Solar Eclipse of the Heart

So by now, I'm sure you've seen every one's pictures of the solar eclipse that happened on Sunday. It was an awesome view from all over the Western United States.... but I'm just gonna brag for a minute and say that the views from Northern Arizona were the best. We had been camping up in Flagstaff area for the weekend, having fun cave adventuring and aboriginal ruin exploring (but more on those later), so we stuck around to view the eclipse from the Wupatki National Monument. 

My boyfriend is a bit of a space nerd, so he brought his telescope with a solar filter along. (I'm sure you heard a million times by now, you should not view an eclipse with the naked eye or through normal binoculars/telescopes. Safety first!). Several other people had the same idea of watching the eclipse from this spot so we made friends, shared solar viewers /glasses, and took lots of pictures. And yes, several people felt it necessary to sing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" very loudly for the whole 1-2 hours. (Can't really say I blame them).

All of the pictures below are from the boyfriends camera, the pictures of the sun were taking using a small digital camera pointed at the eye piece of the telescope.

gettin' ready

Shadows created by pinholes in a posterboard. They mimick the shape of the eclipse at that point in time. This was taken during the "ring of fire".

Sun is starting to set... see the outline of the trees in the bottom right?

My favorite picture, this photo was actually featured on Universe Today. 

 

I have many many more pictures from the weekend - but I am still playing catch up between work, fight club, and packing/planning my next adventure.They will be posted soon as soon as I can.

Did you see the eclipse?

You guys know Ashley... right? 

That's her face over there --->>

Well she is off having a gand ol' time in Maui right now, 

so I hopped on over to her blog to share about one of my favorite adventures. 

Head on over to her blog to check out my Epic Road Trip.

(some hiking included)

Or if you're coming here FROM her blog... introduce yourself! 

Then keep reading the next post below for an awesome link up with yet another lovely blogger 

Kristin @ Skinny Jeans & a Chai Latte.

So glad you stopped by :)

Food & Beer Friday: Sonoran White Chocolate Ale

So there is this chick named Kristin. 

And she's pretty rad. 

She likes Law & Order and food and beer.
Three of my favorite things!!

And she started a "Food & Beer Friday" link up.

But no Law & Order link up?? Where's your priorities, girl??

So yeah - today I'm linking up with Skinny Jeans & a Chai Latte for Food & Beer Friday's. 

But, before we go any further, I must warn you: 

I am no beer sommelier, don't expect fancy words, 

I'm just gonna give you my uneducated opinion :)

First off, lemme say I'm a big fan of checking out local breweries. I love Four Peaks down in Tempe and might even rank Kiltlifter as one of my favorite beers. So when I walk through the aisles of the
grocery store/gas station/liquor store I love to see unique locally brewed beers.

The other night, I found this gem.

Lemme tell ya something, it was amazing. 

I'm not usually one to drink dessert beers, but I just had to try this one. 

It tasted very much like white chocolate. 

The bottle said to pair it with lobster or shrimp. 

"Inspired by the beauty of the White Mountains; the Sonoran White Chocolate Ale is a light, refreshing and completely unique wheat beer. Like a fine chocolate, this brew has a delicate aroma and a subtle taste of white chocolate, which is truly astonishing! For the ultimate experience; pair it with coconut shrimp or lobster. Enjoy one with your meal and another for dessert."

But I was fresh outta lobster (who'da thunk?), so I just drank it AS my dessert.
Mmmmm. I wish I bought two bottles.
Drink it in... it always goes down smooth.

So if you are ever in Arizona, or have access to beer from the Sonoran Brewing Company,
please try this beer. You (and your taste buds) will thank me.

Also, please note this post maybe should probably be called "Beer Friday" since I didn't mention food. Whoops.
If you really need a foodie fix check out my Cauliflower Pizza Cups or Healthy Curly Fries.

Happy Weekend! I'm off to Flagstaff to hike relax and watch the solar eclipse.
Cheers! 

Sushi Bowl!

