Why I Ride

 

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Freedom, self-determination, choice, inspiration, therapy, camaraderie, dad, LOVE, empowerment.
 
 

Freedom from my thoughts and worries. Nothing is more freeing than the feeling of the wind against my face, an open road and the sound of a Harley.

 

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Self-determination focus, strength of mind, control
 
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Choice Freedom of choice.  The choice to take the risk of riding two wheels. A risk that empowers me every time I roll that throttle.
 
 
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InspirationTo be inspired.  Riding clears the cobwebs and allows for new ideas and sense of purpose.  To inspire others.  Giving women a reason to go out there and do it for themselves.

 

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TherapyNo therapist can give you the kind of peace, serenity or clarity that comes with riding through the countryside, down tree lined roads, over rolling hills and riding into a sunset.
 
 
 
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CamaraderieNothing is better than a biker community. You find some of your best and longest lasting friendships among bikers.  They are Family.
 
 
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DadHarley Davidson was/is/and always will be my connection to my dad and is the one bond that will never be broken. Dad: Live to Ride~Ride to Live
 
 
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LOVE–  For love.  Love of riding.  Love of life.  Loving Me.  Love for us.
 
 
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Empowerment With freedom, clarity, focus and determination comes empowerment.  Two wheels and a few miles is sometimes all we need.
 
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Spinach, Feta, Egg White Casserole and Sunday Funday!

For whatever reason, I woke up at 6:30am Sunday morning.  Who.  Does.  That?!?!

I took advantage of the early morning and ran to our local Hy-Vee to grab a few things for a new breakfast casserole I wanted to try out.  I LOVE Hy-Vee, and love it even more now that they have the Fuel Saver Card.  Seriously makes my heart happy.  My vehicle isn’t the most economical for gas mileage.  

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Before we get to the casserole, let me give a quick recap of my Sunday Funday.

1) Breakfast with my hubby

2) Church with one of my best friends, Tyree.  Their guest musician and speaker that day was Roddy Chong.  He was phenomenal and I could have listened to him play for hours! He currently tours with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  How cool would that be?  His testimony was interesting and entertaining and truly showed how the right amount of tenacity, perseverance and faith can get you where you never imagined. 

ImagePhoto Courtesy of roddychong.com

3) Harley Time!  The weather will soon be against us in regards to motorcycle riding, so my husband and I took off for a few hours Sunday afternoon.  We toured a few Nebraska back roads to soak up the crisp fall weather and took a pit stop at Dog House Saloon in Waterloo for a bite to eat and a cocktail.  Their watermelons are seriously yummy!  And one is plenty if you want to think straight!  WOW!  I didn’t get any pictures of the two dogs my husband ordered, but they received high remarks from the man himself.  A traditional dog was topped with cooked onions, pickles and mustard.  The Italian Dog had roasted peppers, pepperoni and some sort of sauce.  They also weren’t your typical dogs… more like hamburger/sausage mixture.  He recommends highly.

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For the record, that stupid Styrofoam cup has been there since our Milwaukee trip.   Boys….

 

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4) After our afternoon ride, we returned home, I worked on a new TurboKick Round (I start teaching at the YMCA tomorrow), blogged and watched a little TV.  Great little Sunday!

 

Now for the recipe.

 

Spinach Feta Mushroom Egg White Casserole

100% Liquid Egg Whites, 16 oz.
Spinach, 9 oz.
Sliced Mushrooms, 8 oz.
Reduced Fat Crumbled Feta Cheese, 3 oz.
Diced Red Onion
2 cloves diced Garlic

In a large nonstick pan, saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms with a little bit of EVOO. Transfer to a bowl once cooked

Add spinach to same pan, cover, and let wilt (a few minutes)
Remove from heat. Drain liquid. Toss lightly before adding to mushroom mixture.

Pour half the egg whites into 8×8 dish. Mix in the spinach, mushroom, and onion mixture.  Sprinkle Feta Cheese on top.

Bake at 350-375 for 30 to 40 minutes or until light brown on top.

 

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Healthy, Nutrient Rich, Protein loaded.  Can’t ask for much more!

Hope your Monday has been a good one!

 

Do you have a favorite breakfast casserole?

Airports, Delays and Florida

Here I sit, on a Monday night, in the Chicago airport, waiting for my connecting flight home. Of course it would happen that we’re 2 hours delayed… Such is life when at the mercy of the airlines.

My whirlwind weekend trip to Florida started Saturday afternoon with a 2:45 flight out. Goodbye 40 degree weather, hello 80’s and humidity!! Not complaining here!

My trip to Florida was for a national conference and my attendance turned out to be quite beneficial! I have many new ideas swarming around my little brain.

The conference was held at the
Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort and Spa. Hello gorgeous!

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My room was a villa, an apartment really, if you ask me! I had to walk over that bridge you see above to get back and forth between the main center to my “apartment”. So fun!

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Oh, and this little beauty awaited all walkers at the end of the bridge.

