New Year’s Day was a rainy one in Ocala.
But we managed to make the best of the dreary weather and ventured outside a few times!
Ryan and I spent the first half of the day running around town and finishing up some holiday exchanges and returns before grabbing lunch at Panera.
I selected the You-Pick-Two option and enjoyed a hot bowl of vegetable soup with a turkey and wheat berry salad.
It was delicious! I left feeling satisfied and not overly stuffed.
Once we arrived back home in the middle of the afternoon, we could tell Sadie was going crazy from spending so much time inside, so we decided to brave the rain and take her on a wet hike.
We covered three miles and stuck to the trails that were shaded by trees so we didn’t get too soaked. The rain only started really pouring for the last five minutes of our hike and we made sure to take advantage of the towels I packed in my car when we were done. The fluffy towels quickly became Sadie’s new best friend since she loves the attention that comes with us toweling her off and snuggling her to keep her warm and dry.
By the time we made it back home, it was time for dinner! We spent the rest of the evening lounging on the couch, streaming the UCF game off the internet since we don’t have TV at all anymore (WOOHOO Knights!!!!) and eating banana soft serve that I made by blending frozen bananas with a splash of coconut milk.
Oh so good!
After a day off work yesterday, I feel all messed up and I keep thinking today is Monday, not Thursday. Now it’s off to the gym to work and teach. Catch ya later!
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OOoh that soft serve looks great!
I feel like the entire city of Orlando is in shock right now after that game last night! Even the fountain at Lake Eola was lit up black and gold last night!
This makes me SO happy!!!!!!! 🙂
I LOVE that Lake Eola is black and gold! How wonderful! What a fantastic game. I don’t even watch football, but I was riveted last night. GO KNIGHTS!!!!!
That soft serve looks amazing! How many bananas and how much milk do you use to make 2 servings?
I’m really not sure. I had a sandwich-size Ziploc bag full of chunks of frozen banana and I used the entire bag plus maybe 1/4 cup of coconut milk? Just an estimate!
Ok, thanks! I’ll give it a try!
It’s the cold front that is coming through Florida woot woot!
It was hot here and muggy but we took the baby to the park and tried to enjoy the outdoors to the extent we didn’t melt.
All day yesterday I felt like it was Saturday and now I feel like I got forced into coming to work on a Sunday. Not good! 🙂
Hope you have a great day!
We had a rainy hike too. So glad we braved the weather because it was so peaceful out on the trails 🙂
Agreed! I love the sound of the rain in the woods. <3
I love my Hunter boots, they are so clutch this time of year
I am struggling remembering it is Thursday today!! I love that there is only one more day until the weekend, haha Your day sounds great, even in the rain you made the most of it.
oh man a banana soft serve sounds so good right now!
That’s funny, my brother’s dog hates being toweled off!
Really!? Ha! Sadie can’t get enough of it!
That soft serve looks great! I’ll have to try it. Our New Year’s was filled with lots of snow!
Yum. Banana soft serve sounds awesome!!!
I love that Panera does that! It was one the things that made me fall in love with it. And yum that soup looks like Salsa to me, and I love salsa a little too much haha :). My dog is the same way, she loves being towel dried, and she loves running away with the towel on her head haha.
Ooooh love bananna soft serve! I haven’t made it in awhile… you’re making me want some!!
These holiday weeks have me all mixed up too! I don’t think I’ve known what day of the week it is in about 2 weeks 🙂
Totally agree – I keep thinking today is Monday too!! Crazy week. 🙂
We have snow instead of rain! I don’t know which one I would rather – it is a blizzard here right now! We don’t have cable anymore either and watch everything online! It really helped to cut down on monthly expenses!
Hi Julie,
Do you know of any good Juice bars in or around the Ocala area? Just started juicing but I’m very busy and want to find options in case I don’t have time in the morning on occasion.
I love the juice at Earth Origins!
I kind of like random days off in the middle of the week, you go back feeling like a Monday and then before you know it it’s the weekend again! Glad miss Sadie got out on a nice hike even though it was raining.
Hunters make rainy days so much more fun. I have hot pink ones!
LOVE Hunter boots!! I wear mine all the time! Glad you guys took Sadie on a hike, I’m sure she appreciated being able to stretch her legs 🙂
Awesome inspiration taking a hike in the rain! I took my two furballs outside in the blizzard yesterday and after a few minutes they turned around and pulled me home!
