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we’re moving

don’t freak out!  We’re just moving blog websites =)

Here is our new website.  Check it out!  There are going to be a lot of new things over there, so you won’t want to miss this opportunity.  There will be links to subscribe, RSS feed links and much much more (ok not yet, but hopefully there will be)!

pure michigan

That’s what all the commercials say and that’s what we got this past weekend when we went up to spend some time with hub’s family.  Let’s just say they showed us a good time.

Friday, we got in just after lunch and enjoyed an afternoon on the sailboat with Grandma and Grandpa.  We took the boat out into the “big lake” as they call it (Lake Michigan) and … no wind.  There were some good waves though, so we just tooled around for a little.  We headed back into the inlet and motored around for a bit looking at all the HUGE lake houses.  And we took a few pictures.  We did see the two DeVoss racing sailboats that were competing against Canada in a tournament that weekend.  Pretty awesome and um… wicked fast!

pure michigan VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

You can look at the whole album here.

Saturday, we did a little more shopping, hung out at the pool, went to an apple orchard to take some more pictures (esp of Adam and Kelly who recently got engaged) and made Mondu.  Mondu is sort of like a Korean egg roll.  You take wonton wrappers and fill them with a mixture of ground beef, cabbage, onions, carrots, ginger, spices, peppers and all things Asain.  Then fry them and WOW!  Mickey said it best, “I think I ate more before dinner than actually at dinner.” =) Too bad I didn’t take any pictures of this process.  We all sit at the table and fill the wrappers with the goodness mixture and then someone fries them all outside.  It’s kinda messy but totally worth it.

pure michigan VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Again, all the pictures are here.

Sunday, we went to church and then went to a few different places Kelly and Mom wanted to look at for potential “before wedding” pictures.  They were really nice! We relaxed that evening watching a movie and just enjoyed all the time we were able to spend together.

pure michigan VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Same thing applies here.

I was playing a lot with the aperture setting on the camera, so if some of the pictures are a little goofy, I’m still learning.  I realized on the way home that one of my settings was way off which made some of them a little grainy!  oops.  I think over all they turned out nicely.  I really wanted a few new pictures of Mike and me (and of course Avi had to be in a few as well).  After being married for a little, we forget to take pictures of ourselves.   So, I’m very glad we got the opportunity to do that. 

Hope yall had a great weekend too, especially our friends in knoxvegas on BOOMS DAY! 

just call me holly homemaker

a few months ago I decided to make homemade peanut butter.  I mean honestly, it shouldn’t be that hard, right?  We’ve been buying natural peanut butter at the store for a while and (while varied) the ingredients are usually: peanuts, salt and sometimes oil.  I figured I could handle that.  Especially if I could make it for less than 3.50$ a jar (at the cheapest) for about 12 oz worth!!

The first batch turned out ok.  I used “old” peanuts that were probably in our pantry for umm 6 months a long time, so eh…. it was alright.  And now I know that I didn’t process them long enough either.

But according to my life policy, you should try everything twice, just incase the first time was a fluke.  So last night, I tried my hand at homemade peanut butter again and

angels came down from heaven singing and there was a bright light.

 

ok not quite, but wow amazing.  It all started with the peanuts.  This time I bought jimbo’s jumbo peanuts and we shelled them and picked off the skin stuff (I hate that part).  This took Mike and I about 1 and 1/2 tv shows to shell 2lbs worth!  There must be a better way next time.  I had a sore thumb. 

Then the magic starts. 

Put just the peanuts in the food processor first and begin the processing.  They grind up, then turn kind of pasty, then work around in a ball like dough, then get creamier, then the mixture gets dry looking, (as it thins back out you can add anything you like, chocolate, crunchy peanuts, sugar, honey, salt) then amazing peanut butter-ness happens next.  I mixed in some peanut oil, salt and honey. 

Wow!  And after all that work the PB is warm too… so warm yummy fresh peanut butter by the spoonful last night.  Then just refrigerate.

