Foodie Pen Pals April

Posted on April 30, 2012 by

It’s the last day of the month and we all know what that means! It’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal day! The day where I get to tell you about this awesome program, tell you what goodies I received from my Pen Pal and finally tell you how you NEED to get involved next month. :)

The Lean Green Bean
This month I received my package from Julie over at ROJ Running.  She was a very generous Pen Pal this month because not only did she send me some WONDERFUL items but she put alot of time and energy around making them as well! Almost all of my goodies were home made!!

Look at these wonderful items!

Off the bat you see all of the Snickers fun size Marathon bars that she stuffed the package with.  Julie is a Marathon Bar Ambassador which is so cool! Thanks for sharing the love, Julie!

Snickers really satisfies...right?

She spent alot of time and energy baking for me which I appreciated so much!  First up: Fortunate Cookies w Motivational Messages!

Who doesn't love fortunate cookies? These were obviously made with extreme attention to detail.

My favorite part was the motivational messages that she included inside every one.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started" Amen to that!

The next item that she made was the Oatmeal and raisin cookies with quinoa! Wow…what a great idea to put quinoa in cookies for that added punch!

They just look amazing, don't they?

Then, my absolute favorite item in the whole package I’ve saved for last. I always tell my Foodie Pen Pal buddies that peanut butter & chocolate is my favorite mixture and I’ll eat anything with those two mixed together.  Julie made me some granola bars that had peanut butter and chocolate mixed in with granola, oats and rice cereal!  I was hoarding these bad boys until they were gone (which didn’t take very long at all).  Alexis is already asking when we can make these for ourselves.  Very very soon!

Just looking at these makes me sad because they are all gone...

Two of these bars and a cup of coffee was a wonderful morning meal.  They were chocolaty and peanut buttery and had just the right amount of chewiness to them.  I could go on and on.  I’m going to include the recipe here because it was really awesome and everyone should make it.

Julie’s Granola Bars with Peanut Butter and Chocolate

*1/2 cup honey
*1/2 cup brown sugar
*1/2 cup peanut butter
*2 cups oats
*2 cups Crispy Rice cereal
*1/4 cup flax or chia seeds
*1 cup Mix-ins (she used chocolate chips)

Prepare 9×13 dish w/ wax paper.  In a large bowl combine oats, cereal and chia seeds.  In a small sauce pan combine honey and sugar on medium-high heat.  Remove from heat and add peanut butter.  Pour in dry ingredients and mix well.  Add mix-ins and stir.
Pour into dish, allow to “firm” like rice crispy trats before cutting into bars.

 Obviously, I had a wonderful Pen Pal this month and I’m so grateful for all of the extra time and energy that went into my box this month.  Thanks Julie!! You were awesome!  If you’d like to see the package that I sent to my Foodie Pen Pal this month it’ll be posted here.

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!

And now it’s time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

- On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
- You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
- The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
- You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
- Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for April, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You will also find contact information on that page for the UK branch of Foodie Penpals if you’re a blogger across the pond!

You must submit your information by May 4th as pairings will be emailed on May 5th!

Posted in food, foodie pen pals | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

It was a kava afternoon

Posted on April 27, 2012 by

Yesterday Allison and I were going to meet for coffee and have a meeting but found out that the coffee house we were going to meet at had recently turned into a “kava bar”.  I had heard of kava before but thought it was something more along the lines of kombucha or loose-leaf tea.

We decided to take a chance and see what kava was all about.  The nice guy behind the counter at SquareRut gave us a pretty long spiel about how it was a root from the Pacific Islands and their specific stock came from the island of Vanuatu.  It’s used as a stress and anxiety reducer (YES PLEASE!), an aid to sleeping and various other positive wellness benefits.  It also gives you a tingly feeling in your mouth within the first couple of sips and after your first 4 oz cup it gives you a slight buzzed feeling that you would have after a glass or two of wine.  They made it clear that you aren’t intoxicated but it’s just an overall feeling of relaxation. Lastly, they say that several hours after you drink kava you get an energy rush and it’s great for afternoon productivity.

