#19 CHECK

#19 might be my favorite check-off so far as Mom & I explored the bike trails of Cedar Rapids including parts of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail. We totally lucked out on weather and we couldn't believe all of the new things we discovered in Cedar Rapids on our 20 mile bike ride! We biked from the Hoover Trail at Ely (near my house) all the way north to my brother's house. We went through downtown Cedar Rapids on the Cedar River Trail, stopped for a pick me up mocha, continued around Cedar Lake and up the trail which runs along the east side of I-380 -but feels very protected and you don't even notice the traffic! to Blairs Ferry Road. We discovered Cedar Rapids' urban trout stream along the way, too, which happens to be Iowa's only. It took us about 4 hours including all of our dawdling and stops along the way. We went 20.2 miles (and burned 805 calories, too!)

It was a blast and I'm so thankful to have got the chance to do it with my mom who is always up for an adventure!

#22 Done

 

#22 was check off 2 weeks ago (yay!) as I joined Mike, his Dad and family friend Sam for a pheasant hunting outing during the youth pheasant hunting weekend (the weekend before opening weekend set aside for kids to get their shot at one bird). Since it's my list and interpreted however I please, I am completely satisfied with counting "go hunting" as completed- I didn't feel the need to actually shoot at anything. For me, it was more about the experience of going along which I quite enjoyed thanks to the beautiful day and good company. Although, I have to say I mostly enjoyed watching the dogs in their element; happily bounding, pouncing, sniffing and running between us as we foraged the CRP. Sam didn't get his pheasant but we did see 2 hens take off for the cover of the corn, 2 roosters on the side of the road and 1 rooster scared up but just out of reach.

K.C.

Over Labor Day, Mike & I took off for a last-minute trip to Kansas City- just for fun and to (of-course) work on checking off my list! We had a great time- see for yourself :)

at the World War I Museum & Memorial

Boulevard Brewery & tasting room- our fave part!

dessert course after an amazing italian meal at Lidias Restaurant- above is our trio of sorbet. Mike said is is the best thing he's EVER tasted!

 

Guinness while hiding out in a bus stop during a downpour at Irish Fest

checking off half of #23 at a Royals game

Cashing in our Christmas Gift

In September, Mom & Dad treated us to our surprise weekend get-away gift which was their gift to us last Christmas. My favorite thing about how we 'gift' in my family is that we get to enjoy and look forward to cashing them in all year long!

Our weekend started with a glow-in-the dark charity golf tournament in Cedar Falls. It was ridiculously fun! We decked out our carts and selves with glow sticks galore. We couldn't stop laughing at how alien we looked wandering around the pitch black golf course-the pictures cannot do it justice. Mike only drove us through 3 sand traps, I lost but recovered my driver, Dad may or may not have hit a tree and miraculously we only lost 1 of our glow balls!

The next morning we took off for the rest of our adventure to Perry, IA where we stayed at the historic Hotel Pattee. Each room is themed-we got to stay in the Irish Room and Mom & Dad in the Cream & Eggs Room- they were so cute! We explored a bit and ventured to nearby Snus Hill Winery where we enjoyed a tour and samples. It was the most beautiful day and we even got to sample the freshest just-pressed grape juice- maybe one of the best things I've ever tasted! We had dinner at the Hotel and post-dinner got to bowl in their 2 lane bowling alley in the basement of the hotel.

nice form Dad!

Mom & Dad- Thanks so much for a wonderful weekend- it was awesome!

Progress!

I'm slowly checking things off THE list (some involve a partial check cause they're 1/2 done or at least in progress.) Regardless, yay, me!

#2- still in progress but long enough (shoulder length) that I'm allowing myself to check it off
#28- I'm officially a working member of New Pioneer Co-Op and I did my first bit of 'volunteering' which I'm actually reimbursed for in gift card dollars back to New-Pi. Talk about a great deal! Last Sunday morning I found myself cutting up apples from a nearby orchard for a culinary bike ride around town and my next gig will be helping out and assisting with a class called "We Love Cheese."

