Attention: Pug people!

This is one of the most exciting projects I have ever encountered.

Introducing 1000 Pugs!!!

1000 Pugs is the ultimate expression of pug love by San Francisco pet photographer, Amanda Bradshaw. Her goal is equal parts genius, ridiculous, and insane: to photograph 1000 pugs in a single year.

Amanda’s goal is three-fold:

• Use 1000 Pugs as a vehicle to raise money for pug rescue ($10k, to be exact)
• Create the ultimate celebration of all things pug!
• Showcase the largest single collection of  pug cuteness this world has ever seen (in both online and printed form)

Each pug photographed will be featured in the 1000 Pugs online gallery as well as 1000 Pugs the book, which is planned for release in 2013 and will feature all 1000 pugs.

So cool!! Sign me Murphy up!

If you/your pug would like to participate, check out the 1000 Pugs tour schedule and register your pug for a photoshoot. The sitting fee is $50, and $10 of it will be donated to pug rescue. Winter and Spring dates are already booking up, and Fall dates (Boston!) will open on April 1, which, of course, is already on my calendar… with a reminder.

Lunch

After breakfast this morning, I headed out to NuVal. On my drive there, I swung by Bruegger’s to get my three free bagels. Yay! (Oh, it’s the little things in life.) I picked two Everything bagels (so Mal and I don’t fight) and one Sesame bagel.

At Bruegger’s, I also ordered a bagel sandwich to take with me to NuVal for lunch. On it was turkey, sundried tomato spread, green bell pepper, lettuce, and tomato.

I ordered my sandwich on a toasted Parmesan-Asiago bagel. I <3 cheese.

I finished off lunch with a cup of pumpkin spice coffee with cream and sugar from the office Keurig machine.

Snack

At home, I snacked on a Van’s Power Grains Waffle with Cinnamon Raisin Swirl Peanut Butter spread on top. I had a serious craving for a big cookie, but we didn’t have any in the house and I didn’t feel like baking, so I figured this was a good substitution. It actually tasted so delicious, I ate two of them.

Workout

Somehow, I forgot to blog about last night’s CrossFit workout in this morning’s post, so here’s a recap!

Skill: Rope Climbs & Knees to Elbows

WOD: “Multiplier”

5 rounds for time of:

4 Dead Lifts

8 Burpee Box Jumps

16 Knees to Elbow

24 Double Unders

Rope Climbs were fun (obviously), and I made some great progress on Knees to Elbows last night. During the WOD, I actually did a whole bunch of real ones. Ok, I didn’t touch my knees to my elbows every time, but I kipped and got my knees pretty close to my elbows, which is some serious progress and so much harder than the Knee Raises I’ve been doing for the past several weeks now. All of a sudden Knees to Elbows just clicked, and it was awesome.

Knees to Elbows? Say what? Here’s a video to show ya what they’re all about:

For the rest of the WOD, I managed Level 1 exercises: Deadlifts (95 pounds), Box Jumps (20″) and 2 x Single Unders for the Double Unders. Hey, I’ll take it. I’m just happy about my (nearly legit) Knees to Elbows!

Fun event tonight! Need to get ready.

Enjoy the evening, friends!

You guys know that I receive a ton of PR pitches on a daily basis, but did you know that Murphy gets them, too? About once a week, I receive an email pitch for a dog-related product. Most of them are for dog food and treats, so, of course, if Murphy had his way, he’d try them all!

Recently, Murphy received an email about Gnawin’ Forever, a “revolutionary chew toy for dogs that provides hours of long lasting chewing fun, but is also a delicious bacon flavored treat.” Long lasting chewing fun? A delicious bacon flavored treat? It sounded great to Murphy! A few days later, I received the Gnawin’ Forever chew toy and refills in the mail (from the company for free), so today was the day to see what the pug thought of it.

The Gnawin’ Forever toy is made of two parts: a reusable outside housing unit and the chew itself, which are sold in refill packs. The chew goes in the housing unit and can be replaced as needed.

Initial pug impressions:

Oooh, yea, that looks like a great dog toy.

It smells delicious, too. Is that bacon?

Gimme a little lick.

After Murphy closely examined the Gnawin’ Forever toy, I gave it to him to chew. He attempted to gnaw on it, but then just sat there and looked at it on the floor. I thought maybe he didn’t like it, but then it occured to me what was going on.

