Home sweet home

I'm back! It was so nice to have a true break from everything for a few days, even if it was boiling hot just about every day in Kansas. I watched more Food Network shows than I care to admit, finished a book, worked on my ripple blanket and rode my bike a couple of times. I caught up with a friend from high school, spent some quality time garage-saleing with my mom (more about that later), and cuddled with Charlotte, the Boston terrier.

One of the best things we did was the first night when we had a barbecue on the deck. We made kabobs and fresh corn on the cob. The veggies just looked so colorful and yummy.





Don't you love my mom's little flower setup with the old red lawn chair?



The next day I chopped up all the leftover grilled veggies, mixed them with the rice and added garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs for a nice Mediterranean salad.



We ate it with a fresh Caesar salad with crunchy croutons.



I also added blueberries to my favorite bran muffin mix for some of the best blueberry muffins I've had. Good fuel for garage sale-ing...



And, of course, if you visit Lawrence you have to eat at some of the longtime local restaurants like Free State Brewery, Yello Sub (the original Planet Sub), and Pizza Shuttle. Pizza Shuttle has been around as long as I can remember, and the pizzas look and taste the same as they always have. The only thing that changes is the price of the walk-in special (one six-slice pizza and a drink for $4.75 now).



My mom and I love the cream cheese version. Cream cheese on pizza might sound weird, but I assure you it's a combination you've got to try.



And in case you've been missing that doggie eye candy, I recorded Charlotte doing the only two activities she cares about: chasing a rubber tire toy, and sleeping.









I came back with some new stuff to sell, stuff to keep, and one antique typewriter table that needs a paint job. Can't wait to start that project, but first I'll be starting my Nia training course. I'll be in class 8-6 every day, sometimes longer, so posting may be light for the next week.

Blogging break

I'm headed to my hometown for a few days of decompression before I come back and take my weeklong Nia training course. I doubt I'll be blogging while I'm gone, but I'll catch you up when I get back. Thanks for reading!

4th of July recap

I think last year the 4th of July weekend was when I really fell in love with Des Moines. I spent two days at the first 80-35 music festival where there was great music, clear skies, a fabulous view of the downtown skyline and just about every friend I've made in town. Hippies, hula hoops, a distinctive smell wafting around. It was one of those blissful summer weekends you could never recreate if you tried.

So I knew I shouldn't expect that again this year, but it was pretty disappointing when the first night of the music festival was doused in rain. After our 40-mile bike ride that morning we were all tired and a little cranky. The rain just put us over the edge.

But Saturday seemed to make it all OK. The sun never came out, but we took our waterproof fabric roll to the festival and listened to great music all day.



Then we caught the fireworks show on the way to our car.





Hope you had a great 4th!

Dog days of summer

My next feat

After I finished the 10K in Boulder I had to switch modes to cycling because I'm doing my very first day of Ragbrai! And it's gonna be a long one - 76 miles. Because, yes, I am just a little bit crazy.

For those of you who don't know, Ragbrai is a bike ride across the state of Iowa that takes place every summer in the blazing July heat. It's also been referred to as "spring break for adults", a "party on wheels," and many other similar terms. How people can drink all night and then get up the next day to ride 50+ miles in the scorching heat is beyond me, but I guess I'll find out.

Mike and I have been hopping on the trail that starts near our house and riding together on weekends. Basically every time I ride it's the longest bike ride I've ever been on! A couple days ago I tried out the High Trestle trail in Ankeny, which turned out to be about the smoothest, well-kept trail I've ever been on.

Word of warning, though. If you get into cycling, be prepared to cough up a chunk of change for all the equipment. You discover you need this and that and this and that. And above all a whole new bike! P.S. If you've got a ladies road bike for a short-legged person you want to get rid of, let me know...

I'm on a budget, so I got some nice new skinny tires for my Trek hybrid.



Due to lack of space for water bottles I ended up with this Camelbak, which also stores cell phone, money, snacks, etc. So far it has not proven hot or uncomfortable at all.



Even the Yaris has been outfitted with a bike rack. We're ready to hit the road!



Where do you like to bike? Have you ever done Ragbrai?

My own Juice cover

On my last day at work my co-workers gifted me some lovely things including a Michael's gift card and a L'Occitane set of yummy bath and body products (they do know me well), but probably the best gift was my own framed Juice cover.



Mike even got a spot on it!



And it was important to include my dogs, and my love of A Dong, among other things.



It's definitely going on my office wall.

Sweet potato fries

I can't believe I've never posted this recipe because I make it all the time. I never ate sweet potatoes as a child, but as an adult I can't get enough of them. I think I have a thing for orange vegetables. Love carrots, too.

So if you need a side dish for just about anything, these roasted fries have lots of vitamins and just a drizzle of olive oil.

Sweet potato fries

1 extra large or two medium sweet potatoes
2 T. olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Peel your sweet potatoes, then slice them in half lengthwise. My potato was so large I cut the half in half to get 3- to 4-inch long fries.

Make sure your knife is very sharp and you're very careful when cutting. Though they don't take any longer to cook, sweet potatoes are hard as a rock when raw.



Also, try to get organic sweet potatoes if you can. I didn't this time and I can tell a huge difference in the brightness of the color.

Next, slice the potato halves into pieces a little less than a half-inch wide. The end pieces will probably be a little wider and triangular.



For some of the slices you'll probably have to turn them on their sides and slice them again. Or, just go with thick-cut fries, whatever you like.



Spread them out on a nonstick cookie sheet, drizzle them with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss them a little to coat.

Bake for 15 minutes, flip them over, and bake for 15 more minutes.

And speaking of potatoes, look at my Taterpot!



It was a going-away gift, and I think it's so cute. Soon my little tater guy should be sprouting fresh mint.