In Tune with June - Let's Roam Scavenger Hunt

For our recent trip to Reno, since we were going to be there for four nights and there was no way we could afford to gamble all that time, I looked for other things that we could do.  I got us tickets to see the Reno Aces play the Sacramento Rivercats (the San Francisco AAA baseball team) for one of their night games and we were going to see a friend of ours play in a softball game as well.  I wanted to do something else and I remembered that I had gotten us a Let's Roam (formerly Big City Hunt) Scavenger Hunt to do in San Francisco but we hadn't had a chance to do it yet.  I looked to see if they had one in Reno and sure enough they did, and they were having a sale so it was only $22 for the two of us.  I figured it was a good way for me to incorporate some exercise into our trip since I was giving myself permission to relax a bit on my healthy eating program.  The Scavenger Hunt is a walking tour but it is self-directed so I knew we could take our time and not be under any pressure.

I must admit we did not begin very well as I started us off in the wrong direction.  Much to my husband's credit, he did not get too upset or give up on the excursion just because of that.  I did get to take a few cool pictures:

Good luck message to start the walk.

Huge butterfly.

Stars on a star

Some kind of accident happened here!

Looks like an ice castle.

Love this winged horse.

After I got us back on track, we started the actual hunt.  Our first stop was at a park that had a large mural on the wall.  The question we were asked was about one of the figures depicted on the wall.

I love this mystic Indian

Just in case you decide to take this hunt, I'm not going to give away the answers or tell all the specific locations...

Next was an outdoor amphitheater and then came a church.  My husband went around the side to see if we could actually enter the church and got some pictures for me.

It was a beautiful day and we tried to walk on the shady side of the street as much as possible because it was afternoon and the heat sometimes affects my husband.

After the church, we were led to a sports bar.  Perfect timing to wet our whistles!  Along the way we ran into this antique shop.  We could definitely have spent all day in this place!  So many cool things!

This old typewriter was one of my favorites.

We felt right at home at this sports bar!

Definitely a San Francisco sports fan!

Interestingly, the bartender did not know that the bar was part of the scavenger hunt.  We told him about it in case they got credit for people who make it there, but since he never heard of it, I guess that's not part of the game.  Still, as I said, we felt right at home!

Next was a walk over the bridge to the other side of town.  The river was quite high thanks to the good rain we had.  

Some beautiful clouds in the sky!

It's hard to tell from the picture but there is a waterfall across the front of that building.  Very neat.

Next stop was to a structure in the middle of the city.  We came upon it from the side so I could not see what it really was until we got right in front of it:

This deserves its own blog post since it is my word of the year.  Stay tuned for that.

Fittingly, since it was Memorial Day, the next stop was a Veterans Memorial:

it was a very moving tribute to all branches of the Armed Services.  

We could have stopped at this point but there was one more place on the hunt so we decided to continue.  

My husband asked if I wanted to go inside but I figured I had put him through enough already so I said no.  Next time I may make that a spot to visit.  When we submitted our final points for the Hunt, we were in about 4th place but we didn't submit pictures along the way and we took our time.  Submitting pictures and speed could get you more points, but it wasn't really about that for us.  

On the way home we found some more interesting things to look at.  I think my husband would have done very well at this sandbag toss if I hadn't tired him out with all the walking!

This is called The Eddy and has lots of different games to play.

We made it back to the hotel and were not too worse for wear.  Later in the evening we were walking outside and I saw the statues I had taken in the beginning all lit up:

I should have crossed the street to get the "ice castle" closer but I didn't.  

All in all we had a great time in Reno (even if we didn't win any money gambling).  I would definitely recommend the Let's Roam Scavenger Hunt if you have time on your next getaway, or even if you just want a fun thing to do on a day off in your home town.  My husband and I did it by ourselves but you could get a whole group together and try it that way.  You can set roles too, tour director and photographer were what we chose, but if you have more people you can have more roles.  I am looking forward to doing the one in San Francisco.  Bonus, we can do it in the middle of the week so it shouldn't be as crowded.  

Have you ever done a Scavenger Hunt like this?  Won big in Reno?  Love to hear about it.  

Man, It's May! Weight Loss Progress

So I've been mentioning in a few posts that I am following the Hungry Girl Program and have been pretty faithful since September of last year.  I am not out to break any speed weight loss records but instead am taking it slow and steady, that way I don't feel like I am depriving myself and I am making it a sustainable habit.  So far I've lost a little over 43 pounds and have not been at this weight since 2006.

Here is a comparison photo from August 2016 to February 2017 and then one from today.

In addition to following the plan, I've begun taking a walk around our neighborhood daily and doing some plank exercises at night before bed.  I am definitely not a fan of exercise and though I had a membership to Planet Fitness a few years ago, I think I only went 10 times in a year and a half.  I don't run.  I have never been a runner.  When I walk I listen to music and use the time to look at the world around me and do some thinking.  When I first started doing planks I could only hold it for 30 seconds.  Now I am up to at least 2 minutes or more.  It requires no special equipment. 

I've been keeping a food calendar/journal since I started and write down pretty much everything I eat during the day and note the exercise I do.  I've been wearing a basic pedometer and keep track of my step count.  Since I work from home doing transcription which keeps me at a desk most of the day, I was not getting too many steps in.  I find that if I can get at least 6000 steps a day, I notice weight changes.  Each time I hit a lower number on the scale I give myself a star.  This month I have 4 stars so far!  That may only mean a loss of 4 ounces, but it is motivating me when I see the stars to keep going.  I also took my measurements so when I hit a patch where I feel like nothing is happening on the scale I re-measure and the decreasing numbers help me see that something indeed is changing. 