The only negative according to them seemed to be the taste – it was very “earthy” tasting and tasted like a No 2 pencil – not that I ever tasted one of those in elementary school. :)

The kava drink was served in an awesome cup along side some pineapple chunks to chase the taste.

(Photo courtesy of Yelp!)

It was pretty bad, yo.  The first cup that we had was completely raw and no additional flavors added.  We both felt the tingling sensation pretty quick on our tongues and in our throat. It reminded me of the numb feeling you get from chloraseptic spray for your throat.   Then, after our first cup was finished and our pineapple was eaten we started feeling the other side effects that accompanies the drink. I definitely felt like I had an alcoholic drink. My arms were heavy and I was feeling pretty relaxed.

We weren’t experiencing the energy rush but was hoping for it since we were trying to focus on business ideas and discussion. I guess that was supposed to come later.

About 15-20 minutes later the owner came over to give us our second cup of kava – this one was spiked with coconut water, honey and cinnamon.  I thought this one tasted worse actually but it’s probably because I don’t like coconut water OR cinnamon.  I downed it pretty quickly since it was making me feel queesy to actually smell it.

The feeling after this cup was more of the same – tingling and overall relaxation feeling just like having a couple of drinks.  I definitely could not drive at this point and was kind of agitated that they had told me I wouldn’t feel intoxicated. I suppose legally I wasn’t “intoxicated” but I would not have driven or wanted anyone else to drive feeling the way I was feeling.

The waitress came over to try to sell us on a third cup but neither Allison nor myself were up for it.  She had to go back to work and I had to go to a job on the other side of town and we needed the effects to move on before we could leave.  We focused on work and allowed time to elapse.

After we felt better we finished our meeting and went our separate ways.  A little while after I started to get stomach cramps and I googled the side effects of kava and it was one of the top 3. Argh! Allison had another top side effect and that was severe thirst and dehydration.  We are just two peas in a pod, apparently.

The stomach cramps lasted well into the evening and they were pretty serious.  I was clearly annoyed and had the entire evening wasted. Not the productivity I was promised, that is for sure.

As for the kava bar itself, the location was nice and it was decorated very well inside.  It definitely felt like an island get away and the owners were super nice and you could tell they enjoyed educating people on kava and its effects.  I just wish they would have told me that I might suffer from 7 hours of stomach cramps after my encounter with the root!

The inside of the kava bar - Square Rut in Austin (Photo courtesy of Yelp!)

The kava bar also has a ceremonial bowl that you can order and share with your friends. You know, if you all are interested in kava.

Photo courtesy of Yelp!

I’m 100% sure I won’t be back but it’s just not for me. Take it as you will though – I’m not a fan of anything that makes me feel altered in any way. Tons of people are and if you can get over the flavor then I guess it’s a legal and natural way to get your buzz on.

Have you tried kava? Do they have kava bars where you live?

Posted in eating out | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Ch-ch-changes

Posted on April 25, 2012 by

Things are changing around here and I’m so excited about it!

Things were pretty hush hush about my professional situation but now that it’s been announced I’m very excited to share that I’m opening a pet sitting & house sitting company with my long time friend, Allison (who used to blog…*sniff*)

Check it out here! Paws and More If you know of anyone in Central/South Austin or the Dripping Springs area (Texas) that needs a pet or a house sitter please let us know!

I’ve been working on a 30 day no-treats challenge that is going very well! Of course in my infinite wisdom I started the challenge last Thursday (4/19) – the day we did my nephews birthday celebration.  Complete with chocolate cake.

I'm a sucker for chocolate cake with chocolate icing. However, this time - "No cake for you!" It was painful.

I started calling this a “no-sugar” challenge but since I will not go a day without coffee (why would you?) and I cannot drink my coffee without sugar I knew that wasn’t going to happen.  Why would I set myself up to fail?  So I changed it to a no-treat challenge.
- No cake balls from Starbucks
- No desserts
- No ice cream
- blah blah blah

Focus on what you can have and leave the rest behind you.  I would like to keep this up for the duration of the weight loss but right now I’m focusing on 30 days.

