My expectations were pretty low for tonight’s hotel dinner. The menu read “stuffed peppers” which made me immediately think we’d be eating soggy peppers stuffed with sub-par rice.
I was right about the soggy peppers, but the stuffing was actually quite tasty!
I know it doesn’t look like much, but I promise it tasted better than it looks. The pepper was stuffed with ground beef and rice and topped with tomato sauce. I ate it up… except for he soggy pepper. (If you’re looking for a yummy stuffed pepper recipe, you may enjoy my version of chicken ‘n’ veggie stuffed peppers.)
The vegetables on my plate went untouched. The texture was off and they were basically flavorless. Pass.
Dinner also included perogis stuffed with potatoes and cheese and warm rolls.
I love perogis and also went back for more of those bad boys.
I ate one roll with dinner and grabbed another one to enjoy as we walked back to our room. I’m a sucker for warm, doughy bread.
The Cheerleader Who Never Was
After dinner Ryan said he wanted to get out of the hotel, so we drove about 15 minutes to a nearby park with a two-mile hiking trail and walked and talked.
There was a group of young cheerleaders practicing nearby and Ryan asked me whether or not I ever wanted to be a cheerleader.
I then told him the story of the one and only time I tried out for my high school’s cheerleading squad my freshman year. I remember being bored during the time we were supposed to be learning the routines and zoning out a bit and just following the steps of the girl in front of me.
Unfortunately during the tryouts themselves there was no girl in front of me to follow and I was completely lost. I freestyle danced as the other two girls trying out with me in my small group danced in unison.
And so ended my cheerleading “career.”
Ryan found this story quite hilarious and we started talking about all of the teams we wanted to be on but never quite made the cut. Ryan went to a small high school where there weren’t really tryouts for teams, so his stories were few and far between, but as we got to talking, I realized that nearly every sports team I tried out to be on, I didn’t make!
How depressing!
Basektball? No. Cheerleading? No.
Thank goodness for no-cut sports teams! 
Dessert
The other day Ryan went out to lunch with some of his coworkers and came home beaming, telling me he discovered a frozen yogurt shop in Ocala!
We swung by Mochi on the way home from the park.
Inside the place was a madhouse! The environment was almost stressful because there were so many people and crazy kids running around.
Plus, the flavors were not the best. They were nearly all fruity and I am a chocolate, peanut butter, white chocolate or mousse kind of girl.
There was one self-serve swirl of chocolate and dulce de leche flavors that were decent, so we filled up a cup to share.
I’m sure we’ll be back because neither of us can resist fro yo, but I sure hope our next experience is a bit better. I miss Orlando fro yo!!
It’s a little after 8:15 p.m. now and that means So You Think You Can Dance is on. Time for me to watch these dancers rub their flexibility and rhythm in my non-cheerleading face.
Question of the Evening
- Did you ever try out for something and not make the cut?
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Haha! Sounds like my cheerleading try-outs! I didn’t make field hockey, softball, or basketball either. I think I picked up running because the winter track team and cross country teams didn’t have cuts. LOL
exactly why i became a diver… and a water polo player! 😀
Um yea I never made the cut for anything. Cause I didn’t want to subject my price to even bothering trying out. Luckily for me I accepted that i am not sporty in the least when I was about 10. Oh well I guess I was on my grammar school softball team, but they accepted everyone and I got two black eyes in like 10 games….
haha I went to one day of cheerleading tryouts and then left early – I knew it wasn’t for me!!
I’m Not a fan of fruity flavors either! I stopped by a tangysweet in DC today And all the flavors were fruity except one chocolate, nd it was not impressive.
I played sports in middle school (volleyball and basketball) but that was very short-lived. I soon discovered team sports weren’t for me and discovered theatre! I spy an iced animal cracker in your froyo and now I want them. Bad. Can’t wait for So You Think You Can Dance on the west coast!
I wanted to be a jock so badly in grade school to impress my dad, so I tried out for every single sport. The problem was I have absolutely no coordination whatsoever, so I never made any teams. I was picked to be manager for the softball team though, after they saw how hard I tried to be on ANY TEAM AT ALL. I got a jersey and got to be in the team picture in the yearbook, so it all worked out I guess. 🙂
I have never really tried out for sports. I did Track and Field, and XC so i never had to try out! I’m a sucker for the creamy yogurts, fruity just doesn’t cut it for me.
I was a jock in high school. I played field hockey (leading scorer!), indoor and outdoor track. Ahhh, I wish I had that kind of energy again. Im only 30 but teen years were the best!!
I’m obsessed with perogies. SO. GOOD.
