hello again!

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I can’t stop drinking the butternut squash smoothie.  This one was made with pumpkin though.  They taste really similar but I think I actually prefer the butternut squash. 

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fresh baked roll + homemade PB + jelly

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thick.creamy.pumpkiny.yum.

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My grip tape has needed to be replaced for over a month now, but I just haven’t made it to a bike store until a few days ago.

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hehehe

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It was pretty easy to put the new tape on myself.  This is mostly due to Julie’s awesome tutorial.  There were just a few minor things I did differently.

You start by peeling up the “hood.”

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Ohhhh Dakota.  Sooo sleeepy.  If you have been super observant, you will have noticed Dakota sporting a “Merry Chrismas” collar the past few months.  Despite some of our friends saying that we put it on her to cheer her up and put her in the holiday spirit [she acts quite depressed], that is not the case. ;)  Her old collar broke and we just haven’t gotten a new one.  This is an OLD collar my dad gave me, from our family dog Ginger [that has since passed].

You can “fa la la la la” all you want, but Dakota will always give you this face.

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Bake to the bike!  Discard old tape.

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Ta daaaa!!  Okay, so I missed a few steps.  Just check Julie’s post for the details.

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The only difference, with mine was that they only gave 2, 4” pieces of yellow tape, and I think Julie had 4. 

  • The directions on the box said to put the small strips covering the metal that is under each hood.
  • Also, only overlap your tape by 1/3.  At first I was overlapping by 2/3 and there was not enough tape to finish. 

The box directions left out some good tips that Julie included.  For instance, which way to wrap your tape – counterclockwise on one side, clockwise on the other. 

I had to wrap the left handlebar 3 times before I got it right.  I was overlapping to much the first 2 times.  The right handlebar, I got on the first try.  It seems more complicated than it is.  Definitely not worth paying to have someone do it at a bike shop.

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Anywho…here it is!!! SO BRIGHT.  I’m loving it.  I really wanted pink but they were out.  I just wanted something fun and bright.  The yellow will definitely do!

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I also finally bought a battery and attached my bike computer.  It’s nothing fancy, and came with the bike.  [I bought the bike used, for a great deal, and they gave us a bunch of extras for free!]

After getting all of that ready, I headed out for my new favorite route.  It’s still realllly hot here.  It was 87* today and not a cloud in the sky.  Definitely slathered on the sun screen!

Today’s Ride:

  • Avg. Speed – 15.5mph
  • Time – 1hr 25min
  • Distance – 22miles

When I return from Cleveland, my plan is to attach my clipless pedals.  Hold me to it! :)

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Lunch was quick + delicious. 

  • Garden Herb Sunshine burger
  • egg
  • tomato paste
  • fresh bread
  • nutritional yeast
  • s+p

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And a salad on the side, with…

  • hemp oil
  • apple cider vinegar
  • balsamic vinegar

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Don’t let this small-ish sandwich fool you.  It packs a nutritional punch!  It totals in at around 500+ calories, with healthy fats [burger + egg], protein [bread, egg, nut. yeast, burger], vitamin b-12 [nut. yeast], and lycopene [tomato paste].

If you don’t like drippy eggs, I’m sure this looks disgusting.  However, it was deeeelicious.

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Believe it or not, I have never cooked tofu.  I try to steer away from eating soy products, and you can read why here, but I do eat fermented soy products on occasion, like tempeh + tofu.  I found an organic, non-GMO, sprouted living-soy tofu and decided to try it out.  Tofu is SO cheap!

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I pressed the liquid out [after slicing into 8 pieces], between towels, with books stacked on top for about 15min.  Then cut into 64 cubes.

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I had no idea how to cook this little cubes, so I referred to the tofu guru Emily.  Her crispy tofu tutorial was extremely easy to follow.

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It left me with perfectly cooked, crispy, delicious tofu.

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Chris actually loves tofu, and I enjoy it as well!  I think I like it better than tempeh too.  I think I’ll start including tofu in our dinners, about once a week.  We each ate a 1/2 block of the tofu, a large side of steamed + buttered broccoli, and creamy, fluffy millet.

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I’m glad you guys enjoyed the video post!  I originally video’d it during the day, but the natural light was awful.  Also, it was 15min long.  I wanted to cut it down, and got it around 11min.  I think I was trying to hurry, which led to my spastic camera hand! ;)

Also, I wanted to mention that Mama Pea has an UH-mazing looking recipe for something similar to my sweet corn cake, like I made for my Mexican feast!  I really had no clue how to veganize it, except switching out butter for Earth Balance.  I’m sure that would work, but she got a little more creative and healthed it up a bit too!  I can’t wait to try it out!  [p.s. Have you voted for my Mexican feast?? If not, follow this link! Thanks!!!]

All for now!

Ash