Chocolate Makes Me Feel Better

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers on last week’s post. Over the weekend, Jordan and I drove to Michigan to see my grandpa and spend time with family. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle it (I was warned that he didn’t look like himself), but it ended up being a therapeutic experience. That’s not to say it wasn’t hard to see him (I cried…a lot), but I am glad that I went. Though Jordan and I have been through a lot this year, it has made us grow much closer- a good thing that has come out of all of this.

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Stress does funny things to my body. I get moody, I get sluggish, and I crave chocolate. A lot of it. My appetite’s been been all over the place lately, but one thing’s for sure-my chocolate cravings still exist-as you can see by this morning’s breakfast.

I topped a 1/2 cup oatmeal, mixed with 1 cup coconut milk, with unsweetened coconut, dark chocolate, peanut butter and some Quaker Oatmeal squares.

Sort of dessert in a bowl, but exactly what I was craving. I drank a cup of coffee alongside my oatmeal, brewed in my dad’s new Keurig. Normally I’m a tea drinker, but I love how easy coffee is to brew in the Keurig- and there’s no clean-up afterwards! I think I know what’s going on our wedding registry ;).

Speaking of the wedding (and marriage), Jordan and I have officially been pre-approved for a house! We have to move fairly quickly since we’d like to start moving in, ideally, in less than six months, so tomorrow night, we’re meeting with a builder.  We’re fortunate that Indiana has a decent housing market and a lot of open land (land not in demand= reasonable prices for a new house ), so building a starter home is not out of our budget. I’m excited to talk to someone and see what our options might be!

Alright, I’m going to get back to ‘Dance Moms.’ As you can see, I have big priorities tonight ;).

 

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Everything changes

Today, my youngest sister graduates from high school. I don’t know what is stranger- the fact that I am now in the “adult world”, or the fact that my sister, whom I still see as five years old, is leaving home and heading off to college in just a few months.

The old days…(actually, 2007)

It’s a bittersweet day, but I guess she has to grow up sometime ;).

Since I knew that I would be busy tonight with a celebration dinner and the graduation itself, I got up pretty early this morning. Breakfast has already been made and eaten.

Oatmeal- perfect for this 55 degree May day

And I will soon be on my way to the gym, because I want to get in a workout before my lunch plans today. I am meeting my fifth grade neighbors (twins) for lunch at their school. I have lived next door to them their whole life (which they still find hard to believe 🙂), and today is their last day of elementary school. One of them gave me an earful over the weekend about how I shouldn’t have a boyfriend because I never spend time with them anymore. That is not why I am meeting them for lunch (I would want to anyway!), but it made me remember that kids really are perceptive of change, of people growing up. One day they, too, will realize that playing on the backyard swing set is quite different when you are 22, compared to when you are 11 :).

Ah, reality…

(Source)

Well, I must get to the gym before I lose my motivation. Enjoy your Friday :). And, Happy Graduation Day, Sister. I’m proud of you :)!

When did you realize that you were “growing up”?

Are you celebrating any milestones this spring/summer?

This Friday’s so…Bootylicious?

TGIF (and Happy Earth Day and Good Friday)! Instead of sleeping in and lounging in front of the TV on this day off, I got up earlier to enjoy a repeat of Monday’s breakfast, and try out a new class the gym. Today’s class was called Cardio Jam/Turbo Kick. It was basically a kickboxing class set to music, and after a sweaty hour of kicking and punching, I was more than ready to go home and take a shower. I’m not sure this is a class that I would take regularly, but it was nice to try something new.

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Yesterday, the wonderful Lauren awarded me with the Bootylicious Award.

Doesn’t this remind you of the Destiny’s Child song? They used to play that song over and over on the radio. Ah, high school memories. I never was a fan of that song, but I am appreciative of the award. Thank you, Lauren :).

Here are the rules:

1. Post this award with the picture, and name whoever tagged you in it

2. Do “THE STUFF”

3. Award 7 others and tell them you did so!

THE STUFF

1. Name three things that are lying right next to you

2. Name two foods you cannot live without

3. Name one thing you did today

Let’s get started, shall we?

1. Three things that are lying next to me:

– My phone. It’s an ENV2. I can’t give in to the $30 smart phone data plan yet, don’t judge ;).

– My cup of water (for the record, it’s sitting not lying). I drink sooo much water. The other day I counted, and my water intake totaled 15 cups. Granted, this includes during and after workouts, but sometimes I think I have a water addiction. The more I drink, the more I crave…

– My stuffed animals. I still live at home, therefore, I still have my childhood stuffed animals on my bed. Please tell me I’m not the only 20-something that has yet to get rid of them :)?

2. Name two foods you cannot live without

– Chocolate. If you have ever read my blog, you could’ve guessed this one yourself. If you’re new to my blog, you will learn soon enough. It is a mood lifter, after all :).

– Oatmeal.

Mmm..pumpkin oatmeal

I could eat oatmeal for every meal. Although I eat it a lot for breakfat, I also tend to crave it for lunch and dinner. Did I just say that I crave oatmeal? Yeah, I’m 80 years old cool like that 🙂

3. Name one thing you did today

Since I already told you what I did this morning, I will tell you one thing that I am going to do this evening. My honors society is having an initiation ceremony this evening.  I am already an inducted officer, so I get to read a few lines and light a candle (sidenote: I can never seem to get those lighters to work; this should be interesting). It also gives me an excuse to wear a dress, and eat dinner downtown :).

There you have it, “my stuff” for the day. I will pass this award on to seven lovely, or should I say “bootylicious,” bloggers:

Grace @ yourdailygrace

Colleen @ The Lunchbox Diaries

Michelle @ Living, Learning, Earning

Caitlin @ Diary of a Scatterbrain

Jess @ A Taste of Confidence

Hollie @ Lolzthatswim(andrun)

Nicole @ Of Cookies & Carrots

And now I am off to do homework before tonight’s event :).

Happy Friday!

Dessert in a bowl

On occasion, my mom will make a dessert that is often requested of her, which contains a graham cracker crumb crust, condensed milk, chocolate chips and coconut, all baked into bars. In fact, she made these bars on Friday, and now they are all gone.

Although the bars aren’t breakfast food, they are the kind of thing you just seem to crave in the morning anyway. I may or may not have snacked on one while making my actual breakfast on both Saturday and Sunday. So today, when I woke up and the bars were gone, I thought why not recreate them in breakfast form? Then I did :).

Dessert in a bowl

1/2 cup oats

1 cup coconut milk

Toppings:

1 tbsp. crunchy almond butter

Shredded coconut

Dark chocolate chips

Quaker Oatmeal Squares

I eyeballed it with most of the toppings. Who wants to waste a perfectly clean measuring cup when you can pour chocolate chips straight from the bag, anyway :)? The result was a chocolaty, crunchy, gooey concoction, reminiscent of the bars my mom makes.

I ate it all, and then I scraped the bowl like I do when I’m eating ice cream. I could have gone as far as to lick the bowl, but for the record, I did not :).

I will be spending the rest of my day on a crowded college campus, so this was just what I needed this dreary Monday morning. It’s almost hard to believe that I only have six days of class left before finals!

Happy Monday!

What did you have for breakfast this morning?

Have you ever eaten dessert for breakfast?