The garden is offically out of control. 

In the last 2 weeks we have had over 20 tomoatoes, 

tons of mint and basil and 3 squash!!!!!!!  

The bell pepper died so that will not be planted next year!

I have become creative in making things with tomatoes and basil

-Gazpacho

-Pizza

-Homemade pasta sauce- which was delicious!

-Stirfry

-Cold pasta salad

-Shrimp and Grits with tomatoes

It has definitely paid off since this summer all we have really had to purchase is a red onion every now and then!!

Running thru life... My New Workout routine

I previously blogged that I had purchased 25 passes to my local rec center and was starting to push myself to get back into the habit of training even thought right now I am not sure what I am trainng for...
But right now I need to work out because it makes me happy and with the craziness of life it is my sanity!

I have now been more than 9 times now and am starting to get in a weekly habit:

Sunday- Work out at the gym-  45 mins eliptical, 3 mile run, followed by some small weights
Monday- Long walk with Clemson (3 miles) and then 3 miles on the treadmill.  If I have this day off I go to the gym. 
Tuesday- 3 mile walk with Clemson
Wednesday- 2-3 mile run at home
Thursday- off   I am not getting home until 6:30 on Thursday when I leave my house at 5:40- it is a long day
Friday- 3 mile run at home
Saturday- Long Walk with Clemson/Possibly swimming laps 

I only spend 2 days a week at the gym because to be honest I hate driving to the gym but it allows me some flexibility with my workouts. It will let also make my passes last thru October.
Right now it is just about staying active and stress relief. 
In September, I will start increasing my distances again with hopes of doing a 10K in early November

Running thru life... Road trip with Clemson Puppy

With plans to do some travel towards the end of the summer- puppy in tow. 

I started researching dog friendly places. 

We are planning on going up to Maine to visit some family for a long weekend. 

Clemson must come with us because it is a vacation for him to since we will be on an island in Maine

and he will get to swim whenever he wants-

he will be in heaven.

We have been fortunate to take trips before with Clemson. 

The longest he has ever been in the car is 6 hours to my parents cabin. 

He will be coming down to Clemson with us in the fall for a college get together with a group of friends which will be an 8 hour car ride.  As one of our friends put it ....

"Clemson will finally get to take a doukie on Clemson"- obviously stated by a male!

Overall, he does well in the car.  He has his particular place he likes to sit- between the two front seats which makes it easy for me to get to him if i need to. 

I have learned a couple things from traveling with him. 

- Have one toy that he can play with

-Make sure to pack his meals in my travel bag making it easy to access when we stop at the rest stop.

-Make sure to pack his collapsable bowl and a bottle of water in my travel bag

-Back a bone- this keeps him entertained if he gets fussy

-Look for dog friendly rest stops.  Fortuantlely we have found one on the way to my parents cabin- it has a walking travel, poop station with bags, etc

This trip to Maine however we are going to do in 2 legs.  Leaving thursday afternoon and driving for hopefully 5-7 hours and then waking up Friday and finishing the rest of the way. 

Thursday night we are hoping to stay at a hotel. 

I have started looking for hotel that are "dog Friendly" and do not

charge you an arm and a leg for being dog friendly

(i.e  if the hotel room only cost $100 and then I have to pay a $75 dollar fee for my dog.... no sense). 

I found this website which I love because I typed in the route we are taking and it comes up with places along the route that are pet friendly. 

Petswelcome.com. 

On top of that it provides some information regarding the particular hotel fees, their phone number, etc.

I will let you know how it goes

Running thru Life... 50 good Money Habits

I found this on MSN.com one day while I was browsing. 
Interesting.....
The ones is yellow are one's we currently do!
The ones is red are one's we do not do.
The ones in blue do not apply. 
The ones in orange I feel we can do better.

Just to get you thinking.....

Hopefully, you have a lot of good personal-finance habits too. How many of these apply to you?