I'm a huge fan of fushi (aka vegetarian sushi = faux sushi = fushi),

yet I can't justify "going to sushi" every night.

And while I have a sushi making kit at home, 

I'm lazy and would like the flavor with out the mess/commitment.  

Enter Robin's Sushi Bowl

You may read this and think "well... duh." 

But, it only dawned on me a few months ago, so I'm sharing :)

It's not so much of a recipe, as an idea
to take the sushi ingredients that you love, and put them in bowl form. 

Portion control does not photograph well. Next time, I will choose a smaller bowl. 

  Ingredients (this time around)

• Rice - I used Seeds of Change Organic Quinoa and Brown Rice. I LOVE these rice packets. Throw them in the microwave for 90 seconds and you have perfect rice. I am oddly awful at cooking rice, I even have a rice cooker and always mess it up some how. 
• Seaweed snack
• Edamame 
• Low Sodium Soy Sauce 

Other nights I've thrown in some avocado and/or cucumber... but you could also throw in some tofu, teriyaki chicken, shrimp, crab, fish, carrots, cabbage...basically anything sushi-esque. I think the main trick to making this dish reminiscent of sushi is the seaweed. It takes it from being a rice bowl to a sushi bowl.  

Taa daaa! Magic!

Speaking of sushi... I am super excited to be meeting up with the ladies from the AZ Bloggers Network this Sunday for a sushi date. Can't wait to hang out with the ladies I met a few weeks ago as well as meet some new people.

Have you ever made a sushi bowl before? 

Do you have any other at-home-sushi tips for people like me (aka lazy)?

Dear Ashley...

This little guy wants to go zip-lining with you.

[via]

I know you said "no rhinos" ... but just a widdle baby one wouldn't hurt right?

Hump Day Quoteables

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 

Happy Hump Day! 

Chinese Cultural Center

Sunday we took a mini adventure down to the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix (as mentioned here). I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was hoping it was something like Chinatown in SF or LA. When we got there, it looked more like a strip mall filled with Chinese shops. Slight disappointment.

Our mission was to visit this tiny little herb shop called Healthy Chinese Herbs (any Arrested Development fans, you might understand why I kept saying "Ancient Chinese Secret!" all day).

Ancient Chinese Secret!

The shop was small and a whole wall was just FILLED with drawers containing different types of herbs, bark, roots, flowers, and other various items. Apparently you tell them a little bit about yourself, then they make a special blend specifically for whatever ailments/results you want.

We waited our turn and then went in to see the "doctor". He asked about any prescriptions we were on, felt our pulse, looked at our tongue and then suddenly knew what we needed. It was uncanny how much he deduced with only asking us a few questions. We were given our ... uh, recipes? prescriptions? pieces of papers with our names and a bunch of Chinese symbols on it? and we headed back to the front counter where they would bundle up our personalized teas. She said it would be a 15 minute wait so we decided to wander around.

That's when we found this lovely jewel of a garden. Just around the corner. Yay!

A little boy informed me that the bridge was zig-zag because they believed that evil could only move in straight lines. I have yet to research the truth behind this, but I felt it was an interesting "fact". 

We strolled around the garden, took some pics, and said "hi!" to the fishies and the tadpoles. This was what I was hoping for. Something pretty to look at.

After (slightly) more than 15 minutes, we wandered back inside to get our teas. Tell me how cool these look:

Mine - to help increase blood flow and give me more energy. 

Boyfriend's - to help with his cold and allergies. 

We got five packs each (one picture shows one pack), you boil the whole thing with water, then strain it and drink it. Not gonna lie... I'm terrified to try this. It looks more like it should be decorating my bathroom than going into my belly... but I promised I would at least try it.

What's life with out a little adventure, eh?

Weekend Recap

What a weekend! 

I had Friday off, so I spent the day shopping and wining and dining myself. 

And by wine, I mean beer. 

And by dine, I mean pizza. 

