We ran out of propane for our grill, so Mal went to Lowe’s yesterday afternoon to buy some. He returned with a tank of propane as well as gallon of stain and a couple of paint brushes. Apparently, when Mal was at Lowe’s, the overwhelming urge to stain our back deck came over him. This, of course, meant that I needed to help him. Spur of the moment home improvement project? Well, okay then!
Mal started on the back of the porch while I worked on the front.
We turned on some tunes and chatted the entire time, so it was actually kind of funāāwell, as much fun as staining a zillion four-sided posts can be.
Once we finished the railings, we moved onto the deck itself.
Soooo much better, right?
Unfortunately, we ran out of stain before we finished, so Part II of “Project: Stain the Deck” happens later today. I can’t wait to see the final product. I have a feeling it’s going to look like a brand new deck!
Dinner
Using our new tank of propane, Mal grilled up some chicken for dinner.
Meanwhile, I folded laundry and drank wine inside. That’s what you call teamwork.
On the menu for dinner: Chicken Salad on top of a green salad. The chicken salad was so delicious, we plan to eat it again for dinner tonight. FYI: tarragon in chicken salad is the bomb!
After dinner, more wine was consumed.
Breakfast
For breakfast this morning, I made a batch of Janetha’s Three Ingredient Pumpkin Protein Pancakes using canned pumpkin, Kodiak Cake Mix, and vanilla protein powder.
I love that this recipe only includes three ingredients. It was so easy to throw together, and in a matter of minutes, I had pumpkin protein pancake batter ready to go!
The pancakes turned out really wellāālight, fluffy, flavorfulāāand I topped them with a big scoop of sunflower butter. I also drank an iced coffee with almond milk with breakfast.
Weekly Workouts
- Sunday: Off
- Monday: CrossFit
- Tuesday: CrossFit
- Wednesday: 4 mile run
- Thursday: CrossFit
- Friday: CrossFit
- Saturday: Off
Off to Easter brunch at Grammie’s house!
Happy Easter!
34 Comments
Those pancakes look delicious. I love pumpkin and I always have a can of puree in the cupboard. I’ll have to add some into my pancakes next weekend.
Those pancakes look delicious, as usual! Have a great Easter!
The deck looks awesome!
I love Kodiak pancakes so much. Perfect Sunday breakfast!
Looks like a great breakfast! Happy easter! Enjoy your sunday š
Deck is looking good so far!
A great reminder I need that pancake mix in my life again. Happy Easter!
Might have been good to seal before the snow/winter…. š
looks sexy, though. Happy Easter!
My favorite pancake mix! I guess that means you are eating gluten again?
I am jealous you have a deck! And I bet it is going to look amazing!
Happy Easter Sunday – enjoy your brunch!
Mmm I make protein/kodiak pancakes all the time, this sounds like a delicious variation š
I love how decks look when they are first stained. Not to be a buzz kill but usually you have to stain in every couple of years to keep it looking that nice. It’s a pain in the butt! Enjoy Easter with Grammie!
Yay, Kodiak Cakes! You gotta come to Utah so you can visit their store š Happy Sunday, Tina!
P.S. It is super weird that you linked back to me and were eating these this morning, because I just woke up and I had dreamed that I met Murphy… NO JOKE.
Haha! Weird! I hope he was well-behaved in your dream! š
The deck looks great!! You’re such a good wifey, to help out!! š
The deck looks awesome. That’s on our home improvement projects for this summer although we have to strip off the current stain first which sounds like a lot of work…
i wish that i was better at home improvement projects! the deck looks great, and perfect to celebrate the coming of spring! happy easter!!!
Those pancakes look awesome! Happy Easter Tina! I hope you guys have an awesome day š
Happy Easter! That deck is going to be so nice!
I have a recipe for chicken salad that I’m making this week that calls for poaching the chicken with tarragon! Glad to know it’s a good combo.
That is my kind of teamwork. Wine always makes housework much more enjoyable. Chicken salad and the pancakes look delicious. Happy Easter.
All of your pancake making has me inspired! I tried the Pumpkin Protein kind the other day, mine tasted good but were pretty crumbly and mushy… not sure why. š
I posted a recipe today of some hearty Oatmeal, Applesauce, Peanut Butter Goodness! Thanks, as usual for the inspiration. š
Staining our deck is on our to-do list for this summer too. I’m not looking forward to it, but I know our deck will be amazing once it’s done!
I think of you often when I make iced coffees! Actually, you and my husband both got me hooked. Last spring, I was ready for healthier, fresher spring/summer foods and after reading your blog I just thought having an iced coffee every morning sounded so good. My husband drinks them frequently but, I never really got into it. Now, it’s a staple!
Recently, I’ve started adding AlmondBreeze’s Almondmilk coconut milk blend in my coffee. It’s good, but it doesn’t really integrate well. I always have to stir or shake my drink. Do you have that problem? Wasn’t sure if it was all almond milk or if it’s the blend that causes that. My husband said it looked like I was drinking “pureed meat” one day. At least it taste’s good, right?
Also, do you sweeten yours?! I used sugar free syrup until I cut out artificial sweeteners. Now, I use sugar, but I don’t want my iced coffee’s to turn into a daily dessert.
Almond milk doesn’t blend as well as soy milk or regular milk, but if I give it a good mix, it’s usually fine.
As far as sweetening my daily iced coffee, I don’t add anything except for unsweetened almond milk. I do, however, enjoy Marylou’s iced coffee on occasion, which is sweetened with cold hot chocolate! š
I had the exact same mix today for breakfast–only for waffles. YUMMY!!
I love impromptu home improvement projects – especially inexpensive ones like painting/staining. It’s going to look wonderful – can’t wait to see it when it’s done!
Happy Easter to you, looks like a busy day! I just spent 6 hours cleaning and rearranging my kitchen. Didn’t even make dinner yet. Wish I had some of your chicken salad!
Great idea to stain your deck! I’m sure the finished product will look amazing.
Quick question –
I have tried countless times to make your apple cinnamon pancakes. Unfortunately, I have failed miserably. I followed your guidelines word for word, yet somehow the texture doesn’t seem to resemble a pancake as it is quite thin and crumbly as apposed to fluffy. The flavour however is never lacking! š Just curious as to what I may be doing wrong..
The key is cooking them slowly on low heat so they don’t fall apart! š
You and Mal make such a happy, lovely couple. It’s always a joy to read about how well you get along and the fun you have in just everyday life. I hope that’s not too creepy to read… Your blog brightens my day!
J
That pancake looks SO fluffy- yum!
The deck looks awesome!! Sometimes spur-of-the-moment home improvement projects are more fun simply because they aren’t on your to-do list for months. I can attest to this! š
That deck looks great. I always want a deck for our afternoon tea but I never settle my mind enough to make it. Now I will definitely make it, so that I can have delicious meal in there like you. Yet, I learn from you that I have to prepare everything before I run out things. Happy Easter too!