Hump Day Happies

Goooooood morning! How are you this morning? I feel awesome - albeit congested  but it's getting better! First things first, recap to last night's dinneroo. Also, another "Ask Me" answer at the end!

For The Lover and the boys, I made pork chops with apricot and tomato chutney. (my measurements are guesses!)

Ingredients:

• 2 - 3 pork chops
• 1 can diced/crushed tomatoes
• apricot preserves
• red pepper flakes
• thyme
• S&P

I started by heating some oil (a bit less than 1T) in a skillet. Then sprinke S&P on the pork. Place chops in skillet to brown until you get a nice, brown crust.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. To the skillet, add a can of crushed tomatoes. My favorite brand is Hunt's Fire Roasted w/ Garlic. :) For just two chops, I didn't use the whole can. I saved about 1/4 cup for part of my dinner.

Add apricot preserves, red pepper flakes and thyme to the skillet. Bring to medium heat (you need some boiling action but not too much). Stir mixture and scrape up bit of chop left in skillet. Reduce the mixture until it's a thick, chutney (or salsa-like) consistency. Top your chops with the chutney and bake for about 10 minutes.

It's always a hit at our house. For my dinneroo, I was craving breakfast! I made a simple baguette pizza topped with scrambled eggs, diced tomatoes and shredded cheddahhhh. I had both!

I am totally out of spinach. Boohoo. I didn't mind too much since I was stahving this morning. Luckily I had made Overnight Oats. I was SO ready to eat this beast when I got to work.

Overnight Oats were prepared with:

• 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 soy milk
• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal

Mix ingredients well and store in fridge overnight. The fun part is you can add anything your little heart desires to it! Mine were topped with 1T of shredded coconut, a sliced banana and a few hunks of almond cranberry vanilla clusters. Divine!!

On to the next question: "exactly how much weight do you think you've lost?"

I've lost between 40 - 50 pounds over the course of a 15 months-ish. Slow and steady, baby!

EEEEEK! I have a disgruntled employee coming to see me. Wish me luck! And a question for you: Do you get along with your neighbors? We have great neighbors. They are currently speculating on our sex life? Since we got bunk beds for the boys, they think we're trying for a girl now. That makes me laugh! And scares me a little bahahaha.

Dilemmas

Whew! It's pretty warm in the OK-Sizzle today! Currently 72 degrees (LOVE IT) but the wind is blowing at 25 mph. Killer.

So this morning both boys were in great moods. It makes for a wonderful day, I'm tellin' ya. The only glitch  was when Baby Boy planted his foot in his toxic diaper. Big Boy had a big laugh over that. It was pretty funny but gross.

Can you guess what I had for breakfast? Yep, a GM fixed the usual way. I know it's boring but it is really satisfying and holds me over for hours! Not only that but it takes almost no time to make and travels well. I do the the occasional green speck in my teeth but that's why I keep a toothbrush at work. Haha.

My run was a little earlier than usual today. I kept it indoors since the wind was a bit crazy and I wanted to last longer than a 1/4 mile before hacking. I did super well until the 2 mile mark. I thought I would be fancy and throw some speedwork in there and that was my downfall. I kept up the speedwork with a few breaks to cough catch my breath.  I got 4 miles in today and it was a nice and sweaty sesh!

Lunch is super simple and satisfying.

• apple & Swiss sammich
• cukes & tomato salad on the side

There is an oily shine to my bread because I nuked the cheese for a tad too long. Oops! I brought some grapes for dessert but they may have to be for a snack later.

Onto my dilemma: For you Blogger users, do you have issues with your pictures uploading correctly? Yesterday, I had so many issues! Not only that but on a daily basis, Blogger turns my pics sideways even when it was uploaded from my camera correctly.

I've also noticed that when I comment on Wordpress users' blogs, no issue. I've been told that when people try to comment on mine, they are prompted to sign up for a Google account. Annoying!

