Mt Vernon

WORKOUT:

40 mins elliptical

1 hour weights

I have to mention YESTERDAY'S workout too because it was such a SWEATFEST! 5 mile run, then a 1 hour spin class. I was DRIPPING by the end of class. Killer workout and the music was so fun! Ahhh... LOVED it!

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Going to visit Mt Vernon (George Washington's home), I had no idea I would be so impressed!

(PS, that is little nephew Oliver... it is funny that it looked like a little family photo.)

The grounds were BEAUTIFUL and so well kept. It was fun to learn more about George's personality and how he liked things to be done. He was quite the orderly man and was super self sufficient. It was it's own little village, everything you could need. All your food with the huge gardens, fruit trees, fish from the river, tons of crops and herds and even your own cobbler. George knew what he was doing.

Did I mention I am MAJOR jeal of anyone who has their own fruit trees?

Not that I want to spend hours discussing every detail of a historic figures life, but I really enjoyed the fun tidbits and feel I got for George and Martha's life there.

I guess if I had the equivalent of that for me in today's world, I would just need to bring in a Whole Foods, Nordstroms, running store, enormous gym, personal spa and pool as well. Everything I need.... ;)

Man, that would make my life really great. Ben? Can we have one???

He was too busy being cute with Oliver, I don't think he heard me.

My favorite part about the whole thing though was the view from the back porch. I could just sit out here on one of these chairs ALL day looking at the view.

I asked the tour guide how much the property would sell for now... apparently it is many millions of dollars. Unfortunately it is a tad bit pushing our price range.

It was spectacular. Per usual, pictures can't do it justice, so you will just have to trust me. ;)

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What is the coolest place you have visited that you were surprised you loved to much?

Besides this, it would be the Jefferson Memorial. I wasn't that jazzed about it heading out to it, maybe that was just walking in the heat and humidity talking... but it really made an impression on me.

Announcing... The Jade Notebook cover!!!

Here it is...

Note the sea turtles!  I learned a lot about sea turtles while researching this book... they're amazing!  I'll probably do a post on that some time later...

This is the third and final book in the Notebooks series (Indigo and Ruby were the first two).  Here's a little summary:

Down-to-earth Zeeta and her flighty mom, Layla, have spent years traveling the globe and soaking up everything each new culture has to offer. Now they've settled in the beachside town of Mazunte, Mexico, where Zeeta's true love, Wendell, has an internship photographing rare sea turtles. At first glance, Zeeta feels sure that Mazunte is paradise—she envisions dips in jade waters, sunsets over sea cliffs, moonlit walks in the surf. And she is determined to make Mazunte her home . . . for good. But as she and Wendell dig deeper to unearth her elusive father's past, Zeeta finds that paradise has its dark side. 

I just sent the revised manuscript into my editor-- the next step is copy-editing, then page-proofing, then the review copy...  and then, on *Valentine's Day* 2012, it will be out in the world!  I'm starting to think about the release party... For Indigo, there was Ecuadorian dance, for Ruby, an accordionist.... any ideas for Jade? (And no, I can't fly everyone to a tropical paradise to swim with sea turtles... darn!)

If you want to see pics of the setting of Jade, check out the blog post I did about my research trip there...

Thanks for reading!

xo,
Laura

DC Part 2

WORKOUT:

1 hour pump class

1 hour lifting on my own

There was a SEVERAL hour break in between those sessions of lifting weights. I was STARVING during pump class and just ended up coming home and eating before I finished my workout. You know those days when you are just so hungry and you can't seem to get full? I was having one of those. Then I was tired and laid around watching The Bachelorette from last night. Let's just say the long bike ride up the canyon I had originally planned for the day didn't happen. I had a hard time pulling myself up off the couch for anything. I made it back to the gym around 1pm with Ben to finish up my workout though. It was actually better because with a break in between the sessions it gave my muscles a rest so I could work hard again and finish up.

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One day in D.C. was mainly spent walking to all the monuments and enjoying the stroll along the river and how pretty it is there!

Really every monument had a great view of something. All of them were really pretty.

This photo is on the walk towards the Jefferson Memorial. You can see the Washington Monument in the background.

After taking several photos trying to cram our heads together to fit the Lincoln Memorial in the background, some woman took pity on us and said she would take our photo.

