The Smoothie Chronicles: Citrus Carrot Cocktail

I'm on a major smoothie kick.  Maybe it has to do with my working out, but I could honestly have a smoothie for every single meal.

I found a bunch of great recipes on www.vitamix.com (they sell the fancy, commercial-grade blenders that could probably grind a cement block).  I'm going to be trying out about twenty of them over the next few weeks, and posting the recipes here along with my review of it.  Here is the first one, from last night!

Citrus Carrot Cocktail

1 cup pineapple chunks
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/8-inch thick slice of lemon (with peel)
1 cup ice cubes

Put everything in the blender, and blend until smooth!

Review:
Pretty tasty!  Definitely citrus-y tasting, although a little too much carrot flavor.  I think I might like it better if I substituted the pineapple for an orange.  This did turn out a fun, orange color that made me think of summer.  I'd give it a 7/10.

Life Happens

I have been badly neglecting this blog lately.  It just seems like one thing or another gets in the way.  I have some much more detailed posts coming up in the next week (with LOTS of pictures!), but for now, here is a brief update:

• We are living in our house (YAY!) although it is not yet finished
• We are in the middle of mudding/sanding the bathroom sheetrock, which will be followed by texturing the bathroom and dining room, and then painting both rooms.  The bathroom will then get the tile flooring installed, and then its a matter of putting the toilet, new vanity, and new towel bars in before its finished!
• The rest of the house still needs carpet - hopefully within the next two weeks or so.
• Molly is 12 weeks old, and a handful.  She's a ton of fun, very entertaining, and a very sweet, sweet dog.  But she is still a puppy, and therefore likes to chew, climb, bark, run, and generally misbehave.  We are consistently working on her training though, and "sit" and "heel" are almost 100% learned!
• We are looking forward to a summer of camping, bonfires, hiking, Sea-Doo riding, and spending time with family!

That's it!  The house consumes most of our time/energy, and whatever is left over goes straight to Molly.  But I wouldn't want it any other way!

Walking, Walking, Walking

I've been doing lots of walking lately, training for my Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure.  I'm an Official Training Walk Leader, so I, along with some other TWL's, organize walks on the weekends.  It's fun to get together with a great group of women, often times different ones each time, and log some miles.  This past Sunday we did 6 miles.  We met at 7:30 AM, did some stretching, and then headed out!  There were 8 of us total, so we inadvertently paired off as we walked down the sidewalks.  Everytime we came to an intersection, we seemed to switch off partners, which was really nice!  I had the opportunity to talk to all of these sweet, sweet women with interesting stories and backgrounds of their own.

Here is our group after our walk:

And Tori, the other TWL, and I after sitting down for coffee to plan our walk schedules for the next few months:

Tori is spunky and full of life, and just as excited about all of this as I am.

Stay tuned for more training/fundraising updates!

My 2010 List... Revisted

Back in January, I posted a list of 30 things I want to accomplish in 2010. Here's the list again, as well as the things I have actually accomplished so far!

1. Obtain my skydiving license
2. Take a photography course
3. Get another tattoo
4. Visit Leavenworth, Zoo Lights, and Fantasy Lights all in the same holiday season
5. Move into my first house   Okay, so this hasn't officially happened yet, but we are the official owners.  We're moving in 2-3 weeks!
6. Get a new job
7. Figure out my plan for school
8. Walk in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day
9. Organize and hold the first Olympia Brain Tumor Walk
10. Learn how to make Baked Alaska   Did it!  It wasn't all that delicious, but I did succeed!
11. Learn to cook with ratios
12. Buy at least 2 new lenses for my camera
13. Get back down to my pre-Josh weight
14. Go horseback riding
15. Be a second-shooter at a wedding  I was actually a first shooter!  I still want to do some second shooting though, to learn more.
16. Send out a Christmas card, complete with photo of Josh & I
17. Create a photo album from our Hawaii photos
18. Read the entire Bible
19. Make an album of my 2009 blog entries
20. Visit Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park
21. Buy a new car
22. Take a spinning class
23. Learn how to make Stacie's green bean casserole
24. Shoot a deer
25. Shoot an elk
26. Learn how to shoot skeet
27. Have a baby
28. Appear on the Pioneer Woman's blog again, for any reason
    
29. Participate in a weekly photo challenge
30. Go scuba diving

So there it is!  Not bad for only being the beginning of April!