Obviously.

spinach, artichoke, kalamata olives, feta cheese, onions, red peppers and pesto
aka heaven in my mouth

Then Friday night I met up with some friends that I hadn't seen in a few months at the grand opening of El Santo Cantina, a neat little cabana/cantina type bar that has a pool and a tiki hut sort of theme. All of their drinks were half off so I helped myself to a couple of skinny margaritas. You can probably tell I'm not a seasoned blogger yet, because I didn't take too many pictures during the night.

Thanks, sleeve, for making me look disfigured.

We only managed to take this picture because someone was trying to play cupid and wanted to have a picture of one of these fine ladies to show his friend at work. 

Saturday, was our big birthday celebrations and I started out the night with my boyfriend and his friends. We went to Geisha A Go Go for happy hour (Yes, I know. I had sushi on Cinco de Mayo... but the boyfriend isn't a big fan of Mexican food. I never claimed he was without fault.) It wasn't crowded at all and we tried some BOMB cucumber infused sake. 

Happy Birthday, Cooper!

Then, after dinner (but before meeting up with my roommate and her fiance for their birthday celebrations) we all decided to have a mini photo shoot... with weapons. 

Because, that's what you do on Cinco de Mayo, right? 

I'm totally chanelling Leonardo right now. 

 By the way, I may or may not have stuck this pose before.

Zach's little knife was no match for my swords... but uh, I probably should look out behind me.

And then there was the time that the boys said "hey, you should wear this hat in the pictures".
Fashion photo shoot.
Bam. I guess I am a blogger.

 Then we finally made it out to Old Town Scottsdale and bar hopped all over the place. We met up with like 15 other friends, took a million practically no pictures... but had a blast!

The ONE picture we did take out on Saturday night.

Sunday morning we headed on down to the Chinese Cultural Center for some individualized herbal teas, but I will tell you all about that adventure in a different post. 

After the Chinese Cultural Center we went to The Grind for lunch. This is technically where me and the boyfriend had our first date. Which was kind of fitting because our 8 month anniversary was just a few days earlier. I don't think we have ever officially celebrated our monthiversaries, but it was a nice coincidence.

His food... of course I didn't think to take a picture of my own food.

Things I learned this weekend: 

1. I am not as graceful in heels as I thought I was. Let's just say I fought the curb... and the curb won. There was no face plant (thank god!) but I did manage to twist my ankle.

2. I need to remember to take more pictures. I get so distracted having fun, eating food and playing with swords, unless someone else grabs my camera, I'll have nothing to share. 

3. I am in desperate need for some Mexican food. It's been too long, my friend. Next time I wine and dine myself.... we're going burrito/cerveza style. 

What did you guys do this weekend? 

Did you have an awesome Cinco de Mayo?

Dear Robin..

... i love you.

thank you for being my friend.

thank you for the past ten or so years.

thank you for introducing me to double dream hands

and happy cinco de drinko!

Juice Day 3 & 4

My recap for the past two days is essentially the same as days 1 and 2. Juice, bootcamp, veggie dinner.

Day 3: Juice 1

2 granny smith apples, 4 carrots, 1 cucumber, 2 handfuls spinach, 3 leaves rainbow chard, 1 inch ginger

 Day 2: Juice 2

2 cups blackberries, 6 strawberries, 1 cucumber
one of my favorite juices
tastes like springtime in your mouth 

Day 4: Juice 1

5 carrots, inch of ginger, 4 leaves purple cabbage, 3 leaves rainbow chard, 1 cucumber
I ran out of apples... so extra carrots for sweetness. 

From the top, this juice looks groovy...

...from the side, not so much.

 Day 4: Juice 2

1 navel orange, 2 tangelos, 2 mangos, 1 cup coconut water (not pictured)
this was amazing as well!! sooooo yummy!!

I highly recommend a juice reboot or even just adding juice and/or smoothies to your daily routine... so much vitamins packed into that little glass! And by golly are they delicious.

