FitFeat

Archive for category Uncategorized

The Good Life, Despite Being Blog-Blocked

Jun 23

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Good Morning Friends!

Is it just me or has this week been CRAZY busy???  I feel like I have been on the go-go-go since the middle of last week, even over the weekend.  I know you guys can tell when that happens because it means I go DAYS on end without putting out a new post!

It’s been crazy in a good way though so no complaints there!

I feel like this week has had a theme song:  “Good Life” by OneRepublic (one of my favorite bands AND they’re from Colorado!)  Check out these lyrics:

source

If you want to get your day on the gratitude track, watch this video of them live at YouTube.  I like Ryan’s message to the crowd at the beginning – that basically when you wake up each day you have a choice.  Are you going to make it a good day or not?

***

I’d hoped to have a great post out here for you today and then when I went to log in to my WordPress dashboard at 7:30 AM this morning, it kept telling me that my username was invalid.  As I often say, “Oh the joys of self-hosted blogging!” (NOT!!)  So after some time playing “tech detective” I was able to force my way in through another route, and oddly my username had been changed.  Hmmmm.  Weird.  MSP came across this article about WP forcing some password changes due to some hacked plugins – but mine was my username not my password.  Needless today I spent a few hours digging around and checking things out in my blog set up to see if anything seemed odd.  Are you a WordPress self-hosted blogger? If so did you have a similar issue over the last couple of days?  I’d love to know!

I’m still running into some weirdness going on so I’m not feeling too comfy yet that it hasn’t been hacked – if you notice anything weird, I’d love to know!

And that’s where all of my blogging time went!

Have a TERRIFIC Thursday and make it a GOOD LIFE kind of day!

– Shari B. =)

 

 

Tags:

Not The Kind of Vacation I Had In Mind

Jun 3

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Hi blog buds!

It’s been a bizarre week.  Here’s why I haven’t put out a blog post this week:

A little unexpected “vacation” has caused a hiccup in my schedule. (I’ve had a string of weird hiccups this year it seems!)  I’m stuck in the hospital attached to an IV.  I thought I might get to go home today, but no such luck.  At least one more night they are saying…  I’m in the process of writing an in-depth post about what happened (especially because it has something to do with exercise!) so stay tuned, but in the meantime just wanted to say hello and happy Friday!  And not to worry!

Back again soon!  Thank goodness for free wi-fi in hospitals!

- Shari B. =)

Royally Refreshing

Apr 29

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 14 Comments

Heeeellllllllllooooooooo! (Said in the voice of Jon Stewart as Queen Elizabeth…*)

*If you watch The Daily Show with Jon Stewart this makes sense. :D   If you don’t watch it, then watch this link first.  Jon Stewart loves to mimic the Queen and it cracks me up.  All morning long while I watched the Royal Wedding, all I could hear in my head was his voice every time they showed Her Majesty!

Happy Friday, friends!  Were you up bright and early to watch the excitement on TV?  While I didn’t set my alarm, I was up early enough (4:37 to be exact) to start watching shortly after William and Kate said their vows.  And while I’m definitely SO over all the media coverage that’s been leading up to this, I have to admit that it’s really refreshing to have something celebratory and happy on TV.  Between the heartbreaking weather disasters around a lot of the nation lately and then the circus act that is Donald Trump and the ‘birther’ issue, it’s been really sad to watch the news.

So this morning, what a wonderful way to start the day!

Except that I’m going to completely contradict myself and muck it up with this crassness:  was it just me or did anyone else find the, er…bodice…of Kate’s dress to be oddly like Madonna’s cone bra???

I’m just sayin’…

My awesome friend and equally awesome baker, Allison over at The Sunday Flog made scones this morning to celebrate the Royal Wedding. I am not nearly that motivated.  I did think of scones, considering a run to Starbucks to pick up one of their ‘petite vanilla’ ones, but I was much too cozy in my robe so Tea and Toast would have to suffice.

(After a royally refreshing glass of fresh green juice: 1/2 cucumber, large broccoli stalk, piece of ginger, 1 carrot, 2 stalks celery and 1/2 a green apple. mmmm green!)

