Not So Ugly Duckling

I had company on my walk with Sadie this morning!

Ryan + Sadie + the Sun

Since Ryan has every other Friday off work, he joined me on my morning trek with the pup!

Wake Up, Orlando!

I was nice to have someone to talk to other than Sadie who typically just looks up at me with a look that says, “Could ya walk a little faster? The squirrels are getting away!”

All around the lake we walked Sadie around this morning, there are many different birds, including ducks, anhingas and even swans.

Pretty Biiiird

These birds are brave. As a puppy Sadie learned not to mess with them. They’re very comfortable around people (almost too comfortable) because people come out to the lake daily to feed them.

Even the squirrels are brave little soldiers. They will literally take a peanut right out of your hand… Not that I would ever try that myself.

I love it when baby birds start hatching around the lake and there are little ducklings, cygnets (That’s the name for a baby swan… Yeah, I Googled it) and goslings tottering around. They’re adorable and are definitely not ugly ducklings!

(Just FYI, the name for a male swan is a “cob” and a female swan is a “pen.” Stop by Peanut Butter Fingers… You just might learn something! 😉 )

Breakfast

After our chilly walk, I was ready for breakfast!

Last night after dinner, I made another batch of chocolate protein pancakes so I could reheat them and have breakfast in a flash this morning.

Chocolate Protein Pancakes

I topped the ‘cakes with frozen raspberries that I heated up briefly in the microwave before adding some syrup on top of everything.

Chocolate Protein Pancakes + Raspberries + Syrup

Breakfast

The raspberry/chocolate combination was delish.

I’m excited for lunch today because I have a lunch date planned with Ryan! Yay for day dates! 🙂

Do you eat lunch at work/home or do you go out for lunch most days?

Kiss Me, I’m NOT Irish

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Hooray for a fun holiday! I love the collage of green I’m seeing everywhere today.

Are you wearing green today?

You bet your booty I am! 😀

Sportin' the Green

Kiss Me! I'm Not Irish!

When I saw this t-shirt a couple years ago, I scooped it up immediately.

Are you Irish?

I’ve always felt a little left out on St. Patrick’s Day since I’m not even the tiniest bit Irish, so this t-shirt makes me feel better about my German and Swedish heritage (at least I think that’s what I am).

Breakfast

I thought about trying to make something green for breakfast, but that idea went out the window pretty quickly when I remembered the recipe I saw in Oxygen magazine yesterday for chocolate protein pancakes.

Chocolate for breakfast? Yes, please.

I only needed three ingredients to make the ‘cakes.

Cottage Cheese + Egg Whites + Chocolate Protein Powder

I blended 1/8 c. cottage cheese, 2 egg whites and a scoop and a half of All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup protein powder with my immersion blender until I had a smooth batter.

After cooking the pancakes on the griddle (two minutes per side), I was ready to diiiig in.

Cookin' 'Cakes

Aaaalmost Done

Ready!

I topped my pancakes with sliced strawberries and syrup and enjoyed them with a hot mug of tea.

Chocolate Protein Pancakes with Strawberries and Syrup

St. Patty's Day Breakfast

The pancakes were absolutely delicious!

I think they would also be yummy dipped in Greek yogurt. Somethin’ to think about for the future…

Workout

Today’s workout was a goodie! I took a BodyPump class and followed it up with 25 minutes of light cardio on the elliptical.

Great way to start St. Patty’s Day!

Hope the luck of the Irish is with you today!😀