Getting back out there.

The first day of August.  I've taken most of July off of working out and ain't nobody got time for that.  I have a half marathon in two months-ish and NEED to get back out there.  This morning Luke and I took a long walk to kick off a month of activity.

Lemons were on sale at the market and I bought a big bag knowing I could use my juicer to make some lemonade.

To juice-
One cup of fresh strawberries
ten lemons

I made some simple syrup with two cups of water and one cup of sugar.  I just added the lemon/strawberry juice and streamed in the syrup, tasted it, and added water to taste.  We have a bountiful basil plant in our yard that I chopped up and stirred in.  So refreshing.

Dinner was a repeat from a couple weeks ago.  Green soup with paninis.  I had a wrap because Luke ate my sandwich bread from the kitchen counter.  He was probably looking out for me though as I'm spending all weekend in a bathing suit.  Thanks buddy.

Some good things.

Remember when I used to juice all the time?  I hardly remember.  I missed my precious juicer.

Such a steamy summer calls for something more refreshing than my standard recipes and while I love to add soda water to my juice, adding some coconut La Croix seemed decadent and very appropriate for the hot days we've been having.

One apple, one small beet, and two lemons. 

Last night we had salads fashioned after Vietnamese spring rolls.  At the place we get them, they come with noodles, lettuce, marinated vegetables, cilantro, basil, shrimp or tofu and they are dipped in a peanut sauce that is salty and sweet. 

I thinly sliced some cabbage, then layered rice noodles, marinated vegetables (carrots, jalapeno, and cucumber), cilantro, and crushed peanuts.  I made a vinaigrette out of sriratcha, hoisin sauce, a teaspoon of PB2 which is basically just powdered peanut butter, and apple cider vinegar.  This would have been the perfect summer salad if I'd remembered to strain out the coriander seeds from marinated vegetables before serving.  They are grosssssssssss.



Today is a super busy day.  It's not light outside and I've already downed two cups of coffee.  And I've been meaning to share a super secret regarding coffee but keep forgetting to photograph the steps.  It is probably less of a secret than I think it is, I'm usually last to board the "trend train" but I've discovered cold brewed coffee and it's amazing.  It is less acidic, so easy, and it makes your kitchen smell amazing. Hot coffee will make a comeback in the fall but for now, this is just too good. 

Cross em off cross em off.

Sweet sweet summer.

We had a beautiful few days on the Gulf at Sunset Beach soaking up sunshine and playing in the rain.  We had decided to walk to the firework display and not take our phones because of the looming rain clouds.

 I felt left out being the only girl on Instagram without a celebratory firework photo.  Welp, life goes on.  And it was kind of fun to get rained on.

Gulf beaches are my favorite.  Warm water, white sand, and some shade from looming trees.



We couldn't decide what we were hungry for so, tortilla chips, onion dip, raspberries, salsa, queso, and oreos seemed good.

Tackled some of my summer bucket list with a morning run on the beach.

Beautiful four miles of the best view in Florida.

And an unexpected ice bath.  This pool was freezing.

No trip to the beach is complete with out a stop at Candy Kitchen.  We waited in line, we loaded up on salt water taffy, and we watched our cones melt the second we stepped into the lovely Florida humidity.  Yum.

The beach was littered with hundreds of rose petals from weddings of the night before.  

We got home with two more days of weekend which was so nice.  The sun makes you tired and running made my back hurt (I make bad decisions pretty regularly).

I heard juicing makes your ailments go away (not true) so I peeled four limes and half of a navel orange and mixed a small bottle of club soda in with half a pack of stevia.  My best creation so far.  It was delicious even if my back still feels all wrong.

Another item was checked off of my summer bucket list.  We made our own barbecue sauce!  We both love vinegar based sauces and we loved this recipe.  If we were to make it again, we'd add less red pepper flakes and a smidge less pepper but it was so easy to make and a lot less sugar and salt than what I usually buy which is full of corn syrup.

Carolina Mustard BBQ Sauce:

three finely chopped garlic cloves

one cup of yellow mustard

quarter cup of ketchup

one tablespoon of chili powder

one teaspoon of dry mustard

one tablespoon of pepper

two teaspoons of red chili flakes

one cup of water

three tablespoons of turbinado sugar

one tablespoon of liquid aminos 

two teaspoons of onion powder

 

Saute garlic in some oil on medium low heat for about a minute.  Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Turn heat to low and simmer sauce for thirty minutes stirring frequently.