Anyhoo, what do you think? Blogger or Wordpress? I am tempted to switch! OK off to fix my hot mess of a face and hair before my meeting. Have a faboosh day!

A For Effort & An "Ask Me" Answer

It is an absolutely gorgeous day today. I was so pumped to lace up my shoes and hit the road for a 4 miler. However, not even 1/4 mile later, I'm huffing and puffing. W.T.H. I'm sure I looked awesome bent over and hacking in front of the office lol. I pounded out 2 miles - with a few lung rattling coughing breaks thrown in there - and headed back. Hopefully the doctor will call me back soon. Benadryl, you are not cutting it for me! It still felt great getting out and getting my run on though!

Pre-run snack were grapes and come chocolate mint tea.

For lunchie, I'm having leftovers. But VERY delish leftovers.

• tomato & lentil cous cous
• steamed broccoli
• chickpeas

Throw them together in a bowl. Easy, peasy. For dessert, I'm having Oikos Chocolate flavored yogurt. Jealous? LOL.

My first question (I broke it down into 3 parts): "i want to know your AHA moment!" 

I addressed my "aha" moment a bit in this post. I always knew what I should or shouldn't be doing to lose weight/get healthy. But I never truly felt ready to tackle my unhealthy habits until after I had Baby Boy in 2008. It's actually a little funny because most people assumed my new love of running was because I was a few months shy of turning 30. Like, maybe it was a mini mid-life crisis? But no matter who tells you that you need to get your act together or how much you tell yourself, you have to be completely READY to tackle those bad habits and form good ones. I realized after years of struggling with weight and poor body image that you CANNOT overhaul everything in one day. Past Retta had to learn in baby steps to tackle one thing at a time.

I started slowly by keeping a food journal. I was breastfeeding Baby Boy so I didn't want to do anything crazy and drastic by slashing calories. I kept it around 2000 for the day. I'll be honest. When I started the journal, I didn't care about the quality of food as long as I stayed at our around 2000 calories for the day. When I look back on it now, I realize how crazy I was. Not for keeping the journal - because it worked for me - but becasue of the mentality I had about food. I was ingesting crap but felt ok about it because of calorie count. (I'm totally rolling my eyes at Past Retta right now). I could definitely tell my crap intake was affecting my workouts so I slowly started phasing Crap out and bringing more unprocessed, whole foods in. I noticed how much better I felt physically and my endurance got better as well.

Another big lesson I had to learn was to FORGIVE myself. Instead of totally beating myself up because I had Swiss Rolls (by the way, Past Retta was obsessed with those!) for dinner, I had to tell myself, "You'll do better with the next meal. It's ok and let's move on." You certainly wouldn't tell your best friend, "Wow, you are a fat pig!" so why the hell would you tell yourself that? Once I moved past that, I started working on the "well, I just messed this meal up, might as well mess up the rest of the day and start tomorrow." Why wait for tomorrow? Start NOW. :0) If I keep putting it off, I won't do it.

Overall, it's a slow and steady process with a few hiccups along the road. I still "mess up" but Past Retta no longer drags me down. Present Retta is at a healthy and happy place and still continues to learn. Now, when I look in the mirror and feel negativity about something - say, my stretch marks - I tell Present Retta, "You carried two babies in your body. They are healthy, smart and the loves of our lives." Or if I'm feeling a little down about my pace time, I have to remind myself that just a little over a year ago, I couldn't even run for 30 seconds!

What plans you have after the marathon?

To be announced at a later date! But I may have something interesting teehee.

"When we're getting a tattoo. :)"


Baby Sis, you make me laugh. Let's plan on when the breastfeeding days are over for both Big Sis and me. And after your wedding.
 
Seriously, I could not have gotten this far without the support of my family and friends. That includes my work family as well! Big smooches to all!!
 
Did you have an "AHA!" moment? What or who inspired/inspires you?

I'm BACK!