Tomorrow I have the day off (um, woohoo!!!) ... and I will be taking myself out for a day on the town. Shopping, eating and the meeting up with a few girl friends for the grand opening of El Santo Cantina (if anyone else in the area wants to go, let me know! I'd love to meet some local blogger and, of course, the more the merrier!). My Saturday and Sunday have not been set in stone yet, but I know there will be lots of fun, food and fiesta-ing. I feel like its Christmas... but maybe its just Cinco de Mayo. And maybe I'm just having an awesome week.

Hope you are all having an awesome week as well!!  

Juice Day #2

Day two of "jucing". I'm not even sure I can call it that, because I'm not drinking only juice during these five days. But its still some sort of reboot, and I'm loving the results.

{Juice 1}

purple cabage, cameo apples, lemon, rainbow chard and carrots

After I juiced those, I realized it did not make enough juice... 

Only half full! But it IS colorful

So I added another batch of goodies to the same cup:

spinach, more rainbow chard, another cameo apple, the other half of the lemon

{Juice 2} 

3 navel oranges, handful of strawberries

best juice I've made so far

Lucky for me, there were no speed bumps today. Everything went as planned. I was not hungry and had no headaches all day :) 

Today was an off day from bootcamp so I headed over to the gym to do just a little but of running. The gym was so crowded today! I wonder if everyone else in Arizona is participating in Healthy May as well? Haha.

{Dinner}

After the gym I headed home and made my dinner - sauteed spinach with garlic on raw zucchini noodles. 

I'm currently obsessed with zucchini noodles. They are delicious and healthy! 

Until tomorrow - have a great (healthy) day!! 

Juice Day #1

May day! May day! May is finally here :)

[source]

It's now one month closer to my birthday, one month closer to the wedding, one month closer to being healthier. I already had personal goals set for myself, but now I am excited to be linking up with Here Comes the Sun for Healthy May (you can see the rules/guidelines/suggestions for Health May here). This is just one more way to keep me accountable and excited about my continuing journey towards health.

I will be tracking my food and exercise on SparkPeople (we could be Sparkfriends if you also use it), tweeting about progress (Twitter: @lebonk) about progress and taking pics of stuff along the way (Instagram: @lebonk).

Anyways - on to Healthy May and recapping my first day of "juicing"... Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early to get my juice on. I made two juices, one for breakfast and one for lunch. I was ready to hit the ground running! 

{Juice 1}

4 celery stalks, 4 carrots, 2 cameo apples, 2 kale leaves, large handful of spinach

Green!

Now I'm not claiming to be any kind of juice recipe expert... so if you copy these recipes and you hate them, don't blame me. I'm just sharing what I did.

sidebar: I gave samples of this juice to my boyfriend and his roommate... boyfriend always loves my green juice, roommate politely tried a sip and then, when I wasn't looking, let boyfriend finish the rest. Moral of the story: not everyone likes to drink a garden.

{Juice 2}

1 cucumber, handful of strawberries, handful of blackberries, handful of spinach, 1 granny smith apple, 1 cameo apple

Now this is where I hit my first speed bump. I had an off-site client meeting at 9:30am, and was supposed
to be back to the office around 11:30am, so I did not bring any juice with me. The meeting ran long... and I kept looking at the clock, hoping that we could wrap it up soon... but I didn't get back to the office until almost 3pm. I was STARVING and had a massive headache!

I chugged a boatload of water and downed my second juice but it wasn't helping. I had some cucumber slices and carrot sticks in the fridge from last week so I went ahead and ate those. The headache eventually subsided and I was ready to roll.

Then I went to bootcamp... start of week two - woohoo! 
Bootcamp was great, but when I got home I needed more than just juice to munch on. I knew this was going to be a possibility, so I went to my backup plan: I will be juicing during the day and then eating some healthy plant-based dinner after my workouts.

Monday's dinner ended up being kale chips (recipe to be posted at some future date) and some delicious coconut water. Coconut water is delicious and GREAT for after a workout. 

Do you guys have any health/diet/exercise plans for May? 

Anyone else interested in joining in Healthy May? 

Anyone have a good juice recipe for me to try this week?