Just curious – about how long did it take for your blender to get to that consistency? I’ve tried it once but ended up with chunky banana soup!
A while!!! I had to let it run for a couple of minutes.
I felt the same way when I woke up today… the good thing about it being Thursday vs Monday is that we only have 1 more day until the weekend! Happy New Year!
i’ve never made banana soft serve, but it seems to be all the rage! i must try it!
We don’t have cable or satellite anymore either!!! I would love to know more about how you are streaming. We are using apple TV and loving it but not getting any sporting events!!! Happy New Year!!!
Ryan somehow found a way to stream ESPN from the UK so we could watch the UCF game. I’m not sure how he did it, but he was VERY determined not to miss it!
That’s the salad I get at Panera, too! Isn’t it delicious? Love the wheatberry 🙂
I adore your hunter boots!!
And I wanna try this banana pudding ASAP!
Thanks,
Brooke
A rainy hike sounds peaceful. Lots of snow up here!
I am a Baylor alum, so last night’s game was not as great for us. 😉 haha
Love your scarf! Also, I received a Yonanas a few years back and almost used it to make some banana frozen yogurt last night as well. 🙂
That soft serve does look really good. I’ll have to try some myself.
LOVE your Hunter boots – I’m digging the green color. The nice thing about feeling like it’s a Monday, but ireally a Thursday is that the weekend is right around the corner! Woohoo!
It was rainy for us in Seattle too. But that’s nothing new! 😉 Sadie is such a goof!
I haven’t tried that salad from panera yet. I’ll have to give it a try!
Great Post! Our New Years was raining as well in Puerto Vallarta. We made the best of it by dancing in the rain to bring in the new year. “Fitness is not about being better than someone else…but it’s about being better than you used to be.” Happy New Year!
How is the no tv thing going? I dont know if I could do it, I am obsessed with Bravo! Haha
I honestly like it much better. I felt like we were watching mindless TV just because it was there. We have Netflix, so we still watch TV, but it’s more “purposeful” watching where we’ll sit down together to watch a movie or a show, if that makes sense. I DO miss Bravo though! 🙂
It is raining like crazy here on Van Isle, but I actually don’t hate it because I enjoy running in the rain. The only thing I don’t like is when my dog gets all wet and muddy.
I thought yesterday was Sunday all day! love the banana soft serve, yum!
I am near central Florida too, and I don’t mind the rain but I really wish we would get a cold snap! Being able to wear sweaters and boots for more than just one day would be a nice change.
awww, that sounds like such a pleasant day
All these day offs are messing my schedules, I’m totally lost on what day it is!
I love that you went hiking even though it’s all wet outside. My dog won’t go out at all when it’s raining, wish she acted like a princess in other occasions… And I can’t get my man out either, to tell you the truth ;D
Welcome to no TV world! We did not have the device itself for 3 years. We got one last year, it has 3 channels that we never watch, so we actually use it only as a big screen for the movies and games.
Your soft serve looks great! I tried to make it once, but I think it would be much better if I added some almond milk to it.
Yesterday felt like a Sunday big time… I’m so happy when I remember its Thursday not Monday too. Love banana soft serve= cheaper, faster and healthier than froyo! 🙂
Banana soft serve is the bomb!!! Haven’t had any since the summer…it’s been to chilly but now you’ve ignited a craving. We had lashing rain all day here yesterday as well…the even cancelled all the New Year’s Day swims because the sea was so rough.
I didn’t know you were a UCF fan. We can’t be friends today… just kidding, it was a great game. Glad you got to watch!
I used to have a couple pairs of Hunter boots until they all started to all apart 🙁 So I searched and searched for cute but effective rain boots and I fell in love with Le Chameau rain boots! They are a little more expensive, but they are way better quality and have lasted a lot longer than my Hunters!
that soft serve looks so delish!!
We don’t have a dog but my car loves getting does off with a big total when she’s all wet and comes back inside from the garden. I seriously think she is more dog than cat!
Your Panera combo is my favorite! I love that salad and I always get the garden veggie soup. I love the pesto (when they remember to put it on there!)
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.com
As I’ve been traveling for 6 months now while fitness training online. I am really digging hostels. I hadn’t stayed in them much in the first 5 months but have quite a bit in Guatemala and are starting to like them. The community and cheap price.