Beach Time: Fantasy versus Reality

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I'm going mad. Me, attempting to pack everything I've convinced myself I'll need for the beach is the definition of insanity. You think I overpack for trips to Europe? That's nothing compared to the damage I can do packing for a simple beach trip to Hilton Head. How hard can it be? Bikini, towel, shorts, sunscreen, go!

The problem is that there is a huge discrepancy in how I hope, wish and dream my time at the beach will be spent, and what actually occurs. 

The Dream: Each day I thoughtfully peruse the vegan/vegetarian cookbooks I packed and pick out healthy, low sugar, low carb, high protein, tasty meals comprised of dark leafy greens, bright vegetables, and fish that I grill on the stove top grill I've already hauled out to the car and hidden in the trunk before Blair could question where the hell I thought I was going with that thing. I ride my bike to the store in the early evening, buying only enough food for that night's meal, which I prepare while sipping wine and swaying in the kitchen to beach music.

The Reality: I will eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and most dinners. 

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Living Up To The "Hell Yeah!" Blog Post

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It's always interesting which blog posts hit a nerve and make the rounds. To this day, the most popular post I've put up (at least according to the Squarespace stats) is this post about eating a Snickers during my 24-hour ultra. Who knew "Snickers" was such a popular search word? 

Lately, however, the "Saying 'Hell Yeah!' to Life" post has been making the rounds, especially after Kim Williams was kind enough to repost it on his wonderful blog, Wishful Preaching. 

Writing a blog post and living it are two different things, however. Fortunately, I have friends and family to hold me accountable. For example, my friend Christie and I e-mail our workout schedules each week to see where we might match up for a run or a Bodypump class together. This week, I e-mailed her my schedule and for Friday typed the note - "I can do an 8 a.m. spin class if you'll do it with me." 

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Bell Pepper Bread

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A shout-out to Mark's Daily Apple for alerting me to this post on The Primal Parent for using red bell pepper instead of bread for sandwiches. I read the post yesterday as I was mulling over what to have for lunch. After reading, I went straight into the kitchen, cut a red bell pepper in half, put peppercorn deli-turkey (soy), kale, tomato, and a slice of soy cheese in between the pepper halves and YUM. I have found a new favorite lunch. 

Photo from THE PRIMAL PARENT blog

Smug Marrieds: Fun Friday #2 - West Jefferson, NC

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This week our Fun Friday adventure took us to the mountains. Specially, West Jefferson, North Carolina. Why West Jefferson? No real reason except Blair ran a half-marathon up there a month or so ago and said it was a cute town. So we packed Mom into the back seat and off we went. 

West Jefferson is a cute town. We arrived about 20 minutes before the shops opened at 10 a.m., so we settled into a coffee shop/art gallery where we took turns guessing the price of artwork and being astounded when we were not hundreds but thousands of dollars off in our guesses. 

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