Good morning! How’s it going, friends? I hope your day is off to a fabulous start!
It’s time for another Photo Dump, which means I’ll share all sorts of random photos from my iPhone. This bunch is definitely a fun mix. Enjoy!
Our little monkey chowing down on a banana. Look at that intensity! Haha! He loves bananas as much as I do!
Back at Body Pump. Our family recently joined the local YMCA, where they offer Body Pump classes. For the new readers, I used to be obsessed with Body Pump. It was actually what jump-started my weight loss after college and got me in shape for my wedding. I actually loved it so much I used to do it at home in my living room!
“Noodling” at the pool. One of the main reasons we joined the YMCA was for the pool. Quinn and I go to a weekly “Water Babies” class and we randomly pop in during “open swim” to play in the pool,Ā so we love going to the Y.
Waiting for Quinn’s first haircut. That band-aid! Poor guy.
A very expensive basket. I recently saw this basket at Crate & BarrelĀ and wantedĀ to buy it for our firewood, but when I looked at the price ($120), I just couldn’t do it. I know I can find something similar for much cheaper, so I snapped a pic for future reference.
THE bag (akaĀ āDawnāĀ diaper bag). Oh my gosh…Ā best bag ever. I took this pic to send to my sister-in-law since she’s in the market for one too. Of course, I had all good things to say about it!
A good hair day. I recently started using ACURE Leave-in Conditioner +Ā Sally Hershberger Glam Waves Texture Spray in my hair while wet and letting it air dry. For someone who has barelyĀ wavy hair, it actually gives me some pretty awesomeĀ waves without much effort!
Having a blast in Newport. This photo cracks me up. Quinn looks so unhappy, but I assure you he was not. He was actually in an awesome mood, but decided to slump down and act miserable when my father-in-law snapped this photo. Haha!
Goose gang at Southfield during one of my runs. Do geese freak anyone else out? I always think they’re going to attack me. I ended up running on the side of the road to avoid these guys. And a potential attack.
Quinn helping out during our recent Pottery Barn consultation. Remember when I mentioned this a few weeks ago? We signed up for a free consultation and it was so helpful. We definitely have a better idea of what to buy for our home now.
A recent vegetarian dinner. I’m not giving up meat, but I’m definitely trying to cut back to see if it helps with my UC symptoms. I figured I’ve tried every other diet out there, so we’ll see what happens!
My grandma’s porch. She recently had some work done onĀ her house, so my sister sent this photo to my cousins and me along with a joke about the donut holesĀ we may or may not have put inside the walls when it was first built. We were like 10 years old, so I wonder what happened to them afterĀ 25 years?
Broken glass from my iced coffee. I’m such a space cadet sometimes. I left my mug of iced coffee on top of my car, so when I stopped at the end of my street to pull out onto the main road, it went flying and broke into a million pieces all over the pavement. I’ve never forgotten my iced coffee on the top of my car, and I rarely ever bring glass with me in the car, but, hey, I guess there’s a first for everything! Oops!
Cinnamon Toast Butter. OMGSOGOOD. I used this in a recent batch of my Mom’s Apple Crisp, so I texted her a photo to tell her how delicious it turned out. If you haven’t made my mom’s apple crisp yet, you’ve gotta try it!
A big can of pumpkin puree. I opened it on Tuesday and don’t want it to go to waste, so pleaseĀ share your favorite pumpkin recipe!
Questions of the Day
Got a delicious pumpkin recipe to share?Ā
Ever forgotten somethingĀ on the roof of your car?Ā
Are you afraid of geese?Ā
P.S. Be sure to enter my giveaway to win a $100 gift card to The Vitamin Shoppe. I know you want to try some of those nut butters and pancake mixes! I will pick a winner tomorrow morning.
86 Comments
haha i love when william chows down on whole bananas too! plus he’s climbing everywhere! monkey boys!!!!
I really wish my gym had a body pump class. I’ve never taken one! And I bet you could get a cheaper basket at Home Goids.
I hate geese! I have heard they will bite, especially from the rear (your hamstrings). I avoid them at all cost!
When I was a kid my family went to tailgate at a Naval Academy football game with a huge group of friends, and my dad and I went to the store to pick up the giant sheet cake my mom ordered. My dad put it on top of the car while he was unlocking the doors (in the pre power locks days), and yeah….. that cake never made it to the game.
Oh no! Wasted cake is so sad!
I’m afraid of ALL birds and thankfully so is my boyfriend! When I found out we both don’t like birds, it was like a match made in heaven! š
Oh my gosh! Lost iced coffee is so sad!! Leaving something on the roof of my car is one of my worst fears because I am also a space cadet.
