... on the road again ...

The rest of last week was a bit of a whirlwind! Thursday I was able to visit with some lovely nuclear folks at Ye Olde Sandwich Shoppe and Seneca's Jazz on the Alley. If you visit Ye Olde, might I recommend the Strawberry Stack? Think Montecristo, minus the battering and deep frying. The strawberry jam MADE it! The actual jazz was hilarious and at times somewhat painful, but it was nice to see downtown Seneca opened up and made tourist friendly - there are some shops I would like to revisit during the daytime.

On Friday McLain and I took a trip to Helen, GA. It was a nice 2ish hour drive, although we had a late start due to me being neurotic and needing things from the store at 7am, like I do. We went tubing down the river with Cool River Tubing, which was delightful! The river is gentle and slow, with only a few rapidly flowing parts. It would be great for a family with kids - buy a few trips and set the kiddos loose! McLain got a 'push stick', which was helpful as my tube was difficult and determined to get stuck at every opportunity.

We were ravenous after all the extreme effort it took to float to the outpost, so we used some leftover restaurant.com credit to eat at Bodensee. I figured, hey - when in 'alpine' vaguely German mountain towns do as the locals do - and thus, this restaurant was chosen. Just in case you were wondering, Germans do NOT mess around with the butter and cheese. This was a stick-to-your-ribs repast, and not at all low calorie or low fat. McLain got a smoked pork chop with sauerkraut and I got the chicken schnitzel with mushrooms and bacon and cheese. We also split a Camembert cheese appetizer. There was much dairy. It was delightful. Although, as I've been leaving salt out of things I'm cooking lately, it seemed a tad salty. It was probably fine for normal folk.

We also took the new red beast out for a ride. I drove, motivated solely by the fact that no beer would be in the growlers this weekend unless I drove us to the Wall of Beer. McLain knows how to motivate a ornery and reluctant driver. I like driving the truck in theory, but it is still a lot to remember. Shift here, watch the RPMs, blah blah. I can almost listen to the radio instead of being coached the whole drive. As Yankee loves the truck, hopefully I will become more confident and will get him to the lake more often.

Saturday morning was lazy, with a 10 mile run after noon and selling the old metal fence via
Craigslist-Fu. Making some cash back on something you aren't using is pretty great. The evening was devoted to contradance at River Falls Lodge. Contra is a very odd mixture of square-dancing, English country dancing, bluegrass and hippies. It is a BLAST. You are walked through it, the music is surprisingly addictive, and coordination is not required. The band this past weekend, ContraForce, is known for being more techno-ish and they jammed out!

In retrospect, it was the weekend of mountain drives. Pumpkintown is in the middle of nowhere. But it is quite pretty on the way to nowhere.

Cropshare madness ensued, because summer's here and so are the squash. And cucumbers. And tomatoes. And beans. Between the two of us, McLain and I made roasted green beans, froze about two pounds of yellow beans, froze another two pounds of squash, summer veggie tartlets, veggie soup, pesto, and pasta primavera. We still have beets, cucumbers, kohlrabi, tomatoes, zucchini, and green onions to use up. I have been eating cucumbers with lots of hummus for snacks. The zucchini is going to be used in this bread that Katie made while I'm visiting Grandot in the woods.

... 'cuz I'm lonely and I'm blue, I need you - and your love too ...

McLain and I adopted Yankee a few months ago, and I am totally in love with my sweet beastie. I hate disciplining him, want to snuggle with him at all opportunities, and we are mostly inseparable. Yankee sees me as a 'senior pack member' rather than the alpha - which means I get to spoil him. He only occasionally tries to bend the rules. He's a wuss when it comes to exercise and tries to eat fireflies. I can't convince him to swim. He knows when I feel crappy and nuzzles me. He has the softest ears. He gooses house-guests and loves bath-time. One the rare occasion when he is really bad, he gets sprayed with citronella from his 'jackass collar'. It works out.

However - because my dog is so roguishly handsome (and people apparently have never seen a Dane ... ever) I get a LOT of attention when I take him in public. So much so that people will interrupt private conversations I am having with people to approach me about my dog. Rude. I usually get one or more of the following comments and questions from people that are irritating and ... dare I say it ... foolish.

Such as -

Do you need a saddle for that thing? Oh! You are quite the wit! I've never heard that before!

Have you ever tried to ride it? No, I have not tried to ride my dog. I actually care about his health and ability to ... live.