GOOD MORNING! I am back, holla! Did you miss me? I definitely needed this break to relax the noggin. I also took the opportunity to really focus on the family and workity work. I must confess that I also took a break from training. That was very much needed as well. So, what else have I been up to in the mean time?

A little of this: (Vampire Academy & Vampire Beach = Mediocre)

A touch of that: (New Moon is the second DVD)

I totally loved Angelina Jolie in Wanted. James McAvoy = HOT for me. I loved him in Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway. Love, love, love. New Moon was good but not awesome.  The books are much better. But I still geeked out like a teenage girl, not going to lie to ya. The Lover knew I had been wanting to see New Moon so he went and rented it for me. That's true love! I wonder if he put on a trench coat and dark sunglasses first haha.

There was also a lot of organizing and cleaning going on. We cleared out Big Boy's room and set up the bunk bed. Big Boy totally loves it and we're still working on Baby Boy's transition. I know it's not a great pic but I couldn't back up enough to get the whole bed in.

Baby Boy's room is now the playroom. It's a work in progress and it's scary. So out of control. I'm not really sure how they still have so many toys since we got rid of tons during the garage sale.

And of course, I had to tackle this never-ending beast!

I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the blog and training again. Unfortunately, my allergies are still out of control. I looked it up on-line and the tree pollen is really high. Damn you, trees! And of course, damn you Oklahoma wind for blowing it all around! So I'm relying on my inhaler and Benadryl for now. I'll have to get my booty in to see the doctor though. Bendadryl makes me so sleepy and I don't think the boss will appreciate seeing me slumped over my desk with drool running out of  my mouth (since I can't breath out of my nose). Bahahaha!

I was really craving a good, ol' Green Monster today.

My GM contained:

• 2 handfuls of fresh spinach
• 1T shredded coconut
• 1 banana
• 1.25 cups soymilk
• 2 handfuls of ice

I missed my GMs! However, I am not a fan of soymilk. Soymilk is pretty big in most Asian cultures but I have never really liked the taste of it. It just tastes funky to me. I bought it because that's what Wal-Mart had available. More than likely I won't buy it again. It feels weird saying I don't like soymilk but I love tofu and other soy products.

What's your favorite milk? I prefer rice and almond milk! Yummers! Have a faboosh Monday, ya'll!

Holla!

Hey guys. What's up? Hope you're having a great day! So after some thought, I decided to take a blog break. I promise I'll be back SOON. I've gotten some wonderful questions and can't wait to answer them. Keep 'em coming! I'll still be tweeting in the mean time.

Holla at ya'll later! Check out the lovely ladies/gent on my Blogroll. They are amazing!

Writer's Block & "Ask Me"!

Afternoon, lovelies! Work is WERKing me! No joke. My brain hasn't been very focused today. I decided to get my run in, hoping I could clear my head. Before my run, I had a bowl of grapes (forgot to take a pic!) and 1/3 of an Amazing Grass bar.

Chocolate flavor? Woohoo! Love this flavor and a great pre-run snack.

So even though I had this faboosh view, I called it quits after 2.5 miles. I'm just glad I got some mileage in.

So pretty. It's so nice to see things getting green. But spring also means the return of this for me. Darn seasonal allergies!

My lunch was WEAK! I actually brought soup but the thought of eating soup after a hot run, PASS. So I had my sides and snack for lunch instead.

Carrots, hummus and pumpkin yogurt with a banana. To make pumpkin yogurt, you'll need:

• 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree

Mix and voila! I have used brown sugar or topped with granola for sweetness but I passed on that today in favor of the ripe banana. It was the perfect amount of sweet. I know this won't last and I'll be hungry very soon. I may turn orange from all the carrots and pumpkin in my diet recently!

I have a confession. I am totally suffering from writer's block! Do you have those moments? I even do it when I write work and personal emails.

So my question to you is, what would you like to see more of on RunRettaRun? More recipes? More training? The reason I started my bloggie was to inspire other mamas out there to get their fitness on, even though it's tough to balance work/life. After all, a happy mommy means a happy family. So you let me know what you'd like to see!

