Barney Butter Barley

You guys know how much I adore my barley breakfast bowls.

To make them I usually combine barley with Greek yogurt and fresh fruit.

Well, today I replaced the Greek yogurt with something fantastically delicious.

Barney Butter!

Barney Butter!

After cooking up some pearled barley after dinner yesterday, I stirred in a packet of Barney Butter and let it chill in the fridge overnight.

Today I added a sliced nectarine and some pumpkin pie spice to the mix.

Barney Butter Barley Bowl

Oooooh yum.

Nutty Fruity Barley

The Goods

So tasty! I literally licked this bowl clean… and then Sadie did, too. 😉

"Barney Butter RULES!"

Workout

This breakfast was the perfect post-workout meal. Today’s gym session included a BodyPump class followed by 20 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical.

I increased the weights on the back track this week and was really feelin’ it! Today’s lunge track was a little too easy and I feel like my lower body didn’t get quite the workout I was hopin’ for. Next time, my friends! 😀

Honeymoon Update

We are officially overwhelmed.

We read every single one of your comments and suggestions last night (thank you!) and spent hours looking at the websites of various resorts.

All I can say is that if I had a bazillion dollars, I would love to stay at The Ladera in St. Lucia, recommended by blog reader Lindsey.

The Ladera

Not only is this place unbelievably gorgeous, but it also offers a bunch of activities, ranging from scuba diving to zip lining to cooking classes to rainforest hikes. Can you say heaven?

Though this place is beyond amazing, we’re looking for something more within our budget. Your comments and speaking with some friends made us think twice about the Dominican Republic, as it seems like we may not be able to do as many adventurous activities or as much exploring as we’d like to. We don’t want to feel confined to a resort on our honeymoon.

If any of you out there enjoyed a vacation that included fun activities like scuba diving and zip lining and exploring a town, etc., puh-lease let me know! I’ve heard great things about Costa Rica with regard to it being a beautiful place with lots to do.

Why is picking a honeymoon destination so hard!?

The good news  about all this honeymoon hoopla is that Ryan and I have a pact to pick a place by the end of this weekend! We’re going to be vacation-research mad men for the next few days. 😉

Question of the Morning

What is more appealing to you: A vacation filled with activities or a vacation full of relaxation?

Caught Up in You

“I’m so caught up in you, little girl
And I never did suspect a thing
So caught up in you, little girl
That I never want to get myself free
And baby it’s true
You’re the one
Who caught me baby, you taught me
How good it could be”

I love that song by 38 Special. I heard it in the gym first thing this morning and it set my day off on the right foot! There’s something about amazing ’80s music that just does it for me. 😀

Sometimes I think I belong in the ’80s…

'80s Night!

Workout

With “Caught Up in You” jammin’ in my head, I danced my way into BodyPump this morning for a total-body strength training workout.

I felt like my mind was racing a mile a minute throughout the class. I found myself thinking about everything but BodyPump. By the time we were laying on our mats to do some ab work, signaling the end of the class, I was shocked at how fast the class flew by!

Post Pump, I leashed up Sadie for a 40-minute walk around the lake near my apartment. I don’t want to jinx it, but the weather in Florida lately has been wonderful! It’s remained in the ’80s and hasn’t creeped into the hotter-than-heck ’90s for a few days. Woop, woop!

Breakfast

I prepped my breakfast last night which made it super easy this morning!

Last night I cooked up a small batch of pearled barley and let the whole grain cool down overnight in the fridge.

This morning it was ready to be used in a barley breakfast bowl.

Peach + Barley Yogurt Bowl

To make my barley breakfast bowl, I combined a cup of Greek yogurt with the cold cooked barley and topped it off with peach slices and nutmeg.

Oh Yum

I love the nuttiness and chewy texture barley brings to the table.

Gnarly Barley

As I typed up this post, I looked back through some of my old posts about barley and stumbled upon this one that I posted during my first month of blogging. Holy crap-tastic pictures. Thank goodness I invested in a better camera.

Along with my barley breakfast bowl, I also enjoyed a tumbler full of Barnie’s French vanilla coffee that I snagged for the freezie at my gym.

I practically burned off my tongue after the first sip.

The Heat is On

I like really HOT coffee, so I took my time sippin’ it rather than gulping it to prevent the loss of additional taste buds. I’m so scrappy. 😉

Questions of the Morning

For everyone:

• What is one of your all-time favorite ’80s songs?

For the bloggers:

• Do you see a big difference in your blogging now than you did when you first started blogging? What has changed the most?

Berry Barley Breakfast Parfait

“You know what else everybody likes? Parfaits. Have you ever met a person, you say, ‘Hey, let’s get some parfaits,’ they say, ‘Hell no, I don’t like no parfait?’ No! Parfaits are delicious!”

What a fantastic scene from Shrek. I love Donkey. 🙂

Donkey

Donkey is right on the money with that quote if you ask me.

Seriously who doesn’t like a parfait?

Layer after layer of deliciousness? I mean, c’mon. They’re fantastic.

