It's Tulip Time

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This weekend, my fiance and I headed back to Holland. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about when I talk about Holland, it's a town in Michigan that's nestled right on Lake Michigan as well as another lake that sort of pops in from the lake. 

Image Credits - No, I did not take this from a plane

I used to not be "into" the state of Michigan as a whole (I lived in Columbus for 9 years, there's a rivalry), but I've definitely come around. Holland, in particular, is awesome. White beaches, clear water, amazing summers. The Eastern coast of Lake Michigan definitely got the better deal (sorry, Wisconsin).

Anyway, Holland is highly Dutch (my fiance is from there and is fully Dutch, go figure). Every May, they have a celebration called Tulip Time, which is apparently tied into the Dutch traditions. There are parades, people everywhere, and, of course, tons and tons of tulips. My fiance said that the tulips are so highly prized that you can get arrested for picking them. Whoa.

We drove in on Friday night, and got in pretty late. Saturday morning, I slept in (Hallelujah!). I had a delish breakfast of Oikos, some Agave Syrup, and Raspberries that my fiance's mom put together. 

Afterward, I decided to go on a 5-6 mile run. Actually, it started out as "a short 30 minute run" and ended up being pretty long because Pandora was rocking it and the puppy looked happy. She was my running buddy - we had a great time running around Holland and peeking through and around the houses at the lake.

We went for lunch at an Irish pub in downtown Holland called Curragh. Afterward, we spent a few hours laying out at my future in-laws, soaking in the sun. I also cat napped and read a book. Perfect.

I was sickeningly white so it needed to happen. We were talking about going on a walk around the lake, when my future brother in law's girlfriend (wait, this is getting confusing...) asked if we wanted to meet up downtown. So walk, we did, and we enjoyed the masses in Holland that were not only celebrating Tulip Time, but also throwing a Cinco de Mayo festival.

It was actually quite crowded, but I fear the picture below does not do it justice...

We also stopped at a FroYo place for some sugar. First, we spent about five minutes debating which of the frozen yogurt shops to stop at. Then, I accidentally grabbed a huge bowl and proceeded to quite literally stuff my face with frozen yogurt, whipped cream, and heath crumbles. #Oops #SorryImNotSorry

We walked around for another hour in the sun, trying to walk off the food coma induced by said frozen yogurt. It's also really fun to walk around downtown Holland because there are a lot of old, cute, cottage-and-victorian-style houses.

We headed back "home" to change, then went to dinner in a nearby town. My phone promptly died as we pulled into the parking lot (Android, I have mixed feelings about you...), so I have no pictures of the delicious salmon and lentil dinner I consumed.

Sunday morning, I woke up slightly sunburned. Mostly in a "V" at the top of my chest, where my dress wasn't covering me up while we walked around 

We had breakfast on the patio. I had sauteed mushrooms, onions, peppers, and cilantro topped with a fried egg.

We went on a 6 mile walk around the lake (not all the way around, just part of it), then packed up and headed to lunch at the Itty Bitty Bar. I had a Corona, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, and my fiance had tacos. That counts... right?

Unfortunately, we left just like thirty minutes too late. There had been a pretty bad accident on the highway that took out all lanes going in both directions. So, what should have been about a 2.5 hour drive turned into 7 (yes, 7). I spent a while working on our wedding invitations, but then my computer died. With my phone close to its death, we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves. Boo, technology.

We were also STARVING and stuck with only this awful tasting PowerBar to share...

That said, the pup was extremely entertaining. She found no less than ten positions to sleep in. Long live the cuteness.

QUESTIONS:

• What do you do to pass the time when you're stuck in longer-than-you-expected car rides?
• Do you squeeze in workouts on vacation?

GRATEFULNESS:

Dear Fiance,

Of all the people to be stuck in a car with for 7 hours, you're my favorite. Thank you for being awesome, even when nothing else is awesome.

Love,

Carly

45th Parallel

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I spent the last few days in Northern Michigan. Skiing, snowboarding, going from small town to small town... eating (check out the graham cracker states farther down the page), drinking (see the "Shot Ski" photo in this post), and generally relaxing. With this guy.

A few driving nature shots...

And a few driving city shots with long exposure...

Guess what? I learned to snowboard! Kind of. I had a full day of lessons... followed by a full day of skiing to mentally recover from the permanent feeling of falling.

One of the local bars had "Shot Skis." By Shot Ski, I mean a ski... with pipes fitted to hold a shot glass... filled with Sambuca. Sounds like a do-able DIY project... doesn't it?! Hmm...

So, remember the mention of graham cracker states? I made them. With my teeth, Instagram (or Insta-graham?!), and a Meme Generator app to add the text. Holy car ride.

And now? I'm home. You know, I really could just continue relaxing by spending my day the way I spent Christmas - with my feet propped up on the ottoman...

But, instead, I'll be making mustache cookies (yes, you read that right) and practicing for the wedding we're singing at tomorrow. Get excited for the finished product. Hint: It's Michael Buble...

Road Tripping... Part One

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***AGENDA:  Chicago, IL to Toledo, OH.  Toledo, OH to Hagerstown, MD.  From there to The Outer Banks, NC  And back.***

[The Packing.]