Food lately has been good but not stellar.  I finished my goals from last week but didn’t get all of my goals in and didn’t track my food 100%.  Let’s review how I did:

My goals were:
1) Drink 64oz or more of water every day – Done! I got down the water and this wasn’t hard at all!
2) Log 100 of my food intake into SparkPeople – I logged 5 out of 7 days.  Argh. I know I need to log even when I’m not eating within calorie range but it’s hard. I know I need to overcome this.
3) Workout 4 days between Tuesday and Sunday – Done! I’m paying for it this week – keep reading.
4) Try one new recipe this week (I already have this black bean soup recipe in mind) – Done! That recipe is AWESOME!! I’ll be making it again before it gets too hot.
5) Get a scale and take new/updated measurements – Done! Painful, but done

So last week I walked on the treadmill here at my house and did a couple of videos that I have in my collection.  Then Monday morning I woke up with a huge knot on the instep of my left foot – right in the arch.  It’s hard and inflamed and extremely painful to walk on.

I have had plantar fasciitis for 2 years now and I have followed the instructions to a “t” to try to get it to heal – never walk without shoes, never wear flip flops, always wear your orthotics, stretch, ice, take pills blah blah blah.  It’s been bad for awhile but I thought it was getting better.  This is bad though. I’m taking Advil constantly and I’ve foam rolled my calves and used a frozen water bottle to help the swelling.

So this week I’m sidelined with the exercise where I have to stand.  I’m going to the gym tomorrow to use the exercise bike – I hope I can use that without hurting my feet.

Random snippets of food this week!

Salad with a new Annie's dressing that I've found - Green garlic!

It has a very celery taste to it but it's refreshing. Perfect for summer!

My Foodie Pen Pal sent me some homemade peanut butter/chocolatey granola bars. They are FANTASTIC!! I'll post the recipe when I do the package reveal.

Baked ziti leftover from a scrapbook "retreat" that I had at my house last weekend.

For the rest of the week I’m going to focus on getting my foot better and eating within calorie range for when I’m not working out. I need this foot to heal – PDQ!

A couple more pictures to share because who doesn’t want to see two of my favorite things in the world: coffee & dogs!

My coffee shipment came in! Lots of varieties! Yummm!

We are watching my In-laws dog while they are out of town this week. Isn't she cute?! Her name is Jessie Lou! Ranger loves her!

Help me get my mind off my foot pain – tell me a story, or a joke, or give me a prescription to make me feel better! :) (Just kidding – don’t give me drugs. Unless they are extra and they are free.  And they work. No really, just kidding)

 

 

Posted in food | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Easter and goals

Posted on April 9, 2012 by

Easter was a ton of fun this year.  It’s not typically one of my favorite holidays but I do appreciate a holiday that revolves around candy and spring time mayhem!

Just like the rest of the country we boiled eggs, colored them and then had Easter brunch – nothing too earth shattering here but what makes it oh so special is the fantastic people that I spend my days with. :)

For years I bought the crazy egg coloring kits that allow you to glitter, stick and melt things to the eggs.  We have found that nothing is better than straight up vinegar and the Paals coloring kit!

Pretty colors!

Tommy always, always, always makes sure that he uses the invisible crayon to write a very important phrase on one of the eggs.  He takes great care to ensure that you can read what it says without any help.

Such concentration here. He wants to make sure the letters are all very clear and recognizable!

“Tommy Rules” is his phrase of choice.  So funny this guy – I tell ya.  We all know that Mom rules.  I mean, duh. I don’t need an invisible crayon to tell you that.

Taking turns and having fun!

They had a lot of fun coloring the eggs while I prepared some appetizers for the big feast at the ranch the next day.  Luckily they didn’t mind that I made them stop mid-coloring for some pictures.

Big grin - love this face. Look at the nailpolish too - so pretty and Eastery. Is that a word?

