Three Things Thursday

1. I Love Live Music

I've been trying to explore the Orlando music scene since I moved here. I think I have failed at this so far. I've seen the Greg Warren Band several times since I moved here and I've seen their alternate personality, Ambertone, too. I've also seen Micah and the Reason several times. Tonight I'm checking out a new-to-me band called Sheila & the Sound in downtown Orlando. And next weekend I'll be going to see a friend/coworkers band for the first time. Hopefully when Crystal returns to Florida I'll be heading out to see more bands. 

2. I've got a busy race schedule all of a sudden. 

I've already planned on registering for the Space Coast half marathon. And now I'm fundraising for Give Kids the World while I train for the WDW half marathon in January. And, of course, I plan on running next year's Princess Half Marathon and taking on the Glass Slipper Challenge by running the 10k the day before. I just need to find a 10k some time early next fall so that I can have a qualifying time for my Disney races. 

3. I'm going to the Florida Bloggers Conference. 

Yup. Registration opened yesterday and I gave in a signed up today. Looks like my over time from today just got gobbled up in fees. I'm pretty sure it will be worth it!

Grilled Tilapia Tacos

I made some delicious fish tacos the other day.  I'm always trying to find quick and easy dishes that I can throw together as soon as I get home from work.  This was by far one of the easiest and most delicious dishes I've ever made in 15 minutes or less.

Grilled Tilapia Tacos

3 Tilapia filets
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Celery salt
Black pepper
Cumin
Chili powder
Flour tortillas
Lettuce
Cheese
Sauce (in this case, we have some delicious Kraft Cucumber Ranch "everything" sauce)

1. Season both sides of the tilapia generously with the spices.
2. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium high and add tilapia.  Cook tilapia for approximately 3 minutes on each side.  Tilapia fillets are generally very thin and will cook up quickly.
3. Break up fillets and split up between tortillas.  Add lettuce, cheese, and sauce.  Enjoy!

How much more simple can you get than that?  I can't wait to make this again!

Greetings from the Treasure Coast!

Vero Beach

I decided to escape from Orlando to the coast for a few days.  I'm staying at Disney's Vero Beach Resort and have been relaxing and enjoying the views.  Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to give us some much-needed rain this week too.  I'm not too worried about it.  It cleared up enough this morning for me to go around and explore the resort.  I even grabbed us a yummy hummus platter from the pool bar as a snack.

Disney's Vero Beach Resort

We also went up to Sebastian to Mel Fisher's Treasures Museum.  Mel Fisher was a treasure hunter who found treasure just off the coast of Sebastian, Florida and also found one of the biggest treasures when his crew found the Atocha off the coast of Key West.  The treasures they found were amazing!  A lot of it is on display in a museum in Key West, but since there is still an operation in Sebastian too, they have a museum in this area too.  They do have some of the treasure for sale too.  As if I have that kind of money.  Hopefully we'll make it down to Key West soon so I can see the other museum.

Mel Fisher's Treasures Museum

Jewelry recovered from Atocha

Silver recover from Atocha

After visiting the museum, we headed back to the resort and grabbed lunch at Penny Hill Beach Emporium.  I got a sandwich called the Waist Watcher.  It was a tuna salad with cucumber, sprouts, lettuce, and oil and vinegar.  It was really good, but if I were to get it again, I may ask them to hold the oil and vinegar.  Since I haven't been sleeping very well lately, I laid down to take a nap.  I felt so much better after it!

Good Eats!

Luckily, the rain was still holding off after I got up from my nap and we decided to get up and go for a walk on the beach before grabbing dinner.  It was very windy, but I managed to get my feet wet and the water was nice and warm.  We walked for a while and collected some shells and even came across a coconut on the beach!

Fun on the beach!

After our walk, we got some pizza from Orchid Island Pizzeria.  Good pizza is hard to come by in Florida, especially for someone like me who grew up in the northeast with the best pizza outside of Naples, Italy.  I have to say that this was some of the best pizza I've ever had in Florida.  The only drawback was how much it cost.  A medium (14-inch) pizza, an order of garlic knots and a can of diet coke came to $22.  Wow!  It was good though.  Next time I'm here, I may consider just ordering a slice.

Tomorrow, I plan on getting up and heading out for a run before we head back to Orlando.  If I'm lucky, the rain will stay away long enough for me to get into the pool here and try out the awesome slide!

Have you guys seen this video that a couple got of a pod of killer whales who were "surfing" near their boat?  It is amazing!

Also, don't forget that I am raising money for Give Kids the World Village while I train for the 2014 WDW Half Marathon.  I've already raised $683 and I have until the end of the year to reach my goal of $3000.  I would love to surpass that and get even more for such a great organization.  If you are able to make a donation, you can donate right here.  Also, please share my fundraising page with your friends and family.  The more people know about this fundraising, the quicker I reach my goal!

Chuy's Mexican Food

A few weeks ago, we had a date night at a new-to-the-area Mexican Restaurant called Chuy's.  I had been driving passed it for weeks as it was being constructed and once it finally opened, I couldn't wait to get over and check it out.  I jumped at the chance to eat there when it was suggested.

