Breakfast Cookies and Holiday Randomness!

We shall start off with Muscle Man's favorite...

Breakfast Cookies!!

These little gems are a combination of different ideas I pulled from various blogs and created something that he and I could grab and eat on the run, and still maintain a healthy meal. These babies pack about 20g of protein apiece, taste great, hold you over for a long time, and are great to grab on the go, which we are always in need of. The great thing about these is that they are quick, fairly cheap, easy to make, and it's super easy to make variations because they're really hard to screw up. :-)

To make about 5 cookies:

* 1 cup oats (quick or old fashioned, doesn't matter)

* 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

* 1/2 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)

* dash of cinnamon

* handful of raisins or craisins to taste

Put that in a large bowl and stir in about 1/3 cup of milk. Adjust portions however you want, but it should have about the consistency of thick cookie dough at the end. I like to use organic peanut butter or even almond butter, and in these particular ones, Muscle Man threw in craisins, crushed almonds, and chia seeds on top. Also, if I'm in the mood for something sweeter or will be sharing this with kids, I'll substitute a little Nesquick chocolate milk powder. Once you mix it thoroughly in a bowl (spoon, hands, doesn't matter.. :-) just spoon onto a plate in cookie form and stick it in the freezer overnight to harden. (PS- might want to put something on the plate so they do not stick... Maybe just a short spray of non-stick spray just to make it easier to get them off the plate)

This recipe is as healthy as you want to make it. Get better quality ingredients (i.e. organic, raw, as simple an ingredient list as possible on each item, etc), and the healthier it will be. Plus I found out the chia seeds on top are a great addition! :-)

Moving on...

Found this sign in a doctor's office, and felt it fits this blog SO well!

This is the whole concept behind my blog. Make the most of every little decision, opportunity and moment, because that is how we live a bigger life. That is how we are able to look back when we are 80 and smile.

Now it's time for... Holiday Randomness!!

I'm thankful for festive sweaters and scarves... Apparently it counters my dislike of blurry phone pictures. Ha

Creepy stalker snowman... Don't you have one?

This is what we call in Arkansas, a redneck Christmas... Merry Christmas ya'll!

This next one is a little dirty-sailor-ish in nature, but I still thought it was funny. Don't judge, I won't make a habit of bad language, but had to share!

No words needed. Ha!

And last but not least, this gem...

A married couple had been out shopping at the mall for most of the afternoon, suddenly, the wife realized that her husband had "disappeared". 
The somewhat irate spouse called her mate’s cell phone and demanded:  Where the hell are you?
Husband: Darling you remember that Jewelry shop where you saw the Diamond Necklace and totally fell in love with it and I didn't
have money that time and said Baby it'll be yours one day. 
Wife, with a smile blushing: Yes, I remember that my Love.

Husband: Well, I'm in the bar next to that shop.

If I don't post before Christmas, then let me just say...

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and God Bless!!

A Little Monday Pick-Me-Up!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!



So, I feel that Monday is sorely underappreciated, so I'm going to do a little "Ode to Monday" if you will!

Don't you think Mondays deserve a little love?

I thought this was adorable... And as you get to know me, you will find how true I feel this is. I love coffee. It's my kryptonite. God was thinking of me when he created coffee. True story.

Monday often gets such a bad rap, and why? Simply because the poor thing fell at the beginning of the work week. I constantly see things online where people are talking about how much they hate Mondays, how they wish Monday would go away, etc. But honestly, I think that is more of an issue with our mindset than with Monday itself.

A typical Monday mindset...

• We don't want to get up early on Monday after having the weekend to relax
• Can I please just keep hitting snooze?!?
• OMG if that snooze goes off one more time I'm going to break my alarm/phone....

