Well today I got to experience the wonder of Kennywood, not to be confused with Dollywood which is a whole different place…and not in Pittsburgh. Kennywood is kind of like a mini Disneyland. Kristen had promised her girls a trip sometime this summer (they close in the off season) but it requires two adults because of the girls different taste in rides, height requirements, etc. So I got to be the extra adult. I was pretty impressed with the park actually – well at least the rides. They had some pretty good roller coasters including an old wooden one where you actually come up out of your seat slightly on at least one of the hills.

Lots of spiny rides which Kaity loves but neither Kristen and I can tolerate. Fortunately she’s tall enough to ride them on her own.

The highlight of the trip…eating deep fried Oreos 🙂 I love my oreos and was intrigued. They were not what I had imagined – a crispier outside and the normal crunch inside. Instead it was a soft batter which then turned the oreo soft. So it was kind of like eating a chocolate chip cookie but Oreo flavored. And of course sprinkled with some powdered sugar. It was heavenly. Lunch was bacon and cheddar fries. (Yes, the diet pretty much went out the window yesterday.)

Then last night Kristen and I went out for dinner. It’s kind of our tradition to go out and eat a really nice meal on our visits. She’s got lots of experience working in the restaurant business and picks some great restaurants. Last night was no exception. We ate at Eleven. Warm medallion tomato appetizer (with cheese and mushrooms). I had the Elysian Fields Farm Lamb for dinner (sweet corn polenta,summer squash, tomatoes, oregano, vin cotto). It was incredible!!! Kristen had the tuna.

And of course you can’t pass up dessert. Especially when they have something called Chocolate-Pretzel Candy Bar (peanut butter-milk chocolate-pretzel ice cream, peanut brittle, chocolate-pretzel cookie). Because pretty much anytime you see the words peanut butter and chocolate in the same sentence you know it’s going to be good. And it was. The perfect combination of sweet and salty.

Also got to meet Kristen’s friend Erin and had a great time hanging out. My saving grace has been the time change. So staying up til 2 a.m. is really only like 11 p.m. AZ time. Right?

Thought I’d coin a new term there. What do you think? Momcation. I like it!

I’m off on my annual trip to see my BF Kristen in Pittsburgh. We try to see each other at least once a year, sometimes twice. Because she’s a single mom with 3 kids, she doesn’t get to come West very often but she and the kids came to Phx in March and we had a blast.

So I’ve got 5 days of girl fun in this crazy city filled with Steeler fans. I’m not sure what it is about the Steelers but their fans kind of transcend description.

I arrived last night in the middle of their first regular season game. There was a sea of black and gold at the airport. The airport restaurants were closed, gates down but TVs were on and small groups of airport employees were gathered around catching a few minutes of the game. We even got score updates on the plane from the pilot.

Today at the grocery store I got a chuckle over this:

Really?????

I cooked up an Ethiopian dinner for Kristen, her parents and the girls. It was fun to let them experience it. Tomorrow we’re off to Kennywood with the girls.

Just a quick update on my workout progress because I’m really excited about it. It’s been 10 days since I started tracking the foods I eat and working out (I did the Shred 8 of those 10 days) and I’ve lost 3.5 lbs.

Tonight I noticed a big difference in my stamina during the workout. There’s still a couple spots where I gotta take a break for a few seconds, but I’m encouraged.

Another new tool I found is the Calorie Count Recipe Analysis. On Monday I was making Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies for my co-workers and I was curious about their “damage”. Plugged in the recipe and I found out exactly how many calories they were (95), etc.

This way I know how many I can eat 🙂