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Beach Love, Peas, and A Garden Helper

This is Codee’s favorite park right now. It’s really great foe a few reasons, but mostly because there are squirrels to chase, an after school program that produces dropped snacks, and shade. Also, it’s right next to the garden so we go there pretty much every day. In addition to the Community Center, there are lots of amenities, like a really clean bathroom, so it was always one of my favorites.

In The Gardens:

Dig Local Community Garden, Dutton Island Road
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 25, 2021

And, there is always some thing to see in the garden even in the heat of August. At the condo, the sprouts are popping, the eggplant has taken off, and some peas are coming in.

Eggplant, San Marzano Tomato, Cauliflower, Eggplant, Upcycle Balcony Victory Garden
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 25, 2021
Tom Thumb Peas, Upcycle Balcony Victory Garden
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 25, 2021

On The Beach:

Love On The Rocks, The Cloisters
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 25, 2021

It’s still warm during the late afternoon on the beach but there was an amazing breeze and, if you hide in the shade, it’s the best place to think.

Kisses From Codee, The Cloisters Pier
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 25, 2021
A Contemplative Happy Hour, The Cloisters Pier
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 25, 2021

Sweating It Out:

I think it’s going to be a week of, primarily, treadmill time since the weather can be some what unpredictable. It’s not that I can’t run in tricky weather. I just love to use it as an excuse…too windy, too hot, it might rain, too cold, and on and on…All of it is BS, obviously, and I know myself well enough to know I need to work around it. I say it all the time because it’s true, the treadmill helps me limit my excuses. I started on the treadmill and it’s always a good place to come back.

What I Watched:

I know that this movie has a controversy and a larger story, but I really can’t tell you about it. What I can tell you is that I think watching Bob Ross paint is mesmerizing. I was really just lost in my own thoughts as he made all the landscapes come to life.

On The Plates:

Gratefully, my fridge is well stocked at this point in the week. I roasted an eggplant along with a couple of handfuls of grape tomatoes and a diced white onion the other day in the Ninja. For supper, I served it over mixed spring greens with a roasted Lola Farms chicken breast. Dinner was a variation on the dish of the month…Cubed steak with coconut milk buckwheat, roasted peppers, and zucchini. I know that quinoa has more protein, but I don’t care. I love my soaked buckwheat groats cooked in full fat coconut milk. The protein is why the grass fed beef is there, right?

Cronometer:

I wish I could fix the settings in this app to reflect my static calorie goals of 1500/5 days and 1700/2 days, but it is a good exercise in letting go of things that don’t matter. It’s not like the app is judging me for going over their daily limit…I mean, maybe it feels that way a little bit because of the red ”!”, but I digress. Rounding out the calories today were the standard green drink and dessert in a super weird frozen treat form that is not ready for sharing. I’m not really ready for it yet either since it’s a fall flavor profile, but I think I know how I need to tweak it.

Garmin Says:

Stay safe and moving, y’all!

Suspect Eyes, A Droopy Head, and A Cashew Comeback

Day 17 of 28 Day Refocus

Happy hump day! Is that still a thing? If I had to choose a hump day on the road, it would be Friday. We’re typically settled in the city by that point and hitting the groove before a weekend of shows. They’ll be plenty of time for that madness soon enough, but around here, it’s still summer vacation. Codee’s path to fitness is not quite as quick as one might like, but he is showing significant improvements in his overall energy as we continue to drop the daily dose of prednisone. He’ll always be my food dude, though.

“So…this is not a food thing, then?”, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

I was reminded that I have to work on his manners when people come and go from the condo in a big way this morning. I had a contractor come to give me an estimate for some renovations and he gets worked up now when people come to the door. He calms down fairly quickly, but the whole process starts again if they leave and then re-enter his line of sight. He wasn’t protective before and he’s not in the least bit aggressive, but he is loud and it stresses him out a bit. On the other hand, it stresses me out a lot, but I remind myself that adding to his nervous energy is the exact opposite of helpful and take a deep breath. It’s a delicate line because, as I am sure you can imagine, I do, kind of, like that he responds, but we’re going to work on fine tuning it.

