Good morning! Happy (Cookie) Friday! 
I need to give myself some tough love to get my office clean today! Look at this mess! No wonder I never work in there. š³
I’ve actually been working in the living room in front of the TV, hunched over my laptop, which is obviously great for my back. š
After spending 45 minutes crouched in front of my computer, blogging about Taste of the Nation last night, I knew something needed to change ASAP. My goal for the day is to clean and organize my desk and get my office in order, so I’m not tempted to sit on my couch and work.
Breakfast
I’m hosting a pancake-inspired giveaway over on Trading Up Downtown this morning, so I made banana pancakes for breakfast. Friday + pancakes = total treat!
In the batter:
- 1 cup Bisquick Heart Smart Pancake Mix
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed meal
- 1 cup vanilla soy milk
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 banana, sliced
The batter made 6 medium-sized pancakes. I ate two; Mal ate the rest.
I topped my pancakes with peanut butter and maple syrup. Mmmmm!
Tough Love
So, remember when I overindulged on Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Cookies and then chatted with Mal about it the next day? Well, I have received a TON of questions and comments asking me to share his words of wisdom.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my husband and I consider him one of the most intelligent people I know, but he really didn’t say anything especially enlightening or inspiring to me that day. Mal just gave me a much-needed dose of tough love. Basically, he said:Ā get over it and stop feeling sorry for yourself. Worrying about something like overeating does nothing good for you. Giving it to me straight like this definitely helped me get it together and get myself back on track. Because, really, what does worrying do? Mal is a smart guy! š
Cookie Friday
Horray for Cookie Friday! Here’s some inspiration for your day!
Teresa’s Chocolate Chip Cookies made with applesauce
Brie’s shortbread cookie from Panera
Brie is running her first half marathon tomorrow, so be sure to visit her blog and give her a little encouragement!
Naomi’s Patriots cookie from Baker’s Best in Newton, MA
Holy yum is right! š
Free Wine Tasting in Littleton
Tonight, my aunt is hosting a free wine tasting from 4:00 – 7:00 pm at the the Nashoba Package Store in Littleton, MA. They’ll be tasting some great new wines from Yalumba Vineyards in Australia. If you live out that way, you should definitely check it out.
Question of the Day
Have you ever received a dose of “tough love”? Was it helpful to you?
P.S. If you haven’t entered yet, you still have a chance to win the Scanpan Nonstick Skillet! I’m picking a winner this afternoon.
99 Comments
too funny! I am eating a cookie as I read this ha! but def. not a healthy one!
I tend to flip out of things like that a lot, so I too have to remind myself worrying does nothing but take days off my life!
Love Cookies Friday! Thanks! And as for tough love, yep, it works! Sometimes I just need to hear “well, quit eating all the cookies.” “Ok I will!” And that’s it for eating tons of cookies that night! But yes, don’t beat yourself up and move on!
Tough love totally helps motivate me–my mom tends to tell me the facts straight up which helps me understand what I need to do to get ahead of the game in both school and life
with love and cupcakes,
cookteen
I have the same problem with keeping my desk organized, but since I’ve been better and doing a mini-clean every few days I’ve stayed seated here more often!
Oh boys are always good at giving a dose of tough love! And they are usually right;)
I am so bad about taking my laptop into bed with me. Spring Quarter of last year it never actually made it to my desk!
I’ve def received tough love and although it seemed harsh, it’s probably what I needed to hear. It also pisses me off and motivates me… lol
Happy Fri Tina!
-Mary
ha – when i first looked at that photo of your office i thought “it’s so clean!”
Good advice. I am horrible at worrying and obsessing over things so my bf has to snap me out of it often as well.
My boyfriend is great at tough love – with a dose of extra love in there. Usually it’s something to the tune of “Yes you ate a cookie (or four) but I still love you and the size of your rear does not change that. Now go to the gym, be a happy runner chick, and stop being neurotic!”