***

While MSP and I were out on a walk last night before dinner, it occurred to me that our next anniversary will be our 10th!  WOW, a decade flies by quickly. I can only hope that William and Kate are as happy today as I was almost 10 years ago on my own wedding day!  I was so lucky to marry my best friend and that 10 years later, he’s still my best friend.

If you are married, what’s your next anniversary number?  Any fun memories from your special day? We actually had a Vegas wedding and it was perfect!  The Little White Wedding Chapel hooked us up with a limo so we rode to the Bellagio Botanical Gardens to take some wedding pictures.  We were married on a New Year’s Day, so the gardens were still decorated in Christmas colors and it was so beautiful!

Well blog buds, my laptop seems to be experiencing a Friday slump because each time I try to upload a photo to the blog, it keeps hanging.  (Maybe the Royal Wedding is crashing the internet after all…!! ;) ) So I’m going to hit the Publish button and get started on the Friday to-do list.  It’s a long one!

Have a FABULOUS Friday!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , , ,

Spring is Sprung!

Apr 2

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Hi friends!

How is your Saturday treatin’ ya?  Ours in Denver is GLORIOUS!  We’re supposed to hit 82 degrees today!  Wahoo!  I’m just about to head out to take my little Rascal for a walk so that we can both soak up some sun.

Unfortunately MSP is still super sick so he is going to stay home with old gal Riley (her hips have really been sore when we walk lately).

Poor MSP has zero voice left, he has to talk in a whisper and this cough is just insane.  I feel really bad for him and wish there was something I could do.  I’ve been making him tonics with all sorts of things:  fresh ginger, lemons, honey and even whiskey!  I’ve been keeping a steady stream of ice cream in the freezer for him, since that feels good on his throat.  Hopefully he’ll be over it soon.  If not by Monday, I’ll be hounding him to get to the doctor.

I feel lucky that I haven’t been hit with it yet, and I’m crossing my fingers that I don’t.  So many people have some sort of bug right now.  I’m eating kale, garlic, oil of oregano, you name it, just to try to keep my immunity up!

***

I have a “Chef Shari” related project that will keep me from blogging for a few days, so I just wanted to give you a heads up as to why it will be a little quiet here at FitFeat.

In the meantime I’ll share some interesting reads I came across recently.  These are commons sense things we may already know but it’s always nice to have studies confirm them.

Have a great weekend friends!  If it’s warm where you are, enjoy!  If it’s chilly and wet, hopefully warmth is on its way!

– Shari B. =)

My Everyday Halloween Costume

Oct 31

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Hi again friends!

How was your Halloween?  The neighborhood quieted down around 8:30, so we finally blew out the jack-o-lantern candles and turned off the lights.  We had more trick-or-treaters than we figured we’d get, and yet we still have SO MUCH candy left.

I, for one, do not want to see another piece of candy for a long time.  We knew we should not have purchased candy for the trick-or-treaters a few days in advance, sensing that we’d break into the bags.  Which we did.  And we probably gave ourselves 5 cavities.

My favorite costume worn by trick-or-treaters was a pair of teenage boys, one dressed as Al Capone and one as a cop.  I wish I’d asked to take their picture.  It was well done!

And my costume?

Well, my original plan was just a standard witch.  I had some crazy stockings from one year when I was Pippi Longstocking.  I’ve had the velvet hat in our Halloween box.  And black dresses are easy to come by in my closet.

And I was going to ‘green’ my face with some of my Bare Minerals green eye shadow!

And then it occurred to me that I have a ready-made costume that I leave the house in daily!  Why not be a CHEF???  ;)

So I did!  I added a red tie, and a mixing bowl of candy with a wooden spoon.

The dogs liked it!

Oh wait – they were just after the candy…

Tags:

Gotta Love Technology

Oct 5

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Hi again friends!

Just wanted to put a quick post out to let you all know that if you are viewing the blog today via Internet Explorer, chances are things don’t look the same around here!  :)   (If you are viewing in Mozilla Firefox, all is well.  Same when reading in Google Reader.) 