Even though the restaurant has only been open for a short while, it has already become popular with the tourists in the area.  It is far enough into the tourist district that it is easy for visitors to get to but, it is also just far enough away from the center of it all to make locals feel like they are not venturing into the madness of the tourism area.  When we got there, the wait was about 30 minutes long so we decided to head over to the bar and get some drink until our table was ready. 

Chuy's bar

The bar area was pretty cool.  It even had salsa bar.  The design was awesome in the trunk of a car.  The salsa was a fresh salsa and it was a little bit too juicy for me, but it had a great flavor it to it.  We got a frozen margarita and a Corona.  I really enjoyed the margarita, but having had some of the specialty margaritas at the Cava del Tequilla, I find a traditional margarita somewhat boring.

Chuy's drink menu

 

Classic Frozen Margarita

Classic car salsa bar

Unlimited chips and salsa!

When we got our table I fell in love with the room we were put it.  The room reminded me of visiting Mexican restaurants in Arizona or New Mexico that were opened up in someone's garage.  There were old car pictures and hub caps all over the place.  Were it not for the large dining room on the other side of the wall, I would have really felt like I was back in Arizona.

Garage dining room

Main dining room

I had a hard time deciding what to order but we eventually settled on The Elvis Presley Memorial Combo and Chuy's Special.  Our waitress brought us some more chips and a different dip that wasn't available on the salsa bar.  It was a jalepeno ranch sauce and it was amazing!  I would go back just for that!  I also took some time to walk around and saw that they were making the tortillas fresh.  That made me incredibly excited about my meal.

Jalepeno ranch sauce

Making fresh tortillas

Fresh tortillas on the grill

Once our entrees came, I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of food that I had, so I had to make a conscious decision to eat no more than half of my entree and to take the rest home.  My entree (The Elvis) included a beef Tex-Mex enchilada, a cheese Ranchero enchilada, a chicken Tomatillo enchilada, and a homemade beef taco with crispy tortillas dipped in chile con queso (sorry, that description was taken almost word-for-word from their menu).  Everything was delicious!  My favorite was the chicken Tomatillo enchilada.  The Chuy's Special was a full platter of the chicken Tomatillo enchiladas.  I'll probably just get next time.

The Elvis Presley Memorial Combo

Elivs beef taco with crispy tortillas

Chuy's Special

I can't wait until the next time I can visit again.  As much as I want to have the Chuy's Special, I really hope to try many of the other things on the menu too.  I'm sure I'll give you a review of their other dishes as I try them.

Throwback Thursday

One of the few times that I got the Japan drummers along the course without having a blurry picture.  This is from Princess Half #2 in 2010.

Japan drummers at Ticket and Transportation Center

Running for a Cause

It's been a while since I ran with a charity group.  I did four seasons with Team in Training in 2010 and 2011.  The 2010 Walt Disney World Half Marathon, the 2010 Broad Street Run, the 2010 Philadelphia Rock n' Roll Half Marathon and 2010 Philadelphia Half Marathon, and the 2011 Walt Disney World Half Marathon.  I truly loved fundraising with Team in Training and the friends I made with TNT will last a lifetime.

Just last night, I decided to join the Give Kids the World Team for the 2014 WDW Half Marathon.  Give Kids the World is an amazing non-profit resort located in the central Florida area.  They fulfill the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.  They were founded in 1986 and have helped families from all over the world by bringing them to visit the place Where Dreams Come True.  For children who are used to hearing "No" due to their illness, they have a week of hearing "Yes".  Ice cream for breakfast?  You betcha!

This is a great facility that I have had the opportunity to visit in the past and I hope to spend some time there in the next few months and I'll be sure to share my experiences with you. 

If you have the opportunity and means to, I would love it if you can take a few minutes and visit my First Giving page to make a donation.  I would appreciate any support you can give to this cause!

Foiled

For the first time since I trained with Team in Training, I actually managed to get myself out of bed early enough to get a workout in before I had to get to work.  Apparently, my appartment complex had other plans.  I got up and dressed and made it all the way over to the gym only to find out that I couldn't get in.  Ugh.  And I was really looking forward to running too!

I was incredibly tempted to head back home and climb back into bed.  Instead, I decided to head home, pull out the dumbbells and do a round of Dumbbells, Smarts Arms and Legs for Days.  I'm glad I did it and I still hope to get home and go for a run after work.  We'll see if I can keep up my motivation. 



For dinner last night, I made Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops which came out amazing as always.  There may have been seconds involved too.  It was just that good.

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

4-5 pork chops
3/4 c. Italian style bread crumbs
1/3 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 egg (or 2 - I only had 1 left)
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

1. Mix the bread crumbs, cheese, garlic and onion powder and salt and pepper together on a shallow plate.

2. Beat egg in a separate bowl.

3. Heat olive oil in skillet on medium-high.

4. Dip pork chops one at a time in egg and then coat with bread crumb mixture.

5. Place pork chops in skillet one at a time, allowing the temperature of the skillet to return to medium-high before adding additional pork chops.  Cook until golden brown on first side, then flip over and cook on second side. 

Depending on the thickness of your pork chops, you may need to adjust the cooking time.  My chops were thin so it only took me about 6-8 minutes per side.  I'll be sure to get a picture the next time I make these.  They were just too good for me to wait to take a picture!