Lazy Saturday morning in bed. Sunshine. Stretching. Fresh juice. Walk.
Sometimes the most simple weekend mornings are the most enjoyable! I only wished it lasted longer before all the work started.
This juice combo was fantastic! ! It included 1 golden beet, 3 medium carrots, 1” knob ginger, 1 lemon, and 1 grapefruit. So good.
For breakfast, we were going to make pancakes, but time was ticking away and we had a lot of yard work to do so we opted for a quick breakfast. I enjoyed some Morning Glow Vegan Overnight Oats. These photos were from last summer, but I basically had the same ingredients in my bowl today.
This time I crumbled half of a Berry Bliss Oat Square on top with a spoonful of Maple Cinnamon Almond Butter with Hemp, flax, and chia seeds. Delish and filling!
We continued our morning with a walk to catch some rays. It was beautiful out today.
And then our ‘Work-end’ began! Eric removed a big dead bush from the side of the deck and he also started ripping the top layer of the deck off.
The boards were so rotted they came out fairly easy!
I’m so happy to have a home reno that is OUTDOORS! I don’t have to worry about all that dust! It is such a nice change and a lot less stressful.
While Eric was tending to the deck, I was busy raking the dead leaves. No matter how many times we rake leaves in the Fall, there are always a ton of leaves to rake come Spring due to the forest. The leaves are never ending. I also picked up a lot of branches off the grass.
When we bought the house we were warned about how much work 2 acres of land would be and we didn’t really realize it until we had to take care of it. It is a ridiculous amount of work for just two people!
I raked the leaves out of the flower bed that lines the back of the yard. I saw a bunch of tulips sprouting! Now that they aren’t smothered in leaves maybe they will grow faster. :)
Lunch break!
I had two slices of Food for Life Ezekiel bread (toasted), lots of hummus + salsa spread on, and Buckwheat Tabbouleh on top. Veggies and hummus on the side.
We’re in love with the Buckwheat Tabbouleh! It is almost gone and I’m very sad.
For dessert- a 5 Ingredient No Bake Vegan Date Square. Oh me oh my, these are killer.
After lunch I stretched my back and then it was time to get back out there again.
The great thing about having woods in the backyard? You don’t have to bag the leaves!
After about 6 hours of yard work, my sciatic nerve was not happy with me! I will have to do lots of stretching and soaking today. I’m hoping to get in for massage therapy early this week for some relief because it doesn’t seem to be improving. I’m also toying with the idea of seeing a chiropractor, but to be honest I’m a bit scared at the thought of back adjustments! It makes me cringe with fear just thinking about it.
By the way, Eric’s reaction to my April Fools Salty Cookies was nothing short of amazing.
He called me just before lunch yesterday and our convo went a little something like this…
Eric: ‘Hey…’
Me: ‘Hey, what’s up?’
‘Not much….Hey, I was just wondering…you know those cookies that were on the counter this morning…?’
‘Yes’
‘Were those for me….?’
‘Yup, I left them out for you to bring to work. Did you see them?’
‘I took them into work with me and just tried one now. I was starving and the guys didn’t want to go to lunch until 1:30pm. I was so happy because I remembered that I had cookies in my bag…’
[I felt so guilty when he said that!!]
‘What did you think?’
[Said very nervously] ‘I’m not trying to be mean about it, but they were honestly the worst cookies I have ever tasted…They were super salty and I had to spit them out…’
‘REALLY? I loved them! They were in the freezer for 5 months or so, but I didn’t think they would taste bad after thawing.’
‘I think they went bad in the freezer. I wondered if the cookies were intended for the garbage instead of for me to take to work.’
[me biting my hand so I didn’t BURST out laughing] ‘Oh no, I’m sorry.’
‘It’s OK….Did you put those cookies on your blog by chance….?’
‘Yea I did a while back!’
‘I hope no one made them…’
HAHA! Shortly after that I confessed that it was a prank and he was a good sport and laughed about it. He was also relieved to find out I didn’t post that recipe on the blog!!
