A Sweet (Potato) Weekend

The other day, while frolicking aimlessly around Walmart (who does that?) I stumbled upon this guy:

The LARGE size of my favorite kind of peanut butter, for $3. Naturally I bought five jars a jar, and let me tell you, I've been going to town on this bad boy for the past week. Smoothies, oatmeal... even on top of my banana pancakes over the weekend...

Are you jealous? You should be. Go buy some. Peanut butter = protein = happy muscles.

I littered it all over social media already, but holy cow did we have an awesome time paddle boarding this past Saturday in Annapolis. If you have the chance to try it, do it. We rented them for the day for $40, and it was well worth it.

It was our first time, the weather was perfect, and we had a ball exploring the many inlets of the Annapolis Harbor. We even ventured under the bridge and paddled by the Annapolis Yacht Club, which harbors boats bigger than my house, no joke. The boats were so big they had boats on them that had boats them.

Sorry I wasn't able to snap any pics of them... Andrew strongly urged me not to bring my phone out on the water with me, which was probably a good call. Although I didn't fall in, by 3 p.m. we were both sweaty and bailed off our boards to cool down. I did manage to convince him to bring his own (older, crappier) phone out the second time we set out, so that we could capture some memories.

"It's for the blog babe."

Not only did we get some exploring under our belts and some sun on our skin, but we also got a killer core/arm work out. Good times. Go do it.

Andrew deserted me for the week, so to cheer myself up last night I decided that I deserved pizza. So I did some searching and stumbled upon Carrots 'n' Cake's Sweet Potato Crust Pizza, saw my sweet potatoes sitting on the counter, and set to work.

I am a fan. And have zero shame when I say that I ate half of it last night, and the rest of it tonight for dinner. Some sweaty Sunday miles sure will work up an appetite.

The plan is to get up early tomorrow morning and hit 7 slow-paced miles before heading to work. Do you think it will happen? I would say odds are currently sitting at 50/50.

I'm winding down for the night, but it was great catching up. Anyone have a weekend story to share? Favorite kind of pizza perhaps?

Cheers!

A Very Rainy Leap Day

I don't know about you, but my Leap Day was far from beautiful. It has literally been raining all day, to the point that we are currently in a flash flood warning. Can't say that I'm too concerned about it.

Recently, I came to discover that St. Patrick's Day is on a Saturday this year. Probably one of my most favorite holidays, I have now taken up the task of finding something epic for Andrew and me to do for this impending Irish Celebration.

Bri has always been a big supporter of the holiday as well.

As the waiting game continues for this job search, I have been managing to keep myself entertained. Today I made myself pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, which consisted of the following:
- 1/2 cup of oats
- 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
-1 scoop vanilla protein powder
-1 packet of all natural sweetener
-1 tbsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp pumpkin pie seasoning
-2 eggs
-1/2 cup pumpkin
-1/2 milk of your choice (I used almond)
-3 tbsp greek yogurt

I know some of you may look at this recipe and think to yourself, "gross." But in my opinion, the result was greatness. I love pumpkin so much, and it's a great way to incorporate veggies into breakfast! I'm going to have to start stocking up on canned pumpkin, as it usually goes off the shelves in warmer months.

Today was suppose to be an easy 5 miles, but the rain and a sore foot detoured me to the health club, where I did some elliptical, weights and swimming. I never am pumped about swimming; I always stand at the edge of the pool thinking of excuses not to get in. But afterwards, I always feel great and am glad I did it. I'm hoping to make swimming become more of a consistent thing, as I plan to do a triathlon within the next year.

Anyways, I have another interview tomorrow for a similar administrative position, within a different company. I have no idea what to expect, but I figure I need to keep applying and keeping options open while I wait.

I leave you with some encouragement, which is currently the background on my phone.

Cheers.

My Lion King Pal

Today began with a fantastic breakfast of cranberry walnut pancakes, with one of my best friends in the entire world. Who, as of a week ago, is ENGAGED!

Danielle and I met the summer before we went into kindergarten, and instantly became the best of pals.

From soccer and softball teams, to catching lady bugs wearing out matching Lion King overalls, we were one of the strangest pairs around. Still are, as a matter of fact. All throughout elementary school teachers would get the two of us confused, and I believe it was up until 7th grade that we played out elaborate soap operas with our barbies. Is 7th grade too old? Hold your judgement.

We had our ups and downs in our friendship, as anyone does, yet we've always managed to stay close and updated on each others lives. And now, nearly 20 years later, I get to stand in her wedding this summer! I couldn't be more pumped! Congrats again Danielle and Jeff!

Breakfast was supposed to be followed by a 7 mile run at race pace. Unfortunately, when the afternoon rolled around and wind chills were still below zero, I just couldn't get myself to do it. I wouldn't say that I hate running in cold, but it's the wind that gets me.  So, defeated, I headed down into my basement to do intervals on the dreaded treadmill for an hour, while watching The Biggest Loser and listening to the new Dierks Bentley album. Ya win some ya lose some.

In other news, they're forecasting some 50 degree days in Columbia next week, and I couldn't be more pumped about it. Here we go.