Always Something Fun in Jacksonville

 

One thing that's GREAT about Jacksonville, FL is there is always something going on; it just depends on how far you want to drive. Downfall about Jax is that's it's huge! Little unknown fact is Jacksonville is the largest city per square mile in the continental 48 states. Everything is Jacksonville here, we don't have suburbs, we have areas. 

So anyway back to my comment about always something going on. I was in the Riverside area working a Putt n'Crawl (mini golf and drinking combined at local establishments = lots of fun) and then headed to the beach for the Celtic Festival to see Flogging Molly at a pavilion right next to the ocean with my husband and some great old friends - PERFECTION! 

Old friends, Mexican food and an Irish Punk band. What could be wrong about that combination?! Definitely one thing I love about living in Jax, if you want to do something you typically have a list of things you can choose from or if you want to sit at home and have a quiet day/evening that's easy here too. 

It also doesn't hurt that my husband and I love seeing live music so that just made last night that much better. Until the next live concert or fun event, enjoy Jax! 

Being Nervous About the Next Chapter

I start my new job today! I start my new job today!

If you can't tell I am really excited but I am also nervous if I am being honest. I know I am nervous for a few reasons, I have butterflies in my tummy and it's 12:13am and I am up writing this blog! LOL!

I have been told that being nervous for something is good, it means you care and that there is something to loose. I'm excited about the opportunities that this job and this company has for me. It's really up to me as it seems the sky is the limit, but I determine the speed and direction.

The nervous part = I just don't want to do anything to screw it up.

My solution = I am going in with an attitude of, "I'm going to rock this!" Therefore, I think as long as I don't fall on my face, no really, I mean literally fall on my face then I think it will be a successful first day tomorrow. Come to think of it, I would probably just laugh at myself if I did fall so it can't be that bad at all!

Okay off to bed to rest my eyes, my brain and my body and get ready for this next chapter in my life.

My favorite new "kid"!

We have a new "kid" that might be my favorite. I know, I know you aren't suppose to have a favorite kid. BUT if your kid always did what you asked, when you asked and does such a good job each and every time how can you not place favoritism towards that "kid"?!

Please meet NEATO BotVac 80! 

This new family member, our new "kid" is a robot vacuum cleaner. We lovingly call him NEATO (I know super original - haha) and he truly is amazing. I can not recommend a robot vacuum cleaner enough and specifically this model, to people that are looking to simplify their lives and have a cleaner life. Especially if you have pets and I would image kids too (we don't have any yet so I can't speak to that directly). 

We have 2 dogs and a cat that all shed, not to mention I am not sure how I still have hair on top of my head (I feel like a lot of woman can say that) so vacuuming is a regular chore in our family. We have a one story home just over 2600 square feet so it does take a bit of time to complete this chore. 

We bought our house at the end of June this year. As a house warming gift my husband bought me the NEATO Signature Pro. The funny part was we couldn't use it right away, we were in the process of ripping out all the flooring, scrapping the popcorn off the ceilings and painting walls throughout our house. Thanks for the present babe that's awesome but I can't use it! lol 

My husband is one of those guys that does his research before purchasing something of significance. Unfortunately we were the lucky people that had bad luck with a product, NEATO Signature Pro, that no one else seemed to have issues with. After 2 replacements and two very easy customer service calls a third robot was sent to us and we were upgraded too (to our now BotVac 80) for the inconvenience we had experienced. Our luck right?! Still very impressed with the customer service at NEATO. 

Our new robot arrived, I plugged him in and let him charge for a full day, when I sent him on his first cleaning it was perfect and has been ever since. I have him programed to run at 10am Monday through Friday and at 2pm Saturday and Sunday. It's the most amazing thing ever, trust me coming home to a house that has already been vacuumed is flipping-fantastic! 

What shocks me every day is the amount of dust NEATO collects. The amount of hair has greatly decreased each and every day - Yippie! - but the dust, WOW! I even vacuumed regularly before but what he collects is just amazing. 

Okay so I have gabbed a bit (I'm guilty I know) so on to the Pros and Cons:

PROS: 

 - Excellent at cleaning floors, all types (We have tile and rugs)

 - The robot has a mapping system so it has a method to it's madness when cleaning unlike most robots

 - Efficient and reliable scheduling 

 - BotVac 80 has a larger dirt bin than other robot models

 - Approximate hour and a half battery life, longer battery life than most robots 

CONS:

 - A bit noisy when running

 - Isn't smart enough to not get stuck under a couch or place it's doesn't quite fit but does. NEATO combats this by providing a magnetic strip you can put on the floor that when the robot hits it, it can't go any further. 

 - Dirt Bin is much smaller than most commercial vacuums, you must remember to empty it everyday to prepare it for cleaning the next day.

 - Battery Life is an hour and a half which is not quite long enough for a larger house. It takes 2 trips to finish cleaning at our house

Healthy Twist on a Classic Favorite Dip

It's football season and dips are back! The bad part about dips - they can be full of fat and calories. Oh but they are soo yummy!

My weakness, downfall and guilty pleasure is dips! I love dips and I can't help it! Especially a really yummy dip, but heck Chips and salsa is one that I can't keep my hands out of so I think it's just all dips for me.

Well it was tailgating again this Sunday and I needed a new dip. I wanted something easy, cheap but most importantly tasty. I knew I had some low-fat sour cream left and a packet of Lipton' Onion Soup Mix and wondered if I bought some non-fat Greek plain yogurt and mixed that in would it work? A low-fat onion dip, could it be possible?