It's official.  I've become the girl who packs in Ziplocks.  

How did this happen?  Ah, the embarrassment. I became overwhelmed by being unable to see what I had packed.  I would be sitting there thinking... dang, I know I have a couple pairs of shorts, a couple dresses... wait how many dresses?  Which ones?  Etc.  So, then I decided to grab some plastic bags, roll up my clothing, and turn a regular duffel bag into this... 

[The Driving.]

Part One was a rainy drive from Chicago to Toledo...

[The Tasty Goodness.]

...where Chris fed me this tasty sandwich (Bagel Thin, 1/2 Slice of Pepperjack cheese, Slice of turkey, Red Peppers, & Mushrooms)...

 ...Chris also surprised me with this tasty treat at 10am (Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte, with Whip) as a very successful ploy to wake me from my slumber.

    

Now I'm off to meet my parents and make our way to a tasty little Mexican restaurant in Hagerstown, MD! Au revoir!

The Roadtrip Experience & Trail Mix!

Tweet this! We've all been there:  You're on a long road trip and you finally stop for gas. You're hungry. The gas station food options are pretty overwhelming.  STEP AWAY FROM THE LITTLE DEBBIES!

Summer is the season for roadtrips.  I'm actually on the first leg of a road trip right now. I drove to Toledo yesterday morning (Hello, 5:30 am highway travelers). Tomorrow and Sunday, I'll be driving to OBX (Outer Banks, North Carolina, for those who aren't familiar) to stay there for a week with my family.  Get ready for beach pictures! :)

As a frequent road tripper, I'm all too familiar with the food problem.  Kind of hard to eat healthily when you're on the road.  Here's what I picked during my drive yesterday (when I was a doofus and hadn't eaten breakfast before downing 2 cups of coffee and getting on the road):

Sabra Classic Hummus w/ Pretzels, Fresh Cut Strawberries

I was pretty lucky to walk into a rest stop/gas station combo with so many"fresh" options... so here are some tips for when you walk into the typical gas station...

The Good:

• Fruit!  Look for fresh fruit cups and bananas.
• Fresh. This includes fruit... basically, just look for something that seems to have recently been made.  No, that doesn't include those egg salad sandwiches they put in airtight boxes.
• Jerky?  Beef Jerky can actually be pretty good - if you're okay with that being your only high sodium item of the day.  Turkey Jerky is leaner and occasionally has less sodium, so look for that.
• Bars! Protein bars or granola bars can be a good option, but check the back to make sure they're not too high in sugar.  I'm a big fan of Fiber One bars and Luna bars.
• Liquids?  Look for a bottle of low-sodium V-8.  Gets you some good nutrients without too many calories.

The Bad:

• First, let's address the obvious. No Honey Buns. No glazed donuts. No brownies. No Little Debbies. I don't care how nostalgic it makes you feel. Don't do it.
• Watch the nuts.  
• Chex Mix & Gardettos are packed with carbs, fat, and calories.  
• Back. Away. From. The. Chips.  They want to kill you.  Really, they do.
• Store-bought trail mix is probably worse than you thought.  The combination of nuts (which you really only want a handful of a day) with dried fruit (usually high in sugar) and pretzels or candy m&ms makes trail mix really high calorie.  Make sure you read the nutritional information and multiply the calories per serving (what's typically listed) by the number of servings in the bag.  That way, you'll know how many calories you'll be consuming if you eat the whole bag. 

OR make your own trail mix! Here's what you need:

• Nuts -- but go easy on them!  The point of making your own trail mix is to make it healthy -- so don't load up on the item that carries the most calories and fat.  Best nuts: Almonds, Walnuts
• Cheerios -- dump these babies in!  At just 100 calories a cup, they're a great space filler (since you're probably going to mindlessly munch on trail mix while you're driving) while being low-calorie and heart-healthy!  Bonus Tip:  Banana Nut Cheerios are amazing.  Truly amazing.  You might become addicted but I'd suggest adding these.  I've noticed that they also take much longer to go stale because they've got a little coating on the outside.
• Dried Fruit -- watch out, though.  When you're buying dried fruit, make sure you're not buying it coated in sugar.  I'd suggest something like cranberries or raisins - but again, be careful!
• Wanna Make It Fancy?  Add wasabi almonds or wasabi peas to make it hot -- or sprinkle curry powder or mustard powder into the bowl for an extra punch.

Sidenote -- Right now I'm loving this recipe from FitSugar: Almonds, sunflower seeds, spicy wasabi peas, curry powder, and coconut flakes. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? Hoping to try it this week!


How to make it:

If you'd like to know what you're consuming, measure each ingredient as you add it to a big bowl and take notes.  If a serving size of 1/4 a cup of nuts is 140 calories and you add a full cup, write down that you put 140x4 or 560 calories of nuts in.  By the end, you should know how many calories total are in the bowl.  Next, using snack size bags (NOT sandwich size), separate what's into the bowl into as many serving sizes as you can.  Divide the total amount of calories in the bowl by the number of bags you made -- and then you know roughly how many calories are in each bag.

Happy Roadtripping, all! I'll be back later with a few Trail Mix recipes!