Elf on the Shelf {day 3}

{day 3} Ellie the Elf visits Racheal's desk with photocopies of her face & butt!

Elf on the Shelf {day 2}

{day 2} Ellie the Elf visits Phyllis' office and brings her candy canes

I happened to be here before Phyllis this morning, so when she entered her office I heard her exclaim "There's an Elf in here!!!"  This made Diana and I chuckle, later I heard Kathy explaining the elf story.  I hope Phyllis was nice today LOL

Elf on the Shelf {day 1}

I decided to plan a whole month of silliness at the office with an Elf on the Shelf.  I thought we could use some excitement around here... it has been a very busy and stressful year.  A little extra fun around the holidays is always a good thing.

Since today was her first visit, I thought I would give the our elf the red carpet treatment by stringing out a big red ribbon.  Our sweet elf brought with her a letter from Santa and some powdered doughnuts :)

Santa's letter requested that we name our elf, so my boss asked everyone to submit names for a vote. The name options were:

1. Aleph
2. Millie
3. Willie
4. Ellie
5. Ms Rumchatta, the mischievous ELF

We took a vote this afternoon and the majority decided her name is Ellie the Elf.

{day 1} Ellie the Elf arrives at MTA

My Everyday Life ~ July 9 - July 15, 2012

Here is what my last week looked like:

first herb harvest from my garden

Jay & Josh on Long Prairie Trail

My mountain bike... I call her Matilda.

Cute bike seen at Tour de North End
( it reminded me of the 80s when we wore bike shorts as fashion statements!)

Here I am with my road bike (I call her Penelope!) at one of the rest stops for Biking with Beanzie

action shot of Jay's road bike

yup!!  ;-)

Biking with Beanzie

Josh, Jason and I headed down to DeKalb, IL bright and early for our first time on the Biking wth Beanzie ride.  There were many ride options to choose from... 24,40,68,79,102.  We considered our riding experience and took into account the expected highs for the day when we decided to ride the 40 mile route. I had originally wanted to ride the 68 mile route, but it was suppose to be super hot and I knew I would have more fun riding with the boys.  It was 72 degrees out when we took off at 7:30am and the temperature climbed to 92 degrees by the time we finished at 11:30pm.  

ready to ride

This ride takes place primarily on flat rural roads in DeKalb County... there is also lots of corn in this area, the fields go on as far as you can see.  The roads were almost completely clear of cars and they were in very good condition for being out in the middle of nowhere :)  

cycling boys

I know that there is a ton of controversy surrounding wind turbines and wind farms, but I have to say that they are pretty fun see up close.  It's my opinion that they add something to the landscape, and I really enjoyed the view of wind turbines for miles and miles.  Its unfortunate that some of these small communities are really torn up over the turbines.  We didn't experience any feelings of headaches or vertigo, but I did see the "shadow flicker" on the crops and couldn't help thinking that it would drive me crazy if my house was in the shadow of one.  Personally, I love that we can harvest that head wind we were fighting while riding our bikes, but its easy for me to say since I live 45 miles away.

flat roads, corn & windmills

The rest stops were great, about 8 miles apart and stocked with water, Gatorade, fruit, bagels, peanut butter and jelly.  The stops were a little closer together than I have experienced on previous rides, but I have to say that on a really hot day I enjoyed being able to stop often and fill up my water bottle.  Also, I think it made the ride more friendly for families and folks that don't have as much experience riding.  The volunteers were great very cheerful and helpful.  One stop even had frozen towels to cool off your neck... that was my favorite stop for sure!  Typically, we would start off together, and then the boys would pull away from me a bit, their pace just a tad faster then mine.  They never got more than a half mile or so ahead of me, and would always be waiting for me at the rest stops.

There were cute signs everywhere with a cartoon drawings of Beanzie's head placed into movie posters... I didn't get any pics of the signs but they were along the lines of "STAR WARS: Return of the Beanzie"

homestretch

Near the end, Jays knee was hurting on top, and mine was sore in the back, so we decided to just take it easy.  Josh took the opportunity to ride faster and leave it all on the road.  We had some good laughs on our last few miles and really enjoyed each other's company.  It was getting hot, and we were definitely getting hungry... we almost missed the last turn because the sign was placed in an awkward spot.  This was the only sign that seemed strange, we never had any other problems throughout the day.

my handsome cycling partner

In the last half mile, we moved over on the bike path and I removed the camera from my bike for a few action shots :) I am rather pleased with how they turned out.

feeling accomplished, but ready for AC & food!!

We'll be back next year Beanzie!!

On the Menu ~ week of July 9

So happy to be back on track with healthy eating!  I decided to start with a simple menu this week, we are busy with work and training.  The heatwave finally broke and I dont want to be stuck in the kitchen too long :)

Monday - Herbed chicken in the crock pot with baked sweet potato

Tuesday - Barbecued pork chops with spinach salad

Wednesday - Bruschetta Chicken (reduce recipe for two and subtract the bread)

Thursday - Fresh Blueberry Pulled Pork

Friday -  Steak with boozy bacon jam and grilled zucchini

Saturday -  dine out during the Tour de North End bike ride

Sunday - Grilled fish tacos

chicken breasts	avocado
mahi mahi	basil
pork chops	blueberries
pork roast	cabbage
steaks	grape tomatoes
	jalepeno
	lime
balsamic vinegar	mango
chili pepper flakes	onion
chili powder	pineapple
chili sauce	scallions
cilantro	spinach
corriander	sweet potato
cumin	zucchini
garlic
greek yogurt
olive oil
parmesan cheese
red wine vinegar

My Everyday Life ~ July 2 - July 8, 2012

Here is what my last week looked like:

My Granny doing a word search

My aunt & uncle's 3rd anniversary

4th of July with my Aunt Lynette

SOMEBODY tore up my garden (sniff)

I friggin hate those dang squirrels!!

I got 5 inches of hair cut off... the heatwave made me do it

aforementioned heatwave

My strong friend Karol in her first triathlon

Back to Summerfest to see CAKE... well, see them on the jumbo screen that is.. we were too far away and I was too short to see them over the sea of people, but it was still a great show!!

Brown dog in a blue IKEA bag