In The Garden:

Heavy Headed Mammoth Sunflowers, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

From ginormous flowers to tiny trees to naturally hideous kale plants, it’s a weird in between time in northeast Florida. I think the tallest of these guys has given it everything he has, though! I wonder if the massive amounts of rain that we have had recently just soaked the whole thing. Sunflowers are one of my favorite flowers, but when they get droopy, I feel like it’s sad for everyone to keep them around. Like, I should let the poor plant keep some dignity and go out with no one watching… Also, I am afraid that it’s going to come down during a thunderstorm unexpectedly. I don’t want any complaints from the neighbors about a 9’ sunflower blocking the driveway. I wonder if I’ll need my tiny hacksaw. Tune in tomorrow to see how I fold it into the Rogue.

Tiny Plants, The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

I think if I can keep these guys alive through the heat, they might make it through the fall. The big pepper plants still have peppers on them, but the kale is in pretty rough condition, however, it is still growing new leaves and in my garden, that means hope. I think it’s growing back from the last big harvest in a really unique way. None of the other plants in the garden have side offshoots. I hope she makes it.

Lacinato Kale and Gatherer’s Gold Sweet Peppers
Dig Local Communtity, Dutton Island Road
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 18, 2021

Sweating It Out:

Feeling hot, hot, hot… I am grateful for the luxury of my treadmill for so many reasons. It’s a much better practice to spend some evening time on the treadmill than on the couch. The silver lining to living alone is that I can watch whatever I want while I trot along. To boost the calorie burn a bit, I held my 3lb dumb bells for four of the five miles.

Okay, I swear that I am not completely obsessed with Jason Bateman, but since they mentioned this movie on Smartless, I wanted to check it out. It’s entertaining, but I’d watch Ozarks again before re-watching this one, for sure. I definitely know people that have that seriously competitive spirit, though!!

On The Plates:

If it ain’t broke…the green drink brunch continues, but in some shocking news…today, I mixed it up and added some bonus cucumber. A co-worker of mine called it “crunchy water” one time and I think that it’s a much better name for them. I like to be fancy and buy the English cucumbers when they aren’t too soft. It often feels like I am the only one who eats veggies as a snack…I mean, I also love a pickle, but maybe it’s that the fresh cucumbers always seem so refreshing. Maybe, I don’t drink enough water. Does anyone else love to eat salted slices of cucumber?
At the end of the day, I thawed some plums from a farmers market a few weeks ago that I had tucked in the freezer and I added cashews back into my life for the first time in four weeks. I missed them so much. Nuts are definitely my binge weakness though, especially since it’s really easy to lose count of how many I have had. I’m going to keep measuring, tracking, and for sure posting because that accountability really helps me make better choices. Thanks for that. 🙂

On to dinner. I had a Hot Chicken Arugula Salad with Chickpea Leek Squash Fritters. It sounds super complicated, but it’s not. I mean, it could be but it wasn’t. I added some Seite hot sauce to a cooked, shredded chicken breast that I had in the fridge. Then, I used what was left of my over cooked spaghetti squash and mixed it up really well with some chickpea flour, sautéed leeks, garlic, sea salt, and black pepper and tucked that back in the fridge alongside the mason jar of marinating chicken…is it still marinating if it’s already cooked?… hmmm… Anyway, they both joined the already roasted cauliflower that I cut into bite sized pieces. When it was time for dinner, I cooked the fritters in some avocado oil on the stovetop, chopped some celery, put the arugula on the plate, and piled on the chicken. I cheated and filled in a fake sauce because I thought it would look better and because most people have a ranch or blue cheese dressing that they like. I wasn’t in the mood for a dressing, but you should use one of those if you are.

Cronometer:

Garmin Says:

I am enjoying my time off, to say the very least.

Stay safe and moving, y’all!