What’s up with this toy? My adorable squished pug face can’t get to that delicious bacon treat to chew it. Help!

Apparently, for a short-muzzled dog, the housing unit gets in the way of the chew toy, so I gave just the chew part to Murphy.

He was PSYCHED and happily ran around the house with it in his mouth.

When Murphy gets a treat that he really likes, he runs all over the house and whimpers with delight before finding a place to enjoy it.

Murphy loved the Gnawin’ Forever toy and chewed it for a solid 45 minutes straight before taking a break to drink some water. He’s a big fan of his new toy.

If you have a special dog friend in your life, CLICK OVER TO THIS POST and leave a comment for a chance to win a Gnawin’ Forever chew toy!

Lunch

Today’s lunch was a good one: Chopped Kale Salad with Chicken and Truffle Oil. Sounds fancy, right? It actually seemed like I was eating a salad from a nice restaurant.

In the mix: chopped kale, tomatoes, celery, green bell pepper, roasted broccoli, chunked chicken breast, truffle oil, truffle salt, and balsamic vinegar.

Lunch concluded with a container of Liberté Méditerranée Apple Crumble Yogurt.

Have you guys ever tried this stuff? Holy crap, it’s delicious. It has fruit on the bottom (apples, cinnamon, sugar, and raisins) to stir into the yogurt, so it tastes just like apple crisp mixed with creamy yogurt. Nutritionally, it doesn’t do too well (270 calories, 8g saturated fat, and 23g of sugar), but as a dessert, it’s a pretty good option. I will definitely buy this yogurt again.

Snack

I haven’t eaten my afternoon snack yet, but on the agenda are some Cocoa Roast Almonds (< — wicked good!) and a banana, which I’ll probably eat with some peanut butter.

Speaking of bananas, here’s a fun fact from my new desk calendar that my friends at Dole sent me:

Banana Diet

Made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight? In the Japanese Banana Diet, you eat two bananas for breakfast followed by a sensible lunch and dinner. Bananas contain resistant starch, a fiber whose digestive by-products block conversion of some carbohydrates into fuel, forcing your body to rely on fat stores instead.

P.S. I’m hosting a giveaway on Trading Up Downtown for an at-home workout that seems a lot like CrossFit!

I was such a waste of space last night. And it ruled.

Mal insisted on cooking dinner by himself last night. When he has the time, he loves putting on his iPod and zoning out while he cooks. We didn’t go to CrossFit last night, so Mal had some extra time to prepare dinner. I was comfy on the couch, so I let him do his thing in the kitchen. Thanks, Mal!

Of course, we all know who kept him company while he cooked.

Murphy didn’t let Mal out of his sight while he prepared the chicken for dinner.

After a small taste of chicken a few weeks ago, Murphy is now obsessed with it. He learned the word “chicken” real fast!

Once the chicken was in the oven (and there was no chance of it falling on the floor), Murphy came into the living room to keep me company on the couch. He’s not one of the dogs that just lays down to cuddle, Murphy needs to find the best possible position (on you) before he decides that he is sufficiently comfortable. Typically, this involves multiple “pug circles” and some annoyed/frustrated grunting.

It’s Murphy’s world, we’re just living in it.

Dinner

About 40 minutes later, dinner was served. Mal made Chicken with Tomatoes, Onions, and Black Olives. He didn’t use a recipe, but here’s the gist of the ingredients and what he did to make it.

Chicken with Tomatoes, Onions, and Black Olives

Ingredients:

• 2 large chicken breasts
• 1 15-oz can black pitted olives, drained
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 15-oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 huge spoonful of minced garlic
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Salt + pepper to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375*F.
2. Marinate chicken breasts in a mixture of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. (Mal wasn’t sure how much marinade he made, but enough to cover the chicken.)
3. Meanwhile, sauté onion with the garlic in olive oil until soft and lightly browned.
4. Combine onions with the olives and tomatoes in a large bowl.
5. Remove chicken breasts from marinade and place in an 8 x 8 baking dish, and then cover with onions, olives, and tomatoes.
6. Bake for 40 minutes until chicken is cooked through.

Mal served the chicken with leftover spaghetti squash.

Delish!

After dinner, I enjoyed a couple of pieces of dark chocolate. This time, I managed not to eat half of the bar.

It was a nice night.