This morning my breakfast was a berry barley parfait.

Berry Barley Parfait

I made the parfait by layering vanilla Greek yogurt, cold cooked pearled barley, and thawed frozen strawberries in a wine glass for visual appeal.

View from the Top

I Love Parfaits

This meal was basically my favorite barley breakfast bowl in parfait form.

I followed up my parfait-in-a-wine-glass with toasted walnuts-in-a-shot-glass.

Shot o' Nuts

Quite the filling breakfast!

Workout

This morning Sadie and I set out on yet another five mile run. I was feeling kind of sleepy, and by the time I actually felt awake, the run was over. Can’t beat that!

On our run this morning we saw quite a neat little sight.

For some unknown reason there are a small handful of peacocks that live a mile or so from our apartment. They’ve always been there and seem to enjoy roaming around peoples’ yards in a one-block radius.

Well, today we saw little baby peacocks!

Baby Peacocks

I’ve never seen a baby peacock before and thought they were so cute! They reminded me of a bigger, more awkward looking chick. Adorable!

Question of the Day

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen while working out?

Hula Hooper

Usually the people who are up running around the lake by our apartment before 7 a.m. look pretty hardcore. They’re decked out in spandex and an old race t-shirt, and check their Garmin every 2.2 seconds.

On my morning run with Sadie today, however, we saw something out of the ordinary: a hula hoop walker.

Hula Hooper

We saw a woman walking the mile loop around the lake while hula hooping. This lady had skills!

I thought Sadie would be spooked by the hoop, but she kept her cool and we ran right past the  woman. To Sadie, baby strollers = scary, hula hoopers = not so much.

"You Got Nothin' Hula Hoops!"

The heat during our five-mile run was really intense. There’s one heck of a heatwave in Central Florida right now and it made our run a little more challenging than usual. I was sweating like crazy and felt fatigued much earlier in the run that I normally do. I’m downing water like a mad woman now. Gotta rehydrate!

Breakfast

This past weekend at Ryan’s mom’s house, I spotted Libby’s canned pumpkin in her pantry. I freaked out and asked her where she found it because our local grocery store hasn’t stocked pumpkin in months.

The Elusive Pumpkin

She said she’d had the pumpkin for a while and offered to let me take two cans back to Orlando. Sweet!!!

I was pretty excited to include the canned pumpkin in a yogurt barley breakfast bowl this morning.

Apple + Pumpkin + Barley + Yogurt

I added freshly chopped apple and sweetener to the mix for a little extra crunch and sweetness.

Most of the apple went directly into my mouth and only several little chunks actually made it into the breakfast bowl.

Stirred Up

Git in Mah Belly!

Oh pumpkin, how I’ve missed you!

Question of the Morning

Can you hula hoop?

I can… for about 10 seconds. 🙂

If You’re a Texture Freak…

Puh-lease make yourself a barley breakfast bowl STAT!

Strawberry Barley Breakfast Bowl

(Just FYI, STAT stands for statim, which is Latin for immediately. Who knew Peanut Butter Fingers was so educational!?)

I cooked the barley for this breakfast bowl last night by letting it simmer in boiling water for about 20 minutes on the stove top. I then immediately stuck the hot grains in the fridge.

I also added several frozen strawberries on top of the barley in the fridge to thaw out overnight.

This morning I scooped a cup of Dannon Greek yogurt over the fruit and barley to round out the bowl.

Breakfast is Served

My barley bowl was enjoyed with a tumbler full of my gym’s free Barnie’s cinnamon butter cookie coffee. This stuff is like dessert in a cup. Fantastic!

Dig In!

Sadie was sulking as I was taking these pictures…

"Yo, Woman, How 'Bout Some Barley Fo' Me?"

…So I had to shower her with lots of puppy love (and give her a doggie treat) to get back in her good graces.

I Love My Dog

I almost fell over after snapping this picture. Sadie seemed to enjoy my stumbling and jumped on me again. More puppy love ensued. 😀

Late Night Snack

When I am done blogging after dinner I may have a snack before bed. This snack is usually a peanut butter finger, a handful of nuts, yogurt or something relatively light.

Not last night!

Last night we brought out the big guns.

Orville Redenbacher's Caramel Pop Corn

My mom brought me and Ryan a bag of this deliciousness when she was visiting on Tuesday.

Orville Redenbacher’s caramel popcorn (the kind that comes with a huge pouch of caramel to melt over the popcorn) is so hard to find. My family used to enjoy it all the time when when lived in Illinois but we haven’t seen it in Florida grocery stores in years. I was super excited when she brought me a bag to enjoy!

Ryan and I downed the entire bag in less than five minutes while watching So You Think You Can Dance (glad so many of you are fans of this show too!!!).

Caramel Popcorn

I’ll be honest, I think the popcorn-eating ratio was 80% me, 20% Ryan. 😀

Questions of the Day

• Are you a late-night snacker or is the kitchen closed once dinner is over?
  
• What late-night snacks do you typically enjoy?