Then he told me to watch my back…uh oh!
Well played, Angela! Love the transcribed account of the April fool’s aftermath.
Your land is so beautiful! I live in Queens and can’t even imagine having that kind of outdoor space. I can’t imagine how beautiful it will look come summer!
hahaha that is a great prank!
Your husbands reaction is TOO CUTE!!! Omgsssh, I just giggled a bit :P
HAHAHA! Loved the april fool’s day dialogue!
BTW, I just made the raw beet, carrot, and apple salad. I had it in a wrap with some lettuce. Pretty killer once you let it sit for a 30 minutes or so! Thanks for the recipe!
Hahaha that is so funny, at least he is truthful :)
Your pictures look like spring is coming, I hope our snow goes away soon!
Haha he took that so well – you two are seriously the cutest couple ever.
Your back yard looks like so much work, but you’re handling it so well! Keep it up you two.
My fiance & I dream of one day having an acreage… but I can only imagine all the upkeep!
Ha! Love the cookie prank…I might have to steal it for next year ;)
Bless Eric, but at least he was honest so now you know when he compliments your food he means it!
Ahhh – prepping for the pool right? :)
What a lovely view. I wonder if I need that. I can’t decide if I should be someplace smaller and more at peace. But when I’ve done that before, it didn’t feel like me and was too…old-fashioned minded in terms of people, things, etc…can’t really explain it. Have you lived in both types of environments? Suggestions?
Oh my gosh! That’s it! I am making those squares tomorrow!!
And Eric actually had a nice, sweet response!! At least he wasn’t mad :)
Ange, I’d recommend seeing an osteopath over a chiro (and not just because I’m married to an osteopath, lol). My hubby has a lot of patients with sciatic issues and they’ve had way more improvement with him than they had with chiropractic treatments (many of them were seeing chiros for years before seeing hubby). There’s none of that cracking that you get at a chiro appointment…this is more muscular manipulation. If you’re within a reasonable driving distance of Hamilton, you should call hubby’s school (he’s a teacher & the VP there) and make an appointment at the free student clinic. Go here and click on the link for the student clinic: http://www.canadianosteopathy.ca/ If you check out the site, there’s also info on finding an osteopath in your area if you’d rather stick closer to home. Hope you’re feeling well soon! (and I totally LOL’d at Eric’s reaction to the cookies!)
that conversation is so funny! Loved the prank..I might steal it for next year ;)
LOL Eric’s reaction was priceless!!!
Ok how does your hair manage to look so perfect while doing yard work?? Please spill your secret! ;)
I think you should definitely see a chiropractor (if that can help you). I had problems with some of my vertebra (swimming injury) and although those noises (crick crack) reaaaaaaaaaally freak you out…helped A LOT in just one session (had done about 6 sessions of physio before going to a chiropractor).
p.s.: You have an amazing backyard! So pretty. Looks very calm, very peaceful :)
p.p.s: I am now officially addicted to VOO.
Hi Angela,
Have not commented before but I work in healthcare (but also into alternative therapies) and must agree with Jen here. Please go to an osteopath! They are very conservative about adjustment and really take a completely holistic attitude to your problem. Give it a go!
HAHAHHHA!!! Eric’s reaction was the best!!! That just made my day (sorry Eric!)
I love the prank you pulled on Eric! I would never have been able to do that though because I would have felt so guilty! Btw you should get some woodland creatures to help out with all the yardwork! ;)
Bahahaha…priceless prank!!!
the prank reaction just made me laugh out loud :)! good luck on your outdoors renovations!
haha i love the reaction to the cookies! as if freezing could really make cookies saltier… ;)
two acres is a lot for two people. have you thought about sowing some wild flowers in parts of it? it is a very inexpensive way to cover a lot of space with flowers and plants and requires virtually no upkeep. the native species of plants is also really beneficial for the environment. growing up, my dad always made sure to turn part of our yard into a wild flower area filled with Minnesotan plants as a way to give back to the earth. maybe something to look into :) i’ve always wanted to do it but i don’t even have a yard!!