Yay for BODYPUMP! Our gym had a sub shortage last week and I ended up teaching like 5 classes last week. Too much of a good thing, you know… š
My favorite spot to run is a lake that is home to a ton of geese! There have been some mean ones there in past so I’m always super cautious around them and get really nervous to run by them!
I switched gyms this year and they somehow don’t offer Bodypump! I miss it so much and might need to ask about it. It’s a newer gym so I’m hoping they consider it eventually. They have a ton of other awesome classes, so I’ve been switching things up which is also good.
Looking for pumpkin recipes too! I have 4 cans to use up. Maybe a baked pumpkin oatmeal?
I just made The Fitnessista’s Pumpkin Pie Brownies. Soooo good! Def make them with your leftover pumpkin.
Oooh, thanks for the suggestion!!
Geese are freaky. They are way too unpredictable for this gal. When we were little, one chased my bother around a park, which is funny to think about now, but pretty scary at the time!
Our local Y is really nice too! I taught pilates there and loved it! My son also loved their water babies class and they did a really good job actually teaching him some swimming basics. I really love Bodypump as well!
Kath Eats has a pumpkin soft serve on the blog today!! Yum!
geese freak me out when running too! they can be aggressive little critters, that’s for sure.
See if Quinn will eat pumpkin! My little one loves it straight out of the can. He’s younger though (10.5 months) so hasn’t experienced as much good food as Quinn.
I’ve used a fee different recipes but love making pumpkin chocolate chip muffins!!!
I am so afraid of geese my roommate used to shake her keys and yell while walking backwards to the car when they were in our complete parking lot!!
Love Quinn’s face eati that banana!!!
Fear of geese is entirely justified. Geese will f*ck your sh*t up! When I was an undergrad at University of Maryland, my running route took me past a couple places where geese liked to congregate, and I always slowed down to pass them lest they chase me, hissing like a bunch of crazies.
When I was a kid, we used to go to St. Francis, KS, where my mom grew up, to visit my grandma, and while there, we used to go feed the ducks. Once, a huge flock of geese came around, and were trying to get the bread we were feeding the ducks, and they were getting vicious! We never went back, which is a shame, because that was always a fun thing to do. Geese don’t both me as much now, but if you don’t have food, they generally leave you alone.
I can’t eat sweet potatoes at the moment so I planned on making your morning glory muffins and replacing the sweet potato with canned pumpkin!
I mix pumpkin into yogurt and oatmeal! With a dash of cinnamon, chopped walnuts (+ apple? banana? raisins? anything!) it’s a wonderful fall breakfast! š
OMG, I leave stuff on the roof of my car all the time! Luckily, I usually remember before I pull out of the driveway but there have been a few occasions where I’ve driven off with water bottles, coffee mugs, etc on the top of the car. Once I forgot my wallet on top of the car at a rest stop on the Mass Pike! I had to loop around to get back there but luckily some nice guys had found it and called me before I even made it back.
Yay for the YMCA! I am a Personal Trainer at our Y! Such a great gym (of course I MIGHT be a tad biased!). Yes, geese are terrifying!!!
I’m obsessed with these http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/09/04/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-bars/ Have a great day!
Thank you for the recipe. Those look awesome!
Fannetastic Food’s Oatmeal Banana Pumpkin Cookies (I have made these before, leaving out the banana and using all pumpkin, b/c I too had leftover pumpkin). Not too sweet, good snack/b’fast accompaniment.
@Jennifer: http://www.fannetasticfood.com/recipes/oatmeal-banana-pumpkin-cookies/ here’s the link (duh)
Birds are pretty creepy, period haha. I totally drove away with coffee on my roof, but thankfully it was a plastic tumbler. RIP favorite tumbler! Gina just posted these and they look amazing: http://fitnessista.com/2015/10/pumpkin-pie-brownies-grain-free-dairy-free/
Geese are the worst. Our house backs to the neighborhood pond and there are a ton of geese who hang out there. It’s a huge problem and I have so many geese stories (one flew into our house at 6am once and was knocked unconscious in our yard for the better part of the morning). Our HOA even has someone on retainer who rows around the pond in a canoe with a trained dog to scare the geese away. Like I said, the worst.
How fun! I’ve taken a body pump class before, it was awesome! Love the hair, it looks really cute and beachy.
For the pumpkin puree could you freeze it in an ice cube tray and use the cubes later in smoothies or something? I think I may be only person on the Earth that dislikes pumpkin so I’d actually just toss it. š
I am petrified of geese. I go on the other side of the road if I am approaching some, haha! Love me some Body Pump, I haven’t done it in forever though. It’s one of the best workouts in my opinion!
Since the local Y is really my only option (I’m in small town USA), we have a family membership. It is an amazing place.
I teach spin and Chisel (our own hybrid of Body Pump). My son also does all the activities they have to offer: swim lessons, summer camps, after school care, football, soccer, basketball, tennis, etc.