How much for a ride? I sincerely hope you are talking about my dog. And no. Just no.

What does he eat? What he wants/can get. Babies! I mean, you try fishing something outta his mouth he's gotten hold of! Actually, he eats dog food. He also likes raw veggies. If you leave something in reach (he has a long reach) and unattended, he eats that too. He does, however, let me take things out of his mouth if he has something he shouldn't.

How much does he eat? Must be expensive. Enough. And he is less expensive to feed per month than my geriatric cat. Leaf is an expensive 'free cat'.

Don't trust that cat, it's sketchy as hell.

How much does he weigh? Within 10lbs of me. Don't ask about that number.

Why don't you breed him? Well, he has no testicles. And because we don't want to contribute to puppy mills. And he's not breed-standard. 

Aren't those dogs aggressive? No more than any other breed. It's in the nurturing. And this guy? Total chicken. Unless you are a couch pillow. This is what happens to unattended couch pillows when my people watch Dr. Who ...

Aren't those dogs stupid? Are your children stupid? Because they are tall and stuff. Or your spouse? Because he/she has big ears and a big grin. No. Danes are not stupid. They are stubborn. Like me.

He must have huge poop. Yes. He does. It may have something to do with the fact that his digestive tract is about the size of a person's, as he is about the size of a person. Excellent thinking, Sherlock.

Why is he wearing a muzzle? It is a halter, not a muzzle. It's to help him not pull me over when he sees chickens, couch pillows, or squirrels. But good on you for noticing and asking BEFORE you started petting him!

What's wrong with his leg? It's a lick granuloma that is over inflamed scar tissue. We are taking care of it in the vet-recommended fashion. Yep - it's gross. No, it doesn't hurt. 

Does he shed? Yes. Large tumble-furs. Daily.

How did he get so big?  Genetics? Drinking too much Hartwell water? You pick.

I bet the could take my dog in a fight. Me too. That is, if your poorly-socialized creature actually pissed him off, and then I let our dogs bicker. But I don't think we should let that happen. In fact, I'm moving to the other side of the dog park, as your dog seems to not deal with large dogs well ...

Will he hurt my kid? Is your kid a couch pillow, chicken, squirrel, or stuffed hedgehog? Or is your kid causing my dog physical pain? No? Than no. Yankee may try to cuddle your progeny, but evisceration will not occur.

Conclusion - people react to Danes in much the way they react to cats in the following xkcd comic ...

... climb up in the truck, keep our mouth shut, ride along - and be the girl in a country song ...

What a week! What a flurry of doing and making and going places and ... lots of napping.

I love summer.

I was able to catch a movie with McLain - Edge of Tomorrow was perfect for a date-night movie (action! explosions! humor!) and while McLain was upset that there was a little cheesy romance stuff, overall it was a good, mindless film to enjoy. On a related note - this article about the loss of truly strong female characters may be more up your alley! A lot of movies are including 'strong women' - and giving them no real function. Also a list of interesting questions, such as "could your Strong Female Character be seamlessly replaced with a floor lamp with some useful information written on it to help a male hero?". Seriously, worth the read.

Before beating the heat in the theater, we got a GREAT dinner at The Fox. Although there has been a bit of chatter on the internet about it being a horrible place to eat - both times we went I found it to be quite nice! And I liked the visiting bulldog. I just found out it is closed, and it looks like it is closed permanently. Oh well. The search for the best Anderson date night location continues!

I have also been toying with the idea of driving stick shifts. McLain had me drive Betty White in public, on the road, in Seneca - and I stalled out maybe three times. This was punctuated with waves of ugly words and comments about how stick shifts were practically the same as using the horses and buggies for transportation. And then, just as Betty and I started to get along - McLain traded her for a red two-door Explorer. I have mixed feelings. The shifting will be easier, Yankee LOVES the truck, and now we can haul things ... so we'll see. I will be driving the yet unnamed vehicle exclusively in a week or so.

I was able to go see family in Maggie Valley, briefly. It was a nice drive, and generally very pretty. The highlight of the trip was losing $7.50 in the casino. I was actually able to read an entire book while I was up there!  In case you were wondering, The Fault in our Stars is a nice poolside read and is a great example of realistic teens in teen literature. A nice relaxed day was just what I needed though, because I had signed myself up for a rough time the next day ... the Without Limits Lake Conestee 25k.