I also got inspired by Melissa's Q & A sesh on her blog. So I'm opening the floor up to questions about me, The Lover, the job, the boys, my weight loss, my "aha" moment . . . feel free to ask and I shall answer. Post the question in my comments section or email me at RunRettaRun AT yahoo DOT com.

I'm looking forward to hearing feedback. Thanks, peeps!!

Fist Bump

Gooooood morning to you! Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. I got slammed with work - it's our busy season. Then Baby Boy needed me once we got home. Poor dude. He's teething and it must be a doozy. He is not a happy camper. He's been waking up at night quite a bit and that is not like him at all.

Last night, The Lover and I were discussing the sleeping sitch. He and Big Boy have been sleeping in the living room and Baby Boy and I have been sleeping in our bedroom. Why? Well, we are waiting for our bunk beds to come in and are counting down the days to April 2nd! The sleeping situation is temporary and it sucks! Big Boy said he wanted to share his room so the boys will sleep in one room and Baby Boy's room will be the play room. Sounds like a great plan to us. :0) Before bed, we were saying how it felt like we are roomies right now so we did a fist bump before hitting the hay. We're dorks but it makes it fun.

Both boys were great this morning and I actually got to work earlier than usual. Shocking! For brekkie, I made Pumpkin Overnight Oats.

My oats contained:

• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 pumpkin puree
• cinnamon
• pumpkin pie spice
• 2T soy milk
• diced apple

So satisfying! And for you pumpkin lovers, it's like having pumpkin pie for breakfast. I know I keep saying that but I'm a Pumpkin Addict.

I'm looking foward to my run today. My new shoes feel great! OK, must get crackalackin'. Have a wonderful day!

Do you and your lover have quirky things/jokes that you do? Feel free to share! I love having inside jokes with The Lover.

Out With The Old

Morning, morning! How are you? I have mixed feelings ha. I have the Monday-morning-already blues but at the same time, I am feeling productive and ready to tackle the day. The weekend was great. We got a lot of family time in but honestly, we were cooped up in the house and I think we were all going a bit stir crazy. The snow really came down on Saturday! On Sunday, we were able to get out and about for a couple of hours and it was great. I finally got some new kicks! WHOOP!

My old Asics (that I love dearly):

They were definitely ready for retirement. These puppies served me well.

We hit up Academy yesterday for my shoes. I am a die hard Asics fan and have been forever. I've tried Nikes and they are torture on my feet. They love giving me blisters. New Balance are ok. Not a huge fan. But Asics, you are awesome. However, I tried different ones on yesterday and they just didn't feel right. I understand the importance of a great running shoe but I didn't want to break the bank. You know? For the heck of it, I tried on Sauconys and oh my! They felt wonderful! I even ran around the store with Asics on one foot and the Sauconys on the other. I decided to go with the Sauconys and hopefully they won't disappoint!


Oooh shiny . . .

I'm excited to take these girls for a whirl!

OK enough about my shoes lol. For breakfast, I went with a lovely Green Monster:

My GM contained:

• 2.5 cups spinach
• 1 banana
• 1 cup light vanilla soymilk
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 handfuls of ice

At the last minute, I threw some water in there but it may not have been the best decision. My GM is really frothy. Not sure I like that but it still tastes yummy.

Question: Last year, I paid a pretty penny for my Asics at a store specializing in running gear. However, I went to Academy yesterday and saved over $50. So, out of curiousity, do you think the price of running/training shoes make a difference in the quality?

Waffles!

Good morning! It's a gorgeous day. The sun is shining and although there is snow on the ground and it looks very chilly, I am just loving the sun. We may venture out today. Whoop, whoop!

I set my alarm for 630 AM this morning but for some reason, it didn't go off. I hate that. Unless it went off and I turned it off without remembering? That seems more likely haha. Baby Boy seemed kind of feverish over night so we're keeping an eye on him. He's still playing and being cah-razy so hopefully it's teething.