It felt weird to take photos with the war monuments and be smiling. It just felt really weird. So I opted for this instead of the Vietnam Memorial.

The Washington Monument was the last one we stopped at making a full circle tour of all of them. (They are not all pictured, I didn't want you to be completely bored. Your welcome.) It was a heavenly break because it was really windy and cool on the platform and I could just lay down and look up at the incredibly blue sky and cool off while enjoying the view.

Things got a little sweaty on our walk-a-thon, so it felt amazing.

Lunch was always random since we were out and about so I tried to plan ahead each day and bring something along. This Split Pea soup I picked up at Whole Foods and brought along was SUPER good. 

There is basically fast food or hot dog stands right around all museums etc, so when you want to grab a quick bite, you just have to go with the flow. Hence why I packed my lunches. Ben didn't feel that was a problem at all and happily enjoyed his Micky-D's.

While we sat in a food court and Ben ate his McDonald's along with everyone else around us, it was funny because a Dad of a family sitting right by us kept staring at me. Finally he said he wished he had some celery and other healthy snacks, like I was eating, instead of the greasy stuff he was eating. Ha! Ben got a kick out of that, but also thought he was a little crazy. I had celery, carrots, nuts and rice cakes in our backpack basically the whole time to munch on. FINALLY someone else besides me was appreciating them! Haha, Ben never too me up on my offers to share with him. :)

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When you are out and about on trips, what do you usually do for lunch and snacks? Do you just eat whatever is around or do you pack a lunch like a totally mom like me?

Ha, I know I am a little nutzo, but I really feel so much better when I have control over what I am eating. Also we didn't want to spend lots of food and decided we would rather go to a few REALLY nice places to eat instead of a lot of middle of the road ones. Great decision for us and I think we will keep repeating that with other vacations. I love going to fancy places. ;)

DC Part 3!

WORKOUT:

4.5 mile run

1 hour TurboKick class

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Breakfasts on the trip usually started off with some oatmeal. When you top it with FRESH Costco peaches and strawberries, you really can't go wrong.

We got to celebrate TWO birthday's while we were in town. For Jess's b-day, they took us out to a really great place.

We started out with an appetizer of steamed muscles in an AMAZING tomatoey-goodness sauce. 

I had never really had muscles before but saw another table order them and I felt like we had to try them.

They didn't dissapoint. I may admit to slurping up some extra sauce on my plate.

Dinner was FABULOUS too. I wish I could remember the fancy names for all the dishes we had, but I had the salmon cooked to PERFECTION atop fingerling potatoes with peas and muscles on the side.

 I forgot that my entree had muscles when choosing the appetizer, but since they were SO good it was a win-win situation. ;)

Ben had the pork chop atop some amazing mashed potato concoction and zucchini I believe with a honey glaze-y sauce.

It smelled divine and he said it was the best pork chop he had ever had.

I appreciate nicer restaurants where the portion sizes are smaller and not gargantuan. Then you can actually order the other courses. We were on such a roll with amazing food that I HAD to check out the dessert menu. It had some real gems on it. Unfortunately the kitchen was out of the items that made them special though. Tear. So we didn't splurge on dessert too. That's what happens sometimes when they just cook what is fresh and in season and have a rotating menu. I'll take it though, cause everything else was SOOOO good. Good thing we don't live closer to that place because we can't afford that fancy schmancy stuff all the time. :)

Thanks Jess and Ash for a fabulous dining experience in D.C.!
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Which would you have rather had? My salmon or Ben's pork chop!?!
If I could have eaten anything on the menu, I would have gotten the crab cakes. Mmm... I love crab cakes! The butter dairy goodness kept me far away though. ;)

DC - Thai Food Edition

WORKOUT:

10 mile run

I got up earlier and went running while it was still cool and shady this morning. I love it when it is the perfect temperature that you don't feel sweaty, but perfectly air conditioned by a cool breeze. My 6 mile run I had planned quickly turned into 10. I was enjoying myself too much to only do 6. :)

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Quick update on my family that is getting fit! Week 2 weigh-in numbers were GREAT!

