Usin’ Up Stuff

I hate wasting food. I think that’s why I tend to be a proud member of the clean plate club.

Before I go out of town for the weekend, I rummage through the fridge and pantry for any foods that might go bad and feel the need to save them from perishing by eating all of them. No food left behind!

Today my lunch made use of canned pumpkin I had sitting in some Tupperware and cottage cheese that was skirting on expiration. Is your mouth watering yet? 😉

I blended the pumpkin and cottage cheese with some pumpkin pie spice and sweetener to create a HUGE bowl of pumpkin pie-tasting slop.

Could there be a less attractive word than the word slop? I don’t think so.

What words do you absolutely hate? I can’t stand the word panties. I think it’s creepy. I still have to call them underwear.

Anyway, back to lunch…

I topped the pumpkin slop (ew!) with half of a Honeycrisp apple and a handful of sliced almonds.

Pumpkin, Apple and Almonds

This bowl was HUGE. Don’t believe me? Just look:

Wowzaa!

Get in mah belly!

Lunch was good. That’s all I have to say about that. 🙂

Pink Breakfast

“Paaay-ink.” Apparently that’s what I would reply with when asked my favorite color when I was younger. I also referred to crayons as crowns (remember that one, Kristen?). Fortunately I now know how to properly refer to the color pink and the coloring utensils.

My breakfast today was a beautiful bowl of paaay-ink mush! My younger self would be delighted.

Last night I made some more cranberry relish (yes, I already polished off my first batch), and plopped a bunch on top of my Greek yogurt.

Yogurt and Cranberry Relish

After stirring it in, my yogurt was transformed into a lovely pastel pink bowl of creaminess.

Pretty 'n' Pink

I added a half a cup of Cheerios to the mix for some whole grains and crunch. Gosh, I sure do love those lil’ o’s.

Cheerios and Cranberry Yogurt

Topped Off

I served my big bowl of pink with a hot tumbler full of my gym’s free coffee. Today’s flavor combo was Barnie’s hazelnut and French vanilla. Perfect for a crisp morning.

Friday's Breakfast

I loved my super-girly, super-pink breakfast!

Workout and a Cosmo Realization

This morning I woke up to a dog that was spooning me and breathing like she was having an asthma attack. How romantic! Sadie was allowed in the bed last night because it was chilly in our apartment and we didn’t want our little munchkin to be cold (she’s spoiled, we know).

Waking up to a cuddly pup put a smile on my face and I headed out to el gym for a BodyPump class and 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical.

While I was cardioing, I read the latest issue of Cosmo. I must say I think that magazine is garbage. I received a free subscription to the mag and feel like I need to read it before leaving it on the gym’s magazine rack (why, I’m really not sure).

The Latest Issue of Cosmo Magazine

Every time I flip through an issue, I am amazed at the advice and quantity of crap (eek!) I find. I wonder how many girls actually take this advice seriously. I love asking Ryan about the “different ways to wow your man” only to see him roll his eyes and say “I swear Julie, if you ever did that I’d smack you.” (Disclaimer: He would never actually smack me. And don’t worry, because if he did Sadie would eat him.)

It’s amazing how magazines that were once so special can lose their luster. I thought Cosmo was the coolest when I was in high school even though I wasn’t allowed to have a subscription. Now… not so much.

Sometimes these realizations make me feel like I’m getting older. I remember seeing my mom and dad watch the news. I’d think to myself, “That’s so boring! Why would you voluntarily watch that?” Home Improvement and Full House were much more entertaining! Now I actually watch the news. I think 24 may be the new 65.

Packing

After aging myself about 500 years at the gym, I came home to shower and pack for our trip to St. Pete this weekend.

Me and My Packin' Partner

(Doesn’t Sadie look so feeble in this picture!?)

Sadie was a terrible fantastic packin’ partner. I love how she’d jump on every item of clothing I’d add to my duffel bag and put her paws on my shoulders for hug breaks every two minutes. It was greeeeat and really helped my productivity. 😉 (Sense the sarcasm.)

I think Sadie knows what my bright blue duffel means because she was acting mighty frisky this morning. She’s ready for a weekend in St. Pete with my family! She adores my parents and my sister and freaks out every time we pull into the driveway at their house. Fortunately they’re all Sadie-obsessed too. I’m ready for the weekend to begin!