.....Which will perfectly segue me to #20 which is on the books to complete with Mom this fall! We have our cheese-making kit ready to go and I'm almost done with a book about the whole process of cheese making- is it weird how excited I am to make homemade cheese?

Also partially completed are #23 (went to a KC Royals game over Labor Day weekend- loved the stadium!) and #5 (trip to Cancun is booked for December!) #15 (to be completed 10/1- stay tuned cause this will be a fun post!) & #22 (scheduling is in the works- I'm doing it!)

Christmas in July!

Our Christmas gift to my side of the family last December was a fun weekend of camping and canoeing adventures in Decorah. So last Friday we all met at a campground right on the Upper Iowa River and began the fun (despite ridiculous rain Friday night that required Mike & I spend a little time in the laundromat drying out sleeping bags after a fault with our rain fly...)

We had a great time canoeing and kayaking, sitting around the fire, enjoying delicious grilled food and swimming & floating in the river. The kids (Cale, Ayla & Jonah) experienced real camping for the first time and it was so cute to see them all help set up the tent and roast marshmallows. I wouldn't trade a weekend like that with my loved ones for anything in the world!

One bonus was how much fun Xena had swimming in the river, it was hilarious to watch her work so hard to swim upstream and then zoom so fast downstream with the current! She was one pooped puppy when we got home.

Let That Freak Flag Fly

Here's the deal: I'm slightly totally obsessed with Harry Potter and have been for 10 years. I read the series once a year and while I am much more devoted to the books than movies I was quite excited to finally make it to Part 2 of the final movie. Sometimes you gotta just fly your freak flag and embrace the weirdo that you are....so last night I proudly did this by wearing my Harry Potter t-shirt to the final Harry Potter movie and even found a broom outside the theatre to fly on!  

#13 DONE

I should have done a before and after pic but at least you can see how #13 was crossed off my list. It took a relocation of quite a few kitchen items but now I'm easily able to access my beloved cookbooks- the object of my foodie obsession- without a stool!

First Fruits (er...vegetables!) of My Labor

The first thing I've been able to harvest from my garden this year are some tasty green onions, the bulbs courtesy of my green-thumbed mama- thanks Mom!

#27 DONE

...new to my garden this year are 10 asparagus plants! I just discovered their teeny little bodies poking through the ground this morning after digging a specific sized trench and carefully planting them in rich compost mixture a little over a week ago. Next I will cover them with another layer of dirt and in 3 short years will hopefully be enjoying their delicious, tender crisp, verdent spring flavor.

The Hunger Games

My sister introduced me to the most amazing series of books I think I've ever read! The Hunger Games, Catching Fire & Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

I read the entire series in 1 week thanks to my trusty Kindle which allowed me to instantly download each book immediately after finished the previous one, which thank GOD because there is no putting these books down once you start! Trust me, do yourself a favor, and read these books!

#7 DONE!

1 month of meatlessness done! Technically, as Jessie pointed out, I did a month of a "pescatarian diet" because I allowed myself seafood but in my mind that is as vegetarian as it is going to get for me and I'm very proud of myself for completing this one! I'm still debating whether to try to go all the way to Easter so we'll see how it goes.

What I learned:
 -it was hard, but not as hard as I thought
 -it takes a lot of planning
 -a meatless diet does not automatically help one drop lbs like I thought it might
 -that I am inspired to incorporate a least a few meatless meals into our/my diet each week
 -it would be easier in the peak of summertime (seasonal veggies from my garden & farmer's market)

#8 DONE!

The first thing to be officially crossed of THE LIST is

#8: do a 5K with Jessie!