Something is wonky between my site and IE today – just not sure yet what it is.  Hopefully things will be back to normal soon!  Thanks for your patience!

(And a big thank you to CINDY for giving me the heads up since I use Firefox and didn’t notice it!)

– Shari B. =)

Tags:

The Salmon Thief

Sep 28

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Hi friends!

How is your autumn starting out?  I thought it was warm here this week where we broke a heat record from the 1800s but then LA hit 113 yesterday!  YIKES!  Hope you SoCal readers are keeping cool!  Green smoothies can help you cool down from the inside out, especially when you include high-water-content veggies like cucumbers – if you haven’t tried one before, today might be the day!

No complaints from me on this end – Mother Nature is giving me that late summer that I’ve been hoping for.  Last year at this time, it was COLD and we were weeks away from our first big snow storm!

In fact, we still have flowers blooming in our back yard.

Today they are forecasting 93 degrees, which will break the record of 89 on this date if we hit it.

So while we have these last few days of wonderful weather, we’ve been trying to enjoy our back patio a bit more.  Saturday after MSP’s softball tournament, we decided to take our dinner outside.  And that’s when the attack of the salmon thief occurred!

This bee (or yellow jacket maybe?) went NUTSO at me and at first I thought it was my scent of coconut oil that I had put on my arms and legs earlier in the day.  But I quickly realized it was after my FOOD!  He absolutely would not leave me alone.  I finally let him flit around my plate to see what it was he was after and it turns out it was salmon.  So I off a big chunk and placed it AWAY from where we were seated to see if he would go for that piece instead of for mine.  And he did!  It was the craziest thing.  He came back time after time after time, pulling with all his might to break off a little piece and then he would fly away with the piece to a nearby tree and then a minute later he’d be back!  This went on for a couple of hours.

And it made me wonder:  Is he eating this salmon or using it for a nest?  Are bees carnivorous?  Do they need Omega 3 fatty acids too?  Maybe our resident bee expert will chime in on this one.  (If you haven’t read of Joan’s beekeeping adventures, head on over to her blog to check it out – so interesting!).

Maybe this little guy realized the importance of his essential fatty acids for reducing inflammation, improving brain health, and lifting his mood!  :)   Especially when it comes from wild salmon with mustard sauce and capers prepared by our school Kitchen Manager!

Have a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , , ,

What Would You Do?

Jul 31

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Hi friends – Happy Weekend!

Before I get to the topics of today’s post, I want to say how much I loved reading your comments about the “Get Hungry” post – lots of really good comments and conversation!  Thank you so much for that and I’m so glad that you guys liked the post so much!  I’ll be sure to include more like that in the future.  If you like what you read here, please pass the link on!  (and you can follow me on Twitter to get FeatTweets!) Let’s build the FitFeat community so that we can continue to share and exchange all of our ideas!

***

Do any of you ever watch that show on TV called “What Would You Do?” where they have hidden cameras taping actors doing something morally out of line to see how people respond that aren’t in on it?  I feel like I was on that show today…

This morning I completed my annual CPR/AED course, which is a requirement to maintain my ACE personal trainer certification each year.   I don’t like to be a Negative Nelly (publicly anyway, ha ha!) but the guy that taught our class today was not only dry as the Sahara desert but also completely unqualified to teach people life-saving techniques.  I take it seriously because if I’m ever in a situation where I need to put this training to use, I want to know I am competent at it.  And the steps often change slightly from one year to the next so I want to be sure I’m comfortable with the protocol.  I feel bad for the people in the class today who were first-time attendees – even for those of us that were there for renewal, he was all over the place and completely confusing.  I hope that if I ever need someone to perform CPR on me, they weren’t ONLY trained by this clown.

I’m strongly considering contacting our local Red Cross chapter – it was that bad.

So like the TV show, I’m asking: What would you do? Would you consider calling to let them know that their instructor needs further training before being let loose with a real class or would you chalk it up to him having a bad day and stay out of it?  I’d love to get your input on this!