I am taking medication for diabetes and my most recent numbers were so good that if they continue to fall I may be able to cut it down, if not completely eliminate it.  Since diabetes is in my family and I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant, I am not surprised I have it now, but keeping control of it is important.  

Preparing four meals at a time is helpful, especially on those really busy days.

Drinking these teas has been a staple.

This is one of the "snacks" you can have - strawberries stuffed with ricotta cheese and topped with chocolate chips.  I could have had 6 stuffed strawberries but 4 was enough.

Trying new things like powdered peanut butter and tofu noodles have been pleasant surprises.  They are not half bad. 

I am about halfway to where I'd like to be but as I said, I'm not out for speed, I'm out for sustainability.  I can definitely tell the weeks and months I concentrate harder than others but overall I'm pretty pleased.  Weight is definitely one of those subjects that is kind of hard to discuss and I'm not at the point where I am comfortable putting my exact weight out there, but seeing the difference in the mirror is pretty cool.   

How about you?  Have a weight challenge/success story?  Love to hear it if you'd like to share.

Man, It's May! 365 Picture Update

It's been a while since I shared the 365 pictures I've been taking.  Here are some of my favorites in no particular order:

#136 - We went to see the Giants play and in the concourse they have a case that shows the 3 World Series trophies.  I wanted a picture of them and my husband took this great shot.  It looks like I am standing in the middle of them but it is really my reflection in the glass!  Perfect illusion.  So good that another fan copied the idea!  You can see my husband's hand holding his phone up in the middle trophy.  Next time we go I'm going to have to check out the other side of this case because our friend told us that they have the rings on that side!

#143 - This is a mini-album/Father's Day card I made.  It is in the shape of a t-shirt and is sports related.  It is for sale on my Etsy shop and I am in the process of making another one that is tool related for the handyman.  I just got invited to participate in a Holiday Boutique in Redwood City in November.  The chairman of the event likes the things I have for sale in my shop and sent the invite.  I am honored!  

#193 - I've been taking a walk around the block almost every day and even though we have lived in this neighborhood for 20 years I am continually finding things I never noticed before.  This is in the sidewalk down the street from us.  It looks to me like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. 

#137 - One of the things I've been making in my Hungry Girl meals is an egg mug breakfast muffin.  I cook Egg Beaters in the microwave and then put them in an English muffin with a slice of cheese and/or a turkey sausage patty.  The eggs look so cool when they are cooking in the microwave.  They really puff up and it almost looks like it is going to overflow but it never does. 

#140 - Our anniversary was on May 20th and we've been married for 33 years, together for 35.   Ours is a true romance story which I've talked about before.   It's still a good story and whenever I see a picture of a couple like this I think it is us.   This is by Mary Engelbreit from one of her desk calendars.  I can see us dancing along the shore in the sunset.

#142 - I went to the grocery store the other day and saw these gorgeous red, white and blue bouquets and my first thought was 4th of July, which is still a month and a half away!  I thought these flowers were never going to last that long.  When I posted that on Facebook, one of my friends reminded me of Memorial Day, which is this weekend.  That makes much more sense!

#141 - We went to a Stanford baseball game with our local Pony baseball team.  I had never been to the sunken field at Stanford and it was pretty cool.  It was a moving game on several levels.  The coach was retiring after 40 years coaching there and this was the last home game of the season so there were tons of tributes to him.  The game was a close one and Stanford eventually won in extra innings.  As we were leaving the game, I saw the tower on the Stanford campus.  Love this style.   

So there are a few of the more interesting pictures I've been taking this year.  I am up to date in my book and I think that's pretty good for 144 days!  This year I think I'm going to attempt a slide show when the year is over and I have the complete set of pictures.

How about you?  What have you been up to for the last 144 days?

Man, It's May! Father's Day T-Shirt Mini-Album

I've made several mini-albums for the moms out there but very few for dads so this year I decided to make one in the shape of a t-shirt.  It is made using chipboard so it is pretty sturdy.  I chose a cream colored background for this one but I could easily make it in any color.

Inside the first "page has a pocket with two cards in it.  There is room to write a message and/or put some pictures.  This one has a baseball theme.

The next page is similar but has a football theme.  Again there are spots for writing and/or pictures.   The TV has a few lines to write on too, to celebrate that arm chair quarterback :)

 Inside the back cover is an envelope so you can tuck in a gift card or tickets to the next game.

The back cover proclaims that this is for the World's Best Dad.

On the other side is a spot for pictures with a tie on the front, where you can write a note or talk about what makes dad one of a kind. 

There is a spot for some more memories.

Finally, one more spot for a picture and some notes on the chair.

It is held together with blue rings and some ribbons and stars for decoration.  Chalk is used to detail the edges.

Here are the inside pocket cards.  As you can see there is plenty of room to make this a really special gift for a great guy.

Definitely one of a kind and not your usual tie kind of gift!

So, what do you think?  I am kind of pleased with how it turned out.  It is for sale on my Etsy site and can be made as a special order if you wanted to choose different colors or have one made for a fisherman or golfer instead of baseball and football.  Next I'm thinking of one with a tool belt for the handyman!