On Saturday morning Jessie, Chris, Mom & I went to George Wyth Park in Waterloo for the "Fools 5K" where we had a blast joining the 800 other runners and walkers in our (mom's & my) first ever 5K race. Mom & I had every intention of just 'fast-walking' it but with Jessie's encouragement we ended up jogging at least half of the 5K! We were so proud of ourselves and we finished in about 40 minutes which ended up being about 13 minutes miles and for non-runners who non-trained we were pretty happy with that result!

salad it is :(

Today is posing to be the hardest day of my 1 month vegetarianism so far. Hot, delicious Chick-Fil-A sandwiches were just delivered to my office for lunch. Sigh.

Eagle Eggs

Juding by the number of viewers at any given time, I am not the only one fascinated by the live eagle cam provided by the Decorah Raptor Resource Project. Check it out soon- the eggs are due to hatch anytime from today to Friday!

http://www.raptorresource.org/falcon_cams/
 

Slowly but Surely

I'm 3/4 of the way done with #7 on my 30 Before 30 List, only 1 week left of vegetarianism!

Also, with a last minute entry in a 5K this weekend #8 will be crossed off, too!

It's easy being vegetarian when you get shrimp this big & delish! Enjoyed at Daniel Arthur's last Friday night on a dinner date with Mom & Dad

#7 = 1/4 complete

One week of vegetarianism down, 3 to go! I may make it all the way to Easter, just cause. We'll see how it goes!

Here's a snapshot of what I've been eating: shrimp lettuce wraps, halibut tacos with avocado, crispy thin crust veggie pizza, whole wheat pasta with veggie marinara, lots of eggs, greek yogurt with granola & fruit, cheese & crackers, etc.

Mike has been a good sport so far so he got his own crock pot full of corned beef & veggies yesterday.

Rockin robin tweet tweet: follow me on twitter now! @lrwalsh218

Test from phone

30 Before 30

Inspired by THIS, I created my list of 30 things I feel compelled to complete before I reach age 30 (approx 11 months):

and in no particular order here it is:

1. try 3 new types of cuisine (Indian, Cuban, etc.)

2. grow my hair out

3. audition for something *

4. write a business plan

5. travel somewhere new!

6. complete The Love Dare book with Mike

7. eat vegetarian for 1 month *

8. do a 5K with Jessie *

9. watch no TV for 1 week

10. teach my nephews and niece something new

11. knit a stocking hat for Mike (finally)

12. let go of a few hoarded items

13. organize my recipes and cookbooks

14. read the Gospel

15. volunteer somewhere

16. master 5 yoga poses

17. make Boeuf Bourguignon (Julia style of course) for a dinner party

18. learn to putt well and finally get a decent golf score (low 90s would be good for me)

19. bike part of the Cedar Valley Nature Trail with Mom

20. make homemade cheese

21. do something nice for a complete stranger

22. go hunting*

23. visit 1 new MLB stadium and 1 new NFL stadium

24. learn to play Euchre

25. discover something new about my family history

26. create something creative

27. grow something new in my garden

28. join a food Co-op & volunteer there

29. photograph something beautiful

30. brew homemade beer

*indicates: yikes! I'm a little nervous about this one

WISH ME LUCK AND STAY POSTED! (I'll be crossing them off the list at the right side of this blog)

I should probably do this, don't you think?

http://www.30before30project.com/

stay posted to see my list (I'm starting to write it today)

Oats

I was pleasantly surprised by McDonald's new oatmeal- I love it! Even before I ordered I was planning to look up the Nutrition Facts just to see how much sugar was in it- because what oatmeal is good without a little sugar? To my surprise the Nutrition Facts were already listed on the container (I appreciate that) and while 32 g of sugar and 57 g of carbs is kind of a lot I think the good amount of fiber and whole grain balances it out enough for me not to feel guilty! And I love cranberries, so they had me at hello. Ronald- if you're reading this I'll take more free coupons- thanks!

29

Last Friday at 7:50 am I began the first day of the last year of my twenties.
I'm Ok with that.

It was a wonderful birthday weekend because I got to enjoy not only a lot of wonderful food but also because I got to be with so many of my favorite people!