So, I haven’t been doing a great job following my 8-Week Half Marathon Training Plan, but I’m going to try to do better in the coming weeks. I thought I could handle 5 days of CrossFit + 3 training runs each week, but I’m now realizing it just isn’t going to happen—at least not right now. (Maybe it’s something to work toward in the future?) My new workout schedule will probably be 4 days of CrossFit + 2-3 training runs each week. I think I can handle that. We’ll see how it goes!

I was actually planning to go to CrossFit tonight, but my upper back and shoulders are still sore from Tuesday’s workout. (Wall-Climbs are my nemesis!) So, instead of having a mediocre workout tonight that could potentially leave me exhausted for tomorrow’s WOD, I’m skipping tonight’s class and starting fresh tomorrow. Plus, Saturday’s workouts are always a blast, so I don’t want to miss it.

Workout

A 10K was on my training schedule for today, so I hit the treadmill for a sweaty workout. It was a lot of fun and really challenging. I love those kinds of workouts.

I liked this treadmill workout because it started out at an easy pace and built speed every 1/2 mile. By mile 4 or so, the speeds started to get pretty challenging, but I kept telling myself:

only 3 more intervals

only 2 more intervals

only 1 more interval

Which helped me mentally motivate and pace myself by breaking down the run into smaller parts. I also reminded myself that I wasn’t running that much faster on each interval, so I knew I just needed to keep trucking along. Plus, the faster I ran, the quicker it would be over! When I hit 6 miles, I picked up the pace and sprinted to the end. I love finishing strong. I also love this workout (if you couldn’t tell)!

I finished 6.2 miles in 52:34, which was an average pace of 8:28, and my fast 10K ever. I beat my current PR by 41 seconds! Woohoo!

Snack

Before heading to the gym, I snacked on a banana.

Pug-nocchio!

Ok, it’s an old joke, but I still think it’s funny!

Lunch

After my workout, I threw together a quick lunch: deli ham + provolone cheese with guacamole on whole wheat bread. On the side: salad with truffle oil and balsamic vinegar. Quick, easy, delicious.

Snack

A few hours later, I snacked on another banana, but this time with a scoop of almond butter. I guess it was a two banana kind of day. < —- TWSS?

I’m off to walk the pug, and then I plan to sit on the couch and drink wine for the rest of the night.

Happy weekend, friends!

One of the best perks about working from home is afternoon cuddle time with my favorite pug. How adorable is this dog?!

Murphy often spends much of the day sitting in my lap while I work at my computer. I’m sure it’s terrible for my back, but he’s so darn cute, I just can’t say no. Plus, he keeps me warm!

Breakfast

I woke up craving a warm, creamy bowl of oatmeal, so I whipped up a batch with rolled oats, a banana, egg whites, hemp milk, ground flaxseed meal, and cinnamon. I also added two spoonfuls of peanut butter to the mix.

Lunch

After breakfast, I headed to NuVal for a few hours. I was there during lunchtime, so I packed a meal to take with me.

Today’s lunch: veggies + roasted garlic hummus.

And a single-serving of sunflower butter.

That I spread on a Protein Pancake.

It was a tasty lunch and much more satisfying than I thought it would be. I always sort of worry about being hungry before a workout, but this one did the trick and kept my stomach happy for hours.

Workout

After NuVal, I headed straight to the gym to get my run on. (I knew if I stopped at home, I wouldn’t want to go!) On the agenda: 12 x 400m with 90 seconds rest in between on the treadmill.

For the rest intervals, I walked at 3.5 mph, which worked out to be approximately 0.10 mile, so I just used that distance instead of trying to do the math in my head for 90-second rest and 1/4 mile intervals twelve different times. The more tired I get, the more difficult simple addition becomes for me! Anyway, here’s how it all worked out on the treadmill.

It took me a little over 50 minutes to finish the 5.2-mile workout.

Snack

After my workout, I came home and immediately took a few swigs of coconut water (to replenish my muscles) and then hopped in the shower. After that, I snacked on a toasted Banana Walnut Paleo Muffin with melted butter and a large spoonful of Teddie peanut butter that went directly from the jar into my mouth.

I’m kind of pooped after that treadmill workout, so I’m debating whether to skip CrossFit or not tonight. Plus, a special visitor is visiting tomorrow, so I should probably stay home and clean the house.

Enjoy the night, friends!

P.S. Here’s a super cute/funny photo for the pug lovers!

