Day Two Hundred and Forty Three

I did part of The Roller Derby Workout today. It was fun. It has some good stretches and I really like the music it is set to. I can't wait to try this on skates.. not yet though!

I decided that starting tomorrow I am going to see how many days in a row I can go for a morning walk. I seem to do good for a few days and then slack off for a few. It's just walking for 30 minutes! I have tons of 30 minutes to spare to do this and Riley will appreciate it.

I need an application like my stop smoking one, one that shows how you are improving your life by walking each day or something similiar. I need to see if one like that exists. For now I will rely on my cardio trainer to track how many days... let's try for seven days in a row first and then move on from there. Starting tomorrow!

Day Two Hundred and Forty Two

I have been making these shopping bags since I can't find the ones my mother had made me and I like using them. I think it turned out pretty good! Besides this one I made a yellow one and am making another multicolor one.  


I want to get some hemp yarn/string as well since it is really sturdy.

Day Two Hundred and Forty One

Today was the Rat City Flash Mob and I had a blast! Somehow when it was time for the dancers (people not on skates) to run out and join the skaters I managed to run to the front of the group (I was hoping to blend in to the back of the group!).

Luckily I remembered most of it and I think I did okay. Two news stations were there and managed to get footage of our dance.. I hope I wasn't in the front of the camera!

The people in the pics are Betty and the other girl who arranged and choreographed all of this. :)

Day Two Hundred and Forty

I went to the farmers market in Redmond today and it was nice. I got some cheese, blueberries, and yellow raspberries.

There were people with their dogs so I plan to come back next time and bring Riley with me! I also want to check out the one in Issaquah which is on Wednesdays I think.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Nine

This is what Riley and I did today as we attempted to absorb a few rays before the sun is gone for the season. It was a nice relaxing day.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Eight

As I took Riley on her morning walk I was once again in awe of how beautiful it is out here. Autumn is coming and everything is in full bloom and soooo green. Also, the rain is pouring down today, which it hasn't done in so long.

I really like it here and I wish I could get my whole family up here with me. But if I did that I would probably just end up moving again!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Seven

I went to my volunteer interview today and I was offered a volunteer position as a Children's Services Story Teller. I am super excited about this.

I also had a TB test and blood drawn to see if I have had the MMR vaccination since I don't have my immunization records and don't feel like contacting my doc in AZ to find them!

While waiting to have my blood drawn, I sat outside and drank my tea and saw these pretty statues and also kept my eye out for any cute doctors. :)

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Six

It was a real nice movie night. I brought over some lemon corn muffins I made and the taboullah for Christa to try. Both Christa and Allie loved both things. We also had ribs and talked, and talked, and talked! Awesome time as always.

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Five

I made taboulleh today. It looks pretty yummy, but I have to let it sit for a few hours until it is done. So it is for lunch tomorrow!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Four

I was trying to come up with new and interesting ways to use the fruit from my yard when I came across some recipes for fruit liqueurs. I decided to try it out.

I found some jars at the thrift store and made up my first batch. This first batch is blackberry with lemon zest and mint. It won't be ready for about three months, but I am excited to see how it turns out! As soon as the plums are a bit more ripe I plan to make some plum liqueur!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Three

I had such great plans today. After hearing my neighbor Diana working on her yard I decided I should mow my yard. After a long time of pulling on the handle and the motor starting and stalling, and starting and stalling, and getting a blister on my hand, I realized it just wasn't going to work today. I checked the gas and oil and added some oil, but it still wouldn't start. So I will give it a day to see if it wants to work tomorrow. 

I did check out Diana's plum trees while I was over there visiting and saw that she had different plums then mine. Mine are reddish colored and hers are very purple. I picked some from her yard and I need to decide what the heck to do with them. 

Day Two Hundred and Thirty Two

I am so proud of myself! A while back (I really need to keep track of time when I plant stuff for future reference) I planted a tiny little baby tomato plant.

I have been patiently watching them go from tiny little buds until one was ripe enough to pick. So pick it I did! And then I popped it in my mouth and it was gooooooood!


So now I need to figure out how I am supposed to trim this back. As you can see it has grown like mad! I also have some mint that is growing and my basil plant I keep indoors is still blooming like mad too!

Walked the four miles today :)

Day Two Hundred and Thirty One

Riley wanted to take this opportunity to show a video of what she calls "the trick I taught the dumb human in order to get more treats". I call it "the cool trick that I taught Riley out of boredom!" Who knows... we probably are both right!

Day Two Hundred and Thirty

I went to the RCRG flashmob practice tonight with my fellow broken-leg buddy, Dawn. We had a blast learning the steps, and it was exhausting. It is going to be so fun when we do it live on the 29th!

Between that and my four mile walk this morning I got almost 14000 steps! On that note, day three of walking four miles a day... complete!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Nine

Movie night with just Christa and Allie tonight. Both the older kids were not there. It was kind of nice to just hang with Christa and be able to chat. I taught Allie the "round and round the garden" song. My mom will like that!

Also, day two complete  on my quest to walk four miles a day for a week and see what a diff that makes in my weight. I figured I have the eating and tracking what I am eating down... so let's see what adding walking to it does!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Eight

I did another one of those long walks to and from the bus stop, except this time I brought my hiking backpack with water. Last time I did this walk in the heat I felt icky partway back.

So this picture is the view from the top of the hill by the bus stop where Riley and I sat for a bit and drank some water. I went earlier today, before my coffee, which worked out well since it was cooler and I really enjoyed my yummy breakfast.