I was cut from the only team I ever tried out for that actually made cuts haha. Failsauce. Like you said: thank goodness for no-cut teams! I was the B-team queen in middle school 😛
SYTYCD always makes me want to be more flexible than I am. They all make it look so easy that it gives me the false impression that what they’re doing actually *is* easy, so then I start to think that I’m that talented…falso. Not even close. Haha. Oh well.
that’s hilarious – I didn’t make my cheerleading squad either. I remember I was DEVASTATED at the time. I ended up doing the dance team which I loved so I guess it was all worth it. If only I’d kept up with dancing…maybe I’d be like Melanie Moore on SYTYCD (haha yeah right, was never that good) – she went to high school with my younger sister, how amazing is she?!
melanie is amazing! she has the most genuine smile.
Isn’t she?? She’s just as wonderful in real life as she is on the show…although I’ve never met her, but my sister says she is – I believe her 🙂 All of the dancers are amazing this season!
yes vote for her she is amazing and went to my high school. She is so deserving.
small world…we went to the same high school 🙂
Volleyball in the 10th grade. I was pretty disappointed…I loved it. But friends of mine that made the team ended up hating the coach’s style of doing things, so I ended up alright with it 😉
coaches really can make or break a team.
My “didn’t make the cut” experience was dance. Looking back 12 years later, I’m actually glad I didn’t make it. The coach was a miserable person and it was just a bad vibe 🙁
I actually have the opposite story, I was really good at high school tennis, so I never had to tryout and I was #1 for 4 years, but I kinda felt bad for the people that did try out.
It’s ok, though because I stopped playing in college due to an injury!
I don’t know how, but somehow I made the cut for cheerleading all four years of high school. Most people probably wouldn’t guess it either. 🙂
I wanted to be on our dance team, but I was semi lacking in true dance skills. They lost me at choreograph your own dance for tryouts.
I was also on tennis for two years in high school, but it became too competitive and I ended up dropping.
Girl, you have to try watermelon froyo, if they have it. I’m telling you…it’s life changing.
Perogis are my favorite! I think I could eat them everyday.
I had a terrifying experience at cheer camp once so I never did the whole cheerleading thing–on the first day of camp, I was expected to do a back handspring (at the age of 8 and with no prior experience!!). I cried and never went back.
haha that’s one of the things I loooove about Track and xcountry!! Just do your best 😀
I played basketball my freshman year (the no-cuts team!) but then tried out again the following year and didn’t make it. I was bummed for about 5 minutes and then realized that I didn’t really like basketball anyway!
There’s a couple Mochis in Orlando, and hopefully the Ocala one is like ours where the flavors change pretty frequently. They might even change daily. So hopefully you’ll get your sweet flavors!
That’s such a funny story about cheerleading! I tried out for volleyball in 7th grade and didn’t make it. Sad story.
I tried out for my high school’s plays so many times and never got a proper role. Everything backstage, yes, but never on stage. Oh well!
I hope the fro-yo scene sorts itself out…it’s definitely too delicious to NOT have in your life. Good luck 😉
When I was a freshman in high school, I really wanted to be in the ensemble for my school’s musical because I was a dancer. I really have no singing abilities, but struggled through the audition just so I could get a dancing part. I learned all of the songs we were supposed to sing, but before the show opened, the director pulled me aside and asked me to lip synch instead of sing out loud!!! I was embarrassed to find out you could hear my awful screeching over the really nice voices of my fellow cast mates! Although I personally wasn’t cut, my singing voice definitely was!
My friend asked me to try out for cheerleading my freshman year of HS and I made it and she didn’t 🙁 I ended up cheering all 4 years of school!
I’ve noticed your hotel meals seem to be lacking in veggies/fruit, do you find yourself missing them much? Can’t blame you for not wanting soggy/tasteless food 🙁
i knoooow. isn’t it awful!? i have fruit in our room that i snack on, but i definitely miss veggies in my life! i bought some two days ago though (like red peppers, snow peas, arugula, carrots, etc.) and hope to eat those at lunchtime and throughout the day as well.
I tried out for the “Step” Team (basically a hip-hop dance team) in high school, and didn’t make it. Looking back, I’m sure I looked like a mess trying to dance like that. After that, I just stuck to my dance classes at the studio :).
I applied for an organ (like playing the organ at churches and events) scholarship once…did not get in…WOW, while typing this I feel very lame. 🙂
“Living” in a hotel really puts into perspective how lucky we are to be blessed with good food, a kitchen (well, SOON for you!) and overall options. Just kinda made me think how we take food for granted – although your veggies and soggy pepper may not have been the best, at least they were somethin’ 😉
Better luck with breakfast, eh? Haha 🙂
Enjoy your night and froyo!!
