14 minutes and counting...

14 minutes until the excitement that is the Olympics begin!  I am a total Olympaholic!  I'll watch anything Olympic fencing, badminton, synchronized swimming... anything and everything!  Actually the only thing I don't really like is wrestling.  Sweaty men in leotards rolling around on the floor grabbing each other.. it sorta creeps me out.  But... if there's nothing else Olympic on - then wrestling it is!  I can't wait gymnastics, rowing, equestrian...Bring it on!  Go America! Actually go Everyone...I wish everyone could win!  Gotta go... 10 minutes....

New Recipe Night - Reviews are mixed.

Tonight's offering...

Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin

It was suppose to look like this...it didn't!

1 (2lb) boneless pork tenderloin

1 tsp grd sage

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup water

Glaze:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup water

   2 Tbsp soy sauce

Combine sage, salt, petter and garlic.  Rub over roast.  Place in slow cooker with 1/2 cup water.  Cook on Low 6-8 hours.  About 1 hour before roast is done, combine ingredients for glaze in small sauce pan.  Heat and stir until mixture thickens.  Brush roast with glaze 2 or 3 times during the last hour of cooking.  Serve with remaining glaze on the side.  

I served it with Herb mashed potatoes and Parmesan roasted zucchini and squash.   Brenna and John both liked it.  Me, not so much.  

I love the idea of the crock pot.  Put your stuff in in the morning and when dinner rolls around it's ready to go.  What's not to love?   I am always cutting out "no fail" crock pot recipes to try.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find a "no fail" crock pot recipe.  (Chili and soup don't count).  To me no matter what I do the meat always turns out grey and dry.  Dry? You say?  I know it doesn't seem possible since Crock Pot is the epitome of slow, juicy cooking.  Not so much in the Hyzy house.  Just like always this meat looked grey, until I covered it with the glaze (which was yummy) but it still seemed dry to me.  So, while it got 2 out of 3 yes votes, I won't be cooking it again.  I think I just need to bid farewell to the crock pot and get it off the shelf where it just sits taunting me!

Fit in 15!

Can't tell you how glad I am to be home.  Even with the unpacking, the laundry, the errands and the grocery store, I am still glad to be home with all my "stuff."  I do love my routine!  What I don't love so much, and what my food baby really HATED today was our Fit in 15 program!

This summer along with my Eating Awareness Program, I also started a Fit in 15 exercise program.  I found a 15 minute workout in one of my magazines and how can anyone say you don't have 15 minutes.  When I started talking about it, most of my girlfriends wanted in on the action, even Brenna joins us.  We've been meeting M, W and Fri at 745am and working out right in the front yard!  The first day I practiced by myself just to see how it would go... it went fine, but the next day and the next day...not so fine.  I was so freaking sore I practically needed help to pee.  I didn't think I'd be able to get up or down the stairs by myself.  The fact the Fit in 15 actually took me about 30 minutes because I had to stop and rest was completely embarrassing and humbling.  I had no idea that 15 minutes would make me sweat and pant so much, or that seeing the word lunge or squat would cause me to swear like a sailor, but all in all, I worked it out and it's been going well.

Actually, the combination of Eating Awareness and Fit in 15 has been working really well.  I stepped on the scale right before we left for vacation and I saw a number that I haven't seen in quite a few years.     My age X 3 - 7 = a number that actually made me smile when I got on the scale.  I might even have done a small happy dance in the bathroom.  I'm hoping as soon as my stupid Food Baby is delivered I'll be back to that happy number!


Today was my first day back to Fit and 15 after our Food Orgy Vacation.  I didn't mind getting back into the swing of things, but my food baby really HATED it, especially the Ab workout parts.  But, we did it and hopefully my food baby will go away and I'll be back to exercising singly soon.

I wish it had been as easy as clicking our heels twice and wishing for home...

We woke up this morning and decided...12 hours... YES WE CAN!  So we piled into the car, buckled up and headed out!  We did it!  We made it!  No one cried, no one whined and the cranky pants stayed packed away!
The only issue was that since I've given up soda and caffeine, my only real "stay awake" crutch was food.  I pretty much ate to keep myself awake.  There was biscuits and gravy to start the day off, followed by pretty much anything I could get my hands on.  Jack in the Box tacos, beef jerky, chewy sprees, veggies and dip,  french fries... do I really need to go on.  I'm lucky I didn't eat myself into a food coma, but I sure tried!  My food baby should be ready to be delivered at a moment's notice!

The kids were great travelers!  Brenna even drove for a little bit for me.  Sadly riding in the back of the van made me car sick so she only got to drive for about an hour, but it still helped me out.

We're all so glad to be home - the puppies were hysterically happy to see us and if it didn't make John sound like a sissy I'd say he was hysterically happy to see us as well.  I am hysterically happy to be back with my own things, in my own bed and with my whole family.

Great Vacation and Great to be home.  Isn't that the way it should be!

The Never-Ending car trip...day eleventy-one!

We're back on the road and it went on forFREAKINGever today!  First of all, I was happy and sad and that's sort of a crappy way to start the day.  I was glad to be heading home, but I was very sad knowing I'm probably not going to see any part of my family for at least another year, and that's if we're lucky. :o(  I love visiting and hanging out because we all get along so well, but it just makes me realize how much I miss them.  I think on a day to day - live your life basis, you don't always think about not being with your family, especially if you grew up in a military family.  That was pretty much the status quo.  It's always so great to get together and see everyone, but it makes me miss them even more.

