Going green...

This week at the grocery store I decided to pick up a package of baby spinach in addition to the normal package of mixed greens. I picked them up to use in my protein shakes and to increase my intake of green goodness.

Tonight after work I made a quick green shake before I hit the gym. I used 2 cups water, 1 cup almond milk, 1/2 a banana, and 3 big handfuls of spinach. All of it went into the Vita-mix, and out came the lovely green drink below. Be sure to note that radiant light beams are coming from the cup- it is not a coincidence- it is that good!



I know you're thinking- 'It looks a bit like swamp water.' I promise it tastes great! And it kept me well fueled during my upper body workout, and my 30 minutes of intervals!

All the doors that I had to close,
Everything I knew but I didn't know,
Thank God for all I missed,
Cause it led me here to this...
-This, Darius Rucker

Green Morning...

Wow! An early morning post?!?!? Tell me about it. Just thought I'd share with you a lovely green goodness shake to start my day.



It contained:
1 cup almond milk
3 handfuls of spinach
2 scoops Whey protein
4 strawberries

I put it all in the Vita-mix and mix it all together. I know some people might think you could taste the spinach, but honestly it tastes more like a milkshake. I hoping it will help me kick this cold now have do to the up and down temperatures around here. It's officially fall, so why is it suppose to be near 90 today?

Progress...

We've been making lots of progress since my last post on Thursday, we've worked all weekend to get stuff done. Here's rundown with photos,. I think I captured all the major moments although I'm sure there are little tasks that got missed.

First up was applying the deco trim to the cabinets that are mounted to the top of the soffet over the sink area. Matt took the measurements and cut the angles to get them all perfect.

After the cabinets were prepped for hanging, Matt measured and cut the mounting rails. The rails were hung using the laser level to ensure everything was at proper height and lined up. The cabinets are attached with nuts and bolts directly to the rail, and do not move once the bolts are tightened.

Saturday morning I set to work on building and modifying all our base cabinets. I am now quite efficient at assembly, removal of the original edging, applying new edging, and staining to match. I even built the drawer on one to get an idea of how difficult it would be.

While I was building cabinets Matt was working on retro-fitting the cabinet above the microwave to allow for it to vent outside. This required him to cut holes in the bottom of the cabinet to connect to the microwave vent and to feed the power cord through. After establishing where the vent hole was going, he began to cut a hole in the house! Yes that's right, he used all the tools he could to find to cut through the many layers of the house, he even borrowed our neighbor's saws-all for some extra power!

After some hard work Matt was successful in getting the microwave to vent outside, pretty impressive if you ask me.

Tasks planned for this week after work include:
-Completing the deco trim on all the wall cabinets.
-Adding 'filler' pieces to the cabinets next to the wall.
-Applying the cover panels to the cabinet sides that face the windows, which allows them to match the color of the cabinet fronts.
-Hanging the cabinet unit that will be over the fridge, along with the fridge cover panels.
-Beginning the install of the base cabinets and dishwasher.

For Matt's version of our progress this weekend check out his post of VW Vortex.

In other news:

I made some peanut butter today!

Actually I made lots of peanut butter today! I bought a couple containers of dry roasted, unsalted peanuts, so I figured I'd make a supply of peanut butter to have available for us and some other lucky people. Who doesn't love peanut butter, especially when it is homemade?

With my last batch I added carob powder to give it a 'chocolate' favor, but it really doesn't taste that different- I might need more chocolate next time!