Monday, July 23, 2012

Ski-wee Herman

Trader Joe's continues to impress me.  Last time I was there I found this "European Style" yogurt and thought I'd give it a try.  I haven't been able to get enough of yogurt lately (for breakfast, for snacks, for dessert) and when I studied abroad, I absolutely loved the yogurt in France, so the European description definitely appealed to me.  And it didn't disappoint - I will definitely be getting this yogurt again.


Sometimes when it's so hot, I just don't have a big appetite.  Or I'm just too lazy to chew.  Either way, smoothies for lunch are great options when that happens.  


This smoothie was SOOO good.  It had 1 cup of milk, 1 T chia seeds, 1 scoop of vanilla Sun Warrior protein powder, 1 T natural peanut butter, rainbow chard, 2 small peaches, strawberries, cherries, and a frozen banana (plus some ice cubes).  I cut the peaches over the blender so that the juice would drip right into my smoothie - they were too good to waste a drop!  The smoothie was super tasty, and I felt good that I was able to sneak some greens in there without it affecting the flavor at all.  


It didn't even all fit in that huge cup!  I had some leftover which I put in the fridge - I'd never done that before because I was afraid the texture would be ruined, but that wasn't the case at all.  It still tasted good the next day!

I put my ice cream maker to use again - this time making classic vanilla bean ice cream.  My dad said it was probably the best ice cream he's ever had - I'll take it!  


With some fresh cherries on top... swoon.  Perfection.


Another delicious way to enjoy vanilla ice cream: in float form!  I used Zevia root beer, which is sweetened with stevia and doesn't have any calories.  I also love the black cherry soda and ginger ale - they're all yummy, and I think they're much better than diet soda or regular soda.  My grandma used to make me root beer floats pretty much every time I went over to her house, so this took me back.


You know what's great?  Getting a freshly baked cookie at work!  :)


You know what else is great?  Fun summer activities with family.  My family and I didn't get to go on our usual summer vacation this year, so we did a few local things together as a family.  We went to an Indians game, and had awesome seats.


And I didn't get to see any fireworks on the 4th of July, so I was excited for the fireworks show after the game!


We also went to a water ski show.  I am completely in awe of these skiers - how amazing are they??  This was a father-daughter team.  Unfortunately I couldn't convince my dad to try this with me.  Ha!  I would never be able to do that.  


One of the fearless, daredevil skiers was called "Ski-wee Herman," like Pee-wee Herman - it only took me about halfway through the show to put that together, haha.


Check out this FOUR tier pyramid.  What?!  Insane.  I can barely stand up on a pair of water skis and make it around the lake once.  I am totally blown away by these talented skiers.


Now for a critter update - check out this hummingbird!  It got trapped in our screened-in porch so my dad and I propped the doors open and it flew out, but it must have been really tired because it just sat on the top of this door for quite awhile.  


Can you see me in that reflection?  I had to stand on my tip toes and reach way up to try to get a better view.


And check this out - my dad actually got to hold the hummingbird.  Crazy!!!  The hummingbird eventually flew away and seemed okay.  We've seen quite a few buzzing by and eating at the feeder since then, and I think he's one of them.


Oh hey little buddy!  I looked out of my bedroom window to find this deer walking up the creek.  Look at his cute little antlers!


In other news, I'm still working on painting my table and chairs.  It's a long process, but I'm making progress.  


Are you still reading?  Sorry, I know this is a long post.  If you are, you should go here and enter Gena's juicer giveaway!

Song of the day:

"Heartbeat" by JJAMZ.  I posted another JJAMZ song before ("Never Enough" - also my inspiration for the title of my last post) and now that their full album is out, I can officially declare Suicide Pact as my favorite album of the summer, and possibly the year.  I'd definitely encourage you to check it out!



10 comments:

  1. It looks so pretty where you live! I love spotting wildlife. Smoothies are awesome in summer, I never feel like chewing when it is hot either! And that water skiing loOks crazy!!!

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    1. I'm staying at my parents' house for the summer, and I'm definitely enjoying the nice setting and all of the wildlife. I grew up here, but I didn't realize quite how nice it was until I moved away! Hope you're having a nice week, Jess!

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  2. wowee! so much to comment on!

    1) omg root beer floats were my ultimate FAV when I was growing up! THAT SOUNDS SO GOOD!! Some stevia sodas make my stomach hurt (bloating), but I think I remember the Zevia's to be okay. I duno, I always loved their flavors, and I usually grab a can if I am at a Whole Foods :)

    2) THE ICE CREAM SOUNDS AMAZING! love the idea of fresh cherries! I put coconut shreds on my ice cream tonight and it was amazing!

    3) love that water skiing show! how funny! I remember seeing that on instagram

    4) I love TJ's yogurt!! I've had that one before and enjoyed it too! And I agree...i've been on a yogurt kick lately! it's delicious!

    5) rainbow chard in a smoothie! awesome idea! and YES peaches have been so delicious lately! I am out right now and need to grab more!


    okay! HAPPY WEDNESDAY TO YOU!
    hugs,
    GC

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    1. I highly recommend making yourself a root beer float ASAP!

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  3. Your ice cream maker looks like it makes amazing ice cream. All my maker does is make ice milk :( I can't believe you got such good shots of a humming bird. They are such interesting animals.

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    1. My ice cream maker does work really well! It was a surprise Christmas gift from my mom, which was so much fun. Basically an adult toy, haha. I'm really impressed by how fast it works, too - both times I've used it, it's frozen the ice cream in about 15 minutes. It's fun to watch, too! Hummingbirds really are fascinating - I felt so lucky to get to see this one super close and for so long.

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    2. Mind if I ask what model it is? I am very interested in buying one myself.

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    3. Not at all! It's a Cuisinart Ice-21 - here's a link for it: http://www.cuisinart.com/products/ice_cream/ice-21.html. I'm sure if you shop around you could find it cheaper than its retail price. Do you shop on Rue La La? I see Cuisinart products on Rue La La quite often, so if you keep an eye out, you might find a good deal on an ice cream maker there. If you don't belong to Rue La La, send me your email address and I'll "invite" you to join - you don't have to pay to belong or anything like that, but someone has to "invite" you to become a member. My email address is stephanie.blind3 (at) gmail (dot) com.

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  4. How cool are those daredevil skiers! I have never seen anything like that! I missed the firework show on the fourth but luck enough we get one every Thursday from the local hotel :) You got such a great picture of the hummingbird! Love and Shine CourtStar

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  5. Dear Stephanie, please accept my more than sincere apology for my snarkalicious comment on your blog. It was in regards to another blog absolutely NOT YOURS. Your blog is sweet and entertaining and I completely mixed your URL with someone who said something completely off base on a blog I adore. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and creations on your blog and I hope you can find it in your heart to accept my apology.

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