Point n’ shoot mooooving day. 

Moving all of our dry storage food in reusable grocery bags worked really well!!  It was so much easier than packing it all in boxes, since the bags have some give on [...]]]> I’m back.  For the most part… Here are some happenings from the past few days.

Point n’ shoot mooooving day. 

Moving all of our dry storage food in reusable grocery bags worked really well!!  It was so much easier than packing it all in boxes, since the bags have some give on the sides. 

Goodbye peephole view of the mountains. 

And, we’re off!!  With the big Penske truck behind.

Destination.

Poooooped.

But happy + excited.

Love how bike-able our new location is!!

These oats were a random shot from sometime last week.  It was the last of my pre-made oats.  I drizzled about 2t maple syrup on top, which actually made them too sweet for me!  Still gobbled them up though

No formal house tour yet.  We’re still unpacking!!  However, here is the kitchen and Dakota…and a hanger under the cupboard.  That awesome closet that looks like a pantry, is not so awesome, because it’s not a pantry.  It’s a HUGE closet that holds the stacked washer + dryer and the water heater.  Don’t think I’ll be storing any food in there because it is warm and dusty from lint.  It is a good Dakota-proof garbage hiding spot though.

I turned about 45* to the left to take this shot.  That is basically the whole house, except for the 3 bedrooms down the hallway.  The living space is HUGE though.  I can’t believe it fit our couch and large dining table without looking too cluttered.  Well, it looks cluttered in this photo, but just wait

And this is why the dogs love the house.  The yard is gigantic.  Our “yard” in Denver, was not really a yard at all.  It was a big mulched pit, that was not fun to hang out in.  We have already spent SO much more time in the yard than we did in Denver.  We didn’t even buy a propane tank [until the move] because the spot where we had the grill, was filthy. 

If the dogs are not outside, they are SOUND asleep inside…in separate bedrooms.  They are weird!  Dakota likes our bedroom but Kenna is happier in the guest room. 

I really love this ranch, in comparison to the 2 story with basement in Denver.  The basement was nice, but everything is just more accessible in this house.  Have I made it clear how much I hated the house in Denver??  It was filthyyyyyyy.  Worse than some of the houses Chris + his roommates lived in at Ohio State.  No matter how much you cleaned, it never really helped.  The landlord did not keep up with the house at all, and he could get away with it because of the awesome location. 

I made a big dent today!!  However, there are still a few more kitchen boxes to go through, but this is major progress.

A new use for my trifle dish   I hate having loose bars around. 

Tomato time.

With a little salt…

…this baby was just perfect.

Ta-da!!  Well you should know, that most things in the previous photo of this room, got moved to the bedrooms and not fully put away yet    Having this area set up and clean is so nice though!

If your pans are still packed, but you want kale chips, just bust out a homemade foil pan!  Worked like a charm.

I have a lot of ingredient filling to do!  There is no reason NOT to use mason jars for storing bulk goods.  They are insanely cheap, in comparison to other food storage containers.  I have a few of those OXO pop-lid containers, but really they are just “ok” and cost a butt-load.  I would say they average $10-20 for ONE container.  For a 6-pak of 1/2 gallon mason jars, you will pay $9.99…TOTAL for all six.  I picked these up at Ace Hardware.  They had a HUGE canning section, which I’m really interested in trying to start.  I also bought 2, 8-paks of the white twist on lids because the metal tops can get annoying.

We have a “sanitize” mode on the dishwasher now, which is how I cleaned these. 

And then we ate a completely random but delicious meal

And then we went to bed.  Or ate a peach + then went to bed.

~Ashley

Hoping to get a real workout in tomorrow!  It’s been almost a week!

Am I moving again on Saturday?

Is it really already September?

Ahhhh

Since 2001, this is my 9th time moving.

Okay. Breakfast.

I inhaled this deliciousness, to the point where I looked at my plate in shock… “seriously, where did it go?”

I was worried it wouldn’t fill [...]]]> Is tomorrow really Friday?

Am I moving again on Saturday?

Is it really already September?

Ahhhh

Since 2001, this is my 9th time moving.

Okay. Breakfast.

I inhaled this deliciousness, to the point where I looked at my plate in shock… “seriously, where did it go?”

I was worried it wouldn’t fill me up because I was still hungry from eating it so fast.  However, after about 15min I was full.  Why haven’t I made this before??  I might need to make it a triple decker next time.

Nothing revolutionary here.  I know it’s been done before.  But it’s seriously, amazing.

Nut Butter Grilled Banana Samich

• 2 pieces of bread, lightly buttered
• 3/4 medium banana [eat the rest ]
• 2-3T nut butter
• 1T jelly

The bread I used, was a deeelicious 14 grain bread from the farmers market.  It toasts up so nicely.

