I have a new ride for the next week thanks to Utah eBikes. It’s a very cool kind of bike known as a power assist. Why? It has a battery and a motor! And it’s red. So of course I had to name it “Big Red”. Isn’t it awesome?
It’s a cruiser style, though there are other options. And Utah eBikes specializes in the “scooter style” electric bike. But I have always been curious about this style, ever since I read about them many moons ago. I was so excited when I learned that I would be able to actually try one out, and for an entire week too!
We went out for a short ride this morning. The weather could not have been more perfect, overcast and slightly cooler than usual. The traffic was great too (in the sense that there wasn’t much). I wasn’t sure how far I would want to go since the battery wasn’t fully charged, but knowing that I could always pedal back, I decided to go about 5 miles. It was a little strange.
I am used to working a lot harder when riding a bike. You don’t have to work as hard with the motor kicking in a bit of power! It will take a bit of getting used to, but it was very nice, especially since it had been awhile since I last rode. In fact, riding this morning made me really miss riding all the time. Why did I ever stop?
Anyway, back to the bike. It was fun, it has a bell, and there is a key to turn it off and on! The motor kicks in when you start to pedal, or you can start it from the handle bar. It’s heavy! Oh yes, and there is even a light on the front!! How cool is that?
It’s going to be a fun week. 
You didn’t think I would talk about the basement project without showing photos did you? Here is the embarrassing before.
Lots of boxes, which are now being kept in the garage (on my side interestingly enough) waiting to be broken down and recycled. A bookshelf which made it’s way into my office, and is now holding a fish tank on top. Lots of old computer things. This I can blame all on my husband, who saved them all “for parts”. A note about things like that though, thrift shops won’t take TVs or computer screens, even if they still work. Did you know that? You have to take them to get recycled, and it’s going to cost you. The best deal we found was to take them to Best Buy because even though they charge $10 a piece, they give you a $10 gift card per piece.
And now the “during” because we also put together a Bowflex gym (which my husband had wanted for years) and isn’t in the photo. Also, we would like to finish the basement someday.
Isn’t that SOOOOO much better? It feels so much nicer to go into the space and workout now. Room to move, and even some room for aerobics! I was especially proud of how many things we donated. As you know, I am a bit of a clutter clearing freak and do it often, but I have often had a hard time getting my hubby on the same page. My motto? If it’s not used or loved, it’s out the door. His motto? This could come in handy someday. LOL.
I have been spending most of this week playing catch up on all the things that I didn’t get to do during the project. The Bowflex was the hardest part of the whole project. Clearing out only took one afternoon, and then about an hour to load it all up and take it to the thrift store. The Bowflex on the other hand took us 2 whole days to put together!! It wasn’t so much that it was hard, but just that there were so many parts and steps. Hubby had better LOVE that thing!! 
There is a state holiday here every July 24th. Some people refer to it as “Pie-n-beer” day, but it’s really called Pioneer Day. We didn’t have pie or beer, but we did enjoy lots of yummy food, playing badminton, and of course, a long weekend. Long weekends mean one of two things at our house. Either doing absolutely nothing, or working on a house project. This weekend we worked on a small house project, celebrated the holiday with family, and lit fireworks. Baby also enjoyed playing with her new IQube toy from Think Geek (she is doing a review for our animal site).
Anyway, back to “Project Basement”. The basement in our house had become a dumping ground of all things homeless or useless. This weekend we decided to tackle one half of it and get rid of things that we no longer used, no longer worked (that were being stored for “parts”) or we didn’t have space for. What a big project! We were mainly clearing space to create an awesome workout area. Something we have both wanted for a long time.
A good clear out is always so nice. There are lots of other spots in the house that I need to tackle, and of course getting a reward from clearing out one space makes me want to do more.
In the future we hope to finish our basement, but right now it works well even unfinished. What did you do over the weekend?
Lately, none of my socks have matched.
It’s summer, so the only time I wear socks is when I work out.
It’s also hot, which means the upstairs portion of our house is usually in the 80 degree (F) range even with the air conditioner running (while other portions of the house are actually cold). What does that have to do with socks? Nothing really, except that I don’t spend any more time than absolutely necessary in our master bedroom… which leads to the clean laundry not getting sorted and put away. Which in turn leads to impossible feats of sock matching, of which I usually just pull out the first two socks and go with it.
Today’s pair? Solid blue and white with the pink stripe. Maybe I am starting a new trend in workout wear?
Number 43 on my 101 list says “Cook two recipes from each of our cookbooks and blog about it”. Anyone want to venture a guess at how many cookbooks I have? Honestly, I don’t even know. It’s a lot though. So, the first recipes comes from the book Hungry Girl: 200 Under 200: 200 Recipes Under 200 Calories
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We have been trying to be a lot healthier all around, but every so often a person still needs something sweet! I thought it would be a perfect time to try this low calorie “shake”. We even ate it outside, which helped beat the heat. The recipe is called the HG’s Chocolate Chip Cookie Crisp Puddin’ Shake, and you can find the recipe by clicking that link if you want to make your own. However, the recipe in the book is different from the site in that the chocolate almond breeze isn’t listed in the book. It’s just listed as chocolate soy milk.
It was interesting. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since I hadn’t eaten Cookie Crisp cereal before. The “shake” doesn’t really have the texture of a milk shake, but it was still yummy. The one tip I have is to blend it really well, and to make the individual servings. I made a double batch, which seemed easier, but it didn’t blend as well so my portion was a lot thicker and more cereal flavored than Heath’s was.
Not a bad way to have something sweet while not loading up on calories though!
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