I forgot to send you the pic of my cookies last night! I’m gonna get on that right now. AND I went in to Nuval today to talk with Rachel and Sam. It went great and I’m going to start interning in May when the semester is over! š š š
Mmm, cookies. And tough love can definitely help, but it depends who it comes from. If it comes from someone who wouldn’t take tough love from me I’m a little less apt to take it from them…
Tough love is definitely needed at times and many times men are the ones who will set you straight, it seems to me that they don’t worry and over-analyze as much as women do.
I’ve been through 4 months of pure you know what with my stress fracture and I’ve worried myself to death. I recently came to the conclusion that my worrying was doing NOTHING, not helping me one bit. And you know what? I’ve made an effort to not worry and I am a LOT happier!
You spoke about over eating the showed us all those delicious looking treats. That’s not fair. š
As for “tough love talk”, my father is the best for that. My mother always sympathizes. Both work for me.
I have that same chair from IKEA that you have in your living room. Granted, I have no where to put mine, so it’s currently in many pieces in the closet in the spare room. But it’s comfy and I love it!
Sometimes tough love is the kick in the butt we need.
Hey there, when do we get the full tour of your apartment?
my mom gives me tough love a lot! but it’s generally along the lines of what mal said. worrying about the past or about something as silly as eating a few too many cookies isn’t helping me and certainty isn’t making those around me happy either.
i love your apartment by the way! pretty walls. i will definitely be having a massive cookie for friday today. i just LOVE your tradition. it gets me through the week š
Tough love is the best! It’s the only type of advice that really gets through to me
Yay for cookie Friday!!!
@K: When it’s clean and I have some time! š
Haha I love how all our boyfriends/husbands tell it to us straight…last night my boyfriend and I went running and he was trying to get me to go faster and I was whining about it and saying he wasn’t saying the right encouraging things. He was basically like, if you ever want to get better you need to push past your comfort level and I’m not going to baby you and say things like “you’re almost there” if you’re not. At first I was PISSED but now that I think about it, he was so right, and I just hope he’ll go running with me again to kick my booty into shape!
The pancakes look YUMMMMMMMMY!
I feel the same exact way about my husband, and ironically, he would and HAS given me the same sound advice about overeating. I worry and complain about it so often that his first reply is now, “Stop being ridiculous.” LOL <3
Jenn
PS. Your office doesn’t look messy to me AT ALL!
Hi Tina,
I’m just wondering if you always bake cookies on Fridays or if you go and pick one up? I have Starbucks Fridays. Its a great way to end my work week! It’d be a nice come down from the week activity, I think, to bake cookies after work on Fridays with a chai latte in my hand. š
Vanessa
My boyfriend gives me tough love all the time – that’s his M.O. It happened just last night! I made chocolate chip coconut cookies around 11pm and of course ate a ton of dough so felt gross when I got in bed. He basically just said stop whining, everyone eats dough when they make cookies, it doesn’t magically show up on your hips within three minutes – go to bed, tomorrow’s a new day!! He’s right. This morning I feel much better getting sleep than if I had stayed up obsessing.
sounds just like something my husband would say š Have a wonderful Cookie Friday!
@Vanessa: Both! š
Happy Cookie Friday:) I hope you have a great day! Sometimes my hubs gives me some tough love when it comes to food/eating/exercise. Guys seem to be more sensible and not worry so much in those areas. He always cheers me up and makes it seem like no big deal. He is always positive and very supportive too. Don’t you love great hubs???
I LOVE the color of your office!!! That light purple is so cute! Happy (cookie) Friday to you! I need to bake some cookies today!!!
Tough love works for me too! It’s not what you want to hear, but it is the truth. And after you process it for a while, after perhaps initially being upset, you realize what’s going on and you can move forward.
Hope you have a great day, Tina!
banana +chocolate +bread+cookie?
Totally. I really appreciate tough love – it works for me and always sets me back on track. Sometimes, you need a little kick in the butt to re-align your priorities!
Tough love always makes me feel worse first, until it clicks and then I feel worlds better. I was getting a little whiney about work, and one day my mom just said, “So stop complaining and DO SOMETHING!” I thought it was harsh at the time, but it really whipped my butt into action!
