Author: Megan

Science Friday: Geodes

| Megan

DSC_0046My dad is a rock hound. Some of my earliest memories are of nature walks in the Uintah Mountains. Dad has brought home rocks for his “rock garden” for years. It comes as no surprise that he wants to share his love of rocks with his grandchildren!

I don’t remember the occasion for which he gifted our boys these geodes, but we have been delinquent in slicing them open and checking out the awesome insides until this week!

My wonderful hubs got out his dremel and a small hand grinder. Because we didn’t have enough protective eyewear for all of the kids, cousins, and neighbor friends, we made them stand back and watch from afar. This didn’t seem to dampen their excitement one bit!

A geode is a geological anomaly that has sometimes perplexed scientists as there is not ONE known way that geodes form. Additionally, geodes can be made up of sedimentary rock, igneous rock, or both! They are formed through a process of chemical precipitation whereby dissolved silicates and/or carbonates are deposited below the surface of a gas or lava bubble (in the case of igneous rock), or in a hollow chamber of sedimentary rock. The chamber fills with deposits from groundwater or hydrothermal solutions over time, allowing the crystals to form.

The bedrock containing these geodes eventually weathers and breaks down through erosion or other chemical decomposers and the geodes nodules are left for us to find! (That is obviously a VERY cursory description of the entire process, but you can read more about geodes and their formation and discovery HERE.)

After Perry cut the geodes open, the boys wanted to share their treasure with everyone. Perry took a hammer and chisel and broke the first geode into smaller pieces. Plus, there was another tiny geode on the back side of one part of the larger geode that he unattached and cut open individually.

The excited eyes and exclamations of surprise at seeing the crystals and banded interior of the geodes was absolutely grand! Leave it to children to make every experience 10 times better.

Thanks, Umpa for sharing your love of geology with us and our boys! Here’s to continuing the rock hunt all over the American West for years to come (with a leave it where it lays, policy for the most part, of course)!

I truly hope you have a wonderful Friday and a fabulous weekend all around! Go out there and create your own Science Friday!

XX, Megan

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Neutral Spring into Summer

| Megan

DSC_0138 DSC_0143 DSC_0156 DSC_0158 I am really relishing the gorgeous backdrop for these outfit photos! We went out just a few days ago on a beautiful, bright morning to take these shots and I LOVE the way they turned out.

The green of the grass, the deep azure of the sky, in contrast to the rich white stand of the aspen. WOW! It’s easy for me to start to view neutrals as only whites, grays, and browns. But green and ochre are great options too! Had to add a little extra with the neon belt, and wish I were carrying around this adorable little cross-body bag to accent this outfit as well.

Also a little His and Hers action on the shoes below. I’m really lucky to have such a talented partner who will get up early in the morning to take photos and do such an AWESOME job. THANK YOU, Honey!

What are some of your favorite neutrals? Any color pop you like to accent with to up the game? The week is winding down, and I certainly hope you have lovely plans for your week end. If you haven’t checked out the Grilled Curry Lime Pork Tenderloin recipe I posted yesterday.

Tomorrow we have a little Science Friday fun with geodes. Thanks for stopping by! Check back by tomorrow to see the glorious delights of geology!

Have a great day!

XX, Megan DSC_0160 DSC_0149 - Version 2

Shirt: J.Crew, Shorts: Gap, Shoes: J.Crew (similar, similar, similar), Belt: Target (similar), Sunglasses: Ray-Ban (also here, and bright pink option), Earrings: J.Crew Factory on sale!

Grilled Curry Lime Pork Tenderloin

| Megan

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Oh, Summer! You are right around the corner and it feels SO GOOD!

In other exciting news, it’s official! We had our first real outdoor BBQ of the season this last Sunday and it was oh. so. wonderful! I made another winner of a dish from The Scramble* (gasp!). My sister was in town from San Francisco so we invited the family over to share in the food, and fun, and yum!

Suffice it to say that the meat alone was a huge hit. I will definitely be making this pork again this summer!