Saturday night I whipped it up, figured it would need a few hours to set up with the yogurt and over night would be perfect - it allows me to swing by the store in the morning if it was a flop. What turned out was amazing and honestly you couldn't tell it was low-fat at all! Maybe if the full fat was next to it and you tried them back to back, maybe. Delicious!

I was so proud of myself for putting this healthier twist on a classic and favorite dip. I definitely knew I had to share this recipe with you guys!

Healthier Twist on Onion Dip

Total Time:
Prep Time - 5 Minutes
Chilling Time - 3 hours minimum, overnight is best

Ingredients:
10.5 ounces plain non-fat Greek yogurt (2 small individual cups)
2/3 cup low-fat sour cream
1 packet Lipton's Onion Soup Mix
*You can add/subtract the sour cream/yogurt to your liking and I am sure it would come out just as yummy!

Directions:
1.) Pour all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until fully integrated together.
2.) Pour mixture into serving container & cover with lid or plastic wrap.
3.) Place in refrigerator for 3-8 hours.
4.) Serve and enjoy!

I served the dip with both plain low-fat Ruffles chips and Garden Salsa Sun Chips. I have to say the Garden Salsa chips are AMAZING! They aren't low-fat like the Ruffles but they are made with real corn and whole grains and have lower sodium than most chips, even some popcorn so they aren't too bad for you in regards to a chip.


Next football game- trust me this will be a crowd pleaser! ENJOY!

Grab a meal today to help out St. Jude's!

Every year I am a big supporter of this and try to promote it because I think it's a great cause and such an easy way to help out.

Today, Monday, September 23rd, Chili's Grill & Bar is donating 100% of it's profits to the 

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital! 

Everyone has to eat, so why not eat lunch, dinner or even both from Chili's today?! (take-out works too!)It's such an easy way to help out and make a difference.

Please find the closest Chili's to you and grab some food - I recommend the:
- Quesadilla Explosion Salad (I get it without cheese & only the balsamic dressing on the side with salsa for the dressing.
- Margarita Chicken (on the lighter choices menu)
- Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Crispers
- Any of the burgers are really yummy!

Disclaimer - I am not associated with Chili's Grill & Bar nor St. Jude's Hospital. I am only a regular American citizen that enjoys Chili's and supports this cause each and every year for the last 10 years.

Below is the email I received from them. You can also visit their facebook page and find out more by Clicking Here.

Found a GREAT fitness app - Gymboss

I found this great fitness app I just had to share!

From my last post you saw that my husband and I are joining forces to accomplish 2 common goals - lose weight and become healthier - YAY! We finally got out there last Friday and decided to start with a minute run and 30 second walk.  This is where the problem began and a wonderful solution was found.

I am in love with the Nike+ app when I run - seriously I am addicted but it's soo good so I see no problem with being addicted to an app. lol However it doesn't let you do intervals like I wanted it to do at this particular moment - only downfall of the Nike+ app that I have found thus far in over a year of using it.

Since we were all "suited-up" and ready to head out the door I did a very quick search in the app store for an interval training app and came across the Gymboss 2 Interval Trainer app. I quickly downloaded it and saw pre-set exercises but was able to set-up my own intervals.

The best part - I could run both my Nike+ app that I love and this new app Gymboss at the same time!

With Gymboss you can set multiple intervals for a workout. For example I am using 1 minute run and 30 seconds walk. I can name the intervals, assign it a color that appears on the whole screen when on that interval and also assign a noise (ding, buzzer, bells, etc). It's great!

Seriously this is a GREAT app! I know I have just begun using it so I am still figuring it all out, but thus far for a simple, user friendly interval training app I highly recommend!

Remember if you have any questions or comments leave them below or EMAIL IT TO ME!

Staying Happy Together in a New Way!

We are 5 months into our marriage and the pounds show it! We've been happy and its starting to show, okay really showing. Haha

Last weekend I was looking at running races in town and decided on a 1/2 marathon on December 29th. I am already signed up for a 1/2 on February 23rd but I wanted something sooner. What I've discovered is I have a hard time working out just to work out - I need something to train for. 

I took a long shot and simply asked my husband if he wanted to join me and run and train for a 1/2 marathon in December - it was a long shot because not only is he not a runner, he hates running too. I figured he would say no but thought what the heck. 

He said Sure right away! 

I had to ask him Really? twice to make sure I heard him correctly. He totally made my day by agreeing to do this with me. I haven't signed us up as I want to go to the local running shop to sign us up for the race instead of online.  

This past Friday we ran for the first time in months. I use the word running very loosely as it was a slow jog really. We did 3.15 miles but it was 1 minute run/jog, 30 seconds walk. I wanted to start with something that wouldn't be discouraging.  

Today our legs are heavy and tight - talk about being out of shape! Today I want to get back out there and go at it again. As my husband said the hardest part about running is starting. Isn't that the truth! 

We have 3 weeks to get ready and feel comfortable with 3 miles. We are going to follow the Hal Higon's 1/2 Marathon Novice 2 Training Program. It's a 12 week program, so back up 12 weeks from December 29th and the week of October 7th is our start date. It starts fast and you better be good with 3 miles so here we go. 

I'm happy we will be doing this together. We both need to lose weight and get back into shape and this is a great way to do it, especially together. Not to mention I feel better when I'm active and I know he does too so it will continue our happiness just in a new exciting way! :)

I'll keep you updated.