  I used organic ketchup and mustard for this sauce which is my favorite.  Ketchup is one of the only products I buy organic that tastes completely different than regular ole' ketchup.  Try it soon, it is probably on sale from the Fourth of July still.  We stocked up. 



So delicious.

We had extra veggies from last week's grocery trip so I grilled them after church.  Matt had some ribs from take out leftovers and he didn't like the sauce on the meat as much as the sauce it came with but we both thought that it was excellent on the grilled veggies.  It is also a very good dip on raw baby carrots.  So there's that.  


 

 


Another summer pastime is hanging out on the porch.  Sunday labradoodle watching is my favorite.  He could spend hours hunting lizards.

Last week for around $43 we had... kale salad, grilled veggie salads, roasted poblano chili, Thai eggplant stir fry, and spicy arrabiata chickpeas over zucchini noodles.  A break from curries:)



Up on the menu for this week are.....

-Indian Sloppy Joes
-Beet Burger (maybe....there is a beet burger at Cheesecake Factory and it is the best thing I've ever tried so I'm not sure I want to mess with perfection)
-Fresh tomato sauce with spaghetti squash
-Portabello Steak and potatoes

Getting back to normal after a long holiday weekend is tough but hopefully you juiced some kale this morning and are feeling like a superhero.

An Ah-Ha moment about living spontaneously.

Trying to fit in a week's worth of life into three days is taxing.  But kind of fun if you are into a frantic, spur of the moment, spontaneous lifestyle.  Under any other circumstances, I am not, I love schedules and having everyday meet my expectation of what was on my calender, but going with the flow has been good for me the past few days.  Busy, but good.

I made some poblano and white bean soup on Monday which was a very good decision as it was rainy and dark outside and probably the only day of any Florida summer that hot soup on the couch while watching Game of Thrones sounded wonderful.  It was pretty brothy too and not a creamy soup so it wasn't too terrible for a summer dinner.
I had no recipe but just added intuitively as I went along...

Poblano with White Bean soup:

One poblano pepper chopped (I kept the seeds, it wasn't spicy)
One big can of small white beans (cannellini beans would be great in this)
One chopped onion
5 chopped garlic cloves
The pulp from some kale juice (not necessary, I was just itching to not feel so wasteful)
Water to your desired consistency (or some kind of broth would be great, I never keep any in the house)
one teaspoon of onion powder
one teaspoon of garlic powder
one and half tablespoons of taco seasoning (I make my own taco seasoning and am heavy handed on the cumin, if you use store bought, you should add a teaspoon because it is delicious).

Cook vegetables on med high heat until onions are translucent.  Add seasonings, stir.  Add beans and water and bring to a boil.   Simmer for one hour.  Add salt to taste.  And add fresh corn.  Always add fresh corn. 

We ALWAYS top our soups.  Always.  That is the best part. Sriracha, green onions, red onions, corn, parsley, cilantro, whatever.

I was so proud of my bright green smoothie.  I may have showed some people this picture at Cigar City last night because I was so pumped about it.  Queen of cool, that's me.

Adding beets sometimes turns juice brown when mixed with kale, and while I like it, it is not pleasant to look at.  This is beautiful.  Health.  In a cup.  A beer cup.

Three stalks of kale with stems, one green apple, one lime, and an inch of ginger

If you live in Tampa, like beer, and have never been to Cigar City, I am so sorry for you. 

I had just gotten back from a long day at work, a long blasted hour at the spin gym, and rush hour at the grocery store.  I was smelly, stressed, and tired.  I think Matt was actually surprised when I said "YES" to going back out to get some flights at Cigar City Brewery.  Yes, yes, yes. 


From the left, Strawberry White Ale, Lemon Cake Lager, Cucumber Saison, Nitro Hornsboggled

 If you like Abita Strawberry Ale (I do), CC's white ale is similar in that it tastes like actual strawberries are used.  It actually tasted like strawberries juiced into a beer.  It was really good.

The lemon cake actually tasted like Lemon Cake.  I was puzzled with how they did that.  And the other two were favorite standbys. 

Part of the sweet serendipity of the whole trip was a random tweet to an old friend that we were heading towards the bar, and that it would be amazing if he could meet us.  And he did.

If you want to laugh, hang out with someone that knew you in high school.  Be ready to laugh at your own expense.

Happy Running Day! Yesterday!