This was my longest running distance yet, my first race on trails - ever, and the hottest outdoor run I'd attempted. I was nervous and was struck by just how ... hardcore ... all the other runners were. My event was the only non-ultra thing going on that day. My time was slow, I felt awful, and I had to walk a bit. BUT I did finish. Even if I'm still fighting some soreness. 15.53mi in 3:11 and change - not too bad, but plenty of room to improve.

Everyone knows that the best rehab for sore legs is a massive road-trip to IKEA ... right? I did a lot of dreaming, but only came back with whiskey tumblers, bathmats, dishtowels, and a renewed desire to rip up the carpet in my townhouse.

On the food front - the gravlax turned out wonderfully (and addictive and tasty and I shouldn't make it too often or I will die over eating too much salt) , and McLain and I may have perfected icebox pickles! Which is great as we got 4 more pounds of cucumbers this week ... thankfully I have figured out how to make pesto so I can get rid of all of that basil.

I've been thnking about starting to get a fitness box every month - I really liked getting a Birchbox when I was subscribed. The only thing that could make the idea of a surprise box better is having it full of fitness things! The ones I've liked the idea of most so far are Kona Kase, StrideBox, and RunnerBox. Has anyone used any of these? Any words of advice?

Finally, I will leave you with an odd recipe - I bought a thing of chia and this is surprisingly non-offensive chia pudding. I use plain yogurt and almond milk. Be advised - it is BLAND unless you add fruit, spices, or flavoring. It is tasty though!

... I've got the magic in me, when I hit the flow the girls come snappin' at me ...

This week I have been experimenting with voodoo magic.

Well, not really. But it kinda feels like it! After going to the pool with a good friend I have been doing my best impression of a molting lobster. I am usually the sunscreen queen, but was ... um-mm ... having to much fun to remember to reapply. McLain and I actually had to postpone a planned trip to go drifting downriver for the sake of my poor skin. One of my dear roommates who is into natural remedies (and had a sunburn the week before) recommended lavender oil. I was scorched enough to buy in to the idea, instead of sticking with my usual Solarcaine route. While I must admit I still peeled, the oil (and frequent reapplication) did help with sensitivity and kept my skin mosturized (I used a bath oil to help 'carry' the straight essential oil). I may smell like a yoga studio, but I sleep WONDERFULLY and my skin is really soft (where it isn't peeling). Your mileage may vary.

In the same vein as voodoo magic - do any readers use local honey to treat seasonal allergies? I was able to get a pint of local honey (as in, running distance from my house local) from my CSA and was wondering if anyone had seen any success with this treatment. Bradford pear trees are the bane of my outdoor existance.

Our CSA share this week had -

• Lettuce - 1 head
• Broccoli - 1 massive head
• Cabbage - 2 medium heads
• Yellow Squash - 2lbs
• Zucchini - 2lbs
• Green Beans - .5lb
• Cucumbers - 4lbs
• Green Onions -1bunch
• Dill - .3lbs
• Tomatoes - 2lbs
• Kale - 8 leaves

Yes, you read that right. FOUR POUNDS OF CUCUMBERS. And as there are only so many G&T's this girl can muddle cucumbers for ... I called up Grandot. It was time to pickle. We ended up with a plain batch of refrigerator pickles, as well as a dill seed and a mustard seed batch. The pint jar contains radishes I am trying to pickle, because we both hate radishes but both love pickles. I still have a TON of cucumbers left over and will be eating them in salad and with hummus.

McLain has this little crinkle cutter tool that slices the pickles all fancy-like. So our pickles are almost as pretty as the ones at the farmer's market. Go team! What else did we have WAY too much of? Dill, ya'll. And what the heck does one do with that much dill? I got inspired and decided to make some gravlax. Although my sweetie cannot eat fish, I figured I could use up the huge mass of dill with this recipe. Thanks, Pinterest!

Zesting the lemon was hard with only this grater, but I made it work.

 I lined an aluminum pan with saran wrap and layered in the dry salt/sugar mixture and salmon. Then I piled on lots and LOTS of fresh dill.

The gravlax has about 10 hours yet to go, but I am very excited to see how it turned out. I will let you know if it bombs or if it rocks! While I was working on pickles and gravlax, McLain made a lovely rice, cabbage, beef and tomato hotpot in the crock-pot. He also made a great venison and bean mixture that will go great in burritos and with rice. It's great dating a man who knows his way around the kitchen. He's threatening to make sauerkraut with the remaining cabbage, which is fine by me. And to try and use up even more of the veggies and things in the fridge, I altered this Pinterest find!