I would make pumpkin pie smoothie with leftover pumpkin!
Completely unrelated, but did you know that today is National Pug Day?!
http://www.pugday.com/
It is?!? What a wonderful day. I’ll be sure to celebrate Murphy today!
Geese are evil suckers and I always move to the other side of the road when I see them!
I place pumpkin in Ziploc bags (usually measured out by the cup) and put them in the freezer. That way you’ll have pumpkin at the ready for recipes like muffins and smoothies! I’ve lost too much pumpkin to mold because I’ve forgotten about it in the back of the fridge! š
I’m terrified of the geese too!
If you’re looking for a dinner idea for your pumpkin, I made a turkey pumpkin chili that went over really well last fall! Here’s the recipe: http://braisetheroof.com/2013/10/11/pumpkin-chipotle-turkey-chili/
Quinn’s faces crack me up – he looks like a very expressive little guy!
I added pumpkin puree to my chili! It wasn’t noticeable taste wise but made the chili thicker and no one knew it was in there, score! Whole foods has a recipe for pumpkin chili, highly recommend! (Especially with some colder days in the forecast here in New England, chili is the perfect meal and great for leftovers!)
I once put my purse on the roof and drove away..womp! womp!
Luckily a neighbor saw what had happened and kept it safely for me b/c I didn’t realize until I had arrived at my destination and didn’t have it.
I grew up on a lake and we often had Canada geese. They can be quite aggressive so I think you’re smart! Their beaks are very sharp and it always makes me nervous to see parents letting their small children get extremely close to them especially with food. Plus they leave their poop everywhere and then the kids are running (and falling) in it. I’m not a germophobe or generally afraid of animals but this is one animal around which I exercise caution!
Try out the pumpkin chilli recipe found on trader joes website! I made it the other day in the crockpot and it was delicious!
Thank you! That sounds awesome!
We are adding pumpkin to the dog’s food right now, lol…if you want to give Murphy a bit.
I keep seeing that you can just use pumpkin and spice cake mix together to make muffins. Nothing else required.
Murph would LOVE that. Thank you for the idea! š
Geese are so mean and nasty! The college I went to has a huge pond on campus and in order to get to some buildings you have to walk by, through, and over the bridge of the pond. The geese would just wait for students to walk by and jump out and attack! Sneaky!
Haha!
1. I LOVE that picture of Quinn eating the banana. So cute!
2. I got attacked by geese when I was running on a trail once. Now I make a wide berth around them!
3. Pumpkin is great for dogs (and cats, too!) I put a few spoonfuls on top of my dog’s food every day. The extra fiber is great for his digestion and helps dogs that scoot their butts (needing anal glands expressed). Kind of weird to post on a food blog, but it IS a good food for them, too. Nice to give them a little fall treat. See if Murphy likes it!
if you have kodiak pancake mix there is a recipe for muffins on the back. just sub out the banana for pumpkin. delicious.
First off i’m Delaney and i’m a pumpkin everything addict….LOL
I use canned pumpkin all the time currently I add to my oatmeal in the morning with cinnamon, almonds and a little brown sugar. On weekends when I have some more time I add to Kodiak cakes with cinnamon, so good. I also give a spoon full to the pugs in the am!
I HATE geese! A friend of mine got bit on the nose by one when she was just a toddler and had to get stitches! Run far, far away!
OMG I love geese. Wow it is so sad that people are so scared of them. I love bananas about that as much as Quinn. I look down and next thing I know it is gone. Great pics
bakingrunner.blogspot.com
These paleo pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were a hit at Thanksgiving last year: http://www.wellness-and-workouts.com/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookie-recipe.html
Those look incredible!
I’m giving a new recipe a shot this weekend! I need some Pumpkin Bread in my life!
http://wholefoodsnewbody.blogspot.com/2013/09/clean-eating-pumpkin-bread.html
Let me know how it comes out! Sounds delish!
I just saw this recipe for pumpkin cookies and they look soooo good.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/10033/iced-pumpkin-cookies/?internalSource=staff%20pick&referringId=968&referringContentType=recipe%20hub
I don’t see a lot of geese when out walking but I’m always hesitant of squirrels – I don’t trust them!
oh geese. definitely freak me out, i’ve seen them attack others before! my dog used to just go after them hahah.
I have a similar story with the donut holes. When I was younger, my dad had a convenience store, and I would sit on top of the soda fridges and just hang out. Well, I wrote all about my favorites (backstreet boys, spice girls, etc) and left it there. So hopefully someone got some joy out of my list of favs hahaha
You hair looks fab! Do you put both in after you shampoo & condition your hair in the shower?
Yep! I let it air dry a little first.