Shake What Yo Mama Gave Ya

After work we made Sadie smile!

Smiley Girl

Trips to the dog park are her favorite afternoon activity.

When we round the corner to pull into the parking lot at the dog park, she practically hyperventilates because she’s so excited.

Lion in the Grass

She knows she’s about to enjoy an hour of fetching, sniffing, swimming and exploring.

I’m not gonna lie, I get a little excited, too. 😉

Adoring Dog

Happy Sadie

"Just Trrrrry To Get It..."

The lake took precedence for Sadie this evening, and we threw ball after ball into the water for her to retrieve.

BAAAAALLLLLLLL!

After each romp in the lake, Sadie took a minute to shake what her mama gave her.

Shake, Shake, Shake

Sadie shakes even when there’s no water on her. I’m not kidding when I say she probably shakes 30+ times a day.

Our trip to the park lasted for about an hour until our tummies told us it was  time for dinner.

Dinner

Since trips to the dog park usually last longer than a post-work walk with Sadie, we wanted to keep dinner quick and opted for Monterey Pasta Company spinach ricotta ravioli with steamed broccoli, marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Bowl o' Tastiness

Pasta + Broc + Parm

I stirred everything up to distribute the sauce among the pasta poofs and the broccoli.

Thursday Night Dinner

Easy and delicious. That’s all I ask. 😉

Now I’m off to see if I can download all the stuff from my computer to an external hard drive. I am terrified of losing everything and my lap top is being very finicky lately.

(I should also mention that I am beyond thrilled that LeBron will be making his decision in less than 15 minutes. Hallelujah! Now I can have 75 percent of my conversations with Ryan back! 😉 )

New Kicks

After work today I swung by Track Shack, a local running store, to pick up some new running shoes. 

Track Shack

My Mizuno Wave Riders have seen better days and have started to give me blisters, so I wanted to pick up some new kicks before I get too far into my half marathon training plan. 

I chatted with a sales guy for quite a while and he examined my old running shoes and told me that the blisters on my left foot were probably occurring because I don’t tie my shoes tight enough, and my foot was likely moving around too much when I ran. I literally slip my running shoes on and off and keep the laces very loose, so this made total sense to me. 

I wore Mizuno Wave Riders during my first half marathon and loved them. Once they were worn out (see below photo), I bought my current pair. 

My First "Real" Running Shoes

Now that my current shoes are biting the dust, I decided to stick with this (unattractive) shoe for a third time since it’s proven to be a good shoe in my past runs. 

My New Kicks

I felt like quite a goof running around the store testing out different shoes in my dress and sneakers, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! 

I think I made the right choice in sticking with the shoes that have carried me through numerous runs since 2007, but this time around I’ll be sure to tie my laces a little tighter. 😉 Blisters be gone! 

Dog Park 

After my pit-stop at Track Shack, I headed home to meet up with Ryan and Sadie for a trip to the dog park! 

En Route to the Dog Park

Though it was more than 90 degrees outside, it felt surprisingly temperate at the park underneath the trees. There was also a nice breeze that kept us cool.  

Doggie Heaven

 Sadie had a blast playing fetch and sniffing up a storm. 

Sadie Smiles

Go, Go, Go

Happy Girl

Eventually our grumblin’ tummies told us it was time to head home for dinner. 

Dinner 

Tonight was a pasta kind of night! 

For some reason my body was craving doughy, carby pasta poofs and Monterey Pasta Company’s spinach and ricotta ravioli fit the bill perfectly. 

Since one serving of the ravioli is not enough to fill me up, I made sure to beef up the pasta with steamed broccoli for the sake of satiety. I suppose the added nutrition from the cruciferous veggie doesn’t hurt either. 😉 

Ravioli on a Bed of Broccoli

Ravioli + Broccoli

I topped my ravioli and broccoli bowl with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese and dug in! 

Ready to Eat

Parmesan Cheese Makes Everything Better

Stirred Up

Tasty, tasty. 

Question of the Evening 

Of the following three pasta dishes, which is your favorite: ravioli, lasagna or simple noodles with sauce?  

I was gonna answer this question myself but I just can’t. I love them all.

Cocoa Oats & a Giveaway

As Ryan and I were walking to the gym this morning I was feeling laaaazy. 

I told him I wasn’t going to take my normal Friday 5:45 a.m. BodyPump class and was going to do my own strength training routine instead. After he went upstairs to do his own workout, I filled my water bottle and changed my mind. Apparently I can’t resist the ‘Pump! 

Even though BodyPump is challenging, it is perfect for those days when I’m feeling lethargic or unmotivated because once I’m in the class, I can’t leave and always stay and get a great workout. Power through! 😀 

I did take it easy on the cardio front today and skipped it altogether in favor of taking Sadie on a 40 minute  walk around the lake near our apartment. 