• Taking advantage of your employer's flexible spending account.
• Tracking your income and expenses.
• Being careful not to overspend on gifts.
• Paying attention to mortgage interest rates -- even after you buy a home.
• Never buying anything on impulse.
• Opening your bills when you get them.
• Paying your bills online when possible.
• Doing your research before purchasing extended warranties.
• Ignoring credit card convenience checks that come in the mail.
• Saving part of your income for retirement.
• Keeping the money in your wallet to a minimum.
• Spending less than you earn every month. File this one under "D" for "Duh!"
• Having an exit strategy when investing.
• Never assuming past performance guarantees future results.
• Taking advantage of automatic paycheck deductions.
• Reading all contracts before signing on the dotted line.
• Planning your dinner menus in advance.
• Reviewing your credit card statements for errors and erroneous charges.
• Keeping a budget. Because for most folks, when it comes to managing their money, failing to plan is the same as planning to fail.
• Faithfully following your budget.
• Increasing your 401k contributions every time you get a raise.
• Properly maintaining your car.
• Paying the bills on time.
• Taking advantage of coupons and Internet promotional codes as often as possible.
• Refusing to pay the minimum on your credit card bills each month.
• Using your credit card to buy things only if you can pay it off in full at the end of each month.
• Leveraging "good debt" to purchase things that have the possibility of increasing in value or providing a path to a higher income in the future.
• Never hoping for an inheritance to solve your money problems.
• Avoiding the use of payday loans to cover temporary financial shortfalls.
• Not relying on Social Security as your primary source of retirement income.
• Avoiding the lottery. There is a reason why the lottery is known as the "stupid tax."
• Setting, and then regularly reviewing and updating your savings goals.
• Never overpaying for insurance.
• Resiting the urge to float checks right before payday.
• Fully understanding stocks and other financial instruments before investing in them.
• Avoiding cigarettes.
• Avoiding wasted time clipping coupons you'll never use.
• Ignoring the temptation to keep up with the Joneses.
• Buying a new car -- or better yet, a newer used car -- and keeping it for at least 10 years.
• Remembering to comparison shop whenever possible.
• Regularly checking your credit report for errors, signs of fraud and identity theft.
• Optimizing your 401k account every year.
• Negotiating whenever the opportunity presents itself.
• Ensuring your retirement needs are taken care of prior to providing for your children's future.
• Avoiding frugality as a primary means to achieve prosperity.
• Occasionally rewarding yourself by splurging.
• Maintaining an emergency fund.
• Resisting the urge to tap your emergency fund for nonemergencies.
• Avoiding interest payments whenever possible.
• Treating your household like a business.

Any that stick out in your head:?

Running thru Life..... A Restaurant Review

We have been going full steam ahead this summer with traveling and spending time with friends and family.  That being said Joe and I have not been good about having our "date nights" every week.  This weekend we had nothing planned so a month ago when I was reading an Washington Post article on Mike Isabella's new restaurant Graffiato in DC- I thought it would be a perfect date night.

For those of you who do not know us, one of our favorite shows to watch together is TOP CHEF.

Top Chef All Stars has been one of my favorite and I was rooting for Mike who ended up being runner up.  

So I set this date night up and did not tell Joe..... 

He loved it and so did I.  

When you think the restaurants that most top chef's have they are expensive and formal dinning.

This is the exact opposite.

Downtown right across from the Verizon Center- it has a nice bar area on the 1st floor and more tables upstairs.  The menu changes due to most of the food is purchased locally-  big plus in my book.

So here are some pictures and some thoughts on our experiences.

 

 Prosecco on Draft- ROCKS!!!!

 The menu is set in either with small plates idea or a big meal. 

Joe and I decided to go with the small plate idea. 

 We started with the 

Roasted Potato Gnocchi  with braised pork shank, burrata

By far Joe's Favorite!!

Then......

Sweet Corn Agnolotti with chanterelles, pine nuts

By far my favorite

Pork Ribs sicilian oregano, coriander yogurt

Good- next time we would probably try something else. 

The yogurt sauce was ok....

The least favorite things we had- but still good

For dessert...

Nutella Cookies chocolate, hazelnut, sea salt

Amazing in my mouth!!!!

Chocolate Tart $8 with olive oil, sea salt gelato

This is truly a dark chocolate dessert- Joe loved, I did not!

This is def a place we will return to!

Running thru Life.... a New Favorite Drink

Lately because of an weird allergy I have had to swear of ciders. 

This truly stinks because for may reasons:

1) I am not a beer drinker of any kind

2) This weird allergy is also limited what types of wine I can drink

3) Liquor and me are not the best of friends.  Rum seems to like me- but that is it.  

Lately it has been mojitos- but that is often hard to get or make.

I went out to dinner and one of my co-workers suggest I try

St. Louis Framboise 4.5% Lambic

I said ok.......

Moments later I was in love!!!

It was a beer but it was fruity!

Delicious!

So in love that I drove right home and went to Wegmans to investigate.

My co-worked advised me that Trader Joe also carries it but I was not in the mood for that long of drive.  

Happy New Drink to Laura!!!