Thanks to my sister in law I really picked up reading books this year. As most people do I read a whole lot of the internet content and as most programmers do I tends to google solutions to my problems so I learn a fair bit from sites like Stack Overflow. This year though I broke that loop and read read books. I know, crazy right? Here’s the list books I read (in the order I read them) and my synopsis of each. ^_^ Read more
A TMTorn Adventure!
I had the pleasure of taking a 4 day mancation hosted by TMTorn Adventures. It was wildly educational and intense fun in a relaxed and super safe atmosphere. I learned effective combat techniques, shot lots of guns, rode ATVs & dirt bikes and enjoyed great food and drinks during the all inclusive getaway at their camp. Read more
Pro Tips for Road Trips
As Z and I are cruising along I-80 West on our way back from Wisconsin I figured I would share some of our tips and tricks for road tripping. We like to enjoy the trip just as much (if not more) than the destination. We don’t spend much money and we always have a great time!
What I Love about Denver
I have lived in and around Denver for a few years now and have really come to love it. Z and I intend on settling down here eventually after we explore some other places the world has to offer but before I moved away I figured a short post about what I love about Denver is in order.
Camping at Eleven Mile State Park
Camping at Eleven Mile State Park is awesome! There’s lots to do and see but be prepared for the wind! Here’s my takeaway of 11 mile State Park.
Camping at Lake Pueblo State Park
And the camping season begins! I’m excited to make an effort to visit as many of the Colorado state parks as we can this year. We started with Lake Pueblo State Park Camp Ground.
The Great Candy Run 2015
Laila coordinated and sponsored our Team Super Geeks for The Great Candy Run of 2015! We had a GREAT time! From left to right on the picture below our team are the adults in costume!
- Josh (Super Banana)
- Z (Boba Fett)
- Loli (was the mascott for the run, he wasn’t on our team persay. lol)
- Laila (Super Women)
- Crystal (Sugar Rush)
We even entered in the Costume contest and the banana suit won best adult costume! Our team was in the contest for best team costumes but we cheered louder for the kids in the same competition so they won. It was rated by loudness of cheers. lol. ^_^
A slideshow of the photos I took at the event: 
Cuban Burger
Paleo Cuban Burger
2015-08-13 23:54:11
Serves 6
This Paleo Cuban Burger recipe adapted by Z is nothing short of amazing. It's a wonderful blend of flavors that everyone in our family thoroughly enjoys.
Prep Time
15 min
Cook Time
30 min
Total Time
45 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
382g
Servings
6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 820
Calories from Fat 386
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 43g
66%
Saturated Fat 19g
94%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 17g
Cholesterol 187mg
62%
Sodium 417mg
17%
Total Carbohydrates 56g
19%
Dietary Fiber 5g
21%
Sugars 24g
Protein 56g
Vitamin A
41%
Vitamin C
55%
Calcium
39%
Iron
23%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
- 5 Green Plantains
- Coconut Oil
- 2 Pounds ground pork
- 3 Tablespoons onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried oregano
- 3 Teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 Lime - Juiced
- Shaved deli ham
- Dijon Mustard
- Dill Pickles (sliced)
- Swiss Cheese (optional)
For the buns
- Peel the plantains and slice into 2-inch-thick rounds.
- Boil plantain rounds until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Smash the plantains flat.
- In a skillet, melt a few tablespoons of coconut oil over medium-high heat.
- Fry flattened plantains until brown and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.
For the burgers
- Place all ingredients in a bowl.
- Use your hands to mix everything together thoroughly.
- Form the burgers roughly the same size as the plantain buns.
- Cook the burgers in the skillet, adding more oil if needed, about 5 minutes per side.
- (For a smoky and vibrant flavor, grill the patties over an open flame instead of in the skillet.)
- To assemble, place a bun on a plate, top with a burger patty, shaved deli ham, pickles, mustard and cap off with another plantain bun.
Adapted from Primal Cravings: Your favorite foods made paleo
Adapted from Primal Cravings: Your favorite foods made paleo
Interfacing Josh Houghtelin https://burnmytime.com/
ECO HOUSE: Practical Ideas for a Greener, Healthier Dwelling (Book Review)
ECO HOUSE: Practical ideas for a greener, healthier dwelling by Sergi Costa Duran.
I don’t have a real intimate knowledge of construction but I am interested in seeing through the construction of my own home and in doing so I want a very bio-friendly home so I picked up this book from the library and read it through.
It starts out with a lot of bright colored diagrams that identify the core elements of different eco-friendly home design elements such as bioclimatic design, roof gardens, geo-thermal installations, wind / solar energy systems, gray-water re-use and more. The diagrams are good enough to get an understanding of resources that come together to follow these eco-friendly designs and perhaps more useful to me was being able to absorb the new vocabulary which helps lead to more research and learning. They are however not detailed enough to completely understand and/or implement the diagrams.
ECO HOUSE then dives in to review some bio friendly building materials, general home heating and cooling practices (south facing facade, greenhouse effect in winter and shade from eaves in the summer), water use and re-use. Overall it does a good job of bringing me from knowing very little about bio-friendly homes to knowing a lot of very basic concepts, patterns materials and tools.
ECO HOUSE doesn’t at first make very much sense when I was reading it through from front to back but it’s filled with pictures (almost every paragraph of text in the book is explaining an adjacent photo) and tidbits of useful information that all comes together after a few times through the book.
In conclusion: If you’re brand new to eco-friendly home design and function or better yet, if you’re new to construction entirely and want to learn a lot of very basic information to get started understanding the inner workings and thought process behind eco-homes then ECO HOUSE: Practical Ideas for a Greener, Healthier Dwelling is worth checking out. It follows the title quite well, the book covers a lot of ‘practical ideas for a greener, healthier dwelling’.
