My Bizzy Kitchen Goes on Vacation!

Well the day is finally here!  Come 5:00 today, Hannah and Jacob will pick me up and we’ll start on our road trip to Virginia.  Jacob’s Mom is going to be staying at our house to watch the dogs.  Thanks Val!  But it got me thinking.  I don’t have keys to my house.  I know Tony had one on his key ring, but I know I’ve put his keys someplace where I wouldn’t lose them, and well, I’ve “temporarily” misplaced them!   You may be asking “Biz, you don’t lock your house?” and the answer is well. . .no.  Usually someone was always home.  If Tony was away, I’d be home, if we were both away Hannah would be home.  I do have a dead bolt on the inside of the house to lock at knight, I just can’t unlock it from the outside.  I thought Val might appreciate being able to lock the door from both sides!

So I saw that you can find keyless entry locks so that you just enter a passcode and no one needs a key, they just need to have the password.  I asked Jacob if his grandpa, who is handy, could install one and he said he probably could.  Jacob texted me while at Home Depot and we picked out one that would work, only it didn’t work with the type of door I had, so he returned it and got another one.  Now here is something that I am very proud of – Jacob installed it all by himself!  It took him three hours, but it works perfectly, and now we can actually lock our door.  Thanks Jacob!

And yes, I know I need to power wash my back door – it’s on the list of things to do this summer.

So I will be taking a blog break and won’t post again until July 8!  I think my longest blog break since I started this blog in September 2008 – if someone would have told me I would still be blogging near seven years later, five days a week, I would have doubted that I would have stuck with it this long, but I actually love it.  When Tony was sick it was my way of being social while he was sleeping, or we had quiet nights at home and he’d fall asleep by 7 p.m. on a Friday night. 

I will, however, be keeping up with the 101 Days of Summer Challengers via email and Facebook while I am gone.  These are such a strong group of women!  I had to post this to my blog because this post by my blog friend Errign really struck a cord with so many of the challengers:

So, I logged on this morning intending to post about my breakfast & run today because that’s my preferred way to check in, but I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the posts I’ve been reading on here lately. I see so many beautiful, strong, powerful women who are making healthy choices for themselves EVERY DAY, and then getting so down about a small slip up. Life isn’t perfect, I’m not perfect, you’re not perfect. Being healthy isn’t about judging yourself, comparing yourself to others, or making yourself feel bad about making a choice that isn’t the norm for you. Having one “bad” meal or missing a workout isn’t going to ruin everything for you, but letting your negative thoughts get in the way of your healthy choices just might.

You are all SO inspiring. You get up and move when it’s hot or raining and when you’re tired, sad or lonely. You make healthy choices 90% of the time – why bring yourself down over that 10%? You know what I did last night? I went out with friends and I ate cheese fries and buffalo tenders for dinner. Did I feel guilty? No, because I know that one meal isn’t my norm, and is not going to make me gain 10 pounds. I ate it, I liked it, I had zero regrets or misgivings, and I got up this morning and got into my normal routine of exercise and breakfast. I honestly didn’t even think about it, because it wasn’t a big deal. I am, just like all of you, healthy, empowered and strong, and I think that life is for living, not for feeling guilty. So, today, I challenge all of you to focus on the positive things that you did today, and share them on this post tonight/whenever you get a chance. Hugs – have a great day!

Thank you Errign for clarifying that this is lifestyle – the operative word being “life” and that life is not perfect.  It involves treats, and cheese and wine on occasion.  And there is nothing wrong that.  I am happy to say that I’ve been able to arrange a lunch with Errign while I am on vacation – she’s not working at the moment so her weekdays are pretty open and we’ve “known” each other since about January of 2009?!  Now she’s happily married with a baby on the way.  Super bummed my schedule didn’t permit me to meet up with Rachel and Dave, or my dear friend Janine (Skippy Mom).  But we will meet one day – promise!

So while I will be on Instagram (are you following me?!! My Bizzy Kitchen – duh), and keeping in the loop on emails and Facebook, the blog will be on vacation.  So while I won’t be posting any recipes or delicious food here for a while, go ahead and check out what my friends are making!

Courtney had me at this super summery roasted shrimp with garlic and lemon.  I could seriously slice up a bagette and call this dinner!

You know how I could eat Mexican just about every day, and this Mexican goddess dressing is screaming my name!  Thanks Ashley – can’t wait to try this with my family next week on vacation!

I am all over savory breakfasts vs. sweet ones – this Breakfast Fried Rice screams me – can’t wait to make this Jessica!

Alright – time to double check my packing list and get this show on the road – “see” you when I get back!  Have a wonderful 4th of July!