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#floridaproblems

Sadly, no gators to be found.

Absolutely stunning resort. Top notch customer service and amenities. If you’re a golfer, this is a must stay for you. It was rated #1 for golf resorts in the Travel and Leisure Magazine. The resort is also less then 3 minutes from the ocean, an added bonus!

Sunday was full of keynote speakers and breakout sessions. No conference would be complete without a dose of Starbucks. Sometimes you just need a caffeinated pick-me-up to get you through those afternoon sessions.

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The real fun of Sunday started at 6 when one of my college girlfriends drove over to see me! She currently lives around 2 hours away from Jacksonville, so seeing each other while I was in “town” was a must!

We went to this bar and grill called Pusser’s. Not quite the name I’d choose, but hey, it works! I wonder if I’ll be questioned when I turn in that receipt for reimbursement. 😉

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We had some absolutely delicious crab dip and shared our entrees of crab cakes, salmon and coconut shrimp. De.lic.ious.

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Highly recommend, even though the name of the place resembles a sort of club that I don’t particularly frequent. =D

We spent a good three hours catching up and reminiscing until we parted ways. So happy it worked out to see her while in the beautiful state of Florida.

And now we are at Monday. A morning filled with speakers and sessions and now a full afternoon of flying and airports. I started AND finished The Fault in our Stars by John Green today. Such a great read! I’ll recap on that at a later date. I am part of a little movie/book club and this was our October read. 🙂

They just announced we will be boarding in 15 minutes. Woot woot! Homeward bound. My husband is just thrilled to be picking me up two hours late.

Cheers!

Brewery, Drunk Bus and Music

Moving right along with the 110th Anniversary of Harley Davidson road trip recap…

After a night of soggy sleep thanks to damp tents, we rolled out, ate some breakfast, stopped by a Harley Store for some shopping and then spent the remainder of our Saturday afternoon at the Delafield Brewhaus. This place is absolutely gorgeous!

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Photo courtesy of Delafield-Brewhaus.com

The Iowa Hawkeye’s were playing the Illinois Huskies and since the majority of our crew are die-hard IOWA fans, this seemed like the appropriate place to partake in some beer drinking and football watching. But not before we all took turns taking pictures in this ridiculous chair out front.

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If you are ever in the Delafield, WI area you MUST stop by the Brewhaus and order a flight of beers and the Cheese and Sausage Platter to start.   Ordering a flight at any brewery is a no-brainer.  You have to try them all, of course!   I was hesitant on ordering the cheese platter as I am incredibly picky when it comes to trying anything other then plain ol’ Colby Jack and Mozzarella, however, I am glad I overcame the hesitation.  Smokey, melt in your mouth, goodness.

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After we spent the better part of the afternoon drinking, gabbing and watching football, we hopped back on the bikes and headed back to camp.  It was time for the BUS!  Once again, the fine people at the Delafield Legion went above and beyond and reserved a bus for campers to ride into city for the final night of the 110th Celebration. We packed up a few beers for the road trip, loaded the bus, and off we went!

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Destination: Summerfest Grounds!  5 stages, multiple bands, tons of food, lots of drinks and some great people watching!  Once we made it downtown we rallied the troop for a group photo, knowing full well that this was our last opportunity before people started wondering off and doing their own thing.  The boys just love pictures.  My husband looks particularly thrilled, doesn’t he?  =/

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So, I mentioned the people watching.  Well, while we may think we are the only ones enjoying people watching, others are too, which makes us the source of their stares at times.  Apparently, we have celebrities amongst our group.  This guy wanted a picture of my hubby and John for his magazine.  Not sure the magazine, no idea who he is, but if you see this picture floating around the web somewhere, let me know!  Would love to see where their faces ended up.  ha

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On my #1 list of must-see’s?  BRANTLEY GILBERT.  Mind you, I’ve seen him a few times, but come on.  He’s just…. well… you know! Tyree joined me at his concert!  Thanks, Tyree!

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Oh, HEYYYY BG.  =D

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After Brantley, we hit up Katey Sagal.  NOT what I expected.  The music reminded me of Branson.  You keep doing your thing, Katey, but please keep acting high on the list, will ya?

Next up, ZZ Top and to close out the night, HALESTORM.  Gosh, I love Lzzy Hale.  She rocks out like none other and holy hell can she sing!!  If you have never attended one of their concerts, you must add it to your bucket list.  You will not be disappointed.  Pay attention to her brother on the drums as well.  He is out of this world awesome.

Seriously.  Go see them.  Now.

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Our group reunited at the end of the night for the bus ride back to camp.  Surprisingly, our night ended on a fairly low-key level.  I guess we were all anticipating the 500 mile ride home the next day!

Sunday morning we woke up to a gorgeous haze over the campground.  Gosh I love tent camping and biker rally’s.  Our vacation had come to a close.  Another group vacay in the books!  We are already planning our next trip.  Sturgis 2014, here we come!

Until next time….

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Question of the day.

Do you vacation with friends?  How often and where do you go?