I put the nut butter on both sides + a light coating of jelly.  Putting the pnut butter on both sides, helped keep the jelly from leaking through.  I put banana on one side, topped with the other slice of bread and cooked it away just like a grilled cheese.  It was done in about 7min and eaten in about 3.

Oy.

Onward!!  I went for an intense interval bike workout at the park today.  Around + around I went!

Ride – 18 miles

• 6.75 miles at my normal pace
• 7.25 miles, with [10] 1min sprint intervals at 80-90% max effort, resting at normal pace in bt/n each interval until I catch my breath, then GO again with the next interval
• 4 miles normal pace

Why did I do that when I knew I was going up + down stairs all day?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Then I biked to Whole Foods.  Double oops.  Hellooooo tired legs.  I had to grab some essentials.

• I don’t typically buy TP at Whole Foods, but we’re out, and I wasn’t about to bike to Target. 
• We’re out of toothpaste. 
• I needed some protein!  Fage 2% is SO freaking delicious. I like it a lot better than plain Oikos.  Now only if it were organic.  I’ll keep buying Oikos though because it’s cheaper.  These were on sale though.
• The blue bars are Dr. Bronners peppermint castile soap.  They were on sale for $2.50!!! They’re typically $4-5.  Total score, especially because I use these for my homemade laundry detergent.  [which I LOVE]
• Dryer sheets – well, I had a coupon and this brand is my FAVorite.
• Kaia Foods fruit leathers – They were on clearance.  Hence, essential.
• Heirloom tomato – SALE!!! It was hard to only buy one. 
• GoRaw banana bread bar – It was on clearance, and I wanted to see how it compared to Angela’s “Liberate” banana bread GF/Raw bar.
• fiCoCo – Fig + cocoa fruit spread!!!! – This was on sale for $2.99 and I just couldn’t pass it up.

I told you.  Just the essentials.

I’m pretty sure this is going to be excellent on oats.

I tried the Vanilla Pear fruit leather today.  It was tasty, but pretty hard to chew through.  The pear was noticeable with the texture but the flavor was more banana.  Fruit leathers are pricey, in general, for what you actually get.  I probably won’t buy these again, unless they’re on clearance

I was excited about the goraw bar.  I tried Angela’s Liberate bar back in June.  It was seriously amazing.  The texture + flavors were spot on. 

Well, I tried this bar it and threw it out.  The description I’m going to give you is pretty gross…but I just have to tell you.  At first, I swear it tasted like BEER.  Then, I am not joking, it tasted like vomit with a hint of banana.  It was not good at all, and I would never ever eat it again.  I took a few more bites but it did not get better.  Banana barf.  No thanks.

For lunch I made…

Hot Mess In a Wrap, That Had To Be Eaten With a Fork

• Ezekial sprouted grains wrap
• tomato paste
• ricotta cheese
• zucchini
• peppers
• TJ’s grain mix
• sweet tater
• heirloom tomato
• spring mix lettuce

mmm.

With a side of Fage + LGF granola + 1t maple syrup.  Adding a touch of maple syrup to Greek yogurt is one of my favorite things. 

Dinner.  The rest of my low + slow sweet taters, reheated with a nice blob of homemade pnut butter.

And the most delicious, packaged soup I’ve ever had.

I mixed in the TJ’s grain mix that I’ve been trying to use up.  Needed a little more carby substance for dinner.  Honestly though, this tomato veggie soup was amazing.  It was a frozen soup, which I’v enever had.  It was packed with veggies AND they were crisp.  The soup was perfectly seasoned.  Wow.  Totally impressed.

The ingredient list was very Ashley approved as well.

Water, Diced Tomatoes in Juice (tomatoes, tomato juice, salt, calcium chloride, citric acid), Ground Tomatoes (tomatoes, salt, citric acid), Zucchini, Summer Squash, Onions, Yellow Beans, Green Beans, Carrots, Celery, Olive Oil, Rice Flour, Scallions, Corn Oil, Spices, Sea Salt, Garlic.

Also great nutritional info. [source]

Sold!

My back is EXhausted, along with my legs + brain.

Tomorrow is the last day to get things squared away!  I made a ton of progress today and even started to get some cleaning done.  The packing is pretty much done, except for maybe 1 large “completely random” box.  We get the moving truck early Saturday morning and will hopefully be in Ft. Collins by late afternoon Saturday. 

Besides my morning oatmeal, the kitchen is now closed.  We have a pizza coupon we need to use for dinner + I think I heard Chipotle’s veggie bowl calling my name for lunch.

Roar!! Bed.

<3 Ashley