Believe it or not I have no pictures to share but here is what we did in words:

Friday Night:
had a local cheese & local pork plate with wine at Lincoln Wine Bar in Mt. Vernon
had 2 small plates and wine at Zins in downtown Cedar Rapids
had another cheese plate at Daniel Arthur's in Cedar Rapids (our go-to celebration spot) while listening to the sweet ballads of a Norah Jones-esque live musician

Saturday:
had brunch & bottomless mimosas (yay!) with Mom, Dad, Jason and the boys at Granite City where Cale presented me with an awesome built-all-by-himself gift
strolled and browsed downtown Iowa City shops with Mom and Dad
enjoyed refreshing drinks at Java House
had amazing seats for the Iowa vs. Michigan basketball game at Carver
met friends for sushi & drinks at Takanami in Iowa City
hung out with Kay, Tom & the dogs (Angus and Xena) at our house

Sunday:
Absolutely nothing. Perfect!

Texas Sized Super Bowl Fun

Here are some pictures from our trip to Ft. Worth/Dallas for the 2011 Super Bowl Festivities.

In no particular order we: went to a rodeo, watched live ESPN broadcasts at Sun Dance Square, explored the Ft. Worth stockyards, partook in fun activities at the NFL Experience, saw celebrities Jennifer Aniston, Adam Sandler and Snoop, saw Rodney Atkins & Clay Walker concerts, drank margaritas and ate awesome food at Joe T. Garcias (I love that the menu only had 2 options!) and last but not least celebrated the Packers winning the Super Bowl! WHOO HOO! We decided not to fork over the thousands of dollars to actually go to the game but we sure celebrated with all the fans before and after!

We had an amazing trip with our friends despite the freezing weather and snow that greeted us. We made the most of every minute and have many hilarious memories to tide us over until we can get together again.

Our Next Adventure

Our next adventure takes us to Dallas for the Super Bowl! We don't know yet if we'll splurge (that seems like a understatement) on actual tickets but we are definitly going to party with old friends and have a Texas sized blast! Good friends of ours moved to the Dallas area last year and right away Mike thought we should take the annual Super Bowl party down there for the big event. Even better, and as fate would have it the Packers are in the Super Bowl! It couldn't have worked out better!

More to come!

November, December & January Ketchup

November:

-We celebrated Mike's bday, he got a snow blower and is very, very excited about it.

-We celebrated my niece Ayla's 4th birthday and Jessie & I treated her to a fun sleepover (her first) party at my house where we: baked cookies, went shopping & out for pizza, snuggled on the couch and watched movies and had pancakes (her favorite food) for breakfast.

We also had a wonderful Thanksgiving with both of our families and Xena even got a giant bone from my parent's butcher to keep her busy and very happy.

In December we had my office Christmas party at Riverside Casino and I was in charge of the entire event (part of my job I like). It was a fun party and I even won a massage as one of the prize give-aways which I totally think I deserved! It kind of felt like I was planning another wedding reception and spending someone else's money was really fun!

We also decorated the house for Christmas (my fave time of year!) and continued our tradition of going to cut down our own tree (though none were big enough so we went with a Frasier fir that was already cut down but still AT the tree farm so that still counts doesn't it?)

Christmas with our families was wonderful as usual and I could hardly contain my excitement over the gift I planned for Mike....a surprise trip and tickets to the Packers vs. Bears game on January 2nd! He was so surprised and excited! The game was awesome and freezing cold (-5) and the Packers beat the Bears to make it to the playoffs! We saw Urlacher eating at the same restaurant as us (Lombardi's in Appleton) the night before the game which was kind of cool, too. Mike ended up getting sick while we were there but he rallied for the game thank goodness!

In December we also celebrated Chris' golden 30th birthday with surprise party planned by Jessie. It was so much fun and he was truly surprised!





One other fun thing we did in December was dress up in ugly Christmas sweaters and go to a local Rough Riders hockey game. Our outfits were a hit!