Yowsahs.

Last night’s WOD was another killer CrossFit workout! Two days in a row of tough workouts, and I’m spent. Today is most definitely a rest day.

Check out last night’s WOD:

Strength:

Overhead Squat

5-5-5

WOD: “Helen’s Ugly Cousin”

15 Minutes As Many Rounds As Possible of:

400 meter run

21 Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls (75, 45)

12 Overhead Squats (75, 45)

It might not look too difficult, but I swear any workout with running (or an insane amount of Box Jumps or Burpees) makes every other exercise in that workout so much harder to do. Holy cardio!

I planned to do the workout as perscribed with 45 pounds, but, at the last minute, I switch to a lighter weight (35 lbs) for the Sumo Dead Lift High Pulls and Overhead Squats. I’m so glad that I did because I’m not sure I could have done that workout with the prescribed weight and proper form. I finished 4 rounds with 29 seconds to spare, so I ran an extra 400m just for fun. I gotta get in some running where I can!

Dinner

When I got out of the shower after CrossFit last night, I found Murphy intensely staring outside. Of course, I wondered what the heck he was looking at, so I walked over to the door to check it out. To my surprise, Mal was out on the backporch grilling a steak for dinner. Apparently, spring-like weather in January means grill time!

On the menu for dinner: grilled steak with roasted broccoli. Delish!

TV dinner.

I finished off the meal with a dark chocolate Adora disk with peanut butter and a couple of glasses of wine.

After drinking a couple of glasses of wine While relaxing on the couch, Mal and I had a little fun with the pug.

Yoda pug?

Do or do not. There is no try.

Mal and I thought it was pretty funny, but Murphy wasn’t amused.

At all.

Super Sunday 5 Giveaway

Thanks to everyone who entered the Super Sunday 5 Giveaway! Here are your winners:

Claire

I live near there – and it will be so great to get out and be active before coming home to healthy snacks to watch the Super Bowl!

Blythe

I’m training for a half marathon and I’m supposed to run 5 miles on that day anyway! What great motivation woooo

kitchenbelle

Sounds like a lot of fun! Would love to run this! Always like checking out a new course.

Anne

Well, I have a 10K on the half-marathon training plan for that day. So I could go for five miles of it as a race!

Congrats, winners! Please email me at tina@carrotsncake.com to claim your prize!

How Much Exercise Is Too Much?

A number of readers have questioned and commented on how much I’ve been exercising lately, so I just wanted to explain myself.

Since I started CrossFit, I’ve started to exercise more simply because I enjoy it so much. The WODs are never the same thing twice, which keeps things fun and exciting, and even though the workouts are tough, I’m not beating up my body day after day. CrossFit is “by design, broad, general, and inclusive,” and its specialty is not specializing, so it trains the whole athlete and prepares them to face all sort of fitness challenges, which means I can do many different kinds of workouts each week. Of course, when my body is tired and sore, I take a rest day. I know my limits, and I know the importance of rest days. That’s when the magic happens!

As for my running mixed with CrossFit, I have to admit, I probably wouldn’t be doing all that much of it if a half marathon wasn’t on my calendar. After spending the past two months CrossFit-ing, I actually find running sort of boring. Ok, I love a quick interval workout on the treadmill or running 3-4 miles just to clear my head, but the thought of running for hours and hours just doesn’t do it for me. CrossFit is like playtime with my friends for me. It’s never the same thing twice, and I’m always excited to go.

With that said, I stumbled upon an article in this month’s Self magazine that features a really great interview with Jillian Michaels. She said a lot of interesting things, but one quote about exercise, in particular, really got me thinking:

You know you are overdoing it if you are spending more than 5-6 hours a week in the gym. I really, really think you need one day off—your body needs to rest and you need that recovery time. So, if you are going over 6 hours a week, you definitely may have an exercise addiction—unless you are morbidly obese and you have a ton of weight to lose. That’s a different story.

I’m not sure I agree with Jillian on this one. I assume she’s not referring to professional athletes, but what about amateur athletes training for endurance events or people who just enjoy exercise? I don’t think you can say some has an “exercise addiction” just because they spend more than 6 hours doing it each week. I honestly don’t think there’s a right answer for how much someone should exercise. It all depends on what you enjoy, your fitness level, goals, and what works for you.

Question of the Day

What do you think about what Jillian said? If you spend more than 6 hours a week exercising, do you have an exercise addiction? How much exercise is too much?

