bring on the holidays.

hello! welcome to wednesday, the work week is officially half way over.

it is so weird how the actual work weeks go by so slow, yet the months whiz by faster than the speed of light.

i swear it was just august.. but it also feels like it should be friday.  which would mean it would be october.

consider me baffled.

guess what today is? national coffee day! before leaving my house for work this morning, i enjoyed a mug’o’java with a  half slice of homemade banana bread.

i made this bread last night. it’s momma b’s famous recipe. it is so bad, but SO good.  i made a recipe page for it and if you are looking for an indulgent banana bread that will impress anyone’s taste buds, look no further. this bread is heavenly. it is by far the moistest, most delicious banana bread i’ve ever tasted.

HAPPY WAFFLE WEDNESDAY!

i got to work today and did my part in celebrating waffle wednesday with my last two freezer waffles. the brand: nature’s path with flax.

i love how easy freezer waffles are, but i have been trying to not eat them as much. i actually prefer making my waffles from scratch, but these are great in a pinch.

for some protein, i combine a 5.3 oz container of plain oikos greek yogurt with 1 TB of PB2, 1 TB of sugar free syrup and ~1 tsp of cinnamon.  i call this my peanut butter maple cinnamon yogurt topping. pretty dang clever, i know.

the cool yogurt paired perfectly with the warm, crispy waffles.

this yogurt topping was a tart, sweet and cinnamony all at the same time. the hint of peanut butter from the PB2 was just icing on the cake—er, waffle.

i highly suggest you whip some up today and incorporate it into your next breakfast!

of course, i had even more coffee to continue celebrating the holiday ;)

lunch

for lunch, i had leftovers of danica’s ziti.  i added some cottage cheese to bulk it up a bit and it became reminiscent of lasagna. delicious!

i also added a side of steamed veggies. i keep a big bag in my freezer at work for easy access ;)

i grabbed an apple on and ate it on my way home from work. it was a gala, but i wished it was a honeycrisp. i’ve yet to enjoy one this season. they are my favorite kind of apple!

today was an upper body day for me, which i welcomed with open arms (pun intended) because my legs are seriously sore from monday’s lower body workout. 

here is today’s random routine:

warmup 5 minutes on treadmill

superset 3 times:

• dumbbell chest press x 15 reps
• dumbbell triceps kickback x 15 reps each arm

superset 3 times:

• upright dumbbell row x 15
• wide grip cable pulldown x 15

superset 3 times:

• triceps bench dip x 15
• front raises x 15
• side raises x 15

superset 3 times:

• dumbbell snatch x 15 each arm
• alternating hammer curl x 15 each arm

superset 3 times:

• single arm dumbbell row x 15 each arm
• incline pushup x 15

this took 45 minutes. it felt good. my arms are still shaky!

after my workout, i hung out with my mom. we picked peaches from her friend’s trees.  the peaches were going to waste—falling from the trees left and right!

check out all those poor, wasted peaches that will never be devoured alongside vanilla bean ice cream! sad story.

we picked our little hearts out. 

 

well, truth be told, my mom did most of the work.

i carried the bags, though. check out our haul!

i can’t wait to slice these up and put them in the dehydrator!

after the peach picking, we went to kohl’s to find halloween decorations. 

i love halloween! in fact, i broke out the halloween candy basket on my desk today! i was giddy with excitement. yep.

while i don’t eat candy much myself, a lot of my co-workers do.. and i like to keep candy on my desk because it gives people a reason to come talk to me ;)

i think i love halloween so much for a few reasons. one: i love dressing up and being around a bunch of people in costume.  two: it kicks off a whole bunch of my other favorite holidays.  once october hits, we’ve got halloween, then thanksgiving, then christmas, then new years.  and three: halloween also means that winter is upon us, which=snowboarding season. that makes me smile real big.

here is a glimpse at the decorations i snagged.

dish rags:

door sign:

centerpiece:

i love this house! you can put a candle inside.

i also bought some pumpkins for the porch. hopefully none of the neighborhood hooligans smash them ;)

let the holiday season begin, i am ready!!!

since i didn’t get home until about 8:30, we did a quick & easy dinner.

grilled turkey & cheese paninis on dave’s killer bread & tomato soup!

this low sodium tomato soup is actually quite tasty! the ingredients and nutritional stats aren’t shabby at all.

delicious, comforting and QUICK meal!   now we are lounging on the couch and watching some show about deep fried soda. too far.

Qs~

1. do you like halloween? do you dress up? i love everything about it! the decorations, the costumes, the themed freaky foods, the parties. unfortunately, marshall hates halloween. ah, well, you can’t win them all.

2. what is your favorite variety of apple? honeycrisp is mine, i need to get my hands on one! braeburn is a close second.

xo. janetha g.