Yesterday was National Running Day!  And guess what Rachel wasn't doing?  RUNNING.  :(

My last run was almost two weeks ago which is the longest time in a while I haven't run.  My back healed over the weekend which meant I could run again and I was so excited.

And then I found out I had to get a spot on my abdomen removed and get lots of stitches so I had to wait a couple of days.....and then I could run again and I was so excited.

And then all of the nose gunk on the planet decided to descend into my sinuses and I can't breathe. 

But when this is gone, I will run again, and I will be so excited!  Maybe it will be only one mile because I'm so out of shape but thinking about it makes me so happy.

Because I couldn't actually run on National Running Day, I made future plans to run.  Race registrations were put on sale which NEVER happens and races aren't cheap.  I bought a registration to a Rock n' Roll half and a woman's half, each costing only $65 and those are huge races that are usually expensive.  I spent over $100 on my woman's half last year.  I'm already adding up how many trips to Sweet Tomatoes I can enjoy with the money I saved. 

Race Calender...

July 4th:  Lutz 5k<--A wonderfully sweaty good time in my hometown
November 24th: Women's Half <---the best restrooms I've ever seen at a race, yay girls!
December 14th: Hillsborough River Trail Half <---my favorite race of the year
February 9th: Rock n' Roll St. Pete Half <---never done a Rock n' Roll so I feel fancy now
March 16th: Citrus Trail Marathon<---- kill me, I am not ready to talk about it.
Aprilish: <----another trail run that my Dad and I did this year....so fun

 Daily Juice:
Normally our juices are bright colors and look delicious.....but because I just can't seem to kick this cold (two weeks! Woof.) I've been adding tons of kale which turns it brown or black when mixed with the beets.  Mmmm.  Looks really tasty.

Whole bunch of kale, small grapefruit, half a beet, two Gala apples

Deep red juice...with pea green foam.  In addition to amazing juice photography, I should write about menu items too.  I made that sound so tasty. 

We are staying on track with eating at home....last night was grilled veggies and rice.  I could eat this every single day of my life.  I chopped up some garlic and onion and made a paste of it to spread in the portabellos before grilling.  Oui, so good.  I ate so many vegetables last night I told Matt my stitches on my stomach felt like they were going to burst.  Vegan fail. 

The best way to eat asparagus is to grill it.  Well, the best way to eat any vegetable is to grill it.  It is so tasty.  And there is no recipe which is the greatest recipe there is. 

And one of Matt's gifts to me for our 5 year anniversary was a desk, and it is finally here!  We need some cord hiding to happen but I love it.  Simple and small enough to force me to corral my crazy. 

Nerds win pretty amazing awards and juice that looks like sewage.

My new dermatologist and I are going to be pretty amazing friends.  I haven't seen some of my best friends since last year and I've seen her twice in the last two months with two more appointments coming up in June!  Woohoo!

Not really. 

When I last reported I had no biopsies or unusual spots, what I meant was, I had no NEW unusual spots.  I had two OLD unusual (she called them "atypical") spots that I didn't want my old dermatologist taking out because he sucked at surgery.

Because of this, my new dermatologist did dissolvable interior stitches and the outer stitches which will need to be removed.  I was appreciative to the extra work done to make sure my new stitches didn't look like the other one (both on my stomach, which kind of looks like I've been shot a few times at this point) but the only downside was it took three times as long for the procedure. 

Thankfully they numbed me up with what seemed like 5 syringes.  Still, it is pretty uncomfortable to feel someone stitching you up and not "feel" anything. 

In two weeks I go back for another spot on my back.  And I have another appointment for stitches removal.  Anyone know how to do that?  I will take you to dinner so I don't have to go back twice. 

Apparently I must have bled a lot because by the time I got home I felt depleted.  I needed some greens.


An entire bunch of kale, half a lemon, half a beet, small piece of ginger, two carrots, one apple


The juice ended up being pretty delicious despite it's un appealing color.  Kind of looked like a stout, it was really dark. 

Matt chose tacos for dinner and I give this recipe a two thumbs up, officially in rotation, award for being delicious. 

For the taco "meat", I diced an onion and let it cook until it was translucent.  I added the leftover lentils from the weekend (about 3/4 cup) and cooked those until they were hot.  I mashed them with the spoon and added a can of kidney beans to the mix.  I also made a big batch of taco seasoning (I use this recipe which is pretty solid and double the garlic/onion/oregano), added two tablespoons, and let it continue to cook, adding water when it became dry.  Just before serving I added about a quarter cup of sliced almonds because I like them and they added some texture. 