Can you blame me for wanting a little extra time with this face? 

Walk Me!

Breakfast 

When we returned from our walk, I let some steel cut oats simmer on the stove while taking a quick shower. 

Simmer, Baby, Simmer

Post shower, I chocolified them up by stirring in a scoop of All the Whey chocolate peanut butter cup protein powder and a tablespoon of cocoa powder. 

Oats + PP + Cocoa Powder

The result? 

Cocoa oats! 

Coco-tastic

Who doesn’t love a lil’ chocolate for breakfast? 

Monterey Pasta Company Giveaway 

If you’ve been following this blog for a while now, you are well-aware of my adoration for Monterey Pasta Company‘s ravioli. 

Love This Stuff

The pasta poofs have popped up in many of my lunches and dinners since I started this blog. Apparently the company got wind of my intense love for their product, because I received a ginormous box of their ravioli and tortellini to sample last month. 

After enjoying bowl after bowl of tasty pasta, I contacted the company again to ask if they would offer some of you free sample coupons to try a ravioli, tortellini or pasta product of your choice. 

Thankfully they said yes and send me a bunch of coupons to distribute. 

For You!

You know what that means! With a bunch of coupons on my hands, you have a great chance to win! There will be FIVE winners of this giveaway. 🙂 

To enter, simply comment on this post, telling me about your favorite pasta dish. 

The winners will be selected randomly and announced tomorrow morning.

Two Pounds of Ravioli for Three People

Two pounds of delicious ravioli for only three people? Sounds good to me!

Ryan’s cousin Daniel came over to our apartment to hang out after their soccer game this afternoon and stayed to watch the Magic game and enjoy dinner, courtesy of Monterey Pasta Company and the free ravioli they sent to me.

5 Cheese Ravioli

I cooked two pounds of five cheese ravioli for the three of us, which you’d think would be more than enough, but we only had four little ravioli poofs leftover!

The boys stuck to plain ravioli and marinara sauce while I added steamed broccoli to my bowl for a pop of color and extra nutrients.

Broc + Rav

My Bowl

We all agreed the five cheese ravioli was fantastic. It was one of the cheesiest ravioli varieties I’ve ever had, which is a very good thing if you’re a cheese lover like me.

Dessert

Once the Magic game was over (they lost 😦 ), we piled in Ryan’s car and headed to Jeremiah’s Italian Ice for gelati (soft serve + gelato).

Ryan and I split a cookies ‘n’ cream gelati.

Passin' Back the Goods

Why is it that the minute I finish a gelati from Jeremiah’s, I immediately want another one?

Ice cream really is my favorite food in the whole-wide-world.

Time to read the second Percy Jackson book before my eyes get too sleepy. See ya in the mornin’!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Please excuse me as I breeze through dinner. I hope you don’t mind, but believe me, dessert is what ya wanna read about tonight!

For dinner I made eggplant medallions, prepared the same way I made them last week, but without chicken and with Brie instead of shredded cheddar cheese.

Eggplant Medallions

Dinner

On the side I enjoyed roasted cauliflower, which came out of the oven first and was devoured before the eggplant medallions were done cooking.

Roasted Cauliflower

Sometimes ya just can’t wait!

I also enjoyed three large Monterey Pasta Company lemon shrimp ravioli, which I received from the company to sample.

Lemon Shrimp Ravioli

I was a little apprehensive about this particular flavor because a lemon flavor in ravioli didn’t really call to me.

I was pleasantly surprised though and really enjoyed the big chunks of real shrimp meat in the ravioli.

Tres Ravioli

Peek-a-Boo

Though dinner was yummy, dessert was yummier.

Dessert

Tonight’s dessert was comprised of only three ingredients. Three *delicious* ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 c. peanut butter

1 Cup PB

Ingredients

Combine those three bad boys and bake at 350 for 10 minutes and what do ya get?

Flourless peanut butter cookies!

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies

Moist 'n' Delicious

For as much as I love peanut butter,  I have a hard time finding really good peanut butter cookies.

I often think peanut butter cookies are too dry or floury. I want moist peanut butter goodness and – trust me – these cookies deliver.

Sadie was loving the leftover peanut butter.

Peanut Butter Lover

I had three bite-size cookies for dessert.

Dessert

The cookies don’t really expand in the oven, so the dough is perfect for shaping into whatever shape you want.

Since Ryan is out at a soccer game right now, I made him three special cookies to enjoy when he arrives home:

I Love You

I hope he likes his sweet treat! (I assure you the cookies will be devoured by the cookie monster *me* if he doesn’t 😉 ).