Griffis Sculpture Park

I previously posted that we went to Rainbow Lake and visited the Griffis Sculpture Park. I thought I would provide some more information on it. Here is the link http://www.griffispark.org/. It was so awesome. You should all check it out and support it.

Erie County Fair

I can't believe it is Fair Time already. It seems that the summer has gone so fast. Chris and I headed to the fair on opening day (when it is only $2 admission and $2 parking thanks to Channel 2). We had the usual fair food (ice cream, ribbon fries, Mineo & Sapio sausage) and the best sandwich we ever ate: the pot roast melt from Eddie Ryan's Restaurant in Lancaster. It was delicious. We walked around (3.6 miles to be exact. Chris took the pedometer with us) and had a great time.



While at the fair, we went into the Fireman's Exhibit. Check out the antique fire trucks below.

Rainbow Lake

Life has been so busy lately. It is always so nice when you get to slow down. Last weekend we went with my parent to Rainbow Lake (Allegany Mountain Resort) in East Otto. Chris and I had been looking forward to it for weeks. My mom and dad had never been. We were staying in my in-laws park model home.















Saturday, we started out at the Griffis Sculpture Park in Ashford Hollow, NY. It was wonderful. We didn't hike far because mom just had knee surgery about 3 weeks ago. We stayed mostly on a small path in the woods. It was great. We would like to go back in mid-October when the leaves are changing.



This is mom standing next to a scorpion or something.




This one was in the woods and was one of my favorites.



This was another favorite of mine. It was a giant walking woman with ducks flying behind her.

After the sculpture park, Mom and I played candy bar bingo (you bring a candy bar for each board you want to play and they pay out in candy bars). I won 6 candy bars (it was a regular bingo). We went swimming and relaxed. It was great.

On Saturday night, after church, we went to the steak dinner in the Adult Lounge. The dinner was great. After that we went swimming and them back to the trailer for Wii. What a riot that is.



On the way back, we saw some beavers at the beaver dam in the park also. One of them was the size of a german shephard (ok, not really that big, but it was huge for a beaver).



That night, we had the best rainstorm ever. It was have rained for a good couple of hours with extreme lightening and thunder. It was the best.


Sunday, we had breakfast and headed to Salamanca to the Seneca Allegany Casino. Dad won big, but the rest of us just had fun.




Overall, it was a great weekend. I can't wait to do it again.

New bike seat

Well, I finally made it to Walmart to get a new bike seat. $15 later, I am riding in style. I is only a couple of inches bigger than my old seat, but way, way, way more padded. Chris installed it tonight.

The other night, we decided to go to Chris's gramma's house to get his old 10 speed. Well, it needed a little more rehab that we thought. We sanded the chrome for a while tonight, and I think it is time for a new bike. I am going to be checking Craigslist soon. Pictures of bikes will be posted soon.

Tried this tonight for dinner

We had this for dinner tonight.

Chinese Goulash
Posted on www.halfmysize.com

Serves - 6
Points - 3

1 lb. extra lean ground beef
1 med. onion, diced
1 lg. green pepper, diced
4 oz. can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
14 oz. can bean sprouts, drained
1 packet brown gravy mix
1 cup cold water
salt & pepper, to taste

Methods/steps:

In a large skillet, brown ground beef; add onions and green peppers, cook until tender. Season with salt & pepper. Stir in mushrooms. Add brown gravy mix and water, stirring well. Simmer over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, allowing mixture to thicken. Add bean sprouts and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve over hot rice, if desired.

Nutrition Information:151 cal., 6.3 g. fat, 2.2 g. fiber


REVIEW:

This was OK. I seemed like it was lacking something. It needed pizzazz. Chris suggested adding a little garlic next time. I think a little red pepper flake would add some zip. I was also thinking of adding some soy sauce or sesame oil. I will make it again with some renovations. We had it over rice, but it would be good with egg noodles.

The coolest thing since sliced bread

For those of you that don't know, I am on Weight Watchers (rather unsuccessfully of late). Anyway, the other day on the Weight Watchers website I was looking at some posts and someone mentioned Google Notebook. So I googled it. IT IS SO COOL. You have to sign up for a Google account and then you can make notebooks to post recipes, ideas, a novel, whatever (JUST REMEMBER TO SAVE). Then you can access it from any computer. I have started doing this for my recipes that I want to try. Saving paper and helping the world.



After discovering Google Notebook, I started surfing around the other Google options. They some really cool features. Picasa (photo publishing), Documents (you can upload your docs for easy access anywhere) and many, many other cool features. Check it out.

Bikes

About 2 weeks ago, I decided to get out the bike in my shed. It was my mom's bike and is like 20 years old. It is a cruiser. Note: I haven't ridden a bike in 15 years. Well, this was definitely an adventure. I decided I would just take a cruise around the block. I got out the bike and had Chris blow up the tires. I hopped on (ok, ok I actually got on really slowly) and started to get my balance to head down the driveway. Balance is something that I actually might need help with. I lost mine and ran into the neighbors house. After laughing, I recovered and headed down the driveway. I figured I would head out the driveway and cruise to the left and around the block. At the end of my driveway is a dip before hitting the street. Dips are problems for people who are balance challenged (like me). So I was actually trying to hit the end of the driveway and turn onto the street. NOT!!! I hit the sip and then the ground hit me. I completely tipped over and landed in my neighbor's grass. Apparently, that day was not a good day for my neighbor's house. Anyway, I got back up and on the bike and finally cruised around the block.

I really want to get a new bike, but I have decided that I have to prove to myself that I am going to ride it. So, I invested $15 in a new seat for the bike I have and for now, it will do. My goal is to ride (and get really good at balance) so that next summer I can bike the 4 miles one way to work in downtown. Lofty goal, I know. Right now I take the bus. I just see so many people biking, I want to be part of the revolution. I hope you all get on your bikes and join in. I will post more stories about bikes I am sure. TTYL.

P.S. I also bought a helmut last night for those worried about my head.

Hello and Welcome

Well, I finally started a blog. This will be where I ramble about cool things I am doing, places I am going and progress I am making. Check back often for some hilarious adventures and funny experiences (because I am like a funny story magnet). I will also list cool things I have found or done or cool places we have gone. See ya soon.