Because of my new waffle maker (thanks, Lover!), breakfast was a hit. I've never made waffles before and it's more time consuming than pancakes but it was a super welcome change.

I really need different plates but I so love this one. My brekkie consisted of:

• 2.5 waffles (had to test the first batch :0))
• 2 eggs
• grapes
• plum
• 2T pumpkin puree & 1t shredded coconut

I had almost all of everything except the plum. I'll save it for a snack later. OK, The Lover is giving me the "eye" so time to log off and hang with the fam. Have a faboosh day and hopefully it will be a productive one!

Ch-ch-check ya later!

Boredom Snacking

Evening all! This has been a super relaxing and lazy day. What have I done today? A couple loads of laundry, play with the boys, eat, take a nap and eat some more. Yeah, it's been one of those days! I haven't even gotten out of my PJs!

My long list of eats for the day! After breakfast, I got a little snackie so I had a handful of these Pretzel Dips. Oh so good!

Lunch was a tasty Green Monster:

My GM contained:

• 2 handfuls of spinach
• 1 1/4 banana (part of my first banana was kind of funky)
• 1 1/4 cup soy milk
• 2 handfuls of ice

I missed GMs! After that I took a nice two hour nap with Baby Boy. I haven't taken a nap in a long time so that was super nice. I woke up to a present from The Lover. How sweet! He got a waffle maker. Guess what we're having for brekkie tomorrow? TEEHEE!

After waking up, I was feeling hungry again so I had some vegetarian eggrolls. These were about 3 inches long had 6. Three were 88 calories - not too bad. Instead of frying them, I popped the frozen eggrolls in the oven at 350 degrees until they were golden brown and turned them to brown the other side. They are just as crispy and a lot healthier.

Then I got snacky out of boredom. I totally recognized that I was eating because I was bored but did it anyway. The boys and I shared two bowls of Kashi Sunshine cereal.

I wasn't super hungry by the time dinner rolled around so I went simple with some polenta topped with black beans and spinach in veggie broth. Still very tasty!

Dessert:

I noticed my pants are getting a wee bit tight. I know that indulging every once in awhile is a good thing but I've let myself indulge too often. Plus, I have noticed the return of more processed foods has affected my training. Definitely time to get back on track, Retta!!

Have a wonderful night everyone. Hopefully I'll be able to get out of my PJs tomorrow :0)!

Snow Day!

Morning! As Outkast says, I'm "feeling good, feeling great, how are you?" Even though the bottom has dropped out of the weather, I'm feeling cheery. Why? Maybe it's because of the three cups of coffee I consumed or maybe because it's been a productive morning!

Maybe because I also passed out early last night. I was pooped! After The Lover came home, we headed to the grocery store. It was INSANE. Okies were out in droves, stocking up for today's snow. Sometimes, I wonder if it's a conspiracy between the weather peeps and the grocery peeps. I swear, the meterologists really play up the weather, causing panic and people running to the store for supplies. If I had a beard, I would be stroking it with a very thoughtful expression on my face. Teehee.

For dinner, I made an apple and cheese sammie. I guess you can't really see the apple but it's in there. :0) On the side, I made some yucca fries with hummus for dipping.

I had never tried yucca fries before but they were delish. The do taste like a potato but different? If that makes any sense. It's a bit time consuming to make but worth it. First, I peeled the yucca of it's waxy, thick coating. The peel was giving me a work out! Then, dice into fry-like strips. Then, enter the time consuming part: Cover yucca with cold water and bring to a boil. Turn hit down and simmer yucca for 20 - 30 minutes or until tender. With a slotted spoon, transfer yucca to plate to cool. (Whew!) After cool, place yucca on a cookie sheet lightly sprayed with cooking spray, cover with foil and roast in 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. Remove foil and roast for additional 7 minutes. I promise, it's worth it!

For dessert, I had some of these. Then I threw the package in the freezer to keep me from inhaling them. I seriously need a coconut intervention.