We put together some great appetizers.  A friend on Twitter posted a pic to these awesome little deviled egg chicks and I had to make them! They were kind of a pain in the butt because none of my yolks were where they needed to be in the egg so they were kinda lopsided but I made do and the finished product came out pretty much ok if I do say so!

They got some great reactions at brunch and they were incredibly YUMMY!!

Sunday morning we went to church and had a great time there and then rushed out to the ranch afterward to have brunch and spend time with the family!  I brought all the apps so I was an important person to have at the party. Ha ha.

Caprese salad skewers, deviled chicks and spinach artichoke dip in a breadbowl with additional pita chips.

Everything was yummy and gone within about 20 minutes so that is a success! These little caprese skewers are my absolute favorite appetizer right now.  It’s so freaking easy and so good! Just take a toothpick and layer it with a mini mozzarella ball or a piece of mozzarella and then a pinch of basil leaf and a tiny cherry tomato.  Then drizzle balsamic vinegar over the top and eat it all at once.  So good and perfect for spring and summer. I anticipate we’ll be making these quite a bit more!

What is a brunch without a mimosa?!

Well, hello there gorgeous!

I found out later in the afternoon (after several glasses champagne spiked orange juice) that this beautiful champagne glass is the only remaining glass from the set that my in-laws received as a wedding present in Germany where they were married.  It is a very beautiful champagne glass and very very delicate but I had NO IDEA when I was drinking out of it that it was so very precious.

Why in the world would anyone give this glass to me? Everyone knows that I’m far from graceful! I’m a klutz! I am so glad that I didn’t know about this until the end of the afternoon because if I had known I’m sure I would have sabotaged myself in some way and it would have met its demise, I would have cried and I would be flying to Germany to find a replacement and not coming home until I had one.  Oy vey.

As soon as Tommy told me about the glass I very delicately washed it and put it away. I will make sure that my Mother-in-law never serves me in that glass again. Sheesh! She knows me better than that! :)

After brunch and cleaning up we stuffed all the plastic eggs with money (the kind that jingles and the kind that folds) and some candy and hid 158 eggs for my 8 year old nephew, my 17 year old nephew and my 17.5 year old daughter.

She will NEVER be too old to hunt eggs. Period.

It’s hard for me to look at this picture and tell myself that Alexis is 17 years old. I remember back when she was 3 and she was hunting eggs in front of my parents house in Missouri in her little dress and bonnet. It’s just crazy….

They had a great time hunting the eggs and counting out their loot.  They each walked away with about $20!

Ooh...someone got her with a cascarone! Wonder who it was....

We had a great time with the cascarone’s too! I took this pic of Ali and I and was thinking as I took it that I had a lot more confetti in my hair than I actually did.  Come to find out later it was all in my shirt. My skin is stained from the die in the eggs and where the confetti was.  Nothing but class here, folks.

We kind of look alike here.

The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing and celebrating my sister-in-laws birthday.  So much celebrating, food, sugar and laughter was had all afternoon! I hope your Easter was fun too!

******************

This coming week will be very busy and I want to make sure that I’m making time to focus on my health and my activity level.  I’m going to list some goals here and check in daily with my progress. I find that I am much more in control of myself and I keep my mind focused when I have these small goals for the week.

1) Drink 64oz or more of water every day
2) Log 100 of my food intake into SparkPeople
3) Workout 4 days between Tuesday and Sunday
4) Try one new recipe this week (I already have this black bean soup recipe in mind)
5) Get a scale and take new/updated measurements

Very straightforward and very attainable.  I’m shooting for 100% completion rate.  Have you made any goals for this week? If so, share them with me!

Posted in holiday | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Foodie Pen Pals March

Posted on March 30, 2012 by

It’s one of my favorite days of the month! It’s Foodie Pen Pal reveal day! Of course the day I actually receive my package ranks just a little bit higher but this is fun too! Plus I love to see what the other participants receive from their Pen Pals!