XX, Megan

Ingredients for Pork Dish
1 1/2 – 2 lbs. pork tenderloins, or use boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 lime, (use 3 Tbsp. juice and 1/2 tsp. lime zest)
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil
2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

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Marinate

Because we were having a large gathering for our BBQ I doubled the pork serving to just over 3 lbs. and consequently doubled the marinade, so if you’re making a six serving dish, you may not have nearly this much meat!

Place the pork loins into a shallow baking dish with sides. Juice the lime, zest the lime, chop the cilantro, and mix these with the oil, brown sugar, curry powder, salt and pepper in a small bowl. You can marinate your pork for as little as 30 minutes and up to 24 hours. I think I marinated mine for 12 hours and the flavor was magnificent!

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Grill

Once your meat has marinated to your liking. Grill the pork for 20-25 minutes, flipping once. Once you flip, I would recommend watching the meat closely. Pork is super dry when overdone.

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Mix

If you are making a side salad, you can throw it together while your meat is grilling. I chose to use harvest grains instead of rice for a side, either option is delicious!

Next time

The Scramble suggests a savory side of grilled artichokes to compliment your pork tenderloins. However, the artichoke selection in our little town wasn’t to my liking, and I didn’t have time to run to the “big city” to grab the artichokes. Next time we head outside for a BBQ I will DEFINITELY be doing up these grilled artichokes. Don’t they sound absolutely yum!

To add the artichokes to your meal, prep the meat as instructed above. About 10 minutes before you are ready to begin grilling your pork stem the artichokes and start them steaming in about two inches of water. Steam artichokes for 20 minutes. Pull them out of the water and let cool (alternatively, you can run them under cool water to speed up your process).

Mix 2 Tbsp. of the oil, all of the salt, and 1 tsp. of the garlic in a small bowl. Your pork should have hit the grill about 10 minutes prior to this step.

Slice the artichokes in half from top to bottom. Remove the fuzzy choke near the bottom with a spoon. Baste with oil, salt, garlic mixture. (The Scramble recommends doing this in a bowl so you can use the leftover oil for basting mid-grill.)

Grill the artichokes for 5 minutes each side until it begins to show spots of char. Remove from grill and squeeze juice of 1/2 lemon over all.

Lastly, as your pork and artichokes are finishing their time on the grill. Mix together the aioli sauce with 1 tsp. of the remaining oil, 1 tsp. garlic, 1/4 cup mayo, and juice of 1/4 of the lemon.

Grilled Artichokes with Aioli Sauce 
4 baby or small artichokes
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 tsp. minced garlic, (about 4 cloves)
3/4 lemon, juice only, about 3 Tbsp.
1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise

EAT!

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*The Scramble is a meal planning service to which you can subscribe here. For a fantastic price you will receive 5 weekly meals which means 5 recipes (main course plus a side dish), complete grocery list, the ability to tweak the number of people you are making for, and full nutrition facts. PLUS tips as to how best to PREP your meal beforehand, add a punch of FLAVOR, and how to SLOW COOK almost every recipe if you’re especially slammed that night. This wonderful service really does live up to it’s name. You can come home at 6 p.m. and be sitting down to a DELICIOUS, HEALTHY, HOME COOKED meal by 6:30 p.m. most nights.

White Eyelet

| Megan

DSC_0057 DSC_0059 DSC_0070 DSC_0078 The wind was not cooperating for us when we took these photos. C’est la Vie. While the wind isn’t cooperating, this eyelet is working out well. Summer is almost upon us and that means (for me) white dresses. Or in fashion realms the LWD– little white dress. White and more white, please. I hope your Tuesday gives you a reason to wear white– easy, breezy, summer perfect.

XX, Megan DSC_0075 DSC_0062

Dress: J.Crew (last season, similar, save!), Bag: Target (similar), Sunglasses: Ray-Ban Wayfarer, Sandals: J.Crew (similar, splurge, save), Necklace: Gift, Earrings: Gift

Mondays in May: Get Moving!

| Megan

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One part of my life that I haven’t touched on a lot here on the blog is my love of a good workout. I have wanted to do another set of content specific posts since we wrapped up the White Shirt Files in February. So I am dubbing all Monday posts this May GET MOVING MONDAYS!