Out of the 2 lbs of peanuts (with shell weight), ~2 tbsp peanut oil, about 1/8 cup honey, a few twists of salt, I got about 16 oz of peanut butter! It filled up about 1 and 1/3 of my old PB jars.  Not bad.  I estimated the price to be just under $3.  I’ll have to double check that next time but its close to that.  Hope this inspires you to try something a little different in the kitchen this week =)  or at least to get up from your computer and get yourself a spoonful of peanut butter right now.  uuuummmmm

Pictures from our trip this past weekend will follow later this week.

storm the fort

Thank you for all your encouragement and support and Hubs and I completed our first Olympic distance triathlon this weekend.  1mi swim, 25mi bike, 6.2mi run. 

Pre-Race & Swim: Lots of race nerves (at least for me).  The Men under 40 started with a cannon shot which was super cool.  Then the ladies went 3 minutes later. Then men over 40 and relays went 3 mins after that.

T1: Hubs had a killer transition.  Mine was a little rough.  I had to sit down to put my shoes on because I was a little water logged from the swim.  But I made it out =)

Bike: The bike leg went great!  Mike even did a flying dismount (where you leave your shoes clipped into the pedals and just take out your feet!).  Pretty sweet babe!

T2: Quick turn around for both of us. 

Run: The first 5 miles were great… lots of encouragement from other racers.  The last mile was a beast not only because it was the end of the race but the terrain is a beast and there is no place for spectators to cheer you on until the last 200 yards. 

Post Race: We both finished under 3 hours!  Mike placed 6th in his age group (2:33:11) and I placed 3rd in mine (2:53:11). 

Team Fleet Feet: The team did great. Debbie took home 1st place in the Masters division, Jackie took place first in her age group, Paul second in his, and we had other age group winners too! 

Team Dotson: We were very excited for our accomplishment as well as happy that it is over.  Here’s to next year =)

You can check out all the pictures here.  Here are the official results.

rewarding behaviors, not outcomes

As school starts back up, how are you preparing yourself and/or your children?  Are you expecting all “A’s” from them this year? a winning season in their sport?

I read recently that elite coaches reward behaviors, not outcomes.  When it came to school work, my dad did this very well when I was growing up.  He would explain to me that if I put 100+% into studying and came out with a “B” that I still had a very successful test and had done amazing!  What an encouragement.  If I worked hard (and yes I had to work hard!) then the outcome of even a “B” was much more satisfying.   (Please note that I am a second born, non type-a personality… so this particular application may need to be tweaked depending on the nature of your child)

The same goes with a weight loss journey, change in eating habits, desire to study more, etc.  “I need to lose 10 pounds” is an outcome.  If you do not succeed in losing 10lbs in a week, say you only lose 6, then you feel unsuccessful.  But changing that goal around and instead saying “I need to exercise 5 times per week,” this is a behavior.  If you do exercise 5 times that week and lose 6lbs, it’s a huge accomplishment!!  And you can even still track the outcome. 

Plus, you are more likely to continue the journey (especially weight loss) if you measure your behavior goals instead of your outcome goals.  In the first case, you feel defeated going into week 2 and possibly expect to make up from last week AND still lose your goal of 10 lbs.  It’s a vicious cycle.  But going into week 2 of a behavior goal, you feel successful at what you’ve accomplished and will probably work even harder.

So, as you begin the fall, school starting, setting new goals, etc., remember to set behavior goals rather than outcome goals.  I think you will be much more successful (and encouraged!) along the journey as well as reaping the rewards.

moving to the big leagues

I earned my first race monies this past weekend!!  Because most of the races we compete in are small, there is no money involved.  Sweet shirts, check, nice prizes, check, money, not so much.  But this past weekend during the 5K Butterfly Fund Run, there was money involved.  Not for 1st place, 2nd or third, rather for 100th place.  100th place got $100.  I didn’t even think twice about it because not only did I not know how many people were running, the likelihood of placing 100th was pretty slim.

 

WELL… you guessed it!!  I got an email with my time, place, age group placement, etc and it said I placed 100th out of the 555 runners.  Good thing I passed that lady in purple right at the end!  The “C” drills and leg turn over drills were worth it. 

 

More excitingly, I beat my goal time by nearly 2 minutes and finished in 25.42 (3rd in my age group!).  The rest of the family did great! Mike placed 7th in his age group with a time of 23:11 (smoking hot I might add!), the girls finished in around 31 minutes in style and Dad and Kim enjoyed their nice stroll.

We ran for kids cancer research and for Ethan.  You can read Ethan’s story here.