***

OK on to fun stuff!

Anyone else still suffering from Kombucha withdrawal?  Have you seen any of the main brands back on the shelves yet?  (Not the pasteurized imposter wanna-be Kombuchas – they don’t count!)  ;)

Since I’d been missing my BUBBLY booch so much, I mentioned recently that I was left no choice but to attempt to make my own.  My first experiment with making Kombucha tea is going the same way my first attempt with sprouting went, which is to say UNSUCCESSFULLY.  :(

I followed the steps to a “T”…

And hid it away to do it’s thing for 2 weeks.

But after 16 days…. I don’t think it’s really growing anything.  Which is a big Bummer with a capital B.  I think that the culture kind of expanded but supposedly I should now have a second culture growing on the TOP of the tea.  But I don’t.

The directions mention that the culture can be damaged by heat so maybe my first mistake was ordering it in the summertime when the box it shipped in had to sit in my mailbox till I got home from work one day – probably BAKING the whole time in our 90+ degree heat.

I refuse to give up!  I’m hearing that kombucha should be back on the shelves in August… so if I can get my hands on just ONE bottle somewhere then I will try again using THAT as the starter rather than the dried one.  I’ll wait until WINTER to order another dried culture if I have to go that route.

Because even when it’s back on the shelves it’d be really nice to save money by making my own anyway!

OK, blog buds.  All this tea talk has me thirsty!

Let me know your thoughts on the “What Would You Do?” question!  Can’t wait to hear what you would do!

– Shari B. =)

Tags: , , ,

I Need a Vacation from Staycation

Jul 14

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Hi blog buds!

We survived tandem biking!  (Such a fun time – a little scary to start, but FUN!)  We also survived a long day of hiking today.  We left the house at 5:45 a.m and didn’t pull back into the driveway until 3:15 p.m.  It’s been a fun couple of days and we are absolutely BEAT!  (Tomorrow can only include activities that DO NOT require our legs, that’s for sure!)

We have some stuff we need to do this evening so I can’t sit down just yet to recap all the fun.  But in the meantime I didn’t want you to think that I drove the tandem bike off a cliff or something, so figured I better pop in to the blog with a quick hello!  :)

Hope you are having a fantastic day!

– Shari B. =)

Special (and Sweet) Delivery

Jun 27

Posted by Shari B. in Uncategorized | 8 Comments

Hi again friends!

The impending office move is almost here!  This is the week!  So excited that all this busy time will be followed by a three day holiday weekend!  Any special plans for the 4th of July?

Fortunately, I won a little contest recently so I’ve received some extra calories by mail to keep my strength up!  ;)

Allison from One Day at a Time offered a giveaway a while back and I was one of two lucky recipients to get an extra special delivery!

Too bad the US Postal Service didn’t know it was SPECIAL:

They must have missed this stamped on the package:

(Someone I know who shall remain nameless to protect the not-so-innocent used to work at UPS and told me that packages marked FRAGILE were basically used like footballs ON PURPOSE … there’s your tip of the week!)

Allison did a great job packing it though – everything arrived beautifully!

In the package were her famous homemade COOKIES!!!

She asked what my favorite cookies were and I asked her to surprise me.  Did she ever.  S’MORES COOKIES?!?!  Heck yeah!  I’m glad I told her to surprise me – I wouldn’t have even known such a thing existed.

They were incredible and are not lasting long in this household!

And then to top off an already SWEET surprise, she made me purple frosted sugar cookies with an adorable little FF for FitFeat!  So cute I almost didn’t want to bite into them!

Allison is currently in the design process for her baked goods company, and is looking for suggestions for her company name.  Go check her blog out – I see sweet success in her future!

Thank you Allison for such a generous gift – I thoroughly enjoyed sampling your treats, sharing them with my husband, and the fun anticipation of waiting for something to arrive in my mailbox!  :D   (MSP loves the cookies too, by the way! I promise I’m sharing!)

– Shari B. =)

Get Adobe Flash playerPlugin by wpburn.com wordpress themes