*You can buy "vegan" crumbles which would make this an easier and quicker dish to prepare but they aren't as good and are more expensive.  This was great and while it's not going to fool anyone into thinking it is ground beef, I honestly don't think a meat eater would mind forgoing beef for this.  Some of the substitutions wig people out anyway.

Wow, my calling is clear.  Food photographer.

I realized half way into making the stuff for the tacos that I didn't have corn tortillas and only corn tostadas.  Womp womp.  So we had those instead. 

For the Corn Salsa, I cut the kernels from one ear of fresh corn, I diced one ripe tomato, about two tablespoons of diced red onion and two green onions.  Then Matt picked a bunch of cilantro and we added that too.  I could eat this everyday, it is so good. 

We have been wanting to start clearing out our closets for a while and knowing it is not the most fun job, we just have been putting it off and our stuff is just bursting from our storage spaces.  It wasn't that bad and we found so many gems by way of old pictures from high school. 

I found three conduct award medals from my elementary school.  Mahaffey children follow the rules.  I also found two medals from my days in Odyssey of the Mind.  Nerd alert. 

A juice recipe, and a our favorite part of the house is back!

We do a lot of porch sitting at our house.  Much of the time, in I'm in my pajamas looking like I'm sick even if I'm not.  Yesterday I was so that was my excuse.  I did a lot of research into cold kicking foods and juice recipes and got some input on Facebook as well from a friend.  In addition to the Wellness pills we are taking (they taste terrible, imagine if wine was made of garlic, blech), we have been inhaling fresh ginger.

Super Spicy Kick a Cold to the Curb juice:

Serves 2 sick people,

-Three carrots
-One two a half inch hunk of ginger (you may use less, I meant business)
-Two huge apples

I am not sure that Matt enjoyed it, he made a face every time he took a sip, but he finished his like a champ.  It kind of reminded me of ginger beer and probably would have been so good with seltzer water to dilute the spicy kick a bit. 

Our porch swing arrived yesterday!  We've got two friends that are secretly super heroes and refinished and waterproofed our favorite spot in the house.  Once Fall rolls around, we'll get around to finally painting our porch to match this glistening beauty.

I loved it so much I got a little indecent for a photo.  Porch swings make you think you are 11. 

A juicing hiatus is OVER.

The craziest thing happened yesterday.....I  had to exchange my juicer for a shiny new one (my old one broke....somehow as tough as it was, it couldn't hold it together long enough to be on the stove while the stove top was on.....womp womp, melted plastic smells like armpits).

 I was starting to get the shakes thinking of life without beet or kale juice so I needed a new one.  On our way, I got a call from my best friend asking for advice on buying her first juicer.  Craziness.  So I then preceded to wax on about juicing for an hour because that is really an interesting topic to listen to.




yesssssssssssssssssssss

 Luke was getting scruffier than usual and I knew it was time for my favorite thing.  I am a professional dog stylist if anyone is in need of that service for their scruffy pup.  He loves it too.  He just lays there while I snip away.  I get a crazed sparkle in my eye when it's time to snip.

At spin last night, the teacher played the strangest mix of music.  We started with Chris Brown (barf), transitioned to One Direction, a lil' Taylor Swift, the Beatles, back to 1D, back to The Beatles, throw in some Black Eyed Peas, and some stuff mixed in that I didn't know and you've got yourself stew goin' (not an actual stew....just pumped for AD!!).  It was actually kind of fun.  Pop music unlike Disney tunes are totally my jam.  I used to like the Biebs and I hate to jump on the hater train but wearing sunglasses inside REALLY bothers me.  He seems to do it a lot.  I can deal with overall attitude...I mean come on, the kid is a multi millionaire at 19, I'd probably be a punk too, but wearing sunglasses inside?  Deal breaker.

So heartbreaking to watch the news about the tornadoes in Oklahoma City.  We've been so fortunate in Tampa to not experience that kind of devastation in my lifetime as the people there are going through this morning.  Losing your children would be unreal.  Pray with me for those families waiting for news of their loved ones, that they are safe, that they are rescued, and that they will heal.

Did anyone see the woman who was being interviewed outside of her home expressing her loss when there was a slight whimpering sound coming from the rubble behind her and it was her dog trapped?  He was saved on air.  It was so sweet. 