My best friend and I did gymnastics growing up and always said we’d love to be cheerleaders (we played volleyball though so we couldn’t). In the end I’m happy that things went the way they did I think!
I want that FroYo!
I didn’t make cheerleading either. But I was 7 and I had other opportunities. Instead I got fat and became a programmer. It’s cool, I’m a fit programmer now, lol.
I was a cheerleader in high school. But the first time I tried out was actually in middle school … and that time, I didn’t make the cut. But if at first you don’t succeed … well, you know the rest. 😛
mm despite how crazy the froyo trip sounds, this still looks yummy!
I love your cheerleading tryout story! ahh, high school. so many memories, so many embarrassing moments 🙂
That’s so funny about your cheerleading tryouts.. I never was one, but I always wish I had been because the outfits were so cute! My younger sister is on her high school’s squad and I love going to watch her compete. Just curious, did you go to high school in St Pete?
That’s funny. I tried out for the cheerleading team in 6th grade and didn’t make it. Never tried out again… 😛
I’m right there with you on my froyo faves being peanut butter, chocolate, etc. over the fruit flavors. Although coconut with strawberries, kiwi, and mangos is quite refreshing when it’s a warm day! 🙂
Fortunately, I am pretty athletic, so I made every team that I tried out for in school. But…for some reason, in college at UGA, I decided I would try out for the dance team (never, ever having been a true dancer before) and shockingly (not) did not make the cut. 🙂 A little humility is good for all of us!
Volleyball in middle school 🙁 I also wouldn’t have made varsity soccer in eleventh grade so I gave it up and decided swimming would be my only sport. I’m far more competitive with myself than others so I ended up really enjoying swimming because I could focus on just my times. It’s about being ‘your’ best right?
Like Ryan, I went to a small school so was on every team I tried out for. Unfortunetely, I wasn’t as lucky when it came to trying out for the choir. All my friends were trying out, so I did too. They asked me to sing the Star Spangled Banner (it’s a tough song to sing!). I did make the choir, but later the choir director’s daughter said that I only made it because I was friends with one of the other girls and my voice was “horrible.” I quit the next day and to this day still can not bear to sing in front of anyone except my four year old stepson.
I bet you would’ve made the “prettiest girl” team! ok, that was gay.
the only thing I tried out for was cheerleading and I made it. I was a gymnast for 10 years, of course I did. however, you didnt miss much…I hated it!
oh and i bet you were one of the cheerleaders who could tumble! they were my favorites. i love the flips and handsprings, etc.
I love pierogies! With a Polish dad and growing up on those dough pockets, you can imagine how many I can consume in one sitting. I even have made them from scratch (so time consuming, but so worth it!)
One of my many quirks is that I’m overly ambitious! I like a lot of things and I try out for a lot of things. I haven’t had too many major rejections, but a few. Turns out most of them ended up being for the better, so I’m grateful for being rejected!
I love those frosting covered animal cookies! I haven’t eaten one in years and definitely have not seen any at a fro-yo shop! Oh, I may have found my weekend cheat eat!
I was one of about 4 students cut from my fourth grade choir 🙁 Doesn’t stop me from singin’ in the shower or car though!
I got “cut” from chorus in 2ND GRADE if that counts. Can you believe they even did that to 2nd graders!?
LOL that is awful!
I was a cheerleader since 5th grade up until my senior year of high school 🙂 I loved it and had such a strong passion for it. Freshman year I made JV with a bunch of girls who needless to say didn’t know squat and neither did some girls on varsity. I was so disappointed..I still to this day don’t understand why I didn’t make it, but I’m glad I did because I realized HS cheer just truly was NOT my thing. I’m all about that competition cheer 🙂
Our Mochi has a regular flavor (forgot the name), but it’s like a tart cheesecakey flavor. Very good base for the toppings. I go there with my girls sometimes and they always laugh when it comes time to weigh our cups cause mine is always the heaviest. That might explain my summer weight gain :-/. And being incredibly uncorrdinated and completely unathletic and with zero musical ability, I never tried out for anything in school. As an adult I love individual activities…running, yoga, weights, anything where you are competing against yourself…no tryouts needed ;-).
I feel ya on the fro yo!! The one here is totally not up to mark to what we get in London but I just deal with it…because I’m a trooper like that ;)!
OMG, I can’t honestly believe that you had perogis. When I was in Poland on exchange, I ate them very often. But here in Germany, they are nowhere to be found….Poor me 🙂