Weekend Update

It's been a little while since I wrote my last post. I have been so busy at work, it's Football Season for us so it's going to be a busy season. (I work at a ticket printing company). So when I get home, I get some cleaning done, my workout and before I know it, it's time for bed. When working overtime, I like to go in early to get out earlier. My son Gage is working with me again this summer. Last year he worked in bindery, this year he is helping with the data. I can't believe how smart he is, I mean I can but I show him one thing and he memorizes every step. 

My vacation is 2 weeks away from today! I am SO excited! We had just went to Florida in April and that was wonderful, but something about our road trips to many states and cities, I love that the most. We usually fly into a state out west and explore as much as we can, so this is our first Northeast trip, so many places I have never been to! The idea of this trip came up a few years ago when Tom saw so many places on the Food Network that he wanted to eat at. Drive Ins, Diners and Dives and Man vs. Food. The problem now is, he is no longer eating meat or dairy but he told me he is going to try the Philly Cheese-steak at Geno's and Pat's. I just hope he doesn't get sick, Philadelphia is our first stop. My son Gage asked him if he will eat Pizza with him at some of the pizza places on our list and he said he would. When he asked me, I said I can still get a pizza without cheese. We have been making our own at home and honestly I love them! Once you get used to not eating something, you can fall in love with other foods and tastes just as much.

Last night Tom and I went to the Outlets in Grove City and returned our Under Armour RC Charge Storm shoes. After running in them for over a week, he had a lot of issues with his feet feeling numb and heel hurting. I loved the style of mine and I think I was hoping I would not have a problem with them but after a week I realized they weren't working for me. They were comfortable to walk in but not run. For the price we paid $119.99, they just weren't worth it. Tom replaced his with the Asics 2170 and loves them. I am still looking for the right shoe. I have had a lot of opinions say that Mizuno is a great brand (I  never heard of them until now) and last night I tried on the Brooks PureCadence below and it felt great compared to the Asics 2170, Merrel Pace Glove (closet to barefoot running), and a pair of Nike Air running shoes.

Brooks PureCadence $120.00 @ Zappos

Tom bought these ones below at Finish Line, regular price is $110 but I found a coupon for $20 off then I linked through my Discover Card and received another 10% back, so he got a deal on his. 

 

Asics GT-2170 Men's Running Shoes

I bought a few things at Madewell this week and I love them. I wanted a big bag for vacation, something I can carry everything in and get to quickly so I bought this Canvas bag. I had a coupon for 10% off my purchase so the bag came to $55.80 and I love the bag but that still was a little high for it, it's very roomy and also has a zipper enclosure on the inside.

The Caravan Mailbag-Seaweed on sale now for $62 marked down from $78

I also bought these shirts below that are SO comfortable and I love the bright colors!

Last weekend Tom and I drove over to Cleveland to get groceries again. We stalked up on so much hoping to last a few weeks, except for the fresh produce. When we were at Whole Foods, Tom asked if they had any Field Roast Frankfurters in the back and they were all out, Tom was joking with the employee telling him he was going to burn the place down, lol. These vegan hotdogs are the best ever and Tom said if he is going to eat this way, he has to have the substitutes that taste so good and so far this brand has really been the best I have ever tasted, even better then real meat from long ago when I ate it.  I have had Vegan meat before and most of it is disgusting and has a bad texture, this brand makes the best tasting hotdogs and sausage ever! If I could set up a little cart and make tons of them and pass them out for people to try, I would, I guarantee people would love them!

This week for dinner we had home made pizza with Field Roast Italian Sausage and tons of veggies, olive oil and garlic.

I can't believe this but my husband ate Tofu! He made Southwestern Tofu Scramble with the Field Roast Italian Sausage and fried potatoes. It was SO good and isn't it crazy how much it looks like scrambled eggs! The yellow is from the spice turmeric. Below he made homemade wheat bread without yeast. The buns he has been making have made us so tired and I read that yeast can do that, this bread is great and so easy to make.

 I have been making so many smoothies! We got a lot of blueberries and they really make them yummy!

This was made with Frozen Strawberries, Blueberries, Vanilla Almond Milk, Frozen Banana, and Flax Seed Ground Meal, It was SO delicious!