Also the feed of parents waiting to hear updates from the recovery teams and seeing their kids running to them was so precious.  Life is so fragile.

De-toxing is hard when you are filled up with toxins.

Yesterday was supremely awful.  The weather wanted to be twinners with the gloom city I was living in and didn't help anything turn around.  It took some good pillow screaming and a sweaty angsty wet run until I felt a little better, not much but it took the edge off of "forget this, I'm done".  And that is a scary edge.

Even on my worst day.....there is still the cross.  Easter, though not being far in the rearview mirror has become too simple to forget.  It is easy to focus on myself and my problems but the cross should never be far from our minds.  Too incredible of a sacrifice for me to wallow in self pity for a minute and oh how many minutes I've done just that.  Thank you Jesus for allowing yourself to be sacrificed so that my pitifulness can still be redeemed.  That is so awesome. 

I don't want my loved ones to make any conclusions about the coincidence that I was already planning on making the following prior to my bad day.  I don't turn to alcohol to feel better (usually) and I am not endorsing that idea either. 

With that said, two bottles of vodka were staring me down from the counter and I knew it was time to put together my annual batch of strawberry vodka.  It's unbelievably easy to make and so so so good.  I'm not a huge "liquor" person (except expensive tequila, oh yum), and I like my beer crafty and cold but this is so good mixed with some lemonade, it's like drinking up summer.  I'll have the whole she-bang up soon but it takes about a week to make correctly.  Please never buy flavored vodka.  It's full of chemical flavoring that taste like actual chemical flavorings and is so gross.  This comes out bright red and sweet and tastes like strawberry.  Imagine that. 

I've got one big bag of fresh strawberries left and I'm trying to use them up before they turn mushy.  The above activity used less than I thought it would so I juiced some this morning to use more. 

Deep dark secret?  I loathe beets.  Yes, I eat them all the time and want to like them so badly but it just is never going to happen for me.  But they are good for cleansing your body of toxins and I'm downright toxic after yesterday so I knew I needed a beet (or 10 of them).  This was the perfect elixer of one fairly large beet, grapefruit, strawberries, and a pear.  I don't know why that grapefruit looks like an orange.  It wasn't.  Grapefruit mixed with the beet juice is the only way I can stomach them.  It turns down the beet-i-ness a lot.

As much as I don't like beets, the color they give juice turns my frown upside down.  There is just something about drinking hot pink juice that makes me happy. 

I'm having a Martha moment.

Did you know that Brussels Sprouts are on sale at Target this week?  Did you know that when you buy ten bags of them and then forget them in your car overnight, the smell that hits you when you get in your car at 7:30am is a fresh slap in the face.  And by "fresh" I don't mean fresh.  Oh. My. Gosh.

Said rotten vegetables were for my dinners this week.  The Hires house knows how to have a good time that's for sure.

I love to cook and most nights would rather stay in and eat at home rather than go out somewhere but when Matt is gone and I'm all alone I eat very strangely.  A normal dinner at home might be an entire bag of steamed Brussels covered in Siracha or maybe I'll mix it up with a jar of pickles.  Many nights that seems depressing though and I'll either head to Publix for inspiration or order take out from the pizza place behind our house.  Pro tip: the pizza place behind my house makes very mediocre pizza.  Their salads though are unbelievable.  So good.  When a salad gets old, I live a very unhealthy distance from Taco Bus and let's face it, a jar of pickles or a Butternut Squash Burrito Prenado?  Please.  No, that isn't a baby bump, it's my dinner of an unnaturally large burrito.  Move along.

Every single night, if I don't have plans I just count on not cooking because cooking for one is not my forte.  I don't chop, saute, and reduce for one.  I don't get out a pan for one. 

A good thing about not having to cook for anyone is whatever I have for dinner only has to please me.  So while Matt would never want a peanut butter sandwich to end the day, it sounds  just delightful to this redhead.  Too bad my addiction to peanut butter has become so bad I don't buy it anymore.  Matt used to hide it from me because it was uncontrollable.  I did have peanuts on hand though and homemade peanut butter is so much better than Jif.  <--Seriously, and I LOVE Jif Extra Chunky.  Except that it makes me extra chunky so I digress.