 

The Lean Green Bean
This month I received my package from Meg of Eat and Be Sperry and it was FAN-TASTIC! I was super pumped when I started pulling out awesome item after awesome item. I mean, look at this yummy stuff!

Goodies from Colorado!

 

My girl Meg busted out the big guns and filled my package with 100% local items from Colorado. I was so impressed with the selection and all of the yummy goodies! I love when I receive local goodies from awesome places around the country – to me that’s what this is all about!

I was smack in the middle of Spring Break and and working on my goals which included no sugar so I had to put these in the back of the pantry until the week was over.

Cookies and chocolate with coffee?! YES YES YES!

Tommy ended up eating 1/2 of this chocolate bar before my week of no sugar was over and he loved it! I finished the other half and then split the cookie with Alexis on another day.  They were both wonderful. I’ll definitely be on the lookout for both of these again!

 

Adorable packaging!

Alexis and I pulled this out of the box and dived right into it when the package arrived.  I love Oat bars and this one was flavored with peanut butter and wonderful! We split it and drank a cup of tea with it and it really hit the spot. A tiny bit sweet (which I like) and very fresh tasting. I’ve been looking for these at Whole Foods & Central Market but can’t find any.  Bummer!

Healthy grains

This Raisin Almond Crunch granola was fantastic on yogurt! (Do you like how I’m referencing these items as past-tense? That’s because they didn’t last long in this house!)

I haven’t used any of the crackers yet but I have them planned for a platter tonight with cheese and apples and…..

PEANUT BUTTER!!!!

I literally squealed when I was pulling these peanut butter packets out of the box of goodies! I absolutely adore Justin’s peanut butter and these little packages are perfect for Alexis’ lunch and lunches out on the go.  I have tried all of the flavors and I don’t think I have a favorite yet. I need to keep trying them. :)

A special touch!

Meg read on my blog that I was trying to perfect a smoothie recipe as one of my goals for this year and she included this hand written smoothie recipe which she says is awesome.  I’m keeping this in my recipe book to try – I’ll let you know how it comes out!

 

I loved this months package and it covered all of my favorite items (peanut butter, chocolate, coffee, granola). I can tell that Meg went the extra mile to really put some effort into my goodies.  Thank you so much, girl!  Y’all check her out at Eat, Drink And Be Sperry or on Twitter here.

Would you like to see who I was paired with this month? I sent a package to Cindy at Vegetarian Mamma. Check it out!

Would you like to be a Foodie Pen Pal next month? Now is the time to sign up!

*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!

And now it’s time for some details about Foodie Penpals.  In case you’re a new reader, here’s a reminder of what the program is all about:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal! 
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents.  Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa. So, I’m going to keep two separate lists and match US w/ US and Canada w/ Canada!

If you’re interested in participating for April, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions. You will also find contact information on that page for the UK branch of Foodie Penpals if you’re a blogger across the pond!

You must submit your information by April 4th as pairings will be emailed on April 5th!

Posted in foodie pen pals | 6 Comments

New focus new routines

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

Things have been changing here around the casa and around my worklife.  I’m so excited to share it all when some things get hammered out.  For now though I can say that I’m happily working from home and focusing on a new project.  Times are changing around here folks and I’m feeling awesome about it!

Working from home is proving to be amazing. I have had the freedom to eat fresh meals prepared here in my house and I don’t have the urge to go out and get something because what I brought doesn’t sound amazing.  I’m a very emotional eater and I crave things on certain days or when things are proving to be difficult.  If it’s a rough day I crave caffeine and fried foods. If it’s a good day and I’m feeling happy I crave vegetables and cheese.  Chocolate is always craved – but that goes without saying, yes?

Today after Tommy & Alexis were off to work and school I made myself a homemade egg sandwich.

I need to take pictures that are closer up, I think.

Whole wheat english muffin with an egg and a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on top.  Then I cut up 1/2 a banana and ate that as well.  Add a cup of coffee to this picture and that was my breakfast.