We almost had a dog last Sunday. When we got home from grocery shopping we saw this lady driving to our neighbors house with a little dog asking everyone if they knew who owned it. When she got to us, I told her no but I would post it's picture on Facebook to see if anyone in our town knew. My husband said we should keep it, I said we have 5 cats in the house, there is no way we can have a dog also, and we agreed before as much as we travel, it would never be fair to a dog. I did tell my husband to go find the lady and we would help her by taking it until we found a home. I called my mom and my little brother came and got it and took it to Club Pet a no kill shelter. Here it's an Apricot Poodle, male, 5 months old and as of right now almost a week later no-one has claimed the little guy. He will for sure find a home quickly. I told Tom if we were to help out a dog, we would adopt an older one that has been at the shelter for years, there are some dogs that have been in shelters for almost their whole life :(  Right now though we have enough love with our kitties! 

Well I am off to clean the house and get laundry caught up. Graham is going to camp for a week tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Random stuff this past week and weekend....

This morning Tom and I got up early and went Strawberry picking at Pete's Berry Farm in Clark, PA. It was $4 a quart already picked or $3 a quart when you pick. We picked 8 quarts. We plan on freezing a lot of them and using them for smoothies. I like that this farm doesn't spray them with anything. We had to really look out for holes in the berries from bugs, there were a lot of them.

My youngest son Graham graduated 8th grade this past week, makes me sad how fast my boys are growing up. Gage will be a junior and Graham a freshman.

Last weekend I made Carrot Cake Bread and when I opened the Applesauce it exploded! It wasn't yet expired but the apples must have went bad and fermented causing gases inside. It was an open jar in my refrigerator for a few weeks. When I opened it, it sounded like a gun shot and applesauce went everywhere, on the ceiling, cabinets, all through my eyes. I cried and screamed, not knowing what happened and then after rinsing my eyes out many times I was fine. I still can't believe that happened. Thankfully it was a plastic jar and not glass. The Carrot Cake bread came out so good!

Tom and I have been walking and starting to run now, so we ordered new running shoes. I ordered the new Under Armour RC Charge Storm shoes for both of us. I wear a size 8 in all shoes but with my New Balance running shoes I wear a size 8.5. I called Under Armour and also did an online chat with them to see what they said. One told me my true size the other said 8.5. I went with the 8.5 and Tom's normal size for him. His fit him perfectly, mine felt a little big, they are supposed to fit snug. I went up the outlets in Grove City yesterday and tried on the 8's. I felt like they were too snug for me, even though they were saying the shoe will form around the foot, I just decided I rather have a little room at the toe then feeling like it was going to push through. I love the colors and style, they feel good too. They have an outlet store up there and Tom and I bought some shorts, some pairs were only $7.97 and $9.97, for Under Armour, you can't beat that.

Well I tried for 1 week with a deodorant that is aluminum free and I had to go back to using Secret Clinical. I am still going to try out others. I tried Tom's of Maine Apricot long lasting deodorant. It says it gives you 24 hours protection, I would have to say 3 hours at the most. I had to keep reapplying it before I thought it would wear off. I had used it at home at first and realized the only way I can use this is if I reapply, otherwise it was like I wasn't wearing any deodorant at all, not good. The deodorant smells great, goes on smooth, some-days I felt like my underarms were burning, other days were fine. No staining of clothing. I just can't risk forgetting to reapply it, jeez that would not be good, lol.

I read on another person's blog that they had tried many aluminum free deodorants and the only one they said that worked for them and lasted was Malin + Goetz Eucalyptus deodorant

found here, but $18 is a lot for deodorant. I did spend almost $12 on the Secret Clinical which is the 2.6 oz, so I might give this a shot. I have read so many bad things about deodorants with aluminum in them, I am trying to find replacements, but they have to work for me.


Here are a few of my kitties :)

Haystack just looking pretty :)

Sadie & a chipmunk having a staring contest

Sadie

Dr. Martens Vanessa Sandal

Last August I was in Portland, Oregon and for the first time I went to a Dr. Martens store. I have been wearing Dr. Martens for a very long time, they are the most comfortable shoe I have ever had. I still have a pair of boots that I bought in 2003 that I still wear, they are finally starting to show wear.

When I was in the store, I saw these Vanessa sandals and loved them! I am a bargain shopper and they were on sale from $120 to only about $100 so I thought I will just look for them online and when I got home from vacation, I ordered them from Amazon for about $80. They are a very sexy sandal and very comfortable. I wear them with dresses and jeans and get a lot of compliments. About a month ago they went on sale on 6pm for $60, so I bought the Dark Brown and the Biscuit color. They are on sale again for $60.00 right here! I almost thought about buying another pair of black ones for a back up pair since they are my favorites!