Two Cats and A Bath

The rain is never-ending outside.  I contemplated going for a morning walk, but when a peice of siding from the front of the house flew off due to high wind gusts, I decided to stay in the safe indoors. 😉 

Sundays have always been my rest day, and I like to keep them that way.  But I had this strange and sudden urge to clean, clean, CLEAN!  When this happens, its a good idea to take advantage of it. 😉  I pumped up some Cold Play and went through my room with a gust of energy.  The room isn’t yet perfect, but it’s feeling so good to see things sparkle and shine again. 😀

This morning I also spent some time mmm’ing over a bowl of pumpkin oats. 

• 1/4 c. each oatmeal and oatbran
• 1 c. milk + 1 c. water
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• splash of vanilla
• 1/3 c. canned pumpkin
• toppings: 2 T. Galaxy Granola, scoop of cranberry sauce and a spoonful of peanut butter.

Pumpkin is one of my favorite oat additions…hands down. 😀 

Mid morning, I broke into a yogurt container, and added some crushed flax and half of a carrot-walnut-raisin muffin.  I probably needed the extra energy because…

These two guys needed baths for the second time in two days.  I kid you not.  Poor little Stitch has ringworm, which means they both need baths 4 times a week for at least a month.  Do you have any idea what it’s like to know that that in the long run, giving them the medicated baths is going to help them stay healthy?  But at the same time, feeling horribly guilty because they’re shaking and crying for the entire time? 

Heartbreaking!  I wonder if this is how it feels to have kids? 😉  They were such lovebugs after though, and just wanted to curl up in Nicole’s lap where they knew they were safe.  Poor little guys. 

After washing the cats and helping them dry off a bit, it was time for lunch!

Nicole made us each a humungous salad full of all kinds of goodies.  Black beans, corn, tomatoes, carrots, sauteed chicken and sharp cheddar cheese.  For the dressing, she simply combined light ranch with some cumin.  Easy peasy…and so delicious.  It made for the perfect “tex-mex” salad topper. 😀

(p.s. Nicole always manages to have the most awesome fruit selection whenever I go over.  First nectarine of the season, and it was so juicy sweet! 😀 )

Some days I hate sitting still, and then there are other days where I simply enjoy feeling (and being) lazy.  This afternoon was just that. 

Nicole and I headed out into the cold rain to pick up two hot latte lites from Dunkin Donuts (with an extra special mocha shot), before going back to her place.  We simply chillaxed the afternoon away, while reading the newest Real Simple magazine.  Does a Sunday afternoon get any better than this?  😀

+ a chocolate mint cookie that Nicole had made.  These were awesome!  They were so soft and perfectly sweet.  And the mint didn’t overpower the rich chocolate flavor.  YUM!   

Last night I had made a big batch of vegetarian chili from Cooking Light, so I reheated a big bowl of it for my dinner.  Perfect on top of a big salad with diced avocado.

Ingredients

• 1  tablespoon  vegetable oil
• 2  cups  chopped onion
• 1/2  cup  chopped yellow bell pepper
• 1/2  cup  chopped green bell pepper
• 2  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  tablespoon  brown sugar
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  chili powder
• 1  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1  teaspoon  dried oregano
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  black pepper
• 2  (16-ounce) cans stewed tomatoes, undrained
• 2  (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1  (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Preparation

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell peppers, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add sugar and remaining ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 257 (9% from fat)

Fat: 2.7g (sat 0.3g,mono 0.5g,poly 1.2g)

 

Protein: 12.8g

 

Carbohydrate:48.8g

 

Fiber: 14.2g

And kashi crackers for dunking. 😀

I have an early AM workout planned for tomorrrow before Physical Therapy.  I can’t wait until the weather clears up so I can head outdoors for a bike ride again, but in the meantime I’m happy to have the elliptical machine available. 😀

Question: What would your “ideal” weekend look like?  I’d have one day where I was super busy, traveling through the city or going shopping.  (The morning would of course start with a good, sweaty workout. 😉  ) The next day would be all about relaxing, baking, reading, sipping tea, etc.  😀 

Hope you all have had an awesome weekend!

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