Weight Lost Week #2

Dad- 2 lbs  (Total Lost 7 lbs)

Mom- 3 lbs (Total Lost 5 lbs)

Sister- 5.5 lbs (Total Lost 7.5 lbs

This was there first week without me around to give them tips of diet and make sure they were getting their sweat on. The girls did AMAZING and my Dad rocked it to! He had shoulder surgery half way through that week and was gaining a lot of fluid weight. I told him to hang in there and keep drinking lots of water and sticking to his diet even though he couldn't workout. The fact that he still knocked off 2 lbs during that week is awesome! He told me we will see big numbers next week. Can't wait! :)

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Thai food is delicious! Love me some Thai curry!

We hit up a great local spot on Ben's birthday. Old man is the same age as me again. For 6 months out of the year Ben relishes the fact that he is younger than me. If my age ever comes up he makes it sound like I am SOOOO old. Then someone usually asks how old HE is and he sheepishly has to admit it's only 6 months difference. Ha! Welcome to old person land with me again! That is until December rolls around. Shoot! How do these numbers keep adding up?

I had Yellow curry with beef, bamboo shoots, red pepper, potato and Thai basil. 

I talked Ben into getting this fancy duck dish so I could try some too. I can't remember the name but it was really good. Duck is pretty fatty, but it was yummy and spicy goodness.

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Do you ever need some good trashy TV and need it STAT?!? I need some RIGHT now. Darn you no cable. Hulu and Netflix work most of the time, but nothing is the same as mindlessly flipping through ridiculous reality TV. I need a fix!

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Ever learn the hard way the quirky characteristics of a new cooking ingredient?

I just did. I didn't realize that using quinoa flour would make my would be pizza dough so bitter. It is baking but I am afraid I won't be able to salvage it. Totally makes sense now that I think about it, but I am starving like marvin! I don't know if I have the strength to whip up a new batch.

DC Part 1

WORKOUT:

7 mile run

45 min spin class

PS, I got a new phone right before we went to D.C. I will tell you about it later, but let's just say that it makes my life better EVERY day. I don't know how I lived without it. Past 2 workouts I have been jamming to tunes on it with my new nifty arm band. Oh phone... I love you.

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I realize we went to D.C. like forever ago... not really but time has really flown since we have been back. We have had so much family time I have hardly had time to get ANY blogging done! Ah!

Get ready for the next few posts about the fabulous D.C.! I will try not to bore you with a play by play, but I will post some highlights.

I really fell in love with the city while we were there. The feel of it, the people, even the weather was growing on me by the time we left! I was totally embracing that humidity.

I honestly have to say that this is the best vacation, aside from our honeymoon, that Ben and I have been on so far. It was just so great! It was so nice to be able to stay with family and they were so hospitable that it was very relaxing and chill. I feel like we stayed for the perfect amount of time. We got to see and do the things that were most important to us and yet it still left us wanting more. We had time to unwind and I really felt like I got a good taste of the city. So SO great. LOVED our trip!

The first day we got right off the plane and headed to Arlington Cemetery. I had no idea how BIG it was and what a cool part of the city it was in. I couldn't get a photo that would do the beautiful green rolling hills covered in the simple white crosses justice. 

My sister-in-law Ash and little nephew Oliver were the BEST tour guides. And most fun to talk to I might add. Oliver LOVES his Uncle Ben. He even figured out how to say my name by the end of the trip. Bonus points for me!

We walked a TON while we were there, which I actually appreciated a lot. Great way not to gain any weight on your vacay by walking all over the place! Plus you really get to see the city the best that way and riding the Metro was totally convenient. 

I had heard about the segway tours that they have and it totally cracked me up. We were pretty amused anytime we saw them rolling by. Once you get in that heat and start walking all over the place, you can really see the appeal though. :)

All the walking made for some pretty hearty appetites and D.C. didn't lack in Whole Foods! Woo Hoo! Good thing because I was STARVING! There was one right down the street from where we were staying, it was my saving grace! Let's just say I tried to talk Ben into going there every day.

Everything good and delicious is in that box along with some Seafood Gumbo on the side.

Ben had a good mix too and I am even proud of him for throwing some watermelon in there. 

 Jess and Ash were kind enough to hook us up with an air mattress in their place and we were happy as clams. There was a great fitness area there too with all the basics that you need. You KNOW I loved that!

Ben always thinks I am a little bit nutzo when I am packing for a vacation and I never leave home without my workout gear and running shoes. 