Tons of protein here and it kept me full until about 2pm when I found myself in the kitchen ready for my next meal.

I had made Tommy the leftover taco salad that we had the night before so I had some veggies cut and ready for my own lunch. I put them on a couple slices of bread and added some mustard and I was good to go.  Add a few crackers (my favorite) and that was my lunch.

Looks good, right? Abbey & Ranger sure thought so!

I was trying to find a place in the house to take a picture of my food so that it wasn’t shadowed by the overcast day that we were having today and I found the perfect light in the living room by our double doors.  The dogs were following me around looking so sad and pathetic.  They seriously thought I was going to give them some of my food! Crazy puppies!

Abbey sat patiently and waited for me to eat while I worked on the computer.  She never gave up hope.

Look in those eyes - the force is strong with this one.

You’ll be happy to know that I gave her a tiny piece of bread for her persistence. Ranger had long ago given up and curled up in his chair.  I snuck him a piece too – just a little one. Fair is fair.

Alexis was off at an internship meeting tonight so it was just Tommy & I for dinner. When we are alone on nights like this and we stay in for dinner I usually make spaghetti because it’s Alexis’ least favorite meal.  I adore it so any night is a good night for spaghetti for me.

Whole grain noodles & marina sauce paired with a tossed salad with Annie's balsamic dressing.

Since Ali isn’t home I’m going to take advantage and see if Tommy will watch a couple episodes of Breaking Bad with me. We are on Season 4 and only 3 episodes in. We love this show and hear that this season is the best.  Are you a Breaking Bad fan?

Numbers look pretty decent today. A little light on the protein but overall pretty good!

Question: Are you the same way as I am about foods that you crave? Do you crave certain foods during different emotional situations?

Posted in dogs, job | 6 Comments

Texas State Steel Challenge recap

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

This past weekend Tommy & Alexis participated in the Texas State Steel Challenge Championship in Corpus Christi.  It was really fun and they had a fantastic time. I always enjoy going to weekend shoots with them (it’s my 3rd or 4th) and it lets me see them doing what they love!

Friday:
We made a pit stop on the way down to Corpus Christi to visit a college that Alexis was interested in having on her choice of “backup” schools.  We set up a tour and was shown around by the admissions representative (aka student on workstudy).  Unfortunately we were pretty disappointed in what the school had to offer and the small town that surrounds it. Needless to say it’s been removed from our list of backup choices in the event she doesn’t get in to her first choice. Oh well – that’s what college tours are for, right?

Saturday:
The fun starts here!! Early Saturday morning we got up and got some food in us to ready the shooters for the big day. No health food this weekend, unfortunately.

Mexican food in Corpus is amazing! Protein and fat kept me moving the whole day. I had two people to cheer for!

We love the Mexican Food in Corpus and there are very few places where you can get tortillas as good as you can get here. When the tortillas can double as pillows (that soft and thick) you kind of just go for it. It’s not a regular thing.

We got to the range and they started shooting kind of late.  We were with a small group from Austin and they were a lot of fun! They are picture takers and documenters as much as I am (maybe moreso?) so they had their cameras out there videotaping every shot and movement. I can’t wait to see what they create with that!

Awesome logo & banners were up throughout the range. This was their first year and I was impressed with how together they had everything! Very nice.

Shoot shoot shoot! Tommy was having a great time as was Alexis. On the first day (Saturday) Tommy shot a gun that he had never shot before – that boy has guts. He did really well with it too! Iron sights (no dots or aids) are very difficult but he shot like he had been shooting that gun forever.

Alexis shot the .22 that she won last year from the World Speed Shoot in California. It’s a very shooting friendly gun and it’s got her some stellar scores in the past.  She was hoping this time wouldn’t disappoint either!

Small break to take a cute picture in between shooting.

You might be wondering what exactly it is that they shoot? Why different guns, etc? I’ll give you the layman’s (nonshooter) version of the rules.  With this sport (Steel Challenge) there are steel plates of varying sizes set up downrange.  You are timed by how fast you can shoot all of the plates.  Some stages have a “stop plate” and that is the target that you have to hit last. If you hit it before you are finished with the other plates you get a penalty and you must hit all plates.

