friend Tim (newly engaged to Jaci at Engaged & Running), then headed to my dad’s to watch the Browns win their first game of the season!

HERE WE GO BROWNIES HERE WE GO!!!!!

And THEN I headed to Starbucks to meet up with some of my hometown gals:  Allison, Kelsey, baby Ella, and Tracy!

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After downing my first official pumpkin spice latte of the season (*heaven*), I headed home where mom cooked up some asparagus, risotto, and chicken she picked up from Earth Fare.  This wasn’t ANY chicken.  This was chicken stuffed with goat cheese, prosciutto, and arugula!  So friggin good, and according to her it was only $7 for two large pieces!  I’m gonna have to snag some of these when I get home.  And next time I’m in OH, I need to make sure I get my Angel Falls Biscotti fix..  And lunch at Nate’s Deli in Cleveland.  Luckily, I’ll be heading home in only 2 months (thanks to Turkey Day Smile).

What were you guys up to this weekend?

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Butterflies in my belly

Do you guys ever feel like you just need something to be excited about?  Something to give you that butterfly feeling in your belly like a kid counting down the days til Christmas?  I think I function best in life when I have something on the not-too-distant horizon to look forward to.  Something that can turn a frown upside down when I’m having a bad day, and that I can pour countless hours of research into when I have nothing better to do but piddle away hours and hours on the internet.

My friend Tracy and I were road trip buddies back in the day, and she knew to EXPECT a multi-tabbed excel spreadsheet and file folder full of research for every excursion we set out on. I do not mess around, people.  I’m not 100% sure what it is, but I just love the whole exploratory phase of planning trips and visiting new places.  That is probably somehow correlated to my obsession for trying new restaurants, huh?

Lately, I’ve been thoroughly enjoying immersing myself in my lovely new hometown of Charlotte.  Every weekend I set out to discover something new.  A new shop, a new street, and of course (at least) one new restaurant, but I still have that little craving deep inside for something bigger.  Something exciting.  Something I could research and plan the crap out of.  Tell me it’s not just me?!

I started adding a few things to the calendar here and there…  A trip home here, a weekend trip there…. and before I knew it my calendar runneth over with TRAVEL!

Here’s what’s on the agenda:

  • September – Trip home (haven’t been home since Memorial Day!)
  • October – Weekend Trip with the Man Candy to Atlanta or Savannah… can’t decide Smile
  • October – Food Blog Forum in Nashville with these gals:  Vanessa, Jamie, and Brooke!
  • October – Dallas for Training
  • November – FOODBUZZ FESTIVAL in San Francisco (shout out to Suki who I met at HLS 2010)
  • November – Additional weekend trip with the MC???  Where to go… where to go….
  • November – Home for Turkey Day
  • December – Orlando for Training
  • December – Home for Christmas

Whew!  That is a whole lot o’ traveling.  I can feel the butterflies starting to grow in my belly Smile

Any of you going to the Foodbuzz Festival or Food Blog Forum?

And what do ya’ll say about Atlanta versus Savannah?  Maybe we should do both?

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Tuesday Tastes Good

Today marks Day #3, week #3 of my interval training plan!  I am just flying right along….. Which does make me a little nervous.  I keep waiting for another knee injury to surface… Hopefully with good stretching and elevation while at work I can continue to work my way back up to running the entire time.

I’m really hoping to be able to participate in the Healthy Living Summit group run in August too…  We shall see 🙂

Breakfast #1:  Just-sayin-no to muffin(tops)

I had a breakfast meeting at Panera this morning for the Knowledgeable Network of Women in Akron.  In a previous life, I would have been PUMPED for a muffie and/or bagel from Panera…  Coffee cake?  Bring-it-on.  Nowadays I just stare longingly at these delicious treats through the glass case and drool…. 

BUT there is good news!  Panera carries Stonyfield Farms yogurt!  So, I ordered up some of that with fruit (no granola though) and a TALLLLLL coffee 🙂

Breakfast #2:  Giving low-carb waffles a second go

I made low-carb waffles for the first time last week, and I was really excited to try them again.  There’s lots of things I’d like to play around with, but for the sake of determining what works and what doesn’t I only changed a few minor things this time around.

Last night I cooked up the waffle batter below for 10 minutes on the waffle iron:

This morning, I popped the waffles into the toaster, then topped ’em off with some fresh/frozen strawberries/bananas/blackberries that I heated up in the microwave along with some PB2 (added extra H20 fo’ the drizzle).

YUMMMMMM…..  So tasty, even though the texture is not quite what I want.  Guess I’ll just have to keep on experimenting.  No complaints here!

Stats on waffles with fixins:  206 calories, 31g carbs, 4g fat, 21g protein, 8g fiber

Lunch

Lately, I’m pretty much obsessed with hummus and spinach sandwiches of any variety.  It’s not just me either.  I made a wrap with hummus on it for the BF over the weekend, and he seconded my desire to rub it all over my face and marinate in its deliciousness.  Hahahah… 😉

Today’s wrap consisted of:

Heavenly 🙂

Stats on wrap & sliced yellow pepper:  295 calories, 23g carbs, 10g fat, 24g protein, 8g fiber

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Getcho run on!

What is it about running first thing in the morning that makes me feel like I can tackle anything the day brings me?  This morning I completed Day #3, Week #2 of my interval training plan.  Woo hoo!  That means Friday I’ll be up to 2 minutes walking, 4 minutes running… and still no knee pain in sight 🙂

  

Breakfast #1

In honor of the fabulous PB2 GIVEAWAY, I decided to make a grilled fruit and nut butter wrap using Chocolate PB2

I took 2 tbsp of powdered chocolate PB2:

Then added 1 tbsp water:

Then smeared it on a  Mama Lupe’s low carb tortilla and topped with 1/4 cup each of strawberries and blueberries

I wrapped everything up, and put it on the george foreman for 5 minutes.  Then wrapped in foil and stuck in my purse:

And enjoyed at my desk at work:

Mmmmmmm…. love love love the grilled fruit and nut butter wraps!!!

Stats on the wrap:  145 calories, 21g carbs, 4g fat, 9g protein, 7g fiber

 

Make sure you post a comment on the PB2 giveaway by midnight Sunday July 4th!

 

Breakfast #2

Bowl of overnight oats consisting of:

  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond breeze almond milk
  • 1 packet Truvia (stevia)
  • Cinnamon
  • Fresh Strawberries & Blueberries (added this morning)

I <3 overnight oats.

 Stats on the oats:  203 calories, 39g carbs, 5g fat, 6g protein, 7g fiber

 

Lunch

Last night when I was packing my lunch I was really craving a sandwich.  (The carb tooth strikes again!) 

Sunday night I grilled up a big batch of chicken breasts seasoned with McCormick’s Montreal Chicken Seasoning.  So I packed one of the breasts (about a 2.5 ouncer), 1 cup spinach, tomato, onion, a Pepperidge Farm 7 grain deli flat, and 1 tbsp Trader Joe’s Spicy hummus.

Can you say YUM?  Yum. 😀

Stats on the sammy:  230 calories, 29g carbs, 5g fat, 22g protein, 9g fiber

 

Women Power

Tonight I’m headed up to Cleveland for the Athena Women’s award dinner.  This opportunity came up through my involvement with the Knowledgeable Network of Women through the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce.

And I’m taking my camera.  First time for me to let my inner food blogger out at a business function… should be interesting 🙂

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