Black Sheep Dancing

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Category Archives: Parks


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Sunday, Sunday

It was another lovely Sunday. Not 80 degrees lovely, but it was sunny and warm enough to go outside without a down coat on, so I’ll check that one on side #WINNING!

It was warm enough to put my little seeds outside to get some full-on sun while in the safety of my pseudo-green house. (A flat with a clear lid on it) Look, my first attempt at growing from seed and they’re growing! I hope they make it to planting!

CBear, Munchkin and I then went to a local metro park to enjoy the nice weather. I have always been very lucky to live near fantastic parks. It is a great way to stay active outside and enjoy the weather, and best of all – it’s free! Not only free, but they have lots of great programs you can take advantage of too! The trees were in bloom, and plants are starting to sprout up everywhere. Summer might get here after all!

We ended with a trip to Skyline Chili. Not my choice, but it was pleasant. Not a large selection for a couple of vegetarians, but the fries were good and the service was great. And it was fun seeing grown adults wear bibs.

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Get Your Groupon!

Groupon is fast becoming my new favorite website. Have you joined yet? Awesome coupons that are usually about half off the regular price. Today’s deal?$15 for five-visit punch card to indoor open-play area at SuperGames. It’s winter. We’re all looking for ways the kiddos can burn all that energy, and this couldn’t come at a better time!

 

Other favorites? 2-for-1 deals on movies, admission tickets to festivals, half off of food, even on spa services. It makes those guilty pleasures a little easier on the budget. So go ahead and plan date night – you can afford it now!

 

So go ahead, join today! (and let them know I referred you!)

 

P.S. They ARE available in most cities including Tallahassee!


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Went outside…again!

I know, it’s crazy. I decided to brave the cold … again! Last night German Village had their Christmas festivities. Because I wasn’t sure what to expect and by that I mean I didn’t want to hear whining about how cold it was I left the munchkin at home and headed out with a friend.

 

Our first stop was Thurman’s. Thurman’s is a local burger joint that has been on lots of television shows including the Travel Channel. Obviously, this was not the vegetarian’s choice, but they had what I craved – fried food. Mmmmmmm. Hey, sometimes you need a little cholesterol.

 

More about Thurman’s

Want to see the episode of Man Vs. Food? Check it out:

Well, there was a 30 minute wait, so while we were waiting we decided to go see some of the pretty Christmas lights around German Village. Lots of decorations and the society had lined the streets and Schiller Park with luminaries.

How gorgeous! How festive! HOW COLD!!!!! I was quite happy to head back to the restaurant for dinner. The place is a visual overload. Stuff is everywhere and looks like it has been there forever. You certainly do not want for things to look at. I got the veggie sub, which was gigantic, and onion straws. It was delicious. My companion for the evening got the Thurman burger. Yes, that huge pile of stuff. It looked pretty gross to me, but ya know, I don’t eat meat. In the end I had to take half of my sandwich home.

 

While it was fun, the 30 minutes running around was plenty for both of us, so we opted driving around the rest of the time, rolling down the window so we could hear the brass band playing. Boy, was I happy I wasn’t out there playing! It actually reminded me of a Christmas when I was in high school, our brass quintet decided to give a concert on Christmas Eve in the gazebo in the town’s square. My lips froze to my mouthpiece. Never again.


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Baby, it’s cooooooooold outside!`

Back in April when I moved home to Ohio after living in Florida, I was so excited to be near my family and around people who say “pop” and and play games like “euchre”. However, as we progress further into winter, I seem to be longing for those warm, sunny (okay, excruciatingly hot) days.

 

Last week we woke up to this:

Yes, snow. The munchkin was jumping up and down and screaming about how excited he was. As I looked outside I said, “Ugh”, as my little guy said, “Awesome!”.

 

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a good snow at Christmas. Looking out the window is so pretty, and the lights seem to sparkle more in the white blanket of snow. And them I’m over it.

 

Well, it was about 30 degrees today, but we had been trapped inside all day and we were both going bonkers from being inside so we headed on out to Millstone Creek Park to brave the cold. Well, that is after running tights, jeans, tall boots, two pairs of socks, long sleeve shirt, wool sweater, fleece pull over, winter coat, scarf, gloves, and a horribly tacky hat that is nice and warm.

Other than it being SUPER cold, it was an awesome park. There are all kinds of slides and things to climb that are different than your average playground, and I love that squishy base that makes it soft in case they fall off. There is a nature area where, in the summer, the kids can explore the creek and swamp up close. They even have xylophones and chimes to play! Of course it would probably be more fun when it is a bit warmer when the nature areas are open and other kids are there, but we had a great time. It was worth the drive.


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Mommy’s taking us to the zoo tomorrow

Does anyone else love that song? We belted it out the whole day before in exciting anticipation of our Columbus Zoo visit. Zoos are great because they offer a full day of entertainment and allow visitors to see animals and hopefully people will take that knowledge to lessen their impact on the earth. I know we learned a whole lot while there! (And the kiddo ran himself silly and slept like a log!)

It was an awesome day to be outside and the animals seemed just excited for a lovely day. Can’t wait until our next visit!

And just in case you don’t know the song


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Metro Parks and Muffins

It was another lovely weekend in Cap City. We decided to forgo the couple of festivals this weekend and have a more laid back time. Saturday was started off like most weekends – with a big cup of coffee. And not just any coffee, whole bean coffee from Stauf’s. I’ll admit it, I’m a coffee snob.

Coffee from Stauf's

After that it was a fun day at Sharon Woods Metro Park. We are slowly working our way through all the parks, which has been a lot of fun. Sharon Woods was no exception. The trails were very pretty and the playground equipment was great.

Watching Geese

Best of all it was close to shopping, so we got a little retail therapy in on the way home. The munchkin got his Halloween costume and has not taken it off since. He put it on as soon as we got home, slept in it, wore it today, and is still in it. Hopefully, I can peel it off before school tomorrow.When someone commented how he looked like Batman he replied, “I’m not dressed LIKE Batman, I AM Batman.”

Sunday I was itching to bake again. I made up a vegetarian breakfast bake. Yum!

Breakfast bake

Good Morning Grandview Breakfast Bake

Good Morning Grandview Breakfast Bake:

Ingredients:

1 cup tater tots
5 eggs
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 bag veggie ground beef crumbules (I used Boca)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Gouda cheese
salt, pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 pan and cover bottom with a single layer of tater tots and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, wisk eggs as set aside.
  3. In a skillet on medium heat the oil and then cook the garlic until slightly brown. Add in onion and burger crumbles until well heated.
  4. Add onion mixture to eggs. Stir in shredded cheese and season to taste. Carefully spread in 9×9 pan on top of layer of tater tots.
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until eggs are cooked and top is slightly browned. Garnish as desired.

And because I can’t go a week without baking some sort of muffin, I found the Empire State Muffins on my favorite recipe site, Allrecipes.

Empire State Muffins

Empire State Muffins:

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded tart apples
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Directions:

In a large mixing bowl, combine apples and sugar. Gently fold in cranberries, carrots and nuts. Combine dry ingredients; add to mixing bowl. Mix well to moisten dry ingredients. Combine eggs and oil; stir into apple mixture. Fill 18 greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before removing from tins.

I followed the recipe exactly except I used dried cranberries instead of fresh or frozen since that is what I had on hand. They were very moist and I love that the munchkin is eating some veggies!