RoadID

I recently learned about an ingenious product designed to protect runner, bicyclists, swimmers, and walkers like me.

The idea is to wear an ID bracelet, anklet, necklace, or shoe tag that identifies you, gives some emergency contact numbers, and lists any information a medical professional should know. 

The company is RoadID. 

There are a variety of colors and styles available to fit anybody's preference.  The stainless steel tag has up to 6 lines of information.  I chose the Wrist ID Elite.... "With its rubberized band and watch-style buckle, this sleek ID has you covered on the bike, in the boardroom and everywhere in-between. It's perfect for all of your outdoor activities and knows how to play it cool at formal events. With the Elite, you get valuable peace of mind with a look that’s just right for everyday wear."  It comes in 9 colors, and is fully size-adjustable.  I, of course, ordered mine in pink to honor my Susan G. Komen 3 Day for the Cure commitment!

Here's what I put on my tag:

MARANDA LAMPING / 1988

TENINO, WA, USA

JOSH 360-***-****

JEANELLE 360-***-****

RICK 360-***-****

NKA / A NEG BLOOD

So, if something were to happen to me while I'm out walking, someone who found me would be able to know my name, my age (based on the year I was born), which town I'm from, 3 emergency contact numbers, that I have No Known Allergies (NKA is a standard abbreviation), and that I am A Negative blood type.  This information could save my life someday!

I highly recommend a RoadID to ANYBODY.  Not just athletes.  Check them out!

And, as a special bonus, RoadID is offering a special bonus - order yours and use the coupon code "ThanksMaranda628432" and get $1 off!

Look for all my pictures of me sporting my RoadID coming soon!

Training Walks

I am so excited to be starting my official Training Walks this weekend! Sunday is supposed to be nice, so I have arranged to walk with at least one fellow 3-Day walker that morning.  We are doing a 3.6 mile loop from Tumwater towards downtown Olympia.

I have also been contacting fellow walkers from the Olympia/Lacey/Tumwater/Rochester/Tenino area to see who's interested in joining my team (Pink Panthers) and also who just wants walking buddies!

And, I am working on finally getting all of my donation letters out to the 75+ businesses I am contacting.  Next up, writing my personal letter to family/friends!

I'm excited to finally be getting my rear in gear and accomplishing some tasks!  September will be here before I know it!

Thanks for stopping by,

Meet Hallee

Friday afternoon, I adopted a kitty from Animal Services. I knew the previous owner of her, and had met this kitty on one occasion. I planned on adopting her once I moved into the new house, but she became available Friday and I didn't want to risk someone else adopting her.  She had to be neutered yesterday, so I wasn't able to bring her home until yesterday evening.

Once I got her home, I took her into my room, which I had all set up for her.  She bolted out of her carrier, and hid behind my desk.  She came out fairly quickly though, and from that point on, all she wanted was to be held and petted.  She is such a loving, cuddly kitty.  Her previous owner found her as a stray on Halloween, so she was nicknamed Halloween Kitty.  Well, we shorted that to Hallee.

She spent last night in our extra large dog crate, which I had scrubbed and scrubbed to make sure it was clean.  I lined it with a soft towel, put her bed in there (which she already LOVES), as well as her litter box and food/water bowls.

And she cried all night.

She hates being in there.  She just wants attention.  I kept getting up during the night with her, and checking on her incision site.  She has a lot of swelling, which is to be expected.  After all, she had major surgery!  Today, I had to put her back in her crate, with a fresh towel and food and water.  I felt so bad leaving her, when I could hear her cry.  But because of her surgery, she needs to be kept quiet and not jumping/climbing all over my room.

Everyone in the family loves her so far.  She is kind of hard not to love when she snuggles up to you!  I am hoping to post more photos tonight - the above one was taken with my BlackBerry (which explains the poor photo quality!).  Hopefully her transition continues to be a smooth one!