I go through a workout doldrum about this time every year. For me, I don’t struggle to go to workout or eat right during the winter months. I don’t have a hard time eating a balanced diet during the major food Holidays of November and December. Instead, I feel as though I can steam through Thanksgiving, eat a delicious meal and stay on the clean eating wagon. I can eat a sweet here or there over Christmas, and still maintain a healthy weight and good attitude about hitting the gym.

For me the problem actually occurs AFTER the huge “return to the gym” movement of New Year’s Resolutioners in January. Around the beginning of February I am often so over winter. I’m tired of the darkness, the cold, and dragging myself out in said frigid conditions to get a good workout in (yes, even if this is only to jump in the car and head to the gym!).

I start to want to eat everything in sight! I don’t lean one way or the other in the carb vs. protein struggle. While I really like breads and pastas, I eat them in moderation and enjoy normal portions without trouble. But come February/March I start to want to pound a loaf of bread by myself in one sitting. I look at salads with disdain. I don’t do a great job of making sure I am adding veggies and fruits to every meal.

My morning breakfast of two eggs with salsa and wilted spinach devolves into two or three pieces of toast with bread and chocolate milk. Ask my trainer, she’s already informed me MANY times that this sort of meal is not only high in carbohydrates, it’s also super nutrient deficient.

Right about NOW I need a reset. I need a reason to propel me back to the gym. It is usually the start of Spring and the promise of a new outdoor cycling season that get me amped up to return to a more regular workout schedule.

I look to music, and enjoyable classes, and outdoor road rides with awesome friends to get me back into shape after my poor eating choices come end of winter.

The Fatboy Slim remix of the Beastie Boys song Body Movin’ (though one of the weirdest music videos EVER) always keeps me in the right mindset for a great workout!

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I have some major foot and ankle issues. I’m sure I’ll write about them at some point here. But for now I’ll share that where I used to be an avid runner. Taking my boys out for a run nearly EVERY DAY is now a thing of the past as I have had to shift gears in my 30s. Cycling, both indoor and outdoors has become my go-to cardio workout of choice.

Cycling is low impact, uses most of your major muscle groups, and is a great way to shape up.

Have you fallen into a workout rut? Are you trying to shake some winter weight that has been haunting your hips? Are you looking for more energy, better sleep patterns, and a transference of strength into everyday activities?

All I have to say to you is GET MOVING! It does not matter what mode or manner you choose. It does not matter if you are a walker, a runner, or a roller bladder. You do not need to devote inordinate amounts of time to each and every workout. But what you do need to do is get out there, get off of your proverbial couch, and get moving every. single. day.

Below is an example of an indoor cycling profile you can try in the gym, on the road, or in the comfort of your own home if you have a bike trainer or a stationary bike at home. Check it out and tell me what you think!

3 Minute Movers

Warm-up:

3 minute stretch

5 minute warm-up

3 minute pick-ups (30 seconds sprit, 30 second recovery, done 3 times)

Here comes the meat of the workout:

Pick a gear that mimics a flat on an outdoor cycling ride. (Just make sure that you aren’t free wheeling it, or have absolutely no gear on at all.

3 minute run on a flat. (Try to get a handle on a quick cadence. One that will keep your heart pumping and your legs moving.)

3 minute mid-hill climb. (Pick a medium gear on your bicycle. You can pretend that you are gaining elevation outside, just makes sure you don’t have too much gear here because your big hill comes next!)

3 minute HEAVY climb. (Pick a gear that feels almost like molasses. Your cadence will/should decrease dramatically here. You should feel as though you are pushing up a gnarly climb outside. Stay strong. Come in and out of the saddle as you see fit.)

3 minute pick-ups. (After your heavy hill, drop your gear back down to a flat. You should take a 30 second recovery. After 30 seconds, see if you can do a pick-up or a sprint for 30 seconds. Do 30 seconds on, 30 seconds recover 3 times.)

REPEAT!

You can repeat this 12 minute interval 2 or 3 times depending on the length of your workout.

Get out there and get your body movin’! Have a fabulous Monday!

XX, Megan

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