Friday, February 24, 2012

iGnite Your Life Now @ Bee Cave Central Park

Yesterday we headed to Bee Cave Central Park to see what iGnite was all about. Today we are sore, very sore...but inspired and ready to go back next week! We learned that iGnite is much more than JUST a work out- it is about women helping, supporting and inspiring other women to live their best life. It's a pretty cool concept and what we like best is that there is a variety of classes to choose from in different locations around Austin. They offer swimming, yoga, cross training, pilates, and more. Most classes are offered outdoors, which is a refreshing change of pace than working out in a gym. Of course, we were excited that they were offering the new cross training class here at Bee Cave since that is convenient for us after we drop off our kids at school. People just started joining the new Bee Cave class, so they are flexible on changing the time up a bit depending on what works for all of us ladies out in the Lakeway area. So, are you ready to come out and try it with us? We will be there again on Monday. You can even try it for free. They offer a 2 week trial (details are on their website.)

Ok, don't laugh at us! Here is a video of us and the iGnite ladies.



Filmed by our good friend and videographer Mitch Bergsma.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Snarky Skewers

I am excited to write not only my first blog post for Lake Travis Moms, but my first post ever!
Go easy on me people.

So here is my story...
I am a stay at home mom of a 5 yr old adorable, passionate, loving, rule-following little fascist. (totally kidding... sort of) She loves to 'help' me as much as she can in our every day routine. Well, I love to cook. I typically cook 5-6 days out of every week. For Christmas my best friend who I have known since I was 6 sent her this in the mail.



This is an adorable pink princess cookbook along with an apron and her very own cooking utensils. Monkey girl instantly loved it all. And of course, it made me cringe inside and silently curse my dear friend.

However, along with the cookbook she sent me this incredibly tacky and awesome wine glass!


Obviously, she was forgiven. Is it not the coolest?!

I made a deal with monkey and told her she could pick out one recipe for the week and we would add it to the grocery list, shop for ingredients, and make it together. Now let me tell you what a concession this was on my part. I am very particular about my menu and my grocery list. Mr. Man has not set foot in the grocery store since the dawn of time, or at least since I started staying home. (My time frames get confused.) Anyway, I have system. I make my menu, then list everything I need for my meals in order of grocery isle (because I am just that crazy). Then after dropping her off at preschool I set off to the grocery store. With all of that being said, you can see that I am fun and compromising mom. All of this for a princess book!
Now, I know most of you are not going to believe this, especially those of you who have seen my child throw down 2 cupcakes with out blinking an eye, but she looked through the book and actually chose to make the vegetable skewers.


So we set off to HEB and after a finding a car basket, a balloon with an attached lollipop, stickers from the cashier, and a buddy buck game we had all of our ingredients. Does anyone else find it crazy that our grocery stores are now like amusement parks for kids? We made it home she got out her apron, her utensils, and the recipe book. Surprisingly, once we got the hang of it we had a great time. I put some chicken in the oven to bake while we worked on the skewers. Each skewer had 2 mushrooms, 1/4 red and 1/4 yellow bell peppers, and 1/2 of zucchini. The best part... when we sat down to eat not only were they really tasty the girl ate the whole thing! She loved every bite and was so proud that she made dinner for me and daddy.

A couple of side notes or tips to help. I had all the vegetables cut up and washed for her to prevent any arguments over who gets to use the sharp knife. She also wanted to skewer all the vegetables herself so make sure you jump in before anyone pokes their eye out.

I know the food network and all those lovey dovey shows tell you 'cook with your kids it's a great experience!'. Well, I was more than skeptical and felt that she was totally encroaching on my territory but it turned out to be really great and very exciting that she will eat what she cooks!


Here is the recipe we made:

Veggie skewers
Ingredients:
1 yellow bell pepper & 1 red bell pepper seeded and cut into small chunks
1 zucchini sliced
1 1/2 cups of cleaned and halved button mushrooms
BBQ sauce (optional for dipping)

Marinade:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp ketchup
1 clove of garlic crushed
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
Salt and pepper

Instructions:
1. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a small bowl.
2. Place vegetables in a clean plastic food bag and pour marinade. Seal bag and turn over to coat all the vegetables. Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. Thread vegetable onto skewers alternating the different colors and vegetables.
4. Turn the broiler on high. Add the skewers and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning regularly, until vegetables soften.
5. Serve the skewers with BBQ sauce.

Stay tuned to Lake Travis Moms blog! It's fun, useful, and I might pop up here again with some more recipes and snarky attitude!

Friday, February 3, 2012

Flowers by Nancy, too!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
We love flowers by Donna
from Flowers by Nancy, too!



Meet Donna Parker- owner of Flowers by Nancy, too! She is our featured business owner for the romantic month of February.

So, Donna, why the name Flowers by Nancy, too?
Why not flowers by Donna?

Nancy is actually my mother in law. She is retired now. She owned Flowers by Nancy for years down near Oak Hill. I used to help her out with weddings and events on the weekends and when ever I had extra time. When I retired from 31 years of teaching, I began to run the business. We moved it to the Lakeway location in 1998, next door to our other family run business Austin Boats and Motors.

What makes running a business special in the Lakeway area?
The amount of community support is fantastic. The chamber really gets involved in supporting all of the local business owners. They are so wonderful! It is an exciting time here in Lakeway too with the opening of the new hospital which will really help our economic growth. Even with all the growth, the sense of local community continues to hold strong.

Wow. 31 years of teaching, operating businesses, and raising 5 kids, right?
Yes! And now I have 5 grandkids! (The joy in her voice speaks volumes here)


On the Flowers by Nancy, too website it says: Because we are family operated, when you choose us, you can expect to be treated more like a family member, rather than "just another customer." We think that really sums up what they are all about. And we think that is what Lakeway is all about too, families supporting other families!

Remember Flowers by Nancy, too! on Valentines Day or the other special occassions in your life. Their website is easy to navigate... and another major plus, there are no service fees like there would be if you went to FTD or other floral sites. AND if you order online there is free local delivery. What's not to love?!