Pretty much the only "rest stop" in Arkansas

Anyway, we had to leave, it was time to go and so we did.  But then it became the never-ending road trip.  First of all let me say that I always believed that Texas had THE WORST rest stops.  All their rest stops consist of are a metal picnic table and a metal trashcan.  No shade, no bathroom - basically no nothing.  I always figured it was because it was Texas "a whole other country" and they didn't want you to rest long, they wanted you to get the hell out of their country.  But then I drove through Arkansas and they don't have ANY rest stops, they don't even want you to stop. Their motto must be "Just keep on driving and get the hell out of our state."  I kept promising everyone we would stop at the next rest stop, little did I know that it would be in Tennessee.  Then when we got to the 8 1/2 hour mark and stopped to get a hotel room - the ENTIRE town was sold out for the Softball World Series... but not just the whole town... the whole 3 MORE TOWNS down the road.  We had to drive another 90 minutes to find "room in the inn."  Almost 11 hours driving... that's too much even if you are having a Lord of the Rings marathon!

Although, we drove so far today and nobody really got too cranky (except me-and I held it in) that I'm considering pushing it tomorrow.  12 more hours and we'd be home!  I want to be home!  Stay tuned... for the continuing saga!

Oklahoma Visit - Final Days

We are finishing up the Great American Road Trip and Oklahoma visit.  It has been an all-around success! Sunday,  we hit the bookstore ( a family tradition) and then just mainly hung out at Aunt Linda's house eating!  Seems to be the theme of this visit.  We finished up our tie dye shirts, chatted and and the kids did some swimming at the hotel.  It was really the best way to spend the day. Uncle John is still in the hospital and seems to be making slow progress.  After dinner we headed over to the Oklahoma City Memorial.  It was sort of a somber way to end the day, but at the same time the actual memorial is beautiful and since Brenna was 3 when it happened and none of the others had even been born, it sparked a lot of good conversation and I think made quite an impression.

Laney, Aunt Linda, Pam, Risa and Kipp

 

Ian, Cari and Zain

The Oklahoma City Memorial at Night

Yesterday, Pam and Kipp and the girls headed out - they were starting their great midwest road trip.  Ian and Cari hit an Auto Parts Store and JoAnn fabrics.  I guess when you live in Columbus, Mississippi it's important to hit the stores you don't have.  I totally understand.  I remember when we lived up in the U.P. - which use to live for our weekend trips into Green Bay to go to the mall.  The kids and I and Mimi drove over to OU to check out the campus.  We'd seen a totally cool naked lady statue and lots of old fashion phone booths that reminded Brenna of Doctor Who's Tardis so we went to take pictures.

  

Then we met Mimi for one of the best lunches I've ever had.  We ate at a restaurant named InterUrban and I had what were  THE BEST fish tacos I've ever had.  I'm still thinking about those fish tacos!

Mimi hit the road back to Kansas and we all sent to the Oklahoma Science Museum.  We had a good time, speedy, but good.  I didn't realize the museum closed at 5pm, so we pretty much did the museum at a run, saw the movie Tornado Alley and headed for home.  The kids and Ian all got to try out Segwey's.. that was a highlight.

We headed back to the hotel, swam in the pool and then pretty much collapsed.  

Of course, don't forget we ate AGAIN and had ice cream!

We we first started planning this trip I was a little worried because it was 3 days of driving, 3 days of visit and 3 more days of driving and I worried that it wouldn't be a long enough visit.  But I must say, we've had a fabulous time but I am ready to get home and see my husband and my puppies and be in my own bed with all my own stuff.  Not looking forward to starting the drive tomorrow, but knowing that there's a Jack in the Box somewhere in Tennessee is providing quite a bit of motivation!

Oklahoma Visit Day #4

Yesterday was another great day.  We visited Bricktown in Oklahoma City.  It's a revamped area of downtown where they've put in a man-made canal thing, very similar to the RiverWalk in San Antonio.  We took a boat tour and ate lunch at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar restaurant.  My kids of course both ordered THE MOST expensive item on the list...Salmon!  Really? You come to Oklahoma and you order Salmon, that probably had to be imported overnight from Alaska!  Not a lot of Salmon fishing going on in Oklahoma.  But they both ate it all and any time Zack eats something beside Fruit Loops, Nerds or Eggo Waffles I'm a happy camper!

Then we went back to Aunt Linda's and hung out for most of the day.  We played with the dogs, tie-dyed shirts, celebrated Mimi's birthday and generally ate until we all fell into food comas! Seriously the amount of food we have consumed on this visit is more than enough to feed a mid-sized nation.  Aunt Linda keeps the food coming at programed intervals, we're at the point that we're eating just because it's there - I don't think anyone is even hungry anymore.  She just throws a new meal at us and we all belly up to the trough.  I'm going to be able to live off my food baby for weeks when I get home!

That's it in a nutshell... here's the day in pictures.

Awesome Bronze statues of the Okla Land Run

Happy 70th Birthday Mimi!