Each stage is set up differently and with different style plates set up at different distances.  Some are circular plates and very small and some are huge and rectangular – it just depends.  There is one stage that also has movement within the stage and you have to move from one box to another – it’s tricky.  Every shooter shoots these differently but they are all timed together and the one that shoots it the fastest – wins!

Here is what a state looks like from a good view:

That was Tommy from a match last month. Cool, right? Anyway – back to our weekend.

There is a lot to do and get ready for especially when everyone was shooting multiple guns this weekend.  There were only 50-some shooters but over 80 guns were shot.  It made for a couple of very long days.

Candid shots of the gang were my favorite. Everyone is so focused!

I made myself comfortable in the shade on most stages while they worked their magic. I would record Tommy & Ali with the iPhone on each of their stages but mostly I was just there for comic relief and moral support. :)

On Saturday both Tommy & Alexis shot 8 stages with one gun.  We got finished at about  4:30pm and then we loaded it up to go back to the hotel and grab some coffee (finally) – and eventually dinner.

End of the day - Ali is emptying the .22 mags. Big smile! She shot very well!

We met up with the rest of the group that came down from Austin and went out to our absolute favorite place in Corpus Christi to eat seafood – Snoopy’s.

Friend heaven on a plate. Forget counting calories - this place is worth every.single.bite!

Snoopy’s fishes their mahi mahi (or other white fish of the day) directly from the bay and serves it as fresh as you can get it! Right out of the water…. It’s amazingly good and their batter is divine.  I’ve never gotten anything else from Snoopy’s and I probably never will.  This food is too good to mess with!

After dinner we separated from the group and met up with a couple of local friends for a drink or two.  We haven’t seen them in eons and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see them – if only for a little while – while were in town.

Sunday
Wow, it was really hard to get up at 6:15am on this day. Day two of a two day shoot is always painful.  We were out of the hotel by 7, had breakfast (same as above, don’t judge) and were at the range by 8:15.  On this day Tommy was shooting two guns – his open gun which he has the most practice with and Alexis’ .22 that she shot the day before.  Alexis was shooting just one gun – her open gun. See below.

Fresh, well rested and ready to beat the pants off the boys!

How adorable (and scary?) is she? Just love her!

They shot really well and the day went by pretty fast. They shot 5 stages before lunch and then 3 stages after lunch.  They were doing amazingly well and the guns were running perfect with no jams or mishaps with ammo.

There was a guy on their squad who had an ammo problem and ended up really hurting his gun. He was fine, thank goodness, but his gun is a little worse for wear.  This happened pretty early in the day so he was just a spectator for the rest of the day. Major bummer.

Everyone needs a break eventually!

At one point (after this picture above was taken) the news made it’s way out to where we were shooting and started filming Tommy & Alexis and a couple of the other shooters that we were with.

Filming Alexis during her stage.

Filming Tommy during his stage. He didn't let it bother him in the least. Cool as a cucumber.

The footage was used for the news that evening – super cool and fun to see this sport being spotlighted on the evening news.  Good for them! (click link for video)

Almost finished for the weekend. They had so much fun and shot so well! I'm so proud of them!

They had awards and Tommy walked away with 3 including 2nd place in Steel Master which meant that his combined scores for his 3 guns was second best in the whole match! The guy all the way on the left got first for that – and a new gun to show for his good score.

Big winners!

They didn’t have a junior division for Alexis. However, she did very well with the big boys though – she came in 6th place in both divisions that she shot in.  In addition to that – she improved upon her time from her last big match by over 10 seconds! That’s huge!

We had a great time and will definitely be back down to Corpus for this match next year if the schedule allows it.  It was well ran and everyone was really fun to be with. I’m so proud of my family – they did very well but above all they were wonderful sportsman and friendly competitors.

Way to go, guys!

So much fun with this group!

 

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