Breakfast was scrambled eggs with goat cheese, garlic, and rosemary with a few wedges of cantaloupe. Having the fresh eggs with breakfast again made me think about getting a couple of my own chickens. I bet I could build my own chicken coup, and chickens are pretty cheap to buy, like 15 to 20 bucks each.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Seven

I made a yummy lime and blackberry parfait today! I used blackberries from my garden (of course), lime yogurt, and fiber one cereal for the crunch. It was super yummy and less than 200 calories.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Six

I sat around knitting and reading and watching TV all day because i must have tweaked my back with all the moving and stuff i did yesterday. I put one of those pads that stick to your back and give cold and heat and it worked pretty good.

Oh! And i passed my biology class. Woo hoo! I can move on with my next classes! This is going to be a long five week vacation because I am ready to get back to school. :)

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Five

Well my first day of summer break was a busy one. I decided to re-arrange things in my house (again). I moved the closet from it's corner to the area in front of my bed so it is basically blocking my bed completely off from site.

I did it a little differently from how Susie did when she moved it, I actually removed everything from inside of it first. It was still pretty darn heavy, Susie must be a lot stronger then she looks! But I really like its new position; it worked out awesome! I also moved a few other things around and after a year the place it really coming together. :)

I also covered the back of it and the other wall with some pretty fabric my mom had gotten for me a while back.

After that I went on a walk with Riley to the bus stop area and back and ended up walking for over  an hour, and just under four miles. With hills and everything. My cardio tracker on my phone showed that I burned almost 600 calories. Nice!

We also stopped at the lake for Riley to play because it is really hot out today! And then my day was topped off with finding out my B grade in chemistry; woo hoo! 

Oh yeah, and I discovered Riley LOVES baby carrots. She thinks they are a treat. She is such a weird dog.

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Four

School's out for the summer! Finally! I took my last exam today and can now breathe easier (until I get my final grades!) I now have five weeks to hang out with Riley and do stuff. Hopefully the weather stays as pretty as it has been so we can get outside and enjoy it. 

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Three

Busy day today! I had to give a presentation on GMO's (genetically modified organisms) and then a big ol' cumulative Chemistry final and I am exhausted! Chemistry is over for the quarter, but I still have  Biology test tomorrow and then the whole quarter is over. Then a  five week break to get stuff done around the house and hang out with Riley. Woo hoo!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty Two

All Done!

Dinner for movie night tonight was chicken parmesan and it went over well! Allie liked it so much she was licking her plate. We also watched some episodes of Supernatural that I brought over so Christa could watch it and see if she liked it enough to watch the whole season.

Overall another great night. Now to get home and put together a powerpoint presentation that we have to do tomorrow that my group members only just now sent me!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty One

Meatballs! 

I made homemade meatballs tonight, and while they are good, they aren't excellent. I used ground beef, mushrooms, red peppers, and whole garlic, but they are missing something. They are nowhere near as good as my moms, she makes the best!

Day Two Hundred and Twenty

I met up with a couple of my Chemistry school chums to study for our big Chemistry final this week. We decided to meet at the Carnation Firehouse since one of my school chums is a fireman and they had a place there we could study.

During a break we got to go in the garage and look at the firetrucks and I sat up in the drivers seat of one. I was so giddy and childlike about it all too! It was totally cool. :)

Day Two Hundred and Nineteen

Today I worked on a project for my chemistry class. I had to do a posterboard about the greenhouse effect. It was actually really fun to do, but I can't say it enough, I am looking forward to this quarter being over!

Day Two Hundred and Eighteen

Christa had an interview 'loop' today so I volunteered to babytsit for her. I took Callie and Allie to the craft store to get stuff to make braclets, but when we got home we found out the beads were too small :(

We then went and got Riley and went to the dog park, grabbed some Mickey D's, dropped Riley off and then went back to the house to watch a movie. I ended up staying for dinner and watching Veronica Mars with them. I didn't get home until around 9pm! Great day!

Day Two Hundred and Seveteen

My days have been pretty boring lately, mostly about school. Just one more week and I will be out for a bit and will start doing more blog worthy stuff! This is just a dry period for me!

Day Two Hundred and Sixteen

Just school and stuffing my head full of information today. This summer quarter is insane. Imagine taking a whole semester of school and squishing it into half the time. It is a lot to take in. But..... the quarter is over in one week and then I have like five weeks off!

Day Two Hundred and Fifteen

For movie night tonight we watched Bring It On and Bring it On Again. Christa provided the movies and I brought dinner. I made the best corn muffins ever; I used Jiffy mix and added some greek yogurt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. I also made a salad with chicken, edamame, black olives, blackberries (from my yard), chickpea's, tomatoes, and cucumbers, with Mango Vinaigrette dressing.

Day Two Hundred and Fourteen

What's this? It's blackberry season! This is both a good and bad thing. Blackberries are yummy... but the plant grows and spreads EVERYWHERE! The thorns are evil and reach out and grab you if you are even within five feet of them. My neighbor wants to burn them all at the end of the season. I am all for that because they will grow back quickly anyway!

Day Two Hundred and Thirteen

Nothing like a bike ride to and from the store to really emphasize how out of shape you are. The way there wasn't too bad since I stuck to the trail and my backpack was empty. The way back was a little tougher since my backpack was full and I decided to try the bike path on the street. Silly me forget about all the up and downs the street takes and it was exhausting.

I just wish that Trader Joe's was closer instead of Whole Foods. I might just have to suck it up and ride the extra three or so miles to Trader Joe's. It will be good for me!