Whohoo Friday night! :mrgreen:
Apparently there is a party going on in our backyard…
Don’t be fooled by his cuteness…he leaves ‘surprises’ on our deck for us!
The squirrels and raccoons love climbing up on our ‘squirrel proof’ bird feeder. Last summer, I also saw the raccoon hanging from it!
Little buggers! ;)
Amazingly, I made it to the lunchtime swim today just in the nick of time! I had a speedy yet satisfying workout.
Today’s Routine:
- Freestyle- 25 metres
- Breaststroke- 25 metres
- Flutter board- 50 metres
I did this 7.5 times for a total of 750 metres/30 lengths. My time today was just under 25 minutes. I was really pushing myself and I was so out of breath, which made it hard to do the bilateral breathing during the freestyle. I do a breath every 3 strokes and I was barely making it today!!!
I noticed a couple things today:
- My ankles get sore when I use the flutterboard to work on my kick. Hopefully they get stronger over time!
- My arms were sore today…not sure if that was the baking I did all morning or what (I mix every batch by hand).
I finished the swim with 3 minutes of treading water and 2 more pool lengths for a speedy 30 min. swim.
In conclusion:
1) Swimming is HARD. No run I have ever done has challenged my lungs in this way, except for maybe my 2 half marathon races!
2) Swimming makes me soooo hungry. More hungry than running!
I barely made it back to the car before I broke into my Glo Bar emergency stash!
It was so needed.
I came home and I was craving a fresh juice in a MAJOR way.
In the juice: 4 carrots, 1/2 lemon, 1/2 cuke.
It wasn’t my best combo to date, but it did the trick! Then it was onto lunch.
Quinoa + Mushroom Tomato Sauce Wrap
Ingredients:
- 1.5 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup pasta sauce
- 1 can organic canned mushrooms
- 1 Ezekiel wrap
- Seasonings, Salt, pepper
Directions: Cook quinoa. Mix together pasta sauce and drained mushrooms and heat. Scoop quinoa and sauce onto a wrap and serve.
For some strange reason, I have been obsessed with canned mushrooms since I was a child!!! It is the only canned veggie I buy occasionally. I just love the taste of canned mushrooms for some reason! When my mom and I used to make pizza, I would always steal a few canned mushrooms with pizza sauce on them before they went into the oven. Bliss!
This wrap was major.
Dessert…2 organic dates…aka- nature’s candy! YUM!!! I love dates so much. I used to be scared of them because of how they look (cockroaches!), but I am so glad that I tried them.
[Insert afternoon of work here.]
[Insert crazy bird smashing over and over into our windows all day long.]
DINNER:
One of my favourite easy dinners = roasted vegetables.
1 parsnip, carrots, 1 huge sweet potato, 2 red peppers, 1 sweet onion.
Roasted Vegetables:
Directions: Chop them all up, throw them into a big plastic container, add EVOO + salt, pepper, seasonings…put the lid on and SHAKE!!!
x 2
Throw onto a baking pan lined with tin foil and bake for about 50-60 minutes at 400F, tossing once half way through.
After 1 hour the house smelled ahhhh-mazing.
I had mine with leftover quinoa.
and Orange water ;)
It was quite possibly the perfect dinner. The hunger monster was silenced. For now.
I’m off to work on the website re-design. Keep your eyes peeled for the new look which I hope to reveal this weekend!
Enjoy your night :)
Wow, I LOVE the new look!! Where did you get those glass straws? I know you’ve told us but I can’t find the post. I love dates too, they ARE candy!!!
I love the new look of the blog!
Dinner looks amazing. I love vegetable dishes with all those different colours. :D
Quick tip…a pan of dog food placed away from the bird feeders will satisfy the raccoon. A pan of chicken scratch and/or sunflower seeds will work for the squirrel. My mom has always fed any wild creature in the backyard (including possums). Now the raccoon taps on the back door when she’s late with the food;). But they mostly leave the bird feeders alone now!
I can’t believe I’ve found another person who loves canned mushrooms! I thought I was the only one with that dirty little secret!
When I was little, my grandmother always kept a few cans in the pantry for me. She’s cook them in a pot on the stove for me. It’s a great memory. Something about that smell…
That, and picking fresh kohlrabi for my afterschool snack. Good stuff.
Your new website looks amazing, Angela!! I’m so excited for you!! :)
Awesome New Look!!! And your picture in the blue halter really does GLOW!
I love your new web design!
Oh, and I will never look at a date the same way again. You’re right! They do look like roaches! yuck!
The new layout looks awesome Angela. I love it!
It’s funny because I have been obsessed with canned mushrooms as well. I could eat a whole small can in one setting, but my mom would always try to stop me because she said they were expensive.
Lastly, roasted veggies for dinner is simply the best ever. So easy, yet so so delicious.
Have a great weekend my lady.
swimming makes me soooo hungry. Love canned mushrooms too, its such a great flavor. Just wanted to say i used to read a lot, cut back bc of school, but I’m back and the layout looks great!!
I love the new layout Angela! Much simpler and less cluttered! Love it!
I love the new layout! Much nicer to look at :)
Hey Angela,
Off topic, but me and my husband are going to Europe in September for 2 weeks…We’re still trying to figure out the kinks of where we’re going, etc. etc. Since you went there for your honeymoon, is there one place you recommend that we absolutely can’t miss? I’m trying to get lots of perspectives. Thanks :)
Hey Angela – question: what was the website where you made those awesome photo books of your wedding and of sketchie? I wanted to make one of Toby for James for his birthday :) Thanks!
blurb.com!
Is there a post describing how you started swimming? There is a pool at my gym and I’m dying to use it but I have no idea how to start!
Love Love Love the new look!!
My best friend introduced me to your website with your Project Glow. I was having a huge problem with acne and it was really starting to get to me. Well it has been just over a month and I have to saw my skin is glowing. I mentioned it to my friend last night and she agreed. We then just said “Angela knows all.” Thank you so much and keep up the great work!
Ahhhhh!!! I LOVE the new layout!!! Definitely worth the wait :D
Okay, so I’m not entirely sure how much truth there is to this, but I vaguely recall reading an article that swimming elevates your hunger because your body has to try harder to regulate it’s temperature after. I should look into that again!
That racoon is the cutest thing ever! We don’t get them here (Australia) so I see them as adorable instead of the “pest” that I imagine they can be over there. I was on holiday in California last October and I went to a beach at Carmel – on the way from San Fran back to LA – and I came across 2 squirrells. I was so EXCITED and spent hours with them jumping all over my lap. Koalas are certainly cute to look at but you can’t get “up close and personal” like I did with these squirrells!
Also – Can you please tell me what EVOO is? Is it an oil? Thanks for your help Angela! :-)