It’s crazy to think that last year July, Hubs and I completed our first Triathlon (a mini sprint: 200yd swim, 8 mi bike, 4k run).  I thought it was tough but doable.  I was nervous but finished strong (even managed 3rd place in my age group). 

Fast forward one year.  Hubs and I begin training with a group (Fleet Feet) for the 2011 triathlon season.  We completed the same tri as last year as if it was a regular weekend workout (I moved up age groups and still placed 2nd in my age group beating my time by close to 4 minutes). 

And here we are today, 4 days away from an Olympic distance triathlon (1mi swim, 25mi bike, 10k run) and I’m ready … mostly because I have no choice.  I’m nervous about the distance even though I’ve trained for it.  I’m excited to see just what my body can do.  I’ve set a reasonable time goal for completion and am getting geared up.  Wow as I sit and type this, I can already feel my body getting nervous.  My motto for this race has become: I’ve trained for this and I’m ready.  Just one foot in front of the other. Just keep moving.  …. ok ok I know that’s a lot of “mottos” but sometimes different parts of the race call for different pick-me-ups.

I never imagined I would be doing an OLY tri this season.  When we started training this spring, we were just planning on doing more full sprint distances races and then next year doing the OLY distance.  But as the season progressed and with the wisdom, training and guidance of our coach… we knew we could do it!  and naïvely signed up =) AND good thing we signed up BEFORE we saw the race course… the last mile on the run is a doosie!

By the way, our coach is headed off to compete on Sunday in Ironman Canada (2.4mi swim, 112 mi bike, 26.2mi run).  Pretty crazy!

So anyways, if you happen to think about us Saturday morning starting around 5:00 am for the early risers and 8:00 am for the non-early risers you can be cheering and praying for us!  (race starts at 8, but with getting up, travel time, setting up and warming up, the jitters will start early)  We’re looking forward to a wonderful race and probably will have a story or two to share when its all said and done.

You can check out the race here.

very very interesting

mid-week treat

Tuesday evening I had a group of ladies over to the house for a Mary Kay party for my friend Jill.  We had a great time trying out new products and eating food.  Here is one of the recipes I baked.  It turned out fantastic.  Thanks Mindy!

Spinach Dip

• 10 oz frozen spinach thawed and drained
• 1-2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I used mozzarella)
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (divided)
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 tsp chopped garlic (or one clove garlic; less if powdered)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Thaw and drain Spinach.
2. Combine all ingredients (reserving a 1/4 cup of parmesan) and stir well to combine.
3. Pour into 9” prepared pie plate and sprinkle with remaining parmesan.
4. Bake at 350* for 20-30 minutes or until desired brownness is achieved.
5. Enjoy with chips, crostinis or by the spoonful.

ants in my lettuce

 

that I had the weirdest dream last night!!  I was grocery shopping and among other things in my basket were two heads of lettuce, one Romaine (in one of those nice green plastic veggie bags) and one iceberg (in the usual shrink wrap stuff).  ((author’s comment… I don’t even like iceberg))  I checked out of the store only to find a million ants in the Romaine lettuce!  There were even baby ants.  The iceberg just had a few in it.  I took my lettuces up to the manager and said…

THERE ARE ANTS IN MY LETTUCE

and he said, “there aren’t too many, it should be fine!”  I would not accept this answer and told him that I wanted different heads of lettuce and he refused.  I kept insisting and saying that if there were only a few ants in there, I would eat it but since there were a lot and there were even babies in there.. I was NOT going to eat it!  ((here’s where the dream just keeps going around))

Thank goodness I woke up putting an end to the madness.  And no there are no ants in the lettuce at the house right now (I checked).

Wow… as I’m typing out this odd dream of mine, I just realized where it came from.  We got home from Clarksville Sunday night to find ants all over our kitchen counter and all in my wonderful farmers market honey!  I was so sad.  Hubs said, “I think we can get the ants out.”  So we proceeded to put the honey through a wire mesh strainer.  Most came out, only leaving a few ant legs floating in the good as  new honey and about 5 stragglers that made it through the strainer.  I just threw it out!

Here’s to hoping the next dream will not include insects =)

there and back

This weekend we traveled to Nashville to help some sweet friends move into a new apartment.  It did rain a little but the moving was not hindered.  Because we were in that area, we decided to head up to Clarksville to visit my sister and brother-in-law (bil and no that’s not his name). 