I buy my peanuts from the market unroasted and they are like .50 cents for 50 pounds.  Not really, but they are very cheap.  I roast them in my toaster oven for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees stirring half way through the time.  Once roasted, pour directly in your food processor and grind away.  It takes a full 5 minutes so plan to wait a bit for the butter to come together.  It will though and it is beautiful.  I usually add a dash of salt, honey and some vanilla to mine.    And if I'm feeling very audacious, after spreading it on some bread, cutting up bananas to make the PB & B, I'll throw it on my panini press.  Heaven.

If you are struggling with a peanut addiction, there is help.  Buy some peanuts and a food processor and the daily cravings will go away.  Getting a spoon and the jar takes 30 seconds and boom you've eaten half a jar.  It takes about 30 minutes to make this if you buy un-roasted peanuts so I don't eat it nearly as often.  If you are a mom, this is also a super healthy way to get some healthy fats into your child's diet.  Peanut Butter from the store has added oils and sugars.  The "natural" ones have less ingredients but are impossible to stir.  Homemade peanut butter (or any  nut butter) is simple to make and you can adjust the sweetness with whatever sweetener you are comfortable having your kids consume. 

I'm doing a clean eating cleanse this week because I'm feeling kind of "off" and am juicing more frequently.  I bought some club soda on a whim and started adding it to my juices and it is so good!  Very refreshing and I curbs my Coke cravings as well.

 Luke agreed with those conclusions.  Doesn't everyone feed their dog organic beet juice spritzers? 

We've got a Situation on our hands.

Today is the Gasparilla Expo!  I love expos.  Just walking around from booth to booth surrounded by runners and running stuff is heaven.  I actually expect heaven to be better than that.  Like mountains of well behaved Labradoodle puppies better. 

Today is the last day to sponsor my 20K for FCA run....you can do that here...if you want. 

www.grouprev.com/rachelhires

Fun fact.....in the 6th grade I became obsessed with carrots.  It was a little nuts.  My mom was buying huge bags of baby carrots to keep my cravings satiated.  In turn, my palms turned orange.  I was the coolest 6th grader around, that's for sure.  Not. 

In a last ditch effort to give myself some color before the run so Gasparilla spectators don't mistake my blinding white legs as the Apocalypse, I'm downing some serious carrot juice today.  As much as I love carrots, I'm not a fan of carrot juice.  I just can't take it straight up.  It gives me the shivers even thinking about it.  But add in other stuff and it doesn't bother me at all.  Aren't you glad about all you've learned about Rachel Hires?  And no, you can't get back those 30 seconds. 

Cheers to developing a New Jersey glow by tomorrow!

Chop fruits/veggies.

Be careful when cutting beets.  Orange Jason is right around the corner....



File this under creepiest photo on blog.



Juice and whisk in foam.



Pre Whisk



Post Whisk



Enjoy looking fabulous!

A new whip.

My coolness is transcending its usual rating of around 4 this week.  I got to use the word "whip" for the first time in my life and I got to sit next to a fine looking ginger at the car dealship.  My smart car aficiandos say it's a Ford GT and they are pretty rare.

Does my car look too shiny today?

 Too bad I wasn't leaving with that.  I couldn't have pulled it off anyway.  Something about the places I go don't scream "rarity" (salad buffets, farmer's markets, taco bell).  Nope, the Hires' family was looking for something with a little more class.  Something that is tasteful, with a little sass.

And nothing says, "tasteful, classy, and sassy" like a 15 passenger van. 

We might as well have 13 babes now that we have a way to haul them around and start a family band. 

Sorry moms.  We are kidding.  Those are our real baby names though so hope you like em'.  Anyone can steal them from us as long as you don't mind us using them still.  It will add validity to our choices because we know they are awesome.  And yes, we plan on calling little Maybelline, Maybe. 

Nope, this beast is for Matt.  He's probably spent over $75,000+ over the past 5 years renting cars and vans for his tours or paying other musicians who have buses to ride along.  He leaves on another tour on Monday and was getting ready to pay out another $5,000 for a van when we just decided to buy one. 

So we did.  Or I did.  And I never want to go to another car dealership EVER EVER AGAIN.  But when Matt's not on the road, how fun will it be to use for river trips? 

After spending a total of around 24 hours at that place I needed candy.  And juice.  And I nailed the red juice this time.  I didn't add kale.  Not because I didn't want to, but because I didn't have any.  Womp, womp.  But now I know why my last juice turned brown.

And I got lots of lollipops at Target for 50% off which means each lollipop was $.05.  And it's shaped like a heart so it's probably good for your heart.  Maybe not.  Stick with beet juice.