Oh Happy Days

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time —  Steven Wright.

Don’t you love those days when you wake up, not expecting much to happen, but you end up having one of the best days ever?  That explains today in a nutshell. 😀  I don’t know, maybe it’s all about having a good attitude.  But everything was making me happy today!  Or maybe it’s all about the oats?  Hmm…that’s a thought. 😉

Being all out of bananas (horror, horror!!) I decided to branch out with something different.  It’s good to be spontaneous and wild sometimes…ha! 😉

• 3/4 c. oats
• 1 c. milk + 1/2 c. water
• 3/4 gala apple (eating the other 1/4 while everything was cooking!)
• handful of raisins
• cinnamon and nutmeg
• 1 T. crushed flax
• 1 T. walnuts on top

I forgot how much I love this combo!! 😀

I had such a crazy busy morning…first I wanted to fit in some outdoor time to take in the “10 day”…this is how my family refers to absolute perfect weather. 😀  Mom and I headed out for a 4-mile walk and I enjoyed every minute!  Walking can be pure bliss sometimes…love it! 😀

When I came home, it was already 11 o’clock, and I hadn’t even finished the grocery list!!!  And when there’s not even a slice of bread left in the house, you know that food is scarce. 😉  I rummaged through the fridge to find one last pear and a cheesestick, which became mini meal #1 as I searched for next week’s meals while focusing on keeping the cost as low as possible (without sacrificing taste or nutrition, of course! 😀 )

Then along came mini meal #2!!  As I was heading out the door, mom handed it to me and told me it would be better to have it just in case then to buy out the entire store when I was grocery shopping.  Ahh…good, good advice! 😉 

After I was home and putting all the groceries away, my stomach was rumbling, letting me know that 2 mini meals didn’t quite cut it!  I definitely prefer having a sit down lunch then having little meals here and there on the go, but thankfully this doesn’t happen all too often. 😉

Anyways, along came mini meal #3 to save the day! 😀

I had a whole wheat pita stuffed with 2 T. of peanut butter, banana slices, and topped it all off with a tsp of honey.  With some cucumbers and carrots on the side…oh. my. word.

I forgot how much I loved this combo.  I heated up the skillet and toasted it to get everything all ooey, gooey, and delicious, while the outside of the pita stayed crispy.  Pretty much amazing. 😀

My last snack of the evening consisted of a bowl of plain yogurt with a T. of flax and a handful of raisins.  Another combo that doesn’t get old. 😀

I was super excited when I checked the mail because I got my first issue of the magazine Todays Dietitian that I had ordered a while back.  LOVE this magazine, it’s so informational.  They also have a great website with interesting articles: http://www.todaysdietitian.com/

Nicole and Nate stopped by over the house after having the house they might be purchasing, inspected.  I decided to take the rest of the day off from homework and just have fun…it is Friday, after all. 😀

I headed out with my sister for a quick spin to pick a few things up, and then came back to get dinner started for the entire family…and picked a little boquet of flowers to dress up the picnic table. 😀

Don’t you just love it when the weather cooperates?  No bugs, cool breeze, sunny…it was perfect! 😀

The meal was pretty wonderful too. 😀  My dad was busy on the grill with the summer squash and zucchini, and the hawaiin style pork chops.  I roasted some potatoes indoors, along with some sauteed green beans.  Everything tasted so summery and fresh.  😀

I went back for a bit more veggies and a grilled pineapple ring. 😀 

And no summer meal is complete without some fresh watermelon! 

+ a campfire in the backyard! 😀 

I think we spent a good 3-4 hrs. laughing and chatting in front of the fire.  Just another plus to add to a wonderfully fun, summer day. 😀 

I made my favorite smoothie combo for a snack…

• 4 ice cubes
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 c. milk
• 1 T. peanut butter
• splash of vanilla

Eaten with a spoon. 😀

The last highlight of the day was when we broke out the s’mores!  😀

I’m so sleepy now, after a day of sunshine and fun!  And tomorrow I have a 5-miler planned, so I should probably get some good sleep in. 😀 

OH, and I can’t believe I almost forgot to mentiont the fact that I’m officially registered for the 10k in September!!!  ha…how could I forget?  It was probably the highlight of my day, as I walked to the mailbox and mailed it away.  I could have registered for it online but I wanted to snail-mail it, because it felt so much more official…haha. 😀  I’m super excited about entering my very first race!!  And best of all, my dad is going to be running it as well…it’s going to be a blast! 😀

Hope you all have an awesome weekend ahead!! 😀

Exercise: 4-mile walk