Things that make me Happy - April 27th Edition

Wow, what a week! I've had so many reasons to smile in the past seven days :D

Riding my New Full-Suspension Bike - This has been an immense source of happiness for me lately, just check out my previous blog posts ;) Not only did my wonderful boyfriend build me an awesome 'one of a kind' downhill bike, I now live 5 minutes away from an amazing mountain biking trail system.  Here are a few pictures of me looking happy after riding 'Fairlane' last night.

Celebrating Easter with a Treasure Hunt - I couldn't let Easter go by without having a hunt of some kind, so Luke got to go on a little 'Treasure' hunt when he got home on Sunday night.  I made some Easter themed hint cards and hid them strategically around the house along with some other goodies.  There was a gift bag full of useful, practical items at the end, but the real treasure was watching Luke on his journey to the prize, I was just as excited as he was :)

Luke with an armload of treasure

Red wrap bento

Contents: Corn bread muffin, cucumber slices, red grapes, carrots, hot turkey meat stick, and a california roll wrap (crab meat, cucumber, avocado and mayo)

Home-made Chips

I found this recipe for 'healthier' chips and finally had a chance to try it out last night. The final product was delicious and they were extremely easy to make!  I cut a few pita pockets into wedges, brushed them with some olive oil, sprinkled some garlic, salt and cheese on top and then popped them in the oven for 10 minutes. They tuned out very light and crispy, which is just what I wanted.

Bento with Fresh Pineapple

That's mine on top,  and Luke gets the bigger one on the bottom.

I've been making a lot of wrap bentos lately, I just love them.  They are very easy to put together without any bento accessories or supplies (which I am ordering as soon as I get a spare minute!)

Front Bento: Fresh pineapple, baby carrots, celery sticks and a california roll wrap
Back Bento: Same but with added cucumber slices

Outdoor fun from over the Weekend

After many months of full work weeks, we finally had a long weekend.  The best part was the endless amount of sunshine and blue skies, and temperatures that hovered around 18 degrees. I spent most of Friday working in our yard and enjoying every minute of it.

Circus is actually terrified of the horses, here he is checking them out wearily from the door way.  

This is the farthest Circus ventured from the house, as you can see he did not take his eyes off of the horses near by.  Poor little guy, its too bad he doesn't love the horses like we do!

New Bike + New Trail = One Amazing First Ride of the Season

After a 5 minute drive, we arrived at the Crawford trail system

After hiking for about half an hour, we reached the 'Teddy Bear Junction' Trail Head

'Teddy Bear Junction' has quite the collection of Teddy bears!

More Stuffies

Luke and a view

Hiking up for another half an hour or so

The summit

My sweet man

............

Getting excited to finally ride down!

Loving my new bike

All smiles - This area was absolutely gorgeous!!!

After my 3 hour virgin-ride of the season, I was completely exhausted ;)

The Transformation

Here is what the 'Transformation' Entailed:

-Swapped in 26" tire on the back instead of the 24" it came with

-Transferred Hayes nine brakes from my hard-tail onto my new bike

-5 coats of blue spray paint onto the frame and swing arm

-Used my sweet handle bar and grips from my hard tail

-Crank brothers pedals

-Rock Shox Boxxer (8" downhill fork)

-Removed, cleaned and re-greased all bolts and bearings

-New FSA Pig DH headset bearing

-New Snafu seat post and seat

My new bike!!!

Let me just start off by saying....I have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world!!!  Look at the amazing bike he created just for me!  I have included the 'before' photo just to do the transformation justice, Luke did an absolutely amazing job :)

After :)

Before :/

Easter Bouquet

I had the most wonderful surprise today... This beautiful bouquet of flowers was delivered to me at work!  All of my co-workers thought it was gorgeous, and I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day :)  Thanks Mom and Dad, you two are the best! I felt very special today, it was an awesome Easter/Homecoming gift and such a surprise... Love you!

Banana Roll-Up Bento

Contents: Today's bento consists of a banana and peanut butter wrap, a spicy turkey stick, laughing cow cheese triangle, pickles, red grapes, baby carrots and cucumber slices. I loved the variety of things to 'pick at' during my lunch break.