I changed it up by altering the amount of certian veggies and making a carbonara-esqe sauce. My alterations are below -

• 1/2 cup milk 
• 2/3 cup Parmesan
• 3 eggs 
• 16 oz frozen peas
• 16 oz canned mushrooms 
• 1lb whole wheat spaghetti 
• 2lb (ish) squash
• Garlic, thyme, pepper and salt to taste
• 5 1/2 cups water 

 Whisk the milk, Parmesan, and eggs together. Follow the steps listed in the recipe, but when directed to add milk and cheese, gradually add in the egg mixture while stirring. Ta-Da!

In other news - If you are in downtown Greenville, make sure to try Blue Ridge Brewing Company - their brunch is superb and their beer is wonderful. And their fried pickles ... just go and thank me later. I have yet to try something that isn't incredible. And have a Happy Bomb with the in-house stout. You will be glad you did!

And - final note - if you think you're fancy, check out Pretty Little Pursuits and Southern Accents for a chance to win a Tory Burch handbag! I know these two gals from Clemson, and they are much better dressed than I. Hurry on over!

.. it's not just all physical, I'm the type who won't get oh-so-critical ...

Summer vacation = sleeping in, too much sun, two-a-day workouts, and general laziness for at least the first few days. I have been averaging ten to twelve hours a night and it is fantastic. You may not be able to 'make up' for sleep deprivation, but that doesn't mean I won't try!

Summer also means our crop-share portion starts getting out-of-control huge! This past week we got -

•  Kale
• Chard
• Cabbages
• Cauliflower
• Yellow Squash
• Zucchini
• Beets
• Carrots
• Turnips
• Cucumbers

Sometimes it is hard to figure out what to do with all those veggies. The squash are easy to saute, as are the carrots. Beets are roasted. Cucumbers are eaten raw with hummus or used in cocktails. But cabbage and turnips are a bit harder to use up. This past week I pureed the turnips and made a odd facsimile of mashed potatoes - although they were a bit spicier tasting than taters would be. I was very confused with what to do with the cabbages, because I typically hate slaw and all things slaw related. The mayo grosses me out. I decided to make this slaw and LOVED it. I actually ate most of it on my own, and will be making it again if we have another cabbage surplus. I did not make the ribs - but that may have to change! And it was so darn pretty to put together. I left out the cilantro, because cilantro tastes like feet to me.

That's three separate types of basil from my thriving container garden.

I just love how purple cabbage looks on the inside.

The yellow squash was all bumpy this week - love it!

We had leftover garlic scapes (which I love) so I decided to try infusing some vinegar. The only bottle we had on hand was this odd little water flask. I will let you know how it turns out in a week or so.

I've also been rockin' new threads from Fabletics lately, and I've been loving it! This review is unsolicited and unpaid - as all of my opinions are. I signed up on a whim, because I had changed sizes and was running out of lounge-wear and active-wear that fit. I also wear two sets of active-wear a day, meaning that I had to do laundry a LOT if I didn't pick up some more. Fabletics works like other clubs in the JustFab family - you join and have to use your voucher for an outfit by a certain date, or it becomes a certificate for a certain dollar amount on a future purchase. The cost is a little bit higher than you could get if you shopped around, but the quality is great! I also like that all of the outfits are fairly cute and on trend. The outfits I've gotten over the past three months are below -

Glissade - back view. This is the Switch Back tee and the Lima capri. I love the tee and use it as a casual top with a bralette. The capri is great for running and kickboxing.

Failli - front view. The Calama crop is great for hot days, and is now a go-to lazy day staple. The Palisades tee is airy, light and drapey. The Sevan sports bra is pretty, but more of a lounge thing than a sports bra, IMHO. I don't run in these items - mostly run errands. And look adorable.

Coda - front view. I think this one is the winner for function and looks so far - the Norwalk tank is perfect for kickboxing and the Salar legging is comfy for waiting on the mechanics to finish up or walking the dog or kickboxing. I have worn it twice this week! The built in bra is sufficient for 'the girls' which is saying something.

Over the three months I found found the service to be great, the clothing to be good quality, and the selction to be nice. The only downsides to Fabletics that I can report are that

• Fabletics bras tend to be better for the less-endowed among us. Moving Comfort bras are still my running buddies!
• Don't dawdle - order early on in the month! I missed out on some pieces because I waited and they don't usually restock.
• The tags on the items are the long skinny ones that I hate. Ugh.

