Staycation time, Staycation time, Ah, ha, ha, ha

That’s my attempt to make it seem like the beat of “Staying Alive”. Did it work?

Ummm….. Oh well.

I AM working on my Trader Joe’s list and will get that up soon, but we had such a fun morning I just had to share (and I want to make sure my TJ’s list is complete). Andrew’s off from work for a week so it’s going to be a week of staycation fun! Woo hoo!

I have a half marathon coming up in about 5 weeks so the morning started with a 12 miler sporting my new shoes. (probably not the best idea to do a long run in new shoes. Oops.)

It was a little long this morning, but my Kenny Loggins got me through. ha!

Then we met our college friends at this cute little place down in Pacific Beach for breakfast.

Nothing beats hanging out with out of town friends at the beach on the first day of the staycation.

Breakfast was awesome. Big breakfast plate for $6.50 and a HUGE burrito for $5. Just my style.

Andrew and the boys polished off the breakfast plate while I ate the ENTIRE burrito all by myself. Hold your applause please.

Perfect weather. Perfect company.

Later this afternoon I experimented with some green oats. I made the same Coach’s cooked cold oats as yesterday, but threw in some spinach with the milk and water before cooking.

Oh yes, it happened again. I thought I was watching so closely. I guess not.

After a little freezer time I dug in (with a little Naturally More on top).

Hmmm…… I’m not sure how I feel about these. I probably won’t be making them again anytime soon. I LOVE spinach in my morning mocha smoothie and my mighty green microwave muffin, but for some reason I didn’t love it in the oats.  I’ll be sticking to yesterday’s version (which was marvelous).

Hey, look what happened tonight before baths.

Okay, so maybe you can’t tell, but Judah peed on the scale (with his little potty just inches away). Pretty funny though. That’s about how I feel. The scale hasn’t been working for about 3 weeks now and I don’t mind if it stays that way. It’s all about moderation and making smart choices, not a number on the scale. That’s my current view on those 7 pesky pounds. Life is too short. 

So, I’m leaving you with two amazing things tonight.

The first one is a recipe from Andrew’s mom. These are the greatest green beans ever! I’ve made them twice in the past week. I tried jarred garlic the first time and they weren’t the same as hers. The second time I used fresh garlic (like the recipe calls for) and it really made a difference.

Tutu’s Great Garlic Green Beans

Boil water in a pot on the stove.

Put fresh green beans in pot and bring the water back to boiling point.

Remove from stove and drain.

Place beans in ice water or put ice cubes on top.

Drain well until dry.

Add:

• 3 tablespoons white balsamic (from Trader Joe’s)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cloves fresh crushed garlic
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• crushed red pepper (optional)

Cover and refrigerate.

These are to die for. Such a great, healthy, cold, crunchy, summertime snack.

You can inhale enjoy them straight out of the fridge or

top them with chicken

have them with a Flatout wrap sandwich instead of (or in addition to) chips.

Okay, I’m calling it a night. Tomorrow’s a big day and an even bigger night (out on the town). I love staycations! We have plans to go downtown, relax, hang out, eat amazing food, etc. We were hoping it wouldn’t be too crowded even though it’s the weekend. Then earlier today I read on lovely Avery’s blog that it’s the gay pride parade downtown this weekend. I have really great timing, don’t I? It’ll be an adventure I’m sure.

My second thing I’m leaving you with….

“Staycation time, staycation time, ah, ha, ha, ha…………”

And just to make sure you get the whole disco vibe 

Hope to be back tomorrow before boot camp. We’ll see if I can pull it off.