In a few days the Plant City Strawberry Festival is going to open. Lemme tell ya- I can't wait! The strawberries, the music, the fun, the livestock, and the shows. It's a blast.
I definitely appreciate all of these Strawberry Farmers that bust their hump to get these acres after acres of sweet, red berries picked and ready for market. They work hard. They have long hours and I would say a thankless job. So many people that I work with look at a couple of us Plant City-ites with really strange expressions when we praise the Farmers. It's not just strawberries. It's squash, tomatoes, onions, cantaloupes, blueberries, etc. The list goes on. We praise them because that's what has made this town our home.
They fight the weather- pray for rain and sunshine and some cold weather to sweeten the berries. They pray that the skies will open up when it's as dry as a cotton ball. They raise their kids on the land and have hired help that is as loyal as if they were blood relatives.
When the weather has been super cold here, I've awakened at 2- 3 am and peeked outside, checking on the fields myself. It's not like I'd be able to do anything but their livelihood is at stake and I want them to make it. I would see the plants covered in ice; trucks driving up and down and putting their spotlights on every square foot to make sure that every plant is covered in that protective layer.
I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know the farmer that works the land across the street. I'm shy in that manner. I've seen him plant crops year after year and seems to be doing fairly well. I'm proud for him.
I take pride in this town. For it's size makes me feel as though not only do I have a home here, it is an all encompassing home. It doesn't take long for people to recognize one another. Manners are still important. There are new businesses coming in but the smaller businesses are my favorite. I want them to make it. I really do.
Maybe I'll be fortunate enough to start a family here. We'll see.
Okay, enough of being all sappy.
I'm trying to share a 3 ingredient pie that is so easy it's almost criminal. Even D loved it and that's pretty impressive. He's never asked for anything with strawberries except Strawberry Shortcake- let's see if this may become a requested dessert!
Ashley's Chocolate Fudge Strawberry Pie:
Ingredients:
1 Chocolate Pie Crust (go ahead and cheat, ready made is just fine!)
1 Pint of strawberries
2 boxes of Chocolate Fudge Jell-o pudding
Next, wash the strawberries and trim the green parts off and trim them all to the same size (yeah, that's just slices of strawberries that you get to eat- enjoy!) Place the strawberries cut side down on the crust.
Next- prepare the pudding. I wanted mine super rich and used 3 cups of milk instead of the 4 cups. And just glop it on top of the strawberries and chill. It didn't take long at all. I was "testing" it within the hour. You know how it is- you have to make sure it's edible. And oh my, it was!
Garnish my tush- that little berry was mine! It didn't have a chance. Yummy!
Maybe next time the cool whip will make it on top before being scarfed. But really, it was so rich as it was that any more sweetness would have made it not what I was looking for.
Next up, traditional strawberry shortcake? Maybe, we'll see where this week leads. Today was nuts at work. I'm not promising anything.
Hugs,
A.
Hi everyone! I know, I go a month without a darn thing and then I get some time and go bananas on posting. Frustrating, I know, trust me- I irritate myself with it.
So I almost gave up on ever trying to jog. Seriously. I was ready to throw in the towel. Then I said "One more try." What a difference. I'm so happy I didn't give up.
See, I asked a coworker for help. He's someone that is approachable and easy to talk to. Great sense of humor. And people trust him.
He actually gave up one of his lunch breaks to help me out- how generous is that!? We met at the gym (I was waiting on him. See, if he has to wait on you, he makes you do pus ups, I'm not about to do push ups, I detest them.)
He first started out all about the right stretches. Surprise- I was doing that wrong. He got me to do stretches for the entire body. I still forget one every now and then again but I'm still working at it. I stretch my entire body- from head to toe. One tip? Go slow and easy- don't over stretch. Just stretch until you feel it and then hold it for a few seconds and slowly return to normal.
Next, we went outside. Yup, outside- no treadmill. A treadmill is doing the running for you. He said that running outside is like doing twice the distance of a treadmill. I'd say so!
My form was awful. He got me to ease into jogging. Basically, it's like you're walking fast. My stride is super short (short legs = short stride.)
What is your normal walking like? How far does your gait extend? For me, not far at all. So we were walking and when he said speed it up, I did what everyone else would do- my stride lengthened. He stopped me. Bad, Ashley. He told me that I should just turn over my footsteps more. Not lengthen my stride, just go- faster.
So I started going faster until I was jogging. He said that I should be able to talk a little bit. As I should have been able to but I was giving him one word answers. That's all I was able to get out of myself right then.
He also taught me a breathing technique- try breathing in and out of your nose. Harder than it seems, really. Or if I must, breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. I'm still getting the hang of it.
After jogging, stretch again. Same stretches or at least what is normally sore- my legs.
This past Saturday, February 23rd, I, Ashley was able to job for 2.5 minutes at a time. I jogged for a total of 10 minutes out of 30. I was smiling after doing all of that- I'm doing it! (This is when I was only able to do it for 1 minute at a time and was in pain.)
Hardy was right, "Listen to what your heart is telling you, not what your body is. Your heart is telling you that you want to keep going while your body is telling you that it hurts and to stop. The pain is temporary- listen to your heart."
I'm so glad I listened. I'm so proud of myself.
Thank you, Hardy,
A.
I hate cutting coupons. There I said it. Go ahead and beat me with a wet noodle. Rarely do I ever find one that I even need. My weekly purchases rarely change. (Plus I refuse to go buy more newspapers than I know what to do with and clip everything out and put it into a binder.) My time is more precious these days, thankyouverymuch.
Snotty? Yeah, I'll give you that much.
But wait- there's more. If you are anywhere in the Southeast and there is a Publix around you, starting March 15th (-ish, I think) all stores will take digital coupons. Yup- no clipping. How awesome!
I'm always at their site anyways refilling Rxs so it's a no-brainer to take them up on this.
Just go to Publix.com/coupons and sign up or sign in and start saving. All you need to remember is your phone number. You'll enter that into the pin pad and it'll do the rest for you.
Pretty nifty, huh? This little guy was too cute not to have his picture taken...
Yeah, I think so, too.
Hugs,
A.
P.S. Publix doesn't bribe or entice me in any way to do this kind of stuff. I do it on my own. In fact, I shop everywhere- Produce stands, Winn-Dixie, Sweetbay, Whole Foods. Everyone gets a few of my pesos.