When I woke up this morning, I could definitely feel the chill in the air. Brrrr! I made brekkie for my boys and threw some laundry in the washer. They decided to help me sort laundry which totally did not help at all but it was fun. My brekkie was deeeeeelish!

I'm getting good at this omelet stuff! Not to toot my own horn or anything (BEEP, BEEP). My omelet contained:

• 2 eggies
• farmer cheese
• half an avacado
• 2 mushrooms
• a small handful of spinach (oh how I missed thee!)

Steamy, creamy and oh so dreamy. On the side, half an apple. My mission this weekend is to clean, clean, clean! Our house is a nightmare. Boo! The laundry monster has made it's ferocious return. We're all low on undies hahahahaha. The snow is coming down pretty hard. I thought the ground temps would be too warm for accumulation but it's coming down hard enough that it's not melting. The Sisters and I had planned on meeting for lunch but I'm not sure if it will be happening today. BOOHOO.

What A Day!

I am tired, folks! I can't believe it's almost the weekend and I haven't even blogged today. What is this world coming to? :0) It's been wild but good for business. Raise the roof!

My morning started with happy boys and I love that! What else do I love? Pumpkin Overnight Oats. It was so delish yesterday, I had to have it again.

My oats contained:

• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 soymilk
• 1/4 pumpkin puree
• 1T shredded coconut
• pumpkin pie spice
• cinnamon

Mix ingredients, store in fridge overnight. I topped it with a diced apple. You don't even need brown sugar or any sweetener. The apples and coconut made it just sweet enough.

Today was a rest day for me. I typically run during my lunch breaks but my knees were screaming for some down time. It was a beautiful day to get out and get some errands out of the way. I also picked up some Jersey Mike's for lunch.

Mmmm . . . veggie wrap! I just love these and the guys that work there are so darn nice. I got my veggies on a tomato basil wrap. AWESOME. While out and about, I also grabbed Starbucks' new Dark Cherry Iced Mocha.

I forgot my camera so I didn't snap a pic when I first bought it. It had a bit of whipped cream and chocolate chips on top. Try it! You'll like it!

After lunch, my lovely ladies (from work) and I decided to go on trash pick up duty. This is how we keep it green!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I. Am. A. Dork.

It was also an excuse for us to get out and get some lovely fresh air and sun before this hits:

Tonight: Rain before 1am, then rain and snow. Some thunder is also possible. Low around 32. North northwest wind 9 to 12 mph increasing to between 21 and 24 mph. Winds could gust as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.


Saturday: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Widespread blowing snow. High near 32. Windy, with a north wind between 21 and 26 mph, with gusts as high as 38 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.


Saturday Night: Snow likely and widespread blowing snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Cloudy, with a low around 26. Windy, with a north northwest wind around 26 mph, with gusts as high as 37 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday: Snow likely and areas of blowing snow before 1pm, then areas of blowing snow and a chance of snow after 1pm. The snow could be heavy at times. Cloudy, with a high near 38. Windy, with a north northwest wind between 22 and 29 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday Night: Areas of blowing snow. Mostly clear, with a low around 32.

And today is close to 70 degrees. So weird! We are going to hit up Wally World and get a few things just in case we won't be able to get out and about this weekend.

So sorry for the shortie post but time for me to bounce and get my little dudes!

What are your plans for the weekend? I wanted to get New Moon and peep it out!! Squealing like a school girl ova here!

Ice, Ice Baby

What a day! Another balls to the wall day of work. I must admit, I love being busy like this. Makes the day fly by. Can't complain about that!

Donna and I decided we would brave the insane spring break traffic and run on our usual route. Pre-run snack was a juicy apple. I have quite a few that need to be eaten so you'll see a couple a day until I run out. :0)

The day was absolutely beautiful for a run. I even got to wear a tank top. Woohoo! I started out strong but about halfway into the run, I realized our usual route was too busy. On our way back, we split off into a neighborhood so we would have to stop so often. Once we got into the 'hood, we realized there was a marked and paved running trail. Score! All in all, we got a lovely 4 miler in.