 

 

We had a great time celebrating bil’s birthday, he’s turning 30 tomorrow.  We went out to eat at Logan’s Steakhouse and in an effort to get some free ice cream (or dessert of any kind) at the end of our meal, we told our waiter that we were celebrating bils’ brithday.  He told us to go ahead and get out of our chairs and follow him.  Oh boy! So we headed to the more crowded side of the restaurant, where the waiter made bil stand on top of a chair and proceeded to shout to everyone that bil was turning 30 and to wish him a happy birthday with a big YEEEE HAWWWW!!  So they did!  It was rather comical!  Sorry bil!  Maybe you’ll pick a different restaurant next time with better birthday treats. =)

 

 

And as a tribute to my very strategic game playing sister, we played the most fun game I’ve played with her since… a very long time … called Outbreak or something like that.  It is where all the players are on the same team trying to thwart world annihilation by infections diseases.  We enjoyed two games while we sampled homemade chocolate sauce. yum!

 

Sunday we headed to church at the post and then bil took us on a tour around the place.  HUGE!  We were able to see where he worked and even went inside the hanger.  Hubs and I sat in the Kiowa that bil flies and it was soooo cool!  you would think for the 7+mil price tag that’s on it they could splurge for a bit nicer seats or something! at least one that gives you a little back massage! =)

Then hubs and I headed back to Knoxville to enjoy a quick turn around and celebrate a friends 21st birthday and heading off to college party!  (who’s mother by the way sent me home with some homemade rolls! yumm!)

So that’s the way the story goes… there and back to Nashville/Clarksville in a matter of 36 hours!  Oh the fun you can have in such a short period of time.

And now I sit, typing out the ins and outs, ups and downs of my moderately fun miserable life (as my dad likes to say) eating apples dipped in cream cheese spread which is heavenly!  So you can enjoy a taste of goodness, here’s the recipe:

Rosemary Thyme Spread

• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/8 tsp thyme and ground black pepper
• dash of garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp (maybe a bit more) dried rosemary

Stir to combine and refrigerate when not eating.

Original recipe found here.

 

Have a very happy day!

just a few things running around my head

 

1. Today is National Junk Food Day.  I vow never to celebrate it until there is a National Vegetable Day and a National Fruit Day, then I might consider.

 

2.  July is National Ice Cream Month.  I’m all for the regular celebration of this National Holiday.  My recent favorite is Kroger Private Selection Mint Moose Tracks!!! Wow! The perfect combination =)

 

*I understand #1 and 2 may seem to contradict each other…. I just like ice cream!

 

3.  It doesn’t help to know how to change a tire, if you can’t get the spare out from under the truck bed.  Yes, I came out from work yesterday to go home (heat index 110, actual temperature around 95 at 5:00 pm) and one of my truck tires was flat.  So I whipped out my work gloves trusty phone and called Mike! I know how to change a tire, but after initial inspection of the jack and the lever thingy and the way the tire is attached under the truck, I thought, there is no way I’m going to be able to do this by myself in 3” heals, black pants and dress shirt! He was able to get it done in a jiff and we headed off to ride bikes with some friends. 

 

 

 

4.  Avi was super snuggly and in dire need of some attention when we got home last night after our evening ride, so I spoiled her a little by putting a towel on the bed and snuggling with her while Mike finished showering.  What this picture does not show is that she has her paw over my arm.

 

 

 

5.  Happy Closing Day to my mom!!  Congratulations on the purchase of your new place!! Can’t wait to see it in person =)  Happy decorating!

powerful

 

We have dear friends here who just found out their 1.5 year old son, Ethan, has a rare form of Myelodysplastic Syndrome (pre-leukemia).  You can read their blog here.  They covet your prayers.  This song has become a prayer for them and I think you will find it powerful as well.

 

enough said.

home work

We are finished with the repairs to our house!  I’m so thankful that we have insurance and found an AWESOME contractor.  Here are the before and after pictures =)  We were even able to try out our gutters this morning!

Now just need to paint the walls around the windows inside, pressure wash the floor of the deck and stain it all and allow the grass time to grow back =)  I think we’re done with house projects for a while