I already commented about my mom being my tough love-dispenser (love her!), but it’s so interesting for me to read about how many spouses/significant others provide the tough love. My boyfriend is not good at that! He first knew me when I was suffering from anorexia, so I think that he is very sensitive to the fact that when I call myself “fat,” I often mean it. I’ve been in remission for my ED for over 2 years, but in the scheme of things, that’s not a very long time. I appreciate that my boyfriend takes the more “neutral” approach (he doesn’t *indulge* me, though!), and that my mom gets a little more hard-core about it. It’s a nice balance!
For the record, I finally made your banana bread chocolate chip cookies….. because they’re looked amazing! And I was right… they are amazing. My batch made 21. I ate 20 over the course of 3 days. not something I proud of, but hey. I tried throwing the rest in the freezer to deter my craving of these babies… but then I learned they taste just as delicious frozen, eek! They really don’t harden at all, just taste cold. Ha!I
I liked Mal’s advice. Must be nice to have such a straight-forward and supportive husband. If my bf knew I ate all those cookies, I would get an earful, jeez. Haha! Let’s just say, I won’t be making a full batch next time. Also just to let ya know, I made a couple of substitutions, my changes are in parenthesis…
* 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (1/2 cup all-purpose, 1/4 cup wheat flour)
* 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
* 1/2 cup sugar (1/4 cup sugar + 1 Tb. agave nectar, though next time I think I’ll cut out the sugar completely and just rely on the agave nectar and sweetness of the coconut)
* 1/2 cup shredded coconut
* 1/2 cup canola oil (1/2 coconut oil)
* 1 ripe banana
* 1 cup chocolate chips (I think next time I’ll cut the chocolate chips amt, to help with the calorie count)
* 1 tsp vanilla
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 1 egg (used equivalent with liquid egg whites instead)
YUMMERS! Definitely a keeper! you’re quite the creative one Mrs. T! I love reading your baking experiments, I guess since I’ve always seen baking as such a science I never really dabble n experimentation. You have inspired me! Keep those recipes coming! š Cheers!
Cookie Friday is the best invention ever! I was prepared today because I made a batch of craisin-chocolate chip cookies yesterday. I enjoyed one while running errands earlier and it brightened my day right up!
Have a great weekend!
yum, I had the Bisquick heart smart mix for breakfast today too! I love that stuff!!
Wow, I must try PB on my pancakes! Awesome idea. š Have a great weekend!
My husband and your husband should get together and have a beer!!!! I get the “get over it” speech at least once a week. I love to obsess over things that I have no control over (usually because they are in the past). It really helps me because I shouldn’t beat myself up for one slip up.
As for your desk, it’s not messy at all.
My husband is the king of Tough Love. He’s always kind, but honest. Sometimes I don’t want to hear it, but he’s usually right.
I love the pics of other people’s cookie creations.
Question, hope I don’t hit the stupid list… What liquid did you add to the pancake batter?
@Laurel: The directions for the Bisquick called for milk and an egg.
Tough love is difficult for me. Sometimes it works and sometimes it hurts my feelings. I have to be in the right mood for tough love.
I like that you actually blog about overeating. I have such a hard time blogging about my overindulgences!
And that is hilarious that you think that office is messy! Just wait until you have kids one day. š
Hi, I noticed you drink soy milk, and I was thinking of switching from dairy to soy milk because of acne. Does it taste okay? Or do you suggest starting with a flavored soy milk and then going plain? I’ve heard eating too much soy is bad, but the only soy product I would be getting is soy milk, is that an okay amount?
@Lorin: That’s exactly why I switched, and it do think it helps. I started drinking cow’s milk again and my skin has been terrible lately. Soy milk is delicious. Try both the regular and vanilla flavors.
@Tina: P.S. There are lots of other “milks” out there too. I like hemp, almond, and hazelnut milk.
My husban’d the king of tough love. Sometimes I want a little “soft” love. š