If you are interested, click here for a referral code.

In other news, I may be signing up for this race in the morning ... it's only 25k, so I can make it. Right?

... I’ve traveled all this way for something - I take it in but don’t look down ...

Hello, all!

I took a brief break from writing to pack up my room (and ship off my students) for the summer. My desk got a new coat of bright yellow paint and a curvy waved line detail that turned out rather well. The paterfamilias was very sweet and helped me learn the fine art of spray painting (without causing TOO many streaks). Now kiddos will NEVER confuse my desk for another teacher's desk!

Naturally, I slept like a log on Thursday night and slept in on Friday, but I was not able to resist planning a very full weekend, McLain and I went up for the  Asheville Half Marathon. This was only my second half - and the terrain was very different than my first. The Diva in Myrtle Beach was fun and flat and fast. I had some concerns about the hills on this course! Before we left, McLain did a very daring thing - he gave me a driving lesson. A driving lesson on a hilly road in a stick shift car! While I am still not a pro, I have some good skills and a basic proficiency at starting and shifting and not stalling - mostly.

McLain let me book the hotel for our Asheville excursion, and on my/our budget the Asheville Super 8 was our best option. I am usually a snobby hotel princess, but the limited time frame for booking and limited budget made this our closest option. The Super 8 was a few miles away, making it less than ideal for a bar crawl or girl's night. However, it was clean and in good repair - our non-smoking room was truly non-smoking and the staff was helpful and friendly. A word of warning - the local cops like to camp out in this parking lot to pull over people who are speeding. We saw 6 cops in that parking lot at once!

Packet pick-up was smooth, although we arrived at the expo at almost closing time. I got my bib and goodie bag, but had limited time to peruse the displays. I DID meet a wonderful lady who was representing her mixers! She started SCALES in Charleston a few years ago and the mixers are simply fabulous. She let us try her Sour mix and Bloody Mary mix in some adult beverages and they were out of this world.They are available at WalMart, BiLo, and Ingles.

When we reached the hotel I looked through the goodie bag and we found some interesting fliers for the Asheville area. I also got a bag of rice? Based off of the coupons in the bag, we determined that we should go to the LAB for dinner. All of the brews were in house and the eats were locally sourced. I got the pommes frites and the Hawaiian Andouille Wrap. McLain got the Unlawful Falafel and the hand-cut fries. We split the Brussels and Belly appetizer. I got a 1st Gear Cream Ale. It was all wonderful. And, as in all good watering holes, we meet nice folks and had great conversation. Carbed up and relaxed, I was ready to run!

The half was also a 10K event as well. There were some areas where the courses diverged. The run was a mass start (and started ON TIME). Overall, it was well organized, and well-run. There were some issues with water stations, but they were minor. There we less people cheering than at the Diva, but the scenery was MUCH better and the course was challenging.

My finish was much better than I anticipated (2:07:something - which is a PR for time). I was able to get a quick shower and check out of the Super 8 and made it back to the festival to get an Organic Fuel (tasty!) and a complimentary Sierra Nevada Summerfest.

After, McLain and I walked down to Wicked Weed Brewery and had some lunch. Asheville has no shortage of good eats and drinks - I had a  (ham + salami + cornichon + fig mascarpone) sandwich and McLain got the (beef patty + house kimchi + hoisin bbq + garlic toast) burger. And, THE BEER Y'ALL - I had a Imperial Coolcumber and a XXXIII Rosemary Ginger Saison. The fella got a

Genesis Blonde Sour. They were all delicious. We tried to get a growler fill - but there are some weird NC growler fill laws and we were only able to come home with the XXXII Prickly Pear Saison. We had to leave the Sangria Blanc behind.

I had earned a sweet treat - in my mind at least! We stopped by French Broad Chocolate Lounge, which I could spend a day and a small fortune in. I love chocolate so much - but I limited myself to just a hot cocoa today - a ganache based drinking chocolate with maple & smoked sea salt. SO GOOD.

This was McLain's first Asheville trip - but I think we will be back! If not the two of us, I may make excuses just to go back there for the eats. I loved going to Lindy Focus years back, so this wasn't my first rodeo - but Asheville is worth the odd roads and awkward pedestrians. Just be prepared to pay for parking!

Stay tuned for a Fabletics Review!