Lunch was leftover pizza and two plums.

The ice was for the knees. I have been so lazy about icing after runs. All the pizza went into my tummy but the plums didn't make it until around 400 PM. I'm now snacking on some plain Goldfish while I try to figure out dinner. Have a great night!

Holy Snakes!

Good morning, peeps! It's such a gorgeous morning here. The sun is out in full blast - just gorge! I'm definitely looking forward to a lovely run later. Can't beat the Spring time weather. I still can't believe we're supposed to get snow this weekend. Cah-razy!

After my insane day of grumpiness and work, I decided to live on the edge and had half a beer. Somebody hold me back! I was getting out of control lol. I also had mushroom and olive pizza for dinner. Unfortunately, no pic. I had a grouchy baby on my hands/pants/legs/floor . . . you get the picture.

My breakfast this morning was rock-my-face awesome!

Pumpkin Overnight Oats (P.O.O. ha!). My oats contained:

• 1/2 cup dry oats
• 1/4 cup non-fat plain yogurt
• 1/4 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1T shredded coconut
• cinnamon & pumpkin pie spice to taste
• 1 diced apple

Mix all ingrendients. Put in fridge over night, add diced apple the next morning and your taste buds will thank you! It was like having pumpkin pie, I tell ya.

Look who came to work for a visit!

Luckily, I saw him before I stepped on him. A heel would not have felt good in his back. Have a faboosh day! Oh and guess who is coming to concert in July? LADY GAGA! Seriously, almost peed in my pants when I heard the news. I will so be there.

In Need of a Brew - Green or Otherwise

Dramarama! This day is kicking my butt and not in a good way. It's been an intense day, ya'll. I.N.T.E.N.S.E.  Bet you didn't know Asians said "ya'll." This one does!

After some deliberation, I decided I had way too much work to tackle so I decided to skip my run today. Boo! But one day won't kill me. My oatmeal carried me through my mid-morning snack (again!) but I was ready for lunch around 1230 PM.

I know it's not the greatest pic. I was in a harray! My lunchie-poo was delish though. I made a black bean and sweet potato burger this morning. Unfortunately, I think I cooked it too long because it was crumbling apart by the time lunch rolled around. Still good though! I had carrots and hummus on the side with a plum for dessert. I forgot my peeler today and could only stomach one carrot. I think it's a mental thing.

After more work shenanigans, I decided I needed a hot fudge sundae!

By the time I got around to eating it, it was a bit soup-like on the bottom but it didn't stop me from drinking it. No worries. :0)

Do you just want to be mad sometimes? At times, I get cranky and I want to be cranky but The Lover always makes me laugh and I'm thinking, "Well, hell. Guess I can't be mad anymore!"

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Top of the mornin' to ya! I realized I have absolutely no green on. Yikes. I don't think the boys have green on either. Hope they don't get pinched at school. That would suck and I would feel like I won the Mother of the Year award!

My morning started off with a tiny panic attack. I thought I had overslept. I mistook the light from the TV as the sun shining into the bedroom. Whew! Don't you hate when you think you have overslept? I had plenty of time to pack my snacks, breakfast and lunch for the day. I was totally lazy and didn't do it last night. Lookie what I found at Target on clearance:

The pumpkin coffee smelled so good and I was super stoked to try it. Verdict? It smells better than it tastes. Not that it tastes bad but it's weak. I even made a second pot and added more to make it stronger. No luck. Damn it. I need strong coffee - not strong enough to make chest hair grow though!

Overnights oats for breakfast!

• a little less than 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 1/2 cup plain non-fat yogurt
• cinnamon
• 1 diced apple
• 2T shredded coconut

Oatmeal, I have missed thee. Combine everything but the apple. Leave in the fridge overnight and add topppings the next morning. Easy peasy!

Any special plans for St. Patrick's Day?