We Picked Our Own Florida Oranges :)

Showcase of Citrus

          A couple of weeks ago I read about a place where Staci and I could go pick our own Florida oranges.  The weather was nice enough today, so off we went.  I live in Kissimmee, so the trip there was 23 miles, approximately 45-minute drive.  Showcase of Citrus was very easy to find, and well worth the drive for an afternoon of fun.  If you are reading this, I must warn you this post is very picture heavy.  There were just so many things I wanted  to capture on film. 

          The farm was gorgeous, with a definite Florida feel.  There were quite a few activities to do there, more than we were expecting.  We started off exploring the store.  It is all covered, open air, and full of flavor.  Literally LOL the first part we entered had dozens of different types of hot sauces to sample, as well as a nice variety of honey to taste.  I wanted to try so many of the hot sauces but made the mistake of actually trying one.  Oh, my goodness was it HOT!!!  Thankfully the honey was right next to it to help soothe my poor singed taste buds. It was one and done for the hot sauces LOL.

          Off to the other half of the store which was full of BBQ sauces, jams, and salsas. It also had souvenirs, plus a juice bar.  This side of the store is where we got the bags to “mine” gemstones, feed the animals, and our bag to fill up with oranges.  The basic bag for mining was $8 which is what we chose.

          We also got a cup of carrots and cup of corn feed for the animals, they were $3 each.  I wish we had skipped the corn and just got double carrots.  We walked over to the animal area and no animals nearby.  There were a few chickens, but they were in a pen. There was no real way to get them the corn, but we tried. We really wanted to feed the horses the carrots, so we stated walking around the large pen where they were kept.

          It took a bit but finally the emu came over to us. It was funny to look at LOL it liked the corn.  You had to be quick with tossing the feed because it once nipped at Staci when she tried to just drop some. I guess the emu is the scout for the others because after that the small horses came over and ate the carrots. 

 

          We ran out of those too quickly.  We did not have any to offer the kangaroo who ventured over last.  Yep the farm had an emu and a kangaroo LOL.  The orange groves were right next to the animals so off we went to pick our fruit. 

          I made the mistake of letting the sales lady talk me into the $18 medium sized bag LOL It took forever to fill that thing up. I would have been happy with the $11 small size.  Now I have so many oranges I am going to have to learn how to make marmalade LOL.

          Once we had all our fruit picked it was time for me to explore the store. The ladies there were very nice, and they let you sample before buying, which was a good thing. I found out that while good, I did not like the sweet based salsas they offer.  I ended up getting the salsa Verde and the fire roasted salsa.  We also got a spicy sweet BBQ sauce and a vinegar-based BBQ sauce.  It tastes more like a Greek dressing to me. 

          As I mentioned before there were so many picture perfect spots there that I wanted to pose Staci in front of LOL she is not a fan though of taking pictures LOL.  She indulged me for a bit 😊 hence all these pictures.

 

Happy New Year 2019

      Happy New       (healthier) Year

          Day 2 of 2019 and so far, so good.   I worked New Year’s Eve and instead of going to sleep when I got home, I threw on my The Fitness Marshall workout and did low key aerobics for 30 minutes.  Yes, everything with me is low key these days LOL.  This morning I woke up and had every intention of doing nothing, but it was so nice outside I decided to take the puppy for a walk. 

           My brother knows I want to get healthier, so he gave me some advice.  Drink lots of teas and walk at least two miles a day. 

From Amazon

For my birthday he sent me this awesome tea tumbler.  It keeps tea hot for 12 hours, and I mean HOT.  Burned my tongue first time I used it.  It also will keep things ice cold for 24 hours.  Haven’t tested that part out since I drink it too fast. It is usually full of ice tea, which no longer has sugar in it, but Equal, thanks to baby brother LOL. 

today's walk

                    He also had me download Endomondo on my iPhone.  It keeps track of time and distances I walk.  Gives me a little map of the route I took.  This morning I used it for the first time and it said I walked 1.15 miles in 30 minutes 😊 burned 146 calories so that takes care of the coffee I am sipping on as I type LOL.  I was hoping it would have been a longer distance.  I walked all over my neighborhood.  Maybe next time instead of puppy I can take Staci and we can add in the distance to 7 Eleven as well.  She loves the Slurpees 😊 I need to find other places to just go walk that are easy to get to.  I adore walking at Epcot and YIPPEE I get to go back next week.  That walking good for distance and steps, but not for getting heart rate up. 

Allison, Caleb, and Haley aka The Booty Army

          

          This evening I get to finally do the live stream workout with The Fitness Marshall 😊 I am very excited about that.  I cancelled the Universal Yums subscription and bought a membership into The Booty Army LOL much healthier.  Going to try and see if I can get Staci to join me.  Before all of that I am off to Lowes and/or Home Depot.  I caught a bit of Spring Fever while walking and am in hunt of new foliage for the front yard. Not sure if I want flowers or greenery.  I am also wondering if I need to do anything to bring my backyard grass back to life, or if it just will turn green again. Is my first year to see if this happens LOL so now it is off to find better choices to make for the day, so that 2019 is my healthiest year yet 😊