Good morning! Happy Monday!

So, last night, Mal and I chatted about how good Murphy has it. He lives a really nice doggie life.

I mean, he sleeps whenever he wants.

And wherever he wants.

He gets treats on a regular basis.

He goes for long walks everyday.

He takes frequent trips to the park.

And other fun places.

And he’s loved very much by his owners.

As you can see, this pug has a pretty awesome life, so Mal and I think that Murphy was a really good person in his previous life and came back as a spoiled well-cared for dog in his current life. Maybe we’re nuts, but this dog must have done something really wonderful to have the life he has now!

Dinner

Last night’s dinner was Make-Your-Own-Tacos with all the fixings: tomatoes, green bell pepper, mushroom, cheese, salsa, sour cream, whole wheat wraps.

And ground beef with homemade taco seasoning.

I added a thick layer of horseradish hummus to my taco. It was a delicious decision. I love how it blended with all of the different taco flavors.

After dinner, I enjoyed a serving of Apple Crisp. I made it for Mal last week, but he was burnt out on it, so I finished off the batch. My mom’s Apple Crisp is my favorite dessert ever, so there was no way I was tossing it!

Question of the Day

What do you think of our theory? Do you think good people come back as well-cared for dogs?

P.S. A reader emailed me the other day looking for recommendations for camping and backpacking blogs. I didn’t know of a single one, so if you read any, please leave a comment on this post!

For lunch this afternoon, I made myself a delicious bowl of Creamy Broccoli Soup topped with kale chips and walnuts and some Kashi TLC crackers on the side.

Mmmmm… thick, hot, creamy soup on a chilly January day is simply the best.

I only ate a few bites of my soup before I was roped into an intense game of Pug-O-War with Murphy. He’s so darn cute, I couldn’t turn him down.

Playtime started out innocently enough.

Sniffing…

Pulling…

Tugging…

But, then things got a little crazy. (I even broke a sweat!) Murphy showed his stuffed dragon who’s boss!

In order to prove my pug dominance, I must shake you silly!

Dragon, you are weak… and flimsy!

Friend, are you okay? We were just playing, right? I hope I didn’t shake you too hard.

Ok, Mom, enough with the camera.

When pug playtime ended, I finally finished my soup. (It needed a quick nuke it the microwave.)

It seemed like the pug still had some energy to burn, so I took him for a long walk after I ate my lunch (for the second time).

I’m semi-obsessed with NPR (I listen any time I’m in the kitchen or my car), so I searched for an app to listen to it on my iPhone on my walk with Murphy this afternoon. It turns out that NPR has a news app that let’s you listen live or on demand. Cool!

On our walk, I listen to an interesting piece called Where Is Twitter Taking Us? Apparently, Sweden (as in the Scandinavian country) is giving control of their Twitter account to a different citizen every week of this year. How cool is that? Anyway, it was a really great news piece, so if you’re into Twitter, you’ll definitely like it!

Snack

As an afternoon snack, I enjoyed a Maple Scone with peanut butter spread on top. I’ll share the scone recipe soon!

Some serious R & R is on the agenda for this evening. My body is still tired from Monday and Tuesday’s workouts!

It’s hard to tell who’s winning between Murphy and the couch. At first look, it seems like the pug is dominating his competition.

Without much (if any) effort at all.

But, when you look closer, it doesn’t seem like Murphy is very comfortable, so maybe the couch is winning after all?

I dunno. It’s anyone’s call!

Lunch

Phenomenal lunch today! I had Creamy Broccoli Soup, but it didn’t come from a can for once. I actually made it from scratch!

The recipe was from Real Simple, so, not surprisingly, it was really easy to throw together. Basically, you just add all of the ingredients to a large sauce pan, let it simmer for 20 minutes, and then throw everything in a food processor/blender. And just like that, you have homemade soup! Who knew making soup was so simple?

On the side, I had a toasted whole wheat Sandwich Thin with melted cheddar, which I dipped into my soup. Mmm!

Workout

Remember that run I tried to do yesterday afternoon? Well, I did it today! Hooray! My first run of 2012! Only 731 more miles to go!

I ran a little over 4 miles in 35 minutes using the treadmill workout below. This one was really challenging. You start out with a quick 1-minute interval and then work your way up to longer and faster intervals. I was dying by the final 4-minute interval, but I was almost done with the workout, so I just pushed it. It was a great run!