If the weather hadn't been so warm and humid I would have totally tried a run down by the monuments and river! There are SO many people who run, cycle and other outdoor sports in the area! I LOVED seeing them all out and about and they didn't let that humidity get them down one bit! Since I wasn't accustomed to it yet, I probably would have shriveled up like a prune. I can't lie, I see places like that with really great active communities and they are so appealing to me. I would totally live there! 

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If you could go anywhere on vacation right now, where would you go?

All this thinking about how great this vacation was is really making me want to hurry up and go to Florida! Next vacation please!

Mountains

Hello everyone,

I want to post something to say hi and let you know what I've been up to.  Usually I post things when I'm in high spirits, but I'm feeling sad at the moment.  A friend and her family are going through a heart-breaking time right now, and I'm in a state of shock and sorrow over it.  Tragedy reminds me how important it is to tell people you love that you love them, and why, and how special they are, while they're still with you.

I've been spending time on the road in the mountains quite a bit this summer... to Aspen for the Colorado Book Awards, then Grand Junction for author visits, then in Steamboat Springs with Lil Dude and Ian this past weekend.

Being in the mountains makes me feel grateful to live in Colorado-- so much hugeness and expansiveness helps put life in perspective.  The sea and the mountains remind me of how tiny and giant our lives are, that we need to love in the moment, that every moment matters, that what we have is here and now.


Grand Junction, I discovered, is a beautiful town with lots of fountains and sculptures and really wonderful librarians, writers, and readers of all ages, who I was happy to spend time with (doing writing workshops and presentations at libraries).  One of these amazing librarians was Diana Tixier Herald, who runs the Genrefluent blog and is the author of many books about young adult literature. I spent an afternoon at her earthship outside of Grand Junction...  as Lil Dude would say, "Wowsers!"  So cool to get a tour of the house.


 And the view out her front window is stunning...

 

 The canyon is dizzyingly deep-- talk about putting life into perspective!  Having this view, I imagine, would help keep your mind expansive and uncluttered...

Here we are, in her yard... can you imagine walking outside to this every morning!?

Here are some pics from Aspen about a month ago... I love aspen trees, how they quiver and dance with light.  Aspen groves are my favorite places to camp...

 Sage is another thing I love about Colorado mountains... the smell of it always pierces me right to the core (in a good, waking-up way).

Lil Dude, who is now four, has discovered the thrill of photography... he took this pic of me and Ian after the Colorado Book Awards...

Here's Checkers, the balloon man who we encountered last summer in Aspen and were very excited to see again.  (Last year Lil Dude requested the Little Mermaid.  This year it was Spiderman.)

Some highlights of Aspen through the lens of Lil Dude... he was curious about why the fire hydrants here were black instead of yellow...

The hotel pool was a hit... he can swim now-- so cute.

Thanks for reading... I'll post some of our Steamboat pics soon... we stayed in a caboose in Strawberry Park-- it was a GIANT hit with Lil Dude (and me and Ian, too-- you know how I love little abodes-- trailers, caravans, and the like...)


And to those of you who were affected by the tragedy I mentioned, I wish you moments of light and lightness luminous memories... 

Love,
Laura

Strawberry Whipped Sensation!

And no, I didn't make that name up. That is just part of how awesome it is!

So I posted a photo of this prior on the blog and got some questions for the recipe. I haven't made this myself or even tasted it, because it is filled with dairy, but from all that I heard, it was divine! ;) This recipe comes from my lovely mother-in-law Christine.

Strawberry Whipped Sensation

4 cups fresh strawberries, divided

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip thawed, divided

8 Oreo cookies finely chopped

1 TB butter, melted

Line 8x4 loaf pan with foil. Mash 2 cups of strawberries in large bowl. Stir in the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice and 2 cups of the Cool Whip, pour into pan. Top with crushed cookies and butter and press this into the mixture. Cover.  Freeze at least 6 hours.

To serve, invert the pan onto a plate. Remove foil.  Frost with remaining Cool Whip and top with the remaining strawberries (sliced and arranged how ever you want!) Makes 12 servings.

Enjoy! If you make it, let me know how it turns out! I love photos too. ;)

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What is an irresistible dessert ingredient for you? Like, if it is put in a dessert you just can't say no to it.

Mine would be like added cookie or candy bar pieces. Like Oreos, Nutter Butters or crushed Snickers or Twix. Oh man!