bringing back breakfast + important things to note

Call me crazy (actually, please don't!), but I brought back an old breakfast favourite. I don't know where it disappeared to for the last few months (probably somewhere behind all the pancakes I was eating!), but it finally made a comeback. Toast with PB&J.

Just as good as I remembered! Don't ever leave me for that long again...unless your name is pancakes and you have another litre of maple syrup to provide us with because we mysteriously already devoured the one my mom gave us a week ago.

Ok so, not a litre, but still a decent amount that could probably last a family of 4 a month, yet it lasted this family of 2...6 days. Make that 5.

This is also a good time to let you guys in on some important things that I have to note. Pay attention because they may come in handy someday.

#1: always be careful, not to fill your tea mug too full so that when you walk, it spills all over you, and you end up a burn victim.

This was after the down-the-hall spillage...hence the cm space in the mug now. Speaking of cm's, yes that's my calculated AND the periodic table featured in this pic. You must be super jealous of the things I do in a day ;)

#2: your frying pan should always look like this:

I don't care how many times the veggies fall out as you try to stir it, you should always have a frying pan that's overflowing with them. Plus, kale wilts down so much that it's like you never put any in!

#3: I drink water like I've been in the Sahara for 5 years, and you should too.

I drink at least one of those canisters everyday (it holds 1182mL), along with water upon waking and with everything in between. I'd like to say that my bladder is as solid as that water bottle, but unfortunately it's not! And don't drink a lot before bed like me. But if you do, let's compare times for when we get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night - mine's hanging around 1-2am right now!

#4: make your own gnocchi.

It totally beats the stuff you buy in the fridge section at the grocery store. If I knew that my first attempt at making gnocchi would turn out fabulous, I would have tried sooner. Looking at this picture makes me want to make more right now. Just don't share any with your husband because he'll eat it all on you, and then your hard work goes to waste. When he asks what you're making, say, "what gnocchi?! I don't see any!"

And there you have it...very important things, clearly.

Time to get back to studying chemistry - my least favourite thing about 'important things to note.'

my very first foodie penpals

So, I had this crazy idea last month to get involved with foodie penpals! How could I be ever so crazy to want to have people mail me food and send some back to someone new in return?!

{If you don't sense the sarcasm, this is where I step in and say, it's totally not crazy!}

Me + the chance to try out new foods + sending someone else new foods = match made in heaven!

So let me get to what I received for my very first round! I had the opportunity to have the amazing Maddie send me a package (she blogs over at Mad Health Chick) and she was nothing short than the best foodie penpal! So what did she send me?!

I actually didn't open this box until three days after I received it! You're probably, yet again, thinking I'm crazy, but I used it as my reward for getting through my really busy week of 2 midterms, an assignment and a ton of homework. It was worth the wait! Upon first opening:

She was so super cute and asked if the chips popped on me...which they totally didn't (score!). I knew at first glimpse, I already loved it. But, when I started taking everything out, I was actually in shock. She outdid herself!

I had never expected to see this much stuff crammed into that box. Let's just say it was an unexpected surprise of the good kind!

Now, to break it down. I was really shocked that most of the stuff I've never tried! This was good because now I have the chance to try them, see if I like them, to know if I want to purchase them myself!

Like, the Enjoy Life gluten- and dairy-free bars...never even seen them before! They were the first things I tried, and they were amazing!! If I can find them around here, I'm definitely getting them again.

Or the teas, have never tried any of these flavours! Also, I'm really excited to try the chocolate bar Maddie sent and actually can't believe I haven't tried it yet (it's mint btw - a total win in my books) ...maybe because when I opened the box, it was all melty! The melty part is totally my fault because, while I didn't open the box for three days, it sat on our TV satellite receptor in our bedroom, and I'm sure you all know how warm those things can get! Oops!

Actually pretty funny, but I'm about to take the Buckwheat Snack (ShaSha Co.) products with me to school today. I'm sure they're amazing, too ;)

And ReBar, it's something I brought with me on Wednesday to school, but didn't end up eating it. I bet it will be awesome, too. Food hardly disappoints me! 

I really loved the addition of the Larabar...you can never go wrong with one of them!

Again, more teas!! I've only tried the one in the orange package so far and it was delish! Next, the spirulina bar. This probably made me the most excited to see because it intrigues me. Sometimes I'm a hoarder when it comes to things that I really enjoy/think I'll enjoy. This goes for coconut water; the husband knows that I have been holding onto my half of a case of coconut water we bought a while ago, while his is all gone. It kills him everyday =). So, I'm not quite sure when I'll actually decide to eat the spirulina bar, but let's hope it clears out before the coconut water does!

And finally, the last two items that I have had before - the sweet potato chips and the dark chocolate peanut butter. Having said that, they are both wonderful and something I would eat again and again, so a nice addition to the package.

I sure think Maddie went above and beyond for March Foodie Penpals and I just want to take a minute to really thank her.

You are awesome Maddie and I really appreciate the amazing package you put together. I am so with you on arranging a meet-up!! Woohoo!

All I can finish with is, I cannot wait for next month - I not only have new inspiration for my future penpal, but have opened a door to meeting amazing new food lovers and bloggers like me.

Have a great Friday everyone!

get out there!

Have you entered my LARABAR giveaway yet?! Go right now and enter here! (Closes Friday)
*****

Sometimes I like to talk to myself to make me do things - mostly in my head, because it'd be pretty embarrassing if someone actually caught me doing that!

Yesterday was one of those days. Luckily, I was in the comfort of my home, giving me the ability to shout...err...talk away!

The weather is pretty spectacular in south-western Ontario right now that I knew this week was prime for finally running outside. The last time I ran outside was on December 31st, 2011 when I ran a 5-miler down in Florida. As you can see, this was pretty much half a century ago, in runner's terms!

Some might ask, 'well why didn't you run outside when you returned back home?!' and my answer would be that I hate winter and any excuse to stay away from it is ok with me. Running on the treadmill is almost as bad as winter running, but not quite, so I sucked it up the past few months, and took to the belt!

With the Canadian weather finally cooperating, I've been pumping myself up for the much anticipated run outside. If I had to watch curling on the TV at the gym one more time, I might  have...learned how to play, myself (haha kidding!). It's not even the same person working behind the desk when I go to the gym, so why is curling aways on? And why is curling always on that channel, anyways?! Obviously curling is a tender subject still....

Back to the running outside anticipation: sometimes when I have a build-up of anticipation, it can back fire, where I start thinking of excuses why I shouldn't do that thing I've been anticipating.

This almost happened with my run yesterday, but then I told myself to, get out there!!

So, I got out there, and got this done...

If I had not gotten out there, then I would have never realized how awesome a first run outside (after months of hibernation) would be! I would have never realized that my pace is actually quicker outside and would have continued to be frustrated with the treadmill. I would have never gotten much needed vitamin D and been able to run on natural inclines.

The moral of this story is, if you stop and pause to think for even one second, you might talk yourself out of something you know you want to do. So just tell yourself...get out there!


Have a great Wednesday! Mine will be spent on campus for 12 hours...yaaaaay!

For that, I definitely needed to start my day off with some lovely tea.

And maybe Starbucks...don't judge!