For a slower paced running workout, just subtract 1.0 from all of the speeds. For a walking workout, subtract 3.0 from all of the speeds.

Snack

After the gym, I ran a bunch of errands and then came home for an afternoon snack. I made a whole wheat Sandwich Thin with peanut butter and banana slices on top and then added more peanut butter to the rest of the banana… and then I ate a spoonful of peanut butter right from the jar. Ok, it was technically three spoonfuls of peanut butter right from the jar, but who’s counting?

I’m off to rescue the pug from the couch (or the couch from the pug?) and take him for a walk. CrossFit and Pot Roast are on the agenda for this evening!

Enjoy the night, guys!

Before CrossFit last night, I grabbed a clementine and some pistachios to snack on. As I went to photograph them, I decided to get Murphy involved—mainly because he was closely following me around the kitchen and seemed like he wanted to help.

I got everything set up for the photoshoot, but then Murphy heard a noise at the front door.

What is it?!?

Annnndd then he was gone.

Obviously, Mal coming home is a lot more exciting than a photoshoot. I still ate my snack after I photographed.

On the drive to CrossFit, Mal and I got on the topic of things that Murphy and I have in common. I have no idea how the conversation started, but it was pretty entertaining. Here’s what Murphy and I have in common (the last 3 are Mal’s contributions):

1. We love long walks.
2. We enjoy participating in road races.
3. We love food and we’ll pretty much do anything for a treat.
4. Our birthdays are in June.
5. We can fall asleep anywhere.
6. Two of our favorite foods are peanut butter and carrots.
7. We don’t like snow.
8. Mal is our favorite person.
9. We love to smile. Smiling’s our favorite.
10. We’re bed hogs.
11. We’re slightly neurotic.
12. When we wake up, our breath smells like low tide.

My husband is so sweet, isn’t he? LOL!

Workout

I know I said this the last time I went to CrossFit, but this WOD was the hardest one so far. My shoulders are so sore this morning!

STRENGTH:

Shoulder Press

5.5.5.5.5

WOD:

20.16.12.8.4 Pull-ups

2.4.6.8.10 Handstand Push-ups

Oh, yes, you read that correctly: sixty pull-ups + thirty handstand push-ups.

Our CrossFit coaches post the WOD the night before, so I checked it out yesterday afternoon. I’m not going to lie, I immediately thought: “F that. I’m not doing handstand push-ups. I can’t do those.” But, when I got to CrossFit last night, I realized (like I always do) that I can do those seemly crazy-hard exercises. (At my first session, I didn’t think I could do a box jump, and now I can bust out 50 of them in a row!) Plus, CrossFit truly has a modification (or substitution) for every exercise, so I ended up doing all 60 pull-ups and 30 handstand push-ups with the help of resistance bands. I also threw up 45-pounds on the shoulder press, no problem. Next time, I’ll definitely go heavier. I’ve never really lifted heavy weights, so I didn’t want to overdo it the very first time.

Check out Mal and me getting our pull-ups on! (You can see the resistance bands that I mentioned.) One of our coaches snapped this pic last night. So fun!

Obviously, my upper body is super sore from yesterday’s WOD, so I’m taking the day off to rest. The only physical activity on today’s agenda is a trip to the dog park with my favorite pug.

Dinner

After CrossFit, Mal and I headed home for dinner. On the menu: mushroom and pepperoni pizza on a whole wheat crust. Mal requested extra cheese and made sure there was enough to his liking before I put the pizza in the oven. He loves cheese!

Mmm… cheese. I ended up eating three pieces of pizza.

After dinner, I wanted something to satisfy my sweet tooth, so I ate a chocolate from our Advent calendar.

Breakfast

This morning’s breakfast was a big ol’ Protein Pancake topped with sunflower butter. I didn’t have any baking powder, so I worried that my pancake wouldn’t fluff-up, but it turned out alright—a little on the dense side, but still delicious.

Mal finished off the rest of the iced coffee this morning, so I brewed another batch, which I am now waiting to cool. Hurry up, caffeine!

Question of the Day

What do you have in common with your pet?

P.S. For those of you with Christmas shopping left to do, Ebates has some sweet deals and free shipping on a bunch of stores right now. I just did a crap-ton of online shopping this morning and got a ton of cash back. Woot!