The sequence from that point forward tends to be a variation involving at least some of the following: cursing at the alarm and the day in general because you HAVE to get up with this final alarm or because you look at the clock and realize you're running late... Chase the kids/dog/husband around while trying to get everyone out the door with everything they need, INCLUDING yourself- because you're superwoman and remember everything for everyone, right?... Oh crap, you forgot your lunch because the dog peed on the carpet while waiting on you to finish cleaning up the cereal mess Timmy so lovingly left on the dining room floor... Looks like you're eating out today... Well, what about your workout? Eating out sure won't help that... But do you have time to work out? You completely forgot you had that deadline coming up tomorrow- OUCH %&*(#$^$*# I spilled my coffee!!

**Find wall, bang head, beg for Friday to come around**

Does that sound familiar? I know it often does for me. You feel like Monday hits and everything bombards you, or the vast list of things to do is looming over you, or things just won't seem to go right, or you feel unprepared to start the week up, or whatever the case may be.

The beauty of it, is that the change can be as simple of adjusting our mindset.

I started believing a long time ago in the power of self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, what you say and what your attitude is will affect the outcome of any situation. If you think or say, "I hate Mondays. Today is going to be awful, I can just tell." Well, you know what? You're right. It is going to be awful. You just made it that way. "I'm not prepared for today at all. I just can't handle the start of the work week." Let me tell you the simple truth: The week will start regardless of whether you want it to or not, because one thing in life is for sure: time goes on. 1) You can handle it, because you are a strong person who is very capable. 2) Learn from past mistakes, and prepare better. 3) I bet you're a lot more prepared than you think, so get out there and conquer the world. :-)

A Few Things to Help With Mondays:

* Prepare for the week on Sundays. Everything has its time and place, so on Sunday, spend some time relaxing where nothing invades your happy place: read, take a bubble bath, watch a movie with the family, play a game, go for a run, stretch a little, whatever takes you to your happy place. Just relax. THEN, once you feel a little better, spend an hour or so getting ready for the week: plan out lunches for the week, make sure everyone (including yourself) is aware of what events or highlights are happening during the week, etc. That way when Monday hits, you won't feel quite as overwhelmed.

* We tend to feel tired on Mondays because we sleep in over the weekend, or at least let our schedules get out of whack, and then we blame it on Monday. Studies have proven that our internal clocks are very sensitive to change, and just 1-2 days (i.e. a weekend) of deviating from your normal routine can throw off your body. It is recommended to never deviate from your normal sleeping pattern more than 90 minutes. So if you get up at 6 am during the week and then turn around and sleep until 10 with the kids/husband/dog on the weekends, how do you think that will make you feel once Monday rolls around? It's going to make Monday the most cruel S.O.B. you've ever laid eyes on.

* Welcoming Monday is a conscious decision we have to make until it becomes a permanent mindset. I look at Monday as a fresh start. WE create our own opportunities, and what is Monday if not a chance to start a fresh new week and do things right? It is an opportunity to work harder, show more love to those around you, make sure that your diet and exercise are on track this week, or maybe just make sure to get in a little "you" time this week. Monday is a chance to start fresh. Welcome Monday like it's a friend giving you another chance, another clean slate.

Look at Monday as a starting line to a great week, not as a curse that ended your weekend.

I truly believe that is one of the keys to a great week. :-)

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On another note, I have been learning a lot from the blogging/fitness world, and I have been growing as both a person and an amateur blogger, so a heads up to all of you that there will be changes to come to the blog and my own personal goals as a blogger reaching out to all of you on the things that are important to both me and you... Details to come... :-)

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And last but not least, it would not be my  blog if it wasn't random, so here is your dose of randomness for the day...

My mother gave me a silver pen to write on various surfaces- I don't know, it's a crafty thing and I'm all about craftiness....

Hmm... What to do with the pen first...

PICTURE TIME!!!

Oh crap... Don't sing and take a picture at the same time.

Let's try this again...

There we go!

Until next time, remember... One thing is always constant- time goes on. So are you going to choose to be prepared, hit the ground running, and come out on top of even the biggest of setbacks, or will you let *Mondays* or any other adverse scenario run you over?

Your choice... Let's do this!!