More Flooding, Leslie Jordan, and A Tree Full of Fish

Day 14 of 28 Day Refocus

“What does ‘torrentially f*ing pouring’ mean, Food Lady?” – Codee
The Condo
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 15, 2021

The storm lasted most of the morning, but passed in time for the farmers market at Jack Russell Park. This Sunday market is new, but in the park where the Saturday Market used to be. At least, where it was during most of the pandemic….it’s about a half a mile from where I live. The organizers have had lots of location and schedule changes in the last year and a half. I’m not sure of any of the back story, but I like that our favorite vendor, Kim with Lola Farms, is closer to the condo every other week. We skipped the Saturday market because of the rain, but Codee loves seeing her and hanging out for a bit.

This is getting out of control…😉, Jack Russell Park
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 15, 2021

He also loves that the park is still flooded. This was really hilarious and adorable until I started to feel the wrath of the fire ants whose home I had just, unintentionally, destroyed with my shoe. They are SO fast!!!!!! I made a very rapid retreat to the car, which was luckily very close and a straight shot. Super grateful that I threw a towel in the front seat and that Codee was on his long leash, I desperately swatted at them as they continued their frenzied biting. How can something that small move that fast?? At least I don’t seem to have any adverse serious reactions to them…just a bit itchy for a day or so, but ugh, that crawly feeling stays with me for hours!!! Our evening walk was a touch less exciting, but involved a lot more water.

The storms have mostly moved on…
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 15, 2021

On The Streets Where I Live:

Neighborhood Love, Beach Blvd.
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 15, 2021
Neighborhood Love, Oceanwalk Drive
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 15, 2021
Tree Fish, Beach Blvd.
Atlantic Beach, FL – August 15, 2021

Sweating It Out:

It was super fun to be back outside tonight for my 5 miles. The air was still a little heavy, but the earlier cloud cover and time of day made it perfection for me in terms of temperature. I mean, don’t get me wrong…I still looked like I got caught in a simmering downpour when I finished, but it felt amazing

Podcast Of The Day:

While everyone is on a summer break, my standard podcasts are all about advertising for other shows in the form of “Guest Episodes” or “Presents” series. I think I will check out some of the other episodes of Homemade, but I have to say that Leslie Jordan sets the bar a little high. His voice is like an audible hug. I want to eat chicken salad and drink sweet tea on the porch while listening to him tell stories of the old days.

On The Plates:

I’m bored of mentioning my daily green drink, but I’m digging having one less decision to make about what to eat every day. The consistency of my schedule is really fantastic these days and blending the first couple hundred calories of day fits in perfectly. It also helps with my water intake, which I am notoriously bad about regulating.
Supper was a grain bowl with quinoa, zucchini, mushrooms, parsley, and the spicy version of the Moroccan red pepper sauce, harissa. I threw a grated up glove of garlic in there, as well, and even though it’s not listed in my food log, some avocado oil.
Dinner was some ground pork smothered cabbage that I had in the freezer with a couple of fried eggs. I didn’t photograph it because I dramatically screwed the plating and I think I am going to have the same thing tomorrow anyway.

Cronometer:

It’s the end of Week 2 of my challenge and I have stayed on my calorie goals successfully for both weeks! It’s a nice self esteem boost to say that. Knowing that I have kept in line with what i said I was going to do makes me stand a little taller. Does that sound so silly? Well, maybe, but it’s true. Eating is never just about fuel for me, so like most people, I have a complicated relationship with food. I often turn to it to provide comfort or entertainment and, while that’s not always trouble, it’s so easy for it to become routine….A.K.A. a vicious cycle. This feels so much more balanced…
A note from above, not that anyone is critiquing my program here, but I used some avocado oil in the dish that I made for supper. I didn’t note it in the food log because it was leftover from an amount that I logged yesterday…like an oil savings account…😉

Garmin Says:

I missed the bonus point goal, but ended the week content just the same.

Stay safe and moving, y’all!!!